Wow. So this chapter was so much fun to write! I hope you all enjoy it…..and if you do….PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Honestly, I'm dying for any sort of feedback. With that being said…here comes your daily disclaimer. I do not own Xmen, it's characters or the events that are familiar to the movies! I own my OC and her story only! Enjoy guys! Xoxo - NickyLynn
She was scared. So scared. Not of Shaw. Not of what could happen to her, but of what could happen to the others. For the first time in so many years, she had acquired something that could be taken from her. Six somethings. She had spent so long living in numbing isolation that she had forgotten what it was like to truly care about someone else. And unfortunately for her, she knew exactually what it felt like to have someone you care about stripped away from you. Never again, she had vowed. Never again would she let someone rip away a piece of her heart.
Erik was right. The problem wasn't Shaw. The problem was how the world would react their existence. Keeping her friends safe from a few mutants…..she knew it would be hard, but at least she had faith that they would be able to do it. Keeping them safe from the entire world? Well….that task seemed incredibly more daunting.
She reached out her mind, brushing against the others, suddenly aware that this may be the last night they had. She focused on the feelings of them in her mind, trying to store the familiarity of them all into her memory. She brushed against Erik's mind and found him walking into him bedroom. She scrambled up from the floor, yanking the door open.
"Erik!" she called to gain his attention, her voice coming out hoarse from all the crying she had been doing. He paused, his hand hovering over his doorknob, turning to look at her. The breath caught in his throat when he took in her face and the sheer desperation it was etched with. He dropped his hand and walked back towards her. When he was within touching distance, she threw her hands up, wrapping them around him as she crashed into his chest.
Erik wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close, resting his head on top of her hair. After a moment, she pulled away slightly to look up at him, his arms still locked around her. Her eyes were red and shining as she looked into his mind and found the same fears that were burning inside her, were burning inside him as well. He reached down to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb against her slick skin. A torrent of emotions swirled in her stomach, but as Zezelia stared up at him, one emotion outweighed them all. The fear of loosing him. It had always been him. He was her rock in her hopeless days. He was her comfort in the darkest nights. He was her oldest friend and the thought of losing him, after finally getting him back…..it tore her apart.
Erik's thumb then swept down and brushed gently against her lips as he followed the movement with his eyes. He looked back up at her grey eyes he had always found startlingly beautiful before dipping his head down, and bringing his lips down onto hers. At first it was soft and sweet, both of them reveling in the tidal wave of feelings that rose with the action before it turned desperate. Zezelia walked backwards, pulling Erik into the room with her as he shut the door behind him with his powers.
Zezelia woke up the next morning as thin rays of light began to filter in through the window. She drew in a deep breath, turning around to find the space behind her devoid of the man who had spent the night with her. She rubbed a palm into her eyes, pushing out the remnants of sleep before sitting up, the sheets pooling around her naked form. She stared out the window for a moment, watching the sun peak over the horizon. A heavy weight fell on her as she watched the rays before she stood up and made her way to the bathroom.
She showered and dressed herself before making her way downstairs. She found Erik in the kitchen, standing in front of the large window, watching the sun much in the same way she had been. She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his body, her head turned and resting against his back. She felt a vibration rumble through his back as he greeted her. "Morning." He said.
She loosened her grip on him as he turned to face her, reaching down to place a lingering kiss on her lips. She smiled as he pulled away, but it fell when reality settled in around her. "Erik…" she began not knowing how to voice her thoughts.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe." He told her, determinedly, holding her face in between his hands. They stared in each other's eyes, both of them desperately hoping the words they couldn't find shone through them. "You are my serenity." He told her softly before a loud clearing of a throat startled them.
They pulled away from each other and turned as Alex and Raven entered the kitchen. Raven was in her blue form and came over, leaning on the edge of the counter as Alex made it was over to the coffee machine, pulling the carafe out with a smirk. "Serenity? What's that like your superhero name?" he teased.
Zezelia's face went pink and she felt Erik stiffen beside her. "Oh shut up." She said, taking a step back from Erik, suddenly embarrassed that their intimate moment had been disrupted.
"I like it." Raven said to her, giving Zezelia a smile. "Serenity. It has a ring to it." She said as Charles, Sean and Moria joined them.
