{Author's Note: Happy belated Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoy the update.}
Hours after the group had departed D.C., they finally arrived back at Charles' home, and as Hank put the vehicle in park, the three passengers in the back seat arose from there slumber.
"Well, here we are." said Charles as everyone exited the car.
"You live here?" asked Wanda.
Erik could tell she was struggling to keep the awe out of her voice. He knew Charles' home was an impressive sight and having lived most of his life penniless, he could understand her amazement, but as he looked around he realized just how different he and Charles were. It had been a long time since the day he first stepped foot on these grounds, and he too remembered how he'd internally marveled that someone could actually have grown up here. Once again he felt a pang of guilt shoot through his body knowing that his daughter had never known such luxury, and even though the current Maximoff household was more than Erik ever had as a kid, he knew it had taken a lot for Marya to get even that amount of a haven for his kids, and now they would never even be able to return there.
But even as these thoughts when through Erik's mind, it struck Erik once more that Wanda had been away for over a year.
Where has she been living all this time? How has she been getting by?
Caught up in his own thoughts he failed to realized that Charles had long since answered Wanda and the party had proceeded inside.
Erik walked quickly, reaching out with his mind to grab onto the front door's metal handle to close it behind him. He then met up with the rest of the group and headed down to Cerebro.
"So how—how does this work?" asked Wanda as they entered the room containing Cerebro and watched Charles place the helmet apparatus onto his head.
Hank replied "The electrodes connect Charles to a transmitter on the roof. When he picks up a mutant, his brain sends a signal through through a relay and then—"
"No offense, but I don't really care about the scientific aspect of it, I just meant how does it work in relation to finding my brother? What do I have to do?" asked Wanda cutting Hank off.
"Nothing really. It's simply a matter of me using you as a beacon of sorts to locate your brother. All you need to do is allow me to tap into your mind and therefore your DNA to get a better sense of Peter." responded Charles.
"O—Okay." Replied Wanda hesitantly as she stepped closer to Charles.
"Whenever you're ready I will need to place my hand to your temple. It helps me focus, and I think our chances of finding Peter might be even greater if I use both you and Erik…if you could please join hands, I think that will suffice as a connection."
Erik who had been hanging back, took a few slow steps forward, wondering if Wanda would comply with Charles request.
"It's alright, you don't have to—" Erik began to address Wanda, but she didn't let him finish.
"It's fine. If there's a chance that it will help find Pietro, I can hold your flippin' hand." said Wanda, reaching out clasping his left hand in her right, tugging him closer to Charles with a tad more force than was necessary.
"Err—okay I'm going to fire it up now Charles, if everyone's situated?" asked Hank noticeably uncomfortable with the entire situation.
"Are you ready?" Charles asked Wanda placing his hand against her face.
Nodding, Wanda replied "Go for it X."
Then Charles heard Hank activate Cerebro and he felt his senses multiply. Using Cerebro with Wanda and Erik as anchors felt similar to when he had just had Erik to assist him in his search. However, this time he had a much better sense of what to look when trying to find Peter, and after just a moment, he felt an overwhelming awareness of life, that is, he knew Peter was alive out there in the world somewhere. Yet…for some reason, despite this overpowering awareness that Peter lived, and the bond that he felt between the twins, he could not locate Peter.
It didn't feel as though another mutant was blocking him, more like a manmade device or specially constructed building kept him from finding Peter. He felt certain if the device was turned off or the building's façade altered in someway he would know exactly where Peter was, but alas, all he knew was that Peter was alive, which was something at least, but not the news Wanda or Erik wanted to hear.
Charles opened his eyes and looked into the expectant gazes of Wanda and Erik.
Deciding to start with the good news, Charles began, "He's Alive."
Charles watched as the faces of the father and daughter in front of him broke into smiles of relief. He knew even though they both had been certain Peter was alive, it was reassuring to have it confirmed. Their relief was short lived, however, and their smiles faded as they both asked simultaneously, "Where is he!?
"I still don't know. I'm sorry. I think whoever took him, has some sort of technology that is blocking my abilities, but I'm positive he is alive."
