Author´s note:

Five reviews, yay :-) So here you go, another chappy for you.

AngelofSnow: Thank you. Happy you like Shade´s backstory. It was a little hard to figure that out. Gave me quite some thinking. Yeah, he begins to regret things it seems. And he´s such a nice guy. (agrees)

2wingo: Yes, your theory sounds very plausible. So, let´s see what effects it has on Erik.

KumadaPuma: The less darker side. I like that ;-) Sorry for the delay in updating, this is not sooo frequently after all. Thanks for wishing luck :-)

Meow: Good point (lol) Thank you.

Emperor K. Rool: Maybe... who knows... Erik wouldn´t be Erik if he´d let Pyro do his job would he?

Chapter 19)

Risks to be taken

What he had said to Shade had been more impulse than rationality. Or habit? ´Welcome to the Brotherhood´. A phrase he had used several times over the last few years. He had always loved the reactions of the mutants he had adressed these words to. Silent smiles, eyes full of determination and pride for having been found valuable enough to be welcomed into Magneto´s ranks. Although there had been only few he had ever allowed into his inner circle. ´Welcome to the Brotherhood´. It had been a phrase, but when he had said it to Shade, when he had uttered those well known words... he had meant it. With every word he had begun to realize that this was what he truly wanted. The Brotherhood had been his life´s work. Starting small it had grown into something that resembled a partisan army, before the catastrophe at Alcatraz had made its ranks crumble to ashes. When he had accepted Shade´s request, he had known there was no other aim for him...no other goal to his life than fight for his brothers and sisters that were superior to the average homo sapiens. He needed to get his old friends and supporters back together. He was powerful, yes, powerful again, but as a group mutants were stronger, more would listen, he knew... more would fear them, a penetrating little voice in the back of his mind added to his thoughts. Fear. Oh yes, humans had always feared what they didn´t understand. They had still not understood how foolish it was to fear him.. to fear his Brotherhood. Fear was foolish, was not necessary, should not play a role in these times. He had always wanted to end fear. Why didn´t they understand?

He was content to get back to action. Shade´s story had made him feel uneasy and angry. The governent was using mutants against mutants and he did not for a second believe the spying those kids had been trained for, the information Shade and her fellows had retreived were used solely against what government officials called ´mutat terrorism´. Noble ideals, make humans safe, keep them from harm, from the other. For Erik this sounded just as hypocritical as any idea that resulted from fear of a minority. The end justifies the means, he thought bitterly. However, before he could even consider a plan to free Shade´s friends, he needed backing. He would not head off in a rush again as he had done the night before.

By the afternoon of the next day he had continued sorting his files and now had at least an idea about how many of his shattered Brotherhood he could still count on. The result had been daunting. He had seen many of his mutants die, he himself had waited while they were falling, killed or cured for the guards at Alcatraz had been armed with both kinds of ammunitions. Those that had been hit by the poison would be either recovering or soon would, many of them, doubtlessly had been arrested and would not see the outside of a prison for quite a time. He could not count on them. And then there were those who might not answer to his summoning at all, after all that had happened. He remembered how he had held Pyro back, how he had yelled to him that he was to wait for the Pawns to serve their purpose... to fall... to be sacrificed to clear the way for them. How many, he wondered, would stand up for Magneto again? The man for whom they had been not ´Gods among insects´ as he had made them believe... but pawns? And then there were the countless mutants which had been victims to the Phoenix. He could hardly bear thinking about Jean Grey. For an instant he saw her as the young kid she had once been. Mustering him with her eyes narrowed, persuaded noone could understand what it was to be a mutant. Maybe she had been right. Maybe noone had really understood what it meant to be a mutant...like her.

However, there had been success which made the day not seem totally wasted. He had managed to get into contact with James Madrox, Multiple Man and he had seemed willing to return to the Brotherhood, announcing his arrival at the lair within the next couple of days. He had been on the run after Alcatraz, fooling the police throughout the States putting the cops and military off the scent by re-appearing in several States between New York State and Maine...at the same time. He would arrive at the lair in some time. For a short moment Erik had felt unsure whether James was still trustworthy but had decided he had to risk it. Times were hard and it was even harder to distinguish between friend and foe as he had grown to know these last painful days. Multiple Man had told him there were some mutants he knew that might feel interested in joining the team, too. More risk ahead, more risks to be taken.

He hoped for another few recruits from the news that were currently spreading throughout the country. There were quite a few mutants of his shattered army who knew about the lair´s whereabouts. He hoped at least some would have seen the news, heard that he had been spotted and draw the right conclusion: that Magneto had not been knocked down permanently but had returned and that he was still eager for action to improve the situation of mutants on the planet. It would take some time to rebuild the network, but it had already started.

