Chapter Text
Under the scorching sun, Peter Maximoff stood in front of a tomb. No words were spoken, just looked at the tombstone in front of him with longing eyes for a few minutes. He knelt and picked up some of the flowers that were already brown with drying. Peter replaced them with fresh and fragrant flowers.
It was the Wundagore Everbloom, a rare flower that could only be found in the shadow passes of Mount Wundagore of Transia. They were beautiful, smelled good, and had purple, blue, orange, or yellow colors. A mix of colors that was quite pleasing to the eye when they were tied together.
Peter laid them out neatly on the tomb, he always knew that Wundagore Everbloom was his sister's favorite. He hoped Wanda would be happy if he put the flowers there.
"Hey, Wanda,"
Peter spoke, unable to contain the teasing tone that sounded, always beaming when he talked to his sister. Just like when she was alive.
"The X-Men just got another mission, factory fire this time, I saved twenty people there—uh I mean me and my friends, but you know I did most of it," He played with the grass under his hand.
Peter continued to talk about Xavier School, how he made more friends there, and how good his home In Washington was, how Marya and Django were always so kind to him. After too much babbling, he stopped as he once again realized there would be no answer. No words were spoken, but he remained there for a while.
Peter closed his eyes and sighed, subconsciously squeezing another bunch of flowers he was carrying. So many times, he wondered why the universe allowed this to happen, nothing made sense, his twin died and he was still here. His mom said that twins have the same soul, split in two, and walk on all fours. She said their souls had a strong bond, and now it felt weird to be born together but to die apart. Peter missed Wanda his whole life.
He looked around, wondering if Wanda could hear him or see him, or maybe now she was standing by his side as a ghost. Not like a scary ghost that appears in horror movies, but more like an angel because that was who she was.
Peter stood up, he went to the tomb beside his sister's, then back to kneel. He laid out a bunch of white daisies, his mom's favorite.
"Cześć, Mama," That was all Peter can say. Most of what he wanted to say he had already said to Wanda, and how much he missed his mom couldn't even be described in words.
His mom died when he was ten, and Peter still remembered how after that he and Wanda had no one but each other. About his father, Peter never really had one. His mom had remarried to a cock-asshole-stiff necked turkey he could never regard as a father.
His real father was out there, completely unaware that he had a son who was still alive. Peter didn't know much about his sperm donor other than he was Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr, a supervillain the government had been after for years. It had been a long time since Peter had seen him, the last time being at the Mansion after the fight in Cairo.
Peter heard Erik didn't stay in one place for a long time, and for the last months, he started moving again.
After everything that happened, after everything Erik had done, and after all the terrible things and tragedies that man had been through, Peter was in a dilemma to speak the truth that he was his son. Peter was afraid to start, afraid that Erik would suspect him of trying to replace his daughter who died not so long ago.
Peter didn't want to mess things up, he didn't want the reveal to end badly. Sometimes, in the middle of the cold silent night, he would wake up, only to lie there restless. He thought and worried at the possibility that Erik might not want him as a son, or he might be disappointed with who he had become now.
Peter shook his head at all those thoughts, and when he realized he had been in the cemetery for too long, he said a few words of goodbye, then stood up, walking out of the cemetery as strong as he did for years.
With the pleasant melody of music in his ears, Peter ran for miles, back to school. As he arrived he turned off the music and he heard Charles's voice, calling him telepathically. At that moment, Peter slowed down his thoughts, allowing Charles to contact him without getting a migraine.
Peter, please come to my office
He rushed to Charles' office without making him wait any longer. When he opened the door, beside the Professor, he found Hank, Raven, Scott, Jean, Ororo, Kurt, and surprisingly his dad. Something strange was suddenly flowing and swirling in his chest, Peter tried his best not to look too nervous or scared in front of his Dad, and two other people he didn't know who they were.
"Did I forget that we have a meeting?" Peter asked, apparently he was the last to arrive and had no idea why they were gathered in the Professor's office.
"No, Peter, it's an impromptu meeting, we're just getting started," Charles answered softly.
Peter nodded, he then closed the door and went to Ororo's side. The meeting began as Charles started explaining the reason why they gathered.
"We gathered here because Erik has some information that we have to discuss," Charles spoke.
"I'm here to ask for help to free more mutants in Genosha," Erik spoke straight to the point.
"We will help, but we do it our way, no killing, Erik," Charles warned.
His father chuckled a little, and the way he did that felt like a mockery.
"Always with that principle, aren't you tired Charles? Giving your mercy to people who don't deserve it," Erik said.
At that moment, Peter could feel the air in the room slowly suffocating, and the situation became tense.
"Erik, I said we do it our way, not yours," Charles reiterated.
With what Charles said, Peter could see his father looked annoyed, and sighed to keep his mind cool, then he embraced a little girl beside him.
Peter wondered who that girl was.
"Now speak, what information do you have about Genosha?" Hank asked Erik.
"Let me explain..." The other girl stepped forward. She wore a black leather jacket and had unique green hair.
"Genosha is a fast-growing country. However, the country's wealth was due to using mutants as slaves," She spoke.
"They built facilities and concentration camps for Mutants. The government tested their citizens, and any mutants were stripped of basic rights," Erik continued.
Everyone fell silent as Erik and the green-haired girl finished their words. The other mutants just stared at each other after hearing the horror.
"I'm not going to say much more, and you'd better read this girl's mind, Charles. You will know everything," Erik said, introducing a little girl who seemed no older than twelve years old.
"This is Sofia, she's Genoshian, taken from her house by force, separated from her family to live life as a slave just because she is a mutant. She managed to escape, smuggled by the Mutant resistance group into cargo ships abroad," Erik told them.
Everyone looked at the frightened little girl, her hair was shaved in an ugly pattern, and there was a tattoo of a number on her forehead.
"Read her mind and see," Erik told Charles.
The telepath nodded, he offered his hand to the little girl, and she carefully took it.
"I will enter into your mind, but only if you are willing to," Charles asked for her permission.
The girl nodded and said, "Yes,"
Charles placed his two fingers on Sofia's temple, he concentrated, diving into the little girl's mind. The telepath shed tears, he looked in so much pain that his body shivered. Just like everyone, Peter was wondering what kind of horrible things the telepath saw in the little girl's mind.
When Charles finally snapped out of Sofia's mind, he gasped for breath, losing control of his composure. Panic gripped him, not even a gentle touch on his shoulder could calm him down.
"Professor, are you all right?" Jean asked worriedly.
Charles groaned, holding back his tears.
"Oh God... It was atrocities," a broken voice escaped from him.
Sofia went back to Erik's side, seeking protection by hugging him tightly.
