Chapter Three: The Brotherhood
The strange man made his way to the front of the warehouse, a woman wearing a fur cloak by his side.
The main difference between the two of them were their powers. They were both mutants, not humans. The only reason they'd never shown their powers in public was due to the fact that mutants were being hunted now, thanks to new machines that were being built by the scientists.
"Are you ready for this?" asked the man in a heavy British accent. "I don't know how they will be reacting tonight. Of course, they should listen. If not...then that's their problem." He finished with an evil smile.
The woman looked over to him. Her skin was blue, with scales covering some of her face. She was very beautiful despite the scales.
As they opened the doors to the inside of the warehouse, they saw more than ten other mutants sitting there, waiting on them.
"Hello, my friends," said the man. "My name is Magneto. I have called you here today to help me with one thing: to join the Brotherhood and join my side as we defeat our enemies."
"What will that include?" asked a large, muscular man wearing a type of orange metal armor on his body, a helmet resembling half an egg right next to him, in an Australian accent.
"This will include both humans and other mutants," the woman said. "My name is Mystique, and I am Magneto's second-in-command. While many of the humans have decided to kill us, there is a group of mutants who are attempting to overthrow us. They believe that all are created equally."
"Now ain't that a piece of crap," a blond-haired boy said in the front row. "None of us are created equal. Sure, I never learned of my powers until I was 15, but still..."
"Thank you," Mystique said. "Now, our only problem is that this place for mutants is also a school for them, with kids being taught there."
"Yes, but there's also their secret team there," Magneto reminded her. "They are called the X-Men, and they have attempted to stop the Brotherhood ever since I left."
"Wait, they're only little kids?" the Australian man asked.
"What is your name?" Magneto asked him.
"Flint Marko. But now, many call me the Juggernaut."
Magneto nodded, and then returned to his speech.
"These are not children. The youngest of them are at least 24. They have many different powers and are very different from each other, but one thing they all have the same is that they are lead by the same man!" Magneto explained. "His name is Charles Xavier. He owns the mansion in which the institute is based, and he is the main professor. They are our only true antagonists, other than humans, of course. I need to know your names so that you can be initiated into the Brotherhood. Mystique shall help you with that. But for now, tell us your names for later." He gave the attendees a smile, although it was untrue.
"You already know mine," Juggernaut said. "I'll be crushing these little idiots before anything will happen to my leader."
"Name's Pyro," said the blond-haired boy. "I can control and create fire, and as you can guess, ice will melt very easily under my touch." A small smirk appeared on his face.
As the others gave Mystique their names, Magneto went over to a part of the warehouse in the shadows. "Are you ready for this, Emma?" he asked the woman standing there.
"Yes, I am," she said. "Just to be sure, what must I do again?"
"You must make sure that these mutants understand the importance of why we must be in hiding for now. Do you our...special guest?"
"I do. He's been trying to escape, but it's not working well for him, because all he can do is waddle, and as you know, that wouldn't help a human."
Magneto laughed a little, and then his face went back to normal. He was not one to have many showing emotions, only because of the torture he'd received in concentration camps in the 1940's.
Magneto finally saw Mystique coming over to him, walking in a seductive way.
"I've got all the names," she said. "Here's a list of them." She handed a small notepad to him. "They're all ready for this. Not one of them decided to leave."
"Even if they did, they would be tracked down very easily," Magneto reminded her. "Because of what we have, there's no point in running."
"Now, how about we go ahead and tell them about this? The surprise we have for them, I mean."
As they returned to the front, Magneto looked at them with a small bit of glee in his eyes.
"We do have a small surprise for all of you," he told them. "Just to help you all, if you feel any sort of anger towards this, hold it in until the end. Now, here is one of my generals here in the Brotherhood. Her name is Emma Frost."
The woman came out of the shadows, wearing a white strapless top and a light blue cloth skirt. Her hair was platinum-blond, and her lips were icy-blue.
She was dragging a small little man, a dwarf, to the front. He was wearing a torn suit and dress pants. He had a large mustache and thick brown hair. Glasses were upon his face. Chains stopped him from escaping.
He doesn't have much of a chance, anyway, thought Mystique before speaking.
"This is Bolivar Trask," Mystique announced to the new Brotherhood members. "He and another man created these robot-type things known as the Sentinels to help kill us all. It is because of them that our race could be wiped out. We were lucky enough to capture Mr. Trask here as he was having lunch with a friend; our only problem now is that he was able to hide a device from us somehow that allowed him to send out a distress call."
"Yes," Magneto said, taking over from her. "We destroyed the device, and so the signals will be scrambled, but we are now on the run even more than usual. We must leave as soon as this meeting is over. Wherever we travel to, do not get too used to the place. It will only lead to your deaths."
"Please, help me!" Trask yelled out. "I don't belong here! I don't want to be here!"
