A/N Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – don't worry, Shade and Pyro aren't getting together. In fact, no-one is getting together. This about growing up, not making out – although the two may sometimes overlap. Anyway, someone does have a crush on Pyro, but it isn't Shade, and in this chapter Pyro flexes his powers, and settles in a little more.
Chapter 2 – Smoking Kills
"Don't you think Pyro's just adorable?"
Shade pulled a face and rolled over in bed. It was Saturday tomorrow. She liked Saturdays, because Saturdays meant she could escape from Jet and Nox for the entire day, and concentrate on her own training, without stupid lessons getting in the way. Although Magneto didn't run a school, he wanted all of his younger recruits trained up, prepared. Shade agreed completely. What she didn't agree with was wasting all her time with Nox and Jet, learning how to fight.
If there was one thing in the world that she hated, it was combat.
"I mean, it's been so long since I've even seen another boy besides Nox, I forgot what it was like – he has the most gorgeous eyes. They're so big, and dark – and he's so funny. He doesn't care what anyone thinks –"
She was so light that none of her hand-to-hand stuff ever worked, and when it came to weapons she was even more hopeless. If she tried to hit out with a staff or a pole she was simply pulled over by the sheer force of her actions. The only weapon she'd stand a chance with would be a gun, and they weren't allowed to use them yet. Which, in Shade's eyes, was ridiculous.
"And I think he likes me. I mean, he was talking to me for hours yesterday, and he looked straight at me – it was almost unbearable!"
"Why?" Shade asked grumpily, getting up and slouching into the small bathroom. She knew Jet wouldn't stop until she got some sort of response. Looking into the mirror was nothing short of depressing. Jet seemed to wake-up picture perfect, perky and wholesome. It was sickening.
Abnormal teenager she might be, but Shade was still a teenager, and her appearance was the bane of her existence. Dark brown hair – straight, nonetheless – and chalk white skin was bad enough, but her eyes just topped it off. They were like twin black holes, no white or iris or pupil. That was one reason she didn't like talking to people, because no-one ever quite met her gaze. Except for Magneto, and Mystique. They always looked straight at her. Why Jet should find anyone looking straight at her unbearable was beyond Shade's understanding.
"Because it was really embarrassing, because I totally lost the thread of the conversation, and he knew, and then I think I might have started blushing and now he probably thinks I like him-"
"But you do, don't you?" mumbled Shade, furiously brushing her teeth. At least they weren't all pointy, like Nox's.
"He can't realise that, though, Shade, that's the whole idea! Don't you know anything?"
Shade spat out her toothpaste into the sink as violently as she could. "No."
"Don't you ever feel like this about boys? Shade?"
She'd had enough. Pulling her hair into a scraped back ponytail, Shade glared at Jet as she grabbed her clothes from an untidy pile by the door and started to get dressed.
"What boys? Nox and Pyro? Please. We don't have time for that, anyway. Magneto says –"
"Oh, Magneto says – if I didn't know better I'd think you liked him-"
"Don't be sick."
Jet smirked and gave her thick, blonde locks another going over with her hair brush. It was predictable, really. Typical that Jet, who could manipulate water, would get together with Pyro, who could manipulate fire. She wondered what their children would be like – the humanoid equivalent of vegetable steamers, she supposed.
"I'm going downstairs for breakfast now," added Jet, rather pointlessly. Shade tried to smooth a few wrinkles out of her customary black jeans then gave up. She wasn't planning on being seen, anyway.
Un-focusing herself was becoming easier and easier. If she was the sort of person to worry, she'd worry that one day she'd wake up a part of the shadow-land, and she'd like it so much, she wouldn't ever come back into focus again.
****
"Friday morning we have combat, man, it's out there. Out there, we just do all this fighting. Sabretooth is brutal, man, just brutal."
"Sabretooth?" Pyro asked, halfway through a slice of toast.
"He's like an animal, man, a real beast," said Nox, who wasn't eating at all. Pyro felt sorry for Nox, the same way he felt sorry for Rogue. It must be a curse, never to be able to really touch anyone. Not that he, Pyro, was any great voice of experience, but he'd had a couple of casual girlfriends, and he knew how nice it was to kiss and cuddle and sometimes just brush up against someone – it was important. And it must be hell for Bobby and Rogue, the way they were so serious about each other – stop it. He had to stop thinking about them, or he'd never settle in.
