Yes! I managed to update fast this time :) Aren't you guys proud? I put review responses at the bottom this time. No real reason why... I just did. Oh yeah... I'm mad as all heck with the brotherhood in the latest episode. I wont say why in case some of u havent seen it... but it made me very angry. Anyway... I'll stop babbling.
Chapter 22- Getting Out Part II
Pietro closed his eyes tighter as he heard the door creek open. He winced mentally as he heard the muffled voice of his father instruct Pyro to wait outside. Clenching his jaw, Pietro stood up, rod straight, and did his best to put on a face of defiance. Nothing, he knew, pissed his father off more than defiance did.
"Hello Pietro, have a seat."
Pietro wanted to scream. How dare his father address him so casually when he'd just abducted him from his... well he wasn't sure if he actually considered the institute his home, but it was close enough.
"I'll stand thanks."
Magneto sighed and took in his son with a gaze. He could see how weak Pietro was no matter how hard the younger mutant tried to hide it. His tiny frame was actually trembling slightly.
"You don't need to be so frightened Pietro, calm down."
"I'm *not* scared," Pietro hissed. It was a lie; he was petrified. Somehow he knew that whatever had happened to Wanda was *not* something he wanted to experience, no matter how happy his twin seemed.
Magneto raised his eyebrows skeptically. "You're shaking."
"That's because I'm *freezing!* Do you know how damn cold I get? No. Of course you don't. It's one of those unimportant details about my life."
Pietro forced himself to bite his tongue. His mouth was known to get him into trouble and that was the last thing he needed at the moment. He truly was freezing though. Without an ounce of body fat and only being half dressed, Pietro was hardly at a comfortable temperature.
Magneto took a deep breath through his nose and pulled a chair magnetically to himself. "Sit down son," he said firmly, "We have a lot to discuss."
Pietro slowly took a seat, wishing more than anything that someone, *anyone,* from the institute was here with him. His father had probably separated him purposely.
"Pietro, listen to me, the time has come. We can all be together again, you, Wanda, and I."
Pietro raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting family bonding. He was actually preparing to break the news to his father that his powers were temporarily out of service and then have his father kick him out with a threat to 'collect him once again when he was needed.'
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Magneto leaned forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know all this has been hard on you, but you have to understand the position I was in. There was no other option at the time. I had to focus on the coming war, and couldn't look after you. I had to leave you with the brotherhood, until now."
It took Pietro a few seconds to realize that Magneto was referring to the time after the sentinel incident. It had been then that Pietro decided he wanted nothing to do with his father, and had seen him for what he truly was. The brief month or so that he had been with his father was enough to make him realize that no matter how much he tried to deny it at first, Pietro wasn't even on his father's priority list.
Pietro grit his teeth and swallowed hard. "Translation: you couldn't be bothered to deal with me and I wasn't of any use to you at the time. Now I am so you came and got me. It's the same as always."
"It isn't like that Pietro..."
"Yes it is! It was like that when you first found out we were mutants, it was like that after the sentinel, it was like that when you came to get Wanda from the boarding house. Why can't you just leave us alone!"
Magneto's eyes flashed momentarily but he quickly calmed himself. He suddenly wished he had started much sooner with his children. Convincing an eight year old forgive you was probably a lot easier than apologizing to a bitter teenager, and in his particular case, a bitter teenager with an enormous attitude problem. Only a year and a half ago, Pietro had been willing to go to hell and back for his father, but it seemed as though Pietro had gained some sense.
"Son..."
"Don't call me that!"
Magneto sighed and pressed a finger to his temple. "Pietro, you aren't making this easy on me."
Pietro's jaw dropped. "What the hell!? Easy for *you?*"
"Listen to me Pietro, please." Magneto added the 'please' out of desperation. He didn't want to resort to brain washing his son as he had with Wanda. It was a lot easier to be a sinister villain than an understanding father, and so far he wasn't doing a very good job. "I have enormous plans for our future. After this war, the three of us can be together, safely and happily. I'm building this future for *you.* It's just going to take time."
Pietro clenched his eyes closed and bit down on his tongue. He wanted to believe Magneto, but he had made that mistake one too many times already. He was nothing to his father, nothing but another soldier, but the offer was all Pietro had ever wanted. Secretly, he had always wished something like this would happen, but it was all a lie, and he knew it.
"I don't believe you," he breathed.
"What was that?"
"I said," Pietro repeated, louder this time, "I don't. Believe. You."
Magneto nodded his head slowly. "I didn't think you would, so I'll give you proof."
The door to the room swung open with a metallic clang. Pietro could feel his heart hammering into his rib cage relentlessly. He began to focus on keeping his heart rate under control for all he was worth. Passing out now would *not* be a good thing. He watched as his sister stepped timidly into the room, smiling faintly.
"Are you alright Pea-tro?"
Pietro's breath caught in his throat as he looked back at Magneto with a pained look on his face. "What did you *do* to her?" Wanda hadn't called him Pea-tro since they were little, before they were mutants even. It clawed at his insides to hear her say it now. Something about it made him feel as though his father had violated some part of the twin's relationship. It was her secret pet name for him, and one of the few things Magneto hadn't been able to take from him. He knew it was stupid, it was only a nickname, but he felt robbed none the less.
Magneto looked down at his son in surprise. "I didn't do anything except make her happy Pietro. All the anger and bitterness was removed. I thought you would be glad to see that."
Pietro shrank back into the couch and watched as Wanda came to stand behind their father. She placed a hand on Magneto's shoulder and smiled at Pietro.
"She's been so excited to see you Pietro," Magneto stated.
Wanda beamed at him. "Well aren't you excited? We finally get to all be together again!"
Pietro looked up at his sister and tried to find any hint that the old Wanda was still there. He stared into her and the result was chilling. Her eyes were empty, there wasn't really any other way to describe it. They were just...empty.
"Wanda," Pietro choked out, "Do you... do you remember anything about... about the last couple of years?"
Wanda looked briefly at Magneto, who nodded his head in approval before she answered. "Not much. Dad says I went through a really rough time, and so he took me to a friend of his called MasterMind to help me."
"You... You what!!" Pietro sputtered. "You brainwashed her!?"
Wanda furrowed her brow at her brother and frowned. "Don't be stupid. He wouldn't do anything like that to me. He just helped me work out my anger. If I was brainwashed I would be like some emotionless droid."
Magneto stayed silent as Pietro glared at him. "I suppose our father told you that too?"
Wanda crossed her arms and shook her head. "Actually no. I'm just smart enough to figure things out on my own."
