A/N: Even with a reward of a earlier update, I only got four reviews :( -shrugs- What can you do?
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am to a spiritual level beyond material possessions. Therefore, I must borrow everyone else's.
There is a Light that Never Goes Out: Chapter Seven – Get On Board
Sirens approached the ensemble of X-Men and Acolytes in London's South Bank. Magneto pulled available metal from the surroundings and formed four traveling spheres.
St. John trudged to a sphere. "I didn't even get to see the Queen. Why'd she have to be on vacation?" he whined. Piotr gave him a reassuring pat on the back.
"Magnus," Xavier called sharply. "You are now involved in this Apocalypse mystery, as are we-"
"I know, Charles," Magneto snapped. "I intend to use all my power to prevent Apocalypse from ever being released and stop him if he is." He turned and lifted himself from the ground.
"Where do you plan to start?"
Magneto paused but did not answer. The sirens grew louder. Scott stepped behind Xavier. "Uh, Professor..."
Xavier ignored him and continued talking to Erik. "Us both searching separately for the Apocalypse is a waste of resources and time, which I'm not sure that we have. I propose that we work together to discover this looming threat."
"I do not need help."
"You don't know that. The truth is that neither of us know what the Apocalypse is. It could be a band of outlaws, witches, aliens, a plague -"
Magneto landed two feet on the ground and towered over Xavier. "He is an ancient powerful mutant. Mastermind was able to divulge that from Mesmero."
Xavier chose his words carefully. "Are you sure that isn't what Mesmero wanted you to think?"
If there was one thing Magneto hated, it was being made a fool. The last thing he wanted was for Mesmero to get the better of him again. "What do you propose?" Magneto asked, genuinely interested.
A police car turned down the street they were congregating on. Xavier nodded to the approaching authorities. "Let's discuss this further in a less public location, shall we?"
With arms outstretched, Magneto melted the travel spheres and created one large disc for everyone to stand on. He lifted both teams across the Thames to the rooftop garage where the Velocity was parked.
Once they landed, Magneto crossed his arms. "Well, Charles?"
Nervous that Magneto would again become temperamental and refuse his proposal, Xavier talked fast. "We should combine our forces to learn all we can about this Apocalypse. The only thing we know for sure is that it is very powerful - powerful enough to be locked away because it couldn't be destroyed. We may already be too late to stop Mesmero from locating the third key. We need to learn all we can about this Apocalypse in case we need to eliminate it."
His old friend raised an eyebrow. "'Eliminate', Charles? That doesn't sound like you. Are you sure you don't mean, 'buy it a nice fruit basket'?" A few of the Acolytes snickered behind him.
"There was a reason the Apocalypse was locked away. The manner which Mesmero is using to allocate these keys makes me fear the worst."
Magneto rubbed his chin. "If I agree to this coalition, I must be sure that we are on the same page. If Apocalypse were to appear before us now, are you prepared to sacrifice the lives of your students to stop him?"
The X-Men's eyes were wide, awaiting their mentor's response. Xavier took a deep breath and defended his argument. "If the Apocalypse doesn't accept our first offer of peaceful negotiation and my students are aware of the risks, then yes."
"Those are a lot of 'ifs', Charles."
"It is my only offer, Erik."
Magneto sighed and extended his hand to his old friend. "Very well, you have a deal."
Xavier took it. "I offer my school as a headquarters. It can accommodate everyone and has the best training facilities."
"Especially since Petey and Remy wrecked ours," John added.
"Hey, not all t'ose burn marks are mine!" Remy objected.
"Agreed." Magneto nodded to the Acolytes behind him. "Get on board."
Professor Xavier wheeled himself onto the helicopter ramp. Jean ran to catch up. "Professor?" she whispered.
Without looking at her, Xavier replied. "Yes, Jean. I sense your concern, but if my intuitions are correct, we will need everyone willing to fight. I assure you that this will be a voluntary project. Any one who desires will have the choice to abstain."
Jean stopped walking. "For the X-Men, it won't be viewed as a choice. I don't think they'll understand the real dangers or feel comfortable saying no."
Rolling from the Velocity, Xavier met Jean. "Then we will have to do our best to make sure they understand." Xavier saw Jean take a breath to support her argument, but Xavier cut in. "Jean, I don't see any other options. Now please get on board. The helicopters are coming this way." The redhead sighed and boarded the craft.