Erik looked like he wanted to punch something, but as there was nothing readily available in the room, he had resorted to running both of his hands through his hair, looking like he wanted to tear it out. Charles didn't blame him, and he was pretty impressed that he hadn't uprooted any metal in the room in his anger. He was even more impressed though by how Wanda was reacting, until it occurred to him that she could be in shock.
The only movement she'd made was to stand up straight and rigidly. For a moment Charles was concerned that she had stopped breathing, but that didn't seem to be the case. Nor, after further assessment, did it seem as though she were in shock. It looked as if behind her eyes, the gears in her mind were rapidly turning. Just like Peter whose mutation prevented Charles from reading his mind because it moved too fast, Charles could not read Wanda's mind either though it seemed this was because her mutation acted as a psychic shield, not because her mind was moving at unimaginable speeds. Nevertheless, if Charles had to guess, from the look in her eyes he'd say it was currently running at a speed that might give her brother a run for his money.
It was funny in a way that Erik who had been so desperate in the past to keep his thoughts to himself and particularly keep Charles out of his head had to resort to wearing a specialized helmet to keep his mind closed off from the rest of the world, whereas his children had the ability all their own.
Knowing there was nothing he could do to calm his old friend he chose to ignore Erik—who had started cursing in German—for the time being, and direct his attention back to Wanda.
"Wanda, what are you thinking?"
"I—I want…Let me use Cerebro."
"What?" replied Charles, Hank, and Erik together.
"Let me try to use Cerebro to find Pietro. It enhances your powers, right? So why shouldn't it enhance mine too and my connection to Pete?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea." said Hank. "This is very delicate equipment and Charles almost fried it a while ago after he'd been out of practice for…some time, and his mind is fully developed. There's no telling what affect it could have on you or the machine. Even if you had a full understanding of your mutation, I don't know that it would be a good idea."
Wanda's eyes became cold. "You don't understand. I'm doing this whether you like it or not. My brother's life is on the line here, and if you think I'm not going to do everything in my power to find him then you're crazy."
"Wanda—" Erik began.
"Shut up. You don't get to tell me what to do, or that this is too dangerous. I've been making my own decisions for quite some time now, and you don't get to start acting like a father now."
"That's not what I was going to say. I think…if this is what you want to do then you should. I wish I could take your place and that there were other options, but I'm not going to stop you. I want to find Pietro just as much as you do."
Wanda gave Erik a slightly surprised but also skeptical look. "I doubt that. You barely even know him, but great, you're on board so let's do this."
Charles and Hank glanced at each other before Charles spoke. "You're absolutely sure you want to do this? I have no idea what the consequences might be."
"Yes! How many times do I have to say it." replied Wanda grabbing Cerebro's helmet from Charles and placing it firmly on her own head. "Now fire it up Doc."
Mila who had been silent throughout this exchange spoke up quietly, "Be careful Wanda."
Glancing over at Mila attempting to look reassuring Wanda replied, "Don't worry Munchkin. I got this."
"Okay." said Hank, looking directly at Wanda from the command panel. "Here we go." And with that he flipped the necessary switches and Cerebro was up in running.
Instantly, Wanda felt like her mind was on fire, and for some reason, her left arm was also burning. Her right arm was a bit uncomfortable too, but what was way worse was the exhaustion she felt and the terrible, terrible hunger. Then she saw white walls, people in lab coats, and she felt a crushing sense of fear, right before electricity coursed through her body. Then she heard screaming and began to fall backward. As she did, the screaming continued and as she drifted into blackness and looked into the concerned gaze of Erik…her father…who had caught her in his arms, she realized the screaming was her own.
_ERIK POV_
Erik had been watching Wanda intently as she placed Cerebro on her head and Hank started up the machine. For a moment, he thought it might be working and that Wanda would be able to locate Pietro. Her eyes had immediately turned a brilliant glowing pinkish red, the same color as the energy that had surrounded her hands back at the train station when she had gotten upset, but that hadn't worried Erik because at first she seemed to be in control. But not a minute later, he knew something was wrong.
