Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it

Chapter 2

"Hank, I am truly sorry for uncovering your mutant ability. I did not realise it was a secret until it was too late." Charlie told the younger scientist.

"That's OK, I'm glad that I found others who accept me." Hank told the telepath, grinning at her.

"So, your idea on building this machine to find other mutants, run me through the details."

Erik glanced back at the facility and ignored the hidden stab of regret for leaving, but he had to go find Shaw and the documents he stole would help him to do so.

'Erik, do not go. You will not be able to go after Shaw alone. I can help you to find him, and you can help me find mutants to join our team.'

Erik glanced behind him and saw Charlie standing at her bedroom window, looking out at him.

'It is your choice Erik. I will not stop you from leaving but we will be better off if we stick together. I can help you control and expand your powers to levels you cannot even fathom, and we can work together to change the world, my friend.'

Erik growled in frustration but looked back out to the gate. Glancing back up to the open window, it was now shut with the occupant back in bed, leaving him to decide. Something in Erik told him to stay, to accept the help and comradeship, but the other part of him was telling him to stay alone for he was better off that way, that he couldn't trust anyone other than himself.

The next morning Charlie entered the kitchen to find Erik looking through the fridge for food.

"You chose to stay." Charlie said, grinning at him as she boiled some water.

Erik grunted in reply and didn't say anything until he had his breakfast in front of him. "I'll help you to find others, but without the humans helping. This is not something they should do."

"Of course, I wouldn't want it any other way."

"So, Raven's your sister?" Erik asked Charlie, as he found her curled up under a blanket outside, looking up at the skies.

"She was in my house looking for food when we were 9. I offered her a place to stay and we have lived together ever since." Charlie explained.

"Why are you out here then?" Erik asked, gesturing to the outdoors.

"I do not sleep often. You would think that when a person is not thinking that it would be easy to block their minds, but dreaming leaves the mind open and makes it difficult for myself to sleep due to all the noise." Charlie explained.

"You can hear everyone's dreams?"

"Hear, feel, see, smell and taste. If I concentrate on a specific person, I am able to experience their dreams as if they were my own, but I remain awake. Right now, as I am trying to ignore them, the dreams of each person are blending to become one loud mess of stimulation that I do not need." Charlie sighed, clutching the blanket tighter to her and glanced at Erik briefly, before returning to observing the skies. "Do you know astronomy?" she asked, suddenly.

"I can tell my position by the stars, and I know the major constellations."

"Do you know the stories behind them?"

"No."

"Can you see the Andromeda Constellation?" Charlie asked, pointing at the group of stars. "It is a woman with outstretched arms and chains hanging off her wrists; Andromeda. She was the princess of Ethiopia, daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia was a boastful woman, and foolishly bragged that she was more beautiful than Juno, the queen of the gods, and the Nereids. In order to avenge the insult to his nymphs, Neptune sent a sea monster to ravage the Ethiopian coast. The horrified king consulted Ammon, the oracle of Jupiter, who said that Neptune could be appeased only by sacrificing Cassiopeia's beautiful virgin daughter, Andromeda, to the monster. Andromeda was duly chained to a rock on the coast, fully exposed to the monster. Fortunately for her, the hero, Perseus, happened to be flying by on his way back from killing the Gorgon, Medusa. When Perseus saw the princess, her arms chained to the hard rock, he would have taken her for a marble statue, had not the light breeze stirred her hair, and warm tears streamed from her eyes. Without realising it, he fell in love. Amazed at the sight of such rare beauty, he stood still in wonder, and almost forgot to keep his wings moving in the air. As he came to a halt, he called out, "You should not be wearing such chains as these; the proper bonds for you are those which bind the hearts of fond lovers. Tell me your name, I pray, and the name of your country and why you are in chains." At first she was silent; for, being a girl, she did not dare speak to a man. She would have concealed her face modestly behind her hands, had they not been bound fast. What she could do, she did, filling her eyes with starting tears. When Perseus persisted, questioning her again and again, she became afraid lest her unwillingness to talk might seem due to guilt; so she told him the name of her country, and her own name, and she also told him how her mother, a beautiful woman, had been too confident in her beauty. Before she had finished, the waters roared and from the ocean wastes there came a menacing monster, its breast covering the waves far and wide. The girl screamed. Her sorrowing father was close at hand and her mother too. They were both in deep distress, though the mother had more cause to be so. Perseus told Andromeda's parents that he would kill the monster if they agreed to give him their daughter's hand in marriage. They of course gave him their consent, and Perseus killed the monster. He then freed Andromeda and the two joyously became husband and wife." Charlie sighed, and then turned her face away from the stars to grin at Erik, "It just goes to show that even Ancient Greeks were chauvinistic. Showing that women were vain and shallow, and unable to do anything for themselves, relying on men to slay their beasts and free them."

