A/N: I am not really an X-men fan, so i don't really want to hear about inconsistancies between my fic and the comic books/movies. I wrote this because Pyro rocks:smiles: review, but please no flames. :puppy dog eyes:
Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters
Claimer: accept Jaden :smiles:
Warnings: fluff, waff, sensuality, all the fun cutesy stuff, and a little angst
ENJOY!
Fighting Fire with Fire
"So you are Firestarter?" an aging man in a wheelchair asked from his place behind a desk.
"Jaden, sir, I'd rather not be…"
"Child, you don't have to be ashamed of your powers."
Jaden snorted.
"Why don't you show us what you can do, why they call you Firestarter."
At the mention of "us" she looked up. There were several people in the room. A woman with snow white hair, yet that looked no older than twenty-five. An intimidating man with an unkempt beard. A blank-faced man wearing sun glasses. A kindly woman in a white lab coat with reddish hair. Nice of Professor Xavier to give her an audience.
"I can't put it out…" she protested, "I can't control it."
"That's okay," he assured.
Jaden sighed. "Whatever. It's your building, I guess."
Her dark eyes flashed an eerie orange color and the air not a foot in front of her face lit fire. It started as a small plume, then it slowly spread, no longer within Jaden's control.
A bucket of water, absently tossed by the man in the sunglasses, put it out
"Storm, would you take Jaden to her room."
As Storm left, a sulking Jaden in tow, Xavier turned to Dr. Grey. "Any ideas?"
Logan spoke. "There's always Pyro."
Three sets of eyes glared at him, but Dr. Grey's glare faded into realization. "Maybe it'll keep him in line, if we give him Jaden to baby-sit."
oOXOo
Jaden had been in her room not even an hour when someone knocked. She sighed deeply and trudged her way to the door, opening it after a moment of hesitation. "I'm still here, I can't get out the damn windows," she explained as she opened the door.
Neither Professor Xavier nor Dr. Grey stood there. Instead the gruff man from the office with the mess of facial hair stood in the doorway, peculiar grin on his face. Jaden flinched and started to back into the room, when Logan stepped aside to show that he had a companion with him.
"Jaden, this is St. John. St. John, this is Jaden." He gestured accordingly. "He's going to help you find your way around the school." With that, Logan left the two teens to stare at each other.
Jaden was debating closing the door. Her guide didn't exactly look thrilled to be here, and honestly, she didn't want anyone's help.
Pyro was debating what do with the girl. She was small. Really small, he corrected himself. He cocked his head to one side and studied her closely. She wasn't timid so much as she was very guarded, but her submissive manner made her come across that way, he decided.
"Hey," he offered, before she could close the door. He watched her try to duck behind it and close it slowly. "You hungry?"
"I… I guess." She slipped out of the room, closing her door quietly behind her.
Whatever bit of spunk had lead her to be callous with Logan was gone, he noted, and this very timid creature stood in its place.
"So what's your real name?" he asked, as they made their way down the hall.
"Huh?" She looked up from her feet to meet his eyes.
"Your real name, like mine's Pyro, not St. John."
"Oh…" she trailed a moment. "It's Firestarter, I guess. But I prefer, Jaden really."
"Why?" he seemed truly confused by this.
"Just… because, okay?" Her eyes dimmed, and she stared at her feet again. There was an awkward moment of silence as they continued to walk. "Why do they call you Pyro?" she asked shyly.
He grinned and flicked open a lighter.
Jaden stared at the flame intently. "So…?"
St. John grinned. Jaden had slipped up, a little spark of energy shown through in that one word. "Just watch."
The little flame lifted off the lighter and St. John flicked it closed. He lifted his hand, twirling his fingers around and the little tongue of fire followed their movement.
He hadn't even done anything particularly showy, but Jaden was staring in rapt fascination at the little flame. "You can control it," she breathed out in awe.
The little flame died away, and St. John gave her a look of confusion. Jaden jumped when the little flame went out, and realization hit her.
"They just think I need a babysitter…" her voice trailed, then she turned away from St. John. "I… I think I still have some unpacking to do in my room. I'll eat later."
