Chapter Text
Wendy's mind felt something familiar as she passed a group of teens. It drew her mind. They must have noticed her because the group quickly scattered. But her entire way home she couldn't shake that feeling. That she needed to find them.
She easily found Charles when she returned.
"Something weird happened."
Charles looked her over as she neared him. "Are you alright?" He set the book he had been reading aside.
"I'm fine but in the city, I felt something at the edge of my mind. Something that stopped me in my tracks. I saw these kids. One of them seemed to draw me to her. I don't think I have ever seen any of them before. Does that make sense?"
"It makes perfect sense," Charles smiled at her. "For someone with telepathic abilities, your mind is always working on so many different levels, often without realizing it. Your mind is brushing against the ones around you, and in a split second your mind decides whether to acknowledge it. If they are a threat, an enemy, or an ally. Sometimes you may find a connection you never realized existed. The more familiar a mind is, the easier it is to find. That aspect annoys your father a bit," Charles chuckled.
"But that's just it,” Wendy said, “I've never seen them before, and they were gone before I could do anything."
"It doesn't have to always be their mind,” Charles assured her, “Especially for someone as connected to the fabric of reality. You still remember what you felt, right?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"Reach out through your powers,” he told her. “See if you can pinpoint what feels similar."
Wendy let her powers flow through her, connect her to the familiar figures around her. And she felt it, the same pull. It was the draw of her father's powers. That magnetic pull, the feeling of metal and the one that controls it. "Are there many metal benders?" She asked.
"Your father is the only one I know of," he informed her.
"So it's not common?” she asked.
"A rarity it seems." Charles looked at her. "Do you think that you felt another one?"
"Maybe,” Wendy said, unsure, “hopefully our paths cross again."
"One can only hope," Charles agreed.
Wendy had gone into the city a few more times as a few weeks passed. This time she was determined to actually contact the girl that had her father’s powers. So determined to succeed that she brought Peter with her.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Peter asked.
"Nope," Wendy admitted. "Just watch my back."
"Okay,” Peter told her, “but try not to get us killed. Dad would be pissed if we died."
Wendy made sure they were blocked from view before reaching out with her powers. A few minutes later she found what she was looking for. She directed her brother and they found themselves in an alleyway that ended in a wall.
"Shit," Wendy said when she realized what was going on. She used her powers to shove her brother aside before a photon blast hit the wall next to them.
"You just won't leave us alone," a male voice said from the opening of the alley.
"Aren't you even interested in why we are here?" Wendy asked.
"Not really," another voice said as a pair of young women stepped forward.
"We're just here to talk," Peter said, his hand up to try and placate them.
"Stalkers usually don't just chat," one of the men said.
Wendy focused on the girl with green hair. She could feel the amulet the girl had. A flick of Wendy's wrist and it was floating between them. "Your mother give you this?"
"Don't you dare-" The green-haired metal bender started as she snatched it back. Wendy held her hand out and the locket around her brother's neck came to her.
"Father was never the most subtle," Wendy let it float between them. "Go ahead, use your powers, feel it, tell me you don't feel the similarities." Wendy's eyes began to glow. Peter grabbed her just before a fist would have connected with her face.
"Well, that wasn't very nice," Wendy said. "Why do you want to fight me? I only want to help you, Lorna. Don’t you have questions? Don’t you want answers? My name is Wanda and this is my brother Pietro, I'm pretty sure we're your-"
Before she was finished Wendy felt something dig into her side, piercing the skin as pain flooded her torso. Wendy looked down. She was bleeding. "So much like father."
Peter caught Wendy as she swayed on her feet. His hand went to her side to try and stop the bleeding. Wendy looked up to see the group approaching a portal. Wendy's eyes flashed red as she reached towards them and her eyes met one of the men. His eyes flashed red with her powers as she showed him images, memories of her father, telling him why they were there. The young man hesitated, but he joined the others before the portal closed.
Peter grabbed Wendy, and they were at the school infirmary in an instant. Wendy groaned. There were voices shouting and noises around her, and then her father was there.
"What the hell happened?" Erik asked, his voice filled with concern and tinged with fear.
