You Have Some Explaining to Do
"How could you not tell me?" Lorna shouted at Magneto.
"I didn't want to disturb your happiness," Magneto told her.
"I had a right to know!" Lorna told him. "You should have told me yourself! Instead I had to learn from a complete stranger that I was lied to all these years!"
"And I thought my old man was a piece of work," Lucas sniffed. "But at least Xavier didn't go around having a lot of kids and ditching them. Besides me anyway. But then again it was Mummy Dearest that was the real liar so…"
"Shut up!" Lorna snapped at him. She softened and turned to Magneto. "Were you ashamed of me or something?"
"No," Magneto touched her face. "Absolutely not!"
"More like the other way around, eh Uncle Eric?" Lucas grinned.
Magneto glared at him. "Do not taunt me boy!" He snapped. "Just because you happen to be the son of one of my oldest friends do not assume you can flaunt my authority at will."
"I'm just saying I know what it's like when a parent lies to you and keeps things from you," Lucas eyed him coldly. "And just because Xavier is my dad that doesn't mean I'm anything like him!"
"No," Magneto eyed him. "You're not."
"Damn right," Lucas snapped. "For one thing I know the difference between dreams and reality! Making nice with humans isn't exactly a bad thing, but neither is buying a condo on the moon. Not gonna happen. I may not be as experienced as Xavier, but I am just as powerful, maybe even more."
"Is that a threat?" Magneto stepped forward.
"No it's a fact," Lucas sniffed. "If I really wanted to take your place here I would have convinced Lorna to leave you rotting in SHIELD'S prison."
"You can't get into my mind while I'm wearing my helmet," Lorna told him.
"I have other ways of persuasion," Lucas grinned. "Back to my point, I know what Lorna's gone through to some extent. And I like her. I don't like too many people but the people I do like I won't see hurt by anybody, blood relative or not! I'm on Lorna's side and if she decides that she wants to help you fine by me. But if you keep hurting her I'll…"
"Lucas enough!" Lorna snapped. She softened her tone. "I'm just saying that I had a right to know if I had any brothers and sisters."
"You are right," Magneto sighed. "I should have told you long ago. How much do you know?"
"Well let's see, one sister was an experiment and the other one was sent to an insane asylum," Lorna remarked. "She has a twin who should have been sent to an insane asylum and the both of them are working for GI Joe while the experiment is a follower of Xavier's. And she has another half brother that looks like a demon, also a follower of Xavier's as well as the son of one of your less than loyal henchwomen."
"Obviously you have read their files," Magneto said. "You can understand how…complicated everything is."
"I need to know something," Lorna asked. "Did you love my mother or that other woman? The twin's mother."
"Lorna…" Magneto chose his words carefully. "When I met your mother it was shortly after Magda left me. I had no idea she was still alive, much less pregnant and when I did find out…" Magneto sighed.
"Well?" Lorna asked.
"She died shortly after the twins were born," Magneto explained. "Then your mother was pregnant with you and became ill and I didn't want to burden her. So I sent them off with someone I could trust. A distant relative of hers. That's why they don't have my name."
"Neither do I," Lorna said. "I know you were still married to Magda technically after you met my mother but after…"
"Your mother didn't want me to marry her for the sake of having a child in wedlock," Magneto told her. "She wanted me to love her for herself and shortly after you were born…"
"Oh…" Lorna said. "And Rogue?"
"She'd been given to her mother who gave her to her…associate to raise," Magneto said.
"Oh call a spade a spade Magneto," Lucas scoffed. "They were lovers."
"I told you it was complicated," Magneto sighed.
"I see," Lorna sighed. "I'm still mad at you but I guess I can understand how this all got…Look I just need to be alone for a bit right now."
"I understand," Magneto told her. She walked away.
When she was out of earshot Lucas clapped his hands. "Lovely story Magneto," He sneered. "Much more interesting than the real story. That she was an experiment too. Your friend Mender 'volunteered' her own sister for the cause of creating new mutants. Got it all from her head the other day. But your story has a nice ring of pathos to it. You should write a novel. Of course I didn't say anything to Lorna. Don't want to upset the girl by telling her the truth now shall we?"
"You will say nothing of this," Magneto used his powers to grab a nearby metal chair and fashioned it into several swords.
Lucas merely raised an eyebrow and created a shield that blocked their attack. "And hurt her even more? I don't think so! By the way if you want to attack me, you're gonna have to do a lot better than that. I've got a lot more tricks than my dear old dad has. And I'm better at them."
"You are not fooling me for one second," Magneto growled softly. "I know deep down you're using my daughter for your own twisted purposes."
"Really? And how is that different from you?" Lucas asked. "But before you decide to blast me into oblivion keep this in mind, I am probably the one person on this planet that can go toe to toe with Xavier. And I have no restrictions about using my power to raise the status of mutants to where we belong. Right at the top. We've got that in common at least, so why don't we keep our personal feelings on the shelf for now eh? Admit it, you need me. Mastermind's good but let's face it, he's no Xavier. More like a parlor trick magician. And he's supposedly your top psychic."
Magneto frowned. Lucas continued. "I'm the one person who helped your daughter keep this organization together while you were under Pocky's control! You'd be surprised how many people were glad to see you gone. Without me Lorna wouldn't have been able to stop all those snakes in the grass and you know it. Your little girl's a good fighter, but she's not you. All right you don't like me and are suspicious of me. You're Lorna's father that's a given. But are you willing to risk all our futures over some parental mistrust?"
Magneto spoke. "All right, I'm willing to try this. But if I find any hint of disloyalty…any suggestion that you will harm Lorna…"
Lucas backed away. "Hey! I said I liked her. I'm not gonna do anything to hurt her. And I know where my bread's buttered. As long as you do right by her, I won't do wrong by you. Deal?"
"For now," Magneto nodded. "But you still have to prove your loyalty."
"Anytime," Lucas said without a beat. "Just tell me who you want me to kill."
"Let's not be so bloodthirsty shall we?" Magneto said. "At least…not yet." He walked away.
" Well this is an interesting turn of events. I'm going to have to modify my plans a bit," Lucas spoke to himself. "But in the end I'll get everything I want. And you Daddy are going to suffer. You and all your little X-Men too."
As he chuckled quietly to himself he was unaware of another presence in the room. "Don't be too sure of yourself boyo…" The figure whispered. "You still haven't realized that there are other players in this game."
Okay, so now who's in this game of deceit and lies as well? And how come Lucas didn't sense this guy? You're going to have to wait a bit. Trust me, it's gonna get more complicated.