Wanda's posture had changed from determined to tense, and it looked like she was in pain. Then she'd started screaming, blood curdling screams that made Erik feel like his soul was being torn apart. He'd shouted at Hank to shut down Cerebro but just as Hank was about to turn it off, there had been a burst of red energy, Hank had been swept off his feet, and the control panel had been blown to bits. Throughout all of this Wanda was still screaming and as Cerebro exploded, Wanda began to collapse. Erik saw her waver and raced forward, catching her just before she hit the ground.
Erik was terrified as he held Wanda in his arms, still screaming, until the red faded from her eyes and she slipped into unconsciousness.
That had been four hours ago, and Wanda had still not woken up. Hank had checked her vitals, and he said everything seemed normal, and Charles said her mutation kept him from entering her mind but from what he could tell, she had just expended all of her energy and needed to rest. He thought that she should wake up soon.
But should wasn't good enough for Erik. She had to wake up. He couldn't lose another child.
And although Erik's immediate concern was for Wanda, he hadn't forgotten about Pietro, and he hoped that when Wanda woke up she would be able to tell them where Pietro was being held, but until then he was once again powerless, and it frustrated the hell out of him.
All he could do was sit and wait for her to open her eyes. After Hank and Charles had deemed it safe to move her, Erik had carried Wanda up to one of the many vacant bedrooms in the house, and now he sat by her bedside, feeling all too like he was at a vigil.
Erik reached out and felt her forehead. It was quite warm, but not dangerously slow. Brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Erik withdrew his hand.
"Please wake up my Liebling…bitte…"
Folding his face into his hands, Erik took a few deep breaths trying to control his emotions when he heard the springs from the mattress squeak.
He looked up quickly and saw that Wanda had sat bolt upright.
"Wha—Where am I?! I need to go use Cerebro again! I was so close to finding Pietro! I saw what he was seeing, and if I'd just held out a little longer, I know I would've been able to find him! I have to try again right now. It was awful. There were white walls and people in lab coats, and he…he was being tortured, and I…I need to use Cerebro now!" Wanda said jumping up off the bed where she staggered trying to walk toward the door.
Hank and Charles had come running to the bedroom at the sound of Wanda's shouting, but it was Erik who spoke first.
"Wanda, you did wonderfully, but…Cerebro…it was completely fried. You won't be able to use it again…"
"For at least three months." Hank butted in. "It's going to take at least that much time to fix it. You expended quite a bit of energy into it, and it was just too much for the system to handle."
"No. No. don't tell me that…" said Wanda her eyes welling up with tears.
"I'm sorry, Wanda." said Charles. "Hank will work hard to fix Cerebro, and we'll look into other ways of finding your brother but you need to rest. You were already unconscious out for hours."
"AHHH!" Wanda screamed in frustration, her hands coming up to her head and pulling at her hair in a manner that was very similar to what Erik had done hours before down in the room that held Cerebro.
Erik cautiously approached his daughter, and then placed his hands on her shoulders when she didn't back away. "Wanda, this isn't the end. I'm not giving up. We're not giving up. We are going to find Pietro, no matter how long it takes. I promise you."
Wanda's face was dry, but when she looked up at Erik her eyes still glistened with unshed tears. "You don't get it, do you? You don't understand. We are already too late. To Pietro it's already been too long. Every second we can't find him is a second too long. Time is…different for Pietro, by the time we find him, an eternity could have passed for him. Even if…even when we find him, he may still be lost…"
_PIETRO POV_
Once more Pietro found himself being tossed onto the cold hard ground of a blank and dismal cell. He had spent his day in what they called 'shock therapy.'
For hours on end, happy little scientist with their pristine lab coats showed him photographs of Director Schlesinger, Major Stryker, Doctor Marshall, and all their evil geeky little friends. Then they'd shown him images of mutants and electrocuted him until they were satisfied. They even had a couple photographs of Erik all dolled up as Magneto thrown into the bunch.
On the Brightside, the pain from the electrocution distracted him from the linger throbbing in his arm and his hunger and exhaustion.
He still hated shock therapy though, and honestly, he found the whole exercise pointless. I mean, really, as if he was going to forget who was doing this to him. He knew where the real evil lived in this world. Although he had to admit, shock therapy was making him more docile and cooperative, which was their second aim, so congratulations to them.
