Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I STILL don't own any of the characters except
Viktoria Cole, and Marvel owns everything else. (grumbles to self)
Chapter 4- Unexpected Arrival
The next morning Viktoria stumbled down to breakfast still clad in popcorn print pajama bottoms and black tank top. Roaming around the kitchen in search edibles, she eventually settled down over a bowl of frosted flakes as a goofy cartoon tiger stared at her from the front of the box. Sneering at it, she flicked the box over; amused at watching the tiger fall back helplessly. "It's not polite to stare, buddy," she mumbled at the fallen cardboard animal.
"A letter came for you this morning," Jean said, handing her a large envelope over the tabletop. Viktoria's sleepy eyes went wide at the sight of the envelope and she eagerly snatched it away, ripping the heavy paper open and reading the contents. Her eyes flew across the page, her smile growing with each sentence she read.
Jean watched her face with an amused expression. "Oh yes, and a young gentleman came calling for you, too. He seemed to come with the letter."
Viktoria gazed up slowly from the letter. ".. What?" Jean just jerked a thumb behind her and said "In there." Viktoria followed the direction Jean was pointing until she stepped into the sitting room and immediately saw a familiar silver head turn toward her.
"Pietro..?" Viktoria couldn't believe it was actually him! "Oh my god- OH MY GOD!! PIETRO?! PIETRO! OH MY GOD IT'S YOU!!" He stood up and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck as he swung her around. "I missed you so much! Where have you been? You didn't call or anything you dork! I hate you! Where have you been? Oh, I missed you-"
Pietro set her down, stroking her hair affectionately. "I missed you, too, Tor." He leaned back and smirked. "As for the other questions, I guess you didn't finish my letter, huh?" Viktoria shook her head, and shrugged. "I'll read it later."
"Hey dere, Petey," the feisty Cajun commented from the kitchen doorway. Pietro turned to address Remy. "Hey, Gumbo." Remy smiled as he took a seat on the couch, a bagel in his hand. "What brings you to dese parts, eh, mon ami?" Viktoria left to retrieve her cereal from the table while Pietro chatted with Remy.
She fixed a plate of toast for Pietro and balanced it all in her hands as she headed back into the sitting room. She handed him the plate, which he smiled broadly at. Taking a seat next to him, she caught Remy's last sentence. ".. like you've been having yerself some fun out dere on de coast, eh?"
"Well, you do what your told I guess. You can only bitch so much without having it fall on deft ears, you know? It's a difficult situation." Remy nodded knowingly and took a bite of his bagel. Pietro smiled approvingly at Viktoria for the toast and began eating.
"I don't really understand the whole thing. Are you two like spies?" Jean asked. She was munching on a banana on a nearby chair, listening intently.
"More like traitors," a new voice chimed in. Wanda leaned against the paneling of the doorframe. "I've been dealing with her shit since the moment I walked in," Viktoria whispered to Pietro. Jean smiled tightly at the younger brunette. She knew too how much of a pain the ass Wanda could be when she really set her mind to it. "Morning Wanda."
Wanda ignored her, instead watching Viktoria as she stood up graciously. "Why, good morning, Wanda. Want me to make you some toast?"
Wanda sneered at her attempt to be civil. "Why? You want to poison it?" she asked defensively. Viktoria laughed. "Oh come on, Pietro's eating my poisoned toast and he seems fine, huh?" She dropped her voice to a grave whisper. "Besides, if I wanted you dead, do you really think I'd need poison?" She smiled viciously as she held up her hand, tiny flames licking her fingers.
"Don't you dare threaten ME, Viktoria!" Wanda shouted. Viktoria covered her ears and mumbled some quick obscenities. "It's too damn early for all your wailing."
"'ey now chere. Don't be screaming so loud so early. People, they still be sleepin'. Or tryin to, eh?" Remy held up his hands in a calming gesture. "You don't want to do nothin' you'd regret later."
