Magnetism Destiny (XMM Fic)
Title : Magnetism Destiny
Author : Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating : PG13
Pairing: Havok/Polaris (Lorna/Alex)
Spoilers : X1
Disclaimer : I own nothing. Except for a million and three plotbunnies which eat my brain. Want one?
Summary : Alternate Version of X1, where Magneto finds a mutant other than Rogue to power his machine.
“They took her! I can’t believe you’re being so freaking calm when my girlfriend was just abducted by a group of mutant terrorists!” Alex rants, pacing around the med lab of the X-men’s underground base hidden underneath the Xavier mansion. “We don’t have time to just sit here! We have to go rescue Lorna!”
“Alex.” Scott gently places his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’re will get Lorna back. We need to come up with a plan. We can’t rush in there unprepared, Magneto is…”
“If they would have taken Jean, you’d be going out of your mind. Admit it.”
“Jean’s my fiancé…
“There you go again! Honestly, you’re as much of a pain in the ass as you were when we were kids! I would have thought years of thinking I was dead would make you get off your high horse a little, but no....it’s always about you, isn’t it Scott? You’re always have out do me in everything and I’m sick of it!”
Scott sneers looking down at his twenty one year old brother. “You’re still a kid, Alex.”
“I haven’t been a kid for years.” Alex grunts. Suddenly, his arms begin to tingle. The tingle grows, and his arms are aching. The light in the room seems to change around him, growing impossibly bright. He fights against the pressure that’s building up with in his arms and his head, and with a yell, he releases it.
Alex crumples to the ground, blacking out for a few moments in a dead faint. Before he knows it, Jean is beside him, helping him to his feet.
“What in the hell just happened?” He mutters, holding onto his head.
“I think you tried to flambé me.” Scott says from the other side of the room.
“I did?”
Scott nods. Physically, he no worse for the wear, but his clothes are in tatters.
“Yeah.” Logan smirks. “Tommy Hilfiger’s worst nightmare- a fashion destroying mutant.”
“I think it’s more likely that Scott has some sort of natural immunity to Alex’s powers. I’d have to run some tests to be sure, but there’s certainly some precedent.”
The door opens with a slight whooshing sound, and Ororo runs in, half carrying, half dragging a haggard looking Senator Kelly in his arms. “Jean, he needs your help.”
__________________________
Professor Xavier wheels into his study where Scott, Alex, Logan, and Ororo are gathered. Jean follows closely behind.
“It seems that Senator Kelly has fallen victim of a machine that Magneto has created. A machine that is designed to turn humans into mutants.”
“Is that even possible?” A small voice with a southern twang sounds from behind the desk. “Can he really do that?”
“Rogue.” Ororo says in a stern tone. “You shouldn’t be in here right now. This isn’t a discussion for students.”
“I thought I could help rescue Lorna.” She says softly. “It’s my fault she got snatched, and I want to help…”
“You may stay, Rogue.” Xavier responds. “You’ve heard enough as it is. But until I tell you differently, none of what you hear here tonight leaves this room.”
“Okay.”
“To answer your question, yes, it does appear to work. But I fear that the side effects Senator Kelly is experiencing will occur quite often. Because the mutation is unnatural, his body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately.”
“Does it affect mutants?” Scott questioned.
“It doesn’t seem to, but I fear the harm it will do to any normal person.”
“So what in the hell does he want with Lorna?” Logan snarled.
“I’m not sure.”
“Magneto must have one hell of a energy bill, to power a machine like that.” Alex muttered.
“Actually” Jean says thoughtfully, “Senator Kelly described the machine as being controlled by Magento himself- with his power, but it seemed to weaken him.”
Alex blanched. “He’s going to kill her.”
“What?” Logan growls. “Magneto’s going to kill Lorna?”
“It makes perfect sense. That’s why we thought he was after Rogue to begin with. Hell, he probably was. But with Lorna, he’s got a mutant who can work the machine, without having to go through the soul suck that you get when Rogue touches you.” Alex turned to Rogue. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Rogue nods. “But Lorna’s not as strong as Magneto, is she?”
“Not yet.” Xavier nods.
