(A/N): This is without a doubt the hardest chapter I've ever written
because I'm a fifteen-year-old girl, not a mother. So if I insult any
mother's out there by not accurately explaining how one would feel in this
situation, I'm sorry. An you'll notice that Lindsey and Rebecca slip in and
out of their accents because I have one too and that's what often happens
to me. No real special reason.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 3: Where's Daddy?
Rebecca's POV:
Just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, I find myself taking a walk around the street of New York City, aimlessly, as I study the brigade of business suits and cell phones past by in a blur. A band of mindless drones, too busy concentrating on closing the next 'Big Deal' or getting some dirt-bag out of jail on some technicality to recognize the impact their livelihoods are having on their spirits. Just like my son. With the faint taste of bile rising in my throat, I greet the doorman, trying with all my might not to seem curt and acknowledge him with the southern matters my momma instilled in me.
"Hello Jason. How's your family doing? Good? That's wonderful. What's that? Your son has made honor roll at his school? That's excellent! Congratulations!"
As I walk away, the smile I greeted the doorman with turns bitter as I calmly but swiftly walk toward the elevator, my appearance showing nothing of the dread I feel. 'My son was top of his class, too. That's why he's a lawyer at one of the most prominent law firms in the nation. That's how he came to sell his soul.' Breathing out a sigh of relief when the elevator doors opened, I hurried inside, anxious to get to my apartment as soon as possible. Leaning heavily on the side of the elevator, I'm forced to use the bar to brace myself when my knees begin to shake. I finally raise my hand to press the button for the top floor, but I realize my hand is trembling slightly. Grabbing my hand to stop the shaking, I have to force myself to take a deep breath and wait patiently for the elevator to reach my floor.
Stepping off of the elevator, I wearily walked to my apartment. Actually being inside my apartment isn't much better than being in the elevator. This whole building feels like a tomb. I'm reminded of that movie where Charlize Theron was married to Keanu Reeves who was unknowing working for the devil. Every once in a while I expect Jason's face to lose its human façade and show his inner demon. If I knew just how close that movie would have hit home with me I wouldn't have watched it. Even if it does have those big brown eyes of Keanu Reeves.
Kicking off my shoes, I pulled my brown hair into a sloppy bun as I went into the kitchen to make dinner. The kitchen is probably where I'm most comfortable. Memories of making breakfast, lunch and dinner for three hyperactive children lull me into forming a ghost of a real smile on my lips. Of course, that kitchen was nowhere near as nice as the one I have now. And there's no daily food fight to have to clean up, but just preparing the food reminds me of my kids. Any memories I can grasp of my former family are welcomed and far between in this swanky place my son bought for me. I could tell that he was surprised that I asked to move to New York. He probably thought I wanted to move closer to him. But I couldn't watch as he poured every bit of his heart and soul into a law firm that specialized in supporting clients who were damned. And were slowly pulling my son to Hell with them.
The miles between us still haven't stopped him from visiting though, but I almost wished they had. The last time he came here for a visit still haunts me. The smiles that never reached his eyes, the way he tensed whenever I asked about work and the subtle hints that suggested that his very soul was weary. For a mother to witness such hopelessness in her son is enough to make her judge every choice, and every inane decision she's ever made for her boy, but what really scared me about Lindsey were his eyes. Go figure, right? The eyes are the windows to the soul and who better to tell when something wrong with him than his own mother? But in Lindseys' eyes all I could see was a thirst for power. A will to dominate. Just as cold and calculated as his fathers' eyes...
It was a single, hesitant knock that snapped me out of my reverie and I was so thankful for it that at first I thought I just imagined it. Anything to stop the series of thoughts my mind had led me to. Quickly, I walked out of the kitchen eager to leave my ghosts in there. The pleasant ones where I clean macaroni off the floor and the cold ones where ice blue eyes forced me to leave with my three kids. When I open the door, an unconvincing smile plastered on my face, my heart stops dead in its tracks. My son was right in front of me, looking tired and something I never thought I'd see again after he joined wolfram & Hart. He looked so unsure, as if he had no direction. His eyes shifted from side to side almost nervously when I realized that I had just been standing there with my mouth hanging wide open.
".. Morning momma.."
