Eloi
21
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Eloi Chapter Twenty One
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… *gold star* Because
she beta reads more ‘verses before dinner than most people do all week.
InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink, Greywolf and Dracena are loverly and
wondermous for archiving/hosting. ProPhile:
Take galoshes! Morgan: *poke*
Readers/Reviewers: Doctor Nightfall *breeds * Plotbunnies, I swear
Magneto did
not stop at his home. He knew what he
would find there. Sabretooth
had contacted him, somewhat laboriously, and described the scene in words of
few syllables. The house, he knew, could
be rebuilt. It sounded as if the damage was confined to the rear of the
structure, the newer part that was not as…historically valuable,
he remembered the city council calling it.
The lab, most likely, would need serious work.
know whether or not it had been damaged… He did know that Pietro
was safe, as was Tarot and Lucas.
has no idea what she is doing, _he thought bitterly, his hands folded primly in
his lap as the taxi swung onto the main street through town.
private conveyance. It was classless, he
thought, watching the small buildings give way to larger ones, less care put
into their construction and generic appearance.
The driver had ceased trying to speak to him after a few moments of
awkward conversation and for that, Magneto was thankful.
an unarmed man. The cab passed the
narrow side street leading to his compatriot’s office… he knew Essex had
purchased—not rented—a small space in the middle of town, set it up as his
headquarters, a place to get mail and have meetings.
in the city, Magneto thought with a hint of amusement, but no, the man had to
be close to his “nemesis.” _When did
people start using that name for people they don’t like, I wonder? _
residential. “Turn right on Elm,” he
ordered the driver in a monotone, not inviting further discussion.
narrowly missing a teenager on a red bicycle.
Magneto did not even notice, instead watching the neighborhood become
affluent, three story houses rising to overshadow VA-era homes, pastel colors
giving way to ersatz stucco and expensive siding.
and worlds as if they were debris. No
one has respect for their elders, for the generations to come after them
to go visit Charles on this day of all days, but he knew he had to.
the Institute would be. Sometimes, he
thought, old enmity had best be put away for the preservation of the species.
Professor
Charles Xavier pressed the cool glass against his forehead, the drink inside
the cut glass tumbler sloshing slightly, spilling out onto his hand.
to dwell on things. It had happened more
quickly than he expected, this sudden and sharp
awareness of how precarious their lives really were.
_than to let my own wishes and hopes cloud my judgement.
Humanity would try something soon…
His thoughts turned to the sheaf
of papers in the lower right drawer of the desk in his private study.
carefully photocopied and preserved, the originals locked in a fireproof box in
the safe deep below the Institute.
was the only other person who knew the combinations,
the only other person who would be able to access them should something happen
to the others. _It’s my own fault. An
old man’s folly has led us to this.
students—his children, he thought with a shade of bitter affection—moving in
the mansion around him. He heard their
soft psychic voices, even those who were not aware they had them.
emotions ranging from confused and hurt to bored and uncertain.
were open. Intentionally, Professor
Xavier realized. _Eric, old friend
_How does
the old saying go? I come in peace? _
Magneto rejoined. _You’re giving me your
headache, Charles. _
Professor
Xavier closed his shields and waited.
His old friend was close, within a mile or two, he knew, for his ‘reception’
to be so clear. He set his tumbler full
of water down on the end table and wheeled himself into the foyer.
waiting. Someone had betrayed their
secrets, he thought. Not that there were
many to keep at this point. Even as
careful as they had been before, as well as he and Emma had done with
know. Bits and pieces of illusions would
give way to truth. “
he said quietly, knowing his friend and companion was nearby.
want to be disturbed.”
stepped out of the shadows cast by the staircase in the late afternoon sunlight
and nodded. “Most of ‘em
They want to go see her tonight. I told ‘em…I
said they’d have to wait.” He jerked his
head gruffly in the direction of the dining room and asked, “That right or
should I tell ‘em otherwise?”
“No, that’s
correct,” Professor Xavier sighed. “Until
tomorrow, chances are good we will not know more about her condition aside from
‘serious.’ Tell them that Danger Room
and training sessions are suspended until the house is thoroughly checked
over. Then have Kitty and Kurt help
Storm make phone calls to parents. Until
this is sorted out… I’m closing the Institute.”