Chapter 12: Tricks
"You will let this one go! You can do it. Do you really want to be this kind of example to your son?" His voice is commanding. "You can't stop me, Charles, you never could." "I can. I just never did." The bluff continues on both sides. "Come with me, Pietro, let them fight it out." Mystique takes him out of the cellar and into the clean fresh air outside.
"You didn't mind me getting Shaw." "I did!" "Even so, you didn't stop me then, and you won't do it now. Don't tell me you wouldn't take care of a problem like this. If your wife and children, your students or friends had been killed in the same manner, you'd respond the same way." "There's no convincing you, is there?" "No, of course not!" "Fine, on one condition.." "Fine?" "Pietro comes back to school." "That's how important a human life is to you, Charles? So easily tradable? Perhaps we are more alike than you thought!" Magneto begins to laugh. "A perfect deal, I think?" "Indeed. I promise I'll send him back." "Alright, on my count. You don't want to accidently harm me, do you? Three, two, …..one."
Mystique and Pieto hear the iron shackles being torn of the wall and thrown into…. another wall? Seconds later Magneto joins them. He is livid. "He tricked me! The sneaky…" He can hardly speak. "Magneto, what happened?" "I should have realized…. Never trust him, never trust anyone." "Dad?" After a few breaths, Magneto relays the story. The moment he said "one," Charles had already entered the teleport's body and he had taken the special agent with him to wherever. "I should never have trusted him. Never!"
Charles has left the special agent to his own devises. The agent has thanked him profusely, but he did not want to hear it. "You are a despicable person. I did not save you for your sake, you better remember that. Only for the boy's sake." Who really should not learn to deal with his problems by killing everyone standing in his way. He occupied the teleport's body for a while longer so he wouldn't be able to tell Magneto where the man was, before returning home. It has been quite an evening.
The weeks pass by and the Brotherhood is ever on the lookout for the agent. They now know his face and name, which should help tremendously, but the man has gone undercover. Deep underground. "If it hadn't been for Charles, he would have been dead by now. He is such an interfering…" Mystique lets him vent his anger. Charles can be quite patronizing and full of himself. "We'll find him in time. So far, we've done pretty well in achieving our goals." She gives him a small smile. "At least my son is at my side. No longer being taught pacifism." "Exactly, Quicksilver is improving and takes more after you each day." "He does, doesn't he?"
Pietro is happy with this new name of Quicksilver. It makes him feel like a genuine member of the Brotherhood and he carries it with pride. His father was proud at his efforts of engaging with the agent and being able to manipulate him. Everyday Quicksilver covers as much ground as he can to track the man down. One of these days he will strike gold. He knows it in his heart. Or at least, he fervently hopes so.
The special agent takes all the precautions he needs in order to be perfectly ordinary. He cannot ask for help of his employers since the mission was a personal one. But it is best that no one knows where he is residing. Lying low has always been his strong suit. He has grown his hair and a beard and looked nothing like himself. Surely, he'll be safe in this small town near the coast?
"So, they haven't contacted you at all?" Hank isn't too pleased with Charles' secrecy. Something important had happened, but he did not want to talk about it. It's infuriating and at times like this he wishes he could read minds himself. Charles had been Charles and had only shared that Pietro had been rescued and that he and Erik, surprise, surprise, had yet another falling out. Absolutely no details. Hank longs to know more about it. He had secretly hoped that their cooperation at the base would have increased the relationship, if only for their mutual cause. A blue red haired woman has been on his mind lately. A lot more than he cares to admit, even to himself.
Their cooperation was in her thoughts as well. She'd forgotten what a team they could be. The moments at the base where she had aided Beast and he had supported her make for good memories. They'd been almost flawless and were perfectly attuned to each other, after all this time. It had taken Hank a bit longer to accept his nature but now he had fully embraced it, as far as she could tell. Mystique was proud of his efforts, even as her own methods clashed with his. That left only one thing to sort out on her end. Before she does anything in regards to Hank, she needs to know…
"Magneto?" "What?" Always she bothers him at the wrong time and place. "I'd like to talk to you about something." "About what?" It's not like Mystique to dance around the subject. "It's about back then, before, when all of us were still friends…" "What about it?" "Well, you and I? It's not going to happen is it, not anymore, I mean." He is shocked. "Whatever has brought this up?" "Can't you please just answer the question?" She is nervous and impatient. "Right, alright, ehm. Well, I don't want to hurt your feelings, I mean, you know Magda, and now there's Quicksilver to think about as well… I see you more as a trusted second in command." "So, that's a no then?" "I guess so, yes." "Good." "Good? You're not upset?" "Not anymore. It's good to finally have some answers. Gives me food for thought." She leaves him with a smile plastered on her face. He shakes his head. Perhaps he will never fully understand her.
