To Love The Children More Than Yourself

Peter has never been more grateful that his younger twin sister Wanda — and yes he will always take every opportunity to remind her and the world that he was thirteen minutes older , and their younger sister Lorna are both out at the park when the man who looked like a drug addict, a skinny nerd wearing glasses dude, and a muscular angry hairy looking man appear at the front of his house and knock on the door. At first Peter thinks that they might be cops or government officials and had probably seen either him or his sisters use their abilities and that’s why they were here, but when he speeds out and looks at their car and registration, that theory gets thrown out the window. I mean what cop would drive a car like that? He knew he would never.

He speeds his way to the basement and waits for them to come downstairs, knowing that they weren’t cops or military or government, but he is still wary and knows that some humans are hateful towards things they don’t understand. He is just hoping his sisters don’t come home soon if things were to go south and the men wanted a fight. Not like they could ever touch me, considering I could easily incapacitate the three of them before they so much as blink , he thinks. Still , he didn’t want his sisters caught up in it if they didn’t need to be.

The men finally make their way down the basement, and man — what was taking them so long? He feels like the world is so slow that everything feels so boring and dull. If it wasn’t interesting for more than five seconds, then it wasn’t worth his time. 

He zips to the ping pong table and starts playing a round with himself, flashing back and forth across the table, knowing that it will look strange to the men, making them feel they were seeing double of him. If I mess with their minds a bit then they might get scared off and leave , he thinks as he hits the ball. He learned long ago that if someone saw him use his ability, then making them think they saw something and then denying it worked best, and sometimes maybe adding a dash of fear or unease with his abilities could work wonders. It would make people stay away if they wanted to hurt him or his family.

“What do you guys want? I didn’t do anything,” Peter says as he keeps hitting the ball. When the men don’t answer right away, he zips to the couch and lounges on it, wanting to at least make the men feel off kilter if they did plan to hurt him or his family. “I’ve been here all day.”

That was a lie , but they didn’t need to know that. And so what if he snatched another box of twinkies? He was literally the only person who ate them in the town and they would expire soon, so honestly, he was helping the businesses really. It’s an error on their part if they didn’t appreciate what he was doing for them, for the economy. I mean, a fifteen-year-old’s gotta eat, Peter thinks as he watches each of the men’s faces with his dark eyes. 

“Yes, relax Peter. We’re not cops,” the muscular, hairy, angry looking man says. Wow, that was a mouthful, Peter muses.

“Of course you’re not cops,” Peter replies with his hands on his head as he lounges back, trying to seem casual and laid back. “If you were cops you would not be driving a rental car.”

Peter makes sure to maintain eye contact with the man, his face portraying arrogance. He watches each of their reactions, the muscular man squints at him, the man with the glasses opens his mouth as if to ask something but closes it when the man with the scruffy beard and long hair takes a half step forward.

“How’d you know we’ve got a rental car?” The man asks, and the accent takes Peter by surprise. Not many people in the town were British, or had an accent like that. Not that anything was wrong with it , Peter mentally chides himself, it was just that it was unusual. 

“I checked your registration when you were walking through the door,” Peter replies, his words coming out fast. He hopes this causes the men to feel confused or feel creeped out that he knows all of this information without knowing them. He really just wants them to leave before Wanda and Lorna get back. When the men don’t make any move to leave, Peter continues to spout more information that he knows about them in the hopes that it would make them feel uneasy. 

“I also had some time to kill, so I went through your rental agreements and saw you were from out of town,” He says as he squints between the three of them, keeping his arms behind his head casually. “Are you FBI?”

Without waiting for a response he zips between the muscular man and the scruffy beard guy and snatches scruffy’s wallet, immediately opening it and looking through its contents. He keeps his back turned from them, unafraid as he scans a card.

“Nope, you’re not cops.” He tilts his head as he reads the card, brows furrowing as he tries to make sense of it. “Hey, what’s with this gifted youngster’s place?”

Immediately, he gets a bad feeling when he sees that it’s a business card, and what they’re probably selling is a place for children to stay. The thought makes something uneasy swarm his mind as he thinks of Lorna, who had stayed at many “gifted places for youngsters” before their mom had fostered her. How she was treated worse than kids in bad foster homes just because of something she couldn’t control, in a world full of people who are full of fear and hate. Just thinking of Lorna is enough to make his insides twist, so he lets go of the wallet and speeds upstairs, past his mother who is in the kitchen making dinner, but Peter knows she has an ear towards the door to the basement. He flashes outside the house and runs to the park, seeing his sisters frozen in time. He calms when he scans the area and makes sure no men with guns or shady government people were there to round up his sisters while he’s distracted. When he is sure the coast is clear, he stops and sees Wanda frozen in the position to catch Lorna, who she threw in the air, both girls smiling. The sight makes Peter smile, knowing they are far from the house and safe, before he dashes back to the house and grabs a popsicle from the freezer and heads down to the basement where he lounges on the couch again. 

“No, he says fast, but when I knew him, he wasn’t so…” Peter listens to the muscular man speak, confused by what he means. When I knew him? He thinks of a time when he could have met the guy, but Peter comes up short. T here’s no way this guy knows me, plus it would be weird considering I’m a minor , Peter thinks with a frown. Then he waits for the man to finish, which is frustrating because he chose to pause in what he was saying, and time already works so slow , but now it’s even slower. As what the men could probably perceive to be a second, but for Peter it feels like five minutes, he thinks of what the man could possibly say. He wasn’t so much of a loser? Slow? Maybe he was faster in the future? Or what if he was slower in the future? Was he too fast now? Maybe he wasn’t so annoying? Childish? All his thoughts get jumbled as he thinks of different answers. 

“Young,” the muscular man finishes. The end of the sentence is both confusing and disappointing.

“Young? You’re just old.” Peter replies and watches as they all startle and whip around to look at him. It’s the fastest they have moved in his presence and it makes him want to laugh.

“So you’re not afraid to show your powers,” The man with the glasses says. It isn’t a question, just an observation, and he seems almost relieved. Peter squints and frowns at him. This is going so wrong , Peter thinks, I’ve just made them more interested now. Back to the original plan.

“Powers? What powers? What are you talking about?” Peter asks with a confused expression, his words coming out fast as he is nibbling on his popsicle. The tangy orange flavor was a great choice since it makes his face scrunch up, enhancing his emotional reaction and making himself look more confused. I just need to make them think they’re crazy , Peter thinks as he continues with his bit. 

“Did you see somethin’ strange here?” Peter continues as he finishes the last piece of his popsicle. He studies them and continues, knowing he needs to get them to think they can’t prove anything if they decide to tell someone about him. “Nothing anybody would believe if you told them.”

He sees the muscular man frown as if saying ‘really?’ He really hopes they believe his bluff. He knows that if they did tell anyone about what they saw him do, most people would not believe them and would think the men were drunk or on drugs, but he can’t risk it. There could be some who would believe what the men say they saw, and then his family would be in danger. His mom, for keeping this secret alone would be enough to get her into custody. Just imagining his sisters held in custody by the government because of their abilities, or worse — killed — no. He couldn’t think that. It would not come to that. 

He speeds past them and starts to play on his arcade machine. If he talks big and still uses his abilities in front of them, then they will see he is serious and leave without even thinking of telling anybody what they saw in his house. 

“So who are you? What do you want?” Peter asks, making sure to keep his voice uninterested, glad that they can’t see the anxiety in his eyes as he waits for them to speak. He is clicking buttons and jostling the stick as he waits for their response, the seconds feeling like hours .

“We need your help, Peter.” The muscular man replies, his voice gruff. As if he is not accustomed to asking for help, especially from a kid. Peter twitches at the answer, it takes him by surprise, which is shocking considering that is very hard to do. Nearly impossible. Help for what? 

His mind works so fast that the only word he manages to blurt out on time is, “what?”

“Break into a highly secured facility and to get someone out,” the muscular man announces. Peter can’t help the grin that breaks across his face, the idea both intriguing and exhilarating. He really hopes his mother didn’t hear that, and that thought makes him remember his family, and everything that is on his shoulders at this moment. 

“Prison break?” Peter asks, letting the smirk stay on his lips as he tilts his head to the side, eyes locked onto his game. “That’s illegal, you know.” 

He really can’t help the smugness, or hide the fact that he is grinning, knowing that they can all see the rows of twinkies and stacked televisions. He’s not new to a life of crime, but he keeps his profile low, knowing what is at risk if he gets caught. He needs to think of his family at this moment, because a prison break is way more bigger than shoplifting. Logically, he knows he can’t get caught if he relies on his speed, but he also doesn’t want to test that theory. Putting his mom or his sisters in danger because of his inability to stay entertained is wrong. Even if it sounds fun. But it’s wrong , he reminds himself, even if you really want to do it . 

“Umm…” Peter hears the man trail off, knowing that they are all looking at his stash of televisions and sugar-high snacks. He keeps his grin in place, fingers flashing across the buttons. “Only if you get caught.”

