hotmtlnovel Chapter 79: Clash of Ideals
Chapter 79: Clash of Ideals
Chapter 79: Clash of Ideals
"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shades they shall never sit."
- Greek Proverb
........
"Eidolon, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." A surprisingly aged voice, coming from a muscular build, resonates from Magneto's helmet.
'Hm, no dick-measuring contest? Maybe this could go well...' Eidolon thinks, surprised by the amicably in Magneto's tone "Likewise."
'Or maybe not...' The hero sighs internally while giving a side glance to Sabretooth while the trio from the Brotherhood lands. The feral meta is practically growling at Wolverine.
"Well, why don't we all enter to move this talk to a more comfortable setting?" The even diplomatic Xavier says
"I wouldn't mind if we stayed in the garden..." Eidolon gesticulates "Not that I wanted it to happen, but statically meeting like these ends up with some... damage to the surroundings." He says, at the same time a warning and a threat.
"...what do you think, Erik?" The Professor turns to his old friend
"Fresh air would be welcomed, but we can be eavesdropped."
"Don't worry, I'm taking care of it... No one unwanted will hear or see us." Eidolon assures them
"Well, then let's go... I just know the perfect spot." Xavier smiles lightly
...
Now they are in a nice place, in a circular space with stone tables and chairs, surrounded by a wall of grass and flowers, under the shade of some trees and close enough to the lake, allowing a refreshing breeze to hit them.
The three groups sit facing each other, on Xavier's side, beyond him, Ororo, Logan, and Dr. McCoy, and also the main group of the X-men like Cyclops, Jean, Kitty, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Jubilee, Rogue, Spyke, etc. The others like Mercury and Dust, who are a little younger and part of the X-men secondary team, are in the mansion with the children.
After they all sit, Eidolon decides to take back some initiative from Magneto's late arrival show.
He glances at the other subordinate of Magneto, Fabian Cortez, a meta trump that has the power to augment other people's abilities. An interesting ability that would make Eidolon eager to copy... If he was really there.
"I prefer you blue." Eidolon comments lightly while eyeing the male meta.
"..." Cortez looks blankly at him for some time before smiling almost sheepishly, a cute-like smile that doesn't match the man's features, but those features change in a ripple immediately after... Revealing Mystique.
The reveal, and the fact Eidolon saw right through it, raises some eyebrows from both groups.
"Oh, you like blue? And what about green?" Mystique smiles sultrily before changing again, this time to Shego.
"Girl, do you want me to melt your face?" Lady Jade starts threatening immediately.
But Eidolon stops her with a raise of his hand, Shego calms down instantly and simply leans on his back, while he remains unbothered.
"As much I am a defender of the acceptance of our powers and free use of them, I also believe that we should use them responsibly. Like my late mother would say... 'Your rights end where the other starts'." Eidolon lectures lightly, almost amicably. Then the air shifts and his tone of voice becomes serious "Said that... If you shapeshift in one of mine again... I will destroy your metagene." He glares, his eyes glowing red.
His whole demeanor changed the place's mood, turning it heavy and putting pressure even on the ones that he did not address directly.
And to add salt to the injury, with his glare, Mystique starts to change... Her Lady Jade appearance disappears in another ripple, but not to reveal her usual blue skin, red hair, and yellow eyes. No, it revealed pale skin, black hair, and blue eyes... Her normal-normal self.
"...!" She looks at her hand with wide eyes, and people around do the same, she tries flexing her powers again, attempting to change back but it proves futile.
"I hope this will not happen again." Eidolon says and with that the pressure evaporates and Mystique ripples back to her blue self.
"..." After checking herself, she looked at him in outrage and even a little fear.
To all those metas that love being above the rules of the normal world with their powers, what can be scarier than losing the said powers?
Eidolon metaphorically put his big dick on the table in this dick-measurement contest, and no one can even get close. To normal humans, metas are scary, but Eidolon can put fear even in the metas, like he is at the top of the food chain.
The predator of them all.
After all his goody-two-shoes deeds and acts that he has been doing lately, he needs to remember them that he has this side too.
Shego finds it a little hot, even leaning on him more.
