Disclaimer: I own none of the characters within.
Author's Notes: *sings at the top of her lungs* It's my fanfic, I'll slack off if I want to!
Seriously, though. I've been so busy you wouldn't believe. My original play just got accepted into the statewide Young Playwright's Festival, so I've been attending rehearsals and writing new drafts like a mad thing. Plus, nobody was liking the story or where it was going (well, I got one particular review), so I went back and rewrote what I had done of this and the next chapter. It went off on a completely different track.. Go figure, eh?
I would like to remind my readers that this story will at one point or another go off into a tangent from pretty much everyone on the show, just to encompass everyone's opinion of Pietro. How they treat him, how he treats them, how they interact, etcetera. That's why I started this fic. It's character exploration. So even if you don't think anything is actually happening, just savor the characters and their murky depths. Or shallow puddles. Whichever.
Midgar Demon-- Your review really brightened my day. Thank you so much for the compliments; I do indeed plan on being a writer professionally, and when people encourage me in that direction it just boosts my self-esteem like you wouldn't believe. It also hardens my resolve to be a penniless Bohemian. ^_^
nessie6-- Thank you for being honest and throwing a champagne glass at me for not updating. Know that I dodged the glass and took the meaning to heart.
Calamari Rings-- Yes, in "The Deer Hunter", several people playing Russian roulette get their brains blown out, and at one point a character does try to hold them in with his bare hands. I don't want to give any spoilers for the movie, but there is a character in it that reminds me VERY much of MP's Pietro. You really should rent/watch it. I love faithful, friendly reviewers like you.
Feirdra-- The song is "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne. I am not Avril's biggest fan, couldn't be farther from it, but I really like that song, and it worked so well for this fic.
EVERYONE-- Thank you so much for sticking with this story through thick and thin. I will absolutely do my best to update more frequently. No one gets more upset at lack of updates than I do, I guarantee it. I feel so guilty. But no more! I'll be a good authoress!
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Have to get out! Have to get out!
A blind panic suddenly seized Pietro.
He felt burning hands slapping him in the face, and it seemed to him that a thousand invisible beetles were racing on his skin with their prickly clawed feet.
Scrambling for footing, he half-stumbled, half-crawled out of the exercise room, panting, sobbing, thinking that something was going to drop on him from overhead.
He scuttled down the hallway and saw Kurt Wagner coming down a set of stairs, minus his image inducer, and in Pietro's starved mind he became some monster leaping from his childhood nightmares, so that the speedster let loose a screech and jumped to his feet, running down the hall, triggering the same nerves he would use to launch into superspeed.
The effect was disastrous.
His feet gave way from under him, and his momentum sent him flying into a wall. Forehead cracking against the solid wood paneling, he reeled backwards with blood trickling down his face like a burst skin of wine.
Whole body was short-circuiting.
He fell hard to the floor, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.
It was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.
~
Scott's first instinct was to slam the door.
And he seldom questioned his first instincts.
Slam!
But a foot clad in a worn sneaker stomped down in the doorframe, and the young man, undoubtedly Pyro, yowled in pain as he prevented a shut-out at the price of getting his own foot smashed by the heavy oak door.
"Geez, what a crunch!" he muttered.
But if it had caused him any serious damage, he quickly recovered and proceeded to kick the door open violently, laughing in delight, "Who rang that bell?"
Scott's hand flew to his shades, ready for battle and grateful for the lack of open flames they kept in this house, while also sending a telepathic shout, //Professor! Magneto's here! I need back-up!//
Pyro sprang in the door, landing lightly in front of his opponent as if he were some vicious jungle cat, knocking Scott's hands back to his sides and away from his glasses. He might have done more, if he had not been lifted ten feet into the air by a telekinetic hand.
Jean crouched on the stairs, hands to her temples, concentrating, and while Pyro flailed overhead, Scott turned his attention to Magneto. The man simply stood there, waiting for something, looking calm and dignified and... searching. It almost looked like he was sensing for something, or more accurately, someone.
Preparing to blast him away should anything go badly, Scott said in his strongest voice, "What are you doing here?"
"I have told you already, Mr. Summers," he answered icily. "I am looking for my son. And if you stand in my way, I will not hesitate to harm you. I ask you now; is Pietro here?"
Scott kept a blank exterior, but internally fretted. Should he tell Magneto what he wanted? Or wait for back-up?
His own question was answered for him when Logan burst into the entryway, claws extended, ready for battle.
"Magneto!" he snarled. "Get out of here!"
"If you continue to threaten me," said the older man. "I will show you the idleness and impossibility of your words."
