X-Men BIG BANG fic: The Stuff National Anthems Are Made Of (2/2)
Part 1
Erik hangs up, and feels like an absolute fool.
He's (comparatively) used to being in charge, used to needing to take care of people, but children are an entirely different sphere of responsibility. They're tiny and defenseless and there is a murderer in the crumbling blown-apart palace, and he'd just left them to roam around instead of thinking about the inevitable threat.
He doesn't run, but he certainly walks briskly towards the room where he'd left Ororo and Magda's children (his children).
Erik starts coughing three halls away.
It's an unusual cough, like something's suddenly eating away at his lungs, and it leaves something cold and terrified in his throat. He reaches out with his power as he continues forward, even if there's nothing he can feel out of the usual. What he can feel is that the doors of the room the children had been in is now off its hinges, and he doesn't know if it was blown apart from the inside or ripped off and tossed aside from the outside, not without getting closer.
He notices a body against a wall, one of the humans who had stuck around even after the destruction of Old Genosha. They'd leaned against the side of the corridor before dying, leaving their corpse slumped in the hall, looking asleep despite the dried blood that had emerged from the man's mouth. Erik takes a moment to crouch down and look at the dead man, spotting a packet of papers next to his limp fingers and the open, bloodshot eyes staring at the floor.
How everything went to hell so fast, Erik has no idea.
He coughs again, but takes a moment to pick up the papers. It's a list of grievances against humans, he notices, ending with a plea for an unbiased police force to be formed as soon as possible. Erik also notices he had a meeting with Erik scheduled for two hours from now.
When he sets the papers back down next to the corpse, Erik starts coughing up blood.
It might be a contagion, coming from the man's body. More likely, it's from a chemical weapon, or even an angry mutant, adding yet another threat to Genosha. Either way, Erik stumbles to his feet and heads towards where he'd last heard the children.
They're gone, of course. The doors look like they were exploded from the inside, which is probably a good thing, but he still can't stop coughing. There's no more blood, but he feels weak, pathetic, and like a fool who can't even keep track of his own children. Their children. If whatever contagion this is doesn't kill Erik, Charles surely will.
He hasn't even realized he's leaning against the doorframe and coughing blood up again before a hand comes to rest on his shoulder. Erik immediately snatches at the figure with his power, grabbing onto a thin necklace for one panicked moment before realizing said necklace belongs to Armando. Darwin. The man who adapts to survive.
"We've got them," Darwin says, sounding as if he's not even remotely affected, and starts pulling Erik away from the room and down another hallway. Erik is helpless to do anything but follow, listening to Darwin as he updates Erik as best he can. "We think one of the ambassadors is some sort of contagious killer mutant. Hank - that's the ambassador kid; he's actually more of a scientist who seems determined to emigrate here and took the first opportunity to get to Genosha - is cooking up some sort of breathing mask, and me and Nathaniel survive it just fine but he's still been hiding up on the roof with the others. I've been looking for other people to get them out, since I'm not sending Nathaniel to evacuate people. The sickness seems to only last inside for now, so we know the source is in the corridors."
Erik nods, not feeling nearly as helpless the further they get from the ruined makeshift playroom. He manages to wipe the blood from his mouth five hallways away, and can breathe clearly when they reach the administrative side of the palace. He's still coughing, but it's not nearly as bad. "Raven and Emma?"
"Raven's on the roof, talking nonstop with the other US ambassador, who is a nice lady named Moira and acts like she's ready to actually do her job, even if she has to kill people to get the chance," Darwin says. "We've decided we like her. Emma, we haven't heard from."
And that's not good news, but. "I have to warn Charles," Erik says, even though it hurts. Breathing's getting easier, but it still makes him feel like his lungs are on fire. "Told him to have Azazel teleport him back."
"Then we'll do our best to broadcast nonstop for him to get out of the building when they teleport in," Darwin says. "You've got a strong enough link with him to get his attention as soon as possible, right?" When Erik nods, Darwin shrugs, and it jostles Erik enough that he realizes how much of his own weight he's leaving to Darwin. The other man can obviously handle it, but it's a matter of pride that makes Erik try to support himself at least a little more, even if he barely manages it. "Then the minute they teleport in, you'll feel it, and warn him. It'll be fine."
"Optimist," Erik says, and it makes Darwin laugh, opening the door to the roof entrance stairwell. Darwin doesn't even give him an opportunity to try and struggle his way up them, simply lifting Erik into a fireman's hold with his adaptive strength.
When Erik tries to protest, Darwin says, "I've had to carry forty other people up these stairs today and haven't told a soul about it, don't worry."
"Remind me to put you in charge of something," Erik chokes out.
"I'm in charge of the kids," Darwin says easily.
And really, that explains so much.
The roof of the Old Genoshan palace is ripped apart, with the gaping holes in the abandoned wing seeming even more disastrous when compared to the opulent rooftop gardens and overhangs beneath column-supported domes. Darwin sets him down a few feet before opening the door, and Erik is proud to say he does not fall down. He does end up stumbling through the door, and the tiny white-haired body suddenly flinging itself at him doesn't help any. Thankfully, Darwin's there to help hold him up all over again as Ororo starts to cry and cling.
God, he really wishes Charles was here to deal with this.
Wanda and Pietro look haunted, with Pietro more frightened while Wanda looks a little lost. When Erik glances at Darwin, he leans over and says, "They actually saw the sickness guy, but haven't said anything."
Erik holds Ororo a little closer, and manages to make his way away from the door and towards the twins. He notices the older children are stretched across the roof complex, in some attempt at patrolling and watching the walls in case the killer ambassador busts through to attack again. Raven and the female ambassador, Moira, are standing by the other ambassador, the kid, Hank, who is messing with something that looks like some sort of space-aged gas mask.
He takes a deep breath, and sits himself in front of the twins, transferring Ororo into his lap so her clinging is a little more comfortable. "Will you tell me what happened?"
"It was scary and I don't want to," Pietro says in a blur, grabbing onto Wanda's hand. "We started coughing, and we couldn't get out, and Ororo's cloud Puppy just kind of exploded the door and we ran and there was a big guy with a lot of blood on his stomach and we ran away but couldn't because we were coughing but then." Pietro stops, staring at Erik. "Then I was fast, and Wanda and Ororo were far away but I could feel wind and then there was red and we were here on the roof."
Erik nods, and tries to keep his expression as open as possible instead of glaring. He takes a deep breath, and figures he can give an incredibly truncated version of The Mutant Talk. "Your powers manifested," Erik says. "They usually do that when you feel scared or threatened. We can work through that later, though. What did the man look like?"
"His name is Arkady Rossovich," an unfamiliar voice says, and Erik looks away from the children to see the ambassador, Moira, standing to the side. "All I know is the Soviets rushed to get him to the teleport point, and that's why the US chose to send us." She motions towards herself and Hank, frowning. "We're CIA. Not that I think Hank's going to be CIA anymore, or that I'm going to be sticking around with them. But either way, they knew Rossovich is a threat. I don't think they knew he was a mutant, though."
Erik nods. "Assassin?"
"Probably," Moira says. "I don't know his target, though. I would have thought it'd be you, but since Rossovich immediately took off the moment he arrived, he probably has a different motive."
"Not immediately," Erik says. "The other Soviet ambassador's dead."
"I know the other ambassador was an actual ambassador," Moira offers.
"So he effectively kept any negotiations on behalf of the USSR from happening," Erik says, even though he has no idea what that means. "And now he's contaminated the entire administrative building of Genosha, meaning we can't do anything but sit up here and hope we don't die."
"Most of the staff has gone into the city," Darwin says, which certainly explains the lack of a hundred people loitering around on the roof. "I couldn't get most of the humans out after the first five minutes. Raven's the one who saved Moira."
Erik nods, already having figured that humans are more affected than mutants. It's another strange tactic - killing the humans, despite orders being given (theoretically) by humans. "We need to find the man and..." He hesitates, looking at the three tiny faces watching him. "And take care of him."
"What do you mean, we?" Raven crosses her arms, frowning at him. "You're Imperator. You don't get to risk your life, not with Charles potentially being held hostage at the UN."
"Damn it, Raven," Darwin says.
Erik is very, very careful to let go of Ororo and carefully move her to his side before turning to Raven. He takes a long, deep breath, and looks at her. "Explain," he says, because if today is determined to be one of the worst days of his life, apparently it has to go all the way.
---
The first thing Charles does is demand a phone in the broom closet they're still insisting he stay in. It takes a while, but they agree to let him have the phone if he swears he won't leave the room, and fine. Charles can deal with that. Azazel's not waking up any time soon, it feels like, so why not agree to their ridiculous paranoia-based requests?
The phone's a shoddy old thing, but it keeps ringing and ringing, and that's all Charles really needs. It's connected, but it seems there's nobody there to answer. He settles himself down on the couch, kicking off his shoes and stretching out, listening to the droning endless ringing.
The second thing Charles does is politely request they bring Azazel down to the broom closet. It scares them when they realize he knows they've tranquilized his favorite teleporter, of course, but when they say no, Charles doesn't push. It's not like it would really change anything if Azazel was unconscious in the broom closet instead of the guard room, other than saving him a teleport. At least they're kind enough to bring him some food, finally.
It's probably a good hour before someone answers, with a hoarse, "That better be you, Xavier."
"Emma," Charles says, surprise leaving him blinking at the wall. "What's going on there?"
"The ambassador who killed the other ambassador has some sort of deadly pheromones he's spreading around," Emma says, and stops to let out a cough. "It's killing people and is also disgusting."
