3.
They drove in silence for a while until Liss began to ask a million questions. "So, Pyro?" He curly hair was put into an updo, which swung around her head as she turned in her seat. "Yes, Lissianna?"
"It's just Liss", she snapped, trying to sound like an adult, "And why do you have such a strange name?" "Because", Mary replied, "they use to give mutants another name. It's a secret codename they just tell their friends and special girls like you."
"Really?" Her mouth opened breathlessly, showing a gap between her front teeth. "Actually, many mutants have one of these. They match their abilities", Pyro offered, a small smirk on his lips. Children believed about anything. Innocent little things, he thought, they have yet to learn how cruel the world is. "Does that mean...", she stabbed him with her finger, "Mary and Thomas and Wolf have to get one? I wanna choose!"
Thinking about that, he nodded. It would be wise to use different names when they were on the run, kept their families safe. "You know, she's right", Wolf said. The smile he directed at Pyro wasn't unfriendly, on the other hand definitely not welcoming either. "But I already have a pretty fitting one. I guess I'm just going to stick with Wolf."
"So, what about Thomas? We could call you Flowers", Liss asked, seeing name-calling as a possible entertaining game. "Haha, no!" The man held his hands up in a gesture of defense. "Really, no!"
"Oh, come on! That sounds cute", Mary joined the conversation. Thomas gave her a look that clearly meant she'd get it all back when it was her turn.
"What about Chapli? That's short for 'Chatting with plants, sometimes insects?'", Liss wanted to know, completely serious. "I don't talk to insects."
"Well, but I had to get an 'I' from somewhere, didn't I?"
Before they could start a fight, Pyro interrupted the two of them. "What is it you do, exactly?" He couldn't believe what role he had taken in this company, normally he was always up for fights, many times the cause of it by throwing in sarcastic comments. Must be the tiredness, he decided.
Thomas was busy shooting evil glances at Lissianna, so Mary answered. "My childish little friend over here", she nudged him, "can grow plants incredibly fast. It works best with flowers and twines, he can't manage trees. And when there are plants, they seem to become healthier when he's around."
"He will be my gardener when I become princess", Liss told him.
"We found the perfect name for you", Wolf said without looking away from the crowded streets. They had driven downtown all the time, mixing with normal humans. Reflexively, Pyro ducked a little when a police-car raced by. After all, he was still a known terrorist of the brotherhood. "You shall be named Princess."
"Yay!" The small girl exploded into cheers while Mary whispered to Pyro: "She's a hundred percent human, you know? And that really bugs her. Although I think Wolf is rather happy about it."
The blond surfer guy closed his eyes, eager to start a new discussion. "And Mary-Ann?"
"I don't need...", she started, then grinned and shut up when four wicked glances hit her. "Dreams and illusions?", asked the pyromaniac. "Yeah, still developing. I hope my abilities will become a little stronger with time. So far I've only been able to do my sister's stuff", she blushed deeply and assured them she'd never given anyone nightmares. "And cars. I can make people think the is one blocking the street, another one that looks just like ours or..."
"... or that there is a car on their body", finished Pyro, earnest. Illusions could be a great weapon, both in a fight and on other missions. Very versatile. "What was the name of this guy with the dreams? That one I had to learn by heart for history."
"Morpheus, Greek god of dreams", Wolf replied instantly.
"You can't name me after a guy, Liss. It sounds way to masculine", Mary said thoughtfully, "The idea isn't so bad, anyway. What do you think of Màyà? She was, if I remember correctly, the goddess of illusions in Buddhism and Hinduism."
"Cool", Lissianna agreed, "Suits you." Even Thomas and Wolf nodded approvingly. "So we got Wolf, Princess, Flowers", the blond man shot her another evil glance, "Maya and... uh, what was the name of the naked man again?"
"Pyro", Mary said, smirking at the small girl. "You're not going to let that go so fast, are ya?"
"No", said Liss and presented everyone her huge smile, which was cute with her missing tooth, Pyro decided. He couldn't be mad at the young human. I despise that race, he reminded himself strictly. They are lower beings, ants below my feet. Why couldn't he make himself believe it then, watching Liss?
"So, Pyro?"
"Yes, Princess?"
"Can you show me what a pyromant does?"
He smiled at that, even though he saw Wolf tense in the driver's seat. The black guy's normally full lips got thinner, the perfect curve of his jaw changed. Wolf looks like one of these boring roman statues, just his hair is wrong. And his countenance at the moment, Pyro thought, eying the boy. Beautiful, but not masculine at all.
"Anything for the majesty, but it's pyromaniac or pyrokinetic", he corrected without looking away from Wolf. Maybe a challenge was fitting. "And I'd rather show you. Does anyone have a lighter?"
