"CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE not let him drive next time?"

Eleanor wobbled on her feet, dizzy from Charles' driving. Hank grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. She had no idea why she agreed to let the intoxicated supposed telepath drive their car. She wanted to be the one to be behind the wheel, but Charles insisted that he do it. Now, here she was, stumbling and feeling sick to her stomach.

"Hey! I drove pretty well!" He retorted, adjusting his sunglasses to hide his eyes.

"Please, you wouldn't even pass driving school with that." She rolled her eyes, gripping Hank's arm for support as they went up the suburban house. Logan told her earlier that they had to bring a Peter Maximoff with them in order to successfully break Erik out of prison. "Seriously, whoever decided to let you drive deserves an award for being incredibly stupid."

"Are you ever going to stop talking?" Charles grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, not until you get your shit together so we can save the world and I can go home."

Hank suppressed a laugh by coughing and clearing his throat. "Are you sure these two got married?" He mumbled to Logan who only grunted. He bit his lip as he carefully settled Eleanor beside him. Logan promptly knocked on the door as she took note of the worn-out carpet. She tilted her head to the side at its appearance, curious.

A middle-aged woman answered the door and instantly groaned upon seeing them. She assumed she must be Peter's mother. "What's he done now? I'll just write you a check for whatever he took."

The brunette raised her eyebrow at this, but decided not to utter any word. She shared a glance at Hank who seemed to be curious as well.

"We just need to talk to him."

With a heavy sigh, she opened the door further to let them in. "Peter! The cops are here. Again."

They were led to a basement where a silver haired young man was playing table tennis. Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows as she saw silver blurs around the room. Her eyes kept moving left and right, trying to see who was moving too fast. It seemed that every blink she made, it was at the other side of the tennis table, hitting the ball equally.

"What do you guys want? I didn't do anything." A silver-haired teenager suddenly sat down on the couch, his hands casually placed behind his head. Eleanor stumbled backwards, surprised to see him behind her. "I've been here all day."

"Just relax, Peter. We're not cops." Logan assured him, stepping forward. Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what his mutation was. She stood beside Charles who was swaying slightly.

The boy snorted. "Of course you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be driving a rental car."

"How did you know we've got a rental car?"

"I checked your registration when you were walking to the door. I also had some time to kill so I went through your rental agreement. Saw you were from out of town." explained Peter, his words tumbling out of his mouth rapidly. "Are you FBI?"

Another blink and the boy was behind them with a wallet in his hands. Eleanor's eyes widened as she watched him rummage through Charles' wallet and read a calling card. "No, you're not cops. Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters place?" He then dropped the card and wallet to the tennis table before moving again swiftly to another place.

"That's... an old card." Charles picked up the card and wallet, putting them to his back pocket.

"He's fascinating."

"He's a pain in the arse."

"So, he's a what, a teleporter? A speedster?" Eleanor asked, raising her eyebrow.

"That's probably it. He's just fast, and when I knew him he wasn't so... young." Logan replied, coolly.

"Young? You're just old." The boy responded, restively finishing his popsicle. Almost instantly, he appeared in front of Eleanor with a rose in his hands. "For you, Mamacita." He winked at her, offering the flower before sitting back down. Eleanor laughed as she glanced at it, shaking her head.

"So, you're not afraid to show your powers?"

Peter tilted his head to the side, smirking. "What powers? What are you talking about? Do you see something strange here? Nothing anybody would believe if you told them." He then quickly passed between Charles and Eleanor, causing the girl to stumble on her feet.

"Oh, my god!" She squealed, tumbling over to Charles' side. His hands swiftly grabbed her waist, preventing her fall as she placed hers on his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized, looking up at him. The brunette then realized how close they were and quickly moved away from him, cheeks and back burning from embarrassment.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Peter queried, pulling Eleanor back to their current situation.

"We need your help, Peter."

"For what?"

"To break into a highly secured facility... and to get someone out."

"Prison break? That's illegal, you know." countered the teenager, haughtily. Eleanor glanced at the room, taking in all the several items around. Her eyes narrowed as she came to the conclusion that Peter Maximoff used his superspeed ability to steal. "What the hell?" She muttered.