"It was a trap," Peter said when he appeared with Hank. Peter quickly cut the midriff of his sister's shirt off.
"Cut my jacket and I cut yours." She glared at her brother.
"It's already torn and bloody," Peter said.
"I don't care, just don't ruin it," she stated through clenched teeth.
"Then off it comes," Erik said. She let her father help her out of her favorite red jacket. She looked at her father. "The men I expected a fight from, I should have seen it coming, but she used my own keys against me."
"You knew you were walking into a trap?" Her father asked.
"Not until it was too late," she admitted as Hank stuck an IV needle in her arm. He injected something Erik didn’t know into the IV.
"Erik, can you-" Hank started to ask the master of magnetism to pull the metal from her wound but he didn't even need to finish asking. Erik held his hand up and the blood-covered mangled mess that had once been a set of keys, he set the mass off to the side. Wendy let out a whimper of pain and winced but didn't fight as her brother and Hank tried to fully assess the damage, and stop the bleeding.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I needed to know first. I didn't want to get your hopes up." Wendy admitted. She winced and let out a groan as Hank felt along the edges of the wound. "I'm sorry, Dad." Tears began to streak down her cheeks.
"Shhhh," Erik said, one hand finding hers, the other brushing her tears away. "We can talk about that later." Wendy gave a small nod before her eyes closed. Erik felt a moment of panic.
"It's the medication," Hank said, glancing up at Erik. "Best she doesn't have to feel what I do next."
"What?" Erik looked over at the scientist.
Hank didn't bother explaining, he just moved quickly as he used a set of forceps to pull out a few pieces of plastic and fabric from the wound. Peter physically winced at the sight of his sister's plastic keychain that their mother had given her.
"That should be everything," Hank muttered. Before getting the kit to start stitching her up. Erik kept a tight grip on his daughter's blood-drenched hand until he had been forced to let go.
Erik sat with his daughter after everything had been cleaned up. The blood having been washed away, but Erik was sure he could still feel it, still smell it. His mind replaying everything over and over, as it always did. He never seemed to be able to keep his kids safe. His ex-wife might actually kill him if she finds out. Maybe he should call her. Maybe Peter already had. Maybe not, she had sent Wendy away years ago. Why make her worry now? He stayed as Wendy slept.
"If I had known she was going to try and find the girl I would not have helped her."
"What? Find who?" Erik looked over at Charles as he made his way into the room.
"She came to see me a few weeks ago, she had been in the city and a girl caught her attention. She said she had felt familiar. I helped her narrow down what she had felt."
"What was it?" Erik asked.
"I assume the girl’s powers,” Charles said, “because Wendy asked about yours and how common they are."
"They aren't," Erik stated.
"Exactly," Charles said as he moved to Erik's side. "She didn't really say anything else other than she hoped their paths would cross again. I didn't think she would go looking for trouble."
Erik smiled sadly, "you forget they are my children, trouble is inevitable."
"Oh, I am very aware of that, Erik." Charles reached out and put his hand on Wendy's and smiled. "Her mind is calm and she is healing." He assured the girl's father. "Kurt and Ororo managed to get the full story from Peter."
Erik's head snapped up and looked at him. "Tell me," Erik said.
"Wendy managed to narrow down the girl's location. She brought Peter with her in case something went wrong. And unfortunately, it did."
"They said it was a trap," Erik stated.
"It was, the group was able to anticipate Wendy's moves and they cut them off in a blocked alley. Peter knew he should have gotten them out the second he knew it was a trap. But Wendy wanted to talk to them. The twins did a good job of protecting each other, but not even Peter could stop what was happening. Neither of them noticed her keys twisting in her jacket pocket until they pierced her side."
Erik had to close his eyes and force himself to breathe. The metal around him had begun to rattle and he could end up hurting his daughter more if he didn't reign it in.
"Who are these people?" Erik asked.
"A young group of mutants,” Charles informed him. “That didn't appreciate being found it seems."
"But why did they go looking for them?"
"They were looking for the girl," Charles said as he decided it was best to tell Erik the whole truth. "Because Wendy thinks she is your daughter."
