Queen of Random: All right! Next chapter: complete! I have been working
double-time on all my stories (including this one). But double-time does
not really mean a lot, now that I have a few more stories to work on. One
of those is my new X-Men: Evolution story, 'Fire + Water = Steam?' It is
about Pyro's holiday to New Zealand. I think the blurb goes, "Broke, and in
a strange country, Pyro finds himself in the company of a beach-loving
blonde. There's just one problem - she's hydrokinetic!" Yep, Pyro forces
his company on a girl named Nicki, who has the power to control water
(she's an OC, by the way). The two of them do not get along on quite a few
things - human-mutant relations, All Blacks vs the Wallabies, Pyro's
shorts, and stuff like that. Yes, I did mention Pyro's shorts. As Nicki
loves the beach (she's a surfer) he tags along, and wears these little
shorts which are bright red and have orange flames on them. Not to give too
much away, it's pretty much a story about Pyro annoying a girl. Perhaps I
should just call this story 'The Adventures of Pyro in New Zealand'. What
do you think?
Trial by Fire
Chapter Four: Once Burned, Twice Shy
The gravel crunched underneath John's feet as he neared Bayville High. He looked up to see a familiar face near a window on the second floor.
Amara was in Chemistry at that very moment.
And John could not only sense the fire within her in that room, but also fire coming from another source in the room.
The students were heating metal in order to witness the reaction of metal and oxygen.
That gave John an idea.
*
The blue flame from the bunsen burner hit the magnesium Amara was holding in her tongs, causing it to suddenly burn with a bright white light.
"Cool," whispered Amara, shielding her eyes by placing a hand above her safety glasses.
She did not notice a pair of eyes watching her from behind a shield of leaves in the tree that stood opposite the window Amara was standing next to.
As the light of the magnesium faded away, leaving the white powder - magnesium oxide - that the students were to be studying, Amara went to turn off the gas that fuelled the flame, but before she could do so, the blue flame suddenly went orange, and rose into the air.
"What the?!" cried the teacher, having turned when another student screamed. "What are you doing?!"
"It - it's not me!" cried Amara.
"Don't lie to me, mutant. I know your power is fire!"
"But it's not me!" she replied.
"Then how do you explain that!" asked the teacher, pointing. The fire was dancing in patterns above the burner.
Suddenly, the fire flew away from the burner, and began swirling around Amara. It swept up her hair and caressed her cheek, not burning her at all. Amara reached out with her hand to try and hold onto the flame, but it escaped her grasp, and returned to the bench, where it began to form a shape, burning in onto the wood.
Then it vanished, revealing what it had made permanent on the wood - a single word, unable to be removed, there to stay for a long time.
Amara.
*
John watched, dismayed, as the teacher told Amara to stay behind after class to clean up the mess he had made.
He had not meant to get her in trouble, only to get her attention.
Well, he had gotten that, as Amara was busy grumbling that she was about to miss her lift home because she had to stay after school to clean up.
John was about to get into trouble as well, only he did not know that at the time.
He had wanted to be noticed, and that was what happened.
Somebody had spotted him up the tree, and wasn't too happy about it.
"Who are you, and what are you doing up there?!"
John looked down, to see an angry man in a suit and wearing glasses glaring up at him. "Who are you, and what are you doing down there?!" demanded John, copying the man's tone.
"I am Edward Kelly, and I am the principal of this school! Now who are you?!"
"I'm Pyro, a mutant up a tree!"
Kelly paled. "A - a mutant?!"
"No, a koala!"
"What?! Get down from that tree! Now!"
"All right, all right!" grumbled John. He jumped down from the tree, and faced Kelly. He took out his lighter, and brandished it at Kelly.
"What are you going to do with that?"
John smiled, and made a very slow motion of creating a flame in his hand. Kelly tried to run, but fell over. Then he tried to crawl away, while John let out his crazy-person laugh.
The flame rushed towards the target in front of John.
Kelly leapt up with a shout of pain. "You'll will be in a lot of trouble for that!" he shouted, running away, giving John a good look at his handiwork.
You see, John had burned the words 'kick me' onto the seat of Kelly's pants.
Revealing his bright pink underpants.
John walked away, laughing.
He had a certain spitfire to meet, and he did not want to be late.
*
"I can't believe it," muttered Amara, as she walked along the footpath to the bus stop. "It wasn't even my fault. I can't do that!"
Amara looked up to see the bus she was supposed to be catching drive past her. "Hey! Wait!" she shouted, starting to run after it.
But it was too fast, and Amara was left behind.
Dejected, Amara sat down on the footpath, thinking that she would just wait for the next bus to come along. She buried her face in her hands, and tried not to think about what the adults at the Institute would say to her about the incident in class.
Amara was not so distracted that she did not notice the shadow that loomed over from behind her.
Amara leapt up and whirled around.
To find herself face to face with a silhouette of a teenage male, created by the sun, which was right behind him. The sun did light up his hair, which was short and spiky, and made up of the colours of fire.
