• t h i r t y s i x •

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THE X-JET SPED ACROSS THE OCEAN. ERIK LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW,
THINKING. XAVIER SAT ACROSS FROM HIM. THIS TIME, IT WAS XAVIER WHO ASKED THE FIRST QUESTION.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Grace carefully eyed the two men, knowing it was going to be a touchy subject.

"The day I left for Dallas." Erik kept looking out the window.

"How was she?" As Xavier spoke, Erik finally turned around to face him.

"She was my greatest soldier." Erik proudly spoke. "Strong. Driven. Determined."

"No." Xavier shook his head. "I mean... was she happy?"

Hank listened from the cockpit. Erik thought for a moment, uncomfortable with emotion. "She was... we were...I...I could see why she meant so much to you."

Xavier nodded. "When this is all over, she'll decide where she goes."

"She always did, Charles." Erik gave him a distant smile. "She always did." He looked back out the window, with something behind his eyes.

A crowd surged outside the Majestic Hotel in Paris. Flags flapped, Russian, American, Vietnamese. Reporters flocked, their cameras rolled.

"....diplomats from around the world will be gathered here today to officially end all United States Military involvement in Vietnam. This is a historic day for peace...."

Motorcades pulled up. Generals and dignitaries poured out. A dark sedan arrived. The doors opened. Trask emerged with a very familiar captain from Saigon: William 'Bill' Stryker. The head up the red carpet into the hotel.

A handful of foreign generals were waiting. Among them was General Luong, who was actually Raven. They all turned as Trask and Bill entered.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Hello." Trask spoke as he stood at the top of the table. "Thank you for taking the time to meet. I know you have hands to shake and pictures to take downstairs, so I'll get right to the point; your side won this war... but you'll need a new weapon for the new enemy." He looked over at Bill, who clicked a microfilm reel into a projector, casting images on a screen. "These are top secret files from the US Defence Department, evidence of a threat far deadlier than anything you've ever faced. A new species with powers that could render your arsenals useless, your armies powerless." They looked at the images of Angel, Emma Frost, Banshee, and other mutants flickering on screen. "We've rounded up these subjects from around the world, but there are far more out there...."

Outside of the hotel, a car pulled up to the rear entrance, which was blocked. Two French soldiers stepped to the car, flanking it. Grace sat at the wheel. She rolled down the window.

"Faire demi-tour. Il n'y a plus d'accès au-delà de ce point."

"Éloignez-vous de la voiture, s'il vous plaît. Et soulevez la barrière." Erik answered the soldier in French to Grace's surprise.

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