Charles moves to sit on the edge of the couch, frowning. "Is everyone okay?"
"Most of the humans in the palace are dead. All of the humans who had more than five minutes of exposure," Emma says. "It's killing mutants, too, but takes longer. I've been staying in diamond form and I still ended up with a mild case."
"What about Erik and the children?"
"No idea," Emma says. "But I'm done with this, Charles. I can't use my telepathy in this form, so I can't find him. Get here."
"Azazel's...indisposed," Charles says.
"Charles, you might fool everyone else, but I'm a telepath," Emma states. "He's not indisposed unless you're okay with him being indisposed."
There's a good bit of truth in that, but Charles does have lines he doesn't cross. He has many, many lines, and isn't keen on toying with them. Ever. "I'm sure Erik is keeping them safe."
"I thought you were done being afraid of yourself," Emma says, and coughs again. It's a hoarse, hacking cough, with a strange tinkling noise that Charles assumes has something to do with her diamond form. "Well, sugar, your country needs you. Whether you care more about your conscience or your people is in your hands, Voice of Genosha."
She hangs up with another hacking cough, and Charles follows suit with a sigh. My conscience or my people, he thinks, and decides.
Convincing the guard outside to open the door is barely a flicker in his mind compared to trying to carefully wake Azazel up. Charles walks out the door while slowly coercing Azazel's mind that the sedative is wearing off, but slowly. The mind of a teleporter is a tricky thing, trickier than most other mutants and impossibly complicated compared to the average human. It will probably take Azazel twenty minutes to wake up again, possibly a little less, which makes Charles smile to himself as he walks towards the General Assembly all over again.
Plenty of time for some parting remarks before he goes and saves Genosha. Again.
---
Erik decides that the United Nations is a piece of shit impossibly useless system about five minutes into Raven's explanation.
He decides he's going to destroy it about fifteen minutes after that.
"They send an assassin as an ambassador, lock Charles up and treat him like a political prisoner, and think they can get away with it?" Erik hisses out. Ororo and the twins had, thankfully, decided to go pester Hank about the invention he's tinkering on. "What do they think we are, toothless monsters?"
"Basically, yes," Moira says. "They think you can bite, but you'll just keep barking instead. When it really is you against the world, that's what usually happens."
"Then they're in for a surprise," Erik says grimly.
Raven sighs. "Are we forgetting that Charles has let all of this happen? He has to have some sort of plan or reason for going along with this."
Erik isn't so certain, considering the man had considered his mutation some sort of curse and locked himself away from it for years, but keeps the thought to himself. Moira doesn't need to know that Charles might not be willing to bite the hand that keeps swatting at them. All she needs to know is that Erik most definitely will. "Then his plan is a bad one," Erik says instead. Raven rolls her eyes, but it makes Moira's lips quirk. "We have more information, and need to use it." He turns to look at Darwin. "Do you think our assassin could keep while we rescue Charles?"
"He doesn't need rescuing," Raven says.
"And your priorities are kind of screwed up," Moira adds.
The conspiratorial glance between the women is not lost on Erik, but he ignores them, waiting for Darwin's answer.
"I think we can keep this guy inside the building, if you get in and out of there fast," Darwin says. "Rossovich seems like a patient guy, ready to wait for us to come to him. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a telepath hunting him with us through a cloud of deadly illness than take my chances without."
"How are you planning to get to Charles fast enough, anyway?" Raven asks. "We don't have any other teleporters who can make that kind of jump. Planning to get an airplane and park it in front of the UN building?"
"Tempting, but no," Erik says. "I was planning to fly."
"You can't land," Raven states.
"Which is why I'll crash through the ceiling," Erik says, not terribly bothered by the idea. "Then, we'll teleport back with Azazel."
"Since when can you fly?" Darwin asks.
"He was experimenting, before Charles," Raven says. "Something to do with the electromagnetism part." She sighs, and gives Erik a grudging look of approval. "He is pretty fast. Even if he can't land."
"The entire planet is covered by a magnetic field, Raven, not just the land parts," Erik says, and looks around the roof again, at the children trying to be sentinels and how, amazingly, they seemed to be doing a good job of it. "And you're sure you'll be fine while I'm gone?"
"Of course not," Darwin says. "But do we have a choice?"
Erik sighs, and nods, standing smoothly and realizing quickly that this will be a very, very unpleasant trip in just pants and shoes and a shirt. A coat or gloves or a hat, or even a helmet considering the inevitable crash landing, would make this much more comfortable.
He feels out the world, the endless push and pull that he's had an easier time identifying ever since he got used to feeling for Charles' constant gentle mental tug. It's the pulse of the planet, and he has to remember to breathe. He always does, when he does this. It's times like these that Erik wonders if Charles feels like this all the time, so many minds calling out around him.
"And there he goes," Raven says dryly, but Erik doesn't acknowledge it. Instead he tries to keep in mind what the physical world looks like (much easier to do when he concentrates on the feel of metal in the building and the dome above them instead of trying to remember where ledges are) as he convinces his mind that Erik is made of metal, and can follow the pulse of the world just as easily as the rest of the metal in the world can.
He hops off the ledge of the roof and doesn't even sink a few feet down, probably looking like he's standing on thin air. Erik breathes, and points himself towards Charles, letting the planet and that sense of its pulse do the rest of the work for him.
---
Charles walks into the General Assembly through the front door with a bit of a hop in his step, and also wearing a much more reasonable outfit - slacks, comfortable shirt, wool cardigan, reasonable but slightly worn brown shoes, and the engagement ring he doesn't wear very often simply because it catches on things and makes noise when his hand knocks into surfaces and generally seems a bit of a nuisance. Still, he's making a point, and that includes the silly bit of tradition around his finger.
The assembly's collective whispers become more of a roar when he mounts the stage and heads towards the speaker's podium, giving the president and his grudging but acceptant frown a somewhat respectful nod before turning to the delegation. "Hello again," Charles says, and leans against the podium like he tried so very hard not to last time. "First, yes, I'm in your mind and translating for you. Second, that is all I'm doing in your mind, and I know you won't believe me but I swear on my life that it's the truth. Third, I tried this your way, and it didn't work, so we'll be doing this my way now, with me being what I truly am."
"And what would that be, Voice of Genosha?" the president behind him asks.
Charles turns towards him, and grins. "A genetics professor."
The room rumbles again, and fine. Charles lets them, for a moment, before continuing on.
I tried being a politician, and an advocate, and a leader, but at my core I'm a professor of genetics who just happened to be born with a genetic mutation and was in the wrong place at the right time and somehow became the leader of a tiny island full of truly amazing people. I tried convincing you with political reasoning, military reasoning, emotional reasoning, psychological reasoning, and I don't think it really worked. So, here are the facts, that anyone with a PhD in genetics and a concentration on the X-gene could tell you.
Mutation more commonplace than you think. Blue eyes, red hair, exceptionally good or bad eyesight, acute hearing, above average lung capacity - these are all comparatively everyday mutations. I see at least seventy of you in the room are already mutants. At its core, mutation is simply a genetic difference from the most basic DNA code for a species. There are some more extreme examples that you're undoubtedly familiar with, such as albinism. I think that we would all agree that someone with albinism is still human, even though they look different.
Likewise, I have a mutation that makes me different from the basic genetic code for humanity. It's more extreme than albinism - well, arguably, depending on whether you follow appearance criteria or capability or percentage of genetic difference - but it's still a simple genetic mutation. The metahuman mutation is based off of the X-gene - yes, named after me, I did discover it and write the paper after all - and it's a single gene. I am one single genetic trait different than everyone else in this room.
But I'm not petitioning you for equal rights for just my sake. I'm also looking towards the future, because based on the imported slave population of Genosha, the rate of evolution in the human genetic code in regards to the X-gene is monumental, jumping nearly 400% from the 30-40 age group to the 20-30 age group. Considering that the effects of the X-gene, commonly referred to as metahuman abilities, rarely surface before puberty or a traumatic experience, and also the added difficulty Genosha would encounter if attempting to abduct someone under the legal age of adulthood, I don't have any reliable statistics for the percent increase for X-gene carriers under the age of 20.
However, if the presence of the X-gene continues to increase incrementally, there will be a one in twenty chance of someone being born with superhuman abilities by 1980. A one in ten chance by 1990. By 2010, a fourth of the world's births will be mutants. If one of your children isn't a mutant, one of your grandchildren very likely will be. One of your great-grandchildren definitely will be.
You can't stop genetic progress, not without killing every single X-gene carrier, which includes the 66% who don't have powers. You can't stop mutation. You can't pick us out in a crowd, you can't sterilize gene carriers or bloodlines, you can't even know whether or not your children are mutants, not until long past puberty and a traumatic experience. Here is the simple, unalterable, scientific fact of mutants: we aren't a problem. We are an inevitability.
To consider mutants inhuman is to-
Oh.
Oh, dear.
Second Genoshan Address to the United Nations,
Charles F. Xavier, Voice of Genosha,
April 19, 1963.
---
The minute Erik gets near New York, he thinks that a helmet would've been a really good idea. He doesn't even know how fast he's going, beyond I'm fast enough that I had to make a magnetic shield around myself and manipulate that instead of myself, and also that it's fast enough that he barely has time to recognize Charles in his mind before he's ripping the General Assembly's roof apart.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME ERIK Charles projects very, very loudly when he starts bending the rafters.