The words make Peter grin even wider, the words feel like he’s been given a key and told to unlock a door that leads to a world full of endless entertainment. He knows he’s playing into the men’s hands, giving into their demands, but dammit he’s weak at heart, and he can’t be blamed if he really caves into their wishes. Then he remembers why he was wary at first when he sees Wanda’s disappointed face flash in his mind as he thinks about all the ways he could flash through a prison and screw with a few things for fun that would take a couple of seconds for any normal person. Her disappointed eyes bore into his mind, making his heart burn, so he tries to control himself and his racing thoughts as he holds back from accepting the offer.

“So what’s in it for me?” Peter asks, knowing the risks but still craving the rush.

“You , you kleptomaniac,” the scruffy beard dude says. “Get to break into the Pentagon.”

Peter blanks, actually blanks , like — mind stopped working and everything is white and quiet — and that is enough to drop his smile and stare at the screen of his game. He feels time slow and rush together all at once, making him feel off kilter. He slowly turns around and faces the men, showing them that they have his full attention. He can’t even hear or see his sister’s disappointed eyes, or Lorna’s sad puppy eyes in his mind anymore. He can’t hear his mom scolding and lecturing him on how childish and irresponsible he is. Right now, all he hears is the word ‘Pentagon’. Pentagon Pentagon PentagonPentagonPentagon—

Peter wills his thoughts to stop, but it’s useless, and then another thought pops up. Why would they want to break in there? Who are these people? He feels the energy in the room shift as they wait for his response, but he keeps his face serious, dark eyes cold and hard. His mom always hated when he made that face, saying it reminds her of someone she knew when she was younger. That it scared her. He just hopes that it is enough to make the men at least feel on edge.

“How do I know I can trust you?” Peter keeps his voice level, boring holes into scruffy beard’s eyes. He has never been so serious in his life. He knows Wanda would appreciate how serious he is, but she will never know about this. 

“Because we’re just like you,” the muscular man replies. He is also serious, his hands on his hips as he says the words he has always wanted to hear from another person who weren’t his sisters. The words are not said with disgust or excitement, but stated as a fact, as if it were natural. As if Peter was natural. He’s never felt natural, and most of the time he doesn’t want to, but he remembers his mom always telling him that he and his sisters shouldn’t flaunt their abilities. That their father did one day and it scared a lot of people, including her. Peter then looks to the scruffy beard dude and glasses guy to see their reactions to what muscular man said. Glasses guy nods his head and scruffy beard is still analyzing him.

“Show him,” scruffy beard mumbles, leaning his head towards the muscular man’s direction. Peter watches the muscular man as he lifts his right arm in front of himself for Peter to see. The next thing Peter knows, three long and bony sticks protrude from the man’s knuckles. Like three elongated and really misplaced claws, and — is that bone? Is the bone coming out of the skin? Why is the skin peeling like that?! Does it hurt? — Peter is so weirdly grossed out and amazed at what he is seeing. 

It is so cool to see it in slow motion, well, for him it’s really really slow, but it’s also mildly uncomfortable. He’s never been so fixated on something that is moving slower than a baby crawling. How can he do that? How does it work? Is it just on his hands or can he grow claws anywhere else? His thoughts are racing and he tries to keep a neutral face, but he can’t keep the curiosity from his eyes, and the sigh of relief as he knows that there are others out there like him and his sisters. Well, muscle man isn’t like them, per say, but he is also like them . 

They really aren’t alone. 

He notices that they are waiting for a response, so he says the first thing that he could think of to let them know that he is in but not eager. He’ll do it, but only because they are like him, and he might be able to learn a thing or two about how to be himself without worrying about someone being scared of him for using his abilities. Or trying to kill him for it. Plus, if he learns a bit more about other people like him and his sisters, he could share his knowledge with them, so they too might not feel so alone in the world.

“That’s cool, but it’s disgusting.” Peter replies with a grimace as he looks at muscle man. He hears glasses guy huff out a laugh and scruffy beard scoff, but his lips are quirked the tiniest bit upwards. Muscle man doesn’t say anything, just puts away his claws — and wow it looks so much weirder when they go in. The skin is re-stitching itself in slow motion! — and snorts as he turns away and heads upstairs. The others follow after and Peter takes a rare second to smile and speed across his room in excitement, collecting a couple of twinkies and stuffing them in his jacket before zipping upstairs. 

The guys are already out of the house and Peter sees his mom waiting by the door, her arms crossed and looking at him with a frown. Peter feels his heart stutter, knowing that she is worried, but also disappointed. He hates when she gives him that look. 

“I’ll be back before dinner, I promise.” Peter rushes out, giving his mother a hug and kiss on the cheek. Before he has the chance to leave, her hand grabs his arm, making him stop and turn to look at her. He quickly glances at the men as they wait inside the car, watching the scene.

“Who are those men and what do they want with you?” His mom asks, her tone worried but voice firm.

“They just need help and I’m the only one who can assist them with whatever they need,” Peter replies, his tone light. 

“Peter, please don’t do anything dangerous or stupid. It’s not safe out there, and you need to think about your sisters,” his mom says, her eyes begging him to turn back inside the house. Peter falters, but only for a half a second — which is like a full thirty seconds for him — but then he gives her his best boyish smile and gently lifts her hand from his arm. 

“I am thinking about them, and you. I just…this is important and I can help ,” Peter emphasizes, and before his mom can reply, he is zipping to the car. He pretends his heart doesn’t feel as if it is being squeezed as he sees tears in his mom’s eyes, her mouth trembling in a firm line as she watches the car leave. 

On the ride to the Pentagon, Peter learns that there is a name for people like them. Mutants . It sounds both badass and derogatory, but honestly, he doesn’t care. It just makes him part of something, and that’s enough. He also learns that the man with the scruffy beard is named Charles, and he used to run a school for kids like them. He doesn’t explain what his mutation — wow that word feels weird to say — is, but that’s fine because he’s clearly the brains of the operation. Glasses guy is Hank, and he is kind of like a doctor or scientist — honestly they’re all the same , Peter thinks — and he’s also able to turn blue and hang upside down on buildings, which is cool. As for the muscle man, his name is Logan, who not surprisingly doesn’t like to talk much about himself. That was okay though, Peter did most of the talking anyways. Just as he was about to start rambling about how spiders dream and have rapid eye movements like humans, Charles cuts him off to inform him of the plan.

“You need to infiltrate the facility using your abilities while the rest of us will go in under different aliases. We will create distractions to buy you some time to get into the sublevels where they are keeping him,” Charles says. Peter listens closely, picturing the layout in his mind.

“Which floor is it?” Peter asks.

“He’s being held one hundred levels down,” Hank jumps in. 

“Is there a code for the cell door? I’m assuming you guys know the code or password? Like a thumb print? Or an eyeball scan? Or-”

“No, nothing like that,” Charles cuts Peter off, sounding amused. “There are no codes or cell doors the way you might think. The facility has no metal around it.”

“No metal? Aren’t prisons usually surrounded by metal?” Peter asks, looking at everyone in the car. The atmosphere gets a little tense and he wonders why the question is causing this reaction.

“The person we are… freeing ,” Charles said the last word with a grimace, as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. “Can manipulate metal, so he’s secured in a place void of it.”

The words have Peter pausing, his heart beats a bit faster than usual and it makes the world bend through his eyes. He never heard of another mutant — God, that word is still so weird — that could bend metal. Well , actually no — that’s a lie — he vaguely recalls his mom had mentioned to him that she knew a guy who could bend metal before she knew she was pregnant. That rang alarm bells in his head, because it felt like she had been implying that the man was something to his mom before she had kids, or that the man was something to her kids . He had wanted to ask her if this mystery man who she had brought up was his dad, if he was born from someone with abilities, but he had stood quiet when she stared vacantly at Lorna who was unaware that she was creating a magnetic force around herself as she slept on the beige couch. Peter had watched as she laid curled into herself, her green hair floating around her, the static lifting it up and making the green strands dance around. He nearly forgot about that moment, but now it was flashing through his mind again.

The way his mom said that she knew a guy who could manipulate metal made Peter fidget, as if she was scared of the man. She didn't talk more about him after that, but Peter knew she was hiding something. When he decided to risk it one day when he was alone with her in the house and asked who his dad was, he watched as she froze in place, her eyes had a faraway look in them, and then she had forced a smile and told him that the less he knew about his dad, the better. He never asked her again, and eventually the conversation fled from his mind and got overpowered by new thoughts that raced inside his mind. 

Could this be the same guy my mom knew? Peter asks himself, unsure if he should voice the thought when he breaks the man out of the Pentagon. Wow, he’s literally breaking someone out of the Pentagon! Peter thinks with a wide grin on his face.

“Which must have been infuriating for him,” Hank adds, his tone smug as he interrupts Peter's train of thought. Peter winces, unsure why the words and tone bother him.

“Anyways, to answer your previous question,” Charles continues. “There will be a guard who brings him food, and that is your way in. It’s the only way in, and you will need to get inside the cell, and the good thing is there is no metal, so it’s all going to be plastic or glass.”

Peter nods as he listens, wondering how many guards will be monitoring the sublevel. He feels a spike of adrenaline as he thinks about the actual situation and how he’s finally doing something not only exhilarating, but also important. Everyone always tells him to do something with his life, to be responsible and less childish, but now he can actually say that he did something. Well , he would have said he did something with his life if he was not so sure that this entire situation would stay between himself and the men involved in their little heist. Is this even a heist? Peter wonders to himself.

