Here it is, the final...whatever this is lol. The End. There, that covers it. I'm kinda sad that this is done cuz I had fun writing it...but maybe now I'll get more of my homework done lol.
So anyway, This is set several months later...like early spring I guess. I don't know if this is what people were expecting... heck, I don't even know if it was what *I* was expecting for the epilogue.
I'll be posting one more time after this for final review responses and thanks. I owe you guys that much because without the feedback this wouldn't be worth not doing my homework for. I'll also explain why I did the Epilogue the way I did. I would explain it at the end, but I'd rather read what you guys think b4 I *tell* you what I was trying to do.
Responses from last chapter are at the bottom.
Epilogue- Several months later....
Pietro bounded down the hallway and to the stairs, causing several wall hangings to become crooked in his wake. He managed to come to a halt just before he barreled headlong into St. John.
"Jeesh, take it easy mate. Where's the fire?"
"Sorry," Pietro said with a grin, "I'm on a test run with my powers. I'm meeting up with Lance and Todd. So, uh, you're really leaving?"
John nodded. "Yeah, flight's this weekend. I can't mooch off of free counseling forever I suppose," he added with a smirk.
"Aw sure you can. I've been doing it for months. Hell, I even go to two sessions a week now: a family one and my own personal one." Pietro laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Ahh, the life of the insane," Pyro quipped. "But anyway, I figure it's about time I move on with my life, you know?"
"Yeah I guess. Gonna be weird without you around though."
"Well you're next mate. I can't imagine this place without all the random tornadoes you create. Speaking of which, if you don't get a move on you'll be late."
Pietro smirked at John and shook his head. "Pietro Maximoff is never late. See ya later John." He took off, leaving behind a whirlwind and sending John in a circle.
~*~*~*~*~
Lance put his jeep in park and stared up at the looming building. Todd let out a low whistle and shook his head.
"Didn't know when I'd see thing place again yo. Why'd we wanna come here again?"
Todd and Lance jumped as Pietro's voice entered from behind them.
"Because-you-can't-find-five-minutes- of- peace- in- the- mansion.- We- wouldn't- want- to- completely- conform- to- the- X-Geeks- now- would- we? That, and we never get to talk much since we got our own rooms," the speedster added.
Todd and Lance turned to face their friend expectantly.
"Well?" Lance asked.
Pietro beamed at them and took a bow. Made it all the way here with out even breaking a sweat. My powers are officially back, full throttle."
"Oh goody," Lance said sarcastically.
Pietro had decided not to ride in the jeep so that he could fully test his powers. He had been working overtime with both Hank and Logan to get his powers back up to speed- literally- for the last several months.
"Aw come on. You don't have a clue how obnoxious it was to get all worn out after only using my powers for.." Pietro trailed off as he noticed the look on Lance's face. "Um, ok so maybe you do. Anyway, did they condemn this place?" he asked, switching the subject.
"Looks that way," Todd said, "Come on."
The three teens trudged up the all too familiar sidewalk towards the former brotherhood boarding house– their former home. Pietro took off, ran straight up the side of the building and steadied himself on the roof while Todd made a series of jumps and joined him.
"Show offs," Lance called up to them.
The brunette took hold of some lattice work up the side of the house and climbed up after his friends. The three of them each claimed a spot on the slanted roof and laid back to take in the view of stars. It was an old habit of theirs that they had started when Fred became too much to handle, or Lance's headaches got too bad.
"So Pietro," Todd said after a few minutes of peaceful silence, "You tell Lance how Rogue liked her birthday gift yet?"
Pietro groaned. "You had to bring *that* up."
Todd grinned. "I take it you didn't tell him then?"
"You mean she didn't like it or something?" Lance asked, amazed.
"Oh no, she liked it alright. So much that she cried!"
Lance burst into laughter and craned his neck to get a better view of Pietro. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I mean, I wanted it to mean something to her I guess, but for crying out loud that was just creepy! It's *Rogue* we're talking about here!"
