Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.
Piotr's Tale
Piotr wasn't sure why he was being shown to the bedroom to a couple of students. He supposed he must have fought them before – maybe Xavier had intended for him to apologise.
But, as he looked over Piotr saw the eerily cheerful boy give Gambit a meaningful look. Perhaps this side-tracking was more for LeBeau than it was for him.
oOo
After several minutes they arrived at Gambit's room.
"Doesn't the professor want to see me?" Gambit asked.
"I'm sure he'll call when he wants if he wants to talk." Nero replied, pointing a finger to his head.
Gambit nodded curtly before closing the door.
"Your room is down here." Nero said.
Piotr nodded politely and followed him down the corridor in silence.
"You don't talk much do you?" Nero stated.
"Not much to talk about." Piotr replied.
"Well your rooms on the other side of the mansion and walking around in silence reminds me too much of home." Nero said, "Your home's in Russia isn't it?"
"Yes." Piotr said, "I lived on a farm with my mother, father, brother and sister. Most of them have… passed away."
"I know the feeling." Nero thought to himself.
Piotr watched as a young girl ran through the wall right in front of him. She glanced at the hulking figure before her and squealed slightly before running through the wall on the opposite side.
"That's Kitty." Nero said, "Wait here a second, she's just not used to you... being one of the good guys."
"People do usually find me intimidating." Piotr said.
"Tell me something I don't know." Nero said as he ran headfirst into the shadows of the wall and faded away into it as if it were inky black fog.
Piotr knew that stuff like that shouldn't surprise him anymore, but it was hard not to appreciate the amazing gifts some people possessed.
oOo
After a short wait Piotr heard a loud BAMF! He immediately ducked – believing it was gunfire. He looked up to see the boy from earlier, the girl that could walk through walls and the furry blue thing that he'd seen on the battlefield several times.
"Maybe I should have used the door?" Kurt muttered nervously.
The giant of a man rose to his full height and Kitty and Kurt started backing away. Nero stood his ground - not showing any emotion.
"Hello." Piotr said.
"Hey." Kitty said sheepishly.
"Guten Tag." Kurt said.
"Sorry about… you know." Piotr said.
"Ja, apology accepted und vere sorry about beating you up too." Kurt said.
"Apology accepted." Piotr said.
oOo
Piotr was led to his room and quickly closed the door - glad to be away from the untrusting teens. He put his bags down and changed. He was nervous. No-one seemed to like him much and still his Illyana hadn't arrived.
Illyana was his siter. She'd been held captive by Magneto in an unknown location for years and Xavier claimed to have found her. Xavier had assured him that it would be safe for her to stay at the Mansion, but Piotr disagreed she'd be surrounded by his old foes and he'd demanded to come along for her protection. Xavier had obviously been expecting this reaction and had already made plans for Piotr's arrival.
Of course, he'd only encountered Storm and some of the teenagers – they didn't seem very threatening. But he feared the reaction of some of the more ruthless individuals - god forbid what would happen when they confronted the Wolverine?
oOo
Once he'd set up all his stuff Piotr decided to go for a wander. He felt unwelcome walking around the grand halls and it was completely quiet in the big house.
Eventually he found his way down to the kitchen and was surprised by what he was faced with - a large furry blue monster in a lab coat eating toast and reading a newspaper.
"Evening." Hank said calmly.
Piotr nodded - nervously taking a seat at the table.
"The traffic's easing up. The students should be arriving soon." Hank said.
"Good." Piotr said, "Does this place have a… gym or anything?"
"A gym?" Hank laughed, "No. But, we've got something better. Follow me, I'll show you to the Danger Room."
oOo
Several hours of Danger Room training later and Piotr had forgotten his worries.
"I've never had so much fun training before." He said as he smashed in Magneto's head, "But, I'm sure in real life Magneto would be a stronger foe."
He dropped Magneto to the floor and the hologram around it faded as "Magneto" was reverted back into a drone.
"Please. I've got this thing on easy mode and you're still sweating so much that you're rusting!" Hank joked.
As the simulation ended Piotr laughed, "No wonder you guys always beat us."
"Piotr." A voice sounded in his head, "Don't worry - it's me, Xavier. I'm communicating to you via telepathy. Illyana is here."
oOo
Piotr rushed out of the Danger Room and ran up several flights of stairs.
"Piotr!" He heard a call. He rushed forwards and hugged his little sister.
She seemed to have aged greatly from the six year old girl she'd once been. She was taller and her blonde hair had grown wildly. But her face was the same, those sparkling pure blue eyes still shone brightly.
"You've grown so much." Piotr said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Magneto used this machine to make my powers wrap around me. It sent me into Limbo. Time went differently – For me it's been about seven years! It's been far too long." Illyana cried.
"Yes," Piotr said, holding his sister tight, not willing to let go, "Yes, it has."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this. Please read and review.