Pietro Rising
By: Americananime
bA/N: Well… I realized that I haven't written anything for ff.net for ages … so… heh… beware of Lance/Kitty Kitty/Pietro pairings./b
***
Charles Xavier looked up from his book just in time to observe Kitty sneaking past with a /i large container of something brown and sticky.
"Kitty?" Xavier called. She cringed.
"Yes, Professor?"
"What is that?"
"Peanut butter …" Kitty grinned, looking nervous.
"And what are you doing with peanut butter?"
"Umm…"
Ph.D. or telepathic abilities – both of which Xavier had – weren't needed to figure that mischievous goings-on's were going-on in the Xavier Institute.
"Better question, Kitty: How much time will it take to clean this up?"
"Don't worry; it's going to be in the shower!"
"How much money will this cost me in plumbing fees?"
"Not much."
"Kitty, put away the peanut butter."
"Darn. Can I use whipped cream?" Kitty put on her best cute face.
"So long as it doesn't clog the drain…" Xavier said, wearily.
"Okay." Kitty fled the study toward the kitchen to exchange her vittles.
Charles sighed and flexed his neck, popping it. He went back to reading, ignoring the stomps and loud noises coming from upstairs.
/b
Acrid smoke drifted down to Xavier's head. Nightcrawler perched on a bookshelf.
"Professor? Help! Kitty is chasing me with a vat of whipped cream!"
"So /i what that was for…"
"Stop her, professor! She's trying to pin me in the shower to pour it all over me! It's sticky!"
Kitty's head phased through the door, glancing around and locking her eyes on Kurt.
"Ah-hah! I got you, you fuzzy elf! This'll teach you to read my diary!"
"I was dared! Scott told me you can't turn down a triple-dog-dare!"
"Aw! How could you, Kurt?" Kitty stomped in, looking defeated. After all, who was to defy the triple-dog-dare rule? Nightcrawler crawled tentatively behind Xavier's chair.
"Kitty, please, put down the whipped cream." Kitty scowled, and then sat down the messy pot of white fluff.
"Not on the rug…" Xavier moaned; Scott peeped his head into the room.
"Has anyone seen," He began, but he was cut short by something pushing him forward slightly. He fell dramatically, and Bobby held a gun over his head.
"/b!" The triumphant New Mutant shouted. Xavier would be alarmed, except for the fact that Scott's 'blood' was green and the gun was a paintball rifle.
"Go Bobby!" Jubilee cried.
"Professor …" Storm started, then saw the scene. "I need aspirin."
"I'm all out, try Logan," The Professor said with a smile. The chronic addiction to aspirin came from working with children. That is, children with powers that could, if combined, probably destroy the known universe and civilization as he knew it. Well, no one said running a school for 'gifted youngsters' was going to be easy.
/b
Pietro was skillfully ignoring Blob, Toad, and Lance running around and causing all manner of disturbances in the background. The T.V. offered nothing interesting, he realized as he stared at the remote He tossed it away, grabbing a comic off the coffee-table.
"iPretzel Man/i? Either this belongs to Blob or it's time we refined Toad's tastes in comics! Urg, what kind of DC Silver Age crap is this?" Pietro tossed away the comic, running upstairs. He picked up his CD player, tossed in a CD, and began to listen. Too slow. bToo slow slow slow slow/b!
The CD fell to the floor after it crashed into the wall as Pietro's frenzied form was seen streaking out of the neighborhood. Slow day. Slow year. Slow decade. Slow century. Slow Millennium. Slow /i! Pietro was so sick of everything being in total slow motion. He zoomed by the school, by the park, by the beach, up toward The Point…
And ran right into the person that he wanted to talk to the least: His father, Magneato, his highness; whatever Eric preferred being called now. Pietro stood up a little straighter.
"You haven't managed to shape up those pitiful leeches that like to call themselves 'mutants' yet."
"They've made progress!" Pietro was defending himself more than them, he reassured himself. It wasn't as if he was dedicated to them. Was he?
"Marginal progress, but progress, granted. Blob has stopped putting everything in his mouth – he seems to be limited to /i substances these days."
Pietro didn't know why it stung so hard to hear his father insult the Brotherhood, who weren't his friends. Pietro was alone; he didn't need anyone. Not even Wanda or Magneato - /i not Wanda or Magneato, he corrected mentally - and certainly not the bumbling, ignorant, dependant brotherhood.
"And Toad. He isn't wetting the bed anymore. I assume Lance has sufficiently gotten over that spell with Shadowcat?"
Pietro had to physically restrain himself from snapping that /b, Lance wasn't over Kitty, and he probably never would be. Lance was a pitiful sight, Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood would be the first to admit. Moping was one of Lance's idiosyncrasies couldn't cure. Like Toad's hygiene. Or Blob's snacking. Or Pietro's nightmares.
"Gambit doesn't seem satisfied with your progress. In a week, he's taking over for the training of the Brotherhood. If he can't pound them into shape in three weeks, the group will be immediately disbanded. It's already draining time and recourses we don't have.
Pietro's mouth went dry; he made no effort to hide his shock. Gambit? That annoying Cajun was taking /b job? Well, if the Brotherhood was disbanded …
"Where will I go?" He asked, though every cell in his body cried out that they didn't want to know. 'iOh please don't say what I expect…/i'
"I don't care."
Pietro swallowed loudly, trying to hold back his tears. 'iDon't cry, you idiot,/i' He thought to himself, but it didn't help. A single hot tear rolled down his cheek to his dry lips.
/b The sound was swift and painful to his ears, and his face stung where there was a handprint. He fell back slightly, tripped, and looked up, afraid.
Magneato receded to the shadows. The remaining mutant ignored the icy feeling clutching his gut. He pulled up his knees and buried his face in them, wrapping his arms around himself, and cried. He hated himself for it, too. He couldn't ever be anything if hew was this weak… He swallowed again, and wiped his eyes.
/b
"OK! You children are all going out!" Xavier bellowed calmly. Suddenly, the pranking, whining, hyperactive mutants all stared at him.
"Line up and I will personally give you each $20. See a movie. Go shopping. Eat out. Go do anything – I don't care. But you all have to bget outb."
