Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for all of the great reviews! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I have the next one ready and waiting. Reviewer responses are at the bottom.
Chapter 7
Lance shook his head at how predictable the X-Men were. He watched them filing into the darkened mall in a line. Just how stupid were they to be walking into such an obvious trap. Didn't one of them wonder just what the Brotherhood might want at the mall after hours? Were they coming to fight over the last pair of gray cargo pants at Old Navy? Lance rolled his eyes.
"Avalanche, they're coming in. Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Spyke are heading up to the second level. Shadowcat will be in your vicinity shortly. Be wary," the small tired voice of Pietro crackled through a small speaker in his right ear.
Lance, Freddy, and Todd were placed strategically around the mall to encounter and provoke the X-Men into altercation; then they were to herd them all toward the fountain where Wanda would put in her first appearance. Pietro was in the security surveillance room where he was given a complete view of every location in the mall. They were all kept in contact with each other via the communicators Mystique had provided for them. Lance felt like a member of the Secret Service wearing the earpiece; all he needed were some sunglasses.
Lance stiffened as he heard footsteps. He ducked inside a shop and watched as Kitty walked by, looking highly suspicious of her surroundings. Lance let out a sigh and decided to step out. "Kitty."
"Whoa!" The brown haired girl jumped. She turned to see Lance coming up behind her. "What's this about?"
You should have asked yourself that before you chose to come here, Lance thought briefly. "Look, thing's are going to get kind of ugly here, and I don't want to see you hurt. You need to get out of here."
"Lance? What's going? What are you guys planning?"
"Avalanche, what are you doing?" Pietro's voice hissed at him.
"Leave me alone, Quicksilver; this is my business!"
"Quicksilver?" Kitty looked around for the boy Lance had named. "Where..?"
"Don't worry about it," Lance breathed softly. He took Kitty gently by the wrist and pulled her closer to him, so that they were looking each other in the eyes. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the pretty girl before him who had proven to be out of his league more times than he count, but he knew he didn't want to see her injured. He didn't know what Wanda had in mind; in every practice, she managed to surprise them with her abilities. The only thing Lance could be sure of was that whatever Wanda had up her sleeve, it was going to be highly destructive, and this mall wasn't too sturdy. He knew; he'd checked the foundation earlier with a slight quake. "Kitty, I want you to get out of here, please."
Kitty blinked, narrowing her blues eyes as she stared at him. Her pinks lips pursed, and she pulled her wrists from his grasp. "I can't, but if you're so concerned about me, why don't you call whatever this is off before whatever you're so afraid of happens."
"I'm not in charge of this mission," Lance sighed. He stepped away from Kitty sadly; he'd warned her, and that was about all he could do. He couldn't carry her out of there without abandoning the mission himself. He didn't agree with all of the aspects of it, but the thought of finally beating Summers at something was absolutely delicious and he would not deprive himself of such a guilty pleasure. Every now and then a boy had to indulge himself.
Kitty rolled her eyes, "Like, whatever, Lance. If you don't have anything else to say, I'm moving on..."
"Avalanche, Scarlet Witch is ready to make her move. Toad and Blob already have most of the X-Men in place; get moving with Shadowcat and Nightcrawler."
"What about Spyke?" Lance asked quietly, watching as Kitty began to walk away from him. He wasn't going to let her get too far from him if he could help it.
"I'll handle Spykey-boy; don't worry about it." Lance could hear the grin in Pietro's voice. "Quicksilver, if you leave that room to..."
"Too late... Nightcrawler's joining Shadowcat; round them up and bring them down to the others before..."
There was a loud crash and a startled feminine cry.
"Jean!" Lance heard Kitty yell. He whipped his head to see Kitty standing next to Kurt and watched the both of them disappear in a puff of smoke. Well that was easy. He could only assume they were going to down to help their friends, effectively doing his job for him. His stomach lurched a bit as he thought about Kitty in the line of fire...
Oh well... he'd done what he could. She didn't respect him enough to take his suggestions to heart. That was her problem. Time to leave. He certainly wasn't planning on being inside the mall once Wanda really got started.
"Toad, Blob, Quicksilver? Everyone clear to go?"