That's all it took. A real smile crept onto my face and I grabbed him into a bone-crushing hug. This was my son. Not Wolfram & Hart's hotshot lawyer. This wasn't even his father's son. Just the little boy who would hang onto my legs while I was walking around the house, trying to straighten up. The little boy who would whine and squirm around whenever I tried to cut his hair. He wasn't just a memory anymore but in my arms.Trying desperately to breathe.
"Oh! Sorry, son. It's just such a pleasant surprise to see you. Aren't you suppose to be working?"
Lindsey doesn't tense up this time. Instead the sides of his mouth quirk up into a ghost of a smile.
"I left the law firm, momma."
I felt like my heart was going to burst and tears of joy flooded my eyes. My son was finally safe. I knew why my son thought he joined Wolfram & Hart. He wanted protection. He thought that people who dealt with demons on a daily basis could easily deal with a mutant as an employee. And as long as he didn't use his powers, no one outside the senior partners would have any idea. But he couldn't see that even when he was running from his mutant genes, his father's other charming quirks were still pushing to the surface. The bitterness and the need to be in complete control.
"Lindsey. Sit down. I was finishing making dinner. I'm making spaghetti and meatballs. It was someone's favorite but I can't remember whose?"
I joked; rubbing my chin in a thoughtful matter as Lindsey lowered his head and gave me a shy grin.
"It was mine, momma. Still is, I guess."
" Ah, I see. Then I guess you picked the perfect time to visit! Go and get cleaned up. We can eat and then we can talk about whatever you want to, alright darlin'?
Slowly, he nodded and kissed me on the cheek as he walked down the hall, passed the living room and into the back. I could hear him opening the door of the guestroom as I stood there. Frozen, touching the cheek he'd just kissed. Excited, I walked back to the kitchen with new vigor, beaming at the idea of making my son a good ol' home cooked meal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Thanks for the meal, momma."
Lindsey looked at me from across the table and I smiled at his manners. This quiet, almost timid side of my boy was a breath of fresh air compared to the cocky lawyer who visited me last time. It was almost like he was retracing his steps. Trying to start back from a time he didn't make a deal with the devil. Damn. That really is too similar to that movie with Keanu, The Devil's Advocate. That thought isn't very reassuring.
"You're welcome, sugah."
Getting up to put the dishes in the sink, I take the plates and glasses to the sink and start washing them. I'm pleasantly surprised when Lindsey walks over to the right side of me, grabs a towel and starts drying the dishes I have washed. Just like when he was younger. But this time he's tall enough to put the dishes away.
"So what's on your mind, sugah?"
"You know why I left the law firm, don't you?"
That's my boy. Just as astute as his momma. That's one thing of mine I can claim he got from me.
"Yeah, son. I'm no stranger to the evil in this world human or otherwise. I've known for a while. And I've been praying for you ever since."
A sad, regretful smile found it's way on my boy's face and I felt the sting of unshed tears prick my eyes, but I shook them away.
"But you'll be fine, Lindsey. You left Wolfram & Hart. I'm proud of ya, hon."
Lindsey paused as he put the last glass away. Sighing, he finally place it in the cabinet and closed the door, his head falling downward as he reluctantly turned to face me.
"Momma, we need to talk about my past."
Dammit. Here it comes. The moment in every single mother's life when they have to answer their child's most dreaded question. 'Where's Daddy?' It's enough to make my blood run cold.
"Sit down, Lindsey."
I watched as my son gingerly sat down at the table, the saying 'Jittery as a June bug' comes to me. He looked around awkwardly as I placed a bowl of coffee ice cream in front of him. His favorite. He looked up at me through his lashes with a bemused grin and a raised eyebrow. I returned it with a small smile and a shrug. I lowered myself slowly into the chair across from him, preparing to tell him the whole truth.
"Lindsey, before I start you have ta promise me ya won't go an' interrupt me before I'm done. Ok, sugah?"
Frowning when he noticed my accent slipping in, Lindsey nodded slowly, leaning in and resting his crossed arms on the dinner table. When he was younger I probably woulda scolded him for this. That thought makes me smile a bit before I start with the more pressing matter at hand.
