Story [X-Men First Class] Repercussions - Update: 1/1/12

mrjop2: You are correct. Things are indeed going to get worse.

Mira_Jade: Glad you enjoyed Charles' determination. He worked hard on that soup.
As to the cure, well...

I think it is clear that Hank has put all concern for his appearance aside when a situation arises. But fighting out in public is quite a bit different from going out socially. The Beast is something that he can somewhat hide out as. But Hank McCoy is the Beast now and he has yet to go outside as Hank McCoy if that makes sense.

Glad you're enjoying the ride. This week should be a roller coaster ride.

Chapter 10

The pain fading, Moira carefully stood up in the snow and examined her surroundings. She didn?t dare move any further. Erik was still in conversation with Angel, Raven and Frost. The teleporter, Azazel, was watching her every movement. She attempted to stare him down. He simply smirked.

Moira reflected on her current situation and silently cursed her foolishness. She was a trained CIA agent! She should have recognized that this was a trap. Charles had been very careful to cover his tracks. He clearly did not want to be found. And yet, at the first sound of his voice, she jumped at the chance to see him again, never thinking that he could be impersonated.

She glanced over at Raven. The young woman had grown up in the few short weeks since they had last seen each other. When Charles had been shot, Raven had told her to take care of him. Moira remembered that now. Seeing Raven again had jarred free some of the memories Charles had tried to hide. She could remember the concern in Raven?s voice and the sadness in her heart. She had clearly realized that she and Charles had different destinies.

And so she had entrusted Moira with Charles, knowing that the two cared for each other and she had gone of with Erik. She could tell that Raven felt the same way about Erik that Moira herself felt about Charles. Perhaps that was why she had agreed to lure Moira to this building. The Raven she had met would never have agreed to such a thing. But as Moira knew all too well, one does crazy things for love.

Moira had no idea what this Sentinel project was, but the very name concerned her. She was well aware that the government did not trust mutants and feared what they could do. Those who had supported the G-Men died when Sebastian Shaw attacked. Her boss was a good man, but like many others, he was frightened of what he saw these mutants do. And worse, he was only one man in an entire government. Many of these officials now knew what these people were capable of doing. And so naturally, it wasn?t difficult to assume that the government had begun working on ways to deal with the ?mutant problem?

Erik and his team had clearly found something that disturbed them. The attack tonight was not methodically planned. It was a plan that reeked of desperation. Whatever this Sentinel project was, it had Erik spooked. And given how she had been treated, she did not envy the person who stood in Magneto?s way when he finally did locate this project.

?We can?t wait!? Moira heard Erik shout. Head now clear, she paused to listen to what he was saying.

?Riptide is dead. Whatever this is, it?s already capable of killing us. The longer we wait, the stronger they get. We have to strike and strike now!? He slammed his fist into his palm.

This caught Moira?s attention. Whatever the project was, it wasn?t designed to capture mutants. It was designed to kill them. She could see clearly now why Erik was so determined to learn whatever he could about this project and destroy it. She reflected back to what he had said. He had seen Charles- the real Charles- earlier in the day. So whatever this mutant killing project was, Erik had gone to Charles seeking his help.

?But we don?t even know what we?re fighting!? Angel retorted.

Raven seemed to be trying to calm Erik. ?This is a dead end. Let me go back. I can get the information we need this time?

Magneto shook his head. ?It?s too dangerous for you.?

Emma, who ha/>

Brotherhood to the rescue, I hope.

mrjop2: Hopefully they'll be able to rescue everyone. Not sure they're my first choice though.

Mira_Jade: I think it's important that for now Erik and Charles will help each other when the chips are down. Even by Last Stand, Erik is still upset that Charles 'died' which is sort of ironic since by X2 he is prepared to sacrifice Charles for the cause. Right now though, Erik is going to a friend in need I suppose.

The reunion between Moira and Charles should prove very interesting indeed.

Chapter 11

Sean?s head was throbbing. His ears were ringing, and his eyes stung from the smoke caused by the robot?s attacks. He found himself laying on the pavement, shattered glass scattered around him. He slowly sat up, wincing as pieces of glass pierced his now tattered sports jacket.

