It is I! Jjah-Jjah! And guess what? I'm sick again. Allergies this
time. I'm not nauseous. That's good. This time I had a legitimate reason
for taking so long! I have a cat. He's black and his name is Tail. I was
going to put him in this fic, but the weekend I was gonna start writing
this chapter some evil piece of crap ran over Tail!
He's still alive. His jaw is wired and he might have to get one of his eyes removed, but he's alive. For a one-eyed cat with a broken jaw, he seems to be pretty chipper. He likes to sneak up on me when I'm doing my homework and scare the crap out of me by suddenly appearing on whatever I'm working on. Oh well. Moving on.
*** fireweaver: Thank you! Dialogue is usually hard for me. I'm glad you think I'm doing well!
A girl and her muses: The chapter name at the beginning of the story is different from the one in the little box thingy, my dear. I do work at the blood center, so I could use the blood. And we frikken meet Jillian in this chapter.
rogue hobbit: Thank you! You gave me the idea for the chapter name! Isn't it confusing? It's probably what one thinks while under laughing gas.
Storm-Pietro: Thanks! :-D
Wizardess Gal: Whoa. That's what I said when I read your review. That the longest thing anyone's ever sent to me. :-D Yay! I guess it is a cliffhanger isn't it? *looks sheepish*. I honestly didn't realize that till you said something! I guess three muses are better than one. Ed is so temperamental though. Can I borrow your broken curtain rod of doom? I need to use it to beat off my best friend's stalkers. (She has three!)
***
Disclaimer: Oh! I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok! I sleep all night and I work all day! I chop down trees, I eat my lunch, I visit the lavatory! On Wednesdays I don't own x-men and have buttered scones for tea!
*** Chapter Seven: Storm The Looney Bin
Wanda stood across the street, looking up at the one building she thought that she'd never set foot near again. The asylum. The storm had long ago died down from lightning and thunder to a steady rain. The rain pounded down on the building's towers, casting a silver halo against the darkened sky. The similarities between this moment and that instance so many years ago almost made Wanda sick. Only now it was not day, it was night. Or rather 2:30 in the morning. . . Only now she was going to take someone out, not put someone in.
With an audible sigh, Wanda clenched her fists and started across the street. She smashed through the serene surface of a puddle as she neared the door. She stopped. Her hand rested on the door, as she stared into the lighted interior of the lobby. This was one place she was afraid to go in. Then she thought of how it felt to be trapped in there for so long. She couldn't just stand by while a friend went through the exact same thing. A friend. Someone who had reminded her who she really was. Wanda adjusted her sunglasses and turned the collar of her jacket up.
She wasn't a person easily intimidated. She was Wanda Maximoff. The Scarlet Witch. Few things could withstand her fury. This hospital sure as hell wasn't one of them.
The door swung open with a slight screech and Wanda stalked down the familiar corridor up to the front desk. There was a nurse there that she had never seen before. Someone new. She smirked. All the better.
"Hello Miss, visiting hours are over--". The young woman managed to get out before the chair she had been leaning back in gave way, causing her head to smack against the floor.
Wanda stepped over the unconscious woman and to the computer behind the desk. She quickly typed in the name "Jillian" and pressed the search button. Hesitantly, Wanda looked around to see if she had been detected. Seeing that she wasn't, she looked at the search results. There was only one. She selected it and a patient profile sprang onto the screen.
LAST NAME: West FIRST NAME: Jillian M/I: R
AGE: 17
GENDER: F
PATIENT #: 84587
MEDICAL HISTORY: First admitted for mild schizophrenia. Schizophrenia has advanced to point where permanent residence is required. The patient is prone to prolonged periods of inactivity and unresponsiveness. During lucid moments, violent mood swings are common. Recently, the patient has attempted many escape attempts and is being kept in maximum security.
ROOM #: 210
Wanda grimaced. It was a sad thing when a person was reduced to a medical profile. Her own patient number had been 84589. Room 210. That meant she was on the second floor. Wanda headed towards the familiar staircase and quickly began to climb.
This was the same stair that she had been pulled up so many years ago. The same stair she had escaped by. Now, with every step she cleared, she felt her heart lightening. She was transcending every fear with every step. It was an addicting rush that she could definitely get used to.
