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Janos Quested (Riptide) had ALWAYS been my favourite character from the moment I saw him In X-men: First Class. So when he vanished in X-men: Days of Future Past, I was devastated! He was never mentioned dead by Erik nor did his photo show up in those that Raven found. So where could he have gone?

Set in the time between X-men First Class and X-men: Days of Future Past, this will explore Janos' past, present and future. The entire story is in his view, third person. The bold 'XxxxX' indicate a new scene.

Please enjoy this story, I hope you like it! This is my first fanfiction ever, so please leave a review if you can! Thank you! :)

XxxxX

Janos clutched at the bar above his head like it was a lifeline; sweat was dripping from his body as he pulled himself up for yet another chin-up. His arms were aching, his stomach muscles clenched tightly in concentration. The music blared loudly in his ears, vibrating through his veins, keeping him going. It was time like this where he could have a moment of his own, alone in the gym. Already he had worked on the dumbbells and punching bag, but for some reason chin-ups were his favourite exercise to finish up with. Maybe it was because it put strain on every part of his arms. He needed to be as strong as possible; it took a lot of work to harness the power that he did. When he spun his tornados and hurricanes, he made it look easy. But it wasn't. For years as a child he had struggled with his power, breaking his own bones on more than one occasion.

It was quiet at this time of the night; he always went to bed late, not being the heaviest sleeper around. That title was given to Mystique; Janos smiled through his intense workout at the thought. The young woman had once slept through Erik tipping her off her bed, causing her to flop on the floor with impact heavy enough to bruise. Azazel eventually managed to wake her by tickling her sides. With another grunt, Janos lifted his body weight again. It had been five months since his former leader, Sebastian Shaw, had been killed and the team had been put under the rule of Erik. Janos had always admired Erik for doing that; he had secretly hated Shaw and his foolish goals. He had told Erik that himself, after they had left the X-men on the Cuban beach.

Since then, things had changed for the better. Although still strict and fierce, Erik was a more lenient leader, focusing on more realistic goals than Shaw had. Janos had watched as tough, unpredictable Azazel had slowly fallen for Mystique, the newest member to the team. It was strange; Azazel was the last person Janos had thought to fall in love, but fallen in love he had. He was happy for his best friend though; after all their troubles and hardships, Azazel deserved this.

Janos closed his eyes, letting the music wash his thoughts away from his mind. The beat pounded in time with his heart, fast and heavy in his chest. Losing himself like this was something Janos didn't do often. He was very focused on the task at hand, fighting for his team, making his leader proud. He would lay down his life for the team, as everyone else in it would. But for now, just in this moment, he let his thoughts slip and continued his chin-ups. Finally, he didn't think his body could take another one. As hard as he tried, he couldn't lift his head high enough to see over the bar. As hard as he pulled on the bar, sweat running in rivets down his forehead, he couldn't make it. His hands opened and he dropped back to the floor, knees weak with exhaustion. The music dropped away into silence as he pulled the headphones off his head. Walking slowly over to the bench by the wall, he grabbed his purple towel and began wiping himself down.

"You work yourself too hard." A voice said by the doorway.

Janos smiled through his panting, passing the towel over the back of his neck. He didn't think Azazel had been watching. "Nah, man. You do the same as me, you know it."

"Ah," Azazel walked into the room and sat on the dumbbell seat. "But I don't work till the point where my hands are trembling."

Looking down at his shaking hands, Janos wiped them before turning to face his best friend. Azazel was wearing his black fleece pants; Raven had given them to him. Janos looked into his friend's solemn golden eyes and sat down on the bench next to his towel. "How come you're not sleeping? Did Raven kick you awake again?"

Azazel gave a gentle laugh, showing his sharp teeth. He didn't smile or laugh much when the team was on duty. But off duty, he was the kindest man Janos had come to know. Grinning at Janos, Azazel placed one hand on his own knee. "Not this time, comrade. I just felt like a little night air."

Janos smirked at Azazel's favourite word for his friends; 'comrade'. It hadn't taken long to get used to the Russian word for 'teammate' when he had first started working with Azazel. In return, Janos would tease him with 'amigo', the Spanish word for friend. So, after downing half his water bottle, he flashed a grin. "What's wrong, amigo? Jealous of your non-sleeping best friend?"

Azazel pulled a face. "Don't call me that. It makes me sound like a musketeer, you know that."

Janos laughed, feeling his muscles finally starting to relax after the intense exercise. He had been best friends with this man for longer than he could remember. He couldn't remember in the team, be it with Shaw or Erik, when Azazel had not been there with him. Side by side, they had conquered giants and knocked down walls, defeating their own demons together.