Sean looked up and saw the robot continuing its slow approach towards them. Either it was very slow moving or it felt like the immediate threat was over.

?Alex, man, we gotta get moving. It?s coming this way?

Sean could distantly hear the screams of yet more shoppers as they fled the mall. The robot made no move to attack the fleeing shoppers.

?Alex!? Sean repeated. He turned his head and froze.

Alex lay unconscious against the side of the Jaguar. A large dent in the door gave indication of the force with which Alex had hit the car. A trickle of blood was running down his scalp. His chest was developing a large bruise from where Sean had impacted him. The device used to control his power was crushed from the force of the impact. His unbuttoned shirt was in tatters and his pants were torn up from the glass.

The world seemed to stop. Sean could still hear the cries of the shoppers. Distantly, he heard the explosion of another car. But his mind was focused on Alex. His chest wasn?t moving.

?Alex! Sean!? Lorna cried, running over to their position, Mauve right behind her.

?Unidentified Mutant? The robot declared.

Lorna gestured with her hands, sending several of the nearby cars sliding along the ground towards the robot, forcing it back several feet and blocking it from getting near the two boys.

Sean didn?t see this. He didn't see Lorna or Mauve approach. He didn?t even move. He was frozen in shock. Lorna came up behind him and crouched by Sean. She shook his shoulder.

?Sean! Sean!? She shouted.

?He?s- he?s not-not? he pointed towards Alex?s crumpled form.

?Oh no...? Mauve gasped.

Lorna ran over to Alex and cradled his body. She lowered him to the ground and placed her head to his chest.

?Don?t do this Alex...? she said.

She placed her hands on his chest and firmly pressed down, performing CPR. Sean watched her, silently praying for a miracle. Mauve had placed her hand on his shoulder and was trying to help him up. Slowly Sean moved into a standing position, his eyes fixed on Lorna.

?C?mon man...? he whispered.

Lorna moved her head to Alex?s mouth. Her lips touched his and she exhaled. She continued to pump his chest and repeated giving him air.

?Mutant terminated? the robot declared.

Lorna looked over to Sean, terrified.

?Keep going? Sean commanded. He turned towards the robot, ?I?ll deal with this?

He looked over at Mauve. ?Cover your ears? he ordered.

She nodded and moved her hands to her head. Lorna continued to perform CPR, unable to cover her own ears.

Sean?s throat stung from the smoke he?d inhaled. And without wings, he could not fly. Instead, he ran. He ran past the piles of wrecked cars, as far away from the girls and Alex as he could. He ran past the mall, away from the crowds. And once he?d reached his destination, he inhaled.

Sean let out a scream that he had never known he had. Professor X had told him once that his voice was a muscle and that he could control it. Sean had spent weeks practicing to control that muscle. He had treated it like a singer treats their voice when practicing. He used that control, and aimed for the robot.

Every window in the mall shattered, raining glass down upon the side walk. The remaining untouched car windows shattered. Those closest to Sean ac/>

Oh oh! Charles is walking into a trap!

mrjop2: He definitely is. But I think he might have suspected that possibility. His concern is for his students. His own safety is secondary.

Mira_Jade: I'm glad you liked that bit about Sean. I enjoyed writing that scene as well. As to the last line, the Sentinel certainly will try. And a smackdown? We'll see...

Chapter 12

Hank looked at the robot that just spoken and exclaimed ?Oh my stars and garters?. He blinked. He had no idea why he?d said that.

His attention was fixed on the scene directly in front of him. Two girls were nearby with Alex and one was performing CPR on the boy. Hank made his way towards the trio, carefully eyeing the robot near him.

?Mutant Identified. Henry McCoy. Ignore?

Hank?s eyes widened with alarm. He wasn?t sure whether to be relieved or concerned that the robot had chosen to ignore him. He reached into his pack, withdrew a small scanning device and pointed it at the robot. Immediately, several readouts caught Henry?s attention.

?Fascinating? he murmured.

The technology looked very familiar but he could not place where he?d seen it. If it weren?t for the fact this robot was trying to capture Charles, Hank would have loved a chance to study it.

