Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.
Dark Mind
Xavier waited impatiently in his office. Usually he was a very patient man. But since they'd stopped Apocalypse it seemed that his patience was being tested. He had no choice but to wait for Jean to become the Phoenix Force, wait for Erik to see reason, wait for Bolivar Trask to make his next move and he had to have constant patience for the immature boy from the future that seemed to have only come back to cause endless property damage.
Nero phased out of the shadows quietly. The smile that had been on his face all summer vanished in an instant. "What's the matter?" Nero asked.
"I just want to make sure we've got the story straight for when the other students arrive." Xavier said.
"I never knew my parents. I've kept my head low in an orphanage and I was recently involved in a big problem involving my powers; I'm not aloud to tell anyone my real name because if the wrong people hear it I'll be arrested. My cover name at school is Jack Daniels." Nero repeated.
"Good." Xavier sighed.
"Jack Daniels?" Nero complained, "Isn't that a beverage?"
"Just stick to the plan and everything should go smoothly." Xavier said.
"I feel you called me in here to talk about more than my cover story again." Nero sighed pulling up a chair.
"Yes," Xavier said, "Firstly, we have some new members to the staff - Rémy Etienne LeBeau and Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin."
"Gambit and Colossus!" Nero cried – his smile returning.
"Yes," Xavier said, "please try to refrain from revealing that you know them. The only reason they're coming here is because you put in a good word for them. They both need to hide from Magneto and this is the safest place for them."
"This is good," Nero said, "already I've sped up their arrival – that means I can change things and we can stop Bolivar!"
"Yes," Xavier said, "I've already sent Logan to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base where Bolivar Trask is held to provide extra security and since Fury took over the Sentinel program we need a man on the inside to monitor what's going on."
"That all?" Nero asked, "I'm eager to greet our new guests."
"No," Xavier said, wheeling forwards slightly, "Jean's power grows every day and I need to make sure she won't accidently find out about what'll happen to her. That knowledge could speed up the process. I'll have to place some mental blocks."
Nero nodded and took a deep breath as Xavier concentrated and plunged into his mind…
oOo
Xavier didn't like rummaging through the boys mind. His mind was dark and there was a sense of foreboding and despair t every turn. Xavier didn't really want to look too much at the images that passed by, but he couldn't resist a glance. He immediately regretted it.
He could see nothing but tunnels, dark and dirty, he spotted an aged version of Hank. His fur greying and his old friend looked weary and desperate.
It was like a car crash – Xavier couldn't look away. Hank was holding some sort of device and was surrounded by people whose faces were shrouded in darkness. Hank silently motioned upwards towards the surface and he opened a hatch and Nero felt a breeze. Xavier felt pity as he realised this was one of the rare moments that Nero had ever seen the outside world. The small group proceeded quietly for a short while and he could recognise the two people ahead of Nero – Rahne and Jamie. They were young adults and they looked bitter and both had large battle scars visible.
Suddenly the moon's light was blocked out by a huge shape – a sentinel. A ray of death exploded from its hands - Rahne and Jamie disintegrated before his very eyes, reduced to skeletons and dust.
He heard Hank shout out, "Run!" and they were running, glancing left and right – dodging beams of death. Nero was pushed aside by – was that Tabitha Smith? It didn't matter as a second later a mammoth foot crushed her, only her arm stuck out from beneath the machinery and as it pulled away it revealed her remains – like road kill. Xavier felt sick.
"You really don't want to delve too deep into my memories. Believe me until recently I've not had anything to be happy about." Nero's voice echoed through his head.
Xavier backed away from the memory like it was the plague. He hurriedly went to the source of the memories about Jean and put up a mental gate – hopefully strong enough to stop Jean for now. He blocked off all other memories that Nero had – replacing them with fakes that only Nero and himself would know as false.
When he was finished Xavier was glad of his handy work. By the time Jean could break the barriers he'd set up she'd be too powerful to prevent the Phoenix force anyway. With that Xavier pulled out of Nero's mind…
oOo
"Are we all good?" Nero asked – smiling again.
"Yes." Xavier said, still trying to shake the image of Boom-Boom lying dead in the rubble.
"Great." Nero said.
"Sorry I couldn't help peeking at… well whatever that was." Xavier said.
"Don't worry," Nero said, "you're lucky you found one of the less gruesome ones."
Xavier shuddered. He feared that Nero wasn't lying.
He was thankful for the distraction when he heard a familiar noise – BAMF! He turned to see Kurt standing across the room as Kitty ran through the wall.
"What's the problem?" Xavier said, regaining his composure.
"I think ve are under attack!" Kurt shouted.
A/N: Sorry for all Boom-Boom fans out there. I did put the rating high because of gruesome death. But, don't worry – remember Nero's here to stop all that happening. But, he's likely to go on the ultimate time traveller sightseeing trip ever first. Please R&R if you're still reading.