Flickers (Charles Xavier)

Chapter 20

Iris sat beside Hank in the cockpit, staring out at the clouds ahead of them. The plane had been in the air for half an hour, and she had barely said a word.

"I'm sorry."

She turned to Hank with a frown, "Why are you sorry?"
"For everything. For letting you get re-involved in this. For letting this happen. I... I don't know. I'm just sorry." He whispered.

Iris inhaled deeply, "Hank, you haven't done anything wrong. What you have done is be an amazing friend for Charles over these years. I can imagine he needed it."

"He regretted everything." Hank hesitated, "The moment he did it, he wished he hadn't. But he always told me... he always reminded me how much he had cared about you."

Iris didn't respond, and Hank sighed.

"I used to find him in the forest. Sitting beneath the trees, staring up at them with a look of such agony on his face. I knew why- it was because you always seemed to bring up the image of that forest. That had been what reminded him of you."

Iris closed her eyes, trying to suppress a sob. Hank reached out and squeezed her arm comfortingly. After she had composed herself, she stood up, "I'm going to sit back there. See you when we land."

As she slid the door of the cockpit open, both Logan and Charles glanced up quickly. She offered Logan a smile as she walked in and sat down opposite him.

"You tired?" Logan asked, and she nodded silently.

"Sleep it off, we'll be there in a couple of hours."

Iris was dreaming.

Not so much dreaming. It was a nightmare. She was reliving her parents' deaths. She could see them both crying, and herself standing with an unreadable expression. She knew how it ended.

Except there was a voice cutting in that she never usually heard as she relived the memory. It was Charles.

"Wake up, Iris. Wake up."

Iris' eyes opened, but she was still in the dream. Her parents were still screaming, and Shaw was standing at the other end of the room.

The difference was Charles beside her, and Logan opposite her. She'd done it again.

"Oh my god," She whispered, "How do I stop it?"

Charles reached out, "It's just an image, Iris. Block it out."

"I can't!" She cried.

Suddenly, Shaw, her parents and the younger version of herself turned to look at her.

"Shit." Logan muttered.

"Iris," Charles inhaled slowly, "You need to control your power. Take us back to the plane."

Her heart beat quickened- she was no longer viewing an image. She had instead transported herself, Logan and Charles into the past.

She glanced at her parents for a moment, and she felt her heart twist. She didn't want to see it again. She didn't.

Iris. You're stronger than this. Take us back to the plane. If you don't do this, we'll be trapped here for the rest of our lives.

"I don't know how!" She screamed.

"Wake up, Iris. Wake up."

Iris jerked awake, glancing around wildly. She was on the plane, with Logan opposite her and Charles sitting down nearby. Both were staring at her, creases between their eyebrows.