Author´s note:

Hey folks, sorry for the delay. But here you go, another chappy for you. Not too much will happen here, it´s rather somewhat of a... uhm... let me call it.. bridging chapter. Some more action to come in chapter 8. Still I hope you enjoy it.

PsychoSpiff: Thanks a lot. :-) So, hope you like the new chapter

Meow: Please don´t be disturbed for cheering, for if you are, I should feel disturbed, too. ;-) I already got some weird glances for sobbing over poor Erik lying on the ground realizing what had happened.

2wingo: You bet I feel honoured (beams). I have never read the comics and base my interpretation of Magneto on nothing else but Ian McKellen´s performance, so maybe he too, should feel honoured to capture this character so well. Really glad to hear you like the story. :-D And thanks for the hint.

Chapter 7

The invisible spy

The pain had been fierce but short and still Erik had the impression it was still detectable seconds after it was gone. An agony like a bolt of lightning, racing through his nerval system from his brain down into his extended arm, splitting his vision in two. And following that, a strange feeling of numbness which, although fading quickly, seemed to remain longer than it actually did. Still, these unpleasant aftereffects of the pain that had brought him down, could not wipe the smile from his face. Still breathing heavily and almost absent mindedly noticing he had bruised his left elbow at the attempt of trying to stop his fall, Erik remained sitting in his chair for another moment, trying not to shake all over, a slight chuckle forming in the back of his throat.

It was hard to tell what he was feeling while the seconds flew by, it was almost impossible to answer this question, even to himself. There was something that was unmistakably triumph and a feeling of fierce joy, but there was more... a feeling that had been unfamiliar to him, as his life had not held much of it for him: was it happiness?

While still looking at his right hand, moving his fingers gently to test whether the pain had caused any damage, his smile widened until at least it formed into something so untypical for Erik Lehnsherr that if anyone would have heard it, he or she would either have stared in disbelief or have turned and fled: he laughed. It sounded unfamiliar to him, yet it felt like the best thing he had experienced and felt in a time longer than he could tell. He tilted back his head and laughed – no laughter that might have suited the evil snickering of a villain he had been to many humans... and mutants, but a laughter that was nothing more than that. Magneto had not been killed, he mused with a smile. The cure had been no match for him, it had only silenced him for a while.

For the moment, thinking about why it had happened this way was too hard and difficult to think about. He felt weak, for although he now knew that he had found his powers again, he was not a fool. He had experienced that the outburst caused be Pyro´s rage had cost him a lot of energy. More energy in fact that he had ever had to put into manipulating metal. With the exception of setting his transformation machine in motion, manipulating metal had always been as natural to him as breathing. Only when there had been a greater amount of power required, things had wearied him, but never instantly. He had been strong... he had grown stronger over the years. The cure had had an effect on him, he was sure about that, having felt it work through his inner cells, so it was only normal things would need their time to recover.

When he felt a little less weak, his gaze fell upon the biro which was lying on his desk before him and, reaching for it with his left hand, concentrating hard for a moment, he managed to pull it a little bit closer to himself. It cost him some strength and small drops of sweat started to form on his forehead until he managed to set the little object in motion, but on the other hand it would have surprised him, had it been any different. What he had done with the door had been stress set free, an outburst of mutant abilities the like it sometimes appeared when mutant powers showed for the very first time, setting a young mutant apart from an ordinary homo sapiens. It was easy to explain: mutant abilities often showed under emotional stress or in tense situations. It had been similar once... on that very day... when the rain had been falling heavily and the ground had been soaked... when the soroundings had been dull and grey and when he had seen his parents being taken away and out of his reach. It had been similar then... without knowing what he was doing he had reached for them with his hands... until first the barbwire and then the gate itself had answered to his call... had twisted to the irritation and horror of the guards.

Letting the biro at peace he closed his eyes and leant back, giving a small sigh, which, differently to the sighs that had accompanied him these days, was one of pure content and weariness, not of sorrow and self pity. While he carefully rubbed his temples with his fingertips, several scenes of the previous days suddenly appeared to him in a completely different light. And not only this: all of a sudden he realized and opened his eyes again, John´s behaviour made perfect sense. The young mutant had known that Magneto was about to recover... he had seen and interpreted the signs, Erik had failed to see. Suddenly the young mutant´s suspicious glare made sense... as made the latent fear in the boy´s eyes, the fact that he had not yet totally played on his dominance about the homo sapiens Erik Lehnsherr and his cocky game of playing around with flames in Erik´s presence. John had been testing and demonstrating his powers in order to tell the old man Magneto had become where his new place was... fearing the old man could only too soon find out that he had only been put out of action for a while, his powers still lingering somewhere to be re-discovered and put to use.

John had seen the signs... the biro Erik had pushed off the desk when John had been standing in the door frame and which he, Erik had thought to have knocked down with his hand while half asleep... the fridge door, trembling slightly before Erik had opened it on that stormy night... now he realized it had not trembled from thunder...the young mutant´s transfixed stare when Erik had accidentally tried to open the front door with his powers... John had seen all of this... he had been aware... and in constant fear, he guessed. So this was another reason why the boy might have brought along those two kids... John wanted his own troop. He was no natural born leader – Erik had known right from their first encounter he was rather one of those dull creatures to follow those who told them the right words in the right way and with the right amount of conviction – but still the call of power had had its effect on John. Pyro had tried to exercise his power, to gain strength and backing, before Erik found out he was not the weak old human he had thought to have become... and maybe John had even hoped Erik would never find out. Well, Erik mused with the hint of a smile, if this had been the case, St. John had initiated his own downfall.

When he got up, he still was a little weak on his legs, but he adjusted his manner in a way his weariness did not show. He was too excited about what had happened to feel tired, even though the pain he had felt when slamming the door shut had felt like being ripped apart. Still... somehow, he thought, this pain had been freeing... the pain of being... reborn.

Although he yearned to, he did not open the door with his powers. He knew he would need time and practice to recover his full strength and as anyway it would not be detectable from the outside how exactly the door was opened, it did not matter at all.

As he had expected, the corridor was empty when he entered it. Pyro had bolted off in an instant and his new friends had followed him. At least he thought so, until he caught a slight movement from the corners of his eyes. He did not turn, he did not indicate he had seen her... it was the girl that had been with Pyro, carefully hiding behind a corner, close to the main door. She was quick, her reflexes swift, but not swift enough for Eric´s keen eyes to be overlooked. When she saw him approach, obviously thinking Eric had not spotted her yet, she disappeared. In an instant, she was gone, but not by pulling back her head or running of. She just faded, her body becoming clear... invisible. Another interesting mutancy, Erik thought, smiling grimly but hiding his smile so the girl wouldn´t see it. Pyro was not as dumb as he had thought and yet much too risky to leave the girl behind to spy. Erik had to admit he did not feel all to comfortable knowing, St. John had left someone to spy. Yet, his uneasyness soon proved baseless. When he walked past the place where he knew she was still standing, holding her breath, he realized contently that Magneto had indeed returned. Although his powers still might need some trainging to be ready for proper use, his senses had regained their life long alertness. The girl would be no danger to him. He could sense the metal she was wearing. Metall on the buckle of her belt and a pendant on a chain around her neck. She would not be able to approach him without him knowing, he thought. And with some disappointment he noted that he had thought Pyro to be smarter.