☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎
3. 𝐴𝑝𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑝𝑠𝑒

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  PEACE AND QUIET WAS a rare occurrence at the school and one Olivia cherished whenever it happened. Her second class had finished and for lunch she planned on eating her food alone and reading her book. However, things like that never go as planned for Olivia, whether it's a student in need of assistance and or Charles or Hank needing something. In this case, it was the latter of those two.

A soft and polite knock alerted Olivia of Hank's presence. She glanced up from her book. "Yes, Hank?"

The tall man cleared his throat. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," He stepped aside and into the classroom and from behind emerged a beautiful woman with wavy blonde hair and deep brown eyes. "This...is Raven."

Olivia's eyes winded at the name. "You mean the Raven? As in Mystique?" She slowly raised from her chair, in awe of the women before her.

"In the flesh," Hank smiled. He glanced between the two women, nervously excited. From what Hank had told Olivia about Raven, she was incredibly kind but a hard women to get to know, and on the other side of that coin was what the media said about her — Mystique, vigilante turned to the hero that saved the president from Magneto.

"You're Olivia?" Raven questioned, a small curious smile on her face. Sheepishly, Olivia nodded. Slowly, Raven approached her. "I've heard so much about you."

Raising an eyebrow, Olivia cocked her head towards Hank. "You have?"

Hank's face turned a light shade of crimson as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Charles and I like to send letters every now and then."

"They're normally all about you," Raven laughed.

"All good things, I hope," Olivia glanced nervously at Hank.

Raven shook her head, softly chuckling. "Of course."

There was a moment of silence, when Hank, Raven, or Olivia didn't know what to say. All of them stood awkwardly in Olivia's classroom, hoping someone would speak up. "Oh, I forgot," Hank finally spoke. "Raven brought a new student with her. Could you show him around?"

Olivia glanced down at her lunch. She debated saying no for a moment, but she knew she could never do that. She loved the children of this school to much. "Sure thing! Where is he?"

A loud bamf and a crack startled Olivia as a young man with deep blue skin and a long pointed tail appeared in the classroom through a cloud of blue smoke. "This is Kurt," Raven introduced him.

He smiled shyly, showing his sharp yellow teeth. He waved and Olivia noticed his three large fingers. "Hello," Kurt's accent was clearly German. He was shy, visibly uncomfortable with social interaction. "I'm Kurt."

Olivia giggled as he reintroduced himself. "Olivia," She stuck her hand out for him to shake. Enthusiastically, he did so. "I'll show you around, okay? Leave the adults to talk," She smirked jokingly at Hank as she led Kurt out of her classroom. "How old are you, Kurt?" She asked as they began to walk down the corridor towards the main hall.

"Seventeen," He replied quickly. "And you?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a women her age?" Olivia gasped, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Clearly, Kurt didn't get it, as he began profusely apologizing. She stopped him. "Kurt, I'm kidding. I just turned twenty."

"Oh," Kurt blushed, looking down at his large hands. "And you are a teacher here?" Olivia nodded, smiling sweetly. "I thought you were a student." He sounded surprised.

Olivia shrugged. "I get that a lot. I was a student, but since I turned eighteen, I've been a kind of a...tour guide slash lunch lady," She laughed as she remember herself in a hairnet and apron, serving sloppy-joe and pudding to the students. "But now, I'm the music teacher!" They stopped in the main hall. "So I assume you've been here before?" She asked.

Kurt nodded. "Yes,"

"Good," Olivia looked around, wondering where she should start. "I guess we can head to the kitchen and then visit some classrooms. If your staying, the professor will show you to a available room. And then maybe I could introduce you to some of the students?"

"That sounds wonderful," Kurt smiled. Olivia found the boy absolutely endearing. He was respectful and listened when she showed him where things were and asked all the right questions. It wasn't often new students were pleasant.

As she lead Kurt to the science lab, they were interrupted by an excited voice. "Olivia! Hi!" Jubilation was skipping down the hall, waving and smiling brightly. "Is this the new student?"

