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Chapter Thirty-one / Twenty-one:
Magneto leaned back against the couch, getting comfortable, as he pressed play on the remote control and started the movie. He had no idea what he was in for as the red letters 'Savage Vendetta' blinked across the screen and music began to play. The movie's opening scene panned through a lush forest.
'Are we in the Savage Lands already?' Magneto asked himself as the scene played. 'No, not the right type of foliage. Must be South America,' he reasoned before text appeared at the bottom of the scene, the same red font as the title, which read 'one-hundred and fifty-five miles south of Rio De Janerio, Nineteen-Sixty-Five'. 'I wonder if they'll start with Klaus Schmidt or Hans Richter,' he thought as he saw a silhouette of a man flash against the side of a tree before the shot panned up to see a military base.
Magneto's eyes widened for a moment as he saw the flag that was hanging off the side of the base, proudly displaying the swastika. Before he could stop himself, he found himself laughing at the absurdity of it. He glanced next to him as he realized Rogue was laughing herself. Her gaze met his, a smirk coming to her face. She leaned towards him, her face close to his ear.
"Buckle up, sugar," she whispered, as he noted annoyed sighs coming from some of the students sitting in front of them on the mattresses. "There's gonna be a lot of that," she smirked. He let out another chuckle before turning back to look at the screen.
"What's so humorous?" Hank whispered as Cannonball let out a soft groan.
"The Nazis were hiding," he explained in a hushed tone, as he leaned closer to the man on his right. "Attempting to disguise their hidouts as regular military bases. They never would have so blatantly exposed themselves to anyone who just happened upon their location," he clarified. Hank let out an appreciative noise as he nodded his head.
Magneto turned his full attention back to the screen as he watched the reveal of the protagonist and found himself letting out a loud laugh at the sight of him. He was a young man, early twenties, black hair, and blue eyes. Remarkability similar to him in build and looks at that age. But most notable of all.
"Why am I wearing a tuxedo?" Magneto asked incredulously, to take back to remember to whisper.
"What were you expecting? A bright purple jump-suit?" she whispered, a knowing smirk on her face.
"It was extremely comfortable and far more practical than what he's wearing," he retorted as Rogue laughed. "Of all the attire they could have selected," he said unimpressed.
"Are you guys gonna talk through the whole movie?" Bobby asked annoyed.
"Talk about rude," Magma added.
"No," Rogue sighed as she looked over at Jean Grey, as the movie paused itself. He turned to see Jean give Rogue a nod. "Hold on," Rogue said as she stood up.
"Now what?" Wanda asked aggravated as Rogue walked around the room to where Cyclops and Jean Grey were sitting. He watched her take off her glove as Jean Grey turned to look at her. Their fingers touched briefly.
"Thanks, Jean," Rogue said before she started to make her way back, returning her glove to her hand.
"Yes, thank you, Jean," Bobby said annoyed.
"Seriously," Toad added as Rogue returned to sit next to him.
"Sorry, everyone. We're done talking out loud," Rogue said to the room as the movie resumed. She glanced up at him. 'Max. I don't wanna read your mind without your permission but we were gonna have a riot on our hands if we didn't stop talking. Tap my shoulder if you want ta ask me something, okay?' she asked.
'Too tiresome,' Magneto responded, shaking his head. 'I'll simply tell you when you to stop reading my mind,' he suggested.
'Are you sure?' she asked.
'Why wouldn't I be?' he asked with a raised eyebrow.
'We had a fight about telepathy like an hour ago,' she pointed out.
'We argued about you altering my mind without my knowledge or consent. This is different, you have my permission,' he said.
'As long as you're sure,' she said.
'I am,' he thought strongly before turning his attention back to the screen. He saw his film counterpart stalking his way through the Nazi base, avoiding any encounters. He noticed he didn't have any weapons on him. He was, however, picking up loaded magazines and stuffing it into a black duffel bag that was over his shoulder, which Magneto hadn't noticed until now. The actor was doing a well enough job, but his range of movement was restricted by the suit. 'It makes no sense,' he commented.
'It's cause of James Bond,' Rogue replied. 'That's the demographic they were going for. They were trying to bring in all of those fans to watch this movie too,' she explained.
'I see,' he huffed. 'This isn't the first time you've referenced him. Are you a fan of those movies as well?' he asked.
'They're okay. I've seen 'em all but I like this one more,' she answered.
'Why is that?' he asked, glancing down at her again. She had a soft smile on her face.
