Chapter 69
At Magneto's base...
Many unexpected things had happened these last 12 or so hours to Magneto. One he was dealing with as priority was the witch Thoreaux. They now had an alliance but he doubted she could be trusted, taking her spoken words and obvious desperation to gain the stones as proof of that belief. That's why he had brought her to Blindfold for Ruth to divine whether...or more likely when he would be betrayed by her.
"The ghost," Ruth remarks as her non-existent eyes turn to her guests from where she sits on the floor.
"The Seer," Isobel returns with little short of loathing in her tone. "Did you foresee this?" she asks, gesturing with her head at Magneto in Superman's body.
"Transference...Transition. Yes, please. I did. Thank you."
"So you did," Magneto recalls her words. Those words. Ruth's veracity is as impressive as always.
"You want to know when she'll betray you, yes, no, you're welcome," Ruth already knows why he is here. Of course she knows.
"Which is it, Ruth?" Magneto needs to know.
"She will remain true to her nature...as does the darkness that is coming for her," Ruth forebodes Isobel's future.
Isobel shakes her head. "Seers," she snorts. "You think it's so clever to be cryptic. It's damn annoying!" she blusters.
Ruth smiles to herself. "I speak only what I see, please."
"What do you see for myself?" Magneto asks her a slightly different question to see if he can get his answer that way.
Ruth cocks her head. "Mutants gather in the savage place. A kingdom in the jungle will rise."
A smile comes to Magneto. It seems his plans for the Savage Land will work out. However his original question still hasn't been answered.
"Yes," Ruth says.
"Yes, what?"
"Her betrayal is inevitable."
"I honour my deals!" Isobel insists.
"Yes."
Magneto looks at Ruth more puzzled. "Which is it?"
"Both, neither, yes, no, thank you and goodbye. Oh where's my blue jell-o?"
"Seers," Isobel mutters disparagingly.
"Witches," Ruth mutters back with her tongue firmly in cheek.
Isobel actually growls in annoyance.
Magneto finds the little exchange amusing but leaves the same uncertainty. He can't be certain of Isobel's loyalty or lack of. It seems Ruth can't give him an answer. Either she can't see it or can't interpret what she sees into words that make sense. "What is it you desire, Countess?" he asks her directly.
"For the moment, the means to be free of my mother."
"The wiles of the Black Queen have far yet to stain with her darkness," Ruth echoes darkly.
"Oh please. I can see the future too you know and I know that it is possible to reshape it," Isobel dismisses Blindfold's ramblings as she sees them.
"Pieces move. The puzzle changes."
"Yes. Exactly!" Isobel agrees with Blindfold's description.
"You believe the stones can do this," Magneto assumes.
"They were made by Gods!"
"Yes. I am aware of the myths surrounding them," Magneto states calmly, revealing nothing of the truth he suspects.
Isobel turns and looks Magneto directly in the currently cerulean blues eyes he has. "Look, Magneto. Lets face the truth. Neither of us can 100% trust the other. However, use the stones' power to aid me in destroying my mother and...and my powers will be yours to command in aiding you in your goals," she offers a deal.
Magneto ponders this for several moments. A magical being on his side would be useful. "I will consider it," he says to not instantly accept her proposal but to leave her waiting on him.
"We need the other 2 stones," Isobel points out.
"Which means an assault on the Institute," Magneto points out what that would entail. "That needs planning and I need time to adjust to this body."
"Any time you waste simply gives them time to plan a counter strike," Isobel argues.
"Except this facility is shielded. Charles can't detect me," Magneto states with utmost assuredness. "And even if he could do you believe this facility to be undefended? And for arguments sake, let us say they breached the outer defences I have them outnumbered with my own followers. Any attack upon me would be futile."
Isobel frowns and then looks to Blindfold. "What say you Seer? Is any attack futile?"
"True nature wins through," Ruth repeats a line she spoke before.
