"Erik's in trouble!" Those words, and all that they implied, ran through Moira's mind over and over. Ever since she had seen Charles rocket out of the ship into the open she had kept a gun in her hand, itching to run after him. She might not have liked Erik overly much, but she had read his file.
She knew a bit of what had happened to him during the war, and every time she thought of it an inexplicable rage overcame her. No child should have been forced to endure any of what happened during those dark days. For what he had suffered and lived through; he had her admiration.
Because Charles trusted him; he had her trust. Moira did not want to see him hurt or killed in any way whatsoever, and just sitting there waiting for a reply, she was starting to get the feeling that no one was ever coming. She should have been out there fighting, not here in this sweltering ship. Even Raven was outside, for goodness sakes!
Moira slammed a hand down on the console in frustration, taking the headphones down with her palm. Damn these imbeciles! Didn't they realize that there were people trying to save the world down here? Grumbling, Moira stood up and looked out of the crushed windows to see Raven running towards two stumbling men.
"Alex! Sean!" Moira grinned and hurriedly stepped into the light of day, relieved. She had seen the boys take off, and hoped to all heavens that they would return alive. They had their arms wrapped around each other.
Moira could not see which was injured (they both appeared to be limping) but she could see no serious injuries on either of them. Raven ran up, throwing her arms around both of them, laughing. "You guys are okay!" she cried. Moira walked over just as Hank appeared, holding his left arm. Moira frowned worriedly and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Beast?" She inquired softly. Hank sent her an unreadable look, but nodded. He was staring into the distance, at the ships.
"Yeah," he breathed after a moment, nodding. Suddenly, a giant grin split his face as he muttered: "We saved them, huh?" Moira's heart swelled. She patted Hank on the back and turned to regard the brave children she had known for only a few months.
"You four did," she told them, ruffling Sean's hair and clapping Alex on the shoulder. She wrapped an arm around Raven in a tight half-hug. "Charles and Erik will be so very proud of all of you," she said, sure this was true. The children all beamed, eyes sparkling, and Moira wondered how anyone could ever call them freaks.
"Hey," Alex coughed, looking around. "Where is Charles?" he asked.
"And Erik?" Raven added. Four sets of eyes turned to her, confusedly, and Moira's heart skipped a beat as she remembered where both were. She stepped away from Raven, and took her gun out again. They had been gone too long.
"Charles went in after Erik," she told them. "He said something about him being in trouble," all eyes whipped around to take in the sub. It was quiet. Too quiet. The sound of the surf draining the shoreline was the only thing to be heard for a long minute as they stared; scared for their friends and wondering if going in would only endanger them more.
"We have to go after them," it was Raven who broke the silence first. Moira did not hesitate. She took a step forward. The others also moved, about to follow her, when the sound of metal shrieking broke the surf's calm breathing. Moira knew that sound intimately, and she relaxed a tad. That had to be Erik, only he could move metal like it was made of butter.
Indeed, a second later, they saw a hovering body headed their way. "When did he learn to do that?" Sean asked, surprised as Erik came into view. Moira did not answer. She had caught sight of something in Erik's hands… Or, no. It was someone.
Raven saw it too, and Hank smelled it. "Charles?" Slowly, as if afraid she were in a nightmare, Raven began to move forward. "Erik? Charles!?" She stopped as Erik landed on the ground, and Moira saw something that terrified her.
Being held tightly against Erik's chest was none other than Charles Xavier. He was obviously unconscious, judging by the limp and boneless way his body moved as Erik landed with a soft thump, but what really terrified Moira was the blood on Erik's hands. Blood coming from the spots where he touched Charles.
She gasped and met eyes with the metal-bender. For the first time, she saw every emotion Erik was feeling etched unto his face and gleaming in his eyes. "Someone," Erik gasped, as he crumbled to his knees in the sand.
His face was a mask of desperation. "Help him!" they all rushed forward as one. Hank dropped to his knees on Erik's right while Moira pressed a hand to Charles's pulse point. She felt a lurching beat beneath her fingers.
"He's alive," she gasped, this first concern having been taken care of.
"What happened?" Hank demanded as Alex, Sean and Raven hovered over head.
"It was Shaw," Erik whispered, his eyes glued to Charles as if tethered there. "He shot him. Diamond bullets. Once in the right shoulder," Hank moved Charles gently to observe the wound. "Then in the back," Hank nodded and gently started to lift Charles up.
