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It was an unusually windy day in June when Erik first heard the news. The X-Men had a new recruit, an eighteen-year-old new graduate of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, a young woman with green hair, green eyes and the powers of electromagnetism. Lorna Dane he had overheard Pyro say.
Lorna Dane.
"My old friend, you've finally decided to stoop this low." Erik said slowly, creeping up on his old friend in his office.
“Magnus.” Charles greeted, hands folded in his lap and two tumblers of whiskey already poured and sitting on his desk.
“You know why I’m here I take it?”
“I have my suspicions.” Charles picked up a tumbler and held it out to Erik as he moved closer.
“Do tell.” Erik grabbed the glass and took a drink.
“You’re here about Polaris.”
“Polaris?”
“Lorna.”
Erik closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nostrils.
“You knew?”
“I assumed, I know you were active in California around that time.”
Erik sat down in the chair across from Charles’s desk.
“I was.”
Charles nodded.
“If you must know, Bobby asked her to join.”
“Bobby?” Erik leaned back in his chair.
“Robert Drake- Iceman. Lorna’s boyfriend. He's been a member of my X-Men for a few years now, I believe you've met.”
Iceman. Ah yes, Iceman. The argumentative and stubborn young man Erik had fought the last time he'd faced the X-Men. He had mentioned something about his new girlfriend joining to Cyclops.
“Between you and me, I’m not sure it’ll last.” Charles's voice pulled Erik out of his thoughts.
“Why?” Erik felt a flare of anger and dread.
“Don’t misunderstand me, he loves her- I just don’t think he loves her. Not like that at least.” Charles took a drink, “But, I could be wrong.”
“Is he good to her?”
“Yes.”
Erik downed the rest of his drink and set it back down on the table. He stood up and stalked slowly toward Charles, helmet gleaming in the fire light.
"You and your X-Men best not interfere with my plans."
"Magnus, be reasonable."
"Charles, I ask you humbly, as your friend, to keep your new X-Men out of my way."
Charles took Erik's hand.
"I can't do that."
"Then you are a fool." Erik yanked his hand away with a flourish, a small smile appearing on his face as Charles's look of exacerbation grew.
"I won't stop her." Charles finished his glass, "Not from finding out the truth, not from fighting you. I can't stop her from doing anything, she's driven... like you."
Charles's suffocating words hung in the air.
"Will you tell her?"
"It's... it's not my place."
Erik nodded, mulling over the conversation in his mind. Surely Lorna would figure it out, she was smart, driven. She looked just like him.
Perhaps he should remain in the shadows just a little while longer.
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The Super-Adaptoid. She's wounded. Come quick. Is all Xavier's message bore. How he managed to find him in his secluded hideaway in the middle of the jungle Erik had no idea. Regardless, he put on his helmet and flew to Westchester without a second thought. He closed his eyes as the wind whipped past his face. She has to be okay. I kept her away. She has to be okay. He took a deep breath in through his nose and attempted to clear his mind. There was no point dwelling on that, what was done was done, all he could do was think about how to move forward.
She was alive. That was all that mattered.
Landing on the plush lawn of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, Erik made his way through the woods, disrupted the security system's electromagnetic vulnerabilities, and slipped in through the back door like always. How Charles's X-Men hadn't yet discovered that was his entry and exit route he had no idea. He made his way silently through the kitchen and down the hall to where he knew the elevator to the lower floor was hidden. He took off his helmet and sent out; Is she in the lab?
Yes. Came Charles's voice. I sent the X-Men out to grab dinner, you don't have to hide.
He put back on his helmet and entered the elevator, practicing his mask of neutrality. The doors opened and he began his walk towards Beast's lab, he closed his eyes and steeled himself for what he might see inside.
The doors opened to reveal her laying in bed with tubes coming out of her arms. Her hair a halo of green around her head, a nasty crown-shaped bruised rested above her closed eyes. Charles sat on the other side of the bed, his chin resting on his closed fist. He looked up and offered Erik a small smile.
