Disclaimer: X-Men and X-Men: The Movie belong to Marvel and its other respective owners. I am making no profit off this fic.
Chapter Seven
"By all means, brother, try." The professor's voice was cool, but he was frowning inside. He didn't know what he did to make his brother hate him so. Well, he did, but it really was due to Cain's personality that it affected him so much. Frankly, at the risk of sounding childish, he had started it. Cain had bullied him since they day they met. It was brought on by a number of things actually: Cain's father, Dr. Kurt Marko, marrying his former colleague's widow only for her wealth, Cain's tendency to pick on those weaker than him, Charles' uncontrolled powers, and the treatment by his father of both. Even into adulthood, his hatred for Charles continued to grow. And then, he became Juggernaut.
***Flashback***
Charles Xavier inched his way out of the piles of corpses, some his comrades, some his enemies, and some that probably weren't even supposed to be there but just got caught in the battle. He would have to look for survivors later, thought the chance of finding anyone else was slim. But right now, he had only one goal: to find Cain.
It had been an unpleasant surprise when the stepbrothers had been put in the same unit here in Korea, even more than the fact that Cain had enlisted. But Charles had never imagined that the person who had bullied him all his life would run away from a fight, despite how horrible it may be. It was true that war brought out the best and worst in people. In him, it was the best; his sheer bravery had manifested multiple times through this ordeal. In Cain, it brought out the true coward he was. But that didn't stop Charles from wanting to help him.
Keeping his mind open for any sign of him, he willed himself to stand upright, despite his fatigue. He held a pair of binoculars up to his eyes. No sign of anyone: just land. He spotted some caves in the mountains not too far away. If Cain wanted to hide, it seemed like a logical spot. But it was far enough that his powers wouldn't reach without some kind of help. He'd have to find a way to remedy that. If he survived that is. But for now, he would have to hoof it.
* * * * * *
"Cain?" Charles entered the dark cave. He couldn't see a thing. The air was damp and dusty, making it difficult to breathe. The entrance was small, blocked partly by a rockslide. But it was the perfect place to hide in. He strolled through it, listening. It seemed like an endless tunnel, twisting and turning like a maze. He doubted a string would help him in this place. As he continued on, he thought he saw a small glimmer of light. But it was far away and he wasn't sure if it was real or just a figment of his imagination.
"Cain?" he called. His voice echoed through the cave loudly. No one answered. Yet he felt like his brother was there. He just couldn't sense him like he normally could. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones. Charles continued on. In this place, Cain could have gotten lost forever. He had to dodge and duck to avoid the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. More than once he felt one brushing against him, bits and pieces of rock falling on his bald head. But he couldn't turn back now, not without Cain.
He heard a faint laugh echo down the corridor. It sounded like Cain, but his mind was empty, as if not a soul were there. A ghost maybe? No, it couldn't be. Something was very wrong about this; he didn't need to be a psychic to know that much. The red glow he'd seen was becoming brighter. He used it as his guide. Here the tunnels straightened out more and he was able to stand upright. In the dim light, he could make out small carvings on the wall. This place definitely wasn't natural. If it were it a normal situation, he would have been excited about such a find. But there was no time for that. Now he was able to hear a voice muttering somewhere. It was most definitely Cain. He couldn't have lost consciousness if he was talking, but his mind was completely undetectable. Charles picked up the pace, having recovered some of his strength. He jogged through the tunnels until it opened into a large room. There were more carvings here and intricate gold statues. He shuttered when he saw the remains of a skeleton on the floor. The room was mostly dark, except for that red glow. In the middle was a small altar. Inscribed in the wall over it were words in a language he didn't recognize. Cain stood there, holding a bright red gem, the source of the light, in his large hands. He had a metal dome over his head, but Charles still recognized him, and was muttering under his breath. He stopped when he saw his stepbrother. "Just in time, brother," he sneered.
"Cain, what are you doing?" Charles demanded. "What's the meaning of all this?"
Cain chuckled. "Feeling a little out of the lop, are we?" He knocked on his helmet. "You won't be able to invade my thoughts any more. Defeating me will be impossible, once I finish this spell."
"Spell?" Charles repeated, dumbfounded.
"Yes, indeed and a very powerful one at that. I suppose you've heard of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. No? Well, you'll see what it does soon enough."
"Don't do it, Cain," Charles advised. "You have no idea what it does. It could be dangerous."
"Maybe to you, brother, maybe to you.' Cain began chanting. Though he couldn't understand the words, Charles could feel power flowing through the air. Cain was surrounded by a red glow. His already large body expanded. His uniform tore out the arms and chest, revealing large muscles where there used to be baby fat. His eyes became red and fierce. Charles' stepbrother howled in pain. Charles tried to reach him and grab the gem, but he was tossed to the ground by some kind of force field. The whole cave shook. Finally, after what felt like years, it stopped. Cain sank to his knees, his eyes normal again. He was completely silent. Charles crawled towards him.
"Cain? Cain! Are you all right?" he asked urgently.
Cain turned towards him and grinned evilly. "I'm fine, brother. Perfectly fine." He lasted out his fist. Charles was thrown back as he felt the wind rush out of him. He felt his spine crack when it hit the ground.
