X-Men: The Gifted Ones

10. MAGNETO HEADQUARTERS, LOCATION UNKNOWN

Magneto was at a loss. Erik Lensherr was one thing for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to handle, he was only viewed as the well-groomed yet grouchy man who had taken them from the Juvenile Detention Center. He decided these two needed to meet Magneto at his most calculating, most vicious. These two brats needed a rude awakening. They needed to be reminded about who they were dealing with.

Their high spirits needed to be broken quickly. He was finished tolerating independence. The previous leader of the Mutant Brotherhood, Sebastian Shaw, may have tolerated independence among his fellow mutants, but Erik wanted loyalty, obedience. He wanted a well-trained, coordinated force with the discipline of any human army. He knew what Charles Xavier had at West Chester. He wanted that, too. He wanted a group of disciplined soldiers who understood their loyalty to one another.

Loyalty. That was another problem he faced. Shaw's former associates were loyal to themselves first, each other second, and Magneto last. They resented the newcomers, and the teenagers returned their scorn in a series of pranks.

He pulled the twins into his training room and noticed that they looked around with trepidation. Good, he thought. He made sure he had as much metal in the room as possible. It was time for these two to understand what they were up against.

"Sit down," he commanded, making two metal chairs slide behind the twins.

Their eyes grew wide as the force of the chairs hit the backs of their legs and forced them to sit.

"Are you two ready to listen? Are you ready to train?"

"Yes, sir," they replied.

"There will be no more pranks in here," he ordered, passing a spiked metal bat in front of them. The twins appeared to shudder with anxiety as the spiked instrument levitated in front of them. "Any mischief, and this will be smashed into the nearest body part. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Their voices were less confident.

"You two have the privilege of being my first trainees," he told them. "I expect loyalty from you. I expect respect. You give me these, I will give you control over your powers that you never knew you possessed. You think you're great now? Just wait until I finish with you! Burning down a house will be nothing compared to what I can teach you how to do!"

The teenagers sat up straighter, they were interested.

"Right now, you're undisciplined! Defiant! Sloppy! Your powers have no finesse, no real power. They create inconveniences only! You need to create damage! Right now you're like a couple of foolish kids burning ants with a magnifying glass! You're next to worthless"

He noticed Quicksilver's eyes squint, the corner of his mouth twitch.

"Just what is on the tip of your tongue, boy?"

Scarlet Witch saw her brother's expression. She wasn't sure if Quicksilver should say what he was thinking. She thought the smart thing to do would be for him to say nothing. Unfortunately for him, he was never really smart.

"Kind of tough talk for a fairy," Quicksilver scoffed. Scarlet Witch closed her eyes. She couldn't believe her brother had said that, of all things.

Magneto circled the boy. "Fairy, huh?" The spiked bat loomed close to Quicksilver's head. "This bat is rather close to your head, boy. Your problem is you don't know how to keep your words to yourself. Maybe try to say those words with no teeth?"

Magneto made the bat rear back and swing toward the boy's jaw. Scarlet Witch was terrified. She pulled a force field around herself and jumped in front of her brother before the bat could hit him and smash his skull. She screamed as the bat hit the field with a loud crash and a flash of light. Erik was impressed with her quick thinking, although he did not appreciate her intervention.

Still, he realized, lesson learned. "Close call?" he taunted the boy.

Quicksilver was visibly shaken. "Yes, sir."

"Call me a fairy again?"

"No, sir."

"I could kill you with anything in this room. You know it, I know it. Your sister won't always be around to save you."

"Yes, I will," Scarlet Witch retorted.

"Not always, my dear girl. You won't be with him for every assignment I send you on. You two need to learn how to work alone. Especially you, girl. Your brother's mouth will get him killed one day, best you learn how to take care of yourself first!"