Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf here.
We were really excited to see Seta's email- a new chapter! We had thought we'd lost connections with Seta or something. Well, the new chapter is here and the update is awesome. Some nice Maximoff (re)-bonding and some... well, we can't tell you, it'd ruin the surprise. One thing we would like to mention is that we've taken liberties with the whole asylum scene we saw with Pietro and Wanda in the Hex Factor episode- they looked much younger in it, but we've made it so that it had happened only two years before this story. Just in case anyone gets confused by the discontinuity.
Now, to Seta Kaede, who we're sure will explain her lateness (proceeds to turn mic over to Seta to avoid having to answer questions on lateness, though they're well aware of their own often-late updates).
Seta Kaede:
(sighs taking the mike) okay people so here is another chapter; I kinda stopped writing fanfiction for awhile, on all my stories; but I just recently got back into it and this was the result, any future lateness can not be blamed on me! And I am looking forward to where we are going to take the next chapter, just don't wait as long as I did girls! When I rediscovered this chapter I was in shock because it is perhaps one of my favorite chapters that I have done yet, the whole Pietro/Wanda, and I don't mean in a romantic way, yuck. Anyway please read and review!
Review Responses (from Life-of-L.A. & Silverwolf):
WickedWitch: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Yes, the Brotherhood does rock! Thanks, we shall try. It's been 8 months since your review, and we'd like to blame Seta Kaede for the lateness. Just kidding. Really, we can't complain, since the chapter's this good and we were late on our previous turns too. Hope you're still reading!
delinquent in MASSIVE training: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Nice name. Um... we're seven months late, but we did update? Hope we didn't lose your interest, but this is an exciting chapter, so maybe it'll perk up some of the possibly-lost interest. Hope you like the new chapter!
Phire: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Eh, yes, translations. For this Life-of-L.A. will say that Silverwolf does our Spanish stuff, and that she is very fond of the language but hates direct translations and will often not bother with it (not just Spanish, the rest of her five languages as well). So, sorry if it bothered you or made the guys' intelligence decrease in appearance, but we can't guarantee direct translations in the future either. Silverwolf likes writing whatever carries the meaning and has 'nice' syllables in total. Or something. She says. Anyhow, that subject done with, we hope you're still interested after the gap in updating and if so (hopefully), enjoy!
Chapter 4. Reconnections of all Sorts
Lance woke quickly leaving his eyes closed to take in the area around him. The fire crackled, obviously someone had built it up the night before- must have been Wanda. The air was crisp heading towards cold and he knew that Pietro would be able to give them more details once he awoke.
Opening his eyes he noticed that he was the first one awake; directly next to him Tabby was curled up, trying to obviously contain body heat. She would probably be the next one awake.
On the other side of him he saw that Pietro and Todd had curled together in the night, ever since they had started the training sessions with Magneto the two younger mutants had only gotten more dependent on each other. Todd's hands were curled in Pietro's shirt and Pietro had pulled the younger mutant as close to him as possible.
They were secure; neither of them had ever had someone that they could simply be protected with, feel safe curling next to sleep and allow themselves to be vulnerable. Lance smiled sadly as he looked at the two- there was probably no one else in the world that those two would trust that much ever again.
Finally his eyes fell on their newest addition, Wanda Maximoff was leaning against one of the tree trunks towards the edge of camp. She was close enough to be kept warm by the fire but far enough that she would not unconsciously curl up with on one of them.
He sighed, feeling her mind working even from that distance away, there was a distinct difference in someone's mind when they were awake rather then sleeping. Lance could almost always tell now, even without having to try and tax his powers.
She appeared to be sleeping but Lance knew better and he walked over sitting on the ground next to her, "Pretending to be asleep won't really work on me; do you want to talk?"
Wanda opened her eyes looking at him quizzically, before asking him straight out, "Why did you get me out?"
It was a question that had been troubling her nearly all night and she truly wanted an answer for it. There seemed to be no logical reason why these four would come here to get her.
Pietro she could possibly understand but he had abandoned her there two years before, so why was he back? These others had no connection to her at all, and no reason to risk themselves, simply to get her out.
Lance sighed, looking at the sky and giving her the truthful answer, "Because Pietro wanted us to."
A sharp glance confronted Lance when he looked back down, "You mean to tell me that you risked your necks because Pietro wanted me back?"" Her voice took on increasing levels of incredulity as she finished the statement.
She had never been a part of a real family, and the concept of doing something risky or dangerous simply because it was important to someone else was completely foreign. Wanda felt a small tug of jealously deep in her heart at how obviously close they were to each other.
The response was a simple nod, "He's part of the Brotherhood, part of our family, and, by extension, you as well. Not to mention he didn't tell us where we were going until we got here."
