Chapter 77- Demonstration Ends

  Savage Lands– Demonstration Cave- 2008- 11- 04 (Afternoon)

  Eric Lensheer- (Magneto)

  After watching Grace Mercy follow her sister behind Nath’aniel, the mutant leader wasn’t surprised when Keacilius approached him and asked for an update. “So who sent them?”

  Eric took a deep breath before admitting. “No one, they are in fact on the run.” Then he gestured to Ka’zar.

  Who immediately took the hint and repeated what Psylocke had telepathically reported to him. “It turns out their father was once a government assassin who went rogue and faked his death, to go independent. He was rather abusive to them and their mother, and while they were thoroughly trained by him, both sisters decided that they didn’t want to live that kind of life and ran away from him.”

  The rogue master rubbed his chin before nodding in understanding, and then he asked. "Is this father going to be a problem for us ter?"

  The mutant leader thought for a moment, Bullseye after all had been hired to kill him during his time during the first Brotherhood, and yet once he had used his powers to disarm him of his weapons the assassin's threat against him quickly vanished. "I would normally say no, given his age. But honestly, since meeting Nath'aniel, the normal rules for war and conflict have been quickly changing."

  Magneto was going to leave it at that, but then he felt something through the thin field he had pced in the air around everyone. The mutant leader knew that both, the first disciples, Lucian he thought the man's name was, as well as Ortani’s Servants were armed. The girl Lucain Bond had on her an outdated sniper rifle and concealed combat knife, yet oddly no spare clips or rounds for the gun. The younger Ortani had something simir to Murmur’s combat glove hidden on his left forearm, as well as a pistol and two spare clips hidden in his coat. And yet when he suddenly felt the exotic metals from the back of the cave’s tunnels he had to gasp in surprise.

  “What is it?” Keacilius asked concerned.

  It took the old mutant a moment to gather himself and process what it was he felt through his fields and powers, but finally, he answered. "Grace Mercy was gifted an adamantium sword and several vibranium throwing knives from her transformation into a Servant.”

  Deadpool whistled jealously at his statement. While Ka’zar leaned over and asked the mercenary what those metals were, the regenerator then leaned a bit before whispering to the other man brief expnations of what the two metals were known for.

  “Are you sure?” The rogue mystic arts master asked, his tone clearly doubting his statement.

  Magneto didn’t need to voice a defense. His own people were willing to do that for him, as made evident when Basilisk snaps at the man. “Oi, wanker, you’re talking to the master of magnetism there. He could shank you with your own concealed bdes if he wanted to. So if the man says it’s one type of metal, its Bob's your uncle, it's that type of metal."

  At the mention of concealed bdes, many of the disciples patted their robe's checking to make sure their concealed weapons were still where they left them. But to prove the point, he released a wave of magnetic energy, causing their weapons to pull away from their hands, making them jump in surprise.

  “Are you threatening us?” Ortani’s father asked, his hand slowly going for his sidearm hidden at the small of his back.

  Magneto made a controlled field around the man's weapon, once in pce, he moved his hand back and up. The pistol un-holstered itself and flew up to be aimed at the back of the man's head. When the mutant leader twisted his hand, the gun chambered a round into the barrel on its own.

  Then he spoke. "Just reminding you that magic isn't the only power in the universe." Then he took a step to his left and got a better look at the gun he held in his powers. "A Talon-Mark Four heavy pistol, only one group makes that type of gun, and they would be Hydra... an enemy of ours.”

  The professor took a step away from his father, as the man held at gunpoint raised his hands in surrender, saying. “I don’t know anything about that gun, other than it was on me when I woke up in his new body.”

  “He might be telling the truth.” The usually quiet She-Devil said calmly from the back of the chamber. Magneto didn’t take his eyes off of the man, but did lower the gun’s barrel as she further added. “Psylocke’s sword has ties to some cult group back in Japan. My spearhead is the tooth of a dragon, a creature I have never seen in my life. And might I point out, one of your own team members, Pyro, also carries one of those pistols to give him more options.”

  The sound of people running grabbed most people's attention to the tunnel that led to the binding chamber, not his or the young-looking Ortani’s, but most. Magneto moved the pistol so that it was aimed at the floor and floating in front of the man. As he did, he floated himself to be near the man, before he said quietly. “You died; let your past allegiances end with that death.”

