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Post by havok on Jul 24, 2005 13:11:11 GMT -5
Magneto
Magneto was curious about the psychic trail Exodus had found, but they could investigate the penthouse later. For now, Bennett was in no condition to be dealing with other psychics and a direct confrontation here would be detrimental to a surprise attack tomorrow if it was needed. He told Victor to go to his room and headed to his own.
Once in his room, Erik stripped off his distinctive purple and red uniform and set his helmet on a shelf in the closet. He showered, as he had not had a chance to do so in Genosha. He stared at the faded numbers on his arm and bowed his head, letting the hot water pour over him. Just because he knew he was right about the next holocaust did not mean he was pleased with it. People called him a criminal, a terrorist, but in truth, he was only trying to prevent his fellow mutants from suffering as he and the other at Auschwitz had.
Yes, people had seen the photographs and the survivors, but they had not been there. They had not suffered the humiliations, seen family and friends tortured and watched their loved ones murdered. They had not been worked like beasts and starved nearly unto death, their bodies so decimated by their suffering that they were nothing but walking skeletons. He had been a helpless boy then. He was not helpless now and would never allow this to happen again. The humans would not put them in 'containment camps' and humiliate and kill them. Not while Magneto still drew breath.
Somewhere deep in his cynical heart, Erik hoped that he would not have to take such drastic measure to ensure the future of all mutantkind. But he was not going to hope on a bunch of ignorant flatscans to be fair to them. Using his powers to shut off the water, he stepped from it. He dried himself off and dressed in a comfortable pair of slacks and a sweater. He should call Raven and let her know they had settled into the hotel.
He dialed her cell phone and waited for her to answer.
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Post by havok on Jul 24, 2005 13:18:10 GMT -5
Mystique
((Via Cellphone))
"Yes?"
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Post by havok on Jul 24, 2005 13:26:01 GMT -5
Magneto
Erik could hear Mystique's voice on the other end of the connection. "Yes?"
"Raven, it Erik," he replied. "We've made to Washington, checked in and I've told everyone to lay low until tomorrow when you arrive. Also the penthouse is psychically shielded, and someone has been turning bellhops into psychic puppets. After things quiet down and most of the inhabitants are asleep and otherwise occupied, I plan to investigate it. How is your trip going?"
Honestly, Magneto was more curious about the shielded penthouse and the psychic trail Exodus had found than he was letting on. They both could mean many things and Erik wanted to know exactly who he was sharing the hotel with. Oh yes, he would be investigating the penthouse later.
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Post by havok on Jul 24, 2005 13:26:24 GMT -5
Magneto
((OOC: over the phone))
"Let me know what that's all about as soon as you find out. I don't like not knowing who else is sharing a building with us. We're doing fine. We should be there early tomorrow morning, probably before the sun comes up. Moss is going to lose his lunch soon, I fear, but otherwise, we're making good time and having a blast."
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Post by havok on Jul 24, 2005 13:32:57 GMT -5
Magneto
"Let me know what that's all about as soon as you find out. I don't like not knowing who else is sharing a building with us. We're doing fine. We should be there early tomorrow morning, probably before the sun comes up. Moss is going to lose his lunch soon, I fear, but otherwise, we're making good time and having a blast."
"Very good Raven," Erik agreed. "I am about to go investigate the penthouse. Whoever is up there did not wish to have any psychic intrusion. Which of course makes me wonder why."
Suddenly, a strange radio signal caught Magneto's attention. It was not coming from the shielded penthouse, but from just outside it. What would be mid-air or the ledge. Now, that was interesting. "I must go, Raven," he said calmly. "It seems we might not be the only ones interested in what is going on in the penthouse. I will keep you updated."
With that, Erik hung up the phone and headed out of his room. He was now very curious about what was going on in top floor of the penthouse.
((Continued in the Garage))
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Post by Magneto on Jul 24, 2005 18:32:09 GMT -5
Magneto led Magda silently through the hotel, lost in his own thoughts. Now that he had a moment to catch his breath, to think, he realized he would have to ask her questions, uncomfortable questions she would not like to answer. He had shown her kindness and consideration, he hoped that she would return his courtesy.
