Spider-Man Mayhem-Chapter 434: Appeasing a Dragon

[Third Person Pov]

A portal opened back into the space of the danger room and Peter stepped through first with the rest of the team following closely behind him as they returned from their mission. The air inside the room was calm and quiet in contrast to the chaos they had just left behind. Several of them carried visible signs of the battle in the form of bruises, cuts, and torn uniforms. In their hands they held the apprehended figure of Larry Trask, who looked far less confident than he had earlier in the day.

Waiting for them was Professor Xavier, who appeared to have been expecting their return. He was the only one present inside the danger room, seated calmly in his wheelchair near the center of the chamber.

His sharp gaze immediately took in the sight of the team as they stepped through the portal. His eyes lingered for a moment on the bandages wrapped around some of them and the exhausted expressions on their faces. Despite the clear signs of the difficult fight they had endured, a proud and pleasant smile spread across his face.

"Great work everyone," he said warmly. "It’s nice to see you all are in one piece."

"I almost wasn’t..." Rogue grumbled under her breath as she glanced down at her legs. One of the sleeves of her costume had been completely torn away during the battle, leaving her thigh and foot fully exposed where the fabric had once been. She frowned slightly as she looked at it, clearly still annoyed about the damage.

Johnny looked around the large room and noticed the absence of anyone else besides the professor. "Where are the people that were rescued?" he asked curiously when he realized the space around them was otherwise empty.

"They’re being tended to by Hank as we speak," Professor Xavier answered reassuringly. "None of you need to worry about them. He is making sure they receive proper medical attention and that they are comfortable. Once everything is settled we will also make sure they are able to safely return home."

The explanation seemed to relieve some of the tension that had lingered in the group. Rogue stepped forward a little and stretched her arms above her head with a long tired groan as she worked some of the stiffness out of her shoulders.

"I don’t know about y’all," she said, letting her arms drop to her sides, "but after the day we just had I don’t feel like doing much of anything except relax."

"Agreed," Jean said immediately while Kitty nodded her head beside her in full agreement. Both of them looked just as tired as Rogue felt.

Professor Xavier continued smiling at the group as he addressed them again. "You can all be dismissed. Go and rest, enjoy some down time. You have all earned it today." His gaze then shifted slightly toward two members of the team. "Spider-Man, Scott, walk with me. I would like a debriefing on what happened with the Sentinels."

Both Scott and Peter gave small nods and moved to follow him without protest.

Meanwhile Havok turned toward Storm and Wolverine. Since the two of them carried themselves with the air of the most experienced members of the group, he naturally directed his question toward them. "Where are the mutants that were safely rescued?" he asked.

Storm stepped forward and took the lead in answering him. "Come," she said calmly. "Follow me."

She began walking out of the danger room with Wolverine and Havok moving after her.

Nearby Lizzy glanced over at Harry with an irritated huff before abruptly turning away and walking off on her own. She did not say a single word as she left, and it was clear she had no intention of waiting for him. In truth she did not even seem to know where she was going, she simply walked away.

"Oooooh, you in trouble," Gwen, MJ, and Felicia exclaimed at the same time while covering their mouths with their hands in exaggerated shock.

Harry’s shoulders visibly slumped as he watched Lizzy leave. A defeated sigh escaped him as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... I messed up pretty badly."

"What did you even do?" Gwen asked as she and the others started walking with him as they made their way out of the danger room.

"How did you even manage to make her mad in the middle of a life and death situation?" Felicia asked while shaking her head slowly. "You must have done something really bad."

"Ughhh, I really don’t want to talk about it," Harry muttered with a pained grimace.

"You saying that is only making us more curious," MJ said immediately while the others nodded in agreement.

"Even I’m curious," Johnny added as he casually joined the conversation while walking alongside them.

Aria smirked mischievously as she stepped up beside Harry and began lightly slapping his back with amusement. "Mr. Wannabe Ladiesman here was caught flirting with one of the captives~"

"Was the name calling really necessary?" Harry grumbled irritably as he shot her an annoyed look.

"Yikes," Johnny hissed through his teeth.

"Shame on you," Felicia said while shaking her head with exaggerated disappointment.

"I thought you were better than this," MJ added while deliberately mimicking Felicia’s tone.

Gwen sighed dramatically and gave Harry a long look as if she were seeing a completely different person standing in front of her. "Are you even the same boy we grew up with?"

Their comments only served to irritate him further, even though he knew they were intentionally provoking him for their own amusement.

"It wasn’t intentional," Harry insisted while trying to defend himself. "I just got too caught up in the moment."

"And forgot that you weren’t single?" Gwen replied, the teasing amusement in her voice impossible to miss.

Harry turned his head and stared at her with a completely flat expression.

Gwen quickly raised both of her hands in surrender. "Relax, I’m just messing with you," she said while biting back a laugh, although the others around her made no effort to hide their amusement.

MJ noticed the frustrated and slightly miserable expression on Harry’s face and finally took a bit of pity on him. She gently rested her arm over his shoulders in a friendly gesture.