She made it to the top of the stairs in only a few seconds. Pietro would have been proud. She glanced both ways. 210 would be to. . . The left. Yes, the left. She immediately started running towards the left when she heard voices coming down the corridor. She froze, and then ducked into a nearby alcove. She shadows hid her from view. A group of hospital workers walked leisurely by. They took what seemed like forever to leave. Wanda let out a sigh of relief. She quickly continued her search for the room. She actually wasn't that familiar with the hospital's layout. She had only frequented her solitary cells, the infirmary, and the visitation room.
She almost passed it, but skidded to a halt. 210. Jillian was just on the other side of this door. She stared at it, till the fact that she had precious little time asserted itself in her mind. They would notice the unconscious nurse soon. She had to get Jillian and get out. Now.
She moved to push the door open. It was locked. She fixed that as the doorknob melted away. She opened the door and quickly strode inside shutting it behind her. And noticed the room's occupant.
Secured to the bed with leather straps and padlocks was a girl. The thing that immediately struck Wanda was that she didn't look like anything special. . . At all.
She was asleep, but as Wanda neared, her eyes snapped open, revealing flat blue-gray orbs. Her hair was a dull uninteresting grayish color that wasn't anywhere close to silver. Her entire aura spoke of nothing out of the ordinary. If she recognized Wanda, she showed no sign of it. Her mouth was covered with a kind of muzzle Wanda remembered well. Its purpose was to both to keep the patient from biting the doctor, and to keep the patient from screaming in the middle of the night and waking up the other patients. Wanda hadn't known what she was expecting to find when she came looking for Jillian, but this wasn't it. Maybe it wasn't Jillian after all.
But it had to be. This was the room. There was no one else in it. Just herself and the girl who didn't seem concerned at all with her presence. What had she been expecting? A radiant goddess who came to her in her time of need? Fairy tales like that didn't happen, and she knew it. And she also knew she was wasting time. . .
"Jillian, we're getting out of here!" She whispered. Immediately, she touched the locks and buckles holding the girl down and they vaporized. As she pulled the straps off, the girl still didn't move. It wasn't until Wanda removed the gag that she moved. And move she did.
Suddenly, Wanda found herself propelled into the wall with so much force; it forced all the air from her lungs. She looked down and saw the girl holding her a few inches off the ground by her neck, pressing her even harder into the wall. Her face was a mask of breathtaking fury. Her eyes that had been blue gray were glowing an eerie ice blue, all except the pupil. Which was still black, contrasting sharply with the surrounding color.
"You promised!" Jillian accused, her voice hoarse, as if it had not been used in a while. "You promised me that you'd come back but you didn't!"
"I'm sorry!" Wanda choked out, "I didn't think you were real. Then Mastermind erased my memories and I forgot about you! I never would of left you here if I had known!"
Jillian stared at Wanda, her eyes incredibly cold.
"Ok!" She chirruped, dropping Wanda like a sack of potatoes.
Wanda landed on her butt and coughed. She looked up and saw Jillian looking down at her oddly, eyes normal, with a cheerful smile.
"Now what?" She asked.
Wanda stared for a full minute, and then broke out into a smile. Yes indeedy. This was *definitely* Jillian. She jumped up and grabbed Jillian by the sleeve of her uniform.
"We don't have a lot of time, lets go!"
She dragged Jillian out of the room and started back down the hall. And that was when the alarm went off.
"Shit!"
"Eeep!"
Lights flashed and almost as if on cue, security guards appeared out of nowhere and began blocking off the ends of the hall.
"Don't move! We have you surrounded!"
Jillian and her rescuer shared a wordless glance before, and then she blatantly hid behind Wanda. Wanda turned to the group nearest the exit and spoke a single word.
"Move. . ."
The temperature in the room dropped, then suddenly rose again as Wanda raised her arms and bent her fingers inward. Every tile ripped off the floor and headed towards the guards in a wavelike motion. They scrambled out of the way, but found they had no place to go. The walls seemed to be moving, swirling in a dizzying way that was definitely not natural for a wall. They guards clutched their heads and fell to the floor.
"Come on!" Wanda yelled and started dragging Jillian down the hall again.