Determining that he was safe for the moment from any attacks, Hank returned his attention to Alex and the girls. He spotted them several meters away, obscured by smoke from several wrecked cars that strangely seemed to have formed a makeshift barricade.

Hank approached the barricade at a run and then sprang up, effortlessly somersaulting over the cars and landing several feet from the two girls and Alex. One of them, a red haired girl with fair skin, screamed. Hank silently admonished his lapse of judgement. He?d forgotten about his current condition. Scaring nice young girls trying to help your badly injured colleague was not the most brilliant idea.

This theory was soon confirmed as Hank found a car door suddenly hurtling through the air towards his position by a young girl with green hair. She had been the one administering CPR to Alex whom, Hank briefly had time to notice, was not breathing.

Hank swiftly avoided the door by leaping above it and then he landed again, this time a bit closer to the green haired girl.

?My apologies for startling you.? He said, ?But I saw my comrade was down and rushed over as quickly as possible. I?m a doctor.?

He could see by their expressions that the two girls seemed a bit shocked to hear Hank talk, once more reminding him that he was truly a Beast. Hank silenced that voice in his head. He had no time for such thoughts. Instead he bent low over Alex and withdrew the few bits of medical equipment and first aid that he?d been able to throw together before departing from the mansion.


He placed his ear to Alex?s chest and frowned in concentration. There were no breath sounds coming from the boy. Hank moved his hands over the crushed harness Alex had worn and swiftly yanked it free. He then replaced the harness with two pads connected to his portable, though crudely made, defibrillator.

?Stand clear please?

He could see the two girls retreat back a few more steps. Satisfied, Hank activated the machine, and send several volts of electricity straight into his team mate?s chest.

Alex?s body convulsed as the electricity hit it. For a moment, he lay still. And then slowly, with effort, Hank saw the boy?s chest rise and fall. He placed his head over the boy?s heart and heard a steady rhythm.

Satisfied, Hank removed the defibrillator and began to apply first aid. He was fairly certain Alex had at least a concussion and likely a broken rib. He retrieved a stethoscope and listened to the boy?s breathing. It was coming steadily in ragged breaths, but that was normal for someone with rib injuries. Thankfully, it did not sound like Alex had a collapsed lung.

He turned away from his patient for a moment and looked at the two girls, both of whom seemed relieved to see the boy breathing again.

?We need to get him home to our facility. The jet is several feet b/>

Intense! Aleast Alex is alright!

mrjop2 Alex is alive. Whether he is alright or not remains to be seen.

Since the boards were down yesterday, I will post yesterday's chapter today since I normally don't post on weekends. Also, this may be the last chapter for the next few days depending upon how much damage Irene does in my area and whether or not I'll have power.


Chapter 13

Charles was right behind Hank, eying the Sentinel carefully. He now knew what the government wanted. And he had no intention of giving it to them.

Charles saw Hank take off towards Alex?s position. Though he could barely make out the figures in the distance, he could see that the boy was in bad shape. He also noticed that Sean was not with the trio Hank had rushed off toward. With Hank attending to Alex, he focused on finding Sean. He placed his fingers to his temples and located the boy?s mind several feet away, hidden behind the heavy smoke of wrecked cars.

The combination of snow, glass and wreckage made it difficult for Charles to navigate his chair. He refused give in to self pity at a time like this. Determined to rescue Sean, he pushed the chair to its? limits, racing as fast as he could towards the boy?s position.

?Professor!? Sean shouted.

Charles stopped his chair immediately and turned towards the sound of Sean's voice, squinting through the heavy smoke. He could see the boy approaching his position, struggling to walk towards him.

?Sean! over here!? he called.

As Sean drew closer, Charles could see that the boy was in bad shape. His clothes were torn up and he was bloodied and bruised. He was favoring his left leg as he limped quickly towards Charles.

Charles resisted to ask the foolish question ?Are you alright??. It was clear neither boy was. Instead he said

?Get to the jet. I?ll be right behind you.?

?What about Alex?? Sean asked, his breathing labored.

?Hank is with him.? Charles replied. He refrained from saying anything else. He didn?t
know anything about the other boy?s condition.