"Hi, Jubilee," She smiled widely, the girls energy was infectious. "Yes, this is Kurt."

From beside her, Kurt waved awkwardly. "Hello," He greeted politely.

Jubilee lit up at the sound of his accent. "Ooo! Are you from Switzerland?"

Kurt found this quite funny as he chuckled and shook his head. "No, no. Germany."

"Oh, I was close," Jubilee laughed. "Is Olivia showing you around? She's the best, knows her way around better than any of us!"

Olivia rolled her eyes with a soft laugh. "Only because I've been here so long," She was always modest, hating to sound full of herself or arrogant. "Is there something you needed, Jubilee? I was planning on taking Kurt to meet Jean and Scott."

Jubilee clapped her hands. "Yes! That's why I came to find you. I wanted to be first to meet Kurt. Jean and Scott are in the study lounge, follow me!" She turned on her heel quickly and Kurt and Olivia followed close behind.

"Is she always like this?" Kurt whispered to Olivia.

"Bubbly and perky? Yes." She laughed.

The continued walking for a bit and Jubilee excitedly talked about the school and all of its benefits. "Have you been to America before?" She curiously asked Kurt.

The blue boy shook his head. "No, it is my first time. I am very excited to see your culture."

They approached the study hall where Jean and Scott sat on a couch. Scott looked incredibly bored. "Well, you're not gonna see it here," He reclined lazily. Olivia noticed the new red-tinted glasses he had on — Hank had fixed his vision problem. "The only thing American about this place is that it used to be British."

Olivia withheld her laugh. "This is Scott," Jubilee rolled her eyes. "He's new here, too."

"And I'm already up for a prison break," He jumped from his seat and clapped his hands. Olivia shook her head disapprovingly, but Scott ignored it. "What'd you say we take this blue guy on a little field trip. I'm sure there's a mall around here, somewhere."

"What's a mall?" Kurt looked between Scott, Olivia, and Jubilee, confused.

Scott's eyebrows rose as his eyes widened. Even Olivia was surprised he had never heard of a mall. "What's a mall?" Scott laughed. "All right, now this is a matter of national pride. Civic duty."

"Scott," Jean shook her head, disapproving.

Scott sighed. "What? You've been cooped up here for a long time...and the professors not even home," The looked he and Jean shared was new to Olivia. She has never seen the girl look at anyone like that before. She raised a brow at the two of them.

"I-I'd like to go to the mall," Kurt piped up. He sounded anxious to go. "Try it."

Olivia smiled softly at him. She didn't like the idea of the students sneaking out, but she knew they needed it. "All right," Scott smiled. He turned to Olivia. "Where does he keep his cars?"

He was referring to the professor. She laughed, shaking her head. "He's gonna kill me when he gets back. There's a sub level garage, take the elevator and press -3."

Scott clapped her on the back. "You rock, Olivia," He ran off, Kurt and Jubilee in tow.

Jean stopped, looking nervously at her. "You don't mind?"

Olivia sighed and pulled Jean by her shoulders. "Like Scott said, you've been inside for too long. You deserve a little fun."

Jean pulled away. "So do you, Liv. More than me."

Olivia smiled softly. "I'm a teacher, got responsibilities and shit now," She laughed and pushed Jean along. "I'll cover for you. Go have fun."

With one last look, Jean set off after the others. Olivia watched her with a fond smile — It wasn't often she saw Jean having so much fun with other kids.

  "Olivia," The girl in question jumped from her chair as Charles's voice rang through her head. "Come to my office, please."

"Damn!" A hand flew to her forehead. The feeling of Charles didn't hurt, per se, but it was extremely uncomfortable. Her reading time was once again interrupted. Quiet time was her favourite time of the day at the school, the one time she wouldn't be bothered, but Charles had other plans.

What she didn't expect when she reached the office was Alex, Hank, Raven, and a woman she had never seen before standing and waiting. "Uh, is everything okay?"