The helicopters were easily evaded in Velocity with added assistance from Magneto. Aside from whispers between the X-Men, the ride was quiet: Piotr and Remy weren't speaking, Sabertooth was busy smelling everything, and the X-Men didn't trust their new allies sitting across from them.
John tried to break the ice by poking Angel. "Do you ever feel like a walking cliché? With the golden hair and the white feathers and ruggedly handsome chin?"
"No."
"Huh. Did you ever think about dying your feathers? Oh! You could get big eyes painted on them like moths so the birds don't mess with you."
"Birds don't mess with the X-Men," Bobby bragged.
John threw his arms in the air. "Of course not now! But when a blonde slut buys him a pair of lovebirds and stalks him, watch out (1)." John's eyes widened, and he turned to Warren. "You're not dating a blonde right now, are you?"
"Uh. No."
Wiping his brow, John breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
Bobby leaned over. "Has anyone ever told you that you are completely mental?"
"Yeah, hundreds of times. How about you?"
Bobby snorted and mumbled incoherently. John tried to start up another conversation with the X-Men about squirrels, but since hiring St. John, Magneto had heard enough about squirrels to last him a lifetime. "Shut up, Pyro," he barked. John slumped in his seat and whispered to Piotr and Remy on either side of him.
The Velocity shuddered when they landed on the street in front of the Brotherhood house. Although it was late, there were lights on. Magneto sent Piotr in to fetch the boys and Wanda. A few minutes later, the Russian returned alone.
"Where are they?" Magneto boomed.
Piotr shrugged. "They did not want to come. They thought it was a joke."
Flipping his cape, Magneto marched into the house with Xavier at his heels. The boys were playing Texas Hold-em with stale Apple Jacks. Although Fred was winning, he had the least amount of Apple Jacks.
Magneto overturned the table. "You're being relocated to Xavier's school to prepare for the Apocalypse. Get your personal affects."
The four boys remained seated with wide eyes and open mouths.
Professor Xavier placed a hand on Magneto's arm. "Erik, I insist that their participation be voluntary. This is a life-risking operation."
Magneto sighed. "Very well." He turned to the boys. "If you would like to help keep the earth around a little longer, get on the helicopter. If you'd rather watch the world's end rotting away in this house, stay."
Confused, Todd asked, "You're gonna give us a Pirates of the Caribbean movie?"
"He'd have to get us a new DVD player too. Wanda trashed the last one," Lance added.
"I'm not talking about a movie, you-" Magneto turned to Xavier. "Do you really think we will benefit from their help?"
"We'll need everyone we who's willing to put their lives on the line."
Magneto added, "For those who are staying, let it be known that I will no longer be supplying a food and maintenance allowance."
"Erik!" Xavier scolded.
Lance raised an eyebrow. "What allowance?" All eyes turned to Pietro.
The speed demon shot out of his seat. "A suicide mission sounds good to me." He ran to his room, then boarded the helicopter.
Lance slowly rose. "I'm not one to take a beating sitting down."
Fred caught Lance's eye as he passed. "Do they have good food at the X-Geeks's?"
Lance nodded and Fred rose. Without looking behind him, Lance called, "Come on, Toad."
As Xavier and Magneto walked back to the helicopter, Magneto asked, "Happy, Charles? That took ten times longer than my way with the same result."
"It is the means that make an action just, not the ends."
"Those extra minutes could have been spent searching for Apocalypse."
Steps clicked and wheels rolled over the ramp into Velocity. "I'll always consider them well-spent." A few minutes later, the last Brotherhood member shuffled onto the plane with his bags, and Xavier gave the signal to Beast to take off.
After surveying the helicopter, Magneto jerked the vehicle to a stop, mid-takeoff. "Wait. Where's Wanda? Stop, Charles. I must get my daughter."
"No one else is in the house," declared Xavier.
"But she-" Magneto stopped talking when he realized he was contradicting a telepath. His face filled with fear, quickly replaced with anger. He turned to Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood. "Where is she?" The floor became mighty interesting to the crew. "Pietro?"
