C113 Broken Trust

C113 Broken Trust

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"You may call me Magneto," the voice responded coldly.

Professor Xavier's eyes widened as he leaned slightly closer, straining to hear the conversation. Peggy and Logan also reacted, though less dramatically. Logan raised an eyebrow, amused by the odd name, while Peggy's gaze remained fixed on Peter, wondering how he would handle this.

To say Peggy wasn't at least a little nervous right now would be a lie. She had always made a point to avoid Magneto because of his formidable abilities, but she had also prepared strategies to handle him if necessary.

And now, depending on how this conversation went, It seemed those strategies might come in handy...

"Who am I speaking to?" Magneto demanded.

Peter's smirk turned into a grin as he adopted a deeper, mocking tone. "You may call me Star-Lord." He exaggerated the accent, clearly copying Magneto.

Magneto's patience wore thin, his voice carrying a hint of exasperation. "Enough games. Put Charles on the phone. I've had enough of you."

Professor Xavier's scowl deepened, realizing that Peter's plan to keep the school out of this conflict might be failing. "..."

Peter glanced at Xavier, then replied, still feigning ignorance. "Charles? Who's Charles?"

Magneto sighed, his frustration palpable even over the phone. "Do you truly think you can hide this from me? I sent those bumbling idiots to Charles' school. Of course, he's involved in all of this. Now put him on already. You're wasting my time."

Peter tried to maintain his façade, though it was clear his plan wasn't going to work. "Hey, man, I really don't know any Charles."

Magneto scoffed, his voice filled with irritation. "Enough games. I don't have all day. Tell Charles to speak to me, or I'll be visiting that precious school of his."

Seeing no other way, Xavier attempted to roll his chair over, preparing to speak and give Magneto the answers he demanded. But Peter wasn't so willing.

As Xavier moved, Peter held out his hand, using the Force to stop the wheelchair in its tracks. And when Charles tried to speak, Peter telekinetically held his jaw shut, giving him a pointed look that clearly said, 'Don't interrupt.'

Magneto continued. "Look, put him on the—"

Peter cut him off, his voice appearing honest and straightforward. "Yeah, sorry, never heard of him." He said, causing Magneto to suddenly turn quiet as Xavier thrashed against Peter's control, unable to escape his grip. Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

Upon hearing Peter continue to deny Charles' involvement, Magneto began to second-guess himself, wondering if his old friend was truly a part of this. After all, Charles would have spoke up the second he threatened the school.

The silence between them stretched for a few moments, until finally, Peter spoke again, his voice casual. "So, is there anything else you wanted to talk about? Because I have three new prisoners that need feeding. Though I was thinking about starving the big one for a few days. He could stand to lose a few pounds, you know?"

"You will do no such thing!" Magneto's tone turned icy. "Release my followers, or you will face consequences far graver than you can imagine."

Peter hummed thoughtfully, pretending to consider Magneto's demand. "I might be willing to return them, for a price of course."

Magneto, curiosity and suspicion mingling in his voice, asked, "And what exactly do you want?"

Peter's eyes sparkled with mischief as he replied, "Why don't we meet in person to discuss this? It's a bit sensitive. We shouldn't speak over the phone..." He said, knowing Shield and Hydra probably had all sorts of ways to listen in on phone calls.

As Peter was about to walk off, Charles added, "I'll admit, I may be jaded from all the betrayals I've suffered at Erik's hands, but it's hard to argue with experience." He said, a reminiscent frown on his face. "If there is anyone in this world who still cares for Erik and hopes for him to turn over a new leaf, it's me. But, sadly, the chances of that happening are slim to none..."

————

Leaving Logan and Xavier in Peggy's capable hands, Peter silently and thoughtfully returned to his ship, heading straight to the lounge area. He placed a new cassette into his Walkman and let the music fill the room, hoping it would help him think over Xavier's warnings.

Play Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog

I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadents

But I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeah

But it's on the table, the fire's cookin'

And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'

The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'

But I'm goin' hungry, yeah

...

..

.

Peter had always liked Magneto's character in movies, shows, and comics from his past life, and the idea of working with him was appealing. But Xavier had a point—Magneto was practically a Nazi. This wasn't a movie or a comic; this was real life. If Peter wasn't careful, he could end up getting someone killed.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Natasha entering the room until she was already standing by the couch, watching him. She walked over, lifted his head gently, and sat down, letting his head rest on her thighs. Her hand combed through his hair, soothing his troubled mind.

Peter looked up at her in surprise, too caught up in his thoughts to notice her arrival. He waved his hand, using the Force to lower the volume of the music.

She asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"Well..." Peter sighed, explaining the entire situation. "So now, I'm setting up a meeting with Magneto, thinking we could use him against Hydra. But the Professor thinks it's a terrible idea. And I don't want to ruin my relationship with him for a guy who probably won't even end up being our ally in the end... What do you think I should do?"

Natasha thought for a minute before asking, "But you want to try and help him, right?" She was referring to Magneto.

Peter paused for a moment, asking himself, 'Do I want to help him?' And after a moment of thought he nodded, "Yeah, I think I do."

Natasha nodded back, her expression serious. "Then do what you want and prepare for the worst. So if and when he does betray you, you aren't caught off guard."

Peter frowned thoughtfully. "But what about Xavier?"

Natasha replied, "I think he still hopes that Magneto can change. He won't pass up the opportunity, no matter how jaded he's become."

Peter thought it over and then smiled up at her, gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks, Natasha. I'm usually not this indecisive..."

She smiled back. "You're welcome." They stayed still, staring into each other's eyes for a moment. "..." Until suddenly, Natasha grew flustered, her cheeks turning red. She stood up quickly, knocking Peter's head to the side before darting out of the ship. "I, uh, have to check on my sister..."

Chuckling, Peter got up and decided to prepare for his encounter with Magneto. And in order to do that, he needed to speak with Rocket...

A/N: 2000 words :)