Hey, whats happening? Contrary to what you might believe, Mystique will not appear very much in this fic, this is primarily about the growth of the Animated Marvel Universe and the X-Men's role in that world. Unfortunately, I know only what I can get from movies and cartoons, so if you have any advice, tell me, I want you to enjoy this. Read, enjoy, review!
"So," I asked, "Where does that leave us?"
"Well, since it seems our whole meeting was based off of misunderstandings, hopefully you would be willing to start over? Hopefully as a student here at the Institute?" Xavier smiled and held out his hand.
I thought about it. It was true, more or less. I hadn't been too eager to trust them based on my own paranoia and from an outsiders point of view, I was a pretty suspicious character. Ah, what the hell. I had nothing better to do.
"You got it." I said with a smile, shaking the Professor's hand. "So, will I get to meet these siblings of mine soon? Excluding the Neo-Nazi, of course."
"Down in the living room, Kurt has woken up from his, ah, fainting spell." Xavier said, with an easy going smile.
I stood and bolted from the office, racing down to where I would find my brother and sister. Sure enough, they were seated with all of the other X-Men, in the living room, where they they were all talking about something. Call me crazy, but I think that something may have been me. They didn't notice me coming down the stairs, so I let out a loud, hacking cough, just to get their attention. A few of them jumped, but they all shut up.
I sauntered down the stairs. "So, anyone care if I join in?" I asked.
"Kurt, man, get up." I heard Spyke hiss to my nervous-looking brother. "That's your sister."
Kurt stood, hands shoved into his pockets, looking pretty freaked. Okay, I couldn't be too familiar with him. I would have to take this slow if I even wanted a friendship with him.
Shoulders back, and chest out. Confidence was important. I held out my hand to him. "Desiree." I stated, with a light smile.
Kurt smiled back, shaking my hand. "Kurt."
"Nice to meet you Kurt. But I recently found out that I apparently have a sister as well. Don't suppose you could introduce us?" I asked, grinning.
"Ja, little sis." Kurt said, returning the grin before turning to Rogue who seemed to be simultaneously trying to sink down into the couch cushions, curl up into a ball, and escape Gambit, who had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Kurt bamfed behind Rogue, grabbed her and bamfed back, causing my new sister to stumble since she had been sitting down. "Shall ve continue to entertain our audience, or perhaps continue in a more private setting?"
"Private." Rogue and I said together, as Rogue glared at the 'audience,' who at least had the decency to look a bit ashamed for being voyeurs. Cool, I had a scary older sister! Kurt grasped both our forearms before bamfing us up to the roof.
"Ick." I coughed, trying to fan away the smoke. "No offense, but that stuff stinks."
"Ja, sorry."
"Why am I up her?" Rogue demanded irritably. "Shouldn't this be a family thing?"
"You're family." Kurt stated, as if that explained everything.
"No, Mystique gave birth to both of you, she just adopted me because she knew I'd have powers one day." she snapped, her voice full of bitterness.
"So? In the eyes of the law, you're still our sister, and I'm not going to object to having more family." I offered. "C'mon, don't tell its because you don't like us. I mean, are we really that horrible and annoying?"
"Ja, Rogue. You don't hate us, do you?" he began to do this puppy dog pout, which was so funny that I had to join in on it.
"Pretty please with sugar on top?" I asked, clasping my hands in front of my face in a a begging pose.
Rogue lips began to twitch to the point of having a slight smile on her face, but it was enough for Kurt and I.
"YES! YES, THAT IS A SMILE, WE HAVE SUCCEEDED!" I shrieked, turning to high five Kurt. How awesome was this? I was bonding with my siblings by trying to make my goth older sister laugh/smile.
Rogue scowled again at our little victory dance, which only prompted us to try and tickle torture her without falling off the roof. Yeah, this Institute thing may work out after all.
3 Weeks Later
I groaned, stretching after yet another one of Hank's gruelling lessons. God, who knew a teacher could be so brutal? Okay, I did miss out on, like, the last two months of Freshman year and the first month and a half of Sophomore, but trying to make it all up in time for me to join Bayville's Sophomore class by the beginning of November, Hank was being a total slave driver. He was the academic equivalent of Wolverine.
