Hope Summers (lastmutanthope) wrote in the100, @ 2016-01-06 08:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log/thread, erik lehnsherr / magneto (movies), hope summers (616) |
Who: Hope Summers and Erik Lensherr
Where: The library
When: Evening of Sunday 12/20
Rating: G
She’d had no reason to lie to him and so when he’d asked, she’d told him everything. About her own origins, about Cable taking her into the future, Bishop killing the planet in his efforts to kill them, their fight against Apocalypse, their return to the past, and everything that had come after, from her first use of powers that weren’t Cable’s in Utopia all the way up to becoming the host for the Phoenix just recently, and the way she and Wanda had reignited the spark of the Mutant gene around the world, restoring their species. As she talked, Hope had drank her tea only to wet her throat, and as she finished what was in the cup and finished her story, she realized with a start that more than an hour had passed since they’d started talking. It was possible that Rogue, by now, was becoming worried, but Hope didn’t think she’d go looking for her just yet, so instead of contacting her friend, she decided to just wait and see how Erik took all this in. It was pretty unbelievable for someone who hadn’t lived through it all, as he hadn’t, and as her eyes lifted to study him, she waited for his response. Erik took a slow, silent sip of his tea. He'd asked a couple of questions along the way, in regard to mutants whose names he didn't know, and family connections that seemed to make little sense to him. He knew about Wanda. He knew that Wanda was supposed to be his daughter, knew that Billy was her son, and he knew another world's version of her here. He felt a stirring of pride knowing that his daughter brought mutants back to the world (even if she had, in fact, taken them out). It was a complicated, convoluted story, but one thing was certain: she was special. The mutant messiah. "So," he said, "you've saved our people. You're not yet eighteen. What is it you plan to do now?" Letting out a soft breath, Hope - reluctantly - refilled her own tea, then added bunch of sugar to it. Sitting back with the cup, the teen shook her head a bit, then shrugged. “Honestly...I’m not really sure. Back home, I was sort of in a holding pattern, I guess. My dad had come back and I managed to track him down and was going to help him, but he left when I was asleep. He wants me to have what he considers a normal life, but I don’t want that. It’s not my normal. I’d rather...I guess be on an X-Men team again. Helping mutants, saving people...whatever needs to be done.” She sipped the tea, made a slight face, and dropped her eyes to the dark liquid. “Here, I’m a soldier. Which is fine - that’s how I was raised. But aside from the attack from Bloody Mary, there hasn’t been much for me to actually do.” "Perhaps you ought to be grateful for the fact that you don't have much to do," said Erik wryly, in a way that suggested he didn't believe that at all. "After all, that means peace, doesn't it? Trapped like rats in an underground facility with native people who resent our presence, surrounded by hostile forces who keep us held hostage with unfair treaties that we can't contest because of their overwhelming numbers." Erik looked at the world as a series of escape routes and plans of attack. The idea of "peace" was a laughable one. She shook her head before he’d even finish speaking the first statement, but then looked up at him again. “I’d rather be fighting something. I don’t want to attack someone who doesn’t attack first, obviously, because there’s no reason to it, but...I’m not the sort of person who can sit around and do nothing. If the mountain is attacked, I’ll defend it. If anyone in the mountain is attacked, I’ll do the same,” particularly if they were mutants, she added silently. “But you’re right that we’re trapped here. At least for now, in the winter. It’s too bad Storm isn’t here.” Erik had heard about the mutant who controlled the weather. One of Charles's people. Charles had a lot of people, it seemed, loyal to a fault. Good for him. "Then you need to be prepared to do a lot of nothing," said Erik mildly, setting his cup down on the small table beside his chair. "We're at a stalemate with the Grounders, there's no reason to attack unless we venture outward into their territory. So far the Sky People haven't taken any steps toward getting rid of us, but we just need to wait for that." It wasn't that he was bad at casual conversation, but Erik tended to lean on the side of being a little too severe. "We're all just waiting for the inevitable chance to strike back at whatever group decides we're to blame." He glanced up, watching her curiously as if he could see right into her. He had no talent for reading minds, unfortunately. "You said you knew me, or another version of me. Where do I fit into all of this?" “How far does their territory extend?” Mentally, she was considering different options they might have. Strategies, ways they might get past them. At his mention of the Sky People, Hope frowned a little. “Do you think they’ll cause problems?” She hadn’t seen any signs of issues, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that she had sensed some lingering resentment on occasion. At Erik’s question, Hope gave a small shrug. “Your powers….something had happened that had caused them to be depleted. I think it was