Title – Reversed

Chapter Two – Midday Encounter

The teacher went down each row, handing out papers from a small stack in her arms. When one of the papers was placed on Kitty's desk, she nearly shrieked.

"But I thought the test was on Friday…"

"Kitty, it is Friday," said the teacher.

Some of the students giggled as Kitty muttered a barely audible, "Oh". The Professor had neglected to tell her that she had been asleep for three days. She hoped she didn't have a concussion that the Professor had also forgotten to mention.

"Can I, uh, like, be excused from taking the test?" Kitty asked hopefully.

"I'll give you an extra five minutes to look over your notes."

After school, Kitty didn't go straight back to the institute. Instead she went for a walk in the plaza, down sidewalks with small crowds, to think. She wanted to take a vacation, wanted to get away from the X-Men, away from the Brotherhood, and be alone for a while. It was a weird feeling that she was trying to get used to. During classes she had given it a lot of thought - between scribbling notes and doing assignments - and she decided that she needed to go home for a little while. That was as close to being alone as she could get, but she wasn't quite ready to go yet.

"Hey there, pretty Kitty."

"Pietro!" Kitty cried in surprise. She whirled around, but he wasn't there.

There was a tap on her shoulder. "I'm right here. And that was without super speed."

Kitty scowled at him. Some of the blame for her condition also fell on him. If it hadn't been for him she would have been able to get her and Rogue out without transferring her powers; and she wouldn't have been used for bait either. She swung an open hand at the side of his face, but he had already moved.

"That's not very nice, you know," he said, pointing a finger at her nose. She slapped it away.

"Oh, like what you did to me was nice?" she countered.

"Wha'd I do?" Pietro grinned. He was mocking her – and relishing every moment of it.

Kitty pursed her lips and crossed her arms huffily. "Did you want something?"

"Well, I just saw you walking here all by yourself and thought, 'I should give her the pleasure of my company'," he said.

"Ugh. Whatever, you loser!" said Kitty, trying to push him away.

"G'day, mate!" another voice said.

A man came up beside Pietro, the tips of his wild hair bleached yellow, with darker orange roots growing in. His intense gaze landed on Kitty and he smiled, then turned to Magneto's charming son. Kitty's eyes opened just a bit wider. This guy was actually kind of… cute.

"Stop dilly-dallyin', would ya? Go on 'ome. Attend to business," the man said pointedly. "Unless you're tryin' to get pappy mad, of course."

Pietro thrust his chin skyward and sneered, but nevertheless turned foot and left. The man shifted his blue eyes back to Kitty and smirked.

"You're welcome," he said.

"Do I… know you? Oh! Uh, thanks. I mean, I've totally seen you somewhere before. Have we met? Like, if we have, I'm sorry but I don't remember your name," she babbled. She always got nervous like this around gorgeous guys and she could already feel her cheeks getting hot.

He laughed loudly. "My name's John. And I'm sorta missin' the goggles and my big gas tank."

"Your what?" Kitty asked dumbly. Then it finally registered. "You work for Magneto!"

"Yeah. And, oh my god, you're an X-Freak," he grinned.

Kitty searched for something to say, but she was at a loss. It wasn't like he was chasing her around with a big, flaming kangaroo or anything. He was just bantering, almost friendly-like – actually, it was friendly. Her mouth worked silently, her brain having temporarily disconnected from the function of her voice. He mimicked her, his mouth opening and closing; she closed her mouth. Color rose to her cheeks again.

"Nice guppy impression, darlin'," he said.

They were supposed to be enemies. He had tried to kill her (and all of the other X-Men) before. John was the bad guy. John? Woah, she really didn't want to be on a first name basis with him, even if he was cute. Kitty glared at him and put up her fists.

"Well, are you here to fight me or what?" she asked.

"Actually, didn't plan on a tango with any of the X-Freaks today, but," he sighed over-dramatically. "Wanna go somewhere quieter?"

"No!" she cried, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "I mean, like, right here is fine."

"Did you want this to be a fair fight?" he asked, bemused. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a lighter. A small flame ignited at its mouth.

"Hey, no powers! That's totally cheating!"

