A Necessary Sacrifice

Pairing: Hank/Alex

Warnings: battle scenes, blood and violence, kissing

Disclaimer: I don't own x-men first class or any of the characters. All credit to the actors, directors and Stan Lee.

A credit needs to be paid to my good fanfiction friend 'Beizanten' for the idea of this fic. So a big thank you to her. :)

Chapter fic, so expect more of this story to come in the future. I've got it planned out; I just need to write it up.

All of the young mutants were running in different directions trying to avoid the shrapnel flying through the air, and the human's that were following them with guns and grenades. Charles' voice rang clear in all of their heads; it was telling them to 'get to the house' that was a few yards away in the grounds they were currently racing through, just ahead of those trying to hurt them and kill them if they got the chance.

Alex looked around to see if he could see any of his friends. He could hear Sean's piercing screams coming from a long way off, so he was somewhere in the sky, but not far enough away that the sound wasn't hurting the blonde's ears. But where was Hank? He hadn't seen the blue mutant for over an hour, and he was starting to freak out. What if Beast had been hit? Or captured by the furious humans out to get their heads on silver platters? He was big and blue and furry, it's not like he would be hard to see. They were in a green lush field and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, Hank would hardly be able to camouflage himself.

He kept running, turning around to try and blast some of the human's away. He shot off three burning red sparks, not directly at the three soldiers but in between them. The technique worked and they scattered to avoid the lines of red and they lost their momentum. Sean was circling overhead, screaming like a banshee still. As he edged closer to the ground the noise became less bearable, and the humans still following them were thrown by it. Alex put his hands over his ears and started to run faster, making the most of the stutter in the soldiers' lapse in attention. Just as the house came into view Hank barreled into Alex from the side, almost knocking the blonde down.

"Shit! Sorry Alex, these guys on my tail are fast and I barely saw you." Hank said in an exasperated voice, righting Alex from where he had been knocked off course.

"No, it's cool man. These bastards just don't give up!" Alex replied with a shake of the head. The blonde then lunged for two of the guys that were chasing Hank; they hadn't been expecting it and they fell like bowling pins, rolling away and struggling to get back up after having the wind knocked out of them.

"Cheers, Alex." Hank shouted back as he tore off ahead towards the house. Alex smiled at him and shouted his assent back. Banshee landed near Alex, wobbling on shaky legs before looking around to see how many were left standing. There were eight of them still chasing, like crazed dogs after a persistent and ballsy rabbit. Alex grabbed Sean and looked him over; he had a small cut on his cheekbone and another that had slashed through the ginger's fabric wings, leaving a line of little holes.

"You okay bro? We need to get to that house and fast. Can you run alright?" Alex asked, patting him on the shoulder to rouse his attention away from the soldiers. Sean nodded seriously and he turned and started to run with Alex fast on his heels.

They reached the house and Hank was in the doorway, beating of two of the heavily armed guys. He shouted to the mutants to get inside, but they were having none of that, so they started to use their powers to be able to garner safe passage. Sean threw his head back and started wailing and screeching, Alex squinted against the loud noise, and he saw Hank's ears perk up and his yellow eyes also closing. The blonde stood with his legs apart and started aiming blasts in the direction of the running soldiers. Each attempt left lines of blazing fire in its wake, spooking the men off course. Alex heard the men Hank had been battling thud to the ground behind him.

"I think we're good to go in the house, Charles is in there somewhere." Hank shouted above the enduring noise coming from the ginger boy. Alex and Sean nodded, as Hank rolled the soldiers he had just disabled away from the entry way with his clawed feet, a look of deep disgust on his blue face.

The house in question was fairly large, all of the windows had been boarded up, the only way in seemed to be a hole in the door that had been smashed through. If it had been a less stressful situation Alex would have pondered how Charles had managed to achieve such a feat from his wheelchair. But whatever, that really didn't matter right now. Alex grabbed Sean by the wrist and all but dragged him through the hole in the wooden makeshift door. Once inside Sean ran off trying to find Charles, 'library; I'm in the library' rang through their heads.

Alex waited for Hank to come through the door, needing to block up the hole they had made. Those bastard soldiers couldn't get in there, or they'd be royally screwed.

"Hank? Hank, come on! Get inside. There's enough time, they've got to regroup and get their strength back after our fighting, and you need to be in here, like five minutes ago!" Alex screamed out of the doorway, pleading with the blue mutant to hurry up.