"Already outside, Avalanche," Todd's voice sounded smug.
"I'm heading for the jeep, La...er...Avalanche," Freddy's unsteady voice was static-riddled.
"Quicksilver?" Lance inquired.
No response.
"Yo, Quickie?" Todd called.
"Pietro?" Fred asked softly.
"Shit," Lance breathed. "You two stay where you are; I'll find him."
Damn you, Pietro; I told you to stay home. If you're not already hurt, I'm going to hurt you!
"Pietro what's going on?" Evan grabbed Pietro by the shoulders as the ground began to shake. "Avalanche?"
Pietro shook his head. Evan wished it was Avalanche. "We have to get out of here, Evan. Look, you helped me out on Asteroid M, and I'm going to help you out now. This is a big trap, and people might get..."
"A trap? Of course it's a trap, but if you're bothering to set it, we wanted to see what it was about. We can take anything you guys throw at us! You're the losing team...but you're not a loser Pietro. I don't understand why you choose to stand with them still."
Pietro growled low in his throat, "We're not losers..."
"I didn't say YOU were."
"No one's a loser," Pietro shook his head. "Look, I just wanted to return a favor, but I'm not sure I want to anymore."
Evan's face hardened a bit at the statement. "Pietro, I don't mean to offend you, man. So you like the other guys in the Brotherhood. Maybe they are nice guys once you get to know them, but Max, you're not like them. Those guys...they aren't going anywhere, ever. They can't help you to be anybody great, but at the Institute... Max, you'd love it. You could drown yourself in books, and there's a guy there, Dr. McCoy. You can ask him all the questions you want, and he'll either know the answer or won't stop until he helps you find it. You would do so well there with me, with us..."
"Are you trying to recruit me again?" Pietro's eyes darted away from Evan at another loud crash and a girl's scream.
"Jean," Evan whispered. He looked at Pietro, "What's going on?"
Pietro stared at Evan, "The trap's been sprung. Why don't you go and see what it is?"
"I'm tired of playing these games with you! What is it that you want? Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg you to forgive me for being a jerk? A few years ago you would have joined the X-Men just to be with me. How do I get that back?"
"You can't" Pietro spat. "You snubbed me, Danny. You turned your nose up and walked away from me. I'm just another poor kid in foster care to you."
"I was 13 and stupid! You were gone and I needed someone to hang out with! I didn't know... It... I don't have a good excuse for being an asshole to you at all. I hate myself for letting those guys walk all over me and trying to please them by being something I wasn't. By the time I realized it, you already hated me and we had gotten so competitive I was starting to channel some of that hate. If I could go back..."
"You wouldn't make the same choices, huh?" Pietro sneered. "Well, you can't go back. No one can! And...I can't forgive you. I don't take well to being rejected, Danny. You know that! You blew it; I don't need you anymore."
"You need someone, and it's not those guys in the Brotherhood," Evan huffed. More panicked yells and sounds of heavy objects falling interrupted their debate. "Max, even if you hate me, you owe it to yourself to give the X-Men a chance. You're better than the Brotherhood. I mean, why would you want to work for an organization run by that nut Magneto?"
Pietro's body tensed at the mention of his father's name. "He's not a nut."
"Don't tell me you believe the things he says!"
"What if I do?" Pietro challenged.
The lights flickered on and off.
"You don't. I know you well enough to be sure that you don't. What's that old man have over your head, huh?" Evan pressed, leaning in toward Pietro who was starting to shrink back from him. The floor shook beneath them, nearly making them lose their balance.
"That's my business," Pietro hissed. He shut his eyes for a second to calm the tornado of emotions terrorizing his body. That combined with the fiery feelings of sickness that burned throughout his body was making him dizzy. He was beginning to tremble and he felt his legs wobbling as his head swam.
Perfect. He had to get out of there... the jeep. He was supposed to be going to the jeep parked in the back lot. He would leave Evan to his sister and find his brothers. He tried to run, but found himself stumbling forward only to be caught in strong arms.
"Pietro! Are you ok?"
Pietro tried to push away from him. "Leave me alone, Daniels; I'm fine."
