noassgardian | Inbox [Eudio]

I killed him.

[ It's almost frightening, the way that Erik's voice drops and he sounds hard, a little broken. He's getting more and more tense and he can't handle it. ]

Of course you did...

[Why else would he really even bring it up? Billy is quiet for a while before he breathes out a sigh.]

So, there's a pretty big difference between our worlds.

[ Erik is quiet for a long moment, desperately long, and he hisses out air between his teeth. To think Shaw is still alive in another world... ]

I'll kill him again.

How are you going to do that?

[Billy isn't -- really sure he's the guy to talk his grandfather down from murder, but.

He can try the sensible route at least.]

You'd have to get to our world first. [He pauses.] And don't ask me if I can take you there so you can go murder someone.

You have no idea -

[ His voice snaps off and Erik is silent for a long time. He aches. It hurts. He doesn't know what to say and he closes his eyes, glad it's voice and not video. ]

It doesn't matter.

I'm sure I don't.

[Billy's reply is short. They'll have to trade stories sometimes, maybe, when things are calmer, but...

Right now, it doesn't seem like it's going to go any place good.]

It seems like it does. But-- right. Do you want to keep going?

Yes.

[ There's no point telling this boy anything, even if he might get a vindictive sort of pleasure out of it. All he can do is raise his voice and say it again, trying to fight back his rage. ]

Tell me everything.

... Okay.

[It's not going to be an easy story to tell, not when he has no idea what all Erik knows or how similar their worlds might be, but he does try. He explains about the Avengers and the X-Men, the fight that ensued and all the causes, and the Phoenix Force. Even being an Avenger himself, he'd... stopped fighting at the time. He hadn't wanted to be involved in anything else that could potentially cost more friends their lives or give himself another chance to make mistakes.

Erik might notice that he leaves out a lot of names where he can. It's better that way, he thinks. Erik -- isn't the most stable. He'll get bent on revenge or something. He'll want death and justice. He'll want to stop the problems before they begin. It won't be pretty.]

... I know it's probably confusing, but-- it's what lead to Charles Xavier's death. It's how it happened.

[ Erik is silent for most of what Billy says. He keeps his mouth shut because he's worried that if he opens his mouth he might end up screaming, shouting from the rooftops about the folly of humankind, how stupid and foolish they are and how it all came down to Charles' death. All these things that lead up to his only friend being ripped from him and it leaves him feeling twitchy, like he has too much energy burning under his skin.

He doesn't care about the missing names. He knows why it's done - he knows his own anger. Schmidt to Shaw, Klaus to Sebastian, he had tracked a man with names across the globe and he'd killed him -- he'd do the same for whoever dared to kill Charles. It's safer to keep them away from him, he's sure. Behind him he knows metal is shaking, vibrating in tune with him, but he manages to smother it. ]

I see.

[ What more can he say. ]

... I'm sorry.

[For the future loss, for having to tell him-- he doesn't even know. But he knows how he'd feel if someone told him one of his closest friends had died like that. He feels like he should say something.

He doesn't bother asking if he's okay though. He kinda already knows the answer to that one.]

Will you tell me about -

[ The words are cut off, and for a second it's too hard. But then... ]

Tell me more about your mother.

Sure...

[he tries to soften his tone a little, tries not to sound like he's trying to decide how much to say or how much of his and Tommy's past to tell about. It got... really complicated after all.

Maybe he could just stick to the good stuff for now.]

What do you want to know? I'm not sure what Tommy's told you... if anything.

[ It's hard for Erik; it's hard for him to adjust to children, grandchildren, an entire world that he can't even begin to touch. It's an entire world he can't begin to imagine and he just breathes.

It's all he can do. ]

Just... What you can say. I can't even picture her.

Wanda Maximoff... that's her name. The Scarlet Witch.

[He wants to know what she looks like? He can try that.] Tommy ended up looking like our uncle and I ended up looking more like her, I think. Same dark hair, same powers... She's beautiful though. And powerful. A hero.

[Misguided at times, maybe. She's made her mistakes, but-- she was still Billy's favorite even before he realized she was his mom.] Kind. Uh-- I wasn't exactly raised by her. I guess I should mention that. The reasons are complicated, but I had adoptive parents.

