Cerebro has been invaluable, extending my reach far beyond what I could achieve alone. But nothing could prepare me for what I found—a mutant facility where countless minds scream in agony. Their thoughts are fragmented, filled with fear and pain I can barely comprehend.

I couldn't face this alone. Not when so many lives hang in the balance. So I called Erik.

Now we stand together in the airport terminal, waiting for our flight. The hum of conversations surrounds us, the smell of jet fuel and airport coffee mixing in the air. Through the large glass windows, storm clouds gather on the horizon—fitting weather for the mission ahead.

Erik stares at his boarding pass, his thumb repeatedly brushing over where he's scratched out the name. The paper is nearly torn through from the intensity of his gesture. I don't need to read his mind to feel his rage.

But I do anyway.

"I'll kill them," his thoughts seethe beneath his calm exterior. "Each and every one of them for what they've done to our kind. A facility dedicated to testing mutants in such unjust ways... bigots."

He turns from the window, his blue eyes meeting mine. "Do you need anything?" he asks, his voice carefully neutral despite the storm of emotions churning within him.