Rebirth of a Pyromaniac
Chapter 3: Misfit Reaction
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"Man, Cobra got blasted again!" Todd Tolensky whooped. He, Althea Delgato, Craig Allman Starr, Xi, Lance Alvers, Wanda Maximoff, Fred Dukes, and Pietro Maximoff were walking through the Joe hangar. They were returning from a mission.
"ManThatTotallyRuledTooBadPaulCouldn'tBeThere." Pietro said at an incredible speed. He was hyped up.
"Pietro, talk at a speed everyone can understand!" Fred reminded.
"Yeah, Paul was playing tour guide with Barbecue in LA." Craig sighed. "I don't know why Paul decided to go back to LA."
"Because he knows the city like the back of his hand." Lance smirked. He then heard a familiar voice. "Looks like Starchild finally decided to join us." The Misfits' eyes widened when they heard a certain insane cackle.
"It can't be." Wanda shook her head. "Can it?"
"Pyro?" Todd looked suspicious. "We'd better get ready. He might have decided to challenge us all to a fight."
"Is he that crazy?" Althea readied her staff.
"That's sane for him." Fred nodded. The Misfits ran to the source, a courtyard. They saw Pyro, with his back to them. John was standing with Paul. Paul was pointing out things, and John was laughing.
"And that's the cafeteria. A lot of horrible things come from the kitchen when BA cooks." Paul told the pyrokinetic.
"Man, this place is crazy. You know what, Paul? I think I will stick around. And thanks for the clothes you got me." John motioned to his outfit, a black t-shirt with flames on it and matching black slacks with flames writhing up the legs.
"Hey, they were totally you, man!" Paul patted John's shoulder.
"Paul, get away from there!" Althea ordered. The two old friends turned around and saw the other Misfits, ready to battle.
"Oh, you wanna play with fire, huh?" John flicked his lighter.
"Pyro, you picked the wrong day to mess with the Misfits!" Todd snapped. "Why don't you go back to Magneto?!?!"
"Why don't you get yourselves roasted?!?!" Pyro prepared to launch a fire attack, but Paul jumped in between them.
"WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Paul yelled. "Guys, just calm down! Let me explain! It's because of me that John's here. Can I explain?"
"Paul, we really need to talk." Lance said.
"Yeah! John's nothing but trouble!" Wanda agreed.
"He's also a complete psycho!" Pietro snapped.
"At least I'm not a big egomaniac!" John yelled.
"Why you..." Pietro raised his fist, but Paul held his wrist.
"Let me explain, dude." Paul sighed. "You see, Barbecue and I were driving around LA. We found John buried underneath a pile of rubble. He looked like he was beaten senseless. We had to bring him here. A hospital might not have bothered to treat him. You see, he and I are old friends. John's family immigrated to Los Angeles from Australia when he was a kid. He lived in Hollywood too, his mother being an actress and all. He and I lived near each other, and we became good friends. One day, his pyrokinesis emerged. A white-haired man happened to come to town several weeks later. It was Magneto, looking for mutant recruits. John and I went to a meeting he held out of curiosity. John seemed sucked in, while I got scared. Thanks to his eyes. I saw Magneto's eyes. They seemed soul-less. I ran away. John pursued me, and he spouted things about how Magneto made sense of everything. I tried to tell John that I got nothing but bad vibes from him. That he could get John hurt or even killed."
"My family disowned me when they discovered my mutantcy." John continued. "Magneto made me realize why. They feared me. They knew that I couldn't be controlled by them. Humans want to control everything around them. Each other, nature, and characteristics. And that made them hate me. They hated me because they couldn't control me. Paul and I got into an argument. He said that guy's eyes indicated that he was heartless. I should've listened to him. My so-called team-mates busted me up and left me for dead. A human rescued me alongside Paul. They could've just left me to die. Barbecue could've done it, and I wouldn't have blamed him. But he didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Magneto who ordered them to try and kill me." A huge fireball angrily erupted into the air from John's lighter after he spoke. The Misfits reluctantly calmed down, but they still looked ready for a fight.