St. John watched her leave, now more confused than before, and then stomped his way to the teacher's offices, specifically Jean Grey's office, to demand an explanation for whatever was going on.
Dr. Jean Grey jumped when her office door was flung open.
"I wasn't just some random pick to watch Jaden was I?"
He was irate, much to Dr. Grey's confusion. "No, not really," she answered carefully.
"Why was I?"
"Why do you ask?"
St. John looked like he wanted to ignite every object in her office. "Because she called me a babysitter like it ruined her day and walked off."
"Oh."
"So, you care to tell me what's going on?"
"Her name is Firestarter."
"So she told me."
"And that's exactly what she is. She can light anything flammable on fire, but once it's lit, it's out of her control. She can't make it spread faster or slower or any particular direction, and she can't put it out. Thus it was necessary for someone who could put a fire out to watch her."
St. John was glaring at her. "Thanks for telling me," he snarled sarcastically and left.
oOXOo
Jaden was curled up on her bed, face buried in her knees, tears leaking from her eyes. "No one trusts me. Not even here, where they say it's okay to be a mutant. How stupid."
A knock on the door interrupted her sulking. "Jaden," a voice called from outside, "Can I come in?"
It was Pyro. His voice was gentle, not overly so, but enough that she knew whatever his intentions were, they were genuine. She wiped her hand across her eyes, smearing her makeup further than the tears had, but she didn't care, and walked over to the door.
Pyro heard the lock unclick and carefully pushed the door open. Jaden was rather disheveled, but other than her mussed hair and runny makeup, she seemed perfectly composed. "Hey," she offered tentatively.
"Hey," he greeted in response. "I was going to take you to dinner now, if that's alright."
"Oh… uh… just let me get ready." She stepped back so he could step in and closed the door behind him before disappearing into the bathroom.
Five minutes of shuffling and rustling later, Jaden re-emerged, hair brushed and makeup flawless.
"Shall we?" he offered her his arm, teasingly, grinning at her.
Jaden flushed and looked away, but much to St. John's surprise, she rested her hand on the inside of his elbow. He started at the coldness of her touch.
She jerked away. "I'm sorry…"
Before she could speak, St. John had taken her hands in his and rubbed them gently. "Why the hell are you so cold? I thought you were Firestarter."
She flushed. "I don't know… I just know the colder I am, the easier it is to light other things on fire." She was staring at her hands, or more accurately his hands, being as they covered hers completely.
"Huh…" was St. John's only acknowledgment to this before replacing her hand on this inside of his elbow and leading her to the cafeteria.
She slunk behind him shyly when they entered the teenager filled room.
He noted this and guided her carefully through the masses of people until he reached a table.
Jaden peered around him. Two teenagers sat there. A boy with bright blue eyes and short blonde hair and a girl, whom he had his arm around, with long brown hair with a peculiar stripe through it.
"Jaden, this is Rogue and that's Iceman," he introduced.
Jaden had placed both hands on his arm by now and was reluctant to relinquish him with all the other strange looking – or acting – teens in the cafeteria. She peered at the two at the table. They seemed pleasant enough, she supposed as she sat down.
"I'm going to get food," he told her, leaning over the table. "You stay here."
"Hi," the boy extended a hand to her. "I'm Bobby."
She hesitantly took it. It was cold, and tiny crystal streams of ice grew out from it and wrapped around her wrist and arm. Cold, was all her mind registered, so cold. Her eyes rolled back. She vaguely heard a female voice snicker and reprimand her companion, before her reprimand turned to a shout. The hand was yanked away from hers, but it was too late. The table they sat at erupted in flames, and Jaden curled up in the chair absorbing the warmth of the blaze. Someone yanked her away from the table, and she recognized the sent of singed clothing coming off her jeans. The table went out, and a blackened outline of a table stood in its place.
St. John held the slowly coming-to figure of Jaden against his chest. She starts fires because she's cold, he realized.
"Shit," Bobby rushed around the remains of the table. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know…"
"No! I… it was my fault!" Jaden stammered, eyes darting frantically around the cafeteria. "No one's hurt, right?" She jerked out of St. John's arms, and immediately felt a chill run through her. "I… I'm going back to my room!" She turned and darted out of the cafeteria, wriggling in between still staring students.