"Um..." Logan then looked around, noticing all the stuff Peter had stolen. "Well, only if you get caught.

"So, what's in it for me?" The young man shrugged, keeping his eyes on his arcade game.

Charles removed his sunglasses, vexed. "You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the Pentagon." He remarked. As if this had peaked his interest, Peter stopped playing and turned around, studying them all carefully.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because we're just like you." Eleanor stated, crossing her arms.

"Show him." urged Charles. Eleanor and Logan shared a glance as they both revealed their mutations for demonstration. Logan raised his right hand and slowly, skeletal claws emerged between his knuckles just as she conjured a small, red energy ball.

Peter curiously observed their powers, fascinated and shocked. "That's cool, but it's disgusting." he pointed out to Logan's mutation. "You, however, what can you do with that?" He asked Eleanor, tilting his head.

The brunette smirked. "You'll find out soon enough."

━━━━━━━

THE ESCAPE PLAN WAS EASY.

According to her companions, it was.

Before they went to their separate assignments, Hank recalled the plans. Logan, Charles, and Peter were in charge of breaking Erik out of his prison cell which was located beneath the most heavily guarded building in the planet, the Pentagon. Hank's task was to create a distraction in the surveillance room to divert the security's attention and Eleanor will extract Valerie Swan out of the Trask Industries' truck, alone.

At first, Charles was a bit reluctant with the idea of her going by herself, but Logan assured him that it would only be a piece of cake for Eleanor. That and he also trusted her abilities.

The telekinetic patiently waited in the parking garage for Valerie Swan to come out of the building. Just earlier, Charles handed her a photograph of him and Valerie to easily recognize her. The two looked very much in love in the picture that she wondered what separated them apart.

They also said that she was held together with Erik in a separate prison cell with a shock collar and a straitjacket to obviate her from using her powers. Eleanor scowled at that. Was she that dangerous to be heavily restrained?

Three minutes later, several guards dragged a fair brunette out of the exit doors, wearing the exact paraphernalia Hank described to her. With little effort, Eleanor rendered herself visible from where she was standing.

"I'm afraid she's coming with me, gentlemen." announced the woman, swirling her hand to form an energy ball which she used to blast the four soldiers guarding Valerie. She then swiped her hand to the side which caused the other guards to crash their heads to the nearby vehicle, rendering them all unconscious.

Almost instantly, seven additional soldiers came out, their guns pointed directly at her. "Hands in the air! Do not come any closer or we will shoot!"

She scoffed and slowly curled her fingers. A red tendril-like psionic energy wrapped itself on their necks, choking them all. She watched them all fall to the ground, passing out from the lack of oxygen. She smirked as she passed over their unconscious bodies. Logan was right, it would be easy.

Eleanor approached the brunette who was behind the truck, both her hands raised in the air so as to appear harmless. "I'm not going to hurt you, Miss Swan. I'm just going to free you from your ridiculous restraints. May I?" She asked for permission.

The brunette didn't say anything and only nodded her head. Eleanor then lifted her hands and closed her eyes, trying to find the crack in her bonds. Once she had done so, she dismantled the collar and split it into two along with her straitjacket.

She watched Valerie gasp and almost cry in relief as she was released from the equipment that restricted her to use her mutation. Valerie snatched the collar from her neck and threw it on the floor, crushing it beneath her feet.

"Thank you!" breathed the woman as she embraced her. "You have no idea how long I have been waiting to be out of that fucking thing!"

Eleanor awkwardly patted Valerie's back, not knowing what to do. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she voiced out, "Come on, we have to go back inside and help the boys get Erik out."

"You're freeing Erik too?" gasped Valerie, shocked.

"Uh, yes. Now, come on."

"Wait," Valerie jumped inside the van and rummaged through the boxes, searching for something. "Yes!" She exclaimed as she pulled out two black batons from one of them. With a determined look on her face, Valerie twirled her choice of weapons in her hands. "Now, let's go."

The two went inside the building and was surprised to see no one around. "So, who's with you on this?"

