Prologue [Bobknap chapter 1. Mags]

[Magneto]

It was clear now by the sudden sort of stunned look that Pyro had on his face that the boy was not moving on the same track as his mentor. Magneto of course expected this to some degree and his smile showed the joy he found in it all. Phishing for information was something the old man had always been good at, along with several other things, and letting Pyro lead on like he was directing the conversation proved just as effective now as it always had before.

"Mystique found out some very disturbing, yet useful information at that naval base my boy," he said as one of the metallic drawers of his desk slid open and a thin metal folder levitated into the air. Magneto utilized his powers to the utmost extreme, surrounding himself with all sorts of metallic instruments and what not. The old man did his best not to be caught off guard, well...anymore. With an out stretched hand, the metal folder was drawn to his hand with ease and opened up upon contact with is flesh, revealing several documents and pictures, most of them grainy satellite images and the like. "Its called 'Neverland', a detainment camp of the worst possible kind," he said with a cold tone and a rather vengeful demeanor about him, "Your little friend mister Drake is going to be our protection guarantee when we assault this....'Neverland'. He and his friends have interfered with my plans for the last time. Mister Drake will be kept somewhere under my guard while you and the rest of the new Brotherhood tear that camp to the ground and liberate our brothers and sisters inside. Charles' little X-men won't be intervening on this one....not if they want to have their little ice cube back with them in one piece," he said as he removed his hand from the metallic folder, the metal file holder staying aloft in the air for Pyro to look at.

Magneto perhaps was showing a side that his protege wasn't ready for just yet, especially if Pyro held more feelings for Bobby than he let on. Of course, a new line had been drawn since Alcatraz and Magneto as always, dared to cross that madness. The time for the kid games was over and now drastic actions would be took....no matter what the price.

[Pyro]

”Fuck…”

… okay, that shouldn’t have slipped out. He can’t afford to let his guard down like that…

Luckily it’s not too hard to cover the slip, because it’s almost expected that he should be shocked by what Magneto’s revealing, even if it is for a slightly different reason to what’s actually going on in his head… The words that come out should be what Magneto wants to hear.

”It was still Kaytraz back… erm” Okay, scrap the part about that being easy, because it opens up a whole new can of worms… one hell of a big can at that. Shit.

He thought he’d be willing to do anything to get back at that place… anything. And that’s still as true as anything else about him… which scares him, because he shouldn’t even be vaguely thinking that Magneto’s idea is a good one…

… except that it is, isn’t it? A brilliant one… and hell, it might just work out (the optimistic voice now seemingly functioning on overdrive); it’s much, much better to have Bobby out of harm’s way than end up facing the X-Men and having to…

No. That’s ridiculous. And he’s just about exhausted this dramatic emotional pause with the volume and pace of thought flying around… so a few more words are necessary. ” ‘Neverland’? Seriously? Flatliners are fucked up...” The bitterness is at least genuine, though no doubt not all of it belongs solely to issues surrounding the camps.

[Magneto]

Magneto didn't really know how to take Pyro's silence. The boy hardly ever missed an opportunity to run his mouth, even when he shouldn't be and dramatic pauses just weren't really his style, so this silence was odd to say the least. Magneto himself took up post at the other side of his desk, his eyes still watching Pyro as the boy looked over the files in front of him. Too bad Elliot had left and too bad she was so adamant about toying with Pyro's mind anymore, for what the boy was thinking about would answer so many questions right now.

"How will you bring young mister Drake to us my boy?," the old man finally asked as he rested the fingertips of his left hand on the desk, tilting his head down as he stared his young protege down. Pyro's conviction on this seemed a bit....'lacking' and weakness was something Magneto did not need in his subordinates. Perhaps a better candidate, one more suited for such things would be better....perhaps someone such as Mystique?

[Pyro]

How will.... No chance of escape there. No concession that he might not, no room to argue that he could or should not.

