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Betsy and Pyro sat across from each other at the kitchen table as they crunched down stale cereal. They were locked in a staring match. Neither one took a crazy eye off the other. Then Pyro spoke up.
"You readin' my mind sheila?" His wild Australian accent sounded irritable compared to her calm, sophisticated, English one.
"I'm afraid of your mind, you crazy bloke."
"Afraid you might like it?"
"No, I'm afraid I might get lost in that big, vacant hole…" He stuck his tongue out at her. "What do you do around here when you're not busy tryin' to pull my foot out of your ass after training?" He clenched his teeth in a fake smile at her, as she smiled back at him in pride.
"The other day… I let you win 'cause you're a weak little girl." He got up from the table to pour himself more cereal.
"What about yesterday?" She fluttered her eye lashes at him. He began to open his mouth to retort to her banter, when she interrupted him. "You know, that's enough of this stupid teasing… Just answer my question." She got serious and Pyro got the hint.
"I like to write a bit." Her eyes lit up at the validity and normalcy of his response.
"You ever been published?" she asked, Pyro smiled as he sat back down.
"I'm not nearly good enough." He replied.
"Maybe you ought to go to school?" she said meekly. Pyro stopped and stared at her as if she were crazy.
"Me? Go back to school? That's a mighty fine joke there, sheila." He got up from the table and left, but she could feel the moisture in the room rise with the amount of sweat that has collected on his palms. She watched him leave as she felt a glimmer of hope.
* * *
At about 2:30 in the morning, Betsy would placidly open her eyes, and Remy would be there, perched on her dresser watching her sleep. It wasn't creepy at all… this was when Remy would come to Betsy to be himself. He had been keeping up appearances all his life and Betsy was the only one who could see immediately right through them. She was practically his best friend, and she enjoyed the attention. Back when she lived in London, everyone fawned over her beautiful looks. She was model and that was to be expected. But with Remy it was different than it was with every other man. He appealed to her caring, nurturing side. He was like a stray puppy on the side of the road that needed her. And this was their ritual. She'd been an Acolyte for nearly a week and a half, and he was there every night. The consistency comforted Betsy as so much had changed so fast. This time, he stepped off the dresser and extended a hand to her. She just looked at it.
"I don' have coodies… well, I do… but I won't bite… unless you wan' me to." He smiled at her. She smiled back and shook her head.
"If I didn't know about 'Miss Green Eyes' I might actually fall for you." His grin widened with pride. She chuckled at him and took his hand, and he helped her out of the bed. She wore her robe for PJs. She followed him out of the bedroom and into the corridor before she whispered to him, "Where are we going?" He put his finger up to his lips telling her to be quiet. They stopped at a door, and he attempted to open it, but it was locked. He bent down to pick the lock, and Betsy looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Remy, what are you doing?" She whispered angrily. He motioned for her to be quiet again, and she did. He picked the lock with ease and opened the door. He gestured for Betsy to go in first.
The room was dark. At first, Betsy couldn't see anything, but then a beam of light from the hallway illuminated the person sleeping in the bed. Her eyes widened as she looked at Remy. He put up his finger again just as she was going to open her mouth. "He's a light sleeper." He whispered so quietly he nearly just mouthed the words. She looked at Peter lying like a bear in his bed, then eyed Remy evilly. "Knock him out." He instructed her. She looked at him as if he had just killed her dog. "C'mon, chère, jus' so we can turn on the light without wakin' him."
"But I don't want to…besides, if you so worried about waking him up then we shouldn't be doing this." She whined softly.
"Wow, you get pretty close to Petey boy there." He observed. Betsy looked down to Peter. He mumbled noises through a mouth full of pillows.
"If you'd been in his head, you'd understand." She sounded sad as her hand began to glow. She never took her off eyes off his sleeping body. She could see in his dreams. She saw a smiling little blonde girl, and knew instantly who it was. The little girl was sick, she was dying. Peter wasn't there. It was here that the little girl would have died. Betsy knew how sad it would be that Peter couldn't be there for the girl, so Betsy changed his dream. She made the girl get better. Betsy thought that a man so burdened with sadness deserved a little happiness, even if it was only in his dreams.
