“Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is.”
When Y/N L/N wakes up in the middle of a strange suburban town, she’s concerned to find out that she can’t remember who she is or how she got there. The appearance of her boyfriend, Peter Maximoff, may help to jog her memory, but why is he suddenly calling himself Pietro?
previous / series masterlist / next
You’re not sure when you regain consciousness, but when you do, you find yourself lying down. When you sit up, eyes flashing around the room in a panic, your gaze falls upon four plain walls, a window letting in the soft light of morning, blankets wrapped around you and the bed you appear to be lying on. To any stranger, this would all look perfectly normal- just another morning. The only problem is that you have no idea how you got here, or wherever here is.
You stretch, then turn and swing your legs out of the tangled heap of blankets, stumbling slightly as you get out of bed. You could have sworn you were still in Wanda’s room, right? With Peter/Pietro and whoever that strange robot man was. You had just crossed over the threshold into Wanda’s home, hand in hand with Pietro.
No, Peter. That was one of the strangest parts of last night- you knew your boyfriend was Peter, he had to be. But there was something about the look in his eye when he insisted his name was Pietro, and the forced calm in Wanda’s eyes saying that you had best play along that almost convinced you he was telling the truth. For those last few moments, you had sworn that maybe you were wrong after all, that this was just an ordinary town with your not-so-ordinary boyfriend, Pietro. Then, you had woken up here.
You groan to yourself as you pace back and forth on the dark wood floor. Why do you have to keep being yanked around like a puppet? One minute you just appear in Westview, then you’re in the center of town, then back to Wanda’s house, then you wake up in some strange room. You glance out the window, but you don’t see the lines of hedges or white-painted fences that you’d seen last night outside Wanda’s residence.
You stand there for a moment, then you get the urge to head to the closet, which you find after a moment of searching. Your hand flies to the knob, pulls open the door. You bite your tongue in annoyance. Clearly you’re meant to be getting on with the day, now that you’ve been deemed useful enough to have your own home.
Oddly enough, when you open the closet door there’s only one outfit hanging there. Denim miniskirt, plain white top. Simple enough. You head back to the dresser you’d noticed, but when you open the drawers, the same outfit is there again. Well, apparently Wanda’s involved in your wardrobe, too.
When you make it outside, you realize you actually do know where you are. Wanda’s house is just down the block, and you walked down these same sidewalks with Peter just last night. You shut the door behind you. You don’t have a key, so you just have to hope that no one breaks in- but Wanda would decide that in the end, wouldn’t she?
You head down the sidewalk, going nowhere in particular but looking for Peter. He’s the only constant you have right now, even if he isn’t quite the mutant you thought he was. As you start walking, your brow furrows as you take in something strange. Last night, you had assumed it was somewhere in between summer and fall, too warm to be winter but just a little chill starting to tinge the air. Now, you see the remnants of Halloween decorations that still haven’t been put away, and the evidence of a few ambitious souls daring to put out Christmas lights.
You glance around with a growing sense of confusion. How long had you been lying there? And why would Wanda feel the need to wake you up now? It was Wanda who was doing this, right? You were certain that she had some hand in this, some hand in bringing you here, but why would she go to the trouble of establishing all this control over everyone just to mess with time and reality as if she wanted someone to realize something was wrong?
You’re distracted from your thoughts as you see a flash of blue and silver around you, a whooshing sound echoing down the street. Barely half a second later, Peter comes to a stop in front of you, looking relieved.
“Y/N, thank God. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
You nod, suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude to see him again. “It’s good to see you, too. I have no idea what happened- one minute I’m in Wanda’s house, then I’m some other place, and things look so different here than they did last night.”
You glance back up at him, realizing there’s a difference in him, too.
“It looks like the suburbs aren’t the only things changing.”
You reach out a hand to smooth back a wayward lock of hair that had fallen in Peter’s face. “I thought the silver hair was your look. Why’d you bleach it?”
Peter frowns at you. “What? I haven’t done anything.”
You open your mouth to protest, but then you catch sight of his eyes. For some reason, they’re filled with apprehension, almost dread. Like he’s trying to warn you not to say anything.
You hear footsteps behind you, and turn hurriedly around to see a dark-haired woman approaching you on the sidewalk. “Well howdy, kids! I’m Agnes. Don’t think I’ve seen your face around here before. Who’re you, sweetie?”
You force down your bristling temper at the pet names, and force a smile, holding out your hand in greeting despite still feeling rattled from whatever’s going on with your boyfriend.
“I’m Y/N. I’m dating Peter-Pietro.”
You don’t realize you’ve said the wrong name until it’s too late. You had hoped that this Agnes woman wouldn’t notice, but her charmingly hospitable grin loses some of its pleasantry, as if she’s having to force a smile as well.
“You forgetting your own boyfriend?”
Her hand, which had been just starting to shake yours, tightens around your wrist. “You better be careful with that, honey. You only get so many chances to mess up. It’s best to be in control of these sorts of things.”
With that, her smile flashes back to normal, and she releases your hand. “Well, Auntie Agnes had better get going. See you around!”
She waves, and keeps walking. You turn back to Peter, who looks just as worried as you feel. Seeing this slight panic on his face makes you even more apprehensive- you hadn’t realized how much his unaffected smirk kept you grounded until even that left him.
Peter must realize he’s worrying you, because he wraps his arm around you, pulling you close just as he’s always done. “Well, neighbours are always a little weird, aren’t they?”
You nod your head softly in agreement, then turn to him. “What day is it, Pietro?”
He hesitates for just a second. “Why do you ask?”
You gesture a hand idly at the homes around you. “The last time I saw you was when we were at Wanda’s house. Now, I wake up alone, and there are Halloween decorations everywhere. What happened to me?”
Peter shrugs as he walks, evidently unconcerned over the strangeness of the neighbourhood. “Guess Wanda didn’t need you just then. We all have our moments of usefulness, and she probably just didn’t want to share the screen with you right then.”
You glance over at him. “What? Share the screen?”
Peter gets this funny look on his face, like he’s said something he didn’t mean to say. “Uh, I mean share time with her kids. She likes having them all to herself, you know? I think I misspoke.”
You stop walking. “Pietro, do you know something that I don’t know?”
Peter halts right next to you. “I guess that would depend on what you know, and if I know what you know that you don’t know that I know.”
He tries for a smile, but even this joke can’t make you feel any better. You look away, silently hoping for everything to make sense.
Then you turn back to him, eyes clouded over with a sudden calm. “Pietro, how did we meet?”
Peter blinks. “How did we meet? Jeez, Y/N, you already forget?”
You shake your head slowly. “I remember perfectly. I just want to know if you remember.”
Peter stares at you, tilting his head to the side in confusion. This simple motion looks so much like him that you want to trust him, to wrap your arms around him and tell him to just forget everything, that you were being silly. You want to take it all back, were it not for the fact that he tilted his head to the right. You’ve seen him do this gesture a thousand times, and every time he does it, he tilts his head to the left.
Peter’s eyes flick away from you, then back again. “I’m not sure why you’re asking me this right now. Do you really think I’d forget meeting someone like you?”
He reaches his hand out to hold you again, to fit you in with him the way you always had. You flinch, just barely, but it’s enough to make his eyes widen in something like pain.
Then, his feet start to move, taking him down the road and towards the center of town.
He curses softly. “I think she needs me. I think I have to go.”
You walk until you’re standing in front of him. “You can’t go, not yet. Just answer the question.”
Peter shakes his head. “I’m not doing this, Y/N. Wanda needs me. I have to go.”
You stare at him as you realize what he’s saying. “Wanda is-”
You’re cut off by a voice behind you. “Ah, Pietro, there you are. I think I need your help with a little errand. Are you heading to town? Perfect. Come with me.”
It’s Agnes again. You stare from her to Peter. How did she get back behind you if she’d already passed you on the road? You watch mutely as she puts a hand on Peter’s back, practically forcing him to walk with her.
He turns back to face you, calling out in a tone bordering on desperation. “This isn’t over, I promise. Meet me again. Please, Y/N.”
Then he’s gone, disappearing around the corner with Agnes. All you can do is stand there, arms hanging limply at your sides. Then you turn, and head back inside the house you woke up in, the house you’ll probably keep waking up in day after day. How many days will pass in between the opening of your eyes? How many weeks- how many months? You press a hand against your mouth. What if you spend the rest of your life here, a prisoner inside this perfect little town? Will you have enough sanity to realize when the end of it all comes?
