Fic: roaring into firelight | nothing left to polarize
Title: roaring into firelight
Series: Desperation Song
Summary: Azazel and his trap.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Word Count: 1418
Rating/Contents: PG, clever ducking of having to write any real action sequences
Pairing: Gen
Policies: Read my archiving, feedback, and warnings policies here.
A/N: And with this, I reach 400 stories on the AO3!
There is an ache right on the side of Magneto's head, and no matter what he does, it just keeps growing.
No one in this room is helping.
"We have to review this one more time," Mastermind is saying.
"What's there to review?" Astra says, snorting. "We don't have anything."
"Someone had to get in," Magneto says, pointedly ignoring her. "Getting Kurt out was the easy part."
"One of the staff?" Mystique offers.
Magneto shakes his head. "The records have been triple-checked."
"As have the minds of anyone who has access to the records," Emma puts in.
"We're overlooking the obvious," Mastermind says. "Azazel could-"
"Had Azazel teleported in here, the place would have lit up like a Christmas tree," she says. "His power signature is programmed into all the defense systems." She sighs. "Still, teleportation is likely."
"Well," Astra says, annoyed, "who the hell can teleport and wants Kurt gone? Deadpool?"
"Please," Mastermind says, rolling his eyes. "I grant you, if someone paid him, he'd do it in a heartbeat, but he would do it very, very loudly. Xavier doesn't have a teleporter, does he?"
"Have you not been listening?" Magneto says testily. "It's not the X-Men."
Emma suddenly throws her head back. "I have a lock on Azazel."
Astra's eyes go wide. "What?"
"He's close, and he's all but screaming for attention."
When Magneto looks over, Mystique is gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles are turning white. "Where is he?" she says, through clenched teeth.
"It's obviously a trap," Mastermind warns.
"And I'm going to go spring it," she says, starting to stand up.
Magneto puts a hand on her arm. "You wanted to come," he reminds her. "If you leave, you're against us."
She looks daggers at him, but she sits back down.
Mastermind scrubs his face with his hands. "I know I just said it's a trap, but I don't know if we have a better option. If we had the time-" he holds up a finger- "which we don't, we could plan. We might just have to bite the bullet on this one."
"Let's hammer it out, then," Astra says.
--
It is a trap, alright; following Azazel's tracks leads them to what looks like a military base, and getting in is far, far too easy. The corridors of the bunker are white and clean, nothing like the outside of the building, just a little too winding for comfort.
Magneto stops at the first open room and refuses to go on. "That bastard is looking for us," he says, and Emma can only shrug in agreement. "I'm not walking all the way into his labyrinth. If we're going to do this, he comes to me."
It doesn't take any time; all of a sudden, Azazel appears in midair, dropping neatly onto the floor, smoothing away a bit of dust on his jacket. "You came," he says. "I wondered if you were going to."
"You know what I want, Azazel," Magneto snaps. "I'm not going to play games with you."
"But of course," Azazel says, with a little bow. He speaks a few words of Russian into his earpiece, and it's only moments later that Kurt comes around the corner, pushed along by a pair of Azazel's mercenaries..It's then that it becomes obvious that they've miscalculated; Azazel is one step ahead, planning on this very room being the location of the fight to come.
"This is a warning, yes?" Azazel says; with a wave, he dismisses the guards, and Kurt goes running forward, clinging tightly to Magneto. "A promise of things to come."
"Give it up, Azazel," Astra snaps. "No one's buying it from you anymore."
Azazel ignores her. "I never forgave you for killing Shaw," he says, smiling; Magneto doesn't even have to say anything for his rage to reverberate around the room. "You got in my way, then you kept me for a pet. I am pleased to destroy you as many times in as many ways as possible." He eyes Kurt and Mystique. "I have already made quite the start."
"Shaw was going to end the world," Mystique shouts. "Why would you possibly want him to do it?"
"I told you long ago, my love," he says to her. "I am an anarchist." He laughs. "Is there a better goal?"
She draws her swords. "Shut up and come at me."
"With pleasure," he says, grinning widely, but before he ever closes the distance between them, Mastermind throws a hand up. Azazel stops, dropping to the floor in a crouch, looking around the room. "Is this the way we play? By all means, then."