"Lindsey, the man you and your brother and sister grew up believing was your biological father really wasn't. When you were three and I was pregnant with your brother and sister, your father and I split up. He was a mutant."
Lindsey's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth to speak but I raised my hand to silence him. I wasn't done yet.
"When I first met your father, I didn't see it. The bitterness he felt toward humans. Whenever he was around me or us all I saw in his eyes was love. He cared about us so much. But one day, his partner, Charles Xavier, called and told me that he was worried that your father was becoming more. volatile."
I paused as I watched realization slowly dawn on Lindsey.
"I refused to believe him, but one night, we got in a fight. He began ranting about how a war was brewing between humans and mutants. I couldn't believe this was the man I married and I asked him if his war was with me, too. Irate he said if I stood in his way, he'd kill me, too. For a month I stayed on his good side, pretending everything was fine while I planned and set up arrangements behind his back. When Eric's temper became too out of control, I burned our home down and made it look like we died in the fire. I took us to Grandma's and the next month, I met a man, who was willing to marry me and father three kids who weren't his own. Until he realized they were mutants."
Lindsey's expression changed from one of anger, to reluctant understanding, to denial but his mouth stayed shut. I have a feeling it was all he could do to keep his dinner down.
"What?! What do you mean 'mutants'?! Are you telling me that Peter and Wanda are mutants, too?! How could you possibly know?!"
His hands ball into fists of rage on the table and I paused to put a reassuring hand on them. Unfortunately, the news I had to give him about his brother and sister was going to do anything but assure him of their safety.
"After you left for college I started looking for them. I went to Tom, your stepfather's house but all that greeted me was burned wreckage. I asked the sheriff and he told me that the place burned down a year before. They found Tom's body, but Peter and Wanda were never found."
The tears in my eyes that I have been saving for my two youngest finally flowed down my face and the sob of a mother who has no idea what happened to her babies echoed throughout this horrid apartment. Paid with blood money, earned with my son's soul. The tears finally felt like that meant something now that I had somebody to share them with. I just wish I hadn't had to burden my son with this. Lindsey got out of his chair and kneeled in front of me.
"That still doesn't prove their mutants, though. They could have run away. I'll find them. I promise."
Cradling my son's face in my hands, I smiled at him through the thick veil of tears.
"When I talked to the sheriff, he told me that strange.things.had been happening around there. He said that the neighbors were getting suspicious and that he often had to protect Wanda and Peter against angry mobs who tried to form every time something unexplainable happened."
I can't help the bitterness that's in my voice, thinking of those bastards who dared to raise a hand toward my children is enough to make me.. It's enough to make me re-think their fathers' words. Maybe a war is brewing. And I'll fight against anyone who'd even try to harm my children in any way.
"Momma?"
The quiet voice of my son calls me back to him, as I see unshed tears glisten in his clear blue eyes. His fathers' eyes. It's time to tell him.
"Lindsey, sugah. When I was with your father, he was known as Eric Leshnerr. Now he's better known as Magneto."
Lindsey's eyes widen in shock as he slowly takes a steady breath. For a moment I fear he's gonna hyperventilate but I haven't seen him do that since he was twenty-two. When he got his internship at Wolfram &Hart.
"The terrorist who tried to kill half of New York? How could this.? Momma, how could you not tell me all these years?"
There's no anger or betrayal on his face, only confusion. And that's is a blessing I would had even dared to hope for.
"Because I'm your mother, not your father. And my sins are mine alone to bear. Not yours."
The severity of that statement is like a weight on my chest, making it impossible to breathe. Indeed, 'The sins of the Father are pasted on to the Children'. I can only hope that Eric's sins don't entrap our son now that he is free from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart. The only bad thing about him leaving W&H is that now he's without purpose. And there's no doubt in my mind that Lindsey will try to locate that purpose starting with his roots. No matter how tangled and dirty they maybe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(A/N): Man. That was hard to write. If you actually read this whole thing plz. R&R. It took me weeks to write this. And not just because I'm lazy, thank you very much! :P
Now let me give you a bit o' X-Men History:
Peter and Wanda actually are Magneto's children.
Peter's name though is actually Peitro. And he's the mutant 'Quicksilver'.
Wanda is his twin sister and her mutant identity is 'The Scarlet Witch.'