Right away she noticed something was wrong. Jillian still seemed slightly disoriented and she was struggling to keep up. More than likely they had given her tranquilizers to help her sleep. It was a wonder she was moving at all. Not to mention the fact that the poor girl probably hadn't preformed any real physical activity for years. She was most likely way out of shape.
The door to the stairwell flew off its hinges and smacked into the guards coming up the stairs, knocking them out cold. Wanda started down the stairs, but more security guards quickly replaced the ones she had knocked out. They started up the stairs. Wanda stopped. She couldn't go back. The guards she left in the hallway would get around the vertigo soon. She glanced upward for heavenly inspiration. And found it. Lining the ceiling of the stairwell were some lovely electrical wires.
Wanda shot a very evil smirk at the advancing guards and beckoned the wires to life. They separated from the ceiling, and in a shower of orange sparks happened to fall in the middle of the group of guards. They all screeched and hopped around, trying to avoid electrocution. Wanda easily made her way around them and she and Jillian finally reached the lobby.
They were not alone. Sitting at the desk was the same nurse from earlier, now holding an ice pack to her head. She took one look at Wanda and screamed. A coworker who was with her moved to hit the alarm again, but was conveniently hit by a ceiling tile a moment later. The nurse groveled and pointed.
"Its you!" For a moment she and Wanda stared at one another. That was the woman's mistake. Wanda could easily see the moment she intended to go for the alarm. The woman jumped towards the button, but as she neared, a wheeled mop bucket rammed into the backs of her legs. She squealed like a pig and reflexively fell butt first into the bucket, dirty water flying everywhere. The bucket immediately shot into the janitor's closet behind her and the door swung shut and locked.
"Its not polite to point." Wanda murmured as the nurse began pounding at the door. Collecting her wits, she dragged Jillian out through the unguarded exit.
The night air was cool and welcoming, almost as if it had been waiting for them. Jillian almost stopped, but then began moving with renewed vigor. The rain fell down as the girls ran, shattering puddles with every footstep. The sound of the blaring alarm faded, till all they could hear was the rain, and their own ragged breathing. Still they kept running. It was unspoken between them. They weren't just running to keep from being caught. They were running from the memories. They were trying to escape the towers of that hospital that still hovered in the distance. They ran farther than Wanda had planned on, only stopping when the hospital was completely out of sight. Wanda grabbed onto a lamppost for support and Jillian collapsed onto the ground with a squish.
"Oh sweet pavement! Oh how I missed you!" Jillian gasped, kissing the asphalt.
Wanda sunk down into a sitting position, with her back to the post and looked at Jillian. Jillian flopped over and looked back. They stared at each other a while. Then Jillian got up with some difficulty and pounced.
"Wanda! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I missed you! Where the hell have you been?!!!"
Wanda coughed and tried to pry the wet sobbing girl off of her. When she succeeded she answered, "It's a long story. We still have to get out of here though, before they send the police out looking for us."
Jillian nodded in agreement.
***
They got on the bus and immediately headed for the back seat. Jillian was wearing Wanda's red coat to hide her hospital clothes. Wanda tried not to wince at how Jillian shoes squished loudly with every step. Hospital slippers apparently were not made for long romps in the rain. They sat down in the back as the bus lurched forward. The only other person on the bus was some old guy towards the front who looked half asleep. The driver glanced uneasily back at them once, but didn't seem overly concerned.
"Well?" Jillian said expectantly.
Wanda took a deep breath and began. She told Jillian about Mystique rescuing her and living with the brotherhood boys. She told her about her confrontation with Pietro in the bathroom and the other confrontations with her father. She told her about Pietro's betrayal and how the world found out about mutants. She told her about how she tried to find Magneto, the trap he laid, and how he had captured her. She told her about the dreams and the realization.
"You're a mutant too."
"I suppose so."
"You sent me all those dreams."
"Kinda."
"Kinda?"
