Iris leant against the wall, staring out at the field before her and taking a deep breath. She could feel that the pain had eased slightly, but she had told Charles that she didn't feel up to doing any training. She felt tired, and she was scared that she was going to overwork herself.

"Given up already?"

Iris turned her head slightly to glance at Erik, who was now standing behind her and leaning against the wall. She shook her head slowly.

"I don't want to strain my power too much- I haven't used it in years."

Erik hesitated for a moment, "Charles told me about your parents."

Iris spun to face him, feeling her eyes sting, "That was in the past."

"Shaw treated us both the same way. He made us into monsters. You must hate him for that."

Iris nodded, "I do... and that's why I'm fighting with everyone. Because we need to stop him from committing such horrible things."

Erik shook his head, "Iris, you don't understand... your attack on him- it needs to be more direct. This isn't about the greater good, this is about revenge. Revenge for what he did to you and your family."

She glanced away, not wanting Erik to be able to read her expression, "Two wrongs don't make a right, Erik. I can't just go charging in and kill him. Besides, my power is hardly very strong. I don't understand why he used me."

Erik sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Iris, what did Charles tell you when he first met you? He said you lit up like a beacon. Now- correct me if I'm wrong- by I'm very sure that this means you're extremely powerful. Whatever it is that you can do... if there's something else within you that's deeply rooted... you can use your hatred for Shaw to unlock it."

The scene around them briefly flickered to an image of a small cell with a much younger, whimpering Iris huddled in the corner. It faded, and Iris shook her head. She felt like she couldn't control her power- images kept flickering up around her that she couldn't seem to stop.

"That's not the way I want to fight," She finally managed weakly.

"What kind of warrior are you if you aren't willing to fully unlock your powers?" Erik whispered, and Iris closed her eyes. She didn't say another word as she walked away from Erik and back towards the house in silence.

*

"Charles," Iris called out, walking into the lab and finding him there with Hank and Raven, looking through a microscope. His head shot up and he smiled.

"Iris! What's the matter?"

Iris straightened up, "I think I'm ready to start practising again."

His eyes widened with worry, "Are you sure? It was a lot of strain-"

"There might be more that has to be discovered, and we barely know how many days we have left before the fight." She stated.

Charles hesitated and then shrugged, "If you're sure-"

"Very," Iris smiled, reaching out and tugging at his hand, "Shall we?"

Hank and Raven shared a brief look and smiled at each other as Iris and Charles walked out.

"So what sparked this sudden determination?" Charles asked Iris once they were out of the room.

"Nothing," She muttered quietly, "I just felt like I should have regular practise... you know?"

The expression on Charles' face suggested that he didn't believe her, but he didn't say anything more.

"There's a way that I can use this as a weapon," Iris blurted out, "And it's worth a try. It just... it depends on whether or not you mind me delving into your worst memories..."

Charles hesitated, and then gave her a small smile, "I trust you."

Iris longed to reach out and rest her hand against her cheek, but she refrained from doing so.

"Okay," She whispered, leading him into the training room, "Think of your worst memory."

Charles nodded, "Got it."

"I'm sorry," Iris spoke softly before she took a deep breath and entered his mind. She could feel the memory like she had done the day before, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment as she created the illusion around her.

The room changed to show a young boy of no older than twelve years old, sprinting away from a crowd of people and into an empty room. He was screaming and shouting, covering his ears with his hands.

"Stop it! Stop talking!" The boy shouted, tears streaming down his face as he began to whimper to himself, "I can feel it all! I can feel everybody's pain!"

An adult- possibly a teacher- walked in slowly, closing the door softly behind them. The boy screamed, "Get out! Stop saying that I'm weird! Stop everyone from saying that!"

"I didn't-" The teacher began, but the boy cut her off, "GET OUT!"

She nodded, turning quickly and leaving the room as the boy burst into uncontrollable tears, rocking back and forth and trying to stop hearing the voices.

The room darkened as the illusion faded, and it took Iris a moment to realise that she had tears running down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly and looked at Charles, "I'm sorry- I didn't..."

Charles shook his head, taking hold of Iris' hand, "I saw your worst memory... it's only fair that you see mine."

"I'm sorry. That was horrible, Charles. I didn't expect that."

"So," Charles gulped, "That's how you can use it as a weapon."

"It certainly disorientates the enemy, and I can't help but think that showing your enemy their worst memory is certainly going to have some form of emotional impact on them. It could work, you know. We could beat Shaw," Iris murmured quietly.

Charles suddenly shook his head, "Iris... why the sudden determination to beat Shaw? Who have you been speaking to?"

When she didn't answer, he sighed, "Erik. You shouldn't let his ideas get into your mind! He wants pure revenge, and will seek it no matter the cost. Iris, you can't turn into Erik."

"I'm not going to!" Iris protested, "But he killed my parents. I at least need to avenge them."

"That's not the way things work, Iris. You have to see- if you do that, you're turning into exactly what your parents didn't want, and exactly what Shaw wanted." Charles whispered.

Iris felt herself pulling away from Charles before she knew what she was doing, and she started to walk away from him.

"I just..." She gulped, "I don't want to be weak. I want to be strong like everyone else on our side. But I feel like the weakest of all of us."

