Read My Mind ↳ charles xavier

11. Never Again

My eyes peel open not too much later. Charles is standing in front of me, mouth moving but no words coming out. No words that I can hear, anyways. In fact, the only thing that fills my ears is a high-pitched ringing sound.

It takes a moment to shake the feeling away, and I can hear Charles saying my name worriedly.

"Blake!" He says, hand on my shoulder, "are you alright?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. I absently nod my head up and down, despite the crappy and nauseated feeling I am still feeling.

The smell of fire smells the air. Charles and Erik help Raven and Moira out of their seats and we stumble to the front of the ship. "I read the teleporter's mind," Charles says, but my head is spinning, so I barely heard him. I almost trip over everything. "Shaw is drawing all the power out of his sub. He's turning himself into some kind of nuclear bomb."

Well, that doesn't sound good, is the only thing I can think. I grip the wall and steady myself.

"We got no time," Moira says, "The Geiger count is going out of control."

"Moira, this is what we are going to do," he says, then proceeds to tell Moira his plan in the shortest but best version he can. I don't pay much attention, my mind is still coming and going.

"...I'm going in," Charles says, and I catch it. I don't have the strength to argue for his safety, so I wait patiently for further instructions.

"Erik, I can guide you through, once you're in, but I need you to shut down whatever it is that's blocking me, then we just hope to god it's not too late for me to stop him." He speaks fast so it's difficult for me to catch it all, but I do.

"Got it," Erik says, taking off.

"Good luck!"

Raven begins to follow Erik, Beast, and Havok out of the plane, but her brother stops her. "We don't have time for this. If anything comes in that entrance, you're taking care of it, yes?"

"Fine," she grumbles, and I follow her out of the plane. Charles sends me a questioning glance and I just nod my head, wishing him good luck and silently letting him know that I got this.

As a result of my telepathic abilities, I can hear many things happening at once. The sound of Alex shooting his rings, the sound of Angel's wings fluttering, the sound of punches being thrown, the sound of Moira speaking worriedly into the phone, even from outside.

I can even hear Charles speaking to Erik through his head. Since there seem to be no threats at this second, I listen in on the conversation, the ability seemingly easier to control when my mind is at calm.

"Erik, make for the middle of the vessel," he says, "that's the point my mind can't penetrate. We have to assume that's where Shaw is." There's more silence and I tune out of the conversation, assuming that Erik is busy and Charles is simply waiting for him to find Shaw.

I lean against the broken part of the ship, exhaling slowly. Raven looks at me curiously. "Are you okay?" She asks once again. I give her a look.

"No," I reply, my breath and hands shaky. I can hear Charles speaking again but choose to ignore it and pay attention to the area in front of me. I see Alex jump off the side of a ship and Sean swoop nearby and grab him, soaring over the water together. Angel comes up behind and shoots a piece of Sean's suit with an acid ball, which kills his ability to stay in the air. He manages to get to the sandy beach before dropping Alex and falling himself.

Suddenly, the teleporter appears, hovering over Beast with his pointed tail aimed at his eye. Shaw emerges from the gaping hole in the ship, except it's not Shaw, it's Raven. It has to be, because she is nowhere in my sight.