Like my Tekken fic, this is another AU/Self-insert, and it was written for Cheryl, the very same friend also actually in said Tekken fic. It's rated PG-13 for Magnus' and Logan's filthy mouths, mostly. It's a little cheesy at the beginning because it was meant to be a graphic novel, so it was originally in script form, so I'm working on the narrative still. That's why most of my stories don't get updated too often. Sorry.

Disclaimer: The X-Men, the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes all belong to Marvel comics. (The characters are based mostly from their Uncanny X-Men personalities, but the X-Men's uniforms are closer to the Ultimate X-Men versions). Cheryl and I belong to us, and this story is all mine. Onward!!

Magneto's Revenge

The night was cold and dark when the Misfits made their move, stealthily gliding across the Manhattan rooftops. As they leapt from building to building, their two sole members, Cheryl and Kiley, watched tentatively for shadows, and also watched as they came closer to the roof of the National Bank Headquarters.

Silently they came upon the bank and crept to the vent entrance. The older one, Kiley, motioned to her companion to bring out the pliers. Cheryl did so, gave Kiley a pair, and they worked at the screws and cut the wires to the electric alarm before opening the vent.

Together they lifted the metal grate, and a flush of warm air blew over their faces. It was a welcome relief from the winter cold. Kiley helped Cheryl lower herself into the system first, and then deftly hopped in, bringing a large burlap sack with her.

They didn't have to crawl far to find another grate that led inside. It was over one of the offices on the top floor, and they climbed out there, broke the lock on the door, and cautiously looked around for any sign of company.

There was no one. Even if there had been, the two women would have been ready. These two were no ordinary human beings; they were Mutants; Children of the Atom, and had special powers to aid them in their mission. These powers had been the reason they had chosen this lifestyle. Not so much because their hearts were filled with greed, but because it amused them. The friends enjoyed their time together, and they reveled in the thrill of being on the run. They did not hide their identities; they had never been caught because they had not yet met a man or woman who was not afraid of their skilled martial arts and special powers.

Mutants were still seen as a great threat to humanity, and despite the heroic efforts of some, they were hated, much as lowlifes, mass murderers, and tax collectors were. There was no place in society for known mutants. Most resorted to lives of solitude, lives of malice, or lives of crime. All three qualities ran hot in both girls' blood. Humans who had once been their friends abandoned them. They were run from their hometowns by their own families. Thus they met, here, in Manhattan, two small, starving children, ten years ago. Now both were grown, healthy women, eighteen years of age, and living their lives the best they knew how.

They ran on their toes all the way down the marble spiral staircase, down to the basement level where they knew the safe and all of the safe deposit boxes would be. They reached a large, wooden door at the bottom, and found it was unlocked. Someone was inside. Kiley motioned for silence as she reached into her belt pocket and took out a small pebble. She kept several small odds and ends in her pockets. These were what she required for the use of her abilities.

She concentrated her enhanced energies into the pebble, and her hand glowed with a dark flame. She threw it into the crack in the doorway and released her consciousness. The pebble exploded, and a rip in space appeared. The guard in the room spun toward the sudden noise, stricken with terror. This was nothing compared to he saw next.

Through the rip a large, bat-like creature with a slithering, black tongue clawed its way out, shrieking and roaring. The girls watched the night guard claw at the walls trying to escape, but the demon, for that's what it was, was quickly upon him.

"Not today, my dear. Just keep him there while your master takes of this treasure he's been greedily hoarding here." Kiley spoke to the creature when she came into the room. The guard watched her graceful steps as she neared the safe, eagerly waiting to be freed. When Kiley reached out to the combination lock, the guard reached for his gun. The demon instantly bent its neck and bit his hand, deeply burying its teeth into the soft flesh, straight through leather gloves. An agonized scream escaped him.

Kiley put her steely gaze on him as Cheryl made her entrance, appearing similarly stoic.

"You'd best keep still," she stole a glance at his name badge, "Michaels. They're usually completely obedient, but you never know what may make them angry." Her eyes narrowed, and a thin smile played across her lips. Michaels was already having trouble breathing, but he realized now that these teenagers were mutants. He gasped for breath through the shock, the pain, and the weight of the demon standing on his chest, and looked on helplessly as the safe was easily cracked open by the two women.

They removed the door by its hinges and began to quickly put stacks of dollar bills into their sack.

The door slammed into the wall with a crash following several terse metallic shrieks. Cheryl and Kiley spun around, ready to fight more guards, but standing there was a large, feral man wearing a black leather uniform with short sleeves and black gauntlets, a belt with an 'X' on it, and hair that looked unceremoniously, but deliberately, groomed. His hair came down his ears in thick sideburns that turned into a scruffy beard, but his chin was hairless. His forearms were covered in thick hair as well.

