I made a thing. Please read the thing. Then tell me what you think of the thing? And whether or not you want to know more. Hopefully, you do- enjoy! Not all chapters will be as humorless. More humor is good.
Disclaimer- I do not own anything I do not own! e.g. all of the MCU. Most of which this story will likely get to. Mina is a not-quite-mutant btw. More on her specific... physiology later. :)
If there was one thing Mina loved, it was the cool, crisp air of the night. It filled her lungs, sharpened her senses, and lifted her spirits until she almost smiled. The peaceful, almost reverent atmosphere from being alone always relaxed her. The stretch of the Siberian plains lessened the oppressiveness of the domed sky above. The cold never bothered her, only brought about a sense of icy peace.
Cool acceptance. Shao, the man who had been her beloved mentor, had always preached acceptance and moderation, saying that it was the only path to complete mastery of the powers Zo and she were gifted with. He was gone now. His eyes would sparkle if he could see her now, smiling in that grandfatherly way of his. Old man and his infinitely wise ways. He had always smiled softly, eyes twinkling like he knew something everybody else didn't.
Mina welcomed the sense of open freedom under the infinite sky. Snow crunched under her trusty boots as she left the cover of the trees, trekking out into the plain. She didn't wear anything more than some loose, billowy pants and a thin shirt. She didn't need anything more.
The frigid wind whipped through her colorless hair. Mina stretched upwards, extending, then tilted her head back to greet the twinkling expanse above, slowly spinning in place with her arms spread out to either side. It was a leisurely exercise. Back in happier times, Zo had always spun lazily like this to bask in the utter contentment that Mina had never achieved. She never felt worthy of it. He had control of his power, he was perfect. She loved him. But he was gone now, too.
This had been his favorite place. Their place. Shao would chuckle at their insistence on visiting the same rock every year. They were gone now, though, so Mina came here alone. Every year. She did the things she did for them.
She missed them.
More than that, there was this hollow inside of her that she generally avoided because she did not like to think about what was actually not there. It was more than just a rift of emotion; it felt like a block. She must wait.
- coupla months later- Charles' POV and ERIK enters
She was sprawled on the grass in the middle of nowhere, savoring a steaming pastry when they approached her in the morning.
Charles had never felt a mind like hers before. He was astounded that he had been able to touch her at all- even with the power of Cerebro, his telepathy could only brush up against her mind. It was most fascinating, its cool tendrils slipping away from his reach like water. It wasn't just his curiosity that led him to this place, dragging Erik along with him.
His intuition insisted for him to seek her out. Something in him knew that she would help them… and he wanted for her to, despite the fact that the extent of his knowledge of her had only just expanded to knowing that she was a female.
Now, looking at her relaxed figure from a distance, he just knew. Even without reading her mind, he knew she would come with them. He didn't even know how. He probably should have been more concerned about how convinced he was on the matter and how trusting he was of this person without any prior information, but his utter conviction dampened any doubts he might have had.
Erik, on the other hand, was justifiably suspicious of the fuzzy form of the girl whose features were blurred by the morning fog.
"Charles, this is not a good idea."
The addressed man turned to him, exasperated. "We've been over this, Eric. We're already here! If anything, the fresh air might do you some good. You've been tense since we arrived!"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Erik reiterated stubbornly. Charles gave him the look for the hundredth time. "Fine then," he relented. "But we better not have come out here for nothing."
"We won't have, Erik. I know it." Charles grinned at him, his face shining with excitement. "Just relax, okay?"
Erik frowned internally and fingered the iron ball bearings in his pocket. Just in case. "I'll be right behind you if anything goes wrong." He wasn't sure whether he was reassuring Charles or himself. It just felt like this person was a catalyst, like something was about to happen and he didn't like it because it was out of his control.
As they approached, the girl- no, woman was wiping the crumbs from her hands onto the grass. She didn't turn toward them but seemed to know they were behind her before Charles spoke.
Something about the way she was lounging on the ground… her slight frame that looked fragile and confident at the same time… it caught Erik's attention. It seemed… familiar. But he couldn't put his finger on it, and it only aggravated him even more.
"Hello," Charles greeted in a pleasant tone, his strong British accent apparent in just that one word. By now, Erik could see the way her pale, colorless hair reflected the weak morning sunrise and defied gravity like only one other person he knew. But it was impossible.
"Greetings," a clear voice answered. Erik knew that voice, that untraceable accent that didn't seem to exist on Earth no matter how much he wanted to know where she came from, those silver bells on her ankles- but there was no way. "What brings two strangers to a small village like this?"
