Adult-FanFiction.org : Marvel 'Verse

Youth of Tomorrow, Shaping the Future	By : Gianni1968 Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 2433 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: see full disclaimer below

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
(Un-named)

Chapter 05

Theme:

Performed by:

Written by:

Lyrics reproduced without permission
Starring, in order of appearance or as they are mentioned:

friday
Drew Snelson
There's a definite smell in the room, one that I thought I smelled yesterday. It's faint, but not as faint as it was before. It's hard to sort out from the fries and burritos and mini-pizzas, but I'm working at it. It smells like - like - gas! Natural gas.

“I swear I smell gas!” I tell them without thinking.

"I didn't do it!" Theron says immediately, with a sly grin. "You know what they say, don't you? He who ..."

"I mean cooking gas! I smell cooking gas."
Okay, I’ll admit it, Theron’s statement immediately freaked me out; how does he know that the kitchen is gonna explode? That’s just crazy!

But … I’ve been smelling gas from the kitchen for several days now, haven’t I? And gas explodes in high enough concentrations, doesn't it?
Theron Nunley
I turn to Babe and Drew; reflected in Babe’s glasses is the fading blue glow of my eyes, the precog power leaving me again. They look back at me expectantly.

“I … I –“ How do I say it? How do I tell them that I just saw the cafeteria kitchen explode, and I know that it’s really going to happen in about ten minutes unless they help in the way I know only they can?

“You saw something?” Babe asks me quietly. Yes, he’ll believe me.

“Spit it out dude.” Drew says, a half-grin fading from his face. He’s finally getting serious. Okay, so just say it and hope he believes.

“In about ten minutes the kitchen over there,” I point “is going to explode, killing all the food service workers, everyone in the small dining room, and everyone in this end of the cafeteria.”

Drew’s eyes are huge, but Babe just nods.

“Unless we … unless you guys can do something to stop it!” Neither of them speak.
Babe turns away from me, and toward the kitchen; he’s looking at the closed delivery door. Finally he turns back.

“I’m not sure, but I think the kitchen is too still. There’s no movement in there.”

“I’ll check.” Drew immediately becomes a blur of motion, stopping at the door and peering in for a moment. He turns and suddenly blurs back to us.

"We have to tell someone in the office right now!" He looks very nervous.

"What did you see?" Babe asks calmly.

“There’s a real strong smell of natural gas, just like yesterday, and from the door I could see three people passed out on the floor.” Babe speaks up.

“How long can you maintain that speed? And can you carry an adult at speed?”

“Longer than we’ve got. I’ll get all the people out, no sweat. Well, not much!” He grins as he turns and streaks away, and out into the hall. He’s obviously going in through the lunch line door.

Babe follows at a normal speed. I follow along, not sure if I can help. Just before he goes through the door I ask him about it.

"Theron," he says to me, his eyes fixed on mine, "Pull a fire alarm. Wait for someone to come, and tell them what Drew saw, like you saw it yourself. And stay away from the kitchen. It's idiot hero time again." Before I can say anything he turns and goes through the door and shuts it behind him.
“I’m … not sure I can hold in … an explosion.” I can tell the pressure inside his force field box is getting intense. “There, we’re clear of the leak.

"I can't shut it off! It's not a leaking hose: the pipe is cracked!"

"Oh shit!" I feel more than see the cube waver. "Um, okay, try to trace the pipe to another valve."
Running, I find the faintly hissing pipe, and trace it to a valve at the wall, and shut it off. “There, it’s off.” I glance over my shoulder. The box is still shrinking, and becoming cloudy. “What are you doing?”

“The box isn’t going to hold together much longer. If the gas ignites, we’ll go with it. I have to get it into a sphere, but I don't know if I can do it.”
“All I can do now is decide where it’s going to go.”

“You mean … aim it?” He nods.

“That way.” Drew points at the outer wall as sweat runs down his face, “Nobody there ten seconds ago.”
Contrary to what you’d think, the cube blew out at the corners and seams instead of the walls. And then Babe let it go, and the cube just melted away as the fireball formed.
I put my hand on his shoulder as Babe tries to gather the gas cloud.

"Drew, uh, find the gas main and turn it off. Then find the main breaker box and shut off the electricity to the kitchen." Zzzzzip! If I'd thought he was moving fast before, now I knew better.
"I didn't do it!" I glance at him. "You know what they say, don't you? He who ..."

"I mean cooking gas! I smell cooking gas."
"I told you guys I smelled gas!"

"Yes, you did. Can the 'I told you so's' wait until after the crisis?"
"Do either of you smell gas?" Drew asks suddenly. Babe just stands there, looking at ... well, I'm not sure, but he doesn't say anything.

"Not me," I tell him. "Besides, everything in the kitchen is electric. The state school board had the gas shut off and all the gas appliances in every school in Arkansas replaced years ago. Safety hazard."
The shockwave lifts him from the floor and flings him at me like he's a rag doll. Right before his head comes up under my chin, and the rest of him follows and knocks me out, I see the ball of fire spread out around us as if there's a big beach umbrella between us and the flames.

He's done it! He's saved us from the fire ball. That's the last thought I have before I wake up to an EMS checking me for injuries.
"I thought you said that these two had been caught in the blast?"
Dr. Cecelia Reyes
"Frank, is there any history of insanity in your family?"

"Miss Reyes..." He tries to sound forbidding.

"You have no basis for your accusation other than circumstances. And wishful thinking. Have you taken into consideration the fact that the food service staff was all found unconscious but uninjured next to the band building? How did they get there?" He looks blank.

"And our Mr. Snelson was the one to shut off the electrical power to the kitchen. Were you taking that bit of fact into your account? Or the strange way the explosion, which the authorities claim should have leveled that side of the building, or possibly the school, stayed strictly in the confines of the kitchen?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think you should shut your mouth and let the fire department investigate this. And when they file their report and you read it, that's when you start to form an opinion. Until then you have no evidence to base anything on."

"But what about -"

"But nothing, Frank. Those boys get here just after the halls clear between lunches. That's an already established fact, remember. There would have to be a substantial leak for it to effect the food service workers in that short a time. The boys have nothing else to do, and the front line crew probably feeds them from the fresh food."

"You mean -"

"Those boys probably discovered the kitchen filling with gas when they went to get food, and were able to get those people out of there before they all collapsed. The school board will most likely be thanking them next week."
(Just some stuff I've jotted down (or scribbled, if you prefer)
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Youth of Tomorrow, Shaping the Future