Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback and alerts/favs/kudos! You guys are awesome, and believe me when I say, you guys are the super powered fuel behind my ficcing stamina!
I tried to aim for a mid-week update, and I'm so terribly sorry this is so late, but it is another longer chapter, so hope you'll all forgive the slowness :)
Special thanks:
So, the lovely Lunatic's Lament (FF) mentioned Loki, and being quite in love with the Hiddles at the moment, I couldn't help myself but to add him in, sort of ;)
Also, the ever fabulous 779-2442-874-78-SOS (FF) gave me loads of fun ideas, and the park scene is dedicated to you! (it's not exactly what you suggested, but hope you like it!)
More plot setting than fluff today~
Do feel free to make any requests, I'll try my best to get them all in!
It took Sean a good ten minutes to stop laughing. It was contagious laughing too. The two tweens hid by the couch and carried on their giggling, still too intimidated by Erik's brooding presence to directly laugh at his 'M' toned face. Even the little girl, Jean, who arrived back with a hand clutched tightly at Sean's jeans, looking rather underfed and lost, finally flashed a small genuine smile when Scott join in the light teasing with his brother.
And then there was Charles.
The gleeful toddler, clung to Erik tightly, like a baby primate would its mother, and enthusiastically joined in with his own breathless snort-like chuckles, clearly misunderstanding the reason behind everyone's amusement.
Erik felt naked. Like how someone who wore a watch on their wrist everyday would feel if they had neglected to wear their watch. That sudden lightness was bordering on unbearable.
The realization of just how comfortable he had come to be with a piece of technology designed by humans to block a mutant's power caused spikes of shame to piece through his body and mind. He wanted to throw up at his own sick hypocrisy. In as many ways as it has given him strength, the helmet was at the same time, a sort of downfall for Erik. It had cut him deeply that the only man he truly considered an equal should refuse to see his logic. But he was well aware it was a double edged knife that he himself stabbed into Charles the moment he placed the helmet on.
He knew he had been entirely unreasonable and paranoid for keeping the helmet on in the mansion, when the only use it had was against an infant telepath. Erik wanted to think he was protecting Charles from the pain and the anger within him, because no child should pick up the memories buried within his head. But the truth was he didn't think. He had forgotten how to live life without the helmet. He had forgotten he had the helmet on.
When Erik found out Jean was also a telepath, he instinctively called for the helmet that had been flung into his room.
"Erie!"
Charles smiled earnestly up at the now nervous man holding him. A tiny grabby hand reached up to his dark auburn hair, and a delicate index finger pointed at his temple. Erik can't help but feel a cold sweat building..
Snap out of it Erik! Unsettled by children! You're truly pathetic!
"Jea can do mine tings too! ! Jea likey Charlie! Jea amily! !"
The pure joy radiating from the child before him dissolved all Erik's anxiety, and at the same time reminded him what they were all fighting for.
"-and Erie may bad shiny go way and no ead hurty more- *Aaaah.. om*."
Charles had refused to leave Erik's embrace to sit in his high chair during dinner, and was currently attached comfortably on Erik's lap while the man used his powers to feed him small spoonfuls of macaroni covered in homemade tomato sauce. Meanwhile, Erik's hands were too busy holding onto the bumbling toddler and wiping up half eaten macaronis that flew out of the infant's mouth while he animatedly recounted Erik's 'return' to the mansion, making him sound akin to a knight in shining armor.
Every other minute, Charles would randomly stop his talking, then tilt his head all the way back to the point where his little round head hits Erik's chest, and the toddler would emit cooing noises while looking lovingly up at his much missed friend. When Erik tries to return the affection, Charles would squeal and duck his head away in shyness, then resume his story, which sounded increasingly like a mixture of the fairy tales Raven had been reading him before bedtime.
Erik and Jean's presence was a perfectly timed blessing, leaving Charles too preoccupied to notice how few of them were at the dinner table that night. Under normal circumstances, if anyone were to miss dinner, tears would run down Charles' puffed up reddened cheeks, while his bitty lips would at the same time form a deep pout and open ever so slowly up to receive food, forcing anyone who had to endure a meal with a heartbroken Charles to forbid anyone from missing a dinner again. With any luck, they would prove enough distraction to last until the others return.
