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Rapidity; (Lorna, possibly Wanda, no one else)
Topic Started: Jul 29 2009, 11:25 PM (415 Views)
Quicksilver
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Superspeed/ Superstrength
July 27th
afternoon



His feet struck the ground with an impact force that could shatter bone, and dent concrete were it delivered for anything more than a split second. He ran lightly, not because he was in a particularly light hearted mood, quite the contrary in fact, but because he wanted the speed that came from the gliding motion on his toes that was his running stance, his body doubled almost in half like a skater, and his hands shaped like blades to slice the air and cut down on wind resistance. He was furious, and he was hurt and he needed to out run some of his emotions before he spoke to his half sister...

Quicksilver, Pietro Django Maximoff, was a black and white blur, the red spots on his pale cheeks not from exertion, but from the sheer effort it was taking for him to maintain whatever semblance of control that he was capable of maintaining confronted by the information he had learned today, quite entirely by accident.

He circled the island of Manhattan five times at a speed that had him cutting a wake of churning white over the choppy grey waters, until he streaked into the Mutant Town district, with salt drying into a crust on the black of his specially crafted boots, the only things that could keep up with the punishment he was giving them at this moment. It was a misconception that the run did not tire him. It did and he was pushing himself to tire himself out more, because if he did not his anger would over take him and cause him to say what he did not wish to say, do what he did not wish to do.

As he streaked into town, he slowed his speed because the streets of Red Hook were not built for this, and the windows would shatter with the impact of his passing, and by the time he reached the place where his sister Lorna was working to help fix some of the damage that remained from the end of the world, he had slowed to a rapid for any other man but slow for himself crawl.

"Lorna," he demanded as he spotted the familiar green of her hair. He grabbed her arm, in a gentle, but still firm grip, "You did not tell me that it was Summers who caused your injury," he spat, the anger in his voice directed not at her but at the world in general, "What else have you kept from me regarding Alexander Summers? I learn this today, and I find I have been made a fool of. To allow him near you after all he has done, and slumber in ignorance one floor up as your murderer shares your bed. This disgraces and casts me in the darkest light of idiocy and foolishness! How can you keep something like this from me? I have a duty to protect you, am honor bound to keep safe my family and I have failed this at every turn..." He released her and pushed his ridiculously unruly cowlicks out of his sweat slick face and said, "You wish to keep me a failure? You wish to keep me beneath this cloud of shame?"
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Lorna Dane
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The screech of bending metal rent the late afternoon air, cutting over other sounds of construction, and the usual neighbourhood sounds, cars driving past, children playing, half watched over by parents, completing their own chores and holding conversations. It was all very... normal, nothing particularly special, but Lorna had fully come to appreciate normal, taking pleasure in the return of Mutant Town to it’s usual routines after all that had happened. There were scars, of course, gaping absences where families or shop keepers used to be, but there was little to do but mourn and then carry on with life in the best way possible. It was the only way anyone could recover from what had happened.

In front of her, the metal skeleton of a building glowed with her powers, straightening twisted and deformed pieces and holding them until they could be bolted and welded. It was not particularly difficult work in it’s complexity but she had been working since the early morning and was beginning to feel a little weary. It was the good kind of tired, the feeling of having worked and accomplished things. Lorna was looking forwards to returning home, having dinner and maybe watching a DVD with Alex before falling into bed, and once more she smiled just a little at the sheer normalcy of such an evening.

All of X-Factor seemed to be working to the same unspoken goal of re-building Mutant Town and keeping Alex was busy as possible. She was still worried about him, concerned that he might turn back to drinking and wondering what would happen if she found a few hidden bottles or tasted alcohol on his tongue. Would she be able to confront him about it? Was it better to just let him cope for now and deal with it later on? Lorna really had no idea and she bit her lip at the encroaching thoughts which dampened her mood.

The familiar sound of Pietro’s approach shook her from those thoughts, but her mood didn’t lighten as she’d hoped with her brother’s arrival, in fact her stomach dropped to somewhere around her boots as he grabbed hold of her arm and angrily confronted her. She wondered how on earth he could have found out about Alex injuring her, certainly she had taken care to ensure he didn’t find out, it would only cause unnecessary pain and drama.