“Wait, how are you going to break through the glass of his cell exactly?” Charles asks, as if he were now thinking of the plan as an actual reality. Peter smirks at the man and leans back in his seat for some dramatic effect, because he’s nothing if not dramatic. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter says casually, his eyes glinting with excitement. “I’ve actually been meaning to test something involving my abilities for a while, so now’s a better time than any other.”

Putting on his goggles and speeding his way into the Pentagon and rushing to the kitchen was simple. He briefly catches a sign that says ‘NO METAL BEYOND THIS POINT’, and his mouth twitches as he thinks about how cool it’s gonna be to see this guy move metal. It seems like a pretty badass power, and he can’t wait to see it himself. 

He zips into the elevator as the guard enters, knocking the man’s hat from his head and onto the floor to distract him until the doors close. He keeps the tape hidden from view, leaning against the wall as the man picks his hat up and stands. Peter watches the man’s eyes lock with his own eyes on the reflection, and — wow I look really cool right now, that was such a badass entrance — the man freezes before turning around so fast that Peter would have thought the man got whiplash. Peter gives him a smile before he peels a piece of tape out, knowing that this is the most fun he’s ever had in his life.

It takes no more than two seconds for Peter to be in the man’s uniform and do his hair in a small bun, and have the man be covered head-to-toe in tape and held up against the wall. Peter admires his handiwork and takes the third second to prepare himself for the doors to open, to keep his face void of emotion and act like he belongs there. He tries to make sure his hair is covered in his hat as much as possible, because people always find it weird and unusual for a kid to have silver hair. 

The doors open and Peter’s fingers curl a little tighter on the food tray he is holding. He swallows and flicks his gaze across every individual lined up guarding the cell door, as if it were holding the most dangerous man in the world — which okay maybe the guy might be dangerous, but this line-up of men can’t actually be practical, because the battle strategy kind of sucks — Peter wills his mind to quiet as he slowly makes his way forward, trying to not seem suspicious and praying none of the guards decide to take the elevator right now and see the christmas wrapped special hanging from the wall. It isn’t until this moment that Peter thinks maybe this was a bad idea, or not a well thought out plan. He really hopes there are no cameras here, because he is walking so slow — like the slowest in his life ever — that he knows they could have his face recorded on their cameras. 

This is bad , Peter briefly thinks before he glances at the guns on the men’s hips and notices that they are made of plastic casing, no metal in sight. The thought of plastic guns might be more funny if they weren’t proof of how cautious these people were of the man behind the cell door. Did he really scare everyone he met? Peter wonders. 

Peter keeps his face and eyes straight, walking stiffly and slowly, and he can feel every second as he sees the door get closer. He finally makes it into the rotating clear door, and turns as he watches it spin. He is mildly amazed at how one second he was looking at the guards lined up and the next he saw a hallway with one lone guard watching him. It almost feels like he teleported, like in that one Twilight Zone episode, and it was kind of scary to think about. How much is the government hiding from people? Peter asks himself as he sees the door slide open.

Peter passes the guard and walks down the hall, still taking slow steps, and he tries not to show any fear, because he’s not afraid, but he does start to panic when he sees a wall with the silhouette of a door but no knob. He frowns as nothing happens and wonders if Charles forgot to mention a key detail — because now is not the time for mistakes and there are so many levels to run in here and just one elevator — he turns around and looks at the guard. The man looks at him and presses a button to his side. Peter turns back around when he hears the door move. 

Peter tries not to stare wide-eyed at the door, because it doesn’t open like a door would but actually moves back and reveals a dark entryway on the right corner, and Peter would feel more creeped out if this didn’t peak his curiosity a bit. He vaguely thinks this might be a trap, that these men were using this elaborate plan to just get him trapped in their facility, but the thought speeds away when he thinks about how deep this tunnel is, and how long it must have taken to build.

When he turns the corner he frowns as he sees a dark room, no light from the ceiling, and a pentagon shape on the floor, the only source of white light coming from it. Peter walks only a little faster as he sees it, knowing this is where the man is being held. When he passes the glass floor — ceiling? — he sees a little slot for the tray of food and heads towards it, glancing at the man who is lounging on his cot, as if he has no care in the world. Peter makes sure to slip the note ‘MIND THE GLASS’ in his most eligible handwriting he has ever done in his life into the tray in a flash, in case any cameras are in here, and then proceeds to slide the tray into the slot before making his way to the glass and looking at the man. He takes in the man’s appearance, from his brown hair to his blue-ish silver eyes and his gray jumpsuit. Peter briefly catches the number 0001 on his shirt and wonders if there are other mutants with numbers in the facility. We’re not here for anyone else, Peter reminds himself.

He sees the man frown as he reads the note, sitting up in confusion, and it makes Peter want to laugh. He has the same confused face as his sisters, and the thought makes him remember his mom’s words. He keeps the thought in his mind, forcing it to stay in the back so he could focus on the task but also be aware of a question that he wants to ask the man.

Peter sees the man tilt his head up to him, and Peter can’t help it, he honestly doesn’t know why he does it considering this man looks annoyed, but he gives him a big smile, a smile he reserves only for his sisters. He watches as his smile has the opposite effect, the man’s eyebrows lower, his eyes darkening as he takes him in, and Peter briefly thinks that the man probably thinks he’s playing a prank or making a joke. Who knows what the guards like to do or say to their prisoners here , Peter thinks.

Peter decides that now is the best time to test his abilities, to show the man in his cell that he is serious, and a teeny tiny part of him wants to show the man that he’s cool too. Peter slowly places his hands on the glass, wanting to make a show of it and give loads of suspense to the man as he watches, and then he starts to vibrate his hands against the glass, feeling the entire surface tremble under his hands. 

He starts to smile as he watches the glass shake, and looks around the room as he hears the sounds of whirring echo in the space, and Peter decides this could be the best thing he’s ever heard when it came to his abilities. To hear the sound echo in the room is like music to his ears and he vaguely wonders if he could find a way to record the sound and hear it when he is trying to sleep, like a beautiful lullaby. 

When the glass shatters, he sees it fall slowly, time slowing for him again, and his smile drops as he notices the man is looking up — I told you to mind the glass! — Peter is slightly amazed as he watches the man cover himself quickly, and he just hopes that no glass cuts him, because he really doesn’t want to have problems with a man who could potentially move metal and is already grumpy.

Peter allows his lips to form a small smile as his experiment worked, his abilities able to break glass, and highly indestructible glass while he’s keeping score, and the man seems to not be injured from what it looks like. So it’s win-win all around. He turns his head when he hears an alarm blaring and the only door to the cell closing. He turns his head back to the man, a small smile still playing on his lips as he thinks about how the others will handle this next part. All he has to do is wait. The one thing he’s usually not that good at.

Peter steps away and back towards the far end of the cell and away from the door, hand on his mouth and scratching at his teeth as he tries to hold in his giddy smile, watching as the man lifts himself from the floor-cell. He still can’t believe this is happening, that he actually succeeded and did it. Now, the fun part comes.

Peter puts his hands down and slowly turns his head up when he sees the man take a few steps towards the door. He feels a little disappointed when the man doesn’t thank him for breaking the glass, or for the entire rescue operation, but he tries not to let it bother him as much. Honestly, why is it bothering him so much?

“In three seconds, those doors are going to open,” the man says, before he turns to look at Peter. It feels like the man looks at him for thirty seconds, even if Peter knows it was probably a split second for the man, but his eyes pin Peter and make him automatically straighten his spine. He may be a kid, but he really wants to impress this guy. Maybe he just wants to impress him because he is a kid, and people tend to look down on kids in his own experience. “And twenty guards will be here to shoot us.”

Peter zips towards the man, placing his hand gently on the back of the man’s head. He feels the man tense, and the idea that he puts the man who bends metal on edge is both hilarious and exciting. He can’t wait until he sees the man react to his ability, he’s so gonna freak! Peter thinks with a huge grin.

“I know. That’s what I’m waiting for,” Peter says as he turns to look at the man, his voice is surprisingly calm for the excitement threatening to rip itself from his body. 

“What are you doing?” The man asks, turning his head slightly towards Peter, but still remaining rigid. Peter hopes he doesn’t move when the time comes for him to run.

“I’m holding your neck so you don’t get whiplash,” Peter replies, with a smile still on his face. He makes sure to never make that mistake again after Lorna got whiplash when she was seven and he ran with her in his arms. He’ll never forget the hurt expression on her face when she thought he did it to her on purpose, how her tears broke his heart and her eyes looked at him the way she looked at the people who she used to stay with before their family. It took a while before she trusted him again, and an even longer while before he ever even let himself think about running with someone in his arms again. 

“What?” The man nearly whispers. Peter mentally rolls his eyes, knowing how slow people are around him and reminding himself that everyone should be treated like babies, you talk to them slowly, you explain to them slowly, and you have to watch them move slowly . 

“Whip…laaaaash,” Peter says slowly into the man’s ear. When the man glances at him without saying anything, gaze distant and contemplating, Peter grins as he turns to the door. That might be slow enough for him to understand , Peter mentally thinks as he stares at the door, his body ready to run. 

The minute the doors open Peter feels a rush as the guards swarm in, their guns aimed at them. Peter glances at each of them, knowing that this is going to baffle their minds and probably hurt.

