The Blood Phoenix: An X-Men: First Class Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Finding Shaw

France, 1962. 

Erik and I went up the stairs of the bank in France. It was a rather overcast day. I wore a blue dress with golden heels, while Erik wore a grey trench coat and sunglasses. Just another day working to find Shaw and get revenge for everything that had ever happened to us. Revenge for my mother, for his family, my grandparents and for his people, who as my father told me, were my people as well. 

'Are you ready?' he asked me as he went to open the door.

'Yes. I want this. You do too.' I stood back to let him through, but he opened the door and gestured into the bank. 

'After you, daughter.'

'No.'

'I insist, Adelaide,' he replied. He nodded and I stepped through, with him following me. We went through a few halls until we came to the front desk. I was wearing a gold necklace that Erik had insisted I wear.  We came to the front desk and the man there spotted the necklace and spoke in clear French with an accent that hinted of German. I didn't understand French very well, although it seemed Erik did. 

'La possession de cet or est illégale. Je devrais en informer la police (Possession of that gold is illegal. I should inform the police.)

'C'est un héritage de ma fille, monsieur. Ne jouons pas à ce jeu (It is an heirloom, sir. Let's not play this game),' I spoke softly. 

'Où l'avez-vous eu (Where did you get it)?' 

'Un ami de mon père. Il a recommandé, votre banque le plus fortement (A friend of my father's. He recommended your bank most highly).'

'Je vois. Connaissez-vous nos conditions, monsieur (I see. Do you know our terms, sir)?' This was directed at Erik. 

'Oui. Et tu devrais connaître le mien. C'est ce qui reste de mon peuple (Yes. And you should know mine. This is what remains of my people),' Erik snapped, staring the man dead in the eye. 

'Fondu de leurs biens. Déchirés de leurs dents (Melted from their possessions. Torn from their teeth),' the man spoke. 

'C'est de l'argent du sang. Et tu vas m'aider à trouver les responsables (This is blood money. And you're going to help me find the bastards responsible for it).' I saw the man reach for the alarm on the table. Fixing my attention on the man's watch, I stopped it with my telekinetic powers. He grunted, looking at me. I clicked my tongue and came over to his chair, behind the man. Leaning down, I spoke in his ear. 

'Ne touchez pas à cette alarme. Je veux Schmidt. Klaus Schmidt. Il est où (Don't touch that alarm. We want Schmidt. Klaus Schmidt. Where is he)?'

'Nos clients ne fournissent pas d'adresses. Nous ne sommes pas... (Our clients don't provide addresses. We're not...)'

'Pas ce genre de banque? (Not that sort of bank)?' I spoke. Erik stood up and began to use his telekinesis to remove a metal filling from the man's mouth. 

'Des garnitures en métal, hein? Pas de l'or? Quelqu'un qui l'a inquiété pourrait les voler (Metal fillings, eh? Not gold? Worried someone might steal them)?' Erik taunted. 

'Argentine! Schmidt est en Argentine ! Villa Gesell! S'il vous plaît (Argentina! Schmidt is in Argentina! Villa Gesell! Please)!' The man was screaming in agony now. I glared at Erik.

'That's enough, Erik,' I spoke in English, gritting my teeth. He ignored me and kept going. The filling finally came out and the man stared at us in shock, nursing his aching tooth.

'Je vous remercie (Thank you),' my father spoke in French to the man. Taking my hand, he left the room. Before we left the room, he stopped suddenly and spoke. 'J'adorerais te tuer. Alors marquez mes paroles. Si vous avertissez quelqu'un que je viens... je te trouverai (I would love to kill you. So mark my words. If you warn anyone I'm coming... I will find you).' We left the building. When we got into our vehicle, I slapped Erik's shoulder. 

'You knew better, Erik. I joined you to find Shaw and kill him, not to pull out the teeth of German men.' He glared at me. 

'Then you should have not joined me.'

'Erik, what happened back there was entirely irrational.'

'And you were no better?'

'At least I wasn't pulling teeth out,' I growled under my breath, crossing my arms over my chest and turning away from him. 

'If you want to join me, then perhaps you should adjust to the fact that my system of doing things is perhaps a little more violent than you imagined.'

'No wonder my mother wanted to keep me from you.'

'Don't speak of her that way.'

'What's it to you? You got her pregnant and then ditched us both.' He glared at me again. 

'Your mother and I made a decision for the betterment of you. I wanted my baby girl to have a childhood, go to a normal school, to not feel different in this world. I didn't want the world to know that Adelaide Pearson was the daughter of Erik Lehnsherr.'

'To protect you.'

'No, Adelaide! That's not the point!' I nearly shrank away from the shouting of his voice. My heart was pounding in fear. 'It's okay, Adelaide. I just want you to know that everything I did, I did for you. For your mother. To protect you. If Shaw was going to find you... I couldn't forgive myself. If he did to you what he did to me... your mother and I would never be able to forgive ourselves.' 

'I'm sorry, Erik. I just don't understand.' He started the vehicle, then leaned over and kissed my forehead, lingering there for a few seconds before kissing me again and releasing. 

'I don't expect you to. I just want you to know that I love you.' I nodded and he pulled the car out of the parking spot and drove off.