Welcome to the Brotherhood (Riley)

((Because this idea wouldn't leave me alone while working on other things. Has vague mentions of violence.))

He coughed, clawing at the hand around his throat, desperately trying to get his attacker to release him; he needed to breathe. He was starting to panic, what little breath he had left being quickly wasted as his breathing unintentionally sped up in response to his fear. He blinked to try and clear his eyesight, the world around him starting to fade to black.
His smart comments had gotten him in trouble countless times before, this time though, he’d been unlucky enough to direct one at a man who happened to be in a gang. Obviously, that had been a stupid thing to do.
Lifting his head, the teen looked up passed the blackness and his blonde hair that was blocking part of his view. He wanted to make sure he remembered the face of his attacker. If he somehow survived, he’d get the man back, either on his own or by reporting the attack. If not; well he’d haunt the guy, make the rest of his life hell.

He started seeing stars. At first, he thought he was imagining them, but then the big muscled brute with the shaved head seemed to see them too, looking around at them in confusion.

“-‘ey, where’s all these sparkles comin’ from?”

The teen responded with a weak shrug of his shoulders. “I- I don’t…”

Instead of being stopped by his lack of breath, the blonde paused when he lifted his hands to try and push the man away while he was distracted, only to see that the source of the ‘sparkles’ seemed to be his own hands. The stars he thought he’d imagined only seemed to be getting brighter, until suddenly there was a white flash of light and a cry of shock from the shaved head man.

Next thing the teenager knew he was on the ground on his hands and knees instead of backed against the brick wall the man had shoved him into. He blinked to clear his vision of the bright light to find his hands looked normal again; no strange stars or sparkles surrounding them.
He quickly lifted his head when he heard a clicking sound, shaved head had pulled out a pocket knife and flicked the blade out.

“You’re one of them?” The man spat at him, disgusted by the unexpected display of power. “Well you’re really gonna get it now!” He stepped towards the blonde, but then paused as his knife suddenly flew from his hand as if it had come alive, only to hover in the air, turning to point blade-first at the man.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“Me…?” The blonde shook his head, having no idea what was going on. “I have no idea what’s-”

“Don’t lie to me! You stop your tricks right now freak!”

In response to the man’s words, the knife flew closer, pressing against his throat. He could have run, but instead he stayed where he was; too scared to move despite how tough he’d been acting barely a minute ago.

“You homosapiens never learn, do you? ‘Freak’ is hardly an appropriate term for those more superior than your own…”

The blonde looked up to see who had spoken, finding a grey haired man in a cape and helmet standing a few steps behind the shaved head man, one hand raised, controlling the knife. It was obvious who he was, almost everyone knew him now.
This man was the infamous Magneto.
This was the man who used magnetic fields to manipulate metal; the defender of those with special gifts and the self-proclaimed leader of the war against humans. The government saw him as a terrorist. His followers saw him as their saviour.

What’s he doing here? The blonde wondered; the stars and the flash of light not quite registering with him, in shock from his near-death experience.

“You are lucky I am in a good mood,” Magneto told the man, making a gesture with his hand that brought the knife away from the man and into his outstretched palm instead. He closed his gloved hand around the knife, having no intention of returning it. “Instead of dying, you get to live and be an example of why you homosapiens need to show our kind more respect.”

“Wait- What’re you gonna do?!”

Magneto grinned. “Oh. I’m not going to do anything.” He waved a hand, gesturing to someone the blonde couldn’t see and two others stepped out of the darkness to join him.
A woman with red hair and blue skin, and a dark haired man with a slight hook to his nose, who seemed to be a part of the darkness they’d stepped out of. It clung to him; his lower half seeming to disappear in it, the effect aided by his equally dark clothes.

“Orpheus?” The dark haired man turned to Magneto in response to the name. “Show this man why calling us ‘freaks’ is a foolish thing to do.”

‘Orpheus’ nodded, looking a little too eager to demonstrate his leader’s point as he stepped towards the gang member, the darkness surrounding them and hiding them from view, though the man was heard crying out in pain.

The teenager pulled a face in response, jumping slightly as the blue woman came over to him. She wasn’t there to hurt him though, unlike what Orpheus was doing. She crouched and offered a hand to help the blonde to his feet. “What’s your name kid?”

“…Me?” The blonde started as he stood, reaching up with his free hand to rub his neck. “Uh…it’s Riley.”

“Riley?” The woman smiled. “Nice to meet you, I’m Mystique.”

The blonde nodded, having heard the name before. He wasn’t surprised she was here with Magneto; the other man though, ‘Orpheus’, he hadn’t heard the name of though besides the fact it was borrowed from Greek Mythology.
“Uh…thanks.” He coughed, pulling a face in pain. He was definitely going to be sore for a few days.

Mystique frowned. “You should come with us Riley, we can help you. With that…” She said, pointing as he rubbed his aching neck. “…and your powers.”

“Powers?”

Magneto chuckled, approaching the two of them. “Yes, your powers. It was quite a display for someone just coming into them. We can teach you how to control them, how to make sure men like him aren’t able to hurt you again…”

Riley only hesitated for a few seconds before nodding, finding himself relaxing as Mystique wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, the two walking with him before Magneto paused and looked over his shoulder.

“That’s enough Orpheus, come.”

Riley glanced back and saw the darkness fade, the man with the shaved head lying unconscious on the ground, bleeding and with one arm very obviously broken. The blonde couldn’t help but feel at bit sick at the sight; but then he remembered the man had just hurt and almost killed him and he smiled instead. With help from these people, he’d never hurt like that again.