'iThe professor is losing it,/i' Ororo thought to herself. His patience was phenomenal; for that matter, so was Storm's and Beast's. However, everyone's nerves were wearing a little thin these days – they were all a little stressed out, and everything was going on… and the kids seemed to be going on a total fritz.
It seemed the worse things got, the worse they got. She knew it was stressful on them, being a secret army in a school where their own principle hated them. However, it was getting ridiculous. One could only take so much of the Kool-Aid in the shower head and strange gook on the doorknobs and stuff crawling in hair and shaving cream in your pillowcase and magenta dye in your shampoo… Storm grinned, glad that she hadn't been the target of that particular prank; it was Beast who had been the target of that cool – err, /i – prank.
The students began filing out of the hall with their money. Ororo was personally glad to see them go, although she wasn't exactly sure she was comfortable with them all out on the town at one time. Beast shrank down on the carpeting.
"Children, children, everywhere, and not a one to beat," He quipped. Ororo glanced at him. "Beast, that's horrible!"
"Sorry, sorry, I just get a warped sense of humor when I have a headache."
"Nice save, Chuck."
"Thank you, Logan."
/b
Pietro was famished. Of course, it didn't help that he had a super-sonic metabolism. As he strutted into Burger King with his usual confidence, he noticed a Goth girl with white bangs eating a sandwich. A German-accented voice rang out. A boy wearing sun glasses at night. Was it just Pietro, or was every X-Geek at the institute out tonight? He glanced around, spotting Kitty filling up her drink.
He walked over. "Hiya, Kitten," He said in his usual flippant manner. "Leave me alone, Pietro!" Kitty sighed, walking over to sit down by Kurt.
"Aww… what are all the X-geeks doing out so late? Isn't it past your bed time?" Pietro had to admit, he took great pleasure in annoying the crap out of Kitty. She was just so easy to mess with.
"Go away Pietro!"
"You can't make me, you can't make me!" He taunted. Kitty growled, sipping her soda. "Go away, Pietro!" Kitty yelled.
"Aw, wassa matter, Kitty, still sulking over La-aance?" Pietro got a smirk out of Kurt, who was trying to hide his amusement.
"Why don't you just shut up, you … you albino punk!" Kitty shouted, slapping Pietro. Pietro shook his head, his face quickly turning back to its pale shade.
"Who's gonna make me?"
"Me!"
"You and what army?"
"bThis army/b," Said a firm voice. Pietro wheeled around on his stool to see Scott. "Oooh, Golden Boy the X-Prep! I'm so scared!"
"Urg! You are driving me crazy!" Kitty said.
"At least I /i drive!" Pietro giggled. Kitty rolled her eyes in sullen disapproval.
"Pietro, we don't want any trouble. Just go away!" Pietro rolled his eyes.
"Who died and made /b the burger king?"
"You are about to!"
"Ha ha ha ha … I'm too fast!" Pietro began running laps, causing Kitty's fries to be swept up in a tornado-like swirl.
"You jerk!" Kitty screamed. Her face was red. "Why don't you just go back to your stupid, crummy, run-down house, you … you reject brat! It's no wonder your /b doesn't even like you!" Kitty shouted, not thinking.
Pietro was momentarily stunned, and was speechless for once in his life. Quickly recovering, he coolly strutted out. "Your loss, toots," He called back over his shoulder. Kitty's hand strayed to her mouth. 'iWhat have I said?/i' She thought.
/b
"Ok, it's quiet around here. It's kind of creepy," Beast said. Xavier glanced up from The Tempest, raising an eyebrow. "That's a bad thing? I've actually been able to get a few things done!"
"And I have been able to practice the piano in peace!"
"And there are no small, annoying children trying to steal the remote!"
"Ah, the peace is paradise."
Silence fell on them again. Suddenly, Ororo began clumping the loudest tune she could find out on the piano. Three heads turned, looking at her expectantly.
"I can't take all this quiet." Three nods assured her that the others agreed.
/b
Pietro wound up drowning his sorrows in espresso at the local hip-teen coffee shop. He ignored the annoying poetry being recited in the background; to the chagrin of the Goth group, he drank his java at super speed, his eyes lighting up with a touch of caffeine.
"I don't deserve to be Magneato's /i!" He declared to himself. 'In fact, I'll show him…' he thought for a moment, trying to figure out something that would drive home his point in the best manner. He wasn't going to take this sitting down. Ha! Pietro Maximoff wouldn't be disposed of! He would do something … anything … his eyes lit up suddenly, and he ordered another espresso to celebrate. For now he had a plan. Of course, this plan included showing Katherine Pryde what he was made of!
/b
Xavier was repairing Cerebro when he heard the doorbell ring. He assumed that Storm would get it, but he was a little curious about who might be paying a visit on a Saturday night.
He pulled up the security function on the supercomputer, eyeing the figure at the gate. White hair. Brown eyes with a hint of pink. Immaculately neat and with a strait posture that reeked of self-confident arrogance. There was no mistaking the albino that had come calling – the only question was why he was there, ringing the doorbell, talking to Storm. Usually, if the white-haired mutant wanted anything out of the house, he ran in and took it before anyone could notice and kick him off the grounds. Of course, if he came as a visitor, Xavier couldn't very well throw him out. Actually, the telepath didn't want to. He had seen hints of Pietro's restlessness and unhappiness often over the past few years. He reached out gently into the teen's mind … and ran straight into a brick wall.
Xavier pulled back with a jolt. He had never seen a mind so perfectly fortified at that age… except Jean's, which he had helped shield himself. However, he didn't understand. Had Magneato built such a wall? And, what was more, why? To keep Xavier out? To protect his son? Or to keep his own secrets?
Xavier propelled his wheelchair forward, to his study, and sat behind his desk, waiting. Again, he reached out to Pietro's mind. This time, he looked carefully for a weakness. He found many, though they were well-hidden.
'/i,' Charles realized, ithis isn't Magneato's work/i. It wasn't even consciously constructed. And it wasn't to keep telepaths out. At least, not ispecifically telepaths/i. It was more like everyone. Xavier had often seen these kinds of walls in traumatized people. Rouge had constructed quite a few barriers of her own, though none quite as formidable or complete. Scott, too, had had one when he had first come to the Xavier Institute. Of course, Scott's and Rouge's hadn't physically propelled him backwards. A thought came to Xavier – had Magneato had poked and prodded Pietro into building this wall, instead of directly telling making him? That probably would get a lot more done with a stubborn person like the albino Quicksilver.
