Real Chaos

The morning after the statue debacle, Charles and Erik left.

Over bad coffee, Charles had told them they were leaving for Russia to try and intercept Shaw. Erik had lingered in the background again.

As Charles and Raven had a tension filled goodbye, Amelia had walked over to Erik (no one else wanted to get within a foot of him).

"Good luck trying to kill him."

"I don't need luck."

"If Charles is going you will –he won't let you do it."

Erik seemed to consider her words. But then he ruined it with his calculating look and said, "You really could be exceptional if you wanted. Don't let anyone hold you back."

He was trying to do that thing he did with Raven –trying to change the way she saw the world and her ability. He wanted her to see world the way he saw it.

Charles spoke to recruits. "Remember, you are guests here. Treat this place with some respect. When Erik and I come back, we'll see about running some practical sessions with your abilities."

They left with Moira and a convoy of CIA personnel and military people.

They were gone for five days when all hell broke loose.

The fifth day of Charles and Erik being gone was just as boring as the last four.

Really, really boring.

The recruits didn't revert back to bad conversations, but Amelia was desperate after finding out they were being confined to a wing of the CIA building. They played board games. They played pin ball. They played card games. They used the jukebox. They had used all the functions of the rec room by the third day. She was able to control herself on the forth day and early in the fifth day Hank had to talk her out of using her ability on the agents that were supposedly there for their protection.

The CIA was filled with a bunch of pricks apparently. After Charles and Erik left, it was like it was open season on the mutants. Name calling, stares –it sucked.

Amelia had never really seen discrimination in action before and being on the receiving end was terrible.

By evening, Amelia was ready to beg to be sedated until Charles and Erik got back –or have some fun and use her ability (she'd just have to make sure to make everyone forget afterward.)

Darwin and Alex were entertaining themselves with the pin ball machine. They had bonded over the statue thing.

Amelia sat in the chair nearest the couch where Sean and Hank sat. Angel and Raven sat in the couch in front of the boys. The five of them were making chitchat and Amelia was about to drag off Sean and suggest she use her powers (because surely out of all the people there, Sean would think it a good idea), when government suit wearing guys passed the repaired window (man had that window been repaired fast).

One of the suit wearing guys decided to be a prick. "Oh, I didn't know the circus was in town." He addressed Angel, "Hey come on honey give us a little," he gave an impression of wings flapping that Amelia would have found hysterical if weren't for the fact that the guy was being an ass. "No?" He looked at Hank. "Come on, let's see the foot."

Amelia had had enough. She swiftly walked to the window to make the guy do something he'd regret. But Hank held her back and pressed a button that closed the curtains. As the curtains closed the guy protested, "Hey. Hey, come on. Hey." But it wasn't the loud-mouth that caught her attention –it was the guy next to him. He looked sad and embarrassed. He didn't want to hurt them.

Amelia gave Hank a nod and they walked back to their seats.

"They're just guys being stupid." Raven was trying to sooth Angel.

"Guys being stupid, I can handle. Okay? I've handled that my whole life. But I'd rather a bunch of guys stare at me with my clothes off than the way these ones stare at me."

Raven seemed to realize something. "At us."

There was a distant thudding –almost like thunder.

Darwin looked around. "What was that?" The noise happened again. "I don't know something doesn't feel right…" He walked away from the pin ball machine and Alex followed.

The seven of them went to the window. Hank opened the curtains. There was something in the sky that they couldn't make out.

"What is that?" Darwin asked out loud.

It was a body. It fell right outside the window they were looking through. There was screaming. Amelia wasn't really sure who it was because she suddenly felt like she couldn't move.

Tactical, military-CIA guys appeared outside the window. One of them shouted. "Get back! Get back! Do not leave that room! We're under attack!"

The seven of them collectively moved back, but they continued to look out the window.

A red-skinned man was suddenly in the courtyard. One of the guards gave a pretty simple order. "Shoot! Shoot!"

What everyone wanted at that moment was both sad and horrible. People wanted to live and people wanted to kill.

Completing the order that was given wasn't so simple. The man disappeared and reappeared in various parts of the courtyard. In each area he went to, he made sure he left a lot of dead people behind. There was a struggle with a gun and the window Sean had ruined broke again. They ducked from the flying shards and Darwin used himself to shield them.

The view from the other window wasn't pleasant either. A tornado flew by and destroyed Cerebro. The red skinned man continued to kill the guards.

Darwin drew himself up. "Stay here my ass! Let's go!"

