Hey guys! How's everyone doing today? Please enjoy the next chapter of my crossover story. I'm doing my best to combine the two different franchises together and I hope I succeeded even a little bit, especially in my portrayal of Bill/Charles.
Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities. Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by any medium, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like canon cause superhero timelines are the worst.
Chapter 1: X-Men First Class Pt.1
XXXXXX
To be quite clear, no matter how much Raven complained about his so-called hero complex or pathological desire to help those in need, Bill wasn't actually trying to get involved in some plot to stop a sociopathic, power hungry mutant named Sebastian Shaw from starting World War III.
He was just there at her favorite little pub, ready to get as shit faced as possible only to black out, possibly wake up in some stranger's bed with a raging hangover, and then move on with his life even though he had no clue what to do with his PhD. And no Raven, he is not going to publish his horror novels. They will only ever sit there and look pretty in his file folder conspicuously named "No Ravens Allowed," never to see the light of day.
So it was certainly not his fault that some CIA operative decided to interrupt his drunken flirting with a lovely blonde woman with heterochromia and a strongly built albino man who were both looking for a good time as much as he was.
It was also not his fault that said operative, Moira MacTaggert, was very convincing in her spiel about needing his help to convince her superiors that mutants with special abilities such as himself were real so that there would be actual resources expended to stop said megalomaniac from blowing up the entire world.
And it was especially not his fault that he has a weakness for brunettes.
So it's perfectly fair of him to be put off by his darling little sister's complaints about him dragging her into something straight out of an action spy thriller when she should've been off vacationing in the Bahamas with her psychology major friends.
Regardless, here the two Xavier siblings were, standing before a table of men in suits where only Moira and a man sitting in the back were actually listening to his lecture about the sort of mutations he and his sister possessed.
"Did you actually think bringing in some crackpot scientist who just graduated from university would make us believe your story about glittering strippers and vanishing men?" one of the suits who were particularly set in their ways asked impatiently.
Moira looks outright offended and opens her mouth to object when Bill quickly interjects. "I didn't really expect you all to believe any of what I said actually, given that all you were thinking of during my presentation was what sort of flavor of pie they were serving in the commissary," he responds with as much sarcasm as he could muster, "It's apple pecan by the way."
Raven snickers at the sight of the suit's dumbstruck and indignant expression.
The suit tries to save face by saying, "Oh! So you do know how to ask questions and talk to strangers. I thought all you professor types just stayed holed up in your labs until you died in fiery explosions. You got any other magic tricks up your sleeve, oh great magician?"
The other suits, besides Moira and the man in the back, all start chuckling and patting the suit on the back for such a "good" comeback.
Now his sister is the one who's indignant. She jumps up from her chair, ready to beat the suit within an inch of his life but a quick poke at her mind stops her from potentially getting the two of them arrested and thrown into a cell for the rest of their lives. She looks to him and frowns when he shakes his head. She reluctantly sits back down in her chair and crosses her arms with a slight pout.
Bill turns his attention back to the smug suit. "Of course I know how to ask questions. They are an important aspect of the scientific community, after all. We would never progress as a society if no questions are ever asked," he says while smiling all politely and nice like in a way that sets the suit on edge, "For example, if we never asked questions on how to improve our arsenal of weaponry, how ever would you be able to place Jupiter missiles in Turkey?"
And then the whole thing descends into chaos with the suits accusing Moira of bringing a spy into the CIA while she denied such accusations vehemently. Bill shares a look with his sister as they both roll their eyes at the typical display of stubborn American men who believe only their way is the right way. Barring Bill of course because at least he's evolved beyond such trivial thinking.
Though something niggles at the back of his mind when he tries to think of why he thinks so differently in such a way that only a life altering trauma could explain. The only thing he can think of is the death of his brother and the unexplained guilt he'd somewhat moved on from with the welcoming help of Raven.
He frowns to himself as the niggling feeling grows, like his mind is trying to remember something important but it's physically unable to.
Suddenly the suits jump up and demand he be arrested. Only with the helpful timing of his sister shifting her appearance into one of the suits does the room suddenly quiet as everyone stares at her in shock. Their jaws drop further to the floor when she shifts into her original blue skinned appearance and she stands defensively besides him.
"How's that for a magic trick?" Bill remarks smugly as Moira smiles gratefully at them and the man in the back nods thoughtfully.
"Best one I've seen so far," the man in the back comments with a smile.
