September 27, 1962

Erik leapt to his feet, but a sharp pain filled his mind. He dropped to his knees, and Schmidt laughed.

"Now Erik, did you really think that I would confront you without some sort of back-up plan?" he asked, "I remember how upset you were last time I did something to one of your relatives. I can't imagine that this reaction would be any different for your lovely wife and daughter."

"This is giving me a headache," the blonde woman said.

"Patience Emma," Schmidt said.

He crouched down in front of Erik. Erik could feel his hands trembling with anger.

"It's been so long Erik," he said, "I thought you'd dropped off the map entirely. Then one of my newest money launderers tells me an incredible story."

He waved his hand towards Susanna.

"Apparently he'd wanted some woman and, to get revenge on her for choosing another man, decided to take her children away," Schmidt said, "But then the husband came in, and threatened him into withdrawing the complaint. The story is only really unusual when we get into the methods, and I just had to check."

Erik felt his blood freeze. Albert. He should have killed him when he'd had the chance.

"I think it's time we had a nice little chat," Schmidt said, "But, just like the camp, I can't have you misbehave. Make any other sudden movements, and I'll have Emma kill the two of them, starting with your daughter. It just takes a thought. Have I made myself clear?"

Erik gritted his teeth. He cast a desperate glance at Susanna and Lorna. They were both still staring impassively ahead, the tear tracks on Susanna's cheeks the only sign that they were still alive. It only leant credence to what Schmidt was saying. Susanna wouldn't sit idly by while her daughter was threatened, and Lorna would be fighting.

In fact, it looked like she had been fighting. A bruise was already forming on Lorna's cheek. He couldn't tell where Anya was, and that worried him beyond words. Swallowing hard, his body obeyed him enough so he could nod. Schmidt laughed and clapped his hands.

"Wunderbar!" he said, "Now then, how has your progress been coming along these past few years?"

He got up and grabbed Lorna's chin. Erik could feel the rage building in his veins. How dare he touch his daughter? Was he the reason that she had a bruise on her face? What had happened while he was gone? He wanted to hurt him, but he still couldn't move. Erik needed an opportunity.

A moment later, he caught movement outside of the window. His eyes flicked around. No one else seemed to have seen it. Perhaps he would get an opportunity after all.

"I can see that you certainly got busy creating a family, judging by the age of your eldest daughter," Schmidt said.

A slight frown creased his forehead. He let go of Lorna's face.

"Where is your youngest by the way?" he asked, "Anya, was it?"

Erik had to suppress a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have her.

"She was the only one at the house," the dark-haired man said, his eyes bitter as he looked at Lorna.

Despite the situation, satisfaction stole over him as he took in the man's battered appearance. It looked like Lorna had gotten a few good hits in.

"Emma, tell me what happened," Schmidt said.

Emma tilted her head and pursed her lips.

"It looks like Lorna sent her for the police," she said.

"That means that we're going to be moving you all a little sooner than we expected," Schmidt said, "Now-"

The door shattered inwards. Erik managed to turn his head in time to see a SWAT unit move in. The back door opened and a man and a woman came in, each of them carrying guns. He thought that he could see a third figure as well, but he was keeping back.

Emma narrowed her eyes before widening them in confusion and surprise. Whatever keeping Erik down disappeared. He jumped to his feet and punched her as hard as he could in the face. Getting his family free was his first priority. Blood spurted from her nose and she stepped back.

Lorna kicked out from where she was, knocking the woman to the ground. Bullets were flying and Erik hurried towards the couch. As much as he wanted Schmidt to suffer, he couldn't let any harm come to his family. He could come back for Schmidt: they had to be taken to safety immediately. He couldn't have that monster near them.

Susanna had already wrapped her arms around Lorna by the time he reached them, obviously planning on moving her away. Erik put his own arms around them, shielding them as he tried to move them towards the back door. The bullets moved into the wall and he moved them away, trying to be as discreet as possible.

He pulled them into the kitchen, away from the chaos. The small group were still shooting, but only an auburn-haired woman was looking at them. Lorna was looking back into the living room, her eyes livid. Her attention vacillated between the scene and her mother.

Susanna looked somewhat nauseous, but the hand gripping his shoulder was strong.

"Where's Anya?" she said, looking at Lorna.

"Like the bastard said, I sent her to get the cops," Lorna said, "I guess she found them."

"She's outside," the auburn-haired woman said, moving over to them but keeping her gun level with the scene in the living room, "We've been looking for Shaw for ages, and then the one girl who can lead us to him jumps out in front of our car."

"Scared the shit out of us," the man said.

He ducked around the side of the wall and fired another shot. The man who had hung back had a hand to his temples and was wincing. Erik ignored them for the moment, still checking his family for injuries. They both looked confused, but besides the slight bruise on Lorna's face, they were fine.

"What's going on?" the woman said.

"She's blocking me somehow," the other man said, "I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help..."

"Sonuvabitch," the first man said.