Wanda smirked slightly at the last part of the statement; it was just like her bro to do that- definitely cut down on any of the possible questions that could have arisen. "You trusted him enough to simply follow? Not to force an answer or decide you were traveling a different direction?"
"He wouldn't have told us," said Lance simply, "It wouldn't have mattered, what we did. Sure we could of forced the issue but the last thing any of us need, especially those two," he gestured towards Todd and Pietro, "is more strain. Sure, it took us squashing our curiosity, but after everything else, that really was so little to ask."
Wanda looked more closely at the slightly older teen, seeing the dark circles still under his eyes and the exhaustion lines on his face; whatever he had done yesterday had definitely taken more out of him then he had acknowledged previously. "What exactly did you do yesterday- I mean there''s no way your mutation should take that much out of you just for using it."
Pietro stepped out of the shadow of the tree next to him; Lance looked up surprised he hadn't noticed the other teen awakening, "That's where daddy dearest comes in," he spat, viciously tugging down the collar of his shirt slightly, the metal circlet visible above it. "He fucked with our powers, and then put them on a leash. We nearly can't use them at all with this fuckin' collar on, at least the ones that are not intrinsic to the body."
Sitting down he fidgeted nervously looking at Lance; the other teen saw the look and nodded standing, "I better head back and get Tabby and Todd up, it's about time we started moving again, being in one place for too long is a bad idea at the moment."
Lance moved off, leaving the two twins sitting next to one another on the soft grass. Pietro was the first to speak, his voice soft and firm with conviction, "Please just listen to me Wan'."
Wanda looked up as Pietro used her old nickname from when they were much younger; they had lost it among so many other things as they grew older. "You can hex me after I'm done okay?"
Getting a quick nod from his sister Pietro relaxed slightly. "God, I've missed you Wan', you have no idea how many times I've wanted to come and get you, take you away." He laughed bitterly as his voice rang harsh, "I was weak, I couldn't stand up to Magneto and you suffered, I tried so hard to stay strong, to keep going, but he won."
A few tears ran down his face as he looked at his sister, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I know I don't deserve it, but I love you Wan'."
Wanda looked at Pietro seeing the agony in his face and recalling the blank look in his eyes as she had been dragged away. Tears were running down his face and however much she may have wanted to hate him, she couldn't. He was still her brother, her twin, the light to her dark.
She looked up a few tears in her own eyes as she embraced him, whispering in his ear, "I missed you 'Tro."
They weren't perfect, not by a long shot, but the simple hug went a long way towards healing wounds that had been open for far too long. Standing the two walked back to camp watching Lance scatter the ashes of the fire while Tabby gently shook Todd awake and started packing their bags.
The three other teens looked up at seeing the twins walk out from the trees. Tabby gave them a small smile, seeing some of the weight lifted off Pietro's shoulders as he looked at his sister. It was intriguing to look at, they were two sides of a coin- Wanda with her dark blue eyes and black hair and Pietro with his stark white blond and bright blue eyes.
There was a tenuous bond- Lance could feel it as he looked at the two, the kind that could grow with care. It made his lips twitch up slightly as he looked at them; he hoped that they could repair what Magneto had destroyed. They were going to need each other in the coming weeks and months, especially if they didn't manage to reach the coast.
Together they headed back to the main road venturing through the dark woods around them. For a long while they traveled in comfortable silence, but it was eventually broken. Pietro winked at Wanda, and stepping up behind Lance, he quickly blew a light breath of air over his neck, laughing when the older teen jumped.
After the tension was broken, the five teens tried to get to know their newest addition better, their eyes widening when they heard she knew Xavier; hell, that he was a frequent visitor into her head. They watched as she tried to demonstrate her powers, seeing the need for control in her movements, her emotions.
Lance had already started to plan what she would need to know when he stopped, suddenly halting the others with a lift of his hand, scanning the area around them carefully. He gestured at Todd who used his more developed eyes to peer into the darkness, nodding in the direction of the woods to their right.
Slowly the four teens started to move left until a figure appeared from the wood, the figure shifted from that of a wolf to slowly become a white clad Mystique; Lance backed up standing in front of the others as she smirked approaching them. Her smirk temporarily disappeared as she looked at the three boys and the girl who had been living with them.
Suddenly, she noticed Wanda and turned her attention, "Now who have you three managed to pick up on your little travels, hmmmm."
Lance felt both Todd and Pietro shudder behind him, the voice contained shades of Magneto, the threat of menace threaded underneath the words. Lance withheld a wince as he glared at her, "What do you want, Mystique?"
Tapping her foot she looked at him snorting slightly, "What do you think I want; to defeat the X-men, get stronger, create…"
Tabby cut her off harshly before she could finish the sentence, "-create a new world, blah, blah, blah. We've heard this shit before, and it rang as the same hypocritical crap from an egomaniac with dreams of godhood."
