It's Wonderful to See You Again

The Escape

"Are you ready? Lydia? Peter?" Charles looked at his friend and the teenager.

"Yeah, I got it." Lydia responded, her fingers in her curly black hair.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, " the silver haired boy quiped while jumping up and down. "Let's get to it already!"

Logan laughed at the kid's enthusiasm. Same energetic brat, he thought.

The group was just outside the Pentagon, ready to get Erik out.

Just the thought of her past love made Lydia's heart jump. All the moments they shared had been circling around in her head on the car ride over. It had been a while since they had seen each other, and she could only imagine the look in his eyes once he saw her.

Lydia hoped Erik missed her just as much as she missed him.

As they got into the building, they all integrated with the tour group. She stayed close to Peter, making him incredibly flirtatious.

"Whoa there, babe, I know we're working together, but we can continue getting to know each other after, alright?" He shot her a cheeky grin which the aura-wielder rolled her eyes.

She groaned, "Oh, puh-lease."

Soon, everybody went their separate ways and got into their positions.

Lydia and Peter sped up to the elevator which led to Erik. When they entered, a guard was in there with them. Peter shot him an innocent grin and got out the duct tape.

The brown skinned beauty whistled while she waited until the boy got dressed. Once he was done, he turned around for her.

"How do I look? Handsome? Sexy?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"You're a security guard, Peter," she said, monotonously. "Now, stop the flirting. We have work to do." She looked in her bag for her stones. Lydia had her usual ones: Opalite, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, etc. She could use her aura freely, but the stones let their manifestations take solid, weaponized forms.

She and Peter looked at the elevator numbers, both of them smiling when they heard the ding.

"Ready?" Lydia asked.

"Oh yeah." Peter responded with, food tray in his hand. The door opened and as they stepped out, all the guards looked at them, wide-eyed.

Peter sped up to the middle of the rows. The men getting their guns. Lydia's footsteps echoing in the corridor as she shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I really don't think you guys should do that." With lighting speed, she took out her Opalite crystal.

She held it tightly in her hand, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Soon, a wave of light escaped from her body, lifting her up from the ground slightly, letting a repulse hit all of the surrounding guards.

The guard in front of them looked at her with horror-filled eyes.

"If I were you, I'd let us through." Lydia told the guard, and without even a blink of an eye, he touched the button to activate the door to the next room.

Peter went on through the door first. Lydia, however, stayed behind and took a purple stone out of her bag. She held it in one hand, and put her other on the guard's head.

"Sleep," she said, and sleep he did. He fell to the ground.

She joined Peter in the next room. Ahead, they could see the door which held Erik.

She turned to the guard. "I suggest that you let us through because, well, I mean," a small smirk appeared on her face  "You've seen what I can do. You do not want to mess with me."

The guard said nothing, glared at her and let them through.

Peter and Lydia walked into the room with the clear glass overlooking Erik's white room. The teenager bent down to give the metal-wielder his food with a note. He went to the window and it started to vibrate.

Within a matter of seconds, the glass broke, Lydia giving a hand to help Erik out. His eyes widened when he realized who it was.

"M-my god! Lydia? Is it really you?" He asked, not believing it was her, even though he was holding her still.

"Hi, Erik. Long time no see?" She shrugged timidly as she looked over his features. He was still the same Erik she remembered. Same gorgeous blue eyes, same chisled jawline, and that mischievious glint in his eye.

He ran fingers through her hair. "I've missed you so much, Lydia. You have no idea how much I've thought abou-"

Erik was interruptted by Peter's snickering.

"Ewwwww, gross." He walked up to them. "Now, listen: there'll be 30 guards outside in a couple seconds sooooo we need to go." Peter got a hold of the metel bender's neck and the aura-wielder's waist.

The door opened to reveal the guards pointing their guns at the trio. The teenager sped up to the elevator. Lydia was fine, but Erik, not so much.

He bent forward a bit, trying to get over the headache.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It happens to everyone their first time." Peter explained awkwardly, rubbing his neck. He changed back into his clothes as Lydia helped Erik get his bearings.

"So...," Peter started to say, "What did you do for them to put you in there, huh? C'moooon, what did you do? What did you do? What did you doooo?"

The man looked at the boy and blatantly said, "For killing the president."

Peter's eyes widened. "Wow...." he mouthed. He looked at the guard and Lydia.

Once Erik got his head together, he looked at Lydia. He wanted to memorize her face again. He could never forget her, but if this was his last time of seeing her, he just had to remember her beautiful and soft face forever.

"Does this mean you'll join me in our kind's mission, darling? Please tell me its true." He looked at her with hopeful and expectant eyes. Erik wanted her to be by his side. She wouldn't get away from him, not this time.

He couldn't live with that torment again.

Lydia ran her hands through his hair and graced him with a watery and sad smile. "I'm sorry, Erik, but no. As much as I love you, Charles needs me. Even if it's just Hank and I, he needs people around him. He can't be alone."

Erik growled lowly at the mention of his old friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but Peter was too quick to chime in.

"Ya know, baby, if you don't want him, then I'm ripe for the picking."

Erik groaned and Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Kid, you're way too young for me. Keep dreamin'."

Peter just smiled and turned to Erik. "So, you can control metal, huh?...ya know, my mom knew a guy who could do that..." he drifted off, in thought.

As soon as he said that, Lydia looked at Erik.

She whispered, so Peter couldn't hear. "I think we need to talk..."