Iris threw the door open and froze.

Shaw and Erik were standing opposite each other, but she barely registered Erik. Seeing Shaw again in the flesh sent a chill down her spine, and she suddenly was overwhelmed with a sick feeling.

Shaw's eyes fell on her, and his lips seemed to twitch into a smile. He studied her slowly and deliberately before raising an eyebrow.

"Iris Miracle. What a beautiful woman you have become."

Iris felt like she was choking on air, and she could very faintly hear Charles' voice in her head talking to her, but she couldn't hear it enough to register what he was saying.

"I was just telling Erik about everything I did for him. About how I unlocked his power in such an exceptional way. In the same way that I did for you."

Iris shook her head, "You did nothing for me. You didn't make me stronger. You destroyed my life."

Shaw narrowed his eyes, "I enriched your life, Iris. I showed you your powers like you had never known them to exist before. You were so powerful, my goddess."

She frowned in confusion, wondering how she could have been so powerful compared to Erik, who could move metal without even looking at it.

"Ah," Shaw's grin widened, "You don't remember. It's all a blur to you, isn't it? Your time with me."

Iris stepped forwards slowly, "I would rather not recall it."

Shaw reached his hand out slowly and brushed Iris' cheek. She tried not to flinch- she did not want to appear weak to the man who had ruined her life and killed her parents.

"Such beauty," Shaw murmured, his eyes locked with hers. She gulped as he smiled, "You could be by my side, Iris. You and I could fight this together."

"Why would I want to do that?" She hissed, causing Shaw's smile to widen. His eyes met hers, and she felt his thumb brush over her lower lip.

"Because fate has brought us back together. And you are the most powerful mutant I have ever encountered. If you were to fight by my side... we would be invincible, Iris."

Her hand flew up and gripped his wrist before she shoved him backwards, "I would rather die."

The light in Shaw's eyes seemed to fade, and with a flick of the wrist he threw her back against one of the mirrors on the wall. It shattered as she fell against it, and she suddenly became aware of Charles in her mind- much louder than before. She barely registered what he was saying as she tried to push herself up into a standing position.

Shaw stared at her pitifully before turning to Erik, "Erik, this is our time. Our age. We are the future of the human race. You and me, son. This world could be ours."

Erik used metal beams to block Shaw from moving closer to him, and muttered, "Everything you did made me stronger. Made me the weapon I am today. It's the truth, I've known it all along. You are my creator."

He held his hand out and lifted Shaw's helmet from his head, shouting, "Now Charles!"

Iris watched as Shaw froze, and she pushed herself up from the floor, "Come on, Erik. Erik?"

He wasn't responding, instead looking at the helmet with interest. Her heart stopped.

"Erik." She whispered, "No. No. God, Erik. I thought we were a team?"

"Sorry Charles," He murmured, not even glancing in Iris' direction as he reached for the helmet and placed it on his head, "It's not that I don't trust you."

Iris stepped forwards, "What are you doing? Erik!"

He turned to her with a smile, "We can avenge our parents. Together."

She stared at him wordlessly for a moment, her expression unreadable, and then she shook her head.

"No. I'm not going to kill a man just because he killed my parents. Two wrongs do not make a right. You're not going to do it either, Erik. Are you? Come on, we can leave the ship and take Shaw with us and he'll get arrested for everything that he's done."

Erik narrowed his eyes at her as if he didn't know who he was anymore, and a metal bar suddenly slammed into her, knocking her backwards against the wall and pinning her there.

"I'm sorry, Iris," He whispered, "But I can't keep on doing everything Charles' way."

Then he turned to face Shaw's still-frozen body, and raised his eyebrows, "If you're in there, I'd like you to know that I agree with every word you said. We are the future. But unfortunately, you killed my mother."

Iris tried to speak, but no words would come out of her mouth. Her throat was dry, and she was too shocked to find anything to say to him.

A small coin lifted above Erik's hand, and he smirked, "This is what we're going to do. I'm going to count to three, and I'm going to move the coin."

"Erik!" Iris finally shouted, "Please! Don't do this!"

"One."

Iris struggled against the metal bar, but it was no use. It was firmly settled where it was, and she couldn't escape.

"Two."

"Please!" She shouted, and Erik glanced her way. His eyes softened for a moment, and she thought that perhaps she had got through to him.

"Three."

She screamed as the coin went through Shaw's skull and came out the other side, dirty and bloody. Her heart stopped in her chest, as the coin fell to the floor, and the scream died in her throat.

"Erik," She whispered, "What have you done?"

"What our parents would have wanted," He murmured, avoiding her gaze. She shook her head, "You clearly don't know me very well at all. My parents never would have wanted that. And I doubt your mother would have done either."

