Welcome back, my friends. It is now time for act three.
I know I said there wouldn't be a whole lot of new characters, but... we get another one here. He's tied to Psylocke, Sack and Juggernaut, and like them, plays only a minor role in the overall story. So don't dwell on him too much.
Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Act 3, Chapter 1 (9)- The Brotherhood Returns
For the first time in five years, the original members of the Brotherhood were once again assembled. Lance Alvers, Pietro Maximoff, Fred Dukes and Todd Tolensky walked through the lower corridor of a secret SHIELD base- all four had to be blindfolded when they had arrived. Lance and Pietro wore their usual civilian clothes. Fred wore a wide pair of overalls and a large green t-shirt which was fairly tight on a man of his size, though not indecently tight. Toad wore faded jeans with torn knees and even more holes around them. He also wore a long-sleeved white shirt, though the sleeves were rolled back to the elbows, and over it a hooded reddish-brown sweatshirt with the sleeves torn off, sporting a faded green hood. Around his wrists he wore studded bracelets.
"Man, it feels so weird to be wearin' normal clothes again," Toad remarked.
"What, do you sleep in your uniform?" Pietro asked sarcastically.
"Pretty much. Magneto says I gotta shower, but he ain't never said nothin' about washin' my clothes." They reached the end of the corridor and entered a small hangar, containing a single SHIELD heli-jet. Commander Bishop, flanked by two armored SHIELD agents, waited for the team. One of them held a metal briefcase.
"Alright, let's make this quick," Bishop said to the assembled mutants. "I'm Commander Bishop and I'll be in charge of your operation. Your mission is to find Lucas. You have a single chopper at your disposal and a single pilot at your command. For the duration of your mission, Quicksilver is in charge. You are to report to me every three hours. Denti!"
One of the SHIELD agents, Denti, held up the briefcase and opened it, revealing four box-shaped devices and four earpieces. The second agent began to hand them out as Bishop explained their function.
"Each of you will be assigned one Shaw SP5 level one tracking device. This allows SHIELD command to determine your position. Have it on you at all times. You will also be assigned one Motorola HT900 headset to keep in contact with me and with your teammates."
"Hey, Unus has one of these," Fred noted, slipping his onto his right ear.
"No, he has the casing," Bishop corrected him. "This is a special model commissioned by us. It uses the same casing as civilian models, but the mechanics are far different. I won't get into specifics, but keep them on at all times. Now, Quicksilver tells me that one of you has reliable information about Lucas's whereabouts."
"T-that would be me," Toad said, raising his hand.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd ask you to share everything with us, but SHIELD command has informed me that they're not interested in specifics, they're interested in results," Bishop explained. "I don't agree with them, but orders are orders, so I'm going to let you go as-is and pray that you don't fuck this up. You have your orders, now get moving."
"Do we have to salute?" Lance asked.
"No. Actually, I've changed my mind. Give me a salute." The four boys gave Bishop a weak, half-assed salute. Lance's was left-handed. "You are the saddest pieces of shit I've ever seen. Now get out there and do what an army of elite agents couldn't do."
"Yes, sir!" Pietro barked. "Alright boys, move-"
"Oh, fuck you," Lance groaned. "You're not a commander. C'mon guys, let's get this over with." Pietro watched as Fred and Toad followed Lance towards the chopper. He scowled and clenched his fists.
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Wanda Maximoff sat in a chair near a window in a large bedroom, reading a book. Out of her combat uniform, Wanda wore a red, thin-strap corset along with a short black skirt with two red belts criss-crossing each other at her waist. Her legs were covered by dark gray stockings, just like her arms were covered with long, fingerless opera gloves that reached almost up to her shoulders, topped off with arm-bracelets with styles similar to those she wore on her wrists, the same she wore as a teenager, as well as several silver rings on her fingers. On her feet, she wore black boots with red laces, and the ankh-adorned choker remained on her neck.
Returning from Boston, she wanted time alone. Though she didn't mention it to Lucas, her meeting with Magneto had cast some doubts about him. Maybe not so much about who he was in the past, but who he was now. Could he be sincere about wanting to reconcile? What possible ulterior motive could he have, if the past five years were spent at some school? No, she had to remind herself of what he did. How could he change so quickly? He couldn't. It had to be an act.
And if Magneto had truly reformed, then what was the purpose of Wanda's quest? Why was she still with Lucas? After five years, they had accomplished little. Most of it was because the X-Men had grown in strength. Wanda and Lucas had waited for the right opportunity to find Magneto and Xavier alone, but in five years, such an opportunity hadn't presented itself. Suddenly, the press reported that Magneto was on vacation, but Wanda knew this was just a trick. Still, Magneto had come alone to Boston. If it wasn't for Agatha Harkness, Wanda would've already settled the score.
But the more she thought about it, the more she moved in circles. She could've killed Magneto... but did she really want to, now that she had doubts about him, however small? What would Wanda do with her life after Magneto's death?
