Okay, okay, this is NOT supposed to be the last chapter, but it may be the last one that I post in a while. My writing-With-Shaken-Certainty-muse has most definately left me for the time being while the Knitting-Like-A-Deranged-Fool-muse has kicked in full force. There's about 3 chapters or so left of this story, and once my darling muse comes back, I'll be posting those as soon as possible.
Enjoy reading, and many many thanx to Nemesis X, Snitter in Rivendell, Escaflowne and everyone else that has been reviewing my crazy story.
Chapter 18
**********
Rob had run. He had run as fast and as long as he could, and now, he desperately needed to catch his breath. He was secluded in the relative peace of a bustling town street, lined by a strip mall. The same street that only a few days before him and Adrian had teleported to. How much things had changed since then.
Rob looked down at his hands. They were no longer red. He had convinced the X-Men that he wasn't there when he had run away, but slowly after using his powers, his skin had faded from red to a pale tan. He didn't understand why, but he never felt so much control over his powers before. He understood what it was that the could do, and it made him tremble.
He could alter a mutant's mutations. Is that why the X-Men had come after him?
He couldn't remember things straight - all he could remember was that he had returned to the school and then suddenly the X-Men had descended upon him. All preparing to fight him. And he was desperately afraid. He couldn't remember how he had escaped his father's laboratory or how he reached the school in the first place. All he knew was that everyone he knew was trying to fight him.
He remembered he had convinced everyone that he was not there, and what did they say? They had to protect Xavier, they had to find Rob in order to stop him - that they could not trust him.
He was alone, and that made him even more afraid. He had no where to go to now. He had no friends, he had no family. Everyone that he had cared about had betrayed him. His father attempted to use him to further his research on his theory of an evolutionary mutations being a result of widespread animal extinctions.
His friends - where were they? - where were they when the whole world was going against him? Rob remembered even his own teachers were trying to attack him, to keep him from going into the school, to keep him away. Why would they do that? Even Storm had been there to fight him - and she was one of the first mutants that he had ever met, one of the first people he met that could promise him hope. And even she had betrayed him.
Rob sat huddled in a ball, his knees pulled up to his chest, his eyes staring out unseeing to the parking lot ahead. He began to realize why he wasn't red anymore. He thought back to things that his father had told him when he was a kid, things about color in the animal kingdom. Bright colors are warning colors. When Rob's skin turned red, it was a warning - a shout out to anyone near that he was using his powers. He had remained red all that time because he couldn't control his powers.
But now he could. Now he understood what his true powers were. He could alter another mutants mutation. He had done that to Kelly, he had almost done it to Pyro. Rob had once felt hurt that Xavier had never told him exactly what his abilities were - but now he understood. They didn't trust him. They thought he was dangerous.
But now he felt control.
Yet he had been betrayed.
Rob shuddered, desperately wishing that he wasn't so alone. Wishing that things hadn't gone the way that they had - that everything would turn out right, that no one wanted to fight him or keep him away from the school.
Rob had to face reality. He wasn't wanted anywhere.
He blinked his eyes dully, finally accepting that reality. *You're not wanted anywhere.* Rob felt so betrayed and yet so desperate that he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't bring himself to do it. He turned his head away, ashamed of himself for being degraded into such a situation, and realized that someone was standing next to him.
Rob looked up. It was Magneto.
" I warned you about trying to return to that school," Magneto said in a voice that easily carried both intelligence and power. Rob thought about it for a second. Had he? He couldn't even remember.
" But why did they want to fight me?," Rob asked himself.
" Because they will never trust you," Magneto said, " Xavier has been trying to keep you from knowing your true power as long as you've been at his school. They think that you are too young and reckless to be entrusted with such a gift."
" But I'm not!," Rob protested angrily.
" Yet now you are alone," Magneto pointed out, " It's a dangerous world - for a mutant to be out on his own."
Magneto let the thought hang in the air and Rob said nothing. He was deep in thought. So much had happened in the past few days and he could hardly keep his thoughts clear. Is that really what Xavier was doing? Hiding the truth? But it had made sense. No matter how much good intentions the Professor had, he had purposely kept the truth from Rob.
Why would he had done that? Rob shuddered as he realized that they DIDN'T trust him. Did they think that if he knew that he had such abilities that he would run around the school, hurting everyone? Rob felt even more insulted, because it was very clear to him that they had.