"Ok…yeah I'm just…I'm coming now just give me a second to…yeah there we go." Hank said, fiddling with some small devices in his large blue hands. He squeezed whatever they were and they started to emit a greenish smoke. Dropping them on the floor a few feet away from the house, Hank turned and jumped through the hole. Luckily Alex had stepped back, or else he would've been knocked over on his ass by a determined and slightly harried Hank. Alex raised a blonde eyebrow at Hank, who explained with two simple words: "Tear gas."

Hank started ripping panels off of the wall and plugging and covering the hole in the door. Alex caught on and started grabbing some boxes that were stacked around the hallway and using them to prop up the panels hank was shoving around. After using a few chairs that Sean had emerged with, the doorway was blocked sturdily enough to keep the soldiers out for a while. Sean also moved a large cabinet, abetted by Alex and Hank, in front of the piles of boxes and chairs, just to make sure they were safe.

Charles wheeled into the room in his wheelchair, fingers placed at his temple and his eyes closed in concentration. The three boys were left panting in the consuming silence of the abandoned house, waiting for their orders from their boss.

"I'm sorry boys; we were set up by Elphias Anderson. He had those relentless soldiers on standby from the moment we arrived at his lodge. I brought you onto a hypothetical minefield that I should have foreseen." Charles eventually said, wheeling through into what had once been a dining room. Now it looked like an abandoned warehouse with the paint stripped off the walls, and damp-looking wooden boxes scattered around. Sean jumped onto one of the boxes and sat cross legged upon it. Alex and Hank followed suit and collapsed unceremoniously onto the wooden makeshift-furniture.

"Its okay Professor, you didn't know. We can hardly hold a grudge for something you weren't able to see." Sean said diplomatically, trying to force a smile as he got his breath back.

The only sound for a while was the panting of the three young men, mingled with the sound of the soldiers moving outside, and the occasional creak of wood from the boxes they were sitting on.

"How are we going to get out of here? Get back to the mansion? What the hell was Anderson doing setting all these squaddies on us anyway?" Alex spoke in an annoyed tone, throwing his hands up in disbelief and anger. Charles shook his head in a jerky way, frowning deeply.

"I believe he is being paid to catch mutants and hand them over to the government agencies hell bent on wiping mutants off the planet. As Anderson has been a trusted ally of mutants for many years, our kind would willingly go to him knowing he would treat them well. The government exploited this trusting nature and Anderson's own money worries and came up with the plan to pay for any mutants caught." The older male explained, to which the boys became more angered, Hank even let out a low growl for a moment, baring his pointed white teeth as his upper lip curled back.

"What an asshole!" Sean exclaimed, slamming his feet down on the ground indignantly.

"Indeed. Quite the betrayal." Charles agreed.

"How do you know all that, prof? He tell you?" Alex asked, swiping at a bleeding cut on his hand where a piece of shrapnel had scratched him.

"No, I was able to tap into his mind a few moments ago as an admission of such facts was forced out of him by a particularly ferocious mutant, with long claws made of metal that slide in and out of his knuckles, who had him bent backwards over a desk, pleading for mercy and crying. I don't think Anderson should have messed with that mutant. Anderson may not yet survive after plotting with the government to have our kind destroyed. As always the humans underestimate us, boys." Charles said with a grim resignation. Although hate for Anderson's bad decisions was coursing through him at that time, death and pain were not something Charles reveled in. the professor was forced back to the conversation he had had with Erik about killing Shaw and how it would not bring his former-friend peace. Erik's chilling response of 'peace was never an option' rang through his head as he sat there idly contemplating humanity and its weaknesses.

"Well, I can't say I feel bad for the guy, I mean he sold us out to the feds! But that is one nasty way to die; skewered on metal spikes." Alex said, running a hand through his sweat-damp hair and grimacing at the mental images. The others murmured sentiments of assent and silence fell again.

"The tear gas should hold the remaining soldiers off for a while, but not for long. We should attempt to escape this place as quickly as possible while they are temporarily disabled. Is the helicopter coming for us, Charles?" Hank asserted, standing up and walking over to the window, trying to peer through a crack in the wooden boards. Watching Hank so tense and anxious just caused such an attitude to swell and settle in the room, engulfing the others as they sat waiting in the dingy house. Charles had lit a few candles, but the light was flickering and casting shadows around the walls, that loomed over them like great ghost-like creatures ready to pounce.

