Charles Xavier / Erik Lehnsherr / Reader
It was the Friday evening and time for the long bath that always kicked off your weekend, finally. You were currently unemployed but you had still plenty of freelancer –project and other things to do and you never let yourself to just lay around during the weekdays. You had moved into the big city some years ago when you had graduated and gotten employed as a computer expert to a startup tech-firm… that had then crashed and burned when they had launched a new social media –site that had flopped entirely. It had supposed to be “the new Facebook” but it had never gained popularity.
You had been one of the key-coders and for you a life without the Internet was just something that you could not imagine; when you woke up, the first thing you checked out was the newsfeed on your Facebook –feed and also the latest videos from the Youtube –users to whose channels you had subscribed to. You did not even take a bath without your tablet and the last thing you did in the evening was to check your notifications and schedule for the next day from your online-calendar which was of course synced with your phone and tablet and laptop as well as your table PC.
You had been having a long Skype –call with the coworker from the previous job. He was cooking something in his mind, a project, and he wanted to ask if you were interested to partner up with him. You had told him that you would think about it. His project was very much similar to the social media –site and you were kind of skeptic about brilliance of the idea; you just could not see it. Therefore you were not sure about how personally involved you wanted to get with that kind of project. It was a tough market and although you had not told your ex-coworker, his idea was not that special.
Therefore you did not want to start invest your own savings to anything but were more comfortable with working with projects that actually made some sense and got paid by the hours and not with the share of the company. Yes, if you had taken the share of Facebook back in the day, you would be filthy rich now, assuming that you had been offered, but since there already was the Facebook, that had captured the masses, it was highly unlikely that “The Facescape” appealed to the masses in the similar way.
Yes, your friend had said how “MySpace” had once been the big thing and then Facebook had come and stolen the users although the idea of the latter was slightly different but you still did not think that Facebook was going to be the new MySpace any day soon and unfortunately, for that reason and for that reason only, you were not interested in partnering up with him.
Besides you were quite sure that he was also romantically interested in you but he was too young for you. You wanted to meet someone who did not play with computer the entire day and actually went out to see people. The guy however was totally opposite of your ideal guy. You had never met him live because he were a bit agoraphobic so he worked from home and the only way to actually hang out with him was to either go to his place, he lived with his mother by the way, or to do it online. He was nice but… no.
The bathtub was finally filled and you decided to listen to some music as you soaked in the warm water. The battery of your phone was however about to die so you had to connect it to the charger. You took your longest extension cable and plugged it to the socket outside your bathroom and then connected your charger to your phone. The charger was a little bit broken and you were supposed to buy another soon but you had been lazy because as long as it worked, it was okay, right?
You put the headphones in your ears and leaned back. The water was just the perfect temperature and you really drifted away. You sighed and shifted a little. This position-shifting-movement pulled your phone into the water and since it was connected to the broken charger, suddenly everything just went black for you, or would had gone if you had been awake. For your luck you were sleeping and did not feel a thing.
You woke up. The bathwater was cold and there was a slight smell of smoke in the bathroom. The entire apartment was dark and when you got out from your bath and tried to put on the lights, you found out that the power was out from your apartment. Soon there was a knock on your door. You shouted “just a second” and put on your spa-robe. Your head was hurting a little and it felt like you had been having a terrible hangover. Another knock on the door. You shouted “yeah, yeah” and walked to the door. You opened it and it was your neighbor telling you that the power was off in the entire apartment building. Apparently the fuses had burnt out at the same time in the basement and it was going to be Monday morning when the maintenance man came back. You thanked for the information and then closed the door.
You went to bed and fell asleep pretty quickly. In your dream there was a blue-eyed man calling you, trying to contact you. He was wearing a dark gray sweater and a black jacket on top of it. He was cute, brown hair, maybe 30 years old or twentysomething, no beard and the eyes… yes the eyes were the thing that really caught your attention; he had big blue eyes that were completely mesmerizing.
It was morning. You had forgotten your phone already because the headache you were still experiencing was just massive so therefore you got dressed, put on some makeup and left the apartment to get some painkillers as well as breakfast. If the power was out from the entire apartment building, it meant that your fridge was off too. “Oh well, it was empty anyway” you thought and got some takeaway breakfast, a pizza to be exact. It was like a combined breakfast and lunch.