She still had Lucas... she told herself that she loved him, but part of Wanda knew she was only with him out of convenience. Their relationship wasn't exactly healthy- there was no real romance, and no real emotion between them. But she didn't care; or rather, she ignored this. It was enough for her that they had a professional partnership, and a physical relationship.
That's what it was, she realize. Lust, not love. Despite his single-minded attitude, Wanda found Lucas attractive. She certainly liked that he dressed in tight leather, and that his shirt teased her with a peek at his smooth chest. And that mane of hair, those blue eyes... it was enough to melt even Wanda's cold exterior.
Elsewhere in the room, Lucas stood at one of the large windows with his hands behind his back, the moonlight highlighting his handsome features. They were at the mansion of a mutual ally who also wanted to see Xavier dead, and they shared a bedroom with a view over the sea. Though he was surrounded by wealth, and there was a beautiful, witchy woman in his bedroom, Lucas was quite bored.
"I should go ahead and admit it, then," Lucas said with his thick Scottish accent. "I'm terribly vexed."
Wanda stood up, setting her book down on the chair, and walked to him, laying her hands on his shoulders, and then reaching down to his chest. "I think we could both use some release."
"What we need is more mutants," Lucas said, apparently oblivious to Wanda's advances. "We need to account for everyone. I've lost count of how many X-Men there are..."
"Lucas, can we talk about this later?" Wanda asked, putting her head on his shoulder. With her hands already on him, she pulled Lucas tightly to her, pressing her body against his. To her annoyance, Lucas gently pushed her aside, staring out the window.
"But we need more," he continued. "We need to show Xavier than we can put together a team better than his. That'll really wound his pride!"
"Lucas, what is wrong with you?" Wanda asked. "Just once, can you talk about something besides revenge?"
"Don't tell me you don't want that anymore," Lucas said, turning to her.
"I do, but that's not all I want," she said, sitting down on the bed, laying back on her arms so that Lucas could see what she was offering. "When is the last time you and I have been intimate, Lucas? I didn't just join you out of convenience, I..."
"I've got it!" Lucas shouted, interrupting her. "We'll raid the prison, where I found Uncle Cain. If we can get some more of those mutants on our side, we could even ditch some of our weaker allies. Like Pyro."
"You know what?" Wanda said indignantly, standing up. "Forget it. I'll come back when you're level-headed."
"Now wait a minute," Lucas said, coming up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. "I'm sorry, lass. I'm just a little preoccupied. You know how my mind wanders sometimes..."
"Forget it, I'm not in the mood anymore," Wanda growled as she pushed him away. "All you ever think about is Xavier."
"Glass houses, Wanda," Lucas retorted. "You've spent the last four years helping me devise a way to kill our fathers. Can you say that you ever think about anything other than killing Magneto?"
"Of course I do!" Wanda snapped. "But we can't let that be the only thing that keeps us together. Just because that's all I thought about when I escaped the asylum doesn't mean that's all I think about now."
"Then what are you thinking about?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow. "None of this used to matter to you until tonight. What did that witch do to you? Don't tell me Magneto got to you. You're thinking about what he said, aren't you?"
"I'm thinking about the future," Wanda told him. "I don't want Magneto to define who I am. So, I've been thinking about what I want to do when I'm done with him. Have you given any thought to the future?"
"I'll worry about that when it happens," Lucas said. It was clear that his priority remained Xavier. He turned back to the window. "I'll make daddy dearest wish he'd been there for me."
"You do that," Wanda said, exiting the room. Wanda wondered if maybe the reason he had taken so long to exact revenge was because he had no ambitions beyond that, and wanted to prolong the suspense. But how could he be so single-minded, she thought to herself.
But unknown to her, that was all Lucas really was. Anger, bitterness, and base human impulses. He was David Haller's id given physical form, and though he had a strong personality, it was incomplete. Lucas was only a magnified fragment of a whole. But he would never accept that.
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Seated at the rear of the helicopter, Pietro and his team waited patiently for their pilot to carry them to the destination provided by Toad. They sat in awkward silence for most of the ride. Though it had been the first time in years that the Brotherhood boys had been together in one place, they had little to say. Their seats faced each other, but none looked directly at one another. Lance held on to the bar above his seat and looked outward, away from the others. To his left was Fred, slouching in two seats, arms crossed and looking up at the ceiling.
Across from him, Pietro leaned forward, looking intently at his own clasped hands. And next to him, Toad sat in his usual frog style, looking down at the floor.
"Y'know, I really appreciate all of you agreeing to this," Pietro said finally, getting the attention of his team. He looked each of them in the eyes before adding, "I'd never be able to pull this off without you."
"Don't talk just yet," Lance scoffed. "We're not there yet, and I dunno about you guys, but I'm a little rusty."
"Not me," Fred boasted, flexing the gigantic muscles on his arms, bigger than they were in his teenage years and even a little less flabby. "See this? This is what happens when you work out all day instead of watching cartoons! Check that out!"
