When Storm entered Professor Xavier's office, she was still terribly shaken by what had transpired mere moments before. She had a terrible inkling that she knew what it was that Peter planned to do, but had no way of finding him or helping him to see reason. She'd meant to go to Professor Xavier and tell him what happened - breaking the news as gently as she possibly could. However, what she saw upon entering gave her pause, and for awhile she simply stood there in the broken silence.
The back of Charles' wheelchair was toward the door, but there was an undeniable tremor in his shoulders. An ornate, cherry picture frame rested in his left hand, and if she were not mistaken, it was the frame which held Evangeline and Peter's wedding photo. They'd been married in October of '81, right when the leaves had begun to change. Storm had seen the photo once or twice before. Evangeline had certainly been a marvel in her hand-embroidered wedding gown.
"I know what you've come to tell me, Ororo." The calmness of his voice unsettled her, but she did not comment. Slowly, the chair turned around, and he faced her with slightly red-rimmed eyes. "Peter's distress was like a knife through my chest. When it ended so inexplicably... I knew."
Gently, he placed the picture frame back on his desk, angled just so behind three smaller frames, each displaying the bright smiles of one of his grandchildren. Storm, wide-eyed, appeared as if someone had just struck her across the face. "I was just with him... I could have -,"
"You mustn't think like that." Charles immediately cut her off. "You couldn't have been certain as to his intentions, that's not your mutation." He stated simply.
She hurriedly sucked in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. "Then... then you know how she died."
Charles nodded, stiff and sure. "I know quite a bit more than I'd like to, I'm afraid." He clasped his hands together tightly, screwing his eyes shut. "When I felt Peter's distress, I investigated. It only took some gentle probing to find everything replaying like a scene from a horror movie inside of his head."
There were no words to describe the pain etched onto Charles' face. Storm had seen the effect such a sight had had on the man that had been there, but to watch it happen through someone else's eyes? To feel the agony, the anger, the hurt, as they tore themselves apart inside for something completely out of their control? It was as if Charles had to bear the burden of two tragedies instead of one. This was one blow that she was not sure he could recover from.
He looked to be struggling on the brink of a full breakdown, and Storm struggled with finding a way to hold him back from tumbling over the edge. That's when he found the strength to continue. "This war... it's futile. There have been too many casualties on both sides. If it continues this way... it will mean total extermination."
"How are we supposed to end a war when the enemy can transform itself in order to render our mutations useless?" She asked, a tiny bit skeptical.
"My Evvie was quite the fan of 20th Century literature, you know." He seemed to be swept up by a distant memory, but quickly returned to himself. "There was a book written by a famous author of the Lost Generation. His name was F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book focused on a character who was dead-set on repeating the past."
Storm recognized the book almost immediately. It was The Great Gatsby, and it focused on Jay Gatz, whose once pure dream turned sour as he fell for the 'golden girl' and thought he could win her over with materialistic gains, not realizing that she'd moved on in the five years they'd been apart. "Yes, I'm familiar with it."
"The ability to repeat the past is well within our grasp." Charles said firmly. "To repeat the past, and to change it to force a better future."
"Charles, you're not... she's never... we're talking fifty years..." but none of this seemed to be breaking through to the broken man. "What if it doesn't work?"
But Charles wouldn't even consider it. "We have no other options. Mutants are on the brink of extinction, as are our few allies. If we sit by and do nothing, we will all fall. Now is not the time to sit idly by while the decision of life and death is made for us. Now it is time for action. And here is what we must do..."
The ride in the jet was painfully silent. Charles had the picture clutched tightly in his hand, and occasionally, his forefinger would subconsciously stroke the filmy surface. Erik was staring out the window, pained eyes focused on the soft glimmer of stars against the black velvet sky. They'd both lost a child today: one from a freak accident, the other from grief. Both were struggling silently under the heavy burden that was this last ditch effort to save the future, and perhaps their children as well.
Logan and Storm sat across from one another, a considerable distance from Erik and Charles. Logan had been out on a retrieval mission when Peter and Evangeline and fallen onto the doorstep, and Storm had had the painful task of filling him in on every gruesome detail. It would seem as if the deaths of two more of their fellow comrades, who were among the strongest of mutants left, had finally been the straw that broke the camel's back.