Erik really doesn't have the time to argue, beyond a frantic, CHARLES I AM GOING TO CRASH. That, of course, gets a response, namely Charles suddenly piggybacking in his mind and offering up some extra brain capacity for Erik to multitask more efficiently. They don't do this often, but it's a regular enough occurrence that Erik sends a pulse of gratitude and manages to balance himself correctly, pushing back on the ever-present magnetic pull of the planet's surface (and the metal in the building itself) to descend at a reasonable, safe speed and landing right next to a very unfashionable-looking Charles.
"Hello, Erik," Charles says dryly, lips quirking like they can't decide between frowning or grinning, sunlight shining through his hair. And that's very flattering, but we have a bit of a problem now that you destroyed the ceiling and interrupted my speech.
"Charles," Erik replies, sparing a glance for the mass of gape-mouthed people staring at them. "I heard how you were being treated."
"Oh, I'm fine," Charles says, and seems to have settled on frowning. "And I was planning to come back right after this speech. It's gotten worse?"
Erik considers just saying yes and pulling Charles towards wherever Azazel's at and teleporting them home, but instead he considers the podium.
No, Charles projects at him, the word drawn out like a disbelieving gasp, eyes widening.
Oh, yes indeed, Erik projects right back, and doesn't give Charles a chance to object. It doesn't stop Charles from projecting an endless wave of disapproval at him, but Erik's more than willing to put up with that to face the assembled representatives of the United Nations and tell them what morons they are.
"In case you couldn't tell, I'm the Imperator of Genosha," Erik says casually, and watches half of the crowd shrink back. "I'm here to take my fiancé home and have him help me kill one of the ambassadors we let you send in good faith, because said ambassador has killed not only another of the good faith ambassadors, but also half of the human administrative staff of Genosha. Really, I appreciate you all deciding to send us a mass murderer. It's been an excellent bonding experience with the children."
"Erik," Charles chides aloud, but very obviously doesn't mean it since he's still making a point of translating Erik's words for everyone in the room. And also barely restraining himself from glaring at them right along with Erik. Still, the benefit of being the leaders of the Independent Sanctuary of Genosha means they can play good-Voice bad-Imperator with the UN. It helps that everyone always (erroneously) thinks Erik is the more dangerous one. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."
"Is there," Erik says, and looks straight at the two men sitting behind the CCCP plate.
"The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has no idea what you're talking about," one of the men says, and when Erik gives them a look the man continues, "No, really! We sent you Pavel and Gregor! Gregor couldn't even find the pointy end of a knife, and Pavel faints at the sight of blood!"
"You sent us Arkady Rossovich, the toxic murderous mutant intent on killing everyone he comes across, regardless of who or what they are," Erik says.
"He's telling the truth," Charles says, frowning, and Erik watches his fingers rise to his temple. "They really didn't send Rossovich. Although...oh. Well. You can find Pavel's body on the fourth floor in the ladies' room, as an unfortunate janitor just found out. Gregor is the man you found dead on Emma's carpet."
How'd Rossovich take his place, then? Erik asks, and receives nothing but a mental shrug in reply. He sighs, and turns back to the assembly, glaring at them some more because they deserve it. "I'll make this short. From now on, Genosha will have a peacekeeping organization for the protection of all mutants, regardless of nationality, and they will answer to me."
"And on that note, there'll also be one answering to me that's for the protection of all," Charles adds, giving Erik a sharp look that Erik doesn't feel the slightest bit chastised by.
"More details on that later, after getting rid of our problem," Erik says, and turns back to Charles. "Where's Azazel?"
"Five seconds," Charles says, sounding the slightest bit absent, which means he's tinkering about in someone's head.
Like clockwork, Azazel teleports in five seconds later, tail swishing furiously.
"Fix the ceiling before we go, please?" Charles asks.
"I'll do it later," Erik says, and grabs onto Azazel's arm. "To the roof, please. The interior is toxic at the moment."
"Why did we ever leave?" Azazel asks darkly, and doesn't give either of them time to answer before teleporting away from the United Nations.
---
The moment Charles is back on Genosha, he gags, mind swarming with fear more intense than he'd ever felt before, even more than before the liberation. They'd been resigned, then. Now, they were absolutely terrified, and Charles' intimate relationship with Genosha leaves him almost retching from the force of it. Erik is there, of course, his presence like a warm fluffy blanket draped over him that also happens to be vengeful and practically bulletproof.
"You should have fetched me hours ago," Charles says, leaning against Erik for a long moment, keeping his eyes closed and grounding himself in Erik.
"I didn't think it would get to be this bad," Erik admits, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Charles can feel the unspoken, unprojected offer of a minor shielding around his mind, but Charles shakes his head. He needs to be alert, and ready. "Are you ready for this?"
"Only one way to find out," Charles says, and turns himself to searching for Rossovich's mind in the palace.
"Professor Xavier!" someone shouts, and Charles jerks out of his mind to see an eager young man in a suit holding out a very...unusual-looking gas mask, with some sort of silvery sheen around it. "I've only built one, so far, but I can guarantee it'll get someone in and out safely, for about fifteen minutes. After that, you run out of air."
"I can't even run across the building in fifteen minutes," Erik mutters.
The young man - Hank, Charles picks up - wavers for a moment, but Charles beams at him, plucking the gas mask from his hands. "Then we'll be sure to get you as close as possible, won't we?" Charles says. "Thank you very much for this, Hank. I hope we can work together, in the future. You have a very promising mind."
Hank blushes, smiling at the same time. "Are you reading my mind?" he asks.
"Not really. I'm reading his, about you," Charles says, motioning lazily towards Erik. When Hank frowns, Charles rolls his eyes and adds, "Yes, I'm welcome there. Erik?"
"He's welcome," Erik says, indulging him before frowning at Hank. "I'm marrying a telepath. What did you think I'd be doing, shutting him out?"
"Let's not browbeat the poor boy," Charles says, and hands the gas mask over to Erik's ready hands. "Thank you very much, Hank. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a murderer to hunt down."
Hank leaves them with something that could be either a very awkward and confused bow, or a very deep and jerky head-nod. Charles does his best to not bring Erik's attention to the fact there's a bit of endearment already in his thoughts right along with the frustration - Erik finding out they have yet another kid to add to their ranks would probably be excessive, after the twins too.
Speaking of, when Charles glances around to spot them, there's nothing. No Ororo, either. When he glances up at Erik, asking the question mentally, Erik sighs. "The children are with Nathaniel, Angel, and Darwin, in case we fail. Darwin and Nathaniel are the only ones who can survive the toxin."
"Why Angel?" Charles asks absently, sitting himself down on one of the nearby stone benches as he lets his mind stretch out, concentrating on skimming the palace.
"Does Nathaniel listen to anyone else?" Erik asks, and Charles concedes the point. He also drops the conversation, concentrating completely on finding Rossovich. He passes over the unsettling dying flickers of many people's minds; the dead leave something like embers in their brains, in the first few hours after death, like an echo of them is left behind, and Charles is never going to look through that, no matter how much easier it would make his search.
He finds Rossovich, frustratingly enough, in the pool. It's close to one of the larger holes in the roof, in the abandoned wing of the palace, but it also happens to be a room with one door in or out, and the pool equipment is made of wood and plastic. There are small metal railings near the carved-in ladders of the pool, but unless Erik's ripping the entire pool out from the floor through the pipes, Erik is going to have to bring weaponry and equipment in with him.
When Charles says as much, Erik doesn't seem surprised. It makes Charles smile, because of course Erik didn't think there would be anything easy about this. He watches Erik pull metallic debris out from what seems like nowhere, pulling it to himself with not the slightest bit of trouble.
"Rossovich's mind is strangely complicated, a bit like a teleporter's or trying to read a sleeping Darwin, but I can probably keep him in check," Charles says.
Erik smirks, wrapping a chain around himself. "This isn't the time for finesse, Charles."
Charles thinks about mentioning that there's a chance he could, in fact, kill Rossovich with nothing but his mind, but there are lines Charles refuses to cross, and ones Charles knows he can never cross if he ever wants to come back. Erik wouldn't ask it of him, and Charles isn't inclined to offer, so he shrugs and says, "I don't know about you, but I'd like to ask the man some questions."
"I'm fine with just taking his life," Erik says, completely nonplussed and absolutely disinclined to even think about keeping him alive, and stops his preparations to look Charles straight in the eye. "You're out of his head the minute I know I'll be fine."
"There's no such thing as a definite win," Charles says.
Erik frowns. "Charles, I mean it."
Charles considers telling him no, and then considers lying and saying yes, but settles on, "As soon as I know you'll be safe."
"Thank you," Erik says, even if they can both see the loophole, because they both know it's the best compromise they'll manage.
Really, Charles thinks more couples should constantly be in each other's minds. It makes everything so much more efficient.
Erik floats himself down through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Well, to be approximate, he floats the chains wrapped around him down through the hole, but either way it gets him down there, safe and sound. It leaves Charles surrounded by people who have no idea what he's seeing down there, and Charles is intent on keeping it that way.
I'll be fine, Charles, Erik projects towards him, both affectionate and frustrated, and Charles sends along a burst of acceptance as he starts leading Erik towards where Rossovich is sprawled in a pool, waiting for this moment.
---
Erik is used to hunting people down. He's not used to doing it with a familiar voice in his head directing him towards his quarry, but Erik isn't going to complain about that. There's the sense of a manhunt, but without the vicious primal satisfaction he feels when it's an escaped Nazi he's going to kill. It's urgent, and necessary, and mostly he feels like he needs to get it done and protect people.
Which is...new.
