This chapter is only half of what I had originally outlined, but it was getting too long, so I decided to split it off. The next chapter (in which Peter gets recruited by En Sabah Nur, as promised) will hopefully take less time than this one.

Extended author's notes will be up on my Tumblr soon.

Thanks for reading!

Magneto pauses his telepathic phone conversation with the Professor long enough to explain the situation to his wife and daughter, and incidentally, prevent Peter from getting killed by a mob of angry birds, which is really the least he could do, considering.

Peter stands awkwardly to the side as Magneto speaks quietly with his family. His wife (Peter's stepmother) looks almost pathetically grateful as she clings to his arm. The little girl, whose name is apparently Nina, keeps staring suspiciously at Peter. At least she's let the birds go. She's a tough cookie, that one. Speaking of which…

Peter digs in his jacket pocket and finds his last Twinkie, which he offers to her. She takes it, after looking doubtfully at her father for permission, unwraps it. "Dziękuję," she says.

He's fairly sure that means thank you. "Nie ma za co," he says, which according to the phrasebook should be you're welcome. Hopefully he hasn't mispronounced it too badly.

Magneto's head whips around. "Potrafisz mówić po polsku? Where did Charles dig you up?"

His wife starts speaking in rapid Polish, but the only thing Peter can catch is dziękuję again. She trails off as she notices Peter's blank expression.

"I just got that out of a phrasebook," he says apologetically, and in English. "I know my mom speaks some Polish, but I don't, sorry."

"No matter," says Magneto. "I can hardly begin to thank you — we owe you a great debt — this is twice you've saved me and mine, now."

The prisoner that Peter broke out of the Pentagon ten years ago had been disoriented and confused (Peter told him to mind the glass, but did he listen? No). This man in front of him now, though — this is Magneto, who would have killed the President on national TV just to watch the world burn. Peter is suddenly very glad he got here in time to prevent things from getting worse.

Honestly, he kind of regrets breaking Magneto out of the Pentagon the first time. The Prof had never really explained what was going on there. It was an emergency, sure, but as far as Peter can tell, they caused the emergency by letting Magneto out. He doesn't regret what he's done here, though. The policemen had their reasons for wanting to arrest Magneto, but there's no excuse for threatening a little girl to do so.

Peter clears his throat. "No problem, dude. Glad I could help. Are you going to Westchester now?"

"Yes, I think that would be best," says Magneto. "Charles has offered us sanctuary. He says he'll handle the travel arrangements."

"Great. I'll see you back there, then."

Magneto blinks. "You're not coming with us?"

To be honest, that just came out of Peter's mouth, but the more he thinks about it, the better an idea it sounds. Peter flew commercial to Berlin, transferred to a flight to Warsaw, and ran the rest of the way here. The stewardesses on both flights happy to keep the aisles clear so he could take a run every once in a while (ie, every five minutes), but it was still nine hours too many of being stuck up in a metal tube. The thought of doing all that again in the company of his father (who doesn't know he's his father), stepmother (ditto), and half-sister (she sicced a flock of birds on him!), minus all the snacks he already ate, does not appeal.

He shrugs. "I feel like I just got off the plane to get here. I think I'll hang around for a while, keep an eye on what's going on here, and the Prof can send someone to get me when he's got time. Did you know he has a supersonic jet?

Magneto buys that excuse, thankfully, because he isn't sure what else he could say to justify his decision. A sudden fit of claustrophobia, maybe? Or agoraphobia. Or both. Even though he managed to fly here without any problems. Well, maybe not that, then.

Peter follows Magneto, Ms. Magneto, and Mini-Magneto (Magneta? Mag-Nina?) back to the house. Once inside, he stands aside awkwardly as they pack quickly and efficiently, throwing money, passports, photos, and a few changes of clothing into suitcases. Nina watches them silently. She doesn't look too happy, and no wonder, not after that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day she's had.

He catches her eye and starts making silly faces at her. It takes him longer than he'd like, but she finally cracks a smile, and then giggles quietly. Peter Maximoff, big brother extraordinaire, strikes again.

They finish packing, more quickly than Peter expected, and prepare to leave. Magneto pauses at the door, his wife and daughter already in the car. "Are you sure you're not coming?"

It's tempting to go along and play happy families. Magneto's wife would be happy enough to see him again, Nina's warming up to him — but Peter already has a mother and a younger sister, not to mention a twin. Magneto has a family, and so does he, and they don't overlap.

"Nah," Peter says instead. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, man."

"Very well," says Magneto, but he stays lingering in the doorframe. "… I don't even know your name."

"My name's Peter," he says.

Magneto quirks an eyebrow, expectant.

Peter's father met his mother while she was still married. He never knew her under her maiden name, which she returned to after her husband died: he never met Marya Maximoff. The name Peter Maximoff would mean nothing to him.

"My sister calls me Quicksilver," Peter says anyway, just in case. This really isn't the time to bring up his father's activities two aliases ago, and it involves more than just him.

Magneto (Henryk Gurzsky, Erik Lehnsherr, Max Eisenhardt, Peter's father—) nods and extends a hand. Peter gapes for a moment before realizing what he's supposed to do with it. His father has a firm grip, the kind Ms. Pendleton back in homeroom kept talking about, and calluses on his palm.

They shake hands, man to man, mutant to mutant, father to son. It's a real bonding moment.

And then he's gone. Peter steps outside long enough to watch the car lights disappear down the lane (did his mother watch his father drive away like this, too?) before heading back inside.

Erik's house is predictably, but disappointingly, lacking in the sugary, high-calorie snacks that Peter prefers for keeping his energy up. There are lots of vegetables, eggs, bread, and that sort of thing, but not much meat, oddly enough, and certainly no Twinkies. He fries himself some eggs and starts working through the bread, for starters.

All the books and newspapers in the house are in Polish, which Peter can't read, despite all his efforts with the phrasebook. He manages to find a small black-and-white TV tucked in a corner, but there isn't anything on at this time of night. By the time Peter's taken the edge off his appetite, he's also undeniably bored, and starting to regret his impulsive decision to stay in Poland. Being cooped up on a plane with his unknowing father and stepfamily would have been terrible, but at least he'd be back home at the end of it, instead of stuck by himself in a country where he doesn't speak the language.

It's not that he's worried, since the Professor gave him an envelope stuffed with enough US currency to get even Magneto out of trouble, a truly prodigious amount of money. If worst comes to worst he can run back to Berlin — the exercise will do him good — and catch a flight home from there. It's what he's going to do between now and then that's the problem.

This is going to be a long night.