"Yeah, well, after that creepy lady helped you escape, I decided to let you alone for a while. I figured you'd like to enjoy the freedom for a while before you had to come back and get me. After you didn't come back I decided to give you a little poke to remind you, but when I tried. . . The connection was gone. It was just like it had been erased. I guess when that dude messed up your memories, he messed up the path I used to speak to you as well. I was pretty freaked out. I tried for a long time and I finally found you again. I tried to communicate with you, but it didn't work, so I just forced images and feelings into your head. The more open you became to learning, the easier it became for me, but it still took a lot of energy. That's why there were months in between visions. I was resting."
Wanda nodded. "So your power is mostly telepathic?" She thought of the X-man Jean Gray.
"No, actually. I'm can only do telepathic stuff with you. I've tried on the nurses, and even Xavier. It just doesn't work."
"What is your power then?"
"Well, I can see through other people's eyes, but you know that. . . Remember when we first met and I made pear woman visit you?" Wanda nodded.
"That was the first time I tried that. Sometimes, I can make people do what I want them to do. What ever I want them to do."
"Then why didn't you make someone open the door to your cell and let you out?"
"Oh, they usually kept me on tranquilizers since I had a penchant for *ahem* violence. I've never been awake enough to do it on a grand scale. . ." She swayed for a moment. "In fact, I don't think I'm awake right now!" With that said, Jillian slumped over dead asleep.
Wanda shook her head. As long as it took for Jillian to fall asleep, she had probably worked up a tolerance to whatever drug they had been using. That was a scary thought.
***
An hour later, Jillian sat up with a loud snort.
"Whatcha gonna do now?" She said quickly.
"Huh?" Wanda yawned. The cops hadn't stopped them yet.
"What are you gonna do now that you have your memories back? Go after your dad again?"
"Of course!" Wanda answered incredulously. All she had been thinking about on this bus ride were creative ways to lop off the man's head.
"When?"
"Well, I was thinking I'd go after him again as soon as I get back."
Jillian made a buzzing sound that indicated a wrong answer.
"He thinks you don't have a grudge at him right now. Shouldn't you use that?"
Wanda stopped herself from answering. Yes. She should use that. What better attack was there than a surprise attack? She could pretend that she still didn't have her memories. She was pulled out her thoughts by Jillian's next statement.
"I want to help."
"What? Why?"
"Because I was in your head too when all that happened." She paused. "A person who would do that to his own daughter really shouldn't be allowed to take over the world." She looked at Wanda and smiled.
Wanda smiled back. She had her first ally.
"You could have more."
Wanda glowered. "Are you back in my head already?"
Jillian smiled sweetly and continued, "You really think that you're the only person out there that Magneto had screwed over?"
Wanda almost took offense at that till she realized exactly what it was Jillian was saying. A slow smile crossed her face.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." She murmured aloud. Knowing her father, there was probably a plethora of people out there whose lives he had ruined. People who wanted revenge too. Allies.
Before, she had failed in all her attempts to destroy Magneto. She pondered over that. He had allies; she did not. He was organized; she was not. He had resources; she did not. If she ever *really* wanted to destroy Magneto, she would have to do more than show up like a nuisance and ruin his plans from time to time.
She had to be smarter than he was. She needed to stop acting like a hurt child. Her time spent without memories had given her some insight. Control *was* important. She needed to stop and think about things rather than go rushing out into them.
"If you has stopped to think about it, you would have known following Pyro was a trap." Jillian smiled.
She should have! Why hadn't she seen it? Why had she gone rushing out into the snow after that stupid Aussie?!
"Why did your father erase your memories instead of sending you back to the hospital or killing you?"
Why indeed. Erasing her memories and sending her back to live free almost sounded benevolent. Almost. If he had considered her dangerous he probably would have sent her back or killed her. But if he didn't consider her dangerous.
The realization hit Wanda like a rock in the chest. She hated this man with all her soul. She had pledged to see him rot. She had nearly killed him once. She had enough power to make his internal organs explode. He had done her a terrible wrong.
And he didn't even consider her a threat.
The bus swerved all over the road for a few minutes before Wanda calmed down.
Jillian smiled. She placed a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "You know now. That means you can do something about it."
Wanda looked at her friend and smiled. It felt good to be conspiring with someone. She looked out the window just as the lights of Bayville came into view.
"There it is." The Mecca of the mutant sensation. The home of the X- men and the Brotherhood. Magneto's hunting ground.