''Cause it's about you,' she replied immediately. After a moment her eyes widened and her face blushed. He couldn't help but smirk. Without turning her head, she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. 'Max, could you maybe watch the movie? People are gonna notice you staring at me,' she said.
'My apologizes,' he responded before turning back to the screen. His film counterpart was stuffing yet another magazine into the duffel bag, along with a few boxes of ammunition, while hiding under a table in front of a couple of Nazi guards. He supposed this was the movie's attempt at suspense.
'What on earth am I doing?' he asked confused. He heard Rogue let out another chuckle next to him but refrained himself from looking down at her again.
'Wait for it,' she told him.
'Wait for what?' he asked.
"Sergeant," said one of the Nazi officers with a thick fake German accent. "The ammo in the west quadrant of the base has been moved. Lieutenant Richter wants to know why you gave the order," he said. Magneto let out an amused huff.
'They didn't change his name?' he asked curiosity
'He's dead. Not like he can complain about it,' Rogue replied. Magneto let out another amused huff at that.
'I still don't understand what my counterpart's doing,' he said.
"I didn't give the order," the Sergeant exclaimed.
'How'd you take down this base for real?' she asked him. He raised an eyebrow, knowing full well she already knew the answer to her question.
"We have an intruder," the Sergeant shouted. "Search the base," he ordered.
'Like any other, I walked up to the front of the base, defected their attacks and deprived them of their ammunition,' he felt his eyes widen as he watched his counterpart stuff yet more ammo into the bag. His counterpart sneaked behind one of the officers and took the gun out from the Nazi's holster, replacing it with a gun, his best guess unloaded, from the black duffel bag.
'And what's Agent M been doing for the last five minutes?' she asked, somehow hearing the smile in her tone through telepathy.
'You must be joking?' he asked as he watched his counterpart make his way back towards the front of the entrance of the base.
'Wait for it,' she said again as Agent M stashed the duffel bag into a garbage bin before continuing. His counterpart had worked his way around the interior of the base toward the entrance, where he encountered the first set of guards.
"There he is, the intruder," the guard exclaimed as both men pointed their guns at Agent M. "We have you now," he said.
"Is that a fact?" Agent M asked with a smile, clearly unfazed at having their weapons pointed at him, he didn't bother to adjust his stance.
"Who are you?" asked the first Nazi.
"Not your concern," his counterpart replied.
"I will tell you. He is a dead man," the second Nazi answered as he walked up to Agent M a held the gun to his forehead.
"Wait," the Sergeant yelled from down the hall. "The Lieutenant wants to meet this reckless man before we send him to his maker," he called out.
"And I would very much like to meet him," Agent M said.
"Don't like that smile, too cold by half," the first Nazi said, as the second Nazi's composure slipped, the gun shaking in his hands.
"Why are you smiling?" the second Nazi yelled. Agent M only laughed in response. "Orders or not, I am shooting this swine," he said.
"Wait," the Sergeant yelled again as he and the two guards with him made it to the front of the base. The second Nazi pulled the trigger and nothing happened.
"You fools," Agent M exclaimed as he ripped the gun out of the Nazi's hand and discarded it by throwing it behind him. "Your weapons are useless without bullets and I the Master of Stealth have taken them all."
Magneto found himself letting out a loud laugh at that, he heard Rogue and Pietro doing the same. His son turned around to look at him and he gave Pietro an appreciative nod before he turned back towards the screen. Agent M was now taking down each assailant with eased with an assortment of martial arts.
'Master of Stealth,' he repeated in his mind, shaking his head at the line as Agent M continued to make his way through the base, each Nazi guard surprised to find their guns robbed of its ammo.
'You call yourself the Master of Magnetism every chance you get. They had to adapt it somehow,' Rogue pointed out
'Indeed,' he replied his laughter finally dying down. Rogue let out a short laugh at that as he turned his attention back to the screen. Agent M had made his way into an office. There was a man sitting behind a desk.
"Ah," Agent M started to say, "Lieutenant Hans Richter, Oberstrumbanfuhrer," he said as the man stood, pointing his gun at him. "I've searched for you for some time, Nazi," he said as he moved towards the desk.
"Not a step closer or I'll shoot," Lieutenant Richter warned.
"Will you now?" he asked as he defied the order. "Have you heard a single shot fired since I've arrived? No, you have not," he said walking up to the man. "Your attendance was truly missed at the Nuremberg trails. I'm here to remedy that omission," he said.
"Never," Richter yelled as he pulled the trigger to no avail. Richter's eyes widened as he pulled the trigger multiple times.