“Which means it will kill her even faster than it would kill him.” Logan states. “If we’re going to do something, we better do it soon.”
__________________
Lorna shivers as boat grows closer to the Statue of Liberty. She struggles against the plastic handcuffs that chain her to the boat, to no avail. Beside her on the floor of the boat, the helmsman lies dead on the floor, his eyes open and unseeing.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Magneto says, coming up and standing beside Lorna.
“You’ve seen one statue, you’ve seen ‘em all.” She sighs, and spits out a strand of brown hair that the wind has pushed into her mouth.
“I first saw her in 1949. America was going to be the land of tolerance. Of peace.”
“I can tell that worked out so good for you. You know, especially the part where you attacked and kidnapped me.”
“It’s just but the means for an end, Lorna. A small sacrifice to make for making this world a better place. Just think of it. You’ll be a martyr, an eternal hero for mutant kind. They may write songs, poems, and plays about you. You’ll be a hero.”
“For as long as I’ve had my powers, I thought it would be really cool to meet someone who was just like me. And you are. I might have even joined your brotherhood or whatever you call it willingly, if you’d promised to help me control these powers. And I finally meet someone who is just like me, right down to having the same freaking mutation, and he’s a monster.”
Magneto reaches out and cradles her face in his hand. “You’ll find that many things in life, dear Lorna, depend on your point of view. I grew up in a concentration camp. When it comes to talking of monsters, I could out do you all day, little girl.”
Lorna shuddered. “I have friends. A boyfriend. They’ll be looking for me. They’ll stop you.”
Magneto shrugged. “Where are they now? They may try, but they won’t succeed, Miss Dane. They’re already too late. Tonight the world will change. Tonight, you will face your destiny.”
_______________________________________
“What in the hell are these things?” Logan shifts uncomfortably in the new leather uniform he’s been supplied. “You actually go out in these?”
“What would you prefer….yellow spandex?” Scott joked as he prepped the Blackbird for take off.
“I shouldn’t have eaten that twinkie.” Alex says, clutching his stomach. “I hate flying.”
“You’ll be fine.” Jean says gently, placing her hand on top of Alex’s. “Your brother is an amazing pilot.”
“Yeah, well, the last time I was on a plane, I ended up parachuting off of it.”
Scott turned around and smiled at Alex. “I won’t lose you this time. And we’ll get Lorna and bring her home.”
“How can you be sure? Professor Xavier’s in a coma, Jean almost blacked out. I’d say things are looking pretty damn dismal.”
“Look.” Logan said gently. “Calm down, kid. You’re making me look like Little Miss Mary Sunshine.”
_________________________________________
Lorna had always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty; but she’d never dreamed of seeing it from this angle, perched on top of the torch, tethered to a machine that would almost certainly killed her. Magneto’s remaining henchwoman- the comely half clothed Emma Frost, stood to the side, taunting her.
“I’ll have to look up this little boyfriend of yours after you die, Lorna. What is his name again? Oh yes…” She said, taunting Lorna. “Alex.”
“He has better taste in women than you.” Lorna sneers. Damn telepath. If only she could break free from the control Emma has on her mind, then she might be able to escape…
Magneto floats up to the machine, riding on the naturally existing magnetic currents. “Showtime.” He grins. “Emma, go see if you can find the rest of our crew. And if you would, release your hold on Miss Dane as you leave.”
“Of course.” Emma says, retreating and rappelling down the side of the statue.
Lorna feels the magnetic currents as they begin to course through her. At first, it is gentle, and almost exhilarating, but they began to flow faster, and harder. She drops to her knees, the conduit for an unimaginable amount of energy. It’s too much.
She begins to see her life flash before her eyes- her parents; elementary school, middle school, high school. Her first kiss. Her best friend. Prom Night. Getting accepted to College. Meeting Alex. Alex, so many memories of him, the first time she saw him, to the look on his face when they were rescued by the X-men up in Alaska. The trip to Alaska during their break from college had been fun, until an erratically driving truck had crashed into them, forcing them off the road. An image of Rogue, as she released the younger girl from her seatbelt. The distinct the “snkit” as Wolverine draws his claws to fight what had attacked them. The thrill of Alex’s exhilaration later that day when they realize that one of their rescuers, one of the X-men, is his long lost brother Scott, who he thought was dead. The wonder at seeing Xaviers, a place with many other people with curious gifts, just like her. She remembers talking Rogue into staying at Xavier’s, and the panic of the attack, the horror at being kidnapped. All these emotions, all these feelings at once. She is no longer just Lorna, she is fluid, evolving into something else.
