Oh. You made it this far. From this point on, the story takes place just a few weeks after Ascension Part Two. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Thirteen years after the Juggernaut's attack, Professor Xavier's school flourished. Ororo Munroe, the "wild man" Logan and even the now ape-like Hank McCoy were now instructors at his school, called Storm, Wolverine and Beast. His first real students, Scott Summers and Jean Grey, had also joined the staff. Magneto had been partially right; Professor X was training his students for dangerous operations, but they were missions of peace and security. Xavier's X-Men were dispatched to help resolve any mutant-related incident across the country, sometimes across the world. The Hungan had unsuccessfully led Storm's tribe for three years before embarking on a decade-long search for her, which ended in his own defeat. Logan's own demons would periodically haunt the X-Men, though he had far from overcome them.
Magneto's own forces had also increased. He had a vast network of connections, giving him an array of underlings, even if his most loyal, Mystique, had since turned on him. Her last assignment was to pose as the principal of Bayville High- where Xavier's students attended classes as part of their training to blend in with society- to keep an eye on Xavier's students, as well as to recruit her own mutants from the emerging generation. She brought together the Brotherhood of Mutants, consisting of Lance Alvers, Fred Dukes, Todd Tolensky- respectively, Avalanche, Blob and Toad-, and even Magneto's own estranged son, Pietro Maximoff, who had developed the power of super speed.
Though Xavier's X-Men served him well, Magneto realized that his Brotherhood were more loyal to Mystique, who was in contact with them on a regular basis, as per Magneto's orders. On top of that, they weren't altogether competent. He created a new team, the Acolytes, which also included his son Pietro, who remained loyal but fearful. It was Magneto who forced mutants to reveal themselves; while on a mission in New York, the X-Men and the Brotherhood, betrayed by Pietro, faced a deadly mutant-hunting robot known as the Sentinel, which Magneto exposed to the public. The X-Men had no choice to defend themselves, and the public became aware that mutants lived among them. Just as Magneto predicted, their initial reaction was fear. Amid the paranoia, mutants came to affect public policy. Both the X-Men and the Brotherhood found it difficult to interact with others.
Magneto was ready to fight this war, but he found that Mystique, in her quest for vengeance against him, had recruited his daughter Wanda, rescuing her from the asylum. Following Mystique's disappearance, Wanda began a one-girl mission to find Magneto and make him pay for having locked her away. At first, Magneto wasn't particularly concerned, but he found that Wanda wasn't as easy to escape. He set a trap for her; Wanda thought she would confront and kill her father, but instead, Magneto abducted her, and forced his associate Mastermind to alter her memories. After being rescued, Wanda came to believe that Magneto had always been a loving father. Pietro, understanding his father's reasoning and equally fearful of Wanda's power, played along. Their housemate Toad was also in on the secret; but Pietro played on Toad's lust for Wanda and convinced him to keep his wide mouth shut.
Even after Wanda was neutralized, Magneto had another problem: Apocalypse. A new mutant- or rather, a very old mutant- threatened the world with his megalomaniacal plans. Magneto realized Apocalypse was a threat to both humans and mutants, but his ego wouldn't let him live with the idea of another mutant conqueror. He had to get rid of this potential rival. Magneto worked with Xavier and his X-Men to stop Apocalypse's release from his ancient prison, but failed.
With his ego bruised, Magneto became obsessed with finding and defeating Apocalypse. When the ancient mutant revealed himself, Magneto attacked him viciously, but it was useless. With a flick of his wrist, Apocalypse destroyed Magneto.
Well, not really. As it turned out, Magneto- along with Storm, Mystique and Professor Xavier, who were also presumed killed by Apocalypse- had been transported to Apocalypse's lair and brainwashed. The Four Horsemen would defend Apocalypse's outposts while their master prepared himself to cover the world in an energy field that would turn all humans into mutants.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the X-Men, the Brotherhood, and various allies of the two, as well as the secret government organization SHIELD, Apocalypse was defeated (though it was technically Rogue- Mystique's daughter- and Wolverine who had defeated Apocalypse himself). Pietro and Wanda helped their awakened father to his feet, despite all he had done to them. In that moment, for the first time in years, Magneto felt guilt and regret. This was the start of a new chapter for Magneto.
...But you already know all that.
The Apocalypse Crisis changed the public's view of mutants, both for better and for worse. Six-hundred Chinese citizens were killed when the Chinese government attempted to attack on of Apocalypse's domes in the Shaanxi province. When Apocalypse's 'Eye of Ages' was activated, the entire planet was covered in an energy field that affected the human population, activating latent mutants genes in the population. Though Apocalypse was stopped before this could be carried out, the energy field was designed to kill those whose bodies did not carry the X gene, effectively cleansing the population. Though the field was not active long enough to kill its intended number, nearly six million people across the planet were killed or seriously incapacitated. Though Apocalypse was defeated and less than one-percent of the world's population was affected, reactions to both Apocalypse and humanity's saviors were mixed.
On one hand, the X-Men were seen as heroes by many for having prevented what would have been the single greatest catastrophe in history. On the other hand, Apocalypse himself, as well as his horsemen, were seen as perfect examples of why mutants could not be trusted. Some thought that maybe the mutants had staged it all, and it wasn't an unpopular theory. In light of this, several things have changed.
Edward Kelly's advocacy for mutant control won him the mayoral election in Bayville.
