WARNING: Abuse and death.
Disclaimer: I don't own.
A/N: So to anyone who was ever reading this and wanted an update...I owe you all a cookie and an apology.
The gates to the mansion were as beautiful as they had been years before, just as he had remembered them. No, he was not welcome there. But from time to time, Eric Lehnsherr would stand and watch as the house run by his former colleague Charles Xavier thrived.
It never changed. Children were running across the grounds, nothing extraordinary about it. Just a beautiful private school, 1407 Graymalkin Lane, one so exclusive you had never heard of it. But Eric knew all too well that if you went inside, this school certainly wasn't ordinary.
He remembered the day he had asked a young mutant, John Allerdyce, if he missed the mansion.
John had given him a disgruntled look, and went back to the small device he was working on, something he could wear on his hand to help control his fire.
Eric knew all too well that John carried bad memories with the mansion. Many a mutant of the Brotherhood was a student in the mansion, bred to protect themselves from those who hated them, called them freaks, but never to harm. Soon these savvy mutants would figure it out-there just was no point. No human would ever measure to the power of a mutant, and would forever suppress them with a tyrannical fear and misunderstanding. From them, there was no escape.
It is why Eric created the Brotherhood. He liked to think of it as a sister school to Charles' mansion. A place for those who were wiser, had shed the naivety that ran rampant through the X-Mansion. A place only for those who understand that sometimes you had to sacrifice a few people if it was for the betterment of the oppressed-the mutants.
Eric Lehnsherr turned slowly away from the iron bars. With Charles gone now, Storm now ran the mansion. He suspected she was doing a good job. Still, he felt a growing discomfort in his chest as he now realized he would no longer be welcome to stroll along the outside of the mansion, as he had done when Charles was alive. His good friend was well aware that Magneto was in the area, but trusted him enough to not break into the school. It was a ground of trust formed by old friends, one that never would be breeched.
With a sigh, the former Magneto walked away, heading to a place he didn't look forward to seeing again.
Brotherhood Headquarters, New York
The flame on the candle was taunting him, teasing him. It was beautiful, constantly active and moving even in a dark, airless room.
It was an old friend, one he had come to love.
Flashback
A young John, about age 7, is running freely throughout his neighborhood, his hands full with a pillow and a stuffed backpack. He was on his way to see his best friend, David. They were going to spend the night across town with his sister Moira.
He could hardly run, his hands were so full and his shoes were untied.
Next thing he knew, he was sprawled across the ground, his stuff scattering everywhere, his glasses land with a clink, one of the lenses pops out.
He is scrambling around, gathering it up, when he hears a familiar voice, accompanied by the sound of bike tires.
To his dread and horror, the neighborhood bully, Sam, was looming over him.
Sam was 12, and that made him the oldest kid on the entire block. His cronies were four brothers on bikes ranging from ages 8-11. Even the 5-year old was taller than John. The Montgomery Brothers' unnatural size made up for the fact that Sam wasn't all that much bigger than the scrawny John.
John was their favorite target and he knew why. Everybody in John's suburban neighborhood was the average nuclear family: Father with a high paying job, gorgeous wife, perfect children, cute little dog so small you could pick up, with perfectly trimmed front lawns and dinner at 5 pm sharp.
The Allerdyce house was the first and only exception. John's mother was only 23, a high-school dropout. The dad was some high school jock who couldn't let his football career be ruined by the prospect of a child, so he leaves to go off to college. Mary Allerdyce runs away from her perfect neighborhood, but eventually comesback when the money is so short that baby John's ribs are visible from lack of food.
She comes crawling back to her parents and their perfect world, where she doesn't really belong. Out of shame, her parents hide her. 7 years later, she still lives there, above the garage in a small room with her son. They only have eachother.
John had been called many things over the years. "Bastard child" and "Little accident" were the ones that made his mother cry, yet he didn't understand what they meant.