Pietro stood up and faced his twin sister. "Wanda, stop it," his voice firm and unflinching. "Remy's right, I don't know what's wrong with you, but Jean tells me you've been very rude lately. More so than usual, apparently," he added under his breath. "I've only been here a few minutes, but I've noticed it too. Now what's wrong with you?"
"Why doesn't anyone yell at HER?!" Wanda threw up her hands in disgust. "She's the one who came here! It's not like we searched her out or anything." Wanda jabbed an angry finger in Viktoria's face. "You didn't need to stay here! Nobody wants you here! Nobody wants you anywhere! All you do is get people in trouble!"
Viktoria visibly flinched, then backed up from Wanda's accusations, frowning slightly. "You're really playing with fire, Wanda. Why don't you just shut the hell up for everyone's sake as well as your own?"
Wanda stood in the center of the room, her chest heaving from all the yelling she had been doing. "How DARE you," she seethed. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Wanda's arms suddenly rose at her sides, making a swift gesture as a force like a flying brick wall rammed right into Viktoria, knocking all the breath from her lungs. She fell to the floor in a heap, blood dribbling from her mouth.
Pietro moved instantly to her side, while Remy grabbed Wanda's arms from behind and held them to her sides. "What de hell has gotten into you? You gone crazy?"
Jean called to Scott and the Professor telepathically, even as Pietro was helped a bruising Viktoria to the couch. He turned an icy glare to his sister. "What the fuck is wrong with you Wanda? You could have killed her!"
Viktoria coughed once and sat up. Rolling her shoulders, she stood up and limped out of the room without another word. Scott bumped into her on his way to the sitting room. "Whoa, wait a second. Sorry. What happened to you??" Scott surveyed the scene, lines of worry creasing his normally handsome features.
Viktoria standing unsteadily cradling her wrist, with a bloody nose and lip, what looked to be a slight limp, and maybe a black eye forming a dark ring around her left eye? Remy was holding Wanda by the arms, while Pietro and Jean just looked angry and dumbfounded, respectively. What a way to start the morning, Scott thought bitterly.
Luckily, Logan heard all the commotion and came running into the room right after him, followed closely by Rogue and Hank. "Some party we got forming here, huh?" Viktoria grumbled moodily. She sudden clutched her head at the searing pain speaking had caused to her already violent headache. She moaned softly and fell back into a nearby armchair.
Jean walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of ice, handing it to Viktoria. "For your eye," she explained. "Let me help you to the kitchen." Viktoria nodded glumly and slumped towards a kitchen chair, throwing an evil look over her shoulder at Wanda. Pietro, shaking his head in disgust at his twin, sat down next to Viktoria, laid a slender hand on her knee.
Wanda, held in check by a frustrated Remy, mumbled something resembling an apology and headed into the kitchen to mope. Hank watched her with a mild look of repugnance, and then deciding to take care of Viktoria's many bruises, he kneeled by her chair.
Hank eyed her quietly, while Viktoria looked at him with suspicious eyes. "It's okay, Hank's a doctor, remember?" Scott reminded her. Viktoria shrugged, wincing in pain slightly. "My wrist is broken, I think," she replied simply. "And I could use a couple Tylenol's, too," she added with the ghost of a smile.
Hank smiled and felt her outstretched arm. "Luckily, it's not broken, just badly strained. I can fix that quickly enough- Oh, Jean? Could you run down to the lab and grab my bag? I have some antibiotics for cuts and bruises and such in there." Jean nodded and headed off in the direction of the labs downstairs.
Scott rubbed his temples, trying to calm his nerves after the wild morning. It's only 8 o'clock too, he reminded himself. "Can someone please tell me what happened this morning?"
Remy gently pushed Wanda into a chair and turned to regard Scott. "Dis crazy girl 'ere just bout attacked Viktoria, raising those hexes of hers again." He shook his head in disbelief. "And you say I ain't allowed to smoke inside, at least that don't kill nobody, mon ami."
