guideshapelead | XMFC/Accidents Happen

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XMFC/Accidents Happen

Charles is far from impressed with the drugs Hank's given him. So far, he's taking them obediently, but he has to admit that it's already a struggle to keep up the regime. He hasn't had another seizure, and for that he is grateful, but the cost is almost too much. His concentration is shot; he can barely manage a chapter of a book in one sitting, now, whereas before he'd skim whole volumes. And worse, his telepathy has been weakened to a level which is almost non-existent. He has to try, with all his concentration and mental strength, just to catch glimpses of thoughts aimed directly at him.

His head has never felt so quiet.

As a consequence, he's in far from a good mood as he sits in the drawing room with Erik that afternoon, struggling to do more than watch the flames in the fireplace. He finds the whole thing far more crippling than the bullet in his spine.

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Charles has been unusually quiet for the past few days. Erik sits reading Machiavelli's Prince and watching Charles sit mutely, barely turning a page of his book in an hour.

"Something wrong, liebe?"

"Nothing," Charles answers, a little too quickly. He knows how the effects of Cerebro have frightened his lover, and he doesn't want to complain to him about the side-effects of the drugs. He can see how that would be tactless.

Erik curls his hand around Charles', sure he's not telling him the whole truth-

BANG!

An explosion shakes the house to its foundations and Erik is instantly on his feet, running towards the sound.

Charles has adapted well to life in a wheelchair, and for the most part he no longer resents his disability. Times like this, however, bring back to him just how much things have changed. By the time he's gotten himself back into his chair, Erik's long gone from view.

As fast as he can, Charles follows after his lover, and it's not long before he's coming across the smouldering entranceway to Hank's laboratory.

Erik's in front of the lab, heart and mind racing.

The smoke is acrid and copious - and he can hear footsteps racing up behind him.

He turns: Raven, carrying Baby Scott.

And that's it.

"Stay back," he says and strides into the lab.

"Erik!" Charles calls after the other man, not wanting him to do himself damage by playing the hero. He can only assume that the boys are all trapped, somewhere, and whilst the thought makes his blood run cold, the idea of losing Erik as well makes him feel even worse.

"Erik, come back!" He calls again, trying to force the issue with his power and failing completely.

It's hard to see through the smoke, but Erik keeps low to the ground. The tables have held under the weight of fallen equipment and support beams, and he manages to move unhindered below the level of the fumes.

He sees Sean first, crumpled against a bookcase. He leaves the shelter of the tables and lays his hand on the boy's shoulder. Sean stirs and blinks at him, coughing.

"What...?" Sean chokes, coughs again.

"Can you move?"

Sean nods and Erik pulls him into a crouch, guiding him towards the table.

"Hank...Alex..."

"I will get them out," Erik promises and watches him leave safely.

Charles is about to wheel himself through that smoky doorway, personal safety be damned, when Sean comes crawling out, coughing and choking.

"Raven!" Charles calls for his sister's attention, taking Scott from her so that she can check Sean over. Thankfully, the boy seems fine aside from a great deal of coughing.

"Hank and Alex..." Sean tries to tell them, and Charles nods his understanding. Fingers to his temple - something he's not needed to do for a while - he tries with all his might to pick up on the others trapped inside the burning lab.

And still, nothing.

Erik is disturbed by the lack of input from Charles. He tries to reach out to him, but it's like a bad telephone line across the Atlantic.

//Charles? Is Sean there?//

He is now in open space and sees the blue, singed shape of Hank in a lab coat beside a burning hunk of machinery.

Erik drags him away from the mess and, with great effort, heaves him over the shoulder.

He uses his power to carefully part the beams, as he ducks through to the entrance of the lab.

Erik emerges and lays Hank out on the ground, already turning to go back. Alex is still in there.

"Erik!" Charles tries to grab for his lover's arm as he briefly appears, almost wanting to reassure himself that the other man is still alive and well.

"Be careful," is all he manages to say, knowing that he won't be able to stop the man from going back in after Alex.

Erik takes an indulgent moment to kiss Charles' lips - sending him every warmth thought he can, promising he will find Alex - before he heads back into the burning lab.

