I've been working on this little bad boy for some time. It's an x-men first class one shot but to know any more, you'll have to read it. If you like, I might even add more one-shots on but it all depends on you. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if a couple of you all were sick of reading the crap I've typed up but there you go!

All Luna could think about was the intense, sweltering heat that slowly seemed to be eating her alive like some ravenous animal that had no control over it's appetite. Her blood boiled beneath her skin, bringing silent screams up her throat though she couldn't set them free due to the fact that her body refused to allow her control because of the drugs swimming around in her system.

Throat running dry from constricted sobs and body aching from the endless thrashing against her restraints, she did the one thing she knew she could do. She used the one thing that landed her in there in the first place. Her mind, though completely foggy from the medication that flowed steadily through her veins, began to cry out in desperation in a way that her body couldn't bring itself to do.

' Help me! Please! I'm here!'. That message, her voice, being repeated over and over again as she projected it despite the toll it began to take on her body. One simple thought kept her going. She was hoping that someone like her would be able to hear her. Someone who wasn't normal. Someone whose DNA had been altered during their development. A mutant.

Over in the large mansion, nestled peacefully in a secluded place in Westchester, someone had finally managed to pick up on her pleas for help. Eyes snapping open, Charles made quick work of unplugging himself from Hank's machine. He had heard her cries for help. He had felt everything she had been forced to endure in that mental facility and he had seen more then enough in his opinion. He couldn't allow her to suffer any longer in that place. Not when he could go and save her.

" Erik... we've got to go now!" he yelled, grabbing his arm to drag him out of the basement while the two younger people stared at their friend in complete and utter confusion. Raven, having known Charles for most of their lives, hadn't even seen him act like that. Hank, having been part of the team for a good 3 years, knew that he was out of character. The professor was forever the pacifist, hating violence of any kind yet when he saw him, dragging his friend behind him, a deep anger filled his blue eyes.

The professor didn't explain anything to his friend until they were already on their way over to the mental institution, located an hour and a half's drive away from the large estate/school.

" Luna was placed into the ' New York Psychiatric Institute' after she had told her parent's that she could hear their thoughts as they passed through their minds. Of course, at first, they assumed she was playing around but after proving her talent to them both, they turned hostile. In an attempt to cover it all up, they sent her there after informing her doctor that she was having some sort of mental breakdown due to work related stress so they checked her in a month ago." he explained, giving Erik all of the basic information about the women that he had picked up from her head. It was difficult as the link was only brief but he managed to catch a little bit.

" How do you know?". The mutant, able to manipulate any form of metal, was still confused about his friends sudden outburst of emotion. Usually, he was the one to act rashly but Charles? It was as rare as a human who didn't fear mutants since the large disaster on the blasted island. Still, he was relieved that his friend had managed to recover the use of his legs after the risky surgery.

" Her mind isn't like that of other humans or even most mutants. The drugs that they're testing on her won't shut it down like they have done her body so instead of being in a blissful darkness, oblivious, she's been reduced to yell inside of her head. Her body has literally become a prison for her, keeping her consciousness inside, screaming for someone to hear. It's lucky that I managed to hear her on Cerebro." he told his friend while Erik drove down the highway. Eyes clamped shut in concentration and his fingers raised to his temple, he tried to reach out, forcing himself to go further in order to find the mutant in distress.

The closer they got to the hospital, the stronger her thoughts had began to get though it was still slightly weak in comparison to what he knew she was capable of. Inside her mind, her prison, she could feel someone else's thoughts make a little place in her head. The feeling was unfamiliar but completely welcome as it starved off some of her panic and loneliness. In the SUV, the telepath allowed himself to smile softly in relief at the connection that he'd managed to create. Usually, he wouldn't do such a thing until he had asked their permission but in Luna's case, it was the only way to hear her direct thoughts without getting caught off guard by something else in her brain. Sighing slightly, he made sure to place a hand on Erik's shoulder so he would also be connected to them.

' Luna... my name is Charles Xavier and I'm here with my friend Erik Lensherr. We're here to help you.'

' You heard me? Oh, you're like me? I thought I was the only one.'

' No love, you're not alone. Not any more though I will admit that so far, we haven't encountered another mutant with a similar mutation to my own until you.'

' H-How?'

' A colleague and dear friend of ours made a machine. It taps into my brain, allowing me to touch minds around us by using electrical waves to carry an echo of my consciousness. Harmless really but I heard you... I'm just sorry that I didn't hear it sooner.'

' I-I don't blame you b-but could you please w-wake me u-up?'

' Of course, we're not far away but I need you to keep your mind clear. Focus on me and Erik. Keep us at the front of your mind. If you get lost in thoughts, we will too.'

' O-Okay.'

' Good girl.'

' Charles, maybe we should focus on getting her out of that hell hole instead of having some casual chat though if it soothes your worries, please continue.' Erik snapped in his head. While they gabbed, he had a little dig through her memories, deciding to access how much of a threat she was. The images he got in return gave him shivers.

He saw a happy childhood until the age of 4 before darkness flooded and the once familiar sight of a concentration camp flashed through it. Soldiers took advantage of the young girl, using her in the foulest of ways while her parent's coward in the corner, watching as she cried out to them. Feeling as they marked her as their own, so many times without guilt while she felt filthy and confused.

He watched as she lost all innocence, choosing to hide herself away from the world until it came to the point where she had to socialise. In her mind, he could see how she hid the mark that they shared, the mark that shouted who she was to the world. Her number.