Ororo's knock betrayed her bewilderment; certainly, it showed more than her face. She glanced at him, looking confused. The boy behind her squared his shoulders. Xavier shrugged.
"Professor, Pietro's here to see you."
"Ah, Pietro, come in."
"Oh, like you didn't know I was here. I felt you in my head."
Xavier quickly hid his shock. Exactly how telepathically aware was this boy? Certainly more than Charles had suspected.
"Anyway, let's cut to the chase. I want to join the X-Men."
"Um… That's a little sudden, isn't it?"
Pietro looked faintly bemused. "What, you don't want me on your 'side'?"
"It's not that, Pietro. It's just that I'm a little surprised … I mean, has something happened? Between you and your father?" Xavier was an extremely good reader of people. He saw the look of hurt cross Pietro's face before his carefree nature kicked in. "Nah. I'm just sick of boarding with those idiots."
"Well… Um… All of the X-Men have gone out…"
"I noticed."
"… so Storm will show you to the guest room."
/b
Pietro was a little uneasy. Ok, so 'uneasy' was an understatement. 'Frantic' would probably be the better word, he decided. Xavier had defiantly seen through him, though he thought that baldy had misread him. The professor didn't understand that he was manipulating him. Or so Pietro thought. Quickly, he forced his thoughts away from that, so that there wasn't a chance the telepath would notice.
Pietro felt Xavier inside his head. It was a simple task, detecting telepaths. His father had made sure Pietro could. After all, the magnificent Magneato couldn't have his plans leaked out by his teenaged son, could he? Pietro tried to push Xavier out, but the older mutant was too strong. Pietro felt Xavier slipping through the cracks … and suddenly the old man was in his head.
"bGet out/b!" Pietro screamed out. He couldn't stand people in his head. It was his, not theirs … the professor needed to get out now! Suddenly, he felt Xavier withdraw quickly.
'iWhat did you find?/i' Pietro wondered, his thoughts reeling. He opened the door, speeding to Xavier's study.
"Stay out of /b head!" He shouted. The professor looked up, surprised. "I'm sorry, Pietro. But it was obvious something was troubling you. Kitty didn't mean –"
"Man, stay out of my head! Don't ever do that again! You got it, baldy?!" Pietro sped back upstairs, angry. How could anyone get a moment's thinking in without someone poking around in your skull? He bet that Jean was worse than the old bat.
Ororo had told him that dinner could be found in the kitchen whenever he wanted it. Apparently, on weekends, meals were 'fend-for-yourself' style. He decided to take a shower and seek food. He would be here a while, and he might as well fit in. Ha. At least, he thought it would be a while before Magneato came crawling back, begging for his son … Pietro shook his head, amused at his own stupidity. Magneato, Erik Magnus, wasn't crawling back for anyone. Pietro didn't know what he had been thinking.
However, he couldn't keep living in the Brotherhood house – and if he left now, he would burn bridges for coming back later; he realized that he had effectively trapped himself at the Xavier Institute.
'It /i good with all that espresso in my system …' He thought with a sigh.
/b
Beast was in the kitchen eating when Pietro came down in tornado-fashion. A sandwich built itself before Hank's eyes. Bread, turkey, ham, chicken, beef, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and anything else in the kitchen that appeared edible.
"Food, food, food, food, food…" Pietro chanted, grabbing a three liter coke and stuffing a few ice cubes into the hole at the top. Hank watched in semi-amusement as Pietro shook it up and guzzled it down, along with the sandwich. Next, a large bag of potato chips, followed by a gallon of ice cream. After which the albino mutant plopped down on a stood and belched contently.
"You sure can pack it away," Beast commented. He wasn't impressed, of course. After all, he had seen Kurt eat eighteen consecutive bomb-burgers, 20 chicken nuggets, five super-sized sodas, and ten ice cream cones without batting so much as a furry eyelash. And the blue, fuzzy trash compactor didn't even have the advantage of a super-sonic digestive system.
"Aw, that? I wasn't really hungry." Beast's mouth dropped open, and he just shook his head, closing it again.
'iOne day, those two must have an eating competition. It would be interesting to see how much each could pack down. Of course, I don't think even the Xavier fortune is vast enough to buy all that food/b
Kitty shivered, wrapping arms around her shoulders. She had decided to walk home after the teens decided to leave Burger King and go see iDumb and Dumberer/i (well, except Rogue, who was going to see iThe Matrix Reloaded/i.) It wasn't that she didn't want to see the movie, but she was in no mood for comedy. 'iStupid, stupid, stupid/i,' She thought, angrily.
"Kitty, you idiot," She murmured to herself as she approached the gates. She really hadn't intended her harsh words for Pietro. She ought to have learned her lesson with Lance and the 'hood' comment, but it seemed that she just couldn't control her mouth.
She wasn't like those girls that constantly trash-talked at school. It wasn't that she wanted to be mean. She just … well, she had been annoyed and it just popped out … She was miserable and mad at herself. 'iIt's not like it matters – Pietro probably doesn't even care. That thick-head doesn't even know it was an insult, probably,/i' She thought, angrily. She was, of course, trying to convince herself of this. She felt a little guilty and offered up a quick prayer in Hebrew.
She couldn't stand this. One stupid little remark shouldn't make this much misery. After all, she assured herself, it hadn't been about her. And it had been true. 'iOh, give it up, Kitty. You're just so guilty you're trying to make excuses…/i'
She entered the security code on the gate and walked up toward the main house. When she got in, she threw her purse on the floor beside the door and trudged to the kitchen. She jumped when she saw a certain albino mutant and one of her teachers calmly talking.
"What are /b doing /b?" Her voice, in her alarmed rush, came out harsh and mean. Pietro glanced up, and then quietly glanced down, coolly ignoring her. But Shadowcat wasn't dumb as all that. She wasn't a good reader of people, but Pietro was obviously hurt. '/i,' she thought, 'ithat doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out/i.'
