father, father, tell me where have you been?
After Magneto's little display of power on national television, people get scared. They get angry, violent. There are riots everywhere in the country, and the number of crimes against mutants — hate crimes, even if it wouldn't be called that for a few decades yet — skyrockets. Mom gets angry at Magneto, cursing his name every time she hears about an attack. Wendy gets nervous. She was afraid of what people thought of her powers before, but she barely gets out of the house after Magneto’s speech. Ada gets scared. She’s too young to understand all of the political intricacies, and too kind to understand why people do this, but she understands perfectly well the danger it represents for her family.
Peter gets angry too. At that clawed guy for bringing the others to him, at the homeless drunk for embarking him in this shit, at Magneto for that stupid speech he made, at himself for going along with this stupid plan — how could he have ever thought breaking someone out of the Pentagon wasn’t going to have disastrous consequences? —, at his mom for not telling them earlier who their father was.
He gets nervous too, maybe even scared. He broke someone out of the fucking Pentagon afterall, and he’s pretty sure there was cameras. How come no one has come looking for him yet? Because there’s no way they’re just going to let him go after that. So he prepares himself — everytime he hears a car go by and stop near the house, everytime police sirens echo in the street, he gets ready to run. He hides away in his Mom’s basement, in the hope that the FBI — or whoever takes care of the case — thinks he left home, because what kind of idiot would go back home after breaking someone out of the Pentagon ?
They never come, but Peter stays hidden anyway. He drops out, stops walking Ada to school, always makes sure he isn’t visible from the window when he goes upstairs. He still helps in the house though, even more when Wendy goes back to school then to college, and he’s left as the only useless person in the house. So he cleans, he does the dishes, and sometimes he even tries to cook — though most of his attempts end in catastrophe.
Life in the Maximoff household goes back to something close to normalcy.
Life outside of it doesn’t.
The anti-mutant movement leads to the creation of Friends of Humanity, a pro-human group. They expand all around America, but particularly in Washington DC. Crimes against mutants become more and more common, to the point where Peter isn’t even surprised anymore when he hears about it. Part of him is scared, but part of him finds it inconceivable that it would ever happen to either Wendy or him — because those kinds of things always happen to others, right? Never to yourself. Plus, they’re in a pretty safe neighborhood and that kind of thing only happens in insecure areas. Right?
That’s why, when Wendy tells him that people at her college know about her mutation, Peter doesn’t panic. Wendy didn’t even show all of her power, just a little bit of telekinesis — and it was to help a friend! They wouldn’t hurt her for that, it would be absurd. Right?
Peter gets out of the house for the first time in almost a year the next day, just to find the lifeless body of his twin, beaten and bruised, only two streets away from home. On the wall next to them, in bold red letters he can read “Magneto doesn’t scare us”. Something churns in his stomach, and he doesn’t really know if it’s guilt or anger.
There’s other bodies around her — bodies Peter can only assume were Wendy’s assailants and who probably got hit by the raw of her powers once she wasn’t conscious enough to restrain them. Wendy always hated her powers, even more when she realized they came from their father and how destructive they could be. It would be just like her to try not to harm anyone, even while she’s being beaten up.
Peter holds her until the next morning, when the sun shines again.
(But the sun never really shines again for either of them, does it?)
At first, Peter tries to find members of Friends of Humanity and beat them up. He finds a few dozens of them before realizing it doesn’t help. He’s still as angry, still in as much pain. The group slowly starts to die anyway, thanks to the effort of one Charles Xavier — and Peter’s pretty sure that’s the homeless drunk who got him to break a terrorist off the Pentagon years ago. So he turns to the only other person he can blame if not himself — Magneto.
He starts by searching for the homeless drunk’s business card, but realizes he lost it. Rage bubbles up inside of him so quickly that he barely has the time to register it before he kicks and breaks one of the many TVs he stole. He screams — of pain or anger, he doesn’t know. Mom is worried. Ada is scared.