Pietro felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. His father was using his own sister against him. Magneto wasn't ever going to let them go. They were forever his tools. Pietro whimpered slightly as a feeling of utter defeat swept over him. He knew everything his father had told him was a lie. It was everything he had ever wanted to hear, but it was useless. He was trapped in his father's game, and there was no way out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance froze in the doorway of his room and nearly fainted. Looming in front of him was Colossus. He had forgotten that Magneto had told the metallic man to stand guard. Lance's head spun as the nails of defeat began to dig into him once again. He felt sick from both his helplessness and the pounding in his head. How he was managing to stand up with Todd slung over his shoulder was beyond his mental capacity at the moment.
Piotr looked down at Lance, his expression blank. For a few moments, neither mutant moved, then Colossus took a slow step to the side. He took his eyes away from Lance and stared right through him, ignoring him completely.
Lance didn't even bother to stick around and find out why. His weak body instantly went into survival mode, running off of adrenalin and insanity. He tore down the halls as fast as he could, keeping his ears open for any sign of the others.
He heard a sharp cry of pain from around the next corner and picked up speed.
The X-Men were all assembled in the hallway in a peculiar fashion, all of them looking worse for the wear. Jean was in the center, holding some type of mental shield around the group. Lance hadn't even noticed the lasers that lined some of the hallways until now as one fired at the teens. Jean's shield did its job, but Evan took out the laser with a spike anyway. It was an awkward process and he ended up stumbling slightly due to the fact he was holding Kitty up as well. Kitty hissed in pain and gripped at Evan's arm to steady herself.
"Scott," Evan pleaded, "Let me carry Kurt. I keep hurting her."
Scott didn't answer and instead transferred a barely conscious Kurt to Evan's free arm, and then took Kitty in his own. Kurt looked horrible. Lance could hear his shallow breathing even before he reached them and noticed his leg was as mangled as Todd's arm. The fur along both of Kurt's wrists was gone, as were the metal cuffs. Lance didn't want to think about that at the moment and approached the group.
"Lance! Oh my gosh, Todd! What happened?" Jean gasped.
Lance shook his head. "No time. Where's everyone?"
"We don't know yet. Rogue absorbed our guard and is pretty sure she knows where the professor is. She's taking out the lasers too. When she gets back we'll figure out how to get the hell out of here and how to find the others," Scott explained briefly. He didn't have time to explain all the details.
Kurt took a ragged breath and tapped Evan's shoulder with his tail. "Knock me out."
Evan looked at Kurt, horrified. "No way, man!"
The other mutants turned to stare at Kurt in disbelief as the blue mutant took another shaky breath.
"It makes... sense," he gasped. "I'm slowing you down... because you're trying not to hurt me. Eef you knock me out...zen I von't...feel anysing... and you can sling me ofur your shoulder for all I care."
The others stood quietly for a minute, trying to process what Kurt was saying through his accent that seemed to have increased tenfold.
"Kurt, man, I'm not knocking you out," Evan repeated, "Won't that just make things worse?"
"Nein. Jest do eet."
Evan looked helplessly at the others, who just stared back, not sure if it was a good idea or not. Lance stepped forward and drew his hand back.
"Danke," Kurt said, just as Lance brought his hand down against Kurt's head.
The group stood silently while Evan readjusted his grip on Kurt.
"Is he alright?" Lance said slowly.
Scott nodded. "He ported too damn much," he muttered. "He wouldn't be so bad if it was just the broken leg, but he wore himself out. He needs food, and soon. What about him," he said, gesturing to Todd.
"Broken arm. *Bad* broken arm. Apparently too painful to handle," he paused and took in Kitty, wincing and leaning heavily against Scott, "Kitty?" Lance's voice was completely toneless. He was still running on automatic pilot.
"Ribs," she said through gritted teeth. "They're like, screwed up all over again."
Lance nodded just as Rogue appeared at the end of the corridor, scrambling across the ceiling with ease. Lance looked at Scott and rose an eyebrow.
"Our guard, Creeper I think he called himself, that's his power."
Lance nodded and the professor appeared just behind Rogue. A sigh of relief swept through the small group of teens. Xavier quickly put his hand up before anyone could launch into questions.
"First of all, is everyone all alright?"
There were a few shrugs and gestures toward the injured members of the group and Xavier nodded. He kept his concern at bay for the time being. "We need to get the others and get out of here. I don't want any heroic attempts to take down Magneto or his accomplices unless it's necessary, is that clear?" he paused as the lights down the hallway flickered and faded on and off for a few seconds, then returned to normal. A hum of energy coursed through the room and Xavier knew instantly that it had come from Wanda. "The most important thing for now is to get out in one piece. Rogue, do you know where the others might be?"
Rogue dropped from the ceiling and shook her head. "No. Ah was lucky to even decipher where you were. I don't think Creeper's been here long."
"And Jean and I can't reach anyone telepathically in this place. I guess that just leaves the old fashion method. We aren't to split up under any circumstances."
The group nodded grimly and silently fell into step behind the professor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro gripped his fists at his sides as his face slowly began to redden. "Why are you doing this to us!?" he roared.
Magneto had stayed relatively quiet since Wanda has come in, and was using her against Pietro in the worst way he could think of. Pietro didn't want to hurt his sister, but telling her that their father was a liar and only wanted to use them would certainly be a shock to her already tortured mind. He looked at Magneto and narrowed his eyes to slits.
"Will you just tell me why!?"
Magneto's features softened slightly as he stared at his son. Pietro almost pulled away from the older mutant's gaze. Something about the way his father was looking at him made him feel uneasy. It was almost as if his father felt a hint of remorse.
"Because it is too late to do anything else my son. This is the only way now, and I can't say it's not entirely my fault, but it's too late."
Pietro's throat went dry as he forced himself to hold back the lump forming there. He was *not* going to cry in front of this man. He looked at Wanda who was watching him with a sad expression on her face.
"Come on Pietro, why don't you believe him? He wants to help."
Pietro looked over at his twin and bit his lip. He turned slightly and looked Magneto directly in the eye.
"You know," he said slowly, his voice barely audible as he tried to keep it under control, "All I ever really wanted from you was a father. I don't really give a damn if the world hunts down mutant kind if this is the price we have to pay to stop them. Ruining people's lives is not a good answer..."
"Pietro it's all for the good of the future, you can't expect..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it anymore! I don't mean anything to you and I never will. All me and Wanda are to you is more man power, man power that you think you can control just because we share the same blood. Well guess what..." Pietro stared Magneto hard in the face and bit his lip to keep the tears from spilling down his face, "You don't own me anymore. And I won't let you own Wanda either."
