Chapter 4
Hot, Hot, Hot
Gambit, Jennie, and Colossus were seated around the breakfast table.
"When you guys first met St. John he was insane, right?" Jennie asked with a mouthful of Froot Loops.
Gambit and Colossus nodded slowly.
"Why do you ask?" Colossus questioned.
"Just making sure." Jennie swiveled the spoon around in her cereal. "Is it just me, or is there something... different about him?"
"What d'you mean, chère?" Gambit asked after taking a sip of orange juice.
Before Jennie could answer, Pyro walked into the kitchen. Alongside him was a 5'8" shapely woman fire elemental.
"Like I was sayin', love," Pyro said to the fire woman, "the rain in Spain falls on the plain. Now, where I come from, it barely ev'a rains! Minus the deadly wildlife, it's the most perfect place on Earth!"
Pyro, still babbling about the Outback, exited the room with the elemental.
"I see what you mean," Colossus said. "This sort of behavior is weird... even for him."
"Can't you two see?" Gambit asked in disbelief. "Our resident pyrokinetic is in amore. Gambit recognize da symptoms any day."
"But is being that much in love -with that thing- healthy?" Jennie asked.
Colossus was about to say something, when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Pyro and the fire woman were nuzzling noses out on the patio. Colossus hung his head, sighed, and continued buttering his toast.
* * *
Aidan, having changed back into her hoodie and flannels, stepped out of the 7 Eleven with a cup of coffee. She walked over to her bike and sat on the seat. "This coffee tastes like mud."
"What do you expect? It's a 7 Eleven, not a Starbucks," a female voice pointed out.
Aidan turned to see a woman in a teal Johnny collar top. Her hair was the color of French vanilla ice cream with blue streaks... Odd...
"You've got a point there," Aidan responded.
"I'm Jennie," the woman said, sticking out her hand.
"Aidan." She shook Jennie's hand.
"So," Jennie said, sitting on the curb, "how are you?"
"Tired... bored..." Her stomach growled. "A little hungry. I only had enough money for el cheapo coffee."
"Rough. You from around here?"
"Sorta. I share an apartment downtown with a friend. Moved back to the States a few years ago."
"Moved back?" Jennie cocked her head. "Where did you live?"
"Well." Aidan took a sip of the mud and continued. "My parents were from Jersey and we moved to New Zealand when I was about a year old. Lived there until I was seven. Then left for Cairo, then Rome, then Iceland. Got back here about three years ago."
"Sounds interesting."
"You have no idea." Aidan's gaze locked on a nearby squirrel. She wished she could set the annoying rodent on fire. "So, how about you... Jennie?"
"Well, I was born in Bermuda. Man, do I miss that place. You realize how annoying snow really is? Anyway, in 1996, my mom and I almost died during a hurricane. My dad and brother did... After that, mom decided that we should move somewhere safer. That's when we moved to Bayville. My mom died of a heart attack last year. Since then, I've lived with a couple... friends."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I know." Jennie decided it was time to feel Aidan out. "So, you said you moved back here three years ago. That's about when all the hype about the mutants started up."
Oh, no, Aidan thought. Not another mutant-hater -Damn, that squirrel was annoying- If this Jennie hated mutants, she swore the whole 7 Eleven was going up in smoke.
"Yeah. Why?" Aidan asked, cautiously.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted your opinion, that's all."
"I thought mutants were like religion and politics: not discussed in polite conversation."
Jennie chuckled. "I know what you mean. I wish people would just drop it already. I mean, what did mutants ever do to them?"
Wow, Aidan thought, an ally. Better not let her in on the secret just yet. Maybe she feels this way because she's never met a mutant before.
"Seriously," Aidan agreed, "I actually think being a mutant would be kinda cool, y'know? Having special powers and all."
"Yeah, that would be pretty nifty."
Jennie scratched her elbow. This Aidan character was pretty unusual. A person who actually liked mutants. That was about as common as someone who thought having The Plague was cool. You don't come across that everyday.
Even though she was about Jennie's height, build, and skin tone, she had an odd look about her. Her two most striking features were her hair and her eyes. Her hair was down, reaching to about her kidneys, and slightly messy... kinda windblown with a little bit of curl. The color was absolutely amazing: so red it almost looked as though it was on fire. Her eyes, though, were what made Jennie suspicious. At times the brown part looked like it bled into the white part. And besides, it looked like she was hiding something.
"Where are you headed?" Aidan asked, snapping Jennie out of her thoughts.
"Oh, uh, about twenty miles south of here."
"Twenty miles?! You walked that far to get to a 7 Eleven?" Aidan's jaw hit the handlebars.
"It's not that bad," Jennie replied. "I do it about once a week. Keeps me in shape."
"Well, how 'bout I give you a ride?" Aidan offered. "Unless you want your legs to turn to Jell-O."
Jennie smiled. "Sure. Why not?"
Jennie hopped onto the bike and held on to Aidan's waist. Aidan started the bike, revved it a few times, and took off out of the parking lot. Strangely enough, although it was mid-October and beginning to cool down, Aidan was so warm it seemed as though her molecules were moving in double time. Besides that, the ride to the base was pretty uneventful. Except, Aidan knew Jennie couldn't see her eyes and had a little bit of fun spontaneously combusting a blue jay.
Jennie had Aidan stop at the bottom of a winding driveway. "Thanks a lot. Talk to you later?"
"Sure," Aidan responded, "see you around." She revved the bike and sped off.
As Jennie stood in the driveway watching Aidan leave, the parts of her body that were in contact with Aidan were tingling because they were so warm.