XXXXXX
The meeting ends with the Director of the CIA losing his composure and wanting to lock the two of them up. The man in the back, who introduces himself as Special Agent Oliver Platt, offers to sponsor the siblings until the whole business with Shaw is cleared up. To which the Director begrudgingly accepts, but at least he has pie to look forward to.
Agent Platt invites them to join him at the secret Division X facility he headed with only a handful of agents and a couple scientists as support. As they're being led down to the parking garage, Bill reaches out with his mind to contact Moira.
The two share a rather riveting conversation as he directs her towards their location. He also finds out that she just received a lead on Shaw and that the longer they take to respond, the farther away he gets.
Once he senses that she's about to pull up beside them in her car, Bill stops Platt's frankly adorable spiel about finally getting proof that he wasn't just some crazy person thinking that there were people with special abilities out there.
From there, it was just a simple matter of explaining the situation for Platt to jump on board with chasing after Shaw. However, he was reluctant in allowing Bill and his sister to join since he "probably" needed permission for them to come along, citing that they didn't have the proper clearance to join.
Of course, after a little encouragement, the Xavier siblings soon found themselves on a ship sailing through the Pacific Ocean towards a luxury yacht that Shaw and his associates were reportedly on.
As the ship sailed across the waters at top speed, Bill leaned against the railway, enjoying the refreshing ocean breeze. He glances over his shoulder and amusedly watches his sister as she lounges on the only chair on the deck as multiple agents flit about around her. Trust Raven to treat a government mission like it's an all-expense paid vacation.
Soon, the CIA ship is within eyesight of Shaw's yacht and multiple agents start running around and yelling orders at each other as multiple tactical assault boats are launched and a helicopter takes off from the ship's landing pad. The helicopter shines a light down on the ship as a man in a floral Hawaiian button up and white khaki shorts waves over at them.
Bill idly thinks that the man must be Shaw since only a sociopathic megalomaniac would act so calm while being chased by a government ship. He quickly reaches out with his mind and sees that Shaw was also joined by three others, two men and a woman. Suddenly, the woman's skin turns into diamond and he's being pushed back into his own mind . Then Shaw's nonchalant attitude gets backed up when a man in a spiffy black suit steps up besides him and makes fancy gestures with his hands.
The wind swirls violently in multiple places as hurricanes quickly form and move according to the movements of the black suit man. The hurricanes whirl about, knocking the pursuing agents around like flies.
Platt and Moira rush to usher Bill and Raven inside but he stops suddenly when his mind suddenly spikes from an unknown presence, like a nail being driven in by a hammer. He turns around and runs back outside, completely disregarding the agents' protests.
He rushes to the railing and sees a man in the water. Raven and the agents run up beside him and all four of them watch in awe as the man raises a hand into the air and the yacht's anchor raises with it. Then a tinge of horror is added to the awe when the anchor's chain breaks apart the top half of Shaw's yacht before the anchor slams through the middle, cracking the ship in half.
For a moment, nothing happens. Then lights flash under the broken ship and the shape of a submarine pushes off from underneath the wreckage. The man in the water holds out his hands before him, seemingly grasping at the sub, and gets dragged along the water with it.
Bill leans over the railing and starts shouting at the man to not be a fucking idiot. "Let go! Or else you're going to die!" he shouts repeatedly.
But the man can't hear him, or probably doesn't want to hear him, so Bill turns to shouting at the agents and crew members running about the ship. "Hey! Can someone help me stop this idiot before he drowns?"
He then turns back around in time to the man sink below the surface and he quickly takes his jacket off.
"Bill! What are you doing?" Raven cries out in concern.
"I need to help that man, Raven," Bill explains, "He's in so much pain right now. If he doesn't let go, he's going to die."
Raven frowns but nods in understanding having already guessed that the man was a mutant with some vendetta against Shaw. If they weren't in the middle of a crisis right now, he would graciously compliment her deduction skills. Guess reading all those mystery novels did amount to something.
Returning to the task at hand, Bill shoves his jacket into his sister's waiting arms and jumps off the boat, diving down into the water below.
He quickly swims over to where the man floats, veins bulging on his head and neck, hands still reaching out and grasping at something that isn't there. If he doesn't hurry, the man will drown.
Bill grabs the man from behind and tries to pull him up to the surface but the almost magnetic pull of the man to the submarine keeps them in place. He then dives into the man's mind, quickly skimming it before calling out to him.