They didn't even believe in him. They tried to keep the truth away from him, but once it had come out, they had tried to attack him, to drive him away from their presence. Rob clenched his teeth as he wondered if they thought that he was merely expendable, only able to stay in their school if he was blissfully ignorant of his own abilities.
" What is your name?," Magneto's voice sliced through Rob's own thoughts.
" Rob Vincennes," Rob answered.
" No...What is your REAL name?," Magneto clarified. Rob felt a sudden surge of power course through his body and a smile crept slowly upon his lips. His real name? Did he mean, like a codename? Like the X-Men? Rob bit his lip, for he was like any other student at the school - he had always been playing around with the idea of a codename. And like any other student, he was filled with doubts over whether his was good enough.
" Crimson," he replied softly, still having pride of that part of his mutation - and even more pride in it now that he knew that it was directly tied to his greatest ability.
" Well, Crimson," Magneto repeated, " You have a power beyond that of any mutant. Never forget that."
And with those words, Magneto turned and walked back into the parking lot, towards one of the many parked cars that must have been his.
For a few moments, Rob sat alone. Once again he was alone to brood over his own thoughts. He had been sitting here, on that curb for almost an hour. If anyone that he cared about were looking for him, surely they would have found him by now.
Adrian should have found him the second that he had left the school grounds. Why hadn't he come? Was he afraid of Rob as well? And why did Adrian and Brit escape the facility where they had all been taken to and had not gone back to rescue him? Rob felt even more humiliated when he realized that Adrian had left him.
Actually, the person who had come to his rescue was Magneto.
Rob finally knew where he had to go. He no longer wanted to be deceived. The school had been his home - he felt safe there, content. His friends lived there, he had so much fun within those walls, playing pranks on everyone with Adrian right by his side. As long as he rejected and ignored his true powers, he would always be safe there.
Rob stood up, and watched as Magneto walked away. The man was strange - possessing incredible strength and intelligence for someone who was his age. Yet he also had an understanding of what Rob was, what his potential was.
Rob stood still for a moment, his voice slowly finding it's way from the bottom of his throat.
" Magneto!," he shouted out as if for a last farewell. The older man stopped where he was and turned around expectedly. Rob almost quelled under that stare - it spoke of things that Rob could never have encountered, of possibilities almost too hard to believe.
With shaken certainty, Rob spoke with a clear voice,
" Magneto, I want to join the Brotherhood."
Enjoy reading, and many many thanx to Nemesis X, Snitter in Rivendell, Escaflowne and everyone else that has been reviewing my crazy story.
Chapter 18
**********
Rob had run. He had run as fast and as long as he could, and now, he desperately needed to catch his breath. He was secluded in the relative peace of a bustling town street, lined by a strip mall. The same street that only a few days before him and Adrian had teleported to. How much things had changed since then.
Rob looked down at his hands. They were no longer red. He had convinced the X-Men that he wasn't there when he had run away, but slowly after using his powers, his skin had faded from red to a pale tan. He didn't understand why, but he never felt so much control over his powers before. He understood what it was that the could do, and it made him tremble.
He could alter a mutant's mutations. Is that why the X-Men had come after him?
He couldn't remember things straight - all he could remember was that he had returned to the school and then suddenly the X-Men had descended upon him. All preparing to fight him. And he was desperately afraid. He couldn't remember how he had escaped his father's laboratory or how he reached the school in the first place. All he knew was that everyone he knew was trying to fight him.
He remembered he had convinced everyone that he was not there, and what did they say? They had to protect Xavier, they had to find Rob in order to stop him - that they could not trust him.
He was alone, and that made him even more afraid. He had no where to go to now. He had no friends, he had no family. Everyone that he had cared about had betrayed him. His father attempted to use him to further his research on his theory of an evolutionary mutations being a result of widespread animal extinctions.
His friends - where were they? - where were they when the whole world was going against him? Rob remembered even his own teachers were trying to attack him, to keep him from going into the school, to keep him away. Why would they do that? Even Storm had been there to fight him - and she was one of the first mutants that he had ever met, one of the first people he met that could promise him hope. And even she had betrayed him.
Rob sat huddled in a ball, his knees pulled up to his chest, his eyes staring out unseeing to the parking lot ahead. He began to realize why he wasn't red anymore. He thought back to things that his father had told him when he was a kid, things about color in the animal kingdom. Bright colors are warning colors. When Rob's skin turned red, it was a warning - a shout out to anyone near that he was using his powers. He had remained red all that time because he couldn't control his powers.