And hopefully a welcome change, Charles comments, pointing him down yet another hallway.
The gas mask that Hank had made is an airtight contraption that didn't take Erik very long to figure out it's more a makeshift filtration system in a space suit helmet than an actual gas mask. His skin itches, but he can still think, still calculate, still keep his wits about him in the fight ahead.
I think we should keep Hank, Erik says, because anyone who can build a space helmet with a filtration system in a limited amount of time with whatever they could grab during an evacuation seems like a good addition to their country. Even if he's human.
He's not, actually. Hank McCoy is a mutant, albeit a heavily repressed one, Charles says. And he's not going anywhere. Also, the door on your left is to the pool.
Erik nods, since even if Charles can't see it he can feel the intention behind it. He doesn't quite cut Charles off from his thoughts, but he does put a slight barrier between them, like a curtain that keeps Charles from immediately seeing what Erik is planning to do. He's killed with Charles in his head before, and Erik never intends to do it again. Not without some filtering, at least.
He considers the door, and his options, and then shrugs and rips the hinges apart with a twist of his hand. The metal shrieks as it twists inwards and blows the doors into the pool, one landing on the edge of the water while another smashes some of the furniture to pieces.
Old Genosha had been very fond of massive double doors. Erik is starting to agree with them.
Erik's hearing is impaired by the helmet-gasmask, but he can still make out a chuckle and clapping when he enters the room, already uncurling the chains from around his body.
At a glance, Rossovich is a fit gentleman in a black suit with a red shirt and tie who just happened to decide to lounge around in the shallow end of the pool fully-clothed. His hair's a long pale blond ponytail, and his skin is the unhealthy pale of the long-time imprisoned. Charles must be translating and amplifying Erik's hearing, because when Rossovich speaks, Erik can hear him clear as day, as if the man's right beside him.
"Quite a presentation, Imperator," Rossovich says when he stops applauding, and quickly pulls himself out of the pool. "The voice in my head, you trust him?"
Water sloshes off of him in the swift movement, leaving a puddle around him and Erik's attention on the hammer and sickle pin on his lapel. Particularly its very sharp point. He feels for the metal in Rossovich's body, and finds a single pin in his leg, and a knife in a holster beneath his right ar. It's not much, but it's enough.
Erik simply nods in reply to Rossovich's question, moving deeper into the room. The pool separates them, the bottom of it covered in debris. Erik would prefer to get closer, but he figures this is as good as he'll get.
The chains whip through the air towards Rossovich, fast and angry, and Rossovich is fast, dodging the first pass. The first chain sails over his head, but the second chain manages to catch him around the ankle until Rossovich twists away. The water is having an effect, though - he slips, just slightly, and it lets Erik manipulate the first chain around him in a constrictor hold that leaves Rossovich choking.
You only have five minutes left, Charles reminds him. Erik doesn't bother responding, instead simply walking around the edge of the pool and towards Rossovich, doing his best to ignore the burning and itching that has his fingers twitching more and more as he approaches.
The amount of give Rossovich is managing is impressive, but Erik is the chains, and there's no way in hell that Rossovich is getting out of them. Every single bend he manages is immediately warped back into place, every broken link reforging itself.
Rossovich has attacked their children, murdered his people, ruined Charles' UN peace attempts, and destroyed much of Genosha's chance to be a true sanctuary, a peaceful, safe place. It takes a colossal amount of self-restraint to project to Charles, If you have questions for him, now is the time.
Immediately, Rossovich lets out a pained whimper, eyes fluttering in a way Erik recognizes as what happens when Charles skims through someone's mind without being careful about it. It takes only a moment before Rossovich slumps as far as the chains will let him, kneeling and looking truly, deeply braindead.
Charles is a glorious, beautiful example of mutation if ever there was one.
What's left of Rossovich dies with a squeeze of Erik's hand, fingers closing into a fist right along with the chains that start to strangle him, and then snap his neck. There's no satisfaction in the death, only a feeling of good riddance.
Except, Erik notices, the pain in his body has yet to go away.
Charles notices right along with him, because there's a sudden burst of panic. They'd assumed the effect of his mutation would disappear with Rossovich's death, but it still claws at his skin, and Erik has three minutes of space helmet gas mask protection left.
I'll be fine, Erik projects, even if it's a lie, and tries to run for the door and leave, through any exit available, but his body can barely manage jogging. He leaves Rossovich's body where it slumped to the floor, still kneeling, without a second glance. Erik can feel Charles doing his best to find a fast way out of the building, but there isn't one. It's why Old Genosha built it that way, after all.
Turn right, Charles projects, and Erik obeys.
It leads him right to a dead end in the labyrinthine palace, staring at nothing but a wall and feeling his lungs start to constrict.
For a moment, a very brief moment, Erik remembers Rossovich's question. The voice in my head, you trust him?
Which is when the wall explodes in a burst of red energy that seems to come straight down from the ceiling, and Erik is face to face with Sean Cassidy when the kid jumps down through the debris, staring at him as he grabs Erik around the shoulders and puts a very thin sheet of metal around them both, like a metallic blanket. He's already coughing blood, Erik notices, and Erik tries to attribute the sudden burst of panic to Charles, but he can't manage that. Not when one of their children is risking his life to get Erik out.
Erik does his best to take hold of the metal around them, and he manages, barely, to get them moving upwards. He has to stop when he starts coughing blood into the gas mask, though, and Sean rips it off his face before Erik can even paw at it.
Take over, Erik projects.
I don't have the control you do, I could rip you apart or squish you or-
Just do it, Erik projects back, because he refuses to die, he refuses to stand here and watch Sean cough himself to death just because Erik didn't pay enough attention to the time he had left.
Oh dear lord, Charles says, as close to praying as Charles ever gets, and suddenly they're shooting upwards in a burst of power that Erik can tell is too much. Far, far too much. They rocket upwards, too high, and Sean starts to scream and Charles is frantically babbling in his head, and Erik thinks, enough.
And suddenly, they're standing on the roof in a burst of red light, staring down at Pietro and Wanda and Ororo. Ororo is hanging onto Wanda, Pietro staring at them both, and Wanda's stubborn little chin is quivering, like she's about to cry.
"I don't want to lose a dad too," Wanda says, and thank god Charles is there to scoop her up and hug her, because Erik is still trapped in metal with Sean gasping next to him. When he gets himself free, Ororo is immediately there to cling to him, Pietro holding Wanda's hand while staring at Erik.
Hugging three tiny children at once is...surprisingly nice.
"Thank you, Wanda," Erik says. "Thank you, all three of you."
Hugging three tiny crying children, Erik quickly realizes, is not nearly as pleasant.
---
The enormous navy leaves three hours after Erik deposits Arkady Rossovich's corpse on the beach with a very large sign that said FEEL FREE TO CLAIM HIM. They had to yank the body through the ceiling, since the palace was still infected, and was likely to be for a very long time. Emma Frost wandered out at some point and met up with the evacuees after getting a tally of the corpses inside, but the number of bodies that they can't retrieve is a waste of life that makes Charles furious.
All signs lead to Rossovich having operated on his own, or at least without the approval of the USSR, and it leaves them wondering who, exactly, is trying to destroy their tiny sanctuary island. Or mutants in general. Either way, every country seems to suddenly be very friendly.
It doesn't take long for that friendliness to be expanded on, to say the least, since they remember a Genoshan pledge for superpowered assistance. The UN seems to be ignoring the facts Charles has given them, but any telepath could tell that it's trapped in their minds. They often think about it, but they certainly don't speak of it. And if they've also chosen to selectively ignore that Erik pledged a force only devoted to mutant-protecting right along with Charles' superpowered emergency assistance, they don't say so.
The United Nations doesn't say a lot of things, but they do recognize Genosha as a country and admit the Independent Sanctuary of Genosha to their general assembly. Charles counts it as a success, even if Erik and Raven grumble about how they don't need the rest of the world's approval.
Still, it's a step in the right direction in Charles' opinion. One more step to a happier, freer, rebuilt Genosha.
---
ATTENTION GENOSHANS
ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE AND IMPERATOR OF GENOSHA, MUTANTS EVERYWHERE, AND THE WHOLE OF THE PLANET, TWO ORGANIZATIONS ARE BEING CREATED FOR THE PROTECTION OF MUTANTKIND, AND HUMANKIND. INFORMATION SESSIONS WILL BE HELD EVERY DAY FROM 10AM-12AM, AND/OR 1AM-3AM. EACH WILL COVER BOTH THE ACOLYTES AND THE X-MEN. THOSE WHO DO NOT ATTEND BOTH ORGANIZATIONS' SEMINARS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SIGN UP FOR EITHER GROUP.
BASIC INFORMATION:
THE ACOLYTES ARE AN ORGANIZATION FOR WORLDWIDE MUTANT PROTECTION, SPONSORED BY IMPERATOR ERIK LEHNSHERR, AND ALSO SERVE AS THE MILITARY.
THE X-MEN ARE AN ORGANIZATION FOR WORLDWIDE PROTECTION OF ALL, SPONSORED BY VOICE CHARLES XAVIER, AND ALSO SERVE AS THE POLICE.
PAY IS EQUAL FOR BOTH ORGANIZATIONS. TERM OF SERVICE IS 3 YEARS. BASIC COMBAT AND POWER TRAINING IS PROVIDED FOR ALL APPLICANTS, AND ADVANCED COMBAT AND POWER TRAINING IS PROVIDED FOR ALL ACCEPTED INTO THE ORGANIZATIONS.
ALSO, HUMANS ARE WELCOME.