"You've seen it, now tell me, do you truly believe that we have non-violence options?" Erik started over.
Charles rubbed his head, and when he calmed down a bit, he spoke again.
"We have one option, the liberation of Genosha," he stated.
Peter could see a relieved smile on his father's face, but then he glanced at the green-haired girl who spoke again.
"Great, now we need a plan," She spoke.
"You keep talking, but we still don't know your name, Lady Green Hair?" Scott asked the same question that had been playing on Peter's mind.
"My name is Lorna Dane—"
"She's my daughter," Erik interrupted, delivering a piece of big news that left everyone in the room wide-eyed.
"Your what?!" Peter slipped, "Sorry..."
Cheeks blushed, gaze fixed on the floor, Peter ignored Raven's narrowed gaze. Out of everyone in the room, only she and Ororo know the biggest secret of his life.
"You have another one?" Raven raised her eyebrows.
To that question, Erik did not respond.
Peter stood in front of a mirror, wore his uniform, silver and blue, an X crossed his chest, and one of the lines formed a lightning bolt. He spun around, making sure he had the uniform properly on before he left his dorm. As he was about to go down the stairs, he saw someone in the balcony area, staring out towards the front yard.
Since he still had time, Peter approached that person. Lorna was her name. The green-haired girl was his half-sister, and he was excited enough to interact with her.
"Hey..." Peter tried to strike up a conversation.
"Shouldn't you be with the others in the subbasement?" Lorna responded.
"Shouldn't you too?" Peter replied.
"I just want to get some peace before going to war, I guess," Lorna replied, brushing her hair back as the wind blew them.
Peter wore his gloves, then rested his hands on the balcony railing before he spoke again.
"I'm Peter, by the way" he introduced himself.
"I know, I've heard the Professor call you by that name," she said.
"And I've heard that you're... Magneto's daughter," Peter said.
Lorna sighed, "Magneto's daughter, huh?"
"I guess people will start calling me by that name now," she continued, her gaze fixed on the fountain and the neatly arranged flower beds in the front yard.
Peter breathed out while scratching his head, "What do you want people to call you? Do you have a code name or something? I mean most superheroes have a code name, even villains have it, You know... like in the comics, you read comics?"
Lorna smirked, "I'm not a superhero, not a villain too... I think?"
"Well, I think you still need one," Peter responded.
Lorna raised an eyebrow and chuckled "One second you're not in the Professor's room and the next second you're arriving out of nowhere. You're a speedster right?"
She folded her arms, "What's yours? Is your code name rusher, speed, or turbo?"
Peter laughed, "It's Quicksilver,"
"It's because you're quick and silver?" Lorna respond.
"Well, It's not that simple—"
"You need to be more creative," Lorna cut in.
Peter relented, "Then tell me yours, show me how creative you are," He said.
"Polaris, I want to be called Polaris," She answered with so much confidence.
"Cool," Peter commented, but then he quickly stated, "But... mine is cooler,"
Lorna shook her head, "No, mine is definitely cooler and more creative,"
"Lorna..."
They both looked back as they heard another voice. There was Erik, already in his new dark magenta suit, carrying a helmet in his right hand. Peter swallowed when Erik looked at him as coldly as a wolf's howl.
"It's time," Erik said.
Lorna nodded, glancing at Peter before she went to her father's side.
"You too, Peter,"
Peter nodded quickly, he didn't expect that Erik to remember his name.
"Okay," he replied, then went with them to the subbasement where they kept The X-Jet.
The speed of the jet splitting the clouds, the sound of engines ringing in their ears. Peter rubbed his palms together for a hint of warmth, and to cheer himself up he popped some gum into his mouth. He chewed carefully without making any annoying noises, nor did he blow the gum and make a 'boop' sound that would send all eyes towards him.
As they were stuck on a long journey, Raven broke the silence by talking about strategy and everything they should watch out for when they set foot on Genosha.
While listening to Raven, and jotting down the strategies in his fast mind, Peter unintentionally made eye contact with Erik several times and eventually worried that the metal bender started to feel like being spied on.
The ground shook, gusts of wind and dust were created as the jet landed on a cliff on the East Coast. As planned, Kurt teleported Raven and Charles to the Capital. They intruded into the Genoshan State Security Headquarters to get some important information, especially the location of the prison, where the mutants were being held.
Minutes later, the teleporter back to the jet, and after taking Erik, Ororo, Scott, and Hank to heart the Genosha to distract, he back again to take him, Jean, and Lorna to the prison. The arrival of the four of them took the soldiers in guards shock, with all their might, those soldiers fired their firearms at them
Entering high speed, Peter took down all the bullets in the air. Back to normal speed, Jean with her telekinetic ability disarmed their firearms. Kurt then snapped the soldiers' necks like a tree branch, knocking them for a while. Lorna tore the bars like a tissue, letting all the prisoners come out.
Peter looked at the mutants they were just free, great fear was on each of their faces. At that moment he knew that even though their body was already free, their mind was still not at peace.
"We can free their bodies, but their minds... They've suffered too much," Peter said.
Jean nodded, he approached a male mutant, he trembled when Jean put her two fingers on his temple. Peter had no idea what the telepath was doing to the poor mutant, he only knew that she was trying to help him.
The Mutant gasped, his eyes were no longer blank, "I... I..." He seemed to be trying to say something.
"Thank you for setting me free," He finally spoke.
Peter sighed in relief after seeing the fear on that mutant's face diminish. A monitor on the wall took his attention, it showed the situation outside. His father and his friends were fighting soldiers that were ten times their number. Lorna came to his side, watching the same situation, she clicked her tongue.
"Dammit, even with all our power, we don't have the number to take over the entire island," Lorna clenched her fist, furious in her voice.
"We can take over with their help," Jean stated.
The read-haired girl used her telepath ability to free all the mutants from their fear, making all that was left of them was courage.
"Mutants! You must set yourselves free!" Jean exclaimed.
All mutants clenched their fists up in the air, shouting in a fiery spirit. They would use their powers to fight for what was rightfully theirs as living beings; freedom. When they were about to leave the prison building, an explosion occurred, smoke billowed, and flames erupted. The building shook, the walls cracked, and the roof threatened to crumble.
"They're targeting this building! We have to get out!" Lorna shouted. She flew out of the holed wall, trying to stop the missile fire by herself.
In the terrible shaking, Jean held the wall and the ceiling above them from crumbling, giving Peter and Kurt time to lead the mutants out of the building.
"Hurry up! I can't hold it any longer!" Jean yelled.
Peter moved as fast as he could, grabbing everyone, making sure that he did not leave someone to die alone.