But now he could. Now he understood what his true powers were. He could alter another mutants mutation. He had done that to Kelly, he had almost done it to Pyro. Rob had once felt hurt that Xavier had never told him exactly what his abilities were - but now he understood. They didn't trust him. They thought he was dangerous.
But now he felt control.
Yet he had been betrayed.
Rob shuddered, desperately wishing that he wasn't so alone. Wishing that things hadn't gone the way that they had - that everything would turn out right, that no one wanted to fight him or keep him away from the school.
Rob had to face reality. He wasn't wanted anywhere.
He blinked his eyes dully, finally accepting that reality. *You're not wanted anywhere.* Rob felt so betrayed and yet so desperate that he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't bring himself to do it. He turned his head away, ashamed of himself for being degraded into such a situation, and realized that someone was standing next to him.
Rob looked up. It was Magneto.
" I warned you about trying to return to that school," Magneto said in a voice that easily carried both intelligence and power. Rob thought about it for a second. Had he? He couldn't even remember.
" But why did they want to fight me?," Rob asked himself.
" Because they will never trust you," Magneto said, " Xavier has been trying to keep you from knowing your true power as long as you've been at his school. They think that you are too young and reckless to be entrusted with such a gift."
" But I'm not!," Rob protested angrily.
" Yet now you are alone," Magneto pointed out, " It's a dangerous world - for a mutant to be out on his own."
Magneto let the thought hang in the air and Rob said nothing. He was deep in thought. So much had happened in the past few days and he could hardly keep his thoughts clear. Is that really what Xavier was doing? Hiding the truth? But it had made sense. No matter how much good intentions the Professor had, he had purposely kept the truth from Rob.
Why would he had done that? Rob shuddered as he realized that they DIDN'T trust him. Did they think that if he knew that he had such abilities that he would run around the school, hurting everyone? Rob felt even more insulted, because it was very clear to him that they had.
They didn't even believe in him. They tried to keep the truth away from him, but once it had come out, they had tried to attack him, to drive him away from their presence. Rob clenched his teeth as he wondered if they thought that he was merely expendable, only able to stay in their school if he was blissfully ignorant of his own abilities.
" What is your name?," Magneto's voice sliced through Rob's own thoughts.
" Rob Vincennes," Rob answered.
" No...What is your REAL name?," Magneto clarified. Rob felt a sudden surge of power course through his body and a smile crept slowly upon his lips. His real name? Did he mean, like a codename? Like the X-Men? Rob bit his lip, for he was like any other student at the school - he had always been playing around with the idea of a codename. And like any other student, he was filled with doubts over whether his was good enough.
" Crimson," he replied softly, still having pride of that part of his mutation - and even more pride in it now that he knew that it was directly tied to his greatest ability.
" Well, Crimson," Magneto repeated, " You have a power beyond that of any mutant. Never forget that."
And with those words, Magneto turned and walked back into the parking lot, towards one of the many parked cars that must have been his.
For a few moments, Rob sat alone. Once again he was alone to brood over his own thoughts. He had been sitting here, on that curb for almost an hour. If anyone that he cared about were looking for him, surely they would have found him by now.
Adrian should have found him the second that he had left the school grounds. Why hadn't he come? Was he afraid of Rob as well? And why did Adrian and Brit escape the facility where they had all been taken to and had not gone back to rescue him? Rob felt even more humiliated when he realized that Adrian had left him.
Actually, the person who had come to his rescue was Magneto.
Rob finally knew where he had to go. He no longer wanted to be deceived. The school had been his home - he felt safe there, content. His friends lived there, he had so much fun within those walls, playing pranks on everyone with Adrian right by his side. As long as he rejected and ignored his true powers, he would always be safe there.
Rob stood up, and watched as Magneto walked away. The man was strange - possessing incredible strength and intelligence for someone who was his age. Yet he also had an understanding of what Rob was, what his potential was.
Rob stood still for a moment, his voice slowly finding it's way from the bottom of his throat.
" Magneto!," he shouted out as if for a last farewell. The older man stopped where he was and turned around expectedly. Rob almost quelled under that stare - it spoke of things that Rob could never have encountered, of possibilities almost too hard to believe.
With shaken certainty, Rob spoke with a clear voice,
" Magneto, I want to join the Brotherhood."
