1962 - charles xavier

E L E V E N

As we draw nearer to the Embargo Line, the tension that has settled in the jet tangibly thickens. I work on keeping a level head and taking deep breaths, knowing that I will have to remain calm and collected if we are going to pull this off without any major catastrophes. Hank minds the cockpit, his fur-covered fists clenching the steering column as his eyes attentively scan across the sea. After a few more minutes of flying, the ships that are threatening war upon each other can be spotted.

"Looks pretty messy out there." Hank comments.

We all look at each other, nobody wanting to voice their apprehension. Charles glances my way briefly before raising his fingers to his temple and closing his eyes, most likely trying to invade the mind of one of the men on the ships.

"The crew of the Allons-y are all dead. Shaw's been there." he announces, referring to the French warship.

"He's still here. Somewhere." Erik insists as Charles looks at him.

"He's set the course to the Embargo Line."

"If that ship crosses the line, our boys are gonna blow it up and the war begins." Moira says.

"Unless they're not our boys." Charles says pensively as we draw nearer to the ships.

He closes his eyes shut in concentration, diving into the mind of another man below us. Suddenly, a missile erupts from one of the ships, and we watch as it begins to wiz alongside us. Hank sharply jerks the jet, causing us to tilt violently before beginning to fly completely upside down. I pinch my eyes closed tightly, my glove-covered hands grasping at my seatbelt as Charles' arm reaches across my torso in an attempt to hold me in my seat.

The missile that Henry had dodged smashes into the French warship that had been commandeered by Shaw's forces, causing it to explode with a massive burst of flames.

"A little warning next time, Professor." Hank regards Charles, who had fired the missile by using another person's mind.

"Sorry about that," Charles says, his hand tightly grasping my wrist. "You alright?" he asks us all.

"Yeah." Sean barely manages to gasp out, his face bearing a mixture of fear and nausea.

"That was inspired, Charles." Moira says from the control panel.

"Thank you very much, but I still can't locate Shaw."

"He's down there. We need to find him now." Erik insists.

"Hank?" we turn to my brother.

"Is there anything unusual on the radar with scanners?" Henry asks Moira, who looks down at the panel.

"No," She shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Well then he must be underwater," Henry proposes. "And obviously, we don't have sonar."

"Yes, we do." Sean speaks up.

"Yes, we do." Charles agrees, pulling off his headset and unbuckling his seatbelt.

Erik, Sean, and I are quick to follow his actions, the four of us struggling to walk in the turbulence.

"Hank! Level the bloody plane!" Charles shouts as we steady ourselves on each other, making it to the door.

Sean turns and points an accusing finger at Erik, recalling how the man had shoved him off of the satellite dish at Charles' manor. "Woahh! You back right off!" Erik raises his hands in deference and Sean hollers up to Henry to open the doors.

The belly of the plane opens up, and I look down at the water of the sea darting passed below us.

"Remember, this is a muscle!" Charles instructs Sean, patting the boy's throat. "You control it! You'll be in here the entire time!" He points to his head. "We'll see you soon! On my mark... 3! 2! 1! Go!"

Sean lets out a small cry as he drops out of the plane, his long, curly hair whipping around his head wildly. He lets out a loud scream, lifting his arms to allow the fabric wings of this uniform to keep him aloft. He dives under the water like a torpedo, disappearing from our sight.

"Alert the fleet. They may want to take their cans off." Moira warns over her radio, knowing that Sean's underwater scream will be piercing to any man listening in to their sonar.

"Banshee's got a location on Shaw," Charles announces to a determined Erik. "You ready for this?"

"Let's find out." Erik says as Hank circles the jet back around, putting the wheels down as we fly so that Erik can cling to it and use his ability to seek out the metal of Shaw's submarine.