AN: I have a very long chapter in store for you all and I hope you like it!
Third POV
"She's the woman that I'm supposed to save?" Logan asked rhetorically, disbelief and annoyance lining his features.
Logan pushed himself up from the well-manicured lawn and dusted himself off, beginning to wonder why were they even bothering to chase after someone who wants to be left alone.
"She certainly has remained true to her name," Erik commented, with a slight chuckle.
"And what is that?" Logan grumbled.
Hank's eyes remained on the backdoor, "Blythe," he answered, remembering that he was the one that gave the name to Claudia.
Logan cracked his neck from side to side, "Do you usually go for the murderous types?" Logan couldn't help but ask.
Charles rubbed a hand against his forehead, "I-I don't understand, Claudia was never one to be so...vindictive," Charles stated, at a loss for words. "She isn't...wasn't like that," He corrected, staring at Logan
As much as he hated to admit it, Charles didn't know what Claudia was like now. And it hurt and frightened him.
"Then you don't know Claudia as well as you think do," Erik chuckled, looking at Charles. Charles almost felt as if Erik was mocking him. "Or maybe she never felt the need to pull out that side of her when she was with you," Erik theorized, with a slight of shrug of his shoulders. "Still, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Erik chuckled.
"I think I would know my ex-fiancee pretty well, thank you very much," Charles snapped.
Erik's eyes widened, "Your ex-fiancee," Erik repeated. "Well now, the plot keeps getting thicker doesn't it?" he mocked.
Charles balled his hand into a fist, but ignored Erik's statement, choosing instead to rush past him to get to the backdoor.
"I have to talk her," Charles insisted, taking another step forward to the backdoor as Hank moved in front of him.
"I really don't think that's a good idea Professor," Hank warned, shaking his head.
"She's not going to hurt me Hank," Charles pointed out.
Erik gave him a look, "The Claudia we knew eleven years ago wouldn't have hurt you," Erik pointed out. "This Claudia now, I'm not so sure," Erik replied, shaking his head as well. "You saw what she did to Logan," he reminded. "And that was her being nice I think," Erik quipped.
"I'm curious, what exactly is her mutation?" Logan questioned, thinking about the purple aura that Claudia produced earlier.
"Claudia, she's an empath, she can manipulates emotions," Charles explained, running a hand through his hair. "She's also telekinetic, that's how she immobilized us when we stepped in the backyard," he added.
"Charles, you are powerless and you want to talk to a woman who has two dangerous mutations and is pissed off at you," Logan stated incredulously.
"Do we want to get Claudia's help or not?" Charles asked, staring at the group.
Charles himself was very unsure about the entire situation, but at this point it was his best option.
~~~x~~~
Claudia's POV
My eyes swept over the room that I currently resided in, the walls around me were a fine plaster with an ornate, white wainscot that were lined with classical styled paintings. The floor was a dark mahogany wood, maintained and polished, partially covered by an intricate Persian rug. Two floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with classic novels stood behind me and a huge, cherry oak desk was ahead of me.
It was a beautiful room, and because of it's beauty I was hoping it would take my mind off of the unwanted visitors that I left in my backyard. I took a swig of brandy, perhaps it would settle my mind, calm me down. I put my glass down and closed my eyes, feeling myself sink down into the cushion. It was all going well until I felt an emotional surge that was not my own. A sigh left my lips out of annoyance, if I had even attempted to open my eyes, I would definitely be rolling them.
"Have you gone deaf?" I asked aloud, sitting in my elegant, leather brass chair, waiting for him to enter my office. "I told you to leave," I finished, opening my eyes as they landed on Charles' figure.
"Claudia listen-"
"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" I asked myself, setting my brandy down. "Almost what, six years now?" I questioned tilting my head down, my eyes narrowing down upon him. "And you have the audacity to come to my home, after all these years for my help," I continued, as Charles squirmed under the borderline malicious intensity that is coming from my eyes. "It's unbelievable, dare I say laughable,"
"I was a fool to let you go," Charles admitted, taking a step closer to the desk. "You were the light in my life,"
"And like all lights you snuffed me out," I retorted, my eyes grating against him. "I hope the drugs, serum, and alcohol were worth it," I sneered.
Charles' frown deepened, his eyes darkening underneath as a wave of sadness washed over me.
"I know I am the very last person you want to see darling-" Charles started.
I slammed my hand against the desk causing Charles to flinch, "I'm not your Darling," I gritted out, narrowing my eyes at him dangerously and leaning forward in my chair.