She feels herself start to slip away, as if she could soar away into the dark New York night. She is almost gone when the currents cease. Lorna tries to force her eyes open, to no avail. She feels someone set her free from the plastic chains that kept her bound, and lift her from the platform.
Lorna swears that she hears Alex’s voice as everything fades to black.
________________________________________
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”
Alex jerks awake, and smiles when he sees Lorna at his bedside. “They finally let you out of the infirmary?”
Lorna nods enthusiastically. “Jean gave me a clean bill of health.”
“You still look a little green to me.” Alex jokes, reaching out and playing with a lock of her hair. She looked beautiful- the dark circles were gone from her eyes, her skin shone again, her cuts were beginning to heal. The only lasting reminder of her ordeal is her hair; which had turned a bright color of green by the use of the machine. “You gonna dye it?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. It’s a battle scar, kind of.”
“If you like it, then I like it, babe.” He kisses her hand, and sits up slightly, kissing up her arm to her shoulder. “I like it a lot.”
“So...” Lorna gulps. “Have you thought about what’s next?”
“Next?”
“Where do we go from here? Do we go back to school, pretend that nothing changed? Or do we make a commitment…”
Alex pulls away from her and runs his fingers through his short blonde hair. “I’m not quite ready to get married yet, Lor. I mean, I love you but I just found out that I’m a mutant, and I found my brother and we’re still young, really..”
“Shhh.” She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about marriage. Professor Xavier has asked us if we’d like to stay and become part of the X-Men. Logan’s heading off on some sort of trek to Canada, but Rogue has enrolled in the school, and your brother’s here, and I really think we should stay. I like it here.”
He shrugs. “Then we’ll stay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He said, reaching out and pulling her into the bed with him. “I think I like it here, too. And I love you.”
Author : Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating : PG13
Pairing: Havok/Polaris (Lorna/Alex)
Spoilers : X1
Disclaimer : I own nothing. Except for a million and three plotbunnies which eat my brain. Want one?
Summary : Alternate Version of X1, where Magneto finds a mutant other than Rogue to power his machine.
“They took her! I can’t believe you’re being so freaking calm when my girlfriend was just abducted by a group of mutant terrorists!” Alex rants, pacing around the med lab of the X-men’s underground base hidden underneath the Xavier mansion. “We don’t have time to just sit here! We have to go rescue Lorna!”
“Alex.” Scott gently places his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’re will get Lorna back. We need to come up with a plan. We can’t rush in there unprepared, Magneto is…”
“If they would have taken Jean, you’d be going out of your mind. Admit it.”
“Jean’s my fiancé…
“There you go again! Honestly, you’re as much of a pain in the ass as you were when we were kids! I would have thought years of thinking I was dead would make you get off your high horse a little, but no....it’s always about you, isn’t it Scott? You’re always have out do me in everything and I’m sick of it!”
Scott sneers looking down at his twenty one year old brother. “You’re still a kid, Alex.”
“I haven’t been a kid for years.” Alex grunts. Suddenly, his arms begin to tingle. The tingle grows, and his arms are aching. The light in the room seems to change around him, growing impossibly bright. He fights against the pressure that’s building up with in his arms and his head, and with a yell, he releases it.
Alex crumples to the ground, blacking out for a few moments in a dead faint. Before he knows it, Jean is beside him, helping him to his feet.
“What in the hell just happened?” He mutters, holding onto his head.
“I think you tried to flambé me.” Scott says from the other side of the room.
“I did?”
Scott nods. Physically, he no worse for the wear, but his clothes are in tatters.
“Yeah.” Logan smirks. “Tommy Hilfiger’s worst nightmare- a fashion destroying mutant.”
“I think it’s more likely that Scott has some sort of natural immunity to Alex’s powers. I’d have to run some tests to be sure, but there’s certainly some precedent.”
