1962 - charles xavier

F O U R

Charles, Erik, and I are bundled up in large coats as we ride in the back of a large storage truck towards a Russian military retreat where we hope to find Shaw. We hear a knock on the wooden hatch between us and the cab of the truck, and Charles and Erik lift it up to reveal Moira seated in the passenger seat.

"We got a problem." The driver says gruffly.

"What?" I ask concernedly.

"I'm so sorry, this wasn't on the map!" Moira calls back to us, and we look through the windshield to see a security checkpoint.

"No matter what happens, act normally," Charles says. "I'll take care of this, alright?"

Charles turns to us and tells us briefly that he plans to make the back of the truck appear empty to the guard's eyes. The driver door opens and closes after the guard talks to the driver, footsteps nearing the enclosed back of the truck where we were hidden along with some American soldiers. The soldiers raise their weapons, aiming them towards the doors.

"Easy, easy," Charles placates them as he stands, putting his hand to his temple. "Take it easy, chaps."

The doors suddenly open, and I hold my breath as I see the driver accompanied by a Russian soldier. I close my eyes and trust Charles' empty truck illusion to work. A guard calls out to the one near us, and soldier replies to him before allowing the driver to close the back of the truck. We all let out relieved sighs and Charles sits back down, Erik patting his knee as we continue our drive past the checkpoint.

Minutes later, we lie on our stomachs at the edge of the woods near the military retreat, looking at the estate through binoculars. We watch as a helicopter lands in front of it, a blonde woman wearing a white coat and hat emerging from it and walking through the guarded hate.

"Where's Shaw?" Erik questions.

"I don't know," Charles breathes. "But if she's a telepath and I read her, she'll know we're here... Let me try something else." He touches his fingers to his temple again, zeroing in on one of the guards by the door to listen into their conversation. "He's not coming." Charles announces after a few moments.

"So, what now, boss?" I ask Moira.

"Now nothing. We're here for Shaw. Mission aborted." She shrugs, but Erik begins to protest.

"She's his right-hand woman. That's good enough for me." Erik grits out.

"The CIA invading the home of a senior Soviet official? Are you crazy?" Moira asks incredulously.

"I'm not CIA." Erik smirks before getting up from the ground and starting to walk along the treeline.

"Erik!" Charles calls after him, holding his hand out towards him, but giving up as he continues running through the woods.

I look after Erik with a sigh, my breath creating a small puff of fog in the crisp air. Less than a minute later, we see a commotion at the gate of the mansion. We raise our binoculars, mortified to see the barbed wire moving, wrapping around two of the guards, the others being taken down in a similar manner.

"He's gonna start World War 3 single-handed!" The driver accuses.

"We have to do something!" Moira gasps.

"Like what?" The driver says harshly before beginning to leave. "We're moving out!"

"You can't!" Charles insists.

I look back to the estate just in time to see Erik sprint past the fallen guards, using his mutation to lift the metal gate, running onto the front lawn. Two armed guards raise their guns at him, but he raises his arms, ripping the guns from their hands, kicking one in the face as he darts past them and into the house.