Author’s Note: Okay, gang, this is where several of you
will likely come at me with sharp pointy objects unless I make one thing clear
from the outset. Between the info on Rosiel’s
page and my brief observations of Wanda, Pietro, and their interactions, I have
come to the inescapable conclusion that Wanda is the dominant twin and Pietro
is the submissive. No, these are not
S&M denominations, either: these
are the roles that twins almost invariably fall into. As such, I write them according to the dynamic between dominant
and submissive twins with which I have experience, especially that of Romani
twins. Please don’t yell at me too
loudly. In case nobody can identify it,
the song used in this chapter is Empty by Anathema. We’re dealing with Goths in this story, people; who did you
expect me to use?
This story takes place after “Day of Reckoning”. It is erotica, and therefore is not for the
eyes of those under 18 or easily offended by sexual situations, homo- or
hetero-. X-men: Evolution is the property of the WB, Marvel
comics, and several people that I’m probably forgetting. You can’t sue me! I don’t have any money anyway, so it wouldn’t do you any good.
:-P There are also random songfic elements
to this story; the songs used (plus a few others for good measure) are listed
below and belong to their respective artists and recording companies. If you do not have these songs or have never
heard them, AudioGalaxy
is a free peer-to-peer mp3 site where they can likely be downloaded. I especially recommend the songs by
Anathema, Godgory, Linkin’ Park, Depeche Mode, Poe and Nickelback as theme
music for Wanda.
Comments, questions, and favorable reviews are encouraged. Criticisms that are phrased civilly will be
taken under advisement. Flames will be
fueled with napalm and returned, causing the offending keyboard to melt internally
and be unable to manufacture any further unchivalrous nonsense. You have been warned.
Recommended Musical Accompaniment: Play the Game- Motorhead
It
Doesn’t Even Matter- Linkin’ Park
Angry
Johnny- Poe
Blasphemous
Rumors- Depeche Mode
Dogma-
KMFDM
How
You Remind Me- Nickelback
Torpedoes-
MDFMK
Empty-
Anathema
Conspiracy
of Silence- Godgory
Last
Note of Freedom- David Coverdale
Nothing
Else Matters- Metallica
Can
I Touch You… There- Michael Bolton
To
The Moon and Back- Savage Garden
By Lady Eternal
After
a moment of open-mouthed shock, Scott turned on his two-way radio. “Storm?”
There
was a startled pause.
<<Scott? How on
earth?>>
“The
Institute…” Scott croaked. “It’s back.”
The
words somehow forced action through Lance’s limbs. He darted towards door; Scott grabbed his wrist. “Let me in there.”
“We
have to wait for Storm.”
“Let
me in!” Lance picked Scott up by the
lapel. “Wanda’s in there.”
“And
we don’t know what we’ll find,” Scott replied.
“You can’t rescue someone if you’re out cold.”
Lance
released Scott, taking a deep breath to steady himself. For once, Four Eyes is right.
Storm
rounded the corner then, the others right behind her. The sight of the Institute doors caused Storm’s heart to skip,
her step faltering for a moment before she strode to the door and punched in
her access code.
The
doors slid open with a cool hiss, revealing the pristine metallic walls of the
lower levels. Carefully, Storm led the teens
inside, her eyes sweeping their environment for signs of trickery or
entrapment. Jean gasped suddenly and
everyone turned. “What?”
“It…
it’s real,” Jean whispered. “I don’t
know how, but… it’s real…” Jean met
Scott’s eyes once before she dropped to her knees with a cry, clutching the
sides of her head.
“Jean!” Scott was there in a heartbeat, cradling
her. “Jean, what is it?”
“No,
it’s… it’s okay,” Jean managed, though she made no move to leave Scott’s
embrace. “It’s just… echoes. A cacophony of phantom memories suddenly
rushed in…” She looked up at
Storm. “Something… powerful
happened…” Suddenly, Jean glanced up as
the last echoes faded from her mind.
“Do you guys hear that?”
Everyone
strained, listening. “I can’t hear
anything,” Kurt replied. “There is
nothing.”
Jean
shook her head, standing. “No, I hear
it… it’s music…”
“Follow
it,” Storm instructed calmly. “We will
follow you.”