The birthplace of the beginning of the end.
***
Yay! You read! I know this isn't the most beautiful chapter I've ever written, but R&R anyway, so I won't be bored tomorrow.
He's still alive. His jaw is wired and he might have to get one of his eyes removed, but he's alive. For a one-eyed cat with a broken jaw, he seems to be pretty chipper. He likes to sneak up on me when I'm doing my homework and scare the crap out of me by suddenly appearing on whatever I'm working on. Oh well. Moving on.
*** fireweaver: Thank you! Dialogue is usually hard for me. I'm glad you think I'm doing well!
A girl and her muses: The chapter name at the beginning of the story is different from the one in the little box thingy, my dear. I do work at the blood center, so I could use the blood. And we frikken meet Jillian in this chapter.
rogue hobbit: Thank you! You gave me the idea for the chapter name! Isn't it confusing? It's probably what one thinks while under laughing gas.
Storm-Pietro: Thanks! :-D
Wizardess Gal: Whoa. That's what I said when I read your review. That the longest thing anyone's ever sent to me. :-D Yay! I guess it is a cliffhanger isn't it? *looks sheepish*. I honestly didn't realize that till you said something! I guess three muses are better than one. Ed is so temperamental though. Can I borrow your broken curtain rod of doom? I need to use it to beat off my best friend's stalkers. (She has three!)
***
Disclaimer: Oh! I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok! I sleep all night and I work all day! I chop down trees, I eat my lunch, I visit the lavatory! On Wednesdays I don't own x-men and have buttered scones for tea!
*** Chapter Seven: Storm The Looney Bin
Wanda stood across the street, looking up at the one building she thought that she'd never set foot near again. The asylum. The storm had long ago died down from lightning and thunder to a steady rain. The rain pounded down on the building's towers, casting a silver halo against the darkened sky. The similarities between this moment and that instance so many years ago almost made Wanda sick. Only now it was not day, it was night. Or rather 2:30 in the morning. . . Only now she was going to take someone out, not put someone in.
With an audible sigh, Wanda clenched her fists and started across the street. She smashed through the serene surface of a puddle as she neared the door. She stopped. Her hand rested on the door, as she stared into the lighted interior of the lobby. This was one place she was afraid to go in. Then she thought of how it felt to be trapped in there for so long. She couldn't just stand by while a friend went through the exact same thing. A friend. Someone who had reminded her who she really was. Wanda adjusted her sunglasses and turned the collar of her jacket up.
She wasn't a person easily intimidated. She was Wanda Maximoff. The Scarlet Witch. Few things could withstand her fury. This hospital sure as hell wasn't one of them.
The door swung open with a slight screech and Wanda stalked down the familiar corridor up to the front desk. There was a nurse there that she had never seen before. Someone new. She smirked. All the better.
"Hello Miss, visiting hours are over--". The young woman managed to get out before the chair she had been leaning back in gave way, causing her head to smack against the floor.
Wanda stepped over the unconscious woman and to the computer behind the desk. She quickly typed in the name "Jillian" and pressed the search button. Hesitantly, Wanda looked around to see if she had been detected. Seeing that she wasn't, she looked at the search results. There was only one. She selected it and a patient profile sprang onto the screen.
LAST NAME: West FIRST NAME: Jillian M/I: R
AGE: 17
GENDER: F
PATIENT #: 84587
MEDICAL HISTORY: First admitted for mild schizophrenia. Schizophrenia has advanced to point where permanent residence is required. The patient is prone to prolonged periods of inactivity and unresponsiveness. During lucid moments, violent mood swings are common. Recently, the patient has attempted many escape attempts and is being kept in maximum security.
ROOM #: 210
Wanda grimaced. It was a sad thing when a person was reduced to a medical profile. Her own patient number had been 84589. Room 210. That meant she was on the second floor. Wanda headed towards the familiar staircase and quickly began to climb.
This was the same stair that she had been pulled up so many years ago. The same stair she had escaped by. Now, with every step she cleared, she felt her heart lightening. She was transcending every fear with every step. It was an addicting rush that she could definitely get used to.
