-A couple of hours later-
Pietro woke up with a jolt as the pantry door slammed. He looked around in a sleepy daze, then got to his feet and stretched his freshly rested limbs. He walked, yes walked, into the kitchen and saw Freddy with several dozen grocery bags.
Pietro grabbed a few items, "Need some help?" he asked.
Freddy turned to meet the speedster, "Sure," he said with a smile.
One by one grocery item were stocked in their necessary location, bags became empty, and empty bags found themselves in small wads in the pantry.
Freddy sat at the kitchen table, "Is everyone still out?" he asked while opening a bottle of water.
Pietro nodded, "Have you seen Karima?"
Freddy shook his head, "You were the only person in the house when I got here," he explained.
Pietro nodded and sped to the basement; he knocked once then opened the door to take a look around. She was gone.
Pietro sped back to the kitchen, "She's gone," he said in confusion, "I can't find her anywhere."
Freddy peeked an eyebrow, "Gone? Where could she have gone?" he questioned.
"I don't know," Pietro said slowly, "She doesn't go out on her own, unless she's with one of us."
"What are we gonna do?" Freddy got to his feet, "Should we wait for Wanda to do a spell or something?" he asked.
Pietro smirked, "Come on Freddy you know I can't wait." He sped to his room and back, comm. link in hand. He switched it so that it would send a signal directly to Karima, and not the entire Brotherhood, "Karima?" he questioned.
After a few seconds, pained screams began emanating from the device. Followed by a strange voice, "Sit still!" then silence, the comm. link went dead.
"What do we do Pietro?" Freddy asked in a panic.
"I'm going after her," Pietro said as he was about to take off to suit up.
A mighty hand stopped him, "Take me with you," Freddy said, determination burning in his eyes.
Pietro smiled, "Can't do it," Pietro stated calmly, "You have to wait until the others get back, Wanda can concoct a spell, and we can get the drop on this jackass."
Freddy nodded in understanding, contrary to popular belief he's not as dumb as everyone makes him out to be, "Be careful."
"I'll stay in contact," he gestured to the comm. link on his belt. With that Pietro sped off.
At that moment Raven walked in through the back door, "Where is he speeding off to?"
-A few minutes later across the street-
"Honey!" the Husband called out, "Quicksilver just left. I had to slow the camera down just to see the bastard."
The wife hurried into the room, "Who's left in the house?" she asked.
And as if the universe were out to get them, the rest of the Brotherhood drove into the driveway.
The Husband smirked, "Everyone, except Quicksilver," he said with a sick smiled, "Where's Julio?"
The Wife returned the smile, "He went out. Should I get your anniversary gift?"
"Would you?" if at all possible his grin grew wider. The Husband turned back to the monitor while the Wife pulled, with a great deal of effort, something long, cylindrical, and metallic out of the broom closet.
"Happy anniversary," she said as she placed a kiss on his forehead.
He smiled and hefted the gift onto his shoulder, "Just my size," he then made his way to the front door and opened it. He then dropped to one knee and looked into a scope, "Load me."
She pulled a rocket out of the closet, and inserted it into the launcher, "Ready?" she asked.
Freddy opened the door and took a step outside.
The Husband took aim, "Fire in the hole," the rocket shot forward and impacted the Immovable Blob, cause a massive explosion. The Husband was knocked off his feet, "I love you."
-On the streets-
Neighbors began crowding in front of the Brotherhood House. No one knowing exactly what was going, they kept their distance from the infamous house. Sirens soon began howling in the back ground.
It was almost surreal. The house had kept its basic shape thanks to Raven reinforcing the frame work with steel beams instead of the standard wooden ones. Small fires decorated various wooden panels, several of which were on the lawn. Smoke engulfed the front door, not even allowing light from the street lamps to enter.
"Lance!" a voice cut through the commotion, "Mijo! Where are you?" Julio finally muscled his way through the crowd, "Hablame!"
The smoke finally began to dissipate, revealing a charred Freddy. His shirt and the bottom of his overalls reduced to ash.
Lance staggered out of the door, "Freddy speak to me!" he yelled at the giant.