After a couple of hours of bonding time with my new siblings, I'd been flown back to California to pack up my stuff and say goodbye to the lovely Miss Kelly. That farewell was actually pretty funny. I was still a bastard whore, but the fact that the X-Men were taking me was pretty redeeming. She was actually pretty pleased about the whole mutant thing, because even today she was a big time Captain America fangirl, and she saw the X-Men as heroes just like him. Well, that and she was hoping they would whip me into a respectable member of society. I guess everyone has redeeming qualities.
Nick Fury had been true to his word and had cleared the way for Logan, of all people to take custody of me. Weird, right? Well, I guess it just shows that he likes me a bit, and that's always a good thing as far as I'm concerned, because people the Wolverine doesn't like tend to get close up views of the business ends of his claws. Oh God, did that mean Logan would be coming to my parent-teacher conferences at Bayville. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a camera if that ever happened. Maybe that's why Nick did that, just to get a laugh out of the deal? He probably had the whole damn school bugged. Of course, Wolvie was just my guardian on paper, because Xavier is the caretaker of everyone in the Institute.
We had sold the house, and my decision to sell had surprised everyone but me. I had only lived there for about two years, dad and I had lived in a lotta different places in Brighton; apartments, small houses, even a trailer for a little while, so I wasn't exactly attached to the place. I sold a lot of stuff; my dad's clothes, save for his SHIELD uniform and a few of his favorite shirts, the furniture, the kitchen stuff (not like we had any good china), appliances, everything I didn't need and could make money from. Between dad's life insurance, his money he left me, the house, the car, and the rest of the stuff I sold, I would probably be set for a few years and maybe my first year of college if I was frugal. Er, that basically means cheap, and concious about spending.
So, here I was, three weeks after arriving at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, feeling like my brain had been put in a blender. I was actually running into and bouncing off the walls I was so out of it. I barely even noticed that Tabby was now pulling me out the front door- wait, what?!
"Uh, Boom-Boom, what's the deal? Where are we going?" I asked her.
"You, Blue-girl, are coming with me to meet the Brotherhood Boys- oh, and Wanda, too." She declared, grinning back at me.
"Oh that so works for me." I said, grinning. I'd heard a lot of stuff about the Brotherhood, the good, the bad, and the funny stuff. Some, like Scott, thought they were nothing more than a bunch of criminals. Others, like Kitty, thought that they may have some redeeming qualities, but were ultimately a bunch of hopeless delinquents (of course, she and one of the boys, Lance, used to date, and they broke up, like, two weeks after I arrived, so she probably wasn't the fairest of judges). Tabby, however, just saw a bunch of odd, funny guys who had some seriously shitty luck and no positve role models or decent care takers. Given that Tabitha had lived with the Brotherhood for over half a year, I was more inclined to believe her.
Tabitha dragged me into the garage, towards Scott's car, which he loved as much as Jean, if not more so.
"Tabitha...does Scott know we're using his car to visit the Brotherhood?"
Tabitha smirked. "Scott knows we're using his car to visit the Brotherhood." she said, grinning wickedly, jingling the car keys from her finger.
"Now say it like you mean it." I snorted. "If he does anything, I'm placing all the blame on you."
Tabitha laughed before hopping into the drivers seat.
At first glance, the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding house looked like an overgrown rattrap. If you looked harder, you'd see that the place had probably once been quite nice and wouldn't have looked out of place in a nice, surburban area. The stress of the elements added with housing a bunch of superpowered teens had not been good for the house.
"You sure about this?" I asked Tabitha, my voice deeper than normal, given the shape she had told me to take, just for a harmless prank to play on the boys. She had given very specific instructions.
She shoved me up to the front door. I honestly hoped this would work, and given that I was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans that were both straining some from the size of my current form. I knocked on the door, only for it to be opend by greenish, crouched over kid who seriously stunk. This had to be Todd 'Toad' Tolansky. He took one look at me, registered that I was 'Mystique,' then he screamed. Long. And loud. And like a girl.
Then he stopped screaming, and slammed the door in my face. I could hear him yelling in panicked tones, "OH GOD NO! SHE'S BACK!"