He raised his hands, but before he could rip Logan to pieces in his anger, Charles maneuvered his wheelchair into the room and said sharply, "Logan! Erik! Stop this at once!"
Logan retracted his claws, and Magneto lowered his hands to his sides. Pyro dropped to the floor like a stone, and when Scott glanced at Jean, she shrugged innocently.
"Charles," Magneto said. "My daughter has told me that Pietro is in danger. He was not at his house, and I have come here only in my search for him. Is he here?"
"He is." said the professor coolly.
Magneto's brutal mask fell away, to be replaced suddenly by a very human person. A man who was looking for his child, and fearing for his safety. He was Magneto no more, but rather for the moment they saw a fleeting glimpse of Erik Magnus Lensherr, a father.
"Where is he?" he said, voice thick with relief. "Let me see him!"
"He is, at present, trapped in his highest speed," Xavier continued. "So although he may even be in the room with us now, his velocity makes him invisible to the naked eye."
Erik recoiled as if he'd been struck with a physical blow.
"What happened to him?"
"We were hoping you could tell us." said Logan.
Eyebrows were raised when Erik's face clouded with guilt, and he stared at the floor in silence. Charles was about to speak, to probe further into the matter, but several other people raced into the room and he was forced to wait.
It was Evan first, but close behind him were Wanda, Lance, and Todd. Out of all of them, she acted first.
"Father?" she cried in confusion, full of joy and rage at the same time.
She obeyed the first emotion, joy, and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his waist and trying not to weep with relief. The happiness at seeing him was dimmed by the circumstances, also hindered by the phantom memories that she was sure must be imagined nightmares.
Erik looked shocked by this display of affection and simply stood there stiffly, gazing down at the top of her head, uncomprehending. His arms raised awkwardly to enfold her, but they returned to a neutral position, his eyes haunted.
Evan just stood stock-still and stared. He had never seen Magneto face to face, and it chilled him right to the bone. He saw Pietro there, the same eyes, the same nose, but most of all the same power and confidence about him, the same royal way of standing, as though everyone around him was also below him; a mighty lion among mindless sheep.
Todd cowered back behind Lance, who was furious and fearful. Both of them remained as obscure as possible so as not to draw their former leaders' attention.
The moment was very tense, and may have lingered in such dramatic silence for quite some time.
However, Pyro chose that moment to spring to his feet and yell, "Crikey, what a rush!"
Apparently, he enjoyed getting dropped on his head. Either way, a startled Wanda withdrew from her father and hurried back to Lance, who put an arm around her shoulder in a quiet demonstration of protection that spoke louder to Erik than any other threats or proclamations could have.
Charles glanced at his old friend and said, "Perhaps we should discuss things in the library."
He set off in that direction and Erik fell in step, leaving Pyro with a curt order of "Do not cause me to become angry." Logan started to follow them, but the professor gave him a Look and he shrugged, setting off to patrol the mansion. The teenagers hovered around, idle, until the professor called back, "Jean, Scott, if you'd like to join us...?" They obeyed, and the door shut behind the four of them.
Rogue flitted down the stairs like a ghost and darted into the library as well, shutting the door quickly behind her. When she was not kicked out immediately, the others assumed she had been granted access to their council. Lance made a small noise of frustration, irritated that he was not included with them. As leader of the Brotherhood, he felt some sense of responsibility for Pietro, even if it was like claiming responsibility for some wild, untamable creature that was none of his business.
The remaining teenagers all proceeded to stare at the floor, or the ceiling, but none of them knowing what to do.
Silence.
"I'm Johnny!" Pyro blurted suddenly.
"What?" said Todd, blinking owlishly.
"That's my real name," he said, with a thick Australian accent that they were just starting to notice. "Johnny. Who are you people?"
Uncertain introductions were made, Evan in particular being rather wary of this newcomer. He wished Jean or Scott had been left behind as an ambassador, instead of him. The Brotherhood (minus Freddy, still eating) was simply standing there, not knowing where to go next.
"Um," Evan mumbled. "Maybe we could go to the entertainment room."
"Sounds great," said Todd, who had just been getting really nervous.
The X-Man led the way, and the others followed him down a series of hallways until he at last opened a door and beckoned them inside. It was one of many such rooms in the Mansion, designed with the entertainment of quite a few teenagers in mind.
"Oh, man!" Johnny cried gleefully. "You have an X-Box AND a Gamecube!"
He bounded across the room and skidded on his knees along the carpet, sliding to a stop in front of said game systems, where he snatched a controller from each and began comparing them critically.
Evan stood in the doorway, arms crossed and in "ready for battle" mode. He didn't trust this guy at all, but he couldn't explain why. It was like a bloodhound that could smell something off but just couldn't find it. It frustrated him.
