Just as Stryker and Lucien were quietly plotting their next moves, a military transport plane cut through the cold sky and flew back toward New York from the Soviet Union. The return trip had been long, but the urgency in the air made it feel even heavier. Something had gone wrong while they were gone, and both men aboard the aircraft could feel it.
Not long after the plane landed, a black sedan roared away from the airstrip. The driver pushed the vehicle hard, ignoring every speed limit as it raced across highways and backroads toward its destination. Dust and gravel sprayed behind the tires as the car finally pulled up outside what remained of a CIA facility that looked more like the aftermath of a bombing than a functioning base.
Charles stepped out first, and the sight in front of him made him freeze.
"Jesus Christ… what happened here?" he muttered under his breath.
The base was practically in ruins. Walls had been blasted apart, chunks of concrete lay scattered everywhere, and several sections of the building had completely collapsed. Even though someone had tried to clean up, dark stains still marked the ground in too many places to ignore.
Blood.
A lot of it.
Charles stared at the destruction, completely stunned. Beside him, Eric rubbed his forehead with one hand, his expression equally confused and irritated.
What the hell had happened?
They had only been gone a few days. Just a short mission to the Soviet Union, and yet when they returned the entire place looked like a war zone.
While they had been operating overseas, Moira had received a message from CIA headquarters informing her that something had happened here. The message had been vague, simply saying the base had been attacked.
Invaded by Sebastian Shaw.
But seeing the aftermath in person made it clear that calling this an "incident" was an understatement.
This wasn't an accident.
This was a disaster.
"Where are the mutants?" Charles suddenly asked, his voice tight with worry as he turned to one of the CIA agents stationed outside the damaged facility. His eyes searched the man's face urgently.
"Were any bodies recovered?"
The agent shook his head after a moment. "No bodies belonging to them were found."
That answer carried two very different meanings at once.
The good news was obvious. If no bodies had been discovered, then it meant the mutants probably weren't dead.
But the bad news was just as clear. If they weren't dead, then there was a strong chance they had been captured.
And if they had been captured, there was only one person who could have taken them.
Sebastian Shaw.
Charles felt a chill run through him at the thought.
"Charles, the situation might not be as bad as you're imagining," Eric said after thinking for a moment. His tone was calm, but there was sharp logic behind his words. "Riptide and Azazel are dead. Rorschach killed them."
"Rorschach!"
Charles' eyes suddenly brightened as realization struck him.
That was right.
If Rorschach had been here, things might not be as hopeless as they seemed.
Neither Charles nor Eric had personally witnessed what had happened during the attack. However, they had spent months investigating Shaw and his followers, and they were very familiar with the abilities of Riptide and Azazel.
They had even fought Shaw himself aboard the cruise ship.
Charles had seen Riptide's destructive power with his own eyes during that encounter.
Among all the mutants they knew, there was probably only one person capable of killing both Riptide and Azazel in a direct confrontation.
Rorschach.
According to the intelligence reports provided by the CIA, only three people had attacked the base.
Sebastian Shaw.
Riptide.
Azazel.
That fact gave Charles a small but very important glimmer of hope.
After all, even someone as powerful as Shaw couldn't possibly capture an entire group of mutants by himself… could he?
After discussing the situation briefly, Charles and Eric came to the same conclusion.
The most likely explanation was that the mutants had escaped.
"New York is huge," Eric said, still rubbing his temples as he considered the problem. "Even if they escaped, where would they go?"
The young mutants had come from all over the world. They had only known each other for a short time, and there wasn't much shared history between them. Trying to guess their destination based on personal connections would be almost impossible.
But Charles suddenly seemed to realize something.
"If I were Raven…" he said slowly, thinking through the situation. "Eric, I think I know where they would hide."
Eric raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
"My home."
Xavier Manor.
If Raven had to choose a place where she felt safe, that would be the most natural option.
The two men exchanged a glance, and neither of them wasted another second. They hurried back into the car, the engine roaring to life as the vehicle sped away from the ruined base and tore down the road in a cloud of dust.
