As he and the team followed Pyro, Magneto remembered the last time a Crow came into his life.
- - - - - - -
Erik had been gathering his team for awhile, when he heard about some weird occurrences in Los Angeles. Rumors of a man being shot, yet continuing to live and of the same man killing the ones who shot him in painful ways.
Erik decided to go and try to find the mutant. If he couldn't convince him to join, he'd stop him. It wouldn't do for people to try and kill mutants before he was ready for the world to know they existed.
- - - - - - - - - -
The police shook their heads at yet another sign of a giant bird. This one ringed a wrecked car in flames, with a burning body imbedded in the wall where it had impacted. They couldn't get to it yet to take it away. The stench of burning flesh was making them sick.
Magneto watched from a nearby roof, as firetrucks attempted to put the flames out. They were succeeding with the car, but the bird was still going strong. The mutant was more powerful than he had originally realized, and he was on a killing spree. Magneto sighed. It looked like he'd have to save the idiot non-mutants. Why he bothered sometimes, he didn't know.
- - - - - - - - - -
His name was a memory he'd rather not have. It was hard enough remembering how his wife screamed as they hurt her over and over again. Remembering as he lay there bleeding to death from the stab wounds and the broken bones that prevented him from crawling much less standing. All he could do was watch. Then they shot her and him. It was almost over however. Only the last two remaining members of the gang to kill and then he could join her. He and the crow were too focused on the task at hand to notice the figure in red armor following them. He grinned nastily.
- - - - - - - - -
The two remaining had surrounded themselves with hired help. As they sat around the table, their enemy crashed through the skylight. They fired. He dodged, and started ripping through them. He didn't notice how some of the bullets seemed to turn toward him.
Magneto tried his hardest, but it looked like he'd have to step in personally. Then he heard one of the gang members speak, and it changed him.
"We killed you! You shouldn't have come back from that!" The leader said, laughing maniaclly. He'd lost his mind thanks to the stress.
"You hurt my love, my heart."
"She was sweet."
Magneto heard those words and the ones that followed... now he knew. The leader's screams filled the night, as Magneto remembered his mother's screams as she and his father were taken away from him many years ago in Germany. He remembered, and flew away.
Only later did he find out about the legend of the crow. Then he truly understood. It wasn't a mutant, it was vengeance. He swore to himself that when the war did come, he would only kill those who were soldiers against him. And their deaths would be quick. The last thing he needed was to see his actions set in the eyeballs of the face of vengeance. The one question he asked himself was "Does it only happen to the dead?"
- - - - - - - - - -
Magneto came back to himself as they neared the apartment. Then he looked at Sabretooth. "When you carried him away from the flames, was he still alive?"
Creed looked at him strangely. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"I'll tell you later."
Pyro ripped the outside door to the apartment off, and stalked in. Screams filled the night.
- - - - - - -
Erik had been gathering his team for awhile, when he heard about some weird occurrences in Los Angeles. Rumors of a man being shot, yet continuing to live and of the same man killing the ones who shot him in painful ways.
Erik decided to go and try to find the mutant. If he couldn't convince him to join, he'd stop him. It wouldn't do for people to try and kill mutants before he was ready for the world to know they existed.
- - - - - - - - - -
The police shook their heads at yet another sign of a giant bird. This one ringed a wrecked car in flames, with a burning body imbedded in the wall where it had impacted. They couldn't get to it yet to take it away. The stench of burning flesh was making them sick.
Magneto watched from a nearby roof, as firetrucks attempted to put the flames out. They were succeeding with the car, but the bird was still going strong. The mutant was more powerful than he had originally realized, and he was on a killing spree. Magneto sighed. It looked like he'd have to save the idiot non-mutants. Why he bothered sometimes, he didn't know.
- - - - - - - - - -
His name was a memory he'd rather not have. It was hard enough remembering how his wife screamed as they hurt her over and over again. Remembering as he lay there bleeding to death from the stab wounds and the broken bones that prevented him from crawling much less standing. All he could do was watch. Then they shot her and him. It was almost over however. Only the last two remaining members of the gang to kill and then he could join her. He and the crow were too focused on the task at hand to notice the figure in red armor following them. He grinned nastily.
- - - - - - - - -
The two remaining had surrounded themselves with hired help. As they sat around the table, their enemy crashed through the skylight. They fired. He dodged, and started ripping through them. He didn't notice how some of the bullets seemed to turn toward him.
Magneto tried his hardest, but it looked like he'd have to step in personally. Then he heard one of the gang members speak, and it changed him.
"We killed you! You shouldn't have come back from that!" The leader said, laughing maniaclly. He'd lost his mind thanks to the stress.
"You hurt my love, my heart."
"She was sweet."
Magneto heard those words and the ones that followed... now he knew. The leader's screams filled the night, as Magneto remembered his mother's screams as she and his father were taken away from him many years ago in Germany. He remembered, and flew away.
Only later did he find out about the legend of the crow. Then he truly understood. It wasn't a mutant, it was vengeance. He swore to himself that when the war did come, he would only kill those who were soldiers against him. And their deaths would be quick. The last thing he needed was to see his actions set in the eyeballs of the face of vengeance. The one question he asked himself was "Does it only happen to the dead?"
- - - - - - - - - -
Magneto came back to himself as they neared the apartment. Then he looked at Sabretooth. "When you carried him away from the flames, was he still alive?"
Creed looked at him strangely. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"I'll tell you later."
Pyro ripped the outside door to the apartment off, and stalked in. Screams filled the night.