Read My Mind ↳ charles xavier

9. Into Battle

Gone to the airbase, bring the crate marked X. -Hank

We found the note on the lab door the next morning and figured we better not go in until Charles got there. However, he got there rather quickly and we all went inside to see what was going on.

It was a mess. Things were knocked over, tables were broken, glass cluttered up the floor. We carefully looked around, extremely aware of the broken glass.

"What the hell happened here?" Erik asks, speaking for all of us. Charles found the crate marked X that Hank was referring to in his note. He pulled it open and looked inside with me standing beside him.

"Hank has been busy," Erik says as the rest of them join to see the surprise.

"Do we really have to wear these?" Alex complains. Charles sighs.

"As none of us mutated to endure extreme g-force or being riddled up by bullets, I suggest we suit up."

We put the silly yellow clown suits on and go to the airbase, following Hank's orders. In the crate were six yellow suits, the ones which Alex and Charles were referring to. Hank must have made them, for us to wear into battle.

"Where is Hank?" Raven asks. The nerd scientist guy is no where in sight as we look around the base, standing in front of the plane.

"I'm here," his voice says, and we look forward. I can see a silhouette approaching us, but it doesn't really look like Hank. Weird, because it sounded just like him.

"It didn't attack the cells," he explains as his now larger blue and furry form comes into sight, "it enhanced them." He's talking about the serum, I'm guessing. "It didn't work." Raven looks at him with her head slightly tilted and a soft expression on her blue face.

"Yes it did, Hank," she says softly, "don't you see? This is who you were meant to be." He walks forward and Raven sets a hand on his shoulder. "This is you. No more hiding." She shakes her head. Erik hits his other shoulder playfully.

"You never looked better, man," he comments, but Hank takes it the wrong way. He thrusts his hand forward and latches it onto Erik's throat, snarling.

"Don't. Mock me," Hank says angrily.

"Hank, put him down immediately, please," Charles speaks up, but Hank doesn't seem to be listening. "Hank. Hank!" With that, the furball takes his hand away and Erik collapses to the floor, trying to catch his breath.

"I wasn't," the out-of-breath Erik responds, looking up at Hank with an angry expression on his face.

"Even I gotta admit, you look pretty badass," Alex says, looking at Hank, and I can tell that he is being honest. "I think I got a new name for you. Beast." Hank growls quietly, but does nothing more.

"You're sure you can fly this thing?" Sean asks, looking to Hank and then to the enormous plane before us

"Of course I can," Beast replies, "I designed it."

•••

"It looks pretty messy out there," our pilot, Beast, reports as we fly over the large surface of water where the ships are. I don't bother to look; I'm too busy gripping the side of my chair and trying not to hurl.

Charles notices, of course, and sets his hand over mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze as if to tell me it's going to be okay.

Then, with his other hand, he reaches up and presses his index finger to his temple, doing his telepathy thing. I keep quiet and hold on to his hand.

"The crew of the Aral Sea are all dead," he says, opening his eyes. "Shaw's been there."

"He's still here, somewhere," Erik says, determined. I say nothing as I clench my jaw and clear my head.

"He set the ship on course for the embargo line," Charles replies, looking towards Moira but keeping his hand in mine.

"If that ship crosses the line, our boys are going to blow it up," she informs us, but this news does not register. My head is pounding. What a great day to get a headache. "And the war begins."

"Unless they're not our boys," Charles says. The plane swerves and my nausea only worsens. I do my best to fight it as this situation is already drastic enough. Now isn't a good time to back out.

Raven takes notice of my frightened state and sets a hand and furrows her eyebrows. "You don't like flying, huh?" She asks. I turn my head and look at her, a nervous chuckle escaping my mouth.

"Is it that obvious?" Suddenly, Raven looks at my hand, the one intertwined with Charles', and she smirks a little. "Don't say anything, please," I say, because really, just talking is making me sick.

I pay attention to the beeping of the radar in front of Moira, and notice the little green dot that represents the ship down below is getting closer to the white line, the embargo line. Charles puts his finger to his head again.

Beside the plane, I see that one of the ships has fired at us. Alarms go off in the plane and Hank tries to avoid getting us hit.

The plane goes every which way. Raven lets out a shriek of surprise. Charles is telling  everyone to hold on. I honestly feel like I may vomit. I hang on to Charles' hand and Raven's, trying to stay in our seats.

The missile that missed us curved and hit one of the ships, the Aral Sea, I think. It penetrates the middle and a giant explosion can be heard even from inside the plane.

"A little warning next time, Professor," Hank says, turning in his seat to look at Charles. The intense turbulence has finally stopped.

"Sorry about that," he apologizes, then turns to me. "You all right?"

"Just peachy," I mutter, still clutching his hand. He asks Raven and Sean if they are okay, and Sean replies with a not so believable 'yeah'. I close my eyes and attempt to stop the spinning of my head but it seems impossible.

"That was inspired, Charles," Moria says, flipping some buttons from her seat at the front of the plane.

"Thank you very much, but I still can't locate Shaw," he responds.

"He's down there," Erik says, the determination never once leaving him. "We need to find him now." Charles turns to Hank.

"Hank?"

"Is there anything unusual on the radar or scanners?" Beast replies, glancing at Moira. She shakes her head.

"No, nothing." There's a second of silence and Charles sighs in frustration.

"Well, then he must be underwater," Hank says. "And, obviously, we don't have sonar." Erik releases an angry sigh.

"Yes, we do," Sean speaks up from next to Raven. They all seem to get the idea, but I don't. However, I'm not in the mood to ask questions, so I just sit there quietly and listen.

It must be a good idea, because they all have hopeful looks on their faces.