Chapter Thirteen:
Magneto and Mystique

Callisto leaving home was what I always thought triggered my mutation. Every Mutant had their turning point in life. That one special trigger that changed them. I always thought that mine was when my sister decided to pack her bags and leave home. At the time, I felt that our home just wasn't a home without her and that my family wasn't complete. It had broken my heart, almost literally and I was only thirteen. I had never really suffered a terrible tragedy before, not really, but the day she left was the start of everything.

Sometimes I wished that I had just gone with her when she asked. "Come with me," she had said, eyes pleading, holding her hand out to me. I could still hear her voice in my head. "You can't stay here, Carrie, bad things will happen."

Carrie was what she used to call me, always said that Carolina sounded way too grown-up for me, a little too dramatic like in those Spanish soap operas mom liked to watch in the morning. I never complained about the nickname and I never really gave her a straight answer.

I just stood there, dumbstruck. I kept thinking that there was no way she was serious, but she was and she left and I never got to say goodbye properly. If I had gone with her though, none of this would have ever happened. I wouldn't have hurt dad, giving him another reason to hate Mutants more than he already had. I wouldn't have been sent to that hellhole Mutant facility and gone crazy. My family would still be alive and I wouldn't be sitting in the back of a jet on my way to only God knows where.

But one could never go back and change the past, not unless you were some sort of time-traveler….

Either way, though, I stayed and that was the end of it, but I still couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if I had left or if she had stayed. How messed up would my life have been as opposed to how it was now?

"You're life's not so bad," V argued. "Things could have been a lot worse and you know it."

I mentally rolled my eyes. Of course. I couldn't sulk for one minute without Voice having to ad its opinion.

"Well excuse me for trying to remain optimistic. If you want to sulk, go on ahead, it's fine by me."

"Don't be an ass," I muttered quietly to V, aware that I was probably receiving strange stares, mostly from the newcomers. Upon entering the jet, Mr. Logan had sat me down, very close to the exit and, much to my dismay, the pair had sat down across from me and I tried my best not to show how uncomfortable I was, but how could I when they seemed to be sizing me up? Especially the blue woman.

I could only take so much. There was so much tension, and there was this uneasiness in the air full of confusion and distrust. I almost felt angry and was afraid that I'd act on it, but I'd grown over the years. I barely acted on what I felt, but still. When we first got back into the jet, baddies included, everything was okay. Well, it was as okay as it would ever be. I could feel bits and pieces here and there, but once we sat down and took off it was completely different.

I had closed my eyes, hoping I could try to detach myself from everyone, but it just didn't seem to be working and having the older man and woman staring at me was getting on my nerves. So it really didn't surprise me much when I finally told them, "I really don't appreciate being stared at."

The two didn't even so much as blink at the sound of my voice, actually they looked mildly amused. John, who was sitting near Magneto (it's so hard calling him by that name), quirked an eyebrow, surprised.

The older man, unfazed by my words but very curious, chuckled while the red-headed woman smiled, showing off her perfectly white teeth, which stood out from her blue skin. It wasn't a smile I was use to, at least not one I had seen recently. It made me uneasy, like she knew something I didn't. "You must excuse my companion and I," he said, motioning to her with his hand. I titled my head slightly, listening to his voice as he pronounced every word. He was what I imagined a Grandfather would sound like. "We merely stare because my friend seems to think that she knows you from someplace. Perhaps she is mistaken?" He asked, almost as if he was challenging me to disagree.

I sat in silence for a bit, confused by the situation. I couldn't feel any hostility from either of them, if anything it was curiosity and something else I couldn't pinpoint. My eyes strayed from the older man to the woman, who was no longer smiling. "You've got the wrong girl," I told them, looking elsewhere. My eyes landed on the three adults, Mr. Logan, Ms. Munroe and Dr. Grey, who were all standing at the cockpit, talking amongst themselves.

They had been acting strange since we boarded the jet, talking to each other in secret and I was more than a little curious. We all were. Especially Marie, Bobby, John and I.

"Are you quite certain?" He asked, catching my attention again. He had leaned forward and was staring at me.

"Positive."

