A/N: Second chapter of Illegible is up. Hope you guys like it.
In the morning, neither of them spoke about what had happened last night, and they both kept their distance. Charles noticed that Raven seemed to be a little sadder today, but couldn't quite place why.
The car ride to the CIA Research Base was awkward and silent. Moria didn't comment on the tense air and kept her eyes on the road. Every once and awhile Raven would glance over her shoulder at where Erik and Charles were sitting in the backseat, each trying to be as close to the other while trying to look like they were ignoring the other.
Once they were at the Research Base they were immediately greeted by the same suit from the meeting the day before and had accompanied them last night. Charles wasn't sure if he'd ever mentioned his name. He grinned at them and motioned his arms towards the building in front of them.
"Welcome to my facility." He continued to talk as he started to lead the group inside the building. "My mission has been to investigate the application of paranormal powers in military defense." Erik was quick to jump into the conversation.
"Or offense." Charles gave the older man an inquisitive look, curious as to what he meant by that, but quickly decided against asking.
"This guy Shaw, Schmit, whatever you want to call him. He's working with the Russians. We might need your help to stop him." The still nameless suit was practically screaming his thoughts about a theoretical mutant team helping the government. Unfortunately because he didn't seem like he was going to voice his thoughts anytime soon, Charles felt the need to include everyone in the idea.
"Marvalus. So we're to be the CIA's new mutant devision, yes?" The man in the suit stared at him for a second, a look of pure shock on his face. He recovered himself after a second, and nodded his head while speaking.
"Yeah, something like that." From behind him, Charles could hear Raven chuckle slightly, and he was also acutely aware of Erik's almost looming presence over his right shoulder.
They were given a brief tour of the facility, the man in black spouting out random facts throughout. Charles knew that Moria wasn't paying any attention, having been on the tour before, while Raven was trying to pay attention but baffled by all the technology around them. Erik also wasn't paying attention, but he was focused on everything else, cautious of everyone around them.
Charles followed behind respectfully, curious as to the other distinctly mutant thought process he was picking up on. As they grew closer, the telepath couldn't help but grow excited at the prospect of meeting yet another mutant in such a short amount of time. He jumped slightly when Erik placed a hand on his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. They had ended up stopped in front of a model of a jet.
"It's… uh… supersonic." Everyone directed their attention towards the young man who had on white lab coat. "It's the most advanced plane ever built." The man still hadn't actually looked at anyone, and it was clear to even the non telepaths that he was nervous. "You should see it in real life. It's incredible."
"Hank." At the sound of his name, the young man looked up, and the man in black motioned towards Charles. "These are the special new recruits I was telling you about." He then introduced the young man. "Hank McCoy. One of our most talented young researchers." Charles immediately started towards him, his right hand extended.
"How wonderful! Another mutant already here. Why didn't you say?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Charles knew they were the wrong thing to say. The wave of panic that came from Hank was nearly drowned out by the confusion that came from the government suit.
"Say what?" Charles felt like hit himself on the head for such a stupid, rookie, mistake.
"Because you don't know…" Charles turned to look back at Hank, who was trying to keep his gaze on the ground. "I am so, so terribly sorry." He resisted the urge to back up his words with how he was feeling right now, wanting to build up his trust with Hank without the use of his powers.
Hank gave a small shrug of his shoulders, trying to act like he didn't care, but Charles could only feel the fear and anxiety coming from him. Charles looked down at the ground while The man in black came over to them, his jaw dropped in shock.
"Hank?" The whole question was obvious in the single word.
"You didn't asked, so I didn't tell." Hank continued to keep his eyes anywhere but meeting the government man as he shifted his weight nervously.
"So your mutation is… what? You're super smart?" Hank immediately looked up and seemed to perk up as Raven walked over to him. He seemed to like the idea that a pretty young woman was paying attention to him, but at the same time he rubbed his forearm a little. At the same time Charles was also bombarded with Hank's thoughts of his young graduation from college.
"I'll say, Hank here graduated from Harvard at fifteen." Charles felt a little bit of pride from the young man from that statement, but it was overwhelmed by the feeling of being ashamed, and a fear of rejection.
"I wish that's all it was."
"You're among friends now Hank. You can show off." Charles glanced down at Hank's feet for a split second as he said this. After a second of hesitation, he started to slip off his shoes. The young man then pulled off his socks revealing his mutated feet.
Charles let out a small chuckle and smiled at the younger man. From beside him Charles could feel the pride coming from his sister, and he was pretty sure she was smiling. It was confirmed when Hank looked up and smiled as well.
A second later, he carefully made his way past where they were standing in a clump and underneath the jet model. He then leapt into the air and grabbed onto the hanging model with his feet. Everyone in the room except Erik was laughing with joy at this, and Charles could feel that Erik was impressed.
"Tada." Hank said this a little shyly, most of his attention on Raven who was still smiling brightly. She took a few steps closer to him until there was maybe a foot between them.
"You're amazing." Charles could tell it was all Hank could do to not fall off the model in shock.
"Really?" The blonde nodded, and after a second longer of staring Hank leapt down from the jet model. Hank quickly slipped his shoes and socks back on, and finished the very last segment of the tour with the group.
