A Hero's Work is Never Done Chapter 3
Title: A Hero's Work is Never Done
Rating: PG (so far)
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Summary: Charles Xavier is a part-time Professor. Oh and did I mention he's a super-fly crime-fighting mutant?
Inspired by the prompt on 1stclass_kink to combine Tiger and Bunny with X-Men
Chapter 3: Family Matters
-----------------------------
Charles sat in his office that evening grading papers. It was a longer process than usual, as his mind kept dwelling on the events earlier that day.
Charles and Lehnsherr had spent most of the fitting in silence. Charles tried every once in a while to reach Lehnsherr’s mind. The white pain was still there; a balled up mass of energy, but as long as he just skimmed the edges he could hear the surface of his thoughts.
Charles had never been so adamant about getting into someone’s head. Usually he respected their privacy and only read someone when they first met. He could never trust someone completely without knowing their intentions. Kurt had taught him that.
He had been scanning Lehnsherr for a while when he had shot a glare in Charles’ direction.
‘Get out of my head.’
Charles glared right back. “I’m not in your head.” It was true. And it bugged him. He had no idea of Lehnsherr’s intentions. It scared him. How did they expect them to be partners if Charles couldn’t trust him…?
Charles shook his head. He really needed to finish grading these papers. He had been on the same one for the last half-hour. He made a few red marks before there was a knock on his door.
Charles reached out his senses to see who it was and sensed a familiar lack of presence. Kurt. His heart plummeted.
Kurt almost never visited him. He always sent someone else if he had a message. This couldn’t be good. Charles steeled himself for the worst.
“Come in.” He watched Kurt open the door and step in. Charles sighed inwardly with relief when he noticed that he had left the door open. That meant the talk would be short. Not to mention Charles’ fear of being alone in the same room as him.
The absence of feeling from Kurt was always unnerving. He wore a scrambler on his right ear, blocking out Charles’ mutation. When it had been discovered that Charles was a mutant, Kurt had put all of his funding (which was really the Xavier fortune) into finding a way to block out his telepathy. They had created a “scrambler” of sorts that Charles did not dare attempt to penetrate. It hadn’t mattered that Charles wanted nothing to do with Kurt’s mind. As if Kurt would believe a mutant.
“Professor Xavier,” Kurt greeted none-too-kindly. Charles nodded back politely.
“Dean Marko.”
“I hear you have a new job.” Kurt spat the last word as if it were poison. Charles flinched inwardly.
“I work for NTK Bank.”
“So I’ve heard. It’s Stryker’s bank.” William Stryker and Kurt had been business partners and friends for years. It was through Stryker’s science department that Kurt’s scrambler was made. Charles' stomach churned.
“NTK Bank… is Stryker’s?” Charles asked slowly as Kurt strode over to his desk.
“Yes. He… pitied you. I can’t fathom why.” He sneered. “A mutant without a calling. So sad.”
Charles didn’t need his telepathy to know that there was more meaning to what was being said. Kurt was hiding something, he could tell. Kurt put a hand on the desk, looming over to look down at the man he saw as less than scum. Charles began to wither under his gaze, despite his efforts.
“If you fuck this up, Professor Xavier, I would like you to know that you will have to answer to me as well as Stryker. You have much more to lose than your pathetic excuse for a career, mark my words.”
And with that, Kurt swiftly left the room, not even bothering to close the door. The moment Charles could no longer hear the fading footsteps down the hall, he bolted for the door, slamming it quickly and locking it. He let out a shaking breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. He leaned his back against the door, sliding down to curl in on himself on his office floor.
To be honest, he did feel like less than scum.
------------------------
No more than two days had passed before Charles got a call saying Ms. Mode had finished their costumes. He spent most of the car ride thinking about what horrible ensemble they’d throw him into. (Not thinking about a certain tall man whose eyes he could stare into for days.)
He entered Ms. Mode’s office to find Lehnsherr already there, wearing what Charles assumed to be their new costume. It wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be, Charles noted as he watched Ms. Mode hop around, making last minute adjustments. It was a navy blue and yellow jumpsuit with buckles and zippers running up the sides. It seemed pretty easy to maneuver in, so Charles couldn’t complain. Besides, the suit seemed to fit Lehnsherr quite nicely…
“Mr. Xavier, don’t just stand there staring, put your suit on so I can fix it! Costumes don’t make themselves!” Ms. Mode put a hand on her hip, glaring at him through her giant glasses.