"Well," he said, leaning back against his seat. He clasped his hands together and let them rest on his lap as he glanced at his companion before looking back at me. "If you are sure, than who am I to question you?" And I thought that was the end of our awkward conversation, but it just seemed to be the start of it. "How long have you been studying at Xavier's school?"

"Not long," I replied truthfully.

"Ah," he said, nodding slightly. "And before that?"

I shifted in my seat, eyes darting from place to place. "You don't have to answer that," Voice said, reminding me of a lawyer. "With family," I told him, which was almost true. I told him I'd been staying with family, but I didn't necessarily say that it was mine.

"Now was that before or after your stay at the facility?"

I blinked, letting what he asked sink it. I almost choked on my own spit and I immediately looked over to John, who had apparently been listening to the conversation as well because when our eyes met he looked a little shocked as well. Had they somehow heard our conversation the night before, or did they have some type of telepathic power? "I-I don't know what you're talking about," I finally said, stuttering a little.

"Really?" He asked, amused by my denial. I could almost feel my left eye twitch in annoyance and I wished somebody, more specifically Mr. Logan, would come over and pull me away. Everyone had turned their attention towards our conversation now, excluding the other adults. Bobby and Marie hadn't been sitting very far from us either, so it didn't surprise me that they were overhearing every word we were saying. "Because my friend believes otherwise. You see," and he leaned forward as if it were some big secret he was telling me. "She spent quite some time in that awful place."

I think my eyes widened at the moment as I turned my attention towards her. She just didn't seem to be the type of person who would allow themselves to be caught so easily. I wondered how long he meant by 'quite some time'. I had spent almost three years there, but I never once saw her. I barely saw any other Mutant there during my stay there. The only time I interacted with them was when we escaped that night. "I don't know what you're talking about…" I said, trying hard to keep with my story, but it was getting harder.

"Now, now, there is no need to be shy, we all share a common bond."

"I don't…I don't remember."

He smiled, secretly. "No, of course you wouldn't. She looked slightly different then," and motioned towards her with his head.

I followed his gaze and watched as she… changed. It started from her toes and worked its way up. Her bare legs were now covered in loose blue pants and a uniformed shirt appeared, covering her chest and when I looked at her face she, or rather he, looked familiar.

I gasped a little, standing up from my seat in fright. "Y-you," I said, pointing a finger at her, him in disbelief. It was the man who had helped release us from the facility. "I don't understand. It was you?" I asked her-him.

"Did you honestly believe a pathetic meat-sack would be intelligent enough to release you from that place?" He asked, speaking to me as if I were stupid to even think it. God, she even sounded like him. No, wait! D-did he ever even exist? Oh, my head hurt.

I rubbed my forehead. "Why?" I asked, not needing to explain what I was asking.

"Because," it was Magneto who spoke this time. "Even a baddie, as you say, can perform a good deed once in a blue moon."

I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much to see her in the form of the man who rescued me. Maybe it was because Mr. Logan had made them out to be one of the bad guys and I felt a tinge of sadness because I had thought a Norm had set us Mutants free because he'd seen and felt sorry for the way we were treated. It was a huge letdown.

"Carolina?" Said a female voice and I realized it was Marie. She was beside Bobby and they both looked concerned and confused. Great, I thought, know they would start asking questions about what Magneto had meant and I didn't really want to answer them.

Shaking my head as a way of saying that I didn't want to talk about it, I decided that who I really needed to speak to was Mr. Logan, or, any of the adults, really. With one last look at the Mystique, who had turned back into her blue and exotic self, and Magneto, I limped towards the adults, ignoring the curious stares I was receiving.

By the time I reached them, I had barely caught the last few words that had left Mr. Logan's mouth, "…into Stryker's base without anybody noticing."

I froze, mid-step and my insides went could. "Stryker?" I asked, voice squeaking a little. All eyes were on me in an instant. . Had it been any other time, I might have been uncomfortable by their attention, but at the moment I couldn't hardly bring myself to care about my shyness. Were they talking about breaking into Stryker's base? Were they out of the freaking minds?

"Carrie," Ms. Monroe started and I blinked, surprised. My sister was the only one who called me that, which was why it probably sounded so weird hearing her say it.