After that, Peter focuses himself on going through every media outlet possible at all times in the hope of finding anything about Magneto, barely stepping out of his basement anymore. He becomes angry, bitter — a spitting image of his father, according to his mom, and that only makes Peter more enraged. Ada avoids talking to him, Mom avoids looking at his general direction, and Peter is too resentful to care.
When Ada leaves for college, Peter promises to make efforts to get better — said efforts being hiding his Magneto obsession from his mom. Life goes on, despite it never really coming back to normal.
Nine years have passed since Wanda died, until finally , there is news about Magneto.
“ Lehnsherr was identified yesterday, in this small town in central Poland. ” The CNN reporter explains on TV. “ Leaders from all communities are urging their citizens to remain calm as police and armed forces are mobilized to find Lehnsherr before he can strike again. If anyone has information about Lehnsherr or, as he is also known, Magneto, contact your local authorities immediately and proceed with caution as he is considered extremely dange- ”
Peter can’t hear the end of the journalist’s sentence — not that it matters very much because he knows exactly how dangerous Magneto can be — as his Mom calls him from upstairs. He quickly changes stations and pretends to play Pac Man.
“What’s up?” He answers as his mom makes her way into the basement.
“Just checking on you.”
“I’m good, playing Pac Man.”
He’s not stupid enough to think he has her fooled, but he’s still surprised when she changes the station back to the news. Mom’s never been very confrontational, particularly about Magneto.
“You sure you weren’t watching this?”
“ The news comes at a time when the world is celebrating ten years of peace between mutants and humans, ” The anchorman says, and Peter almost scoffs at that. Peace? Yeah, tell that to Wendy.
His mom is waiting for an answer, but he doesn’t want to give her one. He knows where this is going, she knows where this is going, why bother? Instead, he simply keeps playing. But his mom seems to be determined to have this conversation.
“You’re going after him, aren’t you?”
“You wanted me to get out of the house more, right?” He answers, still not bothering to look at her.
“I can’t stop you. Nobody can.” She takes a dramatic pause — and Peter’s pretty sure that’s why her and Magneto got along. All that drama. “But trust me, this won’t end well. Nothing does with him.”
“I’m not afraid of him.”
“You should be.”
He doesn’t answer that, still playing Pac Man and silently wishing her away. She sighs, and he hears her rummage through her pockets.
“I guess you’ll need this, then.” She says, and that gets Peter’s attention.
He finally turns to face her, only to find the paper card he’s been searching for for years. He’s shared between the anger that his mom hid yet another thing away from him, and the joy that she’s finally letting him search for his father properly. He doesn’t know how to react — with anger? with resentment? with satisfaction? In the end, he settles for politeness. Mom has always appreciated politeness.
“Thanks.”
He grabs the card and runs out.
An explosion and a kidnapping later and Peter finds himself in a weird cell with a blue ball of fur, a blond lady who used to be blue — isn’t she the one who shot Magneto on national television ten years ago? — and a very boring looking lady — didn’t she say she was from the CIA or something? Peter doesn’t really know, he’s not really paying attention to the conversation.
Until he hears about nukes being destroyed by a psychic event, whatever that means. He’s pretty sure that has nothing to do with what he’s here for — Magneto, because last he heard the dude was controlling metal not people’s mind — but it is weirdly interesting. Mostly because this could potentially be a threat for his family.
“So, are you going to tell me, where is Charles Xavier?” The military dude asks through the speaker, and- Wait. Isn’t that the name of the homeless drunk? Maybe this is Peter’s business after all.
“It’s not him you should be worried about.” CIA lady says. “There’s someone else. Someone more powerful.”
Okay, that is definitely not Peter’s business. What is this? The Apocalypse or something?
“If you let us out of here we can help you.” The blond — and very pissed off — lady says.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” And Peter wants to congratulate the guy on not trusting cops — or, in this case, CIA agents — but the guy in question is a Colonel in the army. It also doesn’t help when he starts making a threatening speech “You can put on any face that you want, but I know who you are. What you are.”
Then he walks away, which, rude .
“Hey, Moira?” The blue guy says, and Peter knows it’s the same guy who was with the homeless drunk and claw guy ten years ago, but he can’t seem to remember his name. “What did you mean when you said someone more powerful than Charles?”