Lance smiled to himself and shook his head. Pietro had hunted down the thinnest fabric he could find and made Rogue a set of gloves out of it for her birthday. It had been one of Pietro's more genius ideas, that was for sure. The fabric was so thin that Lance was amazed it was capable of providing any type of protection from Rogue's powers. Lance knew why Rogue had cried; the gift had taken a lot of thought, and she liked Pietro... a lot. At this point, Pietro was the only one who didn't know it.
"I don't get it," Pietro sighed.
Lance turned his head towards Todd who was grinning from ear to ear, obviously thinking the same thing Lance was: 'Moron is *so* clueless sometimes.'
"I was thinking maybe I'd ask her to prom... maybe. I'd be too afraid to get her a damn corsage though. What if she cried?" he said sarcastically.
Lance and Todd's eyes lit up as they spun around to face Pietro.
"You're gonna ask her to prom yo?" Todd asked, beaming.
"You should," Lance said enthusiastically.
"Huh? Well, I mean, it's just Rogue and... what's the big deal?"
"Nothing," Todd and Lance said in unison. Neither one of them wanted to know how Rogue would respond to someone spilling the beans about how she felt about Pietro. They highly doubted it would be pleasant.
"Hey, did you remember to turn in your college applications?" Lance asked, changing the subject.
Pietro rolled his eyes, though he too was glad for the change in subject. "Yes daddy. I swear, it would take a miracle for me to *not* remember with both you and Hank always on my back about it."
"Yeah well at least you got a hope of getting into college yo. Not that I know what I'd go for or anything," Todd said dryly.
"Aw come on, you'll get in. Proff will probably pay for it even," Lance said.
Tod shrugged and went back to staring up at the sky. "I still got some time to think about it. I'll have to think of *something* cuz I don't think being an X-Man is gonna happen. Actually I *know* that'll never happen yo."
Pietro smirked. "Yeah, but it doesn't stop you from training with them and volunteering for missions."
"First of all, I only train with the new recruits, just like you. They aren't technically X-Men yet. Second of all, why not volunteer for missions? They aren't ever real dangerous ones yo, gives us something to do other than have Logan yelling at us to pick up the pace in training. I don't see why you don't just tag along a few times."
"Because then he'd have to wear a uniform," Lance answered, laughing.
"Hey!" Pietro snapped.
Pietro had thrown an all out hissy fit over his black spandex after Kurt and Evan had decided to actually try and count his ribs through the uniform. After the most incredible battle of lung power between a tough as nails drill sergeant by the name of Logan, and a hyperactive seventeen year old by the name of Pietro, the students witnessed the most astounding thing; Logan let out an exasperated sigh and backed down from a fight– a verbal one anyway. Pietro now wore gym shorts and a tee-shirt to train in.
"*Anyway,*" Pietro continued, glaring towards Lance, "I don't volunteer for missions because I'm done with all that crap. I'm sick of it... you know that."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry," Todd sighed. "I just miss you guys out there with me. The X-Men are way too uptight on the battle field yo. You think Summers has a stick up his butt now... yeesh."
Pietro grinned, "Reason number two why I don't go on missions."
The three of them laughed quietly to themselves and sank back into a comfortable silence once again. It was a thoughtful silence as well, and the boys would occasionally break it to surface their personal musings to the others.
"Hey guys?" Todd said almost timidly, pulling Lance and Pietro from their own thoughts, "Ever think about what it would have been like if Fred came back with us that one day?" The subject of Fred was rarely addressed, but Todd had never really let it go. He didn't know how often the others thought about it and somehow doubted that they thought about Fred as much as he did. Todd had really been the closest to him.
Pietro instantly scowled. "No, and I don't want to."
"Liar," Lance said under his breath.
"I heard that."
"Well it's true. You know you've thought about it Tro, all of us have."
Todd sighed, a bit relieved that he wasn't the only one. "It's just that, I dunno, we never really talked about it and I just wondered. It's like, as pissed off at Jubes and Roberto as Rahne and Sam were, I could barely believe it when they made up with them. But then I was thinking it was pretty much the same thing as Fred and us yo. He betrayed us... but what if he came back? Would we forgive him? Or just *kinda* forgive him like Ray did with Roberto and Jubes. He doesn't really talk to them too much anymore, but he doesn't hate 'em or nothin."
