Chapter 11:

Sienna stood in front of her locker and stared at her long-disused uniform in quiet reflection. Stripping down to her lingerie, she adjusted the straps of her bra and took out a small roll of tape from a small metal box. Pulling off her ring, she smiled and kissed it softly before placing it in the box and wrapping her body with the tape. Since the time she had come close to death, Hank had ordered her to be careful and to protect her body so she had brought this tape to cushion her internal organs. Wrapping her hands in the tape, she slipped on the gloves carefully. The atrophied muscles in her body had been built-up carefully and she was stronger than before. Stretching, she slipped on the uniform and smoothed it down the front lovingly. Walking out, she went straight to her husband and kissed him on the cheek softly. Looking at him, she smiled and then slithered past him onto the Blackbird and took her seat as she fastened the belt carefully over her buckle. Looking at her hands, she flexed one into a fist absently before listening to the briefing as the Blackbird took off out from under the basketball court.

Scott spoke with authority in his voice as she looked at his team assembled before him. "Kurt, you will use your teleportation to rescue others that may be in trouble. Logan, you, Jean, Storm and I are the main offensives. Remy, you will antagonise the opponents only when you get a clear shot and without injuring the others. We do not want our team being hurt in your charged explosions, got it?" Remy nodded slowly as he looked at Rogue.

Scott continued. "Rogue, you, Piotr, Pyro and Bobby will act as backup if we need it. Otherwise, you stay out of sight."

Then, he looked at Sienna pointedly before speaking. "Sienna, be careful and don't exhaust yourself. You will be responsible for the mental bombardment of the Brotherhood and cleanup after that. The public must be unaware of anything that happens so you must create an illusion to convince them that what they see is not really. Any opponents you judge as weak, attack them first but do not get near Magneto at any cost. "

Sienna nodded as her eyes began to glow a queer colour and the tendrils began to grow in her mind. Scott smiled and then ordered Storm to put the Blackbird down quietly in a deserted area. Unloading the team, Scott eyed the chaos in front of him and sighed as he saw Magneto's goons on the attack. Cars lay everywhere and people were running from the roadway where Magneto stood with his arms stretched out. Three cars were suspended in the air and inside them were people clinging to the insides. Scott let out an optic blast at Magneto and sprinted towards him followed by the offensive team. Hanging back, Sienna turned at a noise and saw the unmistakable forms of the rest of the Brotherhood minus Mystique and Sabretooth. Avalanche took the initiative and sent an earth tremor towards the group, knocking them off their feet and sending Rogue into the nearby wall. Seeing Rogue lying there stunned, Sienna turned and sighed in irritation. Laughing, she directed her verbal taunt at Wanda with a sneer in Russian.

:::Your mother was Magneto's whore, Wanda:::

Drawing Wanda away, Sienna sprinted off down the alleyway and began a cat and mouse game with the enraged hex-warper. Smirking, the manipulator simply moved away every time Wanda got near. Drawing a hex-bolt, Wanda attacked the girl but Sienna darted out of the way and the bolt simply dissipated as it hit something else. Firing the bolts in rapid succession, Wanda, in desperation, charged her opponent but Sienna simply sent her flying into a wall. Hitting it head first, Wanda gave out a groan and collapsed unconscious as Sienna raised herself from the ground where the Balkan girl had vaulted over her back.

---

Dusting herself off, the manipulator sniggered and spoke quietly. "Well, so much for that fight..."

A voice suddenly snarled from the darkness in Russian. :::You attacked my sister, impudent girl. Now, you die:::

Sienna looked around and saw two ice-blue eyes glowing dangerously in the darkness and raised her eyebrows. Then, she answered him back in faltering Russian. :::I am only doing what I must, Pietro. You of all people should know that.:::

The man stepped out with his eyes blazing. "You have no right to attack us, we are only revenging ourselves against the scum that hate us. Why don't you hate them? You know what your father did to you..."

Sienna shook her head. "I made my peace with that a long time ago, Pietro. Have you? You still fight against those who have done nothing to revenge your past. Why not accept that humans are flawed but most do not deserve being slaughtered for the sins of others?"

Pietro glared at her. "You should be angry but you are not. Does living with the past not make you hurt, make you angry?"

"My past is just that, the past," Sienna answered evenly. "Don't make me out to be a saint, I'm not. Nobody is these days, I have flaws just like you and I still remember what that man did to me. But these people did nothing, they have not harmed you in any way yet you go after them to kill them. Your master Magneto is doing the same thing that the Nazis did to his people. They killed off the Jews and Gypsies and others simply because they were a different race, had different genetics. Doesn't that mean the same as what Magneto is doing now? Killing because people are different than them, have different genetics. You are aiding him in creating another Holocaust..."

"You don't understand..." Pietro snarled.

Sienna nodded. "No, I don't and I never will. We grew up in different circles, you had a different upbringing to me but we are both mutants, both children of the Atom. Would you kill another of your race simply to prove your point? Are you so much of a bully that you would slaughter innocents who are different? Are you truly so cold-blooded, so...human?"

Pietro stiffened and his hands clenched at his sides. Then, they relaxed and he looked at her. "Nyett." Walking over to his sister, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he eyed Sienna. Studying her, he smiled quickly before speaking.

"We will meet again..."

Then, he raced off with his sister in his arms as Sienna stiffened. She felt herself shake as she realised how easily he could have killed her then and there. Rubbing her forehead, she pondered his words thoughtfully and made a mental note to talk to Xavier about it when she got back. Then, she began to walk back to join the fight...