X-Men Brotherhood: Kaiju of Chernobyl
by Violetlight
Author's Note: Mandatory info-dump chapter (thank you, TV Tropes)! Learn a little more about our resident monster, about Charles Xavier's opinions on the whole thing, and his tea preference. To Anon, thanks for telling me about Deadpool's Kaiju adventures. To be honest, it's not really that surprising that Marvel has featured them in the past. Hey, they've done nearly everything. Still, I hope you enjoy my Kaiju.
Chapter 2: An Informative Journey
"Heh, haven't been here in a while, Chuck," Logan sniffed the air as he and Xavier left the Blackbird, parked in the middle of the prison's courtyard. "Smells the same, I think."
"I'll have to take your word for it, Logan." Xavier said, as he nodded in acknowledgement towards their apparent host, a middle-aged mustached man in a three-piece suit, which contrasted with the surrounding guards' uniforms.
"Welcome to Japan, Xavier-Sensei," the man said with a bow, in formal, textbook English. "I am Yagami Soichiro, chief inspector for S.H.I.E.L.D's Japanese division -"
"Great, why am I not surprised that S.H.I.E.L.D's stickin' their dirty noses into this business." Logan interrupted.
"Logan, now is not the time," Xavier said. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Yagami-San. However, I am honoured that you decided to call me about this matter."
"As soon as Dr. Ayanami's blood tested positive for the X-Gene, it was the only logical thing to do, regardless of Agent Fury's opinion on the matter," Yagami replied.
"So what can you tell me about Dr. Ayanami?" Xavier asked.
"From what I have learned about you, you hardly need to ask."
"Ah, so you've done your homework. You should know, then, that I prefer to not use my powers in that way."
"Of course, Xavier-Sensei," Yagami said, with a slight smile that seemed, to Xavier, to confirm that yes, Yagami was testing him. Yagami opened the file folder he carried under his arm, and read as they walked (wheeled, in Xavier's case) inside, down a stark, utilitarian hallway, that probably led to the holding cells. "Dr. Gendo Ayanami; 53 years old. He completed all three of his degrees at Tokyo University, and has served as a nuclear physicist for 26 years, 15 of those at Fukushima. From all accounts, he is a humble man whose job is his life. He never married, and has no surviving family. He has no criminal record, and even his academic achievements seem average for his field." Yagami closed the file, "but these are just words. I have dealt with real criminals for most of my career, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has plenty of experience with the worst this world – and several others – has to offer. Ayanami-Sensei is not like that. He is not a criminal, not even a troublemaker. He says feels nothing but remorse for what happened at the plant, and I believe him."
Xavier nodded. "I reviewed the security footage you sent me on the way here, Yagami-San, but please, tell me in your own words what happened."
Yagami sighed. "In any other circumstances, he would be considered a hero. He stayed behind to make sure all the workers in the plant evacuated before he left, and suffered what should have been a lethal dose of radiation before the last security bunker dropped in his department. That is where the trouble started."
"I've seen the footage too," Logan said. "He just started growing, and growing, turnin' all red and scaly, 'til the camera blew."
"And the news captured most of the rest," Yagami confirmed. "I must say, I did not believe it when I first saw it. I thought somebody had played a sick prank."
"One of our younger students thought so as well, according to my chemistry teacher at the school," Xavier said. "She is a recent exchange student -"
"Hisako Ichiki," Yagami finished. "Like you said, I have done my homework. I am relieved that her family was not affected by the tsunami. The main point is, Ayanami-Sensei is a mutant, one with a dangerous power, but who is not, in my opinion as an officer of the law, a dangerous man. You and your … teachers, have dealt with some of the most volatile cases in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files, some with unbelievable success."
As Yagami finished that last sentence, a few images stood out in his mind so clearly that Xavier could not help but to see them. File photos of Remy, of Warren after his transformation into Archangel, and, especially of Anna – of Rogue. Yagami had a grunging respect for the way she had, as a young teenage member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, almost single-handedly defeated a team of Avengers. The way Rogue had become as well-adjusted as she did – admittedly still with some difficulties to overcome - spoke more of her own determination than his mentoring, in Xavier's opinion. He had to admit, however, that the influence of her foster mother was doubtless a factor in that stubbornness. At the thought of his adopted sister, Xavier sighed. That was something he did not want to think about at the moment.
At Xavier's verbal hesitation, Yagami stopped walking . "Xavier-sensei, I must now ask you: Truthfully, do you believe you can help this man?"
Xavier sighed. "It is unusual, though not unheard of, for the X-Gene to manifest itself so late in a person's life, and teaching him will require a different technique than what I use for the majority of my students. However, if Dr. Ayanami is the way you say he is, yes, I can believe I can help him, providing that he wishes to be helped."
"I believe that he will accept your off -" Yagami was interrupted by one of his guards running towards the group, yelling in Japanese at his commander and obviously quite panicked. Xavier felt Logan tense behind him, and he had to strain to pick out what exactly the guard was thinking, though he got a sinking feeling with the first translated thought he was able to pull out of the scramble. The bars!
Yagami broke into a run down the remainder of the hallway, with Logan following, and Xavier putting his wheelchair into its fastest setting, though it did not take his powers to know that was futile. Sure enough, the barred window in the cell had been torn completely away, and a large chunk of the steel-reinforced concrete wall had gone with it. Dr. Ayanami, was, of course, nowhere to be found. Xavier placed his hand over his forehead, a headache already starting.
Logan sniffed, and confirmed what Xavier already suspected. "Yer frenemy's paid a visit, Chuck."
"Erik, what have you done now?" Xavier groaned to himself.
After a quick conversation with a man in a lab coat, Yagami ran a hand though his greying hair as he turned back towards his guests. "Xavier-Sensei, there is something else you should know."
"I know who took him."
"Obviously. What I meant is what was just reported to me. Fukushima is apparently completely radiation-free."
It took a moment for the significance of Yagami's report to sink in. Logan, however, beat him to the expected "What?"
"There is no residual radiation at Fukushima, after a level 7 meltdown. The area should not be habitable another few hundred years at the least, yet the radiation levels there are actually less than the remainder at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Less than the normal background radiation levels in Tokyo, in fact."
"Could you please email me the reports, Yagami-San?" Xavier asked, as he turned his wheelchair around back down the hallway. There was little else he could do here, and no doubt, what the report held was something Magneto already knew.
After a very long flight back to Westchester County, New York, Charles Xavier wanted nothing more than to be alone in his office, to relax for a little while, get caught up on his never-ending pile of paperwork, and perhaps have a cup of his favourite earl grey tea. However, as much as he wished he could be surprised by what greeted him in his office, Xavier really was not.
Across his desk, spelled out in paper clips bent into perfect cursive writing, was a not-so-unexpected message: Meet me at the park. Tomorrow. 2 pm.
To any of his X-Men, knowing that one of their most dangerous enemies had been close enough to the school to leave such an intricate message would have pushed them into a panic. However, the only thing going through Charles Xavier's mind at that moment was, really, Erik? Would it kill you to pick up the bloody phone sometimes?