The feeling of being followed was still there. Pyro had lost count of the number of times he had instinctively looked over his shoulder to make sure there was nobody coming up from behind. Was he imagining things? Was Oculus' psychic energy affecting him in some way, screwing with his perceptions? Pyro knew he wasn't completely immune to psychic intrusion. Nobody other than Magneto had more knowledge and experience of mental defence, but still…he'd yet to really test himself against a full-blown onslaught from a telepath bent on dominating his mind.

He worried about Gemini. Where was she now? She and the others had gone to the ocean labs – which he'd been told was where the X-Men had just escaped from – but where was his daughter at this moment? Was she safe? Was she trying to make some sense out of this mess? Was Vertigo protecting her as Pyro had ordered him too? Was Cassandra safe? And Atlas? As much as Pyro tried to tell himself he didn't care about anyone except his daughter, he was finding it difficult to dismiss his instinctive concern for the welfare of his other students. He'd initially recruited them purely for their fighting ability, but had he, since adopting Gemini, found himself actually caring for them? They were only children. Had he lost sight of that somewhere? Had he, in his fury, seen them only as weapons to use against the humans and the X-Men? Had he actually thought about them as the living, breathing people they were? No. He knew that hadn't even entered his mind. He'd only considered their potential as tools to carry out his plans. Well…was that so bad? Wasn't that what Magneto had done? Wasn't that why Magneto had recruited him in the first place?

Just as he began thinking about the metal master, Pyro realised he had lost him. In bewilderment he looked around. Where the hell had Magneto gone? They'd been in a straight corridor. There weren't any corners or junctions he could have disappeared down. Surely Pyro would have noticed if the other had suddenly moved away. Wouldn't he? Had he been totally immersed in worry about his child?

"Magneto?" he hissed. "Where the hell are you?"

There was no response. The entire building seemed shrouded in silence.

"Magneto, I haven't got time for stupid games! Where did you go?"

Shit! Where is he? He must have gone on alone. He must have taken advantage of my distraction and left me behind. He obviously doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Does he see me as a failure? You know what? I don't give a shit. I couldn't care less what he thinks. Once I worshipped him as a hero. Now he's the man who stole my daughter away from her family and gave her over to be abused. What if Xavier was right about him all along? I never thought I'd ever say that…

I still need to find him though. There's no point going on alone and trying to confront Oculus. Magneto obviously has some plan for how he's going to overcome him. Has Oculus really gone crazy? I suppose he must have done, or he wouldn't be doing this. However, I can't help but think Magneto is lying to us about something? Is there some other reason he wants rid of Rosiçky, other than the one he gave? Is he really concerned for the welfare of mutant life? I'd like to believe so. I've spent half my life believing so. Has he changed? Or was I just viewing him in a different light when I was younger? Perhaps I didn't realise that he really will go to any lengths necessary to achieve his goals, even if it means giving Gemini over to…

No! There is absolutely no justification for what happened to my daughter! There never can be! I don't care what Magneto might say, I will never forgive him for what happened to my little girl! Where is he? Once this is all over, I'm going to demand an explanation and I'm not going to rest until I get it!

He heard the sound of somebody moving up ahead, just around the next corner. He guessed it was Magneto, and quickened his pace to catch up with his former leader. Maybe Magneto hadn't deliberately left him behind. Maybe he simply hadn't noticed that Pyro was lagging. As he turned the corner, and caught his first sight of the figure up ahead, Pyro suddenly realised he had absolutely no idea where Magneto had gotten to. Standing in front of him was Oculus.

Chloe Rosiçky ran as fast as she could towards her goal. There was only one threat left now. Pyro did not need to be taken into consideration. There was only one remaining threat, and he was heading straight for Neil.

The man known as Magneto was getting closer and closer to his target with every step. He felt the weight of the block of constantium inside his coat. He knew it was his only defence against telepathic attack. I must say I'm impressed, he thought to himself, I never expected him to do anything like this. I suppose Charles must have taught him more than I thought. Ah, Charles. The only worthy adversary I ever truly had. My only real obstacle to success. I don't suppose there will ever be another like him…certainly not this one. You pretentious fool, Oculus. You aspire to power that is not yours to wield. Soon you will be back in your place.