"Dude, you're burning up!" Evan exclaimed. He had let one of his hands brush against Pietro's face. "I knew something was wrong with you at school! Come on, we're getting out of here."
Pietro meant to protest, to kick Evan where it hurt, but he fainted first.
"Dammit! We've searched the entire mall!" Lance was growling, the ground trembled slightly. "I knew it! I freakin' knew it! He shouldn't have been here!"
"Lance, relax yo. It's Speedy. Maybe he left or something. We should get back to the Boarding House and make sure he's not there, before we panic," Todd offered lightly. He hovered near Freddy, who was frowning.
"Pietro wouldn't just leave like that," Freddy said softly. "Not with..." Freddy glanced over at Wanda who sat in the jeep with her arms crossed not looking at the three boys a few feet away from the vehicle.
The X-Men had left a half hour ago, and the Brotherhood was still searching for their missing member. "Stupid kid," Lance grumbled. He threw a glare back at the mall that was now buzzing with police. "Well, we know he's not in there, nor anymore anyway. Todd's right, Fred; if Pietro's anywhere, it's back at the house."
"Excuse me? But did I just hear Todd's right?" Todd perked up with a grin.
Lance rolled his eyes, and Freddy gave Todd a "friendly" punch in the arm.
"Ow, yo!"
"Come on," Lance moved toward the jeep and Todd and Fred followed.
"You didn't find him?"
Lance jumped at the sound of Wanda's voice. She had never really spoken to any of them at all, and she had been especially silent on the mission. Lance turned his head slightly and tried not to shiver as Wanda's cool blue eyes bored into his brown ones.
"No," Lance shook his head. "There's no trace of him in there. We think he might be back at the boarding house."
Wanda narrowed her eyes, "You think he abandoned the mission."
Lance bit his lip, "No... I don't know. We'll see what happened when we get home."
Wanda didn't say anything else, and Lance was relieved. He didn't want to accidentally hit a nerve and wind up hexed. Todd climbed into the backseat with Wanda and sat with his hands in his lap grinning at her ever-so-often, when he thought she wasn't looking. Fred got into the front passenger seat and gazed solemnly out of the window.
Lance put the jeep in drive and they cruised forward. Lance sighed inwardly; something told him Pietro wasn't going to be at the boarding house. People just didn't vanish, but it seemed Pietro had.
Pietro, where the hell are you?
"Whoa...what's all this stuff?"
That voice sounded so muffled and distant, yet so familiar. Pietro fought to open his eyes. Where was he? He felt like he was submerged in deep water. Everything was so dark and he seemed to be floating, yet he couldn't rise to the surface of the pool to get a breath. But strangely, he wasn't panicking. His body wasn't fighting or kicking at the cloudy water to bring him to freedom.
"It's a good thing you got him here when you did, Evan. I don't know how he's gone for this long without some sort of treatment."
Evan? Daniels? Danny? What was he doing there? Who was that he was talking to and more importantly, who were they talking about?
"What's wrong with him?"
I wish I could see...
"It's a bacterial pneumonia that could be easily treated with antibiotics and bed rest, but Quicksilver's body operates at such a rapid internal pace the bacteria inhabiting his lungs seem to have adapted to the pace and is spreading faster than his immune system can combat them."
"Is there anything we can do for him?"
Summers? Was that Mr. One Eye himself? And were they talking about him? The older sounding voice had said his code name.
"I've started him on an aggressive antibiotic treatment, and I'm also trying to get him hydrated and nourished. I'm going to keep him closely monitored for the night, and we'll see what happens in the morning."
"Should we tell the Brotherhood?"
Jean Grey too?
"Are you kidding? They just got through thrashing us! I'm not going anywhere near those guys! What if that girl comes out again?"
Nightcrawler.
"But Quicksilver is their teammate. They'll be worried."
Grey.
"Would they care if it was the other way around?"
Daniels.
"Look, the Professor's on his way down; he'll decide what we should do."
Summers.
"What was he doing there, if he's so sick? I can't see Lance letting him out of the house. The Brotherhood had to have known about this."
Rogue?