Amara's heart began beating at least twice as fast as normal when she realised who it was.
Pyro.
"G'day, mate."
Amara almost leapt back. "I am not your mate! I am far to young to be thinking about that kind of thing, and with the likes of you - why are you laughing at me?! It's not funny!"
"Where I come from, a mate is a friend."
Amara, deflated, said, "Oh. But I'm not your friend, either!" she shot back. "What do you want with me, Pyro?!"
"John."
"Excuse me?"
"John," he repeated. "My name is John. John Allerdyce to be exact."
Amara had nothing to say to that.
"We haven't been properly introduced," said John. "I am John Allerdyce, and you are?"
"Amara. Amara Aquilla." The fact that John was standing right in front of her caused her tongue to twist into knots, meaning she couldn't speak.
John bowed gallantly. "'Tis an honour."
"'Tis an honour?" asked Amara, confused. Finally she found her own mind, no longer suppressed by the presence of the mutant in front of her. "Is there something wrong with you?!" she demanded. "You got me in trouble with my teacher!"
"I didn't mean to."
Amara placed her hands on her hips. "Then what did you mean to do?"
"Get your attention?" asked John hopefully.
Amara spun on her heel, trying to ignore the light-headed feeling that had consumed her. "Well you got it. I hope you are proud of yourself, as I am now in trouble with my teacher, and probably with Principal Kelly, too."
John laughed. "You don't need to worry about him, gorgeous."
The sinking feeling in her stomach was not just Amara suppressing the emotions that John had stirred up. She spun around again. "What?" she demanded of John. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothin' much. Just - have you ever heard the saying, 'Liar, liar, pants on fire'?"
Amara's jaw dropped. "You didn't!"
The grin on John's face told her that he did.
Amara laughed - she just couldn't help herself. "Oh, I wish I could have seen that!" Noticing the look in John's eyes, she added, "Not that I want to."
"Well, that's too bad," said John sadly. Then he brightened. "Say, Amara. You and I have something in common."
Amara eyed him suspiciously. "We do?"
"Sure we do! Fire!" John moved closer to Amara, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'd say that our powers make us closer than any other two mutants I have ever met. What do you think?"
Amara stood there, frozen under his touch. A part of her wanted to grab his hand and throw it away, and then run as fast as she could. But the other half. . . it wanted to do something she had never really felt like doing before.
So, unsure of both him and herself, she just stood there, staring into his eyes. They were amazing eyes, that held a quality she had never seen before. His eyes seemed to capture her very mind, and draw it in, as if it was about to drown her in his inner fire. They made her want to reach out, place a gentle hand behind his neck, pull his face close to hers, and. . .
No.
Her reason broke through her confusion. How could she even have thought something like that? She had said it before, and it had been haunting her ever since.
He's our enemy.
Somehow, she managed to break away from his compelling gaze. "You're my enemy," she whispered, under her breath. She was unsure that he had even heard her.
With that she took off, before she could betray herself by saying anything more.
Trial by Fire
Chapter Four: Once Burned, Twice Shy
The gravel crunched underneath John's feet as he neared Bayville High. He looked up to see a familiar face near a window on the second floor.
Amara was in Chemistry at that very moment.
And John could not only sense the fire within her in that room, but also fire coming from another source in the room.
The students were heating metal in order to witness the reaction of metal and oxygen.
That gave John an idea.
*
The blue flame from the bunsen burner hit the magnesium Amara was holding in her tongs, causing it to suddenly burn with a bright white light.
"Cool," whispered Amara, shielding her eyes by placing a hand above her safety glasses.
She did not notice a pair of eyes watching her from behind a shield of leaves in the tree that stood opposite the window Amara was standing next to.
As the light of the magnesium faded away, leaving the white powder - magnesium oxide - that the students were to be studying, Amara went to turn off the gas that fuelled the flame, but before she could do so, the blue flame suddenly went orange, and rose into the air.
"What the?!" cried the teacher, having turned when another student screamed. "What are you doing?!"
"It - it's not me!" cried Amara.
"Don't lie to me, mutant. I know your power is fire!"
"But it's not me!" she replied.
"Then how do you explain that!" asked the teacher, pointing. The fire was dancing in patterns above the burner.
Suddenly, the fire flew away from the burner, and began swirling around Amara. It swept up her hair and caressed her cheek, not burning her at all. Amara reached out with her hand to try and hold onto the flame, but it escaped her grasp, and returned to the bench, where it began to form a shape, burning in onto the wood.
Then it vanished, revealing what it had made permanent on the wood - a single word, unable to be removed, there to stay for a long time.
Amara.
*
John watched, dismayed, as the teacher told Amara to stay behind after class to clean up the mess he had made.
He had not meant to get her in trouble, only to get her attention.
Well, he had gotten that, as Amara was busy grumbling that she was about to miss her lift home because she had to stay after school to clean up.
John was about to get into trouble as well, only he did not know that at the time.
