Colliding Synergy
"Who, except the gods, can live time through forever without any pain?" - Aeschylus
After we got the rest of the way out of the Pentagon we made like a handful of bats straight outta hell and headed for the airport. Really wished that I could've stayed to screw around with some old historical crap, but it was for the best. Breaking a man out of the most secure prison in the country would probably warrant some attention from the government. And attention was something that we really did not need at that exact moment. Which is also probably why we ditched Peter. The kid wasn't exactly what one would call "subtle". I mean, I would know. I'm not subtle either. Though, in retrospect, I really have no idea why we didn't drop him off at home before we went to the airport. Logan's car wasn't really meant for six people.
I digress.
Saying goodbye to Peter was actually pretty rough, and I hadn't even known him for more than a day. He was such a - I think good it too strong a word here - useful kid, and as much as I wanted the little asshat to keep me company, he had a few more years left in him before he needed to deal with the mutant shit show happening around him. He was probably the same age as me when I got wrapped into this mess. So I hugged his scrawny ass and did the one thing I could for him. I gave him my parents phone number.
"If you're ever in trouble, call this number and ask for me." I explained while writing on his hand with marker. "I won't be there, but they'll know how to get ahold of me."
Looking at my poor penmanship, he snorted. "What if it's trouble I can get out of?"
"Then you give them hell on your way out." I remarked. "See you around, kid."
Charles went on to say his goodbyes after that, Erik and Logan too, so I zapped onto the plane where Hank was already getting ready for take-off to keep myself occupied. Never have been good with the touchy-feely emotional goodbye bits. Even when my brothers were set to deploy they'd only get a single hug from me, and maybe a sharp jab to the shoulder. If I was feeling nice. I'd much rather bottle everything all inside until they fester into improper coping mechanisms and long term emotional issues topped with the inability to maintain healthy romantic relationships for the rest of my life.
Spoiler alert, it happens. Just, stick around for a bit.
Thinking back, I have no freaking clue how the three of them managed to scrounge up an actual airplane on such short notice, or with any sort of notice at all. We weren't government, and while Charles was loaded, I don't think he was loaded enough to just buy a plane on a whim. Maybe he was, I just seriously doubted it. Best not to think too much about it lest I fry my brain more than it already has been.
Sighing, I walked up the length of the plane, throwing my bag into one of the seats. To ensure that I didn't "accidentally" electrocute anyone, I was extra careful to keep myself far far away from Charles's stuff. Deeming that the five seats between us would suffice, I dematerialized and appeared right next to Hank in the cockpit. When he turned around at the slight zap sound, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Max!" He exclaimed with his hand over his head. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
I'll admit, I considered it... I'm kidding.
"Not at this exact moment, no." I smirked, plopping down in the co-pilots seat and hanging my legs over the arm rest. "But what harm could a little excitement do?"
Quickly he turned his attention back to the controls, but I saw that smile twitching at his lips. "A lot. Now, let me focus, I need to make sure everything's calibrated."
A snort bubbled out of me as I pulled out one of the many manuals. "You're gonna check it at least five times and you're still not gonna be satisfied."
"That's -" Hank started to protest, his mouth fluttering open and shut. "That's not entirely accurate."
I leveled him a look of disbelief. "How long have I known you? You think I don't know how you tick yet?"
"I know you do." He muttered, trailing off and delving back into his toys.
For a while, I stopped paying attention to what he was doing. I was too busy looking out the cockpit and watching Peter chat up Charles. Eventually, Hank finished up and headed out to say his own goodbyes, so that left me to my own devices for a bit. Now, that's honestly a very dangerous thing. When I'm alone, I think, and when I think, I remember.
"Breathe, Maxine. This will only hurt for a moment."
There was a sting at the base of my skull, radiating through my skin and down my spine. But not really. It was just a memory. Still, I was itching the spot unconsciously. There's something about systemic torture that just - it stays with you. You just can't shake it off no matter how hard you try. And who do you tell? There isn't really a therapist for me, and my friends are all just going to worry about me. So, I tough it out. I rubbed the scars on my wrists and left the cockpit, finding the empty seat across from Logan for the time being.
He barely looked up at me over the bourbon he was drinking, opting to look out the window rather than communicate with me. Which was completely fine, I was mostly eyeing the paper between us anyway. I just needed something to point my mind at. And I was halfway to picking it up when Erik walked in, reaching to do the same. Logan just extended his claws over it to stop it in its tracks. That's something I truly appreciated about Logan, we both hated Erik. It's the little things that bring us together.
"Imagine if they were metal." Erik remarked before continuing on to an unoccupied seat.
I snickered, picking up the slightly maimed paper and giving it a read. "So he could be your little puppet? I don't think that he'd appreciate that."
"Where did they dig you up anyway?" Erik asked Logan.
"You're gonna find this hard to believe." He started. "But you sent me. You and Charles. From the future."
The look Logan received in return was quite appropriate, Erik didn't believe a single lick of it. Like I said, it perfectly fit the situation.
"Everyone good to take off?" Hank asked innocently as he and Charles boarded the plane.
I nodded, kicking my feet up only to have Logan knock them off. "Yeah, we're good."
I kicked up my feet again in spit, and gave him a slight shock when he tried to remove them again.
"Play nice." Charles instructed, causing me to flip him the bird and then for him to sigh. "Charmed."
