Mind and Metal (Cherik)

Chapter 1

All of his students had been locked up, or at least that's what he was told. This truly was the end of him and his dreams.

Charles leaned his head back against the white prison wall. The entire cell was made of pure white. No color anywhere besides the people inside it. Hell, even the prison clothes were solid white. Just a white box full of people wearing white. Charles scoffed sarcastically at his situation. So, this is where he was going to die. Splendid.

The cell was specialised so the mutants inside couldn't escape. Neither of them would be able to get out of here

Charles dropped his head sideways to catch a glimpse of the man huddled in the corner. His knees were brought up to his chest in where he buried his head. His arms clutching his legs like his life depended on it.

Charles returned his head to staring up at the blank ceiling with a sigh. Erik hadn't spoken to him since they got locked up. Charles knew he blamed himself for what happened.

Erik had been helping Charles at the school for mutants when Charles had been kidnapped. The president had ordered his capture after Charles declined to give away the whereabouts of unknown mutants. Erik found him being tortured, so he saved Charles and vowed to make sure this never happened to a mutant again.

The next week, Erik broke into the White House. He got someone from his mutant brotherhood to hack all the security feeds in order to broadcast his warning on to every channel possible. Erik wanted the world to get a taste of what this monster would get for what he did to Charles.

When he had opened the doors to President Rogers's office, two guards rushed at him but he'd simply tossed them aside using the metal in their uniforms. Erik grabbed the president and turned him around so they were facing a security camera.

Erik removed some of the nails used in the walls, and attached Rogers to the wall using a chain of them. He summoned more nails and random metal objects which he reshaped into thin, razor sharp needles and focused them on President Rogers. The needles seemed to stare at him menacingly.

"My mutant brothers and sisters, look at this man. He is a monster." Erik removed a photo of Charles, taken just after Erik had rescued him from torture. The picture showed Charles's lips sewn shut, while his nose was angles sharply to the left. His face seemed to be painted with his own blood, almost no skin visible. His eyes were nearly swollen shut and there was something flesh like dangling from his chin. "This is what he did to Charles Xavier because he refused to betray his own kind. So now I shall to offer the president the same choice he gave Xavier. President Rogers, might I have the location of your wife in children? I've been informed they're hiding in a heavily guarded safe house."

The president was so shocked to say anything, he just looked at Erik and gasped for breath.

"I'm waiting," Erik said as Rogers started to stutter. "You have ten seconds before I become willing to let these needles pierce your skin."

Rogers didn't say a word, but instead started to frantically shake his head as the needles came closer with every second Erik counted down.

"Ten..."

Roger opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"Nine..."

The president looked around frantically for a way to escape.

"Eight..."

Rogers again flapped his mouth a few times, but when ever he started to speak, he stopped.

"Seven..."

"I won't do it!" Rogers shouted, causing Erik to stop his count down for a second. "I won't let you know where they are! You just want to hurt them!"

Erik turned to the security camera once more. "President Roger's response was extremely similar to Xavier's when he was asked to give out the locations and names of mutants. In fact, that is basically the same thing that the professor decided to say, except he said it more politely, intellectually, and mentioned the danger of the high possibility of the mutants getting experimented on if he named them."

Rogers closed his eyes tight as the needles came closer each second. When Erik reached three, Rogers started to scream.

On one, Erik let all the needles press onto Rogers skin, but seemed like Erik only allowed one to break it. On Rogers left cheek, a single drop of blood stood out.

"Let this be your warning," Erik declared right before he walked out of the building. Everyone who tried to stop him was simply flicked out of the way. When they really started to annoy him, Erik ruined there phones for good measure.

A couple weeks later, President Rogers died from tetanus. Erik was accused of murder by the leaders of many different countries. Rogers died two days before the court case about his treatment and knowledge of mutant torture and experimentation.

After President Rogers death, the many of the world leaders decided mutants were to dangerous to be left out in the open. After a long string of events that followed the majority vote, Erik and Charles were captured, imprisoned, and informed that Raven was dead and the rest of the brotherhood and Charles school had either  joined her or were imprisoned also.

Why, Erik? Charles thought. Why couldn't you have let me die in there?

He stared at the man who was now violently shaking, while silently sobbing. Charles felt a tear run down his own face.

After Erik attacked President Rogers, Raven came to hide him while he was being searched for. She'd hid him in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. They were found. Before Erik could make any move in defense, he was shot with a temporary mutated cell deterrent. Raven did her best to fight them off, but was shot. Erik was forced to watch, powerless.

"Erik." Charles croaked. No response. "Erik look at me" He said, on the verge of tears yet again. Charles shoved himself up and grabbed Erik's jaw. "SAY SOMETHING!" Erik's eyes were bloodshot and puffy. He hasn't been sleeping, noticed Charles.  His unshaven face felt rough in Charles's hand. The circles under Erik's eyes where so dark they seemed to be permeant.Charles's jaw trembled, "Please." The man continued to look at him solemnly.

Charles released his jaw and sighed as he slumped down next to him, defeated. This was hopeless. Whats the point? Charles had no reason for living. His oldest friend was gone, probably never to return and other than that he had no one. Absolutely no one. The rest of his miserably life will be locked in this colorless cell with a shell of a man. He held his head in his hands and drifted off into a fitful night of sleep.