He had wanted to be noticed, and that was what happened.
Somebody had spotted him up the tree, and wasn't too happy about it.
"Who are you, and what are you doing up there?!"
John looked down, to see an angry man in a suit and wearing glasses glaring up at him. "Who are you, and what are you doing down there?!" demanded John, copying the man's tone.
"I am Edward Kelly, and I am the principal of this school! Now who are you?!"
"I'm Pyro, a mutant up a tree!"
Kelly paled. "A - a mutant?!"
"No, a koala!"
"What?! Get down from that tree! Now!"
"All right, all right!" grumbled John. He jumped down from the tree, and faced Kelly. He took out his lighter, and brandished it at Kelly.
"What are you going to do with that?"
John smiled, and made a very slow motion of creating a flame in his hand. Kelly tried to run, but fell over. Then he tried to crawl away, while John let out his crazy-person laugh.
The flame rushed towards the target in front of John.
Kelly leapt up with a shout of pain. "You'll will be in a lot of trouble for that!" he shouted, running away, giving John a good look at his handiwork.
You see, John had burned the words 'kick me' onto the seat of Kelly's pants.
Revealing his bright pink underpants.
John walked away, laughing.
He had a certain spitfire to meet, and he did not want to be late.
*
"I can't believe it," muttered Amara, as she walked along the footpath to the bus stop. "It wasn't even my fault. I can't do that!"
Amara looked up to see the bus she was supposed to be catching drive past her. "Hey! Wait!" she shouted, starting to run after it.
But it was too fast, and Amara was left behind.
Dejected, Amara sat down on the footpath, thinking that she would just wait for the next bus to come along. She buried her face in her hands, and tried not to think about what the adults at the Institute would say to her about the incident in class.
Amara was not so distracted that she did not notice the shadow that loomed over from behind her.
Amara leapt up and whirled around.
To find herself face to face with a silhouette of a teenage male, created by the sun, which was right behind him. The sun did light up his hair, which was short and spiky, and made up of the colours of fire.
Amara's heart began beating at least twice as fast as normal when she realised who it was.
Pyro.
"G'day, mate."
Amara almost leapt back. "I am not your mate! I am far to young to be thinking about that kind of thing, and with the likes of you - why are you laughing at me?! It's not funny!"
"Where I come from, a mate is a friend."
Amara, deflated, said, "Oh. But I'm not your friend, either!" she shot back. "What do you want with me, Pyro?!"
"John."
"Excuse me?"
"John," he repeated. "My name is John. John Allerdyce to be exact."
Amara had nothing to say to that.
"We haven't been properly introduced," said John. "I am John Allerdyce, and you are?"
"Amara. Amara Aquilla." The fact that John was standing right in front of her caused her tongue to twist into knots, meaning she couldn't speak.
John bowed gallantly. "'Tis an honour."
"'Tis an honour?" asked Amara, confused. Finally she found her own mind, no longer suppressed by the presence of the mutant in front of her. "Is there something wrong with you?!" she demanded. "You got me in trouble with my teacher!"
"I didn't mean to."
Amara placed her hands on her hips. "Then what did you mean to do?"
"Get your attention?" asked John hopefully.
Amara spun on her heel, trying to ignore the light-headed feeling that had consumed her. "Well you got it. I hope you are proud of yourself, as I am now in trouble with my teacher, and probably with Principal Kelly, too."
John laughed. "You don't need to worry about him, gorgeous."
The sinking feeling in her stomach was not just Amara suppressing the emotions that John had stirred up. She spun around again. "What?" she demanded of John. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothin' much. Just - have you ever heard the saying, 'Liar, liar, pants on fire'?"
Amara's jaw dropped. "You didn't!"
The grin on John's face told her that he did.
Amara laughed - she just couldn't help herself. "Oh, I wish I could have seen that!" Noticing the look in John's eyes, she added, "Not that I want to."
"Well, that's too bad," said John sadly. Then he brightened. "Say, Amara. You and I have something in common."
Amara eyed him suspiciously. "We do?"
"Sure we do! Fire!" John moved closer to Amara, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'd say that our powers make us closer than any other two mutants I have ever met. What do you think?"
Amara stood there, frozen under his touch. A part of her wanted to grab his hand and throw it away, and then run as fast as she could. But the other half. . . it wanted to do something she had never really felt like doing before.
So, unsure of both him and herself, she just stood there, staring into his eyes. They were amazing eyes, that held a quality she had never seen before. His eyes seemed to capture her very mind, and draw it in, as if it was about to drown her in his inner fire. They made her want to reach out, place a gentle hand behind his neck, pull his face close to hers, and. . .
No.
Her reason broke through her confusion. How could she even have thought something like that? She had said it before, and it had been haunting her ever since.
He's our enemy.
Somehow, she managed to break away from his compelling gaze. "You're my enemy," she whispered, under her breath. She was unsure that he had even heard her.
With that she took off, before she could betray herself by saying anything more.