The Sides We Take
Chapter 6: Taking Sides
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I said I owned them, I lied.
Author's Note: Reviews would be nice. ;) Lyrics are from 10 Year's 'Wasteland.'
Change my attempt good intentions...
Shannon was looking at Grace in disbelief. Who was this woman who was telling her all of these things about the government, and of mutants? Things that no one at the school had ever even mentioned. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you telling me all of this?" She finally asked. The woman called Grace smiled at her. "Because, I know someone who wants to help you get your son back." Shannon suddenly became alert and focused. "Is this a trap?"
"I assure you, my dear girl, it is not." Shannon turned to find and older man standing next to the table. He was dressed in plain clothing, with a long, gray coat and a hat. He had steely blue eyes. He looked old, and warn, and tired. "Who are you?" Shannon asked.
"I, am Eric Lenshire," the old man answered. And then it clicked. And she knew who he was.
"Magneto." She stated. The man called Eric smiled.
"I see Charles has been telling stories." He said, standing closer to Grace.
"Maybe." Shannon replied, looking at him like she was four and he was a stranger. "What exactly do you want?" She asked.
"I want your help." Now she was confused.
"Why would you want my help? I'm just a regular mutant, trying to get her son back."
"There's nothing regular about you." Magneto told her. "You're a class 5 and we both know that." She didn't say anything, she just wondered how he had acquired this information. "Can we go someplace more private? One where my Mystique can be herself?" Magneto asked. Shannon looked from one to the other, then sighed, picked up her purse from the floor, and followed them out.
She found a car waiting for them, with a young man standing out side of it. He had dark blonde hair and was dressed in dark clothing. She thought he looked familiar. Like she had seen him in some of Rogue's picture's or something. Grace went around to the driver's side and got in. "This is Pyro." Magneto told her, opening the door for her. She nodded to him, and got into the car.
Haven't I always told Griffon not to get into cars with strangers, and here i am doing it myself, she thought to herself as Magneto and the boy called Pyro followed her in.
"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand how I could be of any help." She told them as Grace transformed into a blue creature with short, red hair as she drove.
"Well then, you wouldn't be thinking at all, now would you." Magneto told her. "You are one of the most powerful mutants that the government has ever encountered. At least, that's what Mr. Decovnie's file said." And then she knew. Alec's file's were way too easily accessible.
"Could we just skip to the part of why you want my help?" Shannon requested. Magneto smiled.
"I would like to make you a deal." He told her. "I know where your son is," Her attention snapped into place. And then he knew that she'd do anything for him. "And, I will help you gain access to and get him out of the Government facility that he's being held in."
"And what do I have to do?" She asked him. He looked at her for a long while before saying,
"There's a war coming. It's not going to be pretty. And, I'm going to need your help."
"So, you want me to help you fight?"
"Exactly. I want you're help in the final battle... even if it means going up against the X-Men."
She didn't say anything for a while. Then, she noticed as the car turned onto the rode that led to the school. "We already have Mr. Decovnie's full cooperation." He told her as the car stopped outside of the gate. "If you come back out with in twenty minuets, we'll take you to his apartment, and he'll help us plan your son's rescue."
"And If I don't come out?"
"Then you're on your own." She didn't say anything. She just got out of the car, went through the gate, and into the house.
She went straight up to her room and pulled a duffle bag out from the closet. She put it on the bed and began throwing clothes into it. Scott came in through the open door. "Where are you going?" He asked.
"Alec's." She told him, not wanting to lie, yet wanting to tell him nothing all the same.
"Why? Are you running back to him?"
"Oh don't you dare start!" She told him, whirling around to face him. "You brought us back here so that you could see Jean, no matter what the cost. So don't you dare."
"Shannon, that's not fair." He said.
But signs were not really that scarce
"What's not fair, Scott? Blaming you? I think it's plenty fair."
"Yes. And you've voiced that opinion many times since Griffon was taken." She walked closer to him.
"Do you know what I really think? I think that you already blame yourself. And you don't want me adding to your guilt." When Scott didn't say anything, she knew that she was right. "Well, Scott, what do you want me to do?"
And I will not
Hide you through this
"Do you want me to forget about the reason you're really here? Do you want me to tell you that it's not your fault? That we couldn't have stopped this? Well, I'm sorry, Scott. But I will not hide you through this."
Hide you through this
I want you to help
Please see
"I want you to help me get our son back."
"And how do you think we're gonna do that? Is Alec gonna help you?"
"No. Someone else with more power is going to help me." And then a thought clicked with Scott. He remembered the professor saying how powerful she was. He also remembered him saying that a war was coming. Shannon could be pivotal in the final battle.
"Magneto convinced you, didn't he." He said, telling more then asking. Shannon didn't say anything.
"Shannon, you can't trust him."
"I don't have to trust him. All I have to do is get Griffon back, and then I can break my deal with him."
"And you think he'll forget that easily?" Scott asked her. She ignored his question and went back to packing. "he won't let you just walk away."
"You don't know how good I am at disappearing." She told him, zipping up her duffle bag, then pulling out a smaller one and beginning to fill it with Griffon's things. Scott suddenly realized how much he didn't know about her life before he had met her. He knew that she had once been a very angry person, mixed up in drugs and the like. He also knew that she had a tendency to run.
"So, what? You're gonna get our son back, then take him away from me again."
"No offense, but you've haven't exactly been that... interested since we came back."
"And no offense to you, but this is a really bad time to revert back to danger mode." She looked at him, really starting to get angry. "Danger mode?"
"You know. That personality you seem to switch to whenever you feel threatened. Like when we left. Like now. Is this what you were like with Alec? Because if so, maybe it's not such a good idea that you go back."
She walked up to him and looked him directly in the eyes. "It's time for you to choose a side, Scott. Either you come with me and get him back, or you stay here and fight me later."
"I will not side with Magneto."
"Then I'll let you know when I have our son back."
And then, she took the bags and walked out, leaving him standing there, alone.