"TOO BAD!" exclaimed Mystique, laughing ruthlessly.
"Anyhow, this is the creature they have created to kill us all," Magneto said. He began concentrating, and suddenly a purple-silver machine with yellow eyes was floating towards them.
"What in the heck?" Pyro yelled out. "How are you doing that?"
"Must be his power," said a very fat man behind him. "He must be able to control metal. That's what I would think, at least."
"Yes," Magneto assured them. "That is my ability. Now, this machine-" He struggled in putting the Sentinel down. "This machine is meant to hunt us. He may be defeated and restrained by us, but the government is now making them to stop us. We must stop them so that this production will not destroy our entire race!"
"You cannot win, old man!" snapped Trask. "These Sentinels are indestructible! I made them this way, and no one can stop the entire production! Only one man has that kind of power!"
"Is that so?" asked Magneto. "Hm..."
Trask seemed even more frightened. He realized he'd just let them know of the man who had helped him...the man who hated his own son for becoming a mutant...
"Please, just stop this madness!" Trask pleaded. "I will let you all go and live, without the Sentinels to find you! Just leave me alone! I don't deserve any of this!"
"Oh, you do," Mystique hissed to him. "Don't you realize what you've done to all the mutants? You've caused many of us to go into hiding because of these things!"
"But I never meant to make you mad...I just wanted to be recognized for once...to make money and not be made fun of any longer!"
"So what you did is put the lives of people in danger just because we were all different?" the Juggernaut snapped at him. "What a sickening little piece of-"
"STOP!" ordered Magneto angrily. "Do you not see what you're doing? Do you not see that you're fueling his ideas? He will use all that you say against you now!"
"Then that means we need to kill him," Emma said. "Is anybody else with me there?"
"I am!" Pyro volunteered. "I've really been wanting to kill a normal human for a while!" An evil smile crossed his lips. "Cooked human, anyone?"
Magneto smiled faintly once more, seeing that his Brotherhood had a true hatred towards humans, exactly what he was wishing for.
"Fine," he said commandingly. "We won't kill you, Trask. We will let you live so long as you tell us who this other person is...who the other creator of the Sentinels is."
Pyro and the Juggernaut, as well as the fat man, looked at him as if he were completely insane. But Mystique and Emma both knew his true intentions for Trask.
"Fine. I will tell you, but you must let me know that you shall not kill either him or his son!"
Trask realized he'd let something slip. Due to his chains, he could not cover his mouth, but wanted to so very badly.
"So he has a son?" Emma said. "Good. We might be able to help him. Is his son...normal?"
"Wait a moment, Emma," Magneto commanded. "Let me check into his mind."
The old man concentrated deeply, and suddenly was able to read every single thought of the man.
He found exactly what he wanted to know. And he was about to share it with the Brotherhood.
"His son is not normal," Magneto announced to them. "His son is a mutant."
"PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS! I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, JUST DON'T DO ANYTHING TO THEM! PLEASE!" Trask screamed at the top of his lungs.
Magneto could only stare at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Mystique realized this was the most he'd ever almost smiled.
"I won't; you do not have to worry at all, my friend." Magneto then looked to Mystique and nodded. "And could you answer me one more question, Mr. Trask?"
"What?"
"Please tell all those here the name of the man, and his son."
"His name is Stryker, William Stryker. His son is Jason. But please, just don't hurt them, and don't hurt me! I'm innocent!"
"You are not!" Pyro exclaimed at him. "You're trying to eradicate us all, just so you humans can live your lives in peace!"
"Easy now, my boy. There is no need to be angry," Magneto told him.
Trask could feel all the tension inside of him, and he could no longer keep everything inside. He had to let the secret loose.
"You'll all die," he told them. "Some of the Sentinels will be set loose onto you, and there's nothing that can be done about it! You're a villain; villains always lose. Someone will rise up to stop you, no matter how small or how powerful they are. You will lose."
"Thank you, Mr. Trask. That is all we needed."
Mystique put her arms around Trask's neck, and suddenly-SNAP!
Bolivar Trask was now dead, his neck broken. And it had all been at the hands of a mutant.
"So what do we do now?" asked the fat man.
"Since we have this Sentinel right here with us, I say we keep it for now," Magneto answered.
"Why?" Pyro asked. "It's meant to kill us."
"Yes, but I believe I know someone fast enough to get it all on, and then disappear before they are killed." He looked at Mystique. "It will be you, my dear."
She nodded, ready for it.
"What will we do then?" Juggernaut asked.
"We will pay this Stryker man a visit, and tell him to do something I've wished to do for a while. But first, we will release this Sentinel in a few days."
"Why in a few days?" Mystique asked. "Why not now?"
"Because something tells me we will have a member of the X-Men out in the open in a few days."
For the first time in many years, Mystique saw Magneto truly smile, although this one was a smile of true evil.