"What village?" The only things in sight were fields and some hills in the distance.
She flipped around and stood in one fluid motion. The way she moved. Her light, clear skin that some women would kill for. Erik froze, automatically throwing up his mental blocks. The way she ran a hand through her unruly hair- her eyes.
They were pale, opaque, and colorless, with no pupils, and only one person had her eyes. She didn't see him. She knew he was there, but she didn't recognize him, because he had grown since Auschwitz. Erik didn't- no, he couldn't comprehend how she was here. She didn't get out. How was she here?
He couldn't wrap his head around anything. The conversation faded away from his mind he could only focus on her, and she was alive? His fists clenched as the only explanation for this rose to the forefront of his mind. Schmidt had lied to him. And she had not gone back for him.
Charles was a bit concerned when Erik's mind suddenly cut off, but he couldn't show that he was a telepath in front of this girl so soon after meeting her, or at least until he confirmed she was a mutant. Just in case. It was a precaution that they had agreed upon before going recruiting.
He threw a concerned side glance at his partner, but it didn't seem to register as Erik was staring, motionless, at the woman with a murderous glint in his eye and his hands curling into fists at his sides.
"It is going to rain soon, travelers," she said, seemingly oblivious of both Erik's hostile behavior and Charles' worry. "You may take shelter at my shop- pardon, what were your names again?"
"Right," Charles ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. He didn't even give his name because of Erik's strange reaction to seeing her. "I'm Charles, and this is-"
"Charles?" she interrupted. She suddenly seemed to focus on him, looking less absentminded and… sharper. It was more than a little disconcerting because of her pupil-less eyes. "You are Charles Francis Xavier?"
He started. "How do you know who I am?"
"I do not," she admitted. "I merely know of your names. I have been told to look out for your visit." It darkened noticeably as the sun was blotted out by a dark cloud.
"Follow me," she said, "and take Erik with you. You may want to unstick his jaw from the ground. If it gets any colder it might freeze there."
Not waiting to see Charles' comical reaction to her familiarly addressing Erik by name, her not-so-oblivious comment, and her sudden humor, she turned around and strolled purposefully away towards a small dot in the distance.
It was then that Charles Xavier realized that he had left his lucky socks at home and regretted bringing an Erik Lehnsherr with him instead. Just kidding. He realized he never got her name and that he would be stuck in a rainstorm if Erik dallied any longer.
-LINNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE wooooooo!
Her shop that doubled as her house was small and homey, and probably would be more pleasant if it was more spacious. The only really spacious part of it was the abnormally high ceiling because every surface was covered in wood, tools, paper, books, bottles, and shavings with many, many pencils scattered throughout the whole place.
It seriously looked like a forest exploded in there, and it smelled like wood, varnish, and snow.
And then there were the instruments. Violins and violas on racks and tables, each finely made, dominated precious spaces to themselves. There was a row of cubbies for in-progress-projects, and bridges and pegs hung near the windows where the sun would hit.
She decided not to bring the two men into this part of her house. They might break something important.
When Charles and Erik finally caught up to the house, the rain had begun pouring. She was waiting for them on the front porch, safely out of the icy sheets of water while both men were soaked to the bone. At least the sudden cold had shocked Erik out of his stupor.
She snorted when she saw them. "You are dripping onto my porch."
"Right," Erik retorted grumpily, "because your porch got the bad end of the deal."
Charles was shocked at this new, bantering Erik, but was too busy catching his breath to overthink it. They had sprinted the last half mile to the house. (He knew he should have worn his lucky socks. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.)
"Ah, do not blame the poor porch for your own idiocy," the woman admonished lightly. "It is unbecoming of a gentleman. You do know that running soaks you more than walking does?"
"Just dry us already, Mina," Erik grumbled.
"W- wait," Charles panted. "You… you know her? She knows you?"
Erik turned towards him, somehow still looking somewhat dignified despite his clinging, heavy clothes. Next to this slight woman… Mina, he seemed even taller than he usually did. "Yes. Mina- I met her in Auschwitz, with that man." Eric's face darkened, and Charles did not miss how it only took a single hand on his arm for this Mina to bring him back to himself.
Charles took a moment to sift through his memories- he had so many from others, he had had to make a barrier for them from his own mind for sheer self- and sanity- preservation. Mina- Erik- aha! There it was.
"That one? But I thought she died…?"
