Chapter 9
Aidan's Past Revealed

Gambit helped Jennie limp up the driveway.

"Damn that Jean Grey," Jennie muttered. "Damn her, damn her, damn her."

"It's all right, chère, Gambit give you a back rub."

"I don't want a- a back rub? Really?"

"Sure."

"And make me a piña colada?"

"Now you're pushin' it." He smirked.

She smacked him and stormed through the front door.

"Gambit jus' jokin' wit 'cha!" he yelled from the driveway.

Jennie limped past Colossus on the couch and to the refrigerator. She opened the freezer door and proceeded to dig for something she could use as an ice pack.

Gambit sat down next to Colossus. "So, mon ami, how much of us gettin' our asses kicked was on da news?"

"The whole thing," Colossus replied. "They even preempted the regularly scheduled soap operas."

Jennie walked into the living room, threw a bag of frozen broccoli onto the Lay-Z-Boy and sat on it. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Ahhhh... where's St. John?"

"He hasn't come home yet," Colossus answered.

"What?!" Gambit and Jennie yelled in unison.

"He hasn't come home yet," Colossus repeated slowly.

"Well, where is he?" Jennie asked, sitting up straight.

"How should I know?" Colossus asked. "I'm not his mother."

"Gambit, we need to go find him."

"No, we don't," Gambit replied. "You got that bruise on your pretty lil' butt da last time we wen' lookin' for dat kid. Let 'im be chère. He'll come back when he's ready."

"But, but-"

Gambit raised a silencing hand and Jennie sank back into the Lay-Z-Boy, defeated.

* * *

Same little girl, same meadow, same marketplace, same little boy. "You're a freak!" A flash of black and the girl was asleep in Rome. There was a knock on the door and the police entered her room. She screamed. They tried to calm her down, but she kept screaming. Something about her father and a car accident. Her eyes began to glow and two of the officers caught fire. She pushed past another pair of policemen and ran down the hall. Another officer ran around the corner and caught her. He began to shake her and shake her...

* * *

"Wake up, sheila," Pyro said as he shook Aidan's shoulders. "Wake up."

Aidan's eyes shot open and a blast of fire threw Pyro half way across the rock quarry.

"G'day to you too," Pyro said, waving smoke out of his face. Thank God his jumper was flame retardant.

"Where am I?" Aidan asked, quite frightened.

"No worries, sheila," Pyro said, cautiously getting closer to her. "You're at the abandoned Bayville Rock Quarry. You were out for quite a bit. That fire hand was smashing though. Saved me life, you did."

Aidan cocked her head and looked at the wacky Australian with the orange hair. As he got closer to her, his grin got wider and wider.

Pyro.

"I- I'm sorry," Aidan stammered. "They're normally not that bad."

"No need to apologize," he said, sitting next to her. "What aren't that bad?"

"The nightmares," Aidan replied, hugging her knees to her chest. "They come back every time I use my powers. They're normally not that bad."

Pyro put his arm around her. "Now why would a pretty sheila like you 'ave nightmares?"

"It's a long story," she said, leaning toward him. "I've never told anyone the entire truth..."

"Well, go for it. We've got all day."

"Well, when I was eight years old, I was playing in a field and suddenly I got dizzy and a nearby barn caught fire. I didn't know what to do. I went home and told my parents. They assured me it was just a coincidence, but they were wrong. Later that night a lynch mob showed up at my house and-"

"A lynch mob?"

"Yeah, I know. But it's the truth. Pitchforks 'n all. They threw rocks through the windows and set my house on fire. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't. I couldn't get my powers to work. My dad grabbed me and carried me out the back door. My mom died..."

"Aw, sheila..." Pyro pulled her closer.

"My dad and I fled to Egypt. One day I was playing with a boy in the market and I set a tent on fire. That's when I started having the nightmares. Dad and I left Cairo before anyone could figure out it was my fault."

"Where'd ya go?"

"Rome. One night, the police showed up at our house. I thought they were after me and I caught two of them on fire. It was an accident, but they died. Another officer caught me and told me that my dad had died in an auto accident on his way home from Germany. I broke free and ran. I was only thirteen. My nanny and I moved to Iceland. Once I quit using my power, the nightmares stopped. I tried so hard to control and stop using my powers."

"Why would you wanna quit usin' your powers? Sounds like you've got an amazing gift."

"Gift? A gift that killed my mom and two innocent policemen? It's not a gift; it's a curse. When I turned fifteen, I stowed away on a cargo ship for America, and wound up here in Bayville. Ever since that day in the alley, I've been having the nightmares again. I thought I had gotten rid of them three years ago..."

"Well, the first thing ya gotta do is quit blamin' yourself for your mum's death. That wasn't your fault."

"You don't know how many times I've told myself that one. It doesn't help." A single tear dripped down her cheek.

"The second thing ya gotta do," he said, wiping away the tear, "is embrace your power. It really can be fun if you let it. Heck, I've had a bang up time the past couple o' years."

"Fun? How can it be fun?"

"You gotta be creative. Here. Lemme show you." He stood up and created a kangaroo elemental. It hopped around a bit and then he created a tiny woodpecker. It landed on the kangaroo and began pecking. The poor kangaroo had a hell of a time trying to box the woodpecker away. Aidan smiled and Pyro make the elementals evaporate. "See? Fun. You try."

"No, I can't..."

"Sure you can! Nev'a say 'can't'. That's bad language." He picked her up off the ground and stood her on her feet. "I'll start ya off."

He made a box out of fire a few feet in front of them. Aidan looked at the box and then at him. He smiled and nodded toward the box. "Go on then..."

Aidan's eyes began to glow and the box twisted into a butterfly. It flitted around for a bit and then turned into a bunny. After a few moments as a bunny, it evaporated.

"Well," Pyro said, hand placed thoughtfully on his chin, "it's a start."