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Masters of Mettle; Magneto
Topic Started: Mar 27 2011, 11:58 PM (208 Views)
Nightcrawler
Unregistered

March 5th, noon. Mutant Town.

The drive was somber. He did not speak. All he did was watching things go by. He had imagined many things. That may have been his very last goodbye to all of his friends. And yet... in some way, he had been happy. What he was doing was for the good of his own soul. He needed to do this, this selfish venture that required him to steel all his nerve and mettle and test himself. He was going into the Lion's Den. Unlike Daniel, the lions would likely not be his friends. The two or so hour drive was full of the wind and the light drone of the driver's radio. Nothing more.

He had arrived in Mutant town quite early. By ten, Kurt was in a cafe sipping tea under the illusion of his image inducer. He watched dozens of people go by the window he sat next to, mulling around inside his thoughts. He went to his favorite bar and had a single drink, which was unusual both for the tender and himself. In the end, Kurt had arrived at the florist Amelia had mentioned in their encounter back in January. He remembered it well:

“You know that florist that is about a block down on the left?” Amelia smirked and seemed to catch herself. She leaned in closer to Kurt in order to talk more quietly. “There is a guy there named Adam. He is a reptilian sort of guy... you can't miss him,” she whispered in his ear. “He is a contact for the Sanctuary. There are no funny passwords or anything.. just tell him that you are interested in it and you'll get all the information that you need. I can even tell him to expect you... since I think that I will be going that way tonight.”

Before entering, he shut his image inducer off in a nearby alley. The door opened with the ringing of a bell attached to the frame and the smells of flowers hit him like a truck. Against the dank scent of the bar before, this was a walk into heaven. The sweetness filled his nose and caused him to pause in the entrance way.

"Hey! Welcome to Mary's! I'm Mary, if you need any help," a young, spry voice called. Kurt looked towards its owner, a young green girl with glowing eyes brighter than Christmas morning. He smiled to her, nodding politely as he walked further in. "You look like you're on a trip."

"Ja. I am back-packing cross-country. I wanted to see a friend of mine before I left the area," Kurt said, tail swishing low over the ground. He didn't like lying, but... he didn't know how much this young woman knew about the man named Adam. He did not want to endanger her.

"Bah," she snorted, then gave him a flirtatious look. "I thought you were here to see me. Oi! Adam! You got another visitor! He's in the back. Just don't knock any pots over."

"Ah, danke schön," he lowered his head thankfully and moved carefully through the flowers. Passing through the door, Kurt eased into the back room, shutting the door behind him with his tail. It was essentially a greenhouse, flowers and bright lights, misters spraying, and heavy with the scent of dirt. Kurt scanned over it slowly with his yellow eyes, wondering if he should find some flowers to give to Amelia for thanks. Best save it for later. He didn't want to seem desperate or anything...

"Yo," a low voice like scraping gravel said. Kurt looked towards the direction of the greeting, eyebrows raised, but saw no one. He heard a despairing sigh, the shuffle and scrape of a stool being pushed back, and the clack of something hard on the floor. Kurt followed the sound and from around the corner of the table came a small, barely three-foot tall reptilian man. Lanky legs, fierce face, slitted eyes, and even a tail extending from his backside. A regular reptilian man. "You need somethin'? Everything we got is out there. This is just extra."

Kurt took a moment to understand the man, who was smoking a cigarette. "Aah... Yes. Are you Adam."

"Adam or Kobold, whatever works for ya," he puffed a plume.

Kurt took off his hat and extended his hand in greeting, which the reptilian mutant took and shook. "I was told to come to you for--"

"Who told you?"

"A German woman named Amelia."

"Ah... Came through back in January. Yeah, I remember her. You the handsome fella she spoke of? Kurt Wagner, right?" he asked rhetorically. Kurt didn't remember if he told Amelia his full name... "Yeah. I remember her. Pretty thing." Adam grunted, putting his cigarette out on a table leg.

Adam gave Kurt a long, still stare. "So... You want find Sanctuary?"




March 8th. 9 am. Unknown location. Transportation Room.

"I'm not really sure... Do you think I'll be able to find a place there? I don't have much money."

