Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution.

Chapter Nineteen – Playing With Fire

April 1997

"AMARA!" John screamed, staring at the volcano crater. "AMARA!" He sagged against Storm in the air. "No…"

How could a vacation go so wrong so quickly?

It had all started a few weeks ago, when Professor Xavier suggested that Ororo take a few of the students on a cruise over Spring Break to take their minds off the spider incident and hers off Evan's absence.

All had been going well, until Tabitha, who had tagged along, had noticed Amara getting steadily sicker.

And then everyone found out about their powers.

And then the sea had become suddenly rougher, leaving the boat unable to dock at the nearest island.

{Flashback to two days ago}

"Well, that's just fantastic!" Tabby commented sarcastically. "We're trapped on a ship with people who hate us and would be quite happy to throw us overboard!"

Amara let out a groan and stumbled, landing in John's arm. "I need to get to land."

John smoothed her hair back and looked up at Tabby and Bobby, who looked worried. "This is more than sea-sickness, isn't it?"

"You hate the dark because of your powers." Bobby reminded him. "Lance doesn't like flying because of his powers. Amara is more than fire; she's magma as well. We have to get her off this boat!"

"We could always take a leaf out of their book." Tabby suggested, pointing across the water to where Jean and Scott could be seen flying towards land. "They're bailing on us!"

Bobby's face lit up. "Hang on. I've just had an idea." He led them down to where the lifeboats were.

"Bobby, we can't take a boat." Amara protested weakly.

"Who said anything about taking one?" Bobby asked, aiming his hand at the water. The beam of ice he created shimmered in the air and formed an ice canoe, bobbing on the ocean. "Mind your step."

{End flashback}

Bobby's canoe had taken them to the island, where they met up with Kurt and Kitty, who had teleported over, and headed up to the springs. The trip had been going fine until an earthquake had started. Bobby made them an ice-slide down the mountain, which housed a dormant volcano, and they saved the islanders, becoming instant celebrities. In fact, the islanders were so impressed, they threw a party in their honour.

The party, unfortunately, was cut short when the volcano erupted, leaving Amara and John the only two who could combat it and, even then, John could only stop it from getting worse. He and Amara had been separated as he helped the others try to save the panicked villagers. Storm, having discovered them missing, had flown across and helped put the fires out.

{Flashback to five minutes ago}

"Scott! Jean!" Ororo called, landing beside them as the heavens opened successfully dousing the flames. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know." Scott admitted. "Everything happened so fast. I think …"

"Storm!" Tabitha yelled, sprinting towards them. "Amara's gone up to the crater!"

"What?!" Ororo caught sight of John's expression and the wind increased, pulling him up to her side. "We've got to stop her."

When the reached the crater, Amara was standing at the edge in her Magma form, bending and shaping the molten lava to her every will.

"Amara, get away from there!" Storm called. "It's too dangerous!"

"Amara, please listen to her." John pleaded when his girlfriend didn't move. "Please."

The lava stilled and, for a split-second, Amara seemed about to turn back, but then the volcano rumbled again; the ground shook, the rock at her feet crumbled and she pitched forwards, performing a perfect swan-dive into the fiery depths below.

"AMARA!" John screamed, staring at the volcano crater. "AMARA!" He sagged against Storm in the air. "No…"

{End flashback}

The wind dropped and Ororo dropped them both to the ground, keeping a safe hold on the back of his shirt. "Can you pull her out?"

John tried, reaching out desperately with his powers, but it was to no avail. "No, I control fire, not lava."

The surface of the molten rock bubbled for a few seconds, then hardened into a thick crust.

"What happened?" Scott demanded as the others caught up with them.

"Amara …" Ororo whispered. "She fell in."

"Dived." John corrected, still staring in shock at the place she had vanished from. "She dived in."

"She …" Jean's voice caught. "She sacrificed herself to stop it?"

"She thought she caused it." John explained, his voice flat. "When she was in the spring, she powered up and swam down. There was a fissure; the earthquake began as she went near it."

Kitty knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

"She's gone." John whispered, closing his eyes. "She's gone." He felt Kitty wrap her arms around him, holding him close. At the same time, he felt tears seep from under his eyelids. He hadn't cried when his parents died. He hadn't cried when his sister kicked him out. But he wept soundly now, grateful for the comfort she offered.

Life had a funny way of working.

Suddenly he heard the others gasp and looked up to see that a jet of fire had burst through the hardened rock, shaping into a phoenix. It opened its mouth in a silent screech and another tongue of fire extended, but this one seemed different.

Slowly, John got to his feet and moved forwards as though transfixed by the sight in front of him.

Behind him, there was a soft scuffle, as if someone had moved to follow and been held back. The fire extended still further and wrapped around him, warming him. But his eyes were fixed on the mouth of the phoenix as Magma stepped out and let the flame carry her down.

