Chapter 33
At the Institute...
It had been over a week since Wanda left. A week since Kitty went on her first date with Peter and she had been talking everyone's ear off about it. Rogue was about a hair's breadth away from killing her. Rogue has a boyfriend too but do you hear her bragging? No...and this is despite she could. She has a lot to brag about. Rogue thinks Kitty has been on that phone every day talking to Peter for hours about who knows what. She guesses that means it's going good...which Rogue is pleased about. Kitty is her friend and Rogue would like to see her friend happy.
The mutant incident in Delaware involved this guy they had come to call Nitro. His mutant power caused him to build up energy within his cells until he released it...explosively released it. It was also beyond any sort of control.
They were just lucky he didn't kill anyone. Considering the negative press mutants already get that would have been the last thing they needed. In the end they managed to persuade him to let them help him.
Well Rogue did really. Her own inability to control her powers gave her a commonality with which to reach out to him with and eventually he trusted them enough to allow them to help him. Really he was just a scared kid, terrified by what he could do, by the new power fate had given him.
Due to the instability and danger of Nitro's powers they had been forced to put him on ice...in a way. They took him to Muir Island and put him into suspended animation, similar to the way the Juggernaut is imprisoned, until they can come up with a way to stabilise his powers. That was why Dr Moira McTaggart founded the facility on Muir Island in the 1st place. It was to research a way to help those mutants whose powers and physical mutations were extreme and she was only too happy to assist in this case too.
When they were putting Nitro to sleep you could see the relief on his face that he was being locked up and could no longer hurt anyone. You couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. You also have to wonder if this is just the start of the kind of issues the X-Men will have to deal with now that mutants are public.
Being on Muir Island also meant they got to catch up with Rahne, who was sour to say the least about her mother's refusal to let her go back to the Institute. You could cut the tension between mother and daughter with a knife. It was that thick.
As for how things at the Institute were going Ororo and Logan were still avoiding each other. Martha was getting that meddling itch just to try and sort it out. Bobby and Roberto's 'contest' over Cat Grant was leading to more frequent fights between the two. Otherwise, with the Brotherhood gone, there was nothing else too serious going on right at the moment.
The Professor and Beast along with Forge had been busy for the last couple of days fixing Cerebro because, finally, the ordered parts arrived. Late into Friday evening and they are just going through the initialisation routine before they fired it back up.
"Ready whenever you are Professor!" Forge shouts from outside the door as he reconnects the final power circuits using the tools from his techno-organic hand.
Charles places the helmet on his head and takes a moment to mentally prepare himself. "I'm activating it now Forge!" he tells the young man. Charles flicks the switch and Cerebro springs to life.
Beast standing next to Charles looks over the readings. "Everything is in the green," he reports.
"I can feel them," Charles reports as Cerebro expands his telepathic abilities to encompass the whole world. "Lets do a comparison with the last recorded readings and see what has changed," he proposes for the first task. Essentially what new mutants have popped up and what mutants have vanished.
Hank nods in agreement as Charles closes his eyes and stretches out his mind.
Bayville...
Officer Maggie Sawyer watches with more than a little satisfaction as the gang of drug dealers is shoved into the back of a police van. She had been on their case for weeks...even if it was a little above her pay grade as the saying goes but it had become personal to her that they were caught and prosecuted.
Her eyes turn up to her right to the figure standing on the rooftop without whom, she has to reluctantly admit, she could never have succeeded. "I need to talk to you," she whispers knowing he can hear her. "Give me a minute."
Maggie watches her fellow colleagues drive off and promises to see them back at the station. She then clambers up the fire escape to the roof where Superman stands, a pleasant warm, disarming smile on his lips.
"You wished to speak to me Officer."
"Yes. I did. I'm not going to repeat this so listen good," she warns him. "Thank you for your help."
"That's why I'm here," Superman says simply. "I was as tired of them and their drugs as you were Officer," he points out.
"No. You don't understand. It's...they hurt someone I care about. In there when I had a gun pointed at that guy...he was the one and I..."
"Were never going to pull the trigger," Superman assures her with total belief...although that explains why it looked so personal to her.
"You stopped me."
"I...reminded you of who you really are. That's all. If I wanted to stop you Officer I could have."
That's true Maggie guesses. The point is he talked her down by reminding her she was a cop and what she stood for when he could have more easily just physically stopped her. She had never really seen him fight up close until now but it was...almost scary how easy it all was for him. At least against normal people with guns. "I also think I owe you an apology," she says.
Superman looks at her curiously. "For?"
