* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by Marvel Comics Group. * MATURE CONTENT * Nudity but no sex. Implied homosexual relationship. Mature language. If you have a problem with any of the above, please do not read this story. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html * STARRING * CYCLOPS! SCARLET WITCH! PHOENIX! ANGEL! POLARIS! FORGE! DAZZLER! Old friends and older friends alike, they have decided Charles Xavier is wrong in his credo of teaching humanity to co-exist with mutantkind by hiding the latter from the former. Instead, they have banded together to try and make the highest-profile effort possible to make mutants public heroes, and an accepted part of humanity at large. Currently, they continue the work of Freedom Force and the previous incarnation of X-Factor as a group of highly ranked operatives for the United States government. Samy Merchi presents: THE MYSTERIOUS X-FACTOR in ****************** * PLAY WITH FIRE * ****************** * GUEST STARRING * Pietro "QUICKSILVER" Maximoff * AND STARRING * Jeremy Irons as "MAGNETO" * CONTINUITY * + Shadows of the Future timeline. (http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html) Roughly 3-5 years in the future. *** "This is your last chance, Forge", Magneto held his blue-crackling hand raised threateningly. "Disengage your equipment from the gas-processing machine. Cease and desist all attempts to neutralize the gas immediately, or I will be forced to kill you. Move. Away." Forge swallowed and gritted his teeth as sweat trickled down his forehead into his eyes, making them sting but he couldn't take a hand to wipe his eyes clear because he was too busy tapping commands into the mini-computer. He took a deep breath, shoulders shaking a bit, and then said, "No." "Don't do it", Quicksilver glared at Magneto. "Don't do it, father", Scarlet Witch said breathlessly. Magneto watched Forge silently for several heartbeats. Then, his eyes flared once. "NO!" Forge shouted as the mini-computer came off the machine it was attached to, and then streaked thru the air into Magneto's hand. "You choose", Magneto narrowed his eyes at Scarlet Witch. "I will destroy this -- or I will kill Forge. I will do one or the other." Scarlet Witch watched her father's eyes quietly for a few moments, and then simply said, "Why do you even ask?" Magneto stared at Scarlet Witch quietly for a few moments from the shadows of his helmet, and then an electric blue explosion obliterated the device in his hand. "I don't know", he said. Scarlet Witch watched her father quietly for several moments, and then said, "You wanted an easy choice. Something we could agree on, for once in our lives." Magneto stood in place quietly. *** "Fancy flying, uncle Warren", Exodus said as one telekinetic blast after another missed their mark, blowing up machines, the floor, walls, the ceiling, anything but the winged man maneuvering flawlessly amidst the blasts, debris and clouds of yellowish gas. ZAKT! "Unff!" Exodus wheezed as ruby red optic blasts smashed into her back, and she whirled around with a snarl towards her father down on the floor below her. "I did what you said, dad. Shielded myself on every side. Happy?" she asked as she waved her arm and shot a telekinetic blast towards him. "Yup", Cyclops answered as a red-white blur zoomed past and carried him off just before the blast hit the ground where he had stood. "Thanks, Warren", he said as Angel carried him off. "That's what I'm here for, Cyke", Angel smirked as he looped about in the plentiful airspace of the hall, dodging another one of Exodus' blasts. "To help you out when you get beautiful women mad at you. The Worthington charm never fails." "Yeah?" Exodus asked as Angel suddenly halted in midair, his wings freezing in place as they were grabbed by telekinetic energy. "I don't have to hit you to affect you, Warren. Give it up, I don't want to break your wings. I don't want to hurt you." ZAKT! "UMPH!" Exodus gasped as optic blasts rammed her back thru the air and sent her crashing into one of the walls with an accompanying cloud of smoke dust erupting from the point of impact and obscuring her from sight. "Thanks, Scotty", Angel smiled as he landed -- Exodus' telekinetic grip broken -- and put Cyclops down. "That's what I'm here for, Warren", Cyclops smiled. "To help you out when you get temperamental redheads mad at you --" "THAT DOES IT!" Exodus snarled as she soared out of the stone dust cloud with her Phoenix Effect firebird