Chapter 4
No one has ever looked forward to Monday morning like Peter. As soon as the sun rose, he grabbed the crutches and galloped to the infirmary.
After taking another x-ray, Hank finally removed the cast from the speedster’s leg.
The feeling of lightness now seemed alien, he felt like if he moved his now unprotected leg, it would break in half. Peter winced at this colorful picture drawn by his imagination.
“What?” McCoy asked, concerned. “Do you feel discomfort? Pain? Describe what kind of feeling you experience and where.”
Silver-haired Maximoff rubbed his chin. “I feel…Hmm…It’s really discomforting…It’s like…annoyance.”
Hank pressed his lips, annoyed with the speedster’s annoyance.
Peter made hesitant step, then another one, more confident, then rolled his feet from heel to toe, as if trying new shoes (although he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to run in these sneakers so maybe it was a shoe test after all).
“I would recommend you not to –”
McCoy didn’t have the chance to finish the sentence as he was left alone in the room, only a short “whiz” proved that the speedster was actually here just a second ago, or even less.
“– use your…” The man looked around, taken aback. “Wow!”
“I read that Elton John is going to give a free concert in two days,” Jean said enthusiastically to Wanda and Ororo, who were going down the stairs beside her.
“I have never been to a concert before,” Munroe admitted.
Maximoff’s brows rose. “Like never? Not even at school?”
The girl shook her head, her white mohawk swaying with the movement.
“Me too, actually. Have you?” Grey asked Wanda.
The girl smirked, remembering all her musical adventures with Peter and so-called “university friends”. “Many times. My brother and I have pretty much the same taste in music so when we moved to Washington, we used every opportunity we had to see the bands we liked. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, you name it. But last year’s “Highway to Hell” is my favorite so far, though it was in London so I had to go without Peter.”
“So cool,” Jean and Ororo said in unison. The latter then asked, “Your mom didn’t mind? The tickets must have been expensive and it was probably unsafe for two teenagers to be in the crowd of strangers.”
“Who said we paid a penny?” Wanda gave them a lopsided grin. “Besides –”
None of them had time to even blink before they found themselves in front of the table in the cafeteria. Munroe and Grey clasped their mouths with their hands, fighting a sudden bout of dizziness and nausea. Kurt yelped in surprise, splashing Scott with apple juice.
“Es tut mir leid*,” Wagner apologized to his friend, who was looking at his now soaked jeans with his mouth half open in shock and indignation.
“The cast is finally off!” Maximoff exclaimed joyously, unaffected by Peter’s speed at all. She squeezed him in a bear hug, mumbling, “I’m so happy for you, bro.”
The young man swept her up into his arms and spun so fast that for the people around it looked like some disastrous force broke into the room.
The mutants beseeched the speedster to stop as a wave of dizziness hit them all just from looking at the Maximoffs whirlwind.
“How do you not get sick?” Scott bemused, looking at Wanda’s beaming face.
“What do you think my childhood and most of my life in general looked like?” the girl sneered. “I’m practically an astronaut.”
“Oh, here you are,” they heard Hank’s voice.
Like all grown up and mature young man, the speedster mumbled “I’ll bring you something” to the girl and disappeared as soon as he noticed approaching figure of the doctor.
“Morning, Mr. McCoy,” Wanda said amicably.
The man gave her a sheepish smile. “It’s just Hank, really.”
Maximoff lifted a brow, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Alright, Mr. Hank. Have something to share?”
“I actually wanted to talk to Peter,” he explained. “He didn’t give me the chance to warn him against using his powers at its fullest.”
“Why shouldn’t he?” the girl asked, furrowing.
“His leg is fully recovered, don’t worry,” Hank reassured. “This is a precautionary measure to avoid any unpleasant consequences.”
Wanda fought a rising panic. Her brother truly enjoyed his mutation and Maximoff wished for it to never change. “Like what? Won’t he be able to use his speed as before?”