Mystique looks at Magneto, who's standing off to one side, poised, waiting. Azazel is jumping and slashing at things the rest of them can't see, things Mastermind is piping directly into his head; Emma has a hand on Mastermind's shoulder, her eyes closed in concentration.
Mystique gives Magneto a look. "So we're just gonna stand here and-"
"They can only buy us time," he says hurriedly. "Take Kurt and get out."
She nods. "Come on, Kurt," she says. "Time to play piggy back."
"I don't know what that means," he tells her, even as he's scrambling onto her back, clinging to her shoulders; they take off down the corridor, headed out.
"I'll keep an eye on them," Astra says to Magneto. "Best I can do is chase him around."
He gives her a look. "You have lasers on your wrists."
"And you're letting Mystique run off with your boy," she reminds him. "Pick one."
He sighs angrily. "Go, then." He turns his back on her. "Emma, Mastermind," he calls. "On my mark."
It's hard to run with Kurt on her back, but Mystique grits her teeth and does it. "Aren't you supposed to be a teleporter?" she says.
"I don't know where we are," Astra snaps. "We could just as easily end up outside as in the middle of a wall." She turns, looking behind them. "I don't think Azazel's following us."
"Well, that gives us about thirty seconds of leeway," she says.
"It's just a shame what happened during it," Astra says, as they round a corner.
Mystique frowns. "What happened?" she asks, and Astra hits something on the wall, bringing a clear door down from the ceiling.
"You went crazy," she says, drawing her gun. "It was awful, how you killed Kurt before I could bring you down."
Kurt climbs down off Mystique's shoulders, shrinking back away from the two of them. "Astra, what the fuck-" she starts.
"You left Magneto, and I cleaned up your mess," she says coldly. "You had your chance with him. Now it's my turn."
Mystique paces warily, trying to get the best angle on her. "What are you even talking about? I've been gone for a long time."
"You think he wouldn't take you back?" she scoffs. "The mother of his child?"
Mystique glances at Kurt, who looks at her wide-eyed. "I've tried that before. It didn't work then, why is it supposed to work now?"
"Just as long as you never get to try again," she says. "As soon as you and him-" she flicks the gun towards Kurt- "are out of the picture, then it's my time."
"Astra?" Kurt says, his voice full of hurt and fear.
"Shut up," she snaps.
Mystique looks at her in disbelief. "So, so you set this all up? You found Azazel, you had Kurt kidnapped-"
She snorts. "Azazel found me. We just happened to have similar interests."
"I don't know if you noticed," she says, "but Magneto is in there trying to kill your partner in crime."
"You think he can't?" Astra says. "The faster Magneto finishes him off, the better. Then I'll have all of you out of my hair."
There's a thudding noise that neither of them pay attention to, barely audible compared to the sounds of the battle behind them; when Kurt looks down at his wrist, the heavy bracelet, the one that kept him from jumping, is gone.
"This is fucking crazy, Astra."
She laughs. "In two minutes, I'll still be crazy, but you'll be dead. I think it's obvious who wins that one." She levels her gun at Mystique. "Goodbye."
"No!" Kurt shouts, leaping forward; Mystique puts her arms out, and the instant they connect, they disappear.
"Goddammit," Astra says, through her teeth, and before she can even decide what to do, the gun in her hand curls up like a question mark.
Title: nothing left to polarize
Series: Desperation Song
Summary: It's not the end, but it'll do for now.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Word Count: 1473
Rating/Contents: PG, more not writing action, ~feelings~
Pairing: Magneto/Mystique
Policies: Read my archiving, feedback, and warnings policies here.
A/N: Aaaaand right past it to 401 stories. I shoulda got a screencap or something. But it worth it for this series to finally be finished- you have no idea how satisfying to click the "Is this series complete" box. I was at the point of leaving it a fifty on the dresser and telling it to get out.
Mystique is crouched on the hill across from the entrance to the compound, scanning for movement. For a time, she was wearing the image of one of the guards, but the cat is out of the bag on that one; they're all stacked in a heap at the bottom of the guard tower anyway, so it's not as if it matters, for the moment.
Kurt is perched next to her, looking in the other direction. "Can I turn around yet?" he asks.
She sheathes her swords before answering; it was one thing to let him jump around the trees looking for snipers, but he certainly didn't need to watch as she finished the guards off. "It's okay for now. Just stay low."