The three stayed silent for a minute before Pietro finally spoke up. "First of all, Jubilee and Roberto are a bad example. They didn't abuse anyone. But second of all, yeah, I think I'd forgive him if he came back."
Todd and Lance both looked over at Pietro in surprise. The last and only time Pietro had discussed Fred with the others, he had declared that the blob could go to hell for all he cared.
"Look, we've all done stupid stuff in the past ok? So what right would I have *not* to forgive him? I mean, Wanda shouldn't have forgiven me, but she did, and look how that turned out. I think I'd at least owe him that same chance... even if it would be grudgingly."
"Good point," Lance said, "I probably would too I guess, but it doesn't really matter does it?"
"No, I guess it doesn't," Todd sighed.
"Well on a brighter note, John is leaving this weekend," Pietro said, yawning.
"How is that a brighter note yo?"
"Well it is for John. Not for us really. It was kinda fun not being the only group of rebels. Not that I count Remy as a rebel. He's always trying to impress Rogue." Pietro added, a slightly bitter tone in his voice.
"Well you guys are gonna have to get used to the idea of being the only so-called rebels hanging around the mansion. I got a call yesterday from U.M.P.A."
Todd and Pietro instantly sat up and turned to face Lance. It had been a while since Lance and Logan had taken the trip to meet with the powers that be at the U.M.P.A. and Lance hadn't said too much about it since, only that he liked it and just had some more stuff to think about.
"I um, I'm gonna move up where the base office is. They'll pair me up with one of their street workers and sort of train me ya know? I'm just gonna transfer to a community college up there," Lance explained. He continued to stare up at the sky, avoiding eye contact with his friends. He was dropping this on them rather suddenly and he knew it.
"Well it's about time!" Pietro announced.
Lance sat up and gave Pietro an odd look.
"Don't get us wrong yo," Todd said, smiling, "It's not like we want you out of here or anything, but we both know that the only reason you didn't move out for the fall semester was because of us."
Lance lowered his head slightly. "Who told you?" he asked sheepishly.
Pietro rolled his eyes. "You *do* remember where we live right? Gossip central? Logan- told- the- proff-, Jean- overheard- him- and- told- Scott,- Scott- told- Kurt- and- was- overheard- by- Roberto- who- told- Jubes- and- for- crying- out- loud- there's- no- keeping- anything- secret- when- that- girl- is- concerned," Pietro rattled off.
"Well isn't that just lovely?" Lance drawled.
"Yeah, well, it's ok yo. I think we can get along without you now though, ok?" Todd grinned at Lance who shoved him jokingly in response.
"So explain how this umpa place works. What do they actually do?" Pietro asked.
"First off, it's U.M.P.A., not umpa. It's not a chocolate factory. Anyway, the stuff I want to do is the street work. They literally send guys out to pick up abandoned or abused mutants. They're the ones that actually talk and work with the kids. The way they do it, you stick with one specific kid until they are adopted into a home or taken to– get this– a mutant orphanage just outside of New York."
"Are you kidding me? There's actually a mutant orphanage?" Todd asked.
"Yep. It's a real good place too. I looked into working there actually. But anyway, I'll mostly just be paired up with someone and learning how to handle different kids, cuz I'm still going to finish college, and they gotta put me through this whole period of observation to make sure I'm not some psycho."
Todd and Pietro nodded before settling themselves back down again. All three young men were very aware that their lives were about to change yet again, but this time in a much less painful way.
"It's weird yo," Todd spoke after a long silence, "You don't really notice how different things are until you look back on how they used to be."
"That's the funny thing about turning points," Pietro said, "They're real subtle, and you don't even know you've reached 'em until long after."
"Come on you guys, we've got places to be and it's freezing out here."
The three stood carefully on the rooftop and made their decent back to solid ground. Silently, they walked down the path back to Lance's jeep.
"See ya back at the mansion guys," Pietro waved, then tore off down the sidewalk.
"Can you maybe drop me at the mall Lance?" Todd asked, "I'm supposed to meet Rahne and Sam."
"No problem. Need a ride home later?"
"Nah, Sam's got a license now, remember? Hey! Can I drive? Please, please, please!"
