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Title: Aggressive Negotiations
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
enochiansigils and not_from_stars
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing/Characters: Dani Moonstar/Mikhail Sorokin
Rating/Category: R
Warnings: One scene of consensual sex between a minor who is older than her years and a an adult.
Summary: Danielle Moonstar was raised by Magneto and his Brotherhood and became a member of the MLF at a young age. She met and fell in love with Mikhail Sorokin. But the course of true love never does run smooth and when Dani dies as the result of a mission gone wrong, Mikhail is left to pick up the pieces of his life. Five years pass and Mikhail learns that things are not as they have always seemed.
Words: 31,122
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
au_bigbang 2011. Thank you very much to queenmidalah for the wonderful art and fanvideo she made for us! We've loved writing this story and have very much enjoyed taking part in the challenge this year.
To say that Charles was shocked at the condition of the young girl his students brought back to the mansion would have been a massive understatement. Moreso when he found out how they had discovered her and the fact that her own team had done this to her. A quick scan of her mind told him that she was still in her body – but just barely. Something worse than the wounds her body was suffering from had her retreating from life. If he couldn’t get her to want to live, then healing her was going to be a battle. He directed Rachel to take her to the medical lab and then after making sure that she was in capable hands, he returned to his office.
He sat in front of his computer for several long moments before he typed up a quick e-mail. It was a risk, yes, but he couldn’t do any less for the man that was sometimes his enemy and always someone he cared about.
Call me. It’s important.
The message was short, even cryptic, but he didn’t want to deliver this kind of news over an e-mail. As he predicted, his private line started ringing shortly after he sent the e-mail.
“Erik,” he said quietly.
“As always, old friend, your messages leave me no hint about what is wrong. Have you finally decided that the dream is a fallacy and you need to lead your people in a new direction?”
Charles couldn’t help the tired smile that crossed his features. This greeting was so familiar that it had become a ritual. They both knew the answer, but it was something that was just between the two of them.
“I wish my news was happier, my friend, but I’m calling about your daughter. Your youngest.”
Erik’s voice changed in timbre. “Danielle is dead. I received word this morning.”
Charles winced, hearing the thread of grief in Erik’s voice. Say what you wanted to about the mutant Magneto, but the man loved his children dearly.
“How could you have received a message this morning about her being dead when my team have just returned with her this evening?”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “I think that this merits an explanation, Charles.”
“My students found her when they went to a laboratory that was attacked by the MLF, Erik. She’s in very bad shape, but for the moment, she is still alive – but barely. What was done to her… I have never seen the like of it. Even when Wolverine is in a bezerker rage or I have seen Sabretooth attack someone there have never been wounds like this.”
Erik’s tone was carefully even. “What happened?”
“From what Shadowcat and Colt got from her, her own team did this to her.”
“Her own team turned on her?”
“That’s what she said and when I scanned her mind that was what I saw, as well.” Charles knew he was tempting Erik’s anger, but he couldn’t lie to him, not about his daughter.
“I want to see her.”
“Of course. I’ll let my students know to expect your arrival and that you are coming to see Danielle and not to attack us.”
“She is in good hands with you, Charles, I know this.”
“I hope so, Erik, but when I scanned her mind…”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“She wants to die. Something happened that is so painful she doesn’t want to live because of it. It’s something personally traumatic to her that has hurt her more than the physical damage.”
“She won’t die.”
“We’re doing our best to make sure of that, but there are no guarantees.”
“She. Will. Not. Die.”
Charles rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We are not gods who can decide who dies or does not die.”
“My daughter will not die because her team dared to betray her.”
He recognized that tone of voice. “Erik, don’t do anything rash.”
“It is not rash to take vengeance when the youngest of your family has been betrayed and nearly killed,” Erik said in a reasonable voice. Charles hated it when he sounded so reasonable. “After all, it is no more than I would do for Pietro or Wanda.”
They both knew that his words weren’t the complete truth. He would do more for Danielle because – unlike her siblings – he had raised her from the time she was an infant. He would always seek to protect Pietro and Wanda, but for Danielle, he would raze cities.
“I hate it when you make vengeance sound so reasonable and logical.”
“It’s precisely one of the things you do like about me, my dear Charles,” Erik pointed out. “You know that vengeance is something that I am the best at seeking.” It went unsaid that if anything ever happened to Charles it would be Erik who would be the one seeking retribution across lines that even his own students didn’t dare to cross.