And yes, there was a fire in Magneto's past that destroyed his family, but I basically toyed around with it a bit.
R&R please
Love,
FieryDiMaia
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 3: Where's Daddy?
Rebecca's POV:
Just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, I find myself taking a walk around the street of New York City, aimlessly, as I study the brigade of business suits and cell phones past by in a blur. A band of mindless drones, too busy concentrating on closing the next 'Big Deal' or getting some dirt-bag out of jail on some technicality to recognize the impact their livelihoods are having on their spirits. Just like my son. With the faint taste of bile rising in my throat, I greet the doorman, trying with all my might not to seem curt and acknowledge him with the southern matters my momma instilled in me.
"Hello Jason. How's your family doing? Good? That's wonderful. What's that? Your son has made honor roll at his school? That's excellent! Congratulations!"
As I walk away, the smile I greeted the doorman with turns bitter as I calmly but swiftly walk toward the elevator, my appearance showing nothing of the dread I feel. 'My son was top of his class, too. That's why he's a lawyer at one of the most prominent law firms in the nation. That's how he came to sell his soul.' Breathing out a sigh of relief when the elevator doors opened, I hurried inside, anxious to get to my apartment as soon as possible. Leaning heavily on the side of the elevator, I'm forced to use the bar to brace myself when my knees begin to shake. I finally raise my hand to press the button for the top floor, but I realize my hand is trembling slightly. Grabbing my hand to stop the shaking, I have to force myself to take a deep breath and wait patiently for the elevator to reach my floor.
Stepping off of the elevator, I wearily walked to my apartment. Actually being inside my apartment isn't much better than being in the elevator. This whole building feels like a tomb. I'm reminded of that movie where Charlize Theron was married to Keanu Reeves who was unknowing working for the devil. Every once in a while I expect Jason's face to lose its human façade and show his inner demon. If I knew just how close that movie would have hit home with me I wouldn't have watched it. Even if it does have those big brown eyes of Keanu Reeves.
Kicking off my shoes, I pulled my brown hair into a sloppy bun as I went into the kitchen to make dinner. The kitchen is probably where I'm most comfortable. Memories of making breakfast, lunch and dinner for three hyperactive children lull me into forming a ghost of a real smile on my lips. Of course, that kitchen was nowhere near as nice as the one I have now. And there's no daily food fight to have to clean up, but just preparing the food reminds me of my kids. Any memories I can grasp of my former family are welcomed and far between in this swanky place my son bought for me. I could tell that he was surprised that I asked to move to New York. He probably thought I wanted to move closer to him. But I couldn't watch as he poured every bit of his heart and soul into a law firm that specialized in supporting clients who were damned. And were slowly pulling my son to Hell with them.
The miles between us still haven't stopped him from visiting though, but I almost wished they had. The last time he came here for a visit still haunts me. The smiles that never reached his eyes, the way he tensed whenever I asked about work and the subtle hints that suggested that his very soul was weary. For a mother to witness such hopelessness in her son is enough to make her judge every choice, and every inane decision she's ever made for her boy, but what really scared me about Lindsey were his eyes. Go figure, right? The eyes are the windows to the soul and who better to tell when something wrong with him than his own mother? But in Lindseys' eyes all I could see was a thirst for power. A will to dominate. Just as cold and calculated as his fathers' eyes...
It was a single, hesitant knock that snapped me out of my reverie and I was so thankful for it that at first I thought I just imagined it. Anything to stop the series of thoughts my mind had led me to. Quickly, I walked out of the kitchen eager to leave my ghosts in there. The pleasant ones where I clean macaroni off the floor and the cold ones where ice blue eyes forced me to leave with my three kids. When I open the door, an unconvincing smile plastered on my face, my heart stops dead in its tracks. My son was right in front of me, looking tired and something I never thought I'd see again after he joined wolfram & Hart. He looked so unsure, as if he had no direction. His eyes shifted from side to side almost nervously when I realized that I had just been standing there with my mouth hanging wide open.
".. Morning momma.."
