It's been said that the atmosphere of a house could reflect the moods of the occupants, which perhaps explained the rather dark and heavy aura that had settled around the Connelly household since Greg grabbed his things and left.
After the initial slamming of doors and stomping about, Morgan had retreated outside to train. In the shadows of the trees that ringed their new property, she smashed targets, shaped shadows, and teleported high into branches before throwing spikes of dark mist at bullseye markers she had, in her anger, absolutely been picturing as Greg's growling face.
But once the fight left her, and the frustration set in-all that was left to do was to let the mood fester. She'd slipped back inside, taken a shower to try and cool her head (it didn't work), and checked her messages in the vain hope that one of her friends might suddenly be available to hang out (they weren't).
It all added up to a dark mood that reflected in the unlit rooms of the too-large house, and the heavy shadows cast by the shifting light of the sun through the drapes on the windows. A dark mood that Morgan was currently stewing in while curled up in a blanket on her couch, an old Nintendo 64 controller in her hand as she played through the first level of Gex , glaring daggers at the screen as it did little to lighten her mood.
Maybe it was because she had allowed herself to get absorbed in the old game, but this time, she didn't hear the sound of a car engine preceding the knock on the front door.
She jolted, fumbling the controller in such a way that Gex the damned Gecko went stumbling his way off a cliff as she cursed under her breath
"Great , looks like Greg's back to try to drag me to the Homicide House again"
She stood, flipping her damp hair off her shoulder as she drifted like a furious stormcloud towards the front door, the shadows of the darkened house pulled behind her like eager, grasping hands as they pooled and twisted in her frustration.
With a sharp hiss, and a bare of her fangs, she threw the door open.
"I thought I told you to go running back to that bullshit school and to leave me alone!"
The broad-shouldered figure looming in the doorway was absolutely not Greg. Not unless Greg had recently purchased a maroon suit and a matching knightly helmet, which was technically possible but seemed unlikely.
"Forgive me for the intrusion," the man's sonorous voice intoned.
Morgan yelped, and at once all the shadows that had gathered behind her scattered like rodents into the corners of the foyer.
After a stunned moment, she had the good sense to close her mouth a bit to hide her fangs. She flushed, a dark crawl across her face and raised an arm defensively
"...who are you? I..I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."
"No apology necessary, Ms. Connelly, I recognize that I do come unannounced."
Recognize... actually... now that she looked at him, despite the suit, he looked oddly familiar. Especially the weird helmet. Morgan froze, her eyes widening slightly in sudden recognition
"..hold on..." She looked him over, her eyes lingering on his helmet. "I...know you...or at least I've seen you before."
"Is that so?" he mused. "Hmm. May I ask you if I might come in?"
She hesitated a moment, her lips tight over her fangs-but her curiosity won out as she stepped out of the way and let him come inside.
"Alright, sure."
It's not like I'm helpless. If he tried anything...well..this house is full of shadows.
"Come on in, Mr Magneto." She waved her hand for him to step inside.
"So you have heard that name," he mused, stepping past the threshold. "I wondered. Yes. I am known as Magneto. And what would you like me to call you, Ms. Connelly?"
"I'll tell you more about that once you settle in. Can I get you some coffee?" She asked as she led him into the kitchen. She thought for a moment as she opened the fridge. "As for names...I guess you can call me Morgan. If you want."
"Coffee would be lovely," he agreed, following her into the kitchen, and sitting down at the table. "Thank you for your hospitality, Morgan."
Morgan smiled over her shoulder, still hiding her fangs,
"Hey, what can I say. Back home might have been a dreary backwater, but they sure took the time to teach us a little basic hospitality." She poured him a cup of coffee from the still hot coffee machine, and poured one for herself as well. "I...saw you before, though. Yeah. When my brother dragged me on that tour of Xavier's school."
"Somehow I doubt that it was a portrait by the fireplace.".
"Nope. Not by a long shot. ...They were running some simulation where they had to fight you in a broken city." She grimaced and she paused, looking back at the helmeted man again "...in their Death Room, or whatever they called it. How do you take your coffee?"
"Black is just fine, thank you," he nodded, stroking his chin. "Ah yes, Charles' 'Danger Room'. Hmmph. Well, I shouldn't be surprised."
Morgan placed the coffee in front of him, before slipping into the chair opposite him and glancing at him in quiet curiosity.
"That so? Because I thought it was kind of fucked up. You're ...you know." Her voice dropped, despite it being her own house "one of us, right? So why the hell is he training some small army to try and take you out?"
Magneto gazed briefly into the dark cup of coffee like a mirror, thoughtful, and took a sip.
"Because my friend Charles has designated me as a threat. He has decided that protecting his people, mutants like us,-protecting his friends even- is not as worthwhile a goal as protecting the human race from us."
The older man's magnanimous expression slowly turned into a sneer.
Morgan's fingers tensed against her coffee cup.
"...what's to stop him from designating any one of us a threat." she murmured quietly. "...the human race doesn't need protection from us. Not by a long shot."
