Author's Note: So this is a missing chapter (it would've been Chapter 10) that was supposed to be the introduction of Colossus as a character. But I included too many characters in this story as-is, so this didn't make it to the drawing table! Well, it did. But this is a rough draft before all of the major corrections I did to the rest of the story and you can partake in it if you so wish! xoxo, Momma Love

Eternal Synergy

Missing Chapter

"Mayday, mayday, mayday, everyone strap yourselves in, we're going down!"

"That wouldn't be a problem if this Russian blockhead would power down!"

"Max, he's terrified. Screaming at him's not going to make this situation any better!"

"Sorry that I'm freaking out! And unless you can calm him down I'm going to continue screaming at the fucker! Power down before that steel ass of yours puts us in the water!"

"Can't you... can't you keep us up? Like in Cuba?"

"The plane isn't malfunctioning or I'd be jumping on that shit! It can't hold that moron's weight! Power down you asshole!"

Okay, you're probably wondering what the fuck's going on. It's simple really. Thanks to the conversation I had with Charles after he told me what was up with Hank we realised that I could help them find a mutant in danger. I told him about the brother and sister I met when I materialised in Russia, he told me about a mutant they were trying to find in that same exact town. It didn't take long to realise that the boy Peter was actually Piotr Rasputin, a mutant facing hostile Russian natives after he lifted a tractor off of his sister. Meaning I knew what they looked like, where they were, and even had a bit of a rapport. That almost rhymed.

Actually, instead of trying to explain this all to you I'm just going to tell it from the beginning. That would probably be easier on my brain. I'm not good at being elaborate, or cryptic, for that matter. I told Charles about reuniting with my family after being away from them so long but I kept the run encounter with Gabe off the docket as Raven requested. I hated when people planted the seed of doubt in my mind. It was extremely distracting. Anyways! Speaking of being distracted; The mention of where I popped up when I was unearthed brought about the discussion of Peter/Piotr. I told Charles about him and his sister and we were sent on mission almost minutes later. Had I known that the Russian duo was such a hot topic I would've told them sooner! And since I was given the all important lead position that time around I got to pick my super awesome team to come with me. I picked Warren, the muscle, Jean, the brain, and Alex... the energy diaper wielding numbskull. Sean and Scott pouted for at least five minutes when I told them they weren't coming. I felt so loved. For, like, a minute before Scott noogied me, ruining that whole ruse.

So we got everything prepared, suited up, and headed for Lake Bakail! Wooooooo! Yeah... it wasn't really all that exciting. I just played red hands with Alex the entire way while Jean piloted and Warren read a magazine. And the entire trip was significantly awkward for me because, well... I can't believe I'm telling you this...

I was horny as hell.

While I was home in New Mexico my brothers and I all went out to our favourite Dive Bars, had some drinks, and smoked some fags. That wouldn't've been an issue if it wasn't for the dozen or so guys that were trying to get me to go home with them. And if they were hitting on the Maxine before Cuba I would've taken most of them up on their offer! But, sadly, or gladly, it really depends on your point of view, I was saving myself for my man Hank. I was a taken woman. My goods were reserved for a special someone. Police tape was strung up and courting off my nether regions, whatever! You get my point! When I showed up on Charles' doorstep I expected a romantic rendezvous that same night! And I was willing to wait until Hank got back, I really was! But then Warren showed up and I was about to say fuck it.

Alas, woe is me. Though I have a hard time with it I can keep it my pants. Things could be worse, y'know? I could've been yanked out of time only to be thrown into hostile territory five years later. Or I could've been severely traumatised through very graphic illusions produced by a younger brother I thought dead for quite some time. Or I could've found out that my last effort before my death was completely in vain. Orrrrrr, I could've had my head used as a battering ram against a very sturdy oak doorway.

Oh wait.

Yeah. I deserved a good few hours rolling around in the sheets with my desired fella. And I'd get it eventually.

Back to Russia! We landed at a reasonable hour off in the middle of nowhere but near the coordinates I gave the group. Couldn't have a jet drawing attention to us before we extracted Piotr. To remain mostly conspicuous we draped ourselves with trenchcoats. Couldn't have Alex with his black leather and neon yellow calling attention to us. Or Jean's lemon lime unitard. Not to mention my blue and yellow Kevlar... and then there was Warren's freaking bird like appendages all magnificent and large and billowing and smacking us all in the face. You could say that we all really stood out. Like, really stood out.