"Yes. I called for the helicopter just before you got to the house, it should be here soon. Once we get outside we'll have to fight our way towards it, the pilot on the line said he'd have to land behind the house on a large open space. So we'll escape through a door I discovered that is around the left side of the building." Charles said in a level tone.

"Sounds good, boss. So now we just wait fro the chopper?" Sean asked, getting up and walking over to the window and standing beside Hank. The ginger bumped shoulders with the former brunette and the elder smiled his wolfish grin, although it was a little shaky at that moment, and returned to watching the field outside.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have to play the waiting game for a while." Charles replied in a resigned tone, looking around at the young men in his charge. It had been months and months since the Cuban missile incident on the beach, and his students had grown up so much in that short time.

They had been training doubly hard, by their own choice. What happened on that fateful day had taught them just how weak they could be and how they were now targets rather than teenagers hiding secrets about their powers. It was not only Charles' life that had been thrown into a massive loop that day. The team had been diminished, they had lost Darwin, and Raven, Angel and Erik had walked away, leaving the remaining x-men to flail in their absence. They had to buck up and cope with the losses they had sustained, to carry on and not fall apart at the seams. The x-men had been shaken up and gutted, but they would not fall and surrender themselves to the cruel humans that wanted to crush their spirit and lock them away like zoo animals. Charles would not let his team give up; they had worked too hard and seen too much to give up before reaching their goal.

Charles had been hit hard by Erik's departure, especially because he had been so close to the German metal-manipulator, and had learnt so much from him. He and Erik had started a relationship only four weeks previous to that day in Cuba, and it was progressing beautifully, unfolding so much potential and possibilities before them, all they could achieve and succeed at together. Even when the bounds of the budding relationship fell away, a strong unyielding heavy-foundation friendship remained between the older mutants. A mutual understanding and comprehension of their needs and their desires and their ideas for a better future for mutants lay between them. And when Erik had placed that helmet on his head and rejected it all, Charles had been physically hurt, as if a part of him had been torn away and a gaping hole had been left behind.

He'd wanted to just give up on that beach, to allow himself to die there, his friends and his soul mate Erik walking away and his body failing him. But he had people to care for, to train and to help achieve their goals, the goals of the x-men. He couldn't give up and leave them without hope, or a safe place to stay. They'd kept him going after being paralyzed and driven into a wheelchair, so in turn he had to keep them going; keep their soul fires burning so they could achieve the greatness he knew they possessed.

The wait, it turned out, was longer than they had anticipated, ending up being an hour and a half. Hank became fairly agitated when he thought he heard movement out by the doorway, but it turned out to be one of the tear gas devices malfunctioning. Alex and Charles had discovered some boxes full of books in the library so the blonde was sitting cross legged on a threadbare rug with a candle placed near him, reading an old version of Treasure Island. Charles had wheeled himself to the nearest candle as he didn't fancy holding it in one hand while attempting to turn pages with the other; he had grabbed a copy of Romeo and Juliet and was scanning through it, looking for passages to help teach the boys a bit of literature and culture in between their training sessions. Sean had flopped down and sprawled in an armchair Alex had discovered in a large closet and wheeled out into the dining room, with the ginger still inside it. So the ginger boy was now asleep mumbling quietly as he brought his knees up to snuggle in the fetal position, and Hank had even left his vigil at the window after twenty minutes and was sitting cross-legged leaning against said armchair. He was also reading, his choice being a book on Einstein and his contributions to science.

After a while Charles began to forget that they had been in danger only a while ago, it was as if they were back at home in the mansion, wiling away the hours until night fell and they retired to their respective rooms for sleep. But he was brought back to their harsh reality when he heard his radio buzz from across the room. Hank and Alex snapped their books shut and looked at the radio for a moment, flicking their gazes between each other and Charles and then to the outside area that they couldn't see. Alex picked up the books the three of them had been reading and shoved them into the backpack Sean had been wearing, before shaking the ginger boy awake lightly. Once roused Sean was on his feet, adrenaline coursing through him, he was ready for the next battle. Charles was talking into the radio in the background, while Hank peered out of the window through the crack in the wood he had previously used. Alex was pepping himself up, like he'd always done as a child before a big test at school. He'd always done it because it was something Scott also did. And before they'd been separated when Alex had gone to prison, he'd always wanted to be like his big brother. Pepping himself up was forever associated with Scott and therefore Alex's loneliness without his brother after they'd become estranged.

