Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch gave the first blow by leaving the
Brotherhood and joining the new Avengers after it was revealed that Magneto
was their father and partly responsible for their mother's death.
It started slowly at first, Mastermind succumbed to the Legacy Virus he had contracted and died in agony, screaming and making everyone in the base see different images and things before he finally died.
With Mastermind's death, there came the fights within the ranks of the Brotherhood, members like Blob and Avalanche starting to question Magneto's orders and Mystique's friend Destiny with her powers. Before it was over the two had gotten most of the members to leave the Brotherhood.
Magneto had also started to change. In one of their missions, he had been lost on a mountain with Charles Xavier, and when Nightcrawler and the rest were able to get to him and bring back, he was changed somehow. He didn't want to attack their enemies anymore, and he often didn't go on attacks with them. When members started to leave, he barely took notice, telling Nightcrawler to simply let them go their own way.
After a while of this, Mystique grew tired and she and Destiny left. Mystique asked Nightcrawler and Rogue to come with her, but the two declined, wanting to stay with Magneto.
Now there were only four members left in the Brotherhood once it was all said and done Pyro, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Colossus, and Magneto. Pyro was prone to wandering around by himself, causing havoc and problems for the humans whenever the mood took him. When Nightcrawler scolded him about this, Magneto told him to let Pyro be, and Pyro continued to do whatever he wanted.
Nightcrawler could tell that all was not well for the Brotherhood. They didn't go on any missions anymore and Magneto often kept to himself in his room, letting Pyro run amuck in the human cities. The only ones he had in the Brotherhood were his foster sister Rogue and his best friend Colossus.
But the Legacy Virus wasn't finished messing with the Brotherhood. Colossus' sister Illyana contracted the disease and they couldn't figure out what to do to try and save her. The only thing Colossus could think of was asking help from Beast, who was working on a cure for the disease right now.
"He is her only hope right now. I have to take her to him. He won't deny her help." He said. Nightcrawler shook his head.
"Mein freund, if you go to zhe X-men zhen you might as vell stay vith zhem! Zhey are still our enemies und have caused us grieve in zhe past!" he argued angrily. Colossus looked down at his sick sister and then back at Nightcrawler.
"I am sorry, my friend." He said, picking her up gently. "I am taking her to the X-men and staying with them until they find a cure for her."
"Vhat if zhey don't cure her und she dies?" Nightcrawler asked seriously. Colossus shrugged, looking down at his weak sister.
"Then I shall stay with them." Seeing the look on Nightcrawler's face, he held up a hand to keep him quiet for a moment.
"Now listen to me for once. There is nothing left for us here with the Brotherhood. Magneto has not been the same since he has been with Xavier so maybe that means the X-men are right in what they do. Why don't you and Rogue join me?" he asked seriously.
"I cannot." Nightcrawler said firmly. "I owe Magneto my life und you know zhat. I vill not abandon his dream of peace for Mutants everyvhere."
"Why can't Mutants and Humans get along?" Colossus asked. "You read the Bible all the time, doesn't it say something about peace between people?" Nightcrawler looked away, his tail flicking to one side. Colossus nodded a bit, turning around to leave.
"Good-bye my friend." He said softly, leaving.
Three Weeks Later. . .
Things had gone to hell after Colossus left the Brotherhood. Pyro decided that he didn't need to stay a member of the Brotherhood so he simply stopped returning after burning down a building or setting a field of crops on fire. Rogue and Nightcrawler became more concerned for Magneto day after day since all he did was stay in his room now, making them bring his meals to the door and leave it there. Nightcrawler feared that soon the Brotherhood would be over.
Nightcrawler was perched on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the stars in the distant horizon, his tail curling and uncurling lazily. He didn't bother to look when he heard someone walking up beside him.
"You are leaving." He said simply as Rogue sat down.
"Ah 'ave tae." She said softly. "You kin come wi' me you know." She offered. Nightcrawler shook his head slowly.
"I cannot. I owe him my life remember?" he said, looking up at her slightly. "It vould not be right for me to leave him now." Rogue rested a hand on his shoulder gently.
"You don' 'ave tae stay 'ere, Nightcrawler. You an' 'im kin come wi' me tae the mansion." She offered.
"He vould not come und you know zhat." He said softly. "I vould rather stay here vith him." He looked at her and he smiled very faintly. "You are going so zhat you can be closer to Gambit, ja?" he asked. Rogue laughed softly and nodded.
"Exactly."
"I hope you two are happy together." He said honestly, resting a hand over her gloved one. "But give him zhis varning for me. If he should ever make you cry or hurt you in any vay, I shall come to zhe mansion und tear his body apart." He warned, narrowing his eyes slightly. Rogue laughed softly.