"I believe that is all we shall get from her today," Magneto senses from his previous experiences with her.
"Heed my advice. Seers are fickle and not to be trusted," Isobel warns.
"I only speak what I see, thank you," Ruth repeats again with one final line before she grabs a piece of paper and some crayons and starts drawing.
"Ruth has no reason to lie to me," Magneto states, quite confident in the belief that Ruth does speak the truth of what she sees to him. There are good reasons he believes that that don't require to be mentioned.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Isobel wishes him to remember because she knows Seers and how fickle they can be. "Now, with your permission, may I return to the quarters you provided. I need to meditate and rest," she requests out of a need to show politeness and respect.
"The stone is guarded at all times," Magneto warns her in case she tries something.
"I honour my deals," Isobel repeats, insulted she is not believed. Of course anyone who knows her history would seriously question that claim.
"So you say," Magneto says with ambiguous tones not believing her either way. "And, yes, you may retire to your quarters," he permits.
Isobel leaves, her unhappiness at the situation she has found herself in clear.
Magneto looks down at Ruth who is doodling on paper. He'll have those collected later. She often draws the future. He turns and leaves the room, passing the guards outside the door that ensure Ruth stays put. He decides to head to visit Lorna's mother, Suzanna, who was still in her coma. Nothing he had tried yet had been able to wake her from it but he would continue his efforts. He wasn't going to give up.
When he arrives in the room where Suzanna is cared for he finds Lorna sitting at the bedside. "How is she?" he asks his daughter.
Lorna looks up with her luminous green eyes, her expression showing how she is struggling to cope with the fact her father is now in Superman's body. Yeah. Biggest shock ever. "S-she's the same," she has to sadly report about her mother. It tore Lorna up a little every day that her mother was like this.
"Have hope Lorna," he tries to keep her spirits up.
Lorna nods.
"How are you doing?"
"Oh, err, fine."
Magneto's brow quirks at her momentarily hesitation. "Something troubles you."
"No!" she says a little too high pitched.
"Lorna. If you have any problems at all I am here for you."
"That's the problem," she mumbles.
"Excuse me?"
Lorna sighs. "I said that's the problem," she repeats. "I mean just...just look at you."
It takes Magneto a moment to grasp understanding. "I have not taken into account how this incident has affected you. I apologise," he says because he can see how this would be slightly traumatic to her to see her father in someone else's body.
"How are you so calm?" Lorna can't understand. "I'm freaking out and I'm not the one who was body-swapped!"
"I'm an old man, Lorna. I have experienced much that would be difficult to explain," Magneto gives his reasoning about how he is handling this transition with as much calm as he is.
Lorna does sometimes forget exactly how old her father is. "When do we tell Pietro about what has happened?" she wonders. Her brother and the entire Brotherhood were currently away performing her father's wishes and aiding that Sinister guy down in the Savage Land to secure a living space for mutantkind. Lorna could have helped but for the moment she doesn't wish to be away from her mother for long.
Magneto takes a moment to compose a response. He hadn't thought yet of what to say to his son. He sees no urgent need to call them back. This, in fact, wasn't his first thought on where to send the Brotherhood but Sinister had requested assistance. Apparently the leader of the local human tribes...Ka-Zar Magneto recalls his name to be. Apparently he was causing trouble so Magneto thought that this relatively simple task fell within the Brotherhood's abilities so that was where he sent them. Perhaps if Pietro can prove he can do this simple task Magneto might consider giving his son responsibility for more important matters. "When Pietro and the others have completed their task and call in I shall inform them. There is no need to distract them with this at the moment," he decides and informs Lorna.
Lorna nods. Her father knows best.
"I know this must be awkward Lorna and I shall endeavour to take account of this from now on," he promises her, seeing from her expression how awkward she looks at being around him. Yes, he must allow her time to adjust. He needs time to adjust. He has yet to learn how to control all of Superman's powers but he shall and as soon as he does the time for mutants to rise up and take their rightful place will be here.
