Eternal Flame {John Allerdyce}

7

A soft click echoed in the apartment, indicating that the tape in the VCR had reached the end of it's reel. Cynthia was dozing lightly, curled against John's form on the couch. The two had been watching an old science fiction flick, 12 Monkeys, and fallen asleep about half-way through.

Outside, heavy raindrops mingled with the evening air, and dark clouds overhead threatened a bigger storm to come.

Three hesitant knocks sounded on the door, and Cynthia stirred slightly. She was a light sleeper, but the noise hadn't been loud enough to rouse her completely. Blinking slowly, she waited for a moment. Two more knocks, louder this time.

She sat up slowly, trying not to disturb John, although, it would take far more to actually wake him. Padding her way to the door, she checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was well past eight.

Lines settled themselves across her forehead as she unlatched the dead bolt and swung the door open. Standing in front of her was a young girl, no older than twelve, with eyes the color of glowing amber. They stood out vividly against her dark hair, and complexion.

"Are you Ja-Jasmine?" She asked, shivering.

Cynthia's demeanor changed instantly. Kneeling down, she smiled warmly at the girl.

"Yes, I am. What's your name?"

"Skylar. This lady told me to find you," she pointed a finger at her temple, "inside my head. She said you're like us."

Cynthia nodded, and put a hand on her shoulder. "That's right, and I'll explain everything, but first let's get you inside before you catch a cold. Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Skylar's eyes darted nervously as she followed Cynthia into the apartment, landing on John's sleeping figure in the living room.

"Don't worry, he's like us too." Cynthia assured the girl, and led her over to one of the chairs at the dining table. Moving quietly, she grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa, and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders.

It wasn't until Cynthia grabbed a mug from the cupboard that John sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked, voice thick with sleep.

"We have a visitor," Cynthia replied, giving him a pointed look that warned against asking questions. "her name is Skylar, and she's a mutant like us."

It only took him a few seconds to grasp the situation, despite his groggy state, and some bigger picture began to form in the back of John's mind.

He stayed silent, watching as Cynthia brought the girl a hot drink and spoke softly to her.

"The woman who showed you where to go, her name is Emma, and she runs a school for people with special abilities. I went there, and so did John." Cynthia gestured to him, and Skylar trained her fiery gaze on him for a moment.

"What you have is a gift, Skylar, and if you want, you can go to that school and learn how to use it."

"Will it hurt?"

"No, quite the opposite." Cynthia smiled, "Once you understand how to control your ability, it's sort of like finding another piece of a puzzle. Everything makes more sense."

"Are there others like me? That have my ability?"

"Well, everyone is a little different. What exactly can you do?"

Skylar hesitated, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The lights in the apartment began to flicker, and static appeared on the television screen. When she opened her eyes again, the activity ceased.

"It seems like you can control electricity," Cynthia commented, "very cool."

A nervous smile appeared on the girl's features, "What about you?"

"I can manipulate the growth and decay of plant cells, so essentially..." Cynthia pointed towards the living room window where several of the potted plants began to flower, blooms opening rapidly, growing larger with each second.

Skylar watched, mouth parted slightly in awe, "That's amazing! What about him?"

John glanced up, "I control fire." His voice was calm, but Cynthia saw a slight tremor in his hands.

Skylar frowned, "Isn't that dangerous?"

He nodded, "Sometimes, but every mutant's power can be used for good, remember that."

The girl regarded him seriously, and nodded. Cynthia cleared her throat, broaching the subject that was always the most sensitive in these situations.

"Do your parents know you're here?"

Skylar shook her head, dark curls swaying with the movement. "My mom works nights, and I've never met my dad."

"Does she know about your gift?"

The girl bit the inside of her cheek, eyes troubled, "Not yet. I've been able to hide it from her since we don't see each other much. I'm afraid to tell her." She admitted.

Cynthia reached out, taking the girl's hands in her own, "We will have to tell her about the school if you decide to go, but you can tell her about your ability whenever you feel ready."

She whispered something John couldn't discern, and smiled kindly before getting up from the table. Motioning to the bedroom, Cynthia led him into the space and shut the door behind them.

"So, I guess this is why you kept your codename." John commented, sitting down on the bed.

Cynthia was pacing, fingers running through her hair in a distracted manner.

"After Professor X passed away, Emma Frost took over the school, but with all of the chaos following the events in San Francisco she couldn't afford to make house calls the way he used to. Several others, including myself, who had left the school wanted to help so we became liaisons. If there's a new mutant close to one of our locations she helps them get safely to us, and we try to handle it from there. Talk to the kids, comfort them, give them a place to stay if they can't go back home. Some of them come from pretty bad situations."

She paused, lost in thought for a few moments.

"I'll take Skylar back tonight, and tomorrow someone from the team will come out to talk to her mom. If all goes well, she'll arrive at the school before nightfall."

John was impressed with the system they had managed to put in place. It wasn't ideal, but it worked, and judging by how swiftly and calmly Cynthia had handled things, Skylar wasn't the first mutant who had showed up at her door.

Something was off though, she had that look in her eyes. It was the same one John saw almost every time he glanced in a mirror, the look of someone who was quickly losing control of a situation.

He stood up, and took hold of her wrists gently to stop her from fidgeting, "What's bothering you, Tia? You were great with Skylar, and it sounds like everything is going to be okay, so what's the problem?"

Her dark eyes searched his, lips trembling slightly. Concern flitted across her features, but there was another emotion present as well, and it looked strangely like irritation.

"The problem is the person I report to is Bobby."