⚝Peter's POV⚝
Lorna came down to the basement in her fairy princess suit and said she wanted to watch TV with me upstairs because I told her I would see what weapons the government had bought to fight against us. Mom said Lorna shouldn't watch it with me since Lorna's too young to watch, but she stayed behind at the door all the time. Not that I minded her staying.
"Who are those people?" asked Lorna curiously when the screen was no longer focusing on the stage, the president, and the Sentinels but on the sentinels that flew in mid-air and attacked somewhere else beyond the screen. People fled in every direction, which was no longer in the cameras. As I looked closer, noticing the place was deserted, except for two people, who were on the screen in a flash—whom I could make out by their unique appearances—for I'd taken part in the prison breakout about a week ago. The one in a leather jacket with a hilarious pointy hairstyle and claws grew within his knuckles was Logan, and the one who was bluish, hairy—Shit, that was Hank! I could recognize him for his casual dressing style. What were they doing there? Another kick-ass mission and no spot for me to participate? "Peter, that's Wolverine!" exclaimed Lorna excitedly, assuming she had seen them too.
Suddenly, the scene shifted, focusing on a man in a helmet. The man had a suit like iron armor, a cape on his shoulders that attached to his back, with a pair of matching colors gloves. Wait, the guy seemed familiar, and the way he did to the cameras—oh, I got it. He's that metallic-control guy. Why was he there with Logan and Hank? And why were there people in suits at the back? "You built these weapons to destroy us. Why?" asked the guy who I freed. "Because you are afraid of our gifts? Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different. Well, I'm here to tell you, to tell the world. You're right to fear us. We are the future. We are the ones who will inherit this earth. And anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you.
"Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead, I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this: no more hiding. No more suffering. You have lived in the shadows and shame and fear for too long. Come out. Join me. Fight together in a brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow that starts today." The guy finished, then stretched his arm out in a direction; as if he was calling someone off camera. "Come, (Y/N). You have done hiding; I feel sorry for you and resentful of those who made you leave where you stayed. Join me, (Y/N). We don't need to leave where you belong; it is them that should leave and show respect to us."
One of the cameras panned to a side with rubble and debris, and there were two people in the camera. A (H/C) girl about my age, eyes widened as her mouth trembled in total bewilderment; her face was caked with dirt, some of her locks tangled, and she looked tired. Appearing next to (Y/N) was the professor. Like (Y/N), his face didn't look so handsome with mud and filth, and a small cut was on it. Not to mention his eyes were too bloodshot, a sign of fatigue.
"It's (Y/N)!" exclaimed Lorna in astonishment, her eyes widened yet, sparkling. "Peter! (Y/N)'s on TV!" I heard mom step forward, closer behind Lorna and me, then she spoke in a whisper in disbelief, "God...Erik, how could you?" My brows furrowed unintentionally when a thought came into my mind. Still, it gave me a weird vibe that mom knew exactly the guy I set free. However, that's not what my mind should focus on now. What's more important was that: (Y/N) was on TV with the Erik guy, Logan, Hank, and the professor. My heart couldn't help but pound twice as loud at first but heave a sigh of relief when (Y/N) was about to reply with her mouth opened a little but quickly closed it, followed by shaking her head as her eyes looked downwards.
"No? Then enjoy wasting your time with Charles. He'd be delighted to see his old comrade's daughter being bullied by," the camera panned, centering on the men in the suit at the big safe or something, "them." The men in the safe looked alert yet mostly confused and alarmed. Then, one of the men pushed his way through to get in front, and the men surrounding him all started to panic. Now I remembered the man who made his way through; why it's Mr president. He waved his arms to get off the grips of other men, who now I was sure that those people were important government officials. "You want to make a statement? Kill me, fine. But spare everyone else." That's it. Damn, such a dangerous and exciting event, and not inviting me? At least let (Y/N) out of this. Seriously, how did those adults think it was wise to bring her there?
Instantly, I placed Lorna gently off my lap on the ground and went straight to the basement to change my shirt. Grabbing my jacket, goggles, headphones, Walkman, check, check, check, check! "I'm going out. Goodbye Lorna, be back soon, mom!'' I announced before leaving the house without hearing mom warn me not to go near the White House. Nah. Since when did I take orders from my mom?
The travel time from my place to the White House was about thirty minutes to an hour, with a rough estimate of my speed and, of course, if I got the direction right. That meant I really should run. My mind wandered to all possibilities that (Y/N) was exposed to the dangerous man as I quickened my pace, hoping the girl who I valued so much wouldn't get harmed.
-
Luckily, it only took me almost twenty minutes to get there(if I didn't take so many wrong turns, it could be faster). Though everywhere my eyes lay was complete chaos. People were wandering here and there to clean up the mess or trying to set things right; for one, the lawns should seriously get fixed; for two, I got the idea that the stadium should locate somewhere crowded but not on the White House's front yard. As I kept looking for (Y/N), I caught sight of Hank by the building entrance, with the professor on his left in a wheelchair, and they were half-surrounded by a group of government officials.
I quickly tapped on Hank's shoulder, making him gaze over his shoulders from left to right. It was always amusing to watch perplexity hang on his face. "Peter?" exclaimed Hank, taken aback by my presence before asking, "w-what are you doing here?" The group of grown-ups ceased their talk immediately as they spotted me standing behind the former 'bluish' guy. "And greetings to you, professor," I said with a big grin pulled on my lips, then nodded my head to those officials, who got dumbfounded by my sudden appearance. "Saw you guys on TV and decided to give a hand. But I can see the bad guy's gone. Anyways, where's (Y/N)?" One of the officials stood by the doorway coughed a little to catch our attention and pointed his index finger towards the door as he replied, "If you are talking about the young lady about your age, she's probably in the library now. She's just finished reporting the issue to our SAR. A man of your kind was hurled elsewhere during the fight. Mr. Xavier, Mr. McCoy, and Mr. President is waiting for you. Please follow me."
