Chapter Text
Charles
(_)(_)(_)
Charles had taken full advantage of the time he'd had with the various inhabitants of Stark Tower's upper levels. He'd been rather surprised by his findings.
Steve, of course, was all over the place, grieving and angry on a level Charles hadn't seen since Erik. If Steve were anyone other than who he was, Charles would honestly be very worried, but he knew that Steve would not loose his ire on the undeserving. That said, Charles truly did not envy the persons responsible for James Barnes' current state if and when Steve caught up with them. Logan had been nearly as bad, the situation bringing up all the unresolved issues Logan had with his own very similar situation. Fortunately, Logan was self-aware enough to be making himself scarce so he didn't inadvertently take out his ire on the wrong targets before he got himself back on more even footing.
He hadn't been expecting Natasha Romanov, of all people, to be in very nearly the same mental place as Logan, though she was far better at hiding it than he was. There had been rumors for ... well, a very long time ... regarding the so-called Black Widow. Charles had never met her, and well aware of how out of proportion gossip and rumor could get, had given little to no credence to much of what he'd heard. What was strange was that while she was indeed ... magnificently angry among other emotions ... there was a flat, muffled aspect to her emotions. Almost as if it wasn't quite what she truly felt, but what she thought was expected of her and was applying it to herself accordingly.
The others had all been in fairly predictable places mentally speaking. Charles had done what he could to help them in the limited time he'd had to work with, without using his telepathy.
Sadly, he hadn't gotten a chance to ask the questions he wanted to of Queen Frigga and Loki yet, but he fully intended to before the day was done. The Queen's briefing of the state of affairs in the Nine Realms had been ... quite illuminating ... in and of itself.
Charles sat forward a little bit in his chair as he began his own part of the briefing. "I have a good deal of news to impart as well, the vast majority of it good. And I have a favor I would like to ask of you, Steven, once I've covered the information."
Steve looked understandably curious, but nodded.
"I called a number of mutants and people friendly to mutants of my acquaintance around the world. The only areas I don't have any contacts is Australia and South America, and even at that, my acquaintances have contacts in South America. I've spread the word that we have major trouble coming, and a number of folks have stepped forward to form teams of mutants to cover various areas." He told them
"First and foremost - for those who may not know." Which was everyone save Tony. "Mutations can be broken down into four basic categories, each of which can have innumerable variations and further divisions. They are: Physical, that is, mutations that affect strength, durability, agility, the senses etc. Elemental, which are mutations that permit manipulation of water, fire, rock etc. Mental: this covers mutations like telepathy, telekinesis, and the like. And lastly Energy, which encompasses mutations that involve the control and manipulation of various forms of energy. I'll identify which category a mutant's powers lie in as I go along, as describing the exact parameters of their abilities would take quite some time." Charles said.
Steve nodded. "As long as we get a somewhat more comprehensive list of abilities later, so we know what we're dealing with, I'm fine with just the categories for now."
"Agreed." Frigga said.
Charles sighed a bit in relief. "Thank you, and I will make sure you get that information before I leave. Up first is my own group, the X-Men. There are currently seven fully trained adults on the team including myself, and an additional dozen children over the age of sixteen with sufficient control and powers applicable to combat, and who have shown an interest in fighting. Of the adults, three are Physical, two are Mental, one is Energy and the last is Elemental. Of the children, three are Physical, two are Mental, five are Energy, and two are Elemental." Charles told them.
He was quite sure that Tony, who knew the kids' names and powers, was probably aware of which of the kids Charles was talking about. The others had no idea as regarded the children, and Frigga didn't know the adults, so covering that was necessary. Even at that, the dozen Charles was thinking of were the ones that would absolutely refuse to be left behind - he and Scott both got a lot of arguments from the lot of them to be included in things *now*. There were other children in the mansion of the right age and with combat-applicable powers, but they had never expressed an interest in combat and Charles wasn't about to force the issue, not even for something like this.
"From there, I've go four people here in North America, three based in the States and one in Canada. They each will be able to mobilize not just mutants in their respective areas of influence, but also non-powered individuals."
"First on the list is Jean-Paul Beaubier, the Canadian. He is a Physical, as is his twin sister Aurora. The two of them were quick to affirm they would begin assembling a team of Canadian mutants and in fact Jean-Paul called me just yesterday to let me know they'd gotten two people to sign on already and had several good prospects who were making arrangements for their private lives before they agreed to sign on. The next is Sam Guthrie. He is an Energy, and almost his entire family is comprised of mutants of varying capabilities. He confirmed with me the next morning that they were all on board. And there are a lot of them." Charles smiled, as that was a touch of an understatement when it came to the Guthrie clan. "He is, however, still on the lookout for non-related folks to add to his team."