"Pietro.. What are you..."
Pietro cut his sister off and gripped her shoulders. "Wanda listen to me. I know you have to be in there somewhere, and I'm sorry to do this to you, but you have to know. He's lying to us. He always lies to us. Wanda please, you've got to remember. He left you in a nut house! Wanda please! Remember! You can't really be gone!" Panic started to slip into his voice. He was surprised he had made it this long without snapping.
Magneto was now on his feet. He knew how unstable Wanda was, and hadn't expected Pietro to actually barrage her with the truth.
"That's enough Pietro!"
Pietro ignored him and continued to scream at his sister, all sense of calm completely obliterated as his last attempt at freeing himself from his father continued to stare blankly back at him.
"Wanda... Wanda, please. You have to remember. It was raining and he just let them take you away. You couldn't control your powers Wanda. Then the night he took you from the boarding house, he knocked you out. He knew you would never come on your own so he knocked you out and gave you new memories. He did it before that too. Wanda... Wanda, answer me! Do you remember any of it?"
Wanda began to look through Pietro as a frown settled on her face. "No."
Pietro searched his sister's face and his eyes widened. She looked similar to Todd when he had gone into memory overload.
"Yes! Wanda it's ok, you've got to remember, you have to!"
"Pietro, no!" Magneto boomed. He lifted Pietro into the air and forced his son away from Wanda. "She won't know how to deal with it! This was the only way!"
Wanda began to look around the room frantically as the lights began to fade on and off. Her eyes darted around the room in panic. "Pietro?" she said, her voice strained.
"It's ok Wanda. You can do this. Try and remember!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Charles! You've found the others!" Ororo ran towards Xavier with Hank and the new recruits in tow.
"No, they found me. Is this everyone?"
Hank shook his head. "Pietro's still missing and Logan is... having a few words with Gambit. He'll catch up to us without a problem though. This place is less armed then I thought it would be."
"Uhg. Where the hell are we yo?" Everyone turned to face Todd who looked as though he had no idea what had happened in the last few hours. He looked around and then winced. "Never mind yo, I remember. Whe...holy shit! What happened to you?"
Rahne looked up and rolled her eyes. She was clutching her left shoulder and all the color was gone from her face. "Bucket head decided ta pop my shoulder out of place. Dr. McCoy was kind enough ta put it back in place," she said, casting Hank a sour expression. The experience had not been a pleasant one.
Todd winced. "Well if she can walk, so can I. Put me down Lance."
Lance hesitated, but did as he was asked. Todd swayed a bit and leaned against Lance long enough to get his balance. Lance was surprised he managed to support Todd at all. He felt like his own legs would give out at any moment.
"You sure you can walk?"
Todd nodded, although he looked far greener than usual.
"We need to find Pietro," Hank said as he relieved Evan of Kurt's unconscious body.
"No problem." Logan sauntered up to the group with Gambit behind him. The Cajun looked slightly unsettled, but determined none the less.
"Gambit?" Xavier asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll explain later Chuck," Logan said, "Don't worry about him for now. He know's where Pietro is, and that Magneto is with him."
"Perfect," Charles said sarcastically. He pressed a hand to his temple and massaged it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wanda searched the room frantically, not sure what she was looking for exactly. She clasped her hands over her head and sank to her knees. Blue energy began to crackle in the room as cracks began to make their way along the ground and walls.
"Pietro?!?"
Pietro opened his mouth to call out to his sister but it was quickly filled with blood and metal, his father forcing his metal cuff to his lips just as he had to Todd.
"Wanda," Magneto said gently, "It's alright. Just stay calm. I'll explain everything. Pietro is confused. I can get him help, but you can't trust him right now."
Pietro's eyes widened as he screamed from behind the metal covering his mouth. He couldn't believe Magneto was pinning him as the liar. Magneto, for his part, didn't like what he had to do, but if the truth made its way through to Wanda, he doubted he would be able to control her rage.
Wanda looked up at Magneto, her eyes wide. She looked back up at Pietro who was still hovering above the ground. He looked away from her, dropping his head in despair. He was helpless, just like he always was when his father was involved.
It was that very expression of defeat that forced Wanda's memories to resurface, rushing through her and pounding into her. It was the same expression that Pietro had worn the night her father had her put away, and it snapped something within her. The blue energy around her crackled with intensity as she rose to her feet.
"How," she breathed, her voice low, "DARE YOU!"
Magneto's eyes flew wide open as Wanda forced him to drop Pietro with her powers. The room began to trembled as anything that wasn't tied down was lifted into the air. Wanda's eyes burned with rage as she forced Magneto into the air and slammed him into the wall. He winced slightly as his daughter forced the couch up against him, crushing him into the wall.
"Wanda! What are you doing? Release my powers!"
Wanda gasped as yet another memory surfaced. The fight with the sentinel. Her father had made the same request then... 'release my powers.'
Wanda let out an anguished shriek of confusion as her powers began to rip the room apart. Pietro ran toward his sister in an attempt to calm her down but she responded with knocking him backwards off his feet.
A loud grating noise filled the room as three blades of metal appeared in the door and slid upward, flinging the door off its hinges.
"Pietro!" Lance yelled, running over to the pale boy.
"What took you?" he said weakly, trying to get his bearings from being knocked into the ground.
"Wanda!" Magneto boomed, "Release me!"
Wanda screamed again and clutched her head, still not easing any of the chaos in the room.
"Someone help her!" Pietro pleaded, "She can't figure out what's real."
"What do you mean?" Xavier shouted over the screaming whirlwind of energy Wanda had created.
"Same as Todd. I tried to make her remember. I didn't know what else to do!"
Pietro took several steps towards Wanda again but she cast him away, still unsure if he was trustworthy.
A blaze of fire suddenly shot through the room followed by the all too familiar laughter of Pyro. He entered the room and prepared to launch more flames at the X-Men.
"John, no!" Pietro screamed. "Come on John!"
Pyro shook his head. "Sorry Pietro. I told you, it's too late."
Beast took the momentary distraction to rid Pyro of his flamethrower. Jean immediately pinned the Australian to the wall psychically, preventing him from interfering further.
"See what your efforts have caused Magnus?" Xavier forced himself to speak calmly.
~Wanda, it's alright. Listen to me, I know you're confused, but we can help you. Try to calm down.~
"I...I can't!" Wanda screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Lies! So many lies!"