blazing behind her. "I didn't want to do this, dad --" "Argh!" Angel gritted his teeth as he fell to his knees, his face tightening as he summoned his willpower to fend off the telepathic assault hammering at his mind. Cyclops gasped, but remained standing despite the mental blast, clenching his fists, his back arching in strain as he pitted his mind against his daughter's. "Force of arms...isn't everything...Rachel..." *** "Force of arms isn't everything, father", Scarlet Witch narrowed her eyes at Magneto. "Being second-in-command to Captain America, and now Scott, I've learned that no matter the odds, no matter how much power's up against you, there's always a way." Her hands started glowing with scarlet chaos energies as she spread her legs slightly, taking a firmer, more determined posture. "We're not leaving until the gas is neutralized. And you'll have to kill each and every one of us before we quit." "Don't force my hand, Wanda", Magneto hissed as his hands started glowing as well, with crackling blue electricity as he leaned forward threateningly towards Scarlet Witch, his eyes starting to crackle as well from the shadows of his helmet. "The gas stays. Without the funds it generates, Genosha will starve." "That's a problem we'll solve later -- together, if you'll let us", Scarlet Witch answered unhesitatingly, not backing off from Magneto's threatening posture. "But the ends -- even if they're saving lives -- don't justify producing weapons of mass destruction. I believe that with all my heart, and I'm willing to *die* for those beliefs, if that's what you'll force this to come to." "You're the one forcing the issue", Magneto snapped, snarling white teeth gleaming inside his helmet's shadows. "*Leave*, Wanda! I won't tell you again!" "Neither will I, father", Scarlet Witch said, and her glowing hands made a few gestures. "Scott wouldn't back away, and I won't either. Let us destroy the gas, or we'll have to take you down." "No", Magneto replied, and then blinked as his helmet rose off him into the air. POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! Quicksilver's fist struck Magneto's jaw several times a second, and a dozen super-speed punches later, he pulled his fist back all the way, held it for a fraction of a second, and then streaked it forward faster than a bullet train. *POW!* "UNGH!" Magneto gasped as the final blow sent him arcing thru the air for a dozen feet, and crashing into a pile of debris. He lay there, still, not moving. "Good work", Scarlet Witch smiled, "Lorna." "No problem", Polaris answered from where she was still on her knees, leaning against the plexiwall between the main hall and the gas tanks in order to keep herself up. "Getting thru his magnetic shields is almost impossible. But *neutralizing* the shields -- just requires the opposite..." Thru her weakness and bloodied face, she managed a wry smile. "...polarity." "What are the odds of you waking up just in time to help us?" Forge smiled to Polaris. Scarlet Witch let the scarlet probability-altering hex energies dissipate from around her hands and smiled. "Big enough for me." *** "Gnnnn --!" Exodus gritted her teeth as she landed on the floor, marshaling her strength, the Phoenix Effect behind her flaring stronger as she focused her strength on the sustained telepathic attack trying to force her opponents to unconsciousness. But Rachel Summers was up against two of the oldest, most experienced X-Men who had almost as many active years of service and training behind them as she had lived. And they were not going down easily, especially since they had been trained *by* a telepath who had made sure to train them against that very mode of attack. Sweat streamed down the brows of Cyclops and Angel just as well as Exodus', but neither side was budging yet. "Hey!" Exodus blinked and glanced towards the voice, to be hit full power by a dazzling lightshow that instantly overloaded her retinas and sent her stumbling back blindly. ZAKT! Cyclops instantly fired an optic blast as he felt Exodus' grasp on his mind momentarily release. As he had suspected, it ricocheted off the invisible telekinetic shields Exodus still had around her, and instead bounced off towards the back-up target Cyclops had calculated. WHROOM! One of the very few pieces of machinery still left standing in the factory hall exploded as the optic blast impacted onto it and blew it apart, releasing a cloud of yellowish gas to billow outwards. Not missing a beat, Angel instantly