[Set the pieces.]
legend: thoughts, this will be for telepathy
Move. Bend. Do anything!
The coin was unresponsive.
Each drawn out second became more painful as the coin, one small coin, remained immobile and Schimdt's cold voice slowly counted, counted down to the seconds before he killed his mother.
Move. Move. Please move. Just move-
The gunshot blows away everything else, reducing his mind to a blank and the image of his mother is gone. Slowly, the dark red bleeds into his sight, tainting it and searing into his mind.
In the blank sheet of dark red, splotches of lighter red appear.
He can feel the metal nearby. The assortment of things in the next room. In this room, a bell, the coin, the drawers and the soldiers arsenals.
The red turns into an unfathomable rage.
Kill. Kill. And run away.
It's a concentration camp. The image, the scent and the idea of death is not alien.
His mind muffled the soldiers screams, screaming as their metal helmets crush around their head, because it's not important. Not that important now. He can't think about them now. They were tormentors. That was all that mattered. What's important is Shaw. He searches for the the largest, heaviest piece of metal in vicinity.
The drawer. It should be heavy enough. He rattles and throws around every other piece of metal, collapsing what he can, masking the sight of the cabin are lifting itself.
Shaw claps and praises him, until the cabinet slams into the back of his head.
He expects it to kill him, not simply stun him. He doesn't even fall down.
But it's something and he breaks the door lock, and runs.
There is the matter of how to get away.
But it is surprisingly easy because the allies are more sympathetic than he expects. He manages to not only to leave the country but the continent.
When he arrives, as expected his orphan state leaves him barely anything to name. he gets sympathy, a few scraps and clothes thrown to him but it won't be enough. He expected this. Luckily, he has more advantages when it comes to stealing.
He's near the northeast corner of Westchester, New York and he's heard of a mansion nearby. If he's going to steal, he might as well steal from those who won't miss it.
The problem is, he's not the only one with this idea.
He gets spotted bending the fence by a girl with blue skin.
One look at the mansion, and any grievance she had about stealing from them was gone. They were probably a wealthy family of pigs with servant and made dry commentary on the war while sitting on their dining tables. They probably had a son who was a spoiled brat. Well lucky him.
It's cold, but her skin is tough, thicker than a normal human, enough that she could run stark naked through the night with barely a shiver. She slowly starts circling the half-wall, half-fence around the mansion when she spots the boy. He's skinny, covered in rags and probably here to do the same thing as her.
Great. She can steal and leave him to take the fall.
She moves closer, to knock the boy when the unimaginable happens.
The boy reaches his hands out, and the fence bends away untouched , creating an opening.
She is left gaping at him, frozen until he turns and sees her.
"Mein Gott."
That, she knew, was German.
"Uh, hi?"
Well that was one way to do this.
She starts thinking about running when unfamiliar words pour out of his mouth.
"You are… pretty."
She stares at him as if he had suddenly turned into a life supply of candy.
"You think so?"
"Ja."
Learning other languages has always been easy for her, because she recognises to intimations, she can feel and hear what the words mean. And his sound a lot like yes.
The moment, she staring at him and him at her, is broken when suddenly, they hear a third voice of one as young as them.
I knew I couldn't be alone.
The boy starts and turns to him with a surprised look. The girl just shift her stare to him but closes her gaping mouth.
He saw the boy. while he was looking out the window. He saw the boy bend the gate without touching it. He saw the blue girl emerge from the shadows as he rushed down the stairs.
Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just like you.
He's practiced it, in the vain hope that one day he would find others. Not so vain now that they're here.
The boy however looks confused and with a quick peak in his mind he finds out why. His thoughts are in a flurry of German., with a bit of english peaking here and there. enough to know the very basics, but maybe he could help. He pushes e mind a bit, keeping it well away from forceful.
The boy blinks in surprise, putting a hand on his head.
Sorry bout that but now you should know what I'm talking about. Basically you now know English. Let me re-do that intro.
He smiles at the both of them, and can't stop the excitement that leaks from him and empathetically bleeds into the two.
Hi. I'm Charles Xavier. I don't want to hurt you, but I'm hoping that you will take my offer of shelter. I'll give you all the food you want, whatever you need. You'll never have to steal. I'm like you, so don't worry about that.
