All About Us
Title: All About Us
Author: fenris91
Pairing: St. John/Bobby, various others
Rating: R
Summary: In this installment Bobby struggles with something John is already at peace with and we get to see the first hints of this story's "big bad".
Author's Note: In the X-Men cartoon series Avalanche hung out with Pyro a lot. To this day nobody really knows why. Angelica Jones is the lovely "Firestar" in case you didn't know.
Disclaimer: Marvel owns these characters, this is a not for profit work.
3: The Lost Boys Of Orange County
John put away a large bundle of canned baby formula in a kitchen cabinet while Dominic put the box of blankets and toys on the kitchen table. They were at a mutual friend's house and were helping him through the changing times. John bought the formula on his usual trip to Sam's Club and Dominic managed to snag the extra blankets and toys from a secondhand store. Kyle was a 19 year old mutant living on his own who also happened to be a single father so he had a lot on plate right now.
"It sure is nice of you guys to do this." Kyle replied while balancing his baby boy on his knee. Kyle looked pretty normal with his blond hair and oversized sports jersey and baggy pants but the fact he shoots acid (from his mouth, not the drug) puts him firmly in the mutant category.
"Hey, not a problem dude. We of all people know what it's like to be up against everything." Dominic replied. Dominic Petros, street name Avalanche, was a young Greek immigrant with the mutant power to move the earth violently. He met Kyle when staking out for an armored car heist and he met John when at a rave down near Santa Monica. Although John thought he would be an easy mark (or worse comes to worst, a trick) it turns out they both had the same ideas about many things including the mutant situation so they wound up in a casual friendship. Of course re-establishing ties with his first so called friend was still a high priority. John hadn't started his harassment of Bobby for the day yet cause he was eager to help Kyle out.
"So did you establish if the little sprite here is a mutie yet?" John said.
"Jacob's got the gene for it, but so far nothing's come up. He can legally be classified as a mutant though even if he's got no power to show for it."
"You wouldn't believe what the doctor said at the clinic!" Dominic said while getting some beers from the fridge.
"Let me guess, there's a nice cure for having a nice normal baby." replied John while sitting on the kitchen counter.
"My boy's not even glowing or blowing things up and he's already been stamped as an potential terrorist how fascist is that?" Kyle said disgusted.
"Isn't that how Sandra treated him as well?" Dominic asked about Jacob's mom as he gave a beer to John.
"No, Sandy got messed up on coke which is why she's not supposed to be here, ever. It's her parents that think he's gonna be a potential terrorist."
"They should meet me then, I've already reached my full potential." John said sarcastically.
"Don't even joke about that. Aren't you like on the Homeland Security Kill On Sight list or something?" Kyle said though he was trying hard not to laugh.
"There's no such thing." Dominic huffed.
"Yet." John said taking a swig of his beer.
"So when is the social worker coming by? Place is pretty clean and orderly." Dominic asked. It was just as much a hole in the wall as John's place but it was very nice and orderly.
John casually looked through Kyle's mail that was on the counter.
"Is there gonna BE a social worker after all of this?" John asked. Bills, junk mail, timeshare offers he flipped through.
"You know, I have no clue. I saw on Dateline that the government is very hesitant to put mutants through the foster system since, well...."
"Most people would rather die first than have a mutie kid." John said darkly as he threw aside some coupons. Of course John had first hand experience with being in and out of homes. If you looked up "troubled" in the dictionary you would see St. John as part of the definition.
"Glad you find my junk so interesting."
"You should, did you know you got a flyer from Friends of Humanity?"
"Are you shitting me, man?"
"Swear to god." John said as he held up the anti-mutant propaganda flyer. Kyle gave Dominic the baby and then went over to read the flyer for himself.
"Aw hell, why are they sniffing around here? Don't they know this is a mutant ghetto?"
"They could just be covering the entire city. Not like they're targeting you specifically." Dominic noted.
"May as well be." both Kyle and John said in unison. Kyle reddened a little. "I'm putting Jacob for a nap." Kyle said as he wadded up the flyer and trashed it. He took Jacob and left the room.
"So it's unusual for you to be this domestic." Dominic noted to John.
"Nah man, remember I'm all mutants yay!"
"Is that why you left Xavier's school?"
"You're a real mood killer you know."
"It's not like you don't mention how you hated that place every two conversations or something."
"Whatever. It's not like they can shelter every mutant in America. They're bound to run out of rooms sometime."
"I saw Bobby Drake on Friends Central."
"Really? What's that?"
"Its this website that's an ungodly combination of Livejournal, MySpace, AND YouTube all rolled up into one package."
"Oh god. What did you see him doing?" John said barely containing his laughter.