"She's going to make it through."
Erik seethed.
"Tell me what happened." He ordered.
"It was a mistake, truly." Charles leaned back in his wheelchair, "We were fighting the Super-Adaptoid, Bobby meant to cover Lorna but he was struck by some of his own icicles. He and Scott thought she had it covered, but she was overpowered by it's power mimicking technology."
"That's no excuse."
"And you've always been able to protect those you've sworn to?"
Magda
Erik straightened his back.
"Never evoke her in my presence." He warned.
"I didn't mean-" Charles sighed, "I'm sorry."
Erik looked down at her, at the familiar slope of her nose and the set of her eyes. Of her strong brow bone and rounded chin. He studied the IV going into her right arm and the pulse oximeter on her left hand. His eyes went back to the large red bruise on her forehead.
"She was wearing a headpiece." Charles spoke up, "She refused to wear the standard team uniform, she claimed it wasn't up-to-date."
"You didn't think to test it for safety?"
"You wear a metal helmet."
Erik glared at the other man.
"She has a concussion, she was awake a little while ago, she didn't seem too confused." Charles continued, "Bobby and Scott feel awful."
"Good." Erik extended his hand to brush away a few strands of hair, but suddenly stopped himself. She didn't remember him, she didn't know him. It wasn't his place.
He lowered his hand and studied her heart rate again. 48 BPM, not bad for sleeping.
"You should stay."
"Should I now?" Erik crossed his arms, "How do I know your little X-Men won't kill me on sight? How do I know they won't ostracize Lorna? Make a mockery of her?"
"You have greatly underestimated them. They wouldn't do that."
"Wouldn't they?" Erik raised an eyebrow, "How would they feel if they knew you let a terrorist into your home?"
"Hank knows."
"Dr. McCoy's fealty aside, how would the rest of them feel?"
"I believe they'd view Magneto and Lorna's father as two different people."
"Then they are as foolish as I believed."
"Why do you do this, Magnus?" Charles moved back an inch, "Sabotage yourself?"
"You said it yourself Charles." Erik said coolly, "I fail to save those I love the most."
He looked back down at Lorna.
"Does she need blood?"
"No, and even is she did she's AB+, a universal recipient."
"Good." Erik felt some of the tension ease out of his body.
"When will your X-Men return?"
"Whenever the pizza place gives them their order. I know Hank gets veggie pizza if you'd like some."
"No."
Charles chuckled.
"The Super-Adaptoid," Erik started, "When it attacked Lorna, did she have a magnetic shield up?"
"She did."
"And it took it down?"
"Yes."
"Tell her to stop trying to push the current out of her hands." Erik furrowed his brow, "I assume that's how you've been training her."
"...It is."
"She shouldn't try and force it out, she should instead imagine herself guiding the current. It allows for more control; treating your mutation as a tool and not as if it was something to be conquered."
"I'll be sure to tell her that."
"Keep an eye on her." Erik gestured to Lorna, "I have many enemies who would destroy her if they found out."
Charles nodded as Erik slipped back through the door, the image of his daughter lying on a hospital bed burned into his mind.
He would just have to burn A.I.M to the ground.
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Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.
His children.
Magda's children.
Twins.
Grown up and reunited with him, members of X-Factor and yes, The Avengers. Smart, bold, and brave. Raised wonderfully by Django and Marya Maximoff, two souls Erik would be forever indebted to for the rest of his life.
"You're thinking awfully loud." His son droned from where they sat in a small diner just outside of Arlington, Virginia.
"Sorry."
"What's wrong?" Pietro leaned forward, hands clasped together. "You've been acting weird since I invited you to X-Factor HQ."
"It's nothing, just thinking about it."
"What? X-Factor?" Pietro snorted, "The government knows well enough to leave us to our own devices except in the case of emergency if that's what you're worried about."
"No, I was just thinking about your teammates."
"Which one? Alex? He's annoying, but you get used to him."