Erik didn't say anything, but sat with her until the sun started to rise. She groaned and stood up, offering a hand to help the man up. He ignored it, and stood gracefully on his own. "Thank you for sitting with me Erik. I appreciate it."

"You've done it? You can find other mutants now?" MacTaggert asked, strolling into the labs to find Charlie and Hank showing Erik and Raven the device.

"Cerebro magnifies my telepathic ability for me to be able to sense other mutants and where they are." Charlie clarified, even though everyone knew what she had been doing for the past days.

"Great, we'll send teams out to the mutants –" MacTaggert started to say.

"No, Erik and I will go to each mutant, no-one else; human or mutant." Charlie ordered.

"We can cover more ground if you let us help." MacTaggert offered.

"If we are not allowed to go alone, then I will not tell you the location of the mutants."

"I have no problem with you going, just be careful. And hurry."

"I don't know what you want with him; he is probably our only prisoner who prefers solitary confinement." The guard said, opening the door to reveal a young boy with blonde hair, and obvious anger issues. Scratches and burns marked the walls and he sat on his bed, his muscles tense in anger at something. He looked up at the man and woman and frowned questioningly at them.

"Alex Summers?" Charlie asked, smiling at him.

"Yes?"

"How would you like to learn to control your temper and your gift?"

"Lovely fish, are they not?" the girl asked the old teenage boy who stood staring at the colourful marine creatures.

"Oh yeah, lovely." Sean Cassidy muttered, before glancing at the girl, and taking a double take at the girl.

She grinned back, and said, "But that is not the reason you spend so much time down here, is it?"

"What do you mean?" Sean demanded.

"She means that you like scaring the little fishies away." A man spoke on the other side of Sean, having crept up on him.

"Creating sonic soundwaves from your voice, brilliant." The girl commented, causing Sean to turn pale and start to look for an escape.

"Relax, my name is Professor Charlotte Xavier, and this is my comrade Erik Lehnsherr. We can help you expand your gifts and find a place where you belong and are safe." The girl explained, holding her hand out.

Sean grinned and said, "Sure, I'm in." He shook her hand.

Charlie entered the bar and walked up behind the mutant. Erik stood on the man's other side. "Logan?" Charlie asked.

"Fuck off." The man said, not looking over his shoulder or even up from his bottle of beer.

"But –" Charlie was cut off as Erik dragged her out.

"Lily Ambers?"

"Whose asking?" the young girl said, squinting up at the pair as they stood over her. She didn't move from leaning against the tree, with her study books spread out around her on the grass.

"My name is Professor Charlotte Xavier, but I prefer Charlie. This is Erik Lehnsherr."

"Professor?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I studied at Oxford; genetics and mutations." Charlie explained, crouching on the ground next to the girl.

"I'm doing biochemistry." The girl replied to the unspoken question, gesturing to the books around her.

'You could join us and learn how to use your abilities?' Charlie casually sent her, rubbing her forehead and adjusting her hair as a disguise for pressing her fingers against her temple.

Lily hid her surprise well and surprised the pair by shaking her head, "I'm happy here as I am, but thank you. I can control it, it doesn't hurt anyone and I am happy to stay here, study and find my own way in life."

