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“Do you see it all, Lorna? The world that is promised to you?”
Green eyes cast over the world, the buildings of beautiful cascading skylines constructed of metal and glass, built by mutants who see life as more than just mere survival. There was vitality in the land they had built. Genosha was their homeland… built from years of suffering and countless resurgences. This was a land of hope and a promise for the future. One that Lorna’s father would die for if necessary..
Magneto did die.
He left it all behind and what was left behind is simply dust. Rubble in the ruins of what shouldn’t have been. Genosha was his greatest failure, the ghosts haunting it reminded each new visitor the longer they were there. Hell, they were still discovering bodies. Some of those lost don’t even have a candle lit in their name. Too many to remember them all.
Lorna hadn't expected to be on Genosha… in fact she had strictly avoided it since she last spoke to her father over two years ago. Mending their relationship was harder than she had expected, it was better to simply cut him out.
The father you knew, but could never truly call your father. Distant, always fighting for something Lorna couldn’t fully agree with. God, these streets hurt to trek now that the conflict before had quieted down. That personified Danger Room entity, whatever it was, is being dealt with. The others were handling the rest of the nitty gritty details… Something Lorna decided she wasn’t needed for at this moment. Something was drawing her to these ruins, something past the deaths and horrors.
Her body buzzed, was it still processing the power that had just fed through her body? The memories that Charles had reminded her of seemed like a dream. Her father, the man no longer in her life just like she had wanted. As a girl, she would go to bed, dreaming to wake up and magically be freed from the blood tie that was the man that was responsible for the lives of thousands. Magnus was a criminal, an enemy, a man who would stop at nothing for the mission he carried spurred by the motivation festering alongside years of debilitating pain. Yet he also was something Lorna knew better than she wanted to. He was a dreamer.
The rubble under Lorna’s feet spoke to her, drawing her into the deepest remaining skeleton that was Genosha’s capitol center. As her eyes panned up the ruins, Lorna stared at what should have been Magneto’s overlook, the view from the windows was of a King’s land. It was a view she had only seen once…
“I know we have had our challenges, child…”
The memories started to flow into her mind once more. Not the memories from Charles’ experience, but her own. Lorna hardly realized her feet lifted from the ground, flying up toward the top of the skyscraper.
“...But I am trying to be better. For you, especially Lorna.”
Lorna was still on Genosha, but now she was back in the moment she heard her father’s voice as he spoke to her. Years of waiting to be heard, to feel as if her presence was worth something… all mixed with the reminder she owed her father nothing of herself. Having his powers was spoken like a birthright, that she was lucky to have… but it was a curse.
“If you are willing to give me the chance, I will do whatever I can. It is time to amend my mistakes.”
Charles had encouraged Lorna to meet with him, at least once. Now that Genosha was built… prospering and showing nothing but blissful existence for the mutants who view Magneto as their savior from the world that hated them, she knew he was right.
“Give Magnus a chance,” Charles had said. “He wishes to make up for lost time.”
So, she listened. Lorna stepped on the Blackbird and arrived on Genosha’s soil to see the land for herself. Magneto had waited for her, expecting his youngest daughter to arrive with at least some semblance of excitement, but Lorna was afraid. Not a cowering fear inlaid with childish youth. She was afraid she would cave to the same poison that made everyone believe him to be the very savior they craved. Hope. That’s what it was. Hope that life could be better than it was. Hope was a powerful thing.
Lorna learned not to keep her standards high. The disappointment was more painful than the possible satisfaction that came from anything related to her father.
“Lorna.” Magnus greets, stepping toward her from the platform with an open arm extended.
“Magneto.” She kept her head high and didn’t take his arm, but she hardly exuded the confidence she attempted. What else was she supposed to do? You only know of your father through the stories of horrendous things he had done in the past, and now here he was begging for you to at least see why he did everything he did? How was she even expected to react? She wouldn’t take home with open arms and jump with glee, this wasn’t her father. It was a man she hardly knew, and hardly knew her in return.
This moment was supposed to be an olive branch, Lorna couldn’t bring herself to take it just yet.
The father pulled away, not forcing her to do anything just yet. Lorna practically breathes out in relief, averting her gaze away from her father’s presence and glancing over the land below the landing platform. Crowds were below, living their daily life, existing at peace, something that was impossible on the mainland. Lorna half-expected a welcoming parade set up by her father to try and convince her ‘Look! I’m a good guy! I got this for you! A big sign with your name on it! Cool!’ but she knew her imagination was just going to run wild. Of course he wouldn’t beg for her forgiveness like that. He wasn’t that desperate to make it all up to her…
His tour of Genosha was beautiful. The scenic beauty of it all was great, yeah. Yet she still found herself doubting every other turn. Her father built all this? This entire safe haven for their entire species, no strings attached? That felt impossible… but the smiles on everyone’s faces said otherwise. Refugees from all over the world made a place here with ease. This land, they truly saw it as a dream come true.