"Okay gentlemen, the helicopter is outside across the field around the back of the house. We will go out of the side door and run, or in my case wheel, to the transport. Any volunteers to go first?" Charles said, addressing his young charges with an attempt at a strong and reassuring smile. It was probably fairly weak and watery in reality though.

The three boys looked between each other and shrugged.

"I shall go first, Charles. You follow me and then Sean and Alex can go out after you. Let's make our way to the door and scope out from there?" Hank asserted walking from the room and down the narrow corridor towards the blocked up back door. Hank started on unblocking the way, helped by Alex he managed to break the fastenings at the edges and gently and quietly as possible peel away the wooden boards. Hank stepped out and peered around the edge of the building to check for soldiers. They seemed to have fallen back and there was no movement on the field. The sun was lower in the sky now, and was setting at a steady rate. Clouds had formed and this threw shadows onto areas of the field. Alex and Sean lifted Charles in his wheelchair over the edge of the doorway and onto the dried grass, before following him out.

The Professor pointed out the helicopter in the corner of the field, and the boys started to make a steady course towards it, a little relieved at how easy it all was. Charles passed Hank and the others and was the first to reach the helicopter. Sean was jogging slowly towards the transport, leaving Hank and Alex scoping out the area around them, Hank's blue furry ears peaked for the slightest sound. When Alex felt him tense beside him and shift minutely the blonde knew there was danger in the air. Hank squinted and pointed to a particularly shadowy part of the field where it tapered off around a corner.

"Something is moving, in that patch of shadow. I can't see what. Alex, get to the helicopter I'll cover you if whatever it is shows its face." Hank said in a barely-there whisper. Alex shook his head and carried on next to Hank, he wasn't about to let Hank be left out there alone, Beast or not, he wasn't going to be abandoned.

It all happened in a flash, the last thing Alex remembered seeing before it all went crazy was Sean reaching the helicopter and clambering up the steps into it, as Charles waited for him and Hank to arrive. Then there was a flashlight beam that fell in front of them and raked up the front of Hank's body. Then a tiny laser light that followed it and a gun shot was fired. The noise travelled and Alex made a snap-decision, he had to keep Hank alive, had to protect him. So he stepped in front of the blue mutant just as the bullet sailed towards him. It hit him in the left shoulder, just below his collarbone, this only registered because Alex felt it burn his skin and pierce it, leaving behind a fair sized hole that poured a healthy amount of blood forth. Alex toppled over, being caught by Hank who had cried out his name in an anguished voice.

"Alex? Alex! Can you hear me? Shit! Why did you do this, huh? I would have been fine to take it…I'm stronger and bulkier! Fuck! Fuck! Alex stay with us, don't let those eyelids close! Shit! It should have been me, damn it!" Hank's voice filtered through Alex's consciousness as he was wracked with sudden shivers.

He lifted his blonde head and smiled a shaky smile up at the blue mutant.

"I…H-Hank. I had to keep you alive and kicking…I'm not…you're more… I need to do something before I p-pass out, before I lose t-too much blood and I can't th-think straight…b-before it all comes to an end, y'know? Will y-you let me…?" Alex croaked out, a rivulet of blood trickling down his pale chin and dripping onto the yellow uniform top. Hank lifted Alex's lolling head so that their eyes met.

"What is it you need to- mmph" Hank tried to ask, but before he could finish his sentence Alex had lunged up with strength he didn't possess, and planted a deep warm kiss on the scientist's lips. Hank gasped, allowing Alex a chance to plunge his questing tongue between his plump parted lips. Hank's brain kicked back into gear and he kissed back just as feverishly. They broke apart and grayish-blue eyes met yellow and the stare was prolonged and full of intrigue and surprise. The question on Hank's lips of 'what the fuck just happened?' went unsaid as Alex took a last breath before falling into the tendril-reaching unconsciousness that was clawing at his fogged brain. So Hank was left to ponder that question alone, while he cradled the blonde's lithe body across his lap and hating how cold his skin felt beneath the uniform and Hank's large hands.

