Chapter 5

"…To the right,
To the left,
We will fight to the death
To the edge of the earth
It's a brave new world
From the last to the first…"

~ "This is War", 30 Seconds to Mars


She fought the delusions. It was almost like a psychic battle, but they aren't on an even playing field with abilities—not their skill level, but rather their capabilities.

Charlotte recognized the first illusion because she had not stood in more than forty years and the last time was on a beach in Cuba beside Erik, not in her office.

After that, he wormed his way in and took root.

He stole the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy, making her lose herself in the delusion.

And damn him, he knew her weakness. He knew how protective she was of children—especially those who alone or unable to protect themselves.


Erik watched as the X-Men's jet narrowly avoided the missiles until they didn't. He could sense the hole blown into the roof of the jet and mended it swiftly—even as the jet plummeted.

He directed it toward him and lowered it to the ground.

"When will these people learn how to fly?" he muttered to Mystique.

And so they found themselves in an alliance with the X-Men and discussed what they knew with the Wolverine, Dr. Grey, Storm, and the twins.

"…His name is Colonel William Stryker," Erik told them, "and he invaded your mansion for one purpose: he wanted Cerebro or enough of it to build one of his own."

"That doesn't make any sense," Dr. Grey replied. "Stryker would need the Professor to operate it."

"That, I fear, is the only reason my old friend is still alive." Erik closed his eyes in regret.

Wanda closed her eyes and bowed her head wordlessly. Beside her, Pietro laid a hand on her shoulder sadly.

"Oh my God," Storm murmured as her and Jean's eyes met in realization.

The Wolverine was clueless. As usual. "What're you all so afraid of?"

Erik sighed but explained. "When Cerebro is working, Charlotte's mind is connected to every living person on the planet. If she were forced to concentrate hard enough on a particular group, let's say mutants for example, she could kill us all." His voice hardened, trying to convey the danger of the situation, and added softer, "Not to mention that the effort of it could very will kill Charlotte too."

"Wait a second," Storm said sharply. "How would Stryker even know where to find Cerebro in the first place?"

"Because he told Stryker."

The voice cut through the conversation.

Magneto grimaced. "Emma, Cordelia." he greeted coolly. "Good to see you could make it."

Logan eyed the newcomers warily. "Who're your friends, Magneto? And what does she mean that you told Stryker?"

"Friend is a very loose and ill-fitting word," the blond woman replied. "Emma Frost. I'm an…acquaintance of both Magneto here and the Professor. I heard the trouble with Stryker and we came to offer our assistance."

The other, slightly darker blond woman added, "I'm Cordelia Frost—her sister and a former student of the Professor's."

"So, you both just came rushing to offer to help us?" Scott said warily, remembering the sisters' brief years at the Xavier school. "How did you even hear about this?"

Cordelia chuckled. "It's all over the news, though the details were muddled. But we can recognize the Westchester estate well enough."

"How'd you know he told Stryker?" Jean asked Emma.

"Because he is constantly wallowing in his guilt and fury about it in his mind," the blond replied. "I'm a telepath like you and the Professor."

Erik glared at her. "Why are you here, Emma?"

"I owe the Professor a debt," the telepath replied calmly. "You know that. Stryker escaped us all those years ago. He won't be this time. Now, why don't you explain why you told him?"

"Yes," Pietro bit out. "Do tell. Why? Why would you do that to her? Why—"

"Pietro," Wanda said quietly to her brother. "Getting angry at him won't help her now. Calm down and give him time to explain."

Logan nodded. "Calm down, hot shot. Don't kill him before he can explain. After he does, though, I'm kinda curious why you constantly look like you want to kill Magneto."

Wanda looked to him with sharp eyes. "She didn't tell you, did she?" the auburn-haired mutant asked vaguely.

"Seeing as I don't have a damn clue what you're talking about, I'm going to say: no, she didn't," the amnesiac replied.

With a sigh, she explained, "The Professor is our mother, Logan."

The Wolverine's eyes widened. "Wait—she's…what? Are you fucking with me?"

"She's telling the truth," Jean told him. "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, they're the Professor's little-known twin children."

Logan stared at the two for a moment before repeating, "Maximoff?"

They exchanged a long glance. Pietro shrugged. Wanda hesitated, reluctant to speak.

To their right came a long-suffering sigh. "They're mine," Erik said, impatient with their secrets. At the metal-infused mutant's confused look, the magnetokinetic rolled his eyes. "They are my children, Logan. Do I need to put this in simpler terms for you?" he added, condescending.

"Wait—so, you and the Professor—?" he stared, speechless in shock. "You two…?"

Erik replied sharply, "That was implied, yes."

"Why Maximoff?" Emma asked idly. "I always wondered…"

"One of my old aliases—Magnus Maximoff," he replied impatiently. "We agreed it would be better for people not to know their father is the wanted mutant terrorist Magneto. Safer. Considered they might then be in danger from both her enemies and, more importantly, my own. Can we move on, now?"

"Yeah," Scott agreed. "Why don't you share about you telling Stryker about Cerebro?"

The white-haired mutant sighed. "I was there from Cerebro's very beginnings, remember? I know how it was built, how it works. Mr. Stryker has…powerful methods of persuasion…even against me—even against a mutant as powerful as Charlotte."

The anger was plain to see on Jean Grey's face but she focused. "So who is this Stryker, anyway?"

"He's a military scientist," Erik replied, eying Wolverine briefly. "He's spent his whole life trying to solve the mutant problem. If you want a more intimate perspective, why don't you ask Wolverine?" Logan looked as clueless as the rest. "You don't remember, do you? William Stryker, the only other man I know who can manipulate adamantium—the metal on your bones. It carries his signature."

"But the Professor—"

"The professor trusted you were smart enough to discover it on your own," he sneered. "She gives you more credit than I do."

"Why do you need us?" the white-haired woman asked suspiciously.

"Mystique has discovered plans of a base that Stryker's been working out of for decades," Erik replied. "We know that's where he's building the second Cerebro, but we don't know where this base is. And I believe one of you might."

Wolverine shook his head. "The Professor already tried—"

"Once again," he replied sharply, "You think it's all about you." Erik looked up, smirking. The others followed his gaze.

Nightcrawler clung to a branch and said nervously, "Oh, hello…"


As it turned out, he was right.