flexed his wings and started flapping them rapidly, blasting the gas straight towards Exodus, sending the woman coughing and wheezing. "Scatter and fall back!" Cyclops shouted as he fired off an optic blast into the cloud of gas, at the point just under Exodus' feet before she had been obscured from sight, hoping to knock her off her feet and buy some time. Then, he whirled around and ran off towards the back of the factory hall. "But --" Dazzler started, glowing brightly and eagerly. "She's --" "Do what Cyke says, Alison!" Angel shouted from the air, having anticipated Cyclops' order and taken to the air before it had even been given. "He's got his reasons! A telepath doesn't need eyes to see!" Cyclops frowned at the sight of Phoenix lying unmoving on the floor but didn't slow down, passing her by and continuing towards the other members of X-Factor further away. "Wanda!" he called out. "You're up! Lorna, defensive! Quicksilver, support duty!" "Great --" Polaris groaned weakly as she started forcing herself back onto her feet, every muscle aching and straining from the beating Magneto had given her -- WHOOM! The ground exploded underneath Cyclops' feet as Exodus rose into the air from the gas cloud, growling and the Phoenix Effect blazing angrily. ((Kate, Magneto!)) Exodus snapped into her allies' minds, trying to get them to wake up. Cyclops arced thru the air from the force of the blast, but gray lightning breezed by, catching him before he crashed down to the floor. "I *know* what to do", Quicksilver wrinkled his nose distastefully at X-Factor's leader. "I don't *need* orders." "Let's see how you like a little hex bolt to start off", Scarlet Witch took a step forward, her hands glowing scarlet for a moment before a bolt of energy lanced out straight towards Exodus. "How about 'I don't give a damn'?" Exodus asked as the crimson bolt dissipated upon striking her telekinetic shields. With a wave of her arm, a blast of telekinetic fire erupted from the flame-wings underneath her arms. "Take this, witchie girl!" "Gnh!" Polaris grunted, eyes flaring with green energies and fresh blood starting to flow down her nose as she yanked a ton of debris from all around, forming it into a shield in front of Scarlet Witch. The telekinetic blast impacted onto it, and with a whipcrack of thunder, the shield blew apart. Polaris stumbled backwards, tears streaming down her cheeks and a sob shaking her body. "Lorna, rest!" Cyclops shouted as Quicksilver put him down. "Wanda, defense! Warren, interference!" "You got it, Scotty!" Angel answered and swooped in close, wings humming in a blurry motion as he pulled ever-tightening circles looping around and around Exodus, gambling that he'd be moving too fast for her to get a lock on him. "Alison, with me!" Cyclops braced himself, and gritting his teeth, cut loose with an optic blast. He was joined by Dazzler who held her hands together like a pistol, and fired a laser blast from her outheld index fingers. "ARGH!" Exodus cried out as the blasts impacted onto her, missing Angel who deftly soared up right between the two blasts and moved out of the way. ((Cut off the heads and the body will die --)) Exodus thought. ((Scott's mine.)) "HEY!" Scarlet Witch gasped as she was tackled, and Chief Magistrate Pryde phased both of them thru the plexiwall into the part of the hall where the gas tanks were. Kate made sure Scarlet Witch fell underneath, crashing onto her back and wheezing as she had the breath knocked out of herself. Kate rolled away into a crouch and brandished the plasma blaster she had picked back up before her surprise tackle of Scarlet Witch. She took quick aim at X-Factor's second-in-command and smirked evilly. Scarlet Witch's eyes widened. VAM! A blast shot from Kate's weapon, a golden energy lance streaking towards Scarlet Witch. Outside the plexiwall, Magneto regained consciousness and forced himself back onto his feet, hissing slightly and raising a hand which started crackling with blue lightning. Quicksilver noticed, and bared his teeth, clenching his fists. In a fraction of a second, lives can change. In a fraction of a second, misjudgments are easy. A fraction of a second is all it takes for Pietro Maximoff to act. POW! Gray lightning breezed past Magneto, Pietro's fist smashing Magneto's head back and sending the Master of Magnetism into a stunned stumble backwards. Kate's blast impacted onto a crackling blue energy field that manifested in front of Scarlet Witch, and then instantly