Not abandoned! I promise you! I will continue to update this, the updates will just likely be slow.
Please let me know what you think of the story so far though!
"So you're this dad guy." Wanda remarked as she entered the kitchen, brother in tow, "Magneto. Mr 'I damned all mutants'?"
"It seems so." Erik nodded, setting his tea down on the ring-stained table, "And you must be Wanda."
"You're stating the obvious," she quipped as the twins took seats at the table. As much as Peter seemed to be willing to trust this guy, she wasn't.
"Would you rather I was cryptic?"
"Not really." she shrugged. A haze of red mist streaming from her hand to the mug, pulling it over to her side of the table, "So Pete broke you out?"
Erik nodded.
"I could'a told you that." Peter huffed.
"Shush."
"I'm eldest, you shush."
"Care to continue with the interrogation?" Erik asked with a smirk, looking at the two teens in amusement.
"Why were you in there?" Wanda asked him, taking a purposefully long sip of the tea - which she didn't even like.
"For killing the President."
"Then why the hell are you so ready to let this guy into our lives?" she demanded, turning snappily to face her brother.
"Because he didn't do it intentionally!" Peter retorted, "He was trying to save the guy for Christ's sake!"
"Didn't do a very good job."
"Like how you did an excellent job trying to cheat when we were paintballing."
"I cheated?" Wanda asked in outrage, "You cheated! How am I supposed to hit you if you move fast enough to move me in front of the pellet?!"
"You ended up shooting Lorny." Peter reminded her.
"Paintball is not murder." she shot right back.
"No." Erik interrupted, "But the means of missing were the same in both cases. Now hate me if you will. I won't take offence. But trust that I did not want to kill him. I did not want to kill one of our own."
"You're not saying..."
"I am saying precisely that, Wanda. I know you may not want to trust me, but you should trust me on that at least."
Wanda sighed, "Why did you help my brother? Not that I would have wanted you to not help him. What kind of sicko would I be if I wanted that? No, I just want to know why you didn't leave him to the dogs."
"So good at phrasing things." her brother muttered, running a lazy hand through his silver locks.
"I wasn't going to leave a mutant at the mercy of a monster like Stryker. Regardless of paternity. But the knowledge wasn't going to make me stop, if that's what you want to get at. I protected him for the same reason you would. We protect our own. And family protects family."
"Even if family just found out they were family." Peter added, jabbing his finger down into the table's centre to reinforce his point.
Wanda's eyes met her brother's and, as ever, both knew precisely what the other was thinking.
"Thank you." she said at last, "Thanks, I... I don't know what I would have done if... well."
"You're welcome." Erik said before she had to finish, voice unusually soft, "I don't expect to suddenly be allowed into your lives to act as a father. And neither of you should expect that of me either." he warned them, "But now, we are all family. And that will not change. So trust that I won't let any harm come to either of you." he promised them.
Peter cast a grin at his sister, "What did I say? Not that bad."
"Shut up dungbeetle."
"You still can't come up with good insults." he scoffed.
"You're not worthy of good insults." Wanda retorted, "Anyway. Be serious. You've still got a crazy bastard on your tail."
"Do you have to remind me of that? It's not even gone eight. Serious talk can wait until ten at least." the speedster grumbled, a bowl of cereal appearing before him just as a gust of wind tore through the room.
"Do you do anything slow?" Erik asked him, watching with a smirk.
"Other than talk? Nope." Peter replied, popping the 'p'.
"Peter, you don't even talk slowly." his sister pointed out, "Just a tiny bit slower than you run."
"Shut up." he laughed, nudging his sister in the side.
"Hey! Cup of tea here!"
"You don't like tea."
"No but I still have it."
"Why?"
"Because I do?"
"Shit answer."
"Shut up."
"Worse answer."
"Shut up even more." she rolled her eyes, looking up as their father rose from his seat.
"Feel free to continue bickering." he told them, "But I have to speak with Charles."
"About what?" Peter asked.
"Stryker."
"Can't we be in on the conversation too?" Wanda asked.
Erik sighed, hands sliding into his pockets, "Study, half an hour." was all he said in reply as he exited the room. Though, of course, both teens took that as the 'yes' it was cryptically intended as.
"He destroyed it, sir." Alves reported with a sigh as she checked her computer system once more, "They can't be tracked this way any longer."
"Very well." Stryker replied gruffly as he took a seat upon the stool by the desk, "Where was it stationary longest?"
