The characters being used in this story are the property of Marvel Comics and no money is being made from their use. There, I said it. You #%^%&^$$#^ who thought of the rule happy?

Chapter Four

Ontario Canada.

Jeanne-Marie Beuabir's home and main office for Team Northstar Exteme Snowsports

"So, is the February Snowboarding competition going as planned?" Jeanne Marie asked the event manager for Team Northstar Extreme Snowsports as she handed him a mug of hot tea.

Kyle graciously accepted it as he nodded. "All prepped and ready," the Jamacian-Canadian said as he flipped his dreadlocks away line of sight. "Although I still say you should be out in it with you brother. I mean, you're a good snowboarder yourself; it's not fair Jean-Paul gets all the attention."

"That's what he does best," Jeanne Marie replied as she sat down next to Kyle and began to go over figures for next week's business. "I'm content to sit back and let him have the glory. Besides in case you've forgotten, I'm pregnant."

"Yeah. Hard to believe." Kyle looked out the window where Jean-Paul and Pietro were playing a game of one-on-one basketball. "Maybe we could have your boyfriend and some of his collegues in the Avengers show up; it'd give us a real promotional boost."

"Pietro's not my boyfriend," Jeanne-Marie insisted, "he's just the guy who got me pregnant in a one night stand."

"I stand corrected," said Kyle. "Anyway, why don't you ask him about it, and maybe even get your old collegues from Alpha Flight too?"

"Maybe." Jeanne-Marie had an idea. "Pietro's one of the teachers at the Avenger's Academy. Perhaps he could arrange the staff and students to come as sort of a field trip."

"I was thinking more along the lines of having Captain America or Wolverine. Or maybe even the Mighty Thor." Kyle laughed. "Wouldn't that be something! Having the God of Thunder show up to promote a snowboard race!"

"Pietro doesn't know Thor that well; they've seldom been active Avengers at the same time. And he and Wolverine don't get along all that well."

"From what I saw of that guy, hardly anybody gets along with him," laughed Kyle.

"Are you talking about Pietro or Logan?" put in Jeanne-Marie. She looked out at the window again. She didn't live in super-speed like the man who fathered her child, but she and Jean-Paul could both see the world that way if they concentrated. She did so, and followed their game.

Everytime the two of them happened to be here, Pietro and Jean-Paul would get into some kind of competition like this. Pietro was stronger and living in super-speed 24/7 gave him a slightly faster reaction time. But Jean-Paul was a more experienced player, and he'd just scored a basket.

Jeanne-Marie recalled the first time; they'd raced from San Fransico to San Antonio and back. Jean-Paul came in first, and Quicksilver insisted he'd cheated in the last mile by flying a few inches above ground.

"I did not," Jean-Paul replied. "You are just a sore loser, that's all."

"Ah, Jean-Paul," Jeanne-Marie replied. "Your boots aren't as muddy as his are."

"Uh, well-I just ran over some less muddy spots!"

Despite his protests, Jean-Paul did agree to a re-race-and the second one was a tie-and both had their boots worn away with their feet torn and bloody.

Jeanne-Marie looked away from the window and got back to discussing business with Kyle.

A few seconds later Jean-Paul and Pietro came inside bickering. "You broke our agreement! That last shot was cheating!"

"I did not," Pietro retorted. "We agreed we'd do this on strictly muscle speed, with no energy manipulation. All I did was vibrate my legs at rapid speed-like this." Pietro began wiggling his lower body at high speed and floated several inches off the ground. "That's not energy manipulation like when you or your sister fly-my speed comes from pure muscle power."

He went back down to the floor. "I had no idea you could do anything like that," Kyle said. "From I heard, you were a strictly land-bound speedster."

Pietro shrugged. "I don't do it very ofton; running does come more natural to me."

Jean-Paul snorted. "You're like a road-runner. They run fast, but don't fly well."

"Meep meep!" Pietro went- then a dark look came over his face.

"What's the matter?" Jeanne Marie asked.

"That was Luna's favorite cartoon-we would receive earth television signals on Atillan, and she enjoyed watching them."

Jeanne-Marie got up. "You rarely mention your daughter."

"We-we're not on good speaking terms right now." Pietro went over to were he left his wallet. "Do you want to see pictures of her?"

All three of them gathered around Pietro as he sat down and showed them the picture. "She's beautiful," Jeanne-Marie said.

"This one here," said Kyle. "You're both out on the moon and wearing space suits."

"That was Luna' fourth birthday." Pietro sighed, as if at a memory that was both happy and sad. "We went out onto the moon surface, and I ran as fast as I could carrying her on my shoulders-Without an atmosphere I didn't have to worry about air friction."