“I didn’t want to upset you, Piet.” Lorna said sofly as she placed a placating hand on his upper arm, and guided him a few steps away from the nearest group of people, so their words could not be easily heard. “I was going to recover just fine anyway, and it would only make you worry. With everything that was going on, I didn’t want to cause you anymore stress. And afterwards, it just seemed best not to bring it up, as it would cause a rift between you and Alex unnecessarily.”

She took a breath, having dreaded this confrontation for quite some time and feeling suddenly terribly guilty for making her brother feel so bad. “I’m so sorry if you feel shamed or a failure because of it, Pietro, but really, it’s not like that at all. I thought it was best for everyone if I kept this to myself.” Lorna reached out and pushed his hair away from his forehead as he had done moments before. “Besides, it was War that hurt me, not Alex. He would never hurt me in his right mind.”
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Quicksilver
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Superspeed/ Superstrength
"A rift between Summers and I," Pietro seethed, allowing himself to be drawn away but not liking it very much, "As if there is more to my association with Summers than there should be. The man is a waste of time, fragile, easily manipulated and very likely a drunk still. If there was any chance of friendship between us, that ship has long sailed." His voice held a note that he would deny if anyone pointed it out, because he genuinely believed what he was saying, which was infinitely sad because it was entirely a lie, and no one could lie to himself like Pietro Maximoff. Wanda would some day be cured and happy. Their father would some day love and accept them and stop his terrorism. They would all some day be happy.

She pushed his hair from his eyes in a gentle gesture that softened his heart, and soothed his anger, quite against his will, because his mood was such at the moment that he needed to rant more, needed to fight, needed... something... why was he so unhappy lately. It was not Summers, it was more than that, and his elder half sister seemed to know it and so she spoke with soft words and voice, soothing him with it, though he tried to fight it.

"I have nothing in my life but those I love, my sister," he said, quietly, "No true home, no true future, no true past. I have Wanda and I have Avery and I have you. If I cannot protect you, if I allow Alex near you after what he did in his manipulated state, how is it not a failure? Do you not understand that that thing he was made into came from inside him? His powers, his angers, enhanced maybe, but from within his heart. How are we ever to know that he is safe? How are we ever to know that it will not return to him?" Pietro narrowed his silver blue eyes, "This world becomes more and more dangerous, and something must be done to save us all before we are lost for good."
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Lorna Dane
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Lorna listened as Pietro ranted about Alex, knowing that he didn’t really mean the words, but a little tired of hearing her boyfriend put down by those closest to him, recalling Scott’s words in the holding cells. They were words said with affection, but they were still harsh and to the detriment of Alex. She knew he was flawed, as was everyone, and god knows she had suffered because of those flaws, but she instinctively wanted to defend the man she loved from any kind of abuse. “You know you don’t mean that, Pietro. Alex is your best friend and you are his. He needs you now.” Lorna said, keeping her voice calm and as soothing as possible. She knew her brother’s temper well by now, and the best way to deal with it was the keep from getting angry herself.

He seemed to calm slightly as she stroked the hair away from his eyes, and Lorna felt a slight surge of relief, having dreaded getting into an argument about everything out here. Very few people knew that Alex and War were one in the same and the last thing Lorna wanted was for that bit of information to get out. As if Alex didn’t hate himself enough without everyone in Mutant Town joining in too.

“You do have a home, Pietro, with X-Factor, with Wanda and I. Your home will always be with us. I know that you and I will never be as close as you and Wanda, but I love very much and wherever I am, you will always have a home and a future.” Lorna said softly, wanting only to make her brother feel better, aware of a deep unhappiness that seemed to have gripped him lately, and was presenting itself now in his anger.

“I know that Alex is safe and will not hurt me, because I trust him and I have to believe that he has going to get better and be okay. Imagine if this had happened to Avery, would you stay away from her? Or would you trust that she was still the person she had been... that she was not what a mad man had manipulated her into being? Alex never hurt me before.... I trust that he won’t hurt me now.” She was repeating the same sentiments from before but was trying to gently impress on Pietro the full meaning of her words. Lorna reached down and took hold of his hand, squeezing it lightly. “I am grateful for your concern though, Piet, but really, you don’t need to worry about me, you have enough to concern you without adding me to it.”
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Quicksilver
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She spoke too quietly and too calmly, there was too much love in her heart for the worthless man she so erroneously called his 'best friend.' Pietro wanted nothing to do with Summers, nothing to do with any of the other fools in X-Factor, except for those he was related to. Maybe once there was a chance... But, Pietro had fallen into an anger that he was unable to shake... not that he had tried, even he understood that. He couldn't deny though that there was genuine love for Havok in her voice... like that odd softness in Wanda's voice when she was speaking of Alister of all people... If he had that sound in his voice when spoke of Avery, he was unaware of it.