“Don’t move!” A guard shouts, but Peter just lets his lips quirk up and keeps his hand on the back of the man’s head before he runs with all he’s got. Time moves slowly as he makes his way down the hall, making sure the man is secured in his hands and not in danger of getting injured. He smiles at what he wonders what the man will say when he realizes what just happened for him, or is happening to him? Technically it’s happening but also will have happened, and the thought scatters around his mind until he reaches the elevator, finally releasing the guy. 

Peter stands back and winces as he sees the man lean a hand against the wall and tilting his head down. He knows this could be disorientating for someone who isn’t him, but the idea that the guy might get sick inside a cramped elevator is not something he wants to happen. He decides to let the guy catch his breath, and maybe his thoughts while he quickly takes a second to change his clothes into his original pink floyd shirt, silver jacket and goggles. He also makes sure he keeps his headphones and walkman secured to him, knowing that he will need to run his way out of here, possibly while holding the man. 

Peter looks back at the man to make sure he is okay, before checking his watch and sighing as he waits for the elevator to go up all one hundred levels. Seriously, why is it so slow! Peter watches as the man turns to look at him and then does a double take as he looks behind Peter. Oh, right! The guy! Peter remembers the man taped to the wall and briefly wonders how long it will take for someone to find him when they leave. Peter turns his focus onto the man and watches as he still looks a little sick, hunched over and trying not to vomit all over the floor. Please don’t vomit on the floor, the elevator is already moving slow and more discomfort in this situation will suck. Peter frowns when he sees the guy is not looking any better.

“You’re good, it’ll pass.” Peter tries to offer some comfort. “It happens with everyone.”

He tries not to think of Lorna, or Wanda when she first experienced his power and nearly passed out from the unsettling speed. Peter knows his power is not meant to be shared with everyone, or even liked, but he hopes to offer a form of comfort for those that are subjected to it. He continues to look at the man, squinting as he tries to make sense of who he is. He does notice that he looks oddly familiar, which is impossible because he’s never met him, but it’s something about him that makes Peter want to talk to him. If not because of curiosity, then because of boredom. It is a long one hundred floors after all.

“You must have done somethin’ pretty serious,” Peter says casually. “What’d you do, man?”

The man takes a breath, probably still trying to process what happened, but Peter really wants to know what he did, and he’s got a lot of time to spare right now so he grins at the guy and tilts his head back.

“What’d you do?” Peter asks, forcing his voice to sound extra annoying and whiny. “What’d you do? Why’d they have you in there?”

Peter keeps pushing, watching as the man gets agitated and it makes him smile even more. He doesn’t know why this feels nice, but it does and he keeps pestering the man who keeps taking deep breaths.

“For killing the president,” the man replies, and woah that is not close to anything he was thinking. Today is full of surprises , Peter thinks.

Peter can’t help his mouth hanging open as he nods his head absentmindedly, while whispering, “oh. Wow.”

Peter turns to the guard and whispers a “shit”, to which the man furrows his brows as if saying ‘ no shit. Why’d you think he was in there? ’ and Peter thinks he does deserve the look the guard is sending his way.

“The only thing I’m guilty of is fighting for people like us,” the man says as he turns his head in the direction of Peter. Peter isn’t sure how to take that phrase, so he decides to change the direction of the conversation.

“You take karate? You know karate, man?” Peter asks, his face serious as he jerks shoulder, stopping himself before he ends up embarrassing himself in front of the man by striking a karate pose. He’s honestly surprised when the man responds instead of shutting him down, and it warms Peter’s heart, because people tend to ignore him if he keeps talking and asking questions.

“I don’t know… karate ,” the man emphasizes the last word before tilting his head down again — and at least he is starting to look a little better — “But I know crazy.”

The response makes Peter laugh lightly and look down at his feet, amused at the response and glad that the guy has a sense of humor. Even if it’s dry, but that's what makes it even funnier. He glances and sees the man’s lips quirk up, but Peter notices how tired his eyes look, and it makes him look back to his feet, feeling as if he saw something he wasn’t meant to see.

He glances at the floor levels and notices that they have ten more floors left, so he thinks of what else he can say to pass the time, as he fidgets with his walkman cord before feeling the metal buttons and remembers that Charles said this dude can manipulate metal. Then he remembers his mom’s words, and he twitches as he sees they have five floors left. Now or never . Peter thinks as he takes a breath to get him ready to start the conversation. 

“They told me you control metal,” Peter says as he turns his head to the man. He tries not to seem nervous or look interrogative. It’s not like he could really be the guy mom knew , Peter tries to calm his nerves.

“‘They’?” The man asks, sounding confused. Peter looks straight ahead, wondering if he should say that his mom might know him. Was it him? Or is it some other guy who can do it? In the end, Peter decides to go for it, and jerks his head as he licks his lips, trying to sound casual but really feeling anxious to hear what the guy will say.

“You know, my mom once knew a guy who could do that.” Peter says as he lifts his hand to gesture in the air, his lips tilting upwards as he turns to look at the man. He watches the man’s face change the slightest bit, the actions moving slowly for him as he sees the man’s eyes widen slightly and his eyebrows rise. Peter looks away and jerks his head back, squinting to himself as he tries to make sense of the man’s reaction. His eyes held a question but also looked shaken, but that could also be because he is still recovering from the force of Peter’s speed run. A part of Peter wants to push the question more, figure out if he knows something about what his mom was saying, if he was his dad or at least knew his dad since they could potentially have the same powers. 

The idea forms a new thought in his mind and Peter wonders if maybe some mutants could have the same abilities as others, or at least similar ones? He wasn’t really sure how it worked but he did want to know the scientific aspects of how people like them are born, and if there is always at least one parent that is a mutant and ends up passing the gene down to what would have been ‘normal’ kids.

Then before Peter can continue this conversation, the doors open and he sees Charles and Logan standing outside, the sprinklers drenching them and the entire kitchen around them. Peter gives him a wide smile, showing that he actually did it and has the guy right here, but then before the man beside him can say Charles’ name, Peter sees Charles punch the man so hard that he falls over. Peter takes a step back and away from the two men, unsure what is happening. He’s a bit confused since he knows Charles needed him to break this dude out, but now he’s angry at seeing him. Did I miss something? Peter thinks as he looks between the two men. 

“Good to see you too, old friend.” The man says from the ground as he holds his jaw. “And walking.”

Peter just watches, baffled at how supposedly the most dangerous man did not even retaliate after getting punched. He almost feels bad for him, and then Charles speaks.

“No thanks to you,” Charles replies, his voice heated as he glares daggers at the man, who is struggling to his feet. 

“You’re the last person in the world I expected to see today,” the man says as he takes slow steps towards Charles. Peter feels as if he is intruding on a private moment, sensing the underlying tension and unspoken words between the two men. 

“Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if I had to,” Charles says, and Peter can hear the tremble in his voice, and he can see the flash of pain across the metal manipulator’s eyes. 

“If we get you out of here, we do it my way,” Charles says and the words have Peter tilting his head. If we get you out of here? What are we doing if it’s not that? We can’t just change our minds now. Peter wonders why Charles is questioning everything now when they are literally nearly done. 

“No killing,” Charles finishes, and Peter frowns. The metal bender did tell him he killed the president, but there’s no way he’d kill someone else, right? He said he fights for people like them, so maybe now he could put that to good use and not commit more crimes. Peter just hopes Charles can keep him in check since this was their idea.

“No helmet,” the man replies with a smile and Peter can see his eyes soften as he looks at Charles, a bit of boyish charm pouring out of him. “I couldn’t disobey you, even if I wanted.”

Peter is taken aback by the words and the man’s smile, and now he feels like he’s witnessing a weird flirtatious banter between the guys, and it makes Peter shuffle awkwardly in his spot, not really sure what to do or not do. Do I say something? Shouldn’t we be trying to escape before more people get here? Why are you both acting so weird right now? Did they break—

Peter’s thoughts are interrupted as he sees Charles take slow steps towards the man as he says, “I’m never getting inside of that head again.”

Peter turns to look at the guard taped to the wall, his face twisted in confusion and he sees the same confusion in the guard’s eyes. Are we watching a telenovela right now? Peter knew there were people in the world who liked the same gender, and that was fine with him, honestly he didn’t care, but it made him uncomfortable to be stuck watching these two men having a tense moment with each other when they were all tucked into an already small elevator and should really be leaving right now .

Peter’s brow furrows and he frowns as he sees Charles bore holes into the man’s eyes as he says, “I need your word, Erik.”

Erik. The man’s name is Erik. Peter keeps that piece of information tucked in his mind for later, and watches as Charles and Erik are now face to face. Peter vaguely remembers a scene from the movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ — which he is still never going to admit that he liked, and instead uses the excuse that he only saw it to cheer Wanda up when she accidentally disintegrated all her dresses with her chaotic power — that is oddly similar to what he is watching now. Charles is already drenched in water, reminding Peter of Holly, and the two are looking so deeply into each other's eyes that it is starting to make the air feel suffocating. Peter idly wonders if he is the cat in this situation. 

Peter inhales an exasperated breath and flicks his gaze to Erik who nods slightly. Peter is about to remind them that they should be going when the door at the end of the kitchen opens, and in comes a bunch of guards, each pointing guns at them all. 