"Ugh!" Moira jumped as Charles suddenly sprang to life, eyes snapping open as he cried out in pain.
"Don't touch him!" Raven yelled as Hank quickly relinquished his hold and Erik shouted Charles's name as if it were a prayer.
Moira leaned forward so that she was in Charles's line of sight. "Charles, are you cognizant?" She asked, her CIA agent kicking in. She pushed her emotions to the back of her mind, instead focusing upon the task at hand. He nodded; every line in his face one of supreme agony.
"M-Moira… The children? Are they…?" he gasped.
"We're here, professor," Alex piped up from the back, sounding slightly choked. "We're all fine," Charles seemed to sink further in Erik's embrace with relief. His eyes-much too glassy for Moira's liking- slowly swiveled to Erik. He smiled.
"Erik…"
"You idiot," Erik choked out angrily, interrupting him. "You insane, stupid fool Charles! Do you have a death wish? Why would you just jump in front of a gun like that?" He demanded. Moira glanced up. He had done what?
Charles was unperturbed by the insults. "He… He was going to kill you," he pointed out.
Erik bit his bottom lip and in that moment he looked very much like a confused, scared child. "Damn you Xavier," he choked out, his voice, for once, full of emotion. "He killed me a long time ago. You should have let me die, Charles," he said, and even before he finished Moira knew what Charles was going to say. The young man shook his head weakly.
"You're…My friend…" he protested. He cringed in pain. "Told you… Not alone anymore…Erik…" Charles let out a slight cough. Blood foamed at his lips. Moira looked away, her mask momentarily broken as a tear spilled down Erik's cheek. He gently touched Charles's forehead with his own.
"Oh Charles," he moaned, and it was a sound of a grateful soul in purest torment.
"We don't have time for this," Moira interrupted their moment. She glanced at Hank, whose eyes were moist as he stared at Charles. "Can you do anything?" Hank snapped to attention and shook his head.
"No," he rumbled. "His wounds are extensive, and he's bleeding too fast. There's nothing I can do for him," Erik went pale, his head snapping up to meet hers. She saw the question there.
"Then we have no choice. We have to get him to the ship," she pointed to the large ships sitting off shore.
"Are you crazy?" Raven snapped. "We can't hand him over to them!"
"They," Moira growled back. She had no time for this human/mutant argument that seemed so prevalent. "Are the only ones who may be able to save Charles. Do you want to see him die Raven?" A harsh question, but a fair one. Raven's eyes gleamed with moistness.
"They'll kill him as soon as they realize what he is!" She gestured to the others emphatically. "What we all are! Are you so naïve as to think that they don't hate us?" She demanded, and in her eyes Moira saw the intense struggle for acceptance. Charles coughed again. More blood bubbled on his small lips. His eyes drifted closed.
"Stay awake, Charles," Erik pleaded. He looked up at the younger mutants, preferably the blue one arguing with Moira. "Raven, I agree with you," he quickly interceded. "You know I do, but Moira is right. This is our only chance. If we don't do this, Charles will die right here, right now. Do you want to save your brother?" Raven nodded without hesitation. "Good. Take Alex and Sean to find the remainder of Shaw's crew, especially that teleporter. Bring him to me. Alive. Do you understand?" They nodded. "Go then, and hurry!" Moira did not watch them go. She knelt over Charles's body. He had begun to shiver.
Blue eyes fluttered. "Hank, go get me some bandages from the ship. We have to stop the bleeding," Moira ordered. Hank disappeared in a flash of blue fur. Moira glanced up. Erik was staring down at Charles tenderly, gently running a hand through his dark chocolate locks.
"Erik," the metal bender did not respond, but she knew he was listening. "Listen. When the kids come with the teleporter, you and I have to take Charles aboard the American fleet. Let me do the talking, okay? And don't. Destroy. Anything. Got it?"
"If they don't help Charles, they're all going to the bottom of the ocean," Erik replied gravely.
"If they don't help Charles, I will personally put a bullet in each head until I find someone smart enough who will. You can help. That's why you're coming. But wait until I talk to them first, got it?" Erik looked up in surprise, and whatever steel he saw in her eyes was enough, because he cocked an impressed eyebrow.
"Yes, ma'am." Hank arrived just in time, dropping to his knees with several rolls of gauze in his hands. Moira tore off pieces with her teeth.
"Okay. This is going to hurt here Charles," she nodded to Hank. He gently lifted Charles shoulder, exposing a hole in his lower back sprinkled with sand. Charles let out a hoarse scream. Vivid red blood was oozing from the wounds. Moira worked fast to bandage them.