Todd took a deep breath and shifted his weight so that he was no longer leaning against Lance for support. Why he felt Wanda would listen to him at the moment was beyond him, but he figured if anybody could get though to her, it was him.
"Hey, shnookums, heh, long time no see."
Wanda's eyes flew to Todd in confusion. "Wh-what?"
"Yeah, you used to live with us. Don't worry though, I know you probably don't remember too much of that. It's ok, trust me I know... you're all confused. Same thing happened to me, can you believe it? See, we have somethin in common yo."
Wanda stared at Todd with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity etched across her face. The furniture began to make its way to the ground once again but the blue energy still held Magneto in place and sparked through the air.
"What do you mean?" she asked, tears still making their way out of her eyes.
"Yeah, real crazy, my memories got all screwed up. The proff over here helped me out a lot. He'll help you too if you let him. Do you remember him at least?"
Wanda looked over at Charles and then back at Todd, trembling. She nodded slightly. "I think so."
Todd was amazed at his own boldness at this point. He had no idea where it had come from. Either way, it was working. Wanda was calming down despite the fact that she still seemed to be completely clueless of what was going on.
"Let us help you Wanda. We won't let Magneto hurt you again," Xavier said gently, eyeing Magneto as he did.
Wanda looked at the professor and then to her father. She nodded once and then released her hold on Magneto. She passed out almost immediately and Pietro sped to her side to catch her.
"See what you've done!" he roared at his father. "Do you see!"
"Pietro listen to me..."
"Go to hell!"
Magneto's eyes narrowed and he turned his attention to the other occupants of the room. "How did you get out? Gambit what the hell are you doing?"
Gambit shrugged and remained standing against the doorway.
"As you can see Erik, we have all refused your offer, and you are *going* to release us all now."
"Oh am I?" Magneto tugged gently on the metal cuffs binding the mutants, reminding them who was in control at the moment.
~Yes. You are.~
Magneto's jaw dropped slightly. He hadn't been wearing his helmet, and Charles had full access to his mind. He was so stunned by his error that he couldn't even think of a reaction.
~You won't remember much of this, except that we refused to join you. Maybe one day we'll see eye to eye my old friend, but until then, you leave me no choice.~
Magneto's eyes bulged as a mental shockwave sent him to the ground. The students gasped and stared at Xavier.
"I'll explain once we're all home and rested. For now, let's get out of here," his eyes flickered to Pyro, still pinned against the wall. "John, it's never too late."
Pyro's eyes darted around the room nervously. "I'm a rather unstable person. Better to leave me here."
"I'd rather not," Charles said honestly.
"Come on John. Let him help you." Pietro said. He was sitting on the floor with Wanda's unconscious form resting against him. He looked as though he was going to join her in La-La Land at any moment.
Pyro nodded and Jean released her hold on him.
"Guys," Jamie said, his voice trembling, "Can we please go home now?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro curled up next to the van window and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. Logan had hot wired the vans to take them back to the institute. The seriously injured students were all in the same van with Hank, Ororo driving, while everyone else had silently divided up.
No one said a word in the van, making things all the more tense. Lance was sitting next to Pietro, staring straight ahead. He was lost in his own thoughts.
Behind him sat Evan, Jean, and Scott. Jean had managed to fall asleep on Scott's shoulder and it was impossible to tell if Scott was awake or not. Evan looked strained, but none the less alright for the most part.
Pietro closed his eyes tightly and allowed himself to do the one thing he had refused to do in front of his father. He broke down into quiet sobs and pulled his knees closer to him despite the seat belt. He felt Lance put his arm across his shoulders but it was of little comfort.
He didn't even care that if Scott was awake he was witnessing Pietro's sob fest. It was over. Any hope he'd ever had of his father redeeming himself was lost, yet he was free of him. Pietro couldn't think about what was good and what was bad about it right now, the point was it was over. He was going home, away from his father, and his sister was with him. She was safe and sound in Hank's van.
"Pietro," Xavier said softly, "Would you like me to make you sleep?"
Pietro nodded through his muffled sobs. He figured he was probably projecting a whole lot of mumbo jumbo to the proff at the moment but he didn't care. Sleep was more than welcomed.
As Pietro drifted off, courtesy of the professor's powers, Lance glanced nervously at his friend.
"Is he ok?" he asked.
Charles sighed heavily from the passenger's seat and nodded. "He will be."
"He probably took a major back step though," Logan added.
Lance nodded and kept his arm around Pietro. He shuddered as images of Todd's arm being snapped in two continued to replay in his head. "Um, professor...could you..."
"Of course."
Moments later, Lance was asleep as well.
AN: Alrighty. I promise that A *LOT* will be explained in the next chapter ok? In the mean time just hang tight.
Review Responses: I LOVE YOU!!! (I'm in a really happy mood at the moment guys... so sorry if all my responses get a lil nutty or something)
Incrediblecuznz- haha! "My dad's awesome!" That woulda been funny... but yeah I didn't do it. *sigh* lol. O well, I have my reasons. Anyway... I'll forgive you for skipping a chapter lol
Ricter- lol.. Im sorry bout the lack of Pietro... but he was in here loads... forgiven? And I'll be going a bit more in depth with the Roberto and Jube's 'defecting' later.
Maikafuiniel- lol... He got a big psychic blast... that had to hurt. And Todd was brave... be proud. :)
KS-Fan- I pulled of suspense? YES!! Anywho... thanks :) Yeah... I felt bad for Lance, and I had to make him cry at some point in this fic so there ya go. I was sad the show got rid of Rahne too. She was cool.. Even if she only talks in like one ep. O well. And yes... I wanted to save everyone... but I cant. It makes me sad... but it just wouldn't happen that way. I actually wasn't going to have Pyro go with them at the end... but I love him too much.
Scrawler- He's the mighty fuzzy one... he'll be alright. :) besides... I could never hurt him *too* badly.
Testament1- *points at all the pietro* Forgiven?
Yma- I thought about putting in his talk with the X-Men... but they just aren't the focus of the fic. I'll go back to it later... but yeah. Your fic is the most awesome thing ever by the way. I love it. (You ppl should go read it... it's called Watch and Learn)
Mandy- Yeah I'm an angst nut too. I don't really know why lol. And I just wont ask about Robero lol.
WinkyBells- Ah! Depression bad! Go away depression! Lol. Thanks though :)
SD- Well... he helped Wanda but it wasn't romantic or anything
KamalaKali- I told ya he'd be in this chapter.