"Thanks," Lorna says but the problem is a little more complex than he thinks. It isn't just that her father is in Superman's body. It is the fact he is a super hot body that she may have a teeny tiny crush on. Oy vey, she is going to need so much therapy!
At the Institute...
Outside the front door a shimmering portal appears and out of it step Dr Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff. They didn't know precisely why they had been called but knew it must be urgent.
Waiting to receive them is Storm with a bemused expression upon her face. "Don't you ever travel anywhere normally, Doctor?"
Dr Strange smiles genially. "Well it does have it's advantages. Fast, no traffic and you would be surprised how much money I have saved without car payments, insurance or gas to fund."
Ororo turns to Wanda, dressed up in her typical Scarlet Witch uniform. "Hello Wanda. It's nice to see you as always," she greets the Goth mutant sorceress in training.
"Hi," Wanda says back a little more curtly. "So what world ending disaster are we facing this time?" she asks.
Ororo takes a moment to look at Wanda with a slightly peculiar expression as she wonders whether that was a joke. Since she has rarely ever seen Wanda's humour she has little information to make a judgement upon. "I'll let Professor Xavier explain," she says in reply.
Ororo leads the pair to the Professor's study. She will let him explain what is going on. Once beckoned inside he gestures for the pair of guests to sit.
"Thank you for coming at short notice," Charles says first off, appreciative that Stephen came.
"That's no issue," Stephen says. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"It involves Isobel. We may know where she is."
"I see," Stephen says. It had been an irritant, his failure to find the Countess and free the poor girl she was possessing. A chance to finally confront her head to head would be welcome.
Charles looks to Wanda. "And it involves your father."
Wanda's face darkens faster than Storm can summon a thunder storm. "What's he done now?" she asks, her voice tight as she tries to keep her temper in check.
Charles hesitates a moment to pray the mansion will still be standing after this before telling his two guests everything.
Clark needed to be on this mission due to his ability to hear and therefore be able to locate the stone. That meant he must gain some control over Magneto's powers if he was to be useful. The problem was he was trying to cram years of practice into a few hours. The Professor had been able to help significantly by using his telepathy to transfer his years of experience with Magneto, when they were friends, into what is currently Clark's mind.
No alien brain. No immunity to telepathy.
That had helped allow Clark develop a basic control and understanding of the magnetic powers he now had at his command in a very compressed period of time. Now he just needed some practice with them which is what he is doing currently.
While the X-Men were running through a simulation in the Danger Room, the New Mutants were currently helping Clark practice out the back of the mansion. He had decided against putting Magneto's red armour back on and opted for one of the New Mutant uniforms instead to wear. They come in all sizes.
The practice they were currently working through was really fairly simple just to allow Clark to get some feel for the powers he now possessed. It had started with a single metal ball that they tried to hit and he tried to keep away from them. He was now up to controlling 3 balls simultaneously.
"Paige! Incoming!" her brother, Sam Guthrie aka Cannonball, warns her as Clark has one ball swoop down at her.
Paige Guthrie aka Husk was transformed into a black stone like material. Her uniform had deliberately had to have pieces cut out to allow her access to her skin. The arms were missing and her midriff was exposed and instead of pant bottoms she wore a skirt that came down to just above her knees. She swings at the ball with her fist aiming to punch it but the ball swerves around her hand and tags her on the shoulder. Husk huffs in annoyance at her failure. She'll have to get better if she is to fulfil her dream of leading the X-Men one day.
Ray Crisp aka Berzerker takes shots at the balls with his electrical discharges but misses as Clark had found he could create magnetic fields that deflect the electricity off target.
Claire Selton...yes she was still going by Selton. Way too soon to consider a name change to Kent. Anyway the aptly named Volcana was hovering in the air throwing fireballs and missing. It was damn annoying how quickly her brother had gotten this good. Suddenly she is frozen solid and falls from the sky.
