Time for more. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Act 2, Chapter 4 (8)- Reconciliation
Magneto landed softly on a cliff on the mountain, a nameless formation next to Mount Humiliation, a short distance from Bayville and former site of a survival camp, which had since closed. Hovering behind Magneto was an all-purposed suitcase of sorts in the form of a giant floating orb. Clinging to the smooth surface was Toad, who finally let go and landed roughly on the rocky ground.
"I ain't ever doin' that again!"
"Quiet." Magneto walked into a small mine shaft, not unlike one Toad had scouted years earlier. Magneto beckoned, and his luggage (and a hopping Toad) followed. Magneto could easily find a way to pierce the darkness, but being that Toad could see clearly in the dark, Magneto decided to take advantage and use him as a seeing-eye frog. "Toad, lead the way."
"Uh, me? What am I looking for, exactly?"
"An M."
"M? Yeah, I can do that." Toad hopped forward, followed by a hovering Magneto. There was a mine cart trail on the ground, covered in dust, and a wooden frame running through the shaft, with some boards having already fallen off. After a minute, he saw that some boards had been fastened to the rock wall in a crude 'M' pattern. Actually, it looked more like " 7", but close enough. "Found it."
"Stand back." Magneto waved both hands, and a door opened, splitting right between the two misshapen halves of the 'M' marker. The doors swung inward, revealing a small metal room with a second door. Magneto opened the second door and walked inside.
Toad shielded his eyes as Magneto activated the lights in the main chamber. After adjusting, he looked up. The central chamber was just under three stories tall, a giant circular room with a surrounding balcony on each floor marker. Made of polished metal, neatly arranged in tiles, it was unmistakably Magneto's work. The main draw, however, was the cylindrical machine at the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling. Reaching down the nearly the full height of the room (stopping short of the floor by about seven feet), it was a giant collection of parts and wires, with a few beams jutting into the walls to support it. Directly underneath the machine was a small work station with several screens and a circular, wrap-around console.
"What is this?" Toad asked, jumping closer for a better look.
"My answer to Cerebro," Magneto replied, hovering around the machine to admire it. "Crude, yes, but it works without the need of a telepath. It can detect any mutant across the world."
"How does it work without a psychic runnin' it?" Toad asked, looking at the diagnostic screens as they started up.
"It works on many of the same principals, but it actively detects mutant genes. It's not as powerful as Cerebro, I'll admit, and it lacks many of the options granted to a psychic-driven machine, but it is functional, and will allow us to work secretly."
"So, this thing works like that one Morlock guy?"
"Yes, and no. Caliban's mutant hound abilities are nowhere near as advanced as my machine. It works similarly to the mutant detection system Bolivar Trask invented for his... machines. It can detect any mutant, worldwide. No one can hide from it."
"That's weird. So, you and him made your own mutant detectors? Small world, huh?"
"Yes," Magneto said, not caring to explain the machine and Cerebro's common origin. Toad looked at the screen, and noticed that both he and Magneto appeared within the immediate radius.
"Wait a minute... we're gonna use this to find Wanda and that other guy, aren't we?"
"Yes," Magneto answered. Toad grinned, checking the screens again, hoping to see some sign of Wanda. "Lucas can shield himself from psychic detection, but likely not from a mass genetic scanner. And I'm going to show you how it works."
"Hehe, alright. So, what's th' first thing I need to know about this?" Toad asked, glancing over all of the buttons and switches on the circular console.
"This." Magneto gave Toad a thick binder filled with printed notes. Leafing through the manual, Toad cringed.
No pictures.
All words.
All big words.
"Aw, no fair..."
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"So, you're actually going to try to make something of yourself, huh?" Kitty asked with a wry smile as Lance told her the news. They met on the balcony of Kitty's room near dusk. "Where are you going to get the money for this?"
"Uh, odd jobs," Lance said, avoiding Kitty's eyes. "Nothing illegal or anything. I'm thinking maybe I could save some trouble and take some courses here."