Scott looked to Pietro, who just shrugged in response. "Look at her, homme! She catatonic, dis one is." Remy shook his head again at the blank look Wanda gave everyone, as if she didn't understand what she had done.
Jean returned, handing Hank his medical bag, and Viktoria a small bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water. Viktoria handed the bottle to Pietro, nodding at him to open it for her, then popped two of the capsules in her mouth with a large gulp of water. Jean propped herself on one of the bar stools next to a very confused Rogue and relayed the story of the morning's events to the rest of the group. When she was through, Scott nodded.
"Wanda, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to speak with the Professor if you have problems with this... this operation, then I suggest you get through them quickly. Take this up with the Professor personally, do whatever you need to, just pull yourself together. I will NOT tolerate this from a teammate, understand?" Scoot searched Wanda's face for conformation that she had, in fact, understood him, but her eyes were still has blank as her face.
Pietro stared at his sister, a swell of pity rushing to his heart. What had happened to her? They'd never been close, not like siblings should have been, and sure, she'd attacked HIM a few times when she was younger- but that was before she had control over her powers. But what about now? What she really that far gone that she would blatantly attack someone like that? Pietro looked to Viktoria, her face bloody and eye swelled, but she still had that confident smile on her face. That smile proudly saying "I win."
Pietro almost laughed to himself. Surely, she didn't quite deserve THAT, but he knew her attitude around Wanda would eventually get to her, and today it seems it did. Wanda got tired of her witty comebacks, and she snapped. Viktoria didn't seem to mind too much though, cause that smile was still evident on her fine features. It's going to be a loooong day, he thought.
Despite her injuries, Viktoria was trying to focus on Hank's instructions of the bottle of painkillers instead of getting angry with Wanda. She had provoked her, slightly in her opinion, so she wasn't exactly surprised that Wanda had flipped out like she had, but STILL! How could someone be so stupid? If your going to smack someone, do it when no one else is looking, Viktoria mused. Be discreet.
"So, take these red ones with food no more than twice a day, and these yellow pills only once-" Hank rambled on about the various medications, while Scott drummed his fingers on the counter. They were waiting for the Professor to arrive while Hank finished bandaging Viktoria's rest and told her about the painkillers. "You should be fine by the weekend, but don't get into any bar fights until that wrist is better, alright?"
Viktoria nodded, frowning playfully. "Damn it! And I already placed my bet on her down at Harry's," Logan said. "That's twenty bucks down the drain."
Hank resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead smiled. "Well, I'm not going to put you under house arrest, you can leave, but just lay off the sky diving for now, huh?"
"Fine, fine. I'll push it back until NEXT week, okay, Doc? Wait, your not going to tell me to go get some sleep now, right? Cause I just woke up. And where'd my frosted flakes go?"
"Ah, here." Rogue tossed her an apple. Viktoria looked at the fruit in mock fascination. "Since when is this my cereal?"
"I think your cereal's all over the floor," Jean replied. "But I was just about to make some waffles, so we can all have those-" She offered an apologetic smile. Remy however, rubbed his hands together, a hungry smile on his face.
"Waffles are soundin' pretty good after all dat excitement. T'ink I worked up a good hunger holdin that girl back, eh?" He jerked a thumb at Wanda. "Ah'll help ya cook, Jean, if ya want," Rogue offered. They began pulling out plates and clattering around the kitchen.
Viktoria rubbed her head and headed back into the sitting room. "Cartoons should be a good painkiller, right Hank?" Hank chuckled softly as he sat down in armchair. "I'm not sure, scientifically speaking, of course." Pietro sped up next to them and grabbed the remote, flipping it to the cartoon channel. Settling next to Viktoria, he smirked. "Powerpuff girls! I love this show!"
In a sudden puff of purple smoke, a blue creature appeared on the couch next to Viktoria. Her eyes went wide as she opened her mouth to scream. Pietro leaned over and waved. "Hey Kurt. Come to watch cartoons?"