Mystique blinked, looking closer at the four teens. They had changed from last time she had been in town. There were the obvious changes, the more obvious muscles and outfits. But there were also some more subtle changes. Each of their bodies were much more tension filled and there weren't any smart aleck remarks filling the air, as they stood there they were deadly silent.
One eyebrow rose as she noticed a rather large absence, "Where is Blob? Stuffing his face?" She asked, a sneer on her face. Almost immediately she caught the flash of pain before cold masks fell over their face.
"As if you don't know. He's dead." Spat Todd, stepping out slightly from behind Lance.
"I'm sure you enjoyed it, watching him scream in pain until his brain couldn't take it anymore and he turned his hands on himself," Pietro hissed, stepping further out, making them all remember the brutal video they had seen of Fred's death. He looked at her, explaining exactly what he remembered.
Flashback
Pietro watched from the corner of the room in horror hearing the screams of pain from Fred as objects flew wildly around the room. This wasn't supposed to happen, he was supposed to have telekinesis and the beams from the goody goodie's brother.
The red beams appeared striking out at random, Pietro crouched lower as Magneto watched from the outside smirking darkly, watching as the various objects exploded or burst apart uncontrollably.
"Father! Please help him!" begged Pietro approaching his father watching the wailing figure on the floor below him. Whirling around Magneto delivered a stinging backhand to his face, sending him to the floor. "What have I told you, you are never to call me that!"
Turning back he smirked again, "If he survives his powers will be well worth any discomfort this may cause, and if he doesn't, no great loss." Magneto chuckled darkly as Sabertooth slunk into the room.
Grabbing Pietro by the back of the neck, he dragged him out, but not before Pietro saw Fred take his hands and turn them to his own chest, the red beams cutting through him. A look of peace passed over his face before his eyes closed, his body slumping to the ground.
Reaching up, Magneto popped two tapes out of the camera above him that had recorded the whole thing. He tossed one to Sabertooth, "Give that to the rest of them." He sneered at Pietro, clearly indicating whom he meant.
Pietro felt himself being dragged out of the room; looking down the last thing he saw was Fred's limp body with a slowly growing red pool underneath him.
End Flashback
Pietro let loose one harsh sob before Tabby pulled him back wrapping her arms around his neck, glaring at Mystique over his shoulder, "Satisfied now, you blue bitch?"
The older mutant stepped back, her eyes glancing back and forth between the teenagers, her mouth slightly gaping open.
Lance stepped forward, his eyes darkening as he glared at the older woman, touching the collar around his neck. "So we left. We're nearly normal stuck in these metal collars, like slaves to Magneto," his eyes softened slightly, noticing that Mystique really hadn't known. "Please leave Mystique- you didn't see us, Wanda was already gone, please, just leave."
Turning, they watched her start to move away quickly; they left in the opposite direction, headed quickly to the road, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and any possible data given to Magneto by Mystique.
Mystique's POV
I felt myself stumbling as I hurried from the forest. What the hell had just happened? I had thought I would just show up and see the same four teenagers I had months ago, but... they were different.
Lance's eyes were so cold, hard as rock, and Pietro was so thin, it was like the next stiff wind would blow him away. Todd was tiny; he was stronger but it was a brittle strength that would crack at the slightest pressure.
This was the first actual meeting I had ever had with the girl, Tabby. I believe and the same strength and coldness I had seen in Lance showed through in her eyes. Her body was held tense and the hand held at her throat had caught my attention because of the black glove that covered it.
Oh God! Their throats! That was no fashion accessory she was wearing…that all four of them had been wearing. Searching back through my memories to where I had seen them before, it hit me hard- they were the inhibiting collars that the Acolytes had stolen the plans for.
Magneto had made them helpless, twisted them and left no line of defense- what the fuck had happened to the teenagers I had left! Were they even still in the coarse and thick shells that I had just seen, or were they gone? I can still hear Lance's words echoing in my mind- "slaves to Magneto"; what else had they had to do, what had they lost in the process?
My thoughts invariably turned to the fact that they had gained new powers... powers that had been stolen from the X-men. I had heard of the reckoning that had occurred at the evolution of Grey's powers- Xavier may have tried to hide the information but students still talk, and I had simply listened closely.
To think that Fred had gone through that, in combination with a power like that of Cyclops's brother was... frightening in the very least. Shaking off the thoughts, my lips narrowed as I turned, heading back to the direction of my transportation. I was getting answers, and there was only one place I could get them- from the Acolytes.
Sitting back in the limo I ordered the driver to head to the base, planning on "discussing" this turn of events with the acolytes. If they hadn't known I would inform them. If they had….
End POV
If there had been another person in the back of the limo, h/she would have trembled at the slow sinister smile that crept across Mystique's face as the limo pulled away from the wooded area.