FicWad

Revolution

Chapter 08: Memories

Logan and Ororo were in a lonely road in the outskirts of the city, hunted by something that was out of their reach. They remained alert, looking in every direction, but there were no signs of another mutant near by. Not even Logan's sensitive nose could catch the scent of anything suspicious. Ororo felt an electric tickle as when she used her powers, except she wasn't doing anything this time. "It's coming!" They jumped out of the way in time to avoid being struck by lightning. She focused for a moment and felt it, "there's going to be a tornado!" She looked at the city in the distance, its outline clear. "It will keep growing and if it reaches the city it will be a disaster!"

"You can sense it," Logan concluded, to which Ororo nodded.

"I don't know how, but I can. The atmosphere is so strained..." Ororo tried to grip the weather with her energy, but a gust of wind came towards her.

Logan stepped in front of Ororo, planting his feet firmly on the ground and taking most of the force of the wind. "Fight for control of the weather, that's your territory; reclaim it!"

It was easier said than done, but Ororo nodded in determination. Despite the danger around her, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She could still feel sharp currents of wind moving around her, trying to cut through Logan who was shielding her. She could sense a tornado forming near by, she reached for it in her mind and tried to steady the wind until it died into something less dangerous. Her eyes suddenly shot open as it seemed that whoever was commanding the attack changed tactics. Dark clouds gathered above them thickly.

With great effort, Ororo raised both hands and a circle cleared in the center of the stormy clouds directly above them. Lightning suddenly crashed around Logan and Ororo. The metal in his body was like a lightning rod and she was having a hard time keeping the electricity away. She focused hard, summoning every ounce of strength she had. Then she heard it, a strange digital sound, "connecting..." Then she saw rather than heard the glowing words in her mind. "Connecting..." the words flashed with blue light in an endless black void, "connecting..."

"No!" Ororo pushed herself beyond the limit. Something was trying to enter her mind and she wasn't going to allow it. She pushed the clear circle in the clouds to become wider and called forth gusts of wind around her and Logan to push the dark clouds above away.

"Connection lost..." the words flashed in her mind again as the last of her strength left her.

"Storm! Hey, you there? Ororo?" Logan was speaking to her, but she couldn't answer him. Was the danger passed? Did she drive the storm clouds away? She didn't want to pass out, not now of all times. But there was nothing she could do, her energy was too drained, she couldn't maintain her grip on her consciousness and she fainted.

xoxox xox xoxox

Present time, at the institute infirmary. Xavier and Evan listened as Logan narrated the recent series of events that led to Ororo's current condition. "The people from Shield saw the commotion and rushed to see what it was. Ororo was going cold so I couldn't refuse them when I had an emergency on my hands. After she was stabilized I brought her back. I didn't wait for her to wake up; they would have just tired her to the bone with their questions. Besides, I see no reason to discuss anything when it's evident they know something they're not telling."

Evan frowned and Xavier looked thoughtful and concerned. He knew that getting information out of Shield would not be as simple as getting information from any other source, even for a psychic. Psychics were not unknown to the organization and they had their ways to protect information. "I will try to negotiate with Shield," was all that the professor could say.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at Kurt's room at the institute. Kurt woke up to the feeling of something cold on his forehead and a gentle voice. He opened his eyes slightly to find Kitty leaning over him. She looked relieved upon seeing him awake. "Thank goodness," she breathed.

Kurt sat up slowly and found that the breeze that circulated through the space that he identified as his room was due to three fans that were positioned around his bed. Kitty must have fought quite a battle to confiscate them... Or she could have snuck away with him and phased them quietly past the nearest wall and out of reach before anyone could stop her, or even notice her. "Was I out for long?"

"About fifteen minutes," Kitty handed him a tall glass of water. "This heat must be especially hard for you. You need to keep yourself well hydrated."

Kurt obediently drank the water under Kitty's watchful eyes. "Thank you..." There was still a note of depression in his voice.

Kurt's mood did not go unnoticed by Kitty and she became determined to find out what was wrong. She sat on the bed beside him and fixed him with an understanding yet steady gaze. She was there for him, but she wasn't going to let him avoid the subject.

Kurt found himself smiling, despite the situation, at how well Kitty knew him. "That predictable, am I?"

Kitty smiled back, glad that at least Kurt wasn't putting up much of a defense. She really wanted to help him with whatever problem he had, but to do that, she needed to know what was wrong. "I guess I know you well enough... But you still manage to surprise me more than you know."

Kurt chuckled, "I guess I should be glad I can still surprise you. I wouldn't want to bore you."

"You never would," Kitty assured. "Now, tell me what's bothering you. I take it it's not only the heat and the suspicious things that are going on..."

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Amanda broke up with me." Before he knew it, he was telling Kitty everything. He needed to get it all off his chest and he knew he could trust her. "We're too different, she can't adapt into my adventurous life and truth be told, I can't adapt into her quiet life, though I would have tried if I could. We decided to remain friends and I told her I understood, but..."

Kitty listened in surprise. She wasn't expecting this kind of news and was too stunned to react until Kurt trailed into silence. It took her a moment to find her voice and prompt him to continue, "but?"

"I wonder if I'll ever... if anyone will..." Kurt paused. This wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want to make Kitty sad and he didn't want her pity. "I guess it's normal, right?" He tried to compose himself. "I mean, when people break up they wonder if they'll get over it and find another relationship one day or if they'll be alone forever."