Charles leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “You have a knack for making the illogical sound logical.”
“This is not something that you haven’t known for years.”
He laughed softly. “Point taken.” He took a breath. “So you’re coming to see her, then?”
“I’ll be on my way as soon as I hang up the phone.”
“All right. Just keep in mind that she is in very bad shape and it wasn’t my people who did this to her.”
“Noted. I’ll be there soon, Charles.”
After he hung up the phone, Charles sighed, shaking his head. He had done what he could to prepare his old friend for seeing the condition of his youngest child. However, he knew that no matter what he did, there was no preparation that would make the fact that the young girl was close to death any easier to take. He also knew that there was a very good chance that all hell would break loose if Danielle did die. He could only imagine what going through a loss like that again would do to Erik.
They would do all they could to prevent it, but like he had told Erik, they weren’t gods – no matter what access they had to medical technology that was not of this world.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind reach out to find the ones he needed to speak with right away.
*X-Men, you’re needed in my office right away.*
Erik Lensherr, Magneto, looked down at the girl on the bed without any expression on his face. There were so many tubes going into her arms that he wasn’t sure what all of them were for. The monitors beeped quietly in the background and the oxygen machine made subtle noises as it did the breathing for her.
Charles had tried to prepare him for seeing his daughter, but no amount of talking could have prepared him for this. She looked so pale and fragile – a look he hadn’t seen from her since she was an infant.
“Danielle,” he said quietly, reaching out to take her hand in his. “Open your eyes and look at your father, Danielle.”
There was no response, but after what Charles had told him and the extensive damage he knew she had sustained, he hadn’t really expected her to.
“Don’t you dare die, Danielle.”
He sensed more than heard Charles join him beside his daughter’s bed.
“Erik…”
“She’s the only one of my children that I ever got to watch grow up. We don’t share blood, but she’s every bit my daughter – just as Wanda is. I don’t think I’ve seen her look so fragile since she was a very young infant. This isn’t right.”
“We will do all we can for her, you have my word.”
Erik nodded. “I know.” He sighed. “She said her team did this to her?”
“Yes. It’s what she told Shadowcat and Colt. We’re trying to figure out what type of weapons were used on her.” He looked at Dani for a long moment. “The one that cut her up like this is apparently someone named Reaper. Phoenix is doing a search for him. Danielle wasn’t able to tell them much before she slipped into the coma.”
“Will she come out of it?”
“There’s no way for us to tell here. Phoenix and I keep scanning her mind to make sure she’s still in there. We’d have a better chance if we took her to Lilandra and used Shi’ar technology.”
“Why haven’t you done so already?”
“Because she is your daughter and not mine. I wasn’t going to take her into the far reaches of space without talking to you, first.”
Erik nodded. “Do it, Charles, please.”
“Of course. I’ll get the team to start preparations.”
Erik was silent for a long moment, just watching his daughter. Finally he let out a breath. “Perhaps we should let it be known that Danielle Moonstar is dead and her father, Magneto, has vowed to punish those responsible.” He turned to look at Charles. “It would be safer for her. If her team turned on her for some reason, then there is always the chance that if they think she is alive they will try again.” He gave his old friend a tired smile. “Not that I have any doubts about how your students would fight to protect her since they were the ones that brought her here, but it seems to me that avoiding a fight like that while she is fighting for her life would be a good thing.”
Charles nodded. “It would be good to avoid a fight – and if they believe she is dead, when she comes out of the coma, she will have the opportunity to heal in peace and not keep looking over her shoulder.”
“Also a good thing.” He looked back at his daughter. “Shadowcat and Colt have my gratitude for finding her and getting her brought to you.”
“It’s what they do, Erik. They would not have left her to die and they made that decision as soon as they found her. Even after identifying her, that decision didn’t change.” He ran a hand wearily over his face. “She’s not that much older than the two of them and seeing her reminded them that at any point they could be in a condition like that.”
“We each try to protect our children in the way that we think is best, but we can’t always protect their eyes from what the future could bring.”
“I wish I could disagree with you on that, but you’re right. We do all we can, but we can’t protect them from everything that we would like to.”
Erik squeezed Dani’s hand once more and then lay it gently on the bed. “Take care of her, Charles, please. I cannot lose another child.”
“We will, Erik, you have my word.”
“Thank you.” He sighed again and turned for the door. “And now, if you will excuse me, I have the role of a grieving father for the world to see me play.”
