Ch. 10
"Breathe…! Breathe…! Breathe…!"
"I am breathing!"
"Calm down, the both of you! This is not helping your current situation." The Professor's voice was deadly calm, however, the occupants of the Danger Room were not.
Logan backed away from the girl quickly, as the blaze around her grew larger with each panicked heartbeat.
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow! Logan! Make it stop!" Firefly screeched as the fire drew closer to her body.
"I can't! This is your fight. You make it stop when you want it to stop. By the way, make it stop!" The flames seemed to taunt him as they steadily licked at his arms and legs.
Firefly sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes.
What had started as a small orb of red fire had grown immense when she had lost her calm concentration. Now the combustion was steadily scorching all occupants and the Danger Room itself. Firefly was having trouble getting back in control.
It had been a little over a month since Firefly had first come to the school. She excelled in all her classes except for one. Mutant Ability Training.
Still, she had come a long way from her beginnings. Now, she allowed herself to indulge in her mutant powers when in the Danger Room.
She sat among the flames, trying to block out the incredible heat and painful searing of the bright red blaze. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and they reflected all the actions in the room. The fire decreased slowly; soon it only surrounded her and not the room at large.
Logan stepped forward towards Firefly and his burns healed quickly.
"Good job." He stated, and watched as the shadow in the flames began to move her arms in wide, sweeping motions. The fire was contained once more in a fireball, sitting in the burned palm of her hand. Firefly gingerly pulled her right hand up and brought it down on her left palm. When her right hand had left, the playful sparks were gone and no new scars appeared in their place.
Firefly promptly fell back on the charred floor and closed her eyes.
"Infirmary?" Asked Logan.
The girl, though appearing to be in a deep sleep, answered with a sigh and in a defeated sort of voice said, "Infirmary."
Logan crouched down beside her and began to search her for a place that was not damaged. Finding none, he gave up and reached down to one of the not-to-badly hurt spots. Logan snatched at her left hand and, feeling no rising heat, pulled her up into a sitting position.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Ugh… Ow!" she chirped. Logan had not waited for her answer and had wrapped an arm around her middle, sliding her left arm across his broad shoulders and lifting her to her feet.
The door opened and in wheeled the Professor, looking proud and yet still reserved.
"That was excellent work! A real achievement. Have you been working outside the Danger Room at all?"
Firefly answered with a shake of the head.
"Then I was right." He said with a knowing smirk. "You've had it in you all along."
He then turned right around and led them out of the still smoking training room.
Logan helped Firefly walk. She limped on her left leg; it had taken the brunt of the flame. She had been standing with her left leg before her right.
"Can I heal up fully before the next session? 'Cause flaming scabs don't smell all that appealing." She asked smartly.
"Sure, Smarts. So long as you promise to do exactly what McCoy tells you."
"Hang on." She says quickly, and Logan stops with a roll of his eyes. Firefly pulls the blackened band out of her hair and lets it fall on her face, restoring her usual façade. They move toward the door to the infirmary, its stark white color making the large blue man in the doorway look an even brighter shade.
"Dear Miss Bellview. What have you gotten yourself into this time?" Dr. McCoy joked.
Firefly showed a small smile, which the doctor could only see half of.
"You don't have to stay." She tells Logan, who nods his head and exits the infirmary.
"I hear your training is going well."
"They say."
"You don't think so?"
"I'm still afraid. I still get hurt."
"Everyone, dear. Everyone is afraid and everyone gets hurt sometimes. That's why the X-Men are here. To pick us up when we fall. To protect us."
The man listening to the radio transmitter shuts it off with a glare. Magneto stands and walks across the cavernous room to the wall where a control panel decorated with many buttons is nailed to the wall. He presses one of the buttons and speaks softly into the contraption.
"She's ready. We fetch her in the morning."