He glanced up at her and met her gaze, and she gulped. Within a short time, Erik had become someone that she felt she no longer recognised.

With a shake of his head, Erik left the room and Shaw's dead body floated behind him. Iris felt the metal bar drop to the floor, but it was a few moments before she actually moved.

She ran out of the submarine onto the beach, where the others were staring at Erik in silence. She stumbled onto the sand and caught sight of Charles.

He tried to say something but decided against it. She knew that he had witnessed exactly what she had just seen in the room.

Despite that, there was something slightly off with his eyes.

"Today our fighting stops!" Erik shouted to everyone on the beach, "Take off your blinders, brothers and sisters. The real enemy is out there. I feel their guns moving in the water, their metal- targeting us. Americans, Soviet, humans. United in their fear of the unknown. The Neanderthal is running scared, my fellow mutants!"

He turned to Charles, "Go ahead, Charles. Tell me I'm wrong."

As if on cue, there was a loud banging noise as tens of missiles came flying towards them on the beach. Erik held his hand up, and the missiles stopped in midair. Slowly, they began to turn around.

"Erik," Charles gulped, "You said yourself, we're the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They're just following orders!"

Erik sighed, "I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again!"

Iris swore as the missiles began to fly back towards the men on the ship, and she watched as Charles tried to tackle him to the ground. A few of them exploded in midair, the others kept going.

Moira raised her gun.

She began to shoot at Erik repetitively and he was deflecting the bullets, protecting himself from being shot. Charles was standing behind him- slightly too close- and Iris watched in horror as one of the deflected bullets sunk into his lower back. She screamed, rushing forwards, as he fell to the floor in agony. Everything seemed to be happening in slow-motion as he fell to the sand, and Iris couldn't get to him fast enough before Erik reached him, taking the bullet out quickly and holding Charles in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," Iris heard him whisper as she slowed down beside them. Charles' eyes were watery, and he was biting his bottom lip as if he were trying to suppress a scream of pain. Her eyes stung.

"Back off!" Erik shouted at her, but she stayed where she was. He turned to Moira.

"You! You did this!"

Iris watched in horror as Moira's dog tag tightened around her neck, strangling her. Iris rushed towards her, trying to pull the tag away from her neck, but it was no use. Erik was stronger than she was.

"Please!" Iris heard Charles mutter, "She didn't do this, Erik. You did."

The dog tag loosened, and Moira doubled over as she tried to regain her breath.

Erik shook his head, "Us turning on each other. It's what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We're brothers, you and I. All of us, together. Protecting each other. We want the same thing."

He sounded desperate, and Iris felt like she was seeing a side to him that she had never seen before. His friendship with Charles was something that he treasured very much, and now he was realising that he was about to lose it.

"My friend," Charles muttered, "I am sorry. But we do not."

Erik's face seemed to harden, and he shifted Charles away from his lap and onto the sand, turning to the others. Iris ran to him quickly, taking hold of his hand to reassure him.

"This society won't accept us," Erik stated, "So we form our own. The humans have played their hand, now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me? No more hiding."

Raven began to move forwards, and Iris felt her heart drop to her stomach. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Raven moved towards Charles instead. She crouched down and held his free hand, and Charles closed his eyes.

"You should go with him. It's what you want."

Iris' eyes stung, at the sight of Charles allowing Raven to leave him, after so many years of trying to tame her.

Raven cocked her head, "You promised me you'd never read my mind."

"I know," Charles' eyes were shining with tears, "I promised you a great many things, I'm afraid."

Slowly, he kissed her hand, and she reached down and kissed his forehead. She glanced up at Iris and nodded to her, "Look after him."

Iris nodded in reply but said nothing- all words seemed to have escaped her. Faintly, she was aware that she was in shock. She had seen things she'd never expected to see- things she hadn't wanted to see. She could barely register them all in her mind.

Raven walked up to Erik and held his hand. Azazel, Angel and Riptide were also holding onto each other in a line. Iris felt her heart twist as her eyes locked with Erik's and he reached his free hand out.

"Join us, Iris," His voice was low, "You're much more powerful than you know. With us, you can embrace it."

Slowly, she shook her head, "What do you mean? I-" She cleared her throat, "No, Erik."

He narrowed his eyes, "When you realise how powerful you are, you'll turn to us, Iris. You can't hide behind Charles forever."

"Goodbye, Erik," She dropped her head as they vanished, her eyes falling on Charles' tear-stricken face. She reached a hand out and stroked his cheek gently.

"Charles," She whispered, her fingers shaking, "Are you alright? Don't move. We'll get you out of here."

"I won't," Charles froze suddenly, "Actually, I... I can't... I can't feel my legs."

Iris felt her heart stop, and something rose up in her throat. Charles' eyes widened in panic, and he shook his head.

"I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs."