AN: With more time on my hand I was able to get this chapter posted a lot more quickly than usual. Once again, thanks for the support it means a lot to me!
"We did all of that for nothing,"
That was my single thought for the flight back to the States while I nursed the dull ache in the back of my head. I wasn't the only one with this sentiment though, no one had spoken since we had left Paris, all of us too disheartened and ashamed. The plane ride had been been one of gloominess, we had isolated ourselves in different parts of the plane. All of us disappointed by how things had gone, but none more so then Logan. I could feel the anger and frustration emanating from him. We had failed.
He had failed.
Once we touched back down in New York, Logan drove us to Charles' mansion. I sat next to him in the passenger seat, staring out the window and watching the landscape pass by. The trees that lined Graymalkin Lane were a lush green from the summer sun. The car slowly crunched down the long gravel driveway and I let out a silent scoff and shook my head, remembering the promise I made to myself to never come back here.
Finally, we reached the front doors and the sound of the car doors slamming close echoed in the acres surrounding the mansion. I took a deep breath, staring at the unkempt mansion that I once called home. A frown formed on my face as I noticed that mansion looked worst than I remembered. Logan walked up next to me as I scanned my eyes around the property.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked curiously.
I glanced at Logan before looking back at the mansion, "It looks shittier than I remember," I answered, before walking away.
When entering the house I hesitated. It had been a long time since I had been here, and my last memories of the place weren't the best. Not with Charles hiding in his room as I carried my suitcases down the stairs. Hank at my heels begging me not to go, telling me that Charles needed me. I hadn't thought that was right at the time, but now as I looked at the even worse state Charles was in, I wondered if maybe, just maybe, Hank had been right.
But despite the painful memories, this place still felt like home.
It was quiet as we walked through the house, but the moment we entered the foyer Charles suddenly collapsed to the floor, crying out in pain. It was just like in Cuba, the same action.
"What happened?" Logan asked running forward. "Why can't he walk?" Logan asked again, with a mixture of concern and confusion, looked from Charles, to me, then to Hank.
Hank hoisted Charles off of the floor, "He needs his treatment," Hank explained, looking at Logan before turning to me.
"Hank, I can hear them," Charles whimpered putting a hand to his head, as Hank leaned him against a pillar.
I won't lie, my heart ached seeing him in so much discomfort and distress. Hank and I glanced at each other again, dropping my head and my closing my eyes I nodded at Hank.
Hank nodded in return, "It's okay, I'll make it stop, I'll get it," Hank said quickly, and ran up the stairs as fast as he could.
Charles let out another groan of pain, hands over his head in a futile attempt to keep his mind silent.
"Hey, hey, pull yourself together," Logan attempted to reassure, while looking Charles up and down, his eyes filled with what could only be described as distaste. "It's not over yet," he assured.
Charles breathed heavily and I saw a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen in years. It was calculating, as if Charles was scanning Logan over carefully. Charles was using his powers once again.
"You don't believe that," Charles said with a bitter laugh as his voice shook.
Logan's eyes seemed to flash in bewilderment, "How do you know?" Logan asked in surprise.
Charles gave him a cynical smile as his hand trembled by his leg, "As these goes," he motioned to his legs before steadily raising his hand and pointing to his head. "This comes back," He then seemed to physically wince as a fresh wave hit him. "They all come back!" he cried out.
"Look, I'm...I'm still here. She's still out there. But we need your help, Charles. Not like this, I need you. We can't find Raven, not without your powers,"
Charles' eyes snapped to him before shrugging off his jacket and started to roll his sleeve up, when he caught me staring at him.
"No comments from you Claudia? You've been strangely quietly," he commented in a clipped tone.
I shrugged and shook my head, "You didn't listen to me in the past and you're not going to listen to me now. So, why waste my breath," I replied tiredly, crossing my arms over my chest.
"You're not exactly helping Claudia," Logan grumbled.
"What's new?" I retorted, rolling my eyes and took a step towards Charles. "You see, I find it rather difficult to help a stranger," I stated, glancing over at Logan. "This isn't Charles. Not the Charles I met in 1962 anyway. Not the Charles I knew. The Charles I knew, wouldn't give up," I said, lowering my mental barrier.