"Well, if you ever need help, come find me." Charlie said, standing up.

"Thank you for your offer."

"You are welcome." Charlie left, leading Erik away. The girl watched the pair leave with a moment of doubt, wondering if she should call them back and go with them, clearly she would belong with them but she smiled as a flower grew up and brushed against her hand, drawing her attention back to her books.

"You do know it is extremely weird for me to be sitting here with you, waiting at a stripper joint." Erik pointed out, reclining on the bed next to Charlie.

She grinned, and held her glass up for him to knock his against hers. "Are you suggesting something my friend?"

"Nothing at all." Erik gave her a rare grin back, just as the girl they were waiting for walked into the room.

"I don't care about genders, but it is double for the both of you." Angel warned, giving the pair a weird look.

'How about we show you ours, you show us yours?' Charlie projected, as Angel jumped in surprise.

She grinned, and undid her top, her tattoos rippling and peeling away from her skin and solidifying to form wings that fluttered to lift her off the ground.

"Would you like a drink?" Charlie offered, as the girl landed and Erik lifted the metal bucket that held the wine bottle over to her using his control.

"Where do I sign up?" she asked, grinning as she took the bottle and took a swig straight from it.

Water splashing was echoed by the vast, tiled room and the chattering and happy screeching of children fluttered back to the duo's ears.

"Are you okay my friend?" Charlie asked Erik, as they hovered by the door.

"Where are we going now?" Erik asked with his face guarded and tense.

"The local pool, Andy Walters swims there regularly." Charlie explained. "Would you like to wait outside? It might be easier if I go in alone to convince him."

"I will come with you; trouble follows you like a magnet." Erik explained.

"Let us go in then." Charlie led that way, bypassing the reception with a quick projection and entered the tiled room to find the room crowded with families and children swimming, along with members swimming laps and others climbing in or out and children running around, licking ice-creams. Charlie turned to a life-guard nearby and asked, "Hi, I was looking for Andy Walters? I need to ask him something quick."

"He's in lane 3, honey." The life guard winked, as Charlie grinned and left after thanking the man.

Walking up to lane 3, she waited until the swimmer approached their end and pressed her fingers to her temple, freezing everyone around them and then 'speaking' to Andy. 'Hello Andy, can I have a quick word with you please?'

"Who the hell are you, what have you done and how have you done it?" Andy demanded, standing upright and immediately noticing the frozen clock and people.

"Did you really think you were the only one unique? I am a telepath while my friend here is a metal-bender. You are Andy Walters, an extremely talented swimmer. I am organising a team of people all with special abilities to learn to control them and help the country in finding more and –"

"Thanks for the offer but I'm happy here." Andy cut off, glaring at Charlie until she sighed and shrugged.

"Okay, I offered you the chance and you are able to decide for yourself. Good luck with your life, and if you ever need help, I am Professor Charlotte Xavier, and I will do what I can to help if you require it." Charlotte promised, before leaving. As soon as she left the room, she lowered her fingers and everyone resumed their normal activities, the clocks resuming as well.

"One more down, next one now." Erik muttered.

"TAXI!" Erik shouted, as Charlie pointed to a certain one, confident it held their next mutant.

The taxi pulled up, and they both climbed in. "Where would you like to go?" the taxi driver asked, a young male adult with dark skin and close-shaved hair.

"London." Charlie told the man.

"So, an airport, or train station?" the driver asked, a little confused.

"No, straight to London." Charlie repeated.

"That will take a quite a few hours." The driver warned.

"So, it will give us time to talk." Charlie smiled.

"About?"

"Your mutant ability." Erik cut in, annoyed at the dancing around the topic.

"What do you mean?" the driver asked, sounding a little panicked.

'What do you think we mean?' Charlie told him, fingers against her temple, eyes locked with the driver's through the rear-view mirror and her mouth stationary.

"Cool."

"Shaw is not here, he did not come to Russia. Emma Frost is here alone."

"What do you mean Shaw isn't here?" Erik growled.

