New World Order

By: XMENobsession

AN: Once again, real life has distracted me from the much more important made-up reality in my head. I'm sorry. Here is chapter 10 for your reading pleasure, and I kindly request that you REVIEW!!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! Not the people, not the places, and definitely not the paper!

Chapter 10

"You are a foolish child to withhold such vital information from not only your king, but your father!"

"I guess I am."

Pietro and Magneto glared at each other in silence.

"Why are you so stubborn?" Magneto asked.

"I get it from you."

Magneto laughed to himself. "I suppose you do... Fine. If you choose not to disclose this information, that's your decision. I would have thought my own son, my heir, would have acted differently in such a critical hour, but I guess this is what I should have expected. After all, you married an X..."

"Don't you say another word!" Pietro yelled.

Magneto stared at his son a moment longer and then dropped his head. "Go."

"Where?" Pietro asked.

"I don't care! Just go!"

Pietro walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He raced to the gardens and sat down on the same bench Kitty had sat on not too long ago. He watched the same flower she had and thought back to when life actually seemed to be going his way. After Kitty got pregnant with the twins, he thought it was the end of him. If Magneto or the X-Men didn't kill him, then the stress of fatherhood certainly would.

But instead of being furious, Magneto actually seemed somewhat happy about being a grandfather. He moved Pietro and Kitty to Genosha, and quickly got them married (it was the proper thing to do, after all). Then the mutants started to pour in and the buildings shot up. Genosha became a bustling city and Pietro's life couldn't have gotten better. He worked for his father, helping to make decisions on the Mutant Council and doing odd jobs around the city, especially ones which required speed. The twins were born and seemed to grow quicker than Pietro could run. For the first time in his life he was completely content with the world. That all changed in one day.

There had been rumors of an underground rebellion, but Pietro never believed any of them. He'd never seen his father act so... normal. He didn't believe he was capable of killing again. 'Idiot,' Pietro thought to himself on the stone bench. 'I knew he was still the same villain he always was; I just didn't want to believe it... So did nothing while he plotted his revenge on the humans. I stood there and watched as the events unfolded in front of me, leading up to...' He stopped, the picture of Kitty in that book clear in his mind. 'It was all my fault...'

A hand fell on Pietro's shoulder. He turned his head to see who it belonged to and met two mesmerizing eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So what's our next move?" Northstar asked Charlie.

Charlie gazed at the rubble around her. "Now that the X-Men are dead our chances are slim. Magneto will attack New York City in two days. We need to prepare to meet him."

"Without a base?" Psylocke asked.

Kitty's head shot up. "There might be another place..." The others looked at her expectantly. "Put on the jets' invisible shields."

"That won't stop Magneto from finding them," Northstar said.

"But it'll stop other people. Magneto can have his jets if he wants them; they're of no use to us anymore. Besides, the place I have in mind is within walking distance."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kitty inhaled deeply as she stared at the familiar door. She felt odd standing there, but had nowhere else to go. She turned to glance at the group of mutants standing behind her one more time before knocking.

A tall, brown-haired man answered. "Kitty!" he said, shocked at the reappearance of an old friend and enemy.

Kitty raised her head to look him in the face. "Hello, Lance."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Pietro awoke later. He couldn't remember how long he had been asleep or how he had gotten where he was. Wait, where was he? He looked around groggily. He was in a cell. Stone walls surrounded him on three sides and silver bars prevented him from accessing the rest of the room. It all looked new and clean. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was still on Genosha.

He heard footsteps coming closer and sat up. Magneto walked up to the silver bars, held out a hand, and stepped through the doorway he had just made. "Pietro?" He held out a hand to his son.

Pietro stared at it for a moment. Something immediately told him not to take his father's hand, but he couldn't remember why. Magneto had always been a good father to him. He'd given him a home, a job, and now he was willing to give him a second chance, an opportunity to make up for all the wrong he'd done. Pietro finally accepted Magneto's hand and stood up. "I'm sorry."

Magneto smiled at him. "It's alright. Now come, we have much to do before we leave for New York." Magneto turned and began to walk away. Pietro was about to follow, but then noticed the other man that had entered the cell with Magneto: Mastermind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So that's why we need your help," Kitty said after explaining the previous events to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. "That is, if you're willing to give it."

Lance leaned back in his chair. "Magneto formed the Brotherhood. He gave me a place to call home."

"I know."

"And then he abandoned us. He used the Brotherhood for his own villainous purposes, and forgot about it once he found a new project." Lance leaned forward and shook Kitty's hand. "We'd be happy to help."

Kitty smiled broadly. "I'm so happy to hear you say that! Now, the first thing we need is a base." She looked around the room. "I was thinking..."

Lance laughed. "Well, it's not much..."

"But better than nothing."

"You're welcome here for as long as you need." He turned to the rest of the group Kitty had come with. "All of you."

"Thank you," Kitty said quietly to Lance before getting up to help the rest of the rebels settle into the Brotherhood house.

That night, while the rest of the rebels and the Brotherhood were eating, Kitty went out front and sat on the porch. She stared at the cloudy sky. There were no stars out that night, and it somehow made Kitty feel lonelier.

"Hey," Lance said and sat down next to Kitty. "You don't want anything to eat?"

"Nah. I'm fine, thanks."

"Are you sure? There's a lot we have to do before facing Magneto; you need your strength."

Kitty smiled. "You shouldn't be worrying about me."

"I've been worrying about you for the past two years."

"Really?" Kitty turned to Lance and saw him staring at her caringly.

"Ever since you left, a day hasn't gone by that I didn't think about you."

"Lance..."

"I know this must sound odd. I mean, we broke up years ago, and I was sure I was over you. When you and Pietro got together I... I was jealous, and then you left with him. I never wanted to admit it, but I still have feelings for you."

Kitty wanted to say something, anything, but nothing would come out. Lance's face was so close to her own that she could smell the Milky Way he had just eaten. She finally managed to let out a quiet, "Lance..." but the rest of her words were quickly stifled by Lance's lips on hers.