Visiting Hour (RP for Magneto)
It was Tony who got her in to see Magneto -- albeit, reluctantly. He was being held in a mysterious federal installation, not a SHIELD facility at all. Jean wondered if that explained some of Tony's bad mood when she raised the subject. She would have thought that Magneto being in custody would have made him happy; instead he kept muttering into the communicator -- the phrase 'Freedom Force,' surrounded by various obscenities.
"Magneto was arrested by Freedom Force?" Jean blurted. "Since when do they still exist?"
"Since when did they ever go away? Not that you heard that from me."
"Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. If I had realized you were completely powerless in this situation --"
"Amazing. That almost sounds like something a woman would say if she were trying to manipulate me."
But he had gotten her clearance, in the end, and the only price was sitting through a lecture about her own conflicted motivations. According to Tony, Jean wanted to talk to Magneto in order to understand the psychology of the Brotherhood and, using this information, figure out how better to recruit former Brotherhood sympathizers to the Xavier cause. Tony (also according to Tony) thoroughly approved of Jean's mercilessly pragmatic approach, being a merciless pragmatist himself. . .
She let him expostulate. She wasn't in the mood to argue, and in a way, it felt good. Let Tony Stark think she was playing the brilliant politician. It was better than the embarrassing truth.
Jean Grey was curious about Magneto.
She had never really known the man. They had faced off as adversaries over the years -- for the first time, when she was hardly more than a kid. But he had meant a lot, for better and for worse, to people she was close to: Wanda, Lorna, Charles. Rachel. Not just Rogue but Storm and even Logan had been close allies of his, at some point. Even the ones who hadn't chosen to follow him admitted to a strange personal power in the man.
Jean had never understood the appeal of Magneto, but then -- she had never tried to understand. She always had an idea in her mind that it would go badly. That it wasn't safe.
But now it was different. He was locked up in a plastic prison. It had to be safe. Right?
*
Whatever strings Tony had pulled, they must have worked. Half an hour after their conversation, the phone in the X-Corp suite rang, and he gave her instructions. Down the stairs, meet two guys with dark glasses and permanent scowls. Catch a cab to an airfield in Jersey, get in a private plane without any windows, ride for a long damn time.
When she got out it was dark, and she had a vague idea that it was high and dry. "I guess this is the proverbial undisclosed location?" she asked one of the guys with dark glasses.
He chewed on a toothpick and stared at her. "You're the mutant girl won't stay dead. Gimme your wrist." More startled than obedient, Jean held out a hand, and the guard slapped a thick, glowing plastic bracelet onto it. "Power dampener. Take that off and my guys have permission to shoot. I don't care how many Avengers you've fucked. Understand?"
Jean's body stiffened, and she felt a slow burn underneath her skin. A dampener on the Phoenix. If they had any idea. . .
Jean spoke softly. "I understand."
"Good. Now. A few more rules, before I throw you to the wolves."
. . .
"Magneto was arrested by Freedom Force?" Jean blurted. "Since when do they still exist?"
"Since when did they ever go away? Not that you heard that from me."
"Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. If I had realized you were completely powerless in this situation --"
"Amazing. That almost sounds like something a woman would say if she were trying to manipulate me."
But he had gotten her clearance, in the end, and the only price was sitting through a lecture about her own conflicted motivations. According to Tony, Jean wanted to talk to Magneto in order to understand the psychology of the Brotherhood and, using this information, figure out how better to recruit former Brotherhood sympathizers to the Xavier cause. Tony (also according to Tony) thoroughly approved of Jean's mercilessly pragmatic approach, being a merciless pragmatist himself. . .
She let him expostulate. She wasn't in the mood to argue, and in a way, it felt good. Let Tony Stark think she was playing the brilliant politician. It was better than the embarrassing truth.
Jean Grey was curious about Magneto.
She had never really known the man. They had faced off as adversaries over the years -- for the first time, when she was hardly more than a kid. But he had meant a lot, for better and for worse, to people she was close to: Wanda, Lorna, Charles. Rachel. Not just Rogue but Storm and even Logan had been close allies of his, at some point. Even the ones who hadn't chosen to follow him admitted to a strange personal power in the man.
Jean had never understood the appeal of Magneto, but then -- she had never tried to understand. She always had an idea in her mind that it would go badly. That it wasn't safe.
But now it was different. He was locked up in a plastic prison. It had to be safe. Right?
*
Whatever strings Tony had pulled, they must have worked. Half an hour after their conversation, the phone in the X-Corp suite rang, and he gave her instructions. Down the stairs, meet two guys with dark glasses and permanent scowls. Catch a cab to an airfield in Jersey, get in a private plane without any windows, ride for a long damn time.
When she got out it was dark, and she had a vague idea that it was high and dry. "I guess this is the proverbial undisclosed location?" she asked one of the guys with dark glasses.
He chewed on a toothpick and stared at her. "You're the mutant girl won't stay dead. Gimme your wrist." More startled than obedient, Jean held out a hand, and the guard slapped a thick, glowing plastic bracelet onto it. "Power dampener. Take that off and my guys have permission to shoot. I don't care how many Avengers you've fucked. Understand?"
Jean's body stiffened, and she felt a slow burn underneath her skin. A dampener on the Phoenix. If they had any idea. . .
Jean spoke softly. "I understand."
"Good. Now. A few more rules, before I throw you to the wolves."
. . .