"The plane to Russia leaves in an hour" Moria announced, as Kira walked behind her, Erik and Charles on either side of her.

They finally had a lead on Shaw's location, as he was supposed to be meeting a Russian General the next day. The four were making their way to the rest of the new recruits to tell them the good news, but Erik had some serious doubts.

"I'm telling you, these kids are not ready for Shaw," Erik told them, sharing a look with Kira.

"I think they may surprise you. They're a group of exceptional young adults" Charles replied.

"That may be true, but they don't have the motivation. They have no idea how dangerous Shaw is, none of you do" Kira explained, as Charles mulled over this for a moment.

"Do you want me to tell them what Shaw did to you? What he did to both of you?" Charles pointed out, looking to both Kira and Erik.

"We can handle Shaw on our own. There's no need for these kids to get hurt" Erik informed him, as Charles raised an eyebrow.

"Most of those 'kids' are older than Kira here" Charles stated, making Kira roll her eyes.

"Look, it's your choice, Charles. But bringing them along…it won't end well" Kira insisted, as they turned to walk across the courtyard.

"What the hell?" Moria frowned when they heard loud music booming from nearby.

Kira couldn't help but laugh as she looked at the mess in front of her, a broken window and a statue that had been cut in half, being the worst damage. They walked closer to see the new recruits partying, having no idea that the four were watching them. Moria came to stand by the shattered glass that covered the floor, her hands on her hips as she watched the mutants dance.

"What are you doing?" Moria shouted, with a commanding tone.

Instantly, the mutants turned around, as Hank jumped down from the ceiling that he had been hanging from. Angel dropped to the ground as she hid her wings behind her back, biting her lip.

"Who destroyed the statue?" Moria inquired, as Alex's lips twitched into a smirk.

"It was Alex" Hank snitched quickly, as Alex scoffed.

"No. Havok. We have to call him Havok, that's his name now. We were thinking you should be Professor X…you should be Magneto…and you should be Shadow" Raven grinned, pointing to the three.

"Exceptional" Erik muttered, dryly.

He was the first to walk away, quickly followed by a furious Moria. Charles shook his head slowly, disappointment clear on his face, as the smile fell from Raven's face.

"I expect more from you" Charles told her, as he went to follow the others.

The mutants looked down at their shoes, guilt on their faces, as Raven looked close to crying. She had never disappointed Charles before.

"We've found Shaw. We were just coming to get you guys" Kira informed them, as Hank cringed.

"We're ready, we can-" Raven began, but Kira quickly cut her off.

"No, you're not. Not yet. Look, we'll be back in a couple of days, maybe you guys can do some training…while you clean up this mess" Kira explained, ushering to the broken glass all over the courtyard.

"We just wanted some fun" Angel mumbled, rubbing her arm.

"I know…hey, I like my name though. Shadow. Good choice" Kira exclaimed, as Raven gave her a grateful smile.

Erik quietly made his way down the narrow aisle of the plane, a drink in one hand and a chest board in the other. Over the past few days, he had been trying to teach Kira how to play but their progress was slow to say the least. It was a long flight, and Erik couldn't think of a better way to spend his time. He was disappointed when he found Kira curled up on her seat, her head resting against the plane window. Erik noticed that her hair had fallen into her eyes, and cautiously reached out to brush her brunette hair behind her ear, letting his finger trail down her cheek as he pulled away. He found a blanket on a nearby chair and draped it over her shoulders, with a small smile on his face.

It's not a weakness, Erik.

Erik's head shot up as he heard the quiet voice in his mind, and turned to see Charles a few seats down, with his finger to his temple. Erik frowned at him as he started to walk towards the younger man, placing the chest board on the table in front of him.

"What isn't?" Erik questioned.

"Caring about someone" Charles replied, as Erik scoffed.

"Just because you can read my thoughts doesn't mean you know how I feel, Charles" Erik pointed out, as Charles' lips twitched into a smile.

"No, your actions tell me how you feel" Charles stated, his eyes flitting over to Kira's sleeping form for a moment.