He wiggles around, flopping down onto his stomach next to her. It's almost half an hour before anything happens, more than long enough for Kurt to start squirming. The doors open suddenly, and she puts a hand on his back, keeping him down; he goes very still, biting his lip, his tail pressed flat into the grass..
Magneto strides out as usual, holding up his hands the way he does when he's trying to be impressive or expecting gunfire, but Mastermind looks like hell; Emma is supporting him, but they look more like they're just barely keeping each other upright.
Mystique can feel the twitch in the back in her mind that means Emma is scanning her, scanning the whole area. "If there's no danger, stand up," Emma says in her head, and she sounds weary.
Mystique pats Kurt on the shoulder before pushing herself up. "You can get up now," she tells him, and before she's finished saying it, he's running off into his father's arms. She walks over, taking her time about it, still looking for possible threats.
Mastermind puts a hand over his face, groaning. "I just realized something."
Emma looks at him. "What?"
"Astra was our ride home."
Thankfully, there's a jeep in the back of the compound; it's less than ideal, but, after they've dismantled three traps and defused the bomb attached the engine, Mystique climbs up into the driver's seat, doing her best impression of a generic hick.
"What the hell happened back there?" she asks, as they bounce down the country roads.
"Everything got a little," Magneto pauses, "out of hand."
She looks at him in the rear view, raising an eyebrow. "More than it was already?"
He reaches underneath his helmet so that he can rub at his temple. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"He had an I-beam sticking out of his chest, and he was bleeding everywhere, and I'm pretty sure I saw something that looked like internal organs," Mastermind provided. "And then suddenly the I-beam was there, and the Azazel wasn't."
Mystique presses the palm of her hand to her forehead. "Jesus Christ."
"Yeah," he says, sliding down in his seat and shutting his eyes. "That's what I said."
"What about Astra?" she says coldly.
Magneto's face goes hard. "Astra has been dealt with."
"Good," she says grimly.
The ride back to the compound is mostly silent, after that. When they arrive, Mastermind staggers off to recover, while Emma makes a pot of tea and tries to hide how much she needs to. Kurt and the twins are put to bed, and suddenly it's just Mystique and Magneto, alone in his study.
He takes his helmet off, setting it down on the desk, running a hand through his hair. "That was unnecessary," he says, and Mystique snorts. "All that way for a failed kidnapping and an ominous threat." He snorts. "God only knows how many more times we'll have to fool with Azazel before he gets bored."
She sighs. "I just can't figure out why Astra didn't go after the twins, too."
Magneto shakes his head sadly. "They're so young, and their mother-" He looks stricken for a moment. "We lost her. If Astra did it right, they'd never know another mother but her."
She crosses her arms. "How'd you catch her?"
The corner of his mouth quirks upward. "Astra never really understood the depth or utility of telepathy," he says. "She always thought Emma's sole purpose was to sit around and look pretty- and to be honest, Emma was perfectly content with having her think that. She didn't know Emma could fight and keep her mind on everyone else at the same time."
Mystique sighs. "Hell of a mistake."
"She certainly paid for it," he says. "But Azazel-"
"The less said about Azazel, the better," she says. "Let's hope he's only got nine lives."
Silence settles over them.
"Should we talk about what we're thinking about," Mystique says, after a long while, "or should we keep ignoring it?"
He crosses his arms over his chest. "I woke up and you were gone," he says, without preamble.
Mystique shakes her head. "I was gone a long time before I left, Erik. You just hadn't noticed yet."
He purses his lips. "That doesn't change the fact that you left, heavily pregnant, in the middle of the night, with Azazel."
"He said things would be different, okay? He said-" She swallows. "I thought he could give me more than you did."
Magneto groans in disgust. "I gave you everything, you never wanted-"
"Love, Erik," she says, cutting him off. "I thought he loved me."
"I loved you," he replies.
Her smile is sad. "You picked a funny way to show it."
He clears his throat. "And so you left."
"He knew a place, up in the mountains near the Latverian border. He said we'd be safe there. We were, for a while." She snorts. "Everyone wants to help the young widow who's just about to give birth alone. Azazel stayed out of sight, and everything was fine."
"Until you blew your cover."
"Not me," she says, smirking. "I went through sixteen hours of labor with no drugs and still kept my human suit on. Try that one some time." Her face falls again. "But Kurt- there was no hiding what Kurt was. By the time they took one look at him, there was no reason to hide anymore. And then Azazel showed up, and that only made it worse, and-" She rubs at her temples. "Things got really messy really fast."