Forcing himself to turn his attention to Sean and Hank, Charles can do little more than watch as Raven hovers over Hank's body. Sean's sat himself up now, leaning against the wheel of his chair, and he places a gently reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The smoke is thicker now and it's becoming harder to breathe. Erik plods forward, searching for Alex. He doesn't know why he can't hear Charles in his mind, guiding him to the boy, and wonders if the chemical fire is getting to him.

Dimly, behind a beam, he thinks he can see something. If he moves the beam, he could collapse the ceiling down on them. He presses himself flat to the floor and pulls himself forward; broken glass stings at his forearms, but he doesn't care. He has to get to Alex.

Alex is pinned to the ground by a beam, semi-conscious and obviously in pain. Erik follows the beam with his power but he can't tell where it leads. The air is thick, his mind fuzzy.

He has to lift the beam.

It rises, Alex chokes on a scream, and Erik covers the boy with his body as the ceiling falls down.

The noise as the lab collapses in on itself is deafening, causing Scott to burst into tears. Even as Charles pulls the little boy closer, he's screaming out Erik's name.

He has no way of telling whether his lover is still alive, whether Alex is still alive. His powers are completely offline, no matter how hard he tries. All he can do is yell.

The dust settles. The faint echo of a scream reaches his ears.

Erik shifts and coughs. "Alex?" he rasps.

The boy stirs under his hand and Erik breathes a sigh of relief, which quickly turns into a coughing fit. The downpour of plaster has, at least, extinguished the fire and Erik looks up to discover a mesh of metalwork forming a protective shield over himself and Alex.

Prising apart the metallic hemisphere, Erik lifts Alex up into his arms and limps towards the lab entrance, head and body aching as he brushes aside the debris that blocks their way.

When he carries him through the lab door, he feels ready to drop, but instead gently lowers his burden to the floor.

There are tears in Charles' eyes, as well as Scott's, by the time Erik reappears with Alex in his arms. Whilst Raven and Sean rush to check Alex over, Charles' eyes are only for his lover.

"I thought I'd lost you," he admits in a quavering voice.

Erik staggers forward and envelops his family in his arms, covering them both with soot and plaster. "Shh, it's all right," he says, voice rough from the smog.

Relaxing as he hears Alex stir on the ground at his side, as he feels Erik wrapping him up tight in his arms with Scott between them, Charles lets out a large sigh.

"I couldn't hear you," he admits. "Here." He taps his temple.

Erik frowns at Charles. "Not at all? Since when?"

Alex shouts as Sean tries to move his left arm, and Hank stirs at the sound, much to Raven's relief.

And Erik realises they need to take care of their brood. He can enquire after Charles' telepathic glitch later.

"We should get them to..." he trails off, realising that Hank's lab isn't exactly an option.

"Get them all to bed," Charles decides.

"Or do we need a trip to the hospital?"

Alex, propped up against Charles' wheelchair, is feeling his own arm with trepidation. "Think it's broken."

"The x-ray was in the lab," Hank says, voice even gruffer than usual.

"We can't all go. It would be suspicious." Sean shakes his head with a wince.

"I'll take Alex," Erik says decisively. "Wash off the worst of the soot and we'll explain it. I could teach a class in deception."

A selfish part of Charles wants to say no, wants to send Raven with Alex so he can keep Erik where he can see him. But instead, he nods his agreement. Alex would want Erik there, over anyone else.

"Hank? How are you feeling?" He dreads the thought of the young genius needing medical attention, with exposure to the public not an option.

"I'll be fine, Charles."

Charles lets out a small sigh of relief. "Good. Get some rest. You too, Sean. Bed for you, I think."

Raven shepherds the boys to their rooms and Erik helps Alex to his feet. The boy sways, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"We'll go now," Erik says decisively, before glancing back at Charles and Scott. "You'll be all right? You'll take care of everyone, mausi?"

"We'll be fine," Charles promises, giving Erik's hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

"Call the house, if there's any news?"

"Of course." Erik kisses Charles' cheek, and then Scott's forehead.

Alex makes a faint retching sound. Erik lightly smacks the boy's shoulder and then guides him towards the door of the mansion. He wants to help Alex as quickly as possible and then gather his family safely at home.

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