Raven sped down the street, hoping John hadn't gotten in over his head. When she found him, Raven hit the brakes and swung the car around so she was facing him. "Hurry up," She demanded, "before my landlord wakes up and decides I've gotta pay rent for the last few months."

John looked at the sky and laughed, "Is your landlord nocturnal?" His Australian accent was thick, and Raven realized how much she missed it.

"No, but he knows I am." Raven replied as John walked around the car and got in.

Eyeing the interior of white leather and a black cross hanging from the review mirror, he commented, "This isn't you style… did you steal it?" His voice was calm and relaxed, like he didn't care either way.

She glanced over at him and replied in a lame defense, "I'll give it back." John laughed and their conversation died as Raven raced back to her crappy apartment.

When the two got out of the car, John looked around the garage, "So… how have you managed to keep your apartment without paying."

Raven shrugged, "Nobody else would buy it. I still pay once in a while, so it's not like he's loosing any money." The two went up the stairs as the red-haired fire boy looked at each door. John had no doubt noticed the fact that the higher they got, the worse the doors looked and the more worn the hall looked.

"You're on the top, aren't you?" He asked; a hint of dread in his voice.

"Yup," Raven replied cheerfully, "It is a piece of crap, but it's home!"

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When John walked into Raven's apartment, he realized she hadn't been joking; it was a piece of crap. The room he had entered was small, and only had a mattress on the ground with sheets strewn around it. He could see across the room into another room, which was apparently the kitchen. It had a refrigerator, a sink, a stove, and a counter at the far end. The fridge was humming loudly and in the sink were a few dishes and a knife, still with the remains of blood. On the other side of the first room was a closed door, which John assumed was the bathroom, although the door was closed.

Raven walked across the room, pulled a few sheets from the floor and dropped them on the floor a couple of paces away. "Your bed, Saint John." She said in a mock respectful tone. John couldn't help but grin. Only Raven knew his full name was St. John Allerdyce. Not even Magneto knew his parents had dubbed him a saint at birth; and it was Eric who had ruined it all. The thought caused John's face to contort from happiness to despair.

Raven noticed his change in attitude, as she always did, and walked over to him, whispering, "What's wrong?" She knew he didn't often get upset, and when he did, it was something big.

John shook his head, refusing to talk. But Raven wouldn't take it. She gestured to her mattress and said quietly, "Come. Sit." He did as he was told and she sat next to him. "You can tell me." She insisted. He knew he could trust her, he could tell her anything; and he had come to her to tell her everything. He had to tell her.

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John took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling to find there wasn't one. He stared at the moon above him and began to relax. Raven sat beside him, waiting patiently, legs crossed. "When I left, I told you I was going to find out who killed my parents. On the way, I found a man named Eric Lensherr. He helped me with my powers and gave me the name Pyro. I worked for him a while, looking for the murderer of my parents. My friend, Piotr, helped me find what I needed. When I found out who it was, I did everything I could to put him in harms way. I even set him up to be killed by Apocalypse."

John sighed, putting his head in his hands, "It was Mr. Lensherr… my boss had killed my parents. He knew I'd leave to find him and he used it to get me to work for him. He used me like one of his puppets. He made me the bad guy to the world and killed my parents, so I'd have nowhere to go… except back to him."

Raven put her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "But you do have somewhere to go… you have here… with me."

John froze, his entire body tensed as he looked over at her. "No. I shouldn't have come here." He stood, pulling himself away from Raven. "If he knows about you, you're as good as dead."

Raven stood and stared at him. "Do you honestly think I can't take down some human who runs around killing people to get flunkies?" She demanded, clearly insulted by his concern for her.

"I never said he was human." John said seriously. "Eric's a very powerful mutant… he calls himself Magneto."

Raven had heard his name before, but he didn't scare her. She shrugged, "Big deal. He's a big talker; I bet he'd go down easy."

John shook his head, "He's smarter than he looks. He'll use anything he can find against you. You'd be a joke to him."

"You're the one that came to me." Raven stated, crossing her arms, "You can't come here and suddenly decide to leave!" She started to lose her temper, "When you left, I had nothing to lose. Now that you're back; now that I have something, don't you dare leave again. You're the only person in the world that ever gave a damn about me! And when you were around to help me through stuff, I had something to live for! And believe it or not, I like having something to live for!"

(A/N: Yeah, I know, a horrible place to stop… but I was stuck, and just be grateful I actually updated. Of course, now that I've gotten into it, there's no way I'm not gonna update some time later.)