"I ain't got time to work out," Toad said, scratching the back of his head and swinging his long hair. "I'm too busy learnin' all kinds of useless tech junk."
"You know, Magneto's never actually shown me that machine of his," Pietro confessed. "How does it work?"
"Well, it's kinda like what th' Sentinels had," Toad explained. "Only bigger. See, the machine can tell th' difference between humans and mutants, so it detects 'em automatically. It's got a wide enough range that it can track a mutant almost anywhere. Problem is, th' wider the range, the more power the damn thing sucks up. I could only run it for a little bit when I checked for Wanda this time."
"How do we even know she'll still be there?" Lance asked.
"We... don't," Toad admitted. "Kind of a shot in th' dark here."
"If nothing else, we still get paid just for showing SHIELD where this Lucas guy is, right?" Fred reminded them. "Hmm. Never been to Ireland before. What do they got to eat?"
"Food," Lance told him.
"Ha, ha. Seriously, isn't there something famous from there?"
"Beats me," Toad replied.
"Hmm. There's beer, at least," Fred mused. "Right?" They others nodded.
"They have pasta in Ireland," the Pilot said to them. He glanced over at them from the cockpit, but his voice actually came from a set of speakers near the team.
"That's Italy," Pietro said to him. "Pasta is Italian."
"Um, no," the Pilot replied. "I did a research paper on this in high school. Pasta comes from Ireland."
"No it doesn't!" Pietro yelled back. "What are you, some kind of savant? How did you even get to be in SHIELD?"
"Draft," the Pilot replied.
"They can do that?" Lance asked.
"SHIELD can do whatever it wants. They came to my house one night and said I needed to fly choppers for them. That was two months ago."
"But that's insane!" Pietro yelled.
"Well, the salary's good. And to be fair, I was stealing helicopters since I was 15."
"I didn't know helicopter theft was a viable hobby," Pietro said, rubbing his forehead.
"You wouldn't think so, but it's great. I'm pretty good at this, though. Here, watch this!" Suddenly, the Pilot swerved the chopper, throwing Pietro and a screaming Toad out of their seats. Lance pushed Toad off and suddenly began reaching for something, apparently searching for some invisible object.
"It's been so long since I've been in the air... I forgot how much I hate it," Lance told them, his eyes drooping. Casually, Fred held out a paper bag, flicking it so that it opened, and handed it to Lance. "Thanks Freddy." Moments later, Lance's head was between his knees and his friends did their best to ignore the wretching.
And so ended a typical conversation in the Brotherhood chopper.
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Lucas threw open the doors of a large, stately castle in Ireland, walking in with a satisfied look on his face. The interior was kept clean, and despite being a centuries-old castle, it was decorated with more modern furnishings. A few well-dressed servants made way as Lucas was greeted by the mansion's owner, a tall, dark-haired man with a medium length beard, dressed in a dark outfit with a long, buttoned coat with a red crest just below his neckline. He carried a wooden stick with him, not quite a cane and not quite a staff. This was the castle's master, "Black Tom" Cassidy, who had inherited the castle that had been in his family for generations, and made his current fortune as a criminal kingpin. Though wanted by Interpol, it was fortunate for him that neither SHIELD nor its corresponding international agencies had ever taken a real interest in capturing the notorious Black Tom.
"Lucas, back early," Black Tom said with a noticeable Irish accent. "I think maybe your excursion didn't go as planned?"
"On the contrary, Tom, it went better," Lucas smiled. "I've got the information I need."
"Good, the sooner this is done with, the better. This is my home, Lucas, and I must see to the well-being of my guests, however, I am growing very impatient. That uncle of yours is testing even my patience."
"Hold off just a little longer. I'm almost ready. You'll get your piece, my friend." Lucas climbed up the red-carpeted stairs, almost forgetting which way he was supposed to turn at the landing. The castle was more complicated than he'd preferred, with various wings and chambers added over the centuries that Black Tom himself admitted had no purpose except to increase the size.
"You're home early," Cain Marko said, chugging down an entire can of beer, crushing it between his fingers, and picking up another one. Cain, dressed in his trademark armor (though he kept his helmet off), sat on a large couch in one of the mansion's upper levels, with a portable television balanced on his knee. After the attack on the Xavier Institute, Cain had been left behind- fortunately, Lucas remembered to retrieve him before Cain woke up and realized he had been forgotten.
"Come, dear uncle, we have matters to discuss." Lucas entered a large chamber and shut the door behind him.
Groaning, Cain stood up, belched, and followed Lucas into the game room that had effectively become a secret war room for Lucas and his close associates. Only a select few were permitted inside- not even Black Tom's servants were allowed in there, at least not while Lucas was using the castle as his hideout. There was already someone inside when Lucas arrived.
"Wanda, my dear," Lucas said. Wanda Maximoff sat on the couch, writing something in a small notebook.
"Oh, hi Lucas," she said, standing up, but not even offering to embrace him. This detail didn't escape Lucas's notice, even with Wanda's mood swings. "Did you find what you needed?"