YES, REALLY.
Erik hangs up, and feels like an absolute fool.
He's (comparatively) used to being in charge, used to needing to take care of people, but children are an entirely different sphere of responsibility. They're tiny and defenseless and there is a murderer in the crumbling blown-apart palace, and he'd just left them to roam around instead of thinking about the inevitable threat.
He doesn't run, but he certainly walks briskly towards the room where he'd left Ororo and Magda's children (his children).
Erik starts coughing three halls away.
It's an unusual cough, like something's suddenly eating away at his lungs, and it leaves something cold and terrified in his throat. He reaches out with his power as he continues forward, even if there's nothing he can feel out of the usual. What he can feel is that the doors of the room the children had been in is now off its hinges, and he doesn't know if it was blown apart from the inside or ripped off and tossed aside from the outside, not without getting closer.
He notices a body against a wall, one of the humans who had stuck around even after the destruction of Old Genosha. They'd leaned against the side of the corridor before dying, leaving their corpse slumped in the hall, looking asleep despite the dried blood that had emerged from the man's mouth. Erik takes a moment to crouch down and look at the dead man, spotting a packet of papers next to his limp fingers and the open, bloodshot eyes staring at the floor.
How everything went to hell so fast, Erik has no idea.
He coughs again, but takes a moment to pick up the papers. It's a list of grievances against humans, he notices, ending with a plea for an unbiased police force to be formed as soon as possible. Erik also notices he had a meeting with Erik scheduled for two hours from now.
When he sets the papers back down next to the corpse, Erik starts coughing up blood.
It might be a contagion, coming from the man's body. More likely, it's from a chemical weapon, or even an angry mutant, adding yet another threat to Genosha. Either way, Erik stumbles to his feet and heads towards where he'd last heard the children.
They're gone, of course. The doors look like they were exploded from the inside, which is probably a good thing, but he still can't stop coughing. There's no more blood, but he feels weak, pathetic, and like a fool who can't even keep track of his own children. Their children. If whatever contagion this is doesn't kill Erik, Charles surely will.
He hasn't even realized he's leaning against the doorframe and coughing blood up again before a hand comes to rest on his shoulder. Erik immediately snatches at the figure with his power, grabbing onto a thin necklace for one panicked moment before realizing said necklace belongs to Armando. Darwin. The man who adapts to survive.
"We've got them," Darwin says, sounding as if he's not even remotely affected, and starts pulling Erik away from the room and down another hallway. Erik is helpless to do anything but follow, listening to Darwin as he updates Erik as best he can. "We think one of the ambassadors is some sort of contagious killer mutant. Hank - that's the ambassador kid; he's actually more of a scientist who seems determined to emigrate here and took the first opportunity to get to Genosha - is cooking up some sort of breathing mask, and me and Nathaniel survive it just fine but he's still been hiding up on the roof with the others. I've been looking for other people to get them out, since I'm not sending Nathaniel to evacuate people. The sickness seems to only last inside for now, so we know the source is in the corridors."
Erik nods, not feeling nearly as helpless the further they get from the ruined makeshift playroom. He manages to wipe the blood from his mouth five hallways away, and can breathe clearly when they reach the administrative side of the palace. He's still coughing, but it's not nearly as bad. "Raven and Emma?"
"Raven's on the roof, talking nonstop with the other US ambassador, who is a nice lady named Moira and acts like she's ready to actually do her job, even if she has to kill people to get the chance," Darwin says. "We've decided we like her. Emma, we haven't heard from."
And that's not good news, but. "I have to warn Charles," Erik says, even though it hurts. Breathing's getting easier, but it still makes him feel like his lungs are on fire. "Told him to have Azazel teleport him back."
"Then we'll do our best to broadcast nonstop for him to get out of the building when they teleport in," Darwin says. "You've got a strong enough link with him to get his attention as soon as possible, right?" When Erik nods, Darwin shrugs, and it jostles Erik enough that he realizes how much of his own weight he's leaving to Darwin. The other man can obviously handle it, but it's a matter of pride that makes Erik try to support himself at least a little more, even if he barely manages it. "Then the minute they teleport in, you'll feel it, and warn him. It'll be fine."
"Optimist," Erik says, and it makes Darwin laugh, opening the door to the roof entrance stairwell. Darwin doesn't even give him an opportunity to try and struggle his way up them, simply lifting Erik into a fireman's hold with his adaptive strength.
When Erik tries to protest, Darwin says, "I've had to carry forty other people up these stairs today and haven't told a soul about it, don't worry."
"Remind me to put you in charge of something," Erik chokes out.
"I'm in charge of the kids," Darwin says easily.
And really, that explains so much.
The roof of the Old Genoshan palace is ripped apart, with the gaping holes in the abandoned wing seeming even more disastrous when compared to the opulent rooftop gardens and overhangs beneath column-supported domes. Darwin sets him down a few feet before opening the door, and Erik is proud to say he does not fall down. He does end up stumbling through the door, and the tiny white-haired body suddenly flinging itself at him doesn't help any. Thankfully, Darwin's there to help hold him up all over again as Ororo starts to cry and cling.
God, he really wishes Charles was here to deal with this.
Wanda and Pietro look haunted, with Pietro more frightened while Wanda looks a little lost. When Erik glances at Darwin, he leans over and says, "They actually saw the sickness guy, but haven't said anything."
Erik holds Ororo a little closer, and manages to make his way away from the door and towards the twins. He notices the older children are stretched across the roof complex, in some attempt at patrolling and watching the walls in case the killer ambassador busts through to attack again. Raven and the female ambassador, Moira, are standing by the other ambassador, the kid, Hank, who is messing with something that looks like some sort of space-aged gas mask.
He takes a deep breath, and sits himself in front of the twins, transferring Ororo into his lap so her clinging is a little more comfortable. "Will you tell me what happened?"
"It was scary and I don't want to," Pietro says in a blur, grabbing onto Wanda's hand. "We started coughing, and we couldn't get out, and Ororo's cloud Puppy just kind of exploded the door and we ran and there was a big guy with a lot of blood on his stomach and we ran away but couldn't because we were coughing but then." Pietro stops, staring at Erik. "Then I was fast, and Wanda and Ororo were far away but I could feel wind and then there was red and we were here on the roof."
Erik nods, and tries to keep his expression as open as possible instead of glaring. He takes a deep breath, and figures he can give an incredibly truncated version of The Mutant Talk. "Your powers manifested," Erik says. "They usually do that when you feel scared or threatened. We can work through that later, though. What did the man look like?"
"His name is Arkady Rossovich," an unfamiliar voice says, and Erik looks away from the children to see the ambassador, Moira, standing to the side. "All I know is the Soviets rushed to get him to the teleport point, and that's why the US chose to send us." She motions towards herself and Hank, frowning. "We're CIA. Not that I think Hank's going to be CIA anymore, or that I'm going to be sticking around with them. But either way, they knew Rossovich is a threat. I don't think they knew he was a mutant, though."
Erik nods. "Assassin?"
"Probably," Moira says. "I don't know his target, though. I would have thought it'd be you, but since Rossovich immediately took off the moment he arrived, he probably has a different motive."
"Not immediately," Erik says. "The other Soviet ambassador's dead."
"I know the other ambassador was an actual ambassador," Moira offers.
"So he effectively kept any negotiations on behalf of the USSR from happening," Erik says, even though he has no idea what that means. "And now he's contaminated the entire administrative building of Genosha, meaning we can't do anything but sit up here and hope we don't die."
"Most of the staff has gone into the city," Darwin says, which certainly explains the lack of a hundred people loitering around on the roof. "I couldn't get most of the humans out after the first five minutes. Raven's the one who saved Moira."
Erik nods, already having figured that humans are more affected than mutants. It's another strange tactic - killing the humans, despite orders being given (theoretically) by humans. "We need to find the man and..." He hesitates, looking at the three tiny faces watching him. "And take care of him."
"What do you mean, we?" Raven crosses her arms, frowning at him. "You're Imperator. You don't get to risk your life, not with Charles potentially being held hostage at the UN."
"Damn it, Raven," Darwin says.
Erik is very, very careful to let go of Ororo and carefully move her to his side before turning to Raven. He takes a long, deep breath, and looks at her. "Explain," he says, because if today is determined to be one of the worst days of his life, apparently it has to go all the way.
---
The first thing Charles does is demand a phone in the broom closet they're still insisting he stay in. It takes a while, but they agree to let him have the phone if he swears he won't leave the room, and fine. Charles can deal with that. Azazel's not waking up any time soon, it feels like, so why not agree to their ridiculous paranoia-based requests?
The phone's a shoddy old thing, but it keeps ringing and ringing, and that's all Charles really needs. It's connected, but it seems there's nobody there to answer. He settles himself down on the couch, kicking off his shoes and stretching out, listening to the droning endless ringing.
The second thing Charles does is politely request they bring Azazel down to the broom closet. It scares them when they realize he knows they've tranquilized his favorite teleporter, of course, but when they say no, Charles doesn't push. It's not like it would really change anything if Azazel was unconscious in the broom closet instead of the guard room, other than saving him a teleport. At least they're kind enough to bring him some food, finally.
It's probably a good hour before someone answers, with a hoarse, "That better be you, Xavier."
"Emma," Charles says, surprise leaving him blinking at the wall. "What's going on there?"
"The ambassador who killed the other ambassador has some sort of deadly pheromones he's spreading around," Emma says, and stops to let out a cough. "It's killing people and is also disgusting."