Logan groaned as he came back to full consciousness, his head still pounding with the force of the blow that had knocked him out. He gritted his teeth, and within seconds his healing power had mended the bruising and quelled the pain. Back on his feet, he breathed in deeply. Chloe's scent was still fresh. Obviously he'd only been knocked out for a matter of minutes. He turned, and looked back the way he had come, back to the building where Pyro and his boss had gone to confront Oculus. Something told Logan he had to go that way. He didn't know what it was – instinct maybe – but somehow he knew that was where he had to go. He didn't have time to look for the rest of his friends. He began running.

Pyro had to admit, he hadn't been expecting Oculus to casually greet him with, "Hello, John, how are you?"

"Me? Never better," he responded sarcastically. "You? Your plans for world domination coming along OK?"

"Never mind that. Where is he?"

"Who are we talking about?"

"I think you know who we're talking about. You were walking by his side less than ten minutes ago."

"I lost him."

"No, you didn't. He lost you. And not by accident, either."

"What are you talking about?"

Oculus raised his eyebrows, "I don't think he wanted you to be present when he and I came face to face."

"Why not?"

"Because you might find out several things he'd rather keep secret."

"Such as?"

"His real name, for one thing."

"His real name?"

"He isn't Magneto, John."

Pyro blinked, "Is this bullshit? Or is this for real?"

"You'll have to judge for yourself. You've heard his side of the story. Now you can hear mine."

"He told us you were here to use your psychic powers to influence the vote on nuclear disarmament. He said it would start a chain reaction and destabilise trans-Atlantic relations. He said World War III would begin and you would be responsible."

"Did you believe him?"

"Are you denying it? He said you would keep on using your powers to change major world decisions, until you were effectively running the planet yourself. Do you have the power to do that?"

"I have the power, yes."

Pyro waited, but Oculus didn't say any more. Impatiently the fire-starter prompted, "So? Was he telling the truth? Aren't you going to deny it?"

"How can I deny what is in my heart?"

"So it's true? You're willing to start a Third World War just to get the decision you want on this UN vote?"

"Positive and negative aspects must always be weighed together. War between Europe and America is inevitable, don't you agree? I don't think anything I can do would change that."

"What happened to all that shit Xavier drummed into you over the years? Using your powers responsibly, for the good of humanity, all that crap?"

"I believe the Professor would have done the same thing in my position. Do you intend to oppose me?"

Pyro hesitated for a moment, "You know, a year ago I would have said 'what the hell' and I wouldn't have stood in your way. But now…all I care about is my daughter and the future you're threatening to take away from her. Anybody who endangers her safety is my enemy."

"Perhaps you would like to know the true identity of the man responsible for her two years of abuse."

"Are you offering to tell me?"

"I'm offering to show you. If you will let me."

"All right. I'm listening."

"Turn around."

"Why?"

"He's behind you."

Pyro looked round, at the very moment Magneto turned the corner and came face to face with the two younger men.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Pyro snapped. "You are the one who gave my daughter to the researchers! I want an explanation and I want it now, dammit!"

"Hold your tongue, fool," Magneto said icily. "He's trying to turn you against me and towards himself. Please don't insult my tutelage by giving in to such an easy deception. Remember why we're here."

"Strange that you should talk of deception," said Oculus. "When surely you are the undisputed master of that particular art."

"You speak of yourself, not of me."

"Why else did you pretend to be dead for sixteen years?"

Pyro frowned, "Sixteen years? I think you mean four."

"He speaks not one word of truth," Magneto said. "He is the one who hid himself away for sixteen years, away from Xavier's ability to read his thoughts."

"No," said Oculus. "I am not the one who was so terrified of Xavier that I had to fake my own death in order to disappear from him."

"What are you talking about?" Pyro retorted. "Xavier died before Magneto disappeared!"

"This man isn't Magneto, John."

