Book 1:

When Everything's Made to be Broken

"And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cuz I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cuz sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight."

~ "Iris", Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter 4

As soon as the car parked, she flew from it and rushed to the children. Her sister saw them first and stood from the bench to hug her.

Charlotte turned to the others. "We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately," she told them, grim-faced.

"We're not going home," Alex replied immediately.

"What?" slipped from her lips too fast.

"He's not going back to prison," Sean clarified. Alex nodded. "He killed Darwin."

The professor pursed her lips. "All the more reason for you to leave. This is over."

Beside her, Raven spoke. "Darwin's dead, Charlotte. And we can't even bury him."

Across from Charlotte, Erik spoke up after a moment of aggrieved silence. "We can avenge him." Everyone looked to him in surprise.

Charlotte cleared her throat. "Erik, a word please?" she asked, pulling him aside from the children. "They're just kids," she said softly.

"No," he disagreed quickly, stubbornly. "They were just kids. Shaw has his army. We need ours."

She shook her head. "Erik, I'll not make these children into soldiers to fight in a war that they cannot properly fight."

"Train them then," he replied. You know I'm right, he thought to her. We can't fight Shaw alone.

She turned back to the children and Moira, all looking to her hopefully. Charlotte sighed. "We'll have to train," she decided. "All of us, yes?"

"Yeah!" Alex agreed immediately. The others nodded too.

"But we can't stay here," Hank said. "Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."

A smile curled Charlotte's lip. "Yes we do. Tell me. How do you feel about New York?"

"Honestly, Charlotte," Erik said wryly. "I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship."

The Xavier house in Westchester loomed before them impressively and Charlotte was pleased to find they all seemed to like it.

"Well, it was a hardship softened by me," Raven said and came to stand between them. "C'mon, time for the tour!"

Charlotte separated from the group then. While Raven showed them around, she set about assigning bedrooms and making sure everything was suitable. The house had been empty for some time, as they had been in England, so she knew she should ensure there were fresh linens in all the rooms. Once the chore was done, she went to meet them in the sitting room.

The children were chattering away excitedly, eager about their new home. Charlotte settled beside Erik on a couch to begin planning their training.

She knew Erik had spoken with Raven, but otherwise he had not said much in regards to training to the other children. He watched and discussed ideas with Charlotte but left the training to her.

Never let it be said he did nothing though.

"And you truly believe I'll fly this time?" Sean asked apprehensively from their spot atop the satellite dish.

"Unreservedly," she replied honestly.

He glanced at her. "I trust you—"

"I'm touched." And she was.

"—but I don't trust him."

"Say nothing," she told Hank, who remained wisely quiet. Erik, on Sean's other side, grinned.

The boy glanced down. "I'm going to die!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, look," she told him, laying a hand on his shoulder and subtly calming the rising fear she could sense in his mind. "We're not going to make you do anything you feel comfortable—"

Erik spoke up. "Here, let me help you," he offered and shoved the boy off the platform.

"Erik!" she exclaimed in shock as the boy screamed in fear.

But then he screamed at the proper pitch and took off in flight, spreading the 'wings' of his suit. A wide grin crossed her face but she glanced at Erik with an exasperated look.

"What?" he said, torn between being defensive and amused. "You know you were thinking the same."

Charlotte laughed despite herself.

There's enough metal in his suit that I could have caught him, he admitted to her silently.

I know, my friend. I guessed as much.

"Are you sure?"

Erik nodded. "I'm sure," he replied, grinning as Charlotte pointed the gun inches from his forehead. Reluctance danced across her face and the gun trembled slightly in the air as she steeled herself.

"No, no I can't," she said lowering the gun. "I'm sorry but I can't shoot anyone point blank—especially not you."

"Oh, come on," he said, pulling her hand back up to point the gun at his head. "You know I can deflect it. You're always telling me to challenge myself."

She lowered the gun again. "If you know you can deflect it, you're not challenging yourself."

Charlotte sighed at the disappointment on his face. "Fine, fine," she relented. "If you are certain…"

He grinned for a moment before she raised the gun.

In a quick, fluid movement, she clicked off the safety, raised the gun to her temple, and fired.

"No!" Erik shouted, hand raised, eyes wide.

And Charlotte laughed, lowering the gun. The bullet remained frozen beside her head before she plucked it from the air and held it in her palm before pocketing it.

"How's that for pushing you?" she asked with a wide grin.

He was not as amused. "Don't do that!" he exclaimed. "What if I hadn't stopped it in time? What if I didn't see you raise the gun until it was too late?"

The telepath smiled at his concern and patted his shoulder. "Oh, I have faith in you, love. I knew you wouldn't let that happen."

He gave her an unamused glance.

"Whatever happened to the man who tried to raise a submarine?" she asked, offering him the firearm.

"Oh, I can't," he replied tiredly, taking the gun. "Something that big, I need the situation, the anger."

"No," she disagreed. "The anger is not in there."

"Well, it's gotten the job done," Erik replied. "All this time."

"You can do it this time," Charlotte told him and glanced away. "No, come here. Let's try something a little more challenging."

She led him off the path and pointed toward the satellite dish in the distance. "See that? Try turning it to face us."

Erik took a deep breath and tried. Charlotte could sense the determination pouring from his mind without even trying. He continued until he was red in the face and slumped against the stone wall.

"You know, I believe that true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity," she told him. He looked at her. "Do you mind if I…?" she motioned to her temple.

He shook his head slightly, curious.

Closing her eyes, she delved into his mind, sifting through memories, deep into his past until…

There Erik was as a little boy, with his parents standing before a lit menorah; his mother smiled lovingly to him and caressed his cheek gently...

Charlotte wiped a tear from her cheek before opening her eyes to look at him.

"How did you just do that?" he asked calmly, though she could see him holding back tears.

"I accessed the brightest corner of your memory system," she explained and came to stand beside him. "It's a very beautiful memory, Erik. Thank you."

"I didn't know I still had that, Liebling" he admitted. The warmth in the memory, the love for his mother, the aching longing for his family...

Her heart clenched and she grasped his hand. "There is so much more to you than you know," she told him sincerely. "Not just pain and anger. There's good too—I felt it. If you can access all of that, you'll possess a power no one can match. Not even me. So come on," she said with an encouraging smile. "Try again!"

He turned back to the satellite and stretched out a shaking hand, with tears still in his eyes. The satellite creaked loudly...and turned.

A wide smile split his face and he leaned on the stone wall again as he laughed. Charlotte felt a matching, proud smile upon her own face as she chuckled with him. "Knew you could do it," she said proudly and pressed a small, chaste kiss to his cheek.