Lynn's POV
The horror of murder was immensely overwhelming. Although there was moderate relief in that a burdensome threat had been duly eliminated, no amount of justification for his death was enough to douse the haunting guilt—regardless of his nasty deeds or the fact that he probably deserved it.
Like his cold blood that furiously drained, all my fortitude and the original surge of adrenaline that fueled it rapidly dissipated from my face. Without any lingering courage to truly witness the harrowing demise, I automatically rotated around, albeit slowly and tentatively.
Hesitantly, I raised my eyes to Charles, ashamed and afraid. Yet, despite my atrocious and ruthless behaviour, the natural benevolence in those crystal blue never stopped radiating; but they were not sufficiently emboldening to elicit complete movement.
Merely reaching for him with both arms, I just watched and wandered haphazardly as he expeditiously rolled himself over, inevitably spying the unbalanced strength in his hands that unwittingly resulted in his path deviating slightly from a straight line.
Clearly sore from its imprisonment, his left wrist evidently experienced more difficulty throughout his rushed self-propulsion but his face was purely negligent to exhibit the discomfort, solely displaying an abundance of love.
Abruptly, the dear affection evaporated into thin air as every ounce of pink colour was bleached from his cheeks and all that remained was a terribly aghast expression. Without warning, there was a massive crash behind me and a large seismic wave rocked the entire arena, immediately throwing me off my feet.
"Lynn!" Charles bawled hysterically, hurriedly giving me his hand.
"Charles!" I screamed in reflex and, instinctively thinking to break my fall with my master arm, I foolishly stretched out my disabled one.
Obviously without any strength or grip, however, I could hardly latch onto his and our fingers dreadfully parted as my left leg was quickly sucked under the rubble. I clawed onto whatever existed beneath my palms, struggling futilely to escape the staggering effects perhaps analogous to a giant vacuum cleaner, but thankfully, the violent episode shortly precluded.
Panting weakly, I glanced around, realising I had been awkwardly flipped onto my back around the border of the ruins, and my head pounded fervently, directly faced with the glaring lights, as I finally appreciated the true magnitude of the aftermath.
The wrecked area was enveloped by a distasteful silence, occasionally spooked by ominous crackles, as a long rift slowly splintered up the wall and across the face of the roof. The worsening fracture grew critically and it was only the most logical option to leave but I soon registered the soft whir of his wheels rolling over rocky litter loudening as Charles approached undauntedly.
"Stay back... Please... It's dangerous..." I begged, breathless from the sheer volume of pain consuming my buried limb, as I adamantly waved him off despite not being granted an actual view of him from my inconvenient angle.
"All the more reason for me to get you out of there, love," Charles appealed, kindness and desperation simultaneously overflowing from his crumbling voice, as he was definitively shrouded from my efforts indistinguishable by the naked eye.
"You can't... I'm stuck..." I croaked tiredly, thoroughly exhausted from the physical torment and the multiple, albeit fruitless, attempts to liberate myself from the bulky debris.
"Let me help you," Kitty volunteered in an avid tone.
Her expeditious treads inadvertently triggered a shower of dust to rain from the undermined ceiling as she hastily bolted over but the teenage girl seemed the least bit concerned. Securely grasping my arm, Kitty eagerly tugged on it but instead of reaping any beneficial harvest, her sympathetic endeavor only yielded my sharp cry as the torture harassing my leg was greatly aggravated by the forced motion.
"Oh my god. What's going on?" Kitty murmured in apprehension, staring at her palms frightfully as she anxiously released my hand.
"You don't have your powers," I enlightened in a faint tone, wrestling to stay conscious and concurrently contain my scrunched expression.
"Get away from her!" Charles barked mercilessly and a couple of paces sounded to have stumbled back nervously.
"Try again, Kitty. Carefully, please," Charles stressed in a mellowed tone.
"Just relax, Lynn. You're going to be just fine," Charles readily reassured and I acknowledged with an agonizing nod as Kitty skeptically lowered herself.
As Kitty cautiously clasped my hand again, I was spontaneously engulfed by the odd sensation of solid matter freely tunneling through my body and the blocks of cement weighing down my trapped limb consequently sank deeper into the crater.
Each phasing encounter was never quite so fully or accurately describable but what materialized most prominently was the fact that the transitional mode rendered me completely anesthetized. In the few moments that Kitty strenuously lugged me out from the rubble, my wounded leg was totally numb and I indulged in the luxurious likes of heaven, only to be sadistically reminded of the aching troubles suffered by mortals.
I gasped acutely, counting on the huge gulp to stifle my grunt, but I doubted that the large intake of air was nearly as adequate to conceal the misery from my face. Even deliberately lifting my mangled foot off the ground, the affliction was still launched in relentless waves as Kitty energetically returned me into an upright posture.
Conscientiously, Charles surrounded my waist in his arm and I gradually shifted my center of gravity over towards him, clutching onto the back of his chair for additional support, as I loosened my arm around the diligent youngster.
"Kitty... I need you to get my knives... And kill the card reader outside... We have to unlock that door..." I ordered in feeble tone.
Easily recognizing that the passage ridden with chunks of concrete was not at all handicap friendly, Kitty compliantly adhered to my requests and bravely, albeit disgustedly, plucked out my weapons from the dead body.
"Lynn, get on, please," Charles offered cordially as Kitty disappeared beyond the wall but I stubbornly peeled his hand off.
"No, it's fine-" I courteously declined.
Hating to strain him unnecessarily, I experimented an independent step but the second my left boot contacted the floor, even just transiently, everything went to hell. The inherent searing inflamed into a raging fire that darted through my veins, incapacitating even my ability of speech, and I lurched into his arm, almost tipping both of us over.
"I said, get on," Charles repeated in an infuriated tone, glaring at me sternly, and my heart shuddered at his unusual ferocity.
Meekly obeying, I clung my healthy arm around his shoulders and Charles warily guided me onto his lap but despite my primary intention of not hurting him, I plopped clumsily onto his thighs. The impact was probably more grueling for me—given that he was wholly without feeling—but I still gazed at him with a worried expression as he looked at me wretchedly.
"You knew, didn't you?" Charles probed perceptively, soft and not in anyway incriminating, as he gingerly tucked away my fringe, delicately caressing my cheek.
"I'm sorry, I kept it," I confessed shamefully, clenching the fabric of his blazer, as tears unwittingly trickled down my face.
"I'm sorry, I never noticed," Charles confided, reciprocating an equally sorrowful look.
Graciously brushing away the unruly droplets, Charles habitually trailed his other hand down my waist but an intense twinge was accidentally sparked even when he just gently grazed my upper thigh. Arching my back, I clamped my teeth together, wincing, and he reflexively recoiled his palm, sporting the ultimate remorseful expression.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That must have been unbearable," Charles profusely apologised.
"Nothing's quite so unbearable with you," I consoled, mustering a smile for him.
"I admire the effort, love, really," Charles admitted, gazing at me in all sincerity, and I looked at him, confused.
"But, frankly, you're still a terrible liar," he joked and I leaned my forehead lethargically against his, chuckling bashfully.
"We're losing it out here!" Logan suddenly blared through my earpiece and I balked my head, absolutely jarred by the rasping noise.
"Some soldiers are entering the building!" Theresa shrilled in agitation.
"Seraph, Mystique, beware! They are armed with cure guns!" Jubilee frenziedly warned.
"What's wrong?" Charles examined with a solemn gaze as he meticulously cradled my head.
"We have to go," I answered gravely.
