Paradigm Shift

PARADIGM SHIFT CHAPTER THIRTY (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies and BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Ted's been awfully quiet lately...is he hiding? InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are sparkled for archiving. :) ProPhile gets lots of muse-cookies for being so musey. Readers/Reviewers: I'd sing you a love song but I can't sing to save my life. Suffice it to say, I adore you for reading and reviewing. :)


"Portuguese?" Tarot asked with a hint of amusement as she returned to the oak desk in Magneto's study.
"I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal..."1 Roulette sprawled on the leather sofa and sighed. "That was fucking random."
"Magneto said we might run into someone from our dimension," Tarot pointed out blandly. "Now, shut up and help me or get out of the way. We've only got another hour and we have to get back."
"This is stupid," Roulette whined, lurching to her feet with the air of someone much put upon. "Why do we have to do it? Why can't Pietro do it for him?"
Tarot closed her eyes and tightened her fingers on the edge of the desk, counting to ten before answering. "You did not have to come. In fact, I don't recall inviting you. You tagged along because you didn't want to stay at the house with Fred!"
"He's all...squishy," Roulette complained.
"Pietro has work of his own to do. Magneto will be back in less than an hour now and I am more than willing to tell him you disappeared, if you catch my meaning..."
Roulette narrowed her eyes at Tarot and fought the urge to spit or claw or something else equally catty. "What makes you think that Pietro will let you help him run the Brotherhood or whatever the hell it is that you think is going to happen?"
Tarot slammed shut the drawer she had been rifling through and shoved Roulette hard, making the taller girl stumble into an armchair. "Because he promised me!" she snarled. "And no one breaks their promises to me!"
"Emma did. All of them," Roulette said coolly, righting herself and facing down Tarot. "Promises are just words, Tarot. You know that as well as I do."
"Shut up before I break your teeth," Tarot growled, searching the next drawer down.
"I could help more if you would tell me what you're looking for," Roulette said after a few minutes.
"Details," she said shortly.
"About..." Roulette tapped her foot and waited for Tarot to respond. It became quickly apparent, though, that she would get no answer. "Fuck you, then!" she exploded, kicking the desk hard and knocking over the gooseneck lamp that stood on one corner.
Tarot barely looked up. "Be back by the time Magneto gets here or we're leaving without you..."

Roulette stalked through the house, her anger and annoyance nearly overflowing her very being. _Fucking slut. Fucking idiot slut. She's too stupid to see what's going to happen. Pietro is nothing. Magneto...he might build the Brotherhood but they're penny ante compared to what the Hellions were. _ She drew up short, thinking of Emma and her descent into her current unwell state. _Fucking Xavier...he's going to ruin it for all of us. Emma's never going to be the same... _ Roulette was working up to breaking something expensive when a tiny scuffling noise caught her attention. _Pietro's gone to the Boardinghouse here, Magneto is out... _She crept forward, moving silently down the hall, sliding her fingers along the wall as if to make sure she did not deviate from a set course, seeking shadows that were not supposed to be there. A tinge of sulfur burned her nose and she stopped abruptly. "Well, fuck me," she murmured. "Little fucking sneaks..."
"You speak English very well, Fraulein," Kurt said from behind and above her.
Roulette stifled a yelp and spun around, craning her neck towards his voice a second later. She did not have time to form a response, witty or otherwise, as Kurt disappeared from view and reappeared behind her, poking her in the side before he vanished again. Roulette knew she looked ridiculous, gasping and turning and lunging at an assailant that could not be caught. Just when she thought she would run out of breath, Kurt paused long enough for her to grab hold of his arm. "Bastard!" she snapped.
"Nein," he said cheerily, "I know who my parents are!" She felt a disgusting pull and tug from the very center of her being and she did not even get a chance to cry out or gasp before she found herself outside, standing next to a car that she did not recognize. "Now," Kurt said pleasantly, his grip on her arm painfully tight. "You get to take a little trip with me and my...friend..." he said, his tail snaking out from beneath the cover of his holo to open the car door.
"Oh? Where is this little friend?" she snapped, hoping for the worst. "Maybe she won't come back..."
"Maybe you need to stop watching stupid soap operas to get your retorts," Kitty said, emerging from some shrubs and looking like she was wearing the better part of a ligustrum. At Kurt's raised brow, she shrugged. "Sorry. Got stupid and tripped the alarm in the basement. Had to run like Hell."
"Nice leaves," he said, shoving Roulette into the car and climbing in next to her. His tail snaked around her waist and squeeze, making it difficult for her to breathe as he held her arms pinned to her sides. "I suggest you drive fast, Kitty."
She nodded, getting behind the wheel and knocking some stray greenery from her hair. "I couldn't get to the other one..."
Roulette was seething. "You don't know what the fuck you're getting into!" she shouted, struggling in vain. _Fucking twice! They've fucking caught me twice! I can't get a break in any dimension! _
Kitty smiled toothily, though without humor. "You don't even have an accent..."
"Shut up," Roulette said roughly. "You can't stop us, you know..."
"Seriously...soap operas? Not so much..." Kitty sighed, swinging the car out onto the main street.
"Tell us about Magneto," Kurt suggested and did not fail to notice Kitty suddenly snapping her glance towards him, frowning.
"Kurt," she said warningly before Roulette could answer.
The blonde grinned smugly. "Two words for you. Kid napping."
"Dork," Kitty muttered, "that's one word. Kidnapping."
"And," Kurt said, his voice pitched low enough that only Roulette could hear him, "I highly doubt that they can arrest us for kidnapping someone who doesn't exist in this world, eh?" He had the grim satisfaction of seeing the grin fall from the blonde's face as Kitty entered the highway and headed towards Bayville.