Chapter Eight || Chapter Ten
Author:
enochiansigils and not_from_starsFandom: X-Men
Pairing/Characters: Dani Moonstar/Mikhail Sorokin
Rating/Category: R
Warnings: One scene of consensual sex between a minor who is older than her years and a an adult.
Summary: Danielle Moonstar was raised by Magneto and his Brotherhood and became a member of the MLF at a young age. She met and fell in love with Mikhail Sorokin. But the course of true love never does run smooth and when Dani dies as the result of a mission gone wrong, Mikhail is left to pick up the pieces of his life. Five years pass and Mikhail learns that things are not as they have always seemed.
Words: 31,122
Notes: Written for
au_bigbang 2011. Thank you very much to queenmidalah for the wonderful art and fanvideo she made for us! We've loved writing this story and have very much enjoyed taking part in the challenge this year.To say that Charles was shocked at the condition of the young girl his students brought back to the mansion would have been a massive understatement. Moreso when he found out how they had discovered her and the fact that her own team had done this to her. A quick scan of her mind told him that she was still in her body – but just barely. Something worse than the wounds her body was suffering from had her retreating from life. If he couldn’t get her to want to live, then healing her was going to be a battle. He directed Rachel to take her to the medical lab and then after making sure that she was in capable hands, he returned to his office.
He sat in front of his computer for several long moments before he typed up a quick e-mail. It was a risk, yes, but he couldn’t do any less for the man that was sometimes his enemy and always someone he cared about.
Call me. It’s important.
The message was short, even cryptic, but he didn’t want to deliver this kind of news over an e-mail. As he predicted, his private line started ringing shortly after he sent the e-mail.
“Erik,” he said quietly.
“As always, old friend, your messages leave me no hint about what is wrong. Have you finally decided that the dream is a fallacy and you need to lead your people in a new direction?”
Charles couldn’t help the tired smile that crossed his features. This greeting was so familiar that it had become a ritual. They both knew the answer, but it was something that was just between the two of them.
“I wish my news was happier, my friend, but I’m calling about your daughter. Your youngest.”
Erik’s voice changed in timbre. “Danielle is dead. I received word this morning.”
Charles winced, hearing the thread of grief in Erik’s voice. Say what you wanted to about the mutant Magneto, but the man loved his children dearly.
“How could you have received a message this morning about her being dead when my team have just returned with her this evening?”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “I think that this merits an explanation, Charles.”
“My students found her when they went to a laboratory that was attacked by the MLF, Erik. She’s in very bad shape, but for the moment, she is still alive – but barely. What was done to her… I have never seen the like of it. Even when Wolverine is in a bezerker rage or I have seen Sabretooth attack someone there have never been wounds like this.”
Erik’s tone was carefully even. “What happened?”
“From what Shadowcat and Colt got from her, her own team did this to her.”
“Her own team turned on her?”
“That’s what she said and when I scanned her mind that was what I saw, as well.” Charles knew he was tempting Erik’s anger, but he couldn’t lie to him, not about his daughter.
“I want to see her.”
“Of course. I’ll let my students know to expect your arrival and that you are coming to see Danielle and not to attack us.”
“She is in good hands with you, Charles, I know this.”
“I hope so, Erik, but when I scanned her mind…”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“She wants to die. Something happened that is so painful she doesn’t want to live because of it. It’s something personally traumatic to her that has hurt her more than the physical damage.”
“She won’t die.”
“We’re doing our best to make sure of that, but there are no guarantees.”
“She. Will. Not. Die.”
Charles rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We are not gods who can decide who dies or does not die.”
“My daughter will not die because her team dared to betray her.”
He recognized that tone of voice. “Erik, don’t do anything rash.”
“It is not rash to take vengeance when the youngest of your family has been betrayed and nearly killed,” Erik said in a reasonable voice. Charles hated it when he sounded so reasonable. “After all, it is no more than I would do for Pietro or Wanda.”
They both knew that his words weren’t the complete truth. He would do more for Danielle because – unlike her siblings – he had raised her from the time she was an infant. He would always seek to protect Pietro and Wanda, but for Danielle, he would raze cities.
“I hate it when you make vengeance sound so reasonable and logical.”
“It’s precisely one of the things you do like about me, my dear Charles,” Erik pointed out. “You know that vengeance is something that I am the best at seeking.” It went unsaid that if anything ever happened to Charles it would be Erik who would be the one seeking retribution across lines that even his own students didn’t dare to cross.
