A/N: Pietro in this chapter, finally. There is a quite a bit of him, so if you don't like him then ...oh well. Warnings go for mentions of sexual abuse/abusive situations and dark themeness. I am recreating Pietro and Evan's childhoods as well, so forgive me if you know everything about it and find mine wrong. -_-; It *is* an AU... :P
Also, I apologize if some of the writing is not too great or there are minor inconsistencies. I was tired and writing in a hurry during my classes. Rogue's accent is definitely screwed up. Oh well...
Dusty: Er...not quite a baby. Though, babies are cute and cuddly and it would be awesome... Yes, poor Kurt. It's hard to write Lancitty, considering I'm not a fan of it. :P
KS-fan: Magneto has other things on his mind, besides hurting Kurt! And Kitty's luck - she gets a semi-distraction from her little escapade with Lance. Woohoo.
Me: I'm flattered you like my writing! *blushes* It goes up and down I guess, depending on my level of awakeness and whether or not I am in a hurry... Heh, "get up to" is a funny pun, whether you meant it to be or not. It amuses me greatly.
-----
Jean nearly jumped out of her skin as a puff of blue smoke spread before her, and Kurt appeared. The German's chest heaved beneath his shirt, his eyes glittered.
"Jean! It's...it's Magneto!" the furry mutant panted. "He's here!"
Jean dropped her plate.
"What do you mean he's here Kurt?" Bobby stood up from the table. "Did you actually see him?"
"JA! He's here, I'm telling you!"
Sending a quick mental note to the residents of the house, Jean moved over to the window. Her mind swept the area, finding Logan and Scott, and sent them a message as well. She could barely feel Magneto nearby and for a moment was perplexed.
Usually she wasn't talented enough to pick up on the powerful mutant at all.
He must not be paying attention...
All of the mutants - young and old - gathered outside. Even Lance and Kitty had heard, and were standing uncomfortably off to the side of the house and the group. Hank and Ororo ran out last, watching the skies where they knew Eric would be approaching.
And there he was.
"What's he doing here, yo?" Todd murmured to himself. He stared at the white haired mutant, the one who had controlled his life up until just months before, with hating eyes. The younger, newer students positioned themselves in the back of the group, unsure of who Magneto was but sensing that he wasn't welcome. Hank ushered them up to the porch as he and the older kids went forward to meet the approaching enemy.
Jean hoped that Scott and Logan got there soon.
Magneto landed softly on the ground before them, surveying the group of students, the leaves rustling anxiously about him. He wore no uniform and no helmet, though he still had a cloak draped around his shoulders. He was proud and tall, as always, though his face looked older, subtly haggard.
He held something, wrapped in blankets, in his arms.
"Eric..." Hank said quietly, staring the man down. Magneto stood where he was for a moment, perfectly still, before he repositioned his arms around the precious cargo he carried.
Ororo let out a small gasp, and Jean's eyes narrowed, as all present realized he was holding a person.
"Dr. McCoy, Ms. Munroe," Eric said, his voice strong and loud against the quiet of the forest. "Charles told me where I could find you." The figure, wrapped in blankets, slowly lifted from his arms and settled on the ground in front of Hank. "I need you to take care of him."
Eyes glittering, Ororo slowly knelt in front of the pile of the blankets. She noticed two pale feet sticking out from one end, a thin hand with long slender fingers just visible under the covers. For some reason, she feared lifting up those blankets from where she knew the face would be hidden, she feared what she would find.
"Who is it?" she whispered, looking up at Magneto. His expression softened for a second, but hardened again as he spoke.
"It's my ..." Eric paused, hesitated. "It's Pietro."
Murmuring rose from the small assembly. From near the back, Lance's eyes went wide.
"He was taken, and I have taken him back." Magneto furrowed his brow, forcing his eyes to remain emotionless. "I do not have the time to tend to him."
For a moment, Jean wondered if he knew his other child was missing, but her question was never answered as Eric was suddenly off of the ground, levitating.
"I must go."
"Wait!" Hank yelled after the quickly retreating mutant. "You're just going to leave him?!"
Magneto was already fading into the trees.
-----
"Jean, what's going on?"
The telepath turned at the sound of her boyfriend's voice, her eyes sad and deeply disturbed. Logan was running just behind Scott, toward them.
"Jean?"
"Magneto came by," she said quietly.
"What?!" Scott stopped dead in his tracks, but Logan pushed by him and toward Ororo and Hank. The other students had been banished from the kitchen after Kurt had brought a cot in, forced to stand and listen at the door, and now the remaining adults stood around the makeshift gurney.