“I believe that increased pressure can lead to painful symptoms that in turn can develop into a real problem in the future. So, for now he better…just walk, I guess?” Noticing girl’s darkened expression, McCoy added, “It’s just for a few days, and then he can speed up whenever he wants.”
“I got it. Thank you, Mr. ...Hank. I’ll talk to him,” Wanda replied with a clipped smile. “Any interesting news from your secret lab?”
The man only opened his mouth to reply, when Maximoff outstretched her arm abruptly, catching Peter by the elbow.
“Hey!” the speedster exclaimed, displeased.
Hank’s eyes went round. He didn’t even see the young man coming. He didn’t see him at all. “How did you do that?”
The girl gave him a half shrug. “Call it a reflex. Apologies, I kind of interrupted you. What were you saying about the laboratory?”
With his eyes still darting between the twins, the men answered, “I’m currently trying to recreate the sentinels for the future X-Men training.”
“The ones from Washington?” Wanda specified, still holding her brother firmly beside her.
“Oh, so you remember?”
She gave him a quizzical look as if saying “that’s hard to forget”.
Especially when it’s your father hovering with them and a half of the stadium over the city you live in, Maximoff thought.
Hank adjusted his glasses. “I have bits and pieces and I’m yet to make something useful out of it.”
“Do you happen to need an assistant?” Wanda asked with a charming expression that Peter named “proceed with caution” because behind that pretty face was hidden their father’s steel. Not literally, of course, but in terms of the character.
“Look before you leaaap,” the speedster crooned dramatically.
“I wouldn’t mind some help,” McCoy said, his face lightened up.
Don’t come to me later to whine, Peter thought, rolling his eyes.
Wanda put on a bright smile, extending her arm. “Then, I assume, we got a deal.”
The future colleagues shook their hands and content, parted their ways.
Maximoff slapped the speedster on his shoulder. “Try to listen to people sometimes. Hank said you shouldn’t run around at full speed right now.”
“C’mon, that’s some annoying doctorly bullshit,” he tried to wave it off, but Wanda remained unyielding.
“Then tell me your leg doesn’t ache and you can easily hightail to…let’s say New York.”
“Well, we’re already in New York,” Peter hedged.
In fact, there was some soreness in his traumatized limb, he just chalked it up to the fact that he had lost the habit of moving quickly in these two weeks.
The girl crossed her arms over her chest and gazed at the speedster, her brow arched in contemplation.
There was one thing silver-haired Maximoff could and would never do – lie to his sister.
“For how long should I stay helpless?” Peter asked, his shoulders sagged.
Wanda’s face softened and she said in her soothing voice, “You are many things but definitely not helpless, Peter. Give your leg a few days to adjust and then annoy the hell out of this place with your superhuman speed.”
“Supersonic speed,” the young man corrected, pouting like a child who was sweettalked into eating vegetables instead of a cake.
The girl rolled her eyes good humoredly. “I suggest we finally have some breakfast, shall we, my favorite poser?”
The twins settled down at the table, where a cup of sugared green tea and two glazed cinnamon rolls – Peter’s gesture of care – were already waiting for Wanda. The young man himself has already eaten a dozen of them. Having a sweet tooth was one of many things the twins had in common.
“So, we were actually discussing the possibility –” Scott began, accentuating the word with a pointed look at Jean, “– of going to a concert. Are you in?”
The Maximoffs simply nodded since both were busy with their morning meals.
“We are going to see New York!” Kurt exclaimed enthusiastically.
Ororo’s face lit up, too. “I always wanted to see Times Square.”
“I doubt the Professor will agree to that,” the red-haired girl countered.
“I doubt the Professor will even know about that,” the young man parried.
In fact, Grey really wanted to go, because she was Elton John’s fan (also who doesn’t want to visit New York?). However, in light of recent events, she doubted it was a good idea. Cities around the world were destroyed due to the actions of the mutants (though mainly one, really), and the situation was tense, people’s reaction was unpredictable. If all of them, especially Jean and Wanda (at whose expense the better half of the school wondered if she was a mutant or not, but didn’t have the audacity to ask) looked like ordinary humans, with Kurt it was a bit different. What if someone try to attack them? Besides, Grey didn’t want to worry Xavier who had been through enough already.
