Family Meeting
Stephanie wished she could be anywhere else but here right now. Her parents had no sooner come through the door than they were screaming at each other like crazy people, and all over stupid things like half-empty coffee cups and not putting the milk away immediately after using it.
"Do you know how many half-cartons of milk I've had to throw out this week alone!" her mother was inquiring of her father.
"I think we have more important problems right now than throwing out old milk!"
"But it's not old! That's exactly the point! You're supposed to put it back after you're finished with it! It's a simple concept!"
Stephanie wanted to find a hole to crawl into until they went away or, more likely, killed each other. Unfortunately, the living room of Pietro's house was seriously lacking in hidey-holes, so she had to sit and listen to it all.
Pietro's father tried to get a word in edgewise, but neither of the battling spouses would shut up long enough . . .
"It's your fault our daughter's a freak!" her mother shrieked. "And now she's breeding more freaks!"
"Don't you dare call her a freak!"
"Well, she's not having that . . . thing . . . if I can help it!"
"What, I don't get a say in this?" Stephanie demanded. "It's my baby!"
"Yeah, mine too!" Pietro complained. "What about my opinion?"
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Genevieve complained at the top of her high-class lungs.
"Don't you talk to him like that!" Stephanie wanted to kill her mother.
It was left to Erik to be the peacekeeper. "All right, everybody just take a deep breath or two--"
"SHUT UP, YOU BRAT!" Stephanie's mother screamed at her. That was the last straw.
"There's no need for name-calling--" Magneto started, but Stephanie was already out of her chair.
"When you decide you want to act like grownups again," she said, "we'll be out front. Come on, Pietro."
"Whaaaaa!" Poor Pietro was dragged along for the ride.
Wanda came in, carrying a tray. "Would anyone like some h'ors d'oerves?"
Outside, Stephanie and Pietro took turns trying to figure out how to get the point across to Stephanie's mother that she needed to butt out--or at least calm down.
Pietro was leaning against a blue BMW, admiring the paintwork. This was a real ride, not like Lance's beat-up old Jeep. He could see himself cruising around in this, the sunroof open, the wind ruffling his--
"Get off that!"
"Aww!" He backed away from the car. "Why? Is it your mom's?"
"No, it's my dad's. That's my mom's, over there." She pointed to a red Lamborghini on the other side of the street.
"Thanks." Pietro zoomed over, opened the unlocked door, and slid into the driver's seat. "It's a good thing Toad taught me to hot-wire cars."
Stephanie looked up just as the Lamborghini flashed past. "Pietro!" she cried out, then went after him.
Xavier Institute
The alarms on Cerebro went off, and Xavier hastened to the chamber. The news was good. He had pinpointed the erratic reading from before . . . sort of.
We've found our mystery mutant, he announced to the X-Men. Stephanie Mahoney, age 15, currently . . . in transit.
In transit? Jean Grey asked. What do you mean?
I'll download the location coordinates into the X-Van's GPS system. She seems to be in motion . . . somehow . . .
Brotherhood house
"Don't tell me," Magneto groaned. "Pietro took your car."
"He stole a hundred-thousand-dollar Italian sports car, that I had to wait six months for them to ship over!" Genevieve was beside herself. "That's it! I'm calling the police!"
She took out her phone and started to dial, but it flew out of her hand.
"You'll do no such thing," Magneto said. Then he dialed it himself.
Pietro's phone rang just as they were going around a corner at 80 MPH. "Get that, it's in my pocket," he said to Stephanie.
"Oh, God," she said, fearing the worst. And she was nearly right. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Magneto thundered into Pietro's ear. Steph was holding the phone for him so he could drive.
"Teaching Bitchy MacBitch a lesson!"
"Do you ever realize how much trouble you're in right now? Mrs. MacBi-- Mahoney wanted to call the police!"
"She'll get the car back. If it's just the car she wants."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nobody cares about us!" Pietro moaned. "Nobody asks what we think about all this! All they do is fight over milk and--and stupid stuff like that! Does anyone care that my life is over? Never mind what Steph's gonna have to go through! You're all sitting around screaming at each other and nobody wants to hear ourside!"
After a moment, Magneto said, "You have a valid point. But don't you think there are better ways of making it than STEALING YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S MOTHER'S CAR?"
Pietro was so shaken he drifted over into the other lane and nearly hit a semi head-on. He managed to jerk the wheel over in time. "We'll leave the car somewhere she can find it!"
"What's he saying?" he heard Mrs. Mahoney asking in the background.
"He says they're going to leave the car somewhere for you to find," Magneto reported.
"THE HELL HE IS! THAT CAR COST A HUNDRED AND TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! IF THERE'S ONE SCRATCH ON IT--"
"Genny, will you shut up about the damn car? The car's not important! I don't blame them for running away if this is how you're acting! Will you for once in your life act like a mother?"
"Whoa!" Pietro muttered, out of range of the phone. "Way to grow a pair, Dad-In-Law!"
"Pietro? Are you still there?" Magneto said.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"We're willing to talk to you, if you just come home now. I promise you won't get in trouble for the car--"
There was a muffled exclamation in the background.
"Okay, I'm turning around now."
"Okay. I'll see you when you get home."
"Bye." He nodded to Stephanie, who ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. Her hand was there a little too long. "Hey! Not while I'm driving! If I smash this thing up, your mom will kill me!"
"She might kill you anyway," Steph moaned. "She hates you."
"Ah, well, whoneedsher? My dad'll sort this all out--"
Just then, a black van came out of nowhere and blocked their path.
"Oh, no!" said Steph. "What now?"
Pietro saw the man getting out of the driver's side. "Not them!"
"Who are they? Cops?"
"No . . ." At this point, he would almost rather have been arrested.
