Wrecking Ball
The mission did not go well. The facility was cleared out by the time they had gotten there, the unknown group had beaten them to it. All the humans had been tied up and wiped of their memories. Luckily, they had gotten there before the authorizes meaning they got to interrogate them and search the building. Coming out of it they knew one thing, whoever was doing this had a telepath on their side.
“So, they are mutants then,” Mystique stated, walking over from where she finished asking one of the human’s questions, “No way a normal human could wipe memories like that.”
“Xavier was rather skilled at that, wasn’t he?” Azazel commented, a smirk tugging at his lips at the angry look he received from Magneto, “Most powerful telepath in the world.”
“Charles didn’t do this,” Magneto snapped at the red mutant and the teleporter held his hands up in surrender.
“Telepaths are rare,” Azazel commented idly, his hands sliding into his pockets, “If there is another out there as powerful as the Professor, we might have an issue.”
Erik clenched his fist, the past five years he had avoided speaking or thinking of Charles and now he is everywhere. Mystique frowned at the teleporter, turning her attention to Magneto again. Azazel was right, of course. Charles was the strongest mutant Erik knew of, the only thing limiting him was his moral code. Besides the persuasion to get what he wanted, he never did anything without reason and he was always careful to keep himself in check.
Then
Erik had been thinking about it for a while before he asked the telepath. It had been after they had moved into a flat together off the streets and Charles's career had just started to gain some traction. They laid together, sweaty and basking in the afterglow when Erik asked.
“How powerful are you?” Erik questioned, his hand running over the telepaths sweaty back. He could feel Charles snuggled into his head, had used it to gauge what the metal bender liked and didn’t. It was the best sex Erik had ever had, telepathy brought a new level to it. Given Erik had only ever had one other sexual encounter besides Charles but that was in one of the shelters with a clumsy teenage girl.
“I could stop your heart right now,” Charles answered without hesitation. Erik always marveled at how quickly the telepath had trusted and accepted him immediately. He never doubted him or pressured. It was so different from anyone he had ever experienced, “I could tell your brain to just stop. I could make you into a completely different person.”
“But you won’t,” Erik responded but he couldn’t hide the fear that shot through him at the power Charles held within him, “Why don’t you?”
“I don’t want to reshape you, I love you the way you are,” Charles whispered, his blue eyes looking earnestly back at the metal bender, “And I wouldn’t do it to anyone without necessity because that is not who I want to be.”
Now
They cleared out before the authorities arrived, the brotherhood silent on the drive back and Erik’s thoughts were consumed with his ex-fiancé. The memories came crashing into him in ways he had not allowed in years. Ever since that day in the hospital room, Erik had pushed it all away when he put that helmet on. A true barrier between them, as if Charles had done anything to deserve the divide. That day, he had been so angry at himself and the humans. The weeks leading up to the celebration, Erik had spent more time with Raven and had encouraged her to remain in her blue form. All the mutant speeches and debates he went to had fueled his fire. It felt hopeless to continue with speeches, he felt called to actions instead-but Erik wanted Charles. He knew he couldn’t have him, the kids, and act. That day Charles was shot, he knew he had to become Magneto. He knew he couldn’t let the telepath hold him back anymore.
Angel sighed loudly in the car before turning the radio on, “At least brood with some music on and not make the rest of us suffer.”
“Fine,” Erik growled, speeding his way along the road and ignored the songs being played through the radio. He couldn’t ignore it any longer when a familiar voice filtered through the radio.
“Don't you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I can't live a lie, running for my life
I will always want you”
Charles singing always conveyed so much emotion, so much like his eyes. Everything seemed to lay bare when he would sing and Erik remembered when he would watch the telepath compose. His eyes so focused and expressive. This song was no different. It seemed the universe was intent that Erik heard everything Charles had to say. Even if Erik would never admit, all he wanted to do was listen to Charles. The metal bender would never tell anyone he would listen to his ex-fiancé when he was alone.
