psinex@yahoo.com Reverse Polarity: Crucible by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's. Please don't sue. NOTES: This falls right around UXM 228 or so ... P.S. - Thanks, Alara :) ------------------------------------------------------ Muir Island Research Center: 7/12/1993: 09:00 hrs local: ------------------------------------------------------ "Dear God ..." Moira Cassidy forced herself to calm down; the lymphocytes weren't going to kill her boy, he wasn't going to die - - "Accushla ? We've got th' telemetry feeds t' the mansion an' X-Factor's databases on-line," Sean said gently as they hovered over their 4-year-old foster son's bed. White wisps of hair fell between his brows, while a respirator mask had been fitted over his mouth. "How c'ld this've happened, Sean ? He was healthy weeks ago, an' - I shouldae prevented this !" Moira snapped. She took a shuddering breath and turned to the conference call on the vid-screens, wiping her eyes before the Beast and Havok appeared. "Moira," Alex said, his mouth twisted in grief. Moira nodded; the X-Men's televised death in Dallas a week earlier, with Stevie Hunter and Sunfire at their side, had left all of the mutant teams in shock. "Alex, thank ye. I ken this isnae a good time, but I wouldnae ask if it werenae dire," Moira said. "Have ye had a chance t' check yuir ship's files yet ?" "We're still trying to figure the overgrown eggbeater out," Lorna smiled weakly from behind Alex. "Bobby and Jamie are out looking for Warren, and Hank - well, we know what you and Cecilia are busy with." "It's never easy teaching teenagers," Hank tried to joke. "Moira, I've run two scans through our files. The blood-type simply isn't there ... wait a minute ! I didn't check the Avengers' database ... !" "Will they mind, Hank ?" Sean asked. "Not as long as Agent Denti keeps the Commission happy with status reports of X-Factor's good deeds," Alex said in a sour tone. "Hey, don't knock it, o master of the cosmic rays," Lorna smirked. "At least we've got legal control of the School for Gifted Youngsters." "And ... oh my word," Hank gasped. The others looked at him as he looked back and said, "We've got a match for young Erik's unique bone marrow needs. Two, actually." "Among the Avengers ?" Moira asked, surprised. "Not at present - he's on the moon, and she's laid up at home with her twins," Hank said, still stunned. Moira and Sean's jaws dropped in understanding, and Alex stammered, "Th-THEM !?" ------------------------------------------------------ Noon: Muir Island Reception Area: ------------------------------------------------------ "He is WHO !?" Pietro Maximoff was positively apoplectic with rage as Hank tried to explain the situation. "Piet, we wouldn't ask you to do this, but he's NOT Magneto anymore," Hank said. Quicksilver looked at the Cassidys and X-Factor with a deep sigh and muttered, "Let me see him. This is still just too bizarre for words ..." He raced them to the window of the boy's room and stood stock-still, his jaw hanging open. #He'll attract flies if this keeps up,# Bobby thought with a small grin. Hank elbowed him in the side and looked at Pietro. "He's ... Lord, he's so innocent ..." Pietro whispered. "Quicksilver, please - whatever he did t'ye as an adult, he's just a wee lad now," Moira pleaded. Pietro turned to her and nodded once. "He ... I need to get to know him, Moira," he said, still pale. "Wanda and her boys - and that toaster of a husband of hers - and Crystal and Luna need to get to know him. Take what you need." He followed Moira back to the operating theater, giving Erik one last glance before entering the patient prep area. #My father,# Pietro thought, shaking his head. #And I thought I could outrun anything ...# ------------------------------------------------------ A week later ... ------------------------------------------------------ "A-Aunt Moira ... ?" Erik opened his eyes to smile weakly at Moira and Sean. They stood over him in environmental suits, smiling with tears of relief. "Hi there," another voice smiled from beside Erik's bed. He looked up and waved to a still-recovering Kitty Pryde, who had befriended him during her stay on Muir. "We've got some other people who want t' tell ye welcome back," Sean grinned. "We'll be right back." The Cassidys and Kitty left, and Erik looked up to see a white-haired man and red-haired woman enter in suits similar to his foster parents'. The woman smiled tentatively, while the man pulled up a chair and looked at Erik with wide eyes. "I ... I'm Pietro," the man said softly. "Are you in any pain ? Should I get Moira or Sean ?" "'M OK," Erik whispered. "Do I know you ?" "Not yet," the woman smiled. "But maybe we can be friends ?" " ... mebbe ..." Erik mumbled before drifting off to sleep. "It's a start," Wanda said, helping the obviously-shaken Pietro out of the room. They removed their suits in a airlock and sat on a bench outside, where Kitty sat beside them. "He's very bright," she said. "He ..." Her face scrunched up, and she whimpered, "He used to love playing with Piotr ... " Wanda gently hugged Kitty and let the girl cry, while Pietro took another shuddering breath. "For their memories - and for the man we first met - we have to try and make this work," he said, looking back at Erik. "As he would have said, we can't let history repeat itself ..." ------------------------------------------------------ end ------------------------------------------------------ _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com