After a few hours, you decide to venture out of the house again. The door closes behind you, and you turn onto the sidewalk. It’s practically an exact copy of what you did this morning, even down to the bright light of morning. Even after a couple of hours, the sun is still in the exact same place.
You almost expect Peter to come up to you like he did this morning, but of course he isn’t there. The last time you saw him, he was turning around the corner towards town with Agnes, so you follow that same path. You don’t know what part of town he would have been in, or even if you’re supposed to be following him at all, but there are no incessant thoughts telling you to turn back, so at least you’re not doing something horribly wrong.
After taking a couple of wrong turns and accidentally looping around once or twice, you finally see Peter and Agnes a short distance down a nearby street. Their backs are to you, and they talk as they head down the sidewalk. They round a corner, and you follow after them, your silhouette obscured by the trees in some neighbour’s front yard. With a chill, you realize that they’re talking about you.
Agnes seems to be trying to convince Peter not to trust you. She leans in close to him, as if trying to ensure that no onlookers can overhear the conversation.
“Something just isn’t right about her, Pietro. Something’s not right at all.”
Peter shakes his head, but he walks slowly as if he’s moving through water. “She’s my girlfriend, Agnes. I would trust her with my life. She means no harm to anyone here.”
Agnes clicks her tongue in disagreement. “Think about it, boy. Even Wanda seems unnerved by her. And to make things worse, she doesn’t show up on the show. Everyone else comes on camera at some point or other, but never her. No matter what, she’s never on screen. Why would she be in town but somehow avoid being seen on camera? There’s something wrong about her.”
Just after she finishes her last sentence, she suddenly whips her head around so she’s staring eye to eye with you. Her gaze feels like an x-ray, as if it can see straight into your soul.
Agitated, and filled with some need to stop this conversation, you step forward, running up to Peter as if you’d just found him. “Pietro, there you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Peter grins, wrapping his arms around you and twirling you in a lazy circle. “Missed you too, love.”
Agnes laughs. “Aren’t you two the cutest! See you around!”
She waves and heads off, clearly wanting to spend as little time as possible with you.
Peter watches her go, then turns excitedly back to you. “Y/N, you won’t believe what I found. There’s some small place down by the center of town that I think would be amazing to go hang out in. What do you say to a little date?”
You beam at him. “Sounds perfect, Peter.”
The little place he’d been talking about appears to be a park of some sorts, with emerald green grass and rolling hillsides. There are a few other people milling about, but they’re a good enough distance away from you that you don’t feel worried about them overhearing something.
Peter smiles as he talks to you, leading you by the hand to some tree-encircled corner, but the second he feels far enough away from everyone, his happy look drops and he turns back to you with an expression akin to paranoia.
“Y/N, I need to talk to you.” He glances around, as if checking to make sure nobody is in sight. “I don’t think Wanda can see us here. She’s on the other side of town.”
His panic is starting to grow on you. “Pietro, what happened?”
Your hand reaches out to cup his cheek, and he holds onto it like it’s a lifeline. His eyes dart from place to place before finally settling on you.
“Something strange happened a few days ago. I was talking to Wanda, and then she looked at me like she was totally freaked out. I didn’t know why, and then I saw my reflection in her eyes.”
There’s something like horror in his gaze, and it hits you with a sickening twist that Peter may be just as worried about this town as you are. “Y/N, I saw myself dead. There were bullet wounds on my chest, and my skin was all pale and ashy. I have this memory of myself that I got hit by bullets a while back, but I’m up and walking now like I’m fine.”
His voice cracks just slightly. “Y/N, am I dead? What if I never healed from the shooting?”
Your eyes widen. You start to stammer out a reply. Something, anything, to fill this void, like if you say something now it’ll make things right again.
“I don’t think so. I don’t know.” Something occurs to you. “What do you mean, you have a memory of being shot? Was it recent?”
Peter nods. “It was the last thing I remember before coming to town.”
You brow furrows as you think. “That makes no sense. I know you, Pietro, and I’ve been with you everyday until we showed up here. You were never shot, not once. You never died. The question isn’t whether or not you’re dead, it’s where you got that memory.”
Peter stares at you, and for a second, you think you’ve gone too far. He can’t heal like you, remember? If you say too much, it might make Wanda’s control over him snap back in place, forever separating the two of you to the point where he might never speak to you again. Where you might even be kicked out of the town, destroying any chances of seeing Peter again.
Then he starts to nod slowly. “Do you think she put someone else’s memory in my head?”
You shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
You sigh. “I think something’s wrong here.”
Peter shakes his head. “You can’t say that. That’s Vision’s line.”
You stare at him. “What?”
Peter returns your gaze for a moment longer, then jerks his head away. “I mean, that’s what Vision said, just the other day. Reminded me of him.”
The words come out of his mouth in a torrent, like he’d been given some script to say and it would kill him to say it wrong.
He stays there, head forced to the side, then slowly turns back to look at you. “Tell me about Peter. The name you keep calling me, where we met.”
You move your mouth to speak, but find you can’t say a word.
Peter picks up on this. “I think that there’s a difference in what I remember and what you know of me. I don’t know how much good it’ll do, but I think I need to remember.”
You furrow your brow. “You mean, if I tell you who I think you are, then you might be able to piece together what happened? How you came to be here, and why I showed up on the same day?”
Peter’s gaze clears as you speak, as if every word out of your mouth just cements the truth he wants to hear, the same truth you’d been hoping he would bring up. There’s a look in his eyes like contentment, almost bliss, that grows as you speak. It’s almost like you can remind him of who he truly is just by confirming an idea.
You nod slowly. “If this sets off something bad, and we both get hurt for this, just know that I love you.”
Peter smiles down at you, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I love you too. Always will. We’re together no matter what, remember?”
SHIT FABIAN CORTEZ DID IN THE ‘98 QUICKSILVER SERIES
- Didn’t listen to a woman. Got an aquarium dumped on him as a result.
- Literally rained on a very confused Bova and Luna. Seriously, they didn’t even know the Acolytes had invaded, then suddenly the current from the busted aquarium carries him down through the castle and right there in front of them. Who expects to look up and see a random Fabian Cortez falling on them?
- Tried to shoot Luna. Shot a horse furry instead.
- Got fired by Exodus from field leader. Replaced with woman he abused.
- Teamed up with Maximus the Mad. Union lasted approximately five minutes before Fabian insulted him for being mentally ill and Maximus betrayed him.
- Exodus sent him to Maximus to eliminate the Inhumans. What did Fabian see it as? An opportunity to “ruin Quicksilver’s life!” Fabian has his priorities in order, I guess.
- He ends up having to help Quicksilver stop the Terrigen cloud that Maximus had unleashed (shit, that would have been helpful in IvX years later!) and afterwards, Quicksilver is like wait what the fuck is Fabian even doing on Attilan, he had something to do with this, and he goes “CORTEZ, YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO--” but Fabian is already gone. HE RUNS FROM RESPONSIBILITY SO FAST EVEN *PIETRO* CAN’T SEE IT HAPPEN!
- Quicksilver tells Crystal about how Fabian hypercharged him: “When he touched me, Crystal, I felt this incredible rush!” DON’T TELL YOUR *WIFE* THAT, PIETRO!
- Quicksilver says he’s going to to take leadership of Acolytes. Fabian, the one who used to harass him back in the day to make him do EXACTLY THAT, is all “no way lol we’re not doing shit for you”
- Exodus AND Pietro, who hate each other, unite to drag Fabian for being a coward. Fabian’s reaction to being called a coward is to face up and help them against their common foe which threatens them all...OH NO WAIT, IT’S TO RUN THE FUCK AWAY!
- Grew stubble in five minutes. Twice. No, seriously, there are some issues where two artists were working together on different parts, and some artists draw body hair/stubble on Fabian and some don’t. So you’ve got scenes where Fabian goes from clean-shaven to a five o’ clock shadow and back again in MINUTES. Weirdly doesn’t seem to happen to the other men that I noticed?