“I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me”
This time, Erik didn’t force the radio silent but sat through the whole song. His jaw clenched tightly, he processed the words and the emotions behind them. Charles had been in pain when he had left, he was weak and vulnerable. He needed Erik and Erik had left him. But he had to. Mutantkind needed him more than Charles did.
Then
“Unbelievable,” Erik snarled, throwing his notes down on the hotel bed, his fist clenching and the metal in the room groaning along with it. Erik had just got through with a debate with Senator Kelly, the most mutantphobic person he knew. Charles had sat beside him and only barely manage to keep Erik from bringing the studio down on the man, “The humans will never tolerate us. They want to segregate us and experiment on us until there is nothing left.”
"Mankind is not evil, just uninformed,” Charles responded, setting his bag on the desk. In truth, Charles hated that man too and wanted nothing more than to scramble his brains, but they would get nowhere with violence. Especially if they wanted to get votes for the law to end segregation and protect mutants from experimentation. Charles was a well-known and well-liked figure, standing in support of Erik was the best way to get them to at least listen, “Just because that vile man can’t see reason does not mean every human in the world is the same.”
“They are insects among gods and yet they treat us like freaks,” Erik ranted, seemingly ignoring what Charles had just said, “We are the next stage of human evolution, they have right to fear us. Who wouldn’t fight their own extinction?”
“We have it in us to be the better man.”
“We already are. We are the next stage of human evolution, you said it yourself,” Erik snapped back, his anger at the situation being pushed out and Charles sighed softly. The telepath moved closer to his lover and ran his hands over his shoulders.
"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute,” Charles said, bringing himself closer to the metal bender, “That being said, we must work for that change. Pyramids were not built in a day after all. I know you are angry and so am I but you cannot let it control you.”
Erik closed his eyes allowing the feeling of Charles's hands on him to calm him. He leaned into the touch and brought his own arms to wrap around the smaller man, saying, “Peace was never an option, Liebling. There is a war coming.”
“Not if we stop it,” Charles whispered, cupping the metal benders cheeks, “Together, we can do anything.”
Now
The next day brought Angel scrolling through the Instagram of the boys and Charles. Using Darwin’s account, idiot hadn’t changed his password in five years, she could see so much of their lives. Sean was the worst of them all, keeping a public account with videos of them all. Sean would go around the mansion asking kids random questions, a favorite was Scott and Jean. Angel was right to assume he went to NYFA, his socials were swamped with film projects, his latest one being a documentary he was doing on Professor X for his graduation project.
“What are you looking at?” Raven asked as she entered the common room of the Brotherhoods base. They had returned back to begin planning of the next mission and hoping to find more about the group who was freeing all these mutants before they could get there.
“Looking at Sean’s Instagram,” Angel admitted, she didn’t really know what Raven would think about it. Both Raven and Erik rarely talk of Charles or the others. Even if they didn't like it, Angel wanted to quell her curiosity.
“Oh,” Raven said as she started to pick at her fingernails which Angel recognized as her nervous/guilty habit, “Did you listen to the whole album?”
“Yeah,” Angel answered, after they got back yesterday, she had downloaded the whole thing and listened to it. Charles was her friend before all this happened, he used to dance alongside her and offered her a way out of the hands of greedy men. She never wished him ill will but she also wanted to act. Regardless of his pacifism, Charles never deserved being left like that. The music broke her heart a little bit.
“Do you think Er-Magneto has?” Raven questioned, the man in questioned entered the room as they spoke.
“I didn’t,” Erik responded curtly, “What did you find out from their socials?”
“You need to listen to this,” Raven insisted, pulling up the album and pressing play on one of the songs. Her expression determined but Angel could see the guilty edges in her eyes. When the song began to play, she knew exactly which part she was referring to, every part of her wanted to run out of the room and another wanted to stand to see what would happen.
