A Price To Be Paid (John Proudstar)

I Wanna Go Home

"Hey, Peyton, if you're ordering in, get me that Chinese place. I'm craving the garlic chicken." Ben said as he slumped into his chair.

It had been almost nine months since I had left mutant headquarters, and I had eventually landed in Nashville, with my former boyfriend. It wasn't a perfect situation, but Ben was someone I trusted, and the only connection to the outside world I had left.

So, there I was, cleaning up his messes. I basically took care of him, like I was his mother. Well, definitely not a mother in many aspects of our... relationship.

"I don't hear you making that call." Ben yelled over his video game.

"I'm taking care of it. You want the usual with that? A side of heart failure?" I said with sarcasm dripping from every word.

Ben rolled his eyes, and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks Mom. Now, get to it."

An hour later, someone knocked on the door. I jumped up to get it. As I grabbed the doorknob, I sensed a familiar power.

"Hey, babe, once we eat, you wanna do it in the shower?" Ben called, more than loud enough for whomever was behind the door to hear.

Glaring at him, I opened it, and froze in shock.

"You're not takeout," I said as I took in a leather clad John Proudstar.

"Uh, no. Sorry." He muttered.

I immediately pushed John back, and shut the door behind me. I sensed his emotions, and found courage, but beneath that I could tell he was nervous. He looked at me with a deeply intense gaze.

I cleared my throat, and squeaked, "It's been a while, to what do I owe this honor?"

John pursed his lips, before he said, "There's this politician, Senator Waters. We need him on our side. He took Senator Menendez's position, after his death. You heard about that, right? Anyway, he's become very influential. I thought you might be able to help me persuade him to help mutants."

I furrowed my brow as I said, "You're working with the twisted triplets, why don't you have them do it? They can straight up control minds, remember?"

"They aren't working with the underground anymore. They were part of a group called the Brotherhood, and they took Lorna and some of the others with them. You heard about Dr. Campbell's death? That was Lorna. She killed him, and the senator. She went a little dark there for a while, but she's back, and she's all in. Like I hope you'll be." John said, his emotions wavering for a moment.

I nodded thoughtfully when the door opened behind me. I turned to face Ben, who was dressed in nothing but a towel. I glanced between John and Ben, and internally groaned. Each of the men had started glaring at the other.

"Dude, where's our food?" Ben asked, sounding legitimately angry.

"I'm not a delivery boy," John looked at me, "I'm a friend of Peyton's. And you are?"

My eyes widened as I looked at John, who was still glaring at Ben.

"I'm her boyfriend. What's it to you?" He replied, puffing up his chest, grabbing my shoulders with both hands.

John finally looked at me as he said, "It means nothing to me. I just came to ask Peyton to help me with something. Something only she can do."

Ben rolled his eyes and looked to me. "I thought you said you were done using your mutie powers! You know what, I'm going to go get in the shower. If you're going to stay, come join me. If not, take Steroids over here, and get out of my building."

Ben smacked my ass, and slammed the door behind him. Well, that couldn't have gone any worse. I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes. As I did, I felt John's intense gaze on me again.

"That ass is who you've been staying with this whole time? What, was your time with the Underground so terrible you had to move in with an obvious Purifier?" John questioned me as the disgust he felt permeated off his body.

"He's an ass, yes, but he's not an extremist like those anti mutant guys." I muttered as I stared at the floor.

I could hear the judgement he was sending my way in every word, and I couldn't meet his eye. I sighed deeply, and started back inside, so I could get some distance from him. I walked back into the apartment, leaving the door open for John to follow. He did so, and shut it behind him. Climbing on the kitchen counter, I watched John as he stood in the middle of the room, unsure if he should join me.

"Ben's the worst, but he's all I have left. We went to school together. We had dated before I got arrested and taken to Trask. I was in the lab for almost two years, and all of my mutant friends have been arrested, or just disappeared. I needed somewhere to go, and he doesn't care that I'm a fugitive..."

John scoffed. "Yeah, because he's too busy being a douche to care. I mean, he called you a mutie for Christ's sake. Why would you choose to come back here, to someone like that? You know, you had a perfectly good couch waiting for you back at headquarters..."

I put my hand up as I interrupted him. "Wait, Lorna didn't tell you she threatened to kill me if I didn't leave?"

"Why the hell would Lorna care that you were staying with us?" John asked loudly.

I rolled my eyes as I said, "She saw us kiss, and she was still mourning Dreamer, so she viewed it as a betrayal. Lorna thought I had made you do it, with my powers. Also, she figured out that I had tampered with her emotions, and she was pissed. I'm sorry I left without saying anything. It's just, I saw those sisters, and I was not having any part of their plans. I still have nightmares about the blood bath they caused at Trask Industries."

John approached me, and gently took my hand, turning it over in his hands. I sensed his emotions shift slightly, softening around the edges. He looked at me, and smiled softly.

"Listen, I should have come to find you immediately after I realized you were gone. If I had, I wouldn't have taken part in what I did for those psychopaths. Maybe things would have ended up differently. A lot has changed since you left. I'm not the same, neither is the Underground." Whispered John, examining the lines of my palm.

I covered his hand with mine as I said, "We can't change the past, we can only learn from it. Or so my fortune cookie said last week..."

I laughed as John rolled his eyes.

"Listen. We need you," he started," what we're planning, no one else can do for us. The sisters are long gone. Please?"

"I don't know, John..." I murmured as I tried to meet his eye.

Slowly, he gazed up at me, making my stomach fill with butterflies. I smiled, and patted him on the chest. I could feel his hope building watching me. Silently, I slipped down off the counter, and pulled my hand from his grasp. I started towards my bedroom as he sighed.

Quickly, I gathered all of my belongs, and what cash I had saved up behind Ben's back. As I dug through the drawers, I found a box of protection. I picked them up, and sighed. I shoved them in the large side pocket. If I didn't need them, others would, right? Certain I had everything, I walked out into the kitchen. It was empty.

Looking towards the door, I noticed it was slightly ajar. He didn't really plan on leaving me, did he? I charged out of the apartment and ran down the three flights of stairs to the front lobby. As I burst through the main doors, I slammed right into John. I fell square on my ass, dropping my duffel bag. That was going to leave a mark.

He smiled down at me, and reached his hand out. Accepting it, I laughed in embarrassment. He pulled me up like I was nothing, holding me upright for a moment, before he cleared his throat, looking around the parking lot. I reached down to grab my bag but John held me back, grabbing it himself.

"Coming home with me, then?" John asked.

I rolled my eyes, as I elbowed him. He acted like it had really hurt. He was actually capable of sarcasm. Surprising. I beamed up at him as he led the way to the car.