Queen of Random: Well, it seems that this story will go on! Now I just need
to organise my time better, as I now have three stories to write, exams to
start to think about, holidays to get ready for, a German trip to raise
funds for. . . the list is endless. But I do promise that I will do my best
to finish these stories, especially 'Beauty and the Beast'. If you haven't
read that one yet, I suggest you do, along with 'Role Reversal'. They both
seem to be quite popular.
Anyway, one of the things people have been telling me is that I need to make my chapters longer, and so that is what I have tried to do for this chapter. It is slightly longer than usual, so I hope you enjoy!
Trial by Fire
Chapter Two: Fire's Loving Embrace
The sound of heavy footsteps with a metallic ring to them caused John to turn around. Behind him was Piotr Rasputin, the Russian Colossus.
In a movement that was almost painful, John closed his hand around the girl made of fire. "What?" he demanded, annoyed.
"Nothing," replied Piotr.
"Then why are you here?"
"He is coming," was the only reply made.
There was no need to know who he was. The man Piotr spoke of was Magneto, the master of magnetism. Known as Erik Magnus Lensherr in his youth, Magneto had shunned the name his human parents had given him, in favour of a name that truly represented his power. Magneto had the power to manipulate metal, and he was the arch rival - and friend - of Charles Xavier, or Professor X of the X-Men. While Xavier was an idealist who believed that humans and mutants could co-exist peacefully, Magneto took the polar opposite stance, standing firm in his belief that humans were less than mutants, who were destined to rule the world.
If Magneto had his way, humanity's days were numbered.
"What does he want?" asked John, still annoyed. If he had had his way, he would still be staring at the fire girl.
Piotr shrugged his massive shoulders. "I cannot say."
A familiar metallic whirring sound signalled the arrival of Magneto. At his side was Remy Lebeau. Known as Gambit, Remy's mutation allowed his to kinetically charge any item, and have explode on release.
John had always thought that that would be a fun power to have.
But it would be nothing compared to his own pyrokinesis.
"Charles has become to confident in his recruits," announced Magneto. "He still thinks that we can live in harmony with humans. He hopes to show off his X-Men as fine examples of that. We need to remind him that the path he hopes to take will not be as easy as he thinks it will be."
"What shall we do?" asked Piotr.
"We shall remind him that we are still around, that we have not fled in fear like cowards."
"How?"
"We will attack them where it would hurt them the most. The Xavier Institute." Magneto looked around. "It will only take one of us to pass on the message." Magneto's eyes focused on John. "Pyro. You shall be the one to remind the X-Men of our presence."
John smiled. This would be fun, if not something to distract him from the girl who had come to him like an angel made entirely of the fire, the thing he loved and worshipped most.
*
Amara paid no attention to what she was doing, and who she was passing, as she ran through the Institute. At least, until she ran into someone who was like a wall in her path.
"Watch where you're going," said an angry voice.
Amara looked up to find herself staring into the face of Logan. Known as Wolverine, Logan was a powerful presence at the Institute. Always one for breaking the rules, he had a deep and powerful affection for the students who lived at the Institute.
Not that he would ever admit to it.
"Sorry, Logan," mumbled Amara.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Logan, suspicious. He knew all of the students well enough to know when something was wrong with one of them.
"Nothing," replied Amara. Not willing to risk blurting anything else out, she took off down the hall, avoiding the worried gazes of some of the other students at the Institute.
*
Amara lay on her bed, thinking about what was wrong with her. No one would - or could - understand what had been happening to her recently. Her dreams had been filled with fire - not that that was unusual. As a mutant whose very veins seemed to flow with molten lava, and whose skin burned with heat, Amara was no stranger to fire.
But these dreams had been unusual. In them, Amara was not the one in control of the fire that surrounded her. But when the fire had changed that was what had caused her to be worried. In the most recent of dreams, Amara had transformed herself into her fire form, but that was when the line between reality and fantasy seemed to blur. When she was all fired up, she felt something draw the fire from her body.
Yet she had welcomed it. It was - well, there was only one way to describe it, and that way made her feel like she was not in control.
The only phrase that described the way the fire was drawn from her body, and returned in patterns that swirled and danced before her eyes, was a lover's embrace.
And somehow she knew she was close, too. For every time she opened her eyes, and woke from the dream, she could swear that the figure of a young man had appeared in front of her, and wrapped his arms around her fiery form.
And he was not harmed by the fire.