"Then who is he, dammit?"

"Do not listen," said Magneto angrily. "His words serve only to make you receptive in order for his telepathy to enter your brain. You must resist."

Pyro shook his head, "I don't feel any telepathic presence in my mind."

"That's because he's getting through your defences, fool! Concentrate harder!"

"Ask him a question," Oculus suggested. "Go on, try it. Ask something only Magneto would know."

"All right. What was it like inside Stryker's plastic prison?"

"No good," said Oculus. "This man worked with Stryker. He'll know that anyway."

"How did Sabretooth and Toad die?"

Oculus nodded, "Good."

Magneto glared at the pair of them, "I have neither the time nor the patience for this childish nonsense. Pyro, leave us. I will finish him myself."

"I'll leave. Once you answer my question."

"I don't know the answer. I never saw them die. I was otherwise engaged at the time."

Pyro looked at Oculus, who shrugged, "That could be true. Try another."

"OK," said Pyro, turning to the old man. "When I first met you, you said something to me. Something I've never forgotten. Can you tell me what it was?"

"You cannot expect me to remember something I may or may not have said over fifteen years ago. Do not presume to think that a conversation with you merited enough worth to have lodged in my memory."

"Well, I know what it was," said Neil. "He said you were 'a god among insects'."

"How do you know that? You weren't even there."

Oculus smiled, "If you still don't believe me, watch this."

He opened his hand to reveal a tiny piece of metal. With a mere flick of his eyes, he used his telekinetic power to launch it through the air towards Magneto. Pyro watched as the old man, taken by surprise, raised his hand to block the attack. He expected the metal shard to stop dead in mid-air under Magneto's power. On the contrary, it did not stop, and impaled his palm, leaving behind a tiny pinprick of blood. Pyro's eyes widened in disbelief, and at last he was convinced.

"You're not Magneto! Who the hell are you?"

Oculus revealed the truth at last, "He's a sixty-one year old geneticist from the Czech Republic. His name is Davor Rosiçky."

It was as if a mask had been dropped from the older man's face. His expression and poise had changed, his English accent fading to be replaced by his natural Czech inflections.

"That is a name I haven't gone by in many years," he sneered at the younger men.

"Davor Rosiçky…" Pyro said slowly. "I've heard that name before…wait a minute…this guy's your father, right?"

"Yes."

"I thought he was dead. I thought Gaia said he was dead."

"Indeed. So we all thought."

"What happened?"

However, Davor Rosiçky was not prepared to remain and hear any more. Moving with a speed that surprised both of them, he kicked Pyro to one side and advanced on his son. Reaching into his coat he removed the constantium block he'd been waiting for the right moment to use. He already knew it had a total nullifying effect on mutant telepathy. He knew it would confuse and befuddle his son's mind to such an extent that he could be easily killed. He had already seen it totally incapacitate those two younger telepaths.

But Oculus did not even flinch from the metal. Davor snarled with anger and stepped closer, practically forcing the constantium into his son's face, enjoying the anticipation of seeing the young man falling to his knees and blacking out from its mind-dampening power. Still his progeny refused to buckle, merely smiling and raising a hand to push Davor away. Pyro was on his feet, angry, and advancing towards the Czech.

"No! He's too dangerous," said Neil, gently laying his hand on Pyro's shoulder.

"What trickery is this?" Davor demanded. "This is pure constantium! This should nullify your telepathy from a distance of ten feet!"

Oculus smirked, "Well, perhaps I lied. Perhaps you're not the master of deception. Perhaps that would be…"

In an instant his features melted as he morphed into the blue figure of Mystique.

"…me," she finished.

Too stunned to respond, Pyro turned to look at Davor. The old man's face was a horrified mixture of shock, anger, fear…and perhaps a little admiration as well. In the moment of indecision that followed, he took his chance, turned and ran. Pyro was about to give chase, but Mystique stopped him, "Patience, Pyro. He won't get far."

He faced her, "How did you do that? You used Oculus' powers! Where is he? He's here somewhere, right?"