"No."
"Forge? He's a great guy. Or is it Guido? He's an acquired taste, but get him and Lorna together and you're bound to have a great time."
Something must have shifted in Magneto's expression, Pietro leaned even closer and furrowed his brow.
"Lorna?" He guessed.
"Yes." Erik confessed, there was no use in lying to Pietro, he had already figured out most of his tells. Erik had half the mind to tell him he and Xavier's Gambit would get along swimmingly.
"She asks about you sometimes." Pietro leaned back and crossed his legs, "She's never met anyone else with your powers."
Erik nodded.
"Have you met her before?"
Erik remained silent.
"Besides her time on the X-Men, I assume you crossed paths then."
"We did."
"Really? Because she says you didn't."
Erik felt his heart drop.
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
Erik sighed.
"I've heard of her." He said slowly, "Charles asked me for advice on how to train her."
"She's very powerful." Pietro calculated, "And stubborn."
"Do you get along?" Erik asked, hoping his hopefulness didn't come through in his voice.
"She's great." Pietro's eyes narrowed, "Why do you care?"
"Electromagnetism solidarity." He attempted to joke. Pietro didn't seem impressed.
And that was how, after a mildly enjoyable lunch, the fearsome Magneto ended up at X-Factor headquarters on the behest of his son.
"Come on, don't be shy. Jamie's out with his girlfriend right now, and Rahne promised to help Forge in his lab."
Pietro led Erik down through the spacious corridors of the X-Factor headquarters and to a small living area complete with futuristic sofas, bookshelves and countless end tables covered in boxes and spare parts.
"Do you want anything?" Pietro asked.
"I'm alright."
Erik sat down awkwardly on one of the low couches close to the doorway, and watched Pietro run away in a blur, only to come back holding two water bottles. He handed Erik one and sat down next to him, pinching the front of his styled hair to ensure it kept it's shape.
"How do you like it?"
"It's... it certainly looks like something the government would spend money on."
Pietro belly laughed.
"I knew you'd hate it."
"And yet you brought me anyway."
Erik began to hear voices and stood up quickly, turning around just in time to see Lorna Dane enter, a blonde man trailing behind her with a wide grin on his face. His grin dropped as soon as he registered the man in front of him.
"Magneto." He hissed.
"Sorry Alex!" Pietro piped up, "I invited him."
"You did what? Are you insane!?"
"Don't worry Alex, if he tries anything we'll get him for destruction of government property." Lorna said, she studied Erik for a moment and raised her hand. Erik moved forward and shook it slowly, feeling oddly like he didn't belong in his own body.
"The name's Lorna." She said, "Lorna Dane."
"This is Havok." She turned around and gestured to the blonde man.
"Don't tell him my name."
"Pietro already said it."
"Damn it Pietro!"
"Sorry about that." Pietro said nonchalantly, his arm suddenly on Erik's shoulder.
"I've heard a lot about you from Pietro." Lorna said, moving backwards slightly and bumping her shoulder against Havok's.
"What are all of these things by the way?" Pietro asked, picking up an unopened box from off the floor.
"New team uniforms." Lorna shrugged, "They look better than the old ones."
"They're identical to the old ones." Pietro pulled a blue and yellow jacket out of the box.
"I'm talking about the personalized ones."
In the blink of an eye, Pietro was standing behind Lorna, his hand over her mouth. Erik felt a pull on the magnetic current, and a small piece of scrap metal floated into the air and pushed Pietro off of her. Havok stood there, seemingly used to the shenanigans.
"The boots said Quicksilver." Lorna recalled with a cheshire grin.
"It's better than your costume." Pietro bit back, “That red and gold thing that made you look-“
"I happened to like Lorna's costume!" Alex interrupted, stepping in-between the two siblings.
Siblings.
Erik closed his eyes and placed his hand on an end table for support as he felt his heart stop once more.
"Are you alright?" Pietro asked, grabbing ahold of his arm.
