Before I start this chapter I'd like to take the time to gush praise for my inspiring fans. A special thanks to my signed reviewers: my-foot's-asleep, bant, Kernl Toad Sandrz and

S. Mark Gunther- I'll be sure to beat Pietro up a few more times just for you. I'll keep in mind your runaway idea.

morring star- Yes, there will be a point where Todd meets Flood.

Silenttiger43- Thanks, your enthusiasm is inspiring.

And a thanks to the anon. reviewers: D.A. Jersey Devil, Aaron, and

Boo- I guess there's no point in hiding it, yes the twin brothers are mutants. I'm just not exactly sure how to fully bring about their powers. But I'm working on it.

Anony- I'm sorry if the characters are "out of wack". I'll try to keep them in character more.

Okay, here's the next chapter!

Bad Medicine

Pietro sat slumped over the bar table. He had just finished his third drink and his mind was starting to go into a haze. Earlier he had been in his room listening to his music, extremely loudly. That is until Lance got so annoyed he took his cassette tape and smashed it to pieces. Pietro was extremely angry and the two yelled at each other for a bit until Pietro got fed up and left the house. So now here he was.

"Hello Pietro."

He looked at the girl who had sat next to him and blinked. "Serena? What are you doing here?"

She looked at him quizzically. "What are you doing here?"

"Bastards at home." Pietro muttered.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked.

"Not with you."

"Aw, now that's not very nice."

"Being nice has never gotten me anywhere so why bother?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I try to be nice and yet when I get just a little suspicious they treat me like I'm the bad guy."

"Poor thing," she said in what sounded like mock sympathy. "You've just been knocked around by everyone haven't you?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "And I'm sick of it. I just want a little respect."

"I know what you mean," She said darkly. "You feel confused. Here you are left out of the loop wondering what's going on. You don't know and you're angry because everyone else does."

"That's exactly how I feel," He said.

She tugged at his arm. "Come on."

"Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"I want to talk to you and it's a little crowded in here," Her eyes shifted to a group of men leering at her.

"Fine," he said.

"Follow me," She dragged him out of the bar and into an empty alleyway.

Pietro looked around, confused. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

He looked at her, half-inquiring, half-amused, and then whatever he saw in her eyes drove the amusement from his expression. He caught his breath, and she saw the pulse at the base of his throat begin to pound, his blood stirring as hers did. For a moment, she stood there, unsure. Her body trembled when she looked at him, as if it knew things she didn't know. Despite all her uncertainties she pulled him close, hard against her, and kissed him. She pressed her lips down hard on his as if trying to invoke something. Pietro had frozen the moment she had kissed him, and she had been sure for a second that he would push her away, but then his hands had gone to her waist and he pulled her closer to him.

He had almost pushed her away. He was ready to. He had even placed his hand on her shoulder so that he could keep her from getting any closer. He could even somehow tell that this girl, no matter how much she looked like her, wasn't Serena. But he was searching for some kind of relief. He needed medicine for his pain, confusion, and frustration, and here she was offering it to him. And maybe if he hadn't been slightly buzzed at the time he might've been able to successfully reject her attempts to seduce him. But at that point in time he just couldn't.

Whatever misgivings he might have had, they no longer showed. He caught her by the shoulders and kissed her back fiercely. There was something messy and unguarded about the desperation of the way Pietro clutched at her, his hands tight around her arms. It was a clash of teeth and tongues and kisses like bites. They didn't even notice the small figure that had stood in the opening of the alleyway and then quickly left without a word.

When Serena had first kissed Todd, Flood had been watching them, dormant and unfamiliar with this show of affection. Ever since she wanted to know what it was like to feel. She had never kissed Todd but she knew that if she did it would not be like this. This was kissing a stranger, or a near-stranger; every touch of his lips on hers sent bolts of fearful excitement zinging through her nerve endings. She had even felt sorry when she suddenly broke of the kissing and walked over to one of the trash cans and picked up an empty coke bottle. She did not want to for some strange reason, but she couldn't let him remember.

Pietro was confused when the girl had just pushed him away. A storm had been building up in his head and it had all of the sudden stopped without warning. He did not have time to react when the girl approached him with a glass bottle in her hand. It made a dull thud when it came in contact with Pietro's head but the pain was blinding and he blacked out.

Meanwhile two police officers were driving steadily along the road. The one driving saw Pietro lying on the sidewalk unconscious. "Hey isn't that the kid who's always causing trouble?"

The other peered out the window. "Yeah, let's get him." They stopped their car and walked over to Pietro's limp body.

"The kid's been drinking," The officer said getting a whiff of alcohol.

"We'd better take him in." The two of them carried Pietro's body to the car and drove off. The girl in the alleyway watched for a moment before silently walking off.

I'm going on summer vacation pretty soon so I might not be posting for awhile. But I'll be hard at work in the meantime so stay tuned!