Another Calm Day On Genosha [Magneto, Pyro]

[magneto]

Somewhere across the globe it was Spring, but for Genosha, it was simply the dry season. Fortunately for the inhabitants, a cool sea breeze could be felt from where they were situated.

Magneto had made his way outside to take advantage of the sunlight and cool air. Even he could grow weary of the artificial light. After traveling a ways away (still keeping the base in sight) he could look out at the ocean. It was a pretty view, and Magneto appreciated nature. Mutants were a product of nature, and he could think of nothing more awesome than the race of Homo Superior. Humans were fooling themselves if they thought they could keep his kind down. the moment laws were passed against mutants would be the beginning of the end for mankind. Until then, he would bide his time and focus on other things.

Magneto closed his eyed and concentrated, arms bent at the elbows and palms facing up. He could feel metal everywhere: the headquarters, the iron in his blood, the trace amounts of gold in the land. He could even sense the stray sunken ships and treasures in the surrounding waters. gradually, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble, Magneto himself lifting a foot off the ground. Off in the distance, a disturbance in the water was growing. As he rose higher in the air, the trembling turned into quakes and the waters surged. A form rose up from the ocean, covered in growth and badly eroded. Magneto openned his eyes and smiled. Once upon a time, using so much of his power would quickly exhaust him, but now such feats only required a fraction of his energy.

Satisfied with himself, the ship slowly lowered back into the ocean, Magneto mimicking the metal he was manipulating and descending as well. By the time his feet touched the solid matter, the ground was still again.

Now Magneto could sense a familiar piece of metal approaching. Said piece of metal was something he had created for a certain boy and was never seen without its owner. It made sense that Pyro would come to investigate; the poor boy had little to do in the ways of entertainment here on Genosha.

[Pyro]

It was like a moth to a flame.

John had been lying on the bed in his room, staring at the ceiling, flicking his lighter on and off. Since his arrival, he had been increasingly of the opinion that he should have swung by the Institute before they'd come here. At least that way he could have picked up some books. He'd already read his way through most of Magneto's personal library here on Genosha and had officially run out of things to do.

The testing that Mystique had put him through a few days previously (( clicky))had excited him enough that he'd been on a hyperactive high for the intervening period, but now that he'd come back down to Earth, the boredom had once again set in.

So when the ground had started shaking, his first thought was that it was some sort of earthquake. His second thought was 'oh shit, we're gonna die' and his third thought, as he raced through the halls of Genosha and outside where he caught his first glimpse of the now disappearing shipwreck was exclaimed out loud.

"Holy shit on a stick!"

Not exactly the most eloquent of phrases, but it was certainly heartfelt.

[magneto]

"Holy shit on a stick!"

Magneto chuckled to himself as he turned to see the gawping look on Pyro's face. He smiled at the comical expression.

"What brings you out of the base? Run out of good books to read?" He was teasing the boy, of course. Magneto hadn't exercised so much of his power since the incident at the Statue of Liberty. He wasn't sure if Pyro had ever seen so much power coming from one mutant, Charles' school being so repressive and all.

Magneto sought to rectify that mistake. He sensed great potential in Pyro, the boy just needed to be pushed in the right direction. Mystique was working on that, and he was delighted to find Pyro eager for more, if not annoyed by the boy's excess of energy afterwards. Hopefully he had calmed down by now and wouldn't be too bouncy. Magneto was getting too old to deal with that sort of thing.

[Pyro]

If Magneto would stop and think about it, the young Pyro was not so dissimilar to his own young self, filled with the sort of energy that could keep him burning long into the small hours of the morning when the rest of the base was sleeping. Magneto had heard him prowling the halls at night. He was like a young lion.

But he needed taming.

It did appear, however, that for now at least, he was calmer than he'd been say, a day or two previously. He also looked awestruck as he looked at the man whose path he'd chosen to follow. "Y'know," he said, "when you stopped the Blackbird from crashing, I was like, woah. But man, that's some display of power." His eyes were bright and interested. He was an intelligent boy, that was for sure. "Have you always been so powerful or have your abilities - y'know, shaped with time and practise?"

That was John. Always asking questions, always needing to know the answers.

[magneto]

He had always appreciated Pyro's curiousity. From the first crack about his helmet to the question he was asking now. It was a good thing he showed interest in things. He would go far in life, Magneto was sure of it. He made a gesture with his hand that motioned for John to come closer.

"For some mutants, their powers are like a muscle. It needs to be used in order to grow stronger. I had to work at reaching this level of control without burning myself out." He paused and studied the boy for a moment. It was like staring at a blank canvas; the possibilities were endless.

"Your own talents are much the same. The more you work at them, the more control and power you'll gain. I think you'll find it's worth the effort."