"I hear they have free rooms for everyone."

"Do they? That sounds unrealistic... I mean, don't you have to pay?"

"Well... Yeah... Maybe? I don't know. They'll help you out with a job, I bet. How much you got on you?"

"Not much... Maybe fifty dollars. It takes a long time for you to get through."

"Yeah? I have seventy. Maybe we can pool our things together. Hey? Blue guy, how much you got?"

Kurt opened his eyes. Hanging from a beam from the ceiling of wherever they were, Kurt looked down. It was a pleasant room meant for the interim of travel, accomodations placed out neatly and cleanly, nothing filthy or disturbed. A room for rest was already occupied, so Kurt had been hanging there quietly like a bat, trying to catch a few Zs before the next transport. Some people were drained by them, physically exhausted from the interdimensional jaunt. Kurt on the other hand, was not. He simply enjoyed sleep. With his packs laying on the beam above and coat draping down around his form, Kurt remained suspended in the air by his tail.

"Aaah, nicht viel," Kurt hummed.

"What's that?"

"Not much," he said lightly. Looking down at the other two men -- one whose visage was distorted in some solid fog, the other who bore the features of an ibex -- Kurt gave a stretch. "I imagine that many mutants enter Sanctuary with few possessions. It seems ideal that we would be given quarters and a chance at occupations of our desire. I've been well treated through the process -- haven't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose," the ibex said, looking down at the ground. "I've been going through it for ten days now."

"Thirteen for me."

"Is it normally so long?" Kurt inquired. "I have been in transit for four."

"It's mostly just waiting, I guess," the fog man vibrated his orange substance. "They probably go through all the existing records of immigrants. You know... The Brotherhood. I bet they do it illegally..."

The ibex looked over. "What? Do they? Shit... I hope that doesn't mean I can't get in. I have a record..."

"Oh? What'd you do?"

Pleasantries continued and Kurt eventually made the attempt to sleep. The two men talked and chatted lightly while Kurt dozed, tail holding him tight. It was another thirty minutes before something actually happened. A few of the other people in Kurt's cluster of transportees woke up and were getting themselves coffee when the main door opened. A pleasant woman smiled to them, her eyes quite literally shooting sparks.

"Everything is ready. We are terribly sorry for the wait, but these things take time. If you'll gather your things, I'll take you to the platform."

Reaching up with his feet and clinging to the ceiling, Kurt rolled his form up and grabbed his back and hat, then dropped himself down onto the floor. Tail swishing with anticipation, Kurt looked to see how the others were doing. He offered a woman some help to carry her things but was politely refused. Everyone was willing to carry their own burden on the trip. They had done it so far and they would continue to do so until the end. Admirable... It took Kurt so long to finally come to the decision to go. How many of these people simply abandoned everything they had to go on this venture?

Hefting his things, Kurt trailed out in the succession of mutants. They were in nothing more than what appeared to be a hotel, pleasant carpets on the floor, lovely paintings on the walls, and other doors that likely held other mutants. Strange how it could reflect a prison in some manner, keeping mutants tidied up in a small area. Yet, all of them were willing to endure it. It was less than a day, so the feeling of being cramped or suffocated was nearly nonexistant. He tried to remain positive, especially when things were getting so close to Sanctuary. He knew there was a chance things would turn out poorly, but he was prepared.

He hit nothing from the information he had given them regarding who he was. Kurt Wagner, 'Nightcrawler.' That was enough to set off explosions with the Brotherhood.

Or so he liked to think.

"Here we are," the woman leading the crew said, pausing in front of a double-door. "Please, when you are passing through the portal, go one at a time and step on. You will be taken to the Elis Island of Sanctuary, where you will appear in a hallway. Imagine it like an airport, where you have to walk down the lane when unloading. Step away from the entrance platform when you arrive -- you will be given twenty seconds after arriving to move off the platform. There will be someone there to help you. You may experience some 'jetlag' but you should know what it's like since you've been through a few portals already. So! My friends, let me be the first to wish you happiness in your new lives in Sanctuary!" She smiled cheerfully and opened the door.

