Lines in the Sand: Chapter 8
An X-Men Evolution Fanfic
Pietro wasn’t sure what he had expected his father’s secret base to look like, but it definitely wasn’t the dingy, water-side warehouse Sabertooth dragged them to. It occurred to him that they had no reason to believe Sabertooth was really taking them to their father. What if he just wanted to get them alone? What if he was trying to kill them?
He stepped closer to his sister and touched her arm. “I don’t like this,” he whispered. “What if he’s lying?”
She pushed him away. “Leave me alone.”
Sabertooth turned around and gave a sharp smile. He must have overheard. He put his hand on the door, and his nails slid across the metal with a sound that set Pietro’s teeth on edge. Then he pushed it open. It squealed so loudly that both Pietro and Wanda flinched. He shoved them inside.
Pietro stumbled through the door and looked up. Three men stood staring at them, but their father wasn’t among them.
Alright, that was enough. He was getting him and Wanda out of there now, and if she was mad at him . . . well, she could just be mad.
The door slammed shut behind them.
“Wait, hold on! You can’t keep us here!”
“I told you,” Sabertooth laughed, “your father wants to see you.”
That felt less and less likely by the moment. “Yeah? Well where is he?” Sabertooth just grinned, showing off his fangs. “Hey, you can’t just ignore me! I–”
“What’s that?” Wanda asked, and Pietro spun around to see a metal sphere float down the hallway and stop in front of her. She frowned and reached out to touch it.
“Wait, Wanda–” Someone grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, lifting his feet off the ground. “Hey! Let me go!” He tried to turn his head so he could see his captor, so he didn’t see what happened to Wanda.
But he heard her fall.
“Wanda!” She didn’t move. Didn’t react at all to his shout.
He tried to twist his arms out of his captor’s grip. “Wanda! Let me go, let me go! Wanda!” He flailed his legs, trying to kick the man behind him, but instead of legs, his feet hit something that felt like metal. Pain shot up his legs, and he stopped kicking. He kept twisting his arms, but the man’s grip was too tight.
“Stop fighting,” a voice with a thick Russian accent said behind him.
“No! Let go! Let go! Wanda!”
“Pietro, calm down!”
Pietro stopped fighting and looked up at the new figure coming down the hall. “Father?”
His father stopped a few steps away, his cape flaring around him. He looked up at Pietro’s captor. “Release him.” The hands let go, and Pietro stumbled forward and dropped to his knees.
“They hurt Wanda!”
“Your sister is fine,” his father said, in that same calm tone he always used when Pietro was overreacting.
He should believe that. Their father wouldn’t hurt her. He crawled over to her anyway.
She lay sprawled across the floor, and he could see her chest rise and fall with every slow breath. Just asleep, then, and with a more peaceful expression than he had seen on her since they were kids.
He sat back. “I don’t understand. What happened to her?”
His father crouched down beside him and stared down at Wanda. “I need to speak with her, but I knew she was too angry to speak to me now.”
If he thought drugging her would make her less angry, he clearly didn’t know her. “She won’t talk to you. She wants to kill you.”
His father stood up. “I will take care of that.” He turned to one of his men. “LeBeau, take Pietro to a room where he can rest.”
“Wait, what? No, I don’t want to leave, I–”
“Pietro.” His mouth slammed shut. “I told you, I will handle this. Go rest. I’ll talk to you when I finish with Wanda.”
He didn’t want to, but when his father used that voice, he knew better than to argue. He followed his father’s lackey out of the room, but before the door shut behind him, he glanced over his shoulder to watch his father pick Wanda up and carry her out of the room.
Pietro did not rest.
He might not dare to argue with his father outright, but he certainly wasn’t going to sit still and just wait.
He hated waiting.
The room was small and nearly empty, which left nothing to distract himself with except a small bed (which he was trying very hard not to think about because there was no way he was staying the night) and a desk.
He tried pacing around the room several times. Then he searched the room for a clock. There was no clock. There was nothing else in the drawers either.