It was too much for me to handle, and I bent over, laughing like a nutjob, and I could hear Tabby staggering up behind me, also laughing her ass off. The door was ripped open by an a hot guy with brown hair, and a nice tan. He was very much punk. When he first opened the door, he looked pissed off, but now, seeing 'Mystique' and Tabitha, leaning against each other and laughing like a couple idiots, he quickly became confused. Guess I had better cut him some slack. I turned back into me and grinned up at the hunk.
"Lance, right? Mind if we come in?" without waiting for an answer, Tabitha and I brushed right past him. "In case you're wondering, the name's Desiree Meyer."
Seeing the interior of the house where my mom's 'charges' lived was even worse the outside. God, she left a bunch of teenagers here, alone, and penniless. What had my dad seen in that woman? She must have been a real charmer.
Why am I bashing on my mom? Easy, I simply don't care. She gave birth to me and left my dad to pine after her for 15 years. She was a freakin' terrorist who had teamed up with an omega-level mutant to destroy all humans. Yeah, I'm totally gonna want a relationship with someone who not only condones, but encourages genocide. I get she had a pretty shitty life, but I am of the mind-set that that shouldn't excuse turning into a murdering psychopath.
They pretty much all looked the same as they had been described; Fred was big and not the brightest, Lance was the stereotypical bad-boy, Pietro was a speedy little bastard, Wanda was about as goth as Rogue, and their newest addition, Pyro, was absolutely insane. All-in-all, not a bad bunch. What can I say? The cretins were always more interesting to know.
"So, how was it that mommy dearest recruited all you guys?" I asked, genuinely curious since I hadn't gotten all the details on that.
"Mummy?" Pyro asked before he began laughing his ass off. "That blue broad is your mum? Oh you poor, poor thing, you! My deepest condolences, sheila!"
"Thanks, and don't pity me, pity my dad. He actually put up with her." I agreed with a grin.
"Wait, wait, back up! You tellin' me that this blue chick is ol' Mystique's kid?! How many has she got?!" Toad yelped.
"Biologically? Three, that I know of, don't ask who the third is, it's just too horrifying for words. Now, my question? Care to answer?"
During this little side conversation, Wanda gotten a weird look on her face. She looked...confused? Distressed?
"She got me here after my mutation showed up, yo." Todd said with a shrug.
"She got me after I destroyed my old school." Lance said, still glaring at me distrustfully.
"From a monster truck rally." Fred had gone back to watching cartoons
"My father brought me here." Pietro said, watching Wanda uncertainly.
"I just came here on my own." Pyro said, grinning maniacally. "Needed someplace to crash."
Wanda didn't answer, however. She had gotten pale and was breathing heavily, her eyes wide and scared. "I don't know," she whispered, "I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW!" her voice had steadily risen until she was screaming. Her entire body began glowing blue until it lashing out like some kind of bubble, throwing all of us away from her and shattering all of the windows in the house from the sound of it.
What the hell was that!?
"What the *&%$!?" I asked, rubbing the back of my skull and my ass, both parts that had been hit the hardest. "What just happened?!"
Wanda was kneeling in the middle of the room, her hands on the ground in from of her. At first I thought she was panting, but then I saw tears falling.
"Why?" she asked, her voice ragged and hoarse. "Why did you let it happen? How could you do this to me?!"
Shit, she was starting to glow again. I ran over to the Scarlet Witch and knelt down in front of her, placig my hands on her shoulders and shaking her until she looked up at me, and boy, did she look pissed.
"Whoa, there! Look, Wanda, I don't know what happened, but you need to calm down, blasting us and this shitty house to hell isn't going to solve anything!" I spoke quickly, because whatever happened to her, she was liable to kill for what had been done to her. "Just calm down and we'll talk about this like rational people, okay? Before you do something you regret."
Her glow died down some when I was done talking. Phew.
"Wanda, what happened that made you freak out like that?" I asked, making sure my voice was calm but firm, I wasn't going to force her to answer, she could do it on her own. Giving her the choice would hopefully give me brownie points with her.
Back at the Institute, whenever the subject of Wanda came up, everyone got weird looks on their faces, ranging from anger to guilt. I had tried asking about it, but it seemed the issue of Wanda was very tongue-in-cheek.
