Layla

CIA Secret Base

March 16, 1962

(Noon)

"Welcome to my facility," Agent Duncan announced as they stepped out of the car and into the light of day. "My mission has been to investigate the application of paranormal powers in military defense." 

The car ride from the docks of DC to Richmond, Virginia had been an uncomfortable experience. Not accounting for Pietro joining them apparently, he had been shuffled between the laps of his parents while the little boy fidgeted in his seat the whole 2-hour trip. The Cadillac was meant to be a family car not a car to transport "paranormal" folks across the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

When they had docked in DC and been told they were going to be transported by car down to Richmond, where the secret facility was based, she had imagined she, Erik, and Pietro would have been placing in the back of some highly secure armored vehicle. Instead, they and the other "mutants" had been crunched into a new Cadillac Deville along with the two CIA agents they had been introduced to. 

Layla, Erik, Pietro, and the blonde-haired young lady named Raven had been shoved into the backseat while the CIA agents and Charles took the front seat. There had hardly been discussed in the car, just listening to the President speak on the radio regarding the American Consumer bill of rights he planned to put forth to the House of Representatives along with a Civil Rights act sometime in the Spring.  

Pietro had commented on how bored he was multiple times from DC to Richmond, and Layla had agreed with him each time, though not stating it out loud for the others to hear. Charles had come up with a game to play with the little boy along the way, he called it the "license plate game", and a game in which they both shouted out every state license plate that they passed by. Both of the boys found it very entertaining to do, with Erik sitting by the window seat have Pietro sit in his lap while the boy tried to climb out of the car to get a better look at the passing cars. 

She had gladly used that time to focus on the minds within the car. She could not touch the telepath, Charles. All she could do was note that he was there physically and that his mind was not one that she could take control over. Raven, the girl sitting next to her, was an easy mind to control, if she chose to she could easily have put the girl to sleep and placed her in the trunk to allow for more room. 

The CIA agents were able to be controlled. The man, Agent Duncan, as he had introduced himself before they had piled into the car, was the easier of the two to take control over. His mind was weak, but he seemed to be an ally, not an enemy at this time. If something were to happen that turned this friendly man into an enemy, she could have him slit his own throat with little resistance from his mind. 

The woman, Moira, however, was stronger-willed. She could easily take over her mind, yes, but that didn't mean that Moira would come out of the experience without knowing something was amiss. That was how it was for some of the stronger-minded people, they knew something happened, but they could never be sure what. 

Charles' mind was as impossible to control as hers was to him. He was obviously much more friendly when he had stated that he could not read her mind, unlike the brainwashed blonde onboard Schmidt's vessel. He even acted as though he was enjoying the experience of not being able to communicate with her via telepathy. He seemed more amused than anything else about her resistance to his abilities, as though she was the first to ever be able to resist his abilities. 

Pietro for his part of the last 12 hours had not asked much about his "Opa". His mind still able to be controlled had not needed to be because his focus now had been on reacquainting himself with his parents and his new friends. He told them constantly about all the fun adventures "Opa" had taken him on in Las Vegas and Miami. Moira had been particularly interested in learning about what Pietro had to say about Las Vegas. Schmidt apparently had been running a casino called "The Hellfire Club."