' You're right Erik. Now Luna... do you know what's going on around you?'

' The doctor... another dose... written... dwindling... distance...hear... Charles!'

" Charles, what's going on?" Erik asked when he began sensing her panic though not as strongly as before.

" I think the medication is beginning to have some sort of effect on her. That or she's slipping into unconsciousness. Hold on a moment, I'll try and... got it.". He murmured softly, moving through the doctor's mind who had given her another dose of what they were testing on her. After looking around for a few moments, he managed to find the notes she'd taken. Basically, she'd been left there to boil on the inside.

" They're purposely giving her a fever. She's up to a 102. Why give her a fever though? What will they accomplish?" he asked himself out loud, moving to look at Erik. Charles, sensing that his friend also wanted an answer to the question that was stumping him. Eager to answer it, he searched deeper until it hit him like a bullet in the skull.

" It's not the fever they actually want. The fever is high meaning that she'll be in a lot of discomfort but it's the temperature itself that they want. If it reaches 105, her brain cells will start to fry."

" So what does that mean?"

" They trying to give her a fever in hopes of killing the part of her brain which gives her her power." he explained, his stomach beginning to churn because of the disgust he felt. Erik, still connected to both of their minds, could hear the doctor's smug thoughts as if they were his own.

' The freak shouldn't be under long. If we give her a couple more doses then drop her in the pool, she'll cool down and should be normal... that or her body will go into shock. Worse scenario, she'll die a freak. Best case, she'll live normal. In between, she dies a normal person.'.

After hearing this, both men seemed to come to a silent agreement. Getting out of the car, they quickly called a head to the mansion, telling Hank and Raven to set up the guest room between both of theirs before filling it with everything they would need in order to bring the mutants temperature down. Once that was sorted and they knew that everything would be prepared by the time of their arrival, they went to go get the young women.

Using both of their powers, the infiltration wasn't very challenging. Charles simply forced all of the staff they encountered to sleep before they had a moment's chance to raise an alarm and Erik could open every locked door they came to with a small click of his fingers or flick of his wrist.

After what felt like a life time of searching, they reached her room yet for some reason, it was slightly amusing to the pair that she had been placed in room '666'. Even subconsciously, they had placed her somewhere they deemed as fitting. She wasn't what they labelled as 'normal' so by the process of elimination and factoring in her talent, she slipped into the monster category. Where do monsters belong? In hell.

Opening the door, they both stepped in yet when they laid eyes on her, they stopped dead in their tracks.

A fragile young women, no older then 25, was chained to her bed with thick iron shackles. Her pasty white skin was decorated with bruises in various stages of the healing process, covering the whole spectrum from black right up to yellow. Beneath her eyes, large black bags hung, showing all of the signs of restless night's sleep. Her brown curls seemed to be soaked with sweat, sticking to her clammy forehead but even though she was warm to touch, she shivered due to the damp clothes she wore. Her room, despite being on the 3rd floor, was rather chilly.

Moving over to her, Charles rested a hand on her forehead, flinching slightly as he felt the trembles and the heat her body seemed to radiate. Then, without so much as a second thought, he picked her up. As he did this, the sleeve on her arm moved up, revealing a series of blurred numbers that had been tattooed onto her forearm.

Erik quickly shed his jacket then wrapped it around her shivering form before taking her from his friend and cradling her in his arms. He felt some sort of responsibility to the girl. He had seen her past and lived through some of it himself.

' Ch-charles? C-can you... me?' she asked, her eyes lids fluttering a little as she tried to open them though they remained glued shut, despite her greatest efforts to open them. She wanted to see the pair who were helping her instead of hearing their voices in her head.

" Yes Luna, I can hear you. Now, I don't wish for you to panic but we're taking you to the school we come from. Our friends will be waiting to give you the proper medical treatments you'll be needing.". Again, her eyes carried on flickering beneath her eyelids but besides that, there was no other tell able life signs. Yet, in their heads, they could feel her mind becoming clearer with every step they took on their way back to the car.

' I... fight it. Must... it. G-got to f-fight it.' she whimpered in her head, trying to force her body to work. Around her, she could feel someone's strong arms, cradling her like a small child. She could hear their footsteps, almost in perfect sync except the lighter set, Charles' no doubt, were a fraction of a second ahead of Erik's. The strong smell of disinfectant burnt her nose, bringing her one step closer to waking up. Trying to focus on that and the feel of warms arms carrying, she forced herself to push through the barriers her mind had put up in order to protect her. They might have been doing their job but she couldn't remain unconscious until the drug left her system. Not any more. She wouldn't be victimised.

" H-Head-ache... god." she whimpered quietly, her voice breaking from use. Allowing her eyes to open slightly, she realised her vision was a little bit blurred as usual so it didn't worry her. What worried her was that she felt so warm and cold at the same time. Surely, it wasn't normal to feel that way? Not even with the drug. It was new.

" You woke up... how?". Recognising the voice, she knew it was Erik who had spoken. Following his voice, she found out that it was him who was carrying her to safety.

" B-Barriers. Mind put them up... I forced them down... hurts... but couldn't stay there... any more.". Lensherr looked down at her, staring deep into her foggy blue eyes. She was still under the effect but not as much which was a good sign. Admiring her bravery and courage, he moved her a little higher before picking up his pace.

" You don't have to darling... I've got you."

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