Panic swept over her. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea – she couldn't rely on her powers. She couldn't even concentrate long enough to keep herself on a bed for more than ten minutes, so how could she hope to fight and keep herself tangible if she turned off what she had mentally dubbed a "de-phaser".

"No worries, ya got your own," he said.

The flame was in his hand now. Then it was in both hands. Then it was spinning between his palms like a bicycle wheel. People walking along the streets stopped and gaped at the man who was literally holding fire in his palms. In another time they might have thought that it was a remarkable magic trick, but mutants were more exposed to the world now than they ever had been before. Someone screamed, which set off a chain reaction.

"No I don't!" Kitty admitted. Her eyes went wide. She couldn't believe she had just said that! If her mouth got any bigger she would be able to fit both feet in it.

The people scattered and ran, bumping into each other; one was screaming about dangerous mutants. The fire in John's hands wavered, shrinking ever so slightly.

"No? You're an X-Freak and ya ain't got no powers? Honestly. Do I look like a moron?"

"It's complicated, okay?"

She didn't want an Acolyte to know she was defenseless. Well, not entirely. Logan had taught them all martial arts, but her fists probably wouldn't do her much good against an inferno.

"You've got three seconds to remember where ya left your powers, darlin'," said John. "One."

"I can't control them. See, like, what happened is-"

He cut her off. "Two."

With no other alternative, she pressed the blue button on the de-phaser and let herself fall through the cement. "Look!"

The flames in his hands vanished and he threw his head back and guffawed, but she continued to slip down further. When she got up to her waist in the ground he stepped forward as if he was going to run and grab her, but he didn't. Finally, she willed herself to stop and looked up at him. If they hadn't been so close to fighting, she would have thought his concern was sweet. Kitty closed her eyes for show, trying to make it look as difficult as it was to pull herself out.

"Looks like ya got some control to me," he said.

Kitty turned the de-phaser back on. "No. I mean… I really have to concentrate on not phasing. Then I have this watch and, like, all this other stuff on to keep from phasing all the way to China or something, but I can't use my power when its on. Which I just figured out this morning," she muttered.

"So your powerless?" he asked.

"N-no…"

She wasn't so sure that it had been wise to reveal so much to an Acolyte. She looked at him uncertainly and took a few inconspicuous steps away from him. John barked out a laugh.

"Only ribbin' ya. What? Think I was gonna tell Maggie?"

"Well," Kitty dragged out the word, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

"'e'll find out on his own. Always does," said John.

"Gee, I feel so much better now."

"No problem," he grinned.

Kitty folded her arms and looked down at the ground. Something didn't make sense to her. If Pietro had been working for Mystique last night, why was he conferring with someone from Magneto's team today? He couldn't be playing both sides when Mystique and Magneto were still at odds.

"Ya never told me your name," he said.

"Well that's because we're, like, on different sides," she said lamely.

It was a pathetic excuse, she knew. She had dated Lance, a member of the Brotherhood, someone from a different side. There was no difference, but at the same time she felt like there was a difference.

"Now why can't we all just get along?" he asked facetiously. "C'mon, I'll take you out for a milkshake."

What, are you, like, trying to get me fat? she wanted to ask, but held back the comment. It was a very Rogue-like thing to say.

"Are you asking me out on, like, a date?"

John chuckled. "Not today, luv. I just want to know your name."

Despite herself, Kitty started to smile, but hid it behind an expression of exasperation. She no longer felt like getting away and going back home.

Author's Note – Sadly, Pyro hasn't been in a great deal of Evolution episodes, so I can go off only those few episodes. That and a few select glimpses at comic book Pyro. Speaking of comic Pryo, he uses the term 'luv', so it's no an English/British rip off.

Fun Pyro Fact – (In the comic books) Back in Australia, he wrote and published several novels that fell into the 'Gothic Romance' category. Needless to say, his work did not receive a whole lot of positive criticism from his fellow Aussie's. (I say this because, yes, I am going to be playing around with the idea that he is a beginning/aspiring writer.)

Planned Update – This story has become my new main project, so updates will come quickly.

Fic Recommendation – Beyond the Pale by Crash - For all your humor needs. This is a piece compiled of fun-filled anecdotes and creative stints - and it is extremely well written. Also, as a bonus for Cartoon Network viewers who watch more than one Anime show (unlike me), Chapter Five is all for you!