So, I hope you all enjoy this. God knows it's taken forever. Updates might be very slow, but I will try! And now, the sequal to "Challenges"
(Disclaimer: The song lyrics I have no claim to, they are Def Leppard's and Savage Garden's and used only for the purpose of adding an element to get a deeper point across. X-Men isn't mine either, but Laura is, so no copies!)
She's taking her time making up the reasons
To justify all the hurt inside
Guess she knows from the smiles and the look in their eyes
Everyone's got a theory about the bitter one
They're saying, "Mama never loved her much"
And, "Daddy never keeps in touch
That's why she shies away from human affection"
But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space
And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come
And she'll say to him
She's sayin'
I would fly up to the moon and back if you'll be...
If you'll be my baby
I've got a ticket for a world where we belong
So, would you be my baby?
Pyro dropped his suitcase on the floor and a cold, metallic clang echoed throughout the domed room.
"This isn't very…cozy (cozy) (cozy) (cozy)," his words echoed as well and he raised an eyebrow, annoyed.
"That'll be annoying," he whispered and took another look around. The walls were all silver metal and stone, but at least there was carpet. A bed sat in the corner, nightstand and dresser near it. A lamp, closet, and hotel-like bathroom also occupied the space. Too much chrome in his opinion, and he was a fairly modern guy. He bent down to unpack when a huge weight landed on his back and the left side of his face was slammed to the floor.
"I hate when you do that," he managed to mumble while spitting out carpet fibers.
"I love it when you do that," the other person laughed giddily. Pyro spun over quickly, causing his attacker to fall to the floor. He looked back and grinned as she spit out her bright orange hair. Her pink irises shone through and Lara Kelson punched him in the shoulder.
"Thanks a lot, "she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. Lara tugged on her leather jacket, causing the 'WT' on the back to be seen for a split second.
"You started it," Pyro claimed and began unpacking. Lara shook her head.
"You just started? I've been done for hours…"
"We haven't even been here for hours, Wild."
"Thirty minutes then."
"We arrived at exactly three o'clock this afternoon and it is now three o' ten," Pyro raised an eyebrow, "Only ten short minutes." Lara stuck her tongue out at him. Their fun didn't last for too long. Their new acquaintance, Mystique, entered and seemed to mildly glare down at them.
"Magneto wants to see you now. Don't keep him waiting." She glided out of their presence, just like she'd come. Pyro raised his hand at her retreating shadow.
"Ma'm? Can I have a map?" he asked in his best school boy voice. Lara giggled and pulled his arm down.
"C'mon, Hotshot."
Magneto, dressed in a robe-like cape and expensive shirt and shoes, greeted them at the door. He offered them a seat and then took the bigger one behind his desk. Pyro studied him carefully. Finally, he was sitting in front of the main enemy of the X-Men. And he kind of liked it. There was an aura of power that surrounded Magneto and seemed to flow into Pyro's muscles. He felt instantly calm, stronger, and more confident. Lara seemed to be having the same reaction. Her pink eyes glowed with a look he'd only seen when she was practicing in the gym back at the mansion. A fiery, ravenous, look. Magneto folded his gloved hands on his desk and lead forward slightly. He seemed to smirk without actually doing anything and huffed once.
"Because the two of you are new to this operation, I will be brief and to the point. My chambers, office, and the east wing are all off limits unless I call you there. You will each be assigned a job to help out around the building. John, you will be our new chef, Lara, I have made you the new kitchen maid. Mystique usually takes care of the rest of the place." Pyro felt like asking 'What do you do?' but held back. Magneto was pretty much ruler of all, and the jet lag John was still experiencing turned his cockiness meter down a measurable distance.
"You should know where the kitchen is; the cleaning closet is across the hall from it. You may go now. Oh, Pyro? I expect dinner to be ready by seven o' clock sharp." Magneto nodded his head and the two young mutants stood up and left silently. Eric Lensherr leaned back in his chair and chuckled to himself. They would be an interesting addition to the place.
"A chef? He made me a chef? What was he thinking?! All I can cook is toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!" Pyro ran his fingers through his slicked back hair and groaned. Lara just laughed at him.
"I happen to like those late night sandwiches."