"Ah'll be sure tae tell 'im." She promised with a nod. Nightcrawler smiled and the two hugged gently, Nightcrawler burying his face in the crook of Rogue's leather covered neck.
"I vill miss you, mein schwester." He said softly.
"An' Ah'll miss you tae, brother." She said, slowly letting go. Standing up, she left the room, leaving Nightcrawler behind and looking after her sadly.
The next morning, Nightcrawler was in the living room laying on a couch when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Looking up, he saw Magneto coming down to meet with him. Quickly he sat up and teleported beside him, taking his arm lightly to help him down the stairs.
"Mein herr, vhat are you doing out of your room?" he asked, worried for his master. Magneto looked around before he turned to Nightcrawler.
"You are the only one left?" he asked. Nightcrawler nodded.
"Ja, but you have nothing to worry about. I am sure others vill vant to join us und zhen. . ."
"The dream is over, Nightcrawler."
"Vas?" Magneto sat down in a chair and he looked at Nightcrawler with ice blue eyes that were soft with understanding the old tend to receive at some point in their lives.
"My dream is done, Nightcrawler. It was a bad dream in the first place which caused many innocent people their lives and homes." Magneto looked up at Nightcrawler and he sighed softly. "It seems our enemies the X-men were in the right all along, and I say it is time to end my dream for good."
"Nein, mein herr." Nightcrawler said, kneeling in front of Magneto. "You are vrong about zhis. Zhe Brotherhood. . ."
"Is disbanded, Nightcrawler." Magneto said gently. "I am sorry, but it was wrongful things that he did." He said. "We have done nothing but caused problems. You need to realize this and move on."
"But vhere shall I go from here? Everyone knows vhat I look like und I vill not last out zhere." Nightcrawler pointed out. Taking Nightcrawler's hand, Magneto placed a watch into it and closed his fingers around it.
"This is an image inducer." He explained. "When you press the red button, you will be covered in a hologram that will make you look human. You will be safe outside with this."
"Mein herr. . ."
"Let go, Nightcrawler. I know it may be hard to do, but you must let go and move on from this. I am sorry that I ever started the Brotherhood." Magneto said. He gave Nightcrawler a large rolled up wad of money. "Try your best."
"Zhe X-men vill not take me in." Nightcrawler pointed out.
"Then don't join them. Go back to your family in Germany if you wish." Magneto said gently. "May you be safe in whatever path you choose. Forgive me for leading you astray." Nightcrawler bowed his head, putting on the image inducer and pressing the red button. He looked back up at Magneto and small tears were falling down his smooth pale cheeks.
"You saved my life years ago, mein herr." He said softly. "Und I vill never forget zhat for all zhe vorld. I do not believe you have harmed me in any vay. If I could go back, I vould join you again, mein herr. Danke." He hugged Magneto around the neck for a moment, closing his eyes tightly before he slowly let go and walked out of the base alone.
Two Months Later. . .
Kitty Pryde; also known as Shadowcat, was out with her pet dragon Lockheed in the city park, having a picnic with one of her new teammates Piotr Rasputin and his little sister Illyana, who was still sick but not in such great pain as she was before Hank gave her an experimental cure for the Legacy Virus.
Lockheed was having fun playing with the little girl when a breeze blew and he caught the scent of something he knew and hated deeply. Growling softly, he looked around and he saw a young man standing and leaning against an oak tree, looking out at the clouds in the sky. Snarling, he started to charge at the man.
"Lockheed!" Kitty shouted, giving chase after the purple dragon. Illyana watched giggling as Kitty was forced to take a running dive and land on top of the dragon just before it bit into the young man's ankle. The young man looked down at Kitty as she struggled to pick up the fighting purple dragon and she smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry. Lockheed usually doesn't go after strangers." She said with a shrug as she stood up with the hissing dragon in her arms. She tilted her head to one side as she looked the man over. He was tall with fair skin. His eyes were an odd color, an almost yellow kind of hazel and his hair was cobalt blue with a lock falling over his right eye. She shrugged this off, figuring he was the kind of person who dyed his hair or wore weird contact lenses.
"Zhat is all right, junge frau." The man said, his accent a faint lilting German that made her raise her eyebrows slightly. "Is somezhing zhe matter?" he asked. She blinked and blushed once she realized she had been staring.
"I'm sorry. I thought I knew you from somewhere." She admitted. The young man looked her over quietly and he looked towards the clouds once more.
"Perhaps ve have seen each other before on zhe streets, junge frau." He said simply. "I am sure you shall figure it out someday." Kitty nodded faintly, looking at the man curiously as she turned around and went back to the blanket where Piotr and Illyana were waiting for her.
The young man watched her go away, and he closed his eyes for a moment as he sighed and slowly started to walk away. As he walked, his pant leg went up faintly and revealed a tiny bit of burnt skin.
