X-Men-First Class: Rise or Fall
Chapter Seven
Icon Guide: All right, so this story will have flashbacks scattered about here and there. To indicate we're entering a flashback will be "XXXXX" and to indicate a time or scene shift will be a single "X". When you see "XXXXX" again that means we have returned to present events.
Author's Word: Since this will be the last bit for a few days, everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Somewhere between hide-and-seek and a rousing game of tag, the once partly sunny sky turned stone gray and rain drops came down like enemy grenades. The adolescent mutant trio made immediate tracks for the house with Frank in the lead. They made it inside just before the thunder erupted. Frank exclaimed over how fast the storm had come up, Becky fretted over the damage the unexpected water had done to her difficult to manage hair, and Joey gazed out through a window in the foyer to watch the force of nature at work.
Charles and Raven came in from the living room with the former ordering the slightly muddy and thoroughly drenched children upstairs for bath time. Although the first floor had bathrooms, all three headed upstairs, mainly used to the ones on the second floor since they were closest to their bedrooms.
Joey found Alex, who happily ran the bath water for him, as the eight-year-old still had trouble in that area. After checking to make sure the water was warm but not overly hot, Alex left the child to his own washing up. Joey stripped out of his clothes and soiled shoes and socks then readily placed himself in the absolutely welcoming water. He soaked for a good twenty minutes before unplugging the tub and climbing out.
The child dried off with a large towel then dashed across the hall to his bedroom. He changed into clean underwear and his dark blue pajamas. It surprised him to hear, beyond the storm taking place outside his windows, absolutely no noise on the second floor. Not wanting to be alone in his dark room, Joey went back downstairs and found nearly everyone gathered in the living room with the fire roaring.
Frank and Sean sat across from each other at the coffee table, exchanging baseball cards. Alex stretched out on a loveseat lazily with his foot dangling off the arm. Hank sat on the couch with Raven nestled into his side and Becky drinking hot chocolate in his lap.
Charles looked up from where he sat in a tan chair and smiled at the presence of the youngest member of his household. "There you are, Joey." He held out an arm and the boy quickly climbed up to sit with him. "Did we remember to wash behind our ears?"
Joey let off a giggle as Charles went about pretending to inspect those very body parts. "Ah, Charles, cut it out." He then gasped as thunder roared again and lightning shined through the row of windows.
It's all right, Charles spoke into the fledgling mind, you're safe and sound here with me.
Cuddling into the telepath, Joey entreated softly, "Will you read to me?"
"Of course." Lifting the boy to hold and carry, Charles stood and went over to the short bookshelf across the room. He selected 1001 Arabian Nights before sitting down again. "This book holds a lovely tale about a young boy named Aladdin and his powerful genie."
"What's a genie?" Joey asked him.
"Genies, also known as jinns, are extraordinary mythical creatures, capable of making one's greatest wishes come true," Charles explained with fascination and wonder in his voice.
Joey looked absolutely intrigued. "Ooh, really? Any wish?"
"Any wish," Charles confirmed before opening the thick book to locate the story in question.
As he listened intently to the tale, the loud storm going on outside soon completely nullified in Joey's ears. His focus stayed with Charles' serene, English accented voice.
XXXXX
The moment the coordinates printed out, Charles firmly snatched them away from the machine that had dispensed them. He came up from the lower level of his home and went outside. He spotted Erik hosting a sparring session between Alex and Sean.
Noting the fixed expression on Charles' face, Erik asked, "What?"
"Cerebro finally honed in on a location for the mutant I've been trying to trace," Charles told him. "I'm flying to Illinois tonight to find him."
Erik nodded. "I'll be ready." Charles' sudden headshake surprised him.
"I'll be going alone."
"Charles, you don't know what you're walking into," Erik reminded him. "I am not letting you go in blindly. You'll need someone by your side."
