"I was," said Erik in Russian, "but I did not know about mutants. No one did."
Erik spoke far more warmly now that he had her interest. There was something fatherly in him that wasn't really natural; it was something that came from Charles, something he'd learned. Charles had taught him that he wasn't alone, that there were more like him, and that he had a family in this world. He no longer had parents or relatives, he no longer felt connected to the Jews, but his people were fellow mutants.
Sometimes he felt overwhelmed with it, with the idea that he had a community to be protected. It gave him purpose beyond being the monster that Schmidt created, gave him a reason to exist where he might do some good in the world when previously all he did was do harm. He was damaged, he knew that. He made his mistakes. But he found his family and he believed in them. He'd use every resource and skill he had to protect them, even if that meant crushing oppressors with swift and incredible violence.
In English again, he explained: "We have something different in our genetics. Something advanced, something beyond simply being human. You have it, your brother has it. HYDRA may have unlocked those powers for you, but they don't have the power to give you these gifts. That power's inside you, don't give them the credit for it."