Chapter 10
“So, four kids are lost?”
Tony asked with a frown, as he saw the poor kids laying motionlessly on small cots placed in the room.
God, the oldest one of them couldn’t be over ten. The sight of them broke his heart. No kid should ever be this motionless.
“Yes.” Erik answered shortly, wincing a little as he placed weight on the wrong foot while standing. The mutant was obviously really banged up, but refusing to acknowledge it.
“Erik, you can rest a little. We can handle it from here.” Castiel tried to convince him to take it easy, as he watched with a frown as the mutant was trying to hide his pained grimace.
“No, no, I am fine. I can keep going.” He shook his head firmly, pressing his lips into a tight line to hide his pain.
Tony and Castiel shared a look, then shook their heads with a sigh.
“Just try to not pass out on us. We will not carry your fat ass.” Tony muttered, as he watched Castiel as he walked towards one of the comatose children.
“You can’t carry me anyway.” Erik rolled his eyes with a scoff.
“Cas can. He is built like a brick shithouse. He can carry you bridal style and that will be an unpleasant sight for all of us.”
“Thanks, Tony, you are being very helpful.” Castiel rolled his eyes, as he eyed the first kid and placed a careful hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.
Erik came up to stand beside Tony and they watched Castiel work. They were silent for a few seconds, too tensed and worried to think of anything else right now.
“You are on the edge for a while now.” Tony finally broke the tense silence, looking over at the equally tensed mutant. “Even before this. I noticed during our vacation too. Is something going on with you and Charles?”
“No.” Erik answered a little too fast, a little too harsh, that got even Castiel’s attention as he looked up at Erik with a frown. The mutant sighed, before trying again. “I mean, I don’t know. It’s-it’s complicated.”
“Try to uncomplicated it for me then.” Tony raised his eyebrows at him, but was smiling a little to put the mutant on ease. “I am just trying to help.”
Erik bit his lower lip a little hesitantly, before looking away with a sigh.
“He misses his legs.” He whispered in obvious pain, that even Tony winced at the pained sentence. “He admitted that unconsciously and I don’t know how to deal with it or make it better. Because simply, I can’t. This is the only thing that I can’t make better, then came this situation and I am feeling more useless by the second.” He looked up at the genius, who was taken off guard by the amount of pain he saw in his eyes. “If I can’t protect Charles and make his life easier, then I am useless and don’t deserve him.”
Tony stared at him a little breathlessly. Honestly? He didn’t think Erik would actually open up and talk to him. Guess the mutant really was needing a friend to talk to for a while now.
His eyes trailed towards Castiel and saw him looking at Erik with a strange look that was both sad and guilty. Why would Cas feel guilty? That didn’t make sense.
Tony sighed as he looked back at Erik. “Look, I get it. Believe me, I do. To make a mistake and not be able to undo it no matter how you tried. You already paid for that mistake, no point to beat yourself up for it right now.” He placed a careful hand on Erik’s shoulder, as he looked at him intently. “You are doing the best you can. You can’t face everything on your own. You can’t solve this problem, so we are here to help and share the burden. As for Charles, it is normal for him to miss his legs, man. Especially after what happened a few months ago. It’s a normal feeling, but that doesn’t mean he is blaming you for it at this moment. Some things are just meant to happen.” He then leaned in to whisper meaningfully. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed.”
“What do you mean?” Erik looked at him in confusion, but his eyes were lighting up with hope.
“I have bad news.” Castiel interrupted and they both turned to him immediately.
“What?” they asked at the same time, looking at Castiel expectantly.
“I didn’t get anything from checking the children from outside.” The angel frowned in displeasure, obviously hating what he was about to say. “They seem to be uninjured. No internal injuries either. That means I have to check on them in a more thorough way.”
“By more thorough, you mean-?”
“Yes, Tony, I need to check their souls. The same way I reached to your soul all those months ago to save Steve.” Castiel sighed, while pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.
“But that will be painful as fuck, they are just little children, they can’t handle such pain.” Tony objected, but he knew that Castiel was only doing what he thinks was the best.
“I know. That’s the bad part.” Castiel pursed his lips in frustration. “They will not be harmed. There will be no lasting effects. I am sorry, but I can’t tell how to help them if I don’t do it.”
They both looked questioningly at Erik, it was his decision, after all. He trailed his eyes between them for a few seconds, before sighing in defeat.
“Do it.” He decided with a displeased twist of his lips. Tony couldn’t blame him, these kids were his responsibility and he, obviously, hated the thought of them being in pain.
