Chapter 139: Reconciliation

Chapter 139: Reconciliation

5th June 2006, New York City

(Wanda Maximoff POV)

Pietro looked pensive. Perhaps he was finally starting to think for himself instead of reciting Magneto’s world, “Look, maybe you have a point, but that’s not important right now. I’m not here to talk about philosophy. Magneto already has a plan, something big, and he wanted you, as his daughter, to be a part of it. Normally, there would be a test or something to proof your worth, but he thinks that as his family, we need to be a part of this. It’s either the both of us or neither of us.”

Wanda paled; that didn’t bode well. Magneto was very ruthless when he thinks he needs to be, so whatever he’s planning will probably be very bad for everyone, “What the hell is he planning to do?”

Pietro smirked at her, “The next step in mutant evolution. Magneto found a way to upgrade our powers.”

Wanda’s instinct was right; if there’s something Jasmine taught her was that there is no such thing as a power up without a price. If an offer was too good to be true, it probably was.

“Pietro, I don’t want to break it to you, but nothing in the world comes for free. That’s doubly true for powers. There has to be a price somewhere even it is hidden for now.”

Pietro waved his hand dismissingly, “You worry too much, Wanda. But this is a real opportunity for us to be a family again. A new era is coming, sis, and with Magneto at our back, we’re pretty much guaranteed to win.”

“You seriously think that Magneto actually cares about either of us, about family. But for the sake of argument, let’s say that you’re right, that Magneto actually wants us to be a family. What do you think his ideal world is?”

Pietro looked pensive, “Look, you’re trying to overcomplicate things. I know I tend to jump to conclusion and act rashly, but this is something I have thought about for a long time. Magneto’s dream, is one where we can all use our powers without fear. We could have a world where we’re not treated like second class citizens, where we can live in peace without being perceived as unchecked weapons in the eyes of everyone. Maybe you’re right, maybe Magneto doesn’t care about either of us, maybe he just wants to rule the world and is using mutants as a justification to do it. But he’s the only side that’s actually doing anything to help our kind.

“He’s a monster, I will admit to that; he lost his humanity a long time ago. I’m his son, I know him better than he likes to admit. Father s broken, he’s been like this ever since the camps in World War two. His entire philosophy is based on the fact that he didn’t want to feel helpless again. His fear turned him into a monster, who would do anything, sacrifice anything, just to achieve his goal. But maybe, a monster is exactly what our kind needs to survive. I don’t care about any of that. I only want mutant to be more than a small footnote in history, a subrace of humanity that was exterminated because people feared them. If I had another choice, I would have left. It’s not like Magneto would particularly care about it, outside of losing an asset. But this is the only way with results.”

Wanda was flabbergasted by her twin’s little speech. This was the first time in a very long time that he wasn’t acting like a hyperactive moron. This was the brother she knew, the brother who had lived on the streets with her, the brother that had lived through strife and lost his innocence long ago. “Pietro…”

Wanda didn’t know what to say, but her twin continued for her, “I know, Wanda. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come to visit, I’m sorry I didn’t argue with Magneto about your imprisonment. I was scared he would to the same to me. I’m sorry that I ignored you when we lived with Magneto. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much you were suffering, alone and ignored. I was wrong Wanda. But this is an opportunity for us to be together again. I’m not going to tell you what to do, or force you to do anything. I didn’t actually want to invite you to Magneto’s plan but orders are orders. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of dealing with the gladiator matches he has cooking up.”

While Wanda was tearing up for his apology, she was still confused over her brother’s last comment, “What gladiator matches?”

Pietro snorted, “Magneto thinks that only the worthy should get the power, or whatever. He’s planning on members of the brotherhood fighting the X-men and the winner of each fight is supposed to receive the glorious gift, or whatever. I’m not exactly sure since he still hasn’t shown me the machine. I only know that I was supposed to fight Nightcrawler but Magneto assigned me to get you on board.”

Wanda was starting to get worried; Kitty and Jean could get hurt, “When is that supposed to happen?”

“It’s happening now, I guess. Don’t worry about Grey and Pryde, they’ll be fine. They’ve been instructed not to seriously hurt anyone. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be actually dangerous. Magneto might be an arrogant ass, but he knows that he can’t afford killing off the X-men. They could be persuaded to his cause, after all.”

Wanda didn’t like the disdain in his voice when her brother spoke of the X-men. The young witch wasn’t a fan of Xavier either, but the members of the X-men aren’t that bad. Maybe some of them are emo angst ridden teens, some have the maturity of a ten year old, but in the end, they weren’t bad people, “Why do you hate the X-men so much. I thought that after what we saw on the streets, you would reserve your dislike for really bad people.”

