Chapter 16
The Master of Magnetism Part III
Quicksilver sped past stateliness so fast that the blue and white light that followed him almost was invisible. He knew that Magneto's secret base of operations was an abandoned warehouse in New York City, and the speedster was betting that this was where the mutant super villain had taken Wanda. As Pietro sped across highways from San Diego to New York City, his mind was racing just about as fast as his feet.
First, Quicksilver considered his twin. Her powers were way more out of control then they had ever been, and it appeared to happen within an instant. Something had to trigger it, but what? And then there was the matter of Magneto's powers…he was containing Scarlet Witch and all of her power? Quicksilver knew that his powers were only limited to magnetic waves, so how could he have contained Wanda? Were these two mutant anomalies connected in some kind of way?
Next, Quicksilver's mind considered the Avengers. Had he jumped to conclusions with his team mates before he ditched them? Sure, Quicksilver always considered Ironman the biggest tool of them all, but Captain America and Hawkeye seemed like good guys. Had Pietro overreacted? Quicksilver shook his head in response to the potential guilt he almost felt…He had been holding those emotions in for a while now, those guys had it coming! Quicksilver's thoughts once again drifted to his sister, whom he was deeply worried about.
Meanwhile, in the Brotherhood warehouse Scarlet Witch felt her power being weakened as she was trapped in a giant capsule that was electrocuting her and sucking her power. Magneto stood in front of her watching with a very evil and satisfied smile. His eyes were no longer those that were natural to the master of magnetism, instead they were light glowing purple and seeping with power and a very dark nature.
Wanda screamed in agony as her body felt as if it was becoming weaker. She had mixed emotions at this moment. The greatest sensation was that of pain and her power dampening. At the same time, as soon as Magneto's machine started to suck away her power, the Scarlet Witch regained her senses and became aware of what she was doing. She had never lost control of her powers so much where her own consciousness became beyond her control.
Magneto was no longer himself. Unknown to the leader of the Brotherhood, little by little since he had returned to Earth from another dimension, his mind had become possessed by a very dangerous demon with incredibly malicious intentions. The demon had waited patiently to allow enough chaos energy to generate in Earth's atmosphere to allow him to grow stronger to fully consume Magneto's mind and body. As he savored his victory, the demon was interrupted by his three clueless henchmen appearing behind him with very questionable stances, as if readying for a fight.
"And just what do you all think you're doing?" The possessed Magneto asked his subordinates, without even giving them the courtesy of looking back.
"We could ask you the same thing." Mystique spoke, pointing her laser gun at Magneto. "We were under the impression that the plan was to recruit both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. I decided to keep my objections to myself about that move, because even though I think they are a total waste, I recognize that you brought them from the streets and always seem to have a fatherly attitude towards the scum you pick up on random streets. What I don't understand is A) Where is Quicksilver? B) What the hell are you doing to the Scarlet Witch? And C) How does this benefit the mutant kind finally overthrowing the Homo Sapiens? Start talking Eric…otherwise we're going to have some problems."
"I suppose you won't leave me alone until I give you some kind of answer." Magneto spoke, his tone sounding very annoyed by this interruption. "Very well then…I don't have a clue where Quicksilver is, as he never was actually a target for my plan…I am seeping chaos energy out of this woman, as she seems to be essentially an endless well of it. I truly have never seen such power like this on any mortal realm before. With this kind of power, I will be able to complete the transference of my great and powerful master, Chthon, and bring His Excellency into this puny mortal world. From there, oh the opportunities of pure destruction are endless…and as far as your plan for overthrowing homo sapiens…this has absolutely nothing to do with that silly goal…in fact, I've never really had any interest in furthering your pathetic mortal causes, I just thought my work would be easier if I had you peons here to do it for me."
"So that confirms my theory…" Mystique responded glaring at her supposed boss. "You're not Magneto…who are you then? You have five seconds to answer or I'll…"
"You'll do nothing…" the creature inhabiting Magneto's body turned around quickly, his eyes glowing and purple energy surrounded his entire body. The "man's" voice was no longer human, but demonic, deep, and very scary. "I am Cryos, loyal servant of Chthon. The very idea of flesh bags such as yourself attempting to overpower me is as repulsive as mortality itself. Allow me to enlighten you as to where you stand in the true nature of existence."