Cain advanced on him. "Now you know the consequences of wronging the Juggernaut."
Charles moaned and tried to sit up. "Cain…" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. His body was filled with excruciating pain.
"The Cain Marko you know is no more. There is only Juggernaut."
Charles tried to reach him with his mind In his weak state, he could feel his powers bounce off Cain and hit his own with full force.
"You won't be able to attack me that way," he laughed. "I am all powerful. My only vulnerability is my mind. But I've fixed that." He lifted off his helmet. Now Charles could sense his thoughts. He felt the hatred his stepbrother had for him. He could see his childhood, those times of abuse, those times when he believed his father didn't love him, and the jealousy of all Charles had.
Juggernaut put the helmet back on. He slammed his fist into the wall. Tons of rock came pouring down on him. He picked up a large boulder and hurled it at Charles. He cried out from the impact. He tried to move, but he could not. His legs felt numb.
Cain grabbed another. "Now I can finally get my revenge."
Charles stretched out his hand, fumbling for a small pebble just out of his reach.
"I've waited a long time for this," said Juggernaut. "You deserve to feel the pain I have for so many years." He launched in to a long list of Charles' crimes. Charles took the opportunity to wiggle as best as he could, despite the pain coursing through his body. He could almost touch it, almost, got it! He grabbed it and threw it at Cain. It bounced off him easily, but the action startled him. He turned to see what hit him. Charles used as much strength as he could muster to take the rock off his legs and hurl it at him. Cain ducked out of the way, but it hit the edge of his helmet, throwing it off his head. Charles attacked his mind. Though he felt guilty about doing it, as he always did, whenever he (which was rare) used his powers to harm someone, he made the worst images of Cain's past flow through his mind. Juggernaut put his hands to his head. "No, stop it. STOP IT!"
Charles lashed out with all of his powers. The mental impact knocked him out cold.
Charles sighed in relief. Cain would be out for quite some time. Now, the fact remained, how was he going to get out of there.
* * * End Flashback * * *
Professor X grimaced. He'd been lucky that day. A group of nurses had come out to the field in search of survivors. Charles was able to use his powers to lead them to him. It was in their hospital that he learned he would never walk again Cain had been brought back as well, but once he regained consciousness, he escaped. Charles hadn't seen him again. Until today.
* * * * * *
Rogue wrung her hands nervously. She admired and respected the professor, but she was still uncomfortable around him. Every time she was in the same room with him she felt like he was reading her thoughts, even though Professor X often stated that he would not invade people's minds. He claimed he'd learned his lesson long ago, but Rogue never knew what he meant by that. She'd asked her friends once but no one knew, and didn't seem the least bit curious. She was, for some reason unknown to her, but she kept her curiosity to herself. Still, it disturbed her that there were a lot of things about his past kept secret when he knew almost everything about theirs.
As they approached the office, Rogue stopped abruptly. She had a fleeting idea to turn back, but was frozen in place. Her heart began to beat faster. Suddenly it didn't seem worth it. What is the professor discovered it wasn't permanent and forbid her to fight? Or what if they were and he decided someone who would do such a thing didn't deserve to be a part of the X-Men?
Her guilt overrode her sensibility and faith in the professor's kindness and compassion. She felt almost as alone as she did when she first discovered her powers. Even with these new ones, she still felt out of place and different. She didn't deserve his help. She didn't deserve to be an X-Man.
While these worries were swarming her conscience, Remy and Logan finally realized that she wasn't following them anymore.
"What's the problem now?" Logan asked gruffly.
"Well, I… I'm…" She suddenly felt foolish and weak. Logan had insecurities, but never like her. He hid them better anyway. And he wasn't a coward. He was always willing to save her ass and not once did she return the favor. That incident before was just from a simulation and merely overreacting on her part. It was nothing he couldn't have handled himself.
Fortunately, Remy wasn't quite as insensitive as Logan could be, even when he meant well. "Don't worry, chere," he said, flashing her a charming smile. "Da professor ain't da type a' person who would punish ya for somethin' ya had no control over. He knows you were tricked n he knows we can't change da past. Dat's one of da things Ah like bout 'em." His voice sobered and his smile was replaced by a much more serious look.
Rogue was suddenly reassured. He's right, she realized. She'd been silly to doubt. He even remained somewhat of a friend to Magneto, though he knew what he did. Even though he didn't agree with them, the intentions were noble, though rather twisted. And Remy seemed to be completely positive about what he was saying, although she wasn't sure why. And she felt she could trust him.
"You've come dis far, chere," he reminded her. "No sense in turning back now. He's not so scary once you get to know him," he said, his tone light once again. "You aren't afraid of the old man, are ya chere?"
A smile tugged at Rogue's lips. "Ah ain't afraid a' nuttin, sugah," she replied, exaggerating her southern drawl, her voice filled with a new confidence.
Logan chuckled. "That's my girl," he praised.
"What are y'all doin' standin' here?" she continued. "Let's get…"BOOM! She was cut off by a loud crash.
Author's note: No preview this time. I'm just going to leave it at that for now. Just a bit of side information: Professor Xavier, in the comic books, did not lose his ability to walk because of Juggernaut, but actually during a fight with an alien named Lucifer.
