As if it wasn't strange enough to find themselves suddenly displaced to the year 2011, to discover that, in this era, he and Charles were enemies…that made things almost untenable. It was only the fact that Charles echoed his horror that kept Erik from having a little power/metal fixtures accident. Raven had been aghast and simply declared it an impossibility, but Charles had read the truth in many minds.
Erik would kill Shaw and defect from Charles's team due to a conflict in ideologies. He'd take Raven with him and form his own team of mutants, a team dedicated to helping homo superior rise as the dominant power on Earth, through any means necessary.
While Erik despised the thought of betraying Charles, the first true friend he'd had in far, far too long, he couldn't help but understand why he had done it. Once the world at large knew of their existence, they'd react, try to stamp out the threat they'd perceive to their way of life. En mass, humanity (and mutants themselves) could devolve to their baser, animal instincts and would fight to survive, willingly compromise their morals in the face of extinction.
As a child, he'd seen good men and women swept up in the tides of hate and the hive mind appeal of 'party loyalty'. Millions of Jews died because people allowed themselves to accept or turn a blind eye to the atrocities being perpetrated, thinking their own lives would be better.
If that was their reaction to people whose only difference was their religion, how could anyone think they would simply accept mutants? Telepaths, a man who could manipulate metal, a girl who could become anyone, surely they would be seen as a threat.
Charles was an idealist, an optimist. He believed in the good in people. Yes, a man or woman could be good, Erik did not trust humanity as a whole.
Still, here it was, nearly 50 years into the future and neither his, nor Charles's way had achieved any sort of noticeable result. Sure, there were some who accepted mutants, but many who did not. It seemed that the future version of him had done nothing but cause more anti-mutant resentment.
It was a lot to take in.
After a few hours of chatting with this era's mutants, most notably Sean, Scott (Alex's son, wasn't that a shock) and Jean, a telepath, Charles, Raven and himself had been left in a familiar sitting room to collect themselves. It was something of a relief to find the book lined room mostly unchanged. The only striking difference was the lack of boxy television and the small table on which it sat upon. A painting had been removed from one wall and in its place hung a flat, blank screen that, after a moment of contemplation, Erik thought could be a television.
"This is extraordinary," Charles said from where he stood by the window, gazing out onto the grounds. A small cluster of students were playing Frisbee on the lawn and, upon closer examination, one realized it was one student…multiple copies of one student. Either that or there was a group of quintuplets enrolled at the school. "I never dreamed to expand our team to this extent. I know many of our recruits are young, but to establish an actual school…two even…."
There was a glow of enthusiasm about Charles and Erik exchanged a fond glance with Raven. After discovering the contentious nature of the relationship between the three of them in this era, they'd come to a decision not to allow that to color their experiences here. After all, they'd not quarreled and gone separate ways, some future versions of themselves had.
They were in the future! How many people got a chance to view the world as though 50 years passed in the blink of an eye? None that Erik knew of. It was an opportunity like unlike any other, to see what their lives had wrought without having that lifetime of experience themselves. While it made no sense to spend too much time brooding over actions they hadn't actually taken, it wouldn't be amiss to learn from the mistakes and successes.
"Can you believe Sean is the headmaster at a school?" Raven asked, voicing a thought they'd all had. "I mean, no offense to him, but…."
"Puff the Magic Dragon tasked with shaping impressionable young minds?" Erik finished her thought with a smirk.
Pushing away from the window, Charles clucked his tongue. "Clearly he's matured since those days," he said, serious tone undermined by his smile. Under the weight of their gazes he relented. "All right, I was surprised as well."
Beyond the closed door, they heard the thundering of many feet, a group of students passing by. Their voices were mostly hushed, but occasionally a word or phrase filtered through.
"…time travel. It always ends in tears or someone ceasing to exist…."
"…hubba-hubba…."
"…All that hair! And cherry lollipop lips!"
"Oh mah Gawd, Ah do not need t' hear that, Paige!"
"Who knew Magneto was sex on legs….you know, before he got all evil and old…."
"…ditch the girls and play Call of Duty. They're being weird…."
The voices faded as the children disappeared down the halls. Erik stared at the door in a mixture of horror and amusement, while Raven stifled snorts of laughter. Charles looked at Erik with raised eyebrows and commented, "Looks like you're a hit with the young ladies, my friend."
Heaving a put upon sigh, Erik narrowed his eyes at his friend and thought, I'm not the only one.
Tossing Erik a troubled look, Charles asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Raven rolled her eyes, picking up on the non-verbal part of the conversation with the ease of long practice. "I'm pretty sure the 'cherry lollipop lips' comment wasn't directed at Erik," she said dryly, causing her quasi-brother to gape in flustered embarrassment.
"I think I'm going to find a snack," Charles commented, deciding to completely ignore their teasing as he turned to the door to hide his pink cheeks.
They'd been awkwardly told they were, of course, free to explore the Mansion and to ask anyone if they needed assistance with things they didn't recognize. Since the kitchens had probably not been relocated, they felt confidant in their ability to locate something to eat.
The hallways looked fairly similar to the ones they knew and they could hear the student's voices again, echoing from the billiard room. Though it was not in the direction of the kitchen, Erik was unsurprised to see Charles turn toward the voices.
