Chapter 2: A series of blunders

The CIA covert facility was everything I had imagined, a large building in the middle of an isolated area, as if it were taken out of the movies.

The CIA agent stood his full length, smiling from ear to ear. He led us around excitedly, like a child showing off his new toy. We finally entered a room with a model airplane hanging from the ceiling.

"It's a supersonic. You should see it in real life, it's amazing." A young boy, who couldn't be more than 19, stepped from behind, admiring the plane. He looked at us and sheepishly fiddled with his glasses.

"This is Hank, our most talented and young scientist." The agent began, "Hank, these are the new recruits I was talking about."

Charles looked thrilled. He walked over and introduced himself. "How amazing, another mutant already. Why didn't you say?"

Hank was shocked, which was pretty much the expression of everyone present in the room.

"Say what?" The CIA agent asked, confused.

Charles took a deep breath. "Because you didn't know. I'm so sorry." He gave a regretful glance to Hank.

"It's alright." He shrugged.

"Hank?" The CIA agent stepped forward, questioningly.

"You didn't ask so I didn't tell."

"So your mutation is what? You're super smart?" I glanced over to see Raven walking in front. Her eyes were gleaming while Hank looked down, blushing.

Ah, teenage love.

"I wish that's all it was."

I noticed quite a crowd gathering around Hank, leaving only me and Erik behind. I immediately took a step forward, not wanting to be left with him, especially after the events of last night.

"You're among friends now, Hank. You can show off." I said, flashing him a comforting smile. He seemed reluctant before he removed his shoes and socks off, revealing his feet. He looked pretty uncomfortable but I found them amazing. To anyone else, it would have been disturbing but it was an object of wonder for me. His mutation was marvelous.

"Splendid." Charles voiced my opinion.

We stood for a while, glancing at Hank's feet before he excused himself and proceeded to the middle of the room. We moved back to give him some space. He jumped and to my surprise, hung at the edge of the jet, upside down.

The room erupted with claps and howls –which I was pretty sure, were from Raven- and he looked even more embarrassed by all the attention he was receiving.

"Amazing."

…

Hank was a fun kid to be around, that is, if we got him out of his shell. I also figured that he hadn't spent much time around girls, given his initial awkwardness with me. But we moved past that with not much difficulty. He was highly intelligent, thus making him a befitting companion to talk about the human genome and related topics so when I returned back to Oxford, I wouldn't be like a rusty old Professor.

Well, that is if I make it out of this alive.

Optimism, Katherine. Be optimistic.

Finally when the clock struck 11 pm, I excused myself and decided to head back, but not before a cheeky idea crossed my mind. I picked a piece of paper and pen lying on the table, scribbled a few numbers on it and handed it to Hank.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Raven's room number. Just in case you wanted to say hello." I winked at him and exited his lab, leaving a pretty red Hank behind.

I crossed over and headed towards my room when I noticed Charles walking hurriedly towards the gate.

"Charles," I called out. He stopped and glanced at me, though he seemed a little worried. "What happened?"

"It's Erik." He stated, "He's leaving."

"Good riddance."

"You're going to help me stop him."

"Wha- Why?"

It was probably a blessing in disguise, having Erik leave. A few more days and I would have probably kicked him out myself.

"You can kick him out later," Charles answered. "Now you're going to stop him."

I groaned but then again, Charles had a point. Erik knew Shaw better than anyone of us and we would have an actual chance in defeating Shaw with Erik by our side.

"Glad to know you're thinking clearly."

"Damn it, Charles. Stop reading my mind!"

I dragged myself towards the gate with Charles leading in front of me. We reached in time for Erik was almost gone.

"From what I know of you, I'm surprised you managed to stay this long." Charles called out.

Erik paused in his tracks and turned around to look at Charles. As his eyes fell on me, a glare slowly formed on his face.

Well, nice to see you too.

"What do you know about me?" Erik snarled.

"Everything."

