Authors' Notes

Seta Kaede: Hey everyone! I'm glad to see that everyone is still reading, and hopefully enjoying, our story. Here is my next chapter and I am happy to say that it was a creation of my twisted mind. Of course thanks are always to go my two co-authors Life-of-LA and Silverwolf; without them this story would be nothing. The next chapter is their responsibility and I can't wait to read it! This is Seta Kaede signing out....

Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf: Egads, c'est magnifique! We're not even going to say a lot, because we don't want to delay the reading of this chapter any longer. Seta Kaede, you rock! That should say all.

Review responses (from Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf):

LadyEvils: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Take a guess, you might be right! As for Todd, you shall see in this chapter. We're all happy to hear you like how things are proceeding, and this chapter makes things even better! Enjoy!

ray1: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Indeed, the Brotherhood has hard times coming up (and it's not like they left behind pretty things). And we do have a few more surprises- and some are unveiled in this chapter! We hope you'll like it.

Kapparan Majic: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Sigh Yes, Freddy's death was unfortunate. But we will have many mentions of Fred as the story continues, sort of a 'continuing on' after death thing. We're glad to know that the bilingual characteristics worked out, not to mention that you like Tabby's portrayal!

Zero-Vision: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Poor Brotherhood indeed. And they still have so much to get through. Not to mention a surprise near the end of this chapter. Ominous music We appreciate your review; please continue to support us in such a way!

Chuckles123: Thank you for reading and reviewing! All shall be revealed in this chapter! Well, actually, the whole foreign languages deal will not be covered in this chapter. But it's coming, we promise. In the meantime you get to learn about the whole new powers thing everyone has going on, will that be enough for now? We hope you enjoy the update.

Cammy: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hey, thanks! We rock, don¡¯t we? Lol. And lucky for you, you didn¡¯t have to wait long for the new chapter! Here you go, hope you like it!

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Chapter 2 – Morning Thoughts and Revelations

The sun coming through the thin curtains in the motel room was the first thing to rouse

Lance from his deep slumber. He stretched his body, reveling in the first real night of sleep that any of them had gotten in longer then he could remember.

Sitting up Lance quickly glanced around seeing that he indeed was the first one awake. With a small smile he carefully navigated his way to the bathroom. As he opened the door, he glanced down at the watch that he had taken to wearing. It was only a few minutes past 6 a.m. after all. Sadly that was blissfully later then any of them were used to sleeping till.

With a sigh Lance basked under the hot spray of a shower, the pleasant water relaxing muscles that had been tense even in sleep. The teen quickly ran a small amount of shampoo through his long hair and regretfully fingered the metal circlet around his neck and the two matching ones on both his wrists.

Shaking his head Lance climbed out of the shower. Drying himself quickly, he pulled on the black jeans and a brown high-necked t-shirt under a warm brown over-shirt that Tabby and Pietro had bought for him the day before. He ignored the aches and pains and purposely turned a blind eye to the bruises on his body as he pulled his hair back and out of the way.

As he exited the bathroom Lance saw Tabby opening her eyes; they had become used to going instantly from asleep to awake so the luxury of waking up slowly was not lost on her. She nearly purred as she stretched out. Watching her, Lance laughed very softly and immediately got a sleepy glare.

The two on the bed were still asleep and somehow neither had been plagued with their usual dreams or nightmare; both the older teens were relieved that the two had finally gotten some real sleep. It had been a long while since any of them had gotten what was considered a normal night's sleep.

Not to mention that this would probably be the last real beds they would be sleeping in; staying in one place for such a considerable amount of time was never a good idea. Not to mention the fact that their money was running low; Lance knew they could always just lift some more wallets, but he was hesitant to.

Despite what anyone else thought, none of the Brotherhood members were bad people. They were teenagers thrown into a situation they couldn't control; they had only done what was necessary to survive. But as much as he regretted his decision to join Mystique and Magneto, Lance could never regret the family that it had brought him.

Pushing the thoughts aside with the ease of long practice, Lance turned back to Tabby.
"The shower's open and the water's hot."
The girl's eyes immediately perked up and her mouth turned up in a small smile; hot water was always a good thing. Unlike others, none of the Brotherhood members took anything, like hot water, for granted; they knew that it wouldn't always be there. Hell, they had even done without it several times when they couldn't pay the water bill for the month.

He watched as she disappeared inside the small bathroom; after she had vanished behind the door he quickly stuffed a few items into the duffle bag and lay back down on the couch. He listened to the sound of the running water in the shower and evaluated their moves for the next few days.

They had to keep moving. Until they had a much longer distance in between themselves and Magneto, it was impossible to take a real break. There was a chance that Magneto didn't know they were gone yet, but it was highly unlikely. The "Master of Magnetism" seemed to know their movements better then they did sometimes. It was one of the numerous things that had truly kept them on their toes around him.