because of M-Day, because you lived on Utopia, but….no one really trusted you. After I killed Bastion and we talked, you told me that sometimes it’s…’quite beneficial to be thought of as dangerous’. That’s stayed with me, ever since, because you were right. It’s been useful several times.” More so after she had finally accepted her role as the Phoenix’s host, but if Scott or anyone had asked her earlier just what she’d wanted, she would have been able to use that to her advantage and possibly saved more lives. Erik's mouth twitched. He didn't quite smile, but there was a little glint in his eye. It was beneficial to be thought of as dangerous. Not for mutants on the whole, perhaps, but Erik wasn't interested in playing nice to make humans comfortable. He wanted change, he demanded change, and if striking fear into the hearts of his enemies made things better, then so be it. He didn't care about whether people liked him. It was irrelevant. He didn't, however, find Hope herself to be particularly dangerous. She was little more than a child, though after what she'd told him he knew that assumption was wildly incorrect. Something was sticking out to him, though: "What do you mean by depleted?" he asked, forgoing all of her other questions. "Gone?" The redhead watched him carefully, her own thoughts carefully concealed behind a curious expression. She could tell already that he likely was underestimating her - and it was possible he may not have even believed most of what she told him, but she didn’t comment on that, not yet. What she did find interesting was what information he latched on to. Shaking her head before the second question even came out of his mouth, she absently turned the mug in her hands. “Like I said, that happened before I was born. I was the first mutant to be born after Wanda...did whatever she did. There were mutants who died, without their powers, there were mutants who simply no longer had them, there were mutants who had some powers, but at a lower level or not as many as before, and there were some whose powers didn’t change. No one could tell me why there were differences, and it wasn’t something most mutants wanted to talk about, so I never found out for sure what happened to you,” she said, a hint of apology in her voice. Erik lifted his teacup again, drumming his fingers against it. "I've heard a lot of stories about me from your world," he said. "The hero in some, the villain in others. It all depends on the telling of it, I'm sure." He didn't consider himself to be a villain. A monster, perhaps. Separated from other people, surely. He knew he could never have the normal sort of life that other people had, but that wasn't his purpose. He'd found his purpose, and it involved devoting his life to a cause. Only bleeding hearts like Charles would consider him a villain. "You don't seem to think too poorly of me." He smiled. He could do well with the mutant messiah on his side. This wasn't his world or hers, but the time would come when they would need allies -- and she was a valuable, powerful one. “That’s because I don’t. I wasn’t around when you did whatever it is you did to some people. I’ve only heard stories or seen records...and some of what you did, well, I agree with it. Or I agree with your motivation. From what I’ve seen, the only thing you ever really wanted to do was protect our people.” Hope shrugged a little, again looking down at her tea. “I’ve only wanted the same. For a while, I didn’t know what my purpose was. Cable - Nate - never called me a messiah. But he did say that when the time came, I’d know what I had to do. When that time was starting to approach, no one would tell me what to expect, they just...kept making decisions for me, or on my behalf, or because they were afraid of what I might do. In the end, a lot of people died because they didn’t ask me what I wanted. When the time did finally come…” She paused and looked up at him again, and for an instant, there was a distant flare in her eyes. “I didn’t destroy the world. I didn’t separate humans from mutants or condemn anyone to death. I simply restored our race, though for good or ill I don’t know yet.” "You brought us back," Erik said softly. "And maybe for now, that's enough. Humans won't take it well, and from what I understand of your world it's never going to improve." He knew he was older in this other universe, and he knew from Rogue's alternate timeline of his own future that relations between mutants and humans would never get better. They'd never be safe. He offered her a wry smile. "Were I in your position, my choices would have been somewhat different." “It probably won’t - but the humans know about me, too. They know what I did, and they know that they can’t touch me. So like you said...maybe it’s enough right now.” Sipping her tea again, she once more made a face and set the cup down, absently curling one leg under herself. At the smile, she gave him a return one, almost knowingly. “Well, it was a unique position, apparently, and one that only I could fill. So it’s probably good you weren’t, Erik.” Erik chuckled and finished his tea, setting it down. "To answer your earlier question, their territory as far as anyone knows is 'not Mount Weather', and we're vastly outnumbered. Ten to one, maybe twenty. The Sky People know more, so do some of the people in power who arranged our wildly unfair treaty. They use the term 'Grounder' to refer to anyone who isn't one of them, so