Chapter 10

Fully dressed, Erik stood in the open doorway of the hotel bedroom, but made no move to step out. He placed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, and bowed his head as he listened to the soft murmurs of the others. The delicious aroma of baked pie piqued his hunger, but he couldn't seem to make his feet go. He could feel the slight tremble of muscle in his sinewy legs; he felt as if he had spent the day swimming in an unforgiving ocean.

With great effort, Erik removed his hands from the comfort of the pockets, and forced himself out into the hall. He had been staring at the bare wall for the better part of ten minutes, so he knew now that it was most definitely there when he finally moved. His nose still ached from the impact, but he was glad to note that it wasn't broken.

He strode towards the others, and slowed to a stop when they looked up from their dessert and leveled him with varying degrees of concern. He was, once again, immensely glad that he didn't have any telepathic tendencies. That kind of ability could only be considered a curse if he could actually feel the overwhelming emotions directed at him...because of him. He ignored the slight twitch in his eye.

"There's a plate in the microwave if you're hungry," the previously knife-wielding mutant stated. He appeared young, with wiry mutton chops, and an upturned nose that fit his posh accent.

"Thanks," Erik said mildly. He made no move to get it, though. His eyes had fastened on Lorna's face. The child, in turn, had done the same.

"It's not nice to stare, Bunny."

The affectionate nickname tore Erik's astonished gaze from the familiar face and towards the other mutant. "Who are you again?" His tone of voice wasn't unkind, but the steel behind the words brooked no argument either.

The man appeared miffed at his lack of manners. He stood up and held out a hand to shake. Erik took a few steps closer to the table, but made no other move to greet him. The mutant lowered his hand. "I'm Jason Wyngarde, and this is Lorna-"

"I know who she is."

Jason frowned. "You may be her father, Magneto, but that doesn't mean you know her."

Erik's head tilted a fraction to the side, and he lazily lifted a hand towards the mutant. He accessed his ability, and pinned the younger man down into his seat by the buckle of his thin belt. His pale blue eyes narrowed in fury, but most of it was directed inwardly.

A hand too small to be Peter's found itself on Erik's forearm. He glanced down in surprise to see that Lorna had risen and now stood by his side. "Please don't. He helped me."

Erik lowered his arm, and let it rest by his side. Jason made no move to retaliate, and Peter watched the exchange with a mild smirk and a mouthful of delicious pie. Erik knelt down and touched the hem of the young girl's shirt. He looked up into her green eyes, and felt a sense of jubilation well up inside his chest. Her lips were thicker than his, but she had his eyes (aside from the obvious coloring her mutation allowed her.) Her nose was rounded with a certain pertness, but was his nonetheless. She also possessed his strong chin and jawline, but that too was softened by her youth and femininity.

The metal-bender delicately reached up and traced her soft cheek with his index finger. She leaned into the touch, and smiled at the affection. Erik beamed in all his toothy glory. He held out his hand, and looked down as she grasped it as tightly as she could. He shook.

"I'm Erik Lehnsherr. Your father."

"I'm Lorna. Your daughter."

"I figured it out first," Peter announced from where he sat. Whipped cream framed his lips. He slipped his thumb into his mouth, and suckled on the appendage with delight. He kicked his chair back so that it precariously rested its weight on its back two legs. He shook the nearly empty can of cream, before placing the nozzle in his mouth and spurting the last of it within.

Erik shook his head, but found he had nothing to say. He stood, and winced as his knees protested the movement, and rested a hand atop Lorna's dark hair. He tousled a few of the strands, and gently moved his fingers down until he gripped the ends of her long mane. He held up the hair to her eyes, and shook his head. "No more of this, understand? You have no reason to be ashamed of yourself. You're beautiful, Lorna." He released the strands of hair. "Exceptional."

She peered up at him from underneath long lashes, and nodded in an almost bashful manner. Her cheeks were tinged pink, but her lips were quirked into a smile of unfettered adoration. Erik chuffed her chin, and turned to face the glowering Jason. "Thank you for looking after her."

Jason's brow jumped in his surprise, but he nodded in reply.

"Are you hungry?" Lorna asked as Erik took the seat next to the one she had been on.

