driftfleet | [snuggle up real close everyone]

[Have a noticeable pause.] Peter? [He doesn't mean Colossus does he?]

Oh, um, yeah, kind of? I just slip my bits around the atoms of something else.

Peter Maximoff. He's . . . really fast.

That's - [he isn't going to say amazing again, dammit] - a lot more than just passing through objects.

[Well, that's a relief. And also confusing?] ...You mean Pietro Maximoff? Erik's son? [If she wasn't so thrown by it she wouldn't have vocalized that last part, but it can't be a secret, right?] How old is he?

—I'm sorry, Erik's what? [he's so caught off guard by the question he stumbles on the next step]

He's - he's a teenager.

[She tightens her grip even if, as bracketed, it's not exactly life or death for him. Or really anyone at this height unless they are really unlucky. It could hurt though.]

...Is that not something you know about? [She was doing so well keeping the Wanda thing under wraps too.] I guess asking if Erik knows would be kind of pointless then?

Asking Erik would be - pointless, yeah. I'm pretty sure he would have mentioned having children if - if it were even remotely a possibility.

And yet...there is just a guy with the same name and powers? He might not even know there is a possibility. I'm pretty sure he wasn't living the monk lifestyle back home. And thoughts of Erik getting busy are things I don't need. Let's look at some space plants. [And try to pretend those sentences didn't happen.]

. . . I'm not thinking about it. [yep, he's decided. He tilts his head back and pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand] I'll just - file it with the rest of things I'm resolutely not thinking about. Space plants sound absolutely amazing.

Yep. [Looking at some bacon-flavored kelp.]

So, are you Kurt's dad or what? [Well, she decided not to think about Erik getting busy and apparently her brain just shifted to Hank himself.]

[KITTY HE IS TRYING TO LOOK AT KELP HERE. This time he makes a strangled noise, and drops his head into his hand]

No. I have no children, and I'm absolutely certain of that. [and weaker, muffled into his hand] I was trying not to think about that either, Kitty . . .

[. . . he's a glutton for punishment, this has decided it]

He doesn't know who his father is?

Nope. [Or if he does he's keeping it from everyone, her included. She doesn't think he'd do that. She'd respect his privacy without the lie. ...Probably. Then again if her father was the Dark Beast she's not sure she'd want to tell anyone either.] I hope she wasn't with him back home though. Then again I wasn't a big fan of...wait, why absolutely certain?

You're not... I mean, you've... Right?

Kitty.

[he sounds so pained right now] Yes, I've - yes, but I'm still absolutely sure it isn't me. I can take a guess at who it is, though, and - I'd really rather not think about it.

. . . why is this coming up anyway?

Sorry. You were just very certain. [And you seem pretty insecure about your body so...]

I talked to Kara. [Remember, they are friends.]

[Wait a second.] You have a guess?

. . . ah. [he makes a noise and sighs, rubbing at his face] That would explain it.

And - yes, I have a guess. If you want to call it that.

[She's not going to go into more details about her talk with Kara. Unless it's that Raven was mentioned. Actually, probably more Raven to come. For now she's more interested in Kurt's father than mother. And she really has no right to this information. Even if it is just idle speculation it feels like something Kurt should hear first and yet...] What's your guess?

. . . [he sighs, dropping his hand. There's no getting around this]

I could be wrong. It could be coincidence. [but he doesn't sound like he believes that]

There was a mutant in my world with red skin and a tail, but his power was that he could teleport. I've seen it up close - when he was trying to kill me. [that part comes out a little dryly]

[A name wouldn't help much at this point. He sounds distinctive enough that Kitty thinks she'd already know based on the description if she was aware of him.] Why was he trying to kill you? [If he was jealous of him and Raven that would definitely lend more to the theory...]

The first - iteration of the X-Men, you could say, were brought together to stop a group of mutants from starting a nuclear war. He was on the other side.

[Hank isn't one to hold grudges, but when it came to Azazel . . . he can't help but let just a bit of his anger slip into his voice. The man killed his boss, almost killed him and Sean and Alex - he didn't think the guy deserved what happened to him, but that didn't mean he had to like him, either]

Nuclear war is bad. Ask what's left of my world. [No, seriously, even just the maps of her world are depressing.] Is he still on the other side? Was Raven?

Yes, it is. [Shaw had wanted to cripple humanity while allowing mutants to rise up and claim their place as the superior race, and the thought makes Hank scowl briefly, before he schools his expression into something a little less annoyed]

He - no, he was killed, a few years ago. [along with his death came the knowledge of Sean's and Angel's, and that's enough to sober the rest of his anger] Raven had been on our side, though. Erik, too, until he and Charles, ah . . . had a difference in opinion. Then Raven and the remaining mutants on the other side joined with Erik.

So, no Kurt back home I guess? [She'd know about him by now if they knew of one anyway.]

...What was the difference of opinion? What did Erik and the others want to do? [She's not sure how ready she is to hear this.]

Edited 2016-05-13 03:30 (UTC)

[oh, Kitty, why do you ask him things he doesn't want to think about. He takes a deep breath]

I don't know. [and that's really what bothers him. He rubs a hand over his mouth, pausing to collect his thoughts] Is it a possibility? Maybe. But it - it isn't something I can think about. Not - when things between Raven and I are as complicated as they are right now.

[at her question, however, he shakes his head] Have either of them told you about what happened in Cuba?

Complicated is hard. [Things with Reid got very complicated at the end. She doesn't exactly know how to feel about it though. He's interested in Kurt's mom and kind of dumped Kara even though they weren't together. It's a lot to process and doesn't make for the easiest understanding.]

They both told me pieces. I know the military fired on you when you were there to protect everyone and Erik didn't take well to that. I know whatever happened Charles didn't walk away from it.

[he forces a wry, thin smile] And it's the kind of complicated neither of us are very good at. Especially me. [he's the one who started it, after all]

[he sighs out, wincing a little at the memory] So, the very basics. I'm not surprised. I hate to be a broken record, but it - really, really isn't my story. Sure, I was there for it, but those details are theirs to share when they're ready.

What I can tell you is that it resulted in Erik walking away, and Raven and the other mutants going with him. I don't know what they wanted to do, or - really, what any of them did. I only know vague details, and those I learned recently.

It's okay. I get not wanting to tell someone else's story. [She really just wondered about what Erik's beliefs had been if they were different from peaceful coexistence, but it seems that's the part Hank doesn't know. And maybe it's enough that he doesn't know. Enough that there isn't some mutant team reigning destruction down on the world.

She shouldn't be putting this much stock in people that aren't her people anyway, but... They aren't here and they didn't survive. Not that she did either. Or Kurt. There's always a chance in these places, but she can't hope for a chance. She has to live with what she does have.

After a quiet moment she gives Hank's hand a squeeze.]

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