“Nobody move!” One guard shouts, aiming his gun at Erik.

“Hold it right there!” Another adds, his gun aimed at Charles, and this is honestly too funny for Peter. As if he’d ever freeze when he is the embodiment of constant motion. 

Logan, Erik, and Charles all form a line, each of them stepping back a little and blocking the elevator door where Peter is peeking through. Peter is silent as he steps behind them, moving slowly sideways to stand on Charles’ left.

“Charles?” Erik calls, and Peter wonders what he can do. Peter still doesn’t even know what Charles’ abilities are but he still waits to see if anyone on the team will do anything or if he’ll have to save the day.

“Don’t move!” A guard shouts, and Peter waits.

“Hands up! Or we will shoot!” Another guard yells, and Peter makes no move to comply. He glances at the others and sees that none of them are obeying the orders. That’s pretty badass , Peter thinks.

“Freeze them, Charles.” Erik orders, his voice losing patience. 

“I can’t,” Charles replies, the words ripping from his throat and shaky. 

“Hands up!” The guard pointing his gun at Erik shouts, and Peter can see his finger itching to pull the trigger. Peter glares at the man, mentally daring him to even try shooting any of them. 

Just as Peter sees the guard turn his gun on Charles, the room starts to echo with the sound of metal clattering together, and Peter watches as the carts and utensils start to vibrate. He really can manipulate metal! Peter thinks, and he knows this already, but seeing it is completely different to hearing it and it’s so cool! Then the guard who was aiming at Charles ends up turning his gun on Erik and shooting, and Peter stops fooling around. In a quarter of a second, time slows, and Peter can hear Charles shouting ‘no’ extremely slowly, and he sees Charles move to push Erik away, the sight easing Peter’s heart a little. Peter sees all the metal utensils in the room lift up, and the bullets being shot from the guns slowly fly through the air. The sight of the bullets makes Peter’s blood boil because nobody is dying today, not while he’s here. 

Peter puts on his headphones and plays Time in A Bottle as he runs, smiling as he sees everything floating around him and the sprinkler drops suspended in time. Usually things are on the ground and still when he speeds around, but since Erik used his abilities, everything is floating and it’s kind of cool, and almost beautiful. Peter likes how both his and Erik’s abilities compliment each other, and makes things more exciting and eye-catching for him while he runs. Peter smiles as he tastes the food that’s floating around and touches the drops of water that reflect with the image of him in their little orbs. 

Peter runs across the wall, knocking a guard's hat off and poking another’s cheek. He makes sure to knock dangerous objects away from the guards, but throws a plate at the one who’s bullet is aimed at Erik. He won’t let the guards die either, but he won’t let them go without a few bruises. 

Peter makes sure to give a guy a wedgie, remove the gun from another’s hand and have him punch himself in the face — that’s gonna be funny when he sees it happen — and then he makes two other guards raise their hands against each other’s face, knowing that the gun’s pushback will knock them out for a while. He steals the guard's hat, smiling as he places it on his head and adjusting it to fit comfortably, and then his smile drops when he sees the bullets advancing on Logan, Erik and Charles. 

Peter immediately zips his way to them, moving a bullet with his finger away from Charles’ neck and grabbing another bullet with his two fingers so they don’t strike through his face. He then turns his attention towards Erik, moving a bullet away from his chest and gripping one to slide away from his face. He takes a millisecond to look at Erik’s face and give him a wide grin, looking into his eyes and knowing that the man will never know about it before turning to Logan and swiping the bullets away with his hand before zipping behind the guards again and waiting by the kitchen door for time to catch up to everyone else. He can’t wait to see their reactions to him saving their asses. 

Peter watches as chaos erupts in the kitchen, utensils and food flying everywhere, guards falling over themselves, and all the noise comes rushing back. He sees Charles duck as the bullets fly past them, Logan seems unfazed, and Erik seems less surprised and more amazed at what he sees. It makes Peter’s lips quirk up before he quickly flattens them into a straight line as he removes his headphones and sighs, as if he is bored and is waiting for his parents to hurry up and walk faster. The image makes Peter want to giggle, and then the thought and image fade away as Charles turns to Erik and storms off, Erik’s eyes now no longer on Peter and now fixed on Charles. 

Peter looks away from Erik and glances at the ground before Charles walks past him and nods his head at him in thanks, to which he nods back in acknowledgement. Erik passes by him, looking at him with a mix of confusion and interest as Peter tilts his head at him. Slightly annoyed that Erik didn’t at least thank him for saving his ass, and before he can stew on the thought for a half second more, Logan passes by him and looks him in the eye before clapping his shoulder.

“Thanks, kid.” Logan says and Peter nods his head, pursing his lips. He was really hoping Erik said something, but it’s not like the dude owes him anything anyways. He really isn’t sure why he’s so upset about it anyways, as if the man is responsible for providing praises. 

Stop it! Peter chides himself.

He turns around and takes a second to try and snuff out the disappointment before following the others out.

The car ride to the plane is tense, and Peter can’t help but bounce his leg and fiddle with his jacket buttons that his mom tailored to twist so he would have something to do when he was bored and restless and surrounded by regular people. Or for when he was in situations like these, where he had nowhere to go but was still forced to sit in silence. He really really wanted to just run out of this situation, because he doesn’t do silences. 

He notices that Charles looks angry as he stares out of the window, and Logan has his eyes pinned to the road. Hank is pretending not to be fazed by the tense silence, but he can tell he’s anxious when he keeps fixing his glasses as he keeps his eyes pinned on the road through his window. Peter wishes he was next to a window instead of sandwiched between Hank and Erik. Peter then takes a chance and glances at Erik, who is also looking out of his window, but he keeps stealing glances at Charles, and Peter can see the sorrow in his expression, and a little bit of weariness. What happened between these two? Peter thinks as he starts to twist his buttons in the opposite direction, wishing that he could leave now.

Peter startles when Erik turns his gaze to him, and he looks away quickly, fidgeting even worse now. Peter glances at the radio and looks towards Charles before turning his gaze towards Logan.

“Can we turn on the radio?” Peter asks, trying to ignore Erik’s eyes on him.

“I don’t drive with music,” Logan replies, his voice low. Peter hunches a little, and then he sees Erik flick a finger and the radio dial scrolls, flooding the car with soft music. Peter feels his lips quirk up and he looks at Erik, but the man keeps his eyes on his window. 

“Seriously, Erik?” Charles groans. 

“What? Are you going to answer my questions anytime soon?” Erik asks, his voice holding an edge to it. Peter stops fidgeting and freezes, wishing he never asked for the radio. 

“Not necessarily, no.” Charles replies.

“You just did,” Erik responds, and Peter can see his lips turned upward, his eyes challenging. Peter tries not to smirk at his playful banter and how now is not the time for it.

“Fuck you,” Charles growls, and Peter sees the station dial turn before fizzing out. Peter feels Hank tense next to him and hears the steering wheel grind under Logan’s clenched hands. Peter looks at Erik, thinking he shut the radio off, but when he sees his eyes widening at Charles, Peter realizes it wasn’t him. Did Charles do that? How? Peter doesn’t voice his questions, and instead prays they are almost at the location of the plane. He doesn’t think he can take being in the stuffy car with the stifling atmosphere any longer. 

Peter briefly thinks about asking if Erik knows his mom, just to see if he is either the guy she knew or if he might know the guy his mom knew, but one look at Erik makes Peter hold his tongue. The man is fully facing the window — head turned and everything, geez he’s so melodramatic — and Peter decides that silence is the only option to ensure peace between all occupants of the car. 

“Peter, thank you very, very much.” Charles thanks him as Peter leans against the car, arms crossed as he looks at Charles.

“You take care.” The man finishes as he shakes Peter’s hand. This feels like a goodbye, and Peter doesn’t want it to be. He wants to go with them, to bring his sisters with him and introduce them to Charles and the others. To be with others like him and his siblings, and to finally fit in while also standing apart from those around him. He wants to do more fun things like what he did at the Pentagon, and he wants to talk to Erik, to ask him his questions because his mom won’t answer any. Maybe Erik knows something about his dad.

“Hey, I saw your flight plan in the cockpit,” Peter tries to stall, ignoring the squinting gaze that Charles directs at him, as if chastising him like a child who got caught sticking their hand in the cookie jar. “Why are you going to Paris?”

He watches as Hank and Charles glance at each other, and Peter knows he’s probably not gonna get an answer. He doesn’t even bother asking if he can join them or even speak with Erik, noticing how the man had literally ran inside the jet when leaving the car, not even sparing him a glance as he left.

“Do me a favor and return it for me,” Charles says as he tosses the keys to Peter, efficiently cutting his thoughts off. 

“Okay,” Peter replies as he looks at the keys, wondering how he’s going to explain that he does not know how to drive a car, and doesn’t even have a license to drive one. 

“And, Peter?” Charles calls, bringing Peter’s attention to him. 

“Take it slow,” Charles says as he points at him and briefly glances at Hank who nods at Peter and smiles. Peter releases a chuckle at the words, smiling at Hank and Charles as they make their way into the jet.

