"Magnetic"
Chapter Seven
"Face to Face"
Author's Note: For the past several chapters I have tried to make them be from one persons POV. This chapter will be from several different POV's. I hope it works the way I intend it to.
"He wants me."
Erik looked at Emma and could tell what she was thinking.
"Not in that way. He requires my help."
"Well that would have been a better thing to say then "He wants me"."
Erik shook his head. They may have left each other on bad terms the last time they spoke but if Charles was calling out to him for help Erik would be damn sure to be there. It didn't matter if Charles was somehow at fault for making him think the things he was thinking. It didn't matter that Erik was confused. Nothing mattered more to him then being there for his friend.
"Who do we have that can assist?"
"Mystique and Azazel will have to do. I have Riptide and Angel keeping an eye on Donald Pierce."
"Alright."
"Where are we going?"
"Xavier's Mansion."
Emma nodded and made a quick exit.
As she walked down the corridor Emma began to think. She thought about her night with Erik and while it brought a smile to her face he was hardly the best she ever had. She could tell that the whole time he was with her he was thinking of Charles. That had been one reason she had scratched him so hard but she wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
She frowned and stopped when she reached her room. She gave a whistle and Azazel appeared.
"Get Mystique and take her to Erik. Apparently we are the good guys."
She watched as Azazel grimaced and shook her head.
"Don't worry. I am sure that this will only be a momentary truce. We can go back to being on opposite sides in the morning."
That seemed to appease him and he teleported out of the room. When he was gone Emma took the opportunity to change into something more comfortable. Once she had finished she began to make her way back to the living room where the others were surely awaiting her.
Raven was sitting in her room when he appeared. Before she had a chance to ask him what he was doing there he grabbed her wrist and teleported the both of them out of the room. They appeared in the living room and Mystique was quite angry.
"Is there a reason for this?"
She noticed Erik staring at her and regained her composure.
"What's going on?"
"We're going to Xavier's Mansion."
"Why would we be doing a thing like that?"
The mansion was the last place she wanted to be. Seeing Erik and Charles in the same room would only remind her of the dream she had the other night. That was a memory she would rather forget.
"Charles needs our help with something."
"So of course you go running." Mystique noticed that Emma was not happy about it either. Of course it might have to do with fear. If Charles was able to convince Erik to help him what else could he convince him to do. Raven frowned as the thought only served to upset her more.
You are a pathetic woman.
Stay out of my head!
I'd like to see you make me.
Apparently Mystique and Emma had been glaring at each other because Magneto walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I know there's a lot that doesn't make sense to you right now but Charles needs our help. I know no amount of anger could diminish the feelings you have for both him and myself. Let's just make it through this and we will talk."
She didn't answer him. Instead she pushed away from him and walked over to Azazel.
"Well...Let's get this over with."
She grabbed Azazel's hand while Emma grabbed hers. The idea of Emma touching her made Raven even more upset but she wouldn't have to endure it for long. Once Erik had grabbed Emma's hand Azazel teleported and they found themselves standing in the place Raven had called home for so many years.
Xavier waited for a few moments before he greeted his guests.
"Thank you for coming."
He noticed Erik shake his head.
"We are not here to exchange pleasantries. You need our help so instead of beating around the bush tell us why we are here."
Charles was saddened by his friends statement but was able to mask it with a smile.
"I asked for your help because I think I will need it. I was trying to track down a mutant when someone entered my head."
"Doesn't feel good does it Charles?"
The rest of the room looked at each other with confused looks but both Charles and Erik knew what Emma's statement meant.
"I am sure if Erik wants to discuss something he is fully capable of voicing it himself."
He watched as Erik shook his head.
"That's not why I'm here."
Of course not.
Charles was disappointed and the smile on Emma's face made him aware that she had read his mind.
"The person who entered my mind told me that they would be going after mutants as well. He said that if I wanted to stop him I would have to go to the Savage Land but I've never heard of it."
He watched as Emma took a few steps toward the map on the table. She glanced at it for a few moments before pointing to a location somewhere in Antarctica.
"That is where you will find the Savage Land."
Hank growled.
"Pretty convenient that you know where it is."
Emma didn't even flinch.
"Sebastian made it his business to know certain things. As his right hand I was privy to most of the information he found out."
Charles looked at the map.
"What is the Savage Land?"
"The only thing Sebastian could really figure out is the location. He had heard some rumblings among other mutants but he died before he could expend any resources to investigate further.
