Vow of Silence
Title: Vow of Silence
Author: Aelimir
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Genre: Romance/Drama/slave!fic
Rating: NC-17
Summary: AU. All mutants were enslaved during a Holocaust. (no Jewish Holocaust) Shaw killed Erik's parents but let Erik go, believing him human when he showed no outward signs of mutation. Erik sets out on a quest of revenge. One night, he meets a compelling mutant with big blue eyes, enslaved in a brothel, launching him into a journey of love and discovery he never imagined.
Notes: Starting with chapter 13, I have a beta, usakeh, who is totally awesome!
Chapter one: http://erik-charles.livejournal.com/398890.html#cutid1
Chapter two-fourteen: see my journal.
Chapter fifteen:
Chapter 15: Magneto
"Shaw has her?" Erik repeated, horrified. "And you just let him take her?" His voice rose in anger with each successive word.
"It wasn't that simple," John responded, eyes flashing furiously.
"I think we should start at the beginning," Elaine pointed out. “It was several years ago that we first met Raven. Her owner back then didn't treat her very well, believing himself superior. All I saw was a young red headed girl, much like the one I dreamed of having. John and I bought her, but not to have as a slave. We wanted to raise her as our own child, as much as we could under the circumstances.
Time passed, and we had our own biological red headed little girl. Jean didn't manifest when tested, thankfully. In fact, she never showed any sign of mutation until her friend Annie died when she was hit by a car that narrowly missed Jean. Jean was very traumatized and depressed after that incident. It was Raven who figured out what was going on. She said she'd had an adopted brother who was telepathic, and Jean confirmed that is what she experienced.
John and I were terrified for her. We didn't send her to school, homeschooling her instead. We thought we'd be able to hide her. But, it was not to be.
One night, Sebastian Shaw came to our door, demanding to see Raven. We didn't want to give her up, especially with his reputation. Jean figured out what was going on and tried to help, too young to really understand the consequences of her actions. I think she tried to manipulate his mind. Well, Shaw caught her at it. He told us that he would be taking Raven with or without our cooperation, since he had the legal power to do so. If we ever breathed a word that he had her, to anyone, even one of his own men, he would chip Jean and take her away too. If we kept his secret, she could go free. He assured us that Raven would be well treated, but of course, we didn't know if we could believe that."
"There was nothing we could do," John said. "He took her that night. Jean was devastated to lose her older sister and withdrew into herself. Using some resources Shaw provided us, we made ourselves disappear and limited our social life, so that no one would ask questions about Raven, or find out about Jean."
"It worked," Erik said. "You were not easy to find."
"How did you?" John asked.
"Bumped into one of your history students," explained Erik, somewhat sheepishly.
"You have 'sources,' huh?" John mocked.
Erik huffed a laugh in response.
"So you have no idea where Raven could be?" asked Logan, trying to get them back on track.
"None. Shaw refused to give us even the slightest hint," Elaine said sadly. "We've not heard hide nor hair of her ever since."
Erik allowed the new information to sink in as he finished his dinner. He'd been so confident he'd find Raven, and so doubtful about the telepath, and here, the opposite had happened. He felt cold at what could have possibly happened to her. Lost in thought, he idly levitated a spoon, twirling it in a lazy circle before having it zoom to his hand.
A short giggle made him turn to Jean in question.
"You're like a giant magnet," she explained with a shy smile.
With a crooked grin, Erik began calling all kinds of metal within easy reach, spoons, forks, spare change, and the like - and having it stick all over him in hilarious ways. Jean giggled harder and harder as he continued his antics. Erik's smile grew teeth, broad and playful. In the corner of his eye, he saw Elaine dabbing at her eyes as she watched her little girl laugh. Even John looked a bit teary.
Logan just snorted. "You look ridiculous, bub," he informed him, causing Jean to giggle even harder.
In retaliation, Erik had forks 'grow' out of his knuckles like claws, grinning mockingly at Logan.
"You look just like him!" laughed Jean in glee.
"Very funny, kid," replied Logan, with no real rancor in his voice.
Jean's giggles subsided, and Erik lowered everything back to the table.
"He's Wolverine," said Jean, catching her breath, "And you - you should be, Mr. Magnet. No," she said, changing her mind, "Magneto!"
Erik smiled and raised his eyebrows.
"Reading my mind, kid?" said Logan. "Haven't heard that name since Shaw had me."
Jean suddenly went shy. She seemed strangely intimidated by Logan in a way that she wasn't by Erik.
"S'okay," assured Logan. "But I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself. They ain't pretty."
