asgardmeridiem | [closed] am i a part of the cure?

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[closed] am i a part of the cure?

Who: Pyro, Bobby and Rogue
What: Asgard's resident mutants convene over visions of the future.
When: Day 322, evening
Where: Just outside the Gate of Fog
Rating: PG-13 for Pyro, plus talk of violence

[Pyro's not totally confident that Bobby can get Rogue here, but he's waiting anyway, pacing in tight circles with his lighter out and dancing its usual dance in his right hand.

He's never trusted the gods before, and he doesn't know why he is now, but that vision has unsettled him enough that he has to report it to the others. If any part of it was true, and their future involves some kind of magic bullet that can suck the mutation right out of mutants, then he can't see any other way but for the X-Men and the Brotherhood to unite again. Yes, even without Magneto here, he's sure this is what he has to do.

He's haunted by it again and again as he waits: the picture of Mystique falling, her scales slowly peeling away to reveal a human form. A form she could never change out of again. It makes him furious, but more than that, it makes him feel sick. How could such a thing happen outside of Asgard?

(And then he hears Magneto's voice, almost apologetic but laced with steel: I'm sorry, my dear. You're not one of us anymore. That's when he really feels sick, and he tries to force it to the furthest reaches of his mind, beyond even where his parents lie.)

Clink-clink, his lighter closes. Where are they?]

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[ It takes about half an hour for Bobby and Rogue to arrive. He was concerned about John, of course, but learning about Rogue's vision took priority.

In the distance, he approaches, one hand holding hers. As they walk, he glances over at her occasionally, the worry seeping through his expression. By the time they reach John, however, he steels himself. ]

Hey.

[Rogue still isn't completely impressed with this. For all she knows, it is some weird sort of trap. It is not like John and her get along, but that's not surprising for the two of them. She had absorbed his powers, had his thoughts in her head.

Still, it was only because Bobby had asked and to get her own mind off of things, that Rogue does go along. Yet, she still remains wary, and even when they come up to where John is, her lips purse a touch, eyes narrowing. Let Bobby do the speaking for now.]

[He turns to face them with no pleasantries, not even a hello. His face is drawn, lined with stress - it's obvious upon first sight of him that he's not here to fool anyone. He's just as freaked out as they are.]

Eaten any apples lately?

[ As he listens to those words, everything starts to make sense. He nods, suddenly more alert. He gives Rogue's hand a gentle squeeze but doesn't take his eyes off John. ]

What did you see?

[Apples...

She stiffens, wondering... Well, John is going to have to tell what he saw, before she does anything other than giving a slight nod of her head. Bobby saves her from asking anyway. Not that she would have, mind you.

It's not like John would have taken the cure.

So what did he see.]

How much do you want? The basics, the real details, the implications? There's a whole lot there to go over.

[Yeah, he's an asshole. Calling them out here and then dragging out his explanation is pretty cruel. But if he can get out of telling that whole horrible story to the two people least likely to understand or care, he will.]

[ His brow furrows, but he's not surprised by how irritable John's acting. Plus, he can see through it. Whatever he saw, it must have been bad. ]

Start with the basics.

Seriously. [Muttering under her breath, and only not crossing her arms because Bobby still held her's. Yet, judging by her expression, she was more than willing to walk away.]

Humans have mutant-neutralizing bullets. And I'm not talking about the tranq darts they tried on us last time - I mean rewriting the X-Gene right out of our DNA with a single shot. In the hands of cops.

[His face is so, so hard, but his eyes still look huge and haunted.]

Your turn.

[ His eyes widen. Mutant-neutralizing bullets... Was this the cure Rogue mentioned, only in weapon form? Confused, he shakes his head. After a moment, he finally speaks. ]

Wait a minute. [ He can't just say all that without more explanation. ] Tell us exactly what happened.

[Mutant-neutralizing... bullets? That was- but had she been standing in line to get shot? It had been a clinic, that much she knows, but she had thought more along the lines of getting a shot with a needle, not getting shot.

Still, 'your turn' nothing. Like Rogue was going to share her's. She knew exactly what John would say about her getting in line.]

[Time for one of Bobby and Pyro's long, heated stare-downs. He does not want to tell this story, not to either of them. And typical that he wouldn't be believed without details.

But after quite a long moment, he finally starts to talk.]

We were in an armored prisoner transport. Probably broke in, based on the state of the back door and all the cells inside - broke in to break some people out.