"What was it like-living on the moon among the Inhumans?" Jeanne-Marie asked.

"Most of the time-it was like I was an outsider looking in," said Pietro. "Not because I was a mutant, fo course-simply because I wasn't an Inhuman."

"Luna seems rather young to have become distant from you. May I ask why?"

"I'de rather-not-talk about it," Pietro said. "It's-rather personal." The others all nodded didn't press the matter.

After some more minutes, Jean-Paul looked over to the clock. "It's almost 6:00. C'mon Kyle we better get going. Armond and Gilbert have to be wondering where we are."

The two got up, and, holding hands, walked out the door to Jean-Paul's car.

Pietro watch them go. "Those two, how long have they been-"

"Since Jean-Paul and I founded Team Northstar Extreme Snowsports," said Jeanne Marie. "I'd known Kyle for years; I suggested him for event manager of our company so he could keep an eye on Jean Paul and keep him out of trouble. Never once did I imagine the two of them would-" Jeanne-Marie simply rolled her eyes.

"Jeanne-Marie-how are you? And the baby?"

"Tabernac; the women in my pregnancy support group were right: you men all think pregnant women are made of fragile glass. I'm all right, I go to the doctor's regularly, and Hank McCoy came by last week to check me out. Both me and the baby are fine."

"That's good to know. It's just we have some extra things to consider, since we're both mutants."

"True." The two fo them sat down together on the sofa. "Pietro, I'm scared. I mean, what kind of mother will I make? How will I know what to do when this child gets hurt or gets into trouble?"

"Those are all questions I was asking myself, when Crystal announced she was pregnant with Luna." Pietro answered. "And in truth, I wasn't there for much of Luna growing up-because of the marital troubles I kept having with Crystal."

"At least that's not something we have to worry about-considering that we're not married and we both agreed not to take it any further."

"True." Pietro looked up. "I only wish Wanda was here-she was the one person whom I could always count on and trust. Except for that time when she married the Vision; I acted pretty bad to her. I was just convinced that being in love with a machine in the long run would cause her misery and grief."

"I heard about that-and how her marriage to him ended."

"Yes. It turned out I was right-but it brought me no pleasure." Pietro buried his face in his hands. "God, I just miss her so much. She's been missing for so long; and so much has been going on that kept me from looking for her."

"You'll find her. I'm sure you will," said Jeanne-Marie. "I'll try to help if I can, and I'm sure that Jean-Paul will too."

Pietro looked up at Jeanne-Marie. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'd best be going too. There's a major training session at the Avenger's Academy tomorrow, and I have to help prepare for it."

As he walked out the door-at Jeanne-Marie's request Hank Pym had opened a gateway there to the Infinite Avenger's Mansion-Jeanne-Marie closed it and flipped on the TV.

"It's a shame that he couldn't spend the night. He's so good in bed."

Jeanne Marie looked as saw her reflection-and knew it was her other personality talking. The one Jean-Paul called the Slut. "Shut up. Pietro and I both agreed we wouldn't take it any further."

"What are you afraid of? That he'll knock us up?" laughed her reflection. "A little too late for that, I fear?"

"Yeah. And he'd only use it as a chance to move in and mooch off of us." Now Jeanne-Marie turned and saw the face of yet another personality-the Bitch.

"Quiet, both of you," Jeanne-Marie said. "You know Pietro hasn't done anything like that nor once tried to get any money out of us."

"Not yet," answered her darker persona. "But it's only a matter of time. You know about that guy's historyand how he keeps going back and forth to posing as a hero and comitting acts of villiany. The Avengers may be dumb enough to keep forgiving him, but you shouldn't be."

"That first time his mind was being manipulated by an insane telepath," Jeanne-Marie said to her reflection. "And it was a Skrull impersonating him, not Pietro, who nearly triggered that war between the Inhumans and the US."

"So he says. I'll bet that girl of his even knows better; that's why she's not talking to him."

"Who cares about that?" replied the other reflection. "He's such a good lover; next time let's try to convince him into bed!"

"SHUT UP!" Jeanne-Marie cried. "Both of you, get out of my head!"

Sorry for the shortness of this chapter; I'll include more the next.

I do plan to bring in that current search for the Scarlet Witch into this story later on; only in this instance Northstar will be accompanying Quicksilver. No, I'm not turning this into any sort of slash between them; Pietro and Jean-Paul will become friends though.

At this point, Pietro and Jeanne Marie have agreed not to take things any further; but things very seldom work out like that. And next chapter, they find a major irony about their child, since they're both twins.