"He's the newest member of the X-men, Kitty," Kitty turned in time to see Xavier wheel forward into the kitchen.
"But… he's new! Shouldn't he be … like, a new mutant?" Kitty asked. 'iSlow down, Kat, you look a little keen on kicking him out./i'
"Well, he already has sufficient control over his powers … I believe, that, because of his age and honed abilities, he would be a greater asset to the X-Men than the New Mutants."
/b
Pietro bit his tongue. He felt sort of stupid, but being referred to as an 'asset' upset him. Maybe it was the fact that he thought that was how his father thought of him. Maybe.
"Slow down, Kit-Kat, don't want /b on /b team, huh?" Pietro looked a tiny bit haughty, but he was shaken, and he was sure everyone else in the room could see that. He struggled to think of something witty to add, but his fatigued nerves weren't exactly helping. Last night, he hadn't gotten much sleep, even for him. And he had, of course, been up at dawn, watching early-morning TV for about five seconds before falling into complete boredom, which had later lead him here, in the Xavier Institute's kitchen, with Kitty Pryde insulting him.
"Pietro, Kitty, I know that past rivalries may cause – well, a little bit of," The normally cool and collected Xavier struggled for a moment to think of the correct word. "Tension," he continued, "But we must learn to work together…"
Quicksilver held his normally super-sonic silver tongue, chewing absent-mindedly on the side of his cheek. Four people turned their heads toward the main hall when they heard a door slam, relieved from the moment's awkwardness.
"I can't believe those stupid brotherhood boys!" A voice moaned, followed by several pairs of footsteps.
"Yeah, the slime in the popcorn was just … /b."
"Is it their job to harass us or what? What's their deal?"
"I don't know. But I think I need something to wash the slime out of my mouth. Yuck!"
Jean and Scott's footsteps could be heard, and then they both sailed into the kitchen. "Hey," Jean greeted, not giving the small group assembled at the table much attention. Then, as she opened a soda out of the refrigerator, she did a double take and dropped the can. Pietro snickered as Diet Coke splattered all over her clothes. "Oops."
"Pietro? What are you doing here?" She reached for a dishtowel and quickly began sponging herself off. Pietro made a face behind her back, and he caught the glimmer of laughter in Kitty's eyes and the slight, repressed smile that upturned her nose ever so slightly. He continued making faces. Scott noticed him and tried to hide a laugh in a cough.
"You know, people, I'm not stupid! I'm also a /b, remember?" Scott, Pietro, and Kitty burst helplessly into laughter, Beast bemusedly snorted, and even a bit of laughter showed in Xavier's eyes.
/b
Jean was seething. Scott rolled his eyes and helped her clean the mess up off the floor, the cabinets, the refrigerator, and the counter. Scott's amusement stirred up a feeling in Jean that she tried to identify … she disliked being laughed at. Really, she did. And it made her afraid, sometimes, but she had to push through it.
'iJean, I know this will be hard for you, but you have to help him. Think of how you would feel if you were in his place/i.'
'iIt's just… Professor, doesn't he get on your nerves? Just a little bit? C'mon, you can't be patient all the time!/i' Jean thought.
"iPerhaps not, Jean, and I know Pietro can be irritating, but I believe he does it to defend himself. He doesn't want to be hurt./i'
'iProfessor, I can only do so much. I know, I know, we all have to be patient and helpful. I just can't help but think, what if Magneato sent him? I mean, he is his son./i'
'iHe's hurting/i,' Kitty's honest thought suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two, ringing out strongly in both telepath's heads. They looked at each other, and then back at Kitty, whose expression was somber, despite the fact that Pietro was making a myriad of strange faces.
Jean chewed on her inner lip for a moment, and then gently reached out to Pietro … and was slammed back with enough force to physically sway her. Xavier looked over, understanding what she was doing.
"bGet out of my head!/b" Pietro shouted angrily, and sped away. Jean thought that she had gotten a little too close to one of the holes in his defenses.
/b
"I'm just sayin', Chuck, that this is Magneato's son. What's he doin' here?" Logan leaned against the couch. Xavier had decided to call them all together, for a discussion of how they were going to deal with us.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Logan, Charles," Storm added.
"I know," The professor began, "that sometimes… well, our students come from very diverse backgrounds, and I know that Pietro is hurting. It doesn't take a telepath to figure that out. In fact, Kitty picked up on his emotions faster than Jean or Scott."
Beast, who had been quiet up to this point, cleared his throat. "I had Pietro as a student in Chemistry. He has a lot of potential, but, he is a rascal."
"Well, I think we should keep an eye on him, just in case," Logan grunted.
"I'm afraid that Pietro's … past alliances will interfere with the team."
"As Kitty would say, 'Duh.' And I mean that in a positive way."
/b
Pietro laid sulkily on his bed. He was exhausted. He rolled over on his side, climbing into bed without changing clothes.
However, he couldn't drift off to sleep. He tried to assure himself that it was the new bed, but he knew it wasn't.
'iI don't care. I don't care. I don't care/i.' Magneato's words rang out in Pietro's head. He sat up in bed, moaning. He was never going to get any sleep. He tried remembering what he had done to fall asleep when he was younger. Milk. Warm milk would calm him down. He combed his hair and rushed downstairs, passing a blue and furry guy talking to a red-haired Goth with white bangs. Into the kitchen he flew… and slipped like an idiot on the newly moped floor. He clanged into the wall; he hadn't done that in forever.
"Um… are you alright?" Kitty leaned over nervously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Pietro sat up, dizzily, and reached up instinctively to straiten his hair. He felt something gooey and warm and pulled down his hand. It was covered in red. He sighed and lay back down on the floor, closing his eyes and drifting off into blackness.
bWell, what did you think of that? I don't mean to bash Kitty - I really like her - but she /i have a habit of not being able to keep her mouth shut. Anyway, nice cliff hanger, huh? I actually have about sixteen pages written (that's according to Microsoft Word), but I'm A) mean, and B) lazy. Why lazy? 'Cuz I"m tired of coding! Anyone have any suggestions for what they'd like to see?bComing Up Next: Pietro is confined to bed, and he gets to see what a school morning at X-Geek Manor is like. :)/b
By: Americananime
bA/N: Well… I realized that I haven't written anything for ff.net for ages … so… heh… beware of Lance/Kitty Kitty/Pietro pairings./b
***
Charles Xavier looked up from his book just in time to observe Kitty sneaking past with a /i large container of something brown and sticky.
