I Will Always Love You [Charles Xavier]

Chapter 18. Paris

I get up early. All they talk about on the radio is the peace treaty. I look in the mirror. I see a tired woman there. What if I tried my healing? My powers are back.

I run my hand over my face and remark in surprise-I've stopped looking like I've been sleeping for some hours for a couple of years now.

- "Interesting ability. Is that how you healed Charles' legs?" -Logan asks. He's awake, too.

- "Well, you shouldn't be the only one with regeneration. -I answer.

I try to hide what's bothering me-my life depends on what happens this afternoon. I had time to think about it all before I fell asleep. If we save Trask today, it will save me. It will save the mutants. All living things. I have to save Trask and Raven, for what it's worth.

- "Worried?" -Logan asks.

- "Is it that obvious?" -I answer.

- "It's just that the Professor said you have that look on your face when you're thinking about something." -Logan explains. - "He didn't talk about you much, but if he did, he talked for a long time."

I find it hard to believe that this is true. Does Charles really still love me that much? Well, yes, yesterday there was unaccustomed tenderness and jealousy. But it's still hard to believe.

So I just nod and step to Hank-I need to replace him as pilot.

A rented white Mercedes takes us to the building. The guards try to stop us, but Eric with a wave of his hand throws them off, along with the iron bars. I raise the barrier. 

We go up the stairs. I mentally count down the minutes.

We run in just as Raven is pointing a gun at Trask.

- "Raven!" -Eric exclaims.

She's distracted, and then young Stryker-this daddy's boy I recognize everywhere-shoots her with a stun gun.

Eric and I don't even talk to each other and point the stun gun at Stryker. He falls.

- "Raven. Raven!" -Charles runs up to her. -"Raven?"

Trask looks at us and his device in amazement. He gives me such contempt.

- "Run, dumbass." -I tell him. He slowly backs away toward the exit.

Raven asks.

- "Charles?"

- "We've come for you. Eric, Mary and I. Together." -He answers.

- "I never thought I'd see you again." -she says.

- "I made you a promise a long time ago that I would protect you."

I can see that Eric is thinking about something. But he's calm, and I'm not strong enough to get inside his head without emotion.

Logan looks at Stryker.

- "I'm going to keep you safe." -Charles continues.

Trask still won't leave and looks at the bleeping device. I lose my patience and push him toward the exit.

- "Get out of here now. Because some of them aren't that kind."

He hides behind the doors.

Eric looks at Charles and Raven. He's clearly up to something, so I keep myself alert.

- "I'm going to keep you out of their hands."

Suddenly a gun flies toward Eric. I try to wrestle it out of his hands.

- "Eric?" -Raven asks.

- "Eric? What are you doing?" -Charles asks.

- "Securing our future." -Eric answers. - "Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're here, we'll never be safe."

- "Eric, don't." -I say. I try to pull the gun out of his hands, but he holds it firmly.

- "Use your power, Charles." - Raven says. - "Stop him."

- "He can't." - Eric says.

Raven starts to run and Eric shoots. Hank pushes him, but he manages to shoot. I try to deflect the bullet. The bullet goes through the window and I try to change it's line it. Eric and Hank fight. 

I can't think of anything better to do than run outside. When I run out I see Eric fighting with Charles.

Eric flies off the window just as I run outside. He pulls Raven toward him with a bullet in his leg. I interfere with him, but he pulls the bullet out of her leg.

I try to stun Eric like security guard at the Pentagon, but then I get run over by the crowd.

I head straight to the fountain. I see the bars of the fountain restrain Hank right in front of the cameras. 

Eric gets out of the fountain and I try to stun him again. He looks at me and makes me fall down. Damn shoe buckle! I can see on his face something like, "Don't bother me, or I'll kill you, despite my former feelings." I have to switch to Hank.

I take advantage of all the attention on Eric and free Hank from the bars. We run back in together. On the way back, we meet Logan and Charles and all run together.

- "Raven is alive." -I report to Charles.

He nods.

- "I'm sorry I didn't help with Eric, Hank." - I tell him.

We hide in the crowd.

Flying in an airplane. I sink tiredly into my seat. But they won't let me sit in silence. Logan asks.

- "How did you and the Professor meet? He never told me."

I sigh.

- "We met during the Cuban Missile Crisis in '62. I was a refugee from the Soviet Union then, working for the CIA. I was studying genetics at Oxford. I had to find an expert on mutations, and Charles was it."

- "Refugee?"

- "Yeah, I ran away when I was seventeen. That's when the mutant trapping started. Crossed the border with my powers and the CIA got interested in me."

- "It's strange that you two got married. I guess because you had to run away, that you, like Eric, must hate people and this world."

- "I can't hate this world because I live in it. And I live among people. I always reason sensibly, so wanting to destroy and kill everything at once is not logically."

- "Don't you have any feelings at all? Only logic?" - Logan wonders.

- "No, of course I do. Do you think Charles would marry such a nerd who hasn't emotion?" -I smile. It seems sincere this time.

- "No, I didn't think so. It's just that the Professor told me that you were always serious, collected. And you kind of confirm that."

- "And you tell him he just forgot that. I was happy. There was a reason for that." -I answer.

- "I don't know. So you didn't answer my question-do you have feelings at all? Can you spare someone not logically, but because you feel sorry for them?"

I hesitate.

- "Yes, I can. I certainly can't kill someone. No matter how disgusting that person is. I just can't. I'm probably too soft for that." -I confess. Even though I try to keep that softness as far away as possible, it's still there.

- "Or just kind." -I hear Charles's voice . I see Charles standing in the doorway. He's clearly heard our conversation.