The girl turned to Wanda, expecting some sort of support from her.
Maximoff took a long pull from her cup of tea, unbothered by the anticipating expressions targeted at her.
“Well, a little mischief won’t hurt if don’t get caught,” she finally uttered with a sly spark in her eyes.
“Yes!” Summers hissed, punching the air with his fist, though in a mild manner.
“Don’t look at me like that, babe,” Wanda said to Jean with an impish grin. “I may be the voice of reason often time, but I can’t resist fun when I see one. Plus, I know you want to go, too.”
“Kids are goin’ on a trip with the Maximoffs,” Peter declared, putting his arm around his sister’s shoulders. Both of them looked like succeeded tempters.
Grey snorted, shaking her head.
What did I get myself into? shot through her mind before Scott drew her in his arms.
....
On their way out of the cafeteria the gang practically bumped into the Professor and Lehnsherr, who looked more-than-usually worn out in his dark blue shirt.
“Peter, Wanda,” Xavier greeted the twins. “I was just looking for you.”
The temperature of their blood gradually dropped. Their eyes darted between Erik and Charles, then they exchanged glances.
“Is it time to pay rent?” Wanda tried to joke her anxiety off.
The Professor smiled at the girl. “Your mother called me in the morning.”
Now the blood in their veins simply froze. Peter fought the urge to look at Erik. Meanwhile their friends scattered away under false pretense of having “urgent things” to do.
“Did you give her the school digits?” Wanda hissed to her brother.
He looked at her with his eyes round in panic mixed with indignation. “What else was I supposed to do?”
Don’t give the fucking digits! her mind screamed at his.
“And I thought you grown-ups,” Lehnsherr smirked.
“Said who?” Wanda snapped, startling people around her.
Erik’s brows slowly went up.
It looked like the students who were passing by were ready to transform their strolling into sprinting pretty quickly.
God damn all these family ties! the girl swore to herself.
“I beg your pardon, Mr. Lehnsherr,” Maximoff said in a perfect British accent. “Didn’t mean to offend you.”
Without waiting for his answer, she turned to Charles. “Did she ask you to tell us something?”
It took a moment to collect his thoughts, but Xavier finally responded, “She was asking for you. Both of you.”
“Where can I make a call?”
“Down the corridor.”
Maximoff gave him a stiff nod, and headed to the sitting room. The speedster followed his sister with a look that could be only described as “My name’s Paul and this shit’s between y’all”.
“What a family,” Erik muttered. “I wonder what their parents are like.”
Charles glanced up at his friend. “I met their mother once. Seemed like a nice woman.”
“So, the problem is in the father then,” Lehnsherr mused.
....
After lengthy debates it was decided that the first to talk with Ms. Maximoff would be Peter.
While the young man dialed the number and waited for the answer, Wanda fidgeted in her chair.
“What's up, mom?”
“Peter!” the women replied, clearly happy to hear her son’s voice. “How are you? I bet Wanda is somewhere around. Your sister stole my car!”
The speedster beckoned to the girl.
“Hi, mom!” she cheered, leaning closer to the microphone. “You can’t really consider it a theft since I left a note!”
“It’s been a week since you went to that…school. Are you planning on staying there? That’s a question for the both of you, by the way.”
The twins swapped a glance.
“I’ll stay here for now,” Peter said.
“I don’t know,” Wanda replied.
They heard a clink, then a subtle sound of pouring liquid. Seemed like they made their mom add an extra portion of whisky into her glass.
“What about Oxford?” Ms. Maximoff asked after a long pose.
The girl made a face. “Everything is under control. Don’t worry about it.”
“These exact words made me worry more times than they should,” the woman noted. “How is your leg, Peter? Why did I learn about your injury from your sister? How bad is it? Does it hurt? Is there a real doctor?”
The speedster rolled his eyes, making his sister giggle. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I’m fine. Hank took the cast off today, actually.”
