I haven't given up! Just finished my first semester at college, hopefully I'll update more and more this summer.

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, but if I did, I'd rule the world.

Edit: I fixed the error with the line breaks


Scott started coughing up the beer. After much gasping for air, he managed to choke out "What is this?"

"Whiskey," Riza smiled.

"You said it was beer!"

"It was this morning."

"You drank all my beer?" Logan glared at her.

"Get rid of it. I don't care how, but just do it. I don't want this around the kids," Scott interrupted.

He shoved the bottle into Logan's hands and headed back inside. Logan finished off the whiskey, grimacing slightly at the taste. Riza laid back down in the grass and sighed happily. Logan sat beside her; he handed her a bottle.

"You think your kid's gonna be alright?" he asked suddenly.

"Kels... She'll be fine. We're safe here, and there's people here that wanna help her," Riza replied.


"You are endangering his life, Erik," Charles stated, his eyes locked with Magneto's.

"That's preposterous. We're furthering his education. Both as a mutant and a normal child. There's nothing dangerous about that," Magneto scoffed.

His gaze left Charles, and he turned his back on his old friend. He stared out past the grounds of the mansion. Charles turned his chair around to face Magneto.

"In a school that openly protests Mutant rights. Our rights. The rights of our people. He'll learn to hate all humans that way."

"They're all ignorant chimps."

"Erik," Charles protested.

"Old friend, that school is where it all starts. Perhaps we'll loosen up the paperwork a bit. They could find the 'proper 'adoption papers, and perhaps they'll trace the genealogy of his real parents. They were both mutants. A very simple mutation. Nothing like what he is capable. Nothing like what Jean is capable of, or that little girl," Magneto explained.

"I've seen him; Kelsey has seen him; Jean has seen him. The three of us cannot find a trace of powerful telepathic powers," Charles sighed.

"A brief meeting, Charles!" Erik snapped, "... I'm asking a favor of you." Erik turned back around; their eyes locked again. "Old friend, take a look at him. See if there's any way to tap into his powers."

"In ways you cannot?"

"I am no telepath. This mansion happens to house three of the most powerful telepaths in the known world."

"This is all politics, and politics are bullshit," a crackly voice said through the phone speaker.

"The electric regenerator?" Erik asked. A faint smile was showing.

"Sorry. I was going to ask the Professor about something, but I overheard everything," Riza said nonchalantly.

"Riza, who else heard this?" Charles demanded.

"Unless Kels and Jeanie got through your barriers, just me. She's been training to push past simple ones. Logan... Well. That's what I was gonna talk to you about."

"What do you make of it all, Girl?" Erik snapped.

"Girl? I am considerably older than you. I've lived through the American Civil War, both World Wars and all the other political bullshit the American government got itself into."

"Some other time, Riza," Charles pleaded.

Erik glared at the phone. A few sparks popped out of the speaker. Charles sighed. An argument over who really "lived" longer could last forever. To Erik, life was more than years of age. It was years of experience. Charles had taken brief glances into Erik's mind (at Erik's suggestion, of course), and he'd seen his friend's childhood.

"I saw the chambers. They took me 'round a few of the camps to see if there was anything I could do. Folks thought I was a miracle worker since I 'healed' the poor sod that was nearly shot to death," Riza said, calmly.

Erik remained silent.

"I'll live the rest of my life seeing them, Erik. Eventually, you will die. Everything you've done, and seen, will fade away to memory. Mine will never go away. I'll always remember what I saw. Hell, even what I did. I had a short stint in Africa as a mercenary."

They stood (in Charles' case, sat) in silence. Charles was mentally scolding Riza for bringing up the past.

"What are the lives of a few millions people?" Erik said finally.

"You will not use that boy as a gas chamber for humans, Erik. I will stop you. I will stop you, and you will die," she warned.

"Genocide is not an option, Erik," Charles added.

"I never thought it was; I never thought of it as a solution. The head of Jacob's school has political power. If he could see what we can do, he could help our cause," Erik lied.

It was a brilliant lie; a fantastic lie. Neither of them saw through it. Charles believed his friend was truly doing the right thing for the cause of Mutants and Humans alike. Riza warned that if it turned into a genocide, Erik would pay dearly. Mystique would bring Jacob to the mansion after his classes every day. He'd receive the same lessons as Kelsey, but from Charles only.


"After all, friends, politics are all bullshit," a woman stated.

She wore black stilettos, a neatly pressed black pencil skirt and a faded yellow blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her skin was riddled with various burn marks. The largest was on her neck. It remained uncovered; untouched by make up. Under her shirt, on her back, were six small holes.

The small crowd she was addressing, of about 20 or so mutants, clapped. A man, in a pressed pinstripe suit, stood. He took over the stage. He had dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. His teeth were shiny and white.

"My friends, two of our comrades found the girl. It's not a huge mystery where they were taken, but now we can get in and out with ease," he said. The man was naturally charismatic. The crowd seemed to love his words.

"Earthmovers," the woman interrupted, "Stand please."

Two mutants rose. One was from a rice farm in China, and the other was a drug runner in Mexico. The couple on stage promised every mutant in the room better lives, better jobs, better food and better pay. Money was tight, but the mutants didn't care. They had a better family than before. Similar comrades; people that understood what it was like to be special.

"The girl is at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She's roamed far out into the woods on the grounds. It'd be simple to snatch her from there," the Mexican girl explained.

"Your names?" the man smiled.

"Lou and Marta," the Chinese man stated.

"You're plan is flawed," the woman snapped.

"Circe, relax. It was a simple plan. Friends, it's not that simple," the man laughed.

Circe rolled her eyes. The two mutants in the crowd sat down, embarrassed.

"The girl will be heavily protected," Circe stated, "Either her mother, their dog, the fire man or any of the mutants at that school."

"Can we infiltrate it?" a younger girl in the crowd asked.

A murmur broke through the crowd. They debated amongst themselves how to go about an infiltration. The couple on stage backed away from the edge.

"Sterling, is it possible?" Circe asked.

The man flashed his warmest and brightest smile at his partner. "Darling, anything is possible."

She glared at him, "Flash those at me again, and I will rip them out. It's the stupidest thing ever."

"It's effective. Simple minds are... Easiest to control. No one in that school will be easy to control," Sterling mused.

"It's possible though?"

"Of course. We need the right mutant. Sweetie, I'm a rising politician for the mutant cause. I could just say I found the poor mutant. Beaten, bleeding, hurting. I just wanted to help."

"You'll appeal to their cause. The girl can control minds, and she'll control the opponents. We'll take over. Everything will be ours... Honey," Circe smiled.

"And you can have your revenge on the family. I wish the brother had been easier to manipulate. He wasn't as simple as we had hoped."

"Maybe the dog?"

"No. Not for me. I can't do it. If I could, Dear, we'd be running this country."