Author´s note: Set after the events of X 3. The film left me wondering what happened to Pyro. I know there are many wonderful story´s about this theme already out here on the and I´m a little late, but I wanted to do it anyway. I hope you have fun.
Disclaimer: The characters and concepts of X-Men are owned by 20th Century Fox, creator Stan Lee and Marvel comics. I own nothing and this is just for fun!
Homecoming
- Chapter 1 -
As Pyro came around again, everything seemed to shift in his head.
He tried taking a few long breathes to calm himself down and opened his eyes. As he did, the world began to dance around him. So he closed them again and just lay back, listening to his surroundings.
It was almost quite. There were people moving around in the distance, sometimes shouting something but that did not really matter to him.
Then the sirens began to sound. In the beginning far away, but then coming nearer and nearer.
He tried to get up. But there was something on his body. Something hard and heavy. And he could not move it away. As he tried a second time, the pain began to start. Nearly every part of his body ached. His head and his chest where on fire and something was very wrong with his left leg. And his hands did not feel like they used to do.
He tried to remember what had caused this.
And than it came back to him.
In the middle of the war he had had a fight with Bobby Drake and lost it. He lost the first time since nearly as long as he could remember.
He still remembered his shock when Bobby suddenly was all covered in ice and frosted his hands. He had never seen Bobby looking like that. And then he had been knocked out.
The sounds from the distance had become louder and despite his headache he had to look around and find out what had happened.
As far as he could tell from his position on the ground they had lost.
Everywhere there were soldiers running around with their cure-guns, searching. For what? Maybe for survivors of the battle. But he did not believe there were many still around here.
This was not good.
He most definitely would not escape on his own, he was too injured for that. But if they found him - and that was not a given, the way he was buried under all that rubble -, they would cure him first and then put him into prison. They would know that he had been burning the cars, standing close to Magneto. Maybe dying was preferable to that outcome.
As he led his head fall back he closed his eyes. Just waiting.
There were soft steps nearby, wandering around the debris that was all over the place. He debated if he should call for the person, but decided against it. The sooner he did this, the sooner he would loose his fire. Eventually he would, but he did not need to force this on himself any sooner than necessary.
The person was drawing nearer and suddenly stopped. Then he could hear someone coming strait to his location. Then the person knelt down beside him.
"John?"
He knew that voice. Not one of the soldiers. But obviously one of the X-Men. He had seen her with them. Kitty Pryde. The girl who could walk through walls. And had been in his classes once. Nearly a lifetime or just one year or so ago.
He opened his eyes to look at her. There was no emotion on her face as she looked down on him. No delight in seeing him down, no worried look for her ex-classmate, nothing. But then again, they did not knew each other too well.
"Kitty." He acknowledged her.
Then he let his eyes close again in exhaustion. What would come would come. At least she would care enough to get some help for him. She was that type, like the rest of the X-Men.
Suddenly he could feel her hand on his forehead. In surprise he opened his eyes. But she was already on the move. Leaving him again. He watched her for a moment, then closed his eyes.
He shifted in and out of consciousness for a while and then there was her voice again. She talked to someone beside her.
"Bobby, we have to get him out of here."
"Kitty, why should we do this?"
"He was your friend, too."
After that there was a moment of silence. Then he could feel her phasing him out of his position. It was a strange feeling, going through the material. Nothing he liked getting used to. Then he was picked up and carried away. He was too out of it to put up any resistance.
Suddenly Bobby stopped.
"Who are you carrying away? This is one of the Brotherhood."
That had to be one of the soldiers. They would cure him now. If he only had his fire to defend him! He could feel it at some distance but could not grasp for it. John waited for Bobby to lay him down.
"No, he needs medical attention, don´t you see that?" Her voice again.
"This is a terrorist. He will get to the doctors, when we decide that it is time."
He could hear her taking a deep breath, no doubt to calm herself down. But then there was another voice.
"We take care of our own. Go, see to the others." That must be the Wolverine. And maybe the soldier had sensed the danger he was suddenly in and let them pass, because Bobby began to walk again.
"The plane is destroyed. We need an ambulance and Dr. McCoy."
The sirens were coming nearer and suddenly he was lain down on something soft like a stretcher of an ambulance. Then he was out of it again. The sound of voices had died down to some murmur in the distance.
Then a doctor came into the ambulance. A blue looking, very hairy guy. John could remember seeing him fight with the X-Men, too. The guy examined him and that caused more pain.
Then there was a needle in his arm and the pain ebbed away.
Just before he fell into sleep he opened up his eyes again and could see the face of Kitty Pryde. This time she really looked worried.
"Logan, why did you bring him here?"
"We take care of our own."
"Logan, you know this is dangerous. And if the government finds out we have him, they will come for him. Think of the students. Without the professor..."