I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath to regain my composure, I leaned back in my seat and placed my hands in my laps. I opened my eyes to catch Charles' pitying stare.
"But maybe I should be thanking you in a way," I began, interlocking my fingers together. "If it wasn't for your awful treatment that pushed me to leave you, I would have never gotten to travel the world," I informed, staring past Charles and at the pictures lining the tops of my cabinets.
Charles turned around and saw the pictures of my family and I covered one cabinet top while the other cabinet top held pictures of myself and the friends I made while I lived in Paris, Barcelona, and London. Charles' eyes focused on one particular picture, the first one being a photo of a dark skinned man and I in front of the Eiffel Tower. His figure towered over mine with his arms tightly wrapped around my waist, leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek.
Jean. He was handsome. Very handsome.
A mixture of surprise, curiosity and perhaps a little bit of envy fell over me. Frowning, Charles slowly reached out to another frame and lifted it up, the photo inside showed a young, Black girl and I. The two of us grinning brightly at the camera from where we sat on a floor as I styled the young girl's thick curly hair. Anna. She had always smiled, and always laughed.
Charles' eyes bounced from the pictures to myself repeatedly, while I merely looked at him, daring him to ask the question out loud.
"Is that your...Is he...Are they," Charles stuttered.
"Are they my family?" I asked, finishing his question and lifting my brow. "How would you feel if I said yes?" I asked, shifting myself in my chair with one arm baring down on the arm rest. "That I started a family and live happily now," I added, and a sudden stinging pain of sorrow hit me in the head like a brick.
Well, I guess know how he feels.
Charles placed the frame back down onto the cabinet, "So after you gave up on me and left, you went on to live a fairy tale?"
Furious, I pushed off the desk and stood up from my chair, "You didn't give me much of choice Charles!" I exclaimed. "You tossed me aside like trash to make room for your addiction!" I shouted, my brown eyes glaring hard at him vehemently. "I tried Charles, I tried! All my words of comfort, they fell onto deaf ears, you were so determined to turn everything into a negative," I continued, my voice softening now. "I ignored my own pain that I was going through for you, Charles," I breathed out a sad laugh. "You barely seem to notice. You never cared about how I felt, you never asked about how I was feeling and I couldn't take it anymore Charles, I couldn't," I finished, stepping from behind my desk.
"We could have worked through it, like we always did," Charles said, stretching his hand out.
"I didn't want to Charles! It was a vicious cycle of broken promises every time and I couldn't handle it anymore," I responded, shaking my head.
Charles chuckled mirthlessly, "Did you even want our relationship to work Claudia?" he asked.
I looked at him sharply, "Of course I did! But you were such a miserable person to be around," I explained, placing my hands on my hips. "I didn't feel like I was your fiancee anymore, I was just your housekeeper. Keeping your house in order and your emotions," I continued, stepping closer to him. "Do you even remember that night?" I asked, now crossing my arms over my chest. "I had already made up my mind about leaving, but you, you definitely put the nail in the coffin that night," I remembered.
Charles had no response to that, so he said nothing, looking around the room to avoid my stare.
"Here, let me refresh your memory," I offered mockingly.
~~~x~~~
Thunder crashed loudly and the streaks of bright white lightning danced across the night sky. Heavy rain fell from the sky, the water droplets bounced harmlessly off the window panes of Charles' room in front of me. I swirled my glass of red wine aimlessly as I watched raindrop after raindrop race down the window before turning around to move over to the record player nearby. Opening the lid of it, I flipped the player on and the vinyl record already on it begins to spin. Carefully, the needle is placed down on the edge of the record, emitting the rhythmic beat of drumming and the sound of bluesy piano notes.
I lifted my glass to my mouth to take a sip of my Malbec as I stared at Charles while listening to Aretha Franklin's voice.
You're a no good heart breaker
You're a liar and you're a cheat
My lip curled upward as I looked at Charles in utter disdain as he went through his daily routine. First it was him grabbing his old trustworthy belt, then came the needle, next it was the bottle, and lastly the high. Hank managed to create this serum that allowed Charles to walk once more. On one condition, his telepathic powers would be gone for as long as the serum coursed through his veins. Charles didn't even think twice, he took it as soon as he heard of it. And for a moment, I was happy to see that sparkle in Charles' eyes return, to see a smile on Charles' face again. We were happy.
That was until Charles became addicted to it.