Rolling onto his back in attempt to get more comfortable, Pietro was staring unseeing at the bright lights above him when he heard a voice originating from the wall next to him.
"Hey kid, you hangin' in there?"
Looking around, Pietro concluded the voice had to have come from the fist sized vent near the floor in one of the walls of his cell.
"Come on, kid, give me a response. Don't be dead in there."
Pietro tried to speak, but found his voice was hoarse from all of the electrocution and lack of use.
Coughing to clear his throat, Pietro managed to respond, "I'm…I'm alive…Lucky for me." He added sarcastically.
In response, he heard a short chuckle, "You had me worried for a second there. Thought I was going to be alone in this shithole again. I tried talking to you when they brought you in and again when they brought you back from their little exercises, but you've always been pretty out of it until now. I thought they'd done you in this time."
"Nope. Still kicking. How long have you been here?" Pietro asked.
"A few weeks I think, maybe a month. It's hard to keep track. So how old are you, kid?"
"Fifteen." replied Pietro
"Shit. They really don't care whose life they tear apart do they? Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here."
"Oh yeah?" responded Pietro
"Yeah kid, I'm working on a plan. I mean, so far the plan is 'escape' but ya' know I'm considering other options if you have any ideas."
"Sorry, fresh out. If I was up to full strength and didn't have this shock collar on, I would just try to break through the glass, but I'm pretty sure it's bullet proof, and then I'd still have to get through the outer bars plus who knows how much more security past that, plus I don't even know where we are. We could be miles underground or on a deserted island for all I know. And anyway, I can't break out even if it were possible."
"What do you mean?" asked the voice.
"They say they have my sisters or are watching them, and I can't…Ican'trisksomethinghappeningtothembecauseIdidsomethingstupid." answered Pietro.
"Whoa kid. Slow it down. I'm not exactly up to par right now, so if you wouldn't mind keeping the convo at a slower rate, I'd appreciate it. I think I caught what you were saying though, and I understand. They told me they have my little brother too. I have a feeling they're lying, but I can't take that risk either. Even if I had a legitimate plan to escape, I couldn't take that chance until I know he's safe….so…you're obviously a mutant if you're in here. What's your power?"
At this question, Pietro actually found himself smiling a bit. "I'm fast. Like really really fast. Superspeedfast. Like outrun a bullet fast. Fasterthanyoucanblink,fast."
"okay, okay. I get the idea." said the other mutant with a chuckle. "Sounds pretty awesome."
"Yea. It is….or it was before this place anyway. What's your power?"
"I can generate and shoot strong plasma blasts."
"Dude. That sounds awesome." replied Pietro.
"Yea, I'll admit, it can be useful. I used to be pretty bad at controlling it though when I was your age, but I've gotten a lot better at it. Not good enough though, evidently. These fuckers were still able take me down. Shit, sorry about the language. Shit, I did it again. Fuc—Fudge."
"Man, I'm fifteen not five. I can handle the language and I think it's pretty appropriate right now." said Pietro.
"I guess you're right. So any chance you've got someone on the outside looking for you? I'm hoping my military buddies are looking for me, but they don't really have access to a whole lot of resources, so I'm not exactly hopeful."
"Well...if my twin sister knew I was missing, I'm sure she'd tear the world apart to find me, but I haven't seen her in over a year, so can't really see how she would have anyway of knowing I was even missing…I think…well I hope my dad might be looking for me, but I only just met the guy, and I thought, I mean it seemed like he cared, but honestly, I don't even know him, so…maybe he doesn't…"
There was silence in the other cell, and Pietro wondered if the guy had stopped listening to him as he had rambled on, but then there was a somber reply, "Well…I'll tell you one thing, kid. If I get out of here, you're getting out with me. So what's your name? I can't keep calling you kid."
"Pietro Maximoff, but you can call me Peter."
"I wish the circumstances were better, but it's nice to meet you, Peter. My name is Alex Summers."
{Author's Note: I'm probably going to do a time jump pretty soon, possibly in the next chapter, just to move things along. As always, please feel free to comment.}