Charles moves to sit on the edge of the couch, frowning. "Is everyone okay?"
"Most of the humans in the palace are dead. All of the humans who had more than five minutes of exposure," Emma says. "It's killing mutants, too, but takes longer. I've been staying in diamond form and I still ended up with a mild case."
"What about Erik and the children?"
"No idea," Emma says. "But I'm done with this, Charles. I can't use my telepathy in this form, so I can't find him. Get here."
"Azazel's...indisposed," Charles says.
"Charles, you might fool everyone else, but I'm a telepath," Emma states. "He's not indisposed unless you're okay with him being indisposed."
There's a good bit of truth in that, but Charles does have lines he doesn't cross. He has many, many lines, and isn't keen on toying with them. Ever. "I'm sure Erik is keeping them safe."
"I thought you were done being afraid of yourself," Emma says, and coughs again. It's a hoarse, hacking cough, with a strange tinkling noise that Charles assumes has something to do with her diamond form. "Well, sugar, your country needs you. Whether you care more about your conscience or your people is in your hands, Voice of Genosha."
She hangs up with another hacking cough, and Charles follows suit with a sigh. My conscience or my people, he thinks, and decides.
Convincing the guard outside to open the door is barely a flicker in his mind compared to trying to carefully wake Azazel up. Charles walks out the door while slowly coercing Azazel's mind that the sedative is wearing off, but slowly. The mind of a teleporter is a tricky thing, trickier than most other mutants and impossibly complicated compared to the average human. It will probably take Azazel twenty minutes to wake up again, possibly a little less, which makes Charles smile to himself as he walks towards the General Assembly all over again.
Plenty of time for some parting remarks before he goes and saves Genosha. Again.
---
Erik decides that the United Nations is a piece of shit impossibly useless system about five minutes into Raven's explanation.
He decides he's going to destroy it about fifteen minutes after that.
"They send an assassin as an ambassador, lock Charles up and treat him like a political prisoner, and think they can get away with it?" Erik hisses out. Ororo and the twins had, thankfully, decided to go pester Hank about the invention he's tinkering on. "What do they think we are, toothless monsters?"
"Basically, yes," Moira says. "They think you can bite, but you'll just keep barking instead. When it really is you against the world, that's what usually happens."
"Then they're in for a surprise," Erik says grimly.
Raven sighs. "Are we forgetting that Charles has let all of this happen? He has to have some sort of plan or reason for going along with this."
Erik isn't so certain, considering the man had considered his mutation some sort of curse and locked himself away from it for years, but keeps the thought to himself. Moira doesn't need to know that Charles might not be willing to bite the hand that keeps swatting at them. All she needs to know is that Erik most definitely will. "Then his plan is a bad one," Erik says instead. Raven rolls her eyes, but it makes Moira's lips quirk. "We have more information, and need to use it." He turns to look at Darwin. "Do you think our assassin could keep while we rescue Charles?"
"He doesn't need rescuing," Raven says.
"And your priorities are kind of screwed up," Moira adds.
The conspiratorial glance between the women is not lost on Erik, but he ignores them, waiting for Darwin's answer.
"I think we can keep this guy inside the building, if you get in and out of there fast," Darwin says. "Rossovich seems like a patient guy, ready to wait for us to come to him. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a telepath hunting him with us through a cloud of deadly illness than take my chances without."
"How are you planning to get to Charles fast enough, anyway?" Raven asks. "We don't have any other teleporters who can make that kind of jump. Planning to get an airplane and park it in front of the UN building?"
"Tempting, but no," Erik says. "I was planning to fly."
"You can't land," Raven states.
"Which is why I'll crash through the ceiling," Erik says, not terribly bothered by the idea. "Then, we'll teleport back with Azazel."
"Since when can you fly?" Darwin asks.
"He was experimenting, before Charles," Raven says. "Something to do with the electromagnetism part." She sighs, and gives Erik a grudging look of approval. "He is pretty fast. Even if he can't land."
"The entire planet is covered by a magnetic field, Raven, not just the land parts," Erik says, and looks around the roof again, at the children trying to be sentinels and how, amazingly, they seemed to be doing a good job of it. "And you're sure you'll be fine while I'm gone?"
"Of course not," Darwin says. "But do we have a choice?"
Erik sighs, and nods, standing smoothly and realizing quickly that this will be a very, very unpleasant trip in just pants and shoes and a shirt. A coat or gloves or a hat, or even a helmet considering the inevitable crash landing, would make this much more comfortable.
He feels out the world, the endless push and pull that he's had an easier time identifying ever since he got used to feeling for Charles' constant gentle mental tug. It's the pulse of the planet, and he has to remember to breathe. He always does, when he does this. It's times like these that Erik wonders if Charles feels like this all the time, so many minds calling out around him.
"And there he goes," Raven says dryly, but Erik doesn't acknowledge it. Instead he tries to keep in mind what the physical world looks like (much easier to do when he concentrates on the feel of metal in the building and the dome above them instead of trying to remember where ledges are) as he convinces his mind that Erik is made of metal, and can follow the pulse of the world just as easily as the rest of the metal in the world can.
He hops off the ledge of the roof and doesn't even sink a few feet down, probably looking like he's standing on thin air. Erik breathes, and points himself towards Charles, letting the planet and that sense of its pulse do the rest of the work for him.
---
Charles walks into the General Assembly through the front door with a bit of a hop in his step, and also wearing a much more reasonable outfit - slacks, comfortable shirt, wool cardigan, reasonable but slightly worn brown shoes, and the engagement ring he doesn't wear very often simply because it catches on things and makes noise when his hand knocks into surfaces and generally seems a bit of a nuisance. Still, he's making a point, and that includes the silly bit of tradition around his finger.
The assembly's collective whispers become more of a roar when he mounts the stage and heads towards the speaker's podium, giving the president and his grudging but acceptant frown a somewhat respectful nod before turning to the delegation. "Hello again," Charles says, and leans against the podium like he tried so very hard not to last time. "First, yes, I'm in your mind and translating for you. Second, that is all I'm doing in your mind, and I know you won't believe me but I swear on my life that it's the truth. Third, I tried this your way, and it didn't work, so we'll be doing this my way now, with me being what I truly am."
"And what would that be, Voice of Genosha?" the president behind him asks.
Charles turns towards him, and grins. "A genetics professor."
The room rumbles again, and fine. Charles lets them, for a moment, before continuing on.
I tried being a politician, and an advocate, and a leader, but at my core I'm a professor of genetics who just happened to be born with a genetic mutation and was in the wrong place at the right time and somehow became the leader of a tiny island full of truly amazing people. I tried convincing you with political reasoning, military reasoning, emotional reasoning, psychological reasoning, and I don't think it really worked. So, here are the facts, that anyone with a PhD in genetics and a concentration on the X-gene could tell you.
Mutation more commonplace than you think. Blue eyes, red hair, exceptionally good or bad eyesight, acute hearing, above average lung capacity - these are all comparatively everyday mutations. I see at least seventy of you in the room are already mutants. At its core, mutation is simply a genetic difference from the most basic DNA code for a species. There are some more extreme examples that you're undoubtedly familiar with, such as albinism. I think that we would all agree that someone with albinism is still human, even though they look different.
Likewise, I have a mutation that makes me different from the basic genetic code for humanity. It's more extreme than albinism - well, arguably, depending on whether you follow appearance criteria or capability or percentage of genetic difference - but it's still a simple genetic mutation. The metahuman mutation is based off of the X-gene - yes, named after me, I did discover it and write the paper after all - and it's a single gene. I am one single genetic trait different than everyone else in this room.
But I'm not petitioning you for equal rights for just my sake. I'm also looking towards the future, because based on the imported slave population of Genosha, the rate of evolution in the human genetic code in regards to the X-gene is monumental, jumping nearly 400% from the 30-40 age group to the 20-30 age group. Considering that the effects of the X-gene, commonly referred to as metahuman abilities, rarely surface before puberty or a traumatic experience, and also the added difficulty Genosha would encounter if attempting to abduct someone under the legal age of adulthood, I don't have any reliable statistics for the percent increase for X-gene carriers under the age of 20.
However, if the presence of the X-gene continues to increase incrementally, there will be a one in twenty chance of someone being born with superhuman abilities by 1980. A one in ten chance by 1990. By 2010, a fourth of the world's births will be mutants. If one of your children isn't a mutant, one of your grandchildren very likely will be. One of your great-grandchildren definitely will be.
You can't stop genetic progress, not without killing every single X-gene carrier, which includes the 66% who don't have powers. You can't stop mutation. You can't pick us out in a crowd, you can't sterilize gene carriers or bloodlines, you can't even know whether or not your children are mutants, not until long past puberty and a traumatic experience. Here is the simple, unalterable, scientific fact of mutants: we aren't a problem. We are an inevitability.
To consider mutants inhuman is to-
Oh.
Oh, dear.
Second Genoshan Address to the United Nations,
Charles F. Xavier, Voice of Genosha,
April 19, 1963.
---
The minute Erik gets near New York, he thinks that a helmet would've been a really good idea. He doesn't even know how fast he's going, beyond I'm fast enough that I had to make a magnetic shield around myself and manipulate that instead of myself, and also that it's fast enough that he barely has time to recognize Charles in his mind before he's ripping the General Assembly's roof apart.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME ERIK Charles projects very, very loudly when he starts bending the rafters.