"I thought you were a mindless oaf. Brawn and no brains but that's wrong," she explains. As they worked together on tracking this gang down that meant talking with him as they sorted through the clues and she could see he was in fact really smart. His sense of humour was lame though.
Superman shrugs. "You wouldn't be the first. You won't be the last." Clark leans forwards and whispers. "Between you and me I let everyone think that. Makes them underestimate me," he explains his secret with a wink.
Maggie smiles a little. The twinkle in his eye also lets her see for a moment that she is talking to someone who is not really all that old. It is a youthful twinkle. "Who are you really?" she has to ask.
"A friend Officer. That's all I am. I just wish everyone would see that."
"Some people want you shot on sight."
"I know," Superman says sadly. Clark knows there are people in the police and local authority that think him a menace and want him stopped...but he won't stop helping. He can't. "I hope after these last few days you are not one of them Officer."
"Lets just say I'm warming up to you...a little," she qualifies.
"It's a start," Superman says with a grin. "So I heard mention this might get you a promotion."
"I'm not holding my breath," Maggie mutters because she's been due a promotion for years and keeps getting overlooked.
"Have some faith Officer and sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised."
"Still not holding my breath."
Superman chuckles. "Well I will bid you a good evening. There are lots of people I have to go help," he says his farewells as he walks to the roof edge. He stops and looks at her. "You should go to the hospital and visit Tobi. I'm sure she would appreciate that."
Maggie's eyes widen. "How did you know my...um, friend's name?" she asks in relation to the person she cares about who got hurt.
Clark places his finger to his lips. "Shh. Spoilers," he says with another wink. "And friend is underplaying it I think."
"You don't have a problem with me being...?"
"Gay? No," he says, almost laughing at the absurdity that he, of all people, would have a problem with that considering what he is. Being an alien means he really doesn't judge. "You'll find I have no problem with whatever gender a friend of mine chooses to date."
"Don't get ahead of yourself Superman. I said I'm only warming up to you a little. I wouldn't go as far as calling us friends. I'm still not convinced mutant vigilantes are a great idea."
"Well that's alright," Superman replies in a cheerful tone. "After all when did I ever say I was a mutant," he says with a broad, knowing smile before he bends his knees and leaps off into air to the next rooftop over.
Maggie stands there, more confused than ever. If he is not a mutant then what the hell is he?
At the Institute...
Down in Cerebro, Charles and Hank are discussing the findings of his initial scan of the planet. With Cerebro now functioning fine Forge had left for home.
"Our numbers continue to increase more rapidly than projected Charles," Hank says in relation to the sheer growth of the mutant population.
"I know," Charles replies with a puzzled brow. "I don't understand how. You and I both went over those projections dozens of times. What did we miss?"
"I can only assume we underestimated the percentage of the population that carries the x-gene. If you increase the starting number it fits within the normal margin of error."
"Yes but that would mean there should have been more mutants than Cerebro ever detected before."
"It doesn't make sense Charles, I agree, but what is important is what we do now," Hank cuts right to it.
"Well we both know what Magneto is doing."
"Yes I was surprised by how many mutants have vanished from the scan," Hank admits. The assumption is that many of the mutant who have vanished have joined Magneto and are now being hidden from any scan.
"Look at how many new ones there are," Charles says in disbelief as the incredibly long list scrolls across the screen in front of them. "We're going to have to sit down and discuss how we deal with this Hank," he decides.
"Yes I know. There are too many for us to help each and every one. We will have to come up with criteria about how we choose who is invited to come and attend the Institute."
Charles hated the idea of choosing one over another. They all need help but they will have to because as Hank said they can't help every mutant on the planet. "You are correct," he expresses his agreement. "But I..." he stops.
"What is it?"
Charles highlights a name on the screen that caught his attention.
X-gene activation detected. Location: Cumberland County, Kentucky. Name: Guthrie, Paige Elisabeth.
"Isn't that young Samuel's sister?" Hank inquires.
"It is," Charles confirms. "And I remember him saying she was sick."
That's a pretty common side-effect to mutant powers manifesting. The body has to undergo a sudden adjustment which puts a strain upon it.
"I better talk to him," Charles decides is best. He turns the wheelchair around and exits the room.
Hank stays behind for a moment, taking one last look at the list of new mutants that have appeared in the months since Cerebro last worked. He shakes his head a little. They had a lot of work ahead for them. The future, it seemed, was approaching faster and faster every day.
Hank leaves, not realising the significance of the name he left it upon.
Mutant power use detected. Type: Creation and manipulation of magnetic fields. Location: Eureka, California. Name: Dane, Lorna.
At one of Magneto's bases...
