The Aftermath of Betrayal

[Magneto]

Neverland was a bit more than Magneto could have ever expected and all that he feared. The whole scene replayed in his mind as he sat in the cockpit of the transport chopper Mystique had somehow acquired for them. His helmet laid at his feet, discarded as soon as the old man had hit the chair and his hair was a mess. Smoke and grime covered his face and blood stained the left side of his chest and arm, two bullet holes very noticeable and present. The homo sapiens had gotten a bit smarter in their defense of this stronghold, using glass bullets and ceramic armor, leaving Magneto a bit useless against them. However, steel and iron were still a major component in the construction of that horrid and inexcusable prison...that outlandish hell on earth, so the old man wasn't totally defenseless.

The low hum of the helicopter blades had helped lull him into a forced and nervous sleep. Erik had strained himself far too much on this mission and the added stress from being shot had finally wore his already frail body down. Many had fallen to the soldiers of Neverland, but many more of those monsters had met his wrath as he sunk very well near half the island in a rage of childhood memories and new nightmares. The experiments going on there were atrocities and ones that the homo sapiens would pay for ten fold. So much suffering and so many inflicted to such monstrous punishments......an all too familiar sight for a survivor of Auschwitz.

The helicopter lurched somewhat and jarred Erik from his semi-lucid state, sweat visible on his brow and a look of agitation and fear in his wide blue eyes. The scene below him was not one he welcomed, but one he half expected. The X-men on Alcatraz was a clear sign that his plan of using Bobby Drake against them wasn't going to work, but still, he hoped that they still didn't know where they had him. "John Allerdyce," he muttered, gritting his teeth and then wincing in pain as he sat up, trying to see out the windows. The old man knew the betrayer here....and wondered if that act actually was successful or if he would find the remains of a small and scrawny blond haired boy amongst the carnage.

[Mystique]

Mystique didn't disturb Erik on the way back, however it was still fresh in her mind how he was so quick to drop her when she showed the first sign of weakness. Right now Magneto was in a weakened state and if she truly wanted revenge then she could have it.. surely. However she would show him something he had little of, something he should develop or at least work on - loyalty. And if not to her to the cause because she still would have been a part of it all.. she wasn't useless. Her knowledge made her far dangerous than half the would be super mutants these days.

As they drew near the Brotherhood hideout she put it on auto pilot, taking a moment to look out the window at it. The soft smoke billowing up only added to this moment as Magneto let his name slip.

Anger and satisfaction came to her at once but her body only acted as if it were average reflexes. She took her seat and readied the helicopter for the land, on a pad just behind the hide out and somewhat not noticeable due the the trees that were patched around the place.

As soon as the engine was shut down Mystique slipped out of her chair and made her way towards Magneto, keeping a pretty good distance from him right now because she wanted to see his face, see how he felt for once to be in doubt about one you were supposed to trust. She would wait for a minute, not say much because she wanted the realization of things to hit him. She didn't necessarily trust Pyro, he was too eager to please - too hungry for attention and approval and that was easily bought out.

After a moment she moved over to his side to help him up. So many venomous things could have slipped past her blue lips but she stopped it all, for a moment. No she would let him slip his foot in his mouth before he even thought about it.

[Magneto]

This had to be a sweet moment for Mystique and deep down Erik knew that, but he also knew that Mystique would hold her tongue and let him handle things on his own, embarrassing as they may be. Her silence would bring more guilt and anger than any statement or words she might utter and the way she so easily and eagerly stood by him, offering her assistance to help him from his chair, spoke louder than anything she had ever said to him before. Here was the one whom he turned his back on and whom now stood with him once again, coming back to him even when she didn't really want to and when she shouldn't have. Erik felt a twinge of being humbled as he thought about this more than likely assumption of John's betrayal. Erik had given John chance after chance, being more lenient with him than he had ever been with Mystique and yet who had set the fire and who stood with him now?

Magneto accepted Mystique's help from his seat, wincing and groaning from the pain in his shoulder and arm as he stood. The blades of the helicopter were slowly dieing down and the noise was rather soft and eerie. With a bit of effort and an outreached hand, Erik summoned his helmet and tucked it close to his body, unsure if there was still someone lying in wait for the rest of the Brotherhood to return. In his weakened state, Erik could still probably hold his own, but if the number of the enemy was just enough, then he would probably find himself in another plastic prison....that is, if he was lucky.

"Be on your guard my dear," he said in a whisper to Mystique as his pale blue eyes searched the grounds around the helicopter, most of his view hidden considering the fact he only had one view from the cockpit of the helicopter. Magneto had no idea of what to expect here and in reality, John could have nothing to do with what had went on here, it could have been the homo sapiens finally catching up with him. All sorts of thoughts ran through Erik's already weary mind, only serving to tire him further.