Disclaimer : The X-men are property of Marvel and this is a work of fiction.
Kevin sat idly in the kitchen of their underground fortress with his feet on the table, idly picking at a piece of buttered toast. He didn't feel too hungry tonight. Bobby was reading something in the library down the passage. It had been three days since he and Bobby had started fooling around, and since then it had been a blur of passion. The past three days had sped past, with only short breaks to eat something, or perform other mundane functions. He shifted in his seat, aware of his body reacting to images of the past few days, His breath quickened, and his pants stirred. He should stop, but images of Bobby's naked aroused body made his face flush, and his heart quicken. He realized he had a piece of toast in his mouth and quickly swallowed.
"Forget how to eat?" Pyro said with a flashy smile, as he entered the kitchen in his boxers and opened the refrigerator looking for food. He had a great body, and he knew it.
Kevin coughed with embarrassment. Pyro was looking through the empty fridge. "You know, that fridge is only for decoration. It will always be empty. If you want something you need to ask," Kevin said with a wry smile.
"I know," Pyro said, and lifted his cupped hand as if he was lifting an invisible glass. "See, I can make my own food too," he said with a cheeky grin.
"I noticed. How does it taste?" Kevin said, now openly laughing.
Pyro appeared to glare into the invisible glass with an analyzing look followed by a small sampling, before looking at the roof and taking a deep breath. "Potent, smooth, runs nicely off the tongue ," he said nerdishly.
"Milk?" Kevin said.
"Vodka," he said impishly.
"What a surprise," Kevin said flatly. "Want some of the real stuff? You know, the vodka they don't keep in fridges?"
John blushed at his error. "A burger would be nice," he said sheepishly.
"A burger it is," Kevin said with a glint in his eye. He pulled his powers into him, and felt his face darken, and the smile on John's face falter. It was the one aspect of his abilities which he hated. The air circled in front of him until a small whirlwind formed, which didn't disturb the rest of the kitchen. A light started to form in the middle of the vortex and it burned with power. He concentrated and shifted all the elements into what he needed, felt his powers holding back the immense energy released in the fusion reaction. Eventually the glow settled and a large hamburger floated in mid-air, which he settled gently onto a plate which he'd conjured the day before. The plate floated to Pyro who grabbed it out of mid-air and looked at it appreciatively.
"Hope you're that hungry," he said in a friendly manner to John.
"I'm hungry all right, but not so much for food," John said, and his heated gaze remained on him.
Kevin quickly realized what he meant, and his eyes fell. "John," he said sadly, "we need to talk."
Pyro sat down on the chair opposite him, and laughed. "I know what you're going to say," he said childishly.
"John, I'm serious," he replied, and his face left no room for doubt.
"I know you're serious, Kevin," John said, and put his hamburger down midway to taking a bite out of it. "I'm laughing because you're slow. I sorted this out with Bobby days ago."
"I find that hard to believe," Kevin said doubtfully. In truth, it did sound hard to believe. Pyro and Iceman had hated one another for years, if anything they'd both told him could be believed.
Pyro chuckled. "I loved Bobby you know. For years I loved him, until I decided it would be better to hate him and shield myself from the pain of not having him."
"Wait, aren't you..."
"Let me finish, Kevin," he said gently. "Actually I love everything about the guy, but I thought I could never have him, so I turned my back on him. It was wrong, I know, but emotion isn't always logical. When I saw you, I felt the same. I felt like I'd found someone who I could be with, a friend, but hopefully more too. I didn't know you and Bobby were together when we rescued you from Xavier."
"John..."
"And so I fell in love with you," John continued as if he hadn't heard. "See, loneliness has been the story of my life, and all I really want is companionship. When I saw you two together, I was angry more than jealous. Angry that another chance had slipped past me."
Kevin sat back, and started to listen instead of wanting to interrupt. John was composed. He didn't seem like he wanted to despair, so clearly he had worked it out with Bobby and resolved his issues.