Logan swore as he saw what lay on it.
Lying stomach-down, eyes at half mast and glazed, was a lone boy. Logan immediately noticed the paleness of the kid's skin, the striking color of the hair even underneath all the dirt and grime. He was bruised from top to bottom, naked save for a blanket positioned over his waist, one long leg bent at an odd angle, the other mutilated along the calf and knee. His arms were laying neatly along his sides, his cheek pressed against the the soft mattress of the cot.
Logan couldn't help but recognize the boy's scent, couldn't help but think of another, recently missing mutant.
Pietro.
His fevered eyes were staring straight ahead, fixed on some unknown horror that Logan could not see. Briefly, Logan thought him to be dead, but there was a slightly rising and falling of the boy's back that indicated breath was forcing itself in and out of working lungs. One side of his mouth was swollen and yellow, blood staining the corners of it. Both eyes had bruises, there were healing slashes across his arms, and welts along his sides from burns.
But what Logan noticed most were the visible, dark handprints that still marred the frail thing's waist, yellowing finger-prints disappearing under the blanket and reappearing on the insides of his thighs. Dried blood stood out darkly against his hips, his legs. Logan knew right away what it was from, what had been done to the kid. He could smell it, sense the other men that had been there, the filth they had left behind in their sick pleasure.
His eyes wandered back to the figure's own. The boy was still staring, pupils slightly dilated.
"It's the Maximoff twin - the boy," Logan growled, a statement that seemed to echo in the silent room.
Hank merely nodded sadly, gently inspecting the Pietro's condition. He put a large hand on the Maximoff twin's greasy, silver hair.
The body was still.
"Pietro? Kid?"
The boy's breathing hitched for a moment, but evened out again. Logan felt a rumbling deep in his throat.
"How does he look?" Scott's voice floated into all their awareness'. He turned his head to face the mutant. Even though no one could see his eyes, surprise was etched into his voice.
"Not good."
Scott winced as he surveyed the wreck of a human being lying in front of them. A question slowly surfaced in the back of his mind - Who had done this? Pietro's head lolled limply to the side, his lips parting slightly, as Hank lifted him halfway off of the cot to check his stomach for injury. The Brotherhood boy was thinner than Scott had ever seen him. The word emaciated popped into his mind. He could count every one of Pietro's ribs, was frightened by the way his sharp hip bones stuck out from his body. Though still a striking blue Pietro's eyes seemed to have been pushed back into his head, surrounded by hollow space.
Summers suddenly remembered Pietro's full mutation, his fast metabolism, and cringed. If he had been deprived of food for even a few days, it was enough to starve him.
Dr. McCoy laid Pietro back down, patting the boy's head. He frowned. The Maximoff was still staring.
Hank slowly peeled the dirty blanket off of Pietro's nude waist, his mind crying out with what he saw, the signs of abuse and neglect that met his eyes. Pietro, by all rights, should probably have been dead.
Eric must have found him just in time.
Hank looked back into Pietro's unseeing eyes.
"Pietro look at me," he demanded softly. He gently turned Pietro over, onto his back, and cupped the boy's cheeks and chin in his own large, furry hands. Eyes stared past him, into nothing. "Pietro," he said again, more firmly and more determined. "Look at me."
Slowly, cautiously, Pietro's eyes moved onto Hank's face. They were dilated, still not focusing on his furry features, and Beast could feel the kid's Adam's apple bob in a swallow under his hand.
"Do you know who I am?"
Eyelids moved to blink, remaining closed for just a second before opening again. Pietro didn't move, didn't make any indication that he recognized Dr. McCoy at all. His eyes, though the color was bright, were dull in feeling and feverish.
"Shake your head Pietro, you don't know me?"
Pietro's head was moving weakly in Hank's hand, side to side.
"Do you know who got you out of there?"
This time it moved up and down, in a slight nod.
"Tell me his name, then. Say something for me."
Pietro made a small, pathetic sound, closing his eyes and trying limply to turn away. He failed miserably. Hank held him in place, trying his best to be gentle but needing confirmation that the boy's mind and memories were still intact. Finally Pietro relented, relaxing in Hank's arms and opening his lips slightly to form silent words. They moved without sound for a moment before Hank could finally make out an audible response.
Pietro could barely say it, but he did, and Hank understood. "Mag...neto."
Hank smiled at him reassuringly, his heart aching. The twin didn't even use his father's real name.
"And do you know who that is?" This time the blue mutant gestured to Ororo, who moved into Pietro's line of vision. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she watched the mere child before her silently stare. She had known Pietro since he was little, since he and Evan had played together before their rivalry.