Everyone was expected to be back sometime between later that night or the next week. Sean, who had told Erik he would be back before dinner, had called in earlier to say his meeting had been a failure, but he may have caught wind of another mutant near by, and will be back slightly later than he had planned.
Alex had not been too surprised with Sean's news, his own meeting had garnered a no show. Their recruiting had more or less come to a halt since Charles' accident. It proved near impossible to locate other mutants with out Charles' telepathy, and they are now mostly just continuing contact with a handful of mutants Charles had already established contact with.
Jean was one of those mutants, apparently one of the many Charles was able to locate when he first used Cerebro at the now destroyed CIA base. Before Charles' accident, he had been telepathically communicating with Jean for some months, keeping her company and assuring her that the abuse and neglect would stop, that a better life awaited her anytime she was ready to leave.
The girl with the rich fiery hair had looked dumbfounded when her eyes landed upon the ecstatic infant.
"M-Mr. Xavier?"
The tall and seriously looking man, with a heart shaped tan on his face, looked surprised and asked how Jean knew.
"H-his mind... it feels.. like him... only happier. Much happier than before, even more happier than when he first spoke in my mind."
She later explained how she had been searching for Charles for weeks, almost giving up hope, believing Charles had abandoned her too. When, by chance, she felt a tendril of a familiar presence in Sean's mind, she reached out to him, wishing to take up Charles' offer.
When Azazel arrived back with Janos in tow a week later, he also brought a highly bemused Emma Frost, relishing in the fact her telepathic equal, or possibly superior, had been reduced to a bundle of gooey helplessness, while her supposed leader was pressed well beneath a tiny stubby finger. Without the helmet, no less.
The second she saw the mentally defenseless infant, she considered doing them all a favor and altering his mind to loathe humans, and end this futile division among their kind. The only thing stopping her was the thunderous look on man the toddler was wound like an octopus on. A look that threatened something worse than death of she were to trespass into that delicate mind, but it also proved one vital point, that had her smirking even further.
The same idea had already crossed his mind.
Even without using her telepathy, she had no doubt the man before her had decided to that this as an opportunity to influence the child to his advantage. A quick glance at her supposed foes and the three other new faces, so young and naive. Perhaps they will be able to nurture more than one child out this incident.
From out of nowhere, a slither of a foreign presence snaked its way into the outer perimeter of Emma's conscience. She cast an uncertain glance at the infant held securely by her strongest ally, or more accurately, her strongest pawn. But it was not Xavier. The mental presence felt too different, there was a fieriness to it that she had never encountered before. It was nearly a total contrast to her own blisteringly cold presence, and it lacked all the soothing calmness of Xavier's conscience.
Emma snapped her icy stare to the left, and found a small young girl around ten years of age, a few years younger than the other two children. So young and so much undeveloped potential.
This was going to fun.
"Foss! Come has dindin?"
The immaculately dressed woman had to admit, the infant was horrendously adorable.
"Why thank you, sugar. I think I will be staying around well after dinner."
"Erie! Has bat time now?" Charles has recently become addicted to having Erik give him a bath. He'd ask for one every other hour, more so than using his fluttering eyes to ask for some mini muffins.
The others don't really know what goes on during their little bath time bonding, but after every session, Charles exits the bathroom pristine, dry, warm and a few blinks away from dozing off, while Erik came away looking soaked, wrecked and exhausted, though always with a fond look in his eyes.
"I'll give you a bath right after we come back, alright maus?"
"Come back? Park! Can has sing? Erie pu high?"
"No, it's too dark to go to the park today, I'll take you tomorrow. Hank, Azazel and I need to take care of some business. We will be home very shortly."
Charles looked aghast at the man holding him and considered him for a while. Then a big excited smile spread across his little round face, two dimples forming just under the apple of his cheeks.
"Car! Can sit fron with you?"
"No, maus. You stay here, and we'll be back before you know it."
A quick frown moved through Charles' brows, before he looked wide eyed again, and asked with fervor, "Can bings moofins and juujuu, pooweeeez?"
"Err...yes, you can ask Sean for a muffin and some juice. We will be right back, yes?"
"Yeah! !"
Erik looked dubiously at the elated infant, but nonetheless handed him over to Sean's awaiting embrace. As he tries to step away, Charles doesn't loosen his tight grip on Erik's shirt.
"Erie come has moofin!"