My friends keep telling me
That you ain't no good
I took another sip of the wine as my eyes scanned over the messy room, there were several bottles of liquor strewn about, clean and dirty clothes were lain all across the floor, papers littered the desk and other pieces of furniture, and the room smelt of a foul odor that I couldn't exactly identify. This was the awful state of our bedroom, no, Charles' bedroom. Once upon a time we used to share this room together, but now I slept down the hall in the comforts of my old bedroom.
But oh, they don't know
That I'd leave you if I could
And in the center of this eyesore of a bedroom was my lovely fiance, Charles Xavier, who was slumped down into his armchair. I placed my glass down on the table next to me and began spinning my engagement ring around my finger, biting back the urge to scoff at the piece of jewelry. I'm not sure why I still bothered to where this damn ring, Charles hadn't worn his in months. A frown formed on my face as I continued to stare down at the ring, slowly I began to slide the ring off my finger.
"Claudia love," Charles called, startling me and I pushed my ring back down. "Why is there a frown lining that beautiful face of yours?" he questioned, and a soft sardonic chuckle escaped me.
I raised my head to look at him, "When I envisioned what my life would be like at twenty-six...it looked very different than what it is now," I explained, my voice took on a bitter tone. "I thought I would be working at my dream job, own my home, maybe get married," I listed, letting out a humorless laugh.
Charles now stood right in front of me and cupped my face with his hands, "You will get married Claudia, to me remember?" Charles reminded softly. "You're going to become Mrs. Xavier," he announced, as he brushed my hair away from my face and leaned down to kiss me.
The stench of liquor emanating from Charles' breath made me scrunch my nose up and pull back from Charles' attempt of what surely would have been a sloppy kiss. I placed my hands on Charles' chest and slightly pushed him away from me. Charles stared at me, hurt evident in his eyes by my actions. He looked like he didn't understand.
"You honestly think I believe that we're still getting married?" I asked with a scoff. "For the past two months, you've barely been out of this filthy room!" I shouted in frustration, my body so tense I couldn't stop myself from shaking. "Day in and day out it's the same goddamn routine, and I'm so, so sick of it!" I continued, throwing my arm out.
"I-I don't understand, where is this coming from Claudia?" Charles asked confused, taking a small step toward me.
"Ha," I laughed in disbelief. "I'm done Charles!" I shouted, stretching my arms out. "I'm leaving!" I announced, moving past him and towards the door.
"Wha-" Charles stammered, his orbs searching mine frantically. "What do you mean?" he asked again.
Yanking the door open, "It's exactly what I said!" I exclaimed, looking back over to Charles. "I can't keep pretending that we're this happy couple, Charles! I can't! I'm not! So, for my own well being I'm leaving you. If you want to remain on this path to self-destruction then go ahead Charles, be my guest, but I'm not going to be apart of it. I've wasted years of my life trying to help a man who clearly doesn't want it!" I exclaimed, moving into the hallway.
"You know what Claudia? Go ahead, leave! I don't need you, I never did!" Charles shouted back, following behind me. "You're always waiting for an opportunity to point out my flaws, but yet do nothing to help me solve them! he snapped.
I whipped my body around to face him, "That's a lie and you know it!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger at him.
"You're a useless woman! You know maybe I'd be happier if you weren't here Claudia! Charles spat.
I felt hot tears threaten to spill from my eyes and even if it was in no way logical, I didn't want Charles to see me hurt. Silence consumed us, as I stared at Charles not fully believing what he just said to me. Within Charles' room I could still hear the record playing and Aretha Franklin's voice rang out.
Ain't never had a man hurt me so bad
"Oh Aretha, how you right are," I thought.
"Claudia.." Hank called from the bottom of the stairs.
I looked back over to Charles, "That makes two of us," I responded, my voice barely above a whisper.
I reached down to my finger and slid off my ring and threw it at Charles. Giving him a glare of pure loathing, and bumped into Charles' shoulder as I hurried to my room. I burst into my bedroom with anger pulsating from every inch of my being. My suitcases were resting under my bed and I yanked them out before throwing them forcefully on the bed.
I felt Hank's presence at my doorway, but I didn't pay him any attention. Instead, I began pulling out my dresser drawers and rounding up as many of my clothes that I could and throwing them into the suitcases. I, Claudia Walker never threw anything, and least of all my clothes. They were always meticulously folded and carefully placed on top of each other, whether in a suitcase or a wardrobe. But right now they were strewn all over the space of the suitcase.
Every time I slammed a dresser drawer shut, Hank would flinch.