Lance quirked an eyebrow and paused. He knew the responsible adult thing to do would be to tell Todd no, that he wasn't allowed to drive with someone under 21. Lance tilted his head thoughtfully, then grinned as he handed Todd the keys. With one final glance at the dilapidated boarding house, Lance and Todd sped out of the driveway.
THE END. (Aww, I'm kinda sad)
So... that's it. Please let me know what you thought...I really appreciate it. I dunno what the response will be for the epilogue lol. I'll give all my closing comments and responses, along with an explanation of the epilogie in another A/N after I post this, as well as my thoughts on a sequel.
Eboni- If I thought I could write humor...I'd do a one shot of Pietro on caffeine... but I'm not so sure that would go so well. Humor comes to me on accident. I'm afraid to know what would happen if I attempted it purposely lol. And yeah, I made Ray seem slightly dense, but when you think about it, how much are the new recruits informed of details like who Magneto's kids are?
Kamikaze Angel- That's a HUGE compliment... thanks.
KS-Fan- Yeah, it's a bit difficult but hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, thank u so much as usual. Is it weird to like a line you came up with? lol... "It's over. You don't have to be their dad anymore, just their friend" was one of my favorite lines too. I'm afraid I didn't provide a 'definite' makeup in this chapter, but it was mentioned at least. Thank you for saying that the slow pace I take things at is a positive thing... I have this fear of the story dragging...but I can't stand when characters are instantly fixed cuz that's just not how life works. Freddy... poor guy. I *almost* made him good again... but I couldn't. They're all different, and not everything is going to come out perfect in life, so for Fred to have come back with them would have been too idealistic in my opinion. It kinda reminds me of Pietro in 'Between the Bars' actually...cuz I didn't want him to run off and leave Lance... but in a way that's how it should have been. Pyro...lol. He was *completely* out of no where so I'm really glad you liked him. I know I didn't follow up with him as much as I could have, but he just wasnt the focus. Finally, anyone who can even attempt a watercolor has more talent than me lol. Be proud.
Scrawler- "At one point, Kurt had actually attempted to lunge himself at Magneto. He'd paid dearly for it, the foolish kid..." That's from chapter 21... and the reason Magneto burned Kurt's wrists...poor Kurt, always trying to be mr. hero ;)
Ilex9- Lol, and a fine compliment it is too, thank you. Now, spelling and grammar... ack. I get careless with checking it at times because by the time I'm done with a chapter I've read over it so many times for development stuff that going over it again fro spelling and grammar mistakes can be grueling. But that is no excuse, and I do try. I'm my own editor and sometimes my brain automatically corrects things. Like if I type isr't instead of isn't... my brain will automatically put it the correct way so I don't realize it's wrong... no what I mean? Or do I just sound like a nutcase? Nutcase... I thought so. Anyways, as for the characters (new recruits in particular) I know nothing but the show. I have no other background knowledge other than Kitty being Jewish and Kurt being catholic (Is he a priest? I can't remember now) I wish I knew the other comic histories as well but at the same time... that's part of the fun of only knowing evo in my opinion cuz I can just make up what I want. It's a win loose situation. A note on Cannonball being bruised though- I did know he became invulnerable, but their powers were going bonkers and therefore not working correctly. He could have shot into the air, had his powers fade out, and fallen back to earth. I prolly shoulda elaborated more on that though. Another thing, the lack of development between Todd, Rahne, and Sam is something I'm *still* kicking myself for. I think it would be awesome if you did your own fic on that. Let me know if you ever do. It was just one of those things that got lost in the madness of this fic...sadly. Oh and yes, I purposely had sabertooth off and out of the way because he's just a big moron in the show (like u said) and I was too lazy to mess with him. Anyway, thank you so much for ur compliments and constructive criticism.
Yma, Wizard, Kathryn-Colby, Storm-Pietro, MiracleChick, LadyRaye, IceBlueRose, Daybreak-Chan, Calamari Rings, Sum41Junkie, WinkyBells, Skye, Etwa- Thank you all *SOOOO* much for your compliments. I can not tell you how much I appreciate them. I tend to be a bit hard on myself at times when it comes to writing, and your way awesome comments make me feel a whole lot better. Thank you so much for taking the time to give me your praise... it does not go to waste, I assure you.