The building eventually collapses just after Peter brought out the last person.
"Jean? Kurt? Are you okay?" Peter asked in worried after the two of them showed up from a blue mist.
"Yeah, we are all right," Kurt calmed him down.
Peter tapped Kurt's shoulder, then he looked into the sky when he heard the sound of an explosion. Lorna came down after sending the missiles collided in the air, exploding like fireworks.
"Good job, Lorna" Jean praised.
"I know, and please, call me Polaris," Lorna said.
"Show off," Peter mumbled.
"Did you say something?" Lorna narrowed her eyes at Peter.
"Did I? Look! The fight isn't over," Peter pointed at a group of soldiers who came, aiming their firearms at them.
Lorna swung her hands forward, wanting to crush those firearms, but nothing happened.
"What the hell, I can't— Their weapons aren't metal!" Lorna told them in panic.
"Oh shit," Peter cursed under his breath.
Shot after shot deafened them.
Peter ran, cause that was the only thing he could do to save himself and his friends. He diverted the direction of every bullet, so none of it would hurt his friend. He also took their firearms and emptied the ammo.
"Seriously? Plastic bullets?" Everything back to normal speed, he put his foot on the pile of firearms.
Despite losing their firearms, the soldiers still charged to fight mutants, hand to hand, blade to blade. The sky turned gray, the fight was like fire coming out of a blazing volcano.
Amidst the fight, Peter saw his father. The helmet had fallen, that man was fighting with all his might and nothing could stop Peter from not listening to his heart and darted toward his father when the soldiers started to fire bullets at him.
Erik could not feel any metal from their weapons. He hated these dirty tricks, just like what they used to do to threaten him in the early days at the Pentagon, digging information that he did not have and forcing him to confess to a crime he never committed. These soldiers seemed so prepared to face him just because they had plastic guns. He wondered if they already knew he would come to Genosha.
He spread his hands at his side, palms up, and lifted them. A military truck floated by his will. More soldiers charged, he felt them behind him. Turning, he swung his palm in their direction. The military truck crashed into their bodies, pushing them farther away from him.
No killing, Erik
Erik remembered what Charles said, his friend had made him bow to that condition. Erik clenched his fists up, stopping the truck before it crushed the bodies of the soldiers. Turned out, his mercy was worthless, the banging of the rifles coming from the left side had shocked him completely, giving him no time to form a magnetic force field.
A gust of wind brought a bit of dust into his eyes, he blinked, soon realizing no bullets touched him.
"Plastic bullets sure suck for you, Mags,"
Erik looked at the person who commented, Peter. Now he learned that the speedster was the one who dealt with those stupid plastic bullets.
He nodded his thanks. Peter smiled and nodded back.
A Jet shot up, raining bullets into the fiery fight. Erik went to Peter's side, kneeling on one knee, a hand on the ground. The magnetic force field was formed from metal elements in the ground that he pulled out, protecting both of them.
"Stay by my side!" Erik told the younger mutant and it wasn't a request.
For a brief moment, Peter's gaze roamed the magnetic force field that wrapped around them like a ball. Erik couldn't tell if it was a look of awe or fear.
The shots ended when two winged mutants did major damage to the enemy's jet. After that moment, Erik knew that all the Mutants here had united for one purpose.
"Thanks for that, It feels weird being in that ball 'cause the last time, I tried to break through it," Peter said after He opened the magnetic force field.
"Now we're on the same side, Peter," Erik stated.
Peter smiled, but the next second, he disappeared before him. Erik heard a scream. He turned, seeing the speedster drop his knee, squeezing his left hand.
"Peter? Peter!"
Erik knelt before him, glaring at a knife tared through Peter's palm.
Did he take that knife for me?
Erik reached out his hand, about to touch Peter's hand, but he stopped, afraid to hurt the boy more. Peter groaned in pain, biting his lip to keep from screaming any louder, blood dripped from his palm into the ground. Erik clenched his jaw, shaking like Peter but not from pain but from anger. He couldn't accept how negligent he was, he should have seen the knife coming, he should have felt it.
No more mercy. Charles's way would not work this time. This fight couldn't go on any longer, it must end now before more mutants shed blood.
"You think we're stupid? We know mutants like you, our weapons are not metal, you made an unwise decision by coming here to fight!" A soldier spoke, spitting at Erik's feet.
"Now you better surrender, and tell your fellow freaks to do the same!" The soldier yelled.
Erik stood up, his cape blown by the wind of fury, he shot the soldier a death glare, "I don't need any metal... electromagnetic fields in your brain and iron in your blood it's enough for me to kill you,"
The metal bender swung one hand forward, lifting the soldier into the air. A terrible scream came out as the soldier realized that his body was no longer under his control. Iron in his blood was forced to a central point, crushing bones, bursting organs, tearing flesh. A popping sound was heard as electromagnetic fields in the soldier's mind were blowing up his head.
Erik decided he finished and the dead body of the soldier fell to the ground. Bloodied, and shapeless.
He glanced back, staring into those terrified brown eyes of Peter. The young mutant shouldn't have witnessed what happened to the soldier, but now he couldn't undo it. Erik lifted himself into the air where everyone could see him.
"Humans! All of you! I will make this offer once and only once!" Erik spoke, his voice loud and firm. "Surrender now, and I will let all of you leave this island alive,"
"Big talk! The fight has just begun, you haven't won, and you won't! Give us one reason why we should surrender! Why should we let your people roam and screw this world as you did now!" A female soldier yelled, and the other soldiers cheered.
"A reason? All right..." Erik replied, he looked away at the mountains along the city, and then back to the soldiers
"I researched this country, your main export is IRON ORE!"
Everyone gasped, their jaws dropped, and a wave of fear swept over them as Erik lifted his hand, tore the mountain up, and held it above the city.
Erik! What are you doing? Put it down.
The moment he heard Charles shout inside his head, he regretted forgetting his helmet on the ground.
Show them who we truly are...
Erik replied, he felt his energy drained away so quickly when he lifted the mountain. Blood dripped from his nose, but he still spoke, loud and clear.
"Listen to me carefully, Humans!" His voice boomed, "I will plunge this island into the ocean, I will kill every mutant on this island rather than see them continue to suffer!"
He had not lost his sanity, he meant what he said, not going back on his word. He couldn't live in a world where he would always feel scared and unsafe, nor could he allow more of his kind to suffer their whole life.
"SURRENDER OR DEATH! I leave the choice to you, humans!"
All the soldiers dropped their knees, shadows covered their faces, lips trembled in prayer, and the fear of death crushed them. In the end, weapons fell, and hands rose.
They surrender.
