Of Mutants and Men

[17]

A few moments ago...

          The common misconception about Erik Lehnsherr was that he was heartless.

At least that's what Hank had always thought. From the moment they first met, he was nothing short of rude and detestable. 'Be proud of your mutation!' Easy for him to say, especially when his mutation was not as apparent as his was. And he would never forget about the events that occurred in Cuba, when Erik took over Shaw's modest circle of followers, when he lost the love of his life, when the Professor lost his legs because Moira was actually daft enough to shoot metal bullets at a metal bender and Erik was just being himself: an asshole with anger issues.

Hank often wondered. If Erik had listened to the Professor and didn't kill Shaw, would things have been different? If humans weren't such fickle creatures, would they have achieved peace? Would they have found happiness? 

But here they were, fighting one war at a time, one monster at a time.

Despite Hank's intensive care, Angelika still lost weight along with muscles. She looked ridiculously fragile, like a cracked porcelaine threatening to shatter at any moment. When he brought her to Cerebro, he noticed the way Erik's fingers ghosted over the hem of the sheet that covered Angelika.

It was odd, seeing Erik with a heart, being so careful. His face was devoid of emotion but Hank could hear the way his heart was hammering in his ribcage, the way he swallowed thickly whenever the heart monitor started beeping abnormally.

The genius mutant couldn't understand the nature of their relationship – not that it was any of his business. Charles didn't say much except for the fact that Angelika and Erik were old friends. But he recognised the look Angelika gave when Erik wasn't looking and vice versa. 

Longing. 

Their eyes held longing like his did when he looked at Raven.

"How are you feeling, Professor," Hank asked as Charles adjusted the helmet on his head.

"I'm fine, Hank. Thank you for asking."

Whenever Charles used Cerebro, he seemed so sure and certain but the nervous half-smile he gave Hank was somewhat worrying.

Cerebro whirred to life and instead of light, they were plunged into darkness. There was a single light flickering and Erik felt like his breath was stolen from him. He knew what he did was wrong but he never realised the impact his actions could have on her.

A few minutes passed and Charles finally spoke, "I found her." Then he closed his eyes again. 'Angelika, you need to wake up," said Charles. "Your body can't go on like this any longer."

His persuasion continued, "Your friends, your family, we are all waiting for you to come back to us."

The metal bender wished he could hear what she was saying.

"Is it because of Erik?"

Hank stole a cautious yet curious glance at Erik. His jaw clenched upon hearing his name, his gaze falling to the floor.

"Wake up, Angelika."

The simple command caused the inside of Cerebro to turn red, alarm of warning blaring loudly. Blood dripped from Charles' nose, low grunts slipping past his lips. His fingertips dug into the cushion of the armrests of his chair as he struggled to maintain the connection.

"Professor!"

"Charles!"

Both mutants rushed to the telepath's sides.