Peter disconnects from this conversation because, again, not his problem — but also, he’s starting to doubt his genius plan. Instead he walks toward the formerly-blue lady — he thinks he heard the Colonel call her Mystique or something — who seems very interested by the green glowing sticks on the wall.
“You know him?” Peter asks, and he realizes she probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about so he adds, “Magneto?”
“I used to. Not so sure anymore.”
Well, that’s not cryptic at all.
“What was he like? Was he, uh… Like they say he was? Was he… the bad guy?”
And Peter knows his question is weird, he knows the way he says it as if the two last words were swears is even weirder. But he needs to know, because he spent the last nine years being angry at this guy, and he really needs someone to make him feel like he’s doing something right and hasn’t just wasted those nine years like his mom says he did.
“No.” She says without even thinking, and Peter’s heart drops. No? So, what, has Peter been angry for nothing ? “I mean, yeah. He was…”
She doesn’t end her sentence, and Peter is thankful because it leaves him some time to digest that emotional rollercoaster. So, no he isn’t the bad guy like they say he was, but yeah? This lady really isn’t great at giving clear and understandable answers. Or looking at him while they speak. Why are these green sticks so interesting to her?
“You see his speech on TV or something?” She asks after a few seconds of silence.
“Yeah, but, uh…”
He debates telling her. She seems to know Magneto pretty well, and Charles Xavier too. Maybe she can lead him to his father or, at the very least, to a guy who can actually lead him to his father? Yet there’s something in him screaming BAD IDEA! ABORT MISSION! and it sounds strangely like his mom. But, he has made all this way and wasted all these years over that, he can’t beHe clears his throat and tilts slightly towards her. “He’s my father.”
That finally gets enough of her attention to make her look at him.
“What?”
“Him and my mom they did-” He starts explaining with the help of beautiful gestures.
“No I know,” she says, looking particularly disgruntled and confused. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Peter couldn’t be more sure. His Mom wouldn’t get that angry over a total stranger. “He left my mom before I was born. I met him ten years back, but I didn’t know it was him. By the time I figured it out, it was too late.”
Too late. Those words make his stomach churns with guilt and his head filled with memories of his twin.
“Then this week I saw him on TV again, and I came to that house looking for him. But by the time I got there…”
He sighs as he tries not to remember the flames licking every inch of the mansion, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins and the scream of that kid he doesn’t even know the name of.
Where is my brother?!
“Late again.” He says, and he pretends that it isn’t incredibly hard to talk right now by smiling — or at least trying to smile — at her. “You know, for a guy who moves as fast as me I always seem to be too late.”
“Let’s hope not this time.”
Hope, huh? Look where that got him last time.
A mental speech, a rescue by three tenagers (humiliating) and the theft of a warplane later and Peter finds himself in said warplane with his cellmates and the teenagers that saved them flying towards three pyramids. Why? you may ask. Well, apparently Magneto decided to become a Horseman of the Apocalypse because his wife and daughter got killed.
(Peter had a sister. Another one that he was too late to save.)
Somehow, it makes Peter even angrier. Magneto lost people he loved, so what? Many people lost their loved ones too after his stupid speech at the white house, and they’re not running around destroying the world right now, are they? Magneto is not the only one to suffer, but he’s the only one making this big of a deal out of it and ending lives in the process. So, yeah, Peter’s mad. Peter’s fuming with rage, and if the threat of the end of the world wasn’t keeping him grounded in the present and focused on avoiding it, he probably would’ve exploded right here and there.
“Seventh wonder, twelve o’clock.” Hank — because Peter finally remembered his name — says.
“He has the Professor in the center of the Pyramid.” The redhead, which Peter learned is called Jean and is psychic just like Xavier. “He’s going to transfer his consciousness into the Professor.”
Not good.
“If he does that, he’ll have the power to control every mind in the world.”
Really not good.
Hank makes the plane fly around the biggest pyramid to try to find a place to land, only to discover a sphere of floating things right next to it. Peter can’t really tell what it is from where he is sitting in the plane.
