amorphic (amorphic) wrote in age_of_miracles, @ 2008-01-26 19:45:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | brave new world, magneto, mystique |
Log: Mystique and Magneto
Who; Raven and Eric
When; January 26th, evening
Where; Magneto's office in the White House
What; Eric fixed Cerebro, and Raven thinks it was a bad idea -- and says as much. Actually, Raven thinks not killing or capturing Charles and the X-Men was a pretty bad idea, too. So after two years of Age of Miracles, Raven and Eric get into a fight.
"I think you've made a horrible mistake, Eric."
Mystique had been against reassembling Cerebro from the start. Actually, to be fair, she'd been pretty much against asking Charles to serve as head of education, as well. Eric was too forgiving when it came to Charles, and it seemed as if everyone realized that but him. It was getting old. And it was driving Mystique insane.
"He's going to attack us with it. Charles isn't as stupid as you occasionally choose to believe."
Eric had only recently returned to Washington, having left Mystique in charge in his absence. Things were going well. There was chaos, of course it was, but the private face of the new regime was far more swift and violent than the benevolent public one. When he controlled the technology... well. Information got out in the manner that he wanted it to. He was sitting in his office, in gray high-collared suit, cape, and helmet, having just met with several new mutant government officials.
Glancing up from the day's newspaper, he frowned. "And what do you suppose he'll do with it?"
"He'll use it to get into our heads. We can't all stay holed up in the White House all the time, and even if you have that helmet, that doesn't to anything for the rest of us. We broke Cerebro for a reason, Eric, it should have stayed that way." Mystique's hands tightened uncomfortably on the arms of her chair. "Charles may not have what it takes to pick out the mental signatures of people close to us and eliminate them, but Frost certainly does. We may have Braddock now, but her odds facing a telepath using Cerebro are slim to none. Why did you go and fix it?"
Eric's expression tightened. "The Friends of Humanity are our primary issue. Charles understands that. If Cerebro is instrumental in finding these pockets of radicals, we need that. It's to our benefit. I will dismantle Cerebro the moment it's served its purpose... I highly doubt Charles will go after me before the humans this time. I haven't made any personal attacks toward the school's inhabitants recently."
"You took over the country. Charles doesn't like it. The X-Men are plotting against us. If you think Cyclops hasn't already talked to Charles about attacking us with Cerebro while they hunt the Friends of Humanity, you're not thinking straight." The Friends of Humanity, in Mystique's opinion, could be solved without Cerebro. That was what feral and tracker mutants were for. She usually agreed with Eric, but this was a place where they were firmly on opposite sides of the line.
Eric waved a dismissive hand. "I know what Charles is doing," he said. "Psylocke has informed me of all the details she has, and Charles and Cyclops are aware of the situation; they have to take time to change their plans. Cerebro is a glorious project but it isn't the be-all and end-all of technology. I can have it shut down at a moment's notice if it appears Charles is getting too close. I appreciate your concern, my dearest, but you needn't worry yourself so much."
Mystique didn't necessarily trust Psylocke to stay on their side, but that wasn't the reason why she stood, aggravated at his flippant attitude. "You're getting too comfortable in that chair, Eric. You will falter at some point, and it will be because you gave them Cerebro. You gave them time and resources. Psylocke may have taken the plans right out of Cyclops' mind and narrowed their playing field, but they're not out of the game yet." Even if Eric kept acting like they were. Damn him.
Eric sighed, setting a stack of papers aside so he could rest his hands on the desk. "I would like it if you didn't argue with me about this," he said, his voice extremely quiet.
"I would like it if you'd outright destroy the X-Men." Mystique was probably the only one who dared to argue with Magneto about this sort of thing and expect to keep her job, and it helped that she almost always followed his plans like a loyal follower -- or child. "We are so close, Eric. You're ruining it by letting them and Charles live."
"Raven." Eric stared at her, genuinely startled by her words. He'd heard that from other people, but never from Mystique. Never. Mystique had lived with Jean, with Charles as another guardian, prior to Eric's exit from the school. Charles and Mystique were close. He was so stunned by it that he couldn't actually formulate a response.
It wasn't that Mystique didn't like Charles. She was actually quite fond of him; they could hold a conversation, have a nice afternoon, the whole thing. In a way, she still saw him as one of the men who'd saved her as a child, despite being on different sides of the line. To be honest, Jean and Raven hadn't exactly been best friends, though she'd certainly mourned the woman's death, especially in the circumstances.
But that didn't mean that Charles time wasn't over, or that he wasn't in the way. There was little room for loving thy enemy when there was a regime at stake. Charles had picked the wrong side, and he couldn't expect to pay any difference consequences than, say, if a member of the Brotherhood defected and threatened to destroy it, or a renegade who was causing too much trouble. They had learned that the X-Men would take a mile the second they had an inch. They knew that Charles and Cyclops would push their fighters to the limits to prevent or end something they thought was dangerous to the world, as they so clearly thought of Magneto's rulership of America.
So instead of apologizing (like she may have) or admitting she was wrong (which she did, on occasion, to Eric), Mystique kept her expression serious. Stayed firm. "I would never relish in Charles' death. But that doesn't make it any less necessary, Eric. Kill him and his X-Men, capture them, or depower them. Take them out. But don't let them live in their little corner of Westchester the way they are. That is how we always lose."
Eric slammed a fist down onto the desk in a sudden outburst. "I know! I understand that. But you realize what a precarious position I'm in. I----" He was running out of excuses and was frustrated by his own mental block against murdering Charles Xavier. His own mental... block...
Suddenly, Eric fell quite silent, his hand over his mouth and his eyes seeing through Mystique instead of actually looking at her.
"Then do something about it, Eric!" she shouted back. "You own the entire country. Do something!" Not one to stick around much longer after Eric clearly wasn't going to listen, Mystique turned to walk out. Eric would do what he wanted; she could only hope a little bit of what she'd said would get through.
"I can't," Eric said suddenly, just when she was about to head out.
Mystique paused, shook her head. "I know." With that, she walked out, closing the door behind her.
Eric watched the door slam shut, and for several seconds he was silent... before bursting into incredulous, rather unhinged laughter that was somewhere between amusement and tears. All of the metal in the nearby area suddenly warped, and a split second later, the lights flickered and went dead.