"Indeed." She looked at him, and Lucas looked her in the eyes, searching them. He wasn't yet willing to look through her mind, and found in her eyes a certain disappointment. He wondered if this was just a lingering feeling from their last meeting, or if there was something else...
"Ah, are we interrupting anything?" Black Tom asked as he entered with Cain. They were also joined by Psylocke, now wearing a white silk kimono, as well as the gelatinous Sack, who was forced to wear heavy boots and a hooded coat indoors. Lucas let go of Wanda. "Good. Let me just register my dissatisfaction with this entire venture. You promised us results, Lucas."
"No surprise that the only one on my side is sleeping with me," Lucas groaned, casting a sidelong glance at Wanda, who looked slightly uncomfortable with his description. "Tom, you've been very patient, and here's where it pays off." Lucas snapped his fingers and a door behind the bar opened, allowing them access to a large, spherical metal room made of unpolished and poorly lit metal, with a single bridge leading to a platform halfway into it. There was a console there, as well as a crudely constructed helmet attached with several exposed, multi-colored wires. It was their very own knock-off Cerebro. "Cain, have I shown you this? I built it myself, with some help from Wanda and a generous amount of donated resources from Tom."
"Seen better," the Juggernaut grumbled.
"It's a little rough, perhaps, but we go with what works, yes?"
"I don't see what we need anyone else for. Your brain, my muscles, we could take him and his kids."
"You mean like how you 'took' them the last time you were there?" Black Tom slyly reminded him.
"They got lucky!" Cain screamed in defense. "You think I can't take them again?!"
"Now, now, don't be so rash," Lucas casually raised a hand to stop Cain. "I don't allow reckless violence here and I'd hate for there to be bad blood between us, Uncle Cain. As much as I hate to say it, neither of us is ready to deal with the X-Men, and Magneto's little feint isn't going to fool us. We'll have an easier time if I can use this to enhance my powers."
"But we must remember the conditions of this deal," Black Tom continued. "Xavier goes to Lucas and Magneto to Wanda, to be disposed of as you both see fit. The mansion is returned to Cain, and he and I divide the rest of the Xavier assets among ourselves. It's not too late to claim part of it for yourself, Wanda."
"No thank you," Wanda said sharply. "I don't want any of his property. Just Magneto."
"Yeah, we know, that's all you or Lucas talk about," Cain mumbled. Blue sparks appeared around Wanda's hands as she raised them, wiggling her fingers slightly. The blue hex energy extended to Cain and froze him in place, forcing him to scream as sharp pains ran through his body.
"It ain't that easy!" Cain still had the strength to march forward and grab Wanda by the throat, lifting her up above him. "You want some of this, girly?! AIIIE! AARRRREEEGH! STOP!" Cain clutched his head and fell to the ground, trying to resist Lucas's powerful mental attack, instinctively trying to reach for his helmet, which he forgot was in another room.
"Mind your manners, Cain, and show some proper respect," Lucas said with an angry, slightly crazed look in his eye. Cain was released, and after rubbing his head, he stood back up. Wanda dropped to her knees, rubbing her neck and glaring fiercely at Cain. Lucas helped her to her feet and put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Are you hurt, lass?"
"No, I'm fine." Wanda looked over at the Cerebro console. "What did you need to find?"
"Ah, this." Lucas took a small cylinder from his pocket, no bigger than a pen. "Looks rather... insignificant, I know, but I've studied the design, and it's quite crucial." Lucas telekinetically opened a panel on the side of the bridge and attached the small device to two free wires. The machine began to hum. "There we go."
"Is it working?" Wanda asked.
"Partially." Lucas put on the crude helmet. "I... it's like a tingling." Lucas almost had to hold himself back in order to keep from reading the thoughts of those in the room. He was on a high that couldn't be provided by any drug... power itself was surging through his brain. Feeling, that was enough for the moment, Lucas opened his eyes and pulled off the helmet. "Now I just need to finish the partial blueprints I have for this. There's a few crucial pieces I'm still... unable to find."
"How did you find this one?" Wanda asked inquisitively.
"Well... ah... a salesman, here in Ireland."
"A salesman had the part you needed for a multi-million-dollar piece of equipment?"
"Does it truly matter where this came from?"
"It just seems strange."
"If you must know, I paid a small visit to Bayville and extracted the information I needed from one of the X-Men, but I was careful to make sure I wasn't noticed. It's all simple enough, but they didn't know everything. I built this part myself, didn't take too long, though I had to find some adamantium for it. I had to... dispose of a few people in Washington, but I found what I needed."
"Sometimes I think you're having too much fun with this," Wanda scowled.
"Now wait just a moment there, I'll remind you that you're also out to kill your own father."
"I want him to understand how much he hurt me," Wanda growled. "I'm trying to keep this between us. If someone gets in my way, I'll crush them... but I don't go actively looking for trouble."
"I'm just the same, lass, those people were in my way. This is all I need now."