He was starting to wonder if this was some sort of psychological torture designed specifically for him. Maybe that wasn’t really his father out there. Maybe they were torturing Wanda too.
No, he wouldn’t think about that.
He wished there was a clock.
Or maybe he didn’t. They always seemed to move so slow. Especially if he was waiting on something. Mr. Daniels always told him to try waiting as long as he could between looking at the clock when he was bored. Sometimes it helped.
He measured the room with his shoes by lining up his feet and counting how many steps it took to walk the perimeter. He tried that three times and took the average. He tried breathing in and out while counting to four as slowly as he could. He tried twisting his fingers into several patterns he had come up with in middle school. He mentally ran through the times tables, then the names of the states alphabetically and their capitals.
He couldn’t do this anymore.
He opened the door and started to leave. He nearly ran into the lackey who led him to his current cage. It startled him so much he didn’t have time to run away before the man grabbed his sleeve.
“Going somewhere, petit?”
“Yeah, I’m going to find my father.” He yanked out of the man’s grip.
“Not yet, you aren’t. Ton père said you don’t leave that room ‘til he ask for you.”
“What? He’s locking me up?”
The man pulled out a pack of cards and began to shuffle them. “He’s only worried about your safety, petit. We have things here that could be considered . . . dangerous for you.” The sly smile suggested the man considered himself to be one of those “dangerous” things.
Pietro gave him a dull look. “Yeah, sure.”
The man’s smile widened. “Better go back to that room now.”
Pietro really didn’t like the look in the man’s black and red eyes, so he obeyed, but he slammed the door as he did so.
His father was seriously locking him up? How long? Presumably until he called for him, but what if he never did? What if Wanda had done what she wanted? Would he be stuck in this room until he starved?
And what happened when his father did call? Would Wanda still be there? Or would his father send her . . . send her back? If he did, what would happen to Pietro, alone again.
He’d make it. Of course he would. He always did, but–
But he didn’t want to.
He had been living with his sister for the first time in nearly ten years and it was fine. She was still as annoying and out-of-control as he remembered, and so much angrier, but it wasn’t any different than living with Lance, or Tabby, or sometimes Rogue.
And he couldn’t help but wonder, what if his father was wrong? What if Wanda had never needed to leave? What if she could have stayed if they all tried a little harder?
That . . . that was a frightening thought. That maybe his family had been separated so long because of a mistake.
There was a knock on the door.
He sped over and opened it. A large man who seemed to be made entirely out of metal stood outside it. “Your father wants to speak to you.”
Pietro’s heart leapt into his throat. His father was fine, then. But what did that mean for Wanda? He managed to nod and followed the man down the hallway. They stopped at a large door. The man punched in a code, and the door opened.
His father and Wanda stood on the other side of the room, together.
Pietro ran over and grabbed Wanda’s arm. “Are you okay?”
She turned to him, and a confused smile spread across her face. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I . . . uh.” This was so completely opposite what he was expecting he couldn’t seem to put words together. And she was smiling. When was the last time he had seen her smile like that?
She turned back to their father. “I’ll get that taken care of, Dad.” Dad? She stood on tiptoe to kiss their father’s cheek, then walked away. “See you later, Pietro!” She waved and left the room. The door closed behind her. He stared after her.
“What . . .” He swallowed and turned back to his father. “What did you do to her?”
“I told you I would take care of it,” his father said.
That, whatever it was, didn’t feel like “taking care of”. “But–”
“She is fine, and everything is taken care of, Pietro. And she’s already agreed to join our cause.”
That didn’t sound like her. “Can I talk to her?”
His father shook his head. “Not today. She’s busy with what I’ve asked her to do, and you will be busy as well.”
Pietro stared at the door. Maybe, maybe it would open.
“I need you to return to my Brotherhood.”
Maybe it would open, and he could run after her. This place was a maze, but he’d catch up with her eventually.
“I shall need them to join me in two days.”
Then he could ask her what was going on. Why she was suddenly helping their father.