"Famished," he said.

She happily skipped to the kitchen to retrieve his meal as he turned and set his elbows on the table. He leveled the young man adjacent to him with his stern glare. "Jason, are you one of us?"

Peter stopped munching, and allowed the chair to fall heavily to the ground. He faced the man as well, and took another forkful of food.

"I am," Jason replied calmly.

"What canya do?" Peter asked around the mush.

"I'm a bit of a reality-bender myself." Jason swiftly stood. Without a single shimmer or physical morph of any kind, he was suddenly a shorter, slight man with matted gray hair.

Erik was floored by the seamless shift. His mind's eye supplied the vision of this older man, but there was nothing to indicate a change had taken place. He was just different without so much as a blink of an eye. Peter dropped his fork and slowly applauded as Erik deferred to the man's power with a slight tilt of his head.

"That's remarkable," Erik claimed. "How does it work?"

Jason, with a proud smirk claiming his once again youthful countenance, sat back down in all his posh-like grace. "It's psionic. I am able to telepathically send an image into your mind, and make you see images that do not exist in reality. It's the same for smells, sounds, and so on."

"Groovy," Peter scoffed.

Beeping indicated that the meal was done being microwaved, and was shortly followed by Lorna emerging from the kitchen with a paper plate ladened with chips, a sandwich, and a thick slice of pie. Peter laughed, and motioned towards the plate with his fork.

"You didn't mic all of that, did you?"

Lorna scowled, and placed the meal in front of Erik. "No, you dork. I microwaved the pie first, and then put the rest of the stuff back on. I'm not a complete goon."

Erik couldn't contain a chuckle, and felt the fondness well up within him once again. He had two of his children with him. He could scarcely believe it. He took a hefty bite of the sandwich, and hummed his contentment. "My compliments to the chef."

Jason nodded curtly. He stood, and snatched the empty can from Peter's reaching grasp. "If you're quite finished." Peter huffed indignantly, and made a grabby motion with his outstretched hand. "Aw, c'mon, Mastermind. I think there was a little bit at the bottom."

The whiskered man shook his head, and made a point to let the can hit the bottom of the trash bin a little harder than necessary. The mutant was fully aware that the teen could have easily raced to the kitchen and grabbed the can before it even left his hand, but they both knew it was a fruitless task.

Erik forked the last bite of pie into his mouth, and dabbed at his lips with a napkin Lorna quietly provided him with. He smiled down at her, and she beamed right back. "I guess I was more than famished."

"Is that even possible?" Lorna asked innocently.

Peter glanced over, his eyes bouncing off the inked forearm, but he said nothing. For every childish moment the teen may have, he usually showed a brief moment of tact not long after. Erik was grateful the teen refrained from comment as he nodded in confirmation at Lorna's question. "Yes."

Lorna seemed to sense an unspoken conversation that she was not party to, and didn't offer to continue that trail of talk. Instead, she pushed her recently topped off glass of water towards Erik.

He looked down at her hand, and caught sight of the drink. His body immediately tensed at the object, but he shook it off with the vigor of a survivor, and took a thankful sip from the proffered beverage. "Thank you," he murmured kindly. He couldn't meet her eyes. He had a brief moment of panic from a goddamn glass of water, and was immensely grateful that the others didn't seem to notice.

Jason returned empty handed, and took his seat. He folded his hands atop the glass table, and looked over at the father/daughter pair. "So, what are your plans now?"

"I think," Erik replied as he copied the other man's position, "The same could be asked of you. I'm starting a Brotherhood, if you will; a group of similarly minded mutants. As it stands, the only members are the three of us."

There was no question as to whether or not Lorna was to return to her previous life. Whatever she had known before, was no longer. She was the daughter of Erik Lehnsherr, and she was to remain by his side from here on out. The young man, who viewed himself as an older brother to her, completely understood that fact. It was a matter of whether or not he was to enlist with them as well.

"I see."

"I will understand if you wish to return to your previous life," Erik commented, "I'm merely offering you a role in something that has the potential to be very powerful."

"Powerful?" A greedy look overtook the man's face. He spread his palms out, and smiled. "Now how can I refuse an offer like that?"

TBC...

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