"Magneto, he had his telepath changed my memories, forget that he left me in an asylum for years. And they left me like that."she broke off for a moment, breathing raggedly. "Forget that I hate him...and I hate them, too!" She raised her hands, which were glowing blue again, glaring hatefully at the Brotherhood, who all wore combined looks of fear and concern.
I grabbed both her wrists, jerking them down and causing her to turn to look at me.
"Can you blame them for leaving you like that?!" I demanded. Damn, this was a huge mess. "You're freaking out and trying to attack them, even if they had told you, wouldn't you have done the same thing?! At least you were stable before! Now you're acting like an animal. So like I said before, calm down!"
The blue tinge began to die away from her hands and she slumped down until her forehead was pressed against chest. I released her wrists and put my arms around her. Pietro chose to speak then.
"I-it's like she said Wands, you were just...happier like that." he stated lamely.
I sighed. They couldn't stay here. Magneto or my mom would just come and use them again, and when tose two were done, they'd toss the Brotherhood aside like a bunch of broken toys in this hellhole. Crap, this would so not be fun.
I pulled Wanda to her feet and settled her down on the easy chair that Blob had vacated before turning to face everyone, clapping my hands together. "Ladies and gentlemen, it may or may not have escaped your notice, but I believe that it is no longer in your best interests to remain at the Brotherhood Boardinghouse. Before you try to argue, allow me to ask: what do you have to gain from staying in this overgrown rattrap?" the boys didn't say anything, although it seemed that the didn't have much thinking to do. "I do, however, believe it to be in your best interest that you move to Xavier's, and again, before you try to argue: what do you have to gain? I'll answer: decent food, hot water, and generally all of the comforts of a decent home. All in favor of blowing this dump say aye."
Everyone said aye, even Wanda who was still crying.
It took one phone call to the Professor and about two hours to get everything packed up into Lance's Jeep and Scott's convertable.
It took one big blow up between Scott and Lance until Logan broke it up for the Brotherhood to be admitted into the Institute.
Wanda was moved into my room, since I didn't have a roommate. She still seemed to be in shock or something over the whole unealed memories thing, not that I could blame her. Seriously, what the hell had the Prof been thinking leaving her in the shitty asylum? From what I was hearing, that place would only make your emotional state worse. Wanda hadn't even been sick to begin with, she'd only been a little girl who had powers that she couldn't control. When I met Magneto (there was no way I wouldn't at some point) I was going to give that dead-beat a piece of my mind. Bastard.
The boys settled with sharing rooms. Lance was sharing with Warren, because there was no bad history between the two. Toad and Blob got along the best, so they shared. Pietro- oh poor, poor Pietro- had drawn the short straw and had to share with John (Pyro). Todd and Blob began placing bets on who would drive who nuts first. Hopefully they wouldn't burn the Institute down in the ensuing chaos.
Two hours after the Brotherhood got settled in, Nick Fury showed up. Figures.
I wasn't there, but from what Wanda told me later, Nick pointed out all of the various crimes that the Brotherhood had commited: Pyro with his random acts of arson and criminal mischief, Lance and his school, Todd and his klepto tendencies, Pietro was a wanted fugitive when he escaped custody, and whole slew of other shit the boys had done over the years. Wanda was the only one with relatively few charges, and hers were mainly vandalism from causing a bunch of 'disasters' theat the Brotherhood had commited in order to appear to be 'heroes.' I couldn't judge them for that, they had gotten a lot of money, which they had desperately needed. The Brotherhood cut a deal, sort of. they were considered to be on 'parole,' with Xavier as their 'parole officer.' Keep their noses clean, train with the X-Men, get some GED's, and someday they would work for SHIELD in exchange for overlooking past crimes. It was a decent enough offer that they accepted.
Since Wanda hadn't done enough to be considered 'on parole,' she asked that they shut donw her old 'home' in exchange for future services.
By the time I finally got to bed, all I could do was say, " #&%. That was a damn nightmare."
Sorry if this chapter isn't quite up to par, but I'm doing this because I like the Brotherhood and I think they had a pretty raw deal of things, and if I had been in their shoes, I may have done the same things they did. I hope you enjoyed this, please review!