"You don't NEED this!" Wanda scorned. "If you just want revenge, why do you need Cerebro? Just to spite him? Lucas, you're letting your pride drive you! Focus on the goal!"
"My PRIDE?!" The lights around Cerebro began to flicker. Black Tom and Cain exchanged glances and quietly began to retreat from the room, followed by Tom's minions. Wanda, however, stood her ground. "He ignored me for most of my life, for his little after-school club? I want to show him his mistake, I want to show him what he could have had if he had only chosen to pay attention to his own son, and I think that of everyone on this miserable planet, YOU would understand that!"
"Don't try to get pity from me, Lucas, you had your mother! My father was all I had left, and he locked me away so he didn't have to deal with me! My own brother and the people I thought were my friends sold me out because they were afraid of Magneto! Don't tell me you've had a troubled life, because you don't know all that I've been through!" Wanda didn't wait for his response before she left Cerebro, stomping back into the game room, which the others had already left. "I thought you were more mature than this, Lucas."
"And I suppose you think you're better than me now," Lucas said, walking out of Cerebro, his voice tinged with outrage.
"Maybe I do. And what if I do? Do you think you can push me around?"
"How would you like to find out?!"
"Excuse me," said Black Tom, standing at the doorway. Lucas and Wanda both turned to him, so visibly angry that Black Tom staggered slightly, afraid for a moment that they might turn their collective wrath against him. After a moment had passed, Black Tom continued, "We've picked up a helicopter in the area."
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Pyro sat on a moss-covered rock in the forest outside of Cassidy Keep, which was perched on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean (which is apparently a very common place to put a castle), playing with his lighter. Lucas had more or less given him over to Black Tom as a minion, and so Black Tom had ordered Pyro to stay outside, ostensibly to watch the perimeter (though Pyro couldn't tell where the perimeter began, ended, or indeed existed in any distinguishable way), but mostly because Pyro was an annoying little shit.
Pyro watched as the little woman in his hand danced for him, beckoning him, teasing him... Pyro blinked and decided her boobies should be a little bigger. Then, with his free hand-
Suddenly, a glob of slime killed Pyro's tiny imaginary girlfriend. Pyro looked up to see who the murderer was, and before his eyes were even level with the horizon, he was knocked on his back and pinned by Quicksilver.
"Something tells me you've wanted me in this position for a long time," Pyro smirked.
"Too late," Pietro told him, "Toad already made that joke while we were discussing the plan. I thought about doing something else instead, but I'm not going to let that asshole make me self-conscious. Blob!" Fred emerged and pulled Pyro off the ground. Pyro tried to dart away, but Fred grabbed him and pinned him against his chest, squeezing him with his gigantic arms. Now Pyro saw that Lance and Toad had joined the party.
"Okay, Pyro, here's what's gonna happen," Pietro said, leaning an elbow on one of Fred's arms. "We need to get in there, undetected. You're going to help us."
"And why would I do that? Because your trained fatty is going to squeeze me?" Pyro asked. Not one to take it, Fred gave him a firm squeeze. "That's all good right now," Pyro strained to say, "But you can't expect him to hold on to me forever. You're going to have to offer me something if you want my permanent assistance."
"We're going to kick your boss's ass," Lance told him.
"I'm in," Pyro replied. Fred let him go, and Pietro quickly smacked Pyro upside the head. "What now?!"
"Just wanted you to know that I can do that at any time and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." To further prove his point, Pietro did it again. And again. And again. The next time, Pyro tried to catch Pietro's hand, but he didn't have a chance. Then Pietro did it again. "We clear?"
"Yeah, we're clear," Pyro groaned, rubbing his head. "Alright, mates. I know a few ways in. Follow me."
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"Well?" Wanda asked impatiently. Lucas sat in one of the lounge chairs with his chin resting on his hands. He already knew who was there. Was there any question? Lucas had to wonder how they thought they could sneak in without being noticed. The only question was, how would Wanda react?
Lucas pretended he was still using his telepathy to figure out who the intruders were. In reality, he was trying to decide what course of action to take. He knew Wanda had no particular fondness for her old teammates... but he also knew Wanda's mood had a tendency to shift.
"Spies," Lucas said, standing up and facing Wanda. "Common spies. Not a single worthy opponent among them. We'll let Black Tom's thugs deal with them."
"What do they want here?" Wanda asked. Lucas almost groaned, but stopped himself.
"...They're looking for something else," Lucas told her quickly. Suddenly, the doors flew open. Black Tom's assassin Psylocke entered the room, now wearing her battle clothing and bowing quickly as she approached Lucas. His silence indicated that he wanted her to say whatever it was she was sent to say.
"The enemy have made it into the castle," Psylocke said not with a Japanese accent, but an English one. "They are being led by-" and without so much as a scream or a twitch of her eyes, Psylocke dropped like a rag doll. Wanda knelt beside her and check her vital signs.