He pulled out a chair for her and picked up the phone, ordering simple meals for both of them and some wine to drink. Erik hung up the phone and looked at her. It pained him to see her scarred, any innocence that Auschwitz had not robbed her of, completely gone. She looked, beyond anything else, tired. He sat down across from her, trying to decide what to say next.
He let out a long breath, then looked directly at her. "I could begin with pleasantries, ask how you've been, tell you how glad I am to see you alive, how much it lifts my heart, but I will not," he told her evenly. "Because the scars on your body and the fatigue in your soul tell me you have had a hard life since you left me. As much as this knowledge makes me want to tear to shreds the people who've harmed you, I cannot, nor do I believe it is my place."
Magneto paused and then leaned forward. "But I would like to know when your power manifested, especially the ones similar to mine," he said, his tone a bit gentler. "I would also like to know who is up in the penthouse and why you were spying on them. I have other questions, but these being the most prominent and least prying ones I can think of."
There, he'd been frank with her. She had to have expected some questions. After all, she'd just appeared after decades, displaying powers she had never possessed, spying one someone. She was well trained, obviously, as he had been the one to catch her, not those she'd been spying on. He wondered if she would try to avoid his questions or be angry at him for even asking. He was offering her his protection. Vows or not, that was much to give, asking nothing in return. Magda had known all her life, nothing came free. He could not imagine that having changed in her.
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 24, 2005 19:12:23 GMT -5
Magda sat in the chair he offered her, though inwardly she would have felt more comfortable standing or even sitting on the floor. She knew what was coming. If this was the same man who, in his younger years, was known to spend at least half an hour haggling over a cut of meat before purchase, then she knew better than to think there wouldn't be third degree now that she was here and under his protection. He spoke on the phone a moment, ordering food, and did not so much as glance at her again until he was finished.
"I could begin with pleasantries, ask how you've been, tell you how glad I am to see you alive, how much it lifts my heart, but I will not -- Because the scars on your body and the fatigue in your soul tell me you have had a hard life since you left me. As much as this knowledge makes me want to tear to shreds the people who've harmed you, I cannot, nor do I believe it is my place."
That was partly relieving, she decided. The man seemed to be at his most frightening when he was on a crusade, after all.
"But I would like to know when your power manifested, especially the ones similar to mine. I would also like to know who is up in the penthouse and why you were spying on them. I have other questions, but these being the most prominent and least prying ones I can think of."
Magda shifted uncomfortably, and in spite of knowing he might object, she stood. She could explain better if she were pacing; that and, she knew that if there were more people here like her, she wanted to be sure no one else could listen in.
"I'm not sure when my powers manifested," she said, "I didn't consciously notice I had any for the longest time, but from what I have learned, some have been with me since before I even met you." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "I don't remember when I first began to use abilities like yours. Sometimes I'm not even aware I'm using them at all."
As for the penthouse...could she say? She shook her head to herself. He would found out later anyway, right?
"The inhabitant of the penthouse is Charles Xavier."
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Post by Magneto on Jul 24, 2005 19:58:29 GMT -5
Magneto watched as she rose, not to flee him, but to pace the room as she spoke. He offered no objections, he did not want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was. He merely watched her and listened for now.
Her explanation about her powers seemed to make sense. Perhaps it explained how she had survived the hardships of Auschwitz when so many others died. He remembered how hard Anya's birth had been on her. He'd almost lost her the day their first child was born. Luckily, they shared a blood type and an emergency transfusion had saved her life. Perhaps it had only helped save her life. She had barely aged a day since he had seen her last, and even though she was scarred, it made him wonder if she had some sort of healing factor or perhaps merely a mutation that prevented her from aging quickly. He would explore that idea with her later.
Her reply to his second question caused a laugh to erupt from his throat. It was too ironic. His long lost wife had been spying on his old friend, and oftentimes nemesis, Charles Xavier, of all people. He leaned forward and shook his head, then smiled at her. "So Charles is here," he mused. "I figured he could not stay away. Even he can see the danger in letting this Mutant Registration Act pass. Perhaps I will have to go up and pay my old friend a visit."