*Pah* "Well, a rocky start... But I hope this will not affect the rest of the talk." The hero suddenly goes back to an amicable way of talking like nothing happened, clapping once to wake everyone of their instinctive fear.
"*Ahem* We should go on... This is a rare opportunity to have a civilized talk between us." Xavier tries to clear the air
"Indeed." Magneto agrees "I'm very curious to know about what Eidolon to talk with me."
'And you threw the ball at me, acting like you're giving me permission to speak like this wouldn't be the natural progression of the talk... Power plays are so annoying.' Hector sighs in his mind while keeping a calm face 'But better than punching each other in the face, I guess...'
"I'm not even sure from where to start, there's so many things we can talk about..." The hero starts, acting more casual, like this is a bar talk "Each of our three groups has different takes on how to tackle the Meta issue, morality would divide us in Good, Evil and Neutral... But let's forget these labels for now." He gives each of the leaders a look.
"..."
"..."
"... In the end, we want the betterment of the lives of the metas, and as such let's talk today about this without seeing each other as enemies, but as people from the same side with different views." Eidolon continues "I have many proposals, that I would gladly hear your insights, and I would like to hear your own and ideals and equally talk about them. But my first proposal is... I would really appreciate it if you two groups stopped once and for all to fight. And to be fair, seeing that the Brotherhood is the principal instigator of the majority of the fights between them and the X-men. I would like to ask Magneto to cease any attempts that can be considered... radical."
"..."
"..."
It takes some seconds for his words to sink in. Then a tense silence ensues, to put it in context, the conflict between the X-men and the Brotherhood is almost a weekly occurrence on a minor scale. They obviously don't hate each other to the point of killing the other (with some exceptions), but asking for peace it's a sudden and big leap, a huge step to ask out of the blue.
Xavier talks first "That would be the most desirable situation."
Scott scoffs "If they stop committing crimes, maybe..."
"Then never." In a rare moment of agreeing with Scott, Logan huffs too. He is still glaring at Sabretooth. "They simply can't help themselves." He continues sarcastically
"Like you are any different, midget!" Sabretooth snarls "Tryng acting like a human, don't make you one. You're a monster like me!"
"Why don't ya go scratch a tree, pal? Or I can scratch ya." Logan is not one to back off.
The two brothers step forward while facing each other, increasing the tension of the situation.
*Crack* Like thunder Eidolon claps his hands again to bring order again.
"Let's try keeping things the closest to civil as possible." The hero says
"Things stopped being civil when he brought this rabid animal here." Logan does not stop
"Are you describing yourself?" Sabretooth growls, it appears that the two must feel each other blood every time they meet.
Eidolon audibly sighs, loudly enough to be heard "You should've kept this one at home..." He talks like a disappointed parent
"I can't come here without any protection, and we agreed to be two or three people, I am in my right." Magneto answers calmly
"Please... Sabretooth is simply a tool for powerplay." Eidolon rolls his eyes "You let him act disrespectful so that you don't need to do it yourself, and then you can lightly admonish him, without taking any blame. Making him play the bad guy, dragging Logan on this..." He exposes the ploy.
It's not like he is that different. Shego is here for exactly the same reason, she can talk without filter and her words can't be attributed to him, even if he thinks the same.
"Oh, so that's how is it..." Kitty slowly says in the realization
Even the act of exposing such a common ploy is also a kind of power play.
"C'mon, we are all busy people, let's stop being childish..." Eidolon takes control of the meeting again "Like I was saying Magneto, a good step to bring peace is if you people stop committing meaningless crimes."
"I have no sway over how my people act, I only protect them from the lesser." The Old Meta answers
"Protects them from the laws, you mean. If you're gonna get people under your wing, maybe you should provide to them properly so that they don't need to commit robberies and other felonies." Eidolon argues
"Is that why I am here? To be admonished like a parent in their kid's school?" Magneto harrumph "My people are not part of this particular school, I remember you all."
