So, this is my first fanfiction I've put up in a while. It took a while because most of the reviews I received were haters. But hey, haters gonna hate.
I hope you guys enjoy this X Men story! My OC's name is Francesco Fainello and he has quite a history that I'm going to put up in another story called X Men Origins: Changeling. Hope you guys enjoy!
No haters. Go hate somewhere else...
Disclaimer: The X Men don't belong to me.
Wanda. She was my ticket to Magneto. She was the eldest daughter of Erik Lensherr. In an act of rebellion, she took drastic fashion measures, donning a bright red trench coat that covered her revealing, darker interior clothes. Her hair was cropped short and dyed black with a meticulous red layer beneath. She, too, was hurt at the hands of Magneto. "Are we almost there, Francesco?" Wanda demanded impatiently.
I was leading her to Magneto. Tracking him down was no large feat, his scent was rather loud. We were on an unfamiliar trail in the middle of some uncharted woods. In the form of a wolf, I looked up at her before giving her a curt nod. "You'd better not be lying, X-Man," she growled sourly as we pushed on.
The scents lead us to an old building that had Magneto and his goons' scent all over it. Morphing into my human form, I stood up sheepishly behind her. "There it is," I pointed, removing a branch from her view. The pure hatred and rage locked in her dark eyes as she glared at the tiny building. She lead the way in a blind fury, taking no heed of the guards. It was easy for us to march inside gallantly, not needing to be subtle.
"Wanda, Francesco," a voice with a slight Polish accent called from around the corner.
"He knew!" I gasped.
"Of course he did," Wanda replied calmly, walking straight to Magneto. She obviously did not understand that it was a trap. I raced around the corner to help my only ally, only to be stopped by Colossus and thrown and strapped into a chair forcefully. It all happened so fast, I almost got whiplash.
"Come on, kids," Magneto's voice was filled with false sincerity. "Don't you want to talk about this instead?" He crouched down to our levels, staring at us both with equal intensity in his dark gray orbs. Transforming my nose into that of an elephant's, I blew as hard as I could at him, sending his silver-gray hair whipping. With an angry look, he pulled back and drew a remote from the back of his flamboyant red armor. He pressed the black button, and my elephant trunk was gone. I tried to morph into other animals, but I couldn't. My powers were completely immobilized. "I'll ask again. Don't you want to talk about this?"
"No!" Wanda and I spat in unison.
"I figured as much," he said, snapping his fingers. In the same instant, a squirrelly looking man with an unshaven face and dark, dark eyes emerged from the shadows. The man approached Wanda, placing a hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. He was a telepath, like Professor Xavier! After only a moment's struggle, Wanda shrieked loudly before she stopped resisting.
"Wh-what's he doing to her?" I demanded, trying not to convey my feelings of fear.
"You'll see," is all he said with a dark chuckle, "Unless you would like to talk about your problem. This is your last chance."
"There's nothing to talk about!"
"You poor thing," he placed a hand atop my head, ruffling my hair casually. "You're so blinded by Professor Xavier's lies."
"They're not lies! He's ten times the man you'll ever be!" I was more ticked at the fact he was making fun of my professor than at the fact I was tied to a chair, completely at his mercy.
"You will understand soon," he said before darkness shrouded my mind.
When I finally came to, I was in a strange, yet familiar, place. I knew I had been here before, yet it remained foreign to me. I couldn't think of where I was. "He's waking up," an excitable man's voice loomed into my consciousness.
"About time!" Another voice said. This voice was lower, far more sinister. "I'm not allowed to sleep that long!" He complained, clearly agitated. I forced myself up, looking around in confusion. After one look around, I could tell I was in a third rate home, clearly unkempt by its tenants. I blinked in confusion, wondering how I'd gotten here from the Institute.
Then it hit me.
The Institute was not home. My home was with Magneto's younger team. Magneto… my father. I remembered how he rescued me from my lonely and dark home in Rome, promising me a family, an escape from my reputation in my homeland. He raised me as his own son, took me on family outings, spent time with me… And I betrayed him. I was so angry with him, and I couldn't remember why. "How are you feeling?" A voice penetrated my thoughts.