Jean nodded, biting her lip nervously.
They cleared off the table and settled back in the living room. Erik contemplated how to best bring up the subject of Europe, but in the end, decided blunt was best, saying, "As you know, Raven's brother is in a coma."
John and Elaine focused on him, listening intently.
"The mutant doctor who checked him out, Hank, had more confidence that a fellow telepath could bring him out of it than Raven. I know that - "
"You want us to take Jean to him," concluded John, face neutral.
Erik gave a short nod, lungs tight.
John exchanged a glance with his wife. "Well, I could always ask for temporary leave from work," he mused, considering.
"You would not have to pay for any of it," Erik jumped in. "I can easily cover the expenses."
"Just where is he, exactly?" asked Elaine.
"A coastal town in England," said Erik. "At a safe house for mutants."
John and Elaine exchanged another glance. "Jean, honey, would you like to do it?"
Jean smiled brightly and nodded shyly.
"All right. I've always wished we could do something for Raven's brother, but we couldn't afford it. Now here is our chance." Elaine smiled regretfully.
"When should we meet you at the airport?" asked John.
Erik dropped his gaze, chest clenching. "I'm not going with you," he said.
"What are you going to do, then?" Logan inquired.
"I-" he began, swallowing through the thickness in his throat. "I'm going to look for Raven."
"Raven can wait a few more days," said Logan. "Don't you want to see for yourself that he recovers? Then you could look together. Much easier with a -"
"No," insisted Erik. "You go on ahead. I'll call you to see if it worked." He couldn't face Charles after what he'd done to him. He'd proven himself dangerous to those he cared about. Charles would be better off without him around.
Logan regarded him intently. "Just where do you plan on starting to look?"
"Government facilities Shaw had access -" started Erik.
"Had?” John said sharply.
Logan cut in before Erik could answer, stating, "Shaw might have died a week ago."
"Might have?" John prodded again. Jean's confidence with them made him trust them, but that didn't stop him from being vigilant.
"I shot him," Erik admitted. "But according to Amy, who works as a double agent, everyone believes that he's still alive, which makes us believe in the possibility of some kind of ruse. When Charles - wakes up, you'll know more."
"You shot him?" repeated John in shock.
"I had my own grievances with him," explained Erik darkly.
John and Elaine both looked rather taken aback at this. Logan decided a redirect was in order. "Point is, bub, I've been in those facilities. You won't be able to get in there alone. Even with your magnetism," he said in response to Erik's skeptical look. "I'm going with you."
Logan and Erik stared each other down for a bit, a stubborn set to each of their jaws. Finally Erik gave a careless nod of assent.
"I'll give you the contact information for Amy Wallis," said Logan, turning back to the couple. "Don't be fooled by her public face. She has Charles in her basement. In fact, can I use your phone?"
John gestured to where the phone sat in the kitchen. Logan walked over to it and dialed Amy’s number. Erik wanted desperately to take the phone and demand to know how Charles was doing. Instead, he waited, eyes and ears intent on Logan.
*********
Amy sat on a treatment table by Charles, contemplating what to do. She was certain he was projecting his distress; ever since Erik left, nobody had been themselves. Even Sean seemed more stoned than usual. Amy had long suspected he regularly somehow bribed Hank into whipping him up some drugs, but she'd never caught him at it. For all she knew, it was just his personality.
Hank entered the room, carrying the fresh batch of medical supplies she'd secretly procured for him. She smiled at him. "How is Charles doing?"
Hank glanced at her nervously. "Deteriorating quicker than I'd- I'd originally estimated," he said glumly.
Amy's eyes widened in concern. Her own attempts to find a telepath had been rather futile, and she still hadn't heard from Logan or Erik. "How long does he have now?" she asked, heart sinking.
"A week at the very most," said Hank. "However, it could be much less than that, if his stress keeps increasing."
Before she could react, she heard the phone ring upstairs. "Sean, can you get that?" she shouted as loud as she could.
She heard the pounding of feet and the ringing stopped. Sean's voice was too low to hear, but a minute later, he walked up to her. "It's for you."
******
Erik and the Grey family listened attentively as Logan explained the situation to Amy. Once she understood what was going on, John spoke with her, making arrangements for their trip. Then he gestured for Erik to come to the phone. "She wants to speak with you."
Erik walked over and picked up the phone. "Amy?"
"Erik. How are you holding up?”
"Think we should give him privacy," Logan suggested astutely. They filed back into the kitchen.
"Fine," responded Erik flatly. "How is Charles?"
"Not good," said Amy. "He's been projecting stress- Hank thinks he won't last much longer."
