all the other kids with their pumped-up kicks
you better run, better run
out-run my gun
I.
Pietro ambles up to the school. There's no rush. There's never been any rush for him.
He pulls the bubblegum from his pocket and pops it into his mouth, and lets the wrapper float to the earth. He's not too worried about the littering. He's going to commit worse offences tonight than that.
Chewing pensively, he lifts up his gun and shoots off three successive shots into the night sky, as a bit of a warning, which is hilarious really. No matter how well-warned they are, it isn't like they can out-run him after all. But still. Fair is fair.
The bullets seem to take an eon to leave the gun, to carve their way up into the sky, but that's only on his time. Everything goes slowly for him.
He knows the Professor will be scrambling now to find the source of the gunshots, and he leaves himself half a second to smile- Pietro has always been told he has a lovely smile-
and then he moves.
He's lightning, a force of nature, and no matter how good of a telepath Charles Xavier is, no-one can catch Pietro when he's running like this.
He darts inside the house, flies through each room, leaving no impact, no trace, like Peter Pan's shadow, like a ghost.
He's aware of the threat the Prof poses though. If Pietro pauses for a second the Prof will catch his mind and force him to stop. But it's not an issue. Once he incapacitates Charles, he can lounge around for as long as he wants.
He finds the Prof in a second, a millisecond, a heartbeat. Units of time mean nothing to him anymore.
Charles is hooked up to Cerebro, and bless the man's brains really, he's already figured out who's attacking, and that he can't stop Pietro. Instead of spending his last seconds trying to mentally-catch Pietro which would have been futile, he's sending out a message - a plea - instead.
Quicksilver attacking mansion.
Pietro hears it in his own mind, and guesses that every mutant in the vicinity - he doesn't know how far the Prof's range is, but guesses it's pretty far on Cerebro anyway - hears it in their heads too.
He'd love to chat - shoot the breeze, wasn't that the slang? But Pietro is a hurricane and no-one's managed to shoot him yet- but he can't stay still, not until Charles is dead anyhow.
He fires one shot and he moves away before the bullet is barely out of the gun, and fires from the other side of the room again.
He aims for the back first, as a kind of a joke, because wouldn't it be funny if the second bullet Charles has gotten into his spine somehow reversed the first one's damage, and made his legs work? - but that's only whimsy, so the second goes into the heart, and the last between Charles' blue eyes. It's too easy. Everything is too easy and too boring and too slow. He's downstairs and yawning before the third bullet has probably even blasted its exit hole out from the back of Charles Xavier's head. Here he pauses.
There's no need to rush now. The prof is dead. Now he can go as slow as he likes.
II.
Students are out of their beds, milling around the corridors, and there's a touch of panic in the younger one's voices, though the older ones are cocky. So what if there's an intruder? their stances seem to say. The prof can stop anyone. This kids think they aren't defenceless because of their powers, but they are, everyone is.
"Boo," he says, appearing beside one older dude who's trying to calm down the kids and create some order. He's blond and brutal-looking, and not the reassuring type. Must be Alex Summers.
Pietro leans in beside Alex, head on his shoulder, and blows out his lips, popping his bubblegum. Someone yells Alex's name and Alex's face is turning towards him and Pietro says "pop," and fires straight through Alex's temple.
The blond man falls slowly, toppling before his body even knows he's dead, a laser burst blossoming out from his chest for half a second and then snuffing out again like a candle that's been quenched.
The screaming starts in earnest then.
Pietro leaves the hallway. He's already lost interest. Let the others go and run and hide or whatever. It's not like he won't be able to find them.
He saunters into the kitchen and throws some popcorn into the microwave. The sound it makes as it pops is just like machine-gunshots, and Pietro smiles to himself.
Tonight is going to be interesting, he promises himself, even if he has to force it to be that way.
III.
Jean Grey begins levitating the shelves in front of the door.
"I'm making a barrier," she saysthrough clenched teeth, because Scott is looking at her like she's crazy. "Scott, just get as many people inside here as you can. Now."
The gunshots came from upstairs, and Jean reckons it's better to hole up in the library until they know what's going on. Until it's safe.
Scott is still standing there, gaping at her, and Jean knows he's worried because any of those bullets could be have been for Alex, but they all have people they care about in the mansion, even if they're not family like Scott and Alex, but there's no time for fear. There's only time to save themselves.
"Scott!" she yells and he jumps and finally begins ushering kids inside. They come in willingly, like they're grateful to be given orders, like Jean and Scott know something they don't, even though she's only a teenager too, and she's scared out of her wits, and Scott has lost all brain-power.