Erik really doesn't have the time to argue, beyond a frantic, CHARLES I AM GOING TO CRASH. That, of course, gets a response, namely Charles suddenly piggybacking in his mind and offering up some extra brain capacity for Erik to multitask more efficiently. They don't do this often, but it's a regular enough occurrence that Erik sends a pulse of gratitude and manages to balance himself correctly, pushing back on the ever-present magnetic pull of the planet's surface (and the metal in the building itself) to descend at a reasonable, safe speed and landing right next to a very unfashionable-looking Charles.
"Hello, Erik," Charles says dryly, lips quirking like they can't decide between frowning or grinning, sunlight shining through his hair. And that's very flattering, but we have a bit of a problem now that you destroyed the ceiling and interrupted my speech.
"Charles," Erik replies, sparing a glance for the mass of gape-mouthed people staring at them. "I heard how you were being treated."
"Oh, I'm fine," Charles says, and seems to have settled on frowning. "And I was planning to come back right after this speech. It's gotten worse?"
Erik considers just saying yes and pulling Charles towards wherever Azazel's at and teleporting them home, but instead he considers the podium.
No, Charles projects at him, the word drawn out like a disbelieving gasp, eyes widening.
Oh, yes indeed, Erik projects right back, and doesn't give Charles a chance to object. It doesn't stop Charles from projecting an endless wave of disapproval at him, but Erik's more than willing to put up with that to face the assembled representatives of the United Nations and tell them what morons they are.
"In case you couldn't tell, I'm the Imperator of Genosha," Erik says casually, and watches half of the crowd shrink back. "I'm here to take my fiancé home and have him help me kill one of the ambassadors we let you send in good faith, because said ambassador has killed not only another of the good faith ambassadors, but also half of the human administrative staff of Genosha. Really, I appreciate you all deciding to send us a mass murderer. It's been an excellent bonding experience with the children."
"Erik," Charles chides aloud, but very obviously doesn't mean it since he's still making a point of translating Erik's words for everyone in the room. And also barely restraining himself from glaring at them right along with Erik. Still, the benefit of being the leaders of the Independent Sanctuary of Genosha means they can play good-Voice bad-Imperator with the UN. It helps that everyone always (erroneously) thinks Erik is the more dangerous one. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."
"Is there," Erik says, and looks straight at the two men sitting behind the CCCP plate.
"The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has no idea what you're talking about," one of the men says, and when Erik gives them a look the man continues, "No, really! We sent you Pavel and Gregor! Gregor couldn't even find the pointy end of a knife, and Pavel faints at the sight of blood!"
"You sent us Arkady Rossovich, the toxic murderous mutant intent on killing everyone he comes across, regardless of who or what they are," Erik says.
"He's telling the truth," Charles says, frowning, and Erik watches his fingers rise to his temple. "They really didn't send Rossovich. Although...oh. Well. You can find Pavel's body on the fourth floor in the ladies' room, as an unfortunate janitor just found out. Gregor is the man you found dead on Emma's carpet."
How'd Rossovich take his place, then? Erik asks, and receives nothing but a mental shrug in reply. He sighs, and turns back to the assembly, glaring at them some more because they deserve it. "I'll make this short. From now on, Genosha will have a peacekeeping organization for the protection of all mutants, regardless of nationality, and they will answer to me."
"And on that note, there'll also be one answering to me that's for the protection of all," Charles adds, giving Erik a sharp look that Erik doesn't feel the slightest bit chastised by.
"More details on that later, after getting rid of our problem," Erik says, and turns back to Charles. "Where's Azazel?"
"Five seconds," Charles says, sounding the slightest bit absent, which means he's tinkering about in someone's head.
Like clockwork, Azazel teleports in five seconds later, tail swishing furiously.
"Fix the ceiling before we go, please?" Charles asks.
"I'll do it later," Erik says, and grabs onto Azazel's arm. "To the roof, please. The interior is toxic at the moment."
"Why did we ever leave?" Azazel asks darkly, and doesn't give either of them time to answer before teleporting away from the United Nations.
---
The moment Charles is back on Genosha, he gags, mind swarming with fear more intense than he'd ever felt before, even more than before the liberation. They'd been resigned, then. Now, they were absolutely terrified, and Charles' intimate relationship with Genosha leaves him almost retching from the force of it. Erik is there, of course, his presence like a warm fluffy blanket draped over him that also happens to be vengeful and practically bulletproof.
"You should have fetched me hours ago," Charles says, leaning against Erik for a long moment, keeping his eyes closed and grounding himself in Erik.
"I didn't think it would get to be this bad," Erik admits, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Charles can feel the unspoken, unprojected offer of a minor shielding around his mind, but Charles shakes his head. He needs to be alert, and ready. "Are you ready for this?"
"Only one way to find out," Charles says, and turns himself to searching for Rossovich's mind in the palace.
"Professor Xavier!" someone shouts, and Charles jerks out of his mind to see an eager young man in a suit holding out a very...unusual-looking gas mask, with some sort of silvery sheen around it. "I've only built one, so far, but I can guarantee it'll get someone in and out safely, for about fifteen minutes. After that, you run out of air."
"I can't even run across the building in fifteen minutes," Erik mutters.
The young man - Hank, Charles picks up - wavers for a moment, but Charles beams at him, plucking the gas mask from his hands. "Then we'll be sure to get you as close as possible, won't we?" Charles says. "Thank you very much for this, Hank. I hope we can work together, in the future. You have a very promising mind."
Hank blushes, smiling at the same time. "Are you reading my mind?" he asks.
"Not really. I'm reading his, about you," Charles says, motioning lazily towards Erik. When Hank frowns, Charles rolls his eyes and adds, "Yes, I'm welcome there. Erik?"
"He's welcome," Erik says, indulging him before frowning at Hank. "I'm marrying a telepath. What did you think I'd be doing, shutting him out?"
"Let's not browbeat the poor boy," Charles says, and hands the gas mask over to Erik's ready hands. "Thank you very much, Hank. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a murderer to hunt down."
Hank leaves them with something that could be either a very awkward and confused bow, or a very deep and jerky head-nod. Charles does his best to not bring Erik's attention to the fact there's a bit of endearment already in his thoughts right along with the frustration - Erik finding out they have yet another kid to add to their ranks would probably be excessive, after the twins too.
Speaking of, when Charles glances around to spot them, there's nothing. No Ororo, either. When he glances up at Erik, asking the question mentally, Erik sighs. "The children are with Nathaniel, Angel, and Darwin, in case we fail. Darwin and Nathaniel are the only ones who can survive the toxin."
"Why Angel?" Charles asks absently, sitting himself down on one of the nearby stone benches as he lets his mind stretch out, concentrating on skimming the palace.
"Does Nathaniel listen to anyone else?" Erik asks, and Charles concedes the point. He also drops the conversation, concentrating completely on finding Rossovich. He passes over the unsettling dying flickers of many people's minds; the dead leave something like embers in their brains, in the first few hours after death, like an echo of them is left behind, and Charles is never going to look through that, no matter how much easier it would make his search.
He finds Rossovich, frustratingly enough, in the pool. It's close to one of the larger holes in the roof, in the abandoned wing of the palace, but it also happens to be a room with one door in or out, and the pool equipment is made of wood and plastic. There are small metal railings near the carved-in ladders of the pool, but unless Erik's ripping the entire pool out from the floor through the pipes, Erik is going to have to bring weaponry and equipment in with him.
When Charles says as much, Erik doesn't seem surprised. It makes Charles smile, because of course Erik didn't think there would be anything easy about this. He watches Erik pull metallic debris out from what seems like nowhere, pulling it to himself with not the slightest bit of trouble.
"Rossovich's mind is strangely complicated, a bit like a teleporter's or trying to read a sleeping Darwin, but I can probably keep him in check," Charles says.
Erik smirks, wrapping a chain around himself. "This isn't the time for finesse, Charles."
Charles thinks about mentioning that there's a chance he could, in fact, kill Rossovich with nothing but his mind, but there are lines Charles refuses to cross, and ones Charles knows he can never cross if he ever wants to come back. Erik wouldn't ask it of him, and Charles isn't inclined to offer, so he shrugs and says, "I don't know about you, but I'd like to ask the man some questions."
"I'm fine with just taking his life," Erik says, completely nonplussed and absolutely disinclined to even think about keeping him alive, and stops his preparations to look Charles straight in the eye. "You're out of his head the minute I know I'll be fine."
"There's no such thing as a definite win," Charles says.
Erik frowns. "Charles, I mean it."
Charles considers telling him no, and then considers lying and saying yes, but settles on, "As soon as I know you'll be safe."
"Thank you," Erik says, even if they can both see the loophole, because they both know it's the best compromise they'll manage.
Really, Charles thinks more couples should constantly be in each other's minds. It makes everything so much more efficient.
Erik floats himself down through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Well, to be approximate, he floats the chains wrapped around him down through the hole, but either way it gets him down there, safe and sound. It leaves Charles surrounded by people who have no idea what he's seeing down there, and Charles is intent on keeping it that way.
I'll be fine, Charles, Erik projects towards him, both affectionate and frustrated, and Charles sends along a burst of acceptance as he starts leading Erik towards where Rossovich is sprawled in a pool, waiting for this moment.
---
Erik is used to hunting people down. He's not used to doing it with a familiar voice in his head directing him towards his quarry, but Erik isn't going to complain about that. There's the sense of a manhunt, but without the vicious primal satisfaction he feels when it's an escaped Nazi he's going to kill. It's urgent, and necessary, and mostly he feels like he needs to get it done and protect people.
Which is...new.
And hopefully a welcome change, Charles comments, pointing him down yet another hallway.
