EDIT: Courtesy of "Macs" this chapter has had a bit of a revamp in terms of a couple of the sentences. Thanks to you the lines flow better and a lot easier to read and enjoy. So thank you mate! :p
Well, I started this last night but I didn't finish it then, which is why it wasn't thrown up then :p
I think I've figured out what I was allergic to – my friend touched my arm in the bat cave (BATMAN!) and she uses a moisturiser for her bad circulation in her hands – so I'm allergic to one of the steroids in it... beats being allergic to bats in my opinion.
Anyway, just so you know I'm really finding this one difficult 'cause I'm trying to keep with the film (kinda :p) in relation to its dialogue but then I'm trying to add my own as well. It's... trying, to say the least. But I'll succeed obviously :p
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For the readers;
Lesson Five: Don't question the author – she knows all and she's the one writing remember :p
For the actual title of this;
Lesson Five: Don't ever think the rescue's easy until you're back home – 'cause you're guaranteed that there'll be a mega cock-up somewhere down the line (Okay, I didn't hang myself. Happy? :p)
"Right. Which way genius?" Erik asked as he followed, a now suited-up, Charles along the narrow corridor in the sub.
"My mind is being blocked in the middle somewhere, so we've got to assume that's where Shaw is." Charles answered as he checked the status of the others finding Banshee fighting with Angel, Havok and Beast were both busy with Azazel, Raven was itching to go out and join them but she couldn't fly and Moira was busy trying to convince the fleets to move. The tornado-creating mutant, Riptide, was unconscious and he knew where Erik was but he still had nothing on Shaw.
"Alright." Erik simply said as he stared at the back of Charles' head, he was trying to not think – in English anyway – about what his friend had probably gone though at Shaw's hands. His own experiences were far from pleasurable and he was worried how Charles would handle seeing the bastard. Erik had had twenty years to perfect his hatred of the man, Charles hadn't even had a week. He just hoped he wouldn't be a liability, or lose control of his own powers.
It was obvious that Charles was strong. It was more than obvious in fact and Erik wondered, when Charles had said to him that not even Charles would be able to match him if he mastered his power, if the young man was being modest about his own power or didn't even realise his full potential. He knew that Charles was a rare type of mutant, telepaths weren't exactly uncommon but telepaths with the ability to manipulate minds, freeze people and project thoughts and memories onto more than one person at a time... they were rare. Very rare. Shaw had obviously found one such telepath in Emma Frost but it seemed apparent that Charles was stronger than her. And it worried Erik more than ever before, because Charles knew that. Charles knew he was powerful now, not just strong, not just gifted, but honest to God powerful.
Erik just hoped the young man wouldn't become drunk on power like Erik had revenge.
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"That's the nuclear reactor." Charles said as they stepped into the control room of the sub. He pointed at the controls and they moved over to it.
Erik studied it for a moment before reaching out and shutting the reactor off. 'Shaw's not going to be happy with this.'
"That's the idea Erik." Charles said as he looked at his friend. "We make him come to us."
Erik stared at his friend and couldn't help but snort in disbelief. "That's you're plan?" He questioned and stifled a laugh when his friend frowned. "Oh my friend you are hopeless." He laughed and Charles glared at him before turning away suddenly and focusing his attention on the door next to the reactor controls.
"The void is beyond that door." Charles said softly, not moving, not looking away from the door and Erik frowned before reaching out with his power and opening the door as silently as possible.
Together they walked into the room and looked around themselves.
"He's not here." Erik said. "Shaw's not here." He spun around in anger and frustration as Charles looked frantically at the walls.
"He must be Erik. There's nowhere else he can be. Keep looking." Charles said quickly as he moved closer to the walls and tried to find out what was beyond them. It made no sense. It was like he was in a concrete room with no windows, no air. He could sense nothing beyond the walls.
"There's no-one here God damnit!" Erik exploded as he faced the door and huffed in anger.
Behind the pair of them there was the sound of a door opening and they slowly turned around to look at the now open wall. Standing in the middle of the now revealed nuclear reactor, was Shaw, a slight smile on his features as he stared out at them.
"Erik." Shaw's voice rang out. "What a pleasant surprise." Shaw's focus shifted slightly and focused on Charles who resisted the urge to hide behind his friend. "I see you found Charles."