The door opens with a slight whooshing sound, and Ororo runs in, half carrying, half dragging a haggard looking Senator Kelly in his arms. “Jean, he needs your help.”
__________________________
Professor Xavier wheels into his study where Scott, Alex, Logan, and Ororo are gathered. Jean follows closely behind.
“It seems that Senator Kelly has fallen victim of a machine that Magneto has created. A machine that is designed to turn humans into mutants.”
“Is that even possible?” A small voice with a southern twang sounds from behind the desk. “Can he really do that?”
“Rogue.” Ororo says in a stern tone. “You shouldn’t be in here right now. This isn’t a discussion for students.”
“I thought I could help rescue Lorna.” She says softly. “It’s my fault she got snatched, and I want to help…”
“You may stay, Rogue.” Xavier responds. “You’ve heard enough as it is. But until I tell you differently, none of what you hear here tonight leaves this room.”
“Okay.”
“To answer your question, yes, it does appear to work. But I fear that the side effects Senator Kelly is experiencing will occur quite often. Because the mutation is unnatural, his body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately.”
“Does it affect mutants?” Scott questioned.
“It doesn’t seem to, but I fear the harm it will do to any normal person.”
“So what in the hell does he want with Lorna?” Logan snarled.
“I’m not sure.”
“Magneto must have one hell of a energy bill, to power a machine like that.” Alex muttered.
“Actually” Jean says thoughtfully, “Senator Kelly described the machine as being controlled by Magento himself- with his power, but it seemed to weaken him.”
Alex blanched. “He’s going to kill her.”
“What?” Logan growls. “Magneto’s going to kill Lorna?”
“It makes perfect sense. That’s why we thought he was after Rogue to begin with. Hell, he probably was. But with Lorna, he’s got a mutant who can work the machine, without having to go through the soul suck that you get when Rogue touches you.” Alex turned to Rogue. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Rogue nods. “But Lorna’s not as strong as Magneto, is she?”
“Not yet.” Xavier nods.
“Which means it will kill her even faster than it would kill him.” Logan states. “If we’re going to do something, we better do it soon.”
__________________
Lorna shivers as boat grows closer to the Statue of Liberty. She struggles against the plastic handcuffs that chain her to the boat, to no avail. Beside her on the floor of the boat, the helmsman lies dead on the floor, his eyes open and unseeing.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Magneto says, coming up and standing beside Lorna.
“You’ve seen one statue, you’ve seen ‘em all.” She sighs, and spits out a strand of brown hair that the wind has pushed into her mouth.
“I first saw her in 1949. America was going to be the land of tolerance. Of peace.”
“I can tell that worked out so good for you. You know, especially the part where you attacked and kidnapped me.”
“It’s just but the means for an end, Lorna. A small sacrifice to make for making this world a better place. Just think of it. You’ll be a martyr, an eternal hero for mutant kind. They may write songs, poems, and plays about you. You’ll be a hero.”
“For as long as I’ve had my powers, I thought it would be really cool to meet someone who was just like me. And you are. I might have even joined your brotherhood or whatever you call it willingly, if you’d promised to help me control these powers. And I finally meet someone who is just like me, right down to having the same freaking mutation, and he’s a monster.”
Magneto reaches out and cradles her face in his hand. “You’ll find that many things in life, dear Lorna, depend on your point of view. I grew up in a concentration camp. When it comes to talking of monsters, I could out do you all day, little girl.”
Lorna shuddered. “I have friends. A boyfriend. They’ll be looking for me. They’ll stop you.”
Magneto shrugged. “Where are they now? They may try, but they won’t succeed, Miss Dane. They’re already too late. Tonight the world will change. Tonight, you will face your destiny.”
_______________________________________
“What in the hell are these things?” Logan shifts uncomfortably in the new leather uniform he’s been supplied. “You actually go out in these?”
“What would you prefer….yellow spandex?” Scott joked as he prepped the Blackbird for take off.
“I shouldn’t have eaten that twinkie.” Alex says, clutching his stomach. “I hate flying.”
“You’ll be fine.” Jean says gently, placing her hand on top of Alex’s. “Your brother is an amazing pilot.”
