If Yesterday Was Tomorrow [ X-Men ]

Chapter Twelve

"I don't... th- think..." articulated carefully Victor. Sean shook his head.

"I can't hear you. Speak louder!" he commented.

Victor frowned. This was hard. It was difficult to speak. His voice always seemed so rough to him, so hoarse and broken. It'd gotten better in the last few days, but it still sounded horrible to him. And the moment he thought about it, his voice broke into a stutter or a coughing fit.

Sean had been helping him the last few days. The X-Man was convinced that with practice, Victor would be able to speak normally. If Victor messed up, he could always sign his thoughts and Sean would understand.

Victor frankly didn't know why Sean liked him so much, but he didn't mind his help. He quite liked him. He was simple. And nice. There were no hard feelings between them, even if they'd knocked each other out during the mansion battle. They just accepted that even if they were enemies, they could still hang out. Besides, being with Sean meant that Victor was not with Xavier and could get meals without it being awkward.

"I don't... think... I-I can d-do.." Victor tried again. Urgh, was he over-thinking it, or did it really sound that terrible?

"Speak louder! Louder!!"

"Oh, shut up!" exclaimed Victor, frustrated to receive so many negative comments.

Sean smiled. Victor froze of surprise.

"There you go! That was perfect!" Banshee exclaimed happily.

Victor had to agree. He hadn't sounded weird. His voice had rung clearly in the air, the words clearly articulated and all. It had sounded... normal. He raised a hand to his throat.

"Woah," he whispered. There were no flashbacks. Just his voice. And it was wonderful.

"Woah indeed!" laughed Sean. He let himself fall back on the grass. "That was great!"

"Thanks," signed Victor with a smile. But Sean didn't see him- he was looking at the sky.

"T- Thanks," he said slowly, trying not to think about it too much.

To his surprise, his voice was as clear as before. A bit hesitant, perhaps, but not as rough as a few days ago. It felt a bit bad, but he could deal with it. The more he practiced, the less he would remember his time in the lab. He was free to speak and no one was going to stop him.

"Don't you find it funny, sometimes?" asked Sean. Victor was jealous of his voice for a short second, before remembering that soon, his own voice would sound as clear and smooth as Sean's.

"What?" he asked. Thank god it only was one word. His voice had almost cracked.

"This whole mutant thing. It's strange what kind of powers we get. What in our DNA choses if we mutate physically or get awesome super powers? Is it linked to external factors?"

Victor had no idea. Wasn't it random?

"Ha," laughed sadly Sean. "I mean, I got super voice powers, but my mother still won't ever hear my voice. Don't you find it ironic?"

Victor did not know what to say.

"And then, we gotta fight in between each other. It isn't enough that most of the planet can't accept us- we have to fight, mutant against mutant, for what? For the future? That's bullshit. While we're fighting... we're losing the future any of us wished for. You guys at the Hellfire Club prove us wrong, and we stop you from destroying humanity. In the end, no one wins. No one wins..." He let out a sigh. "And everybody dies."

Victor heart's skipped a beat. And everybody dies. Sean was right. But the solution was so simple in his eyes.

"Why... don't you st-stop fighting us?" asked Victor.

"Why don't you stop wanting to kill every human on the planet?"

Victor bit his lower lip. Sean was right, in a way. No one would ever change. The X-Men would keep dreaming that humans and mutants can live together while the Brotherhood would try to get rid of humans for good in order to bring a glorious future to humans. And both would fight each other. People would die. Just like Shaw.

"Come on... I like you Victor, I really do... but did you really have to kill Darwin?" asked Sean with a faint voice. He had hidden his eyes under his forearm. His chest raised and fell at every inspiration and expiration he took.

Victor suddenly realized what he was getting at.

That night, weeks ago. An eternity ago. When Shaw, Azazel and him had come to the younger X-Men to recruit them.

Shaw had killed one of them with Havok's powers.

"That..." Victor choked. He couldn't tell Sean that it was for the greater good. He wouldn't, couldn't possibly understand. They had different views on the right thing to do. And Sean'd lost a friend. Just like Victor had lost Shaw. Who was Victor to tell him that Darwin's death was not important? Sean would tell him the same about Shaw. Yet, it was simply their point of view that differed.

"Death doesn't make any sense. This fighting doesn't make any sense. Just look at us. The moment you go to the Brotherhood or whatever you guys are called, we'll go back to being enemies. We'll fight each other till one of us dies. How is it not pointless?" Sean continued.

"The... the humans will destroy us. We have to destroy them... first," Victor explained slowly. "Or all will be... lost."

"Or maybe we have to protect our own instead of fighting each other."

Sean moved his arm. His face was bathed in sunlight, highlighting his pale freckles and young face. He had a fresh red scar running up his cheek, result of their previous fight.

Suddenly, Victor was reminded of how young they were. He was barely in his twenties. Sean couldn't be older than him. Yet, they were talking like they'd been fighting for years. Victor didn't mind: he was ready to give his life if it meant the rise of the mutant race. But Sean would do the same- in a different way.

"Anyways." Sean sat up, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Shall we go get something to eat?"

Victor hesitated. He knew he should've said something about Darwin- a "sorry" or something. But he couldn't. Because it would be a lie. He simply didn't feel bad for him. Shaw had been a bad man, but a good man to the Hellfire Club. Perhaps that lack of guilt did make Victor a villain. Perhaps Havok was right.

He followed Sean to the mansion, wondering why he liked this kind of peaceful life. It was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be friends with the enemy. He wasn't supposed to hang out with them. He did miss Azazel and Emma terribly, but they'd left him behind.

Was it really that bad to wish that this day would never end?