Title: Kinkmeme Drabble #2: Unleashing the Phoenix
Author:cathat77
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2707
Characters: preslash, Charles, Hank, Raven, and Erik
Warnings: major character death
Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form does X-Men First Class belong to this author. X-Men First Class is the property of Marvel, and this author is merely borrowing from the Marvel Universe.
Unleashing the Phoenix
Charles rubbed at his forehead, attempting to crease out the pain of some many other minds here where there had been so few before. He hated feeling so helpless, so much like a child. Cerebro felt so wonderful, and waking on the astral plane for the first time had hurt, yes, but nothing could match the exquisite pain he felt with every mutant he saw there. They pulsed and glowed, and all he wanted to do was take them all in his arms and… fly.
He shook his head, trying to not think anymore about Cerebro. Hank had said not to overtax himself, but he so desperately wanted to fine tune it. He wanted to sit in it for hours at a time if possible. Erik, he would help. He could beg Erik for a game of chess now. After all, Erik had obliged every other time when Charles had felt Cerebro's siren song wailing at him.
About to reach for the doorknob, Charles's fingers hovered tremulously as he scanned the room briefly. Raven was inside… with Erik. He knew he shouldn't pry, but he felt the urge to know what they were doing inside there. Charles stifled an aroused cry as he felt the passion between Erik and Raven in the room. He had never suspected anything between them. Sometimes, he had envisioned giving Hank a friendly but warning discussion about treating Raven like a lady. Not really necessary, when Erik set upon taking her virginity.
His arm fell to his side, and he stomped away from the room. He had no right to feel jealous. Erik was clearly not interested in him, and if he…. Charles couldn't pretend to continue the farce inside his mind. He couldn't pretend that he didn't care. He couldn't pretend that he didn't want to be the one enveloped by Erik's arms, that he didn't want to wake up by his side every morning, to press a soft kiss to that man's cheek every morning.
He briskly walked to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine as he entered. He walked back to his room, not even bothering with a glass as he drank straight from the bottle. He collapsed onto his bed in frustration.
Knock knock.
He murmured a quiet "Yes, come in." He wasn't too surprised that Hank wanted to come visit him at a time like this. Charles patted the empty space on the bed beside him, and Hank awkwardly sat down upon it.
"Raven, she… was pretty mad at me." Charles said nothing in response, only waving his hand to encourage Hank to explain why. "I finally figured out how to perfect the serum. I offered it to her, but she refused. I thought she wanted to look normal, like me. I haven't taken mine yet. I thought I'd talk to you first. I'm glad you're here." Hank could feel the Professor rooting through his mind, and suddenly, he stopped.
"Hank, think about why she might have refused. You told her that your natural looks were some sort of abomination and that you needed to conform to society to fit in. Considering that Raven has been hanging around Erik, does that seem like something she would want anymore?"
Hank's eyes widened at the thought. "But, she wanted as much as I do."
"I'm sure she did. Raven has always wanted to look normal. It's only Erik out of all of us who encourages her to look the way she was born. Just as you were reviled for your mutation, so was she. I'm sad to say that I realized it so belatedly, but perhaps, I should have encouraged you both to be proud about yourselves, not to promote hiding. If you want to take your serum, I'm not going to stop you, but here, you will always be accepted based on who you are not what you look like."
"I didn't know you felt so strongly about it, Professor."
"I didn't. But, it always takes a strong swift kick in the pants for people to realize their wrongs. And, don't call me Professor. You want some wine?" He waved the bottle in Hank's way, and for once, Hank accepted. "There's a good lad. Drink up; you'll feel better."
"Um… Charles, may I ask… why are you drinking wine now?"
"Sometimes, when we face uncomfortable truths, imbibing alcohol is the only way to acclimate yourself to them. That's what I've had to realize tonight. Hank, how do you feel about a… joint project? I want to rebuild Cerebro here. It would be an essential asset to have."
Hank lifted his head from the bed to look at Charles. "I could certainly do it. I would need to get—"
"Get whatever you need. I can pay for anything. Hopefully, after the mission, Erik will be glad to help with the project. His manipulation of metal will be most useful," Charles's voice slurred, and he looked down in his hand to find the bottle of wine completely empty. "I found out that Erik and Raven were having sex, and I was sad. A bit more than sad, I was really angry too."