“You have hardly said a word, Lorna.” Magnus spoke as they rode the elevator up to the top floor of his domain, some tower where the self-acclaimed king watched over his subjects. She let out an exhale, but said nothing. The man straightened his back, staring ahead. “I hope everything I have done has not displeased you in any way…”
How could she respond to that? It was her opinion on the land he was worried about, the world he created and laid out before her like a red carpet, not the world she had existed in for the past twenty years without him. Was this supposed to make up for it?.
Luckily, the elevator opened and she didn’t have to answer, stepping out behind him as their cloaks lightly brushed against the clean, metallic floors of Magneto’s main office hall. Large windows stand at the end, overlooking everything they had just existed inside for the past four hours. Here it was, Genosha, the world her father built that would be home to the lives of thousands and hopefully thousands more.
This was it. This was the dream her father had envisioned. Charles told her for years that her father just wished to bring peace even if it meant harsh decisions… and here it was. A world that was just their own. Children running safely, playing with their friends and family, enjoying theatrics, cooking real food of their own, experimenting with life…
Lorna couldn’t deny, she was catching that little bug of hope. Her hand placed itself against the glass, staring into the city that surrounded them. It was so full of life, prosperity. Everything she too dreamed since she was just a little girl.
“I find myself in disbelief at times,” Magnus spoke up, pulling Lorna from her trance as he stood next to her. His presence sent chills down her spine, hand falling back to her side as she listened. “When I built Genosha, I knew that it would be a risk. It was a place on the map, easy to target for anyone who preyed on our people’s downfall. Yet, every morning I can see why that risk is worth taking. From the shopkeepers selling their passions to patrons, to the connoisseur passing through, down to the children who have smiles on their faces for the first time in their entire lives. Those children have full bellies, the ability to wish for something in their lives that doesn’t teeter on the decision behind a lawmaker fueled by fear. Here, you do not need to simply exist as a political statement. You can pursue a life of passion and prosperity. We become more than just a simple mutant label in this land, we are a culture…”
Lorna could feel his eyes on her now, and as her brows knitted together to keep her composure, her torn heart struggled to stop the tug on her heartstrings.
“I wish to share that culture with you. It was a world I failed to give you through your entire childhood. I wish I could have provided you with this masterpiece of existence before now…” A heavy sigh falls from his lungs. “I know we have had our challenges, child, but I am trying to be better. For you, especially Lorna.”
Her eyes widened, turning to look at him in shock. For her? Why would he be doing this for her?
“I understand I failed you… that there is no going back. I wish time were not as convoluted a thing to where I could return to your childhood, raise you as my own after your mother’s passing, but I believe the path you were placed upon landed you where you needed to be. Charles told me of who you had become. Even during your hardships, you’ve displayed a strength no other mutant on this planet has.” A hand places upon Lorna’s shoulder, his soul staring into hers without consent, peering into her pain and seeing something he understood. “I look at you and I see myself. Different, yes, but Lorna you are that very future I tried to make while building Genosha. You are the living embodiment of what I tried to bestow upon this planet. I... I apologize for how long it took for me to say these words. I feared you would be better without my interference… but I see now that our fates will forever be intertwined.”
Tears bunched into her eyes, as his hand migrated to her cheek in adoration, she could feel herself wish to pull away. He tilts her cheek, turning it to look over the countless homes of their people. Lorna’s tears fall, staring out the window at her father’s dream.
“Do you see it all, Lorna? The world that is promised to you?”
She could see it all. His dream. His world.
“I won’t be here forever… I need to know when I am gone that they will be safe. This is a mantle I hope to give…”
Lorna’s heart stopped.
“... to you.”
Green eyes widen once more, pulling her chin from his palm and staring up at her father in disbelief.
“W-What?” Shock replaced any heartfelt tug that ached her bones. “What are you saying?”
“Genosha needs a protector. There is a constant target on this land. I protect this world yes, but I am merely one man with the power to move mountains if wanted… but I am no master of time and age. Lorna… I wish to know if someone will protect this land and its citizens. You are the one person who I can see holding my place. You are…”
“You don't even know me…” Lorna’s words felt tight in her throat, stepping back in confusion.
Magnus realized his mistake, hand extending to try and alleviate her tense shift, but he was already failing. “Lorna… I understand-”
“No.” The woman shook her head, turning away and refusing to look at the city that tempted her. “No, no, no… You are not going to try and convince me to try and.. And fill your place when you die? Our first time speaking together in peace for years, and you’re telling me that I am the only person you see who can take your place?”
“Lorna, we are-”
“Why is this a ‘we?’ What about me cues you into the fact that I would want to take your place. Or even better… What qualities about me that are just mine that you could see makes me a qualified person for this position. Remove everything you believe to be from you,” She turns to push at his chestplate with her gloved hand, pushing him back from following her. “And tell me what qualities of Lorna’s makes her a good replacement for the mighty Magneto!”
