A Soul Divided: Epilogue

by Kerri

Charlotte groaned, raising one hand to her head. Damn, what a hangover. "Logan?" she whispered.

A hand touched her face. She opened her eyes. "Logan?"

"Charlotte, darlin', is that you? Really you?" He looked like her Logan, sounded like him. Please, let it be him.

She felt a weight on her neck, bringing her hands to it. "What's this?" she croaked. Was that her voice? Couldn't be.

Hank's face came into view. No scar. "An inhibitor collar, my dear." He started to remove it.

"Not yet," Logan told him. "Get Jeannie in here."

"Just relax," Jean told her, "and let me inside your mind shields." She'd been there before, she would know if this was their Charlotte.

After a few tense minutes, she let go of the link. "It's her." she confirmed to Logan and the rest of the team up in the control room. "Our Charlotte."

Hank unbuckled the collar. She felt a rush through her head, the dizziness causing her head to spin. "How long?" she asked. He handed her a cup of water.

"Three days," Hank said. He peered into her eyes, ran his hands over her head.

"It was more than two weeks there," she told him. "A very long two weeks."

"It's good to have you back," he smiled at her before Logan pushed him away to wrap her in his arms and carry her out of the Danger Room.

After a hot shower, during which Logan still wouldn't let her out of his sight, Charlotte sat in Xavier's study, the team surrounding them. She hugged each one, telling them how glad she was to be back, before settling in next to Logan, who didn't look like he was going to let her out of his reach anytime in the near future.

"It was quite an experience, one I don't want to repeat anytime soon," she told them. "The mansion was here, sort of, but you were dead, Charles, and Magnus led the team. So many unhappy people and they all hated me. Mostly due to Blade. How did you figure out she wasn't me?"

"She got fresh wi' Gambit," Logan told her, "an' Rogue took a swing at her wi'out gloves. Absorbed her mem'ries."

Charlotte looked over at Rogue, sitting on the arm of Gambit's chair. He was back to normal, thank the gods of small pets, little children and charming Cajun thieves. Two eyes, count 'em, no long hair or claims of marriage. "I'm so sorry," she told them.

"Dat's okay, chere," his eyes twinkled. "Gambit know you can' resist his charm." He could joke about it now but at the time she'd scared the hell out of him.

"So, while this..Blade?.. was unconscious, Beast placed an inhibitor collar on her," Xavier picked up the story. "We were afraid to try and reverse the process, not knowing if you would live through it or not, though we were running computer scenarios on the feasibility of recreating the accident. We kept her in the Danger Room so if you tried to get back, she would still be in position."

She thought of the other Remy, removing the pendant from her counterpart. She hoped that whatever happened, he could live the consequences.

"I did, so let's not think about it," she told them. She looked around at their faces, so dear to her, no matter she'd wanted to kill some of them a time or two. She tightened her grip on her Logan's hand. "I am so glad to be home."

End.

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