Far Away

The Future

Two dark figures stealthily crept along the outside perimeter of the compound. The one in the lead suddenly stopped and held up a fist in warning. His companion stopped moving too, and hurriedly reached out to touch him. Both of them stayed rooted in place as a harsh spotlight passed over them. For several seconds, they were caught in the very middle of its unforgiving glare. But, strangely, no alarm was sounded and the light moved on. The leader then turned to the other one and gestured to the electrically-fortified wall. He held out a gloved hand and his companion grasped it firmly. Together they stepped closer to the wall, and walked right through it, silent as ghosts.

Once they were inside, the other one took the lead. He navigated their way past several boxy buildings, carefully avoiding being spotted by random patrols of heavily-armed men, until they reached the biggest structure within the compound. There were two guards stationed at its entrance. He looked at the leader. The leader nodded though the other one hadn't said a word, and watched as he stepped out of the shadows that had been concealing them. Then he disappeared from sight.

The two guards were swiftly knocked out by an invisible force. The leader, the one who could walk through walls, then came out of hiding and together with his companion, the invisible one, entered the building. No one appeared to stop them as they headed for the lower levels. They found themselves in a long corridor lined with steel doors. There were numbers painted on each door, and they stopped in front of the one that was marked E-811. Holding each other's hand again, they walked through the door.

The door led to a small cell. There was a man sitting in a corner of the cell, and he looked up at the two intruders as they came nearer. When he spoke, his voice sounded raspy from disuse. "Didn't we agree," he said, "that there wouldn't be any crazy rescue attempts?"

The two intruders then took off the masks that covered their faces. The leader turned out to be a woman while her companion was a young man barely in his teens. "I'm glad to see you, too," she said. She knelt before the prisoner and kissed him on the forehead. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she was smiling. "You look like hell. Oh, John, what did they do to you?"

John Allerdyce, the mutant also known as Pyro, gave her a crooked grin and brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her left eye. "I got the star treatment," he told her. "But I feel better now." He slowly got to his feet and nodded gratefully at the young man who quickly came to his side to help him. "Hey, Frankie," he greeted. "This crazy woman managed to talk you into doing this?"

Franklin Richards shrugged. "You know she's hard to resist, man," he remarked.

"Hey, you volunteered for the mission," she reminded him. "You wanted to come along." She used her mutant ability to phase through matter to take off the mechanical collar around Pyro's neck. She threw the device away with a look of distaste on her face.

John smiled at her. "Thank you for rescuing me, Kate Pryde," he said, then added, "though this is probably the stupidest, most reckless thing you've ever done and I'm going to bust your ass about it as soon as we get out of here."

She smirked at him. "You might need these then." She handed him two igniters that were identical to the ones his captors had taken away from him before they threw him into this cell. "I got Forge to make you new ones." She helped him strap the little flamethrowers to his wrists. "Now come on. Let's get moving before they find out we're―" a piercing alarm shattered the quiet, "―here."

With two quick flicks, a stream of fire erupted from each of his igniters. Pyro looked grim. "I'm good to go," he said.

Kate and Franklin nodded at each other. "Plan B," they both said at the same time.

"What's Plan―?" John never got to finish the question. Kate grabbed him and phased them both through the ground as Franklin blew the entire place to hell.

oOo

He knew for a fact that there wouldn't be a welcome party for him once they got back to the tunnels that served as the rebellion's base, but the cold glares that were thrown his way still rankled nevertheless. In the eyes of the few surviving mutants living in a world where their kind were hunted down like animals, he was the devil's accomplice who had helped cause all of their suffering. Though he met their gazes defiantly, his guilt ate at him from within. For he knew that he deserved every bit of their hatred and contempt, and more.

Kate kept a firm grasp on his right arm as they walked past the other rebels. It was her way of letting everyone know that if they wanted a piece of him, then they would have to go through her first. She was leading him to their quarters when their way was blocked by a mutant.

"Wolverine wants to see the three of you," the mutant told them.

Franklin, who had been trailing behind Kate and Pyro, groaned. Kate frowned. "Can't this wait, Jubes?" she asked, sounding vaguely annoyed.

"He wants to see you now," Jubilee said firmly

Suppressing a sigh, Kate turned to Pyro. "I'll go talk to him. I'll tell him you need to rest first, then you'll see him."

"No." He sighed and shook his head. "Might as well get it over with."

