The Puppeteer - X-Men

Twenty Seven

Despite having lived at the mansion for almost eleven years now, Lily was still mesmerised by the interior. It was gorgeous, and a pain in the ass to take care of. But even still, after all these years, she found new books on the library shelves and new chairs to sit in.

Although, as always, she was pulled from her thoughts by something not so great.

As the group stepped into the foyer, Charles cried out in pain, dropping to the floor as he clutched his back. Before Charles had the chance to collapse fully, Lily was already there and Charles was in her arms. "Okay, just breathe, just breathe. I've got you, brother, I've got you" she whispered as she hoisted him up, Hank running off to get the serum as Lily set Charles down on the nearest object.

"Why can't he walk?" Logan asked. "I wonder" Lily replied sarcastically before focusing on Charles. "I'm here" she breathed as she watched her brother grip his head, his eyes squeezed shut. "Hey, hey, pull yourself together. It's not over yet" Logan told the man and Lily shot him a glare.

"You don't believe that" Charles looked at the future man. "How do you know?" Logan faltered, his expression dropping to a grim one. "As these go, this comes back" Charles pointed shakily to his legs then to his head. "They all come back!" he cried, gripping his head once again.

Lily placed two fingers on his temple, trying to either take the voices from him or push them aside but that only made her cry out as her own voices surfaced. But she didn't remove her fingers, giving Charles brief moments of calm as she tried not to cry.

Help, help, help, help, help, help.

Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!

It hurts! It hurts!

She grimaced at the voices that were seemingly louder than they had been previously and her hand trembled. "Hank!" she called, getting to the point where she was severely tempted to take the serum herself.

Mother! Don't let them take me! Mother!

Lily inhaled sharply, her hand dropping from Charles' head as she covered her ears. "Shut up, shut up" she repeated over and over, Logan looking between the two crumbling siblings. "Lizzy, you need to get it together" Logan said, his tone harsh but Lily couldn't hear him. The voices were deafening.

"Look, she is still out there. But we need your help, Charles. Not like this, I need you. We can't find Raven, not without your powers" Logan said, sparing worried glances at the woman.

Hank came barrelling down the stairs, a syringe with yellow liquid firmly grasped in his hands. Charles reached out for it immediately, his hand shaking slightly as he watched his sister, who was continuing to murmur the same two words over and over again.

"I added a little extra cause you missed the last dose" Hank explained as Charles looked at the syringe for a moment. "Charles" Logan said slowly. Charles let out a breath and set the syringe down, keeping his eyes on Lily to distract him.

"Lily" he breathed, his voice strained. "Lily" he repeated. "Elizabeth" he said and the woman snapped out of it, looking at her brother with wide eyes. "Would you help me to my study please?" he asked and Lily stayed silent for a moment before nodding and helping him up, practically carrying him into his study.

She leant Charles against his desk, keeping her arm around his waist as Hank opened the door in the corner. "Are you sure about this?" Hank questioned as they stared at the white wheelchair. "Absolutely not" Charles replied. "Surely that's the best way to live life?" Lily spoke, trying to distract herself and her brother.

~

The doors opened, revealing the futuristic bunker that Lily and Hank had built together. "When was the last time you were down here?" Logan asked. "The last time we went looking for students" Hank said sadly. "A lifetime ago" Charles added and Lily placed a hand on his shoulder as they walked.

They stopped in front of a door, a light appearing on Charles' face in the form of an X. "Welcome, Professor" the computer greeted before the doors slid open.

"Raven's wounded. She won't be moving fast" Hank said as they walked down the bridge. Reluctantly, Charles lifted the head gear off the panel in front of him. "I can do this if you want" Lily offered. "I remember what this did to you last time. I'm never letting that happen again" Charles shook his head, blowing dust off the helmet.

"These are muscles I haven't stretched in a long time" he said lowly before placing it on his head. As Hank pushed some buttons, Lily raised a hand to her temple. "No" Charles grabbed her arm and pulled it back down. "I can handle this" he told her and she hesitated before nodding, opting to place her hand on his shoulder instead.

Hank started up the machine and white figures appeared all around them. But like a switch, they all turned red. Agony-filled groans left Charles' mouth and he grabbed Lily's hand in an attempt to keep himself somewhat grounded.

The room began to spin and Charles' groans soon turned to screams of pain as other voices, also screaming in pain, overlapped with his. The machine began to spark and explode before the red figures disappeared and the whole room turned dark. "Charles? Charles, talk to me" Lily crouched down in front of him, her hands on either side of his face.

He stayed silent and Logan looked at the worried girl. She looked up at him and he jerked his head towards Hank, who was leaving to check the generator. Lily frowned before nodding, standing up to leave but Charles grabbed her wrist. "I'm just gonna help Hank with the generator. I'll be right back" she promised, placing a kiss to the top of his head before rushing out the room after Hank.

"You know it's just a lever, right?" Hank said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Yeah, I know. Logan wanted to talk to him alone" Liy sighed, looking back over her shoulder. "How do you feel? With the serum" Hank clarified and she looked at him. "The voices are louder" she whispered and Hank looked down.

"But I do feel stronger. Like how I did in Cuba" Lily continued and Hank looked at her with wide eyes. "What?" she frowned. "That's the first time you've said Cuba without hesitating" Hank said and Lily smiled softly. "Having Charles back...I didn't realise how broken I was until you two fixed me" Lily sighed.

"I didn't-" Hank started. "Hank, I literally would've been dead if it wasn't for you" she deadpanned and Hank smiled. Hank walked into the room and pulled the lever, waiting for the lights to come back on before turning around.

"I'm sorry" Hank said and Lily frowned. "For what?" Lily asked. "I may have noticed your physical needs but I completely ignored your mental ones" Hank replied. "Hank..." Lily spoke. "No. You'd think I, of all people, would recognise when someone was that low. But I didn't. I just let it happen. Let myself mourn someone I'd known for a week" Hank continued.

"And I just let you do all the hard work. I made you take care of Charles, made you take care of me, and no one was there to take care of you" Hank finished. "I can take care of myself, Hank" Lily scoffed slightly. "But you shouldn't have to. I've had your shoulder to lean on for a decade. Now, my shoulder is open to you" Hank sighed.

Lily just stood there, a conflicted look on her face. It had been a long time since anyone had been there for her and truthfully, she didn't remember how to act. "I'll keep that in mind" Lily spoke stiffly before turning around and walking back towards Cerebro.

When she got to the man room, she saw Logan leaning on Charles' chair as the telepath's hand was on his head. "Power's back on" Hank announced, visibly confused at the sight in front of him. "Yes. Yes, it is" Charles replied before wheeling himself back into Cerebro.