Chapter 3-Jamila, Meet Magneto

Pietro led Jamila down a long hall. Once or twice Jamila caught glimpses of people, or so she thought. One person she saw repeatedly was Gambit, the one who had threatened her at the cliffs. She noticed that he was following them, and trying to stay hidden. He was doing a pretty good job. Most humans and mutants probably wouldn't have noticed him. But Jamila did, and she made a note of it. Pietro stopped at a large metal door. He glanced at Jamila, who looked at him coldly. Pietro gave her a 'hurt' look and opened the door. He stood back as Jamila entered, and left, shutting the door behind him. The room was made entirely of metal, from the floors, to the ceilings, to the furniture. Jamila took a seat in one of the chairs and rested her elbows on her knees, and placed her chin in her hands.

"Jamila LaRaine Kerry." Jamila raised an eyebrow as the chair behind the large desk in the room turned, revealing the metal man Jendayi had told her family about.

"Magneto." Jamila said emotionlessly, locking eyes with him. They watched each other for a long time. Finally, Magneto nodded, and leaned back in his chair.

"I trust your stay here has been pleasant thus far?"

"Fuck you." Jamila's claws tapped against the side of the chair.

"Perhaps you need to be held in your room for a little while longer, until you lose that foul mouth."

Jamila smirked. "You must need me for something, or else you wouldn't have had your stooge come get me. Here's the deal, Mags. Ah'll join you, only if you promise to keep mah family out of this. That includes Storm, Spyke, Jendayi and the Wolverine."

Magneto folded his hands. "Reasonable enough. Now, allow me to add on to this deal. Your family stays safe, as long as you remain loyal. The second your loyalty wanes, their lives are in danger."

Jamila sat back in a mockery of Magneto's posture. "Sounds reasonable." She sneered. "So, can Ah go now, old man?"

Magneto gestured, and the door swung open. Jamila walked from the room, and walked straight into a large body. She growled. "Jamila, I'd like you to meet your father, Sabretooth." Magneto called. Jamila clawed his face with no hesitation. She watched the claw marks on his face heal, and spat on the ground before walking away.

Jamila strode down the hall, eyes glowing, and tail waving angrily behind her. Her anger made the hallway a few degrees colder, frost blooming under her feet and frosting the hallway.

Gambit stood next to her door, his trench coat offering him little protection against the cold Jamila brought. Jamila stopped in front of him. "What do you want?" Jamila asked.

In the frigid air, Remy's breath came in little puffs of mist. "Just to get to know de newest team member. Dat such a bad t'ing, chere?"

Jamila shrugged, the temperature rising slightly. "It depends. Did you want to get to know my bedroom too?" She purred, her fingers trailing nimbly up Remy's stomach.

Remy kissed her freezing cold hand playfully. "I'm willin to get to know whatever you want me to know, lionne."

Jamila sucked her teeth and gave Remy a long look. "You can start by getting acquainted with the door." She stalked into her room, slamming the door behind her. Pietro lay on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Jamila didn't even bat an eyelash. "He agreed to it."

"Figured."

Jamila's stomach gave an audible growl. "Anything to eat around here?"

"Want Chinese?"

Jamila shrugged. "General Tso's, pork fried rice and egg rolls works for me."

Pietro disappeared from the room, and was back shortly. "They do delivery."

Jamila nodded and flopped on the bed. She stared out the window at the bright sunlight. Pietro, fidgety person that he was, kept running in and out of the room. On his seventh trip, Jamila casually reached out and grabbed his shirt. "Either stay, or leave and don't come back till the food gets here."

Pietro nodded and left the room. Jamila locked the door behind him, and buried her face in her pillow. She wept quietly, keeping her ears poised for intruders. An intruder came in the form of Remy, who slipped in silently. Jamila was not made aware of his presence until a gentle cough made her glance up, startled. Quickly she wiped her face. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay." Remy said, shrugging.

"Ah'm fine."

Remy sat down at the edge of her bed. "Didn't sound like it, lionne."

"Well, it's none of your damn business." Jamila said sweetly. "Ah'll thank you to get out of mah room." Remy watched her claws and fangs emerge. Jamila leisurely stood from the bed. "Don't make me repeat mahself."

Remy stood and bowed to Jamila before leaving the room, sidestepping Pietro in the process. Jamila watched him leave, her lips drawn back from her canines. When Pietro walked in, she calmed down somewhat, but kept her fangs.

"What was that about?" Pietro asked curiously.

Jamila growled softly. "He thinks Ah'm stupid." She grabbed a container and a pair of chopsticks and began to chow down. They ate in silence, watching the sun sink over the horizon. Jamila watched Pietro scarf down his food, lost in thought.

