At seven o'clock sharp, Peter was out of his bedroom and racing down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. As he zoomed downstairs, Peter caught Scott walking down the hall. "Hey, Shades," Peter said, pausing a bit and falling into step beside Scott. "You know, your hair's getting kind of long. I think you need a haircut."
Scott glanced at Peter. "Are you volunteering?"
"No, but you could ask Red. I'm sure she'd be up for it."
Scott blushed a bit and glared over at him. "Shut up, Pete. Say anything like that to Red and I just might tell Erik a bit about you when you're not around."
Peter's eyes narrowed a bit. "Come on, it was a joke. I'm just giving you suggestions," Peter said, punching Scott a bit harshly on the shoulder. Then he was off and in the kitchen. He found only Raven and Erik in the dining room, but other mutants would soon appear.
Peter listened to Raven's and Erik's small talk as he made himself a dozen fried eggs then sat down with a gallon of orange juice and two dozen doughnuts. Too bad there wasn't any bacon in the fridge. "Morning Magnet, Blue. What were you guys talking about?"
Raven shrugged. "Nothing much."
Peter was about to take a bite of a doughnut when the same smell he'd smelled before on Raven hit him. "Blue, do you always wear perfume?"
Raven scratched her arm, then shrugged. "Maybe you just haven't noticed it."
Peter couldn't help grinning. "I think somebody else needs to, first."
Raven glared daggers at Peter, but Peter casually avoided her stare and ate another three doughnuts. "So, Magnet, you used to live in Poland, right?"
Erik took a thin sip of the Earl Grey tea he always brewed himself each morning, nodding
"Was it nice living there?"
Erik's eyes clouded for a moment. "It was beautiful."
"Yeah? Did you have any family up there?"
Erik took another sip of tea, and Peter thought he saw Erik's hand trembling. "Yes, I did."
Peter nodded, feeling that he was charting dangerous territory. For a moment, he paused. Then Erik's hand stopped shaking, and Peter asked another question, despite the fact that he already knew the answer. "What'd you do there?"
"Worked at an iron foundry."
"I'll bet your powers came in handy," Peter said, laughing a bit.
Erik stiffened, and suddenly the light fixture over in the kitchen began to bend and twist out of shape. A few light bulbs exploded. Peter blinked in shock, then attempted to change the subject, realizing that he'd gone too far. "My powers came in handy when I wanted to race around the world and . . . " Peter glanced at Erik briefly, "ask where my dad was. That's how I learned Polish and German."
Raven was on the edge of her seat, and Peter was as well as Erik continued breathing hard. Finally, after several moments, Erik relaxed. He blinked once and looked at Peter. "Did anyone know where your father was?"
Peter shook his head. "No one knew. I guess he was lying low."
"Smart man. Mutants always have to stay in hiding," Erik said a bit callously.
Peter remained silent for a few minutes as he finished his gallon of orange juice and leaped up to get a can of pop. Taking a drink, Peter drew his finger around the rim of the can for a moment to steel his resolve before asking another question. "So . . . ever had a son?"
Erik frowned. "No."
Peter ate another doughnut to steel his gumption. "Ever think about what'd be like to have one?"
Erik glanced over at Peter, and it seemed to Peter that Erik kept his eyes on him for quite a long while. "Somewhat."
Peter glanced at Raven, wondering if she was giving him away subconsciously. But Raven merely kept her head down, not giving any indication that she had any idea what Peter was talking about.
"Yeah. My mom's got a son," Peter said. Then he laughed. "Well, me. Of course."
Erik blinked casually. "What's your name again?"
Peter frowned. Had his father forgotten already? Hadn't they been around each other for the past . . . what, three weeks? How could he forget? "It's Peter," he said, a bit frustrated.
"And your last name?"
"Maximo—" Peter slapped a hand over his mouth and blinked. What was wrong with him? His brain could move much faster than his mouth, but he was still speaking before thinking! "Maximum," he corrected. "It's Maximum. Yeah, that's it, all right." Peter looked over at Erik, and he could've sworn that he'd seen Erik's eyes narrow as he took another sip of tea. Whatever.