“Our enemies whisper
So you have to scream
I know about whispers
I know what you did with my sister”
Erik’s face went pale in realization at what Raven had been so desperately trying to get him to hear. The metal bender felt ill, he had slept with Raven only a hand full of times in the year after they left. He had felt too guilty for it to continue than anything more than that. The fact, his sweet Charles, knew was deafening. Erik knew how much that would hurt him.
“How could he have found out?” Erik asked instead of the thousand other thoughts swirling in his head and Raven shook her head. The guilt was practically pouring from them both, the tension in the room becoming unbearable as the song ended.
“Sean is your best bet to see what going on with Charles,” Angel interrupted, standing from her spot and handing the phone to Magneto, “He has a public account and posts a lot. He is going to release a documentary soon too.”
“A documentary?” Erik questioned, more to himself than to anyone in the room. He couldn’t deny he wasn’t interested anymore. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t want to know what was going on after ignoring it for so long. The kids, Charles, he missed them more than he cared to admit, “He’s only 19.”
Angel shrugged at the Brotherhood leader, saying, “Jean is cute by the way and it looks like she is telekinetic.”
Erik nodded, taking the phone and making his way back to his room. Surely, he could spare an hour catching up, he could allow himself that much. He went through Darwin’s profile first, seeing the mutant was still teaching at the school and was now married with a child on the way. Next, he went to Hank which was filled with voice-overs of science experiments and the occasional photo of the family or Alex.
“Hank hasn’t changed,” Erik mused aloud before he went to Alex’s profile, the young mutant grinning broadly at the camera with photos of himself and the others. The most surprising development was his relationship with Hank. Alex had always taken to teasing the older mutant but things had obviously changed as seen by the photo of them kissing. The rest of his page was various photos of Hank and the others, one with Alex posing next to a motorcycle with Scott. Scott was eight now, the metal bender’s heart clenched in longing at the memory of when he first called Erik, “Vati”.
Magneto sighed, shaking the memory from his head as he followed the link from Alex’s post to the official Professor X’s profile, basic pictures of the school, and announcement of the new music. Moria ran this page, he knew. He also knew Charles had a private account just for close friends and family. Luckily Darwin followed the private one, the profile made Erik take a pause. It was like looking back into a life he had left behind. The corny mutation jokes he wrote as captions to pictures of the children and the school. It made him ache to think about. He stopped on the photo of Jean who was perched in Charles's lap, seemingly around Christmas time with the caption ‘Jean’s first Hanukkah.’
Again, Erik was stumped at the idea of his ex-lover birthing a child, he had no clue Charles could carry children nor did he know of this child until yesterday. Jean’s smile was a copy of her fathers, her eyes just as expressive. The ache in his chest only grew the more he looked through the photos, Charles looked good. His hair was longer but he hadn’t looked like he had aged a day. This brought another question, who was the child’s father? And why did Charles still celebrate Hanukah when he was not Jewish?
His thoughts were interrupted by a message sent from Alex to Darwin’s account, without a second thought he clicked on it. Reading over the past messages, lots of it was memes but the more recent one was a post of a wedding band.
Yesterday 1:05pm
Do you think Hank would like this?
No, you’re better off with simple.
You’re 21, man. Don’t you think you’re proposing a little young?
When you know, you know.
Wait, didn’t you propose six months after dating??
Yeah but I was 26 at the time.
(Read 1:15)
One minute ago
(video of a proposal)
Okay this but less dumb and nerdier. I was thinking Pokémon.
Also, Sean is going around with another questionnaire so heads-up.
Erik’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. All his questions would be answered if he responded back but he couldn't risk being exposed. The metal bender clicked out of the chat and went to Sean’s Instagram page, scrolling through the countless videos the boy had posted. He understood why he was making a documentary so young, he had such talent. Erik held pride in his chest despite himself. The videos were of the school, of travel, but mostly they were of Sean going around asking questions to his family. Charles was always the last person he would ask in the lineup, which is probably why Sean had so many followers. He poured over those videos, catching a glimpse of the children, of Charles. Magento went through five years’ worth of media, hours passing without him noticing. He frowned the burly mutant from the other video started making more appearances, his name was Logan. He seemed to be close to Charles, always hovering close to the telepaths in the videos. Jealously and anger shot through him, what if Logan was Jean's father? It would make sense. If Sean's videos were anything to go by then Logan had appeared right after he and Raven left.
Erik’s frowned deepened at the thought but pushed it away in favor of watching the latest video, it had been posted an hour ago if the time stamp was correct.
The video opened with Sean grinning at the phone with a tiny microphone in his hand, “Today we will be asking everyone their thoughts on the new Professor X album and their favorite song! Let’s goooo!”
Erik’s lips twitched slightly at the young mutant's enthusiasm, Sean had grown so much in the five years since he had laid eyes on him. It made Erik’s heart clench at the memories. Sean's face had grown longer and he clearly had gotten taller, no longer a gangly fourteen-year-old boy anymore. The shot opened to one of Moria sitting at a laptop, typing away.
“Up first, we have Moria!” Sean announced behind the camera, “Moria, what did you think of Professor X’s new album?”
Moria looked up patiently as Sean stuck the tiny microphone in her face, saying, “It was amazing, of course.”
“Typical answer,” Sean commented, “What was your favorite song?”
The human rolled her eyes at his comment before smiling, saying, “Rolling in the deep, the vocals and emotion behind it were incredible.”
“Excellent answer,” Sean agreed, the video cut to a little girl with white hair and dark skin, writing what looked to be basic math, “Ororo, thoughts on the album?”
The little girl, leaned close to the microphone before burping into it cause Sean to yank it back with a holler, “Nasty! Who raised you?”
Ororo was giggling along with some of the other children surrounding them, “Mr. Alex said to do it.”
“Of course he did,” Sean grumbled, the next shot was of Emma Frost sat beside Logan, “Emma, thoughts on the new-“
Before he could finish that statement, Emma flicked the tiny microphone out of his hands with a diamond finger.
“Rude,” Sean said into the microphone before bringing it to Logan, “Thoughts on the new album?”
Logan turned an unimpressed face to the boy before raising his fist where three metal claws came out and then the video was blurry as the mutant ran from the man. The next victim was Hank who was sitting in his lab and writing diligently into a notebook. Sean shoved the microphone in his face, repeating the question.
“The professor's music is quite good. I can tell because the sound waves actually appeal to the ear in ways-,“ Hank started, his answer taking a turn about why the song was a success.
“Booorrinng,” Sean interrupted, “Favorite song?”
Hank frowned at the younger mutant, saying, “Why do you ask if you think it’s boring?”
“Because it’s funny,” Sean responded, the camera cut to Alex who was standing near the basketball court with a couple students. The blonde mutant had a whistle and was monitoring a kickball game.
“No,” Alex said before Sean even opened his mouth, “Unless you’re joining the game, go away.”
“Come on, one question?” Sean begged and the mutant just turned to him before blowing the whistle into the microphone. The next was a passing dog, which he stuck the camera by the dog's snout, asking the same question only to receive a bunch of sniffs.
“Thank you for your professional opinion,” Sean stated seriously before he moved on to a blue baby, his tail flicking around and his finger stuck in his mouth, “Quick before your Moms get back, what did you think of the album, Kurt?”
Kurt’s tiny blue hands reached for the mic before putting it inside his mouth.
“NO,” Sean yelled, tugging it from the baby’s mouth and Kurt paused before starting to wail, “No, wait. Please. I’m sorry.”
The video cut and resumed in what Erik recognized as the Xavier mansion garden, the sound of children’s laugher filled the background as Scott and Jean sat on a picnic blanket, snacking on some fruit.
“Finally, for the best musical critics in the world, what are your thoughts on the new album?” Sean asked, extending the microphone out to Scott, the sound of chewing filled the video.