  “All of the people I knew are dead already anyway. Car bomb saw to that.” The Indian Servant admitted as he unloaded the round in the weapon, before he holstered his pistol to his back again.

  Then Magneto and the other man looked to see who was running into the chamber. At the lead was the older Mercy sister, Grace. She was dressed like a private schoolgirl, with her matching green and bck vest, skirt and thigh-high socks. The only thing that broke that image was the spade shaped throwing knives that hung from her skirt and the bulky one edged sword held in her right hand.

  Yet to his senses, the mutant leader knew all of it was a farce. Her uniform was lined with metals to make it as protective and durable as the suits he made for his Brotherhood. Even her socks felt to him to be bde resistant.

  Psylocke and the other Mercy sister were a couple of steps behind the Saber Servant.

  “Everything alright?” The telepath asked after sweeping over the faces of everyone gathered.

  "We're fine," Ortani stated, while Keacilius just nodded in agreement.

  Gypsy cleared her throat and added. “Father was just reminding them that magic isn’t the only power they can run into out there.”

  “Is Nath ok?” Bass asked worried.

  Psylocke nodded that he was, but it was the younger Mercy sister that expined. “He was about to cast a preservation spell when Saber and Assassin felt the tension rise out here. He said he would be fine alone in the cave.”

  “Felt?” The rogue mystic arts master asked.

  “I’m a telepath.” The purple-haired woman stated ftly.

  "We are aware of your mind-reading abilities, Psylocke. I believe that he was more asking how Grace Mercy could feel the tension from back there." The professor expined the other master's query.

  The sword-wielding woman reached into a pocket sewn into her skirt and pulled out a small pink purse. "I could smell it." She said with bite, before she shoved the much too long sword into the bag, yet somehow the bag accepting the bulky weapon. Once she returned the purse to her skirt, she vanished into cloud of bck sparkles.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Keacilius asked worried.

  “I don’t know why, but she’s really, really angry right now.” Mary Mercy admitted.

  "She was reliving watching your father beat your mother to death," Psylocke admitted. That made the still-present Mercy sister nod with a frown on her face. As she did the telepath rubbed her back and guessed. "I think she was hoping a fight would break out so she would have a reason to vent her frustrations from that time."

  “Ah, I have question.” Elder Lynet asked from her quiet corner of the table that they had been practicing making abyssal wiring. Magneto had to again tip his helm to the woman, although missing the extra components before the woman was enough wiring for three more sets. And yet the beast-woman flinched when everyone looked at her.

  "Go ahead Elder, ask your question." The mutant leader told her. With his backing, no one spoke over her.

  “What is Master Elder Nath’aniel preserving?” The bunny-woman tapped her index fingers together when no one answered right away.

  It was the mage himself that answered. “Grace Mercy’s mortal body… it died when her soul transferred into her Servant body.” It took him a few more steps for him to be revealed by the lights they had set up in the cave, but once he was he further added. “These three only had the trapped souls of their perspective Servants. While Grace was very much alive when she was bound, allowing the magic to not only tap into her own deeds, but those of her bloodline.”

  “Is that why she has better gear than the other three?” Magneto asked the mage.

  "I wouldn't say better, definitely more flexible," Nath'aniel argued. He then pointed at Keacilius' wife, before adding. "Adria’s clothes are enchanted to regute her and any child she’s carrying’s temperatures. She could stand outside the Savage Lands in the dead of winter and wouldn’t need to worry about her or her child suffering frostbite from the frozen ndscape.’

  “Andrin’s gauntlet also is enchanted, conjuration spells from the looks of it, I am guessing that whatever it uses for fuel he will be able to get back over time." The mage's hand pointed next to the greatest threat to them, before swinging back to the first of the new Servants. "Meanwhile Luca's long rifle has three yers of enchantment on it. That in and of itself is quite a work of art."

  His friend's statements made Magneto realize that while he only felt the materials that their equipment was made from, there was more to the Servant's gear than just tech. Magic, something he only had be briefest understanding of, was also added to them and in some cases their gear as well. And that's not including their sometimes strange mystical abilities, or the fact that Psylocke's own powers had been amplified from her own transformation.