You returned home, walked into the bathroom because finally you remembered your phone. It was on the bottom of the tub that was now empty. The plug leaked and the water had drained away entirely during the night. Your phone was completely done, broken, kaput. Luckily it was not your new phone, just the one that you used for music during your baths. This was exactly why you did not use your favorite phone in the bathroom.
You stared at yourself in the mirror. There was something different about you but even an intense closer look did not tell you what that something was. You chuckled and washed your hands before starting your day with that pizza. You watched the water floating on your hands and your mind slipped away as the sound of running water filled your mind. You raised your head and stared at yourself in the mirror. Your reflection looked different again, almost like your eye had been melting. You touched your cheek and made sure that your eye was still where it was supposed to be.
Then you realized that it was the mirror that was melting and the closer you looked, the more “alive” it looked. You reached to touch it with your fingertips and suddenly you felt like you had been sucked into the other side. You were in a dark room where the only light came from your mirror, but this time it looked like a window to your apartment. It was strange because you were completely sure that behind that mirror was nothing but an outer wall and drop from the 7th floor, right down to the pavement.
“Maybe I was wrong” you thought and noticed a faint sound of people talking in the distance. You actually recognized your neighbors arguing like they always did but then there was also something else. A sound of jukebox playing old music. The next thing you noticed was that there was a door. You decided to go and see what was behind that door since it was getting more and more obvious that wherever you were, there was no other way out. The door was not locked so you pushed it open slowly. Then you walked further and for your surprise you were in a pub.
You looked around and the people were wearing clothes that looked a bit too retro for your taste. Your phone started ringing and it was the ex-coworker calling because he was just dying to know if you were going to share the risk with him and invent the next Facebook.
You stared at the people who kept staring back at you. You asked “what?” and answered the call.
- Hey, it is not a good moment… hey… I promised that I will let you know but I need a couple of days to think it through… Yes I do understand what you’re trying to accomplish here but can you understand that the competition-
you said and walked to the bar counter. You said to the bartender that you would love a dry apple cider if they had it. You took your visa electron card from the card holder that was attached to your flip-cover of your phone. You handed it to the man behind the bar but he looked at you with a confused look on his face.
- Just hold on a second. you said to the phone and then focused on the man.
- What? you asked because he just kept staring at you.
- What am I supposed to do with this? the man asked with a British accent.
- Excuse me? you asked and looked at the man with a puzzled look on your face. He shook his head and looked increasingly annoyed.
- Come on! Don’t tell me that you do not accept visa electron! you exclaimed and then told the guy on the phone that you would call him back as soon as possible. You hung up and put the phone into your pocket. Suddenly there was that man from your dream standing next to you. You recognized his voice immediately when he told the bartender that he would pay for the lady’s drink.
- Well thank you. This very rarely happens and I never carry cash. You’re a lifesaver. you said and raised a toast “to the knights in the black jackets”.
- You are not from here, are you? he said suddenly.
- No…
- Let me guess, you came from the mirror.
- Good guess. you said and chuckled. You were totally sure that you had slipped and hit your head and none of this was real although the cold cider tasted real and the cold glass felt real as well.
- My name is Charles Xavier. Would you kindly accompany me to that corner table so we can talk privately?
- Yeah sure. you said, took the glass and followed this Charles –guy to the table. However it was a very private table and you were a bit hesitant to follow a complete stranger to the darkest and furthest corner in the entire pub but suddenly your mind felt calm and before you had even noticed taking too many steps, you were sitting at the table. You looked around and mumbled “what-the-f” when you realized that you had no real memories about walking to the table after you had started to hesitate.
- So… Charles said and sipped his beer. He kept his eyes focused on you and you felt that he was basically reading your mind, although, that was impossible.
- (Y/N) from (the place you live)… How did you get here?
- Uhm… I just walked through the door. That is how people usually enter places… is it not?
Charles chuckled a little and said “that is true”.
- Hey! How did you know my name? Reading my mind, are you? you asked with a sarcastic tone.