The three of them then followed Jubilee to Wolverine's quarters. The leader of the rebellion scowled when he saw them. "Go," he ordered Jubilee and she left. "So, what excuse do you have for this?" he demanded of the three younger mutants. From the expression on his face, they could clearly see that he was restraining himself from tearing their heads off.

Kate spoke in their defense. "I convinced Franklin to help me rescue John," she told Wolverine. "I know that I went against your orders and I know that what I did would only make the Sentinels hunt us down more rabidly than ever, but you know that there was no way you could have possibly stopped me from trying to get him back. And you may not like to admit it, but the fact is that John happens to be one of the best soldiers we have and the rebellion needs him alive."

Wolverine stared at her. "You're a fool," he said to Kate after several minutes of astonished silence. "He's not worth it." Then he glowered at Franklin. "And you're a little idiot who should have known better than to go along with this. Go! I want you morons out of my sight!"

A very audible sigh of relief came from Franklin Richards. The three of them turned to leave. "Pyro," Wolverine's voice stopped them on their way to the door. John faced the older mutant. "Next time you get caught by one of those goddamned Sentinels," Wolverine said, "make sure that they kill you right away. I don't want any of my people risking their lives to save worthless scum like you ever again."

He didn't reply. He merely followed Kate out of the door. They parted ways with Franklin and headed for their quarters.

Kate fumbled in the dark for some candles and John lit them. As she set the candles in little tin cups and arranged them around the room, he looked around the place that had been their home for the past few years. It was ragged and smelly, and he was so sick of it that he wanted to burn it to ashes. But, as he watched Kate moving in the squalid little space, he knew that there was nowhere else he would rather be. However, the fact that she had to stay in the sewers when she deserved so much better than the fate that life had dealt her made him want to rage and weep. Because it was his fault, of course. All of it was his fault.

"Can you help me heat up some water?" she asked him. He complied and, soon, she was busy fussing over him as she cleaned the wounds he had sustained during his time as a guest of the Sentinels. "I really hope these don't get infected," she said with a grimace. "We're running low on meds. We have to go on another run soon."

Without a word, he suddenly grabbed her hands. Reverently, he kissed her palms, her wrists, then he kissed the base of her throat, her neck, and, finally, he kissed her mouth. The kiss lasted for a long, sweet time. When he tasted the salt of her tears, he gently pulled away and stared at her face.

"I love you, John," she said.

He closed his eyes. It was a miracle. It was amazing that in a world that had gone insane, this beautiful fragile thing, this precious gift, still existed. And he realized, with a bitter pang, that he had no right to lay claim to it. He didn't deserve such a grace. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. She looked nervous as she waited for his reaction to her words.

"You can take it back, you know," he told her, hating himself for what he was saying. "I won't mind."

Her expression became shuttered. "Why?" she asked, her voice carefully emotionless. "You think I don't mean it?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's just that, I mean, if things didn't work out, you might regret saying it. Then it's okay if you want to take it back."

She looked away from him. "Things have been working just fine for the past two years," she said. "Why can't you just―?" She sighed. "Forget it. It's okay." She turned her back on him. "You should get some rest." She stood up.

"Where are you going?" he wondered.

"I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight. I'm gonna go on watch."

"Kate, come on," he called after her. "Kate! Kitty, please!"

She glanced back at him. "It's okay, John. Really," she assured him. "I was actually expecting it." Then she was gone.

John cursed himself for being a fool. He had hurt her. She had offered him something infinitely priceless and he had thrown it back in her face. He had always known that she was too good for him, and this new example of callousness had confirmed it once more. He thought about going after her and apologizing for his stupidity. But a bone-deep tiredness had crept upon him while he was castigating himself for his behavior. He just needed to rest for a while and then he would talk to Kate again. He would tell her that he was sorry and that she meant more to him than he could ever say. But, for now, he would rest.

He slept.

oOo

The sounds of explosions and screams woke him up. He threw on some clothes and strapped his igniters to his wrists within minutes. Total chaos greeted him out in the tunnels. He grabbed a mutant rushing past him and demanded, "What the hell is going on?"

"Sentinels!" the mutant shouted in panic. "They're attacking us!" He then pushed John out of his way and fled.

John's first thought was that he had to find Kate and get her out of here. But he had no idea where she was. He started to run through the tunnels, shouting out her name and hoping that she would hear him. "Kate! Kate!"