“I like it,” Scott responded simply, making an unnecessary amount of noise while eating, “I can listen to Dad sing whenever.”
“Very good answer,” Sean said before turning the microphone to Jean. The four-year-old nodded her head in agreement, “Favorite songs?”
“I like the song about me,” Jean responded with a big grin.
“Narcissistic but okay,” Sean replied before the video changed again and Erik saw the face he wanted to see the most, “Dad, what do you think of Professor X’s new album?”
“Who is Prof. X?” Charles teased, feigning a confused expression and Sean groaned loudly. Charles looked almost angelic in the sunlight, his chestnut hair glinting just so and Erik paused the video there, just to look. They were obviously out on the grounds, same picnic blanket laid out in the background as in the previous shot. Charles used to love picnics. When they first moved into the mansion, they would sit on the grass under the shade of the trees for hours, kissing as the sun went down. Erik ran his finger over the screen, tracing the outline of his ex before clicking play. The telepath grinned at his son before saying, “Honestly the album was a bit pitchy.”
“I think millions of people would disagree,” Sean snorted, into the microphone before sticking it back into his father’s face.
“Why does the microphone smell like baby powder?” Charles questioned, taking a pause to look at the young mutant before him, “Did Kurt have this in his mouth?”
“No time, video is ending,” Sean answered and the video was back to his grinning face, “You heard it here first, Professor X’s album is the best. Science approved if Hank is anything to go by.”
The screen went black before starting the video again, this time Erik swiped it away. Closing out of Sean’s Instagram to go back to Charles's own, he scrolled through the photos of the telepath and the children. Erik had missed so much. The yearning to have Charles in his arms again was almost crippling. He wanted to see the younger man again in person, maybe not talk to him but just see him. Perhaps that would stop the insistent guilt of leaving, the guilt of sleeping with the one person he knew would hurt him the most, the feeling that he would never have a home again because Charles had always been his. He had offered Erik peace, love, and a home. He accepted him, sacrificed for him and how did Erik repay him?
“Verdammt,” Erik shouted, throwing the phone down on the bed and starting to pace. He owed it to Charles to listen to his album, in completion. To hear the pain, he inflicted and the joys Charles had without him. Picking the phone back up, he pulled up the album and hit shuffle.
“Wedding bells were just alarms
Caution tape around my heart
You ever wonder what you left behind?
The heart you broke wasn’t only mine”
Erik paced the room, his guilt quickly shifting into anger as it always did. That is how he dealt with things, pain and anger. How dare Charles think Erik cheated on him? He did not cheat. Yes, he slept with Raven but that was after. How dare Charles think he was the only one to blame? Charles was not innocent in their parting, he refused to act for mutants. He chose to hope for a brighter future and work with the very people who tried to kill him. Erik clicked the phone off before it could go to the other songs. He couldn’t do this, he left this life behind and he had a Brotherhood to run.
A month passed since the album came out, Erik had done an excellent job avoiding the music on the radio and the guilt that still remained. Or Erik would have if Charles Xavier’s face wasn’t plaster on every social media platform and his songs weren’t played everywhere. Every single public area Erik had been into, was playing ‘Friendly Fire’ and every radio station was too. It was if the universe was taunting him. The worst part was the gossip, everyone wanted to know who Jean’s biological father was and who Charles’s ex-fiancé was that inspired the album. If the metal bender saw one more twitter thread about Xavier’s potential lovers, he was going to level a city. For real this time. To add to the frustration, there were no leads on the group that kept clearing out the facilities before the brotherhood got there. At this point, he felt useless, guilty, and very much like he wanted to go back to the telepath.
“If you’re interested,” Angel began, coming into the room where Erik was pouring over a lead on a facility he suspected held mutants, “Sean released his documentary. It’s called Professor X through the eyes of his kids.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Erik growled out, looking up to glare at the mutant standing in the doorway.
