*A/N: A series of oneshots concerning my marvel OC, Nal'ryn, and her exploits in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Mostly made up of comedy, romance, and action. Lots and lots of development before any "falling in love" occurs.
This was a quick oneshot. This universe is based off the setting of the cartoon series "Wolverine and the X-men", in which Nal'ryn is mistaken for a mutant and joins the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. There is implied antecedent action, which will be explained in another oneshot in the near future. I was thinking of making this a series of multiple oneshots involving Nal'ryn. I hope you like it! o u o
The girl's fingers wrapped around the end of an arrow, quickly reloading and taking almost no time at all to shoot at the opposing group that charged at her. Those three letters, M, R, and D, were beginning to peeve the girl and make her feel sick and tired. She tried to remind herself why she was even fighting anymore when it became obvious that she had no choice in the matter. It was literally do or die, and as one of the last remaining dark elves, she absolutely refused death. She reached behind her and drew her hand back away from her quiver, feeling her gut drop with dread when she realized that she had exhausted her supply of arrows.
But that didn't mean she had exhausted her options. Her mind wandered back to the days when she was younger, with her mentor Validar. The man who had attempted to teach her how to master magic. She lifted her hand and began to cast a basic attack spell that would be able to devastate the silly uniformed Midgardian opponents she was facing. As she uttered the words, panic begin to creep over her. Nothing was happening. No flares or flames. The anti-mutant group quickly began to close in on her, guns raised. The elf screwed her eyes shut and lifted her hands above her head, ready to give in.
"Yeesh Nal'ryn, get a move on, will ya?"
At the mention of her name, the girl looked up. She groaned and willed the now fallen men, decorated with bruises from the impact of the intruder, to stand back up. She'd rather be arrested at gunpoint than deal with him.
"Pietro, I didn't need your assistance. Get a clue" she snapped, turning her back to the speedster and collecting her arrows off the ground.
Pietro flashed a grin and suddenly appeared in front of her, all of her strewn about arrows now in his hands. This "faster than the speed of sound" thing was going to be the death of her.
"You looked distressed. I decided I was done watching you fail and dove in like a hero. Don't you like what I did with those MRD freaks?" he drawled, leaning onto her shoulder and practically pressing her into the ground.
Nal'ryn stole a glance back at the beaten up soldiers. It took Pietro a few seconds to dispose of them. Even she had to admit that was impressive. Not to his face of course. As if the speedster needed any more of an ego boost.
"Give me my things Pietro. I mean it" she ordered sternly, but never dared to reach for the bundle he now coddled in his hands. He was her superior in the brotherhood of mutants, or so he proclaimed, and as such Nal'ryn knew her place.
Pietro shifted his weight off her and placed a finger to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully. "Hmmmm... How about no?"
"Then I shall entertain you no further."
And with that, Nal'ryn shouldered past him. The speedster arched a brow before choosing to walk alongside her at her own pace. It surprised the dark elf, but she kept her face solid, walking the rest of the way in silence to the brotherhood's base of operations, which was pretty much a rundown apartment complex of sorts. Pietro made several attempts at speaking, but ultimately remained silent as well.
Upon entering the building, she was greeted by an unpleasant smell. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and Pietro recoiled as well, dropping the arrows in his hand and cursing. A head adorned with light-blue skin poked around the corner with an apologetic look.
"Blob and Toad tried to use the kitchen." Domino explained with a sigh. Even though her forehead creased with annoyance, her lips were pulled in a smile.
Nal'ryn bent over and picked up the fallen arrows, taking full advantage of the situation to get her belongings back.
"Well, did they make anything edible? I'm starving!" Pietro grumbled before disappearing in a flash around the corner. Nal'ryn placed the arrows in her quiver and looked up, noticing that Domino had stayed behind and was watching her.
"Is there something you need, Neena?"
Domino shook her head with a faint smile and trailed after Pietro. Nal'ryn followed in pursuit and entered the dining area. Although, most humans would probably argue that this place in the building was anything but suitable to eat in. The walls had paint peeling off the sides, and once in a while Nal'ryn could catch sight of a mouse or two darting about beneath the walls. They deserved better than this. They deserved to be dining at a banquet in Genosha. The elf grit her teeth and plopped in a chair. Magneto was also someone that was grinding her gears. It was like the entire Maximoff family had the sole mission of getting on her nerves. She couldn't comprehend how that magnetizing son of a bitch was able to so easily deny Pietro, his own son, access to the safe haven for mutants known as Genosha. Her frustration must have been evident on her face, as her fellow brethern were all staring at her.
"Do you want some pasta?" Blob offered, holding out a bowl that held something that resembled spaghetti.