"So you abandoned him," Magneto says, not trying at all to mask his contempt.
"I did what I had to do," she says wearily. "They killed Azazel- or so I thought- and they took Kurt. It was six weeks before I managed to recover enough to go back, and by then, the only thing anyone had to say was that he was gone. I looked everywhere, Erik. Every freak show, every carnival, every traveling act. I didn't stop until I found out he was here, and then- well, you know the rest. I just don't know how you found him."
"Emma did," he says. "We briefly- very briefly-" he adds, remembering the explosion, "had our own copy of Cerebro here. One look and, well, it was sort of obvious who he was."
She smiles wanly. "It would be sort of hard to miss. I wish I could change everything, Erik," she says gravely. "Every day I wish that."
He doesn't know how to respond. "Have you told Kurt that you're-"
She shakes her head. "Astra said something, but I haven't told him. If I'm not staying, then he doesn't need to go through that."
"Is that what you want?" he asks.
She stares at him, her gaze piercing. "What I want and what I've got haven't been the same thing for a long time."
Magneto clears his throat. "You should stay tonight," he says. "It's late and, Kurt- Kurt will want to say goodbye."
"Is that all?" she says, stepping forward, laying a hand on the side of his face.
He closes his eyes. "Don't tempt me."
She laughs softly. "I didn't know I still knew how to do that."
"Papa?"
Mystique lets her hand fall away from his face. "Come in, Kurt," Magneto tells him, and he runs to his father's side, clinging to his leg.
"It's late," she says. "I should say goodbye."
"If that's what you want," Magneto says.
Kurt looks up at his father. "But I don't want her to go."
Magneto can see her heart breaking, and despite all the bad blood, despite everything that's passed between them, there's nothing he wants to do more than stop it. "She's not going," he says firmly. "Are you, Raven?"
She sighs, but a weary smile comes over her face. "Not tonight."
Kurt's face lights up. "Can I show her my room?"
Magneto tousles his hair. "Of course."
Kurt takes her hand, dragging her away; she looks back at Magneto over her shoulder, and he smiles.em
This entry was automagically crossposted from http://sabinetzin.dreamwidth.org/367222.html.
comments over there.
Series: Desperation Song
Summary: Azazel and his trap.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Word Count: 1418
Rating/Contents: PG, clever ducking of having to write any real action sequences
Pairing: Gen
Policies: Read my archiving, feedback, and warnings policies here.
A/N: And with this, I reach 400 stories on the AO3!
There is an ache right on the side of Magneto's head, and no matter what he does, it just keeps growing.
No one in this room is helping.
"We have to review this one more time," Mastermind is saying.
"What's there to review?" Astra says, snorting. "We don't have anything."
"Someone had to get in," Magneto says, pointedly ignoring her. "Getting Kurt out was the easy part."
"One of the staff?" Mystique offers.
Magneto shakes his head. "The records have been triple-checked."
"As have the minds of anyone who has access to the records," Emma puts in.
"We're overlooking the obvious," Mastermind says. "Azazel could-"
"Had Azazel teleported in here, the place would have lit up like a Christmas tree," she says. "His power signature is programmed into all the defense systems." She sighs. "Still, teleportation is likely."
"Well," Astra says, annoyed, "who the hell can teleport and wants Kurt gone? Deadpool?"
"Please," Mastermind says, rolling his eyes. "I grant you, if someone paid him, he'd do it in a heartbeat, but he would do it very, very loudly. Xavier doesn't have a teleporter, does he?"
"Have you not been listening?" Magneto says testily. "It's not the X-Men."
Emma suddenly throws her head back. "I have a lock on Azazel."
Astra's eyes go wide. "What?"
"He's close, and he's all but screaming for attention."
When Magneto looks over, Mystique is gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles are turning white. "Where is he?" she says, through clenched teeth.
"It's obviously a trap," Mastermind warns.
"And I'm going to go spring it," she says, starting to stand up.
Magneto puts a hand on her arm. "You wanted to come," he reminds her. "If you leave, you're against us."
She looks daggers at him, but she sits back down.
Mastermind scrubs his face with his hands. "I know I just said it's a trap, but I don't know if we have a better option. If we had the time-" he holds up a finger- "which we don't, we could plan. We might just have to bite the bullet on this one."
