Cause

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      Two years had passed since the demise of Apocalypse. Charles Xavier's mansion had served, and continued to serve, its purpose as a school, a training facility, and a home. The telepath lived there with his metal-bending boyfriend, Erik Lehnsherr, several other members of the staff, and the collection of students who resided there when not at home, or who did not have a home. Spring was quickly approaching, melting the leftover winter ice and blooming the flowers that had remained hidden throughout the cold season.
      On account of this long absence of conflict, Charles had begun taking a special serum on occasion that had been designed by his best friend, Hank McCoy, several years before. This serum took away Charles's telepathic abilities, but returned feeling to the parts of his body that were paralyzed, namely his legs. Erik disapproved strongly of the use of the serum, but allowed it on the grounds that Charles took it no more than once a week, and if he showed any negative signs or began experiencing symptoms of addiction, he would be cut off from it completely until Hank had finished developing a serum that would return feeling to Charles's legs without extinguishing his powers for 10-20 hours.
      There was a Saturday in early March that Charles had insisted he be allowed to use the serum for the second time in a week. It was his and Erik's two year anniversary. Only because of these specific circumstances, Erik had permitted another dose of the serum, but would keep in mind to never let it happen again.
      Early that morning, around six, Hank administered the dose to Charles. This would give Charles enough time to let the dose of the serum course through him and take absolute effect, and allow him to practice using his legs again, as he often needed a little assistance and training walking at first because of his usual inability to move his legs. Hank and Erik helped him to walk a little at a time, until he could stand on his own and eventually walk on his own again.
Charles insisted on cooking something for breakfast for him and Erik, clearly ecstatic about being mobile and being able to do things himself, and that morning they feasted on burnt pancakes and bacon. After breakfast they watched Star Trek together, or rather, Charles watched Star Trek while Erik gazed at his gorgeous boyfriend for an hour and a half straight, and then they played two matches of chess, laughing and having a wonderful time, trying their best not to focus on their differences for that day.
      It was around one when Erik left to go grocery shopping. He was picking up items for later that night, some he had told Charles about, such as ice cream and champagne, and some he had not mentioned, such as candles, chocolates, and roses. He had left at that time so that Charles could have lunch with Hank and speak with him about possibly having the staff take the children out on a field trip later in the evening to give him and Erik some time alone.
      A couple hours had passed since  Erik left, and Charles was now very capable of using his legs normally, so capable in fact that he decided to leave the mansion. The telepath wanted to surprise Erik with something special, and since he had been aware of the fact that he'd be able to go shopping by himself that day at least three days in advanced, he had made plans to buy a ring. An engagement ring. He told Hank that if Erik returned before he did, to tell him that Charles had gone for a walk around the city, having had a desire to stretch his legs and get a breath of fresh air someplace that wasn't the mansion he was generally confined to.
      Charles jogged his way into the city, a risky move considering the muscles in his legs were becoming mildly atrophied from lack of use, but he wanted nothing more than to feel the cool wind on his face and the crisp air filling his lungs. Once he was well within the inner city, he stepped out into the street and breathlessly called a cab so that he could give his legs a break, riding it to a well-known jeweler's. After paying his driver generously, thanking her, and exiting the taxi, Charles strolled into the jeweler's and began browsing the rings, a smile spread upon his lips just at the thought of the remainder of the night. He felt at peace without all the voices overflowing his skull.
The professor took quite a while to choose, but ended up purchasing a silver ring that was carved into an intricate design that wrapped around a band of alternating small diamonds and rubies. It was enough detail to be fitting as an engagement ring, and yet simple enough that Erik would probably be willing to wear it.