“Pietro, are you listening to me?”
Why his father wasn’t giving him answers. Why it felt like he was trying to keep them apart when they should be together. They were supposed to be together. She was his sister and they should be together–
“Pietro!”
“Yes, I heard you.”
He could feel his father’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the door.
“Good. Mr. LeBeau will take you back to the boarding house.”
Wanda’s voice rang in his mind. See you later, Pietro!
“Pietro?”
He swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
Lance had just gotten back from work and was trying to fix himself some supper when the front door slammed open.
“Mystique!” Todd shrieked. He dove beneath the table.
“Not Mystique,” said an unfamiliar male voice.
Lance stepped into the entryway. A stranger breaking into their house was already a bad sign, but the man’s black and red eyes were a tell-tale sign that he was a mutant, which raised a lot more dangerous questions, and the bowstaff in his hands didn’t look very friendly.
“I don’t know who you are,” Lance said, “But get out of my house.” The man just smirked and twirled his staff.
He felt a rush of air, and then Pietro materialized in front of him. “Hey, chillax. He’s with me.”
Lance didn’t take his eyes off the strange man. “So why’s he here?” Then he noticed who was missing. “And where’s Wanda?”
Pietro shrugged. “Eh, he just came to drop me off. Apparently my father doesn’t trust my driving skills. Wanda stayed with him.”
Now Lance turned. “She stayed . . . what? What’s going on?”
Pietro ignored him and made a shooing motion toward the man. “You can go now.”
Lance turned back to him, afraid he would take offense. There was something in the man’s eyes he didn’t like. But the man only smirked, gave a mocking bow, and left. Lance shut the door behind him and whirled on Pietro.
“What. Happened.”
Pietro didn’t answer at first. He just stared past Lance at the door, and something changed in his expression. Gone was his usual cocky attitude. It had shifted into something Lance couldn’t name. Something almost . . . lost.
He didn’t like this one bit. He forced his tone to be a little gentler. “Pietro?”
Pietro startled, and his eyes flicked to Lance’s. The expression was gone. “Father needs the Brotherhood again. He sent me to get you ready.”
They were both so focused on the conversation that neither of them noticed the pillow until it smacked Pietro in the face. He whirled around. “Hey! What was that for?”
Tabby raised another pillow and came further into the room to smack him again and again. “That’s why you’re here?” she demanded. “That’s why you’re back? To make us work for him?"
“Woah, hey!” Pietro sped into the living room, but Tabby chased him in and cornered him, smacking him several more times. “That’s not–”
Todd hopped into the room. “We didn’t want to work for Mystique no more, so why’d you think we wanted to work for old Metalhead again?”
“Just let me–”
“I think you should leave.” Fred crossed his arms and loomed in the doorway.
“Just–” Pietro looked around frantically, then rushed past Tabby. He climbed up onto the back of the couch and held out his hands placatingly. “Please, just listen!"
Tabby started to follow him up onto the couch, but Lance caught her arm and stopped her. “Fine,” he said. “Explain, but it better be good.”
So he did. He told them about the past few days wandering around the city, about Sabertooth finding them, about his father’s base, and about Wanda’s strange behavior.
“There’s–there’s something wrong with her,” he said. “I don’t know what, and he won’t let me talk to her. So can you please just–just don’t kick me out. Let me stay here a couple days so he thinks we’ll do what he says, and then when he starts his plan, whatever it is, I’ll find Wanda and see what’s going on.”
The room was silent now. Tabby had long since let go of her pillow. Fred and Todd turned to Lance, waiting for his verdict.
He sighed. “That’s not going to work.” Pietro started to argue, but Lance continued before he could. “The only way you’ll be able to get to Wanda without your father suspecting anything is if the rest of us go along with what he wants.”
“But,” Todd said in a small voice, “but we could do that, right? I mean, I don’t really want to, but if it’ll help Wanda . . .”
