AN: Two short Erik stories.
The glass encasing would not hold forever, would it? The loneliness it represented, moreover the uselessness. The lack of contact. Ten long years in isolation. Ten long years of silence, with only the occasional glance from a guard or two. Pointing and smirking from the less inhibited ones.
Footsteps, out in the hallway.
Footsteps, growing louder.
A stretched out hand.
The sound of shattering glass flying around….
Finally, free!
The helmet flew into its master's hand. The touch reassuring. Reunited at last!
The greatest lesson of all
The most valuable lesson Erik had ever learnt had been Charles' advice to calm his mind. Finding the point between serenity and rage. His long imprisonment had been one long lesson of practicing this particular skill. Without metal, it had been impossible to practice the practical aspect, but the mental side was now firmly in his control. Or so Erik believed.
His row with Charles on the plane had told him he still had some ways to go. When seriously angered, and pushed or hurt to the extreme, it was still difficult to control. Yet finding that particular place had become easier… Far easier.
Beast was holding him down. He could not breathe… Erik panicked. Cars began moving, his ability out of control. Just like the time his mother died….
Calm your mind… Calm your mind…
Never would he admit it, ever, but Charles' soothing voice worked as a mantra to him. He closed his eyes. He would not die here, under water… Hank's physical strength was all he had; he had so much more himself.
He calmly reached out to the nearest metal. With a tranquil mind and a determined one as well, he bended it to his will. The metal snakes grabbed him and Hank became a statue in a fountain. A moving statue…
Erik got up. He had Charles to thank for so much!
"Can I help you with anything?"
"No, you cannot."
He closed his eyes. Charles' soothing voice resonated in his head. It would guide him all his life…
As he rose into the air, so did the stadium. It had become a part of himself, as real as his hands or feet.
Detached from the earth, from humankind, he smiled.
He would be eternally grateful to his mutant brother for the greatest lesson of all: belief in himself. Trust in his abilities with the tranquility to excel.