They took over the island and managed to free all the mutants. However, violence was eventually inevitable. From the mutant side, some were injured, and so did the human side, but they had one die. The death that Peter witnessed and hard for him to get it out of his mind for the next few days, or even weeks, or months, or years. Or not at all he could forget.
Peter could still hear the soldier's screams in his head, so loud and so terrifying. He desperately hoped that what he witnessed today did not end up on the list of his nightmares. Maybe it would be better if he didn't sleep at all, so that the screaming, the blood, and the sound of bones breaking, wouldn't play again and again in his head during the night.
He shook his head, he couldn't get fixated on those thoughts, or else they would not only appear in his dreams but would also appear when his eyes were closed even for a moment. Peter sighed exasperatedly, he should really stop thinking about all that because his arms were starting to itch a bit from thinking too hard.
His palm felt as if they were bitten by ants, throbbing with a weird and annoying feeling of pain. Hank had given him anesthetic to numb the area of the wound, but now Peter was not so sure if the anesthetic still worked properly. One thing that sucks about being the fastest mutant alive was everything that went inside his body, such as drugs, alcohol, and foods would burn out within a minute or longest, one hour.
"Peter, could you roll up your sleeves?" Hank asked, they sat facing each other, the older mutant was helping treat his wound.
Peter opened his eyes. During the process, he would only peeked a few times at his palm, "Uh... Okay," he nodded, but didn't immediately do what Hank asked. After all, he was still wearing his Quicksilver suit, rolling up its sleeves was not as easy as rolling up the sleeves of a shirt.
"Peter? Roll up your sleeves," Hank repeated, "And please... You're starting to bouch again,"
He didn't realize that his feet started bouncing like a basketball and went blurry.
"Okay, Okay," Peter nodded again. He forced his feet to stay still, then rolled up his sleeves to the middle of his forearm, couldn't be higher.
Hank stopped from stitching up his wound, and when he looked at him in the eyes with a creepy expression on his face, Peter knew he was going to say something about some goddamn silver lining on his forearm.
"How did you..." Hank paused, lost for words.
"I fell in a rose bush," Peter answered quickly, shrugging.
Hank's brow furrowed slightly, "A rose bush?" he narrowed his eyes at Peter, and that look made him feel like he was being interrogated for some shit he didn't do.
"Yeah, I was thirteen, I just got the speed, I started to run everywhere like nuts and ended up in a rose bush," Peter grinned, he won't deny that he was kind of a weirdo as a kid, everyone said that even before his hair had turned silver and was getting lighter and closer to white as time went on. Every sudden change to his body due to mutations was confusing, he used to question what the fuck kind of creature he was.
"Sounds like you," Hank let out a small chuckle, continuing to treat his palm.
"I remember you brought everyone out of the school when it exploded. How did you get this knife stuck in your palm? I thought you were quick enough to handle it," Hank said.
Peter pursed his lips, he didn't know what was on his mind at that time. Instead of catching the knife, he stupidly took the wrong action which ended with the knife getting stuck in his palm. Maybe that little interaction with his dad had distracted his focus, but surely he didn't blame his dad because all the fault was on himself.
Peter rubbed the back of his neck, "Being a speedster isn't untouchable, Man, but really... I honestly don't know. I've got a lot of things going on in my mind. Maybe it's slowing down my reflexes?"
He knew he was careless, and he would take any lecture that came out of Hank's mouth because of it. However, he was relieved at least the one who got hurt was not his Dad. More people need Magneto than Quicksilver.
"Next time it's better for you to clear your mind before going on a mission," Hank said while cutting the suture, now starting to bandage his palm.
"And be more careful Peter," Hank added, he sounded more like asking for a promise, rather than giving suggestions.
"Will do, Sir," Peter nodded. Today was the first time he had been thrown into a big fight, there were hundreds of soldiers, so many bullets, so much danger, and so many explosions and bombs. Hank was right, he better be more careful for the next missions.
Now Hank had almost finished tending to his wound and Peter was grateful for that because he couldn't be made to sit still any longer, he swore his ass was starting to go numb as if Hank had also injected anesthetic into it. He also couldn't keep his legs from bouncing as the older mutant repeatedly told him to calm down.
"What's your blood type?" Hank suddenly asked.
Peter tugged his chin, "Why are you suddenly coming out with that random question, Man?"
Seriously, that was the most random question he got today, and the day wasn't even over yet.
Hank pushed up his glasses, "I have the medical records of all team members except you. I don't know why you are always nowhere to be found when I do the monthly medical check-up," he complained.
"Is that really necessary?" Peter raised an eyebrow, he didn't enjoy being in Hank's lab and he had a reason behind it.
"It is necessary," Hank emphasized, "For example, I know Scott has a gluten allergy—"
"He did?" Peter cut in.
"So I'm not going give him the wrong medicine if he gets hurt later on, and it's also helped me organize a safe breakfast, lunch, and dinner for him," Hank continued.
"I didn't know he had a gluten allergy," Peter said.
"Well, now you know, so don't give him biscuits or crackers, it's not good for him," Hank said
Peter nodded, "I can give him gluten-free Twinkies,"
Hank chuckled "Hmm, I think that's fine," he held Peter's hand very carefully and gently, cutting the bandage when he finished dressing the wound.
"It's done!" Hank said while cleaning up cotton waste.
"Thanks, Hank," Peter noticed his left hand was now larger than the right and he wondered how on earth he could take a shower with the bandage on.
"So what's your blood type, Peter?" Hank asked again.
Peter looked up at the ceiling as if the answer was there, "O... It's O negative," he answered.
"Hmm, It's pretty rare," Hank mumbled, "Do you have any relatives with the same blood type as you, if you have—"
"Hank," Peter pressed his lips into a thin line, and he sighed, "You're acting like I'm going to die from blood loss, my hand is better now, thanks to you,"
Peter didn't really have an answer to Hank's question, his mom was long dead, he didn't know what her blood type was, and Wanda, most probably had the same blood type as him, but does that even matter now? Marya and Django, he didn't know either, and he won't ask because that would be so silly when he went back to Washington and that was gonna be the first thing he asked.
After all, he wasn't gonna die because of blood loss, he was fine now. He freaked out and cried like a baby just by seeing the knife stuck in his palm, which was not very macho and all, but again, he was fine now, Hank helped him, the wound would heal quickly, he didn't need to worry that much and neither did Hank.
"All right, Peter," Hank patted Peter's shoulder, "I'll be changing your bandages every three days, but I'm sure it'll be healed in no more than a week because you have fast healing abilities,"
Peter nodded, just like Hank said, he had a pretty fast healing ability, one of the bonuses of being a speedster which he was thankful for.