"Not this time," Charles told him, not intending any callousness in the statement whatsoever and hoped Erik did not interpret it that way. "This is one unique case where it would be best for me to handle things by myself."
Erik studied the younger man closely. He had obtained a reading on the mysterious new mutant a few days back during a rare moment when the new Cerebro decided to stay online. However, with the determination and dedication Charles had put into the search, Erik knew there had to be so much more to this than adding a new member to their roster. It almost reminded Erik of his own crusade against the ones who wronged him so long ago. One thing the controller of metal knew was that he could trust Charles when it came to these particular situations.
"I expect a call as soon as you arrive," Erik finally responded. "Use caution, Charles."
"I will," Charles promised on both points. He already knew about the caution and would be using nothing but on his journey to Carterville, Illinois.
X
When the Ford T-Bird came to a stop, the abrupt motion awakened the sole passenger in the backseat. The moment Joey's eyes opened, he became aware of the intense pings in his stomach long before his surroundings stopped blurring around him. He sat up and made out the images of his mother, along with Kyle, up front.
"Are we here yet?" Joey asked, his voice barely audible.
"No, we ain't nowhere yet," Kyle replied in irritation. "We're just stopping off for gas."
Miranda gave him as sweet a smile as she could muster. "Go on back to sleep, baby."
At the incoming thunder sounding overhead, Joey said timidly, "Mama, I want to stay with you."
"We'll just be a minute," she promised him. "I'll try to get you something to eat, okay?"
Joey nodded and settled down as she and Kyle got out of the car. When the two adults got inside, the rain came down hard. An incredibly loud boom of thunder went off and the small boy did not waste time removing himself from the vehicle. The thunder came again, as if hunting him and Joey ran for the store in fear.
"Mama, Mama," he called.
The moment he came inside, the lights glimmered, startling the handful of customers inside. Then suddenly, the florescent ceiling fixtures exploded, shattering glass everywhere. Miranda and Kyle ducked for cover, along with the other people who were also shouting. Joey stood unmoving, unable to believe what he had just done as the glass sprinkled down like a deadly snow.
"What in the hell…?" The grizzly man behind the counter exclaimed lowly.
"Damn it, Miranda!" Kyle shot up in complete rage. "Your damn kid did it again."
Miranda brushed right by Joey to follow the livid man out. "Kyle, wait, please. He didn't mean it. He can't control it."
Kyle turned on her, seething. "That kid's got the devil in him, Miranda! Everybody in town knows it. Something ain't right about him."
Joey had regained some kind of consciousness and came outside after them.
"He can't help the way he is," Miranda insisted. "He's all I got in the world."
"I'm all you need in the world." Kyle put a tight grip on her wrists. "How can we ever have kids of our own with that little hellion around? He's nothing but trouble. You have to let him go."
Miranda shook from cold as well as fear, uncertainty more than evident in her features.
"Mama, I'm scared," Joey said to her. "I wanna go home. Let's go home."
Turning slowly, Miranda went to him. She knelt down, sharing a long lasting look with the only child she had before kissing his cheek.
"You be a good boy, Joseph. Mama loves you but I— I just." She gasped as Kyle took hold of her arm.
"Let's go!" he ordered, hauling her over to the car.
"Mama!" Joey screamed after them, trying to catch up. The T-Bird took off at top speed, leaving him behind. "Mama!" The word echoed out, losing all meaning and impact amidst the heavy downpour.
X
Flinging a wad of bills in the direction of his taxi driver, Charles hopped out of the yellow car in rapid pursuit. He went up the stairs of the cozy brick bungalow, knocking on the door firmly. When no answer came, he tried looking inside through one of the nearby windows but only darkness gazed back at him. Groaning in utter frustration, Charles jogged down the stairs and went around to the side of the house where he spotted another door. He discovered it unlocked and went down the low staircase. He found himself in some sort of basement unit kitchen.