DragonMaster 3000- Why thank you :)
WindWalker- wow... thanks
MiracleChick- Yes there will be conflicts with roberto and jubes. They won't be a major focus... but they'll be there none the less.
Thank you all so very much.
Chapter 22- Getting Out Part II
Pietro closed his eyes tighter as he heard the door creek open. He winced mentally as he heard the muffled voice of his father instruct Pyro to wait outside. Clenching his jaw, Pietro stood up, rod straight, and did his best to put on a face of defiance. Nothing, he knew, pissed his father off more than defiance did.
"Hello Pietro, have a seat."
Pietro wanted to scream. How dare his father address him so casually when he'd just abducted him from his... well he wasn't sure if he actually considered the institute his home, but it was close enough.
"I'll stand thanks."
Magneto sighed and took in his son with a gaze. He could see how weak Pietro was no matter how hard the younger mutant tried to hide it. His tiny frame was actually trembling slightly.
"You don't need to be so frightened Pietro, calm down."
"I'm *not* scared," Pietro hissed. It was a lie; he was petrified. Somehow he knew that whatever had happened to Wanda was *not* something he wanted to experience, no matter how happy his twin seemed.
Magneto raised his eyebrows skeptically. "You're shaking."
"That's because I'm *freezing!* Do you know how damn cold I get? No. Of course you don't. It's one of those unimportant details about my life."
Pietro forced himself to bite his tongue. His mouth was known to get him into trouble and that was the last thing he needed at the moment. He truly was freezing though. Without an ounce of body fat and only being half dressed, Pietro was hardly at a comfortable temperature.
Magneto took a deep breath through his nose and pulled a chair magnetically to himself. "Sit down son," he said firmly, "We have a lot to discuss."
Pietro slowly took a seat, wishing more than anything that someone, *anyone,* from the institute was here with him. His father had probably separated him purposely.
"Pietro, listen to me, the time has come. We can all be together again, you, Wanda, and I."
Pietro raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting family bonding. He was actually preparing to break the news to his father that his powers were temporarily out of service and then have his father kick him out with a threat to 'collect him once again when he was needed.'
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Magneto leaned forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know all this has been hard on you, but you have to understand the position I was in. There was no other option at the time. I had to focus on the coming war, and couldn't look after you. I had to leave you with the brotherhood, until now."
It took Pietro a few seconds to realize that Magneto was referring to the time after the sentinel incident. It had been then that Pietro decided he wanted nothing to do with his father, and had seen him for what he truly was. The brief month or so that he had been with his father was enough to make him realize that no matter how much he tried to deny it at first, Pietro wasn't even on his father's priority list.
Pietro grit his teeth and swallowed hard. "Translation: you couldn't be bothered to deal with me and I wasn't of any use to you at the time. Now I am so you came and got me. It's the same as always."
"It isn't like that Pietro..."
"Yes it is! It was like that when you first found out we were mutants, it was like that after the sentinel, it was like that when you came to get Wanda from the boarding house. Why can't you just leave us alone!"
Magneto's eyes flashed momentarily but he quickly calmed himself. He suddenly wished he had started much sooner with his children. Convincing an eight year old forgive you was probably a lot easier than apologizing to a bitter teenager, and in his particular case, a bitter teenager with an enormous attitude problem. Only a year and a half ago, Pietro had been willing to go to hell and back for his father, but it seemed as though Pietro had gained some sense.
"Son..."
"Don't call me that!"
Magneto sighed and pressed a finger to his temple. "Pietro, you aren't making this easy on me."
Pietro's jaw dropped. "What the hell!? Easy for *you?*"
"Listen to me Pietro, please." Magneto added the 'please' out of desperation. He didn't want to resort to brain washing his son as he had with Wanda. It was a lot easier to be a sinister villain than an understanding father, and so far he wasn't doing a very good job. "I have enormous plans for our future. After this war, the three of us can be together, safely and happily. I'm building this future for *you.* It's just going to take time."
Pietro clenched his eyes closed and bit down on his tongue. He wanted to believe Magneto, but he had made that mistake one too many times already. He was nothing to his father, nothing but another soldier, but the offer was all Pietro had ever wanted. Secretly, he had always wished something like this would happen, but it was all a lie, and he knew it.
"I don't believe you," he breathed.
"What was that?"
"I said," Pietro repeated, louder this time, "I don't. Believe. You."
Magneto nodded his head slowly. "I didn't think you would, so I'll give you proof."
The door to the room swung open with a metallic clang. Pietro could feel his heart hammering into his rib cage relentlessly. He began to focus on keeping his heart rate under control for all he was worth. Passing out now would *not* be a good thing. He watched as his sister stepped timidly into the room, smiling faintly.
"Are you alright Pea-tro?"
Pietro's breath caught in his throat as he looked back at Magneto with a pained look on his face. "What did you *do* to her?" Wanda hadn't called him Pea-tro since they were little, before they were mutants even. It clawed at his insides to hear her say it now. Something about it made him feel as though his father had violated some part of the twin's relationship. It was her secret pet name for him, and one of the few things Magneto hadn't been able to take from him. He knew it was stupid, it was only a nickname, but he felt robbed none the less.
Magneto looked down at his son in surprise. "I didn't do anything except make her happy Pietro. All the anger and bitterness was removed. I thought you would be glad to see that."
Pietro shrank back into the couch and watched as Wanda came to stand behind their father. She placed a hand on Magneto's shoulder and smiled at Pietro.
"She's been so excited to see you Pietro," Magneto stated.
Wanda beamed at him. "Well aren't you excited? We finally get to all be together again!"
Pietro looked up at his sister and tried to find any hint that the old Wanda was still there. He stared into her and the result was chilling. Her eyes were empty, there wasn't really any other way to describe it. They were just...empty.
"Wanda," Pietro choked out, "Do you... do you remember anything about... about the last couple of years?"
Wanda looked briefly at Magneto, who nodded his head in approval before she answered. "Not much. Dad says I went through a really rough time, and so he took me to a friend of his called MasterMind to help me."
"You... You what!!" Pietro sputtered. "You brainwashed her!?"
Wanda furrowed her brow at her brother and frowned. "Don't be stupid. He wouldn't do anything like that to me. He just helped me work out my anger. If I was brainwashed I would be like some emotionless droid."
Magneto stayed silent as Pietro glared at him. "I suppose our father told you that too?"
Wanda crossed her arms and shook her head. "Actually no. I'm just smart enough to figure things out on my own."