"They're jerks! Of course they knew about this! They made him, I bet. He didn't want to be there! He was trying to get me out of there!"
Daniels... He struggled to open his eyes or to at least get his lips to move. He couldn't let Daniels bad mouth his family like that.
Family... Wanda. How was Wanda after the mission? Was the mission over? Where the hell was he?
"The Brotherhood may be jerks, but they take care of their own. Something's going on..."
Rogue again.
"Who was that Witch? Maybe she has something to do with it..."
Summers.
"What she did to our powers was insane!"
Nightcrawler.
"Quicksilver could-- like-- tell us about her in exchange for our help. It's only fair; I mean-- like-- she did trash us."
Shadowcat.
"Kitty, we don't work like that. We help anyone in need, and Pietro needs us."
Grey.
"Professor! We were just discussing if we should try to contact the Brotherhood. Do you think it would be safe after what just happened?"
Summers.
"The Brotherhood is looking for Pietro as we speak. They will be returning to their home shortly. If we were to send someone to inform them of their teammates condition, it is highly unlikely that they would attack. I sense much fear and concern in each of their minds."
Xavier.
"Even the Witch?"
Rogue
"Wanda?"
Xavier. How does he know Wanda?
"I do not think Wanda will attack you either, but just to be safe, I will send Logan to deliver the information."
Xavier.
Wake up, he commanded, but he seemed to be sinking deeper into the watery abyss. He wanted to scream, wanted to cry, but more than anything he wanted to see!
"He's trying to regain consciousness."
Xavier.
"That's good– right?"
Daniels.
"Yes. He is quite distressed with his current state of being."
Xavier.
Distressed? No, try pissed.
He was finally making progress; he could feel his body floating upwards, and he was just able to break the surface of the pool and make a slight splash. He kicked hard, struggling to get his head above water. He bobbed up and down, not quite lifting his head above sea-level. He still couldn't see a thing... but... Had he felt his lips move? He had made sound.
"What did he say?"
Summers.
"I couldn't hear him."
Rogue.
"It didn't sound like English."
Daniels.
He tried again.
"What?"
Daniels.
"What's he saying? I don't think it's gibberish..."
Grey.
"It's not. It's... it's... I've heard it before."
Nightcrawler.
What the hell am I saying?
"I think he said something about the Brotherhood and a... sister?"
Nightcrawler again. Was he not speaking English?
"He's speaking a dialect of Romanes; I'm not sure which one."
Oh, well that answered his question. It was strange that the first language he would speak while coming to would be Sinte. He hadn't really spoken it in years until he met Matusa Elena, and even with her, she preferred he speak Romanian.
"Why would he speak that? Isn't that a gypsy language? He's not a gypsy. He grew up in New York with Evan in American households."
Summers.
Pietro actually heard Nightcrawler rolling his eyes in his voice. "Scott, his name is Pietro Maximoff. Does that sound very American to you?"
"Well, no, but... He doesn't have an accent."
Summers.
"I've known him since he was 8. He...did have an accent then; it was really quiet though. You could only hear it on certain words, or when he was mad about something. It disappeared over the years."
Daniels.
Enough of this! Pietro worked to open his eyes again, bobbing madly in the sea of unconsciousness until finally his head came above water and he was able to call for help.
His eyes fluttered open slowly and shut immediately after being bombarded with the harsh white light of the room.
"Hey, he opened his eyes; I saw him!" Daniels. Pietro opened his eyes a crack again to spy the boy leaning over him. Pietro forced his mouth into a slight frown. He was so drained it was work to control his facial muscles. He moaned softly; he felt awful: every muscle in his body ached, his head pounded, his lungs burned when he breathed, and he was freezing. What the hell had happened? He tried to remember...
The last thing he could recall was the mall and Wanda making a mess, and Daniels... He tried to turn his head to get a better view of his surroundings, but his neck was so stiff, and it hurt to even attempt to move his head.
"Pietro? Can you hear me?"
Pietro opened his eyes wider to take in Evan's worried expression.
"Unde sînt eu?" Had he asked the question in the proper language?
"What did he say Kurt?" Evan turned his head to look behind him. Pietro blinked as Nightcrawler appeared beside Evan.