dissipated when it was hit. But not before the blast ricocheted away, to one of the gas tanks. WHOOM! "WANDA!" four men screamed all at once. Cyclops, Angel, Quicksilver, and Magneto. But all their voices together were overridden by another scream reverberating not only in ears, but the minds of everyone present as well. (("KAAATE!")) Exodus cried her throat raw, staring wide-eyed in horror, her vocal and mental scream tearing at everyone's minds like a white hot cheese grater. Kate leaped out, phasing thru the plexiwall, and then just stood there with blank eyes and an equally blank expression. The next moment, the compartment behind the plexiwall was flooded with the greenish gas swirling around. Scarlet Witch coughed. Her body shook with it, but the sound of the cough couldn't be heard thru the plexiwall. She felt weak and dizzy, and her effort to get up onto her knees failed, and she slumped back down onto the floor. "My god!" Angel landed beside the plexiwall, placing his hands against it and gaping at Scarlet Witch. "Scotty!" he glanced over his shoulder. "We've got to do something -- we've gotta -- gotta --" Cyclops stared at Scarlet Witch as well thru the plexiglass, his eyes glowing brightly with red energies, crackling in anticipation to release and blast their way thru the obstacle -- He hesitated. Glancing over his shoulder, Cyclops looked over to Forge, opening his mouth to ask for a solution -- any solution... Forge shook his head grimly. Exodus let out a sob of relief as she landed beside Kate and put her arms around the Chief Magistrate, squeezing the brown-haired woman and buring her face against Kate's neck. "Thank god...thank god..." she sniffled. "Huh?" Kate blinked, her eyes suddenly coming to focus, and she glanced around in confusion until finally looking over her shoulder and seeing the billowing green gas filling the compartment behind her. "Oh --" her throat constricted and a nauseous feeling started swelling in the pit of her stomach as she saw Scarlet Witch. "Rachel --" she grimaced. "Get her out of there!" Quicksilver shouted, skidding to a halt in front of Cyclops. "Get her out of there, right now!" "Quicksilver --" Forge started. "Silence, cripple!" Quicksilver snapped angrily. "You can't do anything! Cyclops!" he snarled. "Blast the wall! Blast the wall *now*! *NOW*!" "Dear lord..." Angel sobbed as he collapsed onto his knees, wings sagging and tears starting to run down his cheeks. "Scotty -- *please*...dear god...someone do something...*anything* --! I love her, for god's sakes --!" "WHAT?" Quicksilver whirled around wide-eyed. "Pietro, this isn't the time --" Cyclops started. Quicksilver was already over at the plexiwall and grabbed the front of Angel's shirt, yanking the blond man up. "If you have touched my sister, Worthington --" he snarled. "PIETRO!" Polaris shouted with angry eyes, bared teeth. "Don't you think there are more important things to worry about right now than who Wanda fucks?" "I love her", Angel stared seriously into Quicksilver's eyes thru his tears and pain-distorted, anguished expression. POW! Angel flew back a good dozen feet, crashing to the floor as Quicksilver seethed furiously, fists clenched and trembling in a craving to hit more, hit something, anything that could provide a convenient outlet. Anything he could lash out at -- "This is YOUR fault, Katherine Pryde!" Quicksilver snarled as he streaked over to the Chief Magistrate and Exodus. "If Wanda dies, I will *kill* you --" "I'll kill *you* before I let you touch her!" Exodus shouted, the confrontation quickly degenerating into a furious shouting match between the two women and Quicksilver. Cyclops closed his eyes impotently, and in the darkness, saw, again and again and again, a Harrier jet crashing down from the blue sky, leaving behind a billowing black smoke trail. A final defiant shout echoing in the air. "Cyclops, the *aircraft*...it's..." "I can see it, Peter..." "Cyclops, the *aircraft*...it's..." "I can see it, Peter..." "Cyclops, the *aircraft*...it's..." "I can see it, Peter..." "Cyclops, the gas...we can't..." "I can see it, Peter..." "Peter?" Forge blinked in confusion as he held his one remaining hand on Cyclops' shoulder, half to offer support to X-Factor's leader, half to support his own balance, only having one leg left, as he was. "Cyclops, it's me, Forge..." "Huh?" Cyclops glanced over his shoulder and blinking like he'd seen a ghost when he saw Forge's face. Taking a few moments to recompose