Now that the awkward introduction had passed, it was like a dam had broken. Hank was nothing but smiles and talked excitedly with them about some of the numerous ideas he had in his head. He was curious about their mutations and how many other mutants they knew. He wanted to know how many mutants there were in the world.
It was like night and day, and Charles couldn't help but smile. This is what Charles wanted to do. He wanted so that no mutant ever had to be afraid of their powers. Charles didn't pay attention to the rest of the tour as he thought about how he could make this dream a reality.
Once again when they stopped it was Erik who brought Charles out of own thoughts. Charles almost panicked when he felt concern coming from Erik, until he spoke.
"You know I would have expected a telepath to not get lost in his own thoughts so easily." Charles smiled slightly at the joke as he relaxed when he realized nothing was truly wrong. "So what has your thoughts so totally that you completely missed that Hank and Raven ran off together?" Charles did have to do a glance around the room and confirm that yes, the two young adults as well as the government officials had disappeared.
"They'll be fine. They're both responsible adults." Erik frowned at this response as he sat down on a couch and motioned towards the empty cushion for Charles.
"You dodged my question. What were you thinking about?" Charles let out a sigh as he sat down next to Erik on the couch. He hesitated for a moment before deciding that he trusted Erik enough not to laugh at his dream.
"I was thinking about the future, and how I fit into it. How mutants fit into it. I want to help mutants not be afraid or ashamed of their powers. I want to help them learn control, to let them have a safe haven from the judgemental eyes of humanity. It's just a fantasy really. I don't even know how I would go about it. I mean, so far the other mutants I've met has been pure luck, and if they're living in fear of their powers then they'll not likely to be found." Charles stopped to catch his breath, and looked towards Erik to see what he thought of the idea.
"What if they don't want to be found?" Charles opened his mouth to answer, and realized he wasn't immediately sure how to answer. After a few seconds to think it over in his mind, he answered.
"I guess we give them the option and they can take it if they want to." Charles let out a sigh and slumped on the couch. "Really, forget I ever said anything about it. It's a vague fantasy from my overactive mind." As he said this, Charles moved to get up from the couch, only to be held back by Erik's hand gently gripping his wrist.
"I don't think it's some wild dream. It would take a lot more planning than what you've put into it so far, but I do think you shouldn't give up so easily. From what you've told me it sounds like a wonderful idea, and there are mutants out there who could benefit from something like that. You just have to do some more planning."
Charles sank back down onto the couch, an almost begging look on his face, like he desperately wanted to believe what the older man was saying.
"Really?" Erik nodded his head to answer the telepath's question, and the other had a small smile creep onto his face. The shy smile made Erik's heart ache, just like last night wishing this could be his. For a minute he allowed himself to imagine what life might be like after he's finished his mission and killed Shaw.
All too soon Erik felt like he could get swept away in Charles' blue eyes and practically panicked. Standing up from where he had been sitting on the couch he started towards the door, despite feeling Charles reach out to stop him like he had earlier.
"I'm going to see what the other two are up to." With the rushed excuse, Erik hurried from the room before he fell any harder in love with the other man.
When Raven and Hank had wandered off, Hank had been trying to explain to Raven what he'd been hoping to do so he would no longer have to be ashamed of his feet. Hank knew that the young woman felt the same way as he did about their physical mutations. They were a hinderance to the contribution to the world.
He continued to explain his thought process in layman's terms, as he explained why he wanted her blood to continue his research. He also didn't want to turn the girl away from him. She might not have been his soul mate, but she would still be an amazing friend.
"I'd promised myself that I'd find a cure, ever since I was a little boy." Hank gave a slight nervous laugh before continuing. "You have no idea what I'd give to be… you know…"
"Normal." Both spoke at the same time. Realizing what had happened, they gave each other small smiles followed by a breathless laugh.
"I understand more than you might think… I can change my appearance, but I feel like deep down everyone still knows that this isn't what I look like, and that they're still judging me." Raven said this, and Hank nodded.
"I know what you mean. I'm sort of envious of Charles. He's different, a mutant like us, but he doesn't understand the looks. He's never had to hide." Hank was surprised by the fire in Raven's eyes when they met.
"Charles has faced his own kind of ridicule. He's had to do his own hiding. But the worst part is he knows when he's been seen through. People think things they would never say out loud." Raven let out a sigh and looked down at the equipment sitting in between the two of them.
"I-I I'm confused." Hank stuttered slightly as he said this, confusion written all over his face. The blonde just shook her head.
"I've said too much already. Please don't ask Charles about it. It's a touchy subject for him. Now, this serum you're making… It doesn't affect abilities, right? Just appearances? Normalizes it?" Hank nodded after a second, and Raven gave him another small smile. "Do you think it would work on me?"
"I can look into it if you'd like. I mean it's the least I could do. After all, I did ask you down here with such a weird request." This got both of them laughing a little. "You know, with the nature of your mutation, your genes are the ones to most likely hold the key to changing appearance."