Pietro felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. His father was using his own sister against him. Magneto wasn't ever going to let them go. They were forever his tools. Pietro whimpered slightly as a feeling of utter defeat swept over him. He knew everything his father had told him was a lie. It was everything he had ever wanted to hear, but it was useless. He was trapped in his father's game, and there was no way out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance froze in the doorway of his room and nearly fainted. Looming in front of him was Colossus. He had forgotten that Magneto had told the metallic man to stand guard. Lance's head spun as the nails of defeat began to dig into him once again. He felt sick from both his helplessness and the pounding in his head. How he was managing to stand up with Todd slung over his shoulder was beyond his mental capacity at the moment.
Piotr looked down at Lance, his expression blank. For a few moments, neither mutant moved, then Colossus took a slow step to the side. He took his eyes away from Lance and stared right through him, ignoring him completely.
Lance didn't even bother to stick around and find out why. His weak body instantly went into survival mode, running off of adrenalin and insanity. He tore down the halls as fast as he could, keeping his ears open for any sign of the others.
He heard a sharp cry of pain from around the next corner and picked up speed.
The X-Men were all assembled in the hallway in a peculiar fashion, all of them looking worse for the wear. Jean was in the center, holding some type of mental shield around the group. Lance hadn't even noticed the lasers that lined some of the hallways until now as one fired at the teens. Jean's shield did its job, but Evan took out the laser with a spike anyway. It was an awkward process and he ended up stumbling slightly due to the fact he was holding Kitty up as well. Kitty hissed in pain and gripped at Evan's arm to steady herself.
"Scott," Evan pleaded, "Let me carry Kurt. I keep hurting her."
Scott didn't answer and instead transferred a barely conscious Kurt to Evan's free arm, and then took Kitty in his own. Kurt looked horrible. Lance could hear his shallow breathing even before he reached them and noticed his leg was as mangled as Todd's arm. The fur along both of Kurt's wrists was gone, as were the metal cuffs. Lance didn't want to think about that at the moment and approached the group.
"Lance! Oh my gosh, Todd! What happened?" Jean gasped.
Lance shook his head. "No time. Where's everyone?"
"We don't know yet. Rogue absorbed our guard and is pretty sure she knows where the professor is. She's taking out the lasers too. When she gets back we'll figure out how to get the hell out of here and how to find the others," Scott explained briefly. He didn't have time to explain all the details.
Kurt took a ragged breath and tapped Evan's shoulder with his tail. "Knock me out."
Evan looked at Kurt, horrified. "No way, man!"
The other mutants turned to stare at Kurt in disbelief as the blue mutant took another shaky breath.
"It makes... sense," he gasped. "I'm slowing you down... because you're trying not to hurt me. Eef you knock me out...zen I von't...feel anysing... and you can sling me ofur your shoulder for all I care."
The others stood quietly for a minute, trying to process what Kurt was saying through his accent that seemed to have increased tenfold.
"Kurt, man, I'm not knocking you out," Evan repeated, "Won't that just make things worse?"
"Nein. Jest do eet."
Evan looked helplessly at the others, who just stared back, not sure if it was a good idea or not. Lance stepped forward and drew his hand back.
"Danke," Kurt said, just as Lance brought his hand down against Kurt's head.
The group stood silently while Evan readjusted his grip on Kurt.
"Is he alright?" Lance said slowly.
Scott nodded. "He ported too damn much," he muttered. "He wouldn't be so bad if it was just the broken leg, but he wore himself out. He needs food, and soon. What about him," he said, gesturing to Todd.
"Broken arm. *Bad* broken arm. Apparently too painful to handle," he paused and took in Kitty, wincing and leaning heavily against Scott, "Kitty?" Lance's voice was completely toneless. He was still running on automatic pilot.
"Ribs," she said through gritted teeth. "They're like, screwed up all over again."
Lance nodded just as Rogue appeared at the end of the corridor, scrambling across the ceiling with ease. Lance looked at Scott and rose an eyebrow.
"Our guard, Creeper I think he called himself, that's his power."
Lance nodded and the professor appeared just behind Rogue. A sigh of relief swept through the small group of teens. Xavier quickly put his hand up before anyone could launch into questions.
"First of all, is everyone all alright?"
There were a few shrugs and gestures toward the injured members of the group and Xavier nodded. He kept his concern at bay for the time being. "We need to get the others and get out of here. I don't want any heroic attempts to take down Magneto or his accomplices unless it's necessary, is that clear?" he paused as the lights down the hallway flickered and faded on and off for a few seconds, then returned to normal. A hum of energy coursed through the room and Xavier knew instantly that it had come from Wanda. "The most important thing for now is to get out in one piece. Rogue, do you know where the others might be?"
Rogue dropped from the ceiling and shook her head. "No. Ah was lucky to even decipher where you were. I don't think Creeper's been here long."
"And Jean and I can't reach anyone telepathically in this place. I guess that just leaves the old fashion method. We aren't to split up under any circumstances."
The group nodded grimly and silently fell into step behind the professor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro gripped his fists at his sides as his face slowly began to redden. "Why are you doing this to us!?" he roared.
Magneto had stayed relatively quiet since Wanda has come in, and was using her against Pietro in the worst way he could think of. Pietro didn't want to hurt his sister, but telling her that their father was a liar and only wanted to use them would certainly be a shock to her already tortured mind. He looked at Magneto and narrowed his eyes to slits.
"Will you just tell me why!?"
Magneto's features softened slightly as he stared at his son. Pietro almost pulled away from the older mutant's gaze. Something about the way his father was looking at him made him feel uneasy. It was almost as if his father felt a hint of remorse.
"Because it is too late to do anything else my son. This is the only way now, and I can't say it's not entirely my fault, but it's too late."
Pietro's throat went dry as he forced himself to hold back the lump forming there. He was *not* going to cry in front of this man. He looked at Wanda who was watching him with a sad expression on her face.
"Come on Pietro, why don't you believe him? He wants to help."
Pietro looked over at his twin and bit his lip. He turned slightly and looked Magneto directly in the eye.
"You know," he said slowly, his voice barely audible as he tried to keep it under control, "All I ever really wanted from you was a father. I don't really give a damn if the world hunts down mutant kind if this is the price we have to pay to stop them. Ruining people's lives is not a good answer..."
"Pietro it's all for the good of the future, you can't expect..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it anymore! I don't mean anything to you and I never will. All me and Wanda are to you is more man power, man power that you think you can control just because we share the same blood. Well guess what..." Pietro stared Magneto hard in the face and bit his lip to keep the tears from spilling down his face, "You don't own me anymore. And I won't let you own Wanda either."