"Pyro!" He turned to see Franklin running towards him. The young mutant looked frightened. It suddenly struck John that Franklin was actually little more than a boy. He was one of the most powerful mutants John had ever met, but he was also an orphan who had been forced to grow up fast by the harshness of their existence. "Franklin!" John shouted. "Do you know where Kate is? Can you find Kate?"

Franklin concentrated and performed a quick telepathic scan of the tunnels. "She's with Wolverine!" he reported. "They're fighting the Sentinels above us, in the old subway!"

"Let's go!" John took the lead, with Franklin only a step behind him. They hadn't gone far when an enormous robotic fist suddenly punched through the ceiling and barred their way. The fist was then withdrawn and a Sentinel peered down at the two of them. "Fuck!" John swore and immediately unleashed a blast of fire at the machine. Dimly, he heard his companion yell out a battlecry and a burst of raw telekinetic power sliced the Sentinel's head clean off its body. "Come on!" Franklin screamed and they continued on their way.

When they arrived at the subway, they saw that Wolverine and the other mutants fighting alongside him were being beaten back by the sheer number of the invading Sentinels. It was a lost battle and, when Wolverine realized it, he gave the order to retreat. John, though, only cared about finding Kate. "Jubilee! Where's Kate?" he asked the first mutant whose attention he was able to catch.

"I saw her fighting over there!" Jubilee pointed somewhere to her right.

He saw her then.

But she wasn't fighting, not anymore. She was simply lying on the ground, broken. The whole world faded away as John went to her side. "Kate?" He said her name in a whisper. "Kitty?" He took her into his arms. "Kate, you can't do this," he begged her. "You have to come back. You have to stay. Stay with me." But she didn't stir.

"John!" The world came rushing back when Franklin suddenly grabbed him. "John, we have to go! Pyro, come on!"

He refused to let her go. He held on to her so tightly that Franklin finally had to use his powers so John would release Kate's body. He went crazy then. He tried to strangle Franklin, screaming incoherently all the while. The other mutant then punched him. That seemed to make him come to his senses. Franklin looked at him with sympathy. "John, we have to go," he repeated. He allowed his friend to pull him up to his feet. It was the last thing he remembered clearly because the next few days were a meaningless blur. He knew that they had managed to escape from the Sentinels somehow and that Wolverine had led them to another temporary refuge. But the only thing that was real to him was the memory of her face, dead and still.

Franklin took care of him, forced him to eat, kept him from completely wasting away. Jubilee came to see him just once. She didn't say a word. She just struck him as hard as she could and stared at him with loathing. Wolverine, though, didn't even bother to take the time to kill him. As far as the old mutant was concerned, Pyro was too contemptible to be worth the effort.

"John? Are you listening to me?"

Franklin had been talking, telling him something, but he hadn't heard a word. He had no idea how long the other mutant had been standing before him trying to get his attention. "I think there's a way to fix this," Franklin said. "I think there's a way to get her back."

That sunk in enough for him to look at the young man. "What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely.

"I've been―experimenting. There's something that I found out I could do a while ago, but I haven't told anyone about it because I'm not very good at it yet. And they'd probably think that I'm insane. But it's real. It works. At least, I think so." Franklin fidgeted nervously as he told John about the new ability he had developed.

"You can send your mind back in time?" John said. He wanted to be sure that he had understood correctly.

"Yeah," Franklin hesitantly admitted. "I was there, you know. When Magneto attacked Washington and started this whole thing. I was with my mom. She told me to wait in a room for her when the explosions started, and I just waited and waited. But she never came back. And I've been trying all this time to see if I could somehow get back to that time so I could keep her with me."

"I'll kill you if you're fucking with me," John told him. He felt sorry for what the kid had experienced, yet another thing he had to be guilty about, but if he was lying about this―

"I'm not! I swear I can do it! I just have to keep practicing, like you taught me, so I can use the ability better. So far I've only been able to go back a day."

"Can you send someone else back? Like me?" He suddenly grabbed Franklin as his eyes filled with a crazed hope.

"I don't know! I've never tried it!" Franklin now looked like he regretted telling John about his newfound power.

"You have to try it! You have to make it work! Send me back!" John shouted.

"I'll do what I can," Franklin promised. He looked at John with pity. "I'll help you save Kate. I'll send you back before she dies."

"No." He shook his head. "Before that. Long before. Send me back to stop all of this from ever happening."