Erik stared at Shaw, his face blank but his eyes burning with absolute hatred, and he growled at the insinuation in Shaw's voice. Shaw smirked and returned his attention to Erik. "So good to see you again." He added as the two friends stood side-by-side and stared at evil.
"Come on in." Shaw said to them and they looked at each other, just for a moment, before stepping forward and entering the void. The door sliding shut behind them.
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Charles instantly began speaking to Erik telepathic, not showing any outward sign that he was doing so as Shaw stared at the pair of them for a long time.
"May I ask you something?" Shaw asked, directing his question towards Erik who gave no other sign of having heard him except the twitch of a facial muscle. "Why are you on their side?"
'Erik.' Charles called out, his mind reaching out to Erik's and he wanted to recoil from the sheer torrent of emotion in his friend. But he didn't. 'Erik. We need to get that helmet off him. If we can get it off him I can freeze him long enough to disable him.'
"Why fight for a doomed race who will hunt us down as soon as they realise their reign will come to an end?" Shaw asked, looking directly at Erik.
'Alright. What's your plan genius?' Erik thought back as he stared darkly at Shaw who had yet to say anything or make a move.
'Hit him.' Charles replied and, if they hadn't been speaking telepathically and thus not letting Shaw onto their plan, Erik would have had turned to look at his friend with a raised eyebrow.
'And what are you going to do whilst I hit him hmm?' Erik shot back, his thoughts laden with sarcasm.
'I'm going to be working on a way to get his helmet off without killing us both.' Charles answered after a moment's hesitation. 'Ready?'
'No.' Erik replied but he threw a hard left hook at Shaw, snapping the man's head back and nearly breaking his hand in two.
Charles dived forwards towards Shaw but the madman threw out a hand with enough force to send Charles flying into the wall-door behind them and land in a heap on the floor. Erik's head snapped around to look at his friend when Shaw spoke again.
"I'm sorry for what happened in the camps." Shaw said, compassion and emotion in his every word, and Erik turned to look at him in disbelief. "I truly am."
Before Erik could do anything, Shaw raised a hand and placed two fingers on his forehead. A massive bust of energy emanated from Shaw and threw Erik backwards into the same wall-door that Charles had collided with moments ago. He landed on the floor, next to Charles and they both lay there for a moment, panting from pain and the shock of energy to their systems.
"But everything I did. I did for you." Shaw said as he stepped forward. "To unlock your power." He looked at the pair of them now. "For both of you."
'Erik.' Charles' voice rang in Erik's head. 'Don't listen to him. We need to get the helmet off him.'
Shaw reached out a hand and Charles forced himself to make an astral projection of himself behind Shaw which reached out and grabbed the madman's shoulder. It distracted him enough for him and Erik to scramble to their feet and go for Shaw at the same time. One reaching out to hit him, the other to steal his helmet.
Shaw threw Erik away from him using some form of telekinesis born out of the raw power he'd consumed and Charles listened to Erik's thoughts as his friend went flying into the mirror-like wall behind him, causing it to shatter from the impact. Turning his attention to Charles, Shaw reached out a hand and wrapped it around his throat, lifting him off the floor as he did so. Charles clawed at Shaw's hand, trying to get him to let go but Shaw's grip was too strong, the man was too powerful.
Suddenly Charles felt himself being thrown backwards into another of the mirror-like walls and he collided against it with enough force to shatter it and cause a thousand shards of mirror to rain down on him as he hit the ground hard. The ground came up to meet his falling head and Charles blacked out, leaving Erik alone with Shaw.
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Slowly dragging himself to his feet, Erik glanced over at his now unconscious friend and found his gaze lingering as panic rose within him and he stared in fear at his friend. Was he dead? Had Shaw killed him? Was he injured?
Erik didn't know and he blinked as he realised that Shaw was standing over Charles and Erik didn't know if he was powerful to fight the madman, but he wasn't going to leave Charles to Shaw's torture ever again.
With a roar of pure anger, Erik threw himself at Shaw, catching the man around the chest with arms, and he dragged him away from his friend with a strength he didn't know he possessed. Shaw fell backwards in surprise and the pair of them landed on the floor.