Wait a second, was Raven laughing?! Peter glared over at her, but she returned to her breakfast with no words on the subject. Well, at least Scott wasn't here.
"Hey, Pete!"
Dang it.
Scott made himself a sandwich and sat down next to Peter, and Peter gave Scott a warning glance as Scott began joining in on the conversation. Even though he'd made a passing comment about Jean just a few minutes previously, if Scott dared to bring up anything about why he and Erik had been spending so much time toge—
"Hey, do you always drink that tea in the morning?" Scott asked.
"Every day," Erik said, taking another drink.
"Is that a Poland thing?" Scott asked.
"No, it's a me thing."
Scott nodded, then turned to Peter. "So, Pete, how come you didn't do that rip thing to any of the Sentinels last night when they had me cornered?"
Peter shrugged, eating another doughnut. "Thought you could handle yourself, Shades. But if you need my help . . . "
"I don't need your help," Scott said.
"Then I'll just speed past you and let you deal with the Sentinels yourself."
"Maybe I'll hit you with my powers on the way just out of spite," Scott said.
"Like you could catch me," Peter said, smirking. "I'm the fastest person in the world. No one could catch me."
"Really?" Erik asked, setting his tea down. "What's your top speed per second?"
Peter turned to his father, surprised at the question. He shoved another doughnut into his mouth before answering. "All the way around the world, Magnet. Twenty-four thousand miles."
Erik nodded, then took another sip. "I'd like to test out your speed, Peter. Would you be interested in a training exercise tomorrow morning?"
Peter gasped, his heart leaped, and he nearly jumped up in excitement. Training with his father? Was this for real?! "Would I? Sure! Of course! What'll we be doing? What'll I be doing? What'll you be doing? When do I need to get up?"
"Five in the morning," Erik answered.
Raven and Scott audibly groaned at the thought, but Peter only nodded. "All right. I'll be up. I'll be ready. What'll we be doing?"
But Erik didn't answer. He simply finished his tea, rose, and clapped Peter on the shoulder. "Meet me outside on the running track. See you then." After that, Erik left the room.
Peter turned back to his breakfast and devoured his remaining doughnuts in less than two seconds. He glanced over at Raven and grinned, then looked at Scott and did the same thing. Then, wanting to burn off his excitement, Peter placed his ear buds in his ears, played "Living on a Prayer" and raced around the world six times, taking his sweet time at the wall of China before returning to the mansion and sitting back down at the dining table. He wondered what they would be doing; how they would be training. Erik had said that he wanted to test Peter's speed, but what did that mean? It couldn't be a race; Erik would lose no doubt. Would they be using some of Hank's technology? Or would it not be a test of physical speed at all? Would it instead be a battle of wit to test out Peter's mental speed in the realms of logic and intelligence? Whatever it was, Peter couldn't wait to find out.
Nightcrawler appeared in the room then, and Scott was so startled that he dropped his sandwich in his lap.
"Nice going, Shades," Peter laughed. "That was the highlight of my day right there."
"Come on, Pete!" Scott complained, picking up his sandwich and not even bothering to clean up his soiled clothes. "You're certainly fast enough! Why didn't you catch that?"
Peter put his hands behind his head. "You said you didn't need my help. Remember? Remember, Shades?"
"Did I do someving wrong?" Kurt asked, using his tail to grab an apple from the fridge before teleporting over to Raven's side.
"Not at all, Circus," Peter said. "In fact, I should give you a standing ovation."
Kurt blinked. "Is vat a compliment?"
"You bet it is," Peter said.
Kurt nodded, grinning and showing a row of pointy teeth. "Vank you, Peter!" Before eating his apple, Kurt recited a bit of Psalms 23, then devoured his snack. "Are you and Erik getting avong?"