"You mean it?" Kitty asked enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I got bored of being a nobody," Lance said. "Besides, it'll kill some time until something interesting happens around here."
"You mean like another Apocalypse?" Kitty asked wryly. Lance laughed slightly.
"No, but... anyway, I should probably get going..."
"Wait, what's your rush?" Kitty asked, following him inside, to Kitty's bedroom. Lance saw that Kitty had closed the door behind her, and now she was closing the door to the balcony, leaning against it and tilting her head with another wry little smile. "I thought maybe we could spend some time together."
Lance wanted to smile, but this wasn't right.
"I'm sorry, Kitty. It's too soon." Lance started walking for the door, but stopped and looked back. "I want to make sure I'm worth it first. Once I've washed all the loser out of me... then we'll see what happens."
Kitty smiled as he left, somehow more satisfied with what he said than she would've been if anything else had happened between them.
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"Leaving already?" Scott Summers asked as a Lance descended the main staircase. Scott's presence was enough to make him grumpy. A few of the younger students were lounging around, using the foyer as a study hall. Lance groaned and walked past Scott. "Hey..."
"What do you want, Summers?" Lance growled. "The last thing I need is your witty little remarks, so keep them to yourself."
"I heard you were thinking of taking some courses here, and I just want you to know that I'm cool with-"
"Oh, shut up, you condescending-"
"And you're better?" Scott and Lance were practically spitting in each others' faces. The students all watched, anticipating a fight between more expertly trained mutants. Few had seen Scott so standoffish, but few people could push his buttons the way Lance did.
"Will you two give it a rest?" Kitty said, coming down the stairs. "It always has to be a testosterone match with you, doesn't it?"
"I don't care what this idiot has to say," Lance said. "I'll give you a call, Kitty." Lance headed for the door, unable to resist the urge to give a few of the kids an evil look. That's right kids, scary Avalanche is coming through. Stay out of his way.
"Why do you have to be such a jerk to him?" Kitty asked.
"What about him? When has he ever been nice to us? Lately it seems Professor X seems to be giving too many people the benefit of the doubt."
"Hey, that's just how he is." Kitty started to walk up the stairs. "Oh, before someone starts spreading rumors," she turned up to the balcony to glare at Bobby Drake, "Nothing happened. We talked. That's it."
"Uh, okay," Scott said. "N-not that it's any of my business."
"Who was that guy?" Ellie, the new arrival, asked one of her fellow students.
"Some loser," the boy replied. Scott had to allow himself a smile; the students were learning well.
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Surprising even himself, Toad had picked up on the particulars of Magneto's mutant detector rather quickly. Already having a strong knowledge of electronics thanks to working for the X-Men, he understood that Magneto and Xavier's designs shared a common beginning, and worked from there. He hopped up to one of the machine's support beams and opened a panel to adjust some wiring.
"Toad! Status report," Magneto bellowed, stepping out of his quarters.
"I've got th' power running, and it's scannin' at... uh..." Toad dropped all the way down to the console at the bottom and checked the screen. "Sixty-percent. It's kinda flounderin' around that area. The scanning radius ain't very wide right now, but I'm lookin' into it."
"Good. You're doing well."
"If you don't mind my askin'," Toad said, "What's keepin' you so busy that you've got me learnin' how to do this stuff from scratch?"
"I'm busy contacting old colleagues," Magneto told him. "I'm trying to renew contact so that Lucas doesn't try to sway them to his side."
"Tryin' to keep your old girlfriends from turnin' on you, huh? Good plan," Toad laughed, then hopped back up to the open panel. He was caught in mid-hop, suspended by the metal pieces of his outfit, and brought to Magneto, hanging upside down.
"I'm not one of your 'buddies' that you can joke around with," Magneto scorned with that unmistakable 'I have no sense of humor' look on his face. "We're doing important work. I'm putting a great deal more trust in you than you deserve, Toad, and you will show me respect."