"Peter?" Hank said.
"Hmm?"
"You saw what Erik did, didn't you?" Hank asked.
Peter lowered his gaze, "I..." He couldn't continue, somehow the words stuck in his throat. He was still shocked to know what happened to the soldier.
"I think he just tried to protect us," Peter said. His dad just wanted to save the mutant race, all he cared about was to protect them.
"Nothing can justify what Erik did," Hank told him.
The words felt like a slap. Hank was right, his dad could have decided to not kill the soldier, but he still did it. Maybe, Peter should realize he didn't know anything about Erik.
"Right..." Peter whispered. When he rolled down his sleeves, he heard the noise of the crowd, it came from outside the City Hall they were currently in.
"I think people are gathering," Hank said, his feet moving towards the balcony.
"Why?" Peter asked, looking as clueless as a ten-year-old boy, he followed Hank.
"To celebrate," Hank told him.
Peter smiled and it grew wider as he looked into the crowd. They looked completely different from anything he had seen before as they stepped out of the cell. There was no fear. Only joy.
"Come on, others are waiting," Hank said, he looked so excited.
They left the balcony and went to join the others. Hank's excitement rubbed off on Peter.
A swelling mass of joy faces. People gathered in the yard of the City Hall. They cheered, whooped, and whistled. Tears were shed not for sorrow but for delight. There was loud applause as Erik and the X-Men showed themselves. Erik's eyes wandered across the crowd a few steps away, then at those farther away, they waved their arms at him and the X-Men.
They were so much more than what Erik thought, City Hall's wide yard couldn't even hold the entirety of the Mutants. Erik knew the crowd he saw in front of him was only a fraction of the number of mutants in Genosha. His feet moved forward until the roof ran out, he was standing on top of the flight of stairs. The applause died out and Erik spoke. Loud and clear.
"Brothers and Sisters! A new day has come for mutant kind!" He began.
"The last human will leave this island at dawn. From now on, we have a home! You have a nation on your side! Every Mutant, no matter where he or she dwells, can come here, claim to be a citizen of Genosha!" His spirit burned.
Erik would make sure any mutant who came to Genosha would be welcomed, they would live as equals, with their head held up.
"The first time I addressed the world's mutants, I said you are no need to hide anymore, no need to be afraid. You are not alone! Today that promise is kept!" Erik raised one arm, clenching his fists. The crowd gasped for a moment, murmured, and then fell silent, they must all be holding their breath, Erik thought.
"I will not leave Genosha, I will be here and stand by your side. I will not let those humans ever set foot on this island to harm you! No more shall die! No more hiding! No more suffering! No more... human," The words rush from his lips as if they had been forming in the back of his mind for a long time.
"No more shall die!" From somewhere in the crowd, a female mutant shouted out. The next moment, other mutants voiced the same thing. The spontaneity almost moved Erik to tears. Almost.
This day, this moment would remain in his memories. He made his promise and he would keep it. Erik turned to see his old friend. He found the look of consolation in Charles's eyes, he was relieved that his friend could enjoy this temporary victory. When Erik looked into Charles's children, he noticed the look of awe in their eyes after previously, on the battlefield, he could only find dread in their faces. This must be the first time they jump right into a massive fight, Erik guessed.
He brought back his gaze to the crowd, he had not spoken another word. Out of everyone who stood by his side now, he was the only one who truly understood what those mutants had been through, he remembered how the pain felt.
All those memories and fears remain eternal in the Auschwitz tattoo on his wrist. If anyone said they had seen hell, Erik had lived it. His family died in hell, and Shaw had made his childhood worse than hell.
Erik promised himself that he had lived in one camp in his life, never again. And he would make sure that none of his kind, would suffer the same thing. Erik told himself this victory was indeed temporary, in a few days, humans might strike Genosha with even more force. He must always be ready for it, for everything that awaited in the future.
After a few more words and a few more applause, the crowd dispersed. The X-Men come back inside the building and so did Erik, and the first thing he did was approach a young mutant named Peter. The silver-haired boy sat in a flat long chair made of marble and because it fit for more than one person to sit, Erik sat by his side and put his helmet on his own lap.
"How's your hand?" Erik asked, but Peter just stared at him with a slightly open mouth.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Erik asked again, perhaps the boy was uncomfortable with his presence.
"Yes, I mean No! It's totally okay, Man, I was just thinking maybe you'd prefer to sit with the Professor over there or with Lorna or maybe with Raven? Uh... but yeah, It's okay you sit here, no biggie,"
Erik couldn't really understand what the boy was saying because turned out he spoke as fast as he ran.
He eventually nodded, "How's your hand, Peter?"
"Hurt, what else can you feel when a knife is stuck in your palm?" Peter answered and waved his bandaged palm slowly.
"Right," Erik nodded again, he owed Peter, he took that knife for him, but why? Why is he willing to be hurt to save me? Peter saw what he did in Cairo, he knew he was the servant of an ancient Mutant God who tried to destroy the world, yet the boy still protected him.
"You took that knife for me, why?" Erik needed the answer.
Peter tilted his head like a confused puppy, "Because if you hurt, who's gonna save all of those mutants? If you lost, we lost,"
Erik held his breath, knowing that everyone depended on him during that fight.
"Thank you," It was all he could say.
"Yeah, no worries," Peter paused, biting his lips, "Though your way is..."
"You'd say cruel?" Erik cut in. He shouldn't have let Peter or any of Charles's children see what he did to the soldiers. They weren't prepared, they were too soft and merciful just like what Charles wanted them to be.
"You brutally killed that soldier right in front of me, don't you think that scared the shit out of me?" Peter ruffled his hair, from the tone of his voice, Erik knew he was miffed.
"He tried to hurt us,"
"Doesn't mean that soldier has to die—"
"You know those soldiers wouldn't surrender unless I make them scared," Erik emphasized.
When he saw Peter drop to his knees and bleeding everywhere, it triggered something inside him, something he had held during the fight only for Charles's sake.
The anger that surged, it was something he could touch, feel, and taste with every sense. He didn't try to control it, he wanted the fight to end with all mutants to be freed, but most of all, he wanted the soldier to pay for what he did to Peter and for every death of Mutant in Genosha. So he killed the soldier and no regret he felt.
"I don't get it, why do they hate us this much?" Peter asked in a faint voice.
"Because they are afraid, afraid of what we are, what we're capable of," Erik replied briefly, even though he could speak at length to answer Peter's question.
