Deep Silent Winter
Chapter Six
Author Note: Holy Moley! Are we already on chapter six?
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The two siblings sat side-by-side on Pietro's bed. The bed frame had been replaced since the last time she had been in his room and repairs to the room itself had been made. Still, there were things in his room that seemed to be re-aging – the mirror was tarnished on the edges, the wallpaper still pealed in some places, and one of the window panes had a crack in it.
They had been sitting in silence for a good while now but Wanda was letting Pietro take his time in explaining himself. He was shaking again. In truth, Wanda didn't need Pietro to tell her exactly what happened, she had read all that in his file. What she really wanted…needed to know was what was going on with him now.
"They kept me locked in a dark room. I didn't even know how long I'd been in there until SHEILD came and took me away." Pietro swallowed hard. He was bouncing his leg nervously at super speed and his eyes were darting around the room. "They did horrible things…to me." Wanda put her hand on her brother's. "Even while I was there, I could feel myself changing-my powers. But I ignored it. All I could think about was how I'd gotten there, when my next meal would be…when those people would be back." A whimper got caught in his throat. "Ignoring my powers came at a cost, they kept growing more and more out of control until I was left behind. I couldn't catch up."
Wanda wanted to offer him comforting words but didn't want to interrupt him for fear that he'd shut her out again.
"I still can't remember how I got there in the first place…" He looked to the floor, his blank expression returning to his face. At first, Wanda was worried he was having an "episode" but he shook himself out of it this time. "There's too much in my head." He scrunched his eyes shut. "It's so full."
"But…what are your powers now exactly?" Wanda tried to get him back on track.
"I don't know. It's like I'm being projected into the future or the past but at the same time I'm here! 'Like my mind goes somewhere but my body doesn't…"
"Like…time travel?" Wanda was trying to comprehend what her brother was telling her.
Pietro shrugged. "And the 'aging' thing-it's as if I'm projecting something else into the future…but it physically stays here too." Pietro put his head in his hands. "But it has a different effect of the thing then it does on me…this is so confusing..."
"But then by that logic you should be able to reverse it, right?" Wanda sounded hopeful and Pietro raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, you said the future or the past."
"I guess…"
"And if things around you age when you get upset, then maybe they'll "un-age" if you feel contented?"
"How do we test that…" Pietro sounded skeptical.
Wanda looked at the crack in the balcony windowpane. Pietro followed her gaze. "Remember when we were kids…we loved looking out the window at anything and everything. We'd make stories about the people we saw, we'd imagine we were riding on the backs of birds, and we'd think about places we'd adventure to, do you remember?"
Pietro's mouth twitched upwards and his eyes went distant. Wanda watched the crack in the glass as it slowly retreated and eventually disappeared.
But then Pietro's smile faded and a cloud passed over his face. "But then when you went away…I was alone." The glass started to become brittle and crack again. Her hand, which was still positioned on Pietro's started to ache again. So much so that she pulled it away from his. Looking at it, her hand appeared older, slightly wrinkly before fading to normal again. "And then I was sent away too, to some foster family who didn't give a damn about me."
The windowpane shattered and jolted Pietro out of his daze. He looked at Wanda who had a look of terror on her face.
"…What?" He went to touch her hand, which she was trying to cover, rubbing it as if it hurt. She avoided his touch so he retreated. "Wanda? What did I do?"
"You can age people too." Her face changed to concern. "But for people, I think you have to touch them for it to work."
He looked away. "You should go then. You should stay away from me…"
"Pietro, that's nonsense! I'm not going to abandon you!"
"I don't want to hurt you." He avoided looking at her in the eyes.
"I'm not going to leave you alone again."
"Wanda!"
"I'm not going!" She said firmly, a blue aura engulfing her. She meant business and she would not be persuaded otherwise, even if she needed to use her powers against her brother to convince him.
She calmed herself and Pietro watched the blue aura fade. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Then you're going to have to learn control." Wanda smirked. "If I can do it, so can you."
Pietro jumped. "Pietro, may I speak with you a moment?" He was not used to the Professor's voice popping into his head yet.
"What is it?" Wanda asked.
"Prof wants to see me." He stood up slowly. "I'll catch you later, Wanda." He started to walk away but turned back. "Thank you." He said.
Wanda nodded to him.
While making his way to the Professor's office, his head was in the clouds. There were so many emotions simmering in his stomach, in his head, in his heart. He felt dizzy from them and couldn't concentrate on where he was headed until he rammed right into another student.