“What, here?” Charles had just noticed Lehnsherr’s clothes hanging off the back of a chair. She can’t possibly want him to change in front of them…
“You really are old.” Lehnsherr smirked over his shoulder at Charles, flashing his white teeth. Charles glared at him, and quickly changed, trying to ignore the pairs of eyes watching him. Was it so wrong to want some privacy? He was NOT old.
The suit fit him relatively well. The sides were a little loose, and Ms. Mode bobbed about him, marking places and pinning others. Around the fifth time she had stabbed him with a needle (with Lehnsherr laughing every time he yelped, the ass), his call bracelet flashed. Charles looked over at Lehnsherr, who’s wrist was lighting up as well. He tapped the bracelet, and Emma Frost’s voice echoed through the quiet room.
“Bonjour, sugars. We’ve got an emergency. A mutant is tearing apart the north side mall.”
“Right. Be there soon.” With another tap, Charles ended the connection. It was then that he realized what he had said. Be there soon? How were they even going to get there?
He barely had a chance to pull his thoughts together before he felt a tugging at the buckles of his suit. Lehnsherr was already at the door, beckoning at him to follow.
“Oliver should have our ride ready,” he said as Charles grabbed the mask Ms. Mode had made. He followed Lehnsherr to the front desk, where Mr. Platt was already waiting. He handed them earphones for communication, and tossed a set of keys to Lehnsherr.
They ran outside, and Charles heard a cheery “Good luck!” from behind them. Lehnsherr had run ahead and started the black motorcycle the company had given them. Charles smiled at his luck. Finally, he didn’t have to run anymore. He then realized there was only one motorcycle. It had a side car attached. They couldn’t possibly…
“Get in!” Lehnsherr yelled over the roar of the engine. Charles looked reproachfully at him, but hopped in, knowing that time was of the essence. He’d have to talk to Mr. Platt about this later. Charles put on his helmet, grabbed the front of the side car, and looked to Lehnsherr, who of course hadn’t bothered with a mask or a helmet.
“You ready for this?”
Lehnsherr shot him a toothy grin. “Let’s find out.”
-----------------------------------------
A little boy watched in awe as Magneto and Professor X sped by him. He tugged at the coat of his sister as he stared, mouth agape. She shrugged him off, adjusting her scarf as she watched the TVs in the front window of the electronics store. The MTV logo had just flashed across the screens, and she was not going to miss the first arrest of the season.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to a new season of MutanTV! Where we follow your favorite mutants as they fight to protect our city! We’re at the Marvel Mall on the north side of town. Civilians are now being evacuated from the vicinity. It seems as if the cause is a mutant from the information the police are - WHOA!”
A red beam of light shot through the roof of the mall complex, followed by the rumble of falling debris. Screams could be heard from the television.
“And here’s Darwin, helping out with the evacuation. Police are saying that there are a few more civilians inside…”
---------------------------------
Charles' knuckles were white as he held the front of his side car in a vice-grip. Magneto seemed to have no patience for speed limits... or stop lights. He swung the motorcycle around another corner and Charles felt his stomach pull in the opposite direction. He gasped in a breath to keep himself from screaming and tried to focus on the growing chaos that was at the edge of his mind to ignore his own panic.
As they drove closer, he could hear the minds of the policemen on scene. Apparently, something had happened with a mutant in the mall and the police were refusing to go inside, leaving Darwin to go in on his own. He relayed this information to Magneto, who growled and shot the motorcycle forward. Charles heard him mumble something along the lines of “cowards.”
They pulled up to the mall in a screeching halt. Charles pulled himself out of the side car, hanging onto the edge to regain stability in his wobbling legs. A police officer jogged over to update them on the situation, but Magneto strode past him, not even sparing him a glance.
Charles apologized to the policeman before running to catch up with Magneto. He fell into a fast pace beside him, putting a finger to his temple to amplify his telepathic range. He stretched his senses across the building in search of Darwin.
