CHAPTER 5:

RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Harry would later learn that Erik had all but decided to leave in the middle of the night, and Charles had persuaded him, thankfully without using his powers, to stay. Harry felt ambivalent: he sympathised with Erik, given what happened to him, and understood the rage and desire for revenge. Plus, having such a powerful Mutant on their side was better than having him as either an enemy, or a spanner in the works.

But something had Harry wary of Erik. It was the way he used certain words when referring to non-Mutants, the way he looked at the other people present with something…undefinable, but still dark. Like those who weren't Mutants were not people in his eyes. Charles may be occasionally patronising when talking of normal humans, and his thesis discussed the problems of what happened when new hominid species encountered each other (using humans and Neanderthals as a prime example), but Charles also wanted normal humans and Mutants to co-exist. While Harry felt that Charles was too much of an optimist as to the means, the end goal was something he could get behind.

Research into Harry's biology, done discreetly by the members of the Xavier household (well, the two Mutants and the wizard, anyway), showed that the genes, according to Charles, that governed magic were amongst those that governed Mutant abilities. Not the X-Gene per se, but certainly the genes that determined specific abilities. That suggested that Mutants were basically this world's mages.

As far as Charles was concerned, the reason that Mutants were having a resurgence (presumably they were behind legends of wizards and witches in this world) was due to the advent of the nuclear age. Radioactive contaminants were all across the world thanks to the development of the nuclear bomb and the nuclear reactor, and while the mutations they caused normally were either harmful or unnoticeable, at least some triggered more Mutants to be born.

Erik…seemed more cynical about it, and not in a good way. Harry was cynical about these things, true, but not as dour as the German Mutant. And while he was being nice to Harry and the others, normal people were another matter.

As they crossed the grounds towards the modified radar tower, Erik pulled Harry aside. "Charles…he said that you are…not a Mutant, at least not in the terms of this world. That you claim to be able to use magic, and that you are from another world, another time."

"Well…it'd be magic to most. I don't think anyone back in my world tried to do any scientific investigation of it. Why?"

"Curiosity," Erik said. "He also claimed that you are immortal."

"Well, I've been killed about a dozen times now. I haven't stayed dead," Harry said offhandedly. Not that he actually liked dying. Oh, Death herself was nice to look at, looking more like a beautiful, buxom redhead with a chipper demeanour than the whole skeleton with robes and scythe deal of the Grim Reaper, but still…it was unpleasant. Especially knowing he might outlive any spouses. In fact, it was only because Charles had isolated some cytological signatures that suggested that Raven may age far slower than most humans that Harry had finally given in to his feelings for her. That, and a few hints from Death that she might make his spouse immortal…though she didn't say this until after Harry and Raven got engaged.

"I see." Then, after a moment, he said, "He told me you went through much suffering. He didn't tell me the details, just that I should ask you myself once we've gotten to know each other better. Just know that if you want to talk to me about it, I will listen."

"I've been through some shit, but I doubt it would have been quite as bad as Auschwitz," Harry said.

"True, but there are degrees of suffering. And your eyes say that you have suffered much," Erik said.

"Well, let me put it this way, Erik. The best you're going to feel when you take your revenge…is relief. You're not going to feel joy or triumph. In all likelihood, you'll feel hollow. Take it from me. I speak from experience…"

He had to admit, the set-up Hank had created in the radar dome was impressive, at least by the standards of the Sixties. Banks of computers and other apparatus, a console, and a platform ringed by railings over which a transparent helmet festooned with wires hung. Hank had called it 'Cerebro', and explained that it was a kind of massive telepathic amplifier. Not only that, but the accompanying computer systems could help locate where the Mutants were that Charles found by giving coordinates.

What Charles and Erik had agreed to do was to find a group of Mutants to recruit into Division X as a counter to Shaw's own group. While they had Hank, Raven and Harry, not to mention Charles and Erik themselves, they also wanted to recruit (not conscript) like-minded individuals into Division X. Charles and Erik had agreed that they would approach the Mutants they found, rather than the CIA proper.

Charles hooked up the helmet, Erik made a facetious remark about Charles being a lab rat, and then, Hank activated it. The helmet lit up, and Charles' mouth opened in what could have been a scream of pain or a whoop of elation, it was hard to tell. At least at first. After a point, though, he seemed to be in awe, enjoying the sensation this Cerebro device gave him of searching out Mutants.

And then, the pages began printing out, each with coordinates. Sometime later, once Charles was finished, he took the printout and immediately began crossing some out. "Now, for the sake of this, we're excluding people below a certain age," he said as he crossed out some sets of coordinates, and then began writing names near others. "At least for what we have in mind."

