The Soul Feels What the Mind Can't Understand

A/N: All I can say is that I am sorry for the late update and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Did you think I own X-Men? 'Cause I don't. At all. But thanks for bringing up that sore subject.

CHAPTER 8

"Dude, stop touching me with that nastiness."

"I'm not touching you," came the growled reply.

"You totally are!"

Magneto had to pinch the bridge of his nose. There was a reason why he could never have children. This was it. The road trips.

"Then, move over more so that I don't."

"If I move over any more, I'll be out the fucking van!"

"What do you expect me to do? Suck in the fat?"

"Have you considered lypo?"

It was then that Magneto heard the dull thud of skin hitting skin. He just knew that Fred purposely dropped part of his overly large stomach onto Dominic's body. When he felt the SUV begin to shake with a miniature quake, he decided enough was enough and turned in his seat.

Magneto spoke with an eerie calm. "Avalanche. Blob. If you two would like to see how the rest of this day will play out, I suggest that you keep those useless holes in your faces shut." With each word, the seat belts of the two back-seat passengers unbuckled and slowly began wrapping themselves around their necks. Avalanche and Blob stared at Magneto with looks of fear tinged with respect. They didn't say a word as the seatbelts tightened around their throats. "Is that understood?" The two young men nodded. Magneto first gave them a warning glance before releasing his hold on the seatbelts and facing forward. Despite the tense mood that had just fallen over the car, Magneto was feeling rather cheerful. He turned to the driver announcing, "Beautiful weather we're having today, wouldn't you say, Peeper?"

"Yes," squeaked the small creature in the driver's seat. He held a strong resemblance to Gollum from Lord of the Rings with his large eyes, frail body, and bald head.

Magneto grimaced at the thought and turned away from the mutant. "How close are we, anyway?"

"We're here." Surprised, Magneto looked out the windshield and saw that yes, they had indeed made it to there rendezvous point. As Peepers pulled the car into park, Magneto saw that the other Brotherhood SUV along with a yellow sports car were already waiting in the abandoned lot. Magneto made the first move to exit the vehicle; then, everyone else from all three automobiles followed suit. He had to smirk at that. Sometimes he really loved the power he held over people.

Casting a sideways glance over at Mystique, he had to bite back a snigger. She looked more haggard than he did from that road trip. However, she had the misfortune of having to drive that Maximoff twins. He could hear the siblings still bickering in whispers. He'd take Avalanche and Blob over Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch any day. They were simply easier to control. The silence that has taken over the two mutants since the brief strangling had not gone unnoticed.

Magneto looked away from his fellow Brotherhood members to appraise the foreign car before him. Inside, held the key to all of his plans. Although the brightly painted door was ajar, she had yet to exit her car. What is she waiting for? A formal invitation? Let's get a move on. Just as Magneto began to turn his eyes heavenward, a black, heeled boot hit the asphalt from behind the open door. In one languid motion, the woman rose from her car seat to a standing position behind the door. With a flick of her hand on the door, she effectively closed the car door and then began to strut towards them. Really, that was the best way to describe it. A strut.

The woman was tall, probably about 5'9" or 5'10". She had long, cascading, honey blonde locks, an hourglass figure, mesmerizing deep blue eyes, and creamy fair skin.

She got right down to business ignoring the pleasantries of introductions. "I hope to God your men can pull this off. I'm no fan of suicide missions."

Trying to pretend that she had not just accused him and his team of being incompetent, Magneto proceeded to engage in what type of conversation he deemed civilized. "Oh, Victoria. It's so lovely to finally meet you. I had pictured you would be charming, but this is exceeding my every expectation." Sarcasm dripped from his every word and he could practically feel Mystique was itching to slap him. This Victoria woman was quite possibly their only chance at getting Rogue and he was mocking her manners.

Before Magneto could make an even bigger mess of things, Mystique quickly approached the soul reader to shake hands. "It's nice to see you, Vikki. Thank you for doing this on such short notice."

Vikki nodded to Mystique as a reply and turned to Magneto. "I hope it's safe to say that the money is being wired to the Cayman account as we speak?"

Magneto smirked at her suspicion and replied, "Of course, Victoria. Call to check that it's there if you'd like." Vikki whipped out her cellular phone and made the call. He couldn't say he was surprised by her actions but he was loath to admit that it did sting. Not that he aspired to be trustworthy or anything. He just didn't want people assuming he was cheap. He was running a quality operation here. Those SUV's they just came out of were Lincolns.

After being on the phone for less than a minute, Vikki turned back to Magneto, "Everything seems to be in order. Now, we must review our course of action. So you and your little mutant buddies break us into the school. Then, they isolate us in whatever room we can get Rogue in so no one comes in and no one comes out and…what happens if some of the teachers try to prevent us from making the read?"

"Well, that is another reason why my 'little mutant buddies' are here." The words "little mutant buddies" seemed to leave a foul taste in his mouth. He couldn't spit it out fast enough. "They are all here to detain any teachers or students that may try to get in our way. And I will use one of the teachers, Logan, as a hostage because he has metal running through his body. The X-Dweebs will not risk getting Logan killed if we are not even there to hurt Rogue or the others in the school."

Vikki nodded in understanding, aware of Magneto's powers. "And you're sure? You're not there to hurt any of them, not even a little?"

Magneto released a tired sigh. "We do not harm our own kind. The only times we get into scrapes with the X-Men are when the X-Men stand between us and something we want. As long as they let the reading happen, they'll be safe." As an afterthought he adds, "Except for Logan of course. But we must use someone as an example."

"Right. Now, you must follow my instructions carefully about the soul-reading portion. Since you want to ask her soul the questions yourself, I must be the connection between you two- your vessel. It will require much focus. I will be focusing on drawing out the girl's soul, and you will need one hand on my pendant while the other holds back this Logan. The pendant connects you to me while I connect you to her soul."

Looking down at her chest, Magneto could see the pendant she was talking about. She was wearing a necklace that had a large blue stone pendent that matched the color of her compelling eyes perfectly. "That pendant?" he asked pointing to her chest.

An exasperated "yes" was all he received in reply.

"Got it. What exactly will occur as you draw out her soul? Will I ask the questions, but only you can hear the answers?"

Vikki shook her head. "No. I'm arranging it so that Rogue is physically answering the questions herself. However, she will never remember this Q&A session ever happening. By the way, do not be alarmed if you see anything," she paused as she searched for the right word, "peculiar occur during the reading. While it may seem unusual or unsettling to all of you, I can assure you that it will all be perfectly normal."

Magneto was a bit apprehensive and replied. "…Okay." He turned his head to survey his quiet, obedient little soldiers. They could do this, he convinced himself. They could get into the school and be intimidating enough to convince Charles that the reading must occur. It was for the good of mutantkind, really. Magneto looked at the time on his watch before glancing back up and looking at Vikki. "I think it's about time for you to earn your paycheck." He extended his hand to her.

Grinning with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she accepted his hand. "Lead the way."

End of CHAPTER 8

For those of you who have been wondering, my rough guess would be that her soul will be opened up in Chapter 10. Also, reviews are loved!