After the Apocalypse Crisis, SHIELD became public knowledge, though like the CIA, most of the public has no real knowledge of the organization's history or form of operation. The public remained mostly unaware that SHIELD had existed since the 1960's, or that it had dealt with superhuman affairs since before Apocalypse arrived- they believed SHIELD was a recent creation, forced to reveal themselves early due to the sudden emergency. Still, SHIELD maintained its habit of secrecy, and any individuals affiliated with SHIELD tend to deny their involvement for security reasons. Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels and former SHIELD operative, was given a severely reduced sentence in exchange for his help in creating the new generation of mutant-hunting robots to fight Apocalypse.
With the increasing mutant population around the world, Professor Xavier had been contacted by parents around the world to accept their mutant children at his school. Professor Xavier publicly stated that his facilities were too small for such a massive amount of students. As a result, he now planned to expand and to create a second, larger campus. Already, public interest groups and private philanthropists were offering to help pay for this new campus, as well as protest groups... uh, protesting. Due to Xavier and the X-Men's continued presence in Bayville, the town attracted the attention of mutants fleeing persecution in their own cities. In addition, the X-Men's public image increased tourism in Bayville, and an economic boom forced Mayor Kelly to shelf his plans for mutant control and change his stance from "anti-mutant" to "tolerant but critical." He's got his eye on you, Charlie.
Bayville's population, while not totally accepting of mutants, see the X-Men as heroes and "a credit to their race." The Morlocks, still persecuted by the human population, have attempted more surface-visits, but have been met with continued violence and prejudice. This has only made them more cynical and more tightly-knit as a group. Morlock vigilante activities have increased, leading to greater paranoia against mutants.
But, what about the Brotherhood? Well, when have things ever been fun for them? Let's check in on them and laugh at their ironic positions in life.
--------------------
"FATHER!"
Rain poured against the pavement, showering the overgrown grass on the front lawn. The roof was splattered by it, produced a steady rhythm as if dozens of little people were dancing overhead. The sound had been soothing to those who slept under the roof, but now that they were all awake, they realized how loud and annoying it was. Worse, it seemed the house was shaking. The doors were opening and closing by themselves.
Lance jumped out of his bed and threw his door open, or tried to, but it slapped him back. He practically punched it and pushed through. As he stepped into the hall, a sudden and violent breeze rushed past him. Further down, Fred was trotting after Pietro, still rubbing his eyes but looking concerned, and Todd bounded over his shoulder, kicking off the wall and hopping away from the larger, slower teen.
Pietro ran into Wanda's room and was at her bedside before she could even register the door opening. Suddenly, everything returned to normal. Wanda sat up, grabbing her forehead with both hands and covered with a thin layer of sweat. She threw off her covers and revealed her red silk nightgown. Pietro took a notebook from her dresser and began to fan her with the speed of a hummingbird's wings. Moments later, Todd jumped in, followed by Lance and Fred.
"She alright? How is she? Is she hurt?" Todd asked frantically.
"It was just a bad dream," Pietro assured both Wanda and the others. "Are you okay now, sis?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Wanda said, out of breath. "It was just... it was a weird dream. You were in it..."
"Me?" Pietro asked incredulously. "What are you including me in your nightmares for?"
"I don't know. It was raining, and you were there, but... we were still kids. Father was there too, with a black car. Then these men took me, and I called out for you, but you and father didn't come for me. And then I woke up."
"Is that all?" Lance scoffed. "Some nightmare."
"Well it scared me. I don't know. I guess you had to have seen it yourself. It's fine now, guys." Wanda wiped some sweat on her forehead, and in a lower voice, added, "Thanks."
"Try to get some more sleep," Pietro reassured her. "If you need anything, you know where I am." Pietro closed the door behind him after the others had left. Lance and Fred both went straight back to their rooms and Todd was about to do the same, but Pietro stopped him. He pulled him aside, away from Wanda's door. "You better not get any ideas, Toad."
"Wha? What ideas?" Todd wondered.
"That wasn't a dream," Pietro explained. "That really happened. The day Magneto locked her up. Her memories might be coming back to her. We might not be able to do anything about it, but you need to be careful what you say around her now. Don't bring up anything that might make her remember her past. Got it?"
"It looks like she's rememberin' it on her own, I don't-"
"We'll stall it as long as we're able to. If she remembers, she'll go after Magneto, but first, she'll get rid of us. Do you understand? Good. Now get some sleep."
"Yeah," Todd muttered, imagining Wanda's wrath. "Sleep."
--------------------
Brotherhood Five
"The Invisible Cell"
King of the Worthless
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Act 1, Chapter 1- Perpetually Screwed
Life at the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House hadn't changed very much since the little thing with Apocalypse. In fact, nothing had changed. Big, simple Fred Dukes sat in the kitchen, fixing one of his usual sub sandwiches from whatever was available. Skinny, metrosexual Pietro Maximoff lounged in the living room, rapidly cycling through the broken television's fantastic selection of five channels (seven if you count the fuzzy ones). Slimy, sardonic Todd Tolensky hopped down the dilapidated stairway, snagging one of the flies gathering around a junk heap in the foyer. Introverted, temperamental Wanda Maximoff sat on her bed with her bedroom door closed, writing angsty poetry.
Rugged, conflicted Lance Alvers, meanwhile, waited on the front steps outside, talking on a mobile phone. It wasn't because Lance wanted special privacy; it was because the others had forced him to go outside because they were tired of overhearing his fascinating conversations.
"HOW COME YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO ACCUSE ME?! You gotta go? Bye, baby!"
As if anyone would doubt who Lance was talking to, it was of course Kitty Pryde. Since they'd gotten back together after Apocalypse's, uh, party, they'd steadily grown closer until the point where their conversations no longer made any sense to anyone but them. The Brotherhood had tolerated the relationship when the drama of being on opposite sides caused tension between Lance and Kitty, but now the real tension was missing. Their relationship had always been full of fights, arguments and threats, but now that all seemed irritating to the others, almost as if they argued for the sake of arguing.