Lance guided Wanda to an overstuffed blue couch, where the pair sat down together. The rock shaker was watching Pyro with interest, and didn't notice when Wanda winced and touched her forehead lightly. A sudden splintering pain rattled her senses, and then just as quickly vanished. All at once she had a gnawing sense in her gut that something was wrong with her brother.
"Pietro..." she breathed in a soft, urgent voice.
She made to rise to her feet, but Lance caught her arm and pulled her back onto the sofa.
"What? Where're you going?" he said, confused.
"Pietro's in trouble."
"Yeah, we know. But we can't do anything yet."
"No, he's hurt-- I have to go to him!"
"Wanda, you can't see him! And how do you know he's hurt?"
"I just know! I feel it! Let me go!"
"I think we should stay here and let Xavier and Magneto talk--"
"I have to do something!"
"Wanda--"
A panic was building up in her, a hysteria she'd never known before. It was though she was moving in fast forward, or about to, adrenaline racing through her veins like some powerful drug. In this mania, she hardly heard herself speaking before she cried out in unthinking fury.
"You don't even CARE about Pietro!!"
Abruptly, Lance's hands dropped away from her. He sat there, eyes burning, mouth dropped open, barely managing to whisper, "what...?" But she wasn't listening, and leapt off the couch and rushed for the door. Something was in her way, and she suddenly felt strong hands gripping her upper arms, holding her back. Vision blurring, she blindly beat and pounded the chest in front of her, chanting wildly, "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go..."
Her shouting diminishing into hoarse cries, which in turn dwindled away to helpless gasps for air. She allowed the strong arms to hold her in a comforting embrace, unaware of who it was. That is, until the voice spoke in her ear.
"We're all worried about him, little girl."
Her eyes flew open in a rage and she yanked herself backwards, slapping Johnny full in the face and watching in grim satisfaction as he recoiled and stumbled, rubbing his cheek in pain.
"What'd you do that for?" he whined.
"You don't even know my brother." she said icily. "So don't pretend you're worried about him, because you're not. Not like I am."
Spinning on her heel, she starting stalking back to a flabbergasted Lance, when Johnny's wounded voice called after her.
"Sure, I know him! He's Mungojerrie!"
She whirled around with a loud, "What the HELL are you talking about?"
"Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer." he clarified, still nursing his face tenderly. "You have quite an arm, lady."
"What are those? Mungo-whatever and something-Teazer. What is that?"
"They're cats. From a poem by T.S. Eliot." He straightened and gazed at her levelly. "My mum used to read that book to me when I was little, and Pietro read it himself when he younger. We talked about it sometimes, about all the different cats and how they reminded us of people we knew. Magneto was Macavity, and Gambit was Mr. Mistoffelees, and me and Pietro were Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer."
"Rumpelteazer's a girl cat." Even interjected suddenly. "My parents took me to see the Broadway show, 'CATS'."
"But in Eliot's original poem, Teazer's a guy." Johnny pointed out. "That's me."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Wanda pressed a hand to her aching forehead. "How did you know Pietro? I've hardly seen you in my life."
"You're not exactly a good barometer for people he knows," he scoffed. "You're hardly around him." Before she could bark out a retort, he breezed on. "And just where do you think he was after that Sentinel blew up? Hiding in an underground hole waiting to come back to you people? He was with us. With me. We got to be real good friends, me and Mungojerrie."
"You thought you were cats?" Todd wondered aloud.
"No!" laughed Johnny. "But Mungo and Teazer are trickster cats. They get into all sorts of mischief and trouble together, and when something goes wrong, no one can tell you which one of them did it. Me and Speedy indulged in the world of pranks, mad as it made Macavity-- that is, Magneto-- and our tricks were so alike that nobody could figure out who was doing what."
Perhaps only Johnny was the one who saw what happened next. It was so small and imperceptible that only he, at close range, could possibly have caught it.
A tiny smile twitched at Wanda's lips.
"Really?" she asked quietly.
"Of course really. I never lie, except to myself." When she didn't say anything, he continued in an oddly gentle voice. "I came here with Macavity to try and find Mungojerrie. I miss him."
He advanced towards her, a bit cautiously, then getting bolder when she didn't lash out, and put an arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the couch and setting her down carefully next to Lance.
"Now, my thinking is that we stay up here for at least a little while longer, and see what Mac and Baldy cook up, right?"
She nodded once with a meek, "Okay."
"Great." he smiled hugely at her and aimed a reassuring wink at the dumbfounded Lance. "Now, how about I tell you about some of the pranks me and Mungojerrie played on our poor mates..."
~