The son of Magneto took a deep breath and stood. "Don't get mad, Father, but Wanda hasn't been staying here."
"What?!" he erupted.
Pietro raised his hands and his voice. "She's okay. She agreed to stop by every day, but she made me promise not to tell you. Luckily, I got out of the blood oath."
"Where is she?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. She wouldn't tell me."
Anger built up in Magneto; his eyes narrowed. "You know she was somewhere she shouldn't be, yet, you thought she was safe enough not to concern me. So, where do you think she is?"
Pietro glanced at John, whose eyes watched intently over the back of his chair. "I don't know," he repeated.
The glance, quick as it was, did not escape Magneto. Magneto flipped the pyromaniac upside-down and over his seat by his boot-buckles. "Was she with you?"
"I live with you, you old chook (2)!"
Remy stepped forward. "I believe what Monsieur Allerdyce is saying is that if Wanda was living back at base, you would have discovered her." The Cajun didn't notice angry glares from Piotr.
"That doesn't mean he hasn't been seeing her," Magneto growled.
Wanting to outdo Remy and rescue his only friend, Piotr added, "Wanda separated with John. Currently she hates him."
Turning to his son, Magneto dropped John to the ground. "Why did you look at him then?"
"Look at him?" Pietro replied in a disgusted tone. "You look at a lot of things when your attention span is two seconds long. It doesn't mean anything."
Magneto was unable to confront Pietro on his lie. With his wheelchair locked in the front of the plane, Xavier called to the back, "Erik, stop. We'll find Wanda after we reach the mansion."
It wasn't long before the Velocity entered the X-Men's hanger. Setting down the craft was a rocky ride because the lights were flickering on and off. The New Mutants, huddled in a corner, rushed the helicopter when the door opened.
"Professor!" They all screamed incoherently:
"The lights keep going out!"
"My hair is standing on end!"
"The TV spoke to me"
"Ray took a picture of me in the bathroom again!"
"Goosebumps! Do ya see mah goosebumps?"
"I did not!"
An ear-shattering whistle from McCoy silenced them for a moment. "Sam, what's happening?"
The southerner stepped forward, his face absent of color. "The mansion's haunted! Lights keep goin' an' off, doorknobs are fallin' off, an' Ah swear Ah can hear Rahne howlin', but she's been gone fo' months! Oh, an' the goosebumps." Sam held up his arm. "Ah only get goosebumps when there's a spook about."
Amara tugged on Sam's arm. "Tell him about the-"
"There is no ghost," Xavier announced. Pivoting on his wheels, Xavier rolled away. "Erik, come with me if you want to see your daughter. Hank, gather everyone in the hall upstairs. Magneto and I will be back to fill them in shortly." Xavier heard a collective gasp from the New Mutants at their new guests as the door to the hanger closed behind him and his companion.
When they reached the elevator, Xavier entered while Magneto hung back. "Charles, where are you going? I thought you kept Cerebro in the lower levels."
"We aren't going to Cerebro."
Even under the shadow of his helmet, Xavier could see Magneto's face turn red. "You said you would look for Wanda where we got here-"
"I am." The bald man sighed. He had hoped to get a little farther before Magneto blew his top. "Get in the elevator, Erik."
Knowing the look on his old friend's face, Magneto grumbled and did as he was told. After ascending a half-floor, Xavier pushed the red stop button. "If you promise to remain calm, I'll tell you where your daughter is."
"What is this? Did you kidnap Wanda in case I refused to cooperate with your Apocalypse plan?"
Eyes rolled. "You know me better than that. Wanda is very confused girl."
"You don't think I know that? She's tried to kill me, Charles."
"And you did a wonderful job fixing that problem," Xavier mumbled.
"She was dangerous. . . to everyone."
"And dating someone you did not approve of."
Magneto's finger invaded Xavier's face. "I did it in her best interests."
"You don't honestly believe that, do you?"
"Yes, I do." Magneto crossed his arms and talked to Xavier over his shoulder. "And don't get all high and mighty with me. I seem to remember you altering the memories of an entire football stadium of people."
Now it was Xavier's turn to turn red and get defensive. "I did that to protect my students-"
"So did I."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Xavier sighed. "Let's end this moral debate-"
"Thank you for conceding. Now, what do you know about Wanda?"
