Sniper nodded, even mustering a smile.<br/>"Thank you."<br/>He gently stroked Holly's face as she slept peacefully. That was when Rowan asked the question, and he sighed. He did not look at Rowan, but he took Holly's hand. He looked at her, memories flowing through his mind.<br/><br/>"Well, it was not a position I wanted to find myself in. Before confronting me personally, Magneto tried twice to recruit me by force. I defeated Sabretooth and Juggernaut, but Magneto's ability to manipulate the iron in my body forced me to join, and Holly was captured by Elianna a short time later. Magneto then sent me on my first job, to assassinate Storm and Cyclops. I had met Storm just a little while before then, and had no intention of taking her life. I also made a promise to Holly before I left Genosha."<br/><br/>"I promised her that I would get us both out of the Brotherhood. From the moment I protected her from Sabretooth, I was in love with Holly. I wanted her to feel safe, and I was afraid that Magneto would hurt her in order to force me to do what he wanted. At the same time, however, I didn't want to hurt any members of the X-Men, who I knew were just trying to get control of their powers and help people. It was a very tricky situation."<br/><br/>"I didn't know if Magneto trusted me or not, and feared that he had sent a spy to follow me and make sure I did what I said I would. So, I did everything an evil mutant was supposed to do, crash through the window, and open fire on the mutants inside. I was aiming for higher than you, but between Melinda hitting me with a chair and it being my first time using a sub-machine gun, people were shot by accident. It was unfortunate, but I had to stick to the plan. I allowed myself to be defeated by Tristan, and pretended to be chased off. Thankfully, Magneto had never intended for me to kill anyone; it was just a test of my loyalty, and I knew he had been watching me from those words."<br/><br/>This time, he turned to Rowan and looked her in the eyes.<br/>"I know you may not want to believe me, but I was never the person you thought I was, nor will I ever be. I have cut off all ties to Magneto, and will never go back as long as I retain my free will. I want to help Professor Xavier create a better future for human and mutant kind. I want the Freedom Force to be established, and an alliance formed with the X-Men. Right now, however, I just want the best for myself and my friends."<br/><br/>Lance thought about it.<br/>"Put up a hologram of that Juggernaut guy at the hardest difficulty. If things get bad, though, drop the difficulty."<br/>He then tightened his gloves, preparing for battle.