"Stryker?" I asked again, ignoring the white haired woman, eyes darting to each of their faces but more to Mr. Logan than one. "Stryker?" I repeated once more, louder and sounding like a broken record as I stared directly at him. I was angry and felt slightly betrayed. I could feel movement behind me, but I ignored it. I stared at the three adults, incredulously and the emotions I was receiving just seemed to fuel my anger, but I tried hard to keep it from surfacing. "Y-you want to break into Stryker's base?"

They exchanged looks.

Oh, God. They were actually considering going. How could they be so stupid? Didn't they know what was going to happen if that maniac got his hands on them? He was a monster, flat out. No remorse for what he had ever done. One would think that Mr. Logan had more common sense about the situation.

He doesn't remember what was done to him, Voice reminded me quietly.

"Sweetie," Dr. Grey said as she moved towards me like she was afraid I would take off if she got to close. "You don't understand."

"No, you don't understand," I told her, angry all of a sudden, but the sad thing was I couldn't tell if I was really upset about them leading us into danger or if I was feel it from someone else. That's main things that sucked about being an Empath, you never know if what you're feeling is real. I shook my head trying to rid myself of all thoughts as I looked back at Mr. Logan. "You don't remember what he did to you, not really," I said, holding his gaze as I limped towards him. He was extremely tall, well, at least to me he was. "Maybe if you did, you wouldn't want to go back. You'd understand what it means to be afraid. You don't remember, but I do and you'd understand why I cant go back to that place."

He frowned, brows furrowed. "Kid, what--" I didn't let him finish his sentence, and without really thinking it through, I grabbed his head in my hands, ignoring the pain that shot through my arm and closed my eyes, concentrating on what I wanted him to feel.

I dug deep and felt my head snap back so hard, I thought it might fall off. My eyes went wide and rolled into the back of my head. I could feel a mixture of anger and fear rolling out of me in waves and a distant voice shouting at me to stop, but didn't. He had to see, had to feel. He had to understand. I could hear screaming in my head. Tortured screams and a lot of pain. The screams grew louder. Was it me? Mr. Logan?

I felt warm, callous hands grabbing my wrist, trying to pull me away. Eventually, they succeeded and I staggered back, shocked and gasping for air. My head was throbbing, room spinning. I had never done that before. Blinking, I looked over to where Mr. Logan was standing, or rather kneeling.

"Oh my God, Logan!"

"My, my, my," Magneto said, applauding as he stood from his seat, watching the show. Bobby, Marie, John and Mr. Wagner were looking as well, shocked and confused about what I had just done. "The great Wolverine, brought down to his knees by a simple young girl." He then turned his eyes to me. "Impressive." And I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.

"Don't get any ideas," Mr. Logan growled from his spot on the floor, glaring daggers at the older man, but he was confused. I could feel it. There was something not right. He turned to me, eyes flashing, nose flaring and it reminded me a bit of when we were back at the school when the soldiers attacked. I didn't know if I should be worried for my life at that moment, but when he stood and walked over to me, my heart nearly popped out of my chest in fear. Grabbing me by the arm, he pulled me towards the very front of the jet, ignoring the concerned looks Dr. Grey and Ms. Monroe were shooting him, and sat me down. "Don't. Ever. Do that again," he warned, pointing a finger at me and I felt very much like a scolded child.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked, rubbing my sore arm and feeling guilty about what I had done.

His hard eyes softened a little and he sort of let himself collapse to the floor. Breathing heavily, he looked up at me and I could see how worn out he looked.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, knowing the strain I had put on him. I shouldn't have done it, but I had panicked. I wasn't very good at expressing my feelings, which seemed weird seeing how I'm an Empath. "I'm so sorry."

"What did you do to me?"

"I transferred some of the feelings I had bottled up for a long time," I told him, trying to explain, which was a lot harder. Explaining what I could do was hard, especially because I barely understood myself. "I couldn't think of any other way to show you," I said, placing my face in my hands when I started to feel a lump in my throat. I wasn't going to allow myself to cry. "I just can't go back to that place."

Mr. Logan sighed deeply. "He's taken about half a dozen kids from the school," he said making me look up at him. "They're alone and in the clutches of the man you're scared of, imagine how they feel." I suddenly felt very selfish and embarrassed by the way I had acted. Stupid. Those kids must be terrified. "We wouldn't be riskin' you in any way. You, John, Marie and Bobby are staying in the Jet, you'll be safe as long as you stay put," he pressed his hand against my face and looked at me reassuringly. "You're gonna be all right."

