Erik was getting tired of awkward road trips, but he was glad that they were at least doing something, headed somewhere, making progress in finding Pietro. Fortunately, Mila was awake and along for this drive because it kept the conversation civilized and fairly harmless, as she often steered the conversation, mostly discussing her favorite books, princesses, and activities to do with her siblings.

But even with Erik's insistence, it had taken longer than he would've liked to get on the road; however, finally they had made it back to D.C. and to the train station and where they were now playing the waiting game, waiting and hoping that Wanda's train would arrive soon.

Mila was a little ways away from the adult trio, playing some hand-clapping game with a couple of other children who were also waiting with their families for a train to arrive or perhaps depart, so Hank, Charles, and Erik were able to talk without being concerned with what was said around little ears.

"So what exactly is our plan here?" asked Hank. "Three adult men are just going to go corner a teenage girl as she gets off the train? It seems like that might not be the best idea."

"We don't exactly paint a picture of fear, Hank. You're not quite what I would call intimidating upon first appearances when not in your mutant form, and I know I look extremely threatening in my wheelchair and sweater." said Charles sarcastically.

"Well what about Erik?" asked Hank. "He doesn't exactly radiate friendliness, even if you're her father, she doesn't know that, and I'm pretty sure your illegitimate child isn't going to welcome you with open arms, even if we're able to talk to her long enough to unveil that piece of information."

"You're forgetting that Mila is here, Hank. She'll collaborate our story, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may. And don't go around implying that my children are bastards, Hank. They're completely legitimate, and I won't have you or anyone else degrading them in that way." growled Erik, his eyes hardening and taking a step closer toward Hank.

"Whoa, relax, Erik. I'm not judging, and I didn't mean to insult them or you. Are you saying you're married? I just assumed—"

"That's right, you assumed, and—"

"Would you two knock it off please." said Charles, cutting Erik off. "If you'd been paying attention and had gotten a little sleep like I suggested Erik, you might've been attentive enough to notice that Wanda's train is arriving."

Sure enough, as Erik and Hank became aware of what was happening around them, they both heard the tell tale sound of a train whistle approaching and as Erik focused on the metal in the area, he felt the metal locomotive draw near. An announcement was made over the speakers in the station as well: 'Train 5972 arriving from Chicago.'

"Mila." Erik motioned for Mila to join them before the inevitable rush of people arrived and got off the train.

"Is this Wanda's train? Is she here? Is she?" Mila asked excitedly as she rushed over to join the group.

"Yes. It appears to be." replied Erik. "Do you sense her Charles?"

"Yes and no." answered Charles. "I can definitely tell she is on the train, but her mind and power is so chaotic and overwhelming; I can't pinpoint her precisely."

It looked like they'd have to find Wanda the old fashion way. The three men and Mila scanned the crowd of people exiting the train, trying desperately to locate Wanda before she disappeared into the city.

He was just beginning to lose hope when Erik spotted her. He was unable to react for a moment. She looked so beautiful and so like her mother that it was jarring. She was wearing dark jeans and black combat boots with a muted red leather jacket over a plain black t-shirt. Her auburn hair blew almost ethereally around her face. Of course, Erik had seen photos of her back at the Maximoff household, one of which had been fairly recent and now resided in his jacket with the other photos, but it wasn't the same as seeing her in person.

She looks so strong, just like her mother. God, I missed so much of her life.

As Wanda started to walk away from the group and toward the exit, Erik woke up from his shock and said, "There. I see her." Then he began to follow her, not waiting to see if the other three were following him.

He walked quickly navigating through the crowd trying to get closer to his daughter. He saw her exit through the front of the station, and he was forced to jog a bit to keep her in sight.

Erik was going to call out to her, but he was afraid she would run away or that the same people that took his son were watching for her and he didn't want to make it obvious who she was.

So Erik walked a little bit faster, closing the gap between him and his daughter. The crowd had finally grown sparser, but he probably would have lost her in the darkness of the D.C. night if she had not been wearing the red jacket. Erik said a quick pray of thanks for his children's interesting fashion choices.

Finally, Erik caught up to her, and placed a hand on her should to get her attention, which in hindsight, probably wasn't a good idea.

As soon as Erik touched her, Wanda whipped around and punched him square in the nose. Erik staggered. Fortunately, Wanda's punch wasn't quite as forceful as Charles' so he was able to remain on his feet, but his nose still stung something fierce, and he wouldn't have been surprised if it started bleeding.

"Why are you following me pervert?!" Wanda demanded.

Struck again by how much she looked like her mother, Erik found himself at a loss for words, but he was saved by a call behind him.

"Wanda!" Mila cried out happily running past Erik and into an extremely surprised Wanda. Charles and Hank approached the group a second or two later.

"Mila? Oh it's so good to see you, munchkin. I missed you so much. Are you alright? What are you doing out here? Who are these people, Mila?" Wanda asked returning the small girl's hug and then grasping her hand tightly in her own.