Peter waits for them to leave, watches as the jet takes off, seeing any chance of asking his questions and finding answers fade before his eyes. He feels the familiar feeling of disappointment and melancholy, but then he turns towards the car and forces a grin, knowing that if he keeps it on his face, it will eventually form into a real grin. He decides to push Erik and the others to the back of his mind for now, and zips into the car before slowly making his way out of the lot. He can’t wait to eat the dinner his mom was making — God he’s sooo hungry — and then he smiles even wider as he pictures telling Wanda that he met others like him. Of course he’s gonna exclude the whole Pentagon breakout, but he sees no harm in telling her about the mutants he met, and how cool they were and what they could do. He can’t wait to see her eyes light up when she finds out there are others out there like them. That him and his sisters aren’t alone in the world.

Surprisingly, Peter didn’t have any complications with returning the car, and he was extremely thankful that no cops decided to pull him over. He even made sure to drive extra slow, which was killing him , but he knew it was necessary. He also made sure to keep the card of Charles’ school for gifted kids in his pocket, safely tucked away in case he needed to find out more about them.

By the time he drops off the car and speeds home, dinner was already ready — which is amazing and thank you mom — and his sisters were home, both of them helping set the table. He zips around, side hugging his sisters who smile at his antics before bringing the food to the table. He notices that his mom doesn’t ask where he went, what he did, and in general doesn’t really acknowledge his presence. He pretends it doesn’t hurt a little as Wanda looks at him, giving him a lopsided smile formed from pity.

“So you had fun at the park?” Peter asks Lorna with a smile. He idly notices his mom and Wanda sit down, each starting to eat their food, but they seem a bit tense. Peter decides to inhale his mac and cheese as he looks at Lorna.

“Yeah! We stayed there longer than usual, but then we had to go,” Lorna says, slumping a little in her chair. Her green hair shields her eyes as she plays with her food.

“How come?” Peter asks. He glances at Wanda who stares at her food, clutching the fork in her hand. 

“This boy kept hogging the swing, and wouldn’t let anyone else play,” Lorna says, agitated as if she were seeing it play in her mind. “So I wished he would fly off with the swing, and he did.”

Peter pauses, fork in his mouth as he looks at Lorna and then at Wanda. 

“You moved him or-”

“She unscrewed the metal bolts,” Wanda interrupts Peter, trying to conceal the amusement in her voice, but Peter also notices the underlying concern and fear in her eyes. She unscrewed the bolts? Like metal bolts? The thoughts flow through his mind, and it puts him on edge as he remembers Erik, and how he manipulates metal. 

Peter doesn’t even notice his mother fidgeting in her seat when he turns towards Lorna and looks at her. She looks upset, as if what she did doesn’t bother her. Then again, why should it? She’s only nine, and she can’t understand what people like them are seen as to people in the world.

“You moved the metal? You can do that?” Peter asks, his eyes wide as he thinks of the many implications of what this could mean. He doesn’t even see his mom’s head snap up to look at them, eyes wide. Maybe Erik is or isn’t his and Wanda’s father, but could he really be Lorna's? But then why would mom not want to talk about him? Could Erik have a brother and maybe that was who mom had known? Or did Erik also know Lorna’s mom? All these thoughts jumbled in his mind and he didn’t know what to think. I should ask mom straight out , Peter decides. 

“I don’t know, I just-”

“That’s enough!” Peter and Wanda jump as their mom shouts, interrupting Lorna who also startles. “All three of you know that you aren’t supposed to talk about this. The things you can… do are not meant to be spoken out loud or used in public places. I only let you three relax and use them here but out there, the world is bad. It’s dangerous and none of you know the dangers that can come if people find out what you can do.”

Peter winces as he thinks about what he did today, knowing that he can’t tell his mom or she’ll flip out more than she is doing right now.

“It was an accident,” Lorna mumbles. Peter frowns at the uncertainty in her voice and he knows that his mom is scared, but Lorna is just a kid who doesn’t know any better.

“Accidents turn into compulsions,” their mom replies, and Peter feels as if she isn’t speaking to her, but is lost in another time. Lorna shrinks lower in her seat and Peter hates it.

“She’s just a kid, mom. She didn’t mean to,” Peter tries to defend her, knowing that his mom can sometimes be hard on them when their powers are involved. Which always roots back to the man that manipulates metal. The man who could possibly be Erik. 

“But you’re not, and you still don’t know better. If you encourage the use of these things you three can do, then the world will try to hunt you down and hurt you, or worse ,” his mom says, her eyes full of tears. “If you allow it, you’ll drag them down with you.”

The words are a blow to Peter’s heart, and he barely stops himself from flinching. He keeps his eyes on the table and feels his mouth form a frown without his permission. He blinks away the blurriness from his eyes and feels his heart rate speed up more than usual. The thought of running to the basement is very compelling, but Peter doesn’t move. He’s actually very still, as still as he’s been in his own home.

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen, then.” Peter replies as he grabs his plate and zips into the kitchen to clean the dish. He vaguely hears Wanda’s hushed voice but ignores it and focuses on cleaning his plate. He knows he should feel a bit more upset but there’s no anger, usually anger is his most fleeting emotion, but it still feels like it shouldn’t be gone so soon in this situation. He knows his mom worries, but that’s only when she’s mentally around, and most of the time, she’s always in her mind, locked inside her fears. He knows her life has sucked, but aren’t children meant to bring light to their parents lives? Isn’t he enough? And if he isn’t then shouldn’t his sisters be enough light in her world? 

“I’m sorry for making mom mad,” Lorna whispers and Peter almost jumps as she practically appears out of nowhere. 

“ Geez! You scared me!” Peter whisper-shouts. He smiles as Lorna giggles, holding her plate up for him to wash. He takes the plate without a thought, but pretends to dramatically sigh as if it is a chore.

“And you didn’t make mom mad, so don’t worry about that.” Peter replies as he finishes washing her plate. He can still hear his mom and Wanda at the table, their voices more heated now. He really hates when they argue. Especially if it’s about him.

“Then I’m sorry for what she said,” Lorna says, and Peter turns to look at her. “I don’t believe that, because you’re the best big brother! I’ll follow you anywhere, so don’t drag me!” 

Peter huffs a laugh, his eyes getting misty again — and wow can that stop — so he leans down and picks her up, spinning her as she giggles. He knows she doesn’t necessarily understand the weight of their mom’s words, but he gets the sentiment. 

He smiles as he puts her down, watching as she runs off giggling into the direction of her and Wanda’s room. He really loves his sisters. They’ve got the biggest hearts and are so smart. All my brain cells must have traveled to them both , Peter muses. He knows it wouldn’t make literal sense in Lorna’s case since she’s his foster sister, but he doesn’t care, because in his mind, she’s already blood.

He then takes a deep breath before heading into the direction of the table where he sees his mom wiping her eyes and Wanda looking down at her hands, a frown etched on her face. He waits for his mom to look at him before he sits down at the table. 

“Those guys that came by the house are like me and Wanda and Lorna,” Peter blurts, just deciding to go for it. He watches his mom tense and Wanda’s head shoot up to look at him. The lights flicker for a second and Peter looks at his sister.

“Wanda, calm down. Please,” their mom says, and Wanda mumbles an apology before her hands flash red sparks, and then the lights return to normal.

“Who came by the house?” Wanda asks, turning to look at their mom. 

“Don’t worry about it, they didn’t want problems,” Peter says. The words do nothing to calm Wanda.

“What did they want?” Their mom asks, her voice tired. Peter pauses for a second, looking at the bags and worry lines under her eyes and on her forward. There are frown lines on her face and it makes Peter wonder how many of those were because of him. 

“They needed help getting someone and I was the only one who could make it on time,” Peter says, not entirely lying. 

“So you just left with strangers and didn’t think of what could happen to you, or what they could want? Did you not assume they could want to hurt you or might want to catch you using your powers so they could lock you up?” Wanda questions, the tone of her voice making him feel like an idiot. Peter feels a little offended that she is insinuating that he would jump into danger without thinking it through — and okay maybe he does that sometimes but he is not stupid! — so he decides to voice what he learned about the men instead of letting this conversation turn on him and his faults.

“They did need help, and I actually helped them. They have powers like us,” Peter emphasizes again. The room is silent as Wanda pauses, taking in his words. Peter glances at his mom and sees her clench her fists.

“What did they want?”

“What can they do?”

Peter hears his mom and Wanda ask at the same time, and he glances between the two, choosing to answer the simple question from Wanda first. This is definitely not because he is scared of bringing up Erik to his mom. He will ask her , but he just needs to think of how to broach the subject first, and preferably without Wanda in the room.

“Well one of them grows claws from his hands, which let me tell you, is actually very disgusting to witness,” Peter says, catching how Wanda grimaces and his mom turns her head to the window, the night sky’s shadows making her look older. “The other dude is a beast. Like literally turns blue and hangs from ceilings, but he’s also super normal. Like, he is a doctor scientist guy.”

Peter isn’t sure if he should mention Erik, considering that he still doesn’t know if his mom knows the man. He really doesn’t want to be the cause of her retreating back into her mind again for a long period of time. Especially because the social worker is supposed to visit for a check-up in two days to see Lorna’s progress. 

“And how did they know how to find you?” Wanda asks. Peter is thankful for another question, making the decision to keep Erik a secret for him.

