1962 - charles xavier

T E N

We all begin to walk into the hangar where Hank instructed us to meet him. I tug at the navy blue sleeve of my uniform as we all look up in awe at the jet that we are going to be using for our mission. I look at Charles on my right before turning my head and looking up at Sean, who stands on my left, both of them transfixed by the jet.

"Where's Hank?" Raven questions aloud, breaking the silence that had settled upon us.

"I'm here." I hear my brother's voice echo throughout the large room.

I look up to see the silhouette of Henry walking towards us. Even though the the shadows are masking his features, I can tell that something is extremely off. The parts of his arms that aren't covered by his uniform are unnaturally hairy, and his hair is uncharacteristically unkempt and messily standing up on his head.

"Hank?" Charles calls out as I take a step closer to the approaching figure.

My eyebrows shoot upwards when I see a version of my brother; only this version is covered in a coat of thick, blue fur. The only way I could really even recognize him as Henry was the glasses worn on his nose and the familiar eyes of the boy that I had grown up with.

"What did you do, Henry?" I ask quietly as he lifts his head to look at all of us.

"It didn't attack the cells," he says, his voice sounding almost alien as the words pass through his unfamiliar blue lips. "It enhanced them. It didn't work."

I close my eyes and inhale deeply, realizing that the serum that he had been working on to hide his mutation had backfired.

"Yes it did, Hank. Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be." Raven reaches up and grabs his furry cheek. "This is you... No more hiding."

"Never looked better, man." Erik says in a way that I can't tell if he was serious or sarcastic.

Hank's hand flies up onto Erik's throat, beginning to squeeze until the he couldn't breathe.

"Henry!" I warn, not wanting to physically manipulate him into letting go.

"Don't mock me." Henry bares his dog-like teeth at Erik.

"Hank, put him down immediately, please." Charles chimes in as he steps a little bit closer to me. "Hank... Hank!" Charles' voice takes on a more strict tone, and my brother's grasp on Erik's neck releases, sending Erik falling to the floor.

"I wasn't." Erik says after catching his breath.

"Even I've gotta admit you look pretty badass," Alex says. "I think I got a new name for you... Beast."

Henry lets out a deep growl as he stares Alex down, and before another fight breaks out, Sean speaks up.

"You're sure you can fly this thing?" He asks, jerking his chin towards the jet.

"Course I can... I designed it." Henry says confidently and he presses a button of a remote controller, causing a ramp to lower from the belly of the jet.

Charles and I share a look before he nods at me, pressing a hand against my back and leading me towards the ramp and onto the jet. We get buckled into our seats, our gloved hands clutched tightly together as we mentally prepare for the crisis that we are assigned to prevent.

꧁꧁꧂꧂

"I remember I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw Henry like that." I laugh fondly, remembering the first time I had seen my brother's blue form.

"It was a surprise, that's for sure." Charles agrees with a chuckle, the musical sound bringing a sparkle to my eyes and a happy warmness to my chest.

"I miss him." I hum, smiling as I recall some of the memories that my brother and I had shared.

"As do I, Darling," My beloved grins sadly. "He was truly extraordinary; extremely brave, too."

"He really got us through the missile crisis." I admit.

"He did," Charles nods as I cough lightly into a handkerchief. "He was a natural-born leader."

I fight the heaviness seated on my chest, lowering my hand back to my husband's and leaning against the pillow with a melancholy smile, not having to say a word to Charles for him to know that my time was drawing nearer and nearer by the minute.