The blue creature smiled, two large canines gleaming in the light. "Ah, Pietro. Professor X told me you had arrived. How was your trip?"
Pietro shrugged. "Pretty quick, as always." He noticed Viktoria's shock and mentally scolded himself. "Oh Tor! I'm sorry, this is Kurt Wagner- "
"Kurt?" She choked out. "From yesterday?"
Kurt nodded politely. "Yes. I'm sorry, you must remember me like-" He pushed a button his wristwatch "-This?" and he was the black haired boy from the day before. "Uh yeah... something like that?" She gulped again, and Kurt switched back to his original blue form.
"It's a image inducer, a hologram. So I would not cause alarm for normal people when I leave the mansion for school and whatnot. Zis is my true form though. I apologize if I frightened you just now." He smiled weakly.
"Nah, it's, um, it's alright. I just didn't know, but now I do. So it's okay. Really." She gestured at the TV with her injured hand. "I hope you like cartoons?"
"What happened to your arm?" Kurt's yellow eyes were focused on her bandaged wrist. Pietro rolled his eyes. "That's a long story, Kurt. We had a lot of excitement this morning."
"Ah, I see." He sniffed the air cautiously. "Do I smell waffles-?" and disappeared in another puff of smoke. A pungent smell hung in the air after him. Brimstone. "Kurt teleports. The smoke and smell are from the dimension he passes through," Scott explained. He sat down in Kurt's spot and handed them each a fresh plate of waffles.
"Mmmm, they smell great." He handed them 2 of the 3 forks he held in his hand then with a quick grin said "Dig in!"
"So how's the wrist doing?" Pietro asked.
"Feel alright. The throbbing pain has ceased."
"I'm sorry, Tor. I didn't know she would-"
"Oh, forget it. It's fine now, Pietro. I shouldn't of goaded her like I did," Viktoria replied. "I didn't think she was so sensitive." She shrugged again in a way that let Pietro know the subject was now closed. They both turned back to the television and began eating while others filed in.
Chapter 4- Unexpected Arrival
The next morning Viktoria stumbled down to breakfast still clad in popcorn print pajama bottoms and black tank top. Roaming around the kitchen in search edibles, she eventually settled down over a bowl of frosted flakes as a goofy cartoon tiger stared at her from the front of the box. Sneering at it, she flicked the box over; amused at watching the tiger fall back helplessly. "It's not polite to stare, buddy," she mumbled at the fallen cardboard animal.
"A letter came for you this morning," Jean said, handing her a large envelope over the tabletop. Viktoria's sleepy eyes went wide at the sight of the envelope and she eagerly snatched it away, ripping the heavy paper open and reading the contents. Her eyes flew across the page, her smile growing with each sentence she read.
Jean watched her face with an amused expression. "Oh yes, and a young gentleman came calling for you, too. He seemed to come with the letter."
Viktoria gazed up slowly from the letter. ".. What?" Jean just jerked a thumb behind her and said "In there." Viktoria followed the direction Jean was pointing until she stepped into the sitting room and immediately saw a familiar silver head turn toward her.
"Pietro..?" Viktoria couldn't believe it was actually him! "Oh my god- OH MY GOD!! PIETRO?! PIETRO! OH MY GOD IT'S YOU!!" He stood up and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck as he swung her around. "I missed you so much! Where have you been? You didn't call or anything you dork! I hate you! Where have you been? Oh, I missed you-"
Pietro set her down, stroking her hair affectionately. "I missed you, too, Tor." He leaned back and smirked. "As for the other questions, I guess you didn't finish my letter, huh?" Viktoria shook her head, and shrugged. "I'll read it later."
"Hey dere, Petey," the feisty Cajun commented from the kitchen doorway. Pietro turned to address Remy. "Hey, Gumbo." Remy smiled as he took a seat on the couch, a bagel in his hand. "What brings you to dese parts, eh, mon ami?" Viktoria left to retrieve her cereal from the table while Pietro chatted with Remy.
