From the Vaults, Burning Brightly: Chapter Four of Twelve
Burning Brightly
Authors Note/Disclaimer: Obviously, I don’t own Marvel, The XMen, or Twentieth Century Fox, nor am I making any money off of this. This is a work of fan fiction and is meant only for entertainment purposes.
The plot moves on a bit and you see some of the behind the scenes tension in the Brotherhood.
Warnings: (For the story as a whole.) Profanity. M/F sex between characters that might be considered under age where you live. Oral sex. Violence. Movie spoilers-I suggest you watch them before reading this story.
Please rate and review. I value reader input. Constructive criticism is more than welcome since I had no Beta reader for this story. Enjoy.
Chapter Four: Getting Closer
After a while I began to notice something about Martha. Magneto was making more and more of his speeches. He was pumping up morale and trying to keep everybody focused when really, we were waiting for certain things to fall into place. And, of course, Martha was always there in the shadows, using her powers to amplify the effects of his words.
Magneto was working her hard. And she was suffering the consequences. She tried to hide them, popping pain pills when she thought I wasn’t looking. But, she couldn’t hide the nosebleeds. Especially when one started over dinner in the mess hall.
“Did you know you’re bleeding?” I whispered across the table. There had been another of Magneto’s “addresses” that afternoon. She’d been very quiet ever since, even quieter than usual.
“Shit.” She fumbled with her napkin, pressing it against her face. Dots of red blossomed through the paper. “Sorry.” She mumbled through the napkin. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. The mess hall was almost empty.
“You all right?” A flash of silver as she glanced at me. “Are you still having headaches?” She nodded slowly.
“We should tell Magneto. You won’t do anyone any good if you burn yourself out.” I reached out to touch the hand next to her plate. I hadn’t tried to touch her for a couple of days, figuring I’d probably spooked her before. She pulled away.
“I’m fine. Really. I just need to lie down and rest.” She pulled the napkin away cautiously, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped. It had, so she balled the napkin up, hiding the blood.
“Has this happened before?”
“Once or twice.” She looked away from me, glancing around at the empty tables nearby. I could tell she was lying. I got up and stood over her.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” I reached for her arm and pulled her out of her seat. A few people looked at us. I didn’t care.
“I’m O.K. John.”
I put my arm around her waist and she stiffened. I pretended not to notice as I started herding her out the door. We passed Madrox on his way in and he gave me a funny look. Guess he was still under her influence or something.
“Come on. We don’t want anyone to see you like this.” I spoke quietly.
“John…” She tried to stop, but I just kept pushing on. She didn’t try all that hard and I could see another flash of silver from behind her shades. God, did I just want to rip those damned things off and stomp on them.
“Here.” I opened the door to her room and hustled her inside. I let her go and locked the door behind us. She was lucky that she didn’t have to share with anyone. Most of the Brotherhood were sharing tents, or sometimes just a tarp. Rank does have its privileges. I gave her a little nudge toward the bed.
“John…People are going to talk.” She sat down on the bed and took the shades off. Her eyes were closed and she lay back against the pillow. She threw one arm over her eyes as if the lights hurt her.
“So what?” I turned down the lights a little and grabbed a chair and moved it close to her bed. I took the shades from her hand and put them on the nightstand. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“What?” She pulled her arm away from her face and stared at me. Looking into her eyes just about knocked the wind out of me. She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked at the ceiling. “No. I’m not embarrassed.”
“Good.” I leaned a little closer to her. “Because I’m not either.” I reached out to touch her hand where it lay on the blanket. Her gaze flickered toward me, then back to the ceiling. She closed her eyes and I pulled her hand into my lap and I turned it over. I felt her tense a little, not quite pulling away.
“What’s going on here, John?” Her voice was quiet. I traced the lines of her palm with one finger. Her fingers flexed briefly, then I turned her hand back over and held it in mine, stroking the back of her hand.
“Would it be so bad if people thought something was going on?” Christ! I was actually nervous about this. I’d rehearsed about half a dozen ways to do this and none of them seemed quite right.
“I don’t know…” I saw her swallow and her eyes opened again, another flicker as she glanced at me and away. “Is something going on?”
I didn’t know what to say. So I just kept stroking her hand. After a moment she sat up and turned to look at me. I could almost see my reflection in her eyes, like little silver mirrors. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me, her eyes searching my face.
She was holding back, there wasn’t that breath-stealing punch to gut this time. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Finally, I got it. Why she wasn’t speaking.