"Kitty?" Xavier called. She cringed.
"Yes, Professor?"
"What is that?"
"Peanut butter …" Kitty grinned, looking nervous.
"And what are you doing with peanut butter?"
"Umm…"
Ph.D. or telepathic abilities – both of which Xavier had – weren't needed to figure that mischievous goings-on's were going-on in the Xavier Institute.
"Better question, Kitty: How much time will it take to clean this up?"
"Don't worry; it's going to be in the shower!"
"How much money will this cost me in plumbing fees?"
"Not much."
"Kitty, put away the peanut butter."
"Darn. Can I use whipped cream?" Kitty put on her best cute face.
"So long as it doesn't clog the drain…" Xavier said, wearily.
"Okay." Kitty fled the study toward the kitchen to exchange her vittles.
Charles sighed and flexed his neck, popping it. He went back to reading, ignoring the stomps and loud noises coming from upstairs.
/b
Acrid smoke drifted down to Xavier's head. Nightcrawler perched on a bookshelf.
"Professor? Help! Kitty is chasing me with a vat of whipped cream!"
"So /i what that was for…"
"Stop her, professor! She's trying to pin me in the shower to pour it all over me! It's sticky!"
Kitty's head phased through the door, glancing around and locking her eyes on Kurt.
"Ah-hah! I got you, you fuzzy elf! This'll teach you to read my diary!"
"I was dared! Scott told me you can't turn down a triple-dog-dare!"
"Aw! How could you, Kurt?" Kitty stomped in, looking defeated. After all, who was to defy the triple-dog-dare rule? Nightcrawler crawled tentatively behind Xavier's chair.
"Kitty, please, put down the whipped cream." Kitty scowled, and then sat down the messy pot of white fluff.
"Not on the rug…" Xavier moaned; Scott peeped his head into the room.
"Has anyone seen," He began, but he was cut short by something pushing him forward slightly. He fell dramatically, and Bobby held a gun over his head.
"/b!" The triumphant New Mutant shouted. Xavier would be alarmed, except for the fact that Scott's 'blood' was green and the gun was a paintball rifle.
"Go Bobby!" Jubilee cried.
"Professor …" Storm started, then saw the scene. "I need aspirin."
"I'm all out, try Logan," The Professor said with a smile. The chronic addiction to aspirin came from working with children. That is, children with powers that could, if combined, probably destroy the known universe and civilization as he knew it. Well, no one said running a school for 'gifted youngsters' was going to be easy.
/b
Pietro was skillfully ignoring Blob, Toad, and Lance running around and causing all manner of disturbances in the background. The T.V. offered nothing interesting, he realized as he stared at the remote He tossed it away, grabbing a comic off the coffee-table.
"iPretzel Man/i? Either this belongs to Blob or it's time we refined Toad's tastes in comics! Urg, what kind of DC Silver Age crap is this?" Pietro tossed away the comic, running upstairs. He picked up his CD player, tossed in a CD, and began to listen. Too slow. bToo slow slow slow slow/b!
The CD fell to the floor after it crashed into the wall as Pietro's frenzied form was seen streaking out of the neighborhood. Slow day. Slow year. Slow decade. Slow century. Slow Millennium. Slow /i! Pietro was so sick of everything being in total slow motion. He zoomed by the school, by the park, by the beach, up toward The Point…
And ran right into the person that he wanted to talk to the least: His father, Magneato, his highness; whatever Eric preferred being called now. Pietro stood up a little straighter.
"You haven't managed to shape up those pitiful leeches that like to call themselves 'mutants' yet."
"They've made progress!" Pietro was defending himself more than them, he reassured himself. It wasn't as if he was dedicated to them. Was he?
"Marginal progress, but progress, granted. Blob has stopped putting everything in his mouth – he seems to be limited to /i substances these days."
Pietro didn't know why it stung so hard to hear his father insult the Brotherhood, who weren't his friends. Pietro was alone; he didn't need anyone. Not even Wanda or Magneato - /i not Wanda or Magneato, he corrected mentally - and certainly not the bumbling, ignorant, dependant brotherhood.
"And Toad. He isn't wetting the bed anymore. I assume Lance has sufficiently gotten over that spell with Shadowcat?"
Pietro had to physically restrain himself from snapping that /b, Lance wasn't over Kitty, and he probably never would be. Lance was a pitiful sight, Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood would be the first to admit. Moping was one of Lance's idiosyncrasies couldn't cure. Like Toad's hygiene. Or Blob's snacking. Or Pietro's nightmares.
"Gambit doesn't seem satisfied with your progress. In a week, he's taking over for the training of the Brotherhood. If he can't pound them into shape in three weeks, the group will be immediately disbanded. It's already draining time and recourses we don't have.
Pietro's mouth went dry; he made no effort to hide his shock. Gambit? That annoying Cajun was taking /b job? Well, if the Brotherhood was disbanded …
"Where will I go?" He asked, though every cell in his body cried out that they didn't want to know. 'iOh please don't say what I expect…/i'
"I don't care."
Pietro swallowed loudly, trying to hold back his tears. 'iDon't cry, you idiot,/i' He thought to himself, but it didn't help. A single hot tear rolled down his cheek to his dry lips.
/b The sound was swift and painful to his ears, and his face stung where there was a handprint. He fell back slightly, tripped, and looked up, afraid.
Magneato receded to the shadows. The remaining mutant ignored the icy feeling clutching his gut. He pulled up his knees and buried his face in them, wrapping his arms around himself, and cried. He hated himself for it, too. He couldn't ever be anything if hew was this weak… He swallowed again, and wiped his eyes.
/b
"OK! You children are all going out!" Xavier bellowed calmly. Suddenly, the pranking, whining, hyperactive mutants all stared at him.
"Line up and I will personally give you each $20. See a movie. Go shopping. Eat out. Go do anything – I don't care. But you all have to bget outb."
