Love of a Family: Chapter 1
An X-Men Evolution fanfic
Kitty Pryde had fought Apocalypse, Magneto, Juggernaut, and plenty of other people who wanted to kill her and survived, but now she was dying–at the hands of Software Engineering II. She wondered for the millionth time why she had thought it was a good idea to go into computer science. She had finished her gen eds at the community college back in Bayville, so there was nothing to break up the monotony of all this programming.
She checked her watch, wondering if it was time to head to her next class yet, but no, she still had twenty minutes. She laid her head on the textbook page and hoped her brain would absorb the commands through osmosis.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up, glancing at the name on the screen. Pietro. That was . . . weird. She couldn’t remember him ever calling her before. When did she even get his number?
“Hello? Pietro? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s great. Quick question. Have you talked to Wanda in, oh, say . . . thepastthreedays?”
Her head was still full of code, so it took her a second to process his question. Her head shot up. “Wanda’s been missing for three days?"
“No! She’s not–not missing or anything. We just . . . we kinda had a fight, and now she’s not answering any of my calls. I was hoping she might be staying with you.”
“How would she be here? I live three hours away and she can’t drive!”
“I thought you drove her!”
Kitty pinched her nose and sighed. “No, she’s not here. Have you checked with Tabitha?”
“Not yet. I was going to check with you first.”
This was not good. “Well, call Tabby. I’ll try calling Wanda and see if she’ll answer me.” Pietro hung up before she finished her sentence. Kitty tried not to be offended. It wasn’t his fault his thoughts moved so much faster than anyone else’s, and he was probably worried about Wanda.
It was his fault Wanda was missing, though. What was he thinking? Why hadn’t he told anyone sooner?
Her anger dissipated and was replaced by a churning fear in her stomach as Wanda’s phone went straight to voicemail twice.
Wanda had never been the most stable, and ever since her real memories had started coming back, it just got worse. Pietro helped her sort through memories (after she forgave him for not telling her in the first place), determining which were real and which false, but she got easily confused, and without her friends there to help her, confusion could easily turn to anger–anger that could level a city.
Surely if something had happened, Kitty would have heard about it on the news. They weren’t that far from Bayville. Still, they needed to find her soon, before Wanda or anyone else got hurt.
Chewing her lip, Kitty called Lance.
“Hey, Kitty. What’s up?”
“Have you heard from Wanda? Pietro said she hasn’t been home in three days, and she’s not answering either of our calls.”
Lance was silent for a moment, and Kitty knew the answer. “I’m going to kill him,” he said. “For real this time.”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “You can do that later. I’m really worried! There’s no reason for her to think Pietro called me, so if she’s just mad at him, why wouldn’t she answer? What if something happened?”
Lance sighed, and Kitty stared down at her textbook. Finishing her code suddenly sounded a lot more appealing.
“Today’s Friday, right?” Lance asked.
“Um, yes?”
“I’ll drive down there tonight and stay the weekend. Hopefully he’s called the others by now, and they’re already looking for her. I’ll join them when I get there.”
Yes. That sounded like a good plan, so long as– “What time do you get off work?”
“Six. Why?”
A quick mental calculation, and she nodded to herself. “I’ll be ready.”
“Ready for what?”
She was already halfway through a mental list of what to pack. “Ready for you to pick me up, of course. I’m, like, totally going with you.”
He was silent for longer than she expected, which worried her. Did he not want her to come? Did he not want her butting in with his friends? Did he not want to spend the whole weekend with her? Did he–”
“I love you,” he sighed. “You know that, right?”
Oh.
Despite the serious circumstances, she couldn’t help the shy smile that spread across her face. She didn’t think she would ever get used to hearing him say that–or the fluttery feeling she always got in her stomach whenever he did.
“Hmm.” She twisted the end of her ponytail around her finger. “I think you might have told me once or twice. I love you too.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he promised, and she hung up.
She packed up her laptop and textbook, and went to search out Dr. Martin. She was all too familiar with the way simple errands tended to get incredibly dangerous and time-consuming for them, and she wanted to stay ahead.
Dr. Martin was very understanding when she explained that she had a family emergency and might not be able to attend class on Monday.
