When All Seems Lost

[Erik Lehnsherr]

It had all happened so quickly. One moment, Magneto was in the front line, crushing the building before him as the mutants took out the homo sapiens, one at a time. The battle was grand, and they were winning. How could they not? The cause had never been more just. The humans attempted to create a 'cure' for their mutation, and they deserved to die for it. How dare they, believe that mutants needed something worth curing. They feared them, that was all it was. They were cowards, and today marked the day where they would see how unstoppable mutants were. But just as high as they rose, they quickly fell. Not all the mutants per say. Just the one. Just Magneto. He was not even sure how it happened, how he had lost control and his focus. But before he knew it, four injections had been pierced into his chest. The horror on his face was not from the pain, but from what those syringes contained. And then he felt it. He felt his powers drained from his body, drained from his heart, his blood; every part of him. He had fallen to the ground, devastated. How could they? How dare they?

He had even tried to use his abilities but it was to no avail. They had stripped him of his powers. Of his gift. And quite frankly, he would much rather be dead, then live without his powers. He had hurried back to their headquarters after that, unable to see how the war had ended. He would later hear that the building that held the lab in which the cure was being produced had been destroyed. He had not stayed to witness the victory, even though he had a part in it. No. He was robbed of what defined him as a mutant, and he needed to leave. Storming back into the headquarters, he addressed no one, not even Magda, to inform them of his return. He merely went straight to his room, having to physically close the door himself. He pulled off his helmet and threw it to the side in pure anguish. He looked at the metal spheres that he kept on his table. He raised his hands, willing them to move. Move. Move! MOVE dammit, move!. He used his strength, causing his hands to tremble and his face to show that of a pained expression. It was futile. He could not even move the smallest of metal objects. They had taken that from him, and all he could do was stare, infuriated and heartbroken. So much so, that he had not even heard footsteps approaching, or the door open.

Tag Magda

[Magda Eisenhardt]

Magda did not partake in the open battle. She was not a fighter like that, and her powers were used more for the over taking of buildings rather then mutant vs mutant fighting. Erik had gone, and she had stayed behind. Yet when the news reported that the fighting was done, she began to worry. Were was Erik?

It wasn't until one of his followers told her that there had been a crash in his room that she began to wonder if he had already gotten back. Was he injured? Running up the sets, she got to his door, pausing to knock on it once; then pushing in anyway because of her worry. Her eyes moved around until she saw him. Standing! "You frightened me when you did you return with the others!" There was something off. She could feel it. Walking forward, Magda paused just behind him. It was in how he stood, even though she could only see his back and not his face. "Are you hurt?"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

He heard someone knock and then enter, knowing who it was for no one else would enter the room without his permission. He had tried to open it when he heard the knock, and tried to close it when she was inside. He kept trying, and trying, and the more he did, the more frustrated and angry he became that he couldn't. An action that was once so effortless, even before he had any sort of training, was now, impossible. He didn't answer her question, nor did he look at her. "Close the door," he said in a serious, stern voice. Because he couldn't do it. Because he no longer had the ability to do anything.

"Close the door!" he demanded, raising his voice, something he seldom -- if ever -- had done. He was often in control of his emotions, but not right now. They were all over the place and he no longer had the strength to keep them in check. He hardly even gave her a chance to reply the first time he had said it, before lashing out by filling his tone with more demand and anger. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, yet, he did not send her away. Instead, he a fit of rage he threw over the small desk that held his metal spheres, filled with rage at them for not moving. Though he knew that the real problem was not the metal, it was him. His now powerless body. They had turned him into one of them. They had turned him into a human.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

"Close the door," "Pardon?" She asked, wondering why he just did not shut it himself when he--"Close the door!" Before she could move he flipped over his desk and she stumbled backwards. Turning she walked quickly toward the door, and pushed it shut. Turning she walked back toward him, and looked over the mess he made.

