thisavrou_log | Papa was a rolling stone

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Papa was a rolling stone

Who: Erik Lehnsherr, Wanda Maximoff, Peter Maximoff, Rogue, Clara Oswald, Diana Prince, Charles Xavier
When: The month of December, very carefully planned that none of these are happening at the same time (he has a color-coded calendar)
Where: Various places around the station, see prompts.
What: Erik's personal life is a disaster that I am attempting to contain in one place. This log is for the various dates he has lined up, as well as spending time with his children. And fighting a demon with Charles.
Warnings: Not expecting any, will edit to include warnings if something happens.

I never got a chance to see him (Closed to Wanda)

[ It takes Erik a few days to recover from the shock of Peter's revelation. One thing he definitely needs to do is talk to Wanda. Her odd behavior, and strong reaction when he so grievously misinterpreted the cause, now made sense.

There were still murky waters to navigate. The fact that she had her own parents, even though Peter was his son and Peter's sister was Erik's daughter. That apparently her brother is not here. That there is some sort of dimensional shift that has changed things for her in ways Erik does not quite understand.

He wants too, though. Try to define the strange situation that has tied them together. It is perhaps a selfish impulse, though he is sure that if she tells him to leave her alone, he will do so. And so he goes looking for her, starting in the library because he had heard she might be there. ]

Never heard nothin' but bad things about him (closed to Peter)

[ One thing is clear, Peter needs to know more about Erik's side of the family. Possibly also his mother, as Erik is certain that she has not told Peter the truth about how or when they met.

But the more important thing is to tell him about his family, all that they have lost. The legacy only lives so long as there is somebody to remember it. And now there will be, once Erik is gone.

He goes to Peter's quarters, at a time they both agreed on, with a hard copy of information that he wants Peter to have, and the intention of not getting sidetracked. And the locket. Because the first thing he needs to tell him about is his sister. ]

Papa never was much on thinking (closed to Rogue)

[ Erik is still not sure whether or not this is a mistake. He knows his intentions are good. It has occurred to him that much of what he finds interesting in Rogue is what attracted him to Raven. And becoming physically intimate with Raven was a mistake, one he will not repeat. Clearly Rogue is searching for some kind of mentor, and if Erik can serve in that role, and serve as a voice of reason against whatever it is that Charles is teaching her, all the better.

They are meeting in his quarters, of course. He's not interested in dealing with the inevitable wild rumors that would spring up the instant any of the others saw them interacting. He's done what he can to make sure the lighting is comfortable but not in a way that could be described as "mood lighting". He has a pitcher of what he has been assured is a decent approximation of "sweet tea" in the refrigerator. He is not sure what Rogue intends to prepare, but he expects the tea will go well with it. As well as sweet tea goes with anything, anyway. ]

Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking (closed to Clara)

[ The truth of the matter is that risotto is not as difficult to make as it appears. The trick is to just keep stirring it, and most do not have the patience for it.

Erik is a patient man.

He's left the door open so that Clara can come in without him having to leave the stove. Along with the ingredients he's using, he was able to obtain a few new articles of clothing. A sweater, one that actually fits him and not Charles, in a nice dark maroon. A grey broadcloth shirt underneath, and khaki pants. And an apron over that at the moment, as he is not going to ruin his new clothes.

He hums quietly as he adds a ladle of stock to the rice and stirs vigorously. ]

I'm depending on you to tell me the truth (closed to Diana)

[ Erik didn't bring a chessboard with him, of course. He made one shortly after arrival. Inlaying different alloys to make the checkered pattern, forming various bits of scrap metal into the right color and a shape that he liked. He hadn't actually had time or opportunity to play anybody in the two months since he arrived, and so he is looking forward to teaching Diana.

She is an intelligent woman, and a strategic thinker. Once she picks up the basics he is certain she will quickly become a worthy opponent. He has set the board up in the greenery, on a small table with two chairs that probably wasn't intended to be used like a bistro set in the park. But it's peaceful there, and it is nice to be around the plants.

And if the taskbots get out of hand he can always just stick them to the floor until the cavalry arrives. ]

and that ain't right (closed to Charles)

[ The thing rattles inside the locker. Erik glares back at it, hand up, fingers splayed, keeping the door in place and a flashlight shining directly on it. He's not sure exactly what part of this setup is keeping it in place, so he keeps it all in place.

He flicks on the video call feature on his A.C.E. ]

Call Charles.

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[...ah. There it is.]

I'm sorry.