I nodded, muttering another apology as we walked out of the cockpit. Everyone was looking at us curiously, wondering what the hell had happened. Instead he launched into an explaination of what was going on and what was going to happen to everyone else. We were all to stay put, with the exception of the adults and when they were done explaining they began to suit up.

Marie and Bobby stood in front of a glass case, admiring a leather uniform.

"Why don't we get uniforms?" Marie asked.

"Yeah, where's ours?" Bobby added.

"There on order," Mr. Logan responded as he adjusted his suit and closed a similar looking glass case back into the wall of the plane. "Should arrive in a couple of years," he finished and walked away from the two without looking back to see the look on their faces. It almost made me want to laugh.

Hearing the sound of a hearty chuckle, I turned my attention towards Magneto and found that John had as well. Mystique was leaning close to me, whispering something only they could hear and then motioned to something with her head. Marie was looking at them now as well, curious but face blank. Bobby still had his back turned to us all, but when Magneto spoke he looked over his shoulder, turning his body slightly.

"We love what you've done to your hair," he teased her without even trying to hide his amusement.

I could feel the anger rising in Marie as she calmly removed one of her gloves and took a step towards them, eyes never leaving his face.

"Hey, hey," Bobby grabbed her before she could take another step. "Come on," he said, pulling her towards him. "Come on. Let's go."

"Rogue," Ms. Munroe called to her gently at the same time, unaware of the exchange that had just happened. "Come here." She was also sporting a suit that resembled Mr. Logan's only she had a cape.

I could barely hear what she was telling her. "After we touch down and go in, you're in charge." She turned her back to me and continued on. "If anything happens to us… use the ascension control to get the plane off the ground-- do not try to control the plane while its in the air," she said, firmly. "The auto-navigation will fly you home."

"Then what?" I heard Bobby ask as he moved behind Marie.

"You've all got superpowers. Figure it out," Logan responded.

I attempted a smile at his sense of humor, but couldn't find the energy to do so. I still felt guilty about what I had done to him. No matter how bad things got, I had always promised myself to protect others from my feelings, knowing that I could multiply any emotion ten times as worse than what it really was. The only time I had ever used it against someone was Ben and that was to protect myself. And the thought of even being near Stryker sent me into a fit of hysterics. Mr. Logan had already promised that he wouldn't allow me to be taken away, but I was still scared for the rest of them.

Flick. Click.

I turned my attention to John, who was now playing with his lighter. I had barely even noticed, the sound no longer bothering me as much as it used to. He open and closed his lighter once more before looking at the older man and his companion sitting beside him. They were both staring at the air in front of them. "So, you're the bad guy," he said, conversationally and I wondered why he would even bother.

Magneto barely turned his head a little towards John's direction but didn't look at him. "Is that what they say?"

John nodded. "That's a dorky looking helmet," he said changing the subject as he turned on and off his lighter. "What's it for?"

"This dorky looking helmet is the only thing that's going to protect me from the real bad guys." he responded, holding out his hand and levitating John's lighter away from him. John sat up a little, startled and slightly annoyed. "What's your name?" He asked, staring that the lighter in his hand.

"John."

"What's you real name, John?"

John held his hand out a little and the fire from the lighter transfers itself to his hand and he holds it in his palm like anyone could do it. "Pyro," he said, staring at the flame.

"Quite a talent you have there, Pyro," Magneto compliments him, thoroughly impressed.

John, however, barely felt the same. "I can only manipulate the fire," he told him, and I could feel the heat of the small flame even from where I was sitting and it didn't help my nerve at all. Finally noticing my discomfort, he closes his fist and the flame dies. "I can't create it."

"You are a God among insects. Never let anyone tell you different," Magneto said, eyes shifting to me and then back to John as he held out the lighter for him to take. He does and I get this awful feeling that he had just accepted something more than just his lighter.

"Okay," Ms. Monroe said, walking towards us. "Everyone gather around."

"I really don't like where this is going," Voice said and I wanted to respond that I didn't either.