It took me bit more than usual to update due to problems with the system, sorry...the same old story...nevertheless, hope you still like the story and soon we will have some battle scenes and Scott will face a great challenge. Thanks for the reviews!
13.
Magneto knew her daugther was powerful but had no idea of the extent of her gift and the brief glimpse she had offered all of them that night has left him speechless, he had to develop a plan soon, she wouldn´t stay with him forever unless he could find a way of turning her into a real acolyte. He had his hopes in Scott, Magneto thought he could be useful in keeping Wanda happy and entertained while he made some decisions but apparently Xavier´s golden boy couldn´t do a simple rhing right. Wanda looked crestfallen and it seemed to be all due to Scott.
-"I could kill him and impersonate Cyclops for a while"- Mystique offered
-"A tempting idea, my dear, but we will leave desperate measures for the end. Right now I have other things in mind for my children"- Magneto answered her.
The cave was a secret hideout, only the members of the Brotherhood knew about it. John was sick and tired of Scott and the twins and went out for a walk and some fresh air. Magneto seemed to have lost confidence in him and only talked with Mystique about the plan, he was far more interested in that stupid good-for-nothing Scott or in the insufferable Pietro. Wanda was nice, but she too wasn´t smart enough to treat him as he should be treated. He was Pyro, one of the worst mutant terrorist on Earth, he had been fighting in Alcatraz, the man next the leader. He flicked his lighter and ligthed a small torch to illuminate the path he was using. It had been strange to be back in the school grounds, he hated to admit it but he missed some things from that place, like the comfort of his bed and the midnight ice-cream contests with Bobby and Piotr, and figthing for the remote control with the younger students. He thought about the Cuckoos, those girls were gorgeous, they have never paid any attention to him but at least they have never paid attention to any of the guys of the school. John was homesick, which was funny as he had no home but deep inside he still considered the school his home. He tried to stop feeling like that when he heard a noise, someone was coming his direction, he could hear the distinctive rustle of leaves and how some branches were being cracked.
-"Not a nice place to walk in the middle of the night, my friend, a piece of advice, show your face before I burn it"- John played with the flame in his hand.
-"It is me"- A man with a greyish skin colour appeared from the left, he was bleeding and almost collapsed to the floor-" Magneto, I have to see Magneto, they are killing us brother, killing mutants as a game"
John looked at him with a misture of repulsion and amazement. He should bring Magneto the news. Finally, some action.
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Jean walked on the garden at dawn and it made feel fresh and clean. She looked enraptured at the leaves on the trees, the flowers, the grass growing and tickling her toes. It was nice to feel alive. Glimpses of the last night came to her now and then. She savoured them as a treasure, a moment of happiness in the middle of the chaos and pain she had felt lately. She knew that it was not sure that such moment would repeat itself soon, she doubted that it could happen again at all. Their lives were too complicated and death was always waiting for themwith each turn of the road, this time it could be his or maybe she would die again, it was hard to make plans in such conditions. But she had that moment, that precious part of her life to protect her from the suffering she knew she would feel. She walked back to the house, she was starting to feel hungry.
Ororo watched her walking around the flower beds as a fairy from a dream. She had missed her friend but was not ready to love her as she used to. Fear of losing her again and to be forced to kill her make her reject the possibility of being friends as they used to be in the past. She saw her walking back to the kitchen and prepared some more toast.
-"Hello"- Jean was surprised to find Storm in the kitchen
-"How do you feel? Are you ready to use Cerebro?"- Storm pass her a plate with toast
-"Thanks"- She eat a bit-"I am sure I will be able to locate Scott, I could find him with my eyes closed, that is not what is worrying me, but….the power that Cerebro could unleash is…well, let´s say I am no fan of Phoenix either"
-"Good to hear that"- Storm offered her a glass of milk
-" Lot of things have changed since I ….died"- Jean said-"I like your hair, by the way"
-"Thanks"- Storm sat down-"Yes, many things have changed, we have new students, Hank is a great politician, Logan has became a teacher and …..Jean, I´ve missed you"
-"I will need youif things get wild, with me, I mean. I know that it was hard for Logan to kill me, I felt his pain when I looked into his mind, I don´t want to make him go through that again. I know its is a horrible thing to ask a friend, but I will need you if I become dangerous again. Ororo, I don´t wantto kill anyone. I don´t want to be her, the power it brings is amazing, tempting but I cannot bear the consequences"
-"I understand"- Storm prayed in silence that she would not have to face the challenge of killing a friend.
Scott tried to talk to Wanda but Pietro was tending to her, the failure of the hex had left her exhausted and angry. Scott saw that John was bringing an unknown mutant to Magneto´s chamber and wondered what was going on. He moved towards them hoping that he would be allowed to the conversation. John saw him and light up his hand to warn him not to continue, but Magneto said that it was okay.
-"John, save your energies, lately you have quarreling with the other kids too much. Let´s see what he has to tell us"-Magneto said, he was tired and the dawn was breaking.-"Do I know you? Your face is somewhat familiar."
-"I fought by your side in Alcatraz"- the mutant said proud of that moment
-"If you say so"- Magneto wasn´t impressed, inside he was thinking that this must have been another of the pawns he had at that time.-"Before we start, Mystique, Where is my dear daughter? Is someone making sure she won´t leave us all powerless again?"
-"Pietro is with her"- Scott answered
-"Okay then, what are the news you have brought me?"- Magneto asked the mutant
-"The government is using mutants as guinea pigs for their experiments"- The man told them-"They have killed dozens of us already, I escaped but I was shot and I still have the bullets on my back"
-"Humans have been playing the role of mad scientists with our superior kind for far too long, my friend, but I thought the Weapon X project
was closed since Striker is already dead."-Magneto said walking towards Scott-"You do remember Striker, Don´t you Scott? He was the man that gave claws to your dear Wolverine"
-"How could I forget him?"- Scott clenched his fists. The day Striker died he lost Jean. It was a day he could never forget.
-"There was no Striker there, sir, but a man called Worthington and some scientists and militar forces"- The mutant explained-"they were using us to test those machines"
-" Worthington?"-Magneto´s interest increased-"What machines?"
-"Huge robots, they were programmed to attack only people with the X gen activated"- the mutant explained
-"Sentinels"- Scott said
-"So now their precious sentinels only attack mutants, interesting. Are they working?"- Magneto asked
-"So far they were a bit confused and killed some humans too but on the last tests the program seemed to be working"-The mutant explained.-"I am in great pain, I need medical help"
-"Yes, yes, we will see to that in a minute but before anything else we need to know where they are doing these tests"- Magneto came closer to the mutant-"Can you guide us?"
-"I am too tired"- The mutant answered-"But if you help me I could draw you a map with explanations about how to get there"
-"Great, do that. Mystique will help you draw that map and after you have done it she will make sure that you feel no more pain"- Magneto smiled pleased at Mystique who grinned back.
Scott was serious and worried. He had to contact the school as soon as possible, before that he needed more information but it was going to be difficult to find a way to send that information to the X-men, he wished he still had a telepathic link with someone but he knew that it was impossible since Jean was dead.
Wanda looked at him from the other room and Scott´s heart stop for a brief second. Magneto was planning an attack and she was his best weapon, she might not be interested in his superiority speech but Magneto would use her, whether she wanted to cooperate or not, and Scott knew he would be forced to stop her. The idea made him sick. Maybe it was becauase she knew this thatshe had refused to get more involved with him, in order to make things a little bit easier for them. Scott was certainly not in love but he cared for her and the future was not looking promising in any respect.