"What?" Erik stared at him.
"She apparently had an amulet, one that reminded Wendy of the locket you made their mother," Charles told him.
Erik had to remind himself to breathe again. The girl was clearly like him, with a temper and the ability to bend metal. He looked over the keys on the table across the room.
"Apparently her name is Lorna, Wendy didn't know her surname. But Peter she had called her Lorna." Erik ran his hands over his face. He could have another daughter, but she had injured Wendy. She and her friends had set a trap and injured Wendy.
"Erik," Charles took Erik's hand in his. "I know you’re upset, but they were young. They were probably afraid. The wound wasn't fatal. No internal bleeding. She didn't want to kill Wendy."
"How can you know that for sure?” Erik asked him, “It easily could have been worse."
"But it wasn’t, and I need you to focus on the fact that Wendy is right here, stable, and safe. She loves you and needs you to be strong for her." Charles placed Erik's hand on Wendy's. "She needs her father."
Erik nodded.
Charles and Erik were eventually joined by Peter. The speedster was uncharacteristically quiet as they waited. No music or anything to distract. He just watched his sister’s chest and rise and fall with every breath she took. He needed the reminder she was alive. He could have easily lost her. He smiled a bit when Kurt knocked quietly at the door and handed Wendy's jacket to Peter. "I did the best I could, hopefully, she doesn't mind."
"You fixed it?" Peter grinned.
Kurt nodded. "Cleaned and mended." The blue mutant looked over at his sleeping friend, frowning as his tail wrapped around his own ankle. He hated seeing his friends hurt. He’d lost too many already, he didn’t want to lose Wendy.
"That is very kind of you, Kurt," Charles said, attempting to draw the younger mutant’s attention.
"I wanted to help," Kurt informed him. "And my mother and sister, my adopted family," he corrected himself. "Taught me so I could help with the costumes. More hands make less work."
"This is great," Peter said as he looked over the patch inside the jacket. The fabric didn't match but it didn't matter. "She'll love it. Aunt Marya gave her this jacket," Peter said. "She lived with them for so long. She loves this stupid thing. Thanks, Kurt."
"It was nothing," Kurt stated, he looked back at Wendy once more before vanishing.
Peter held the jacket tight as the room fell quiet again.
"Stop looking at me like that," Lorna Dane said, glaring at her friend as he stared at her.
“That woman," John Proudstar started. "Wanda-"
"I don't care," Lorna said.
"She's your sister," John continued, as everyone turned to look at him. "And the guy was her twin."
"You know that for sure?" Marcos Diaz asked.
"She showed me," John said.
"It's a lie," Lorna said. "I have no siblings."
"That you know of," John corrected her. "And they would be technically half-siblings."
"Even if they are, I just stabbed her, you really think they would want me around? No. Just like I don't need them."
"You're telling me you don't want to find out if you really have family out there. Ones that are clearly trying to find you."
She remained silent.
"Your father is alive,” John said. “Your real father. She showed him to me. He didn't know they existed. He might not know you do either."
"Then it should stay that way," Lorna spat.
"Probably a bit late for that," Marcos said.
Wendy groaned as she woke up slowly. Her mind felt jumbled and cloudy. She hated painkillers. It messed with her control. Her hand was caught as she went to rub her face.
"Easy," her father's voice said. She opened her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Charles asked, a comforting smile on his face.
"Like 'Ro made a storm in my head," Wendy admitted as she looked around. "Is that my jacket?"
"Oh yeah," Peter held it up. "Kurt fixed it." She reached to grab it but winced as the action pulled at her stitches. Peter was at her side, the jacket carefully placed in her lap.
"Thank him for me," she smiled as she examined the new stitching. Kurt had clearly done so with great care.
"Thank him yourself later," Peter said.
"Fine," Wendy looked over at her dad. "So how much trouble am I in?"
Erik seemed to consider the question carefully. "Oh, you won't be going anywhere anytime soon, I assure you that," he stated. He leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "Don't scare me like that again."
"I'll try my best," Wendy placated.