Marked

Pietro eyed the form of his father worriedly, the man had called him, demanding he be home by the time he got there.

Of course Pietro was miles away at the time of the call, huddled in a small safe house with Toad as his look out.

"Father?" Pietro questioned, dust covered the man's uniform and cape, yet he didn't seem at all bothered as he tracked dirt and grime into the house.

"Pietro take off your shirt" his father demanded, Pietro furrowed his brow in confusion. He opened his mouth to speak but his father spoke first "Now".

Pietro sighed as he quickly took off his white shirt, his bandages had a small amount of blood that had leaked when he reopened the wound while running.

"You've been running?" He questioned as his eyes shot to Pietro, who clenched his jaw, he was now feeling embarrassed about his reaction to the news toad brought to him this morning.

Now his father was here, he didn't feel worried about the blonde guy's presence at all.  

"Toad came here, he said he saw the blonde guy, the one-" Pietro tried to explain but was quickly cut off by his fathers strict tone.

"When" his father demanded his eyes focused solely on his son who squirmed, uncomfortable with the attention.

"This morning, he and Sabretooth tried to fight him" He took a deep breath, he knew his father wouldn't like this. "The man…he ripped Sabretooth in half" he said with disbelief clear in his tone.

His father was already sending a message through to Sabretooth now, Magneto needed to know if Sabretooth was marked as well.

"Listen, we can speak of this later" Magneto walked around Pietros as his eyes roamed over his form.

Magneto's eyes roamed over Pietro's body, a brief wave of relief washing over him. Until he spotted it, his breath caught in his throat. 

There, stark against Pietro's pale shoulder blade, was a small black seal. The kanji etched into the flesh sent a cold chill down his spine. 

The blonde man, he…he wasn't bluffing.

Icy tendrils of fear encircled his lungs, he found it oddly hard to breathe. Images of his sons dead body suddenly invaded his clouded mind, what if…what if he didn't stand down-

"We done now?" Pietro interrupted his fathers realisation as he lazily threw his T-shirt back over his pale torso, not realising what his father had uncovered.

Magneto shook his head in the negative "You're marked" he said slowly, his mind racing already thinking about who to contact. 

Pietro turned around, and then took a step back at the look on his fathers face, was he worried? Fear suddenly wrapped its cold hands around his ankles as his eyes seemed to be frozen on his fathers face.

He'd never seen his father…like this "What, what do you mean?" He asked quickly, seeing his father without his usual perfect composure was more than unsettling.

"He placed a marker on you" Magneto said, his voice gruff, the words feeling ominous.

Pietros' brows furrowed in confusion, marker? What did that mean, was it another word for hit? Pietros mind tried to remember any mentions of a marker-

"He can teleport to his markers" His fathers words interrupted his thoughts, a few seconds of silence passed before Pietro realised what that meant.

It crashed into Pietro like a truck as the seventeen year olds pupils dilated, his breath became shallow and a shudder ran down his spine. 

"What?" He croaked his silver eyes shot over to his father, the man's jaw was clenched, his eyes expressing sympathy.

"So you're-you're saying that he can-" 

"Never, I will make sure of it" Magneto reassured, harshly trying to ignore the memory of the man's cold eyes.

"I'm contacting a friend, he should be able to get rid of the seal, don't worry Pietro" 

Pietros hands shook, his throat felt clogged. The spacey room that was welcoming not one minute ago seemed to try and swallow him up.

He took a single step back, almost losing his balance.

He felt so-so cold…

His mind flashed back, he was suddenly laid on the ground looking up at the moon, crimson blood spilling from a deep wound on his abdomen.

He was going to die, he was going to-

"Pietro" the teenager seemed to suddenly awaken as his silver eyes suddenly, desperately latched onto his fathers green ones like a lifeline. "It will be fine, I'll ensure it"

Usually his fathers word was enough for Pietro, but with the executioner's blade hovering just above his head he couldn't help but feel doubt that his father could save him this time. 

—-

Charles looked over and up at the blonde man who was currently looking over at the X-Men talking to the press. 

Usually that was his job but Cyclops needs to take over for the press sooner than later.

"Minato" Charles called out as his hand fished through his pocket "I've been meaning to give you one" he said as he handed over an old phone, he had a  building suspicion about the blonde man.

Minato hesitated before taking the gift, something Charles noticed.

"What is this?" Minato asked as he looked down at the device, flipping the phone over led the screen to turn on. Minato's blue eyes filled with interest at the odd technology.

"It's a communication device, we can send each other letters and speak to one another through it" Charles explained, so Minato was definitely from space, or potentially another dimension?

One thing was certain, the man wasn't native to Earth.

Minato blinked "Like a radio" He said and then asked "what's the distance limit on it?" 

Charles smiled "There is no limit, it can reach anywhere on Earth" he noticed the slight widening of Minato's eyes. 

This could revolutionise ninja work.

Even in simple missions ninja would easily be able to call for backup or assistance. 

Ambushes would be harder, separating a squad from a larger force would be near impossible if these were used right.

This could change everything about ninja…

Charles observed the man's mask, it was good but he still saw hints of wonder, awe and fear peeking through.

Now what on earth could his home possibly be like for this response he wondered.

"It's definitely useful" Minato said as he eyed the device with a wary but interested look in his eyes.

Charles nodded "It's very useful, especially when there is…trouble" he said as he studied the man's face.

Minato felt the subtle tension building underneath the older man's words, his eyes flicked towards the man and gave him a short nod of gratitude "Thank you, for the gift".

Charles gave him a small smile "I hope we'll never have to use it for emergencies" he said as he nodded at the young man and turned his chair around, facing the X-Men all gathering at the jet. 

Minato eyed the device, a sudden suspicion blooming in his mind. His eyes shot to the leaving bald man, before he could think too much on it he called out to the man. 

"Xavier"

Minato watched as Charles turned his chair, the phone still resting in his palm. A thousand possibilities swirled in Minato's mind.

The older man was calculating, far too perceptive for comfort. Minato could feel it in every word, every glance. The phone could be nothing more than an innocent gift…or it could be something more insidious. 

His eyes narrowed slightly. Better to have insurance. Minato stepped forward and extended his hand toward Charles, watching the professor pause, perhaps surprised by the gesture. 

His eyes flickered, and for just a fraction of a second, something shifted. A flash of intent darkened his expression, a sharp, calculating gleam that vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

Charles caught it, though, just barely and it sent a subtle alarm through his mind.

When Charles gripped Minato's hand, he felt a strange pulse of energy, not psychic, but something else entirely.

It was brief, almost imperceptible, yet it left a tingling sensation in his skin. He kept his composure, though his mind was racing. 

What had just passed between them?