Flickers (Charles Xavier)

Chapter 3

Iris had spent the first half of the day in the training room, attempting to practise to fight. She had waited to go in there until no one else was there so that she wouldn't humiliate herself in front of all of the others.

They all had such powerful skills which she only wished that she could compare to- she had nothing.

As she hit the punch-bag in front of her with short, sharp punches, she wondered what she was doing there. She barely knew anything about what they were fighting for, but she somehow felt drawn to the other mutants as if she had a connection to them. She just had no idea what it was.

Then there was Shaw. The name that- for some reason- caused her heart to twist and her throat to swell with emotion as if she wanted to scream and cry- but why? For some reason, she felt as if she hated him.

The thought of him caused her to lift her knee up and jerk the punch-bag upwards before hitting it again with her fist, causing it to fly across the room.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Iris spun around, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Charles stood there with an apologetic smile on his face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to watch, but there was something so very... driven about the way that you were hitting that punch-bag."

Iris pushed her hair out of her face and tried to control her flaming red cheeks, "It's okay- I just didn't realise that anyone else was in here. If you need to use this room, I can go and-"

"No, no!" Charles stepped forwards, "I actually came to retrieve you for some training. I wondered if we would be able to try and unlock your memories again like we were yesterday."

Iris nodded quickly, "I just need to get changed, and then I will be right with you."

"I'll meet you in the spare room next to this one- it's free and no one will be using it today."

It didn't take very long for Iris to change from her sports clothes into a more comfortable skirt and jumper with her hair pulled up into a bun. She threw her dirty clothes across the room into the basket and shut the door behind her, making her way down the stairs and towards the room that Charles was waiting for her in.

To her surprise, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, waiting for her to sit beside him.

"Is this how you've been training everyone?" She asked with a smile on her face as he gestured for her to sit down.

"Everyone's abilities are different. And we need to find out what yours is." Charles smiled at her, "It is rather fascinating, you know- the fact that you have no idea what your mutation is. I shall be intrigued to know why it hasn't shown itself yet."

Iris frowned, "Is it supposed to have shown itself by now?"

She had no recollection of ever being different or having any gifts. Maybe Charles had been wrong about her being a mutant after all.

"It usually does show itself before we become teenagers- but perhaps yours is different. May I?"

Iris nodded slowly as he reached his hands out and touched both temples, causing her to shiver slightly as his cold fingers brushed against her warm skin.

He closed his eyes, and Iris instantly felt his presence inside her mind as he nudged his way towards her memories. He was travelling backwards, from the most recent memories to those from her childhood. She felt the same sensation that she had felt on the plane before the further that he went back, and her fists clenched as she tried to suppress a cry of pain.