"Quite the opposite in my opinion," he agreed. "They have numbers, and power on their side, and the will to use them. And not all of our kind are so lucky as to have the gifts to defend themselves."
Morgan grit her teeth.
"...Greg and I have the power needed to protect ourselves...and even we were practically run out of town as fucking monsters in their eyes. If we were more helpless..." Shadows milled by her feet, brushing like smoke around her feet "I can only imagine what would have happened."
"Something that has unfortunately happened to many mutants before you. Some of them live in hiding, in the shadows and the sewers. The ones who were lucky enough to escape." He sipped his coffee, his expression intense and reflective.
Morgan bit her lip
"I've heard about them. ...Callisto talked about them the other day. People whose mutations force them to hide from humans who'd destroy them." Her fingers tensed . She hadn't taken a single sip of her coffee. "...the thought of it pisses me off so much, Magneto. They shouldn't have to hide just because some...some worthless bigots hate them for being born."
"On that, you and I are very much in agreement, Morgan. Let me ask you- are you interested in the opportunity to do something about it?"
Morgan brushed her hair over her pointed ear, exposing it.
"Of course I am..." The shadows reached up , forming thin and spindly fingers that worked to keep her hair out of her face as she finally sipped her coffee with a pensive look. "I just dunno what I could do."
"On your own?" he shrugged. "Likely little, as any of us. But perhaps as a member of a group, dedicated to the cause."
Morgan met his eyes with a look of surprise.
"...you're looking to recruit me. To some kinda...mutant rebellion?"
"To be frank with you, Morgan, that's exactly what I'm looking to do."
She placed her hand on her chest, looking somewhere between unsure and proud.
"And you think I've got what it takes to be a part of that? you ...think I could actually help?"
"I believe that you could," he nodded, firmly. "I have not had the opportunity to observe you myself, but my associate tells me that you have both remarkable talent, and remarkable spirit."
Morgan's face tinted just the slightest shade darker as she flushed, her smile growing a little wider.
"No sense in doing something if you ain't gonna commit 100%, right?" She met Magneto's eyes. "...if you think I have the talent needed to help my fellow mutants...then I'm in."
A hand formed of pure shadow formed from under her chair, reaching up on a wispy, inhuman arm to extend it's dark and spindly fingers towards Magneto for a shake
"I'll stand with you if it means helping my own people. Even if it makes me an enemy of my brother's new school. Something's gotta be done...and I want to be a part of it."
Magneto reached out and took her shadowhand with no hesitation, shaking it firmly with his own gloved cold, but remarkably solid hand curled around his and shook it firmly as Morgan sipped her coffee with a firm nod.
"We will surely be privileged to have you," he declared. "It is a pity that your brother was so easily swayed by Xavier, but perhaps he will understand our cause in time. You wouldn't hesitate to work against him, it seems?"
"...Greg and I don't see eye to eye anymore. I ...I love him, Magneto, sir. he's my brother. But he's always been so focused on fitting in and pretending that we're just like anyone else." She looked down into her coffee. "The professor and his people offered him a place to fit in. to conform." she glanced up at him "but even if I have to stand against him, when the dust settles he'll see that I made the right choice."
"Standing against someone for whom you care deeply is something with which I am quite familiar, I'm afraid." He squeezed her hand briefly, before he withdrew it. "It is never easy, but sometimes, it is what must be done."
"I understand that," Morgan murmured softly. She looked up at Magneto with a frown. "Are things going to get worse for us? Mutants, I mean."
He frowned, and took another sip of his coffee.
"History , and human nature, teaches us that it will. Unless by action we are able to change its course."
Morgan grimaced , looking down into her coffee again.
"Back home, in Red Oak, it was a small town...really cut off from the outside, you know? I mean, we'd heard news reports of...of unexplained events and strange abilities on the news from time to time, yeah, but..." She ran her hand through her hair. "Greg and I didn't even know there was a word for what we were besides what the people in town called us once we changed. Demon. Monster. Things like that. I wasn't a stranger by that point of people hating you for something you couldn't control, but our mutations made everything worse in their eyes. Now that we're in the city, I know there's more of us...and I know that we're Mutants...but I'm starting to see that things are like that all over. People looking at us with fear and forcing us to hide and conform to their unfair expectations. And it makes me so angry to think about all of our people who are being hurt because of it."
"I share your anger. Value it. Anger is a useful tool in the fight for survival." He looked distantly off at the kitchen wall. "I too once lived in the countryside, Miss Morgan. It is easy to be comfortable there, until the moment they decide that you do not belong. Cities, on the other hand. Cities bring so many people together. It sounds as though you have already met people worth being angry for."
Morgan nodded slowly, the anger still burning in her eyes as she stared into her coffee
"You're right about cities, sir. And about me having met people worth being angry for. And I'm sure every day I'll meet more." She gripped her coffee cup tightly, her shadowy hands resting on her shoulders "...I didn't tell Greg the other reason I didn't like the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. I didn't think he'd get it, 'cause he seemed so happy there."
