Chapter 7
Jean had pretty much avoided Scott and the subject of Wanda Maximoff for seven days, but she couldn't anymore. She was coming back, sure she would probably do nothing but hangout in the med lab, but Jean couldn't avoid her or the subject anymore. It was just too stressful. She had actually gone to the hospital with Pietro three days ago. She waited in the hall while Pietro had gone in to see if Wanda could have visitors. They also had the best news for her. Audrey Micheals had been arrested. She had watched through the window as Pietro told Wanda, and the only thing Jean could remember after that was how gorgeous Wanda was, she was just a natural beauty. Her face just lit up. She had just jumped up, winced slightly from the pain in her ribs from the sudden movements and hugged him. Jean couldn't go in there now. Wanda was too happy to hear an apology from Jean. 'What am I gonna say? Oh yea I knew something might happen but I decided to let you almost die." Jean thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. 'Maybe if I avoid her until they leave.' She slumped on the couch and absentmindedly flipped the tv on with her telekinesis.
She would feel so much better if everything she saw didn't remind her of Wanda. She couldn't even stay in the same room with John, Rogue, and Pietro. Hell, it was a miracle she had handled the car ride to the hospital with Pietro, but then again that overwhelming feeling she felt at the church had made her curious about Quicksilver's mutation. It was obviously a lot more complex then she had originally thought. She couldn't even handle Pietro and John's constant bickering. It was like Pietro and Evan. They were stupid little fights, where all they tried to do was out do each other, prove who was better. The only difference was that John never started the arguments, in fact she couldn't believe how docile and calm John was usually. He had his moments, some of the worst language she had ever heard came out of his mouth, usually directed to Pietro. He was always provoked. Evan used to provoke Pietro, but John didn't. Jean knew that just below the surface Pyro was constantly trying to be released. She saw it in the danger room. The look on his face, his whole attitude reeked of the Pyro she had once fought. It was like he was a split personality, and she could seriously see why Wanda and him got along so well. They both had layers.
Jean floated the remote towards herself, and almost chuckled. She remembered when she would have to spend so much energy to do that, and now it was like an afterthought.
"There ya are. Now you are gonna tell meh why ya been avoidin' meh?" Rogue said sitting down in a huff. Jean put up a hand to silence her as her eyes came across something on the tv.
"They have reintroduced the mutant registration act." Jean said sadly. Every year it got introduced and every year it got shut down.
"Ah don't think it'll pass. We were the victims this time around." Rogue said as she stood up and hid behind the chair. Jean looked at her confused. "Is he gone?" Jean looked out into the hall to see Gambit pass. She nodded and Rogue got back up and sat down. She cleared her throat. "Ah mean, if it didn't pass, when Magneto did all that crap in Albany, then it probably won't pass now."
"I can't have a serious conversation with someone who just hid like a middle-schooler." Jean said laughing. Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Ah told him to stay away from me, and apart from danger room, ah don't plan on seein' him. Can Ah ask why ya been avoidin' me?"
"Sorry just stressed." Jean lied. Well it wasn't really a lie, just not the whole truth. 'She must be so lonely.' Jean thought to herself. Kitty was gone and always with Piotr. She wanted Remy to stay away from her, and much to Jean's surprise he had complied with Rogue's wishes, not that Rogue gave him much of a chance not to. The girls sat in silence for a few minutes.
"It is too quiet." Rogue said.
"Well Paige Guthrie has a performance in the school play, and Sam threatened everyone into going." Rogue chuckled.
"That poor girl, when she comes out on stage they'll start clappin' and hollerin'. She's gonna be so embarrassed. I think Sam's a great brother." Rogue said as she saw something on the far desk start to float. She glanced at Jean. She hardly ever let her telekinesis get away from her. She took a deep breath and the object return to the desk. She shook her head.
"Hey Rogue."
"Yeah, Jean."
"Well I've been thinking about everybody lately and how their lives have changed. I was wondering why Pyro isolates himself from us." Rogue looked at Jean for a minute.
"First of all he hates Pyro. I think it brings up horrible memories of being with Magneto. I think he greatly prefers John now. Second he is one of those people who like isolation, he would rather vent his frustrations it his writin' then deal with people. He has just had bad luck with people."
"He writes?"
"Wanda talked him into lettin' me read some of his shorts. They're amazin'. Ah think that after he left Magneto he was done with the hero/villain thing. The only reason he is here is cause Wanda asked him. He would do anything for her. He may not realize it yet, but he loves her."
"Sounds like someone else I know." Rogue rolled her eyes. "How do you know all this?"
"You don't have my powers for all these years and not learn to read people. Ah think Ah make him nervous though. He told me that Ah must be wise beyond my years, and he was sincere about it. Ah think his exact words that Ah made him nervous, but he respected and trusted me. It was a strange conversation." Jean looked at her strangely. She couldn't even imagine what hearing those words meant to Rogue. They were far better than the Cajun's cheesy pickup lines. She saw Rogue stand up and stretch. "Ah think a nap is in order. And don't worry bout the registration act. They are just blowin' of steam, and even if they do there is no way the supreme court would let it o on. Legally, it is unconstitutional." Jean gave her a strange look. "Damnit. It's ok. I accidentally absorbed a lawyer." She said leaving the room. Jean looked back at the tv for about 30 seconds, when she smelled brimstone.
"Hi, Kurt." She said, and when he didn't answer, she turned around. He wasn't there. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the television.
Rogue appeared in the middle of her room and looked at her gloved hands before running her fingers through her hair. "What's happenin' to me?" She said as the scented candle she lit earlier flared up. She instantly got nervous. The lawyer she absorbed at the church and Jean and Kurt in an unfortunate accident in the danger room, but Pyro it had been years. 'I was just thinking about him though.'
^^^^^^^^
"Aw you really are a gentlemen." Wanda said as Scott helped her out of Pietro's car. He looked down and blushed at the compliment. "Thank ya, but if I survived Pietro's driving. I think I can make it into the house. It is just a couple broken ribs." She said after Scott had already helped her into a standing position.