With a final soft look, one that an older brother might give a younger brother, Azazel stood and walked slowly from the room, tail swaying behind him. "You should get some sleep. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

Janos sighed as he watched his friend walk back into the darkness of the hallway. Seconds later there came a soft bamf, meaning that Azazel had teleported. Probably gone to return to his restless wife, Janos smiled. He had never been in a relationship, but it seemed like a wonderful thing. To be in love, according to Azazel, you would never look at life the same way again. But Janos didn't think he would ever experience that.

After all, what woman would be able to stand his powers, his strength? Sometimes Janos saw himself like the tornados he created; viscous, deadly, brutal…yet with a soft centre, kind and gentle. Only his teammates had stuck around along enough to see that soft side of him, nobody else. Who would love a monster like me? Sighing inwardly, Janos stood, taking his water bottle in one hand and throwing his towel over his shoulder. His legs were burning with every step, yet no longer threatening to give away. Walking from the gym, he left the full moon behind to shine through the window in his wake.

XxxxX

The smell of waffles woke Janos. Draped over his bed, he gradually cracked an eye open and smiled. He loved waffles more than anything. Out of all the American foods to get used to when he first moved from Spain, waffles took the least. Muscles still sore from last night, but nowhere near as badly, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. It was cracking slightly, but what could you expect from an abandoned hotel? They had moved here soon after the whole Cuban incident. It was away from any prying eyes for, and large enough to fit forty guests. So for the six member of The Brotherhood, it was more than enough space. Janos had one of the smallest rooms but that was how he liked it.

Finally knowing he couldn't resist waffles a moment longer, he jolted out of bed and hopped to the floor. The sunshine instantly his bare chest when he was in range of it, causing him to smile inwardly. As he walked out the door, Janos flicked his hand behind him. A strong gust of wind instantly blew his sheets back to the proper position, with the pillows smacking halfway up the wall before settling down upright. Normally he would turn to see if he had made the bed tidily enough to his liking, but not today. Janos knew he needed to get to the kitchen quickly, in fear that all the waffles had been taken.

He could hear the laughter and chatting of his friends as he reached the kitchen, after running down two sets of stairs and three hallways. Janos walked in the room, taking in the light, happy atmosphere. Raven and Azazel were cuddled together on the couch at the opposite wall, her laughing at something her boyfriend had said. Catching Azazel's eye, Janos raised his eyebrows in silent questioning.

"I was telling her the time when I found myself stuck in the middle of the Chinse Festival."

Janos nodded, smirking at the memory. "You came back to us with a paper lantern hanging from your tail and a bowl of noddles in your hands."

"The old woman just shoved them in my hand!" Azazel protested as Raven laughed loudly again. "It's not like I wanted Chinese noddles!"

"Yeah, right." Angel Salvadore said from the stove. Smoke was coming from the pans in a thick cloud, making her cough.

Acting instantly, Janos swirled a tiny hurricane to life on his palm then released it into the air. With graceful sweeping of his hand, he guided his little hurricane toward to stove where it gathered all of the smoke. Flicking a window open with another gust of wind, Janos drifted the hurricane out the window where it vanished into thin air.

"Gracias." Angel said, making him smile at her Spanish.

"No problem." Sitting down at the breakfast bar he waited patiently for his serving of waffles.

Angel turned and placed a plate piled with waffles in front of him. Janos was taken aback slightly; there had to be at least six. He looked from the food to her; she smiled wickedly at him, face still red from the heat of the stove. Or, at least that's what he told himself.

"Hey!" Raven shouted from the couch, shooting to her feet. "How come he gets double the amount we got?"

"Because he saved me from choking and dying, that's why." Angel shot back.

"No fair." Raven pouted, walking up to Janos who was neatly cutting his food into small pieces. Before he could stop her, she swiped one of his waffles, dancing back with a victorious laugh.

With a heavy sigh that turned into a laugh, Janos continued eating. He was usually teased by Azazel for his neatness and the properness in which he ate. The food was sweet and crisp, yet melting in his mouth like butter. He closed his eyes to savour every bite, so all too soon his fork couldn't find anything to stab. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his plate to find it empty. Janos lifted his head to see Angel leaning on the bench across from him, elbow on the table and chin in her palm. She had a faraway look in her eyes, yet instantly snapped to attention when Janos lightly cleared his throat.

"What? Sorry." Angel gushed, cheeks reddening once more. Janos brushed her apologies away with a shake of his head.

"Best waffles I've ever eaten," he told her. He wasn't lying, and she knew it.

Janos stood from the table with the plate in his hands. Angel's eyes instantly dropped to his muscular stomach, making Janos feel embarrassed as she when she looked up to see him watching her. Heat flaring in her face once again, she turned her head sharply away and grabbed up the kitchen cloth. Janos wanted to laugh when he saw Angel scrubbing furiously at the kitchen bench, but didn't want to embarrass her any further. As he walked past her and started washing his plate and utensils, his mind pondered, why was she looking at me like that? Watching Raven around Azazel, he understood that women were attracted to a man with a good build. So…did that mean that Angel liked him?