- These worst panels of all time
Chocolates, Flowers, and Bears (Oh My) HC: Peter Maximoff
Warnings: food, cute fluffy cuteness
A/N: Send in requests for the weekend sleepover! Also, like the reference in the title? heehee
(not my gifs)
Being with Peter Maximoff on Valentine’s Day would include:
Him going all out on the gifts
The entire week prior to the holiday, he’d have chocolates, flowers, and stuffed animals delivered to your room
And each day, he’d pretend he had nothing to do with it
“Thanks for the chocolates, Peter! You’re the bestest boyfriend ever!” you said in an overly perky tone as you brought him in for an over-exaggerated hug
“Chocolates? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Nope, nuh-uh… but you better share them with me…”
No surprise to you, he’d eat most of the chocolate
“Hey Peter, I think you’ve had enough for today,” you said hesitantly as you watched him devour his 22nd piece of the day
“I have a fast metabolism; for me, there is no such thing as eating too much chocolate.”
Along with the chocolates came various types of flowers
Vases of Tulips, Daisies, Carnations, and more slowly filled up the surfaces in your room, eventually to a point where you had to do homework on your bed rather than your desk
On the 14th, he personally delivered the gift of the day, but this time, it was different
It was a giant stuffed animal bear, so big that it covered most of his body, his head being the only visible part of him
(just pretend it’s a big bear instead haha)
You stood there frozen, a smile plastered on your face at the adorable sight before you
“Could you let me in? This thing is deceptively heavy…”
“Oh right! Sure!” you rushed, stepping out of the way
“Peter you are the sweetest! Who knew that Valentine’s Day would prove you were actually a good boyfriend?” you joked, nudging his side after he set the bear down
“I know right,” he responded sarcastically, “who knew?”
After sharing a laugh, you went to investigate the bear
“I love this! Now I’ll have something to cuddle with while you’re away on missions.”
“You should read the card,” he said
Looking over at the bow tied around the bear’s neck, you saw a card with a red heart on its cover
“Roses are red, violets are blue, this card sucks, and so do you,” you read aloud
You pretended to be touched by the message, wiping fake tears away as you turned back to address your boyfriend
“This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever wrote to me!”
He laughed and brought you in for a hug, his arms wrapping around your middle and holding tight, seemingly never wanting to let you go
“Happy Valentine’s Day, loser,” he whispered next to you ear, smiling widely
“Now that’s the boyfriend I know and love,” you chuckled, running your fingers through his wild hair as you reveled in his embrace
Not a request; send in some, though! Always welcome :)
Y/N L/N doesn’t hate anyone the way she hates Peter Maximoff. When Peter vanishes one day and Professor Xavier asks her to travel through the dimensions to find Peter in a town called Westview, she’s sure it won’t end well.
masterlist / part two
Jean Grey waits for you across the grounds. It’s another sun-drenched midafternoon at Xavier’s School, and you’re meeting up to walk to class. She smiles when she sees you, slinging her bookbag over her shoulder. “Are you ready for the test today? I’ve heard it’s a handful.” You groan. “You’re not allowed to complain, you can literally just read everyone’s minds and get the answers.” Jean rolls her eyes. “The Professor stops me from using my powers during exams, you know that.” You grin. “I’m just impressed to see that you tried.”
As the two of you walk through the grounds toward class, Jean casts an admiring glance your way. “Love the outfit, by the way. You look killer.” You grin in spite of yourself. “Thanks! Jubilee and I got bored and ordered a couple things from a catalogue or two. I’m pretty proud of this one.” Jean smiles. “That doesn’t surprise me. Jubilee’s amazing when it comes to clothes. I’m pretty sure it’s her second mutation.”
The two of you laugh, and you enjoy the moment to take in everything around you- the perfect day, your best friend smiling beside you, feeling confident and happy with your new clothes. It’s a truly blissful moment, rare in its perfection. However, good things seldom stay good in the world of mutants, and you’re too caught up in your conversation to notice the silver blur speeding your way until there’s a gallon of ice water being poured over your head.
You gasp in the cold shock of the water, hands flying up involuntarily. You’re drenched, your outfit ruined, and you turn to the culprit with an expression of outright loathing. “Peter, how dare you-” Peter Maximoff, because of course it is he, attempts to run away again, but you use your powers to conjure up a wave of magical energy that stops him in his tracks. Your mutation is still somewhat of a mystery to yourself and even the Professor- sometimes you can change characteristics of a thing, making it decompose or fix itself in a matter of seconds, and sometimes you can cause a surge of sheer power to appear out of nowhere. It seems to unconsciously change depending on what you need of it, but regardless of what exact form your power takes, it is always far stronger than the abilities of the other mutants.
However, your powers are not your primary concern right now. No, you’re focused on the gleefully grinning figure of Peter Maximoff, the boy who’s just ruined your day like so many before it. He seems to take personal pride in antagonizing you, and although you can’t deny that you do the same to him, you’re fairly sure that he started the entire rivalry between the two of you. It sounds more like him, anyway.
You stalk towards Peter, a cloud of energy seething around your fist, which is clenched at your side. Most other mutants at the school would be terrified to be on the receiving end of your power, especially when you’re so angry, but Peter is the exception. Instead, he just looks victorious that his prank has had such an obvious impact on you. As you draw closer, you hold your hand up threateningly, about to attack him with your powers and send him to the medical wing for the next decade.
Just as you’re about to let fly, though, Peter holds up a warning finger. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He says, and you roll your eyes. “I’m sure you wouldn’t.” Peter just grins gloatingly. “Well, I wouldn’t if I wanted to stay on the X-Men. See, Professor Xavier is in that room right there-” he points to a window facing the two of you, “-and he’s about to look out and see one of his lesser students threatening his favorite guy right here. I mean, I’m not about to tell you what to do, but he’s just received word that his team isn’t working so well together and if he watches you attempt murder, he might just remove you from the X-Men. That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?”
You glare at him. As much as you hate to admit it, he’s right- Peter’s managed to frame the situation perfectly so he gets off scot-free for his prank. You can’t do anything to him without the Professor seeing you. You hold your energy storm in Peter’s face for one more second, then reluctantly pull it away. Peter, who remained unconcerned the entire time, inspects his nails as he starts to walk away, but you stand in his path.
“Don’t think I’m going to forget about this. We have combat training tomorrow, remember? Powers allowed. I’m going to kill you.” Peter flashes you a cocky grin. “I was hoping you would.” He just winks at you before heading off once more, leaving you standing sopping wet in the middle of the grounds. Jean strolls up next to you, staring at Peter’s quickly disappearing form. “I’m pretty sure threatening homicide is illegal.”
You give her a look, gesturing to your sodden clothes. “After this? I’m pretty sure it would be alright. Besides, are you telling me that you wouldn’t take the opportunity to kill Peter if given the chance? Or would anyone at this school, for that matter?” Jean laughs. “Oh, I can’t disagree with that. He’s earned his demise.” She throws an arm around your shoulder, ignoring the water dripping off of you. “Let’s drop by your dorm, get some new clothes. We can plan your killing of Peter on the way over.”
Yet you don’t get the chance to tear Peter limb from limb during practice the next day- he never shows up. You frown at Jean, staring at his usual place in the training room, which is empty of any and all silver-haired speedsters. “He did know that I was only partially joking about the homicide, right?” Jean smirks. “He’d never give you the satisfaction of skipping out on a class after a death threat. He’s probably been called away on some other task.”
This, as it turns out, is not the case. Peter doesn’t show up to any of his classes that day, or the next day, or even the day after that. In fact, nobody can find him anywhere. By the time the sun begins to set on the third day after Peter’s disappearance, you’re called to the Professor’s office. You have a feeling you know why you’ve been summoned, especially when you see that the room is empty other than Jean and Xavier, who gestures for you to take a seat next to your friend.
Xavier steeples his fingers in front of him. “By now, I’m assuming you’ve noticed that we’re missing a key student.” You nod quickly. “I just wanted to tell you that I don’t know anything about why he was gone. I know I joked about killing him, but it was just a joke. I didn’t actually, you know-” Xavier cuts you off with a raised eyebrow. “Murder your classmate? Don’t worry, Y/N, I never thought you did. I haven’t brought you here to stand trial. I’ve been briefing the X-Men instead, and seeing as you’re a member, you deserved to hear the same information.”