Magneto had set up websites as a mechanism to use the modern social media to reach mutants he otherwise couldn't. It left a system that needed to be monitored for messages from his followers. Sometimes these were coded so as to not make it obvious to the human authorities who no doubt monitored everything.
What had been brought to Magneto's attention today was an oddly specific message addressed to him by one of his old names.
Magnus.
One night long ago you saved my life and repaid me by gifting me another. It was a beautiful night in Miami. I still think of it. I don't know if you'll ever see this. I hope you do. Seeing you on tv was an Eureka moment on the Bay that told me she needs you.
Yours for a short time Suzanna.
Magneto frowns. The message was obviously cryptic.
Suzanna in Miami?
His eyes widen as a memory slips into mind of a woman with startling, luminous, green eyes that took his breath away once.
Suzanna in Miami.
Of course. He could never forget her.
He...she...they. Well he had been in a rough place in his life...although for Magneto, a man who survived the Holocaust, that's a relative term.
Why would she send this after all this time?
It had been what?
14 years...maybe 15 since he last saw her.
He rereads the message. Eureka moment on the Bay?
Eureka was spelt with a capital as was Bay. Proper place names is what Magneto is guessing.
There can't be many places called Eureka sitting on a Bay.
Easy thing to do is a search. Magneto will concede it is one thing humans have created that is useful. If she is sending a message now something must be up so he will track down Suzanna and personally find out what it is that has prompted this attempt to reach out to him.
At the Institute...
"Mah sister is a what?" Sam asks in complete shock at what he is hearing. He had been called to the Professor's office and this was the last thing he expected to hear.
"A mutant Sam," the Professor repeats. "Paige has been detected by Cerebro as having her x-gene activate. It would be why she is sick."
Sam drops his head into his hands. "Oh man," he mutters.
Charles rolls round and pats him on the back. "It's nothing to fear Sam. We'll go to Kentucky first thing in the morning and check up on her. She'll be fine."
Sam looks up, fear etched in his face. "Ah know she will be Professor. That's not the problem."
"What is?" Charles asks, perplexed.
"She's been goin' on and on for months about wanting ta be a mutant and now she is and now she'll come here and ah'll never hear the end of it. Mah life is over," Sam says with utter dread.
Charles smiles. Sam is, of course, blowing this way out of proportion and being over-dramatic, but that is the way with family. "Sam you need to phone your family and let them know we'll be coming," the Professor says to him.
Sam nods, gets to his feet and slowly departs dreading the future that is waiting for him.
Clark walks in through the door after his night out helping people and finds Sam exiting the Professor's office looking like someone died. "Everything alright Sam?" he asks.
"Oh hey Clark. No. Everything is not alright."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Only if you can extract the x-gene from mah sister."
"Huh?"
Sam explains it about Paige and his dread at her almost certainly coming here. He had listened to Paige say time and again how much she wanted to be like him and attend the Institute.
"Paige? She's the oldest of your sisters right?" Clark seeks to confirm.
Sam nods.
"It'll be fine Sam. I'm sure she's not that bad."
Sam laughs mirthlessly. "No Clark. She really is."
Clark looks at him.
"Don't get meh wrong. She's mah sister. Ah love her but she's a pain in the neck."
"Look...why don't I come with you," Clark suggests to give Sam support.
"You don't have to do that."
"I want to. Besides it's been ages since I've been on a farm. I miss it," Clark admits honestly.
"Well if you're sure?" Sam says a little hesitantly.
"I'm sure. Besides I can only take so much of Kitty's 'enthusiasm'," Clark says with a roll of his eyes, "over the fact she is dating Peter."
"Now that ah get," Sam says in total agreement. Kitty had been going overboard. He felt sorry for the guy who is dating her.
Sam then goes and phones his mother and spends some time explaining all about Cerebro and how it has picked up that Paige is a mutant like him and how he will be coming home. His mother is obviously thrilled about seeing him and Sam smiles. He misses his ma. He tells her they'll be there in the morning.
The next morning Clark jogs up the x-jet ramp with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder since they can't be sure how long this will take. May need to spend a night in Kentucky hence the overnight bag. Mr McCoy and Ms Munroe are at the controls. Mr McCoy coming along is to assess how ill Paige actually is. It can be stressful on the body becoming a mutant and they wanted to be on the safe side. Sam is already there.
It only needed to be a small group to go for one person. Beast and Storm as pilot and co-pilot. Sam because it was his family and Clark because he wanted to give his friend some support.
"You invite Tabby?" Clark asks as he slips in the seat next to Sam.
"Ah did. She felt it was too early to meet mah parents," Sam explains Tabby declining to come. "What about Rogue? You ask her along?" he asks Clark back.