"Then you should know I won't let anything get in the way of stopping Shaw" Erik insisted, as Charles nodded.

"Do you think it will make you happy?" Charles questioned.

"I don't care much for my happiness, Charles" Erik muttered.

"…You may not, Erik, but those around you do. I am one of them, and so is she…don't forget that" Charles explained, as Erik's forehead wrinkled at his confession.

"Caring about someone only leads to pain" Erik informed him, as it was Charles' turn to frown this time.

"Why do you say that?" Charles inquired.

"It always hurts when they are taken from you" Erik mumbled, with a far-off look.

"I know you don't like to talk about your past but-" Charles began, but Erik cut him off quickly.

"Fancy a game before we land?" Erik asked, gesturing to the chest board.

"Of course…I suspect it won't be a long game" Charles pointed out, as Erik smirked, as they both knew he was the far better player.

Their plan to find Shaw at his secret meeting with a Russian diplomate got off to a bad start when they were stopped at a boarder patrol. Luckily, Charles was able to use his telepathic abilities to get them through, but the problems kept coming. They soon realised that Shaw had sent his right-hand woman in his place to the meeting. Kira could practically feel Erik tense beside her when he realised he wouldn't be getting his hands on Shaw that day. It seemed the whole mission was a waste of time.

"So, what now, boss?" Charles questioned, looking to Moria.

"Now nothing. We're here for Shaw. Mission aborted" Moria exclaimed, putting down her binoculars.

"The hell it is" Erik muttered, as he went to stand up from where they had been hiding in the nearby forest.

"Erik…" Kira trailed off, grabbing his arm.

"She's his right-hand woman, that's good enough for me" Erik stated, as she reluctantly let go of his arm.

"The CIA invading the home of a senior soviet official? Are you crazy?" Moria gaped, in disbelief.

"I'm not CIA" Erik smirked, as he pushed himself to his feet.

"…Erik, wait!" Kira called after him, a moment later, standing up quickly.

She sprinted forward, managing to catch him before he got too far and grabbed onto his leather jacket. Erik whipped his head around, with an angry expression, as he shrugged off her touch.

"I thought you of all people would understand why I want to do this" Erik muttered, bitterly.

"I do…which is why I'm going to help you" Kira informed him, as Erik raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"It's going to be dangerous" Erik pointed out, as Kira lips spread into a grin.

"I'd expect nothing less when it comes to you" Kira stated, moving to place her hand back on his shoulder.

Before Erik could say anything else, his surroundings suddenly changed, as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Taking a step backwards, he looked around to see they were now inside the large mansion of the Soviet Official, beside a staircase leading to what appeared to be numerous bedchambers.

"I thought I'd give us a head start" Kira shrugged, as Erik smirked at her.

Suddenly, the pair heard a shout from behind them, as Erik grabbed Kira by the waist, pulling her behind him, while his other hand shot out towards their attackers. In the blink of an eye, Kira watched as the soldier's guns all but exploded in their hands, sending them stumbling onto their backs. With the flick of his wrist, Erik slammed what remained of the metal weapons into the soldiers' faces, knocking them out instantly. He then turned back to Kira with a smug expression, only realising then that he was still holding onto her waist, keeping her close to his body.

"Show off" Kira scoffed, as Erik's hands fell away.

"Ah, but you were impressed" Erik pointed out, not losing his smug expression.

Taking a step back, Kira quirked a challenging eyebrow before disappearing from the room, as a shout came from down the corridor a moment later. Erik rushed up the stairs, hearing a scuffle coming from behind large blue doors, and barged in. His jaw dropped open as he saw that Kira had Shaw's blonde ally pressed against a nearby wall, her hand outstretched just inches from the woman's neck.

"Now, who's impressed?" Kira grinned at Erik, as she spotted Charles rushing up behind him.

The blonde's eyes quickly darted over to the Russian General who was on the bed, in some sort of trance and making kissing noises. Kira's eyes widened as he suddenly seemed to come back to reality, spotting the group of people in his room, as his hand went straight for his gun.

"Go to sleep!" Charles commanded; his hand outstretched towards the Russian, who instantly passed out.