"What are we? They call us mutie, freaks, weirdos. Some of us are almost used to all those nicknames,"
"You are no freak, Peter," Erik placed his hand on Peter's thigh, which made the young mutant twitch slightly, "You're a Mutant, just like me,"
Peter shrugged and Erik noticed a sweet smile he formed. He removed his hand from Peter's thigh.
"I guess I really got the X-gen from my dad," Peter stated.
"Your father is also a Mutant?" Erik asked.
"Uh... Yeah! He's a powerful Mutant, maybe the most powerful I've ever seen," Peter told him.
Such a powerful Mutant he said, for a moment Erik was curious about what Peter's father could do that he seemed to admire him.
"You must admire him," Erik said.
Peter blinked, then for a reason Erik didn't know, the boy chuckled, "He wasn't around, he left my mom before I was born, or It's more like my mom dumped him, I don't know... She didn't talk much about him," He explained.
Knowing that fact, Erik's eyebrows rose, his mouth formed a small 'o', and then he said, "I'm sorry,"
It must be hard for Peter, Erik thought. He stared at his dark brown eyes of Peter, which felt strangely familiar as if he had seen it in someone else before. Nina had big brown eyes like Halloween candy, but not darker than Peter's. Something like a rock stuck in his chest when he thought about it, he had seen those eyes before. A long time ago.
"Are you okay, Man?" Peter asked, waving his hand in front of his face because Erik might have stared too long. Erik nodded to show that he was fine.
"By the way, your speech was dope, I think you're gonna be on papers for a whole month for it! And sure... for lifting the mountain," Peter said, much to Erik's surprise that he was continuing this conversation. Most people tend to avoid a conversation with him.
"Good, it means they'll know who they're declaring war on," Erik responded.
Peter opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but then closed it, allowing the silence to speak for himself. Erik studied the younger mutant for a moment, then he pinched the area between his eyes and took a deep breath. He shouldn't have mentioned a war, it would only make Peter fear him more.
Erik looked around the room and his eyes stopped on Raven who was leaning against the wall, her eyes were sharp on him as if she was supervising him not to lay a hand on Peter. Erik ignored her, he brought his gaze back to Peter who was scratching the area around his bandaged palm.
He grabbed Peter's hand, "Don't, Your bandage can come off," he said, then Peter stopped.
"All right, okay... It's just a bit itchy" Peter said.
Erik let go of his hand as the boy started to pull it back. No, he wasn't a boy anymore, but a man, a young man, though he looked almost completely the same as when they first met, only his hair was a bit lighter. Now that he recalled the first time he met the speedster, Erik realized he hadn't thanked Peter for breaking him from the plastic prison in the Pentagon.
Even in Cairo, Peter was helping to stop him from doing something that would make him live life with nothing but regret. He had lost his daughter and wife, if he had not stopped, he would also lose Charles at that time.
"Thank you, Peter," Erik said, creating a look of confusion on Peter's face.
"When I said no worries, I meant it. I told you, I can't let them hurt you—"
"No, not just for that, but also for freeing me from the Pentagon ten years ago, and for your help in Cairo, I'm sorry it cost your leg," Erik felt ashamed. When the Mutant god broke Peter's leg, he didn't do anything and just watched.
"Don't worry, man, my leg was broken, but it healed quickly, it's fine now," Peter shrugged as if that matter was not a big deal.
"I know, but it must be stressful not to be able to run for a month and use your power," Erik couldn't imagine being in a condition that caused him not to be able to use his power. It must have been awful, stressful, and painful.
Peter lowered his eyes, "Well, It wasn't easy for me, but I've gotten over it," Again, he said lightly.
"But still, no one to blame but me. When Apocalypse broke your leg, I was just... watching," At that time, he was blinded by sorrow and anger, he wanted to wreck everything to cope, but it only caused more people to hurt.
Peter sighed, "I said It's fine now, old man! Besides, you don't know me back then, why would you want to save my ass," he said bluntly.
Erik closed his eyes and sighed in amusement at what Peter just called him.
"I'm forty-five, not old enough for you to call me old man," Erik complained.
Peter chuckled, "Forty-five is old! It's like... almost half a century! It's the same age as Mr. Brown,"
"Who is this, Mr. Brown?" Erik raised his eyebrows.
"My neighbor, he got all the gray all over his hair,"
Erik shook his head, "I don't have gray hair,"
"It doesn't change a thing, you're still old, Mags," replied Peter.
"Mags?" Erik made a confused face.
"Mags for Magneto..." Peter shrugged.
The corners of Erik's lips lifted into a small smile. He eventually couldn't hold a laugh. Mags, in fact, back when he was in school in Germany, some of his friends called him Mags for Magnus, or simply Max. Now, he no longer used his birth name, Max Magnus Eisenhardt died in Auschwitz. There was only Erik Magnus Lehnsherr now.
"So, you're gonna stay here, Mags?" Peter asked.
"Yes, I want to make sure Genosha and Its people are safe," Erik answered. They had managed to take what was rightfully theirs, what they built with their own sweat. Erik would be in Genosha to help as much as he could.
"Cool, now I know where to find you, I mean, You're never in one place for a long time right? One day here, then the next day there... doing something that always ends up on the TV news. Dude, did you know you're on TV? We always catch up with your news anyway and Prof will be murmuring something like 'don't do that Erik, don't do this Erik,' stuff," Peter said in one breath.
"Oh, Did he?" Erik's lips curved downwards. Typical Charles, he thought, of course he would always keep an eye on him.
"Yeah... " Peter nodded.
"We have some disagreements in a way, but I'm sure we have the same goals," Erik stated.
"I see that," Peter said.
Erik smiled, "Peter, you can find me here," he saw the younger mutant's eyes light up, "I owe you, if you need anything, any help, you can come here,"
It took longer times than Erik expected him to respond. The moment of silence made Erik start to think if there was something wrong with his words. Perhaps Peter didn't want to see him again because why would he?
"Only if you willing to," Erik added, didn't want to sound pushy.
"Of course! Yeah... That's great, thanks," Peter finally said something, "It'll be fun to visit you—uh... To visit Genosha, It's a beautiful island,"
"Indeed," Erik agreed, he was glad Peter wanted to visit Genosha again one day.
Erik was aware of the sound of wheels turning on the metal floor, he knew Charles was approaching the two of them, the telepath cleared his throat to take his attention.
"Hey, Prof...need something?" Peter preceded Erik in asking.
"I actually do, I need to talk to Erik," Charles replied, casting a soft gaze at the two of them.
Peter glanced at Erik then back to Charles, "Okay, I'll leave you two,"
Erik stood up, then held Peter's shoulder when he wanted to do the same.
"Stay, Charles, and I will talk somewhere else," He told Peter.
Erik walked away with Charles following him. They went outside the room, through the giant hall where their voices echoed.
