"It won't bite, you know?" Liesel sat down promptly by Sean's side at the kitchen table. He was staring at the slice of toast on his plate like it was evil incarnate. She simply bit into the slice she had snagged from the toaster before Erik got his hands on it. He was not amused by this and shot her look, which she countered with a smile.

"I know that," Sean stated bluntly, Liesel raised an eyebrow. Biting into the toast she merely sighed and let him have his moment. She could see he was hesitant about today. The sounds of voices from upstairs sounded so content, almost joking at times. But now that she was down here with everyone, she could tell they weren't as laid back as they sounded.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't sharing some of those feelings. She was worried about today, yet the inevitable knowing that after today Shaw would be dealt with was enough to bury these unwanted feelings deep down. "It will be okay," Liesel rolled her eyes, Erik sat down by her side and looked at her like she was completely insane. There was no way in this world that she could guarantee such a thing. She shouldn't have said those simply spoken words. In his experience there was no situation where these words could be uttered. Because there would never be a moment, or a situation, even the most simplest, or less dangerous of moments, where this could be exact. Erik had always found that something, anything was likely to happen. If it was going to happen, it would.

"You've had that outlook since the beginning." Sean finally started eating his breakfast with a despondent look.

Liesel scoffed, "You're wrong, actually." She stood up slowly and walked to place her plate in the sink. Turning she leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sure, to begin with perhaps...before I met you, and the others. But after getting...as you say: my ass handed to me on a silver plater, my optimism dwindled hugely." She rolled her hand simply in the air and sent a smile in Alex and Darwin's direction when they walked into the room.

"What's up?" Darwin asked sensing a slightly awkward atmosphere in the room.

"We're trying to be okay." Liesel replied and shrugged simply. She moved out of the way when Alex seemed to wish to come over.

"What does that even mean?" The blonde asked while filling a glass with water and took to leaning beside her.

Liesel sighed and hung her head. "We're effectively going to be walking into a war zone. Are you really confident about that, Alex? Some of us aren't, even if you are." She said with a nod and a sidelong glance. He merely frowned and seemed to muse over her words before shrugging and sitting next to Sean, and in the seat Liesel was just occupying.

"Hey," all looked up and to the door as Raven suddenly appeared around the door frame. She smiled suddenly from getting everyone's attention so simply. "Anyone seen Hank?" She asked with a troubled look. So far he was the only person she hadn't come across in her travels through the manor.

"Good question," Raven looked to the side as Charles appeared with Moira in tow. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked at those gathered. At least everyone was up and about. There was no need to go knocking on doors and having to persuade those hiding within to get up and out. Though everyone seemed to be alert and wide awake, there was all the same hesitant apprehension lurking in their eyes. The same feeling was even hanging in the air. It made the large kitchen space actually feel a lot smaller, claustrophobic even. "Come on, he's most likely still hiding away in that lab of his." It was the only logical place he would be.

With agreeing nods and muttered words, everyone seemed to come to and move from their seats. Turning out of the room, they all filed along the corridor in silence. Reaching Hank's lab, they all looked sceptically at the sign stuck on the door. 'Gone to the airbase. Bring the crate marked X – Hank.' Charles reached up and tugged it from the door. He turned the paper over in his hands before reaching forwards and pushing the doors open. 

The only thing that he, along with everyone else, didn't expect to see was total chaos and disarray. Tables were turned over, some were cracked and split. Chairs were thrown across the room, some had even smashed from the impact against the wall. Anything and everything which was on the desk tops was now on the floor; either torn up, smashed, cracked of thrown halfway across the room from its original position. Slowly but surely Charles moved forwards into the room, everyone seemed as tentative as him to step foot through the threshold. Yet once everyone was, they all took to peering over everything. Beakers, glasses, and test tubes crunched under foot; there was no way to avoid not stepping on something. The floor was totally littered with debris.

"What happened here?" Erik questioned while taking a torn notebook from Liesel's hands. She was holding it between finger and thumb, looking at it with sceptical eyes as if it was going to suddenly grow legs and run across the room. She was more looking at the tear marks which marred the book. Gashes had basically ripped the book cover and several pieces of the lined paper within.

"Someone's been having a smashing time." Liesel whispered while lifting her boot from the floor and looking to the glass. Erik looked at her with a frown. She looked up and smiled, she couldn't help herself. Shaking her head though she looked around worriedly. "Where is Hank then?"

"Good question," Charles looked quickly over to her before turning and glancing at a large crate at the end of the room. Figuring that was the one Hank referenced in his note, he moved forwards. Reaching out he slowly unclipped the front and lifted the top up and peered within. He let out a musing sound and raised an eyebrow. "Well, Hank has been busy."

Alex being the nearest couldn't help but frown at the sight of yellow and blue. "Do we really have to wear these?" By now everyone else had crowded round to look within. Everyone else seemed as optimistic about these apparent suits as the next.

"As none of us have mutated to endure G-force or being riddled by bullets, I suggest we suit up." Charles replied while glancing at Alex and then at everyone else before reaching inside. Thankfully enough, Hank had put little notes on each suit so everyone knew whose was whose and there was not going to be a mix up of any sort. Once standing each holding their suits, everyone seemed to exchange the same look before turning and leaving the room to go and change.