"Better watch out!" Blob angrily retorted as he ran forward, ready to pulverize the possessed Magneto. "Us "fleshbags" are a lot tougher then we look!"
"You hold him, Blob…" Avalanche spoke as he raised his hand and concentrated on the ground, "and I'll bury him!"
"Magneto's been compromised." Mystique spoke, "We can't allow this thing to keep his body!"
The Brotherhood launched a full scale attack on Cryos, but fueled by Magneto's power along with his own, the demon completely overpowered them. Out of Magneto's body purple energy in the form of lightning was released that electrocuted Blob with such power that he fell to the ground unconscious. At the same time, a magnetic wave was shot towards Avalanche, sending all the seismic waves and torn debris from the ground back to him and Mystique, nearly burying the two.
The demon inhabiting Magneto smiled with satisfaction as he had taken care of the pathetic, as he turned back to his real prize, the Scarlet Witch. Cryos watched with greedy ambition as chaos energy was being seeped from her body. As he enjoyed the scene, the demon was once again distracted by the sound of a whoosh as he felt wind swiftly graze his face. Cryos knew exactly what this meant. Undoubtedly, the Scarlet Witch's very fast twin brother had come with the intention of rescuing her. The demon sighed, hating the very existence of such persistent and annoying mortals who knew nothing of their place.
"The mutant, Quicksilver, I presume?" Cryos called out loudly, knowing that wherever this speedy mutant was, he could hear the demon. "You may not know me, but I know you very well…based off the memories of the mutant known as Magneto. Yes…Your real name is Pietro Maximoff. Magneto first found you and your sister, Wanda, in Europe on the streets. If his memory serves me correctly, your sister could not control her amazing power, and was setting towns ablaze. You joined the brotherhood in seek of help containing the Scarlet Witch's power. Unknown to your feeble human mind, her power is far beyond that of mortal control. This woman has more than a mere mutation…she is the catalyst for an incredible amount of chaos energy that is meant for only one thing…the revival of my master, Chthon."
Quicksilver stopped his speeding near the possessed Magneto and assessed the situation. He looked at his sister first, who seemed to be temporarily not being hurt. Cryos had taken a break from absorbing her energy, as if wanting to explain what was going on to Pietro. The speedster then realized that it was clear that Magneto wasn't himself and being taken over by a demon who seemed to want to suck power from his sister.
"So let me get this straight…" Quicksilver said, looking at the machine, his sister, and then Cryos. "You want to suck my sister's power, energy, or whatever from her…and you expect me to be okay with it?"
"Consider the reality of this situation." The demon spoke, his voice had a tone that was unlike anything Pietro had ever heard before. "With this much chaos energy in any mortal, they are bound to lose control and perish painfully. I am seeping Wanda's chaos energy from her. Without the chaos energy, the Scarlet Witch will no longer be a threat to herself and everyone else in this feeble planet. I'd imagine from your perspective, I am doing you a favor."
"And what exactly do you plan on doing with all that energy?" Quicksilver ask, raising an eyebrow at this demon's feeble attempt of making a logical reason why the mutant should be okay with what was happening.
"Bring order to your universe of course." Cryos spoke as he smiled with Magneto's body. "The being I am summoning into this plane of existence has power of the likes that has never been known in this dimension. A mutant like yourself can appreciate the beauty of absolute power, am I right?"
"No…" Quicksilver said quickly with a sarcastic tone. "You couldn't be more wrong actually, why on earth would I LET you bring something so "powerful" to our world…at my sister's expense even!?"
"Come on Pietro…" Cryos continued to lie with the sound of reason, searching the thoughts and feelings of his fast advisory. "My abilities are more than the raw power you witnessed earlier…I have read your thoughts and heard your emotions…Your complaints of the weakness behind the force known as the Avengers, your sense that they fear the more powerful mutants such as your sister, your fascination with the natural order of the strong leading the weak…allow me to bring my master to this plane and we may allow an exceptional mortal like yourself a place in His new order of existence."
