Note: This story is a direct continuation of one of my previous stories,
First Steps
1
Lance glared at the Jeep as it vanished. Damn! They got away again!, he thought angrily to himself. "One of these days." He looked over at Fred and Todd to see them recovering from the stasis that Glen had put them in. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Lance shouted at them. "This place is coming down!" The other two mutants shook their heads, trying to shake loose the effects of what they had just been through. It wasn't until a large chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling and landing 6 inches in front of Todd, who shrieked and leap-frogged out of the way, did they move. They ran out of the garage as it collapsed, crushing the cars parked inside of it. "S'pose anybody else was in there?" asked Fred. "I don't know," said Lance, his mind already thinking ahead to what he was going to say to Mystique. She was NOT going to be happy.
Indeed she was not. "You did WHAT?!!" she yelled at him incredulously as Lance told her about the events of the afternoon. She was very concerned that they might be traced back to the collapse of the garage. So far, Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood had been able to avoid detection after their pranks, but they had never caused this much damage before. "Tell me about this new mutant," she ordered Lance. "His name's Glen Hilliard. Scrawny little kid," Lance grumbled. "He's a big fag. And Xavier's got him," "I gathered that much," said Mystique. "What can he do?" "He paralyzed Fred and Toad somehow," Lance replied. "Simple paralysis?" asked Mystique. "Doesn't sound that impressive to me. How'd he beat you again?" "He DIDN'T beat me!" shouted Lance. "Do you think I'd let that little fag one-up me?" "No, and that's obviously why you decided to bring an entire garage crashing down on his head!" Mystique yelled at him, and then turned to Fred and Toad. "What were your impressions of him?" she asked. "I've never even seen him before. All I remember was him stunning Toad, and then when I came to, he and the rest of 'em were gone," said Fred. "I've seen him a few times," said Toad. "And there's something kinda funny about him. Kinda like how if you're watching him for a while, you'd swear he can be in two places at once or something," "That's not very helpful," said Mystique. "Hey, I'm tryin' here!" said Toad. "Like there was this one time, a few months ago, me and Pietro broke into his locker and rigged up a little booby trap, ya know? It was supposed to get him all soaked when he opened the door. I was watching him, and when he opened the door, the thing went off, but somehow he dodged it. Next thing I see, he's standing right there and the paint's all over the other wall,"
"So he's fast. What's your point?"
"Well, he's not FAST. I mean, not like Pietro. It's like he was just there one second and gone the next,"
"Hmm," Mystique said as she stroked her chin with a thoughtful finger. "If you're really saying what I think you are." She turned and walked up to her secure room. Magneto would want to hear about this.
In her room, Mystique sat down at her communications console and opened a secure channel to Magneto. The screen blurred and resolved, his helmeted face appearing. "We have a new mutant to deal with," said Mystique. "This one may be trouble,"
"Yes, he may be," said Magneto. "But he may also be of use to us. I have detected him, and his powers are far greater than he or Xavier realize. You must bring him to me,"
"What do you plan to do with him?" asked Mystique.
"I will put him to use for our side," said Magneto. "When I am through with him, we will be able to find any mutant we want, long before Xavier is aware of their presence,"
"How will you be able to make him work for you? From what Lance has told me, he's clearly in league with Xavier,"
"That allegiance may be more tenuous than you think, Mystique. I think he is more loyal to his lover than anybody else. That is how I intend to get him," He went on to describe his plans for capturing Glen and bending him to his will. The image changed to a picture of another boy. A look of concern spread across Mystique's face as she listened. Magneto had never gone THIS far with his plots before. "You realize that doing this seriously escalates things," she pointed out.
"It cannot be helped. Xavier and I are now at a crossroads," said Magneto. "And only one of us can prevail. Make your preparations," With that, he signed off, and the screen faded to black.
Mystique mused. This was a serious effort that she was about to undertake. Kidnapping was one thing, but what Magneto had described was something far beyond that in its gravity. She looked at the image of the boy that Magneto had sent her, knowing that there was a very good chance that he would wind up dead because of this. She felt a guilty stab of morality of this, but quickly buried it. "If he dies, so be it," she thought. "We cannot be at the disadvantage any more," With that, she went downstairs to collect the Brotherhood and inform them of their grisly task at hand.
