Peter wasn't one to think things through. Sure, there were a few things in his life that he had actually planned. Some of his more intricate heists, such as stealing a truck full of twinkies the first time, had taken some planning. He'd had to plan on what to nab for his sisters' birthdays, things like that. He'd also planned on studiously ignoring his mother's birthday.
However, he was getting the feeling that he should start. In the past few days he'd broken someone out of the Pentagon. At the time he had just been excited at how he had been able to get past all those stuffed suits, to break into the most secure building in the entire world. He'd been able to take down all of those guards while those men he'd come in with had bickered.
He'd been feeling pretty good, congratulating himself on perhaps reaching a new horizon in what was promising to be an illustrious career, right until he'd seen the man he'd rescued on TV. Peter had watched, holding his sister in his lap, as Magneto had declared himself against humanity, called on mutants to join him, and attempted to assassinate the President.
Peter had also watched as the blue woman had stopped him, but something had started deep inside him. His mother had turned off the TV after that and, for once, he hadn't argued. He'd pushed his sister off his lap and gone down to the basement.
He'd been restless once he was down there, even more than usual. Peter had eaten three twinkies, played four video games and two games of billiards, but he was still going stir crazy. He considered going for a run around the city before dismissing it. He didn't feel like being outside.
The door to the basement opened. Peter tried to remember whether or not he'd locked it.
"Mom, go away!" he yelled.
"Really Peter, really?"
He rolled his eyes and didn't turn around.
"Not in the mood Wanda."
His sister sighed.
"I don't care what your mood is right now," she said.
He snorted and continued the level of Space Invaders that he was on. Wanda hated it when he played video games when he was supposed to be talking to her.
"When did you even get home?" he asked.
"Five minutes ago," Wanda said, "But it doesn't matter. You need to get upstairs."
"Why?"
"Lorna thinks you're mad at her."
He made a face and turned around. His twin was standing at the foot of the stairs, her arms crossed and looking pissed. Peter always figured she looked the most like him when she was angry.
"Why she think that?" he asked.
"Apparently you shoved her away without a word and then stalked off instead of playing with her like you promised," said Wanda, "You also ripped some of the ribbon off her favorite princess dress when you shoved her."
Oh. Shit.
"I can get her a new dress. And I'm not mad," he mumbled.
"I don't care whether you're mad or not," Wanda said, "You know how it is with Lorna. She only sits in people's laps when she's nervous, and you know that, and then you pushed her, and then you avoided her."
He tried to remember if his twelve-year-old baby sister had said anything when he'd pushed her away, had whimpered perhaps. She wasn't very talkative normally, but it bothered him that he couldn't remember whether or not she'd spoken.
"Yeah, well," he said, not quite knowing what to say to that, "I needed to come down here."
Wanda's eyes travelled from the twinkie wrappers to the new high scores on the video games.
"And you've been so very productive down here," she said.
"More than you," he said.
His sister snorted and sat down on the billiard table. She swung her legs a few times, her knee-high red boots clicking against the table. It was an odd combination with her waitress uniform.
"So, the guy who tried to assassinate the President was imprisoned in the Pentagon until a few days ago apparently," Wanda said casually, "You see anything when you were up there a couple of days ago?"
Peter slumped down into one of the armchairs. There was no question in Wanda's tone: only a hook for an explanation. He wished she didn't know him so well.
"So what if it was me?" he said.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Wanda, it was the Pentagon!" he whined, "When was I gonna get the chance to do that again?"
"Peter, listen closely. I'm gonna tell you now what I told you then," said Wanda, "You. Are. A. Moron!"
She picked up one of the billiard balls and threw it at him. He dodged and it hit the wall.
"If you hit me in the head with one of those, it could kill me," he said, "Not that you can, because you're too slow. It's just so you know."
"Do you have any idea what happens if they find out it was you?" she hissed.
"They won't. I was too fast for the cameras to pick up!" he argued.
"You don't know that!" Wanda said, "I don't mind the usual stuff you do-"
"Yeah, because it gets you designer shoes," he said.
Wanda picked up another billiard ball. He saw it glow red briefly before she tossed it at him. He tried to dodge it, but it changed course at the last moment and hit him in the arm. Hard.
"Jesus!" he said, rubbing his arm.
"If they find out it was you then they're going to come here, and you know what happens if they do that," she said, "They take you to God knows where-"
"They'd have to catch me first," Peter snapped.
"-and then they start looking at Lorna and me!" Wanda hissed.
Peter paused. Wanda folded her arms across her chest and banged her boots against the billiard table.
"They wouldn't," he said.
"How do you know that?" asked Wanda, "Peter, you have to start thinking about the rest of us!"
"I pity the suit who tries to arrest you," Peter said.
Wanda snorted. She raised her hand and fanned out her fingers. A slight red glow surrounded them.
