* * * * *

The audience chamber was a vast open room with curved, high arching ceilings pocked with honeycomb-like subdivisions that reminded Alex of the inside of a hand grenade. It felt grimly appropriate somehow.

Acolytes lined the perimeter of the circular room while the numerous dignitaries and diplomats were seated within a slightly smaller ring of chairs, some flanked by staff or members of their own security. Charles Xavier sat next to three unoccupied iron thrones at the head of the circle, two long crimson banners bearing the royal seal hung on the wall behind them. Members of Magneto's cabinet flanked both sides of the empty chairs, and Alex couldn't help but notice that some of them were doing a poor job of hiding their displeasure at the Professor's position relative to their own.

As they awaited the arrival of the Royal Family, the delegates spoke amongst themselves in hushed tones. Alex quickly grew anxious as the minutes passed. There was an unusual amount of tension in the room that went beyond mere anticipation. Each whisper felt somehow conspiratorial, each passing glance a signal. Alex caught Xavier's eye. Even without his telepathic abilities at his disposal, Charles could feel it too.

As the Professor considered removing his telepathic dampener to get a better read on the room, he could feel various sets of eyes trained on him. He hesitated, and a moment later the Royal Family's arrival was announced to a rousing ovation, the trio floating majestically into the room courtesy of a magnetic force field.

As onlookers watched the Lord Magneto and his daughter Tesla descend gracefully to the throne, Alex paid more attention to the Lady of Genosha. Decades ago he and Lorna had been lovers. Now she was a Queen and in a manner of speaking the true power behind the throne. With Magneto stripped of his mutant abilities in the wake of the Techno-Legacy Virus, the burden of keeping up the necessary front of power and security - especially in these desperate times - fell on Lorna. If anyone were to learn the truth... Alex could only imagine what kind of strength that took. He regretted not recognizing it during their time together.

The Acolyte Captain watched Magneto's cabinet and the ring of politicians who circled the room. As the summit began they seemed vulture-like, their smiles and enthusiasm a mask for more sinister desires, probing for weakness with every question and comment.

"With all due respect, my liege, this may be the perfect time to lift several of Genosha's trade sanctions." The man who spoke was Negrehr Ebonwing, the charismatic - though not always well regarded - representative from Carrion Cove. In some circles he was considered a charming rogue, in others a liar and a thief. The latter was a sentiment that he'd been known to smile about, claiming that that was exactly what made a good politician in the first place.

"Not just in the interest of today," he continued, "but also for Genosha's ongoing relationship with the global community. Genosha's very growth as a nation is at stake. My contacts in Latveria--"

"Latveria is a nation that has been at war with itself for years," said Oumarou, the delegate from the African nation of Wakanda. "In the absence of its former king, it has seen would-be rulers rise and fall a dozen times over. Genosha must not turn to a nation with such instability in its efforts to become strong again!"

"True enough," replied Ebonwing, "but my liege, thousands of Genoshans even now suffer from the aftereffects of the Legacy Virus. Our people are dying and the technology still at that nation's disposal... decades of work by Von Doom himself. If we could just--"

"Wakanda's technology is every bit the equal of Latveria! And we are here for you. Today. Do not let this one twist your judgment. If anyone is to be granted further rights to Genosha's natural resources, it will be us!"

Lorna was taken aback by the fierceness of Oumarou's proclamations. In all the time she had dealt with the man, he had always been strong but reasonable, a gentle soul who represented the very best of Wakanda. She had never known him to be so bitter and covetous.

"You're talking about the export of textiles and minerals, but these things won't be enough to save Genosha," said a middle-aged woman, rising from her seat. Her oak brown hair was streaked with gray and gathered on top of her head in a bun. Her suit was plain. She was a champion of the burgeoning human rights movement in Genosha and carried herself with the proud air of a crusader or martyr. Her name was Helena Reneau, and she was the daughter of Genosha's former president - the same woman whose regime was responsible for the enslavement of mutants for decades.

"Genosha's greatest resource is, and has always been, its people," she said. "We already have the means to rebuild, we just need the will."

"Your party petitioned long and hard to be included in these talks," said one of Magneto's cabinet, visibly agitated by the woman's presence. "Tread carefully lest we see fit to remove you."

At this, the Lord of Genosha rose from his throne and faced his advisor. His voice was hard and barely hid his own anger - though whether a product of his advisor or the woman before them, Alex couldn't be sure. "And you take care not to overstep your bounds, magnate."

"My liege, her family--"

"Enough," Magneto commanded. "We are not here to attack the sins of yesterday. For better or worse, our only concern is the future of Genosha." At this Charles Xavier couldn't help but smile to himself. As Magneto reasserted his control, several of the monarch's advisors exchanged subtle glances. Lorna watched as they sized up her husband, judging him, waiting for something, a chink in the armor. It made her ill.

As Magneto sat again, Helena continued. "Thank you, sire," she said. "But in a way the sins of yesterday are exactly the problem. While the actions of the old regime are deplorable, your reign is no less flawed, my liege."