I'm not him anymore,"
I let out a disbelieving snort. "Of course you are, he's in there somewhere. Otherwise you wouldn't have went along with Logan in the first place," I pointed out.
Charles winced again, his hand meeting his head, "Your b-barrier is down," Charles groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. I knew my thoughts were getting louder, more clear to him. "Stop talking. Stop thinking!" Charles cried, at the onslaught of my cold, harsh mind.
"No," I replied defiantly. "Because you're clearly not getting it!" I strode forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Your Raven, your sister, is in danger of going down a very dark path, that she will never escape and you sit here, more concerned about you're next goddamn hit!" My voice rose, and soon I found myself shouting. "The Charles I knew would never have done this. He would be out there right now, looking for her, trying to bring her home-"
"You left!" Charles suddenly cried, interrupting me. "When you left I didn't know what to do, all I had left of you were memories," He had tears in his eyes as he gazed up at me. "Maybe you were right when you left, maybe I was breaking, but you shattered me." He looked at me imploringly, "How could I put the pieces back together when the most important piece wasn't there?!" he questioned, his voice thick with emotion.
I stared into Charles' watery blue eyes as my hands slid down from his shoulders, letting out a deep sigh. I reached down and grabbed his hand and held it softly with both my hands.
"We can't fix the past," I stated, shaking my head and Charles remained silent as he stared at me. "Nor can we take back what we said," I added, letting out a sigh.
Charles let out a bitter chuckle, "What do we do then?" he asked.
I shrugged with a slightly amused smile on my lips, "We move forward and try fix the future," I suggested, with a nod of my head.
Charles chuckled a small smile on his lips, but it turned sad, "I think we're a little too late for that," he murmured.
"Nonsense," I disagreed, shaking my head once again. "There's no time like the present," I pointed out.
Charles looked down at his legs and I didn't need to be a telepath to know what he was thinking. Charles thought he couldn't do much fighting without his legs. Knowing where his mind drifted, I brought his attention back to me.
"Hey," I called, squeezing his hand. "You never needed your legs to be a fighter Charles, you just needed to be you," I encouraged, my tone gentle, probably the gentlest it has been in awhile.
"I've missed you,"
I was surprised when I heard the whisper in my head. By the look on his face it hadn't been deliberate. But the gentle caress of his mind on mine was a nice reminder of how things used to be. He smiled at me gently, and in that second I thought that maybe there was hope for the future. And a smile of my own quirked up on my lips, but then the sound of Hank quickly coming down the stairs with the injection for Charles ruined the moment.
"I added a little extra cause you missed a dose," Hank informed, as he hesitantly handed Charles a needle full with the translucent yellow serum.
At the sight of it, my stomach turned. I dropped Charles' hand, backing up at the sight of him getting ready to take the injection. I glared at the needle, wanting nothing more than to destroy it. I just wanted to snatch it from his hand and smash it into a million tiny pieces.
"Charles," Logan called sternly.
"I don't know why I bothered," I commented, folding my arms and looking down at Charles in thinly veiled disgust, but was actually disappointment.
But I don't think Charles noticed, I could tell from how he was hyper-focused on the needle and the yellow liquid inside it. His breathing was shallower and his pupils dilated. He turned the syringe around to face his arm, his eyes watering. He was centimeters away from sticking it into his vein when his blue eyes met mine again after hearing what went through my mind.
"Please, Charles, don't give me a reason to walk out that door right now,"
With a sharp inhale of air, Charles pressed his shaking hand against the floor, the syringe between his skin and the wood. I let out a quiet sigh of relief, my mouth twitching into a smile, it was small, but it was there.
Charles looked up at Hank, "Hank do me a favor, would you help me to my study please?" he asked, already starting to sound like his old self.
Hank smiled a little before pulling one of Charles' arms over his shoulder and helping him to the study. The four of us walked to Charles' study as Charles gradually lost the feeling in his legs more and more. Entering the study I went to the closet and opened the door to reveal his wheelchair that he hadn't used in a very long time. Charles stared at it like it was a nightmare.
Hank looked down at him,"Are you sure about this?" Hank asked with concern.
"Absolutely not,"
AN: Hope you enjoyed it!