She fixed a plate of toast for Pietro and balanced it all in her hands as she headed back into the sitting room. She handed him the plate, which he smiled broadly at. Taking a seat next to him, she caught Remy's last sentence. ".. like you've been having yerself some fun out dere on de coast, eh?"
"Well, you do what your told I guess. You can only bitch so much without having it fall on deft ears, you know? It's a difficult situation." Remy nodded knowingly and took a bite of his bagel. Pietro smiled approvingly at Viktoria for the toast and began eating.
"I don't really understand the whole thing. Are you two like spies?" Jean asked. She was munching on a banana on a nearby chair, listening intently.
"More like traitors," a new voice chimed in. Wanda leaned against the paneling of the doorframe. "I've been dealing with her shit since the moment I walked in," Viktoria whispered to Pietro. Jean smiled tightly at the younger brunette. She knew too how much of a pain the ass Wanda could be when she really set her mind to it. "Morning Wanda."
Wanda ignored her, instead watching Viktoria as she stood up graciously. "Why, good morning, Wanda. Want me to make you some toast?"
Wanda sneered at her attempt to be civil. "Why? You want to poison it?" she asked defensively. Viktoria laughed. "Oh come on, Pietro's eating my poisoned toast and he seems fine, huh?" She dropped her voice to a grave whisper. "Besides, if I wanted you dead, do you really think I'd need poison?" She smiled viciously as she held up her hand, tiny flames licking her fingers.
"Don't you dare threaten ME, Viktoria!" Wanda shouted. Viktoria covered her ears and mumbled some quick obscenities. "It's too damn early for all your wailing."
"'ey now chere. Don't be screaming so loud so early. People, they still be sleepin'. Or tryin to, eh?" Remy held up his hands in a calming gesture. "You don't want to do nothin' you'd regret later."
Pietro stood up and faced his twin sister. "Wanda, stop it," his voice firm and unflinching. "Remy's right, I don't know what's wrong with you, but Jean tells me you've been very rude lately. More so than usual, apparently," he added under his breath. "I've only been here a few minutes, but I've noticed it too. Now what's wrong with you?"
"Why doesn't anyone yell at HER?!" Wanda threw up her hands in disgust. "She's the one who came here! It's not like we searched her out or anything." Wanda jabbed an angry finger in Viktoria's face. "You didn't need to stay here! Nobody wants you here! Nobody wants you anywhere! All you do is get people in trouble!"
Viktoria visibly flinched, then backed up from Wanda's accusations, frowning slightly. "You're really playing with fire, Wanda. Why don't you just shut the hell up for everyone's sake as well as your own?"
Wanda stood in the center of the room, her chest heaving from all the yelling she had been doing. "How DARE you," she seethed. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Wanda's arms suddenly rose at her sides, making a swift gesture as a force like a flying brick wall rammed right into Viktoria, knocking all the breath from her lungs. She fell to the floor in a heap, blood dribbling from her mouth.
Pietro moved instantly to her side, while Remy grabbed Wanda's arms from behind and held them to her sides. "What de hell has gotten into you? You gone crazy?"
Jean called to Scott and the Professor telepathically, even as Pietro was helped a bruising Viktoria to the couch. He turned an icy glare to his sister. "What the fuck is wrong with you Wanda? You could have killed her!"
Viktoria coughed once and sat up. Rolling her shoulders, she stood up and limped out of the room without another word. Scott bumped into her on his way to the sitting room. "Whoa, wait a second. Sorry. What happened to you??" Scott surveyed the scene, lines of worry creasing his normally handsome features.
Viktoria standing unsteadily cradling her wrist, with a bloody nose and lip, what looked to be a slight limp, and maybe a black eye forming a dark ring around her left eye? Remy was holding Wanda by the arms, while Pietro and Jean just looked angry and dumbfounded, respectively. What a way to start the morning, Scott thought bitterly.