"And that reason- will you tell it to me?" he asked, looking back at her with a steely and intense, yet compassionate gaze.
"It was the way everyone there talked about their mutant abilities, or their goals" She snorted softly. "Like they valued trying to fit in and put themselves on leashes for the humans instead of embracing who they are. A performative display to calm the humans and their fragile egos down. Learning to 'control' themselves. for 'peace'. As if the humans would show that kind of compassion in return. Why should we make all the concessions? And then we see that they've got training sims to fight people like you, sir. Meaning they're 100% willing to enforce it."
"Ah yes. My good friend Charles is very keen to tutor his flock on how to perform normality, and many are keen to learn it. To keep their heads down and act and speak as expected of them by human society. Something I am not surprised that you have a low tolerance for, my dear. To me, it is a disgusting suggestion to be expected to lower and disguise oneself to avoid *upsetting* those in power with your true nature."
Morgan hissed through her pointed teeth.
"It's absolutely disgusting. I hate it. I've lived with it my whole life." She laughed bitterly, meeting his eyes again with a dark and shadowed fury in her eyes. "Before my mutation, it was performing a specific form of femininity even if everyone already knew I...I..I was different… Keep your head down, dress the right way. Be the person their bias towards stereotype expects you to be or they may hurt you. And now with mutation...it's exactly the same. That's what Charles Xavier wants us to do and I despise it. It's Greg's bullshit, amplified by 100."
"No surprise then, that your brother was taken in by my friend's promises," Magneto said. "But I will not tell you to do what they expect, Miss Morgan, nor to hide an ounce of who you are. And if they seek to do you harm, then we will strike back."
There was a soft beep, and a buzz from somewhere on Magneto's person, and he frowned slightly at the inopportune timing.
Morgan opened her mouth to respond, only to freeze at the sound of the beep
"Sounds like you're a busy guy." She brushed her fingers through her hair.
He snorted, and slipped a phone out of his breast pocket.
"Forgive me," he nodded. He typed a very quick message, and slipped the phone away again. "It seems our ranks grow."
"More people joined you too, huh?" She smiled slightly, leaning on her hand "looks like your movement's picking up speed. As I said before...consider me on board too."
"Of course," he agreed. "And I should tell you that I believe you are already familiar with the rest of our recruits"
"The guys?" Morgan's lips quirked into a wide and fang-bearing grin. "Todd and Callisto and the crew? For real?"
"You have keen insight," he said, his lips quirking slightly. "Indeed. It seems all of them were as eager to step up as you were."
"They're the only other mutants I know who aren't part of Charlie's Repression Squad. It was a lucky guess." Morgan chuckled. Some of the anger that clouded her expression lifting at the thought of her friends. "I can't blame them...as we talked about, something needed to be done...and working with them will be great."
"I have great hopes for you as a team," he agreed. "Now it is merely the fine details which must be smoothed, before the true work can begin."
He finished his coffee and set down the cup. Morgan stood, and picked up the cup to put it in the sink.
"The fine details, huh? Consider me excited."
"I'm delighted by your enthusiasm," he agreed. He continued, musing, "The chief concern will be a suitable base of operations, which will likely double as living quarters for most of your new brothers..."
Morgan perked up, her fingers touching her lips as they quirked into a smile.
"You're looking for a base huh?" She hesitated a moment, unsure as she wrestled with herself over what she was about to suggest. But as her eyes drifted towards the stairs...and by extension, Greg's room, her hesitation hardened into a resolve. "I happen to know a place, sir. It's sizable, it's pretty much empty, and it's remote enough that nobody would bother us."
Magneto leveled his gaze at her, with a slight cock of his head.
"Do go on."
Morgan gestured out at the large house around them
"Greg isn't coming home anytime soon. And my mother's never been the...hm, affectionate type. So it's just me, all alone, in this big and empty house."She leaned against the counter "and if it means giving a home to my friends...ones I knowa need places to stay, and doing something important for our combined cause...then I'm happy offering it to the Brotherhood as a base."
He seemed to consider the idea.
"A generous offer. I cannot guarantee that such a course of action won't lead to possible damage to your home. Does that concern you?"
Morgan shrugged her shoulders
"Damage can be repaired, Magneto. But ...I know some of my friends really need a place to go, you know? It'd be worth it to me, at least."
"Then let it be done," he agreed. "I trust that you can manage extending the invitations? I have other tasks which must be prepared for."
"You got it, Magneto." Morgan gave him a lazy salute. "I'll shoot a text to the gang, and have them meet up here. Sound good?"
"Indeed," he smiled. "And much as I might be pleased to linger over another cup of coffee, I will depart for the moment. My colleague Mystique, who spoke to some of the others, may check in on you later."
"Mystique? Love the name." Morgan said as she put both their coffee cups in the sink "anyway, there'll be plenty of time for lingering over coffee later. I'm sure I'll see you after I get the crew settled in."
"Of that, you can be certain." He stood, and came near to offer her his hand again. "Welcome to the Brotherhood of Mutants."