"Right, sorry boss," Toad said. Magneto released him, letting him fell to the floor of the balcony. Rubbing his head, Toad jumped back down to the console to check it again. "Uh, you mind if I check what we're pickin' up?"
"If it will help you familiarize yourself with the equipment, go ahead." Toad hit a few keys and every mutant picked up by the machine was listed with a unique number. The few that matched archive files were listed under their names. Curious, Toad hit a key on one of the numbered, but unidentified mutants. The screen asked him to input data, including name, alias, date of birth, sex, blood type, and mutant ability. Just for fun, he typed in:
Jerry Knickerbocker
aka Banana Myers
03-10-1895
O
Rocks your world at all times, baby.
"Nyahaha... huh?" Toad found a familiar name on the list. He brought it up; the mutant was in Massachusetts. "Magneto! You better take a look at this."
"What is it?" Magneto asked impatiently, floating down to the console. Toad stepped aside to give Magneto room. "Wanda. She's in Boston?"
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Agatha Harkness's home near Boston was an old Victorian house, not unlike Mystique's boarding house. The wild grass in the front lawn and the worn paint and disheveled wood signaled to any passersby that the house was no longer in use, and likely hadn't been for years. The lawn was littered with old trash thrown by kids who knew that there was no owner to chase them off. Windows had been shattered, probably by the same kids. The only sign of life was a small troop of cats that seemed to be unusually comfortable among the garbage outside.
Wanda walked past the rickety gate late that evening and ignored the cats, all of which showed great interest in her. She could feel their eyes glaring at her, like watchdogs suspecting an intruder. She walked onto the creaking porch and knocked on the front door.
There was no answer. She looked over to one of the broken windows, checking inside.
"Is there anyone home?" she asked, annoyed. Inside, she could see a dining room that hadn't been used in years, covered in dust and missing much of the fine china arranged in a nearby glass cabinet, probably looted. Hearing no reply, Wanda threw open the front door, which promptly fell off its hinges. "Hello?"
"Don't make so much noise, child" the old woman said, seated in a chair in the living room. Much to Wanda's surprise, the house was far from destroyed; it was well-furnished and clean. The lights were even on. A few cats wandered in. Wanda stepped outside and glanced through the window, and once again saw the dilapidated dining room. When she stepped back inside, she saw that the dining room was in perfect order.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A simple trick," Agatha Harkness told her. "I like to have as few visitors as possible." She snapped her fingers and the door returned to its place, then shut itself. "It has been years since I've seen you, Wanda. What brings you to my home at this hour?"
"I need your help, Agatha," Wanda told her.
"In what way?" Agatha asked, reaching down to pick up a black cat.
"I need you to help me become stronger."
"Only you can help yourself," Agatha explained to her. "I taught you discipline, Wanda. Whether you choose to obey that discipline or ignore it is entirely up to you." Wanda paused to reflect. Agatha stroked the cat's head, and told her, "You still have issues with your father?" Wanda didn't have to reply. "I think the solution to your problem is not to destroy him."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Wanda asked, almost offended by the idea that there was another solution.
"I can't think of everything for you, Wanda," Agatha replied. "I think my old friend Mystique may have planted too many bad seeds in your mind. This alliance you've made with Xavier's son, it's costing you your soul."
"It's not costing me anything!" Wanda retorted. "If Magneto and Xavier are together-"
"Then you should learn from that example," Agatha explained. "Old rivals have put aside their differences to work together. If Magneto ever extends a sincere offer for reconciliation, it would be wise to at least consider it. After all, the peaceful solution is usually preferred to violence."
"But he hasn't changed," Wanda argued. "He's still the evil man that locked me away! He's still a monster!" Agatha saw that tears were forming in Wanda's eyes, and offered her shoulder to her. Wanda embraced the old woman, trusting her enough to display emotion in her presence. "He hasn't changed..."
"It's alright, Wanda. Let it out. Your powers are dominated by your emotions. If you keep them locked away, you only bottle your anger. This is why you haven't mastered your power." Agatha looked up. "Oh. This is a surprise. He's here."