Pietro finally whimpered, eyes blinking rapidly. "Aun...Auuuntie..." he whispered, speech slurred.
Ororo let out a small sob and covered her mouth.
Hank finally let Pietro's head rest gently against the cot's pillow.
"His legs are both broken," he said after a moment. "I can't fix them here."
Logan groaned. "We have to take him to a hospital?"
"If we want to fix his legs - yes. Otherwise, I can just do my best to stop infection..." Hank looked up. "He probably wouldn't be able to walk again though, if we keep him here."
Logan knew very well what Pietro's power was, and inside he raged. This was a tough decision.
"If we take him to a hospital, there's no guarantee they'll take him in for treatment," Logan said quietly. "They'll want our names, they'll wanna know what did this to him."
"We can't just leave him like that, Logan, not when something can be done... " Ororo's voice broke. "We have to try."
"Won't the professor know somewhere, a friendly hospital or doctor?" Scott looked hopefully at Logan. "Can't you contact him?"
The older mutant nodded slowly. "I can call him." He pushed past his companions, and through the throng of students eavesdropping beyond the door.
Jean looked sadly up at Hank and Ororo. "We need to give him a bath."
-----
"Where is he? What happened?!" Lance demanded as Jean, Scott, and Hank emerged from the room. Ororo had stayed behind to keep an eye on their patient and splint his legs.
"Lance, calm down...We're giving him a bath." He looked over the mutants gathered in the room. Some, mostly the younger ones, had left, but many of the students remained - including Evan. The boy stood, arms crossed, face emotionless. Hank couldn't tell whether he was surprised, angry, worried, or just bored. "Has anyone used the shower this morning?"
Amara slowly raised her hand, blushing slightly. "I did...I didn't think anyone was going to be using it..."
Hank sighed heavily. "And did you use all of the hot water?"
The girl shrugged slowly. "I don't know...I don't think I did..."
Fifteen minutes later, a hot bath was sitting and ready in the first floor bathroom.
Carrying Pietro gently in his arms, Hank moved the boy out of the kitchen and headed toward the bath, followed by Ororo. Lance was by his side immediately, but Scott put a warning hand on the boy's shoulder to stop him.
"Let me go Summers," he growled, pulling away. Todd was right behind him.
"We just wanna see Pie, yo."
Scott positioned himself in front of the bathroom door. "Look guys, you can see him after we clean him up, okay? He's...he's pretty bad."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that he's been hurt, seriously...we're probably going to have to take him to a doctor."
The two Brotherhood kids were silent, digesting the information.
"So, he didn't skip out on us then..."
"What?"
Lance looked guiltily up at Scott, face a mixture of anger and regret and guilt, and shook his head. "I thought he ran off with his dad, skipped out. I guess...I guess not."
Scott had no words to offer him.
-----
Pietro murmured softly as he was set gently into the water, his hurt legs propped up against the tub's sides to keep them from getting wet. Hank was wary of exposing them to the hot water, even though they didn't seem to bother Pietro in the least. He wondered, faintly, if they were already beginning to heal wrong, and if Pietro could feel them at all.
The kid was filthy though, and needed a good cleaning. Besides his legs, there weren't any significant looking injuries that Hank could find. He needed to be washed, needed to be rid of the waste and dirt and blood that coated his skin. Then they could better tend to him and bandage his cuts and bruises.
The large mutant supported Pietro's head in one massive hand and gently splashed the boy with the other, letting the water fall over the kid's shoulders and back as Ororo put some shampoo in her hands. He slid Pietro slowly back, and let just his hair submerge in the water. The boy was silent, suddenly unmoving.
Storm smiled at him as he was lifted up again, trying to beget a response, and slowly began washing his hair. He was staring at her.
"You doin' okay Pietro?" Hank asked softly. The figure he spoke to didn't answer, and the blue mutant sighed.
"All done," Ororo announced in a sing song voice. Together they rinsed Pietro's hair clean, revealing the striking silver hair underneath.
After about forty five minutes of carefully washing away all the dirt, all the filth that covered the boy, he was finally taken out of the tub and wrapped in a large towel. His frail body shivered violently, so Hank did his best to dry him completely before pulling one of his own t-shirts over the kid's head. It was horribly, horribly huge on Pietro, but it was also looser around his bruised backside. They did their best to put what ointment they had on his injuries and bandaged his arms and face.
"I wish now that we'd brought more medical supplies..." Ororo lamented from where she stood above them. "We really could have used them."