Luckily for Claire a quick thinking James Madrox aka Multiple has a small army of dupes cushion her fall and catch her.
"Drake!" Claire screeches in fury as she shivers at the cold.
"Accident!" Bobby Drake aka Iceman sort of apologises as he slides around her. It was in a way. He was trying to hit one of the balls and missed. Though he isn't that sorry he hit her. They have that sort of relationship.
Claire doesn't believe him for a second. Vengeance shall be hers!
Amara Aquilla aka Magma and Tabitha Smith aka Boom Boom were now back to back as Clark has his 3 small metal spheres circle around them like vultures.
"He's far too good," Boom Boom feels she has to complain. At first this practice had been easy but Clark's ability to learn was scarily fast and now it was really quite testing.
"Yep," Magma agrees.
An idea strikes Tabby. "Follow my lead and fill the air," she says to Amara. Boom Boom rubs her hands together and throws a multitude of her little energy bombs into the air. Amara throws several fire balls there too. They all explode obscuring the view of the 3 spheres.
Roberto Da Costa aka Sunspot, transformed into his pitch black form with a fiery aura, powers through the air into the fiery storm and plucks one ball out.
Cannonball shoots through it and plucks another.
At the same time Marie-Ange Colbert aka Tarot has between her fingers the card for Justice and brings the female figure holding a sword and a set of scales to life. The figure swings the scales into the fire storm and manages to scoop the last ball.
Game over.
The New Mutants win.
"Ha!" Tabby proclaims triumphantly. "You'll have to do better CK!" she teases.
Clark can only smile. "Or I could accept you're just too much for me," he jests.
Tabby manages a sultry smile. "Well unfortunately for you I have a boyfriend and I'm afraid you'll never get to see how much I am for you."
Amara rolls her eyes at Tabby's innuendo.
"Ok I really need to stop walking into those," Clark mutters to himself since Tabby always seems to find some way to twist his words round.
"Wanda?" one of the many Jamie clones still around suddenly says.
Clark's eyes shoot in that direction to find the Scarlet Witch standing there, her face caught in a mixture of emotions. "Guys, lets take 5," he announces.
To most of them it doesn't need explained what Clark is asking. Claire saddles up next to her girlfriend and leads her off since she doesn't know the story of Wanda's relationship with her father whose body Clark is currently occupying.
After the New Mutants head inside several moments past.
"Soooo...this is probably difficult for you," Clark says.
Wanda arches an eyebrow. "Ya think?"
Clark smiles softly. "Thank you for not hexing me on sight."
"It took some restraint," Wanda confesses. Not that she is wishing to hex Clark. It is just an almost reflexive action of her part whether she sees her father to try and hex him.
"The Professor explained everything?"
Wanda nods. She just came from his study. "Is it really you in there?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"I can't believe him!" she says in raised tones in reference to her father. This is getting added to her reasons to hate her father. That's an extremely long list.
"Yeah he's not my favourite person at the moment either."
"Are you...ok?" Wanda asks.
"Ooh debatable question actually. Everyone thinks I'm acting a bit odd after the Hellfire Club. Although they don't say it to my face but for some reason they seem to have forgotten I can hear them even when they talk behind my back."
If people were doing that to her Wanda would be pissed as hell but Clark's tone is so flat it's like he has just stopped caring what other people think. "Are you? Acting odd?" Wanda just decides to ask him flat out. Since she is staying at Dr Strange's at the minute she hasn't seen enough of Clark to know whether he has been or not.
Clark shrugs. "Maybe. Don't really have the time to dwell on it at the minute. Gotta get my body back. It's going to take a whole lot of scrubbing to get the insane megalomaniac smell out I'm betting."
Wanda bursts out in a small laugh at that. "That's probably true," she agrees.
"Thank you for coming and helping," Clark says gratefully.
"No problem...although expect bruises when you get your body back because I am kicking his ass!" she swears about her father.
