The Puppeteer - X-Men

Fourteen

Lily surprisingly did sleep that night and, for the first time in years, it was a sleep that wasn't plagued with nightmares. She pulled on a oversized shirt that Raven had given her and made her way downstairs, stumbling into the kitchen, still half-asleep. "Nice of you to grace us with your presence" Erik said snarkily. "Shut it, magnet-man" she glared at him as she grabbed a slice of toast, biting into it.

"There's coffee over there" Raven pointed and she nodded. "Thank you" Lily covered her mouth since it was full of toast. "Close your mouth" Erik reprimanded and Lily raised her middle finger at the man as she grabbed a mug. 'You really should close your mouth when eating, Lily' Charles said in her head and she flipped him off next.

"Fuck off, I'm tired" she said, pouring herself some coffee. Alex and Erik looked at her weirdly as she sat down, Charles just smirking slightly. "Alright, we need to hurry. There is only so much time on our hands before Shaw decides to start World War Three" Charles stood up. "But I'm not done" Lily protested, looking down at her toast.

Charles walked past her and stole the last piece of toast off her plate. "Now you're down" he smirked before walking out the room, taking a bite of it. "Where's Hank? Did anyone see him?" Charles asked as everyone followed him. "Try the lab. He's always holed up in there" Raven suggested and they all headed to the lab.

When Charles pushed the door open, Lily gasped softly. The lab was demolished, vials lying broken on the floor, chairs flipped over and the microscope was broken. Lily froze, reaching out with her mind as she tried to find him. "He's at the air base" Lily said upon locating him. Charles opened a crate, revealing blue and yellow suits with name-tags attached.

"Do we really have to wear these?" Alex complained, looking at the crate in disgust. "As none of us have mutated to survive extreme g-force or being riddled with bullets, I suggest we suit up" Charles replied. "In these? Charles, these just send out 'shoot me, I'm over here' signals" Lily sighed. "Lily, just wear the clothes. We leave for the base in ten minutes" he sighed in exhaustion.

~

They were all sat in the back of a truck in silence as Erik drove. "So how exactly are we getting a plane?" Lily finally broke the silence. "Hank has used his clearance at the CIA to allow us to access his plane" Charles replied. "Bozo has a private jet? Good for him" Alex smirked.

"No talking" Erik snapped. "You aren't included in this conversation, shut up" Lily snapped and Alex was unable to silence his laugh. "We're losing focus. This is serious. If we fail, Shaw destroys the world and everyone in it" Erik's voice turned dark and everyone went silent again.

"Congratulations Erik, you traumatized the children" Charles scoffed sarcastically. "Can you guys stop calling me a child?" Lily asked. "You are children. With the exception of Mystique and McCoy, all of you are seventeen, Lily you're sixteen" Erik pointed out. "And I could still beat you in a fight, what's your point?" she replied snarkily and Charles turned around to look at her, his eyebrows raised.

"Sorry" she mumbled and he turned back around. "I was tried as an adult, does that count?" Alex muttered. "Alright, the two of you are children" Erik conceded. "Erik, what the fuck?!" Lily protested and Sean joined in, Charles taking a deep breath and sighing.

~

Everyone got out of the truck and walked into the base. "Damn, that is one huge-ass plane" Sean complimented. "This looks badass" Lily smiled. "Where's Hank?" Raven asked curiously. "I'm here" a figure appeared and walked towards them although it didn't look like Hank. Hank now had blue fur covering his body and his glasses were rather small. "What happened?" Lily asked softly.

"It didn't attack the cells, it enhanced them. Lily, I'm so sorry for offering this to you. It likely would've killed you if you had taken it" Hank turned to her. "It's okay, Hank. You look perfect" Lily reassured him. "It didn't work" he looked down. "Yes, it did. This is who you were meant to be, Hank. This is you, no more hiding. Lily's right, you're perfect" Raven said.

"Never looked better man" Erik clapped his shoulder. Hank growled and grabbed Erik by the throat, lifting him up. "Don't mock me!" he growled. "Hank, put him down immediately. Hank, Hank!" Charles ordered. "Hank, put him down" Lily said in a softer voice and Hank looked between her and Charles before dropping Erik. After coughing, Erik managed to croak out: "I wasn't".

"You deserved that" Lily mumbled as Erik regained his composure, still on one knee beside her. He reached out and punched her hard in the leg, causing her to yelp. "Fuck you" she spat, rubbing her thigh. "Erik, please refrain from abusing children" Charles stated calmly. 'Would you like me to hit him?' Charles asked. 'Nope, I'm fine' Lily replied before slapping Erik round the back of the head as he stood up.

"Now we're even" she shrugged and he sighed before nodding.