you can't disguise

[age_old_blue]

WHO: Mystique-as-Magneto, Polaris, Quicksilver.
WHERE: The warehouse district.
WHEN: July 6th, aprox. three hours after this post.
WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: Lorna and Pietro believe that they are coming to talk to their father. Unfortunately, Mystique has other ideas.
FORMAT: Quicklog?

Comments

[hooked_on_speed]

[Pietro had collected up Lorna and sped down to the co-ordinates they were given. They arrived in less than three seconds, and even after three hours of waiting he was still restless and worked up. Turning to his sister, he scowled as they approached the building.]

I mean it, Lorna. One wrong move from him and I'm soooooo outta here! I still think you're crazy for agreeing to this! He could end up tying us up and turning us inside out! What. The. Hell. Are. We. Doing!?

[Biiiiiig breath]

[lady_buckethead]

[Lorna couldn't believe it. She had waited and waited and waited for her father to come to the city. Now that he had, it was the wrong one.]

He won't! He--He won't.

[She folds her arms to hide how nervous she is.]

[age_old_blue]

[Scowling, Mystique flung the communicator onto the desk which dominated the foreman's office, scattering the papers sprawled across its surface. Useless. All of them, useless. She stood for a moment, letting her anger run over her body in waves of furious blue scales.

Voices outside alerted her to the arrival of Lensherr's spawn. Moving quickly, she plucked Erik's helmet from mid-air and settled it on his grey curls. How the old man tolerated wearing such a thing for any length of time, she didn't know.]

[hooked_on_speed]

[Pietro was in mid-babble when he finally caught sight of Magneto. Ohgod. OhGod. Ohshitohshitohshitohshit! It really was him! Even if they were from different universes, their faces were the same!]

[He hid behind Lorna and pushed her forward.]

Youtalktohim!

[lady_buckethead]

[Due to her brother being the biggest coward ever, Lorna was shoved forward first. Unlike him, she wasn't at all scared. Sad, yes, but not scared.]

Uhm. H-hello father.

[She had no idea what this Magneto was supposed to be like. What were they supposed to do? It was really him.]

[age_old_blue]

[Mystique observed the Maximoffs as they came chattering and stumbling into the warehouse like a pair of baby birds. The surprise she felt at the sight of them barely registered in Erik's eyes: no, she was better than that. She held it close, winding it carefully around the spools of her mind. They had sounded young, yes, on the commuication device, and they were certainly from a different world than Mystique herself, but they were -- she hadn't expected -- ]

Children. [She managed to sound fatherly, at least. A stern, prideful father, but a father nonetheless. She spread his hands, palms out. An offering.] Come, you have no reason to fear me.

[hooked_on_speed]

[Nope, not moving. He stands in his place behind Lorna and folds his arms]

Yeah, you say that now! How do I know you won't just go and wipe our memories of all the bad stuff you did, like you did to Wanda??

[lady_buckethead]

"I'm not afraid."

[Lorna stood her ground, which was more than she could say for her brother. When Pietro spoke, Lorna turned her head.]

"Pietro. H-he's not the same one."

[age_old_blue]

[Mystique frowned.]

Lorna's right, Pietro. I am not the man who harmed your sister. I would never do such a thing to Wanda, unless it was for her own good. And even then I -- [she looked away from them, affixing a conflicted expression to Erik's face. She had heard enough of the events of Wanda's disappearance, and knew enough of the hard choices one often had to make when trying to save the lives of one's children, to feel some genuine regret for what had happened to the Maximoff girl.] I have not always been the father my children deserve. But I would never knowingly bring them pain.

[hooked_on_speed]

That's what you said though! That it was for her own good!

[He still wasn't sure he could approach his father. A part of him really wanted to; the idea of this Magneto finally accepting him for who he was was almost too good to be true. But there was still a small part of him that was screaming at him not to be stupid.]

Give me one good reason why I should believe you. What exactly do you plan on doing here anyways?

[lady_buckethead]

[Lorna stood still, listening to each of them talk. She didn't know what to do. Never had she been caught between Pietro and father before. Not like this.]

What are you going to do, father?

[age_old_blue]

[Mystique looked at them, measuring them from behind their father's eyes. They were young, but they had potential. So much potential. And if she could turn them to her cause, all the better. She raised a hand, curling her fingers in towards the palm.]

I am going to restore order to the city. This may not be our home, but I will not stand to see my people struggle once more under the yoke of hatred. We can create here what we had, so briefly, in Genosha.

[hooked_on_speed]

[Face softens, but he still looks annoyed. He shifts his weight onto his other foot nervously, and folds his arms.]

That's what you said about Asteroid M.

[lady_buckethead]

[Genosha. It's promises like that which make Lorna hopeful for this version of Magneto. How much is he like the one from her world? She kept quiet as her family spoke to each other, only wanting to throw her voice in when it was necessary.]

[age_old_blue]

[Mystique allowed a brief, rueful smile to ghost across Erik's lips.]

I've said it many times, Pietro. And yet I always find myself further from my dream than before.

[She raised her hands to the helmet, and lifted it away, folding it under one arm like a trophy. Her false face bared, she studied Erik's children.]

I'm sorry that I am not the man that either of you wished to see. But perhaps, in this place, I can help heal the wounds he dealt, and together -- [she held out her free hand to them] -- we can accomplish that which he could not.

[hooked_on_speed]

[Every. Single. Thread of confidence Pietro had was busting down so quickly and unraveling just like they always did back home. Dammit. He had worked so hard since coming to The City to denounce his father and live the life Pietro wanted for himself. All it took was five minutes with the man to back track all of that. Pietro hated himself so much for it.]

I never wanted to see that guy. You're wrong about that.

[Puts on a brave face.]

Tell me what you want us to do.