- In the matter of fac-
- Ha-ha! I know you must have seen it written in my credit card. So mystery solved. you stated and drank more of the cider. It did taste very real and it made you hope that you had dreams like that more often.
- When you are born, dear? he asked.
- I think the right word is “were” and I was born in (year).
- Ah well… this might come as a shock for you, but you are in the 60’s now.
- No way! you exclaimed. You did not believe a word he was saying mostly because you were still convincing yourself that you sleeping. Charles however took a newspaper that had been folded on the table and showed you the date. You looked at him with a curious look on your face.
- Sure… whatever. I will soon wake up and it will be 2016.
- Yes because that is the year that you’re from. Tell me, how did you survive that electrocution?
- The what?
Charles focused his mind and went through your memories. He saw the neighbor coming to knock on your door to let you know that the maintenance man was not coming before Monday and that the electricity was off in the entire building.
- What are you doing? you asked and stared into his eyes as he stared through yours straight into your mind. In a flash he knew your entire life story. “Stop it” you said inside your mind and intentionally closed your memories from him. You imagined your mind as a big computer and he was hacking through your files. You focused your mind and started to click the opened files away. Little by little you managed to shut Charles out entirely.
- How did you do that? he asked.
- My dream, my rules. you said and finished the drink. You got up from the table and bowed theatrically before walking to the door that you had used to get into the pub in the first place. You heard the bartender shouting “oi” when you opened it.
You found yourself staring at a small closet-room that was hosting cleaning supplies. The next thing you did was to try to wake yourself up. You pinched yourself and when you did not wake up you started to panic a little. Again you heard that familiar, surprisingly calming voice in your head, telling you to return to the table before you drew more attention to yourself. You closed the closet-door and walked back to the table, sat down and stared at Charles with a confused look on your face.
- It seems that I am stuck.
- Yes and I think that it would be better if you followed me. I live nearby and I can, if needed, offer you a place to stay for a while.
- Stay? What do you mean “stay”? I cannot stay! you said and followed Charles out from the pub. You had no idea where you were and where you were supposed to be, was winter, here however it was summer… besides this did not look like a city but more like a rural pub somewhere in the UK. You had seen the scenery in some BBC-movies or television series so you kind of knew where you were but there was no way you could had been there for real.
- It is real. Charles said and opened the door to his car for you. You sat down and watched him walking getting to the driver’s seat. He was going to start the car when he saw you looking for something.
- Uhm… seatbelts? you asked after not being able to locate them in the car.
- What are those? Charles chuckled. “Never mind” you mumbled and felt very insecure and rebellious without one.
After driving for a moment through beautiful rural area, you saw a big, fancy building in the end of the driveway. “Right” you mumbled and still kept pinching yourself. Charles parked the car and you got out. You were greeted with a silence that you had never heard before; only wind and the sound of birds singing in the forest nearby. Where you came from there was always some kind of background noise, cars, sirens… traffic, airplanes… but here, in the middle of the English country side “in the 60’s” it was very pleasantly… peaceful. Even your phone had no reception there. It made you feel slightly uncomfortable but there were now bigger things to worry about than your lack of Internet connection.
Charles asked you to follow him in and after weighting your options through again you decided to follow him. The mansion was incredible, grand but still cozy. You were being led to the sitting room where there was a tall man with brown hair standing by the window, looking out into the sunny horizon.
- Erik! Come and meet (Y/N). Charles said and at the moment the man heard his name being called, he turned to face Charles and you. The man had ice-blue eyes and you could sense plenty of suppressed anger in him. He also somehow gave you a mental image of metal, or it was more like a feeling. He looked at you and then walked closer to shake your hand.
- Nice to meet you, (Y/N). Charles mentioned you earlier today. Erik said. He had an accent that was not British, not like Charles’ at least.
- It is impossible… you answered and felt strange magnetism to the stranger. Maybe it was strong physical attraction or maybe it was something else… but you could feel darkness and metal.
- Well that is curious. Why is that? he asked and smirked a little.
- I just met him so… you answered and smiled politely, just so you could mask the fact that you could sense things about him that you had never sensed about anyone else. You figured that whatever you sensed was private and it was better that he did not know that you knew.
- I see. My mistake. Erik said and kept staring at you intensely.