Magneto's eyes went wide, though he said nothing. Lorna could see her husband's grip on his armrests subtly tighten. Her daughter Tesla sat in silence, her face an impassive mask. As a wave of whispers washed over the assembled crowd, whatever tension Alex sensed earlier had easily doubled. It was now an almost palpable thing. Like a subtle buzzing or a growing itch in the back of one's mind.

"Genosha boasts a mutant population larger than any other nation on the planet. Beings with the ability to level mountains or assemble complex machinery with a thought. Beings who, if properly directed, would be all the resource Genosha needs to rebuild."

"Directed in the same manner as your mother's government?" sneered one of the cabinet members. Tesla gave the man a look that could have pierced steel and any further comment died on his tongue.

"On the contrary, I don't propose slavery at all. I propose that Genosha's human population be integrated more fully and be granted the same rights as that of Genosha's mutant population. While those able to properly rebuild the nation, i.e. mutants, are in the process of doing what only they can do, the everyday jobs they leave behind will be filled by human citizens to ensure the economy continues to function."

"And once the task is complete and Genosha is rebuilt?" Tesla asked. "What then?"

"This is outrageous!" said the Lemurian delegate, an exotic green skinned woman whose people were aquatic by nature. "Is it any wonder the undersea nations have been at war with you mindless humans so many times? Dress it up however you like, you're still proposing that mutants become slave labor!"

"I'm proposing equality!" Reneau exclaimed. "When Magneto assumed control of Genosha his first act was to exile it's entire non-mutant population!"

"A mistake made and rectified long ago," Magneto replied, his anger simmering just below the surface.

"To a degree," said Helena, "but even after the reversal of that decision, humans still were not granted the same rights as mutants!"

As Reneau spoke, Lorna was unnerved by the look in Magneto's eye - and perhaps even more scared to see it reflected in her daughter's. She placed her hand over her husband's and gave it a squeeze. "That will do, Ms. Reneau. My husband has built this nation into the jewel of the Ivory Coast. Its twenty long years of prosperity under his reign should be testament enough to the progress that has been made in terms of mutant-human relations."

"Genosha has prospered only because you've taken humans out of the equation!"

"That's enough, woman," Magneto sneered.

"You've repeated the same injustices that you fought against all your life, the same inequalities!"

"Equality was never my goal!" Magneto roared, leaving his throne and advancing on Reneau. "Genosha is a haven for mutants. It is a homeland for mutants. We have endured decades of hate and persecution and death and that time is no more!!"

Magneto's head swam with rage. His people were the persecuted ones. He did not need to explain himself to the likes of this human! He was not like those before him! Not like those pathetic, powerless humans - those genetic dead ends! He was Magneto! And he would never be like them!

"Lord Magneto," said the Lemurian delegate, bowing before him, "I stand before you to offer an alliance between Genosha and the proud nation of Lemuria. Our enemies shall be yours and yours shall be ours."

"Whoa, everyone slow down," Alex said, signaling his Acolytes to stand ready even as the buzzing in the room seemed to increase by the moment. Was everyone else feeling this? The audience chamber was filled with more than three dozen super humans. If things got out of hand...

"This is unacceptable!" exclaimed Oumarou. "The nation of Wakanda will not stand for you making such treaties."

"No one's making any--" Alex began, but his voice was drowned out by the chaos that followed. Bodies were moving, pushing, shoving in all directions, clawing at each other. Alex quickly lost site of the Royal Family amidst the mass of pressing forms. "Lorna!" he called out. "Professor!"

As Charles Xavier removed his psychic dampener amidst the chaos, he was overtaken by an onslaught of hate and desire. The audience chamber was awash in psychic energies, striking him like a hot wind, a foul and putrid thing tainting the thoughts of all those around him. It was nearly overwhelming. So many thoughts yelling in his head, even as the people around him filled the room with their screaming voices. Unacceptable. Mine. Flatscan. Mutiny. Weakness. Seize it. War. Take it. Hurt them. Unworthy. Hurt them. Take it.

Kill him.

"Enough!" the Professor yelled.

"Father!"

The sound of a single shot filled the air and the audience chamber fell deathly silent.

The teaming mass of politicians, dignitaries, and Acolytes stood immobile, frozen in place by the awesome psychic abilities of Charles Xavier. Alex wove his way between the statue-like bodies that made up the crowd. The sudden silence was unsettling; as were the frozen faces of those he passed. It was like blinking and finding yourself in a wax museum.

When he at last emerged, Alex saw an associate of Reneau's standing next to the woman and holding a miniature pistol at eye level in the direction of the throne. He saw the tears streaming down Lorna's face. He saw the shock and hatred in Tesla's eyes even as they welled up with tears of their own. Her breathing was rapid and heavy. An aura of electromagnetic energy surrounded the young woman's clenched fist as she held it in front of her.

He saw Magneto standing before his would-be assassin unharmed, a single bullet floating motionlessly mere inches in front of his temple.

Somewhere in the shadows a silent figure took its leave.