Day 95

Box had been hard at work. He and his AI drones worked overtime to get more and more of Fortress X wired (he preferred it being called "wormed") and under surveillance. Within a month, there wouldn't be a single corner unobserved, Jeffries boasted. Magnus thought he was right about that.

Jeffries had also been hard at work creating an artificial sun and water refinement system out of the jumble of buildings Magnus had created the Fortress from. There would be no more need to send mutants out on dangerous raiding missions for food; they could create their own supplies. Perhaps eventually they could even return to having meat. Magnus had already received requests from three score of mutants who missed a more omnivorous diet. For now, protein packed vegetables, fruits, and grains were all that could be supplied to the world's only "mutant nation".

So when Box had asked for a sizeable portion of the Citadel's top floors marked off for him, Magnus granted him the request. It seemed Jeffries wanted to create an observatory. He began to discuss the mechanics of creating both a sub-orbital as well as a full exo-planetary network of cameras, satellites and more. How it would be protected from flatscans fearing the extent of mutant surveillance has yet to be determined. However, it made sense and was easily granted; spare metal, chips, and other detritus was in vast supply. The amount grew every day, with every attack. Box was in his glory.

Magnus was not. The attacks continued unabated, though the style of attacks continually change; with different foci. It was obvious that the flatscans were looking to test out the mutant's abilities, to determine their strengths and weaknesses. It was a very good thing that Moonstar and Cannonball had come to him to address their structure as well as their organization.

Now instead of an "all hands-on deck" approach, there were teams that had their own names. Moonstar Cadre, the Force Warriors, each team had a title that was their own. Even X was using their specified call signs to address them, and with the advanced AI abilities within X, each subsequent attack was responded to with the appropriate amount of force. Casualties had dropped by 27.54% according to X's analytics.

And yet, Magnus was unsatisfied. Mutants could still die, and his Legacy, his Anna Marie, would have to be hurt by their deaths. There had to be a better solution; a way to protect all within his realm.

Without an answer in mind, his began to wander. He thought back to four nights prior, when Anna Marie arrived at his door.

When she entered his room, he waved one hand lazily and the door slid closed. Anna Marie kept at the entrance, somewhat unsure of the nature of this meeting. He rose from his seat and went to the window, gesturing for her to join him. As she did, they stood there, side by side for a long moment, looking out over the wreck and ruin that was the land that mutants claimed.

"It can be something more." He said quietly, staring straight ahead.

Anna Marie nodded. "It hasta be. Ah mean, no one wants to hand down a warzone to their kids." She winced internally, wondering if he'd take such a moronic platitude in stride.

And yet he did. "Yes. To that end, I have to wonder; beyond destroying us and our kind, what is the end game of the humans? Why do they assault us, day after day, endlessly?"

"Fear, I'd hafta wager – "

"But more than that, more than fear. I think…no, I am not certain what I think, beyond that there is a larger game to be played."

"But who?" she asked, turning to look at him for the first time since they went to the window. "Who would be orchestrating this larger game?"

"If I knew," Magnus said heavily, watching a mutant with wings – perhaps Nightmare – patrol the far perimeter; a black swooping wight intent on capturing unwary prey. "then I would determine to topple the game board."

Anna Marie smiled a little, and tentatively extended a hand to take his. "If there were anyone who could, it'd be you."

Magnus turned to look at her, surprised at this declaration of faith. "Do you trust me that much?" he asked her baldly.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? An' it's not just me; it's all of us. You've kept us alive, organized us, and now, looking to end this sad way of life. How couldn't I trust you in anything you say?"

They had once again drifted closer to one another. Anna Marie turned to look up at the General, and he in turn found himself staring into those vibrant eyes of her.

Carefully, deliberately, Anna Marie lifted her hand up to him, palm out. There was a small square opening cut into the attached gloves of her body suit; the better to lessen the time needed to remove a glove, especially since her work was now called to those who lay dying. Now, instead of performing a mutant-like last rite, she instead trailed her hand down one side of his face, feeling the stubble of a day's growth beginning to form. His breath caught, and not because she was taking his life force. She was taking nothing but his expectations.

She touched him, and nothing happened.

The question was obvious. "How…"

Anna Marie smiled, and it made her face glow with a new light. "Ah've got a small community of mutants in my head. Their guidance, and control helped. An' the rest was sorta, well, reverse-engineering."

Naturally, once again as so many times in his life, he was astonished by mutantkind's ability to adapt and overcome endless obstacles. It was the very definition of their species, after all.