"Let's hammer it out, then," Astra says.
--
It is a trap, alright; following Azazel's tracks leads them to what looks like a military base, and getting in is far, far too easy. The corridors of the bunker are white and clean, nothing like the outside of the building, just a little too winding for comfort.
Magneto stops at the first open room and refuses to go on. "That bastard is looking for us," he says, and Emma can only shrug in agreement. "I'm not walking all the way into his labyrinth. If we're going to do this, he comes to me."
It doesn't take any time; all of a sudden, Azazel appears in midair, dropping neatly onto the floor, smoothing away a bit of dust on his jacket. "You came," he says. "I wondered if you were going to."
"You know what I want, Azazel," Magneto snaps. "I'm not going to play games with you."
"But of course," Azazel says, with a little bow. He speaks a few words of Russian into his earpiece, and it's only moments later that Kurt comes around the corner, pushed along by a pair of Azazel's mercenaries..It's then that it becomes obvious that they've miscalculated; Azazel is one step ahead, planning on this very room being the location of the fight to come.
"This is a warning, yes?" Azazel says; with a wave, he dismisses the guards, and Kurt goes running forward, clinging tightly to Magneto. "A promise of things to come."
"Give it up, Azazel," Astra snaps. "No one's buying it from you anymore."
Azazel ignores her. "I never forgave you for killing Shaw," he says, smiling; Magneto doesn't even have to say anything for his rage to reverberate around the room. "You got in my way, then you kept me for a pet. I am pleased to destroy you as many times in as many ways as possible." He eyes Kurt and Mystique. "I have already made quite the start."
"Shaw was going to end the world," Mystique shouts. "Why would you possibly want him to do it?"
"I told you long ago, my love," he says to her. "I am an anarchist." He laughs. "Is there a better goal?"
She draws her swords. "Shut up and come at me."
"With pleasure," he says, grinning widely, but before he ever closes the distance between them, Mastermind throws a hand up. Azazel stops, dropping to the floor in a crouch, looking around the room. "Is this the way we play? By all means, then."
Mystique looks at Magneto, who's standing off to one side, poised, waiting. Azazel is jumping and slashing at things the rest of them can't see, things Mastermind is piping directly into his head; Emma has a hand on Mastermind's shoulder, her eyes closed in concentration.
Mystique gives Magneto a look. "So we're just gonna stand here and-"
"They can only buy us time," he says hurriedly. "Take Kurt and get out."
She nods. "Come on, Kurt," she says. "Time to play piggy back."
"I don't know what that means," he tells her, even as he's scrambling onto her back, clinging to her shoulders; they take off down the corridor, headed out.
"I'll keep an eye on them," Astra says to Magneto. "Best I can do is chase him around."
He gives her a look. "You have lasers on your wrists."
"And you're letting Mystique run off with your boy," she reminds him. "Pick one."
He sighs angrily. "Go, then." He turns his back on her. "Emma, Mastermind," he calls. "On my mark."
It's hard to run with Kurt on her back, but Mystique grits her teeth and does it. "Aren't you supposed to be a teleporter?" she says.
"I don't know where we are," Astra snaps. "We could just as easily end up outside as in the middle of a wall." She turns, looking behind them. "I don't think Azazel's following us."
"Well, that gives us about thirty seconds of leeway," she says.
"It's just a shame what happened during it," Astra says, as they round a corner.
Mystique frowns. "What happened?" she asks, and Astra hits something on the wall, bringing a clear door down from the ceiling.
"You went crazy," she says, drawing her gun. "It was awful, how you killed Kurt before I could bring you down."
Kurt climbs down off Mystique's shoulders, shrinking back away from the two of them. "Astra, what the fuck-" she starts.
"You left Magneto, and I cleaned up your mess," she says coldly. "You had your chance with him. Now it's my turn."
Mystique paces warily, trying to get the best angle on her. "What are you even talking about? I've been gone for a long time."
"You think he wouldn't take you back?" she scoffs. "The mother of his child?"
Mystique glances at Kurt, who looks at her wide-eyed. "I've tried that before. It didn't work then, why is it supposed to work now?"
"Just as long as you never get to try again," she says. "As soon as you and him-" she flicks the gun towards Kurt- "are out of the picture, then it's my time."
"Astra?" Kurt says, his voice full of hurt and fear.