Charles gestured you to sit down, asked the maid to bring some tea and then he told you everything he knew. He had been reaching out to the other mutants-
- Wait-wait-wait for a second! you said and stood up. At that moment Erik raised a spoon off the table with... his mind? He was not touching it. You took a couple of steps back and almost fell since your foot got tangled with the edge of a large, very heavy carpet.
- Please. Charles said and pointed at the seat. You told Erik to put the spoon down and you would be willing to consider the sitting part. He lowered the spoon and stared at you with a look on his face that communicated that he was clearly waiting you to make your move now. You rubbed your chin and then after a couple of deep breaths and thinking your options through, you decided to sit down.
Charles continued explaining the situation to you. He had been reaching out mentally to the other mutants when he had seen you popping out in the distance. His connection to you had been hazy but he had managed to connect your mind but when he did, he had been surprised to find out that you actually were not a mutant, by birth at least. You said a couple of times “this is insane” but every time you said that, Erik kept lifting the spoon from the teacup with a small gesture. No, he was not touching the spoon and you even waved your hand on it to see if there were any thin strings lifting it up. But there were none.
- So are you saying that I got electrocuted and it somehow unblocked my “mutant gene” and I was able to travel back in time from 2016 to the 60’s and you can read minds… you said and stared at Charles and then shifted your eyes on Erik as you continued
- …and you can move metal with your mind.
- Yes. Charles said and tried to hack into your mind again. This time you had imagined a password that kept him out, for now at least. As long as you imagined your mind as a highly secured computer, he was unable to access it.
You excused yourself to the bathroom. You stared at the sink and put the water running. You concentrated on the sound of water that muffled everything else away. When you had reached again that state of having your mind completely blank you raised your head and stared at the mirror. This time it did not change. It did not look like it had been either alive or melting. It was just a plain mirror.
You sighed and turned around to lean onto the sink after you had turned off the water. This was the weirdest and longest dream ever and it was almost too realistic. Besides never before you had actually realized that you were dreaming. You had always been interested in lucid dreaming but you had never done it, you had only read about it. And if you were having a lucid dream, then according to everything you had read, you were supposed to be able to control the dream. That was the whole point of realizing that you’re dreaming in the first place!
Soon there was a soft knock at the bathroom door. You closed your eyes for a moment and after you had calmed down your mind you exited the room. The person who was at the door was Erik. He asked if you were alright and if there was anything that he could do to make you more comfortable. “Just get me home” you answered and crossed you arms as you walked to the window to stare into the horizon.
The days passed by, slowly without your cyber-distractions but eventually you started to enjoy the calmness of it, but still you missed home. Although you kept trying to either wake up or do the “mirror-thing” you did not succeed at either of them.
You met also other mutants who were living at Charles’ mansion but there was something about Erik that kept pulling you closer to him like a magnet. You had long conversations with him, as well as with Charles of course but there was just something about that tall, German man. There was something dark about him luring you to spend time with him. Maybe it was his pain that you could sense and it made you hope that it was something that you could fix.
He, just like you, was a far away from home and also he was quite unable to control his power efficiently. That, being unable to control your power, annoyed you both although he of course was able to somewhat control his when you could not control yours, like at all… but still, in a way it was a thing that you shared. Charles had promised you both to teach you to control them and concentrate your minds to it. Maybe that was what you needed to get back to the year 2016, maybe it was something else.
Charles reasoned that you had now ability to kind of sense other mutants powers as well as create a wormhole through the fabric of time and move from one point to another. It sounded completely stupid to you but the reality was that you were still stuck and if it was just a joke, then haa-haa, quite a elaborate joke it had been indeed.
You had come to this time because Charles had called you and now there was something keeping you from getting back home. What that something was, you had no idea but Charles promised you that he would help you to find it out.
It was dangerous after all to move from a time to another because you could possibly change something in the past that then changed something in the future. Time was almost like a calm pond, normally undisturbed but if you threw a stone into it, it caused ripples that then spread onward and affected the things to come. Therefore you had to be very careful and make as little waves as possible.
But…
Would you ever get home again or would you be stuck in the 60’s? What was the thing that kept you there? Would you ever find out and if you did, would you really want to leave?