Yet again, they were met with a twisting, swirling vortex. Someone made a Stargate comment, which Kurt had heard a few times at this point, and Kurt lifted his gaze to it. White and blue tendrils of energy whirled and roared, the din loud enough to drown out most quiet things but not attack the senses. They formed a line and, one by one, they entered.

When it came time for Kurt to enter, he touched the spot underneath his jacket where the little silver cross was and whispered, "Gott schützen mich." And stepped through.

For a moment, nothing was real. It was all energy, countless atoms twisting together within space and outside of it. It was just slightly different to his own teleportation, though slightly more disorienting as he knew not where he was going. Seconds, maybe hours, or an infinite amount of time had passed before he reappeared once more. A blinding light greeted him when his cleft foot set on something solid. He balanced himself, becoming aware, and took another step.

A magnificent room, tall and glorious, looking almost like a cathedral was around him. The vortex still spinning behind him, Kurt consciously drew his tail in close, not wanting to accidentally let it wander back through the portal. An insectoid mutant approached him, grabbed his hand, and cheerfully shook it.

"Welcome to Sanctuary, friend. If you'll kindly step off the platform and walk thattaway, we'll get you ready and set up for anything and everything."

Kurt nodded, walking along the platform. One of the people before him had their face in a barf bag, one of the arrival attendants seeing to them. Kurt went to the cluster and was immediately embraced by someone who cheered and hugged everyone. As the others came, they were all equally estatic, disorientation aside. Soon enough, all were there, and they were moved along to make room for the next group bound to come.

Walking down the hall, Kurt adjusted his hat from the front of the group as the ibex resumed his characteristic complaints. "I hope I get a nice place, not just a box..."

"Oh come on," the foggy orange mutant responded. "It'll be amazing, just you wait guy."

"Maybe a place with a garden..."

"What, so you can eat the flowers?"

"Let's not be rude, mein freund." Kurt said over his shoulder. "Today is a day to celebrate, is it not? You have been working for this moment for. Do not worry, it will all be..." Kurt asked, seeing them stop in their tracks.

He looked ahead once again, confronted with a double-row of men in uniforms with powers blazing. Energy swirled in the air violently, surges of electricity sparking, and blue fire roared down the way. Kurt stilled in front of his companions. But, it was one person in particular that had Kurt's fur standing on end.

"...fine...?"
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Magneto (old)
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Magnokinesis / Flight
“I must say,” Magneto said with just the slightest hint of a smile on his lips, “When I heard that Kurt Wagner had applied for entrance into Sanctuary, I could scarcely believe the reports.”

Hands clasped behind his back, Erik Lehnsherr took two steps forward, his cool eyes locked on the X-Man standing in Teleportation Bay Four. Behind him and to his right stood the Captain of Sanctuary's security force – a blond woman who looked good for a woman in her early forties. The air around her clenched fists almost seemed to vibrate with unseen energy. Beside her stood a man whose eyes seemed to be on fire, flames emitting from sockets and climbing up his forehead without singeing his eyebrows.

And so on.

Dozens of onlookers stood backed away, seeming to gape at the sight one moment, then pretend not to even be aware that anything was out of the ordinary the next. A few clung to children while a young couple hugged each other tight, the woman's almost as big as her mate's which was saying something due to the man's insect-like eyes literally being nearly the size of tea saucers.

Absolom stood directly to his left, a pace behind and lips pursed into thin lines of worry as his eyes scanned the room. A couple of gestures toward a few of the newcomers were meant to be comforting to some of the more terrified guests; they seemed to have little effect.

“Nightcrawler, you are guilty of standing of crimes against your people by standing in the way of the Brotherhood on multiple occasions. Because of your efforts along with many of the other X-Men you are affiliated with, the citizens of Sanctuary have had to go into hiding from humans in order to flee human oppression. By all rights, I should have you arrested on the spot and made to stand trial for what you have done.”

Absolom stepped forward and placed a hand on Erik's shoulder, “Magnus, don't do this. This is a place of second chances... of hope. All mutants are welcome here as long as they come in peace.”