"What has a ring to it?" Sean asked looking from Zezelia's embarrassment to Raven.
"Zezelia's new mutant name." Raven said. "Serenity."
Zezelia's blush deepened. "No-" she began shaking her head. "It's not-we were just-" she tried explain before Charles cut her off.
"No, I like it." He told her honestly.
Zezelia looked around the group, realizing she didn't really get choice in the matter. "Whatever." She said. "So is anybody hungry-or?" she asked the group. She, herself, thought the idea of food sounded terrible. Her nerves were flipping her stomach uneasily already. Looking around at the faces, she realized she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"Where's Hank?" Raven said after a moment of silence as no one voted to eat.
Charles brows furrowed as he reached out with his mind to find him, only to not find him at all. "He's gone." He said confused.
Raven whipped her head around towards him. "What do you mean he's gone?"
Zezelia reached out with her own mind, only to discover for herself that Charles was right-Hank was nowhere on the property.
"I don't know where he is." Charles said, turning out of the kitchen to head towards the lab. They all followed, concerned with where the scientist could have gone. When they reached the lab, they were greeted with a paper taped to the door that read Gone to the airbase, bring the crate marked X – Hank. They all turned to look at each other before Charles tore the page from the door, pushing it open. Inside, the lab was…..demolished.
Tables were smashed. Equipment was ruined. And everyone was left confused. Charles walked further into the room, looking about the mess worriedly.
"What the hell happened here?" Erik asked, looking at the mess before him.
No one knew what to say to that as they began walking through the debris. Charles found the crate Hank mentioned in his note at the back of the room. He lifted the lid and looked down at the contents with a laugh. "I think you'll want to see this." He told the others as they made their way closer until they all stared down at it.
"Hank has been busy." Erik said, impressed.
"I'd say." Zezelia said raising an eyebrow.
"Do we really have to wear these?" Alex said, not impressed.
"As only one of us is mutated to endure extreme g-force and being riddled by bullets," Charles said, glancing over to Zezelia, "I suggest we suit up."
So, they did. They all bundled up in their matching blue and yellow uniforms, loaded up and set out to the airbase. Once they were there, Charles lead them to a large hanger, pushing the large doors open to reveal a large aircraft, the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. They made their way over to it, all of them looking up to it in awe.
Erik let out a low whistle, taking in the sleek design, impressed. "Hank seriously built this?" Zezelia asked, walking up to the craft, running her hand along the side. "Well, I'm glad he's on our team." She said, impressed with Hank's seeming endless capabilities when it came to designing tech.
"Where is Hank?" Raven asked, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"I'm here." Hank's voice called from somewhere inside the hanger.
They all looked towards the sound of his voice to see someone walking towards them. But where they expected to see the thin, lean scientist they had come to know, instead strode a large body covered in thick fur.
"Hank?" Charles asked as he walked closer into view. Zezelia's mouth fell open as she took in the drastically different form of Hank before them. He looked more like an animal than a man, the only similarity between this form and his other being the same set of glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. Zezelia couldn't help but think that he looked impressively intimidating.
"It didn't attack the cells." He said, coming to a stop. "It enhanced them." He paused, looking down shamefully shaking his head. "It didn't work."
"Yes it did Hank." Raven said from beside Zezelia. "Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be." She told him. Hank took a couple steps forward until he stood in front of her. "This is you." She told him, reaching up to put her hand on his cheek. Hank closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "No more hiding." She said, shaking her head.
"Never looked better man." Erik said, hitting his upper arm.
The reaction was quick. Hank's hand shot out, wrapping around Erik's throat, cutting the air off from his lungs as he struggled to breath.
"Hank!" Zezelia shouted, jumping in surprise.
Hank let out an animalistic growl as he pulled Erik higher off the ground. "Don't mock me." He growled out as Erik's face started turning a sickening shade of purple.
"Hank!" Zezelia shouted again, wrapping her hands around Hank's arm ready to pull him off.
"Hank. Put him down immediately, please." Charles called to him, in alarm.