"Are ya sure?"
"Do I have to power up?" She said coolly.
"Point taken." He said as he got her bag out of the trunk. She took a breath as deep as possible with the bandages.
"It is so great to be out of there. I was seriously going to go insane." She said to Pietro as they walked in. He remembered the first day she woke up and the nurse telling her visiting hours were over, he felt her fear. There was no way she could stay there by herself. No matter how nice of a hospital it was, it was still a hospital. It still had grey bland walls. It was still isolated. It was a phobia she had of anything like that ever happening to her again. He or John had stayed with her every other night. As much as he couldn't stand it, but Wanda was stubborn. He still had work to do. Pietro's thoughts were shattered as a huge piece of the mansion fell in front of Wanda and himself on the way to the door.
"Maybe its in omen?" He said joking.
"Oh my god, Pie look." Wanda said pointing to a red beam of light exploding out of the roof of the mansion. She looked back at Scott to do a double take. "Scott, isn't that your beam of light?" Scott nodded as he dropped her bag and ran into the house.
"What going on?" He shouted loudly as he entered the rec room.
"I have no clue." Jean said cautiously walking up the stairs. She walked into the bathroom to see a giant hole in the ceiling, but no evidence as to the perpetrator. "I guess we should tell the professor."
Rogue leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. She ran her fingers through her sopping wet hair, and brought her knees up to her chest. She could feel the softness of the terry cloth robe against her cheek. All she wanted to do was take a fucking shower. Why did everything in her life always have to be so damn difficult. She just blew a hole in the roof of the bathroom, while rinsing her hair. She had been feeling the buildup of the psyches for a while, but she didn't think it would get this far. Not again anyway. She still had control. The powers would come out, but she could fight them back down. She quickly stood back up and got dressed. It was time to confess.
She walked down to the professor's office and heard him invite her in before she knocked. Wanda was right that was scary. "Yes Rogue."
"Umm... Ah blew a hole in your bathroom. Ah'm sorry." She said not believing the sheer stupidity of the words that had just come out of her mouth.
"Sit down Rogue. With all the students I have had over the years, I can handle a hole in the roof. Or are you forgetting when Cannonball started training." Rogue chuckled. "What's wrong?"
"People's powers are just popping out, Ah can fight them back down, but they just pop up."
"Can you elaborate?"
"Ah was talkin' to Jean and something on the desk started to float. At first, Ah thought it was her. And then Ah spouted off some really smart political talk, and while Ah could have done that on my own, it isn't me. When Ah was leaving, Ah thought about my room, and then Ah was there smellin' like brimstone. The candles in my room shot up. Ah decided to take a shower, but that was interrupted by the deadly beam of light that caused a hole in the roof."
"My theory to this is that you have absorbed to many people in the past week and a half, but that doesn't work for one reason. The fact that it has been over 6 years since you absorbed John." The professor looked at his desk stoicly.
"Ya have no clue, do ya?"
"I'm afraid I don't, but I will think about it. It is fairly late and you are to stressed for a mental scan at the moment. We will do that tomorrow." Rogue nodded and left the room.
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"I don't wanna stay down here that long." Wanda stated bluntly.
"It is only four days, Wanda." Mr. McCoy said.
"How about one?"
"No. I don't feel comfortable negotiating your health."
"No one knows my body and what I can handle better then me." He chuckled as she sat on the bed. "How about I stay in my room?" He shook his head. "How about only two days?" He shook his head.
"You don't give up, do you?" She got this wicked look on her face.
"I can be just as annoying as my brother was when he was sixteen." He laughed.
"I'm sorry." Wanda looked down.
"It's time for operation: Pietro."
"What's that?" Hank said sounding slightly nervous.
"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes." She sang loudly.
"Stop."
"Once I got through all 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Do you like that one better?" At this point McCoy didn't know which was worse operation: Pietro or the old Wanda, but he knew her stubbornness would drive him insane.
"Fine two days, but you have to take it extra easy."
"Deal." Wanda said turning to the TV. Mr. McCoy then left the room telling her he would check on her later, but she didn't pay any attention. She was watching the coverage on the Mutant Registration act. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in." She said never taking her eyes off the tv. "Why is it I have a bad feeling about that?" She asked whoever it was that came in her room.
"Everyone has that feeling." Jean said to her.
"What happened?"
"I think Rogue is having power problems."
"Is she ok?"
"She's a tough girl. She went to bed." Wanda nodded. "I'm sorry." Wanda looked at the girl confused.
"For what?"
"I had this really bad feeling that something bad was gonna happen to one of you guys." She said as she sat in the char next to Wanda's bed. "I didn't warn you." Wanda started laughing.
"Like I would have listened. Don't worry about it. It isn't like you knew exactly what would happen." The two girls sat in silence for a while. "What happened while I was gone?"
"Not much." Jean answered. She knew Wanda only cared about a few people at the institute. "Rogue has been literally ducking behind furniture whenever Gambit comes around." Wanda chuckled. "Your brother has kept to himself, only starting fights with P-John every chance he gets." Wanda scoffed. "Why do they hate each other?"
"Their personalities don't mesh. They would annoy the hell out of each other even if I wasn't involved. I would hate to say they fight because of me, but it's true. Pie hates how close we are." She looked down for second. "Congratulations, you got yourself a winner." Jean was taken aback.
"What?"
"Scott, chivalric genius." Jean scoffed.
"Sometimes, he I... oh my god." Jean said as Wanda turned up the television.
"Hello, this is Miranda Hart and I am in Washington where the Mutant Registration Act has been passed even after the attacks happening earlier this month. The Act states that mutants must register what their abilities are. The list will be confidential, everyone involved with the project has gag clauses in their contracts." Jean looked over at Wanda who was pale in the face.
"That will happen." She said angrily. Jean looked back over at Wanda. She half expected things to start flying around the room, but instead she just looked sick. She saw her swallow.
