PHANTOM ─ x-men ✓

17 | lost birds

When I imagined coming face to face with Sebastian Shaw once again, he would either be in handcuffs, led away from the group dejected, having lost everything, or he would be dead. For a few blissful moments, for a few golden days, I was lost in those delusions, lost in the stars above, lost in the daydream that he would never hurt me again.

But nothing lasts forever.

I was wrong. About everything. The next time I saw Shaw he wasn't defeated. He wasn't dead. He wasn't raising his hands to the sky, pleading with us to have mercy on him and everything he'd done.

No. That was not what happened.

I look down, my head bobbing to the side, exhaustion and shadows gripping the side of my vision.

A man holds me close to him, arms wrapping around my shoulders and one hand pressing into the side of my neck. His mouth is inches from my ear, and I feel something metal push up against my head.

It's him. He's the one holding me, taking away my powers with his own, and there is nothing I can do about it. This was not what I imagined. This was not what I hoped. Those stars I looked for are gone, hidden behind clouds of ebony and despair.

"Hello Leena." he says again. His breath is hot on my skin, and a tremor runs through my body. Tears are already running down my cheeks. I look back up. Erik is on the other side of the room, his back turned away from us. He's looking around, most likely communicating with Charles.

He has no idea that Shaw is here. Erik has no idea that he has caught me once again. No, no please no, I think. Shaw's grip tightens. No no no no no no. I look up towards Erik as Shaw keeps me close to him. He still hasn't turned around. I can't move. I can't breathe. I thought I could be strong, I thought I could face him again without breaking down.

But I didn't expect him to hold me. I didn't think he would ever touch me again.

Shaw lifts his head upwards. "Erik." he says, voice booming and lined with an emotion I can't understand. My powers are draining from my flesh into his hands. I recall Moira saying he was becoming some kind of nuclear weapon. Any moment, he could explode, and I'll be in the line of fire. White hot flames race along my bones from his hand on my neck.

Erik slowly turns his head, eyes crazed and panicked. That anxiety only increases when he sees me.

"Get away from her." Erik says, his voice so low I can barely make it out. Shaw shakes his head and pulls both of us into a strange room. Blue lights emit from the center, and mirrors, dozens of mirrors line the walls. Reflections of Shaw's cool calm and my panicked face glare down on us. Erik takes a step forwards, his features twisting into something I can't bear to look at.

"What a pleasant surprise." Shaw says. I whimper.

Faintly, like a distance bell ringing in a faraway church, a man is speaking. Leena-- Lee- What's goin-- Erik? Shaw takes more energy from me, black swirling around his fingers.

Erik steps into the strange mirrored room, and closes the door behind him. "Let her go." That same whispered tone.

"So good to see you again." Shaw says, ignoring Erik's pleas. I look at him, and Erik stares back, his jaw tightening. I can't move. My knees give way beneath me but Shaw keeps me upright.

"Let. Her. Go." Erik growls, and he takes a step closer.

Shaw laughs. "Do you hear that Leena?" His mouth is so close to my ear.

Erik doesn't say anything, he only steps closer. Shaw's grip loosens, but not before he plants two fingers on my cheek. Something hot and putrid bubbles underneath my skin, and I cry out in pain as the energy pulses through my body. It feels as if a thousand knives, hot at the tip, are digging into my flesh.