“Darwin, Magneto and I are here. What’s happening?” The scanning of the policemen hadn’t given him nearly enough information. The fact that they refused to enter the shopping center kept them from knowing too much.
‘Magneto, huh? I heard you two were working together.’ Charles could sense a smugness in his thoughts, but he ignored it. ‘Most of the mall has been evacuated, and I’ve been trying to find the one responsible. Witnesses kept saying a boy attacked. It’s most likely a newly formed mutation.’
“Right. I’ll try and locate him.”
Before Charles could reach out his senses again, Magneto cut him off. “Found him,” he said as he walked into the mall, Charles following at his heels.
“How did you find him?” he asked incredulously.
“Felt the metal of his necklace.”
“But what if it’s Darwin?”
“It’s not. Darwin has a call band, doesn’t he?”
Charles looked at him in disbelief. This man was smarter than he gave him credit. Granted, if he could read his mind it wouldn’t be a problem in the first place…
Magneto picked up the pace. “Almost there.” Charles sent out their location to Darwin and asked him, “Do we know anything about his mutation?”
‘It seems to be a similar mutation to Havok’s. They were saying he could shoot red laser beams. He may be just a boy, but he could still be dangerous. Be careful.’
Charles was about to respond, but a thought thrust itself into his senses.
‘SCOTT!’
A feeling that could only be compared to mortal fear crashed into him, and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t his own fear. He suppressed the strong emotion as best as he could to sense who it was that had caught his attention. It was a familiar mind.
“Havok?”
‘Professor! Are you here? Don’t let them hurt Scott!’ His thoughts were erratic and Charles struggled to make sense of it all. Havok was sprinting into the mall faster than Charles would have thought possible.
“Havok, calm down. What are you talking about?”
‘The mutant. It’s Scott. My brother.’
------
Charles and Magneto made it to the second floor cafeteria, where it seemed the most damage had been done. Tables and chairs were strewn everywhere and the ceiling in the center had fallen into the fountain, which was now spraying water all over the floor. Past the fountain, Magneto noticed something moving. He pointed it out to Charles silently, and Charles reached out with his senses. It was Scott, who was crawling on his hands and knees. He attempted to read the boy’s thoughts, but it was so jumbled with fear and confusion that he couldn’t focus.
“It’s him,” Charles told Magneto, who nodded and strode slowly towards the boy.
“Hey, kid,” he called out. Charles felt a sudden surge of intense fear.
“Magneto, get down!” He leapt for Magneto, knocking the both of them to the floor. A flash of red cut across the air where they had just stood.
“Scott!” Charles called out over the crash of more things breaking. He scrambled behind an overturned table, and Magneto quickly joined him.
‘It’s okay, Scott, we’re here to help.’ He reached his telepathy out again, searching for the source of his power. He sifted through the boy’s recent memories, and what he discovered made his heart freeze in his chest.
Scott’s mutation was in his eyes.
It was then that Havok and Darwin found them. Apparently Darwin had found him on his way to them. Havok faltered for a moment, his eyes finding Scott immediately. He ran towards him with reckless abandon. Charles tried to call out to him, warn him, but Havok wasn’t listening.
“Scott!”
“Alex?!”
The familiar voice of his brother shocked Scott, and his head whipped around, eyes automatically opening. Magneto acted quickly, summoning a nearby table from the debris and flinging it in front of Havok. It took the brunt of the blow, but the laser still cut through it, hitting Havoc straight in the chest. He was knocked onto his back and he groaned in pain. Darwin rushed to his side to check on him, and gave Charles and Magneto a quick thumbs up.
“Alex?” The boy’s voice cracked as he weakly called out.
‘He’s okay. Scott, listen to me very carefully. You must not open your eyes, understand? We’re going to help you. Can you stand?’
‘I-I think so.’ He stood slowly, legs shaking.
‘I’ll go to him,’ Darwin projected, ‘Out of all of us, I could take a hit the easiest.’ Charles agreed and Darwin stood, beginning to cautiously walk to Scott.