“Because you don’t spend six hours scrolling through social media to see someone you’re over,” Angel scoffed and crossed her arms, “I’m going to watch it and so are you. You spent the last month avoiding it and you might as well watch it with us instead of waiting until we are asleep.”
“Reconsidering your stance in the brotherhood?” Erik snapped, his face turning into an angry frown.
“No,” Angel responded, turning to walk out of the room, “I’m starting the documentary in five minutes, you can watch if you want.”
Erik clenched his hands, rubbing his fingers through his hair before huffing. He would watch the documentary only because it needed to be put to rest. He wouldn’t let Charles distract him from his cause again. When Erik finally appeared in the living room, the documentary was queued up and the entirety of the brotherhood was sitting around ready to watch it.
“Really?” Erik asked, the members, and was met with shrugs.
“Professor X was my childhood crush,” Pyro admitted, Erik sneered at him before sitting himself down by Azazel and Raven. Erik shot Mystique a raised eyebrow but she looked resolutely at the screen as Angel played it.
‘Professor X through the eyes of his kids’
A documentary by Sean Cassidy Xavier
The camera blinked on, showing the face of Sean up close and adjusting it where it was perched, “That should do it.”
“Welcome to the documentary of Professor X aka Charles Xavier aka my Dad. My name is Sean Cassidy Xavier, I go to NYFA and this is my senior assignment,” Sean said with his arms outstretched before sitting down in front of the camera, “I chose my dad to be my main subject because he is my hero. He adopted me when I was fourteen along with my two brothers Alex and Scott. My dad, he went through a lot and throughout it all he never once gave up even when I knew he really really wanted to. Many people know him as Professor X, international pop star, or Charles Xavier mutant activist, or even just Professor but he is so much more than that. He’s my dad.”
The video went on to show Charles in his early career and h. is show toppers with a narration provided by Sean. Videos Erik remembered being, therefore, either watching from the sidelines or actually being in them. The footage of Charles speaking at one of the mutant rights debates, Erik by his side looking pissed at the human on the opposing team. Most of what was said, Erik knew, everyone knew about how Charles had gotten started and his childhood friendship with Erik and Raven. Magneto was surprised at how good the editing was and how much work Sean had to have done to get this amount of footage. In the background, he recognized Charles's music. The video transitioned to Sean in front of the camera again in what Erik remembered as the mansion’s smaller kitchen and the ginger mutant set the camera up before addressing it.
“Okay, so Dad hates traditional interviews so I enlisted the help of my brothers Alex and Scott. Plus, Hank and Logan to help,” Sean explained to the camera, “We are going to do it in parts, so it feels more like conversation instead of an ‘interrogation’ as Dad calls it. Since this is through the eyes of his children, I’ll be interviewing his kids, including myself.”
Erik remembered how much Charles hated interviews, he would always groan and whine in the time leading up. Charles always felt they were unnecessary and intrusive. Even if the interviewer didn’t ask certain questions, they would broadcast it. To Erik’s surprised, instead of Charles sitting in front of the camera it was Jean. The big blue eyes staring at Sean who was slightly behind the camera.
“So, Jean, how do you see Dad?” Sean questioned the four-year-old, who looked at him with confused eyes.
“With my eyes, silly,” Jean responded with a giggle and Sean groaned.
“I should have seen that coming,” Sean mumbled, “Okay, what do you think of Dad? What’s your favorite thing about him?”
“Daddy is the best, he reads me stories and makes really good cookies,” Jean answered, “I like it when he reads stories in my head at bedtime and he makes funny voices. I really really like sitting on his lap and feeling his mind touching mine.”
After Jean finished speaking, a short video played of Jean sitting in Charles lap out on the lawn with the two of them laughing and smiling. Erik’s heart ached at the sight.
Next, Alex appeared on screen, he was sitting on a stool next to a motorcycle in the garage, his hands and white t-shirt covered with grease. The garage was tidy with a handful of vehicles in it, on the wall hung picture frames filled with family photos.
