2012-07-17 Of Failures and Futures

It's been a few days after the disasterous attack on OmniTech, and there's a certain pall over the Brotherhood camp in New York. Wanda, in particular, has been in a stormy mood, lashing out at underlings for snide comments made. Hardest of all for Wanda are the rumors of her and Nightcralwer; she doesn't know who started them, but it makes her mood even worse. RIght now, Wanda is standing at the edge of the camp, staying away from the main group and looking out in the direction of New York City, far beyond the horizon.
The quiet solitude granted by Wanda's position is preserved for several moments, the only sounds quiet discussion or bickering from farther afield. Soon, however, she is not alone; no sound heralds the arrival of Magneto, though his voice belies his presence, deceptively low and rolling with easy timbre. "You were outmatched, Scarlet Witch." He regards her coolly, expressionless. "Justifiably, you are not pleased, I presume?"
The Witch whrils around, fire in her eyes and ready to smite whoever ahs decided to interupt her musings. But when she sees who it is, she smiles and relaxes. "No, I am not pleased, Magneto. Somehow, that other group knew of us and our agenda." She crosses her arms and turns back away from the camp. "COupled with Gator's incredible stupidity and brute logic, setting off the alarms before we were all in position..."
Magneto chuckles, a touch of amusement glittering in his eyes. "There are things that cannot be helped, my dear. One does not man a steamroller if one does not intend to level something entirely - Gator should have come as no surprise. To the other point..." the man sobers, frowning sternly. "Treachery is wholly intolerable, and I very much doubt the ability of those imbeciles to breach our own security."
Wanda shakes her head, turnign back to look at Magneto. "No, they were far from imbeciles. They were trained, organized, well-equipped. They were a group who had a good grip of tactics, more than just taking orders from a leader. They improvised, covered each other's weaknesses." She looks back to the camp. "That's a weakness for us. We have a clairity of purpose, but no team training. No co-ordination. And with the prospect of this announced 'Justice League'...." She sighs and shakes her head. "We need to remedy this. Fast."
"Then remedy it," Magneto remonstrates sharply. "You are here, all of you, for the same reason, at the core of things, and you know as well as I that you must be strong enough to force the change you wish to see. Our maxim," he murmurs. "Perhaps it is better that you were so soundly routed from the target. When next they attempt to thwart the Brotherhood, they will be in for a surprise." He gives Wanda a cursory once-over, lifting a brow. "I am not without my resources, nor this organization without its own, but I will not see my dream - our dream - stopped in its tracks by a few moral nitwits in shiny suits."
"Of course not, Magneto," Wanda says with a confident nod. "We must be the ones in charge; there will be no peace unless it is on our terms. I only hope that we can be prepared to fight and win this war before the humans start it. Our victory must be swift and decisive, sparing as much pain and death on both sides as possible. but we *must* win."
Stepping forward, Magneto claps a hand to Wanda's shoulder, a grim smile upon his lips. "We shall, my dear Witch. We shall." He removes his hand and turns, gazing over the camp. "We are prepared to fight this war, after a fashion - I have seen to this. Mentally, emotionally, there are those with enough zeal and passion for our cause to fight and die for it, if need be. Admirable," he murmurs, shaking his head. "Attention must be paid, however, to coordination. You are formidable, but you are not an army." He glances to the sky, wind ruffling his cape. "Redouble the training. Spar among one another, individually and in groups. Ensure that you and others treat this with the gravity that it deserves - hold back, and you will open the way for future failure."
Wanda nods and sighs. "Good advice, Magneto. I will see to our training tonight. Be assured, we will not fail again." The serious look on her face is replaced with a smile. "But, let us not dwell on dour thoughts. How have you been? It has been a few years since I saw you last."
"Occupied," Magneto quips succinctly. "My travels have taken me far afield, though what I have learned and seen may well prove worth the effort. Disturbing," he adds, face twisting sourly, "that I return to find such...well-informed opposition," he scowls. "Nothing is ever easy." He turns his head to glance at Wanda, quirking a brow. "And your personal successes and failures of late, my dear?"
"I'm afriad more failures than successes, Magneto," Wanda says with a sour face. "The main bright spot is that I made contact with Marissa Sometimes, the mutant duaghter of that odious politician in Arizona. I think she can be used, but will have to be handled properly. Her one goal is to ensure that her father is discredited and never elected to political office again." She hugs herself and turns back away from the camp. "Magneto...I...I knew one of the mutants that opposed us. He is a good man, if not a bit naieve. I tried to get more information from him, since it was obvious in casual conversation that he knew other mutants. I had no idea he was part of an organized fighting force, though."
Magneto smirks. "Discredited? Easily enough done, in this day and age. Certainly one process of things the humans have mastered beyond all else in their political schema." He pauses, regarding Wanda with a slight frown that deepens as she speaks further until he fairly glowers. "What?" He strides toward her, expression thunderous. "What have you told him? What has he learned? For God's sake, I assumed you would have more -care- than to-" he sighs heavily, looking up with some measure of restraint. "Explain."
Wanda is taken aback by the sudden fury from Magneto. "I told him nothing," she says. "I met him by chance, he's an obvious mutant. I protected him from some human bigots and we began talking. I told hi nothing of the Brotherhood, just as he told me nothing of this organization he belongs to. We merely met a few times and discussed philosophy. SInce he and I have very different philosophies on what must be done to preserve our people."
"Doubtless," Magneto growls at length, mollified. "His difference of opinions is regrettable, then. Moreso if he directly chooses to oppose us with his own comrades." He glances up, almost as an afterthought, gaze meeting Wanda's. "I trust that this held no part in your sound defeat some days past?"
"Of course not!" Wanda says in protest. "The ones that opposed us took advantage of our disorganization, our lack of teamwork. I had no chance against 4 other mutants on my own!" She sighs and shakes her head. "In truth, he was the one that argued in favor of our release, so as not to harm the reputation of mutants. He's actually rather chivalrous and would make a worthy addition to the Brotherhood, if only his eyes were opened."
Magneto nods slowly, apparently satisfied with the provided version of events. "It is of little concern to me, then. Proceed as planned, and see that your skills are honed. Should you encounter them in the future - likely - you may find the tables turned. When faced with the truth of the matter, his allegiance may well be called into question." The man smiles thinly. "You are a source of pride to me, Scarlet Witch, and to our cause. Continue to work diligently, and see that others are brought to par. The next mission will succeed."
The Scarlet Witch nods and bows respectfully to Magneto. "Of course. I refuse to allow another failure when the safety of our people is at stake. We will succeed, Magneto. The future depends on it." She takes a deep breath. "And now...I will rally the troops. Then I need to return to New York City, continue sarchign for other mutatns to join our cause. After all, unity will be our greatest weapon."
"Unity -is- our greatest weapon," Magneto gently corrects. "As much in our cause as in our skirmishes. I have further matters to attend to, and cannot remain long." He takes to the air with scarcely a thought, gazing down at Wanda. "I have every faith in you, my dear, and know that your efforts will only serve to make us stronger and bring us closer to the peace we deserve." He gives her a last regal nod, nearly reassuring, before ascending, slowly vanishing from sight as he travels westward.
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