One-shots/Short Stories

Charles Xavier

Based from the first X-Men movie, First Class. . .James McAvoy is so awesome. . .

A/N: I have just recently watched X-Men for the first time and I am completely hooked to it! Like I said above. . .James McAvoy is so awesome. . .

Recruiting
They hopped out of the taxi and stared at the tall building in front of them. They were in front of a large library, one of the popular ones in New York. That was where their next mutant was.
"Ready?" Erik asked his friend.
"Of course I'm ready." Charles grinned. "It's a library. A place I am comfortable in." Erik scoffed at his answer, already knowing how much of a nerd he was.
They entered the library, all sounds of the traffic and chatter from the outside world leaving their hearing for a more quiet place. The library was quiet; only the sound of pages being turned and a few scattered coughs and clearing throats. It reminded Charles from his university.
"So where is our next recruit?" Erik asked him quietly. Charles casually placed his two fingers on the side of his head and looked out for the mutant they were after. He found the location in the giant library.
"Follow me." Charles whispered, starting to make his way to a flight of stairs, Erik trailing behind him. When they reached the second floor, Charles started making his way through the bookshelves, finally coming to a stop at the corner of the room, only to come across a woman sitting at an armchair beside a fireplace, her head held by her hand that was resting on the armchair. Charles nodded his head to the woman at Erik, subtly telling him that she was the mutant.
Before they could voice out their presence, the woman spoke up. "How may I help you, gentlemen?"
"How did you know we were here?" Erik questioned her. He turned to Charles. "Is she like you? Or is she a future teller?"
"Don't be absurd," Charles scoffed, "a future teller? Of course she's a telepath."
"And a telekinesis." came her voice in their heads. They snapped their attention to her.
"Two mutant gifts!" Charles raised an eyebrow in shock. "Impressive."
"Mh-hm. . ." she snapped her book closed and slowly -but gracefully- got out of her chair. "I'm Madeline Harper. You two are. . .?"
"Charles Xavier." Charles introduced, holding a hand out to her. "This is my dear friend, Erik Lehnsherr." When she took his hand in hers, instead of a handshake like she expected, she received a chaste kiss to her knuckles, and not once Charles ever tore his eyes away from her. From beside Charles, Erik rolled his eyes at his friend's flirting.
"Anyway," Charles straightened up his posture and released her hand, placing them in his pockets casually, "we're here to recruit you to our team."
"Team?" Madeline raised an eyebrow at them, a faint blush still on her face from Charles' kiss. "What team?"
"Why don't we talk about this over a drink?" Charles suggested. Erik couldn't help but be shocked at the straightforwardness of Charles. Hearing his mind, Charles rolled his eyes at Erik. "Not in that way, I assure you." he told him and Madeline, who was staring at Charles in shock. "I'm actually feeling a bit thirsty for some beer."
"I know a place." Madeline smiled. "The owner gives me a discount."

