Hi again its me. Heartsyhawk. This is chapter 2. Hope you like it. As a bit of a warning note, this story will soon begin to play with the emotions and if you don't do to well with a little angst this may not be the best story for you. I am writing this as my second story because I have had a few people tell me "Back in Diapers" is way sweet and to avoid being forced to make you guys' dentists wealthy, I am trying my hand at something that will still be in my style but not quite so cute and agreeable. I was somewhat vague about a few things last chapter. Okay there will be a fair amount of happy sqealiness and I am going to add a garnish of romance amongst the main dish of angstyness. Be on the look out for Kiotr (Kitty/Piotr NOT TOO MUCH DON"T WORRY) Lancitty (Lance/Kitty MY PREFERRED KITTY COUPLE BUT IT WON'T HAPPEN FOR A WHILE) Romy (Rogue/Remy MY FAVORITE PAIRING BUT IT MAY TAKE A WHILE FOR SQUABBLING TO TURN INTO ROMANCE) Tabbietro (Tabitha/Pietro NEVER TRIED THIS BEFORE SO BE PATIENT) Tonda (Toad/Wanda MOSTLY ONE SIDED AND PRETTY MINIMAL) Panda (Pyro/Wanda MAY TAKE A BIT OF TIME BUT DON'T WORRY IT WILL COME) and maybe other tidbits slipped in from time to time. I hope you guys like this new approach to writing that I am trying.
Disclaimer- Lets see a show of hands for who thinks I own the X-men. Nobody? Good. We all understand each other. Now I want a round of applause for EviltwinAlix for putting the idea into my head. I'm writing it but she was going to originally. This is my ideas woven from her idea. Thanks sis I owe ya one.
Pietro woke up to the sounds of a steady beeping and hushed whispers. He felt a sharp pricking in his arm. For a moment he was confused and then he remembered that he had fallen and he supposed he must have blacked out. His arm felt like a needle was stuck in it and he wondered what he had landed on. It was a few moments before he realized he was not on the stairs at all, but tucked into a bed.
He could smell a strong smell of cleaning stuff and medicine. It was overpowering, he realized as he wrinkled his nose. And since when had his room, being next to Toad's, smelt so clean and antibacterial? He opened his eyes to discover that his vision was foggy. He panicked slightly as he couldn't see until his vision slowly came back. He blinked and was met with a set of large ocean blue eyes directly above him. Everything else was blindingly white. He yelped in shock until his vision was restored enough to notice the dark scarlet eye-shadow and the rest of the face that was peering in concern at him.
"Hey Wanda." He said weakly. He was amazed at how pathetic he sounded-not to mention how he felt after just falling down the stairs.
She smiled softly. "Hey Pie, how you feeling?"
"Did-you-get-the-licence-plate-of-the-bus-that-hit-me?" Pietro smiled jokingly. "Cuz-if-you-did-we-gotta-take-that-driver-to-the-cleaners."
Wanda shook her head and then turned to look at somebody Pietro couldn't see from the position he lay in but he presumed it was just Lance or somebody. "Sir? He's awake."
Pietro's face clouded in confusion. Wanda did not address any the Brotherhood that way. She didn't even call her own father sir.
Suddenly he put all the pieces together. "You-took-me-to-the-hospital?" He asked groggily and irritated. Wanda looked away in a look that would have definitely been shame if he saw the look.
Suddenly a blue and fuzzy man came into Pietro's line of sight. "I assure you, Mr. Maximoff, your sister was merely concerned for you. Now how are you feeling?"
Pietro assumed his vision hadn't fully restored yet and his brain felt awfully sluggish so he couldn't identify the new speaker.
"To-be-honest-I-feel-klutzy. You-know-for-falling-down-the-stairs.
I-feel-aggitated-with-my-sister-for-going-paranoid-and-taking-me-to-the-hospital-and-feel-confused
-because-I-only-fell-down-the-stairs-but-I-feel-like-somebody-ran-me-over-with-a-tank-and-backed
-up-only-to-do-it-again-six-times." Pietro said while trying to focus his eyes. "No...I-meant-seven-times."
"Doctor McCoy," a soft Southern voice called into the room gently. "Is he awake yet? Theh's (there is) a few o' us out here who need ta check on 'im."
Pietro smiled, dazed as he realized it was a girl's voice asking about him. And Wanda eyed him curiously.
"Yes my dear. You may invite Toad, Blob, and Avalanche in if they promise not to be disruptive or overly noisy."
Suddenly, Pietro froze. Normal hospitals would address his friends by given name not chosen name. He shook his head gently and recognized the doctor. He turned and recognized the auburn hair and Gothic clothes retreating.
He glare accusingly at his sister. "You brought me to the X-Geeks!" He demanded slowly as if he couldn't fathom the idea.
He frowned fiercely as she looked away. "Did-you-even-consider-me-in-this?" He snapped. "I-can't-believe-you-flipped-out-so-much. Come-on-Wanda-Rose-Maximoff! I-fall-down-the-stairs-and-you-turn-traitor-on-me-and-bring-me-here-of-all-places!"
