A/N: Hiya! A quick thanks once again to everyone that has read and reviewed. Makes me happier than seagull with a french fry.

Just so you know, this entire chapter is done in Erik's point of view :O (!) Are you excited? I know me and my super awesome Beta, Valkyerie-Pleasant are excited!

Enjoy friends! Feedback is always appreciated!

It was a pity. Really, it was. How or why someone would want to hide what or who they are. Why one would put so much time and effort in an attempt to erase the things that made them unique and incredible.

I was almost happy to interrupt Raven and Hank's little moment after overhearing what the young scientist wanted to create; an antidote for mutant appearance. It made me sick to my stomach to think about it. Especially when Raven was so eager, she may be young but her power is extraordinary and useful. But more importantly, if she can't be comfortable with who she is, no one else will accept her for who she is. I nearly felt bad for her because she is so insecure and naïve.

All these years, I thought I was the only one to be different, to have superhuman abilities. But that never once made me wish I never had them. If anything, it made me want to use them; mainly to avenge my poor mother. And now that I know there are more like me, I will make sure that one day the world knows we exist.

The first step to all of this, though, would be to find Shaw. Charles, he seems like a decent fellow, one that looks out for mutants and tries to keep peaceful whenever possible. But his agenda for locating Shaw is nowhere near as urgent and personal as mine.

No, I needed to take this into my own hands. I remembered seeing the Archives department when we got our small tour of the place. That, I figured, would be the best chance at getting information on Shaw. I just needed something, anything to give me a lead on where he might have headed in his submarine. After all, I found him once on my own before.

I gathered up my belongings in the room I was assigned earlier, which was relatively easy considering I hadn't really unpacked. When one travels as much as I have, and lived under Nazi regime like I had, you get used to packing light and never getting used to one place.

The halls were empty; no doubt everyone had either gone to bed or was off doing their own thing. My footsteps echoed down the halls, as I only barely tried to stay stealthy. As much as I hated it, I knew that it was no use overexerting myself to keep my will to myself with two telepaths in the vicinity. Well, one and a half telepaths. Mia technically isn't a telepath, I suppose.

I exhaled as I thought about the blue eyed girl, her slender frame and heart-shaped face. She was a mystery, that one. But unlike Raven, she didn't seem to be in constant need of reassurance. The woman was different, but not in a bad way.

I sighed, a frown forming on my face. I was in no way, shape or form in a state where I could even entertain the thought of romantic attractions. She was far too mellow to stand by my side while I set off to kill the man that killed the only family I had. Yes, I reasoned, it could never work.

Breaking my train of thought, I spotted the Archive office ahead of me. When I neared the door, I flicked my wrist and manoeuvred the metal door lock to shift open and twisted the door handle itself. However, instead of having the room to myself, I was met with the site of a startled looking Mia hustling to hide a file folder behind her back. I couldn't help but smirk. It appeared as though I wasn't the only one that was looking for top secret information.

The surprise on her face was quickly replaced with narrowed eyes, "What the hell are you doing?"

My eyebrow quirked up, a smug expression still playing on my face, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, unlike you, I actually am allowed to be in here," she countered matter-of-factly.

Slightly intrigued by the situation, I took a step towards the young woman clad in black. "Then why do you look like a child who just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar?"

Instead of responding, she just sent an icy glare my way before finally looking away. I knew I won that battle but I didn't really have time for or cared to push the subject any further with her. Though, it certainly would have been interesting to know what she was hiding. But then where would the mystery be?

I glanced over at the filing cabinets lining the room. At the very end, I spotted one labeled 'S' and used my skills to open the drawer before I even walked over to it. My eyes were quick to skim over the various folders within the cabinet; I was used to digging for information and was particularly aware of anything related to Sebastian Shaw, or Klaus Schmidt, as I had known him by. I was able to pick out Shaw's file with ease.

"You know," my thoughts were interrupted by a feminine voice, "technically, I am cleared to look at most of these files. You on the other hand, are not."