Hot, Hot, Hot
Gambit, Jennie, and Colossus were seated around the breakfast table.
"When you guys first met St. John he was insane, right?" Jennie asked with a mouthful of Froot Loops.
Gambit and Colossus nodded slowly.
"Why do you ask?" Colossus questioned.
"Just making sure." Jennie swiveled the spoon around in her cereal. "Is it just me, or is there something... different about him?"
"What d'you mean, chère?" Gambit asked after taking a sip of orange juice.
Before Jennie could answer, Pyro walked into the kitchen. Alongside him was a 5'8" shapely woman fire elemental.
"Like I was sayin', love," Pyro said to the fire woman, "the rain in Spain falls on the plain. Now, where I come from, it barely ev'a rains! Minus the deadly wildlife, it's the most perfect place on Earth!"
Pyro, still babbling about the Outback, exited the room with the elemental.
"I see what you mean," Colossus said. "This sort of behavior is weird... even for him."
"Can't you two see?" Gambit asked in disbelief. "Our resident pyrokinetic is in amore. Gambit recognize da symptoms any day."
"But is being that much in love -with that thing- healthy?" Jennie asked.
Colossus was about to say something, when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Pyro and the fire woman were nuzzling noses out on the patio. Colossus hung his head, sighed, and continued buttering his toast.
* * *
Aidan, having changed back into her hoodie and flannels, stepped out of the 7 Eleven with a cup of coffee. She walked over to her bike and sat on the seat. "This coffee tastes like mud."
"What do you expect? It's a 7 Eleven, not a Starbucks," a female voice pointed out.
Aidan turned to see a woman in a teal Johnny collar top. Her hair was the color of French vanilla ice cream with blue streaks... Odd...
"You've got a point there," Aidan responded.
"I'm Jennie," the woman said, sticking out her hand.
"Aidan." She shook Jennie's hand.
"So," Jennie said, sitting on the curb, "how are you?"
"Tired... bored..." Her stomach growled. "A little hungry. I only had enough money for el cheapo coffee."
"Rough. You from around here?"
"Sorta. I share an apartment downtown with a friend. Moved back to the States a few years ago."
"Moved back?" Jennie cocked her head. "Where did you live?"
"Well." Aidan took a sip of the mud and continued. "My parents were from Jersey and we moved to New Zealand when I was about a year old. Lived there until I was seven. Then left for Cairo, then Rome, then Iceland. Got back here about three years ago."
"Sounds interesting."
"You have no idea." Aidan's gaze locked on a nearby squirrel. She wished she could set the annoying rodent on fire. "So, how about you... Jennie?"
"Well, I was born in Bermuda. Man, do I miss that place. You realize how annoying snow really is? Anyway, in 1996, my mom and I almost died during a hurricane. My dad and brother did... After that, mom decided that we should move somewhere safer. That's when we moved to Bayville. My mom died of a heart attack last year. Since then, I've lived with a couple... friends."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I know." Jennie decided it was time to feel Aidan out. "So, you said you moved back here three years ago. That's about when all the hype about the mutants started up."
Oh, no, Aidan thought. Not another mutant-hater -Damn, that squirrel was annoying- If this Jennie hated mutants, she swore the whole 7 Eleven was going up in smoke.
"Yeah. Why?" Aidan asked, cautiously.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted your opinion, that's all."
"I thought mutants were like religion and politics: not discussed in polite conversation."
Jennie chuckled. "I know what you mean. I wish people would just drop it already. I mean, what did mutants ever do to them?"
Wow, Aidan thought, an ally. Better not let her in on the secret just yet. Maybe she feels this way because she's never met a mutant before.
"Seriously," Aidan agreed, "I actually think being a mutant would be kinda cool, y'know? Having special powers and all."
"Yeah, that would be pretty nifty."
Jennie scratched her elbow. This Aidan character was pretty unusual. A person who actually liked mutants. That was about as common as someone who thought having The Plague was cool. You don't come across that everyday.
Even though she was about Jennie's height, build, and skin tone, she had an odd look about her. Her two most striking features were her hair and her eyes. Her hair was down, reaching to about her kidneys, and slightly messy... kinda windblown with a little bit of curl. The color was absolutely amazing: so red it almost looked as though it was on fire. Her eyes, though, were what made Jennie suspicious. At times the brown part looked like it bled into the white part. And besides, it looked like she was hiding something.
"Where are you headed?" Aidan asked, snapping Jennie out of her thoughts.
"Oh, uh, about twenty miles south of here."
"Twenty miles?! You walked that far to get to a 7 Eleven?" Aidan's jaw hit the handlebars.
"It's not that bad," Jennie replied. "I do it about once a week. Keeps me in shape."
"Well, how 'bout I give you a ride?" Aidan offered. "Unless you want your legs to turn to Jell-O."
Jennie smiled. "Sure. Why not?"
Jennie hopped onto the bike and held on to Aidan's waist. Aidan started the bike, revved it a few times, and took off out of the parking lot. Strangely enough, although it was mid-October and beginning to cool down, Aidan was so warm it seemed as though her molecules were moving in double time. Besides that, the ride to the base was pretty uneventful. Except, Aidan knew Jennie couldn't see her eyes and had a little bit of fun spontaneously combusting a blue jay.
Jennie had Aidan stop at the bottom of a winding driveway. "Thanks a lot. Talk to you later?"
"Sure," Aidan responded, "see you around." She revved the bike and sped off.
As Jennie stood in the driveway watching Aidan leave, the parts of her body that were in contact with Aidan were tingling because they were so warm.
