Pyro listens to the water falling in the bathroom. Hissing. Steam begins to pour under the crack between the door and floor. He looks bemused and gets up, walking over to the closed bathroom. He knocks.
"Turn down the hot water, you're going to melt the paint from the walls." He yells.
"I'm not using hot water!" Firefly yells back.
Pyro is once again bemused.
"We will train her for a short period of time. Inform her of our current situation. Perhaps she will take to our cause." Mystique says indifferently.
"And perhaps Pyro will soon find out he has the ability to control water." Magneto says, bored drawl in action. "It is almost certain we will have to use the potion. I could see it in her defiant eyes. No wonder she gets along so well with the Wolverine. Unfriendly..."
Firefly lets the freezing water run over her shoulders. The intense heat from her body makes the cold water evaporate into steam instantly.
"I'm dreaming." she whispers to herself, "This is a horrible nightmare in which I am the hero of the story, captured by the bad guys, and then saved by the X-Men. And I thought it was only the pretty mutants who got to be lead character."
She whimpers and turns off the water, stepping out of the steamed glass stall.
As always, Firefly dries instantly. She runs a hand through her hair and begins to dress. It's only after she's decked out in a green t-shirt and khaki cargo pants that she realizes her attire was not taken from her bedroom, and therefore not made by her mother. And therefore not fireproof.
She shrieks, takes a steadying breath, and jumps at the knock on the bathroom door.
"What was that?" came Pyro's voice.
Firefly threw open the door, trying to keep her cool.
"These aren't fireproof!" She forces her voice to calm, her breathing to slow.
"So?"
"'So?' So, do you want to burn this place to a crisp? Not to mention me. It would be a shame, you going through all the trouble to kidnap me, only to have me in ashes the first day."
"I'll make sure you don't burn anything." Pyro says, though his tone carries some uncertainty.
She huffs, and moves over to the couch.
Logan is in the kitchen. He takes a swig from the bottle he's holding and Rogue enters.
"Hey." she says quietly.
He doesn't answer, but takes another drink.
"We'll get her back. It seems every time we get a new kid, something bad happens to 'em. We always get them back." Rogue tries a comforting smile, but it turns into a grimace.
"I know." He says quietly. "It's just... She reminded me of you in some ways." Rogue looks confused, so Logan continues. "I felt like I was the one s'posed to protect her."
Rogue smiles looking incredulous, "I don't need to be protected anymore, Logan."
She pauses and says with conviction, "And the way I've seen the little Firefly during training sessions, I don't think she needs protecting either."
Logan looks up from his beer and gives her a half-grin. "Guess I'll have to find another newbie to shelter."
"Guess so."
A/N: Did you see how I took that tiny jab at OC stories there? Hehe, I like my little jokes. Anyway, no pressure to review.