He had fully entered my room now, "Claudia?" Hank called, but I brushed past him to grab more of my belongings from anywhere else in the bedroom. "Claudia?" Hank called again.
I slammed my suitcases shut simultaneously, my hands shaking as I snapped the closures in place. I dragged my suitcases off the bed and stormed out my room and into the hallway before descending the stairs in a hurry. From behind me I could hear fast-paced footfalls that I knew belonged to Hank. Hank reached for my arm in an attempt to stop me, but I ripped the appendage from his grasp easily and kept walking towards the front door. And, Hank took to following me like a pathetic lost puppy when I didn't turn back to look at him.
"Claudia, Claudia, wait! Please, Claudia, just slow down. Please, just listen-" Hank begged.
"To what?" I spun on my heel to face him, due to his inability to stop walking. "You heard what he said! He doesn't need me Hank!" I reminded, my grip tightening on my suitcases.
"Claudia he didn't mean that, you know how he gets when he's had too much drink," Hank excused weakly.
Justification for Charles' actions were completely out of the question.
"And that's supposed to make it okay?" I asked incredulously, glaring at him.
My glare had him wincing back, "That's not what I meant Claudia-" Hank began.
"Save it Hank!" I ordered, cutting him off. "Charles just made my life a hell of a lot easier by leaving him," I said, before walking again towards the front door.
"Claudia, this will destroy him," Hank stated softly from behind me, making me freeze up for a moment.
"Well he should've that before," I replied, my voice is quiet and hurt.
"At least let me drive you to the bus station," Hank offered. "I'm not going to let you walk in the freezing cold rain," Hank continued, and he rested his hand on my shoulder before walking to get the car keys.
Left alone in the hallway, I bent down, dropping my suitcases on the wooden floor and slowly spun around the large, grand space of the Xavier Mansion. The place I came to love, but now loathe. I looked out the window just as thunder cracked outside and the sky darkened further just like my mood. Looking down, I moved over to a mirror that hung in the foyer and gazed into it.
My usually bright brown eyes had dulled and were now pensive, my expression solemn, as if I was having a mental argument with myself. I bit my lip as my brows knitted together, Charles Xavier, he was supposed to be different than the men I had known. But I was wrong, so very, very wrong. I turned my head away from the mirror, clenching my eyes shut briefly. Tears were threatening to spill from my lids again and I almost wanted to scream in frustration.
I wasn't supposed to be crying. I wasn't supposed to be acting pitiful and pathetic. I was strong, dammit! I had undergone things people only experienced in their darkest nightmares. I had been enslaved, broken, and put back together only to be broken again. And here I am crying over some man. Frowning, I tried to stop the onslaught of tears from escaping.
"Ready to go Claudia?" Hank asked, walking up beside me and shrugging on his jacket.
Staring at my reflection, I watched as a few tears drip from my glazed eyes before wiping my face harshly with my hand. Life is too short, too unexpected and I needlessly spent them on a man who proved to be no different the rest. This departure was long overdue if tonight was any indicator of what was in store for me in the future. A hand, coming to rest just below my shoulder blade snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Claudia?"
I looked over at Hank to see that he was holding my black wool coat out for me to put on. I gave a nod in thanks and let him slip the coat over me, not saying anything at first. And with that Hank and I walked to the front door, grabbing my suitcases on the way and left. I refused to look back as the door shut not only inside me, but also behind me, and I clutch my suitcase with shaking hands and walk away from that mansion.
"This whole thing was a mistake," I said softly, finally speaking.
And it was there, at the Xavier Mansion, I left behind a relationship I had invested everything in; all of my hopes and dreams, my future, my love, my care, and my entire being.
~~~x~~~
"So do not say that I gave up on you because I tried my damnedest to save you from yourself, but you refused," I reminded, moving closer to him. "You gave up on yourself Charles. And you preferred to stay broken!" I exclaimed, pointing down at the ground.
"And what?" he scoffed. "You honestly think leaving me helped? You broke me even further Claudia. And you didn't even think about that when you left!"
"I thought of me for once!" I snapped, my breathing heavy and uneven, much too loud in the following silence. "I loved you Charles, but I wasn't going to let you drag me along on your path to self-destruction and misery," I breathed, shaking my head.
Charles warily reached his hand out and to cup my cheek and I made no move to stop him, my brown irises stared into his deep blue ones, their depths full of despair.
"You loved me?" Charles repeated in a hush tone, softly running his thumb up and down my skin. "Don't you mean-" he began.