himself, he swallowed and turned his eyes elsewhere, onto the man who hadn't done anything, or said anything. Magneto was standing quietly at the plexiwall, fingers held against the transparent material. He stared at Scarlet Witch quietly, his stoic face trembling slightly in an effort to retain its rigid composure. Dazzler just watched quietly, her eyes wide and her hand in front of her mouth. Her eyes were moist and she tried blinking away the tears, but it didn't work. And like Cyclops, words were ringing in her head. "Jim, no! You'll flood the entire compartment!" She was a bit more superficial than Scott. And like in Star Trek II, Scarlet Witch got to move a bit. Straining, aching, coughing, dizzy, she managed to crawl over to the plexiwall. Unlike the movie, there was no speaker in the wall. Trembling, shaking, she managed to raise her chin and look upwards. She coughed again. Magneto kneeled down to her level, meeting her eyes with his. He knew Angel was standing to his left, behind his shoulder. He didn't really care. "Wanda..." Quicksilver gasped in agony as he kneeled down beside Magneto, tears filling his eyes as he watched his sister cough one more time. Wanda Maximoff glanced briefly up at Warren. Then, she let her eyes drift down to Magneto and Pietro. For long moments, she studied their eyes. The two silver-haired men full of so much hate, arrogance and temper. She gave a little, weak, sad smile, and locked her eyes with her father's. Then, the spark in Wanda Maximoff's eyes faded away, and her eyelids drifted shut. She didn't cough anymore. Silence. "This is all *your* fault", Quicksilver snarled, grabbing the front of Magneto's chainmail, standing up and yanking his father up along with him. "If it wasn't for you and your madness, Wanda would still be alive! I will *kill* you!" he spat out. Magneto's face turned stormy in an instant, and his eyes flared with blue lightning as he glared at Quicksilver. The next instant, an energy flare blasted into Quicksilver and knocked him back several dozen feet, sending him crashing onto his back, his chest smoldering as he barely breathed raggedly. "Fool!" Magneto snarled as energies built up around him with accelerating intensity as if building towards a critical mass of fury. "I was going to *save* her! I was going to contain the blast and *save* her! If anyone is to blame, Pietro, it is *you*! I would have saved her without your interference!" "Wh--" Quicksilver blinked in confusion as Polaris and Dazzler helped him up with great effort, as he was too stunned by Magneto's words to move himself. "What -- what do you mean --?" "She is dead because of *you*!" Magneto snarled as his fists started crackling furiously. "*You* prevented me from saving her! *You* killed her!" Kate Pryde felt a chill run down her spine as she realized Magneto would hold her party to Wanda's death. She swallowed and her breathing grew shallow. Exodus seemed to sense her thoughts and gave her arm a firm squeeze, making her shudder slightly as she drew a little comfort and safety from Rachel's presence. "*You* did this!" Quicksilver shouted thru his tears at Magneto. "*You* killed Wanda! And I will not rest until you are *dead*!" "I feel the same way", Magneto bared teeth, snarling and taking a step forward towards Quicksilver. "No", Cyclops said, stepping between Magneto and Quicksilver. He locked his eyes with Magneto's, giving a stern stare. He faced off with Magneto in what seemed like an eternity of silence, and then gave a firm shake of his head. "No." Magneto's eyes crackled threateningly for a few moments. Then, very slowly, he raised his chin slightly. He said one word, and only one word. "Leave." "I will go nowhere until you are --" Quicksilver started. "Pietro", Cyclops snapped angrily, glancing over his shoulder at the man in question. "Go to hell, Cyclops!" Quicksilver hissed, moving up to face X-Factor's leader, his face only a few inches from Scott's. "My sister is *dead*. Stand in my way and suffer a similar fate! You are in part to blame! If you had planned this better, she would still be alive! It is your ineptitude that --" "Pietro", Cyclops gritted his teeth, turning fully to face the other man. "-- *your* ineptitude that *caused Wanda's death*!" Quicksilver shouted. "It is your fault that --!" WHAM! Quicksilver crashed onto his back and didn't move. Cyclops rubbed his knuckles in silence. Phoenix, who had awakened, placed her hand onto her husband's shoulder, but didn't say anything