"I took your bullet's first, Richter," Agent M said coldly as the Nazi threw his gun at him. Magneto found himself laughing again as Agent M easily dodged the weapon.
'Max, try not to laugh at the violence, okay?' Rogue asked him.
'I wasn't,' he said.
"Stay away," Richter called out as back away from Agent M and tripped over his own feet falling to the floor.
'Yet, but you were about to,' Rogue pointed out.
'Was I?' he asked with interest.
'You were,' she insisted. 'Max, I get it. We both know your malice towards them is justified. Just try to hide your murder eyes, alright?' she asked.
'Really? Murder eyes?' he asked skeptically, unable to keep himself from looking down at her.
'Yeah, that look you get when someone stops being a person and they become prey,' she told him. He looked past her moment as he considered her statement. 'You're gonna creep people out,' she said. She was probably right. He gave her a quick nod before turning back to the screen.
"How the mighty have fallen," Agent M remarked as he walked up to the man.
"I was a soldier," Richter called out as he tried to stand.
"Not that old ditty," Agent M protested dryly as he kicked Richter back to the floor. Magneto let out a snort at that, unable to help himself. He felt Rogue looking at him again, out of the corner of her eye.
'Apologizes,' he said again. 'I'll contain myself,' he told him.
'That's all I'm asking,' Rogue replied.
"I served my country during the war. I did my duty as best I could. I was only following orders," Richter yelled as he managed to get up and throw a punch at Agent M.
Magneto found his eyes narrowing, as anger swelled up in him, as he watched his counterpart fight the Nazi. Every single one of the Nazi's he hunted said precisely the same thing. All of them had the same tired excuse for genocide.
He felt Rogue elbow him in the side. He quickly closed his eyes as he ranked his hand through his hair.
'Perhaps, watching this in public wasn't the best course of action,' he commented as fought to compose himself and push down his ire.
'Wasn't my idea. I tried warning you at dinner but then you just admitted the movie was about you and I did what I had ta do,' she said dryly.
'Here I thought, I was protecting you,' he said.
'Max, sugar, I could've gotten you kicked out of the institute the night you moved in. I've been protecting you for weeks,' she pointed out. He opened his eyes as he let out a soft sigh.
'I suppose that true,' he commented. 'Thank you,' he said, glancing down at her out of the corner of his eye. He watched her lips form into a smirk.
'Just returning the favor,' she replied. He let out an amused huff at that before turning back to the screen. It seemed Agent M had gained the upper hand, Richter once again on the ground, now with a black eye for his trouble. He felt Charles staring at him and tried his best to ignore his friend, instead of focusing on the movie.
"What now? Will you kill me?" Richter asked.
"I'm merely the hunter, not the judge. That jubilant task falls to Israel's courts," Agent M informed the Nazi as he leaned down in front of him.
"You presume a German solider will receive a fair trial from Jews," he yelled.
"Today thus far, a Jew has spared your life," Agent M retorted. Magneto watched his children make eye contact from across the room. "You speak of fair treatment? The audacity of you Nazis. First, you outlawed us and drove us from our homes. My family went to Poland, as so many of us did. In terror, we fled as you greedily seized more land. You rounded us up in Warsaw, imprisoned us, limited our rations, and starved thousands of us to death per month."
"But no," Agent M said as he leaned down in front of Richter. "No, we weren't dying fast enough for you, were we, Oberstrumbanfuhrer?" he asked unbuckled his belt. "So, you sent your trains, with your false promises of food, work, and safety," he said as he unlooped his belt from his pants. "All you Nazis ever had to offer was death," he said as he held the belt, tightly in his hands. It shook in his hold, as though Agent M wasn't quite sure what he planned to do with the item. "Every person I have ever known or loved was murdered in your gas chambers," he screamed.
"Never again," Magneto said aloud, his voice hard, filled with conviction. He felt Rogue's hand on his arm. He moved his arm, to take her hand in his, welcoming her support. He didn't give a damn if anyone read into the gesture. He felt Charles's eyes on him and this time met his gaze. His friend's eyes were wet with sorrow. "Never again," he said again. Charles stared at him with a newfound understanding. He saw his friend's mouth open as though he wanted to speak with him, say something.
A scream, however, caught his attention and he turned back to the screen. Agent M's hand clung to the side of his head, he looked like he was in pain.
'My seizures,' he realized. 'They're referencing my seizures,' he repeated as he slipped his hand out of Rogue's and he reached for the remote. He saw Pietro turn back again to look at him concern on his face, as did Wanda, her expression mirrored her brother's.