'He was right.' Wanda felt softly. 'No no no.'
"Are you going to be ok?"
"No." Wanda snapped. Her face immediately softened. "Sorry." She said leaning back. Jean could tell she was thinking. "I remember one night when Pie and I were six or seven, momma was tucking us in, and Pietro got the nerve to ask her about the numbers that were tattooed on Dad's arm. She told him they were nothing, but to never ask father about them. The next day Pietro told me what momma said, but that didn't stop, in fact it made me more curious. So I asked him, and there was a look that came over his face, something I had never seen before or after. It was this mixture of sadness, shame, anger, self-consciousness, almost every negative feeling he could have ever felt. He never answered me. It wasn't until taking some classes in the Asylum that I put two and two together. The number on his arm, his age, his ethnicity I made a decision the day I had that realization. I would never where a number." Jean looked at the girl completely shocked first by Wanda's openness, and second at how the professor could keep this important piece of information about Magneto from the team. Wanda looked at her. "Did you not know that?" Jean shook her head.
"Can I ask you a question?" Jean said hoping to keep up the girls openness. She was drawn in by the grey. She always thought that when it came to the X-men and magneto things were black and white. Sure she knew he was wrong, but it just made the black around magneto turn down a couple of shades.
"Shoot."
"Why do you switch between using Magneto or Father to something more loving like dad?"
"You all think Magneto was always Magneto, but he wasn't. He was somewhat cold when we were children, but we knew he loved us and we could count on him. He just got more crazy as the years past until he wasn't that man anymore. He was dad then. Don't put emotion past him. It's the same reason why when he died. Pie and I actually mourned him. He mourned what he was. The idea of him." Jean nodded as a the shade lightened.
"I'm going to check on Rogue." Wanda nodded. She looked around the room.
"I'm leaving. I can walk around." She said to herself as she got up.
^^^^^^^^
Jean walked into the rec room to see everyone huddled around the TV. Scott walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I don't know how to say this."
"I saw it downstairs in the med lab." She looked around the room. Most of the children weren't back from Paige's play. "Where is.."
"The instructor's are with the proffesor, and he wanted us up there also." She nodded as her and Scott left the room.
"You go ahead I am going to check on Rogue first." Jean kept walking down the hallway until she got to the girl's room. She opened the door to find the girl asleep, but ducked just in time not to be hit with a book. Jean took a quick look around the room. Things were randomly floating around. 'Professor, I think you may want to come up here.' She projected to him. At that moment Jean heard a loud slam to the bathroom and saw a very cold, wet, and angry Gambit in some shorts.
"Where's Drake, Remy told him if he froze those pipes one more time." He said stopping and Jean who was trying to keep her laughter in.
"Bobby isn't here." He glanced into Rogue's room. "Her powers are going crazy." He looked at Rogue worryingly.
"Will she be alright?"
"She got through it before." He nodded before walking in there. He gently shook her arm to wake her. She jumped up almost as if she had been having a nightmare and hexed him into the wall.
"That smarts, chere."
"Ah'm sorry. Ah can't control it." She said as she took a deep breath and the objects in the room settled down. "What are ya doin' in here soakin' wet?"
"Frozen pipes." She started laughing. As he just stood there dumbfounded.
"Ah'm sorry."
"It's fine." He said as he sat on the side of her bed. "When'd dis start?"
"A few days."
"And is dat why you ducked behind the chair?" She looked down sheepishly
"Ah'm tryin' to stay away from ya. It's hard enough seein' ya in the danger room, but Ah just don't wanna see ya around. It upsets me." She said honestly. He nodded.
"Remy'll leave now." He said as he head towards the door. She wanted to call out to him, but couldn't bring herself to.
^^^^^^^^^^
Wanda walked pass the rec room slowly and took inventory on the people inside. She ran her fingers through her hair. She walked into the study room and saw John sitting there chewing on a pen cap, just staring off into space. 'Why is that so hot?' She thought to herself. 'No wait that isn't hot.' She took a deep breath before entering.
"Up and about?"
"My legs aren't broken." She stood there for a second, before she sat down next to him. 'Now or never, if I put it off now, I will keep putting it off.' "Can I talk to you about something?" She said nervously. 'Get a grip, Maximoff, nothing to be nervous about it is just John.'
"Shoot."
"I.. Ummm... wh..." She took a deep breath and she could feel his eyes on her. She knew she had to get this out. She had to say it. "What are you gonna do when all this is over?" She said defeated.
"I think I may go back to Australia for a while." He said looking at her knowing that this isn't what she wanted to talk about. 'Ask her to come with you. You idiot.' He thought to himself. He could feel her eyes on him, she wanted him to say something else, but he had no idea what it was. This was the one thing that always upset him about her. She expected you to know what was wrong or what to say next. Wanda looked at him. 'If you ask me to go, I will.' she thought to herself, hoping that if she thought it hard enough it would get through to him. "Wot is it you really wanted to talk about?"
"Nothing, forget it." She said almost angrily.
"OK," he said shrugging and returning to the task at hand. Sometimes his whole personality just upset her.
"Can you take a hint?" She said standing up.
"Wot? If ya want to talk about YOU and YOUR problems, I guess I'm all ears." He said instantly regretting the words that came out of his mouth. She glared at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's supposed to mean it's always you you you. You're selfish more so than your brother." Sure he regretted the words, but at the same time they felt good to get out. He looked at her and a new emotion had taken over her face. She was hurt. "Listen..."
"Go to hell." She said. "Anything else you want to get off your chest?"
"And your self destructive to boot."
"At least I'm not scared of everything in my life." She seethed. "How many book of yours have I read? Dozens. Each one is more genius than the last, but you are to scared to take that final leap and send them somewhere to get them published. You scared all the time. I've seen the way you look at me, but your too scared to do something about that also." She yelled at him. "I have too much on my plate to deal with you and your mopiness. Sorry that you feel neglected." She said sarcastically.