"You came to help?" Kira questioned, surprised that Charles would go against Moria.

"I wouldn't be a very good friend if I let you two go alone, would I?" Charles pointed out, as Kira's lips twitched into a smile.

Kira's attention was dragged back to the pretty blonde by her side, as she morphed into a diamond like appearance, causing Kira to take a step back in surprise.

"Uh…can you do that too?" Kira tilted her head, looking to Charles.

"He wishes…you can stop trying to read my mind, sugar. You've never going to get anything from me while I'm like this" The blonde explained to Charles, pushing off from the wall.

"Maybe his ability won't work on you…but mine will" Kira stated, raising her hand as the blonde shuffled backwards towards the bed.

"So will mine" Erik announced, as the metal bed rail suddenly came to life, grabbing the woman's wrist and pulling her against the bed frame roughly.

"Now…what is your name, by the way? Or should I just call you Minion Number one?" Kira stated, coming to stand beside Erik and Charles.

"Emma" The blonde spat out.

"Now, Emma. Tell us where Shaw is" Kira insisted, with a cold look in her eyes.

In response, Emma looked away from the group, struggling against her metal bindings, obviously not wanting to give away anything easily. Erik's jaw tensed, his hands balling into fists, as the metal rail slithered around Emma's neck, as she let out a startled gasp.

"Erik…" Charles trailed off, as he watched the metal wrap itself tighter around her diamond skin.

It seemed as though Erik could barely hear him, his breathing hard as his fingernails cut into his palm from how tightly he was squeezing his hands. Kira could see a flash of fear wash over Emma's face, as no one was sure how far Erik would take his attack.

"Erik, that's enough" Charles exclaimed, in a serious tone.

Erik gave a sharp shake of his head, gritting his teeth together, as he forced the metal further into Emma's delicate skin. Kira grimaced as she heard the diamonds begin to crack underneath the force, and could see that Emma's neck would shatter soon.

"Erik!" Kira cried, reaching beside her to grab his hand, as Erik seemed to come out of his angry trance.

He blinked a few times, his breathing slowing down, as the metal rails quickly pulled back, and Emma let out a sigh of relief. The blonde turned back to her normal form instantly, not wanting to give Erik a reason to attack her again. Erik's eyes dropped down to Kira's, and then to their intertwined hands, as she realised she had been stroking the back of his hand softly with her thumb. With wide eyes, she quickly pulled away, happy that Charles hadn't seen their interaction.

"She's all yours" Erik mumbled, taking a step back.

Kira followed him as Charles crouched down beside Emma, placing a finger to his temple as he entered her mind. Erik grabbed a nearby bottle of what looked like whisky, pouring a drink from himself as he sat down on a leather chair. Taking a quick sip, he welcomed the burning sensation, as he kept his gaze down, not wanting to look at Kira. He was surprised when her hand was suddenly thrust in his face and slowly looked up at her. She quirked an eyebrow to the drink in his hand, as he got the message. Their fingers brushed against each other for a moment, as she took the glass and placed it against her lips, their eyes locked onto each other. Erik had thought she would look at him with fear, maybe disappointment after watching how far he was willing to go. Instead, he saw understanding. She didn't see a monster, she just saw him.

"This is worse than we have previously imagined" Charles announced, as the pair turned towards him.

"We're taking you with us. The CIA will want to question you themselves" Charles stated, as Emma scoffed lightly.

"Oh, I doubt it. They have bigger things to worry about right now" Emma smirked, as Kira's forehead wrinkled.

"What things?" She questioned.

"I'm going, and nothing you say is gonna' stop me" Kira insisted, as the three threw Emma into one of the CIA's vans.

"You said it yourself, it's too dangerous for you to travel large distances yet" Erik pointed out slamming the metal doors of the van shut with his powers.

"Which is exactly why I'm going alone" Kira retorted, crossing her arms.

"You can't beat Shaw on your own" Erik insisted, as Kira's jaw tensed knowing that he was right.

"I can't just let him kill them either" Kira stated, as Erik turned to Charles, hoping he would be the voice of reason.