1
Lance glared at the Jeep as it vanished. Damn! They got away again!, he thought angrily to himself. "One of these days." He looked over at Fred and Todd to see them recovering from the stasis that Glen had put them in. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Lance shouted at them. "This place is coming down!" The other two mutants shook their heads, trying to shake loose the effects of what they had just been through. It wasn't until a large chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling and landing 6 inches in front of Todd, who shrieked and leap-frogged out of the way, did they move. They ran out of the garage as it collapsed, crushing the cars parked inside of it. "S'pose anybody else was in there?" asked Fred. "I don't know," said Lance, his mind already thinking ahead to what he was going to say to Mystique. She was NOT going to be happy.
Indeed she was not. "You did WHAT?!!" she yelled at him incredulously as Lance told her about the events of the afternoon. She was very concerned that they might be traced back to the collapse of the garage. So far, Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood had been able to avoid detection after their pranks, but they had never caused this much damage before. "Tell me about this new mutant," she ordered Lance. "His name's Glen Hilliard. Scrawny little kid," Lance grumbled. "He's a big fag. And Xavier's got him," "I gathered that much," said Mystique. "What can he do?" "He paralyzed Fred and Toad somehow," Lance replied. "Simple paralysis?" asked Mystique. "Doesn't sound that impressive to me. How'd he beat you again?" "He DIDN'T beat me!" shouted Lance. "Do you think I'd let that little fag one-up me?" "No, and that's obviously why you decided to bring an entire garage crashing down on his head!" Mystique yelled at him, and then turned to Fred and Toad. "What were your impressions of him?" she asked. "I've never even seen him before. All I remember was him stunning Toad, and then when I came to, he and the rest of 'em were gone," said Fred. "I've seen him a few times," said Toad. "And there's something kinda funny about him. Kinda like how if you're watching him for a while, you'd swear he can be in two places at once or something," "That's not very helpful," said Mystique. "Hey, I'm tryin' here!" said Toad. "Like there was this one time, a few months ago, me and Pietro broke into his locker and rigged up a little booby trap, ya know? It was supposed to get him all soaked when he opened the door. I was watching him, and when he opened the door, the thing went off, but somehow he dodged it. Next thing I see, he's standing right there and the paint's all over the other wall,"
"So he's fast. What's your point?"
"Well, he's not FAST. I mean, not like Pietro. It's like he was just there one second and gone the next,"
"Hmm," Mystique said as she stroked her chin with a thoughtful finger. "If you're really saying what I think you are." She turned and walked up to her secure room. Magneto would want to hear about this.
In her room, Mystique sat down at her communications console and opened a secure channel to Magneto. The screen blurred and resolved, his helmeted face appearing. "We have a new mutant to deal with," said Mystique. "This one may be trouble,"
"Yes, he may be," said Magneto. "But he may also be of use to us. I have detected him, and his powers are far greater than he or Xavier realize. You must bring him to me,"
"What do you plan to do with him?" asked Mystique.
"I will put him to use for our side," said Magneto. "When I am through with him, we will be able to find any mutant we want, long before Xavier is aware of their presence,"
"How will you be able to make him work for you? From what Lance has told me, he's clearly in league with Xavier,"
"That allegiance may be more tenuous than you think, Mystique. I think he is more loyal to his lover than anybody else. That is how I intend to get him," He went on to describe his plans for capturing Glen and bending him to his will. The image changed to a picture of another boy. A look of concern spread across Mystique's face as she listened. Magneto had never gone THIS far with his plots before. "You realize that doing this seriously escalates things," she pointed out.
"It cannot be helped. Xavier and I are now at a crossroads," said Magneto. "And only one of us can prevail. Make your preparations," With that, he signed off, and the screen faded to black.
Mystique mused. This was a serious effort that she was about to undertake. Kidnapping was one thing, but what Magneto had described was something far beyond that in its gravity. She looked at the image of the boy that Magneto had sent her, knowing that there was a very good chance that he would wind up dead because of this. She felt a guilty stab of morality of this, but quickly buried it. "If he dies, so be it," she thought. "We cannot be at the disadvantage any more," With that, she went downstairs to collect the Brotherhood and inform them of their grisly task at hand.