On a side note, I changed the main character's name (which I had originally created, not realizing that Callisto was already a character name, but I made this late, so you couldn't expect me to remember that) from Kallisto (which actually meant 'strong mind,' I think) to Janan, which I think means heart. I apologize if this caused any confusion—and a thanks to coup fatal for pointing this out.

Puppet Strings

August 16, 2007

Chapter 1: Prologue:: Seize Control

There he is again, sitting alone by under that tree. And there she was, sitting with her doll on the swings watching him—waiting for something to happen, for the last time.

This was something she had always done; waiting for that boy to do something amazing. He wasn't like other boys she knew; he was quiet, he didn't like talking to other people. She herself never tried talking to him, but instead, watched him from afar, or rather, admired him. Unlike other boys, he had a special gift, one she thought was spectacular, and each day for the past couple weeks, she would sit on this very swing to see his gift. Unfortunately, she was to move tomorrow, so she was very hopeful about this last time; this time, she would talk to him.

She doubted he had ever noticed her; she doubted he ever noticed anybody, he liked to be alone. However, she first noticed him a couple of weeks ago when she was walking home from the park one afternoon; she had to admit, she had known about the boy before, but took no notice. Until then; that's when she saw it, and each time afterwards, it never ceased to amaze her.

And finally, it happened.

The boy pulled out a lighter, and though she could not see the small flame from the lighter, it did not matter, for he performed an amazing feat. With his own power—his gift, he cause the flames to grow, but it wasn't frightening, it was amazing. The flames danced around, and he manipulated it in such a way that it took on different forms. A fox prancing around, swirling orbs that spun around, a phoenix, and her favorite, a dragon. All of which were entrancing. From the swings, she could see the smile on the boy's face, a smile that no one else could have brought upon the boy, and this, made her smile too.

"There he is! I told you guys he was a mutant!" Both of their smiles vanished upon hearing this.

The girl turned to see three boys walking towards the boy, to confront him; they surrounded him, their intentions were clear. They wanted to hurt him…

A mutant they called him. He was a person like anybody else; the only difference was he had a gift none of them possessed, as did others like him. To treat those like him in such a way that they were no better than dirt was horrible, though unheard of; there were many…mutants in the world, all with their own powers. No…not powers, gifts. And those boys had no right to discriminate him for that.

Without thinking, the girl ran towards them as two of them grabbed him while one punched him. Her first action was to stop the boy who was punching, but he was older than her, and stronger. Somehow, in an attempt to push him aside, she shoved him to the ground, leaving him dazed. Meanwhile the boy just stood there angry, but still silent.

With great frustration, she shouted, "Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!"

One of the kids holding the boy let go of him, but instead went after her, "Hey kid, mind your own business! We're going to teach this mutant a lesson, and if you're going to mess with us, then you're going to get hurt too!" And with that, he grabbed her doll away and pushed her to the ground as well, only to leave her crying.

Behind her, she turned to see the boy she shoved getting up, with a cut on his face; at first, she became afraid that he might hit her, but instead, he hit the boy again, only harder. A feeling came over her, she looked at the boy, his expression was cold, yet, still angry with scorn. This made her angry. She wanted them to know what kind of pain they were inflicting, she wanted to know how they made others suffer.

Suddenly, the boy lunged forward, as if losing his balance and tackled the boy who had taken her doll. Surprisingly, the boy got up again, but this time he swung his fist, only to hit the other bully holding the boy and knocking him to the ground. Though confused, somehow, it seemed right to her at the moment.

One shouted, "What are you doing? Stop!" But he didn't, he kept punching.

He said, "I don't know what's happening! I can't control my body!"

"How is that even—wait! It's her! She's a mutant too!" What? Her? A mutant?

Seeing the three bullies distracted, the boy took this chance and pulled out his lighter; the small flame, which she used to see grow into some magnificent, erupted into monstrous flames the scorched the three other boys. The intense heat made the girl close her eyes, but she heard shouts and screams, then the sound of running, then she heard nothing.

"Here." Opening her eyes, she saw that the three bullies were gone, and the boy was looking down at her, holding her doll out.

As she looked into his eyes, she noticed something she never would've noticed watching from afar. His eyes seemed…cold. However hot the flames he controlled were, his eyes remained icy, though brown; seeing them made her sad, for some reason. Having only ever seen him from afar, she had never noticed this. Then she realized, she was just like him; what happened to those boys was her doing, she too, was gifted..

Suddenly, he turned his back and began to walk away.

"Wait! What's your name? My name is Janan!" She called out, nearly forgetting that she promised herself that she would talk to him.

This was her last chance.

He suddenly stopped, but he didn't turn around. "My name is…Pyro." And with that, he continued walking once more, but she didn't stop him this time; she'd accomplished what she had wanted to do, but gained much more.