A Place Called Home

Prologue

Six years ago…

They sat side by side in silence. The boy kept flicking a plastic lighter on and off absentmindedly while the girl just stared at her hands like she had never seen them before. It was dark and cold in the garden, and in the distance the warmth and light of a mansion beckoned, but they both ignored its invitation. They seemed to prefer to keep each other company in the gloom.

Presently, the boy sighed. John Allerdyce studied his companion for a few seconds out of the corner of his eye then, seeing her shiver, he took off his battered leather jacket and handed it to her without a word. Kitty Pryde accepted the offering with a small grateful sound and bundled herself into it. She then looked at his profile in the darkness.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head. "Don't feel the cold."

"We haven't done this in a while," she said, with a rueful tone in her voice. "I've missed it."

"That's because you've only shown up here again tonight," he told her. "I guess you've been busy."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I've been busy." She looked away from him when she said it.

They both pretended that was true. What was left unspoken was that she had been avoiding him, again, for the past few days. Or, maybe, she hadn't been avoiding him. Maybe she had really been busy with something. He had seen her coming out of the library earlier in the afternoon. He was about to go and say hi when he saw that she wasn't alone. From their flushed faces and Kitty's reddened lips, he could easily guess what she and Peter Rasputin had been doing together. He had walked away quickly before they saw him.

He wanted to ask her about that right now. He wanted to know what it meant. But he held his tongue. Since they were friends, he had to wait for her to tell him about it, if she wanted to. That was what friends did, right? They told each other things. Except that there were so many things that he could never tell her, because they were friends.

"Peter asked me out," she suddenly said. And there it was. Fact. Immutable. Staring him right in the face.

He looked at her. He had to first think very carefully on how to respond to that little announcement.

"What did you say?" he finally asked.

"I told him I'd think about it."

Liar, he suddenly wanted to shout. Liar. You've already made up your mind. Why are you still putting me through this? He thought all that, but he didn't speak the words. Instead, he said, "Do you like him?"

"He's very nice."

He noted but chose not to point out that she hadn't actually answered his question. He just shrugged. "Then you should go out with him."

"You really think so?" she half-whispered.

"Yeah." He nodded. "If you like him."

"Okay." She nodded, too. "I think you're right."

He stood up abruptly. "You know, I got a test tomorrow. I better go back and study for it."

"Sure. I'll head back with you," she said.

When they reached the mansion, they found it eerily silent. John's skin prickled. He sensed danger. He was suddenly reminded of that dreadful night when soldiers had attacked the school, the night that had changed all their lives forever. He reached for the lighter he had put away in his jeans pocket and prepared himself for whatever may happen next. Kitty must have felt the same unease, too, because she grabbed his hand quite unconsciously. She didn't seem to feel the lighter they held between their clasped hands.

They both jumped in surprise when Mr. Logan, the Wolverine, came charging around the corner. He suddenly stopped and glared at them. "What are you two doing here?" he growled. "Something's happened. Everyone's in the rec room."

"What's happened?" Kitty asked, feeling the first stab of fear when she saw how grim the older X-Man looked.

"Magneto," he told them. "He's back."

"What?!" John felt like a vise had closed around his throat.

"It turns out the Cure is temporary," Wolverine spat out the words in disgust. "Now come with me. We're monitoring the news."

Miss Munroe, Storm, came up to meet them as soon as they arrived. John saw that the whole school was packed inside the room, and everyone looked scared.

"It's been confirmed," Storm said. "Magneto has attacked the White House. He has assassinated the President."

"Good God!" Kitty gasped.

"What's next, Pyro?" Bobby was suddenly in John's face. "Does he come after the X-Men next? Huh? Or maybe he doesn't have to. Hell, you're already here. Did he leave you detailed instructions on how to destroy the school?"

"Go fuck yourself, asshole!" John snarled. "I didn't have anything to do with this!"

"Yeah, sure! As if you're not gonna be running off to join that psycho the first chance you get!"

John had had enough. He punched Bobby in the face, hard. The other boy staggered and almost fell but Peter steadied him. "Shut the fuck up!"

The room suddenly became colder by several degrees.

"The two of you stop it!" Storm ordered furiously. A very loud clap of thunder punctuated her words.

Ice began to form on Bobby's skin and clothes.

John shook his hand free from Kitty's grasp and quickly flicked on his lighter. A fireball formed at his thought and it began to grow and grow.

"John, no!" Kitty stepped between the two. "Bobby, don't do this!"

They ignored her.

"Kitty." Peter started towards her. He looked ready to grab her and get her far away from the two adversaries in a second's notice.

She saw John's eyes narrow and she knew that he was going to make his move, get the drop on Bobby before the other boy knew what hit him. Acting on instinct, she took hold of John and phased them both through the floor. He yelled out in surprise and anger, and his fireball exploded in a thousand sparks.

"Fuck you, Kitty!" he screamed at her. He looked so enraged that she thought for a moment that he was going to strike her. "Fuck!" he screamed again. Then, giving her a cold glare, he stalked off.

She ran after him. "John, I'm sorry! But I couldn't let you and Bobby fight each other. You could have hurt a lot of people back there."

He just kept walking. She saw that he was making his way to the garage.

"John, talk to me. Please." She saw him pick out a car. "What are you doing? You're not going back to Magneto?"

He stopped and looked at her. She had never seen him so weary and bitter before. "I'm not going back to Magneto," he told her.

"Then where are you going?"

He sighed and shrugged. Then, softly, he said, "Come with me."

That was the last thing she ever expected him to say.

"Come with me," he repeated. "Come on, Kitty. Come with me."

"But where would we go?" Her heart was racing with some strong emotion that she was afraid to put a name to. But she knew that she didn't want him to just leave like this.

"I don't know. A beach, somewhere. Anywhere." Then he added in a whisper, "With you."

Slowly, she nodded. "Let's go," she said.