"Can't we just try to get along?" Paul groaned.
"I dunno." Wanda shook her head. "Pyro might be trying to set us up, Paul. He's certainly crazy enough."
"Yeah, Magneto might be trying something, yo." Todd agreed.
"What?!" John snapped. "Magneto's flunkies leave me for dead, and you think I'm trying to set you up?!?!" The flame on John's lighter turned into a fiery sword. "And you all think I'm crazy!!!"
"It could be act. What do you think, Craig?" Lance turned to Darkstar. Craig looked at Pyro and he was about to speak.
"You guys, I saw the injuries he suffered! It was no make-up job! It was real!" Paul cried out. Craig looked at Paul.
"I have to agree with Paul." Craig sighed. "I can tell when someone is lying. And John's story is the truth."
"You never even met John before, Craig." Paul scratched his head.
"No, but I know of him thanks to you, brother. You told me a lot about him, remember?" Craig reminded.
"Yeah." Starchild remembered. He noticed Althea staring at John's flame sword with fascination. "What's up Althea?"
"Uh, nothing." Althea shook her head. "How'd you do that, Pyro?"
"I just think what I want the flame to become and it changes into it. Why?" John responded.
"Althea's a hydrokinetic." Paul explained. "I told you about her earlier. She can mentally control water."
"Can she do this with water?" Pyro smirked, forming a pirouetting ballerina from his lighter flame.
"Uh, no." Althea replied. "I can create waves and currents, though."
"At first, I could only change the size of flames. With practice, I learned to shape 'em. I'm sure you could do the same thing with water, Sheila." John smirked, closing his lighter.
"Don't call me Sheila." Althea glared.
"That's just what Australians call girls, Althea." Paul explained.
"And what're you insinuating, Acolyte? Are you saying I don't know how to use my powers fully?" Althea continued glaring.
"Don't call me an Acolyte, Fishgirl!" John snapped. "And that's what I'm saying, mate!"
"I don't need my powers to beat you, you whacko!" Althea raised a fist.
"Bring it on, you Ariel wannabe!" Pyro raised his fist. Paul kept them separate.
"Guys, knock it off! Now!" Paul snapped. "God, can't any of you go two minutes without trying to knock each other's blocks off?"
"No!!" They all snapped at Paul.
"'Ere now, what's all this racket?" Lionheart walked up to the group of mutants.
"Just taking out some Acolyte trash." Blob growled at Pyro.
"I AM NOT AN ACOLYTE ANYMORE!!!!" John yelled.
"Whoa whoa whoa! I need to catch up here." The raven-and-blond-haired English Joe waved her hands. Paul told her of the whole St. John situation, and Lionheart nodded in thought. "Alright, you guys think John here can't be trusted."
"Yeah." Wanda, Lance, Todd, Althea, Fred, Pietro and Xi nodded.
"And you two think John should be given a chance."
"Yeah." Paul and Craig agreed.
"Look Lionheart, I'll keep John outta trouble! It'll be like he was never here." Paul pleaded.
"He should never be here!" Wanda snapped.
"John worked for Magneto. He shouldn't be trusted." Xi said.
"So did most of you guys!" Paul reminded loudly.
"I don't think Magneto wants him around anymore." Barbecue walked up to the mutants. "I saw how John looked when Paul and I found him. He was a real mess." He glared at Lionheart. "No, I am going out on a date with you." Lionheart pouted.
"Bolt, Shiva, Ramrod, and Ramfist. I thought those guys were my friends. I was wrong. They beat me senseless and left me for dead. I want a piece of them." Pyro growled.
"Bolt? Shiva? Ramrod? Ramfist?" Lionheart scratched her head.
"They're mutants that worked under Magneto." Barbecue told the Englishwoman.
"I was on a mission with those guys. Our job was to intimidate the FOH. We managed to scare the daylights out of 'em. Afterwards, we set the place on fire as a message. They turned on me. Beat me down like a bloody dog." John's lighter flipped open, and the small flame grew into a huge jet stream of raging fire.