"Talking about his picnic with this Russian guy with the accompanying live broadcast. Nothing spectacular." And like that the laughter dropped.
"I bet he had the whole nine yards too. Wicker basket and a bottle of wine. Shit, Drake is such a girl sometimes." John said sourly.
"Dude, you're on speaking terms now. If you're that up for getting free food just call and play nice with him."
"Hmm, it's about time I called him up anyway. Could you write down the web address for me?"
"No prob. You know, you really just wanna be friends with him again like you used to."
"No. This time around I'm looking for something else."
"You both should be over your differences by now. What more could there be?"
"Believe me, much more."
"You and your crazy ideas."
"Says the man who wanted to take all of California hostage on the basis it rests on a fragile fault line."
"Just call him up already!"
4: Fulcrum
And call Bobby up he did...at midnight.
"Hey, Pyro...it's late."
"Who are Peter Parker and Angelica Jones?"
"I take it you were at Friends Central then?" Bobby groaned.
"What is up with you? You can't be someone's friend unless you're dating some girl at the same time? Christ, if you want in a threesome that badly I can get you the hook up easy."
"Okay, first you're disgusting. Second, I know you think I'm just this preppy, white boy, overachiever that can't do anything for himself but before I was in the Institute, I had no friends. I try to make some when I'm in some place new."
"So now wherever you go you end up getting a new pair of shiny, happy people? One boy and one girl?"
"I know this is as social as you get but why are you calling me right now?"
"I wanted to know why I'm not on your Friends Central page. Are you gonna deny me three times or some shit?"
"It's called Friends Central, not Major Irritants."
"..."
"Fine. I thought you wouldn't want your face plastered on the web since you're some kind of terrorist now."
"Former terrorist."
"Also, the whole not friends thing was a factor."
"I thought you'd tear up those pictures."
"Rogue tore up hers."
"I never gave any to her."
"I made copies."
"..."
"You're mad."
"Those were a private collection, Ice-hole."
"When are you not angry at something I wonder? Besides she tore them up and I really don't think they'd be tearing the door down just see pictures of you flipping the camera off."
"On that photo album of yours why did you split up pictures of boys and pictures of girls separately?"
"Er, ah...easy to keep track of. Nothing to read into."
"Where was Kitty on your oh-so-innocent picnic with the heavy metal soldier?"
"Wh-what is this an interrogation?"
"Hey, I've been in some places you wouldn't like. We CAN play Abu-Ghraib if you want it that way."
"Whoa, whoa, just hold it. I'm...okay...I am having some drama with Kitty and Piotr right now...'
"Duh!"
'...and well...Piotr is...and Angelica...she reminded me of you kinda...sort of..."
"You lost me Drake."
"No fooling. Listen, you might have something about me always trying to be one of a group. I really never had any friends before and having a girlfriend is nice too. It's like...'
"If you finish that with 'I'm normal' I will plan on giving you a flame war and not of the online variety."
'Have you always been this dead set against having a nice life? Anyway, I was with Piotr and...he's just such a terrific person. He's not just some dumb muscle, he's an artist too."
"As the shrine to him on your Friends Central page can attest to."
"...."
"What?"
"Are you jealous?"
"Of you being a closet case? No."
"C-c-closet case? I think you got me confused with someone else."
"Yes, closet case with pretty much everything. Would you have ever told your parents you were a mutant if the issue weren't pressed?"
"I think I'd have to if they ever saw me on the news sliding around like a maniac."
"The point is you don't tell people shit unless you get backed into a corner. Now what is the deal with you, Kitty and Piotr?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I guess...I'm...'
"Yeah?"
"I'm...a fulcrum."
"Eh?"
"I think I'm a go between for Kitty and Piotr to shore up any doubts and misgivings in their relationship. I know a great deal of their issues of intimacy and trust. I'm just the point of support of which their relationship turns and moves."
"FOR GOD SAKES just SAY you wanna do Colossus already if you want to, cause this overanalysis shit is so completely 1990!!"
"Why should I tell you if I want to kiss Colossus...which I DON'T...not at ALL...anyway?"
"Just looking at your life gives me a headache. Can't blame a guy for wanting to..."
"Can I come over?"
"Huh...right now?"
"Yeah, I'm not at all sleepy."
"You know, I'm in Anaheim."
"Yeah, they canceled classes due to a staff meeting today."
"Why the 360?"
"...."
"Bobby?"
"I think there might be something I need to tell you that I can't tell anyone else, and it needs to be face to face."
"So we can have it out?"
"...Yeah. Maybe."
"...."
"...."
"Alright. I'll send you the address."
"Thanks. Um...I think...I really need this right now."
"I'll be here."
"Be...well be..armed."
"I will."
BEEP
-TBC-