Lorna however was not and she pointed out how he would surely be trying to save her if such a horror had come to her. Pietro lowered his head, "My love for you, my sister, has made me intolerant of the mistakes Summers has made. I will trust that you know what you are doing and you know how to handle to him, but I cannot guarantee that should he seem to be a threat that I will pause to consider his delicate psyche and well intentioned actions before I dismantle him." He tilted his chin up, arrogantly, "I am worth nothing, Lorna. Those I love are all I have."

She denied this, saying he had a home with X-Factor but he shook his head, "I am beginning to feel more and more than my place is elsewhere. I have come to no decisions yet, but I begin to think that I have a task before me that I do not yet know... I am... discontent with the world. Apocalypse only pointed out to me that there is so much that must be done, and I do not think that Summers has it in him to do it... I do not know who does though. I fear... I fear that I will fall into the trap of hatred that our father has been locked in for so long, and that terrifies me."
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Lorna Dane
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As Pietro spoke, the unhappiness and confusion he was struggling with clear in his voice, Lorna felt a chill edge it’s way down her spine, a moment of realisation of all that her brother was quietly suffering. Guilt and worry warred for position inside her, and she wished desperately that she had seen what was going on before in had got to this point. She knew her brother to be a difficult man, impatient, often harsh, quick to judge and quick to anger but she knew he was also loyal, passionate and loving, and he had never been anything but caring and generous towards her, accepting her so quickly into his life and heart.

“I don’t think you will ever become like our father, Piet. I think that you see too much in the world that is worth fighting for, too much to hope for. You have me and Wanda and Avery to keep you from ending up like him. You even have the example of what he is to steer you from that path.” She said, her fingers tightening around his as though to keep him close as possible, to keep him from slipping away, feeling suddenly scared that he was already too far away for her to help.

“Maybe Alex’s approach isn’t going to solve the world’s problems but I truly believe it helps. Small steps, perhaps, but I don’t think there is any great act which is suddenly going to make things easier for mutants and humans. Social change doesn’t really work like that, it has to gather momentum, and it does that through lots of small movements and victories. It’s frustrating, it’s frustrating for me, and I know it’s worse for you because you are so far ahead of the rest of us. I have to believe we’re doing the right thing though.” Lorna explained, trying to keep the hint of desperation out of her voice as she tried to convince him. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around enough to notice what’s going on. I’ve been so preoccupied with Alex, but that’s going to change, you’re my brother and I want to help make this better for you, whatever it takes.”
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Quicksilver
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His free hand came up to cup her cheek, a gesture of affection that he couldn't recall if he had ever shown his elder half sister. With Lorna it was always so hard, not like with Wanda. Pietro and his twin had shared womb, cradle, cot, and bed their entire lives, only now as adults beginning to untangle themselves, only now. But Lorna was not gypsy, and she was not his twin. She did not perhaps understand the physicality that characterized his interaction with Wanda, the need for the embraces and the kisses that had nothing to do with the disgusting allegations of incestuous thought. She was an American girl, not a Transian one, and she was stronger of thought and body than his delicate Wanda.

But that did not mean he loved her any less. It was a less urgent love, a less demanding one, but it was still with the fire that filled Pietro's blood. He would tolerate Summers and his follies for her sake, but his disappointment in the man had hardened his heart. He feared their affection for Alex had colored all their judgment. He did not want to hurt Lorna though, so he managed a small smile, "I believe in you, Lorna, that you will be able to temper your lover's flaws and give him the confidence to be the man we need him to be, but..."

