Thunderbird || X-Men

Chapter 28 ~ Not This Time

"Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead, I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours." Erik continued. "Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this. No more hiding. No more suffering."

As Erik spoke, I remembered how things were a decade ago. I remembered our first night together, how brightly his eyes shined as he smiled at me. Back when he was... we were... careless and free.

"You have lived in the shadows in shame and fear for too long. Come out, join me, fight together in a brotherhood of our kind!"

I remembered our battle against Shaw. How, on the plane, he was so brave. I remembered his soft eyes, the way he held my hand. The way he always tried his best to protect me even when I didn't think I deserved to be protected.

"A new tomorrow that starts today." Erik finished. A silence fell over us all. Just when I thought the chaos had subsided, out stepped the President.

"Stand down." He ordered. His colleagues grabbed onto him to try and stop him from walking towards Erik. "I said stand down!" He repeated, more forcefully.

Something didn't feel right.

"You wanna make a statement? Kill me, fine. But spare everyone else." At that moment I knew. It was Raven.

"Very heroic, Mr. President." Erik walked towards her, guns ready to fire. "But you had no intention of sparing any of us." All at once, the guns pointed toward her, cocking.

"The future of our species begins now."

In the surreal silence, one of the Sentinels was walking near me, it's giant metal feet clanging with each heavy step. It was only a couple feet away from me. I tried to make myself seem smaller so that it didn't see me, but then an idea arised. A stupid idea, but enough of one to create a distraction.

I leapt from my corner against the wall of metal and touched the Sentinel's foot with my finger tips. I focused all that I could into it. Before it could realize what happened, it turned and looked at Erik. It detected that he was a mutant, and on my command, began charging at him.

Erik held out his hand and ripped it apart piece by piece as it ran. Exactly as I planned, a minor distraction. All the while, Raven pulled out a clear plastic gun, shooting a bullet through the side of Erik's neck and revealing herself to him and the rest of the congressmen, including Trask.

Erik gripped his neck and fell to his knees. All of the guns behind him fell as well, and I heard the Sentinels powering down. I felt now would be as good of a time as any to help her, but something kept me grounded. I couldn't do anything but watch this scene play out in front of me. Raven walked up calmly to him.

"You used to be a better shot." Erik teased through the pain.

"Trust me, I still am." Raven jumped up and gave him a hard kick, knocking him out pretty much immediately.

Just when I thought the world was saved and the future guaranteed, Raven turned, pointing the gun at Trask. Dammit. I was about to run to her and stop her, but I heard Charles. It was the strange "talking inside my head" voice I wasn't really used to anymore.

"Kayla, don't intervene!" He exclaimed, his voice echoing around my skull.

"Why not? She's gonna-"

"Let her do this." Before I could argue, I couldn't feel him inside my head anymore, and it was no use. It was also a bit of a relief that he wasn't too injured.

There was an eerie silence again. It was terrifying, watching someone who unknowingly had the fate of the world in her hands. But she wasn't shooting. I couldn't seem to tell what was happening from as far as I was, considering I was trying to not let government officials see me. After my incident in Paris, who knew what would happen to me if they found me.

I let out the really long breath I didn't know I was holding in once Raven lowered the gun. She tossed it aside, bent down to Erik and pulled his helmet off of his head, leaving it in the grass next to him.

"He's all yours, Charles!" She called. At that, Erik rose from the ground. His first action, lift the metal chunk off of Charles. As soon as he was freed, I ran to him, almost running into Hank, who had the same idea a bit before I did.

We helped lift Charles from the dusty ground, holding up so he didn't fall. I saw Erik, seemingly back in his own mind, gaze at the fallen helmet in confusion and defeat. Then he locked eyes with Charles, Hank and me.

"If you let them have me I'm as good as dead. You know that..." He stated.

"I know." Charles replied, his injuries not getting in the way of his sass. Erik then focused on me, looking for any sign.

"Kayla..?" I didn't say anything at first, looking away from him. But the silence was pressuring me to speak.

"I..." My voice cracked. "I can't..."

Erik's expression changed completely. His face dropped, and any hope he had left in his cold eyes faded. It was like he had lost the world, and maybe to him, he had.

"Then this is goodbye, old friends." He said with fake confidence. I felt my eyes water up. I hated myself for any piece of me that wanted to join him. Deep down, I had always wanted it to be like it was ten years ago. I guess at that moment, something clicked, and I knew that dream was impossible. It was time to move on.

"Goodbye, Erik." Charles said. Without another word, Erik lifted himself from the ground. I didn't know where he was going or what he planned to do next. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders and a new, even heavier one took its place. I kept my eyes on him as he floated away. Once he was out of sight, I sighed. We all did. I looked around the wreckage again. Raven had disappeared.

Then I spotted it.

"Hank, do you got him for a second?" I asked quietly. Hank nodded as he adjusted to support Charles. I sprinted into the opening, the chairs still standing. The President and other government officials were talking amongst each other, all of them still in shock from almost losing their lives.

I kneeled down into the grass, Erik's cold helmet in my hands. I dusted it off, picked a blade of grass or two off of it, and placed it under my arm. I didn't dare talk to Charles about it or why I grabbed it. Looking at him though, it seemed he already knew.