Jean
walked through the lower levels, reaching the elevator. Only peripherally was she aware of the other
mutants following her, so completely focused was she on finding the source of
the music in her mind.
Empty vessel
under the sun
Wipe the dust from
my face
Another morning
Black Sunday
coming down again
Coming down again
Empty vessel,
empty veins
Empty bottles wish
for rain
In pain again
I wash the blood
off my face,
The pus from my
brain
In pain again
But I feel like
pain again
“Does
she even know she’s singing it?” Kitty asked Storm quietly.
“Likely
not,” Storm replied. “If whatever
recreated the Institute is causing the music Jean is hearing, it is probably
trying to communicate. Since only Jean
is able to actually receive its attempts, it may well be speaking through her
so that the rest of us will hear its message.”
“Can
someone really do that?”
“A
powerful enough telepath can. The
Professor can and has, though only in the most dire of situations.”
I’m lookin’
over my shoulder
‘Cause millions
will whisper
I’m killin’ myself
again
Maybe I’m dyin’
fast
Because nothing
ever lasts
“Me,
too.”
Forge
was about to ask where when the elevator doors slid open. Jean stepped out, guided only by the music
growing louder in her mind. Knowing
only that Jean knew their destination, the group stepped out onto the girls’
dormitory floor. Turning the knob on
the door to Rogue’s room, Jean pushed it open with a light touch. There, on the bed where Rogue had slept
until just yesterday, lay Wanda.
This pathetic
opposition
They’re the cause
of my condition
I’ll be coming
back for them
I’ve a solution
for this sad situation
Nothing left
But to kill myself
again
(‘Cause I’m so
empty)
Like a
marionette cut from its strings, the powerful Goth lay in a crumpled heap. Todd leaped forward, reaching the bed only a
half step before Storm. “She ain’t
breathin’,” Todd reported gravely.
“Storm,
it’s her. It’s her I’m hearing,” Jean
asserted, her complexion pale from the implications of that statement.
“That
is one of her favorite songs,” Lance confirmed. At Kitty’s questioning expression, Lance shrugged. “She plays it a lot, anyway.”
Storm
quickly assessed the situation. She’d
seen demonstrations of Wanda’s abilities before, but not even the Professor
could have guessed at this. One thing
was certain: the girl radiated power,
but she was barely able to keep her own heart beating. Charles, where are you when we need
you? You would understand such magicks. “Kurt, Kitty: go down to the med lab and bring up one of the portable vital
monitors, an IV setup, and a catheter.
Jean, Amara, get me cool water and cloths. Forge, you check the computer systems; Scott, take the younger
students and bring our camp inside.
Lance, what do you have of Wanda’s from the manor?”
“Everything;
she didn’t bring a whole lot with her from that mental ward.”
“Good;
bring everything here. Todd, I’ll need
you to stay with her when I go to move the aircraft.”
“Storm,
what is going on?” Kurt asked.
Storm
brushed the hair from Wanda’s face with a gentle breeze, looking up to gaze at
her charges. “Somehow, Wanda rebuilt
the Institute.” The impact of that
statement was visible. Storm had to
wait a moment before telling them the rest.
“She barely has enough vital energy left to keep her heart beating.”
A
heartbeat later, the teens were racing to obey Storm’s commands.
Brother.
Pietro
huddled in a corner, waiting his chance.
Trask hadn’t found him yet, but he was looking. One Mach 3 sprint and Pietro would be out,
away from Trask’s men and able to rejoin Wanda and Lance.
Brother.
There. The opening. Pietro braced and then ran faster than he ever had, desperate to
escape…
Brother,
have you forgotten my voice after all this time?
Finally
free, Pietro paused for breath. No sign
of pursuit. Of course, he was halfway
out of Bayville already.
It
matters not, Brother. Soon, you will
never have to wonder at my voice again.
Damn
it, Wanda; I was busy! I got out of
that lab. I’m coming home.
Then
you will be in time to bury me.
WHAT!!! Wanda, what do you mean?
I
restored the X-men’s Institute by folding time-space. It was all I could think of to truly have a chance to save
you. Once again, you will live at my
expense.
Wanda,
no! Please don’t die. There must be something.
