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Chapter 18 of
A Simple Favor:
On May 24th 2002, evening, Magneto looked up from the many reports he was reviewing, curious what time it was. He reached for his cell phone and- wait, where was his cell phone? It wasn't on his desk in his study. In his bedroom perhaps?
Yes, there it was on the nightstand next to his bed. He reached his hand out, pulled the device from the other room, carried it through the air into his study and into his hand. He flipped open the phone: 10:53 pm. Good, he hadn't missed the eleven o'clock news. With a wave of his hand he turned the small tv in his study on as he noticed he had a missed call and a voicemail?
Probably a telemarketer, but still better to check.
He dialed into his voicemail, entered his pin and pulled the phone to his ear to listen.
"Hey, Max. Great news, Risty's in town," Rogue informed him in an overly enthusiastic voice as he felt his stomach drop. "If ya want you can meet us at the Descanso Riverts correct tonight at eight," she said. "Hmm, okay, so see ya there," she said before she hung up, the recording ending.
And that was- God, nearly four hours ago.
He'd missed most of the concert, surely. First order of business was checking in on Rogue. However, given the hour the question was what was the best way to do so. Should he call the Institute and apologize for the late phone call or go there in person and see what his senses could observe?
"Breaking news," a male anchor said, diverting his attention towards the television. "Disaster strikes at a local concert this evening in downtown Bayville. More mutant mayhem? More at eleven," he stated before it promptly switched to a commercial.
With that, he swiftly dialed the Institute's number and waited for someone to pick up-
"Xavier Institute, Charles Xavier speaking," he said.
Damn it, not Charles. Anyone but Charles would have been better. What should he say? How could he explain why he was calling so-
"Hello?"
Magneto hung up the phone as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Damn it," he exclaimed under his breath. Perhaps, he was getting ahead of himself. There were a number of mutants in Bayville. Just because Mystique happened to be at a concert, didn't mean that she was the cause of- well whatever happened. Perhaps another was to blame?
He and Rogue had worked diligently to keep this façade up. It was an impulsive mistake to call the Institute this late. He would have to wait till morning to call her. If Charles picked up again, he'd say he messed up the time-difference and only realized how late it was after someone had picked up and out of embarrassment hung up the phone. Yes, that could- that could work.
"This is Frank Patel reporting from Bayville news seven. Disaster strikes at a local concert. For more on this, we have Kim at the scene," a man with brown hair reported. Magneto looked over at the television as it showed a blond woman with short hair wearing a pink dress suit standing outside of a damaged building.
"Thank you, Frank. This is Kim Monahan reporting at the scene. What was supposed to be a carefree night for rock and roll fans has turned disastrous due to a mutant threat. An attack broke out during the Descanso Riverts concert by mutants fugitive Juggernaut and his unidentified cohorts. Students of the Xavier Institute once again took matters into their own hands resulting in several injuries and significant property damage. We've reached out to authorities regarding Juggernaut's recent escape and to the Xavier Institute but have yet to receive comment from either. More on this story as it develops. Frank, back to you," she reported.
"Thank you, Kim," Frank said as Magneto angrily waved his hand, turning the television off.
How many times was Mystique going to release Juggernaut? She's done it twice now and each time it ended in devastation. He might feel obliged that she hadn't targeted his daughter again still- no, he needed to recapture the brute before he could cause anymore harm.
Juggernaut's helmet was rather distinctive. It wouldn't take him long to locate him- thought he wasn't in Bayville- alright, perhaps the surrounding area? No. How far could he have gotten in four hours time? Not- perhaps the report was inaccurate?
Best to start where he was supposed to be but it would take time to fly all the way out there. The Institute was closer. And if Juggernaut was involved, Charles was certain to have the details.
With his mind set, Magneto set off and not twenty minutes later he was flying above the Institute, invisible and silent. He reached out with his senses, the first obvious thing he ascertained was Wolverine's location. He was sitting in the infirmary by the side of an unknown patient. From what Magneto could tell, he seemed to be holding their hand, whoever they were.
He moved his senses upward towards Rogue, bedroom, and-
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, the room and her bed were empty. Making it all the more likely she was the one in the infirmary.
He wanted nothing more than to go into the infirmary and confirm the identity of the injured party. However, even in his invisible state Wolverine would be able to smell him. Thus, that was not an option.
Charles still seemed to be active, doing something in his office. He would start there.
He flew down just outside the window of Charles's office and saw that he and Beast were hard at work.
"Yes, I would like to book eleven tickets for tomorrow," Charles said as Magneto entered the room from the, thankfully, large open window. "Yes, I understand it's short notice and no, I don't care about the expense. What do you have available?" Charles asked as Magneto looked over his desk.
There was a notepad that caught his attention when he saw Rogue's handwriting. Listed were various dates, times and numbers: May 18th, between 6:20pm-6:30pm- 1; May 17th between 4:15pm-5:27pm- 5; May 17th between 9am-11am- 4. The list went on and there seemed to be multiple pages but he couldn't lift up the page to see how many without calling attention to himself.