"Jean will be on her way soon," said Erik, stomach dropping in anguish. "He'll hold out until then, won't he?"
"We're hopeful, but Erik, I've been sharing his nightmares with him. I'm not sure how aware he is, but I think he knows you're not here. He would really benefit from hearing your voice. Will you talk to him?"
Erik suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"I know you're conflicted, but just trust me on this one, okay? Just talk to him."
"Okay," Erik acquiesced.
A few minutes later, Amy came back on. "I'm going to press it to his ear for a minute now, okay? I won't listen in," she promised.
He heard the phone moving for a few seconds before the noise stopped. Erik swallowed again nervously, wondering what he could possibly say, or if Charles would even realize he was speaking to him. "I - I'm sorry, Charles. I should have listened to you. It's my fault you're like this." He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "I miss our time together. Logan understands, but it isn't the same. I miss waking up to you in the morning. I miss hearing your voice in my head. I miss your delight at every new experience. I miss your impishness. I miss..." Your blue eyes, your smile, your gentle understanding... "Hold on, okay?" He swallowed. "Jean uncovered my abilities with metal. I'm a mutant. Did you know?" A fission of anger spiked through him before he quelled it. Had Charles seen it and hid it from him? Still, Erik continued, "I'm going to find your sister. She was taken by Shaw. She'll need you when I get her out. Just hold on for her, Charles."
He heard the phone move, and Amy's voice came back on the line. "I think he knew you were talking to him. I feel better already," she said. "I'm sorry I can't give you more time, but international calls cost an arm and a leg. I know Logan said you're going after Raven, but come back soon, okay?”
"Maybe someday," said Erik vaguely. "Thanks for taking care of him."
"It's no problem. Goodbye, Erik.”
"Goodbye." Erik hung up the phone, taking a moment to get his roiling emotions in check before joining the others in the kitchen. As he entered, he remembered again one difficulty he needed to solve. "Do you have pictures of Raven?"
"Yes," said Elaine, going to get them. She came back a few minutes later with a handful of photos.
He did no need to ask which one was her, studying them carefully. The Greys had undergone the expense to have color photos, for which he was grateful. Raven was a young, red haired girl with blue, scaly skin and yellow eyes. He passed them to Logan. "What was her ability? Do you know?"
"We were never able to deactivate the chip, but she told us she could shape shift completely into another person," said John.
Erik took careful note of this. If Shaw had forced her to use her ability for his purposes, she could look like anyone. He would have to be vigilant.
"How old is she?" Logan asked.
"We don't know. Raven didn't even seem to know for sure," Elaine replied.
"We think that she's probably at least twenty by now, though," mused John.
While John and Elaine were occupied with Logan, Erik took Jean aside quietly, kneeling down in front of her so they were eye to eye. Gently, he asked, "Do you know why - and how - my abilities were boxed up?” He gestured towards his head with his index finger invitingly.
Jean narrowed her eyes in concentration, giving him that 'seeing right through him' look that had become so familiar, first with Charles, and now with her. "I see something, but I can't reach it," she said in petulant frustration.
Erik thought she must have that frustration often at her age. She was so small! "It's all right," smiled Erik. "I'll find out some other way." He carefully drew her into a hug. "Thank you."
Jean knew what he meant. "You're welcome," she said brightly.
John and Elaine caught sight of them, and smiled, clearly thinking it was really cute.
Erik turned towards them, unembarrassed. "If you don't mind, I'd like to meet you in the airport parking lot tomorrow to see you off. There's something I want Jean to test for me."
John and Elaine looked at each other. "All right," said John. Jean did not seem bothered, so whatever he had planned must be no big deal.
*******
As planned, Erik met the Greys in the airport parking lot the next day.
Jean, knowing already what he was going to do, waited patiently as he took the helmet out of one of his suitcases and put it on his head.
"Read my mind," Erik requested.
Jean narrowed her eyes and unconsciously clenched her fists with the effort, giving it her best shot. After a minute, she relaxed, giving up. "It works, I can't see anything," she assured him.
He took it off and put it on her head. "How about now? Can you use your abilities?"
The helmet was ridiculously oversized on Jean. She had to grip it tightly with both hands to keep it in place. After a tense minute, she struggled to get it off. Erik, seeing this, gently lifted it and put it back in the suitcase.
"No. I couldn't see anything with it on," Jean said.
Erik knew that she meant both literally and telepathically. "Good," replied Erik, curiosity satisfied. That would be useful to know. It might come in handy sometime. "Have a good trip."
