Of Hearth and Home
Chapter Two: You've Got To Stand For Something
Wanda awoke with a start. For a moment she didn't know where she was, but after a moment it all came rushing back to her. She had traveled in time and arrived late last night, face down in a snow-bank.
Later she had made her way to one of her old haunts; A cheap bar. The manager was surprised to see her again and let her sleep in the back room, 'just like old times'.
Her head hurt. Maybe because the human mind isn't meant to travel in time. Maybe it's because it isn't supposed to get falling down drunk before time traveling. It's hard to say.
Wanda stumbled out of the back room and looked around. "Burt?" She called.
"Burt ain't worked here in a year." The man behind her grinned as he wiped his hands on a bar rag. "How long you been asleep in there?"
Wanda shot him a very unamused grin and wandered over to him, clutching her head. "Aspirin?" She asked.
He pulled a bottle out from behind the bar and set it down quietly. Then he popped the cap off with is thumb.
When she moved for the aspirin he grabbed the water hose and filled a glass for her.
She swallowed six pills without the water, then sat down to stare in to the glass. "I taste floor." She said plainly.
The man smiled. "I'm Tony, by the way."
"Wanda." She said, massaging her own temples.
"Wanda?" He asked. "Not the Wanda who wrapped the barstool around Greg Williams head?" He asked.
"Soooo guilty." She smiled, despite keeping her eyes closed and massaging her head.
"Well, hell, you're a real living legend, now aren't you?" He smirked a bit.
"Something like that." She said. "Thanks for the head help."
"No problem." Tony smiled. "Come back any time."`
"I'm in town for three days." She told him. "I'll be back tonight."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning." He smirked. "I'll have to remember to bring my autograph book."
She cast a glance at him. He wore a smirk that told her he was terribly pleased with himself. She eyed him up and down.
Not bad. She thought. Maybe …
Tony paused for a moment after she slipped out the door. Then he picked up the phone and set it on the bar in front of him.
He pulled out his wallet began to rummage through it. Finally, he found what he was looking for.
The number was old and faded but it rang and someone answered.
"Yeah, My name is Tony. I'm looking to talk to the old man." He shook his head at the person on the other end of the phone. "Just tell your dad I've got some information about a certain red-haired witch he was interested in."
He paused, listening to the other end of the conversation.
"Things like where she spent last night, where she'll be tonight and how hung-over she'll look in the meantime." He said smugly.
"Yeah." He told the voice. "That's the place. I work days." He paused again. "Sure. Just come on down and ahhh … bring cash." He laughed once. "Yeah. Cash."
Then he hung up the phone and replaced it behind the bar before smiling slyly and grabbing a broom to sweep up.
Later that night and across town, a thin man who (seemingly) ripped off Pyro's haircut was leaning back against one of the huge pine trees on the Xavier estate. He was nestled in the branches of the tree and staring across in to a second story window.
He wasn't ready to be seen by these people yet. Not like Mystique. He had allowed her to see him so that she would keep her distance. And he knew – she would. The last thing in this world that she wanted was another round with him.
He had been counting the number of people in the mansion. He was even sure he had seen who he was looking for. But then he got distracted.
He was distracted by Storm.
When he saw her he let out a long low whistle that seemed to carry across the mansion grounds.
He watched her. She was answering questions from two of the younger people he'd counted. When they turned away, she let her mask slip, and she smiled – wide and wildly. Whatever they had said had, quite obviously, amused her no end.
He found himself smiling as he relaxed in his tree and admired his view of Storm.
She paused as she began to exit and looked around, almost as though she could detect his attention.
He hoped, quietly, that she would smile or laugh again. But she didn't, and then she was gone.
He cocked his head to one side and watched her as she left the room through the far door. Then he sighed to himself almost mockingly.
He rubbed his hands together for warmth and resumed counting X-Men. He was silently sure that he didn't want any surprises once he was inside the mansion. Not even the potentially pleasant ones like Storm.
Quietly, he made a mental note to himself. A part of his time here was hers now – If she was amiable.
Then he wrapped his arms around himself for warmth and waited. He knew that any minute now Logan and Scott would come rounding the path that circles the mansion. They ran together every night this week and he knew that tonight was no exception.
The only difference was that tonight, he was right above them and on the mansion property.
And sure enough they came around the corner, breathing heavily and pumping their muscles hard in the cold night air. He smiled. It looked like fun to him; Like something a father and son might do.
A moment later they had passed him by completely. Neither noticed, not even Wolverine with his hyper-sensitive sense of smell. He was just too high up the tree for the wind to carry his scent to Wolverine below. But inside, he knew that – and that's why he had positioned himself where he was. That, and to get a better look at the two of them as they passed.
By tomorrow, he will have been on the roof and confirmed his headcount while they sleep. It was going to be a cold night, but he knew that what he was doing was going to be well worth it in the end.
He was sure. He had found exactly who he was looking for. And now? It was time to reap the rewards of the hunt.
Soon, he would know everything. All his questions would be answered by first-hand experience. He smiled in to the cold and took in a deep breath and reveled in the hearty smell of the pine.