Dishes filled the sink while beer cans and wine bottles lined up across the counter and certain parts of the floor. Three black bags of trash piled up in a corner. Feeling something under his foot, Charles knelt down and picked up a tiny robot action figure that had one arm missing. He would have investigated further if not for a distinct cocking noise that sounded next.
Glancing his head up slowly, Charles saw a tall bearded man with a shotgun pointed right for him. "The hell are you doing down here?"
"Now, now," Charles spoke carefully. "There's no need for that." He stood with his hands raised. "I mean you no harm."
"What do you call breaking and entering?" the man replied evenly. "What are you doing nosing around my property, young buck?"
"I only came here in search of a small boy. His name is Joseph Reynolds."
All at once, the man's grim countenance softened. "You mean Joey." He lowered the gun completely. "Yeah, he lives here. Well, at least he did before that so-called mother of his took off with him and that guy sometime this afternoon."
"Please, do you have any idea where they might have gone?" Charles wanted to know.
"What's it to you, anyway?" the man retorted then appeared quizzical. "Say… you wouldn't be that boy's father, would you?"
Completely taken aback by the abrupt question, Charles could only utter a bewildered, "Say what?"
After finally introducing himself as Michael Phelps, he offered Charles a seat at the kitchen table and the two began to talk on a much more civil level.
"Miranda always was a fast tail little something," Michael recalled. "When she got herself knocked up at sixteen, that was the last straw. Her folks put her right out. To this day, it's any man's guess who that boy's father really is, as much as Miranda fooled around. I let her take up my basement space here, letting her pay what she could. She did all right by herself for a few years. Then she started having these gentleman callers show up and decided she liked booze more than people. Of course, that's only the tip of the iceberg with her. Joey's a whole other story."
"How do you mean?" Charles asked.
Michael shook his head in thought before speaking again. "Town this size, you get your fair share of crazy rumors and superstitions. Folks think the boy's weird, that he's got some kind of demon in him."
"A demon?" Charles repeated incredulously. "That's absurd."
"No, it's downright stupid," Michael concurred. "I've kept an eye on the boy. He may be a little touched but there's nothing evil about him. I suspect he's so backwards because he was born out there." Michael indicated the window over the sink.
Charles stood, going over. "The alley?"
The older man nodded. "Miranda ain't know nothing about childbirth, let alone getting to a hospital. I found her out in the alley, scared as all outdoors. My wife is a nurse and I had her come to help her. That baby boy had a time coming into the world."
Seeing something else, Charles noted softly, "Right under the power lines…" He whirled around to look at Michael. "It is imperative that I find Joseph. Do you have any idea where they may have gone?"
"I doubt that far," Michael responded. "Your best bet is to head out on foot. Ask folks if they've seen a red Ford T-Bird anywhere in the area."
"Thank you."
"Hold on there, English," Michael called after the departing young man. "Here." He picked up a nearby umbrella, tossing it in his direction. "I don't know what your angle is but I like to believe I'm a decent judge of character. You're no good to that boy if you catch your death out there."
"Thank you," Charles repeated, this time with an intensified gratitude.
The moment he made it back outside, he opened the umbrella and went sprinting off down the road. He pulled over every passerby that came his way, asking about the car in question. He followed the pointing fingers of all who actually proved helpful. Within an hour, Charles felt thoroughly exhausted but knew he could not quit; not even ease his stride for a moment.
Seeing another distant figure headed his way, Charles picked up the pace, hoping it was someone else who had seen the car. Upon closer observation, however, he realized the approaching body was that of a drenched little boy; short and positively frail.
Charles felt hope swell throughout his being and his eyes brightened.
Could it be, he wondered.
Wanting to run over, Charles managed to hold his composure as he made it over to the boy and lowered, gazing blue eyes into blue eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked the child. "What is your name?"
"Joey," was all the small one said before collapsing against the adult before him.
Discarding the umbrella entirely, Charles picked the weary boy up and supported him with both arms.
