It was a long flight from D.C. to Paris. Long enough to make Logan bored. Charles was asleep, and Hank was flying the jet. Which left Logan alone with Erik. Logan didn't like Erik. He had fought against him in the past (well, the future from where they were now) to dislike him. He didn't like people who tried the sympathy card. Most people felt bad for Erik and gave him an excuse because of all he had been through in the camps. Logan didn't deny that had been bad. He had fought in that war. He knew what the Nazis did had been horrible. He had lived through enough wars to know Erik had truly experienced suffering in his life. But that didn't mean he had an excuse to be evil. Erik claimed he did what he did to help mutantkind. But Logan figured he either had to be nuts or full of it to make that justification. He hadn't really wanted to talk to Erik. But he was bored. And maybe he could get inside his head. That might be fun.

"What's on your mind, bub?"

"Excuse me?" Erik had been lost in thought.

"There must be something on your mind. You've been staring out the window for a while now."

"Why don't you go back to minding your own business?"

"Some thank you for getting you out of prison."

"I've survived worse on my own."

"So apparently you've always been like this. You never grow out of that, you know."

"Out of what?"

"Instead of having a normal conversation, you either brush things off with a sarcastic remark or make some point about the Nazis and expect people to agree with your point because they feel sorry or something."

"Like you can talk. I've only known you for a few hours and I've wanted to punch you every time you've opened your mouth."

"You can knock that off. We're stuck together for a while now. You might as well answer my original question."

"Which was?"

"I asked you what's on your mind. Nobody silently stares out a window this long without thinking about something pretty deeply. So, I'll ask again. What's on your mind, bub?"

Erik was pretty ticked off at this point, but he figured answering might shut this guy up. And he might get some answers of his own.

"Well, I figure there are only three options to explain your statements about being from the future: either you're insane, you're a liar, or you're telling the truth. For whatever reason, Charles and Hank have accepted you're telling the truth. They're smart guys. They must have their reasons for that. So let's say you're right. Let's say you really are from the future. You say things have gotten worse for mutants. Things aren't exactly great for mutants now. How bad is it?"

"In the camps- "

"The camps? No. No. You don't mean...?" Erik didn't want to believe what he had just heard. He had feared this would happen, but he always hoped it wouldn't. Once again his people were being identified and rounded up. Once again his people were being targeted for being born different. The memories he usually forced down came to the surface. He couldn't help but picture his mutant brothers and sisters being herded like cattle through the gates of Auschwitz like he had been all those years ago.

"Yeah. It started out that just mutants were targeted. Then it was also people who fought to help us. But then they found ways of targeting people who might have mutant children or grandchildren. Most mutants have been wiped out. So many others too."

Erik's face fell. He was so full of fear and pain. It had been years since he felt fear this intense. And grief. Then anger. Burning anger for the men who had killed his people, and the men who would do it again. And then more for the people, humans and mutants alike, who sat back and let it happen. Erik knew from experience that it took more than a few genocidal madmen for something like that to happen. The few madmen on their own are harmless. They need a complacent nation to manipulate. Evil can only flourish in the presence of neutrality. Very few people want to commit genocide, but even fewer do anything to prevent it when those few evil people start to do it.

"You let this happen?"

"I'm not the one who does insane things and makes all mutants look dangerous. This wasn't on me. It wasn't even on you. Not directly, anyway. When Mystique kills Trask, he becomes a martyr. That's what started all of the ridiculous fear and hatred. You just fuel the fire."

"Even after everything I predict comes true, you still can't see what I'm trying to do? I've been trying to prevent this. It's you and the others who let this happen."

"Cut the crap, Erik. I've heard this rant from you too many times to count. You always say you're fighting to prevent mutant genocide. You say you want what's best for your fellow mutants. And maybe that's what you think you're doing. Maybe you really are messed up enough to think your actions are justifiable. I can't tell. I've never bothered trying to understand you. That's what Charles does. But I don't care. I don't care why you do what you do. I just know you need to be stopped. What you do doesn't really benefit anyone other than you. So stop acting like you're this martyr who suffers for a just cause."

"You've seen the destruction camps like that cause now. Wouldn't you do anything to prevent that? You came here to prevent that. Don't you see why I am fighting to prevent it in the first place? I'm fighting so that no one has to suffer through what I did. You say we can prevent that future by stopping Mystique. If we do, I'm not going to stop fighting against people who want to kill us. Whatever happens, that will always be my goal. I don't care how many oppose me. I swear to you, if this works, if we prevent the horrors you described, I will live to prevent mutants from seeing such horrors. Never again."

"Well, at least we do agree there, bub." Logan decided it wasn't worth it to keep arguing. He didn't know what the new version of the future would be like if he were successful. He didn't have high hopes for Erik. But Charles always did, which gave him enough hope not to give up entirely. The Charles Logan knew always had enough hope to go around.