Remy had a headache. A great whopping big headache. He was almost certain that he had seen two Pietros that day, one wearing all black and attempting to skulk and the other clad in his usual silver uniform that made him look disturbingly like a Solid Gold dancer. What was so disturbing, Remy reflected, was that there was no way Pietro could have changed. It was too fast, even for him. One minute, Remy saw him creeping up the stairs clad all in black, from the watch cap on his head to the boots on his feet, the next Pietro was slowing to a walk as he burst through the kitchen door, his silver uniform splashed with mud from a run in the woods. "Where's Lance?" the younger mutant said, not even breathing hard. The bruise on his cheek was fading from the encounter with his supposed friend the other day and Pietro seemed to be holding no grudge against Lance for striking him, but Remy was not so sure trouble was not brewing.
"What're you doin' down here, homme?"
"Looking for Lance. Duh." Pietro made a face of annoyance. "If you're not gonna tell me..."
"You jus' come by here?" Remy asked casually, standing and stretching with studied nonchalance.
"No...look, if you haven't seen him, just say so!"
"Why you need him? Ain't you fightin'?"
Pietro's face became neutral. "Why do you ask?"
"Cause I don' wanna hafta deal wid anymore trouble like earlier in de week..." Casually, he pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and began shuffling. "Ya know, it'd be a damn shame if I gotta tell Magneto dat you ain't much help round here..."
Pietro's natural pallor became several shades lighter at that. "We're not fighting," he said carefully. "We've got us an understanding."
"Do tell..." Remy raised one brow and smiled slightly. "What kinda unnerstandin' you got wid him dat you ain't been tellin' me 'bout? I'm tinkin' Magneto'd love ta know bout dese alliances 'gainst his chosen representative..."
Pietro finally looked angry. "It's not against you!" He made a slashing motion in the air with one hand, indicating annoyance. "I just want to tell him I found Toad!"
Remy cringed inwardly. _Merde. I knew we were one short... _ "Do ya now? How innerestin'. Where he gone to?"
Pietro wavered. He wanted to tell Lance, to get back in his friend's good graces after trying to defend Kitty the other day and getting knocked down for his trouble. It was almost obsessive, his need for Lance's approval, despite the fact that he and not Lance was Magneto's son, he and not Lance was going to succeed the old man. Despite Remy's presence, Pietro was sure of that. A rather violent riffle through the cards made Pietro's mind up for him. "Toad's gone to the Institute. He went with Rogue and two of the other girls..."
"Pour quoi?" Remy asked as neutrally as possible, fanning the cards between his hands and snapping them back into a neat stack.
Pietro had to think for a moment, trying to decipher what Remy had said. "Oh, why? Well...um...I don't know..."
Remy nodded sagely and pocketed his cards. _Institute, eh? Dat's where Jubilee is...hmm...mebbe some recon is in order here... _ "Pietro, you wanna help me out?" He was fairly sure that if the younger man had a tail, it would have been wagging just then, so eager was his nod. "Good. We gonna go on some recon, d'accord? Jus' you an' me..." _And the devil make three..2 _

Pietro watched himself leave with Remy and very nearly went weak with relief. He even slid into a crouch against the wall at the top of the stairs after the front door shut behind the departing mutants, taking a moment to breathe slowly and calm himself. _Magneto swears it's in Mystique's room. Or what would be her room if she were here...Okay. Get in, get out...you can do this. It's not rocket science... _ He heard some movement and felt the floor shake beneath his feet. Fred's up. Great. At least he's slow... Pietro rose to his full height and walked down the hall towards the door at the very end, secure in the idea that he was mostly alone. Lance's hand descending on his arm nearly gave him an early heart attack.
"What're you doing here?" Lance snapped, looking ready to do violence. "I thought I told you we don't need pussies3 like you in the Brotherhood!"
Pietro jerked back and ducked from his grasp. "Fuck off, Alvers," he growled in automatic reaction.
Lance actually sputtered for a moment before lunging at Pietro and missing as the other teenager dodged backwards. "You fucking embarrassed me in front of _everyone _, you freak!"
Pietro felt panic mingle with outrage. _What kind of wuss am I here? _ He darted out of the way of another lunge and felt his back hit the door to the room he was looking for. "Lance back off!"
"When'd you get balls?" Lance snarled, making contact with Pietro's shoulder, a resounding thud resulting from the impact of flesh against wooden door. "Thought you knew your place around here!"
"I think," Pietro snapped, swinging hard and sending Lance sprawling, "you have so got to get laid more often." He dashed into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him, realizing as he did so just how futile the gesture was. Even as he dove for the bed, prying at floorboards in search of the loose one Magneto had assured him was there, Lance began flinging himself against the door. He thought fleetingly of Tarot as the wood began to splinter and Lance shouted at him. _If I die here, will she miss me, or does she even really care? _ The floorboard beneath his fingers gave and came up with a tug as L suc succeeded in knocking in the door. _Guess I'm gonna find out... _
1 From "Pretty Woman" I forget the exact context but I remember the line.
2 It's a Southern expression and a folk song. If you're ever inclined, there's a good version on the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack. "Nobody but the baby" is what it's called on there, I think. The expression means you're about to get into trouble or there's a lot of temptation to do something naughty. *g *
3 *sigh * Sorry 'bout that. Why are all the derogatory words female? Someone acts girly, someone is a pussy... Freudian, neh?