That's all it took. A real smile crept onto my face and I grabbed him into a bone-crushing hug. This was my son. Not Wolfram & Hart's hotshot lawyer. This wasn't even his father's son. Just the little boy who would hang onto my legs while I was walking around the house, trying to straighten up. The little boy who would whine and squirm around whenever I tried to cut his hair. He wasn't just a memory anymore but in my arms.Trying desperately to breathe.
"Oh! Sorry, son. It's just such a pleasant surprise to see you. Aren't you suppose to be working?"
Lindsey doesn't tense up this time. Instead the sides of his mouth quirk up into a ghost of a smile.
"I left the law firm, momma."
I felt like my heart was going to burst and tears of joy flooded my eyes. My son was finally safe. I knew why my son thought he joined Wolfram & Hart. He wanted protection. He thought that people who dealt with demons on a daily basis could easily deal with a mutant as an employee. And as long as he didn't use his powers, no one outside the senior partners would have any idea. But he couldn't see that even when he was running from his mutant genes, his father's other charming quirks were still pushing to the surface. The bitterness and the need to be in complete control.
"Lindsey. Sit down. I was finishing making dinner. I'm making spaghetti and meatballs. It was someone's favorite but I can't remember whose?"
I joked; rubbing my chin in a thoughtful matter as Lindsey lowered his head and gave me a shy grin.
"It was mine, momma. Still is, I guess."
" Ah, I see. Then I guess you picked the perfect time to visit! Go and get cleaned up. We can eat and then we can talk about whatever you want to, alright darlin'?
Slowly, he nodded and kissed me on the cheek as he walked down the hall, passed the living room and into the back. I could hear him opening the door of the guestroom as I stood there. Frozen, touching the cheek he'd just kissed. Excited, I walked back to the kitchen with new vigor, beaming at the idea of making my son a good ol' home cooked meal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Thanks for the meal, momma."
Lindsey looked at me from across the table and I smiled at his manners. This quiet, almost timid side of my boy was a breath of fresh air compared to the cocky lawyer who visited me last time. It was almost like he was retracing his steps. Trying to start back from a time he didn't make a deal with the devil. Damn. That really is too similar to that movie with Keanu, The Devil's Advocate. That thought isn't very reassuring.
"You're welcome, sugah."
Getting up to put the dishes in the sink, I take the plates and glasses to the sink and start washing them. I'm pleasantly surprised when Lindsey walks over to the right side of me, grabs a towel and starts drying the dishes I have washed. Just like when he was younger. But this time he's tall enough to put the dishes away.
"So what's on your mind, sugah?"
"You know why I left the law firm, don't you?"
That's my boy. Just as astute as his momma. That's one thing of mine I can claim he got from me.
"Yeah, son. I'm no stranger to the evil in this world human or otherwise. I've known for a while. And I've been praying for you ever since."
A sad, regretful smile found it's way on my boy's face and I felt the sting of unshed tears prick my eyes, but I shook them away.
"But you'll be fine, Lindsey. You left Wolfram & Hart. I'm proud of ya, hon."
Lindsey paused as he put the last glass away. Sighing, he finally place it in the cabinet and closed the door, his head falling downward as he reluctantly turned to face me.
"Momma, we need to talk about my past."
Dammit. Here it comes. The moment in every single mother's life when they have to answer their child's most dreaded question. 'Where's Daddy?' It's enough to make my blood run cold.
"Sit down, Lindsey."
I watched as my son gingerly sat down at the table, the saying 'Jittery as a June bug' comes to me. He looked around awkwardly as I placed a bowl of coffee ice cream in front of him. His favorite. He looked up at me through his lashes with a bemused grin and a raised eyebrow. I returned it with a small smile and a shrug. I lowered myself slowly into the chair across from him, preparing to tell him the whole truth.
"Lindsey, before I start you have ta promise me ya won't go an' interrupt me before I'm done. Ok, sugah?"
Frowning when he noticed my accent slipping in, Lindsey nodded slowly, leaning in and resting his crossed arms on the dinner table. When he was younger I probably woulda scolded him for this. That thought makes me smile a bit before I start with the more pressing matter at hand.
"Lindsey, the man you and your brother and sister grew up believing was your biological father really wasn't. When you were three and I was pregnant with your brother and sister, your father and I split up. He was a mutant."
Lindsey's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth to speak but I raised my hand to silence him. I wasn't done yet.