Xavier decided to talk "It's not like that, Erik. But you can't deny that you're being lax in your supervision of the younger ones of the Brotherhood... They don't go to school, or work... Do you really want them to be nothing more than criminals?" The man appears to know how to deal with his friend
"Obviously not, but is not their fault that they can't fit in this society." Magneto argues
"If they behave a little better..." Xavier tries to say
"Like your students that hid their gifts to fit in? Is that what you want? From them to 'play normal'? To be accepted by the people that hate them? They are not wrong in using their gifts! Society can't accommodate them, so obviously they need to do what they can." Magneto speaks with more fervor
Eidolon finally interjects "A crime is a crime, and I gave you a proposal, Magneto. If you try to change their demeanor, I would be glad to help you with what I can... I'm not here to preach to you from a morally high position. I asked for this meeting so that we can talk about our views, understand, and even help each other."
"I am also available to help as much as I could, Erik. But the youngsters in their formative years should have more options..." The Professor says
Then Eidolon speaks "Also... I hope this doesn't sound like a threat but... I'm a hero." He says gravely "If they commit crimes, it will not be only against the X-men that they will need to fight... I hope they're ready for that."
"..."
The little game of Cops&Robbers changed with the arrival of Eidolon. Any criminal act committed by the Brotherhood will not end without consequences like a cartoon that needs to maintain the status quo to the next episode.
Kids prayed for god, but Eidolon saved them. Hector has the example of All Might to know how this goes... But he is laying a more sturdy foundation.
Magneto stays in silence for some time before sighing and finally speaking again.
"And what about our people that are suffering right now? How long would this plan of yours would take? Decades? Our people are dying right now while you try to slowly please the normals..." He accuses
"That's why I'm a hero! To be an immediate responder to all problems... Including the metas suffering. We can soften the problem till everything is solved for real."
" 'Soften'? In the end, it appears that you value the normal people's lives more than ours." Magnetos accuses with a little heat in his voice "We, together, can solve this issue without the need to dance like clowns to normal people. We can stop our people's suffering now!"
Eidolon answers in kind "If we do your way, the problems will never end! We do it wrongly, and people will think we're wrong forever!"
"Wrong? The only ones wrong are the losers! They will slowly disappear anyway, right?" Magneto almost shouts
Eidolon also raises his voice "Humanity is the roots of the meta-kind! We can't simply slave, or exterminate them!"
"They don't remember this relation when they slave and exterminate us!
Now the two stood up to come face to face.
"Exactly! And that's why we will show them that we're better than that, by not doing the same when we're in a superior position! We should seek equality!"
"They deserve to know how it is... To be the ones helpless! This will teach them empathy!" Magneto practically shouts
"Wrong! It's only your hatred talking! This will prove that they're right about us all along! Do you want to give them the satisfaction? Do you know what this will make us? We will make us no different than the Nazis that you hate so much!"
Gasps echo through the place, many eyes widening at Eidolon's words
"How dare yo-" Magneto shouts in outrage, rage evident in his body language
"Am I wrong? Can you guarantee 100% if the positions are reversed, that we not will be the ones oppressing the metas?"
"I would never-"
"Silence! You're just proving that you would do the same! If violence is how you answer, then it would be your first choice... Imagine another life..." Eidolon disengages from his shouting contest to address everyone
He walks around to look at each of their faces "You don't have powers, you didn't live the struggles of the meta life, you didn't suffer the prejudice... You have never met a meta in your entire normal life. Can any of you here guarantee that you wouldn't be afraid of us?" He looks at everyone "Huh?!"
"..." Not even the X-men can say yes to that.
"That doesn't mean that you would be a bad person, just that you don't know better." Eidolon says in a placating way before turning again to Magneto "But if we do what you plan... Then we will show them that we are no better than the people who oppress us. That power went over our heads and that they're right to fear us, that they're right in getting away from us, that they're right in trying to kill us..."
Eidolon finishes his speech slowly, each word being spat.
The black-clad hero appears to deflate a little before speaking again in a more subsided voice.
"Magneto... Erik... I know that you hate them and you have all the reason in the world to do what you do." He says softly "But if you don't do it... It will pass the strongest message possible. Don't you see that you're letting the evil that they did to you corrupt you?"
"You don't understand..." Erik speaks through gritted teeth
"..."
"These people understand no other language besides violence. Your efforts will go wasted when they turn on you! You're building a sand castle that will be destroyed at the first wave of trouble!"