"I did. She refused in her usual sassy way," Clark says with a smile. God he loves her sass. "It's fine. It's not really her to go meet people. You know what's she like."
"She's been better since you two started dating," Sam comments. Even he could see how much better Rogue was at being open and friendly.
Clark shrugs, not sure that's right.
"Are we ready to go?" Ororo asks the two boys.
"Ready when you are Ms Munroe," Sam replies.
Hank and Ororo perform the last checks before the jet takes off and they head to Kentucky. On the flight over Sam and Clark share anecdotes about growing up on a farm. The time passes fairly quickly until Storm announces their arrival.
The jet is landed in an open area as near the farmhouse as is safe and they all walk down the ramp. Clark closes his eyes and inhales deeply. Almost smells like home. He opens his eyes and takes in the sights. Farmhouse, barn, animals and everything else you would expect on a working farm. He sees several children of various ages running around. Sam's brothers and sisters. Clark counts 5 in total, 3 boys, 2 girls, Paige would be number 6 and he knows Sam's mother is expecting another soon. Wow that's a big family.
"Samuel Zachery Guthrie!"
Sam cringes instantly at the yelling of his full name. It comes from an older woman with blond hair and obviously very pregnant. "Hey Ma!" he waves at her before he runs over and hugs her.
Lucinda Guthrie smiles and hugs her son back. "It's good ta see you Sam. Let meh have a look at you." She pulls back and looks him over. "You look thin. Have you been eating enough?"
"Ma," Sam groans in complaint at her fussing.
Lucinda grins and ruffles her son's dirty blond hair.
Hank and Ororo smile at Sam's discomfort. Hank was using a holowatch so as not to frighten anyone with his appearance.
Sam introduces everyone. "Ma these are two of mah instructors Mr McCoy, he's the doctor ah mentioned, and Ms Munroe."
"Delighted to meet you ma'am," Hank greets her formally.
"Indeed," Ororo agrees. "You raised a fine son."
"Well with as many as I have I had to get lucky once," Lucinda jokes.
Sam grumbles under his breath. He does the last introduction. "This is mah friend Clark."
"Well he's certainly well fed," Lucinda remarks at the tall broad teen.
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am," Clark says. "Sam says nothing but praise."
Lucinda scoffs. "Ah doubt that but you're a nice young man for saying so. Tell meh does mah son have a girlfriend yet?"
Sam flinches. He hadn't told her about Tabby yet.
"Um...yeah. Very recently he started seeing this girl," Clark speaks the truth.
"Finally!" Lucinda says as if she wondered if it would ever happen. "You can tell meh all about her," she tells Sam.
"Yes ma," Sam says in sullen tones.
Lucinda points at her children. "That little army is Jay, Melody, Jeb, Joelle and Lewis," she introduces them. "Kids! Your brother's here!" she yells giving them permission to come greet him.
"Oh no!" Sam says in horror as he is rushed by his younger siblings who engulf him.
Lucinda turns to Beast. "So you will want ta see Paige."
"If it's alright," Hank replies not wishing to be rude.
"It's fine but don't expect her ta say or do much. She can barely get out of bed. Ah've...been worried," she says with concern for her oldest daughter.
"I'm sure it is nothing. Many mutants are ill when their powers first manifest. It usually passes in a couple of weeks at most," Hank tries to reassure the obviously concerned mother.
Lucinda takes a moment to stroke her swollen belly before she starts to lead Beast and Storm inside the house leaving Sam to introduce Clark to his siblings. "You have a large family," Ororo remarks, looking to strike up a conversation.
"Ah just love kids. What about yourself?" Lucinda asks back.
"No. I haven't found the right person...although my sister keeps pestering me to 'get on with it'."
"That's what family is for," Lucinda jests.
They soon reach Paige's room and Lucinda knocks on the door. "Paige!" she says in a raised tone as she walks in. There lying in bed, looking pretty awful is a girl of 14 with blond hair.
Tired blue eyes open. "Momma?" Paige inquires in a weak voice.
"There's a doctor here ta see you. Sam brought him from that fancy school of his."
The mention of her brother seems to bring more life to the girl. "Sam's here?"
"Yes he is," Hank confirms as he moves round next to her and places his doctor's bag down. "I'm Dr McCoy and I'm going to do a few simple tests if that is alright Paige?"
"Ah guess," Paige agrees, simply too tired to argue.
Hank smiles kindly and begins his work.
"Well if she is a mutant at least this stops all her crazy stunts," Lucinda says in some kind of relief.
"Stunts?" Ororo inquires.
"She's been desperate ta find some way to become like her brother. The fool girl jumped off the roof to see if she could fly and that was one of her saner attempts."