"I missed you too Wanda! Why'd you ever go away? Awful things happened while you were gone." Mila sniffled "Mommy…and Pietro…" the little girl began to cry.

Realizing her little sister was too distraught to answer, Wanda pulled the little girl close then looked defiantly at the three men in front of her.

"Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on, or trust me, you will all regret that you didn't." she said furiously

"Wanda, my name is Charles Xavier. This is Dr. Hank McCoy, and this is…Erik Lehnsherr."

"Lensherr…why does that seem so familiar…wait! You're that crazy escaped prisoner and mutant from the news! What the hell are you doing with my little sister?! And where's my aunt and brother? I sensed…I mean they wouldn't let Mila go out with strangers, let alone a wanted criminal!"

"Please, Wanda, try to keep your voice down." said Charles glancing around, but luckily there were few people left in the area. "That's why we came to find you, Wanda." Charles continued. "Something has happened, involving your family."

"What do you mean?" asked Wanda coolly. "Tell me what's happened!"

"Someone has taken your brother, Wanda, and we believe you may be able to find him." replied Charles.

The three men saw fear in the teenager's eyes at that statement, but she quickly put on a mask of anger. "What are you talking about. You're lying. How could you know that? What do any of you have to do with my family?"

"Wanda." said Erik, speaking for the first time. "It's true. I found Mila at your house after Pietro was taken and your aunt she…I'm sorry Wanda, but she was killed."

At this, Wanda glanced down at Mila for confirmation, who nodded silently through her tears.

"Why?" asked Wanda her voice wavering slightly. "Why would someone kill my aunt and take my brother? Who took him? Why do you three know all this? And why were you at my house?" Wanda asked looking directly at Erik.

"I…your brother and I, I mean…well were going to go look for you." replied Erik.

"What?! How would my brother even know you?"

"Uh…well…he may have helped break me out of prison…"

"WHAT!? Oh my God. What was he thinking? You know what, I don't even care." said Wanda her voice strong once more. "I just want to know where my brother is and that he's okay. You said I could help you find him. How? And why should I trust any of you? You could have easily kidnapped my little sister and tricked her into thinking someone else took Pietro."

Charles and Hank glanced at Erik. Wanda's question of trust reminded them a great deal of there first encounter with Peter, but this time there was another factor that would hopefully get the Maximoff teenager to trust them, other than just their connection as mutants. It looked like the time had come for Erik to reveal his relation to Wanda.

Erik took a deep breath. "You can trust us because we're all mutants just like you, and…and I'm your father."

There was a moment of silence, then Wanda did something very unexpected. She laughed.

"Oh really? You're my father, are you? And I'm the Queen of England."

"It's true, Wanda. Mr. Erik is yours and Pietro's Vati." Said Mila.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mila." said Wanda but her initial faith that this man, this terrorist, Erik, was lying was beginning to falter. Mila never lied, so if Mila said this man was her father, then Mila at least believed it to be true. Wanda looked back at the man who claimed to be her father, and as she studied him, she felt her resolve failing even more. When the man named Charles had introduced himself and the others, Wanda had recognized Erik's name from the news, but his face had seemed familiar too. That wasn't possible though. There's no reason she should find his face familiar. When he was on the news, his image was blurry and/or obscured by his helmet. Yet…as she looked at him she realized why his face seemed so familiar.

He looked like her brother, or rather, she supposed, her brother looked like him. His face was more chiseled by adulthood than Pietro's, and he obviously had darker skin and hair than her unnaturally pale brother. He also had five-o-clock shadow that would make Pietro jealous, because despite his claims, her brother didn't even have to shave yet, or at least he hadn't when she'd left a year ago. But what really tore at her initial belief that the man was lying were his eyes. The deep dark brown orbs set into his face were undeniably like her brothers, and…like her own.

"I…I have proof, of sorts." said Erik, pulling out a small bundle of what looked to be photographs, but he riffled through them too quickly for her to see what was on them.

Finding the photograph he was looking for, Erik handed it over to his daughter.

Taking it hesitantly in her hands, she glanced down to examine it. It was an old photo of her mother, and standing next her, holding the sister who had died before Wanda and Pietro were even born, was the man named Erik Lehnsherr.

Wanda was used to the unexpected and adapting to change, but this…this was too much. Her aunt was dead, her brother missing, and her father was a terrorist. Wanda closed her eyes tightly, and she felt Mila let go of her hand.

"Wa—Wanda? Are you okay?" Mila asked quietly.

Wanda opened her eyes and found four pairs of eyes staring at her in concern, not fear, which was unexpected because as Wanda looked down at her hands, she saw that red energy was pulsating around them.

Wanda forced herself to calm her breathing and slow her heart rate, and slowly the energy dissipated. "I'm fine." she said brusquely. "Okay, so genetically you're my father. Whoop de doo. Doesn't make you my dad. I don't remember seeing you at our birthday parties, sports' games, school plays, and elementary and middle school graduations."