I let go of her hand and reached for her face, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. I could feel my heart thumping frantically in my chest as I leaned forward. I was going to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She turned her face away and started to reach for those damned shades again.
“You didn’t.” I reached out to stop her, grabbing her wrist and pulling the stupid things from her fingers. I put them out of her reach. She’d have to push me aside or climb over me to get them. “I want to kiss you. And I want to see you when I do it.”
“I…” She was looking past my shoulder now, carefully not meeting my eyes. I was sick of that shit, so I took her face in my hands and made her look at me. Her eyes flickered a moment, growing brighter, and then dimming a little. She could control it. She was just scared.
I didn’t give her any more chances to argue. I leaned into her, kissing her lips. I curled one hand around the back of her head, not letting her back away. The other hand I kept wrapped around her wrist, pulling her hand to rest against my chest.
For a moment, she didn’t respond, sitting there, lips and body stiff. Then she made a little sound in the back of her throat and seemed to melt against me. Her lips opened under mine. Her mouth tasted sweet and her hair was soft and silky between my fingers.
God. It had been a while. This felt good. Real good. Maybe too good. Damn it. This was where I usually either got myself kicked out or I got the girl to let me have what I wanted. Once. After that it would be the cold shoulder.
Shit. This wasn’t about getting me laid. Speaking of which, I didn’t have anything on me, and I’d be willing to bet she didn’t either. And it was less than an hour ago that she’d been having headaches and nosebleeds.
O.K. That was a little inconsiderate. Even for me.
“I think we’d better stop.” I pushed her away as gently as I could. “This isn’t the right time. You aren’t feeling well.” Her face was flushed and I’d messed up her hair. And her eyes were practically glowing. I watched her lick her lips and felt myself blushing at the thoughts that sent running through my head.
“I’m feeling a little better.” She cleared her throat and looked away from me. “But, you’re probably right.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten it. “Are you sure that I didn’t…”
“I’m sure.” Now that I’d had a little taste, I was sure I wanted more. I put a hand under her chin and made her look at me. “I hate those shades you know. I’m not afraid of your powers. You shouldn’t be either.”
I kissed her again and she made another of those quiet little moans. I can’t tell you what those little noises did to me. All I know is that they turned me on so much that I knew I had to leave before I did something stupid.
“You get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I got up and left, closing her door behind me.
I stood outside her door for a minute, hoping no one would come through before I got a handle on myself. Damned hormones. I needed to talk to Magneto. I did learn a few things at Xavier’s school. Headaches and nosebleeds were not a good sign. There was no point in worrying about her loyalty if she burned herself out.
When I found Magneto, he seemed distracted. I had just passed Callisto in the hallway and she looked like a woman on a mission.
“Ah. Good.” He looked up at me. “A unique opportunity has presented itself. I was going to send for you.”
“What’s that?”
“A class five mutant has surfaced…Well, resurfaced. Apparently Jean Grey is not dead after all.”
“Dr. Grey? She’s not a class five.” I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
“Charles placed blocks on her powers as a child. He believed it was necessary to control her. It appears those blocks have given way and she is once again free.”
“I don’t think Dr. Grey is going to join us. She’s a pretty uptight bitch.”
“This isn’t precisely Dr. Grey we are dealing with, my boy. Along with her powers, Charles locked away certain portions of her psyche. That was a terrible mistake in my opinion. She is likely angry and confused. And very, very dangerous.”
“So when do we leave?”
“We don’t. Callisto will accompany me this time, along with Quill, Arclight, and Juggernaut. Psylocke will be handling her duties in the meantime.”
“If she’s so dangerous, you’re gonna need me. The others don’t have my firepower.” What the hell? Was Callisto going to try to steal my thunder too?
“You misunderstand me. This is a very delicate and dangerous mission. It is possible that none of us will return. I am trusting you to lead the Brotherhood in my absence. And, should the worst happen…To carry on.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. The idea of Dr. Grey hurting anyone seemed unreal. That anyone might beat Magneto seemed impossible.
“Now, what was it that you wished to see me about?”
“Well…You did say you wanted me to get close to Mesmer.”
“Yes. How is that progressing?”
“Pretty good I think. She’s definitely into me. You were right on that one. And about the Omegas wanting to give her a hard time.”
“I see. And?”
“Well, I don’t really get the impression that she was all that attached to Mystique. Grateful maybe. But, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it then?”
“Did you know she’s been having headaches and nosebleeds?”
