Crossing the Border

In front of the Norwegian and Russian border, armed soldiers were seen inspecting vehicles and their passengers. Vehicles were scanned for mutants and weapons, one by one, before being allowed entry into the country. Unlike Norway, one could not enter the country so easily, which is why the Dark Angels landed in Norway first.

Before long, there was but a single car in front of the Dark Angels and their van, their hearts banging against the inside of their chest, knowing that just one mistake could cost them their lives.

Knowing she was the main piece of the puzzle, Xiao sat in the front passenger seat, her foot repeatedly tapping as she tried her best to keep her composure. Sensing her worries, Ky peered over her chair and whispered kindly. "It's okay, Xiao. You got this. Deep breaths, okay?" Ky tapped her shoulder lightly before hiding in the back with the rest of the team, making sure they were unseen by any of the soldiers.

Once the car in front of them was allowed through, the driver pulled forward and started rolling down the driver's side window. However, the window stopped after rolling down just a few inches. The driver then said something in Russian to the soldier, pointing to the window before pointing over toward Xiao's side.

This was all part of their plan, giving off the facade of a broken driver's window in order for Xiao to be close enough to the soldier. Reluctantly, the soldier walked around the van, looking inside with skeptical eyes before glaring at Xiao with his eyebrows furrowed. His lower face was covered with a mask, so she couldn't see anything but his eyes, however, she knew he was studying her; possibly due to her non-Norwegian appearance.

Xiao rolled down the window before the man said something in Russian to her that she didn't understand. "He asked for ID, hand it to him." the driver told her. Doing as he said, Xiao grabbed her fake ID and started handing it to the soldier. At that point, her heart started to pound even more rapidly, this was the moment of truth that they'd been waiting for.

With the fake ID in hand, Xiao reached out of the window and lightly tapped it on the soldier's chest, making sure that her hand made contact with him. Instantly, the soldier stood up straight as if he were possessed, showing Xiao that he was her puppet. 'Look at the ID, pretend to check it, and then hand it back to me.' Xiao spoke telepathically to the soldier.

The soldier looked at her ID, doing as she told him, before handing it back to her. 'Now scan me. Act as if it says I am human.'

Doing as his master said, the soldier scanned her using a device that looked similar to a forehead thermometer. Due to the way the X-Gene interacted with human skin, the device could pick up on if a person was a human or not simply by scanning the forehead. The device chimed, and the screen read that Xiao was in fact a mutant, however, the solider ignored it and placed the device back on his belt.

'Now, check the back. Act as if there is nothing of note back there.' she instructed him in his mind, prompting the soldier to open one of the side doors to peer inside. He saw Ky and the others hiding, staring at them with empty, blank eyes before shutting the door and approaching the window once more.

'Tell us where the facility is. Quietly.' she told him.

In Russian, the soldier told them exactly where the location of the facility was. Xiao couldn't understand him, but the driver could. Xiao looked over at the driver, getting a nod in confirmation before she looked at the soldier once again. 'Now tell them to let us through. Continue on with your shift as you normally would.'

The soldier backed away from the van and signaled to those operating the gates to let them through. The gate to the border opened, and just like that, the Dark Angels were able to pass through unharmed.

Xiao took a deep breath, leaning back in her seat as the van pulled off, passing through the gates as just as they were instructed. After driving away for a few seconds, the gang in the back quietly celebrated her efforts as Xiao climbed back to sit next to Ky.

"Nice!"

"Let's go, Xiao!"

"Get in!"

"Good one, kid."

"That was amazing!"

The driver, however, looked somewhat nervous being in the belly of the beast. He was no mutant, nor was he a soldier like Eagle. He was nothing more than a driver wanting to get paid, and Waller was more than happy to give him what he desired and then some. "We're an hour away from Murmansk." he told them, gripping the wheel tightly. "I will drop you off about a mile away from the facility, then you're on your own. I'm sorry, I cannot go any further."

