A Little Bit of Nostlgia: Chapter One
A Little Bit of Nostalgia: Chapter One
A Response to Kinkmeme,
Title: A Little Bit of Nostalgia Author: manaisabasterd Word count: 2000ish Warnings: PG13ish Pairing: Depends on how i feel. I love cherik, but may not be appropriate from story. Summary: "Charles goes into shock when he feels the coin penetrate Shaw's (his) brain. In order to protect itself, his mind regresses to a point where it knows nothing of pain; only warmth, happiness and love. In essence, Charles wakes up in the middle of Cuba as a child." Prompt from Anonymous. Notes: Response to request from kinkmeme: http://1stclass-kink.livejournal.com/7761.html?thread=14025041#t14025041.
Seeing through sweat that had already soaked his scalp, Charles knew that nobody was going to hear him.Moria was a nobody in the current situation. A nonmuntant, noncombatant. As well as Sean, Alex, Hank, and yes, even Raven. All of them projected as faceless, bodies with just stray thoughts adding to the constant white noise pressing on Charles mind. Shaw’s white noise a constant and almost maddening presence. “Erik, don’t do this.”
It’s just so very hot, and Charles is starting to really feel the accumulated humidity in the crashed jet as he realizes that this is not going as he had planned, or hoped, or secretly sometimes prayed. Fingers start digging into his scalp in a last ditch effort to amplify his voice, and he could stop Erik, but stopping him meant he would have to give up Shaw. Giving up the mad man was not an option. “Please don’t.”
And than finally a response. “It’s not that I don’t trust, it’s just, well-”
The other mind disappears. Now the only one Charles can watch through is lashing out in vain attempts to regain control. Through Shaw’s eyes he sees a man in a metal helmet with a smile that showed a few to many teeth, and he can feel how Shaw’s mind sends signals for his hands to shake nervously and his eyes to dilate in fright. Shaw is a man now suddenly afraid of his own dog, and Charles is a man afraid of his closest friend.
A coin is produced from Erik’s pocket, and Charles knows now that he failed has a mentor, a savior, and a friend. “Godamnit.” His free hand automatically latched the sides of the jet, and his heart starts beating in tune with Shaw’s rabbit pace.
“One.” Shaw knows it over. Charles has no clue how this is going to end. Death for Shaw, but for him?
“Two.” Quacking knees, and he’s scared. But he must hold Shaw, even if it means having to see Erik revel in the destruction of anothers life. It’s not like he can’t sympathize, it’s just-
“Three.”
The pain wasn’t some surreal and distant red light like he had hoped, no, it was something unbearable. Charles Xavier knew now that he had never experienced pain until this moment, true burning and aching and tearing pain. Shaw died almost instantly, but the coin still dragged through his brain, still dragging through Charles’. Pain, betrayal, disappointment, and, lost. All the things that made Charles were lost. Overwhelming fear almost as powerful as the pain came to surface on his plane of thought, and soon found himself retreating the other direction. Somewhere far less dense, with less noise and interference. The closer he got the scent of cut grass and something between happiness and melancholy overwhelmed him. There was light, he reached for it.
The sudden collapse of Charles was almost a relief for Moria. Maneuvering through and over debris, she let her training speech if itself. Before being promoted to her current position as a CIA agent, she had been a police detective, and before that an officer on a beat who had to manipulate many men into a seizure safe position. “Oh, god Charles,” She refused to hear her own panic stricken voice, and let her calm hands move her body just enough to be clear of any sharp objects. Checking his pulse, she than placed a hand on his forehead. “You really need to wake up.”
Was slapping someone awake medically advisable? “The sun is up, and evil people with superpowers are trying to kill us, and dear god, Erik just floated Shaw’s body out of the sub. Please, wake up.”
Telepaths probably can’t hear in there sleep like anybody else, Moria reasoned. She was going to have to ask Erik for help, and she knew
how he felt about her. And now with that helmet, and a dead body, he was positively terrifying.
The sound of flesh against flesh. A slap.
“Ouuuu-ch. That really hurt.” Charles was rubbing his cheek, curling completely into the fetal position. “That wasn’t very nice, ya know?”
“Well, we have no time for nice. Erik just floated out of Shaw’s sub looking like some sort of Jesus reactor, the Soviets as well as our boys have all there guns out there looking as if they are pointing at us, and nobody will answer any distress calls. Things have gone to shit, and we need you.” Looking at Moria finally, Charles looks absolutely puzzled.
“Who are you, Miss? And what sort of game is this?”
Erik looks like a conqueror of cities. He has crucified the king and thrown him at his feet, and now looks upon his newly claimed land and the serfs that are bound to him. A red devil, a Sanish knight, and a venomous fairy are now his, no alliances need to be questioned. Their faces already show complete devotion. But something is missing from his playing board. He can see the remaining yellow suited mutants looking lost out of the corner of his eye, but no CIA agent in cite. No Charles.
“Where is he?” Firm and infallible. That’s what people need to see. “Raven, where is your brother?”
She looks startled, as if she hasn’t thought of her dear brother and guardian up until now. When Hank, Alex, and Sean confirm they are also for a loss on the whereabouts of their leader, Raven goes into action. Capable. Erik likes that about her. “No, I’ll go look in the jet. Hank stay here though, watch him.” Apparently, he is no longer trusted.
“No, I will come with you.”
“Even better.” Raven mutters as she tries to run through the sand, gives up, and follows Erik’s trot yelling over her shoulder. “Boys, make sure they don’t try anything funny while we are gone.” Alex gives a nod for all of them. Erik is impressed by their new found discipline in battle.
