ISSUE #5

" Hey, man what happened? I left my window open. But you never came. Are you all right man?"

Derrick asked over the phone.

" Yeah, I'm good man. And a lot has happened in the past few weeks. Shit you wouldn't believe."

Nathan replied back.

" Well, what's good man wanna talk about it?"

Derrick asked.

" I actually do need to tell you something man. I'll come see you when I get the chance."

Nathan said to the boy on the other end of the line.

" Definitely. Hit my line when you can man, I'll be waiting for you."

Derrick said before hanging up the phone.

" Oh, man. Glad to hear he's doing well."

Nathan said as he hung up the phone.

Nathan got up out of his bed and started getting.

Riiiip *

" Ah damn! I ripped my shirt. It is what it is I guess. I needed to go shopping anyway. What time is it?"

Nathan asked as he looked at the clock.

" I see, twelve. The shuttle into the city should be here soon. I should get ready."

Nathan sighed as he continued to get dressed

Nathan left his room and headed downstairs to join those who were going into the city.

" Hey, Noriko. How are you doing today?"

Nathan asked as he came down the stairs.

" Oh, what's up Nate. Not much."

Noriko replied.

" Not much either. Just need to get some new clothes."

Nathan stated

" What happened to your shirt?"

Noriko asked as she noticed the hole in it.

" I ripped it putting it on. Guess I'm bigger than I was before."

Nathan replied

" You mean you haven't always been this shredded?"

Noriko asked.

" You think I'm shredded? I've always been a slim jim."

Nathan said back.

" Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?"

Noriko asked again.

" I mean. I've gotten bigger yeah. But I wouldn't say I'm shredded. But it really doesn't matter. I still need new clothes at the end of the day."

Nathan explained.

" Yeah. Well, I guess that's true. Especially if you're not gonna be able to fit the rest."

Noriko stated.

" Hey, when did you two get so close?"

Josh asked as he joined the two.

" Hey, any enemy of Julians is a friend of mine."

Noriko replied with a smirk on her face.

" Yeah, we kind of bonded while we pranked Julian."

Nathan said to the boy.

" Wait, so it was you guys who've been messing with him this entire time. Dude, Julians going to kill you guys when he finds out."

Josh said to the two.

" You mean "IF" He finds out."

Nathan and Nori both said with a grin on their faces.

" Hahaha!"

The two laughed

" What's so funny?!"

Julian asked as he walked by.

" HAHAHAHA!"

The two laughed louder at the sight of the boy's new hair style.

" Flying pink today, Jules?"

Nathan asked the boy.

" Fuck you!"

Julian snapped back.

" Alright, guys. Shuttles here."

David said to the group of students as he walked into the room.

Nathan looked over to see Noriko's expression change from one of delight into one of anger.

' I wonder what happened between these two.'

Nathan thought to himself as he noticed the sour mood between the two.

The students all boarded the shuttle bus to the city. Each student got off at different stops until only four remained. Nathan, Noriko, Josh, and David.

" Hey, so what's going between those two?"

Nathan asked

" Oh, David and Nori dated until he broke up with her. The two have been pretty bitter with each other since."

Josh responded.

" He broke up with a babe like Nori. Oops!"

Nathan said in a voice that wasn't subtle at all.

" Babe huh?!"

Noriko looked back at the boy with a smug grin on her face.

David however seemed to get a little angry at the words that left the boy's mouth.

" Me and my big mouth."

Nathan said as he facepalmed himself.

" Alright, David, this our stop. See you guys later."

Josh said as he and David got off the shuttle.

" Hey, you know I didn't ask earlier. But what are you coming out for Nori?"

Nathan asked the woman as he sat next to her.

" Well, I just needed to get out of the school for a while. Getting cooped up there is killer."

Noriko answered.

" Oh! Okay! Got any plans then?"

Nathan asked

" Well, I figured I'd help you out. Got nothing better to do."

Noriko replied bluntly.

" Oh yeah? Eh why not. I don't really like shopping all that much. So, having some company isn't a bad idea."

Nathan said as he leaned back in his chair.

After a few more minutes the two arrived at their stop and hopped off the shuttle.

" Okay, so what were you thinking. Comfort or casual?"

Nori asked

" Well, my sweats and shorts still fit, and some of my hoodies should as well. So, I guess just some jeans and a few shirts is all I'll need."

Nathan said as he and nori walked down the city streets.

" Then I know just the place."