"John Proudstar is next on the list, and a Native American. He is a Physical. The Native American population is unfortunately small and very insular in the United States. I knew they would not accept a leader from outside their population, which is why I called John." Charles had had enough problems getting through to John himself to know that attempting such on a larger scale would be foolhardy in the time they had before Thanos struck. "I honestly have no idea how many mutants he will find in that community."
"Lastly is Carol Danvers, who is an Air Force pilot based out of Nellis Air Force Base. She is also a Physical. She's going to have to work carefully, as while I have little doubt there are mutants in the military, they must by necessity keep their heads well down."
Charles restrained himself from giving Frigga a narrow-eyed look as he wound down from that part of his report. There was something in her expression. Something pleased and knowing that had him curious and just a touch suspicious. Nor was he the only one in the meeting to pick up on her attitude, as both Tony and Loki were shooting her looks. Steve, while he wasn't giving Frigga looks, was clearly aware of her expression if the frown he was leveling at his notebook was any indication. The temptation to brush her mind and see what had her looking like that was enormous, but even if Charles had been less scrupulous in his use of his mutation, he'd not want to muck about with an alien mind. Who knew what would happen?
"I've not heard any word from Carol, but I have little doubt of success in her quest. She will probably call within the next week or so to let me know how things are going. I had not anticipated hearing from John for at least a month, but he called me back the day after I called to warn him, and told me about someone in Brazil that might be open to forming a team to defend the planet. Evidently they are a friend of someone John knows in the Native American community. All I know at present is that his name is Roberto de Costa. I've arranged to meet him early next week, at which point I can call Tony and let him know more."
Everyone nodded.
"In Europe, I have Pete Wisdom, who is an Energy. He is one of the older mutants among my contacts, being only a few years younger than Tony. He works for the government of the United Kingdom. I've received confirmation from him that the UK has lost no time in preparing for a potential second invasion, even without knowing one was coming. Apparently, someone decided that the first attempt was by way of being a test, and resolved to make anyone stupid enough to invade the United Kingdom very sorry for it."
"They would not be entirely wrong." Loki said, speaking for the first time. "Though *he* intended to take the whole planet in the one try, the initial contact and response would have served as a test for how the rest of the invasion would have gone."
Charles nodded, and spotted Steve doing the same out of the corner of his eye. It made sense, tactically speaking. "Pete told me that he more or less had a team already - nothing official, of course, nor even as tightly knit or centralized as the X-Men, but a number of mutants that had noticed antagonistic mutants causing trouble and set out to stop them. At some point, they ran into each other and things went from there."
"Betsy Braddock is the next on the list, and a Mental. I'm unsure if she'll form a team, as she prefers to work solo, but she is at least warned. Sean Cassidy is the third, and a Physical." Well, not really. Sean and his daughters' mutations were one of the odd ones - equal parts physical alteration - to lung capacity, vocal chords, and hearing - energy and mental, but he could explain that later. "And like Pete, one of the older mutants of my acquaintance. He's promised to begin scouring Ireland for prospects."
"The last of the Europe contacts isn't a mutant at all." Charles told them. "Nor a potential combatant. Her name is Dr. Moira McTaggert. She will be invaluable in locating medical personnel who can handle the oddities that mutants bring to the table medically speaking and who will at least have the potential to deal with our off-world allies as well, as she is quite well known and respected."
"Oh. That's good." Steve said. "We're ... going to need that when this is all over. A lot of people are going to get hurt."
Charles nodded in agreement with Steve. "I only have one contact in Africa, but in this case, I really only need the one. His name is King T'challa of Wakanda. He recently took the throne after his father's untimely death. He is a Physical, and it seems to run in the family from father to son. The sovereigns of Wakanda have been renowned since time immemorial for their physical feats and respected around the world for their ferocity in protecting their country. He'll rally the entire continent to keep Thanos and the Chitauri from gaining a foothold in Africa."
"I have two contacts in Asia." Charles sighed. "One of whom is going to be ... problematic. Shiro Yashida is Japanese and has ... shall we say a less than congenial personality? He is an Energy ... and utterly convinced he is, by virtue of being Japanese, superior to everyone not also born Japanese. That said, he will fight to the death to keep Japan from being subjugated."
"He'll just annoy the holy hell out of us whenever we have to interact with him." Tony said.
"Unfortunately, yes." Charles said.
"I shall work with him, then." Loki said. "I am not called Silvertongue for nothing. I'll have him eating out of my hand in short order."