"Y'know th' nice thing about that?" Todd remarked to Pietro as he looked out the window. Pietro only replied with a bored 'mmm.' Todd continued, "Lance and Kitty are in their own little world. Nobody else exists to them. So all this crap th' rest of us are dealin' with doesn't exist as far as they're concerned. Must be nice."
"Toad, if I ever end up with a woman who argues with me on the phone for two hours a day and considers it romantic, you have my permission to kill me."
"Heh, if you end up with a woman at all," Todd muttered.
"Hey, I heard that!" Pietro turned back to the television, but found that his show had been mysteriously replaced by static. "Argh. The reception on this thing's just getting worse. It's like we're living in an airfield. Hey, do we have enough saved up for a new TV yet?"
"Nah, you spent most of our savings on fuckin' tight pants."
"There's some commodities I just can't do without, Toad." Pietro ran up to the television set and banged on it. "Look at that! I can't even tell if that's a man or a woman!"
"Not like it matters."
"You know, I am getting very tired of your little innuendos." Pietro banged on the television set again. "Keep in mind who's in charge of this household, and who's job it is to make sure this team runs smoothly. Can anyone else do that the way I can? Who else is as capable? Lancy-poo? Blob? I think not. So you'd better hold that wicked tongue you've suddenly developed or you'll get it."
"I heard my name, what's going on?" Fred asked, wiping his mouth with his forearm.
"Aw, he's on one of his leader tangents again." Todd jumped over to the television set and slammed his head against it. The image fragments came together to reveal a man in his early 70's with light gray hair and small glasses, sitting at a desk. "Alright! It's gotta be a new mutant power of mine."
"...free from the threat of mutant supremacy," the old man droned on.
"Great, you fix the TV and all we have to watch is another anti-mutant PSA," Pietro complained.
"See? This is what I'm talkin' about," Toad said, jumped over to one of the chairs and standing with a foot on each armrest, almost as if using it as a soapbox. "We help save th' world from Apocalypse and look what we come home to? More paranoia. It's like everyone just ignored th' fact that this mega mutant was stopped BY mutants! They act like SHIELD did th' whole thing, and now that SHIELD's public, they're fuckin' heroes and we still can't even buy groceries without someone dissin' us! When's it our turn to be heroes?"
"When we join the X-Men," Pietro droned. "Why is it that the only mutants that got any publicity were those geeks? Yeah, one of theirs got Apocalypse, but c'mon, we took on Magneto. And we didn't lose a single member. By the end of it, the X-Men had, what, three team members left to fight? You know what I call that? I call it journalistic bias. We're not getting any attention because the X-Men have all the photogenic members and all we have is me. Did you know they offered Jean a Playboy shoot? Can you believe that?"
"We didn't even get a 'thank you,'" Fred added. "Hey, why'd she turn that down, anyway?"
"'Cuz she's a prude," Todd said. "Miss goody-goody's too good to show her goodies. You know, that ain't fair either. How come a geek like Summers gets to hit that and I gotta settle for my right hand?" Todd's comment was followed by silence. "Okay, yeah, I ain't a babe magnet, but Summers is a douchebag!"
"Know what I heard?" Pietro said. "Scott and Jean haven't even gotten that far yet. They're taking it slow. They're barely even holding hands in public."
"Don't you dorks have anything better to do than talk about other people's lives?" Wanda asked, leaning against the frame of the living room doorway. "Honestly, you're like a bunch of gossipy old women."
"And so her highness graces us with her presence," Pietro announced with a mock bow. "So, sis, what brings you out of your self-imposed isolation?"
"I'm going out," she replied, avoiding Pietro's eyes.
"Where to?" Pietro asked.
"Out. Is that a problem?" she said, now looking directly at him.
"I'd just like to know where you are," Pietro said. "I'm your brother, you know."
"I'm going to catch a bus to Boston and talk to Agatha Harkness," Wanda explained. Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she can tell me what those dreams mean."
"Dreams are dreams!" Pietro said quickly. "They're always weird and abstract. Agatha's probably just going to give you some weird interpretation about it. It's all Freudian anyway."
"Maybe, but I'll feel better once I've talked to her about it." Wanda was about to leave when something on the television caught her eye. She took the remote control from Pietro and turned up the volume on the television. They were in the middle of a point/counterpoint discussion, and one that Wanda was especially interested in.
"...not backed by any real evidence because you don't want to accept the idea that Magneto has reformed. He's spent the last month in counseling sessions with Professor Xavier, with his children, with-"
"That's not the point," the other debater countered. "The problem is- and I don't think you want to see this- the problem is that Magneto was a known terrorist. There is substantial documentation of-"
"Yes, yes, intent, but we've seen very little actual damage on Magneto's part, and he can't be held accountable for the incident in Mexi-"
"I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that 'mind control' pseodoscience. And there is more than enough proof that Magneto was planning something big before he was sidetracked, for whatever motive, by the Apocalypse crisis, or perhaps, he was in league with Apocalypse-"
"I haven't seen this. Even if this 'big plan' was real, it doesn't matter now because Magneto's not the same perso-"
"It appears we're out of time," the moderator said, "Thank you both for joining us. Tomorrow-" Wanda turned the television off. For several weeks, Magneto had been the subject of countless news stories following his sudden decision to join the staff of the Xavier Institute. Originally, this was nothing special, until reports of Magneto's terrorist past came to light (the Brotherhood suspected Mystique was behind that). Many felt a terrorist shouldn't be allowed to join the X-Men, nevermind that it was a private institution and who they hired wasn't anyone's business. Some even felt that the X-Men's acceptance of Magneto only proved that they themselves were mutant terrorists.