The second her feet hit the ground, John had wrapped his arms around her tightly, ignoring the searing heat that refused to burn. She powered down in his arms and held him desperately, her body shaking with sobs.

"Thank God." He murmured into her hair over and over again. "Thank God."

"Amara?" Ororo asked softly. "Are you alright?"

Amara lifted her head, tears streaming down her face, but stayed in her boyfriend's embrace. "I'm tired. And a little emotional. I knew what I was doing, Storm.."

"What were you doing?" Scott prompted when she didn't say anything else.

"I can't explain it." Amara told him. "It was like something was pulling me up here."

"It seems your powers are getting stronger." Ororo smiled. "Now, everyone, I don't know why you left the ship…"

"That's my fault." Amara interrupted. "I wasn't feeling well; my powers acting up."

"She looked like she was about to pass out." Tabby added.

Ororo sighed. "Very well. The ship will dock at this island tomorrow morning; you may stay here if you wish."

"Thanks." The kids chorused. One by one, they congratulated and hugged Amara, before jogging down the mountain-side after Storm until John and Amara were the only two left.

John rested his head against hers. "Never scare me like that again. I thought I'd lost you."

"I know." Amara whispered. "But when the ground went, I was gonna fall anyway. I knew I'd be alright."

"Well can you find someway of letting me know next time?" John asked. "I never want to go through that again."

"I will." Amara leaned up to kiss him. "I promise."

July 1997

By the time Kurt, Scott and Jean's graduation arrived, everyone had almost forgotten about the spider-stone and Amara's amazing new powers. I say, 'almost', because Hank was still searching for the last key and Amara was causing small volcanic eruptions in training.

Graduation day dawned bright and beautiful; the sun was shining, the skies were blue and the entire world seemed as happy as the students were.

Since there were no classes that day, Kitty decided to walk to the school, taking the time to reflect on her room-mate's strange behaviour, as well as the unusual events of the previous morning. Soft footsteps alerted her a second before Tabitha jogged up beside her, falling into step. "Hey."

"Hey." Kitty returned. "What's up?"

Tabby shrugged. "Nothing much. I beat the boys up again so I thought I'd go for a walk. You?"

"It's Graduation Day." Kitty answered. "We all promised them we'd be there."

"How come they're graduating a year early?" Tabby asked. "I mean, I know they can, but I'd have thought they'd stick it out until next year."

"With Kelly?" Kitty raised an eyebrow. "I wish I could go with them."

"You alright?" Tabby frowned, catching her arm. "You seem a little off today."

Kitty shrugged. "It's been a weird couple days. Yesterday morning, Bobby woke me up. When I asked him what he was doing in my room, he told me I was in his room. On the floor. And I have no idea how I got there."

"You woke up in Bobby and Ray's room?" Tabby asked with a predictable smirk. "Best not tell Lance about that."

"Nothing happened." Kitty rolled her eyes. "I just wish I knew …" She stopped dead in her tracks, a shot of worry coursing through her. "Tabby, did you leave the door open when you left this morning?"

Tabby followed her gaze. "No."

The two girls stayed where they were for a few seconds, staring at the open door, half expecting something to happen. When it became apparent that there was no mad axe-murderer waiting to burst out of the house and slaughter them, they hurried over, only to find Wanda lying motionless just inside the door. As Tabby knelt to check on her, Kitty slipped past her, seeing Lance in the same state by the kitchen and Pietro lying at the bottom of the stairs. A quick glance around told her that Fred and Todd were also down in the living room.

For a heart-stopping moment, Kitty thought they were dead, but then her logic caught up with her and she realised that they were simply unconscious.

"What happened?" Tabby whispered. "How is this possible? None of them look injured and there's no sign of a struggle."

Kitty crouched beside Lance, looking back towards the living room. "How can you tell?"

"It's an organised mess." Tabby insisted.

"Sure it is." Kitty felt Lance's forehead, trying to gauge if he was sick, but couldn't feel any fever. "Lance? Baby, you need to wake up."

"Wanda?" Tabby called. "C'mon, girl; what happened?"

With a soft groan, Wanda shifted and her eyes flickered open. "Rogue … Rogue happened."

"What …?" Kitty broke off as Lance moved as well. "Hey."

Lance's eyes cracked open and he smiled weakly. "Hey yourself."

"You okay?" Kitty asked softly, helping her to his feet.

"Been better." Lance admitted, rubbing his head.

Kitty shook her head. "Rogue did this? Why?"

"That's just what I was wondering, Shadowcat."

Kitty saw Lance's face darken and she turned to see Magneto in the doorway, his face cast into shadow by his helmet, with Sabretooth and Colossus behind him. She felt Lance grasp her hand and pull her back, placing himself between her and the Acolytes.