"Of course, You have your own problems." He could see her hands start to glow, but that she stuffed them in her pockets.
"John, I love you. You're my friend and..." He scoffed. It took every last bit of her will power not to hex some sense into him, but that wouldn't help matters if they were both mad with rage. "You're right. One of us is too scared and the other too selfish to understand what those words could ever possibly mean." She yelled at him again. He just stared at her dumbfounded.
"You can be a real bitch sometimes, you know that?"
^^^^^^^^^
In the hallway Pietro was going to go get some piece and quiet in the study room, when two people arguing had caught his attention. He knew it was Wanda and John, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Who are you, like, listening to?"
"My sister and John." He said quickly. "Hey Kitty aren't you from Chicago?"
"Yeah."
"What is with the valley girl thing?"
"I don't know." He shrugged and went back to listening. Wanda's voice came though the door loud and clear. "I'd hate to be him."
"As long as she is yelling everything is cool."
"What? I would never want her yelling at me. She's, like, way scary."
"This is what'll happen. She'll yell for a while, and then he will keep yelling back. Finally she will get so pissed off that she will stop yelling, she'll get this blank look on her face, and very calmly and with no emotion in her voice, she will threaten him. THAT is some scary shit." Kitty couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Did he just call her a bitch? Aren't ya gonna go in there and, like, stick up for her or something? I thought that is what siblings did."
"She almost succeeded in killing the master of magnetism. I think she can handle John all by herself. It's funnier that way." She nodded, knowing Pietro's dislike for John. She stood there with Pietro for a few moments listening to the raised voices.
"Earlier did she say she loved him?"
"I didn't hear that"
"She said it right before she said whatever the hell made John call her a bitch." They jumped out of the way to miss John running them over as her stormed out of the room. Pietro looked in the room to see his sister sitting in the chair with her back to him, rubbing her temples.
"Pietro don't you dare fucking come in here. I'm not in the mood for your gloating right now." Pietro walked away. He knew he should listen to her whenever he was in one of her moods. Kitty took a deep breath and walked right in.
"McCoy is looking for you." She said softly. Wanda nodded and ran her fingers through her hair. Kitty looked at her. 'She looks completely stressed out.' Kitty thought to herself. Wanda reminded her of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Wanda could feel Kitty staring at her.
"What?" She said softly.
"I'm trying to figure out who you remind me of. I met someone when I was younger that, like, reminds me of you, but I can't put my finger on it." She said as she sat down in the chair across from Wanda.
"Would you please quit gawkin'? It makes me nervous."
"I know who it is now. When I was younger this woman who lived down the road from me was in a car accident, and my mom made dinner for the family one night. I took it down there, and she was sitting on the couch looking really stressed. She was so nice and warm, even though every time I saw her she looked sad."
"What's this story got to do with me?" Wanda said taking interest, usually she just ignored whatever Kitty had to say. She didn't want to hear about whatever wonderful thing Piotr had done fo her.
"I swear you are, like, the spittin' image of her. You are gonna look like her in, like, twenty years." Wanda looked at her shocked. Kitty jumped when Wanda jumped up and squatted in front of her.
"What was the woman's name?" Wanda asked as she held on to Kitty's hands. Kitty looked down, knowing that obviously this information was important to her.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. It was short, and not something you hear everyday." Kitty said trying to pull the name out of her head. Wanda's breath caught in her throat.
"Was it Magda?" Kitty's eye's got huge.
"That's it."
"Is she still there?" Kitty nodded.
"Last time I went to go see my parents. I saw one f her children walking home from school."
"Thanks." Wanda said as she quickly left the room.
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Rogue walked down to the Professor's office. She felt so helpless. She sat in the chair. "Ah'm sorry about the pipes." He smiled.
"It's fine. Are you up for a session right now?" Rogue nodded.
Wanda was walking up the stairs when she saw Remy bounding down the steps. "What?"
"Emergency in the da professor's office." Wanda followed him. He opened the door to see that Rogue had charged the chair she was sitting in.
"Remy she can't reverse it. Is it possible for you to?"
"Remy never tried that." Gambit said as he circled the chair. "Listen, chere whatever you do don't let go." He told her and she nodded. "Will you get him out of here?" He said to Wanda at the door. She quickly got the professor out.
"I could hold the blast in with a hex."
"Get out!" He said to her. She left.
"Remy gonna grab the chair and when Remy say go you duck behind the desk." Gambit said as he overturned the Professor's desk. She nodded as Gambit grabbed hold of the chair. "Go." Rogue jumped behind the desk, and in a few seconds she was joined by Gambit. "Remy's plan didn't work." He said right before the explosion ripped through the office. Rogue raised herself up to see the professor's office destroyed.
"Oh my gawd. Ah'm so much trouble."
"You're not trouble. Ya make things interestin'." She looked at him and couldn't fight back her smile.
"Thanks."
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AN: a lot of this was suckitude, but oh well. I wanted to get it out. I just realized something. I like to make shit blow up. Are you noticing the trend? You can't have an effective ROMY story with out rogue's powers going haywire. Cliche I know, but I have something else planned that no one could ever expect. About Magda being alive: On evo the really never gave the Maximoff twins a back story, so I can mess around with it. I won't change anything that ha been said about their past though.
DemonRogue13 - I am glad you enjoyed the chapter.
Amieva- the only other person I have heard of that can possibly rival my Jonda fanness. I think the Jonda fight in this chapter ay of upset you, but Wanda pretty much told him how she feels, but they were both super pissed off.
digifreaks - aw thank you for reading I hope this chapter kept up with your expectations.
Caliente - you are one of my favorite reviewers. Your reviews make my day. The sequel is awesome. I wasn't even gonna write any Wanda's head stuff, but then it came out and I was like that is interesting. I love Romys. I just think they are the perfect couple all around.
Please hit the little review button and leave a review. They make me happy. *gives puppy dog eyes* No one can resist Puppy dog eyes.
