Chapter Thirteen: Believe In Us

A/N: You guys are so amazing and supportive with your reviews, so have another chapter! We're moving on from the First Class movie, but there's going to be a new villain. Who remembers Bishop? ;)

The sound of a gunshot made Erik leap to his feet, releasing Tobi and whirling around to face Moira, who fired shot after shot as he deflected them all. The last shot, however, went in the completely wrong direction. Charles, who had staggered to his feet, was struck in the spine.

It seemed like time stood still. Alex stopped running and just stood there, staring in shock as Charles hit the sand. Tobi wiped the blood from her mouth and looked murderously up at Erik, knowing that he'd been the cause of this. Raven had clapped her gloved hands over her mouth.

Erik was all too quick to fall to his knees by Charles's side and use his power to coax the bullet from his friend's back, only the damage was already done. Moira hurried across the sand towards the pair of them, her brown eyes huge with horror.

"You." Erik had to blame someone, and Moira had been the one who had fired the gun – so he turned his wrath upon her. "You did this."

He reached up with one hands, so that the metal tags around Moira's neck tightened around her throat, making her struggle to breathe. She choked desperately.

"She didn't do this, Erik." Charles's voice was so soft that Tobi could barely hear him. "You did."

Erik stared down at his friend, releasing Moira so that she crumpled to the sand on all fours, struggling to get enough air into her lungs. Tobi could only stare in abject shock as Charles lay limp in Erik's arms, apparently unable to move. Pale-faced, Charles just stared up at his friend.

When Erik finally got to his feet, Moira took his place beside Charles, apologizing profusely. Tobi wasn't even listening as Erik talked upon having revenge upon the 'humans'. She was just glaring up at him, wondering how he could even do this.

"Who's with me?" Erik finally asked, before he extended his hand. "No more hiding."

It was these words that made Raven nod slowly, before she limped across the sand towards him. Tobi wanted to say something, scream at her to stop…only there was nothing she could say. Erik had made her best friend believe in herself. While Tobi would never join him, she could understand why Raven wanted to.

She stopped by Charles's side first, leaning down to kiss his forehead before she accepted Erik's hand and he pulled her to her feet. Those who had once served Shaw – including Angel – moved across to Erik's side also.

Tobi felt a sense of loss when she watched this happen. Someone had moved forward and gripped her hand tightly in theirs and she didn't even need to look to know that it was Alex. Tobi had just been getting used to life as a mutant, but now…now she was one of the boys again. It had been so wonderful, having girl friends to confide in…only now she had lost that.

"Beast," Raven called across as they all joined hands, "Never forget: mutant and proud."

Hank shifted uncomfortably on his feet, looking away as though he couldn't stand the sight of Raven anymore. Once Erik and the others had teleported away, the young mutants raced to Charles's side, looks of shock on all of their faces as they knelt down in the sand around him.

"I'm going to get you to a hospital," Moira told Charles as the telepath gripped Hank's arm and the pair attempted to ease him up. When he cried out in pain, they knew something was terribly wrong.

"Wait. Charles, don't move, okay?" Hank's tone was quiet and calm.

"I won't," Charles replied, his voice hoarse with agony, "Actually…I can't feel my legs."

Charles kept repeating that phrase in such a broken way: "I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs."

Tobi couldn't quite swallow the lump in her throat as she realized what had happened to Charles and despite the fact that she wanted to appear strong, she found that Alex had his arms tight around her and she was sobbing into his shoulder.

Alex's hand was still clenched tightly in hers. Tobi wasn't sure that she would ever be ready to let go. By this time, Sean and Hank must have realized that there was definitely something going on between Tobi and Alex, but now wasn't the hand to tease them about it. Tobi felt like she was drowning inside herself. Raven had left her. Charles was severely wounded and they'd been waiting in the hospital for ages. Moira was the only one permitted in the room with him, while the others were forced to wait outside. As the hours dragged by, Tobi's despair only grew.

"Tobi?" It was Alex speaking and his voice sounded distant even though he was right beside her. "Come on. You need some fresh air. We've been cooped up in this hospital for too long."

Sean and Hank had reluctantly returned to Charles's mansion. Knowing how Hank would be stared at when he entered the hospital forced him away and Sean had agreed to keep him company.

Tobi didn't resist as Alex draped his arm almost protectively around her shoulders and led her from the hospital waiting room. Only when they were outside in the abandoned car-park did Tobi press her face into her hands and burst into tears. Alex gripped her shoulders and stared down at her. It scared him when Tobi was like this. She hadn't been this afraid, not when Shaw had attacked the military base, not when Erik had pinned her down on the sand.

"Hey. It's going to be alright. He's going to be okay."