‘Darwin is coming to get you, okay?’ He saw Scott nod, and began to walk forward in the direction he thought Darwin was. He tripped suddenly, and his eyes flew open, red cutting down into the floor beneath him. The floor shook and began to crack. Darwin ran forward to grab Scott, but the floor broke and Scott was falling.
“Scott!" Havok cried out, voice cracking in desperation. Darwin rushed towards the growing hole in the floor and jumped down. There was a loud boom that echoed as half of the floor fell to the ground below, including the giant fountain.
------
Magneto went to the edge where the floor fell away, and used the metal in his suit to lower himself down. Charles, however, went to Havok, who was desperately trying to stand. They could hear Magneto moving the rubble beneath them with his power, trying to find Scott and Darwin. Charles prayed that they were all right as he helped Havok to his feet. He looped an arm around the boy’s waist and he clung to his shoulders for support. They made their way slowly to the edge; Havok seemed to be frozen in shock. Charles reached out his mind, hesitating slightly in fear of what he might find, or worse, what he wouldn’t find.
He let out the breath he had been holding. He could sense their minds. They were alive. Charles called out to Magneto, pointing to where they were buried under the rubble, and after a few minutes of heavy struggling, the two were freed.
Darwin had pulled Scott to him in midair and hardened to protect them from the fall. He slowly stood, cradling an unconscious Scott in his arms. “He’s okay!” he called up to them. Charles felt Havok sag in relief next to him, and his face was completely unreadable as he looked down at Darwin. Charles could feel that something drastically changed between the two. He couldn’t blame them. Darwin had just saved his brother’s life, after all.
-----
They emerged from the mall to a crowd of cheers. Cameras flashed as they made their way towards the waiting ambulance. Havok was hanging loosely off of Darwin’s shoulder, keeping one hand over Scott’s eyes as Darwin held him. Those pictures would most likely make the front page of the papers, Charles thought to himself. He and Magneto hung back, no longer needed.
A group of reporters ran up to them, camera lights bright in their faces as they were bombarded with questions. Magneto flashed them his award winning smile, and if Charles wasn’t telepathic he would never have noticed how uncomfortable he was.
He shrugged and stepped forward, answering their questions as best he could. Yes, everything was all right; no, it wasn’t a terrorist attack, etcetera, etcetera.
The questions stopped however, when a dark limousine drove in past the police tape. An older man in a suit stepped out as the driver held the door open for him. The reporters flocked to him like moths to the flame. Charles and Magneto exchanged looks before walking over the see what was going on. Charles stopped when he realized who the man was. It was William Stryker.
“I have heard what has happened here today. A poor boy’s mutation got out of hand. Do not loathe or fear him, for it is a problem he has no control over,” Stryker exclaimed, all cameras trained on him. Charles wondered how Stryker could have known all of this already. He had barely started to explain it to the reporters before he had arrived. He put his fingers to his temple, but he found that he could not hear anything from the man. Looking closely, he could see a scrambler on his ear. Of course.
He continued, “We at Stryker Industries would like to help this poor boy in controlling his powers, for the safety of the town, and for him. I will be putting all of my funding into this, and he will be placed in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters under Dr. Marko’s special care.”
The crowd cheered as he ended his speech, leaving the cameras behind him. He noticed Charles and Magneto and walked over to them.
“Ah, my two mutants!” He smiled brightly, but it did not seem to reach his eyes. Charles felt a spike of anger from Magneto at the words. Stryker shook both of their hands. “I’m expecting great things from you two, so work hard together!” He smiled again and left them, climbing into his limousine.
Charles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It had been a long day.
‘Alex is going to the hospital with Scott to make sure he’s okay. Did you want to go grab a beer?’ he heard Darwin project at him. He looked over to see the ambulance driving away and Darwin walking over to them.
“Yeah, I think I could use one.” Charles turned to Magneto, who had given him a strange face. Magneto couldn’t hear Darwin’s end of the conversation, so Charles added, “Want to come for a beer with us?”
Magneto shook his head. “We may be partners, but we’re not friends.” He then left, taking the bike and driving off at speeds that were most likely illegal.
“Ouch,” Darwin said, cringing. “That was cold. He must really not like you, huh?”
“I have no idea,” Charles replied. He followed Darwin to his car, wishing as always that he could read the mind of Erik Lehnsherr.