“Thank God!” The twins heard their mother sigh. “I hope there are no aftermaths.”
“I look after him, so there won’t be any,” Wanda reassured.
The woman heard a squabble and some rustle that made her smile.
Must be “who’s watching who” thing, she thought, knowing her children full well.
“Sorry, it’s just your son is a jackass,” Wanda’s voice said from the speaker.
“It takes one to know one,” Peter parried.
“Look at him! Where did you get it from? I don’t remember Pac-Man saying anything like that,” the girl mocked.
“Dry up!”
“You dry up!”
“Is it weird that I miss this?” their mom asked, chuckling.
“Maybe,” the twins said in unison.
The young man riffled his silver hair. “Are you alright, mom?”
“Yeah, I have a day off today so I’m just chilling here alone.”
Peter and Wanda exchanged glances. Mom could “chill” as much as she wanted, but the note of sadness in her voice didn’t escape their notice.
“I think you romanticize the idea of having a house full of kids,” the girl joked.
Her brother continued the thought, “We are the devils that terrorized you with our horrible music, encounters with the cops and “accidents” at school.”
Ms. Maximoff laughed. “I said I was chilling, but thanks for reminding me about the harsh reality of having the twins.”
“You’re welcome,” Peter said with a grin his mom could easily imagine.
“How is Lora? Did she pass her math test?” Wanda asked.
“Yeah, and I’m certain she cheated, but she won’t admit it,” the woman replied, taking a sip from her glass. “When are you coming home? At least pay me a short visit.”
But when, really? Wanda thought, looking into Peter’s dark eyes.
“Soon,” the speedster answered. Not a lie, but not quite true.
“Well, me and Lora would love to see you sooner rather than later,” Ms. Maximoff pointed out. “And Wanda, bring back my car!”
“Say “hi” to Lora from us,” the girl chirped. “Bye!”
Peter hung up the phone.
Their mother sighed and hung her phone, too. Although they avoided this topic like a plague, she knew that if both of her children were at that damned school it meant that Erik Lehnsherr was somewhere around. Ms. Maximoff tried to drown out that nagging feeling in her chest but it didn’t want to go. All this time she kept the truth under the heavily locked doors for that particular reason. She didn’t want Peter and Wanda to meet a man whose morals could hardly be called even grey. Nothing ended well with him. Judging by the news it remained truthful to these days.
The woman looked at the brown liquid in her glass and drained it in one gulp, leaning back in her chair.
....
When the elevator doors opened, Wanda’s pupils flared and she barely kept herself from gaping. She’s been in interesting places like centuries-old libraries and underground archives with passageways so long it seemed like there was no end to them, she saw several laboratories with latest technological equipment but never in her life she has seen anything like this. The girl walked beside Hank through the hallways laid with gleaming navy-blue panels with the backlight, there were round doors with X sign that looked more like safes storing world’s long-lost secrets.
“On the level one you can find my biochemical and engineering labs, as well as medical research and operation rooms,” McCoy said, navigating easily through the place.
They walked into a large room with at least twenty beds. “That’s a recovery room I hope won’t be a really popular destination,” the man admitted in an awkwardly joking way.
The laboratories were enormous in size and variety of equipment from fluorescence spectrophotometers to polymerase chain reaction machines to something Wanda didn’t even have the name for, it must have been Hank’s own inventions.
“Is that all?” the girl asked, feigning disappointment, when in truth she felt like Alice in Wonderland.
McCoy looked around as if searching for something else he could brag about. “You know the place was in much better condition before the explosion. I built a supersonic, blast resistant jet but didn’t have the chance to test it.”
Maximoff raised a brow. “So, you are saying you made a warplane? How were you going to get it out of here? I assume it must have been huge.”
The man slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers with a rather smug expression. “I built a retractable roof into the basketball court.”
“Huh.” The girl lifted her head, peering into the high sailing. “Were you preparing for the battle like you had with that Apocalypse thing?”