So anyway, This is set several months later...like early spring I guess. I don't know if this is what people were expecting... heck, I don't even know if it was what *I* was expecting for the epilogue.
I'll be posting one more time after this for final review responses and thanks. I owe you guys that much because without the feedback this wouldn't be worth not doing my homework for. I'll also explain why I did the Epilogue the way I did. I would explain it at the end, but I'd rather read what you guys think b4 I *tell* you what I was trying to do.
Responses from last chapter are at the bottom.
Epilogue- Several months later....
Pietro bounded down the hallway and to the stairs, causing several wall hangings to become crooked in his wake. He managed to come to a halt just before he barreled headlong into St. John.
"Jeesh, take it easy mate. Where's the fire?"
"Sorry," Pietro said with a grin, "I'm on a test run with my powers. I'm meeting up with Lance and Todd. So, uh, you're really leaving?"
John nodded. "Yeah, flight's this weekend. I can't mooch off of free counseling forever I suppose," he added with a smirk.
"Aw sure you can. I've been doing it for months. Hell, I even go to two sessions a week now: a family one and my own personal one." Pietro laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Ahh, the life of the insane," Pyro quipped. "But anyway, I figure it's about time I move on with my life, you know?"
"Yeah I guess. Gonna be weird without you around though."
"Well you're next mate. I can't imagine this place without all the random tornadoes you create. Speaking of which, if you don't get a move on you'll be late."
Pietro smirked at John and shook his head. "Pietro Maximoff is never late. See ya later John." He took off, leaving behind a whirlwind and sending John in a circle.
~*~*~*~*~
Lance put his jeep in park and stared up at the looming building. Todd let out a low whistle and shook his head.
"Didn't know when I'd see thing place again yo. Why'd we wanna come here again?"
Todd and Lance jumped as Pietro's voice entered from behind them.
"Because-you-can't-find-five-minutes- of- peace- in- the- mansion.- We- wouldn't- want- to- completely- conform- to- the- X-Geeks- now- would- we? That, and we never get to talk much since we got our own rooms," the speedster added.
Todd and Lance turned to face their friend expectantly.
"Well?" Lance asked.
Pietro beamed at them and took a bow. Made it all the way here with out even breaking a sweat. My powers are officially back, full throttle."
"Oh goody," Lance said sarcastically.
Pietro had decided not to ride in the jeep so that he could fully test his powers. He had been working overtime with both Hank and Logan to get his powers back up to speed- literally- for the last several months.
"Aw come on. You don't have a clue how obnoxious it was to get all worn out after only using my powers for.." Pietro trailed off as he noticed the look on Lance's face. "Um, ok so maybe you do. Anyway, did they condemn this place?" he asked, switching the subject.
"Looks that way," Todd said, "Come on."
The three teens trudged up the all too familiar sidewalk towards the former brotherhood boarding house– their former home. Pietro took off, ran straight up the side of the building and steadied himself on the roof while Todd made a series of jumps and joined him.
"Show offs," Lance called up to them.
The brunette took hold of some lattice work up the side of the house and climbed up after his friends. The three of them each claimed a spot on the slanted roof and laid back to take in the view of stars. It was an old habit of theirs that they had started when Fred became too much to handle, or Lance's headaches got too bad.
"So Pietro," Todd said after a few minutes of peaceful silence, "You tell Lance how Rogue liked her birthday gift yet?"
Pietro groaned. "You had to bring *that* up."
Todd grinned. "I take it you didn't tell him then?"
"You mean she didn't like it or something?" Lance asked, amazed.
"Oh no, she liked it alright. So much that she cried!"
Lance burst into laughter and craned his neck to get a better view of Pietro. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I mean, I wanted it to mean something to her I guess, but for crying out loud that was just creepy! It's *Rogue* we're talking about here!"
Lance smiled to himself and shook his head. Pietro had hunted down the thinnest fabric he could find and made Rogue a set of gloves out of it for her birthday. It had been one of Pietro's more genius ideas, that was for sure. The fabric was so thin that Lance was amazed it was capable of providing any type of protection from Rogue's powers. Lance knew why Rogue had cried; the gift had taken a lot of thought, and she liked Pietro... a lot. At this point, Pietro was the only one who didn't know it.