Erik forced the metal beneath his feet, below the mirror-floor, to rise up and wrap itself around Shaw who shouted out in surprise. The angered young man crawled away from the now restrained Shaw and over to his friend, his mind screaming out to the still unconscious Charles. Looking briefly at Shaw, Erik felt his anger increase and the worry inside him morph into hatred. The metal around the other man began to tighten as Erik glared murderously at Shaw who suddenly smiled at him.
Erik frowned in confusion as the metal surrounding Shaw loosened and fell away allowing the man to stand up fully and stare down at him.
"Not bad." Shaw commented as he looked down at the metal on the floor for a moment before waving a hand and sending it off to the side of the room. Looking back at Erik, Shaw smiled and Erik suppressed a shiver of fear, not for himself but for his unconscious friend. Erik was powerless against Shaw, he couldn't protect Charles now. He was going to fail his friend like he had done his mother all those years ago and it broke Erik's heart.
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Havok held his hands in the air as the American naval men of the ship was stuck on pointed their weapons at him. 'Great.' He thought to himself as they stared fearfully at him. 'This is the thanks you get for helping them.' He wanted to laugh at the irony of it but something caught his attention. There, to his far left, he could just make out Banshee flying towards him.
Suppressing a smile of amusement, Havok lifted his hands a little further up and placed them over his ears as Banshee let loose a sonic wave of sound. The men around him fell to their knees as the wave deafened them and Havok bolted for the side of the ship.
Jumping off the deck, his hand reaching out for Banshee's own, Havok desperately hoped that they wouldn't miss. He did not relish the idea of swimming with the fishes right now.
Banshee's hand gripped his forearm tightly and, Havok looked down in amazement. They'd made it. He was flying. "Woooo!" He couldn't help but cry out as Banshee grinned and flew for the beach.
Neither of them noticed Angel coming up behind them and by the time they realised she was chasing them, she'd already let loose one of her toxic-spits and it hit Banshee's remaining wing. 'Oh shit.' Alex thought as they began to lose altitude fast, and he wanted to cry out in fear and alarm when his feet began to descend into the water.
Banshee screamed at the water, using his power to try and keep them airborne but it wasn't working properly and they just managed to make it to the beach before they hit the ground, rolling over one another until they ended up separating and Banshee was staring at the sky and Havok eating a mouthful of sand.
Lying on the ground looking at the sky, Banshee noticed Angel coming in closer, aiming for him. Scrambling backwards he tried to get his breath back enough to scream but he couldn't. Just as he was expecting his death, Havok scrambled to his knees and let out a cry of determination as he used his own power and sent a ring of energy directly at Angel.
Eyes widening in fear Angel tried to dodge the ring of energy but it caught one of her wings and severed it. She let out a cry of shock as she fell to the floor with enough force to knock her out.
Banshee looked over at Havok who was looking at his hands in disbelief, and laughed in amazement. "Awesome!"
Havok's joy in his power was short-lived however, when a sudden "crack!" alerted them to Azazel's presence on the beach. Azazel who was currently fighting with Beast still and had got the blue researcher on his back with his tail positioned to pierce through Beast's eye.
Before they could do anything a voice rang out, drawing the attention of everyone. "Stop." Azazel looked over and stared at Shaw. "Azazel."
Rising slowly to his feet Azazel waited for his orders. He stare at his leader for a moment, waiting, when Beast jumped up and grabbed his arm, throwing the red teleporter who teleported again a loud "crack!" echoing around them.
Beast stared at the empty space where Azazel had been for a moment before another "crack!" issued from behind him and without hesitation, Beast spun around and hit Azazel's chest with enough to break bones.
The teleporter landed in a heap in the sand, unconscious and Beast looked over at Raven as she returned to her normal form. "Thanks." He said and she smiled at him.
"No problem." She answered as Havok and Banshee grinned at her.
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"You've come a long way from bending gates. I'm so proud of you." Shaw said and Charles, in a semi-conscious, pained state, realised the madman was talking to Erik again. 'No. Leave him alone.'