Hank, however ignored them as he continued to squeeze Erik's throat. Fear spiked through Zezelia as Charles shouted Hank's name again, this time with more urgency. Using the metal buckles of his suit and a forceful shove with her hold on his arm, Zezelia shoved Hank back, effectively causing him to drop his hold on Erik.
Erik dropped to the floor, gasping for breath as the air returned to his lungs. "I wasn't." he said looking up at Hank, his voice hoarse from the assault.
"Even I got to admit that you look pretty bad ass." Alex said, drawing Hank's attention down to him as Zezelia helped Erik up. "I think I got a new name for you…..Beast." Hank let out a low growl in response.
"You're sure you can fly this thing?" Sean said looking up at the aircraft, breaking the tension.
"Of course I can." He said looking up at his creation. "I designed it."
"Alright I take it back." Zezelia said, looking from the craft and back down at Hank. "I'm really glad you're on our side." She praised.
With that, they all loaded up into his creation. Hank and Moria took the pilot seats. Charles, Raven and Sean took the three seats on the right side. Leaving Zezelia sitting in between Erik and Alex on the left. They all slid on the headsets that Hank had handed them and then, true to his word, he lifted them into the air and they took off towards Cuba, hoping they would make it there in time. Which, after the seemingly short trip there, seemed like they had, but just barely.
"Looks pretty messy out there." Hank's voice said through the headsets as they took a sharp turn around the vessels below.
Charles put his fingers against the side of his head, closing his eyes as he reached out his mind into one of the ships. Zezelia watched the images inside of his head as she saw a group of men strewn out across the floor of the vessel before a mutant with red skin marched over, bringing his boot down onto the face of the man Charles had been linked with. Zezelia flinched beside Erik as the image startled her.
"The crew of the Aral Sea are all dead." He said, opening his eyes. "Shaw's been there."
"He's still here." Erik said. "Somewhere."
"He's set the ship on course for the embargo line." Charles said, looking over to Moria.
"If that ship crosses the line, our boys are going to blow it up." Moria said. "And start a war."
"Unless it's not our boys." Zezelia said, looking over to Charles with a raised eyebrow, pushing her idea into his mind. He then put his fingers back up to his temple, shifting through the minds below until he found one to latch onto.
Zezelia had been busy watching Charles mind until the alarm of Hank's mind pulled her over to his and she let out a gasp as she seen the missile heading straight toward them. Hank twisted the controls, trying to avoid the bomb. Zezelia knew they wouldn't clear the missile in time so, she used her powers, latching onto the metal of the craft effectively giving it enough of a boost to clear them of the projectile's path. However, Hank was not prepared for the extra push, and they suddenly lurched sideways, everyone being thrown against the side of the walls with the force of sharp spinning.
Everyone screamed out, Erik throwing an arm out across Zezelia. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath as they spun through the air uncontrollably, and she was suddenly very glad they had opted out of breakfast. She heard Hank let out a growl from the front seat as he tried desperately to regain control of the plane.
A loud booming could be heard from outside as the missile slammed into the ship, sending it into a fiery explosion. The plane stopped spinning and Zezelia drew in a much needed sharp breath as Hank got the craft back under control and flying straight once again. Erik's arm dropped from Zezelia's chest with a sigh of relief as Hank turned around in his seat. "Little warning next time, Professor." He said.
"Sorry about that." He said, out of breath. He looked over to Raven who had a death grip on her seat. "You alright?" he asked her worriedly.
She nodded and Sean looked over to him, his face pulled back in fear. "Yeah." He gasped out.
"That was inspired, Charles." Moria called back to him, impressed.
"Thank you very much." He said.
"I mean. It was kinda my idea." Zezelia muttered across from him. Charles sent her a smirk, his fingers still on his temples.
"I still can't locate Shaw." He said, spreading his mind out across the ocean below them.
"He's down there." Insisted Erik. "We have to find him now."
"Hank?" Charles questioned the pilot.
"Is there anything unusual on the radar or scanners?" he asked, looking over at Moria.
"No. Nothing." She said.
"Well then he must be underwater." Hank surmised. "And obviously, we don't have a sonar."
Erik let out a frustrated sigh next to her. Zezelia let her head fall back onto the seat before her mind caught Sean's thoughts and she smiled over at him.
"Yes we do." He said courageously.
