Shaw

A/N Hello again! I own nothing, it all belongs to wonderful Marvel!

Lena(A/N Pronounced Lay-na) links her mind with the other mutants. Her energy levels are dropping fast, and any minute now she going to have to drop a link or become visible. Both could be disastrous.

This man they know as Shaw smiles.

"That telepath isn't here is he?" No one moves. "Guess I can take this stupid thing off then."

The minute the helmet leaves his head, he freezes in place. Riptide and Azazel jump and look around for the source of the attack. The invisible attack.

Alex hits Riptide with a blast of energy, and Azazel is frozen before he can move.

Lena loses her invisibility, and drops some links. "Quick." She pants, all energy drained out of her. "I can't hold Shaw for long."

A flash of anger goes through Shaw's eyes. He fighting over the control of his head pretty strongly.

Sean screams, and Riptide falls unconscious. Alex sends a blast at Azazel, hitting his arm, burning it.

Lena screams. Aiysha rushes over to her.

"Lena, Lena, what is it." Lena curls up into a ball, whimpering. She sends out a telepathic message.

'I don't have much energy left. Take down Shaw.' She knows it is going to hurt.

Angel goes over to Lena, and spits fire all over her. Aiysha shoves her backwards, swearing loudly, but the damage is done.

Shaw unfreezes and jams the helmet back on his head quickly. Alex sends a stream of red light at Shaw, but nothing happens.

He just holds the ball of energy between his hands, smiling maliciously.

Darwin steps up to him, fist raised. Shaw's hand flies up, effectively blocking the punch. Then he shoves the ball of light down his throat, and Raven shudders.

They all have to watch whilst their friend dies. Raven turns to Angel, ready to strangle her. But Angel is gone.

She had taken the hand of Azazel, and now their enemy, as well as a friend, has gone.

Raven joins Aiysha by the small form of Lena.

"Hey, Lena. What's up." She smiles slightly. "You did it."

Lena laughs hoarsely.

"Define did it."

"What hurts?" Aiysha asks soothingly.

"Everything." She says. "I can feel a massive headache coming on, and Angel's fireballs didn't help my overall feeling of being burned alive."

Alex gasps. "You felt whatever they felt?"

Lena nods sadly. "Sorry I didn't tell you. You wouldn't have fought him otherwise."

They have to agree, however horrible it is. If she had told Alex that if he burnt Azazel she also felt as though he was burning, Alex wouldn't have injured him.

Aiysha helps Lena over to what remains of a sofa, and they both sit.

Alex apologises and apologises until Lena threatens to turn his clothes invisible.

"I've had enough of people not forgiving themselves for things that have happnened to me."

This makes her think of Clint, which hurts. Her best friend, and she left him. True, he left her when joining the Avengers, but they still saw each other. It's been radio silence for over a year.

Charles mind reaches all of them, and he's panicked beyond belief.

'Raven!' He mentally screams. 'Raven!' Lena picks up his thoughts ten times louder than the rest, and her searing headache gets worse.

'She is fine Charles!' Lena replies. 'Stop shouting, it hurts the others but I'm tuned to pick up these things so its like you are bashing on my head with a frying pan!'

'Sorry.' He says. 'Are you okay Lena? You sound hurt.'

'I'm not really. Just get your but in here right now.'

'You've been here a week and you are already ordering me about?'

'Yes Charles. Get over it.'

Charles smiles. Erik throws his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Bloody Telepaths!' He mutters. Moira can't help but agree with him.

Erik throws open the doors into the large, wrecked room. Charles runs starlight over to Raven, hugging her tightly. She's still slightly smug that he came for her first.

Raven has seen the way he looks at Lena. He loves her, even if he doesn't know it yet. People who didn't know Charles might say he was just in love with the idea of her, a beautiful, witty girl who understands him. But Raven knows it is real.

She thinks Moira might have seen it too, as she doesn't look too happy when Charles walks over to Lena, asking her if she is okay.

Sean is staring at the pile of ashes that used to be Darwin. He hasn't moved for the past ten minutes or so.

Sean thinks. How can life be taken away so easily? Something so precious, it should be guarded, kept under lock and key. Instead it is flaunted, flung around, put in danger. It can be easily snatched away from those who deserve it. Darwin deserved his life. It was more precious than money, than jewels, than anything Shaw could have promised them. Life is what keeps us going. Life has true value, and that is what Shaw is truly trying to take away from them.

He cries, not scared or afraid of what anyone else might think. Darwin was his friend, and he's gone. His life snatched away from him, when Sean should have been protecting that life. He should have stopped Darwin when he risked himself to protect their lives.

This emotion fills his mind, and is now unintentionally bashing its self on the well guarded doors of the minds of Charles and Lena. It's so powerful, they have to let it in.

Charles feels tears pouring down his cheeks, and sees Lena crying as well. Sean pours out his emotion through this bridge between the three of them, balancing their grief, lessening the weight for each person.

They have each other. And this life must be guarded. Sean swears to himself, no other person will die unless he can help it. Life to too valuable, too precious, to be thrown away.