The Sentinel had begun making its way towards Charles, effortlessly walking through the wreckage it had caused.

?Go!? Charles commanded.

?But you heard what it said!? Sean insisted.

?I did. GO!?

Sean hesitated. Charles wasn?t in the mood for discussion. These boys would not die for him. He placed his hand to his temple again and repeated the command.

?What are you-?!? Sean started to say as his body began to move against his will as quickly as possible towards the jet. ?No!? he shouted. ?Don?t do this!?

?I?m sorry Sean. But this is for your own good? Charles replied, forcing the boy towards the jet?s ramp.

A sudden explosion broke Charles? concentration. The force of the blast sent him flying through the air. He landed several feet away from the smoking wreckage that was now his wheelchair.

The Sentinel was now looming over him. He saw Sean moving towards him and he could hear Hank shout ?Charles!?

His mind was too fuzzy for him to focus. He couldn't warn the boys away. Charles used his elbows to crawl through the mix of glass and snow, ignoring the pain as shards pierced his jacket. He crawled away from the jet?s position, intent on leading the Sentinel away from the others. He only hoped the boys would heed his wishes and save themselves.

Instead, he heard a weapon firing at the Sentinel?s last position. He turned his head and saw Hank firing a large gun at the Sentinel. The robot raised its? hand and fired towards Hank. Beast dove behind several parked cars. The energy beam exploded upon impact at the spot Hank had just vacated moments ago.

Charles was too far to see Hank but he heard the man loudly exclaim

?It can?t be...?

Charles then heard another shout.

?Professor!?

With Charles' concentration broken, Sean had bounded back down the ramp and was heading towards the Sentinel, his mouth open for another scream.

This time the Sentinel was ready for him. It emitted some type of sonic pulse that sent the sound waves back at Sean. The blast knocked Sean back towards the ramp of the jet. The boy lay still on the cool metal surface.

Ch/>

That was close!

Hope you escaped without much damage. I did here in NC. Didn't even lose power.

mrjop2: I'm fortunate that our street didn't suffer an outage. Though we likely will lose it while they fix the many areas where trees went down without taking out the power. Glad you made it through unharmed.

Mira_Jade: Those two chapters were originally all Charles as was this next one. I decided to break them up to give different perspectives from each character. And I really wanted to get into Hank's head and give things from his perspective. So I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Charles rarely abuses his powers so you are correct that it's bad when he's forced to do so. As to Erik, that was a fun moment to write as well. So was this:

Chapter 14

Erik looked into the eyes of the machine in front of him. An emotionless cold killer, not unlike the nazis, attempting to murder his best friend. Below him, Erik could see Charles, now joined by Moira, looking up at him with a mixture of fear and awe.

Erik noticed that Charles had lost his wheelchair and had been crawling away from the robot. This only furthered his anger. To have his best friend, a man he respected, reduced to crawling in the snow like a worm, trying to escape this machine made his blood boil.

From his vantage point, he could see that the other members of Xavier?s team were down and hurt badly. He had seen the sentinel use a sonic attack against Banshee, meaning that this thing was prepared for them. But apparently, it had not been prepared for him. This was a fatal mistake.

He had seen enough suffering and destruction to last a lifetime. He?d seen the evils that mankind was capable of. He?d been a part of it. He was a killer, but he never killed without purpose. Every person he killed had done something to deserve his retribution. The same could not be said of Charles. The man had never taken a life. Indeed, he had tried to save Erik?s soul at the cost of his own well being.

Charles had helped Erik unlock his true potential. He had found the point between rage and serenity and helped Erik through his mental blocks. When all others had given up, Charles believed in the good Erik could do. He regretted that their ideals led them down different paths, but he still counted Charles as a close friend. And now, Erik had an opportunity to repay Charles for what he?d done for him.

Erik pushed past his rage and focused on serene thoughts. He took a deep breath and gestured with both hands. Dozens of wrecked cars lifted into the air. He held out both his arms to his side and then suddenly and violently brought them together in front of him. The cars flew at top speed ramming into every part of the Sentinel.

