Hey everyone! So here is my first foray into the X-Men genre. This is an AU of First Class. Actually, this isn't just an AU, this is the AU. Somewhere out there is an X-Men world as it plays out in First Class and the other movies. That will be important if this is well received, and I end up writing the sequel that is sort of how I actually got into this idea in the first place (involving a Days of Future Past twist).
A few things to know before I get started: I'm fudging the ages just a little. In the first X-Men movie, with Patrick Stewart, he says that he met Erik when he was seventeen. That changed in First Class, as he seems to be in his mid to late twenties, but I'm making Charles twenty-two in this story. I'm imagining that, in 1944 when Schmidt/Shaw discovered Erik, he was eleven, so doing the math, in 1962 at the Cuban Missile Crisis, he would be twenty-nine.
Also, this starts when Erik and Charles are doing their recruiting. Everything until that point is the same as the movie; at the moment this story begins, they have collected everyone except Darwin; when using Cerebro, Charles made the decision to go after a different mutant, instead of Darwin; he chose to track down a mutant who was closer, geographically, than Darwin, and that is where this story begins. Enjoy!
The Warning (Please read!): I really tried to keep this a T rating. It doesn't go into huge detail, but be warned; there is physical and sexual abuse depicted and mentioned. Nothing explicit, but it's pretty obvious. I really don't think it should be rated M, because again, it's not explicit, but I need to warn you that it is there.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do wish I owned James McAvoy though.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Erik asked, glancing at his companion skeptically.
Charles looked back and nodded. "This is the place." He ran a critical eye over the dilapidated house in front of them. "Be careful, Erik. Something about this place just seems…" He trailed off, but Erik understood the meaning.
The house they were standing in front of seemed as if it could be taken down with little more than a strong gust of wind. It did not seem like the place someone might choose to live, unless they had no other choice.
Erik hesitantly pushed the rickety door open, almost surprised that it wasn't locked. He had just put one foot on the bottom step of the rickety stairs when Charles grabbed his arm. When Erik turned towards him, he was surprised to see something almost like fear cross the telepath's face.
Charles took a deep breath. "Something isn't right."
Without explaining more, he passed Erik and bounded up the stairs.
Erik let out a huff of annoyance as he followed his friend, being careful to avoid several steps that looked as if they would collapse under any amount of weight.
Charles was waiting outside a door on the third floor. He looked at Erik urgently. "It's locked, Erik. Open it."
Still confused, Erik complied, waving his hand slightly to disengage the lock on the door.
Charles pushed the door open and almost ran inside, Erik half a step behind.
Erik felt a wave of disgust wash over him at the scene that greeted them. He froze momentarily, before holding out a hand and sending out a raw wave of power.
He wasn't quite sure what happened, but the man on the bed was thrown backwards, where he crashed against the far wall.
With the man out of the way, both mutants were given clear view of the teenage girl bound to the headboard.
Erik felt his hands clench as he turned to the man lying on the floor. It was only Charles' hand on his arm that stopped him from attempting to kill the cretin.
Charles was more focused on the girl, who appeared to only be half aware of what was going on around her.
The telepath moved forward slowly, kneeling down next to the bed. He gently reached up and untied the girl's hands, whispering what he hoped were soothing words to assure her that she was safe. He tried to avoid looking anywhere other than her face, so as not to invade her privacy too much. Even so, he couldn't avoid noticing that she was wearing nothing more than a flimsy tank top and underwear. Nor could he fail to notice the bruises that poked out from under the shirt, and covered most of her legs and arms.
As soon as Charles touched the girl's hand, she seemed to wake slightly, twisting and turning to get away.
"Shh, calm down," Charles soothed. "Everything's fine, you're fine." He put two fingers to his temple, and tried to mentally calm her down.
Far from having the effect he had thought, the girl only got worse. She covered her head with her hands and screamed. "Get out, get out!" Charles reared back, surprised. The girl continued to cry. "Please, get out of my head!"
Stunned, Charles realized what was wrong, and immediately stopped his attempt. He had never encountered someone who reacted so negatively to his mental presence, before.
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he rushed. "I won't do it again." He glanced up at Erik, who looked torn between helping him with the girl, and ripping the asshole moaning pitifully in the corner limb from limb. When the metal manipulator caught his eye, Charles shook his head slightly. Erik let out an almost-sigh of disappointment. He would really love to teach that… animal… a lesson. He didn't think he could even call him a man. What kind of a person did this to another human being?
Charles knew the most important thing right now was to help this girl. He wondered why she reacted so strongly to his gift.
Erik cleared his throat. "Charles, we should get the girl somewhere safe, and come back to find the one you saw with the machine."
Charles raised an eyebrow as he looked up at his friend. "This is the girl I saw," he informed Erik simply. Erik pressed his lips together, but didn't speak further. He wondered why Charles had chosen for them to go after someone so young, but he was glad that they would be able to help her, since it would seem that her life clearly needed the assistance.
Charles focused back on the girl in front of him. She was breathing heavily in what seemed to be pain now, possibly a byproduct of her attempt to get away from him, and he was worried that she may be seriously injured. "Hey there, I need you to try and calm down. My name is Charles, and this is Erik. We're here to help."