"It doesn't make any sense to me," Wanda fumed. "I know his past is a little sketchy, but why can't they give him a second chance?"
"Well, it's 'cuz-" Pietro quickly banged Toad on the head. "AAargh!"
"Keep your smartass comments to yourself, Toad," Pietro covered. He ran to Wanda and put his hand on her shoulder, almost startling her with his speed. "Don't worry about it. We know the truth, right? And that's what matters. C'mon, the X-Men have accepted him. It can't be long before the public does, too. Hey, this has been stressful on all of us. What do you guys say we go out and get a burger?"
"I... guess that sounds okay," Wanda agreed.
"Chester's!" Fred yelled, suddenly interested in the conversation. The others glared at him. "What? I haven't been there in weeks!"
--------------------
Magneto stood in the Danger Room control center before the lined-up New Mutants, as the were sometimes called, consisting of Berserker, Magma, Cannonball, Sunspot, Jubilee (who had been allowed back into the Institute), Multiple, and Colossus, an oddity among the New Mutants in that he was not only much older than the others, but much larger, nearly twice the height of young Multiple. Following the release of his family, Professor Xavier agreed to help maintain them, but Piotr Rasputin had insisted on supporting his family. They came to a compromise; Piotr Rasputin would be the first salaried member of the X-Men (not counting instructors), though there was little room for envy as all of the money he earned was sent straight to his family while he enjoyed free room and board at the Institute. Even though he had much experience thanks dubiously to Magneto, he still needed some time to adjust to his new team, so he was taking a crash course and sitting in on a few classes with the New Mutants. He, like the others, still had to get used to Magneto's presence, but Colossus was willing to deal with it. The same couldn't be said for everyone else- Wolverine had angrily left the mansion in protest, and the X-Men hadn't heard from him since.
Magneto walked before them, glancing down at them. Though he was missing his helmet, his grim face still provided considerable intimidation to his teenaged students. He inspected them, watching their posture, their reactions to him, even the amount of sweat on their forehead. At the end was Colossus, wearing the standard trainee uniform and looking straight ahead. Magneto moved until Colossus was forced to make eye contact with him.
"Have you had much training as an X-Man, Colossus?" Magneto asked.
"I have learned much," Colossus replied with a very formal tone.
"Have you been able to apply any past experience to this job?"
"I have not."
"Do you trust your team?"
"With my life."
"Do you trust your instructors?"
"Mostly."
"Do you expect me to give you any special treatment?" Magneto asked coldly.
"I do not."
"Good. I have no grudge against any of you, but neither do I have favorites, and I never will. I will reshape all of you into more fitting specimens. From this point on, you're mine." Magneto saw Multiple gulp from the corner of his eye. "Your first exercise will be a test of your abilities. Your mutant powers will aid you, but your wits and reflexes will be the deciding point. Not all of you will pass this test, but you will have other opportunities to prove yourselves. I'm sure your previous instructors have explained my methods to you. No doubt, you've been trained to defeat simulations of me. You'll know that I prefer to work with metal. The only instruments and equipment you will find in my exercises will be metal. You will not have the safety of plastic or rubber. I'm sure you're eager to see what you'll be up against. Behold."
The New Mutants looked out of the windows of the control room and saw several metal orbs floating around them.
"The game is catch." The New Mutants were puzzled. "You will team up with a partner and practice throwing the ball back and forth, but you can only use your powers. I see the group is uneven. Colossus, you will be paired with me. You have your assignment. Now, go and prove yourselves."
"Can we have fun?" Berserker asked audaciously.
"That's up to you," Magneto replied with a hint of a smile.
--------------------
"I can't wait until I'm 21," Todd announced after taking a sip of his soda at a local casual burger shop. The menu offered alcoholic beverages, but Todd hadn't managed to convince the staff that he was old enough, despite several attempts with several poorly-forged ID cards. Fred had a hamburger in each hand, sitting on the same side of the booth as Todd (who was actually perched on the table itself), while the Maximoff twins shared a basket of fries. They'd asked Lance to join them, but he said he had plans. Fred tossed a fry into the air and Todd snagged it with his whip-like tongue. "Being drunk is so cool."
"I'm sure it is," Wanda droned. "You have beer at home. What's so exciting about it?"
"Lance and Pietro won't let me have any."
"Because you're a mean drunk," Pietro said. He looked around and saw that more than a few restaurant patrons were looking their way. Some looked away when they realized he had been spotted. "We're gonna have to get used to this."
"Who cares what they think?" Wanda said. "They're all ignorant morons anyway." Todd stole a fry from her basket. "Do you always have to do that?!"
"Yeah."
"FREAK!" a teenager in a varsity letter jacket yelled from a both across the shop. He sat with two others, also dressed in jackets, as well as four pretty girls wearing skimpy clothing. Probably cheerleaders. Todd flicked his tongue in their direction. The head jock stood up and started walking towards them, followed by his two goons. "You got a problem with me, frogface?"
"Yeah, he does, and if you got a problem with him," Fred stood up, crossing his arms and revealing his full size. "Then I got a problem with you."
"We're not here to start anything," Wanda said to the jocks, motioning for Fred to sit down. "Just leave us alone. We don't want to hurt you." Fred remained on his feet, crossing his mammoth arms over his chest.