"Yes we do." Charles agreed, pulling off his headset.
Erik followed suit, pulling off his headset as well and undoing his buckles. Zezelia copied his movements, wanting to help in any way she could. She stood up after Erik, stumbling into him as they hit a patch of turbulence. Erik wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her upright as he gripped the top of the plane with his other hand.
"Hank! Level the bloody plane!" Called Charles as he and Sean none-too-gracefully made their way down the walkway, being thrown about like rag dolls. Once they were leveled off once again, Erik dropped his hold of Zezelia and they made their way back towards the hatch as well.
"Whoa!" said Sean, putting out his arm in defense as they approached. "You back right up." He told Erik. Erik put up his hands, taking a couple steps back as Zezelia rolled her eyes and stopped next to Erik as well. "Beast! Open the bomb bay doors!" Sean yelled.
Hank did as commanded and the heavy doors swung open, a sudden burst of air hitting them all in the face as the water rushed past them below. Zezelia reached out and gripped onto Erik as she was blown back a step by the force of the wind.
"Remember!" shouted Charles, grabbing hold of Sean. "This is a muscle! You control it! You'll be in here the entire time!" he said, pointing to the side of his head. "We'll see you soon!"
"You've got this Sean!" Zezelia shouted from across the open doors, giving him an encouraging nod. He locked eyes with her for a moment, nodding back.
"On my mark!" Shouted Charles. "Three! Two! One! GO!" he yelled, giving Sean a slight push on the back as the young mutant jumped out of the plane with an excited scream.
Zezelia stepped forward, watching as he fell through the air until she quickly lost sight of him. She looked up to Charles who was connected to his mind and watched what he seen through Sean's eyes.
"Alert the fleet. They may want to take their cans off." Moria said into the transceiver as Hank closed the bomb bay doors again.
Everyone was turned, looking out the windows trying to get a visual on what was happening, except for Charles and Zezelia, who had front row seats in their minds. "Banshee's got a visual on Shaw." Said Charles as they watched him locate the massive submarine.
Charles looked over at Erik and Zezelia. "You ready for this?" he asked.
Erik gave him a nod. "Let's find out."
"Hank turn us around!" Charles called out. "And drop the landing gear."
The plane careened to the side as they reversed directions and Zezelia followed Erik and Charles as they made their way to where Erik could take hold of the front wheel as it dropped down. Zezelia watched nervously has he was slowly lowered from the plane and into the open air.
Her and Charles dropped to their hands and knees, bent down watching him as he swept out with his powers until he found his target and latched onto it. Zezelia could feel him struggle with the sheer weight of the sub. He grunted in pain as his body trembled with exertion and Zezelia knew he couldn't do it alone.
Without hesitating, she swung her legs around, slipping down into the opening, taking hold of the leg and carefully lowering herself onto the wheel next to Erik. He locked his red-rimmed eyes onto hers. Her heart beat frantically inside her chest, but she pushed past the fear as she reached out with her free hand and turned towards the water. Erik turned his focus back to the sub as well and could feel the shift in the weight as Zezelia latched onto it as well.
"Remember," she heard Charles voice call out to Erik. "that point between rage…"
"And serenity." Zezelia finished for him, looking over at Erik. And in that moment, she felt the shift in Erik's mind. The fear was replaced with calm and she felt the submarine begin to lift. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind solely on the feeling of the metal and pulled with all her might. She let out a grunt as she felt it little by little being lifted higher and higher, with their combined powers.
When she opened her eyes again she could see the outline of it just below the surface of the water and she let out of breath of joy. They continued lifting it, until it broke through the surface of the water and lifted into the air, water cascading off of it, as together they lifted it higher and higher. The elation Zezelia felt at the triumph was overwhelming and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading onto her face. They kept hold of it as Hank drifted them closer to shore, bringing the ship along with them.
The smile fell from her lips, however, as the hatch below them flipped open and a man emerged. A whirlwind sprung from his hand and grew until a massive typhoon had begun to fill the space between them.
"Charles!" Zezelia screamed, unable to do anything as her concentration was already latched onto the submarine.
"Hank!" Charles screamed in alarm as he noticed what was causing her distress.
"Zezelia! Take my hand!" Charles shouted, holding his hand out to her.
