Chapter Text
This was not how it was supposed to go at all. Shaw, the beach, all of it was wrong. It was all wrong. Raven wasn’t sure when it had gone wrong, only that she didn't think there’d be any fixing it. The last thing she saw before they teleported away was Moira kneeling by Charles. Charles who could realistically bleed out on that beach in Cuba, his last memory of his little sister being of her leaving him for Erik.
When they had teleported back to the Brotherhood’s base, there had been nothing but silence. Shaw’s team was too shocked by the turn of events and new leadership to say anything, and Erik and Raven were too horrified to do much. Raven regretted leaving the second she arrived, but she knew there would be no turning back. When not on missions she spent her time locked away in her rooms staring out at the world beyond her window. She never replied when spoken to, and soon even Eri gave up trying to coax her out of her shell. She always did what he demanded on the field and she didn’t question him so he had nothing to complain about.
While Raven was sulky and withdrawn Erik became restless and volatile, each day brings a new mood which could shift hourly. Breaking out Emma Frost was the result of one of these reckless mood swings. No one could tell whether he regretted it later, and everyone was too afraid to ask. Life under Erik’s sporadic leadership was unpredictable at best, and absolute chaos at it’s lowest points. He seemed to be driven by a mass of constantly shifting emotions. Sometimes he would angrily demand an attack on a human research lab, and other times he’d e withdrawn and sad. He would stare blankly at his chessboard and wander listlessly.
There were no killings ordered on those days.
Given the problematic at best setup they had, it wasn’t all that surprising when it began to go wrong.
Angel was the first to be taken. Emma tried to find her with her telepathy, but it proved hopeless. Erik was furious, but Raven knew he was just trying to mask his fear. Everyone could sense it was all falling apart. While Erik possessed the rage to rally an army and drive the brotherhood forward, he lacked Shaw’s leadership. Jantos was next. Now things were beginning to get serious. Emma was much more frantic in her searching as she had known him for so much longer. Still, she found nothing.
Raven searched like all the others, but she knew they wouldn’t find anything that could help them find either of their missing mutants. She knew the same thing when they lost Emma. Now it was just Raven, Erik, and Azazel.
That had been a year ago, and nothing had changed except their venue. The three mutants never spent more than a night in one place, Azazel taking them all around the world in an attempt to stay ahead of whatever it was the haunted their footsteps. They all knew it was no life, and Erik was barely holding together.
“Erik, we can’t keep this up,” Raven finally said. The rain was lashing at the windows of the cheap motel they were in, and a steady dripping noise confirmed Raven’s suspicions that the roof was leaking in at least one place.
“Whatever took the others will be coming for us as well, we have no choice,” Azazel said gruffly. He had been far less sociable since Janos was taken, and Raven felt bad for him. It was hard losing someone so close to you.
“We could fight,” Raven said. “I thought that’s what this was about, Erik. I thought we were supposed to be standing up to the threats, not running like dogs-”
“Fightings not an option anymore!” Erik yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. The metal in the roo trembled in anticipation and both Raven and Azazel took a step back. Erik was breathing hard, and Raven couldn’t tell if he was about to yell or cry. She honestly wasn’t sure which would be worse.
“Whoever it is that wants us for whatever reason is too strong for us to top. They managed to hide from Emma’s telepathy and have managed to follow Azazel's teleporting,” Erik said in a softer tone. “This is our only option.” Raven was silent for a moment before looking up.
“It’s not our only option,” she said softly. Erik’s head snapped up and Raven was scared she’d pushed too far.
“No. We can’t-”
“Yes, Erik, we can. We need to at least try,” Raven said firmly. Azazel watched the exchange in confusion. He wasn’t sure where it was Raven wanted to go, but he tended to see her as the more level-headed out of the two mutants, and so he figured it was a good idea.
“Erik, Raven is right. At this point, we are repeating places, and this much teleporting with so many people so long distance is draining. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” he admitted. “I don’t know where it is Raven wants to go, but it can’t be worse than this,” he said.
Erik glared at the two mutants before letting his head hang and sighing.
“Fine. We will go to the damn school. But if he turns us away, don’t be surprised,” Erik ground out. Raven nodded. She had tried to figure out how Charles was doing whenever they were nearby. She knew that his school was going well. Not as big as he’d hoped, but there would be time for it to grow. He’d recruited more mutants, and teachers. No one had seen him in public since Cuba though, and Raven couldn’t help but wonder about that. Perhaps he hadn’t made it off of the beach. Had his dying wish was for Hank and the others to continue the school in his absence? Or perhaps they were only pretending he was still there as a shield against the rest of the world. Against her and Erik. Claiming to have the most powerful telepath in the world on your side was a good security system.
~
Hank was in his lab when felt a tug on the back of his mind. With a worried sigh, he quickly put down the planes he was working on for a jet and hurried up the stairs to the professor’s room. He waved to various students as he went, Alex and Sean gave him worried looks as he passed, both knowing that he rarely left his lab unless it was to teach a class or help Charles, and he didn't have any classes that day.
“Hey, everything alright?” Sean asked.
“I’m not sure, I just know that he needs something. He didn’t say what,” Hank explained. Sean nodded.
“Well tell him that we’re having a big pizza night to celebrate the end of the first term if he wants to come down for dinner.”
Hank nodded sadly and continued up the stairs. Both parties knew that Charles would not be accepting the invitation.
Ever since Cuba, Hank had been trying to help Charles in any way he could. He made solutions for the pain and was working on a way for him to regain his ability to walk. Still, Charles had improved very little during the past year. If anything he was getting worse. His hair was nearly at his chin now and he rarely left his room. Hank couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the professor smile.
“Professor?” Hank asked, slowly opening the door to Charles’ room.
“Hello, Hank,” Charles said from where he was sitting in bed, books piled around him. He didn’t seem to be in any pain, which both relieved and confused Hank.
“Charles, what’s going on?” the scientist asked tentatively. Perhaps Charles had called ut to Hank accidentally. Hank had a sneaking suspicion that Charles had been taking a bit more pain medicine than necessary, and so the theory was entirely possible. He knew that he’d need to talk to Charles about it, but he just didn’t know how to broach the subject.
“Don’t worry, I assure you I am quite well. My state is not why I called you here,” the professor said.
“Well, that’s… good,” Hank said carefully, knowing that he was on new ground.
“Three mutants are currently five miles out from the school. They are coming here now,” Charles reported. Hank looked up at that.
“Well, that’s great! Do you think they heard about the school? I can get the applications ready now if you’d like-”
“No,” Charles interrupted. Hank furrowed his brow. Charles looked even more worn out than usual, he observed. “No, they are not coming here for the school. They’re coming because we are there last chance of shelter,” he said. Hank was now very confused.
“Charles… who’s coming?” Hank asked, beginning to feel uneasy at the professor's pained expression. Charles sighed.
“Raven, Azazel, and Erik.”