Sitting in one of many meeting rooms, the mutants gathered looked to the front of the room where Charles stood pacing somewhat with Moira leaning against the wall behind him. The room had been silent and like this for about five minutes. "So, people, the army, for instance, can't sort this guy out. So the CIA recruits us?" Alex asked, the explanation of all had happened and now the moment of truth was happening. The return of curious questions which would no doubt be answered with words which would not sit well. "That's a bit hypocritical, isn't it?"

"Yeah, like, by sounds of it this guy isn't really discreet. Why can't you just find him and you know..." Sean rolled his hands suggestively in the air, letting his words trail off. "Why do you need us?"

"They need us because Shaw's a mutant too." Both males snapped their attention to the side where Liesel sat absentmindedly looking out of the window. Her arm was resting on the windowsill, and her chin was resting against her palm. It was something that had been somewhat bothering her ever since crossing paths with him again. It was something she'd never truly dwelt on. But remembering his words to Emma, about not harming their own kind, it just signalled home that he was like them.

"Say what now? No way?!" Sean seemed genuinely shocked by this as he suddenly sat bolt upright in his chair and looked from her, to the front, to her again.

"Come on, why else would the CIA gather mutants together? It'd be overkill if he were but just a man, no?" Liesel's eyes tore away from the blue sky and lazy rolling clouds to look to the teenager from around Erik. He as yet had remained silent, not saying anything. Be fair, neither had Darwin, Angel or Raven. They seemed indifferent oddly enough. "So yes, whatever Shaw is doing, they need us...why risk human lives, when they can risk ours?"

"Liesel," Charles sighed heavily as he looked at her with a frown.

She held her hands up in defence and looked back out of the window. "Truth hurts."

"She's right though, isn't she?" Alex frowned and decided to pick on that. "Why bother with this at all if there's a likelihood of failure?"

"Because we're not going to fail." Charles said with exasperation. Alex frowned even more and nodded at him to explain his words. "We all have it within ourselves to band together, to work together and through our teamwork, we can beat Shaw."

"Great! That's all well and good then, huh?" Sean said while slouching in his chair. "We become a merry band of mutants and bring the bad guy down. Sounds like fun, it isn't like I've got anything else to do." It also wasn't like he could leave. Like they would allow him that if he declined helping.

"Anything else?" Moira asked, seeing as how most just accepted this mission for what it was. "Liesel?" She sounded somewhat irritated that the auburn haired woman had held a hand up. Of course she would!

"You know, when we succeed, and all of this is over and done with. What then?" She asked, she noticed how Darwin looked at her suddenly. Seems it was a conversation they had, he should've called them out on this too. "I do have a nice little apartment back in Poland to return to. Plants need watering, bills need paying...I've probably been evicted actually, but whatever. What is for after?"

This seemed to have both Charles and Moira stumped. "What would you like?"

Liesel looked at Moira like she was an idiot. "Poland. Home." She replied frankly, did the agent just completely blank everything she just said? "Everyone has their lives to return to, do they not? You have your...agenting, he has...I don't know, whatever Charles was doing before this. Raven will go with her brother, Hank will remain in his lab, Angel will return to her exotic, sordid dancing. Darwin will return to being a taxi driver, Alex will go on the run from the authorities, not that I blame him, Sean will return back to school, and Erik will go and do whatever he was doing, and I will return home. That...in an ideal world, is what would happen. Yet I feel like it will not." Each one in turn sort of shot her a look when she listed off their name and what she believed they would be doing. But, in an ideal world none of them would be here at all, yet they were. "What I am basically asking is this: will you keep us here, after we have done as you have asked?"

"That..." Moira trailed off with a confused tone. "I don't know."

"No." Charles seemed the polar opposite to her. He seemed rather sure that such a thing wouldn't happen. He could see that though most were indifferent to Liesel having a bit of a rant, that they did in fact listen to her words. Being denied the right to return to a normal, as normal as possible, life was something each of them wished to avoid. That much was clear by the looks on their faces. Though some, mainly Angel, did send Liesel a glare from what she dubbed her previous occupation as.

"So we can go home once all of this is done?" Darwin asked deciding to take off from where Liesel finished.

"Yes, of course." Charles nodded and realised that he was in fact just telling them what they all wanted to hear. It was something which naturally caused Liesel to send a glare his way before looking out of the window. As long as the clouds were distracting her, it meant the less chance there was of her saying something out of rash thinking. "Well, I think that's the end of this. Let's take this moment to get to know each other; because soon we'll be putting this plan into action."

----

"The Lincoln Memorial, really?"

"When he said get to know each other, I did not think it meant leaving the base."

"Don't sound ungrateful, by sounds of it you've been gagging to leave."

"But here...it is strange."

The first voice belonged to Sean, who was still a little confused as to how and why they were even here. The second was Liesel, who was equally confused as she looked out at the vast space around them. The third was Darwin, who couldn't help but slightly tease Liesel, then of course she had to reply. She had never been here, she had never had a reason to. The fact that it was close to the base was a bonus really, it seemed. So it was as if they hadn't truly left the clutches of the organisation who had recruited them.

"What are you three doing?" Alex was walking around looking about with a frown. He couldn't help but feel like he was suddenly going to get jumped by the police, or something.

All three looked to him, "Sightseeing?" Sean mused.

"Thinking." Liesel simply replied.

"Attempting to talk." Darwin confessed with a smile, Liesel and Sean looked up at him. "Yes, to you two."

