After arriving at the rendezvous point and taking the truck keys, the Minotaur armor didn't have to wait long before a group of mutant children began emerging from the escape tunnel.
Only after a sizable group had gathered outside did the Minotaur armor suddenly reveal itself.
Several older students were startled and hurriedly moved in front of the younger children, shielding them with their bodies.
Fortunately, the Minotaur armor had a somewhat cartoonish appearance and wasn't particularly intimidating. Since it made no unnecessary movements after appearing, the shaken mutant children didn't panic.
Quicksilver was still farther back in the tunnel, covering the retreat, so he hadn't yet encountered the Minotaur armor.
Without saying a word, the Minotaur armor tossed the truck keys toward the metallic mutant.
Relying on his physical strength, Colossus reached out and caught them, then immediately clasped both hands together.
The expected explosion never came.
Only then did Colossus open his hands and discover that what had been thrown at him wasn't a grenade, but a set of keys.
The Minotaur armor pointed toward the road in the distance, where a box truck was parked beneath a streetlamp.
Without moving, it waited.
Colossus understood.
"You want us to use that truck?"
The Minotaur armor nodded.
Then it shot straight upward from where it stood and disappeared into the night sky under the stunned gazes of the mutants.
That had been the plan from the beginning.
The less they said, the fewer mistakes they could make. They had provided the mutants with transportation. How they used it—or whether they used it at all—was their choice.
Everything outside the tunnel had happened extremely quickly. No one blocked the passage, so the children still inside continued making their way out.
Eventually, Quicksilver emerged as well.
Several older students began counting heads.
"Quicksilver, we're still missing some people. And Wolverine isn't here either. Should we go back and rescue them?"
Quicksilver was actually the one they had called for help.
Before leaving the school, Professor X had received the warning. But because of Nightcrawler's attempted assassination of the President, they needed to find their former teammate quickly, before the authorities arrested him, and determine the truth behind the incident.
To prepare for an emergency, Professor X had contacted Quicksilver beforehand and told the older students whom they could call for assistance if something happened.
That was why the former X-Man had returned to the school and rescued so many children.
The nearly fifty-year-old man listened to the older students' question with a completely unconcerned expression.
"When I entered the escape tunnel, the entrance had already been sealed off. I saw the others escaping by other means. Wolverine is taking care of them, so don't worry too much.
"But some people were captured and taken aboard the helicopters."
There was nothing Quicksilver could do about the children already taken onto the helicopters.
He had once possessed the ability to run across empty air, but after the battle against the Sentinels faded from everyone's memory, he had also lost the technique he had once mastered.
"Right! Aren't we going to rescue them? If we turn back now, we should still have time."
Quicksilver shook his head.
"Let's make sure everyone here is safe first. From what I saw, those American soldiers aren't deliberately killing anyone. They're only using tranquilizer darts.
"Even if some people were captured, they're safe for the time being. We can find an opportunity to rescue them later. If we go back now, we'll only end up fighting the main body of the American forces.
"Besides, all the people here who can actually fight have already left. Who's going to look after the younger children? Are you planning to leave them to fend for themselves in the middle of the wilderness at night?"
"All right."
Several of the older students spoke reluctantly, clearly disappointed.
"Do you have any plans for where everyone should evacuate?" Quicksilver asked.
The children looked at one another.
"Well... we only knew that we could escape through the tunnel. The professors never told us what to do afterward. Maybe we should take everyone back to their homes?"
After hearing the older students' suggestion, Quicksilver realized they didn't really have a plan.
He shook his head.
"That won't work. The military can't deploy forces like this without consequences.
"If we take everyone home, how will the people in those communities react? Could their parents get dragged into this? We have no way of predicting that.
"Don't you have somewhere like a safe house where everyone can stay temporarily?
"And since you came out through an escape tunnel, there must be some kind of transportation available, right? You don't seriously intend to march through the woods in the middle of the night with a whole group of children, do you?"
Colossus timidly raised his hand. The truck keys jingled in his fingers.
"Well... speaking of that, someone seems to have brought us a truck."
Everyone followed Colossus's other hand as he pointed toward the road.
A box truck could be faintly seen parked in the distance.
"What happened?"
The children who had witnessed the entire thing immediately began talking over one another, explaining what had just happened.
One of the older students looked worried.
"Could this be another trap?"
Quicksilver activated his speed and circled the truck. He ran around it, over it, and underneath it before returning.
"Doesn't look like there's a bomb or anything like that. No one's hiding nearby either. But there's a note stuck to the driver's door."
"What does it say?"
"This truck was stolen. Throw it by the roadside when you're done with it."
Quicksilver took the note down and read it aloud, then passed it around for everyone to see.
"So... are we getting in?" one of the children asked.
"Of course. Unless you'd rather walk from the suburbs into the city and wait at a bus stop until dawn."
Quicksilver paused.
"Actually, by the time we reach the nearest bus stop, it'll probably be dawn anyway."
"Uh... there's another problem. Does anyone know how to drive a truck?"
One of the older students asked the question with obvious apprehension.
Quicksilver immediately volunteered.
"It's not like driving one of these requires anything complicated. Everyone get in. I'll drive."
"Quicksilver, have you driven one before?"
"No."
The honest answer from the middle-aged man brought everyone's movement to an immediate halt.
Every child stared at him in disbelief.
The former X-Man remained remarkably optimistic.
"What are you all afraid of? Worst case, I'll stall the engine. We're not driving through mountain roads. It's not like I'm going to send everyone tumbling into a ravine."
...
Somehow, that made everyone even more worried.
Completely oblivious to their concerns, Quicksilver urged them along.
"Come on, get in. Once you're inside the cargo container, sit somewhere against the walls. I won't drive too fast.
"Older kids, help the younger ones. Come on, move. Don't just stand there."
The children, now looking as though they had steeled themselves for a journey to their deaths, began walking toward the truck not far away.
The older students led the way and helped the smaller children climb into the cargo container.
But one child stayed behind, walking beside Quicksilver.
"Where are we going once we're in the truck?"
"We shouldn't go too far in a stolen vehicle. As it happens, I know someone in New York City. He should be able to help us. Let's go find him."
"Into New York City? Are you sure? I thought we were supposed to head somewhere remote."
Quicksilver's expression became serious.
"If there's a tracker on this truck and this really is a trap, wouldn't heading somewhere remote be exactly what the people behind it want?
"They could capture us without attracting any attention from the public."
The mutant student who had asked the question was stunned.
He hadn't expected this seemingly unreliable middle-aged man to have thought that far ahead.
"That's exactly why we're going into the city."
"Heading toward a crowded area means the military won't want footage of them capturing a group of children becoming tomorrow's headline.
"There's another advantage. If there's something wrong with this truck, we can switch vehicles quickly. Or we can abandon it altogether and take the subway."
"I understand. I'll tell everyone."
"Go ahead. Once everyone is safe, we'll figure out a way to contact Professor X."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~