Chapter Three:
That morning in New York City...
Pyro sat up slowly, stretching his arms up over his head, and yawned. The time on the clock next to him read 10:19 a.m. He sighed heavily and rolled out of bed.
He was still not accustomed to sleeping in so late. During his time with the Brotherhood (and his time at Xavier's school), his daily schedule usually required him to be up much earlier. However, after boarding with the Malloy family for over a month, he knew the extra sleep in the morning was encouraged, considering they typically kept him out and about until well after midnight. Pyro figured the twins, Sid and Becca, were just used to following their nocturnal uncle's late schedule.
Last night had been busy, just as every night seemed to be in this house, and the twins usually took him along as they ventured out into the city. Even though Pyro was a number of years younger than them (and still a couple years under the legal limit), they always managed to get him into any of the glamorous venues or restaurants they frequented. And although the regular city nightlife was exciting, it was the other places, the secret places, the Underground, he liked the most.
The twins gave him the opportunity to see the world without the sensitive buffers Xavier's school had...and, even though he would not have admitted it, without the constant prejudice the members of the Brotherhood held toward the rest of the world.
I've gotta report in soon, Pyro thought, glancing at the clock again. He knew Magneto would be waiting for his call.
He searched through his jacket pockets until he found the small communication device. The outer casing was smooth and metallic. Pyro tilted open the cover carefully and dialed the code to reach the Island.
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Rebecca Malloy sat at a round table near a row of open windows, staring down at the morning paper, as the smells of breakfast began to fill each room of the large condo. A bagged loaf of plain white bread was opened before her, and she was chewing a piece of blackened toast thoughtfully.
The main section of the flat was large, encompassing both living and dining rooms, and the kitchen door was propped open. From within, she could hear her brother talking loudly with someone on his cell phone.
"I know I said only buy three hundred shares, Rich," Sid said with annoyance at his broker, "But I've decided to buy five hundred instead..." he paused, "...uh huh...well, I'm sure the investors will be thrilled when their profits increase by another two hundred percent. What I don't understand is why you're so upset..." he paused again, "...okay, okay, okay. But think of it this way...what if the interest rate increases again like it did the same time last year..." third pause, "Right! Now you're doing the same math I am..."
Rebecca glanced up with annoyance as Sid's volume increased. If he didn't put that damn phone down, she would never get the rest of her breakfast. She pulled another piece of bread from the bag and held it in the tips of her fingers. She narrowed her eyes, and focused her power until the surface of the slice became a dark brown.
Sid's voice rose again, cawing endlessly about mutual funds and the stock market, and she glared in his direction again. This conversation had to end, and immediate action on her part was required.
"Mr. Malloy, sir!" she shouted, "Tell, Richie you wanna invest in Hustler! You're a big supporter of that 'zine, right?"
She heard him grumble angrily, "No. That's not my accountant, Rich...now listen..."
"Or a weight loss plan!" Rebecca continued merrily, "Cause I'm wasting away in here, and I don't even have to exercise!"
Sid appeared in the kitchen doorway, phone held to his ear with his shoulder, because he was grasping a spatula with one hand and flipping her off with the other.
"Yeah, Rich, you're right...it is pretty noisy here..." he said, never losing the professional tone in his voice, "Tell you what...get the stock ready for purchase and I'll call you when I get to the office. Fine...thanks, Rich."
Sid flipped his phone closed and glared at his sister. Rebecca folded her hands on the table and blinked innocently.
"Toast?" she asked, and ducked as a greasy spatula flew over her head.
Sid stormed away and Rebecca shook her head. He had never been a morning person, but there was no way he was going to let his sister make breakfast. Despite her fabulous power over the element of fire, Rebecca had no skill when it came to the use of heat to prepare food. Except toast. She considered herself the master of toast.
Before she could prepare another piece for consumption, the telephone across the room began to ring. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. Who would be calling this time of day...being before noon and all?
If this is one of Sid's business buddies, that spatula is going where the sun don't... she thought, but still answered with a polite 'hello.'
"Good morning, Miss Malloy," a proper voice greeted her. She frowned slightly, not recognizing the speaker, but new immediately by his calm tone he was not from Wall Street.
"Can I help you?" she replied curiously.
"This is Professor Xavier," the caller replied.
"Oh, hi, Professor," she said with surprise, and then frowned, "Are you trying to reach Sebastian? Cause if you are...it's a little early for him, if you know what I mean..."
She heard Xavier chuckle softly, "Yes, I know. I actually just wanted to see how you were all fairing. Your wound had been quite traumatic..."
"Oh..." Rebecca replied hesitantly, unconsciously rolling her right shoulder, "It's not too bad. I heal pretty fast, especially when I exercise my power. Not that Sebastian encourages that too much. And, anyway, it's not like I've never been shot before..."
Oh, geez, I probably shouldn't have said that, she thought. She had been talking very fast. Sid had told her about the Professor and how the X-Men helped him when the Sentinel attacked, but she had never spoken to Xavier before personally.
"Rest assured, Miss Malloy, I maintain the same respect for confidentiality that I had when I was a watcher," Xavier suddenly added, and Rebecca's eyes widened slightly.
"You heard my thoughts from that far away?" she asked, sounding honestly impressed. She knew he was powerful, but she did not know he was that powerful.
"Well...you do think quite loud, actually," Xavier responded apologetically, but Rebecca laughed.
"I appreciate the concern, Professor," she said, "We're all doing well. I've put in for a transfer to NYU for the summer. Somehow I don't think realtors in Chicago will be interested in working with us any time soon."