Rating: PG (so far)
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Summary: Charles Xavier is a part-time Professor. Oh and did I mention he's a super-fly crime-fighting mutant?
Inspired by the prompt on 1stclass_kink to combine Tiger and Bunny with X-Men
Chapter 3: Family Matters
-----------------------------
Charles sat in his office that evening grading papers. It was a longer process than usual, as his mind kept dwelling on the events earlier that day.
Charles and Lehnsherr had spent most of the fitting in silence. Charles tried every once in a while to reach Lehnsherr’s mind. The white pain was still there; a balled up mass of energy, but as long as he just skimmed the edges he could hear the surface of his thoughts.
Charles had never been so adamant about getting into someone’s head. Usually he respected their privacy and only read someone when they first met. He could never trust someone completely without knowing their intentions. Kurt had taught him that.
He had been scanning Lehnsherr for a while when he had shot a glare in Charles’ direction.
‘Get out of my head.’
Charles glared right back. “I’m not in your head.” It was true. And it bugged him. He had no idea of Lehnsherr’s intentions. It scared him. How did they expect them to be partners if Charles couldn’t trust him…?
Charles shook his head. He really needed to finish grading these papers. He had been on the same one for the last half-hour. He made a few red marks before there was a knock on his door.
Charles reached out his senses to see who it was and sensed a familiar lack of presence. Kurt. His heart plummeted.
Kurt almost never visited him. He always sent someone else if he had a message. This couldn’t be good. Charles steeled himself for the worst.
“Come in.” He watched Kurt open the door and step in. Charles sighed inwardly with relief when he noticed that he had left the door open. That meant the talk would be short. Not to mention Charles’ fear of being alone in the same room as him.
The absence of feeling from Kurt was always unnerving. He wore a scrambler on his right ear, blocking out Charles’ mutation. When it had been discovered that Charles was a mutant, Kurt had put all of his funding (which was really the Xavier fortune) into finding a way to block out his telepathy. They had created a “scrambler” of sorts that Charles did not dare attempt to penetrate. It hadn’t mattered that Charles wanted nothing to do with Kurt’s mind. As if Kurt would believe a mutant.
“Professor Xavier,” Kurt greeted none-too-kindly. Charles nodded back politely.
“Dean Marko.”
“I hear you have a new job.” Kurt spat the last word as if it were poison. Charles flinched inwardly.
“I work for NTK Bank.”
“So I’ve heard. It’s Stryker’s bank.” William Stryker and Kurt had been business partners and friends for years. It was through Stryker’s science department that Kurt’s scrambler was made. Charles' stomach churned.
“NTK Bank… is Stryker’s?” Charles asked slowly as Kurt strode over to his desk.
“Yes. He… pitied you. I can’t fathom why.” He sneered. “A mutant without a calling. So sad.”
Charles didn’t need his telepathy to know that there was more meaning to what was being said. Kurt was hiding something, he could tell. Kurt put a hand on the desk, looming over to look down at the man he saw as less than scum. Charles began to wither under his gaze, despite his efforts.
“If you fuck this up, Professor Xavier, I would like you to know that you will have to answer to me as well as Stryker. You have much more to lose than your pathetic excuse for a career, mark my words.”
And with that, Kurt swiftly left the room, not even bothering to close the door. The moment Charles could no longer hear the fading footsteps down the hall, he bolted for the door, slamming it quickly and locking it. He let out a shaking breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. He leaned his back against the door, sliding down to curl in on himself on his office floor.
To be honest, he did feel like less than scum.
------------------------
No more than two days had passed before Charles got a call saying Ms. Mode had finished their costumes. He spent most of the car ride thinking about what horrible ensemble they’d throw him into. (Not thinking about a certain tall man whose eyes he could stare into for days.)
He entered Ms. Mode’s office to find Lehnsherr already there, wearing what Charles assumed to be their new costume. It wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be, Charles noted as he watched Ms. Mode hop around, making last minute adjustments. It was a navy blue and yellow jumpsuit with buckles and zippers running up the sides. It seemed pretty easy to maneuver in, so Charles couldn’t complain. Besides, the suit seemed to fit Lehnsherr quite nicely…
“Mr. Xavier, don’t just stand there staring, put your suit on so I can fix it! Costumes don’t make themselves!” Ms. Mode put a hand on her hip, glaring at him through her giant glasses.