"They must have had her tagged," Lucas said quickly. Wanda gently shook Psylocke's head to see if she could get a reaction. There was no telling when, if ever, she would wake up. Wanda stood up and looked right at Lucas; for a moment, Lucas suspected that she knew what he was doing.
"They're more dangerous than we thought," Wanda said to him. "I'm going to take care of them."
"Wait," Lucas called. "I didn't want to tell you this, Wanda, but they're after you." Wanda stopped and narrowed her eyes skeptically. "They've been sent by SHIELD. They're here to take you back to their base so they can get information about Magneto."
"Then I'll let them know that I'm not going to do business with them."
"Wanda, are you mad? Look what they did to her," Lucas said, motioning towards the body of Psylocke. "We can't take that risk. You need to get out of here. I'll stay here and deal with these goons."
"No," Wanda refused, and left the room before he could argue any further. Once she was gone, Lucas was struck by something. He detected a fourth mental pattern; he had detected five originally, and then three as the helicopter left. Lucas had assumed there were two pilots and three agents, but now he realized that a fourth pattern had remained, fading in and out.
And much to his alarm, the very moment Lucas came to this realization, that pattern had managed to enter the war room.
"You must be Pietro," Lucas mocked. Pietro Maximoff stood behind him, arms crossed and smirking. And alone, as Lucas noted, in a room with a much more powerful mutant.
"I know, I should've dropped you a line. It's rude of me to drop in unannounced, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for surprises."
"I've got none of those," Lucas told him. "Just something you probably expected." With a wave of Lucas's hand, Pietro's view began to spin out of control...
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"HAAAH!" The human battering ram known as the Juggernaut plowed through his third consecutive castle wall as if it was made of cardboard. His destination: the lower keep, where Pyro had snuck in the Brotherhood boys.
"Yeah, suddenly I'm more worried about us than Pietro," Toad remarked.
"That's different... how?" Lance asked. Toad shrugged, conceding the point. He hopped over a charging Juggernaut, who instead collided with the unmovable Blob. Planting his feet on the floor, Fred held up against the force of the unstoppable Juggernaut. Realizing that his strength alone couldn't move the Blob, Juggernaut instead tried grappling him in an effort to push him to the ground. The result looked something like two superhuman sumo wrestlers trying to push each other out of the ring, with neither gaining any significant ground against the others.
"I'll keep him here!" Fred yelled as he strained against his enemy. "You guys go ahead!"
"Yeah, thanks a lot, mate!" Pyro yelled. Before he could run through the hole Juggernaut had created, Avalanche grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor.
"You're staying with us, twiggy," Lance told him. "Fred, let's take care of this douchebag."
"I said I'll hold him!" Fred yelled.
"Yeah, take the hint from that Aussie pussy and run!" Juggernaut yelled, though he kept his focus on Fred. "Once I'm done with your bean bag pal, I'm making paste out of you!" Lance raised both hands and created a disturbance beneath Juggernaut that kept him from properly grounding himself. With his footing lost, Juggernaut couldn't hold back against the Blob. Fred charged through, pushing Juggernaut with him until he pinned him against a wall.
"You think you're tough shit, don't you?!" Juggernaut yelled, and began to push back. "You're just a fat kid with an attitude, that's all you are!"
With the help of a second tremor, Fred pushed Juggernaut back against the wall, significantly reducing his ability to create momentum.
"Come on, take him out!" Toad began to yell, hopping up and down. "Did you hear what he called you?! Are you gonna take that from him?! You gonna let this buckethead talk to you like that?! Show him who's boss! Show him you're tough shit!"
In a burst of rage and adrenaline, Fred yelled out, "I AM TOUGH SHIT!" He pushed Juggernaut up against the wall, cracking it. But he wasn't done. Fred kept pushing, repeating to himself in his mind that he was indeed tough shit. Juggernaut was nothing. This was the Blob's fight.
"HHHRAAAH!" With one last shove, Juggernaut burst through the wall, hurled through it by Fred Dukes. Juggernaut sailed through the air, screaming at his opponent in humiliation and anger. Juggernaut had been pushed through the castle's outermost wall, to the exterior cliffside overlooking the sea. He continued to scream as he fell down the side of the cliff and plunged into the rocky, shallow waters below.
Fred Dukes looked out proudly from the hole he'd just created. Lance and Toad peered down, looking to check the damage. All of them knew that the Juggernaut couldn't be killed that easily. At worst, he might've been winded. It was only a matter of time before he fished himself out, climbed back up the cliff, and returned to the castle for his revenge. The team just had to finish up before that happened.
"I just realized, I've never heard you say 'shit,' Fred," Lance remarked.
--------------------
To Lucas's surprise, Pietro ran around him in circles, somehow immune to Lucas's mental attack. It only took a moment for Lucas to understand what was so different about Pietro's mind- it worked at an accelerated rate, just like his body. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a big problem, but when Pietro actively moved around at high speed, it prevent Lucas from locking onto him properly, even when he was only a few feet away from him.