"Shh," Erik muttered into Charles's ear. "Hush, Charles. They're trying to help. It will be over soon," he soothed.
"Erik," Charles weakly gripped his friend's arm. "My sister. The children… You'll…" he hissed in pain. "You'll take care of them? Promise me you'll look after them Erik," Moira swallowed a lump in her throat. Hank whimpered. Erik gently swiped a strand of hair from Charles's face.
"We'll take care of them, my friend," he murmured, but Charles shook his head vehemently.
"Shut up, you bloody idiot," he gasped. "I'm dying. Promise me. Your word of honor Erik," Charles closed his eyes and let out a trembling breath. "Please," he begged. Moira saw Erik swallow several times, opening and closing his mouth several more.
"Charles… Charles, I…" he was interrupted by the sound of a large person being slammed to his knees. Moira looked up. The others had arrived, Raven stood victorious and wrathful over Azazel, arms crossed. Alex and Sean held Angel and the storm person by their arms, faces stony. Moira ignored the bruises on the faces of their enemies. All that mattered now was Charles. He could give them all a lecture on mercy when he was feeling better.
When. Not if. Moira refused to think like that.
She stood. Erik's eyes filled with fury. He slowly reached out with one bloodied hand. Suddenly, a metal cable whipped from the hollow of the submarine and wrapped itself around Azazel's throat. "No!" Angel struggled in Alex's grip. "What are you doing?"
"Listen to me carefully," Erik instructed in a cold, dead voice as the mutant's eyes widened. "No matter where in the world you teleport, no matter how far, I can still snap your neck with this cable, understood?" the red-skinned mutant nodded, eyes locked unto the cable. "Good. Then here's how you get the cable off. Transport us to the American ship. Simple," Azazel stared at him, blinking furiously.
"You are madman," he muttered. Erik's hands tightened. The cable squeezed. Azazel gulped.
"I am impatient man. Do it," he ordered.
"What about us?" Raven asked fearfully. She had not taken her eyes from Charles since she had arrived.
"We'll come back for you when we've secured him," Moira promised.
"But…!"
"Azazel?" Moira saw a flash of light and her stomach plummeted. When she next opened her eyes, she saw bulkheads and metal walls. The ocean lapped against the sides of the ship, bobbing it gently in the waves. The sun glared overhead in a blue sky. She gasped as her head swum dizzily. "Not entirely pleasant," she muttered as she stumbled against the wall.
"Where to now?" She turned around to see Erik standing behind her with Charles still in his arms. The red skinned mutant stood behind him, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. Moira turned around.
"Now we find the general of this ship."
"I'm right here," For perhaps the twelfth time that day, Moira jumped as she swiveled around to see a bulky man hurriedly marching towards them. She recognized the helmet and military decorations, but what most marked him as a leader were the eyes darkened with scenes of war and frown of stubbornness on his face. He was a general all right. Two other men were behind him, probably advisers or government people. Moira didn't care.
"General, my name is Moira McTaggert. I'm with the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and one of my men," she gestured to Charles. "Needs medical help immediately," she had never had such a short introduction in her life. The general scowled as his eyes swept over her to Erik, Charles and Azazel.
"We saw you," he muttered, referring to Erik. "On that…Jet. Thing. You picked up a submarine; and him," he pointed to Azazel.. "His skin is red. I don't know what kind of game you're playing Miss McTaggert, but these men are obviously inhuman. What reason do I have for not locking you all in the brig or throwing you overboard right now?" Erik's eyes darkened. She heard the sound of metal clinking. Azazel backed up, looking very much like a caged animal. Moira felt a crowd assembling, nervous and fearful eyes trained on them. She huffed. They didn't have time for this.
"Because, general," she sneered. "You took an oath to protect and obey the ideals of the Constitutions of our nation, yes?" When he nodded hesitantly, she stormed on. "And I distinctly recall that in our nation's founding documents the words 'all men are created equal' were printed at the very beginning. Do you recall that?"
"Should I say no?" he inquired dryly, to the amusement of his soldiers.
"So no matter the opinions you have on what these brave men are, the fact still remains that they are your equals beneath the ideals you swore to protect. Thus they have the equal right to your assistance. And ideals aside," she jerked a thumb towards Erik. "Would you really like him to sink your ship?" She asked.