"Yup," Peter said, raising his eyebrows briefly as he got a dozen hamburgers from the fridge and sat back down. "We're going to do some training tomorrow morning."
"Vat is wonderful," Kurt said. "I never knew mine father."
"Lots of us didn't," Raven said. "You're actually pretty lucky to find him, Peter."
"And he doesn't even know about it, does he?" Scott asked.
Peter shook his head. "My mom never told him."
"Well, with a personality like that, I'm not surprised," Scott said. "He'd destroy the core of the earth itself if you got him mad enough."
"And I could move you fast enough so the molecular bonds holding your body together would break," Peter said.
"If I didn't vaporize you first."
"Like you could catch me."
"Wanna bet?"
"You're lucky I'm in such a good mood, Shades," Peter said. "Or else you might find yourself covered in water straight from the Arctic Ocean."
"I'm singing a song of thanks, all right," Scott said, finishing his sandwich. Then Scott reached over and punched Peter on the shoulder. "It's great that you and your dad are getting along, Pete. For real. My dad didn't like mutants very much."
"That's too bad, Shades," Peter said, grabbing a chocolate bar from the cabinet and giving half of it to Scott.
"Growing up in the circus allowed me no time to vink of my parents," Kurt said. "I never knew either von of vhem."
"At least your acrobat skills are on par with Blue's," Peter said. Hearing approaching footsteps, Peter glanced near the kitchen doorway and nudged Scott. "Hey, Shades, look who it is."
Scott glanced over his shoulder and blushed when he saw Jean enter the room. He looked down at his dirty clothes and frowned. "Man," he muttered, "she can't see me like this!"
"Hey, don't worry; I got it," Peter said. Instantly, Peter and Scott were standing out of Scott's room, and Scott, after recovering from his nauseous spell, gave Peter a grateful glance before disappearing into his room to change. Peter had time to run around the world fifteen times before Scott emerged again, now dressed in clean clothes and even smelling a bit of
cologne.
"Knock 'em dead, bro," Peter said, punching him on the shoulder.
Scott winced at the hit, then rubbed his shoulder. "Lighten up, will you? I don't want my
arm broken."
Peter supported Scott's neck, and in an instant they were back in the kitchen. Scott staggered forward, supporting himself on the counter as he recovered. "Just don't move, man," Peter said. "It helps to get over it faster."
Scott inhaled sharply, then glanced at Peter and nodded. After he recovered, Scott sat next to Jean and Peter sat opposite them beside Raven and Kurt. Almost immediately, Jean's head shot up and she looked at Peter.
"You and your dad are getting along well," Jean said, smiling. "I'm glad."
"Yeah, it's cool," Peter said casually, grabbing a bag of chips from the cabinet. "Hey, Static."
Ororo glanced over at Peter as she entered the room, pouring herself a glass of orange juice and joining the team. "Yeah?"
"It's not going to rain tomorrow morning, is it?"
"I don't think so," Ororo said. "Why do you ask?"
"Me and my dad are going to do some training," Peter said, and he caught the glance that everyone passed around the room. "Just wanted to make sure we wouldn't be rained out."
"Your skies will be clear, Peter," Ororo said. "Don't worry."
"Cool," Peter said, finishing his bag of chips. Then, wanting to see what Charles was doing since he hadn't appeared for breakfast, Peter was off. He raced through the mansion and found Erik and Charles outside, immersed a game of chess. Peter stopped behind his father, glancing over Erik's shoulder and inspecting his father's side of the board before racing around the table and inspecting Charles' as well. Then Peter zipped away to grab a popsicle from the freezer before returning to his spot behind Erik.
"Erik, I think you have a shadow," Charles said.
"Quite a fast shadow," Erik said.
"You want a popsicle, Magnet? There's also ice cream. Or some chips," Peter said, zipping twice around their table before stopping.
"I'm fine, Peter," Erik said, capturing one of Charles' pawns with his own.
"You sure you're not hungry?"