"…Do you really think you can make it?" Charles questioned, much to Erik's disbelief.

"I've been to the CIA's headquarters before, if I concentrate hard enough I should be able to-" Kira began, but was quickly cut off by Erik.

"Should?! This is madness!" Erik cried, as Kira looked away from his concerned blue eyes.

"Erik…can you really promise me Shaw won't hurt them?" Charles asked, as Erik ran a hand through his hair.

"Of course I can't" Erik muttered, making Charles sigh deeply.

"Then we have to let Kira try. If anything happens to Raven…I'd never forgive myself" Charles admitted.

"I can do this, Erik. I just need you to trust me" Kira told him, coming to stand in front of him.

"…Be careful" Erik mumbled, refusing to look her in the eye.

"I'll be back soon" Kira replied, sad that it seemed she had disappointed Erik.

Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, as she tried to bring up the image of the CIA's headquarters in her mind, blocking out the sounds coming from her surroundings. But all she could think about were Erik's sad eyes. With a shake of her head, she brought up the faces of her mutant allies in her mind, feeling her heartbeat steady and slow and imagined being beside them. Suddenly, a gust of wind threw her hair back, as her eyes shot open, gasping when she found she had already moved. Kira let out a loud cry when she realised she was hovering in the air, having teleported above the CIA building, instead of inside it. Her cry was quickly cut off as she began to plummet to the ground, hitting the roof of the building with a sickening snap. Kira let out a moan of pain as she tried to push herself upright, having fallen onto her side. She clutched at her arm, finding it was hanging at an awkward angle, pain shooting up and down the limb. If it wasn't broken, it was at least dislocated. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet, as a wave of dizziness hit her, causing her to stumble forward. Kira's eyes widened as she looked down at the courtyard below her and found dozens of bodies on the ground, blood pooling from their bodies. It looked like a massacre. Her head shot up as she heard a familiar voice scream and spotted the mutant's huddled together in a room on the other side of the courtyard. Scrunching her eyes shut, she attempted to teleport into the room, feeling her strength begin to dwindle. Another gust of air let her know she had been successful, as hands were suddenly grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Kira!" Raven cried, as Kira's eyes fluttered open.

"Are you okay?" Darwin frowned, noticing the way Kira was clutching at her arm.

"I'll let you know in the morning" Kira muttered.

"They've killed most of the guards, what are we going to do?" Alex cried, as all eyes went to Kira.

"It's Shaw. He's coming to try to recruit you" Kira informed them.

"And if we refuse?" Hank questioned, panic clear in his eyes.

"He'll kill us all. If you're not with Shaw, you're against him" Kira explained, as Hank ran a hand through his hair, looking like he was ready to pass out.

"Then we fight" Raven suggested, as Kira shook her head.

"We'll lose…but there might be another way. If one of us goes with him, pleads for the others life, he might listen" Kira told them, as Alex looked at her in disbelief.

"And afterwards?" Alex scoffed.

"They'd be a double agent. We could use this to our advantage" Kira went on, as none of them looked sure.

"And who's going to go on this suicidal mission?" Hank questioned, crossing his arms.

"…I am" Darwin announced, as they all turned to him.

"Dude, have you not heard how dangerous this sounds?" Alex pointed out.

"If it means the rest of you are safe-" Darwin trailed off, hearing shouts from outside, followed quickly by a round of gunshots.

"If you want the mutants, they're right through that door. Just let us normal people go-" The guard's voice from the other side of the door was cut off, with a cry.

Kira jumped as a mutant with red skin suddenly appeared in the room, as she realised they could teleport too. Her eyes dropped to the sharp weapons he was carrying in both hands and guessed he was the one who had killed most of the guards. Kira's attention was quickly drawn away from him, as the doors opposite her was ripped open and Sebastian Shaw walked through. She felt a shiver go down her spine as her eyes connected with the man who had made her life a living hell for over a year.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you to be here Kira" Shaw smiled, as Kira's hands balled into fists.

"I wasn't going to pass up the chance to kill you" Kira spat out, moving to stand in front of the other mutants.