"Ah, sorry," Liesel waved her hand and gestured it to him. "Would you perhaps like to take a stroll, Darwin?" She beamed when he simply inclined his head and gestured to the path beside them. She clapped her hands together before placing them in her pockets and walking beside him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sean called out and ran after them, rolling his eyes, Alex turned and walked after them too. Considering the only two people left present were Raven and Angel, he didn't quite feel like socialising with the two females who sat close to the water's edge. Hank had remained, as usual, out of this moment. He had the excuse of work to do, and that seemed to pay off fine because everyone left him to it.

"See, this is paying off already." Up on the stairs Charles sat leaning back against the step behind him.

"You really are an eternal optimist, aren't you?" Erik briefly looked away from the small group walking about, to the man beside him. In between them sat a rather forgotten game of chess. Truth be told, Charles was winning; though Erik was adamant he was cheating. He disputed this hugely, yet Erik had paused playing to watch the mutants below.

"Well it doesn't hurt, does it?" Charles asked while looking to Erik, he frowned. "You don't agree."

"One little outing isn't going to make them best buddies."

"But at least it gives them the freedom to get to know each other, outside the constricts of that place." Charles defended with a light smile. "Do you honestly think they would really try and get along when being watched by agents, or through cameras?" Charles asked, though he did dully note that perhaps two of the group were not destined to gel. And that was Angel and Liesel. 

The dark haired woman looked rather hostile at times to Liesel, ever since she called her past job sordid; which was childish, and a little true and too close to home to register. Liesel on the other hand reacted like she reacted to every serious moment, she smiled. It was such an innocent smile it set Angel off on another glaring fit. Charles was sure Liesel did it on purpose for a reaction. He was actually more than certain of that to be honest. But anyway, apart from them two everyone else seemed pretty good. Even now Darwin, Liesel, Sean and Alex were strolling around each chipping into a conversation that he could snoop into, but chose not to. They were never going to fully trust and get along if they knew he was eavesdropping, as such.

"We've started something incredible, Erik." Charles said while looking away and looking back to the male by his side. He still looked a little dubious but let Charles have his moment. "We can help them."

At this Erik frowned slowly. That was a huge number of people to help if that was what Charles meant. "Can we?" He asked with a slight tilt of the head. He watched as the small group ended up sitting down, yet didn't stop talking. Not everyone wanted help, he couldn't help but dwell on that. He didn't exactly want Charles's help; yet here he was anyway. Turning slightly, he looked to Charles. "Identification, that's how it starts. And ends with being rounded up, experimented on. Eliminated." He said firmly, Charles's hopeful expression darkened and saddened slightly at the truth of his words.

"Not this time. We have common enemies. Shaw, the Russians. They need us." Charles tried to reassure his friend.

"For now." Erik said simply, which was about the gist of it really. "How long will they need us for? After Shaw is gone, and I hate to repeat Liesel, but what then? Do you honestly believe the CIA will keep us around? Or will they ship us off somewhere?"

"I don't know."

"And that is perhaps the most honest I have heard you be." Erik said with a quiet laugh. "You shouldn't spend so much time around that agent, or others like her. You'll end up thinking too much like them." Shrugging he watched as the small group stood up and somewhat disbanded. Alex and Sean went one way, whereas Darwin and Liesel went the other.

Down near the water's edge, Darwin couldn't help but look around and look to Liesel. "You know, I honestly thought you'd rather spend time with them two." He nodded towards Raven and Angel before looking back to her.

"Truthfully? No. I am used to male company, ah, that sounded wrong...you would say that I have grown up around boys, so I am more accustomed to them, yes?" Liesel corrected with a sheepish smile. "That and," at this she leaned forwards to whisper at him. "Girls scare me."

"What?" Darwin frowned with confusion and laughed quietly. "How?"

"They are...hm, I do not mean offence, childish acting. I like Raven, I cannot stand Angel, she is...like a book, hard to gauge at face value. They always laugh, joke, and tease. It is not funny. I do not find it funny."

"You find it annoying." Darwin stated while crossing his arms.

Liesel frowned up at him. "Why do you say that?"

At this he laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Because everything seems to annoy you."

"What? Not true!"

"Name one thing that doesn't." Darwin said while moving to sit at the bottom step.

Liesel trailed after him with a despondent look, and arms firmly crossed. "Coffee."

"Not true, you were complaining about the coffee yesterday soon after we met, remember?" Darwin smirked and pointed a finger at her.

"Ah! Not fair! That is not fair!" Liesel whined and stomped a foot. "Fine!"

"It can't be a person either." Darwin chimed in before she could reply with an actual answer.

"I like travelling. The notion of flight, it interests me. It is freeing, to a degree." Liesel replied with a distant look up to the sky. She missed out seeing the deep waters below at such an altitude, but what Darwin didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "Travelling does not annoy me." Her eyes flicked down to him.

Darwin smiled and leaned his arms against his knees. "An honest answer." He stated which she smiled and nodded at. Side stepping she sat down beside him.

"You must have seen a lot with your job, did you not?" Liesel wrapped her arms around her knees and looked to him curiously.

Darwin shook his head, "It was not as interesting as you think."

"I used to work in an office as a secretary, and that was not interesting. Trust me when I say your job sounds interesting." Liesel smiled and stretched her legs out in front of herself, she leaned her arms back on the step behind her and looked to him.

"Okay, fine," Darwin relented, "Once I was doing a normal airport run, and there was this guy," Darwin started to say and noticed immediately how captivated by his tale Liesel was. She didn't interrupt, she merely sat smiling and laughing at parts and nodding gently, encouraging him on.

----

Edited: 10/June/2019

Reedited: 17/August/2021