Author's Note: Hiya guys! This is probably the millionth 'what-happens-to-pyro-after-X2' story out there, but I wanted to right my own. Granted, my other stories allude to it, but this one will be more or less centered on him. Fun right? Oh, by the way, does anyone know if we're allowed to write about the actors behind the characters on this site? The funny story I mentioned on my settings has to do with the actors who play characters...I don't want to run the risk of getting kicked off FF.net!
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The helicopter sliced through the thick gray clouds, boldly announcing its presence. Mystique could do nothing about the noise, so all of the passengers were forced to endure. 'All' of the passengers, not just 'both'. Eric Lehnsherr, perhaps better known as Magneto, removed his helmet and turned around to check on their unexpected guest.
John Allerdyce was slumped in the backseat, asleep. Eric could not blame the boy, he himself had been fighting the strong pull of sleep since the helicopter took to the sky. Creating such a strong counter pulse to the Cerebro wave was a huge effort; Charles's psychic abilities had been amplified to a staggering degree of power by the Cerebro helmet.
It was, however, a satisfying revelation to know that even with Cerebro, he could still overcome Charles's attack.
John and Mystique had not been as fortunate. They had been hit by the wave at full force. Mystique was lucky to have been so near to the eye of the storm, the pulse's strength not as powerful as it was when it reached John.
Eric felt sorry for the boy.
The past few days' events had been overwhelming to say the least. Being attacked by Stryker's soldiers in the middle of the night; the Wolverine being shot right in front of him, which-Magneto estimated- triggered his devastating display on the local police force; Rogue had drained his power, Magneto knew firsthand how weakening that could be; then X-jet nearly crashed, thanks to the Air Force.
And that was only the first day, mind you.
From there, it grew worse. Magneto didn't know how far John had hiked through the snow, but he knew it had to be more than a mile before the Cerebro wave dropped him with its excruciating pulses.
'Poor boy, let him rest'
*^*^*^*^*
John's life is in near constant tumult; the only calm he could find was in his dreams. Here, in the darkness of his mind, there were no classes, no curfews, no rules or restrictions for his imagination.
Here he was free.
He does not reach this point of exhaustion easily or often; but when he does, all he can see is a lone flame, burning against the dark.
In his sleep, he thought that perhaps the past three days had been unreal. He would wake up in a few minutes and go to class, confide in Bobby about the crazy dream. Never having damaged their friendship, never having met Magneto.
"John?" A voice called out to him from far away.
"John?" There it was again.
'Go away' he called back with his mind.
He didn't want to talk, or move or think. He just wanted to rest. He needed to.
A hand clasped his shoulder and shook him awake. John looked up and saw Magneto above him. "Why'd you wake me?" he snapped, none too pleased about the interruption.
Magneto half-smiled at his teenage crankiness. "We couldn't let you sleep all day, there's much to do." Magneto then hauled John out of his chair by the forearm.
Not to hurt the boy, just firmly enough to assert who was in control.
John ran a hand through his hair as he moved past Magneto to look out the window. The helicopter had landed in another forest; the only difference was that it appeared to be mid-autumn, wherever they were.
Magneto left the helicopter, fully expecting John to follow. Which he did, after a moment's hesitation.
He hadn't planned to go with them...suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.
What did he really know about this man? Nothing, except that he had gone along with the X-men in the hopes of saving Charles Xavier. Then again, he did try to manipulate him into killing all the humans of the world.
Hmmm...
Magneto had about a twenty-foot head start, and John hurried to catch up. He knew that Magneto wouldn't be pleased if he fell behind and got lost in the woods.
"Hey, hey, Magneto, wait up!" he called.
The older man had stopped in a clearing, awaiting John. "Where are we?" he asked.
"It's difficult to say, we had to pull an emergency landing in this forest, the military had been tracing the helicopter. We are on the outskirts of a town, which Mystique is currently exploring."
"Who's...oh, yeah, the blue chick." John remembered her as being nearly immobile and completely silent on the jet.
Magneto shifted a little and cleared his throat. "Yes...she's checking for a place in which we can stay until I can procure us a transport. However, there are certain obstacles."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that since his prison break, Eric's face has been flashed across every news channel known to man." Came a voice to John's left.
He turned and saw Mystique emerge from the trees.
Or rather, Logan.