Charles used his other hand and clutched at Erik's ear, pulling him closer, towards the direction of the kitchen. Reluctantly, Erik had to peel of Charles' chubby grabby hands, and gave each of them a small kiss and rubbing soft circles in apology.
"I'm sorry, my little maus. we must get going. We'll be right back, OK?"
Confusion once again danced across the toddler's face, but in a flash Charles kicked his legs in delight and lifted his plump arms up at Erik, indicating his wishes to be back within Erik's arms. Again, Sean was quick with his diversions.
"Charlie, let's go see what Janos is making in the kitchen!"
Always eager to watch someone moving about and making things, Charles large eyes light up, and he claps and burbles in assent. With Charles' attention momentarily focused elsewhere, Erik silently held his breath and backed away, towards the front door where Hank and Azazel were already gathered.
They had all been extremely careful with using the 'B' word. Charles does not do the 'B' word. The last time someone used the 'B' word carelessly, by accident when rushing out the door, Charles had become so distressed, he caused everyone left in the mansion to have searing migraines. Nothing could calm him down, not even Erik dangling a chocolate chip and banana muffin. In the end, Azazel had to teleport back those who had left to carry out further re-con or run errands, and Jean had to try to mentally soothe him along side Erik for the rest of the day.
"Let's go."
The last thing the three men hear before they are transported to the power plant, was Charles' loud and alarmed shriek for Erik.
It would have been a lot easier to do this in the middle of the night when Charles was asleep, however, after a week of observation, they realized security had been stepped up, especially during the night, thus they had decided the best time to take action was the afternoon shift change.
"I hope you have enough strength to get the reactors fixed within five minutes. Any longer, and Charles might send the others into a coma. Or worse, Emma has to step in."
Both Hank and Azazel looked paler than their normal vibrant hues of blue or red. They had all learned by now just how much Charles was still in charge of the mansion.
It took them a lot longer fix the reactor than anticipated, mostly because Azazel had needed to keep zapping them away to remain unseen by the employees stationed at the plant. When they finally returned to the mansion, some two hours after they left, things seemed surprisingly calm and tranquil.
Erik felt a congregation of iron molecules gathered in the main living room, where the television was placed. They walked into a blissfully picturesque scene of a fully mismatch family, lounging on the couches, watching the blinking screen of the television, or reading.
Charles, with reddened puffy eyes, was sat between Scott and Jean, with Ororo standing in front of them, using her powers to make a scattering of sparkly confetti dance in midair, and Angel relaxing in the middle of that whirlwind. The children watch spellbound, their heads following in perfect unison the graceful flow of the dance.
Jean was the first to acknowledge their presence, and pointed at them for Charles.
"Charlie, look! It's Erik, Teddy and Azza!"
The toddler's face expanded and lit up, only to suddenly scrunch into a scowl then he buried his head behind Scott's back. Erik thought it adorable that Charles was acting all shy again, but when he neared them, and the boy yelped and hid further away, refusing to be held in Erik's arms.
Charles later refused to sit on Erik's lap during dinner, and even refused his offer of a nice long bath with lots of bubbles and squeaky toys, although not without faltering somewhat. He even refused to give Erik a 'muah nighty', even though he gave them to Hank and Azazel.
When Erik retired to his room for the night, exhausted both physically and emotionally, he forced himself to decide that this was for the better. Charles needed to become more independent of him, and it allowed him to refocus on the larger issues at hand. Unfortunately, he couldn't get over the tight pang in his chest and the bitter, sour taste in his mouth.
"E-rie?"
As Erik was changing, a tiny muffled, and uncertain voice called for him from outside his room. Opening the door revealed Charles, minuscule and alone, sitting at the foot of the door in his teddy bear patterned pajamas, looking up with apprehension.
"Charles? What are you doing still up? How did you get out of bed? Is something wrong?"
Erik immediately lifted him up to his chest, making sure the small child had not caught a chill. Charles' eyes begin to water as they looked earnestly into Erik's gray-green eyes.
"Erie... I sorry..."
Charles used his tiny soft hands to touch Erik's forehead, smoothing out those worried lines. Then he pointed an index finger out, and looked at Erik for permission. A gentle smile spread across Erik's face, before he took that petit hand into his own, and pressed Charles' index finger to his temple.