"Hear that, boys? She says she can hurt us! C'mon, girly, show us what you've got!"
"Oh, you're asking for it!" Just as Wanda stood up, the manager approached them. "Break it up," he said, standing between Wanda, Fred, and the jocks. "You kids, go back to your booth." The lead jock snorted, eyed the mutants for a moment, then left back to his table. The manager then turned to the Brotherhood. "I've been getting some complaints from my customers, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"For what?!" Pietro complained. "They were the ones who came to us!"
"They're not entirely comfortable having... uh... people of your talents around."
"Listen," Fred told him, cutting off Pietro before he could even say anything. "We paid for our food and we're minding our own business. If you didn't want us here, you shouldn't have let us in."
"I don't have any problem with you, but I'd like to avoid any trouble."
"We're not here to start trouble," Wanda said with a barely restrained tone of frustration.
"It's not you I'm worried about. It's everyone else." The four mutants looked around the shop and saw that several customers were giving them rude glances. Some again turned away quickly when the mutants looked back, but most were at least brave enough to keep their eyes fixed on the freaks.
"Let's go," Pietro said, standing up and leading his team out of the burger shop. Fred and Todd in particular gave the other customers venomous glares as they left.
They walked down the street in silence for several minutes before Fred suddenly punched a news rack, sending several newspapers flying in disarray. "Uh, temper tantrum, Blob?" Pietro asked.
"I'm just tired of that! We go somewhere to eat so we can get out of the house, we mind our own business, and they still won't leave us alone!"
"Whoa, calm down, Freddy," Todd said. "Ain't the first time, ain't the last time." He began to scoop up some of the quarters that spilled out.
"But I'm just so tired of it! You guys are right! We help save the world and nobody cares about us! Are we just gonna be trash for the rest of our lives?"
"Speaking of garbage," Wanda said, picking up a newspaper from the abused stand. There was an article on mutant bullying in high schools in one of the back sections. Wanda hadn't actually gone to high school, but she had gotten her GED after Apocalypse's hoe-down, which was more than could be said for the rest of the Brotherhood. "Can you believe this? They're not reporting on prejudice against mutants, they're reporting about mutant bullies."
"Journalistic bias," Pietro reminded her. "But let's be fair, we were in that business, too."
"Yeah," Fred lamented. "I guess what goes around comes around, huh? It's carmen."
"It's what?" Wanda asked, dumbfounded.
"Carmen. You know, like when you do something bad, and then something bad happens to you."
"That's karma," Wanda corrected him. "It gets worse. Two school districts in Texas have already banned mutants from attending classes. They're lobbying for a state-wide law against mutants in the classroom, and the worst part is that it's a popular idea. You know the irony of this? Father's changed his philosophy while his old one is being proven right."
--------------------
The New Mutants had all stopped their 'catch' exercise, which was rough with metal balls, but they agreed that it was more fun than they had expected from Magneto. Cannonball's hair was still standing on end thanks to an electrified ball from Berserker. Magma had managed to melt three balls before she was eliminated by a disorienting team-pass from Multiple. Sunspot and Jubilee did nothing of interest. Though the younger students were done, they watched in awe as the two most experience participants continued their own miniature duel.
Magneto caught a larger ball with a wave of his left hand and let it pass behind him, gaining momentum and appearing again on his right side and flying right into the hands of the steel-clad Colossus, who pulled back and hurled it like a shotput. The match had continued as such with each opponent throwing the ball with greater strength and speed. Magneto had even taken the molten metal from Magma's botched match and added it to their own ball, increasing its mass. The students didn't really know much about the history between the two men, but were amazed that both were able to spar so efficiently. The only way one could defeat the other was either by cheating or by having the match interrupted.
"Time for dinner, guys," Nightcrawler announced from the control room. The New Mutants left the Danger Room, chatting among themselves, but the match between Magneto and Colossus continued. Nightcrawler rolled his eyes and teleported down into the room, catching the metal ball as Magneto threw it and flying with it until Colossus caught him and set him back down. Nightcrawler was a little winded, but otherwise okay. At least, he thought so. "Ah... okay. The session is over," he said after a minute of catching his breath. "You can leave now."
"Yes," Colossus said. He walked to Magneto and held out his hand. In a very rigid, formal tone he said, "It was a good game. You were a worthy opponent."
"Yes, likewise," Magneto replied in an equally rigid tone, quickly shaking Colossus's hand. "We'll have to settle it one day."
"One day, we will settle it."
--------------------
Lance Alvers had the house to himself, and he didn't waste the opportunity. Kitty Pryde was over, and almost from the moment she arrived, they had spent the evening making out on the ratty couch.
Wait, wait, this is pretty fast, isn't it?
It was no secret that Lance and Kitty had grown much closer since Apocalype's shindig. While the Brotherhood had gone from teasing Lance to trying their hardest to ignore him when he was in "Pretty Kitty" mode, the X-Men had a more complex stance on the relationship: the officially tolerated it, but in reality, nobody felt that Lance deserved Kitty.
"Kitty, I need to know something," Lance said with Kitty on top of him. "Do you love me?"
"I..." Kitty wasn't sure if she wanted to use a word as strong as 'love.' But she replied, "I think so, Lance."
"Because I love you," Lance whispered to her. "And I'm not just saying that. When I'm with you... I feel whole. There's nothing else in the world, except you, me, and the beating of our hearts."
"Did you get that from a movie or a cereal box?" Kitty giggled.
"Maybe I'm not very poetic, but I'm sincere about it. You mean so much to me." Lance held the back of her head gently and closed his eyes as their lips met. She was soft, and smooth. Not like sand. Why would you even compare them? "I was thinking," Lance whispered. "I want you to know just how much I love you. I need you, Kitty."