John continued. "But I tested Bobby a few days ago to see if he really cared for you, because if he didn't, I was willing to go all the way to get you. It was there. Love. He loves you so much he almost hurt me to prove it. And Bobby doesn't hurt people. That's when I knew. So as much as I felt sadness that I couldn't have you, it makes me glad to see you two together, and it gives me hope that one day I can have the same." He smiled sadly, and took a bite out of his hamburger. Kevin felt strangled by the guy's honesty.
"John, you're a great guy. I'll always be there for you. Always," he said compassionately. It seemed like a ridiculously weak rebuttal to such an honest outpouring.
"I know," John said with a smile. "Why do you think I'm so happy these days? I've found two true friends who care for me."
Kevin's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know what to say. He suddenly felt guilty. To have never had a friend? He couldn't imagine how lonely that felt, and here he was worried that John was trying to move in on Bobby's territory. Kevin gave a nervous laugh.
"I was just messing you, by the way - you know, the hunger thing," John said. "I like to toy with you, Kevin. You're so serious. So shy."
Kevin laughed to himself. "Well be careful, or I'll turn you into a potato."
"Better be a hot potato," John said, and Kevin left the kitchen in stitches.
John was a good friend. He decided to dedicate himself to improving the quality of John's life. His own powers sensed nothing amiss in the guy, not like they did in Magneto and Mystique. He'd be a good friend to John, and protect him from further harm in life. It was obvious that they guy had been through enough, and the fact that he only wanted friendship out of life, said a lot about his previous deprivations. Sighing, he thought once again about how lucky he was. Sure, he had experienced problems with his parents, and been thrown out of his own house, but the majority of his life had been relatively pleasant, and he couldn't complain. He definitely couldn't complain about ever being lonely. He had only lived in Xavier's house for two weeks, and he'd picked up friends and even a great boyfriend. He thought about Marie. He knew she would be fine physically, but what were her thoughts on him and Bobby. He'd asked her for forgiveness, but he also remembered her cruel eyes as she'd laid her bare hands on his face. Was she still angry? Did Wolverine still want to kill him? Did Storm? Sighing, he thought about that last day and pushed it from his mind. He needed to hug someone, and he knew where to go for that.
Wolverine sat at the controls of the Blackbird, and stared at the clouds which shot underneath as they sped towards North Africa. This whole situation had become a mess. It was the Phoenix saga all over again, and it angered him that people didn't learn their lessons.
"Logan, what is the plan of action when we land there?" Storm said softly beside him.
"There is no plan of action. We land on the wide perimeter, and approach the entrance openly and without any signs of aggression," he said.
"What happens if he attacks us?" she said coldly.
"He won't," Logan said roughly. He was irritated. He could understand Kevin and Bobby's reactions to all of this, which made it easier dealing with them. Sometimes these rigid types made the lives of freer mutants almost impossible to live.
"Are you willing to take that chance?" Storm asked.
"Of course I am. I know this kid. He doesn't harm people. Didn't you see the fear in his eyes that day at the mansion?" He remembered Kevin's glistening eyes. The guy was so powerful it was terrifying, but he didn't do anything unless something was done to him. That fucking bitch Mystique had masqueraded herself as him. Well, he would deal with her. She'd caused both him and Kevin a lot of pain. He could heal wounds instantly, but when Kevin seared his skin off and sent him flying through four walls, he was sure it was the end of him. The poor kid couldn't even heal himself, and Mystique had plunged her imitation blades right through his hand. His hands tightened on the controls. Some people had no mercy. Kevin was a soft guy who meant no harm to anyone, but people just kept on running into walls trying to pull him down or tear him away from Bobby. What the hell was wrong with people?
"How are we going to neutralize him to bring him back to the mansion?" Storm asked acidly.
"Neutralize him? Put it out of your mind, sweetheart. If you think your lightning tested him, then think again." Storm blushed. "He could kill both of us with a small motion of his mind, but yet he never does. Don't you people ever ask yourselves why that is?"