"Jaden!" St. John let his voice trail. This was the second time she'd just left like that. He cursed inwardly. There was a person underneath that timid shell, there really was. He'd seen her slip out in a word here or a phrase there. And for whatever it bothered him that he couldn't get Jaden to hold still long enough for that person to come out.
With Jaden gone and the flames easily extinguished, the regular activity of the cafeteria resumed and Rogue, Bobby, and St. John sat down at the charred, but still in tact table.
"What the hell was that?" Bobby asked.
"Her actual name is Firestarter."
"So she's like you?" Rogue asked.
St. John shook his head. "She lights them and that's the end of her control. She can't control it and she sure as hell can't put it out."
"So you're babysitting?" Bobby inquired.
St. John glared at him. "Yeah."
"Why'd she set the table on fire?" Rogue asked, peeling a layer of charred paint off the table absently.
St. John shrugged. "I don't know. She told me that it was easiest for her to start fires when she was cold. Maybe she loses control when she gets too cold." He shrugged again.
St. John was too quiet as they ate, Rogue noticed. There was no playful banter between him and Bobby and no lighter tricks.
"You're worried about her." It was a statement, not a question, startling both St. John and Bobby.
"Yeah…" he trailed, "So what if I am?"
"It's cute," she grinned at him.
"Interbreeding between fire mutants!" Bobby declared.
Rogue shook her head.
oOXOo
"Jaden," St. John called through the door.
No answer.
He knocked. "Jaden!"
Nothing.
He reached for the doorknob and found it unlocked, so he pushed it open. The room was frigid.
Jaden sat in the middle of her bed wrapped in at least the large comforter and probably several layers of sheets.
"You should really turn the heat on in here," he informed.
"Damn thing is broken," she answered with a half-hearted grin.
A little bit of the person…
He studied the heater hanging in the short entryway. It was turned as far toward heat as it would go. He fidgeted with it for a moment before caving.
"So why are you hear?" she asked quietly.
And there went the little bit of person…
"Wanted to make sure you were okay. I am your guide, no?"
"Oh," was her answer. "Well, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"You don't look fine," he told her, sitting on the bed beside her.
She started. She hadn't realized that he was that close.
"You look cold, and when your cold you lose control. Your body in a desperate need for warmth sets things on fire, doesn't it?"
"Yes," the answer was a bare whisper. She was trembling beneath her blankets.
St. John looked at her. "You don't look so good."
She shook her head. "Just cold. I'm fine."
"In your case, I'm not sure cold is fine," he said lightly.
She just looked at him.
"We should go outside. It's nice out."
"Uh uh," she shook her head. "I can't."
"Huh?"
"Something is going to get lit on fire if I take these blankets off," she answered.
"I'll put it out."
"Not risking it," she answered. "It's too cold."
St. John thought about this for a second, then tackled Jaden to the bed.
Jaden screamed.
St. John clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shh! I'm right here! You're not going to get colder with me of all people laying on top of you!"
She turned her head out from under his hand. "You could've told me that before you attacked me," she muttered, flush spreading quickly across her nose.
"Sorry," he told her with a smile. Yeah, the person underneath that shell was his. He slid his hands in between the folds of her blankets until he found the slim figure beneath and wrapped his arms around her, hoisting her out of the blankets and off the bed in one motion. "See, nothing happened," he assured her with a grin.
Jaden didn't look like she was quite sure she believed him. Her arms were pulled tightly against her chest and she was pressed against him as close as she possibly could. He ran one hand lightly down her back.
"You okay?"
She straightened immediately when he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." She flashed him a smile that looked forced. But at least she could smile. That was a plus, he supposed.
"So… uh… where we going?" she asked, timid again as she followed him out of the dormitory halls.
"Just out back. I want to try something."
"What?"
"Just wait." He winked at her.
Wide, timid eyes stared back at him in confusion, but Jaden followed him all the same.
It was just an open field covered in grass, completely empty, surrounded by the same dark fur trees that surrounded the rest of the school.
"There's nothing here…"
"Not yet," St. John reached into his back pocket for his lighter. It was only for theatrics; he knew the lighter wasn't there. "Crap! I left my lighter in my room." He realized instantly that had she known him better, she'd have realized his act right then. Pyro never went anywhere without his lighter.