The guards were all down, but I guess one was faking it, 'cause suddenly there was this laser pointing at Magneto's back. Mystique blocked Magneto and took the hit, and I blew the asshole out of the truck, but -

[He swallows hard, turning to face away from them.]

She pulled out the - bullet, syringe, whatever it was, and hit the ground... she was shaking, the scales just kept peeling away... and then she was human. Black hair, blue eyes. You could see it in her eyes, that she couldn't morph anymore. Not like I don't know that look by now.

[A rough clearing of his throat.]

That good enough?

[ As he listens, his glare fades. Though he doesn't care for Mystique or Magneto, he can't help but sympathize with John.

For a while, he stands in silence. After looking at Rogue briefly from his peripheral vision, he talks. ]

We were in my family's house in Boston. I saw the rest of what happened before I came here.

[ Hesitating slightly, he almost continues with his story but decides to wait for Rogue's reaction. He squeezes her hand again for support. If she doesn't want to reveal what she saw, he'll cover for her. ]

[Huh. She contemplated what John had said. Was it surprising though? She knew there were people who didn't like mutants, and Magneto was... well, he wasn't someone on Rogue's nice list. Considering he had tried to kill her, he never would be.

But, for humans to shoot... Could they just do it to everyone? Did humans suffer an effects if they got hit? Could they just- no wonder John had his panties in a bunch.

Bobby told his story, but Rogue still wasn't exactly in the sharing mood, simply keeping her lips pursed.]

So nothing on this mutation-erasing bullshit.

[It's a very cold brush-off of Bobby's experience, and even he seems to realize that after a moment, because he turns back around to give him a guarded look.]

They'll probably still be there if you ever wanna go back. [It's hard to tell if the statement is comforting or jealous, given what Pyro's parents did, but his voice is neutral.]

Dunno about that.

[ He pauses, glancing down before meeting his gaze again. ]

[Her gaze did slip away from John when he said that.

It seemed that he had seen the cure as well, just in a different way. In his, they hadn't been willing, but Rogue? No, she walked right up and got in line.

With a huff.] Ah think they call it the cure, not mutation-erasing bullshit.

[AND THEN HE FORGOT ABOUT BOBBY ENTIRELY.]

The Cure? [His voice is unintentionally fierce, and he actually advances on her without realizing it - it's sure to rile Bobby up, but that word makes him too furious to think or act with any clarity.] The CURE?

[ Before Bobby has a chance to process her response (she did want to discuss the topic, after all?), he sees John approach. His hand leaves Rogue's, so he can step in the way. ]

Back off, man.

[She'd be lying if she said John never got under her skin.

It wasn't that she had wanted to talk about her own experience, as she knew- knew- how he'd react. He simply proved her point too, and she tensed, eyes narrowing.] Don't go yellin'. Ah don't owe you any answers, and if you're gonna act like that John, Ah'm out of here.

You're not going anywhere. What do you know?

[He takes a step back, though, dimly aware that he stepped over the line. She's never had any patience for him, so explosions like that will get them nowhere. Taking a deep breath, he starts again.]

Look, we don't have to like each other, but this is too serious to let anything get in the way. [Solemnly, making sure she knows how much he means:] Anything. The X-Men and the Brotherhood worked together last time all of us were in danger. We've gotta be able to manage the same.

I said back off.

[ Once John steps back, he doesn't advance, but his expression doesn't soften either. At the explanation, he crosses his arms and turns to look at Rogue. It's her choice. ]

[Wrong thing. Definitely the wrong thing to say. Not going anywhere? Better believe that if she wanted to, she would, John be damned.

She's about to say so, when he seemed to realize that that was not the way to go. Then again, it's not like he apologized.]

Get this straight. You raise your voice, Ah leave. Move toward me, Ah leave. You even look at me funny, John, and Ah leave.

[And now his smouldering glare is turned on her, but after a sullen silence, he nods his agreement with his jaw tightly clenched. It wouldn't be going like this if Magneto were -

- Magneto. He can't think about Magneto right now. That'll have to be dealt with once he knows as much of the story as he can get out of Rogue.]

Yeah, fine. Now what about this... cure. [No raised voice, just a disgusted snarl.]

[ Looking disgruntled, Bobby doesn't move out of the way, just in case John loses control of his temper again. He keeps quiet to let Rogue speak as much (or as little, if she doesn't feel like sharing) as she wants. ]

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