"Out for a late night withdrawal, ladies?" he said in a gruff snarl, his fists out in front of him. The girls lowered their stances, ready for an attack, and this new intruder was followed by several more men and women with similar uniforms. They all watched the girls for any movement. Kiley and Cheryl looked at them smugly, then stepped forward.

The man that had first walked in smirked, and three, foot-long blades shot out of the back of each hand between his knuckles. The two stopped again, wide-eyed, and suddenly unsure. Kiley slowly moved her hand to her belt pocket.

"You're mutants as well, I suppose?" Cheryl started, eyeing each of them.

"That's right, Cheryl." An older, bald man rolled forward in a wheelchair. "We've come here to find you, actually, and your friend Kiley." He said, smiling at them.

"And I suppose you want us to work for you? Or perhaps you want to take us into custody?" she hissed, elbowing Kiley, having noticed an opening for them to escape. Kiley's arm bolted forward, tossing several small stones into the group before them, all transforming into the rip. From each came demons, all even more gruesome than the first. Knowing their master's will, they attacked the intruders, allowing Kiley and Cheryl to run. As they passed, Cheryl shoved the sack into the large man's arms, shouting "at least they'll have you to blame for this, chums." And they raced back up the stairs and out the front door, setting off the alarm.

"We'll find them again, my X-Men." The older man steepled his fingers in front of his face, perplexed.

"They got away, Charles, and they don't trust us." A red-haired woman floated next to him as they raced back toward their jet and away from the creatures at their heels, which were beginning to return to their own realm. Charles' wheelchair hindered his speed, but they had a few moments before police would arrive.
"Yes. But I believe they will come around, Jean. They will come to realize they cannot survive on their own soon enough. We must be patient. We cannot force them."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Cheryl and Kiley continued running, although they knew they were no longer being pursued. "This is bad," Cheryl snarled, "we've never been caught before."

"They didn't catch us, we're still free. We don't even know how they found us. They weren't there when we arrived, we know that for sure." Kiley responded, equally agitated.

They ran into an alleyway to rest. They could not risk being seen now.

"I didn't like the look of them. The hairy one could be trouble." Cheryl leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked toward Kiley.

"He looked a bit too wild for us to handle on our own." Kiley agreed as a breeze rushed by her cheek.

"What is it?" Cheryl watched Kiley, tense.
"There's someone here."

They watched around them, standing back-to-back, looking for anything.
"Looking for a good time, babes?"
They looked all around again, and then up. On a ladder above them sat a grinning young man, not much older than they, and yet his hair was as white as snow. His blue eyes sparkled mischievously, and he waved at them, winking. Suddenly, he was standing with his arm around Cheryl.

"It's dangerous out here at this hour, ya know?" Cheryl turned and tried to catch him, but he was already similarly leaning on Kiley, on the other side of the alley. "You could really get," he reached behind her and pushed her shoulders forward, "hurt." Kiley quickly turned as she stumbled to slug him, but again he was gone.

They turned toward the exit of the alley to flee, but there he was with a smug smirk playing across his face. This was the first chance they got to get a good look at him. He was tall and thin, and stood with an arrogant air about him. He wore casual jeans with a white muscle shirt under a jacket of black leather. His white hair was slicked back, except for two loose strands at his hairline, which blew freely about his head in the cold air as he stood there, smirking with his arms folded across his chest. They noticed a glint of metal in his left ear.

"What do you want?" Cheryl growled at him, still uneasy with the speed with which he moved.

"My father and I have a proposition for the both of you." He disappeared again, suddenly between the two of them with an arm over each girl's shoulder. "One I think you'll be dying to take on."

"Are you with those maggots from the bank with the bald cripple?" Kiley shoved his hand off of herself.

"Who, the X-Men? No, no, no, you've got me all wrong, babe. Xavier and his lackeys have nothing to do with me."

"Well, then, who are you?"

Sensing they were getting more annoyed, he sped back toward the alley exit.

"Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, at your service." He bowed regally then returned to his cocky stance.

"And what is this 'proposition' of yours?"
"Stop frightening them, Pietro. Your answer shall come soon, my dear." A new, deeper, more suave voice floated down from the rafters, and with it a tall, older man with silver hair and blue eyes, just like Pietro's, came. Unlike his son, this man wore a uniform of purple and magenta, with tall boots and gauntlets, and a strange, metal helmet. Both girls gasped and fell backward to be caught by Pietro, for this man was literally flying to them. His purple cape fluttered behind him as he touched the ground before them. His large, strong, gloved hand flashed out magnificently to his side, revealing a well built, muscular chest underneath the cape.