"I'm not sure. That wasn't Romanes."
Pietro? This is Professor Xavier. I know you are a bit confused; just think to me and I will hear you and answer your questions.
Am I at the Institute?
Yes.
How? What happened? Where are my friends? Is everyone ok? Wanda...?
Calm down. You collapsed at the mall and Evan carried you outside. We brought you back here to treat your illness. You are very sick; I am sure you know that. The other members of the Brotherhood are fine. I have sent Wolverine out to tell them where you are. I believe they will be here shortly to see about you. How long have you been ill and have you been to see a doctor at all?
Pietro blinked; his mind was muddled and the Professor had said too many things at once. Wanda?
Your sister is fine.
Ok.
How long have you been ill, and have you been to see a doctor?
I don't know...a few days, maybe a week. No, no doctor. Pietro tried to turn his head again. He was becoming more aware of his surroundings. He could hear the sounds of soft voices and the beeps of machinery. His body was lying on something firm, yet soft...a mattress and a fitted sheet, and he was covered by a light cottony sheet and a blanket that smelled clean. His head reclined on a thick pillow that cupped the back of his neck, giving it support. He felt a slight pinch in his right arm.
"Meu brat?"
It's only an IV, Pietro, nothing to be worried about. You need fluid, nourishment, and medicine.
"A face pe plac, nu nevoie! A lua it afara!"
Calm down, Pietro! The IV cannot be taken out; you need it too much. There is nothing to be afraid of. There's nothing bad inside the mixture.
Pietro felt himself shaking violently, and his eyes watered. Needles...IV's... Father's lab. Oh God, he felt like he was in his father's lab all over again running the treadmill with needles and probes tucked under his tender skin. Sometimes there would be chemicals. Some made him feel hot, some made him feel cool, and some made him violently ill, but if he showed weakness he would be punished. Sometimes he would be spanked, sometimes he wouldn't be fed, but the thing Pietro dreaded worse was the isolation room. He hated enclosed spaces. He had no room to run.
The needle pinched at his skin again, and he forced himself to try to sit. If the X-Men would not comply to his wishes, he would remove the hateful needle on his own!
"Pietro stay still." Pietro's eyes darted over to the older voice that had first spoken over him while he'd been out: Dr. McCoy.
"Your body is just coming out of shock. Honestly, if Evan hadn't found you and had you brought back here, you would have been in serious trouble. Your temperature was 105 degrees when you first got here."
Pietro blinked, 105? He had never had a fever that high.
"This IV is what is stabilizing your temperature. Do you understand me?" When Pietro gave no response, "Charles? Does he understand me?"
"I...I understand," Pietro said carefully, in what he hoped was English. Not being able to tell what language he was speaking was starting to unnerve him.
"Excellent," Dr. McCoy gave him a warm smile, or what would have been warm if not for all of the fangs he beared. Pietro shuddered. "I was starting to get worried. How are you feeling?"
"Awful," Pietro mumbled.
"What were you doing out there tonight, man? I thought those goons you stay with were supposed to take care of you?" Pietro heard the sound of metal groaning as Evan leaned over the guard rail of the bed.
Pietro frowned, choosing not to answer the question until Rogue butted in too.
"I'm surprised Lance allowed it. How did you get around him?"
Pietro sighed. Maybe he should start speaking in Romanian again; no one but Professor Xavier asked him questions then. "He wasn't happy about it, but Mystique said..." He paused. Mystique. She was going to be pissed. "Hey, how long is this shock thing going to take to wear off? I need to get out of here."
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere tonight, Pietro. I'm keeping you for observation. You have a serious case of bacterial pneumonia," Dr. McCoy said, shaking his head.
Pietro blinked. Pneumonia? Big deal. People didn't die from pneumonia anymore in the United States...
"Only because they are treated with the proper medication, Pietro," Professor Xavier said calmly, and Pietro started.
"Get out of my head!" Pietro snapped. "You can't keep me here. The second I'm able, I'm getting out of here!"
"Hey, show some respect and a little gratitude pal!" Summers said. The red-haired older boy approached the bed and scowled down at Pietro in disdain. "We didn't have to help you, and if we hadn't, you more than likely would have died due to complications of your illness."
