"Home sweet home." Mystique announced as she opened the door to let them in.
John looked around. It wasn't just an apartment; it was a huge, luxurious penthouse. The floors and walls were made of rich, polished wood. There were large windows that overlooked New York in just about every direction. John eyed a set of staircases to his left and found that there were actually several floors to the space.
Wow.
John was speechless, while Magneto and Mystique weren't phased a bit. Then again, this was their house.
"You actually live here?" he asked them.
Mystique had changed back to her natural form, and smiled at him, her white teeth made startlingly bright against the dark blue of her face. "We have to hang our hats somewhere."
"Yeah, but this is huge!"
"And a devil to keep dust-free. But it serves its purpose." Magneto remarked as he moved to look at the view from one of the large windows.
"What purpose?"
Magneto ignored his question. "John, you are free to pick out a room. I'll help you to settle in, but at the moment, Mystique and I have some things to take care of."
John shrugged. "Ok, any room?"
"Yes, any room except the one on the top floor. Off you go." Magneto waved him away with his hand as he and Mystique started towards the other end of the apartment.
John shrugged and went off to explore the rest of the space. He still wasn't sure if he trusted them, but he didn't think he was in any immediate danger. If he was, then why would they offer him a room? But then again, who knew what they might be planning in the future.
Well, he'd deal with that when it came up.
Aimlessly, he wandered the halls. Peeking his head into every door he came upon, he found that most of the penthouse space went to waste. Few of the rooms were furnished, while others appeared as if their doors had never even been opened by the current tenants.
"Weird." John said to himself as he went upstairs to check the rooms there.
Some were unused, but most were fully furnished. John chose a room that had a bed, a dresser, a desk with a computer on it and a television. It had a small balcony that had a great view of Central Park.
Not bad at all, he'd never had such nice things to call his own before. 'Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.' he thought.
But how long would this last? He was sure that Magneto and Mystique didn't bring him here so that they could play house.
He sat on the edge of the bed, not knowing what to do. There was nothing for him to do, he didn't have anywhere to be. Glancing at 'his' desk, he spied a telephone.
*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bobby Drake was worried. Much more worried than he cared to admit.
Despite the relief he felt to learn that all of the other friends he had at Xavier's were safe, he wanted to see John.
The X-men had barely escaped the valley before it flooded, and for a horrible few minutes, Bobby thought that John was still wandering the forest, determined to prove his worth, only to be killed in the icy flood.
To know that John was alive was a blessing, but to know whom he was with was a curse.
He hadn't heard too much of their conversation on the X-jet. It didn't seem very important at the time, but Bobby berated himself now for not seeing it sooner. Magneto was tempting John! Everyone, Rogue included, had warned him about the man's treachery, but Bobby hadn't take it too seriously.
Now he wished he had.
It was no secret that John was generally dissatisfied with life. He, like Bobby and the rest of the school, was forced to keep his power a secret. The school's rules strictly dictate that if one can help it, all powers are not to be used publicly in any way.
The school was the only place John had to go, and if he wanted to stay, he had to keep himself in control. Once that control was removed, however, and John felt threatened enough, he reacted the way only a select few assumed he would: an all-out offensive with his flames.
They had no idea his power could be that destructive! In the past, he reluctantly kept the flames in check, only forming the fire into shapes to show off for the girls of the school. What he did to the kid in the museum was still minor in comparison.
Bobby and Rogue had been horrified to see it in John's face that he was enjoying the attack on the porch.
Magneto must've seen it in him somehow, that thirst for power.
Before she left, Jean had said that John was with Magneto. Once he heard the news, he had tried not to become visibly upset, but his mind invented scene after horrible scene of how Magneto had captured John in the woods, and what they could be doing to him.
-In his mind's eye, he could see John running through the woods as fast as he could to put distance between him and Magneto. But it was no use, because Magneto can fly, and use his power over magnetic fields to capture his friend.
He could see Mystique taking sadistic pleasure in beating and cutting John until he finally relented and told them everything he knew about Xavier's school.-
The idea that John had voluntarily gone with them had never occurred to him.
'God! Why did John have to leave the X-jet?!' he asked himself for the 1000th time.
Bobby glanced over at the ringing phone, and rolled his eyes. 'Probably just a telemarketer.' He thought.
Rolling over on his bed, he pointed at the telephone, and the speaker began to ice over, creating a muffler to the ring.