Nightcrawler looked over his shoulder and he shook his head a bit, teleporting away before anyone would notice he was gone.
It started slowly at first, Mastermind succumbed to the Legacy Virus he had contracted and died in agony, screaming and making everyone in the base see different images and things before he finally died.
With Mastermind's death, there came the fights within the ranks of the Brotherhood, members like Blob and Avalanche starting to question Magneto's orders and Mystique's friend Destiny with her powers. Before it was over the two had gotten most of the members to leave the Brotherhood.
Magneto had also started to change. In one of their missions, he had been lost on a mountain with Charles Xavier, and when Nightcrawler and the rest were able to get to him and bring back, he was changed somehow. He didn't want to attack their enemies anymore, and he often didn't go on attacks with them. When members started to leave, he barely took notice, telling Nightcrawler to simply let them go their own way.
After a while of this, Mystique grew tired and she and Destiny left. Mystique asked Nightcrawler and Rogue to come with her, but the two declined, wanting to stay with Magneto.
Now there were only four members left in the Brotherhood once it was all said and done Pyro, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Colossus, and Magneto. Pyro was prone to wandering around by himself, causing havoc and problems for the humans whenever the mood took him. When Nightcrawler scolded him about this, Magneto told him to let Pyro be, and Pyro continued to do whatever he wanted.
Nightcrawler could tell that all was not well for the Brotherhood. They didn't go on any missions anymore and Magneto often kept to himself in his room, letting Pyro run amuck in the human cities. The only ones he had in the Brotherhood were his foster sister Rogue and his best friend Colossus.
But the Legacy Virus wasn't finished messing with the Brotherhood. Colossus' sister Illyana contracted the disease and they couldn't figure out what to do to try and save her. The only thing Colossus could think of was asking help from Beast, who was working on a cure for the disease right now.
"He is her only hope right now. I have to take her to him. He won't deny her help." He said. Nightcrawler shook his head.
"Mein freund, if you go to zhe X-men zhen you might as vell stay vith zhem! Zhey are still our enemies und have caused us grieve in zhe past!" he argued angrily. Colossus looked down at his sick sister and then back at Nightcrawler.
"I am sorry, my friend." He said, picking her up gently. "I am taking her to the X-men and staying with them until they find a cure for her."
"Vhat if zhey don't cure her und she dies?" Nightcrawler asked seriously. Colossus shrugged, looking down at his weak sister.
"Then I shall stay with them." Seeing the look on Nightcrawler's face, he held up a hand to keep him quiet for a moment.
"Now listen to me for once. There is nothing left for us here with the Brotherhood. Magneto has not been the same since he has been with Xavier so maybe that means the X-men are right in what they do. Why don't you and Rogue join me?" he asked seriously.
"I cannot." Nightcrawler said firmly. "I owe Magneto my life und you know zhat. I vill not abandon his dream of peace for Mutants everyvhere."
"Why can't Mutants and Humans get along?" Colossus asked. "You read the Bible all the time, doesn't it say something about peace between people?" Nightcrawler looked away, his tail flicking to one side. Colossus nodded a bit, turning around to leave.
"Good-bye my friend." He said softly, leaving.
Three Weeks Later. . .
Things had gone to hell after Colossus left the Brotherhood. Pyro decided that he didn't need to stay a member of the Brotherhood so he simply stopped returning after burning down a building or setting a field of crops on fire. Rogue and Nightcrawler became more concerned for Magneto day after day since all he did was stay in his room now, making them bring his meals to the door and leave it there. Nightcrawler feared that soon the Brotherhood would be over.
Nightcrawler was perched on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the stars in the distant horizon, his tail curling and uncurling lazily. He didn't bother to look when he heard someone walking up beside him.
"You are leaving." He said simply as Rogue sat down.
"Ah 'ave tae." She said softly. "You kin come wi' me you know." She offered. Nightcrawler shook his head slowly.
"I cannot. I owe him my life remember?" he said, looking up at her slightly. "It vould not be right for me to leave him now." Rogue rested a hand on his shoulder gently.
"You don' 'ave tae stay 'ere, Nightcrawler. You an' 'im kin come wi' me tae the mansion." She offered.
"He vould not come und you know zhat." He said softly. "I vould rather stay here vith him." He looked at her and he smiled very faintly. "You are going so zhat you can be closer to Gambit, ja?" he asked. Rogue laughed softly and nodded.
"Exactly."
"I hope you two are happy together." He said honestly, resting a hand over her gloved one. "But give him zhis varning for me. If he should ever make you cry or hurt you in any vay, I shall come to zhe mansion und tear his body apart." He warned, narrowing his eyes slightly. Rogue laughed softly.
"Ah'll be sure tae tell 'im." She promised with a nod. Nightcrawler smiled and the two hugged gently, Nightcrawler burying his face in the crook of Rogue's leather covered neck.