"I don't get it," Pietro sighed.
Lance turned his head towards Todd who was grinning from ear to ear, obviously thinking the same thing Lance was: 'Moron is *so* clueless sometimes.'
"I was thinking maybe I'd ask her to prom... maybe. I'd be too afraid to get her a damn corsage though. What if she cried?" he said sarcastically.
Lance and Todd's eyes lit up as they spun around to face Pietro.
"You're gonna ask her to prom yo?" Todd asked, beaming.
"You should," Lance said enthusiastically.
"Huh? Well, I mean, it's just Rogue and... what's the big deal?"
"Nothing," Todd and Lance said in unison. Neither one of them wanted to know how Rogue would respond to someone spilling the beans about how she felt about Pietro. They highly doubted it would be pleasant.
"Hey, did you remember to turn in your college applications?" Lance asked, changing the subject.
Pietro rolled his eyes, though he too was glad for the change in subject. "Yes daddy. I swear, it would take a miracle for me to *not* remember with both you and Hank always on my back about it."
"Yeah well at least you got a hope of getting into college yo. Not that I know what I'd go for or anything," Todd said dryly.
"Aw come on, you'll get in. Proff will probably pay for it even," Lance said.
Tod shrugged and went back to staring up at the sky. "I still got some time to think about it. I'll have to think of *something* cuz I don't think being an X-Man is gonna happen. Actually I *know* that'll never happen yo."
Pietro smirked. "Yeah, but it doesn't stop you from training with them and volunteering for missions."
"First of all, I only train with the new recruits, just like you. They aren't technically X-Men yet. Second of all, why not volunteer for missions? They aren't ever real dangerous ones yo, gives us something to do other than have Logan yelling at us to pick up the pace in training. I don't see why you don't just tag along a few times."
"Because then he'd have to wear a uniform," Lance answered, laughing.
"Hey!" Pietro snapped.
Pietro had thrown an all out hissy fit over his black spandex after Kurt and Evan had decided to actually try and count his ribs through the uniform. After the most incredible battle of lung power between a tough as nails drill sergeant by the name of Logan, and a hyperactive seventeen year old by the name of Pietro, the students witnessed the most astounding thing; Logan let out an exasperated sigh and backed down from a fight– a verbal one anyway. Pietro now wore gym shorts and a tee-shirt to train in.
"*Anyway,*" Pietro continued, glaring towards Lance, "I don't volunteer for missions because I'm done with all that crap. I'm sick of it... you know that."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry," Todd sighed. "I just miss you guys out there with me. The X-Men are way too uptight on the battle field yo. You think Summers has a stick up his butt now... yeesh."
Pietro grinned, "Reason number two why I don't go on missions."
The three of them laughed quietly to themselves and sank back into a comfortable silence once again. It was a thoughtful silence as well, and the boys would occasionally break it to surface their personal musings to the others.
"Hey guys?" Todd said almost timidly, pulling Lance and Pietro from their own thoughts, "Ever think about what it would have been like if Fred came back with us that one day?" The subject of Fred was rarely addressed, but Todd had never really let it go. He didn't know how often the others thought about it and somehow doubted that they thought about Fred as much as he did. Todd had really been the closest to him.
Pietro instantly scowled. "No, and I don't want to."
"Liar," Lance said under his breath.
"I heard that."
"Well it's true. You know you've thought about it Tro, all of us have."
Todd sighed, a bit relieved that he wasn't the only one. "It's just that, I dunno, we never really talked about it and I just wondered. It's like, as pissed off at Jubes and Roberto as Rahne and Sam were, I could barely believe it when they made up with them. But then I was thinking it was pretty much the same thing as Fred and us yo. He betrayed us... but what if he came back? Would we forgive him? Or just *kinda* forgive him like Ray did with Roberto and Jubes. He doesn't really talk to them too much anymore, but he doesn't hate 'em or nothin."
The three stayed silent for a minute before Pietro finally spoke up. "First of all, Jubilee and Roberto are a bad example. They didn't abuse anyone. But second of all, yeah, I think I'd forgive him if he came back."