Had they not won? Where was the pleased Magneto who would have enjoyed this moment? Pausing near him but still a few step away she watched him. "Look at me!" It wasn't a command--as she never ordered him to do anything--but it was a strong suggestion that she was urging him to comply with. Walking around to see his face she paused there, "What happened today?" Something had happened. Had someone died? Someone close to him. Reaching out her hand, she didn't touch him but hoovered there. "Talk to me. Tell me what has happened."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She told him to look at him, but he could not. He was far too ashamed of what he was now: a human. An inferior being. He was nothing. He placed his hands on the edge of the chair, his head hanging between his shoulders. He did not know what to do from here. The rage and devastation still overwhelming him, still unable to accept what had happened to him on the battlefield today. They had a victory, but he had become a casualty of the war. She asked him what happened and he did not know how to answer.

Something that gave him power, gave him his life, had been taken away from him. There was no crueler fate than this. Death would have been a welcome alternative. Not this. Anything but this. Taking deep breathes as if trying to control himself, he felt his body slightly trembling. "I can't . . . close the door," he said in an angered and pained voice. He was fixated on the door because, it was something so simple. So small in comparison to what else he could do. If he could not even complete this simple action, he had no business being here, in the Brotherhood. He could no longer be Magneto. "I can't even . . . " His voice trailed off, feeling his breath slightly catch at the difficulty of saying the words.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

He could not close the door? Glancing over at it Magda saw there was still metal on it so why could he---NO! She drew up taller, almost back from him but without moving a step. They'd gotten him!? They'd DONE THIS TO HIM?! Her eyes moved around the room looking for something! SOME proof she was wrong, but her mind knew--SHE KNEW!

Reaching for his cheeks she turned his face toward her, whiling moving in close. "They used it on you?!" Her tone was three parts shocked and another part angry. Erik had lived and breathed his mutant status! This would kill him! "Removing choice like we back in the camps?!" Now the anger became more dominate. HOW DARE THEY! Humans and their need to control and kill!

Letting his cheeks go she stared at him, her mind reeling before catching up with one major fact; the brotherhood would be weakened too. "Who else knows?" They could tell no one! They had to find a cure!

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She put her hands on his cheek and turned his face to her, but he still avoided eye contact. Still unable to look at her out of shame for what he now was. Nothing. Worthless. Inferior. Human. He could hear the anger in her voice and without having to look, knew it was strong in her eyes. That was precisely what they had done. They had turned it into a weapon, and forced it upon him. Whether it was because of his criminal status, or because he was a mutant, was irrelevant. Is this what they would now do to his kind? Force this 'cure' upon them? "They weaponized it," he stated, still not looking at her, his voice reflecting the brokenness he felt in his heart.

"Four syringes . . . " His voice trailed off again as he closed his eyes, feeling the sting of tears and fighting them back. One often did the trick, but four. There was no hope in regaining his powers with that many. He felt utterly defeated. She then asked a question that caused him to open his eyes, looking to the ground. "No one," he stated. No one that he knew of, otherwise he was fairly certain someone would have said something. "But they will soon find out." Because, he was Magneto. He always used his abilities, always led the Brotherhood since the day he had formed it. There was only so long he could keep such a truth from his fellow mutants, and from the rest of the world.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

There was only so long they could keep the truth from the world. They had to act quickly. They needed to make it known they were not beaten or cowarded by this idea of a weaponized cure. "Another proof of their cowardice!" She bit out, "Once again they take the choice from us rather then offer it freely--though she hated the idea of offering it freely too.

"Erik, look at me." He was still avoiding her gaze, "look at my face!" She moved around so she was within.g his gaze. "We tell no one. We will find a cure from the sickness they forced upon you."

"If you falter now, the humans have won. We will the men who made this false cure, and make them undo it." But she wondered if it could. If it was that simple. If it was permanent then she feared for Erik. This wasn't something she believed he'd come back from if it was. It would take him from her.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She was angry, and so was he. But the anger was mixed with the devastation of what he now was. So he remained silent, still hoping that this was somehow a terrible dream that he would awake from. She told him to look at her, but he could not. It wasn't until she was standing in front of him that he forced his eyes to raise to meet hers. She was taking the lead, and while that was what the Brotherhood needed . . . how could he continue to be part of a group that fought for mutants' rights, when he himself could not call himself a mutant. "I . . . am human," he corrected, for he could no longer talk in terms of being a separate race from them. He could not say that the 'humans had won' or that 'they had done this' because, he was among them. He had destroyed him in the worse possible way.