*
John smiled as he looked at the security measures of the Xavier Institute. They wouldn't be so hard to get around, even if he wanted to.
But for this job he needed to be noticed. So, as he made his way towards the mansion that housed Xavier's mutant student, and the older mutants who taught them, John made sure to trip the security measures.
He had announced his arrival.
And all he had to do was wait for his welcome.
*
The thoughts of her dreams still churning in her mind, Amara rolled over, and buried her face in her pillow. She tried to ignore the sounds of the other students of the Institute, but she could not ignore the danger signal. Groaning with annoyance, Amara dragged herself off her bed, and made her way to her closet. She pulled out her uniform, and struggled to put it on.
She tried to focus on the danger ahead, and not on the man from her dreams.
But fate had other things in mind.
*
Almost all of the occupants of the Institute raced outside to face the person who had set off the alarms. As the X-Men had left the Institute with Wolverine for a special training exercise, it was only Magma's fellow new recruits that were to face the stranger. The only adult in the vacinity was Ororo Munroe, though at this time she was the mutant Storm.
Magma was the last of the group to arrive, and so was the last to see the face of the intruder. But when she did, and he saw her face, her world was turned upside down forever.
Magma's stomach twisted as soon as she saw him. It was neither a good nor a bad thing, but some frightening combination of the two.
Please no, she prayed silently. Anyone but him.
But it was him. And Magma knew it.
Every fiber in her body started singing when he looked at her, and every particle in her being was tingling with energy.
She was on fire.
Not literally, of course.
And somehow, she knew he was affected, too. He was hiding it well, but not so well she could not see it. To her, his surprise was written all over his face.
"Well, well, well," said the stranger, managing to tear his gaze away from Magma's face. "Don't tell me you're the only ones defending this place."
"Fine then," said Boom Boom, her voice showing no sign of fear. "We won't tell you."
"Who are you?" demanded Iceman. As he spoke, his entire body transformed into ice.
The stranger smiled, a cold frightening smile that seemed to cause ice to seep into Magma's bones. "I'm Pyro."
"Nice outfit," replied Boom Boom. "I like the backpack. And the wrist bands are a nice touch."
Pyro smiled again, and raised his hands. "These are more than just decoration. Watch."
Out of his pack roared a pair of flames. He manipulated the fire so that two balls hovered just above the palms of his hands.
He smiled, set his sights again on Magma, and launched the fireballs at her.
Anyway, one of the things people have been telling me is that I need to make my chapters longer, and so that is what I have tried to do for this chapter. It is slightly longer than usual, so I hope you enjoy!
Trial by Fire
Chapter Two: Fire's Loving Embrace
The sound of heavy footsteps with a metallic ring to them caused John to turn around. Behind him was Piotr Rasputin, the Russian Colossus.
In a movement that was almost painful, John closed his hand around the girl made of fire. "What?" he demanded, annoyed.
"Nothing," replied Piotr.
"Then why are you here?"
"He is coming," was the only reply made.
There was no need to know who he was. The man Piotr spoke of was Magneto, the master of magnetism. Known as Erik Magnus Lensherr in his youth, Magneto had shunned the name his human parents had given him, in favour of a name that truly represented his power. Magneto had the power to manipulate metal, and he was the arch rival - and friend - of Charles Xavier, or Professor X of the X-Men. While Xavier was an idealist who believed that humans and mutants could co-exist peacefully, Magneto took the polar opposite stance, standing firm in his belief that humans were less than mutants, who were destined to rule the world.
If Magneto had his way, humanity's days were numbered.
"What does he want?" asked John, still annoyed. If he had had his way, he would still be staring at the fire girl.
Piotr shrugged his massive shoulders. "I cannot say."
A familiar metallic whirring sound signalled the arrival of Magneto. At his side was Remy Lebeau. Known as Gambit, Remy's mutation allowed his to kinetically charge any item, and have explode on release.
John had always thought that that would be a fun power to have.
But it would be nothing compared to his own pyrokinesis.
"Charles has become to confident in his recruits," announced Magneto. "He still thinks that we can live in harmony with humans. He hopes to show off his X-Men as fine examples of that. We need to remind him that the path he hopes to take will not be as easy as he thinks it will be."
"What shall we do?" asked Piotr.
"We shall remind him that we are still around, that we have not fled in fear like cowards."
"How?"