“We can do it–” Lance began, and the other three let out a cheer. Pietro gaped at him as though he had never considered they might be willing to help. Maybe he hadn’t.
“BUT!” This was the big part. Lance didn’t think anyone would have a problem with it, but he needed to be sure they understood what they were getting into. When they quieted down, he continued, “but we’ll have to leave Bayville. As soon as Pietro gets Wanda, we’ll have to get as far away from here as we can, and never look back.”
Tabby, Fred, and Todd exchanged looks. Then Tabby shrugged. “That’s fine. I never really liked it here anyway.”
“Yeah, what’s left here for us?” Fred asked.
“No more school!” Todd leapt up and punched his fist in the air.
Lance agreed with them. There was nothing here he would miss. Nothing except . . .
Except Kitty. He would never be able to see her again.
“No.”
They all looked at Pietro, who hadn’t stopped staring at Lance. “No, I’m not asking you to put a target on your back and leave like that.”
“No, you’re not asking,” Lance agreed. “But we’re doing it anyway.” Because as much as he cared about Kitty, his team was his family, and he would do anything for them.
Pietro looked at each of them. “But–”
Tabby slung her arm over his shoulders, and put one finger under his chin to shut his mouth. “This is when you say, ‘Thank you’.”
Pietro rolled his eyes and shoved her away. “Can’t do that if you shut my mouth.”
Lance wasn’t at school that day.
It wasn’t unusual for him to skip a class or two, but Kitty didn’t see him all day, and when she spoke to Rogue and Kurt later, she realized the rest of the Brotherhood was gone as well. Had something happened?
When school ended, Kitty ran outside, already planning to go to the boarding house and find out what was happening. She rounded the corner–and froze.
Lance was there, waiting by a tree.
She breathed a sigh of relief that he was okay. “Lance!” He looked up as she ran over. He smiled, but it was too fake, too sad, and she felt her own falter.
“What’s going on? Where were you all day?”
He sighed and his shoulders fell. “Pietro’s back.”
She took a tentative step forward and took his hand. “But . . . that’s good, right? You guys missed him.”
“Yeah, but . . . Magneto’s back too. He wants us as some sort of army.”
Kitty shivered. She didn’t want to think about what sort of plans Magneto might have for them. “But–but you won’t, right? I mean, I know you don’t want to work for Magneto, and if we tell the Professor he’s back, he’ll take care of it and everything will be fine! I’ll talk to him tonight, and then you won’t have to worry about Magneto again!”
His expression didn’t change, and she knew he didn’t share her optimism. “Kitty, he has Wanda.”
“But–” That made it sound like he had kidnapped her or something, but surely he wouldn’t do that to his own daughter.
“She’s been hypnotized or something, and Pietro can’t even get to her. He’s afraid if we don’t go along with what Magneto says, he won’t have another chance to get to her.” Lance grabbed her other hand and pulled her closer. “I don’t want to work for him, but it seems like our only chance to save Wanda.”
“But–but there must be something else. I’ll talk to the others, and we’ll figure something out–”
“There’s no time. Something big is coming tomorrow. I don’t know what, but we don’t have time to come up with anything else, and if Magneto knew I’ve told you . . . the only chance we’ve got is to take them by surprise.”
“But what if someone sees you?”
“Let them see me!” The determination on his face scared her. “I’m tired of hiding, and I’m fine with being the villain if it keeps my friends safe.”
Kitty chewed her lip. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, no, we can’t give him any reason to think we’d betray him.” He swallowed, and his eyes darted away. “Besides, if–if we fail . . . someone will have to stop Wanda. She’s–she’s too powerful for us.”
No. No. He was talking like he wasn’t coming back, like he thought he might–he might–
“Lance–" Her voice cracked. She remembered how powerful Magneto was, and if what the professor said about Wanda was true . . . “Please, we’ll find something else. The Professor can help–”
“I told you, there’s no time.” He smiled, but it didn’t look right. “Relax, we’ll be fine. Just–depending on how things go, we’ll probably have to leave Bayville.”
