A Winter Fire || Logan Howlett

Chapter 23

2023, China

In the midst of a snowy night in China, a snow leopard was running through the snow and climbing up the rocky mountains. It's bright blue eyes watched as a jet landed up above not too far away, making the animal speed up and continued climbing up.

The X-Men walked into the temple, looking around for the others. Eventually, they all slowly made themselves known, Bobby being the one to make the first move.

"Professor" He smiled, walking over to Storm.

"Bobby" She smiled, as the two hugged.

"Hey, kid" Logan smiled slightly, nodding his head at the man. Their gazes then turned to see another mutant. Kitty.

"Professor. You made it. Where's the other Professor Howlett?" She asked, looking from Charles to Logan.

"Oh, she's not too far away" Charles answered, giving them a knowing smirk just as they heard a subtle growl come from behind them.

Turning around, they saw a silhouette of a snow leopard and smiles appeared on their faces.

"Always lovely to see you, Laura" Charles smiled warmly, as he watched the leopard walk closer to the group and shift into her human form.

"Still charming, even in your old age" The woman chuckled, giving him a warm hug and then turned to the man beside him. Her smile brightened, as well as his and the two were quickly in each other's arms.

"Hey, Kitten" Logan mumbled into her hair, as his arms tightened around her.

"Hello, my love" She replied lovingly, then pulled away to place a soft kiss to his lips.

"It's good to see you too, Professor" Laura heard Bobby scoff, making the couple pull away and for Laura to laugh. The woman stepped away from her husband and walked over to Bobby, who had a smug smirk on his bearded face.

"I'm starting to question why i ever thought you were my favourite student" She muttered, as the two embraced each other. The man chuckled as they pulled away, Laura then went and hugged the others.

The group were then lead further into the temple, they all stood around while Kitty spoke up.

"Whenever the Sentinels attack, Warpath spots them, and i send Bishop back to warn us of the attack before it happens. Blink scouts the next site, and...well, then we leave before they ever know we were there" She explained, as Warpath spoke up next.

"Because we never were" He said, making Laura look at them in confusion.

"What do you mean you were never there?" The older woman asked, making Charles answer instead.

"She projects Bishop back in time a few days to warn the others of the coming attack" Laura nodded her head in understanding.

"So, she sends Bishop back in time?" Logan questioned.

"No, just his consciousness into his younger self, his younger body" Charles replied, making the Howlett's look at each other in bewilderment.

"Wow" They muttered.

"This might just work, Charles" Erik suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention.

"What might work?" Kitty asked.

"The Sentinel program was originally conceived by Dr. Bolivar Trask. In the early 70s, he was one of the world's leading weapons designers, but covertly, he begun experimenting on mutants, using their gifts to fuel his own research" Charles explained.

"There was one mutant who had discovered what he was doing"

"A mutant with the ability to transform herself into anyone" Erik spoke up.

"Raven" Laura whispered sadly, looking at Charles who looked back at her with the same look.

"I knew her as Raven. We met when we were children. Grew up together. She was like a sister to me. I tried to help her, but only succeeded in driving her away. She hunted Trask across the world, and at the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, after the Vietnam War, she found Trask. And killed him" Laura grabbed onto Logan's hand, who squeezed hers in comfort, as she felt tears in her eyes.

"It was the first time she killed" Charles finished.

"It wasn't her last" Logan said, pulling his wife closer to him.

"But killing Trask did not have the outcome she expected. It only persuaded the government of the need for his program. They captured her that day. Tortured her. Experimented on her. In her DNA, they discovered the secret to her powers of transformation. It gave them the key they needed to create weapons that could adapt to any mutant power, and in less that fifty years, the machines that have destroyed so many of our kind were created"

"But it all started that day in 1973, the day she first killed, the day she truly became...Mystique" Charles finished, and the room stayed silent. Until Kitty filled the silent void.

"You want to go back there" She said.

"If i can get to her, stop the assassination, keep her out of their hands, then we can stop the Sentinels from ever being born"

"And end this war before it ever begins" Erik added.

"I-i can send someone back a couple weeks. I mean, maybe a month, but you're talking about going back decades" Kitty stated, causing Laura to nod in agreement.

"Charles, you have the most powerful mind in the world. But from what I know, the brain can only stretch so far before it snaps. It would rip you apart. I'm sorry, but we can't risk that happening" The woman said, looking to Kitty who nodded with a sad smile.

"What if someone's mind has a way of snapping back? What if someone can heal as fast as they're ripped apart? " Logan spoke up, making Laura turn to him quickly.  She knew exactly what he was getting at, and she didn't like the sound of it. Not one bit.