[She doesn't know that exact pain, but she's all too familiar with the other side of the coin. Her power can bring gods to their knees, but it wasn't enough to save her brother or her people.]

I can...I can try. Pietro and I only had each other for so long that it is hard to remember anything else.

[She hesitates another moment, then pushes on. As confused as she is, Wanda knows she can't take opening up like this only to be rejected later. Somehow this gives her the ability to look at him with that odd intensity that almost makes it seem like she's looking through him.]

But if there are other ways I am not like your Wanda...do you care?

I was alone for a very long time. It's better to have a family, if you can manage it. [ His face softens, though he doesn't quite manage a smile. ]

I don't know... my Wanda.

[ What a strange thought. What a strange thing to say. His daughter, still unknown to him.]

Peter's mother and I are estranged. I didn't know she was pregnant when we parted ways. My younger daughter, Nina, is the one who recently died. Whatever ways you may be different from my Wanda, I would not know.

[And in one sentence, she's gained and lost another sister. Nina. No one's ever mentioned her before - maybe that's why. Knowing she had already lost Pietro, Billy or Lorna probably wouldn't have wanted to tell her. Assuming they even knew about Nina at all.

She does not want to snatch another daughter away from him, but it's not exactly a secret and he'll probably see and ask about the scars on her hand eventually.

She opens her mouth, shuts it again. This is difficult. What if he does get up in disgust and walk away? But isn't it better to rip that band-aid off for both of them now?]

I...

[Why are words so hard?]

...there are no mutants in my world. [He's seen her power, but it's not what he thinks. She isn't inherently 'different' and certainly not 'better' than anyone else.] Pietro and I...we were lucky. And we were the only ones.

[ Erik is quiet, brow furrowed in thought, as he considers what she just said. It takes him a moment, as the thought of a world with no mutants is what he has been fighting so fiercely against these last twenty years. ]

Did the rest of them... die?

[Each second seems to drag on forever and Wanda is back to wishing she could phase through the floor.]

There never were any. No one is born with powers or special abilities in my world.

[ He rushes to reassure her. ]

You might not have met them, yet. I didn't meet Charles until I was in my thirties and...

[ He pauses, her words catching up to him. ]

I don't understand. If you weren't born with your abilities... [ Perhaps she simply didn't understand how it works. ] Mutations don't actually manifest until later in life, usually as part of puberty although some manifest far earlier.

I told you, I'm not like the rest of you.

[He's trying so hard to believe that it almost hurts to snatch every last thread away from him. Wanda turns her right palm over so he can see the scarring. It's unnatural, thin burn lines radiating from a single point almost like a fracture. Clearly it didn't come from cooking.]

Pietro and I...we are what we are because someone took us apart and put us back together.

[ He is having a difficult time accepting what she's saying. It's not that he doubts her, it's that what she is describing is incomprehensible. Like if somebody were to prove to him that Portugal never existed.

Something shifts within him when he sees the scars on her palm. A white-hot, incandescent rage that has nowhere to go. It is worse than when Kurt told him of the abuses he suffered. At least then he can plan to have his revenge on those who committed those acts. But he will never go to Wanda's world. He will never be able to crush those who dared do this to his daughter. He takes a deep breath and lets it out. ]

We are supposed to make the world a better place for the next generation. I see that some things are unchanged.

[ His voice is soft, but tight with suppressed rage. He shakes his head, trying to fight back the bitter taste in his mouth. ]

If I could, I would take them apart and they'd never be put together.

Some things never will.

[Even here, so far removed in time and space from Earth. The Savrii and Mother looked at her and saw a weapon to turn to their own purposes. Link'd Inc had practically enslaved hundreds of children just like her for profit. It doesn't seem to matter where or when they go - there will always be people like Strucker. Stopping them is the entire reason the Scarlet Witch exists.

If only her record here wasn't so terrible.]

The ones who mattered are already dead. [She didn't do it, but she can't even pretend she doesn't find grim satisfaction in knowing their lies have been permanently silenced.] I am told Strucker died very painfully.

[Perhaps that is some consolation - it was for her.]

[ She's right, and for a moment it seems a monstrously cruel thing to bring a child into this world only to suffer the same brutal abuses their forebears have.

But in spite all that he has endured, isn't his life worth living? Would he ever agree that he were better off dead? Better never having been born? No. Especially not when sitting with this woman who is, for all intents and purposes, his daughter. Life is the greatest gift any could ever hope to have. And how much worse would the world have been without him and his children in it? ]

It's still worth fighting to change things for the better.