Nal'ryn forced on a smile and took the plate out of his outstreched arms.
"How did the mission go?" Toad sputtered out, as if he was holding the question in. Domino glanced nervously across the table to where the elf sat, her fork stopping mid-bite.
Before she could answer, Pietro oh-so graciously stepped in. "I kicked the MRD's ass into gear. You should have seen their faces. They didn't even know what hit 'em."
Nal'ryn's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, throwing a glare at the speedster. "We were supposed to get information from their vehicles. You know, before you went and beat up the man with the passcode and probably gave him a concussion. That's not a mission well done."
"We could always just infiltrate their base, my dear" he countered, throwing his hands behind his head and leaning back on his chair.
"This is why you can never impress your father" she muttered before sliding out of her chair. Toad's jaw dropped as she left the room.
"Would you like some ice for that burn, Quicksilver?" Blob snickered. Blob's laughter only grew louder as Pietro's face twisted from confusion to realization. Domino reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but he was gone in a second.
The elf's yellow eyes gleamed in the dark as she navigated the halls. She could hear soft but fast footfalls behind her, and before she knew it Pietro himself was blocking the entrance to her room. She attempted in vain to sidestep him, but he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Pietro, look, I'm sorry. I just had an outburst and I... I didn't mean it."
But Nal'ryn knew she meant what she had said back there, and that was enough to have guilt begin to rise up in her. Pietro paused hesitantly, searching for something on the other's face.
"No, you're right," he concluded with downcast eyes, before hastening to add "about screwing up, not about my dad. If I wanted to impress my dad, I would've done so by now."
Nal'ryn tried to understand what exactly he was implying. Was he done chasing after his father's approval, or was he putting up a front? Midgardian men and their pride. They were almost as bad as the Asgardians. Almost.
"Do you perhaps want to talk? In my room?" she asked tentatively, inwardly squeaking when he moved aside to let her in.
Nal'ryn sat on the edge of her bed, patting the unoccupied space beside her. Pietro took the invitation, sitting way too close for comfort.
"You know not of the concept of personal space" she said, inciting a chuckle from the speedster.
He flopped down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. "I miss Wanda. I want to have a sense of family again."
Confused, Nal'ryn lay down beside him. Was this Midgard custom? "I thought we were your family. The Brotherhood."
"It's different."
Pietro turned to flash a toothy grin at her before wrapping an arm around her waist. He kept his gaze locked on hers, as if testing how far she'd let him go. This felt a lot like those awkward comforting hugs Validar would attempt at giving to Nal'ryn when she was a kid and had hurt herself. Nal'ryn curled into the touch and sighed with content. Memories once forgotten overwhelmed her, and she remembered when she was a mere child. When she still had her real parents, before the Jotun came and destroyed everything. Tears threatened to reveal themselves, and Nal'ryn dug her face in Pietro's chest to hide them.
"It is indeed different. This is not the family I had in mind, Pietro. But it's the only one I've got. It's important to me" she said, managing to finally break the silence and force away any chance of crying.
The speedster moved his free hand to her hair, entangling white strands similar to his through his fingers. "What a messed up family."
They shared a laugh, and Nal'ryn moved her head to his shoulder. "I give you permission to spend the night, on the condition that you rest and when you awake, you leave immediately."
Pietro grinned mischeviously at her, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No funny business" she added.
The two lay down and reflected on the awkward moment that they had just shared, soon drifting into sleep.
Nal'ryn stirred and snapped awake immediately at the sound of movement. Her ears pricked with attention and she sat up in her bed, exhaling with relief to see a friendly face rather than a foe.
"You tell me to leave, but you instinctly cannot let me go" the culprit of the noise chortled, throwing his hands on his hips.
Nal'ryn grumbled and dug her face into the pillow before following suit, choosing to keep awake rather than go back to sleep. She stood up and strolled out of her room, Pietro right behind her.
"Shit" the speedster cursed, catching Nal'ryn off guard.
She had totally missed the fact that Domino and Toad were standing right outside her door. The elf groaned and wished she could cast a spell that would make her invisible. The two stood gawking at the emerging couple, and it was obvious to guess what they thought had transpired between her and Quicksilver.
"It's not what you thin-" she started, but was cut off by Pietro's lips catching hers. Nal'ryn gasped, which only gave more leeway into the kiss. The speedster hummed and separated from her, throwing a smug look at the two spectators.
"It's exactly what you think" he said before running off and leaving Nal'ryn behind.
Nal'ryn glowered at the two and mentally cursed Pietro and his entire family. He was going to have to answer for this later. But for now, Nal'ryn had to answer for herself.