Erik looked at Magda, caught somewhere between nostalgia and disgust. Her eyes were darting towards the door, like a rabbit that had been cornered and, any minute now, was expecting to be butchered. He waited a few minutes more as she weighed her options, until he saw her choose one.
"Don't scream," he said firmly, "I'm not in the mood to deal with that."
Magda drew herself up, her mouth set into a grim line.
"You shouldn't be here," she said.
"According to the government, I shouldn't be anywhere outside of a prison cell either," he said, "And yet, miraculously, here I am."
She swallowed and looked back at the desk. Erik supposed that he could take a seat in one of her rickety office chairs, but he opted to remain standing, his arms crossed.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Now that is a question, isn't it?" said Erik, "To start with, you can tell me what you're doing here, at a mutant school."
"Easy enough," Magda said, her tone level, "Charles Xavier had a job opening for someone to run the files here. They're expanding. I applied, interviewed, and was accepted."
It seemed like a simple story, but the punchline was that she had applied at Charles's school.
"I see you've gotten over your distaste for mutants," he said.
"I've gotten over my ignorance," said Magda, "There's a difference."
He nodded, although her words did nothing to assuage the fury he was feeling.
"You know, when I heard you got married, you failed to tell me that your married name was Maximoff," he said.
Erik could have sworn that Magda turned a shade paler. So that worried her. He fought to keep his excitement in check, reminding himself that he still needed a little more information. He didn't have confirmation yet.
"We didn't do a lot of talking about my life the last time we met," Magda said.
"No," Erik said, "We didn't."
The words came out cold and bitter despite his wishes. He'd wanted them to be detached and angry, but it was still difficult to remember that day without a touch of bitterness.
"Besides," Magda muttered, "I don't remember me telling you that I was married mattering much to you."
"Or to you," said Erik pointedly, "Not until the next morning, or perhaps it was just later that night. It's hard to remember precise times when you sleep through them."
"I had obligations," she said, "I had-"
"A pathetic suburban life that you needed to get back to, I know," said Erik, "That letter told me quite a bit. Tell me, was it designed make me hate you and not want to contact you again? Because right now, I rather think that it was."
She stood up, her eyes narrowed.
"Shockingly enough," she said, "There were more important things in my life than you."
"It wasn't your husband," Erik said, "I can guarantee that. But let me guess what it was."
He held up a finger, his eyes still fixed on her.
"Was it perhaps two children, twins, a boy and a girl?" he asked, "Did the boy have silvery hair? The girl, I'm guessing, probably had auburn hair-"
"Stop it!" Magda snapped.
He glared at her.
"Keep your voice down," he said, "I'm not sure just how much time I have until Charles realizes that I'm talking to his resident human."
Her brow furrowed.
"You used his first name," she said, "How do you two know- never mind."
Magda's tone became brusque.
"It doesn't matter," she said, "Again, what do you want Erik?"
Gritting his teeth together, Erik put both of his hands on the desk and leaned over. He could see the fear in Magda's eyes. Good. He wanted her to be afraid, to be in pain, because it wasn't even a fraction of what he was feeling when he looked at her, when he thought of her last name.
"I want to know just how a human woman, and a boring human man, manage to give birth to three mutant children?" he said.
"It's called a recessive gene," Magda said coolly, "Haven't you ever heard of one?"
He leaned in closer. That nervous, darting look was back on her face. That was good: it meant he was on the right track.
"People call me many things Magda, but the one word that never crosses their lips is 'fool,'" Erik hissed, "Now tell me, are they all my children, or just Lorna?"
Magda breathed deeply, her eyes still wide and frightened.
"I don't know-" she began.
"I said," he snarled, "are they all my children, or just Lorna?"
Magda swallowed hard and he snorted in frustration. Erik knew that he probably had very little time until Charles or one of his pets descended to figure out why he was still there. He would get an answer before that happened.
"You might have managed to get away with it you know," he said, "But your youngest child controls metal and her birth just so happens to correspond rather closely with our last encounter. So, answer me, or I will stop trying to be calm about this."
His voice was practically a growl by the end. Magda clenched her fist and tilted her chin up.
"If you know so much, why don't you just leave?" she asked.
"I want to hear you say it!" he snapped.
There was a pause before she looked away.
"Yes," she said, the word forced and angry.
The excitement returned, but he had to know the details. There would be no ambiguity. Not about something like this.
"All of them or Lorna?" he demanded.
"All of them," Magda admitted.
Erik let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. All those years spent training them, years spent wondering abut what or who they would be, and it had been under his nose the whole time. They were his.
He felt himself smiling.
"And why are you so eager to claim them?" Magda asked, "Why now?"
He glanced at her. Now that she had answered she seemed rather insignificant, just a phase of his life that he had passed through. She had left him years ago, and then she had done so again when he'd been foolish enough to let her back into his life, even if it was just for a single night.
At least that night appeared to have given him a second daughter.
"Until I saw that name on your door, I hadn't known it was a possibility," Erik said dismissively, "But now...I suppose your husband never suspected?"
It didn't matter, not really, but it would answer a few questions. He'd need to know how delicately to tread.
"He knew about Peter and Wanda going in," she said, "He never...he never knew about Lorna."
"He never did sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer," said Erik, mean pleasure flooding him, "But it might explain why Lorna was his favorite."
"How do you know that?" demanded Magda.
He laughed.
"Unlike you, I have enjoyed the trust of our eldest children for the past nine years or so," Erik said, "When Quicksilver told me his mother had never seemed to understand, always seemed so nervous around him and his siblings, I must admit, I hadn't pictured you."
"Don't call him that!" said Magda.
