A few hours later.
"We're here," the pilot said, his voice trembling with fear.
Pietro leaned on the control unit, looking through the windshield at the massive concrete wall rising out of the snow.
"Is the facility beneath the dam?" he asked, and the pilot gave a shaking nod.
Pietro turned back to look at the others. "So, what's the plan?"
Scott, with folded arms, raised his head. "We can't just walk in like that. If the helicopter lands and the door opens, Pietro, you speed into the facility with Mark while Kurt takes Jean and me inside via teleportation."
"That won't work," Mark shook his head. "If we follow that plan, he'll know one way or another. Seeing us in a group might make him act against Professor Xavier and the others. What we need is a distraction—a distraction so big that he'll be focused solely on it."
"A distraction? What kind of distraction?" Kurt asked, confused.
"Me," Mark replied.
"No!" Jean shouted quickly. "We don't know how strong Stryker's forces are. If you act alone—"
"Don't worry. Unless he deploys a nuclear bomb, I'll be safe," Mark cut Jean off.
"Yeah, Mark is really durable," Pietro chimed in with a nod.
Unlike the others at the school—from whom Mark kept his immortality a secret—both Pietro and Wanda were fully aware of it.
Just as Jean opened her mouth, Mark raised a hand. "That's enough. Trust me."
"We'll be landing soon," the pilot's voice came from the front.
"Okay, everyone knows the plan. It would be good if none of you fuck this up, got it?" Mark looked at the group, and they nodded seriously.
The helicopter passed through the massive circular spillway opening at the side of the concrete dam, hovering above the helipad before landing.
"Ready?" Mark looked at the others, and each gave a nod. He bent down, his hand touching the helicopter floor. He sighed, then his hands glowed for a second before—
Boom!
The helicopter exploded, creating a raging gale with thick black smoke that startled the guards who had approached it.
Inside the black smoke, the group—protected by Mark's ki shield—looked shaken.
"No questions. Just go!" Mark shouted in a low voice as the shield flickered out of existence. Pietro was the first to vanish before Kurt quickly held the shoulders of Jean and Scott, and the three of them vanished as well.
As the smoke cleared and alarms blared, Mark became visible to the soldiers.
"I heard that you fight against mutants," Mark looked at the men coldly. "I'm here to exterminate you for all my brothers and sisters you've killed!"
***
Deep within the facility, Kurt, Scott, and Jean appeared inside a bathroom.
"There are eight guards outside. The cameras are also hidden in blind spots," Jean said.
"Okay. Transfer the image to me, and I'll teleport them out of the base," Kurt said, and Jean nodded. A few seconds passed, and with a BAMF!, Kurt teleported out, leaving Jean and Scott alone.
"He's dangerous," Scott spoke up suddenly.
"Hm?" Jean turned to him in confusion.
Scott, his eyes hidden behind his visor, stared at her. "Mark. He killed those men without batting an eye. You shouldn't get so close to him."
Jean frowned slightly. "Mark did that for self-protection, Scott. I know killing them was bad, but... he did it to protect not only himself, but us. If he hadn't done it, our fate would be unknown by now."
"But..."
"Scott, trust me. Mark was protecting us. We can talk to Professor Xavier after this when we get back. Right now, we have a mission to finish," Jean said softly.
Scott opened his mouth, but the bathroom door swung open, revealing Kurt standing outside with a smile.
"Come on! The faster we save Professor Xavier and the others, the faster we can go support Mark!" he said, turning to walk down the hallway.
Jean turned to Scott. "Scott, please."
Scott clenched his fist. "Fine."
***
While Jean, Kurt, and Scott headed deeper inside, Stryker stood in the facility's monitoring room, staring at the feed showing Mark surrounded by fallen men. Blood was splashed across his body and pooled beneath him—none of which was his own. Apart from his torn clothes, there was no sign that the boy had been in a fight.
"Has there been any info on the boy?" he asked the man beside him.
"Yes, sir. But it's... strange," the man replied. "He has records in Sokovia, but apart from that, future records are just... blank."
Stryker's brows furrowed.
"Sir, we've detected three unknown individuals within the facility—two boys and a girl," one of the staff members controlling the camera monitors called out.
"Send personnel to deal with them."
"Sir, the boy is heading deeper," immediately after Stryker finished speaking, another staff member chimed in. "Should we send more soldiers against him?"
"And send them to their death?" Stryker asked with a heavy frown.
"That's..."
"Enough." Stryker raised a hand. "Tell the scientists working on Weapon X to release him."
"But sir..."
"What?" Stryker looked at the man who had tried to speak. "Or do you want to go out there and fight the boy yourself?"
The man sensibly kept his mouth shut.
Stryker turned back to the monitor, watching Mark steadily advance.
"The only way to fight a mutant is with another mutant."