  Again his eyes drifted to his daughter, wondering if she had been taught enough to qualify for Nath’aniel’s Caster, and again gd that he was wearing his helmet which was blocking the telepath’s abilities from reading such musing.

  “So what’s next?” The first disciple to get bound asked, bringing Magneto’s thoughts back to the moment.

  Nath’aniel rubbed his chin in thought before answering. “At this point, the only thing left here is for Elder Lynet to bind her Servant. So technically speaking, the human members are more or less free to go. I have pnned a feast of sorts for this evening at the Citadel’s Great Hall, where Arch-Master Keacilius and Senior-Schor Ortani will be sworn into office.’

  “And then come the morning, the Leapers and the chosen Shell-born will escort you back to Aznic’Anii. The chieftains of Leapers, Gss Talkers, Salem Due, Yetis, and Pterons have established a council of sorts to govern the city and their respective tribes, and they have agreed to set aside some property for the Order. Once there, I figured you all would want some time getting settled in.”

  Hearing about a free meal made all of the gathered people perk up.

  "We still haven't discussed the wording of these oaths." The professor just had to bring it up.

  “I felt that such details could be handled during the feast, between you two, myself and Psylocke.” The mage offered. The two rogue mystic-arts masters shared a look, but nodded in agreement to that.

  However, before anything else could be discussed, Nath’aniel’s emitter began to chime in his robes. The mage reached inside for it, and before he could press the rune to connect, the green hourgss manifested on its own. The sight made Magneto frown. ‘I didn’t know it could do that.’

  The hologram didn’t wait to greet the mage, instead giving us a dire warning.

  "Css one emergency detected. I have detected a massive mystic event occurring along the southern coast of the Preserve. Once the tactical sensors were powered up, I was able to detect King Namor of Atntis hovering in the air a mile south of the Golden People's capital city.'

  “I have calcuted that the event is forcing the tide to rise unnaturally.”

  “Is he here for us, or just for revenge against King Tallis?” The mutant leader quickly asked the chamber. Both he and the mage shared a look, and he didn’t wait for an answer he reached and triggered the hidden radio in his belt. “Exodus, Namor is back, we may need to move to intercept.”

  “Understood.” The knight radioed back. The citadel then answered his first question.

  "Unknown, but I am tracking him, and his attention does seem to only be on the Golden People's city. Also, he is not alone. He has a Voldanesse Leviathan with him.”

  “A what?” Ortani asked confused.

  “Giganto," Magneto stated suddenly. He didn’t know what a Voldan anything was, but he knew that Atntis' greatest weapon was a giant-sized whale creature that Namor had raised from an egg. "Namor was always bullied and disrespected because of his skin color and had to prove himself to his people. His only escape was a creature that he had hatched from an egg.’

  "It followed him when he came to the surface when Namor aided the allies during the war. It wouldn't stop growing, till it grew into being the biggest living thing I have ever seen. And it is not just big, it's strong too, nothing can harm the things hide, not even Namor, not that he would. He trained it to answer and retreat with a horn he owns.”

  “I can confirm the presence of a horn on the Atntean King.”

  Keacilius then asked him. “That wasn’t the same creature that ate a cargo ship some time back?”

  The mutant leader nodded that it was, before adding. “That was eighteen years ago, I can only wonder how much bigger it has grown since then.” The citadel was kind enough to answer.

  “The leviathan is reading as being eighty feet tall, and two hundred feet long, I estimate its weight at two hundred to two hundred and ten tons.”

  Nath'aniel broke his contemption and asked the emitter in front of him. "Is there anyone else with him, any ships?" It answered immediately.

  "Only one ship detected. This is the same one that brought Namora and her team to the Preserve in the first pce.”

  Nath'aniel then took a deep breath apparently in relief, before saying. "Then I believe we are safe. The Voldanesse come from a pocket pne that is completely submerged, and being even outside of water can cause them to dehydrate. With its massive size, this Giganto can’t st too long on the surface meaning despite its size and might we are too far innd to be at risk.”

  “It’s still going to make a massive dent in that city though.” The first disciple stated. No one argued that point.

  Still, Magneto was pleased when his friend decided to be practical, as the mage states. "Regardless we should prepare for the possibility that he is also here to attack us. With that said, Elder, please fetch who you would like tested to be bound to you. We may need another fighter with us.”

  The bunny-woman nodded before rushing out of the cave.