Iris stood at the foot at of the stairs leading to the plane as they waved goodbye to Peter. She turned to the others, "Well, I should go. Whatever... this is, I feel like I've been caught up in something I really shouldn't be. I don't think I should be here."

"Hey," Logan frowned at her, "Iris, I don't know if I'm getting the wrong signals here, but you see, like you're drawn to everything that's going on. Where's the harm in you staying with us a little while longer? You've been a great help, and I'm sure everyone would be grateful if you carried on helping us out."

"But..." Iris hesitated, touched by Logan's words, "I'm not like the rest of you. What help can I offer?"

"You've got a mean punch," Logan snorted, "And you're a human who supports mutants in a time when we need it. I think you're worth more than you believe."

Her gaze flickered to Charles, who was watching her intently. When their eyes met, he looked away, but she couldn't ignore the feeling that passed between them. She was drawn to Charles for some reason that she couldn't quite understand, despite his initial coldness towards her. She glanced back over at Logan who was studying her.

"Okay. Looks like you're stuck with me," She murmured, and Logan's mouth quirked up at the corners.

They all moved towards the plane, and as Iris passed the cockpit Hank beamed at her. She smiled back, but when she turned her head her eyes fell on Erik, the man that they'd released from the Pentagon. He was watching her with a raised eyebrow, as if attempting to figure her out.

She frowned at him for a second, her brain lingering on his face as if she recognised him from somewhere.

"You okay?" Logan appeared behind Iris, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. She nodded quickly and broke eye contact with Erik as she moved further down the plane. She and Logan sat down opposite each other, which comforted her. Logan's support throughout his whole extremely odd situation made her feel like she belonged much more.

She watched as Charles sat down on a seat on his own, and the moment the plane took off the air became tense. It was clear that Charles and Erik were not friends, although she didn't know why. All they were doing was staring at each other sullenly, waiting for the other to speak first.

Erik made the first move.

"How did you lose them?"

Iris frowned in confusion, straightening up so she could see Charles more clearly. His expression had darkened.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA." He replied quietly.

Erik seemed shocked, "You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?"

Something clicked into place, and suddenly Iris understood. Whatever Charles' powers had been were now lost because the use of his legs was more important to him. Her heart tightened.

"I sacrificed my power so I could slee..." Charles shook his head, "What do you know about it?"

"I've lost my fair share," Erik hissed.

Charles laughed coldly, "Dry your eyes Erik, it doesn't justify what you've done."

"You have no idea what I've done."

"I know that you took the things that mean the most to me, and forced me to sacrifice something I cared for so dearly." Charles' voice sounded thick with tears.

"Maybe you should have fought harder for them," Erik whispered, "And whatever you did to her- you could have changed that. Whether it was for your concern about her safety or your worry that she would run off with someone more powerful and more willing to let her use her powers to the extreme- you could have done something different."

Logan's eyes darted to Iris and she caught his eye for a moment. Who was Erik talking about?

"If you want to fight, Erik, I'll give you a fight!" Charles shouted, standing up with clenched fists.

"Sit down!" Logan muttered, glancing at Iris again.

"Let him come," Erik seemed overconfident, ready for a fight.

Charles suddenly lunged forwards, grabbing onto Erik's collar and shouting, "You abandoned me! You took Raven away and you abandoned me, with the threat that someone else I cared about was also going to leave! You understood from Shaw exactly what her powers were and you were willing to entice her away and make her more powerful than she already was. You left me to deal with that threat hanging over my head alone!"

Erik closed his eyes, "Angel, Azazel, Emma, Banshee."

Charles' grip seemed to loosen as he listened to Erik.

"Mutant brothers and sisters, all dead!" Erik shouted, "Countless others, experimented on, butchered!"

The plane jolted as the metal began to change shape, and Iris clutched onto her seat. Altitude was being lost as the plane descended.