“No. I did not.” Now I had his complete attention.
“I think she’s getting close to burning herself out. She’s been trying to hide it. She had a headache after your speech today. And then a nosebleed at dinner.”
“Hmm…I suppose that answers the question of her loyalty, at least for now.” He seemed ready to dismiss the issue, but I wasn’t quite done.
“Are you going to let her burn herself out?” There was no need for that. It wasn’t like he needed her to work her mojo every time he gave a speech, was it?
“I will try to make more judicious use of her abilities for the time being.” He looked at me for a long moment and I wondered what exactly he was thinking. “Yes. It might do well for you to continue to cultivate her attention. You may need her support in the future.”
“I was kind of planning on it.”
“Good.” He turned away from me in dismissal. “I do remind you that it is wise not to become too attached. But, by all means, go ahead with your plans.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that.” He didn’t even look at me as I left. I didn’t know whether I should be disappointed or relieved that I wouldn’t have to face the XMen this time. Did he really need me here or was he afraid I’d switch sides or do something stupid?
Shit. I don’t know. When did I go from being his ace in the hole to being a baby sitter for the Brotherhood?
When I passed Callisto and some of her Omegas in the halls, I could tell that they thought they’d gotten one up on me. I was tempted to flip them off. But, that would have just proved the point wouldn’t it?
Instead I went out to the camp dump and started burning shit. The flames always made me feel better. There’s something cleansing about fire. No matter how filthy and disgusting a pile of trash was, it became something pure and beautiful when it burned. I burned and burned and burned until there was nothing left but smoking piles of ashes. I burned until even the smell was burned away.
By the time I ran out things to burn, the sun had set and Magneto was gone. Most of the others avoided me as I headed back to my room for a shower. The few people I ran across scurried away like ants. I guess they had forgotten what I could do. Maybe it was a good idea to remind them once in a while.
The flames had help clean out some of the cobwebs. They helped to quiet some of the doubts that were running through my mind. I stopped in front of Martha’s door and thought about knocking. Between the flames still burning in my mind and the memories of what we did earlier, my blood was boiling. I’d have liked nothing better than to go in there and fuck her brains out. She’d have probably let me, too. Even stinking of smoke and burnt plastic.
And then what?
You can’t just fuck her and blow her off. You saw what she did to Madrox. She didn’t even have to try hard. You gotta work with her, dumbass. Do it right or don’t do it at all. Otherwise it’ll blow up in your face. Callisto’s already nipping at your heels trying to find a weakness.
At least Mystique hadn’t been interested in power plays like that. She’d never acted like she minded sharing the spotlight with me. As long as she didn’t have to share Magneto, she didn’t give a fuck. Or maybe she never saw me as a threat at all.
Well, that was a depressing thought.
I turned around and rested my back against her door for a moment. Something moved in the shadows. I reached for my lighter and flicked it on. I created a fireball and set it moving slowly down the hall, watching the shadows flicker.
“Psylocke.” The fucking bitch was pulling her chameleon trick. I couldn’t see her, but I could see her shadow. Was she spying on me or Martha? Or both of us?
“Hiya, Pyro.” She dropped the illusion and stepped into the hall. “Coming to see your little girlfriend?”
“I think you’d better head back to the Omega’s tent, Psylocke.” I moved the fireball back towards her, aiming for her face and brought it in slowly. “I really don’t like it when people spy on me.”
“It shouldn’t bother you if you’ve got nothing to hide.” She tried to look tough, but she was slowly backing away from the fireball.
“I think you forget who’s in charge here. The only person I have to explain myself to is Magneto.” I stopped the fireball a foot from her face and let a new one blossom in my hand. This one I sent to block her escape.
“If I catch you spying on me again, I will burn that pretty little face of yours. Then you will have a reason to hide. Is that clear?”
She looked from one fire ball to the other, then back at me. I let a third ball of fire form in my hand and tossed it up and down slowly.
“Crystal clear.” She swallowed and watched the fireball in my hand.
“Good.” I snuffed the other two fireballs. “Now get lost.”
She took off down the hall at a fast walk that wasn’t quite a run.
Yeah. I did need to remind them once in a while. I tossed the last fireball in the air, and then snuffed it out, leaving the hallway in darkness.
I turned to look at Martha’s door one more time. Not tonight. But, soon. Real soon.
I took another glance around the hallway before heading to my room. I really needed that shower now. I might as well enjoy it while I could. I suspected we’d be moving soon after Magneto got back.