"What!"
"That's exactly how I felt. Here's this man that I adore, and I've been hinting to him that I want to be with him, and what does he do? He sleeps with my much younger sister."
"Wait, what?"
"Oh, poor confused Hank. You must have adored my sister so."
"No… I mean, yes, I do. You like Erik?"
"I do, yes. I didn't expect this to happen, you know. None of it, but he's… like me in so many ways. Hank, may I give you a piece of advice?"
"Umm… sure."
"Don't take that serum of yours. I can't see it ending well. Just…lay here and think about what it could do to you. Have you even done any trials on it yet?"
Hank's stuttered reply clearly indicated a resounding no to Charles. "Look, Hank, like I said, take your mind off it. I am. Do you think I want to think about my little sister fucking the man that I think I love? NOOO. That's why I have chosen to get drunk."
"I guess so."
Hank lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, trying to go to sleep.
Charles didn't get hangovers. No matter how hard he wanted to get so drunk that his mind would be filled with weeping cuts, he could never reach that point. Hank still lay on his bed, curled up in a ball. He was glad that Hank decided to stay. They needed to have that talk. He reached over the bed and tickled Hank's feet; idiot boy needed to have some good memories with them anyway. The feet twitched and curled in even more, and Charles gave up.
While walking to the kitchen, Charles skimmed his fingers over the various tables and paintings that lined the corridors. Hardship… indeed. Erik was right to assume given the state of the house. No one could ever be allowed to realize the true extent of the horrors that had besieged this house years ago.
He could feel the rush of activity inside the house. Raven was sitting with the boys, smiling more than he had ever seen her do, and Erik was reading the newspaper. What right did Charles have to break up the calm in there with his gloom? He walked in, grabbed a piece of toast, and walked right back out. He could feel their confusion, but he had no desire to treat them with his pain.
He sat in the lab, staring at the big box at the far end. He felt Hank's presence get nearer and nearer.
"Hank, how are you feeling?"
"Fine. I've decided not to do it."
"That's good."
"You sound…weird. What's wrong with you?"
"I brought up Cerebro for a reason, Hank. I need it."
"I thought that addiction to it might be a possibility. I talked to the director about it when I still had it as a theory, but I never knew someone like you even existed, Professor. But, I think he did. I'd heard about the human modifications program, the one they used to produce super-soldiers during the Second World War. What if they artificially made someone just like you? They can't rebuild my Cerebro because they don't have the plans for it, but they could make one just like it if they found someone who knew what they were doing."
"Hank, I think it's best if we don't think about that. We can't afford to think about that. As much as it pains me to do so, I know that the government will attempt to create people like us or to take away people like us for their own benefit. That's why I want to create a safe haven here. We shouldn't talk about this now anyway. The others are heading here. We should concentrate on our…mission."
Raven sauntered in, her body completely naked and exposed. She slipped her hand into Charles's and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Tugging on his hand, Raven looked inquisitively into Charles's eyes, but Charles just turned away to look at Hank who was fidgeting nervously by the box at the far end of the lab.
"Don't laugh, but I've made these suits for us." The others crowded around peering into the box.
Alex shot Hank a look of incredulity, "You expect us to wear these blue and yellow things of yours? Seriously? Look at all the damn zippers. Who needs that many?"
"Look, those are safety colors. In case anyone drops into the ocean and needs help. Yellow's a good color for that. The only other material that I had on hand happened to be blue. And the zippers are necessary in case anyone starts bleeding; we have easy and quick access to the wound."
"Look, let's just put them on. If Hank made them, I'm sure they'll do their job just fine." Hank shot Charles a grateful look, and everyone grabbed their own and put them on.
Raven looked over at Charles. He seemed to be avoiding her, but surely, that couldn't be true. There was no way he could have known about last night. By the time Raven had left Erik's room, the light in the kitchen was out, and Charles had surely gone to sleep. She watched as the boys hurried after Hank, and she sidled up to Charles.
"Charles, are you that worried? We'll be fine. We'll do this well."
"Yes, I am worried. Something's going to change. I can feel it."
"Did you have one of those dreams of yours? The ones filled with fire?"
"Yes. I don't know what it means, but something's going to happen. I don't know what. I don't dwell on them. Sometimes, nothing happens. Maybe we'll be lucky."
