Apologies for the delay on posting this chapter! Also I should give you a heads up: the next chapter probably won't be posted until the Friday after next as me and my Beta will be spending most of next weekend in a field with no internet…. actually… me and two of my Betas will be spending most of next weekend in a field with no internet… But back to this week's chapter…

We're nearly there: It's the morning of Cuba! So, this week's question: what do you think will/do you want to/do you dread will happen when they get to Cuba?

XXXXXX

Chapter Twenty

Normally Erik wakes up quickly, going from unconscious to conscious in a heartbeat, but this morning he comes around slowly – and discovers someone's foot digging into his ribs and an elbow lodged in the back of his knee. He cracks open his eyes to find that Sean has sprawled everywhere; the teen is all elbows and lanky limbs. On the other side of the bed Raven and Charles are snuggled up close, and Alex has kept to his fair share of the mattress – why did Erik end up with the octopus?

Natalie smiles over at him when she realises he's no longer asleep. She's already completely awake, sat upright with her back against the headboard and her legs stretched out between Sean and Alex. Natalie hasn't managed to escape Sean's limbs either - the teen's left knee is digging into her thigh and one arm is draped over her ankles.

Erik turns slightly and pulls himself up into a sitting position next to Natalie. Sean pours himself into the space Erik leaves behind, but doesn't wake up. From the higher vantage point Erik has a better view of the mass of bodies that are crammed into the bed. It makes for quite a sight; Erik has to resist the urge to smile.

Natalie isn't resisting that urge, instead she is beaming in almost motherly contentment. "Adorable aren't they?" She keeps her voice low and quiet so as not to wake anyone.

Erik grunts, feigning annoyance, but he doesn't explicitly disagree. Natalie gives him a look which says she can see right through his grumpy exterior to the warm fuzzy feeling inside.

A noise from outside the room draws both their gazes to the door. "It's Moira," Natalie informs Erik. "You want to let her in?" She suggests, nodding towards the door with its metal door handle.

Erik glances at her: this habit she has, of casually asking him to use his powers for mundane tasks, is ever so slightly disconcerting. Erik isn't used to people being so blasé about his mutation. He can't work out whether he likes the fact she's not impressed by his powers, or if it annoys him.

He opens the door and savours the look on Moira's face: she is still impressed by his powers.

Then Moira notices the collection of mutants curled up in the bed and her expression softens into an affectionate smile. And it hits Erik just how much this human cares about these kids. Erik remembers Natalie's words from the night he argued with Charles: that where it mattered you couldn't tell the difference between humans and mutants, and for a moment he understands what she meant: Moira cares about these kids in just the same way that Erik and Charles do.

A movement on the other side of the bed betrays Charles' return to the land of the living. The telepath's eyes flicker open and Erik watches as Charles takes in the sight in front of him; the paternally indulgent smile that eases onto the young Professor's face.

Remember this, Natalie's voice slips softly into their heads. This is why you have to kill Shaw, to protect this.

Charles looks over at Natalie with a frown and then he glances at Erik. Erik sees the telepath deflate; sees him finally accept what needs to be done. But that acceptance clearly costs him, and the pain in Charles' eyes is not something Erik ever wanted to see. Right there and then Erik promises himself that when he kills Shaw it won't just be for his mother - for the dead - it will be for the living as well: for Charles and the rest of these mutants sprawled beneath the bed sheets.

XXXXXX

Forty minutes later they're all awake and dressed – and looking for Hank. Charles frowns at the note pinned to the lab door:

Gone to the airbase, bring the crate marked X.

Hank.

Feeling a sense of misgiving Charles pushes open the doors to the lab and stops suddenly, shocked by the devastation in front of him. As Charles carefully makes his way across the room, picking his way through the debris, the rest of the party headed for Cuba cautiously enter the room; frowning at the chaos in front of them.

"What the hell happened here?" Erik voices the question all of them are thinking. Charles pauses in his passage and glances back at the German; he doesn't have an answer, he has no idea what happened here. But… Charles' frown deepens as he gaze focuses in on a figure behind the main group.

"Hank's fine."

The others turn to see Natalie standing in the doorway, hands in her trouser pockets as she surveys the lab. There's anger at the edge of Charles' voice as he gestures at the wreckage all around them and asks. "Do you know what happened here?"

"Yes." She says simply. "He tried out his 'mutant antidote' last night; it didn't exactly work out as planned. But, he's fine. A little more blue than he was yesterday, but otherwise fine."

"Blue?" Alex's question is tinged with confusion as well as hostility.

"Yes, his antidote accelerated his mutation rather than suppressing it."

"And you knew this was going to happen?" Charles' demands, furious.

She meets his anger head on, without flinching. "Yes."

"And you didn't think to warn him?"

"Oh, I thought about it," Her tone is venomous now. "I thought about it very, very, carefully and then I made a judgement call. And if Hank wants to hate me for it, then fine, he's well within his rights to hate me. But you," She jabs her finger at Charles angrily. "You don't get that luxury! Because, Professor, it's your damn fault I had to make that judgement call in the first place!"

"I thought he wasn't that man yet." Erik says the words quietly, but they cut across the growing tension in the room.