"NO! Get Erik!" She screamed back, before the windstorm hit the side of their plane, lurching it sideways. Zezelia's concentration on the sub fell as she latched onto the leg of the plane for dear life.
Erik tried to keep hold of the vessel, but with the loss of Zezelia's aide, it slipped from his grasp and fell to the shore and went rolling. Zezelia's grip around the leg tightened as the windstorm began overtaking the plane and she was terrified if she let go, she would be ripped off.
"Erik take my hand!" Charles called urgently, reaching down to him.
Erik reached up to take his outstretched hand, but his footing slipped as an explosion tore at the side of the plane, sending it violently into a tailspin.
Zezelia let out a scream as she watched Erik dangle from Charles's grasp. Using her powers she latched onto one of Erik's metal buckles and used it to help lift him up and back into the craft. Once he was in, the plane lurched horribly as it made contact with the ground, jarring Zezelia's footing and her body was sent flying through the air, being anchored to the landing gear by only one hand.
Blood pumped in her hears as they went spinning wildly, causing Zezelia to lose sight of what was meant to be up and what was meant to be down. A scream tore from her throat as a suddenly intense jolt broke Zezelia's grip from the leg and she was sent soaring through the air in a tangled mess of limbs. She hit the sand with an explosion of pain. She was rolled uncontrollably, every hit of the Earth rocking her with a fresh wave of pain, one after another. When she finally came to a stop, what felt like an eternity later, she fell limply against the sand as her vision faded into blackness.
Inside the plane, Erik gently lowered himself and Charles back onto the ground with a grunt. "Are you alright?" he asked Charles.
"Yeah," Charles grunted out. "I'm fine." He said before turning to make sure everyone else was okay.
"Zezelia!" Erik shouted, realizing she was nowhere to be found. He went through the gaping hole in the side of the plane, his eyes sweeping over the wreckage. "Zezelia!" he shouted again, growing frantic. He spotted her a short distance away, lying motionless on the sand. He took off running towards her, dropping onto his knees beside her and flipping her over. She rolled over lifelessly, and Erik was painfully aware that she wasn't breathing. "Ze!" he said, hitting her cheek repeatedly to try to rouse her. "Come on, wake up Ze!" he pleaded.
He then heard Charles voice inside his head. "Erik, she will heal. Right now I need your help getting in that sub. Shaw's about to blow this whole place with the power of a nuke." He said, drawing Erik's attention over to the wreckage of the submarine. "I can guide you once you're in, but I need you to shut down whatever it is that's blocking me, and then we just hope to God it's not too late for me to stop him."
Erik looked down at Zezelia one last time before setting her back onto the ground and pushing himself off the ground. "Got it." He said, making his way back towards the plane as Beast and Havok joined him. Across the beach three mutants stood ready to defend Shaw. The man who had taken down the plane with the whirlwind, began forming another set in his hands before Alex shot a beam of energy at him, sending him slamming into the side of the ship. Behind them, the red mutant appeared, swinging a blade dangerously close to Alex and Hank. The mutant grab ahold of them and disappeared in a burst of smoke, leaving Erik alone. Erik took off running, using his powers to slam a piece of debris onto the back of the mutant who had been struggling back onto his feet. The mutant fell to the ground again, giving Erik access to the ship.
"Erik, make for the middle of the vessel." Charles spoke into his mind. "That's the point my mind can't penetrate. We have to assume that that's where Shaw is." Erik did as he was told and made his way through the ship, carefully stepping around debris and sparking wires. He eventually came across a control panel. "That's the nuclear reactor." Charles told him. "Disable it." Erik disabled the power source and pulled open the doorway next to it, walking through it. "Erik, you're there. You've reached the void." Said Charles as he stepped into the room.
"Here's not here Charles. Shaw's not here, he's left the sub!" shouted Erik, looking around the empty room frantically.
"What?!" came Charles's confused voice. "He's got to be there! He has to be! There's nowhere else he can be. Keep looking!"
"And I'm telling you he's not!" he retorted. "There's no one here God damn it!" he shouted before a door slid open behind him. Erik turned to find Shaw standing in a previously hidden room.
