chapter eleven • 11
↠ ↠ ↠

"you abandoned me,"

•••

They arrived at the airport, Logan and Erik were quick to get onto the plane after bidding Peter a farewell. They all thanked Peter because he saved their lives today. Charles felt a bit guilty for not being able to stop the guards and continuously thanked Peter over and over again.

"Peter, thank you very, very much," Charles smiled. "You take care."

Peter and Charles shook hands. "Yeah, I saw your flight plan. Why are you going to Paris?" He asked.

Charles was slightly taken aback, and looked at Hank. Before smiling at him again. "Thank you, Peter." Charles and Hank started to head off into the plane. "Oh, do me a favour and return it for me," Charles threw his car keys at Peter who caught them.

"Okay," Peter nodded.

"And Peter? Take it slow," Charles smiled as he walked into the plane with Hank trailing after him.

Natalie turned to Peter and smiled.

"Mind if I take your number?" He asked, almost innocently.

Natalie showed him her hand, her engagement ring was still there, she smiled. He whined. "We could be friends?" He grinned.

Natalie rolled her eyes with a laugh and took out a piece of paper from her pocket and a pen. She wrote down her number and then gave it to him.

He held his hand out and gave her a piece of paper. "That's mine," Natalie looked at the number. "You call me, when you're ready,"

She chuckled. "I'll make sure I do."

Natalie smiled and then walked into the plane. She took a seat near Logan and looked out of the window as Peter got into the car and sped off. Logan briefly looked over at Natalie and smiled. She nodded at him.

•••

The airplane ride was awkward for the first twenty minutes. Logan was minding his own business, Erik was spread out on the lounge, and Charles kept glaring at Erik. Natalie was reading a magazine, and had a glass of champagne. She kept glancing down at her ring, thinking of Alex.

"How did you lose them?" Erik spoke. He was talking to Charles, Natalie glanced over at them.

"The treatment for my spine effects my DNA," Charles replied easily.

"You sacrificed your power so you could walk?" Erik couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Natalie shoulders stiffened as she remembered the nights where Charles would wake up screaming in agony and pain. "I sacrificed my power so that I could sle...." Charles stopped himself and sighed. "What do you know about it?"

"I lost my fair share," Erik said through gritted teeth.

"Hah, dry your eyes, Erik! Doesn't justify what you've done," Charles shook his head.

"You have no idea what I've done," Erik said.

"I know that you took some of the things that mean most to me," Charles' voice broke mid-sentence.

"Well maybe you should have fought harder for them," Erik replied.

"Erik!" Natalie whipped her head around.

"Natalie," She looked over at Logan and he gestured for her to go over to him, so she did.

"Do you want to fight, Erik? I will give you a fight," Charles yelled as he got up.

"Sit down!" Logan warned, knowing they need to get along for them to complete the mission.

"Let him come," Erik stood up and held his hand out to them.

Charles got up and grabbed onto Erik's collar on his shirt. "You abandoned me! You took her away and you abandoned me! Abandoned us!" Charles yelled in his face.

"Angel, Azazel, Emma, Banshee," the planes began to shake as Erik began to lose control. Natalie's heart clenched as she realised one of her friends were dead. "Our mutant brothers and sisters...all dead!" The plane suddenly dipped forward and Natalie fell onto Logan. "Captured, experimented on, butchered. Where were you, Charles?"

Charles fell onto the couch and began to fall towards the pilot's seat. "We were supposed to protect them! Where were you when your own people needed you? Hiding. You, Natalie and Hank. Pretending you were something you're not!"

Natalie stood up and tried to steady herself. She held one hand up, using the air around the plane to steady them. Erik took a deep breath and then the plane steadied. "You abandoned us all," Erik said calmer. Natalie collapsed onto the seat besides Logan and sighed in relief. She looked out of the window and saw how close they were to the ocean.

Charles shook his head and then walked towards the pilot's seat, taking a seat besides Hank. "So you were always an asshole," Logan said as he lit up a cigar.

Erik turned around to face him. "I take it we're best buddies in the future."

Logan chuckled. "I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub," Logan smiled.

"How's that work out for you?" Erik asked.

"You're like me," Logan paused for a second. "You're a survivor."