The girl calmed slightly, and glanced over at him. Charles was taken aback by her strikingly blue eyes. They appeared to stare right through him, though he thought he could detect a hint of haziness that indicated she wasn't completely aware of anything right now. Her voice was soft and emotionless. "No one's ever here to help."
Charles felt almost like crying at the life this girl must have lived. Her eyes slipped closed, and he grasped her hand tightly, shaking her to keep her awake. He was alarmed at her state, and reconsidered whether or not they needed to get her to a doctor immediately.
Erik stayed back and let Charles do the work in this situation; he was much more a brute force type; he didn't think he would be able to help, though like his friend, he did worry about the girl's mental state. He shifted slightly, and felt his foot connect with something small on the floor.
He looked down, and then stooped to pick up an empty vial. He frowned and sniffed the inside of the bottle. It had a slightly vinegar-like smell, and he pursed his lips. There was no label on the vial, but he was fairly certain he knew what it had contained. Glancing at the girl's right arm confirmed his suspicions.
"Charles." The telepath turned slightly and looked up. Erik showed him the vial. "She's high."
Charles frowned. "You think she's a drug addict?"
Erik shook his head. "I'm not saying it was her choice. But look, she has needle marks on her arm. This contained heroin, I am sure of it. It would explain why she is not completely aware, and slipping in and out of consciousness."
Charles nodded slowly, and sighed. "We need to get her out of here."
Erik grit his teeth. "What about him," he jerked his head at the man still lying in the corner.
Charles stood up, sparing no more than half a glance at the horrible excuse for a human being. "You take the girl to the car. I will take care of it." Erik looked like he wanted to protest, but Charles was relentless. "I will take care of it, Erik," he repeated. "I'll meet you at the car in fifteen minutes."
Erik huffed, but didn't argue. He gently gathered the girl in his arms, being sure to wrap her with the flimsy bed sheet first, to protect what was left of her modesty. He exited the room, leaving Charles alone with the pitiful man.
Charles waited until he knew Erik had exited the house, before he spoke up. "You are a very sick man, you know."
The man glared at him. "I don't know who you are, but you're breaking and entering," he spluttered.
"And you're a rapist," Charles replied calmly.
The man's glare intensified. "I paid good money for that whore!" he shouted.
Charles' gaze narrowed, showing his turbulent emotions for the first time since Erik had left. "And with whom did you broker this deal?" Though the question appeared to be innocent enough, only an idiot would miss the danger in his tone. The man didn't answer, but Charles didn't need him to. With two fingers to his temple, he had the response he needed. "Her father." He shook his head. "It saddens me, that people are willing to do such things to others. Especially to people they're supposed to care for."
The man tried to stand up, but Charles shook his head. "Don't worry, you'll get what you deserve as well. You should be thanking me, after all. My companion would have much rather just killed you and been done with it." He concentrated briefly, and the man's eyes rolled back into his head. He slumped down, completely knocked out.
XXX
Charles refused to answer Erik's questions about what he had done with the man, as he slipped into the driver's seat. Glancing over his shoulder showed that the girl was in the back seat, still unconscious.
"Do we know anything about her?" Erik asked, once they had been on the road for a little while.
Charles shrugged slightly. "I believe she has some sort of telepathic ability."
"Really?"
Charles nodded. "I can't read her mind."
Erik was surprised. He knew that Charles was powerful, and he hadn't realized it was possible to block him.
Charles sighed. "I know it seems odd, but I can't actually get in. I tried to use my powers to calm her down, and you saw how she reacted."
"But you got in," Erik argued.
Charles shook his head. "I couldn't see anything. I couldn't read any thoughts."
They fell into silence for a few more minutes, before Erik spoke again.
"How was I able to throw that man against a wall?"
Charles pondered the question, thinking back on what he had seen. "I have a theory, which I believe to be correct." He paused, and glanced at his friend. "You have control over metal, Erik. Our blood is iron-based. I believe in your anger, you were able to tap into a part of your powers that you hadn't realized before. You were able to control the iron in that man's blood." He bit his lip. "You should be very careful about using your powers that way, Erik. You helped the girl tonight, but it could be easy to blur the line and use your gift for the wrong reasons."
Erik clenched his jaw. "This isn't just about tonight is it, Charles." He paused for a moment. "I will make Shaw pay," he informed his friend bluntly. "You may think you can change my mind, but I will make him pay."
Charles sighed. "He needs to be stopped," he agreed. "But I do hope you will realize that killing him will not bring you peace."
Erik shook his head. "Peace was never an option."
Charles bit his lip. "You will one day realize that there are other ways to get justice. Death is the easy way out."
Erik looked at him sharply, but didn't reply, and they drove the rest of the way back to Richmond in silence.
XXX
Early the next morning, the 9-1-1 dispatch received a call from a citizen on the north end of the city. A woman had opened her door that morning to put the trash out, and discovered an unconscious man wearing nothing but a white muscle tank and boxers on the sidewalk. When she had rolled him over, she had discovered the word 'rapist' written in black lettering across his forehead.
Police arrived promptly, and carted the man away, soon finding enough evidence to charge him with multiple counts of rape and pedophilia. He would spend the rest of his life in a prison cell, learning just how his victims had felt. Inmates really hated child rapists.
Please review! Your reviews will tell me whether or not I should post the rest of this story! It's mostly finished now, just one or two more chapters to go, but I want to know whether or not it's worth sharing! So please, just take a second to tell me if I should continue.