Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men
Episode 7: Cosmic Shift
Ben yawned as he sat up. He was confused for a moment, wondering if he had really fallen asleep for the first time since he was six years old. He felt around blindly for his glasses and put them on, blinking in the darkness of his room.
Getting up and opening the curtains, the sunlight streamed onto his face, making him close his eyes tightly. How long had he been asleep? Glancing at his clock, he saw that it was close to eight in the morning. Shaking his head, he silently scolded himself and pulled on his jacket, opening his door and stepping out into the hall.
He stared at the spot where the portal had been. He had seen Jonah for the last time in that spot, and he had watched him go, step into the thing and disappear from his life. He shook his head again, wondering why he didn't stop Jonah from leaving.
He was slightly startled as a tall, silver-haired man in a bathrobe walked past him, brushing his teeth as he went. "'scuse me, Ben," the man said.
"No problem," Ben replied, almost disregarding it, then his eyes widened and he whipped his head around to stare at him. "M-Magneto?!"
The man turned to look at him, and he was indeed Magneto, blue eyes surprised by this sudden outburst. "What's wrong?" he asked, pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth and standing up strait. "Ben, are you alright?"
Ben's fists were clenched at his sides, fingernails digging into his skin. Paling slightly, Ben nodded. "I'm fine," he said.
"Are you sure?"
Ben nodded again, then watched Magneto continue down the hallway, whistling as he went.
Blinking in total confusion, Ben went back into his room and closed the door. "This has gotta be some weird dream," he told himself. "Get a grip, Ben. Breathe. Okay. Let's try this again."
He opened his door again and stepped into the hallway a second time. Again, Magneto was walking down the hall, this time in the opposite direction, toweling off his hair. Ben watched him until he snapped.
"What are you doing here?!"
Magneto looked at him. "I'm sorry? Oh, you mean why am I using the second floor bathroom? The third floor shower is broken. I'm having Forge and Wartech fix it for me."
"But there is no third floor," he muttered as Magneto walked away. "And Tyler is dead."
Ben went towards the elevator, and he nearly walked directly into the wall where the elevator door should be. He stared at the painting questioningly, looking around for the elevator. When he realized there wasn't one, he grimaced. "Shit," he said. "How am I supposed to get downstairs without the elevator?"
"With the stairs," Jasmine said, walking over to him. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
"Jasmine," Ben sighed, hugging her. "Thank God. I'm not the only one."
"The only one what?"
"Who knows there is no third floor, and that there's supposed to be an elevator, and Magneto doesn't live here." He looked around. "Something changed overnight. Something huge. We have to talk to the Professor."
"I went to his office," Jasmine said. "But the door was locked."
"I'll talk to him," Ben said, closing his eyes and reaching out telepathically. Professor? Professor, where are you, what's going on?
He opened his eyes. "He won't answer. I can't even sense him in the building or anywhere near here."
"We have to go downstairs."
Ben paled. "Jasmine, I... I can't." He looked at the staircase and shivered. "I can't get on those stairs."
"Why not?" she asked. "It's okay, they're not going to bite."
He scowled at her. "I know they aren't going to bite, Jasmine. I just.. I have stair issues."
She rolled her eyes. "You can hold my hand while we go down, you big baby."
He nodded, grabbing her arm as she took a step down. By the third step, Ben had buried his face in her shoulder and was hugging her arm tightly, unaware that he was whimpering. "What's your problem?" Jasmine said as they reached the first floor landing. "We're at the bottom."
He let go and pushed away, breathing hard. "I did it," he said. "I went down the stairs."
"Good for you," she said, sighing and rolling her eyes again. "Now check Magneto's mind. Maybe he did something to the Professor."
Ben nodded and pressed into his enemy's mind, digging around for information on the Professor, and stepped back when he found out where he was. "No," he said. "Oh God no."
"What is it?" she said. "Ben? What's wrong, what do you see?"
Ben looked at her, then ran out the front door. "I'll be right back."
Jasmine ran after him. "Ben, wait! What is it?"
Ben came to a skidding halt as he passed a few gravestones, the graves of Amanda Sefton and Scott Summers. He took a step towards the largest gravestone, placed where Tyler's stone originally was.
"Ben?" Jasmine said shakily, putting a hand on his shoulder as she reached him. "What is it?"
"Fuck," he said. "No, this can't be right, this is impossible."
"Ben, tell me," she said.
He dropped to his knees and screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he pounded his fists into the ground.
She looked away from him and at the gravestone, reading the intricately carved inscription.
Charles Xavier
Student, teacher, and friend, we will always remember this brave, beautiful human being.
NEXT: What Happened to Jonah