"Yes. We knew Davor would try to use constantium to block Oculus' mind. We knew I wouldn't be affected by it."

"Why are you working together? I thought you'd be working alone."

"I'll let Oculus explain. Here he comes now."

Neil appeared from the opposite direction to which Davor had just taken. Mystique nodded to him, the barest of greetings, then hurried in pursuit of the researcher.

"Oculus?" said Pyro uncertainly. "Are you really you this time? Or has Mystique had a child and trained her to use the same power?"

"No, I'm me."

"And can I trust you? All that stuff that you – that Mystique – just said? About World War III and the UN vote? What was that all about?"

"Desperate measures were called for. I had to attract Davor's attention and force him to react to me. I had to pose a threat so huge and so immediate that he would have no choice but to face me directly."

"So it was all a lie? A deception? You're not really trying to using your psychic control over people?"

"It wasn't a total lie. I was seriously considering it. But I think my better judgement convinced me otherwise."

"Well, I'm sure glad to hear that," Pyro said sarcastically. "But I still don't get what Mag – Rosiçky – is trying to do. What's all his deception in aid of? Why's he posing as Magneto?"

"I don't know that yet," Oculus admitted. "Hopefully we can find something at the ocean labs."

"That's where my daughter is, and her friends."

"I know. If I'm not mistaken, that's where Davor is also heading."

Pyro's eyes widened, "What! Then why the hell are we just standing here? We've gotta stop him! We've gotta intercept him before he can get anywhere near my daughter!"

"I don't think he will get that far."

"You mean – Cyclops and the others will stop him, huh?"

"Um…I'm afraid not. This is going to take some explaining. I'm still trying to work out what powers my father has, but it's clear he has some form of mental domination."

"Telepathy?"

"No, I think it's slightly different from that. It seems clear that he met up with you and the rest of the X-Men and brought you here with one intention in mind: controlling you and using you to destroy me, before I could unmask him."

"But they're right outside! If he goes out there, are you saying they'll be under his control?"

"No, they won't. Chloe's dealt with that problem. She'll be trying to hunt him down."

"Won't he try to kill her?"

"I expect so, but she can look after herself. There is a zoo close to here, and she has doubtlessly paid it a visit by now."

"I see. That's why you kept him talking just now? But what if he tries to control her mind?"

"It's a risk. But I don't think his power – whatever it is – will work on animals, so he'll probably try to stay away from her."

"But if he gets to the jet, he'll be able to fly straight to the ocean labs! We couldn't possibly out-run him!"

"Don't worry about the jet. He can't use it. I had it put out of commission."

"Oh. You thought of everything, huh?"

"I hope so. We can use it ourselves, if we hurry. Let's go."

"He'll be coming out in a moment. You'll smell him before you see him."

A low growl was the only response. Chloe Rosiçky patted the neck of the enormous Siberian tiger that stood protectively in front of her. It had been the work of a few minutes to run through the deserted streets to the zoo, and free the animal. Neil had warned her not to get close to her father-in-law. The tiger would be safe from his powers of persuasion, and it should be able to knock him out. Killing Davor was an option, but it wasn't one either of them wanted to take. For one thing, they didn't believe in killing. For another thing, they still had to make sure their children were safe. Davor might well be the only person who knew where Annie and Gary were.

The tiger stirred, sniffing at the air, and nudged its head against Chloe to grab her attention.

"What is it? Can you smell him?"

She listened to the series of grunts and growls that the creature gave by way of reply, and instinctively knew what it meant.

"OK. Go."

The tiger sprang away, bounding across the open ground towards the door where she expected Davor Rosiçky to come running. Chloe stood in the shadow of the building across the street and watched its progress. A sound, just on the periphery of her hearing, caught her attention. It had come from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. It was him! He was there! Davor was advancing towards her, and she had no idea what sort of powers he might be about to attack her with.

"Over here! Help me!" she yelled to the tiger.

The beast turned, surprised, but nevertheless hurried back over the street towards her. It looked at her almost quizzically, as if to ask what it should do next.

