X-Men: The Experiment

Chapter Nine

"You are my daughter, Bella. I created you," Magneto said. As if I believed him.

"No, she's not! And you know it!" Peter said with a furious scowl.

"She's my daughter, idiot. Now stay out of my way," Logan said, unsheathing his metal claws. 

No, he's not, I thought to myself. We're nothing alike....

Just don't say anything about it to him. He is under the illusion that he is. The professor.

Right, I forgot you could do that..., I thought.

"Bel--Bianca...don't listen to them come with me and together we shall fix the humans," Magneto tried again.

"No. Not after what you did to my only friends and then experimented on me. I can't believe how stupid you can be, Eric," I said with confidence.

Then Magneto did something unexpected. He smiled. He spread his hands, palms facing up.

"BIANCA, LOOK OUT!!!" Then, like many other book/movie cliches, Peter jumped in front of me just before a metal shard hit my heart. Instead of it hitting mine, it hit his.

Suddenly, everything was in slow motion. Peter's knees buckled and he fell to the floor. I looked up from him to Magneto. He seemed to be genuinely rattled at the fact that he had hit Peter instead of me.

"PETER!" I yelled in anguish, kneeling to the ground next to me.

Peter's POV

The world around me seemed so distant. Like watching a ship sailing farther and farther away....

Bel--er, Bianca-- was sitting next to me, holding my hand, saying the same thing over and over. "Please don't go, please don't go..."

"Bianca, I think its best if you left Peter alone for the moment," the professor said gently, wheeling his silver wheelchair over.

Bianca squeezed my hand, hard. I winced.

"No. I am not going to leave his side again. Not now, not ever!" She yelled that last part and as she did, the lights above us flickered.

"Bi....Bianca.....I just...wanted...you to know that...I--" I started, but was cut off by my father.

"Pietro..save your strength. You need it if you are to survive." Eric's voice sounded shaken and he seemed to be worried...scared, almost. And that never happened. Ever.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Bianca screamed. "He will survive! Now, everybody OUT!"

"Well, you heard her--out!" The professor motioned everyone out of the room, Logan and Magneto throwing Bianca and me one last look of worry and uncertainty.

"Peter...please don't leave me. I--I need you...." Bianca said through tears.

I could feel my consciousness slowly slipping away.

"I...I need you, too," I managed.

"What if--" Bianca was interrupted by my voice. (Well, if you could call it that. It sounded more like a dying constipated cat giving birth than anything else.)

"Use-- your powers...! You...can...heal me!"

Bianca's voice gave off a hint if laughter.

"Oh, right--right, sorry!"

Bianca rested her hands on the base of the shard. I didn't look, but I could feel her hands brushing against my chest.

Hurry up! Seriously, my life is on the line, here! I wanted to say, but I didn't have the strength.

I looked at Bianca, and saw that her eyes were shut tight, a single tear escaping. I slowly reached up and cupped her head.

"Hey," I said in my constipated-dying-cat-giving-birth voice. "Everything's gonna be fine. I promise."

Bianca opened her eyes and wiped her eyes with the base of her hand. I could see a lot of my blood on it.

"Yeah," she said, and gave me a weak smile and a soft laugh.

As soon as she got a hold of herself, she said, "Ready?"

I nodded.

"Okay," Bianca shut her eyes even tighter than before. The lights above us flickered again, but a lot worse than before.

Pain flared through me as if someone had just injected fire into my veins. Bianca screamed. The lights turned out completely.

I suddenly felt someone slump against me.

Bianca, I thought. My eyelids were growing heavy. No! Don't...sleep....

And then I was out.