Sighing, Lance sat up and moved onto the floor folding his legs below him and closed his eyes trying to concentrate on building the walls in his mind. He imagined strong clay walls forming around his conscious mind, blocking out the thoughts of those who wished to intrude.

It was hard; the constant pounding at his mental walls by every single person around him was constant pressure. When he got tired or weak, his walls dropped and then his thoughts were no longer his own.

Luckily the brotherhood members had forced him to teach them how to build their own walls, they had become so he would rarely catch a stray thought and truly only heard them when they directed their minds at him. There was a constant link that the four shared and Lance could feel it humming just under his skin- reassuring him that his three family members were all well.

The clay and rock walls were slowly built, packed tightly around and sealed; he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. It was times like this that Lance truly hated Magneto more than he had anyone in his life.

Each one of them was cursed with powers that they had never been meant to have- powers that had affected them each in such different, but same life-changing ways. Lance himself now was a telepath, not to mention the blasts that he could direct from himself. On top of that, his original powers had been increased and enhanced, making him even more of a powerful earth force then before.

It was amazing, the array of thoughts and emotions that ran through people's minds without their even realizing it. It sucked to have to concentrate every minute to block out these thoughts, these thoughts that were not his own. And of course, even though he suffered the effects of the power it wasn't like he could really use it because of the goddamn collar around his neck.

It was one of the great ironies of their life now; they had tremendous power but yet they still couldn't use them. All because of that single but extremely powerful restriction put on them by the one who gave them these powers. It was a confusing and convoluted way to live and think, but after so much time Lance was used to it.

As he opened his eyes and unfolded his body he could hear the shower shut off in the bathroom; a few minutes later Tabby appeared from the doors dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a simple purple sweatshirt over a white turtleneck. She had left her hair hanging down and the mess fell around her face making her look younger then she actually was.

Running a towel over the still wet hair she smiled at Lance, "Oh that was amazing. I'd completely forgotten how good a hot shower feels. That was even better then I had thought it would be."

With a small laugh she chucked the wet towel at Lance, laughing harder when he tossed her a disgruntled look and pulled the towel off his head. When they heard stirring from the bed both of them turned and saw the younger half of the team waking up.

Pietro awoke like he did everything else- fast and active. He rubbed his eyes as he climbed off the bed, "Did someone say something about a hot shower?" he asked hopefully.

Tabby was the first to respond, "Yep, the water's hot and the shower works- go for it."

With a small grin the now more reserved speed demon zipped into the bathroom; Todd just watched the older boy with a smile as the door slammed. "You would think that we just offered him money and jewels."

Lance smiled as he heard Todd joking again, the sleep had obviously done them all some good; it was worth the headache he had suffered to get them the room. "Todd, when Pietro comes out of the bathroom you shower up and then we can let Pietro tell us where we are headed today."

Todd nodded in response; they were all curious as too where they were headed, ultimately of course they wanted to make it to the opposite coast. Their only hope was that whatever tracking chips were in their collars, they would be inactive once they were a certain distance away.

Tabby grabbed the cushion off the floor setting it back down on the couch and she quickly flopped next to Lance. The power drain she had done on the other yesterday had exhausted her but the sleep had done wonders to help her replenish her wasted energy.

Each one of the Brotherhood settled into their own thoughts, each one thinking about what was coming and what they would have to do. Their new powers were still being discovered in all their intricacies, but having theses same new powers, they could also feel the powers growing at the same time. Yet they could do nothing to release them.

Sighing Tabby looked down at her hands, it was amazing the destructive power now held in her dainty palms. Not only could she absorb the life energy of others, even suck them dry if she wanted, she could also destroy anything with a mere thought. It was a heady experience being able to control the destruction of particles around her; she could even slow the decimation of her own atoms.

This allowed her to constantly replenish her system, giving her a glow on her skin as it was consistently in it's best state, and a gleam to her hair since it was constantly being replenished. While the girl had always been pretty she now had a slight otherworldly appearance that only helped to keep others away. Which was a relief, considering her other new developments.

Because while she could control the absorption of others it was a constant process, it required a lot of energy and continued concentration; overall it was just easier for others to not touch her.

Still sitting on the bed, Todd was tossing a small ball he had carried with him back and forth, it kept his hands occupied as it now took him no thought to easily catch and do complicated tosses with it. It seemed that now he constantly wanted to be doing something with his hands, his own new acrobatic skills extend not just to flexibility but also to his coordination and ability to grasp to walls, adding to and enhancing his own original powers.

Not only that but now he could teleport; though of course, the collar had to be removed from his neck before he could even think of it. The power was different from its donor however, having a slight twist to it. The few times he had 'ported, Todd had left behind him a scent of evergreens and a burst of extra oxygen into the room; it was an interesting experience.

The healing power he had also had instilled into him was something that, while being useful, he hated. You could do nearly anything to the younger mutant and he would heal from it; of course he couldn't heal removed limbs but anything up to that seemed to be fair game. The smallest brotherhood member shuddered as he remembered the training he had received to see just how far his new powers could be taken, and just how much he could heal.