"No. It's too soon," Kitty said, already understanding what he wanted. "I really like you, Lance. But I don't think it's time yet."
"I understand. I don't want to pressure you." But Lance's initial instinct had been just the opposite. Part of him wanted to throw her onto the ground and show her what she'd been missing, what he'd longed for since they began dating. He wouldn't do it against her will, of course, but he felt that maybe if he was more assertive, she'd agree. But he quickly came to his senses, and even felt a bit of guilt. "We can still make out, right?"
"Of course."
"No, that's not th' point," said the unmistakable voice of Todd Tolensky as he kicked the front door open. "I'm just sayin', it's a cheap sci-fi flick and that's all it is."
"But you're missing the point!" Wanda argued. "It's just thinly-disguised propaganda for a fake religion. On top of that, it wasn't even a good movie!" Wanda, Todd, Fred and Pietro noticed that they had interrupted Lance and Kitty's happy time. "Uh, hi."
"Hi, guys," Kitty said, blushing. "Uh, I should get going."
"I'll call you," Lance said to Kitty on her way out. She walked past the leering Brotherhood boys and phased out the door. "What the fuck, you guys?! You said you'd be out later!"
"Yeah, but we got kicked out of Chester's," Pietro explained, "So we walked home. We started talking about mutant prejudice and somehow the conversation evolved into discussing that John Travolta movie that none of us have actually seen."
"Kicked out?" Lance asked.
"Yeah, the owner got complaints about us, so we had to leave."
"Did Toad and Fred play burger frisbee again?"
"Nah. Mutant prejudice. Try to keep up, would you?"
"If they don't like us, well fuck them," Lance told him.
"Nevermind that, I'm curious as to how far you went with our feminine feline friend," Pietro said suggestively, shifting his eyebrows and leaning close to Lance.
"I didn't make any progress, if that's what you're saying," Lance said, pushing Pietro away. "I wasn't gonna pressure her. When she's ready, we'll do it."
"At least you have the maturity to do that," Wanda remarked. The others hadn't realized that she was still in the room. If they'd continued the conversation unchecked, she'd probably have started accusing them of objectifying women and then one or two of them would be hexed. "I don't get men. Why are most of you sex-crazed lunatics?"
"It's a biological thing," Todd answered. "See, your instincts tell us we gotta reproduce, and since th' female is th' one who does all th' hard work, she ain't gonna be so motivated to do it, so nature chooses th' male to-"
"Here he goes with his theories again!" Pietro yelled. "When did you become the resident nerd, anyway? Nevermind. I don't even care anymore. Only a virgin would give this lecture on biology."
"Yeah, I'm a virgin. I admit it. I ain't got some macho need to prove anythin' to anyone." Toad's gaze turned to Wanda, but she quickly said, "No. Don't say anything."
"Well that's a relief. Thought I was the only one," Fred sighed. "No offense though, buddy, but we kinda already figured that."
"With this face? I can have any woman I want!" Todd bragged, grinning with his yellow teeth for further effect.
"Well I think it's obvious that cherry is the preferred flavor in this household," Pietro scoffed. "I fixed my problem a long time ago."
"Was it a man or a woman?" Todd asked.
"Dammit, Toad-"
"I ain't jokin'. Was it a man or a woman?"
"That's a ridiculous question." Pietro looked at Lance and Fred, who weren't laughing either. Even Wanda was interested in his response. "I mean, what else would it be?"
"Stop dodging the question," Fred insisted.
"Well, what difference does it make?"
"You can fuck whoever you want," Wanda said, trying to sound indifferent. But even she could barely hide that she had also wanted to know the answer to this riddle. Despite being siblings, his sexual preference was something Pietro had never mentioned to her. "Maybe you don't feel comfortable talking about it. That's fine, we won't discuss it. The guys will agree not to make fun of you. RIGHT?"
"Right," they droned in unison.
"If you can't trust us, then who can you trust?" she added.
"Well... okay." Pietro took a deep breath. Wanda had a point. On top of that, Pietro had always sought their loyalty, and more subtly, their obedience. If he wanted them to respect and follow him, he could at least be honest with them. He took a deep breath, paused, and revealed, "It was a girl."
The members of the Brotherhood looked around, exchanging looks as if not entirely sure what to think.
"...And then a guy."
"Oh. It's like that," Fred said. "Uh, did you try one and then the other, or-"
"I tried them both and liked it," Pietro said, sitting down and clutching his forehead. "So yeah. I go both ways. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Right?"
There was a moment of stunned silence before the males in the room added quick, nervous "No!" and "Not at all!" and "That's fine!" and so on. "Wait, you're not like... into any of us, are you?" Lance asked cautiously.
"No, no! No. I'm more into guys like me."
"Makes sense," Wanda noted. "You're your own perfect man."
"Can you blame me? But enough about me. Toad and Fred we KNOW are still fresh. What about YOU, Lance? Are you saving yourself for Kitty, or-"
"I lost it before I even met her," Lance admitted. "Wasn't too good, really. I saw her again a few times at school, but it didn't go anywhere. I think we both just went too fast."
"So that's why you're not pressuring Kitty," Pietro said.
"No. Well, maybe. I don't know. I really like Kitty. I know this is gonna sound corny and lame, but I don't just want sex. I want to make love. Last time there wasn't any emotion involved." Lance paused. "And before any of you fuckers say anything, no, that doesn't mean I'm a softie now. No fucking way."
"Suuuuure," Fred teased.