"Are you an elderly man in a cape and funky helmet? I think not," Pyro raised an eyebrow as a he said this, mildly annoyed. Wild Thing pushed him into the kitchen playfully and then went back to open the cleaning closet.
"I wonder if he's going to make me wear a french maid uniform?" she muttered to herself. Pyro overheard and his eyebrows shot up. Oh please, please, please find a uniform in there…
"Nope. Nothing in there but mops, brooms, and squirt bottles of Pledge." She turned around and grinned at John's deflated expression.
"Pervert."
"Just a healthy imagination," he said innocently and went to rummage around for a cookbook. He found one up in the top of the left side cabinets. He blew the dust off of it and read the title aloud, "Easy, Delicious Meals in Thirty Minutes." He chuckled to himself.
"How convenient! I have an hour." John flipped though the table of contents until he found something he liked. He flicked his eyes up over the pages to Lara, who was searching the freezer for ice cream.
"How does 'Apple Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes' sound to you?"
"It sounds like you need two skillets and a mixing bowl. And a potato peeler, mixer, cooking butter, and on and on and on…" Wild turned around, "I'll help tonight only. Now, open those two cabinets back there."
Lara had the radio going and was sautéing apples in a skillet while Pyro kept the fire from his lighter on the tenderloin. He was also mashing potatoes. A good beat came through the speakers, one John was familiar with.
Rise up! Gather round
Rock this place to the ground
Burn it up let's go for broke
Watch the night go up in smoke
Rock on! (rock on!)
Drive me crazier, no serenade
No fire brigade, just Pyromania!
What do you want? What do you want?
I want rock'n'roll, yes I do
Long live rock'n'roll
Oh let's go, let's strike a light
We're gonna blow like dynamite
I don't care if it takes all night
Gonna set this town alight!
He was the one who started singing quietly along, and to Lara's surprise, he had a great singing voice. He got louder and the flames on the pork started to dance wildly. She was worried he'd burn it, but the end of the song came fairly quickly and John sang one last line before falling off, "We're gonna burn this damn place down, down to the ground!" The glistening in his eyes faded and the fire on the pork calmed to a stop.
"I think it's done," he said, as if the entire song experience hadn't happened. Wild looked at him quizzically, inwardly shrugged, and then took a peek at the meat.
"Perfect. Good thing the rest of this stuff is done, too."
Candles were lit, silverware was set, and the meal was on the table one minute before the deadline. The chrome doors with black leather handles swung gently open and Magneto came in, with Mystique at his side. They took their places silently; never acknowledging that the meal was a sight from Food Network, the setting should've been featured in Elle decorating magazines, and the kitchen looked like Mr. Clean himself came and shined it up with the whole Swiffer team. John and Lara took their places in the smaller chrome chairs that couldn't stand up to the gargantuan king throne Magneto had. I'd like to throw him off of it to make sure he doesn't get too full of himself! Pyro, in result of his thoughts, glanced over at Magneto and visualized this for a moment. He laughed inwardly.
Lara was getting a subtle, hard glare from Mystique. Wild's best guess was that Mystique had been kitchen maid before they came and Magneto had moved her to a crappier job. She averted her eyes; I don't want to know what's worse than hand washing dishes with half-eaten, saliva-filled meals on them. The rest of the meal proceeded in silence, which they both figured was the norm around the place. It was a big difference from the loud, kid-filled cafeteria at Xavier's mansion. Lara was starting to miss Rogue and their lunchroom chats and John was missing the glaring matches between him and Logan. Magneto abruptly stood, signaling the end of the meal, and Lara cleared the table.
"Sometimes I wonder why we left," Wild said while scraping apple grease off a pan.
"Because a naked blue lady made this life sound appealing," Pyro said over his shoulder. He was helping Lara out at the moment by dumping leftovers into a silver trash can. He pressed a button that began to glow blue and all the trash was sucked out of there before he could blink. He grinned. "That is so cool."
Laura: Glad to know you took us out of that box. Dusty in there!
Pyro: *munches on toasted pb&j*
Me: *points at Pyro* He didn't mind.
Pyro: *swallows* The cardboardy dust gives it a crunchy twang.