Jean had pretty much avoided Scott and the subject of Wanda Maximoff for seven days, but she couldn't anymore. She was coming back, sure she would probably do nothing but hangout in the med lab, but Jean couldn't avoid her or the subject anymore. It was just too stressful. She had actually gone to the hospital with Pietro three days ago. She waited in the hall while Pietro had gone in to see if Wanda could have visitors. They also had the best news for her. Audrey Micheals had been arrested. She had watched through the window as Pietro told Wanda, and the only thing Jean could remember after that was how gorgeous Wanda was, she was just a natural beauty. Her face just lit up. She had just jumped up, winced slightly from the pain in her ribs from the sudden movements and hugged him. Jean couldn't go in there now. Wanda was too happy to hear an apology from Jean. 'What am I gonna say? Oh yea I knew something might happen but I decided to let you almost die." Jean thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. 'Maybe if I avoid her until they leave.' She slumped on the couch and absentmindedly flipped the tv on with her telekinesis.
She would feel so much better if everything she saw didn't remind her of Wanda. She couldn't even stay in the same room with John, Rogue, and Pietro. Hell, it was a miracle she had handled the car ride to the hospital with Pietro, but then again that overwhelming feeling she felt at the church had made her curious about Quicksilver's mutation. It was obviously a lot more complex then she had originally thought. She couldn't even handle Pietro and John's constant bickering. It was like Pietro and Evan. They were stupid little fights, where all they tried to do was out do each other, prove who was better. The only difference was that John never started the arguments, in fact she couldn't believe how docile and calm John was usually. He had his moments, some of the worst language she had ever heard came out of his mouth, usually directed to Pietro. He was always provoked. Evan used to provoke Pietro, but John didn't. Jean knew that just below the surface Pyro was constantly trying to be released. She saw it in the danger room. The look on his face, his whole attitude reeked of the Pyro she had once fought. It was like he was a split personality, and she could seriously see why Wanda and him got along so well. They both had layers.
Jean floated the remote towards herself, and almost chuckled. She remembered when she would have to spend so much energy to do that, and now it was like an afterthought.
"There ya are. Now you are gonna tell meh why ya been avoidin' meh?" Rogue said sitting down in a huff. Jean put up a hand to silence her as her eyes came across something on the tv.
"They have reintroduced the mutant registration act." Jean said sadly. Every year it got introduced and every year it got shut down.
"Ah don't think it'll pass. We were the victims this time around." Rogue said as she stood up and hid behind the chair. Jean looked at her confused. "Is he gone?" Jean looked out into the hall to see Gambit pass. She nodded and Rogue got back up and sat down. She cleared her throat. "Ah mean, if it didn't pass, when Magneto did all that crap in Albany, then it probably won't pass now."
"I can't have a serious conversation with someone who just hid like a middle-schooler." Jean said laughing. Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Ah told him to stay away from me, and apart from danger room, ah don't plan on seein' him. Can Ah ask why ya been avoidin' me?"
"Sorry just stressed." Jean lied. Well it wasn't really a lie, just not the whole truth. 'She must be so lonely.' Jean thought to herself. Kitty was gone and always with Piotr. She wanted Remy to stay away from her, and much to Jean's surprise he had complied with Rogue's wishes, not that Rogue gave him much of a chance not to. The girls sat in silence for a few minutes.
"It is too quiet." Rogue said.
"Well Paige Guthrie has a performance in the school play, and Sam threatened everyone into going." Rogue chuckled.
"That poor girl, when she comes out on stage they'll start clappin' and hollerin'. She's gonna be so embarrassed. I think Sam's a great brother." Rogue said as she saw something on the far desk start to float. She glanced at Jean. She hardly ever let her telekinesis get away from her. She took a deep breath and the object return to the desk. She shook her head.
"Hey Rogue."
"Yeah, Jean."
"Well I've been thinking about everybody lately and how their lives have changed. I was wondering why Pyro isolates himself from us." Rogue looked at Jean for a minute.
"First of all he hates Pyro. I think it brings up horrible memories of being with Magneto. I think he greatly prefers John now. Second he is one of those people who like isolation, he would rather vent his frustrations it his writin' then deal with people. He has just had bad luck with people."
"He writes?"
"Wanda talked him into lettin' me read some of his shorts. They're amazin'. Ah think that after he left Magneto he was done with the hero/villain thing. The only reason he is here is cause Wanda asked him. He would do anything for her. He may not realize it yet, but he loves her."
"Sounds like someone else I know." Rogue rolled her eyes. "How do you know all this?"
"You don't have my powers for all these years and not learn to read people. Ah think Ah make him nervous though. He told me that Ah must be wise beyond my years, and he was sincere about it. Ah think his exact words that Ah made him nervous, but he respected and trusted me. It was a strange conversation." Jean looked at her strangely. She couldn't even imagine what hearing those words meant to Rogue. They were far better than the Cajun's cheesy pickup lines. She saw Rogue stand up and stretch. "Ah think a nap is in order. And don't worry bout the registration act. They are just blowin' of steam, and even if they do there is no way the supreme court would let it o on. Legally, it is unconstitutional." Jean gave her a strange look. "Damnit. It's ok. I accidentally absorbed a lawyer." She said leaving the room. Jean looked back at the tv for about 30 seconds, when she smelled brimstone.
"Hi, Kurt." She said, and when he didn't answer, she turned around. He wasn't there. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the television.
Rogue appeared in the middle of her room and looked at her gloved hands before running her fingers through her hair. "What's happenin' to me?" She said as the scented candle she lit earlier flared up. She instantly got nervous. The lawyer she absorbed at the church and Jean and Kurt in an unfortunate accident in the danger room, but Pyro it had been years. 'I was just thinking about him though.'
^^^^^^^^
"Aw you really are a gentlemen." Wanda said as Scott helped her out of Pietro's car. He looked down and blushed at the compliment. "Thank ya, but if I survived Pietro's driving. I think I can make it into the house. It is just a couple broken ribs." She said after Scott had already helped her into a standing position.