"If you're here to do something, do it!" Lucas growled. "I don't have times to play games with you!"
"Then let's get to it." Pietro suddenly charged at Lucas and threw him to the floor, jumping on him and taking a switchblade from his pocket. "Say goodnight, Lucas."
"Twit!" Lucas threw Pietro against the ceiling with a wave of his telekinesis, and then caught him as he fell to the ground. He brought the knife up to him, and then hurled it out the open window. "You forget I have other powers, didn't you?"
Pietro couldn't reply- his throat was sealing up, cutting off his air supply. In the midst of this, Psylocke had woken up, and looked up at the scene. Lucas gave her a furious glance, and Psylocke quietly let herself out of the room, as if she had been ordered.
"Magneto's son?" Lucas said to the suspended, strangled Pietro. "Sent here by the American government. What did you hope to accomplish? Did you honestly think an insect like you could assassinate me? You think you're doing your sister a favor. Hah! I should turn you over to her as a gift, but I won't. If you'll forgive my selfishness, I'd like to put you down myself."
Pietro could only gurgle in reply, reaching up to his throat and trying to pry off the invisible grip around his neck, pawing at it like it would make any difference. His feet kicked around in the air, hoping to reach something solid so that he could ground himself and run out of the vice, but it was no use.
And then suddenly, Pietro fell, air returning to his lungs as he took a desperate gasp. The Scarlet Witch had arrived, and Pietro watched as his sister Wanda used her hexing powers to keep Lucas at bay.
"Wanda, what do you think you're doing?!" Lucas growled.
"He's lower than the slime covering the cliffs beneath this castle, but he's my brother, and I'll decide what to do with him," Wanda barked back. Wanda stepped forward as Lucas propped himself against the wall, recovering from the mental strain of having his mental powers neutralized. "Pietro, what are you doing here?"
"We need to talk," Pietro said calmly to his sister, still catching his breath. "I'm going to be honest with you, sis. SHIELD sent me... us, here so we could make contact with Lucas. I agreed to this because I needed to see you."
"SHIELD? And you brought the others with you... why? What is there to discuss, Pietro? I thought I made it clear that I want nothing to do with any of you. Now you're here to spy on me? Tell me the truth. For once in your miserable life, tell me the truth. Why are you doing this?"
"I hadn't seen you in a while," Pietro said with an honest smirk. "But... I also wanted to know why you decided to join with this clown. You really think you'd be happier if you killed our father?"
"Y..." Wanda hesitated. Standing before her was the brother who did nothing as she was taken away... but she caught a glimpse of something else. She and Pietro were riding on a merry-go-round with their father. Wanda couldn't remember a happier time in her life. Pietro had betrayed her more than once, but now she saw a look of sincerity in his expression. This wasn't the Pietro who had left his team behind to face the Sentinel, this was the Pietro who rode alongside her on that merry-go-round so many years ago.
But that never happened. It was just an implanted memory, left over even after Mastermind had restored her mind. Yet, that lingering moment was enough to convince Wanda that there was some measure of goodness in her brother.
"I don't know," Wanda said. "Maybe... maybe I'm better off if I just never see you or him again."
"Don't let him fool you," Lucas said, putting his arm around her. Wanda even let herself lean on him a little. "He left you for dead. Just like your father."
"I've made a decision," Wanda said, gently pushing Lucas away. "And it's not about you, or Pietro. I need to see my father. Maybe my memories still aren't all straight, but I need to make sure I know who it is I'm fighting against."
"Come to your senses, Wanda," Lucas said, with a hint of panic in his voice. "You know who he is! You know what he's capable of! You can't... you can't..." Lucas stopped as Wanda walked over to her brother, clearly ignoring him.
"I need you to take me to him," she told her brother.
--------------------
The discussion in the main keep of the castle was much less civil. Actually, I'm not sure how the word 'discussion' got in there. But, with Lance, Fred, Toad and Pyro on one side against Black Tom, Sack and Psylocke, there was little chance of the encounter being civil.
"He's having a chat?!" Black Tom Cassidy yelled when Psylocke informed him of Lucas's whereabouts. "That's fantastic. All of his power and that cowardly git can't even defend a castle properly." Black Tom pointed his cane at Lance and created a rapid stream of fire. Fortunately, Pyro caught it and aimed it right back at Black Tom, who jumped out of the way.
The gelatinous Sack stood behind Lance, doing nothing more than staring. Annoyed, Lance punched him in the face, and much to his alarm, found that his fist was trapped in the jaws of a black skeleton surrounded by blue, ooze-like slime skin. Yellow eyeballs rotated in their sockets to look down at the fist through the inner cavity of the skull. Shaking in what could only be a mockery of laughter from someone who clearly had no vocal cords, Sack raised two hands and seized Avalanche's arm, pushing it in deeper, swallowing it. Lance struggled to break free as Sack's jaw had unhinged itself.