“No. Not really.” McCoy sighed. “I always believed we should hope for the best and prepare for the worst. But in all truth, I never really thought the worst will come…on such a scale.”
“You thought the threat would be people, not other mutants,” Wanda said, studying the man.
For a moment they just looked at each other in silence, before Hank blurted out, “There is always an Erik somewhere out there.”
Maximoff didn’t know if she should take it as a family insult or laugh it off. “Have you ever thought…he will…wage war against people, ordinary people?” she asked at last.
McCoy misinterpreted that uncharacteristic quietness in her voice as fear so he replied hastily, “Charles would never allow it to happen.”
The girl snorted. “I doubt you believe in it yourself.”
“I do…I…It’s just always complicated with him.” Hank made a face.
“With Mr. Xavier or Erik?” Wanda went on, trying to get the most out of this conversation. “I thought them friends.”
“They used to be. I don’t really know where they stand now, but Charles has always had hope for him. As did Raven.”
“But not you?”
“I don’t think dramatic past justifies such acts of violence.”
Maximoff tilted her head. “Is there some personal feud between you two?”
“What? No. Why?” Hank crossed his arms over his chest, trying and failing to feign nonchalance.
“Are you jealous of his friendship with Mr. Xavier?” Wanda asked, then her eyes sparked with a guess. “Raven.”
“I think it’s time to show you the second level, let’s go,” McCoy replied too hastily, guiding the girl out of the room.
A fable as old as world, Maximoff sneered to herself but followed the man.
Level two was mostly empty aside from several computers and a closed door that Hank seemingly didn’t plan to open for Wanda.
“Did you get mad at me and decided to stop showing off with your cool stuff?” the girl teased.
“The place is still under constrictions, what used to be behind this door,” Hank said, approaching the gleaming X sign, “was called Cerebro.”
The girl grinned. “Spanish for “brain” sounds more intriguing, doesn’t it? What could it do?”
The men gave her a sort of proud smile.
“I designed it to amplify brainwaves so it could enhance Charles’ telepathic powers.”
“So, when “the inhabitants of this world” got their message about “the day of reckoning” it was done from here?” Wanda pointed at the floor, cementing her “here” to the sub-basement.
McCoy’s brows went up. “Do you repeat his message verbatim?”
Maximoff gave him a half shrug. “It’s not every day that an unfamiliar man’s voice in your head gives speeches, right?”
“I guess not,” Hank agreed, his forehead creased comically. “Anyway, by that time, Cerebro had already been destroyed along with the school. En Sabah Nur enhanced Charles’ powers and acted as his transmitter.”
“Such a useful mate, huh?” Wanda exclaimed. “Did he really have…you know, tubes around his head?”
“Didn’t really analyze what he was wearing,” the man admitted. “How do you know about the tubes?”
“I have a transmitter of my own, his name is Peter.”
At that McCoy chuckled. Maximoff didn’t lie when he said his sister has great intellect. She was witty and cocky, though a bit less than the silver-haired speedster, but she was clearly educated, observant and questioned everything she didn’t fully understand. Aside from her temper that McCoy had the pleasure of testing on his own skin the girl would make a perfect assistant at the laboratory.
As to prove it, Maximoff said, “The layout of this level differs noticeably from the previous on. Are you planning on building something bigger than a warplane?”
Hank looked around, visualizing his and Xavier’s ideas. “I’m indeed planning to create something bigger than just a jet. That’s the Danger Room which will be filled with traps, mechanical dangers and hopefully sentinels to train mutants. Most likely, suits and some devices will be stored here, too.”
“The X-Men team,” Wanda muttered.
She could easily imagine mutants fighting and practicing their skills in life-like situations here, what potential this idea had. You could not only learn to control your powers to blend into society full of prejudice, but use it to protect yourself and those who needed it. Maybe it was the start of showing the world that mutants had enough, that they can fight if forced, but also help if asked nicely. Maybe it was a start of a better life, a subtle hope for equality.
Maximoff glanced at McCoy. “Then we should lose no time, the sentinels won’t assemble themselves.”
....
*I'm sorry