Tabby helped Wanda to her feet and the two other girls moved back as well, the latter watching her father warily.

A presence behind her told Kitty that the rest of the Brotherhood had woken as well and were waiting for the next move.

"What are you doing here?" Lance asked, just civilly enough to get away with it.

"To see if you had gone through the same as us." Magneto surveyed them. "And clearly you did. Miss Pryde, where is Professor Xavier?"

"He's at Bayville High." Kitty answered. "It's graduation, but it didn't happen to us; I'd have …" She trailed off. "Rogue had a really bad headache this morning. And yesterday morning, actually. And I woke up in …" Another memory was working its way into her mind; waking up to the noise of someone crying out … entering the other room to find Bobby and Ray unconscious instead of asleep … stepping back and blacking out immediately. "She got us too. She's got to be possessed; she wouldn't do this otherwise."

"Going to Bayville High isn't a good idea." Pietro warned as his father turned to leave. "Mom's pissed off enough without you adding 'ruining her niece's graduation' to your list of charges."

"Speaking of which, Uncle Damien," Lance couldn't hide his smirk, "I should probably get there myself."

Magneto paid them no heed, flying off with his two followers in tow. Kitty sighed heavily, shaking her head. "We'd better get going; don't want to miss the fireworks."

"Actually, I do." Wanda sank into a chair, clutching her head. "I'm staying here, if you don't mind."

"Tell Jean I'm sorry?" Lance requesting, kissing his girlfriend's cheek. "But I know what Aunt Judy's temper's like and I'm not dealing with it after what just happened."

"Fair enough." Kitty turned her head and kissed him quickly, before bidding the others goodbye and jogging out the door. She had barely left the front gate when a sudden gust of wind told her she had company and Pietro slowed to keep pace with her. "Yes?"

"What? I can't watch my cousin graduate?" Pietro asked.

"You can." Kitty glanced at him. "I just wasn't expecting you to."

"This is one show I don't wanna miss." Pietro told her. "Besides, I can get us there ten times faster."

Kitty stopped and turned to face him as he held out a hand to her. "Probably more."

"Right." Pietro smirked at her. "So what are you waiting for?"

"Good question." Kitty took his hand and, within a second, they were standing beside Sara, Judy and Eric.

"Pietro!" Judy hugged her son. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'd love to say that I came to support my cousin." Pietro pulled a face. "That sounds weird. But I'm really here because I didn't want to miss this family reunion."

"Family reunion?" Sara repeated. "What reunion? Where are Lance and Wanda?"

"Waiting for the headaches to subside." Kitty answered. "It's very complicated and we wouldn't have brought it up, but …"

"Oh no!" Kelly's voice reached them and they all followed his gaze to see Magneto, Sabretooth and Colossus heading towards them.

Somewhere in front of them, in the calm before the storm, Kitty heard Scott's voice sigh, "There goes graduation."

Then the panic set in and Scott, Jean and Kurt fought their way through the fleeing crowds to reach them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kitty saw Rogue leaving and nudged Pietro in the side. "Quicksilver …"

Catching on, Pietro sped off, grabbed his former team-mate by the waist and pulled her back to them. Several of the metal chairs left the ground and surrounded her, keeping her in place.

"What the hell is going on?!" Remy demanded, his hand automatically moving to his pocket for his cards.

"An excellent question." Xavier agreed. "Magneto, explain yourself."

Kitty heard Judy gasp behind her and realised she had only just connected the mutant in front of her with her estranged husband. She moved back and squeezed her hand comfortingly, taking Sara's arm as well, knowing from experience that something was about to happen and these two had no way of defending themselves.

"The girl is under Mesmero's control, Charles." Magneto stated calmly. "She attacked us to steal our powers and then wiped our minds with his power to cover it up."

"Then what proof do you have?" Xavier asked.

"Our surveillance cameras." Magneto answered promptly. "They caught it all."

"And she got us too." Pietro added. "Didn't bother to wipe our minds."

Suddenly, and without warning, Rogue lifted her arms, sending the chairs flying backwards; Judy and Sara both screamed, but the chairs passed harmlessly through them as Kitty phased automatically, watching helplessly as her room-mate took off skyward.

"How …?" Sara whispered.

"Incorporeal tangibility." Kitty responded quietly, her gaze still fixed on the sky. "I can walk through solid things."

"Wolverine, Gambit, track her." Professor Xavier commanded.

Magneto looked at Sabretooth. "Go with them."

"No!" Logan protested. "I don't need his help!"

Kitty looked at Pietro. "Your dad's lost it."

Pietro shook his head. "I don't think he ever had it."

"Logan, you two must put it aside." Professor Xavier insisted. "There's too much at stake."

Remy leaned over to John, who was gaping at their former boss. "This should be fun."

John shook his head and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, mate. You'll need it."

AN: Review please!