as far as we know there could be millions of them left across the Earth. Not that they'd have anything to do with us." Hope studied him as she nodded slowly, taking in his words. “It shouldn’t be difficult to find out how many are out there - between Rachel, Betsy, Charles, and me, we can probably figure it out. I’ve seen a little about how the radiation affected the planet and people, so the idea that there may be millions of people may be an overestimate, but we could find out. What do you know of the treaty?” "I know that we're permitted to leave Mount Weather within a certain radius," said Erik. "And we're allowed to hunt and scavenge, but if the Grounders decide we have something they want, we're obligated to trade. They aren't, however, obligated to trade with us, so you can see that it's all to keep us placated with the illusion that we've made a deal." Erik didn't like feeling trapped, and it was more than evident in his posture. He sat up a bit straighter, he took a moment to clear his throat and gather his thoughts. "We have a decent arrangement within Mount Weather, until the Sky People decide we're taking up too much of their space. Eventually we're going to have to expand outward if people keep arriving, and the outdoor housing is a start. The Grounders won't like it if we move outward." He didn't have any real power in this situation, but he'd been watching quietly since he arrived. If mutant liberation wasn't a priority in a place like this, he was carefully figuring out where to place his allegiance. Frowning thoughtfully, she shook her head. “Then you’re right about that treaty not being fair. We’re essentially only here under their good graces, and that isn’t acceptable. I understand that it’s their world, but we’re here now, too. We have to live here, too. And I know everywhere isn’t inhabited. It can’t be,” she said. “It doesn’t look like the arrivals are slowing down or stopping, and I don’t think outdoor housing would be much of a better option. We need to start checking to see if there are other places on this planet. Maybe someplace like Utopia, or Charles’ house. Somewhere away from here that’s safe and separate.” She glanced around the library. “I’m not familiar with Earth geography, but it wouldn’t hurt to begin looking, at least. In fact, it may be the best option for us right now.” "As I understand it, Carol Danvers is leading scouting missions that go beyond Grounder borders. We'll get more information that way. The planet's too large to simply be trapped here." He stopped himself then, chuckling softly. "I'm sorry, you didn't come chat with me to discuss the hopelessness of our situation, or consider a plot for world takeover. Thank you, for what you told me. The more I know about your world, the better." “We can’t just depend on what others find,” she pointed out, then gave a small shrug. “I’ll figure something out soon and take a look at a couple different places.” It never hurt to have multiple locations scouted out. As he chuckled, she gave him a small smile. “You’re welcome, but I’m not sure how much difference it’ll make for our situation here, right now. But I guess knowing is always better than not, right?” "No difference at all," said Erik mildly. "But call me curious." He did want to know his legacy, wanted to know what he'd done in other worlds. He wanted to know if he was successful, wanted to know if his work meant anything to anyone. Middling success, perhaps — but people knew who he was. And, it seemed, the "mutant messiah" harbored respect for him. That meant something. "People like you and me will never live normal lives," he said after a moment. "We can't simply settle down, it's not in us. We weren't raised that way. We're always going to be looking for the exits, looking for some higher purpose. Neither of us are finished yet, even if it seems our plans have been put on hold." Hope gave another slow nod, understanding completely. It was actually nice to have someone else understand what she meant, and the fact that she didn’t want what others called a normal life. “Surviving is our normal,” she pointed out, then stretched a bit as she settled back into the chair. “It’s just hard to know what my plans should be, even back home, after everything else that’s happened. It’s easier to focus on survival, here.” "You aren't exactly wandering the wilderness hunting for food to live," said Erik. "There's food, shelter, clothing. Like it or not, but you're going to have to at least pretend to have some form of a 'normal' life here." He smiled, wolfishly. "Like tea, with me, for instance." “Not yet, at any rate.” But she nodded a bit. “I get that, though...I’ve participated here. The Capture the Flag game, and the Fight Club. I did well in both,” she pointed out - not bragging, simply stating facts. She smiled back at him. “I may not like tea, but I don’t mind it with you. Can we do this other times?” Erik smiled warmly. Positive relationships still felt foreign to him. He was always wondering what people wanted from him, wondering what they wanted from him or how he could use them. Hope was no exception, of course. He wanted allies. He wanted people who would side with him if it came down to it. But he also genuinely cared. He was fascinated by Hope, by this strange little girl who had grown up far too fast. To that extent, he could almost see himself in her. So it was entirely honest and sincere when he said: "I would like nothing more." |