There is, but it would require your
help. You have never aided me when I
needed it most. You were too busy
licking Father’s boots. I was a
plaything, something to be enjoyed when times were good and set aside when I
was not convenient. I thought that we
might once again be as we were as children, but now I see that you have simply
outgrown your old toy. It is for the best
that I leave now, my Brother, and no longer intrude myself upon someone who has
no use for me.
I’ll do it!
Anything! Please, just don’t
die, Wanda.
Then open to me, my brother. Open your mind and heart to me as you have
not since that day.
Pietro ran with all his
strength, flinging open the twin bond frantically. Sister… Sister, I’m coming.
Brother…
Wanda had been asleep
for two days. Storm had assigned the
older mutants to watch her vitals in shifts, praying that she would waken. There were many questions which required
answering, including why she had been found in Rogue’s room. But Storm was not a medical doctor, nor a
spirit healer. Aside from keeping
nutrients flowing into her body with the IV, Storm knew of nothing that might
help the girl recover.
Meanwhile, with the
Institute once again whole and operational, there was a rescue operation to
mount. Scott and Lance bickered over
strategy, possibilities of reconnaissance, who should even be on the strike
team. Storm was growing tired of their
squabbling, but she knew of nothing that could halt them short of information. Charles
would say that this will, eventually, prove to be a learning experience for
Scott about leadership and effective teamwork… if we can ever get him past this
territory-marking nonsense. Lance would
likely make an even better leader than Scott, except he’s embroiled in the same
contest. If they don’t work this out
soon, I’m going to strangle both of them.
Into their stalled
attempts at organization blasted Pietro.
In his effort to reach his twin, Quicksilver simply ran up the side of
the mansion and through the open window.
Tumbling past a startled Kurt into Rogue’s bed and curling Wanda close,
the snowy-haired youth burst into tears, desperately afraid that he was too
late. Kurt was about to pull Pietro off
Wanda, calling to Storm on his communicator as he rose, when he stopped in his
tracks.
There was no real
change. Just Pietro curled around Wanda
with his head tucked submissively under her chin, weeping as a litany of
apologies tumbled from his tongue. But
slowly, as though moving through wet cement, Wanda’s arms lifted to embrace her
brother.
Storm came through the
door a moment later. It took her half a
second to realize what had happened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “It will be all right, Kurt. Just stay with them.”
“But, he was with
Magneto,” Kurt protested.
Storm measured the twins
up once more. “Not anymore,” she
declared softly. “Just stay until she
wakes, Kurt, and let them be. I’ll explain
later.”
Kurt shrugged as Storm
left, muttering in German as he sat back down.
Jasmine and roses. Such delicate scents for such resilient
beauty. Wanda opened her eyes slowly,
drinking in the feel of the room and her brother sleeping in her arms. He had cried himself to sleep in his upset,
clinging to Wanda as he had when they were children and something had
frightened him. Wanda smiled at
that. Faced with the ultimate
separation, Pietro had come to heel. It
was a good sign: Magneto had not broken
her influence over him completely. Once
Pietro understood his place, she intended to deal with their father
permanently. Glancing around, she
caught sight of Kurt, now appearing normal, seated by the window and
reading. “Hello, again,” she murmured.
Kurt looked up. “Oh, you are awake. Good.
Are you feeling better?”
“Yes.” Wanda stroked Pietro’s hair, quieting his
shifting at hearing her voice. “He has
come back to me.”
Kurt’s brow furrowed in
confusion, but he reserved his questions for later. “Do you want anything?”
“Tea, if you have
any. Something to soothe my nerves.”
“Ja.” Kurt turned on his com-link. “Storm:
she’s awake, and she wants some hot tea.”
<<I’ll be right
up, Kurt.>>
Wanda’s eyes flickered
around the room. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Rogue’s
room,” Kurt supplied. “We found you
here.”
Wanda nodded. “Yes… is there any word?”
“None. We don’t know enough about that place Trask
has, or if everybody’s still there.
Scott and Lance just bicker like hausfraus, and Jean is wearing herself
out on Cerebro. Nobody knows if they
are even still alive.”
Stroking her twin’s
snowy hair again, Wanda’s expression remained as inscrutable as ever. “One of us does.”