Charles wasn't going to argue against that. The less friction there was, the better. "My other contacts in Asia are the family of one of my students, and one of the potential under-age combatants, Piotr Rasputin. His elder brother, Mikhail, is a cosmonaut who has worked on the international space station. How he's hidden his status as a mutant I don't know. He is an Energy and, truly, in the best position to feel out any mutants in the former Soviet Union and beyond."
Charles didn't bother mentioning Pietro, Wanda, and Lorna. While the three of the twins had promptly hauled Lorna into their orbit, the triad were understandably leery of forming a team beyond the three of them. Anyone who knew - or found out - who their father was was liable to assume the worst of any team they put together, and Charles wasn't going to put them through that. Not even any of his X-Men knew who their father was, though Scott, Jean, and Hank had all met the twins. Charles had deliberately avoided letting any of them meet Lorna, because his 'children' weren't stupid, and would instantly suspect Lorna's parentage the moment they discovered what her power was. While Lorna was more or less the exact opposite of her father in temperament and outlook, the X-Men had had too many unfortunate dealings with Erik to ever be comfortable working with a daughter of his with an identical power.
And speaking of Erik.
"That is my list, and I will make sure you all have the details, as well as the overview, before I leave." Charles said. Then he sighed. "Which brings me to that favor I would ask of you, Steve. If you cannot in good conscience *do* the favor once I've explained, I will completely understand and abide by your decision."
Charles almost wanted to laugh because Tony was already giving him a narrow-eyed, suspicious look. Steve, on the other hand, still looked curious more than anything.
"There is someone I would like for you to talk to." Charles started. And that was all it took for Tony's suspicion to blossom into knowing.
"Charles, are you out of your fucking mind?" Tony barked.
Charles glanced at him. "Tell me we couldn't use him, if he could be talked around."
Tony snorted. "Of course we could, but he can't. He's hell and gone away from ... yeah. No. Not happening."
Steve looked between them, frowning slightly. Then his eyes shot wide before his expression went thunderous. "Wait, is this about ... what'd Rogue say his name was again? ... Magneto, that was it. Is he who you're talking about?"
"Yes." Charles admitted. "Which is why I said if you couldn't go through with talking to him, I'd abide by it. Erik ... has done many horrible things, this I will not even begin to deny. But I have never stopped believing he could be ... brought around to a better way of thinking." Charles glanced down at his hands for a moment. "He was a survivor of the camps, Steve. And while he never actually confirmed it to me, I strongly suspect he came into his power in those camps."
Unsaid, but understood by the three humans went the knowledge that if that was true, Erik would have been in for an even worse hell on earth than most of the concentration camp victims had been. Zola hadn't been the only one experimenting on people, after all, and a mutant - any mutant, never mind one with Erik's abilities - would have been in a world of trouble.
"He knows exactly how low humans can sink when it comes to people they don't like or are afraid of. It ... well, made him go off the deep end a bit. I tried to help him when I first met him, but back then I wasn't trained to deal with psychological trauma so there was only so much good I could do. And he refused to go to a trained professional because he didn't want to reveal his status as a mutant. By the time I'd gotten the training necessary to help him, our friendship, rocky as it had been, had fallen apart and he dismissed me as an optimistic fool and wouldn't hear a word I had to say." Well, it had been more complicated than that, of course, but that had been the upshot of the whole mess.
Charles sighed. "I honestly don't know if anyone can get through to him at this late stage, but if anyone can it would be you, Steve." He didn't have to clarify why. "If he can be brought around, we could really use him. He's one of the strongest mutants on the planet that I know of."
"What is it he can do that would make him so valuable to the fight?" Frigga asked.
"He can control metal - any metal - and magnetic fields." Charles said. "Insofar as I know, he's never found a limit to what he can do. He'd be able to flatten entire waves of Chitauri with little effort. That is the only reason I'm even entertaining the notion of trying to talk him around."
Tony still looked mutinous, and Steve was frowning heavily. Frigga's eyebrows were headed for her hairline, but she looked like she at least understood why Charles was advocating for dealing with Erik now.
"I'll ... I'll think about it." Steve said.
"That is more than I could have asked for, Steve." Charles said.
"Perhaps I should talk to him." Loki said, surprising Charles. "After all, I know what it is to be shunned and reviled, and to want revenge. Not to mention giving in to that desire."
If it had been anyone else, Charles would have warned them about Erik's ... way with words. Given this was Loki, Charles had a feeling Erik would have met his match. Steve, he didn't have to worry about so much as the man was incorruptible. Even the most fleeting brush against Steve's mind had told Charles that.