Magnus’s jaw clenched, staring down at the woman and trying to find reason. Gray hair fell into his eyes, tussled from how frazzled the statement had made him. This attempt to please her failed… he should have known better. This was too quick.
“Lorna… I-”
“Stop talking about yourself!” Lorna was exasperated now, disbelief making her scoff as she began to pace around his office. On his desk, the red helmet waits like a menacing reminder of his hold on the land. She stepped closer, picking it up and staring at the cut of the mask… just like hers, wasn’t it? Had Charles intended that? Or had she done so without realizing it. She shook her head, shoving the mask back. “I don’t want you to preach your land to me, I don’t want you to apologize for how you failed me, because I know there’s no apology big enough to fix what happened…”
The tired, green eyes of the woman turn back up to finally meet her father’s once again.
“I just want… I want you to see who I am. Not what parts of me that come from you. Me.” Lorna begged, her fist resting over her heart. “I’m not Magneto, father. That’s who you are. Magneto left me on my own when I was a kid. Magneto is a criminal, Magneto is an avenger of those lost, Magneto is not my father.” She shook her head, fuzzy with the headache that came with it as she stepped closer, tapping on his chest, desperately hoping he could feel her heart pour out to him. “For years I have had to prove that I am not your shadow. That I am not going to become the man the world may fear. For years! And now you are even telling me that you would like me to take your place?”
Lorna steps back once more, refusing to look across the windows and see the world she just walked through and find it as hopeful as she did before. “You’re insane… I can’t believe you…”
Her green cape whisked as she turned to leave.
“Lorna, wait!” Magnus reaches for her but he is quickly hit away in a flurry of emotion as her powers grip his metal armor and wave it away with ease.
“I said stop! You are not my father… you are nothing I’d ever hoped to have…” The tears fall freely, but she takes a deep breath, pulling herself together. Her hand lifts to her mask, the shape just as carved as the ‘M’ they were supposedly known for. She ripped it from her suit, throwing it aside with the strength of her magnetic ability. No more would she let herself get so hopefully attached. She gripped the corners of the green cape… so much like his. It is torn from her just as the mask, thrown to the side in a pile of verdant green. Her breathing hitched, staring up at him with a broken gaze fueled by a childhood of lost hope. All those years, waiting for him to show. She wanted him to truly try, but this was not an attempt to repair their bond. This was an attempt to secure his dream, telling Lorna that it could be hers as well.
“I just wanted you to try and love me… Not give me your world. Look at mine.” Her voice was tired. All those years have caught up to her. She was so ready to forgive him, too. Why did it have to go this way?
Magnus hadn’t even let his expression shift, steeled as ever. Yet there was heartbreak in his irises, but in the whites of his eyes, there was always much more sitting and waiting once she said yes. She couldn’t risk letting him have a foot in her life like this. She wasn’t born an angry child, but after being let down for years by her own hope she has truly become what she feared. She has become her father. Angry and let down by the world, wishing for something she could never have in pure sanity.
“I’m sorry, Lorna.” He finally spoke. “It was never my intention to overlook your world….”
Lorna’s sniffle felt childish, quickly trying to cover it up with a stern furrow of her brows. “I don’t want your apology, I just wanted you to care.”
He let her leave. He didn’t escort her to the Blackbird. She left on her own, boarding the jet and taking it off. He didn’t deserve to see her confused, messy tears. Even the embraces of those she loved couldn’t help her.
How could her father promise her the world, and not even want to be in hers?
He didn’t know how to be in anyone else's world. Lorna knows this now. She understands now that she will never end the battle with the world that she is not Magneto, because she knows him better than almost anyone else ever could. He couldn’t be in any other world than the one he fought tooth and nail to forge with his own two hands. His world was a safe haven for not just the people, but himself. So many years of destruction, desolation and despair; it all accumulated to this city now in ruin just like the rest of it.
As the memories fade, Lorna stares into the broken windows where her father’s office had been so neatly done. Upon that desk, next to the pedestal where his helmet rested, was the green crown she had thrown just years prior. A reminder to him as to why he continues to keep this city alive…
Lorna didn’t want to turn around, to see the desolation of the world her father worked so hard to rebuild. Yes, he was a troubled man, but if there was one thing she learned today, it was that the love in his heart was never absent. He loved so much it corrupted his mind, tormented, tortured, isolated him inside of himself. All because of the burden he carried, the same dream as any child that once ran across these streets, he had hope.
Forcing herself to turn around, forcing herself to face the vast destruction that was once the land her father bled for… it broke her. All the desolation, knowing how many lives were lost… She wasn’t the woman that faced the Danger Room personified today, not the X-Force member kicked for being too much of a liability, she was just that girl going to bed wondering if her father was a good man. If she was so much like him… he had to be, right?
He was, Lorna. He was always a good man. No matter what they tried to convince you to believe. Charles knew it, and the memories of his came over Lorna like a warm embrace. She was herself, first. Still, if she were to be anything like her father, she was glad it was the good things. It was reassuring to know a part of him would still live on. She would make sure of it.