Now that he thought about it, this wasn't the first time Janos had caught Angel looking at him like that. And she was always the first to jump to his defence in battle, if Azazel didn't kill everyone straight off the bat. But do I feel the same way about her? He asked himself. Stealing a glance, he took his first proper look at her that morning. She was very beautiful, with tan skin and long, black hair. This morning she wore a lime green nightgown that came to her knees.

"Good morning everyone." Erik's voice jolted Janos from his deep thoughts; he hurriedly looked up to see their leader stroll through the doorway, Emma quick on his heels. Erik was quick to notice the pile of waffles and set himself to filling his plate. "Who made waffles?"

"I did," Angel answered quietly. She had stopped cleaning the bench and was instead picking at her nails.

"Good." Erik gave one of his rare smiles as he drowned his food in maple syrup. "Very good, these look excellent."

"How much fat is in them?" Emma asked Angel, sniffing at the sweet food.

"I don't know. Why don't you have one and find out?" Angel sniped back.

Sensing Angel's mood swing, Janos distracted Emma by pushing the tray to her. She hurriedly shook her head and backed away, as if it was rotting cow flesh. Janos watched, amused, as she walked around to his side of the bench to get a carrot from the fridge. Emma lent against the fridge door, arms crossed, taking a loud bite out of the carrot. She suddenly noticed Janos watching her, a smirk on his face. "What?"

"That carrot you're eating, it's rotten."

Emma dropped it with a dramatic gasp, eyes wide and mouth dropped open. Janos laughed at her reaction, leaning back on the bench behind him with both hands. Emma glared daggers at him, eyes dark with anger. She hated being told what to do, or doing something wrong. Snatching the rotten thing off the floor, she stormed over to the bin and threw it in. "And your hair looks like it got stuck in one of your hurricanes."

That stopped him; Janos hated nothing more than his hair being messed up. It had taken him years to grow it out and he wasn't about to walk around with it messy. He could hear everyone else laugh as he rushed to the mirror on the wall by the couch, only to see that Emma had tricked him. It wasn't a bit everywhere; instead every hair was in place just how he liked it. He frowned at Emma when he turned back around, finding her laughing at him from the waste bin. "You should have seen your face, Janos! You looked horrified!"

After a few minutes everyone had calmed down. Raven was back in Azazel's arms, head against his bare chest. Emma and Angel were chatting quietly on the stools while Erik was cleaning his plate. Janos sat on the couch next to Raven, hands in his lap, leaning forward with his eyes closed. It was such a beautiful day; it would be a great shame to just let it pass. The sun was warm on the side of his face and he relished the touch of it.

"So, Erik," Azazel broke the easygoing silence. "What are we doing today?"

"Well," Erik started slowly, finally putting his dish away, "There's a new mission that's come up. Something we need to deal with almost immediately. I didn't know how bad it was getting till I read the paper this morning."

"We?" Raven caught onto that one word, her face becoming serious like Azazel's when it came to duty. "Who is going on this mission?"

"Everyone."

Every time there was a mission or a raid to do, Erik selected people from the team he thought would do the best job of it while everyone else stayed at the hotel. Never before had there been a mission in which every member was needed, and it made excitement stir in Janos' gut. He opened his eyes, colours swirling in his vision from the sunshine, listening carefully as Erik explained the situation.

Their leader had the flats of his hands on the bench, his icy hard eyes looking over all of them. "Based after what happened in Cuba, President Kennedy launched a program in order to protect homo sapiens from us. It's called Operation: Wide Awake. Their goal is to collect mutant DNA, using it from research purposes only, in order to get a better understanding of us. They pose no threat to us yet, but already they have so much on our species. Like I said on that beach five months ago, we get ready to play our hand. We always need to be a step ahead of them. You know those humans will turn against us, you saw it on that beach in Cuba. This time, we'll be ready for them. This time, we'll attack first."

"When do we leave?" Janos asked. He wanted to get his hands on these scientists as soon as possible. He didn't know how these humans were collecting their DNA and that was what made him angry. For all he knew, they could have test subjects or be breeding them.

"Friday night, so we have two days to prepare." Erik answered. "I want everyone," he started looking around the room again, "ready to go for battle. I don't know how vicious this is going to be but we can't take any chances."

The thought of wearing his battlesuit made Janos smirk with excitement. Shaw had just given him and Azazel tailored suits to wear into battle; as beautiful as they were, they were helpless against any kind of attack. When he came into leadership, Erik was quick to realise this and provided the team with their own custom made armour with the exception of Raven, who refused to wear clothing of any kind. Each member had black armour but had a different colour across the back, chest and arms. Another difference was the design of the armour; Janos' own armour left his underarms and sides of his shoulders free, should he need to spin his body at high speed at any given time.