Authors Note/Disclaimer: Obviously, I don’t own Marvel, The XMen, or Twentieth Century Fox, nor am I making any money off of this. This is a work of fan fiction and is meant only for entertainment purposes.
The plot moves on a bit and you see some of the behind the scenes tension in the Brotherhood.
Warnings: (For the story as a whole.) Profanity. M/F sex between characters that might be considered under age where you live. Oral sex. Violence. Movie spoilers-I suggest you watch them before reading this story.
Please rate and review. I value reader input. Constructive criticism is more than welcome since I had no Beta reader for this story. Enjoy.
Chapter Four: Getting Closer
After a while I began to notice something about Martha. Magneto was making more and more of his speeches. He was pumping up morale and trying to keep everybody focused when really, we were waiting for certain things to fall into place. And, of course, Martha was always there in the shadows, using her powers to amplify the effects of his words.
Magneto was working her hard. And she was suffering the consequences. She tried to hide them, popping pain pills when she thought I wasn’t looking. But, she couldn’t hide the nosebleeds. Especially when one started over dinner in the mess hall.
“Did you know you’re bleeding?” I whispered across the table. There had been another of Magneto’s “addresses” that afternoon. She’d been very quiet ever since, even quieter than usual.
“Shit.” She fumbled with her napkin, pressing it against her face. Dots of red blossomed through the paper. “Sorry.” She mumbled through the napkin. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. The mess hall was almost empty.
“You all right?” A flash of silver as she glanced at me. “Are you still having headaches?” She nodded slowly.
“We should tell Magneto. You won’t do anyone any good if you burn yourself out.” I reached out to touch the hand next to her plate. I hadn’t tried to touch her for a couple of days, figuring I’d probably spooked her before. She pulled away.
“I’m fine. Really. I just need to lie down and rest.” She pulled the napkin away cautiously, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped. It had, so she balled the napkin up, hiding the blood.
“Has this happened before?”
“Once or twice.” She looked away from me, glancing around at the empty tables nearby. I could tell she was lying. I got up and stood over her.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” I reached for her arm and pulled her out of her seat. A few people looked at us. I didn’t care.
“I’m O.K. John.”
I put my arm around her waist and she stiffened. I pretended not to notice as I started herding her out the door. We passed Madrox on his way in and he gave me a funny look. Guess he was still under her influence or something.
“Come on. We don’t want anyone to see you like this.” I spoke quietly.
“John…” She tried to stop, but I just kept pushing on. She didn’t try all that hard and I could see another flash of silver from behind her shades. God, did I just want to rip those damned things off and stomp on them.
“Here.” I opened the door to her room and hustled her inside. I let her go and locked the door behind us. She was lucky that she didn’t have to share with anyone. Most of the Brotherhood were sharing tents, or sometimes just a tarp. Rank does have its privileges. I gave her a little nudge toward the bed.
“John…People are going to talk.” She sat down on the bed and took the shades off. Her eyes were closed and she lay back against the pillow. She threw one arm over her eyes as if the lights hurt her.
“So what?” I turned down the lights a little and grabbed a chair and moved it close to her bed. I took the shades from her hand and put them on the nightstand. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“What?” She pulled her arm away from her face and stared at me. Looking into her eyes just about knocked the wind out of me. She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked at the ceiling. “No. I’m not embarrassed.”
“Good.” I leaned a little closer to her. “Because I’m not either.” I reached out to touch her hand where it lay on the blanket. Her gaze flickered toward me, then back to the ceiling. She closed her eyes and I pulled her hand into my lap and I turned it over. I felt her tense a little, not quite pulling away.
“What’s going on here, John?” Her voice was quiet. I traced the lines of her palm with one finger. Her fingers flexed briefly, then I turned her hand back over and held it in mine, stroking the back of her hand.
“Would it be so bad if people thought something was going on?” Christ! I was actually nervous about this. I’d rehearsed about half a dozen ways to do this and none of them seemed quite right.
“I don’t know…” I saw her swallow and her eyes opened again, another flicker as she glanced at me and away. “Is something going on?”
I didn’t know what to say. So I just kept stroking her hand. After a moment she sat up and turned to look at me. I could almost see my reflection in her eyes, like little silver mirrors. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me, her eyes searching my face.
She was holding back, there wasn’t that breath-stealing punch to gut this time. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Finally, I got it. Why she wasn’t speaking.
