Angel's wings lifted her to Sages height while Azazel pulled out his swords, the man next to him created small tornadoes in his hands. They were cocky and confident. It would be their down fall. Alex sent a blast towards the man in the suit that hit him square in the chest, throwing him back into the submarine behind him. That would leave a mark Sage thought happily. With a puff of smoke Azazel was beside Beast and Alex, swinging at them with his sword. The teleporter managed to get Alex around the neck with his tail and a hand on Beast they vanished. Sage let out a snarl of irritation. Her flames flared for a moment.
"Erik?" Sage called out, hoping he would have a plan for her.
"You're with me." He answered. His eyes narrowed as the suited man got back to his feet.
With a grin Sage gladly blasted the man back towards the submarine just in time in time for Erik to hit him from behind with a torn off piece of the submarine and pin him to the ground. Sage dropped to her feet next to Erik and extinguished her flames. The two mutants shared a quick grin before sprinting towards the sub.
"Erik, Sage, head for the middle of the vessel that's the point my mind can't penetrate. We have to assume that's where Shaw is." Charles instructed telepathically. How he managed to sound so calm considering the circumstances Sage would never know.
The inside of the submarine was white and prior to being dropped on the beach it must have been quite nice. Now it was full of sparking broken technology and aside from Erik she couldn't see anybody else.
"That's the nuclear reactor. Disable it." Charles spoke once again. Erik pulled down a switch, which hopefully did the trick. With nothing more than a look Erik opened the metal door beside him and together they stepped through.
"Erik you're there, you've reached the void." Charles informed us.
"He's not here Charles, Shaw's not here. He's left the sub." Erik answered angrily.
"What? He's got to be there. There's nowhere else he can be, keep looking." Charles instructed.
"And he's not. There's no one here god damn it." Erik responded.
Suddenly a panel opened in the back of the submarine, revealing Shaw. Sage immediately moved to Erik's side, not taking her eyes off of the man threatening her friends. The man who had killed Darwin and countless others. Erik slowly turned to face Shaw and his face said it all. Erik despised Shaw, for what Sage didn't know but she could not bring herself to fault him.
"Erik, what a pleasant surprise and you've brought a friend." Shaw welcomed, seemingly pleased to see us.
"Erik? Sage?" Charles called out in concern. Likely due to the lack of response he had received.
"Found him." Sage answered as Erik slowly made his way towards Shaw. She stayed behind him yet close in case he need stepped into a small enclosed room full of mirrors and the door slid closed behind them.
"May I ask you something? Why are you on their side? Why fight for a doomed race who will hunt us down as soon as they realize their reign is coming to an end?" Shaw questioned calmly. Almost sounding like a scolding parent. Erik lashed out and landed a solid punch to Shaw's jaw. He reeled from the hit but absorbed the blow.
"I'm sorry for what happened in the camps. I truly am." Shaw told a shocked Erik before placing a finger on his forehead. Erik was thrown back into the wall of glass, cracking it.
"Erik whatever you're doing, keep doing it. It's starting to work." Charles' instructed.
"But everything I did, I did for you. To unlock your power, to make you embrace it." Shaw continued as he moved closer towards Erik and threw him across the room yet again causing glass to shatter.
"It's working. I'm starting to see it but I can't yet touch his mind." Charles spoke.
"You've come a long way from bending gates. I'm so proud of you." Shaw spoke.
Sage had had enough. She stepped in front of her friend and glared at the man responsible for so much suffering.
"Oh shut up. Everything coming out of you is nothing but lies." Sage spat angrily. "Erik, wait for your shot." She instructed before calling on her fire like never before. She could reach a level of heat capable of causing serious damage to the planet, but hopefully hot enough to cause Shaw some serious damage.
To Erik the girl before him simply melted into flame, he couldn't even see her. She had become the fire, nothing but flame, and it flew at Shaw. He began to scream.
Sage coated Shaw in her flames and then kicked it into gear. Her hands visibly emerged from the flames that were eating away at the man and placed them on his helmet, causing it to melt. Shaw fell to his knees and his screams sounded more pain filled. He was absorbing her power yes but it was too constant and too powerful for him to do anything. The metal liquefied and melted a bit before Sage pulled it off, throwing it across the room.
Glancing at Erik she saw that he was holding the same coin he had demonstrated his power with. She had an idea of what he was going to do and was thankful that Erik hadn't torn down the other mirrors. Charles was not connected to Shaw. Grinning madly Sage twisted the still screaming man towards Erik, forcing him to face the man he had wronged. Sage nodded at Erik and the coin slowly lifted from his hand.
"Everything you did made me stronger, made me the weapon I am today. It is the truth, I've known that all along. You are my creator." Erik spoke as he slowly walked towards them. "I agree with what you said about the humans, but unfortunately you killed my mother."
The coin began to spin faster and faster in the air. Sage tightened her grip and increased the heat when Shaw began to struggle.
"This is what we're going to do. I'm going to count to three and I'm going to move the coin." Erik informed Shaw who now looked terrified of the monster he had created.
"1."
"2."
"3." Sage quickly took her physical form and kept her fire to just her hands in case Shaw started to struggle. The coin pierced his forehead and came out the other side, Shaw screamed bloody murder before collapsing to the ground at their feet. A bloody hole the size of a coin with blood trickling out of it was left behind.
"Why did you do that?' Erik questioned after a moment of silence.
