It wasn't the pounding in the back of his head that woke him up, but the chill that had penetrated through to his bones. He sat up, one hand immediately going to check for damage where they'd hit him. Dried blood matted in his hair, but the wound wasn't as serious as it could have been. He shivered, drawing his knees up to his chest to preserve whatever warmth he could.
He looked around the room, squinting through the mist that rose from his breath. Another form lay huddled in the corner, shivering violently.
"Charles?" He asked, voice low and rough. The form shifted, and it became painfully aware that it wasn't the boy. Their hair too long, body too large. It took him a moment to realize that the figure laying across from him was actually Moira. She managed a weak smile and pushed herself up, knees still hugged to her chest.
"Ah…You're awake." She said through chattering teeth. Erik managed a nod, resting his head back against the icy wall. It was difficult to conceal the disappointment that she hadn't been Charles. His expression shifted to worry as he began to wonder where the boy was. If he wasn't here, then he must be with the woman or devil. Erik gave an involuntary shuddered at the thought of the boy being near Shaw.
"Where are we?"
Moira shrugged, looking around the room with a small frown.
"Honestly? I don't know." She muttered, looking over to the door. Erik followed her gaze, tilting his head with a frown.
"Have you tried getting out?"
"Of course…It's locked."
Erik groaned and dropped his head, clenching the fabric of his trousers. Moira watched him from the other side of the room, silent for several moments before she sighed.
"I'm sorry…I didn't realize."
Erik looked up and shook his head.
"You weren't expecting it. None of us were." He paused, narrowing his eyes as he heard something tapping against the door. A moment later it swung open, Emma standing on the other side with a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Cooled down enough?" She asked, two men stepping over to flank her. "If you aren't going to boil over again, Shaw would like to see you."
Erik scowled at her, opening his mouth to snap back before Moira cut him off.
"We'll go." She assured, shooting him a glare before looking up to Emma again. The other woman narrowed her eyes, watching the two for a moment before nodding. The two men flanking her stepped into the room, one stepping to each of the two and hauling them to their feet.
Erik's struggle was brief, the chill in the room having made it difficult to fight back. They were half dragged, half marched down the hall and up a flight of stairs before Emma stopped and opened a door.
"The woman in here. Get her a blanket." She said before turning and leading Erik and the man holding him up towards another flight of stairs. Erik stumbled along numbly, staring down at the ground. He could barely move his fingers, never mind control his powers at the moment. No doubt one of the other reasons they'd been locked in that room.
Emma knocked on another door before pushing it open. After a moment she turned and nodded to the man, who moved past her and dragged Erik over to a seat. He dumped the man and glanced uncertainly around the room before hurrying out.
"Play nicely." Emma called before the door clicked shut behind her and left Erik alone.
Erik sat for a moment, trying to get the circulation back into his hands and feet. There didn't appear to be anyone else in the room, and he wasn't sure if this was reassuring or worrying. The door on the other end of the room remained closed, though Erik had no doubt that there was someone or something behind it. Just waiting for the right time to show themselves.
Erik was just regaining the feeling in his fingers when the door swung open. Despite the sudden movement, he made no move to stand, eyeing the doorway with a scowl.
"Ah, Erik. Glad to see you're awake. I hope you weren't treated too poorly." Shaw hummed, strolling into the room and ignoring Erik's hatre filled glare. He curled his fingers around the edge of the table, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"It was an absolute pleasure." He managed to snarl through grit teeth. Shaw raised an eyebrow and chuckled, circling around the table to take his seat at the far head.
Even after years, Erik couldn't help the shudder that ran down his spine at the familiar memories the situation brought back. He closed his eyes and forced a deep breath into his lungs with seemed rather unwilling to work. Shaw didn't seem to notice his company's discomfort, and if he had he'd chosen to ignore it.
The pair sat in silence, each waiting for the other to make a move. When Erik didn't seem willing to move, or react apart from his constant glare, Shaw sighed and leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on his hands.
"Erik, I understand why you're so upset."
Erik couldn't help but snort and raised an eyebrow.
"Upset isn't exactly the word I'd use." He said, attention drifting from Shaw and roaming the room. Nothing in the room called out to him, even the details as simple as the door knobs were plastic. They'd been expecting him. Shaw clearing his throat drew his attention back, teeth grit in irritation.