"I did not con-" Xavier stopped, knowing that arguing more would accomplish nothing but a headache. "A few days ago, Wanda came to me to help her find a friend of hers: Agatha Harkness-"
"That old witch! I told Wanda to stay away from her-"
Xavier spoke over Magneto's commentary. "Wanda was convinced that Agatha was the only person that could help her."
"Help her? Help her with what? Why didn't she come to me?"
Xavier ignored Magneto's questions and continued, "Our searches came up empty. Wanda was...distraught. I eventually convinced her to confide in me and start regular therapeutic sessions every evening."
A moment of silence tensed the air. Magneto glared down at the other mutant. "How could you keep something like this from me? I thought we were friends."
"Friendship has nothing to do with it. I have pledged confidentiality with all my clients. The only reason I have told you this now is that I do not need a scene escalating in my office. When you are calm, I will start the elevator."
With glowing eyes, Magneto glared at the Professor for several minutes. "Start the elevator, or I'll start it myself," he growled.
"Anger will only broaden the gap between you two. It may also destroy the little progress I've made with her. Concern and compassion will get you the furthest. It may even improve your relationship."
His eyes dimmed, and he snorted. "You're giving me parental advice?"
"No, I'm giving advice to a friend."
Exhaling, Magneto was able to dispel the majority of his anger. "I'm ready." Xavier pulled out the stop button and restarted the elevator.
The doors opened three-fourths of the way between the floors. Magneto used his powers to pull the elevator the rest of the way. When he stepped out onto the floor, the doors closed in a flash, crushing his foot. In a moment they released but began opening and closing randomly.
After he recovered, Magneto growled and used his powers to hold open the door. He and Xavier slipped through. The door shut like a pair of crocodile jaws, nearly catching Magneto's cape in its clutches. The elevator lit up and descended with the outer doors open.
In the hallway, the emergency lights flashed, and end tables flipped upside down.
A house plant floated by Magneto's face. "Are you sure your school isn't haunted by some student you abandoned?"
Unamused, Xavier replied, "Yes. This is Wanda."
Magneto's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"
"I'm late."
They walked down the hallway, carefully avoiding various walking furniture and flying carpets. Magneto noticed something familiar about the ghostly happenings. "Charles, is everything dancing to the tune of the 'Teddy Bear Picnic'?"
Xavier looked around. "Could be. I don't know that one."
They reached the doors to Xavier's office unscathed. Xavier entered first.
The windows blew open as Wanda stood up. "You're late." The light fixture spun. "You made me agree to this, then you forget about me. This is not acceptable." Her hands glowed.
Light flickered off Magneto's helmet. Perched on Xavier's desk, Ebony hissed. Wanda dropped her arms. "Father?" He stepped out from behind Xavier with open arms.
Wanda backed away and glared at Xavier. "You told him!"
"He was searching for you. I did not tell him what you confided in our sessions-"
The doors swung inward, knocking over Xavier's wheelchair and sending Magneto stumbling into the center of the room. "I don't believe you. You lie like all the others. No one in my life has ever been honest with me-"
With his helmet in his hands, Magneto reached a hand toward his daughter. "Have I ever lied to you?"
Wanda leered at him over her shoulder. It didn't seem possible, but not one of her memories contained her father lying to her. "No. . ."
An odd smile stretched across the old man's face. After righting Xavier, Erik took a step toward his daughter, but Ebony leapt off Xavier's desk and ran between them, back arched and ears back. Magneto lost his composure for a second, but managed to recatch Wanda's eye and put his odd smile back on. "Then believe me when I say that I was worried when you weren't with the Brotherhood. Xavier told me that you were here and nothing else."
Wanda replied in a half-questioning tone, "Really?" Picking up the cat, Wanda stroked it, trying to calm Ebony and herself.
Erik nodded and opened his arms. "Honest. Come here."
One dark eyebrow raised. "For what?"
Uncomfortable and embarrassed, Magneto shifted his weight but kept his arms up. "A hug?"
An intruder to the scene, Xavier rolled himself back out into the hallway. Even Ebony started to squirm in Wanda's arms. The cat eventually escaped Wanda's grasp and followed Xavier out.