"Yes..." Kitty breathe, "they do..." she nodded, still dumbstruck. He had given her an explanation as to why Amanda broke up with him. It made sense, he claimed to understand it and Kitty did too. Yet she still felt somewhat guilty because she had wished for Kurt for herself and now there he was, available. Though maybe he had grown used to seeing her as just a friend, almost a sister, maybe it was too late. She tried to find some words of understanding to tell him. "It's hard getting over your first love. Well, for me it happened so gradually I barely even noticed until it was over. But I know what it's like, to have to let go when you don't want to, even if you know you have to."

Kurt's curiosity and something more was caught, and for a moment he wondered who Kitty was talking about. "Lance?" He theorized quietly before he could stop himself from speaking.

"It was very gradual," she admitted.

That meant that he wasn't the one she was forced to let go of. Perhaps she spoke of someone she knew before they met, Kurt wondered. He didn't realize that she was talking about him. "My first love... or my first real crush that didn't seem like a passing impossibility... I kept it for a long time," and he still did.

"Amanda left a real impression," Kitty concluded more so to herself than Kurt.

"Yes," he admitted, though his first real crush that for a long time he had dared to hope was a possibility was Kitty. Neither of them lied, they only cut off the truth mid way and didn't voice the things they didn't know the other would have really wanted to hear.

A moment of silence passed between them and Kitty became determined to cheer him up. Even if he only saw her as a friend, she would be the best friend she could be. "Let's go out for ice-cream and a movie this evening," she invited suddenly. "It'll cheer you up."

At least Kitty was there for him, even if it was as a friend, and he was very thankful for that. Kurt really did enjoy her company. "Thanks Kitty, it would be nice to relax a little. Not just because of Amanda, but because of the heat and everything that's happening." Uncertainty was still thickly clinging to the atmosphere.

xoxox xox xoxox

Elsewhere, surprise overtook the Brotherhood house as Wanda made her way down the stairs and into the living room where the guys were hanging out idly. Fred was done with most of his packing and was pretty excited about going to Texas, but for the time being he would endure his debate with Lance and Pietro about if Texas was hotter than New York. As for Todd he was still smiling in awe at having made Wanda laugh earlier. He credited himself for the mischievous smile upon her face which left everyone in shock.

The whole living room went silent as Wanda walked towards Pietro with the bottle of fancy liquor on hand. He considered bolting, but her steady gaze kept him frozen in place and all he could do was stand up from his position previously sitting on the couch, soon becoming metaphorically rooted to the spot. In a surprisingly uncharacteristic way, Wanda threw her arm around Pietro's shoulders and grinned. "How about a drink?"

Pietro could smell that this was a trap, just like the time they literally broke into their father's liquor cabinet when they were kids. Wanda had accidentally shattered the locked cabinet door and Pietro, with childish curiosity, decided to have a taste of the forbidden beverages after Wanda voiced those very same words. He got drunk and caused quite the tornado running all over the house and leaving chaotic destruction in his path. Wanda got blamed for that because she was the out of control child that got blamed for everything.

It wasn't that Wanda was purposely a misbehaving child. She simply lacked control over her powers and that made her accident prone and destructive, even if she tried to be good. Seeing Pietro's unsure expression, Wanda encouraged. "C'mon, for all times sake? Remember when we were kids and you broke into dad's liquor cabinet because you were curious? You got drunk pretty quick and made a mess around the house. Then I had to distract dad while you ran around cleaning. Somehow we managed to pull it off, except for the load of new toys you didn't even remember stealing from the shop down the street. We couldn't keep those a secret for too long since they hardly fit in the closet and under the bed. But we told dad the nice lady next door gave them to us and he actually believed it. Remember?"

Pietro frowned, but quickly changed his expression to a fake smile when he caught himself. "Yeah..." That was not what he remembered because that was not what really happened. Wanda broke the cabinet door, he did get drunk and made a mess, but he didn't clean it. He tired himself out and fell asleep then she got blamed for everything and somehow Magneto actually believed that his son had slept through the whole ordeal, little boys could sleep like rocks at times. As for the toys, Wanda got the blame for that too, for being a thief and risking arousing suspicion in the neighborhood. Yet it was not really her fault, though it wasn't his either. It was just childish mischief in mutant proportions.

"Well, you're older now, so you won't get drunk so easily." Wanda smiled encouragingly and placed the bottle in Pietro's hands.

"Yeah," Pietro's grin turned a little more real. Of course he'd had no problems now, he wasn't a child. Yet his blood flowed so fast when he ran that any amount of alcohol would have an immediate effect and Wanda theorized as much. However, a larger amount would still be needed since he was older now.

Wanda watched with amusement as Pietro took the bottle to the kitchen and poured himself a cup, pouring one for the sister who so kindly shared her drink too. This wasn't the bitter Wanda of days passed who hated him with a vengeance, nor was she the clumsy Wanda of an even more distant past who broke things and apologized with frightened tears. This was a confident Wanda who was in control of her powers and her life without bitter hatred to cloud her mind. Trickery or not, Pietro was glad for that and why shouldn't he be? She was happier, he was safer... Actually, the whole world was safer.

The Maximoffs sibling toasted to "a fast coming winter!" As suggested by Pietro, which was something they all wished for. Then the bottle was finished and Pietro got most of it.

Wanda only had one drink, as did Todd and Fred. Lance managed to sneak two before Wanda put a stop to it. The drink was as fancy as it was strong and even if one or two drinks were harmless, four or five would certainly have a noticeable effect. Nobody wanted to see Lance drunk, least he turn the city into rubble with an out of control earthquake. As for Pietro... he might be useful with some alcohol in his system, and Wanda had an idea.

To be Continued

Who attacked Logan and Ororo? What could Wanda be plotting?