The boy looks uncertain, but Charles can feel him warming up to him. He can feel the loneliness, and the more practical thoughts of necessity. He's thinking about giving him his name, but after that it's a flurry of bad memories.
It's okay. You can choose a new name if you'd like.
Charles gives another smile.
The boy this time smiles back.
"I'm Erik."
Charles nods happily and hold out his hand to the girl.
And you?
"I'm Raven."
Welcome, Erik and Raven. Come in, and i'll see if i can find food.
Years later, Raven gives her proposal to Erik.
"You need a full name."
The topic comes up as they stride through the streets, off to find Charles in one of his particularly enthusiastic moods. The young man had most likely gone to pester a professor or dash to library.
"Why?"
"Because Charles and I know you as Erik, but to every other person you have a hundred different names. You need a full name, and a backstory to go with it."
"And pray tell Raven where would I get to officialise those?"
"Same place as me?"
"And make Charles mad again? Where's the legal option?"
"Um, a registration office place?"
"And what would I tell them? I need a good explanation for a period of mysterious blanks."
"Well you've just hit legal so you could use a little truth here and say that you came here after the war as an orphan and we took you in."
Erik sighs. He really can't see the bother. But he unfortunately sees the necessity.
"Can't I just do it during the gap year?"
"I thought you were intending to leave the country during the gap year. I distinctly remember you saying something about going back to Germany."
"So?"
"You need a passport, which comes with identity."
"I'll just get it the same place as you."
"Charles will find out."
"We're leaving tomorrow anyway, and he probably won't pay much attention to my illegal plans."
"Our illegal plans you mean, since I'm the one pointing you to a forger."
Sometimes, Charles forgets that out of the three of them, he is youngest.
Their ages are like a stepladder, with Raven a year ahead of him and Erik a year after her.
The musing comes when he's watching them leave the mansion, when he is, for the first time in a long time, alone.
They will be back of course, after their 'gap year' but the when is unclear. He does hope that they be back soon but the purpose of them setting out was to get their foothold in the world, live and find a life they want.
Charles desperately want to keep them here with him, hermits in a lonely mansion. Well, everyone has at least a silver of selfishness.
He hopes that they'll be back soon.
Somewhere over half a decade later, with Erik and Raven in their early twenties and Charles fresh off, the paradox occurs.
The mansion is cut of from the rest of the world in its own private corner in Westchester, a looming presence for most that lay eyes upon it. For the very few, it is home.
Erik arrives first, appearing at the gates, resting his hand on the cold metal. It's reminiscent of the first time he came, just as ragged as he is now, but this time there are no plans of stealing food in his mind, instead the memories of a family, a wonderful brother and sister, thoughts of rest, and hope for comfort.
Exactly like all those years ago, Raven comes next, her form melting out of the shadows of the foliage. But not in her natural form, and toting a child.
They freeze as they drink in the familiar sight.
Erik cannot see how Raven has grown. Her shape shifting makes any gauging unreliable. But in her eyes is a new flame and her head is held higher. Then there's also the child. He recognises the bond between parent and child. He makes a mental note to ask if he should offer comfort to a widow or if there's still a bastard out there who needs a punch in the face.
Erik, Raven notes, has grown. He's filled in his frame and puberty has served him very well. But he is morose, saddened. As if during his absence, he found all the reasons to love the world, lost it and built himself back up forcibly.
The standoff is broken when of their own accord, the gates swing open and Erik makes a gesture for Raven to go in first.
The gates close behind them and exactly like all those years ago, Charles Xavier comes, his soothing presence washing over their minds, a balm for fresh pain. And the charismatic personality follows, a binding force that eases them.
Welcome back.
a week later, and the three of them are celebrating, because finally, Charles Xavier has finally given in.
"Come on Charles! Don't be a stick in the mud, it'll be fun!"
Raven is as usual, the outgoing spirit of the trio. The blonde is trying to push a glass of who knows what into her reluctant brother's hands, discreetly digging her heels into the man trying to grope her. She chose a simple form tonight, the one she usually wears when she needs it but drunks don't need much baiting.
Charles refuses it again, he does not think spending his birthday drunk will be good, but he feels his other companion laughing and patting him on the back.
"Really Charles, you'd think we were trying to give you poison. Just do it to sate Raven. You know how stubborn she is."
"Who's side are you on?!"
"Raven's, obviously."