While the office and halls had survived 50 years without noticeable change (ah, the timlessness of classic style), the billiard room…was no longer the billiard room. One of the walls was completely overtaken by an enormous screen, on which odd looking soldiers were engaged in a bloody battle. On the couches and chairs, 4 boys and 3 girls sat with small devices in their hands, eyes riveted on the screen.
They didn't really seem to be talking, just making loud, vague exclamations in response to the action on the screen. Then one of the girls, a brunette with a bouncy ponytail, shouted, "Bobby, on your six!"
A boy with curly, dark blond hair responded to her warning, vigorously moving his little device around, then, as one of the men on the screen whirled and took out an assailant, he said, "Thanks Kitty."
The little devices controlled the action on the screen, Erik realized. Some sort of training exercise?
"What are you doing?" Raven asked, stepping forward to peer down at the device in the hands of the girl closest to her, a petite Asian wearing and incongruous yellow slicker.
Without turning to acknowledge them, a slim boy with light brown hair grunted, "Killing Nazis."
The offhand comment shocked Erik and he took an involuntary step back. He felt Charles move closer, fingers brushing his elbow as he asked, "Pardon me?"
Though the words were ones of polite inquiry, Charles's tone had been sharp and it was enough to draw an immediate reaction from the children. The boy called Bobby jabbed at his device and the action on the screen froze as the 7 young people turned in their seats. Some looked curious, others contrite, though one girl, with a streak of white in her otherwise brown hair, was casting a dubious glare at Erik and Raven.
"It's a video game," rumbled the dark haired boy, a rather massively built fellow who seemed to dwarf the chair he was perched on.
"A game," Erik echoed in disbelief, feeling the bile rise in his throat. These children were playing at things he had lived through. It was unsettling. "Hunting Nazis is not a game."
The brass lamps clattered several inches on the tables and two of the boys, the big kid and a golden blond, reached out and grabbed them before they fell to the floor. A flash of static filled the screen for a moment before the machine made a static noise and blinked off.
The children shifted uncomfortably and ponytail said, "Well no, of course not. But this isn't real…and most Nazis are dead now…though sometimes the neo-Nazis or KKK cause some trouble….But frankly, we worry more about the Friends of Humanity. Bigots of all races, religions and cultures have found a common boogey man in mutants and….."
"You're babbling, Kitty," the boy who'd first made the comment about killing Nazis said, then raised an eyebrow at Erik shrewdly. "Did you mean to fry the game console or was it an accident?"
"Ain't like accidents are unheard of 'round here," the golden blond boy drawled, nodding towards the window. "Don't think the tower's been the same since the last time you lit it on fire."
That earned him a nasty look. "Please, like a little fire is anything compare to when you blew out the side of the barn."
"It's a stable, not a barn."
In these few moments, Erik took the measure of the children before them. Charles was doing the same, in his own way, and sidled over to stand between Erik and the girl with the white streak, who was still silent and glaring daggers. She was full of anger, something Erik could relate to, and seemed to focus that anger on him. Clearly, his future self had done something to offend her.
Kitty - she of the ponytail - was eager and slightly nervous and Erik noted the small, gold Star of David pendant she wore. The girl in the slicker was trying very hard to seem unimpressed by everything, but she couldn't help sneaking curious gazes at the three newcomers. Bobby had a hand on the shoulder of the girl with the white streak, supportive but also restraining. He wasn't thrilled with them, but seemed to find them less personally offensive. The young man who lit things on fire, he had a chip on his shoulder and liked pushing the limits, seeing what he could get away with. The other two boys, the blond and the large kid, they were calmer, steadier presences. Probably had younger siblings and were used to putting on a show to make them think everything was okay.
Interesting.
"Accident," Erik admitted, then nodded to the screen. "Why did that happen?"
"Microchips react badly to magnetic fields," Kitty said quickly, then her eyes widened. "Oh, gosh, everything has microchips! Cell phones, computers, the Danger Room….You're gonna have to be careful or you'll de-magnetize everything…Do you disrupt pacemakers?"
He had only the vaguest idea of what the girl was saying and said, "I have no idea."
"Right," Charles said suddenly, clasping his hands in front of himself and offering the children a tight smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're off to the kitchens to find something to eat. Good day."
Erik wondered at Charles's abruptness, but allowed the smaller man to tow him out of the room, exchanging a look with Raven, who shrugged, equally confused. He'd have to ask Charles about it later.
He'd also have to ask someone about those things Kitty had mentioned. Microchips. It wouldn't do to have household items randomly breaking every time he used his abilities.
Sean would probably be the best choice to speak with. He seemed the least wrong footed by their current state. Possibly because he was the only one who had known them as they were and not the people they would grow into.
As they rounded the corner to head to the kitchen, they encountered a young man coming from that direction. He was sipping from a can and gave them a cool nod. "'Sup," he greeted and gave Raven a smirking once over.
Well, this was someone who didn't seem too startled and Erik tried not to smile when Charles said as much.
The boy snorted. "Pfft! Weird ass time travel's nothing. Sean made us take temporal physics and logistics with Dr. McCoy. Some of that shit's heavy."
With that he wandered off, leaving the three of them in his wake.
Clearly, the teachers and students here had been party to some interesting things.
TBC…..
Comments, pretty please?