"Because he knows he's wrong," Storm said.
"Because he doesn't want to hurt anybody," Logan said fiercely.
"The Professor said..."
"Forget what the Professor said," Logain said, and her mouth dropped in surprise. "Can't you think for yourself? You used to have breakfast with him, used to befriend him, and now suddenly he's worse than Magneto to you. How can you be so fickle?"
Storm's gaze fell. She had never thought about it from that angle, but that is probably what concerned Logan so much. Everyone was being controlled on some level, whether they were in some faction or after some personal goal, nobody took the time to think. It was pretty pathetic.
"If we die today, Storm, it's because of our own fault. You can bet your life on that." He stared forward intently, but he felt her gaze on him, and he felt her fear. Now was a good time to pray.
********************************************************************* Kevin walked through the green glades of the lush landscape which surrounded him. He knew this was a dream, but his powers extended here and he enjoyed using them on the odd occasion. In the real world he was lying on Bobby's chest, breathing in the smell which drove him crazy, the smell of sex which had repeated and repeated until both of them were too tired to go on, until they'd groaned just from the effort of rolling off of one another. It had been great, but fucking hell, he was so exhausted.
He brushed his hands through the long grass, felt the cool breeze brush over his face. He breathed in the cool wind as it refreshed his lungs. He peered to the left, and saw a small pond with a waterfall supplying it peacefully. Walking up to the edge, he dipped his hands into the icy water and sighed at the refreshing feeling. His eyes widened and he smiled as he saw small golden fish swimming beneath the water, their eyes peering at him briefly before they swam off to the next attraction. This was bliss.
"Your power really is boundless," he heard from behind him. Perhaps he'd spoken too soon. Slowly he turned around. His smile was gone, and he felt angry, as if his privacy had been invaded.
"Can't you just leave me alone, Xavier?" he said, before he even saw the intruder. Xavier stood in the distance, slowly walking towards him in the dream. He stood a few metres away and picked a large pink flower from a tall green bush. "Is that so much to ask?"
"I told you before. I can't allow a dangerous mutant to run around unabated," Xavier said, without looking at him.
"I'm not fucking dangerous!" Kevin shouted, and the pool behind him burst into a shower of steam as the water flash boiled.
"All evidence to the contrary," Xavier said with a knowing smile. He was abominably cruel.
"I just want to be left alone! I've only ever hurt someone out of self-defence. Can't you understand that, you lunatic?!" he almost screamed. He was so tired of being hunted.
"Kevin, if you return to the school, I can help you," he said plainly, but turned to look at him.
"Liked you helped Jean Grey? So I can let you put locks all over my mind and reduce me to a fraction of what I am?" he asked scornfully. "Never!"
"You aren't ready for that level of power, Kevin," the Professor said.
"No Xavier, you aren't. You're as small minded as the humans who fear mutants, because you can't understand a fraction of what you're facing - and thus name it as a danger to the world."
"If you don't surrender yourself, or your captives, I'll continue to search for you," Xavier said calmly.
"Captives?" Kevin asked in shock. "They're free to leave at any time. They are with me because they want to be away from you more than I do. You and Magneto are so alike, it's frightening."
The Professor grimaced at the comparison. "Kevin, you've made mistakes already. You're so caught up in your relationship with Bobby that you've forgotten how to be careful." Kevin frowned. "You lowered your disguising shield several days ago. I wanted to give you the chance to come freely, but I see you won't."
"You lie!" Kevin shouted.
"Do I? Do I lie that you're in the Saharan desert, in a subterranean fortress? My X- men will come to fetch you three, and escort you back to the school."
"I will never go, and neither will the others. I'll warn you only once. If you or one of your X-men ever try to accost me or the other two, your lives will be forfeit. And next time I will be more thorough than the Phoenix was."
"You speak so freely of killing," Xavier said with disappointment all over his face. "Let's see if you can be the monster you always dream of being."
"By asking to be left alone to live peacefully with the guy I love? Call me selfish."