"Then you will know to stay out of my head."

I stayed put on my spot, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry Erik, but I have seen and felt your pain, your anguish."

I felt Charles give me a mental nudge.

It's your turn.

And what am I supposed to say? You know I don't actually favor this man staying here.

Katherine!

Okay, alright.

"Here, you have chance to be part of something bigger than yourself," I began, looking over at Charles who urged me to continue, "and Charles could stop you… but he won't." Erik momentarily looked down before his green eyes were locked on mine again. "And I could probably throw you on my back and take you inside… but I won't." I could feel Charles mentally slapping himself.

The ball was on Erik's court now; I left it up to him to decide. Charles slowly started walking back inside and when I was at the door, with my hand on the handle, I called out to Erik, who was still standing on his spot, "Shaw's got friends, and you could do with some too."

…...

"Kate."

Someone was sitting beside me, shaking me gently.

"Go away, I want to sleep!"

"Wake up, Kate."

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I saw a tuft of blonde locks falling on my face and a pair of blue eyes staring at me.

"Get off, Raven." I pushed my sister off me and flung a pillow at her.

"Come on, Hank wants to show us something and Charles wants us to be present."

"Good luck trying to get that happen."

Raven slowly got off and walked out. Pleased, I pulled the sheets over me and went back to my blissful sleep. But not for long. The door opened, a bright ray of sunshine peeking in, and then closed again.

"Katherine."

"Go away." I mumbled.

A pair of strong hands wrapped around me. "Katherine."

I opened my eyes to see green ones looking into mine. "It's time to wake up."

That voice could only belong to one person.

"Erik?"

I jumped and rolled off my bed. I sprung up, shocked while he stood on the other side, his arms crossed around his shoulders.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Raven asked me to help her wake you up." He replied, flatly.

I picked up the thing nearest to me- a pillow- and flung it at him.

"Get out! Now!"

He smirked at me.

Wait a minute, Erik doesn't smirk- heck I haven't even seen him smile.

A flash of blue appeared and Raven stood in his place, laughing uncontrollably.

"You should have seen your face." She said in between giggles. "It was hilarious."

I glared at her. "That wasn't funny."

"Of course it was. Besides it got the work done."

I didn't say a word. I nabbed my clothes and stomped to the washroom.

…...

"I call it Cerebro." Hank announced.

We stepped in to Hank's latest experiment. It was very impressive, I had to admit. Charles was already on the platform, ready with the helmet on his head. Raven walked over to Hank, who enthusiastically explained the whole system to her.

I turned around, taking in my surroundings when I glanced over Erik, leaning against the edge. "So you decided to stay."

"Charles made a valid argument. Not to mention, it would be a bit demeaning to have a girl throw me on her back and carry me inside." He flashed me a cocky smirk before looking over to Charles. I rolled my eyes.

"What an adorable lab rat you make, Charles." Erik said.

"Don't ruin this for me, Erik."

"I've been a lab rat." He replied, pointing a finger to his chest, "I know one when I see one."

I raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by that? Charles mentioned Erik having a tumultuous childhood and I had assumed various reasons for it, but not once such a situation coming to my mind.

"Are you sure we can't shave your head?" Hank asked Charles one last time before switching the device.

"Don't touch my hair." Charles bluntly replied.

I leaned against the railing, watching as Hank flipped on all the switches. The helmet shone brightly and the engines roared. Charles remained calm, his eyes closed, before he shrieked and tightly held onto the railing. For a minute, we all stood still before I realized it was a shriek of amazement, not pain. I stood by Erik and watched in amazement.

"It's working." Hank exclaimed. The machine rapidly printed co-ordinates of all the mutants Charles could locate. Hank pulled out the sheet of paper and noted down the locations. Charles took off the helmet and took a quick look at the paper. "Right Erik, I think we should leave immediately."

"And what about us?" I asked, standing by Raven.

I need you to stay here, Kate. Charles' voice echoed in my mind.

