「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(262) Everyone Else

Charles' POV

"Find all the mutants... Everywhere... Each one... All of them... Good... Kill them..." My virtual counterpart brazenly insinuated.

Certainly, Lynn was far too deeply intoxicated to have noticed his sudden wickedness but I was likewise too blinded by agitation, foolishly not discerning Stryker's ultimate ambitions any earlier.

"Raven!" I yelled anxiously and hastily scurried to crawl out of this depressing cell.

With great effort and the remaining strength in my trembling arms, I strenuously dragged my deadweight along and probably halfway to my desired destination, I registered loudening footfalls sprinting rapidly in my direction.

"Charles! Are you hurt?" Raven fretted nervously, examining my abraded forearms with genuine concern as she scrambled to my side, and I quickly shook my head.

"Lynn, she's going to kill all the mutants. You have to warn Erik," I conveyed keenly, staring at her with a grave expression and she reciprocated a miserable, but unsurprised one.

"We already knew-" Raven admitted but was abruptly precluded when she unexpectedly collapsed to the ground, clutching her head dearly.

Painful wails rang not only from her but around the echoey premises, a synchronized chorus of agonizing screams singing desperately for sustenance.

"Raven," I sputtered in horror as I gently caressed her face, staring aghast at her vigorously convulsing body rapidly scaling through the countless impersonations she had enacted over the years.

Despite the obvious discomfort it inflicted earlier, I forcefully tugged on the peculiar headpiece rigidly affixed to my skull, enduring the lacerations it mangled as the unyieldingly tight mounting points scraped along the surface of my skin, and hurriedly planted the protective gear onto Raven.

Spontaneously, without the telepathic blockade, the acute stabbing once tormenting her transferred into my head while her violent spasming on the dusty floor promptly ceased, allowing her to regain composure.

"Charles," Raven murmured, shakily reaching for the queer helmet.

"No, don't take it off," I ordered, striving to combat the psychic murder with my internal strength.

Ideally, I aimed to preserve our lives while maintaining a suitable level of physical suffering, hoping to jolt Lynn awake from the hallucinations prevailing to haunt her but the reddish tint enveloping my image of her soon vanished, reverting the figmental hemispherical arena to its cool, neutral state.

"That's strange," Lynn noted, panting heavily.

Visually scanning while simultaneously fiddling through the numerous dials on the dashboard, Lynn wore a baffled face as she composedly endeavoured to fathom the seemingly indecipherable origins of the unpredicted malfunction.

Contrastingly, the invented version of me swept his eyes around the area, browsing the bluish dome edgily. His breathings accelerated erratically as he fidgeted in his stance and clasped stiffly into the handle bars of Lynn's chair, fundamentally like he was bothered by the presence of the passive surrounding.

"Oh, god. Thank you, Erik," I mumbled breathlessly, slouching into Raven's arms as I was finally pampered in a immense sense of relief.

"You're bleeding, Charles," Raven remarked in a worried tone, hovering her trembling hand above my head but apprehensive to skim her fingers too near my wounds.

"It's alright. How are you feeling?" I probed weakly, delicately stroking her sleek, strikingly red, hair.

"I'm fine," she croaked, mustering a minuscule smile.