"You'll look back on your life as one wrought with destruction, and you'll weep with regret," the Professor murmured.
"If there's blood on my hands, it will be due to you, Charles. It was you who unleashed the evil in the Phoenix, not Jean Gray or Wolverine. It was you who made me hate my own kind. It was you who planted the seed of retribution in Pyro, and dissension in Iceman. What a wonderful heritage you've left," he said mockingly.
"Time will judge us, Kronos. As it will judge you. My X-men should be there within the hour," he said sadly.
"I meant my threat," he said to Xavier, and his face was iron, his eyes cold ice. Xavier glared at him for a heartbeat and then disappeared from the dream. Kevin sighed. Suddenly he looked up in terror. He reached out and sensed that he had dropped his protective shields on their home. How could he have been so stupid! They'll be here within the hour. Within the hour!
He sat up in his bed with a gasp, awake and terrified. He half expected Wolverine's claws to be at his throat. His hand panged as it remembered those claws slipping into his flesh. He looked around but could see very little it was so dark. Suddenly he felt a hand on his chest, and he cried out in fear and leaped out of the bed. In a second he'd illuminated the room and he searched around like a wild animal looking for a predator.
"Damn it Kev, what's wrong?" Bobby said climbing out of bed naked. Kevin's situation drummed down on him, and he relaxed slightly. There was no immediate danger.
"I ... I ...," he began, but where could he even start? "Xavier is on his way here with his X-men. I saw him in my dreams."
Bobby's eyes opened wide with shock. "Are you sure?" he said. "How do they know we're here?"
Guilt flooded over Kevin. How could he have been so irresponsible! Everything was at risk now. Everything! "It was me, Bobby. I forgot to renew the disguising shield a few days ago. They found us. I'm so sorry." He couldn't even look Bobby in the eyes.
"It's okay, Kevin. It's been wild for both of us. If the world had gone to hell, I don't think I would have noticed," Bobby said with a dirty smile. Kevin immediately felt better. "Let's get some clothes on. Naked superheroes don't do so well against the X- men," Bobby said. They started to put their pants on.
Kevin smiled. "I don't know if anyone's ever tried but I'll take your word for it. I sometimes wish..." he cut off. Something was wrong.
"What is it?" Bobby said seriously.
Kevin could sense the approach of the X-men, but that wasn't what worried him. He couldn't sense John. The X-men weren't here yet, and John would never leave after what he told them last night. "Oh no," he cried out and he burst out of the room with Bobby hot on his trail, shouting questions. He ran around the corners and sprinted as fast as he could to John's room where he almost kicked the door down before he could open it. Empty. On his bed was a note written in an educated script.
'Kronos. I have Pyro. You will meet me at the west bank of the Cairo harbour at dawn. If you do not, I will kill Pyro, and then come back to kill you. Magneto."
He crumpled the note, and threw it to the floor, but Bobby picked it up to read it and gasped in shock. Kevin turned to Bobby and looked at him the eyes. Kevin's eyes filled with tears, but he held them back angrily. "What is wrong with people, Bobby?" he asked, and it seemed like a broad question, a searching one.
Bobby hugged him tightly. "I don't know, Kevin. I just don't know."
After a short while, Kevin started to think of a plan. "We need to do what Magneto says."
"It's a trap," Bobby said.
"Yeah," Kevin replied. "But he has John, and that means he's in charge of what happens. I give you my word Bobby, and I'm sorry to have to swear it under these circumstances, but Magneto is going to pay for this."
Bobby nodded sadly, and they went back to their rooms to get suitably dressed. They had less than an hour to get to the harbour. No jet in the world could make it in that time, but Magneto knew who he was dealing with. He and Bobby rushed out of the lair and into the cool desert which started to look as if the sun was about to rise. Kevin turned to his left and saw Wolverine and Storm approaching them, about thirty metres away. He gasped at the sight of them, and wondered if they were real. Storm's eyes were white! His gripped his powers and felt his eyes darken in rage. Bobby watched them cautiously. The sand around Storm and Wolverine lifted into a hundred deadly spears, all ready to pierce them a hundred times if they tried anything.