"Hurry it up." Remy said, invading her reverie. She pushed the glowing knife into Peter's face down head. He grumbled, but then he was out. When he woke up he probably wouldn't remember Betsy's little gift, but it didn't matter to her. Remy flipped on the light and looked down at Peter. "Was' in dere?"
"What?" Betsy replied softly.
"What's in his head? What did you say to him in training th'other day? All I can get is sadness and responsibility." Remy was going through the drawer in Peter's dresser.
"You have to promise not to tell." She sounded scared for a second but Remy just glared at her like she was crazy from over his shoulder. If anyone could keep a secret, it was Remy LeBeau. "I asked him, rhetorically, if his sister would be proud of her big brother." Remy remained emotionless as went back to looking through the drawers.
"Sounds like a low blow t'Remy." He said.
"It was, and apologized my brains out for it. Still doesn't make it right. I wish he'd be mad at me, than I could hate him back and I wouldn't feel so bad." Remy did nothing, making her feel even worse.
"Oh, here dey are." Remy waved his hand telling Betsy to come look. She sat on her knees at his side as she looked into the drawer full of sketch books.
"Wow." Betsy said, shocked at the sheer volume of books. She was reluctant to touch as they were forbidden fruit. Remy picked one up from near the bottom without hesitation. He began looking through it. When he got to the page he was searching for, he handed it to Betsy.
"Dat her?" Betsy gasped as she laid her eyes on the drawing in front of her. It was the girl from Peter's dream.
"Yes." she muttered as she nodded her head and began to flip through the pages from beautiful sketch to another. "They're brilliant." Bets was in awe as she put down the notebook she had and picked up another one. "How did you find these?" she finally asked.
"Remy's a t'ief at heart. Tante Mattie always tell me that idle hands're hands a' the devil, and when you don' sleep f'r two years, ya got lots a' idle time." Remy looked down into the drawer, ashamed of his lack of control over his nature. Betsy continued to look through book after book all filled with technical masterpieces. She picked up another one from closer to the top of the stack, and was shocked at several of the portraits she saw.
"Remy, look!" she jerked at his arm. "It's that X-girl, the Shadowcat!" He simply nodded. There were several drawings of Kitty Pryde, each one graceful and elegant. Peter wasn't merely good at drawing, he was an artist. Betsy looked back to his lifeless body on the bed, and she pondered for a minute. Remy's empathic powers began to pick up on her sympathy and concern, as well as her idea.
"Oh, no." Remy said before she could say anything.
"Remy, we have to!" She whined again.
"Too many people, chère, someone gon' get left behind… the plan'll fall apart." She looked at him with puppy dog eyes. "You can't save the world, p'tite."
"Why can't I try? It's part of being a hero." Her words struck at him, he looked back at Peter.
"Th'homme's body become metal, if Petey get's within sight 'a Magneto…"
"Look, the plan only sort of works without him, it can still work with him. He just can't stay armored." He looked at her and she looked as if she might cry. She played the girl card and Remy folded.
* * *
Betsy eyes flickered open again at 2:17. It was a little early, but Remy was there. He smiled at her as if he knew something she didn't. The sight made her smile back.
"Magneto's asleep." He smiled wide enough to reveal his white teeth. She sat up.
"I have to get dressed, then we have to talk to Pyro." Remy rolled his eyes.
"Pyro ain't like Petey." Betsy dressed without taking off her robe, so Remy could stay in the room.
"How so?" She spat out over her shoulder, slipping on her boots.
"He… he… jus' ain't." Remy said crossing his arms. She finished dressing and took off her robe. She swiftly began darting out of the room, grabbing Remy's arm and pulling him out with her. They galloped down the hall and stopped at a door. She dropped Remy's arm.