"Ok I've had enough of this…" Quicksilver said, hiding the violation of private thoughts that he was experiencing with a snarky smirk, "Strike 1 was kidnapping my sister, Strike 2 was hooking her up to this thing and hurting her, and Strike 3 was getting in my head….I am not sure what's going on here really, but I think I'm just going to take this machine apart piece by piece. Whatever you are, even with all your power, you're too slow to stop me."
Quicksilver sped towards his trapped sister with the hope of dismantling the machine she was attached to. Cryos sighed, disappointed in his failed attempt to use human deception. The demon shrugged his wasted effort as he created an purple energy barrier around the Scarlet Witch and her energy seeping prison that instantly zapped Quicksilver upon impact. The mutant fell back to the ground cursing as pain radiated through his body.
"I tried handling things like a human with the interest of no bloodshed…" Cryos said raising his hand toward Quicksilver, that begun to created swirling energy around itself, "but the way of chaos and destruction seems infinitely more effective."
Quicksilver yelled in agony as the possessed Magneto electrocuted him with mysterious purple energy. The speedster was unable to move, and felt his life being drained away from the lightning that the demon was producing. The mutant considered the reality that this could be the end for both him and his sister, at the hands of this very creepy demon. Pietro cursed at the thought as he continued to struggle, unable to do anything to get out of this incredibly painful situation.
Suddenly, from behind Cryos the entire warehouse wall collapsed from a massive yellow laser piercing it. Vision, Ironman, Captain America, and Hawkeye burst into the scene ready to attack. Vision shot his lasers, destroying the ground in its path, at Cryos while Ironman flew over the scene to a nearby computer to try to figure out how to release Wanda from the capsule. As Stark typed furiously into the computer, Hawkeye and Captain America launched a ground assault onto the possessed Magneto.
"You fools dare to cross me when I have inhabited such a powerful being?" Cryos demanded, rage consuming the demon. "And TWO of you are made of metal? Or have you forgotten…allow me to refresh your memory!"
Using Magneto's now amplified ability, Cryos clapped his hands and two large metal walls, separating rooms within the warehouse, ripped off their foundation, came together, and rushed towards Captain America and Hawkeye. The two just barely dodged the rushing walls that promised their immediate crushing. Next, Cryos extended his hands with the intention of grabbing Vision and Ironman's body. The two metal cladded heroes began floating in the air. Ironman finished what he was doing by pressing one last button, that turned the machine imprisoned off and opened a door. Unfortunately Scarlet Witch was unconscious, and unable to escape. Now unable to control their bodies, Vision and Ironman flying in the air.
"Alright Vision, time to activate that gift I gave us before coming here!" Ironman ordered his teammate. "Plastic Transmutation mode…activated!"
Suddenly, a while light quickly covered and subsided from the bodies of Vision and Ironman. The two instantly were released from Cryos's control and began shooting repulsor blasts and lasers at the demon. Captain America threw his shield and Hawkeye shot many explosive arrows at the same time, all with the intention of finishing the powerful demon/mutant fusion in a quick round. Unfortunately, with but a thought, Cryos once again tapped in his own power and created a purple chaos energy forcefield that deflected all attacks. From the energy the demon created, four more strands of lavender lightning shot out, to each Avenger striking them down with the very same power that had hurt Quicksilver earlier.
While this was happening, Pietro opened his eyes, realizing that the energy that had been hurting him had subsided. The mutant stood up and coughed up the smoke in his lungs from being burned, and looked to see the Avengers suffering at the hands of Cryos. His attention then turned to Scarlet Witch, who was still unconscious in the energy seeping prison, which was now open. Quicksilver smiled, because even though he may not be able to do much against Cryos, he hoped that his sister could.
Within less than a second, Quicksilver rescued Wanda from the machine and sped to the other side of the room. He gently shook his sister, calling her name, and trying to get her to wake up.
"Wanda!" Quicksilver called out in desperation. "Come on Wanda, we need you! This guy runs on the same gas as you do, or something…could really use some help!"
The Scarlet Witch instantly coughed as she awoke and opened her eyes weakly. Wanda smiled as she recognized her brother, who always seemed there for her. She then grimly frowned as the realization of her current state struck her.