He reloaded his gun.

"MacTaggert, get the civilians to safety," he said.

"I'm not just leaving Levine-" MacTaggert began.

"Not a request!" Levine said.

He fired off two more shots, but it looked like something was happening in the living room. Erik risked a look. Schmidt, Shaw, whatever his name was, was standing in the middle of the room. Red energy surrounded him, and a smirk was on his lips. Although the energy was new, the smirk wasn't, and he knew that it was never good.

"We need to leave," Erik said, "All of us! Right now!"

He didn't bother to see if the people behind him were responding. He didn't even know exactly what was going to happen, only that it would be bad. Erik just grabbed Lorna and Susanna, pushing them out the back door and towards the street. There were footsteps behind him. Apparently they had taken him seriously.

An explosion rocked the ground. Erik fell down. He saw Susanna tumble over a few feet away, Lorna's hand still clenched in hers. Erik pushed himself up as he surveyed the small group of SWAT personnel still on the ground. Several of them were scorched, and only a few of them were alive.

He began moving towards Susanna and Lorna when Schmidt stepped out, the dark-haired man and Emma with him. Emma had changed, her skin now made of glittering diamond. Erik saw Schmidt's eyes flicker over to his family. Erik got up, stepping in front of them.

Overhead he heard a whirring noise. Erik glanced up and saw two helicopters coming in. Schmidt sighed.

"Sorry for the interruption Erik," he said, "We'll have to continue this at another time. But I thought a little souvenir was in order. Did you find her?"

There was a flash of black smoke. A demon was standing behind Schmidt. A demon that was holding Anya.

"Daddy!" she screamed.

He didn't think: just reacted. Erik threw his hand out. One of the trucks that had carried SWAT personnel came apart, the individual pieces flying through the air towards the group. He could angle them away from Anya: he knew he could.

The metal shards embedded themselves in the ground. One knocked Emma back, and the other sliced Janos's shoulder. Schmidt calmly stepped around them, and there was another flash of black smoke. The demon was gone and panic rose inside him.

He reappeared several feet back, one of his knives to Anya's throat. She was crying and he could hear Susanna calling her name. MacTaggert, Levine, and the other man were getting to their feet, but Erik couldn't rely on them. He had never relied on anyone before, and now was not a good time to start.

"One move," the demon said.

Erik knew he could move the knife. It would be delicate without using his hands to focus his concentration, but he could do it. He was just about to when the sword moved of its own accord, flying out of the demon's hand.

The demon stared in surprise. Anya blinked for a moment before biting his hand. It made him swear and drop her. His daughter dropped to the ground and scurried towards him. Erik ran forwards as the demon disappeared in a cloud of black smoke again. He gathered his daughter in his arms and turned to the side at the smell of sulphur. The demon was back.

A piece of debris smashed into him before he could move, knocking him to the ground. Erik whipped his head around towards where it had come from. Lorna was standing up, her eyes glowing green and her teeth clenched.

He stared. She could control metal? He had passed his ability on to his daughter? Lorna had never said, never even hinted. As he watched, green streaks threaded through her hair. They twirled with the brown hairs before completely consuming them.

The wind picked up. The dark-haired man was doing something, and Erik began reaching for any metal in the area. He turned and saw Susanna getting back to her feet, helped by the unnamed man. The wind was pushing them off their feet, and Erik flicked his hand. A piece of the truck smashed into him and sent him to the ground.

The men with guns surrounded the man immediately. Slow clapping reached his ears, and Erik looked up at Schmidt.

"Well done Erik, but it looks like we'll have to continue this another time," Schmidt called.

Another time? Another opportunity for Schmidt to live, to come after him, after his family? Erik growled. He put Anya down and pushed her behind him.

"Get over here you sonuvabitch!" Erik yelled.

"Another time," Schmidt laughed.

Erik ran forwards, but the demon appeared next to Schmidt. There was a cloud of black smoke, and he was gone. There was another cloud, and Erik saw Emma disappear with them. Then, there was nothing.

He froze, his mind whirring away. His mind flickered with images of what had almost happened, what he had almost lost. Anya had had a knife held to her throat, something had been done to his wife and Lorna. They could have all been taken from him, and the man responsible was still out there.

"It appears that you were right MacTaggert," Levine said, "Definitely more than communism going on here."

"You think?" MacTaggert said, her voice irritable, "Levine, we've just lost our best lead. They could be anywhere."

The dark-haired man groaned. Erik growled and stalked over to him. He pushed aside two of the gunmen and picked him up by the front of his shirt. The man's eyes popped in alarm and Erik pulled back his fist, hitting him in the face.

The man jerked back.

"Where is he?" Erik snarled.

The man glared at him and Erik hit him again.

"Where?!"

He could hear voices dimly yelling at him, but they were overshadowed by the pulse in his ears.

"You were the one who hit my daughter, weren't you?" he said, "You tell me where Schmidt is right this damn minute or I swear to God I will kill you!"