I let go of her hand and reached for her face, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. I could feel my heart thumping frantically in my chest as I leaned forward. I was going to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She turned her face away and started to reach for those damned shades again.
“You didn’t.” I reached out to stop her, grabbing her wrist and pulling the stupid things from her fingers. I put them out of her reach. She’d have to push me aside or climb over me to get them. “I want to kiss you. And I want to see you when I do it.”
“I…” She was looking past my shoulder now, carefully not meeting my eyes. I was sick of that shit, so I took her face in my hands and made her look at me. Her eyes flickered a moment, growing brighter, and then dimming a little. She could control it. She was just scared.
I didn’t give her any more chances to argue. I leaned into her, kissing her lips. I curled one hand around the back of her head, not letting her back away. The other hand I kept wrapped around her wrist, pulling her hand to rest against my chest.
For a moment, she didn’t respond, sitting there, lips and body stiff. Then she made a little sound in the back of her throat and seemed to melt against me. Her lips opened under mine. Her mouth tasted sweet and her hair was soft and silky between my fingers.
God. It had been a while. This felt good. Real good. Maybe too good. Damn it. This was where I usually either got myself kicked out or I got the girl to let me have what I wanted. Once. After that it would be the cold shoulder.
Shit. This wasn’t about getting me laid. Speaking of which, I didn’t have anything on me, and I’d be willing to bet she didn’t either. And it was less than an hour ago that she’d been having headaches and nosebleeds.
O.K. That was a little inconsiderate. Even for me.
“I think we’d better stop.” I pushed her away as gently as I could. “This isn’t the right time. You aren’t feeling well.” Her face was flushed and I’d messed up her hair. And her eyes were practically glowing. I watched her lick her lips and felt myself blushing at the thoughts that sent running through my head.
“I’m feeling a little better.” She cleared her throat and looked away from me. “But, you’re probably right.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten it. “Are you sure that I didn’t…”
“I’m sure.” Now that I’d had a little taste, I was sure I wanted more. I put a hand under her chin and made her look at me. “I hate those shades you know. I’m not afraid of your powers. You shouldn’t be either.”
I kissed her again and she made another of those quiet little moans. I can’t tell you what those little noises did to me. All I know is that they turned me on so much that I knew I had to leave before I did something stupid.
“You get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I got up and left, closing her door behind me.
I stood outside her door for a minute, hoping no one would come through before I got a handle on myself. Damned hormones. I needed to talk to Magneto. I did learn a few things at Xavier’s school. Headaches and nosebleeds were not a good sign. There was no point in worrying about her loyalty if she burned herself out.
When I found Magneto, he seemed distracted. I had just passed Callisto in the hallway and she looked like a woman on a mission.
“Ah. Good.” He looked up at me. “A unique opportunity has presented itself. I was going to send for you.”
“What’s that?”
“A class five mutant has surfaced…Well, resurfaced. Apparently Jean Grey is not dead after all.”
“Dr. Grey? She’s not a class five.” I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
“Charles placed blocks on her powers as a child. He believed it was necessary to control her. It appears those blocks have given way and she is once again free.”
“I don’t think Dr. Grey is going to join us. She’s a pretty uptight bitch.”
“This isn’t precisely Dr. Grey we are dealing with, my boy. Along with her powers, Charles locked away certain portions of her psyche. That was a terrible mistake in my opinion. She is likely angry and confused. And very, very dangerous.”
“So when do we leave?”
“We don’t. Callisto will accompany me this time, along with Quill, Arclight, and Juggernaut. Psylocke will be handling her duties in the meantime.”
“If she’s so dangerous, you’re gonna need me. The others don’t have my firepower.” What the hell? Was Callisto going to try to steal my thunder too?
“You misunderstand me. This is a very delicate and dangerous mission. It is possible that none of us will return. I am trusting you to lead the Brotherhood in my absence. And, should the worst happen…To carry on.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. The idea of Dr. Grey hurting anyone seemed unreal. That anyone might beat Magneto seemed impossible.
“Now, what was it that you wished to see me about?”
“Well…You did say you wanted me to get close to Mesmer.”
“Yes. How is that progressing?”
“Pretty good I think. She’s definitely into me. You were right on that one. And about the Omegas wanting to give her a hard time.”
“I see. And?”
“Well, I don’t really get the impression that she was all that attached to Mystique. Grateful maybe. But, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it then?”
“Did you know she’s been having headaches and nosebleeds?”