"I'm fine." He shook his head, "Just fine."
"I think it's time for him to leave." Alex crossed his arms.
"Havok!" Lorna whipped around.
"Look, he's obviously tired or whatever. Besides, Val's gonna flip her lid if she sees him here. He's a wanted man."
"He's Pietro's father." Lorna said, the weight of Pietro's not lost on Erik.
"We've talked about this." Alex said quietly.
"No, you've talked about this."
Lorna took a deep breath, a false smile appearing on her face.
"I think I'm gonna go talk to Guido, he's around here somewhere."
And with that, Lorna left the room.
"Talk to you later, Pietro." Alex huffed, turning on his heels and following after her.
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"Did you know?" A woman's voice rang out.
Lorna.
Erik turned around from where he sat in his sanctum.
"How did you find-" Pietro he realized.
"Pietro told me where to find you." She said, walking slowly toward him, holding something in her hands.
"You're not wearing a coat." He stood up.
"My shields keep me warm."
As she got closer, Erik realized she was holding a plain manila folder.
"I...." She faltered, a green curl falling into her face, "I was talking to Pietro and... well, some things he said, they resonated with me."
"And," She took a deep breath, "I thought the only way to know for sure was to do a test. So, I asked Pietro if he'd consent to one, he agreed. I sent it off to some private facility, I changed our names and well... he's my brother. Which makes you...."
"Your father." Erik nodded.
Lorna took a step back and dropped the envelope.
"You knew?" She asked.
"I-" She took another step back, "-yes, yes I knew."
Lorna's eyes widened, she looked at the ground and scratched nervously at her neck.
"My mother?"
"Suzanna. A marvelous woman; funny, smart, driven. She was engaged to be married, but I didn't know that at the time."
Lorna let out a nervous laugh.
"You knew?" She repeated, "You knew and you didn't say anything?"
"Lorna-"
"No." She said venomously, "No."
"I-"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I knew you'd be safer without me."
"Safer!? You could visited! Sent me mail! You-you always tell Pietro that you would have been there for him had you known, well you knew about me! So what makes me different!?"
"Lorna listen-"
"Is it because you didn't love my mother?"
"I-"
"Did you love her?" Lorna furrowed her brow.
"No." Erik admitted, "But I cared for her."
Lorna laughed bitterly.
"Lorna, if I knew Magda was pregnant, I would've never.... I would not have started on my crusade, at least not when I did." He said gingerly, walking toward her. "I would have had no reason to leave Ukraine, I might never have met Charles, become the man you see today. I believe I would always become Magneto, but I would have known about my children, planned out a way to protect them. By the time you were born, I was already him.
"Tough shit."
"Lorna-"
"Don't."
"I didn't want to see you suffer."
"I already did."
Lorna took a deep breath and spun in a circle, hands clenching and unclenching.
"Can't you see how what you did sucks? How it hurt?"
"I do."
"Then say you're sorry!" Lorna threw up her hands, "Say you're sorry."
"I did what I did to protect you." Erik said resolutely, "It was not my intention to cause you pain."
Lorna stared at him with an unreadable expression.
"I don't know what I expected." She took a deep breath, "Pietro told me you were.... I just didn't want to believe him."
Erik felt a pit open up in his chest and swallow him whole.
"I know you don't see how what you did was wrong- that's the worst part." She continued, "You really don't get it."
"I wanted to keep you alive."
"You could have written to me."
"And had your mail intercepted by a member of the FOH? By Sinister?"
"Visited me? You could have used a synonym. Grown out your beard like you have now." She gestured wildly at him.
"Any villain worth their salt would have known it was me."
"Just say it sucked! Just admit it was horrible! That it sucked that my Mom and Arnold died! That my aunt and uncle weren't mutants! That they didn't know how to raise me! That my power terrified them and me! That I was left sitting in my room at night praying that I had another family out there, one that would take me away from them and show me who I was meant to be." She took a deep breath, "When I first came to Xavier's, when I first learned about you from Jean, I secretly hoped we were related. I admired you, I'll admit it, I admired you. I thought you were brave and powerful, and even though I disagreed with your methods I agreed with your conclusions."