'You can't keep going. You're going to drown. You have to let go,' he projects to the man, to Erik.
But Erik ignores him, single minded focus on the submarine drifting further and further away.
'I know what this means to you, I know how you'll feel if you let go, but you must or else you're going to die,' Bill tries again, 'Please, Erik...Calm your mind.'
For a frightening moment, Bill thinks Erik will continue to hold on and actually drown right then and there. But then, his hands relax and his arms drift down to his sides. Bill quickly kicks his way up to the surface, pulling Erik along with him.
The two soon break the surface and both gasp desperately for air. Once he manages to catch his breath, Bill waves his arm up, calling out to the ship until a sweeping light lands on them.
"Who the hell are you?" Erik asks him suddenly.
"William Charles Xavier, but call me Bill," he replies, focusing most of his energy towards keeping himself afloat.
"You were in my head. How'd you do that?" Erik angrily demanded.
Bill frowns at him. "You have your tricks and I have mine. I'm just like you but you need to calm your mind."
Erik stares at him before finally calming down, his face visibly smoothing to reveal a handsome face under a previously furrowed brow. The expression Erik then gives him is almost heartbreaking. It reminded him greatly of how Raven looked when she first realized that he was just like her, that she wasn't alone anymore.
"I thought I was alone," Erik finally said.
Bill smiles. "Well you're not alone. Not anymore."
And then the ship pulls up beside them and a rope ladder is thrown down for them to climb up. Towels are thrown over them and the two men sit side by side, looking like drowned rats, as agents run around them and Raven frets over Bill.
Erik still stares at him with a mixed expression of wonder and confusion as if the whole thing was just a dream he would wake from at any moment. Bill merely smiles at him in reassurance and places a hand over his own in comfort.
XXXXXX
The agents and mutants walk up the steps towards the small, inconspicuous government building that looks more like a tech start up just getting its first expansion than a well-funded CIA facility.
They spend most of that morning discussing a plan of action against Shaw. Platt suggests recruiting other mutants to combat the threat he poses with Bill jokingly asking if that means there will be a new mutant division added to the CIA. He didn't expect Platt to take him seriously and lead them all towards someone who could help with said recruitment.
Hank McCoy's mind is a brilliant one full of ideas and formulas and an insecurity he desperately tries to forget by never letting himself stop thinking for even a second. His mind is racing a mile a minute as he stumbles in his introduction to the group.
The awestruck expression he gives Raven is actually a little cute and his sister is also regarding him with an interest Bill hasn't seen since she admitted in a flustered manner that she had a crush on him back in their teenage years.
The subsequent result was a bunch of awkward fumbling around whenever they talked and his sister always finding an excuse to not be in the same room as him until enough was enough.
Communication is key to any and every relationship and Bill would be damned if he allowed this to drive a wedge between them. He sat them both down in the same kitchen where they first met and they talked over a cup of hot chocolate. In the end, the two worked out that the crush stemmed from a sort of hero worship and mother duck imprinting that could've taken a terrible turn towards obsession and pedestals if they hadn't nipped it in the bud when they did.
Raven will always be thankful for the fact that Bill was the first person to show her love but even she will admit that he's not the best choice for a romantic partner. He was always desperately trying to fix something, to search for a way to fill a missing part of him that he doesn't remember ever losing. Even the horror stories he wrote showed evidence of his troubled mindset.
While they were all brilliantly written, all of their endings were terrible because of how open ended and unfinished they were. It was like his life was the horror story he was desperately trying to write for closure he doesn't ever remember needing. Of course, Raven had some idea but she told him that he was better off never knowing because even if he did, he would soon forget no matter how many times he was told.
Bill continues to smile as Hank goes off on tangent after tangent. His babbling only serving to express his growing nervousness. Bill has half a mind to just cut to the chase and let Hank know that he was among like minded individuals and accepting friends. But he knows that forcing someone to confess to something they consider the darkest part of themselves was never easy.
(But how does he know?)
So instead of outright saying it, Bill reaches out and brushes Hank's mind. Hank jumps, startled at the sudden intrusion. His eyes widen as Bill speaks with him through their minds. The others watch in confusion as the silent conversation continues before finally, Bill smiles and Hank willingly, albeit with much hesitation, admits to his mutation.
A pair of large feet and a muscled physique not too dissimilar to those of the larger primate species.
Hank jokingly wishes that his mutation was super intelligence instead to which Raven rebuttals him by saying she finds his mutation amazing and something he should be proud of.
