February 23, 1974

Erik waved his hand over the door, the metal handle falling to pieces. Behind him Archangel shifted on his feet, his wings rustling slightly. Mystique stared ahead, her eyes dead but her lips curled into a snarl. Erik wished that she would piece herself together for the oncoming fight. He knew just as well as anyone at the Brotherhood how hard it was to lose someone you loved. He might even be able to understand what Mystique was going through with Azazel's death better than any of them.

She wouldn't accept any comfort from him though, not since the rather cold termination of their own relationship when Lorna had arrived. He hadn't been able to even look at her, knowing that her regard for him was much more than his for her. Lorna's presence only reminded himself of that.

Before he'd thought that, in time, he might have been able to care for her as she did for him. However, Lorna's arrival had told him that it wasn't going to happen. Mystique had realized it too, and her anger to him still, in some form or another, burned on. It had lessened since she had fallen in love with Azazel, but he knew that her resentment would be kindled anew if he tried to help her with her current emotional pain.

Besides, he had his own problems to deal with. He didn't like that Lorna had defied him. Erik understood, and he knew that if anyone else had asked he would have let them go. Lorna wasn't anyone though. She was his acknowledged daughter, a tempting target for people like Black Tom whose only goal was to hurt the Brotherhood.

The idea of her travelling with Alex was a bad one as well. If Erik had had to pick which member of the X-men she would fight alongside, he would have picked Hank. Hank had never had a nervous breakdown. Hank was a good fighter, but he showed very little of Alex's erratic behavior.

Beyond that the idea that she was interacting with the X-men at all was a bad one. He'd wanted to keep her separate from them. There were people that he hoped that she would respect such as Charles, but he wanted to keep her out of their fantasy. Not that he had any doubts about where her loyalties lay. He just didn't want her to have to deal with people as stupid and naïve as the X-men were.

All of these masked a greater concern. Lorna had never been in a field situation anywhere near as complicated or dangerous as the one that had been laid before them. He had taken such care to make sure that she was kept out of it. Now she was being threatened by what he could only describe as scum, scum who, if what Sean said was true, was also insane.

Erik hated himself for trusting him in the first place, but there was no room for that. Black Tom came, he killed one of his best soldiers, and he had kidnapped his daughter. Now Lorna was free and going after him, just like he had always taught her. Erik just wished that he had been able to phase her into such combat situations gently.

If a single hair on her head was hurt than he would kill Black Tom himself, but only after he made him suffer. The very possibility of her being hurt was one that made his lungs burn as he entered through the factory through roof entrance, angry that he wouldn't be able to go to her straight away. There was logic in the plan that had been laid before him, and it was the only reason he had agreed to it. Now she was out there, fighting for her life.

In another place, another time, he might have been able to keep Lorna out of a field situation altogether. However, in the world they lived in he lacked that power.


Lorna waved her hand and the doors to the room flew open. Five guards turned around, their hands still on the keyboards. One of them reached for their gun, but Alex sent a bolt of light at him. His hands burned and sizzled. The guard drew his hand back, screaming. A minute later Lorna forced the door off its hinges and sent it hurtling into the nearest group of guards. They fell beneath it, and she made it hit them one more time for good measure.

One managed to level his gun, but Alex stopped him with another blast of heat. This one just knocked the gun out of his hands, sending it spiraling to the floor. A minute later Alex grabbed him by the front of his uniform and lifted him up into the air. He slammed him into the wall, glaring at him.

"Where's Black Tom?"

The man's eyes widened, his lips moving inarticulately. Lorna walked up behind Alex, her face set. She wished that there was more metal in the room that she could bend, something to make her feel more at home. There was next to nothing though, and it made her feel as though she were a fish out of water.

Alex removed one of his hands from the front of the man's shirt. Red light glowed around it and he sighed.

"Do I really need to burn your face off?" he asked.

The man's eyes widened further and Lorna's heart stopped. This wasn't about to happen, was it?

"The basement!" the man screamed, "Something about an exchange!"

Lorna cocked her head. What was he talking about?

"Got any more detail on that?" Alex asked.

"That's all I know!" he said.

Alex brought his hand closer to the man's face, the red light intensifying. Sweat poured down the guard's face. Lorna watched, caught between stopping Alex and shock that, after everything he had said, he was actually intending to torture the man he had found. She wasn't a fool: she knew that members of the Brotherhood engaged in some torture, but she had been told it consisted of little more than hitting a prisoner a few times.

Burning someone's face off was much different. Lorna hadn't expected that, had thought better of him. She stepped forward, keeping her face as neutral as she could, but she was going to stop him. Alex had his back turned to her, couldn't see her, but one way or another she wasn't going to let things be taken so far.

To her surprise Alex withdrew his hand, the red light fading.

"Nah, you're telling the truth," he said.