"I'm sure he's nothing you can't handle, Pyro," came a different voice. Pyro turned around, and smiled at Jet. At the end of the day, pretty girls were pretty girls, whether they came with mutated super powers or not. And he much preferred the kind with mutated super powers.
"Wouldn't so sure, Jet, man, wouldn't be sure," said Nox, wriggling around in his chair. "Sabretooth's heavy. He lays Shade out for six every time, man, every time. And he always gets me and you in the end, he always does. The day I get him, man, that's the day I think, yeah, I'm ready."
"Anyone can 'lay Shade out' as you so delicately put it, she weighs all of about nothing," said Jet scathingly, sitting on the other side of Pyro and buttering her own slice of toast. "Besides, I've been practising. I never practise," she said to Pyro, in a confidential tone. "And Magneto still thinks I'm very strong for my age. Stronger than Nox or Shade."
"Um – well done?" said Pyro, not really sure how to respond.
"Thankyou!" said Jet brightly, then made an exasperated noise. "Shade, will you please just be normal and sit like any other person at the table. You know what Mrs Althrop said-"
"I know, I know already," said an unfamiliar voice, from somewhere in the vicinity of their legs. As Pyro watched, a piece of shadow detached itself from underneath the table and flowed into a chair opposite. It was weird, like yesterday – the girl slowly came into focus, then it was like she'd been there all along, with those strange, blank eyes.
She started to drink a glass of water, insolently. Pyro had never seen anyone drink insolently before. It was fascinating.
"Hi. I'm Shade. My other name is Charlene Small, but I prefer Shade, for obvious reasons. I was adopted by the Brotherhood when I was eight," she said flatly, looking down at the table. Pyro assumed this little speech was directed at him.
"Ignore her. She's always like this," hissed Jet.
"Hi, I'm Pyro, real name John Allerdyce, but I prefer Pyro because John makes me sound like a preacher's son – I used to study and live at Xavier's School, with the X-Men, but now I don't. For obvious reasons," he replied, ignoring Jet.
For a minute he thought she might look up, but she just kept on sitting there, staring down at the plain wooden table. Jet jabbed angrily at her toast with the butter knife. That was the problem with pretty girls – they always had to be right.
"How about you?" he asked, giving her a full on charming grin. "Got a terrible name you don't want to share?"
She looked back at him, then her lips curved upwards flirtatiously. "Angelina Jenkins. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Jet grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. He nodded back at her.
"Angel-ina. That definitely suits." Nice job, John. Really, abysmally corny. "How about you, Nox?"
"I don't know, man, I guess it might have been Brian, once, maybe, but I just don't know. Maybe I've had too much of the good stuff too many times, you hear me man? Maybe, maybe." Nox paused for a second, seemingly lost in reverie – perhaps reliving the 'good stuff' – when he suddenly turned to Shade. "Hey, Shade, ready to get kicked around, man? Unless you got yourself any armour, yeah, armour, that'd sort you out."
"Kill it, Nox. I can take care of myself," muttered Shade. Pyro noticed that she seemed to fade a little, flicker a little. It was uncomfortable to look at her for too long.
"Ha ha, yeah, man, like hell you can. How about last week for a story-"
"I said kill it, Nox."
Pyro finished his slice of toast and leaned back in his chair. Talk about atmosphere. They hadn't even finished eating breakfast yet, and a palpable air of tension had settled on the little group.
"Kill it, man, what're you going to do, what? Follow me around? Annoy me to death, man? Because you can't do much else, ha ha!"
Shade sighed, and did her funny disappearing trick again. Nox collapsed into sickly sounding laughter. It sounded like he was hacking up great globs of phlegm, and Pyro noticed Jet discreetly moving her bowl of cereal away from him.
"That's Shade's answer to everything, man, run away! Where's that gonna get us, if those hoo-mans attack here, that's what I want to know, where's that gonna get us!"