I looked up and saw an almost exact duplicate of Magneto. He had the silver-gray hair of his father, the same body build, and the same cunning. The only difference was his eyes. His eyes weren't as hardened by the hurt and tribulations of the world.
"Pietro," I looked at my foster brother. "My head hurts," I held my throbbing head.
"Yeah, that's understandable," his voice was low and soothing. "Dad had to use a telepath to get to you and Wanda."
"Why was I so mad at him, Pietro?" I asked, desperately hoping that he'd have an answer.
"No one really knows," he sat next to me on the couch. "But we think it was Professor Xavier's doing," he looked at me deeply. "But you're here now. Welcome home," he said.
"Come on Francesco!" Toad hopped on my bed…while I was still on it. I glared up at him, staring into his slimy green eyes. His dark blonde hair was falling into his face sloppily as he continued to bounce. I contemplated wringing his neck and throwing his tiny, squirrely body across the room. "We're gonna go to the mall," he proceeded to jump.
"Have fun," I growled, rolling over stubbornly. "I don't want to go," I grumbled.
"Aww, you have to come, Chessy!" Toad whined, bouncing profusely. "It's time for you to have some fun!"
After being forced out of bed, I reluctantly tagged along with the others. The mall was full of petty humans going about their petty business. Jamming my fists in my pockets, I followed the group of juvenile delinquents into the mall. "I'm going to Hot Topic," Wanda said authoritatively, walking across the mall. I followed quietly with Pietro close behind. As we approached the door, a small sign came across very clearly.
'No Mutants Allowed,' it read in bold, bright red letters.
"Aw, well that's not very welcoming," Pietro said before whizzing inside as fast as he could. Wanda and I rolled our eyes at our brother's stupidity and walked in, far more subtly than Pietro. The store was small with shelves covering the walls from top to bottom. Emo band t-shirts, old cartoon merchandise and silly accessories. Suddenly, something sparkly caught my eye. I turned to look at the belts Hot Topic had to offer.
"Francesco!" A high-pitched voice bore into my concentration.
"Really?" Another voice squealed.
I turned around to see two girls. One had very long hair underneath a beanie with musical symbols on it. Her eyes were covered with a pair of blue aviators she was modeling. She was clothed in a long-sleeve t-shirt with rugged jeans. The other had light blue hair that was cropped short, framing her face. Her chocolate brown eyes stared at me in disbelief. She wore a white t-shirt underneath a brown blazer along with old blue jeans and a pair of boots. Their names entered my mind like a bad taste.
Dolce and Tabby.
They were two X-Men who had claimed to be my friends while I was at the Xavier Institute. They had lied to me, all for the sake of getting my power. I felt a low rumble growing from deep in my throat. Was I… growling? "Francesco," Wanda pulled my attention away from the X-Men. "You're up," she gestured to the counter. Physically forcing myself to look away, I took the belt I had picked out to pay for it. The kid behind the counter was small with fiery red hair and freckles. He wore black skinny jeans with a red plaid shirt. The poor guy was shaking in his boots.
"Y-you're one of them?" He asked in fear, looking past me.
I followed the ginger-headed boy's gaze to right outside the store. To my dismay, Toad, Lance, and Fred were wreaking havoc in the nearby food court. "So what if I am?" I turned back to the boy behind the counter.
"Since when!" Dolce demanded.
"Since Magneto opened my eyes to Xavier's lies!" I snapped.
"Look," Wanda said to the cashier. "We just want to buy our stuff and leave," Wanda said calmly.
"I have the right to refuse service to anyone," the boy's voice held a slight southern accent.
"What lies! The professor would never lie to you!" Tabby tried to reason in her straightforward manner.
"He lead me to believe that Magneto was a horrible parent! He was the best father I could ever ask for!" I bellowed.
