Chapter 1

Notes: Set a year on from Cuba, this story takes place in an AU that ignores everything after X-Men First Class and merges the comicbook history of the characters in with the first film (because the last two movies basically erased all the richest and best parts of Erik's backstory and mangled what was left into an irreversible mess). This story is an exploration of Magneto's complex and engrossing character; as a fighter, a lover, a friend and a father. Also uses Peter's original name from the comics - Pietro.

Summary: Erik finds out he's a father and that his son Pietro is being held captive by a sinister organisation that kidnaps mutants and experiments on them. Will Erik agree to the mission and save his son from imprisonment before it's too late?

Main Characters: Erik aka Magneto, Charles Xavier aka Professor X, Quicksilver aka Pietro Maximoff / Peter

Erik stared out of the coffee house window over Monaco Bay as he waited for Charles Xavier to arrive. It had been a year since his former friend and ally had been wounded on the beach, and although Erik had thought about the other man often, he had not contacted Charles in that time, and until a week ago, Charles had not sought to contact him. Or at least Erik assumed that he hadn't, but then he had made himself deliberately hard to locate...

Bitter sweet memories of their short but intense friendship still haunted Erik, he felt guilty about Charles' paralysis...even though it was that infernal human- Moria- who had pulled the trigger, he knew that ultimately Charles blamed him; not her. It infuriated him further that after everything they had been through together, Charles still clung to his naïve dream that mutants and humans could live together in harmony. Perhaps though -Erik thought to himself-Charles had finally come to his senses...

A few days ago a telegram had been delivered to the apartment that he and Mystique had rented for a few weeks while they conducted business in the city. The comunicae had contained nothing more elaborate than a few words: "I must speak with you urgently on a matter of great importance – Charles Xavier" and the address of the coffee house.

The door of the coffee house opened and Erik looked up as a young man in a wheelchair moved towards his table.

"Erik, it's been a long time" Charles greeted.

Erik was momentarily at a loss. Of course he knew that Charles had been paralysed by his injury, but actually seeing it brought a fresh new wave of regret flooding over him.

"It has."

Erik managed at last, trying not to stare at the wheelchair or Charles' now useless legs. Erik was no stranger to death or mutilation, nor was he squeamish – having his childhood ripped from him by Shaw and Nazis had seen to that- but he'd cared for Charles as a brother, like he was family. Family is different. Desensitization doesn't work the way it does with everyone else. Erik had only allowed himself to consider two other people as family since his ordeals at the concentration camp. When they'd been torn away, he'd decided he wasn't interested in rebuilding interpersonal connections. He had a knack for losing the things he loved most, and only a fool would court the kind of pain he felt when it happened. Erik looked at Charles ruefully, the telepath may not have died, but in the end Erik had still lost him.

"Charles I'm...I'm sorry..." Erik began

Charles smiled a warm forgiving smile and waved his hand to cut Erik off.

"Erik I'm not holding a grudge. I miss my morning strolls, but you never intended this, it was an accident that could have been much worse, and I know I still have far too privileged a life to mope around feeling sorry for myself" he finished with a lop sided grin.

The statement both annoyed and relieved Erik. He was glad Charles did not hate him for the incident on the beach, but the way he had made light of something so serious made Erik wonder how low a value he placed on his life and well being. Erik sighed...Charles was made for martyrdom, a perspective that Erik would never understand. An awkward silence filled the air.

"So how goes your school?" Erik asked, scraping for something to say. He'd half hoped to surprise the telepath - not an easy task. But Xavier's school for gifted youngsters was supposed to be a secret after all. However if Erik's knowledge of the place did surprise Charles, he showed no sign of it. Instead he smiled and replied:

"Good thank you. Well for the most part. Actually that's one of the reasons I asked you to meet with me here"

"If you're here to ask me to become a teacher Charles-" Charles held up his hand and shook his head to dismiss the assumption.