Bill almost wants to gag from the flowers and sparkles that seem to form around the two. While he's all for Raven finally stepping out of her comfort zone enough to pursue a relationship, did she have to do it right in front of him?
Later that night, Bill reaches out with his mind to check in on his sister and he sees, through Hank, that the two were on a rather lovely picnic in the middle of his lab. Like a date. A date with a lot of philosophical talk about "mutant and proud" but he trusts Raven not to push the issue. She has a good head on her shoulder after all and a great understanding and respect towards Bill's personal philosophy of personal acceptance and overcoming fear at your own pace. Though a little nudge or two never hurt.
His smile soon turns into a frown when he feels Erik packing his meager belongings. Bill throws on a light sweater and makes his way towards him just as Erik steps outside to the front of the facility.
"Going somewhere?"
Erik whirls around, ready for a fight, before relaxing his body when he only sees Bill casually leaning against the railing of the stairway.
"You know, given what I know about you, I'm actually surprised you stayed so long," Bill remarks as he slowly meanders towards Erik, "I thought you'd be long gone before we even arrived at the facility."
Erik tenses at his words. "What do you know about me?"
Bill merely smiles in response and Erik scoffs. "Stay out of my head."
He turns to storm away from Bill and the facility but stops when he feels a light brush against his mind. He whirls around, infuriated and ready for a fight but pauses when he sees the sympathetic expression on Bill's face.
"I saw everything Shaw did to you, you know," Bill says, "I felt everything as well, all the agony you went through, all the pain you've suffered...I can help."
Erik's jaw clenches and the grip on his bag tightens. "I don't need your help," he spits out before turning to walk away again.
"Oh don't kid yourself, you certainly needed my help last night," Bill dryly comments, then his expression turns soft, "I know it may not seem like it but it's not a crime to need help. There's no shame in having to rely on others. If anything, it's actually a sign of great strength, of trust."
Erik stands in place, jaw clenching and unclenching. His mind racing a mile a minute but he doesn't respond nor does he continue to walk away.
"I won't stop you from leaving," Bill says, "I could..."
Erik turns sharply to glare at him, tensing in preparation for another brush against his mind or some inexplicable change in his behavior. But it never comes.
"But I won't," Bill declares so resolutely that Erik's jaw actually drops a little as his eyes widen in surprise. Bill smiles softly at him. "Have a good night, Erik. I hope to see you in the morning."
Then he turns around and walks back into the building with Erik gaping after him and his mind in complete turmoil over the sudden onslaught of indecision and emotions that had long been buried and forgotten.
The next morning, Bill sits with Agent Platt in his office, discussing the recruitment of other mutants in their fight against Shaw. Apparently Hank had transformed a radar installation into a transmitter meant to enhance brain waves which in turn could enhance his telepathy allowing them to find other mutants.
While impressive, the discussion soon starts going around in circles with Platt insisting that the CIA should be leading the charge because they were the most qualified while Bill knew from experience that that was the worst course of action they could possibly take.
Then Erik comes barging in declaring he would stay, momentarily surprising him since he knew people had the capacity to change but in less than 12 hours? That must be a new world record.
Bill focuses back into the conversation when Erik demands that only the two of them, no government agents at all, should be allowed to search for new mutants. Platt objects, trying to spin the whole thing as for their benefit and that Bill surely must agree with him. Of course he doesn't and he says as much. The real deal closer was the caveat that it didn't matter if Platt objected, their transmitter installation was useless without a telepath and the only other one they knew was with the enemy.
Soon Bill, Raven, and Erik were standing inside the rounded space of the transmitter with Hank flitting around doing this and that with the various heavy machinery installed within. As Hank explained the mechanisms behind the machine to an increasingly impressed and flirtatious Raven, Bill smiled at another example of how adorable the scientist was. Calling the brain machine "Cerebro", the Spanish word for brain, was just too cute. If his sister were ever to pursue a serious relationship with the scientist, he would definitely give his blessing for the wedding after the third date.
As Bill stands ready with the wired helmet placed on his head, Erik tries to ruin his excitement.
"You make an adorable little lab rat, William," he says with a teasing smile that was more sarcastic than playful.
Bill rolls his eyes. "Don't ruin this for me, Erik. And don't call me William. It's Bill."
Erik's smile takes a shit eating quality. "Charles it is then."