"Uh… we could go back and get it…" Jaden tried, knowing suddenly where this was going but not liking it.
"Nah. It'd take too long. You can light fire, right?"
"No! I can't control it! Someone'll get hurt! Something'll get burned to the ground! Anything…"
St. John pressed two fingers to her protesting mouth. "That's why I'm here," he soothed. "It's not like you're lighting the whole damn forest on fire. Just a little tongue of fire in the palm of your hand. Something I can use."
She was looking at him – glaring at him really – with dark eyes full of skepticism. More personality, he noted. "I could do so much damage…" she started sadly.
"Nah, I'm right here. Have some confidence in your tour guide." He flashed a large cocky grin at her.
"I… I'm…"
He took both her hands in his and sat, tugging her down with him. He scooted around behind her so she sat cross-legged in between his knees then reached around her and took her hands again.
"Nothing can go wrong," he reassured again, resting his chin on her shoulder.
She glared at him again, then stared back at her palms. Her eyes took on the odd orange glow and the tongue of fire lit instantly in her palms.
But it didn't spread into a raging plume as it had tried to do in Professor Xavier's office.
St. John's face was contorted in concentration behind her, and she stared at him as best she could from her place in front of him. He opened his eyes one at a time. The plume was contained in his and Jaden's palms. "See, everything is fine."
She snorted and started to speak, but then the little tongue of fire started to expand slowly and mold into a figure.
Again, Jaden watched St. John as intently as she could from her place in front of him. His figures were twitching constantly and his eyebrows were knitted together in frustration. It took him nearly ten minutes before his face relaxed again. He smiled at Jaden, whose neck was craned around so she could watch his face. "Well, you going to look?" he asked.
He'd startled her, he assumed by the way that she jumped when he spoke. "Oh," she breathed out, "It's beautiful."
St. John liked the reaction, and smiled lazily as Jaden reached out and traced the flaming rose petals with her fingertips. "It's amazing," she whispered, as though raising her voice would shatter the precious sculpture. "You're amazing. You're so talented. God, I wish I could control it like that." She ran her fingers longingly from the rose petals to the end of the stem, avoiding the carefully carved thorns even though they couldn't actually hurt her.
"I wish I could touch it like that," he admitted, watching her stroke his creation like it was cool marble and not flame.
"You… you can't?" she seemed startled by this and immediately stopped her admiring of the rose to try and look at him again.
"Uh uh. I'll burn like anyone else."
"Huh." That was the only reaction he got.
She turned back and the rose was gone. "Hey!" she blurted. "Where'd it go?"
St. John snickered. "I can't keep it up like that forever. If you want another one, you're going to have to give me more fire."
Her eyes widened in realization, and she punched his shoulder as best she could. "You forgot your lighter on purpose! You just wanted me… Why?" she asked without finishing her original thought.
"Break you out of that stupid shell. Damn you were timid when you got here this morning, and then it pissed me off that Dr. Grey and Professor Xavier didn't trust you. I just had to do SOMETHING."
"Huh," he received another non-committal reply. "Thank you, then."
They sat unmoving for a little while longer before Jaden spoke again. "Why a rose?" she asked.
St. John leaned back on his hands and shrugged. "Dunno."
"Oh," Jaden trailed sadly.
Immediately realizing he mistake, St. John wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I didn't mean it like that…"
He didn't get to finish, before a quick kiss to his cheek silenced him. After he got over his brief moment of shock, he tightened his arms around her enough that she yelped playfully. "You're awful," he growled in her ear, mouthing the lobe as he did so.
Jaden yipped again. "Damn right I am."
Yeah, there was a personality in there, St. John concluded as he rolled them onto the ground and Jaden laughed, a personality worth letting down his bad boy persona a little bit for.
"You know, I'm letting the staff win. I'm going to have to behave now that I have a girlfriend."
Jaden grinned devilishly. "Who the hell said I was going to make you behave?"
please review if you liked it!
I've roughly outlined this story to go as long as through the third movie, however, I'm not going to even consider writing it if I don't get reviews.
muahz
Der Traumer