“No. I did not.” Now I had his complete attention.
“I think she’s getting close to burning herself out. She’s been trying to hide it. She had a headache after your speech today. And then a nosebleed at dinner.”
“Hmm…I suppose that answers the question of her loyalty, at least for now.” He seemed ready to dismiss the issue, but I wasn’t quite done.
“Are you going to let her burn herself out?” There was no need for that. It wasn’t like he needed her to work her mojo every time he gave a speech, was it?
“I will try to make more judicious use of her abilities for the time being.” He looked at me for a long moment and I wondered what exactly he was thinking. “Yes. It might do well for you to continue to cultivate her attention. You may need her support in the future.”
“I was kind of planning on it.”
“Good.” He turned away from me in dismissal. “I do remind you that it is wise not to become too attached. But, by all means, go ahead with your plans.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that.” He didn’t even look at me as I left. I didn’t know whether I should be disappointed or relieved that I wouldn’t have to face the XMen this time. Did he really need me here or was he afraid I’d switch sides or do something stupid?
Shit. I don’t know. When did I go from being his ace in the hole to being a baby sitter for the Brotherhood?
When I passed Callisto and some of her Omegas in the halls, I could tell that they thought they’d gotten one up on me. I was tempted to flip them off. But, that would have just proved the point wouldn’t it?
Instead I went out to the camp dump and started burning shit. The flames always made me feel better. There’s something cleansing about fire. No matter how filthy and disgusting a pile of trash was, it became something pure and beautiful when it burned. I burned and burned and burned until there was nothing left but smoking piles of ashes. I burned until even the smell was burned away.
By the time I ran out things to burn, the sun had set and Magneto was gone. Most of the others avoided me as I headed back to my room for a shower. The few people I ran across scurried away like ants. I guess they had forgotten what I could do. Maybe it was a good idea to remind them once in a while.
The flames had help clean out some of the cobwebs. They helped to quiet some of the doubts that were running through my mind. I stopped in front of Martha’s door and thought about knocking. Between the flames still burning in my mind and the memories of what we did earlier, my blood was boiling. I’d have liked nothing better than to go in there and fuck her brains out. She’d have probably let me, too. Even stinking of smoke and burnt plastic.
And then what?
You can’t just fuck her and blow her off. You saw what she did to Madrox. She didn’t even have to try hard. You gotta work with her, dumbass. Do it right or don’t do it at all. Otherwise it’ll blow up in your face. Callisto’s already nipping at your heels trying to find a weakness.
At least Mystique hadn’t been interested in power plays like that. She’d never acted like she minded sharing the spotlight with me. As long as she didn’t have to share Magneto, she didn’t give a fuck. Or maybe she never saw me as a threat at all.
Well, that was a depressing thought.
I turned around and rested my back against her door for a moment. Something moved in the shadows. I reached for my lighter and flicked it on. I created a fireball and set it moving slowly down the hall, watching the shadows flicker.
“Psylocke.” The fucking bitch was pulling her chameleon trick. I couldn’t see her, but I could see her shadow. Was she spying on me or Martha? Or both of us?
“Hiya, Pyro.” She dropped the illusion and stepped into the hall. “Coming to see your little girlfriend?”
“I think you’d better head back to the Omega’s tent, Psylocke.” I moved the fireball back towards her, aiming for her face and brought it in slowly. “I really don’t like it when people spy on me.”
“It shouldn’t bother you if you’ve got nothing to hide.” She tried to look tough, but she was slowly backing away from the fireball.
“I think you forget who’s in charge here. The only person I have to explain myself to is Magneto.” I stopped the fireball a foot from her face and let a new one blossom in my hand. This one I sent to block her escape.
“If I catch you spying on me again, I will burn that pretty little face of yours. Then you will have a reason to hide. Is that clear?”
She looked from one fire ball to the other, then back at me. I let a third ball of fire form in my hand and tossed it up and down slowly.
“Crystal clear.” She swallowed and watched the fireball in my hand.
“Good.” I snuffed the other two fireballs. “Now get lost.”
She took off down the hall at a fast walk that wasn’t quite a run.
Yeah. I did need to remind them once in a while. I tossed the last fireball in the air, and then snuffed it out, leaving the hallway in darkness.
I turned to look at Martha’s door one more time. Not tonight. But, soon. Real soon.
I took another glance around the hallway before heading to my room. I really needed that shower now. I might as well enjoy it while I could. I suspected we’d be moving soon after Magneto got back.