"What?"

Jamila jumped. "Huh?"

"Why were you staring at me?"

"Ah wasn't. Ah was thinkin'."

Pietro shrugged and continued to eat. Jamila finished her food, and placed everything on the dresser. She hunted around for a pair of pajama pants and put them on before climbing back into bed and resting her head on Pietro's leg.

"Pietro, do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Sleep in here tonight."

Jamila could feel Pietro's leg muscles tense. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Why?"

"Calm down, Ah'm not planning on seducing you or anything, I just don't wanna be alone tonight."

Pietro shrugged. "Sure."

Jamila grinned, and rubbed her head against Pietro's leg. "Thanks." Eventually, they curled up together in the bed and fell asleep. Pietro waited until he heard Jamila's even, regular breathing before he slipped quietly out of bed. Creeping to the door, he opened it silently and made a gesture. A tall ebony-skinned woman walked into the room and placed her hand on Jamila's forehead. Memories flashed through the woman's mind, and with great care, she modified them all. She erased all memories and thoughts of Jendayi, Ororo, Evan, Logan and the Institute. The memories involving the Institute were replaced with ones involving the Acolytes. Thanks to this woman, Jamila now believed that she was the only child of Sabretooth and Psyche, the woman doing the modifying, also known as Leilani Fredricks. She had been living with her maternal grandmother in Atlanta until recently, when Psyche had come to collect her. Psyche nodded once to Pietro and left, leaving him to climb back in bed and pull Jamila close. Jamila smiled softly in her sleep, and rested her head on his shoulder.

The Institute

Jendayi was frantic with worry. As soon as she had woken up in the Infirmary, with an empty bed beside her, she knew what had happened. The moment Henry had pronounced her fit; she was gone, climbing up to the top of the mansion, so she could shed her tears in private. She'd been up there since noon, when Henry had let her leave. Logan was comforting Ororo, and the Professor and Jean Grey was doing their best to get a mental link. Jendayi had already tried, but her mind was empty, devoid of her sister's presence. Jendayi wanted to go search, but she had no clue where to look. In order for their 'twin-speak' not to work, Jamila would have had to be across the country, or in another one. They could hear each other on a thousand mile radius, but after the first five hundred miles, everything became blurry, and by the time they reached a thousand, only the strongest feelings could be detected, and Jendayi wasn't even getting that. A new wave of tears overcame the teenage girl, and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing brokenly. A warm blanket was dropped over her shoulders, and someone sat down next to her. Jendayi didn't look up. A thermos was thrust into her field of view, held by a three- fingered blue hand.

"It's hot chocolate. You shouldn't be out in the cold vithout a blanket."

"Ah'll be fine."

Kurt snorted. Jendayi's whole frame was trembling, and her face was starting to get pale. He rubbed her hands, blowing on them gently. "You'll get frostbite," He said softly, pouring out some of the hot chocolate into a mug he had brought along. Jendayi took it and sipped gently, feeling its warmth spread through her body. She sighed, and a tear dropped into the mug. Kurt placed his arm around Jendayi's shoulders and squeezed gently. Jendayi leaned onto his shoulder and began to cry anew.

"Oh Kurt, what am Ah gonna do if we don't find her? She's mah best friend, mah sister! Ah love her, and we have to find her!"

"The Professor is trying his hardest, you know that."

"Ah know, but Ah feel like Ah should be doin' somethin'. Ah can't even feel her anymore, that's how far away she is. God Kurt, it's just not fair!"

"I vish there vas something I could do," Kurt muttered, looking down at the still-sobbing Jendayi. "Vhere are you getting all these tears from? You've cried a whole ocean already."

"Ah can't help it."

"Look, if Jamila's anything like you, she'll have Magneto tied up in a dark corner somevhere. Just vait. That's all ve can do."

"Ah hope we can find her." Jendayi looked out at the night sky, eyes cold. "And when we do, Magneto will die."

Ororo was as inconsolable as her daughter, but in a more calm way. She didn't cry, but she looked unbelievably depressed. Logan, with surprising tenderness, pulled her into his lap and began rubbing her back. "Ro, it's gonna be okay. Chuck's gonna find Jamila, and get her back. You know he will."

"It's not that that is bothering me, Logan; it's the not knowing. I do not know if Jamila is hurt, or scared, or cold, or hungry. That's worse than anything in the world," Ororo said, resting her head on Logan's shoulder. She breathed in deep. His scent was comforting, a mix of cigars, alcohol, and his own unique smell.

"Where's Jen?"

"I believe she's up on the roof, having some quiet time. I would go comfort her, but I think she wants to be alone," Ororo said softly, looking down at her hands.

