Disclaimer: all characters belonging to Sky High and Xmen are not mine. I am only borrowing them.
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Chapter 12
Meanwhile, Warren had a shift again at the Paper Lantern. He had decided to go to work, even though he could have taken the day off, since he wanted to seize the chance at talking to Jubilee. There were too many unanswered questions that he wanted answered.
He was busy and did not talk to her at all during his work, diligently carrying out his duties.
Then as the last customer drifted out of the door, the fans were winding down and everything was cleared away, Warren stood, transfixed by Jubilee as she packed and readied to leave.
Look how beautiful she is, said an inner voice.
Warren shook his head in disbelief. Beautiful?
He thought he didn't like her!
Then the voice gave a laugh. A man in denial. It's funny.
In response, Warren was growling and blushing.
Jubilee glanced at him and frowned - giving him a what-on-earth-is-wrong-with-you look. Then turned to exit the restaurant.
So it's now or never. He thought.
Warren took a deep breath, "Jubilee."
She paused at the sound of her name. But then stepped outside the restaurant, ignoring him.
Pretending she had not heard.
"Hey wait – " he shouted. He hadn't expected her to completely ignore him.
The weather outside was cold and chilly. A biting wind seeped into Warren's bones.
He raced to catch up with her. His footsteps crunched the cold wet gravel underneath.
She ran fast. Warren could feel his muscles working all their might before he closed the distance. Finally, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him.
"What do you want?" she said irritably. Her voice was cold. Her eyes were wide – from fear? From anger? – Warren didn't know.
"Just the truth," he said earnestly. "Did… did you make that bird?"
Jubilee was silent but then her lips began to tremble, "You know I did."
Warren watched her as she swallowed. Once. Twice. Her eyes were hard but moist.
"Get away from me," she said suddenly – a fierce look possessing her eyes.
Tearing her body away from him, she fled.
It was Warren's turn to be angry. He knew he would regret it later - but he still couldn't stop himself from shouting at her, "What are you afraid of? Rejection?"
To his surprise, she turned to cast him one angry look then spun around to continue as if nothing had happened. This time he let her go, leaving him to scold himself in the cold windy night.
---
Pyro sat looking bored as Magneto excitedly discussd plans with Mystique. He was triumphantly smiling.
Mystique, one of his most trusted allies, had just confirmed that everything was going to plan… she had persuaded Sue Tenny, also known as Royal Pain, to finally agreed to make Oblivion for him. In return, she would make Sky High fall.
He was especially delighted when Mystique assured him that Royal Pain can configure Oblivion so that it would wipe out the entire Earth. Not just America.
"Pity the world doesn't value technopathic mutants," muttered Magneto to himself. "I do."
Pyro sighed and tried to suppress a yawn. It seemed like all Magneto thought about recently was destroying humans through Oblivion and Royal Pain… he stood up quietly to politely exit the conversation and explore the Lair instead.
He had never really fully explored it and now he wondered if what arsenal of weapons Magneto might have…
"Want to see some of Royal Pain's work?" Magneto's voice suddenly cut into his mind.
Pyro did not know how to respond. He shrugged. "Uh… I guess."
Interestingly, Magneto seemed delighted.
"Well, this is one of them…" and he gestured to a glass chamber in the corner of the main room.
Somehow, seeing the glass chamber sent shivers up John's spine. "What… is it?" he asked.
"An instument of torture," Magneto said a-matter-of-factly. "That Royal Pain once gave me… as a gift."
"What?" Pyro said in disbelief.
"Even back then she had a twisted mind," Magneto shrugged. "But she knew me well. And believed I would have found it useful."
Pyro approached it with caution. Yet he could not help but study it with a morbid fascination.
It had a metal base with a glass lid – similar to a treasure chest in shape. Pyro guessed the metal base made it easy for Magneto to move it at will. Curiously, he placed his fingertips on the glass. It felt cool and smooth – just like ordinary glass.
Yet it was anything but.