"You want the boy back, I know." Shaw sighed, reclining back in his seat. "I'd love to give him back, really I would but there's a slight problem with that."
"You can't?" Erik supplied, voice cool and bitter. Shaw smiled faintly and shrugged.
"Well to put it bluntly, yes. I haven't seen a power as strong as his in years." Shaw trailed off, catching Erik's growl and chuckling.
"Relax. He knows how to use his powers, unlike you when we first started. He know what he's doing, there's no need to force it out of him." Shaw shrugged, speaking as though they were talking about the weather. Erik glared at him, gritting his teeth.
"Where is he, Shaw?"
"Oh don't worry, he's perfectly safe right now. That is if you choose to behave and deal with us civilly."
"Like hell I will." Erik spat, pushing himself to his feet and crossing to the door. Shaw made no move to stop him, watching with an amused smirk. Not to Erik's surprise, the door he'd come in through was locked. He crossed to the other door and tried, but the wood refused to budge. He growled to himself and looked back to Shaw, who was watching with a tilted head.
"Care to try the window?" He asked, gesturing behind him. Erik scowled, though the idea had crossed his mind. Of course he wouldn't jump, what use would he be to Charles if he shattered his legs, or killed himself. He made one final loop around the room before returning to the table, though he did not re-take his seat.
"What do you want, Shaw?"
"Ah, so we're being polite now?" Shaw asked with a smile. "Well originally…We wanted you back. Things are getting tough for our kind, Erik. And a power such as yours would have been extraordinarily useful to our cause. But when Mrs. Frost came back to me with news of your companion well I had to admit I was intrigued. Charles is a gifted child, Erik, obviously you know this. But he will be of more use to us than to you. And he can take your place, can't he? You'll be free to do whatever you'd like to do, and we'll handle the rest."
"You expect me to let you keep him after everything you did to me? I know you, Shaw. You'll do the same to him even if he complies with whatever you want. You're greedy, you'll want to push him farther than he's capable of."
"He'll thank me, Erik. " Shaw said, expression hardening a fraction. "He and you are the same. You both have more power than you realize, and I'm here to help you."
"Help? You call endless torture and murder helping?" Erik demanded. In seconds he was behind Shaw, hands wrapped tightly around the man's throat. "What you did was not helping."
Shaw reached up, gripping Erik's wrists and growling as he tried to pull them off.
"I wouldn't be doing this if I were you…" He managed to gasp out, shifting in his seat and snarling.
"And why not?" Erik demanded, not looking up as he heard the door to the room open again.
"Erik!"
The man immediately froze, looking up with wide eyes at the sight before him. Azazel stood in the door, yanking the boy into the room by his arm.
"Let him go…" The devil said slowly, nails digging into Charles' arm. Erik hesitated only a moment before stepping back and holding his hands up as he backed away. Shaw coughed and massaged his throat, chuckling a moment later and standing up.
"Alright, now then…After that little outburst, I think we should start over. You lay another hand on me, and Azazel here is going to have to do something he'll regret."
The devil smiled darkly, giving Charles a slight shake. The boy stumbled with the rough gestures and whined, tugging his arm to try and pull away. The man grit his teeth, biting back the several choice words that threatened to spill forward. Instead he gave a curt nod and forced himself back to his seat, eyes never leaving Charles.
Shaw grinned and reclined back into his chair, ignoring the angry red mark that circled his neck.
"Now, let's try and be civil about this now, shall we? I'm asking, rather nicely considering what you've just done to me, to let me keep the boy. You have my word that no harm will come to him, as long as he and you behave yourselves."
"And if I refuse to let you keep him?"
"Well in all honesty, I'm going to keep him anyways. He has no future with you, Erik. A life wandering the country side is far from good for a child. I'll be helping him, working with him to make sure he becomes the best he can possibly be." Shaw said with a shrug and leaned forward. "He'll know how to control everything around him…He could have the world in the palm of his hands if he wanted. He-"
"I don't want that."
The room fell silent, all eyes turning towards the voice that had spoken up. Charles returned their gazes, expression hesitant for only a brief moment before he shook his head.
"I don't want to stay. I want to go with Erik. I don't like you, and I don't like it here." He said, turning his attention to Shaw. Azazel made a move to jostle the boy again, but a simple wave from Shaw stopped him. The man slowly pushed himself to his feet and crossed over, hands twitching at his sides.
"Is that so?"
