X-men: World of Gray

Chapter 27

Chapter 27…

On the Cassandra, the lights were turned off except a small patio lamp dangling from the foredeck like the last remnants of a party. On a lounge chair, Magneto sat. He had replaced his red, violet and black suit with a simple pair of black slacks and turtle neck. As usual, his helmet rested in his quarters—an unneeded accessory. Until the following morning, of course.

Throughout the yacht, subtle noises seeped through the walls as the other mutants got ready for bed. Riptide was finishing up the last bit of circuit boards, only awaiting a few more components Mystique and Angel were picking up. They were running late. Azazel had already teleported away to check on them.

In his left hand, Magneto studied a piece of paper. It was the short list of coordinates from Emma's time on Cerebro. In Erik's right, a small piece of metal floated between his fingers—one the buttons from Riptide's suit. Magneto's fingers danced with it, the shiny disk flipping as it passed by each digit.

It was a peaceful night out in the ocean.

Nonetheless, all Magneto could feel was dread. Dread of things to come, things he could no longer prevent. He'd considered how he'd handle it all. Cerebro had to be respected—handled with care. So did Charles. Magneto would hook the other man to the machine, starting slow, and see where things ended.

The truth was, his friend was already to the point of cracking. Magneto simply needed to add that extra stone to his chest. Then, he could take Charles home, and forget he'd ever agreed to Riptide's asinine plan in the first place.

"Staying up late?" Riptide's voice cut through the peace on the foredeck.

Magneto clenched his fist around the floating button. "What do you want?" he asked.

Strolling to Magneto in his shimmering gray suit, Riptide plopped down on the chair beside his. In his grasp was one of the green circuit boards from Cerebro.

"So," Riptide started with an amused look on his features, "we're almost ready, aren't we?"

"No. I'm almost ready. You're almost done." Magneto nodded at the piece of Cerebro.

Riptide snorted. "You're really going to do it? Finally force that telepath onto Cerebro?"

Magneto unclenched his hand. With his finger, he flicked the silver button, and it bounced off Riptide's chest.

Riptide picked up the piece of metal. "Cute, Erik. I must admit, your exploding suit trick the other night was a real treat."

"I'm tired of listening to you, Riptide."

"You still didn't answer my question. Are you really going to do this? For your fellow mutants?"

Magneto released a sigh. "I already told you I would handle it."

With that, the amusement on Riptide's face trailed away. He flung the button to the floor. "I don't believe you."

Before Magneto could reply, Riptide stood. Brushing his bangs away from his eyes, he was gone, back towards his quarters and out of sight.

Extending his hand, Magneto called the button to his fingers again. The metal disk floated up from the floor and as it found Magneto's palm, he closed his hand around it, holding it tight enough for the button to dig into his skin.

From the edge of the foredeck, there came a burst of red. Lowering his hand, Magneto glanced to his right, expecting to see Azazel with Angel and Mystique by his sides. Only the teleporter stood there, however, and upon registering that image, a dark premonition crossed Magneto's mind.

Azazel didn't hesitate. "I couldn't find them," he explained.

Magneto dropped the button from his hands; it clattered to the wooden planks below him. He stood and approached the other man.

"I waited by the docks," Azazel said. "They never returned."

"Do you know where they were planning to go today?"

"I checked them all. Fortuna's—Castlebrook. They never picked up the order there."

Azazel pulled something from one of his pockets. It was the final metal resisters for Cerebro, the ones Angel and Mystique were supposed to retrieve that night.

Heart pounding, Magneto considered all the possibilities. It could have been the CIA; after all, the humans knew they existed and were most likely on the hunt. But with Angel's fireballs and Mystique's growing combat skills, a couple agents were no match.

That only left one other option.

"They're here," Magneto whispered.

Hank, Sean and Alex—they'd come for Charles.

Azazel arched his eyebrows. Behind him, his tail swayed back and forth.

Magneto brought his gaze back to Azazel. "Gather everyone—we need to search the mainland, and hunt them down."

The other man rested a hand on Magneto's shoulder. "I'll wake the others. We will split up and find them."

Before Magneto could protest, Azazel and he turned into a patch of red fog, disappearing off the yacht…

—Azazel returned seconds later after taking Magneto to the mainland. He didn't bother teleporting to the foredeck; he knew where he needed to be. As the red fog faded, he stood in Riptide's quarters, the other man standing beside his closet, putting up his gray jacket for the night. Riptide didn't even flinch as Azazel materialized from nothing.

"Here," Azazel said and tossed the bag of resisters to his friend. "An opportunity has finally presented itself. Do what is needed, comrade."

Catching them, Riptide peered down and smiled.

End of Chapter