You incline your head in understanding, and the Professor continues speaking. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with Peter’s disappearance because the nature of this incident is played at too grand a scale for you to have a hand in it. I have been looking for Peter ever since he first vanished from class, and it’s been unusually difficult. It took a search through Cerebro, aided by Jean, for me to find him at all.”
You raise an eyebrow. “So you have been able to find him?” The Professor nods. “Yes and no. I have located him, but I don’t know how to reach him. Peter is currently in a small town in New Jersey- Westview, I believe. The only issue is that he is in an entirely different dimension from our own.” You look up, stunned. “Peter managed to cross dimensions?” Xavier shakes his head. “It was not Peter who did this, but someone else entirely. Peter is currently trapped in that town by a magical barrier, likely formed by a spell of some sort. This means that we cannot bring him back, and we cannot see him except to know vaguely that he is there.”
The Professor clears his throat. “The only way to retrieve Peter from this alternate dimension is to send someone into the other Westview to have them find Peter and bring him back to our home. I do not believe Peter can make the journey by himself.” You consider this. “It makes sense. Who are you sending?” Beside you, Jean straightens. Xavier pauses for a moment, then retrains his gaze on you. “We are sending you.”
You have to fight back the urge to laugh. It seems too crazy, too impossible. “Me? You want me to go to this alternate reality, risk my life against some spell-wielding weirdo who can pull people out of dimensions, and do all of this to what, get Peter Maximoff back? With all due respect, Professor, I hate the guy. Of all the X-Men, why me?” Jean grins at your words. “I told you she wouldn’t like it.” Xavier gives Jean a stern look. “That’s why I asked you here to help me convince her, not to laugh from your corner of the room.”
Jean adopts a serious look. “Sorry. Y/N, you should definitely save Peter because we know you’ll do the right thing, and-” You cut her off. “And making sure we see Peter again is definitely the right thing?” Jean bites back a laugh as the Professor turns to you. “As unpleasant as it may be to hear, it is. The magical barrier seems to be made of the same energy that forms your mutation, or at least the two are fairly similar. You’re the only one who can make it there and back without being susceptible to the spell that took Peter in the first place.”
You’re starting to realize that he’s serious about this, and you look to Jean desperately. “I appreciate your faith in me, but why isn’t Jean doing this? She’s way more powerful than any of us and she won’t fall to the spell because she’s got a handle on the whole mind control thing.” The Professor shakes his head. “Jean is still recovering from the aftereffects of the Phoenix Force. She can’t do it without jeopardizing herself and the town. I know you may not like it, but you’re our best bet. Besides, you know Peter the best, so you’ll be able to get him out.”
This time, you’re unable to hold back a laugh. “I know him best? The only thing I know about him is that he’s a complete jerk and we hate each other. We’re not exactly best friends forever.” Jean grins. “Oh, come on. Just pretend he’s some innocent that needs to be saved. If you look past the silver hair and blue eyes he could be any other guy.” You hold up a hand. “His eyes aren’t blue, they’re medium brown like that one type of coffee he keeps trying to drink all the time, which is really bad because it makes him go even more haywire than he already is-” You trail off as you realize that they’re both staring at you. “But you know what? That doesn’t matter. The point is, I’m really not the right mutant for the job.”
Xavier seems to be fighting back a smile. “Actually, Y/N, I think you’ll find you’re even better for this than you’d think.” He sighs, putting his hands flat on the desk in front of him. “All personal feelings aside, I think you’re more than capable of this task, and it will be over before you know it. We need you to do this, but I won’t force you into a mission if you’re not willing.” You consider this one last time, then groan. “Fine, I’ll do it. When do I start?” Xavier nods approvingly. “As soon as you feel ready.”
This ends up being early morning the next day- by the time you headed out of Xavier’s office, it was well into the night and too late to risk the journey to the other dimension. You were, however, briefed on the technology you’d be using to make the trip over. Hank had managed to whip up some sort of transporter, which you’d wear on a bracelet around your wrist. You would use your powers to activate it, sending you over to the alternate dimension, and when you had secured Peter, you would use your powers once more and appear back home. It all seemed fairly easy, which was a sure sign that something would inevitably go wrong.
When the midmorning sun blooms onto the horizon, you find yourself standing in Hank’s lab with the transporter bracelet latched around your wrist. You’re dressed in casual clothes, as Xavier was worried about you standing out too much in full X-Men armor, and can’t help but start fidget slightly from nerves. Jean is here, as are Hank and Xavier, and they’re giving you a couple of last minute briefings. All you have to do is go in, find Peter, get out. You’ve been warned against trying to seek out whoever cast the spell, as Xavier doesn’t want you interfering with other realities. You’re meant to be an extraction, not a solution. Whoever makes up the alternate dimension’s X-Men or defenders will have to sort out the Westview problem by themselves.
Hank checks the transporter one last time. “You won’t be able to reach us while you’re in there, and we won’t be able to see you. If you feel like you’re in danger, just come back out. It’ll be easier to send you in for a second trip than to have to make our own journey to recover your body.” You grimace at him. “Thanks for the boost of confidence.” Jean laughs at your expression. “You’re going to do fine, Y/N. It’ll be over before you know it.” You sigh as Hank begins a countdown. “I sure hope so.” Hank’s voice reaches zero, and he points to you.
You hold your hand over the transporter, summoning up a flash of energy that powers the transporter. The bracelet lights up, and everyone steps back as a whooshing sound begins to echo around you. Suddenly, the world around you seems to fade away, as if being washed clean by an imaginary rag. Then, details begin to form once more, and you find yourself standing in the middle of a sidewalk, hand still pressed to your bracelet. Once the world stops spinning, you cover the transporter hurriedly with your sleeve, and take a good look around you.
Well, you’re certainly not in Hank’s lab anymore. All around you are white picket fences, orderly lawns, and gardens. It’s a neighbourhood, certainly, a clean pocket of the suburbs. Looks like Hank managed to send you to this alternate Westview after all. After one last moment of staring, you begin to walk forward down the sidewalk. You have no way of knowing where Peter is, and it looks like the only way to find him is to search every corner of this town yourself. This might take a while.
You haven’t been walking long when you notice a familiar figure crossing the block ahead of you. Even from a distance, you can still recognize him. You’d know him anywhere- even in another reality, he still walks the same, still moves with that same lazy confidence that you’d know from a mile away. You weren’t expecting to find him this early, but it’s not like you have any want to stay in Westview longer than you have to.
You rush over to him, speed walking down the sidewalk so as to not catch the attention of the neighbours. You call over to him once you’re close enough. “Peter! There you are!” Peter turns around, and before he even opens his mouth to speak you notice two things about him. First, his hair is a messy dirty blond, unlike the silver he’d been so proud to show off. Secondly, he’s staring at you with something that almost seems like confusion. Like he’s never seen you before in his life.
“My name is Pietro.” He says with a frown. You blink up at him, wondering if you’d misheard. “Sorry?” Peter clarifies. “I think you said something about a Peter, and my name is Pietro. You were talking to me, right? I didn’t see anyone else around.” You stare at him. You wouldn’t be surprised if Peter tried to pull an amnesia prank on you, but he’s looking at you with genuine puzzlement. He actually has no idea who you are. A dull realization comes to you- Peter was brought here because of a spell, a spell which would probably wipe his memory so he didn’t try to escape. No wonder he can’t remember you, or even his own name- that’s all been taken from him by whoever led him here.
You shake your head, feigning an apologetic smile. “Of course- I’m so sorry about that! I was, uh, supposed to be meeting someone and you look a lot like them. I thought you were him.” Peter (you don’t care what he says, this is Peter and you can’t think of him as anything else) smiles again, waving a hand to dismiss your apology. “Don’t worry about it. Is there anything I can do for you while we’re here?”
For some reason, this question throws you. How do you tell a boy that there’s absolutely something he can do for you, that you need him to remember who he is so you can bring him home because he doesn’t belong here? It hits you then that this mission is going to be a lot more difficult than you had thought. You can’t take Peter out of the dimension now, not while he’s still under the influence of the spell- he wouldn’t remember who he was even after he returned home. You have no choice but to stay with him and try to find some way to break the spell’s hold on him.