John couldn't help but let out a yelp of surprise and fear as Logan began to melt and transform as "he" came toward them.
John backed up several steps and tripped, leaving him on his back at Magneto's feet.
He had never seen Mystique change before. He knew that she had changed to trick Stryker back at the lake, but she hadn't changed where anyone could've seen.
Magneto had walked with her into the woods, possibly to wish her luck in a more private place, and when he came back to the jet, he was alone.
Magneto cocked his head to the side as he looked down at the boy. Mystique scowled at his fearful behavior.
"You'll get used to it in time John." Magneto said as he gave him a hand standing up.
Mystique rolled her eyes at John's behavior, informing them of the town.
"There are news reports, the townspeople are somewhat aware, but they're more concerned now about Alkali Lake and the possibility that it might flood through here. They know your face, Eric, but if we enter quietly and leave quickly we'll be fine."
*^*^**^**
Mystique checked them into the local Holiday Inn. Magneto and she sharing one room, while John had his own.
He was grateful for the privacy of a room to himself, the bed was soft and he just wanted to sleep.
Problem was, his mind wouldn't rest.
He was afraid of Magneto and Mystique. He didn't know much about either one of them, other than that they were considered the two most dangerous enemies to the X-men, second only to mutant hate groups.
Once they realized that Magneto was holding the jet, all of the X-men were instantly more agitated. To them, Magneto was the personification of everything Xavier feared: he was chaotic, powerful, vengeful and a publicly known danger.
Better to die in a fiery plane crash than to live knowing that it was the hated Magneto who had saved their lives.
John did not share that opinion; Magneto had saved his life twice in the past three days, which was all he needed to know.
But why? Why would a villain bother to help some dumb kid who had run off into the woods by himself?
Surely it wasn't because he was lonely, Magneto had his precious Mystique.
Maybe Magneto was only letting him live so that he could be used later on as a bargaining chip with the X-men.
John snorted-yeah, right! If Magneto wanted a bargaining chip then he should have kidnapped Rogue again. Lord knows she needed more people bending over backward for her.
The X-men might think that he had died in the flood. It'd be a surprise the next time they saw him, alive and well.
That was, 'if' he ever saw them again. He had no idea where he was, or where Magneto planned to take him.
John looked over to the clock, it was almost three in the morning.
'Go to sleep John!' he yelled at himself.
Somewhere between then and sunrise, John's mind obeyed its own command.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The helicopter sliced through the thick gray clouds, boldly announcing its presence. Mystique could do nothing about the noise, so all of the passengers were forced to endure. 'All' of the passengers, not just 'both'. Eric Lehnsherr, perhaps better known as Magneto, removed his helmet and turned around to check on their unexpected guest.
John Allerdyce was slumped in the backseat, asleep. Eric could not blame the boy, he himself had been fighting the strong pull of sleep since the helicopter took to the sky. Creating such a strong counter pulse to the Cerebro wave was a huge effort; Charles's psychic abilities had been amplified to a staggering degree of power by the Cerebro helmet.
It was, however, a satisfying revelation to know that even with Cerebro, he could still overcome Charles's attack.
John and Mystique had not been as fortunate. They had been hit by the wave at full force. Mystique was lucky to have been so near to the eye of the storm, the pulse's strength not as powerful as it was when it reached John.
Eric felt sorry for the boy.
The past few days' events had been overwhelming to say the least. Being attacked by Stryker's soldiers in the middle of the night; the Wolverine being shot right in front of him, which-Magneto estimated- triggered his devastating display on the local police force; Rogue had drained his power, Magneto knew firsthand how weakening that could be; then X-jet nearly crashed, thanks to the Air Force.
And that was only the first day, mind you.
From there, it grew worse. Magneto didn't know how far John had hiked through the snow, but he knew it had to be more than a mile before the Cerebro wave dropped him with its excruciating pulses.
'Poor boy, let him rest'
*^*^*^*^*
John's life is in near constant tumult; the only calm he could find was in his dreams. Here, in the darkness of his mind, there were no classes, no curfews, no rules or restrictions for his imagination.
Here he was free.
He does not reach this point of exhaustion easily or often; but when he does, all he can see is a lone flame, burning against the dark.
In his sleep, he thought that perhaps the past three days had been unreal. He would wake up in a few minutes and go to class, confide in Bobby about the crazy dream. Never having damaged their friendship, never having met Magneto.
