***
A few hours later he found himself sitting next to Erik’s bed, holding his hand. He ignored the machines around him. The sound of the ECG Machine was background noise, telling him Erik’s heart was beating.
The scar was long and ugly down the middle of his friend’s chest, the stitches dark against the pale skin, a few pieces of thread that was holding his chest together. Charles took a calming breath, swearing to himself that he would make sure Erik had the best care.
“You will need to keep him calm when he wakes.”
Charles jumped out of the chair, tripping into the bed, before turning around and glaring at the intruder.
Azazael gave him a smirk. “I couldn’t sneak up on Emma.”
“Well I am a bit distracted.” Charles forced himself to calm down, and not lash out at the mutant. “What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you two.” He stepped closer to Erik, giving him a critical eye before focusing back on Charles. “He is recovering?”
“They are worried about infection.” Charles sat back down, taking Erik’s hand again, not caring about the look he was getting. “One lung is damaged, the other collapsed under the pressure. They lost him once, but …”
“Stubborn asshole.”
“It’s like you know him.” Charles snorted softly.
“A man who hunts for twenty years to find the bastard who killed his mother.” Azazael walked around the room. “Stubborn is only the beginning.”
He looked down, not ready to talk about Shaw.
“I will have to thank him for killing the bastard.” He continued watching his fellow mutant. “My people can rest easily.”
Charles’ head snapped up, a frown on his face.
“You think we followed him because we loved him.” His chuckle was rich and dark. “Some aspects we agreed. My mutation can’t be hidden, hence I normally stay on my island with my fellow teleporters …”
“You don’t think in time the humans would accept you?” Charles had always thought Raven was beautiful in her natural form, but then she had the ability to hide, Azazael didn’t.
Azazael shook his head. “They don’t let black people drink from the same fountain as whites in your country. What do you think?” He whipped his tail around, giving him a pointed look. “As far as good humans think, I’m the devil.”
“But in time they can be …”
“Look at his arm.” He pointed at the hand Charles was holding. “I know what those numbers are. They represent what humans will do to those who are different.”
His fingers ran across the inked numbers.
“Shaw did that, and worse.” Azazael shrugged. “He bragged about Erik. The monster he created. How he loved him. The anger. The hatred. But he forgot that the story ended when the monster killed the doctor.”
“There was another way, he didn’t have to kill him.” He stubbornly held his point.
“He will wake up disoriented and likely flash back to his time with Shaw.” The teleporter looked around the room, eyes laying on everything that was metal. “Be ready to calm him down. Do you have a message for your sister? They demanded information.”
“Are they okay?”
“I took them to your home.” He smirked, laughing lightly to himself. “The blue furred one, kept growling.”
“Hank! You didn’t hurt them…”
“No. Your sister is one to reckon with.”
“Raven can be very protective.”
“Bites too.” Azazael smiled showing all his teeth. “Shall I tell them, you are waiting by your lover’s side.”
“We’re not …” The red mutant rolled his eyes. “Tell Hank to prep for us to return, Erik will need full time care, and well I guess I’m going to have to deal with the CIA.”
“The ones who fired weapons at us?”
“They were scared …”
“Yet you think they will accept someone like me or your sister?” Azazael’s smirk was downright vicious. He turned towards Erik, tilting his head slightly. “He did the right thing.”
“He was going to kill innocents.”
“And what do you think would have happened to all the civilians on this island?”
And with that last statement he teleported out of the room, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts.
*waits for more *
I blame you entirely for this!