"Where were you, Charles? We were supposed to protect them! Where were you when your own people needed you? Hiding! You and Hank, pretending to be something you're not! Only making the attempt to protect the one person that you cared about, and she doesn't even know that you've done it." Erik hissed.

Charles fell backwards as he lost his balance, wincing as several glasses fell to the floor and shattered.

Hank turned around from the pilot's seat, "Erik!"

"You abandoned us all," Erik whispered, his anger fading away as the plane began to gain altitude again and level itself out again. Iris loosened her grip on the chair and watched as Charles stormed away from Erik and into the cabin, shutting the door behind him.

Iris stared after him in silence, wondering who the mystery woman was that he and Erik had been alluding to. She wondered where the woman was now, and what on earth had happened to her as she leant against the window and drifted into a fitful sleep.

*

Erik and Charles were sitting opposite each other in silence. They had discussed Raven, had discussed why Erik had left, and now there was only one thing for Erik to bring up.

"What happened to Iris?"

Charles glanced over, but she was fast asleep, her brows knitted together in confusion as she slept. He couldn't help the protective feeling that overcame him as he watched her for a moment. He shook his head, turning back to Erik.

"Her powers were more powerful than we knew. The government would have been very interested in testing on her while you wanted her to join the brotherhood. Her mutation was so powerful, I... I feared what it would do to her. I could see her going one of two ways- being tested on by scientists or becoming blinded by power and following in your footsteps." Charles hesitated. He didn't want to say the next part. He didn't want to admit what he had done, because he knew how Erik would react.

"I wiped her memory of her powers, of us... of Shaw..." He shook his head, "She begged me not to, but I had to. I had to keep her safe."

To his surprise, Erik's eyes seemed to soften slightly, "You cared about her a lot."

"I still do. That's the problem." Charles whispered, "She came knocking on our door yesterday, telling us that she was researching mutations and had found the address of the house inside one of her files. I hadn't realised... how painful it would be to see her again. So much has changed since I last saw her, and if she had her memories she would hate the person that I have turned into, I'm sure."

"She wouldn't," Erik shook his head, "You had an extremely powerful bond, and I reckon that she would have been willing to go through hell with you. She cared about you that much. But when you give her the memories back, she'll be furious, I can guarantee you that."

Charles closed his eyes, "With my powers gone, I can never restore them."

Erik frowned, "Shouldn't that be the motivation for you to get your powers back?"

Charles seemed to snap, "I made my decisions ten years ago, Erik, when you left me. You cannot possibly criticise me and attempt to advise me on my choices because you were never there in the first place to stop me from making all of these bloody mistakes. Yes, I know what I've done. Yes, I regret it. But Iris is happy now- I don't want to put her life in danger again."

Erik shook his head. Charles could see a glint already forming in his eye, and it sickened Charles to consider just what kind of plan his old friend was cooking up.

"She might just be powerful enough to re-awaken the memories herself. Her power allows her to show other people their memories. She might just be able to show herself those memories, if they can be unlocked from somewhere in her mind."

Charles sighed, "You're forgetting the other part. The power that allows her to transport other people to the past. It's dangerous. She could do it to herself by accident without even realising it."

Erik smirked, "She hasn't done it yet."

Charles could picture what would happen if she did it by accident. If she transported herself to her own past and changed everything, would the world get worse?

"Stop putting stupid ideas in my head, Erik. I am sick of your mind games. We're here together for a purpose- and that's to stop Raven from shooting Trask. Don't try anything else. In a few days time, when this is all over, Iris can go home with some new aspects of mutations to research, and everything will be back to normal. We can even send you back to stay at the Pentagon, if you so desire." Charles hissed, turning away from Erik.

Erik stood up, with a cold expression, "You love her. But you won't even allow her to have her happiest memories back."

And then he was gone, walking to the other end of the plane without turning back. Charles glanced over at Iris' sweet face and creased eyebrows. He desperately didn't want to listen to Erik, but there was something about his words which were so startlingly true, he wasn't sure if he could ignore them.