"Are ya sure?"
"Do I have to power up?" She said coolly.
"Point taken." He said as he got her bag out of the trunk. She took a breath as deep as possible with the bandages.
"It is so great to be out of there. I was seriously going to go insane." She said to Pietro as they walked in. He remembered the first day she woke up and the nurse telling her visiting hours were over, he felt her fear. There was no way she could stay there by herself. No matter how nice of a hospital it was, it was still a hospital. It still had grey bland walls. It was still isolated. It was a phobia she had of anything like that ever happening to her again. He or John had stayed with her every other night. As much as he couldn't stand it, but Wanda was stubborn. He still had work to do. Pietro's thoughts were shattered as a huge piece of the mansion fell in front of Wanda and himself on the way to the door.
"Maybe its in omen?" He said joking.
"Oh my god, Pie look." Wanda said pointing to a red beam of light exploding out of the roof of the mansion. She looked back at Scott to do a double take. "Scott, isn't that your beam of light?" Scott nodded as he dropped her bag and ran into the house.
"What going on?" He shouted loudly as he entered the rec room.
"I have no clue." Jean said cautiously walking up the stairs. She walked into the bathroom to see a giant hole in the ceiling, but no evidence as to the perpetrator. "I guess we should tell the professor."
Rogue leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. She ran her fingers through her sopping wet hair, and brought her knees up to her chest. She could feel the softness of the terry cloth robe against her cheek. All she wanted to do was take a fucking shower. Why did everything in her life always have to be so damn difficult. She just blew a hole in the roof of the bathroom, while rinsing her hair. She had been feeling the buildup of the psyches for a while, but she didn't think it would get this far. Not again anyway. She still had control. The powers would come out, but she could fight them back down. She quickly stood back up and got dressed. It was time to confess.
She walked down to the professor's office and heard him invite her in before she knocked. Wanda was right that was scary. "Yes Rogue."
"Umm... Ah blew a hole in your bathroom. Ah'm sorry." She said not believing the sheer stupidity of the words that had just come out of her mouth.
"Sit down Rogue. With all the students I have had over the years, I can handle a hole in the roof. Or are you forgetting when Cannonball started training." Rogue chuckled. "What's wrong?"
"People's powers are just popping out, Ah can fight them back down, but they just pop up."
"Can you elaborate?"
"Ah was talkin' to Jean and something on the desk started to float. At first, Ah thought it was her. And then Ah spouted off some really smart political talk, and while Ah could have done that on my own, it isn't me. When Ah was leaving, Ah thought about my room, and then Ah was there smellin' like brimstone. The candles in my room shot up. Ah decided to take a shower, but that was interrupted by the deadly beam of light that caused a hole in the roof."
"My theory to this is that you have absorbed to many people in the past week and a half, but that doesn't work for one reason. The fact that it has been over 6 years since you absorbed John." The professor looked at his desk stoicly.
"Ya have no clue, do ya?"
"I'm afraid I don't, but I will think about it. It is fairly late and you are to stressed for a mental scan at the moment. We will do that tomorrow." Rogue nodded and left the room.
^^^^^^
"I don't wanna stay down here that long." Wanda stated bluntly.
"It is only four days, Wanda." Mr. McCoy said.
"How about one?"
"No. I don't feel comfortable negotiating your health."
"No one knows my body and what I can handle better then me." He chuckled as she sat on the bed. "How about I stay in my room?" He shook his head. "How about only two days?" He shook his head.
"You don't give up, do you?" She got this wicked look on her face.
"I can be just as annoying as my brother was when he was sixteen." He laughed.
"I'm sorry." Wanda looked down.
"It's time for operation: Pietro."
"What's that?" Hank said sounding slightly nervous.
"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerve, and this is how it goes." She sang loudly.
"Stop."
"Once I got through all 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Do you like that one better?" At this point McCoy didn't know which was worse operation: Pietro or the old Wanda, but he knew her stubbornness would drive him insane.
"Fine two days, but you have to take it extra easy."
"Deal." Wanda said turning to the TV. Mr. McCoy then left the room telling her he would check on her later, but she didn't pay any attention. She was watching the coverage on the Mutant Registration act. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in." She said never taking her eyes off the tv. "Why is it I have a bad feeling about that?" She asked whoever it was that came in her room.
"Everyone has that feeling." Jean said to her.
"What happened?"
"I think Rogue is having power problems."
"Is she ok?"
"She's a tough girl. She went to bed." Wanda nodded. "I'm sorry." Wanda looked at the girl confused.
"For what?"
"I had this really bad feeling that something bad was gonna happen to one of you guys." She said as she sat in the char next to Wanda's bed. "I didn't warn you." Wanda started laughing.
"Like I would have listened. Don't worry about it. It isn't like you knew exactly what would happen." The two girls sat in silence for a while. "What happened while I was gone?"
"Not much." Jean answered. She knew Wanda only cared about a few people at the institute. "Rogue has been literally ducking behind furniture whenever Gambit comes around." Wanda chuckled. "Your brother has kept to himself, only starting fights with P-John every chance he gets." Wanda scoffed. "Why do they hate each other?"
"Their personalities don't mesh. They would annoy the hell out of each other even if I wasn't involved. I would hate to say they fight because of me, but it's true. Pie hates how close we are." She looked down for second. "Congratulations, you got yourself a winner." Jean was taken aback.
"What?"
"Scott, chivalric genius." Jean scoffed.
"Sometimes, he I... oh my god." Jean said as Wanda turned up the television.
"Hello, this is Miranda Hart and I am in Washington where the Mutant Registration Act has been passed even after the attacks happening earlier this month. The Act states that mutants must register what their abilities are. The list will be confidential, everyone involved with the project has gag clauses in their contracts." Jean looked over at Wanda who was pale in the face.
"That will happen." She said angrily. Jean looked back over at Wanda. She half expected things to start flying around the room, but instead she just looked sick. She saw her swallow.