Natalie looked towards the planes floor as Logan took a blow of his cigar. "Erik, you wanna pick all that shit up?" Logan gestured to the floor where there was plates and crap all over it.

•••

Later during the night, Logan sat back in his chair, asleep. Natalie folded her chair out and lied down, trying to get some sleep. Erik walked next to Natalie and placed a blanket over her and brushed hair out of her face. He had always admired her beauty, and her good heart. He smiled softly before then picking up the chess board and walked off.

Natalie gently listened to Erik's and Charles conversation, they were talking about how Erik didn't actually kill the president, he tried to save him. They were almost having a genuine conversation. Natalie smiled and within moments, she drifted off.

•••

They drove around Paris where people were celebrating, having just won the Vietnam War. They made their way towards the main building where the meeting was being taken place. Logan drove up to the parking gates when two guards walked behind them.

They held their hands up at them to stop them, but with a swish of his hand, Erik moved a metal gate that squashed them against a wall. Erik waved his hand again and the parking gates lifted up.

Logan quickly parked the car and they all barrelled out. Without hesitation, they ran into the building and towards where the meeting was being held. 

As soon as they pushed open a set of doors, Raven, in her natural blue form, was crouching on the table with a gun trained at Trask's head.

"Raven, stop!" Charles called out.

Raven looked over and her faced brightened then there was a fire of a gun and Raven collapsed onto the table, her body spazzed out. The guy held the tazer towards her, but it quickly went into him because Erik directed it to him. Charles crouched down to Raven and tried to calm her down. "Charles," Raven breathed a sigh of relief.

"We've come for you, Eric and I, together," Charles smiled.

"I-I never thought I would see you again," Raven's eyes met his.

"I made you a promise a long time ago that I would protect you, and I would never break that promise," Charles smiled. "I'm going to keep you safe, keep you out of their hands,"

The gun then flew out of Raven's grasp and into Erik's hand. "Erik," Raven warned. Erik had the gun trained on Raven.

"Erik, what are you doing?" Natalie asked as she turned to face him. 

"Securing our future," he said. Raven hid behind Charles as Erik trained the gun on her. "Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're out there, we'll never be safe."

"Erik, please," Charles begged.

"Use your powers, Charles. Stop him," Raven said.

"He can't," Erik smirked.

"I can."

Natalie's hair went sky blue and her hands froze, she quickly placed her hand and Erik's arm and started to freeze it. He cried out in pain then all of a sudden Natalie flew across the room.

Erik looked at Natalie as he fired the gun, the bullet following after Raven as she jumped out the window. Charles tried to fight Erik, then Hank started to chase Erik out the window, Natalie got herself up and followed them, using the air to break her fall on the ground.

•••

Logan began to thrash around in his unconscious state. Kitty began to freak out a bit. "He's slipping! He's slipping back!"

Logan's claws came out in a flash and he started slicing everything around him, including Kitty. She cried in agony but still held on.

"Restrain him," Erik ordered at once.

Natalie held her hands out towards Logan and frozen vines wrapped around his body. Kitty began to cry from the slash she took and Bobby was by her side in an instant.

"She's wounded pretty bad," Bobby told us.

Logan relaxed and his claws went back into his hands. "I-I got him b-back," Kitty looked up at Charles and Natalie.

Natalie smiled and nodded at her, only hoping that this was going to work.

•••

Hank tackled Erik before he shot Raven. Natalie walked over to Raven, she looked at her, distraught.

"Go. Go, before he kills you," Natalie begged her. Natalie leant down and touched her leg, temporarily healing it to help her walk. She got up and started to limp away.

Natalie looked up and Hank threw Erik in the fountain. Natalie looked around and there were thousands of people crowding them. She saw Hank started to drown Erik in the water. Then all of a sudden, all the metal started to move towards them. The crowd started to scream and run away. Natalie saw metal try to grab Hank but she quickly flicked her hands and vines broke through the ground and held the metal back, but she missed one and Hank got lifted into the air. Natalie dropped the metal and Erik stood up and looked at her.

Natalie flicked both her hands and vines swarmed behind her.

"Don't do this Erik," Natalie yelled.

He looked intently at her. "I'm sorry, Natalie. You were always my favourite."

She saw a metal rod head her way and she gasped and then it smashed into her head, causing her to collapse. Erik felt immediate regret, but continued to find Raven.

•••