“That, actually I have no answer for,” Peter says, now questioning it too. He tries not to feel uneasy as he thinks of how Charles and the others tracked him down. He pushes his concerns to the back of his mind and looks at Wanda. “But it’s not a problem because they got what they needed and truly seem like nice people.”

He hears his mom scoff and it makes his anxiety spike. 

“Everyone always seems nice to you,” his mom says, and Peter wants to argue that that’s not true and not fair, but he bites his tongue.

“So who did you help them find?” Wanda asks and Peter wishes she never asked. He thinks of what he could say, but everything comes up blank — really? Now I have no thoughts? — so he thinks of the closest half truth he could come up with.

“A former partner needed to be tracked and I brought him to them. It wasn’t really dangerous and I was safe,” Peter says, the half lie slipping easily from his lips. He sees Wanda squint her eyes at him, and he knows she knows he isn’t being completely honest, but he prays she won’t say anything. He can’t say who he broke out of prison to his mom until he is sure his mom is stable and Wanda isn’t in the room to interrupt or make a decision based on what their mom says. 

“Will they be back by the house again?” Their mom asks, and she looks at him. Peter shakes his head no in response. He highly doubts he’ll see the men again, but he really hopes the goodbye at the jet wasn’t really a goodbye. Their mom nods once and then places a hand on Wanda’s shoulder.

“I’m going to bed. Good night,” their mom says and she walks off to her room upstairs. Peter turns to Wanda who is staring at him intently and he tries not to fidget under her gaze. 

“So, are you going to answer my question properly?” Wanda asks, an eyebrow raises in challenge. Peter purses his lips, wondering how to go about this without giving his sister false hope but also wanting to vent his own questions about who Erik is, and who their dad could be. 

“They really did need help getting someone, and I helped them. That’s not a lie.” Peter says.

“And?” 

“Well, it’s nothing big. Just that he has a certain power set that made me think about something mom said and what Lorna said happened at the park,” Peter answers. He sees Wanda’s gaze flick upstairs before landing on his eyes. 

“What can the man do?” Wanda asks, but Peter can tell by her voice that she already put the pieces together. He idly wonders if she can see his memories, knowing that one of her powers are telepathic qualities. He didn’t see her hands glow, but he still wonders how much she already knows and how much she wants him to say.

“He can manipulate metal,” Peter replies. Wanda’s mouth flattens into a thin line and Peter wonders if she knows something he doesn’t.

“What?” He asks. Did mom tell her the same story about the man who manipulates metal? Peter wonders, now questioning what else Wanda knows that he thought he was hiding her from.

“Mom didn’t tell me anything,” Wanda replies. 

“Stop looking into my thoughts,” Peter says, wondering how she could always keep up with his quick thoughts. Is it ‘cause we’re twins? He thinks that would be cool if it didn’t feel like such a violation.

“It’s not on purpose, sometimes I just get flashes. Not just from you, but from Lorna and mom too.” Peter watches Wanda shift uncomfortably, wringing her hands together. “I saw something from mom when I got back with Lorna.”

Peter tilts his head in question. He wonders what could possibly have her so anxious.

“She was so scared that she would see…it doesn’t make sense, but she seemed as if someone was going to come for her. To kill her and us,” Wanda says, her eyes distant as if replaying their mom’s feelings and memories in her mind. She probably is .

“Who was she afraid of?” Peter asks, both afraid and hopeful of the answer. He doesn’t know why he feels the need to know more about the mystery of their life and their birth when Wanda doesn’t care much and Lorna avoids her birth parents' history as much as she can.

“All I could see was her laying with a man in bed,” Wanda cringes as she says it. Peter would laugh if he weren’t literally bouncing in his seat and trying to calm his nerves.

“How did he look? Or did you catch a name?” Peter asks impatiently. Wanda gives him a look before shaking her head.

“No name, but he had short brown hair, blue eyes? He looked young and seemed sweet,” Wanda answers as she squints her eyes. Peter freezes, his heart thundering in his ears. Could it really be? He doesn’t know if he wants the answer or not.

Honestly, nothing is making sense to him right now.

“Then the memory flashed to her full of terror,” Wanda whispers, her eyes misty as she recalls their mom’s emotions. “It looked like time passed because her hair was longer and the man had this look in his eyes that wasn’t there in the previous memory. She was standing in front of a burning house, crying as these men were holding torches, like in those stupid movies you love so much.”

Peter ignores the jab and instead feels nausea roll in his stomach as he tries to picture their mom afraid and crying because of a group of men. He tries not to think of what could have happened, or what did.

“The men were wearing swastikas,” Wanda says, and Peter cringes. It was a hate crime, which doesn’t make it any easier to think about. “They wanted to kill mom and the man, but the man did something. He wasn’t normal.”

Peter winces at the word ‘normal’ and knows that this has to be the man his mom had mentioned before. Whether it’s Erik or not, he doesn’t know. 

“What did he do?” Peter asks, already feeling he knows the answer.

“He killed them with the metal of their pitchforks. Didn’t have to touch them, he just moved them with his mind and all the men were dead.” Wanda replies. “Mom was so scared she told him to leave her alone. She said that if he loved her like he claimed he did, then he would leave her alone.”

Peter didn’t know what to do or think. He felt that the evidence was in front of him, but he couldn’t allow himself to piece them together. It wasn’t fair of him to do, no matter how much he wanted to.

“He left?” Peter asks, his voice a little hoarse.

“Yeah, he did.” Wanda replies. Peter nods his head, staring at the table.

“She was pregnant, Peter.” Wanda whispers the words, as if they were a secret that only they could know. The words freeze him and he whips his head so fast in her direction that he fears he nearly got whiplash — and wouldn’t that be funny? — and he sees Wanda look at him, fear in her eyes as she sees him put the pieces together.

“Are you sure?” Peter asks. Wanda nods her head.

“She was going to tell him that night, but she didn’t. Then the memory dies there,” Wanda adds. Peter wants to vomit. He wants to scream, cheer, cry, and run all at once. He isn’t sure whether to be happy, angry, sad, or scared. 

Is Erik that man? Is he my dad? Or is this all a coincidence? Peter doesn’t know what to believe. 

“And you didn’t catch a name?” Peter asks. Wanda shakes her head.

“What should we do?” She asks. Peter thinks about it. They could ask their mom, but then they risk her retreating in her mind. They could also try to track Erik down and ask him if he knows their mom, get their answers through him, and if he isn’t the guy, then they go about their day. Then he thinks about Lorna, and what she said she did today. 

“Did Lorna really move metal?” Peter asks. 

“She didn’t move it but she did something that unscrewed the nut,” Wanda replies. 

“Do you think…?” Peter doesn’t finish the thought and Wanda makes no move to reply.

They both sit in silence, unsure of what to think or how to feel. They have no answers and yet have information. Puzzle pieces are connecting, but the big picture is still too blurry, and their two sources of information are both unattainable. 

Two days pass in a flash, and Peter and Wanda haven’t done anything with the information they have. Wanda chooses to ignore it, knowing that nothing good can come from getting answers anyways, and Peter can’t say he disagrees, so he goes with her plan. Plus, Wanda’s the smartest anyways, so if she thinks something is right, then they’ll go with that. Especially now that they’re just waiting for the social worker to appear any second now for her check-in with Lorna.

Wanda is lounging on the couch behind Peter who has Lorna on his lap as they watch the television. It’s another special of the Twilight Zone and he is super excited to explain to Lorna everything about the science behind the show when the broadcast is interrupted and the news station's channel flashes on the screen. Peter frowns at the interruption and he’s about to complain about the unfairness of it all when he sees a familiar face on the screen. His heart plummets when he sees Erik, no longer in his prison outfit and now wearing a burgundy helmet and a suit with a cape as he stares at his audience through the screen. 

“You built these weapons to destroy us, why?” Erik says as he looks behind him, and Peter sees that he’s speaking to the president. A sense of unease and dread fills Peter, and he holds Lorna tighter in his arms. She’s quiet, watching the screen and Peter hears the couch creak, and he knows Wanda is leaning forward to see the screen better. 

“Because you are afraid of our gifts?” Erik continues to question, and the use of their powers being called gifts makes Peter think of their mom, and how she doesn’t even call their powers, or gifts or mutations — or however anyone would call it — by anything because she is afraid. He flicks his gaze to the doorway when he hears a gasp and sees his mom watching the television, her eyes glassy and knuckles white as she clutches a glass of water in her hands. 

“Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different.” Erik says, and Peter can hear his voice change, the same way his mom’s voice does when she’s remembering something really bad from her past life. “Well I’m here to tell you, to tell the world…you’re right to fear us.”

Peter’s brow furrows at the words, and he feels the dread stay rooted into his gut. Erik looks angry, and not the explosive kind, but the calm kind. Peter feels that one is much scarier and he remembers breaking the man out of the Pentagon — and wow I am so stupid because now he’s going to probably do something crazy and he did say he knows crazy and this is him showing crazy — Peter wants to scream.

“We are the future. We are the ones who will inherit this Earth,” Erik says. Peter can’t do anything but keep staring at the screen, paralyzed by fear — which is a rare emotion he has — and realizing just what his actions have done. He thought he was helping, he believed he was doing something good. His mom was right, he doesn’t think, and now these are the consequences. This is a shit ton of consequences , and Peter knows that Wanda must be thinking the same thing. The room is so silent, the only sound is the speech Erik is giving from the television and Peter for once does not want to break the silence. 