Magneto considered his options for a moment as he stopped the movie. How much was he willing to divulge to the group? How much had the movie already revealed? He glanced at Rogue, who was wiping tears from her face, the look she gave him was one of compassion and understanding.
Perhaps, he wasn't giving Charles enough credit. Perhaps, he could share more of himself with those in this room. Even if they didn't fully understand it, at least, they might take the warning his past had to offer. He let the remote fall to his side again as he made up his mind.
"I apologize for yet another delay. However, I felt this scene warranted clarification," he said as everyone in the room turned to look at him. "For those, we do not know, I am a holocaust survivor," he started to say. Many eyes were widened with surprise, glances shared between the students, and a few hushed whispers before the room gave him their full attention. "This movie is- it's surprisingly accurate," he muttered to himself. He fought the urge to look to Rogue for answers, knowing this was not the time or place to seek them.
"I was born in Germany in nineteen-twenty-six," he continued. "My family stayed far longer than we should have as the Nazis rose to power. In nineteen-thirty-nine, we fled to Poland and were imprisoned within the Warsaw ghettos where living conditions were abysmal. We stayed in a single room, the rations we were provided were not enough to live on. My family only survived because I became a smuggler at the ripe age of thirteen," he recalled, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. "I risked my life every day, sneaking past the Nazis, for mere scraps of food to keep my mother soup pot from being empty, to keep us all from starving to death, as hundreds of our neighbors did every day," he said he hand clenching at the side. He took a moment to take a deep breath.
"In nineteen-forty-two, the Nazi's started to send their trains," he sneered. "Agent M summed it up rather well. I lost my entire family to the gas chambers," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Hank said as he glanced around the room. He's children looked stunned.
"That's horrible," Magma said, hugging herself.
"Why did they do that?" Multiple, the youngest in the room, asked.
"Hate," Magneto said bitterly. "They sought a scapegoat for their failings and found the Jew convenient. They slaughtered us, millions of us, for the crime of being born," he said as he felt Charles's staring at him, almost begging him not to give the speech that was on the tip of his tongue. "I won't go into a lengthy rant regarding my ideology. Now is neither the time nor the place, so you can stop giving me that look, Charles," he said pointedly.
"Magnus," Charles started to say, his tone almost apological. He held up his hand, dismissing the apology.
"I will say this," Magneto continued. "I'm certain the few similarities between Mutants and Jews are not lost on you all," he said as he saw the students share glances, a few whispers heard around the room. "The situation in Bayville has been going rather well, all things considered, and I've found myself optimistic about the future of mutant-human-relations," he said as he saw the look of relief on his friend's face and the hope on the X-Men's faces. The one person he truly wished to look at, Rogue, he avoided, in fear of giving Charles any cause to question the exchange.
"It's one of the reasons I accepted Charles' offer to teach here. It's why I've been encouraging you all to think of each other as classmates, instead of enemies. I sincerely hope that the completive environment remains stable and we're all able to live our lives in peace," he said. "However, if the situation turns and the similarities between Mutants and Jews grow too numerous, I will not stand by and allow what happened to the Jews, what happened to my family, to happen to all of you," he said strongly. "Never again," he repeated before sitting back against the couch. "That's all I'll say on the matter for now. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," he finished.
"Father?" Wanda asked.
"Yes?" he answered.
"Agent M was-" she started to say before cutting herself off.
"Yes?" he asked.
"The seizures," Pietro added.
"Ah, yes. For the longest time, I thought I was the only one. The only mutant. Charles, I'm sure you felt the same?" he asked.
"For years, old friend," Charles confirmed.
"As did I," Storm added.
"Yeah, same here," Wolverine said.
"We," Magneto continued, "didn't have teachers or this school as you all do. I had no choice but to learn how to use my abilities through trial and error and my errors- well, they were quite painful," he said as he found his hand rubbing against his temple as he so often used to while enduring the throbbing.
"Really," Nightcrawler asked.
"Wow," Shadow commented.
"For years, I suffered from seizures nearly every time I wielded magnetism," he explained. "I was lucky I didn't end up killing myself," he muttered.
"Father," Wanda said concerned. Magneto shook his head before turning back to address the room.
"It took a considerable amount of work to discover why it was happening and how to prevent it," Magneto continued. "You are, thankfully, not alone. Keep working and allow the collected wisdom of those in this room to aid you in your endeavor," he said. "Thank you for listening. I'll let us return to the movie now," he said. He gave everyone a moment to turn back towards the screen before resuming it.