Lorna's words hung in the air.
"And I thought, how many people have the power of electromagnetism? And yeah, Jean isn't the professor's daughter, but there are a lot of telepaths out there. Can't say the same for us electromagnetics." She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked straight up into the air. "And Pietro, I always felt a kinship with him. He's annoying and stupid, but I respected that. He felt like the brother I never had. And guess what? He was. It's like the universe is playing a sick, cosmic joke on us."
Erik looked down at the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, Lorna was watching him with a fearsome intensity.
"I... if I had known how things would've gone...." He trailed off.
"You still would have left me?"
"I would have visited." Erik took a deep breath in an attempt to collect this thoughts. "It was safer, it truly was."
Lorna made a noncommittal noise.
"I... I'm proud of you." Erik said slowly, "I truly am. For your selfless work on X-Factor, for your help with the Phalanx."
"I didn't do much."
"You did enough."
Lorna snickered.
"Wanda, does she know?"
"I assume Pietro's called her by now."
Erik held out his hand and pulled the metal tab of the manilla folder, floating it towards him.
"And this?"
"The lab results. I'm Terri Hawkes, Pietro is Paul Haddad."
"I had to come up with pseudonyms we've never used before." She explained at Erik's nonplussed face.
"I see."
"You might want to get a few new ones." She turned around and held out her arm at one of the metal walls, "We've got a list."
She yanked a part of the wall out of place and stepped outside into the arctic breeze, immediately creating a magnetic shield. She departed, leaving the wall open. Erik lifted his arm and fused the metal back to it's rightful home. He opened the envelope to see the aforementioned blood test and a small photobooth strip of Lorna and Pietro.
He held it close to his chest and thanked God he was alone once more.
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Erik found himself spending most of his evenings wandering around the mansion. Whether it be double checking the babyproofing done by Cyclops or ensuring Jubilee didn't leave the oven on again, he never ran out of things to do.
Of course, the young Nathan Summers made his debut into the world the day before, and had finally come home much to the joy of all the X-Men- himself included. It was a happy time, but happy times never lasted. He heard Jean's voice coming from within the den, he slowly made his way inside to see her talking on the only corded phone left in the mansion. She was twirling the teal cord around her finger, legs propped out in front of her on a plush footstool.
"Thank you so much for your gift, he loves it." She smiled, "Scott does too, he told me to compliment you on the engravings."
Jean glanced over at Erik for a moment before facing the wall again.
"I'm glad to hear the Diablo Canyon is as exciting as you hoped it'd be."
Diablo Canyon.
Lorna.
Jean's shoulders tensed for a moment, before quickly loosening once more. Erik realized he must've projected that thought rather loudly.
"Thank you so much for your call, Lorna." Jean said, confirming Erik's suspicions. "You'll have to come by and visit sometime."
An eternity seemed to pass before Jean spoke again,
"I understand Lorna, I really do. I'm sure Scott and I could make the drive down sometime, it might be a few months though, I don't know how well Nathan will do in the car and I think it's probably irresponsible to use the blackbird for vacation purposes."
Erik heard a tinny laugh on the other end.
"Thank you again." Jean said, "Call me if you need anything."
A moment later, the phone levitated back into it's position on the stand.
"Is she alright?" Erik asked.
"Yes." Jean said, not bothering to turn around.
"If she'd like to visit I can always leave."
"She's just conflicted." Jean shook her head as Erik made his way around the couch. "She watched you at the UN."
"Her former boss was my prosecutor."
"It's a small world." Jean smiled kindly.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Something tells me Lorna wouldn't mind." She took a deep breath, "Besides, if it was Nathan calling, I'd want to know if he was okay."
Erik nodded.
"She's alright? Her and Havok?"
"They're doing alright."
"Good."
