The Evils of Necessity

Scott lingered in the shower after his time with Raven. He knew Jean was in danger. He knew she wouldn’t be if she had joined the Brotherhood with him. He also knew that she could handle herself better than any man he’d ever met.

He did not know if his willingness to leave her in peril equaled his continuing faith in her competence. But he dried and dressed himself quickly. The shower, hot as it was, did not relax him.

He joined Magneto in his office at the pinnacle of the complex, where Erik had unironically seated himself. For a man who believed in all mutants being equal, he made it very hard for people to equal him. Scott knew from experience.

The view was worthwhile, though. The walls entirely translucent, a flower head with silver petals that Magneto could veil himself in whenever he chose. Now, the view showed three hundred and sixty degrees of the Savage Land, the mutant architecture’s elevation revealing the landscape from the brontosaurus herds in the south to the roving packs of raptors up north.

It was all red to Scott.

“I received your message,” Erik said, his voice booming from atop his throne as if Scott were a mile off instead of at his feet. “You marshal persuasive arguments, young Summers. As always.”

“I was taught to operate from logic. Not optimism or cynicism. Now is just the right time to act.”

Magneto gently removed his helmet, holding it in his lap as if he were about to offer it to Scott. Throw it at him. “Do you know why I don’t trust you, Cyclops?”

“You still think I’m a spy for Xavier.”

“No, no…” Erik chuckled good-naturedly. “If I thought that, I would’ve killed you long ago. Certainly before Ms. Darkholme took you to bed. No. It’s love.”

Scott walked off to the side, admiring what he could see of the view. “I don’t understand,” he said evenly.

“Always willing to admit it, too. As a good pupil should.” Erik stood. He walked down the few steps that led up to his throne. So few. Just enough to elevate him, merely a head or two above a tall man. “Are you a god-fearing man, Scott?”

“I don’t feel I have much to fear from God,” he answered diplomatically.

“Mutants,” Erik said, an inch or two shorter than Scott now that they were on level ground, but seeming to tower over him, “are God’s chosen inheritors. As Eve replaced Lilith, so we are meant to take the Earth from the failed experiment of mankind and be the worthwhile stewards that these homo sapiens could not. And as God’s People, we cannot be merely good. Merely moral. We must fight and die for our convictions; the convictions of Heaven. We must burn with the fury of the righteous! The fury that smote every firstborn from the land of Egypt, the wrath of Jesus Christ in the marketplace, the cold calculus that let Noah save two of every animal but not one, not one, of those sinful masses who had squandered God’s gift of life.” Erik stepped away, helmet under his arm, and Scott felt electric. Like he might die. “You hear of an obscenity against your God and your brethren, and you wait until it becomes expedient to act. You are a shepherd and you have seen the wolves among your flock, yet only now do you hasten. Is that how the righteous will act in the Promised Land?”

“Who says we get to the Promised Land?” Scott asked. “We’re shepherds. We don’t join the flock. We tend it.”

Magneto’s wizened face came to hold a smile. “I might have said the same once to Charles. You reminded me of him, once. I miss that about you.”

Scott said little. Only: “The most wretched men in this world are those who are peaceful when their lives allow it but violent when their lives are eased by it. I’m not an X-Man. I’m never going to be at peace. But I don’t expect I’ll get the chance.”

Magneto put a hand on his shoulder. “You will. Sooner than you think. And in no small part due to your own leadership. Yes. Yes, I think there’ll be place for you in the Promised Land, and a time for me to wander in the desert.” He gathered his breath. “I would’ve done anything to spare Charles the hard choices, once. Now I wish I could take more of them from you.”

He took his hand away.

“You’re wrong about me,” Scott said.

“Oh?”

“I have love. In unguarded moments.”

Erik tilted his head to the side. “Love is being willing to burn the world down when the one you live for can only eat ashes. I love you, Scott. Your brothers and your sisters as well. I would do anything to make this world safe for you.”

“Safety was never an option,” Scott said simply.

“No.” Magneto looked out the windows. “Our army gathers at my command, but who do they assemble for? You or me?”

“Academic,” Scott replied.

“They’ll be ready to depart soon. My daughter among them. Wanda is quite fond of you.”

Scott almost smiled. “If Pietro heard you say that—“

“Please.” Erik gestured, a casual charge of the magnetosphere becoming visible where his hand traveled. The windows parted along a metal-lined seam. He and Scott stepped out upon a metal platform. “Don’t believe the human propaganda. My children have a closeness, but to actually gossip about them lying with each other—humanity has much to answer for. Yet Pietro is overprotective. He does not trust me to protect his sister; she is the only one he favors. As you’ve noticed, Pietro has not inherited my sociability.”

And you’re the guy who wants to turn humans into hamburgers when you don’t get enough sleep, Scott thought. The platform slid smoothly into motion, carrying them through the air toward the hangar.

“I’m not one to talk to about happy families,” Scott said simply.

“I am talking to you. Wanda is my blood, and unlike her brother, she does not have a personality to overshadow it. Our people have suffered much at the hands of humans and race traitors. It’s given them long memories. If Wanda were yours, you would not only be my successor, but my heir. Your time with Xavier—your attachment to his prize pupil—it would be forgotten.”

Scott’s brow furrowed. “I… have someone.”

“I’m aware.” Erik raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t exactly—kept it quiet. Another thing Wanda sees in you, perhaps.”

“Sir…”

“Monogamy is a prudish Victorian concept that has long outlived its usefulness. I can assure you, Raven has done far worse than sharing a man.”

“Not with me.”

Magneto halted the platform and advanced on Scott, nearly edging him off the side as they came nose to nose. “Summers—I allow you to lie to me as much as you lie to yourself. No more. You can lie all you want that you’re not doing this for Ms. Grey, but I know what’s truly in your heart, boy. Your world wouldn’t burn for Raven or for Wanda, but it would for her, so I’ve named my price. The girl will make it to the Promised Land, but she will not be yours. She will never be yours. I give you my only daughter. I give you my most trusted lieutenant. If they are not enough to buy you, than you’re far worse than loyal to Xavier. You’re loyal to nothing. And I should kill you now.”

Scott eyed him right back. “I’ll be Wanda’s husband. In every capacity.”

Magneto did not answer until the platform started moving again. “Son.”