"Okay…" She started. He knew what she meant, but he played dumb. "Oh, c'mon, just pick the lock." He shook his head. "Fine, I'll wake him up, but remember, he's got lighters in there…" Remy sighed and figured it would just be safer to pick the lock and take Pyro's lighters before they woke him up. He pulled his lock picking kit out of a pocket in his coat and went to work.
In one swift motion, the door opened and Remy was inside plucking up lighters all over the room. Betsy sat down on the bed facing Pyro. He was sitting up halfway. It looked like he fell asleep writing because there was a notebook and a pencil in the bed with him. Betsy stared intently at his eyes. Within the minute, Pyro's eyelids began twitching until they opened. When his eyes focused on Betsy, sitting so close in front of him, he jumped.
"What 'er you two doin' in here?" He shouted.
"Shut up." Remy snapped back.
"Remy and I are bustin' outta here… Come with us." Betsy whispered.
"Wait a minute, I must still be dreamin'. What'd you just say?" Betsy was surprised at Pyro's less than enthusiastic response. "I must be dreamin' cause you were sittin' just like that… but you were topless." Betsy quickly forgot what she was thinking about and flashed him an angry look.
"An, t'think, you our resident saint." Remy crossed his arms as he shook his head at Pyro.
"Wait a tick…" Pyro looked at Betsy, than at Remy, than back to Betsy. "You're serious, aren't you?" Betsy nodded. "Why would you want to leave here? The world out there hates you… They're jealous."
"No," Betsy replied, "They're scared thanks to you all." Pyro tilted his head, as what she said sounded familiar from some where. "We're going to join the X-Men, John… or is it St. John? Whatever--" Pyro interrupted her.
"Don't call me that, you trollop! I'm a mutant first, a member of society second. My name is Pyro." Betsy was more shocked by his words than offended by them. She found herself scrambling for a response.
"But… don't you want to go to school?" Was all she could spit out. Pyro blinked at her mere inability to comprehend his words.
"Why would I want to go t'a school where people are too busy accusin' me because I'm a mutant when they ought ta be reverin' me." Betsy was speechless. She didn't think it was possible for someone who understood the value of education to sound so completely uneducated. She never once even believed someone could ever actually espouse the Acolyte ideals and believe them in their heart. Pyro was crazy about fire… but this was too much for Betsy. She was stunned. She didn't react as Pyro pushed her aside and got up from his bed.
"I'm tellin' Magneto about this." He walked over to the door when Remy stepped in his way.
"Remy can't be lettin' you do dat, mon ami." Pyro's eyes began to twitch with anger. He started looking all over the room for a lighter.
"You stole all my lighters again, didn't you? You pathetic, backwoods thief!" He shouted at Remy. Then he blinked his eyes a little and his head swayed. It took some time but he finally fell to his knees and then the floor. Betsy stood behind him, looking down at him sadly.
"It was only a small one, I couldn't focus. I not sure how long it'll last." Remy, sensing her fear, took her hand.
"Better get goin'. Dis our only chance."
"What about Peter and Sabretooth?" She stopped him.
"Sabretooth gone awol. He only an Acolyte when he vacationin' from lookin' ta kill Wolverine."
"Oh."
"Do we have time for Peter?" He left it up to Betsy and he wouldn't contest her decision. Her cause was a good one and it was important to her. She looked back at Pyro. "Can you give him another one?" He tried to find a way to make it work.
"No, it would kill him." She looked at Pyro and feared for the future of the world.
"Betts--" Remy said, asking for an answer to his previous question. She never took her eyes off Pyro, but she shook her head. She looked back at Remy and wiped a tear from her face.
"We have to go now." She said. He took her hand and they ran. They stopped at another door. Remy put his hand on the knob and it began to glow. The molecules in the knob grew unstable and separated out, dissolving the knob. Remy gently pushed the door open and gestured her in. Her stayed on guard in the door way. There was nothing he could do in Magneto's chamber. It was all up to Betsy, who, only moments ago, had been too frazzled to get off a decent psionic dagger.