Ororo has to bite her lip to stop a laugh escaping. It wasn't funny really. The girl could have hurt herself. "Did she hurt herself?" she asks.
"No. She only landed on her head. Thank the Lord," Lucinda jokes.
"Momma," Paige weakly protests at being embarrassed by her mother.
"Paige Elisabeth Guthrie, did ah or did ah not tell you ta stop after you sat in that tub of ice water?" Lucinda challenges her daughter to deny it. "You could have given yourself pneumonia," she adds.
"Ah was just tryin' ta give mahself ice powers momma," Paige defends herself.
Lucinda throws her hands in the air. "You know what. Professor Xavier is welcome ta her. Ah'm washing mah hands," she says to Storm not really being serious.
"Ah don't understand," Paige says at what her mother is saying.
Hank explains. "You're sick, Paige, because your mutant powers have activated."
"They have?" Paige ask with desperate, desperate, hope in her eyes that that is true.
"Yes...although we don't know yet what power that is."
Paige does not care. The fact she is a mutant makes her feel better than she has in days. That's all she has wanted to be for months, even praying to God for Him to make her like her brother.
Hank continues with his tests. He decides to take some blood. The jet has a basic facility to run an analysis on it. It's why they took it instead of the helicopter. He sticks the needle in and...his brow furrows as something odd happens. The skin wrinkles up as if it is a sheet simply sitting on a surface. He still manages to find a vein and take the blood he needs before he puts the needle to one side and turns his attention back to the oddity that is Paige's skin. Hank gently pushes at the skin and he can feel it move and slide about. "Paige are you in any pain?"
"No. Not really," she replies. She just feels sick, worn down, tired.
"Hank. What is it?" Ororo asks, recognising that look on his face.
"Come. See," he tells her.
Ororo walks round and Hank takes her hand and places it on the loose skin. Ororo is puzzled by how she feels the skin move. Skin didn't move like that. Suddenly her nail catches the loose fold and the skin rips...making a slightly nauseating sound as it does so.
Both Hank and Ororo look to Paige's face expecting her to be crying out in pain but there's nothing. "Paige do you feel that?" Ororo asks, astounded that she doesn't seem to.
"Feel what?" Paige asks as she looks down at her arm for the first time and sees the ripped skin. Instead of being grossed out, as Ororo slightly is, an enormous grin comes to her face. She raises her hand to the ripped skin, grips it and pulls a long strip all the way off before anyone can stop her. Underneath is simply more unblemished skin. There's no pain, no blood loss. Nothing to show Paige just ripped her own skin off.
"Fascinating," Hank remarks.
"That's one term," Ororo says, holding her stomach and trying not to vomit her breakfast back up.
Paige starts to laugh joyously as she rips more strips of skin off and throws them in the air like confetti.
Lucinda just shakes her head in disbelief. Now she had another one to deal with.
Paige just keeps smiling and laughing. Finally she was special just like her brother.
Eureka, California...
A woman with brown hair and luminous green eyes drowns a stiff drink as she sits at home.
'Some 40th birthday,' she thinks bitterly to herself as she is almost alone. No friends...not any more at any rate. Something had happened and now all her friends shunned her. It would be why she is drinking at 10 in the morning.
Her name is Suzanna Dane and lately her life hasn't been going well. At the start of the summer she discovered a man she had had a love affair with long ago was in fact Magneto, now labelled a mutant terrorist by the government.
To Suzanna he was Magnus, a man who had shown her love, affection and understanding at a low point in her life. She had just lost her husband and was deep in grief. It meant she hadn't been paying attention when crossing a road as a police chase just happened to turn the corner.
Suzanna thought that was it until someone saved her. A man with silver hair and intense eyes that were deeply haunted...much like her own at the time.
Anyway after that they would meet regularly and eventually one thing led to another thing which led to Suzanna receiving the most wonderful gift she ever got.
Suzanna never regretted that but Magnus being who he is made it all more complicated.
A knock at the door breaks Suzanna out of her morose reflections of the current state of her life. She walks to the door and opens it. She gasps at seeing the sight of the silver-haired man in the trench coat. "Magnus," she says barely above a whisper.
Magneto can't stop the smile coming to his face as his eyes fall upon her. "Suzanna. You look lovelier than I remember," he compliments her in what he believes is a true statement.
Suzanna takes a moment to get over the shock. "I never...I wasn't...I didn't really think you would get my message."
"Many people underestimate me. That is their mistake," Magneto says somewhat darkly.
"You managed to find me?"