Moments later we were in the air, Hank getting us off the ground with ultimate ease. The man could do anything, or learn how to do it almost instantly. Hank - he's just perfect. I'm just going to have to accept that someday. He's perfect, and completely out of my league. And as we were in flight and I was swooning over Hank some more, Logan explained everything that was going on in his dark future to Erik. As I did earlier that day, I mostly ignored this part. Sure, I paid enough attention to keep myself occupied, then I almost fell asleep. Maybe I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought. Oh well.
After an extended period of time, Logan, Erik, and Charles were done talking. Then, after a very long and painfully awkward silence, they spoke some more. God, they sure do talk a lot.
"How did you lose them?" Erik asked, referring to Charles's powers.
For a brief moment, Charles didn't answer, he simply looked out the window. "The treatment for my spin affects my DNA."
The look on Erik's face, it was one of pure disgust. "You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?"
I snorted from my seat. "Wow, strange, you paralyzed him and now you're judging him for figuring out how to walk again."
"It's alright, Maxine." Charles tried to ease me, I didn't realize that I was even sticking up for him. It's just - it's natural for me. I see assholes, I want to take them down a peg. Especially if they're supremacists like Erik Lensherr.
Charles, his breath started to get shaky. "I sacrificed my powers so that I could slee -"
When his voice cracked, when he couldn't bare to look at Erik anymore, dammit, I felt for him. I've been preaching for days how much I hate him, I've been doing it for years, but there was still a Charles Xavier that was my friend, a long time ago. It was going to take some major conditioning on my part to get me to forget that.
"What do you know about it." Charles questioned, his tone harsh.
Erik scoffed. "I've lost my fair share."
"And half the time you've thrown it away." I remarked, mostly to myself, but he heard it.
"Don't pretend to know me, Max." He almost threatened. "You don't know what I've seen."
I shook my paper. "That's a two way street, Erik."
"She's right." Charles agreed. "So dry your eyes, Erik. It doesn't justify what you've done."
There's this look that Erik gets on his face that is - let's face it - borderline terrifying. Okay, it's completely terrifying. It's that look he gets right before he betrays you, I've seen it plenty of times in my life. It's that look he gets right before he kills someone right in front of you. It's that split second where you thought that everything was going perfect, only for him to ruin it. And - well, he was wearing that face in that exact moment.
"You have no idea what I've done." He nearly spat, his tone dripping with venom.
"I know that you took the things that mean the most to me." Charles said past a quivering lip.
Erik was practically laughing at Charles's struggles. "Maybe you should've fought harder for them."
"If you want a fight Erik," Charles started, standing and taking the older man by his shirt, "I will give you a fight!"
"Sit down -" Logan tried to intervene in the back.
"No way." I chuckled. "I hate both of them, I want to see them punch each others lights out."
Erik threw me a sarcastic look over his shoulder. "How mature of you."
"You're the one who almost started World War 3." I rebuttled, shrugging my shoulders.
"And then you abandoned me!" Charles nearly wailed. "You took her away and you abandoned me!"
This is where it goes to shit.
"Angel." Erik stated bluntly and randomly, and I felt that sting at the base of my skull again.
"Azazel." He continued, and suddenly my wrists began to itch.
"Emma." There was a ringing in my ear.
"Banshee."
"Tell them I'm alright, wouldja?"
I was laying on a metal slab, one I was becoming quite accustomed to. Around my wrists and ankles were rubber restraints, next to me was someone that used to be my best friend. I remember looking into his eyes, I remember the tears streaming his freckled face. His red hair was matted with dirt and blood, the blood was leaking out of his ears. I remember crying, I remember screaming and shouting and struggling against my restraints until my wrists bled, I remember being wheeled out of the room, I remember listening to his cry before -
"- and sisters, all dead!" Erik interrupted my thoughts, the plane shifting beneath us, and I was already out of my seat.
In the years I'd been gone, my electrical field could do wonders. Wheeling Erik around and punching him square in the jaw was an easy feat. And, it left him looking stunned as he fell back.
"I don't want to ever, ever, hear you say those names, ever again." I seethed through my teeth, lights flickering around me. "You didn't care about them, you don't care about them, you weren't there for them either. To you - we're all just fodder for your war against humanity. Each death, you make us a martyr. But you're not the one fighting, you're not the one dying. You've been spouting your vendetta, not our vendetta, since you took out the biggest player. You've been making this all about you! But we're not the pawns on your chessboard, Erik! I've died too many times for your fucking cause, for your "mutant supremacy" and I won't let you use the people you've put in harms way just to further your goals!"
The look everyone was giving me, it was pure shock, and the plane was taking a massive nosedive.
From the cockpit, Hank looked at us frantically. "Erik, Max, I need the power back, and I need the engine to not looked like a crushed tin can."
I inhaled deeply, and exhaled, effectively regulating the flow of electricity and stabilizing the plane. Everyone was still giving me a cautionary look, but I ignored them. I popped the collar of my jacket, yanked my sleeves down over my wrists, and headed towards the second cabin. I didn't need anyone worrying about me, I didn't need those looks of pity. What I needed, was a stiff drink. Sadly, there isn't a drink stiff enough for me out there.
Joy.
Author's Note: In the spirit of finally watching Logan, I have inspiration! Also, in the spirit of actually knowing where this story is going, Dual Synergy is probably going to be scrapped. I'll integrate it into Colliding Synergy and have it be one cohesive unit. I think it'll be better in the long run. Plus, flashbacks are good to fill out chapters. Kidding, but also not. Enjoy, here we go, maybe more out while I'm on vacation, but no promises. I'm a busy chickita this week. Reviews make me eternally happy!