Erik was staring at her with a mingled look of palpable admiration and respect. Azazel looked slightly scared but more impressed. Moira, as a matter of fact, was quite proud of her herself. Her mother would have been proud too.
The general was less than pleased. He crossed his arms and the stubborn glint in his eyes made Moira suddenly doubt the righteousness of her words. "Sink it then," he stated without qualm. Moira was taken aback.
"What?" She demanded.
"Sink it," the general repeated fearlessly. "Sink us, shoot us, or yell at us. It doesn't matter Miss McTaggert. I will not allow a potentially dangerous man aboard my ship. If my men are to die, it will not be because I trusted the wrong people," he narrowed his eyes at Erik. "So sink us then, freak. Sink us and show us who you really are," you bloody idiot, was Moira's only coherent thought, sounding very much like Charles. She blinked rapidly; suddenly afraid that Erik would take the general up on his offer, that after he did, their last hope of saving Charles would be lost. She turned back, about to tell him to stand down.
It was too late.
Erik's eyes were afire with a cold-blooded rage. Slowly, he stalked forward, Charles's lifeless body swaying in his arms. "Erik…" think of Charles, she meant to implore, but upon seeing his face, decided against it. They were all going to die anyway, Charles included. Moira had always known that Erik was a ticking time bomb, and the moment for him to explode had just arrived. He would probably take every one of these ships down, and then the entire world in his grief and wrath. In the end, it was not Shaw or mutants or humans or even Erik who destroyed them at all.
It was Charles.
Moira backed away, sending out a private apology to every person on Earth, starting with the general. I tried, man. And she had failed. Moira prepared for the worst.
Erik's entire body was trembling with ire as he continued forward. The metal shifted and trembled beneath his feet. The general stood there, proud, unafraid, staring Erik in the eyes with cold determination. He would not be cowed. Erik would not be stopped.
The world would never stop burning.
For a long moment, there was only the sound of the waves pushing against their boat, nature ever persistent in her fight against humanity. Then, the metal-bender did the most amazing thing that Moira had ever witnessed. He stopped, just inches away from the human in front of him. Then, shocking them all, Erik dropped to one knee before the general and bowed his head.
Didn't see that coming.
"Please," Erik's voice shook with emotion. Moira wondered if they had died yet. "You have to save him," the general's eyes widened imperceptibly, then narrowed suspiciously.
"Why should I?" He asked.
Erik did not look up. "Because… Because…" Erik stammered over the question agonizingly for a moment before charging onwards. Even the waves had quieted, listening intently to every word being said. "He is a decent, honest, honorable man. He has risked his life to save mine three times now. He risked his life to come here and prevent your war." Moira really, really, really hoped Charles was awake. That he could hear the things being said about him because Moira knew without a doubt that Erik would never utter them aloud again. The fact that he even was in front of all these people…
It was a miracle.
"He has a family. He has people who care about him, and…" Erik finally looked up, and Moira was shocked to actually see tears glistening on his face, in full view of everyone on the ship. The general took a step backwards, staggered. She couldn't blame him. She was just a surprised; and she had been sure she knew how Erik would act in any situation: with anger.
"And he's my best friend," a tear slowly trailed down the side of his nose. Moira did not realize that she was crying until she saw the tears sparkling on the faces of every other man on deck. She swiped at the tears weakly. Oh, Charles.
"Please. I've showed you who I am. Show me who you are," show me Charles wasn't wrong about you, Erik bowed his head once more, shoulders drooping beneath interminable loss. "I'm begging you. Save my friend." Moira put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at the general. She saw his eyes sparkling with tears, and knew that Erik's words had moved him.
The waves roared approval. The general closed his eyes, uncertain before opening them again. He exhaled slowly. "Corporal!" he suddenly barked. One of the man standing behind him jumped, startled by the loud noise after Erik's quiet oration.
"Yes, sir?" He asked tentatively.
"Get this man a stretcher, and get him down to the Dr. Now. Understood?" the corporal nodded and saluted. Moira saw admiration shining in his eyes.
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir," he addressed the last part to Erik with a wink before dashing away. Erik let out a breath of relief as he stood. He was a full foot taller than the general, but when he looked down it was not with unkindness.
"C'mon then, son," the general said softly, gently clapping Erik on the shoulder. He motioned for Moira to follow. "Let's get you all cleaned up and rested. I don't know who you are or even what you are, but…" The general took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say filled him with anxiety, but eventually, he did say it.
"It's amazing."