"You asked that same question in the facility. I thought you were pretty crazy then...", Mary remembered, her voice trailing off as she shuffled through a bag at her feet. "Here you go, Sparky", Wolf said when the girl didn't find anything.
"Sparks are the right keyword, indeed", he answered, biting back the comments he had in mind about the nickname.
His hands handled the lighter with an easiness he had missed a lot while being bound to that bloody chair. Once the flame flickered, he caught the fire in his palm and showed it to the stunned girls next to him. "Sweet", Liss murmured, reaching out to touch the flame. "Hey, that's hot!", Pyro warned and transformed the hot element into a hovering ball, then a burning crown around his wrist. "Sweet", Liss repeated. Pyro let the flames crawl to his fingertip and stared at Wolf, whose grim mouth opened in a dangerous smile. "Interesting", was all he said, before he turned his attention back to the road.
Afterward, Thomas and Mary kept pestering him with questions. How had he learned to control his ability? Was it always so easy to make it do whatever he wanted? When had he found out he was a mutant? Did he know about the war between Xavier and Magneto?
None of them even asked if he'd been part of it and Pyro was glad about it. Like that, he could satisfy them with smart-ass comments and half-truths, never lying, but never completely honest, too.
Princess had long fallen asleep and now Thomas volunteered to drive, while Wolf rested in the front passenger's seat. "Why were you down there, in that room I found you?", Mary wanted to know, playing with a strand of he nut-brown hair.
"They wanted me to sign a contract. Problem was, I didn't cooperate that much. And the rotten contract was written in mutant-blood, literally. No idea why, but I had a really bad feeling about that paper." His voice was, just like hers, a low whisper, because he didn't want to wake up the child.
"Yeah, but that's not really the answer I wanted to get. How did you get down there, John?" He had admitted his human name to her a few minutes ago, and now she kept using it instead of his real one. "I was surprised in my sleep and taken. That's about it", he said. Clearly, further questions were unwanted. "My turn", the smirk returning to his lips, he leaned closer to her, trying to make her move backwards. "Why were you down there, Maya?"
"I was looking for someone."
"Who?"
"A friend."
"Whose name is?"
"Nate."
"Who's that?"
"A friend."
"Why did you think he was in that room?"
"We had information about a young, male, powerful mutant being held there. And then there was Delilah."
"Who's that?"
"The girl in the cell with you."
"Your sister?"
"Yes." Further questions in that direction unwanted.
They looked at each other, then Mary began to chuckle. "You really have a bad influence on me. I start to avoid questions like a criminal."
"So? We are on the run, aren't we? Where are we going anyway?"
"To a safe place", the girl grinned, her ice-blue eyes amused.
"Huh. You're talented at that. Can you at least tell me what happened after the final battle, as you call it?"
"Well, Xavier won. He told the humans what had happened, but they weren't very happy about it. There was a huge debate about mutants all over again and this time, the radicals got the upper hand. They convinced the prime minister of the thread mutants were to the harmless inhabitants and presented the easy solution. Cure for everyone, no matter what the patient wants." She blinked, rubbed her face and went on. "Army and special forces tracked us down, setting up traps and distress call-lines for any tips about mutants. There was even a reward for information, that led to the seizure of a target. That's what we are, you know? Targets. Nothing but sighting marks for their so called medicine."
Silence fell, until Pyro shrugged. "There must have been resistance. Always is."
"Yeah. Xavier tried with diplomacy."
"And?"
"There is another... uh, rather violent group of mutants. They fire back, I guess. Blowing up companies, which produce the cure and stuff."
"Sounds like the kind of people we should get in touch with", Pyro mused. He was astonished, when Mary laughed bitterly. Such despair was strange on her young features. "Nah, they just exist for the cause, the don't care whether a single member gets killed or... something. And you've already met them." It took a few seconds till he made the connection. "Your sister and her friends?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault, John."
Relief spread over her face when Thomas stopped the car and got out. "We're home", Liss said, jumping out of her seat. She had woken when they'd slowed down. The small girl hugged Wolf and ran towards a small, shabby hut. Walls and windows were still intact, the garden and the driveway had obviously been unused for a long time. "It's for sale." Thomas pointed at an overgrown sign next to the door. "We're in the middle of nowhere, nobody wants to live here. Lucky for us", Wolf explained shortly, before he opened the door and followed his sister inside.
"Why are you staying in one place?", Pyro asked curiously, slipping the lighter into his pocket. "Because", Mary answered, "we kinda have an injured person. You'll understand when you see him."
The windows were so dirty, the sun shining into the living room was dimmed to a shadowy twilight. Cozy, Pyro thought sarcastically, taking in the dust on the empty shelves and the missing color everywhere. There were mattresses on the floor, a few pillows, some food on the table and a small camping stove. And a person lying on the furthest bed, his back to the newcomers. It was only when he turned, that Pyro recognized him.
"Bobby Drake."