"Ororo, look at him, do you really want to throw him out?"
John heard them talking for a while now, fighting for consciousness. It was like walking through clouds of cotton candy. Or maybe a little like phasing with Kitty. He never seemed to reach the surface on his own.
"How is he, Hank?"
"Oh, he lost a lot of blood where the beam went into his leg and broke it, but we have managed to counter that. He has a strong concussion from his fight with Bobby and his chest was hurt from the falling rocks and the debris. No internal organs are compromised. And his hands are healing well from the frosting. All in all, he was lucky to survive the rising of the Phoenix..."
There was a pause after that.
"When can we talk to him?"
"I have dosed down the pain medication. I think he will be coming around in the next hour."
"Call me, when he is awake, yes?"
"Of cause."
John heard the whooshing sound of a door, then there was silence again. He was still in this dreamlike state but the fog was lifting slowly. He tried to move his arms, but somehow that did not seem to work. And he was lying on something soft. He opened his eyes, just to close them again in the next second. The light was so bright, it hurt his eyes.
The next time he tried to look at his surroundings he opened them just so slightly.
He was in a room which was obviously used for medical purposes. But all around him there were also just walls of metal. No windows, just one door. He was trapped.
"Hello young one, you are waking up!"
John looked in the direction of the friendly voice. There he stood. Your everyday friendly blue monster. No, that was unfair. The mutant in front of him had fought extremely well, sadly on the side of the X-Men.
He tried to move his hands to touch his face, but again with no such luck. So he looked down to them. What he found made him panic. He was tied down with restraints. What were they going to do with him! He pulled and pulled at the restrains until his wrists hurt badly, but still he could not get away. Then there were blue hands on his shoulders, holding him down.
"Calm down, calm down, young one. You only hurt yourself. Nobody is going to hurt you."
As if he could promise something like that! He tried to struggle away, but in the end his strength depleted. Still shivering he led himself be held down.
"What are you doing do me?" His voice sounded cracked, not being used for some time.
"Nothing, just tending to your injuries."
"While restraining my hands?"
The doctor had the decency to look ashamed, but made no move to letting his hands go.
"So how do you feel?"
John did not answer him, just stared onto the wall. He was obviously a prisoner of the X-Men and why should he talk to them?
The blue mutant sighed. After a few moments he went to a phone.
"Ororo, he is awake."
Then the doctor begun to roam around in the room. Waiting for some reinforcement. Which came in form of the Wolverine. He came into the room, nodded to the doctor who left in turn, grabbed himself a chair and sat down at Johns bed.
"Hi kid." Logan said, smiling wide while having a cigar in his mouth. Which unfortunately was not lit. That would have been nice.
"Storm his coming shortly. She is just a bit busy talking to some worried parents. And then you should be on your best behaviour to make her happy."
John could not help it, he had to react to this.
"Why would I do that?"
Logans grin widened. Then he answered:
"So she lets you stay here. As our resident big bad boy."
John gaped a little, before coming to his wits again."Why would I want to stay here?"
"Because.." Another, wider grin. The bastard was enjoying this. "Because, where would you want to go? We cured Magneto, you know. And with him and Mystique gone, what will become of the Brotherhood? What is still left of it after Alcatraz... "
Magneto cured.
John was shocked. And not only at his own situation. What would become of the old man? He had lived only for the cause. The cause he had so absolutely believed in. He had even left Mystique, the friend of a lifetime, after she was no mutant any more. What would Magneto do?
"Of cause, there is still the government. They are searching for you, you know? The right hand man of Magneto. I´m sure it will be a nice time in prison. I heart they build one exclusively for mutants."
Logan was chewing on his cigar, looking lost in some thought.
But John did not mind. He was lost in his own thoughts of the Brotherhood, the government and the cure.
"Mh, maybe you could live out on the streets. With your face and the government hunting for you, you would not get any decent jobs, if you get any job at all. Living alone and rough on the street..." Logans smile had faded. "I do not think you would make it for long, kid. Not in your condition."
Then as if a switch had been turned on, he smiled again, stood up and put the chair away.
"I will leave you to your thoughts and go looking for the lady who manages this place now. Until she is here, make up your mind about the way you want it to go. And than hope, that she sees reason."
And than he was gone and John was left alone.
His thoughts were racing. What should he do?
Should he be begging to be allowed to stay here? John Allerdiyce had never begged before. Or should he pray that they at least would just let him leave and not just give him up to the government? That would be so much easier for them. So convenient for everybody else but him. He did not like the thought of living on the streets. He had done it before as a kid. He could do it again, but at what costs?
He heard footsteps coming down the corridor.
Now it was time to make up his mind. And pray that they would play along.