Wanda stormed outside, followed by Agatha, who waited patiently by the door. Magneto stood at the walkway, the cats all glaring at him, though none hissed. He had come alone.
"What are you doing here?!" Wanda asked. She was unaware that her tears had made her mascara run. "How did you find me?"
"Wanda, I want to talk," Magneto said, taking off his helmet, and setting it down on the ground. "That's all."
"Talk?" Wanda said. "No. You stupid old man, you should've brought your friends!" Wanda threw out her arms and bombarded Magneto with hex bolts; however, Agatha began to whisper something into Wanda's ears. Wanda clenched her eyes and stopped the attack, rubbing her head.
"I'm sorry, Wanda," Magneto said sincerely. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I was a different man, I-"
"No, you're still the same man!" Wanda shouted. "Maybe those idiot X-Men have fallen for your act, but I haven't. You think that after what you did to me, you can just apologize and everything's fine?!"
"Wanda, I've given up that life. I've changed my ways," Magneto pleaded. "You don't know how much of what I've done I now regret, but above all, I regret having neglected my children when they needed me most." Wanda had not been paying attention to Magneto's face and she was surprised when she saw that her previous attack had aged him considerably, and now he looked like a weaker, older man. The conqueror who had locked her away was gone, replaced by an emotionally damaged man wearing his armor.
"Father, I..."
"Don't listen to him!" Lucas appeared in the air above Magneto. Lucas pulled Magneto's helmet off the ground, but Magneto pulled it back, placing it on his helmet. Lucas smirked. "He's trying to fool you. He wants to take you away from me and turn you into one of his thugs! He doesn't care about you, just your power!"
"Is that so?!" Wanda held out her fingers and blasted Magneto in the chest with a single bolt. With her other arm, she threw a second hex bolt, and alternated between them, bombarding him with hex blasts. "I knew it! You're a liar, Magneto! You're nothing but a liar!"
"He was stupid enough to come alone," Lucas said. "This is our chance, Wanda!" Lucas hovered down and stood next to Wanda, producing fire from his right hand.
"No!" Wanda yelled, hexing Lucas's fire and dissipating it. "Magneto is mine!"
"Just trying to share in your interests," Lucas said. He leaned against the frame of the porch, crossing his arms. He looked on as Wanda continued her assault. Even when she was angry, she was beautiful; a violent jewel claiming righteous justice.
Then he noticed Agatha was whispering something. Wanda stopped her attack and rubbed her forehead.
"What do you think you're doing, you old hag?!" Lucas yelled.
"Magnus, go," she called to the recovering Magneto. "There will be another time. I will watch after Wanda."
"I understand," Magneto said, too afraid to argue. "Goodbye, Wanda." Magneto threw his cape behind him and flew into the sky. Lucas concentrated, but found he couldn't affect Agatha in any way. He waved his hand, but even his telekinesis was ineffective against her.
But, he still had fists.
"Listen to me, woman," Lucas growled, grabbing her shoulder harshly. "We have worked too hard-"
"And you listen to me," Agatha commanded. Lucas fell silent and released her; even he wasn't sure if he had done it willingly or not. Agatha's face shone with fury, and though physically she hadn't changed, to Lucas she now seemed great and imposing. "Wanda must be allowed to make her own decisions, and I won't allow you to cloud her mind with unnatural thoughts." Agatha ushered Wanda into the house. She continued rubbing her head, and sat down in a chair in the living room.
"So you're making the decision for her, you hypocrite," Lucas said, following them inside. "The only thing she's ever asked of me is a chance to avenge her suffering, and I won't let you stand in the way of that!"
"She doesn't know what she wants," Agatha stated. "She needs time to think, and reflect. I will help her purify her mind and exercise her abilities. If, after that time, she still thirsts for revenge, then I won't stop her." Lucas walked over to his beloved and knelt in front of her.