That was possibly the stupidest thing Amelia had ever heard. She let them go. They ran like chickens with their heads cut off. They screamed and followed Darwin because he seemed like he knew what he was doing.

Amelia watched the carnage play out. They were moving so fast. If they just stopped moving she could do something. She could hear Darwin arguing with a guard. There was a sound of an explosion and they came running back.

Amelia walked to the broken window. Her friends were calling her back –ironic considering what they had just done. The red skinned man had finally stopped moving. He was taunting a guard –moving another guard in front of him like a shield. Daring the other man to shoot.

Amelia spoke. "Stop. Put your weapons down. No one's going to kill anyone."

The red skinned man dropped his knives. The guard dropped his gun. Amelia could hear the window opposite breaking. A Latin looking man stepped through it. He took in the scene and looked like he was going to do some damage.

She spoke to him. "Don't hurt anyone. Just stay." She had them immobile and defenseless. But now that she had them she wasn't quite sure what to do with them.

There was still fighting going on outside the door. They could hear an agent pleading. "Wait! Wait! You want the mutants? They're right through that door. Just let us normal people go. We're no threat…" There was another noise. The guy was obviously dead.

The door opened.

It was Shaw. He didn't say it but as far as Amelia was concerned this was the guy that Erik was determined to kill, was working with Communist Russians, and was supposed to be in Russia. He was also wearing a pretty funky looking helmet.

He looked at Amelia and then he looked at his minions. He spoke to the room at large and confirmed his identity. "Good evening. My name is Sebastian Shaw. And I am not here to hurt you." He was telling the truth he didn't want to hurt them –he just wanted the humans dead. All of them. He looked at Amelia again. "You're not the telepath Emma told me about." He looked back at his minions. "But you're obviously trouble."

"Don't come any further."

He took a step forward. He laughed good naturedly. "It's good to see that this thing works in a practical situation." He gestured to his helmet.

Amelia was scared now.

"Now, I told you I wasn't going to hurt you all –but I'm afraid she's going to have to be the exception." He was talking about her. "It seems she's already chosen a side." He walked to her. Amelia couldn't move. He didn't want to kill her but he did want to hurt her. Everyone was frozen in fear. He reached her and swung his fist forward.

Amelia's world went black.

She faded in and out of consciousness. She could hear people talking but couldn't make sense of it. She caught a glimpse of a bright red flash.

It was nearing dawn when she really woke up.

She was lying on a concrete bench. It was uncomfortable. Sean and Alex were standing around her.

Sean looked at her and jumped. "I think she's awake!" He was talking to someone in front of her.

Amelia tilted her head back. Hank and Raven were sitting on the bench adjacent to her.

Hank got up and did an impromptu medical exam. He checked her pupils and felt her head. "I don't think you have a concussion. Just knocked out."

Only four of them were standing around her. "What happened?"

Darwin was dead and Angel joined Shaw. He also killed the agents she had managed to save from Azazel (red skinned man).

Sometime after the sun came up, Charles' car came screeching up to them. Amelia was standing by the bench Sean and Alex now occupied.

Charles called out to Raven. He was scared. He wanted her safe. He wanted them all safe. Raven jumped up and met her brother half way. They hugged.

The display of familial affection was weird. Amelia felt like she observing a different species.

Erik walked toward the group with an expression similar to hers. Their eyes met and she lifted her chin. He had wanted to kill Shaw so bad and look at what happened. He shrugged.

Charles interrupted the silent argument she was trying to have with Erik. "We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately."

Raven looked she wanted to argue but it was Sean who spoke up, surprising everyone. "We're not going home."

Charles was taken aback. "What?"

"He's not going back to prison." Sean pointed at Alex.

Alex spoke. "He killed Darwin."

Charles sighed. "All the more reason for you to leave. This is over."

Over? It had never even begun.

Raven pleaded with him. "Darwin's dead Charles. And we can't even bury him."

There was silence.

"We can avenge him." Erik stated.

Sean and Alex looked hopeful.

Charles looked annoyed. "Erik a word please." Charles and Erik walked a little to the side for a private conversation –more like argument.

Avenge Darwin. Erik was using the memory of Darwin to get what he wanted. A way at Shaw.

Charles turned back to look at them. "We'll have to train. All of us. Yes?"

What the hell? Wasn't that what they were supposed to be doing in the first place?

No one argued this point.

Alex was eager. "Yeah." Great. Erik had gotten to him. He wanted revenge.

Hank ever the sensible person, pointed out a flaw. "Well, we can't stay here. Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."

Charles came to some sort of conclusion in his mind. "Yes we do."