Wanda sighed and avoided her brother's furious gaze. He glared at her for a few moments until his visitors entered the room. Lance, Toad, and Blob all looked worried out of their skulls.
"Hey Pietro." Lance said softly. "You alright buddy?"
"Lance! How-could-you-of-ALL-people-let-her-bring-me-HERE!" Pietro demanded.
"We were...we were worried Pietro." Lance tried explaining. "You blacked out and stayed unconscious for a long time while we panicked and tried figuring out what to do. You should thank your sister for the idea. When we got you here, you had already had what we guessed to be a seizure and you had woken up for about three seconds to throw up all over the jeep while we were getting you in."
Pietro snorted as if he didn't believe it. "I'll-bet-this-is-just-a-plot-for-you-to-rejoin-the-X-men."
Lance looked highly offended. "Pietro, despite the differences between us I know this is the last place you'd want to be. Trust me I wouldn't bring you here if it wasn't an emergency."
Pietro scowled and surveyed his surroundings carefully. He could not understand that his very best friends and his own twin sister had dragged him off to the X-geek's manor. He frowned at his arm and tried to tug out the cord that was leading into his arm.
"Careful now Pietro," McCoy warned as he put a large blue hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't pull out that IV or it will be more tediously painful than it is now." Pietro frowned in response.
"What-is-the-problem-with-all-of-you?
I-take-one-lousy-fall-and-I'm-being-treated-like-a-porcelin-doll-in-the-doctor's-lab-or-whatever
-the-heck-this-is? I've-got-machinery-all-around-me, a-freaking-IV-in-my-arm-and-my-sister-is-paranoid."
Doctor McCoy sighed softly. "Pietro, it isn't simply the fall. When your sister frantically called us, you were convulsing and shaking and twitching. You threw up in Lance's jeep on the way over and well...falling down the stairs doesn't do that to a person. It just doesn't."
Pietro laughed bitterly.
"I-haven't-had-a-seizure-since-I-was-four.
And-if-I-did-throw-up-it-was-becuase-I-was-nauseas-from-going-into-Toad's-slimy-discusting
-room. Come-to-think-of-it-that's-probably-why-I-passed-out-too." He
shot his teammate an annoyed look. "Tolansky,
first-thing-when-we-get-home-you-are-cleaning-up-that-hazard-zone-you-call-a-bedroom."
"Maybe..." McCoy said thoughtfully. "I'm researching into it as we speak."
"Don't be mad at Wanda, yo." Toad said earnestly to Pietro. "She was really freaking out and worried about you, man." The younger boy seemed to develop confidence as he spoke. "Plus, it was all of us who agreed. Be mad at all of us but not your sister, yo. I never seen her that panicky or upset." Toad glanced quickly at Wanda who frowned slightly.
"Yeah man, she was just scared and worried about you." Blob said gently. "I guess you could...uh...be mad at me. I'm the one who got you in and out of the jeep."
Pietro frowned. "Okay. So-you-guys-worried-and-freaked-out. Okay, lets-go-home-and-this-whole-thing-will-be-over-with-and-we-can-go-back-to-our-normal-lives." He started to rise and was a little stunned when Beast gently but firmly pushed him back down.
"Young man, I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to leave that bed, let alone this mansion after the ordeal you just went through and until I have discovered the cause." Doctor McCoy smiled in hopes to comfort the boy.
"Ordeal!" Pietro scowled. "Why-am-I-surrounded-by-you-worry-warts? I-fall-down-the-stairs-and-was-out-for-what? Half-an-hour? And-that's-an-ordeal? Man-the-X-geeks-really-are-coddled."
Hank McCoy looked in shock at the scowling seventeen-year-old over his spectacles.
"My dear boy...you were unconscious for more than half an hour...do you have any clue as to what time it currently is?" Pietro shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't care. "Pietro, you were unconscious for aproxamately six hours." He said in an even tone.
The whole room watched as this tidbit of information soaked into Quicksilver's brain. He looked stunned and shocked. He shook his head as if he could not believe it.
"What time is it?" He asked so stunned he spoke as a normal person. Which was VERY slow for him.
"Two thirty four." McCoy said gently. "Your sister and your teammates brought you into the mansion at precisely eight thirty this morning."
Pietro blinked his stormy blue eyes in surprise. Well it did make sense, Toad had burst into his room at about six. And he spent two hours in the bathroom. "Woah." He said softly.
"Yes. Do you now see the cause for concern?" McCoy seemed to be pleading with the boy. "Your friends and most especially your sister were terrified that it was already too late when they got you here. This is more than just merely falling down the stairs due to klutziness or diziness from Toad's bedroom."
Pietro frowned and absently played with the hem of his tee-shirt. Well, it wasn't his really. He presumed one of the X-Geeks had donated it for the cause as it was too clean to have ever been near the Brotherhood Boarding House.