He spoke into the delicate mind carefully. Joseph, Joseph, please stay with me. Be strong, little one. Be strong for me.
I'm scared came a weak timid reply.
You have nothing to fear any longer. My name is Charles Xavier. I've come to take you home.
But I don't have a home anymore…
Yes you do, Charles informed him strongly, You have a beautiful home awaiting you with warm food and an entire household waiting to meet you.
Charles felt the tiny body in his hold begin to relax. It had honestly startled him at first at the psychic link he had managed to establish with the child. He had felt no resistance on Joey's part. There had been a great deal of fright but Charles knew that particular feeling had nothing to do with him personally.
When he made it back to Michael's house with Joey in tow, Mrs. Phelps took possession of the child to get him cleaned up and fed. Michael led Charles into the living room where the telephone could be found.
"Hello, Raven," Charles responded to the one who had answered. "Yes, dear, I'm quite all right. I have a great deal to tell you but please let me speak to Erik." After a few seconds, the metallic wizard came on the line. "Yes-yes I know. Well, I was in a bit of a rush. I didn't have time to pick up a phone until now. I'm more than fine. Yes, I found him. I should be back with him before morning. And Erik, see to it that we do not have an audience present when I return. I don't want to frighten the poor lamb more than he already is. Yes. Thank you. Take care." After they hung up, Michael brought Charles into the den, where his wife had Joey washed up and eating soup on the couch with a blanket wrapped securely around him.
Charles planted the couple in the room with a mental order. Leave us.
Michael and his wife stood robotically and left the room.
Charles took up space beside Joey on the couch. "Are you all right now, little one?"
Joey nodded once, placing down his now empty soup bowl. "I was just trying to find my mama and I found you instead."
"And here I thought I was the one who found you," Charles returned with a kind smile. "Joseph—"
"Joey," the boy immediately cut in, biting his lip. "I don't like Joseph."
"Very well then," Charles agreed. "Joey, when I found you before and we— talked. Did you understand what was happening?"
Looking at the man closely, Joey tried as best he could to make sense of what was happening. "Something was in here." He rubbed his blonde head. "It was you. I don't know how but I just know it was you."
Charles whispered into his mind, Like this?
Squinting his eyes as if to focus, Joey returned Uh huh. Does it hurt you?
No. Is it hurting you?
No.
Are you afraid?
After a moment, the child decided, No. I'm not afraid, Charles.
May I take a closer look then?
Okay…
Placing a hand to the side of his own head, Charles let go of the world around him and slipped into the psyche of the young one next to him. He seemed to become one with Joey as he absorbed all of the child's confusion, both emotional and physical pain, curiosity, and that deeply rooted fear.
"Charles?" Joey spoke unsurely, terrified at the man's absent expression and lack of movement.
Returning to reality, Charles felt his eyes water but he blinked it back and stiffened. "It's quite all right, Joey. I'm still here with you." He looked at the fledgling again. "Now that I've shown you what I can do…" He took Joey's small clammy hand. "I was hoping you'd give me the honor of showing me what you can do."
Joey's voice dropped lower, if at all possible. "I-I can't. When I do, something bad always happens. I don't wanna do nothing bad to you, Charles."
With a new instinct birthing within him, Charles collected the bundled up child into his arms, cradling him like a newborn. Through Joey's hand, the telepath could feel the surges of inner agony that penetrated the little body like a virus. Such emotions were nothing like that of the others back home. They all had nerves about their unique abilities but Joey felt nothing but the embodiment of terror.
On Joey's end of things, the boy did not know what to completely make of the stranger. At first, he thought he had dreamed the entire thing about his mother honestly running away from him and a mysterious man finding him on the side of the road. Then he had regained consciousness and knew Miranda really had gone but that this new person, Charles Xavier, remained.
Show me, Charles urged with a cherishing delicacy.
Not knowing what force propelled him to feel this way, Joey could not imagine disobeying the man. He just couldn't.