I shook my head ever so slightly, and then turned to face her, "And tell me, what were you planning on doing about it?" I stared into her baby blue eyes, daring her to try something. I knew she wouldn't, I just wanted to see just how much fight she had in her.

"Nothing, I just want to know exactly what it is you want," she said genuinely, shrugging her shoulders.

I chuckled, amused by her curiosity that would really get her nowhere, and heard a voice in my head echo a saying that I heard countless times in the camps, Now you know what it's like to want. Blocking out the memories of my past I answered bluntly '"You can want as much as you like, I'm not telling."

I smirked once again, thinking I had the upper hand on the argument. Except this time she didn't back down so easily. "You do realize that I could just find out without you having to tell me," her voice was challenging and it irritated the hell out of me. No one liked having their thoughts picked through, especially when you had thoughts as dark and strategic as mine. I didn't even want to reply, knowing that if she wanted a more direct response, she could just make her way into my mind. I only scowled at her coldly, hoping for her sake that she didn't push the envelope. She let out a defeated sigh and went back to looking at the folder in her hands and I assumed she got the message.

"Why are you so interested in Shaw?" she inquired innocently, her tone not as daring as it was a moment ago.

It hit me then that she must not have searched through the depths of my mind. Though this only relieved me slightly. I opened the briefcase in my hand, not bothering to answer her and no longer entertained by our coy bickering. Placing the thick manila folder securely in the case, I promptly locked it again and made my way to the room's exit. "You don't want to know," I murmured loud enough for her to hear. And, with that, I left Mia in the room by herself.

The halls of the facility were still empty and I didn't waste any time finding the exit. I pushed my way through the metal doors. I was hit with a blast of refreshing, cool air as I stepped outside. It was breezy out but the cold didn't affect me much at all. If anything, it felt good. I knew not too far off from the buildings entrance was a car park, and being able to manipulate metal the way I could, starting the ignition without a key would be a cinch. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've done it.

The peace of mind I felt as I departed was short-lived, however, as I heard a voice echo behind me, a masculine one with a thick British accent. "From what I know about you, I'm surprised you stayed this long."

I snorted; I didn't even see Charles who must have been lurking in one of the nearby corners. I stopped dead in my tracks, pivoting on my heels to face him, "What do you know about me?"

"Everything," was his immediate reply.

I could feel my blood starting to boil, despite the below zero temperature, "Then you'll know to stay out of my head," I sneered as I turned back and tried to be on my way, though I knew that with Charles it wouldn't be that easy.

Naturally, the new professor persisted, "I'm sorry Erik, but I've seen what Shaw did to you, I've felt your agony" his tone was sincere and empathetic; "I can help you."

I paused again, letting out a pessimistic chuckle, "I don't need your help."

"Don't kid yourself. You needed my help last night. It's not just me you're walking away from," he took a step towards me, "Here you have the chance to be part of something much bigger than yourself." I knew the words he was speaking were truthful and meant for my own good, which was the only thing that kept me from walking away. "I won't stop you from leaving," he carried on, "I could. But I won't. Shaw's got friends, you could do with some." He spoke his last few words and slowly backed away, leaving me to think about what he said.

He re-entered the facility, giving me time to think. A corner of my mouth lifted, knowing that normally I never listened to a damn thing anyone else said to me, casting aside any advice thrown my way. But this was different. Charles knew exactly what I wanted to do, what my goal was in avenging my family. And for the first time in my life, I had someone that wanted to help me without me have to torture them by removing their metal fillings or something along those lines. I honestly didn't know how to react to that, to support from someone else. It gave me an uneasy feeling. For my entire life, at least from as far back as I care to remember, I have relied on myself and myself alone to watch my back.

I grimaced, using every fibre in my body to push out the weak, emotion-driven thoughts and looked at Charles' offer objectively. Why on earth would I turn down my best chance at finding Shaw just to be independent? Almost begrudgingly, I made my way back to the entrance, hesitating only a little before going back inside.

This had better be worth it…