"And you've only just scratched the surface, like your friend." Shaw continued when there was a sudden explosion of noise and chaos around them as Erik caused the metal piping around them to shatter the remaining mirrors and put space between them and Shaw. "Think of what we could achieve. Together." Shaw said and Charles opened his eyes in time to see Shaw pin Erik against the wall with the medium that his power preferred – metal. It was the ultimate irony and for some reason it made Charles incredibly angry.
"I don't want to hurt you Erik. I didn't want to hurt Charles either." Shaw said as Charles watched, helpless to move as his body refused to listen to his mind. "This is our time. Our age. We are the future of the human race. The three of us son. This world could be ours." Shaw smiled and it was that smile, that single smile that caused something to break in Charles. Something that had been built long ago, when he was young and afraid of his own power. Something that he couldn't even recall building but knew was there when it broke and everything came pouring out.
In the blink of an eye Erik and Shaw's positions were reversed as the metal pinning Erik to the wall was suddenly sent at Shaw with enough force to propel the madman backwards against one of the last remaining mirror-covered walls. The metal surrounding them began to fade away, bit by bit and the walls around them began to fall apart as Charles slowly rose to stand next to his friend and so much more.
Erik stared in shock and awe as the room around them dissolved into nothing and Shaw began to burn and boil. He didn't want to stop his friend, partly because he didn't know if he could, and partly because he wanted Shaw to suffer but he realised that his friend shouldn't have to live with the knowledge that he killed a man because he lost control. Charles wasn't like Erik. Charles hadn't been made into a vengeful creature though years of trauma. Charles was bright and pure and innocent and Erik loved him too much to let Charles destroy himself.
"Charles." Erik said as he reached out a hand and placed it on Charles' shoulder. "Calm your mind my friend." He said quietly into his friends ear, not really believing it would work but hoping that it would calm his friend and allow him to return to reason. "This isn't you."
"He hurt you." Charles bit out as he stared hatefully at Shaw's writhing form. "He hurt you for so long Erik." Charles voice broke and Erik moved to look at his friends face, surprised to seeing tears starting to fall from his shimmering blue eyes.
"Yes. He did." Erik conceded, not finding a way to argue against such a statement. "But he's not worth you destroying your life over something that happened in the past." Erik said as he looked desperately at Charles' face. "Charles, my friend, look at me." He implored of his friend.
Slowly Charles' eyes moved and locked with his own. "Killing him won't bring you peace. It won't change the past." Erik said, not thinking before he spoke and he was surprised that he, himself, realised the truth of those words. Killing Shaw wouldn't bring either of them peace now. Erik's peace had been found the first time Charles tried to help him with his powers and had shown him the point somewhere between rage and serenity. Charles' peace had been found when he'd discovered a lost, angered and vengeful man with so much good in him that Charles felt addicted to his very existence from the moment they first met.
Charles blinked and looked at his friend. Really looked. Not stared at him whilst his emotions controlled his abilities, but looked at him with all the awareness that a man could muster. "You're right." Charles said finally. His words quiet but final. "You're right. But he can't be left to roam untamed."
"What do you have in mind?" Erik asked, as he watched Charles' attention return to the man now frozen opposite them, the agony Charles had been inflicting on him had stopped the moment Erik found his friend again.
Charles smiled a dark, vindictive smile that made Erik shiver. Such a smile should never adorn Charles Xavier's features and Erik sincerely hoped it would be the last time he ever saw such a look on his friends face, ever again.
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Okay. I'm leaving this chapter here – one; because I don't think I have it in my anymore to actually add to it and two; because I really don't think making this any longer will make it any better.
The last paragraph is a good enough cliffie for this, sorry peeps, and it'll keep you begging for more lol.
Anyway. I ended up coming home early from college today (cancelled lesson's rule) which is why I've finished this today, otherwise it would have been tomorrow that you guys would have been able to read this.
Now. After this chapter, we've basically departed from the film completely. There'll be no mega show-down between Erik and Charles. They'll be no missiles firing at them and Charles getting paralysed by the end. Nope. Nadda. Well... I don't think there'll be.
Anyway, now I've gone completely AU with this, I hope you people will still read and enjoy this (I don't want to do the film ending 'cause I actually kind of hated it if I'm honest... even if it's what happened in the X-men!verse :p)
Hope you've liked this chapter.
Kasey