Angel With A Sword of Lightning

an X-Men filk by Alara Rogers

tune and words by Alara Rogers

based on UXM #150, "I, Magneto", by Chris Claremont (as well as other Claremont Magneto references)

Chorus:
I thought to be an avenging angel
A warrior serving the sake of my people
But now I look round at the rivers of blood I've shed
I am the angel of death, instead

Verses:
I grew up with death as a constant companion
A much-hated enemy, but one I well knew
I dared not care for the dead I saw all round me
Staying alive was all I could do

My season in hell ended, I fled with my lover
Far past the nightmare that was all we remembered
Time taught us slowly to laugh and to love again
We thought we were finally done with our share of pain

But the power lurked in me still, fire in my eyes
Brought on by rage and a venal man's lies
They murdered my daughter, so I rained on them fire
And my lover ran screaming from me into the night

Chorus

First I thought to help victims of madness
Claimed by the chaos that had twisted my soul
There I met a man who I called my friend
He was one of my people, with a power of his own

We debated long hours on our kind and our fate
For he sought for love, while I saw only hate
He thought our kind could find peace in our lifetime
But all my experience said we would fight

I cast off my friend for the sake of our people
And stole back the gold made from the blood of my kind
Then I honed myself into a weapon
Training the power and teaching my mind

Chorus

Next I had thought to use the power
To hunt down the kind of men who'd murdered my family
But I was betrayed by a human man's lies
Rage brought the power, fire flew from my eyes

I lived with my hatred for many a year
Nightmares and war were all left to my sight
Then the time came when I took up the power
And challenged my people to rise up and fight

They say that power corrupts in proportion
And hatred brings madness-- who'd know more than I?
When I next met my friend, I attempted to kill him
He stood in my way, and so he must die

He sent children against me, had none other to send
And it no longer mattered that I'd once called him friend
I flung lightning at children of my blood and my people
Till I finally saw what I'd become in the end

Chorus

And I've taken the shape of those I most hate
And brought death to those I sought only to save
I must turn away and abandon my scheming
For the sake of my people, I must give up my dream

Chorus