"Control yourself," Jet said, obviously irritated.
"Huh, control, man, where did that ever get anyone? It's all about losing control, Jet, you should know that by now, you should know it. I'm going down to the training block, man, catch you later."
He stood up, produced a rather squashed looking cheese sandwich from a deep coat pocket, and walked off jerkily.
"Now do you see what I've had to put up with?"
Pyro turned back to look at Jet, who was leaning into him in a pleasing sort of way. She rolled her eyes expressively. "A drugged-up, unstable psycho and an anti-social, workaholic loser," she practically purred, laying a hand on Pyro's arm. "Thank goodness you turned up when you did."
He couldn't help thinking that maybe she was being a little bit unfair – so Shade was anti-social, and Nox was fairly unstable – okay. Maybe not unfair. And she was a very pretty girl.
"Thank goodness for you," he said firmly, taking her hand in his for a moment, hearing her inhale slightly sharply. "Thank goodness you're here, Jet. You've really made me feel at home." He paused meaningfully waiting for inspiration to strike. It struck. "I guess I just feel like I've known you forever. Like I was drawn to you, somehow – you know what I mean?"
Wistful smile, tilt of the head, eyes linger on her face for just a little too long – he hadn't lost his touch. Ten points to Allerdyce – whoever said bad guys had all the fun was 100% right.
****
Shade saw Nox enter the training room and start to limber up. What was the point? No-one really dared touch him anyway, not even Sabretooth. The most hand-to-hand Nox ever got was with the long staffs, and even then Sabretooth seemed more concerned with getting away from him than fighting back.
She was in a dark corner by the ceiling – the metal bunkers weren't good places for shadows, and so she'd taken her boots off and scooted up to the ceiling. She could hear Pyro – John Allerdyce – approaching, talking to Jet. They'd all be here soon, and then the lesson would start.
Ouch.
So, he was called John Allerdyce? Allerdyce was unusual, pretty unusual – that was the place to start, she'd decided. With his family. If something happened to them, maybe he'd have to go back home, maybe he'd start thinking humans weren't all bad – whatever, there had to be some dirt she could use against him.
She'd thought the whole 'I'm adopted' spiel at the table would make him open up about his own past, but evidently she'd thought wrong.
How annoying. She never thought wrong.
Jet and Pyro chose that exact moment to enter the bunker, and were greeted by an irate Sabretooth. That wiped the smiles off their immature faces, Shade thought smugly, sliding down from the ceiling and grabbing her boots.
"You're all late!" barked Sabretooth, towering over the teenagers. Shade walked over to join them. No-one even looked in her direction, or heard her approach. Sometimes that bothered her, the way they all ignored her, but she supposed that in one way it was a form of compliment. She was getting so good at being quiet, no-one could tell where she was.
"We weren't late," she said calmly, indicating herself and Nox. "It's just those two."
"Thanks, Shade," hissed Jet, not even bothering to look over her shoulder.
"That's what I meant," said Sabretooth, seeming a little confused. He took a few deep breaths, then smiled. Smiled?
"I've been taking anger management classes," he rumbled. "They've been very helpful. Helpful for the body, the mind, and-" A serene expression settled over his face. "And the spirit."
"Is he teaching us kung fu or feng shui?" Pyro said quietly.
Shade smiled, then remembered just how mad Sabretooth got when he thought anyone was making fun of him. And just how easily she bruised.
"We're working on hand-to-hand today-"
Nox groaned loudly, and started muttering insane little nothings to himself. Sometimes Shade liked Nox – maybe like was too strong a word. He had too
"So if you all line up – wait a minute. You're new," he said, staring hard at Pyro.
"Brand spanking," replied Pyro.
"What do you do?"
"Mostly fire."
"Fire what? Guns?"
"No, just – fire."
Sabretooth frowned, and straightened up. "Show me," he demanded. The younger mutant took a step back and produced an old fashioned style gas lighter from his left pocket. He opened it with an expert flick of the wrist, and Sabretooth snorted scornfully. "Anyone can do that."