His eyes fell to the ground again. "What if there is no cure?" He asked, fearing the worst. What if there was no way to reverse this? What if he was forever cursed inside this powerless body, where all the years he'd spent perfecting his gift, was for nothing. "How can I remain here? What will the others say? How . . . " Could he survive. He could not live like this. He refused. He couldn't even be in her presence right now for everything he had spoken of about how mutants were the superior race, he still believed. Which meant, he was inferior. To her and every other mutant out there.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

He was human; as if that could turn him into anything else. She needed him to clear his head and be Erik! She needed him strong right now and thinking clearly! "Erik, they will not find out. Not until we are ready! You are the smartest man I know, and together we can help you--there has to be a cure. Anything done can be undone." What had happened to his friend? The bald annoying one that he liked so much? "Uh...uh...Charles!" That one! "He and and Hank once cured Charles of his powers!"

But it wasn't like this, and it was in small timely amounts! "If could be like that. We only need to find someone who has the knowlage to undo this." Magda prayed that would work--if only to give him enough hope to get moving again, though she knew that this wasn't something Erik would ever just get over. His life was his powers. Everything was his mutant self.

Everything. "The Germans could not take your religion from you, and nor can the humans take this. You are a mutant, Erik. Just because you . . . for now . . . do not have your powers does not change the biology of your body or the passion in your heart. We are going to need you now."

"These people here, they follow your leadership. I am here for you Erik, more then any cause. There could have been hundreds of groups of mutants who hate humans around the world but there is not. There is your brotherhood. We are here because of you. I love you. Not the power, but the man. They will follow the man, as long as you stay strong and true to your purpose."

"Until we are ready for them to know of this blow, then we will pretend it has not happened. We will seek a reversal, and tell no one. . . . . . yes?"

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She assured him that they would not find out. Not until they were ready to tell others. Erik felt that being here would be the ultimate hypocrisy. A human, fighting for mutant rights. What kind of example would that set? How could he hoped to gain and maintain the respect of other mutants when he was not one of them. She seemed so hopeful though, using Charles' example of how he had suppressed his powers as a way of getting out of this. He wanted to believe Magda. But he also knew the dangers of such hope. While he may not have fully processed the fact that he no longer had his abilities, hoping that there would be a quick fix was a dangerous next step. For if there wasn't . . . well, he did not think he would be able to bare such a disappointment. She went on to say how the Germans could not take his religion, and like that, the humans could not take his race. But, they had. His religion had been from the heart, yet his powers while also from the heart, were physical. And they had taken that physical ability from him. He couldn't argue though. He didn't want to, for he wanted so desperately to believe her.

To take comfort in her determination that they would find a way through this. She assured him that she was here for him, not just the cause. And then she spoke three words that he had never heard her say, nor had he ever said to her. Though throughout the time of their relationship, it had been implied. Yet hearing her say them to him now, as he was a human, was . . . well, indescribable. He slowly turned his head to look at her, wondering if she realized that she had said them. Somehow, these words took precedence over all else that she had said. Her assurance to stay with him. Her assurance that she loved him, loved him still despite his lacking mutant identity. "Years ago I left you because I believed you to be a human." That had been one of the biggest reasons he had parted ways with her. "And yet, now, I stand here before you, a . . . " He paused, unable to bring himself to say it. "And you will stay with me? You will help me? You will . . . be with me?" Not just as a follower or even as a mutant, but as Magda. The role was not reversed and she proved her tolerance better than he ever could have. She proved that she loved him, and Erik could not explain just how much this meant to him.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

"Years ago I left you because I believed you to be a human." Magda paused when he said this, and watched his face. It was a bit late for an apology and right now she wanted nor even expected one. But why else bring it up? "And yet, now, I stand here before you, a . . . " He was com pairing them? Erik who never used words to display emotions--or at least rarely--was going to compare them like this? It showed how much he was suffering right now. It also broke her heart for him. "And you will stay with me? You will help me? You will . . . be with me?" That surprised her even more. He was surprised she would stay with him? Did he think so low of humans that he would believe she would leave him just because he lost his powers.