Realizing the fabled "real story" of this novel was about to begin soon, the five mutants wiped those celebratory expressions from their faces. Eagle, sitting down just behind the driver's seat, looked back at everyone before starting to debrief them.

"You heard the man. We're an hour away from the moment we've been waiting for.

As for the plan, the plan is to locate the weapon and transfer it out of the building. Before exiting the building, we will need to disable their communications systems in order for our transport to bypass their sensors and pick us up." Hearing this, Tom's eyes widened, realizing this was his chance. "I can make an EMP." he told him, knowing that this EMP could serve two functions: Disabling the communications systems and disabling the chips in their heads momentarily before forcefully removing them.

Doing well in hiding it, Ky and Tom had been gathering the necessary materials during the entire mission. Xiao had known about it, due to being able to read Ky's mind. In fact, Ky intentionally told her through his own thoughts since he knew she could read them. Since Tom trusted Bobby, he also knew about the plan.

The only ones who weren't in the know were Eagle, Pietro, and obviously Waller. They kept it away from Pietro since he had a big mouth, but they were going to free him just like the others.

Ky and Tom were mentally debating on whether or not they should tell Eagle, freeing him from Waller's grasp, but they knew it could be too risky. Ky considered that Eagle could have possibly changed, perhaps truly seeing mutants as equals, whereas Tom believed it all to be a lie to gain their trust. It was quite the conundrum, one that would be solved when the time came.

"Good thinking. Alright, Fixer will use an EMP to disable their communications systems, allowing our transport to land and get us the hell outta here.

Now, this ain't gonna be a walk in the park. Once we step foot in the facility, our lives and the mission will be in jeopardy. Despite it, I believe in this team.

Iceman.

Fixer.

Tempo.

Answer.

Quicksilver.

You five are the best soldiers I've ever had the privilege of working with. I know the situation is shitty, but if we're all forced into any more missions, I hope it's with you guys.

Back to the mission at hand, it is currently raining in Murmansk as we speak. According to the weather report, there will be a fog that we can use to get the drop on them. Once we're a mile out, Pietro will use his speed to bring us in front of the facility one by one. From there, we will come up with a way of entry."

"Do we know where the weapon is?" Ky asked, wanting to start thinking of plans in his own head.

"No, but it's likely underground. Supposedly, it could be capable of flattening cities, maybe even nations. If they were to test it above ground, and something were to go wrong, Russian civilians will die. The weapon being underground would mitigate that issue." Eagle then looked around at each of the mutants, all of which had looks of uncertainty plastered on their faces. They'd been attacked before, and they defended themselves, but this was their first time being the attackers.

"Any other questions?" Eagle asked, getting no response. He then sat back down in his seat, turning back around to face the front of the van. "Alright, then. All there is to do now is wait."

And so the team rode in the back of the van for the next hour, finding themselves in a thick fog and heavy rain, just as Eagle claimed they would have. Wilhelm, the driver, pulled to the side of the foggy road, hitting the parking brake before looking back at the team. "This is as far as I go."

"Alright, let's go." Eagle stood up first, armed to the teeth with guns and a few knives. Tapping on Wilhelm's shoulder, he thanked him. "I appreciate you doing this for us. Waller will pay you by the time you get back." Wilhelm nodded and Eagle stepped off of the van.

Wearing their costumes, rather than normal clothes, the Dark Angels stepped off of the van as well, still feeling that nervousness within them. "Alright, Quicksilver. You're up." Eagle told the speedster, meanwhile, Wilhelm turned the van around and started driving off.

Quicksilver nodded before lowering the goggles over his eyes and grabbing Eagle by the arm. "You ready?" He asked the soldier, getting a single nod.

𝙕𝙕𝙏!

Quicksilver and Eagle took off, disappearing into the fog for a few moments before Pietro returned empty-handed. "Who's next?" he asked, getting a hand raise from Bobby. In an instant, Quicksilver grabbed Bobby and dragged him away, leaving a silver streak through the fog.