Just as Bill is about to retort, Hank conveniently pops in to double check the wires. So he shuts his mouth and sends a scathing glare that has Erik mockingly smile at him in return. Raven stands next to Erik with a thoughtful expression, constantly switching her gaze between the two men as if she'd figure out something that tempts Bill into breaking his promise just to know what that something was.
"Are you sure we can't shave your head? It'd make the connections run smoother," Hank seriously suggests.
Bill turns his scathing glare onto the scientist who flinches in response. "Don't touch my hair."
Hank nods vigorously and empathetically. "Okay! Okay! Let me just-uh..."
He quickly rushes off to flip switches and turn dials. The machine slowly powers up and Bill tenses in anticipation. Erik actually starts to look a bit worried and Raven is already worried and doing her best to not just rip the helmet off before anything actually happens. The lights on the helmet activate and for a moment, nothing happens.
Then it all comes rushing in at once.
Bill grabs at the railing before him as his mind stretches infinitely farther than it's ever gone before. He gasps through the rush of all the minds that lie before him, all the people - young, old, weak, strong, male, female, and so much more - are just a simple touch away.
With a concentrated effort, he focuses on the minds of those with extraordinary abilities. Soon he can hear a typewriter clicking away and Hank's excited exclamations behind him. He laughs breathlessly as he shares a triumphant look with his sister who's visibly deflated in relief that he wasn't going to be fried like an egg. Erik stares at him in a way that has his stomach flipping a bit as Bill smiles smugly at him in response.
Soon after, they've gotten enough coordinates to shut the machine off before Bill becomes completely overwhelmed. They cross off some for being too young or too old and others for having abilities that weren't worth the disruption to their lives or being too volatile that the government would surely throw them into a dark cell the moment they were found.
Then Bill and Erik were off on a road trip that would put all road trip buddy flicks to shame.
XXXXXX
A young Latino woman who couldn't be older than twenty, dressed in a skimpy black bra with a borderline illegally short skort both with fringes and long black leather boots, sashayed her way over to them.
Bill holds up a folded wad of twenties that she graciously takes with a charmingly (false) sweet smile. The trio make their way into a private booth where the two men share a glass of quality champagne. She stands unimpressed before them.
"You do know you gotta pay double for both of you right?"
Bill smiles charmingly at her. "That won't be necessary. Erik?"
Erik smiles at him before turning that charming smile to her. "We were thinking more along the lines of we'll show you ours if you show us yours."
"That is not how it works around here," she frowns, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
Erik snaps his fingers and the ice bucket containing the champagne lifts up into the air. "More champagne?"
"Don't mind if I do," Bill says as he holds out his glass.
The woman gapes at them before smiling slyly. "My turn," she says as she unclasped her bra, making sure it stayed on, before rolling her shoulders. The tattoos on her arms separate themselves from her skin, forming a pair of beautiful, reflective dragonfly wings that lift her up into the air.
Bill and Erik share a look.
"How would you like a job where you get to keep your clothes on?" Bill verbally asks before mentally adding, 'And a place where you will be accepted for who you are rather than what you can do?'
The woman, Angel, smiles shyly at them.
XXXXXX
Bill and Erik enter a taxi cab and smile politely at the young, black fellow leaning casually in the driver's seat.
"So where to, fellas?" he asks them jovially.
"Richmond, Virginia," Erik requests, smiling sharply at him.
The man's smile drops a bit and he tries to laugh it off. "So you mean the airport? The train station? Greyhounds?"
"No, no, we were hoping you could take us all the way," Bill responds as he leans against Erik to meet the man's eyes in the rearview mirror. Erik shifts slightly at the contact but doesn't move away.
The man frowns. "That's gonna be a real costly six hour drive."
"Then that will give us plenty of time to talk," Erik says before lifting his hand and flicking his fingers down. The rearview mirror shifts and the key turns to shut the taxi off.
The man startles at the motions and stares at them in shock. Bill smiles. "Shall we be off then, Mr. Armando Munoz?"
Armando's eyes widen as he glances around his cab for any sign of identification he may have left lying around. When he doesn't find any, he asks, "How?"
Bill taps the side of his head and says with a smile, 'Let's just say you're not the only one with fancy tricks.'
XXXXXX
A small entourage of prison guards escort Bill and Erik down the hallway of a prison.
"What the hell does the government want with someone like Alex Summers?" the prison warden asks with heavy skepticism. When they reach a cell door, he turns to them and says, "I hope you don't plan to put him with others. He's the first guy I've met who actually prefers solitary confinement."
