Raging Embers A Magneto story (Erik Lehnsherr)

Reprimand

It hadn't seemed long since the group had familiarised themselves with each other that a small party erupted among the mutant group. Popular music blared from the speakers of the Jukebox and a gentle breeze filtered through the room, which seemed to create the perfect atmosphere. It started off quietly at first, the suggestion for music came from Raven, drinks were passed around by Hank as he made an effort to step out of his comfort zone and join in. Then the challenges started; the first being that Darwin was not as adaptable as he believed to be. Amelia laughed animatedly when Sean through a punch to Darwin's back and it instinctively hardened to anticipate the blow and Sean had hopped off, wincing and clutching his hand. Welcoming more challenges other members of the group took to testing Darwin's abilities; each as counter-productive as the next.
She'd nipped out of the room for a moment and when she had returned the atmosphere was completely different; Hank now hung from the light fixtures as Raven and Angel danced to the music and jumped around on the furniture. Amelia stiffened at the sight - what would the CIA make of this if they saw them now. Shaking her head she laughed it off and poured herself another drink before Raven and Angel on the sofa, but taking a seat and began singing along to the music.

"What is going on here!"
The music suddenly stopped and the sound of furniture smashing deafened the room.

"What would the CIA think indeed."
Amelia mused lightly to herself, noting the group of three return from their talk. She tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, sensing how tense things had gotten quickly while some of the mutant seemed to not notice just yet. The fire user caught the steel blue eyes of the metal bender and he raised an eyebrow, silently questioning what had happened. In response Amelia gave a half-baked smile and offered an apologetic shrug.

"Who destroyed the statue?"
She paid little attention to the conversation going on around her, she couldn't help but feel intimidated by Eric's strong gaze and his presence in this situation was no help. Eric seemed to prefer being the silent presence of this confrontation and Amelia couldn't help but notice how he seemed to be more focused on her. She bit her lip as she tore her eyes away from him and tried to refocus on the conversation going on around her.

"No you have to call him Havoc now! And we were thinking that you should be Professor X and you should be Magneto."
Raven pointed out to each in turn as she presented them with their code names. The code names was something that Raven seemed so proud of, but it was evident that the two older men were not so impressed as Charles sighed heavily. Although Amelia couldn't recall naming Eric and Charles, she must have missed that part. A grin slipped onto her face when she caught Eric's expression again, she could tell there was something behind those cold eyes that almost liked the name, but the situation wasn't right and his frustration showed more than she would have liked - after all he looked rather handsome when he allowed that rare grin to slip onto his facial features.

"Exceptional."
He grumbled walking off, Moira following behind him.

"I expected better from you."
Charles made a point to Raven before taking his leave too.
The mood had changed dramatically so quickly, Raven's rejection the most palpable feeling in the room. Amelia came up behind Raven, giving her a reassuring shoulder squeeze before chasing after the older group.

" Hey, wait! Don't you think you were a little harsh on them?"
Amelia spoke out once she caught up with them. It wasn't in her nature to speak out in such a way; normally she'd define herself as an introvert, but there was something about the rag tag group of mutants she had only just met - a sense of unity a strong thread that had quickly connected them all.

Eric scoffed audibly, turning to face the smaller woman.

"We're heading out to find Shaw, and stop god knows whatever it is that he's planning; and you think we're being harsh on a bunch of kids that chose to drink too much and start acting like idiots?"

"Yeah I do!" Amelia bit back,
"It's alright for us, we can hide what we've been born with. But there are people in that room that have lived isolated lives because of genetics. Hank has mutated feet, Angel has wings and Raven is naturally blue! What did you expect! They may be kids, but it's probably the first time they've ever felt comfortable with who they are and you just reprimanded them for that. Good luck with Shaw, Eric but you three had better apologise to them when you get back if you still want that mutant army!"
She didn't know what had possessed her, but she felt her insides burn with a need to make them see how much of an impact this experience would have on these young people; how much of an impact it was having for herself. She offered them a sad smile as she nodded feeling a sense of calm wash over her and she decided to leave it at that and jog back to the group.

Eric couldn't help but watch her walk away after her own mini lecture...he wondered if she felt the heat radiating off of her as her frustration with them seemed to hit a nerve somewhere in her mutation. He dared a glance at Charles and knew he had also noticed the atmospheric change around them...yes, training her would be valuable to his time.