"It would take more than some silly humans with guns to kill me," Mina replied as she began to lift the water out of the porch and the sopping men. Lift the water. Without touching it. Or them. So cool.
"That is absolutely awesome!" Charles exclaimed, admiring his swiftly dry self at the same time that Erik said, "You have some explaining to do, Mina."
"Sure," Mina waved them both off. "Let us get you two inside."
She led them around to the back of the house via the wraparound porch, but not before both men had caught a glimpse inside of the front of the house. They shared a glance before following her.
"What were those wooden things in the windows?" Erik asked curiously as they entered an old-fashioned kitchen area.
Mina made a distracted noise as she headed straight for the sink and drank from it without a cup.
"You have plumbing? Out here?" Charles inquired, astonished.
When Mina was done stuffing her face with water like she hadn't been hydrated in days, she replied, "Those were bridges and pegs. For the instruments, you see." She eyed the running sink for a moment, and then splashed some more water over her face. It seemed to sink into her skin. "And yes- the village over the next hill, the one I mentioned before, its folk kindly extended their pipes for me." She turned around to face both men. "I bring them business, after all."
"How did you have the time to become a luthier?" Erik demanded without warning. "And a famous one at that? How… how are you the exact same as before?" He was picking up momentum and he just couldn't stop as his doubts rolled over him. "Why didn't you come back? At least you could have told me that you were alive. I thought you were dead!" His chest heaved. "How… why…"
Mina was instantly at his side- Charles hadn't seen her move at all. So fast. Just like before. He barely registered her pulling out a chair for Erik to collapse heavily in as the man's turmoil and roiling thoughts pressed at him. Just like before. She didn't tell me. She never told me anything. Schmidt lied to me. They were taken away, and she left me. How?
She looked up at Charles, noting his dazed expression and the way his sky blue eyes glazed over. "Here, Charles, in the other room, that way," she pointed, "there are two beds for you. Stay there overnight- the rain is not going to stop until tomorrow morning. Go ahead and make yourself at home."
Focusing on Mina's heavy accent pulled him out of Erik's spiraling thoughts. He obeyed the clear direction to give them space without protest. It was apparent that Erik was breaking down, and at least it gave him time to put up stronger mental shields so that he wouldn't be incapacitated like that again
-break...-
"Erik," Mina said softly. It was the first time she had said it since that time. And it was just the same as before. Like his name was something precious and deserved to be cherished. It filled him up inside and he could not bring himself to brush away the warm feeling that melted the last vestiges of rain chill away. Just like before.
"Erik, look at me."
He looked at her. Even though her eyes couldn't focus on him properly, her entire body language gave him full attention. Mina pulled up a chair beside him and they faced the window, watching the downpour outside. It was silent for a moment, the only sound between them the rain that pattered constantly on the roof.
"I…" she began. "I am sorry that you had to bear so much on your own."
Erik stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
"I would like for you to know some things that I kept from you." Mina shifted away from the window towards him. "I hope you can understand. But I will not think less of you if you choose not to."
Erik did not look away from the window. She ran a hand through her hair in his peripheral vision.
"There is… I… I have seen much in my life. I have been around for a long time." She huffed weakly. "A very, very long time. You are right in saying that I have not changed because I have not." She sighed. "But that is not what I mean to tell you. You see, I would be content simply to watch the world spin and to let time pass, but I cannot do so. I have duties, obligations of my own that I must perform, and sometimes that means that I cannot be where I wish I could be. And that means that for all that I can do, there are a million things that I cannot. I cannot seem to protect the ones I love." Her voice cracked at the last sentence.
He finally turned his head so he could see her face. In that moment, her eyes seemed even more distant than usual, and he realized that she was not just talking about him anymore. Her age shone through her youthful face and her fatigue from enduring for far too long was palpable.
"It is no justifiable reason for not being there when you needed support. And for that, I must apologize, but it often seems as if there is nothing I can do."
"What duties?" Erik asked once the tightness in his throat had lessened somewhat. She was telling the truth.
At the sound of his voice, Mina was dragged back to the present. "I am afraid that I could not tell you if you threatened my life," she focused on him, "or your own."
"Or Charles'?"
"Or Charles'."
"It doesn't make it hurt any less."
"It's not meant to, Erik." Mina gave a weak chuckle. A pause. "I missed you."
"I know."
So. What do you think of the thing? Is it worthy of reviews, follows, and favorites? If not, please tell me!
I'm wondering if anyone will be able to piece together what Mina is. My guess is no... the full reveal will happen around Loki's fall from Asgard though, so a long way away.