Author's note: Shh...don't tell my sis I updated. She's been harassing me for weeks. Sorry updates have been so few this past month. I've got no other excuse except that I've been very busy with work. I know that's awful, putting work before creative expression but sometimes it has to be done.
Chapter Eleven:
Pyro lead the Malloy twins toward a long circular hallway, about eight feet in diameter. As they had passed through the island fortress, both Sid and Rebecca had been quietly impressed by the structure and workmanship each new chamber revealed. They walked across a grassy stretch, and noticed Sabertooth standing near the tunnel's entrance.
"Is Magneto here?" Pyro asked Sabertooth quickly. The young man's earlier good nature seemed to have been lost beneath a somber shadow. His tone was very serious, and held no fear when addressing the larger mutant. He was simply one soldier speaking with another. Sid suppressed a shiver and wondered again about Magneto's motivation in finding his family.
Sabertooth nodded his head in the direction of the tunnel, "He's waiting inside."
The larger mutant's dark eyes glared down at the twins blankly. Rebecca met his gaze for a moment until Pyro pointed down the hall.
"Head down there," he said and quickly stood aside.
"You're not going with?" Rebecca asked curiously. Pyro shook his head but did not speak. It was almost as if he was trying to imitate the mood of the other members of the Brotherhood, somber and apathetic toward the entire situation.
"Okay..." Sid said slowly, and then glanced at his sister before moving forward.
Hard core, he mouthed without speaking and Rebecca caught at laugh before it escaped her throat. Sid began to walk forward down the circular hall, but Rebecca paused a moment and stared up at Sabertooth again.
He did not react or look away, and after a moment, Rebecca sighed and sported an apologetic grin.
"Sorry about your coat," she said, noticing he was not wearing the long fur lined garment that she had accidentally singed when he grabbed her back at her house. The large mutant still did not react, but Rebecca figured it was worth a try.
She followed after her brother until they came to a smaller, but more intricately designed room than most of the others.
Mystique and Magneto were seated near a long metallic desk, the only obvious furnishing in the room. The Brotherhood's leader smiled in greeting to them and made a gesture of welcome.
"Hello again, Miss and Mr. Malloy," Magneto finally said and the twins gave him their politest attention, "Or may I call you by Rebecca and Jeremy?"
The twins exchange glances and then shrugged (though Rebecca did this with only one shoulder).
"Very well," Magneto said with a friendly tone and he gestured toward two other chairs in front of his deck, "Please...have a seat."
They did, in strangely perfect time, and each one stared curiously at the man before them. It was one thing to hear the Council's frequently exaggerated stories of Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier, but it was quite another to actually meet one of them.
"I suppose you are wondering why I've brought you here..." Magneto said, as if he had a speech prepared for this situation, but the twins spoke before he could continue.
"No," Rebecca said.
"No, not really," Sid continued, and then added quickly with anger, "Though I would like to know what prompted you to break into our house, Mr. Lensherr..."
"Sid..." Rebecca said quickly but he continued.
"And why you thought assaulting one of us was the best way to introduce yourselves..." Sid said, his voice getting louder with every word.
Rebecca glanced in between her brother and Magneto and, though the older man's expression remained even, it was obvious that Sid's disrespectful tone was not something he easily tolerated.
"Sebastian is really, really hoping you're planning to recruit us to your little Brotherhood here," Sid suddenly added with vicious sarcasm, "Since you've destroyed our home, we might be looking for a place to stay."
Magneto regarded the young man coolly but did not reply. He had had much practice in keeping his temper during his time with the Council, and Sid Malloy's indignant tone reminded him very much of those earlier days. Plus, Mystique's obvious fury as she glared at the young man made up for it. The tension in the room was heavy and Rebecca sighed.
"Nice...way to stay civil..." she muttered before he could begin speaking again.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered back, "They almost got you killed..."
"No, the bullet the Lady took from my arm almost killed me," she shot back.
"You wouldn't have been there to take that bullet if they hadn't brought that thing to the house," Sid said back, still in a low voice, but one that everyone could hear.