She made it to the top of the stairs in only a few seconds. Pietro would have been proud. She glanced both ways. 210 would be to. . . The left. Yes, the left. She immediately started running towards the left when she heard voices coming down the corridor. She froze, and then ducked into a nearby alcove. She shadows hid her from view. A group of hospital workers walked leisurely by. They took what seemed like forever to leave. Wanda let out a sigh of relief. She quickly continued her search for the room. She actually wasn't that familiar with the hospital's layout. She had only frequented her solitary cells, the infirmary, and the visitation room.
She almost passed it, but skidded to a halt. 210. Jillian was just on the other side of this door. She stared at it, till the fact that she had precious little time asserted itself in her mind. They would notice the unconscious nurse soon. She had to get Jillian and get out. Now.
She moved to push the door open. It was locked. She fixed that as the doorknob melted away. She opened the door and quickly strode inside shutting it behind her. And noticed the room's occupant.
Secured to the bed with leather straps and padlocks was a girl. The thing that immediately struck Wanda was that she didn't look like anything special. . . At all.
She was asleep, but as Wanda neared, her eyes snapped open, revealing flat blue-gray orbs. Her hair was a dull uninteresting grayish color that wasn't anywhere close to silver. Her entire aura spoke of nothing out of the ordinary. If she recognized Wanda, she showed no sign of it. Her mouth was covered with a kind of muzzle Wanda remembered well. Its purpose was to both to keep the patient from biting the doctor, and to keep the patient from screaming in the middle of the night and waking up the other patients. Wanda hadn't known what she was expecting to find when she came looking for Jillian, but this wasn't it. Maybe it wasn't Jillian after all.
But it had to be. This was the room. There was no one else in it. Just herself and the girl who didn't seem concerned at all with her presence. What had she been expecting? A radiant goddess who came to her in her time of need? Fairy tales like that didn't happen, and she knew it. And she also knew she was wasting time. . .
"Jillian, we're getting out of here!" She whispered. Immediately, she touched the locks and buckles holding the girl down and they vaporized. As she pulled the straps off, the girl still didn't move. It wasn't until Wanda removed the gag that she moved. And move she did.
Suddenly, Wanda found herself propelled into the wall with so much force; it forced all the air from her lungs. She looked down and saw the girl holding her a few inches off the ground by her neck, pressing her even harder into the wall. Her face was a mask of breathtaking fury. Her eyes that had been blue gray were glowing an eerie ice blue, all except the pupil. Which was still black, contrasting sharply with the surrounding color.
"You promised!" Jillian accused, her voice hoarse, as if it had not been used in a while. "You promised me that you'd come back but you didn't!"
"I'm sorry!" Wanda choked out, "I didn't think you were real. Then Mastermind erased my memories and I forgot about you! I never would of left you here if I had known!"
Jillian stared at Wanda, her eyes incredibly cold.
"Ok!" She chirruped, dropping Wanda like a sack of potatoes.
Wanda landed on her butt and coughed. She looked up and saw Jillian looking down at her oddly, eyes normal, with a cheerful smile.
"Now what?" She asked.
Wanda stared for a full minute, and then broke out into a smile. Yes indeedy. This was *definitely* Jillian. She jumped up and grabbed Jillian by the sleeve of her uniform.
"We don't have a lot of time, lets go!"
She dragged Jillian out of the room and started back down the hall. And that was when the alarm went off.
"Shit!"
"Eeep!"
Lights flashed and almost as if on cue, security guards appeared out of nowhere and began blocking off the ends of the hall.
"Don't move! We have you surrounded!"
Jillian and her rescuer shared a wordless glance before, and then she blatantly hid behind Wanda. Wanda turned to the group nearest the exit and spoke a single word.
"Move. . ."
The temperature in the room dropped, then suddenly rose again as Wanda raised her arms and bent her fingers inward. Every tile ripped off the floor and headed towards the guards in a wavelike motion. They scrambled out of the way, but found they had no place to go. The walls seemed to be moving, swirling in a dizzying way that was definitely not natural for a wall. They guards clutched their heads and fell to the floor.
"Come on!" Wanda yelled and started dragging Jillian down the hall again.
