Twin Troubles

AN: This story takes place after X-Men Apocalypse, so there will be spoilers. I have fancast Mihaela Dragan as Wanda Maximoff in this universe because I wanted the twins' Roma heritage to be acknowledged. Her image is used as this story's cover art so readers can see how I picture Wanda looking in the X-Men movie universe.

Chapter One

Wanda Maximoff put the rental car into park in the school's driveway, then took a minute to stare up at the massive building. This is a school?! She had to admit, she felt a bit intimidated at the sight. Taking a deep breath, she stepped from the vehicle, heading for the front door, trying to figure out whether or not she needed to be mad at her reckless twin when she finally saw him.

She'd been backpacking through Europe, and had been in Amsterdam when the freak events had happened- the earthquake, the nukes taking off worldwide and detonating harmlessly, the unnerving voice in her head (and everyone else's) foretelling Doomsday, then the inexplicable metallic shifting that apparently hit everywhere on Earth, causing disasters. It was the bizarre magnetic event that had prompted Wanda to call home. She just knew that her biological father/sperm donor/mutant terrorist/waste of space was involved somehow, and she wanted to make sure her empty-headed twin hadn't got mixed up with him again, as he had ten years ago when she'd been at college.

She'd yelled at Peter for three hours straight when she found out he'd been the reason that Magneto escaped the Pentagon. It wasn't until months after that, when Wanda came home on vacation, that she learned what Peter knew by then: Magneto, or Erik, was their biological father. And Peter seemed, weirdly, to think that this was a good thing. As if a man like that would change, just because he'd fathered children he never knew about, decades ago!

Wanda shook her head, pushing her unruly dark curly hair out of her face as she banished that train of thought, re-focusing on the present, and why she was here, to knock some sense into her brother.

After calling home from Amsterdam, she'd been told by her mom that Magneto's being located in Poland had encouraged Peter to go looking for him. Wanda couldn't understand why he felt the need to, Magneto was a stranger. He hadn't raised them, didn't even know about them, but somehow Peter felt he had to track him down. She'd arranged there and then to come home (to wring Peter's neck when he showed up.)

As she'd made her way to the airport, she had oddly, felt fear, and it only grew. She'd felt enough of her twin's emotions before to understand that it was Peter who was scared, but she couldn't sense why. The next thing she'd picked up on was a crippling pain in her left leg, as if the bone had broken.

She'd tried her hardest to not panic- Peter was alive- but she couldn't get home fast enough. She had cursed the hours it took to book flights, finally be able to take off, then get back to the States, then to DC, before finally riding the subway home. After a brief catch up with Mom and little Ana (who took offence at being called that now she was nearly 15) Wanda finally learned where Peter was, at that school for mutants they'd heard about, years ago, and apparently he planned to stay there. Mom seemed to know nothing about Peter having broken his leg, nor did she seem to know why he might have felt so scared a few days ago. Wanda decided it was best not to tell her, at least not until she'd gotten the full story from her brother.

Which led her to where she was now, standing at the front door of this 'Xavier Institute'. A chilling thought struck her. What if Magneto was here too? What if that was why Peter wanted to stay? Academics had never been Peter's thing, after all... Wanda clenched her fists. Small red sparks danced round her hands. Peter had always acted as if Magneto was merely misunderstood, as he himself was, and seemed to think that if they could just bond, all would be well. If that was the case, she'd drag him home kicking and screaming. She knew enough of Magneto's past, from her mom and from the news, to know that he was bad news, and not someone she and Peter needed in their lives. If only she could convince Peter of that... Her brother's mischief and petty theft was nothing like the atrocities Magneto had committed, and if he was here, Peter was coming home.

The red sparks had grown into a halo around her hands. Wanda took a deep breath, willing it away, praying it worked. She didn't need to introduce herself at this place by causing a disaster! She counted to ten in her mind, and her powers went dormant again as she relaxed.

You don't even know if Magneto is still here, she told herself firmly. So knock on the door, introduce yourself and ask to see Peter. No need to get stressed out. Hoping her powers didn't go haywire, she knocked on the door. Footsteps sounded, and the door opened.

"Good morning, Miss...?"

Wanda jumped, then tried to pretend she hadn't. She'd known this was a school for mutants, of course, but hadn't expected to be greeted by someone who looked like a blue Bigfoot!

"Um, hairy- uh, hi! Hi." Mentally, Wanda slapped herself.

The blue guy waited, then raised a brow. "May I help you?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. I'm looking for Peter Maximoff." Wanda hesitated, not knowing what, if anything, the people here knew about Peter's family. To heck with it. "I'm his twin sister."

The blue guy's jaw dropped, but he regained his composure quickly. "Right, of course. Come in, I'll have someone call Peter for you." He closed the door behind her. "I'm Hank, by the way. Hank McCoy." He stared at her. "Peter didn't mention you were coming."

"It's a surprise." Wanda stated dryly. Hank was still staring, and she knew why. She took after her mom's mother, who had been Roma, and as such, with her nut-brown skin and wild dark curly hair, she couldn't have looked less like Peter. She wondered how long it would take Hank to say something about that- most people did.