Pietro stiffened at the mention of the streets. It really was a very traumatic time for both of them, especially him. He definitely still has unresolved issues there, no that she was one to judge; the young witch still wasn’t sure that if she had dealt with her trauma regarding the memories she repressed, “Wanda, it’s not that I hate them. They’re just so judgmental about everything. They think that they’re better than us because they’re under the delusion that they’re making a difference. I know for a fact that everyone is selfish, that they care only about themselves, we both learnt that a long time ago. But they seem under the delusions that they’re truly selfless. Look at Summers, he’s always so high and mighty. What does he know of suffering, of pain, of despair? Nothing, that’s what. He’s never had to fight for his life in a warzone, he never had to fight for food and he was never hungry. I just hate the fact that they never consider our pasts before judging us so harshly for some mistakes we made because the world failed us.”

I nod, understanding his feelings, even though I don’t agree with them too much, “Well, Summers’ entire family was killed in a plane crash where he was the only survivor. After that, he was brainwashed, completely but some nutjob that was under the illusion that a child between him and Jean would result to the most powerful mutant that ever lived. We just realized what just happened, but a lot of his personality is due to a mix between trauma and brainwashing. Xavier is starting to fix his head, but he’s undoing something that has been part of his head ever since he was a child. It’s a very slow process. But you have to admit that he’s been a bit better for a few months. So, you’re being a bit harsh now. Now for the other ones, I will admit that they didn’t have it worse than us, or your little group. They don’t have ideal pasts, but they haven’t suffered like we have. They think that they have an idea how dark the world is, when they have barely glimpsed it. But this isn’t their fault. They’re naïve and Xavier isn’t helping in that area at all”

Pietro continued his rant, “And don’t get me started on Xavier. It’s always, ‘the professor said that…’, ‘the professor thinks…’, ‘the professor doesn’t like…’, it’s like they worship him as some sort of godly figure or something.”

Wanda nodded, “Because, to them, he might as well be one. You have to understand that the only reason they haven’t been hurt is because the Professor recruited them. He has a dream of a coexistence between humans and mutants. He trusts that humanity will accept mutants if he shows them the mutant’s potential for goodness. He’s charismatic enough and the dream is idealistic enough that his students assume that if they follow his lead, they’ll achieve his dream, get their paradise world. The only problem is, that it’s not a matter of good and bad, it’s a matter of power. Mutants unbalance the fragile balance of power in the world. And changing the status quo is always met with resistance. People are afraid of a teenager being able to massacre thousands of people before being put down. The power balance has been out of whack and people will do their best to return it. Which means that they’ll be focused on the extermination or detainment of all mutants. For now, only the government knows and are trying to suppress the information, because the second the public know, you’ll be dealing with riots, murders and more. This fragile peace, right now, can be easily be destroyed by a cocky mutant that’s showing off. All it takes is one mistake for everything to go to shit.”

Pietro froze at the witch’s explanation, finally starting to understand the policies behind anti mutant propaganda, “How the hell do you know all that stuff?”

Wanda shrugged, “Jasmine taught me. She’s very knowledgeable about that stuff, even though she doesn’t like to involve herself in politics.”

“About that Jasmine, she’s your guardian, right?” Wanda nodded, “well, how powerful is she, really?”

Wanda wanted to stifle her laugh, “Let’s just say, she is to Magneto what Magneto is to Toad. You have no idea how powerful she is, really. The only reason she’s not involving herself in this, is because she knows how pointless this all is. To be honest, in term of powers, even I am stronger than Magneto. But he’s had decades to perfect his control over his powers, while I’m barely a novice in using mine.”

Wanda enjoyed Pietro’s look of disbelief. She could somewhat understand; when they lived together Magneto was untouchable, unbeatable, he was the epitome of power. And for Wanda to admit that she’s technically stronger than him, it must have scared the shit out of him.

The boy shook his head and focused, “Look, we got off topic. Just come with me to see Magneto’s demonstration and then if you don’t agree with what’s happening you could just leave. Just hear him out, that’s all I’m asking here.”

Wanda was still hesitant, “I don’t know, Pietro.”

“Come on, Wanda. Some of your friends might even be there. And tell you what, if you really disapprove of what’s happening, I’m going to start thinking about leaving Magneto. Alright? Just please, can you do this for me?”

Wanda wasn’t under any delusions that Pietro was trying to manipulate her somehow, but using her limited telepathy, she was able to sense his genuine affection towards her. He was also scared, probably of Magneto. Wanda could see the dickhead threatening her brother into convincing her to come. This was the first time in a while where Pietro was acting genuine not this little mask he’s been putting on. This must be very serious.

Wanda had to admit that she was curious about the machine Pietro was talking about. Don’t get her wrong, she doesn’t want to use it herself, but she was curious how someone could actually improve mutant powers, which are especially limited magical powers. Plus, if things start getting too dangerous, it would be easy for her to tell Jasmine. Her mother figure had given her a small magical rune that would be able to signal her, no matter where she is.

Resigned, Wanda nodded, “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Suddenly a giant sphere of metal appeared above them and enveloped the two siblings. They stayed together for a few minutes until the sphere opened once more. They were different, something felt off about this place. The teenaged witch looked at Pietro questioningly and the man just smirked at her, “Welcome, Wanda, to Asteroid M.”