I cannot apologise enough for not updating; the only reason that can justify this delay is the fact that my exams for my AS-Levels are coming up in a few short weeks, and I've had to devote my time to studying for them, completing homework and taking part in extra-curricular activities. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I've already begun working on the next chapter. The end of this story is near!

They were going to die.

They drew even closer, gaining speed, as the mutants all stumbled backwards slightly, as if the slight distance would save them.

Liz buried her face into Alex's collar as the missiles were about to hit, preparing for the worst, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw the missiles were simply hanging in the air, Erik controlling them, until their power ran out, so they were just floating.

"Erik, you said yourself, we're the better men," Charles tried to reason with Erik as he began turning the missiles around. "This is the time to prove it." However, Erik ignored him, simply motioning for all of the missiles to face the ships. "There are thousands of men on those ships, good, honest innocent men; they're just following orders."

"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders," Erik replied, his voice harsh and unfriendly as he turned his head to Charles. "Never again."

With the thrust of his hand, the missiles began flying back to the ships.

"Erik, release them!" Charles yelled, but Erik ignored him. "No!" Charles cried, running at Erik and launching himself at his old friend, sending the two of them into the sand.

With Erik's concentration broken, the missiles began to fall out of the sky and land in the ocean. Some exploding before they could hit the water.

Charles tried to reach for Erik's helmet, but Erik elbowed him in the face.

"Hey!" Liz yelled, angry at Erik attacking her friend.

She ran forwards, tackling Erik and shoving him away from Charles. She landed on top of Erik, and began to punch him, but her anger blinded her, and she missed his head. Erik grabbed her shoulders and shoved her off him, so she landed on her back on the sand. They both scrambled to their feet, Liz changing to her titanium form as quick as a whippet. She lunged at Erik, throwing a punch to his jaw. Erik's head snapped back, but when Liz moved to punch him again, he caught her hand and began twisting her wrist.

Liz cried out, tugging her wrist out of his grasp and stumbling back a few steps, clutching her arm and rubbing the damaged ligaments.

"Stand back!" Erik yelled, and he threw his hand at Liz, using his power to throw her back across the beach, where she landed on the sand with a cry of pain.

"That's it," Alex muttered, moving forwards with Hank and Sean, all with the intention of stopping Erik. "Lensherr!" He yelled, pure fury dripping from his voice.

"Stand back I said!" Erik repeated, throwing the three of them back, all of them landing heavily onto the sand.

Liz scrambled on her knees to make sure Alex was okay once he hit the ground, pulling his torso to rest on her knees.

Looking up, Liz saw Erik had gained the upper hand, and was on top of Charles; he put his arm on Charles' neck and lifted up his hand, controlling the missiles once more.

"Erik, stop!" Charles tried to use his powers to control Erik, but it didn't work; Erik shoved his arm out of the way and punched Charles across the face.

This lack of concentration caused some of the missiles to explode in the air or fall into the ocean, but Erik stood up and took control of the missiles, sending them to the battleships with increasing speed.

Liz clutched Alex as they watched the missiles draw even closer to the battleships; the two of them knowing that there was no hope for the men on the ships.

A bullet bounced off Erik's head, distracting him from the missiles, and catching the attention of the mutants.

Moira was walking towards Erik, a gun in her hand, firing the bullets at the mutant, a look of steely determination on her face.

Erik turned to her, annoyance in his eyes, and began using his powers to simply flick the bullets away before they could harm him.

However, one bullet, which was flicked to Erik's right, suddenly hit something.

Time seemed to slow down as the mutants saw Charles arch up, clutching his lower back with a cry of agony on his lips.

Raven clutched her mouth, tears of horror forming in her eyes; Liz gasped as she stared at Charles, her brow furrowing as she stared forwards; Moira stared in horror as Charles slowly fell to the sand, his face creased in pain.

Erik ran forwards to his friend, sliding to his knees beside him and began rolling him over, using his powers to remove the bullet from Charles' spine.

The missiles across the sea fell and exploded before they could hit the ships.

Alex helped Liz to her feet, as they began running across the sand to Charles, with Sean, Hank, Raven and Moira.