Luckily, Logan heard all the commotion and came running into the room right after him, followed closely by Rogue and Hank. "Some party we got forming here, huh?" Viktoria grumbled moodily. She sudden clutched her head at the searing pain speaking had caused to her already violent headache. She moaned softly and fell back into a nearby armchair.
Jean walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of ice, handing it to Viktoria. "For your eye," she explained. "Let me help you to the kitchen." Viktoria nodded glumly and slumped towards a kitchen chair, throwing an evil look over her shoulder at Wanda. Pietro, shaking his head in disgust at his twin, sat down next to Viktoria, laid a slender hand on her knee.
Wanda, held in check by a frustrated Remy, mumbled something resembling an apology and headed into the kitchen to mope. Hank watched her with a mild look of repugnance, and then deciding to take care of Viktoria's many bruises, he kneeled by her chair.
Hank eyed her quietly, while Viktoria looked at him with suspicious eyes. "It's okay, Hank's a doctor, remember?" Scott reminded her. Viktoria shrugged, wincing in pain slightly. "My wrist is broken, I think," she replied simply. "And I could use a couple Tylenol's, too," she added with the ghost of a smile.
Hank smiled and felt her outstretched arm. "Luckily, it's not broken, just badly strained. I can fix that quickly enough- Oh, Jean? Could you run down to the lab and grab my bag? I have some antibiotics for cuts and bruises and such in there." Jean nodded and headed off in the direction of the labs downstairs.
Scott rubbed his temples, trying to calm his nerves after the wild morning. It's only 8 o'clock too, he reminded himself. "Can someone please tell me what happened this morning?"
Remy gently pushed Wanda into a chair and turned to regard Scott. "Dis crazy girl 'ere just bout attacked Viktoria, raising those hexes of hers again." He shook his head in disbelief. "And you say I ain't allowed to smoke inside, at least that don't kill nobody, mon ami."
Scott looked to Pietro, who just shrugged in response. "Look at her, homme! She catatonic, dis one is." Remy shook his head again at the blank look Wanda gave everyone, as if she didn't understand what she had done.
Jean returned, handing Hank his medical bag, and Viktoria a small bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water. Viktoria handed the bottle to Pietro, nodding at him to open it for her, then popped two of the capsules in her mouth with a large gulp of water. Jean propped herself on one of the bar stools next to a very confused Rogue and relayed the story of the morning's events to the rest of the group. When she was through, Scott nodded.
"Wanda, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to speak with the Professor if you have problems with this... this operation, then I suggest you get through them quickly. Take this up with the Professor personally, do whatever you need to, just pull yourself together. I will NOT tolerate this from a teammate, understand?" Scoot searched Wanda's face for conformation that she had, in fact, understood him, but her eyes were still has blank as her face.
Pietro stared at his sister, a swell of pity rushing to his heart. What had happened to her? They'd never been close, not like siblings should have been, and sure, she'd attacked HIM a few times when she was younger- but that was before she had control over her powers. But what about now? What she really that far gone that she would blatantly attack someone like that? Pietro looked to Viktoria, her face bloody and eye swelled, but she still had that confident smile on her face. That smile proudly saying "I win."
Pietro almost laughed to himself. Surely, she didn't quite deserve THAT, but he knew her attitude around Wanda would eventually get to her, and today it seems it did. Wanda got tired of her witty comebacks, and she snapped. Viktoria didn't seem to mind too much though, cause that smile was still evident on her fine features. It's going to be a loooong day, he thought.
Despite her injuries, Viktoria was trying to focus on Hank's instructions of the bottle of painkillers instead of getting angry with Wanda. She had provoked her, slightly in her opinion, so she wasn't exactly surprised that Wanda had flipped out like she had, but STILL! How could someone be so stupid? If your going to smack someone, do it when no one else is looking, Viktoria mused. Be discreet.
