Discalimer: I own nothing but my characters. If I did, I would be writing for the comics and wouldn't be here.

Note: For those who read the dedication, I'd just like to say thanks. He is very special to me.

Lara was shown the entire school that evening by a kind woman named 'Storm'. She memorized the layout of the building and was positive that she could find her way around easily. Her roommate was the same girl she had seen earlier, Rouge. Rouge greeted her warmly and Lara gave her a short smile and then went to sleep. Rouge seemed disappointed, but she shrugged it off and left after a little while.

"They say this new girl could cut off all of the power in this place! Even the circuits in Cerebro."

Bobby, Rouge, and Pyro were gathered outside just lounging around since it was a Saturday. They got Saturday and Friday off. Pyro was leaning against a tree and Rouge and Bobby were sitting as close as they possibly could get to each other on a bench nearby. Why don't they just sit in each other's laps? John rolled his eyes and threw a stone into the brook in front of him.

"I heard she can control the power and burn buildings and things with it," Rouge replied to Bobby's earlier statement. Bobby laughed.

"We don't need another Firebug."

"What? Afraid we might gang up and burn the place down?" John smirked and stood up. He left without another word.

"He seems dazed," Rouge whispered as they watched him walk off.

Lara woke up hours later. She hadn't slept that deep since…since she couldn't remember. She rolled on her side and looked at the green numbers on the alarm clock. 12:01 pm. Lara knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so she got up. Her stomach growled and she realized that she had missed dinner. She glanced at a sleeping Rouge and slipped out of the room as quietly as she could. She headed for the kitchen, planning to make a giant sandwich and either watch TV or just contemplate over the meaning of life.

John was in the kitchen eating some sort of Chinese take-out he found in the back of the freezer. Now, he sat there just eating and watching some show where they fixed up old cars. It went to a commercial break just as he heard someone come into the kitchen and open the fridge. He slid the chair back and the person jerked their head up.

Lara yanked her pocket knife off of her belt and pointed it at the noise.

"Come any closer, and…" she trailed off when she realized that it was just John.

"Oh, it's just you." Lara put her knife away and ignored his smirk.

"Scared you there, didn't I?"

"There's scared…and then there's surprised."

Lara started making her sandwich. Two layers of mustard, ham, pickles, olives, mayo, and turkey. She put it on a plate and sat down at the table with him. She looked up at the TV and shut it off with a simple twitch of her eye.

"So, Pyro, how long have you been here?" she asked, stretching out his name with a slight roll when she hit the 'r'.

"Why?" he asked and then rolled his eyes at her raised eyebrow, "Since I was thirteen."

Click. Flick. Swish.

He fiddled with his lighter and watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"Do it again," she said suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Make that fireball like you did while you were at the mall."

"You saw that?" he asked her and she smirked.

"Yeah. Now do it."

Pyro cupped his hand and pulled some of the flame toward him, shaped like a ball. He sustained it for a while and then closed his hand abruptly, causing the flame to go out.

"Your turn. Show me what you can do." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Lara shut off the lights in the kitchen, making it pitch black. She reached up to a light and slowly pulled a tendril of energy from it. It looked like a lightning bolt as it slowly drifted to her hand. She had it swirl around her and then sent it to John, lighting him up just a bit. She opened her palm and the energy shot back into the light bulb and the lights came back on. John sat there with a stunned look on his face. Then he got up and started to the door.

"Follow me."

Pyro led her to a wavy staircase that led to a simple door. She followed close behind him, turning off any lights that she saw on the way up. He rolled his eyes. Show off. John swung open the door and stepped out onto the roof. He could see the city lights from up here; downtown wasn't far off. Lara stood behind him and gazed out at the view. He pulled out his Zippo and took the flame once again. He seemed to throw it into the air and it took the shape of an eagle. He had it flap its wings once and then change into a lion. He went through a zoo of animals, glad to finally be able to let loose a little without anyone yelling at him.

Lara watched this magnificent display and then decided to add her own element to it. She took the power from a couple light posts nearby and brought the bolts up to his fire creation that was now a wolf. She spread the bolts evenly throughout the animal, causing its coat to gleam and its eye to shine.

They stood up there, combining their powers, until John saw that it was almost two in the morning. He made the fire dissipate and Lara returned the electricity to the light posts. She sat down and let her feet dangle off the roof.

"So, why are you called Wild Thing? I mean, you know why I'm called Pyro," John said as he settled in next to her. She grinned devilishly.

"Because when I get wrapped up in my abilities, I kind of go a little crazy. The rush of it all…the immense power…it gets to me." John nodded. He understood. The same thing would happen to him on occasions.

"Plus no one ever liked my obsession with knives."

"Knives?"

"Yeah." She pulled out her pocketknife and flipped it open. John looked at it. The blade had a wicked curve to it that made the end sharp and pointed, like a hawk's beak. The grip was black plastic and it had the letters "WT" engraved in blue on the blade.

"This one is my favorite."

Pyro thought of his own prize, his shark Zippo. He jumped as the light post near the school burst with a surge of electricity and the pieces went everywhere. He looked at Lara with a raised eyebrow and jerked his thumb in the direction of the smoked mess. She blushed.

"Sorry. Sometimes I can't control it," she told him and he smirked. Wild Thing shot him a glare.

"But I can control it enough to zap that smirk off your face."

"Is that a challenge?" he asked and stood up as she did.

"You bet, Hot-Shot," she told him smartly and walked off, leaving Pyro on the roof alone. He propped his chin on his hand and snorted. This was going to be fun…

I always wondered what that roof looked like. Wish I could go up there.