Why?

Because Raven is not coming and I need you to stay with her. Remember what I said about the CIA?

Okay.

…...

It wasn't fair, really. Raven went off with Hank almost every morning and I wouldn't see her until dinner. Moira, too, was busy and I had no company. As for Erik and Charles, I bet they would be having the time of their lives, even if they were finding other mutants.

Finally a week later, they arrived with a batch of mutants, all of whom were only in their late teens. Except for a few, I was hoping. They were extremely young and I felt a bit guilty for having involved them in such circumstances.

"Kate, do you have a minute?" Charles came up from behind.

"Yes, what happened?"

"Erik and I have a meeting with the CIA." He said, "And I was wondering if you could watch over the mutants."

"Why me? Why should I babysit a bunch of teenagers? They would do fine on their own." I stated.

"I didn't mean babysit. I meant supervise." He flashed me those puppy-dog eyes that I would gladly pluck out. After a bit of contemplation, I finally gave in.

"Fine."

"Thank you." He gave me a small peck on my cheek and scurried off, leaving me to wonder what I got myself into.

…...

I entered the room the CIA had graciously lent for us. The teens were spread all over and I felt out of place.

"Kate!" Raven rushed by my side, pulling me into a tight but short hug. She pulled me with her, gave me a quick introduction and sat me in between herself and Hank.

"We are government agents now." She started in what seemed to be a well-thought and well-rehearsed speech, "we should think of code-names. I want to be called Mystique."

"Damn, I wanted to be called Mystique." The ginger, whose name was Sean, spoke.

"Tough luck, I called it." She shrugged and instantly morphed into him. Everyone jumped in their seats, with the exception of me, before she reverted back to her normal form.

"Darwin, what about you?" I asked.

"Well, Darwin is already a nickname, sort of fits. Adapt to survive and all. Check this out." He got up and made for the fish tank, dunking his head inside. To my surprise, gills grew from the sides of his face. He then pulled his head out and came back to his place.

"What about you?" He asked, pointing at Sean.

"I want to be….. Banshee."

"Why do want to be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank asked.

"You might want to cover your ears." He replied. I placed my hands over my ears and held them tightly, not wanting to hurt my super sensitive ears. He took a deep breath and let out a high pitched shriek which cracked the glass pane.

Unfortunately, he might have also burst my eardrums.

Next was Angel's turn. She got up and took of her jacket, "My stage name is Angel," Sean let out a wolf-whistle, "Kind of fits." The tattoos on her back emerged as wings, flapping wildly in the air.

"You can fly?" Raven asked excitedly.

"Uh huh," she replied, turning to the broken pane, "and this." She spat out a toxic fire ball which burnt straight through the statue's head. The room erupted in peals of laughter.

"What's your name?" She asked Hank.

"How about big foot?" Alex chimed.

Hank looked down, dejectedly. I guess I had to stand up for him. "Well you know what they say about guys with big feet."

"And yours are kind of small." Raven piped in. Hank shot us both a grateful glance and I smiled back at him.

"And what are your powers, Katherine?" Sean asked me.

I looked at Raven, who shot me the don't-worry-I'm-here look. I took a deep breath. I was surrounded by people like me. I had nothing to be afraid of. Just a small demo. I wouldn't overdo it. "Superhuman abilities."

"Can you show us?" Angel asked.

I nodded and got up from my seat. I walked behind the couch I previously sat on and placed a hand under it. "You might want to hold on." I warned Raven and Hank. I effortlessly lifted the couch in one hand and observed the astonished faces staring at me. I then gently placed them down and took my seat. There was a minute of silence before Alex spoke, "We got a badass in the house." I turned red as there was a series of howls.

Eager to divert the attention from me, I looked up at Alex, "What is your gift, Alex?"

He instantly mellowed down. "I can't do it here."

"Can you do it out there?" Darwin asked.

He looked down, contemplating and the room started echoing with his name. "Alex, Alex."