Some people freeze when they're afraid. Jean gets determined.
When all the people out in the hallway come inside, she inches the bookshelf in front of the door. It wobbles, and books spill out like blood from an open wound, but she gets it there eventually, and breathes heavily. That was tough. Scott smiles at her weakly and she smiles back despite herself.
"Okay guys," she half-announces to the assembled group of children, most in pyjamas, still heavy from sleep. "We're just going to stay here until the Professor sorts this out, okay? There's no need to panic."
"But we're trapped in here now!" Ororo shouts, gesturing at the bookshelf Jean has so thoughtfully used to stop the intruder from killing them all, instead of you know, trapping them per say. Jean gets it- Ororo's power is kind of useless unless she's outside, but Jean is trying to save their goddamn lives here, not create an environment that suits Ororo in particular.
"I can go through the walls," Kitty says quietly. She's only seven, and yet she doesn't look scared at all, and Jean smiles at her.
"Great," Jean says. "If we need to get out, Kitty here will bring us out."
Ororo scowls but doesn't reply.
There's a pounding at the door then, and they all jump a little bit, and Jean just knows that Scott will shoot someone with his laser-eyes by accident if he keeps getting scared like this, and they don't have a healing mutant present, so she pats him on the shoulder, hoping it's reassuring.
"It's Logan," a gruff voice says from the other side of the door. "Is everyone okay in there? Anyone hurt?"
"We're okay," Jean says. "What's going on?"
"I'm going figure that out," Logan growls. "Alright guys, look just stay put and it'll be fine." There's an edge to his voice that Jean has never heard before, and as she listens to his retreating footsteps she feels worse than she had before. Logan is an adult, he shouldn't have left them-
"Why hasn't the Professor done anything?" Ororo asks.
Because he's probably dead, Jean thinks harshly, and is shocked at herself, but it's only logical. If Quicksilver - whoever that is - wanted to shoot up the school he'd have to deal with the Prof first, or he wouldn't have a hope.
"We all heard the message," she says instead brightly, though inside the fear is making her feel sick. "Help is on the way."
IV.
Magneto hears the words in his head long after they cut out. Quicksilver attacking mansion.
He doesn't doubt the truth of the message. Magneto is normally the suspicious type, but Charles would not lie about something like this big. The message was so short though, as if Charles didn't have time to say more-
Magneto does not put on his helmet even as he levitates himself towards the Xavier mansion. He's waiting for word from Charles after all, waiting for Charles to say it's quite alright, just a misunderstanding. He's waiting for Charles to say your son is not just after killing me Erik, no need to worry, but there's nothing, not a word, and Magneto isn't worried per say, but he is… anxious, and angry too, because he was never made to be the hero that rushes in and saves the day and he hates that Charles has asked him to do just that.
Magneto doesn't know whether he's coming because Charles asked him to, or because it's his damnable son who is causing the trouble in the first place, but he is coming, but blow him down if he knows what he's supposed to do when he gets there.
V.
"Quicksilver!" Logan yells, slapping his hand against the wall. "Come out and play you little shit. If it's a fight you want, I'm right here!"
Pietro appears then, a bowl of popcorn in his hands, blood splatters on his silver clothing. "Why would I want to fight you when I have a gun?" he asks thoughtfully, eating a handful of popcorn. "I already win."
"Bullets aren't going to work on me, bub," Logan says threateningly, and maybe that was the wrong thing to do, because the kid disappears again. Now Pietro could have left the room for all Logan knows, but he doesn't think so. Quicksilver has a flair for drama, like his dad, and won't have bailed just yet.
"Look kid, if you stop now no-one's going to hurt you," he says. It's a cliche but fuck if he knows what else to say. If he can just get the kid to stay still for a second-
"But you can't hurt me anyway," Pietro says deliberately, appearing in front of Logan again, "so it's a moot point really."
Logan swipes out, claws slicing through the air, but Pietro is gone.
"So you lied," Pietro says flatly from across the room. "Why does everyone have to lie all the time? I'm going to be honest here. I'm going to kill everyone in this house, and if you can be killed I'm going to kill you too."
"Why?" Logan asks, stepping forward softly, but Pietro is like a fluttering bird, moving away when you get too close.
"Why not?" Pietro replies. There's no madness in his eyes. He's not unhinged. He just looks bored, like this is a spot of entertainment for him. Logan can almost feel him drifting, like this conversation isn't enough to keep him occupied for much longer.