He dropped his hand and pulled slightly away from her, "But, I think that you are wrong. There is a great act that can be done to stop this war. They fear us, humanity does, because of such evils as Apocalypse, as our father... I... Lorna, if I were ever to leave X-Factor, if I were to find my feet leading me elsewhere, would you... protect our sister? Would you keep her and Avery safe until I return? Would you keep them from hating me, and keep from doing so yourself? Could I lay this burden of trusting that no matter where I go, what I do, that I will forever be thinking of those I love and doing what it is I believe must be done to give you all a chance at a life lived without fear?"
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Lorna Dane
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Lorna smiled softly, sadly, as Pietro reached up and touched her cheek gently, feeling the anger of the beginning of their conversation fading, and almost wishing for it back. It would be preferable to the direction she feared their discussion was going to take. They rarely shared affection in the way that Wanda and Pietro did, sparing it for moments such as this, when the need for an expression of their feelings for each other was needed. Lorna loved Pietro though, as she loved Wanda, deeply and protectively and so she reached up, her fingers closing around his hand, turning her head slightly to kiss the inside of his palm.

He reassured her that he had faith in her, but after a moment, his hand dropped away and Lorna let go, watching him step back from her. She ran a hand through her hair and then hugged her arms across her torso, watching her brother with steady trepidation. Pietro spoke of leaving X-Factor in pursuit of other things and asked her if she would look after Wanda and Avery. Lorna drew in a breath, in trepidation, her eyes lowering for a moment as considered his words, wondering what, if anything, she could say to persuade him to stay. He didn’t need to ask her to look after Wanda, but Lorna knew she would never be able to help her as Pietro did.

“Of course, Piet, I will always look after Wanda, though I know that I will never be able provide her with the support that you do.” Lorna replied. “And Avery of course, though I have less contact with her… I don’t know her as well as I would like, but I will do what I can to help her if she needs it.” She paused, taking another deep breath, trying to control her emotions, feeling deeply upset. “She will never hate you though, for the choices that you may feel compelled to make iin the future, I’m sure of that, neither will I or Wanda. But your absence would hurt us all… I hope it doesn’t come to that, Pietro. Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you... anything to help you...?”
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Quicksilver
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She was growing upset and he had not meant for that to happen... though, in a way it was touching to him. Pietro, for all his seemingly anti-social mindsets, was still a gypsy, a people whose society was based on a close knit family bonding. As a scattered child, he had been protected and loved, even when he was thought worthless, and when he became something more, he had lost that, isolating himself with only his sister to love him, and thus their relationship, always tangled together, became an inseparable knot. To have elicited such an emotion with his half sister, their time together only two years old or so, made Pietro feel very loved. He leaned forward at her kind words, and placed a tender kiss on each cheek.

"My sister, I have been honored to have you in my life, even for so little a time, and I would do nothing to shatter what we have so delicately built," he said, "But, I think there is one other of our family who needs my help now, though perhaps he does not know it. Our father will get us all killed, our entire race, if he continues on this path. If he can be lead from it, I will do so. I have not yet decided how to make this happen, how to reach him, but I wonder if there is no other way. To protect you, to protect Wanda, to protect Avery...." he smirked, slightly, "Even to protect your fool Summers... If I must stand at Magneto's side as his conscience, it may be necessary to do so." He reached out and stroked her green hair, "And I pray you all will stand strong for me to survive such a plunge into darkness.:
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Lorna Dane
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Lorna lowered her eyes as Pietro moved into kiss both her cheeks, appreciating the gesture and the feeling behind them. She had found it strange and difficult to try to join Wanda and Pietro's relationship, always feeling like an outsider, an intruder in their world who would never be welcome. It was no one fault, merely the result of her not having any siblings and suddenly acquiring two at the age of twenty four, while the twins had spent years relying on and loving only each other.

She had very quickly come to realise that she could never achieve such a close bond with either of them, and so had forged different links to her siblings, still based on a strong love and devotion, a protective certainty that she would do whatever it took to keep them safe and happy. But she had failed in that. Pietro was more unhappy than ever, and was going to leave. Lorna dreaded to think of where that left Wanda and how she would react to the news. Of course, there would be others who were upset, X-Factor, Alex in particular, Avery, but Lorna's concern now and in the future would always be for her sister and that was where her focus would remain.