“Yeah, well, the last time I was on a plane, I ended up parachuting off of it.”
Scott turned around and smiled at Alex. “I won’t lose you this time. And we’ll get Lorna and bring her home.”
“How can you be sure? Professor Xavier’s in a coma, Jean almost blacked out. I’d say things are looking pretty damn dismal.”
“Look.” Logan said gently. “Calm down, kid. You’re making me look like Little Miss Mary Sunshine.”
_________________________________________
Lorna had always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty; but she’d never dreamed of seeing it from this angle, perched on top of the torch, tethered to a machine that would almost certainly killed her. Magneto’s remaining henchwoman- the comely half clothed Emma Frost, stood to the side, taunting her.
“I’ll have to look up this little boyfriend of yours after you die, Lorna. What is his name again? Oh yes…” She said, taunting Lorna. “Alex.”
“He has better taste in women than you.” Lorna sneers. Damn telepath. If only she could break free from the control Emma has on her mind, then she might be able to escape…
Magneto floats up to the machine, riding on the naturally existing magnetic currents. “Showtime.” He grins. “Emma, go see if you can find the rest of our crew. And if you would, release your hold on Miss Dane as you leave.”
“Of course.” Emma says, retreating and rappelling down the side of the statue.
Lorna feels the magnetic currents as they begin to course through her. At first, it is gentle, and almost exhilarating, but they began to flow faster, and harder. She drops to her knees, the conduit for an unimaginable amount of energy. It’s too much.
She begins to see her life flash before her eyes- her parents; elementary school, middle school, high school. Her first kiss. Her best friend. Prom Night. Getting accepted to College. Meeting Alex. Alex, so many memories of him, the first time she saw him, to the look on his face when they were rescued by the X-men up in Alaska. The trip to Alaska during their break from college had been fun, until an erratically driving truck had crashed into them, forcing them off the road. An image of Rogue, as she released the younger girl from her seatbelt. The distinct the “snkit” as Wolverine draws his claws to fight what had attacked them. The thrill of Alex’s exhilaration later that day when they realize that one of their rescuers, one of the X-men, is his long lost brother Scott, who he thought was dead. The wonder at seeing Xaviers, a place with many other people with curious gifts, just like her. She remembers talking Rogue into staying at Xavier’s, and the panic of the attack, the horror at being kidnapped. All these emotions, all these feelings at once. She is no longer just Lorna, she is fluid, evolving into something else.
She feels herself start to slip away, as if she could soar away into the dark New York night. She is almost gone when the currents cease. Lorna tries to force her eyes open, to no avail. She feels someone set her free from the plastic chains that kept her bound, and lift her from the platform.
Lorna swears that she hears Alex’s voice as everything fades to black.
________________________________________
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”
Alex jerks awake, and smiles when he sees Lorna at his bedside. “They finally let you out of the infirmary?”
Lorna nods enthusiastically. “Jean gave me a clean bill of health.”
“You still look a little green to me.” Alex jokes, reaching out and playing with a lock of her hair. She looked beautiful- the dark circles were gone from her eyes, her skin shone again, her cuts were beginning to heal. The only lasting reminder of her ordeal is her hair; which had turned a bright color of green by the use of the machine. “You gonna dye it?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. It’s a battle scar, kind of.”
“If you like it, then I like it, babe.” He kisses her hand, and sits up slightly, kissing up her arm to her shoulder. “I like it a lot.”
“So...” Lorna gulps. “Have you thought about what’s next?”
“Next?”
“Where do we go from here? Do we go back to school, pretend that nothing changed? Or do we make a commitment…”
Alex pulls away from her and runs his fingers through his short blonde hair. “I’m not quite ready to get married yet, Lor. I mean, I love you but I just found out that I’m a mutant, and I found my brother and we’re still young, really..”
“Shhh.” She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about marriage. Professor Xavier has asked us if we’d like to stay and become part of the X-Men. Logan’s heading off on some sort of trek to Canada, but Rogue has enrolled in the school, and your brother’s here, and I really think we should stay. I like it here.”
He shrugs. “Then we’ll stay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He said, reaching out and pulling her into the bed with him. “I think I like it here, too. And I love you.”