So much for this being an easy mission.
peter maximoff tag list: @amourtentiaa @elaineygrace
Y/N L/N doesn’t hate anyone the way she hates Peter Maximoff. When Peter vanishes one day and Professor Xavier asks her to travel through the dimensions to find Peter in a town called Westview, she’s sure it won’t end well.
part two / masterlist / part four
The realization itself is somewhat horrifying. Surely this can’t be right, surely you’re just so bewildered by the fact that you and Peter are actually getting along that you’re misplacing your concern over his evident mind control for love. You manage to convince yourself of this until the next morning, when you see a smile alight on his face just because you’re with him again and your heart does a slow loop in your chest. Yes, no question about it- you’re in love.
You cross the street to reach Peter and smile in spite of yourself at his happy expression. Peter holds out his hand in mock formality and you take it, allowing him to walk with you down the block. It’s the little things like this- an outstretched hand, an offered jacket- that make it so impossible to ignore the blossoming feeling in your chest.
The two of you haven’t walked far, however, when a woman strides icily up to you, a brusque fury radiating from her every step. It is, of course, Agnes, who’s come to pay another visit. Clearly you couldn’t avoid her forever. She comes to a stop in front of you, arms folded across her chest. A single finger taps against her arm, and an unpleasant grin surfaces on her crimson-tinted lips as she takes in your nervous expression.
“What do you want?” You ask, and Agnes titters. “I figured there would be a showdown at some point. Why wait? I want you gone, and I don’t intend to keep you around any longer.” Peter stiffens next to you. “Y/N’s done nothing to you. She isn’t interfering with Wanda or anybody. There’s no need to do this.” Agnes shakes her head, feigning sorrow. “Maybe not right now, but she’s still one extra person with kooky abilities. I can’t take the risk of Wanda finding out about her.” She sniffs, glancing over at Peter. “And to be honest, you can’t either.”
Agnes extends her hands at her sides. Twin globes of purple energy appear over her fingers, which curl around the magic like claws. Nervous, you use your powers to will away the storms of energy, but Agnes seems to envelop your magic in her own instead of being hurt. Agnes clicks her tongue in disappointment.
“You can’t use your powers against me, hon. I’ll just use it for myself.” She shakes her head in sorrow, considering you. “Do you know what you could have been if you had used the full scope of your powers? What we could have been, if we worked together? You’re a child of the Infinity Stones, Y/N. More than that, actually- you seem to channel their power in your dimension, kind of like a replacement. You could tear the planet in half with a snap of your fingers, but you were too afraid to test your limits. Honestly, I’m beginning to think that I should have taken you instead of Peter.”
Peter steps forward. “Leave her out of this. I won’t let you hurt her.” Agnes laughs, the sound twisting and echoing off of the houses around you. “Oh, you never had a choice about that.” She raises her hands, ready to destroy the two of you in a swarm of magical energy, but then a sudden idea comes to you. It’s crazy, practically absurd, but it just might work. You fold your arms across your chest, adopting an expression of bored humor.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Agnes rolls her eyes. “And why would that be, sweetie? Afraid of what it will feel like to be on the receiving end of this kind of power?”
You shake your head, a mock frown on your face as you pretend to consider her point. “Well, I wouldn’t if I wanted my super important villain plan to work. See, Wanda Maximoff is in that room right there-” you point to the broad window facing the street, which just so happens to belong to Wanda’s house, “-and she’s about to look out and see one of her least favorite neighbours totally annihilate some teenagers using crazy magical powers. I mean, I’m not about to tell you what to do, but if Wanda were to realize you’re a witch and have been all along, she might just remove you from Westview. It would be a shame if you were unable to get her powers after all, wouldn’t it?”
Agnes’ triumphant grin leaches away as she realizes what you’re saying. She can’t afford to blow her cover to Wanda, and so she can’t attack you. You can understand the look of pure vitriol she’s throwing your way- it’s so frustrating to be held in this position of powerlessness. You’d felt it yourself when Peter had first pulled this trick on you, just before he was taken into this dimension. Although it was infuriating when he had done it to you, you do have to admit that it feels pretty good to be saying those same words to somebody else.
Agnes fixes you with a cool glare. “Your little trick won’t last forever. There are other ways of completing a job.” Your brow furrows at her words, just as you hear the screeching of tires and a bright headlight shines into your eyes. Too late, you realize there was a large truck in the road, one that is currently barreling towards you and Peter. Only the two of you can see the purple haze over the driver’s eyes, and know that Agnes is forcing the truck to collide with you. Wanda will only suspect drunk driving or something, and Agnes will get away scot free.
The truck is only a few feet from you, and it’s too late to do anything. You tense up, squeezing your eyes shut. You don’t want to see it happen, even if it may be the last sight of your life. Just before the truck hits you, though, you feel a pair of arms wrap around you, and then you’re suddenly weightless, a strong wind rustling your hair and forcing you up against the person who’s carrying you away.
When your feet return to solid ground, you look up and realize that you’re back on that roof from earlier, the one in the city. Peter is still holding you close, and you realize that he must have used his powers to get you out of the truck’s path in time. He probably chose the roof because it was far away from Agnes, and she wouldn’t be able to follow you that easily without alerting Wanda to her powers.
You glance up at Peter, feeling a grin slip onto your lips. “Thanks for the rescue.” Peter tilts his head to the side in acknowledgement. You remember now that he was always glad for an excuse to use his powers, especially when saving the day in some battle with the X-Men. It must be taking a lot out of him to not immediately start gloating. He speaks again, his voice carrying with it a streak of excitement. “That trick you pulled with Agnes was super cool. How’d you know to trap her next to Wanda like that?”
You laugh quietly. “I saw someone close to me do it before. Figured it was worth a shot.” Peter joins you in laughter. “It absolutely was! I mean, did we really just do that? Escape a witch and keep her in some sort of power stalemate until Wanda finds out?” The two of you stand there, eyes alight with the thrill of having narrowly avoided Agnes’ attack. Then you look up at Peter again, and you can’t help but fall silent.
Maybe it’s the laughter still dying on your tongue, or the way that he still hasn’t removed his arms from where they hold you close even though you’ve been on the roof for some time now. It could be any of those, or maybe even something else, because the next thing you know, his lips are on yours and you’re kissing him. You’re not sure who leaned in first, but it doesn’t really matter now. The only thing that matters is that he’s finally kissing you, and it makes you feel happier than you have in a while.
After a moment, he breaks away. He looks at you, a flicker of a smirk still present on his lips. Then the smile is gone, and his eyes are clouded over with turmoil. He shakes his head as if to rid himself of some thought, but it doesn’t work. Then he blinks once, twice, and looks at you again. There’s a startling clarity in his gaze, one that you haven’t seen in a while. You haven’t seen it since you arrived in Westview, actually. Now he speaks, and you feel your stomach drop.
“Y/N?” You recognize that tone, the harsh one from Xavier’s School and certainly not the relaxed voice of the friend you’d grown to love in Westview. Your voice is quiet, barely audible. “You remember.” It’s not a question, just a statement. Peter nods. “Everything.” That’s all it takes for you to feel yourself start to fall apart. The spell is broken now. How, you don’t know, but it is over. Peter is no longer Pietro, and he sees you as a long-despised enemy once again. Even worse, he knows that you don’t hate him like he hates you, and you just kissed him.
Suddenly frantic, you grab at your sleeve, pulling it down to reveal Hank’s transporter bracelet. You rip it off of your arm, grabbing Peter’s wrist in one hand and using the other to power the transporter. The second the flash of magical energy sparks into the transporter, it lights up and the now familiar rush of sound surrounds you. The world fades away, and after what could have been ten seconds or a hundred, details of Hank’s lab begin to color themselves back in around you.
Peter is still next to you, and you hurriedly snatch your hand back from him. The Professor, Jean, and Hank are still standing around you. You must have appeared back only a few seconds since the moment you left. Xavier looks at you curiously. “How did it go?” You just shake your head, slapping the transporter down in Hank’s hand and turning to leave the lab. “You have him back, I’m not needed anymore.” As you race hurriedly from the room, you hear Jean addressing the boy you’d left behind. “Jeez, Peter, what did you do to her?”
As you disappear down the hallway and walk blinking into the bright sunlight of midmorning, you feel a sudden presence in your head, like someone’s trying to read your mind. You’re not sure whether it’s Xavier or Jean, but it doesn’t matter- you don’t want anyone to know what happened. You use your powers to fling up walls around your mind, protecting your secrets from whoever is trying to find them. If they want to know what happened, they can ask Peter. You’re sure he will be all too eager to tell them.