To her surprise, he didn't make a comment about her appearance, merely leading her to a lounge before heading off to find Peter. She sat down casually on the sofa, looking around at the opulently decorated room as she suppressed a yawn, still not fully over the jet lag caused by racing home, then immediately travelling here, so quickly. This place sure is posh... This Xavier must be loaded.

"Wanda!" Peter stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, grinning as always but looking wary nonetheless. Hank hovered just behind him.

Wanda stood, stretching, relieved to see that Peter was OK. She went to hug him, then hesitated. He met her halfway, hugging her tightly, almost lifting her off her feet.

She laughed, noting Hank leaving in her peripheral vision before re-focusing on Peter when he let go of her.

"What are you doing here, Wands? I thought you were in the Netherlands!"

Wanda eyed him intently. "Oh, I just called home to check on you guys after you know, everything went insane all over the world, and Mom says you've just up and moved here for no obvious reason." She curbed her earlier urge to strangle him. "Of all the places you could've moved to, you choose here?"

He shrugged. "It's a good place, Wands." His use of her old nickname both reassured and annoyed her. "I can actually do something with my life here, helping out kids like us. Mutants." A cocky grin crossed his face. "Don't worry, I'm not allowed to teach them my ways of having fun."

"So you can't turn them into petty thieves. Small favors." Wanda's tone was wry, but a small smile played on her lips. Her expression darkened a second later. "How are you, really? Not long ago, I picked up on a hell of a lot of fear from you, and the next thing I know, it felt like someone broke my- your- leg." She folded her arms. "What's been going on?"

"Uhhh. Long story. But my leg's fine now!" To prove his point, he disappeared from her sight in a blur, then re-appeared a few seconds later. "See? Just ran a lap of the whole mansion!"

"And your accident?" Wanda wasn't going to drop it that easily. "Look, Mom said you went looking for... her old friend," she wasn't going to say Magneto, not when she had no idea who might be listening, "And all I know of it is that there was a huge magnetic disturbance that caused damage all over the world, you were petrified, and then you got hurt. If this was something he did, if he hurt you-"

The lights flickered and cracks appeared in a couple of windows. Wanda took another deep breath, burying her emotions and her powers.

"It wasn't him! Well, it kind of was, but it's not what you think. Really." Peter insisted.

Wanda sat back down, arms folded. "Alright. I don't know what you mean, so explain." She speared him with her gaze, making it clear she wasn't giving up until she got answers.

Peter sighed heavily, flopping down beside her. "Well-"

A woman with wavy blonde hair, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, stepped into the room, eyeing both twins curiously.

Peter looked relieved to not have to start explaining right then, Wanda noted. He smiled at the new arrival.

"Hey, Raven."

Raven. Mystique. The legendary fighter for mutant rights. Wanda arched a brow. The shape-shifter was younger than she'd expected- or maybe she was just choosing to look young. Who knew?

"Peter." Raven sounded almost amused. "Hank said you'd had a visitor. I thought I'd come meet your twin myself, since you mentioned her so often."

Wanda had a feeling Raven was being sarcastic. She turned to look at Peter. "You haven't told anyone about me?" She couldn't deny she was a little hurt.

"Errr... it's complicated, sis." He cleared his throat. "Wanda, this is Raven, or Mystique, whatever you want to call her, Raven, this is Wanda, my sister. Duh." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Raven almost apologetically.

Raven's next words were a bit sharper. "And in the talks we had about... the family issues you have, you never thought to mention that you're a twin?"

Wanda tensed, already guessing what- or who- Raven was talking about. She narrowed her eyes at Peter. "You've told people about... our relation to him?!"

He looked at her defiantly, but couldn't hold her angry gaze. "He's not as bad as the stories make out, Wanda! He's lost a lot, and-"

"And I don't want to hear it." Wanda leapt up and began pacing. "Have you totally forgotten JFK? The thing in Washington? And now, after whatever he did the other week, you still think he's a good person?"

Raven watched this exchange like a tennis match.

Peter clenched his fists. "He's a complicated person. Just like we all are. We all can choose to do good or bad."

"And so far, from what I've seen, all he's ever done is bad!" Wanda was genuinely angry now. Her powers surged, though she hardly noticed. "You're just too naive to see-"

A picture frame on a nearby table exploded loudly, spraying glass everywhere. Wanda muttered a quiet "Sorry" as she willed the photo to repair itself, then made the red glow fade from her hands.

"If you two are quite finished," Raven interrupted. "I'm guessing, since you're both playing the pronoun game, you don't want to say who it is you're talking about, so it's lucky for you I already know, but even so, half the school are going to hear. Why don't we continue this argument outside?" Grabbing Peter by the arm, she tugged him towards a door that led to the school grounds, plainly expecting Wanda to follow.

Still inwardly seething at her brother's stupidity, she stalked after them, determined to make sure that Peter understood that Magneto had no redeeming qualities, and wasn't worth their time. The one good thing was that it didn't look as if the terrorist was here at this school. She just hoped it stayed that way. Or she would make Peter leave. No matter what.

To be continued...

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