"Pietro.. What are you..."
Pietro cut his sister off and gripped her shoulders. "Wanda listen to me. I know you have to be in there somewhere, and I'm sorry to do this to you, but you have to know. He's lying to us. He always lies to us. Wanda please, you've got to remember. He left you in a nut house! Wanda please! Remember! You can't really be gone!" Panic started to slip into his voice. He was surprised he had made it this long without snapping.
Magneto was now on his feet. He knew how unstable Wanda was, and hadn't expected Pietro to actually barrage her with the truth.
"That's enough Pietro!"
Pietro ignored him and continued to scream at his sister, all sense of calm completely obliterated as his last attempt at freeing himself from his father continued to stare blankly back at him.
"Wanda... Wanda, please. You have to remember. It was raining and he just let them take you away. You couldn't control your powers Wanda. Then the night he took you from the boarding house, he knocked you out. He knew you would never come on your own so he knocked you out and gave you new memories. He did it before that too. Wanda... Wanda, answer me! Do you remember any of it?"
Wanda began to look through Pietro as a frown settled on her face. "No."
Pietro searched his sister's face and his eyes widened. She looked similar to Todd when he had gone into memory overload.
"Yes! Wanda it's ok, you've got to remember, you have to!"
"Pietro, no!" Magneto boomed. He lifted Pietro into the air and forced his son away from Wanda. "She won't know how to deal with it! This was the only way!"
Wanda began to look around the room frantically as the lights began to fade on and off. Her eyes darted around the room in panic. "Pietro?" she said, her voice strained.
"It's ok Wanda. You can do this. Try and remember!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Charles! You've found the others!" Ororo ran towards Xavier with Hank and the new recruits in tow.
"No, they found me. Is this everyone?"
Hank shook his head. "Pietro's still missing and Logan is... having a few words with Gambit. He'll catch up to us without a problem though. This place is less armed then I thought it would be."
"Uhg. Where the hell are we yo?" Everyone turned to face Todd who looked as though he had no idea what had happened in the last few hours. He looked around and then winced. "Never mind yo, I remember. Whe...holy shit! What happened to you?"
Rahne looked up and rolled her eyes. She was clutching her left shoulder and all the color was gone from her face. "Bucket head decided ta pop my shoulder out of place. Dr. McCoy was kind enough ta put it back in place," she said, casting Hank a sour expression. The experience had not been a pleasant one.
Todd winced. "Well if she can walk, so can I. Put me down Lance."
Lance hesitated, but did as he was asked. Todd swayed a bit and leaned against Lance long enough to get his balance. Lance was surprised he managed to support Todd at all. He felt like his own legs would give out at any moment.
"You sure you can walk?"
Todd nodded, although he looked far greener than usual.
"We need to find Pietro," Hank said as he relieved Evan of Kurt's unconscious body.
"No problem." Logan sauntered up to the group with Gambit behind him. The Cajun looked slightly unsettled, but determined none the less.
"Gambit?" Xavier asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll explain later Chuck," Logan said, "Don't worry about him for now. He know's where Pietro is, and that Magneto is with him."
"Perfect," Charles said sarcastically. He pressed a hand to his temple and massaged it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wanda searched the room frantically, not sure what she was looking for exactly. She clasped her hands over her head and sank to her knees. Blue energy began to crackle in the room as cracks began to make their way along the ground and walls.
"Pietro?!?"
Pietro opened his mouth to call out to his sister but it was quickly filled with blood and metal, his father forcing his metal cuff to his lips just as he had to Todd.
"Wanda," Magneto said gently, "It's alright. Just stay calm. I'll explain everything. Pietro is confused. I can get him help, but you can't trust him right now."
Pietro's eyes widened as he screamed from behind the metal covering his mouth. He couldn't believe Magneto was pinning him as the liar. Magneto, for his part, didn't like what he had to do, but if the truth made its way through to Wanda, he doubted he would be able to control her rage.
Wanda looked up at Magneto, her eyes wide. She looked back up at Pietro who was still hovering above the ground. He looked away from her, dropping his head in despair. He was helpless, just like he always was when his father was involved.
It was that very expression of defeat that forced Wanda's memories to resurface, rushing through her and pounding into her. It was the same expression that Pietro had worn the night her father had her put away, and it snapped something within her. The blue energy around her crackled with intensity as she rose to her feet.
"How," she breathed, her voice low, "DARE YOU!"
Magneto's eyes flew wide open as Wanda forced him to drop Pietro with her powers. The room began to trembled as anything that wasn't tied down was lifted into the air. Wanda's eyes burned with rage as she forced Magneto into the air and slammed him into the wall. He winced slightly as his daughter forced the couch up against him, crushing him into the wall.
"Wanda! What are you doing? Release my powers!"
Wanda gasped as yet another memory surfaced. The fight with the sentinel. Her father had made the same request then... 'release my powers.'
Wanda let out an anguished shriek of confusion as her powers began to rip the room apart. Pietro ran toward his sister in an attempt to calm her down but she responded with knocking him backwards off his feet.
A loud grating noise filled the room as three blades of metal appeared in the door and slid upward, flinging the door off its hinges.
"Pietro!" Lance yelled, running over to the pale boy.
"What took you?" he said weakly, trying to get his bearings from being knocked into the ground.
"Wanda!" Magneto boomed, "Release me!"
Wanda screamed again and clutched her head, still not easing any of the chaos in the room.
"Someone help her!" Pietro pleaded, "She can't figure out what's real."
"What do you mean?" Xavier shouted over the screaming whirlwind of energy Wanda had created.
"Same as Todd. I tried to make her remember. I didn't know what else to do!"
Pietro took several steps towards Wanda again but she cast him away, still unsure if he was trustworthy.
A blaze of fire suddenly shot through the room followed by the all too familiar laughter of Pyro. He entered the room and prepared to launch more flames at the X-Men.
"John, no!" Pietro screamed. "Come on John!"
Pyro shook his head. "Sorry Pietro. I told you, it's too late."
Beast took the momentary distraction to rid Pyro of his flamethrower. Jean immediately pinned the Australian to the wall psychically, preventing him from interfering further.
"See what your efforts have caused Magnus?" Xavier forced himself to speak calmly.
~Wanda, it's alright. Listen to me, I know you're confused, but we can help you. Try to calm down.~
"I...I can't!" Wanda screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Lies! So many lies!"
Todd took a deep breath and shifted his weight so that he was no longer leaning against Lance for support. Why he felt Wanda would listen to him at the moment was beyond him, but he figured if anybody could get though to her, it was him.