"Calm down," Pietro put a hand on my shoulder.
"What kind of crack have you been smoking?" Dolce demanded. I could feel her glare from behind those aviators. The low grumble emanated from my throat once again. I felt an uncomfortable burning in my gums before a slight poke appeared outside of my lips. Did I just grow… fangs? "Oh, you think you're scary? Just because you can growl and make your teeth grow doesn't mean anything. It's just turning you back into the monster you've escaped," she taunted.
"Leave me alone," I took a step back.
"Francesco, think about it logically," Tabby said. I glared at her, wondering what had made her a genius at thinking things through logically. She was known for her haste and recklessness. "Don't you want to see both sides of the story? Come listen to Professor X," she tried to reason.
"No," I said in determination. "Just leave," I turned my back to the X-Men.
"Not without you," Tabby said softly, persuasively.
"No," I simply repeated.
"You can come willingly, or by force. It's your choice," Dolce threw the aviators aside.
I turned to face her, giving in to the inner beast that was growling and raging within me. A sinister smirk plastered itself on my face as I readied myself for battle. "Dolce," Tabby warned. Dolce sighed, giving in to her friend's demand. Taking this momentary act of weakness, I morphed into a mountain lion and attacked. Her retaliation was a moment too late. I could feel her blood gushing out of her shoulder moments before it began to trickle down my mouth and throat. Delayed as it was, her counter-attack was fierce. She made a trumpet out of nearby glass from windows. She didn't think twice before blaring it in my ears. The force of the sound sent me flying towards the food court. I was thrown on my back, breaking a table full of someone's unfinished lunch. Growling out of a mixture of frustration and embarrassment, I glared up at my enemy. She was gliding gracefully down the escalator, making her way towards me.
The people in the food court were either running away like the end of the world was upon them, or too stupid to do the same. "You gonna take that, Francesco?" Lance sneered.
"Of course not!" I snarled, already planning my next move. Before I could carry it out, she had a flute made entirely out of wood. She began to play that flute like a professional. My ear flinched as I heard the familiar "Caws" of a flock of ravens. The flute hit an extremely high note, demolishing a wall, allowing the flock inside the mall. They flew wherever their Maestro directed them. She sent them flying towards me at full speed. A plan quickly formed in my head. Smirking, I changed my form into that of a raven. Without a target, the ravens were thrown into a torrent of confusion and quickly became disgruntled.
Taking advantage of the new-found confusion, I quickly flew against the flock, making my way towards Dolce. By the time she caught on to my trick, it was too late. I morphed into a grizzly bear, clawing her back. She let out a satisfying cry of pain, much to my sick pleasure. "Dolce!" Tabby called, jumping from the second floor to the first, running to her injured friend. Fortunately for me, Lance and Toad had my back and were more than willing to intervene. I turned back to my prey, which was glaring at me through a pair of glossy eyes. She quickly grabbed the ground beneath her, creating a stick. That… was pitiful. What was she gonna do? Poke my eye?
To my surprise, she slammed it on the ground, creating a ripple beneath the ground. Now she was mimicking Avalanche's power. She was truly getting desperate. My ear flicked and I stepped back, looking around. My eyes widened as I noticed that at least twelve instruments had begun to take form. In the time it took me to conjure up a plan, the instruments had circled themselves around me, leaving me no exit. I stood up as tall as my grizzly bear self would allow before swiping at them with as much force as I could manage. But I was too slow. All of a sudden, the instruments all blared at a frequency no human could hear. It was so loud, the frequency so high, that it caused physical pain. The noise made me fall to my knees, forcing me to change back into my human form. But the surrounding instruments simply circled closer, blaring even higher. Warm blood began to trickle out of my ears, escaping through my fingertips.
Suddenly, it all stopped.
I looked up, meeting everyone's eyes. I saw their mouths moving, but no sound emerged. Everyone was frozen in shock at the ferocity of the X-Man's attack. Out of natural instinct and sheer embarrassment, I morphed into an eagle and fled the scene.
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