"I'm so sorry," Erik muttered to Charles. "I said get back!" he yelled at the young mutants, who stopped and stared. "You," Erik looked up at Moira with a glare in his eyes. "You did this." His lifted up his hand, pointing it at Moira, whose dog tags tightened around her neck, slowly choking her.

"Erik," Charles choked out, pain in his voice. "Please…" Erik ignored him and carried on using his power to kill Moira. "Erik, she didn't do this. You did."

At Charles' words, Erik looked down at his friend, tears and pain evident in his eyes as he realised Charles' words were true. He lowered his hand, allowing Moira to breathe once more, collapsing to her knees and gasping.

"Us turning on each other, it's what they want," Erik tried to reason with Charles. "I tried to warn you Charles; I want you by my side. We're brothers, you and I – all of us, together, protecting each other. We want the same thing."

"My friend," Charles let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry, but we do not."

Erik's hopeful expression changed to one of steely anger, as he saw Charles wouldn't change his mind. Glancing up at Moira, he sharply gestured for her to move closer.

"I'm so sorry Charles," Moira gasped, running over to Charles, taking Erik's place and resting the injured man on her lap.

"It's alright," Charles told her, but gasped in pain shortly after.

Erik got to his feet and turned to face the young mutants.

"Their society won't accept us," he gestured to Moira. "We form our own; the humans have played their hand, now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me?"

No one on the beach moved, with the exception of Liz, who tightened her grasp on Alex's hand.

Erik looked at them all, before his gaze rested on Raven; he lifted up his hand and finally spoke. "No more hiding."

When Raven moved, Liz stifled a gasp, feeling tears spring to her eyes as she realised Raven would be leaving them.

Raven began to limp forwards, towards Erik, but she looked at her brother, lying on the ground. She made her way over to him, kneeling beside him and grasping his hand.

"You should go with him," Charles said. "It's what you want."

"You promised me you would never read my mind."

"I know, I promised you a great many things I'm afraid. I'm sorry."

He lifted up her hand and kissed it gently, before Raven kissed his forehead; a sign of goodbye.

"Take care of him," Raven spoke to Moira, who watched her cautiously.

Raven got to her feet and took Erik's outstretched hand.

"Raven, please," Liz choked out, stumbling forwards a few steps, letting go of Alex's hand to do so. "Please, don't leave."

Raven let go of Erik's hand and began to cross the distance between her and Liz, before coming to a stop a few feet before the younger girl.

"You know why I have to, Liz; I won't be accepted into society with the way I look, but you, Sean, Alex, Charles, and even Hank, if he formulates a serum, will. And I can't hide who I am anymore," Raven spoke, her voice wavering slightly.

There was a pause, before the two simultaneously hugged each other tightly, the tears streaming down Liz's cheeks as she hugged her best friend for one last time, not knowing if she would ever see her again.

When they parted, Liz saw tears were brimming in Raven's yellow eyes.

"You are beautiful," Liz told her firmly, holding Raven's shoulder. "And never believe anyone who tells you otherwise." Her voice cracked on the last few words.

Raven simply nodded, before stepping back, away from Liz's grasp, and turned to walk back to Erik.

Angel, Riptide and Azazel had all walked across the sand to join with Erik, and the four of them had been watching the interaction between the two girls.

Raven took Erik's free hand.

"And Beast," she called out. "Never forget; mutant, and proud."

Hank looked away, as if trying to ignore her.

Erik nodded to Azazel, who used his power to transport the mutants off the beach. Once there were gone, Alex, Sean, Hank and Liz, who had wiped her tears and was trying to ignore the pain in her chest, all ran forwards to Charles and Moira. Hank kneeling beside Charles' left arm, Sean standing beside Hank, and Alex and Liz on their knees by Charles' head.

"Help him up, help him up," Moira demanded, her voice shaking. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Hank tried to lift Charles, but Charles cried out in pain as they tilted his torso slightly.

"Wait, wait," Hank's medical knowledge kicked in. "Don't move, Charles, just wait."

"I will, I will…I can't…I can't…I-I-I can't feel my legs," he whispered, but it sounded as loud as if he had shouted. "I can't feel my legs…I can't feel my legs."

Liz turned and buried her face into Alex's chest, the two hugging tightly as more tears fell down Liz's cheeks and Alex looked around, as if he was trying to find a way for them to help Charles on the beach.