"Erik." He said. "What a pleasant surprise. So good to see you again."
Back on the beach, Zezelia's eyes snapped open with a sudden intake of breath. She rolled onto her side, coughing, her muscles and bones still mending themselves back together. She groaned, rolling herself over and sitting up. She took a look around the debris and saw Alex and Sean laying on the beach a little further up than her. A strange fluttering sound drew her attention up into the sky to see a woman flying towards them. Zezelia wondered if this was the woman called Angel the others had told her about. She didn't have long to ponder on the thought however, as she watched the woman fly straight at her friends with determination. Zezelia pushed herself up, and reached out with her powers, grabbing hold of the metal of the flying woman's buckle before yanking her arm down, sending her crashing to the ground violently, her wings snapping as she rolled with the impact.
Alex and Sean turned to look at her in surprise as she limped towards them. "You're welcome." She said coming to halt next to them. They stood up muttering their thanks. "What's going on?" she asked them.
"Erik's inside the sub. He's trying to stop Shaw from nuking this whole place." Alex said, catching her up to speed.
"I'm going in there." She said, taking off running towards the ship. She ran as fast as she could, her body getting stronger by the second. She made her way through the opening of the ship, branching out her mind, until she knew where she needed to go. She ran through the sub until she came upon the room hiding Erik and Shaw behind it's walls. She could make out a portion of Shaw's back through a small crack in the wall. He was standing above Erik, who was pinned under a thick layer of metal debris.
"SCHMIDT!" she screamed, gaining his attention. She watched as the wall slid open, revealing Shaw and a mangled Erik who was staring over at her with wide eyes.
"Well, well, well." Shaw said, turning around to face her. "Hello, mein haustier." He said to her, smiling.
"Don't call me that!" she bellowed, her rage burning inside her as she looked upon his face. The same face that haunted her, her entire life.
His smile only deepened. "My, how you've changed." He said, taking a step towards her, he froze though when she took hold of a piece of shrapnel with her powers, aiming it towards him. "But not your eyes." He continued. "I recognize those eyes. They've always been so grey. So cold. The eyes of an animal. Of a monster." He said, inching ever so slightly closer to her.
"Stop." She said, he voice cracking as anger-filled tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"Don't listen to him." She heard Charles's voice say to her. "He's just trying to get under your skin."
"Did I ever tell you what your mother said to me?" Shaw asked her, taking a step towards her again.
Zezelia's thin frame began to shake as she listened to his words. Because a part of her did want to know.
"I wanted to make sure that she would not one day come back, wanting to take you back. Afterall, what kind of mother would willingly abandon their daughter?" he said, taking another step.
"Shut up." Zezelia said in a whisper.
"'That thing is not my daughter.' She told me. 'It's a beast…..a monster'." He said as tears rolled down her face. "'So do what you want with it. Take it. Kill it. As long as I don't have to see it again.'" He finished with a sadistic grin.
Zezelia's shoulders trembled as her vision burred. She swallowed down the lump that had formed in her dry throat and glared at the man she had spent her entire life hating. "It's true," she said. "I'm a monster. But I wasn't born one. It's wasn't my mutation that made me one. It was you." she threw at him as Erik used the opportunity of his distraction to use a metal wire and latched onto his helmet, ripping it off.
"Now Charles!" Erik yelled as Shaw spun around to grab the helmet, only to freeze mid-action as Charles took hold of his mind.
Erik stood up from the ground, the metal suppressing him falling to the floor with a bang. He walked around Shaw's frozen body, coming to stand next to Zezelia. "Sorry Charles." Erik said as the helmet flew into his hands. Zezelia could hear Charles pleading with Erik to be the better man. "But I don't trust you." He said before sliding the helmet onto his head, effectively blocking out Charles's voice and reach.
Unfortunately, Zezelia could still hear Charles's voice shouting. "Don't do this Erik! Zezelia! Zezelia please! You have to stop him!" he practically screamed into her mind as Erik strode forward.
"If you're in there," he began, looking into Shaw's eyes. "I'd like you to know that I agree with everything you have said. We are the future." He said before turning and walking back towards Zezelia.
Erik turned around, holding up a silver coin. The same coin that had started this. All of this. The same coin that had bound her and Erik together in endless torment. "This is what we're going to do," began Erik.