Charles caught her wrist, turning her to face him, "Iris Miracle- you're not weak. You can throw a punch and you can use this amazing power for both good and evil- it just depends what you decide. I believe in you. I see the goodness in your heart, and I see how scared you are of what you could become. That's okay. That memory I just showed you? I was terrified then. I thought that I was going crazy, and when I finally realised what was truly going on I was scared that I was going to be used by the government as a weapon. It sounds ridiculous, but it was honestly how I felt. And I think that you feel a similar way, don't you?"

Iris nodded weakly, leaning against Charles' shoulder. After a moment, she whispered, "Thank you for everything."

She turned her head to face his and kissed him gently, "You are the kindest person that I have ever met, Charles Xavier."

Charles smiled against her lips, "You truly are a miracle, Iris."

The door suddenly burst open, and Alex ran in, "You need to watch the news. Kennedy's live."

Iris and Charles jerked apart, scrambling up quickly as they followed Alex out of the training room and into the living room. Normally, Iris would have been embarrassed at Alex seeing her and Charles like that, but Kennedy's speech on television was far more important.

She sat down on the arm of Charles' chair and they watched the television as Kennedy laid out the conditions for Russia's delivery of the missiles. Iris felt Charles' hand wrap around her own reassuringly, and she squeezed his gratefully.

Once Kennedy's speech was over, Moira turned the television off silently.

"That's where we're going to find Shaw," Erik muttered bitterly.

Alex frowned, "How do you know?"

Iris was thinking the same thing as she watched the others in the room wordlessly. Charles cleared his throat, "Two super powers facing off, and he wants to start World War Three. He won't leave anything to chance."

"So much for diplomacy," Erik grumbled, turning to face everyone else, "I suggest you all get a good night's sleep."

Iris felt her heart drop in her chest. Any happiness she had felt ten minutes before in the training room with Charles seemed long-forgotten.

*

Iris sat up with a gasp, her eyes flying open. She clutched at the sheets desperately, trying to control her breathing.

She'd been dreaming about her parents' deaths, and it had been terrifying enough to wake her up. She inhaled deeply and reached over for the glass of water on her bedside table, knocking it back quickly. She could already feel her trembling hands beginning to steady themselves.

She felt a sick feeling in her stomach at the thought of fighting Shaw tomorrow. She didn't want to face him again. The thought of seeing him again caused bile to rise up in her throat.

Something else that evoked the same reaction in Iris was the thought of anything happening to the others- especially Charles.

Iris pushed herself out of bed and towards the door as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake up anyone else in the house. She needed a distraction for herself, otherwise she would spend all night staring at the ceiling and dreading the day to come.

She quietly padded into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see if there was any food to eat. She wasn't even hungry, but she knew that it would serve as a useful distraction.

"Midnight snacks?"

Iris spun around and her gaze fell on Charles standing there with an amused smile on his face. She suddenly became aware of how little she was wearing- only a loose t-shirt and some underwear.

"I needed a distraction," Iris muttered, clearing her throat as the fridge door fell shut behind her, "I can't sleep properly."

"Why is that?" Charles asked, stepping towards her slowly.

Iris sighed, "Just... nightmares. You know. Why are you up so late?"

He smirked, "I heard you getting up, even though you were so determined not to wake anyone up."

The air in the kitchen felt very still as the two of them studied each other silently. Iris knew that Charles wanted to ask about her nightmares, but was unlikely to for fear of upsetting her.

"Charles," Iris began to say, although she didn't quite know what she wanted to say to him.

Suddenly, the two of them seemed to rush forwards at the same time into each other's arms. Their lips collided, and Iris felt a thrill run down her spine. Her hands ran through his hair, while his ran down her back.

"Is this a good enough distraction?" Charles murmured in her ear, and she giggled as she leant backwards for a moment.

"Absolutely perfect."

She kissed him again, revelling the feeling of his lips against her own and the way his body fit against hers perfectly.

Around them, the kitchen seemed to fade away, and they were standing below trees in a forest where the sun's rays caught on the leaves and sent dancing shadows across the floor. The two of them glanced up in wonder and began to laugh at the sight of the forest. Charles grabbed both of Iris' cheeks and beamed at her.

"You're wonderful, did you know that?"

Softly, gently, he brought his lips down against hers once again. Iris wondered how a kiss could be so gentle yet so intense.

She staggered backwards, and grabbed onto his hand, "Come on."

To the two of them, it looked as though they were running through a forest hand in hand. To anyone else who may have been watching them that night, they were running in and out of the shadows through the dark mansion.

Iris pulled Charles down towards her on the floor, and kissed him again softly.

The two of them had so much that they wanted to say to each other, but no idea how to say it. Instead, all they could do was communicate through their actions.

Charles pushed Iris down to the floor, his mouth covering hers as his fingers ran along her skin. She felt a soft rug beneath her where the forest floor appeared to be, but the image did not flicker or fade.

"Thank you," She suddenly whispered against his lips, "For everything."

Charles paused for a moment, "No, Iris. Thank you. You truly are a miracle."

She giggled, and he shushed her quietly, "We can't be waking up the whole house now, can we?"

She didn't answer, instead pulling him down towards her by the collar of his shirt and allowing herself to forget everything else except Charles.