A/N:Thanks once again to reviewers!

Traitors: Chapter 9

John stood by the lake of the town. He was standing on the edge of its deck. The water was swishing back and forth with the wind. He turned around and smiled. A few hours ago, he had abandoned his wife alone in a motel room. The woman he loved. Practically left her. Alone. That hurt. He couldn't bear doing that. She might end up hating him. Forgetting him. But this needed to be done. It was for them. For him and her.

Looking at him were three men. He didn't care. He'd keep fighting until they'd stop. He'd find a way to get Magneto to leave them alone. The men looked ready to kill.

"Well, guys," he began. "What are we waiting for?!" he smiled once more. They started to attack him, but he managed to maneuver around them.

The first guy he threw over his shoulder and into the water. He screamed harshly and then gutted the second guy with his fist. The man itself roared and threw John over his shoulder. The third guy and second guy both grabbed him and held him down. The first guy pulled himself up and punched John back and forth in the head. The blood flowed. He kicked upwards and sent the first guy flying. He pushed off the second guy and tried to hit the third guy, but was blocked. He continued and hit the guy, and while he was momentarily flustered, pushed him into the water. He pulled up his hand, and a fireball flamed. It grew and blasted the second guy, sending him flying, and making him hit the wood. Pyro ran up to him and kicked him into the water as well. He kept running and ended up in the forest. His neck hit the hard arm of another man. He fell down onto his back. The pain in his neck and the impact of the hard ground shook him for a while.

He was pulled up, or jerked up, by the collar and thrown forward, where he was flipped and landed on his back again. He got up, and opened his lighter. The fire burst out again, and set onto the man who threw him. The guy ran around, his jacket aflame. He threw it off, and gazed at Pyro with his red eyes.

"Gambit!" the first man yelled. "Get the heck outta here! You have a mission, don't you?!"

The red-eyed man looked ready to retort, ready to fight back, but instead rubbed his chin, and stalked out of the forest, looking pissed off. Pyro turned to the first man, and the flames burst. More people came up, and the fires divided, multiplied, enlarged and strengthened. They went around, everywhere, zipping past trees. One fell, and separated him from a couple of men. The tree caught on fire, and he ran through the other trees. He jumped and rolled down as one tried to ambush him, and scrambled up to his feet to get out of the place. He got tackled, and both him and his attacker rolled on the ground. As he pushed, or tried to push, off the guy who had started to hammer his head, he couldn't help but wonder.

That Gambit guy…he looked mysteriously dangerous. What 'mission' was he sent on? Did it concern Rogue? It sent chills up his neck, and made him want to push the guy off even more. He managed, and he punched him in the middle of the face, hearing the crack of the nose.

He got up, and walked away, limping slightly because of a new found pain in his right ankle. He managed past some trees and ducked behind a good one. He heard the running of many, and lit up another fireball. It shot out into a line that all of them passed, and their ankle's caught on fire. The fire reached up to their clothes, their coats and pants and shoes, and they screamed and focused on putting out the fires.

Rogue…

He jumped over fallen logs and other stuff, and made it into the main road. It was empty except for a few cars. He managed to catch a glance at his clothes and his state. Dirtied up and a little bruised, with a little blood. He shook off all feelings of pain or ache, and continued on. He saw two cars drive up. One of them stopped nearby him, and the doors opened. Two people went out. A woman and a man. Mystique, now in her blue form, bandaged up from the last encounter, and Magneto, who smiled slightly.

"Still as powerful as I knew you, aren't you, Pyro?" Erik said.

"Ah, well," John huffed. "I'm young." He bended down slightly and tried to regain his breaths.

"I'm pleased to see you've managed through the forest." Pause. "Nothing ofcourse I didn't see coming."

"Why don't you just leave me and Rogue alone?!" John screamed at him to get his attention.

Magneto's face turned from kind to dark. "I believe I've mentioned it, but if I haven't, or if you haven't gotten it through your thick, insolent skull, I don't like losing my strongest warriors unless there's nothing I can do. And the only time there's nothing I can do is when they're dead. You're not dead, Pyro. You're in love. As…sickening as it may sound."

"Pyro. See the light! We're the ones you've gotta side with. We're the ones who understand you! The only ones who understand you. She doesn't. She's scared of your power. Of Pyro. She wants John. You're not John. You can't be John anymore. You're Pyro. There is no John. What is your true name, boy?! It's Pyro. We've discussed this before. You said it yourself. Your true name is Pyro. Who you are is Pyro. Who you want to be is Pyro. Not John. John was weak. John showed human emotions. John was human." Mystique said. She sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"So, what, I just forget about Rogue? Forget about my wife?!"