The question is, who would send Magda to spy on Xavier and why? He turned his attention back to his wife. He should ask her, but he decided not to press for details about that for now. "Thank you, Magda." he said simply. A knock at the door caught his attention.
"Room service," a voice called.
Erik rose and retrieved the tray cart, tipping the server. He pushed it into the room, magnetically sealing the lock after the departing man.. No one would be able to get into the room unless he allowed it. He pushed the cart over to the table with his powers, following it. The metal lids covering the plates were levitated away and set aside. He placed the plates on the table, and opened the wine, setting it back in the ice ice bucket to breathe. Then he pulled Magda's chair out again.
"Please, sit and eat," he suggested softly.
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 24, 2005 20:39:46 GMT -5
"So Charles is here. I figured he could not stay away. Even he can see the danger in letting this Mutant Registration Act pass. Perhaps I will have to go up and pay my old friend a visit."
News of the penthouse's inhabitant seemed to please the man entirely too much. Magda began to wonder if she should have kept that to herself. She did not know who Xavier was as a person, only the vague things she understood from news reports and the like, so it was not a matter of feeling sorry or mindful of him in the least.
"Thank you, Magda."
There was a knock at the door, and she stopped short to turn toward it. Erik collected his order, and once he'd situated everything again, he offered her a place to sit again.
"Please, sit and eat."
She settled and examined the feast before them. In her mind she called it a feast, mind, because one always doubted if the whole of it would be finished, and she knew for a fact that she could not. She was so used to conserving food that it would be hard to settle into full meals again, especially if they were going to be this rich.
To start herself off, she plucked up a roll and tore it in half, lifting an open end to her nose to smell experimentally. Finding nothing wrong with it, she set down the other half and began breaking off bites of it in pieces.
Her eyes fell on the wine, and for a moment she didn't know what to think of it. The last time she'd ever gotten drunk, the beverage in question had to be spiked with something stronger. Even then, she did not go past the initial "buzz" feeling.
This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
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Post by Magneto on Jul 24, 2005 23:02:51 GMT -5
Magda sat down and began eating, still silent. Magneto took the seat across from her and picked up the wine bottle. He had noticed she was looking at it. They had been too poor when they had been together for expensive things and by her clothing alone, he doubted she had done been than scrape by all this time. He would enjoy introducing her to a much higher lifestyle. He poured two glasses. "Would like some?" he offered. "If not, there is bottled water here as well."
He took a sip of one of the glasses, hoping she would relax a bit. He realized she had just had a nasty shock, and that her life had likely been hard and dangerous, judging by the scarring, but it was no reason for her to behave like a frightened rabbit around him. He cut up the thinly cut beef on his plate, and took a few bites, then looked back up at her.
"Oh for Heaven's sake, stop that," Erik said, slight annoyance in his voice. "No one is going to try and harm you, Magda. You are safe here. No one can enter the room without one of us unsealing the door. Now relax and enjoy your dinner. Ask me questions if you have them. I have nothing to hide."
He steely blue eyes tried to lock onto hers. As painful as it was to see her soul bared, he wanted her to be certain of his sincerity.
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 25, 2005 11:45:34 GMT -5
"Would like some? If not, there is bottled water here as well."
Magda took the wine he offered her and rolled the glass in her hand experimentally, also bending to sniff it, much as she had the bread, before taking a fast sip. It was an unbreakable habit by now, checking her food -- not that her sense of smell was any keener than another human being's. However, it was in this manner that she continued to --
"Oh for Heaven's sake, stop that."
Her head shot up in surprise.
"No one is going to try and harm you, Magda. You are safe here. No one can enter the room without one of us unsealing the door. Now relax and enjoy your dinner. Ask me questions if you have them. I have nothing to hide."
