A/N: So I've had X-Men floating around my head for days and than I saw one of those eeeeevil claw machine things at the store and I thought…well read on. You'll get it.
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men, or anything affiliated with it. I am not being paid for this…blah blah blah
Cheating:
The thing was designed to cheat people out of their money. He'd told her this over and over, yet she still hadn't lost her fascination with them. To be honest, he admitted to himself, it is rather amusing; to watch at least.
It's true it was. Mystique's eyes narrowed in frustration as she beat the thing's window. The way she bit her lip when she was moving the joystick, directing the shiny claw towards the stuffed animal she desired…or at least thought was easiest to pick up with the claw's fumbling extensions, her brow furrowed in concentration.
The small girl seemed to have lost all awareness of the world around her. Suddenly Magneto leaned forward, smiling. She had managed to lift one, her young eyes bright with anticipation as the claw slowly moved upwards than back to the drop-off area. However the exclamation of triumph died on her lips as the device shifted slightly and let the toy fall back onto the pile, releasing nothing but air upon reaching the starting point.
"No! No, no, NO! You stupid machine!" She hit it again, rather hard this time, making the whole thing shake. Her frustrated shouts reverberated around the stingy arcade, but Eric wasn't worried. The place was fairly dark, nearly empty, and the owner was so inebriated that he wouldn't have noticed if the child had two heads, let alone blue skin and an odd sort of voice.
"I've told you before that it is pointless to play with these devices. They are fixed so that you win very rarely and spend a great deal." Magneto said; with that amused smile still on his lips. Mystique pouted.
"Well if you're so smart than you try." She complained, stepping back and waving at the claw machine for emphasis. Eric's smiled never wavered; he strode forward, slipped a few coins in the slot, and moved the stick. It hardly seemed as though he touched the controller however, as the claw glided across the top of the box, flailed down, and grasped the stuffed tiger. The metallic claw lifted, and moved to the starting place, dropping the toy into the little box beneath. Magneto bent, plucked it out, and delivered it directly into Mystique's hands. She stared at him incredulously.
"You cheated." She accused. Magneto still only smiled.
"It is a test of skill, my dear." He chuckled, "so the use of a skill could hardly be called cheating could it? Now I believe it is nearing your bedtime, let us leave." He walked out the door, Mystique close behind him. The little mutant-girl cuddled her new tiger but muttered something else; so low Magneto barely heard it.
"It's still cheating." He shook his head slightly in amusement, choosing not to respond.
After all those machines cheated too.
The End.
A/N: I always knew those machines were evil. Anyway my thought upon seeing that machine in the store was: 'I bet Magneto never had trouble with those.' Than I remembered that they wouldn't have existed when he was young, and than I thought of Mystique and it turned into a plot bunny which kidnapped my brain and refused to return it unless I wrote this story. Feedback would be very much appreciated.