“What, here?” Charles had just noticed Lehnsherr’s clothes hanging off the back of a chair. She can’t possibly want him to change in front of them…
“You really are old.” Lehnsherr smirked over his shoulder at Charles, flashing his white teeth. Charles glared at him, and quickly changed, trying to ignore the pairs of eyes watching him. Was it so wrong to want some privacy? He was NOT old.
The suit fit him relatively well. The sides were a little loose, and Ms. Mode bobbed about him, marking places and pinning others. Around the fifth time she had stabbed him with a needle (with Lehnsherr laughing every time he yelped, the ass), his call bracelet flashed. Charles looked over at Lehnsherr, who’s wrist was lighting up as well. He tapped the bracelet, and Emma Frost’s voice echoed through the quiet room.
“Bonjour, sugars. We’ve got an emergency. A mutant is tearing apart the north side mall.”
“Right. Be there soon.” With another tap, Charles ended the connection. It was then that he realized what he had said. Be there soon? How were they even going to get there?
He barely had a chance to pull his thoughts together before he felt a tugging at the buckles of his suit. Lehnsherr was already at the door, beckoning at him to follow.
“Oliver should have our ride ready,” he said as Charles grabbed the mask Ms. Mode had made. He followed Lehnsherr to the front desk, where Mr. Platt was already waiting. He handed them earphones for communication, and tossed a set of keys to Lehnsherr.
They ran outside, and Charles heard a cheery “Good luck!” from behind them. Lehnsherr had run ahead and started the black motorcycle the company had given them. Charles smiled at his luck. Finally, he didn’t have to run anymore. He then realized there was only one motorcycle. It had a side car attached. They couldn’t possibly…
“Get in!” Lehnsherr yelled over the roar of the engine. Charles looked reproachfully at him, but hopped in, knowing that time was of the essence. He’d have to talk to Mr. Platt about this later. Charles put on his helmet, grabbed the front of the side car, and looked to Lehnsherr, who of course hadn’t bothered with a mask or a helmet.
“You ready for this?”
Lehnsherr shot him a toothy grin. “Let’s find out.”
-----------------------------------------
A little boy watched in awe as Magneto and Professor X sped by him. He tugged at the coat of his sister as he stared, mouth agape. She shrugged him off, adjusting her scarf as she watched the TVs in the front window of the electronics store. The MTV logo had just flashed across the screens, and she was not going to miss the first arrest of the season.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to a new season of MutanTV! Where we follow your favorite mutants as they fight to protect our city! We’re at the Marvel Mall on the north side of town. Civilians are now being evacuated from the vicinity. It seems as if the cause is a mutant from the information the police are - WHOA!”
A red beam of light shot through the roof of the mall complex, followed by the rumble of falling debris. Screams could be heard from the television.
“And here’s Darwin, helping out with the evacuation. Police are saying that there are a few more civilians inside…”
---------------------------------
Charles' knuckles were white as he held the front of his side car in a vice-grip. Magneto seemed to have no patience for speed limits... or stop lights. He swung the motorcycle around another corner and Charles felt his stomach pull in the opposite direction. He gasped in a breath to keep himself from screaming and tried to focus on the growing chaos that was at the edge of his mind to ignore his own panic.
As they drove closer, he could hear the minds of the policemen on scene. Apparently, something had happened with a mutant in the mall and the police were refusing to go inside, leaving Darwin to go in on his own. He relayed this information to Magneto, who growled and shot the motorcycle forward. Charles heard him mumble something along the lines of “cowards.”
They pulled up to the mall in a screeching halt. Charles pulled himself out of the side car, hanging onto the edge to regain stability in his wobbling legs. A police officer jogged over to update them on the situation, but Magneto strode past him, not even sparing him a glance.
Charles apologized to the policeman before running to catch up with Magneto. He fell into a fast pace beside him, putting a finger to his temple to amplify his telepathic range. He stretched his senses across the building in search of Darwin.
