Chapter 3
Avalanche was quite pleased with himself. Quick and easy is how he explained it to Magneto. Then he was paired up with Sabretooth instead of his buddy, Pyro. He knew the whole mission would go to hell after that. All Sabretooth did the entire time was break everything he could find. He didn't help Dominic find the correct lab, didn't help him break into the security chamber, hell, he didn't even help him carry the stuff back. Avalanche couldn't figure out what Magneto saw in that hairy beast. At the end, Sabretooth took off into the New York wilderness. As far as Avalanche was concerned he could find his own damn way back. After seeing that he'd done all this work alone, maybe he get an even more sizable lump of cash than he originally agreed to.
He traveled towards Magneto's fortress in the Atlantic with one large oil drum marked, "DANGER! HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE!" under one arm and a similarly marked drum strapped onto his back. With his other hand he controlled the sonic waves that carried him above the water. The fortress sat atop a small, barren island. What it lacked in appearance, it certainly made up for in strength. The place was impenetrable. No one could get in without Magneto knowing about it.
Avalance slowed as he neared the island, "Lower the shield," he called into a communicator on his chest.
"Did ya get it?" Toad's scratchy voice asked.
"Yeah, now hurry up, I'm almost at the shield."
"Alright already... shield lowered....Have a nice day." The comlink went dead.
Quickly, Dominic lowered himself onto the landing at the front of the massive structure that housed the Brotherhood of Mutants. The cold, grey stone was dank and unwelcome. Very little vegetation grew and what did was yellow and limp. The salty Atlantic air filled Avalanche's nostrils as he pushed open the huge 50-foot metal doors of the fortress. He entered the Great Room, if that's what you wanted to call it, and removed the large drum off of his back. The interior stone walls were damp and slimy and the whole area had a generally unpleasant smell to it. For someone as powerful as Magneto was, Avalanche couldn't figure out why he would want to live in squalor. Placing a drum under each arm, he continued to another set of large metal doors which led to Magneto's private chambers. As Avalanche prepared to open the heavy doors, they effortlessly parted, revealing Magneto and the rest of the Brotherhood.
"Ah, Dominic, you've arrived," Magneto annouced, then glanced behind him expecting to see his partner. "You seem to be missing your accomplice."
"Didn't need him anyway," Avalanche responded, "He wasn't any help. Spent all his time busting up everything. He ran off before I was finished."
Suddenly the oil drums were lifted from Avalanche's grip and floated over toward a group of similar containers against the left wall. They eased into place with the rest of the chemical containers. Avalanche continued walking towards the group.
"Have a seat," Magneto said. He waved his hand and a metal chair slid out for Dominic. When Dominic sat down, the chair slid back into the group.
Magneto looked out among his devoted followers. They were a motley bunch, but each possessed the cunning and ruthlessness that was needed to take this world from those weak humans and defeat Xavier's X-Men. Before him sat the inhabitants of the new world he would create, one ruled by homo sapiens superior. Everything was falling into place. "Soon, very soon," he thought to himself.
"Toad, what's our status?"
Toad squatted in his chair, eyes darting about the room. Occasionally a bird or bug would happen by and he would snatch it up with his long, sticky tongue. It was a disgusting habit, but Magento tolerated it because of Toad's uncanny ability with mechanical devices and analytical skills. At the mention of his name, he stiffened and addressed his master.
"All chemicals accounted for. Just a matter of measuring the correct quantities. Then, of course, finding Dr. Russell would be nice." He looked at the others, "And who's job was that?"
The others remained quiet waiting to see how Magneto would handle Toad's audacity. Magento, himself, was charged with apprehending the good doctor. Suddenly, Toad's chair rose high off the ground, hovering far above the group's heads.
"All in good time," Magneto replied, "We must make sure that Charles gets our message." He turned his attention to the rest of the group. "Prepare for the next stage of our plan. I want everything ready when the moment arrives." With that, he walked off into an antechamber, closing the doors behind him.
Immediately, Toad's chair came crashing down. Toad quickly jumped, clinging onto the wall as the chair hit the floor. "Damn him, " he muttered. The rest of the Brotherhood simply broke into laughter.
Mistique was the first to take charge of
the situation. "Alright, that's enough. Toad, get down here now." She flashed
her yellow eyes at him with a deadly look. In her natural state,
Mistique was exoticly attractive, at least to other mutants. As a
child she was ashamed of her blue skin and bright red hair, all she wanted
was to be like everyone else. In time, however, Magneto showed her
the beauty of her gifts and that the reason she was ridiculed was that
others were so jealous of her.
