Chapter 3: Born Again

"Ah, your continuing search for hope…"

Magneto, 1999

The power, the light, the pain…

Suddenly it was cold.

And then hot.

And then—

He reached out and grabbed something soft…and hard. And arm. His eyes were open, but he was blinded by light. Somehow, he knew without knowing that he had been long asleep. And now, as if being born again, he emerged from dark darkness into bright darkness.

He did not cry aloud, his mouth opened, but no sound came. A dozen fingers pressed against his shoulders and his chest. In that moment, he could feel the size, length and strength of each and every one—could even tell which were female and which were male.

Light!

Blinding, blurry, blacking light!

He extended his hand to shield himself from it. It was unbearable.

Voices!

Small voices…but incredibly loud, filling his entire perception.

He was aware, then, of being in a liquid substance—thick jelly that covered his whole naked body. He was naked…that, too, he could feel. Strange tubes, like extensions of his nostrils, stretched out of his nose. Air came into him through another long, pipe-like tube that was reaching into his lungs.

A shadow filled the light and was gone again. He became aware of two hands on his chest. They rested there calm, but heavy. At the touch of those hands, a wave of energy and life swept through him. It was so overwhelming, that he was soon drifting back into the unintelligible sleep from which he had sprung so violently.

Daytripper paced fretfully. Tymah joined him, glad to see someone who was, if not familiar by knowledge, familiar by appearance. She was alone, but for him—an Elemental among several dozen Animalis and one Healer. The Healer was odd looking as well—she had long, purple hair and a bluish-green tint to her skin. Her eyes were frightfully wide and a bright white, with blue centers. Tymah could not even begin to imagine what mutant gene pool could have possibly formed her.

Daytripper was at least normal looking. He stopped pacing as she approached, but rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked.

He grinned. "You're kidding, right?"

Tymah smiled back. They were quiet for a moment, watching the commotion around them. Magneto—or at least, the old man that was supposed to be Magneto (Tymah had imagined him younger)—lay stretched out on a bed. She was not sure where in the former United States they were, but it was far enough from Elemental Territory to avoid the reach of most sensors. On top of that, she had been told they possessed a Sensor Shield.

Magneto had awoken with surprising strength. The Healer insisted that she still had work to do, despite the energy and well-being clearly evident in the man's initial behavior. Tymah was anxious, like the rest of them—but Daytripper looked like a father awaiting news of the birth of his first child.

"That was pretty close back there," she commented.

He blinked. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's ok," Tymah answered. "Is…um…Creature, okay?" she asked awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah. He's alright. Guy's like a rock." He never took his eyes off of Magneto all the while he spoke to her. He stared rapturously. "You know…nobody told me what I'd be teleporting," he said quietly. "Most people think the Outsiders are just mercenaries without brains, but…if someone had told me about this—I would have done it for free. Just being here…"

Tymah clasped her hands behind her back. "Well…we're not even sure if this is Magneto, just so you know."

His gaze never wavered. "I'm sure," was all he said.

"He's here!" someone announced.

From down a flight of stone steps, Daytripper could here the click-click of a mutant with claws on his feet. This must have been Fellswoop, the leader of the Animalis. He was certainly a sight to behold.

His skin was the deepest black Daytripper had ever seen, and his wings were a deep burgundy, like wine. His eyes were yellow like light with drilled purple centers, the same color as his wings. He was so much taller than everyone else, he had to duck into the doorway; it gave him a more authoritative advantage, Daytripper thought, being so tall—he could look down on everybody.

Daytripper slunk into the shadows and watched as Fellswoop entered and observed the reaction he encountered. All of the Animalis present bowed, and the Healer gave a respectful nod. Tymah was approached by Fellswoop and even she bowed. He spoke to her. She looked away from his strange eyes. Daytripper wondered what he could have said so confidentially to her.

"And who are you?"

What a fool to think that he could hide from a mutant who could probably see in the dark! Daytripper took a step forward. "Daytripper," he announced himself, "teleporter. Class three. From the former Canada. I was hired to transport—"

"I know what you were here to do. Why do you stay?" Fellswoop's eyes bored into Daytripper relentlessly.

"I…" he swallowed, "I want to see Magneto."