"I will try everything that I can..."
"And you will end up like me." Magneto points at himself
"..."
A mental image of Eidolon getting fed up with humanity and suddenly becoming Magneto passes through everyone's mind... And it's terrifying.
Eidolon on his part narrows his eyes at the accusation.
"I will not say that is impossible, but like I said I will try everything I can before jumping to the last measures..." He says slowly "And you think you're so great Magneto? That you're some sort of martyr for making yourself the villain for the good of meta-kind..."
"..."
"You are not... You're weak." The hero says with disgust
The tension reaches the highest level possible.
"You choose the easy way." Eidolon accuses.
The whole place appears to tremble a little, the prelude of a battle.
"It was chosen for me..." Magneto doesn't back down. His eyes shine with power.
"You can still choose differently. You don't need to answer their hate with hate..."
"And why I would do it?"
The two face each other, their mantle and cape moving with the wind, At any moment things can go south, and Xavier is almost steppi- rolling in to mediate the situation.
Eidolon raises a hand, everyone is expecting an attack, some even flinch, but the hero simply points his finger at Magneto's chest.
"Die with it." He says simply
"..."
"Do you want to make a sacrifice for our people... Then take your hate, bury it deeply inside you, and die with it." His sudden calm tone de-escalates the situation
Eidolon even turns to look at everyone "In truth, I will ask everyone here the same... Whatever prejudice, whatever hate, or violence that you felt... Whatever resentment lays deep inside you, never exteriorize it"
"..."
"This is the best thing we can do..." Eidolon turns to face Magneto again "Do you think I don't have negative thoughts or emotions? Believe in me, I'm not a good person, so you think that I never thought exactly the same as you? Imagine how is to me that see the worst of humanity daily? Murderers, pedophiles, slavers, abusers... People so evil that makes these dark thoughts churn inside me." Eidolon confesses
"..."
"But I will not exteriorize them because I know there are good people too. Especially the children." Eidolon closes his eyes for a moment, like he is remembering something "I know how is to feels to be blinded by hate, Erik."
"..."
"I would look down a city from the top of a building and all I see would be the filth humans being evil... Unknown to me, under my own feet... In an apartment below, a father would be lovingly spinning his daughter around after arriving home from work. We see what we are searching for... We see what we wish to see, Erik. I discovered that there's good in humanity too..."
"..."
"They deserve this chance... They deserver the best of us!" Eidolon exclaims with determination "They don't deserve our hate."
It's almost like his heroic spirit pressed down in the whole place.
"Especially the kids... Let's fight for them if for nothing else. Let's not taint the innocent kids with our hate... In the spinning wheel that is the world, we are finally on top, Erik. And we are in a position to finally break the cycle of hate"
Some can't help but have their heart skipped a bit, swayed by Eidolon's charisma. His words ring true in their mind and they can't help but agree, even if unconsciously.
Mystique on the side can't help but have the words of her lover reappearing in her mind 'He is our best chance...' Destiny once told her after trying to see Eidolon's future.
"I'm not asking to let go of your hate, I'm asking you something much more cruel... Much more than die from our case." Eidolon extends his hand at Magneto "But that is what is necessary to be done, Erik. Let's all suffer in silence. It's our responsibility. It will be our sacrifice. So that our kids never suffer what you suffered..."
"..."
Erik looks at Eidolon's hand in silence. There's no more tension in the air, and no one believes that a fight will happen. But the moment appears to stretch forever, waiting for Magneto's decision... If he takes Eidolon's hand...
But he never makes the choice... because Eidolon himself retracts his hand shortly after.
"There's no need to decide now... My plan is long and I know that what I'm asking is not easy." Eidolon says much more relaxed and takes his sit back "First, we need to trust each other more..."
"...and I have a proposal on how we can start."
......
A.N.: Hello There.
I liked writing this chapter, even though dialogues are the bane of my existence.
Anyway, don't be sad that the chapters are shorter than before. It's the same length, through is split in two and being published weekly instead of every two weeks.
By the way, if you want to read ahead, go check my p.a.t.r.e.o.n... Linke below, but without the spaces.
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Thank you anyway for reading and a special thanks to all my patrons.
Stay good y'all.
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