Before they can reach the entrance to the jet, not a door but more like a tore off engine make a gaping whole, Moria comes stumbling out looking a shellshocked pulling along Charles by clenched hands. “Raven,” she doesn’t look at Erik, who takes that as submissive behavior.
“There is something queer going on.”
Charles hasn’t look up from his shoes.
“Are you okay?” Raven starts to reach out towards Charles, who than steps behind Moria still not meeting Raven’s eye.
“Like I was saying something queer. He had passed out, and woke up like this.” She pauses for a deep breath. “Keeps insisting he doesn’t know me, or where we are, or the date, or even you, Raven.”
Shock, and Raven can’t even gasp. “The worst part is, though, I think he thinks he’s seven.”
Moria stops talking, and her drama is putting Erik on edge. “Seven, what?”
“Seven years old.”
“No, really. Seven what?” Erik shook his head, the weight of the helmet straining the tendons in his neck. They reminded Raven of a rope twisted too tight.
With a strange pouty look, Charles shook his head, and held up fingers to represent seven. “I am seven years old. I swear.”
Swearing made Erik cringe, especially when it just happened to indicate mental illness. Apparently it also made Moria and Raven cringe as well. The declaration was followed by a long moment of silence broken only when his sister could organize her thoughts. “Charles, baby, do you know who I am?”
A head shake, no.
Devastated, Raven hid it well. She was a master of disguise. “What’s the last thing you do remember?” His forehead wrinkled, and his lips scrunched. Whatever, he was trying to process was distressful. “Nevermind, let’s just take a few seconds to-”
“Raven!” Hank was screaming from across the beach, his once nasally voice now rough and a few octaves lower. “We need to get out of here!”
Following the direction of where his furry, finger pointed, through the haze of the Cuban heat, she saw the ships sitting ontop of the water closer to the beach than before. In firing distance. “Erik.”
“On it.” He closed his eyes.
Moria started to look panicked, and was visibly tightening her grip on Charles hand. “They can’t be. They wouldn’t.”
“Of course they would. They are just humans after all.” Erik’s hands rouse, and he started to walk back towards the shore. Raven and Moria followed. “They wouldn’t know the difference between there saviors or their enemies. And I will not be a martyr.”
“Erik, if it comes to it. Don’t.” Raven looked at Charles, who was completely engrossed with his shoes. “He wouldn’t want you to.”
Before Erik could retort, the rumple of gun shots defeafned their ears and a large, almost ridiculous variety of arsenal started to blot out the blue sky. Shock hit Raven when she would see the paint on the tips of the missiles, before they just stopped. Suspended over them with just a flick of Erik’s wrist. “Foolish humans.”
“Erik, don’t.” This time it was Moria trying to reason. “They are just confused, and afraid. If we explain it to them-”
“Can’t reason with men with guns. Humans have no reason.” Erik reached an arm out, almost dramatically. The misses turned, and followed the direction of his hand.“They deserve to die.”
“Die?” A small voice interrupted them. “Nobody deserves to die.”
Erik turned, his concentration broken. A few stray missiles blowing apart in the air. His eyes meet steely blue ones. “Some people do.”
Charles shook his head, and his fists were clenched at his side. “If you do, I’ll have to tell on you.”
More missiles were lost midair. “Tell on me?”
“You’re mum will tell you the same thing.” Erik couldn’t help but to let out a small chuckle.
“My mum?” His arm was lowering without him even noticing.
“And than you’ll be in a whole bunch of trouble.” Charles face was dead serious as his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened, showing that he had knowledge on what it was like to be scolded by your mother. “And that would be reeaaaal bad.”
Erik’s hand dropped to cover his mouth. Only debris hit the ships.
“Oh,” Moira pulled Charles behind her completely unsure on the definite outcome. “Now Erik, let’s think of this in a rational manner.”
“Let go of him.” Only until Raven gave a nod of approval did Moria move aside. Moving forward, Erik held his breath trying to keep his laughter down as he placed a hand on Charles shoulder. “Are you there, my friend?”
The devil won by Erik turned out to be the most useful. And as he sat in front of the fire he felt like he should pat his back or something else figurative and congratulatory. Except a glass of scotch or a expensive cigar wouldn’t solve there current problem. A strange problem, and possibly life changing.
“Charles, would you like some more ice cream?” Raven pried the icebox open before he even nodded his head. Two days after the beach, and Raven was sure if his brother was insane. One day after disbelieve set it, and she was hoping for him to say, “gotcha ya, wasn’t I hilarious for feigning mental illness during a potentially catastrophic human even.” She handed him the bowl. “Well, of course you do.”
“Thank you,” Charles said severely. Always a polite kid. Then messily brought the spoon that his hand fisted around to his wide open face. Raven shook her head, before turning to the sink that reflected her blue form. “Have I done something wrong?”
She felt ridged when she turned to answer, “no, of course not.”
“Than why is everyone not wanna be around me?” If this was Charles, well, the Charles of now, she would say ‘what, can’t read minds?’.
Actually, she was unsure if in this state that was possible.
“Well, it’s cause they are all busy.” True, to some degree. Hank was busy trying to disphiar brain scans, Sean was busy trying to find drugs to sedate current events, Alex had been around but unsure of how to talk to children, and well, Erik, was busy avoiding the situation. Raven sat down next to him at the dinning table. “We have had a long week.”
“Oh,” Charles nodded, but then pouted. “Can we play later, or are you going to be busy?”
It broke her heart. “Of course not. We can go outside, and play games.”
She brushed back a few toughs of hair that seemed to never behave behind her brother's ear. "Don't worry. Will figure this out."
Before the now aggressive CIA knows of their weak mental wall. "I promise."
Before Erik decides that he really is the prince of all things soft and pseudo-human, as well, as hard and metal.