"Here." Alves said quickly, pointing at a row on the table that filled the screen.
"Which is..." Stryker began, standing up and walking over to the map on the wall, "Right here, right in Westchester." A red headed pin was slid into the cork-board map, pointing directly towards the Xavier Mansion, "Get me everything you have on it." he ordered as he exited the room in an empowered stride. He would need his troops to be ready. They left at sundown.
"Erik you bloody idiot." Charles snapped as he stormed into his study, finding Erik lounging on his armchair. "You could have been killed. What were you thinking? What the devil were you thinking? You couldn't even have talked to me first?"
"Charles, have a brandy." Erik replied calmly, arm draped over the back of the chair.
"Don't offer me a drink in my own house Erik." he snapped, "What the hell were you thinking Erik?"
"I was protecting our own. My own."
"We do that as a team Erik! You could have died!"
"It takes more than a bullet to kill me Charles, you ought to know that by now. Your sister too."
"Raven? What has she to do with any of this?" Charles asked, face becoming a picture of confusion.
"She was on a crusade. We crossed paths." Erik told him simply, "She does take her disguises very seriously." he said, tapping the wound on his shoulder, lightly though so that he wasn't causing himself any more pain than necessary.
"She did that?" Charles' brow furrowed, this was not the girl he grew up with.
"You're surprised?" Erik asked, "I'd remind you of my neck but the scar is rather obvious. One would expect even you to notice it."
"Shut up Erik." Charles huffed, slouching back in his chair, "Where is she now?"
"Still with Stryker. Awaiting the perfect moment to kill him I presume."
"Why didn't you bring her back to me?!" Charles roared, a fury riding within him.
"I don't control her actions Charles, no more than you do. Be thankful she has found a purpose in life."
"A purpose planted there by you."
"Does it matter where a thought comes from? We're doing the mutant population a service. Stryker. Trask. People like that have no right to live and threaten our kind. You know that as well as I. It's just that Raven and I have chosen to act on that belief."
"You corrupted her!" Charles fought back, "You took her away from me and you corrupted her!"
"One day Charles. Give it one day and she will call here." Erik told him, choosing not to rise to the argument.
"W-what?"
"She, naturally, was rather intrigued by my motives. So for an explanation she agreed to call here at eight o'clock tomorrow. So I suggest you hold onto that anger until you can speak to her yourself. You had more than enough time to convince her of your ideals when I was in the Pentagon. Remember that before you accuse me of anything more."
"Your children are outside." Charles told him, breathing in deeply and exhaling calmly, it would do no good for the pair to argue now. You can come in you know, no need to eavesdrop. He whispered into Wanda's mind, trusting that she would pass on the message to her brother. He really was not fond at all of getting into that young man's head.
"Come on." Wanda said and took her brother by the elbow, opening the ornate door of the study and pulling Peter in. The second she closed the door behind her, however, there was a sharp knock.
"Do come in Magda, Hank. I was hoping you'd both be able to join us." Charles called out and soon enough both the mother and the scientist walking into the room. Hank took a seat behind Charles' chair and Magda led her children over to the sofa, sitting between the pair.
"Really Charles?" Erik raised his eyebrows at the other man, what was this? A party?
A group of people who need to know what is going on and can help. Charles replied into his mind, earning him a sigh from Erik.
"Where's Lorna." Erik asked his ex after a heavy sigh.
"Playing Monopoly with a bunch of the other mutants." Magda told him, "They seem to have become very fond of her."
"They might not be so much when she beats them." Peter scoffed and Hank shook his head with a laugh. Having spoken to that little girl he really didn't put it past that smart little thing to beat all the other younger mutants at Monopoly.
"What are we going to do about the others actually Professor?" Hank piped up.
Charles shook his head with a sigh, "For now, just giving them a place to stay. We need to handle Stryker before I can think any further on the matter."
"Fair enough." Hank nodded.
"Are you going to kill him?" Wanda asked suddenly, looking directly into Erik's eyes, "Are you going to kill the man who did this to my brother?"
"Wanda!" Magda gasped, though she too wanted Stryker dead, that didn't mean she was okay with her daughter expressing the desire to have someone murdered.
"Tell me, father." Wanda said, placing a great deal of emphasis on the final word, "Are you going to kill him?"
"Yes." Erik replied with a nod, of course he would.
"Erik..." Charles began but Magda quickly interrupted him.
"I'm sorry Mr Xavier. But a man like that can't be left to run around freely."