"Kevin, we don't want to fight," Wolverine shouted from the distance. His claws were retracted, and he looked sincere.
"Then why are her eyes white?" Kevin shouted back.
"We needed to clear some sand so we could land. I swear it," Wolverine shouted, and he turned to say something to Storm. She sighed and suddenly her eyes were normal, but she seemed very nervous.
"I think they mean it, Kevin," Bobby said pleadingly.
"I'm not sure, Bobby. The Professor said they were coming to bring us back to the mansion," causing Bobby to revaluate his opinion and stare at them searchingly. Yet Kevin wanted to give Wolverine the benefit of the doubt, he wanted to trust him, and maybe this would be a good start (or the worst one). The sand spears fell to dust and his let go of his powers. Wolverine and Storm both appeared to breathe signs of relief, and walked up to him and Bobby. The moment was awkward, both parties ready for anything.
"I won't harm you unless you try to harm me," Kevin said, just to be sure.
"I know, Kevin. We just want to talk," Wolverine said.
"I don't have much time. I need to rescue Pyro from Magneto. He beat you to finding us, and he's taken him hostage."
"Pyro is one of the Brotherhood," Storm said callously.
"He's my friend," Kevin said darkly, and rage coursed through his veins. What a black and white world they lived in!
"Can we help you?" Wolverine said. Storm gasped but he ignored her. Even he felt taken back by the question, but after a moment he knew that Wolverine really meant him no harm.
"No thanks, Logan. I need to be at the Cairo harbour in less than an hour, and not even your jet is that fast. I need to go with Bobby and confront him." He felt so raw and empty saying it. There was nothing he wanted less than to fight Magneto, but he would do close to anything to save John from harm.
"Well go then," Wolverine said, and Storm's gaze shifted from apprehensive to furious. "We'll meet you there in a few hours."
"Thank you," Kevin said. It was such a relief that he'd been spared confronting them too. He was tired of fighting, and luckily one other mutant besides Bobby understood that. He moved a few paces away from Wolverine and Storm and stood behind Bobby hugging him. Fire surrounded him suddenly, as he lifted off into the air. Storm's eyes were wide with shock. Wolverine stepped forward.
"Kevin, it wasn't me who hurt your hand," Wolverine said desperately.
"I know," Kevin said, for he knew at last that it was the truth. Wolverine did something Kevin had never seen before. He smiled with relief.
The fire around them strengthened until the sand beneath them turned to glass. With one last look at Storm and Wolverine they soared upwards with a tremendous roar and towards the harbour, which he could sense with his powers. Faster they went, faster and faster, until they were travelling several hundred times the speed of sound, the terrible thunder of their passage screeching over the desert like an insane comet from the heavens. Ten minutes later they landed at the harbour. It was still. Much too still.
"Stay behind me, Bobby," Kevin said. Bobby moved slightly back but remained to his side.
Kevin stared forward and saw John tied with chains to a docking pole about half a mile in front of them. A dark bruise was present on his cheek, and a trickle of blood ran down the side his head. Kevin swallowed painfully. He heard a small rumble to Pyro's side. He gasped at what he saw next, not because of what he faced, but because in that moment he'd received a vision of the future, a vision as clear as day. It was so terrible to behold he wanted to scream, but despite his power he could already see it unfolding and becoming reality. He started running towards John as fast as he could... running until the breath burned his lungs. He would save John. He would!
End of chapter 8
Sorry for the two week delay guys. I was on vacation for most of that time so I didn't write. I was at the beach too, where the motivation to write is less than the motivation to swim and lie on the beach. This is a set-up chapter for the next one, which I'll release this week too if all goes according to plan. Thanks for any emails I get, they're my main reason for pressing ahead. You can write me at rahvin747@yahoo.com