Magda wanted to tell him so many things, but she have never felt at ease stating her feelings out right. It wasn't who they were with each other. They did not express things in words but left it unspoken between them. "There was . . . there more happening then then just my human status."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She spoke of how there was a lot more going on, and while that was true, he had made it abundantly clear that her race was part of why he could not be with her. It had been a determining factor. "Still," he said in a low voice. He felt so helpless right now, so powerless, and knew he would be relying on her for the strength he needed. Especially now, that she made it evident she was not going to leave him to face this on his own. Her words, speaking of her love for him and everything else was already starting to give him the necessary strength.

"We tell no one," he agreed, wiping away what tears threatened to stain his cheeks. He stood up, not as tall as he would have but no longer was he hunched over in a pit of despair. Though he felt it. In his heart. He felt as if it had been shattered, his soul broken. But looking at her, he needed to derive strength from her presence. "Thank you," he added in a low voice, though loud enough for her to hear. Words of gratitude were not ones he often spoke to her. But felt the need to now.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

This Erik was one that left her unsettled and unsure. "You know where I stand." With him. It had been then and it was now. He seemed so honestly surprised and grateful that she would side with him and be with him now that Magda almost wanted to be angry with him. How could she have done anything else? Had he not known that? How much of their unspoken words they always assumed the other knew, was in truth unknown between them?

"Yes well . . . " Magda did not know what to say, not to this Erik who was thanking for her something the other would have just assumed. "Of course you're welcome." Reaching for him she squeezed his arm, and then turned away from him so she could not guard her face as closely. "We need to form a plan, and try to get a story going. Maybe one about you having an injury to explain why you're not out fighting or leading the fight right now." Magda moved to begin picking up some of the things Erik had knocked around, so that his composed and ordered room would be as he always had it. While her room looked much more disordered and lived in.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

She was already thinking of what to do, where as his mind was no where near capable of formulating a plan. He often did not struggle with this problem. But he was in no mindset to be rational and logic, so how could he create a decent plan of action? She suggested that they said he was injured, which was indeed a good reason as to why he would be unable to utilize her powers for they depended on his physical condition. "Yes," he answered numbly, almost dazed for he still could not believe he had to do this. He had to come up with an excuse as to why he could not use his powers . . . because they were ripped from him.

He watched her helplessly as she began to pick things up. Items that he should have been able to move with a wave of his hand. And the more he watched her, the more frustrated he grew. "Stop!" He said in a short tone, not having meant to snap at her. So when the word escaped his lips, he closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. How was he going to do this? How was he going to get through this? "An injury," he said, trying to focus on that as he opened his eyes once more. "We will need to be sure no one witnessed it." Witnessed them piercing him with needles.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

He snapped at her, and Magda turned quickly to look at him. He seemed to compose himself, but when he opened his eyes she continued to pick things up despite what was said. He would need to get use to this, either way. If this was a short term thing, then he would only have to endure this for a while--if this was permit then he just had to live with it.

"I will ask around, turn the story as I do. What happened. I needed to know the details so I can help. I have experience at conning the gadjos into believing untrue words. They will hear what they want to be true." Moving to stand with her arms full of things, Magda put them down on the bed. "And while you're telling me, help me move the table back, because the slightest crack in the story will expose the truth--and Erik Lehnsherr has never had a dirty room in over 20 years."

"I know it's hard, but you can't give up hope." Even if they both doubted in the hope. "You are a strong and unwavering man. If you falter now, then they will believe the rumors should their be any. If you ignore them, and be strong then they will believe you." Magda put her hands on his shoulders, "They followed you this far, and they will continue to do so as long as you give them a reason to do it."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Magda was speaking of how she could create a lie and make it believable. And he did not doubt her capabilities in doing so. He trusted her. And right now, was heavily depending on her. She spoke of hope, of how he could not falter, of how he needed to give them a reason to follow him. How could he do that when he no longer had the power -- literally! She was also asking him to do manual labor; a task he could have otherwise done at the wave of his hand. But now, he had to physically walk toward the table and move it back to where it was. A thought he hated. And he knew that this was just the start of many inconveniences his lack of powers would create. He looked at her for a moment, his hand briefly resting atop one of hers that was on his shoulder, before he broke the contact and walked toward the table, moving it back to it's initial location.