"She's not Rogue, Pyro," Mystique said, now rolling her eyes. "She's Marie. A pathetic, worthless, weak human who has no sense towards mutanity and has betrayed it! She's a traitor!"

"And so am I." Pause. "Now. I'm a traitor. To you, to the X-Men. I'm not a traitor to my wife. I'm not a traitor to Rogue."

"You're making a mistake, and we are trying to knock some sense in you without being physical!" Mystique stressed.

Magneto held up a hand to silence her. She fell silent.

"Don't make us do this the hard way, Pyro. Don't make us do something we'll regret."

He shook his head and took a step forward. The flames burst out wildly everywhere, and once more, he tried. He tried harshly what he had done in success before. Transported. Within the fire. It worked, and he appeared in the motel room once more. The flames burst out and then dissolved instantly. He looked around, and found no one. No sign of Rogue. He walked out of the place, and got stopped by the manager, Lauren.

"John!" she said loudly, coming up to him. He didn't stop. "Wait!" she called louder. He stopped finally and turned around. "This. From Marie." She gave him a letter and walked away.

He walked quickly for the bus stop or for a cab. Found a cab and got in.

"New York," he said firmly. The driver nodded and started to drive. He read the letter.

'Johnny,

I love you. I…I don't know where I'm heading. I want you to call me. Please. I just need to know you're all right. I'm not mentioning where I'm going, incase something happens. Or someone takes this. I know you're doing this for us. I'm thankful everyday to have met you…again. Huh. I don't want you to get hurt. I wouldn't be able to lose you. I miss you already. John…please call. I love you and I want you to know that I'll be fine. I know where I'm going and I know what I'm going to do. Please call. Let me know you're okay. Let me know you're alive. Please. I don't even know if you're getting this or if Lauren remembered to give it to you. I told her that if you didn't show up in a week to disregard this. Johnny, don't worry about me. I love you. Be careful. Stay safe. Take care. I love you so much. Too much. Be careful. Call. I love you, John, Pyro, whatever. You're the one who helped me. Cared. Way too much for me to believe someone actually did. Just know that I love you, Johnny. Know that I'm thinking about you and hoping that you're all right. I love you.

Love,

Marie'

He read it once more, counted the number of times she told him she loved him and couldn't help but smile slightly, inside or outside. As far as Rogue knew, he was dead. Wait…he was dead. As far as she knew.

Could this work? Was this right? He could disappear for a few years. Not call. No contact. She'd be much safer. Wouldn't she? If the Brotherhood would trail her they'd know that she'd think I was dead. They wouldn't hurt her. They wouldn't. She'd be safe while I try to fix this. It'll be better. He placed the letter, having folded it first, in his jacket's inner pocket. He took out his lighter and fiddled with it with his hands. The taxi stopped suddenly and flipped over and skidded upside down, screeching into the ground.

John mouthed a curse word, and with hard effort, pulled himself outside the car, kicking the window first. He felt the glass crush into small pieces under his foot as he stood up shakily.

Damn it, he thought heavily. He managed to drag out the unconscious, yet still alive, driver and laid him on the edge of the road. He took out a twenty and tucked it into the guy's shirt pocket.

"Thanks, man," he said.

He took one last deep breath, tried to concentrate, and held out his lighter. He could see figures coming up. He closed his eyes, and flicked open the lighter. As soon as the fire started, it engulfed him, blasted out, and the next thing, he was in the Academy, on the ground, and a shake from his teleportation shook the walls.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Gotta learn to perfect that."

Next thing he got pulled by the back of his jacket, ,and thrown backwards, sliding into the living room. His back hit the coffee table, and he looked up, annoyed, at Logan, who was giving him an expressionless look.

"Where's Storm?" he asked, getting up and dusting the sides of his jacket.

"You know, life was much easier before you came back around," Logan said, dismissing his question. He pushed his fist forward, and John ducked backwards, as the claws extended.

"Aw, well, what can you do?" he asked, taking the arm and pushing him away. "I'm not here to fight," he added, locking the open lighter and pocketing it.

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Yeah, well, who cares, eh?' Pause. "Is Rogue here?"

Wolverine crossed his arms.

"She's here, isn't she?" John asked, knowing the answer. It figured. Rogue would've thought that someone else might take the letter. Being unobvious was her…well, being obvious. "This conversation is taking too long," he added. Logan didn't budge. "Is she here?!" he demanded.