"Attack him! Knock him out!" she cried, pointing at Davor. "There, he's right there!"

But the tiger didn't move.

Mystique watched from the shadows, her eyebrows knotted in confusion. What had gotten Gaia so worried? She was obviously reacting to something, but Mystique couldn't see anything there. The tiger Gaia had summoned seemed equally confused, unable to tell what it was the woman wanted.

Mystique frowned. Where was Davor, Oculus' father? She'd been tracking him through the interior of 10 Downing Street, and she couldn't explain how she had suddenly lost him. There probably wasn't anyone in the world who was a better tracker than she. Where had he disappeared to? Did he have some power of invisibility? No. That couldn't be it. Even an invisible person would leave traces that could be followed by one who had sufficient knowledge and experience. She thought about calling to Oculus and asking him to do a telepathic sweep of the area. But no…that wasn't necessary. She had no particular desire to admit failure to someone she didn't particularly enjoy working with. He was an X-Man, or had been once, maybe still was. She was only allied with him just now through sheer necessity.

When she had first discovered the man who was masquerading as Magneto, she had decided to pursue the matter alone. She'd followed him and watched him, every opportunity she got, determined to find out whatever she could about what he was doing, and why he was stealing the identity of her mentor and idol. She'd spied on the X-Men too, to see if they knew anything about it. But they turned out to be just as baffled as she was. To her disgust she'd found that Pyro had, as she'd expected, meekly surrendered to the Brotherhood's enemies, and joined their ranks. So furious was she, that she'd seriously considered cutting off all links with him and pretending he had never existed. However, she was more concerned with solving the mystery of the faux Magneto, so she put Pyro on the back burner for the foreseeable future. She had to find out who this man was, and she knew the X-Men were following the same lines.

However, perhaps unsurprisingly, the X-Men had assumed that the man really was Magneto. Original thought and the ability to see deception clearly weren't among their most prominent skills. Frustrated at their stupidity, Mystique had decided she ought to clue them in. So she had set up a meeting with Gemini, and Pyro, and asked them to pass on the truth. She knew Magneto was dead. She'd been there. Whether they had passed on the message, and whether they'd been believed, she didn't know. She wasn't prepared to go to any more trouble to inform those who were still her enemies.

She couldn't be sure exactly when the realisation had finally struck. She must have been following the impostor for some weeks, when she realised he reminded her of somebody. Mystique could tell a lot about a person from their posture, poise and mannerisms. It had taken some time, but she had come to be convinced that the impostor was related to somebody she had once known. Many of these things were genetic, so she assumed the man was either the father, brother or son of one of her previous enemies or associates. She had gone back to the X-Men's school and watched them for a further period of time, guessing that it had to be one of them who was the charlatan's relative.

Immediately she had spotted the same posture and the same mannerisms in the boy Gladiator and the girl Crusader. Spying on them while avoiding their psychic powers hadn't been easy, but she reached her conclusion soon enough: the impostor posing as Magneto was somehow related to the Rosiçky family. Oculus, the teens' father, spent little time outside the mansion, but she managed to get a close look at him on one or two occasions, and she spotted the same characteristics. That confirmed her suspicions beyond all doubt, but it didn't really answer any of her questions. She wasn't aware of any relatives that Oculus had. As far as she knew, he'd been an only child, and his antecedents were all dead.

It was then that Mystique made the difficult decision. She decided she had to speak to Oculus. It was the only way to find out about his family. She didn't know what the impostor was planning to do, but whatever it was seemed to be picking up speed, and she knew she had to act fast before he did something regrettable and Magneto's name was forever tarnished. She'd contacted Neil Rosiçky, and the two of them had met for the first time in almost twenty years. Within minutes they had reached the conclusion: the impostor was Neil's father, the corrupted genius Davor Rosiçky. Not that this made any sense. It only added to their list of questions. Davor was dead. Neil had killed him personally, using his mind powers to fling the man into the whirring blades of a helicopter. There was no way he could have survived, and yet he had. As hard as they tried to make sense of it, no explanations were forthcoming. It made no sense, but they couldn't deny the evidence. They'd decided the only option was to move against Davor, and hope that they could somehow find out the answers they needed. Mystique had agreed to pose as Neil, to draw Davor's attention, while Neil tried to probe his father's mind a safe distance from the constantium and its telepathic inhibiting. But Davor had run, and she wasn't sure what Neil might have learned…