*^*^*^*^*
John frowned at the receiver. No one picked up in Bobby's room, where was everyone? John knew that the soldiers hadn't captured many of the students, the ones who escaped should have returned by now.
'Probably out with Rogue.' He thought as he hung up.
Sighing, he felt a little disappointed. He wanted to at least let Bobby know that he was still alive.
For how much longer was the real question.
With that thought it mind, John left the room.
Magneto had told him not to go into the room on the top floor, maybe that was where he and Mystique were.
John went up the stairs, and was a little surprised to find that there was only a set of double doors at the top of the stairs, nothing more.
The doors didn't touch the ground on the bottom, leaving a space about half an inch tall. John could see moving shadows on the floor, Magneto and Mystique had to be inside there...unless they weren't as alone as he had thought.
He went up a few more steps, and could hear some voices. Muffled as they were, he could tell the difference between Magneto's commanding bass and Mystique's alluring soprano.
He went up a few more steps, just close enough so that he could hear them more clearly. John wasn't fool enough to go all the way up to the door and press his ear to the wood.
"He knows too much, if he were to go spreading tales about our location or future plans..."
"Don't worry Eric. I'll take care of him. He'll be gone without a trace."
"I'm not worried in the least, I know that you can handle yourself. But accidents can happen."
"I know. They've happened before, but this is different. As powerful as he is, he'll still be caught off guard. Everyone is when I pounce." Mystique declared in an oddly proud voice.
Magneto chuckled low in his throat. "I know I was."
John didn't catch the last comment as he quickly backed down the stairs. He had heard enough.
Magneto and Mystique were plotting to kill him.
Everything the X-men ever told him was true, they were crazy!
'I've got to get the Hell out of here!' he thought frantically, and oddly resisting. He refused to die here, by them. Frankly, he refused to die anytime this week!
They were NOT going to kill him, no way.
John ran down the stairs, and tried to remember the way to the front door. As far as he knew, it was the only exit...unless you counted the windows, but he couldn't fly like some of the other students at Xavier's.
The halls all looked the same to him in his panic and he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction.
'Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?'
Finally, the hall opened into the large center room. John practically dove for the doorknob.
It was locked.
"Going somewhere, Pyro?"
John looked around. It wasn't just an apartment; it was a huge, luxurious penthouse. The floors and walls were made of rich, polished wood. There were large windows that overlooked New York in just about every direction. John eyed a set of staircases to his left and found that there were actually several floors to the space.
Wow.
John was speechless, while Magneto and Mystique weren't phased a bit. Then again, this was their house.
"You actually live here?" he asked them.
Mystique had changed back to her natural form, and smiled at him, her white teeth made startlingly bright against the dark blue of her face. "We have to hang our hats somewhere."
"Yeah, but this is huge!"
"And a devil to keep dust-free. But it serves its purpose." Magneto remarked as he moved to look at the view from one of the large windows.
"What purpose?"
Magneto ignored his question. "John, you are free to pick out a room. I'll help you to settle in, but at the moment, Mystique and I have some things to take care of."
John shrugged. "Ok, any room?"
"Yes, any room except the one on the top floor. Off you go." Magneto waved him away with his hand as he and Mystique started towards the other end of the apartment.
John shrugged and went off to explore the rest of the space. He still wasn't sure if he trusted them, but he didn't think he was in any immediate danger. If he was, then why would they offer him a room? But then again, who knew what they might be planning in the future.
Well, he'd deal with that when it came up.
Aimlessly, he wandered the halls. Peeking his head into every door he came upon, he found that most of the penthouse space went to waste. Few of the rooms were furnished, while others appeared as if their doors had never even been opened by the current tenants.
"Weird." John said to himself as he went upstairs to check the rooms there.
Some were unused, but most were fully furnished. John chose a room that had a bed, a dresser, a desk with a computer on it and a television. It had a small balcony that had a great view of Central Park.
Not bad at all, he'd never had such nice things to call his own before. 'Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.' he thought.
But how long would this last? He was sure that Magneto and Mystique didn't bring him here so that they could play house.
He sat on the edge of the bed, not knowing what to do. There was nothing for him to do, he didn't have anywhere to be. Glancing at 'his' desk, he spied a telephone.
*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bobby Drake was worried. Much more worried than he cared to admit.
Despite the relief he felt to learn that all of the other friends he had at Xavier's were safe, he wanted to see John.