Unless-
"A cruise?" Charles asked as Magneto created a magnetic wave from the window, mimicking a strong wind. "Yes, a cruise would be lovely," he said as the page turned with the force to reveal the second page with the same type of dates and times written down. This page seemed to cover dates at the end of April. What was this?
"Should I?" Beast asked
"No, please leave the window open, thank you," he said before he returned his attention to the phone. "You said it leaves tomorrow afternoon from Manhattan?" Charles asked as he reached over and grabbed the notepad, fixing the pages. Charles would leave his office eventually. He could review them more thoroughly then. "Prefect, thank you," he said as Magneto backed away from the desk and floated over to the other side of the room. "Yes, I authorize the charge to my account. Thank you," he said again before he hung up the phone.
"Is now really the time to send the students away?" Beast asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is, Hank. Cerebro's logged several hits from Mesmero over the last week in Bayville. He may be the one who's been attempting to enter Rogue's mind," he answered.
"And caused the destabilization of her powers?" Beast asked as Magneto raised an eyebrow.
What had happened at the concert? Had Juggernaut even been involved? The focus was clearly on Rogue.
"That's unclear. But he'll certainly take advantage of it," Charles said.
"Wouldn't it be better if the team was here to help?" Beast asked.
"The last time Mesmero set his sights on the institute, he enslaved Jean, Kurt, Kitty and Evan before succeeding in his goal of obtaining those rings. We don't know what he needed them for. What I do know is this next week is crucial for Rogue's recovery. Her mental defenses are extraordinary. But in her weakened state she is vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation," he said.
'What?' he asked, as his fists balled at his sides.
"My attention must solely be on protecting her and I can't do that if I'm worried about the others," he said.
"What if you're right, Charles. And while you're devoting all of your energy to Rogue, Mesmero uses that as a distraction and switches targets?" Beast asked.
"One-hundred and fifty-six attempts, Hank," he exclaimed bitterly as he picked up the notepad from his desk and shook it in the air slightly in anger. "No telepath attempts to control someone's mind one-hundred fifty-six times if there is an alternative," Charles said as he felt his eyes narrow. "He needs her. For what, I don't know. And while she should've come to me for help a month ago, instead, each attempt she was further enraged by my supposed betrayal," he said.
"Charles, it's not your fault," Beast said sympathetically.
"Hank, of course, it is," he said dismissively.
"You thought Magneto was threatening her," Beast said.
"Yes, and in my hubris to oppose him, I destroyed the trust between us. I have no one to blame for that, but myself," he said strongly before letting out a sigh. "It will take a great deal of time but I do intend to regain her confidence. To the end, despite having the ability to, I will not read her mind without her consent," he said.
Meaning the construct had been destroyed? Destroyed by who? He needed to talk to Rogue, immediately. But with Wolverine by her side-
'Damn it,' he thought.
"However, your hypothetical poses an unwanted possibility. I'll put psychic blocks in each of the student's minds and then send them off to have a relaxing week away from all of this. We'll call it a surprise. Something we've been planning as an end of term treat. Since Rogue is unable to go. Tabitha will take her ticket," he said.
"You don't think?"
"The only one who'll see through it is Rogue herself and that's fine," he said. "It'll also give Bayville a week to calm down from the anti-mutant hysteria that is bound to pop up as a result of the incident at the concert," he said.
"Can the students miss a week of school, so close to the end of the year?" Beast asked.
"Kelly doesn't want Scott and Jean enrolled in Bayville any longer than they need to be. Either way, he'll let it go," he said.
"Either way?" Beast asked.
Charles was willing to use his powers on the bigot? Some good news at the least.
"It'll be fine," Charles said. "Hank, if you'll make the final arrangements for tomorrow," he said, changing the subject.
"Yes, Professor, if you're sure," Beast said.
"I am," he said as he headed towards the door. "Oh and Hank?" he asked.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Rogue received a call from Max Eisenhardt around eleven this evening. He… wasn't able to speak with anyone at that time. I suspect he'll call again in the morning. When he does, tell him she's in the infirmary recovering from an issue with her powers and he's welcome to visit her anytime between eight in the morning and nine-thirty in the evening. Not that she's conscious yet. I hope by morning she'll come to," he said.
Then it didn't matter. There as no reason to allow Wolverine to know he had been here if there was nothing to be gained from it. Charles had supplied him with an opening to be welcomed into the institute and he invented to take it.
"So, you're comfortable with him here?" Beast asked, surprised. "You've been so adamant about this. Do you no longer believe that-"
"No, I know Magneto and Max Eisenhardt are one and the same," he said.
"I don't understand," Beast said.
Neither did he, for that matter. He crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for Charles to answer.
"Max Eisenhardt is Magneto. There's very little doubt in my mind of that. Magneto is not threating Rogue and neither and I. If I'm correct then both of us have the came goal, to protect Rogue. And if that is the case, then he and and Logan can take shifts watching over her body," he said as the door to Charles office opened on it own. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to monitoring Bayville for psychic activity. I'll be in Cerebro's chamber till morning. Alert me once everyone has reported for breakfast and I'll make the announcement," he dictated.
"You need rest as well," Beast pointed out.
"Not till Rogue's conscious," Charles said firmly.