You can’t go back to your dorm lest Jean or the others be able to find you, so you turn away from the halls of sleeping quarters and vanish down the twisting corridors of Xavier’s School. You’ve spent plenty of time exploring the mansion on rainy days and sleepless nights, and been able to locate a few hidden rooms over the course of your wanderings. There’s one room in particular, with large windows hidden by faded green curtains, that nobody except you seems to know exists.
You fling yourself into the room and close the thick mahogany door behind you. You breathe a sigh of relief upon finally finding yourself alone, and let your eyes wander over the contents of the room. A fine film of dust has settled itself upon windows and mirrors, cabinets and tables alike. It’s sparsely furnished, but will do just fine until you manage to calm yourself down enough to face Peter and the rest.
Even thinking about Peter is enough to make a wave of humiliation crash over you. What had you been thinking, kissing him? He’ll never let you forget it now. Why would he? You were supposed to be rivals, and then you had gone and kissed Peter like it would ever mean anything to him. He’s probably telling the story to Jean and the others right now, all of them laughing over how foolish you were to ever think that he would love you.
There’s a sound at the door and you stand up curiously just as a silver blur appears in the room. You curse inwardly, turning away from him. “I thought no one else knew about this room.” You manage. Peter stays where he is. “I know you go here when you want to be alone.” You laugh derisively. “Then why are you here?” Peter walks slowly towards you. “We need to talk about what happened.”
You finally turn around, looking directly at him. “I’ll tell you what happened. It was a mistake, and I’d appreciate it if you let me forget it. I know you want to make fun of me, or tell everyone else, but I can’t do this right now. Just pretend it never happened.” Peter’s voice is quiet in the empty room. “What if I don’t want to pretend?” You feel your heart twisting in your chest. “I know we’ve always hated each other, but can’t you just let this one thing go? After all these years, at least give me this.”
Peter stares at you, then shakes his head slowly. “I can’t do that.” Your heart seems to drop in your chest, plunging into some cavernous depth you didn’t even know existed. You find yourself wanting to say something, anything, to convince Peter to leave you alone, but then he steps forward and kisses you. You feel too stunned to do anything except stand there.
Peter breaks away, leaning his forehead against yours so you’re only a few inches apart. “I don’t want to forget because it wasn’t a mistake. Not at all.” You feel like the ground has been pulled away from under you. “What?” Peter laughs quietly. “I like you, Y/N. I like you a lot. More than I should.” You’re dazed, unable to process this. “But I thought you hated me.” Peter shakes his head. “I did. When you showed up in Westview, I was angry at first. Of course, the one person to come save me when I was under mind control would be you. I was sure you would make fun of me or something.”
“But you didn’t. You figured out what was going on and tried to break Agnes’ spell. It was strange, like I was stuck in my own head and unable to do anything. I thought you would leave a dozen times over, but you never did. After a while, I realized I didn’t hate you at all. That night on the roof, I felt like I finally had everything going perfectly, even if I was in another dimension under some spell. You were so close, and we were just happy together, and I could have stayed there the entire night. When I kissed you today, I thought the spell had finally broken because I’d been wanting to do that for so long. I think it broke a while later because of that, actually.”
As you hear Peter speak, you feel like the weight of the earth is being lifted from your shoulders. “So you don’t regret it? You don’t hate me for kissing you?” Peter grins. “Far from it. I wish you’d kissed me earlier.” You stare at him for a moment, then smile. “So do I.” Peter reaches forward to trace the edge of your face with his hand. “Let’s make up for lost time, shall we?” He kisses you again, and you feel the last of your fears slipping away from you. Why worry, anyway? Peter loves you, and you don’t think you’ll ever feel as powerful as you do right now.
peter maximoff tag list: @enchantedcruelsummer, @awaywiththe, @amourtentiaa, @elaineygrace
When Y/N L/N wakes up in the middle of a strange suburban town, she’s concerned to find out that she can’t remember who she is or how she got there. The appearance of her boyfriend, Peter Maximoff, may help to jog her memory, but why is he suddenly calling himself Pietro?
When Y/N L/N wakes up in the middle of a strange suburban town, she’s concerned to find out that she can’t remember who she is or how she got there. The appearance of her boyfriend, Peter Maximoff, may help to jog her memory, but why is he suddenly calling himself Pietro?
previous / series masterlist
Your smile falters, dropping like a stone. “What are you talking about?” Your voice is quiet, smooth. Peter’s eyes flicker to your hands, clasped in front of you. Usually, whenever the two of you have arguments, your fingers can never stay calm, always fiddling with the edge of your shirt or tugging at your sleeve. Now, however, they are motionless, almost deathly still. His eyes go back to you.
“You’re controlling me too. It makes so much sense, I don’t know how I couldn’t see it before, unless you took that away from me too. Maybe you didn’t bring me here, but you’re making sure I can’t leave.” You sigh. “Peter, you and I both know that I don’t have that kind of power. I can only heal, remember?” You hold up a hand in demonstration, and Peter flinches just slightly. You can tell he regrets the motion seconds after he does it, but you don’t know whether or not that’s because he still trusts you or because of the fierce look in your eyes after he moved.
You lower your hand again. “Fine. Hate me. Just know that I did all of this for you.” Peter, who had been starting to back away, freezes in place. “What do you mean, you did this for me? I didn’t ask for any of this.” You purse your lips. “Neither did I.” You look away, silently steeling yourself for the choice you’re about to make. Peter notices this slight change in your demeanor and moves forward again. Peter, who always knew when you were happy or sad or hurt, can tell that something is wrong, even when he’s terrified of you.
“Y/N, whatever you’re going to do, you don’t have to go through with it. We can figure this out together, right? It’s what we always do. Are you really going to be the villain here?” You shake your head slowly. “No, I’m not.” Peter’s face clears for a second, but then you say one last word. “Agatha.” The name itself seems charged with power, and Peter turns back to you with a frantic expression.
“What are you doing? You’re summoning her-you know what she’ll do!” His eyes wall over with distrust, and above all, betrayal. The sight hurts you more than you’d like to admit. “How did you know her real name, Y/N? So it’s true- you really have been working with her. All this time, you’ve been by her side.” You bite your tongue to stop yourself from shouting all the words you’d like to say. “I haven’t been working with her.”
There’s a flash of inky indigo smoke, and Agatha appears beside you. “She certainly hasn’t been working with me, honey. She’s actually been making things a lot more difficult than I would have liked. So,” she says, resting one finger against her chin in a painting of serene curiosity, “Why have you finally come calling, Y/N?”
You keep your eyes trained on the witch. You don’t think you could go through with this if you had to see Peter’s face, see that flash of shock and betrayal that will haunt you for days. “I think you needed him with Monica, didn’t you?” Agatha laughs once, the gleeful shriek making you shiver. “You’ve gotten in over your head and you want me to clean things up a bit, don’t you? I’m curious, though- you’ve already played your hand. Why not change his memory yourself?” You turn away from the two of them. “I can’t. Not that.” Agatha clicks her tongue, disappointed. “Consciences. They don’t get you anywhere, you know.”
Peter sees your hesitation and calls out to you one more time. “Y/N, I know this is hurting you. You don’t have to go through with this. I’ll still be here with you.” You snap your eyes shut, not wanting to see him go. “That’s exactly why it has to happen.” Agatha, growing tired of the conversation, recites some incantation and Peter’s eyes glow purple once before he turns and heads down the sidewalk, moving methodically and with an almost inhuman steadiness towards Agatha’s house once more. You watch him go, willing away the tears that want to bubble up inside of you.
Agatha rolls her eyes. “Come on, honey, pull it together. He’ll get over it eventually. Or, he will if you make him feel that way.” You don’t move, and Agatha just shrugs, disappearing in another wave of purple smoke. After a while, you force yourself to start walking back through the suburbs again. It’s hard to find the motivation to do anything- it feels like everything is falling apart. You had your reasons for what you’d done, but they seem so hard to reach right now. What were they, again? Were they worth all of this?
You’re walking past Wanda’s house and studiously ignoring the white painted house a few doors down when you first hear something. It’s quiet, barely there, and then it comes again, even louder this time. It sounds like a scream, specifically one of a child. It’s not like you have anything better to do, so you start walking, hurrying down the sidewalk to find the source of the commotion.