For a guy who could travel over 150 miles per hour, I'm not fast enough. Whenever (Y/N) was in a risky position, I didn't seem to come off as quickly as possible. It wasn't fair to blame everything on my genes, but I wanted to get faster and more powerful for her. I was a bit upset for letting her go without exchanging more personal information at 7., or even when she moved to Westchester. Moreover, even when she was in D.C. and had a mutant fight, which ended since who-knows-when... The feeling was terrible since I couldn't come quickly to assist. Man, that sucks.
Passing the hall with my hands in my pockets, I roamed in the hallway to find the library. Fortunately, I'd chosen the right path, so I went in. Since the room wasn't that big, I'd managed to know where the girl was at first glance, even before I stepped further inside the chamber. There, I saw the girl I wanted to meet, standing in the corner with her fingertips softly brushed against the spines of the books. Beautiful, I thought to myself. How could a girl keep so calm after facing such a terrible incident minutes ago? and try to read in a library, I mean. She's incredible!
"Hey," I greeted, tapping on her shoulder to gain her attention. The girl jolted as she gasped and swore softly under her breath. She then turned around, with her mouth opened agape, when she noticed my presence. "Peter," she squealed quietly with a hand placed on her chest, "you startled me. What are you doing here?" As our eyes locked, I couldn't stop my smile from growing wider. "Saw you on the news. Some nasty jobs you guys needed to bring down, eh?"
It was clear that (Y/N) was somehow glad to see me standing here; for the reason that she was now hurling herself into my arms, nearly knocking over me if I hadn't stood firm enough. I could feel small, uneven vibrations on my chest, followed by several sobbing sounds. I patted her on the back, intending to soothe her. That was expected, though. Considering she had just been through probably the most precarious experience in her life. She's always this timid compared to her younger self; if that time she stood up for me against Byron Turk counted. "It was scary," came her muffled voice after a short while, "and Logan was thrown away by Magneto, a-and he's missing, and-"
Now I got it. (Y/N) didn't seem all that calm and collected on the outside but wrecked on the inside. I knew it was tough for her, but I didn't know how to console a girl. Neither mom nor my sisters had sought my comfort once because they knew I didn't do such things, so they often kept their emotional problems to themselves. And now the situation was different. (Y/N) was my friend, and she's a girl! What should I do besides patting her back while telling her, "I understand," or, "It's all over now."
We stood like that for a minute or so before she pulled away. "Sorry," (Y/N) muttered as she gazed at my shirt, for a visible wet stain had shown on my grey shirt, it was her tear-streaked on my garment. "It's fine," I replied with a shrug, scratching the back of my neck to hide the uneasiness. She took this quite seriously because she had now placed a frown on her face. "Quite significant though," I continued, trying to make a joke since I despised the sentimental moments, "it's not every day to have a girl crying on my chest, you know. Besides, it'll dry off real quick." She cracked a smile afterward, which turned into a giggle as she rolled her eyes, twisted my arm to get outside, and asked for a dryer.
-
"So...you aren't able to find Logan today?" I repeated what the guy, who informed me about (Y/N)'s appearance earlier, told us in confirmation as my hand squeezed (Y/N)'s to comfort her; apparently, he was one of the ushers. "Why? There must be hundreds or thousands of searchers working for Mr. President." After we left the toilet to dry up my clothes (someone did lend us a dryer), (Y/N) said the professor would be waiting for her by the lobby at the West Wing. This man came to deliver the latest message about their SAR and the arrival of the professor and Hank.
"Sir, it isn't my position to mobilize the searchers, and it isn't a simple task to target the sites either. Forgive me; I have some other business to attend to. Do make yourself comfortable before leaving." With that, the man walked away, leaving (Y/N) and me to wait for the others. "Oh, this is dreadful, Peter," (Y/N) sighed heavily, her eyes brimming with tears. "The crisis is solved, but Logan isn't able to know. What's worse, he's nowhere to be seen!" Her small hand, which was still in mine, squeezed it tightly, which resulted in both our hands being warmer. Because none of the words in my mind seemed good enough to reply, I eventually broke the hand we previously held to put on her shoulders and drew our bodies closer while the other vacant hand held her hand. As my free hand touched hers, I could quickly feel the heat on her palm.
If one didn't know how the two of us got into this position, I wouldn't blame one to get astonished or surprised by the way (Y/N) and I were showing, for the professor and Hank were eyeing us with their usual perplexed expressions. They froze in place, with brows raised skeptically. When (Y/N) noticed the adults were ahead of us at a near distance, she pulled away from me instantly, wiping the tears which were nearly shedding to hide her sorrow. And perhaps, to hide the blush that had formed ever since I sneaked my arm around her. Her face was red, like really, really red, almost like a tomato.
"Did we interrupt something?" asked Hank, now knitting his brows together while coming towards us. "No," replied (Y/N) hastily, "it's not what you think...it's just-" I didn't know how to think when (Y/N) denied too hast about our position, for somehow, I was content to let people think this way of us. There was a moment that I felt a sting in my heart, but it didn't last long when I finished the sentence for her. "-Logan's still missing. They can't make it today because they still need to narrow down the sites." As I explained the situation to the adults, (Y/N) frantically nodded her head in confirmation. Professor sighed and shook his head before extending his arm to (Y/N), gesturing for her to go along with him. "Come on, (Y/N). Let's go home."