Todd and Lance both looked over at Pietro in surprise. The last and only time Pietro had discussed Fred with the others, he had declared that the blob could go to hell for all he cared.
"Look, we've all done stupid stuff in the past ok? So what right would I have *not* to forgive him? I mean, Wanda shouldn't have forgiven me, but she did, and look how that turned out. I think I'd at least owe him that same chance... even if it would be grudgingly."
"Good point," Lance said, "I probably would too I guess, but it doesn't really matter does it?"
"No, I guess it doesn't," Todd sighed.
"Well on a brighter note, John is leaving this weekend," Pietro said, yawning.
"How is that a brighter note yo?"
"Well it is for John. Not for us really. It was kinda fun not being the only group of rebels. Not that I count Remy as a rebel. He's always trying to impress Rogue." Pietro added, a slightly bitter tone in his voice.
"Well you guys are gonna have to get used to the idea of being the only so-called rebels hanging around the mansion. I got a call yesterday from U.M.P.A."
Todd and Pietro instantly sat up and turned to face Lance. It had been a while since Lance and Logan had taken the trip to meet with the powers that be at the U.M.P.A. and Lance hadn't said too much about it since, only that he liked it and just had some more stuff to think about.
"I um, I'm gonna move up where the base office is. They'll pair me up with one of their street workers and sort of train me ya know? I'm just gonna transfer to a community college up there," Lance explained. He continued to stare up at the sky, avoiding eye contact with his friends. He was dropping this on them rather suddenly and he knew it.
"Well it's about time!" Pietro announced.
Lance sat up and gave Pietro an odd look.
"Don't get us wrong yo," Todd said, smiling, "It's not like we want you out of here or anything, but we both know that the only reason you didn't move out for the fall semester was because of us."
Lance lowered his head slightly. "Who told you?" he asked sheepishly.
Pietro rolled his eyes. "You *do* remember where we live right? Gossip central? Logan- told- the- proff-, Jean- overheard- him- and- told- Scott,- Scott- told- Kurt- and- was- overheard- by- Roberto- who- told- Jubes- and- for- crying- out- loud- there's- no- keeping- anything- secret- when- that- girl- is- concerned," Pietro rattled off.
"Well isn't that just lovely?" Lance drawled.
"Yeah, well, it's ok yo. I think we can get along without you now though, ok?" Todd grinned at Lance who shoved him jokingly in response.
"So explain how this umpa place works. What do they actually do?" Pietro asked.
"First off, it's U.M.P.A., not umpa. It's not a chocolate factory. Anyway, the stuff I want to do is the street work. They literally send guys out to pick up abandoned or abused mutants. They're the ones that actually talk and work with the kids. The way they do it, you stick with one specific kid until they are adopted into a home or taken to– get this– a mutant orphanage just outside of New York."
"Are you kidding me? There's actually a mutant orphanage?" Todd asked.
"Yep. It's a real good place too. I looked into working there actually. But anyway, I'll mostly just be paired up with someone and learning how to handle different kids, cuz I'm still going to finish college, and they gotta put me through this whole period of observation to make sure I'm not some psycho."
Todd and Pietro nodded before settling themselves back down again. All three young men were very aware that their lives were about to change yet again, but this time in a much less painful way.
"It's weird yo," Todd spoke after a long silence, "You don't really notice how different things are until you look back on how they used to be."
"That's the funny thing about turning points," Pietro said, "They're real subtle, and you don't even know you've reached 'em until long after."
"Come on you guys, we've got places to be and it's freezing out here."
The three stood carefully on the rooftop and made their decent back to solid ground. Silently, they walked down the path back to Lance's jeep.
"See ya back at the mansion guys," Pietro waved, then tore off down the sidewalk.
"Can you maybe drop me at the mall Lance?" Todd asked, "I'm supposed to meet Rahne and Sam."
"No problem. Need a ride home later?"
"Nah, Sam's got a license now, remember? Hey! Can I drive? Please, please, please!"