"If I thought you'd agree, I then I most certainly would. But I don't need to be a mind reader to know your answer. No, I am concerned about the safety of a young mutant who recently left the Xavier institute. Have heard of an organisation known as Omega? "

Erik frowned. Indeed he had heard rumours about an underground organisation that was interested in mutants. The rumours were connected with kidnapping and experimentation.

"I have, but I haven't been able to uncover anything concrete about them. They could even be a myth". Charles shook his head

"I'm afraid not Erik, I've personally met someone who has managed to escape from one of their labs"

Erik's face grew dark, the scenario stirred his own dark memories of monsters masquerading as scientists.

"If this organisation really exists, then it needs to be destroyed." Erik said quietly.

"I know.." Charles replied.

Perhaps there was hope for Charles after all, Erik thought. He had half been expecting some pacifist plan for dealing with Omega, like writing a letter asking them very politely not to experiment on people. "...But we have to make sure nobody gets hurt." Charles continued. Or perhaps not, Erik thought.

"Still trying not to get your hands dirty Charles?" He scowled "Then just tell me where it is and I'll raise it to the ground, and you can keep your conscience clean. "

"What then Erik? You'll go storming in and collapse the place? Or blow it up? " Charles asked shaking his head "Innocent people could get hurt Erik-" When Erik scoffed he continued "-human and mutant. We need to get the people who are being held against their will out safely, and those who are guilty should be turned over to the proper authorities. Not all the scientists are there voluntarily-some of them have been coerced, and some are-"

"-just following orders?" Erik finished, his voice a dangerous whisper. "I see time has done nothing to improve your politics...or your common sense." Erik had to concede though, that Charles did have a point about mutants getting caught up in the carnage if they stormed Omega. And Erik knew Charles would never reveal the details of Omega's location if he didn't agree to a non-violent strategy...and there was simply no way Erik could allow a threat like Omega to go on existing unchallenged, so he was going to have to at least partially play along with Charles' nonsensical ideals "So I assume you have a plan that allows us all to live happily ever after?"

"We've managed to place someone on the inside as part of Omega's research team, but we need someone to masquerade as a prisoner-"

"And you thought of me? How sweet(!) Sorry Charles, been there done that. Think of something else. Or better yet, find another guinea pig"

"We need to have a powerful mutant with a high level of control on the inside, and with your magnetic abilities you're best suited to opening holding cells quickly and aiding the evacuation process." Erik raised an eyebrow and regarded Charles with a look of disdain.

"Yet somehow I'm still unconvinced about risking life and limb for a group of people I've never met... I still prefer my idea Charles. Raise it to the ground. If any mutants die, they'll die heroes"

Charles looked aghast. "Erik, in order for death to be heroic, a person has to choose to die for a noble cause that they believe in, not have that choice thrust upon them by others! That's murder!" Erik narrowed his eyes and looked out the window again over the bay. After a while Charles sighed and tried again.

"Erik didn't want to show you this now, because I didn't want you to think I was trying to manipulate you, but..." Charles pulled out a folder and handed it to Erik "Hank and I have been logging DNA profiles of everyone at the Xavier institute so we can learn more about the X-gene"

Erik opened the folder and found his alias Magneto printed on the first page, underneath was a series of As, Ts, Gs and Cs representing the markers of his unique genetic structure. Erik was not a geneticist of Xavier or Hank McCoy's calibre, but he was a ferocious reader and had taught himself a lot about the subject. In addition, his own expression of the X-gene made it hard not to develop an in-depth interest in the science, and it had been among one of the many subjects he and Charles had discussed over their chess games.

"Logging and cataloguing individuals...another group of people had an interest in that...But why should this manipulate me?" Erik asked.

"Look at the other document as well…side by side" Charles replied. Erik pulled out the second sheet from the file, the first few lines read:

Name: Pietro Maximoff

Age: 7

Gender: Male

Erik studied Pietro's DNA profile it seemed to reflect an eerily familiar pattern.

The wheels turned slowly in Erik's mind as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. "He's..." Erik began slowly "He's related to me?...No, no-more than that..." He paused frowning more until a mixture of puzzlement and shock came over his face "This child-the boy you took this profile from-" he looked up at Charles startled "- is my son?"