A face unused to smiling can still remember how, given the right impetus. As Magnus did, though, Anna-Marie proved true to her original chosen name and astonished him when she pressed herself to the entire length of his body and tilted her head up to kiss him. Deeply, passionately, with little to no experience, but the desire of giving herself to him made up for any other lack. He returned her kiss with as much ardor, his arms gathering her up, as if a precious resource, and drinking deep of the moment, of her taste, and her victory this moment engendered.

Some lives are placed on paths. For some, it is a path of glory, recognition. Some are to toil endlessly in obscurity, every path compounded by the minutiae of life, keeping a poor soul forever trapped in anonymity or ruin. For Magnus, his was endless struggle on a battlefield full of death and decay. He had rarely, if ever, given to moments of affection, of joy. Of life.

He would be thrice damned if he let this opportunity pass him once more. Time passed, as they poured their love and devotion to one another. Presently, thought returned. They were intertwined on the bed, their clothing sloppily half-removed, and their hands inquisitively roaming along each other's bodies while their legs tangled together. Magnus relished this moment, knowing that only fools would spurn love when offered it so eagerly. He relished every little noise Anna Marie made, she who was so new to lovemaking. There was more to it than just sex; and his love for her was more than just a physical attraction.

He pressed gentle kisses along her collarbone, his touch soft and probing. He wanted to find what excited her, aroused her. The room was lit by the passing of the Force Warriors, shoring up the defenses of the day. This time, in her company, he saw no ghosts of the past, no resentful wraiths peering out from her eyes. This time, the only thing he beheld in her wide green eyes was thoughts of him. Her hands, now free of her gloves and discarded long before they had found themselves entwined toyed with his hair, traced along an ear, down his neck, and sending a shiver of lust through him. Anna Marie was nothing, if not a fast learner.

"Magnus, I lo – " He laid two fingers along her lips, admiring their softness, even as he tamped down a flare of lust as her lips suckled at his fingers.

"No, not yet." He said softly, yet firmly. " Not until I deliver to you what you deserve."

A puzzled look crossed her face. Why wouldn't he want to hear her say she loved him? What did he have to deliver to her? Magnus cupped her face with both his hands. He pulled her in to kiss him. Before he did, though, he slid his lips along her neck, down against the crook of her shoulder before trailing his lips back up, hovering over hers with a breath between them. "I will build you a kingdom, a republic, an empire. I would give you everything you could ever want. But this I swear to you; I cannot hear you tell me you love me, until I have proven to you your safety. Until I have ended this war, and sent the humans away, knowing they will never claim victory over us." Until I have made you safe, he thought to himself, remembering in those first days the Avengers' disastrous attack on Citadel X. They had information at that time, too much targeted information for it to have been a coincidence in their successful murdering of their people. This might mean there was a spy amongst their ranks, and if that were the case, then letting anyone know anything about his feelings for her would place her in even more danger of discovery. Once again, as with her powers, he must keep her as much of an enigma as possible.

"Until then…" he paused and gathered the half thought through plans that crystalized into one thought. "Until then, for now, would you promise not to leave me? Would you promise to trust me?"

She was stunned to silence. She took one hand in hers, and pressed it against her chest, where her heart beat its rapid pace. Her cheeks were flushed with desire, but her eyes were clear as she looked up at him and nodded slowly. "Ah did trust you, from th'very first day. I trust you now too." She paused and looked down and away. Before she could speak, he rose atop her, and straddled over her, his hands on both side of her shoulders but not yet touching her.

"Then take me in." Wide, astonished eyes looked up at his steely blue. "Take me in, Anna." A moment's pause, and she made a small little noise of surprise, of assent, before letting herself activate her powers. Magnus' body twitched, once, as her hands started to pull away from his shoulders, wanting only to take in a small amount of him, but he, recklessly, bowed his head and pressed his lips to her once more.

He came in a long draught, the experience of the last few minutes doubled and compounded on top of itself as she suddenly had double-vision of the experience, and she felt then, as she had almost a month before, his ardor for her. She managed even in her stunned experience, to keep from draining him any further, though he seemed inexhaustible. She saw his thoughts within her mind, and understood the need for his secrecy. And most importantly, she saw at the core of him, his love for her. There would never be another moment where she would doubt his heart, never again.

She tamped down on the surge of doubled emotion he had gifted her with, and looked up at him, her expression speaking the words that she – a southern belle still in so many ways – couldn't bring herself to voice. Magnus looked no worse for the wear as he kissed her again, this time with such passion that they both began to rip at the few remaining clothes between them, stripping them off with haste. Their minds and hearts were aligned, and now, together, they would take the next step in their relationship.

Nothing else was said that night; there was no need to.