"I will. Goodbye, Magneto," she said with a shy smile, giving him a tentative hug.
He gently wrapped his arms around her. "Goodbye, Jean."
The rest of them said their goodbyes. When Erik and Logan were alone again, Logan turned reproachfully to Erik. "Didn't know you filched the helmet, bub. Didn't show in the metal detector. I had a hard enough time getting through with my metal teeth fillings cover story."
"It's not made of metal," said Erik. "At least not the kind I can manipulate. I thought it might be useful," he explained.
"Amy didn't know about it yet, anyway," Logan mused, dropping the subject.
They got into the car and started driving back to their hotel. Erik pointedly took the driver's seat. Getting used to American driving was unnerving enough without Logan behind the wheel.
"Didn't want to say it in front of the Greys, but I've seen Raven before," admitted Logan.
"You have?" asked Erik in surprise.
"Didn't know she was Raven until now, of course. Shaw threw her in with me for a few days. Poor girl was terrified out of her wits and completely miserable. Seemed relatively unharmed, though. Must have been right after she was taken from the Greys. After that, Shaw took her away to who knows where, and I escaped shortly after."
"What facility? Where was it?" She was most likely long gone, but it would be a start. They might get a lead, at least.
"Not far from here," grunted Logan, clearly reluctant.
Not far from here. Those words triggered the memory of the false address for the Greys, no doubt planted by Shaw. As the truth dawned on him, Erik exclaimed, "The man we talked to when we first came here must be a plant of Shaw's!"
Logan perked up considerably, liking where this was leading - away from that facility. "Right on, bub."
Erik hastily whipped the car around to head to that first address. He parked the car a discreet distance away and took out his binoculars. "Looks like the door has been broken in." He frowned in confusion, exchanging an alarmed glance with Logan. "Vandalism?"
"Think we're not the only ones after Raven, bub," said Logan.
Erik hated to jump to that conclusion, but he had to admit it looked suspicious. "Let's find out," he decided.
They got out of the car, walking silently to the house. Logan used his superior hearing to attempt to discern what was going on inside. "Bub, it ain't pretty," he said after a few minutes.
"What?"
"I don't know who they are, but they want Raven. Guy is refusing to talk but I don't know how long he'll hold out before he spills about the Greys."
"We can't let that happen," said Erik in determination, quickly coming up with a plan.
Logan made a gesture as if he was unsheathing his claws. "Gut 'em?" he asked, a little too eagerly.
"No," Erik said. He needed to protect the Greys, and find out why these men were looking for Raven, and they couldn't accomplish that until he knew more. "We'll give them something else to look for."
He turned and ran back to the car, tearing open his suitcase without explanation. However, soon enough, his intentions became clear as he made a red mask out of one of his shirts with a knife, and made a matching red cape with a blanket, obscuring his form and face. "After this, they won't be asking for Raven. They'll be asking for Magneto," he said ominously. He opened the other suitcase and put the helmet on his head, and put on his tallest boots to give himself more height. With all of this on, it was unlikely they would recognize him out of his costume.
They strode back to the house. "You stay outside. You'll be my ace in the hole if I need it," said Erik. "But I don't think I will."
Logan shrugged and nodded carelessly, obscuring himself in the bushes, ears intent on the house. Magneto surged through the damaged door and followed the sound of angry, interrogating voices to a large bedroom.
The black haired man was shackled to the bed, bleeding from several gashes on his body. Standing over him were three masked men holding knives and guns.
"You have no idea what you're turning down," one of the masked men hissed, brandishing a knife to make another cut. "What is she to you?"
"I don't know, I don't know," he groaned in response, becoming a bit incoherent from the pain.
Magneto knew that the man was lying. There was no way he didn't know anything. Shaw must have offered him something spectacular to gain this much loyalty. Either that, or he truly believed in Shaw's cause. Either way, he needed to make sure he didn't reveal anything to these men. If it meant a temporary alliance, then so be it. "Drop your weapons," said Magneto in a deep, dangerous voice, getting their attention.
"Who are you?" the shortest one, closest to him, demanded. "A circus escapee?"
Magneto ignored this insult. "I do not ask my favors. I express my expectations." That was becoming a favorite line of his. "Drop your weapons, or I will drop them for you."
All three men turned to him, pointing their weapons at him threateningly. One man asked, "You and what army?"
"As you wish," said Magneto with a menacing shark grin. He didn't have the greatest control yet, so his disarming of them was rather graceless, but no less startling to the masked men, who took a step back as Magneto pointed their weapons back at them, floating in midair.