'He was right.' Wanda felt softly. 'No no no.'
"Are you going to be ok?"
"No." Wanda snapped. Her face immediately softened. "Sorry." She said leaning back. Jean could tell she was thinking. "I remember one night when Pie and I were six or seven, momma was tucking us in, and Pietro got the nerve to ask her about the numbers that were tattooed on Dad's arm. She told him they were nothing, but to never ask father about them. The next day Pietro told me what momma said, but that didn't stop, in fact it made me more curious. So I asked him, and there was a look that came over his face, something I had never seen before or after. It was this mixture of sadness, shame, anger, self-consciousness, almost every negative feeling he could have ever felt. He never answered me. It wasn't until taking some classes in the Asylum that I put two and two together. The number on his arm, his age, his ethnicity I made a decision the day I had that realization. I would never where a number." Jean looked at the girl completely shocked first by Wanda's openness, and second at how the professor could keep this important piece of information about Magneto from the team. Wanda looked at her. "Did you not know that?" Jean shook her head.
"Can I ask you a question?" Jean said hoping to keep up the girls openness. She was drawn in by the grey. She always thought that when it came to the X-men and magneto things were black and white. Sure she knew he was wrong, but it just made the black around magneto turn down a couple of shades.
"Shoot."
"Why do you switch between using Magneto or Father to something more loving like dad?"
"You all think Magneto was always Magneto, but he wasn't. He was somewhat cold when we were children, but we knew he loved us and we could count on him. He just got more crazy as the years past until he wasn't that man anymore. He was dad then. Don't put emotion past him. It's the same reason why when he died. Pie and I actually mourned him. He mourned what he was. The idea of him." Jean nodded as a the shade lightened.
"I'm going to check on Rogue." Wanda nodded. She looked around the room.
"I'm leaving. I can walk around." She said to herself as she got up.
^^^^^^^^
Jean walked into the rec room to see everyone huddled around the TV. Scott walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I don't know how to say this."
"I saw it downstairs in the med lab." She looked around the room. Most of the children weren't back from Paige's play. "Where is.."
"The instructor's are with the proffesor, and he wanted us up there also." She nodded as her and Scott left the room.
"You go ahead I am going to check on Rogue first." Jean kept walking down the hallway until she got to the girl's room. She opened the door to find the girl asleep, but ducked just in time not to be hit with a book. Jean took a quick look around the room. Things were randomly floating around. 'Professor, I think you may want to come up here.' She projected to him. At that moment Jean heard a loud slam to the bathroom and saw a very cold, wet, and angry Gambit in some shorts.
"Where's Drake, Remy told him if he froze those pipes one more time." He said stopping and Jean who was trying to keep her laughter in.
"Bobby isn't here." He glanced into Rogue's room. "Her powers are going crazy." He looked at Rogue worryingly.
"Will she be alright?"
"She got through it before." He nodded before walking in there. He gently shook her arm to wake her. She jumped up almost as if she had been having a nightmare and hexed him into the wall.
"That smarts, chere."
"Ah'm sorry. Ah can't control it." She said as she took a deep breath and the objects in the room settled down. "What are ya doin' in here soakin' wet?"
"Frozen pipes." She started laughing. As he just stood there dumbfounded.
"Ah'm sorry."
"It's fine." He said as he sat on the side of her bed. "When'd dis start?"
"A few days."
"And is dat why you ducked behind the chair?" She looked down sheepishly
"Ah'm tryin' to stay away from ya. It's hard enough seein' ya in the danger room, but Ah just don't wanna see ya around. It upsets me." She said honestly. He nodded.
"Remy'll leave now." He said as he head towards the door. She wanted to call out to him, but couldn't bring herself to.
^^^^^^^^^^
Wanda walked pass the rec room slowly and took inventory on the people inside. She ran her fingers through her hair. She walked into the study room and saw John sitting there chewing on a pen cap, just staring off into space. 'Why is that so hot?' She thought to herself. 'No wait that isn't hot.' She took a deep breath before entering.
"Up and about?"
"My legs aren't broken." She stood there for a second, before she sat down next to him. 'Now or never, if I put it off now, I will keep putting it off.' "Can I talk to you about something?" She said nervously. 'Get a grip, Maximoff, nothing to be nervous about it is just John.'
"Shoot."
"I.. Ummm... wh..." She took a deep breath and she could feel his eyes on her. She knew she had to get this out. She had to say it. "What are you gonna do when all this is over?" She said defeated.
"I think I may go back to Australia for a while." He said looking at her knowing that this isn't what she wanted to talk about. 'Ask her to come with you. You idiot.' He thought to himself. He could feel her eyes on him, she wanted him to say something else, but he had no idea what it was. This was the one thing that always upset him about her. She expected you to know what was wrong or what to say next. Wanda looked at him. 'If you ask me to go, I will.' she thought to herself, hoping that if she thought it hard enough it would get through to him. "Wot is it you really wanted to talk about?"
"Nothing, forget it." She said almost angrily.
"OK," he said shrugging and returning to the task at hand. Sometimes his whole personality just upset her.
"Can you take a hint?" She said standing up.
"Wot? If ya want to talk about YOU and YOUR problems, I guess I'm all ears." He said instantly regretting the words that came out of his mouth. She glared at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's supposed to mean it's always you you you. You're selfish more so than your brother." Sure he regretted the words, but at the same time they felt good to get out. He looked at her and a new emotion had taken over her face. She was hurt. "Listen..."
"Go to hell." She said. "Anything else you want to get off your chest?"
"And your self destructive to boot."
"At least I'm not scared of everything in my life." She seethed. "How many book of yours have I read? Dozens. Each one is more genius than the last, but you are to scared to take that final leap and send them somewhere to get them published. You scared all the time. I've seen the way you look at me, but your too scared to do something about that also." She yelled at him. "I have too much on my plate to deal with you and your mopiness. Sorry that you feel neglected." She said sarcastically.
