Chapter 6
Maximoff took the elevator down to the level one and when the door opened, headed to the laboratory. She didn’t come straight in but walked back and forth for a while, guessing if McCoy still wanted to work with her as she was now an abettor of Magneto’s escapade. She got a glimpse of both of the men at breakfast yet didn’t pluck the courage to approach any of them. That wasn’t a habit of hers, so the move would have looked strange anyway.
To hell with that! Wanda thought, cheering herself up. We are even now.
With that, she finally stepped into the lab, the heels of her boots clinking on the tiled floor.
“Morning, Hank,” the girl chirped.
“Oh, Wanda,” McCoy replied, without turning to her. “You can find a lab coat in the closet on your right.”
Maximoff narrowed her eyes. You’re giving me mixed signals, Mr. McCoy.Are you mad or we are good?
“Alright,” she crooned and took out the coat.
It didn’t really fit her – the shoulders were too big and the length could be shorter – but it meant that she was now enrolled in the X-Men laboratory, an achievement on its own.
When Wanda looked over Hank’s shoulder, she saw what made him so busy that he didn’t deign to glance at her. On a huge sheet of translucent paper, the man was carefully drawing a detailed scheme of the sentinel’s hand.
“Quite an elaborated plan, I must say,” she noted, taking a seat beside the scientist. “When did you start working on it?”
“Today,” McCoy answered simply.
“Today?” she repeated in surprise. “Did you get up early? Because I saw you at breakfast, it’s been like half an hour or something ago, you wouldn’t be able to draw this in such a short time.”
“I’ve got an idea in the night so I decided why not work on it right away. I came down here, and seems like I had lost track of time again. On the plus side, the work has moved forward.”
Maximoff realized that Hank was actually wearing the same clothes as yesterday, she didn’t notice it at first because he was wearing his lab coat. What caught her attention was the bandage on his left hand. “What happened to you?”
The scientist blinked at her, puzzled so she nodded to his injury.
“Oh, this,” he waved his hand dismissively. “I broke my na – my claw yesterday. It sounds kind of stupid, don’t pay attention.”
She felt a faint pang of guilt that made her lips press into a thin line. “We are even now” thing didn’t really work anymore.
“Tell me how I can help you here,” the girl said, shoving her repentance away.
“See those devices over there?” McCoy pointed to two machines in the far corner of the lab. “It would be great if you could test the rotational motors and vibrating discs and write down the results. I’ll need them for the further calculations.”
“Got you,” Wanda replied with a short nod and went to do her work.
Usually silence was her friend, much needed friend, especially since she grew up with Peter and then Laura and it was always noisy and messy in their house. However, now the silence between her and Hank pressed on her, pushing her to overthink the situation so after two hours of doing tests she gave in.
Maximoff put down her pencil and notebook, pushed herself off the desk and rolled on her chair to the scientist.
“Are you mad at me? Holding a grudge after that joke with the bunker? Just give it to me straight. Let’s make things clear between us,” she said, looking into his face.
Hank lifted his head to meet her prying out gaze.
“I’m not holding a grudge and definitely not mad at you. Really. You were tired and probably bored so you played along with him. Besides, there wasn’t much you could do, actually,” he replied, truly meaning it.
Well, not that I really couldn’t do anything…the girl crooned to herself.
“You know, it’s some bloody vicious circle,” she said with a smirk. “I mean, we seriously need to stop screwing up! First you, then me. It’s bad for the friendship we are building out here, right?”
McCoy smiled. Honestly, he didn’t really think about friendship, less that Wanda would want it, but the idea sounded great.
“Completely agree. We need to stop screwing up.”
“Look at us!” Maximoff cheered exaggeratedly, pushing him friendly in the shoulder. “Talking like civilized people, agreed on a thing even. First step made, ninety-nine left!”
“Wow, sounds like you have a multi-stage plan in development,” he replied, chuckling.
Wanda winked at him. “You bet.”