"What-happened-to-my-clothes?" He asked impatiently, trying to ignore the issue at hand.
"You spewed last night's dinner on em yo." Toad replied casually. "Well, you also managed to get Wanda, me, and the interior of Lance's backseat covered too."
Wanda grimaced at Toad's lack of tact or subtely. Pietro focused on her enough to see that she was wearing a familiar black tank top and pair of ripped blue jeans. He turned sharply to Toad and noticed the boy sporting a look Pietro had never seen except on ice-man, Bobby Drake.
"Wow-you're-a...you're-a...prep!" Pietro snickered. Toad didn't look too happy. Pietro turned to Wanda. "And-you-still-look-Gothic-and-creepy-so-I'm-guessing-you-borrowed-from-Rogue."
"Yeah, well, we couldn't exactly leave them looking or smelling that way." McCoy said wisely. "So we found a few team members who were pretty close in sizes and they agreed to let you all borrow an outfit until yours return from the laundry." The blue doctor smiled.
"Okay, so-Ice-Pick-lent-to-Toad. Rogue-shared-with-Wanda, who'd-I-get?"
"Well, don't you worry about that..." McCoy smiled. "The person who lent you your current outfit is no longer residing with us on a permanent basis."
Pietro frowned suspiciously and tried to mentally match the mansion's residents with his general body size to see if he could figure out who it was or could possibly be. Without moving, he couldn't see too much of the pattern, but the shorts were loose fitting and the shirt too. Then he groaned. Two possibilities had just hit him and they weren't too friendly.
"It-would-be-bad-enough-to-have-you-tell-me-I-am-not-wearing-either-Nightcrawler-or
Berserker's clothes.
But-I-will-pay-any-amount-of-money-or-anything-if-you-just-tell-me-I'm-not-wearing-the-garments
-worn-by-Evan-Daniels-please! Lie-if-you-have-to!" He begged.
"I cannot tell a lie." McCoy smiled ruefully and Pietro groaned in dismay. "You and Spyke are rather close in size. And surely your little grudge doesn't apply to his clothes as well?"
Pietro scowled. "I-want-to-go-home. Toad-your-room-is-now-second-priority. First-I-am-going-to-peel-off-all-the-skin-that-touched-these-nasty-clothes. Then-I-am-going-to-take-a-long-shower-in-hopes-of-decontaminating-myself."
Beast smiled and shook his head. Quicksilver was acting about nine years old with his stubbornness.
"I assure you, Pietro, the feeling is mutual. When asked permission, young Evan replied that you could borrow an outfit as long as we burned it the second you were done wearing it." Beast smirked. He then returned to his computer analysis reports of Pietro's condition.
The boy fidgeted uncomfortably. "So...did-I-miss-anything-in-six-hours?" He asked his friends and his sister.
Blob shrugged. "They gave us lunch."
Lance and Pietro exchanged an eyeroll. Lance smiled. "Well, Toad got thrown through the wall for attempting to kiss Wanda."
Pietro scowled at Toad. "Will-you-ever-leave-her-alone?"
Toad shook his head. "Just tried to cheer her up. Usually girls like being comforted when their that stressed out." He winced and rubbed his arm. "Well, yo, maybe Wanda's different. She packs quite the punch when she wants to. Threw me through a steel door, yo!"
Wanda shrugged and Pietro chuckled. "Anything-else?" He asked Lance and his sister. "Did-you-see-Pryde?"
Lance frowned bitterly and Wanda sighed.
"Yeah, we saw Kitty. She was on the way out the door for a date with Colossus. Best not to talk about that though."
Pietro rolled his eyes. "Okay...so...I-am-bored-out-of-my-skull-and-I-want-to-go-home-now!" He whined.
Beast sighed. "Be patient Pietro." Suddenly he swallowed and his eyes widened. "Oh no...This isn't good...not at all!" He turned to a small intercom mounted on the wall. "Charles I need you. We have a...situation here regarding Mr. Maximoff. Get anybody with any medical experience down to the med-lab ASAP. I can only hope I am wrong with what I just discovered..."
He turned busily away from Pietro and ran the scan again. "Please, for once in my life...let me be wrong." He begged softly.
"What! What-is-it!" Pietro asked franticly. "What'd-you-discover?"
Wanda looked nervously at the doctor's grim expression. "What's wrong sir?" She asked in a pleading tone.
Hank McCoy turned bitterly to the group of hushed teens. "Pietro, unless I am very much mistaken, the cells in your brain and your body are rather rapidly beginning to deteriorate and collapse."
Okay there is chapter two of this new story. This will all be explained in the next chapter. Review and tell me how I am doing with. This is not going to be as long as "Back in Diapers" so neither will the chapters.
Ok now I know I am going to get a lot of people high strung with this so this is a warning to those of you who don't tolerate bad news too well this story is slightly (okay I am not going to lie; a lot) darker and angstier than BID. Those of you who know me well enough should be able to predict the style of ending and EviltwinAlix will keep her mouth shut kindly.
chapter 2 completed August 12 2004