He had left Pyro´s room to Shade. The boy had not had many belongings anyways and Erik had discovered he had taken most of it with him to where ever he had gone so he did not expect John to return for staying. Shade, too, had not had much to store, almost nothing apart from a black rucksack which could not contain more than a few clothes and personal belongings. She had moved into her new room with silent gratefulness, still too intimidated to say much, but Erik had seen her eyes shine. He had then realized that this girl might not have had a room of her own for quite a while. Maybe never. It felt good to make this stranded teen feel comfortable.

Much like her mutation, Shade hardly made herself be noticed. Whether it was a result from all the time she had spent literally in hiding or whether it was simply a character trade Erik could not tell, but she seemed much more uncomplicated than she had seemed when Pyro had been around. No longer sorrounded by her young mutant buddies, she was quiet, almost shy. She had stayed in her room the whole last evening and much of the next morning and day. Erik recalled having seen her once or twice, he had offered her to help herself to something to eat and drink from the kitchen and she had nodded to his words. Apart from that he had not seen much of her being busy himself.

When Erik set his papers aside it was around 4 pm already. He felt tired but good. Things were getting better again, the start had been made, soon the Brotherhood would be more than its head again. He left his study and entered the kitchen, intending to have a cup of coffee or two. He could hear the TV set was switched on and peered around the doorframe, half expecting to see Mystique there, half prepared to leave on the spot if he did. He wasn´t in the mood of arguing with her again. He knew she was around the lair but he was content with not having crossed paths with her today. She had tended to give him a hard time in the past when she had felt mistreated and she had never thought to have more reason to be cross with him than now, so he thought the best way of dealing with her was avoiding her... at least for now.

However, it wasn´t Mystique, it was Shade. The girl was sitting on the carpet, her back leaned against the sofa, watching something that looked a lot like one of those dull and stupid soap operas today´s teenagers seemed to love so much.

Erik stepped behind the sofa, gave the TV screen a disapproving look and said: "With a good deal of what humankind calls ´world literature´ packed in this room, it seems rather strange one should watch nonsense like this."

Shade had obviously not noticed him entering the room and flinched at his words. She turned her head and faced him. "I... uhm...sorry, I just came in and..." There. Well done, Erik, he told himself. He had scared her and it would take him some time to undo the damage.

"Never worry." he gave back, hiding his disapproval with himself, smiling slightly. "You can watch TV if you like, although books would be a better way to fill a young mind."

She nodded slowly watching him in a way that bore some resemblance to a deer watching a wolf. He ignored it, but felt sadness rise inside him. What had become of him? A mutant feared by his own kind? Feared by the ones he wished to protect?

"Are you hungry?" he continued. "I hope you helped yourself to some food. There should be something left in the fridge."

"Actually... no, there wasn´t much left. But I found some toast."

Erik sighed. Right. He had noticed days ago that there was not much to eat left. He had intended to send Pyro to buy some groceries and had forgotten about it. He had worked most of the day and by now he realized that he himself was quite hungry.

"Was there?" he simply replied. "Well...it´s a weekday and it´s still afternoon. What about getting some decent food? As you said the fridge is nearly empty and you might understand that I can not simply show up in the next supermarket."

She looked at him in a way that clearly told him she had expected nothing like that. "Okay..." she then said a little hesitantly. "I could do that."

Erik took out his wallet, hesitated for a moment and then handed her a fifty dollar note. Risks to be taken, he thought. She just shook her head, smiling for the first time. "No. I won´t need that. I can make myself invisible, you know, noone ever noticed when I..."

He raised an eyebrow, unsmiling. "You will." he said and reached for her hand over the sofa to hand her the money. "Don´t act like that." he then added. "You shouldn´t use your mutation in such an unworthy way. You´re superior to them, not simply a thief with some extraordinary assistance."

She scowled, looked at the money and nodded, before she got to her feet and put the money into the pocket of her jeans. She attempted to leave the room when something sprang to Erik´s mind. He didn´t like the idea at all, but decided Shade had nothing to do with his and Mystique´s differences.

"Go, ask Mystique to take you to the coast with the speedboat." he said.

Shade gave him a look over her shoulder. "That... uhm.. won´t be necessary. I can make it on my own."

He gave her a questioning look. "Being a member of the Brotherhood does not give you the permission of using the boats at will. I only have two of them." He said with an amused smirk.

"Oh... no." she gave back with big eyes. "No. I... when I become invisible I´m insensible to any material. I´ll just move... over the water."

He was astonished and arched an eyebrow at her. "What a talent." he said and noticed she was blushing slightly from the compliment. Erik nodded at her. "And now off you go. I could use a decent supper as well." She left.

Only when he turned around he saw Mystique standing in the doorframe that led to the kitchen. She looked at him without a word. He decided to let her know he would not avoid her, stepped into the kitchen and walked past her. "Erik." He halted and turned around to face her.

"It´s one thing what you did to me..." she focussed him with her yellow eyes. "But I tell you do not make the same mistake again. It wouldn´t improve your health."