"I can't do anything right now…" Scarlet Witch weakly replied, "That machine…it really weakened me…it was stealing some kind of energy I had in me that I never knew before. I think I can regenerate it…but it will take some time. I'm basically useless right now, Pietro, I'm sorrow."
"You're never useless, Wanda." Quicksilver said as he gently set his sister down and looked up at the machine, getting an idea. He then looked back at Cryos with a menacing smile. "Let's see how Mr. Purple and Creepy likes a taste of his own medicine."
Quicksilver jolted with speed towards the wall that had been busted down thanks to the Avengers and picked up a very large metal rod. Holding the metal rod with both hands horizontally, the speedster then rushed towards Cryos and hit him hard with the rod. The fact that it was metal allowed it to absorb the electric barrier that the demon was able to create. With much speed, Quicksilver used the lightning rod to swiftly push Cryos back into the machine and quickly close the door, trapping the demon. The speedster yelled in pain, as he was being electrocuted too.
Within seconds of throwing Magneto's possessed body into the machine, Quicksilver sped up towards the machine that he saw Ironman use to free Scarlet Witch. He looked everywhere for an "On" switch on the computer hoping it'd be easy to activate the machine.
"You have to have a seven digit code to turn that thing on!" Ironman called out, seeing what Quicksilver was doing. "Unless you know the number…"
"Screw knowing it…" Quicksilver muttered, as he started to type at a super fast rate, entering every possible seven digit code until one worked and the machine activated.
Within seconds, the Avengers watched as Cryos yelled in pain as his purple chaos energy was being absorbed from Magneto. The energy that was making up the demon and possessing Magneto was far less than what was in Scarlet Witch. Within minutes, the energy had fully left Magneto, allowing the Master of Magnetism to be himself once more. Upon almost leaving his body completely, the demon gave its words to Quicksilver and the other Avengers in a loud and painful cry.
"THIS ISN'T OVER MORTALS! YOU CAN'T KILL ME, I'M PURE ENERGY AND…I..WILL….BE…BACK!"
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Quicksilver said with his usual cocky smirk, as the machine overloaded from so much power being consumed. The computer exploded, as the speedster quickly jumped back avoiding any damage.
As Quicksilver recovered from the shock of almost being incinerated by a computer, the other Avengers rushed over to check to see if Wanda was okay. Vision was the first to reach her and knelt down by her side, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly.
"Are you damaged, Scarlet Witch?" Vision asked, his computer voice expressing as much concern as it could.
"I told you to just call me Wanda." She replied with a soft and weakened smile, "And I'll be okay…I thought we told you to stay away from Magneto cause he could kill you with but a thought?"
"After you all left, Ironman recognized a slight flaw in my programming." Vision responded, "He accurately predicted that within moments the need to come attempt a rescue operation would overcome my logical operations so he installed his prototype transmutation device in my body and suit. It only worked once, but that apparently was all we needed."
"That wasn't a flaw in your system." Scarlet Witch spoke as she stroked his cheek with her hand, "It's called concern…you were worried for me. That was very human of you."
"I feel most human when I'm around you." Vision replied, squeezing tightly to Scarlet Witch's hand.
"What do we do with the old metal manipulator?" Hawkeye asked as he directed everyone's attention to the metal manipulator who was currently unconscious.
"Leave him." Captain America spoke, "Magneto has been a victim this whole time, being completely controlled by whatever it was that was in him. I imagine when he wakes up he's going to have a lot of processing to do due to the fact that he's lost almost a year of his life and he was consumed by that thing for a while. The man's suffered enough for today."
The Avengers left the warehouse and flew back to the West Coast Mansion. Once they returned home, the West Coast Avengers experienced two departures, one foreseen, and one very unforeseen. After seeing how Vision reacted in the face of danger, Ironman considered him okay to function with Captain America and his team, so billionaire declared his plans to return to his team on the other side of the country. After Stark left, the real shock occurred.
Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye stood at the front door wishing their teammate well, and then turned around to see Pietro moving down the stairs with a dufflebag packed. Hawkeye and Captain America exchanged curious looks and Scarlet Witch moved forward completely baffled at her brother's actions.