Stephanie wished she could be anywhere else but here right now. Her parents had no sooner come through the door than they were screaming at each other like crazy people, and all over stupid things like half-empty coffee cups and not putting the milk away immediately after using it.
"Do you know how many half-cartons of milk I've had to throw out this week alone!" her mother was inquiring of her father.
"I think we have more important problems right now than throwing out old milk!"
"But it's not old! That's exactly the point! You're supposed to put it back after you're finished with it! It's a simple concept!"
Stephanie wanted to find a hole to crawl into until they went away or, more likely, killed each other. Unfortunately, the living room of Pietro's house was seriously lacking in hidey-holes, so she had to sit and listen to it all.
Pietro's father tried to get a word in edgewise, but neither of the battling spouses would shut up long enough . . .
"It's your fault our daughter's a freak!" her mother shrieked. "And now she's breeding more freaks!"
"Don't you dare call her a freak!"
"Well, she's not having that . . . thing . . . if I can help it!"
"What, I don't get a say in this?" Stephanie demanded. "It's my baby!"
"Yeah, mine too!" Pietro complained. "What about my opinion?"
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Genevieve complained at the top of her high-class lungs.
"Don't you talk to him like that!" Stephanie wanted to kill her mother.
It was left to Erik to be the peacekeeper. "All right, everybody just take a deep breath or two--"
"SHUT UP, YOU BRAT!" Stephanie's mother screamed at her. That was the last straw.
"There's no need for name-calling--" Magneto started, but Stephanie was already out of her chair.
"When you decide you want to act like grownups again," she said, "we'll be out front. Come on, Pietro."
"Whaaaaa!" Poor Pietro was dragged along for the ride.
Wanda came in, carrying a tray. "Would anyone like some h'ors d'oerves?"
Outside, Stephanie and Pietro took turns trying to figure out how to get the point across to Stephanie's mother that she needed to butt out--or at least calm down.
Pietro was leaning against a blue BMW, admiring the paintwork. This was a real ride, not like Lance's beat-up old Jeep. He could see himself cruising around in this, the sunroof open, the wind ruffling his--
"Get off that!"
"Aww!" He backed away from the car. "Why? Is it your mom's?"
"No, it's my dad's. That's my mom's, over there." She pointed to a red Lamborghini on the other side of the street.
"Thanks." Pietro zoomed over, opened the unlocked door, and slid into the driver's seat. "It's a good thing Toad taught me to hot-wire cars."
Stephanie looked up just as the Lamborghini flashed past. "Pietro!" she cried out, then went after him.
Xavier Institute
The alarms on Cerebro went off, and Xavier hastened to the chamber. The news was good. He had pinpointed the erratic reading from before . . . sort of.
We've found our mystery mutant, he announced to the X-Men. Stephanie Mahoney, age 15, currently . . . in transit.
In transit? Jean Grey asked. What do you mean?
I'll download the location coordinates into the X-Van's GPS system. She seems to be in motion . . . somehow . . .
Brotherhood house
"Don't tell me," Magneto groaned. "Pietro took your car."
"He stole a hundred-thousand-dollar Italian sports car, that I had to wait six months for them to ship over!" Genevieve was beside herself. "That's it! I'm calling the police!"
She took out her phone and started to dial, but it flew out of her hand.
"You'll do no such thing," Magneto said. Then he dialed it himself.
Pietro's phone rang just as they were going around a corner at 80 MPH. "Get that, it's in my pocket," he said to Stephanie.
"Oh, God," she said, fearing the worst. And she was nearly right. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Magneto thundered into Pietro's ear. Steph was holding the phone for him so he could drive.
"Teaching Bitchy MacBitch a lesson!"
"Do you ever realize how much trouble you're in right now? Mrs. MacBi-- Mahoney wanted to call the police!"
"She'll get the car back. If it's just the car she wants."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nobody cares about us!" Pietro moaned. "Nobody asks what we think about all this! All they do is fight over milk and--and stupid stuff like that! Does anyone care that my life is over? Never mind what Steph's gonna have to go through! You're all sitting around screaming at each other and nobody wants to hear ourside!"
After a moment, Magneto said, "You have a valid point. But don't you think there are better ways of making it than STEALING YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S MOTHER'S CAR?"
Pietro was so shaken he drifted over into the other lane and nearly hit a semi head-on. He managed to jerk the wheel over in time. "We'll leave the car somewhere she can find it!"
"What's he saying?" he heard Mrs. Mahoney asking in the background.
"He says they're going to leave the car somewhere for you to find," Magneto reported.
"THE HELL HE IS! THAT CAR COST A HUNDRED AND TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! IF THERE'S ONE SCRATCH ON IT--"
"Genny, will you shut up about the damn car? The car's not important! I don't blame them for running away if this is how you're acting! Will you for once in your life act like a mother?"
"Whoa!" Pietro muttered, out of range of the phone. "Way to grow a pair, Dad-In-Law!"
"Pietro? Are you still there?" Magneto said.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"We're willing to talk to you, if you just come home now. I promise you won't get in trouble for the car--"
There was a muffled exclamation in the background.
"Okay, I'm turning around now."
"Okay. I'll see you when you get home."
"Bye." He nodded to Stephanie, who ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. Her hand was there a little too long. "Hey! Not while I'm driving! If I smash this thing up, your mom will kill me!"
"She might kill you anyway," Steph moaned. "She hates you."
"Ah, well, whoneedsher? My dad'll sort this all out--"
Just then, a black van came out of nowhere and blocked their path.
"Oh, no!" said Steph. "What now?"
Pietro saw the man getting out of the driver's side. "Not them!"
"Who are they? Cops?"
"No . . ." At this point, he would almost rather have been arrested.