"Eureka on the Bay," Magneto repeats the words. "The town of Eureka on Humboldt Bay. It narrowed it down. After that it was simply a case of looking up the phone book."
"I'm...I'm..." Suzanna has to wipe away a few tears that start to fall. "I'm so glad you're here," she says.
Something stirs in Magneto's heart that is normally dulled from so many years of pain and loss. Seeing her cry moves him. He has a tissue in his pocket he gives to her. "Now what was so urgent you needed to see me?" he asks her.
Suzanna blows her nose first. "It's complicated," she starts to say before she is interrupted.
"MOM!" a terrified cry from within the house is heard.
"Lorna!" Suzanna says in panic as she sprints inside.
Magneto follows swiftly all the way to the kitchen where he finds a girl with brilliant green hair, a face almost like a younger version of Suzanna and the same luminous green eyes. She is dressed in a green and purple hooded top and beige pants with light grey boots. The girl is backed up into a corner, huddled on the floor, as various metal objects float around the room, a look of terror on her face. The objects, many of them sharp and dangerous suddenly fly out of control right at Suzanna and Magneto.
Magneto raises his hand and stops them, countering the other magnetic field he can sense. The one coming from the girl. He pulls the objects together until they meld into a metallic ball which he keeps floating above his hand.
Suzanna rushes over and takes the girl in her arms and attempts to soothe her. "Shh. Shh. It's alright."
"It happened again. I couldn't make it stop," the girl sobs.
"It's ok Lorna. It's ok," Suzanna assures her as she kisses the girl on the temple and strokes her hair. Suzanna then looks up at Magneto. "I was trying to build up to it," she says with a nervous expression.
"Build up to?" Magneto queries.
Suzanna swallows. "This is my daughter, Lorna," she explains. "She's 14 years old."
Magneto's jaw drops as he starts to do the maths. She couldn't possibly mean...
"Lorna," Suzanna says gently to her daughter. "This...This is Magnus. He's your father."
Through moisture laden eyes Lorna looks up at the man and Magneto sees it. That yearning of a child to connect to their parent and something stirs again in his numb heart. "We have a daughter," he says, almost like he can't believe it.
Suzanna nods. "She seems to have inherited your, uh, gift. That was the she in the message. Lorna...she needs your help."
"Are you really my father?" Lorna asks as she wipes some of the tears off her face with the back of her sleeve. All her life she wondered about her father. Her mother had always been so vague about answering that question but now, finally he was here, it seemed.
Magneto steps forward and bends down. "Apparently I am." He brings forward the molten ball of metal to hover in front of Lorna's face. "Tell me Lorna is there an animal you like?"
"Uh...ponies I guess," she answers with the first thing that pops in her head.
Magneto smiles and he starts to reform the metal in his grasp until it takes on an equine shape.
Lorna's eyes light up in awe and wonderment. His powers were like hers...only he could control them. She had no control. "C-can I do that too?" she wonders.
"In time. Yes," Magneto promises as he hands over the newly created sculpture to her and the light of joy in her eyes makes him smile. It has been so, so long since he was able to do that for one of his children.
"H-her powers?" Suzanna inquires after, afraid of another episode.
"I'm neutralising them," Magneto assures her. For someone of his power and experience he can create a magnetic 'bubble' around Lorna that keep her magnetic powers bottled up. "There will be no more episodes."
That seems to calm Suzanna. "I guess I have a lot to explain," she says with a sad smile.
Magneto should feel anger. He has been denied 14 years of his daughter's life but it just isn't there when he looks into those sorrow filled green eyes of Suzanna's. "Yes. We shall talk," he agrees.
Guthrie Farm, Kentucky...
Sam and Clark had managed to pry themselves away from Sam's siblings so they could go visit Paige. They enter the room to find Paige ripping her own skin off.
"Paige what in tar nation are you doing?" Sam demands to know.
"Sam!" Paige greets her brother excitedly.
"Ah thought you were sick," Sam says because she looks far from it.
"Ah don't have time ta be sick. Ah'm a mutant now! Look!" she says as she pulls more skin off.
"Will you stop doing that!" Sam pleads because, seriously, it was gross. He felt sick.
Paige makes a face at Sam and then spots the tall boy, with the curly dark hair. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Clark. Ah told you about Clark," Sam says...although now he thinks on it with Wanda altering reality or something he isn't sure what it is Paige will remember.
Clark waves. "Hello Paige. It's nice to finally meet you. Sam speaks about you a lot."
"Does he now," Paige says with an evil grin. "And what does he say?"
"That you're his little sister whom he loves dearly."
Paige snorts as if not quite believing that and continues to pick at her skin, unable to stop being fascinated by what she can do.