[Pyro]

John moved closer a little hesitantly. At first, he'd been unsure about Magneto. He had all the warmth of an iceberg in midwinter, unlike the eminently approachable Professor Xavier and for some days after his arrival, the young man had been - not afraid exactly of approaching him, but certainly hadn't felt that he would be a welcome addition to Magneto's personal space.

His eyes were intelligent: it was more than evident that he was digesting every word that Magneto had said. From the moment the words 'you are a God amongst insects" had fallen from Magneto's mouth, Pyro had been in absolute awe of him.

"Your own talents are much the same. The more you work at them, the more control and power you'll gain. I think you'll find it's worth the effort."

"I never felt like I was really allowed to explore the depths of what I could do," said John, eagerly and into his stride now. "The training sessions always ended, really, before I got a chance to REALLY get stuck in there. But y'know? When I was on the porch at Bobby's place? When I was keeping those cops at bay...it felt...different. Here." He put a hand on his chest. "It felt right. Showing them what I could do."

[magneto]

Magneto's face remained blank, but he mentally scowled at what the boy said. What was Charles doing in that school? Certainly not helping students explore themselves fully. It was a blessing John didn't take to such silly ideas. But once a fire was started, it was hard to keep under control.

"It felt right. Showing them what I could do."

"Thats exactly how it should feel. You shouldn't have to conceal who and what you are just because humans fear what they cannot understand. You shouldn't have to hide away just to be accepted." Magneto idly pulled up some chunks of gold from the ground, melding it into one solid sphere before changing it into various shapes.

"Show me what you can do."

[Pyro]

"Show me what you can do."

John looked up at the older man and there was nothing but pride in his face. Finally, the opportunity he'd been waiting for. His session with Mystique the other day hadn't gone much of a way towards teaching him any sort of self-discipline, but this time he was determined to put on a better show.

Taking his lighter out of his pocket, he flipped it open and sparked the stuff of his power into being. He cupped the flame lovingly. "Mystique said that I'm only just beginning to understand the fullness of what I could achieve," he said, almost caressing the flame, which did not seem to be burning him at all. "But we all have to start somewhere."

He directed a plume of fire at the gold in Magneto's hand and, his brow furrowing in concentration, he increased the temperature until it was so hot that Magneto had to drop it. Still he didn't stop, increasing the heat until the gold began to melt. Then he looped the flame back into his hand and hurled a fireball out over the ocean. It travelled further and was more under his control than his efforts the other day.

"I can increase heat and volume," he said, "but that's about it for now."

[magneto]

He was bold, that was for sure. And Magneto was pleased with what John could do so far. His eyes traveled the path of the fireball, watching it blaze a path over the water before snuffing out of existance. There was promise in the boy. He was distantly aware that Pyro looked up to him and sought to use this to both their benefits. A little suggestion would direct him to the right path.

"Have you tried to do anything else with your powers? A lot can be done with a single flame." The melted gold at Magneto's feet immediately rehardened and levitated to eye level. From there, it slowly formed into a bird in flight. Then it reverted back into a sphere. From there, it morphed into a flame, albiet frozen. It slowly drifted over to Pyro.

[Pyro]

The boy looked momentarily angry - at himself, Magneto would have guessed. "I've tried," he said. "But it's heat and distance. Nothing else. I can't seem to get the hang of...creating anything. I've tried. I just get a headache."

He reached out to take the tiny gold flame into his hand. "What do you think you're gonna want me to do for you now I'm here?" he said. "I mean, you have Mystique to do most of your stealth stuff. I know I don't have a lot of experience, but I'd be glad to watch your back if you go back to the mainland any time."

The boy couldn't have been more than nineteen years old, if that, and yet here he was offering himself up as attache and bodyguard to one of the most powerful mutants in the world.

[magneto]

Magneto looked at the boy, mulling over what he had said. He wondered what exactly was going through John's head when he joined up with The Brotherhood. He probably had a very active imagination.

"No doubt my life would be well protected in your hands," a smirk appeared at that, "but for now I simply wish for you to improve your powers. When the time comes, you will see your fair share of the action, but that is not now."

Sensing that that answer might not be enough he added, "Although, the next time I do decide to travel, I don't think it would hurt to bring you along. I might find myself in need of your abilities."

Magneto suddenly turned back from the ocean and started walking back towards the lone building.

"Come, I have something that might be of use to you."

[Pyro]

It was like owning a particularly obedient puppy. John immediately fell into step a few paces behind Magneto, not brave or confident enough to walk alongside him. When they'd transferred to Genosha from the Alaska 'halfway house', he'd not particularly enjoyed the journey, his fear of flying still very much in effect. It was less than it HAD been, but still...

He'd not fully explored the island, although the sounds that came from the jungle most definitely put him off the idea of wandering too far.

The building itself was mostly steel with steel embellishments, furnishings and fittings. Metal was definitely the order of the day here and having seen Magneto's earlier display of power, John didn't doubt for a second that he'd probably made it all from a few tea trays.