The neighborhood made sure he didn't fit in. When he went in with a black eye and swollen lip because Mommy's new boyfriend had slapped him around, he was deemed an even bigger freak.
John looked past Sam's shoulder, attempting to calm down. He saw a metal trashcan with a small fire inside, obviously Sam and his gang had been practicing amateur criminal arson again, which they often did for entertainment,
John looked up in fear as Sam bent to pick up John's glasses. He wedged the lens back in, then cleaned it off with his shirt. He then placed them gingerly on the ground, and stopped on the other lens. The other four got off their bike, laughing.
John's face flushed as he backed up helplessly, knowing very well he was about to get beat up and tossed in the lake. He never liked water, and he certainly couldn't swim.
Images flashed in his head of one of his mother's old boyfriends, Micah, smelling of whiskey ad advancing on him in this very same way. He had arms almost as long as John's tiny body. He was yelling, angry about something John had nothing to do with. John was backed into a corner, there was nowhere to escape, and his mother wasn't home. "MOM!!!!" he screamed, tears blurring reality.
"MOM!!!!"
Instantly he heard laughter.
"Quit cryin'. Your Mommy isn't here to help you know." Was it Sam who said it, or Micah?
He couldn't see straight, he kept flashing between the street with Sam in front of him and the memory of the kitchen with Micah.
His face and body was growing hot, and he started to shake. Sweat poured down his back, his nose was running and tears were leaking down his cheeks. He felt like he had a fever.
He was cringing, he dropped onto his knees. His eyes were trained on the trashcan in the distance. The fire…was moving?
The next thing John saw through his tear-blurred eyes was the fire rising wildly into the air, taking the form of a giant bird. It swooped in his direction.
The next thing he heard were the agonizing screams of five boys.
End of Flashback.
John pulled his wallet from his back pocket. It was empty except for a picture of him and two other teens inside a mansion, one a blonde boy, the other a girl with dark hair and a beautiful face.
Where there should have been money was a newspaper clipping, faded and wrinkled. He opened it up to read the headline.
Six Boys Found On Suburban Street: Gruesome Crime Leaves Five Dead and One Missing
A beautiful day in the little town of Ownetown, Missouri would become the worst day in the area's history. "In 37 years on the force, I have NEVER seen anything like this," said police chief Robert James. Rumors have been spreading like wildfire throughout the nation as FBI specialists are being called upon to investigate the apparent murder of and torture of six boys by burns.
On May 24th Sam Elliot, age 12, and four brothers: Terry, age 11, Jesse age 10, and twins Cam and Dominic Montgomery, age 8, were found dead on West Ellen St around noon. They were a gruesome sight, one witness describing them as unrecognizable piles of "bone, burnt skin, and ash." The crime has even the FBI puzzled, and the parents calling for answers as to how their children were mysteriously burnt alive in the middle of the day.
One Boy, John Allerdyce, aged 7, survived. He was found with multiple scars and abrasions. Doctor Jean Gray, P.H.D, believes the boys injuries were from previous abuse. She said she needed to do more studies, though. "This boy was obviously at the scene. He was found with a 103 degree temperature, and his clothes were burnt. He needs to be examined immediately." But then, another twist. A day after young John was found, he disappeared. His mother was questioned, as well as many prominent community members and John's friend David. John has been put on Amber Alert since, and numerous search parties-
Continued on A5 under "John"
Pyro threw the article angrily towards the candle. He watched it burn, the flames licking it, suffocating it, twisting it into unfamiliarity. Just like those five boys.
He reached forward towards the flame, afraid to touch it.
What if it burns?
The green hue remained on his neck.
He leaned forward anyway, daring. As his finger touched the flame, it singed him, a pain searing his skin.
He lept back in anger and surprised, then turned to the flame once more.
It's okay. I'll wait. You've never let me down before, friend. I'll wait forever if I have to.
With that thought, he blew the candle out.