Inside, Betsy crept slowly toward the bed, where Magneto slept. For a moment, she just looked at him. He was perhaps the most feared mutant in the world… behind Apocalypse. And no one knew about Sinister, really. Magneto was feared by both human and mutant alike. Something they could agree on was hating Magneto. Shaking off her thoughts, she gently placed her hands on his forehead. He twitched as at her cold, nervous, sweaty hands. It made her heart jump. When he returned to his peaceful sleep, she closed her eyes to focus. This lasted only a few seconds as Magneto began to open his eyes.
He grabbed her wrists before she was fully aware of what was going on. Lucky for her, Gambit was a talented watchman, and flung a few charged playing cards into the room with precise aim. Magneto was caught off guard and let go of Betsy. She was shocked at all that was going on around her. Gambit charged a few more cards in the bedroom and jumped on top of Betsy to protect her from the flying debris as the room exploded. As the dust flew about, Gambit grabbed Betsy and dragged her out of the room. They ran down the long metal hallway, Gambit's steel boot, and Psylocke's purple heels clanging on the floor. They heard over the speaker system, "Colossus, Pyro, to the docking bay, NOW!"
Gambit finally let go of Psylocke once they reached the hanger bay, filled with spheres. They walked over to the large one, usually reserved for Magneto himself, but it was the only on big enough to fit them both comfortably.
"Did it work?" Gambit looked at Psylocke as they both choked for air. Betsy nodded her head and put her hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and focused on the orb. For what seemed like an eternity, but was only a mere few seconds, nothing happened. Then finally, the orb began to shake. Gambit was distracted by what he thought sounded like a few crashes of thunder. He turned his head to see Colossus charging for them at top speed, in his armored form. "C'mon, Betts, you gotta hurry dis up." Finally the orb began to open. Gambit looked back to see Colossus getting closer. When the sphere was open, Psylocke motioned for Gambit to get in. He did, thinking Psylocke was right behind him. Instead, she turned to face Colossus, still charging.
"Peter, come with us." She shouted. Gambit popped his head back up out of the sphere.
"Betsy, what the hell are you doin'?" She ignored him.
"Peter, come with us, Professor Xavier will help you, I promise." Colossus stopped and stared down at the small girl with his white eyes. "I know where Illyana is." She said in response to his glare. She didn't back down at his intimidating stance. He looked over at Gambit in the orb. He crouched back down hoping not be seen. Colossus looked back at Psylocke, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not leaving without you, Peter." He looked back at the open orb. He took slow clashing step after slow crashing step. He reached into the orb and pulled Gambit out by the collar of his trench coat. He dangled him a good three feet off the floor. Gambit flashed him a fake smile hoping to earn some mercy. Colossus stared deeply at him, bringing him closer to his own stoic, steel face.
"Ladies first." He put Gambit on the ground and held out his other hand. Gambit and Psylocke were both stunned and elated. "We must hurry. When Magneto comes I must revert back to my flesh form. I will be of no use." They said nothing. Psylocke took his hand and he helped her into the sphere, and she crouched down. Gambit and Colossus saw Magneto coming. Colossus's armor quickly turned to skin. Gambit helped him into the orb, and then jumped in himself. He crouched down and the sphere shut on top of him. Quickly, the sphere took off from the ground and the door to the outside world opened. The orb slipped out like a marble through a straw, and the big doors shut behind them. Magneto stood there staring at the door as Pyro came running up to his side, heaving from rushing.
"Where have you been?" Magneto said without looking at him.
"Sorry. Mate. She knocked me out." Magneto turned around and started walking back down the hall. "What, that's it? You just let them go?"
"Yes, we let them go. We have been ambushed by mutiny. I must regroup."
"You? What about me?" Pyro yelled down the hallway.
"Go live with the brotherhood, Pyro." Magneto waved a hand and an orb opened. When Magneto finally disappeared from view, Pyro kicked the wall.