"What is it that you have?" he asked, eagerly.

[magneto]

He had constructed Genosha ages ago, using his own blue prints and the scrap iron that had been left from the failed venture of the previous owner of the island. Since then, Magneto had called it home, and knew every inch of the place by heart. As he walked down the halls, he quickly made his way to his office, a room he was sure Pyro hadn't poked his nose in at all since they had returned.

While the boy lingered near the entrance, Magneto walked over to his desk, the top drawer flying open. There, surrounded by some clutter, lay a book on oriental meditation. It was rather old and peculiar and something Erik held dear to himself. He picked up the book and walked back over to Pyro.

"I happened to chance upon this book during my younger days. It was a great help in learning to develop my powers, and now I can pass it on to you. I hope you find it as useful as I did."

[Pyro]

"Meditation?"

The disappointment in the young man's voice was palpable, but he graciously accepted the book anyway. "I tried meditation once, it was difficult. Mind keeps wandering. Maybe..." He rubbed his nose.

John flipped through a few pages. A complete bibliophile, he loved books and he loved to read. Even in his days living on the streets, he'd picked up abandoned newspapers, stolen books instead of food and would often be found curled up in a shop doorway reading. This book was old and well-thumbed, clearly a loved book.

He looked up at Magneto again.

"Perhaps you could talk me through meditation sometime? I did hear tell that sometimes it helps beginners if someone takes them through the process."

[magneto]

Here in his office, Erik could sense every nook and cranny of the room. It soothed him to be surrounded by metal. The only thing that wasn't stainless steel was Pyro. The psuedo-empty void that was the boy held all of Magneto's attention due to the strangeness in familiar territory.

"Mediation is hard to start, I understand that all too well. If you think a walk-through will help, I'm sure I'm not too busy to share some of my time with you."

He made a bit of a show out of checking his agenda book before turning back to John.

"I don't suppose you have anything planned for today?"

[Pyro]

The flicker of a smile lifted the young man's lips upwards. "Well, there was the barbecue and the all night rave that I'd planned to attend, but hey. I can rearrange those for any time."

His impudence was almost enchanting. Erik could well imagine how annoying Charles must have found it.

Yet at the same time and for all his cocky bravado, the young man hadn't even sat down. He'd remained standing until invited to sit. Erik had noticed his almost impeccable manners in the days since his arrival. He always said please, he always said thank you.

Charles' influence? Or just the boy's natural manner?

"If you don't mind my asking - uh - sir, why did you let me come with you?" The question was sudden and one which John had been meaning to ask for days.

[magneto]

Erik smirked at the comment. Pyro certainly wasn't dull to be around, that was certain. He ushered the boy out of his office and down the hall. There were better places to meditate than his office. The room did only have one chair.

As they walked through the halls he continued. "You wanted to come. That was the most important reason. The Brotherhood needs members who believe in our cause." As an afterthought, he added, "I also knew that you could stand on your own two feet, and would become a valuable asset to the group. Ah, here we are."

They had come to a room that had a very zen feel to it. The most notable aspects of the room were the plush carpetting and plant life.

"Take off your shoes and have a seat," Erik said, while doing exactly that. Once he was sitting crosslegged in the middle of the floor, he looked back to John.

"Now, are you ready for this?"

[Pyro]

Rather self-consciously, John pulled off his trainers and put them down (surprisingly tidily) by the door of the room and sat down somewhat awkwardly, attempting to look nonchalant about it. He failed in that spectacularly, managing to look gawkish and ungainly as he settled down.

"Now, are you ready for this?"

"I'm as ready as I'm ever likely to be," was the simple answer. John looked around the room. It was unlike anything else anywhere in this place and actually went some way towards making the place feel decidedly less clinical. "Do we ring bells and say 'Ommmm' a lot?"

Humour. The last refuge of an awkward man.

[magneto]

John looked like he hadn't sat down properly for ages. Teenagers these days. He'd ruin his posture if he continued on like that. Erik made no acknowledgement of the last thing that was said.

"Sit up straight. Now I want you to close your eyes and focus in on your power. Don't think about anything else, just that familiar part of your brain. Visualize what you can do with fire without actually doing anything. Play with your abilities with your mind's eye."

[Pyro]

"I feel like a bit of an idiot," grumbled John, but did as he was instructed.

His eyes closed, his eyelashes casting a shadow on his cheek as he lowered his head slightly. He let his senses shut down one at a time as he attempted to create a reference point inside his head. John had to paint pictures for his thoughts and for this instance, he concentrated hard on a single pilot light type flame.

Visualize what you can do with fire...

The pilot light in front of his mind's eye wavered and flickered, then increased in size. John imagined himself throwing the fire. That was easy enough.

Outwardly, his right hand was twitching, the way it did when it usually had a Zippo held in it.