It felt surprisingly natural to refer to the Brotherhood as family. She and Wanda had been tentatively friends since the battle with Apocalypse several years ago, and Tabby always enjoyed having someone to complain about the boys to. And as for the boys themselves, at some point since she and Lance had actually started dating, they had gone from tolerating her presence to . . . something she wasn’t sure how to define. She settled comfortably into their banter, and they teased her as often as they teased Lance. Fred hadn’t seemed surprised at all when she called asking for ideas of what to get Lance for his birthday, and Todd had helped her with some homework once when she couldn’t figure out why a program wasn’t working. And clearly Pietro trusted her enough to call about his sister.
Thoughts about Wanda spiraled in her mind all throughout class, and she did her best not to watch the clock the whole class. Still, she couldn’t help but sneak a few glances.
When she finally got home, she kicked off her shoes, dropped her backpack in the middle of her room, and pulled out all her books. Then she tossed in clothes, toiletries, and anything else she thought she would need into it. She hesitated when she reached her old X-Men uniform.
She didn’t know what they were walking into. Wanda could be fine, just stewing in her thoughts somewhere alone, or she could actually be in trouble. As Logan always told her, it was good to prepare for anything, but . . . technically she wasn’t an X-Man anymore.
Being a superhero, however cool she found it at sixteen, had never been in her plan for the future. Neither had being a teacher. She had just wanted to learn to control her abilities. She left the mansion and the team several months ago with the assurance that she could always come back if she wanted, even just for a visit. She kept in contact with all her friends and planned to visit regularly, but she doubted she would ever join the team again.
It didn’t feel quite right to pack the uniform, but she needed something, right? She stared at her closet, and her eyes settled on the combat boots Tabitha had talked her into getting last time they went shopping. She still hadn’t worn them, but she remembered them being comfortable when she tried them on.
She wrapped them in a plastic bag and tucked them into her backpack, then dug out the black exercise pants and tank top she usually wore to the gym. The last thing she added was a lavender jacket that was comfortable and loose enough for a good range of motion, but not so loose it got caught on things easily. She smiled to herself. Not bad for something so thrown-together.
After that was taken care of, she fixed a quick supper and sat down to get as much homework done as she could before Lance got there.
When the knock sounded on the door, she shut her books, slipped on her shoes, and grabbed her backpack, then stepped out the door. She was just about to ask if he had heard from anyone else, when Lance swept her up and kissed her, lifting her feet off the ground.
This wasn’t exactly how their greetings tended to go, but she certainly wasn’t complaining. She let her backpack drop and wrapped her legs around him as he pressed her back against the wall and tilted her head up to get a better angle.
She could definitely get used to this.
“Not that this isn’t nice,” she said, pulling away, “but don’t we have somewhere to be?”
“Unfortunately.” He set her down, and she picked up her backpack, then turned around and locked the door.
When she turned back, she realized he was watching her with a strange look on his face. “What?”
“You sure you want to do this? I mean, you doing have to go with me.”
“Of course I’m sure! Wanda is my friend too!”
He smiled at that, then gestured to his jeep. “Alright, let’s go.” She tossed her backpack in the backseat next to his duffle bag and climbed into the passenger seat.
The ride was long. They talked about their day for a while, then listened to music, taking turns picking a song. Finally they got tired of the music and settled into a comfortable silence. Kitty leaned her elbow on the door and let the wind hit her face. She wondered when she would start to recognize the signs and businesses they passed.
“It feels weird to be going back,” Lance said.
“I’m sure.” She had only been gone for a few months, but Lance had been gone for a couple years. While his friends often came to see him, he hadn’t gone back to Bayville in all that time.
He glanced over at her. “You know someone might see us together, right?”
And that was exactly what she had been avoiding thinking about. “I know.” He looked over again, and she sighed. “I’ll just tell them the truth. I should have done it a while ago.”
When she first reconnected with Lance, she hadn’t mentioned it to any of her old teammates because she didn’t want to cause any problems. Then when they had started dating, she kept putting off telling them again because her and Lance’s track record wasn’t great, and if they just broke up again in a month, there was no reason to get everyone riled up. Now it had been several months, and she just couldn’t figure out how to bring it up.
It wasn’t that she was scared to tell them. It was just . . . Lance’s friends had been so nice and accepting (in their own way) of her when they started dating, and she knew her friends . . . would not.
“I’ll figure it out,” she said. He looked dubious, but she ignored him. “Besides, the important thing is making sure Wanda’s okay.”
“Yeah.” He sighed, and she wished she hadn’t said anything when his hands tightened on the steering wheel.
She sat up quickly. “So! When we get there, I guess we should find a hotel?”