"When I first met your father, I didn't see it. The bitterness he felt toward humans. Whenever he was around me or us all I saw in his eyes was love. He cared about us so much. But one day, his partner, Charles Xavier, called and told me that he was worried that your father was becoming more. volatile."
I paused as I watched realization slowly dawn on Lindsey.
"I refused to believe him, but one night, we got in a fight. He began ranting about how a war was brewing between humans and mutants. I couldn't believe this was the man I married and I asked him if his war was with me, too. Irate he said if I stood in his way, he'd kill me, too. For a month I stayed on his good side, pretending everything was fine while I planned and set up arrangements behind his back. When Eric's temper became too out of control, I burned our home down and made it look like we died in the fire. I took us to Grandma's and the next month, I met a man, who was willing to marry me and father three kids who weren't his own. Until he realized they were mutants."
Lindsey's expression changed from one of anger, to reluctant understanding, to denial but his mouth stayed shut. I have a feeling it was all he could do to keep his dinner down.
"What?! What do you mean 'mutants'?! Are you telling me that Peter and Wanda are mutants, too?! How could you possibly know?!"
His hands ball into fists of rage on the table and I paused to put a reassuring hand on them. Unfortunately, the news I had to give him about his brother and sister was going to do anything but assure him of their safety.
"After you left for college I started looking for them. I went to Tom, your stepfather's house but all that greeted me was burned wreckage. I asked the sheriff and he told me that the place burned down a year before. They found Tom's body, but Peter and Wanda were never found."
The tears in my eyes that I have been saving for my two youngest finally flowed down my face and the sob of a mother who has no idea what happened to her babies echoed throughout this horrid apartment. Paid with blood money, earned with my son's soul. The tears finally felt like that meant something now that I had somebody to share them with. I just wish I hadn't had to burden my son with this. Lindsey got out of his chair and kneeled in front of me.
"That still doesn't prove their mutants, though. They could have run away. I'll find them. I promise."
Cradling my son's face in my hands, I smiled at him through the thick veil of tears.
"When I talked to the sheriff, he told me that strange.things.had been happening around there. He said that the neighbors were getting suspicious and that he often had to protect Wanda and Peter against angry mobs who tried to form every time something unexplainable happened."
I can't help the bitterness that's in my voice, thinking of those bastards who dared to raise a hand toward my children is enough to make me.. It's enough to make me re-think their fathers' words. Maybe a war is brewing. And I'll fight against anyone who'd even try to harm my children in any way.
"Momma?"
The quiet voice of my son calls me back to him, as I see unshed tears glisten in his clear blue eyes. His fathers' eyes. It's time to tell him.
"Lindsey, sugah. When I was with your father, he was known as Eric Leshnerr. Now he's better known as Magneto."
Lindsey's eyes widen in shock as he slowly takes a steady breath. For a moment I fear he's gonna hyperventilate but I haven't seen him do that since he was twenty-two. When he got his internship at Wolfram &Hart.
"The terrorist who tried to kill half of New York? How could this.? Momma, how could you not tell me all these years?"
There's no anger or betrayal on his face, only confusion. And that's is a blessing I would had even dared to hope for.
"Because I'm your mother, not your father. And my sins are mine alone to bear. Not yours."
The severity of that statement is like a weight on my chest, making it impossible to breathe. Indeed, 'The sins of the Father are pasted on to the Children'. I can only hope that Eric's sins don't entrap our son now that he is free from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart. The only bad thing about him leaving W&H is that now he's without purpose. And there's no doubt in my mind that Lindsey will try to locate that purpose starting with his roots. No matter how tangled and dirty they maybe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(A/N): Man. That was hard to write. If you actually read this whole thing plz. R&R. It took me weeks to write this. And not just because I'm lazy, thank you very much! :P
Now let me give you a bit o' X-Men History:
Peter and Wanda actually are Magneto's children.
Peter's name though is actually Peitro. And he's the mutant 'Quicksilver'.
Wanda is his twin sister and her mutant identity is 'The Scarlet Witch.'
And yes, there was a fire in Magneto's past that destroyed his family, but I basically toyed around with it a bit.
R&R please
Love,
FieryDiMaia