"Whoa!" Lionheart dodged the stream. "Hey kid, watch the flames! You nearly singed my beautiful self!"
"Sorry." John calmed down. He looked up at Barbecue. "You beat me with one shot in that 'mutants versus humans' tournament. I would've roasted you if it weren't for your lousy flame-dousing gear."
"Hey, you need a flame source, or else your powers are useless." Barbecue reminded. "You had equipment, so I had to have equipment."
"You're a bloody fireman! You stop fires!" Pyro yelled.
"And I did a real good job on you, kid." Barbecue teased good-naturedly.
"Let's have a rematch! Right here! I'm no bungler, and I'll prove it right here!" Pyro's lighter flame pulsed.
"Bungler? What makes you say you're a bungler?" Barbecue asked the Australian.
"Magneto's gotten in my face a couple times because I had a couple 'accidents'. Not my fault I tripped and hit a shelf!" Pyro groaned.
"Huh?" Althea asked.
"That would explain why Magneto tried to get you killed." Paul reasoned. "He probably thought you were no longer useful." He turned to the others. "You see? I had to bring John here. A hospital might not treat him and I knew Lifeline could help him."
"Al, what do you think? You think John's telling the truth?" Lance asked Althea. Wavedancer looked at Starchild.
"Paul, I know you are very good at reading people. If you say John's telling the truth, then I believe you."
"So do I." Craig agreed. "I think John is no longer in league with Magneto. I can tell when someone is lying, Althea. And John is telling the truth." Craig nodded.
"Alright." Althea made her decision. "One chance, John. One chance to prove to us you can be a Misfit. You screw this up, and your butt is mine. Got it, Aussie?" A long silence passed between the two element-manipulators.
"No worries." John smirked.
Whew! John has a chance to prove himself. Can Pyro prove to the Misfits that Magneto wanted him dead? What is Magneto up to? What of the Acolytes? Find out in the next chapter of "Rebirth of a Pyromaniac"!
Chapter 3: Misfit Reaction
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"Man, Cobra got blasted again!" Todd Tolensky whooped. He, Althea Delgato, Craig Allman Starr, Xi, Lance Alvers, Wanda Maximoff, Fred Dukes, and Pietro Maximoff were walking through the Joe hangar. They were returning from a mission.
"ManThatTotallyRuledTooBadPaulCouldn'tBeThere." Pietro said at an incredible speed. He was hyped up.
"Pietro, talk at a speed everyone can understand!" Fred reminded.
"Yeah, Paul was playing tour guide with Barbecue in LA." Craig sighed. "I don't know why Paul decided to go back to LA."
"Because he knows the city like the back of his hand." Lance smirked. He then heard a familiar voice. "Looks like Starchild finally decided to join us." The Misfits' eyes widened when they heard a certain insane cackle.
"It can't be." Wanda shook her head. "Can it?"
"Pyro?" Todd looked suspicious. "We'd better get ready. He might have decided to challenge us all to a fight."
"Is he that crazy?" Althea readied her staff.
"That's sane for him." Fred nodded. The Misfits ran to the source, a courtyard. They saw Pyro, with his back to them. John was standing with Paul. Paul was pointing out things, and John was laughing.
"And that's the cafeteria. A lot of horrible things come from the kitchen when BA cooks." Paul told the pyrokinetic.
"Man, this place is crazy. You know what, Paul? I think I will stick around. And thanks for the clothes you got me." John motioned to his outfit, a black t-shirt with flames on it and matching black slacks with flames writhing up the legs.
"Hey, they were totally you, man!" Paul patted John's shoulder.
"Paul, get away from there!" Althea ordered. The two old friends turned around and saw the other Misfits, ready to battle.
"Oh, you wanna play with fire, huh?" John flicked his lighter.
"Pyro, you picked the wrong day to mess with the Misfits!" Todd snapped. "Why don't you go back to Magneto?!?!"