“And anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you,” Erik continues as he points at the men behind him. Peter wonders how many Presidents the man wants to kill in his life, because right now, he’s going for the title, and Peter doesn’t know why this is happening. Charles said he would make sure nothing bad happened! And Erik said he wouldn’t kill anyone again! He gave his word! Peter still remembers the elevator conversation and he doesn’t know what went wrong between the guys for this to happen. 

“Today was meant to be a display of your power,” Erik states, bringing Peter’s attention to the television. “Instead, I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours.”

No no no no no no—

Peter can’t believe what he’s hearing. There’s already fear, that’s why people hate him and his sisters, and now this will make it worse. Why is Erik doing this? What happened?

“Let this be a warning to the world,” Erik continues. “And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this. No more hiding. No more suffering. You have lived in the shadows and shame and fear for too long. Come out. Join me. Fight together in a brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow, that starts today.”

Peter has never been more conflicted than now. He knows this is wrong, but he also understands Erik wanting the world to stop hurting mutants like them. Just not this way , Peter thinks, not in fear.

Peter watches, eyes glued to the screen as he watches the confrontation between the President and Erik ensue. Peter watches as Erik breaks apart a giant robot on the screen and Lorna perks up in his arms, slightly startling Peter as he forgot everyone else was in the room too. 

“He moves metal! He’s the one!” Lorna shouts, kicking her legs out and flailing in Peter’s arms. Peter doesn’t know what’s happening, trying to calmly shush Lorna and sit her up, but she’s full on sobbing now as she pulls at her hair. The remote next to him trembles, and he watches as her green hair starts to float. “It’s green! My hair is green! Mama!”

“Mama! Mama! I’m sorry! Mama!” Lorna is shrieking in between sobs. Peter has never seen Lorna like this and Wanda is by his side in an instant, the television and Erik forgotten for the moment.

“What’s happening to her?” Peter asks his sister. Wanda shakes her head, lifting her hands over Lorna, red sparks dancing between her fingers.

“What are you doing?” Peter asks, his voice high and shaky.

“I’m trying to calm her mind,” Wanda informs calmly, eyes pinned to their little sister.

Peter turns his head to his mom, trying to block out Lorna’s sobs and the rattling of everything metal in the room. He sees his mom is staring at the television, eyes glassy and not phased by Lorna’s meltdown. Peter feels his blood boil, but yelling at his mom won’t do anything. 

“Mom! What do we do? Can you try and calm her?” Peter calls from the ground. His mom doesn’t react and Wanda is mumbling something under her breath but all Peter could think is that this is his fault. I should never have broke him out of prison, should have never turned on the television, and should have never tried to—

“Peter! Hold her while I try something,” Wanda calls over Lorna’s cries. All the metal objects are flinging around the room and Peter feels his anxiety spike. Peter immediately grabs Lorna, hating himself for pinning her arms down, which causes her to cry harder.

“Let me go! Mama! Mama!” Lorna cries. 

“What are you going to do?” Peter asks, ducking as a metal figurine flings past his head. 

“I’m going to try and calm her mind by altering her reality,” Wanda answers, her fingers dancing over Lorna’s head.

“What?!” Peter is so confused and didn’t know Wanda could do that. Before he could ask her what she means, Wanda shushes him and focuses on Lorna who is trying to flail in Peter’s grip. It takes a couple of seconds for Wanda to mumble something and then Lorna stills, the metal objects clattering to the floor and Lorna’s green hair no longer floating. Peter releases a breath as he lets go of Lorna, but before he could scoop her up, Wanda lifts her into her arms. She doesn’t look at him as she walks out of the room, passing wordlessly by their mom, who is still looking at the screen.

Peter doesn’t understand what happened, why Lorna reacted the way she did, and what to do about it all. He broke out Erik, and now the world might be held under a tyrant's rule, and Lorna had a meltdown which he doesn’t know what could have triggered it, and now their mom is stuck in her mind, in her little world.

“Mom, Lorna needs you,” Peter says, but what he really means is I need you.

His mom does not react and keeps her eyes pinned on the television screen, lips parted as if she were about to scream. Peter feels like shaking her to snap her out of it, or calling for Wanda who knows how to handle their mom better in these situations, but she’s busy with Lorna who needs somebody right now. Peter turns his attention to the room, every metal object is scattered across the room, and then he turns his attention to the television.

He watches as the President shoots Erik in the neck, the scene playing out slowly. Peter jerks in his spot, unsure why he felt the need to stop the bullet from hitting Erik’s neck. He might or might not be your dad but that doesn’t mean he isn’t crazy , Peter thinks. He isn’t sure how to feel when he thinks that Erik shouldn’t die without Peter getting his answers first. Or, how about nobody dies?

Peter watches as Erik falls to one knee, the guns that were aimed at the President and the other men falling on the ground. He sees the President turn into a blue woman with orange hair and Peter is even more confused now. Is that a mutant or was the President already a mutant? He watches anxiously as she knocks Erik out with a weird roundhouse type of kick and then turns the gun in her hand on the man beside the President. Don’t do it , Peter prays. He might not know much, but he knows that if a mutant is captured shooting someone on television, then it will really be over for people like him. The world will hate him. Hate Wanda and Lorna.

Peter watches as she has a conversation with someone, and he hears the name Charles and it immediately makes Peter feel more calmer to know the man is at least still alive. Peter sees the woman’s hand shake as she points the gun at the man. He sees her stare at the man but makes no move to shoot. Peter watches her drop the gun and he lets out a breath of relief. 

Peter watches as she removes the helmet from Erik before walking off. Peter sees Erik sit up and lift a chunk of metal off of Charles before turning to the helmet. He sees him leave it there and then turn towards Charles.

“If you let them have me, I’m as good as dead. You know that,” Erik says. Peter shifts in his spot, wondering what Charles is going to do.

“I know,” is all Charles says.

“Goodbye, old friend.” Erik says, and Charles responds with the same words. Peter watches as Erik turns to the blue woman before he spreads his hands and literally flies into the air. Peter’s mouth is hanging open as he sees him fly away. That’s so badass , Peter thinks and then scolds himself for even thinking it. He tried to kill everyone , he reminds himself. Peter then turns to the room around them and he remembers Lorna’s outburst at seeing Erik’s abilities. Peter isn’t sure why she reacted that way, but he is sure of the fact that Lorna is at least aware of a man who bends metal, and he doesn’t like the theme going around in this house.

“He’s done it again,” Peter hears his mom whisper, ripping him from his thoughts. He turns to her and sees that she has actual tears streaming down her face. He lifts his hands, hovering them over her arms, but not touching. He isn’t sure if his touch would be welcome, considering he might be the offspring of the man she is currently afraid of.

“What do you mean?” Peter asks softly, lowering his hands to his sides.

“He killed the Nazis, and now he wants to kill humans. Erik still hasn’t changed,” his mom cries, and Peter feels his world shift. Erik. The man his mom knew is Erik. Erik is really his dad. Peter shoves the thoughts away and focuses on his mom. He sees her collapse to the floor, her head in her hands as she keeps repeating the name Erik.

“I’m sorry,” Peter says. His mom doesn’t respond.

“He’s the man I needed to find. I broke him out of the Pentagon. I’m sorry mom, I didn’t know he would do this. It’s my fault and now he tried to kill the President again-”

“Again?” Wanda asks from the back of the doorway, stepping fully into view, her face tight with controlled anger. Peter feels his nerves blaze.

“He said he killed the President and-”

“And you still let him out?” Wanda seethes. Peter shrinks slightly, unsure what to say. That people were counting on him? That he could do something good for once? Yeah, well look how that turned out. He thinks bitterly.

“I’m sorry,” Peter says. 

“Sorry won’t fix the damage this did for people like us. He’s still out there,” Wanda says.

“Maybe if we talk to him he can change his point of view?” Peter tries. Wanda narrows her eyes as she looks at Peter.

“You think that just because we tell him that he might be our father it’ll make him want to change? Are you actually hearing yourself right now?” Wanda asks, her voice loud. The lights start to flicker and the house starts to shake as if an earthquake were happening. Peter notices Wanda’s hands are glowing red and he looks up at her.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t-”

“Do not engage him. He may be your father, but he is still dangerous,” their mom interrupts Peter. Both Peter and Wanda turn to their mom who is standing up and wiping the tears from her face. She looks different, her eyes harder and more distant.

“Mom?” Peter asks.

“I need to check on Lorna, see how she’s doing. We need to clean this place up and be prepared for the social worker when she arrives. We can’t give a bad impression,” their mom says, her voice mechanical as she makes her way past them. Peter watches her go and feels his heart break as he sees Wanda glare at him.

“I had to put Lorna to sleep. Turns out, he ruined her family too.” Wanda says before she walks away. Peter watches her go without saying a word, the silence heavy and his mind racing a mile-a-minute as he thinks of all the possibilities that their life will change with all of this information. He turns to the television and turns it off, staring at the black screen that once occupied his dad’s face as he tried to kill the President.

He really fucked things up this time.