Chapter 3 - Doubting the Future
Dinner that night was spread throughout the manor. Many of the occupants were settled around a large television set watching the news. Among this group were Scott, Jean, Hank, Kurt, Ororo and Viktoria.
"The latest in a stream of terrorist attacks along the west coast occurred in San Francisco today," the anchor announced solemnly. "Although nobody was killed, the Bank of America and surrounding buildings received substantial damage estimated at nearly 4 million dollars - "
Scott sighed heavily and switched the channel to a nightly sitcom. Jean patted his leg reassuringly. "I'm sure as soon as the Professor knows something solid.." She began. Scott held up a hand to silence her. He'd heard it all before. He just hated sitting around doing nothing while the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants ran around on the opposite coast, blowing things up.
Viktoria finished her plate and rose silently. "I'm going for a walk," she said and went to the kitchen to deposit her plate in the sink.
Quickly grabbing her cloak, Viktoria headed out a pair of French doors leading to the pool. The air was cool against her skin as she strolled through the manicured lawn. A gentle breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers to her nose, while lifting her hair off her shoulders and swirling it around her head to form a sort of golden halo.
"Do you always take walks in the dark?"
Viktoria spun around and faced Logan. "Do you always sneak up on people in the dark?" There was a dangerous edge to her voice that Logan quickly picked up on. She stood with one hand on her hip, attitude seething from her in waves, the other hand in the pocket of the cloak, fingering her rapier.
"You knew I was here," he replied coolly. He stepped closer. "It's not that dark anyway." Viktoria realized he was right on both counts. She could see very well in the dark, so the mansion's sporadic security lights were of no need.
"So what brings you out here, Logan? Wait! Don't tell me- you star gaze?" Logan shrugged off her sarcasm. "I wanted to talk to you. Alone."
Viktoria tried to calm her heart rate enough to speak clearly. She turned and began to walk away from the lights of the mansion. Logan noticed what she was doing and kept pace beside her.
"How was Canada?" he asked suddenly.
If he'd been expecting a reaction, he didn't get one. She studied his face through her seemingly ever-present blue lens. "Cold. Snowy. Dangerous. You know how it is." Despite her light tone, Logan sensed her apprehension. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "What do you know?"
"Charles briefed me and Scott on Pietro's situation earlier. About what you two have done."
"The way you say it makes it sound like Charles didn't put it in so great a light. I did what I had to," she replied defensively. "Pietro agreed."
"Hey, don't worry. I understand. So your...alright?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. Viktoria looked down at his hand, gently shaking it away. "I'm not dead. So yeah, I guess I'm alright. How are things here? No near death experiences?"
Logan laughed gruffly. It seemed like everything he did was gruff. "I live near death. But no, Scott tries to keep everything pretty PG-13 around here. It'll be a nice vacation for you. Not being able to maim anyone."
"Damn," Viktoria replied, snapping her fingers. "Did you see the news?"
"No. What'd I miss?" Viktoria shrugged. "Another bombing. Not much damage, nobody died, but ole Scotty-boy didn't look too happy about it."
"How's Quicksilver?" Logan asked after a long pause. Viktoria sighed. "I have no idea. I haven't talked to Pietro in 3 weeks. Not even a phone call to say 'hey, guess what? I'm not dead!'" She clutched at her cloak tightly. "It used to be days."
Logan nodded. He knew the danger Pietro risked everyday, the danger of being found out that he was working as a spy to relay information about the Brotherhood's recent activities.
"You don't think something happened to him, do you? Maybe Magneto found out and-" Viktoria shook violently, as if from a sudden chill. Logan grasped her shoulders, steadying her. "I'm sure he's fine but if we don't hear anything from him in, say, 3 days, then we'll go to Charles. See what we can do. How's that?" Viktoria nodded bleakly.
"I'm sure he's fine," Logan repeated. "If he saw trouble, he could run away in the blink of an eye anyway. The kid's certainly fast enough. We'll hear from him soon." Logan released her shoulders and motioned for her to follow him back inside. "You should try and get some sleep too, it looks like it's been awhile since you got some decent shut-eye."
"Thanks, Mommy," Viktoria replied sarcastically as they stepped into the house. "How long have you been on the road?" Logan asked. "2 weeks? Viktoria nodded, checking her watch. "2 and a half. The half being right around here."
"Why didn't you just come in sooner? Wasn't Charles expecting you?" Viktoria shrugged vaguely. "Figured I check out the area, you know, make sure I knew what was what." Logan chuckled and they both split to head back to their rooms.
Viktoria slumped on her bed, then leaned over to pull out a battered leather journal and opened it to a new page.
Dear Journal ~
Still no word from Pietro. It's been 3 flippin' weeks since the last letter. He knows I'm in New York, so there's no reason for it to go anywhere else. And he has my cell number- UGH! This is so frustrating! Logan thinks he's just busy, or else he would of called by now. But you can't call if your DEAD, now can you?