"We need to stay together. You don't want to lose Jendayi too, do you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then go find her," Logan said, setting Ororo on her feet. She squeezed Logan's hand, and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Thank you, my friend." She was gone.

Jendayi was still crying when Ororo arrived. Without a word, she seated herself next to Jendayi and pulled the girl into her lap. Jendayi clutched at Ororo's shoulders and sobbed. She just couldn't stop. Kurt tried to help, rubbing her back, and whispering condolences.

"Hush child. Everything will be alright, I know."

"How? How do you know?"

Ororo rested her cheek on her daughter's forehead. "Mother's intuition." Kurt gave Ororo a sympathetic smile and teleported away. Mother and daughter sat on the rooftop for a long time, both shedding tears of sorrow, anger, hurt and loss.

Magneto's Hideout

The next day, Jamila woke up to find Pietro gone. Shrugging, she got up and began to clean, turning on the CD player and humming along. She straightened up the room, thinking about her first day at Magneto's. So far, she'd met Magneto, Pietro, Sabretooth and Remy. Pietro was quite charming, and she was starting to get ideas in her head. She licked her lips as she thought about his amazing legs. She gathered up her toiletries, and headed for the shower. She dressed in a pair of jeans and a halter-top before heading to her mother's room. "Mom, can we go shopping?"

Leilani looked up from fixing her makeup. "Sure sweetie. Just give me a minute to finish putting on my makeup." Jamila flopped on the bed and watched her mom put on her makeup and together they left the house. Several days passed with Leilani and Jamila spending time together, until Jamila was looking back on the end of her first week. She grinned as she thought about the rest of the inhabitants of Magneto's. Piotr and she would have long talks about art, while she and St. John would get together and watch soccer. The only two people she actively avoided were Remy and Sabretooth.

A Week Later

Leilani was away on business, and Jendayi was bored. She sat in front of her mirror, listlessly brushing her hair. Pietro came in and planted a kiss behind her ear. She jumped. "What are you doin?"

"Taking your mind off things for a little." He placed his hands on her waist and began trailing kisses down her neck. Jamila licked her lips and breathed out hard through her mouth.

"Stop." Her voice sounded weak to her own ears. Pietro obediently moved his hands and lips, and Jamila closed her eyes. "We shouldn't."

"Why not? We already share a bed."

Jamila gnawed on her lip. "I don't know."

"If this is wrong, why does it feel so good?" Pietro asked, bringing his hands up to palm her breasts. She bit back the moan that was rising up, watching Pietro through eyes darkened with desire.

Her voice, when she spoke, was husky and filled with underlying emotion. "Do you know what you're getting into?"

Pietro kissed the corner of her mouth softly. "Show me."

"We can't." Jamila sounded near tears.

Pietro turned Jamila's chair so she was facing him. He leaned down to look into her eyes, and took both of her hands in his. "Forget about what everyone else will think. Right now, it's just you and me." His eyes were deadly serious and Jamila could feel him leaning closer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, Pietro took a step back. The look in her eyes could only be described as wicked. Jamila stood, her every move sensual and making Pietro feel weak in the knees. She moved closer to him, hooking her thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans.

"Your mutation…it doesn't extend to the bedroom, does it?" She asked softly, slipping her hands underneath his shirt to caress well-defined muscles.

Pietro shook his head, some of his shaken confidence returning. "My mutation gives me stamina." In a trice, Jamila's shirt was off, and her pants unbuttoned and hanging on her hips loosely. "And helps me get your clothes off faster."

Unconcerned, Jamila kicked her pants to the other side of the room. Her voice lowered to a husky purr. "Good." The conversation halted for a few hours.

Jamila stretched leisurely in front of the closet as she looked for something to wear. She grabbed an outfit and toiletries and disappeared into the bathroom. After her shower, she was wiping steam from the mirror to brush her teeth when she leapt back in fright. She had seen a double image for a second. She could see herself clearly, but standing next to her in the mirror was a girl that could have been her twin. Jamila rubbed her eyes and looked again, and the girl was gone. Jamila shrugged, and brushed her teeth and dressed. Pietro was gone from her room, and she changed the sheets and straightened up the room while listening to the radio. Remy walked in the door, and sneezed. "Somebody got lucky, oui?"

Jamila whirled around and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you want?"

Remy was in front of her in an instant, trailing gentle fingers up and down her spine. "You, ma lionne, I t'ought you knew dat."

Jamila breath hitched in her throat. "Go away Remy."