"We will attack them where it would hurt them the most. The Xavier Institute." Magneto looked around. "It will only take one of us to pass on the message." Magneto's eyes focused on John. "Pyro. You shall be the one to remind the X-Men of our presence."
John smiled. This would be fun, if not something to distract him from the girl who had come to him like an angel made entirely of the fire, the thing he loved and worshipped most.
*
Amara paid no attention to what she was doing, and who she was passing, as she ran through the Institute. At least, until she ran into someone who was like a wall in her path.
"Watch where you're going," said an angry voice.
Amara looked up to find herself staring into the face of Logan. Known as Wolverine, Logan was a powerful presence at the Institute. Always one for breaking the rules, he had a deep and powerful affection for the students who lived at the Institute.
Not that he would ever admit to it.
"Sorry, Logan," mumbled Amara.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Logan, suspicious. He knew all of the students well enough to know when something was wrong with one of them.
"Nothing," replied Amara. Not willing to risk blurting anything else out, she took off down the hall, avoiding the worried gazes of some of the other students at the Institute.
*
Amara lay on her bed, thinking about what was wrong with her. No one would - or could - understand what had been happening to her recently. Her dreams had been filled with fire - not that that was unusual. As a mutant whose very veins seemed to flow with molten lava, and whose skin burned with heat, Amara was no stranger to fire.
But these dreams had been unusual. In them, Amara was not the one in control of the fire that surrounded her. But when the fire had changed that was what had caused her to be worried. In the most recent of dreams, Amara had transformed herself into her fire form, but that was when the line between reality and fantasy seemed to blur. When she was all fired up, she felt something draw the fire from her body.
Yet she had welcomed it. It was - well, there was only one way to describe it, and that way made her feel like she was not in control.
The only phrase that described the way the fire was drawn from her body, and returned in patterns that swirled and danced before her eyes, was a lover's embrace.
And somehow she knew she was close, too. For every time she opened her eyes, and woke from the dream, she could swear that the figure of a young man had appeared in front of her, and wrapped his arms around her fiery form.
And he was not harmed by the fire.
*
John smiled as he looked at the security measures of the Xavier Institute. They wouldn't be so hard to get around, even if he wanted to.
But for this job he needed to be noticed. So, as he made his way towards the mansion that housed Xavier's mutant student, and the older mutants who taught them, John made sure to trip the security measures.
He had announced his arrival.
And all he had to do was wait for his welcome.
*
The thoughts of her dreams still churning in her mind, Amara rolled over, and buried her face in her pillow. She tried to ignore the sounds of the other students of the Institute, but she could not ignore the danger signal. Groaning with annoyance, Amara dragged herself off her bed, and made her way to her closet. She pulled out her uniform, and struggled to put it on.
She tried to focus on the danger ahead, and not on the man from her dreams.
But fate had other things in mind.
*
Almost all of the occupants of the Institute raced outside to face the person who had set off the alarms. As the X-Men had left the Institute with Wolverine for a special training exercise, it was only Magma's fellow new recruits that were to face the stranger. The only adult in the vacinity was Ororo Munroe, though at this time she was the mutant Storm.
Magma was the last of the group to arrive, and so was the last to see the face of the intruder. But when she did, and he saw her face, her world was turned upside down forever.
Magma's stomach twisted as soon as she saw him. It was neither a good nor a bad thing, but some frightening combination of the two.
Please no, she prayed silently. Anyone but him.
But it was him. And Magma knew it.
Every fiber in her body started singing when he looked at her, and every particle in her being was tingling with energy.
She was on fire.
Not literally, of course.
And somehow, she knew he was affected, too. He was hiding it well, but not so well she could not see it. To her, his surprise was written all over his face.
"Well, well, well," said the stranger, managing to tear his gaze away from Magma's face. "Don't tell me you're the only ones defending this place."
"Fine then," said Boom Boom, her voice showing no sign of fear. "We won't tell you."
"Who are you?" demanded Iceman. As he spoke, his entire body transformed into ice.
The stranger smiled, a cold frightening smile that seemed to cause ice to seep into Magma's bones. "I'm Pyro."
"Nice outfit," replied Boom Boom. "I like the backpack. And the wrist bands are a nice touch."
Pyro smiled again, and raised his hands. "These are more than just decoration. Watch."
Out of his pack roared a pair of flames. He manipulated the fire so that two balls hovered just above the palms of his hands.
He smiled, set his sights again on Magma, and launched the fireballs at her.