"What's bothering you, Erik?"
"It's nothing that concerns you."
"Parent to parent." Jean grinned.
"Fine." He acquiesced, "I... I had hoped to make my children proud, doing this. Being an... an X-Man. It seems all I have done is polarize them further."
"Have you spoken to Wanda or Pietro?"
"Wanda needs more time."
"Pietro?"
"Off world- with Wanda actually. They're doing something with the Inhumans, though I regrettably have no idea what."
Jean nodded.
"Is it horrible that Nathan's only a couple days old and I'm already fretting about his future? Whether or not he'll be an X-Man? Go to space? Fight aliens or the FOH or something else entirely?" She asked a moment later, a piece of hair falling into her face.
"No." Erik took a deep breath, "You sound like any parent ought to. I sincerely hope our current efforts to support the mutant cause will make a better world for them. For Lorna, Wanda, Pietro and Nathan. That's all a parent could wish for. And though I am aware it probably doesn't mean much coming from me; you're a good mother, Jean."
"Thank you, Erik." Jean smiled softly.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check in on how the Morlocks are doing on Genosha." Erik stood up and faltered for a moment.
"Erik?"
"It's nothing." He shook his head.
"You can tell me." Jean said slowly, tentatively.
"Genosha..." He trailed off, "Do you... as Lorna's friend, do you- should I invite Lorna there? It is a neutral ground full of mutants from all walks of life. Perhaps we could spend some time together as father and daughter."
"Erik," Jean said slowly, "I think you might just have to consider that."
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Erik looked up at the desert sky, a gentle breeze running through his hair. He closed his eyes and let the gentle crackle of the fire at the campsite a few yards away fill his senses.
Dead.
She was dead.
She had to be. She was there because of him. Because he didn't think it through. Because he thought he knew better. Thought humanity would finally give them a chance.
He was wrong.
She was gone.
He heard footsteps approach, he looked over to see Kurt Wagner sitting down next to him, barely visible from the light provided by the campfire.
"Hallo." He said, "How are you, Magneto?"
Erik looked back up at the stars.
"They look different." Kurt commented.
"They are." Erik said quietly, "It's due to precession, the earth rotates on a wobble. If we truly traveled thousands of years in the past, it makes sense the stars appear to be in different places."
Kurt nodded.
"Do you like star gazing?"
"Not particularly."
"I only know the Dippers, would they be in a different spot? Or is Polaris still the pin holding it all together?"
Erik froze.
"The guiding star, leading sailors home and always pointing true north." Kurt pontificated, "Seems rather fitting for Lorna, no?"
Erik remained as still as a statue.
"I don't mean to pry where I'm not wanted," Kurt said slowly, "But Lorna-"
"Dead." Erik said numbly, "I saw rubble fall on her, she couldn't've survived."
"Erik," Kurt smiled, "She lives."
Erik slowly turned his head to face Kurt.
"What?"
"She lives." Kurt nodded, "I helped free her from the rubble myself. She was badly injured, but she managed to conjure a forcefield in time to save her life. She said she imagined it was her friend, protecting her from all harm."
Erik closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
"She is alright." Kurt placed a three-fingered hand on his shoulder, "She is alive."
Erik buried his face in his hands.
Kurt kept his hand on Erik's shoulder, an anchoring force in this strange, old world.
She was alive.
She was alive.
She could have died.
He could have killed her.
Truly killed her.
But she was alive.
Alive thousands of years in the future. In a place no doubt war torn and polarized beyond his wildest dreams.
Oh God.
"Magneto?" Kurt's voice called, "Are you alright?"
"I could've killed her." Erik said hollowly, not bothering to wipe the tears off his face.
"Thank God you did not."
Erik looked back up into the unfamiliar sky.
"Is it still Polaris?" Kurt asked.
"No." He shook his head, "It's Thuban currently."
"But she is still out there." Kurt smiled, "There is still hope. Where you find Polaris, you find home. Maybe even when she is not the north star."