Charles wheeled his way over. "This," He gestured to the unknown lady. "Is Moira MacTaggert. She's with the CIA."

Olivia looked quizzically between Hank and Charles. "It's lovely to meet you," Moira piped up. "Charles talk a lot about you on the drive over."

"The drive over?" Olivia questioned.

Charles signed. "There's been...an event."

"What kind of event?" Olivia groaned. "You're not making any sense, Charles."

The professor paused. "Follow me."

He led the group down to the sub-levels of the mansion. Blue lights and silver plating covered the walls. It was the same hallway that Hank's lab and jet were in, but instead of going there, like Olivia assumed they were, they approached a round door with a large X on the centre. "What is this?" She asked, leaning over to Hank. He merely smiled, knowing the girl would enjoy this.

The doors opened to reveal a giant room covered in blue walls, round like a sphere. "I'm going to have to ask you, Olivia and Moira, to keep this a secret."

Moira trailed behind the group, watching as the doors closed. "I don't even know what this is," She was in awe, same as Olivia.

She watched Charles intensely. "It's Cerebro," Raven answer, smiling fondly at the blue room. At the end of the corridor, an array of buttons and a helmet, waiting for Charles. "The new model."

"I um based the colour on..." Hank began, but as he looked to Raven, his words got caught in his throat. "It doesn't matter."

Olivia smiled at the two of them. She was no stranger to how Hank felt about the woman — she had many drunken experiences with the man, crying about the love he felt Raven didn't return to him. But Olivia saw how she watched him and she knew, Raven did feel the same, but both were too afraid to say it.

Charles placed the helmet of Cerebro on top of his head and groaned softly. "What does this do exactly?" Olivia questioned as Hank began pushing buttons. "And what are we doing?"

"Finding Eric," Charles sounded focused. The lights dimmed and the helmet began to glow. Olivia watched in amazement as a hologram-like projection appeared, surrounding the entire room in a light blue glow. The voices of thousands of people talked over each other — it was nearly deafening. She found herself leaning closer to Hank.

"What are those?" Moira asked, completely flabbergasted at the amazing sight.

"Those are all the humans of the world," Charles explained. Olivia watched as those blue lights shifted to a dark red. "And these...are all the mutants. I am connected to all of their minds."

"Holy shit," Olivia whispered in shock. Normally she would be scolded for her use of foul language, but clearly, it was not the time nor place for Charles or Hank to do so.

Moira chuckled, amazed. "The CIA would kill for this."

"I know they would," Charles spoke gravely. He paused, listening. "Where are you, Eric?" Cerebro hummed as Charles searched for his old friend.

Olivia watched the room in astonishment. She could see clear as day everyone was like her. The nights where she would cry herself to sleep, feeling utterly alone, knowing these many mutants were out in the world would've made all the difference for that little eleven-year-old. "Hello, old friend," Charles's voice startled her. He had found Eric. He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry! I feel your pain...and your loss."

There was a pause. Charles was speaking with Eric, except no one but him could hear it. It was strange, listening to only one side of a conversation. "What happened to them, it was terribly wrong. But come back to us! I can help you," Another pause. "Think of your wife, think of your daughter! What would they have wanted."

Olivia's chest tightened. She had no idea Eric had experienced such loss. Charles never talked about him much, but when he did, it was nothing but good things. "Hank..." Charles sounded alarmed. Hank leaned down closer to him. "He's not alone." The way he said it sent shivers down Olivia's spine.

Cerebro's controls began to whir and vibrate. Hank looked nervously between Charles and it. Olivia wasn't a very techie person Bhutto even she knew that didn't sound good. "Hey, C-Charles, wait," He bent down over the controls, trying to fix them.

"Oh my god," Charles choked out.

This time, a voice responded, echoing through the room like a haunting ghost. "Thank you for letting me in."

There was a rumble as Cerebro shook and the red lights of mutants began to be snuffed out and replaced by purple, tearing through it like paper. "What's happening?" Olivia subconsciously grabbed Hank's arm.