"They didn't bring that robot to the house," Rebecca corrected him, "Those guerillas in camouflage did..."
Sid was about to say something else when Rebecca touched his arm and gave him a hard look. They glared at each other for a moment, continuing their argument without words, until Sid sighed and folded his arms with frustration.
Rebecca glanced over at Magneto and sighed.
"Mr. Lensherr," she began, "I hope you understand the position you've placed us in."
Magneto nodded, his composure never wavering, "Yes. It was unfortunate the way the situation unfolded. And you do have my extended apologies at the loses you've had. I'm afraid my decision to seek out your family, to find out the fate of your mother and her children, was part curiosity...and part necessity. In these troubling times, one must know all of their enemies, but also all of their allies. As for recruiting you...," he spared Sid a long glance at these words, "...I allow for every possible end when meeting other mutants. I had hoped your work for the Council would be leading to the same goal as the Brotherhood...a safer world for mutant kind."
Rebecca nodded and shifted her injured arm uncomfortably. She was frowning with thought, and after a moment she replied.
"I think that's the goal for any mutant organization, isn't it?" she said, "I guess it's the method of approaching those issues that separates you from Professor Xavier's school..."
She made this reference deliberately, curious about why the two groups held such hostility towards each other.
"Method..." Magneto repeated thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose that is true. We have differing opinions on which methods would be effective..."
"And you think some of the Council's methods of approaching issues may also be effective for you in the end," Rebecca said, matter-of-factly, "Especially considering the resources they have available. But...you would need contacts there. I guess they wouldn't just let you guys wander around one of the old libraries..."
Magneto smiled and shook his head, "No, I doubt that."
"And then you knew about our mother's powers and my family's paternal link to the Council," she continued, but her face suddenly faded into strange frown, "So, then...why the hell did you just break into the house? I hate to say Sid had a point with that question..."
"Oh, thanks," her brother said with annoyance, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.
"You knew what our mom could do..." she continued addressing Magneto, "Weren't you worried I'd just blow you up or something?"
Magneto smiled, "Well, I hoped that you had inherited your mother's temperament also."
"Well, yeah, I guess," Rebecca continued, "But you just decided to break into a pyrokenetic's house? Whose idea was that?"
Her face was serious, but Magneto could not help but be amused by her sudden scolding tone. He found her eerie semblance to her uncle Sebastian almost comical as she ranted.
"And," she continued, "What would have happened if we were a real Council house? There might have been guarding hexes over the doors or demons hanging around for whatever reason...I mean, really, how many people here have ever seen a demon, let alone know how to get away from one?"
Mystique shifted her gaze to the young woman.
"We've been watching you for months," she replied sharply to Rebecca, "Some of us have seen demons before, and we never saw anything supernatural during our reconnaissance."
"Reconnaissance?" Sid asked quickly, and then chuckled cynically, "Why didn't you just pick up a phone book? We are listed. You could've just called and asked to stop by..."
Rebecca grinned at her brother, and then glanced back at Magneto with amused suspicion.
"I'm not the only one who avoids possible phone contact with our uncle," she said.
"Indeed..." Magneto agreed, "I actually have not seen him or spoken to him since his...well, let's just say, when he became more of a night person."
"I talked to him a little while ago," Sid said, "He's moving our things to his New York City apartment. He was...and we were...hoping you'd be willing to bring us there...after you've spoken to us, of course..."
Sid said this with doubt, but Magneto nodded politely.
"Of course," he replied, "And, fortunately, your sister has guessed my motivations for contacting you both. Mutant issues do not have their proper place within the Council. Yet, it has many ancient and modern resources that would prove invaluable to our cause."
Magneto leaned forward, his face filled with grave concern. His tone was soft, almost mournful, and in a more comfortable setting, could have easily lulled someone into sleep. This was practiced, and purposeful, and meant to draw their trust.
"Since the psychic attacks the world experienced eight months ago, violence towards mutants in the community has increased. This anyone would know just by watching the evening news. Hate groups, such as the Friends of Humanity, form under the guise of concerned human citizens seeking peace, but in truth their goals are to make mutants subservient, weak and extinct. I take full responsibility for the catastrophe at Liberty Island, and I realize now that a direct assault on our aggressors would not be advantageous for us..."