Erik opened his mouth to speak, but Wanda cut him off before he could start talking.

"Don't." she said, raising her hand. "Don't waste your breath on excuses. If the younger you was anything like what I saw on T.V., then I'm glad you weren't around, but if whatever you got my brother involved in is why he's missing now, you better pray to God that we find him, or I don't care how many stadiums you can lift with your mind. I will make you regret the moment you walked into our lives." she said, her eyes momentarily glowing red. "Now, Xavier was it? I think I'll call you X. How do we find my brother?"

Pietro's POV

Pietro was scared, and hungry. Oh god, he was so hungry. All they'd given him to eat was an old small loaf of bread and some water, which, granted he didn't think he'd been captive for long, but it was safe to say he wasn't normal and as far as sustenance went, a loaf of bread wasn't going to cut it.

Even when he wasn't running around all day, he needed a ton of calories to stay healthy. He guessed that they knew that too, so he was actually somewhat surprised that they hadn't given more to eat, since he had a feeling they wanted to study the breadth of his abilities, and to do that, wouldn't they want him in tip top shape?

Yet, he had an unfortunate feeling that they were taking a different approach. He was pretty sure semi-starving him was a tactic to wear him down and make him cooperative. Maybe eventually they'd get him back into full health, but he was pretty sure that wasn't going to be anytime soon.

He'd tried to ask for more food, first being semi-reasonable about it, appealing to the logic that he needed more food to survive so they could poke and prod him and whatnot, then pulling out some sarcastic quips about getting some takeout when the former didn't work, but now he wished he'd kept his mouth shut because the consequences weren't great.

They'd released him from his chained position on the cold metal table, but now they'd shackled one of his legs to a long chain that seemed indestructible, so he had no chance of escape.

That's not all they did though. They also fashioned something around his neck. Pietro couldn't see what it was, but he found out soon enough.

He had been in the midst of chattering on about how he wanted a pizza with extra cheese, sausage, and pepperoni, when'd he'd felt electricity course through his body. The pain it caused was overwhelming, and in Pietro's world it seemed to last for hours.

"Peter, Peter, Peter. Didn't your parents teach you that children should be seen and not heard? Oh wait, I forgot. Your file says your mother died when you were barely out of diapers, and you don't even know who your daddy is, do you? I would have thought that aunt of yours would have taught you better though."

At this point, Pietro could see that the man talking was the military dude named Stryker.

"Don't you dare talk about my family! You son of a b—"

He was unable to finish his insult however, as he again felt electricity course through his body. It probably only lasted a few seconds, but to Pietro, it again felt much, much longer.

"Now, now. What did I just say, Peter?"

Breathing heavily Peter struggled to form words again, "You're gonna pay for—"

A third time Peter felt his body jarred by electricity, and when it finally stopped, he found he didn't have the energy or bravery left to speak.

"That's better. Really, Peter, I'd thought with your abilities you'd be a quick learner, but obviously I was wrong. Dr. Marshall." said Stryker turning to greet the woman who had entered the room.

"Having fun Major Stryker?" asked the doctor.

"Oh just a little, the subject was being a tad insubordinate." replied Stryker.

"Well if you're finished, Director Schlesinger wanted me to begin performing tests. You're welcome to stay of course. The Director values your input, so it may be beneficial to hear your thoughts and tactics."

"I'd love to stay, doctor. What's on the agenda?" asked Major Stryker.

"Director Schlesinger wanted to start with some extensive X-Rays and a physical, as well as measure his speed as well as we are able. He'd like us to check his ability to heal to see if it is faster than normal; Eventually, he wants to break one of the subject's legs to see if he'll recover, but that won't be for a bit yet. He wants us to get some good data first, incase it compromises the subject. Oh and some more 'constructive' electroshock therapy to instill within him his purpose and servitude to our cause."

"Excellent plan. Oh and remember Peter," said Major Stryker taking a step forward and bending down so that he was eye level with Pietro who had not moved from his position on the floor leaning against the cell wall where he'd been trying to recover from the electrical shocks. "you better cooperate. If you choose not to, the consequences for you will be downright dreadful, but the consequences for your remaining family members will be much worse than anything you could imagine."

"You…you don't…even know where they are." Pietro stammered out, still breathing heavily.

"Is that really a risk your willing to take, Peter?" said Major Stryker as he stood back up to address Doctor Marshall. "Should we get started then?"

"Yes, the sooner the better. Progress doesn't happen overnight after all. If you'd please secure the subject Major Stryker." said Doctor Marshall.

"With pleasure." replied Major Stryker an evil grin forming on his face as once again Pietro felt pain course through his body.

{Author's note: I realize the timing of how long it took them to get to D.C. and for the train to arrive might not be entirely accurate, but that was too much detail to try to figure out, so I apologize if the inaccuracy bothers anyone. You can just imagine they were waiting for a while before Wanda arrived. Also for any HP fans out there, did you notice the train number? I had to throw that in there just for fun. Please comment if you have time. Thanks for reading!}