"I see you got along well with Peter," Charles said.
"He helped me with the plastic weapons, I've thanked him," Erik responded.
"He's a good boy, isn't he?" Charles said.
Erik gave a small nod, he admitted that he was quite enjoying his conversation with Peter.
"He's brave enough," Erik commented while he put the magneto helmet back on his head. The moment after he did that, he heard an annoyed sigh come out of Charles.
"Will you please take off that damnable helmet," Charles cupped a hand to his face, "I will not look inside your mind,"
Erik frowned, he couldn't truly trust Charles or any telepath about the privacy of his thoughts.
"No," The simple answer that Erik gave.
Charles pursed his lips, "Erik, we need to talk about what will happen next after all of this. We just take over a country—"
"For the better—" Erik cut in.
"The United Nations will come for us," Charles quickly cut in.
"I'll deal with them," Erik said, they were just another obstacle in the aftermath.
"You alone will not going to work," Charles said.
"Are you offering help?" Erik asked.
"I will help you, Erik. I will help these mutants in the best way I know how,"
Erik already knew Charles would help them, he would go to the end of the world just to help a Mutant find the safest place to live. Years go by, but he was still the same Charles he once knew.
"The UN should have never acknowledged Genosha as a country because of the slavery its government imposed on mutants," Erik started again.
"The world doesn't know about the slavery. The Genosha government must hide that very well," Charles told him.
Charles was right, Erik himself didn't even know about the slavery in Genosha until he found the information from one of the facilities he had shut down.
"Even if they knew, would those humans try to stop it?" Erik doubted it.
"Not all humans are like what you think. We have to show The UN what really happened in Genosha," Charles said.
Erik nodded, if The UN needed proof, he would give them and make a deal.
"I want them to give Genosha to the mutants as a place of refuge. Let us build something new here, our own Mutant nation," Erik said.
"So they shall, Erik," Charles agreed.
"Erik! Charles!" Someone called out, and the two mutants turned their heads toward the person.
"Raven? What is it?" Charles asked.
From what Erik could see in her expression, something must be wrong.
"The news... you two should take a look," Raven told them.
They followed her, and as they entered the previous room, the others seemed to stand in tension, watching a news broadcast on TV.
Erik took off his helmet, and saw what the news was about, "Who is that man?" He asked, he thought he'd seen the man on TV, speaking out loud in front of a mass.
"William Stryker," Raven told him, "He's a dangerous man,"
"He was the guy who kidnapped us right after the school exploded," Hank added.
YOU'VE ALL SEEN WHAT'S HAPPENING IN GENOSHA!
YOU'VE SEEN WHAT MUTANTS DO TO THAT COUNTRY! OUR GOVERNMENT IS DOING ALL IT CAN TO PROTECT US. BUT THIS IS A WAR THAT WILL HAVE TO BE FOUGHT BY EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD!
WE MUST ALL BE PREPARED! STAY ALERT! STAY VIGILANT! MUTANT COULD BE HIDING AMONG US. THEY COULD BE THE PEOPLE YOU SEE EVERY DAY, PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND TRUST.
BUT THEY CAN'T BE TRUSTED! THEY DECEIVE US, THEY WANT TO TAKE OUR PLACE! GENOSHA PROVES IT.
BUT AMERICA IT'S NOT GENOSHA, WE WILL NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN HERE.
TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE OUR WAY OF LIFE, WE WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
OURS OR... THEIRS.
"Idiots!" Erik exclaimed, full of rage. He clenched his fists, crushing the TV.
"No mention Mutants were kept here as slaves! They want war, they want genocide, have they forgotten Hitler already!?" Erik held back screams of frustration, as a result of that, all the metal objects in the room vibrated.
"Too many of those humans... You are Hilter," Hank said bluntly.
"Hank!" Charles snapped when everyone couldn't utter a word.
Erik gazed intently at Hank, how dare he compare him with the man who had slaughtered his people, his family.
"The catastrophe you caused ten years ago, traumatized everyone. Have you ever imagined how many children would never get to grow up because you buried their lives in the rubble of the buildings you destroyed!" Hank pointed a deadly finger at him.
It hurt so much, a horrifying realization slowly crept up on him. An agony now swelling in Erik's chest as he gazed into every eye that fixed on him.
"Hank stopped, enough!"
Erik could hear Charles's firm tone, trying to shut Hank up.
"No, 'cause no one is gonna tell him about that, no one is dare," Hank stated.
"Peter wasn't the only one who saw how you horribly killed that soldier, Erik, I saw it!" Hank mentioned. Erik glanced at Peter, he looked confused with the circumstances just like the other young mutants.
"Erik, You... You killed someone?"
Erik brought his gaze to Charles, disbelief could be read in his friend's eyes.
"That soldier attacked me and Peter," Erik explained, "The death of one of them is nothing compared to the deaths of thousands of our kind!"
"You might not agree with my way, but that's what made those humans leave Genosha, not your mercy, Charles," Erik continued.
There was a surprise on Charles's face, and Erik unable to bear the look of those eyes for a second longer, he turned his face away.
"Don't be a fool, Erik," Charles said, "You were playing into their hands, proving them rights, they'll assume the worst of you,"
"I did what I had to do," Erik insisted, he would rather let one human die than allow the war to continue to result where more Mutants would die.
Oh, Erik, you are better than this, you have the choice not to be what they think you are.
Erik closed his eyes, completely disliking Charles's voice buzzing inside his skull. Erik would do what needed to do, he didn't care about human's perception of him and he had nothing against Charles's dream to build a peaceful world with humans, he just thought Charles was naive. Humans would never truly accept them, they always find a gap to start a war. Charles wasn't a man of war, he could still be optimistic because he hadn't seen what he had seen.
Doesn't matter what they think of me, all I care about is protecting our kin.
After the 'yelling at each other' his dad and Hank did, the team decided to fly back to Westchester in the first light. It was the weekend and all Peter did after arriving in the Mansion was lie on his bed, it was so fluffy he almost thought it was made of marshmallows, he curled up into a ball under the blanket with only his head visible. Peter mentally thanked Charles for giving him such a good bed.
The fight at Genosha really drained his energy, but it was worth it. He helped people, It was the best thing for being an X-Men. He had a lot to tell about that to Wanda and his mom, Marya and Django, the two of them would be happy to know he was not the same looser boy who lived in their basement.
Peter raised an eyebrow, I'm not the same right? Then why am I still afraid to tell the thing to my dad? Shit, he was still the same.