"Hold up, hold up," Pietro yelled. "We've all been honest. How about you, Wanda?"
"What?!" she gasped. "I don't have to talk about anything. It's not polite to ask a girl that!"
"Well who are you going to talk about it to, your girlfriends?"
"Just because I don't have very many friends doesn't mean I have to discuss it with you." She marched up the stairs and closed her bedroom door behind her.
"So, was that a yes or a no?" Lance asked.
"Whoa, whoa," Todd interrupted. "She said she didn't want to talk about it. Respect her privacy, foo." After a few moments of silence, Fred asked, "So, you guys wanna play Madden?"
And so ended a typical conversation at the Brotherhood house.
--------------------
In a vortex of white clouds, the ghostly images of several people walked about, looking at unseen objects, talking to unseen people, and walking in unseen places. None were aware of the situation; to them, life was perfectly normal. Then, a man turned bright red. Another woman turned red as she shot a beam of energy from her hand. A young boy turned red as rocks began to form on his torso. All of them were mutants, the use of their powers triggering their change in hue. As soon as they stopped, they returned to a ghostly white. There were so many that, in the distance, several of these ghosts grouped together formed clouds of light. Hints of red could be seen within them, going off and on at random intervals.
But none of them were important.
Professor Charles Xavier stood among this setting, looking at the faces of these people, his attention drawn whenever he saw a red flash. He closed his eyes and the world around him moved at the speed of light, hundreds of thousands of ghostly people whirling past him.
But Xavier was not looking for any of them.
Exhausted, Professor Xavier set down the Cerebro helmet. Seated at the console in his wheelchair, Xavier changed the settings in the main computer, leaving Cerebro to actively search through pre-assigned files. Heavily upgraded from its first design, Cerebro was so complex that it now had to be house in a large, spherical room, with a bridge to the center allowing Xavier to focus his brain patterns equally in all directions. In the astral plane, Xavier was free to move as he pleased, but in the real world, he was confined to his motorized wheelchair.
"Professor," Jean Grey said, entering the room. "Any luck?"
"None," Xavier said to him. "I think David's telepathic abilities are now strong enough to counter Cerebro's enhancements." Lucas was the identity assumed by David Haller, Xavier's estranged son from a failed marriage. David himself had developed telepathic abilities like his father- but unfortunately, they had splintered his mind, creating separate personalities that magnified David's own traits. David had grown up not knowing his father; his mother only told him that he had abandoned them before David was born. But following an accidental telepathic reading of his mother, Gabrielle, he learned that the famous Charles Xavier was his father. Not knowing that Charles was unaware that he had a son, David began to feel great resentment for his father, and his school. Actually, David only subconsciously held these feelings. But his powers magnified them, giving birth to Lucas, a splinter personality that amplified David's rage, bitterness, and thirst for revenge against a father who was never there for him.
Lucas, however, was also aware of the situation. He had even lured Xavier to him and tricked his father into sealing away all of David's other personalities, including David himself. Now, only Lucas remained, and he was still at large. No longer distracted by the threat of Apocalypse, Xavier had spent weeks searching for his lost son, hoping to find him and attempt a reconciliation, or heaven forbid, stop him from wreaking havoc.
But so far, he had found no trace of David, or Lucas.
"Don't worry, Professor," Jean assured him. "If anyone can find him, you can."
"I hope so," Charles told his student. "But every day, I grow more worried. If this 'Lucas' persona is in control, I can only imagine what he has planned. If he wants revenge, he hasn't revealed himself. What is he waiting for?"
"I don't know, Professor. But whatever your decision, you have our support."
"Yes, I can always count on the X-Men," Xavier said with a smile.
--------------------
The following day, the Brotherhood had a surprise. Well, two of them, anyway.
The day had started out like any other; Fred and Todd watching cartoons in the living room, Pietro spending an unhealthy amount of time checking himself in the bathroom mirror, Lance just waking up and heading for the kitchen with a yawn and Wanda trying to find something to do.
"Yo, wait, so if he's a koala, why's he got the hots for a penguin?" Todd asked.
"It's a cartoon," Fred replied. Wanda wandered in, wondering what was being watched.
"Is he arguing cross-species romance again?" she groaned. The doorbell rang.
"Someone at the door," Fred said to her without looking away from the television. She rolled her eyes and opened the door, expecting another salesman.
"Father?"
Magneto stood at the door, dressed not in his trademark red armor, but wearing a gray suit with a black coat. "Hello. I... thought I'd pay you a visit. I can visit my children, can't I?" he asked, noting her perplexed expression.
"Yes, but you never come here."
"I tried to avoid this house whenever I could. Your housemates have always made..." Magneto stopped. Several floorboards were missing. Someone had smashed a rotten apple against the wall. There was red paint reading "AWSOME." One E. Several incomplete insurance forms were littered on the stairway. Was that... cheese? "They'd better clean this house if they expect me to come inside. Toad! Blob!"
"It's the boss!" Fred yelled. He ran out to the foyer, followed by the hopping Todd. They stood at either side of Wanda, standing straight and ready to accept orders, contrasting Wanda's slouched stance and crossed arms.
"Clean this place up. I don't want a single trace of filth in my presence."
"Father, stop bossing my friends around," Wanda protesting like a typical teenage girl. "So, you want something to drink?"
"Do you have anything sanitary? I don't believe you do. Until someone cleans this house, I'm not going farther than the door."
"You want to clean it for us?" Fred asked.
"No. That's why I have you. Where is Pietro? I thought he had ordered you to clean this house."