"Man! Watch where you're going!" Evan spat.
"Evan, just chill out. It was an accident, right Pietro?" Tabitha offered a smile. Pietro nodded. "See?"
Evan rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He started to walk away.
"Hey, Evan." Pietro called, making Evan turn around angrily. "I'm sorry." Pietro said.
"…huh?" Evan asked baffled.
"I said, I'm sor-" Pietro began to repeat.
"I heard what you said! I just don't get why you said it!" Evan yelled back. Pietro tilted his head. Evan groaned now feeling guilty as his anger at the other boy dissipated. "Listen, man. Yeah, I'm mad at you for, you know, getting me thrown in jail," he squinted his eyes at his rival. "But, I mean, shit! What am I trying to say…?"
Tabby burst out laughing. "I think what Spikey Boy is trying to say here is 'let bygones be bygones' or something like that."
"Dude! No! That's not what I'm saying…! I don't think it is." He rubbed the back of his head. "What's a bygone anyway?"
Pietro smirked. "Okay, 'Spikey Boy.' Never mind then. I retract my apology."
Spyke groaned and put his hand to his face. "Not cool, dude. I'm just saying that I still consider you my rival and we can't get too friendly, now can we?" Evan smirked back.
"I could still beat you at anything."
"You're on." The two teens went to shake on it. Not a formal handshake though, their own handshake-the type of handshake they'd been doing since they were young kids. But right before their hands collided, Pietro backed away in remembrance of what Wanda had told him - "You can age people too."
Pietro attempted to cover up his error in judgment with a grin and ran his hand through his white hair.
Evan chuckled. "Pft, You're still a dick." He turned to Tabby. "Wanna go grab a burger or something, Tabby Cat?"
Tabitha stroked Evan's chin with her index finger. "You know it, Spikey Boy!" She winked at Pietro. "Catch ya later, Pie!"
Evan grabbed Tabby's hand and the two of them rushed off. Tabby waved behind herself at the other boy who stood looking a bit surprised. "When did they start dating again? Or…is this the first time they're dating?" Pietro sighed and continued onward towards the Professor's office. "Why are my memories so screwed up? I can't even tell what's happened when anymore…"
Pietro knocked on the office door. The Professor's voice told him to enter so he did.
"You wanted to see me?" Pietro asked the Professor as the older man wheeled himself towards the younger mutant.
"Yes, it concerns two things. Come in and sit down." The Professor turned and went over to his spot next to the sofa. Pietro followed and took a seat.
"What is it?"
"It's about some blood work Hank ran. At first he didn't find anything unusual but after reevaluating the sample he noticed your X-gene is-" Xavier was interrupted.
"Changing, mutating at an incredible rate. Pietro, your powers are evolving, which explains recent incidents." Pietro finished Xavier's sentence for him and Xavier stared wide-eyed at the boy.
"Those are my exact words..."
"I know. You already told me." Pietro pulled his knees to his chest and hugged his legs. "But at the same time you haven't told me yet and, in this case, you won't since I finished what you were going to say for you. I know everything before it happens and I know everything that has already happened too. I know too much…I know too much." Pietro wiped away a stray tear. "I don't want this. I don't want to live like this."
"Can you explain to me a bit more what you mean? Those words are quite frightening to hear from you, Pietro."
Pietro rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to off myself if that's what you're thinking…" Xavier seemed to relax a bit. "I just, I don't know! I don't know what to do." He blinked away more tears before they could fall. "What was the other thing you wanted to know?"
Xavier gave a slight nod. "You tell me."
The teen sighed. "You want to know what I meant when I said 'the world is going to end,' yeah?" The older mutant nodded. "I guess I should have worded it better. It's not like there's going to be some stupid event that wipes out everyone and everything. It's more like…our lives are all going to change. Life as we know it is going to change. That's what I meant."
Xavier still looked confused. "Life is always changing, Pietro. That's how the world works."
Pietro shook his head. "I know that. I know…" Pietro furrowed his eyebrows. "It's more than that. I just…it's hard to explain!" He yelled in a sudden fit of anger and fright. "I've already been where we're going! Anditsucks!" The boy shook his head.
"Can you tell me more about 'where we're going'? What is it like?" Xavier asked.
"No…I won't tell you. You should savor days like these." Pietro blanked out again. "By the end of winter, you'll understand…"
To be continued…
Author Note: I want to thank all you reviewers who have been giving me feedback and recommended readings and the like! Much obliged.
Remember to review.
See ya in Chapter Seven!