The robot exploded with enough force that the ground shook. From the corner of his eye, Erik watched as Moira attempted to shield Charles from the raining debris, but knew that it was futile. However, Erik was prepared for this. In a blink of an eye, Azazel appeared in front of Charles and Moira. Azazel grasped both of their shoulders and in another blink, they were at the ramp of the Blackbird.


Charles took a moment to gather his bearings. He noticed that Hank and two girls were there as well. The green haired girl had Alex cradled in her lap. He also noticed with great relief that the boy?s chest was slowly rising though he remained unconscious. Hank meanwhile was bent over Sean, who was now conscious.

?Minor concussion? Hank was murmuring. He seemed distracted.

?You can check me at the mansion? Sean said, waving Hank away.

He attempted to stand and winced, falling right back onto the ramp in a heap.

?Severely sprained ankle? Hank added. He moved to the boy?s side and lifted him up, slinging the boy?s left arm around his shoulder. ?Let?s get you inside.?

?But Alex?

?He?s alive.? Hank replied, ?Right now I need you inside the jet. We don?t know if there?s more coming.?
Sean stopped protesting and used his good leg to hobble with Hank up the ramp.

Charles? head was spinning from everything that had just happened. He finally looked up at Moira who continued to cradle him in her lap.

?Moira? he said, ?What are you doing h/>/>

Sentinel, deprogrammed the hard way, LOL! I'm trying to figure out who the green haired girl is. I can't think of who that could be. It's definitely not Rogue, Psylock, Storm, Jean Grey, Jubilee... Could it be Wanda Sykes, Magneto's daughter? I can't imagine him having the time to have a child as of yet. I guess I'll find out soon.

mrjop2: I'm not sure that was the hard way. Maybe the less efficient way. As to the references of 'green haired girl', it's Lorna (Polaris). Since the chapter was from the point of view of those who had yet to meet her, they wouldn't know her name. This incidentally happens for much of this week's chapters until I finally get a chance for her to introduce herself to just about everyone.

Mira_Jade: I'm glad you enjoyed Erik's POV. That paragraph you cited was one that went through a few revisions so I'm very happy it was well received. As to Lorna, she's definitely not going anywhere soon though where I take her may be different than what others might expect.


Chapter 15

The Blackbird approached the mansion ten minutes after leaving the mall. As it began its? descent, the ground beneath once more opened wide as if to swallow the jet and everyone on board. Charles watched in fascination as Hank guided the jet down into the sub basement. The lower levels had changed dramatically in the past few weeks. Much of it was dug up and dirt still covered most of the area. A few walls were covered in metal plating and makeshift lights were hung around the walls. A cloud of dust kicked up into the front windshield of the jet as it touched down with a small bump.

Hank began rapid shut down procedures and then lowered the ramp. He turned towards the passengers.

?The infirmary is this way? He said. He walked over towards the girls and bent down to pick up the still unconscious Alex. He then stood back up and started down the ramp. Sean followed, heavily supported by one of the girls. Her friend with green hair followed behind her. Charles watched as they dropped out of sight. He then turned as Erik and his team approached.

?Charles, we need to talk? Erik stated.

Charles let out a sarcastic laugh. ?Well, go ahead my friend. I?m not going anywhere? he motioned to his useless legs.

Moira had her hand firmly secured to Charles? right forearm. Her grip tightened as Erik and his team gathered to face them.

?You know what that was? Erik stated.

?Yes and obviously you do as well. Clearly, this is far more dangerous than I?d realized.?

?Which is precisely why we must work together and destroy these monsters!? Erik declared. His caped swirled around him as he motioned to the ramp the others had departed. ?The United States government just declared war on mutants!?

Charles hesitated for a moment. He wasn?t sure Erik was wrong. But he realized now that he knew something Erik did not.

?The boys weren?t the target? He looked over at Moira and continued, ?I was.?

He heard Raven let out an involuntary gasp.

?So the government believes you are too dangerous to live. They?ve called for your death.? Erik responded in a low tone.

?No Erik. The robot spoke. It wanted me alive.?

Frost?s normally cold demeanor was briefly shattered as Charles saw her eyes widen. Charles looked at her and nodded, confirming what she too had to be thinking. He was the most powerful telepath , as far as they knew, in the world. If the government captured him, he would undoubtedly be brainwashed and turned into a weapon against mutants and other enemies of the United States. With Charles under government control, no mutant would be safe.