The interrogator recovered, then grinned. "I'll fix that," he said, taking a PMS device out of a bag by the bed, flipping a switch, and tossing it near Magneto. When the weapons didn't waver, the masked men tensed visibly. Even Erik was surprised, though pleasantly so in his case.
The helmet must do much more than block telepaths. He would certainly wear it as much as possible, then. He recovered quickly, deciding to use this new development to his advantage. "You have no idea who you are dealing with," he threatened. "What little you must know of Shaw's plans, to not know about me.”
"You're Shaw's?" Incredulous, Shorty spoke up, fearful yet also a bit skeptical.
"You don't recognize the helmet? You must be lower on the totem pole than I thought," Magneto taunted.
Their eyes widened in recognition almost simultaneously. Magneto grinned in triumph, knowing he'd scored a point. "He guards these quite well. No one would get one unless he gave it to him. You know this."
"Then you should know that it is Shaw's desire to procure Raven," the third man said.
Erik fought to keep his expression neutral, though it was not very necessary under the mask. Were these Shaw's men? Had Shaw hidden Raven from everyone? That fell in line with what the Greys said. If that was the case, were these men from the submarine, pretending that Shaw was still alive, in some sort of bid for power? That would explain both why no one had reported Shaw's death, and why they wanted Raven, a shapeshifter, so very badly. The timing was about right, too, if they had headed here immediately after they left England. Or were they bluffing about their connection to Shaw, just like he was?
No. They were telling the truth, he decided. They really believed he was a secret agent of Shaw's. They wouldn't lie to someone as dangerous as him with such a large risk of being found out. They simply must not know that Raven was already in Shaw's clutches, even without him there to enforce the continued secrecy. Which meant she must be hidden exceedingly well. Magneto thought about how he could use this to his advantage.
"I don't believe you. It is MY mission to find Raven. And I will do that far quicker than you ever could." He could not ally himself with these men. He couldn't trust them, and it was too risky, no matter how convenient it would be to pool their resources. "That is clear, if you are still questioning this pathetic human, who knows nothing." He didn't know if he did or not, but he wanted them to believe it. "You're wasting your time here. And mine."
The interrogator asked, “Why are you here, then?”
Magneto thought fast. "That is a personal affair. All work and no play makes for a very dull boy, don't you think? In fact," he added, his voice going dangerous again, "I'm put out that you damaged him so severely. It's ruined my fun." He undid the handcuffs binding the homeowner with his mind, and inched the weapons closer to the masked men. "So you can make it up to me by letting him have his way with you, or you can leave and quit tampering with my mission."
Apparently they found his explanation of being gay very believable, for they lost interest in questioning him and refocused on the potential danger to their sorry selves. "Or, I could always make it look like a triple suicide," threatened Magneto. He wanted them to leave the house quickly so he could decide what to do with Mr. Homeowner. "With an active PMS device sitting here with your fingerprints on it, no one will suspect a mutant's manipulation."
"All right, we'll clear out," the second man agreed. "But this isn't over."
"I should hope not.” Magneto grinned as the three filed out the door, weapons nudging them along in midair. Mr. Homeowner watched wide-eyed from the bed, clearly wondering if he'd been saved from one batch of tormentors only to gain another.
Magneto followed them out and watched as they hurried down the street. Once they were out of earshot, he spoke to the bushes where he knew Wolverine hid. "Follow them. Tell me where they go. If any of them tries to come back here, kill them."
"Can do, bub," came the quiet reply, sounding all too pleased with the plan.
Satisfied, Magneto reentered the house to take care of the remaining man. There was a chance he knew where Raven was, but the more he thought about it, the more he doubted it. Shaw clearly wanted her whereabouts to be top secret, only known to those who needed to know. This man didn't need to know, so he probably didn't. Still, even if he wasn't going to question him himself, he didn't want to leave anything to chance.
He gathered some towels, bandages, and antiseptic from the bathroom and brought them to the still bleeding man. He squashed the painful memories of Charles this produced, determined to focus on the task at hand. The man, weak from the loss of blood, just stared at him as Erik cut away his bloody clothes and tended to his wounds with surprising gentleness. He didn't, after all, betray the Grey's, whatever his motivations might be, and for that, Erik felt he deserved his help. "I would suggest you make yourself scarce as soon as possible. More men might come looking and questioning, and I won't be here to save you a second time." He made sure to keep his voice deep so the man wouldn't recognize him from when they first met.
"Who are you?" the man asked, gazing at him with a strange mix of gratitude, skepticism, and condescension. “Superman?"
Erik looked up at him with an ironic smile. "No. I prefer Magneto."
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