"John?" A voice called out to him from far away.
"John?" There it was again.
'Go away' he called back with his mind.
He didn't want to talk, or move or think. He just wanted to rest. He needed to.
A hand clasped his shoulder and shook him awake. John looked up and saw Magneto above him. "Why'd you wake me?" he snapped, none too pleased about the interruption.
Magneto half-smiled at his teenage crankiness. "We couldn't let you sleep all day, there's much to do." Magneto then hauled John out of his chair by the forearm.
Not to hurt the boy, just firmly enough to assert who was in control.
John ran a hand through his hair as he moved past Magneto to look out the window. The helicopter had landed in another forest; the only difference was that it appeared to be mid-autumn, wherever they were.
Magneto left the helicopter, fully expecting John to follow. Which he did, after a moment's hesitation.
He hadn't planned to go with them...suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.
What did he really know about this man? Nothing, except that he had gone along with the X-men in the hopes of saving Charles Xavier. Then again, he did try to manipulate him into killing all the humans of the world.
Hmmm...
Magneto had about a twenty-foot head start, and John hurried to catch up. He knew that Magneto wouldn't be pleased if he fell behind and got lost in the woods.
"Hey, hey, Magneto, wait up!" he called.
The older man had stopped in a clearing, awaiting John. "Where are we?" he asked.
"It's difficult to say, we had to pull an emergency landing in this forest, the military had been tracing the helicopter. We are on the outskirts of a town, which Mystique is currently exploring."
"Who's...oh, yeah, the blue chick." John remembered her as being nearly immobile and completely silent on the jet.
Magneto shifted a little and cleared his throat. "Yes...she's checking for a place in which we can stay until I can procure us a transport. However, there are certain obstacles."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that since his prison break, Eric's face has been flashed across every news channel known to man." Came a voice to John's left.
He turned and saw Mystique emerge from the trees.
Or rather, Logan.
John couldn't help but let out a yelp of surprise and fear as Logan began to melt and transform as "he" came toward them.
John backed up several steps and tripped, leaving him on his back at Magneto's feet.
He had never seen Mystique change before. He knew that she had changed to trick Stryker back at the lake, but she hadn't changed where anyone could've seen.
Magneto had walked with her into the woods, possibly to wish her luck in a more private place, and when he came back to the jet, he was alone.
Magneto cocked his head to the side as he looked down at the boy. Mystique scowled at his fearful behavior.
"You'll get used to it in time John." Magneto said as he gave him a hand standing up.
Mystique rolled her eyes at John's behavior, informing them of the town.
"There are news reports, the townspeople are somewhat aware, but they're more concerned now about Alkali Lake and the possibility that it might flood through here. They know your face, Eric, but if we enter quietly and leave quickly we'll be fine."
*^*^**^**
Mystique checked them into the local Holiday Inn. Magneto and she sharing one room, while John had his own.
He was grateful for the privacy of a room to himself, the bed was soft and he just wanted to sleep.
Problem was, his mind wouldn't rest.
He was afraid of Magneto and Mystique. He didn't know much about either one of them, other than that they were considered the two most dangerous enemies to the X-men, second only to mutant hate groups.
Once they realized that Magneto was holding the jet, all of the X-men were instantly more agitated. To them, Magneto was the personification of everything Xavier feared: he was chaotic, powerful, vengeful and a publicly known danger.
Better to die in a fiery plane crash than to live knowing that it was the hated Magneto who had saved their lives.
John did not share that opinion; Magneto had saved his life twice in the past three days, which was all he needed to know.
But why? Why would a villain bother to help some dumb kid who had run off into the woods by himself?
Surely it wasn't because he was lonely, Magneto had his precious Mystique.
Maybe Magneto was only letting him live so that he could be used later on as a bargaining chip with the X-men.
John snorted-yeah, right! If Magneto wanted a bargaining chip then he should have kidnapped Rogue again. Lord knows she needed more people bending over backward for her.
The X-men might think that he had died in the flood. It'd be a surprise the next time they saw him, alive and well.
That was, 'if' he ever saw them again. He had no idea where he was, or where Magneto planned to take him.
John looked over to the clock, it was almost three in the morning.
'Go to sleep John!' he yelled at himself.
Somewhere between then and sunrise, John's mind obeyed its own command.