?So Alex and Sean-? Moira started to say.

?-were bait? Raven finished, her voice tight with anger.

Charles nodded again. ?I should have listened to you Erik. I thought I was protecting them-?

?-But you weren?t? Sean stated flatly.

Charles and the others turned and saw Sean standing in the doorway, now aided by crutches. He was still wearing the same torn up clothes and his cuts and bruises had yet to be cleaned.

?No, I wasn?t? Charles admitted. He looked directly into Sean?s eyes.

Sean hobbled a bit closer, he radiated outrage. ?Why? Why didn?t you tell us?? He asked.

?I didn?t think this was your fight. You?re too young-?

?Alex is in a coma because you didn?t warn us!? Sean shouted. His mutant power amplified his voice. T/>

I can understand why Sean is upset.

Thanks for the heads up. I knew the characters in story would not know who the new girl is, I was trying to go through the list of X-men characters who fit this description. I got my characters mixed up. I meant Wanda Maximoff from X-Men evolution, but that's the Scarlet Witch. Either way, My guesses were wrong. I was close though, about who she is in relations to Magneto.

Oh, and I really like the research you've put into this story. I love to read fan fictions where the author puts time into researching facts and pays tribute to original sources. I mean with Polaris nursing Alex, that's great stuff. In my stories, I always put in months of research before writing the story (I'm a stickler for details). It really adds to the authenticity and believabilty to the story. I can tell you've done your homework, and it definitly shows in this story.

mrjop2: If you think Sean is upset now, just wait. Thanks for the compliments about the research. This one has been fun but a little tight trying to keep both X-Men history and actual history straight. I do try to strive for accuracy as much as possible as you are correct- it does make the story more authentic. However, I will admit that I intend to take some liberties with the characters for the purpose of the story and Lorna is definitely one of the affected parties.

Chapter 16

The infirmary was the first room Hank had finished. In the back of his mind, he had dreaded a situation just like this and knew that a fully stocked and prepared infirmary would be necessary. In truth, he had feared more for Charles or Sean. He hadn?t expected Alex to be the first guest.

Hank turned away from the monitors and glanced over at the far bed. Alex lay there, bruised and bloodied, hooked up to several monitors. Lorna Dane was standing over him, cleaning his wounds with a wet cloth. Hank had already removed every piece of glass he could find and bandaged up the boy?s major injuries.

He watched as Alex?s chest rose and fell with slightly more difficulty than normal. Alex had fractured a rib when Sean had collided with him. His right arm also had a small fracture. But it was the boy?s head that had Hank most concerned. Alex currently wore a neck brace which Hank had placed on him at the mall. The boy?s head must have snapped back as it hit the car during the impact.

Hank looked at the x-rays again, ignoring the steady beeps of the various machines. Alex did have some minor cranial swelling. Thankfully, Hank had performed the necessary procedures in the field to reduce the risk of it getting any worse. The swelling was already starting to go down, but Alex was not out of the woods yet. Hank was pleased that the boy was at least breathing on his own.

Next to Hank, the scanner he'd used on the robot that had attacked everyone was hooked up to the infirmary's main computer console, currently processing the data he had collected. With Alex stable, Hank turned to focus on his other patient and noticed frustratingly that Sean had disappeared. He turned to the girl he had been with, Mauve, and asked.

?Where did Sean go??

The girl, still not used to Hank?s appearance, hesitated before answering.

?He was heading back to the hanger to speak with the others?

Hank sighed. Sean should be in bed resting. And his injuries needed to be cleaned to avoid infection. Determining that Alex was in capable hands, he moved towards the exit, pausing long enough to say

?I?m going to fetch my other patient. Please alert me if Alex?s condition changes in the slightest.?

Hank was half way to the hanger when he saw the boy rushing towards him, nearly flying on the pair of crutches he had commandeered from the infirmary when Hank must have been busy with Alex.

?Whoa there!? Hank said, grasping Sean?s shoulder with a furry paw, ?Where?s the fire??