"This isn't some goddamn game kid. This is people's lives."
Pietro blows out a bubble, pops it and chews thoughtfully. "I get what you're saying man, I do, but is it bad that I just don't care?"
Logan is about to say something - anything, he doesn't know what, he doesn't know how to talk people down from ledges, never mind get them to stop killing people - but Pietro's gone. He surges towards the door, but it's been locked from the outside. Logan kicks at it but the grey-haired bastard has obviously stacked stuff against the other side. He kicks again, and again and again. He'll kick until the door itself breaks down. Logan doesn't want to kill a kid, but when that kid is killing other kids, then he and Logan are going to have issues.
VI.
The kids have obviously constructed a barricade inside the library door, which serves as moment's entertainment at least as he figures out how best to get inside. As Pietro strides up and down the hall outside the library he fires one shot into the air, just to get them all pissing their diapers, and waits. There's a particular sort of silence coming from inside- twenty or so scared kids holding their breath, hoping that the scary man with the gun will walk by, but no-one is crying or whimpering, not yet.
But Pietro's not just going to walk by. And there will be tears.
Pietro speeds up, lets time slow down, and he moves as if he's swimming, as if everything is liquid and slow. When the world is like this he can walk up walls, like when you're underwater and weightless. They don't have a chance, the poor helpless little things.
He leaves the house, and approaches the library from the outside. The idiots didn't think to block the window. And these guys thought they were battle-ready. He snorts, and then covers his hand with his sleeve and punches the window. A crack appears, and thin lines snake out from it, slowly, like a river cutting through the landscape. Pietro goes back to real-time, and the glass shatters all at once.
"Pop," he says to himself again, flicking his fingers out in a popping motion, and he hops in through the broken window, staying mindful of the sharp bits.
"How you doing kids?" he asks the room, slinging his gun around and aiming it at one kid, a snivelling little boy who looks like he doesn't believe this is real, that he's about to die. Pietro is contemplating firing when this ginger chick waves a hand and books come flying at him. He side-steps easily them and smirks. "Wow, I've got a gun and you throw books at me? Clever."
"Ever heard of a distraction?" she says, and Pietro feels this awful burning beginning on his back, and he darts away. There's a kid with lasers-beams in his eyes who's face falls when he sees how fast Pietro can move.
"Laser beams, a surly look and obviously an idiot," Pietro says, appraising the guy. "You must be Alex's brother."
Whatever-his-name-is shoots lasers out again, but he's way off. Pietro can't go faster than light after all, but he doesn't have to out-run the lasers, he just has to dodge them. It's still too easy.
"Isn't anyone in this goddamn house of 'gifted' people a challenge?" he asks, flicking back and forth, carefully avoiding those laser beams that dance around the room like the strobe lights you get at discos sometimes. He looks at the ginger girl, and she looks away to a spot behind him, just for a second, but that's enough. A second is always long enough for Quicksilver.
Pietro whips around, and there's this little girl who's phasing through the wall, bringing more kids with her each time.
He smiles, and shoots her in the head when she's half-way through. The wall seems to re-assert itself, become solid around all the other kids who are now stuck, screaming as they meld with the concrete. He doesn't have to kill them. They're already dead, or soon to be so.
He turns back to Ginger and her pet Laser Boy. Lasers looks aghast, like he's going to crumple up, like he's no more than a scrap of waste paper, to be balled up and thrown away. Ginger is crying, but in a tough way somehow, like she doesn't even notice that she's doing so.
"Nice distracting," Pietro says. "It was like a double-distraction. Layers. That's cool. Did you think of it Ginger? I'd say so. Lasers doesn't seem to bright."
"It's Jean Grey," she says.
"Oh. Well you'd know you were Charles Xavier's student anyway, giving me both names."
She stares at him, tears still streaking down her lovely face, and then she deliberately faces away.
"Do it," she says.
"Pardon me?" Pietro asks.
"Kill us if you're going to, but stop fucking around," she says, her voice catching on the last bit.
"Alright then," he says, and shoots Lasers point blank. Jean flinches as he steps forward to her.
"No, no don't be scared Jean Grey. You let all those kids escape when you were distracting me. That's awesome. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Stop," she says.
"Stop what? I like you, Jean Grey, but is that all you can do? Levitate books and sacrifice yourself?"
"Telekinesis," she says defiantly. "It's not just books. It's anything."
"Oh yeah?" he says. "Show me."