Her heart sank as she realized what he was saying. He was only here to say goodbye. She shook her head as she stepped closer and unshed tears clogged her throat so she couldn’t speak.
He reached up and cupped his hand around her cheek, then kissed her gently, lingering for just a few seconds before starting to pull away.
No, no she wasn’t ready for him to leave. She wouldn’t let him go. Not yet. She latched onto his vest and pulled him back. He stepped forward readily, and his arms came up around her. His hands splayed against her back, pressing her closer.
She tilted her face up to deepen the kiss. He gave in easily, and it became something completely different than any of the others they had shared. No longer chaste, sweet, and gentle, his mouth became hungry, desperate against hers. She knew he would disappear as soon as she let go, and she might never see him again, so she kissed him like she would never get another chance.
“Kitty? Kitty! Where’d you go?”
She stiffened at the sound of Kurt’s voice. If Kurt saw Lance now, he would have too many questions they couldn’t answer.
Lance must have had the same thought, because he pulled away from her. He grabbed both her hands. “Whatever happens tomorrow . . . remember it was for a good cause, okay? Don’t hate me too much.”
She felt tears run down her cheeks as she clenched her fists. “I won’t! Don’t even think that!”
He forced a smile, then let go of her hands and took a step back. Another step, and then he turned around, walking off without looking back.
Kitty swiped the tears off her face. The others would have enough questions without them. She started to walk back to the front of the school, then turned the corner and bumped into someone else.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Risty said. “Guess I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She got a better look at Kitty’s face, and her mouth twisted into a sympathetic frown. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Kitty said. “Excuse me.”
She walked away and didn’t notice Risty staring in the direction Lance had gone, smiling to herself.
“Found her, yo!” Todd called as he climbed back down the telephone poll. He jumped the last few feet and landed in front of Pietro. “On the roof of that building over there.”
Pietro closed his eyes. He’d never admit it, but Lance knew he had been worried Wanda wouldn’t be there.
“Okay.” Lance said “Everybody stand back. And, Pietro, don’t go until people start looking.” It was a testament to how nervous he was that Pietro just nodded and made no snarky comment.
He planted his feet and closed his eyes. He let the ground vibrate just a bit, stretching his senses towards the building in front of him.
Bring it down, Magneto had said. The whole thing.
It had seemed like a strange way to word it, but now he could feel why. What seemed like a normal old factory that rose several floors up, actually extended far, far underground and reached almost to the train tracks surrounding it.
“Go further back.” He felt the vibrations of his friends’ steps as they followed his order.
He focused harder on the building, and soon he could feel the people inside. He gritted his teeth. He doubted Magneto knew he could feel them.
Slowly he let the vibrations grow, enough that people would notice. The movements inside grew frantic, and soon people poured out the doors. Far more people than should be around an abandoned factory. He waited until he couldn’t feel anyone else inside.
Then he pushed.
The ground roiled under the building. Bricks toppled, glass shattered, metal screamed. The underground rooms caved in.
“Now, Pietro! Go!” A breeze tugged at his hair, and Pietro was gone.
The cracks in the asphalt reached toward Lance and his friends. “Get back!” he yelled. He turned around and started running. They were right beside him. People screamed all around them, but it sounded more out of fear than pain. Hopefully no one was hurt.
There was a loud crash of metal on metal, a cloud of dust, and then everything grew quiet.
Lance stopped and turned back toward the gaping crater in the ground. Was it over? Was this all Magneto had needed? Pietro should be back any second with Wanda, and then they could leave. They could put all of this behind them.
A metallic something creaked, but it didn’t sound like the building.
“Uh, Lance?” Fred asked. “What’s that?”
Lance squinted. He could almost make out some sort of dark shadow through the cloud of dust. Could it be the remains of the building? It seemed tall enough.
Two bright yellow lights burst on, shining directly at them. Lance covered his eyes and staggered back. The thing moved closer. It was so much bigger than he had originally thought.
A deep robotic voice echoed around them.
Mutant identified