He let out a sigh, he wanted to tell the thing to his dad, but he always freaked out whenever his dad was around. He didn't know how to put the words together, he didn't know how to explain or proving what he was gonna say was not a lie. Maybe a photo of his mom would help as a prove. Peter only had one picture of her, it was inside the locket Marya gave him.
Peter shifted to a sitting position, his hand reaching the bedside table, opening the drawer. He took out a locket from the jewelry box. He used to wear the locket wherever he went, never once took it off, but now he decided it was better to keep it, he didn't want it to come off while he was on a mission.
Within the locket, on the right side was his mom's picture, smiling, and on the left side was Wanda's picture, laughing. Peter could show these pictures to Erik, at least if he still remembered anything about his mom, these pictures gonna make things easy to explain.
He put back the locket in its box and kept it in the drawer. One day, he would come to Genosha, he would talk to his dad about the thing. For now, he just wanted to sleep, resting his body on the marshmallow bed.
"Peter! Wake up! Wake up sleeping silver!"
Peter kicked, covering his head with a pillow. Scott's voice was like a broken Walkman.
"Dude! What are you doing here? Get out!" Peter exclaimed. Getting Scott to break into his dorm and drag him off his bed was the last thing he expected.
"Come on! Raven asked me to wake you up," Scott said.
Peter pushed the pillow off his head, and he pulled back the blanket from Scott.
"Why?" He asked with an annoyed voice, he rubbed his eyes.
"Bonfire! We have a lot to prepare," Scott told him.
Peter scratched his head, He glanced at the clock, it was almost seven o'clock, "Bonfire? I bet It's Raven's idea,"
"Ha! Right," Scott pointed, "I have to help Kurt prepare the snack, you'll catch up, okay?" Scott rushed out.
"Yeah, yeah," Peter said, he lazily dragged himself out of bed, picking up his blue boodie.
Raven always had fantastic ideas, he thought it would be fun to hold a bonfire after such a crazy mission. There would be many snacks and drinks, and they could dance to the music, the music! He wanted to pick some music. Peter darted into the backyard, some students were already there, helping to prepare what was needed, He approached Ororo, she was busy setting the firewood.
"I didn't know you could sleep this long," Ororo commented when Peter crouched beside her.
"I was charging my energy," Peter joked, "I'm just really worn out," He helped to put some more firewood.
Ororo chuckled, "Well, you don't want to miss the bonfire by staying asleep, right?" she added some dry branches.
Peter smiled, "Nah, not a chance," He was sure this night gonna be fun enough.
After they were done setting the firewood, Ororo pushed him back and said, "Back off, I'll light this bonfire,"
"With what? Thunder?" Peter asked, back a little further.
Ororo smirked, "Yes!" The noise of thunder booming in the sky, a bright, flashing lighting struck the firewood, setting it on fire.
"Shit! That's cool!" Peter spontaneously clapped his hands, making little jumps as he was amazed.
"Time for having fun!" Ororo did a fist bump with him.
The others started to come over, and all the fun began. The night was alive, Peter completely forgot how tired he was, he picked the most incredible music and danced, joining the roar of the crowd. It was full of laughs and screams from the students, they were so happy that Peter thought there should be a bonfire party every weekend.
Most of the time at the bonfire, Peter was surrounded by lots of kids, they followed him like a lost puppy. Peter held the hands of a student with his right hand, and the left was held by the other student in the wrist, The other three children joined them, circling as the music thrummed through their bodies and eardrums. Sweat flicked up into the air with the start of every dance move and wet hair bounced back down. It was a perfect night.
At one time, Peter managed to sneak away from the kids because he was simply thirsty and wanted a soda. When he took a sip of soda, someone's hand landed on his shoulder, turning, he found out it was Raven. She was in her regular form, the stunning blonde lady. Peter knew she was fooling everyone with that form, he bet Raven was actually forty years or older.
"Enjoying the party?" Raven asked while filling her cup.
Peter nodded, "Yeah... I gotta admit your idea is awesome," he gave a thumb, sipping more soda.
Raven laughed, humbly accepting the compliment, "I'm glad to see everyone happy," she sighed, sipping her soda before speaking again.
"We have to train the kids to fight so they can defend themselves, but don't let them forget to be happy, let them be just kids," She continued.
Raven had a point there, those students were just kids, they deserve to craft some happy memories in their childhood before learning that the world was actually full of shit. Even more, as a mutant, things seem to be more difficult.
"You're right, look at them... No school stress," He said.
A little girl with pink braids came towards the table behind them, she checked out the snacks, and Peter noticed she needed a long time to decide what she wanted to pick.
"Chocolate Marshmallow pops is right there, you might wanna try it," Peter said.
The little girl turned to him, "I like marshmallows, but I wanna try the toffee apple," she said.
"It's not on the table?" Raven asked.
"I think It's already out," The little girl said, sounding a bit disappointed.
"Right... I think Hank still has some in the pantry, I'll get some for—" Raven stopped talking as they all heard a loud bang, she looked up to the sky and so did he.
Nothing in the sky but the stars and the moon. Peter didn't think it was thunder, the sound was different, more like booming bass, but a hundred times louder. Though nothing happened after the sound, most of them still looked up, murmuring some words. Just a moment later when they were sure nothing was strange, they turned their attention away from the sky.
Another loud bang was heard, they all looked back up, a big star appeared in the sky. Little arms wrapped around his stomach, the little girl was seeking protection from him.
The music was off, and Peter heard Scott yell, "Everyone gets inside!"
"Go inside! Please, Go inside everyone," Charles directed the students, "Stay calm, everything will be alright,"
Peter took the little girl in his arms, darting to the Mansion.
"It's fine, just stay inside, okay?" Peter told the little girl and she nodded.
He darted outside, bringing the rest of the students into the Mansion with his speed. Now, all who remained outside were the X-Men on alert. Peter narrowed his eyes at the big star that was definitely not a natural phenomenon. The night was indeed dark, but thanks to the light from the stars itself, he could see something falling from it. The next moment, the big star disappeared, confusing everyone.
Scott rushed towards the thing that falling, Peter followed him just like everyone did. It fell in an area of trees, where it was very dark, they had to be careful not to trip over roots or get their feet stuck in the mud. They finally reach the place where the thing fell.
Wait.
It was not a thing. It was a person.
A girl.
She lay on the ground like a broken doll, her reddish hair covering most of her face, and what made Peter even more confused was the kind of clothes the girl was wearing. Peter crouched close to her and could see clearly the clothes were maroon.
"Peter! Be careful," Hank warned.
Peter gave a brief nod, he noticed a horned headpiece framing her head. He reached out carefully, intending to brush the hair off the girl's face. He froze like a stone as he recognized that face.
"Wanda..."