"Shaw stayed behind somewhere. I do not know where, he is simply gone, I cannot find him." Charlie sighed, slightly frustrated.

"I'm not going to let her get away without her telling me where he is." Erik growled, before jumping up and running away, through the forest towards the fortress.

"Erik, get back here!" Charlie demanded, worried for her friend.

When he didn't return, the CIA agents crawled away from the edge and began planning their escape, "I'm sorry Charlie, but we have to leave. Shaw isn't here, the mission is off." Moira sighed, placing a hand on her arm.

"I am sorry, I cannot leave him." Charlie ran after him, just as the wire fences and barbed wire running along the perimeter became alive and attacked the soldiers. Charlie ran through the wreckage, fingers pressed to her temple as she reached into Erik's mind. 'There are two soldiers, coming up on your next left.'

Erik chocked them with their dog tags until they fell to the floor, unconscious. "I didn't kill them Charlie, relax." Erik muttered.

'Turn right, then left. Emma is in there with the old man.' Charlie directed him, her disgust evident as she followed his path into the fortress.

"What are they doing?" Erik asked, assuming something was disgusting the mind-reader.

"Emma is playing mind games with him." Charlie told him, coming up behind him and joining him in his journey through the place.

They burst into the bedroom to find the General on the bed, playing, and Emma relaxing on the couch next to the bed. She stood, surprised by their entrance.

"Sleep." Charlie told the general, fingers against temple, lacing her voice with her power to back her suggestion.

The general fell unconscious on his bed, as Erik punched at Emma, who ducked. 'She is attempting to attack your mind, like before on Shaw's yacht, I am blocking it, but act in intense pain so I can draw her attention, and you can restrain her when she is distracted.' Charlie informed Erik, who responded by collapsing onto the floor and bucking in pain. Emma chuckled, before turning her attention to Charlie.

Charlie focused on her mind and reached in to freeze her but was blocked out as she shifted, changing her skin into diamonds. "Good luck breaching my mind now, mind-reader."

"Just because you have a secondary mutation, does not mean I am incapable of protecting myself." Charlie told her, slowly backing away. Emma lunged forward and grabbed at her, only to have the metal from the bed frame wrap itself around her wrists and waist, yanking her to the floor and holding her in place.

"What?" Emma growled, jerking against the binding and trying to get free. A metal vine wrapped around her neck and began choking her. Her diamond skin began cracking, despite its strength.

"Erik. Stop. We need her to answer our questions." Charlie warned. He ignored her, just tightened the metal, causing the diamond to crack even more, the fissures spreading from her wrists and neck.

"Erik. Please." Charlie begged, not wanting him to kill her.

Erik growled into her face, but the vines stopped. Erik tapped her form, causing her to shudder, shift into a normal human. "She tries to shift back into her sparkly form and it'll shatter on her. Get what you need and then send in the cavalry."

Charlie mentally sighed, but crouched in front of her, fingers against her temple and concentrated on her mind.

"You know, us grown-ups don't need to rely on petty tricks to focus their abilities, I could teach you if you want." Emma snapped. Charlie ignored her, as she then sarcastically retorted, "Actually never mind, the whole fingers against temple thing is cute, smart even."

Charlie smiled sweetly at her and said, "Did you know, that when the individual resorts to insulting another person's maturity, age and power, it is almost as low as resorting to sarcasm."

Emma growled but her eyes slipped shut as Charlie knocked her out. At Erik's questioning look, she grinned at him and said, "It is safer and easier for the CIA to transport her unconsciously to a secure location. I was just helping them out by putting her unconscious humanely."

"Sure." Erik muttered sarcastically.

"Just in case you did not interpret my previous comment, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit." Charlie informed the man cheerfully. Her smile slipped as she sorted through Emma's thoughts and found Shaw's location. "Shaw is attacking the CIA's facility right now, and is going to ask Raven and the others to join him." Charlie explained, before racing out, grabbing his hand and dragging him out behind her.

"But Raven won't go with him?" Erik asked, as he was confused as to why she was worried.

"And when she refuses, he will kill them."

TBC

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