After a while, you get to the center of town. You’re not sure how you were able to get from the sidewalk outside Wanda’s residence to the city square in such a short amount of time, but Wanda’s Westview has rarely made sense and so you’re not about to start questioning it now. Soon enough, you find out what was making the noise- Wanda is surrounded by a group of Westview inhabitants, all of whom appear to be surrounding her and begging to be released from the town. Her children, twin boys, are huddled behind a couple of buildings, looking on in fright.
The twins see you walk up and one of them runs to you. Distantly, you realize it’s Billy, the one who has similar powers to Wanda. “Can you help our mom?” You nod, although you’re not sure what you can do. The boy just shrugs. “Anything. It doesn’t have to be much.” You frown at the sudden turn in conversation, then realize that he was reading your mind. You gesture for the children to hide away again, out of danger, and continue walking towards the crowd of angry neighbours. You’re not sure where to intervene or even how until you see one man in particular. He’s dressed in a navy and black uniform, looks to be military from what you can tell. The most important thing is the gun in his hand, a weapon that he’s now training towards Wanda.
You don’t even think, you just act. Your hand is outstretched, reaching towards the man to knock him aside before you’re even aware of what you’re doing. This impulse doesn’t come from Wanda, Agatha, or even one of the twins- you just know in this moment that you have to save Wanda. That’s what matters right now.
The man blinks at you, surprised, and is about to refocus his gun on Wanda when your fist connects with his nose. The man crumples to the ground, clutching his bleeding face, and you quickly kick the gun away from him. You’re about to knock the man into unconsciousness just to make sure he doesn’t try to hurt Wanda again when you hear a familiar sound, something like a clap of thunder. Apparently Agatha has noticed your little rescue attempt.
You turn around to see the witch standing before you, arms folded across her chest. “Here I was thinking that we could have a strong future together. I need Wanda’s powers, honey, and that means I need her gone. Stop interfering.” She raises a hand towards you, and before you can do anything a bolt of magical energy lances out of her palm and into your chest. You stumble back, hand clutching your heart. Even with your healing ability, that first hit alone has left you feeling drained.
You glare at her. “Well, I guess I know what side I’m on now.” Agatha just chuckles. “You chose your side ever since you came here. Play the hero, even though you’re no better than I am. Hey, we’ve all been there.” You shake your head. “I’m nothing like you. I know why I came here, and it wasn’t to steal someone’s power. It was to save Peter.” Agatha groans. “Oh, come on! We both know there was more than that. He’s already found you out, might as well stop pretending your motivation for coming here was anything selfless.”
You narrow your eyes, watching her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here to find Peter, to save him from the town. Yes, I ended up wanting to keep him here, but that was so we could both be safe. Do you know how hard it is to be a mutant? Most of us don’t make it past 30. I wanted to protect him, so I made sure he would stay, even when he wanted to leave. End of story.”
Agatha gestures loosely with her hand. “Yes, and I’m sure that would be a beautifully heroic story if it were true. But it isn’t, Y/N, and you know that. I just think it’s funny that you’re still hiding the truth from yourself.” “That is the truth,” you say, “There’s nothing more.” No need for more. She doesn’t need to tell you anything more.
Agatha grins. “You can’t make me hold my tongue any more than Wanda can. Don’t you want to know what really happened? You can’t hide it from yourself forever. I’ll do you a favor and break down those walls. Let’s let the real memories out.” You hold up a hand, trying to silence her, but it doesn’t work. Agatha begins her tale. “I needed a Pietro. That’s what started this whole mess, you know. Then you had to have your way in it too, and that’s where things fell apart.”
“Yes, you followed Peter here, but it wasn’t because you wanted the privilege of your own midlife crisis. No, you wanted to find him because he was already here. Did you know that I actually wasn’t planning on bringing him here myself? I was just looking for any old replacement, and then I heard his thoughts, searching for a way to save himself and the people he cared about. It turned out that was just against Jean or whoever was attacking you at that point, but I figured a little charity cause never hurt so I selected him.”
“Then you came around. You saw me taking him and refused to live without him, so you recklessly changed dimensions and showed up here. See, you knew all along that this little town wasn’t yours, and you could have brought yourself and Peter out, but you figured that a quaint little life in the suburbs would do the two of you some good. So you made sure that he wouldn’t remember who he was, and you even stopped your own memories from reminding you. It was the perfect setup- even if something strange did happen, he would neve suspect you because you wouldn't know anything either. Why try to mastermind the whole thing if you can just pretend to be the hero?”
“You just keep making yourself forget about one crucial little detail. Peter wasn’t just looking for an escape from Jean, he was trying to escape one real enemy. You.” Your breath is coming harshly in your lungs. “That’s not possible. I haven’t done anything to hurt him.” Agatha shakes her head gleefully. “I pulled him into this town far before I needed a Pietro because I had a feeling he’d come in handy, and because it’s so much easier to use a prop that’s practically begging to be hidden. I set him up with some fake name and a house and he was good to go. He goes by Ralph, apparently. Last name’s some bad joke. He picked it himself, you can tell.”
You can’t believe what you’re hearing. “I would never do anything to harm Peter. He would never leave me.” Agatha tilts her head to the side knowingly. “Ah, but he still ran away anyway. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I have a hunch- when Jean had her little Phoenix Force altercation, you were impacted by all that power when you were trying to heal her. Suddenly, you got all these new abilities, and you were acting so strangely that it freaked him out, so to speak. I suppose he wasn’t really looking for an escape plot as big as Westview, but he didn’t put up that much of a fight when he first got here, you know.”
There’s a gnawing sensation at the back of your skull. You can sense that there’s a dam in the corners of your mind, a dam holding back all the things you’ve been trying to hide. If Agatha keeps going, you don’t know what will happen to you. “So we have the boy, who was running away. We have the girl, trying to find him. I just want to know what happens when the girl finally lets herself free. Are you going to keep holding yourself back? Or are you going to finally embrace who you were born to be?”
Your head snaps up, and your words come out in a growling rush. “The only thing I’m going to embrace are my hands around your throat.” You lunge for her, but Agatha dances out of reach. “Well, that was dramatic. Save those kinds of lines for the TV show, honey.” You laugh derisively. “I’m dramatic? What Spirit Halloween did you crawl out of to get that cape?” Agatha just hurls another bolt of energy at you, but you manage to duck in time to avoid it. As you stand there, crouched on the pavement, Agatha scoffs at you. “You could have been so much more than this. But you chose weakness. You chose him.”
You stand up slowly, hands facing her. Agatha tries to use her powers to force you down again, but you just shrug it off. “I am not the weak one. You’ll see that for yourself.” You stretch out your arm, reaching forward until your hand just makes contact with Agatha’s heart. Then you tilt your head just slightly, and Agatha screams in pain. As you watch, her skin ripples and weakens, seeming to age a hundred years in a matter of seconds.
Agatha yells at you through desperate gasps for air. “What are you doing to me?” You just laugh. The sound is cold, harsh. You don’t think you’ve ever heard something like that come from your own throat, and it scares you. “I have always been able to heal people, to give them life. Now I will take yours away.” Agatha reaches up to stop you, to tear your hand away, but all she can do is claw weakly at your arm. You’re seconds away from killing her, you can feel it, but then there’s another person next to you, pulling you away. In the few seconds it takes for your hand to leave Agatha’s heart, she vanishes into the air. You spin around, glaring, and find yourself face to face with Wanda.
You throw your hands into the air, frustrated. “Why did you do that? I could have stopped her!” Wanda just puts her hand on your shoulder. “You’re too young to have her death on your conscience. I can handle her.” You start to break away from her touch. “I’ve already done too much anyways. I could have at least ended this mess.” Wanda shakes her head slowly. “You can’t blame yourself for wanting to save someone you loved.” You look at her, really listen, and nod your head slowly. Wanda stays there for one more moment, then turns away, launching herself into the air to take on Agatha once and for all.
You’re left standing alone, on the cracked pavement. Suddenly, the reality of what you were about to do hits you hard. Were you actually willing to kill Agatha, even if she’d caused you nothing but pain? Was this really who you were? Maybe Peter was right to fear you, to run away. Maybe they were all right.