Raven frowned. "…Angel Salvadore, James Howlett, Armando Muñoz…" she read off the list.

"Howlett's an interesting one," Charles said as he continued annotating the list. "He seems to be a veteran of not only both World Wars, but the Civil War."

"He's over a hundred years old?" Harry asked.

"Yes, he has a healing factor like yourself and Raven, only much stronger, not to mention bone claws," Charles said. "I only caught glimpses, though. I tried not to linger like the voyeur you claim me to be."

"We don't claim anything, Charles," Harry said. "As long as both parties are consenting, you enjoy watching them bang."

"I do not!" Charles protested, with Hank looking embarrassed, and Erik chuckling, despite his dourness. "Don't you know how boring thoughts of sex get after a while? Why do you think I go out on the pull? I'd prefer to have a real experience instead of looking in like a Peeping bloody Tom!" He shuddered. "And that's without going into the thoughts of…rapists and child molesters. When I was young, I read the mind of a friend of the family's. This was just after I met Raven." He shuddered again. "Can you imagine what that is like for a child of ten to hear that in someone's mind? That he desired my sister, who wasn't even a teenager?"

Raven grimaced. "I didn't need reminding of that, Charles. That's probably the one time I'm glad you flayed someone's mind and made it seem like he had a stroke."

"It was the only time I've done that," Charles said, shooting Raven a look. "And frankly, I did not like how much I enjoyed doing it."

"So you have a darker side to you after all, Charles," Erik said.

"I don't enjoy indulging it," Charles said. "I did it to protect my sister." He finished making his annotations. "Hmm…there's quite a few. Harry, Raven…if I give you a couple of names, would you be so kind as to try to recruit them?"

Harry and Raven had been given two names to recruit. Sean Cassidy was the easy one, a rather weedy young man with red hair and freckles who reminded Harry of Ron a little, rather heartbreakingly. Cassidy, apparently, had the ability to project soundwaves from his mouth, and not just, well, by talking. He could project a sound blast capable of knocking people out or breaking glass.

Howlett, given what Charles had said, was going to be the hard one. They tracked him down to a bar in the Rockies. Harry had to admit, he wondered why the man looked a bit like a feral, grizzled Hugh Jackman smoking a cigar, but he sat down next to him, Raven sitting on Harry's other side. They didn't want Howlett to get spooked or become aggressive by feeling boxed in…well, beyond probably telling them to go fuck themselves.

Harry made an order for himself and Raven, before ordering another of whatever Howlett was having. After a moment, Howlett shot Harry a suspicious look, before remarking, in a Canadian accent, "And why're you buying my drinks, kid?"

"Courtesy. My fiancée and I have a proposal, and I thought you'd look upon it more favourably if you had an extra drink," Harry said, carefully setting up Privacy Charms around the man, along with himself and Raven.

Howlett seemed to sniff them briefly, before frowning. "What sort of proposal? You sound British, so I doubt you're with the government."

"Technically, we are, albeit at one remove. Do you want to hear us out?"

"…I want your names first."

"Right. I'm Harry Potter. This lovely lady is my fiancée, Raven Xavier. And your name is James Howlett."

Howlett scowled. He was suspicious before, but now, he seemed even more so. "…I haven't gone by that name for years. So, I want to know, how the hell you guys know that name?"

"My future brother-in-law is a psychic voyeur and a near-perpetual optimist," Harry said with a shrug as they were given their drinks. "If he came up to you, I guessed he wouldn't have had enough time to do more than introduce himself before you told him to fuck off."

Raven snorted, and a faint smile touched Howlett's lips. "Psychic? Are you kidding me?"

Raven shook her head. "No. Now, there's no catch. Should you refuse, we'll go on our way and leave you alone. My brother, Charles, he said that he won't bother you himself if you refuse. We can't guarantee the government will do the same, but we're only working for them, not under them."

After a moment's thought, Howlett nodded. "Right. I'll hear you two out. Don't expect me to say yes, though…"

Howlett nodded as they finished their tale, doing so at a table rather than at the bar proper. "So…you got this guy Shaw running around with other Mutants, and some part of the CIA is working with this guy Xavier to deal with him? And Xavier thought I'd make a fine addition to this team he's putting together?"

"Yeah. I mean, I understand if you don't want to join," Harry said. "You've probably seen enough action during your life."

"Yeah. Got that right," Howlett said, taking a pull on his cigar. "Two World Wars…I was at Nagasaki in a POW camp when the bomb was dropped. So what reason do I have to join your little…menagerie?"