He slides open the door revealing a young, blonde man clasping his hands in front of him. His muscles are tense like he's trying to reign in some invisible force within him. He looks up in surprise as Bill and Erik walk in.
"What do you want?" he snaps at them, body tensing further like a rubber band about to snap.
Erik gives Bill a look and a go ahead gestures. Bill rolls his eyes and steps forward to give Alex a disarmingly charming smile. 'How would you like to find a home where you won't have to be scared of harming others?' he asks with his lips never moving.
Alex jumps at the sound of Bill talking in his mind before his eyes fill with what looks to be longing and hope.
XXXXXX
A curly red haired young man stands dejected in front of an empty aquarium. Not even a moment ago, the display had been full of fish he'd scared away in an attempt to score a date with an attractive young woman.
Bill and Erik walk up to stand beside him, one of them on each side. He quietly informs Erik of the young man's name, Sean Cassidy.
"Nice trick," Erik compliments dryly, "But I suggest using a different pick up line next time."
Sean starts in surprise, panic immediately coursing through them. "What the hell, man!" He exclaims defensively, "What the hell would you know?"
Erik smiles predatorily at him. "Quite a lot actually, Sean. For example, try to get a read on the person you wish to charm rather than commenting about your surroundings or good forbid, the weather."
Bill snickers as Sean stares at Erik like he's some sort of Casanova sent to teach him the ways of the pick up artist.
"And then?" Sean eagerly asks.
"And then this," Erik says before prowling, not walking, but actually prowling over to stand before Bill.
"Excuse me," he says, mentally asking Bill to play along.
Bill smiles and does so. "Yes?"
"I couldn't help but notice you standing here all on your lonesome," he says with a charming smile.
"Well I quite enjoy the peace and quiet being solitary provides, especially in a place as soothing as this," Bill responds, acutely aware of the strange feeling bubbling in his stomach and of Sean watching them with a laser focus.
"I prefer the peace and quiet as much as anyone else," Erik agrees, "However, I was wondering if I may join you?"
"Oh?" Bill inquiries, still playing along, "And why should I allow you to after you so rudely inserted yourself beside me?"
Erik smiles, charm cranked up to over 9000, and purrs, "So I may better know the beautiful mind that led one as exquisite as yourself to stand here before me like an angel leaving heaven to grace mere mortals with it's divine presence."
Bill blushes heavily and gapes at him, speechless. Erik turns to Sean who looks ready to bow before him in worship.
"And that's how you do it," he proclaims.
Sean snaps out of his daze long enough to say, "I don't even care why you guys are actually here but I'll go with you as long as you teach me your ways."
Erik smiles smugly at Bill who's blush grows deeper as he looks one step away from saying fuck it and erasing his and everyone else's memory.
XXXXXX
A gruff, middle aged man broods in a bar while examining his cigar with an unusual amount of focus.
"Excuse, my name is Erik Lehnsher," Erik says as he stands to the man's left.
"William Charles Xavier but call me Bill," Bill says as he stands to the man's right.
Before they can say anything else, the man gives them a side glare and growls out, "Oh go fuck each other already. I could smell the tension coming off you both from a mile away."
And that's when both men beat a hasty retreat, blushing at the crude words of the man who takes a puff of his cig, glances back at them in thought, before shrugging and gesturing for another glass of whiskey.
XXXXXX
Erik and Bill sit on the steps of the Lincoln Monument, looking out at the landscape before them as the sun sets behind them. A chessboard with various pieces already in play or removed sits between them.
Bill leans back on his elbows as he watches the crowds of people milling about with thousands of different thoughts running through their minds. Even though it was rather overwhelming in the beginning, he greatly appreciated his telepathic abilities as he grew older.
Understanding how someone thinks and feels and acts was the first step to acceptance and only with acceptance can there be recovery. Maybe one day, he'll be able to understand why he can't remember the events that shaped him to become who he is today. Then with that understanding, he'll be able to accept the reasoning and finally be able to recover from the empty hole inside of him.
"What's going on in that head of yours, Charles?" Erik asks, breaking Bill out of his thoughts.
Bill looks to Erik with a put upon smile. "I already told you, it's Bill."
"Sure, sure, William," Erik says dismissively, "But seriously, what are you thinking about?"
Bill looks back out towards the people milling about. "I was just thinking about how amazing it felt to feel all those minds. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears...How unique and special each individual one of them are despite the fact that we are all of the same species."