"The glass is superpower-proof and unbreakable," Magneto explained. "It was ingenius of her to be able to make something like that."
Inside, strong metal shackles that can hold a prisoner captive glistened in the light.
Pyro's stomach flipped as he imagined himself in there and unable to escape – straining painfully against the bonds.
"Do you know what I can do with it?" Magneto asked.
Pyro shook his head. He did not know if he wanted to know.
"By manipulating magnetic fields, I can make strong currents flow through it… and burn people to a crisp."
Pyro raised his eyebrows in surprise. But Magneto's face was deadly serious.
Pyro shivered. He didn't want to die like that.
Watching Pyro, Magneto gave a sinister smile. "Don't you worry young Pyro. As long as you cooperate with me, I will never use it on you."
Pyro nodded. Yet somehow he could not ignore the screams of pain in his head as he imagined himself dying of electrocution.
---
Finally home after work. Warren thought as he arrived at his doorstep. Home where comfort is….
He was emotionally drained from the encounter with Jubilee. In his rush to get inside the house, he fumbled at the keys.
Clumsily, he had to stab at the keyhole several times before the door knob turned and the door opened.
He gazed around. The shoes were stacked on a shelf as normal. His mother's shoes were among them. So she was home. And yet something felt amiss.
Then he realised what it was. It was quiet. Too quiet. Normally the radio would be blaring.
Taking a deep breath, he quickly closed the door. He called. "Mom?"
No response.
He walked along the corridor with his heart jumping inside him and his thoughts heavy with worry. What happened?
Straining, he slowly realized there were tiny sounds of a woman crying softly somewhere in one of the rooms. With anxiety, he raced around the rooms searching for his mother.
Finally, at the kitchen, he saw his mother lying in a collapsed heap on the floor. Stray strands of hair covered her damp face while her hand grasped at a swollen ankle.
"Mother!" screamed Warren dashing by her side.
With red puffy eyes, she looked at him in the eyes and apologized. "I'm… sorry Warren. I was just trying to make some dessert… and I… I slipped."
And you've been here all this time? Warren wanted to say. It was getting late. But Warren just shook his head. "It's okay mom. Let me help you up."
His mother nodded and wrapped an arm around Warren, allowing him to bear some of her weight as she limped on her uninjured leg.
Placing her gently on the nearby sofa, Warren said, "Let me get an ice pack for –"
As he spun around to walk away, one of his mother's hands gripped him tightly on his arm, digging into his tender flesh. Warren almost winced.
Lily was looking at him determinedly. "Stay," she said.
"Why? Your ankle is…" he started.
She put a thin arm around Warren as if begging him to stay.
"We need to talk…" she said softly. She glanced at her ankle. "It's okay now. It can wait."
His eyebrows shot up. He wondered what was so important. But Lily was determined. Sighing, Warren relented and sat down beside her.
Taking a deep breath, she began, "It's about your dad…".
She swallowed hard - which made Warren want to squirm inside his own skin. His mother never talked about his father… and she also never seemed so uncomfortable and scared...
"Well," her voice was trembling. "It's not something you would expect but…He… has progressive and eventually fatal disease…"
All of a sudden, Lily's voice was distant. "It's… called motor neurone disease…"
Motor neurone disease motor neurone disease motor neurone disease… the words echoed in Warren's mind.
A death sentence.
Suddenly, the room spun.
"So… what does it mean?" his voice sounded more high-pitched than normal.
Lily's voice was choking now. "So… it means... it means... that your dad is… going to die."
Thunder and lightning seared through Warren's mind. Lily winced as his grip unconsciously tightened.
He blinked then a hollow gaze cast over his eyes. His voice suddenly sounded monotonous like he was in shock. "How long does he have?"
Then came a choked, more louder and more emotional plea, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did't want to worry you," she said softly reaching to place a hand on his shoulder and trying to comfort him.
He flinched at her touch. Then Warren's face turned to give Lily a hard stare before he tore away and dashed for his room.