A trickle of warmth and comfort slowly flooded into his subconscious. In his mind, Erik sees a faint, blurry image of the memory he once shared with Charles. His most treasured memory of his mother. But the image wasn't of his mother, but of him and an infant Charles. He was expressing to Erik how much he meant to him, and at the same time, how much he feared losing him. How much it pained him to lose him before.
Erik opened his eyes, and held Charles so their their foreheads touched, eyes locked.
"I'm so sorry Charles. You've never lost me. I will always be with you, even when I am away."
He brushed the curls out of Charles' considering eyes, and gave him a soft kiss on the child's forehead.
"Let's get you to bed."
"Can sleepy with you?"
Erik gave him a partly reprimanding look, but mostly he couldn't hold back his fond chuckling.
"Alright, maus, but just for tonight."
The mischievous grin on Charles' face said otherwise.
As promised, Erik took Charles to a park nearby the next day, after a hearty breakfast.
It was a beautifully warm early autumn day, with the leaves just beginning to blush, coloring the landscape with a myriad of lush greens, oranges and reds. The nannies were out in full force, this being an extremely high class area and all, heaven forbid if the mothers were forced to lift their expensively manicured fingers.
Well before they reached the park's perimeter, Erik felt dozens of sets of eyes fixated hungrily upon him. He felt supremely out of place and out of his element. Not that he wasn't slightly flattered by the ogling, but so many, all at the same time was quite unnerving.
No sooner did Erik take a step on to the perfectly kept grass, cool and with a hint of moisture left from the morning frost, a young woman with soft curves and a kind gentle face pushed a classic beige stroller over their direction, smiling sweetly as she attempted to make Erik's acquaintance. Before she could get a word out, Charles pointed a tiny finger at her and exclaimed loudly.
"'lut!"
Both Erik and the woman looked incredulously at the bubbly infant. Even when he was crying his eyes out, face red and wrinkled, snot dribbling down to his chin, his was still a face of the most innocent of angels. There was just to way he has just said what they thought he just said.
As if to purely middle finger them, Charles pointed at the woman, and with his brightest smile, exclaimed again.
"'lut!"
The woman looked both bewildered and disgusted at Erik, making a quick retreat to the other side of the park.
"Charles! That's a bad word! You must not say that!" Erik didn't know whether this was one of those inopportune selective memory moments, or if he's going to have to everyone at the mansion to stop with the bad influences.
Charles looked at once shocked and scared, large worried eyes instantly watering.
"Hey... it's not your fault, maus. Just, just don't use that word anymore, okay?"
When they get back to the mansion, he was going to find out who had been feeding Charles with this filth, starting with Frost. The child in his arms gave him a big nod, and leaned towards the playground area.
"Kay! Erie, can go sing now?"
Without further delay, Erik takes them to the swings, thankful it was not occupied. It was a set of three swings, one of them a toddler swing with secure seating. Charles, ecstatic and jumpy, seemed ready to fly out of Erik's arms.
"Pu high! Can pu high pooweez? ?"
"Sure, my little mau-"
Erik had not even set Charles into the swing yet, when an overzealous and perky blonde walked a little boy with squeaking shoes over to the swings beside them.
"Hi! This is Timmy, and who is adorable little boy? I'm Stacy, by the way. What's your nam-"
"Beech!"
Erik nearly dropped Charles from the shock. Charles remained utterly oblivious, hands clapping and repeated shouting out the profanity. The woman immediately did a U-turn and quickly walked the confused boy away, his shoes squeaking away rapidly.
"Charles! Where are you hearing these words? That's a bad bad word too! Promise me you won't say it again."
Charles hunched his little shoulder, and looked abashed. But the little sparkle within his azure eyes cannot be hidden, and a lopsided smirk slowly forms on his 'angelic' face. Let it be a lesson that Charles Xavier should never be underestimated, and his bonding time with Erik should not be disturbed.
"Oh! You little monster maus! Come on, let's get you on the swing."
After a long while of indulging Charles requests to be pushed higher, the giddy infant suddenly shouted with all his might.
"Erie! Go uck yousel! !"
The toddler squawked excitedly within the seat of the swing, head and neck stretched towards somewhere outside the park.
"Erie, Erie! ! Go uck yousel! There! !"