Slowly and with a bit of a tremble, Joey held his right hand out flat. Charles mimicked the movement until their palms met. Hitching a breath, Charles felt the teeny jolt shoot throughout his entire arm. He felt more awareness than pain from the minor electric shock.
Intertwining his fingers with the youngster's, Charles said, "That was a very good demonstration, Joey. You did it wonderfully."
"You're not mad?" The level of surprise in his tone made Charles feel a churn in his stomach.
"No," he responded then reiterated, "No, my little one. You've actually made me quite happy. You shared your special gift with me and for that I am honored."
Putting as tight a grip on Charles' hand as he could in his weakened state, Joey said, "Don't go away, Charles. Please. I don't want you to leave."
"I will be leaving," Charles informed him, "with you. We're going home."
Joey shivered slightly, which caused him to settle against Charles even closer. "Where is our home?" He stared ahead with an expression of awe as images of an enormous house, surrounded by gardens danced throughout his mind. He then protested when the visions went away. "No, Charles, I want to see more. Please."
"You will," Charles assured. "You're going to have the chance to see and do everything you've ever desired. But now it's time to sleep."
Sleep my little one, the elder ordered softly, sleep and worry not. I am here to protect you.
All of a sudden, Joey's eyes closed as he gave into a peaceful slumber. He dreamed of his new home; his new home with Charles.
X
When he awoke again, Joey felt lost and confused at the unfamiliar fuzziness that clouded his vision. He gave both his eyes a rub to remove the sleep dust. After he managed to focus, the boy shot up, wondering if he had truly left dreamland or not. He currently sat in a large solid oak bed, covered with yellow sheets and a gold trimmed quilt and supported by at least half a dozen fluffy pillows. Having gotten used to sleeping on a sofa for so long, Joey's system almost went into shock at the sheer level of comfort that one piece of furniture offered him.
Gazing down at his attire next, Joey saw he no longer wore the tattered jeans, old blue t-shirt, or hole-filled socks he'd had on. They had been replaced by a pair of soft pants and a long-sleeved green and white checkered shirt. He wore socks as well; quite possibly the softest pair of anything to ever adorn his tiny feet.
As the sun's rays came in his way, Joey turned to face the two enormous windows to his far right side. The blinds were open and nothing but pure light came through. Judging by that alone, Joey knew nighttime had definitely ended.
A sudden gasp shot from his lips. Charles. Where was he?
"Charles?" the little boy called. He scrambled down from the tall bed and ran to the large door swinging it open. He was met with an empty but lighted hallway. "Charles?"
Having no idea which way to go, he took off running, continuously calling for the mysterious man he had met. Joey silently prayed that he really was not still dreaming. Charles had to be here somewhere. He absolutely had to be.
"Char- ugh!" Joey felt himself make contact with something that immediately knocked him onto his behind. He glanced up slowly and found himself looking up at a male that was much too young and blonde to be Charles. "Aaahh!"
Alex arched an eyebrow down at him. "So, what? Am I that ugly?
With a whimper, Joey shook his head. "N-no." When Alex made a move to kneel to him, he quickly started to scoot back on his bottom.
"Whoa, easy, easy," Alex attempted to calm. "Just take it down a notch, kid. I'm cool. You're cool. No one's gonna hurt you."
"Where's Charles?" Joey asked nervously.
"Charles is taking a little nap, just like you were," Alex told him. "And if you do anymore yelling, you're gonna wake him up. So how about we start this whole thing from the beginning, okay? Hi." He held out a hand. "I'm Alex." At the child's lack of movement, he said, "Did Charles find you on the short bus or what? Tell me you know what a handshake is."
With a trembling hand, Joey finally reached out to complete the greeting. "My name's Joey."
"That's more like it. Now since Charles is still asleep, how about you stick with me for a little while? I could show you around all of—" he gestured widely with his arm. "—well, this."
Joey looked fearful but not of Alex in that moment. "What if I get lost?"