With only the two of them in the room, Wanda saw little choice but to hug her father. She cautiously stepped forward. She raised one arm half-way up, and Erik tried to compensate by moving his arms around. Their movement was so slow and awkward it was painful.
In his arms, Wanda's eyes were wide with wonder as she stared over her father's shoulder. Although she remembered her father hugging her before, the feeling was completely foreign. They held onto each other loosely, and she was so tense that if Magneto squeezed her she'd snap. She both wanted to pound her fists into his chest and relish in the contact. Guilt over her violent thoughts made Wanda search deeper. There had to be a reason she felt that way.
The witch's head began to pound. She pushed her father away and clutched her forehead. With her face to the ground and hand shielding the light from her eyes, Wanda rushed from the room. "Migraine. I have to take my pills."
The Hall was on of the largest rooms in the mansion. McCoy sent a few of the New Mutants to gather Armel from his bed, Jamie from his hiding place in his closet, and Kitty and Kurt from the medical bay.
The Hall looked like a junior high dance except instead of the boys and girls on opposite sides of the room, each team had claimed its own area. The only noises were the whispers among the groups and shuffling cards. Those noises stopped when a cat meowed, announcing Wanda Maximoff.
Pietro ran up to her. "Where were you? Dad freaked when you weren't at the house. Were you stalking fire freak again? And what's up with the cat? Are you going broomstick shopping tomorrow?"
Ebony gave an annoyed cry. Wanda turned from Pietro to the black cat behind her. "My thoughts exactly." Glowing blue, Pietro flew into the fireplace.
His screams were muffled but audible. "This was a new shirt, you neurotic-" He glowed blue again, and his screams sounded like a parrot cawing. Ebony trotted over and batted at Pietro's feet.
Armel elbowed Scott and pointed to the fire place. "What about that piece of scrumptiousness?"
"Why do you keep asking me?"
"Because you'll give me a straight answer. No pun intended."
Scott chuckled at Ebony swatting Pietro's backside, then shrugged. "He dates a lot of girls - sometimes at the same time - but I've always wondered..."
Armel smiled. "That wasn't a no." He waltzed over and helped Pietro out of the fireplace.
Meanwhile Wanda settled down next to Lance. After what happened to Pietro, none of the Brotherhood asked her any more questions. Although she was watching Pietro chirp his way out of Armel's advances, her eyes eventually found their way to St. John. He was staring at her. She pretended to be looking at something beyond him and struggled to survey the rest of the room. Every few minutes, she'd sneak a glance his way. Every time he returned her gaze, and every time she'd pretend he wasn't there. By the fifth time, she wasn't fooling anyone who was paying attention.
The seventh time something did happen behind John to catch Wanda's attention. Remy pushed off the wall he was leaning against and marched to Kitty.
The X-Man was giving Amara a strange look. "You do remember what, like happened, on the date (3)?" Amara nodded, and Kitty continued, "Yet you still want to go over and talk to him?"
"He's different when he's not around his friends."
Kitty placed her hand on the young girl's shoulders. "Amara, this man you're imagining is not him. Trust me."
The princess's face turned ugly. "You're just jealous," she sneered and pushed Kitty's hands from her shoulders.
It took every ounce of self-control for Kitty not to shudder or roll her eyes. "Uh, no. I'm trying to keep you from getting your heart broken. He's done nothing but stare at Wanda since she walked into the room."
"Wanda? She's a cat lady. I'm twice the woman she is!"
"Ladies," Remy interrupted. "May I have a minute to speak to Mademoiselle Kitty?"
Amara flipped her hair. "Sure, I was just leaving."
Kitty stood up and pointed to the wall the Acolytes had claimed. "If you're delivering a message from Mr. No Communicado over there, you can tell him to forget it! If he wants to talk to me, he can talk to me himself! We're not in the fifth grade! He can't send messages through friends and expect things to be all hunky-doory!"
The entire room stared. Kitty shrunk back and turned red. "I said that pretty loud, didn't I?"
"Oui."
She swung her arms back and forth and pasted a fake smile on her red face. "I guess everyone knows who I was dating now."
"Oui."
It didn't take long for the room to fill with whispers again. Kitty managed to relax, but was surprised to see that Remy was still there. "So. . . why are you still standing here? I said I didn't want to hear any message from Piotr."