The whole park was looking at the crazed, potty mouthed infant, scandalized as well as traumatized, and Erik decided it was high time to disappear and find another park, preferably in a different zip code. Erik took Charles towards the car, but the child had other ideas, and pull him in a different direction, where a large mover's truck was parked. Stood next to the parked truck was the scruffy man with unruly side burns, they had once tried to recruit, only to be rebuffed with a snide remark.
"Go uck yousel! Ome! !"
"You need to tell your kid to wash out his mouth, bub... Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"I've fixed and recalibrated the settings, and even if you have the power plant stabilized, I don't recommend aging Charles back in one go."
Hank fiddles with a few more switches and looked again through a large pile of notes.
"Why not? Is it dangerous?" Erik has Charles snuggled in one arm, the most common sight around the mansion now. Charles was busy talking to Erik or everybody, it's hard to tell, today's topic seems to be his sock bunny, now named Loki after Raven read him a kiddy-version of some Norse mythology.
"- and Oki say can has lolly before dindin, good for dindin-"
"Highly. Charles' body already took a huge toll during the mishap. I don't want to risk anything, unnecessarily."
"-Oki say has buzzer Tor. Can has bunny Tor? Big one, ellow one! Big ears and Tor fly-"
"Then how do you suggest we proceed? A year at time?"
"Something along those lines. I thought it would be safest to treat Charles-"
"Tweat! ! Can has cookie! ?"
"Yes, maus, in a minute. Please, continue Hank."
"Err.. It's safest to trea- give him a minute or less at minimum power, at the most weekly. My tests and calculations indicate it should age him about a year or so every time."
In their intense discussion and planning, the two men do not notice the toddler go quiet, ruby lips trembling.
"So, around thirty weeks, and the paraly- Mmmm! !"
All of a sudden Charles had reached up to Erik's mouth and squeezed it shut with his little fingers.
"Op noring me! ! No li'en to me! Can has cookie now! ?" Charles put on his charms and blinked his large blue eyes. They still haven't figured out when or how he picked that behavior up, but it has proved to be a most powerful weapon.
"Okay my little maus, very soon! But, right now Hank and I are discussing how best to help you."
"Elp?" The child tilts his head in question, a finger pointed at his own little chest.
"Yes, Charles. If you can be a good boy and sit on that chair for a few minutes, you can have a chocolate chunk cookie."
Charles' bright eyes widen in delight and excitement at Hank's promise of his current favorite treat.
"I a good boy! ! Erie come! !" Charles grabs onto the collar of Erik's polo, and used his weight to lead Erik into the camber.
Erik sets Charles down on the chair in the middle of the pressure chamber, a small enclosed space, sort of like a miniature version of Cerebro. It felt eerie just walking into this space, and Erik's hands trembled as he lets go of Charles reluctantly. They had wrapped Charles only in a thin cotton sheet, in case his clothing become too small during the process.
"Can you sit on the chair by yourself, maus? Hank and I will be right here, outside. It will be over very soon."
He lets go of Charles, the release causing sudden lack of warmth, startling both himself and the toddler. Charles lifts his soft chunky arms up, indicating for Erik to pick him up again. As much as it pains him to do so, Erik ignores the infant's gestures, and quickly dashes out of the chamber, wanting this to be over as soon as possible.
"E-erie? Teddy! ? No! ! No bye bye! ! No! ! ! Erie! ! ERIE! ! Elp! ! !"
Each of Charles' panicked pleas and screams was a burning needle to Erik's heart. With the door to the chamber now shut and locked, Charles voices becomes muffled, but no less desperate. Hank also looked heartbroken, his blue skin took on a gray tinge as he worked with speed to get the machine started.
"Forty five seconds, starting...now."
Erik closed his eyes and focused completely blocking out those muffled screams, reigning in his urge to dissipate that steel door.
After what seemed like far too long, a loud timer beeped a couple of times, and the lock on the sealed door automatically released itself with a loud metallic click.
It was frighteningly silent. Erik could hear his thundering heat beat echoing within his chest.
"C-Charles? Are you alright, maus?"
The infant looked physically bigger than two minutes ago, and his hair slightly more shaggier, and curlier. He looked bewilderingly at the two adults hovering at the small door way. Those small features did not come together to form his usual sunny smile. Those little arms did not reach out for Erik to lift him up. His face remained shocked, and even worse, Charles looked like he did not recognize the men before him.