Freddy cough out a puff of smoke, "Smooth," he said wit a strained voice.
"Lance, are you okay?" Julio asked as he began inspecting his son.
Lance shoved him away, "Get away from me!" he yelled out.
He grabbed Lance's shoulders, "Sit down you're bleeding," he said calmly.
Lance had a gash above his left eye, and several unseen bruises on his body, "Leave me alone, I gotta find Pietro, make sure Freddy is okay, and tend to my people inside," he said shoving his father away again.
"He ain't here Lance," Freddy stated as several EMT's began checking his vitals.
"And Fred will be fine," Julio stated trying to calm his son.
"Don't pretend you care," Lance said jabbing his father in the chest with his finger, "'Cause we all know you don't!"
"What?" Julio asked, genuinely confused.
"Come on 'Dad,' my wife is a telepath; the strongest member of my team can hack into your personal computer with an old walkman, and last but certainly not least! I live with a damn Sentinel!" Lance exclaimed, "We all know you're the leader of the Purifiers," he finished his sentence in a whisper.
"You don't understand," Julio tried to explain.
"I don't?" Lance asked menacingly, "Well why don't we call your poker buddies? Reverend Stryker? Graydon Creed? Ring any bells for you? Cause I sure as hell know who they are!"
Julio pulled a small metal device out of his pocket, "There's more to this than you know," he proceeded to push the button, which to everyone's surprise the Mutant Hating Couple's house exploded, "I've been a double agent for fifteen years," suddenly the ground began to shake, "Surprised? You got your mother's temper, but you get your 'rocky' personality from me."
-Meanwhile at the Xavier Institute-
Pietro sped past the security alarms, over the trip wires, and around the motion sensitive lasers. With agility only out classed by Todd, he leapt onto a balcony in a single bound, and crouched down.
He peered into the window; Anna and Kitty were on their respective beds idly talking about something, he couldn't hear and probably wouldn't care about.
But, none the less, a small pain shot through his heart, as he shook his head, "I'll do this with out her," he said quietly. He then leapt to another balcony where he could see Amara sitting alone in the room she shared with Tabby.
He noticed her lips moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying.
-Amara's room-
"Amara." a voice called out from the darkness.
"Who's there?" she questioned.
"Just… a friend," she didn't know how but she knew the voice was smirking.
"What do you want?" she asked in her 'princess' voice.
"Oh nothing…" the voice trailed off, "But I know what you want…" the voice trailed off as an image of a healthy St. John entered her mind.
"Johnny," she said in a whisper.
"Join me," the voice said.
"When?" she asked, a determined look on her face.
"Soon, very soon," the voice began fading away.
-The Balcony-
Pietro shrugged and leapt to the next balcony. He peered into the window and smiled as he had found his accomplice.
-Laura's room-
Laura was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She held a book in her hand, her favorite actually, Pinocchio. It reminded her of a simpler time, before she knew what she was, before she knew her father, before she knew a certain speedster. Speaking of…
A light raping came at her window. She quickly moved to it and flung it open. There, to her surprise, was the object of her affection, "I need your help."
Laura sniffed the air around the speedster, "You smell like a machine and a woman," she paused, "Why should, I help you?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.
"Because you're a wonderful person?" he asked giving her his best smile.
She glared at him, "You know how I feel about you, I, know Anna left you, why are we still playing this game?"
"Because I have to save my friend and you're the only one I trust to go with me," he stated in all seriousness.
"Your 'friend' is a woman, isn't she?" she asked hurt apparent in her eyes.
"Yeah, but it's not like that with her," he smiled, "She's my best friend."
Laura smiled, "Good, I know you're telling the truth," she leapt into his arms.
"Seriously? How?" he asked in a state of confusion he had only been in a few times in his life.
She cuddled into the crook of his neck, making herself comfortable, "I can hear the fluctuations in someone's heart beat when they lie. Super human senses, have more uses than just tracking," she said with a smirk, "So where are we off to?"
"Stark Industries," after finishing his statement he sped off, out of town towards New York. One more night and I won't be here to take your breath away.