"Uh huh," Hank grunted, rubbing some ointment gently over one side of Pietro's swollen lips. "We really need to get him to a doctor. I have a feeling his legs have already healed. Could you set them?"
"They wouldn't. I put the splints on just in case..."
Finished applying a band aid over Pietro's upper lip, Hank began pacing...at least, he paced as much as the small space would allow him to. "They'll need to be re-broken, put back together. It'll probably mean surgery."
Pietro stared straight ahead, oblivious.
Kneeling carefully onto the floor, Ororo reached up and pulled a comb off of the counter as her blue partner began to ramble about medical procedures, about what needed to be done. The African "Goddess" began slowly running it through the twin's hair, cooing to him as if he were a baby and letting his pale locks fall along the sides of his face. She felt a sudden, strong maternal instinct deep within her. She'd always loved children, always loved being with them, and Evan had always been the object of her maternal practices. But now her nephew was becoming more distant, more angry by the day. Ororo got the feeling sometimes that he didn't even want to be around her.
She could remember him and Pietro when they were younger, when they used to be friends. They'd played catch in the park, had sleepovers, even baked 'concoctions' in the kitchen with spices and Pillsbury dough. Pietro had always been very bouncy, very outspoken. Because of his hyperactivity, he was almost always in a different foster home, with different foster parents, every time Ororo saw him. It never seemed to bother the child in the least, though most of the time he couldn't even remember his new parents' names. He and Evan used to make up nicknames and things to remember them by.
Evan had never told her why they had grown apart, become enemies.
Maybe it was the same reason that her and Evan were growing apart.
She pulled the comb back through his hair, trying to get it how he liked it. It was a strange hairdo, she thought, but it also fit his personality and his power. He was cocky, sure of himself, always hyper and moving.
At least, he used to be.
"I'm going to see if Logan got a hold of Charles," Hank said, and Storm looked up at him as he left the small room, leaving her once again alone with her nephew's broken rival.
-----
"Did you see him Kurt?" Bobby shuddered. "He looked like a skeleton."
Kurt nodded in silent agreement, his tail thrashing nervously behind him. Rogue was next to him, playing with the edge of her gloves and thinking. She had been isolating herself more and more from the other students and would have been in her room and in her bunk, but Kitty had retreated up there a few minutes before after receiving some less than friendly stares - one from Rogue herself - and a few giggles. Kitty was the last person in the world that Rogue wanted to be around, for she knew what had happened and knew what it had done to her brother.
But right then her mind was focusing on something else entirely.
"Ah can't believe that bastahd just left 'im here."
Kurt looked up at the sound of her voice.
"At least he actually...helped him..." His tail sat still for a moment, as if it were thinking as well. "He had some good intention...I zhink."
"How do you know?" His sister made a disgusted sound. "If you 'ad a child, wouldn' you at least stay to make sure he was all right? Magneto didn't even bothah to clean him up! He 'didn't have the time.'" The goth shook her head sadly. "Poor Pietro."
"He looked dead..."
"Can ve please talk about somezhing else?"
Silence fell over them again, and the only sound clear to them was Hank and Logan talking in hushed voices in the next room - the kitchen. The three could just make out what they were saying.
"Where is it?"
"A few miles north."
"An actual hospital?"
There was a pause, and Kurt strained to hear.
"Sort of... There are doctors and nurses, Chuck said. Volunteers or something."
Another period of quiet.
"They'll take him for sure...?"
"Chuck said..."
"Ah'm gonna see if Scott's unloadin' the food," Rogue said suddenly, making it impossible for Kurt to hear what was going on. He looked after his sister as she left.
At least she knew how he felt about Kitty. It was good to know that someone was listening and caring, and the blue "elf" made a mental note to talk to her about the situation with Kitty and Lance. Somehow talking to her made him feel better about himself.
Jean probably knew about his feelings as well, being a telepath, and Xavier had most definitely picked up on it, but Rogue was the perfect therapist to Kurt. They had bother experienced the horrors of the mother that was Mystique, had both been shunned or separated because of their powers. Rogue and Kurt related perfectly.
"Uh...so do you wanna go explore or something?" Bobby said tentatively, swatting at Kurt's tail as it snapped up into his face.
"Nein, I don't zhink I could go out und have fun right now...Not after last night, and zhis morning..."
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Last night musta been pretty hard on you, huh?" The brown haired boy smiled sympathetically as Kurt blushed, his face turning violet. "I can't believe Kitty would do it with Lance!"
"Bobby!" Kurt pratically yelled, his voice unusually high. "Don't...ACH! Don't spread rumors!"