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      Charles admired the ring for a long moment before snapping the ring box shut and pushing it into his inner blazer pocket

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      Charles admired the ring for a long moment before snapping the ring box shut and pushing it into his inner blazer pocket. The telepath ambled off to the nearest bar, knowing he'd need a drink for confidence, and wanting one for luck. He located a bar not far down the road and went inside, sauntering up to the bar. "I'd like a glass of your finest whiskey, please. On the rocks." Charles laid his money out on the finished wood surface for the bartender as he took a seat on one of the many empty stools. His eyes scanned the area around him, almost out of caution, but he continued smiling, determined to make the most out of the day. After all, nothing detrimental had happened to him for over two years. He was merely paranoid without his powers.
      When he turned back to the bar, his drink was being placed before him, and he thanked the bartender with a grin, eagerly taking a sip of the whiskey. He was certainly anxious about proposing to Erik, but tried to let the alcohol entering his system calm his nerves, though his fingers wouldn't quit fiddling with one of the buttons on his jacket, repeatedly unbuttoning it and buttoning it again.
      Charles glanced around again, and was taken slightly off guard when he saw someone occupying the seat next to him, a seat he could have sworn was empty just a few seconds prior. "Hello." He greeted the woman. She had flowing purple hair that went past her shoulders, sufficiently voluminous to help hide her face, and she was wearing a long, tan coat over a tight black dress that reached her knees. After a pause, Charles spoke up again. "I'm Charles Xavier."
      The woman didn't turn to look at him, ordering a dry martini from the bartender before finally responding to the professor. "I'm Elise. Pleasure to meet you."
      Charles had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. He almost recognized the voice of the woman before him, but he couldn't quite place his finger on who she could be. Her name didn't sound familiar and definitely didn't ring a bell in Charles's memory, and without seeing much of her face, as the majority of it was hidden in shadow, he was clueless. "Nice to meet you too, Elise. What brings you here?"
      "Just lost my job. Wanted a drink." The mysterious woman's answers were terse, straight to the point. "You?" She stirred her martini slowly, staring down at the glass.
      "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like to talk about it? I'm here because I'm going to propose to my boyfriend tonight. Needed some confidence." Charles replied.
      Elise shook her head in response to the question, sipping at her martini as Charles finished his drink. "Oh? Good luck. Do you think he'll say yes?"
      "Thank you. I, well, I believe so. Or at least I hope so. His actions can be difficult to predict." The telepath's brow furrowed slightly as he thought about it. "I'm quite confident he will."
      Downing the rest of her martini and tossing some money onto the bar, Elise stood up. "I wouldn't be too sure. He seems unable to make up his mind."
      And that was the last thing Charles heard before he simultaneously looked up to recognize her face in the light, felt her hand resting on the side of his head, and felt his defenseless mind being easily invaded by her psychic abilities. "Sorry, Charles. But you can't keep fighting for the humans. And your precious boyfriend's anger is just what we need for our movement."
      Charles's mind was strong, but with the serum poisoning his brain, just being strong wasn't enough to stop the assault on his thoughts from the fairly powerful mutant standing in front of him, Psylocke. She didn't take complete control of him, but she influenced his thoughts enough to cause a severe switch in his behavior, before she slid her hand down his cheek and left the building.
      Unfortunately, even with Apocalypse defeated, his horsemen had been left behind, already telepathically influenced by him and strengthened by him and determined to keep his beliefs prospering. Charles gripped the bar tightly with his right hand for a moment before his body seemed to adjust, and he turned to order another whiskey. The gears in his brain had ground to a halt, focusing only on what Psylocke had programmed him to do. Even if she didn't have complete control of his thoughts, she had far more control than he did, and there was no way to stop him from doing what she had commanded until the serum wore off and he could finally fight back. The only thing Charles could think for himself was that Erik wouldn't be letting him take the serum anymore. That is, if he ever even saw Erik again.
Before Charles knew it, he had downed two more whiskeys and was flirting with a lady two seats away from him at the bar, who had wavy brown hair and honey-colored eyes. Inwardly, Charles was desperately trying to stop himself, but the words were spilling out without any voluntary action of his own. Soon enough, she was sat at the bar stool next to him, giggling at something he had said and thanking him for the drink he had bought her. The next thing Charles knew they were in a taxi on their way back to the mansion, lips pressed together, hands roaming.

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⏰ Letzte Aktualisierung: Jun 05, 2017 ⏰

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