"Don’t worry too much about it," she said reassuringly. "I’ll go talk to her. I might be able to soften her up a little. But after that the rest is going to be up to you."

Harry looked at her with genuine relief and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

...

The sun had begun to dip below the horizon and the sky above the mansion had shifted into a brilliant fiery orange as the evening settled in. The fading sunlight painted the clouds in warm shades of gold and crimson while long shadows stretched across the expansive grounds of Xavier’s school.

Despite the exhausting battle earlier in the day, the atmosphere around the mansion had grown much livelier. Laughter and conversation filled the air as students, X-Men, and their allies gathered outside to unwind after their victory over the Sentinels. The smell of barbecue wafted through the air as several grills were going at once, the scent of roasted meat, vegetables, and sweet barbecue sauce drifting across the lawn.

It had quickly turned into an impromptu celebration.

Nearby, Harry was currently kneeling on one knee in front of Lizzy with his head lowered. In his hands he carefully held a plate piled with roasted meat and grilled vegetables, presenting it forward with both hands like he was offering tribute to an easily angered dragon in hopes of calming it.

Lizzy stared down at him for a moment before letting out a tired sigh. Without a word she snatched the plate from his hands and turned around, walking away while beginning to eat.

Harry remained frozen in place for a second before slowly placing a hand against his chest and releasing a long breath of relief.

The fact that she didn’t reject the offering outright was, in his opinion, a very good sign.

Not far away from that awkward exchange, Rogue stood leaning casually against the outer wall of the school building. One leg was bent slightly while she rested her weight against the wall, a cold drink held loosely in her gloved hand.

Johnny stood beside her with one arm resting against the wall as well, leaning slightly in her direction with an easy confidence.

"Come on, just one date," Johnny said with his usual charming and confident smile. "I promise you won’t regret it."

Rogue rolled her eyes while lifting her drink for another sip. "As enticing as that proposal sounds," she said dryly, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "you do know it would never work out between us, don’t ya?"

"And why not?" Johnny replied without a hint of discouragement. "I’ll have you know I’m a pretty competent mechanic. Give me the right tools and I can make just about anything work."

A faint grin tugged at the corner of Rogue’s lips, but it only lingered for a brief moment before fading again. She shook her head slowly.

"There just ain’t no fixing, sugar," she said with a small sigh. "I’m as broken as they come."

She lifted her gloved hand and reached toward his face, stopping just an inch away from touching him.

"A single touch from me is all it would take to leave you bedridden for days," she explained quietly. "A little longer than that and you’d be nothing more than an empty husk."

She pulled her hand back and took another sip from her drink as if the statement had been nothing more than casual conversation.

Johnny raised one eyebrow at her with a smug grin.

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Rogue nearly choked on her drink, "Christ—" she coughed as she lowered the cup.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her glove while glaring at him.

"There is something seriously wrong with you if anything I just said sounded even a little bit romantic," Rogue muttered in her usual southern drawl.

Johnny simply shrugged. "What can I say? I like my women the same way I live life."

Rogue raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? And how’s that?"

Johnny leaned a little closer, "The more dangerous the better."

Rogue let out a snort before pushing herself away from the wall.

"Why do I always attract the weird ones," she sighed while turning to walk away.

"Now wait a minute," Johnny said quickly.

He reached out and grabbed her gloved hand, stopping her from leaving.

Rogue immediately looked down at where their hands had connected before slowly lifting her gaze to him, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Johnny met her gaze, the usual playful confidence in his expression softening just a little.

"Now I know I might not come off as the most reliable guy out there," he admitted, "but I’m nothing if not resourceful."

He tilted his head slightly as he continued.

"I’m friends with some of the greatest minds on this planet. Minds that are capable of creating portals into alternate dimension types of genius. Coming up with a solution for your condition would just be another Monday for them."

He gently lifted her hand a little higher between them. "So I’m not too worried."

Johnny slowly slid his fingers between hers, interlocking them despite the layer of fabric between their gloves. His gaze remained steady as he looked directly into her eyes. "Your little vampire powers aren’t enough to push me away."

Rogue felt her heart skip a beat at the unexpected sincerity in his voice.

"Now come on," Johnny said suddenly, breaking the moment as he began leading her away.

"Where?" Rogue asked, glancing down nervously at their joined hands.

Johnny looked over his shoulder with a crooked grin.

"Music’s playing and yet nobody seems to be dancing," he said. "Let’s fix that."

Rogue hesitated for only a moment before quietly following after him. Her head remained lowered as they walked, and her face had turned noticeably red beneath the warm glow of the evening lights.

A short distance away, Felicia stood with Peter, Gwen, MJ, and several members of the X-Men as they watched Johnny confidently lead Rogue toward the center of the lawn where a portable speaker was playing music for the gathering.

Felicia crossed her arms while observing the scene with mild disbelief.

"I hate to admit it..." she said slowly.

Everyone glanced toward her.

"...but Johnny has immaculate game."

Peter scoffed while shaking his head, though a small smirk still tugged at his lips. "He wouldn’t be Johnny if he didn’t."

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