Holding his hand out again, Alex said, "Tell you what. You hang onto me and I'll hang onto you. That way, neither one of us will ever get lost."
Clearly liking that idea, Joey linked up with the older boy. "Okay, Alex."
Leading the guided tour of the near palace while keeping a tight grip on the child currently in his care, Alex gestured to most of the closed rooms they passed. He indicated which were bathrooms or closets and which were presently occupied by the other residents of the house.
"You'll know Hank when you see him. Tall guy- biiiig feet. Then there's Sean, who is probably the only person alive who can out-scream you."
Joey nodded along, trying to retain all of the information.
"They're all out back now," Alex explained.
Charles had ushered everyone away in the event Joey woke up unexpectedly and bumped into someone. However, after learning the kid's full story, Alex did not want him to wake up and feel like the last one on the planet, either. He knew personally how sick the world could be but a mother abandoning her own child in the middle of a thunderstorm? With boiling blood, Alex had hoped that she and that guy she'd taken off with had met with the bottom of a cliff… after driving off the top of one.
When they made it to the kitchen, Alex said, "You're probably hungry, right?"
At Joey's nod, Alex went over to a cabinet and started unloading the necessary food groups from it; peanut butter with two types of jelly. He sat the three jars on the table then went in search of bread. Joey grabbed a seat and took hold of the peanut butter. He unscrewed the lid then dipped his fingers inside and began to devour the sweet light brown spread within.
Hearing a clattering, Joey watched with quickly growing eyes as the four butcher knives somehow flew out of their wooden display and began to move by themselves in a circular rotation.
"There you are," Erik said to Alex, stepping into the room. "You're late." He took possession of one of the knives that sped his way.
Witnessing this, Joey dropped the jar in his hands. "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" He jumped up, dived right under Erik's legs, and took off faster than a bolt of lightning.
Alex groaned. Erik would choose now to remind him of a training session.
"Joey!" he called, going after the scared senseless one.
"Something I said?" Erik put forth before following.
Unsure of where to go and where to hide, Joey screamed all the way until he reached the first floor stairs. Then he saw Alex headed his way- with that scary knife man! Joey fell out onto the carpet, writhing and yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Joey, it's okay," Alex tried to tell him. "Calm down. He's not gonna hurt you. Nobody's gonna hurt you."
Erik gazed up, seeing the lighting fixtures starting to take a life of their own as they clicked on and off in rhythm with the terrified boy's wails. He could not believe such a small vessel could contain such enormous power.
Hank and Raven came running in from out back, having left Sean to safeguard the younger two.
"What is going on?" Raven demanded. "What did you guys do to him?"
"I didn't do anything," Alex answered immediately, jabbing a thumb Erik's way. "It was him."
Hank glanced Heavenly with a sigh. Somehow, that just did not surprise him.
"If someone doesn't shut him off, he's going to set fire to every bulb in this house," Erik predicted.
"Hey, sweetie." Raven approached Joey carefully. "It's all right. Time to calm down now, okay?" The moment she touched his wrist, she jumped back, clutching her own singed hand from the shock she received.
Hank quickly went to examine her hand, not seeing any damage done. "Charles was right. He is volatile. We might have to contain him."
Erik glared at that. "He's a child, not a zoo animal."
"For his own safety, as well as ours," Hank emphasized.
Joseph, Charles' voice spoke out mentally but much sterner than Joey had heard previously from him, stop this at once.
The telepath descended the stairs with his fingers on his right temple.
When Joey's rages only continued, Charles made a decision and quickly froze the boy in place, returning the lighting back to normal. Walking the two steps between him and Joey, Charles lowered down and picked up the motionless child.
Alex could not believe it when he saw Charles turn Joey over his upraised knee. Erik took hold of the teen's arm before he could make a move to stop things.
With careful precision, Charles planted two sharp pops across the small bottom before undoing his hold and allowing the tiny blonde movement once more.