"Why don't you get yourselves roasted?!?!" Pyro prepared to launch a fire attack, but Paul jumped in between them.
"WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Paul yelled. "Guys, just calm down! Let me explain! It's because of me that John's here. Can I explain?"
"Paul, we really need to talk." Lance said.
"Yeah! John's nothing but trouble!" Wanda agreed.
"He's also a complete psycho!" Pietro snapped.
"At least I'm not a big egomaniac!" John yelled.
"Why you..." Pietro raised his fist, but Paul held his wrist.
"Let me explain, dude." Paul sighed. "You see, Barbecue and I were driving around LA. We found John buried underneath a pile of rubble. He looked like he was beaten senseless. We had to bring him here. A hospital might not have bothered to treat him. You see, he and I are old friends. John's family immigrated to Los Angeles from Australia when he was a kid. He lived in Hollywood too, his mother being an actress and all. He and I lived near each other, and we became good friends. One day, his pyrokinesis emerged. A white-haired man happened to come to town several weeks later. It was Magneto, looking for mutant recruits. John and I went to a meeting he held out of curiosity. John seemed sucked in, while I got scared. Thanks to his eyes. I saw Magneto's eyes. They seemed soul-less. I ran away. John pursued me, and he spouted things about how Magneto made sense of everything. I tried to tell John that I got nothing but bad vibes from him. That he could get John hurt or even killed."
"My family disowned me when they discovered my mutantcy." John continued. "Magneto made me realize why. They feared me. They knew that I couldn't be controlled by them. Humans want to control everything around them. Each other, nature, and characteristics. And that made them hate me. They hated me because they couldn't control me. Paul and I got into an argument. He said that guy's eyes indicated that he was heartless. I should've listened to him. My so-called team-mates busted me up and left me for dead. A human rescued me alongside Paul. They could've just left me to die. Barbecue could've done it, and I wouldn't have blamed him. But he didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Magneto who ordered them to try and kill me." A huge fireball angrily erupted into the air from John's lighter after he spoke. The Misfits reluctantly calmed down, but they still looked ready for a fight.
"Can't we just try to get along?" Paul groaned.
"I dunno." Wanda shook her head. "Pyro might be trying to set us up, Paul. He's certainly crazy enough."
"Yeah, Magneto might be trying something, yo." Todd agreed.
"What?!" John snapped. "Magneto's flunkies leave me for dead, and you think I'm trying to set you up?!?!" The flame on John's lighter turned into a fiery sword. "And you all think I'm crazy!!!"
"It could be act. What do you think, Craig?" Lance turned to Darkstar. Craig looked at Pyro and he was about to speak.
"You guys, I saw the injuries he suffered! It was no make-up job! It was real!" Paul cried out. Craig looked at Paul.
"I have to agree with Paul." Craig sighed. "I can tell when someone is lying. And John's story is the truth."
"You never even met John before, Craig." Paul scratched his head.
"No, but I know of him thanks to you, brother. You told me a lot about him, remember?" Craig reminded.
"Yeah." Starchild remembered. He noticed Althea staring at John's flame sword with fascination. "What's up Althea?"
"Uh, nothing." Althea shook her head. "How'd you do that, Pyro?"
"I just think what I want the flame to become and it changes into it. Why?" John responded.
"Althea's a hydrokinetic." Paul explained. "I told you about her earlier. She can mentally control water."
"Can she do this with water?" Pyro smirked, forming a pirouetting ballerina from his lighter flame.
"Uh, no." Althea replied. "I can create waves and currents, though."
"At first, I could only change the size of flames. With practice, I learned to shape 'em. I'm sure you could do the same thing with water, Sheila." John smirked, closing his lighter.
"Don't call me Sheila." Althea glared.
"That's just what Australians call girls, Althea." Paul explained.
"And what're you insinuating, Acolyte? Are you saying I don't know how to use my powers fully?" Althea continued glaring.
"Don't call me an Acolyte, Fishgirl!" John snapped. "And that's what I'm saying, mate!"