“Alright, then.” Castiel murmured as he pulled off his jacket, revealing the opened blue plaid shirt and black T-shirt he was wearing underneath, both property of Dean Winchester. As Tony said before, Castiel now was built like a house, that he was filling Dean’s shirts admirably.
Working out together every day was doing magic to all of them actually. Tony also was now built pretty nicely, and can hold himself in a fight even without his armor. He can also handle guns and blades like a pro, thanks to Dean and Castiel’s patient teaching, since he and Steve started to go on hunts with them sometimes when they can.
Being able to fight in and out of the armor was a nice boost to his self-esteem.
Castiel rolled up his sleeves to his elbow, and readied himself to check the first kid.
“Here we go.” He sighed, then his hand entered the small chest.
***
Sam, Natasha and Bucky were walking down a corridor in the east wing.
The hunter’s eyes were trained on the EMF meter in his hand, while the other two were looking around, checking for anything unusual.
“What if it wasn’t something supernatural?” Bucky wondered, while still looking around. “It could be an evil mutant or something that hates the X-family’s guts and decided to make their lives a living hell.”
“It won’t hurt to check all the possibilities.” Natasha just shrugged with pursed lips.
“It’s hard to imagine that someone could hate Charles this much. The guy is just too damn nice to have enemies.” Sam commented with a frown.
“Some people just hates what he is, Sam. Just because he is a mutant that dared to make a school for other mutants.” Natasha shook her head with a grimace. “So many people still don’t accept mutants. To them? Charles is just building an army to wipe them all out or something, not caring to actually know him or how sweet and kind he is.”
“Sometimes I forget that humans could be worse than monsters.” Sam sighed, then stopped and frowned a little.
“What?” Bucky turned to him in confusion, while Natasha looked at him in question.
“Do you guys smell that?” he said while following the smell his nose caught, he stopped when he realized he was in front of the room where one of the attacks happened.
“Yeah, I smell something.” Bucky confirmed, while smelling the air. “Not sure what it is though.”
Natasha opened the door of the room and the three of them trudged inside to look around carefully.
“Well, the smell is definitely stronger here.” Natasha frowned, as she walked around and stopped when she noticed something. “Sam? Come see this.”
He ran over to her with Bucky, then crouched down to check what she was pointing at.
He trailed his finger through the yellow powder on the floor and smelled it.
“That’s Sulphur.” He announced in a confused shock. “But it smells a little differently, that’s why I didn’t notice it before. But now I can tell it’s definitely Sulphur.”
“What does this mean?” Bucky asked curiously.
“It means this wasn’t left by a Soul Eater or a Shtriga or even a ghost.” He frowned even more in confusion. “This means a demon.”
***
Dean was walking up ahead with the EMF Meter, while his two companions were following silently.
Steve was looking around, looking for anything that seemed misplaced or wrong, but he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. Even with the few hunts he went on with the Winchesters, he still didn’t have any grasp of the supernatural world. There was just so many beings and monsters, it was hard to fully distinguish them from each other without facing them.
Obviously, if he spent his life not facing any of those monsters on his own, meant that the Winchesters and the other hunters were doing their jobs perfectly. He had a new respect for them each day.
‘Yes, hunters deserve all the respect they could get.’
Charles’ voice whispered in his mind suddenly, startling him a little and he turned to him sharply.
‘I am sorry. It is so quiet in here without the children, that both your thoughts are very loud to me.’ Charles apologized with a small smile, apparently he didn’t feel like talking with his voice.
“It’s alright. I was just caught off guard.” Steve said, returning Charles’ smile. Sure, it was still sometimes unfamiliar to have someone peek into his thoughts, but he trusts Charles enough to know that he wasn’t doing it on purpose most of the time, and even if he did, the telepath will never hold his thoughts against him.
“What?” Dean turned to him in confusion. Obviously, confused of the seemingly random sentence. “Are you two mind gossiping or something? Not sure if that is weird or rude.”
“Yes, we are discussing how that maroon shirt doesn’t agree with your skin tone.” Steve rolled his eyes, while Charles snorted a little.
“How dare you? This shirt makes me magnificently stunning. Ask Cas and he will wholeheartedly agree.” Dean mock gasped dramatically, that managed to get a chuckle from Charles, which made Dean grin proudly while Steve rolled his eyes again. “By the way, you still get radio silence whenever you try to read Cas’ mind, Wi-Fi Brain?”
Charles raised an amused eyebrow at the nickname, he was used to weird nicknames, obviously. He grew up with Tony I-Nickname-Everything-That-Moves Stark, after all.