Right away she noticed something was wrong. Jillian still seemed slightly disoriented and she was struggling to keep up. More than likely they had given her tranquilizers to help her sleep. It was a wonder she was moving at all. Not to mention the fact that the poor girl probably hadn't preformed any real physical activity for years. She was most likely way out of shape.
The door to the stairwell flew off its hinges and smacked into the guards coming up the stairs, knocking them out cold. Wanda started down the stairs, but more security guards quickly replaced the ones she had knocked out. They started up the stairs. Wanda stopped. She couldn't go back. The guards she left in the hallway would get around the vertigo soon. She glanced upward for heavenly inspiration. And found it. Lining the ceiling of the stairwell were some lovely electrical wires.
Wanda shot a very evil smirk at the advancing guards and beckoned the wires to life. They separated from the ceiling, and in a shower of orange sparks happened to fall in the middle of the group of guards. They all screeched and hopped around, trying to avoid electrocution. Wanda easily made her way around them and she and Jillian finally reached the lobby.
They were not alone. Sitting at the desk was the same nurse from earlier, now holding an ice pack to her head. She took one look at Wanda and screamed. A coworker who was with her moved to hit the alarm again, but was conveniently hit by a ceiling tile a moment later. The nurse groveled and pointed.
"Its you!" For a moment she and Wanda stared at one another. That was the woman's mistake. Wanda could easily see the moment she intended to go for the alarm. The woman jumped towards the button, but as she neared, a wheeled mop bucket rammed into the backs of her legs. She squealed like a pig and reflexively fell butt first into the bucket, dirty water flying everywhere. The bucket immediately shot into the janitor's closet behind her and the door swung shut and locked.
"Its not polite to point." Wanda murmured as the nurse began pounding at the door. Collecting her wits, she dragged Jillian out through the unguarded exit.
The night air was cool and welcoming, almost as if it had been waiting for them. Jillian almost stopped, but then began moving with renewed vigor. The rain fell down as the girls ran, shattering puddles with every footstep. The sound of the blaring alarm faded, till all they could hear was the rain, and their own ragged breathing. Still they kept running. It was unspoken between them. They weren't just running to keep from being caught. They were running from the memories. They were trying to escape the towers of that hospital that still hovered in the distance. They ran farther than Wanda had planned on, only stopping when the hospital was completely out of sight. Wanda grabbed onto a lamppost for support and Jillian collapsed onto the ground with a squish.
"Oh sweet pavement! Oh how I missed you!" Jillian gasped, kissing the asphalt.
Wanda sunk down into a sitting position, with her back to the post and looked at Jillian. Jillian flopped over and looked back. They stared at each other a while. Then Jillian got up with some difficulty and pounced.
"Wanda! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I missed you! Where the hell have you been?!!!"
Wanda coughed and tried to pry the wet sobbing girl off of her. When she succeeded she answered, "It's a long story. We still have to get out of here though, before they send the police out looking for us."
Jillian nodded in agreement.
***
They got on the bus and immediately headed for the back seat. Jillian was wearing Wanda's red coat to hide her hospital clothes. Wanda tried not to wince at how Jillian shoes squished loudly with every step. Hospital slippers apparently were not made for long romps in the rain. They sat down in the back as the bus lurched forward. The only other person on the bus was some old guy towards the front who looked half asleep. The driver glanced uneasily back at them once, but didn't seem overly concerned.
"Well?" Jillian said expectantly.
Wanda took a deep breath and began. She told Jillian about Mystique rescuing her and living with the brotherhood boys. She told her about her confrontation with Pietro in the bathroom and the other confrontations with her father. She told her about Pietro's betrayal and how the world found out about mutants. She told her about how she tried to find Magneto, the trap he laid, and how he had captured her. She told her about the dreams and the realization.
"You're a mutant too."
"I suppose so."
"You sent me all those dreams."
"Kinda."
"Kinda?"
"Yeah, well, after that creepy lady helped you escape, I decided to let you alone for a while. I figured you'd like to enjoy the freedom for a while before you had to come back and get me. After you didn't come back I decided to give you a little poke to remind you, but when I tried. . . The connection was gone. It was just like it had been erased. I guess when that dude messed up your memories, he messed up the path I used to speak to you as well. I was pretty freaked out. I tried for a long time and I finally found you again. I tried to communicate with you, but it didn't work, so I just forced images and feelings into your head. The more open you became to learning, the easier it became for me, but it still took a lot of energy. That's why there were months in between visions. I was resting."