Toad hopped towards Lance, but was intercepted in mid-leap by a flying kick from Psylocke. Toad skidded on his back for a moment before flipping himself upright and dashing forward, blocked her fist with his shoe, and kicked Psylocke against an arch at the keep's entrance. She recovered quickly and rushed back towards him. Startled, Toad jumped up to the archway's ceiling, but Psylocke couldn't be left behind- she kicked off one of the arches, then against the castle wall, and then back again, until she had climbed up to Toad's position. He laughed to himself and jumped away, leading her further away from the group.
Fred slammed his fist into what passed for Sack's kidneys, causing the gelatinous skin to jiggle. Fred reached inside and grabbed Sack's spine and lifted him up and off the ground. Lance's own weight was enough to release him from Sack's maw and he dropped onto the floor, his arm covered in blue slime. Feeling a stinging sensation on his skin, he rubbed his arm against Pyro's shoulder.
"Hey now!" Pyro yelled.
"Hey what?" Lance replied. Black Tom took advantage of the distraction and smacked Pyro across the face with his wooden cane. In retaliation, Lance tackled Black Tom, knocking his cane away. Sack, lying on the ground, tried to grab it in order to return it, but was dragged away by Fred, who gripped the hapless mutant by the legs and swung him around, again and again, until at last he let him fly right into a pillar. With a sickening splatter, Sack's ooze spilled across the pillar, on the floor beneath it, on the arch above it, and on some of the area behind it, with writhing pieces of Sack's torn skeleton squirming like uncovered worms. Psylocke even stopped her fight long enough to watch in disgust, leaving herself open to a tongue-lashing by Toad.
Psylocke had become careless- the impact shook her swords out of her hands and the tongue wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to Toad, and then he lifted her upwards. 'Aw man,' Toad thought to himself, 'She's at a disadvantage... If I wanted to, I could put my tongue anywhere on that body...' Fortunately, Toad showed some restraint, but that moment of thought cost him the battle. Psylocke had lost both swords, but she had a more dangerous blade- a psychic knife projected from the edge of her fist as pink energy and thrust right into Toad's forehead.
Toad saw only flashes of images- the castle, Lucas, Avalanche, Blob, Wanda- and then nothing else. He fell backwards and his tongue relaxed, allowing Psylocke her freedom.
"Damn it, Toad," Lance muttered.
Black Tom had regained his cane and pointed it at the back of Lance's head, surprising him.
"That's enough," he announced. Fred, Psylocke and Pyro all stopped on their tracks. Psylocke even gave herself a moment to relax, stretching her arms and back before leaning against the wall. "If either of you move, I'm smoking his head right off. I've deduced that you're here either for me or for Lucas. We'll find out soon enough. Psylocke, get Lucas down here. We're going to have to lock these boys up and get our answers the old fashioned way."
"Heh, I'm not with them, you know," Pyro chuckled. "I just led them in so you could get the jump on them."
"Pyro, I think you should know that I've always hated you," Black Tom said nonchalantly. "You'll go first."
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary," Lucas said, descending the staircase with Wanda and Pietro behind him. Black Tom looked up at him with suspicion. "We've reached something of an agreement."
"...An agreement?" Black Tom said, skeptically. He kept his cane pressed against Lance's head.
"Aye," Lucas confirmed. "Wanda has decided to go with them to see Magneto. That being the case, her brother Pietro has agreed that they will leave quietly. They will not betray our location to their superiors, and we will not come after them."
"They've defiled my property, Lucas. Your uncle's missing and one of my men is smeared against my wall. You may drive our partnership, but you do not give the orders in my castle."
"I told you," Lucas said rather smugly to Wanda and Pietro, crossing his arms. "If you want to get out, you'll have to deal with him." A second later, Black Tom dropped his cane as if it were piping hot- it might as well have been, as Wanda had activated a spark of his fire-casting power through it. That was all Lance needed to turn around and punch Black Tom in the jaw. Psylocke was prepared to pounce, but Wanda held out her hand, not to cast a hex but as a warning. Reluctantly, Psylocke sheathed her sword and stepped back.
Fred threw Toad's limp body over his shoulder and followed as Lance, Pietro and Wanda exited the castle. As they left, Psylocke rushed over to Black Tom and helped him sit up. He glared at the traitorous Pyro, who offered a half-apologetic grin and quickly followed after the Brotherhood.
"And you're just letting them go?!" Black Tom shouted to Lucas, once on his feet. "You're not as sharp as I believed."
"There's not much I can do to stop her," Lucas replied. From the corner of his eye he noticed Sack's parts were slowly moving towards each other and grimaced. "But more importantly, she'll lead us right to the brat pack's bosses. None of them know where, exactly, their commanders are located. But Wanda... she'll find them."
Oh no!
There's a slight self-referential moment up there: Lance realizes he's never heard Blob say "shit." This is because I generally write Fred as being the least likely to swear (with Lance obviously being most likely).
So... Black Tom Cassidy. Traditionally, he's been the arch-nemesis of his cousin, Banshee. Banshee's not here. The cast's crowded enough as it is.