Sword and Shield | E. Lehnsherr

19. Written In Earth

They found me.

She sounded so scared.

This shouldn't be possible. How are you doing this?

The walls of her mind were crumbling from external pressure, an instability at its base. He could feel it, watching helplessly as something—someone—tore down her mind. Even if the words were not directed at him, he could hear her mind begging for mercy.

Oh, Gods.

Whatever she had seen, it almost destroyed Cerebro. The connection exploded with a terrified scream, and then nothing.

If Hank hadn't noticed something off with the machine, Charles would have missed it. In the middle of the night, Cerebro went haywire as if someone were toying with it, drawing it to the edge. Charles had only just barely managed to save it, but he heard and felt everything Cerebro had unwittingly connected to; somehow, it found her.

And now, she's nowhere to be found.

Forget me. You have to forget me, or they'll find you. Erase me.

Unfortunately for Ria, Charles is a man of undying hope these days. His curiosity led him here, all for her. She is the woman who managed to show Erik Lehnsherr, Magneto, a better way. She is the woman who could singlehandedly stop a war. She could speak and everyone would listen. If he didn't know better, he'd suspect that was her mutation.

Charles spent days trying to find her. He searched Cerebro once he had woken, he and Hank followed the news in a multitude of countries. She had given no clue of her whereabouts this time, only a now disconnected number and the name of a woman found murdered three months ago in London by the name of Harriet Griffin.

He then searched up who this Harriet Griffin was: supposedly, the old woman had a large family, though she was no longer in contact with them when she died. Her only other immediate family member, a sister named Jacklyn, had died aboard a shipwreck when Harriet was only just married. Jacklyn never married according to public records, and Harriet's husband left her years ago. Why Ria would point them in her direction remains a mystery to Charles.

So, he turned his attention to tracking bursts of power. There had been instances of mutants all over the world coming of age, but Ria's signature is too specific to be missed. He found absolutely nothing.

It wasn't until he received a letter from a prospective parent that he changed his tactics. See, Charles was looking at the present, trying to find where Ria is now. But Ria has never really been about the present; Ria lives with one foot in the past and the other on the run.

Another week passed, and now he sits at the edge of a cliff he's only seen once from someone else's memory overlooking the crashing ocean. This time of year, Greece is absolutely lovely, but the cool breeze cannot distract him from the pit of dread in his heart as he looks around the ruins of such a splendid village.