Pietro glared at Summers and with one final push, got his body to sit up. He wanted to scream at the pain it brought his muscles as he came up into a sitting position. The sterile room swayed and dimmed as gray spots danced in his vision for a moment. He saw the X-Men: Rogue, Shadowcat, Spyke, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Grey, Xavier, and Beast staring at him; he took in the moderately sized hospital-like room and the white gown he was in. He looked down at his right arm to see the IV injection site and the lines running from it to the IV bags set up on a tall, thin pole beside the bed. He nearly gagged and he was sure he had turned a slight shade of green, because he heard Evan ask if he was all right.
No, he wasn't alright! He was being held hostage by the enemy!
"Pietro, we are not your enemy. We want to help you," Professor Xavier said softly.
"Stop reading my thoughts!" Pietro shouted angrily. His fingers went for the IV. He was going to pull it, then get the hell out of there. He could run. If he could sit up, he could run. He would at least make it home before he passed out and Lance, Freddy and Todd would take of him then.
"Pietro, no!"
Strong blue hands gripped his weak pale ones and brought them back to his sides. "Don't make me have to strap you down."
Strap him down? He visualized his father's face; he only strapped him down when it was going to hurt and he didn't want Pietro to kick. Oh God.
"Dumnezeu! A face pe plac la mu! Vointa a voi a fi bun. Vointa a voi nu meci tu!"
"Pietro, we aren't trying to hurt you. Please calm down and trust us. No one here wishes to do you any harm. Listen to me."
"Vointa a voi a fi bun!" He was too weak to thrash about and flail his limbs so he had to settle for screaming.
"I wish I knew what he was saying!" Evan complained. "What's he saying, Professor?"
"You should all leave," Professor Xavier said. "Jean, Scott, get them all out."
"I should stay," Evan protested. "I'm his friend; I know him best. Maybe I can help..."
"No," Professor Xavier said.
"Vointa a voi a fi bun..." Pietro promised again; his voice breaking as his body was wracked with hoarse coughs.
"Charles, can you sedate him? I don't want to give him a chemical sedative," Mr. McCoy was saying.
"Of course."
Pietro's lungs were crying out in pain as each deep cough seemed to scratch at their delicate walls with sharp nails, drawing blood. Tears flowed from his eyes.
Pietro...
Pietro tried to block out the Professor's mental beckoning, but found he could not resist the allure of its silvery touch. With one caress, he felt himself sliding beneath the murky waters of unconsciousness once again.
Voint a voi a fi bun... he got out one more time before he submerged. I'll be good.... I'll be good.
Author's Note: Ok all done! Like it, hate it; don't care either way? Let me know! Please review!
Reviewer Responses:
Stormy 1x2: Hey! Well, Wanda's still trying to get over her abandonment issues, but she's warming up to Pietro (or trying to at least lol). I'm glad you like the way I introduced their histories. I think it's fun to delve into a character's past, but I try to incorporate it into the flow of the story. Thanks for the great review; hope you liked this one too! Take care!
BurnBadArt: Ha! Funny name! But what do you define as bad art? Brotherhood angst stories are fun, huh? And you are right, there aren't too many good ones. I'm happy you consider my story one of the few good ones ;). Thank you for reviewing, and take care!
Melanie: Believe it of not, I do know people who carry around that much cash in their wallets lol! (I'm guilty… not a very smart thing to do I know…but it's better than leaving it at home where my sister can get it ;). I'm glad you like Pietro's "Aunts." There will be more of them later. They kind of created this story. I had the idea of them first and kind of shaped a story around them that spawned into this one, lo1. (Yeah I know, I got ADHD, kidding). Glad you like it chica. Don't worry; the story's not over yet. I still got a little more ground to cover, before I can conclude. Thanks for reviewing! Take care!
Nessie6: Hey! I'm glad you like the story. Yes, Wanda dies…sigh… I kind of want to change that now, but oh well. Thanks for reviewing. Love your stories! Update soon!
DemonRogue13: J Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing again! I will update again next week! Take care!