Charles turns to glare at Erik. He's grown from a skinny boy to a built man half a head taller. Honestly, it's slightly embarrassing to be shorter but he mentally reasons that it because Erik is German, and Germans usually have quite imposing figures.
Charles sighs, takes one last look at Erik's daring face and Raven's puppy dog eyes, before downing the glass.
It's great.
He tells them that and asks for more of whatever it is he's drinking, laughing with Raven and Erik, before the drink arrives and Charles starts his long night, Erik throwing in recommendations as he joins him and Raven turns to give the man groping her a good kick in the balls.
Ah, it was good to be young.
Later that night, when they have stumbled home, before midnight because Erik has notes the signs that Charles is close to being far gone and raven's worries over her son, Kurt, is easy to pick up without telepathy. Kurt is an independent child, by three year old standards, but it is a mother's instinct to worry.
But they laugh because its great to be together again.
Hank McCoy was only 40% sure the would work.
He could design supersonic planes and graduate the university at the the top of his class, but the syringe in his hand was the one thing he was never sure of yet at the same time the one thing that mattered the most to him.
He knew he should probably test in an animal first but he didn't know where he could find mutated animals, of the same type of mutation as him, that would procure near accurate results.
There was no choice but to test on himself.
Kurt is safely tucked in bed, sound asleep when Charles dares to breech into Erik and Ravens minds.
Would you like to talk about it?
About what, Charles?
The air of gloominess that surrounds the both of you. What happened?
They sit themselves in Charles' study, surrounding a chess set, elaborately carved wood on metal pedestals.
Raven looks at Erik eyes, sees the familiar reluctance. He has never been open, not to even to them.
I met another mutant while traveling.
Erik and Charles look up at Raven. Charles knows that she's promoting Erik, and motions that he is listening.
Like me, his mutation altered his physical form, but he was a teleporter. I met him in Russia and we- got along well. But eventually he told me he needed to leave, because he was-involved in something dangerous. It was only after he left that I found out about Kurt. I managed to travel farther out in, trying to get home before I gave birth but i didn't make it so I spent a lot of time trying to travel back.
Charles puts his hand on hers and Erik on her shoulder. Raven tried to push out the details, because the time she spent with Azazel, even though it was only a fe month felt like a memory she should should lock up in a box like treasure, only to be shared with her son.
Erik?
Charles and Raven turned to him, kindly prompting.
I had a child too. A daughter. Named Anya. Would have been the same age as Kurt.
What happened?
The mental link is flooded with images of fire and screaming, the makings of a mob and the cries of a little girl.
Erik I am so sorry.
The images ebb away as Erik calms and Charles poses the question.
… um, the mother?
Erik's wistful smile turned into a grimace.
She was someone I knew before the war. A human though. She fled after she saw me using my powers trying to save Anya.
He gives a wry smile, unsuccessfully trying to calm the both of them.
The story is entirely different from hers, yet so similar. The same things happened to him, and yet Raven got the better end.
Did life really have to be this hard on him?
Kurt really like his mother's brothers. They were really nice to him. Though he preferred the smiling one. The other one was always so droopy.
The day after is a bit of fretting about because Charles, for all his skills, cannot slip in 'oh-by-the-way-I'm-in-Oxford' into their recollection moment last night.
There also the mention of Charles' new maid.
"Why do you think the house is so clean? You don't really think I've manages it alone a these years."
"But you have a dozen trusty maids who've been with you since childhood. Why the new one?"
"She was barely holding a job at a strip club upstate. I offered her a job where she could keep her clothes on."
"Oh great. A stripper. How do we know if she can be trusted?"
Charles smiled knowingly at them.
"You'll see."
Charles leads them to the dining room and opens the door to reveal Kurt hanging off the chandelier with the new maid flying beside him.
"Could you please get off the chandelier? I need to fix it before you break more of it."
Kurt clapped happily, swinging in his tail to try grab the flying teen.
Raven stares at up at the insect wings that protrude from the girls back, and Erik sighed before commenting dryly to Charles.
"This would have been easier if you'd told us she was one of us earlier."
"You know me Erik. I enjoy surprising the two of you. Meet Angel Salvadore. Angel, meet Raven and Erik."
Authors note: Gahhh. Gahhhh. Time to write out the year old AU.
Warning: I will mess up timeline, I have only skimmed the comics and updates will be slow