Tobi wasn't sure whether that was true. Alex gripped her wrists in his hands and pulled them away from her face. He felt trapped in both their melancholy as he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss on the top of Tobi's head. She clutched the fabric of his leather jacket – they'd hastily changed before entering the hospital – and pressed her tear-stained face into his chest.

"Alex? Tobi?"

It was Moira. If she was surprised to see the two teenagers in such a close embrace, it didn't show on her face or even in her feelings. But maybe Tobi was too choked up right now to read people properly. Alex cleared his throat and released Tobi, who stepped away from him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Alex asked desperately.

Moira pressed her lips together into a thin line, looking as though she too was trying not to cry.

"Charles has lost the use of his legs. Permanently. He'll never be able to walk again."

Tobi was silent as she examined her grim reflection in the mirror. She was definitely not the same young girl who had first met Charles and Erik. She now bore a strong hatred for the man who now styled himself Magneto. Charles, though – Tobi's hands clenched on the basin. He hadn't deserved his fate. Not at all. Charles had made Moira forget everything, so that she truly was the only girl at the mansion. It was only her, Hank, Alex, Sean and Charles. Raven's absence left a hole in Tobi's heart and she wondered if it could be mended over time. She had never expected her best friend to leave her behind.

"Tobi?"

It was Hank, sounding worried as he rapped on the bathroom door. Tobi let her breath leave her in a soft exhalation as she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want the sympathy of others. She didn't need their attention drawn to her. It was Charles they should be concerned about now.

"Yeah, I'll just be a minute."

Wiping the last tears from her face and making her nose wasn't too red and shiny from crying, Tobi opened the bathroom door. She was still getting used to Hank in his blue leonine form, but she didn't mind it at all. She offered him a small, rather sad smile.

"He's going to be fine." Hank placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know what happened to the Professor is terrible, but although he's lost the use of his legs, he's determined. He's going to turn the mansion into a school. He wants to teach us more about our powers. Charles says there's a lot we've yet to learn, all of us." When Tobi didn't look so convinced, he shook her slightly, before he leaned in and embraced her. "Hey. Charles believed in us, so I think it's up to us now to believe in him."

Tobi nodded and pulled free of Hank's grasp, padding back down the corridor. While it was devastating, what had happened to Charles, if he had learned to move on, then they all could. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Alex standing motionless at the other end of the corridor.

The deadpan expression on his face meant he had definitely seen her and Hank embrace. A muscle twitched in Alex's forehead and his eyes were completely cold. Tobi wanted to explain herself – yet why should she have to? She and Hank had only hugged. They hadn't committed a crime. She didn't get why Alex was so angry about it.

"I get it." Alex's tone was icy. "He's there for you and I'm not. I understand, Tobi."

She sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and wishing that he wouldn't take everything so seriously, like it was an insult to his person.

"Alex, really…"

But he'd already turned his back and started to walk away. Man, now he was even starting to chastise himself. Why was he so overbearing when it came to Tobi? Something inside him had roared with jealousy when he'd seen her hugging Hank, even though he'd known it had only been a friendly gesture. Alex slammed the door to his room and then beat his fists on the wood, before sliding down to the ground and exhaling deeply. His feelings for Tobi were going to be the death of him.

Bishop was finally free. At twenty years old, he felt he'd been with the thieves for far too long – only it had been the best cover. He'd known all about his powers, ever since he'd been fourteen years old. Now that he'd heard the whispers that there were others like him, other mutants, he was determined to seek them out.

Bishop had his suspicions about Tobi. The boy had suddenly vanished one day without notice. Fiddler hadn't been able to find him. No one had. Now it was Bishop's turn to leave, except he left the dilapidated apartment in which he had once lived in ruins.

How Bishop hated humans. It had only been a small incident – one in which his powers had been revealed. Digit had freaked out and tried to attack him, only Bishop had unleashed devastation upon him – upon all of them. He loathed them, how they always thought they were better than him.

He raked back his dark hair and allowed a relieved smile to cross his thin lips. Now Bishop was a man on a mission. Oh, he had his sources. He'd heard all about Shaw and his demise and the ascension of a younger man, known only as Magneto. This enigmatic Magneto interested Bishop, but his goals were bigger.

Humans feared and despised mutants, or anyone who was different, really. Bishop would give them something to really be afraid of. Like Shaw, he believed that mutants should rule supreme, not these despicable homo sapiens. The only difference was, Shaw had been lenient with other mutants, attempting to convince them to join his cause. Bishop had no problem with other mutants helping him – but he would show no mercy. If they stood in his way, he would have no hesitation in destroying them.

There were two things Bishop needed to achieve his victory. The first was a rogue mutant known as Ghost. With Ghost's assistance, Bishop would be unstoppable. The second was access to Shaw's former contacts. There was only one place they would be and Bishop smirked as he thought about how easy this was going to be.