August 19, 1992
David continued to glare at Magneto, his heart in his mouth. They knew. It wasn't as though it were a particularly hard thing to figure out. Kurt was the splitting image of Azazel, colored and shaded to look like Mystique. David had remembered the way it had felt, seeing that picture in the X-men's dossier on the Brotherhood when he was younger.
Kurt had, of course, seen it too. He'd refused to make the connection though. If he'd seen Mystique two pages later then it would have been impossible to deny. Not only did he have Mystique's eyes and skin, she was also their father's sister. It would make sense that she would chose him to drop her baby with.
He'd stopped reading though. Kurt had refused to entertain the possibility that he was anything other than an Xavier. David hadn't pushed the issue. It had happened so long ago that Kurt had most likely forgotten about it.
David hadn't. It was one of the more unpleasant parts of his mutation. He could remember many things in great detail, his mistakes, his fears, and every damn thing the voices in his head had ever said.
He'd hoped that the Brotherhood wouldn't run into Kurt. Mystique seemed curious about her biological son, but not overtly so. He could deal with that. Boom-Boom and Lance didn't seem to have made the connection. They might have joined after Azazel died though. Their timeline on the two of them was a little iffy.
They stared at each other for another few minutes. David knew he wasn't going to be the first one to blink.
"Guys?" Remy said, "I be seein somethin movin."
David turned. Kurt moved away from the trees, pulling Amanda with him. David put his fingers to his temples and began to scan the woods for any minds. When he found one he reached out to make contact, sharper than he'd intended.
Ow!
David scanned the mind and relaxed.
Sorry Uncle Sean, he thought, We've all been a little tense lately.
Don't worry, I get it, Sean thought.
"It's just Banshee and the rest," David said.
Remy relaxed, but the Brotherhood still looked a little tense. A few seconds later Sean came through, followed by Alex, Terry, and Deadpool. David could see that his uncle was surprised by the sheer volume of Brotherhood members who were there. David didn't blame him. He was still getting over it himself.
"Okay then," Sean said.
He looked around at the camp.
"Did you get the school evacuated?" he asked.
"Most of it," David said, "We haven't managed to go back there, but I think you got here just in time for the rescue mission."
"Rescue mission?" Alex said.
His voice was low and he was purposefully not making eye contact with Magneto. He still didn't get along with his father-in-law. David didn't blame him for that. He didn't blame any of the X-men for their reactions to the Brotherhood.
However, Alex was in a unique position. David didn't want to answer Alex's question, didn't want to tell him that his wife was among the missing.
"We have a few confirmed MIAs," David said, "Including my parents."
Sean shook his head. Terry bit her lip and Alex swore under his breath.
"Sinister, right?" he asked.
"Yes," David said.
Alex nodded and tilted his head.
"Max and Luna?" he asked.
"They're fine," David said, "Shaken, but fine."
"Good," Alex said, "Where's my wife?"
David paused and swallowed.
"You're not making eye contact with me," Alex said, "Where's my wife?"
"We...we don't know," David said.
Alex stared at him. They didn't know?
"She's one of the MIAS," David said.
Alex could feel the world swirl in front of him. He remembered talking to Lorna on the phone. That hadn't been that long ago. Nothing had been wrong. His wife of nearly twenty years had been the same as always.
Now she was missing, if not dead. Alex refused to think that though. She was strong, a fierce fighter. She wouldn't let someone like Sinister kill her. However, Sinister had always been fascinated with second generation mutants. If she was alive, then Alex hated to think what Sinister might be doing to her.
He breathed in, trying not to think about her hurt or a prisoner. Sean was saying something, putting his hand on his shoulder, trying to perform the duty that Alex had performed so many times before. He was trying to reassure him.
It wasn't working.
"She knows what she's doing," Sean said.
"Of course," Alex said, "I'm just worried Sinister does too."
He looked at David. He had to be commanding, had to hold it together when he wanted to shatter in a million pieces. He wanted to have Lorna with him so bad that it ached, wanted to know that she was alright.
"If you ever try to hide something from me again, think better of it," Alex said.
David nodded.
"Yes sir," he said.
"Good," Alex said, "Anything else I should know?"
"Angel's dead," David said.
Alex blinked.
"Something was coming after Max and Luna," David said, "She...stepped in."
Alex felt his shoulders slump. Angel had died for his son. He wasn't surprised. It seemed to be the kind of death she would have wanted: one where she could have protected Lorna's children. Lorna's family had been her life after she'd left the Brotherhood.
It was sad. He could still see her as a teenager turning her back on the people who had taken her in. He remembered her standing at the fence post, looking at his house with such longing. Then he remembered her as his children's babysitter and confidante.