"No," I interrupted, removing his hand from my face. "There is no love anymore...just resentment," I finished quietly, and he stepped away from me like I physically landed a blow to his stomach. Charles stared at me with a watery gaze. I let out a sigh and moved past him to the door to my office, stopping for a moment. "I'm going to get everyone else from the backyard since you all are determined to not leave. I'll hear you out Charles, but I make no promises," I stated, opening the door.
"You never really answered my question," Charles said softly, and I looked over my shoulder to see Charles' hunched form. "Are they your family?" he asked again.
"No Charles, they aren't," I answered truthfully. "If that gives you any comfort at all," I added, finally leaving the room.
Making my way down the long hallway tears began to brim at my eyes as I simultaneously was hit with a rush of agony and sorrow. I had forgotten how strong Charles' emotions could be. But was it just Charles' emotions and not my own? I could think of only one logical conclusion.
Grief was striking both of us.
~~~x~~~
"Usually I have a no pets policy in my house, but I'll make an exception today for you," I jested, looking over my shoulder at Logan, as we walked through the expansive back foyer with its walls painted gray complementing the dark oak hardwood floors.
Logan growled at me, baring his teeth as Hank's hand paused in its path towards his shoulder after Logan sent him a glare.
"She doesn't really mean that, she's just joking," Hank explained, looking at me. "Right Claudia?" he asked.
I ignored Hank's question and stared at the young man admiring the impressionistic paintings hanging on the walls. He was a bit too close for my taste.
"Touch any of these paintings and I will break your fingers," I threatened, and the silver-haired boy immediately snatched his hand away.
"Claudia, how did you acquire such a lovely home?" Erik questioned, looking around with his brows raised and a soft grin on his lips.
I looked back again at men following behind me, "I asked very nicely for it," I answered, giving him a mischievous grin of my own. I stopped at the entrance to my office, extended my hand out. "Step into my office gentlemen," I instructed, to which Logan rolled his eyes at but still entered along with the rest of the men. As the silver-haired boy went to walk in I placed my hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Adults only, you go wait in the den," I instructed, shooing him away.
"I don't know where-" he began.
"Down the hall and to the right," I stated, before stepping into the room and closing the door behind me.
Walking past Hank, Erik, Charles, and Logan I moved over to my bar cart, in sudden need of a drink. Pouring myself another glass of brandy I sipped from my drink before going back to my desk.
Charles and Erik sat down in the two chairs in front of me, while Hank and Logan opted to stand. I noticed Logan staring at the pictures that Charles was looking at earlier, even going so far to pick up one of them.
"Having fun?" I asked, watching Logan stare at the photo of Jean, Anna, and I. "You do know it's quite rude to snoop around," I added, as Logan turned around to face me. Logan placed the photo back and moved closer to my desk where everyone else was. "So gentlemen, please tell me what it is that is so pressing that you refuse leave my home," I stated, taking a seat into my chair leaning back.
"We need your help to stop Raven," Hank began.
I snorted and turned to look out the arched windows of the room, "Jesus Christ, we're really taking a trip down memory lane aren't we?" I asked rhetorically, looking back over to Hank.
Logan took a step closer to my desk, "I was sent here to find you, so you could help us," Logan explained, and I opened my mouth to respond. "And you need to let me explain," Logan continued cutting me off and I threw my hands up in surrender.
"Who were you sent by?" I asked curiously, lifting my hand up to glance at my manicured nails.
"Charles...and...Erik..." he answered, and I quirked my eyebrow up.
"I don't see how that is possible," I remarked, tilting my head. "Their schedules have been quite full,you know with Erik being heavily guarded 24/7 and Charles doing god knows what at his mansion. I just find it hard to believe that the two of them had time to correspond with each other," I finished, glancing at the two men in front of me.
"Well, it was in the future," Logan corrected. "Fifty years from now," he added.
"The future?" I repeated, struggling to contain the grin that was threatening to appear.
"Yeah, a mutant sent me back in time, here," Logan explained, as I put my hand in front of my mouth to hide my grin.
Laughter bubbled from lips and I threw my head back slightly at the absurdity of all this.
"Oh my god, are you on acid?" I laughed, slapping my hand down on the armrest.
"Claudia," Erik called, making lower my head to see his exasperated expression.
I waved my hand, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, amidst breathless giggles. "Okay, so Charles and Erik sent you from the future to come get me so that we can stop Raven," I restated, looking at Logan for confirmation and he gave a nod. "What exactly are we stopping her from doing?" I questioned, before lifting my glass of brandy to my lips.