"Thanks," Sam whispers in Clark's ear for saying that because in reality he complains about Paige all the time.
"I'm going to back to the jet and run some tests on young Paige's blood," Hank announces. "From the looks of it I say she is getting better by the minute," he observes. It is almost as if using her powers, whatever they actually are, is helping her overcome the sickness. Going to the jet will also give him a chance to consult with Charles over the comm link.
Hank leaves and Sam turns to his mother. "Where's Pa?" he wonders about the whereabouts of his father.
"Working in the mine."
Sam's face darkens. "Ah thought we agreed he wasn't going ta go back ta that. He almost died!"
"Don't raise your voice Samuel," Lucinda warns her son. "And he had no choice...unless you want ta see your family homeless. We just don't make enough money from the farm."
Sam grumbles and wrings his hands in complete frustration. Of course he didn't want his family to lose their home. He stalks out of the room before he says something he'll regret.
Clark could sympathise. His family lost their farm because it wasn't making enough money. He follows Sam out of the house. "You ok?" he asks.
"No," Sam says in no uncertain terms. "Mah pa almost died in that infernal coal mine. The owners had been cutting corners on safety and there was a cave in. If it wasn't for mah powers he would have died."
"You never told me that story."
"That's when mah powers manifested. Ah was so worked up with worry, ah felt like ah would explode and ah did in a fashion. Ah was able to blast a way through the cave in. Made the local news. That was how the Professor found meh."
"Sam I understand you know. I ended up at the mansion partially because we lost our farm. We were already packed, ready to go to my grandfather's in California, when the Professor showed up. I saw how it ate at my father. He would have done almost anything to keep that farm, even at the risk of his health."
"Ah think your father and mine would probably get along like a house on fire," Sam proposes because that sounds exactly like his own father.
"Probably."
Sam sighs. "Ah hate the idea of him back down there," he expresses what is bothering him. Worry over his father's safety.
"Surely the owners had to make some improvement to safety," Clark argues.
"Ah wouldn't hold mah breath," Sam mutters. "The guy in charge is a greedy, self-centred man who cares little about anything except making money."
"Is that so?" Clark says in a tone that shows he is pondering something. "Well it sounds like you need a reporter to investigate him," Clark proposes and when he says reporter he's meaning himself.
Sam looks at him. "You serious?"
"Sure. Now where's this mine?"
Eureka, California...
They had moved through to Suzanna's lounge. Magneto had spotted the open bottle of whiskey, frowned deeply but not made a comment. He could see Suzanna was nervous, playing with her hands on her lap. Lorna was smiling joyfully at the toy he made her. It warmed a little of his cold heart. She had left for her room so he and Suzanna could speak alone. He could keep Lorna's powers in check from here. He could sense her...the magnetic field she generated. It was odd but soothing at the same time.
"You're looking...younger than I remember," Suzanna remarks, perplexed by how Magnus appears to her compared to her memory.
Magneto smiles lightly. "A long story. For the moment lets us just say I was reborn in a fashion."
"I didn't know," Suzanna starts. "That I was pregnant. I didn't know until after you had left."
Magneto sighs. The reasons he left were obvious if you do the maths. "I...regret the way I left," he says truly. He sort of just left without a proper goodbye.
"You went back to your wife Magnus. What is there to regret?"
"How did..."
"I know?" she finishes.
Magneto nods. He never told her he was married.
"I was tidying up your clothes one night while you slept and your wedding ring fell out your pocket. A divorced man would not have kept it on him," Suzanna explains.
She always was very bright. It was part of why Magneto grew so fond of her.
"I take it you and she were going through a rough patch when we met."
Magneto nods. "Yes," he says wistfully. He and Magda had basically separated at that point. Wanda and Pietro, who were 2 at the time, stayed with her while he went off for several months before returning to patch up the marriage. He doubted either of the twins remembered it in all honesty.
"I don't regret it Magnus. What we shared. You were a great comfort to me after I lost my husband and you gave me Lorna. For that I am forever grateful."
"Tell me of Lorna," Magneto requests since he feels there is nothing to gain in rehashing over hurt feelings from long ago.
"What's there to tell. Until a couple of weeks ago she was a normal 14 year old. Then her...what is it you call it? Her x-gene?"
"Yes," Magneto confirms.
"I guess it turned on or whatever the term is. Her hair turned it's colourful current shade and metal objects started floating around in her presence."
"Her hair was..."
"Brown. Like mine," Suzanna informs him of what it use to be like. She suddenly chuckles. "You know she wants to be a geologist. 14 years old and she is already planning her career...or she was," Suzanna says with a sudden sadness about how much has changed.
