S͎o͎l͎a͎r͎a͎ ͎|͎ ͎J͎o͎h͎n͎ ͎A͎l͎l͎e͎r͎d͎y͎c͎e͎/͎/͎P͎y͎r͎o͎

Prologue

Prologue

     In every universe, there's a you and an I. I wonder, if in all those universes, you and I are together, side by side. I wonder if the stars align for us in all of those places, or if we're always destined to meet as enemies. In one universe, we met on opposite sides of a battlefield, fire clashing with light. And yet, i still wonder... how many of those worlds let us love like we were meant to?

     From their position behind the boulder, Alex Summers had insisted on staying low first but alas, who could miss the size of the X-Jet, announcing the X-Men's arrival. Solara's brown eyes were drawn to the flickering flames in the distance. She knew who it was, she had heard about him before, and he of her. His flames swirled and danced, forming arcs of heat and light as he directed them towards their position. There was something almost hypnotic about the way the fire moved, something that pulled at her in a way she couldn't explain.

     "The flame thrower's mine!" she yelled, tired of hearing Alex rambling about their battle plan, she dived into the heat of battle. Gliding through the air, her aim focused on the Brotherhood's resident arsonist, a ball of light forming in the palm of her hands, ready to fire at her target.

     "Solara – don't! Fuck!" Havok's voice was drowned out by the roar of the fight. Wolverine followed suit, leaving their field leader grumbling. Wolverine's focus was elsewhere, probably his own nemesis in the Brotherhood of Mutants.

     Without hesitation, Solara propelled herself into the fray, her energy flaring as she closed the distance between them. She had never met him face-to-face before, but she'd heard of him—a fiery, reckless mutant with a penchant for destruction. Still, there was something about him that intrigued her. And so, with a sharp flick of her wrist, she unleashed a burst of searing light energy toward Pyro.

     Pyro turned just in time, his flames recoiling to shield him from her blast. For a moment, their eyes met across the battlefield. His lips curved into a grin, cocky and confident, as he recognized her.

     "Well, well, if it isn't Solara," Pyro called out, his voice carrying over the noise of the fight. "The one who controls the light, huh? I've heard about you."

     Solara smirked, landing on her feet with ease, her energy swirling around her. "Funny, I've heard about you too. But I didn't think you'd be so... flashy."

      The banter came easily, even though they were on opposite sides. There was a natural chemistry between them, something that made their battle feel less like a clash of enemies and more like a dangerous dance.

     "Oh, sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet," Pyro teased, flicking his wrist as flames erupted toward her in an intricate display.

     Solara dodged, the fire singeing the air where she'd been standing just a moment before. Her own energy rippled through the air, bright and intense as she countered with a beam of light aimed directly at him. Pyro, of course, anticipated the move, dodging it with a flourish, his eyes never leaving hers.

     "You've got some spark, I'll give you that," he said, his grin widening as he unleashed another wave of flames, this time hotter and more intense.

     Solara's light energy met the fire in midair, causing a brilliant explosion of heat and light. The two forces collided and crackled against each other, the intensity of their powers reflecting the unspoken tension between them.

     "Is that all you've got?" she taunted, her voice playful despite the seriousness of the fight.

     "Darling, I'm just getting started," Pyro shot back, flames twisting around him as he manipulated them with ease.