Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father Chapter Sixty (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply


A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta...*twirly dance * Nope, not counting days at all! InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are squishy goodness for archiving/hosting! ProPhile: *gloke * Morgan: *EXTA HARD GLOMP * Readers/Reviewers: Just a few more to go... *sniffle *




Magneto sighed and counter-rotated his ankles as he stared at the cold cup of tea on the desk before him. "How bad is it?" he finally asked.
Mystique stood at parade rest out of some inner need to appear official. "We are a bit... behind."
He reached out and traced the rim of the cup idly. "A bit...behind. How much is a bit?"
She inhaled deeply, slowly, and exhaled in an equally controlled manner. "It's shot all to hell," she admitted, not giving in to the urge to slump. "Roulette and Proudstar are...inconvenienced. Frost had an unforeseen security measure-Firestar. Poena is out of contact and I cannot raise the lab on any system." She had long ago given up trying to read Magneto's features for reaction but this time, she was sure she could see not only disappointment but sheer outrage flit across his features before settling back into neutral aloofness. She jerked her chin and focused on a spot somewhere past his right ear. "And Toad is at the Boardinghouse, along with one of Xavier's children."
"Which one?" he asked slowly, his voice clipped and interested. He stopped tracing the rim of the cup and glanced up at her with icy eyes. "Not your darling son, is it?" He shoved himself to his feet and spoke again before she could respond. "No, of course not. That would be too cruel, even for you... Which of the misguided children is it?"
"The multplier... James, I believe."
Magneto smirked. "Jamie. Jamie Maddrox." He rolled his eyes slightly at her mild surprise. "You should learn to make it your business to know everything about your adversaries, Mystique. I thought you were taught better than this."
She stiffened and inclined her chin in an attitude of pride. "You taught me everything I know," she purred.
"Not quite," he countered, moving around the desk to stand very close to her. He looked, she thought, murderous. He reached out and touched an errant red strand, shoving it back behind her ear in a gesture more clinical than paternal. "You were already broken in by the time I got you," he said, with particular emphasis on 'broken in'. "I cannot teach an old dog entirely new tricks. Your failings in this are your own, not to be blamed on anyone else. Is that understood?"
She nodded, lips pressed tightly together. "Yes."
He turned away sharply, his hard soles clicking on the parquet floor. The subject was officially dropped. "Call our seconds. They are at the lab, are they not?"
"Yes, sir," she ground out. "They have just arrived. Frost, most of the original students, and some of the adults. Banshee, Forge, Psylocke, Angel and Logan."
"Logan," Magneto said softly. "Interesting indeed."
"Shall I send Juggernaut?" she asked boldly. "Or Mindbender?"
"No," he said carefully. "Summon no one. I think this is something I want to oversee personally."

Ananda stared frankly at Poena for the longest moment. "Fuck," she finally spat. "Fuck!"
"For a bliss goddess," Ernie snapped, "you're very bitter and angry." He rubbed at the bruise rising on his cheek, a souvenir of the evening. "They cannot be helped. Let them finish."
"Easy for you to say," she snarled. "This is your meat, this is your livelihood!" She waved an arm at the scene behind her. "You thrive on blood and discord! I need love and happiness, damn it!"
"You need a nap," Agrona muttered, folding her arms over her chest.
"Need I remind you that I am in charge?" Ananda bit out. "And that I am not only older than you but superior in rank, ability and biology?"
"For someone who is in charge, you have neglected your duties sorely!" Agrona bent to make eye contact with Ananda, poking her finger hard at the other's chest. "This mission is shot! We're scrambling madly in the dark!"
"Shut up!" Ernie shoved the two apart and glowered. "We are divided! We forget the common goal, the ultimate duty. We are letting *them * turn us against one another!"
Ananda and Agrona stared at him, then at each other for several minutes. "You," Ananda began, "are not worthy of this mission. But you are here with us and I have no choice but to keep you along. I am in charge. Ernie comes after me, then you are after us both. Is that understood?" She did not wait for an answer and turned away from her companions, heading to the row of controls and screens. She flipped a few switches and the monitors to the primary lab, the one often shown to potential customers and investors, went dark as pitch. There was no tinny, filtered noises of fighting from the room below, no vision of the slight girl battling with Sabretooth. "At least," Ananda said. "Kali is gone!"
"You speak too soon," Ernie groaned. "Look." He pointed to one of the only monitors still going and sighed. "She's not gone. She's just moved."
Kali moved through the hall, trailed at a quick pace by the Institute students She rounded one corner and appeared on another monitor, but not before tossing a cheery backwards wave at the security camera, then flashing a gory grin at the next hidden monitor as she ushered Kitty forward. As the last of the students passed her, Kali raised one arm over her head and hissed, "Liars!"
Agrona shuddered as Kali vanished again. "I hate her," she snarled "I want her dead!"
"Magnto has his reasons," Ananda spread her hands almost indulgently. "She did not bear her tropies or the head of Shiva... Something is amiss."
"Yes," Kali's low voice hissed, the lights in the room going off. "Very amiss."