“Darwin, Magneto and I are here. What’s happening?” The scanning of the policemen hadn’t given him nearly enough information. The fact that they refused to enter the shopping center kept them from knowing too much.
‘Magneto, huh? I heard you two were working together.’ Charles could sense a smugness in his thoughts, but he ignored it. ‘Most of the mall has been evacuated, and I’ve been trying to find the one responsible. Witnesses kept saying a boy attacked. It’s most likely a newly formed mutation.’
“Right. I’ll try and locate him.”
Before Charles could reach out his senses again, Magneto cut him off. “Found him,” he said as he walked into the mall, Charles following at his heels.
“How did you find him?” he asked incredulously.
“Felt the metal of his necklace.”
“But what if it’s Darwin?”
“It’s not. Darwin has a call band, doesn’t he?”
Charles looked at him in disbelief. This man was smarter than he gave him credit. Granted, if he could read his mind it wouldn’t be a problem in the first place…
Magneto picked up the pace. “Almost there.” Charles sent out their location to Darwin and asked him, “Do we know anything about his mutation?”
‘It seems to be a similar mutation to Havok’s. They were saying he could shoot red laser beams. He may be just a boy, but he could still be dangerous. Be careful.’
Charles was about to respond, but a thought thrust itself into his senses.
‘SCOTT!’
A feeling that could only be compared to mortal fear crashed into him, and it took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t his own fear. He suppressed the strong emotion as best as he could to sense who it was that had caught his attention. It was a familiar mind.
“Havok?”
‘Professor! Are you here? Don’t let them hurt Scott!’ His thoughts were erratic and Charles struggled to make sense of it all. Havok was sprinting into the mall faster than Charles would have thought possible.
“Havok, calm down. What are you talking about?”
‘The mutant. It’s Scott. My brother.’
------
Charles and Magneto made it to the second floor cafeteria, where it seemed the most damage had been done. Tables and chairs were strewn everywhere and the ceiling in the center had fallen into the fountain, which was now spraying water all over the floor. Past the fountain, Magneto noticed something moving. He pointed it out to Charles silently, and Charles reached out with his senses. It was Scott, who was crawling on his hands and knees. He attempted to read the boy’s thoughts, but it was so jumbled with fear and confusion that he couldn’t focus.
“It’s him,” Charles told Magneto, who nodded and strode slowly towards the boy.
“Hey, kid,” he called out. Charles felt a sudden surge of intense fear.
“Magneto, get down!” He leapt for Magneto, knocking the both of them to the floor. A flash of red cut across the air where they had just stood.
“Scott!” Charles called out over the crash of more things breaking. He scrambled behind an overturned table, and Magneto quickly joined him.
‘It’s okay, Scott, we’re here to help.’ He reached his telepathy out again, searching for the source of his power. He sifted through the boy’s recent memories, and what he discovered made his heart freeze in his chest.
Scott’s mutation was in his eyes.
It was then that Havok and Darwin found them. Apparently Darwin had found him on his way to them. Havok faltered for a moment, his eyes finding Scott immediately. He ran towards him with reckless abandon. Charles tried to call out to him, warn him, but Havok wasn’t listening.
“Scott!”
“Alex?!”
The familiar voice of his brother shocked Scott, and his head whipped around, eyes automatically opening. Magneto acted quickly, summoning a nearby table from the debris and flinging it in front of Havok. It took the brunt of the blow, but the laser still cut through it, hitting Havoc straight in the chest. He was knocked onto his back and he groaned in pain. Darwin rushed to his side to check on him, and gave Charles and Magneto a quick thumbs up.
“Alex?” The boy’s voice cracked as he weakly called out.
‘He’s okay. Scott, listen to me very carefully. You must not open your eyes, understand? We’re going to help you. Can you stand?’
‘I-I think so.’ He stood slowly, legs shaking.
‘I’ll go to him,’ Darwin projected, ‘Out of all of us, I could take a hit the easiest.’ Charles agreed and Darwin stood, beginning to cautiously walk to Scott.
‘Darwin is coming to get you, okay?’ He saw Scott nod, and began to walk forward in the direction he thought Darwin was. He tripped suddenly, and his eyes flew open, red cutting down into the floor beneath him. The floor shook and began to crack. Darwin ran forward to grab Scott, but the floor broke and Scott was falling.