She turns to glare at him for using her own words against her. He meets her glare for glare and for a long moment there's a vicious staring contest before Natalie eventually inclines her head ever so slightly, acknowledging his point.

"Maybe," She acquiesces grudgingly. "In which case, don't you think it's about time you got on and made sure neither of you ever have to become those men?"

There's a brief pause as if Charles (and maybe Erik) are considering whether to be diplomatic and maintain the moral high ground, or to respond to the aggression in Natalie's tone.

"What's in the crate?" Charles asks after a moment, choosing diplomacy and changing the topic.

"Why don't you go and have a look?" Natalie suggests.

They all glance apprehensively over at the large crate at end of room.

"There's nothing in there that's going to jump out and bite you if that's what you're worried about." Natalie's voice is dryly amused at their wariness.

With one last look at Natalie, Charles turns and finishes picking his way through the debris towards the crate.

"Hank has been busy." Erik comments dryly over Charles' shoulder, as they all peer at the contents of the crate.

"Do we really have to wear these?" Apparently fluorescent yellow is not Alex's idea of a fashion statement.

"As none of you are mutated to endure extreme g-force or resist being riddled with bullets, I'd suggest you suit up." Natalie's voice says from the doorway. The other mutants all glance at Charles, who gives a hesitant nod. She's not wrong, after all.

XXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, and they're all ready and changed into their suits. Natalie is waiting for them in the entrance hall, ready to wave them off. She has hug and a whispered 'Good Luck' for each of them as the file out of the mansion one-by-one and head down the waiting jeep.

"Are you going to have dinner on the table for us when we get back?" Erik asks Natalie as he leaves the mansion; last out of all of them. It's a teasing question, designed to relieve the tension, and it works to a certain extent; Natalie's expression softens slightly as she flicks a rude hand gesture at him.

He tuts. "Not in front of the children."

"Oh, shut up." She mutters, but there's a small genuine smile on her face now.

Erik's mouth curls into a matching smile. He takes a step forward, but is stopped by Natalie's hand on his arm: the smile has dropped off her face and her expression is now deadly serious.

"Remember," She says quietly, her eyes glancing down the steps, checking the others are out of earshot, "when you kill Shaw, Charles is going to feel every second of it. So, for his sake, be quick."

Erik stiffens, but nods once in reply. He remembers Charles' pain from the memories of the future that Natalie showed them. He will kill Shaw as quickly as he can.

Natalie's hand drops from Erik's arm, and without glancing back at her Erik strides down the steps and across the gravel to where the others are waiting for him.

Erik stops just as he's about to pass Moira. He turns with a frown and reaches out his hand towards her neck. She flinches slightly but doesn't step back as he picks up the dogtags resting around her neck.

"Taking a bit of risk with these aren't you?" He says quietly, raising one eyebrow at her.

Moira meets his look head on. "I'm choosing to trust you." She says firmly, without hesitation and with just the briefest hint of threatening: if he breaks that trust…

Erik glances briefly towards Natalie, who hasn't moved from main doors to the mansion, then back at Moira. Wordlessly he lets Moira's dogtags fall back to her neck before turning and striding towards the jeep.

Moira glances back at Natalie who smiles slightly at the CIA agent – Moira did the right thing: Cuba is all about trust.

Now all they can do is hope that trust is enough.

XXXXXX

Forewarned is forearmed they say, but nonetheless when Hank walks through the hanger bay doors it's a shock: Natalie had said 'blue', but she hadn't said 'blue and furry'…

"Hank? Are you alright?" Charles' voice is full of concern: Natalie's comments were not reassuring.

"It didn't attack the cells. It enhanced them. It didn't work." Hank's voice is forlorn, and Charles feels a spike of anger towards Natalie for putting Hank through this. Before Charles can think of any words to say to Hank, Raven gets there first.

"Yes, it did, Hank." Raven says sympathetically. "Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be. This is you. No more hiding."

"You never looked better, man." Erik's words are meant as a reassurance, but they don't get the reaction Erik expected.

Hank's hands are wrapped around Erik's throat before the German has time to even blink. The strength of Hank's fury lifts Erik right off the ground. The blood is pounding in Erik's ears as he struggles for breath, and Erik only just hears Charles' frantic shout of "Hank!"

"Don't mock me!" Hank snarls in Erik's face.

"Hank, put him down immediately. Please." Charles' voice, whilst panic-laced, is still too calm for Erik's liking; especially since the breath is squeezed out of him. "Hank!" That shout is in a far more (appropriately in Erik's opinion) panicked tone. "Hank!"

Finally, Hank lets go and Erik is dropped, rather unceremoniously, to the floor.

"I wasn't." Erik chokes out, his voice tart with irritation.

"Even I gotta admit you look pretty badass." Alex comments with an impressed tone. "I think I got a new name for you: Beast."

It's hard to tell with Hank's new features, but the half snarl and shrug that the young doctor gives in response to Alex's words appears to be at least partially mollified.

"You're sure you can fly this thing?" Sean asks turning everyone's attention back to the task at hand. He nods towards the jet, eyeing it warily.

"Of course I can. I designed it." Hank replies shortly.

As they all climb aboard the jet Erik keeps the thought to himself that in his experience, whether they designed the plane or not, engineers do not necessarily make the best pilots…