The man just looked up at him and smirked.

"Erik, right?" he said, "He told us about you. You should know...better than to withhold what he wants."

Erik took in a sharp breath. He could still remember the bang of the gun, the dead, cold feeling inside of him. He remembered the year of torture and terror, of the absolute despair. The man was laughing even louder now.

"Maybe you need to be reminded."

Something snapped. Erik pulled his fist back, smashing again and again into the man's face. Blood splashed onto him and he could hear the yelling increase. Arms tried to restrain him, but he shook them off. More blood coated his face and hands, but the man still wasn't dead yet-

You need to stop!

The voice took Erik back, but he didn't stop. It reminded him too much of Emma.

Get the hell out of my mind! he screamed.

Listen to me, the voice said, I know what he did to you. I know what you're afraid of. But you're killing him!

He didn't bother to answer the voice this time.

For God's sake Erik, they're watching!

The thought brought him up short. He turned and looked over his shoulder. Susanna was staring at him, her face etched with pain and fear. She'd turned Anya's head away, so his youngest daughter was merely buried in her arms. Lorna was looking at him though, something panicked and strange in her eyes. They'd seen it all.

He looked back down at the man in his grasp. He couldn't see the full extent of the damage, but his face was covered in blood. A hand dropped on his shoulder. The man with brown hair was standing next to him, his blue eyes intense.

"What...who are you?" Erik asked.

"Charles Xavier," he said, "I'm like you."

He looked over his shoulder.

"You and your daughter," he said.

Erik followed his gaze, his breathing hard and his head pounding. Lorna was looking down, her hands rubbing her arms. Anya had started crying and Susanna had picked her up. His wife wouldn't meet his gaze.

Other officers were swarming the scene, and Erik could see a crowd forming. They were keeping them back: he could see Levine leading them in forming a smi-circle. MacTaggert was standing next to his family, talking to them in a hushed voice.

"We've been tracking Shaw for awhile," Charles said, his voice low, "We might not have been able to find him in time if not for your daughter. I have a feeling that things might not be over for your family yet though."

Erik closed his eyes. He could feel the rage building again, but he couldn't let them see it. Not again. It was likely that it had already done irreparable damage. He'd seen the look in their eyes. His own family would fear him now.

As for Susanna, she wouldn't just fear him. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would hate him. She had trusted him, and he had done this to her, to them. His heart sank, but it also steeled. He just needed to keep them safe. Erik could live with her hating him as long as she and his family stayed alive. That was all he wanted.

If he repeated it enough, it sounded something like the truth.

"I think you should come with us," Charles said.

Erik looked at him, wiping the blood off his face.

"You're going after Schmidt?" he asked.

"Yes," Charles said.

"Can you keep my family safe?" Erik asked.

He knew his voice was skeptical. Charles sighed.

"I think that after tonight the higher ups might understand that guns aren't going to solve this problem," Charles said, "But I think that you can do better with us than if you were on your own."

Erik wiped his hands on his shirt. He looked back at his family. Susanna still wasn't looking at him, but Lorna was. There was a flicker of faith in her eyes amongst the other things, as though willing him to explain everything.

He doubted that he could. However, he could still make the right choice for them.

"Fine," he said, "We'll go with you."

A/N: The next story, "Abandoning Peace," will come out in about three weeks and pick up directly after this, following the events of First Class. My internet access is about to get real patchy, but it should clear up around then. If not, I'll make sure that you all know.

When I wrote "Uncommon Knowledge" I had intended it as a oneshot. However, a few reviews and my own overactive imagination pushed me to make it into a multi-chapter story. I wanted to do a story where Erik raised Lorna with Susanna that eventually followed the First Class plot for a while.

Speaking of Lorna, she's based on the X-man Polaris. Like her father she can control metal, but part of her mutation resulted in her getting green hair. In "Wolverine and the X-Men" Lorna is shown as something of a "daddy's girl," but in this case daddy has some sociopathic tendencies. Throughout the course of this fic Lorna has learned several lessons from her father, not all of them good. All of these will affect her behavior in the next story.

Little is known from the comics about Lorna's mother, Susanna Dane. The House of M explores her a little more, and it seems that Erik genuinely did care about her and their child. In the fic Susanna's love and compassion give her the ability to take all of Erik's possessive and violent tendencies, as well as his dominating personality, in stride. Her own belief in his inner goodness and her own loss in the past also bear weight. However, how she reacts to the last scene of this fic after everything they've been through is yet to be seen.

This brings me to Anya. Anya is actually based on Magneto's eldest daughter, the full sister of the Maximoff twins. Sadly Anya died young in a house fire set by an angry mob. It was another tragic element to Erik's past, and I was eager to use her character in a story where she was able to grow up a little.

I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed, especially those who didn't enable private messaging or signed in as guests. Also, a special shoutout to Orihime-san, Princess-Amon-Rae, Fanatic4Fiction, and DrangySmallfoot!