The man blinked. A minute later Alex slammed his head against the wall, watching his unconscious form slide down to the floor. He looked back at Lorna, who stared.

"What?" he asked.

"You just…you were going to-!" Lorna said.

His eyes darkened.

"No I wasn't!" Alex snapped, "The hell is the matter with you?"

"The hell is the matter with me?" Lorna demanded.

Alex snarled. Somehow or another she had struck a sore spot.

"Look, Magnetrix, let me get something perfectly clear: I don't actually burn people's faces off," Alex said, "I can, but I don't. It's called control."

"What was that then?" she demanded.

"That's what you thought this was?" Alex said.

He waved his hand.

"Let me tell you what it was, because apparently you don't understand. People get intimidated by this," he said, "I can't blame them, but if they're intimidated than it means that they're more likely to open up and spill. It's a hell of a lot easier than other methods. What did you think I was, some sort of monster?"

His words were bitter. Lorna looked away.

"I hoped you weren't," she said.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He looked tired and frustrated. She watched as Alex rubbed his temples.

"Nevermind," he said, "Just…nevermind. I can see how you would…forget it."

He straightened his jacket. Lorna sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Yeah, nevermind," Alex said.

"Stop saying that," Lorna said, "I meant what I said."

She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think past what I saw on the surface, and I should have," she said, "I've just never really been in this kind of situation with you. With anyone actually."

"I know, I know," Alex said.

She shrugged, smiling even though her throat felt like sandpaper. She felt stupid, stupid and angry with herself.

"So Black Tom's in the basement?" she said.

"Sounds like," he said.

He jerked his head towards the door.

"Then let's not keep him waiting," he said.


Black Tom laughed again. Sean was sick of his voice, sick of his face, sick of everything that had transpired that night. Scott's voice was still echoing in his ears, and he felt as though he was going to throw up. He swallowed and clenched his fists so far inwards that, despite the gloves, he could just feel the pressure of his nails.

"Where's Terry?" he said.

Black Tom cocked his head.

"Beg pardon?" he laughed.

"Don't be stupid," Sean said.

"Oh, I'm not stupid," Black Tom said, "I just want you to clarify. Is that so bad?"

Sean swore inside his head, wishing that he could rip the man in front of him apart. It wasn't the time though.

"Terry, my daughter," he said.

His voice was pleading. It sounded pathetic, but he couldn't help it.

"I held up my part of the bargain," he said, "You have to hold up yours. Now where's Terry?"

Black Tom grinned.

"First floor control room," he said, "Surrounded by guards of course, but she's here. I told you she would be."

Sean closed his eyes for a minute. He had thought that Terry would be near. Black Tom wouldn't let his prize, his best bait, be kept too far from him.

"I'm going," Sean said.

Before he could take a step forward Black Tom tapped the wall with his shillelagh.

"Ah ah ah," Black Tom said.

Sean glared at him.

"What is it you want now?" he hissed.

Black Tom's grin widened.

"I happen to know about the little plan that you have to infiltrate my factory," he said, "No doubt you're hoping that you can get your daughter and make off before anyone finds out what you've done. How they would hate you, all of your precious little friends. Am I right Seanny?"

Sean gritted his teeth.

"I thought as much," he said, "But, you see, I can't allow myself to be caught. That fancy wind show in the front? I know it's not all of your forces. You're not dumb enough to do a full frontal attack. You're dumb enough for many things, but I don't think that you would make such a poor tactical gambit."

"You said you'd give me my daughter," Sean said, bile filling his throat, "That was the agreement."

"It's still the agreement," Black Tom said, "But I never specified what condition I could give her in to you."

"You said she'd be alive!" Sean said.

"And she can be," Black Tom said, "As long as there's a breath in her lungs than I think that counts as being alive. However…if that were to be her last breath, then I suppose that it still fulfills our bargain."

"You sonuvabitch!" Sean said.

He stepped forward and Black Tom waved his hand.

"Don't be boring," he said, "You must know that I've left instructions for Terry's guards. Instructions about what to do if I don't get back. You're wasting time even as you think about killing me."

Sean swallowed and Black Tom grinned.

"Good," he said, "Now then, there are two things I want you to do. The first is to tell me where everyone is coming in from so that I can figure that out. The second is, because of your rather extensive knowledge of his skills, is to deal with the second, and rather prominent, nuisance on my list."

Sean closed his eyes. He had wondered if this would come up. Black Tom had Terry, and he knew that he was going to use her for all she was worth.

"Havok is here, isn't he?" Sean asked.

"Him and Magneto's scrappy little girl," Black Tom said, "My monitors say that they should be arriving here at any minute."

Sean opened his eyes. The nightmare just wouldn't stop.

"I don't expect the two of you to fight. I have my own plans about that," he said, "Perhaps just tell him what happened to the brother he was always going on about? Yes, I think that would be a worthy distraction."

Sean bit the inside of his cheek, tasting blood.