The next thing Hank knew Sean was charging past him and screeching out his sonic waves, the gunman dropped his gun and was covering his ears. As the wound pulsed and oozed Hank pressed his hand against it, trying to stop the bleeding. The blonde's eyelids were fluttering, the blonde lashes brushing against Alex's paling cheeks.

A faint thwacking of metal against skull could be heard from where Sean had hefted the bastard's weapon that had struck down his friend, and was battering the soldier round the head with it. With a final thump of the soldier falling to the ground he raced over to Alex's side, horrified by what he saw. The yellow and black uniform the blonde wore was now soaked in crimson blood, and Alex's usually tan skin was a deathly pale imitation of his usual complexion. Hank had his arms wrapped around Alex's torso, a litany of desperate questions and pleading about why Alex had done it and why he had jumped the bullet for him, pouring from the blue mutant's mouth.

Sean responded by swearing a lot, Charles was desperately trying to keep a semblance of calm as Hank carried his injured teammate into the helicopter, his yellow eyes darting back and forth over the expanse of field looking out for more intruders with intent to kill. They got safe passage into the transport and a fretful Sean and Hank knelt up beside the blonde, who was barely stirring as the red blood was pooling beneath Alex's limp body.

Charles, as he expected the other boys were also doing, was trying to keep the awful possibility that this might be Alex's last mission as an x-man, or as a man at all, out of his head. Alex would recover from this, he just had to. He had tried so hard to escape his old life and his failings and insecurities, and he had done so well in controlling his power and keeping his temper locked within, with help form Hank's chest plate, but it wouldn't be working so well if it wasn't for Alex's levels of control and discipline. The blonde mutant was so young and so many bad things had happened. He couldn't be dead, he wouldn't be dead. Not going to die. Charles didn't know if the team could take losing another, not after everything else they'd been through. Another Darwin scenario would rent them apart past all hope.

They rushed Alex to the mansion and laid him out on Hank's operating table. The Professor sent Sean to get towels and fresh clothes for Alex, while Hank got to work removing Alex's uniform top and clearing the wound with warm water and cotton wool. Charles helped out as best he could, applying antiseptic to the injury while Hank searched for his tweezers to remove the bullet from within his friend's chest. Charles offered to do it, but Hank was insistent.

On the journey towards the mansion Hank had explained what had happened, about Alex jumping in front of the imminent danger, on Hank's behalf. He had given his life, well not yet, but he had sacrificed himself, not going to die, not going to die, not going to die. He had intended to sacrifice himself for Hank. To ensure Hank's safety. Sean returned with towels and some pyjama bottoms and a loose-fitting t shirt for the blonde to wear once the injury had been tended to. Hank ordered Sean to sit down, and had thrown a blanket towards him, realizing the ginger boy was going into shock. Charles was talking to him quietly in the background as Hank continued to work.

Alex began to drift in and out of consciousness as Hank delved to find the bullet that had hurt his friend. Finally it had been found and taken out and tossed onto a medical tray nearby.

Then Hank had plugged the wound with gauze and sewn the edges up as best he could. Alex was fully unconscious and it had taken three hours to fix the blonde up enough to stabilize him.

Hank and Sean carried Alex across from the table to a medical cot in the back of the room, unzipping the uniform completely and dressing Alex in his bed clothes. As if it was just another night when they'd all been drinking and were unable to dress themselves. Once Alex was in the bed with the covers tucked around him Hank sighed heavily and stretched his arms, before disposing of the soiled cotton wool and gauze and washed his hands in the sink.

He nodded to Charles and told them that Alex would be okay, he just needed to recover and return to consciousness once his body started to get used to what had happened.

"I've done the best I can do for him at the moment. You've been a great help and I'm just glad we're out of that place. You two might as well get some rest, I will watch over Alex tonight. Thank you Charles, Sean. He's going to be okay." Hank said in a husky whisper, looking over his shoulder at the unconscious Alex with a pinched frown. The unspoken words of 'I'll watch over him tonight, and every night until he gets better' and 'he's going to be okay because he just has to be' hung in the air as Hank couldn't keep his eyes away from the blonde's pale form in the cot.

Hope this is okay so far.

I'm a bit crap at all the technical battle stuff with guns and soldiers. So if that part is completely inaccurate I'm sorry.

The next chapter will be hank waiting by Alex's bed side and then the conversation that they have after.

Alex will explain his decision to jump in front of the bullet.