"You should."
"Huh?" Wanda says, puzzled by his encouragement to harm his own body.
"Wanda you know how powerful I am. You can't afford to hold back," Clark advises, in the process permitting her to actually hurt his body but Clark is very clear in his mind that Magneto must not be able to use his powers regardless of what has to be done.
"We'll fix this, Clark. I promise," she says with heartfelt emotion. Clark has done so much for her and this is her chance to pay him back.
"I certainly hope so. Without my iron clad stomach I'm afraid it is only a matter of time before Kitty's cooking poisons me."
Wanda chuckles lightly. Yeah Kitty's cooking could truly be life-threateningly bad.
"You know I think I should probably come to my girlfriend's defence there," a voice from above breaks into the conversation.
Clark and Wanda look up and there, in a tree, is Spider-Man.
"Spidey, old chum. You made it!" Clark says with false bravado comradeship.
"And miss this?" Spider-Man asks as he somersaults down to the ground. "Not for the world. Although I must say, Old Bean, you've looked better."
"You know I could mention to Kitty the fact you hide her cookies under the potted planet in the lounge," Clark says as a small warning.
"You're looking great!" Spider-Man proclaims with over-the-top praise at Clark's threat of blackmail.
"You guys are nuts," Wanda has to declare them after watching the two of them for only a short time.
"You're only saying that because you love us," Clark says with a pout.
"We are very lovable," Spider-Man says in agreement.
Wanda throws her hands into the air and makes a sort of strangled scream of frustration at the two of them. She heads to the mansion to catch up with Tabby...and to get away from those two nutters.
"That was fun," Clark remarks.
"Wasn't it," Spider-Man agrees.
"Thanks for coming," Clark says more seriously.
After getting Kitty's phone call Peter wasn't going to say no when he heard what happened. "No problem although this is 2 you owe me."
"Uh who saved you from Doc Ock, Tombstone and Silvermane. Not to mention the Green Goblin," Clark points out examples he has helped Peter.
"I had those totally under control," Peter insists.
"Right," Clark says in a tone that show how that isn't true.
"This is totally weird though," Peter has to say about this situation. Body-swapping...wow even for him that's a new one.
"How do you think I feel? I've had to use the bathroom in someone else's body," Clark says with a shudder. "And I thought seeing my father and Selene was bad," he complains with a hand to his head.
"Yeah...that can't have been nice," Peter says, unable to actually make a joke at that.
"Clark," the Professor's telepathic voice breaks into his mind. "It's time for your and the New Mutants' run in the Danger Room," he informs Clark.
"You too, Peter...and thank you for your aid at this time," the Professor speaks to Peter.
"Ok how do you live with that?" Peter asks, weirded out at the voice in his head.
"Usually I don't. Normal telepathy doesn't work on my freaky alien brain."
"That Magneto is currently inhabiting."
"What can I say? It was a weird day. Weird things happened," Clark says with a resigned shrug. There's no point in him freaking out no matter how much he might want to. Just focus on the mission and he'll cope.
Later that day, as the sun begins to set, the X-Men, New Mutants along with Dr Strange, Wanda and Spider-Man get aboard both the x-jet and x-copter as they prepare to head out to launch their assault on whatever base Magneto is hiding at.
They had a plan. Couldn't be certain of its success and as any leader knows no plan survives past the first contact with the enemy. It was a daring plan. Perhaps you could say they were overreaching in its ambition but also they had little choice.
Magneto could not be allowed the time to figure out how to control Clark's powers. As soon as he did then he would attack them, coming for the 2 stones they possess.
Their hand has been forced.
They shall not fail.
For the world's sake they can't afford to.
The two aircraft take off and head west, chasing after the setting sun.
Author's Note: I suppose I could have had Pietro there for his reaction but you know Magneto keeps giving him far too many chances to prove himself. And away our heroes go. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; the assault on Magneto's base begins.