He held his hand up and stepped outside. "Get down when I tell you." Everyone crowded behind the corner wall and watched.

"Get back."

We leaned back for a second before peeking out again. The excitement was just too much.

"Get back!"

No one budged.

"Whatever."

Red rings formed around his body and swirled all over the place, one hitting the statue and slicing it into half. We all started clapping as he triumphantly walked back in.

Raven ran over to the shelves and pulled out bottles of beer and handed it over to each one of us.

"No way, No one is getting drunk." I announced. I was an alcoholic teenager and from my past experience, it never ended well.

"Relax mother-hen." Raven shoved a beer bottle in my hands, "have some fun."

It only took a minute for everything to fall apart. Someone had turned on the radio and was blasting the music, Raven was on the couch dancing, Angel was flying around, Hank was hanging from the chandelier and Alex and Sean took turns at hitting Darwin, who now sported a rock-like body.

"Stop, please." I pleaded.

No one heard me.

"They are an exceptional bunch of young people." I heard Charles say from a distance. Oh no, they were on their way.

"Raven, off the couch." I tried to pull her down but it was of no use. I decided to try my luck with Hank. "Hank, get down." My words fell a deaf ear on him.

"What are you doing?" I heard a loud scream. I turned around to see Moira, hands on her hips, glaring at us. Charles and Erik were by her side, with the former looking displeased. "Who destroyed the statue?"

"It was Alex." Hank mumbled.

"No Havok, we have to call him Havok, that's his name now," Raven stepped forward, "And we were thinking, you should be Professor X," she said, pointing and Charles, "and you should be Magneto." She shifted her gaze towards Erik.

"Exceptional." Erik replied, unimpressed.

Moira walked off, followed by Erik while Charles stood, utterly disappointed. His eyes hovered to the beer bottle in my hands.

No, Charles.

"I expect more from you." He told me and walked off.

…...

This sucked.

Charles was angry and he would probably be blaming me for everything, He thinks I got drunk, after all.

Well, there was no harm in getting drunk now.

I went up to the damaged room and took the beer bottle I had placed on the table. If anyone saw me, they would call me crazy for glaring at a bottle. If only they knew.

I broke of the top and took a sip. The contents burned through my throat and brought an instant relief to the pile of emotions I had become. I hopped off and sat down on the lawn, staring at the night sky while taking a sip every now and then.

"To be honest, even for me, this is a bit early."

I didn't even have to look back to know who was speaking.

"Erik, to what do I owe this honor?"

"You're an early drinker?"

"I figured its happy hour somewhere, isn't it?" I asked groggily. "And what are you doing here?"

"I came for a run."

"A run? What's the time?"

"5 in the morning."

My eyes widened. "5 in the morning? Are you insane? Who goes for a run at an hour like this?"

"Who gets drunk at an hour like this?" He countered.

"Fair enough."

There was a moment of silence before Erik spoke,

"You should know, your actions last night nearly cost us our mission. You were irresponsible and reckless."

I took a deep breath. "You're judging me, aren't you Erik?"

His face hardened. "You don't know that."

"Your words say otherwise."

"We're leaving for Russia in the morning," he began, "and irrespective of whether or not I'm judging you, the same can't be said for Charles. He trusts you enough to leave the group with you... again."

I gaped at him in disbelief.

"It's true." He said, turning around to his room, "Now get some rest. You don't want to mess this up as well."

...

A/N: Just wanted to say a special thank you to Bat's Girl, Evenlight, LndsyElizabth, 19Gaara19, .love, Shades-Soul, Climb The Mountain, xenocanaan, Aprilfool98, Dawn Racer, Mikado X Goddess, Emmachibi, Flyleaf Lover 13, beautifulgreek523, Dottz271, NimueTheSorceress, 666AnimeFan666, StarReader2009, sammyxxjames for Reading/Reviewing/Following/Favoring.

Thank you for reading,

S.