"Go ahead, take my blood." As she said this the young woman scooted closer pulled the sleeve of her shirt up past her elbow, her soul mark clearly visible against her skin. "And, uh, would you be willing to be to be another set of eyes? My soulmate seems to have pretty bad handwriting." Hank studied her soulmark for a few seconds, a frown written on his face.
"I can make out what I think is a 'z' but I can't be sure. Sorry for not being any more helpful than that." Raven just shrugged, and continued to present her arm towards him.
"That's okay. That's all anyone can ever really seem to see." As she said this, Hank prepared to take some of her blood. She flinched slightly when the needle entered her, but didn't say anything about it, instead she turned the conversation to be about Hank. "So have you found yours yet?"
"Nah, but you wouldn't happen to know any Alex's' would you?" Raven shook her head sadly, and Hank let out a sigh.
"Just be glad you can read yours, and have a chance of finding him." The pair jumped at the sound of Erik's voice and both whipped their heads around to look at the older man. "Not everyone is as lucky as you."
As he walked away from the two young adults, Erik knew Charles wouldn't be happy he'd scarred them, but quite frankly he was too overwhelmed by his own emotions to really care. He quietly stalked through the deserted hallways, his mind set on his goal so he didn't have to think about what else had been going on.
In the director's office he easily found the extremely thick file the CIA had labeled Sebastian Shaw. Erik allowed himself a small smile as he stowed the stolen documents inside his briefcase. He then quickly made his way towards the entrance of the building.
He wasn't quite sure what his plan was, but he just knew he was going to start hunting Schmit, Shaw, whatever he wanted to call himself, and get away from the cause of all his confusing emotions; Charles. However as he was walking out the front entrance, he heard a voice call to him from behind.
"From what I know about you I'm surprised you managed to stick around this long." Erik stopped in his tracks at the sound of the one person who he didn't want to deal with, yet at the same time, his heart seemed to flutter in excitement.
"What do you know about me?" Erik asked this without turning around, fearing what his heart might decide to do if he looked the telepath in the eyes again.
"Everything." The mental presence reiterated who was behind him, what he was capable of. Gritting his teeth, Erik spared a glare towards the younger man.
"Then you know to stay out of my head." Erik ground this out, and turned away again as he started to walk away again.
"I'm sorry Erik, but I've seen what Shaw did to you." This stopped the older man in his tracks. He knew he shouldn't feel bad, Charles had been the one snooping around inside his head, but at the same time his heart ached at the thought Charles had seen what he'd been through. "I've felt your agony." Silence penetrated the air as Erik looked at the ground, resisting the urge to drop the briefcase and pull the younger man into an embrace. "I can help you."
Silence reigned again for several more seconds before Erik let out a small scoff as he turned around to face the telepath. Inside him Erik knew his next words would cut Charles deep, but he had to deal with Shaw before he tried to deal with his feelings.
"I don't need your help." Erik felt a wave of hurt roll off of Charles, but the man's face didn't betray any of the emotion. The metal bender couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like for Charles all the time. To know the emotion and see the facade.
"Don't kid yourself. You needed my help last night. It's not just me you're walking away from. Here you've got the chance to be a part of something much bigger than yourself." As Charles spoke he took several steps forward, and stopped as silence took over the conversation once again. "I won't stop you leaving. I could." Erik tensed at the idea that Charles could take away his free will. "But I won't."
Charles started to walk backwards after he said this. His jaw clenched to not give anything away on his face, but Erik could easily see the hurt in his eyes. Erik didn't say anything even after Charles was completely turned away from him.
"Shaw's got friends. You could do with some" With that comment Charles reentered the building, and left Erik standing alone outside. The metal bender swore under his breath as he looked down at the ground, at a loss at what to do.
His mind was telling him to leave them all behind and continue to look for Shaw on his own. But at the same time, his heart was telling him to stay, specifically to stay and comfort the telepath. Let out a frustrating sigh he punched the concrete wall beside him and sank to the ground. He held his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what his next move was going to be.
Charles on the other hand walked through the two sets of glass doors that led into the CIA building with tears silently streaming down his cheeks. Once inside he leaned against the closest wall and took several shuddering breaths as he tried to rein in his powers. It would do him no good to alert or upset Raven with what was going on. He needed to sort out his own feelings and thoughts without having to deal with someone else's.
What Charles really couldn't understand was why he cared so much about this guy he'd literally met yesterday. Why he cared what Erik thought of his fantasy to help other mutants. Why he cared what Erik thought of him.
For a second his eyes wandered to where his long sleeved shirt covered up his deformed arm. His heart fluttered at the thought that maybe, just maybe, Erik could have been his soulmate. Charles quickly squashed that thought at the ridiculousness of it. The likelihood of that was nearly impossible. Besides with what they'd been through in the last day, Charles couldn't help but feel a bond would have formed if they truly were soul mate.
Letting out a sigh, Charles rose to his feet, cast the arm his father had mutilated a withering glare, and headed towards the rooms they had been assigned. On his way to his room, he passed by the door that had Erik's name written on it, and let out one more sigh before entering his own room. He barely remembered to take off his shoes before collapsing on the bed and promptly falling asleep.
A/N: I would love to hear what you guys think of this story! Love it? Hate it? Want me to continue?