The X-men had barely escaped the valley before it flooded, and for a horrible few minutes, Bobby thought that John was still wandering the forest, determined to prove his worth, only to be killed in the icy flood.
To know that John was alive was a blessing, but to know whom he was with was a curse.
He hadn't heard too much of their conversation on the X-jet. It didn't seem very important at the time, but Bobby berated himself now for not seeing it sooner. Magneto was tempting John! Everyone, Rogue included, had warned him about the man's treachery, but Bobby hadn't take it too seriously.
Now he wished he had.
It was no secret that John was generally dissatisfied with life. He, like Bobby and the rest of the school, was forced to keep his power a secret. The school's rules strictly dictate that if one can help it, all powers are not to be used publicly in any way.
The school was the only place John had to go, and if he wanted to stay, he had to keep himself in control. Once that control was removed, however, and John felt threatened enough, he reacted the way only a select few assumed he would: an all-out offensive with his flames.
They had no idea his power could be that destructive! In the past, he reluctantly kept the flames in check, only forming the fire into shapes to show off for the girls of the school. What he did to the kid in the museum was still minor in comparison.
Bobby and Rogue had been horrified to see it in John's face that he was enjoying the attack on the porch.
Magneto must've seen it in him somehow, that thirst for power.
Before she left, Jean had said that John was with Magneto. Once he heard the news, he had tried not to become visibly upset, but his mind invented scene after horrible scene of how Magneto had captured John in the woods, and what they could be doing to him.
-In his mind's eye, he could see John running through the woods as fast as he could to put distance between him and Magneto. But it was no use, because Magneto can fly, and use his power over magnetic fields to capture his friend.
He could see Mystique taking sadistic pleasure in beating and cutting John until he finally relented and told them everything he knew about Xavier's school.-
The idea that John had voluntarily gone with them had never occurred to him.
'God! Why did John have to leave the X-jet?!' he asked himself for the 1000th time.
Bobby glanced over at the ringing phone, and rolled his eyes. 'Probably just a telemarketer.' He thought.
Rolling over on his bed, he pointed at the telephone, and the speaker began to ice over, creating a muffler to the ring.
*^*^*^*^*
John frowned at the receiver. No one picked up in Bobby's room, where was everyone? John knew that the soldiers hadn't captured many of the students, the ones who escaped should have returned by now.
'Probably out with Rogue.' He thought as he hung up.
Sighing, he felt a little disappointed. He wanted to at least let Bobby know that he was still alive.
For how much longer was the real question.
With that thought it mind, John left the room.
Magneto had told him not to go into the room on the top floor, maybe that was where he and Mystique were.
John went up the stairs, and was a little surprised to find that there was only a set of double doors at the top of the stairs, nothing more.
The doors didn't touch the ground on the bottom, leaving a space about half an inch tall. John could see moving shadows on the floor, Magneto and Mystique had to be inside there...unless they weren't as alone as he had thought.
He went up a few more steps, and could hear some voices. Muffled as they were, he could tell the difference between Magneto's commanding bass and Mystique's alluring soprano.
He went up a few more steps, just close enough so that he could hear them more clearly. John wasn't fool enough to go all the way up to the door and press his ear to the wood.
"He knows too much, if he were to go spreading tales about our location or future plans..."
"Don't worry Eric. I'll take care of him. He'll be gone without a trace."
"I'm not worried in the least, I know that you can handle yourself. But accidents can happen."
"I know. They've happened before, but this is different. As powerful as he is, he'll still be caught off guard. Everyone is when I pounce." Mystique declared in an oddly proud voice.
Magneto chuckled low in his throat. "I know I was."
John didn't catch the last comment as he quickly backed down the stairs. He had heard enough.
Magneto and Mystique were plotting to kill him.
Everything the X-men ever told him was true, they were crazy!
'I've got to get the Hell out of here!' he thought frantically, and oddly resisting. He refused to die here, by them. Frankly, he refused to die anytime this week!
They were NOT going to kill him, no way.
John ran down the stairs, and tried to remember the way to the front door. As far as he knew, it was the only exit...unless you counted the windows, but he couldn't fly like some of the other students at Xavier's.
The halls all looked the same to him in his panic and he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction.
'Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?'
Finally, the hall opened into the large center room. John practically dove for the doorknob.
It was locked.
"Going somewhere, Pyro?"