Magneto smiles at the little bit of his daughter he has missed out on.
"They expelled her," Suzanna says in a pained whisper.
"What?" Magneto asks, puzzled.
"It was at school it happened...her powers came and they expelled her because she couldn't control it. A few of the students were hurt by flying objects. Grounds to be expelled."
Magneto's face darkens. "Expelled because she was a mutant. Utterly unacceptable," he says in near total contempt for the human authorities who made that decision.
"It's not a large town Magnus. I think Lorna is the first mutant they've probably ever seen in person," Suzanna says in a sort of justification for those who expelled Lorna.
"It does not excuse them."
"Well maybe you can tell that to my employers...no wait my former employers who deemed having a mutant daughter grounds for dismissal."
Magneto's anger grows.
"Can you blame me for drinking?" she asks in an almost flippant tone. "I know you what you were thinking when you saw the bottle. Did you notice the piece of paper under the bottle? Go ahead. Have a look at it."
Magneto leans forward and moves the bottle off the coffee table and picks up the sheet of paper. "A foreclosure notice?"
"The bank just pulled the plug on my mortgage. In a week we'll be homeless."
Magneto crushes the sheet of paper into a ball. No daughter of his will be homeless. Criticise him how you want for how he raised Wanda and Pietro but he did always make sure they had a roof over their heads. "This will not stand," he growls angrily.
"I don't care about myself," Suzanna says selflessly. "I care for Lorna. That's why I sent that message. I hoped somehow you would see it and come for her."
"You think I would leave you uncared for?" Magneto asks her gently. "I shall not," he promises her.
Suzanna sighs. "Magnus...I've done all I can for her. Her powers...I don't even know where to start to help her with that."
"You contacted me. That was the start and I can help her. I can help you," he says with genuine warmth and caring.
"Magnus I've seen your message. Not exactly very human friendly is it?"
"That does not apply to you," he assures her. "You and Lorna can come live with me. I insist."
Suzanna takes a few moments to think. "Lorna! Come in here!" she yells.
Lorna comes almost bouncing through, still holding the little horse Magneto made for her, happier than Suzanna has seen her daughter looking in weeks.
For the first time in weeks Lorna hasn't had to worry about her powers going off. She smiles upon seeing her father.
Her father.
Lorna loves that. She has always wanted to know her father and here he is, sitting in her house...and she was just like him.
"Yes mom?" Lorna inquires about why her mother called her.
Suzanna pats the cushion next to her. "Sit down honey. There is something we need to talk about."
Lorna could tell this was going to be serious as she sits herself down.
Suzanna takes a breath. "Magnus...she needs to know who you are."
Magneto nods in concession. He could see that if Lorna was going to come with him she needed to know him.
Lorna looks from one of her parents to the other. "What is going on? What do I need to know about dad?"
Dad. Magneto likes hearing that. It is good Lorna has so quickly come to accept he is her father. Magneto speaks. "My name, Lorna, is Erik Magnus Lensherr but you most likely know me better as Magneto."
Lorna's eyes widen. She thought he looked familiar. "You're him...off the news. The leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants right?"
"That is correct," Magneto confirms. "But don't believe the human propaganda. I am not a terrorist. I am the defender of our kind as we take our first steps on the road to our rightful place in this world."
Lorna takes a moment to absorb that and comes up with a question, based on what she knows of her father. "Does that make me Jewish?"
Magneto laughs at the wonderfully innocent look on Lorna's face. "Truthfully it has been a long time since I followed the tenants of the faith...but the answer to your question, Lorna, is that you are whatever you wish to be and never let any human tell you otherwise."
Lorna knows what the news says about Magneto...but it can't be true right? It has to be an exaggeration. Everyone knows how they exaggerate to pump up ratings. He's her father and she refuses to believe he is a terrorist. "I, uh, I have questions," she raises with him.
"I'm here. Ask them," Magneto permits her to ask whatever she wishes.
Lorna smiles in pure joy. Her father's here!
Author's Note: I more or less borrowed this idea of Nitro from the WAXM episode he was in. For now I just want it to be a minor thing in passing. Superman, champion of the ordinary guy therefore Clark would never let this mine problem just be. So Husk and Polaris make their débuts in my little tale. Suzanna Dane was Lorna's adopted mother in the comics but I decided to just take her and make her Lorna's actual mother since I am pretty certain her real mother has never been revealed...or at least it is beyond my knowledge if she has. I think maybe they're doing a story about her origin and her mother at the moment but since I haven't read any of it I'll just stick with what I wrote here. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Clark and Sam make a visit to the mine while Magneto and Lorna bond.