She continued to watch Gaia up ahead, fighting against an enemy Mystique couldn't see. Maybe he was invisible. Or maybe he was a teleporter or a levitator…that would explain why he wasn't leaving any tracks. Oculus had also surmised that Davor must have some form of mental manipulation…that he must have used on the X-Men to bring them here. Why else would they have so readily co-operated with a man they thought was Magneto?

There he was! She could see him now. Davor, crouching in the shadows, was making his way around the position where Gaia and the very confused and frustrated tiger were still battling thin air. Mystique tried to make sense of it. Obviously Davor was interfering with Gaia's mind in some way, making her think he was one place when he was another. Strange though…as far as Mystique knew, Gaia was fully trained by Oculus to repel psychic control. Perhaps she had been taken by surprise…whatever, it didn't really matter. Mystique rose, and prepared to hurry after the fleeing impostor.

So intent on her prey was she, that she was taken completely by surprise when a hand grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her, and shoved her up against the wall.

"Well, well, isn't this place just full of surprises," Wolverine snarled into her ear.

"Hey," said Atlas, shaking Vertigo. "Something's happening."

Vertigo, who had idly been surveying a not unattractive female dock worker, looked over.

"The submarine," Atlas pointed.

The two boys had found a suitable vantage point at the ocean lab's harbour, where they could hide and survey the area where the submarine was berthed. They knew it had to be integral to Magneto's plan. It was smaller than they might have expected, certainly not large enough to carry a full crew or a full weapons complement. What was Magneto planning to use it for? Atlas had suggested it might be some kind of personal escape vessel, in case everything went wrong and he needed to flee. Vertigo had shrugged noncommittally.

The submarine was moving now, free from its moorings, moving out towards the sea. As they watched, it began to submerge, and promptly disappeared beneath the surface.

"I don't get it," said Atlas. "Who's navigating that thing? I didn't see anyone get on board, did you?"

"No. I guess Magneto can control it remotely."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, it's gone. What do we do now?

"We should find Cassie and Gemini, and see if they need our help. Why didn't you pick up one of the communicators before we split up?"

"There only were two," Atlas said defensively. "Helios' and Aqua's."

"What a drag. OK, let's go."

"But I don't understand!" Gemini was saying. "Who is Davor Rosiçky?"

"I – I told you," said Aqua. "He was a researcher who worked with Stryker and Van Gaarde and M – Magneto back before we were born."

"Yeah, I know that. But who is he?"

Cassandra frowned, "Rosiçky…that's Crusader's human surname, isn't it? He must be related to her – right?"

Dominic shrugged, "I've never heard his name before. As far as I know, Annie and Gary have no relatives other than Neil and Chloe. Marina, did Gary ever mention the name to you before?"

"N – no."

"How did Rosiçky die?" Gemini asked.

"Um…it – it didn't say. It didn't say anything about him at all, really, just that he – that he died years ago, at the same time as Stryker."

"So maybe he's not important. Maybe he's just a guy Magneto used for his own ends."

"I think we should get back to the computer room," said Dominic. "Find out more about this guy. I've been saying all along there's much more to this than meets the eye. We're still only scratching the surface."

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we stay here and try to work out how this guy died, the one who attacked you?"

"I don't think we should stay here. Something tells me it isn't safe."

Suddenly Cassandra gasped. She stumbled, lost her balance, and Dominic reacted quickly to catch her in his arms. Shaking and trembling, her eyes wide and her breathing ragged, she clutched him while she tried to regain her footing.

"What is it?" Gemini asked her, concern in her voice.

"I just had a fore-flash!"

"What was it? What's going to happen?"

Cassandra looked at her friend, and gasped, "We're gonna die."