"W-we could always erase his memories." Hank suggested in a small voice with an equally small shrug.
Erik shook his head, "It isn't enough."
"It could be enough!" Charles protested, "I won't have you kill another man under my watch."
"You're not my father Charles." Erik replied darkly, "You don't get a say in what I do."
Stop talking before I punch you. Charles whispered angrily into Erik's mind.
You can't reach.
No but Hank can.
Really Charles, I would have thought that you of all people would not stoop to such levels.
Oh Charles really did want to punch him, but the best he could do himself was simply roll his chair over Erik's toes. Another time perhaps.
"Um, are you two trying to have a mind baby or something?" Peter interrupted, glancing between the pair with a silver eyebrow quirked up, "Because you're having the most intense staring contest ever."
Erik didn't even have to reply, instead, Wanda punched her brother in the shoulder. "Shush. But, erm. You know. If Charles is able to make Stryker forget who he is and why he does these things then maybe he'd start over at life, not kill any more mutants."
"What about the doctors? And all his psycho army?" Peter pointed out, "Can you make them all forget who they were too?"
"I would take time. But yes." Charles nodded, "I'd need to use cerebo."
"You won't be able to do that until the mutant who can block your telepathy is taken care of." Erik reminded him, "And you can't control her."
As much as he hated to admit it, Erik had a point. "We do nothing until Raven calls." Charles told them, "For now I suggest we all make sure that we are ready for a fight."
Peter nodded and stood up, "I want to go find Lorna. Come on." he told his sister and scooped her up in an easy fireman's carry, whizzing her out of the room.
"How did you cope? When he was younger?" Hank asked Magda after a moment, watching the twins leave the room in awe.
Magda chuckled and shook her head, "I didn't." she told him as she stood up, "But if your plan is to sit here and do nothing then I'm going to make myself useful and be there for my children." she told them before striding out of the room.
"Well, aren't you to just a perfect match?" Charles teased.
Don't make me tear apart your wheelchair Charles.
You wouldn't dream of it Erik. Charles thought back with a smirk.
"Men, we have a load of mutants here with extraordinary powers, why do you not want to use them?" Erik asked.
"They're children Erik, they're untrained children."
"That didn't stop you before."
"He has a point Professor." Hank chimed in as much as it pained him to admit, "We would never have won against Shaw had you not trained us."
Charles sighed, shaking his head, "You saw what happened last time I tried to train young mutants."
"That was circumstance Professor, not you." Hank reminded him and Charles sighed.
"I'll think on it."
"Are you going to at least open the school back up after this is all over?" he asked the telepath.
"Don't worry Hank. That is one thing I know with certainty will happen."
"How many mutants will you take?" Erik asked curiously.
"As many as I can handle, probably more."
Erik nodded his head in thought, perhaps he'd refer any young mutants he came across to Charles in the future. He would help to find the greatness in their kind, Erik was sure of that.
Hank smiled at the professor, relieved to hear that the school may be opening back up, maybe this meant that Charles really was returning to his former self, "I'm going to go down and work on cerebro a little more." he informed the pair as he stood up, "Please don't kill each other while I'm gone." he pleaded, sending them both a puppy-dog-eyed glance before he left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
"You're going to kill him no matter what I say, aren't you?" Charles asked the other man with a sigh.
"He tortured my son Charles. My mutant son. I won't be sitting idly by whilst you carefully wipe his memory when the problem can be dealt with in a far simpler and easier manner."
"How can you call murder easy?"
"You don't need to ask me that question." Erik told him sharply, Charles had seen his past and knew full well what sort of life he had grown up to. He knew full well why he could take a life, especially when it deserved to be taken.
"No one, no matter what they've done, deserves to die Erik."
Erik shook his head with a sigh, "It would be simpler if we agreed to disagree."
"You're impossible." Charles muttered with an exasperated sigh, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to speak to my future students. Please do make yourself at home in my chair and help yourself to my brandy."
"You're too kind Charles." Erik replied with a smirk as he watched his friend wheel himself grumpily out of the room. He and Charles both knew that he would be killing Stryker just as he killed Shaw. It was inevitable. He half expected Charles to butt into his mind once more and lecture him on morality, but surprisingly the only voice in his head was his own. So he sat back with a contented sigh, bullet wound throbbing as he closed his eyes to relax. He hadn't slept in... Lord, he didn't even know how long it had been. But his lack of sleep was finally catching up to him and so he fell into a fitful sleep, resting in the armchair.