"I don't have a message from him. He's not speaking to me."
The brunette crossed her arms and glared across the room. "You and me both."
Knowing that if he tried to console Kitty he'd be there all night, Remy got to the root of his journey across the room. "I wondered if you knew where Rogue was? Is she at her friend Risty's house?"
Kitty's jaw dropped; Piotr disappeared from her conscious mind. "You didn't get Rogue's voicemail?" She paused long enough for Remy to shake his head, but not a moment longer. "See, Risty was really Mystique. Rogue was pissed, then her powers went all crazy, and she destroyed the concert and almost an entire city block."
His stomach dropped. "Dat was de light show last night, non?"
Kitty nodded. "Yep. Oh, and Mystique wasn't just Rogue's best friend, but she's her mom, too. Can you believe it? Rogue and Kurt are brother and sister! Through adoption, but whatever."
Remy took a few moments to absorb the plethora of information. It did explain why Mystique was protective of Rogue (4). "Is she...okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Kitty said, embarrassed that she forgot to mention that crucial piece of information. "Kurt and I have been taking care of her. She's sleeping down in the medical lab."
Across the room, Amara was unsuccessful in her effort to get John to turn his head from Wanda. The Princess settled for blocking John's view of his ex-girlfriend. "Tell me about Australia."
John shrugged. "Big island, has just about everything on it and some things you don't find any where else."
"Do you miss it?" Before John had the chance to give a half-hearted reply, Amara opened her mouth. "I miss Nova Roma. That's the island I'm from. It's not as big as Australia, but it has its own government. My daddy's a very important government official there. . ."
John's eyes glazed over until Professor Xavier and Magneto entered the room.
"I know it's late and many of you are tired, but it is important that you know what is going on." The two mutants went on to explain what had happened in London and the severity of the situation. When Xavier asked those X-Men who hadn't yet chosen to fight, none of them spoke up, as Jean predicted. They were frightened to their very toes, but none of them would admit to being a coward. "I want you to all think about what we are up against. If at any time you feel you cannot go on, come see me. My office door will always be open. It won't be too late to bow out until we are at Apocalypse's doorstop."
"Very well. Now for your roommate assignments. -"
"Room assignments?"
"I thought this was a mansion!"
Xavier launched his voice over the gathering mob. "These assignments are only temporary. Since the reconstruction, the empty residential wings were never furnished and closed off to save on energy costs. Until the other rooms are ready for occupancy, here are your room assignments: Cyclops and Prism, Jean Grey and Scarlet Witch, Nightcrawler and Pyro, Jamie and Gambit. Magma, you will be moving to Storm's room, Quicksilver and Avalanche will be moving into your room, Colossus and Toad will be in Wolfsbane's old room, and Blob will be in the empty room. Shadowcat, Rogue, Sunspot, Berzerker, Iceman, and Cannonball: since you are already sharing, your rooms will remain the same."
"What about our stuff?" John asked.
Magneto stepped forward. "You'll have to make do for tonight. Tomorrow morning, you and the rest of the Acolytes will be making a trip back to base to get your personal items and pick up Mastermind."
The mutants grumbled and began to disperse. A few chuckles from the New Mutants gave Xavier a cause for concern. "My X-Men, please be courteous and show everyone to their proper rooms. It is late, and I'm sure you would all rather go to bed than listen to one of my lectures." The peanut gallery whined, and Xavier sighed. "We all need to learn how to work together. You will all be assigned new, mixed Danger Room teams and have new training schedules."
With his arms crossed, Magneto stepped to Xavier's side to finish. His voice boomed and the room grew silent. "Meet back here tomorrow afternoon. Any questions?"
One could hear a pin drop until Bobby burst out, "Do you ever take off the bucket?"
(1) Reference to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
(2) Old chook is a meddling old woman according to my Aussie slang dictionary. I do not know if it is commonly used or not.
(3) Kitty & Piotr, Rogue & Remy, and John & Amara went out together in November Rain: Chapter 11.
(4) Mystique cornered Remy to have a "talk" about him and Rogue all the way back in Nine to Five: Chapter 16.
A/N: This is my last chapter before I leave for Costa Rica. I hope to finish this story...someday. Updates will be more sporadic or non-existent for the next year.