"I haven't finished yet," Pyro muttered, and he seemed to draw the flame from the lighter until it was cupped in his hand, hovering just above the skin. Then, almost lazily, he threw the flame at Sabretooth.
*****
He didn't mean to lose control of it like that. He'd meant for the fireball to zip harmlessly past the big guy's head and then he'd extinguish it by snapping his fingers (he didn't actually need to snap his fingers, but it looked cool) and that would've been that. Unfortunately, sometimes the fire didn't want to listen.
So it grew into a huge flaming mess, ignited with a terrifying whomph and was currently hurtling towards Sabretooth, Shade and Nox.
"Get down!" he yelled, concentrating his entire mind on extinguishing the flame.
It was strange – the way he felt when he lost control. It was like he became a part of the flame, almost like he was suffocating and inhaling all at once. It was an empty, floating hunger – and behind it was the shiver and thrill of power. When he tried to put the flames out, he felt heavy. Like he was drowning.
It hurt.
*****
"Get down!"
Shade was frozen. If Nox hadn't grabbed her arm, she would probably have died. As it was, she fell to the floor, her mouth open wide in pain. Nox was, well, noxious and toxic – he'd burnt her arm with his touch. It was an acid burn, and it hurt.
She felt the oppressive heat of the flames over her head, heard the roar of the fire. It blinded her through closed eyelids, and her entire world was wrapped in pain and noise and heat – then it was gone. Shade inhaled deeply, then coughed violently. There was smoke everywhere.
Someone hauled her to her feet.
"I'm sorry-"
It was that boy.
"I'm fine!" she snapped, pushing him away. She winced, and Sabretooth growled at Pyro. Despite the burn, and smoke stinging her eyes, she had to suppress a smile. All of Sabretooth's fur was singed, and a large patch was missing from his head.
"You are not fine," he muttered, grabbing her bad arm. "None of us are fine – you!" he barked, pointing at Pyro. "You will go to see Magneto. And Shade, you go and find the Sisters."
"Hey, man," Nox said quietly. "I didn't mean to-"
"I know, Nox," Shade replied, not unkindly. After all, he'd saved her life. "I'll be okay. The Sisters can sort it out."
The training room was a mess. Thick black smoke hung in a pall overhead, there were sooty marks everywhere and the fireball had burnt through part of the back wall. She didn't envy Pyro his meeting with Magneto.
****
Pyro stood in the – well, he supposed it was a study – and squirmed uncomfortably. This set-up reminded him of all those times he'd had to 'go and see' Professor X. The door opened behind him, but he stayed facing forward.
"Pyro. Sit down – you aren't in the army."
Magneto didn't sound too angry, which he guessed was a good sign. Pyro sat down in one of the old leather chairs, near the desk, and tried to relax. He could feel his lighter against his leg, and sighed heavily.
"I understand there was an - incident, shall we say - in combative training this morning?"
Magneto sat down opposite him, and Pyro met his gaze steadily. It was hard, though. The old guy had eyes like knives.
"Yeah, you could say that. I sort of blew Sabretooth's head off. I didn't mean to. And maybe that was a slight exaggeration – he's still got his head. He's just missing some fluff."
"I see." Magneto templed his fingers, and narrowed his eyes. "Shade was also damaged. This is unacceptable – two mutants damaged. You aren't still working for Xavier, by any chance?"
"No!" Pyro said vehemently.
Magneto gave him a considering look, then stood up. "You are young. And very powerful –"
"But I have to control that power," Pyro finished, sounding bored. He was bored – control took away from the fire, dampened everything.
"Not exactly. You have to let go," Magneto said, softly. "But you can only let go at the appropriate time. Without losing yourself in that power, you will never achieve your full potential. That is why I'm not angry at you, Pyro, nor am I going to discipline you. You showed great ability today."
That was different. Pyro stood up, feeling better already. So there was a time and a place for everything – and today hadn't been the time. But his time would come, he'd make sure of it.
"Thanks, I guess."
The older man smiled suddenly, then turned his back on Pyro to look out of the window again.
"We shall speak again soon. You can count on it."
*****
Shade rubbed her arm reflectively. It felt much better now. She was sitting on the steps again – no-one else came to sit on these steps.