Kurt’s eyes followed
hers, resting on the napping Quicksilver.
Gott im Himmel… he was there… he
knows if the others are all right, where they were being held… we might save
them yet…
The door opened, and
Storm stepped into the room, a silver tray in her hands. Wanda smiled in relief when she saw the
wisps of steam curling from the spout, the delicate china cup seated lightly
upon a matching saucer, the creamer and sugar bowl set on the remaining corners
of the tray. Shifting up in the bed,
Wanda jostled Pietro, who woke with a grumble.
“Wake up, brother. My tea has
arrived, and I can’t drink it on my back.”
Fortunately, Storm was
wise enough to hold onto the tea tray.
The moment his sister’s words penetrated his consciousness, Pietro’s
eyes flew open and Wanda was being clutched about the middle while he once
again rattled off a series of tongue-tying apologies and pleas for absolution. Of course, only Wanda understood what was
flying off her brother’s tongue, for the lightening-quick words were also being
directed at the valley between Wanda’s breasts. It mattered little. Wanda
chuckled softly, stroking her brother’s hair again. “Brother, it’s all right.
I’m in one piece… though none of this would have happened had you not
betrayed me to Magneto.” When Pietro
flinched, Wanda made a soft chiding sound and urged him up. “Now let me drink my tea. We have much to do and little time.” Taking the tray with a gracious smile from
Storm, Wanda swiftly poured the steaming water over the tea bag. The scent was light, soothing. “Sassafras; excellent.” Ignoring the cream and sugar, she allowed
her tea to steep.
Storm gauged the Goth
carefully. Her attitude was civil,
genteel… completely out of character with the enraged and powerful mutant they
had first encountered, as well as the withdrawn and inscrutable young woman
that had joined them a few days ago.
“Are you feeling better?” Storm asked carefully.
“I am, now that my
brother has returned to me,” Wanda replied.
She sipped at her tea with an elegant grace. “But that’s not what you really want to know. You want to know why I am not the raging
psychotic that you knew me to be.”
For a moment, Storm
blinked. Was the girl telepathic as
well? “It is a valid question.”
“And easily read on your
face,” Wanda replied. “I have no reason
to direct my rage against anyone but the party responsible for forcing my
brother and I apart, now that my brother understands where he belongs. Magneto alone will bear the full brunt of my
wrath.”
“Then you did restore
the Institute.”
Wanda nodded. “I simply created a ripple in space-time,
which caused the fabric of reality to fold against itself. That allowed a copy of the Institute from
the recent past to slip through and enter this part of reality. It’s… very subjective; I really don’t
understand all of what’s involved.”
“How did you do it,
then?” Kurt asked.
“I just… did.” Wanda shrugged, sipping at her tea as her
eyes took in the room around her. “If
it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I think it would be appropriate for my brother
and I to move into a different room. We
have much to discuss…” She glanced
pointedly at Pietro, who flinched in misery.
“… and probably should not take up permanent residence in Rogue’s room
while doing so.”
Storm nodded. “Of course.” After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “How did you end up in
Rogue’s room?”
“That, I truly don’t
know the answer to. I passed out from
the exhaustion once the Institute slid into place; the last thing I remember
before waking up here was making sure that the fabric was smooth once again and
releasing it.”
Her answer disturbed
Storm somehow; there was something here that she wasn’t seeing. Still, if Wanda didn’t know, or didn’t want
to share, Storm saw no reason to anger the Goth by pressing the matter. Standing, she gestured to Kurt. “Come, we should select a room for the
twins.” Turning back, Storm gave Wanda
a motherly smile. “I’m glad you’re all
right, dear, and thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Wanda
replied. She waited until the door was
closed, then fixed Pietro with a steely gaze.
“Now then, Brother: you’re going
to tell me exactly what that madman is doing, in the minutest detail you can
recall, and if you leave anything out, I will make certain you don’t move for a
month.”
Pietro looked up at his
sister in hurt astonishment. “Sister…”
“You
are far from redeeming yourself, Brother.
Start talking, now.”
A/N: Never fear; Pietro
is here! But things can only get more
interesting with Speedy in the picture… and we still have a rescue to
mount. Stay tuned!