"Oh c'mon --"
"And I don't know how you got zhe idea zhat it bothered me..." He folded his arms across his chest, putting on his best - albeit fake - innocent look. "Kätzchen und I are just friends..."
"Suuure...that's why you were so pissed this morning?"
"Er...uh..." Kurt frowned. "Exactly, mein freund. I vas just vorried for her - I don't vant her to get...hurt."
"You mean laid?" Bobby had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as Kurt turned an even deeper shade of purple. "You're not very convincing you know," he snickered. Kurt looked at him indignantly. "Everyone here knows that you have the hots -"
"Zhat's enough! Mein GOTT! If it's not telepahts, it's sneaky little...little..."
"Brats?"
"Jawhol!"
"Look man, I just thought I should tell you that...well...you can stop trying to hide it so hard -"
*BAMF*
Bobby blinked, coughing.
"Damn, I hate his power."
-----
Kitty was starving.
She sat, legs crossed, on her bunk bed, mind going through all her options. She could go downstairs for food - yes - but that would mean being the subject of stares and whispers again.
Her other option was to just not eat anything.
The valley girl groaned, running a pale and shaky hand through her chocolate hair. There were too many problems she was dealing with, and hunger definitely didn't need to be one of them. She was still mortified by what had happened with Lance and Hank and Logan and Ororo, she was still scared of the house and being found.
And now, with Pietro...
Is what what would happen if they got caught?
Her stomach rumbled loudly, pulling her out of her trance. She sighed.
Food, humiliation...Food, humiliation...
"Shit," she said suddenly. It felt good to swear, though she didn't make it a habit to do so. "This is like, too hard..."
Her mind and stomach coming to a decision, she phased through her bunk, through the floorboards, and bolted for the kitchen.
Unfortunately, she nearly ran head on into Logan and Hank. They looked at her strangely for a moment.
"Whaddya want, Half-Pint." It wasn't a question, and Kitty could tell that Logan was still slightly peeved.
"Like, hello to you too..." she grumbled, realizing too late that taking on an attitude was not good for her health. She made her way to the fridge. "I was just hungry is all."
The two continued to look at her, as if she were intruding.
"What're you talking about, anyway?" Please not me, please not me...
"We are trying to find a hospital." Hank's voice sounded exasperated. "And Professor Xavier is coming by."
"What?!" Kitty almost dropped the carton of milk she was holding. Great, the last thing I need is a lecture from an old guy about...it. It had been bad enough getting one from Ororo.
Hank took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Ms. Pryde. Logan and I have decided not to mention...that to him, though I'm sure he'll pick up on it." Logan merely grunted. "With all that's going on, well, we discussed it and all of us agreed that emotions are surfacing, running high...what I'm trying to say is..."
"Don't let it happen again," Logan interrupted. "If we ever catch you leaving your room during the night, I'll have both your hides - whether Lance is involved or not."
Kitty swallowed, knowing there would be no room for argument and greatly relieved.
"Got it..."
"In the meantime, we're not going to ground you..."
Kitty mentally sighed in relief.
"So, like, why's the professor coming by then?"
"He wants to see Pietro before we take him to a doctor, and then he'll be accompanying us there. Apparently he knows someone or something." Hank shrugged. "I don't know, we'll work out the details when he gets here."
Kitty nodded slowly. "And, like, how's Pietro?"
They were quiet, Hank looking at the floor. "Not doing too great..."
"Ah."
She poured herself a bowl of cereal, wondering vaguely if Lance had seen him yet. Even though Pietro had at some point betrayed them all, she had the feeling that Lance still considered them a family, and that Pietro would always be a part of that family. He often talked about their household, about how they used to spend nights together eating pizza - when it was available - and watching their battered television set. Todd liked to talk about it too, though he highlighted the more humorous going ons. One time, he had told her, Fred had gotten stuck in the bathroom door with Pietro trapped inside. The speed demon had been swearing and threatening like a caged animal, running in fast circles continuously until Fred had been removed.
Poor Fred, she thought suddenly. He was gone as well, had disappeared with Wanda.
Was he dead? Was he trapped somewhere, being tested?
Just because of his different genes?
Just because there had been no one to protect him or Wanda or Pietro, because everyone had abandoned them to fend for themselves, to scrape for money and food and heating?
They'd probably never know. Freddy didn't have a super father to come rescue him, and the X-Men would probably never go looking.
He was doomed, whether at that point he was alive or not.
TBC...
Who knows when the next chapter will be! I don't know, I will try not to be long... Please give me FEEDBACK! R&R! It sucks not having a beta.