He looked down at her. He was scared. "No idea," Charles chuckled, an eerie smile spreading across his face. Hank looked at him nervously. "Charles! Charles, get out!"

"I've never felt power like this before!" Charles didn't sound like himself — joyfully terrifying, power-hungry.

Olivia pushed past Hank and grabbed one of Charles's shoulders. "Charles snap-" She cut herself off with a gasp. The normally blue eyes of the professor had turned soulless and black. "Charles?"

Hank huffed, looking back at the controls. "We gotta get him out of there!"

"What? What's happening?" Moira took a step back, terrified.

"I think...I think someone's taken over Cerebro," Hank huffed, trying to reconfigure the controls once again. "They've taken control of it."

"To do what?" Raven asked nervously.

Hank paused, giving everyone a burning look. "To connect."

Images of world leaders and armies appeared, whoever took over was combing through them, one by one. Charles began to scream in agony. Raven and Olivia both had a hold on him, trying to Leroy him steady. "Hank, do something!" Raven yelled.

Hank didn't hesitate. He began smashing the controls of Cerebro, destroy them completely. "It won't shut down!" Hank was panicking. Charles's screams became louder.

"He's in pain!" Olivia cried. "We gotta do something to shut it down!" Tears formed in her eyes as she watched one of the people she cared most for in the world cry out in pain.

"Alex!" Charles managed to call out in his pain.

"What?" Alex was immediately by his side, next to Olivia.

Charles screamed once more. "Destroy it! Destroy everything, destroy Cerebro!" Alex was clearly hesitant. Charles grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him down. "Wreak havoc."

Alex nodded and moved to the side. Olivia ducked as a blinding hot streak of red shot from Alex's chest. The room was filled with both the screams of Charles and Alex as the walls of Cerebro began to collapse. Hank ducked, grabbing Olivia by the arm and pulling her out of harm's way, away from the falling and burning debris. More beams shot from Alex's hands as he continued to destroy the entirety of the room.

When he finally stopped, Charles collapsed in his chair, exhausted. Olivia rushed to his side as Hank took off the Cerebro helmet. "Oh god, Charles..." Her vision became cloudy as she scanned his head for injuries.

"We gotta go, Liv," Hank nudged her. She nodded and wiped her eyes, following Raven and Moira as Hank and Alex pushed Charles out of the burning room. "Charles, Charles are you okay?" Hank squatted down as the doors closed behind them.

Charles didn't make a sound. He was out cold, down for the count. A loud rumbled from the other end of the hall alerted them all. Out of a bubble of purple, similar to the purple that took over Cerebro, emerged five individuals. The only one Olivia recognized was Erik Lehnsherr, but that one that stood out was the man in the middle — he was blue and wore an immense amount of body armour. He towered over even Erik and his eyes, they were bone-chilling. They were piercing, and as his eyes connected with hers, Olivia felt her blood run cold. "Erik," Raven gasped quietly.

There was a pause as both groups stared until Erik reached out with his hand and began to pull Charles's wheelchair. There was zero time to react. Olivia screamed out for the man as his unconscious body was dragged. The lights in the hall flickered as she began pulling the electricity to her fingers, ready to attack.

Alex, however, starting running after them. "Alex!" Hank called. The purple bubbly beg n surrounding the group again, this time with Charles.

"Hey! Hey, asshole!" Alex yelled.

The unfamiliar blue man stared down the group with what looked like disappointment. "All will be revealed, my child."

Alex's intentions were clear — he was going to blast them. "Alex, no!" Hank began to run after him. But it was too late, just as Alex shot his beam, the bubble disappeared. The beam shot through into Hank's lab, where the Jet was being housed, along with its highly unstable power source.

There was a loud bang and Olivia watched as fire expanded, its heat dangerously close to her skin, and at that moment, she truly thought she would die.

AUTHORS NOTE
holy shit this chapter is long! I am so sorry. But guess who we get to see now??? Queue sweet dreams ;)