Charles leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “You have a knack for making the illogical sound logical.”
“This is not something that you haven’t known for years.”
He laughed softly. “Point taken.” He took a breath. “So you’re coming to see her, then?”
“I’ll be on my way as soon as I hang up the phone.”
“All right. Just keep in mind that she is in very bad shape and it wasn’t my people who did this to her.”
“Noted. I’ll be there soon, Charles.”
After he hung up the phone, Charles sighed, shaking his head. He had done what he could to prepare his old friend for seeing the condition of his youngest child. However, he knew that no matter what he did, there was no preparation that would make the fact that the young girl was close to death any easier to take. He also knew that there was a very good chance that all hell would break loose if Danielle did die. He could only imagine what going through a loss like that again would do to Erik.
They would do all they could to prevent it, but like he had told Erik, they weren’t gods – no matter what access they had to medical technology that was not of this world.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind reach out to find the ones he needed to speak with right away.
*X-Men, you’re needed in my office right away.*
Erik Lensherr, Magneto, looked down at the girl on the bed without any expression on his face. There were so many tubes going into her arms that he wasn’t sure what all of them were for. The monitors beeped quietly in the background and the oxygen machine made subtle noises as it did the breathing for her.
Charles had tried to prepare him for seeing his daughter, but no amount of talking could have prepared him for this. She looked so pale and fragile – a look he hadn’t seen from her since she was an infant.
“Danielle,” he said quietly, reaching out to take her hand in his. “Open your eyes and look at your father, Danielle.”
There was no response, but after what Charles had told him and the extensive damage he knew she had sustained, he hadn’t really expected her to.
“Don’t you dare die, Danielle.”
He sensed more than heard Charles join him beside his daughter’s bed.
“Erik…”
“She’s the only one of my children that I ever got to watch grow up. We don’t share blood, but she’s every bit my daughter – just as Wanda is. I don’t think I’ve seen her look so fragile since she was a very young infant. This isn’t right.”
“We will do all we can for her, you have my word.”
Erik nodded. “I know.” He sighed. “She said her team did this to her?”
“Yes. It’s what she told Shadowcat and Colt. We’re trying to figure out what type of weapons were used on her.” He looked at Dani for a long moment. “The one that cut her up like this is apparently someone named Reaper. Phoenix is doing a search for him. Danielle wasn’t able to tell them much before she slipped into the coma.”
“Will she come out of it?”
“There’s no way for us to tell here. Phoenix and I keep scanning her mind to make sure she’s still in there. We’d have a better chance if we took her to Lilandra and used Shi’ar technology.”
“Why haven’t you done so already?”
“Because she is your daughter and not mine. I wasn’t going to take her into the far reaches of space without talking to you, first.”
Erik nodded. “Do it, Charles, please.”
“Of course. I’ll get the team to start preparations.”
Erik was silent for a long moment, just watching his daughter. Finally he let out a breath. “Perhaps we should let it be known that Danielle Moonstar is dead and her father, Magneto, has vowed to punish those responsible.” He turned to look at Charles. “It would be safer for her. If her team turned on her for some reason, then there is always the chance that if they think she is alive they will try again.” He gave his old friend a tired smile. “Not that I have any doubts about how your students would fight to protect her since they were the ones that brought her here, but it seems to me that avoiding a fight like that while she is fighting for her life would be a good thing.”
Charles nodded. “It would be good to avoid a fight – and if they believe she is dead, when she comes out of the coma, she will have the opportunity to heal in peace and not keep looking over her shoulder.”
“Also a good thing.” He looked back at his daughter. “Shadowcat and Colt have my gratitude for finding her and getting her brought to you.”
“It’s what they do, Erik. They would not have left her to die and they made that decision as soon as they found her. Even after identifying her, that decision didn’t change.” He ran a hand wearily over his face. “She’s not that much older than the two of them and seeing her reminded them that at any point they could be in a condition like that.”
“We each try to protect our children in the way that we think is best, but we can’t always protect their eyes from what the future could bring.”
“I wish I could disagree with you on that, but you’re right. We do all we can, but we can’t protect them from everything that we would like to.”
Erik squeezed Dani’s hand once more and then lay it gently on the bed. “Take care of her, Charles, please. I cannot lose another child.”
“We will, Erik, you have my word.”
“Thank you.” He sighed again and turned for the door. “And now, if you will excuse me, I have the role of a grieving father for the world to see me play.”
Chapter Eight || Chapter Ten