Across the town square, you hear a shout of pain. You look up to see the White Vision flying through a building, but he rights himself soon after. You realize with a flurry of panic that he’s aiming for the twin boys, as they’re technically extensions of Wanda and Vision. You dart across the square, past throngs of fleeing neighbours to reach the boys. You manage to shove them out of the way of the White Vision’s energy beam, and you’re just about to dodge the blast yourself when you see someone just arriving in the city center. With a dull ache in your heart, you realize it’s Monica, but Peter was supposed to be guarding Monica. If she’s here, and Peter couldn’t keep her away, then that means-
You must have frozen in your steps because the energy beam catches you square in the chest and you’re thrown backwards into a building. You feel the brick wall crack around you, body crashing into the debris. You try to get up but for some reason you can’t seem to move a muscle. There’s something strange happening in your heart, like it doesn’t want to beat anymore. Something must be wrong, because your body doesn’t seem to be able to heal anymore. It just feels so tired, so weak. What’s the point of getting up, anyway? Westview seems so dim and distant, like it’s a world away from you. Everything tastes like copper, like metal.
There’s a dull pounding echoing through the back of your head, and you vaguely realize that it’s your heartbeat. It sounds so slow to be your heart, though, and it keeps slowing down beat by beat until there’s practically nothing at all. Only now, when you can feel almost nothing at all, do you have this last moment of clarity. You’re dying, aren’t you? This is it. God, there were so many things you wanted to do… You have one last thought of the boy you love. Peter. I’m so sorry, Peter. I’m sorry for everything. You send this thought out like a wish, like a broken promise, and finally let your eyes flicker shut.
There’s a whooshing noise around you, then the strangest sensation, like somebody’s picking you up in their arms. Your head feels too heavy, your eyelids too leaden, but there’s an insistent voice that refuses to let you go. The voice sounds more panicked now, and there’s a moment of rushed uncertainty before a sharp pain flares up in your ankle. This jolt of agony, however, eventually seeps away, but not before a wave of strength crashes over you. It spreads from your ankle up to your heart, and your senses gradually return to you.
When you open your eyes, you realize you’re still in the city square. Your body is cradled in somebody’s arms. Peter’s arms. When Peter realizes you’re awake, he pulls you closer to him, letting out a breath in relief. “You’re alright. Y/N, I thought you were dead. Don’t ever do that again.” Your tongue feels scratchy and dry, and you fight to let the words surface. “I’m so sorry, Peter. I never should have done any of this. I’m sorry, so, so sorry.” Peter shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter now. I never should have left, I should have trusted you.” He looks away for a second, laughing cheerlessly. “I regretted it the second I woke up here. Then today, I felt so angry, and when I ran over and found you lying there, dead…” He presses his lips to your forehead. “I don’t care what it seemed like before, I’d rather have to work through this together than live with your death. I can’t lose you, Y/N.”
You smile slightly, though it pulls at your cracked lips and makes you bleed. “Thank you.” Peter helps you up, and your eyes widen at the sight of the ruined concrete and brick around you. You look back up at him. “How am I not dead? Even my powers have limits, and after I got hit by White Vision’s energy beam I thought I was done.” Peter drapes his arm around your waist, helping you stand. “You weren’t healing at all, so I panicked and broke your ankle to trigger your healing again. It worked, and that’s all I know.” You smile at him. “Well, I’m grateful for that.” Peter smiles too. “Let’s go home.”
Home ends up being his house, the place you had thought belonged to Agatha. Neither of you say what you’re really thinking, which is that home will always be Xavier’s School and you have no idea how to get there. But this house is quiet and cozy, and you’re more than content to stand alone with Peter in the kitchen, faint light washing over you and your hands always interlinked. You’re just beginning to feel drowsy when Peter stands up, looking at something out the window. “What is that?”
Confused, you look over in the direction he’s indicating and your chest freezes up. A wall of scarlet is steadily approaching, washing over everything in its path. You can’t see what happens to everything that it envelops. You stare. “It looks like the boundary to the town. I think Wanda’s finally getting rid of Westview.” Peter pulls you close to him. “Y/N, we’re not supposed to be here. If passing through this boundary means lights out, I want you to know that I love you.”
You look up at him through troubled eyes. “I can’t ask you to say that. I made you leave, I kept you here-” Peter shakes his head. “I ran away because I didn’t trust you. I never should have done it. Just don’t leave me again.” The scarlet wall approaches, just a few feet beyond your front door. “Never again. Together forever, right?” The boundary is at the edge of your house, pressing through the walls. Peter laughs, but it’s bittersweet and forced. “Forever.” He kisses you one last time, then wraps his arms around you just as the wall closes in on the two of you, making sure you don’t see the boundary as it swallows you whole. There’s a terrible sound, like screaming, and then there is nothing at all.
When you finally regain consciousness, you’re standing in the middle of an empty room. It’s bare, dusty, and in desperate need of some repairs. Your arms are extended, as if they were holding someone seconds ago. You look around desperately, and a sob wells up in your throat as you realize that Peter isn’t here. You spin around, silently begging to see him, but there is no one in the room. Your breathing is becoming heavier and heavier, a tide threatening to drown you. Just when you think it will swallow you whole, there’s a tap on your shoulder, and you whirl around to see Peter standing behind you, the last few shards of his behind reappearing as if laid by an invisible hand.
You run to him, throwing your arms around him. It is Peter, fully and unconditionally. Even when he knew who he was, he still has this slight wrongness to him, but that is gone now. You breathe in the familiar smell of his jacket, and your forehead presses up against his shoulder. Peter presses a kiss to your cheek. His voice is soothing. “Hey, don’t get too worried about it. You were always the fast healer, right?” You laugh, but it breaks off into a sob. “I was, wasn’t I?”
There are two figures walking along a path through the mountains. It is cold, and they are shivering, but they continue walking. They have been travelling for a very long time, but they have a determination shining in their eyes like they would walk a thousand miles more if it meant they would still reach their destination. The girl hunches her shoulders against a cold wind, and the boy slips his arm around her. Finally, their path ends at a cabin in the woods, and they make eye contact once before the girl reaches out and knocks on the door.
A woman appears at the door, dressed in muted sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt. They exchange a few words, and then the woman frowns. “Are you sure you want to do this? It will be difficult, and there’s no guarantee that it will work perfectly.” The boy nods, and the woman shrugs her shoulders, relenting. In the blink of an eye, her clothes change to a wine-red armor, a crown of a similar color framing her face. Twin storms of red energy materialize in her hands.
It is a new morning when you wake up, sun streaming in through the window as the sounds of birds chirping floats in the room. For a moment, you’re filled with panic, and you rush out of bed to check the view outside. You let out a quiet sigh of relief to see the familiar grounds of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters before you, but turn when you hear the sound of a knock echoing through the room. You fly to the door, and turn the handle to reveal a familiar silver-haired boy.
Peter doesn’t have to say anything, just steps inside and pulls you close, pressing his face against your hair. The door closes behind you, and you stay like that for a second, treasuring the quiet closeness. Then Peter speaks, his voice soft. “We’re back. In the right place. I was up checking everything, and it all seems right. I just had to make sure-” You smile, tilting your head up so your faces run parallel. “I’m still me. We’re home again.” Peter allows himself to relax, and he kisses you quietly.
The two of you arrive to breakfast soon after that, mixing in with the usual crowd of early morning students. Scott’s perusing the cereals, Ororo’s considering toast, Kurt and Jubilee are choosing between juices. Jean glances at you and Peter from the counter. “Why are you guys looking at us like that?” You shrug. “Just enjoying seeing everyone.” Peter nods in agreement as Jean gives you one last confused look before returning to her coffee. You stand there for a moment, taking in the long-awaited familiarity of the scene before slipping inside the room. Peter goes with you, linking his hand with yours like he never wants to leave your side.
As you walk in, you pick up a nearby TV remote, changing the channel to a different news show. Scott frowns at you. “Hey- I was watching that! It’s just a travel show. They’re talking about some town in New Jersey, and it was kind of interesting.” Peter looks over at him. “Trust me, there’s nothing you want to know about in Westview.” You freeze for just a second, and Peter looks back at you, squeezing your hand just slightly. He whispers something to you. “Hey, we’re home now. Everything is alright.” You look around, at your boyfriend, the mutants, the school. Peter is right- you’re finally home, and this time, you know you’re here to stay.
a/n: thank you all so much for your support for this series!