One by one, Pietro brought the entire team in front of the Russian facility, hiding behind one of the concrete walls surrounding it. This facility was shaped like a dome, being all white in appearance with stripes running along with the Russian flag's colors.

Within the concrete walls, there were soldiers armed with anti-mutant weapons, along with regular rifles and machine guns. Whether they be in towers, on catwalks, or on the ground, these soldiers were keeping watch, doing their best to see through the fog.

The weather was perfect for the occasion as heavy rain poured down from the sky, along with a fog so thick, one could barely see anything ten feet or so in front of them. The soldiers were being vigilant as their scanners picked up five unknown living beings within the vicinity, though readings like these were so common, they assumed it was just some wild animals as always. However, their vigilance would be meaningless as Iceman shrouded himself in his icy exterior.

"I got this." he whispered, forming an icy slide in front of him that shot upwards toward the heavens. Iceman then slid upwards, disappearing through the fog as he soared up toward the clouds. Ky and Tom were quick to figure out was his plan was, while Xiao was able to simply read the information out of him. Eagle and Pietro both wondered what the plan was, but they'd have their answer in just a few short moments.

The rain stopped, though only for a moment. The clouds did not part, despite the heavy rain suddenly stopping, which seemed off to the native Russian soldiers.

A few soldiers, noticing the change in weather, looked up toward the sky, only to be met by a sight that compelled their eyes to widen in shock and horror. A few soldiers shrieked in fear, their bellows being cut off by the sounds of ice striking flesh as razor-sharp icicles began raining from the sky.

Through the thick fog, the screams of Russian soldiers could be heard as blades made of ice continued to rain down and impale them, some soldiers dying immediately while others weren't so lucky, being impaled over and over until they met their excruciating end.

From behind the concrete wall, the Dark Angels looked at each other with wide eyes and jaws gaped. They couldn't see anything that was happening and they were just outside of the range of the frozen rain barrage. However, they heard the screams, the flesh being impaled, the bodies slumping onto the ground, and the ice striking the ground just behind the wall.

They knew Iceman was powerful, but they had no clue he had such destructive power under perfect conditions like what they found themselves in.

After a few minutes, the screaming ceased, as did the falling icicles. Moments after the commencing silence, Iceman was seen sliding down from the sky, landing in front of the team with a cold, blank expression. He didn't even know how many people he just erased in an instant, nor did he want the answer.

Reading his mind, Xiao could feel a pit forming in her stomach, but she didn't know what to say to comfort him.

"Hey." Eagle spoke, wanting to say something that could perhaps make Bobby feel like less of a monster. "These guys are hiding a weapon capable of God knows what. We're doing what's necessary. Alright?"

Iceman nodded, telling himself that what he was told must have been true. He wasn't the bad guy, he thought, he was just following orders anyway. The men he was killing were killers in their own right, they were the bad guys, he told himself.

Ky, however, thought differently.

It was all a matter of perspective.

In Ky's mind, there were no good or bad guys in this situation. For Ky, that was just the way the world worked. He wasn't a fighter growing up, Ken was the one doing the fighting for him, but being on his own, Ky understood that it was either kill or be killed in this world.

He figured that this weapon, no matter whose hands they end up in, will always be in the wrong hands. However, it being in the arguably worse Americans' hands may be the ticket to his own freedom. He knew what he was doing could be interpreted as wrong, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting himself and his friends home.

Despite his own opinions, Ky held his tongue. Letting Bobby cope with what they'd become in his own way.

Xiao, reading both minds at once, was conflicted.

Of course, Tom and Pietro had their own opinions, as did Eagle, but none of them mattered.

"Let's go." Eagle told them, attaching a grappling hook to the top of the wall.

One by one, everyone climbed the wall, prepared to complete their mission.