“Scott!" Havok cried out, voice cracking in desperation. Darwin rushed towards the growing hole in the floor and jumped down. There was a loud boom that echoed as half of the floor fell to the ground below, including the giant fountain.
------
Magneto went to the edge where the floor fell away, and used the metal in his suit to lower himself down. Charles, however, went to Havok, who was desperately trying to stand. They could hear Magneto moving the rubble beneath them with his power, trying to find Scott and Darwin. Charles prayed that they were all right as he helped Havok to his feet. He looped an arm around the boy’s waist and he clung to his shoulders for support. They made their way slowly to the edge; Havok seemed to be frozen in shock. Charles reached out his mind, hesitating slightly in fear of what he might find, or worse, what he wouldn’t find.
He let out the breath he had been holding. He could sense their minds. They were alive. Charles called out to Magneto, pointing to where they were buried under the rubble, and after a few minutes of heavy struggling, the two were freed.
Darwin had pulled Scott to him in midair and hardened to protect them from the fall. He slowly stood, cradling an unconscious Scott in his arms. “He’s okay!” he called up to them. Charles felt Havok sag in relief next to him, and his face was completely unreadable as he looked down at Darwin. Charles could feel that something drastically changed between the two. He couldn’t blame them. Darwin had just saved his brother’s life, after all.
-----
They emerged from the mall to a crowd of cheers. Cameras flashed as they made their way towards the waiting ambulance. Havok was hanging loosely off of Darwin’s shoulder, keeping one hand over Scott’s eyes as Darwin held him. Those pictures would most likely make the front page of the papers, Charles thought to himself. He and Magneto hung back, no longer needed.
A group of reporters ran up to them, camera lights bright in their faces as they were bombarded with questions. Magneto flashed them his award winning smile, and if Charles wasn’t telepathic he would never have noticed how uncomfortable he was.
He shrugged and stepped forward, answering their questions as best he could. Yes, everything was all right; no, it wasn’t a terrorist attack, etcetera, etcetera.
The questions stopped however, when a dark limousine drove in past the police tape. An older man in a suit stepped out as the driver held the door open for him. The reporters flocked to him like moths to the flame. Charles and Magneto exchanged looks before walking over the see what was going on. Charles stopped when he realized who the man was. It was William Stryker.
“I have heard what has happened here today. A poor boy’s mutation got out of hand. Do not loathe or fear him, for it is a problem he has no control over,” Stryker exclaimed, all cameras trained on him. Charles wondered how Stryker could have known all of this already. He had barely started to explain it to the reporters before he had arrived. He put his fingers to his temple, but he found that he could not hear anything from the man. Looking closely, he could see a scrambler on his ear. Of course.
He continued, “We at Stryker Industries would like to help this poor boy in controlling his powers, for the safety of the town, and for him. I will be putting all of my funding into this, and he will be placed in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters under Dr. Marko’s special care.”
The crowd cheered as he ended his speech, leaving the cameras behind him. He noticed Charles and Magneto and walked over to them.
“Ah, my two mutants!” He smiled brightly, but it did not seem to reach his eyes. Charles felt a spike of anger from Magneto at the words. Stryker shook both of their hands. “I’m expecting great things from you two, so work hard together!” He smiled again and left them, climbing into his limousine.
Charles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It had been a long day.
‘Alex is going to the hospital with Scott to make sure he’s okay. Did you want to go grab a beer?’ he heard Darwin project at him. He looked over to see the ambulance driving away and Darwin walking over to them.
“Yeah, I think I could use one.” Charles turned to Magneto, who had given him a strange face. Magneto couldn’t hear Darwin’s end of the conversation, so Charles added, “Want to come for a beer with us?”
Magneto shook his head. “We may be partners, but we’re not friends.” He then left, taking the bike and driving off at speeds that were most likely illegal.
“Ouch,” Darwin said, cringing. “That was cold. He must really not like you, huh?”
“I have no idea,” Charles replied. He followed Darwin to his car, wishing as always that he could read the mind of Erik Lehnsherr.