(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Thirty-Four

A/N - SO I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE EXTREMIS THING, AND BONDING IT TO HER MAGIC, AND THE ACTUAL EFFECTS IT BRINGS. BECAUSE OF LOKI'S PART IN HER LIFE IN THE NEXT YEAR AND BEYOND, I DIDN'T WANT TO DO TOO MUCH WITH EXTREMIS, I DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE HER TOO MUCH, IF THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT I AM THINKING OF SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF EXPRESSION MAGIC WISE FROM TVD. BECAUSE IN MCU EXTREMIS GRANTS ITS USERS PYROKINETICS AND REGENERATION, WHICH WE KNOW THAT EXPRESSION ALSO GRANTS, BUT WITH TELEKINESIS ADDED ONTO IT. 

- I AM OPEN TO OTHER IDEAS, OTHER TYPES OF MAGIC IF YOU GUYS CAN FIND ONE THAT WILL WORK. 

.....

Pixie is sat on the ground at the edge of the cliff, staring out over the water, clutching to the bag strap across her chest. Behind her, the area is a mass of activity. Tatiana and Maya standing close, talking whilst waiting on Pixie to be comfortable and calm enough to join them, but close enough to cover her from everything going on around them. The flashing of reporters' cameras as they try to get the perfect shot of a grieving child. It's disgraceful. Tatiana is so close to just hexing them all. She suddenly recognises a face from her own world. She's actually surprised they came all the way out here for a story, but then she really shouldn't put anything by the reporter.

"Skeeter" She complains and moves towards Pixie. She wants to get her daughter out of here and away from Rita Skitter's reporting. That woman won't be kind. "We need to go," Tatiana tells Pixie who shakes her head. Tatiana sighs a little. "Five minutes" She adds and leans up, moving back to Maya. Pixie's eyes find one of Tony's shattered Iron Man helmets and she pulls it towards her, sniffling slightly. She sees a red flashing light inside the helmet and as she puts the helmet on she receives a message Tony had left her earlier

"Stark Secure Server. Retinal scan: Verified"

"Pixie Stix" She lets out a breath hearing Tony's voice. "It's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I'm so sorry I put you and your mom in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again. Also, it's Christmas time, the rabbit's too big and too scary. Done. Sorry. And I'm sorry in advance because...I can't come home yet, Princess. I need to find this guy. You and your mom, you gotta stay safe. That's all I know......" There is a pause. "I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian." He adds before the message ends. Pixie closes her eyes and then pulls off the helmet. At least she knows now that he's not dead. There is a weight that lifts from her heart. But she knows that him being dead might just work in his favour if he is going after the people that did this. She digs around in her bag before she finds the tool kit Tony gave her at the beginning of the year, finding it, she flips it open to dig out what she needs. Tatiana glances over at Pixie to find her hunched over the helmet. She narrows her eyes a little. Watching her working away for a few minutes before she decided to step in and ask her about it.

"What have you got there?" Tatiana asks her. Pixie drops the kit and something else into her bag.

"Nothing" She answers, pushing herself to her feet, knocking the Iron Man helmet off of the cliff. He wouldn't want someone else getting their hands on it. "I'm ready to go now" Tatiana gives her daughter a weird look as she passes her, heading towards the car parked up behind them.

......

Tatiana starts the car, glad that Tony took to teaching her how to drive when they first became whatever they were in the beginning. Because she can't exactly apparate with Maya or all the reporters here watching them. Pixie straps her seatbelt into place and hugs her bag to her chest. Maya sits beside Tatiana in the passenger side seat, the door closing just as Tatiana pulls out of the driveway, almost mowing down some reporters but she honestly doesn't care.

"Why were you at the house tonight?" Tatiana asks Maya. "What was so important that you had to speak to Tony two days before Christmas?" Maya worries her hands in her lap a moment before deciding that she can trust Tatiana.

"I think that my boss is working for the Mandarin" Maya tells her. "So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest that we get ourselves someplace safe"

"Your boss works for the Mandarin, you think? But Tony says you're a botanist, so..."

"That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder running a team of forty out of a privately-funded think tank, but sure you can call me a botanist" Maya offers and looks out the window. "Thanks...for you know...back at the house" Tatiana snorts a little.

............

Pixie sits cross-legged on the floor of a motel room, her back against the couch behind her as Maya and Tatiana talk. They are all tired. All in pain. Aching in places, likely from the explosion. They have found some motel room to set up in until Tatiana can come up with something else. A floo solution. She is sure she hit her head in the explosion and she doesn't want to risk apparating yet. Not with Maya either. The muggle will get her into trouble for using magic. Which she just might do anyway because of the spell she used to protect Pixie back at the house. She's hoping Maya was knocked out already when she whipped her wand out.

"Fun fact. Before he built rockets for the Nazis, the idealistic Wernher von Braun dreamed of space travel" Maya voices, shaking out her hair. Little pieces of dust and house fall out of it. "He stargazed. Do you know what he said when the first V-2 hit London? 'The rocket performed perfectly. It just landed on the wrong planet.' See, we all begin wide-eyed. Pure science. And then the ego steps in, the obsession. And you look up, you're a long way from shore"

"You can't be too hard on yourself, Maya. I mean, you gave your research to a think tank" Tatiana offers as she brushes the little pieces of debris from her coat.

"Yeah, but Killian built that think tank on military contracts"

"That's exactly what Tony used to do. So, don't judge yourself"

"Thank you, Tatiana. I really appreciate that" Someone knocks on the door and Pixie looks over from her book. Tatiana gets up, crosses the room and then opens the door. Room service pushes in a tray of food but Killian appears & snaps his neck. Tatiana gasps.

"Pixie, run!" Killian grabs Tatiana by the arm, spins her around and slams her against the wall, holding her by the neck. Tatiana claws at his arm as he pushes her up, feet off the floor, the tips of her boot scrambling to find something to hold herself up by.

"Hi, you must be Tatiana" He offers and then turns to Maya who holds Pixie behind her. "So, you want to tell me why you were at Stark's mansion last night?"

"I'm trying to fix this thing. I didn't know you and the master were gonna blow the place up.

"Oh, I see. So, you were trying to save Stark when he threatened us?" Killian asks.

"I've told you, Killian, we can use him" Maya points out. "Look, if we want to launch product next year, I need Stark. He just lacked a decent incentive" Maya points out as she reaches behind her. "Now, he has one" Maya grabs Pixie by the arm and pulls her forward. Tatiana glares at Maya. Pixie turns and bites Maya's arm causing her to release her. "Kid actually bit me" Pixie turns and kicks Maya in the shins as hard as she can before she runs towards her bag across the room, her wand is in there. Killian grabs the hood of Pixie's hoodie when she passes close enough to him, he yanks her back with a cry of surprise from her.

"Leave her alone!" Tatiana growls at him, holding out her hand to summon her own wand but Killian pulls her back from the wall by the next and slams her back against it hard enough to knock her out.