Broken Promises [Book Two | REMASTERED]

Chapter 17: Hope

        As she watched the two of them locked in their shared gaze, Kat could feel her mind follow Charles into Logan's subconscious mind. Her eyes went unfocused, yet her feet seemed to bring her forward to stand just beside Logan. Carefully, she rested a hand on his shoulder. The three of them follow the timeline forward, until. . .

        

        The room is built like that of a sanctuary, beams of light streaming in through the tinted windows of the temple. There is no real light outside. Charles opens his eyes and sees a stone ceiling, feels the stone beneath his body. It's then that Charles realizes he can feel and move his legs, simple as breathing. Carefully, Charles sits up, looking around the room to take in his surroundings. His eyes first land on two men—both aged by many, one standing and the other by his side with his eyes closed, seated in what appears to be a levitating wheelchair. 

        He knows who they are without having to use his powers. 

        Charles follows their gazes to someone behind him, a young woman seated at the end of the stone table he awoke on in Logan's place—her name is Kitty, and she's wounded. She sits with her hands at the sides of his head, holding him steadily in the past. Next to Kitty is a young man with eyes aged from this war, but he dutifully tends to the slashes on her side. Charles finds his name: Bobby.

        But where is Christiana? Where is Kat?

        Charles looks back to the man in the chair, his eyes still closed to what is occurring around him, though his mind remains open. Charles finds himself pulled towards him, and he knows that what he will find here, he cannot hide from. As he leans down to eye-level with the bald man, he hopes to find answers. Yet just as he pushes forward to connect with his mind, the older man speaks knowingly, "Charles." His eyes open, blue staring back at blue.

        This is the professor Logan seeks, This is the real Professor. 

        "Charles," the younger man echoes back to him, a faux smile twitching on his lips. "So this is what becomes of us?" He glances around, shaking his head as he assessed them all. It is clear they are the only ones aware of this conversation. "Erik was right. Humanity does this to us."

        "Not if we show them a better path," the Professor answers in a hushed whisper. 

        Charles's expression turns to that of surprise, almost in disbelief. "You still believe?"

        The Professor's expression is calm as he answers with firm confidence, "Just because someone stumbles, loses their way, it doesn't mean they're lost forever. Sometimes we all need a little help."

        Charles's eyes tinge red with the sting of new tears before he answers with, "Oh, I'm not the man I was." Again, he shakes his head. "I open my mind, and it almost overwhelms me."

        "You're afraid, and Cerebro knows it."

        Charles grits his teeth, fighting tears with his hands now on the armrests of the Professor's chair, face to face. "All those voices. . ." He looks down, a pained expression on his face. "So much pain. . ."

        "It's not their pain you're afraid of. It's yours, Charles. And as frightening as it may be, that pain will make you stronger. If you allow yourself to feel it—embrace it—it will make you more powerful than you ever imagined."

        His words resonate in Charles as he stares intently into his own eyes, taking in every word.

        "It's the greatest gift we have, to bear their pain without breaking. And it's born from the most human power. Hope."

        And right before Charles's eyes, the Professor shows him an illusion of their own memories. There are children passing by, walking from class to class in their home, their school, full of students learning to embrace themselves and what good they can do. It all ends with an image, like a film rolling. Charles sees himself and Kat, their wedding day. Her beautiful smile, always by his side. . .

        "Please, Charles," the Professor asks as the images fade away, "we all need you to hope again."

        

        Charles gasped as he felt himself ripped from the timeline, letting go only to be brought back to his own physical self. Just the three of them again, back in the past—or their present. It was disorienting for all of them, to say the least. Kat removed her hand from Logan's shoulder while Charles lowered his hands from holding to his temples. Kat could not get the image of her husband's eyes out of her mind. Would she live to see them grow so old?

        "Find what you were looking for?" Logan asked, breaking the silence as he stood up straight. Light flooded in from the circular doorway, the electricity returned thanks to Hank, no doubt. Logan glanced at Kat by his side, nodding to her with concerned eyes. Kat gave a nod back, reassuring she would be okay.

        Hank finally came jogging around the corner from down the corridor before he slowed to walking towards the open doorway. "The power's back on!"

        "Yes," Charles answered, as though finishing a thought. He looked up at Logan, meeting his eyes. "Yes, it is."