"Of course, You have your own problems." He could see her hands start to glow, but that she stuffed them in her pockets.
"John, I love you. You're my friend and..." He scoffed. It took every last bit of her will power not to hex some sense into him, but that wouldn't help matters if they were both mad with rage. "You're right. One of us is too scared and the other too selfish to understand what those words could ever possibly mean." She yelled at him again. He just stared at her dumbfounded.
"You can be a real bitch sometimes, you know that?"
^^^^^^^^^
In the hallway Pietro was going to go get some piece and quiet in the study room, when two people arguing had caught his attention. He knew it was Wanda and John, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Who are you, like, listening to?"
"My sister and John." He said quickly. "Hey Kitty aren't you from Chicago?"
"Yeah."
"What is with the valley girl thing?"
"I don't know." He shrugged and went back to listening. Wanda's voice came though the door loud and clear. "I'd hate to be him."
"As long as she is yelling everything is cool."
"What? I would never want her yelling at me. She's, like, way scary."
"This is what'll happen. She'll yell for a while, and then he will keep yelling back. Finally she will get so pissed off that she will stop yelling, she'll get this blank look on her face, and very calmly and with no emotion in her voice, she will threaten him. THAT is some scary shit." Kitty couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Did he just call her a bitch? Aren't ya gonna go in there and, like, stick up for her or something? I thought that is what siblings did."
"She almost succeeded in killing the master of magnetism. I think she can handle John all by herself. It's funnier that way." She nodded, knowing Pietro's dislike for John. She stood there with Pietro for a few moments listening to the raised voices.
"Earlier did she say she loved him?"
"I didn't hear that"
"She said it right before she said whatever the hell made John call her a bitch." They jumped out of the way to miss John running them over as her stormed out of the room. Pietro looked in the room to see his sister sitting in the chair with her back to him, rubbing her temples.
"Pietro don't you dare fucking come in here. I'm not in the mood for your gloating right now." Pietro walked away. He knew he should listen to her whenever he was in one of her moods. Kitty took a deep breath and walked right in.
"McCoy is looking for you." She said softly. Wanda nodded and ran her fingers through her hair. Kitty looked at her. 'She looks completely stressed out.' Kitty thought to herself. Wanda reminded her of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Wanda could feel Kitty staring at her.
"What?" She said softly.
"I'm trying to figure out who you remind me of. I met someone when I was younger that, like, reminds me of you, but I can't put my finger on it." She said as she sat down in the chair across from Wanda.
"Would you please quit gawkin'? It makes me nervous."
"I know who it is now. When I was younger this woman who lived down the road from me was in a car accident, and my mom made dinner for the family one night. I took it down there, and she was sitting on the couch looking really stressed. She was so nice and warm, even though every time I saw her she looked sad."
"What's this story got to do with me?" Wanda said taking interest, usually she just ignored whatever Kitty had to say. She didn't want to hear about whatever wonderful thing Piotr had done fo her.
"I swear you are, like, the spittin' image of her. You are gonna look like her in, like, twenty years." Wanda looked at her shocked. Kitty jumped when Wanda jumped up and squatted in front of her.
"What was the woman's name?" Wanda asked as she held on to Kitty's hands. Kitty looked down, knowing that obviously this information was important to her.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. It was short, and not something you hear everyday." Kitty said trying to pull the name out of her head. Wanda's breath caught in her throat.
"Was it Magda?" Kitty's eye's got huge.
"That's it."
"Is she still there?" Kitty nodded.
"Last time I went to go see my parents. I saw one f her children walking home from school."
"Thanks." Wanda said as she quickly left the room.
^^^^^^^^^^^
Rogue walked down to the Professor's office. She felt so helpless. She sat in the chair. "Ah'm sorry about the pipes." He smiled.
"It's fine. Are you up for a session right now?" Rogue nodded.
Wanda was walking up the stairs when she saw Remy bounding down the steps. "What?"
"Emergency in the da professor's office." Wanda followed him. He opened the door to see that Rogue had charged the chair she was sitting in.
"Remy she can't reverse it. Is it possible for you to?"
"Remy never tried that." Gambit said as he circled the chair. "Listen, chere whatever you do don't let go." He told her and she nodded. "Will you get him out of here?" He said to Wanda at the door. She quickly got the professor out.
"I could hold the blast in with a hex."
"Get out!" He said to her. She left.
"Remy gonna grab the chair and when Remy say go you duck behind the desk." Gambit said as he overturned the Professor's desk. She nodded as Gambit grabbed hold of the chair. "Go." Rogue jumped behind the desk, and in a few seconds she was joined by Gambit. "Remy's plan didn't work." He said right before the explosion ripped through the office. Rogue raised herself up to see the professor's office destroyed.
"Oh my gawd. Ah'm so much trouble."
"You're not trouble. Ya make things interestin'." She looked at him and couldn't fight back her smile.
"Thanks."
~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: a lot of this was suckitude, but oh well. I wanted to get it out. I just realized something. I like to make shit blow up. Are you noticing the trend? You can't have an effective ROMY story with out rogue's powers going haywire. Cliche I know, but I have something else planned that no one could ever expect. About Magda being alive: On evo the really never gave the Maximoff twins a back story, so I can mess around with it. I won't change anything that ha been said about their past though.
DemonRogue13 - I am glad you enjoyed the chapter.
Amieva- the only other person I have heard of that can possibly rival my Jonda fanness. I think the Jonda fight in this chapter ay of upset you, but Wanda pretty much told him how she feels, but they were both super pissed off.
digifreaks - aw thank you for reading I hope this chapter kept up with your expectations.
Caliente - you are one of my favorite reviewers. Your reviews make my day. The sequel is awesome. I wasn't even gonna write any Wanda's head stuff, but then it came out and I was like that is interesting. I love Romys. I just think they are the perfect couple all around.
Please hit the little review button and leave a review. They make me happy. *gives puppy dog eyes* No one can resist Puppy dog eyes.