'iThe professor is losing it,/i' Ororo thought to herself. His patience was phenomenal; for that matter, so was Storm's and Beast's. However, everyone's nerves were wearing a little thin these days – they were all a little stressed out, and everything was going on… and the kids seemed to be going on a total fritz.
It seemed the worse things got, the worse they got. She knew it was stressful on them, being a secret army in a school where their own principle hated them. However, it was getting ridiculous. One could only take so much of the Kool-Aid in the shower head and strange gook on the doorknobs and stuff crawling in hair and shaving cream in your pillowcase and magenta dye in your shampoo… Storm grinned, glad that she hadn't been the target of that particular prank; it was Beast who had been the target of that cool – err, /i – prank.
The students began filing out of the hall with their money. Ororo was personally glad to see them go, although she wasn't exactly sure she was comfortable with them all out on the town at one time. Beast shrank down on the carpeting.
"Children, children, everywhere, and not a one to beat," He quipped. Ororo glanced at him. "Beast, that's horrible!"
"Sorry, sorry, I just get a warped sense of humor when I have a headache."
"Nice save, Chuck."
"Thank you, Logan."
/b
Pietro was famished. Of course, it didn't help that he had a super-sonic metabolism. As he strutted into Burger King with his usual confidence, he noticed a Goth girl with white bangs eating a sandwich. A German-accented voice rang out. A boy wearing sun glasses at night. Was it just Pietro, or was every X-Geek at the institute out tonight? He glanced around, spotting Kitty filling up her drink.
He walked over. "Hiya, Kitten," He said in his usual flippant manner. "Leave me alone, Pietro!" Kitty sighed, walking over to sit down by Kurt.
"Aww… what are all the X-geeks doing out so late? Isn't it past your bed time?" Pietro had to admit, he took great pleasure in annoying the crap out of Kitty. She was just so easy to mess with.
"Go away Pietro!"
"You can't make me, you can't make me!" He taunted. Kitty growled, sipping her soda. "Go away, Pietro!" Kitty yelled.
"Aw, wassa matter, Kitty, still sulking over La-aance?" Pietro got a smirk out of Kurt, who was trying to hide his amusement.
"Why don't you just shut up, you … you albino punk!" Kitty shouted, slapping Pietro. Pietro shook his head, his face quickly turning back to its pale shade.
"Who's gonna make me?"
"Me!"
"You and what army?"
"bThis army/b," Said a firm voice. Pietro wheeled around on his stool to see Scott. "Oooh, Golden Boy the X-Prep! I'm so scared!"
"Urg! You are driving me crazy!" Kitty said.
"At least I /i drive!" Pietro giggled. Kitty rolled her eyes in sullen disapproval.
"Pietro, we don't want any trouble. Just go away!" Pietro rolled his eyes.
"Who died and made /b the burger king?"
"You are about to!"
"Ha ha ha ha … I'm too fast!" Pietro began running laps, causing Kitty's fries to be swept up in a tornado-like swirl.
"You jerk!" Kitty screamed. Her face was red. "Why don't you just go back to your stupid, crummy, run-down house, you … you reject brat! It's no wonder your /b doesn't even like you!" Kitty shouted, not thinking.
Pietro was momentarily stunned, and was speechless for once in his life. Quickly recovering, he coolly strutted out. "Your loss, toots," He called back over his shoulder. Kitty's hand strayed to her mouth. 'iWhat have I said?/i' She thought.
/b
"Ok, it's quiet around here. It's kind of creepy," Beast said. Xavier glanced up from The Tempest, raising an eyebrow. "That's a bad thing? I've actually been able to get a few things done!"
"And I have been able to practice the piano in peace!"
"And there are no small, annoying children trying to steal the remote!"
"Ah, the peace is paradise."
Silence fell on them again. Suddenly, Ororo began clumping the loudest tune she could find out on the piano. Three heads turned, looking at her expectantly.
"I can't take all this quiet." Three nods assured her that the others agreed.
/b
Pietro wound up drowning his sorrows in espresso at the local hip-teen coffee shop. He ignored the annoying poetry being recited in the background; to the chagrin of the Goth group, he drank his java at super speed, his eyes lighting up with a touch of caffeine.
"I don't deserve to be Magneato's /i!" He declared to himself. 'In fact, I'll show him…' he thought for a moment, trying to figure out something that would drive home his point in the best manner. He wasn't going to take this sitting down. Ha! Pietro Maximoff wouldn't be disposed of! He would do something … anything … his eyes lit up suddenly, and he ordered another espresso to celebrate. For now he had a plan. Of course, this plan included showing Katherine Pryde what he was made of!
/b
Xavier was repairing Cerebro when he heard the doorbell ring. He assumed that Storm would get it, but he was a little curious about who might be paying a visit on a Saturday night.
He pulled up the security function on the supercomputer, eyeing the figure at the gate. White hair. Brown eyes with a hint of pink. Immaculately neat and with a strait posture that reeked of self-confident arrogance. There was no mistaking the albino that had come calling – the only question was why he was there, ringing the doorbell, talking to Storm. Usually, if the white-haired mutant wanted anything out of the house, he ran in and took it before anyone could notice and kick him off the grounds. Of course, if he came as a visitor, Xavier couldn't very well throw him out. Actually, the telepath didn't want to. He had seen hints of Pietro's restlessness and unhappiness often over the past few years. He reached out gently into the teen's mind … and ran straight into a brick wall.
Xavier pulled back with a jolt. He had never seen a mind so perfectly fortified at that age… except Jean's, which he had helped shield himself. However, he didn't understand. Had Magneato built such a wall? And, what was more, why? To keep Xavier out? To protect his son? Or to keep his own secrets?
Xavier propelled his wheelchair forward, to his study, and sat behind his desk, waiting. Again, he reached out to Pietro's mind. This time, he looked carefully for a weakness. He found many, though they were well-hidden.
'/i,' Charles realized, ithis isn't Magneato's work/i. It wasn't even consciously constructed. And it wasn't to keep telepaths out. At least, not ispecifically telepaths/i. It was more like everyone. Xavier had often seen these kinds of walls in traumatized people. Rouge had constructed quite a few barriers of her own, though none quite as formidable or complete. Scott, too, had had one when he had first come to the Xavier Institute. Of course, Scott's and Rouge's hadn't physically propelled him backwards. A thought came to Xavier – had Magneato had poked and prodded Pietro into building this wall, instead of directly telling making him? That probably would get a lot more done with a stubborn person like the albino Quicksilver.
