Meeting the Fuzzy Elf

I strode into the X-Mansion with my bag slung over my shoulders. My first mission was to meet my partner, Nightcrawler.

Actually, my first mission was to answer the call of nature. I shan’t elaborate beyond the fact that perhaps I had a little too much Diet Mountain Dew on my flight to Westchester County, New York.

My second mission was to meet Nightcrawler, which I accomplished shortly after accomplishing my first mission.

“Hey, I’m Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator,” I said while pumping his uniquely two-fingered-plus-a-thumb hand. “Great to meet you. I’m actually kind of surprised that we haven’t crossed paths before.”

“Jah,” he agreed with a smile. “I know ve met at that one party, but I vas rather busy trying to avoid that guy.”

“Yeah, I try to avoid Private Hudson whenever possible myself,” I replied. “Hey, you know we got a lot in common! Ich spreche Deutsches aber nicht so gut. Ich hatte zwei Jahre des Deutschen in der Schule!”

“Jah, das ist really… nice,” Nightcrawler smiled pleasantly. At least I assume it was a pleasant smile. He’s got blue fur all over his face and some sharp teeth in that mouth.

“Oh, and you’re German and I’m of Germanic decent,” I added gleefully. “I’ve even got distant relatives in South America. I bet you do, too, huh?”

“Jah,” he replied. “I vould imagine.”

“Hey, you know what else?” I said. “You’re a swashbuckling adventure-loving type and so am I! And on top of that, you are a pilot and I’ve got my own space plane!”

“Yeah, imagine zat,” he said. “Zat is very Interessieren. We could take turns flying if needed, perhaps.”

“Yeah, that would be cool,” I replied. “So, what should we call our team?”

“Ze Two Musketeers?”

“Eh,” I said. “I don’t know. How about Team Swashbucklers?”

“I am not so sure that is ze best name,” Nightcrawler answered.

“Yeah, me either.”

“Team Nightcrawler?”

“Eh, I don’t think so. How about Team-O Supreme-O? Dual Cool Fools? Venture Brothers?”

“Zose don’t seem to fit,” he answered. “Or zey are already being used. How about The Fly Guys?”

“How about Dynamite Duo?”

“How about Team Bamf?”

“Jon and his Amazing Friend?”

“Die Abenteuermänner?”

“The Hard Corps? The Lockheeders? The Boys in Blue?”

“Nein, nein, nein.” Nightcrawler sighed. “Let’s just think about it for a while, ja?”

“Yeah. Maybe we should just think about it for a while,” I conceded. “How about the Decatur Staleys?”

“Nein!”