?I?m out of here!? Sean exclaimed, attempting to shake off Hank?s grip.

Hank held on, concerned about what Sean had said. ?What do you mean you?re out of here?? He inquired.

?They knew!? Sean exclaimed, ?The Professor and Erik! They knew about that- that thing!?

Hank exhaled, feeling as though he?d been punched in the gut.

?And they didn?t tell us! Alex is lying there because they didn?t trust us!?

Hank was silent for a moment. He could not imagine Charles withholding information without good reason. Charles cared about all of them- perhaps too much. ?Sean- you can?t blame Charles. He didn?t do this...? Hank started to say.

?It doesn?t matter! He should have told us! After everything we?ve been through!? Sean?s voice broke as a tear started to stream down his cheek.

Sean stumbled, one of the crutches falling out from under him. Hank moved forward quickly and engulfed the boy. He hesitantly put a paw on Sean?s back as Sean wrapped his arms around his own back, sobbing into his fur.

They remained in this state for several minutes before Hank spoke again.

?Sean, let?s go back to the/>

Why am I not surprised that Hank might have helped create the Sentinals.

mrjop2: Well, hopefully the hints were there in some of the early chapters. I thought the idea that Hank had, inadvertently as you'll see, helped create a monster like that tied in perfectly to his comments in First Class about being afraid of what he was capable of.

Mira_Jade: Thanks for the comments on the emotional scenes. Those were definitely interesting to write. And there's a few of them over the next few chapters. Everyone is on edge after what's happened. As to Erik, I'm glad you liked that part. Erik's definitely the most fun to write because he can do and say things that some of the other characters can't.

As far as Charles, I am afraid I'm piling on the angst for Charles. One thing that bothered me about First Class was that Charles was practically perfect. He's mastered his powers. He never trains in the montages despite saying all of them will have to. And at the end of the film, he takes his new status in stride. But to be Professor X, he must endure much harder trials to truly shape his view. And so, I'm definitely trying to shape his character that way. Unfortunately, that means that a lot of mistakes have and will continue to come back and bite him for the foreseeable future.



Chapter 17

Charles felt Erik?s arms start to slacken and quickly held on tight to remind his friend that he was currently attached. Hank?s words had chilled him to his very core. The idea that Hank could create something so destructive frightened Charles. He knew Hank was capable of great things, but he now knew he was capable of terrible things as well.

?You created it?? Raven repeated, a look of utter revulsion on her face, ?How could you?? she accused.

Erik was silent. Charles could tell that was not a good thing. He turned to Moira, pleading for help. She met his gaze and quickly moved past the others and retrieved a hospital wheelchair.

Erik barely glanced at it. However, the momentary distraction allowed Hank a few more moments to gather his wits about him. He lowered Charles into the chair carefully and then returned his gaze to Hank.

Charles decided to break the tension.

?What do you mean Hank? How did you create the Sentinel??

Hank looked at Charles, both relieved and saddened that Charles had asked that question.
?Y-Years ago, I was recruited by the CIA. They put me on various projects before I was placed in the CIA?s 'mutant' department. One of these projects was in military development. The army was looking for units to defuse bombs.?

?So you designed the prototype? Moira stated.

Hank nodded ?But mine was not so large. It was the size of an average human male. And it didn?t have those weapons. It was designed to withstand an explosion if necessary. It was never created for offensive use.?

He continued, ?When Shaw attacked the base, I assumed my research was destroyed along with everything else.?

?Evidently not.? Erik stated in a steely tone, his piercing gaze locked on Hank like a laser.

?They used my research on other projects. The energy beams were part of a project for a cheap efficient fuel source.?

?But that?s not all? Erik continued, his tone taking on that of an interrogator.

?No? Hank admitted, ?They used my research into the X-gene?

?And determined a way to track us? Erik finished, he moved towards Hank swiftly, several metal objects around the room began to rattle.

?Erik-? Charles cautioned.

?No Charles! Don?t you see? This fool has doomed us all!?

Hank made no move to defend himself. Several of the metal objects started to circle him.
?He?s right. This is all my fault. I?m the reason Alex is lying there.?