Ororo's knock betrayed her bewilderment; certainly, it showed more than her face. She glanced at him, looking confused. The boy behind her squared his shoulders. Xavier shrugged.
"Professor, Pietro's here to see you."
"Ah, Pietro, come in."
"Oh, like you didn't know I was here. I felt you in my head."
Xavier quickly hid his shock. Exactly how telepathically aware was this boy? Certainly more than Charles had suspected.
"Anyway, let's cut to the chase. I want to join the X-Men."
"Um… That's a little sudden, isn't it?"
Pietro looked faintly bemused. "What, you don't want me on your 'side'?"
"It's not that, Pietro. It's just that I'm a little surprised … I mean, has something happened? Between you and your father?" Xavier was an extremely good reader of people. He saw the look of hurt cross Pietro's face before his carefree nature kicked in. "Nah. I'm just sick of boarding with those idiots."
"Well… Um… All of the X-Men have gone out…"
"I noticed."
"… so Storm will show you to the guest room."
/b
Pietro was a little uneasy. Ok, so 'uneasy' was an understatement. 'Frantic' would probably be the better word, he decided. Xavier had defiantly seen through him, though he thought that baldy had misread him. The professor didn't understand that he was manipulating him. Or so Pietro thought. Quickly, he forced his thoughts away from that, so that there wasn't a chance the telepath would notice.
Pietro felt Xavier inside his head. It was a simple task, detecting telepaths. His father had made sure Pietro could. After all, the magnificent Magneato couldn't have his plans leaked out by his teenaged son, could he? Pietro tried to push Xavier out, but the older mutant was too strong. Pietro felt Xavier slipping through the cracks … and suddenly the old man was in his head.
"bGet out/b!" Pietro screamed out. He couldn't stand people in his head. It was his, not theirs … the professor needed to get out now! Suddenly, he felt Xavier withdraw quickly.
'iWhat did you find?/i' Pietro wondered, his thoughts reeling. He opened the door, speeding to Xavier's study.
"Stay out of /b head!" He shouted. The professor looked up, surprised. "I'm sorry, Pietro. But it was obvious something was troubling you. Kitty didn't mean –"
"Man, stay out of my head! Don't ever do that again! You got it, baldy?!" Pietro sped back upstairs, angry. How could anyone get a moment's thinking in without someone poking around in your skull? He bet that Jean was worse than the old bat.
Ororo had told him that dinner could be found in the kitchen whenever he wanted it. Apparently, on weekends, meals were 'fend-for-yourself' style. He decided to take a shower and seek food. He would be here a while, and he might as well fit in. Ha. At least, he thought it would be a while before Magneato came crawling back, begging for his son … Pietro shook his head, amused at his own stupidity. Magneato, Erik Magnus, wasn't crawling back for anyone. Pietro didn't know what he had been thinking.
However, he couldn't keep living in the Brotherhood house – and if he left now, he would burn bridges for coming back later; he realized that he had effectively trapped himself at the Xavier Institute.
'It /i good with all that espresso in my system …' He thought with a sigh.
/b
Beast was in the kitchen eating when Pietro came down in tornado-fashion. A sandwich built itself before Hank's eyes. Bread, turkey, ham, chicken, beef, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and anything else in the kitchen that appeared edible.
"Food, food, food, food, food…" Pietro chanted, grabbing a three liter coke and stuffing a few ice cubes into the hole at the top. Hank watched in semi-amusement as Pietro shook it up and guzzled it down, along with the sandwich. Next, a large bag of potato chips, followed by a gallon of ice cream. After which the albino mutant plopped down on a stood and belched contently.
"You sure can pack it away," Beast commented. He wasn't impressed, of course. After all, he had seen Kurt eat eighteen consecutive bomb-burgers, 20 chicken nuggets, five super-sized sodas, and ten ice cream cones without batting so much as a furry eyelash. And the blue, fuzzy trash compactor didn't even have the advantage of a super-sonic digestive system.
"Aw, that? I wasn't really hungry." Beast's mouth dropped open, and he just shook his head, closing it again.
'iOne day, those two must have an eating competition. It would be interesting to see how much each could pack down. Of course, I don't think even the Xavier fortune is vast enough to buy all that food/b
Kitty shivered, wrapping arms around her shoulders. She had decided to walk home after the teens decided to leave Burger King and go see iDumb and Dumberer/i (well, except Rogue, who was going to see iThe Matrix Reloaded/i.) It wasn't that she didn't want to see the movie, but she was in no mood for comedy. 'iStupid, stupid, stupid/i,' She thought, angrily.
"Kitty, you idiot," She murmured to herself as she approached the gates. She really hadn't intended her harsh words for Pietro. She ought to have learned her lesson with Lance and the 'hood' comment, but it seemed that she just couldn't control her mouth.
She wasn't like those girls that constantly trash-talked at school. It wasn't that she wanted to be mean. She just … well, she had been annoyed and it just popped out … She was miserable and mad at herself. 'iIt's not like it matters – Pietro probably doesn't even care. That thick-head doesn't even know it was an insult, probably,/i' She thought, angrily. She was, of course, trying to convince herself of this. She felt a little guilty and offered up a quick prayer in Hebrew.
She couldn't stand this. One stupid little remark shouldn't make this much misery. After all, she assured herself, it hadn't been about her. And it had been true. 'iOh, give it up, Kitty. You're just so guilty you're trying to make excuses…/i'
She entered the security code on the gate and walked up toward the main house. When she got in, she threw her purse on the floor beside the door and trudged to the kitchen. She jumped when she saw a certain albino mutant and one of her teachers calmly talking.
"What are /b doing /b?" Her voice, in her alarmed rush, came out harsh and mean. Pietro glanced up, and then quietly glanced down, coolly ignoring her. But Shadowcat wasn't dumb as all that. She wasn't a good reader of people, but Pietro was obviously hurt. '/i,' she thought, 'ithat doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out/i.'