"Uh, Charles, Logan, Hank, and Peter."

"Charles? As in Charles Xavier? He's here?"

Eleanor hummed.

"How is he?"

The woman blinked, unsure how to answer her question. "Um, he's... fine. Yeah, he's fine."

"Why are you here?" Valerie whispered as they passed along a corridor. "Is it because of Erik?"

Eleanor suddenly remembered that the woman beside her was Erik's future wife and she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy on that thought. Her heart raced as she realized she was going to see Erik in a few minutes. "No, I was dragged along in this mission to save you from being experimented by a scientist." expounded Eleanor, shaking hear head to remove her recent thoughts. "I think after this, I'm done."

"Wha-what?" Valerie uttered. "What are you talking about? What mission?"

"Look, they'll explain everything to you along the way, okay?" Eleanor sent a kind smile to her companion as they reached their destination.

The fire alarm rang loudly in her ears, making her wince lightly. Water poured down from the sprinklers, soaking her wet. She then noticed the several security guards lying senseless on the floor and turned her head to Peter who was smirking triumphantly at his work. She was about to praise him when suddenly, three guards appeared behind her and Valerie, guns pointed at their back.

"Nobody move." One of them commanded strictly, digging the barrel of their gun further to prove their point. "Or we will be forced to shoot you."

The two women shared a glance and subtly nodded to each other. "Is that a threat?" Valerie spoke, menacingly.

"Yes."

"Good." Grinning wildly, Valerie elbowed her opponent just as Eleanor struck herself with her own energy, pushing the man away from her. She then telekinetically slammed him hard thrice against the wall before throwing him aside like a rag doll.

She had little time to see what Valerie had done as she urgently grabbed a nearby frying pan and hit the third guard in the face, knocking him out cold. She then flipped her damp hair to the side, catching her breath.

"Ah, a stretch to start the day." Valerie chuckled, cracking her neck. "Hey, boys! Fancy seeing you here!"

Eleanor's eyes darted towards the four men near the elevator who look completely stunned. That's when she saw him, standing beside Charles, all baffled. Presumably because of her sudden appearance. Clenching her fist, she approached him.

"Eleanor?"

"Hi, Erik. Missed me?" And with a wide swing of her arm, she struck him across his face.

The tall man instantly dropped to the floor, groaning as he held his cheek. "What on earth...?" He uttered, appalled.

"Was I the first?" Eleanor asked Charles, referring to their talk about who gets to punch Erik.

"No."

She glared at him and shook her head, her anger still running free in her veins. Eleanor watched Erik get up on his feet, and step right up in front of her. Their faces were just mere meters away from each other and their eyes locked.

It was the same cold, blue eyes she had fallen in love with. The same eyes that she buried herself deep in. He looked like he hadn't aged a day despite of his imprisonment. Even his thick, dark eyebrows had added to his intense gaze. Eleanor felt light-headed as their stare continued. Her heart began to pound wildly against her chest and she could hear it in her ears.

Her mind was screaming for her to look away, but she was too caught up in his penetrating stare. She had to force herself to look away. A moment later, she sent a punch to his kidney, causing the man to stagger back and double over, clutching his side.

"Eleanor!" Logan and Charles tried to grab her, but she sent a glare at them both.

"That's for killing the president." She jabbed a finger at Erik. "And for not... keeping your word."

"I didn't -- "

"Save it." She growled. "We've got no time to waste. Exit's that way." Without another word, she walked out of the kitchen, leading them all outside the building.

Seeing Erik again brought a lot of emotions back that Eleanor let out a huff of annoyance. Now was definitely not the time to think about him. They had to get out of the Pentagon first.

Get it together, Eleanor.

She pulled the car door open when suddenly a blur zoom past her and Peter appeared beside her, grinning. "Jesus!" She yelled, placing a hand on her chest. "Can you slow down, Maximoff?"

The silver-haired teenager only stared at her, confused by her sudden snap. Eleanor got inside the passenger seat and slammed the door close. "What's up with her?" She heard the kid ask Logan.

Logan sighed, tiredly. "Don't mind her, kid. Just leave her be."