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It felt incredible: raw power in every cell, in every molecule. Darwin turned to Alex, the red energy pulsing through his body. He raised his hand, desperate to reassure him "it's okay, I'll be fine, it's not your fault," but the throbbing power stopped him, and before Armando could even gasp, he was overwhelmed by darkness.
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He woke up amid a pile of concrete and rubble, completely naked, light filtering through. Darwin took deep, rasping breaths and coughed up billows of dust before pushing a slab of rock out of his way. A construction worker nearly broke his wrist from falling off the pile of rubble.
Once Darwin had been told to go into one of those makeshift offices and to stay there, the boss of the clean up crew came in and turned a bright red at the sight of the naked man. Where'd ya come from?" the foreman asked him, uncomfortably shuffling the papers on his desk.
"My name is Armando Muñoz, and I was working with Charles Xavier and his team," he replied calmly, keeping his hands in front of his exposed crotch. "I, well, I woke up here and they were gone."
"But none of my workers swept up a person!" the foreman protested, finally looking up at Darwin. "What are you?"
Darwin looked down at his bare body and back up at the tense foreman. "Someone who needs a pair of pants."
A couple hours later, Darwin had been given pants too tight and a shirt too large along with enough change for a few calls. He was standing in a phone booth a few miles from the old CIA building, trying to get a hold of Agent Moria or anyone from the CIA with the number the foreman had given him. His call had been rerouted to three different people already, and he was on hold once again. Darwin sighed and massaged his temple, wondering where Alex and the rest of the mutants had gone.
[Armando?] an astonished voice echoed through his head. He reflectively swatted at the air and looked around, frowning at the familiar voice.
[Armando, it's me, Charles Xavier! I-I can't believe it; you're alive!]
['Course I am, Professor,] Darwin thought back, grinning. [I told you that I adapt to survive. It just took a bit longer this time. What's happened since I literally ate dirt?]
"Hello, um, hello?" a woman's voice said through the phone. Darwin hung up with a satisfied smirk and left the phone booth, walking downtown as Charles explained to him everything that happened after Shaw had shoved that ball of plasma down his throat. Darwin shook his head and sighed after hearing about Charles' legs, Erik going nuts, and Raven leaving with him and the rest of Shaw's crew.
[How's Alex? And Sean and Hank, of course,] Darwin hastily added, clearing his throat even though Charles was miles away. He could feel the tips of his ears heat up and he kept his head down, grinning despite the few people on the street glancing at him.
Charles chuckled. [Alex is fine, he's a bit more open and talkative, though I worry about him at times. Sean and Hank are good as well, considering all that has happened.]
Darwin bit his lip, running a hand through his hair, causing a cloud of dust to roll off. [Nice to hear everyone's reasonably okay. Where did you guys go?]
[Oh, right! I own a mansion in Westchester County, New York. After the CIA was invaded, we've been living there. No one knows about. Only Moria knew, but she doesn't remember anything.]
[I'm sorry, Charles. She was an extraordinary women,] Darwin replied, thinking about everything the agent had done for the ragtag group of mutants. He began to make his way to the nearest bus stop. [I should be there in a few days. Don't tell Alex I'm coming; I want to surprise him.]
[Are you sure you don't one of the mutants to come pick you up?]
Darwin was about to reply when he realized he didn't have a single cent on him. Glancing around, he decided that a black man coated in dust and dirt in ill-fitting clothes probably wouldn't be allowed into most buildings, if any. [Yeah, that would be a good idea. Tell em to bring me some clothes.]
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Sean found Darwin huddled under an awning of a desolate building, the sun already beginning to set. Darwin had just enough time to smile at the ginger before he was engulfed in a rib-cracking hug.
"You're back!" Sean exclaimed, pulling away when Darwin's body became slightly harder. "You hardly look any different! I mean, you look slightly homeless, but other than that you seem fine. Are you hungry? Professor gave me some money so we could get you clothes and food and whatever else you need before we head back to the X-Mansion. He told the other mutants that I'd be bringing home a mutant, but not you. They think it's another newbie! Oh man, everyone is going to be so shocked! And we have a few new recruits, too! There's-"
Darwin laughed, cutting off Sean's rambling. "It's good to see you too, man. How about we go find some decent clothes and a diner? I feel like it has been weeks since I last ate!"
Sean rolled his eyes at the lame joke and put an arm across Darwin's broad shoulders, leading him towards the nearest clothing store. "First, let's make you look as human as possible."
That night they had checked into separate motel rooms at a decent yet cheesy motel called the Cactus Moon. The hallways were covered in bright green wallpaper with tiny pink saguaros dotting it, the carpet underfoot a faded yellow. Since Sean's snores probably caused whale migrations in the Arctic, Darwin had made up an excuse to not share a room. Banshee was an oddly fitting name, he observed with a small smile. "Night, Sean. Wake me up early tomorrow, alright? I want to get to New York as soon as possible. You dig me?"
The mutant nodded knowingly, softly singing "Alex and Darwin sitting in a tree," as he retreated into his room for the night. Darwin smiled to himself and went into his room, throwing the room key and his jacket on the table. It was a good-sized room, with a double bed, a chair, a small table and a door to the bathroom. The lamp in the corner had the same design the hallway wallpaper had, though the room had nice, neutral beige walls and dark blue sheets. It was infinitely better than being a pile of rubble.
Darwin sighed and sat down on the bed, still fully clothed. He remembered Sean telling him over a couple burgers and a basket of onion rings about how Alex acted more outgoing, but he hardly slept and would disappear for days, coming back exhausted. Sean had decided to follow him and found Alex going to different garbage yards, taking out his stress and anger on milk cartons and old sofas. Alex had told the redhead to fuck off when he'd been confronted, but Sean had found him curled up on his bed, wearing one of Darwin's hoodies they'd taken and reading a book on evolution.
Darwin rubbed the back of his neck and began to take off his shirt and pants, his eyes closed. He remembered all the shared touches at the CIA, the nights in Alex's room and once in the storage closet. Alex had been nervous, and he'd fall asleep curled inwards after sex. Darwin had guessed it was to keep his chest, and subsequently his powers, away from anyone else. But as they had grown more comfortable, Darwin would wake up with Alex's head on his chest, their legs tangled together and Alex's arms around his waist. He'd run his hand through the blond's hair and just lay there, watching the man who was so utterly full of chaos and energy snore silently.
'One more day, Alex,' Darwin thought to himself as he pulled the blanket around himself. 'One more day.'