"You're…leaving?" She asked, concern flooding Wanda's face. "Why?"
"This hero thing just isn't for me." Quicksilver said looking around at his former teammates. "You guys just think about things differently than me. I genuinely don't care about all these weaker folks that we strive to protect. Also, I'm not sure we're all on the same page…I saw the way you all looked at my sister when she was consumed by that chaos rage, or whatever. For a second, you would have thought you were looking at one of the Brotherhood or another evil mutant that we have put behind bars. I'm not so sure, being among super powered homo sapiens is where I belong."
"You have to follow your own path." Captain America said as he shook Quicksilver's hand. "I'm sorry you feel we don't respect you the same as every other ally, and I really hope you change your mind."
"Whatever…" Hawkeye spoke, frustrated with Quicksilver's recent attitude change. "It's not all about you Pietro. What'd you expect, that we'd all idolize you since you have a mutatation? News flash, the Avengers have bigger issues to deal with then catering to your low self-esteem and need for approval and hero worship. Your reckless attitude today almost got US killed and almost got your sister killed! If you didn't rush into battle twice, we could of formulate a strategy to stop that thing possessing Magneto in a way that caused less damage…but no, you have to do what you do every time. Impatiently speed into the fray thinking you're more powerful than anyone else….That's the kind of attitude that is reminiscent of all the mutants we throw behind bars."
"I believe it was that very same speed that saved the day today…" Quicksilver retorted swiftly, his voice showing signs of anger towards Hawkeye. "Whatever…It's all your problems now, I'm out of here."
Quicksilver swiftly moved out of Hawkeye's way and walked out the door. As he continued to move forward, Scarlet Witch followed him and spoke just before Pietro was going to super speed away."
"So that's it…you're running away again?" She asked.
"If you want to look at it like that…" Quicksilver shrugged, "I feel like I'm running towards something better…I just don't know what yet. You know me Wanda, I don't do good with settling down and staying in the same place for long."
"Just stay safe and keep yourself out of trouble." The Scarlet Witch spoke with concern in her voice. "You know, this is going to be the first time in our lives that we are separated."
"You could come with me." Quicksilver replied looking back at his sister, the only person who he truly cared about. "Think about it…today we learned that your mutation is a lot more complicated than we thought. I'd feel more comfortable if you were with me where I could protect you from you know…energy sucking demons and such."
"That's sweet, Pietro." Scarlet Witch spoke with a smile, "But my place is here. I feel like I've finally found a home with the Avengers. And…"
"And there is Vision…" Quicksilver completed her sentence with a big frown on his face. "Does that not seem absolutely repulsive to you? I mean, he's not even human!"
"It makes sense to me." Scarlet Witch said with a smile thinking of her android, "Maybe wherever you go, you'll find a girl that completes you…then you'll understand completely."
"Yeah…" Quicksilver said with a chuckle, "I'll make sure she is a GIRL and not a glorified toaster. Take care of yourself Wanda."
"Stay out of trouble, Pietro." The Scarlet Witch responded. To this, Quicksilver just gave his classic prankster smiles and sped off away into the sunset to who knows where.
Wanda returned to the mansion wondering where Quicksilver's impulsive nature and need to hide from human intimacy would take him next. She hoped her brother would one day find people that completed him as she had found her family. She knew that the two would see each other again just as she knew Quicksilver could take care of himself.
Author Notes: And just like that, Quicksilver has left the Avengers! Don't worry, his adventure will still continue and he'll meet plenty of new faces that will keep his story interesting! And who knows, he may meet up with his old teammates again someday. OK, so in case you were wondering...Cryos: Completely an OC, feel free to use him in your fics if you want just let me know so I can read it! The "master" he was talking about, Chthon, is NOT an OC and will be probably used as a later plot element in this story.
Also I have some big news you may be interested in. I'm taking a brief break from writing THIS story to introduce a brief three chapter short story focusing on Magneto. It will be the story of what happened after he was taken in the Brotherhood chronicle and before he returned in the Ultron chronicle. Keep your eyes out, it will be called Magneto: Escape from Another Dimension. After I finish that piece I'll be returning to this one of course, but I just wanted to add a little side story. Check it out if you want, I hope you enjoy!