"Sure. I'm not one for second place anyway." Remy brushed his lips against Jamila's throat before slowly walking from the room. Jamila sat down on the bed, breath coming in uneven gasps. She fisted her hair in her hands and closed her eyes. In her mind's eye, she saw that same girl, and she jumped. A knock came at the door.

"Come in!"

St. John walked in, and grinned cheerfully at the quiet young woman. "So, I was thinking, you, me, some pizza, nachos, beer, and the football game."

Jamila grinned at St. John's impeccable timing. "Sounds like a plan, but where are you gonna get beer?"

"Never doubt an Aussie, love." He bowed and extended his arm to her. Jamila took his arm, and they left her room. St. John grabbed the keys to Remy's Porsche, and they took off.

"Seriously, St. John, how are you gonna get some beer?"

St. John passed her a well-made fake ID. "I got you one too." He tossed a second ID into her lap.

"When did you make this?"

"Last night."

Jamila looked at the ID. It listed her name as LaRaine, and had her age as twenty-one. "Wow. Ah love it!"

"Knew you would." The ride to the liquor store was filled with good-natured joking and laughter. At the liquor store, St. John was persuaded to also buy some Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Silver, along with what Jamila referred to as 'horrible Aussie beer'. Their next stop was a pizza parlor, where they picked up several different kinds of munchies. They headed back to Magneto's and settled down in front of the big screen to watch the soccer match. The rest of Jamila's evening was filled with food, fun, and alcohol, just the way she liked. She headed back up to her room much later, to find Pietro already asleep. She changed clothes and slipped into bed.

Like usual, once Jamila woke up, Pietro was gone. She took a shower and completed her ablutions before returning to her room, where Remy was lounging on the bed, waiting. Jamila growled low in her throat. "What the fuck do you want?"

"We've been over this, lionne."

"Yeah, and obviously, you're not getting the picture." Jamila said, keeping the door open, and going to her vanity to brush her hair. Remy tilted her chin so she was facing him, and brushed his lips against hers gently before leaving the room. Jamila shivered. Pietro walked in, and sat down.

"Why is it whenever I come in our room in the morning, Remy's leaving?"

"He's being a pain in the ass."

Pietro looked at Jamila sharply. "Uh-huh."

"What, you don't believe me?"

Pietro shrugged. "This just keeps happening…"

Jamila narrowed her eyes. "Just because he likes me, you wanna blame me?"

Pietro shrugged again. "I didn't say that."

"Nah, but you were sure as hell thinkin' it!" Jamila stood up, and faced Pietro squarely. "If you wanna accuse me, you had better do it properly."

"Fine! Jamila, do you and Remy have something going?"

"No!"

Pietro scoffed. "Whatever."

Jamila placed her hands on her hips. "You know what? Sleep in your own fuckin' room tonight. Ah don't have time to deal with your dumbassery."

Pietro didn't say a word, just stormed from the room. Jamila watched him leave, before heading to her mother's room. Leilani took one look at Jamila's face and winced.

"What on earth is wrong, chile? Go get me a brush and comb. You can tell me while I do your hair." She nodded and got the items. Her 'mother' took the comb and brush and motioned for Jamila to have a seat. "Now, tell me what the matter is," She said, running the comb through Jamila's hair softly.

"Mama, it's awful!" Jamila poured out her story, punctuated by frequent sniffles. When she was done, Leilani rested her cheek on Jamila's hair. "Baby, there isn't anything you can do but wait. You just met Pietro. How could you possibly feel so strongly for him?" In a quieter tone she mumbled, "The boy's an arrogant son of a bitch. You don't get your taste from MY side of the family."

Jamila giggled despite her tears. "Ah can't explain it. Ah just like him."

"Poor you. I remember being a teenager. I had a big crush on this boy, and I just couldn't explain it. I just woke up one morning and had a crush on him."

"What happened?" Jamila asked. She had now developed hiccups. "I (hic) mean, did y(hic)ou get ov(hic)er it?" She twitched her nose and held her breath, which always seemed to stop her hiccups.

"No, we ended up going out, and he was my first love."

"Oh." Jamila said in a tiny voice. "Mom, what am Ah supposed to do? If he doesn't believe me, he'll never speak to me again, and Ah'll be miserable." Jamila's eyes hardened. "This is all Remy's fault."

"On a first name basis with him, huh?"

Jamila bit her lip. "Ah don't know."

"Well, it seems to me like you gonna have to make a choice. Remy or Pietro." Jamila opened her mouth. "Before you can say anything, I can't help you. This is on your own. But I will say this. It seems like Remy is only in it for the sex, and that Pietro might actually like you for you." Leilani got up and left, leaving Jamila to do some heavy thinking.

As always, thanks for reading! Please review!