"Because I know what it's like to lose a mother and I know what it's like to want revenge for having her taken away from you. I hope this gives you some peace Erik." Sage answered quietly, still staring at the body of the man she had helped kill.
She was a killer now.
"We should go back to the others." Erik spoke up. "May I?" He gestured to the metal on her suit and tugged at it slightly.
"Lift me? Yes." Sage agreed.
Erik wrapped metal wire around Shaw's wrists to take him outside and ripped a hole in the submarine. Shaw floated out in a Jesus like fashion before being dropped like a rag doll to the ground below.
"Today our fighting stops." Erik declared before lowering himself and Sage to the beach. Sage sighed upon seeing that everyone was alright.
"Take off your blinders brothers and sisters. The real enemy is out there. I feel their guns moving on the water, their metal targeting us. Americans. Soviets. Humans. United in their fear of the unknown. The neanderthal is running scared my fellow mutants! Go ahead Charles, tell me I'm wrong." Erik spoke as he and Charles slowly walked towards the water. Erik glaring at the ships on the water.
Charles raised his hand to his temple for a moment before turning to nod at Moira who went running towards the jet. Sage clenched her hands in a fist, they were attacking them. The ships began firing, launching countless missiles towards them. Just before they could hit the beach Erik lifted a hand and stopped the missiles mid-air. Sage let out a sigh of relief. Erik slowly rotated his hand causing the missiles to turn back towards those who had fired them and Sage felt her heart drop. He was going to kill them all. Shaw was one thing but thousands of fairly innocent soldiers as another.
"Erik you said it yourself, we're the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men. They're just following orders." Charles tried to convince Erik upon realizing what he intended to do.
"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again." Erik answered calmly, in the same steely tone he used with Shaw. Erik thrust his hand in the direction of the ships, sending the missiles back towards those who fired them.
"Erik release them!" Charles shouted. Erik didn't respond.
"No!" Charles yelled before tackling Erik to the ground. Without Erik's guidance the missiles dropped and some exploded.
"I don't want to hurt you, don't make me." Erik growled at Charles before elbowing him off. When the others made to help Charles he tossed them backwards by the metal in their suits. Sage raised her hands in surrender when he glanced at her.
Erik continued to guide the missiles but was distracted by Charles.
"Erik stop." Charles demanded and reached for the helmet. Erik merely punched and resumed controlling the missiles.
Just as they were about to hit the ships Moira opened fire on Erik. Erik deflected the bullets but Sage was angry, he was saving them and she was going to shoot at Erik?
"Stop it!" Sage shouted as she stepped towards Moira. Startled, Moira shot once towards Erik and once towards Sage. Erik deflected the bullet aimed at himself but Sage was hit in the shoulder. She dropped to the ground with a scream of pain as agony pulsed through her shoulder. Charles hit the ground next to her with his own yell.
Erik dropped to the ground behind Charles and pulled the bullet from Charles' back. He looked worriedly to Sage who shook her head with gritted teeth.
"It went through." She told him, trying to put pressure on the wound. So much for the suits being bullet proof. Looking back to the sea Sage saw the missiles drop and explode, Erik no longer controlling them.
"I'm so sorry." Erik spoke as pulled Charles onto his lap and Sage closer to himself.
"I said back off!" Erik yelled as the others came closer.
"You, you did this." Erik said angrily, looking at Moira. Her dog tags suddenly tightened around her neck, choking her.
"Please, she didn't do this Erik. You did." Charles spoke, his words causing Erik to let Moira go.
"I'm going to have to disagree with you Charles. She shot me." Sage hissed as she tried to stem the blood flow.
"Us turning on each other, it's what they want. I tried to warn you Charles. I want you by my side, we are brothers you and I. All of us together, protecting each other. We want the same thing." Erik spoke softly, trying to convince Charles but Sage knew it wouldn't work. They were too different for them to ever truly work together.
"Oh my friend, I'm sorry, but we do not." Charles answered sadly. Erik stared at him for a moment before motioning Moira to take over. She raced over and cradled Charles' head on her lap, apologizing repeatedly. Sage felt her anger flare as she was ignored.
Erik knelt beside her and brushed some hair out of her eyes.
"Can I lift you?" He asked.
Sage nodded and let out a pained grunt when he did so. She felt safe with him holding her but she was becoming light headed.
"Erik, I think I need a doctor." She managed to get out.
"I will take you to one." He assured her before turning to the others.
"If their society won't accept us, we'll form our own. The humans have played their hand, now we get ready to play ours. Whose with me?" Erik spoke confidently and he was very convincing. "No more hiding." He finished looking towards Raven.
Raven made her way towards Charles and kneeled beside him.
"You should go with him, it's what you want." Charles told her.
"You promised me you would never read my mind." Raven answered.
"I know. I've promised you a great many of things I'm afraid. I'm sorry." Charles apologized.
"Take care of him." Raven told Moira before standing and joining Erik. Shaw's old team moving to join as well. Everyone grabbed hold of one another and before Sage passed out she heard Raven speak.
"And Beast, never forget. Mutant and proud."
Author's Note: How was that for a plot twist? Anyway, that is the end of Lost Flame. Thanks for reading and joining me on this crazy journey. I do plan to do the other movies eventually and I will post an update to this story with a link when I start it. Fair warning, it will likely be in first person because I've discovered that I hate writing in third person. Hope you guys liked the story, ta ta for now.