“I was sixteen when Dad started fostering me and Scottie. I was a handful back then, mad at the world, and couldn’t control my powers. I didn’t make it easy on him. Honestly, I was just a little shit. I thought he would abandon us as everyone else had but he never did,” Alex recounted with a wistful look on his face, “Scottie took to him almost instantly, was calling him Dad maybe a month after being with them. A few months after being here, I blew a wall in the side of the house because I lost my temper again. Dad came sprinting into the room with Douche Rocket. I thought they would be pissed. He seemed so panicked when he came in.”
“Instead of anger or rejection, he just ran to me, completely disregarding his own safety and asked if I was okay,” Alex elaborated, a video of Charles and Alex, heads bent together, pointing at construction plans played while Alex recounted the story. Another video showed Charles helping Alex with the motorbike, the telepath handing the younger mutant tools, “I was baffled because every time I lost control like that my social workers would move me to another house but Dad just smiled saying, walls can be replaced but no one could ever replace me. After that, he helped me get a handle on my powers. Always reminding me, he had faith in me and that I would learn to control my gift. It was the first time, anyone had ever believed in me. He gave me a home, made me feel like I deserved to be loved.”
Alex paused, wringing his hands as he listened to a question Sean asked, but the audio didn’t pick up what it was. The blonde flinched before he spoke.
“When he was shot, I was terrified of the future. Watching this man who had done so much for us just collapse like that was horrible. I didn’t doubt that he loved us and that he would do anything in his power to keep our family together,” Alex said his voice dripping with respect and admiration, “Even when Douche Rocket left and his legs were gone, he picked himself up and gave us his best.”
The video transitioned to Charles and the boys sat at the table, a board game stretched in front of them. They were playing life, laughter and playful arguments breaking out. The video showing the closeness of them all. Scott was the next one to be on screen, he was sitting in the study, homework papers scattered in front of him.
“I was three when I was adopted. I don’t really remember anything before Dad. I know I’m adopted and that Alex and I went through the foster system,” Scott said, a thoughtful expression on his face for an eight-year-old and a clip of Charles and Scott sat at the piano. Charles was showing him the different keys and Scott had his fingers in position, paying rapt attention to the older mutant, “A year ago, when my powers came, I was standing with Dad as he pointed out the tree he wanted to build a treehouse on for us. My eyes had been itchy all day and then all the sudden the tree was split in half. I was so scared but Dad told me everything was going to be alright. He said I had an amazing gift and he was so proud of me. No matter what, I always know he is going to have my back. I know some people think he is less of a parent because he is in a wheelchair but I disagree. I think he is twice the parent because he stayed when things got complicated and never once let the hard times affect his parenting.”
The video changed again, this time to show Charles sitting in his study talking to Logan.
“I remember that day in vivid detail, I remember the smell of the carnival and the happiness that was circulating in the air. It was such a big step for mutants everywhere,” Charles said, looking at Logan who was off-camera but asking the questions Sean had supplied him, “I had a chat with Emma and jumped on stage just like normal. I think I was about a couple verses into the song when the gunshots rang out.”
The picture Emma had taken of their family right before Charles got on stage shower while Charles voiced over as a narration. The picture shifted into a video. The TV camera was filming Charles as he sang happily into the microphone, the exact moment the gunshots started he dropped to the ground but the camera was on the stage the whole time. Ice ran through Erik’s veins as the video played, he never watched it even though it had been broadcasted on International news. Watching it happen from this angle was daunting.
“I found the shooter but he was wearing some sort of telepathic blocker, I shouted for Erik where the man was and then I heard Emma calling my name, her voice was so panicked,” Charles went on, the video depicting everything that the telepath had said, a red blur had surfaced behind the mutant in it, “When I turned towards her, there was a beat before I felt this excruciating pain in my back. I knew I had been shot by the time I hit the stage, everything around me had felt blurry from the pain. I could feel the burning of the wound and then my legs went numb. I thought maybe it was the shock but I quickly realized it wasn’t that.”