Charles frowned but looked at Hank.
"Prep the jet. We leave right away."
Charles looked around the room and saw that no one was overly enthusiastic about the idea. Erik was the first one to voice an opinion though.
"Are you sure you want to leave right now?"
"Just think Erik. The sooner we get this done and over with the better."
Charles watched his friends face but kept out of his mind. He was sure that he didn't even want to know what Erik was thinking.
I don't want this to be over quickly..Not before I've had a chance to...
Erik bowed his head and wondered if his friend was listening. Charles' expression didn't give anything away. Had he only said he wanted this mission done and over with? Erik glanced around the room and saw that both Mystique and Emma were watching them like a pair of hulks.
Mind your own business Emma.
Emma nodded in acknowledgment but Erik could hardly be sure she was staying out of Charles' mind. He'd have to take a more subtle approach with Mystique..
"Why don't you go with Hank? I'm sure you two have some things to talk about."
Mystique left the room and Erik looked back at Charles. It hurt him to be so close to his friend but unable to tell him how he felt. It hurt him more than he could say. Emma, Havok and Banshee left the room leaving Charles and Erik alone. The two sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Erik spoke.
"I...I'm sorry about your legs Charles."
"I know. It wasn't your intent to send one of the bullets into my back."
"So you've rebuilt Cerebro?"
"Hank did. He also made a few suggestions about how to turn the basement level into a base for my X-Men."
Erik smiled.
"Where'd you come up with the name?"
"Believe it or not Moira MacTaggert suggested it."
"Whatever happened to her?"
Erik watched his friends expression turn from a smile to a frown.
"I erased her memory."
"You can do that...Well I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You are powerful."
"Are either of us going to talk about the elephant in the room?"
"Not now Charles. When we get back from this Savage Land we can talk about it."
"I'm not sure I can wait that long."
"I don't want to wait but I'd rather we focus on the mission at hand."
"Alright."
Erik got out of his chair and began to leave before turning back to face his friend.
"Regardless of how things turn out it is nice seeing you again."
Before Charles could react Erik was gone.
Mystique finally caught up to Hank and grabbed him by the arm. He turned around and growled at her.
"I'm sorry Beast."
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk."
"About what?"
Mystique was at a loss. Should she comfort him? Should she tell him once again how beautiful she found him? She shook her head.
"I don't know. First you act like your interested in me and then you act like you can't stand the sight of me."
"I don't want to talk about this."
"Well too bad! We were friends! You can't just ignore that!"
"The hell I can't! I created a cure for you! I turned into this because of you!"
"I never asked you to create the cure! I didn't ask you to take it! You did it all on your own so instead of blaming me why don't you take some god damn responsibility! The fact that you couldn't see how beautiful you were is no ones fault but your own!"
Instead of yelling back at her he continued walking away. She ran up to him again and stopped him.
"Why won't you talk to me? I'm sorry what you thought was a cure turned out not to be one. As a scientist you should have known there might be risks."
She studied his face and his expression went from anger to sadness.
"You're right. I should have thought things through and realized there might be unwanted side effects."
She raised a hand to his cheek.
"I truly am sorry. I'm sorry that instead of staying with you on the beach I left with Magneto. My place is with him though. For the longest time I thought I shared the same views as Charles but I don't. I can't see the day when normal humans don't look at the real me in terror. I can't see the day when normal humans are proud to call mutants their brothers and sisters."
"So you'd rather kill them all?"
"Magneto doesn't want to kill all humans but if they get in his way he will."
"Nice company you keep."
Mystique took her hand away and frowned.
"I guess we'll never get back to where we used to be."
Beast looked at her and nodded with a sad look upon his face.
"I suppose not but you never know."
He began to walk away again but instead of chasing after him again she just let him go.
Author's Note - I promise there is a reason I am having the characters go to The Savage Land. I don't want to give too much away but I think it will make sense when you read it. I'll explain more about that later. This chapter is called Face to Face because it brings two couples face to face. It brings Charles and Xavier face to face for the first time since the beach and the dream. It also brings Mystique and Beast face to face. I really wanted to write the two of them having a conversation about recent events. In the movie Beast takes the cure and Mystique sees the the result of that but the two never really have a conversation about it. Then the events of the beach happen and she goes off with Magneto so who knows when they would have been able to talk about it. I think it provides a little bit of closure for them. Realistically they wouldn't get back to where they were after one conversation but the last few lines implies that there is at least some hope. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll update with Chapter Eight soon.