"No. No, you can't be serious, Logan" Laura exclaimed, throwing here hands in the air as she paced back and forth. After what Logan had said, Laura basically dragged the man to another room to try and change his mind.

"Babe, It's okay. Apart from Charles, i'm the only one who can do this" Logan said, trying to calm his wife down but to no avail.

"I can too, you know. We basically have the same mutations, i swear it's like you forget that sometimes" She muttered, not meeting his eyes. Logan smiled softly, and walked over to stop her pacing and made her face him.

"Laur, I've gotta do this. I know you're scared, so am i. But if we don't do something, today will be the last time we see each other. We'll all die, and i can't bear the thought of you dying. Baby, we've been married for forty-nine years and they've been the greatest years of my life. But i want to be able to live another forty-nine years with you, heck even a hundred but in order for that to happen i need to go back and stop this war from happening, okay" By now Laura started to cry, she had shoved her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

"I know you're scared, darlin. But i need to do this. For the sake of every mutants future...our future" He said, as the two pulled away. Logan looked into his wife's bright, watery blue eyes and wiped away the tears that had fallen.

"I love you, Logan" She whispered, resting her forehead against his.

"I love you too, Laura"

After their talk, the two walked out to the others. Most of the group went outside to keep watch, while the other half stayed inside. In the middle of the room, there was a stone table like bed. Logan stood beside it, and sighed.

"So i wake up in my younger body, God knows where. Then what?" Logan asked.

"You'll need to go to my house and find me. Convince me of all of this" Charles spoke up, moving closer to the man.

"Won't you be able to just read my mind?" Logan asked.

"I didn't have my powers in 1973. Logan, you're going to have to do for me what i once did for you and Laura. Lead me, guide me. I was a very different man then. You'll have to be patient with me" He said, causing Laura to scoff in amusement.

"Patience is not Logan's strongest suit" She chuckled, gaining a playful glare from her husband.

"You'll need me as well. After Mystique left Charles, she came with me, and i set her on a dangerous path. Darker path. It's going to take the two of us, side by side at a time where we couldn't be further apart" Erik explained, then looked to Laura who nodded.

"You'll need me too. Before she left with Erik, her and i grew close. She was like a daughter to me, and i taught her everything she knows. You'll definitely need my help, but there is one problem" Laura said, pausing at the end.

"What is it?" Logan asked in confusion, seeing his wife look worried.

"Logan, we didn't know each other until late 73', so we won't be together and i won't know you. You'll either find me at my family cabin or at the local bar that we started going to after we met" Logan almost smiled at the mention of the bar.

Him and Laura would always go there on dates or just to get away from everything. It's actually where he asked her to marry him.

"And if you remember at all what i was like back then-" Laura started to say, but Logan cut her off.

"Oh i know, you were a fiery little thing. Didn't trust anyone, had a temper and could easily kick my ass" Logan said smirking at her, making her laugh.

Logan was now laying on the stone bed, Kitty sitting behind him and Laura standing beside him with his hand wrapped in hers.

"Basically, your body will go to sleep while your mind travels back in time. Now, as long as you're back there, past and present will continue to coexist, but once you wake up...whatever you've done will take hold and become history. And for the rest of us, it'll be the only history that we know. It'll be like the last fifty years never happened"

"This world, this war....the only person who will remember it is you. Alright, Logan. I need you to clear your mind and to stay as calm as possible" Kitty finished, causing the man to look up at her.

"What? What do you mean?' He asked.

"If your mind gets rocky, it'll be harder for me to hold you, and you could start to slip between past and future" Kitty replied.

"What if i need to get a little rocky?" The man questioned, causing Laura to snort and roll her eyes.

"Think peaceful thoughts?" The girl shrugged.

"Peaceful thoughts? You have any good news?" He asked.

"Well, i mean you don't really age, so you'll pretty much look the same" Kitty answered, as Bobby spoke up.

"You won't have much time in the past. The Sentinels will find us. They always do" Laura sighed, and looked to Logan. She just hoped that nothing will go wrong and that Logan will be able to fix the past in time.

Snapping from her thoughts, Laura quickly knelt to Logan's level and gained his attention.

"When you do find me, don't do anything stupid that might make me somehow hate you, okay?" She smirked, making Logan chuckle. The woman leant over and gave him one last kiss, before standing back.

"I'll see you soon, my love" She smiled. And with one last smile and wink from her husband, Kitty placed her hands beside his head and started the process.