It was as if the man hadn't spoken; Erik let several moments pass in silence before finally speaking up again, “But, you have also worked with us twice in stopping the world from facing complete disaster, so in light of the past and in hope that the future will find us as allies once more, I will refrain from having you imprisoned.” The woman flinched, her face tightening slightly... just enough to show that she was unhappy. Absolom almost seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“But my men aren't here to posture, Nightcrawler,” Magneto said. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they watched the scene before them. “Why are you here?”
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Nightcrawler
Unregistered

He could literally feel a cold chill rise up his spine, the hairs along the back of his neck standing on end like a defensive cat's. Catching Magneto's voice in his ears was more real than he expected it to be. For Magneto himself to be here in person was something many people would call a fortunate and welcoming blessing, but for Kurt -- an enemy of the Brotherhood -- it was exactly what he feared most. Though he would not have been surprised at all that a member of the Brotherhood would be here, for Magneto himself to step forward in front of mutants flexing their powers dangerously, perhaps Kurt's faith in mutanity had stretched a bit far. He had done everything so carefully and peacefully, maybe he assumed it would have been returned. Alas, his worst fears were coming true.

"Holy crap that's Magneto," the ibexian mutant behind him whispered, much to the effect of a deer in the headlights in front of a semi-truck.

Holding his own, Kurt clutched onto his rucksack tightly, his tail hovering low to the ground as he stared forward. He did not move his eyes from their contact with Magneto as he called him by his mutant name and charged him with a list of crimes. Essentially an enemy of the state, Kurt stood his ground and allowed Magneto to accuse him without any sort of defense. Though his visage hardened at the accusations, Kurt did not lash out nor rebuke it. There was no reason to. No matter what was said on Kurt's behalf, he suspected it would mean nothing and hold up to nothing here. Magneto was in control. He and his Acolytes and Brotherhood were in control.

Kurt was a bleeding fish in a pool full of sharks.

His yellow eyes flicked over towards an older-looking man with pale face who placed his hand on Magneto's shoulder. Kurt could barely hear him, but he seemed to be consoling Magneto over something in a brief aside. Magneto didn't even flinch at whatever the man said and a stressful silence was born. Seconds passed like minutes as Kurt waited for Magneto to speak, unwilling to speak out of turn both as a sign of respect and out of the necessity to keep a leveled head. Down here, somewhere beneath the ocean, Kurt was alone. A straight vertical jump towards the surface -- provided they weren't in the Mariana Trench -- would bring him to the top of the sea. Then, perhaps exhausted, how long would it be before Magneto caught him? Minutes? Seconds? Kurt could feel his heartbeat race, thumping away in his throat. Adrenaline began to rush into his veins, ready for anything.

"But" was enough to allow a breath into his lungs. As Magneto spoke, Kurt visibly relaxed, but he did not let his guard down. At least Kurt wouldn't be put into jail right then and there...

When finally asked a question and incited to speak, Kurt did so with a calm honesty. He could feel the eyes of the other immigrants on him. "I am here for the very same reasons every other man, woman, and child are here for: I seek a place where mutants can live and walk along the street without fear of persecution or dark glares from humans. I come here as a man who searches for opportunity and as a man who wishes to witness a way of life he has dreamed of since he was a child." Kurt let the idea set in before continuing.

"I do not come here with the intention of making my stay permanent, however. I come here as a man who simply wants to view this... mystical dream in person. We have many differences in ideology, Magneto, but we are both concerned with the future with mutants. From the rumors that I have heard, Sanctuary is meant to be a place where these rumors are all true. As you know, I have lived in a house full of mutants, young and old alike, crafted by the benevolent hand of Charles Xavier. What I seek here is to experience more than just a single house... I have dreamed of seeing a city -- a country -- of mutants like Sanctuary is rumored to be.

"I am not here to wave the flag of the X-Men nor to cause war. We have enough problems with our human friends as it is. I am not here to infiltrate Sanctuary and discover any malicious secret you might be keeping. I come as Kurt Wagner, a mutant like any other who simply wishes to live peacefully. If you do not believe me, I have no qualms about you scanning my mind if you have not already had someone do so. I have nothing to hide."

Kurt managed to grow a smile. "I immigrated to America under the hand of the Professor, I feel that it is fit that I see Sanctuary under yours."
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