"I don't need my powers to beat you, you whacko!" Althea raised a fist.
"Bring it on, you Ariel wannabe!" Pyro raised his fist. Paul kept them separate.
"Guys, knock it off! Now!" Paul snapped. "God, can't any of you go two minutes without trying to knock each other's blocks off?"
"No!!" They all snapped at Paul.
"'Ere now, what's all this racket?" Lionheart walked up to the group of mutants.
"Just taking out some Acolyte trash." Blob growled at Pyro.
"I AM NOT AN ACOLYTE ANYMORE!!!!" John yelled.
"Whoa whoa whoa! I need to catch up here." The raven-and-blond-haired English Joe waved her hands. Paul told her of the whole St. John situation, and Lionheart nodded in thought. "Alright, you guys think John here can't be trusted."
"Yeah." Wanda, Lance, Todd, Althea, Fred, Pietro and Xi nodded.
"And you two think John should be given a chance."
"Yeah." Paul and Craig agreed.
"Look Lionheart, I'll keep John outta trouble! It'll be like he was never here." Paul pleaded.
"He should never be here!" Wanda snapped.
"John worked for Magneto. He shouldn't be trusted." Xi said.
"So did most of you guys!" Paul reminded loudly.
"I don't think Magneto wants him around anymore." Barbecue walked up to the mutants. "I saw how John looked when Paul and I found him. He was a real mess." He glared at Lionheart. "No, I am going out on a date with you." Lionheart pouted.
"Bolt, Shiva, Ramrod, and Ramfist. I thought those guys were my friends. I was wrong. They beat me senseless and left me for dead. I want a piece of them." Pyro growled.
"Bolt? Shiva? Ramrod? Ramfist?" Lionheart scratched her head.
"They're mutants that worked under Magneto." Barbecue told the Englishwoman.
"I was on a mission with those guys. Our job was to intimidate the FOH. We managed to scare the daylights out of 'em. Afterwards, we set the place on fire as a message. They turned on me. Beat me down like a bloody dog." John's lighter flipped open, and the small flame grew into a huge jet stream of raging fire.
"Whoa!" Lionheart dodged the stream. "Hey kid, watch the flames! You nearly singed my beautiful self!"
"Sorry." John calmed down. He looked up at Barbecue. "You beat me with one shot in that 'mutants versus humans' tournament. I would've roasted you if it weren't for your lousy flame-dousing gear."
"Hey, you need a flame source, or else your powers are useless." Barbecue reminded. "You had equipment, so I had to have equipment."
"You're a bloody fireman! You stop fires!" Pyro yelled.
"And I did a real good job on you, kid." Barbecue teased good-naturedly.
"Let's have a rematch! Right here! I'm no bungler, and I'll prove it right here!" Pyro's lighter flame pulsed.
"Bungler? What makes you say you're a bungler?" Barbecue asked the Australian.
"Magneto's gotten in my face a couple times because I had a couple 'accidents'. Not my fault I tripped and hit a shelf!" Pyro groaned.
"Huh?" Althea asked.
"That would explain why Magneto tried to get you killed." Paul reasoned. "He probably thought you were no longer useful." He turned to the others. "You see? I had to bring John here. A hospital might not treat him and I knew Lifeline could help him."
"Al, what do you think? You think John's telling the truth?" Lance asked Althea. Wavedancer looked at Starchild.
"Paul, I know you are very good at reading people. If you say John's telling the truth, then I believe you."
"So do I." Craig agreed. "I think John is no longer in league with Magneto. I can tell when someone is lying, Althea. And John is telling the truth." Craig nodded.
"Alright." Althea made her decision. "One chance, John. One chance to prove to us you can be a Misfit. You screw this up, and your butt is mine. Got it, Aussie?" A long silence passed between the two element-manipulators.
"No worries." John smirked.
Whew! John has a chance to prove himself. Can Pyro prove to the Misfits that Magneto wanted him dead? What is Magneto up to? What of the Acolytes? Find out in the next chapter of "Rebirth of a Pyromaniac"!