If he thought Fellswoop would be angered by this response, he could not have been more wrong. The Animalis pressed his clawed hand against Daytripper's shoulder and smiled a strange, joyful smile. "Then you are welcome," he said. "Most welcome."

Daytripper was overcome by this invitation. He bowed to Fellswoop and said, "And, sir, if I can be of any further use to you, I will remain indefinitely."

"Yes," Fellswoop said, "yes. Stay as long as you can."

With that, Fellswoop left Daytripper and approached the bedside of Magneto. "Is he…healthy?" he asked the Healer.

She nodded. "Most healthy, sir. His age is sixty-five. Despite this, he is strong, and most powerful. Shall I wake him, sir?"

Fellswoop stared. "Is that…safe? Should we let him rest?"

"He has been resting for sixty years, sir," said the Healer, without a mark of humor, "it is time for him to wake."

She waited for no further orders, but stood close to Magneto and pressed her hands against his bare chest. Daytripper fancied he saw a glow come from her hands and illuminate the skin and hair on Magneto's chest. It may have been only fancy, but he thought he saw it.

The man twitched and was suddenly awake. He sat upright, gasping and taking in a great deal of air. He reached up and touched his face looking, or so Daytripper imagined, for the tubes and wires that had been attached to him, but were no more. When he had finished the apparent search, he stopped and looked around him in a bleary, confused kind of way.

"What—" his voice was hoarse and tinny from lack of use. He touched his throat and cleared it. "What—happened? Who are you?"

Fellswoop looked like he may have fainted, but he spoke to Magneto as if it were the least extraordinary thing to do. "I am Fellswoop. Commander in charge of the Animalis Mutants. And you…are Magneto…" This he said more to himself than to anyone else. And, upon saying it, he bowed, his wings shuffling as he did so.

"I know who I am." the man declared. "I still don't know who the devil you are or why you've taken me here…where are we? What is this place?"

"This is a safe bunker, far from Elemental territory. We are not likely to be discovered here." Fellswoop stayed in a low bow, directing his answers to the floor.

"I'm…not a prisoner?" the man asked skeptically. "You've taken me here…to keep me safe?"

"We have, Magneto, and at great cost. There is a great battle going on even as we speak. It is the greatest offensive we have taken in more than two years. Even so, it is only a diversion…that we may acquire you and we have done so." His voice was strong, but there was a timidity in it that Daytripper was certain only Magneto could have ever put there.

"An offensive?" he repeated. "A battle? I was in a battle—that is the last thing I remember…"

Fellswoop, at last, looked up at Magneto. "Sir…that battle was over fifty years ago. It was won. It was believed you perished in it."

Magneto's gray eyes widened. The shadows underneath them grew darker. "Fifty…fifty years? How is that possible?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Fellswoop shook his head. "We don't know," he said, "there were many witnesses who claim to have seen you fall in battle. Your supposed death led to a great victory against the humans, and ultimately, the greatest victory of all. They are all but extinct."

"Extinct?" he said the word with neither relish nor disgust, simply amazement. "Then what battle is it…that you are fighting now? The remaining humans?"

Fellswoop looked away. "No, there are not enough humans left to fight."

"Then who?" Magneto demanded. "Who?"

"I will explain all to you in time," Fellswoop insisted nervously. "But first, you must eat and we must find you clothes."

"You will explain it to me now!"

Fellswoop flinched. "The battle we fight now…there is a great war now, between…" he faltered. Daytripper watched him try to think. His clawed fists clenched and unclenched. "It has been going on for decades…"

Magneto eyed Fellswoop, as the other mutant stood dumb. It was sudden, but Magneto seemed to deduce from Fellswoop's reluctance what the matter was. "This war…it is between mutants?" Fellswoop did not deny it. He only looked pityingly at Magneto as that man looked in astonishment at him. If Daytripper could have seen through Magneto, he was sure would have witnessed the man's soul disintegrate—his dreams, his hopes, simply fall away into a black nothing.

He watched now as Tymah took a shy step forward. "I am Tymah. A weather worker. Class three." She took a shallow breath. "I am an Elemental. Fellswoop, and the others here, besides the Healer," she designated the purple-haired mutant, "are Animalis. We have been at war with each other ever since the human threat was eliminated."