"By all means, give it your best shot" Shaw stated, holding out his arms.

Kira's forehead wrinkled at this action, as she raised her hand, unsure why Shaw seemed to be giving up so easily. The pain in her arm increased as she felt her power flow through her veins, watching as Shaw stiffened in front of her. He seemed surprised that she didn't even need to be touching him to use her powers anymore. Kira felt sickened as she could see an almost proud smirk on his face. Balling her hand into a fist, she could see how his jaw tensed as her powers started to affect him. She realised a normal person would most likely have already turned to dust under the onslaught. Kira whipped her head around as she heard a sharp gasp from behind her and saw the other mutants in the room were clutching at their heads, their skin turning a grey colour.

"If you want to kill me…you'll have to kill them too. Do you really have the stomach for that?" Shaw smirked smugly, as Kira turned back to him.

With an angry look, Kira dropped her hand to her side, feeling her legs tremble beneath her. As much as she wanted Shaw dead, she wasn't going to kill her friends. Shaw stumbled backwards as he was released from her deadly pull, grabbing onto the doorframe for support. It seemed that her powers had affected him more than he had let on.

"You don't look so good, Shaw" Kira stated, raising an eyebrow at the older man.

"Neither do you" Shaw spat out, as he pulled himself to stand upright.

Kira frowned at his words, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back and stumbled forward. Turning around, she found Shaw's mutant ally had teleported behind her, a bloody blade in his hand. Her blood, she realised, clutching at her now wounded back. She felt her legs give out from under her, the exertion of the last few minutes, taking its toll on her. Kira's heart beat wildly in her chest as she watched Shaw storm over to her, as she tried desperately to crawl away. Before she could get very far, the older man had grabbed her by her hair, a smug grin on his face.

"You should know by now you can't run from me" Shaw told her, pulling her roughly to look at him.

With a furious expression, Kira spat in his face, blood mixing with her saliva, as Shaw's jaw tensed. With his other hand, he brushed the spit away, practically shaking with rage.

"You'll pay for that your little bitch" Shaw muttered, his hand tightening on her hair.

"Wait!" Darwin's voice cut through the tension, as all eyes turned to him.

"I'll go with you" Darwin announced, as Shaw's forehead wrinkled.

"Why?" Shaw questioned, suspicious.

"All my life people have been walking over me, most humans have treated me like I was nothing. Less than nothing. I want to be powerful…strong. I'm assuming that's something you can facilitate?" Darwin questioned, as Shaw let go of Kira's hair.

"I can make you a King" Shaw informed him, standing upright.

"Good…but I have one condition. You let my friends go. All of them" Darwin stated.

"Deal. But not her" Shaw replied, looking down at Kira.

"All of them. They should be allowed to make their own decision" Darwin insisted.

"I'll go with you too...I don't belong here" Angel spoke up, taking a step forward.

"Who else is choosing the winning side?" Shaw asked, looking to the rest of the mutants, who wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Very well" Shaw mumbled, truthfully not expecting many to join him.

"…I'll see you soon, Kira" Shaw grinned, stepping over her bleeding body.

As Shaw and his new 'allies' walked away, Raven quickly crouched down beside Kira, pulling her into her lap. Hank followed a moment later, tearing off his blazer to place against Kira's back as she let out a cry of pain. With sad eyes, Kira turned to see Darwin and Angel linking hands with Shaw and his minion, disappearing in the blink of an eye. She prayed that they would be able to fool Shaw.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've tried to change things up a bit as I was always annoyed that they killed Darwin, which not only didn't make sense because he should have been able to adapt to pretty much anything, but they also killed off one of the only black characters in the whole film. It should be interesting to see how this change will affect the whole storyline. Please leave a review:)

Arianna Le Fay: I really enjoyed that scene too, haha. Kira and Erik are going to get closer and closer over the following chapters. As for Kira being more powerful than Jean? As she is at the moment, definitely not, but in the future, it's a possibility. Her powers could become very dangerous one day. You'll just have to wait and see, haha. Thanks for the review:)