"Anything else?" Alex asked quietly.
David shook his head.
"I'm not aware of anything," he said, "You might want to double check with Cyclops."
"Right," Alex said.
His hands turned into fists.
"Where are my children?" he asked.
"Four tents in, two rows down," David said.
"Good," Alex said, "I'll check in with Cyclops after I see them."
He shrugged Sean's hand off and walked through the Brotherhood. They parted for him. They remembered. They remembered what he could do to them, what he had done to them, and they knew better to get in his way when he was angry.
Only one of them didn't move. He hadn't expected Magneto to do the right thing, or even the decent thing. Alex stopped in front of him, the man that Lorna had always insisted was still her father. He kept his voice low.
"Sinister has her," Alex said, "and God only knows what he's doing right now. Happy?"
Magneto's lips pursed.
"No," he said.
"Why don't I believe you?" Alex said, "It's not like you ever cared."
Their eyes met. Alex didn't look at Magneto's eyes so much as he glared at him. He didn't want to pretend that Magneto could be anything other than a monster. He'd tried for years to agree with his wife, to at least try to see things from her point of view. Every time he met Magneto it became a little harder.
"Now get out of my damn way," Alex said, "And let me see my children."
Magneto stepped out of the way, still glaring at him. Alex moved past him. He wasn't going to think about him anymore. He needed to get his children to safety, and then he needed to rescue his wife.
"Max?" Luna whispered.
Max started. He'd just been about to drift off. He forced himself to sit up and look at his sister. It was the first time she'd spoken since Angel died.
"Yeah?" Max said.
"Why do you have a knife in your coat?" she asked.
He winced, suddenly remembering the knife's presence yet again. He hadn't thought abut that when he'd given Luna his coat. He'd only thought of it as a way he could hug and comfort his sister without actually touching her.
His sister sat up, clutching the coat around her and looking at him with wide eyes.
"I uh, mom gave it to me," he said.
Luna continued to look at him.
"She uh, she told me to keep it with me," Max said, "It used to be hers back when she was with the Brotherhood. She wanted me to have it so I could remember...remember that killing isn't the only option."
Luna frowned. She pulled the knife out of the coat and looked at it. Max had looked over the knife a million times. It had been intricately designed, but there was no mistaking its purpose. It wasn't for show or ceremony. It was meant to kill people.
He wondered how many people his mother had killed with it before she'd realized there was a better way.
"Max, that sad man with the gray eyes," Luna said, "He's Magneto, right?"
"Sad?" Max asked.
"Sad," Luna said.
Her voice had a certainty to it that confused Max.
"He's Magneto," he said, deciding to drop the subject.
She looked at the knife again.
"He's evil, right?" Luna said.
Max hesitated. His sister's voice was so tentative. He didn't know how he felt about the situation himself.
"I don't know," he admitted, "He's supposed to be...but he tried to save mom."
A few tears fell down her cheeks.
"She's gonna be okay, right?" she asked, "It's...it's not gonna be like Angel..."
Max wrapped his arms around his sister, fighting to keep his own tears under control.
"It's not gonna be like Angel," Max said, "She's gonna be fine, alright?"
"That's what I thought about Angel," Luna said, her voice choked with sobs.
"Hey, hey," Max said.
He put his gloved hands on her face so she was looking at him.
"It's always kind of bad before it gets better," he said.
"You're just saying things," she sniffled.
He couldn't argue with her. Not when she said that. Max didn't know what to say. His sister was a child and she'd witnessed Angel's death. She was an innocent, although Max knew that he wasn't much more worldy. He didn't have the words that she needed to hear.
Their mother would know. She wasn't there though. She'd been left behind at the Institute so they would have a chance to escape. Angel would know what to say, but she was dead, had died to protect him.
His father would know. Max had wanted to be like his father for so long, but now he felt like he was a failure.
"Luna, look at me," he said.
Luna forced herself to do so.
"We're going to be fine," he said, "Do you know why?"
She shook her head.
"We're Summers," he said, "And we're always okay. It doesn't matter what the world throws at us. We're made of stronger stuff. Our father led a militia to fight for mutant rights for years. Our mother broke with her family for what she believed in, decided that doing the right thing was stronger than being loyal. We're their children, and we've got that legacy behind us. A legacy of bravery."
Luna looked down, but Max tilted her head up so she could see him.
"We're going to be fine," he said.
The tent door unzipped itself. Max looked up and saw his father staring at them.
"Dad!" Luna said.
She launched herself into their father's arms. He held onto her. Max scrambled up. Although he was fifteen, he let his father sweep him into a bear hug. The knife lay on the floor of the tent, momentarily forgotten.