"And why not?" Erik asked, "It's the name he's chosen. And it appears that, despite your best efforts, he did find me, and I did have a hand in raising him and his sisters. It's often funny how these things work out."
There was really nothing funny about it. Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch had been seventeen when they'd come to him, and Lorna had been twelve. He'd missed most of their lives. The feeling of being robbed welled up in him.
"And they don't even know," he said.
It wasn't a question, but Magda obviously took it as such.
"Better for them to have a distant father than one like you," she snapped.
"Well, we'll see what they think about that particular assumption," said Erik.
He quickly thought through his options. Quicksilver was miles away now, but one of his children was rather close. Charles wasn't cruel: he'd grant him more time there if he explained what it was for.
"It's time I had a little chat with my children, starting with my youngest," he said.
To his surprise, he felt Magda's hand make contact with his face. It was a weak punch, but it was a punch nonetheless. He glared at her, glared at the defiance that was quickly replacing fear on her face.
For the past few minutes, fear had been slowly turning her blood into ice. In a manner of seconds her chilled blood had become boiling, leading her to striking a man that had made the FBI's top ten most wanted list for nearly a decade.
When she spoke, her words came out clear and sharp.
"No, you won't," she said, "If you take one damn step towards her I will rip your face off."
A small voice was telling her that he'd be able to kill her before she made good on that threat, but she wasn't listening right now. The world had narrowed to the two of them, and she wasn't letting Erik out of that room while there was still a possibility he would talk to Lorna.
So she continued to look at him through slitted eyes, her breathing harsh. He'd looked surprised when she'd spoken, but that surprise was reverting back to anger.
"Rather protective of a girl you let run away," he said.
"God knows I've made mistakes," said Magda, "But it would be a bigger one to let you speak to her. You've done enough damage to her and her siblings already."
"I wondered when you would acknowledge that there are two other children," Erik said, "You're not quite as protective of them as you are of her, are you?"
Her hands curled into fists. Magda knew that she had never quite recovered from her bout with cancer, was still weak and sleepy so often, but she was sure she could put up something of a fight.
"I can't control what you do to Peter and Wanda, or what you and the rest of your terrorists tell them," Magda spat, "But I can save Lorna and I'm telling you right now to stay away from her."
"That's not your decision to make," said Erik.
"It's not yours either," she said, "Stay away from her. She has a normal, happy life-"
"She's working as a school teacher when she should be taking her place as a the goddess that she is," Erik said.
She burst out laughing. The high, cruel sounded so unlike her, but she felt a little crazy at the moment.
"And that's what you've done for Wanda and Peter then?" she said, "Because, last I checked, you'd turned them into murderers and thieves. I won't let that happen to her, and I don't care what I have to do to protect her."
Magda put her own hands on the desk and leaned forward, matching his eyes.
"If you tell her that you're her father, I will lie," Magda said, "She trusts me, so she'll listen. I'll tell her that Wanda and Peter are yours, but she's not. I'll say I was pregnant with another child around that time, but I had an abortion and she came afterwards."
Her fingernails dug into the table.
"In short, I will tell her anything rather than the truth," she said, "I'll denounce you as a liar that's trying to get under her skin and I will go to my grave swearing that my husband was her father."
Erik stared back for a long time, no doubt trying to see if she was serious. Magda's face didn't so much as twitch.
"All to protect a mediocre lifestyle," he said.
"To protect her happiness," Magda corrected, "Do you want to call me on it?"
He stared at her for a moment more.
"Not for now," he replied.
A wave of relief washed over her, but she didn't let it show on her face. Instead, she remained impassive as he gave her a disgusted look.
"And to think I used to love you," he said.
"Same here," Magda said.
He snorted and opened the door. Magda nearly cried out when she saw Charles there, his body rigid and his eyes fixed on Erik.
"What are you doing here?" Charles asked, his voice low.
There was no surprise in his voice, only anger. How on earth did these two know each other?
"Leaving," said Erik, "And, in the future, I suggest you have some sort of vetting process for your new hires. Liars seldom make good employees."
Erik turned and began to walk down the hallway. Charles opened his mouth, no doubt to demand to know what he was talking about, but Magda hurried forward. She laid a hand on his shoulder pleadingly.
"Just let him go Charles," she begged, "Just let him go."
Charles gazed after Erik as he turned the corner, his eyes flickering back t her.
"What were you talking about?" he asked.
She bit her lip. There was no point in lying to a telepath, but she had no idea how to tell him the truth. Magda would have to try though. Charles was too clever a man to let this go without investigating further.
"Mom?"
Magda wanted to scream, but instead she turned and smiled at her daughter. At least Erik was out of sight. Lorna looked a little worried, her teeth gnawing on her lip. It was the perfect escape, even if it was only a temporary one.
"I'm sorry Charles. We'll have to discuss those forms later," Magda said, leaving his side.
"Alright," Charles said, his voice tight, "Just as long as we discuss them soon."
She nodded and joined Lorna. Magda gently steered Lorna away from Charles, her heart beating rapidly.
"What was that about?" Lorna asked.
"Just some administrative things," she said, "What's on your mind?"
Lorna started chewing on her lip again.
"Alex asked me out tonight and I said yes," she said.
Even though Magda had had the worst afternoon she'd had in years, she smiled. It looked like Alex did have some sense after all.
"I'm just...I'm just a little nervous," Lorna said.
Magda threw her arm around her daughter's shoulder. Erik could call her a liar as much as he wanted, say that she was keeping Lorna trapped, but Lorna had a happy life. Nothing was going to jeopardize that. Not if Magda could help it.
"It'll be fine," she reassured her.