"I need everyone to brush up their attack techniques; in pairs so we can get this done quicker. Azazel and Mystique, you'll be out the back. Angel, you're with Riptide. You two will be on the rooftop. Emma, with me." Erik walked from the room, calling out over his shoulder. "Come on, there's not a second to waste."

XxxxX

"Are you ready for this?" Janos asked Angel, shifting his legs into his attack stance.

She nodded from where she stood a few meters away, face hard. The rooftop was where most of the sun had hit first, so already Janos could feel a little bead a sweat trickling down the back of his neck. They had changed into their fitness clothes, jean shorts and tank tops.

Janos knew he was responsible for sharpening Angel's skills for the upcoming battle, so he gave her the hardest training exercise yet. "I want you to hit me."

"What?" Angel was clearly taken aback.

"I want you to hit me with one of your acid balls." He repeated.

She shook her head. "No, you'll be seriously wounded."

"I don't care." He told her. Seeing that she was not going to be easily swayed on this, he gave a gentle smile. "Come on, if you can hit me through a tornado, you can hit anything. This'll prove that you're more than ready for anything that's thrown your way."

"No," Angel started to back away. "I won't hurt you."

Janos knew why she couldn't do it: she secretly liked him. It was now crystal clear thanks to breakfast, and Janos wondered why she wasn't about to come out and tell it to his face. Angel was such a headstrong girl; she was always upfront about her feelings and not afraid to say what she thought. He knew that this would be hard for her, but that was the point. Angel needed to learn to push herself through hard situations.

"I can't do this. "Angel turned to walk away.

A little frustration twisted in Janos' gut; he hadn't come this far in the team by quitting. Shaw had been a much more brutal trainer, often throwing grenades into Janos' hurricanes; if Janos wasn't quick enough in tossing them out, he would be blow to pieces. Every day with Shaw had tried to hurt him, whether it be physically or verbally. Although he had hated the man, Janos had to thank him for making him as strong as he was today.

Shooting out a hand, he snatched at the air and pulled his fist toward his chest. The wind instantly caught on Angel and spun her around to face him; she stared at him with wide eyes. Janos knew she had seen this side of him before, the cold expression and eyes. But never directed at her.

Taking a step forward, Janos spoke slowly, his voice far from the gentle tone he had used before. "Listen to me, Angel. You can't make it in this team if you quit. Not like you did in the X-men."

Angel lifted her chin stiffly on that last remark, her own eyes starting to darken with anger.

"We are not here to play games. We are not here to do things we don't want to do. Do you think we deserve to be treated by those humans like that?" He pointed at the city in the distance, voice rising to a scream. "They torture us; take our blood and our lives, all in the name of science! I won't stand for that, Angel! And neither should you!"

The wind had picked up around them at his anger; it was one of the rare moments when his control on his power slipped. Never taking his eyes off hers he continued coldly, "We're attacking their home base in two days. You need to be ready for that." Janos paused, inhaling sharply. "If I lost you," He spat, furious at the thought, "I don't know what I would do with myself."

Angel took in his every word, never moving or seeming to blink once. She seemed frozen in place, held by his anger and his will to make her strong enough to survive the next two days. Her eyes were so dark they were almost black; with anger or something else, Janos couldn't tell. Her right hand trembled slightly at her side.

Slowly Janos took control of the wind around them; it started to die down till the dust settled. He didn't know if his words had any affect on Angel, the girl wasn't letting anything show on that pretty face of hers. Attempting to calm himself before his power slipped again, Janos ran both his hands through his thick hair, gripping the black strands in his fingers. The sharp pain replaced a bit of the anger burning inside of his stomach; he closed his eyes and slowly let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

When he opened them again, Angel had changed position. She had her legs close together, back straight and arms held out from her sides. When he caught the dangerous gleam in her eye, she lifted her head defiantly. Janos gave an inward grin as he realised she was about to attack him with everything she had.

"You ready for this?" He questioned as he flexed his hands, readying to release his hurricanes.

Angel answered by unfurling her wings; Janos had to marvel at the beauty at the way the wings peeled gracefully from her skin, long and fragile like a dragonfly's. Now she was ready, he could tell. Her eyes gleamed, battle-hungry, as she lifted herself into the air.

Bunching up the hard-worked muscles in his arms, Janos lifted his palm to the sky, moving his fingers in swirling motions all while keeping his eyes looked onto her. He thought he saw her grin wickedly, just before she launched her first acid ball at his face.

XxxxX

What did you think? Review! Thank you so much for reading, more will be up! Yay! Bye for now! :3