Liz shivered and shuffled closer to Alex, who pressed a kiss to her hair in response, holding her hand in his.

The two were sitting in the waiting room of the nearby hospital, desperately waiting for any news of Charles. They were the only two mutants left in the waiting room; Hank had decided to go back to the house due to his new found appearance and the fact that it would cause alarm if any humans saw him, and Sean had said he'd keep Hank company. Moira had been with them in the waiting room, but a doctor had called her up about an hour ago, telling her that Charles was out of surgery and that she could visit him.

After the battle on the beach ended, several fighter jets had been sent over by the American government to scan the area, after their battleships had reported a flying submarine, a large unusual-looking jet and a multitude of people on the beach. Upon seeing the mutants all crowded on the beach, one of the jets made a landing and, after seeing the condition Charles was in, called for another larger jet to fly Charles to hospital and the teens to safety.

Alex sighed quietly and shuffled his weight from one leg to the other, crossing the right over the left to prevent his left from going numb. Liz glanced up at him to make sure he was alright, before resting her head back on his shoulder, tugging his jacket around her for more warmth; they had made a quick shop at the local superstore, as the blue and yellow uniforms would have been rather suspicious.

Footsteps continuously echoed in the outside hall, creating a low sounding buzz to fill the background noises. However, one particular set of footsteps caused the two mutants to sit up a bit straighter; these footsteps were slightly louder, as if someone were wearing heavy boots, and were a lot quicker in their stride, heading towards the waiting room.

Moira entered the room quickly, heading straight for the two in the corner of the room, huddled up together.

Liz stood up and, pulling Alex with her, met Moira halfway.

"Is he…?" Liz was almost too afraid to ask the question.

"He's stable," Moira replied, her eyes showing signs of weariness.

"But?" Alex asked, hearing that Moira had something else to say.

"The bullet, when it entered his spine, struck his spinal cord, and has caused paralysis from the lower back down."

Liz's eyes clouded with tears as she reached forwards and stroked Moira's arm, knowing the older woman must be feeling the blame for everything that had happened to Charles.

"How has he taken the news?" Alex spoke up after a moment of silence.

Moira hesitated, biting her lip and glancing to the ground for a moment, before choosing her answer carefully. "He's slowly getting used to the idea that he won't be able to use his legs again."

Liz's brow wrinkled as tears burned in the corners of her eyes, something that Alex didn't miss; he pulled her closer to his body and took her hands in his free one.

"My best advice for the two of you is to return back to the manor; you can tell Hank and Sean the news and get some rest," Moira cleared her throat, addressing the two in a motherly tone. "You've all seen and been through too much anyone your age should; the least you can do is try to rest your brain for a few hours to calm down."

Even though leaving Charles was the last thing Liz and Alex wanted to do, they knew that Moira was right, and that they would be of no use just sat, trying to stay awake in the waiting room.

Liz glanced at Alex and nodded slightly, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

"Here," Moira held out a bundle of cash. "This should be enough to pay for a taxi back to the manor."

Alex took the wad and stowed it away in his pocket, before the two teens say goodbye to Moira and left the hospital, their arms around one another.

The taxi journey back home was long and slow. This at least allowed the two to have a nap in the back, and the driver was nice enough to keep quiet, but they couldn't sleep for long; memories of the events that happened on Cuba jolted them out of their light slumber, and prevented them from catching anymore sleep in the taxi.

The remaining hours were ones Liz couldn't really remember. She remembered Alex helping her out of the taxi; the two stumble with weariness up the drive after paying the taxi driver. She could remember Sean and Hank rushing to the main hall when the two shut the doors behind them, asking what had happened at the hospital and their reactions upon finding out about Charles' current physical state. She could also remember saying she was going to bed, but nearly tripping over the first step, causing Alex to carry her up the stairs to her bedroom and place her on her bed. But she couldn't remember tugging off her new clothes on top of the covers, leaving herself lying in her bra, underwear and vest, and she couldn't remember pleading with Alex to stay the night, but he did.

Liz wandered down to the kitchen the next morning, her eyes gritty and swollen from crying in her sleep and her head throbbing painfully behind her temples. The kitchen was devoid of life and, along with the rest of the mansion, spookily quiet; any sound made, even the whisper of curtains fluttering in the breeze by open windows, could be heard echoing throughout the mansion.