“Yes, his mind is still a frustrating mystery to me. He has walls so high, that I can’t see its end. He really does have one of the most powerful minds I ever encountered. It’s frustrating.” Charles praised quietly, seeming to be glad to have a conversation that didn’t involve their current situation.
“That’s my Cas. Frustrating for pretty much everyone.” Dean chuckled with a shake of his head, then stopped suddenly as he looked down at the EMF meter in his hand in confusion. “Huh. That’s weird.”
“What? What’s weird?” Steve tensed, as he walked over to him to see what’s wrong.
“I think this thing is reading something, but I have no idea where.” Dean frowned, as he shook the device while it kept beeping loudly and erratically.
“What do you mean?” the soldier asked in confusion.
“Look.” Dean lowered the meter towards the floor where it keeps beeping madly, then raised it towards the ceiling and it stopped suddenly.
“What? Does it mean the threat is underground?” Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Maybe? That is the only thing that makes sense.” Dean shrugged, before crouching down on the ground to trail his hand on the hardwood floor carefully. “Hey, Charles, what’s under he-“ he looked up, and the words choked in his throat as he stared in horror.
“Dean? What is it?” Charles frowned at Dean’s strange reaction, he trailed his eyes towards Steve to ask him what happened to the hunter, only to find him staring at him with the same look.
“Charles, don’t move. Don’t you fucking move!” Dean hissed urgently, as he slowly got back to his feet and pulled out his gun just as slowly.
“What? What is-“
“Look down. Slowly. Don’t make any sudden move.” Steve whispered fervently, as he stared intently at Charles’ legs.
The telepath frowned then looked down at his feet, only to tense and grab the armrests of his chair tightly to restrain himself from making any move.
Because there was a black clawed hand that burst out of the floor without even scratching the wood, like it was passing through water not wood. That hand was gripping Charles’ ankle tightly. He didn’t notice the tight grip, obviously. Being paralyzed would do that you, he thought hysterically.
“Okay. It’s going to be okay.” Dean kept repeating, probably to himself more than to Charles, as he raised his gun towards the hand, ready to shoot it.
But it suddenly moved so hard, that it pulled Charles completely from his chair and started to drag him down under towards whatever the hell it came from.
He yelped as he hit the floor hard. His two companions were on him immediately, gripping his upper body hard and pulling him towards them in an attempt to make the hand release him.
But it was to no avail, the hand pulled Charles down and he was terrified to find his foot disappear through the floor behind the sinking hand.
“Shit, shit! It’s pulling him down under the floor!” Steve yelled in panic, as he tightened his grip on the telepath and pulled.
“Being dragged under the floor of my own home is a really terrible way to go.” Charles gritted out, as he used all the strength in his upper body to hold on to his friends, who kept pulling against the hand to release him.
“Fuck, it’s so strong!” Dean exclaimed, as he and Steve hit the floor from how hard the hand was dragging Charles, but they never loosened their grip on him.
Charles was now down to his thighs inside the floor and he realized that there were several hands grapping at his legs now from the sudden strong pull that dragged two of the strongest men he ever knew behind him.
“Let go.” Charles ordered as calmly and firmly as he could.
“What?! Are you crazy?” They both yelled at him in shock and tightened their grip when he loosened his.
“Let go. The two of you! It will drag the both of you with me! Just let go!” Charles shouted back in frustration. “It obviously wants me and it will not let go. So, let it have me and just go! Maybe that will stop what’s happening with my children.”
“Shut up! Just shut up and hold the fuck on! I promised your fucking husband that I will keep you safe, and that’s what I will fucking do!” Dean pretty much screamed at his face in pure rage and horror.
“Don’t lead for me to make you let go against your will.” Charles warned sharply, getting desperate by each second. “Please, let go. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. It’s not going to be your fault.”
“My God, just shut up, please!” Steve was also getting desperate, a frustrated tear rolled down his face.
Both never lessened their tight grip on the telepath, even when he was down to his chest now.
Suddenly, two hands shot out of the floor, one grabbed Dean’s arm and the other grabbed Steve’s.
There was a second when everything froze, their eyes widened at the sudden movement. Then the three of them were pulled down in one sudden move and disappeared completely under the floor without having a chance to fight back.
Before he was pulled down completely, Charles sent a desperate scream to his husband with his mind, that he didn’t realize it will reach all the minds in the mansion instead of just one.
After they sunk completely, everything calmed down. The corridor was so quiet, that no one would imagine what was happening under the seemingly harmful floor at that moment.