Oh, I don't know. I wish I heard something from him. Anything. Even a simple postcard that said "Greetings From California!" And a little message that said "Hey Tor, I'm doing swell."
This is like some cruel form of torture. I've never missed someone like this. What if he's dead? Oh god. DON'T THINK LIKE THAT VIKTORIA! Hopefully someday I can re-read this and laugh at how stupid it is. How I'm just over- reacting. Seeing monsters in the shadows.
Viktoria paused, her pen poised over the page. Writing made her feel better.
I just miss Pietro. I hope he writes or calls or something's soon.
Wanda keeps giving me the evil eye. I've only been here a day and she's already in hate mode. She thinks she knows so much about everything! She doesn't even understand the point of Pietro doing this.
Like we can afford to have Magneto running around bent on world domination. Like that would ever work, anyway. I believe Professor X's "why can't we all just get along?" speech more than Magneto's "Mutants are the next step in evolution, blah blah blah, we're destined to rule the world" mumbo- jumbo.
Whoa- I got off track, huh? Anyway, yeah, Wanda. Scarlet Bitch. She sucks. I get the impression Jean doesn't think too highly of her, either. Trying to steal her man and all. Haha. It's such a soap opera in this house. But apparently Wanda thinks I've talked her brother into 'suicide' or something. Not like SHE'S never attached anyone with those crazy powers of hers. Lord.
What does she call it? Hex-casting? Whatever. "If you knew our father, Viktoria! You would see what we had to deal with." Thank, Wanda, but I was in the Brotherhood for a while too, I KNOW what you had to deal with. The rest of us had to deal with it, too. But I guess YOU couldn't take it, 'cause you sure as hell got out of their a.s.a.p. Not a bad place you ran to, though. It's kind of weird being back on the east coast after all these years though.
Ha. Listen to me. "All these years." It's only been 3 or 4, hasn't it? Hmm, let's see if junior high math paid off. I was 14 when my power manifested, then I left when I was almost 15- hmmm- yeah, so about 4 years since I'll be 18 this summer. HA! Take that Ms. Elberton! I DID pay attention in algebra, afterall.
Anyway, Wanda had gone on and on this afternoon about how I'm 'so stupid' for allowing Pietro to do this and yadda yadda. "You send my brother to his death and then you come HERE? To MY house? Are you insane?"
I'm beginning to think maybe it was crazy to come here. Even though some of them have warmed up to me since this afternoon. Oh well. Maybe Wanda was right. I am insane.
Viktoria closed the journal and placed it back in the drawer beside her bed. She changed into pajamas, turned off the light, and fell asleep.
Dinner that night was spread throughout the manor. Many of the occupants were settled around a large television set watching the news. Among this group were Scott, Jean, Hank, Kurt, Ororo and Viktoria.
"The latest in a stream of terrorist attacks along the west coast occurred in San Francisco today," the anchor announced solemnly. "Although nobody was killed, the Bank of America and surrounding buildings received substantial damage estimated at nearly 4 million dollars - "
Scott sighed heavily and switched the channel to a nightly sitcom. Jean patted his leg reassuringly. "I'm sure as soon as the Professor knows something solid.." She began. Scott held up a hand to silence her. He'd heard it all before. He just hated sitting around doing nothing while the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants ran around on the opposite coast, blowing things up.
Viktoria finished her plate and rose silently. "I'm going for a walk," she said and went to the kitchen to deposit her plate in the sink.
Quickly grabbing her cloak, Viktoria headed out a pair of French doors leading to the pool. The air was cool against her skin as she strolled through the manicured lawn. A gentle breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers to her nose, while lifting her hair off her shoulders and swirling it around her head to form a sort of golden halo.
"Do you always take walks in the dark?"
Viktoria spun around and faced Logan. "Do you always sneak up on people in the dark?" There was a dangerous edge to her voice that Logan quickly picked up on. She stood with one hand on her hip, attitude seething from her in waves, the other hand in the pocket of the cloak, fingering her rapier.
"You knew I was here," he replied coolly. He stepped closer. "It's not that dark anyway." Viktoria realized he was right on both counts. She could see very well in the dark, so the mansion's sporadic security lights were of no need.
"So what brings you out here, Logan? Wait! Don't tell me- you star gaze?" Logan shrugged off her sarcasm. "I wanted to talk to you. Alone."
Viktoria tried to calm her heart rate enough to speak clearly. She turned and began to walk away from the lights of the mansion. Logan noticed what she was doing and kept pace beside her.
"How was Canada?" he asked suddenly.
If he'd been expecting a reaction, he didn't get one. She studied his face through her seemingly ever-present blue lens. "Cold. Snowy. Dangerous. You know how it is." Despite her light tone, Logan sensed her apprehension. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "What do you know?"
"Charles briefed me and Scott on Pietro's situation earlier. About what you two have done."
"The way you say it makes it sound like Charles didn't put it in so great a light. I did what I had to," she replied defensively. "Pietro agreed."