Noriko said to the boy. She grabbed him by the arm and lead him to a nearby clothing store.

" This place is kind of a dump, isn't it?"

Nathan asked as he looked at the shambled store.

" Maybe, but the owner is a real nice guy. Plus, the prices aren't too expensive."

Noriko explained to the man.

" Eh, alright, let's go."

Nathan said as he opened the door to the store.

" Hello, Nori! Welcome. It's good to see you again."

The man behind the counter said as he waved to the two.

" Hello, Mr. Chen. It's good to see you too."

Noriko said as she waved at the man.

" This is my friend Nathan. We came to get him some new clothes."

Noriko said as she pointed to Nathan. Nathan waved and smiled at the man.

" It's a pleasure Mr. Chen."

Nathan said to the man.

" Of course, take your pick."

Mr. Chen said before going back to doing what he was doing before.

The two walked over to the Jeans section and began sorting and picking out pants for Nathan to wear.

" Try them on."

Noriko said as she handed Nathan a pair of blue jeans.

Nathan took the jeans and stepped into the changing room. Once he was done, he stepped out to get the woman's response.

" Come on, do I really need to do this? They're just blue jeans."

Nathan said to the woman as he stepped out of the room.

" Hmmm, Approved. Next!"

Nori yelled as she handed the boy another pair of pants.

" Ugh! Fine."

Nathan groaned as he took the next pants into the room.

After repeating the process a few more times, Nathan finally finished and headed to the register to pay for what he had or more specifically, she had chosen.

" All right, 150$!"

Mr. Chen said as he rang up the clothes the two had selected.

" Here you go."

Nathan said as he handed over the money.

" Thank you come again Nori. You as well young man."

Mr. Chen said as the two left the store.

" Well, I got to admit. That was kind of fun."

Nathan said as the two walked down the street.

" See, I told you, you'd like the place. Mr. Chen has always been kind to mutants."

Noriko explained to the man.

" Why didn't you get anything Nori?"

Nathan asked

" Oh, I didn't have the money. I work part time, so the days I spend at school I don't get paid for."

Noriko explained.

" I might not be rich. But I do have money Nori, I wouldn't have minded. it's not like I need to pay for much of anything really."

Nathan said to the woman.

" Nah it's fine."

Noriko replied.

" You sure? We can go back."

Nathan argued.

" It's fine. I don't need any new clothes. So... Wanna talk about what you said on the bus?"

Noriko asked.

" Uhhhhh..."

Was all Nathan could utter.

" I'm just messing with ya, don't get so flustered. You couldn't handle being my girlfriend."

Noriko joked.

" Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who says I'd be the girlfriend? And who what makes you think I couldn't handle you? If anything, you couldn't handle me."

Nathan joked back.

The two stopped and looked at each other for a second and then started laughing.

" Oh, you're funny."

Noriko said to the boy.

" I know, right?"

Nathan replied.

Nathan looked at the girl suddenly heard a loud noise. Nathan could hear the sound of a bullet being fired from a Barret .50 being fired. As if on instinct, Nathan shoved Noriko out of the way just in time for the two to avoid being hit by the bullet.

" Shit! Nori run!"

Nathan yelled as he helped the girl to her feet.

The two took off down the street, running as fast as they could to avoid the sniper trying to kill them.

" What the hell?! Why can't people just leave us alone?"

Noriko asked as the two ran.

" Fuck! I think we're being followed!"

Nathan yelled as he noticed two black SUVs, quickly approaching their position.

" Damn it!"

Noriko cursed.

" Fuck, okay follow me."

Nathan said to the girl. He took Noriko by her hand and led her down a nearby alley way.

" Okay, I'm going to boost you over all right."

Nathan said to the girl.

" What about you?"

Noriko asked

" I'll figure something out."

Nathan said to the woman.

" You want me to leave you?"

Noriko asked

" I'll be fine. Just get over and I'll be right behind you."

Nathan explained to the woman.

" All right."

Noriko replied. She ran at the man as fast as she could and jumped into his cupped hands. Nathan using all of his strength pushed the girl up and over the wall.

" Are you all right Nori?"

Nathan asked.

" Yeah, I'm fine. Now you get over and hurry."

Noriko ordered the boy.

Nathan got ready to follow but was stopped by the sound of the SUVs screeching to a halt behind him. He turned around to see armed gun men pouring out of the two vehicles.

' Fuck!'