It seemed like an eternity until they arrived at the hide-out. Bishop was the first to spot them, and quickly alerted the others. News of Evangeline and Peter's deaths had been kept on a need-to-know basis - all the small group knew was that this meeting was of the utmost importance. With so many of their friends and allies gone, there was never any doubt that they'd welcome them with open arms. They entered into the stone cut-out that served as the meeting room, to be greeted by Bobby.
"We saw what happened. I mean, well..." he rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure how to continue, "we saw her fall. We're so sorry. We never meant for her to get injured." 'Injured' had to be the understatement of the century. To be gouged through and through was not 'injured'.
Charles smiled softly, shakily. Erik couldn't even look at him. "I know. None of this is your fault."
They continued on, now coming to the place where Kitty waited. They took their places around the stone slab, which acted as a bed of sorts when Kitty sent Bishop's consciousness back in time. She explained how she sent him back in time a few days to warn them about a Sentinel attack, so that they would be able to escape before things got too bad. Last time had been a little too close for comfort. Last time had cost them Evangeline and Peter.
"We have a situation." Charles explained. "The idea for the Sentinels came from Dr. Trask in the early seventies. The idea was originally disregarded as mutants were considered citizens, but after Mystique assassinated Trask, they captured her and created the Sentinels of today using her DNA."
Kitty looked at Charles uncertainly. "What exactly are we proposing here?"
"We need to go back in time and stop Mystique from assassinating Trask, therefore preventing the government from getting their hands on her DNA and evolving the Sentinels into the killing machines that they've become today." He continued.
"Professor..." Kitty trailed off, "I've only sent people back a few days, weeks at the most. We're... We're talking about fifty years." She looked between the four of them. "The strain... it will destroy you. I can't do it... not in good conscience."
Images flashed behind Logan's eyes - the wedding photo, the three children whose mother and father would never be coming home. It was then that he stepped forward, offering, "What if... what if the one you send back can put himself back together as fast as he's broken apart?"
"Logan..." Storm trailed off, but he raised a hand, silencing her.
After some period of hesitation, Kitty motioned for Logan to take his position on the stone slab. She explained to him the dangers of the situation, including the need for him to remain calm throughout - if he became agitated or excited at any point during the mission, she might lose his consciousness between the past and present. Just before she was about to begin, however, Charles made his way over to Logan and handed him something.
"You need to take this with you. It will be of great assistance when you find me." Charles said. "I was a very different man, then. You'll have to lead me, guide me, be patient with me." He patted the object, which he had stuffed into the chest pocket of Logan's uniform. "And if all else fails, remember: love conquers all."
"You'll need me as well. Both of us will need to work together, at a time when we couldn't have been further apart." Erik said. It was the first thing he'd said since Charles broke the news to him. "And, if all else fails... love."
Logan looked between the two of them, confused. "Who the hell am I supposed to get to fall in love? I'm not some fucking matchmaker!"
Charles and Erik shared a glance, then, "Two people that could barely stand to share the same air supply." Charles answered.
"I still don't..." Logan trailed off.
Charles laughed wryly, brokenly. "She'll definitely take some convincing. In 1973, she was still convinced that she was going to marry Hank." This caused a universal round of laughter, as if this was an incredibly ludicrous idea.
"And he was head over heels for Crystal." He said with some measure of disgust, as if he had nothing but distaste for this girl. "Please, getting rid of that skank will be an added bonus. Once she's out of the way, things will run much more smoothly."
"Who the hell are you guys talking about?" Logan pressed.
Erik was the one who answered this time around, "Oh, you'll see. But trust me when I say that it may be your only option. It won't win you any friends, but it was bound to happen eventually, so why not trigger it sooner rather than later?"
Before he could ask again, Kitty lowered him down onto the bed and placed a hand on either side of his head. She warned him that it would sting a little, before beginning - 'sting' turned out to be a bit of an understatement. Pain charged through his body and he lurched forward, almost breaking out of her hold. Easing him back down, he eventually stilled. Total silence filled the room as Logan slipped back into the past.
Erik's hand fell heavily on Charles' shoulder, and he offered, "He's going to fix this. You'll have your daughter back. Nyx, Apolline, and Amadeo will have their mother back." But did he really believe that? Did he really believe that everything could be fixed by the actions of one man?
They had to believe it. To believe anything else would to be accepting defeat when defeat simply wasn't an option.
"And you'll have your son back." Charles squeezed his eyes closed. "I just hope he knows what he's walking into."