"He's the newest member of the X-men, Kitty," Kitty turned in time to see Xavier wheel forward into the kitchen.
"But… he's new! Shouldn't he be … like, a new mutant?" Kitty asked. 'iSlow down, Kat, you look a little keen on kicking him out./i'
"Well, he already has sufficient control over his powers … I believe, that, because of his age and honed abilities, he would be a greater asset to the X-Men than the New Mutants."
/b
Pietro bit his tongue. He felt sort of stupid, but being referred to as an 'asset' upset him. Maybe it was the fact that he thought that was how his father thought of him. Maybe.
"Slow down, Kit-Kat, don't want /b on /b team, huh?" Pietro looked a tiny bit haughty, but he was shaken, and he was sure everyone else in the room could see that. He struggled to think of something witty to add, but his fatigued nerves weren't exactly helping. Last night, he hadn't gotten much sleep, even for him. And he had, of course, been up at dawn, watching early-morning TV for about five seconds before falling into complete boredom, which had later lead him here, in the Xavier Institute's kitchen, with Kitty Pryde insulting him.
"Pietro, Kitty, I know that past rivalries may cause – well, a little bit of," The normally cool and collected Xavier struggled for a moment to think of the correct word. "Tension," he continued, "But we must learn to work together…"
Quicksilver held his normally super-sonic silver tongue, chewing absent-mindedly on the side of his cheek. Four people turned their heads toward the main hall when they heard a door slam, relieved from the moment's awkwardness.
"I can't believe those stupid brotherhood boys!" A voice moaned, followed by several pairs of footsteps.
"Yeah, the slime in the popcorn was just … /b."
"Is it their job to harass us or what? What's their deal?"
"I don't know. But I think I need something to wash the slime out of my mouth. Yuck!"
Jean and Scott's footsteps could be heard, and then they both sailed into the kitchen. "Hey," Jean greeted, not giving the small group assembled at the table much attention. Then, as she opened a soda out of the refrigerator, she did a double take and dropped the can. Pietro snickered as Diet Coke splattered all over her clothes. "Oops."
"Pietro? What are you doing here?" She reached for a dishtowel and quickly began sponging herself off. Pietro made a face behind her back, and he caught the glimmer of laughter in Kitty's eyes and the slight, repressed smile that upturned her nose ever so slightly. He continued making faces. Scott noticed him and tried to hide a laugh in a cough.
"You know, people, I'm not stupid! I'm also a /b, remember?" Scott, Pietro, and Kitty burst helplessly into laughter, Beast bemusedly snorted, and even a bit of laughter showed in Xavier's eyes.
/b
Jean was seething. Scott rolled his eyes and helped her clean the mess up off the floor, the cabinets, the refrigerator, and the counter. Scott's amusement stirred up a feeling in Jean that she tried to identify … she disliked being laughed at. Really, she did. And it made her afraid, sometimes, but she had to push through it.
'iJean, I know this will be hard for you, but you have to help him. Think of how you would feel if you were in his place/i.'
'iIt's just… Professor, doesn't he get on your nerves? Just a little bit? C'mon, you can't be patient all the time!/i' Jean thought.
"iPerhaps not, Jean, and I know Pietro can be irritating, but I believe he does it to defend himself. He doesn't want to be hurt./i'
'iProfessor, I can only do so much. I know, I know, we all have to be patient and helpful. I just can't help but think, what if Magneato sent him? I mean, he is his son./i'
'iHe's hurting/i,' Kitty's honest thought suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two, ringing out strongly in both telepath's heads. They looked at each other, and then back at Kitty, whose expression was somber, despite the fact that Pietro was making a myriad of strange faces.
Jean chewed on her inner lip for a moment, and then gently reached out to Pietro … and was slammed back with enough force to physically sway her. Xavier looked over, understanding what she was doing.
"bGet out of my head!/b" Pietro shouted angrily, and sped away. Jean thought that she had gotten a little too close to one of the holes in his defenses.
/b
"I'm just sayin', Chuck, that this is Magneato's son. What's he doin' here?" Logan leaned against the couch. Xavier had decided to call them all together, for a discussion of how they were going to deal with us.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Logan, Charles," Storm added.
"I know," The professor began, "that sometimes… well, our students come from very diverse backgrounds, and I know that Pietro is hurting. It doesn't take a telepath to figure that out. In fact, Kitty picked up on his emotions faster than Jean or Scott."
Beast, who had been quiet up to this point, cleared his throat. "I had Pietro as a student in Chemistry. He has a lot of potential, but, he is a rascal."
"Well, I think we should keep an eye on him, just in case," Logan grunted.
"I'm afraid that Pietro's … past alliances will interfere with the team."
"As Kitty would say, 'Duh.' And I mean that in a positive way."
/b
Pietro laid sulkily on his bed. He was exhausted. He rolled over on his side, climbing into bed without changing clothes.
However, he couldn't drift off to sleep. He tried to assure himself that it was the new bed, but he knew it wasn't.
'iI don't care. I don't care. I don't care/i.' Magneato's words rang out in Pietro's head. He sat up in bed, moaning. He was never going to get any sleep. He tried remembering what he had done to fall asleep when he was younger. Milk. Warm milk would calm him down. He combed his hair and rushed downstairs, passing a blue and furry guy talking to a red-haired Goth with white bangs. Into the kitchen he flew… and slipped like an idiot on the newly moped floor. He clanged into the wall; he hadn't done that in forever.
"Um… are you alright?" Kitty leaned over nervously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Pietro sat up, dizzily, and reached up instinctively to straiten his hair. He felt something gooey and warm and pulled down his hand. It was covered in red. He sighed and lay back down on the floor, closing his eyes and drifting off into blackness.
bWell, what did you think of that? I don't mean to bash Kitty - I really like her - but she /i have a habit of not being able to keep her mouth shut. Anyway, nice cliff hanger, huh? I actually have about sixteen pages written (that's according to Microsoft Word), but I'm A) mean, and B) lazy. Why lazy? 'Cuz I"m tired of coding! Anyone have any suggestions for what they'd like to see?bComing Up Next: Pietro is confined to bed, and he gets to see what a school morning at X-Geek Manor is like. :)/b