"…How about experience?" Raven asked, trying not to grimace at the smoke. "You've lived for a long time, and have probably forgotten more about combat, armed and unarmed, than anyone living today. The others being recruited are civilians. We don't want you to turn them into soldiers, just teach them how to defend themselves. I could probably do with some lessons myself."

Howlett nodded, but he didn't seem convinced, not wholly. "I ain't much of a teacher. I don't have the patience for it. You don't want me for my teaching skills. You want me because I'm the best at what I do. And what I do…ain't very nice."

"True," Harry said. "Charles…like I said, he's an optimist. He thinks he can change the world with good intentions, but, well, you know what the road to hell is paved with. We want your help in case it comes to saving the world."

"And before you ask, we're serious. Deadly so," Raven said. "It may not come to saving the world, but when Shaw seems to be manipulating where American missiles are being placed…so we need someone seasoned in combat. He may not look it, but Harry is a seasoned fighter, but mostly using his powers."

Harry, after some thought, took out a blank business card, used the Portkey charm on it, and handed it to Howlett. "You don't have to accept right away. If you decide to accept, just hold that card in your hand, and say, 'a wizard did it'. It'll basically whisk you to our location very quickly. Just some fair warning, it'll be extremely uncomfortable. Otherwise, burn it or something."

Howlett took the card with a bit of wariness, before he pocketed it. "Okay, I'll think about it…"

Harry and Raven got back to Division X shortly thereafter, having taken a Portkey Harry had formulated to get there. Raven grimaced, looking like she wanted to empty her stomach, her blonde human form shifting uneasily to her standard blue-skinned form. "Okay…let's only do that again if it's a choice between holding down my lunch, and saving my life."

"That's fine. Actually, I'll have to talk to Singer, give him and his agents Portkeys for emergencies," Harry mused, even as he tried to resettle his stomach. "With that Azazel guy being able to teleport, they might need a means to get to a safe location quickly."

"We'll do that later," Raven said, looking over at a lounge area, where Charles and Erik were waiting with a group of people. Charles spotted them, and gestured through the window for them to come in. They needed to go via a couple of corridors, but still, they made good time. Sean Cassidy was already present, along with a few others: two young men and a young woman. One of the young men was a blonde Caucasian with blonde hair and a vaguely jock-like mentality. The other young man was slender and dark-skinned, while the woman was also dark-skinned, with what looked like tattoos of insect wings on her shoulders, arms and back.

"Ah, Harry," Charles said. "Any luck with Mr Howlett?"

"Gave him a Portkey in case he said yes, but it might be some time before…"

Harry was interrupted by a sudden blur of speed that caused a massive blast of air to rip through the room, along with a yell of surprise. The form moving tumbled through the room and ended up sprawled, upside down, against the nearby wall, glowering at Harry.

Harry looked at the glaring James Howlett and shrugged unrepentantly. "I did warn you it was uncomfortable."

With a distinctive 'snikt!' sound, a single bone claw popped itself from between the knuckles of his right hand. It was clear that James Howlett was flipping Harry off, and in a novel way…

CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:

So, another divergence from the film. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Division X has Wolverine! Even if his entrance was…well, a little undignified. Doubtless you guys will see this as this fic either being awesome, or jumping the shark. In the case of the latter, remember who the author of this fic is. Hint: it's not you.

whitetigerwolf actually advised against this originally, but to be honest, the appeal of having Wolverine in the events of First Class was just too great to ignore. It's partly curiosity that had Wolverine accepting the offer. And remember, this is a pre-Weapon X Wolverine.

Review-answering time! bigfan22: Actually, yes, Kurt (I will be using his canon first name) will have magic.

DZ2: You have a point. He's far from the more serene and diplomatic character Patrick Stewart portrays in the original films.

myafroatemydog: Yes, though it's closer to magical Apparition as opposed to the classic 'BAMF!' teleportation.

Guest (regarding Erik being more like Grindlewald than Voldemort): Maybe, but Harry is more familiar with Voldemort than Grindlewald, and he sees elements of the former in Erik, particularly how he acted when young.

MorphCross: Harry and Raven, after the initial shock, raise Kurt with care and diligence. Thanks to Harry's spells, Kurt can pass for human…he gets an Azazel-like tail, but because he has some latent Metamorphmagus (and his mother's own talent) abilities that go wrong while he's experimenting with them.

Star1X: Yes, Hank turning into the Beast will still happen…but because Harry and Raven are with him when it happens, as they are acting as his lab assistants, they are there to reassure him and allow him to come to grips with his transformation sooner. So while he'll still end up as the Beast, Hank will be less psychologically traumatised. Though he probably still will choke Erik for Erik's rather tactless remark.

No numbered annotations this time.