Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Marvel characters. They belong to Stan Lee and all the other creators. I do however own Zoe so don't take her.

Rating: This chapter is PG 13, the whole story is NC-17

Short Summary: Zoe and John should never be together. Fire and plants just don't mix. But when fate has a set path for some one to take your can't just jump off. This is Zoe's story through her eyes and mind. How they first met and all the things that happened to bring them closer together.

Chapter One
Hello Mr. Fire, Hello Ms. Plant

I could have. Such a simple start for so many different sentences. I could have turned out different. I could have been better. I could have not killed those cops. I could have let myself die. I could have let you die. So many things I could have done, but I didn't. I didn't do a damn thing, not a damn thing. I could have gotten the cure and ended my mutant cast away life right there, I could have went back to my old life then. I wouldn't have met him and my life would have been so much better. What was I saying; with out him I had no life. There was no Zoe Mills, no Vitis the plant manipulator. I would have been no one; I would have been dead with out him.

I had my first meeting with John when we were on the streets; we were both living the life of a homeless kid, thieving to get what we needed. While living that life we met only once. He was 15 and I had just turned 14. He was walking through the park and I had just entered it, not knowing that close behind was a man that did not have good intentions. It was midnight and the park was the quickest root to a sewer that led to District X and my home. John had been heading to Queens. We passed just before I hit the darkest part of the park. John gave no look towards me, but I was sure he looked at the guy; I had heard him stop for second before continuing on again.

Now as I hit the pitch black of the park walkway I heard the scuff of sneakers quicken their pace and heavy breathing. Before I could even check over my shoulder I felt hands push me to the ground. I screamed in pain when I hit the ground, but a dirty hand covered my mouth and I felt another hand start its way down my body. My body went into defensive mode at that point.

Now you must know I was not only a plant manipulator, but my mutation had another part. The hairs on my body were not true hairs, yes they appeared to look and move like normal hairs should, but in times of great pain or fright the stuck upright, grew in size and resembled the look of thorns on a cactus. When the man had grabbed me and I began to scream, my mutation took effect almost immediately. The man did not know what happen; he had no chance to, because by the time the large six inch thorns that ran down her spine had formed, they had cut through the man like a knife with warm butter.

I had pushed the man off, but I didn't run. I moved to the side of the path, crying in pain and fright as the wounds from my thorns began to bleed and stains of the other mans blood began to soak my clothes thoroughly. My arms had wrapped around my legs, tightly pressing them to my chest. I whimpered and cried for what seem like ten minutes until I felt something wrap around me. My eyes darted up as I was about to spring back, but I froze. John stood there, no fear in his eyes only a bit of worry. His jacket lay over my shoulders and I pulled it tighter around me. He didn't stay long because the sound of sirens made him turn away. But before he left I heard him speak. "Keep the Jacket."

The police and ambulance arrived soon after he had disappeared into the night. They cleaned my wounds and gave me some clothes to change into. The nurses had made plans on sending me to an orphanage at the announcement I did not have a family to go home to. I had left before anything of that magnitude could go down. From that day on I searched for John, keeping the jacket like it was a security blanket. I never saw John again, for the next time I ran into him he was Pyro, St. John Allerdyce had been terminated.

It had been a normal day for me, now a healthy homeless nineteen year old living in the streets of New York City. Roaming the streets at night and stealing from the pockets and stores of the ever so kind humans of earth. Humans, the simplest of the homosapiens and they thought they were going to rule forever. I had to laugh at that fact. When the world ended so would the human race and with it the mutants. Everything would be destroyed and once again the universe would be empty.

That day I had found myself running from the police. The owner of a bakery had caught me stuffing bread and other baked goods into my bag. He had called the police and before I knew it I was ducking and weaving through crowds of people to get away from the two pigs. That was until my running was stopped, by a person. I fell to the ground and the person hit only stumbled back a bit. From that I assumed it was a male, but I had become dizzy from the run in and could not focus enough to really make out any detail. I heard the police again and I tried my best to straighten out my mind, but it just wasn't happening. My head spun even more and I watched as my vision final dimmed away. The last words I heard were 'Watch out he's a mutant.' Then I went totally blank.

"I had no choice; I couldn't just leave her there passed out in the middle of a burning street." The words had woken me, but I didn't not move or make a sound to show I had truly been fully awake. The next voice was higher and I could tell it was a female. "What if she's an X-men, Mystique won't like that and when did you start caring about people?" X-men? Ha, like I would even be allowed to tryout out for their peppy squad of merry men and women. Mutants like them were true disgraces to the rest of mutant kind. "Don't worry about Mystique and I know this chick isn't an X-man she was stealing from a human shop. The pretty boys at Xavier's wouldn't allow one of their kids to steal. And I don't care about her, she just seems familiar." Familiar? I didn't talk to people let alone this guy so how in the hell was I familiar to him.

Well I had enough of listening to that so I gave a soft grown and moved slightly, trying to pull off the 'I just woke up' routine. They bought it and I heard one of the people move closer to wherever I had been laid. "You okay?" My eyes opened and I finally got a good look at the older John Allerdyce, or Pyro as he was known. He had a round boyish face, dark brown eyes and light brown hair with highlights of blonde. The first thing that came to mind was to sit up and just kind of back away from them in fright, but I didn't I simply half stared half glared up at him and nodded slowly.

Pyro nodded light, backing up. "Wanda keep an eye on her I have to go speak with the blue bitch right now." He stated walking past a woman with long curly brown hair. She frowned slightly, standing up and moving over to me. I gave her a questioning look before sitting up slowly. She looked me over head to toe before saying something. "What's your name?"

I tilted my head to the side, staring at her for a while. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her my name, but soon after I did. "Zoe…" I stated simply. She nodded lightly, her eyes still digging into me. "You're a mutant, I presume." I nodded again to that looking around the room for something to prove I was. A small plant of some kind sat on a desk and I stretched my hand towards it. My eyes narrowed lightly and I caught Wanda turning to look at what I was doing. The fern grew rapidly and before a person could say 'Holy Hell' it had grown to the point where it had broken from its pot.

Wanda seemed impressed to the extent that she gave me a small smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly turning her eyes to the door. Leaning against the door frame was none other then Pyro. His eyes glanced to the pieces of broken pot and spilled dirt on his floor. He raised a brow over at me and Wanda before speaking. "So you're a plant manipulator?"

I nodded, by now of course you can tell I don't talk to people all that much. Pyro gave a nod in return and pushed off the door frame standing straight. "Come on Mystique wants to talk with you." I turned my gaze to Wanda who shrugged the same placid expression on her face. I slid off the bed and moved past Pyro into the hall where I waited for him. Wanda followed him out, but headed off in the opposite direction, mumbling about how she needed to find Pietro.

"Come on this way." Pyro moved past me walking down the hall. I followed after quickly, giving one glance back, watching Wanda turn a corner. Something told me I wouldn't just be talking with this Mystique.