"I am Magneto; do not be afraid, I am not here to harm you. Actually, I have come to hire you. Your skills can help my cause considerably." Behind the mask, his teeth flashed in a debonair smile.

"You are Magneto?" Cheryl pointed in disbelief at the man who began to move toward them. He took their hands in his and spoke in a dramatic manner:
"I know what you both have been through, my ladies, and I have experienced much the same persecution in my younger days. But now, I am feared, as you will be feared if you join my Acolytes." He finished with a vivid wave of his arm as if setting up a stage for them to envision. He removed his helmet and placed it under his arm.

"As tempting as that may sound, Magneto, we're not up for hire." Cheryl said coldly. She pulled her hand from his and looked to her friend to back her up. She found, however, that Magneto's ice-cold, suave gaze was taking its effect on her. His eyes narrowed, knowing the effect it was having on her. A low, throaty chuckle escaped him, and Cheryl knew Kiley was now far gone.

Magneto's build was powerful, his face like a stone statue, his jaw set perfectly in a stern frown, but when he smiled, his faultless teeth glinted in the dim lights of the alleyway, and rugged but evenly-shaven patches of facial hair bristled. This was a dangerously handsome man with an equally dangerous mind. Both women had heard of the genius of the 'Master of Magnetism', but they had never seen his face.

Cheryl looked back at Pietro, who winked at her when he looked away from the other two and saw her staring at him. Pietro was like a copy of his father. He had all the same features, and yet he was not as large, and this made him appear somewhat boyish, which gave him his own kind of captivating appearance, but was fairly less alluring.

Kiley knew what he was doing to her as well, and she didn't much like his attempt at manipulating her with his brawny good looks, but Magneto was her idol. How could she refuse this offer to join with him to see his ideals become reality, to put humanity in its place? Not only did his ideals appeal to her, but also she had to admit he was handsome, let alone cunning, a criminal genius, the only kind of man for her. Cheryl cut in again.

"We don't much care for taking orders. From anyone. Not even you, Magneto, no matter how much we admire your cause." She felt better when she saw that Kiley had returned to her usual emotionless expression, with a slightly annoyed twitch. Magneto chuckled again and wrapped his free arm around Kiley's shoulders.

"Your friend seems to not like me too much now that we've met face to face," he continued quickly as Cheryl tried to interject, "but perhaps you can be more reasonable, yes? Your hatred for the human race burns your soul, and you spend your lives thieving. With my Acolytes, you can do so much more..." he paused, letting Kiley's imagination fill in the rest, "With me, you could be great. If you join me, we can work together to take this earth that rightfully belongs to us, mutants, the new dominant species. Those who have harmed you will be your slaves, cowering before your every whim!" his arm holding his helmet came to his chest in a fist. He paused again, waiting for her to respond to his display.

"Unfortunately, Magneto, neither of us adjust well to taking orders." Her eyes narrowed, and she pulled away from him.

Magneto had not expected this. They began walking away from him, and Pietro reluctantly moved aside, allowing them to leave, equally astonished.

"Sorry, boys." Cheryl called over her shoulder, indifferently.

"You know," Magneto turned again toward them, planting his feet firmly and replacing his helmet on top of his head, "your real parents weren't human." Both girls stopped cold. "You were both adopted as infants. Your parents were mutants as well. I can tell you who you are."

"How could you possibly know that?" Kiley snapped, spinning on her heel. She looked infuriated, her eyes burning and her jaw fixed.

"Let us just say that I have been watching you." He smirked, knowing he now had them. Cheryl and Kiley looked at each other, still unsure.

"I see that you still hesitate, my ladies. Well, then, what if I made a slightly different proposal?" Pietro's interest piqued, "Suppose I put you in charge of my whole operation, taking orders from me, and me alone? I need cunning like yours in my organization, and at the moment, my son here is the only member who knows the meaning of stealth. I need you. I will give you anything." Magneto's voice became a low purr. "Anything..."

Again, Cheryl and Kiley looked doubtfully at each other.

"Father..." Pietro stepped forward.

Magneto held his hand up for silence with a dark expression as he watched the girls ponder.

"Magneto," Kiley finally said, "your offer tempts us, but we will not be sold so easily. Come and find us in three days. If you can locate us at the end of the third day, we will join you, regardless of our decision. We want you to show us your own cunning." her arms crossed.

"And it must be you who finds us, Magneto, not one of your lackeys." Cheryl added. And with that, they ran. Magneto chuckled.

"And so, the hunt is on..."

"Father, what makes you think they will keep their word?"

"They will, Pietro, or they will regret making promises they do not intend to keep, despite their importance to me." He turned, cape billowing behind, and once again touched off the ground and flew off, followed by the swift-footed Pietro by land, off to Genosha, where Magneto's headquarters resided.