[Or that was what it was easier to call them anyway...] I didn't fit the pieces together until later. But anyway, when I first met her, I didn't know I was a mutant. I didn't know I was anything special at all, let alone that she was my mother. I was just some kid that was picked on and beat up for being different. I'd just finished getting my face punched in repeatedly for... god, I don't even know what time that was. I was bleeding and miserable. Your daughter took the time to talk to me, to try and tell me it was worth it to stand up for myself. It was amazing. She'd been my favorite superhero even before I knew who she was to me. She's overcome a lot to get to where she is, you know. She's strong in a lot of ways.

[ Wanda Maximoff. Peter Maximoff. Or, rather, Pietro, he supposes. His children, people that he can't even begin to imagine but are so real that he wishes he could touch them.

To hear that his daughter was a hero strikes something inside of him. Does Erik know what it's like to be different? More than anyone. Not just because of being a mutant - like his grandson he had been unaware for so long, thinking himself no more than a monster - but for being Jewish, for being young enough to be used and remembered, for being a fighter who refused to bow in the camps. Different for all the wrong reasons and it was suffocating.

He doesn't care about the semantics. They always end up meaning the same things more often than not, much to his fury. What he cares about is this picture of his child; dark haired and beautiful, powerful, good and more than he probably deserves as a father.

She's strong in a lot of ways

There's a lump in his throat and it takes Erik a few moments to fight it, glad this isn't a video. He rubs at his cheeks, hard and raw, and forces himself to calm, to smother the emotion. It's pride and sadness; proud to know she exists and desolate at the thought that she might be there, waiting, not knowing who he is and that he already loves her. ]

She sounds magnificent.

She really is.

[Or Billy will always think so at least. And it's so much better... or at least easier to think and talk about his mother than the topics earlier. It's good to be able to give Erik something better than how his friend dies in a way he doesn't really deserve at least. It's honestly a wonder he even wants to talk to them at all, given the news he's heard of his future.

He smiles to himself a little bit.

He's glad that he does though. Disagreements or not, Billy's glad for this chance to get to know his grandfather under different circumstances, in a different time.]

Do you have a better picture of her now?

I think so.

[ He brushes away his last tear with his thumb, an echo of what Charles once did in front of him so many years ago. He feels so old, now, suddenly ancient - not just from being a grandfather but also from being a father, from knowledge of worlds and futures that he cannot even begin to imagine.

For all the pain he has found here, all the torture, there has been hope, too. Not just with Charles but with these grandchildren, with their powers, their strengths, the passing down of genetics and proof of the way that mutants will continue to thrive.

He wants to be there to see it. He wants to be there to see his family, even if he can't imagine how it might feel to have one. It hurts to think about. ]

Do you have any questions for me?

Yeah...

[Countless probably. This was Magneto, but one that was different from the one he'd met. The one he knew. There was a lot to ask, a lot of differences to pick through...

But Billy decides to keep it light for now. They've discussed a lot of heavy topics today, haven't they? And they have time here. He draws in a breath and lets it out.]

Want to meet up sometime? For lunch or whatever. It'd be nice to get to hang out, is all.

[ That does make a sharp chuckle snap out of him before he has any control over it. ]

Lunch. We could do lunch.

[ He needs a little time, of course, to actually wrap his mind around all of this, but - lunch is a first step. He can manage to do hat, he can handle it. He's sure of that. He has a lot to tell Charles after this, but it can wait.

He has a family. ]

Whenever you like.

Great. Maybe this weekend or something?

[He pauses. Lunch is a good first step, yes. He doesn't want to-- force anything. But he's glad he's agreed.]

Should I invite Tommy too?

That's fine.

[ And he breathes out. ]

If he wants to come. Yes.

Okay, good. I guess... I'll talk to you later then? Unless there's more you wanted to ask?

You can tell me when you've spoken to your brother. We will arrange it.

[ And then - a huff. ]

I think that's enough for today.

Probably.

[He lets out a brief laugh.

Should he say something else? He's not sure, but--]

... Uh, I know the conversation wasn't entirely pleasant, but. I'm glad we got to talk.

[ Erik -

breathes. He's silent for a long moment. ]

It was good to speak with you as well.

[ Charles would be proud. ]

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