"Wanda, are you well?" he asked.
"I just feel a little dizzy," she replied. "I'll be fine."
"Do you want to stay with the hag, or come back with me?" Agatha offered Wanda tranquility, which she wanted... but Lucas offered her revenge, which she wanted even more.
"Let's go," Wanda said. Lucas helped her to her feet. She gave Agatha one last look, as if to say "sorry," and walked away with Lucas.
Agatha only sighed, and returned to her chair.
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Toad, having grown hungry at Magneto's base, had hopped off the mountain and stopped by Burger King to get something to eat. Still wearing his uniform and hopping like a madman, Toad drew quite a few stares. More than one little boy asked their parent why that man was like that. Among the better explanations was "you remember your grandpa Stu? That man is just like him."
"You mean senile and worthless, daddy?"
"Now where did you hear that, son?" Toad hopped out, carrying a small burger with him and a soda. Suddenly, a violent wind blew past and made him drop his food. Toad looked down at the crumpled mess. His fries had spilled out. His burger was half inside its wrapper and half out. His soda stood no chance.
"Awwww..." Immediately, the wind returned: it was none other Pietro. Toad sat up, wondering if he was imagining things. "Pietro? What are you doin' here? You owe me lunch, yo."
"I was on my way to the Institute... but actually, I'm in luck, you're just the guy I was looking for."
"Uh... what for?" Toad asked cautiously. He had a feeling that whatever Pietro answered, he wasn't going to like it.
"C'mon, pal, I haven't seen you in years! Is that any way to talk to your old friend?"
"Well, you did kinda ruin my lunch." Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you got a point." Toad's tongue snagged the burger off the ground and he swallowed it almost whole. A moment later, he spat up a slime-covered ball... the burger's wrapper. "So, what's up?"
"Long story short, I got busted by the Feds. They want me to do some work for them... which is actually why I'm here. Lance, Fred and I are getting the band back together," Pietro said, careful to emphasize the others' involvement. "We're going on a secret assignment, one I can't discuss in public."
And so, they walked back into Burger King.
"I thought I'd heard somethin' about Lance gettin' into somethin'..." Toad remarked. "I've been too busy to actually hang out with him, though, so I never got around to askin' him. Hey, how'd you get Fred to give up th' big job he's got in Dallas?"
"First, I ran all the way over there," Pietro explained. "Then I explained the details to him, just like I'm going to explain them to you. SHIELD wants us to track someone down. You and the guys each get $50,000 for this."
"Well, that's great, but I can't just leave Magneto, you know he'd kill me," Toad explained.
"Yeah, but this involves Wanda," Pietro told him. "We need to get her out of a difficult situation she's gotten herself into."
"You mean th' thing with Lucas?"
"Yeah... wait, I thought you said nobody'd told you."
"About this thing you got? No. But I know about Lucas. He attacked th' mansion last week." Pietro didn't say anything, but his wide-eyed expression betrayed his utter astonishment. Toad guessed that it had more to do with nobody telling him. "Way to be in th' loop, Pietro. Lucas and Wanda attacked Xavier and Magneto at th' Institute, and they had some other goons with 'em. Funny thing is, your little get-together might be pointless, 'cuz Magneto already found her, and he's already talkin' to her right now."
"That'll solve everything." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Look, Wanda may or may not be important here. Our target is Lucas. SHIELD doesn't know anything about him. If we can find him and take him down, or I guess capture him, then I get a full pardon from them, I go free, and you guys get some cash. Plus, we'll look good."
"It sounds great, yo, but I got Magneto to worry about. He's got me doin' double-duty, I worked at th' Institute during th' week, and while Xavier thinks I got weekends off, he has me up in his mountain base workin' on some weird top-secret sh... uh."
"You said he found Wanda," Pietro leaned in. "How?"
"Uh, you know what? I'm ramblin', I think maybe I got low blood sug-" Before Toad could react, Pietro forced his mouth open and pulled out his tongue. He grabbed the salt shaker from the table and held it over the squirming tongue. "AAgh! Agh! Whaggayu ggoiyg?!?!"