"No, thanks, but I can see that you are," Erik said.
"I'm always hungry," Peter said. "I'm gonna go eat. Want to come? Come on, want to come? Wanna come? All you had was tea. You can't actually be full, Magnet."
"I've seen enough of your eating habits already," Erik said. "I'm fine."
Peter shrugged, then turned to Charles. "What about you, Baldy? Do you want anything? Anything?"
"I'd like some hair," Charles said.
"Nope, sorry, Wheelchair. Can't give that to you." Then Peter caught Erik's eye and grinned. "Beat him. You've got hair."
"I'll keep that in mind," Erik said, capturing another one of Charles' pawns.
Peter nodded then was off, racing to China and eating at four Chinese restaurants before deciding to pick up a book in Chinese on how to play chess. He could read the language fairly well by now. He had spent two years in China, after all. Taking a bamboo-woven chair with him, Peter returned to the mansion, sitting down next to Erik and busying himself with reading through his book. He didn't want to spend the next hour quizzing his father; that was a one-way ticket to becoming very annoying. So he'd get even better at chess instead.
"Is that . . . Chinese?" Charles asked.
"Yup. Just picked it up," Peter said. "I learned Chinese while looking for my father."
"How long were you searching for your father?" Erik asked as he moved again.
"About ten years."
"That's quite a long time."
"Tell me about it," Peter said.
"Then you just gave up?" Erik asked, glancing at Peter.
"No, I figured Charles here, with his round brain-thingy, could help me find him," Peter said.
"Yes, Charles is good at locating people and getting inside their heads," Erik said, a bit drily.
"And you're quite brilliant yourself, in the art of crippling people," Charles said.
Peter turned back to his book and continued reading, keeping half an eye on the chess game.
"Did you manage to locate your father with Charles' help?"
"Yup," Peter said, not really paying much attention as he continued reading.
"Really? What was your father's name?" Erik asked.
"Erik," Peter answered. Then, blinking and realizing his mistake, Peter struggled to correct himself. "Erik with a c," he said quickly.
Erik paused and began frowning, his hand stilled on a bishop.
"Yeah, he had the power of flight," Peter said casually, clapping a hand over his mouth when he realized his mistake. Now Erik was looking right at him with a calculated stare. Peter, looking back at Erik, didn't know what to do or say. Had he been caught?
"Erik, I wanted to ask you something," Charles said, jumping in to interrupt at the perfect time. "A few weeks ago when you fought with the students in the danger room, you managed to obtain a fairly large piece of metal to take down the Sentinels. Where did you get that metal from?"
Erik finally turned away from Peter. "When I was working with Apocalypse, he showed me a way to get metal out of the ground itself. I did the same thing with the walls of the danger room."
"Fascinating," Charles said. "And now you're able to extract metal from anything?"
"That's subjective," Erik said. "I probably couldn't obtain any metal from a toothbrush, but the earth has quite a few metals that I'm able to extract."
Peter kept his attention on the book he was reading, not daring to say anything more. Stupid! Stupid! Why had he said those things?! Had he just told Erik the truth; had he given himself away? And if so, what did that even mean if he did?
But Erik didn't seem to be reacting as Charles had when Peter told him. Peter began to relax; maybe Erik still didn't know. If that were the case, Peter could thank his lucky legs. He'd made quite a few slip-ups already. It was practically a miracle that Erik, apparently, didn't know the truth yet. Peter wanted to keep it that way, at least for a little bit longer.
"Check," Charles said.
Erik sighed. "How am I supposed to concentrate with Peter practicing his Chinese?"
Peter, who'd been in the middle of mumbling out a Chinese character that he didn't understand, closed his mouth.
"Is that going to be your excuse when you lose?" Charles asked.
The two began arguing, and Peter brought the book closer to his face to hide a grin. Not only was his relationship to Erik still a secret, but he'd struck gold just a half hour ago. Tomorrow morning, he and his father were going to train! For real! How cool was that?!