“Then Erik Lehnsherr, who stopped the attacker, ran to my side, pulling the bullet out and pressing his hands to the wound. There was so much blood around me and on my hands, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I could hear Erik telling me everything was okay and that I needed to stay calm but I couldn’t stop,” Charles continued, the camera showing Charles’ downed body and Erik jumping on stage in a hurry, “I said to him ‘I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel my legs.’ I just kept repeating that, hoping I was wrong or that something would fix it. The next thing I remember was waking in the hospital and they told me I would never walk again.”
Charles sighed, the video turning back to the telepath, “After that my fiancé and my sister left. Then during one of the tests, the doctors discovered I was pregnant and I laughed in their faces. I thought they were having a laugh. Of course, they weren’t. My first thought was how is this baby going to get out? My next thought was how am I going to raise four children by myself?”
Erik inhaled sharply, the child was his and he was not the only one who seemed to put it together from the gasp Raven let out. There was no way Jean wasn’t his biological daughter unless Charles had cheated on him but that was impossible. Charles had spent every waking minute with either Erik himself or the children. The answer felt so obvious now, the Hanukah, the timing, and the telekinesis. Jean was his daughter. A daughter Charles and Erik had made together. This world-altering realization was broken by Charles speaking again.
“I had to consider if I was the best fit for them or if they would be better off without me. Nothing would ever be the same for me or them if they decided to stay. So, I called them each to me one by one and gave them a choice. Obviously, they all chose to stay with me. Actually, in Alex’s words were ‘Standing or not, you’re my dad.’,” Charles recounted, a smile curving his lips up. He shifted in his seat slightly, causing a necklace holding two metal rings to fall out of his lilac sweater. Erik immediately recognized them, they were the rings Erik himself had crafted for their wedding bands. The one he had handed back to Charles before he left him in that hospital bed, “The relief and love I felt at that moment, it made me realize that if I had them then everything would be okay. The adoption was tricky, I had lots of hoops to jump through. Since the accident, they didn’t want to let me keep the boys but I fought for them. It worked out rather well, considering.”
The video faded into Charles sat next to where Scott was laid in his bed, tucked in and he was reading what looked to be a children’s book. Jean was sat in Charles's lap, her head resting on the telepaths chest. She was clearly asleep as Charles read through the book, using different voices for each character. Scott was pressed against his dad, his eyelids fluttering as he was being lulled to sleep.
Another clip came on of the telepath. Charles wheeled himself around the classroom, reading aloud from a book and spinning to talk to the students in the room, answering their questions, and giving them patient smiles.
“I always wanted children, after the disaster of a home life I had, I wanted to make a family,” Charles explained over a video of the Christmas/Hanukah before the accident, a camera had been set up to record as they decorated the Christmas tree. Charles had Scott on his hip, helping him put the ornaments on the tree. Hank and Alex were bickering about the placement of the tinsel. Raven was seen pouring eggnog with Darwin and Angel. Sean was leaned over the menorah, Erik beside him explaining the concept behind it all. It was the last holiday besides Charles's birthday they spent together. They looked like a family, they were a family or had been. Erik remembered that so clearly, Charles had been flushed with eggnog and had pulled him under the mistletoe as soon as the children had been distracted with cookies. The ache in Erik’s chest grew with each second that passed, “I wanted to adopt mutants to give them what I didn’t have, someone to help me control my abilities and understand what it was like to be a mutant. I thought I had found the person to share my dreams with but life is quick to change.”
The video moved away from Charles to show more videos of Charles with the children or helping around the school, Sean’s voice narrating over it, “This project was meant to show a real-life hero, my dad is that to me. He gave me a home, he taught me the value of kindness, and overall, he taught me that everyone can be a superhero.”
Fin.
Erik sat in silence before standing up and turning to the red-skinned mutant, “Azazel, take me to Westchester.”