More than forty minutes later, the car finally rolled to a stop outside the gates of Xavier Manor.
Eric stepped out and approached the large front door. His hand hovered in the air for a moment before knocking, and he turned his head slightly toward Charles.
"Are you sure they're inside?" he asked.
Charles simply smiled.
"Yes," he replied confidently. "They're inside."
While Eric had been driving, Charles had already used his telepathic abilities to scan the mansion. Every familiar mind he expected to find was there.
All of them.
Not a single one missing.
Eric exhaled deeply as tension drained from his shoulders. The tight expression on his face finally relaxed.
"Charles," he said with a faint grin, "you never told me you lived somewhere this ridiculous."
The mansion was enormous, and even Eric had to admit it was impressive.
"Well… you never asked," Charles replied casually.
Eric chuckled and pushed the door open without hesitation.
The two men stepped into the spacious hall.
Inside, a group of familiar faces immediately turned toward them.
Raven.
Hank.
Darwin.
Angel.
Siren.
And several others.
Of course, standing among them was the person both Charles and Eric trusted the most in this situation.
Rorschach.
"Charles!"
"Charles!"
"Charles, Eric—you're back!"
For a brief moment the room went silent as everyone processed what they were seeing. Then the hall erupted with excitement as the young mutants rushed forward to greet them.
Charles and Eric had finally returned.
For the past few days, everyone had been carrying a weight of anxiety in their hearts. Now that their mentors were standing here again, the tension that had been building inside them finally began to ease.
Seeing the young mutants gathered safely in front of him, Charles felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"I'm very glad to see all of you safe and sound," he said sincerely.
Eric stood beside him with his usual serious expression, but even he couldn't completely hide the relaxation in his posture.
"You all did well," Eric said, nodding slightly. "Very well."
Praise like that didn't come easily from him.
No matter how they had managed it, escaping alive after the complete destruction of the base was no small accomplishment.
"We didn't really do anything," Siren suddenly said, interrupting with a slightly embarrassed expression. "It was all Rorschach."
"That's right," Angel added quickly. "Rorschach is the one who got us out."
They exchanged glances, clearly uncomfortable receiving credit they didn't feel they deserved.
In truth, most of them had been completely overwhelmed during the attack.
If anyone deserved praise, it wasn't them.
"No," Charles said gently, shaking his head as he looked at each of them. "You didn't collapse under pressure. You didn't give up, and you didn't surrender. You made it here through your own determination."
His gaze swept across the group, his voice sincere.
"All of you impressed me. I'm proud of you."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Raven lifted her head slightly.
"Charles…" she said quietly.
Her tone had suddenly become heavier.
"Everyone at the base… they were killed."
The light atmosphere in the hall instantly faded.
Eric's expression hardened again, though he didn't look surprised.
"Alright," he said calmly. "Tell us exactly what happened."
Raven, Hank, Darwin, and the others began recounting the events of that night in careful detail.
They described the sudden attack.
The overwhelming power of Shaw and his followers.
The chaos that followed.
Even though Charles and Eric had not been there personally, listening to the story made them feel a deep sense of unease.
The situation had truly been terrifying.
And for Raven and the others who had experienced it firsthand, the memories were still fresh. Even though several days had already passed, their faces still paled slightly as they recalled those moments.
"Honestly," Siren said with a quiet sigh, "if Rorschach hadn't been there, I can't even imagine what would've happened to us."
"Yeah," Hank agreed immediately. "We owe everything to Rorschach."
Charles turned his gaze toward Rorschach, his expression filled with approval.
"Rorschach, you performed exceptionally well," he said. "Far beyond what I expected."
There was no exaggeration in those words.
During the attack on the base, Rorschach had been the one who completely turned the situation around. Without his actions, the outcome would have been far worse.
Charles and Eric both felt incredibly fortunate that Rorschach had stayed behind at the base instead of accompanying them to the Soviet Union.
Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous.
.....
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