Lance quirked an eyebrow and paused. He knew the responsible adult thing to do would be to tell Todd no, that he wasn't allowed to drive with someone under 21. Lance tilted his head thoughtfully, then grinned as he handed Todd the keys. With one final glance at the dilapidated boarding house, Lance and Todd sped out of the driveway.
THE END. (Aww, I'm kinda sad)
So... that's it. Please let me know what you thought...I really appreciate it. I dunno what the response will be for the epilogue lol. I'll give all my closing comments and responses, along with an explanation of the epilogie in another A/N after I post this, as well as my thoughts on a sequel.
Eboni- If I thought I could write humor...I'd do a one shot of Pietro on caffeine... but I'm not so sure that would go so well. Humor comes to me on accident. I'm afraid to know what would happen if I attempted it purposely lol. And yeah, I made Ray seem slightly dense, but when you think about it, how much are the new recruits informed of details like who Magneto's kids are?
Kamikaze Angel- That's a HUGE compliment... thanks.
KS-Fan- Yeah, it's a bit difficult but hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, thank u so much as usual. Is it weird to like a line you came up with? lol... "It's over. You don't have to be their dad anymore, just their friend" was one of my favorite lines too. I'm afraid I didn't provide a 'definite' makeup in this chapter, but it was mentioned at least. Thank you for saying that the slow pace I take things at is a positive thing... I have this fear of the story dragging...but I can't stand when characters are instantly fixed cuz that's just not how life works. Freddy... poor guy. I *almost* made him good again... but I couldn't. They're all different, and not everything is going to come out perfect in life, so for Fred to have come back with them would have been too idealistic in my opinion. It kinda reminds me of Pietro in 'Between the Bars' actually...cuz I didn't want him to run off and leave Lance... but in a way that's how it should have been. Pyro...lol. He was *completely* out of no where so I'm really glad you liked him. I know I didn't follow up with him as much as I could have, but he just wasnt the focus. Finally, anyone who can even attempt a watercolor has more talent than me lol. Be proud.
Scrawler- "At one point, Kurt had actually attempted to lunge himself at Magneto. He'd paid dearly for it, the foolish kid..." That's from chapter 21... and the reason Magneto burned Kurt's wrists...poor Kurt, always trying to be mr. hero ;)
Ilex9- Lol, and a fine compliment it is too, thank you. Now, spelling and grammar... ack. I get careless with checking it at times because by the time I'm done with a chapter I've read over it so many times for development stuff that going over it again fro spelling and grammar mistakes can be grueling. But that is no excuse, and I do try. I'm my own editor and sometimes my brain automatically corrects things. Like if I type isr't instead of isn't... my brain will automatically put it the correct way so I don't realize it's wrong... no what I mean? Or do I just sound like a nutcase? Nutcase... I thought so. Anyways, as for the characters (new recruits in particular) I know nothing but the show. I have no other background knowledge other than Kitty being Jewish and Kurt being catholic (Is he a priest? I can't remember now) I wish I knew the other comic histories as well but at the same time... that's part of the fun of only knowing evo in my opinion cuz I can just make up what I want. It's a win loose situation. A note on Cannonball being bruised though- I did know he became invulnerable, but their powers were going bonkers and therefore not working correctly. He could have shot into the air, had his powers fade out, and fallen back to earth. I prolly shoulda elaborated more on that though. Another thing, the lack of development between Todd, Rahne, and Sam is something I'm *still* kicking myself for. I think it would be awesome if you did your own fic on that. Let me know if you ever do. It was just one of those things that got lost in the madness of this fic...sadly. Oh and yes, I purposely had sabertooth off and out of the way because he's just a big moron in the show (like u said) and I was too lazy to mess with him. Anyway, thank you so much for ur compliments and constructive criticism.
Yma, Wizard, Kathryn-Colby, Storm-Pietro, MiracleChick, LadyRaye, IceBlueRose, Daybreak-Chan, Calamari Rings, Sum41Junkie, WinkyBells, Skye, Etwa- Thank you all *SOOOO* much for your compliments. I can not tell you how much I appreciate them. I tend to be a bit hard on myself at times when it comes to writing, and your way awesome comments make me feel a whole lot better. Thank you so much for taking the time to give me your praise... it does not go to waste, I assure you.