either. Cyclops closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then turned back towards Magneto. The two men stared at each other for a long time, they knew what Scott would have to ask, they knew what Magneto would answer, and they knew they'd have to say all of that out loud nonetheless. "The gas?" "The gas will be used..." Magneto said grimly "...never again." Cyclops nodded slowly. Both men knew Magneto meant what he said. Scott knew that some of X-Factor might not believe that, but he and Magneto had confronted each other too many times, and had too much respect for each other, to lie about this. He would handle any complaints from X-Factor back home. This was not the time, or the place. He stared at Magneto for several moments longer, and then said, "I'm so sorry, Magneto." Magneto gave a quiet nod. "Just go, Scott. Just go. And tell Pietro", he said calmly, "that if I ever see him again, I will kill him without a second thought." Again, a slow nod from Scott. He turned around, lifting up the unconscious Quicksilver, and walked away. Dazzler followed, leading a broken Angel off after Cyclops, her arm around his waist. Lastly, Polaris and Forge followed, the former supporting the latter. Phoenix telekinetically lifted all of X-Factor up to the exit from the factory hall, as the stairs up had been destroyed. It was a casual feat for her, hardly even requiring concentration. When X-Factor was gone, she stood near Magneto, inspecting him with slightly narrowed eyes. Magneto met her gaze, unwavering steel-hard eyes unbothered by her scrutiny. "Play with fire", Phoenix said, and the Phoenix Effect firebird flared up behind her, "you're gonna get burned." No reply came from Magneto, just a serious gaze. "I'll talk to *you* later", Phoenix narrowed her eyes at Exodus, before taking off the floor, and soaring out the exit, leaving behind a quickly fading trail of flame. Exodus glared at the exit. Kate stared at Magneto and swallowed. Minutes passed. Then, Magneto left without a word. *** It was almost twenty-four hours later. Magneto was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't slept yet. He had been aware of Chief Magistrate Pryde the moment she had entered the presidential apartment of the Citadel by phasing up thru the floor five minutes ago. She had just been standing in the living room, quietly. Finally, she entered the bedroom, and Magneto noted she was nude, and hesitant, fidgeting slightly. "I'm --" she started, and her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and started again. "I'm sorry." Magneto stared at the ceiling. Kate fidgeted some more, nibbled on her bottom lip, and tentatively sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry", she whispered, and lay a slightly trembling hand onto his leg. He gave *no* reaction whatsoever. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked, giving a *very* forced smile that didn't conceal her uncertainty of the situation. Magneto stared at the ceiling some more. "Magneto", Kate frowned pleadingly. "I need to know. Can you forgive me? If you want to kill me, do it now. I can't take this waiting." "Take your lover", Magneto said without moving his eyes from the ceiling, "and leave Genosha. Never come back. If you ever return", he said calmly, "you will both be executed." "I gave up everything --" Kate grimaced with a betrayed expression. "I gave up everything to stand by you -- I left the X-Men, stood with you against them -- I gave up everything for you -- so many people think you're wrong, I didn't -- I sacrificed everything to be with you --" Magneto still stared at the ceiling. Kate waited a few moments, and then steeled her expression. "Fine", she swallowed, and stood up. "Fine." She shrugged, and looked around nervously, feeling cold, and not only from the lack of clothes. "Good bye", she said, and sank down thru the floor, gone a few moments later, like she had never been there. Like a ghost who faded with the sun's early rays that were starting to glitter, red and gold, thru the window opening towards the calm Indian Ocean. Magneto stared at the ceiling. They had taken so much after the parents of their own genders. No longer, never again, would he be able to see a reincarnation of Magda walking the earth. Never again would he see his beautiful wife. She was so much like Magda. And that was why he loved her. Pietro...on the other hand, was so much like him. And that was why he hated him. And he blamed him. They always would.