9. occhiolism.

                                    

                                          
in the eye of a h u r r i c a n e there is quiet
for just a m o m e n t
                          
"Are you sure about this?" It’s Hank who breaks the silence, the four of them all standing around Charles’s desk in a room that somehow feels much smaller than it is. Hank’s opened the cupboard by the desk, everyone’s eyes fixated on the wheelchair that had sat motionless for a decade. Charles had locked it away all those years ago, and finds the idea of having to use it again abhorrent, though to save the world, he realises that he has to make sacrifices. That doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.
                          
"Absolutely not." Voice resigned, the Professor struggles into the chair looking especially bitter. He leads the pack to the elevator in the hallway that Aoibheal only knew as the entrance to Hank’s underground lab, and the sealed off room that she had been forbidden from entering. It’s not like she could anyway, whenever she tried, a light would scan her face and a loud, angry sound of protest came from the door itself. Confused, Aoibheal wants to ask what they’re doing, but Charles answers before she can vocalise the thought. "We're going to find Raven." It’s been so long that she finds it rather unnerving, which Charles apparently knows, judging by the look of chagrin he wears.
                          
"When was the last time you were down here?" Stepping out of the elevator, Logan glances down at the Professor in question, the four of them heading down the fluorescent corridor towards the sealed room.
                          
"The last time we went looking for students." Supplies Hank, though for Aoibheal, that asks more questions than it answers. Charles gives her a brief look, the word ‘Cerebro’ whispered unhelpfully in her mind, before they come to a stop in front of the door.
                          
"A lifetime ago." Charles looks as though he's about to be physically ill, he certainly sounds it, but then he’s awash with blue light and the door itself is saying hello, letting them all into the room that had been nothing but mystery for all of Aoibheal’s life. It managed to smell both old and new simultaneously, like a toy untouched in it’s original packaging. Aoibheal finds herself marvelling at the scale of the creation, all of it hidden beneath her home for most of her life, if what Hank says is true. A control panel that sits at the end of a narrow bridge is the only feature of this sphere plated with dull chrome. Looking more and more as if he’s regretting his choice, Charles leads them across. Breathing deeply, he waits as Hank begins to turn dials and flick switches, Logan and Aoibheal watching as the control panel light up before them.
                          
"Raven's wounded." Hank supplies, his attention drifting from the control panel to the bitterly resigned Charles Xavier, "She won't be moving fast." Instead of looking at Hank, Charles picks up the helmet with steady hands and blows the dust off of it. Aoibheal watches it dissipate with fascination.
                          
"These are muscles I haven't stretched in a long time." Charles warns and Aoibheal tenses with uncertain expectations. «It's alright, my dear.» It's Charles's voice in her head, calm, focused and familiar. He slides himself back into his routine as easily as he slid into her mind, muscle memory alone guiding his actions as he places the helmet on his head. With a gasp, he’s connected to the surging power the device thrums with, plunging them all into a sea of red light as the panel flickers worryingly. The red lights become projections of millions of tiny people which Aoibheal finds herself ducking out of the way of, watching with her rising anxiety. Screams of pain fill the room, the red suddenly flitting to white light and a whole new set of people. The screaming grows louder and lights flicker from white to red to white again, spinning around them and slowly gaining speed. Breath coming in short and sharp, Aoibheal is so confused and scared because this is so clearly not right, but Charles is in her head yelling for her to shut up even though she hasn’t said a word and he’s gasping for air and God, she’s think she’s going to be sick and Logan is yelling and the dials are bursting and everything is going w r o n g.