Tugging the sleeves of her dressing gown away from her hands, Liz reached into the fridge and set about making a full cooked English breakfast. Liz found the ease of the different tasks blissfully mind-numbing and allowed Liz to escape reality for a short while; the meal was something she made sure she knew how to prepare blindfolded when she left home to go to study at University, just over a year ago.

She set about tugging the cutlery and plates from their corresponding homes and within minutes, she was plating everything up; the sausages, baked beans, hash browns, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and of course, the bacon. However, as she placed the five plates down in the spaces on the table, she realised there were only four mutants staying at the mansion now; she had automatically set out a space for Raven to sit at, which was between where she would've sat and the end of the wooden table. Slumping down into a chair, Liz placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes, wishing everything to just vanish.

That was how Sean, Hank and Alex found her a few minutes later; the smell of cooking bacon rousing them from their slumber and forcing them to cooperate with their grumbling stomachs. The three stood in the doorway to the kitchen for a few seconds, exchanging glances, before Alex took the initiative and stepped towards the young woman. As he placed his hand on her shoulder, Liz's head shot up violently.

"You're here," she smiled weakly at the men, gesturing to the table where the now cooling plates of breakfast sat. "I've made everyone breakfast."

"Even Raven?" Sean's brain, as usual, didn't filter his speech before he spoke, causing an uneasy silence to settle over the room.

"Oh, silly me," Liz jerked to her feet, grabbed the spare plate of food and walked across the floor. She threw the food into the bin and slammed the plate into the hot water in the sink, nearly cracking the expensive china on the bottom of the metal sink.

Hank roughly shouldered Sean in scolding, as Alex sent him a short look. Hank crossed the kitchen to where Liz stood; furiously scrubbing the plate as if the plate itself was the one to cause all of the trouble. Gently, he reached a furry hand down and placed it around her wrist, firmly stopping her from scrubbing. Liz's shoulders shook for a moment, before she let go of the plate and the cloth and pulled her hands out of the water, clutching the edges of the sink and leaning on them. No words were needed between the two, but they both knew that Hank's hand rubbing her back gently showed that he was there for her, and he would support her no matter what.

Liz took in a few deep breaths, before visibly relaxing and turning around, walking back to the table and sitting in her chair, Alex sliding into the one at her side, taking her hand in his and brushing her fingers gently.

The mutants were silent for a few more moments, before they decided to eat. The sounds of the cutlery scraping the plates were the only things heard for a while, all of them keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Once the meal was done, and the plates and knives washed, dried and stowed away in their respective homes, the mutants went and sat back at the table, this time, Liz chose to scoot her chair closer to Alex's, so he could put his arm around her waist with ease, allowing her to lean into him.

"So what do we do now?" Sean asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "I mean, Erik's still out there, still at large, and the government hates us –"

"We'll stay here," Hank cut in gruffly. "We'll carry on training and trying to figure out what Erik is going to do first and hopefully try and stop him from obliterating the human race."

"Yeah, I guessed that much," Sean nodded, "But who's going to train us? Charles is going to be permanently in a wheelchair from now on, meaning he won't be able to work with us practically."

"Well, we could train ourselves," Alex added. "It's not that hard; just sort out a routine to build up stamina and carry on with the training Charles gave us before Cuba."

"If it comes to, Charles could spend more of his time planning out how things are going to go, rather than spend it training us when we could do that ourselves," Liz spoke up, lifting her head from Alex's shoulder. "But even if it doesn't work out, I'm still staying here with Charles; he'll need all the support from us he can get."

The three men nodded at Liz's words, and all three voiced their confirmation of staying at the mansion.

"That settles it then," Hank said. "We'll stay here and carry on the way we did before Cuba, as well as trying to sort out some ramps for the stairs or something."

Liz smiled at Hank, before turning and kissing Alex's cheek, thanking him silently for his support in helping Charles.

Now all they had to do was try to figure out a way to train without someone possibly stumbling across them and reporting them to the government; after all, mutants were now classed as dangerous.

I believe the next chapter will be the penultimate one! And that thought is actually quite scary; finishing my second baby.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I will try to update as soon as possible!

Enjoy and review!

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