"Shut up," she snaps.
Mystique looks at her in disbelief. "So, so you set this all up? You found Azazel, you had Kurt kidnapped-"
She snorts. "Azazel found me. We just happened to have similar interests."
"I don't know if you noticed," she says, "but Magneto is in there trying to kill your partner in crime."
"You think he can't?" Astra says. "The faster Magneto finishes him off, the better. Then I'll have all of you out of my hair."
There's a thudding noise that neither of them pay attention to, barely audible compared to the sounds of the battle behind them; when Kurt looks down at his wrist, the heavy bracelet, the one that kept him from jumping, is gone.
"This is fucking crazy, Astra."
She laughs. "In two minutes, I'll still be crazy, but you'll be dead. I think it's obvious who wins that one." She levels her gun at Mystique. "Goodbye."
"No!" Kurt shouts, leaping forward; Mystique puts her arms out, and the instant they connect, they disappear.
"Goddammit," Astra says, through her teeth, and before she can even decide what to do, the gun in her hand curls up like a question mark.
Title: nothing left to polarize
Series: Desperation Song
Summary: It's not the end, but it'll do for now.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Word Count: 1473
Rating/Contents: PG, more not writing action, ~feelings~
Pairing: Magneto/Mystique
Policies: Read my archiving, feedback, and warnings policies here.
A/N: Aaaaand right past it to 401 stories. I shoulda got a screencap or something. But it worth it for this series to finally be finished- you have no idea how satisfying to click the "Is this series complete" box. I was at the point of leaving it a fifty on the dresser and telling it to get out.
Mystique is crouched on the hill across from the entrance to the compound, scanning for movement. For a time, she was wearing the image of one of the guards, but the cat is out of the bag on that one; they're all stacked in a heap at the bottom of the guard tower anyway, so it's not as if it matters, for the moment.
Kurt is perched next to her, looking in the other direction. "Can I turn around yet?" he asks.
She sheathes her swords before answering; it was one thing to let him jump around the trees looking for snipers, but he certainly didn't need to watch as she finished the guards off. "It's okay for now. Just stay low."
He wiggles around, flopping down onto his stomach next to her. It's almost half an hour before anything happens, more than long enough for Kurt to start squirming. The doors open suddenly, and she puts a hand on his back, keeping him down; he goes very still, biting his lip, his tail pressed flat into the grass..
Magneto strides out as usual, holding up his hands the way he does when he's trying to be impressive or expecting gunfire, but Mastermind looks like hell; Emma is supporting him, but they look more like they're just barely keeping each other upright.
Mystique can feel the twitch in the back in her mind that means Emma is scanning her, scanning the whole area. "If there's no danger, stand up," Emma says in her head, and she sounds weary.
Mystique pats Kurt on the shoulder before pushing herself up. "You can get up now," she tells him, and before she's finished saying it, he's running off into his father's arms. She walks over, taking her time about it, still looking for possible threats.
Mastermind puts a hand over his face, groaning. "I just realized something."
Emma looks at him. "What?"
"Astra was our ride home."
Thankfully, there's a jeep in the back of the compound; it's less than ideal, but, after they've dismantled three traps and defused the bomb attached the engine, Mystique climbs up into the driver's seat, doing her best impression of a generic hick.
"What the hell happened back there?" she asks, as they bounce down the country roads.
"Everything got a little," Magneto pauses, "out of hand."
She looks at him in the rear view, raising an eyebrow. "More than it was already?"
He reaches underneath his helmet so that he can rub at his temple. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"He had an I-beam sticking out of his chest, and he was bleeding everywhere, and I'm pretty sure I saw something that looked like internal organs," Mastermind provided. "And then suddenly the I-beam was there, and the Azazel wasn't."
Mystique presses the palm of her hand to her forehead. "Jesus Christ."
"Yeah," he says, sliding down in his seat and shutting his eyes. "That's what I said."
"What about Astra?" she says coldly.
Magneto's face goes hard. "Astra has been dealt with."
"Good," she says grimly.
The ride back to the compound is mostly silent, after that. When they arrive, Mastermind staggers off to recover, while Emma makes a pot of tea and tries to hide how much she needs to. Kurt and the twins are put to bed, and suddenly it's just Mystique and Magneto, alone in his study.