She managed to give him a flat look. "You are being overdramatic, Erik," she murmured before taking another drink. "I am not accustomed to much eating, and if you are regarding my wariness as to the meal itself, you should use more common sense. It is the eve of the conference. If I were here watching the Xavier penthouse, you must imagine there may be more people doing worse things than what I was sent for. It is not something I can claim is true, but I do not take chances."
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Post by Magneto on Jul 25, 2005 13:06:55 GMT -5
Magneto was almost taken aback by Magda's scolding reply. He chuckled to himself. His beautiful gypsy wife had not changed all that much in the past decades. She was still the only one who had the courage to call him out. None of his followers, not even Jean-Paul nor even Mr Black Tom Cassidy would dare tell him he was being 'overdramatic'. He chuckled again and shook his head. "Forgive, Magda, I cannot read your mind. That is Charles' area of expertise."
He was surprised for her to mention the hearing. How much did she know of it? She was obviously concerned by the proposed law, as all intelligent mutants were. He hazarded a guess, hoping to glean some more information from her. "I understand your concern," he agreed. "Is that why your employer had you spying on my dear friend Charles?"
It was a gamble. She might not like his prying. But if it concerned vital information about the Mutant Registration Act or anything involving mutants, he wanted to know about it.
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Post by magdaleina on Jul 25, 2005 13:13:19 GMT -5
Magda's hands found their way to an apple that'd been waiting on her tray. As simply as she'd split the bread, she broke the piece of fruit in half. She eyed him at the mention of her employer, though at this point in time she saw no reason to keep it from him, if all his assurances of protection were true. She also honestly wanted to see just how much of that 'I'm not angry' junk the man could really live up to.
"Hamphire?" she said, and then, with a nod, "Most likely. He wanted general information though. He masterminded an attack on Xavier's home, and would likely have been interested to hear he was already suspected. Somehow I think he already knows, though." She took a crunch out of the apple and set the untouched half aside. Her plate was starting to develop a pattern. Half of almost everything remained, like she'd intended to store the rest away later just in case.
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Post by Magneto on Jul 25, 2005 13:39:30 GMT -5
Her information did make Magneto very angry. But not at her. Whoever this Hampshire bastard was, he dared have a school full of mutant children attacked? That made Erik seethe with rage. He immediately stood up, forcing his face to be calm. He needed to go talk to Charles now. It seemed they had a common enemy. One he and his Brotherhood would be more than pleased to help the X-men be rid of. "Please, enjoy your meal, Magda," he murmured. "Feel free to employ any of the amenities the room offers. I must go speak with Charles Xavier now. This Hampshire fellow needs to be dealt with, before he becomes a greater threat than he has. I will magnetically seal the door behind me. That will allow only you and I to leave or enter."
He started towards the door, unsealing it. "Oh and if a tall man dressed in armor with black hair appears in the room, do not be alarmed," he informed her as he turned the knob. "His name is Exodus, and he is my most loyal follower. I will inform him I have company who is not to be disturbed, but if he senses danger, he will come to my aid. His loyalty is absolute and if I order him to protect you with his life, he will. If he does appear, I request you treat him with courtesy and respect. You have no idea how hard it is to find good help these days."
With that, Erik nodded to his wife and left the room. As much as he wanted to stay there, to talk to Magda, to learn more about her, to see if the woman he'd loved so long ago was still there somewhere, the entire future of mutantkind was at stake. And he was not about to leave it to Charles Xavier alone to save. His old friend was too soft, too forgiving. This called for action and Magneto was a man of decisive action.
[[ Exit Magneto to Exodus' Hotel Room ]]
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Post by exodus on Jul 26, 2005 6:42:46 GMT -5
If anyone was in the halls, they wouldn't see him. He knew that they needed to be concealed and he respected the art of surprise. Still not knowing what their purpose in Washington DC, Exodus just followed Magneto's orders.There was no reason not to or even question Magneto's judgement. Standing at the door leading to Magneto's room, Exodus knocked a few times.
"My lord Magneto has sent me here," Exodus said through the door. He made sure that there was no one listening before he spoke. The hallway was empty so there was nobody that needed a psionic memory swipe.
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