Lance looked up feeling Todd's anxiety and memory through their connection. With a small thought he sent a feeling of reassurance and safety directly to the boy, taxing his concentration but not by much. He could see that it worked, by the grateful look he received and the slight relaxing of Todd's tense shoulders.

Tabby felt the byplay in her own extension of the link and gently added her own calm waves to the link; they were immediately picked up on and all three were calmed by the feelings of security. Finally the door to the bathroom opened and Pietro stepped out wearing a blue turtleneck sweater over a pair of jeans. His hair was loose around his face, the snowy-white waves giving him a softer, slightly more rounded appearance.

As he stepped fully out of the bathroom Todd scooted right behind him and through the open door, closing it quickly behind him. The other teen cast a startled look at the door surprised at the stealth of the youngest member.

He glared at the two teens on the couch when he heard their low chuckles. "Oh yes, let's all laugh at the poor boy with no hair gel."

"Trust me, no hair gel for you is a good look. It makes you look less like HIM and more like yourself," replied Tabby seriously as Pietro plopped down on the bed, carefully folding his legs.

"I fully agree- not to mention it makes you blend in a little more Pietro. We don't exactly want to stand out," agreed Lance as he looked at the two others.

With a 'hmmph' Pietro simply settled down on the bed taking deep breaths and closing his eyes. He couldn't be as hyper or as bipolar as he once had been; his new powers would simply not allow that. He was far too likely to hurt one of the others if he truly let his emotions get out of control.

It had taken him awhile to simply gain the ability to sit still and concentrate, he processed everything so quickly that sitting motionless and thinking about one thing was not something he had ever wanted to do. Now however, he had to, simply for the fact that if he let himself be uncontrolled he could easily skewer his friends with the lovely spikes from a certain 'friend', or drown the city in a rainstorm.

Of course with the collar he was unable to truly do the vast majority of his powers, but he still concentrated everyday so that he could feel the weather around him, feel the ebb and flow of the ecosystem. Not to mention that he hoped the collars wouldn't be on forever, and once they came off he would have to be able to control himself.

As he concentrated he could feel the link they shared humming in the back of his brain, it was a comforting presence that reminded him he was not alone, and that he would not be. There had been several times when he felt like the connection to the others had been the only thing that had kept him going; had kept himself from simply ending it all.

He came out of his center as he heard Todd exit the bathroom quietly. He was dressed in a pair of dark brown corduroys and a green long sleeve, high-necked shirt under a heavier darker green sweater. He was the one who usually got the coldest so both Tabby and Pietro had made sure to buy his clothes in layers and heavy materials.

Once all four of them were in the room Lance stood, grabbing the large duffel bag off the floor, "C'mon, let's get out of here." They left by the back exit, because it was unlikely that they could fool whoever had taken over the next shift that they were actually a country band.

Together they walked down the street and Pietro looked towards the sky, his eyes unfocused for the moment. "It looks like we have a few days of good weather, though it might get a little chilly at night." He looked back down at the others, his eyes refocusing as they continued to walk towards the large bus station at the end of the street.

Once they reached the station Lance stopped and turned to Pietro, "So, are you going to tell us where we're headed, or are you just gonna grab tickets?"

Pietro looked at the other three seriously as he walked up to the window and grabbed the tickets he had purchased the day before. "This will be the last bus to where we're headed. After that we can move our asses out to the coast."

When he got three varying looks of exasperation, he sighed. "I promise I'll answer all your questions when we get there; I just don't want to deal with this shit right now, okay?"

The rest of the group looked at his tired face and stance and merely nodded; they could afford to wait, and this was one of the few people they actually trusted in their lives. With a small grin of appreciation from Pietro, the four headed for the depot to catch their bus.

The ride on the vehicle was quiet; the four received varying suspicious looks from the other passengers and the driver. Lance was concentrating on maintaining his walls in such a contained space and they were all contributing their own walls to blocking out the psychic noise.

Finally, several hours later they arrived at a smaller bus stop and the four disembarked; Lance couldn't fully block a few thoughts from evading his mind.

Punks, at least they finally got off

Good riddance to bad garbage

Losers

They seemed nice

The last thought that filtered through astonished him and he concentrated on it, noticing it came from an older woman that had been sitting across from them. Pietro had offered her his seat since he was on the aisle.

It filled him with some hope for the future, realizing that not everyone looked at them and only saw a few punks.

The three followed Pietro down the block for a short while, until he stopped, glancing up.

Lance turned and saw a large sign looming in front of them, SAMUEL TRUNE SANATORIUM. With a slightly incredulous look he turned to Pietro, "Do you know someone here or are we here to commit you?"

Pietro looked at the sign for a moment, before turning back to his family, a deep look in his eyes, "Yeah, I know someone here. My sister."