"So, take these red ones with food no more than twice a day, and these yellow pills only once-" Hank rambled on about the various medications, while Scott drummed his fingers on the counter. They were waiting for the Professor to arrive while Hank finished bandaging Viktoria's rest and told her about the painkillers. "You should be fine by the weekend, but don't get into any bar fights until that wrist is better, alright?"
Viktoria nodded, frowning playfully. "Damn it! And I already placed my bet on her down at Harry's," Logan said. "That's twenty bucks down the drain."
Hank resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead smiled. "Well, I'm not going to put you under house arrest, you can leave, but just lay off the sky diving for now, huh?"
"Fine, fine. I'll push it back until NEXT week, okay, Doc? Wait, your not going to tell me to go get some sleep now, right? Cause I just woke up. And where'd my frosted flakes go?"
"Ah, here." Rogue tossed her an apple. Viktoria looked at the fruit in mock fascination. "Since when is this my cereal?"
"I think your cereal's all over the floor," Jean replied. "But I was just about to make some waffles, so we can all have those-" She offered an apologetic smile. Remy however, rubbed his hands together, a hungry smile on his face.
"Waffles are soundin' pretty good after all dat excitement. T'ink I worked up a good hunger holdin that girl back, eh?" He jerked a thumb at Wanda. "Ah'll help ya cook, Jean, if ya want," Rogue offered. They began pulling out plates and clattering around the kitchen.
Viktoria rubbed her head and headed back into the sitting room. "Cartoons should be a good painkiller, right Hank?" Hank chuckled softly as he sat down in armchair. "I'm not sure, scientifically speaking, of course." Pietro sped up next to them and grabbed the remote, flipping it to the cartoon channel. Settling next to Viktoria, he smirked. "Powerpuff girls! I love this show!"
In a sudden puff of purple smoke, a blue creature appeared on the couch next to Viktoria. Her eyes went wide as she opened her mouth to scream. Pietro leaned over and waved. "Hey Kurt. Come to watch cartoons?"
The blue creature smiled, two large canines gleaming in the light. "Ah, Pietro. Professor X told me you had arrived. How was your trip?"
Pietro shrugged. "Pretty quick, as always." He noticed Viktoria's shock and mentally scolded himself. "Oh Tor! I'm sorry, this is Kurt Wagner- "
"Kurt?" She choked out. "From yesterday?"
Kurt nodded politely. "Yes. I'm sorry, you must remember me like-" He pushed a button his wristwatch "-This?" and he was the black haired boy from the day before. "Uh yeah... something like that?" She gulped again, and Kurt switched back to his original blue form.
"It's a image inducer, a hologram. So I would not cause alarm for normal people when I leave the mansion for school and whatnot. Zis is my true form though. I apologize if I frightened you just now." He smiled weakly.
"Nah, it's, um, it's alright. I just didn't know, but now I do. So it's okay. Really." She gestured at the TV with her injured hand. "I hope you like cartoons?"
"What happened to your arm?" Kurt's yellow eyes were focused on her bandaged wrist. Pietro rolled his eyes. "That's a long story, Kurt. We had a lot of excitement this morning."
"Ah, I see." He sniffed the air cautiously. "Do I smell waffles-?" and disappeared in another puff of smoke. A pungent smell hung in the air after him. Brimstone. "Kurt teleports. The smoke and smell are from the dimension he passes through," Scott explained. He sat down in Kurt's spot and handed them each a fresh plate of waffles.
"Mmmm, they smell great." He handed them 2 of the 3 forks he held in his hand then with a quick grin said "Dig in!"
"So how's the wrist doing?" Pietro asked.
"Feel alright. The throbbing pain has ceased."
"I'm sorry, Tor. I didn't know she would-"
"Oh, forget it. It's fine now, Pietro. I shouldn't of goaded her like I did," Viktoria replied. "I didn't think she was so sensitive." She shrugged again in a way that let Pietro know the subject was now closed. They both turned back to the television and began eating while others filed in.