“Uhh . . . I figured you were going to stay at the mansion.”
“No, I am absolutely not sneaking you into the mansion.”
He looked confused for a second, then turned to her and smirked. “What, you don’t think I can make it?”
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “I think Logan would sniff you out in five minutes.” He grimaced. “And I think your friends probably won’t enjoy me dropping in on them so suddenly, so I thought a hotel was the best option.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, I just thought you’d want to . . .”
She scowled. “Thought I’d what?”
He swallowed and shook his head. “Nothing.” He was quiet for a moment, focusing firmly on the road, then said, “I want to stop at the twin’s place first, though. I want to talk to Pietro myself, and I doubt he’ll answer my calls right now.”
“He probably knows you’re mad at him,” she agreed.
It wasn’t much longer before they reached roads that looked familiar. Kitty had never actually been to Wanda’s new home before, so she entertained herself by wondering what it would look like, whether it would have plants outside, how Wanda had decorated her room, and if Pietro ever actually cleaned his room.
Finally Lance stopped at a little duplex with a couple rose bushes planted out front and a little plastic playground in the back. The neighbors must have kids.
Out of habit, Kitty slung her backpack on her shoulder as she hopped out and followed Lance to the door. Pietro answered when Lance knocked, then shrank back when he saw them.
“Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You, uh, didn’t have to come all the way here. I mean, she’ll probably be back soon.” The way he avoided their eyes said exactly how much he believed that.
“Just let us in,” Lance said, and, to Kitty’s surprise, Pietro stepped out of the door without a word. They followed him into the living room, but no one made a move to sit down.
“So what happened?”
Pietro glanced at the ceiling, then his shoes. “I, uh, I might have brought up therapy again.”
Kitty winced, then looked at Lance. He frowned, but she knew he couldn’t fault Pietro for that. Wanda needed help. That much was obvious, but after so many years locked away, it was easy to see why she couldn’t–wouldn’t–trust the people who could help her.
“When was that?' Kitty asked.
“Early morning three days ago. I had just gotten back from work at the gas station. She got mad and said if I didn’t want her around that much, she’d just leave.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heel, slowly speeding up. “I called the others, but none of them have seen her.”
“Right, of course not,” Lance grumbled. “It’s a little late to go looking for her tonight, but I need you to think of all the places she usually goes to. We’ll try to find her in the morning.”
Pietro crossed his arms. “Yeah, yeah I’ll think about it.” He glared at the backpack on Kitty’s shoulder. “And I guess you both just want to crash here for the night. Geez, can’t give a guy a little warning.” He zipped into the kitchen to check the fridge.
“Actually, we were planning to–” Kitty began, but Pietro continued, louder.
“Most people actually have the decency to call and let you know they’re coming over, but not you two!”
“We’re just going to stay in a hotel–”
“I mean, if I had some warning, I could have picked up some groceries, but now everything’s closed, so I hope you like cereal!” He sped down the hall, then back again and thrust a pile of blankets at Lance with enough force to make him stagger back a couple steps.
Kitty tried one more time. “You really don’t have to–”
He was even louder this time. “But I guess, since you’re my teammate and teammate-in-law, I’ll just have to put up with it.”
Kitty turned to Lance, who managed to untangle himself from the pile of blankets. “So I guess we’re staying here?”
He shrugged, as though he didn’t have an opinion, but she knew him better than that. “Up to you.”
She grinned and dropped her backpack on the floor. He smiled back and dropped the pile of blankets beside it, searching through to find a sheet, which he spread over the couch.
Pietro appeared in front of Kitty and jerked a thumb down the hall. “You can use Wanda’s bed since clearly she’s not using it.” That felt a little strange, but he was right. She wasn’t using it.
It was late, and she was tired, so she carried her backpack into Wanda’s room and got ready for bed. When she came out, Lance had finished making up the couch, and he and Pietro sat in the kitchen talking.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, coming over to the table and leaning over to give Lance a kiss.
He squeezed her hand and smiled. “Good night.”
“Bleck! You’re killing me,” Pietro complained.
Kitty grinned. “Why? You want a kiss too?”
He pointed at her. “Don’t even threaten it.”
She laughed and left the room. “Good night, boys!”
As she settled into the bed, she could still hear the boys talking in the kitchen and dishes clinking as they fixed a snack.
She liked living by herself, but she sometimes missed the little sounds of someone else’s presence. The noice was rather comforting, and she soon drifted off to sleep.