Nathan thought as he saw the men coming,

" Got no choice now. No way in hell am I dying today."

Nathan said to himself.

" Nathan come on!"

Noriko yelled.

" I'm coming just go!"

Nathan yelled back.

' Okay, not too much power.'

Nathan thought. He grabbed his middle finger with his thumb and sent a shockwave into the men knocking them out of the alley and slamming some of them into the side of their vehicles.

' That should do it. Now, the wall.'

Nathan thought as he turned back towards the wall. He got took a deep breath and jumped as high as he could. He managed to catch the top of the wall and was able to pull himself over it easily.

" Nate, thank God. Come on, let's get out of here."

Noriko said as she helped the man to his feet.

Noriko and Nathan ran out of the alle as fast as they could, racing back towards the shuttle.

" We need to call the teachers."

Noriko said to Nathan.

Nathan nodded and pulled out his phone. Nathan dialed Scotts number and called him.

" Hello, is something wrong Nathan?"

Scott asked

" Noriko and I were attacked by armed gunmen and a sniper."

Nathan quickly explained.

" Stay together and try to find the others. We're on the way."

Scott said before hanging up the phone.

" Okay, Mr. Summers is coming. Any luck with the others?"

Nate asked as Nori got off her phone.

" They're all back at the shuttle."

Noriko said.

" Okay, then that's where we're going. Come on."

Nate said as he continued moving towards the Shuttle's location.

" Nate, how did you know someone was shooting at us?"

Noriko asked.

" I don't know, I just heard it coming and reacted."

Nathan explained.

" Well thanks for saving me. I probably wouldn't be here right now if not for you."

Noriko said to the boy.

" Hey, no thanks necessary. After all that's what friends do right?"

Nate said to the girl.

" You know what Nate; I want you to join the New Mutants. What do ya say?"

Noriko asked

" You know, I've been thinking about it for a while. And I might just take you up on that offer. But how about we discuss this when we aren't being chased by crazy gun men?"

Nathan asked and Noriko nodded.

The two continued walking through the streets of the city as police rushed by, presumably going towards the scene they had just left. Soon thankfully the shuttle bus came into sight.

" Whew, looks like we're out of the thick of things."

Noriko said as she let out a sigh of relief.

" Nori! Never say that out loud!"

Nathan said to the girl.

" Why not?"

Noriko asked.

" Because I've learned from personal experience that the universe is always waiting to kick us in the throat."

Nathan said as he and the girl continued walking towards the shuttle. As soon as he said that one of the SUVs from earlier came up from behind them.

" Shit Nori run!"

Nathan yelled as he saw the Vehicle approaching. The two ran as fast as they could but were soon surrounded by the men who were chasing them.

' An attack like this out in public. These guys are brave.'

Nathan thought as he looked at the men.

" So close, and yet so far. Your little escape attempt is over. Now, surrender peacefully or else."

One of the armed men said as he stepped out of the vehicle.

' Damn it! There are too many people nearby I can't be careless.'

Nathan thought as the men closed in around him and Nori.

" RAhh!"

The sound of a loud growl came from over the two's head as a man in yellow spandex vaulted over them.

" Wolverine! shoot to kill!"

The man in charge yelled.

" If I, were you. I'd just quit while I was ahead."

Cyclops said as he fired at the man in charge.

The man looked up to see the X-men arriving in full force.

" Damn, am I glad to see you guys."

Nathan said to the group.

Cyclops looked down at the two and smiled before returning his attention to the armed men.

" You have until the count of three to lay down your weapons. One. Two. Three."

Cyclops counted down and after three seconds the men all placed their weapons on the ground in defeat.

" Smart move bub."

Wolverine said to the man in charge.

' Whew seems like things are going to be alright after all...'

Nathan was saying to himself before the feeling from earlier returned. Nathan once again heard the sound of the rifle firing.

' I can hear it again. It's trajectory. Why are they after nori?'

Nathan asked himself as he moved the woman out of the way.

" Nathan Wha?"

Noriko was asking before Nathan shoved her to the ground

" AGRH!"

Nathan grunted as a bullet passed through the side of his torso.

" Damn it!"

Cyclops yelled. He turned his head and fired at the sniper destroying the entire floor he was on and killing him.

" Hang on Nathan, we're getting you home."

Cyclops said as he picked the boy up.

" Me and my big... Mouth."

Nathan groaned before being put to sleep by Emma.