Magneto was motionless. His mouth opened and closed several times, as if he were about to speak, but decided it against it. Finally, without raising his voice, he said, "You have separated yourselves based on abilities…and appearance." It was like a statement of fact and a question all in one. Something about the way he said it made Daytripper's heart break. "And…why am I here?" he whispered. "I should not have lived this long…"

It was then that the mutant called Creature, who had been kneeling all the while, at last rose from his position on the floor, and spoke. "You have lived past your life…so that our lives may be saved. You are the father of us all."

Fellswoop stepped forward. "Forgive us, Magneto. We have shamed you. It is, however, a kind of miracle that you, an Elemental, are considered by both species, Animalis and Elemental, to be the father of mutants. Forgive your children. We have brought you back to save us. Please, let us care for you. And let us explain all to you in more detail."

Daytripper watched with bated breath as Magneto's gaze went from mutant to mutant throughout the room. His eyes finally rested on Creature. "What are you called?"

"Creature, father," he answered.

"And you?" he asked the Healer.

"I am of no consequence, father," the Healer replied.

Magneto shook his head. "On the contrary, my dear." She smiled at the endearment, but said no more.

He turned from her and saw Daytripper, hiding in the shadows. "And who are you?"

"I'm Daytripper, teleporter, class—" He stopped himself from speaking. As he listened to himself, to his mutant designation, none of it seemed to matter at all. Only his name—that was what Magneto wanted. His name. "Daytripper," he repeated, and added quietly, "father."

Magneto wrapped the sheet around his body and he rose from the bed. Fellswoop stood close to him. "Tell me…" he whispered darkly, "what has happened to the world."

He jammed the needle into her arm and she shook and writhed and fell. Godspeed looked up at Himmel from the floor. "How dare you!" she cried. "How dare you?"

Himmel looked down at her. "I?" he repeated. "Dare?" He pointed to her. "Traitor!"

They had very few of these left, these Cure vials. Not enough to use in battle, against the Animalis, but enough for something like this—punishment. This time, as punishment for desertion and defection. It worked quickly and in mere moments, Himmel had made Godspeed human. It gave him no pleasure, but how else could he have possibly controlled her? It was enough that six Elementals had died trying to capture her. Godspeed shivered. "Himmel, if you could only understand…" she trailed off.

Commander Sky stepped forward. "Understand!" she cried. "Understand! All we understand is that you have joined forces with our enemies! You nearly defeated us! What more is there to understand?"

Godspeed gazed in wonder at Sky. "You should understand. You should know," she whispered, clutching her arm where the needle had gone in. "You were there!"

Himmel crossed his arms. "Physic?" he asked. "Mind-control?"

"It's possible…" Sky acceded. "Unlikely, though, that the Animalis could offer anything of value to a physic powerful enough to control Godspeed."

"Brainwashing?"

"This isn't a science fiction film, Himmel," Commander Sky said sarcastically. "Either she is a traitor, or she is not. The Cure will last approximately two to three weeks, after which time, Godspeed will regain her powers in increments. I would give her a month to recover sufficiently enough to escape."

"They could attempt rescue," Himmel suggested.

Sky shrugged. "I'll leave her to you, Himmel. You decide."

Sky left the bunker, and made her way down the left-most tunnel. When she had gotten far enough away, she gave in at last to her fears. What had she done!

She began to cry, lightly at first, and then, furiously and without restraint. It was too late—they had lost him.

Sky had been a member of the Brotherhood since the day she was born, a descendent of three generations of Brotherhood members. It was their duty and their calling to protect the frozen form of Magneto at all costs! They had done so, successfully, for over fifty years! She had suspected that Godspeed had discovered something. She could never have predicted what happened today. Not in her wildest dreams!

For fifty years, the Brotherhood had been waiting for the order to revive Magneto. From where, they did not know but they knew that they were waiting for it! It was all that mattered. For ten of those years, Sky had been second in command of the protection of Magneto. Her father had died before the order had come, and she had had no doubt that she would die before it came also.

Sky was suddenly, and for the first time in her life, glad that her father was dead. Oh, how disappointed he would be in her now!