"Peter, you don't get it," she said, "We're still not really sure how this works."
"Works when you wanna throw a billiard at me," said Peter, "And you turned that asshole down the road into a toad. I think we know how it works."
"I almost wasn't able to change him back," said Wanda, "But if you're going to be like that, then let's forget about me. Let's think about Lorna."
Peter paled.
"She's only twelve," he said, "They wouldn't."
"If they knew what she could do?" Wanda asked, "Yeah, Peter, I don't wanna take that chance."
Peter leaned forward, clasping his hands. He stared at his fingers for a minute, feeling pessimism creep in.
"Wanda, someone's gonna find out someday," he said, "I mean, mom found out. Wasn't the end of the world."
"Do you remember Lorna's face?" asked Wanda, "Tell that to her."
He clenched his hands into fists.
"Lorna's...had some stuff happen," Wanda said, her voice soft, "And people keep hurting her. We shouldn't add to that."
"I know."
He looked up.
"I don't want you guys to get hurt," he said.
"Then you get what I mean?" asked Wanda.
"Not exactly," he said.
"Meaning?"
He shook his head, trying to plan his words carefully. He needed Wanda to understand what he was talking about.
"Wanda, why should we have to hide?" he asked, "Why should we have to worry people are gonna come and drag us away?"
"We have to worry about that because it is a very real possibility," Wanda said, "We talked about this Peter. First Kennedy and now Nixon? People might remember that blue woman, but they're also gonna remember Magneto."
"So?" Peter asked.
"What do you mean, so?"
"I mean that I don't think we should have to do all of that," Peter said, "Just because it's practical doesn't mean that it's right."
"A lot of things happen that aren't right," said Wanda.
"I know, I know, but you listened to his speech right?" Peter said.
"It was on at the diner," said Wanda, "By the way, dinner is chicken pot pie."
Peter moaned. Ever since Wanda took up her job at the diner she got leftovers for free. As such, she was in charge of getting dinner since their mother was often out. He just wished that she had better taste when it came to food.
"You know I hate that," Peter complained.
"It was either that or meatloaf," Wanda snapped, "And if you think I'm eating meatloaf again-"
He held up a hand, deciding to get into his sister's abysmal menu decisions later.
"Whatever. Did you hear what he said?" asked Peter.
His sister raised his eyebrows.
"Are you seriously saying that a guy who killed one President and tried to kill another is a good person to go to for life advice?" Wanda said.
"Not what I asked. Did you hear?" Peter demanded.
Wanda bit her lip and tucked some of her auburn hair behind her ear.
"Yes," she said.
"It made sense, didn't it?" he asked.
"Peter, I don't want to talk about this," she said.
"Wanda, you don't understand!" he said, "After all this time we've finally got someone on our side!"
"Peter shut up!"
Three of the billiard balls glowed red and then shot off the table, hitting the floor. Wanda had her eyes clenched and was breathing hard. Peter got up and hurried to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up, her eyes suddenly open.
"Wanda?" he asked.
His sister nodded. She ran a hand through her hair.
"This is what I mean," he said, "I wanna get you, and I wanna get Lorna, somewhere where you don't have to be afraid."
"There isn't a place like that," Wanda said tiredly.
He thought about the card that the hippie guy had given him, but decided not to mention it. He had the feeling that Xavier didn't quite hold the same values as Magneto.
"Not yet," said Peter, his voice earnest, "That's what Magneto wants to do. Yeah, he may be a little crazy, but we're all in a crazy situation right now. Wanda, can you imagine five years from now not being afraid? Being accepted?"
He grabbed his sister's hands.
"It would mean the world to me to be able to have that," Peter said, "What would it mean to you? To Lorna?"
Wanda turned away, her long hair making it difficult to see her face.
"Just go upstairs and apologize to Lorna," she said.
He let go of her hands.
"Can you at least think about it?" he asked.
"I'll think about it," Wanda said, "Now apologize."
Peter rolled his eyes and ran upstairs. It took him around a second to get to Lorna's room. He knocked on the door three times and then paused before knocking five more times. It was their own secret knock, born when he couldn't focus for more than five seconds. He could go for twenty seconds now that he was older.
The door opened and Peter slipped inside. Lorna was sitting at the other end of the room. She was tracing the outside of her lamp, watching as the metal bent in response to her touch. The door closed behind him, the metal handle swinging inwards.
"Sorry about earlier," he said, sitting down next to her, "I needed to get some air. Didn't mean to shove you."
Lorna stopped bending the lamp. She turned to him and gave a small smile. Peter grinned and grabbed her, giving her a noogie. She shrieked with laughter and pushed uselessly at his arms.
"I gotcha!" he said, "I gotcha!"
He let her go and she sat opposite from him, her brown hair tousled and her eyes gleaming. In that moment he realized just how much he had to lose. He'd have to be more careful for a while.
Peter had to do what was best for his family.