***

She watched from a window as Charles helped Erik with his gift in trying to move the large satellite. Madeline smiled at how selfless and kind Charles was to every person he meets. He was completely calm and collected with a hint of worry when Shaw and his friends had came to the base and destroyed the whole place. He especially doted on Raven his sister, and on her surprisingly. Charles panicked quite a bit when he noticed that Madeline had gotten a cut on her forehead from one of the debris.
But overall, Charles was a good man, always seeing the good in people. When him, Madeline and Erik went to the bar that day when they were recruiting her, all Madeline saw in Charles expression was of innocence and fondness about his team and idea to recruiting mutants like them. He explained about how they needed her help in destroying Shaw's ideas on creating World War III. And because of that, Madeline agreed to going on their team, leaving behind her boring life. She had no one in that boring life; her parents abandoned her at the first sight of her mutation, leaving her in an orphanage. The kids there even picked on her for being not normal - except one person. He was one of the staff in the orphanage and immediately took her in. The reason why, was because he was a mutant as well, with telepath. He trained her secretly on her telepath, while helping as much as he could on her other gift. He told her that those powers were not a burden, they were a gift. He had taught her to love the gifts and balance them in her life. If it wasn't for him, she would have perhaps joined Shaw.
"What a wonderful memory you have there." Madeline jumped at the sound of Charles' voice from behind her. She turned around sharply and saw him casually leaning against the doorframe in the study room she was in. She turned back to the window for a moment and saw that Erik was no longer there as well in her sight. "You seemed to have been watching that memory so intently that you didn't notice us leave the area and for me spotting you watching us." Charles mused.
"Sorry." she murmured, looking away embarrassed.
"No need to apologise," he shrugged, walking further into the room, "it's nice to see someone so curious about other people's gifts."
"I thought you weren't going to read my mind?" she teased him. Charles gave a sheepish grin.
"I apologise. I was curious as to what you were thinking about deeply to not even notice my presence like you usually do."
"My whole life I just thought I was the only one with Matthew -the man at the orphanage- that had powers." Madeline said. "Seeing others like us but with their own gifts amazes me."
"Matthew, the man that took you under his wing. . .I'd like to meet him." Charles said with a smile. "He sounds very interesting - and the fact that he raised you into such a beautiful, wonderful woman -"
"He died." Madeline interrupted him. "He died by the people we are trying to save. Because they were scared of what he could do." Madeline turned to him with tears in her eyes. "He wanted to do what you want to do; bring peace to the humans and the mutants. He tried by talking to the people in the orphanage. They thought he was a demon and tried all these things to get the 'demon' out of him. They tried so much that he died. . .and I did nothing." Madeline quickly turned away before Charles could see her tears. "All I did was hide away and listen to his screams. I-I know he told me to stay away, b-but I wanted to do something - anything to get him out of his misery," she turned to meet his sad eyes that had tears in his own, "but I didn't." she whispered. She turned back to the window. "When I watched as the staff of the orphanage drag his body out to hide it, I took that as my chance to run away. Matthew had shown me where he kept his secret stash of money so I took it and ran as far away as I could."
"You had a chance to go back for your revenge." Charles said quietly. "Why didn't you?"
"Like I said; if it wasn't for Matthew raising me I would have joined Shaw by now." Madeline said, refusing to glance in his direction. "A side of me agrees with what he is doing, but another side of me also says that there are innocent people out there who don't deserve to die because of some people who are scared of us mutants."
"And that's a good thing to think of." Charles assured her. He then moved towards her and moved her so she was facing him. He cupped her tearstained face in his hands. "You are a remarkable woman." he told her softly. "Don't think anything else. You are not a killer. I know that. Raven knows that. Sean, Alex, Hank, Erik. . .even Darwin before he died. Don't let vengeance invade your mind. You are better than that."
And without thinking of the consequences, Charles leaned down and gave her a long, passionate kiss. Madeleine's eyes widened in shock, still processing what was happening. But after a while, when he was about to pull away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. For a bit, Charles was shocked that she was going along with the sudden kiss. He couldn't help it though; ever since he saw her at the library, he knew she was different than those other girls he flirted with at university. Instead of seeing a one night stand in Madeline, he saw a future with her. Those times when they spoke about the future for them and the mutants, he could imagine the two working together but also being together. He couldn't help those feelings.
They slowly pulled out of the kiss, their breaths laboured from their sudden make out. Charles released a small weak chuckle, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "That's what you see in the future?" Madeline suddenly asked him. Charles snapped his eyes open, staring at her surprised.
"Did you look through my mind?" he asked her in disbelief. Madeline gave a small sheepish smile.
"You were thinking quite loud." she whispered. "But really? Do you really see that in the future for us? For the mutants. . .for us?"
Charles pulled her into another breathtaking kiss. "I do." he murmured against her lips. "I really do." He looked down at her with a shy smile. "So what do you say? Stay with me in the future together?"
"First we go on a date." she teased. "Then if everything goes well, then we can get married and be together in the future." Charles laughed at her words and pulled her into a hug.
"A date it is." he agreed. He then heard Erik heading their way. "However, it might have to wait -"
"Charles, the president - oh, hello Madeline." Erik stared at them in surprise. Charles and Madeline pulled away from each other with a blush. Erik smirked at their reaction before continuing on to what he was going to say. "The president is about to have his speech." He then walked out of the room, but not before saying to them, "About time the two of you confess your love for each other. It's getting quite annoying when you two would stare at each other longingly when you think the other one isn't looking."
"Erik!" Charles groaned embarrassed while Madeline laughed. Charles smiled at her happiness before continuing on to what he was saying before Erik intruded. "As I was saying, the date might have to wait. We have Shaw to deal with."
"And then the date." she agreed. She winked at him and started making her way to the exit. "I know a place. The owner gives me a discount."

The End