"No. Not now," Logan added at the look on John's face. "She left half an hour ago with Storm." Pause. "Supermarket."

John looked distraught and sat down.

Logan leaned next to the wall. "Where'd you go?"

"Tried to fix things."

"And?"

"It lasted for about a few minutes."

"Oh," Logan said in mock understanding. "Magneto carved you, Allerdyce. He's not gonna let you go that easily. He wants you to pay. To feel pain. You do know that, right?"

"Define 'pain'."

Logan shrugged. "Loss. Suffering. Emotional or physical suffering."

"I'm good with physical."

"Ah. He knows that. He knows you, doesn't he?"

"Emotional."

"Rogue," Logan said, replacing the word. "Understand, Allerdyce?"

"Yeah," John replied through gritted teeth, the zippo lighter making a re-entry into the scene. He flicked it's lid open and shut repeatedly.

"Yet, you refuse to believe that's what he's going after. You believe that there's another way." Logan stood up straight. "He's the truth: there isn't. You're his warrior. Heck, maybe you're just a warrior."

"You don't think I've thought of it that way?!" he asked.

"You're going to have to make a choice in the end, Allerdyce. Leave and save Rogue, who you keep blabbering is the love of your life. Or be stupid and get her killed. You're her husband. Know what's best for her." Logan turned and walked away.

John followed him. "So – what – now everyone's telling me to leave her?!"

"Well, maybe you should listen to 'everybody'." John looked ready to retort when Logan turned around to face him. "I know you love her. I can see that. I know you care about her. Again, I see that. I just need to know how much you love her and how deeply you care about her." Pause. "If you really loved her you'd want her to be all right. With or without you. If you really cared about her you'd want to make sure she'd never get hurt. Ever." Pause once more. "So, John. Tell me. How deeply do you love and care about the kid, eh?"

xXx

"Logan?" Storm called from the doorway.

She pushed it open and dragged in the overloading bags, with Rogue behind her. Logan came down the stairs. The bags hit the ground with a thud, and Storm looked at him with doe eyes.

"Get the other bags? Please?" she added in a begging manner.

He shook his head mockingly at the new headmistress, but left through the doors.

"Oh, honey, just leave those," Storm said, seeing Rogue start to pick up the bags. She smiled. "He'll get those."

"Ah, the advantages of being the Wolverine's keeper," Rogue said, climbing over the bags.

She reached the table and saw the lighter. The familiar lighter. His lighter. John's zippo lighter. She picked it up and examined it carefully. It was his. No doubt about it. Logan came through the doors with the third load of groceries.

"John?" she asked quietly, turning around. Storm was gone. Logan was there. He put down the bags. "He's here?" she asked in a somewhat squeaky voice. Was he? He was all right?

Logan looked uncomfortable. "He's…gone."

"What?" she asked, her tone of voice dropping.

"He's gone, Rogue. For good. But…" he added, taking a note out of his pocket. "He left this." She looked dumbfounded, with her jaw dropped open at his calmness and accepting matter to this. Then he looked at her and realized what the look meant. "No. I didn't kill him. He left. He's not coming back."

Then he took one more thing out of his pocket. A ring. A wedding ring. Rogue took both the things.

Her eyes swelled up slightly with tears.

"What did you do?!" she screeched at him, crushing the note and the ring in separate hands. "What did you tell him?!"

"I didn't tell him anything!" Logan said in his defense. "Well…I just explained it to him. He made his own decision."

"Logan…" Rogue said, her voice falling once more. She wiped her eyes with the sides of her sleeves and pocketed the ring, opening the note.

'Will call at nine tonight. Pick up the phone. Please.'

She looked up at Logan in disbelief.

"Rogue," he said, taking a step forward. "I'm asking you one thing. Understand. Understand the reality of this relationship. One of you might end up dead. John knows this. You do as well. You have to accept that your love for each other is strong. Things just work out these ways." He took her into his arms as she cried softly. "He loves you. Yes. He cares. Yes. He always wants to protect you. Yes. You love him. Yes. Everything, blah, blah, blah…Yes. But you know this isn't going to work out. You know that. Right?"

She nodded, her head still buried in his chest as he rubbed her back softly.

"He wants to talk to you for the last time. Don't miss this chance."

She backed up and looked at him with her puffy eyes and her red cheeks. Her arms were tightly folded and she was looking up and down, trying to stop the tears.

"What if you love someone too much?" she asked.

"You learn to let go."

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