“What the hell is that?” Moira says.
“It’s Erik.” Mystique says.
Even before he can think about it, Peter runs to the front of the plane to have a better view. He might hate the guy, but his powers are truly fascinating, if not a little scary.
“You guys help Nightcrawler get into the pyramid.” Mystique orders, but there’s something uncertain in her eyes. She might even be worried. “Get Charles, I’ll take care of Erik.”
“How are you gonna get through that?” Hank asks, and that’s where Peter comes in handy.
“I can get you in here.” He says, turning to look Mystique in the eyes. He needs her to understand how important this is to him, that he can’t wait another ten years. “I came here for him. Let me help you.”
She considers it for a few seconds — and really, it seems like an eternity to Peter — but when she finally nods, he can’t help but to sigh in relief.
“The rest of you, get Charles on this plane and get him out of here.” Mystique says, and there’s something a little more steady to her voice now.
“We’re not leaving without you.” Kurt says in a German accent, making his w sounds like v and his th and s sound like z. He’s the third blue mutant Peter has seen today — Xavier’s really collecting them, uh?
“Don’t worry.” Peter says. “We’ll catch up.”
I’m your son, I had a twin and she died because of you.
That’s what Peter plans to tell Magneto. Because then he would suffer the way Peter did, he would understand what it’s like to have your heart ripped out of your chest and maybe, just maybe, it would put him straight to retirement. And, yeah, Peter knows that hurting others won’t bring Wendy back, and once he would have felt bad about that. But that Peter died alongside his sister. Now he’s just miserable and angry all the time, and he wants Magneto to pay for that.
And the only thing separating him from that is a magnetic field that refuses to let Peter in.
“It’s too strong. I can’t get us in there” He says to Mystique, trying and failing to hide his irritation.
His father is just a few feet away, floating in the air as if he isn’t destroying the world. Peter is pretty sure he hasn’t even noticed them, too busy being an asshole or something.
“Erik!” Mystique calls out, clearly not undermined by the magnetic field.
And it works, since he (finally) turns to look at them. Well, to look at her. Peter is surprised for a moment before remembering it's not the first time she’s handled Magneto’s little temper tantrum, as proven by that time she shot him on national television.
“Mystique.”
“I know you think you’ve lost everything.” She says, and there’s something strangely soft in her voice — something Peter didn’t think she was capable of, and didn’t think Magneto deserved. “But you haven’t. You have me. You have Charles. You have more family than you know.”
She looks briefly at Peter while saying it, and his stomach does a flip. Maybe he’s not as ready as he thought he was.
“You never had the chance to save your family before, but you do now.” She pauses, and her eyes reflect something Peter doesn’t quite understand, something painful and soft but most of all hopeful — and he thinks he might have seen that look on Ada’s face before. “That’s what I’ve come here to tell you.”
Magneto doesn’t answer, simply turns towards Peter.
“And you?” He says, locking eyes with him.
Peter has imagined this moment billions of times before. He has imagined what his father’s eye would look like; cold and completely emotionless, or filled with loathing and violence. He has imagined his face deformed by hatred, his traits tight and his jaw tense. He has imagined a brutal man, feared by everyone he ever meets.
But Magneto is none of that right now. He is filled with emotions, and surprisingly little of them are anger and hatred. His face is tense, yes, but because he’s trying to hide these emotions. And his eyes-
“I’m your-”
The words — those Peter has wanted to say for almost ten years now, those that fuels the fire burning where his heart is supposed to be — get stuck in his throat because right now, it’s not Magneto’s eyes looking at him, but Wendy’s. The same kind, blue eyes, even though Wendy’s were much more innocent, freer of grief and pain. And that look of exhaustion, torment and guilt? Peter has seen it everyday in the mirror since Wendy left. He can’t help but to recall the lost man he had gotten out of the Pentagon all those years ago, and the little sister he doesn’t even know the name of.
For the first time in a decade, as Peter looks into Wendy’s eyes — into Erik ’s eyes — the inferno in his chest dies and he is left with a cold feeling of death engulfing him.
“I’m here for my family too.”