"Father, you're embarrassing me," Wanda muttered. Fred and Todd shrugged and returned to the living room. Lance followed them from the kitchen, giving Magneto an almost sarcastic courtesy wave but not actually bothering to look at him. "We were sort of thinking about cleaning it up."
"Why you and Pietro insist on staying here, I'll never understand."
"Hey, it's home," Pietro replied, descending the staircase. "So... are you here for anything in particular, or...?"
"No. Just a visit. I was telling your sister that you should-"
"Clean the house? We do. Nightly! But Toad just keeps ruining it." Pietro glanced to the living room. Todd's only reaction was lifting a single finger. "So, let's take this outside, shall we?"
Father, son and daughter went outside, where instead of looking at the hideously neglected state of the house interior, they had to look at the worn house exterior as well as the overgrown grass, littered with candy wrappers, more unfinished insurance forms, and some broken pencils.
"You don't have to live here anymore," Magneto said. "You-"
"No, we've heard this one," Pietro said. "Now that you're with Xavier, you want to offer us a place there, right? No. Not a chance."
"And why not? What possible advantage is there to living here?" Magneto asked.
"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to live in a big mansion with all this high-tech junk inside, but not at the cost of my freedom."
"I don't think either of us is X-Men material," Wanda added.
"That's what makes the Institute an ideal place for you," Magneto explained. "There's no standard. I was never X-Men material, but Charles has accepted me as an instructor, and the students are growing used to me. If they can accept me, they can learn to accept you."
"But we'd have to actually join," Wanda noted. "I'm not very fond of that idea."
"You deserve better than this filth. Especially you, Wanda. After all I've done to you." Pietro gave Magneto a worried glance, wondering where he was going with this. "All of my life, I've struggled to depend only on myself, and when I was in need, you came to my rescue, despite all that I've put you through. I don't want you to live in an old house with common thugs. I want you and your brother to be closer to me."
"Actually, I'm fine here," Wanda said to him. "Anyway, we'll probably get to cleaning the house. RIGHT, PIETRO?" Pietro smiled and nodded. "But you're still free to visit anytime."
"Yes, thank you." Magneto remained there until Pietro and Wanda had returned to the house. "Toad. Come down."
Todd wasn't too surprised that he had been spotted on the roof of the house. He was more surprised that Magneto hadn't done anything about his eavesdropping until after is children had left. Todd gulped and jumped off the corner of the roof, landing near some beaten garbage cans and hopping to Magneto. "Uh, you wanted to see me?"
"Why were you spying on us?" Magneto asked pointedly.
"I wasn't spyin', I just... I was listenin' in. We common thugs got dignity too, you know."
"I have a job for you," Magneto ordered, ignoring him. "Find Mastermind. You'll know where to look. Tell him to undo it."
"What? You sure about it?" Todd actually couldn't think of an instance where Magneto had trusted him with such a task. In fact, he couldn't remember an instance where Magneto had given him a direct order of any kind; they had usually come through Mystique or Pietro, and a few times through Gambit. Why would big, powerful Magneto ask small, weak Toad to do this? Could Todd earn his favor with this? Todd didn't want respect; he craved it. He'd gone too long pretending he didn't need anyone's validation, pretending that the opinions of others didn't matter to him. It wasn't hard to see why a frog-faced mutant like him had low self-esteem. And now, one of the greatest- maybe even THE greatest- mutants on the planet both in power and reputation was asking him, directly, to do something for him. And something important, at that.
But there was something else to consider: Wanda. Toad was loyal to all members of the Brotherhood, even Pietro, but he was especially loyal to Wanda. Part of it was because of his love- no, lust for her. The part of him that refused to admit what he had always known, that Wanda would never be his. But more importantly, part of it was because he genuinely cared about her. Combined, these two elements could form the basis of love, but Toad didn't love Wanda. Pietro had convinced him to keep Wanda's secret by appealing to his lust for her, but he knew that it was wrong. He'd buried that thought deep inside so that he could keep her close and ogle her, but the other side of him was beginning to grow a friendship with her, one not impeded by lust, or by any misguided romantic feelings.
"My daughter deserves to know the truth. If nothing else, it'll ease the burden on my shoulders. Do this one task for me, Toad. You will be well rewarded."
Todd knew exactly what reversing Mastermind's alteration would do. Wanda would remember everything. She would realize that her friends had kept it from her. She would become angry and vengeful again, and Toad would be her first victim. It dawned on him that Magneto had asked him to do this not because he trusted Toad, but because he was wholly expendable to Magneto. Better to place small, weak Toad in Wanda's immediate line of fire than risk having her come against big, powerful Magneto. But it didn't matter whether it was right for Magneto, or right for Toad.
"You got it."
TO BE CONTINUED!
Now, time for in-jokes.
Pietro's sexuality: originally, a running joke in Perpetually Screwed was the ambiguous nature of Pietro's sexuality, often manifesting as comments or actions on Pietro's part that could be taken the wrong way (and Pietro was usually unaware of this). Here, Toad plays it up a little (normally, the guys apparently had an unspoken, unwritten, unmentioned agreement never to bring it up, assuming they noticed at all), but I decided to officially end the gag with Pietro admitting he's more or less bisexual.
"It's the boss!" is a very obscure one that most of you won't find funny even if I explain it. A long time ago, when the Brotherhood hadn't become popular yet and the common depiction was still "gang of dumb thugs", someone wrote a fanfiction in which... I can't remember what it was about. There was a scene where the Brotherhood and Mystique met in her office and Magneto made a surprise visit. Blob then uttered that phrase- apparently his only line in the entire story. Don't ask me why, but I thought it was hilarious.