As we trudged through the snowy trees within a mile radius of the jet as a shady group of mobsters Jean kept her telepathic channels open for any mention of Piotr or Illyana. Or any incredibly powerful teenagers picking up a freaking tractor. And while she did that I kept the electrokinetic feelers out for anyone who was terrified, anxious, panicked, or the like. When neither didn't really provide any solid leads Warren took to the skies and scanned the area. Looking up it was real hard to distinguish his manly shape against the clouds which were surprisingly close to the ground. I loved it when weather was on my side. Again, though, that didn't really help us at all. We all surmised that Piotr had fled the area. If there was a mob after me I'd probably do something similar... after wiping their power grid and knocking them all unconscious. That's just me.

That left me to search local towns since I could do it the fastest and most efficiently. I phased and jumped into the electrical circuits, checking everywhere within a couple miles from all directions. I looked high and low, I looked in scummy alleyways and under rocks. Wherever our Russian friend was hiding he seemed to be doing a fantastic job staying under the radar. Eventually I found something, but it wasn't Piotr. It was his sister. That was a start! She was lurking around dumpsters trying to find either warmth or food. I felt sorry for her. Her brother's "least desirable status" was probably taking its toll on her too. I pulled myself from the wires and materialised a few feet behind her. She didn't hear me. Mostly because she was looking around frantically. If I was her I'd probably be a bit antsy.

"Illyana!" I hissed, hoping that she'd hear me and that I wouldn't draw too much attention to her.

She turned just before she took off running. I caught a glimpse of her terrified ice blue eyes. They shone bright from the dark circles that could only prelude a strong hunger. Her skin was almost translucent as the snow reflected light onto her hollowed cheeks. She looked considerably worse from when I saw her last. Three weeks of exile would do that to a girl. As she tried to run from me her legs constantly gave out, poor thing. I ran after her as soon as I saw her struggling. More so I wanted to help her then figure out where her brother was. Thanks to my prowess as a track champ I caught up to her in seconds. As my hands went to her fallen form to help her she flailed about frantically.

"Illyana, Illyana!" I tried to get through to her. "Calm down! I'm here to help Piotr!"

At the mention of her brother's name she stopped struggling and lowered me a distrusting look. "впереди." She instructed me when my grip slackened. When I hesitated she called, "Приходите!" With a beckoning of her frail hand.

Guess that meant she wanted me to follow. I projected what I was doing for any telepath to hear on repeat over and over again, I just hoped that Jean was tuned in to Max radio. It was a difficult station to access, apparently. When I concentrated on what was in front of me I watched Illyana struggle to her feet and start walking towards an alleyway when she fell down again. This time I crouched down in front of her and motioned for her to climb on. She looked hesitant, to say the least.

"I won't bite I swear." I promised her with a smile. I had no idea if she even understood me but she wrapped her arms around my neck from behind and I hitched up her legs as I stood. "See, not the worst thing ever." I joked.

Again I'm pretty sure she had no idea what I was saying. But she was lighter than she should've been. Much lighter. Still she leaned forward a bit and pointed me in the right direction. Thanks to her small guidance I was that much closer to rescuing her brother even though I spent the entire trip worrying about her. We continued like that for some time, her leading me down several narrow alleys, in silence. Until she mumbled something against my back, that is.

I looked over my shoulder at her. "Hmmm?"

"... ... Max..." She repeated in her molasses thick accent.

I smiled a little, it was kind of sweet that she remembered me. "That's right."

Illyana pressed her forehead into my shoulder. "... ... Lost...?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Not anymore."

Since she seemed to have a moderate understanding of the English language I kept my responses short and sweet. Lest I confused the poor thing. We stopped talking after that though so it didn't really matter. I just followed her directions and eventually we strolled up to a little shack no taller than the small child on my back. It was on the outskirts of wherever we were and about ready to fall apart. Illyana dropped to the ground and rushed inside, pushing aside a holy blanket that was probably serving as a door. I heard her kind voice murmuring to someone within and he responded with anger. He growled some choice words at her so I decided to make my entrance even if it was to make sure that Illyana was okay. I pushed past the blanket and stopped in my tracks.

Wrapped around Illyana defensively was a metal statue. A freaking huge statue. It was squeezing her so tightly there was no way in hell she just nuzzled up to it. It had to have been built around her, there was no other rational explanation for what was in front of me. But then it moved making me think more irrationally than before. I guessed that that was Piotr. Still his grip around his sister grew tighter and tighter making me worry about the poor girl being able to breathe. I brought myself down to look into his steely eyes though there were a couple of feet between us. I was NOT going into the lions den without partially defusing that situation.

"Piotr, I'm not going to hurt you or Illyana." I decided to say right out. "I'm here to help you." He didn't look convinced. "My friends and I heard about the incident, how you lifted that tractor off of your sister." I don't know how it was possible but he tensed up more. "We want to bring you back with us so you can be safe, so you can be with your own kind."

