<br/><div class="floatleft">(http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18dxgtfv8psuajpg/ku-medium.jpg) </div><hr/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>  Name:</strong> Erik Lehnsherr<br/>  <strong>Title:</strong> Magneto  <br/>  <strong>Alias:</strong>  Max Eisenhardt, Magnus White King/Grey King<br/>  <strong>Affiliation:</strong>  himself, mutantkind<br/>  <strong>Location:</strong>  New York <br/>  <strong>Tags:</strong> Captain America, Spider-Man, Streak, The Raven Queen, Gambit &amp; Colossus<br/><br/></span></span><hr/>His purple cloak billowed in the wind as the man known as War strode amongst the remains of what should have been the Canadian reinforcements bound for New York City. Wrecks of planes, tanks and military vehicles dotted the road and the countryside as far as his eyes could see. The sight did not affect him as much as he had thought it would; perhaps because he had seen it all before. Death, Destruction, War; there was nothing new under the sun.<br/><br/>He recalled the pleasure of using his enhanced powers. Tearing one plane after another from the sky had been no more than sport. He had turned their missiles against them, wreaking havoc with a mere fraction of his power. They had tried to overwhelm him, sending in wave after wave and he had torn them all down, his power had burned at an all time high.<br/><br/>Of course, it had not been all him. Apocalypse had sent a group of serum-enhanced humans to do his bidding. Of the fifty-something only five had returned with him. The man named War had not cared; they had died serving Apocalypse’s cause. He had recommended their performance to their Master, and had forgotten them.<br/><br/>Until now.<br/><br/>Somehow, thinking about them disturbed him and he wasn’t certain why. They were not mutants; evolution had held no hand in their creation, but they were no part of humanity either. Slaves, he thought. As far removed from human or mutant kind as the Sentinels Mastermold had once released upon the world.<br/><br/>Walking past the blackened remains of a smouldering aircraft Magneto thought of Apocalypse and the choices that had led him to this point.<br/><br/>When Apocalypse had made his proposition, it had provided him with the means to achieve his goal in one solid strike. He had suspected betrayal, but he’d been confident of his powers to withstand anything Apocalypse could throw at him.<br/><br/>What a fool he’d been.<br/><br/>When he had felt the sting, it had been too late. Nanites coursed through his bloodstream and settled into the vital parts of his body and mind.  He had bent his knee and called the creature ‘Master’, a thought that now brought the taste of vomit to his mouth. He had forgotten the terms and restrictions he’d meant to place on their cooperative strike. All he had known was Apocalypse’s will.<br/><br/>But the battle had changed all that. Exerting his powers over and over Magneto had felt the barriers that controlled his mind come down. Not even Apocalypse’s nanites were immune to the excessive use of magnetic power. Part of the nanites  had repaired themselves after he had stopped using his power but enough had been fried to allow Magneto a measure of control over his own mind.<br/><br/>Still, a part of him sided with Apocalypse. The human bigotry had been silenced. Mutantkind had become the predominant race on earth. He was not displeased with that part of their deal. But he had not agreed to sending the mutants into slavery, mindless drones that served but one Master. A master, that was not him.<br/><br/>Apocalypse thought he controlled Erik Lensehr like he controlled any of his serum induce slaves.<br/><br/>Magneto stretched his arms sideways, turning his palms up. To either side of him planes began to rise. He extended the scope of his powers to nearby tanks, lifting them up in the air. More and more followed as Magneto stared dead ahead. Beads of perspiration dewed his brow as he forced his powers beyond a scope he knew he could handle. The sky darkened, filled with blackened skeletons of tanks and planes. More joined.<br/><br/>The strain was taking its toll and he had to force himself to stand up straight as he kept adding to his burden. His magnetic powers coursed through his body and Magneto smiled despite the strain as he felt minimal measures of control return to him when more and more nanites malfunctioned.<br/><br/>When the link snapped he felt his powers collapse. Planes and tanks trembled in the sky for a split second longer as Magneto’s hold on them wavered. He fell to the ground with barely enough sense left to thrust one hand up and summon the last bit of his power to shield himself from the chunks of metal raining down on him.<br/><br/>He woke up when the sun had set, feeling exhausted, dizzy and at once wildly alive. Levitating himself up in the air he rose from the battlefield as a man reborn and turned his gaze southwards.<br/><br/>"You wanted War, Apocalypse?" He said grimly. "I shall give you one!"<br/><br/>**<br/>He had arrived in NYC just in time to see the comet fall from the sky, and Magneto had chosen to investigate. He had come within earshot just as Captain America delivered the last of his speech and two X-men declare themselves to the Avenger’s cause.<br/><br/>He floated towards the ground and dropped his shielding, well aware that some – if not all – might receive him with open hostility.<br/><br/>“And I shall join you as well.” He stated calmly.<br/><br/>He turned then towards the young woman and his eyes narrowed. “You must have power to have wrestled free. You have my sympathy as well as my support, young lady.”<br/>