The gas mask that Hank had made is an airtight contraption that didn't take Erik very long to figure out it's more a makeshift filtration system in a space suit helmet than an actual gas mask. His skin itches, but he can still think, still calculate, still keep his wits about him in the fight ahead.
I think we should keep Hank, Erik says, because anyone who can build a space helmet with a filtration system in a limited amount of time with whatever they could grab during an evacuation seems like a good addition to their country. Even if he's human.
He's not, actually. Hank McCoy is a mutant, albeit a heavily repressed one, Charles says. And he's not going anywhere. Also, the door on your left is to the pool.
Erik nods, since even if Charles can't see it he can feel the intention behind it. He doesn't quite cut Charles off from his thoughts, but he does put a slight barrier between them, like a curtain that keeps Charles from immediately seeing what Erik is planning to do. He's killed with Charles in his head before, and Erik never intends to do it again. Not without some filtering, at least.
He considers the door, and his options, and then shrugs and rips the hinges apart with a twist of his hand. The metal shrieks as it twists inwards and blows the doors into the pool, one landing on the edge of the water while another smashes some of the furniture to pieces.
Old Genosha had been very fond of massive double doors. Erik is starting to agree with them.
Erik's hearing is impaired by the helmet-gasmask, but he can still make out a chuckle and clapping when he enters the room, already uncurling the chains from around his body.
At a glance, Rossovich is a fit gentleman in a black suit with a red shirt and tie who just happened to decide to lounge around in the shallow end of the pool fully-clothed. His hair's a long pale blond ponytail, and his skin is the unhealthy pale of the long-time imprisoned. Charles must be translating and amplifying Erik's hearing, because when Rossovich speaks, Erik can hear him clear as day, as if the man's right beside him.
"Quite a presentation, Imperator," Rossovich says when he stops applauding, and quickly pulls himself out of the pool. "The voice in my head, you trust him?"
Water sloshes off of him in the swift movement, leaving a puddle around him and Erik's attention on the hammer and sickle pin on his lapel. Particularly its very sharp point. He feels for the metal in Rossovich's body, and finds a single pin in his leg, and a knife in a holster beneath his right ar. It's not much, but it's enough.
Erik simply nods in reply to Rossovich's question, moving deeper into the room. The pool separates them, the bottom of it covered in debris. Erik would prefer to get closer, but he figures this is as good as he'll get.
The chains whip through the air towards Rossovich, fast and angry, and Rossovich is fast, dodging the first pass. The first chain sails over his head, but the second chain manages to catch him around the ankle until Rossovich twists away. The water is having an effect, though - he slips, just slightly, and it lets Erik manipulate the first chain around him in a constrictor hold that leaves Rossovich choking.
You only have five minutes left, Charles reminds him. Erik doesn't bother responding, instead simply walking around the edge of the pool and towards Rossovich, doing his best to ignore the burning and itching that has his fingers twitching more and more as he approaches.
The amount of give Rossovich is managing is impressive, but Erik is the chains, and there's no way in hell that Rossovich is getting out of them. Every single bend he manages is immediately warped back into place, every broken link reforging itself.
Rossovich has attacked their children, murdered his people, ruined Charles' UN peace attempts, and destroyed much of Genosha's chance to be a true sanctuary, a peaceful, safe place. It takes a colossal amount of self-restraint to project to Charles, If you have questions for him, now is the time.
Immediately, Rossovich lets out a pained whimper, eyes fluttering in a way Erik recognizes as what happens when Charles skims through someone's mind without being careful about it. It takes only a moment before Rossovich slumps as far as the chains will let him, kneeling and looking truly, deeply braindead.
Charles is a glorious, beautiful example of mutation if ever there was one.
What's left of Rossovich dies with a squeeze of Erik's hand, fingers closing into a fist right along with the chains that start to strangle him, and then snap his neck. There's no satisfaction in the death, only a feeling of good riddance.
Except, Erik notices, the pain in his body has yet to go away.
Charles notices right along with him, because there's a sudden burst of panic. They'd assumed the effect of his mutation would disappear with Rossovich's death, but it still claws at his skin, and Erik has three minutes of space helmet gas mask protection left.
I'll be fine, Erik projects, even if it's a lie, and tries to run for the door and leave, through any exit available, but his body can barely manage jogging. He leaves Rossovich's body where it slumped to the floor, still kneeling, without a second glance. Erik can feel Charles doing his best to find a fast way out of the building, but there isn't one. It's why Old Genosha built it that way, after all.
Turn right, Charles projects, and Erik obeys.
It leads him right to a dead end in the labyrinthine palace, staring at nothing but a wall and feeling his lungs start to constrict.
For a moment, a very brief moment, Erik remembers Rossovich's question. The voice in my head, you trust him?
Which is when the wall explodes in a burst of red energy that seems to come straight down from the ceiling, and Erik is face to face with Sean Cassidy when the kid jumps down through the debris, staring at him as he grabs Erik around the shoulders and puts a very thin sheet of metal around them both, like a metallic blanket. He's already coughing blood, Erik notices, and Erik tries to attribute the sudden burst of panic to Charles, but he can't manage that. Not when one of their children is risking his life to get Erik out.
Erik does his best to take hold of the metal around them, and he manages, barely, to get them moving upwards. He has to stop when he starts coughing blood into the gas mask, though, and Sean rips it off his face before Erik can even paw at it.
Take over, Erik projects.
I don't have the control you do, I could rip you apart or squish you or-
Just do it, Erik projects back, because he refuses to die, he refuses to stand here and watch Sean cough himself to death just because Erik didn't pay enough attention to the time he had left.
Oh dear lord, Charles says, as close to praying as Charles ever gets, and suddenly they're shooting upwards in a burst of power that Erik can tell is too much. Far, far too much. They rocket upwards, too high, and Sean starts to scream and Charles is frantically babbling in his head, and Erik thinks, enough.
And suddenly, they're standing on the roof in a burst of red light, staring down at Pietro and Wanda and Ororo. Ororo is hanging onto Wanda, Pietro staring at them both, and Wanda's stubborn little chin is quivering, like she's about to cry.
"I don't want to lose a dad too," Wanda says, and thank god Charles is there to scoop her up and hug her, because Erik is still trapped in metal with Sean gasping next to him. When he gets himself free, Ororo is immediately there to cling to him, Pietro holding Wanda's hand while staring at Erik.
Hugging three tiny children at once is...surprisingly nice.
"Thank you, Wanda," Erik says. "Thank you, all three of you."
Hugging three tiny crying children, Erik quickly realizes, is not nearly as pleasant.
---
The enormous navy leaves three hours after Erik deposits Arkady Rossovich's corpse on the beach with a very large sign that said FEEL FREE TO CLAIM HIM. They had to yank the body through the ceiling, since the palace was still infected, and was likely to be for a very long time. Emma Frost wandered out at some point and met up with the evacuees after getting a tally of the corpses inside, but the number of bodies that they can't retrieve is a waste of life that makes Charles furious.
All signs lead to Rossovich having operated on his own, or at least without the approval of the USSR, and it leaves them wondering who, exactly, is trying to destroy their tiny sanctuary island. Or mutants in general. Either way, every country seems to suddenly be very friendly.
It doesn't take long for that friendliness to be expanded on, to say the least, since they remember a Genoshan pledge for superpowered assistance. The UN seems to be ignoring the facts Charles has given them, but any telepath could tell that it's trapped in their minds. They often think about it, but they certainly don't speak of it. And if they've also chosen to selectively ignore that Erik pledged a force only devoted to mutant-protecting right along with Charles' superpowered emergency assistance, they don't say so.
The United Nations doesn't say a lot of things, but they do recognize Genosha as a country and admit the Independent Sanctuary of Genosha to their general assembly. Charles counts it as a success, even if Erik and Raven grumble about how they don't need the rest of the world's approval.
Still, it's a step in the right direction in Charles' opinion. One more step to a happier, freer, rebuilt Genosha.
---
ATTENTION GENOSHANS
ON BEHALF OF THE VOICE AND IMPERATOR OF GENOSHA, MUTANTS EVERYWHERE, AND THE WHOLE OF THE PLANET, TWO ORGANIZATIONS ARE BEING CREATED FOR THE PROTECTION OF MUTANTKIND, AND HUMANKIND. INFORMATION SESSIONS WILL BE HELD EVERY DAY FROM 10AM-12AM, AND/OR 1AM-3AM. EACH WILL COVER BOTH THE ACOLYTES AND THE X-MEN. THOSE WHO DO NOT ATTEND BOTH ORGANIZATIONS' SEMINARS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SIGN UP FOR EITHER GROUP.
BASIC INFORMATION:
THE ACOLYTES ARE AN ORGANIZATION FOR WORLDWIDE MUTANT PROTECTION, SPONSORED BY IMPERATOR ERIK LEHNSHERR, AND ALSO SERVE AS THE MILITARY.
THE X-MEN ARE AN ORGANIZATION FOR WORLDWIDE PROTECTION OF ALL, SPONSORED BY VOICE CHARLES XAVIER, AND ALSO SERVE AS THE POLICE.
PAY IS EQUAL FOR BOTH ORGANIZATIONS. TERM OF SERVICE IS 3 YEARS. BASIC COMBAT AND POWER TRAINING IS PROVIDED FOR ALL APPLICANTS, AND ADVANCED COMBAT AND POWER TRAINING IS PROVIDED FOR ALL ACCEPTED INTO THE ORGANIZATIONS.
ALSO, HUMANS ARE WELCOME.
YES, REALLY.