"Hey, shnookums, heh, long time no see."
Wanda's eyes flew to Todd in confusion. "Wh-what?"
"Yeah, you used to live with us. Don't worry though, I know you probably don't remember too much of that. It's ok, trust me I know... you're all confused. Same thing happened to me, can you believe it? See, we have somethin in common yo."
Wanda stared at Todd with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity etched across her face. The furniture began to make its way to the ground once again but the blue energy still held Magneto in place and sparked through the air.
"What do you mean?" she asked, tears still making their way out of her eyes.
"Yeah, real crazy, my memories got all screwed up. The proff over here helped me out a lot. He'll help you too if you let him. Do you remember him at least?"
Wanda looked over at Charles and then back at Todd, trembling. She nodded slightly. "I think so."
Todd was amazed at his own boldness at this point. He had no idea where it had come from. Either way, it was working. Wanda was calming down despite the fact that she still seemed to be completely clueless of what was going on.
"Let us help you Wanda. We won't let Magneto hurt you again," Xavier said gently, eyeing Magneto as he did.
Wanda looked at the professor and then to her father. She nodded once and then released her hold on Magneto. She passed out almost immediately and Pietro sped to her side to catch her.
"See what you've done!" he roared at his father. "Do you see!"
"Pietro listen to me..."
"Go to hell!"
Magneto's eyes narrowed and he turned his attention to the other occupants of the room. "How did you get out? Gambit what the hell are you doing?"
Gambit shrugged and remained standing against the doorway.
"As you can see Erik, we have all refused your offer, and you are *going* to release us all now."
"Oh am I?" Magneto tugged gently on the metal cuffs binding the mutants, reminding them who was in control at the moment.
~Yes. You are.~
Magneto's jaw dropped slightly. He hadn't been wearing his helmet, and Charles had full access to his mind. He was so stunned by his error that he couldn't even think of a reaction.
~You won't remember much of this, except that we refused to join you. Maybe one day we'll see eye to eye my old friend, but until then, you leave me no choice.~
Magneto's eyes bulged as a mental shockwave sent him to the ground. The students gasped and stared at Xavier.
"I'll explain once we're all home and rested. For now, let's get out of here," his eyes flickered to Pyro, still pinned against the wall. "John, it's never too late."
Pyro's eyes darted around the room nervously. "I'm a rather unstable person. Better to leave me here."
"I'd rather not," Charles said honestly.
"Come on John. Let him help you." Pietro said. He was sitting on the floor with Wanda's unconscious form resting against him. He looked as though he was going to join her in La-La Land at any moment.
Pyro nodded and Jean released her hold on him.
"Guys," Jamie said, his voice trembling, "Can we please go home now?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro curled up next to the van window and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. Logan had hot wired the vans to take them back to the institute. The seriously injured students were all in the same van with Hank, Ororo driving, while everyone else had silently divided up.
No one said a word in the van, making things all the more tense. Lance was sitting next to Pietro, staring straight ahead. He was lost in his own thoughts.
Behind him sat Evan, Jean, and Scott. Jean had managed to fall asleep on Scott's shoulder and it was impossible to tell if Scott was awake or not. Evan looked strained, but none the less alright for the most part.
Pietro closed his eyes tightly and allowed himself to do the one thing he had refused to do in front of his father. He broke down into quiet sobs and pulled his knees closer to him despite the seat belt. He felt Lance put his arm across his shoulders but it was of little comfort.
He didn't even care that if Scott was awake he was witnessing Pietro's sob fest. It was over. Any hope he'd ever had of his father redeeming himself was lost, yet he was free of him. Pietro couldn't think about what was good and what was bad about it right now, the point was it was over. He was going home, away from his father, and his sister was with him. She was safe and sound in Hank's van.
"Pietro," Xavier said softly, "Would you like me to make you sleep?"
Pietro nodded through his muffled sobs. He figured he was probably projecting a whole lot of mumbo jumbo to the proff at the moment but he didn't care. Sleep was more than welcomed.
As Pietro drifted off, courtesy of the professor's powers, Lance glanced nervously at his friend.
"Is he ok?" he asked.
Charles sighed heavily from the passenger's seat and nodded. "He will be."
"He probably took a major back step though," Logan added.
Lance nodded and kept his arm around Pietro. He shuddered as images of Todd's arm being snapped in two continued to replay in his head. "Um, professor...could you..."
"Of course."
Moments later, Lance was asleep as well.
AN: Alrighty. I promise that A *LOT* will be explained in the next chapter ok? In the mean time just hang tight.
Review Responses: I LOVE YOU!!! (I'm in a really happy mood at the moment guys... so sorry if all my responses get a lil nutty or something)
Incrediblecuznz- haha! "My dad's awesome!" That woulda been funny... but yeah I didn't do it. *sigh* lol. O well, I have my reasons. Anyway... I'll forgive you for skipping a chapter lol
Ricter- lol.. Im sorry bout the lack of Pietro... but he was in here loads... forgiven? And I'll be going a bit more in depth with the Roberto and Jube's 'defecting' later.
Maikafuiniel- lol... He got a big psychic blast... that had to hurt. And Todd was brave... be proud. :)
KS-Fan- I pulled of suspense? YES!! Anywho... thanks :) Yeah... I felt bad for Lance, and I had to make him cry at some point in this fic so there ya go. I was sad the show got rid of Rahne too. She was cool.. Even if she only talks in like one ep. O well. And yes... I wanted to save everyone... but I cant. It makes me sad... but it just wouldn't happen that way. I actually wasn't going to have Pyro go with them at the end... but I love him too much.
Scrawler- He's the mighty fuzzy one... he'll be alright. :) besides... I could never hurt him *too* badly.
Testament1- *points at all the pietro* Forgiven?
Yma- I thought about putting in his talk with the X-Men... but they just aren't the focus of the fic. I'll go back to it later... but yeah. Your fic is the most awesome thing ever by the way. I love it. (You ppl should go read it... it's called Watch and Learn)
Mandy- Yeah I'm an angst nut too. I don't really know why lol. And I just wont ask about Robero lol.
WinkyBells- Ah! Depression bad! Go away depression! Lol. Thanks though :)
SD- Well... he helped Wanda but it wasn't romantic or anything
KamalaKali- I told ya he'd be in this chapter.
DragonMaster 3000- Why thank you :)
WindWalker- wow... thanks
MiracleChick- Yes there will be conflicts with roberto and jubes. They won't be a major focus... but they'll be there none the less.
Thank you all so very much.