"There's this man named Trask, and Raven tries to kill this man. And she succeeds...but in turn they capture her. Using her DNA, the government created Sentinels. They can kill any mutant and they cannot be destroyed by any mutants. And they're going to hunt us down until we're all dead,"
"Sounds like a shitty future," I commented, twisting a strand of hair around my finger while sipping from my glass again.
"We have to stop her, Claudia," Charles pressed, staring at me.
I glanced at Logan, "Say if I were to believe you about all of this," I began, crossing my leg on top of the other. "I'm speculating that in this future I'm not there am I?" I asked, swirling my glass around. "I didn't make it," I added.
"No, you didn't," Logan replied, and I noticed Charles glance downward and Erik tense up and bawl his fist. "Hell, I didn't even know you existed. Charles only mentioned you before I traveled here," Logan added.
"How grand," I stated, letting out humorless chuckle before looking out the window again.
On the exterior I kept a cool expression, but internally I was quite taken aback by what I just told, I needed some time to absorb such a revelation.
"Me, dead? I know death is inevitable...but it seems like my death was premature," I thought.
An eerie silence filled the room and I glanced over to pictures of Jean and Anna, as I stared at the pictures an awful thought crossed my mind.
"What if they don't make it either?" I thought. "But they're human, they should be fine right?"
"Claudia," Charles prompted. "Will you help us?" he asked, with a hopeful expression.
The feeling of unease formed in the pit of my stomach, but I kept it carefully hidden. I lifted my fingers to my temple, leaning my head against them as my gaze shifted from my drink to him.
"No," I answered, which only made my uneasiness grow stronger but I pushed it away.
"W-What?" Charles sputtered.
"Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you?" Logan exclaimed, but I didn't flinch.
"Claudia, you know that's he telling the truth," Erik pointed out. "Why won't you help us?"
"Simple, I live a perfectly, good life now," I answered, with a small shrug. "As I said earlier," I pointed out, before downing the rest of my drink.
"You said the same thing 1962," Erik retorted.
"Yeah, but now I actually have a perfectly good life," I quipped, lifting my hands up. "Lovely home, nice neighborhood, great neighbors," I listed, counting it off with my fingers.
"And I'm sure you gained all of that by asking very nicely," Erik deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "This little utopia you created, it was all through your abilities wasn't it?" Erik questioned.
"I did say that didn't I?" I questioned with a proud grin.
"This whole neighborhood is under your influence?" Hank asked curiously.
"Heavens no," I answered, staring at Hank. "Well, at least not all the time," I admitted, rolling my eyes.
"Jesus Claudia,"
"Sometimes, when I get bored I have them line up at my front porch and give me compliments," I chirped.
"Please tell me she's joking," Logan grumbled.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," Erik replied.
"You're abusing your abilities Claudia!" Charles scolded.
"And you would know all about abusing something wouldn't you?" I asked sarcastically. "I'll be damned before I let a junkie chide me about what's wrong and what's right," I sneered.
"That was a low blow Claudia," Charles commented.
"Well it's a good thing you have feelings in your legs so it could hurt," I quipped.
"After everything we just told you, you don't care that you're going to die?" Logan asked, bringing our focus back to the original point.
"It's a natural part of life," I replied, and Logan rolled his eyes at my statement. "And honestly I still don't see how I would help you all. You have Erik and Charles, albeit Charles is sort of useless without his powers. Nonetheless, the two of them should be enough," I guessed, with a slight shrug.
"They weren't!" Logan snapped. "And that's why I was sent here to get your stubborn ass to help us!" he reminded, moving closer to my desk.
"Even if I wanted to help you all, I couldn't," I began, looking at Charles now. "I'm just a useless woman, right Charles?" I questioned, leaning forward in my chair.
"Claudia I didn't mean it I-"
"I'm sick of your lovers quarrel!" Logan interjected, now directly in front of my desk. "I'm not asking you to do this for Charles and Erik, or even for myself. I'm asking you to do it for that little girl in the picture you keep staring at," he reasoned, pointing behind him towards the cabinet.
Well, well it seems like he was a lot smarter and observant than I'd first thought him to be. I looked down to my lap, reaching inside myself for tranquillity. I lifted my head up to meet the stares of the men who were waiting with bated breaths.
"You know I have to say, the pressure of saving the world is a feeling I don't miss," I commented, with a sigh.
AN: Well, I promised you a long chapter but I didn't see foresee it being this long, hope you enjoyed it!