A/N: Thank you everyone for the nice reviews. I'm slowly replying to them. The dream sequence with Mephisto will become incredibly important in future chapters and in the sequel, if there is one. So, on to the next one. Enjoy! Please pardon any mistakes, I will edit these later.

Eyes On Fire

Her sleep was dreamless. She felt weightless when she sat up from her bed, looking to the sleeping figure beside her out of the corner of her eye. He slept on his back with his arms characteristically folded across his bare chest. His nose twitched every now and then in his sleep. Erik's low and surprisingly not obnoxious snore brought a small smile to Melody's face. The blankets only covered his waist and down. Melody looked on him with appreciation; his body was still powerful in such a vulnerable state.

She closed her eyes as she remembered the contours of his body and the grip of his hands in her hair as made love to her. No, she corrected herself, it wasn't love. What they had done was anything but. It was passion, shared anger they held towards humans. What she had become in the throes of ecstasy bewildered her as she sat up from the bed, the sheets rustling in almost protest as she left. The sun was just now starting to raise, the Earth an odd shade of blue. Melody quietly searched through the large armoire next to the door and pulled out an old room. With a few shakes, the dust was gone and the robe didn't appear as ancient. She slipped her arms through the holes and she tied it loosely around her waist.

Her steps were light as she made her way to gently push open the doors that led out to the balcony. The crisp air met her exposed neck and face. She welcomed the fairly new sensation, greeting it like an old friend with a content sigh. She raised her hands to eye level and locked onto the faint bruises that wrapped around her wrists, the indent of fingers still evident. She took her right hand and rubbed at the faint bruises on her left wrist, turning it over to further her examination. Rough hands enclosed around hers and brought them down to her side.

Erik nuzzled his face into her neck, stooping down to accommodate for her far shorter height. Melody was startled and jumped back into his frame, sheepish at the fact he was still entirely nude. He kissed down her throat and brushed the robe from her shoulder with his chin, kissing the skin that he revealed. The stubble that lined his jaw caused an eruption of ticklish feeling to burst along her flesh and she squirmed.

"I apologize for the bruises, I don't know what came over me last night," He said softly, murmuring into the curve of her neck. His arms circled around her waist and he brought her firmly against him. His teeth nibbled at her neck, biting sharply before tending to the small pain with feather light kisses. Melody shuddered at the sensation and felt her weak knees shake with anxiety. As quick as it happened, he released her and her ears were met with the sounds of clothes being gathered and thrown on.

"I have to say I don't what came over me either, to be honest with you. I've never had an encounter with a man. Well, willingly, I should say. The things that happen on this planet," Melody said with a faint bitter undertone. Her arms were folded as she looked onto the horizon. Her green eyes fell upon Charles and Hank as they started their regular foot race. Hank was finally letting his inner nature out and he was being rather successful with it. A frown of scorn crossed her face at how happy he looked. His ability could be used for good. He could scale a tree and save a trapped kitten. Melody in the same situation? She could just absorb the fear from the poor creature and use it to her own benefit. Entirely different. She couldn't help, but be filled with annoyance and anger.

"I don't love you. It is of utmost importance that you remember that."

With his back to her, Erik smiled at her words. This woman was something else. At one moment she would be laughing at something stupid that Sean did, but the next moment she would be moaning into Erik's ear of how much she hated what he was making her become. Now, she was admitting that she didn't love him. This was never about love, Erik thought. This was about making her see the obvious, which she had been blatantly ignoring. He had succeeded.

"You're one interesting little minx, Melody. A tricky one at that. I hope you haven't forgotten that I just had you moaning my name with the lightest touch of my hand, dear."

Melody gasped at his words and turned abruptly, her mouth falling open. He was so full of it, his arrogance washing over Melody. He turned his head to look back at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. His eyes were much darker than they had been. The look brought heat to her face as she remembered the way he locked eyes with her the night before, right before he bit into her shoulder to stifle a loud moan.

"I-I hate you," She said softly and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Your thoughts are awfully deluded if you believe that."

With that being said, he was gone. With a loud exclamation, Melody picked up the nearest object to her and chucked it at the door. The hand mirror broke on impact and shattered, scaring Charles half to death as he knocked. Was she telepathic also and he didn't know it? That wouldn't be the most bizarre thing he has found out in the past few days.

"I take it that now is not a good time. I'll come ba-" He was cut off by Melody who greeted him with perhaps too much pep, a fake smile plastered on her face as he slowly opened the door. He was tired and sweaty from his run, but he managed to return the smile. He noticed how the bed was wrinkled and that both pillows had signs of use. Charles narrowed his eyes, but refused to comment. He quickly put two and two together, but Melody showed no shame.

He smoothed out the sheets on her bed and patted it for her to sit, except he kept himself distanced as she sat. He looked over Melody, much to her discomfort. His beautiful baby blue eyes ran over her, stopping on the bruises on her wrists that just peeked out from the arms of the robe. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. With a sigh, he pinched the skin between his eye brows before smoothing the brows out.

"Melody, I think I've figured out your ability. To some degree. As you already know, your ability revolves around fear. Not only can you instill fear to varying degrees, but you can absorb it. It becomes your strength. Unknown to you, Hank had been running tests yesterday afternoon. With his assistance, we have come to one conclusion," Charles said, pausing to read her face.

Melody sat forward and pulled her robe tighter against her, listening intently. Charles nibbled at his bottom lip, feeling for this wide-eyed woman in front of him. He would not question her relations with Erik, but he wasn't entirely supportive of it. They could possibly die during the coming mission, so he would let them find comfort where they could.

"You're like a vampire, of sorts. Instead of blood, you feed on fear. That fear makes you stronger and damn near invincible. However, if we were against a fearless appointment, you would almost be entirely useless. Unless you managed to make eye contact with them. The eye contact would have to exceed five seconds, according to Hank. The tests he ran showed us that with your skin changing pigment, it was becoming stronger. Much more capable of withstanding force. It's remarkable, to be entirely honest. I never expected this to come with your ability. I-I astounded. There's so much to your power. Anything could happen with it," He said, short of breath.

Melody looked at him in amazement before looking over her arms and legs. They did appear thicker than they had a few days ago and she gasped at the small definition of muscle in her thighs. A small smile crossed her face before it widened into a full on smile, teeth and all. Happy giggles came from her and she completely forgot about the entire confrontation with Erik this morning. Learning about herself and this ability of hers was far more important than whatever she and Erik had together.

"However, I'm afraid to say, that in this human-run society…your power would be deemed evil at the second it was found out."

He immediately regretted saying that with the way Melody's happy laugh died abruptly and her eyes darkened. She sat up from the bed and slammed the balcony doors shut. The slam startled Charles, even though he knew it was coming. The room darkened as she drew the curtains across the windows and the doors. Melody was seething. Charles couldn't see her in the darkness, his body swiveling around to pin point her location. Her foot falls told him the she was by the door and the lights flickered on. She was leaning across the bedroom door, her hair obscuring her face from his view.

"I had a feeling you would say that. You've clarified the obvious for me, Charles. You know, I've been thinking about what I would like to be called," She said as she tilted her head back, a nonchalant look on her face. Charles was stunned. She was the different colours of the rainbow, the way her mood shifted. Right now, her mood was sardonic sapphire. He looked at her with his brow furrowed as he stood and made his way to stand in front of her. He was hesitant as he advanced, her green eyes following his every movement.

"I think I've figured out what I want to be known as. Wicked."

A/N: I know there is a Marvel character already called Wicked, but she has nothing to do with the story. I'm just…borrowing the name. If there is a problem, I will change it. –smile-