[ He nods in grim satisfaction at the news that the responsible parties are dead. But the name is so surprising he is struck silent. ]

Strucker? They were still alive?

[ He had never met the Strucker twins. They had left for Brazil long before he joined the Brotherhood. And yet, in a world with no mutants, how did they gain their notoriety? ]

What did they do?

They? [She shakes her head, confused.] 'Baron' von Strucker and 'Doctor' List.

[The acid in her tone leaves no room for misinterpretation as to what she thinks of them.]

HYDRA. [Does he know what that is? She's literally never discussed this in so much detail with anyone else. Charles almost got the full truth out of her in a moment of anger, but even Peter got the sanitized version. She would have told him if he'd asked more questions...but he'd been so upset knowing the portion of the truth she'd shared that she didn't have the heart to dump the rest on him unless he'd wanted it.

By way of explanation, in case it's needed:] Nazis. They stole Loki's scepter from SHIELD to power their experiments. Most of them were what you would imagine when you think of 'weapons.' But the rest... [So much pain, so much death.] Pietro and I were the only survivors.

Baron?

[ He repeats. It is not so surprising that the twins were nobility of some sort, given what he had been able to learn about them (which was not much. Even among the Hellfire Club their bloody legacy, and cruel fate, cast quite a shadow. Still strange to think of them as anything other than the legendary figures they became later.

Those thoughts quickly evaporated with her explanation. He had no idea who Loki was or what his scepter was or what it had to do with a shield but there were some points he did recognize. Just like that, he is filled with rage. His posture stiffens, mouth hardening. There is nothing he can do. The ones who are responsible are dead, or forever out of his reach.

He takes Wanda's hand. His daughter, as he is already thinking of her. Who suffered the same fate as he did. His finger traces over the scars on her palm before lifting it to touch her fingertip to his head, just under the hairline. There is a divot there, tiny but unmistakeable.]

A man I knew as Herr Schmidt subjected me to similar tortures. [ He releases her hand. ] That and the others like it are from what he called "der Heiligenschein". The halo. It was a device to keep my head still.

[ He pulls his sleeve back to reveal the tattoo. He waits until she meets his eye to speak again. ]

You are more than what was done to you.

[Horrified realization dawns on her and Wanda blanches until she's practically the same shade as the library. Of course she knows what that tattoo means. Whatever horrors she can imagine, the reality must have been at least ten times worse, the sort of thing that would make even Strucker seem like Captain America by comparison. She never would have even mentioned HYDRA if she'd known.

And now, with the proper context, so much of she'd heard about him from Peter makes perfect sense.

When Wanda finally meets his eyes, they're bright, like she's holding back the start of tears. She hates this helpless fury.]

I'm sorry.

[For what happened to him, for accidentally bringing it up, for those times in the months before she'd met him she'd been secretly glad that she and Peter had very different fathers. She doesn't love her parents any less...but they have been through such similar hells it would be cruel to shut Erik out now.]

[ Something twists inside him when he sees her unshed tears. He doesn't feel guilty for what was done to him, of course. But he didn't have to tell her. He thought maybe the common experience would be a sort of comfort, that she was not alone in her suffering. Instead it brought only anguish. ]

Can I hug you? [ He asks, not moving. His instinct is to do so, but hers may not be the same. ]

[She would rather be alone in this. It should never have happened to anyone else.]

If you want to. I usually don't mind.

[And if it won't be too hard for him since he just lost one daughter.]

[ She seems much more shaken than him. The offer wasn't for his own comfort. (His own breakdown over this revelation will happen later, of course. When she isn't there for him to focus on and the pain and shock come back.) "I don't mind" is a very long way from "Yes, please."

So instead, he just squeezes her hand. ]

I am very proud of your strength, Wanda.

[Wanda isn't used to asking, since Pietro would have known it was all right. Even the Avengers and most of her friends here would have learned that's not necessary by now.

Her father wouldn't have hesitated.

But this is something new, something she is still trying to wrap her head around.]

I mean that you don't need to ask.

[ His lips twitch in almost a smile, and some of the tension seeps from his shoulders. ]

I didn't want to overstep.

[ He wouldn't have hesitated with Nina. Ever. Not even with Peter, now. But this is different. She had a father, one who wasn't him. One he couldn't replace, and wouldn't want to try.

But he was overthinking things, and so he reached out and hugged her gently. ]

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Papa was a rolling stone

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