Charles held his gaze, his eyes blazing. He nodded, throwing as much anger into the motion as his tiny frame could handle. Shaw stood in silence for a moment, looking down at the boy. Erik was almost positive he would have stuck the boy had he not begun to laugh.
The sound was low at first, barely a rumble deep in Shaw's chest. Soon it changed from a low chuckle to a full blown cackle. Erik stiffened and glanced down to Charles, who seemed to share in his mixture of confusion and fear. The laugh was over before long, and Shaw stooped again, getting low enough so that he was at eye-level with Charles.
"You know what? It really doesn't matter what you think. And you know why that is? Because children don't know what's good for them. You don't know what you need, Charles. But I do…I know everything that can make you the most powerful mutant on the planet." Shaw snarled jabbing a finger into the boy's chest, making him stumble back.
"Don't touch him." Erik snapped, moving a step closer. Azazel looked up and tugged Charles closer, sneering over at Erik. Shaw paused and straightened up, tilting his head.
"Oh, you mean like this?" He asked, giving a sharp tug to Charles' hair. The boy yelped and tried to pull away, rubbing the top of his head with a sniffle.
Erik curled his hands into fists, looking around the room for anything he could use to keep Shaw away from the boy. He spotted the buttons on Charles' jacket and paused, narrowing his eyes at them. He could take them out, but doing so would jostle the child and draw attention to what was going on. He turned away and shook his head.
"I swear…"
"You swear what?" Shaw prompted, turning his back to Charles and Azazel. Erik took this moment to begin trying to pull the metal buttons off of Charles' jacket. Charles caught the look and understood, nodding and watching Shaw.
"Erik. You swear what?" Shaw repeated, stepping forward and frowning. "I asked you a question, and I'd really like an answer."
Erik looked up as the buttons finally came off of Charles' jacket and rose up behind Shaw.
"I swear I'll kill you."
Shaw laughed again and shook his head. "Oh really? And how will you do that?" He sneered, unaware of the metal hovering inches from the back of his head.
"Easily." Erik said, raising his hand. The buttons shot forward, burying themselves into the back of Shaw's neck.
The man stumbled forward in surprise, lifting his hand to brush against the back of his neck. He titled his head and laughed again, his hand falling back to his side, completely clean. Erik stared at him in shock, trying to figure out why the man was still standing, why there was no blood.
"Oh, didn't you know?" Shaw asked, turning to show his neck completely unscathed. "I'm just like you, Erik. We're two of the same."
"No…"
"Oh yes." Shaw hummed, shaking out his hands and turning to Charles. The boy tried to pull away, shooting Erik a helpless look.
"So, Erik. You've managed to upset me once again." Shaw sighed, gesturing for Azazel to move over to the window. "And do you remember what I said we'd do if you tried anything again?"
Erik followed behind, watching with uncertainty as Azazel dragged Charles over to the window. He caught the look in Charles' eyes, but didn't dare move closer. Not yet.
"I really didn't want to do this, Erik. I don't like hurting those with such promise." Shaw turned back to the man, frowning. He shook himself out, and Erik noticed a slight haze around the man's fingers. "But you've left me with no choice. If you're going to keep getting in the way, I'm going to have to get rid of you. Azazel, take Charles out of the room please. He doesn't need to see this."
Erik's attention drifted from Shaw's hands to Charles, who was now tugging frantically at his arm, trying to pull free of Azazel's grip. He tried to tell the boy to stop, that he would be fine, but the words never left his mouth. Before anyone could react, Charles chomped down onto Azazel's hand. He tore free when the mutant released him with a surprised shout.
Shaw turned at the noise, raising an arm to push Charles back as the boy launched himself forward. Erik watched in horror as the haze that had been around Shaw's fingers manifested itself into a bright explosion. The light connected with Charles' chest and sent the boy flying backwards.
"Charles!" Erik shouted, pushing past Shaw and bolting to try and catch the boy. He froze and watched as the window shattered. Charles managing to let out a final, panicked scream of "Erik!" before he was gone, plummeting to the river below.
Erik didn't hesitate before making the jump out of the window himself, not caring about what happened to Shaw or Azazel.
All that mattered now was finding Charles.
A/N: Holy crap I'm so sorry it took me almost two months to get this out. I started college and well...let's just say I did not realize it would be this difficult. Sorry for the delay, and hopefully the next chapter (chapters?) should be up with less of a delay...