Not that he expected any, except in that small part which always hoped regardless of the reality. Because Magneto doesn’t deal in suggestions but in commands, even when they are worded to appear to give you some control. He was, of course, the master of the *make them feel like they’re steering the thing, while you have the dual control and the override*. No way John can hope to compete with that.

... he can still get out though. If Magneto’s that desperate to pull this off – which he has to be, given that it’s about the camps, which on planet Auschwitz-survivor is always going to be far bigger than any personal power game to do with loyalties and betrayal (and yes, that’s a low blow, but he’s getting desperate) – then it doesn’t have to be Pyro who does the deed. Mystique could just as easily…

No, that’s not going to work. The aches from having her as a mentor drive that point home; if she’s that hard on her own team, her *charge*, then an enemy is not going to get off anywhere near as easily. And hang protecting himself from the sharp end, he can’t do that to Bobby. He’ll have to do the deed himself – which is tough, sure, betraying Bobby like that, but he tells himself that Bobby’d understand (he couldn’t not, could he? Not when they’re this… together. John’s starting to understand about Alcatraz after all (only not) and this isn’t any different (except that it so is)) and that he can cope with the consequences for himself. No one else would be thinking about things other than the fact this is an enemy. Because this – everything which doesn’t fall under saving John’s own neck, of course - is about keeping him safe, right?

Right?

No time to think about that now, thank god, because he needs all his mind in the game in order to come up with a plan Magneto can’t tear to shreds. Objective – to get Bobby here as quickly and safely as possible, while ensuring it’s still a *capture*.

Maybe lessons with Magneto are doing something. Maybe it’s whatever natural spark made him consider giving those lessons in the first place. Or maybe it’s just desperation. But a plan forms, whatever, and it’s far from perfection but, given the circumstances, just about perfect… sort of. John doesn’t stop to think, because he fears something would kick in and make him unable to keep going with it, just says it as it comes, which helps; he sounds confident, somehow, no room for hesitation or insecurity. Just the plan, plain and simple… if they play that way, he knows he’s done the best he could. If not… he tried, and it’s not his fault.

”Don’t want to go in guns blazing, because he can kick my ass, and even if we do beat him it sort of spoils the *keeping him unharmed as long as they stay out* thing, right? So I’d do it… quietly. Arrange another date. Wait for things to get, erm, intimate. Stick him with a trank of some sort. Get him back here. Simple. Minimal risk” – to us or him – ”minimal resources” – so less people who can get carried away at the prospect of having an X-Man around – ”and minimal chance something’ll go wrong”

[Magneto]

Magneto tilted his head back a minute and surveyed his pupil....an approving smile slowly slipping across his face. It appears that Pyro had been paying attention to all those speeches and lessons that the old man had been giving him. Granted Pyro's plan was simple, but it worked and it made good enough sense. Risks, to both sides, was minimal and so was the resources to pull it off......not perfect but close enough.

Dropping his head back to a more normal position, Magneto smiled fully, "Perhaps Mystique has been teaching you more than I've been aware of my boy," he said in a joking tone, knowing the boy would hate to admit that he might actually learn something from the woman which sat in the position that he wanted so badly. "Young mister Drake is your charge.....so do not mess this one up or I'll have no choice but to send a more......experienced mutant in your place," he said as he glanced toward the door which led to his private bedroom. Magneto never came out and said Mystique's name, nor would he admit she was so intimately close to him, but he also knew that his protege and pupil would get the drift.

Magneto moved quickly around the side of his desk and took his seat once again. Sitting back and sliding his hands together, interlocking his fingers with one another. He stared at his pupil, still curious if Pyro was just all talk or if he truly had his head in the game. The whole Mystique threat was a bluff, for Magneto had other plans for her. He would send her to Bobby's home, to share a bit of a 'family reunion' of sorts with the Drakes, but the ending of that facade would depend solely on how young Bobby cooperated.