"Zezelia! PLEASE! You know this is wrong! Remember what I said! You get to choose what you are! Make the better choice!" Charles screamed inside her head. The emotions fighting inside her were overwhelming. Her breathing was ragged as she fought against what she knew was right and what, regardless of that, she wanted. Visions of all the things Shaw had forced her through swam through her head. All the faces of people he had forced her to kill. The image of her sister's small, innocent body drenched in blood. She wanted Shaw's blood to pool around his body just as hers did. The rage inside her screamed for it. "I'm sorry Charles." She said, before throwing up a wall around her head, blocking out of the screams of his protest.
"I'm going to count to three and I'm going to move the coin." Said Erik, releasing the coin as it drifted through the air towards Shaw. "One…two…." He counted as the coin floated closer and closer to Shaw's head. "Three." He said as it made contact with the center of his forehead, slipping into his flesh and all the way through his brain until it came out the other side, covered in blood before dropping to the floor.
Zezelia let out a gasp of air as Shaw's body fell to the floor with a thud. She looked over at Erik, her breathing ragged. "It's over." She said.
He turned to her, placing a hand against her cheek, wiping it free of the tears that had spilled. "It's not over." He said before using his powers to wrap pieces of metal around Shaw's wrists, using them to lift his corpse from the floor and out of the submarine. "Come." He said, walking out.
Zezelia followed behind Erik as he lead them outside, the body of Shaw guiding their way. Once outside, Erik yelled across the beach for everyone to hear. "Today our fighting stops!" he said before dropping Shaw's body onto the ground. He then floated down to the ground, using his powers to guide him. Zezelia did the same, landing beside him on the sand.
"Take off your blinders, brothers and sisters. The real enemy is out there." He said, pointing out to the water where the ships were floating in the distance. "I feel their guns moving in the water, their metal targeting us." He said walking towards the others, though Zezelia stood frozen in place. "AmErikans, Soviets, humans. United in their fear of the unknown. The neanderthal is running scared my fellow mutants!" he bellowed as Charles walked closer to him. "Go ahead Charles, tell me I'm wrong."
Charles put his fingers against his temple for a moment, reaching out to the minds in the ships. His hand dropped with the realization that Erik was right. He turned his head towards Moria and nodded at her somberly. She took off running to the ruins of the plane to try to call them off to no avail.
Zezelia jumped as the sound of blast after blast filled the air as the ships launched countless missiles towards them. Her heart dropped as her worst fears came to fruition in front of her eyes. The missiles came soaring through the air at them until they stopped just a few feet above them as Erik reached out his hand and stopped them all with his powers.
Zezelia let out a breath as she watched the bombs hang in the air above their heads. Then, slowly, Erik turned his hand, forcing the missiles to twist in the air before they instead faced the ships that had fired them.
"Erik, you said it yourself, that we're the better men." said Charles. "This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men. They're just following orders." He pleaded.
"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders." Said Erik, turning his gaze from the missiles over to Charles. "Never again." He vowed before looking back up to the sky and flicking his hand out, sending the missiles soaring through the air once again.
"Erik, NO!" Charles shouted.
Suddenly jarred into motion, Zezelia lunged forward, reaching out with her powers to gain ahold of the metal weapons. Her hands shook as she fought to bring them to a halt, the missiles vibrating in the air, stuck between her and Erik's hold. Erik spun towards her, eyes locking onto hers.
"Erik this is not the way!" she yelled, voice shaking as she struggled to keep control of missiles. "I know you're scared, but this is not the way!"
"Let go Zezelia!" Erik yelled at her.
Zezelia shook her head. "Please Erik! Charles is right! We have to be better than them! We don't have to be the monsters they made us into! I DON'T WANT TO BE A MONSTER ANYMORE!" she bellowed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She focused in on the missiles and began detonating them, one by one.
"NO!" Erik roared.
Zezelia suddenly felt an agonizing pain tear through her chest, sending her stumbling back. She looked down at herself to find a thick piece of metal shrapnel protruding from a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should have been. She drew in a painful gasp as her control over the missiles broke and she fell to the ground as she was swallowed by the darkness of death.