?Damn right you are!? Erik shouted, several of the objects now pulling free of various restraints.

The commotion had drawn the attention of the others in the infirmary. Sean ripped the curtain back and the girls had cautiously approached the group.

?What?s going on?? Sean demanded, sitting up from his bed and reaching for his crutches.

?Oh nothing much?, Erik replied in a dry tone, ?Hank here is just responsible for everything that?s transpired here today/>

Let's see what Charles has bplanned.

Man, how you can remember single quotes from the movie is astonishing. As for me, If I wante to do a fanfiction on X-Men First Class: I would need to own it on Blu-Ray first so I can watch it through several times. To be able to remember all the facts from the movie before it's even out on disk is very impressive.

mrjop2: I saw the movie 3 times. So the second two times I watched it more critically than the first. Some of the more important lines definitely were memorable. Plus, some of the dialogue is on google from others who have far better memories than I do. As to what Charles has planned, that should be evident soon enough.

Mira_Jade: Poor Hank indeed. He's definitely taken a beating and no that most certainly wasn't his intentions. His were much more pure. But for Hank, that doesn't change the fact that he helped create such a terrible thing. As to Sean, he needs a lot of deep breaths. But every time he tries to calm down, something else seems to happen. He's not having a good night at all. I'm glad you liked the Raven/Erik stuff. There's more of them planned for sure. Also, figured you'd like the Cerebro reference.



So the reason I didn't post on Friday was I was not happy with the order of chapters I had. I felt I needed something to break up the mansion scenes. And I finally figured out how with this chapter. Unfortunately, it wasn't ready until this afternoon.

Chapter 18

?Unmitigated Disaster? was the first thought that popped into Agent Henry Peter Gyrich?s head as he pulled into the New Salem Mall parking lot. An officer approached the car and Gyrich put his badge to the window. The officer directed Gyrich in, past several police cruisers, fire engines and news vans.

The 11pm news reporters were all on sight, preparing to go live in a matter of minutes. Gyrich ignored them as he parked his car, got out and slammed the door shut. He made his way directly towards the center of the parking lot, past the line police officers were allowed to go. This area was contained by bureau agents and Hazmat teams.

The official story was a gas main explosion. This did little to quell the many bystanders who reported ?giant robots?, ?flying men?, ?a jet? and ?blue monsters?. However, that was why Hazmat had been called in. They were going to report finding the leak had started in the mall itself, causing those inside to become sick and hallucinate. It was a long, complicated tale, but it was certainly preferable to the public learning the truth about what had transpired.

Gyrich silently cursed. He could not believe Trask had been so careless. Either these machines were not nearly as intelligent as Trask had claimed, or their creator was an imbecile. Neither of these options appealed to Gyrich. He and several other men had put their faith, as well as their finances, into Trask?s project. And not only did the Sentinel fail to capture Charles Xavier, it waged a battle in the worst place possible: a public Mall filled with Christmas shoppers.

Swallowing his disgust, Gyrich made his way to the large tarp that obstructed the remains of Trask?s robot. He bent down low and carefully looked under the tarp. What he saw made him pause. The robot was in pieces. And not even complete pieces. There were pieces of a the head, a spot that might have been the torso and a few fingers. The rest of the robot seemed to have been disintegrated in the battle.

And that was what annoyed Gyrich most of all. Trask had lost the video feed right as the sentinel was about to capture Xavier. If Xavier was powerful enough to do that to a robot, it was clear that this man needed to be on their side. If Xavier fell into enemy hands or worse, decided to wage war on the US government, Gyrich wasn?t sure they could stop him.

At least he was wounded. The video he had seen showed that Xavier was now in a wheelchair. Trask also reported that two of his team members appeared to have been injured during the fight. That meant they would regroup to heal. Unfortunately, they now knew about the Sentinels. The element of surprise was gone. Agent Stryker had ordered Trask to increase production on the Sentinels. Stryker felt that they could overwhelm Xavier by sheer numbers. Gyrich hoped he was correct. He had no desire to meet Xavier in person after today.

A sudden commotion by the reporters caught Gyrich?s attention. He l/>

Should have known Senator Kelley would comel into the picture.