"I vill miss you, mein schwester." He said softly.
"An' Ah'll miss you tae, brother." She said, slowly letting go. Standing up, she left the room, leaving Nightcrawler behind and looking after her sadly.
The next morning, Nightcrawler was in the living room laying on a couch when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Looking up, he saw Magneto coming down to meet with him. Quickly he sat up and teleported beside him, taking his arm lightly to help him down the stairs.
"Mein herr, vhat are you doing out of your room?" he asked, worried for his master. Magneto looked around before he turned to Nightcrawler.
"You are the only one left?" he asked. Nightcrawler nodded.
"Ja, but you have nothing to worry about. I am sure others vill vant to join us und zhen. . ."
"The dream is over, Nightcrawler."
"Vas?" Magneto sat down in a chair and he looked at Nightcrawler with ice blue eyes that were soft with understanding the old tend to receive at some point in their lives.
"My dream is done, Nightcrawler. It was a bad dream in the first place which caused many innocent people their lives and homes." Magneto looked up at Nightcrawler and he sighed softly. "It seems our enemies the X-men were in the right all along, and I say it is time to end my dream for good."
"Nein, mein herr." Nightcrawler said, kneeling in front of Magneto. "You are vrong about zhis. Zhe Brotherhood. . ."
"Is disbanded, Nightcrawler." Magneto said gently. "I am sorry, but it was wrongful things that he did." He said. "We have done nothing but caused problems. You need to realize this and move on."
"But vhere shall I go from here? Everyone knows vhat I look like und I vill not last out zhere." Nightcrawler pointed out. Taking Nightcrawler's hand, Magneto placed a watch into it and closed his fingers around it.
"This is an image inducer." He explained. "When you press the red button, you will be covered in a hologram that will make you look human. You will be safe outside with this."
"Mein herr. . ."
"Let go, Nightcrawler. I know it may be hard to do, but you must let go and move on from this. I am sorry that I ever started the Brotherhood." Magneto said. He gave Nightcrawler a large rolled up wad of money. "Try your best."
"Zhe X-men vill not take me in." Nightcrawler pointed out.
"Then don't join them. Go back to your family in Germany if you wish." Magneto said gently. "May you be safe in whatever path you choose. Forgive me for leading you astray." Nightcrawler bowed his head, putting on the image inducer and pressing the red button. He looked back up at Magneto and small tears were falling down his smooth pale cheeks.
"You saved my life years ago, mein herr." He said softly. "Und I vill never forget zhat for all zhe vorld. I do not believe you have harmed me in any vay. If I could go back, I vould join you again, mein herr. Danke." He hugged Magneto around the neck for a moment, closing his eyes tightly before he slowly let go and walked out of the base alone.
Two Months Later. . .
Kitty Pryde; also known as Shadowcat, was out with her pet dragon Lockheed in the city park, having a picnic with one of her new teammates Piotr Rasputin and his little sister Illyana, who was still sick but not in such great pain as she was before Hank gave her an experimental cure for the Legacy Virus.
Lockheed was having fun playing with the little girl when a breeze blew and he caught the scent of something he knew and hated deeply. Growling softly, he looked around and he saw a young man standing and leaning against an oak tree, looking out at the clouds in the sky. Snarling, he started to charge at the man.
"Lockheed!" Kitty shouted, giving chase after the purple dragon. Illyana watched giggling as Kitty was forced to take a running dive and land on top of the dragon just before it bit into the young man's ankle. The young man looked down at Kitty as she struggled to pick up the fighting purple dragon and she smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry. Lockheed usually doesn't go after strangers." She said with a shrug as she stood up with the hissing dragon in her arms. She tilted her head to one side as she looked the man over. He was tall with fair skin. His eyes were an odd color, an almost yellow kind of hazel and his hair was cobalt blue with a lock falling over his right eye. She shrugged this off, figuring he was the kind of person who dyed his hair or wore weird contact lenses.
"Zhat is all right, junge frau." The man said, his accent a faint lilting German that made her raise her eyebrows slightly. "Is somezhing zhe matter?" he asked. She blinked and blushed once she realized she had been staring.
"I'm sorry. I thought I knew you from somewhere." She admitted. The young man looked her over quietly and he looked towards the clouds once more.
"Perhaps ve have seen each other before on zhe streets, junge frau." He said simply. "I am sure you shall figure it out someday." Kitty nodded faintly, looking at the man curiously as she turned around and went back to the blanket where Piotr and Illyana were waiting for her.
The young man watched her go away, and he closed his eyes for a moment as he sighed and slowly started to walk away. As he walked, his pant leg went up faintly and revealed a tiny bit of burnt skin.
Nightcrawler looked over his shoulder and he shook his head a bit, teleporting away before anyone would notice he was gone.