Wanda nodded. "So your power is mostly telepathic?" She thought of the X-man Jean Gray.
"No, actually. I'm can only do telepathic stuff with you. I've tried on the nurses, and even Xavier. It just doesn't work."
"What is your power then?"
"Well, I can see through other people's eyes, but you know that. . . Remember when we first met and I made pear woman visit you?" Wanda nodded.
"That was the first time I tried that. Sometimes, I can make people do what I want them to do. What ever I want them to do."
"Then why didn't you make someone open the door to your cell and let you out?"
"Oh, they usually kept me on tranquilizers since I had a penchant for *ahem* violence. I've never been awake enough to do it on a grand scale. . ." She swayed for a moment. "In fact, I don't think I'm awake right now!" With that said, Jillian slumped over dead asleep.
Wanda shook her head. As long as it took for Jillian to fall asleep, she had probably worked up a tolerance to whatever drug they had been using. That was a scary thought.
***
An hour later, Jillian sat up with a loud snort.
"Whatcha gonna do now?" She said quickly.
"Huh?" Wanda yawned. The cops hadn't stopped them yet.
"What are you gonna do now that you have your memories back? Go after your dad again?"
"Of course!" Wanda answered incredulously. All she had been thinking about on this bus ride were creative ways to lop off the man's head.
"When?"
"Well, I was thinking I'd go after him again as soon as I get back."
Jillian made a buzzing sound that indicated a wrong answer.
"He thinks you don't have a grudge at him right now. Shouldn't you use that?"
Wanda stopped herself from answering. Yes. She should use that. What better attack was there than a surprise attack? She could pretend that she still didn't have her memories. She was pulled out her thoughts by Jillian's next statement.
"I want to help."
"What? Why?"
"Because I was in your head too when all that happened." She paused. "A person who would do that to his own daughter really shouldn't be allowed to take over the world." She looked at Wanda and smiled.
Wanda smiled back. She had her first ally.
"You could have more."
Wanda glowered. "Are you back in my head already?"
Jillian smiled sweetly and continued, "You really think that you're the only person out there that Magneto had screwed over?"
Wanda almost took offense at that till she realized exactly what it was Jillian was saying. A slow smile crossed her face.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." She murmured aloud. Knowing her father, there was probably a plethora of people out there whose lives he had ruined. People who wanted revenge too. Allies.
Before, she had failed in all her attempts to destroy Magneto. She pondered over that. He had allies; she did not. He was organized; she was not. He had resources; she did not. If she ever *really* wanted to destroy Magneto, she would have to do more than show up like a nuisance and ruin his plans from time to time.
She had to be smarter than he was. She needed to stop acting like a hurt child. Her time spent without memories had given her some insight. Control *was* important. She needed to stop and think about things rather than go rushing out into them.
"If you has stopped to think about it, you would have known following Pyro was a trap." Jillian smiled.
She should have! Why hadn't she seen it? Why had she gone rushing out into the snow after that stupid Aussie?!
"Why did your father erase your memories instead of sending you back to the hospital or killing you?"
Why indeed. Erasing her memories and sending her back to live free almost sounded benevolent. Almost. If he had considered her dangerous he probably would have sent her back or killed her. But if he didn't consider her dangerous.
The realization hit Wanda like a rock in the chest. She hated this man with all her soul. She had pledged to see him rot. She had nearly killed him once. She had enough power to make his internal organs explode. He had done her a terrible wrong.
And he didn't even consider her a threat.
The bus swerved all over the road for a few minutes before Wanda calmed down.
Jillian smiled. She placed a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "You know now. That means you can do something about it."
Wanda looked at her friend and smiled. It felt good to be conspiring with someone. She looked out the window just as the lights of Bayville came into view.
"There it is." The Mecca of the mutant sensation. The home of the X- men and the Brotherhood. Magneto's hunting ground.
The birthplace of the beginning of the end.
***
Yay! You read! I know this isn't the most beautiful chapter I've ever written, but R&R anyway, so I won't be bored tomorrow.