Marie had slept all the way to Paris, too concerned about Logan to do much else. Of course having Erik near, despite the fact that they had all joined forces during the war, only put her more on edge.
Charles sat with her the whole time and squeezed her hand reassuringly every time she whimpered or tensed up. She seemed to find his presence comforting, and he thought long and hard about his school and all of the children he'd tutored in the past and all that Logan said were to come.
He let his eyes slip shut for a moment, opening them to find Hank sitting across from him. He cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes with his free hand.
“What's going on?” He looked from Hank to the cockpit and back again. “Who's flying th-”
“Autopilot. The peace talks have been cancelled.”
“Why?” Erik sat up in his chair and closed his book.
“Bolivar Trask was found dead in his hotel room.” Hank said. “Apparently, he slipped in the shower and broke his neck. And that Stryker guy was stabbed in a back alley. They're calling it a mugging gone wrong.”
“How do you know that?” Marie mumbled.
“I, uh, built a radio into the cockpit to scan for chatter about the talks, and I just heard.” She nodded as if in recognition.
“Some things never change.”
“So, do you think your friend had anything to do with it?”
“It has to be Victor, or someone he works with. Most of them were pretty tight.”
“So it's over?” Charles asked.
“No, I don't think so.” Marie sat up beside him and pulled the thick wool blanket around her shoulders. “If it were, I'd probably be gone by now.”
“What does that even mean?” They all turned to a very confused Erik. “What are any of you people talking about?”
“I'm not sure myself.” Charles frowned and looked to Hank. “We have to make contact with Logan as soon as possible, collect him and Raven, then...figure out where to go from there.”
“We're landing soon.” Hank stood and made his way to the cockpit, and Marie rested her head on Charles' shoulder.
“Any ideas?” He asked, sipping his whisky. She was still exhausted and he could feel her slipping away again.
“There's another name on the list. It's buried. I need help remembering it.”
The next thing she knew, she was in Logan's arms. She pressed her nose into his neck as he carried her to the rec room.
“I missed you.” she whispered.
“I missed you, darling.”
“I heard about Trask and Stryker.” she sniffed and curled in on herself as he lay her on the couch. “Did you find Victor.”
“Yeah.” he sighed.
“And?”
“In his own words he 'took care of it'.” Logan perched on the edge of the coffee table and stroked her hair. “He's rounding up the old team for 'just in case'.”
“We might need them. Whatever this is isn't over yet.”
“I know. I was just hoping we could get this over and done with. I want to get back home.”
“Me too.” She nuzzled his hand. “I can't remember the other guy's name.
“That's been bugging me non-stop.”
“I might be able to help with that.” Charles entered in his chair, clipping a side table and almost sending an antique vase sailing to the floor.
“Really, Chuck?”
“I'm a little out of practice. And don't call me that.” He came to a halt before the couch and smiled at Marie. “Now, give me your head.”
“Wouldn't kill you to say please.” She sat up and rolled her neck.
“Alright. Just sit still, and try to relax.” He raised his hands to her temples.
“I know the drill.”
Although she tried her best to clear her mind, Charles still had to fight his way through her memories of war, torture, and wanting to die. The experiments she had been subjected to, similar to the ones Shaw had inflicted on Erik, were beyond brutal. He had no idea how she was holding up as well as she was.
“Chuck?” Logan asked when Charles began to frown, searching for a memory that seemed always just out of reach.
“E...Es” He hissed and broke the connection, almost falling out of his chair.
“What did you see?” Marie asked, holding Charles' hands as he righted himself.
“Something...wrong.”
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