"Magneto's fixed that mutant detector of his, hasn't he?" Pietro said. Toad wouldn't answer. Pietro then began sprinkling salt on his tongue... more and more salt for Toad. His tongue became coated, and he tried to pull his tongue away, whincing at the saltiness. "Aaagh! HHHAAAgagaAHAHAG!" The other patrons were beginning to stare.
"And he's taught you how to use it, hasn't he?"
"AGghhahhag!! AGAAGGAGAGA!" The manager came over.
"Excuse me, you two are going to have to calm-" Without even turning to look at the manager, Pietro quickly slapped him on the cheek. After taking a moment to register what had happened, the manager quietly left.
"Listen to me, Toad. Magneto's not going to get Wanda to do anything. It's up to us to stop Lucas, and it's up to us to get Wanda back on a less psychotic track. We're in the best possible position for this. SHIELD's willing to back us up, you've got access to Magneto's technology and you know how to use it... who else is going to do this? Xavier and his dweeby X-Men? Losers, all of them! Now, you're gonna get a huge load of cash, you're gonna hang out with your old buddies, and you're gonna save Wanda. Are you gonna help us out, or what?"
"GEEEEHHH."
"What?"
"GEEEEEEEH GYUUU THHHUGHGING THRIIIGG!"
"I can't hear you!" Pietro let go of Toad's tongue and it snapped back into his mouth. Toad began spitting globs of salt-covered slimed and wiping his mouth against his sleeve.
"I said yes, you fucking prick!" Toad yelled, angry enough to use a 'g' at the end of 'fucking.' "Argh. I ain't ever eatin' anythin' salty again! Ack... alright, well how am I gonna explain this to Magneto?"
"You let me worry about that."
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"Go," Magneto said, to Pietro's surprise. They met on the roof of an office building downtown near three in the morning. Magneto made sure that he was wearing his helmet. "I can spare Toad's assistance until your mission is complete."
"Really? You're cool with this?"
"Your work could be very beneficial to me. Do you know about Destiny?" Magneto asked. Pietro shook his head. "She can see the future, but the farther the vision, the less likely it will really happen." Magneto paused, and turned away. "Years ago, she predicted that a young man and woman would kill Charles and I. When the differences between Charles and myself drove us in separate paths, I imagined there was no chance that this would happen. When we settled our differences and I joined his staff, I didn't think about Destiny's vision, until Wanda's memories were restored and 'Lucas' arrived to torment us. Last week, the vision came dangerously close to coming true. I need you and your team to do whatever it takes to lure Wanda away from Lucas."
"That's covered," Pietro replied confidently. "All we have to do to fill SHIELD's orders is to bring down Lucas."
"Capture, or kill?"
"Capture, kill, or at least find his definite whereabouts."
"Pietro, in exchange for allowing Toad to go on leave and the use of my equipment, I'm going to ask you for something in return."
"Yeah, what's that?" Pietro asked.
"You must agree not to capture Lucas, or to let SHIELD know where he is. Take the third option." Pietro looked up at his father, puzzled for a moment. He crossed his arms as Magneto turned away. Pietro then realized what he wanted.
"I can't guarantee that," he pointed out.
"No, but if you are given the option..."
"I'm guessing you don't want Xavier to know anything about this," Pietro said.
"Correct," Magneto replied. "Charles cannot know that I have any involvement in your mission, nor can SHIELD. I will have Mastermind erase that part of your memory if I have to. Whether you decide to relay this order to your team is up to you, but I don't recommend it."
"You can count on me," Pietro said. "We'll do everything we can to keep Wanda from harm."
"Good."
"I'd better get ready," Pietro told him. "We're going to SHIELD tomorrow to get everything set up." Pietro ran down the side of the building and down the street. Satisfied, Magneto levitated into the air and flew off.
The plot chickens. Er, thickens. Read on!