"So, you're invisible?"
It was Allerdyce. She frowned. He was so loud and – and visible. Even the way he walked as full of arrogance and swagger – every movement seemed to shout look at me, whereas she did her best to fade away.
"What do you want?" she asked irritably, as he sat down next to her.
"To apologise," he said, leaning back against the steps. "And we haven't really spoken yet-"
"I don't really speak to anyone," she said primly. "Especially not people who try to kill me."
"Hey, don't take it personally. I was really aiming more at Sabretooth."
She sniffed disapprovingly.
"So, are you invisible? Can you just, like, turn it on and off?"
She'd just answer his stupid questions and maybe he'd go away and leave her in peace.
"No. I'm just like a shadow, hence the name - I'm still there, in the background. People can feel me, I can bump into them – it isn't perfect."
"Oh."
And he still didn't go away. These were her steps – she certainly wasn't going to leave. She found her cigarettes, and got one out. If she couldn't make him feel uncomfortable with silence, she'd give him a coughing fit. It was only fair.
"Hate to be cliched, but have you got a light?"
"Always," he replied, producing the lighter he'd used earlier. "You shouldn't smoke, you know. I've heard it's bad for your lungs."
"I always wanted to die young," Shade said flippantly, inhaling deeply, feeling a little better.
"And you hate to be cliched?"
"That's really how I feel. I guess being in the dark all the time cultivates a certain personality type."
"I guess playing with fire all the time does the same thing."
"So, you think you're living life on the wild side."
"They say youth is wasted on the young. I don't want to waste it," he replied lazily, closing his eyes against the dying rays of sun.
Shade knew she was being drawn into conversation, but it couldn't hurt – it was easier to destroy someone from the inside out. And after today's display of fire power, she knew she had to get rid of him. Magneto hadn't even disciplined him! "You don't classify this as a waste of time? Living in the back-end of nowhere, trying to start a war, preparing to kill people - it isn't exactly the conventional idea of fun."
"This is what I always wanted – to fight back, to get even. This is the only thing that matters - well, this, and rock music."
"Rock music."
"Yeah, rock 'n' roll, baby. You don't like music?"
"I don't have time to listen to it." Neither should you, she added silently. You should be committed to the cause! Like I am! I've given everything to it, and no-one even cares.
"Maybe you should make time. I could lend you some of my records –"
He paused, and Shade took a final drag on her cigarette before stubbing it out. "You left them all behind?" she ventured.
"Shit. Yeah. I forgot."
"You can buy more."
"No, no way. Some of those vinyls were rare – original Clash, Sex Pistols, the Velvet Underground – I'll have to get them back. That's if they haven't thrown them all out already," he added, bitterly.
"What's it like there?" She'd always been curious.
"Like, I don't know, stifling. They don't listen. And it was all about control. Don't lose it, don't let go – never about really using power. Xavier's too soft – he doesn't see that we'll never be accepted for who we are."
"Unexpected depth from the firestarter."
"Expected sarcasm from the fade-in lady."
"Expected?" she repeated, a little put-out.
"Yeah. You dress in black, you become one with the shadows, you're a loner, border-line suicidal, you smoke – I think everything you say can be described with either 'she said darkly' or 'she said sarcastically'."
"Surely not everything?"
"Okay, that was more of a 'she asked pathetically'," he grinned, sitting up straight.
"Jet might find you hysterically funny – I don't," Shade said, frowning and standing up. Enough was enough. She didn't want to leave the steps, but other people were so draining. Especially this one.
"So glad we had this conversation."
"Really, it wasn't a conversation. I prefer to think of it as an exchange."
"Likewise."
"Oh, God – you're one of those people who just has to have the last word, aren't you?"
"Whatever gave you that impression?"
"I could just tell."
"So now you're psychic as well as invisible?"
"No – anyone can see you're arrogant."
"And you, on the other hand, don't have any hang-ups about last words."
"No."
"Ah."
"I don't!"
"I see."
"This is so immature."
"So let's leave it."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Doesn't fine sound like a nonsense word now?"
"I'm not being drawn back into this. I'm going."
She went.