Agent M was in pain and Lieutenant Richter sought to exploit the opportunity to escape. The fighting continued.
He took that moment to steal a glance at Rogue, finally feeling it was safe to do so. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her expression. She looked concerned and at the same time inquisitive, as though she was trying to ascertain something.
'Rogue, are you alright?' he asked, hoping she was still reading his mind, he hadn't told her to stop. He watched her blink for a moment, before looking up at him.
'I need to talk to you about something after the movie,' she told him, her tone somber.
'Oh?' he asked.
'I need to explain how an aspect of my powers works,' she said.
'Voluntary?' he asked, unable to keep the smirk from his face.
'It's important,' she said, her eyes narrowing.
'I'm only teasing, dear. I'd be happy to hear any explanation you're willing to give,' he said as he turned back towards the screen.
Agent M managed to push Richter back to the floor as he fought off the seizure and secured his hand with the belt to a radiator, as he had originally intended.
'I don't think you're gonna be too happy about this one,' she said dryly. He raised an eyebrow to that. 'We'll talk later. Or tomorrow. I'll let you decide,' she told him.
"You are in agony," Richter commented, drawing Magneto's attention back to the screen. He decided to push aside Rogue's warning for the moment. She intended to divulge details about her powers, which was more than enough for him.
Magneto watched as Agent M stood up and walked over to Richter's desk.
"This is too much for you," Richter added as Agent M sat down at the desk. "I will escape and when I do I will kill you, Herr Hunter" he taunted as Agent M pulled out a bottle of pills, his hand visibility shaking, as he opened the bottle. "Better to leave now." He poured two pills into his hand and dry swallowed them. "I will not follow you, I will not have my men follow you," he offered.
"Quiet, Nazi," Agent M bite back as he closed and returned the bottle to his jacket pocket. He held his hand to his head for a long moment before composing himself. He started to look through the desk's drawers. "Well, what have we here?" he asked as he pulled out a stack of files onto the desk. He leaned back in the chair, resting his feet on the desk as he combed thought the files. A red one caught his attention and he opened it.
"I wonder what's in Antarctica." Agent M said as he stared down at the captured Nazi. Richter was sweating. Agent M let out an amused huff before he continued to finger through the rest of the files. "With the information in these records, Herr Oberstrumbanfuhrer, I'll be able to stop Odessa, the underground spy and mercenary network run by and for your renegade fugitive Nazis, once and for all. Cause for celebration, eh?" he asked with a smirk.
"The Fourth Reich will rise," Richter exclaimed.
"Oh do, shut up," Agent M said as he picked up the phone, placed it on his lap. He pulled the receiver to his ear as he dialed a number. "Control. This is Agent M. I have a package for you. Lieutenant Hans Richter," he said before pausing, rubbing his temple, still in pain. "Yes, I'm aware it was unanticipated, so was my finding him. The files from Klaus Schmidt's office led me here," he said before there was another pause. "What you don't like surprises, control?" he asked as he pulled the red file toward him again. He pulled the front page out of the file, folded it, and pocketed it in his jacket. "Why should it matter which Nazi I find? They're all war criminals after all," he said before pausing. "No, I'm fine. I just have a slight headache," he commented.
As the scene faded to black, Magneto watched Rogue lean forward and pick up the teapot. She refreshed his cup, returned the teapot to the table.
'Trust me,' Rogue projected into his mind as she picked up the teacup. 'You're gonna need it,' she told him as she handed him the cup. He gave her an appreciative nod before focusing on the movie again.
And that's where I'll end things for today! Part one of Movie night complete! Part two coming soon (I've been working on the weekend lately. Work has been crazy!)
Little Red Dove: I'm sorry to say that chapters are going to take longer to come out now that work has picked up. I'm trying for bi-monthly updates now. I will say, downloading grammerly was the best decision I made since it speeds up the editing so much!
I was going for Wanda having mixed feelings about Rogue. I glad that translated onto the page as I intended! (This right here is why reveiws are so important!) I'm glad you appericated what Magneto said about being creepy. That's kind of a core difference between Professor X and Magneto, how they expect Mutants to carry themselves. :)
I am not going to comment on what you said about Mystique- time will tell who Rogue is afaird of :P
Ah another comic fan! I love it! Everything you said, I am in total agreement with! I haven't read the comic you're talking about with Magneto telling Rogue he's happy if she's happy. Which issue is it? I might pick it up.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'm going to go eat dinner. Please let me know your thoughts!