At least not yet, Mystique thought to herself, her mouth curling into a secretive smile.
"...therefore, I am searching for alternative methods to answer this problem, this prejudice, that mutants must live with. Making connections with the Council is simply our first step. Our approach to you both may have been inappropriate, but it did expose a new threat to our people, and next time we will be better prepared to face such a threat, and maybe prevent a future tragedy."
When he was finished, Rebecca and Sid exchanged a silence glance. His words had been forceful, but also seemed very sincere. After a few quiet moments, Magneto's expression changed again, returning to it previous pleasant smile.
"Though, I don't expect you will make a decision on this right away," he offered with a small shrug, "It's a rather large favor to ask, especially considering the ordeals of the past few days. I imagine you'll want to discuss it further in private...and discuss my offer with your uncle, a task I do not envy. But, perhaps I will have an opportunity to speak with him when we take you to New York..."
The twins looked surprised at the sudden offer. Magneto sat back and touched his chin thoughtfully.
"We'll leave in the morning," he said with a smile, "I assume you would like to arrive during the day. Get a few hours of peace before your uncle awakes?"
"Oh, yes, please," Rebecca replied, her face brightening with exaggerated politeness. Sid rolled his eyes and sighed, but any trace of his earlier anger towards Magneto seemed to have diminished for the most part.
Inwardly, Magneto was very pleased. He glanced at Mystique, and spoke his plan as if it had suddenly come to his mind.
"You and Pyro should accompany us," he said, and she nodded as they had rehearsed, and Magneto continued, "He has been waiting for weeks to have a chance to leave the Island. A few days in the city may be good for him."
"Sebastian's apartment has plenty of guest rooms," Rebecca said, "And I'm sure my dearest uncle will be way to busy yelling at me to even notice you're there..."
Magneto chuckled, "Very well. I'll have Toad prepare the jet for a morning departure. Until then, I'm sure the Lady would prefer if you slept in the infirmary."
Sid nodded, "That's a good idea...there were a bunch of cots..."
"Fine, then we shall meet you in the front hanger in the morning," Magneto said, rising to his feet. The twins and Mystique also rose and Rebecca and Sid exited through the long tunnel.
Once they were gone, Mystique looked at Erik with a smile.
"Do you think they believed you?" she asked wryly. Erik frowned at her with mock surprise.
"Did I say something they should not believe?" he asked.
Mystique shook her head, "No, they expected a lie or an unacceptable truth. You said exactly what they did not expect. You said exactly what you meant, but not exactly what you meant..."
She gave him a wicked smile.
"Truthful...but you did not exactly speak the entire truth..."
"But I did not lie..." he said simply, "What truths I have not yet revealed...will be made clear to them in time..."
***
Author's note part 2: I'm sorry if this book has been very scattered (reflecting my current mindset lol). It's quite plotless except to wrap up the events of the first three books. I feel like I need to set character and mindset before continuing on to the partially written Kurt-centric next book. :-)
Basically, the X-Men are becoming accustomed to doing the super hero thing when needed. Logan is preparing to seek out other active organizations doing mutant experimentation. Future Remy/Rogue stuff is promised (with Bobby complications, of course). Scott still mourning Jean but keeping his emotions buried underneath duty. Kurt and Ororo may come to question their emotions (hmm...). And the Professor has the Council of Watchers to deal with.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood are just going to keep doing what they do best. :-) I imagine by now, Magneto is re-evaluating how to gather other mutants to his cause, so the possibility of other characters from the comics and cartoons being offered membership in the Brotherhood of Mutants may arise. Could the twins' access to the Council's records lead to the discovery of those new recruits? Hmm...
Ok, hopefully I'll wrap this mess up soon and get on with the next book! Thanks for everyone's patience (except my lil sis. All she sends to me is FU...FU (Fun Update) Shh...really, don't tell her it updated...mwahahaha...)