The minute he became unlocked, Joey panted heavily, locking eyes with the one he had been seeking out before. "Charles…"
Placing a hand on the thin shoulder, Charles said, "It's all right now, Joey. Everything is going to be all right from this point on. I won't let anyone harm you ever again."
As his blue eyes filled with tears that wasted no time spilling over, Joey wrapped his arms tightly arm Charles' neck and buried his face in his shirt.
Alex calmed, feeling his rage towards Charles dissipate. He declared right then and there to join the Professor in that promise. Anyone who even thought about causing the kid real harm would be met with a red plasma blast of doom.
XXXXX
As Charles finished the story of Aladdin, the storm had still not let up.
Frank laid down one of his baseball cards and commented, "Wouldn't it be cool to have a power that could control weather?"
"Oh, definitely," Sean agreed.
"I'd erase fall and winter forever," Frank said. "Except at Christmas. Gotta have a snowball fight."
"Charles, will you tell another story, please?" Joey requested, having thought that Aladdin ended way too soon.
"Do a scary one this time," Frank added.
"Let's not go there," Alex chimed up. "I know the real scary stories. The kind that'll make you mess yourself."
"Ooh." Becky sat up from where she snuggled with Hank. "I want to hear."
"Yeah, me too," Raven said. "This ought to be good." She and the other young ones started to circle around the coffee table.
Do keep it clean, Alex Charles cautioned him mentally.
The teenager nodded before returning his attention to his interested audience. "Here's one somebody here will appreciate. It's Frankenstein."
Frank stuck his tongue out but looked amused despite himself.
"Okay, so a long, long time ago, there was this mad scientist— kind of like Hank because we all know what he really does when he's in that lab working on "projects"—" Alex inserted air quotes for emphasis.
The others laughed lightly while Hank shook his head, not at all offended at Alex's storytelling technique.
"So one night," Alex went on, "a night just like this. Dark and stormy. The scientist went to work on his latest project- raising the dead. So he hooked up all of these wires and gadgets… on a corpse. Then with a flick of a switch, the body started to rise. But the scientist knew he'd done something wrong. Because even though he'd brought it back to life, there was nothing human about him. Slowly, Frankenstein got up, holding his arms out like a mummy. He got closer and closer on the scientist and then cried out—"
Suddenly, Erik leapt into the room with a flashlight shining over his face., chuckling maniacally
Screams sounded throughout the living room as everyone scattered.
Joey became so frightened that he caused the two reading lamps to flicker before they shut off entirely.
"Oh no," he said, fearing what he'd done. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry!"
"I know, Joey," Charles said to him. "You're not in any trouble." He shot a scolding glare at his friend. "Erik is."
Raven scowled. "Erik, you jerk."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Erik replied cordially then lifted Becky up when the little girl came over to him.
"The moment they have nightmares tonight, it's your bed they'll be filling up," Charles informed him.
"Oh, I knew it was Erik all the time," Frank put forth.
"Yeah?" Alex said. "Then what are you doing under the coffee table?"
"Protecting Sean," Frank answered, as the ginger headed teen currently crouched under the wooden table beside him.
"Funny," Sean said, "I thought I was protecting you."
Raven, who had Hank's arm around her, smiled and said, "I feel safe."
"Yes, well, I believe we've had quite enough excitement for one night," Charles stated with his eyes landing specifically on Joey. "And it's just about bedtime for you."
Joey sighed. He really hated having to go to bed way before everyone else. However, no arguments escaped his lips as Charles picked him up and carried him out.
Once the eight-year-old got settled in bed upstairs, Charles said, "I think we have time for just one more story tonight. What do you think?"
Joey gave off an eager nod. "Charles? I think you're a better genie than Aladdin's. You make all my wishes come true, not just three."
Feeling everything in him inflate from the sweet innocent sentiment, Charles stated in turn, "I'd say that's only fair. After all, you're a wish come true for me. Every single day."