"Unfortunately," Xavier said, and paused a moment before continuing, "May I ask how John is doing? Sebastian told me he allowed him to stay at Magn...at Erik Lensherr's request."
"He's fine," she said, "He's a nice kid. He's been working very hard at his training. I've been taking him to some of the Underground's specialized gyms and...I'm not, like, violating some kind of X-Men, back slash, Brotherhood code by telling you this, am I?"
"As I said before," Xavier replied sadly, "Confidentiality. Trust that my concerns are primarily for his well being."
"I was taught control, Professor," she said reassuringly, "Control over everything else...and never using the power against others."
There was a quiet conviction in her voice, and it reminded Xavier strikingly of her mother.
"A wise stance," he said, and then added in a more positive tone, "I do have another reason for calling, however. I was wondering if a few of my students might stay with your family for a few days. They have business in the city, and I'd hoped you could be their guides."
Rebecca shrugged, still with only her left shoulder. She had not broken the habit she had picked up during her recuperation.
"Sure, no problem here," she replied, "We have plenty of room, and I won't be doing much until classes start. Who did you have in mind? Someone Pyro knows?"
"No," he said quickly, "It would be a young lady named Mary Sloane and Remy LeBeau, whom you know."
"Gambit's one of your students?" Rebecca asked, "God help ya, Professor."
Xavier laughed quietly at this, and then continued, "They are leaving this afternoon, and should arrive no later than early evening."
"Okay, we'll keep an eye out for them," she said, actually looking forward to the thought of company, "What kind of business will they be doing? Because I know what kind of business Remy's into..."
"I think...I would be better to have Mary explain that," Xavier said carefully.
"Oh, right...confidentiality...got it..." Rebecca said, and exchanged goodbyes with the Professor before she hung up.
Rebecca headed back to the dining table just as Pyro appeared from the back hall.
"Good morning, St. John," she greeting him, and then picked up a piece of bread and handed it to him, "Wanna try again this morning?"
Pyro grinned and examined the slice carefully, as if eyeing up a formidable enemy.
"Maybe later..." he said, and glanced to his left as Sid came out of the kitchen bearing eggs and waffles.
"Hey, kid," Sid said, passing the plates to Pyro, "Eat this quick before she gets her hands on it..."
Pyro put the plates on the table, and seemed a little despondent as he sat down at the table.
Rebecca frowned, "Sid...our guest doesn't seem to be enjoying the typical morning banter..."
"I don't enjoy your typical morning banter, Bec," Sid shot back quickly, but glanced at Pyro curiously, "Something up, John? You look a little worried."
"I actually wanted to let you guys know..." Pyro replied quickly, "Um...Magneto wanted me to let you know that he's sending Mystique and Toad here to get some follow up about my training. They should be here by tonight."
Rebecca opened her mouth in surprise, but then shut it promptly.
"Oh," Sid said, unconcernedly, "Is that all? That's fine. We have plenty of room."
Rebecca's face broke into a grin as she heard her previous words to the Professor echo from her brother's mouth.
"Yeah, sure," she agreed, and then added with wicked enthusiasm, "I love having company!"
Sid turned and looked at her suspiciously, but Pyro seemed relieved by their optimistic response to the unexpected guests.
"I don't know if they'll be as impressed as you guys with my toasting skills, though," Pyro said with an embarrassed smile.
Rebecca nodded and spoke with exaggerated remorse, "We'll just have you blow up a few cars for them when they come. Which one's do you have here, Sid? The Mercedes and the Benz and the..."
Sid glared at her and smirked, "And your ugly old truck..."
Rebecca leveled a finger at her brother, "Don't piss on my truck, Jeremy. And another thing...where exactly is the bacon?"
"Frying..." Sid replied nonchalantly and stepped toward the kitchen, "I should go check on it."
"And I should go make sure you're not burning it to a crisp," Rebecca shot back but Sid held up a warning hand as she rose from her chair.
"You are not going near my stove," he said darkly.
"And I won't allow you to further delay my breakfast," Rebecca challenged.
"How about I go get it?" Pyro offered, and the twins exchanged meaningful glanced before agreeing.
"Fine," they said as one, and Sid continued as Pyro headed into the kitchen, "What is your problem this morning, Bec?"
Rebecca made a hushing motion and gestured for him to come to the other side of the room.
"What?" he asked with annoyance until he saw the glimmer of amusement in her eyes.
"Magneto's sending people here tonight," she said.
Sid nodded, "Yeah, so?"
"When the phone rang," she explained, "That was Xavier...saying he was sending people here tonight, too."
Sid's eyes widened and a broad grin broke over his handsome features.
"Really?" he said, suddenly sharing his sister's mischievous glee, "That should make for an interesting evening."
"I agree," Rebecca said, "Xavier said Gambit and a girl named Mary are coming..."
"And Pyro just said Mystique and Toad are coming," Sid said and then grinned, "At least the odds are square...two on two..."
Rebecca's face dropped seriously, "The imagery invoked by that analogy is way too disturbing..."
"If I remember..." Sid continued, unabated by his sister's comment, "Mystique was a very beautiful woman indeed..."
Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you and Remy can arm wrestle over her," Then her face lightened markedly, "We should clean off the roof! Plan a little welcoming party! And...Let's keep it a secret. It'll make a great surprise for Sebastian."
"Should we risk a cruel death at the hands of a vampire and the violent clashing of two opposing mutant forces just for the sake of our own amusement?" Sid mused thoughtfully.
Identically delighted grins appeared on their faced and the spoke in time.
"Absolutely."