"Use your imagination, Pietro," she spits, turning back to him. "You're a thing, aren't you?"
He processes that line with a jolt - of fear, anticipation, he doesn't know - and is just about to dart away when something grips him tight, like an unseen fist, and he's flung against the wall. Jean's face is crinkled with the effort but she's still holding him. Pietro speeds up, but even in slow-mo she still has a grip on him, though it seemed to be his bones and skin she was holding onto with her power, and not his brain like Charles would have.
"Good job," he says praisingly, and she slams him into the ground. He feels a tooth crack and smiles into the carpet. He just needs her to let him go, just for a second-
"Were you dating that laser-guy?" he taunts. "Sorry if I ruined that for you-"
It's not like she throws him into the wall too fast for him to react. He sees it coming for ages and ages before he actually hits it, but he can't do anything except turn his face away and relax his muscles best he can. The wall hits him like a jilted lover. He loves this.
He's straining her, he knows he is; he doesn't know much about Jean Grey except the fact that she obviously doesn't throw people into walls very often, and Pietro wonders how long she can keep it up for.
"Pity," he says, after spitting out blood. "You could have gone for the hotter brother, but I killed him too."
That does it, and Pietro is flying upwards, and he knows that she's lifting him up and is going to drop him violently
drop being the important word
and he rises and rises and then - and then she lets him go.
Pietro has eons. He has all day. He feels the release of her grip on him as she lets him fall, and maybe she intends to grab him again when he hits the ground, but Pietro's reaction time is probably a tad faster than hers. He hits the floor, inch by inch, and Jean outstretches her hand - that's a crutch, she's going to have to learn to do this with her mind alone- and her fingers stretch out as slowly as the sun dipping below the horizon-
and Pietro pushes himself up and then he's on his feet and he's running.
"I like you," he says, appearing beside her face and lightly brushing a hair away, and then darting to the opposite corner before she can catch him again.
She's lost her advantage now, and she knows it, but she's not crying, she's not begging, and Pietro appreciates that.
"Chill," he says. "I'm not going to kill you."
"Is that what you tell all the girls?" she replies bitterly, her eyes sweeping the room, trying to pinpoint him, but Pietro is a sleight of hand, to quick to be seen, and he can't be caught now.
"Har har," he says. "I'm not joking though. You're interesting. I don't kill interesting people."
"Scott was interesting!" she yells, whipping around. "And now he's dead because of you, you prick-"
"Hey," he says, hurt. "There's no need for the language."
"There's no need to kill people either but you don't seem to mind!"
"We'll call it a difference in opinion," he replies easily. "Now, are you coming?"
"Where?"
"Anywhere you want, Jean Grey. This place is going to be all sad and boring now for ages, you might as well ditch it."
"You are insane if you think I'm just going to skip into the sunset with you." She's shivering now, though with anger or fear he's not sure.
"Cool," he says, and brushes past her hand, dropping his card into her palm, and gone again. "In case you change your mind."
"Why the hell would I want to run away with a mass-murderer?"
"Because you're bored. You pretended to be happy with Scott and the school and classes, but you're bigger than that. Burn Jean Grey. Burn her and her pretty little dresses and her worldview that if she's good then no-one will hurt her. Burn her, and rise from the ashes."
"You're insane," she says again.
"And you're a phoenix," he says. "Call me when the fire doesn't scare you anymore."
He leaves her to her thoughts. It's a quick flicker through the mansion. Blood takes an eternity to ooze from bodies that litter the floor like speed-bumps, slowing him down. He's still out in seconds though, and striking out into the night.
He spies a figure advancing on the mansion overhead. Must be daddy dearest, coming to the Prof's call, like a trained dog.
Pietro doesn't linger. He can't be bothered talking to Magneto now. Erik can be a bit predictable at times, and so Pietro runs. Besides, Magneto would be comfortable fighting Pietro. He won't be at ease moving bodies, caring for the living, arranging funerals. Magneto always runs from that sort of thing, so it's more fun to let him walk right into it, rather than kill him now.
Pietro doesn't actually feel less bored, but he does feels kind of better. It's like when you burn your hand and you run it under cold water and it's soothing for a few moments. But when you pull your hand out from under the water, the burn is still there. The water was only ever a temporary solution. The murders were only cold water for him tonight - they didn't really help, he's forgotten about them already- but Jean Grey was something else. That girl could turn out to be interesting. And God knows Pietro needs something to alleviate the boredom, to soothe the burn under his skin.