Having dealt with that, they both felt much better. With their minds cleared and focused, Maximoff and McCoy were able to lose themselves fully in work and enjoy science.
Needless to say, when they finally emerged from their high-tech basement, morning had already turned into evening.
....
“Does anyone mind if we have our little meeting outside?” Wanda asked the mutants when they were walking down the corridor. “I’m desperate for some fresh air after a whole day under the ground.”
“Feel like the little gentleman in black velvet?” Peter teased, putting his arm over her shoulders.
The girl’s eyes widened slightly. “Whoa! You really listened to me talking about King William the third, didn’t you?”
Silver-haired Maximoff sticked out his tongue and Wanda answered with a grimace, scrunching her nose cutely.
Their friends exchanged glances and smiled, touched by the brotherly-sisterly relationship.
When they were outside of the school, settling down on the wooden bridge over the pond, Jean asked, “So we didn’t abandon the idea?”
“Nuh-unh,” Scott, Ororo, Kurt and the twins hummed, scaring off croaking under the moonlight frogs.
“Is there a reason why we should have?” Munroe crooned, narrowing her eyes.
“Aside from us sneaking out in the middle of the night without asking? I don’t even know,” the red-haired girl sneered.
“The whole point of sneaking out is that no one knows you’re leaving,” Peter whispered conspiratorially.
“I take it only Jean and Scott are underage in our…group?” Wanda asked, looking at Kurt and Ororo.
“I’m twenty-two,” Wagner replied.
“Twenty-one,” Munroe said.
“Meaning that the only ones who will have to really sneak out are these two,” the speedster concluded, jerking his chin towards Grey and Summers. “Have any experience?”
Jean shook her head, and Scott clarified, “Does a failed attempt count?”
Silver-haired Maximoff let out an exaggeratedly loud sigh. “Modern kids.”
“You’re barely older than me,” the young man retorted indignantly.
“Look,” Ororo said, turning to Grey, “if you don’t want to go, we won’t force you to.”
Summers lifted his finger in the air. “I object.”
Everyone giggled.
Jean took in the sight of her friends and sighed, relenting. “How do we get there?”
They glanced up at Kurt, but he only pressed his lips. “I can’t teleport long distances.”
Speedster perked up. “But I can hightail you there.”
Gray and Munroe grimaced, remembering the aftermath of such way of travelling.
“There are at least three reasons why you should not,” Wanda said. She began to tick the reason off on her fingers. “Firstly, how do you imagine it? There are five of us. Are you planning to transport one at a time or load us in a truck and bring with you like rag dolls? Secondly, if you drag us there on your speed you can consider all the fun ruined with us puking. Even for me such distance will be too much. Thirdly, it’s hella far from the school and Hank said loud and clear “do not put extra pressure on your leg”. It leads us to a triple “no” to your offer.”
Her tone, though more sarcastic than stern, brook no arguments.
“So, we are not going?” Scott asked, already upset.
“Mutants,” the girl muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “You forget the most basic thing people use for travelling.”
“Legs?” Wagner tried.
“Cars,” Maximoff corrected. “I came here by my mom’s and I still didn’t return it.”
“Want to combine business with pleasure?” Peter guessed, grinning at his sister.
She grinned back. “Practicality is my thing.”
Thus, it was decided that they would get to New York by Miss Maximoff’s car with a short trip to Washington after, and from there they would take a bus and return to Xavier’s school by late night (very late, more like by early morning really).
When mosquitoes began to bite Peter not only in his face, neck and hands, but also through his T-shirt and his favorite jeans, he called it a day and the gang scattered away.
It was either the many hours spent running tests and drawing schemes at the lab, or playing tag with bloodsuckers, but as soon as Wanda changed into pajamas, she literally collapsed on the bed from fatigue. She relaxed every muscle in her body, most of all her brain, letting go off of guard she kept over her mind. The very thing Maximoff never should have done while staying at the school for mutants.