He takes his helmet off, setting it down on the desk, running a hand through his hair. "That was unnecessary," he says, and Mystique snorts. "All that way for a failed kidnapping and an ominous threat." He snorts. "God only knows how many more times we'll have to fool with Azazel before he gets bored."
She sighs. "I just can't figure out why Astra didn't go after the twins, too."
Magneto shakes his head sadly. "They're so young, and their mother-" He looks stricken for a moment. "We lost her. If Astra did it right, they'd never know another mother but her."
She crosses her arms. "How'd you catch her?"
The corner of his mouth quirks upward. "Astra never really understood the depth or utility of telepathy," he says. "She always thought Emma's sole purpose was to sit around and look pretty- and to be honest, Emma was perfectly content with having her think that. She didn't know Emma could fight and keep her mind on everyone else at the same time."
Mystique sighs. "Hell of a mistake."
"She certainly paid for it," he says. "But Azazel-"
"The less said about Azazel, the better," she says. "Let's hope he's only got nine lives."
Silence settles over them.
"Should we talk about what we're thinking about," Mystique says, after a long while, "or should we keep ignoring it?"
He crosses his arms over his chest. "I woke up and you were gone," he says, without preamble.
Mystique shakes her head. "I was gone a long time before I left, Erik. You just hadn't noticed yet."
He purses his lips. "That doesn't change the fact that you left, heavily pregnant, in the middle of the night, with Azazel."
"He said things would be different, okay? He said-" She swallows. "I thought he could give me more than you did."
Magneto groans in disgust. "I gave you everything, you never wanted-"
"Love, Erik," she says, cutting him off. "I thought he loved me."
"I loved you," he replies.
Her smile is sad. "You picked a funny way to show it."
He clears his throat. "And so you left."
"He knew a place, up in the mountains near the Latverian border. He said we'd be safe there. We were, for a while." She snorts. "Everyone wants to help the young widow who's just about to give birth alone. Azazel stayed out of sight, and everything was fine."
"Until you blew your cover."
"Not me," she says, smirking. "I went through sixteen hours of labor with no drugs and still kept my human suit on. Try that one some time." Her face falls again. "But Kurt- there was no hiding what Kurt was. By the time they took one look at him, there was no reason to hide anymore. And then Azazel showed up, and that only made it worse, and-" She rubs at her temples. "Things got really messy really fast."
"So you abandoned him," Magneto says, not trying at all to mask his contempt.
"I did what I had to do," she says wearily. "They killed Azazel- or so I thought- and they took Kurt. It was six weeks before I managed to recover enough to go back, and by then, the only thing anyone had to say was that he was gone. I looked everywhere, Erik. Every freak show, every carnival, every traveling act. I didn't stop until I found out he was here, and then- well, you know the rest. I just don't know how you found him."
"Emma did," he says. "We briefly- very briefly-" he adds, remembering the explosion, "had our own copy of Cerebro here. One look and, well, it was sort of obvious who he was."
She smiles wanly. "It would be sort of hard to miss. I wish I could change everything, Erik," she says gravely. "Every day I wish that."
He doesn't know how to respond. "Have you told Kurt that you're-"
She shakes her head. "Astra said something, but I haven't told him. If I'm not staying, then he doesn't need to go through that."
"Is that what you want?" he asks.
She stares at him, her gaze piercing. "What I want and what I've got haven't been the same thing for a long time."
Magneto clears his throat. "You should stay tonight," he says. "It's late and, Kurt- Kurt will want to say goodbye."
"Is that all?" she says, stepping forward, laying a hand on the side of his face.
He closes his eyes. "Don't tempt me."
She laughs softly. "I didn't know I still knew how to do that."
"Papa?"
Mystique lets her hand fall away from his face. "Come in, Kurt," Magneto tells him, and he runs to his father's side, clinging to his leg.
"It's late," she says. "I should say goodbye."
"If that's what you want," Magneto says.
Kurt looks up at his father. "But I don't want her to go."
Magneto can see her heart breaking, and despite all the bad blood, despite everything that's passed between them, there's nothing he wants to do more than stop it. "She's not going," he says firmly. "Are you, Raven?"
She sighs, but a weary smile comes over her face. "Not tonight."
Kurt's face lights up. "Can I show her my room?"
Magneto tousles his hair. "Of course."
Kurt takes her hand, dragging her away; she looks back at Magneto over her shoulder, and he smiles.em
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