"Hey, don't worry. I understand. So your...alright?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. Viktoria looked down at his hand, gently shaking it away. "I'm not dead. So yeah, I guess I'm alright. How are things here? No near death experiences?"
Logan laughed gruffly. It seemed like everything he did was gruff. "I live near death. But no, Scott tries to keep everything pretty PG-13 around here. It'll be a nice vacation for you. Not being able to maim anyone."
"Damn," Viktoria replied, snapping her fingers. "Did you see the news?"
"No. What'd I miss?" Viktoria shrugged. "Another bombing. Not much damage, nobody died, but ole Scotty-boy didn't look too happy about it."
"How's Quicksilver?" Logan asked after a long pause. Viktoria sighed. "I have no idea. I haven't talked to Pietro in 3 weeks. Not even a phone call to say 'hey, guess what? I'm not dead!'" She clutched at her cloak tightly. "It used to be days."
Logan nodded. He knew the danger Pietro risked everyday, the danger of being found out that he was working as a spy to relay information about the Brotherhood's recent activities.
"You don't think something happened to him, do you? Maybe Magneto found out and-" Viktoria shook violently, as if from a sudden chill. Logan grasped her shoulders, steadying her. "I'm sure he's fine but if we don't hear anything from him in, say, 3 days, then we'll go to Charles. See what we can do. How's that?" Viktoria nodded bleakly.
"I'm sure he's fine," Logan repeated. "If he saw trouble, he could run away in the blink of an eye anyway. The kid's certainly fast enough. We'll hear from him soon." Logan released her shoulders and motioned for her to follow him back inside. "You should try and get some sleep too, it looks like it's been awhile since you got some decent shut-eye."
"Thanks, Mommy," Viktoria replied sarcastically as they stepped into the house. "How long have you been on the road?" Logan asked. "2 weeks? Viktoria nodded, checking her watch. "2 and a half. The half being right around here."
"Why didn't you just come in sooner? Wasn't Charles expecting you?" Viktoria shrugged vaguely. "Figured I check out the area, you know, make sure I knew what was what." Logan chuckled and they both split to head back to their rooms.
Viktoria slumped on her bed, then leaned over to pull out a battered leather journal and opened it to a new page.
Dear Journal ~
Still no word from Pietro. It's been 3 flippin' weeks since the last letter. He knows I'm in New York, so there's no reason for it to go anywhere else. And he has my cell number- UGH! This is so frustrating! Logan thinks he's just busy, or else he would of called by now. But you can't call if your DEAD, now can you?
Oh, I don't know. I wish I heard something from him. Anything. Even a simple postcard that said "Greetings From California!" And a little message that said "Hey Tor, I'm doing swell."
This is like some cruel form of torture. I've never missed someone like this. What if he's dead? Oh god. DON'T THINK LIKE THAT VIKTORIA! Hopefully someday I can re-read this and laugh at how stupid it is. How I'm just over- reacting. Seeing monsters in the shadows.
Viktoria paused, her pen poised over the page. Writing made her feel better.
I just miss Pietro. I hope he writes or calls or something's soon.
Wanda keeps giving me the evil eye. I've only been here a day and she's already in hate mode. She thinks she knows so much about everything! She doesn't even understand the point of Pietro doing this.
Like we can afford to have Magneto running around bent on world domination. Like that would ever work, anyway. I believe Professor X's "why can't we all just get along?" speech more than Magneto's "Mutants are the next step in evolution, blah blah blah, we're destined to rule the world" mumbo- jumbo.
Whoa- I got off track, huh? Anyway, yeah, Wanda. Scarlet Bitch. She sucks. I get the impression Jean doesn't think too highly of her, either. Trying to steal her man and all. Haha. It's such a soap opera in this house. But apparently Wanda thinks I've talked her brother into 'suicide' or something. Not like SHE'S never attached anyone with those crazy powers of hers. Lord.
What does she call it? Hex-casting? Whatever. "If you knew our father, Viktoria! You would see what we had to deal with." Thank, Wanda, but I was in the Brotherhood for a while too, I KNOW what you had to deal with. The rest of us had to deal with it, too. But I guess YOU couldn't take it, 'cause you sure as hell got out of their a.s.a.p. Not a bad place you ran to, though. It's kind of weird being back on the east coast after all these years though.
Ha. Listen to me. "All these years." It's only been 3 or 4, hasn't it? Hmm, let's see if junior high math paid off. I was 14 when my power manifested, then I left when I was almost 15- hmmm- yeah, so about 4 years since I'll be 18 this summer. HA! Take that Ms. Elberton! I DID pay attention in algebra, afterall.
Anyway, Wanda had gone on and on this afternoon about how I'm 'so stupid' for allowing Pietro to do this and yadda yadda. "You send my brother to his death and then you come HERE? To MY house? Are you insane?"
I'm beginning to think maybe it was crazy to come here. Even though some of them have warmed up to me since this afternoon. Oh well. Maybe Wanda was right. I am insane.
Viktoria closed the journal and placed it back in the drawer beside her bed. She changed into pajamas, turned off the light, and fell asleep.