His eyes glowered at me ruthlessly. "Own kind...?" He gritted out through his teeth.

I nodded. "We're like you, we're different."

"Different how?" He snarled.

Since I'm more of a show than tell type I let my powers do the talking. I held up a closed fist and allowed the electrical energy to stem out from my palm. Piotr immediately tried to distance himself from me further, Illyana still wrapped in his arms. Once I got my point across I pulled the electricity back into me.

"What are you...?" He asked, his tone still dripping with distrust.

'Good question.' "I'm human who was exposed to radiation when I was younger." I answered truthfully. "Though we're not the same you're not far off." He waited for me to elaborate, his posture even relaxed a bit. "You're a mutant, to put it simply. Meaning that the only difference between you and I is that you were born with your gifts. My DNA was warped and that's why I'm the way I am."

As I spoke I could tell he was putting a lot of thought into what I had to say. "... Mutant...?" He said as if it was the first time hearing the word.

Just as he said that I heard the flapping of wings outside, signalling the arrival of the cavalry! "My friends are probably better than explaining this than me so I'll leave you in their capable hands."

So after Jean came in and explained everything to Piotr he in turn explained it all to Illyana. He told her to head back to the farm, they only had quarrel with him and she needed to eat. It took some persuasion but eventually Warren was leading the small girl back to the warmth and shelter she so desperately needed. Before she left she wrapped herself around my middle and thanked me with a yellowed smile. Though I was a little grossed out I smiled back. With Illyana all taken care of Piotr reverted back into a more human form, a much smaller form than he previously was. He looked much more similar to the kid I saw walking the train tracks all those weeks ago. Then after that we all boarded the plane and headed back to the States! Though we didn't predict Piotr's intense fear of flying and his mutation coming forth in reaction to that.

That brings us to what was happening here at the beginning. Me shouting at everything and our jet taking a nosedive into Siberia. Piotr's metal form was weighing the jet down and the engine couldn't take the extra weight. There just wasn't enough power. Alex was trying to calm him down to no avail while Jean tried to find a body of water in the likely case that we'd crash while sending emergency messages to whoever would listen. And while I was freaking out Warren was thinking our way out of the messy situation. It seemed like I was the only one not doing anything productive. There really wasn't anything we could do so I didn't see a point. Warren wasn't strong enough to hold up the jet, neither was Jean's telekinesis, and Alex and I only had offensive mutations. In my eyes, we were doomed.

'Maxine, you've done something like this on a much smaller scale.' Someone whispered at the back of my mind.

Unsure of who was speaking exactly I responded rather angrily. 'What the fuck are you saying?!'

'You've used your powers to get yourself to the ground without touching a thing once before.'

I was about to yell at the voice again but I suddenly remembered the day that Sean got caught in a tree, the turd. The day before my birthday and one of the last days I remember clearly before I went poof. Hank and I were atop the satellite and he was absolutely petrified of the height we were at. He couldn't move. So I used my power over electrical fields to lower us down so he wouldn't have to on his own. My mutation could apparently do a bit more than cause my hair to stick out on end. Remembering that I pushed aside the voice and made my way to the centre of the jet.

"If y'all don't wanna roast like 4th of July barbecue I suggest you stay where you are." I warned all of them. I looked to see that they were compliant, they each nodded, before I threw out my electrical field that was usually plastered against my skin.

It was really risky for me to try to manipulate electricity when I was surrounded by metal. But I didn't see another choice. Everyone was given a brief shock as my field connected with the jet in order to pass it but not enough to cause any damage. When I thought the field was large enough I focused on it, focused like our lives depended on it. As seconds passed I felt the field become denser and more powerful until eventually we weren't falling out of the sky anymore. My arms were bent at my sides and my knuckles were blanching at the tightness of my grip. As long as I kept my concentration we'd be able to get to the ground safely. Eventually I gasped out a breath. I was in severe pain. Sometimes I fucking hated being what I was.

I grunted out in pain. "Alright... Alex, can you- hnngh! Can you get him to-to power down...?"

Through the sweat pouring off my forehead I could barely see him shake his head. I swore and ducked my head back down. So I'd be getting us down the old fashioned way! I barely, just barely, let up on the field. Little by little I felt us start to descend. It would be a while until I actually got us there and I'm not going to go on about the pain I was in. Just know I haven't felt a pain like it since and it lasted a good long while. But when I felt the jet bounce as it touched ground meaning I could finally let up. I withdrew my field and simply stood in the middle of everyone, panting. Alex went right for me as my knees gave out and I collapsed. I gave a lethargic salute and everything went black.

Author's Note: Omg so many parts of this were just plain awful. Sorry! xoxo, Momma Love