"There's no luck involved, and you know it. We've trained for this."
Charles shot Raven a measuring look and huffed. He strode past her, only to see a plane. How on Earth did Hank get a plane here? His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He looked over at everyone else to see mirrored looks of surprise on their faces.
Erik had left the plane to finally finish his insane quest, and Charles could only guide Erik's movements. And then there was nothing.
Erik's mind had disappeared into the void, and Charles felt empty without him there. He didn't know what was happening. He couldn't help. He was so useless. Then, a crack, a sliver, and he could feel Erik's mind once again. He urged Erik to destroy the void, to remove the helmet.
Entering Shaw's mind was the equivalent of sticking your hand into a shredder. Shaw was fighting vigorously against the intrusion, and Charles could feel his breath staggering under the weight of the other's mind. Erik was gone again, and though Charles pleaded with him, Erik would not respond. The coin delicately seared through his mind, cut through cords he never knew existed. He felt his mind pour out into the world, soaring higher and higher not trapped by his mortal form.
He fell against the side of the plane, screaming and screaming and screaming. And then he stopped.
He stumbled out of the plane with the others, quickly assessing damages to the children around him. He looked up, and Shaw, crucified with a coin, floated. Erik floated with them and delivered what Charles could only think of as the speech of the self-righteous. He didn't want to listen to him. Erik gained what he wanted, and clearly, making war was the only thing on his mind. Charles didn't have the strength to fight, and honestly, he could barely move.
"Charles, can't you feel their guns moving in the water? They mean to kill us. Why should we not get rid of the human threat?"
Charles looked dumbly at Erik. Missiles launched in the air above them, and Charles lunged at Erik who swiftly gained the upper hand. How could Charles expect to best a man like Erik who trained to kill? The fist to his face didn't hurt as much as the void he felt from Erik: it was like Erik was dead. The missiles floated, and Erik was sending them back, guiding them to the ships.
Moira drew out her gun, ready to shoot. Charles shouted to her to stop, to not shoot. But, she didn't hear him. Erik couldn't get away with this insanity of his.
The first bullet deflected hit the sand, but the second lodged itself in Charles's raw throat. Charles crumpled to the sand, landing hard on his knees. Blood flowed down his neck, marring his pale body with unending red.
Erik's eyes bulged at the site, and he ran towards Charles, cradling him in his arms. Charles's hands were at his throat, and Erik dug the bullet of Charles's savaged neck. He could clearly see Charles's trachea bulging with the exhaustion of breathing, and Hank's shouted "NO!" went unnoticed. Erik could only think of removing the bullet, and when a shadow fell over him, he was not surprised to see Raven's tear-stricken face.
Charles struggled to breathe, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Raven delicately touched the wound, watching as more and more blood poured out with every breath Charles took.
Erik laid Charles gently on the sand to turn to Moira.
"It's your fault; YOU DID THIS!" Erik heard Charles gurgle something incomprehensible. Charles's eyes were swimming with tears. He mouthed the word no to Erik, but Erik kept choking Moira. Finally, when Moira's neck had grown red with blood, Erik dropped her to the sand. Raven was caressing Charles's pale face, and looking over to her, she confirmed his death. He pulled her to her feet and yelled, "This is the only thing that humans are capable of! See! They only seek to hurt us and to kill us. Only when we have killed them all are we free."
The mutants around him looked stunned. The boys had tears in their eyes, as did Angel.
Raven spoke up, "I know you don't trust me, but Charles was my brother, and he would rather be buried here than at Westchester. He hated it there, and it's only right that we cremate him here."
The fire wasn't too hard to make, and they watched as Charles Xavier's body burned. When the flames grew too large, they stepped back; the fire should not have gotten so big. Wings of flame rose out of the burning wreckage, and out stepped Charles Xavier.
"Hear me, mutants. No longer am I the man you knew! I am FIRE! And life incarnate! Now and forever, I am the PHOENIX!" Their minds felt burnt as Charles intoned the message mentally and vocally. The flames caressed Charles's naked body, and he felt so free so alive. The helmet on Erik's head floated toward Charles's outstretched hands, and Charles threw it into the flames.
"Never hide yourself from me. I can see all. I am the fire of the universe! The fire of the PHOENIX will burn through your deceptions. Follow me, mutants! The world is ours!"