"They injected the syringes into a gun that would fire them," he began to explain. He would destroy those weapons and all trace of the liquid they created within them. How was it even legal to use such a weapon? Was it one they used specifically against him? Or one that would now be distributed against all mutants, criminal by humans standard or not? "It was all completely void of metal. I had not been expecting them to have weaponized it." His first mistake. He would know better for next time. If there ever was a next time. "They fired four syringes at me that automatically inserted the fluid into my body upon contact." Recalling the trauma of this recent event caused Erik to pause in between his sentences, still unable to accept it. "I felt it." Not the prick of a needle but the effect it had caused. "I felt my powers leave my body. Leaving me with nothing." Robbing him of his abilities and his identity has a mutant. The devastation was stating to transform into a familiar sense of rage and vengeance.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

He seemed to try to take her advice, and she felt relived. The more she kept him working toward the end, the better he would be able to work. Shew knew him enough to know that Erik would not handle this well. Without a mission that have him even the smallest spark of hope . . . . then she feared what he might do. To himself, either physically or mentally.

They had shot him with FOUR? Wanting to make sure it worked! How dare they! Taking away a choice like it was theirs to make rather then Erik's! Just like the Nazis had with religion. And race. "I felt it." Moving toward him more, Magda reached up to touch his arm, in effort to make sure he knew she was there. "I felt my powers leave my body. Leaving me with nothing." For Erik that would have been a type of death.

Years of brutal torture, of war, of being isolated and alone--none of that had broke him, but this would. "And you will feel it return to you, no matter what we have to do to make it happen. There will be others who had this done to them as well. We will fix this for you and for them." Her hands moved to his cheeks, "We will not stop fighting." She only prayed there was something to fight for, that it was something they could undo! "I swear to you this."

[Erik Lehnsherr]

There was a part of him that wanted so desperately to believe her. To know for certain that his powers would return. And while he appreciated her attempt to comfort him, he knew there had to be doubt in her mind. For while she may be optimistic, there was absolutely no way of knowing whether this could actually be reversed. They were relying on hope and that was a very dangerous thing. For Erik would not be able to survive the kind of disappointment that may follow from it. He forced his eyes to meet hers when her hands went to his cheeks. Even her touch, the softest of all, could not comfort him in these moments. He felt that nothing good, other than having his powers returned to him. A promise she made to him, but again, one without full confirmation of whether it was actually possible.

"I believe that you will not," he told her. Meaning, that even if he could not carry on, as Magneto, then she would still fight for mutants. For the cause. She had told him she was here for him, but he trusted her to carry on the Brotherhood name, and not allow any other mutant to have their powers torn from them as he had. He then turned his head away and took a few steps from her. "I can not think with a clear mind," he admitted to her, ashamed of it. And he would admit this only to her, no one else. "I will need you to take as much of the lead as possible," he added. His mind was overwhelmed, and he could not think like Magneto should. Magneto thought through every contingency for every one of his plans. But this Erik could not. While they would be keeping up appearances, he needed her to be the strength he lacked right now.

[Magda Eisenhardt]

"I believe that you will not," Good, for that was the most important thing right now. He had to believe in something and keep moving forward. Mindful that Erik had reacted to her statement of not leaving him, Magda knew she had to keep him thinking that. It had caught her off guard, his reaction. She wasn't sure what to do with this Erik. The one who viewed her as strong then him, she in her heart she knew it was still the other way.

"I can not think with a clear mind," How lost he sounded! It broke her heart. Erik who was strong like steel and so confidant to an almost arrogant form was lost. "I will need you to take as much of the lead as possible," That gave her pause. "I . . . I-I-I- . . . No, Erik, they need you now more then ever. I know nothing of leading men. They follow you! Your ideals, your words. They will not follow me because I say you are injured. I will do anything you ask me, but you ask more then I know how to give." No one would follow her! What did she know of fighting a war?

"Erik, it's hard now because it just happened. We just need to adjust ourselves." Magda followed him and stepped before him, not going to let him turn from her! Not now! "Please. I am begging you, Erik, stay strong for me. Because the only thing that has ever kept me going was you being strong. It is what keeps everyone here going. We should seek out that friend of Xavier's. The one who gave him his legs back, and took his powers. Surely he could help reverse this."