"Not all of us," Erik says, gazing out at the crowds with a calculating expression, "That's how it starts you know. Identification...and then it all ends with a prison camp where thousands of innocent lives will be sent to die."
"It won't be like that," Bill remarks with a frown, "Not this time."
"You know I never realized how naive you were until now," Erik dryly comments.
"I'm not though," Bill says.
"Not what?" Erik asks with a frown.
"Not naive I mean," Bill responds, "I understand your fear, Erik."
"Then you'll understand my hesitancy to truly believe that the CIA aren't planning to use you to identify and lock thousands of people just like us all because they fear our abilities," Erik snaps at him.
"Ah yes, fear," Bill states. The way he words it has Erik closing his jaw with an audible click as he leans forward, curious to hear what else Bill has to say. "Fear is humanity's greatest enemy. We can either allow it to cripple us, to define us in such a way that we know nothing else but our fear..." Bill pauses, allowing his words to sink in, "Or we can overcome it, grow from it, and change for the better."
Bill looks over to Erik, meeting his eyes with the utmost seriousness in his expression. "If you let fear rule you, my friend, then you'll be no better than the people who put those like you in the camps in the first place."
Erik opens his mouth to object but Bill's not done speaking yet. "Don't let fear be the only thing that you are, let it push you to grow, let it encourage you to find other solutions that don't feed back into the never ending cycle," he says before smiling wistly at him, "Let it make you be brave."
Then Bill moves one of his pieces, a black knight, so that he can take Erik's white queen and surround his white king with the rest of his remaining black pieces.
"Checkmate," Bill singsongs with a smug smile.
Erik looks down at the board in disbelief and then back up at him with an indescribable expression that sends butterflies flying off in his stomach.
XXXXXX
"We should come up with codenames, since we're government agents now and all," Raven suggests out of the blue.
The other younger mutants look over to her, intrigued.
"I'll be called Mystique," she proclaims dramatically before quickly shifting into each of the mutants, then settling back into her blonde haired persona.
The others clap, highly impressed by her display. Sean and Alex whistle which has Raven blushing and Hank shifting uncomfortably.
"What about you, Darwin?" Raven asks, shifting the attention before she implodes from embarrassment.
"Well Darwin's already a nickname and it actually fits pretty well cause of the whole adapt to survive bit," Darwin says as he stands up. "Let me show y'all."
The others watch curiously as he walks to the nearby fish tank and sticks his head in. The moment he opens his mouth to take a breath, gills form on the sides of his face allowing him to breath underwater. The others ooh and ahh at his display. He pulls his head out and shakes the water off with a smile.
"Oh! Me next, me next!" Sean exclaims, drawing everyone's attention to him. He leans forward, tapping his fingers together in concentration. "I think I'm going to be...Banshee!"
"You want to be named after the Irish Wailing Woman?" Hank asks, confused. The others nod along to his question.
Sean smiles mischievously at them. "You might wanna cover your ears," he says as he walks around to crouch in front of the drinking glasses on the table. The others look to each other in confusion as they follow his instructions.
Sean tilts his head back and forth as if to stretch his neck before pursing his lips and letting loose a super sonic whistle that shatters the glasses, spilling soda onto the table.
"Holy shit!" Alex exclaims, "Dude, that was awesome!"
He gives Sean a bro five that he readily accepts. "Alright it's your turn," Sean says as he points to Angel while sitting back down in his seat.
"Alright then, my stage name is Angel," she says as she takes off the leather jacket she's wearing, revealing the tattoos on her arms, "And it's pretty appropriate I think."
The tattoos peel off her arms and become dragonfly wings that lift her into the air.
"You can fly!" Raven exclaims as the other guys sans Hank voice their appreciation for her gift.
Angel nods with a giddy grin as she drops back down to the ground. "And I can also do this." She turns to the dart board hanging off one of the walls and spits a glob of glowing liquid that hits the board and dissolves it. Everyone gasps in awe.
"What about your name?" Angel asks Hank as she puts her jacket back on. Hank shrinks in his seat and seems reluctant to answer.
"How about Beast?" Alex suggests while taking a swig of his coke. "What with the feet and all."
"That sounds pretty good," Raven says as she turns to Hank who only shrinks further in his seat. "Hey, come on. There's no need to be ashamed when you're with us," she says encouragingly, "Mutant and proud, remember?"
Hank nods hesitantly and gives her a small smile. She responds by grinning widely at how the shy scientist was slowly but surely coming out of his shell.