Pietro explained where he was planning to go and the concern Lorna was feeling seemed to triple, twisting at her stomach and gripping her heart. “You're going to Magneto? No, Piet, please, don't. Look what happened last time. You will just get used and spat out again. What happens if Wanda decides to follow him? Imagine how her powers could be twisted to his cause again.” Lorna implored him, holding his hand tightly. “Our father is dedicated to his cause, I doubt that even you can dissuade him from it, Piet.
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Quicksilver
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"The boy I was when I first stood at his side has grown up," Pietro told her, "He was easily manipulated, and easily persuaded to hate. I have hate now, but not for humanity, not for the differences in our races. I understand now that I am of a superior species that makes no reason to slaughter humanity wholesale. He does not, Lorna, he does not see that, and we are all damned for it. Someone must try and if I fail at this, at least then we know, we know the answer, know the futility of it. I saw our father fight for the world, and maybe it was selfish inherently, it was still done with passion and power."

Pietro put his head to hers, forehead to forehead, "If he is not stopped, he will kill us all. Maybe there is a chance one of his children can help him find his soul, and I, my darling sister, am the least of of us. You and Wanda are too powerful, too dangerous should you be turned against the world." He drew back, "What is it that I would do? I run. I run and run and never get anywhere. I can't fight this anger in me anymore. I have to try this, I have to purge myself of this frustration and fury or I will go mad."

He ran his hands through his white hair, and muttered, "I do not know how to stop this, Lorna, but I cannot continue this way. It is no good for you, it is no good for Wanda, it is no good for Avery. I have to run towards a goal, and if I cannot reach it, then at least I will know. Please, trust that I have no desire to become one of his murdering acolytes... I do not know what I want, but I have to do this thing to find it out."
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Lorna Dane
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As Pietro spoke, Lorna began to realise that there was nothing she could do to dissuade him from this decision, and perhaps there was nothing she should do to persuade him to stay. He was not happy, he felt helping their father was the right way to go and perhaps in doing that he would find that the place he actually belonged was back with X-Factor. Or that was what she had to hope anyway.

Lorna herself, had no such passion and conviction at the moment towards helping Magneto, not in the way Pietro did. This was possibly because she had grown up with her adoptive dad or because she had finally found her home with Alex and X-factor or even the conversation with her father before the major battle with Apocalypse had laid some of her demons to rest. Pietro was still tormented by what might have been and what could be in the future. That didn't mean she was happy about the whole thing, in fact she was extremely upset, but she was wondering whether she would just have to offer him her support and let him go.

She rested her forehead against Pietro's, closing her eyes briefly as she decided whether to keep arguing. Part of her objected to the idea of simply giving up, but it was that painful realisation that was so often clichéd, that sometimes you had to let someone you cared about go, to find their own path even if it didn't seem the right way.. “I don't want you to do this Pietro, I really don't, and I wish I could take on your worries. I think you will end up getting hurt at the hands of our father and his followers... and part of me worries you will be eventually be persuaded to his way of thinking and we will lose you.” She took a deep breath, pulling back just a little to look at Pietro.

“But, if you need to do this, and it is the only way you will feel better again, then, I will support you. I will do my best to look after and protect Wanda. I promise that. And whenever you're done with our father, X-Factor will always be here for you to come back to.”
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Quicksilver
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She explained her fears, and offered her support and Pietro managed a smile, something he did so rarely even in the best of times. "My sister, how I wish we'd known about each other sooner. I feel as if we should be more like family, but I never know where I stand with you." He lowered his head, "I am not the man I should be, not the brother you deserve. My life is so entwined with my twin that this separation is the hardest thing I have ever contemplated. My Wanda will not understand why this must be this way, but she is blinded to her brother's faults, and cannot see the anger and discontent building in me. I must confront it head on, I must decide who I am before I no longer have a choice."

He put his hand to his head, "Ach, and Avery," he whispered, "I must tell her too, before she thinks that I have lost my mind. I cannot allow her to think her Pietro has fallen to a wicked nature." He looked up at his sister and said, "She will not take such a thing well, I think. You are a new world girl, Lorna, as she is. She will not accept such liberties as an old world wife might, and do as I say simply because I am a man. Transia is much simpler in so many ways."

Setting his shoulders and forgetting his angers for a moment, Pietro said, "My sister, I am not evil, and I believe our father is not either. Trust that I will know when to stop this, and I will return to you perhaps a wiser man." He took her hand, and kissed it, in courtly affection. "We will have our time as brother and sister again, I vow it, and there is no promise I will break to one so dear to me as you."
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