"What about you, Alex?" Darwin asks as he leans back in his seat, "What's your gift? What can you do?"
Alex immediately loses any trace of the relaxing attitude he had earlier as he shutters in on himself. "Oh, uh...no, I can't...I can't do it here," he stutters out, suddenly paying way too much attention to the contents of his coke bottle.
The others frown at his rejection to displaying his abilities but decide not to push it.
Raven places a comforting hand on his knee. "Hey," she says as Alex looks up hesitantly, "If you don't want to show it, you don't have to show it. Fear comes with the territory after all."
Alex smiles appreciatively at her. She squeezes his knee in comfort before withdrawing her hand and leaning back in her seat. "But one day, you're going to have to overcome that fear and be brave," she says while also looking out to the others, especially Hank, "Don't let fear control you, you're the one who is in control not some metaphysical concept."
The others stare at her, wide-eyed.
"Are you a pysch major or something? Cause that was some next level therapy shit," Sean breathes out in wonder.
Raven blushes. "Oh no, that's just something Bill told me. I mean, yes, I am a psychology major but my brother has always been really insightful when it comes to stuff like this."
"What's the professor's deal anyway?" Angel asks as she takes a swig of coke.
Rave shrugs. "He's been through a lot. Not as much as Erik has from what I've heard but more than anyone should've gone through as a kid and that changed him. Whether it be for better or worse, I'd like to think that he's become a reliable person to go to when you're troubled."
The others nod at the vague but meaningful response. Then they go back to messing around and just being young adults finally having a good time without any of the fear that usually hangs around them.
XXXXXX
"We finally found a lead on Shaw so we need to act immediately," Erik says insistently to Moira who nods in agreement.
"Definitely and now that we have new mutants, we can bring them along to finally stand on a level playing field with Shaw," she says.
"Oh I hope we can do more than just be level with him," Erik mutters darkly.
Bill frowns and stops the other two from walking further. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring them along. They're still essentially kids who are untrained and have no control over their abilities. Trial by fire will do them more harm than good."
"Are you sure?" Moira asks with a frown. "They're technically mature adults not rowdy teenagers."
"Oh, I'm sure," Bill replies with a secretive smile. "Come along and you'll see."
Bill walks down the hall towards the rec room the younger mutants were staying in with Moira and Erik following along unsurely.
They reach the door and he opens it with a dramatic flourish revealing a group of "mature adults" having the time of their life. Raven and Angel laugh and dance along to the music coming from the jukebox. Hank swings from the light fixture up above with Alex and Sean goading him as Darwin shouts encouragement. Shattered glasses and spilled soda litters the coffee table and a dissolved dart board hangs by a thread on a wall.
Moira gapes, Bill smiles smugly, and Erik palms his face in exasperation.
"Bill!" Raven cries out, noticing her brother enter the room. "You're just in time! We came up with code names for you two. You'll be Professor X," she says, pointing at him giddily before turning to point at Erik, "And you'll be Magneto."
"Impressive," Erik drawls out dryly.
Raven pouts which prompts Bill to reassuringly say, "They're good names, Raven. I like mine very much and Erik just doesn't like anything fun."
She smiles and moves to rejoin the others when Bill reaches out to grab her hand.
"Bill?" she asks, "Everything good?"
"Everything's just fine, Raven," Bill reassures, "But the three of us will be heading off to Russia in an hour to pursue a lead so you'll be in charge."
Raven nods skeptically. "You're sure that's a good idea? Leaving us all here without one of our three advocates?"
"You'll do fine, my dear," he says, giving her a quick hug, "So take care and I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise you nothing will happen while we're away."
Famous last words.
And that's the end of part 1 of 2! I realize that I could've just done the whole movie in one chapter but it was starting to get longer than I was used to and I'd rather be able to keep my head on straight while proof reading so that I can give you guys the best possible reading experience. Hope y'all don't mind that and also don't mind some of the small changes to the canon story throughout.
I don't mean to lecture you all but fear is a really big part of the It story and the X-Men series and I'm trying to shape Bill/Charles in such a way that he's still the idealist from X-Men but his "forgotten" experiences in It still changed him in a fundamental way. I'm also trying to make sure that his actions of helping others, while coming from a noble place, also come from a part of him that does not have full closure due to the fact that they never really killed It. Hope I managed to mesh the two franchises together well and that you all look forward to the next chapter!