Returning to her room, Liesel placed the suit on the bed and tilted her head to the side. She was inspecting the rather...interesting item, interesting being one word for it. It was all in one, she wasn't going to use the words 'boiler suit', but it did have a main zip, and a belt to fasten it up and make it fitted. There was only one thing for it, enough inspecting, time to get changed. Zipping up the front of the suit, Liesel buckled up the belt and frowned. She felt ridiculous. She looked ridiculous. Scrunching her nose up she reached behind herself and took to tying her hair up in a simple tie. Be fair, as much as these suits were tight and a little restricting, they also felt very durable.

Turning and looking to the two items she left on the bed she moved away from the mirror and picked them up. She supposed what she held in her grasp could be classed as gauntlets. They looked somewhat like a pair. They fitted in with the colour scheme of the suit, typically enough. The main body of colour was dark blue, silver wiring could be seen slightly if they were squinted at. Slipping one on she attached a clip from the gauntlet to her suit. The two connected somehow, and she didn't totally understand this at all. But she repeated the action for the second one before flexing her fingers.

They felt stiff, but after wiggling them about for a few moments the movement became easier. Hearing a knock she turned just as the door opened. "Don't ask," she rolled her eyes when Erik went to clearly say something about the items attached to her forearms and hands.

"Interesting," was all he opted to comment instead while reaching forwards and turning her arm curiously. He didn't understand it either, but clearly this design difference stemmed from her powers, or something. That was the best shot he had really.

"They're heavy." Liesel said quietly. They were, they weighed her arms down a bit. Not that it took humungous effort to move, or lift her arms with these on, but she definitely felt the weight difference. One thing she knew for certain, these would take a while to get used to. Why couldn't Hank have given these to her earlier than today? She felt like she needed a training session just to get accustomed to them, plus figure out how to properly harness her powers through them.

"Prototypes." Erik mused while nodding back to the door. She gave a nod of her own and walked after him. It'd make sense that these were prototypes. Hank clearly didn't have time to refine whatever these even were. Hearing the quiet sounds of tinkering, Erik looked down and reached up to swat her hand away. "You break that and it's truly broken. The only person who understands, and made it is elsewhere." Liesel was picking about at one of the gauntlets. She seemed to have a habit of having things encasing her arms, and her being typically her; had to pick and pull and investigate.

"Erik?"

"What is it?" He replied sounding a little more blunt than he meant to be. He couldn't help it. He was trying to focus on the encounter that was drawing ever nearer.

"...Are you worried?"

He looked at her briefly before walking down the stairs they suddenly reached. "About?"

"What if he gets away again?" Which was a valid point to pick up and ask about.

"He won't." Erik said simply. After all, it seemed considering the situation, Shaw would want nothing more than to be there in the middle of all the chaos. Seeing as how she was about to say something else, he reached up and put a finger to her lips. "We are stronger now. We are smarter. If he tries to escape, he will fail because we will catch him; and then we will deal with him...yes?" Erik's tone was one of reassurance, he was certain that Shaw wouldn't get away, deadly certain at that. Liesel had sounded and looked at him worriedly, Erik knew she was scared; even if on face value she said otherwise, Shaw would always be the one man who truly terrified her.

"Ja..."

"But?"

"But...I don't know...I've just had a niggling feeling since this morning."

"You're just thinking too much on this. It's actually a lot simpler than you think." Erik said while pulling his hand gently free of her grasp. To talk she had to move his finger away, and once she had she just held onto his hand.

"Are you two ready?" Looking to Charles they just nodded, he looked between them with a small frown. He had a horrid feeling he had just interrupted something. He seemed to have that skill.

"No. Sorry, I have to be honest." Liesel said with worried eyes. She let out a startled noise when she found hands on her shoulders and she was suddenly turned to face Erik.

He frowned and looked at her seriously. "Don't hide away and live in fear of him again." He paused. "Aren't you a little sick and tired of always having to do that? It's up there on the list along with running about and never stopping in one place, right?" Liesel didn't reply, she simply sighed and hung her head. Only because of the small amount of distance between them, she actually just ended up resting her head against his chest.

"He's right you know?" Her head tilted to the side as she looked to Charles. He smiled and crossed his arms. "It's not only you two who've been victimised by him. You two are ultimately the only two which can seek justice for what he did to you though. Don't look so ashamed of admitting that you're afraid, Liesel. I think anyone else would feel the same." Even more so considering what happened the last time she crossed paths with Shaw. She clearly didn't want a repeat. She wasn't even totally healed, yet she was still going to fight. She shut her eyes and nodded thoughtfully over his words. "Now, come on, we do have somewhere to be. We still need to find Hank, remember?" He cheered up with a smile and a clap of his hands.

Liesel opened her eyes and looked at him, while Erik merely leaned away from the top of Liesel's head and nodded. Patting her shoulders, she got the message and moved away. With a sigh she followed after Charles with Erik trailing by her side. Everyone pretty much looked similar in the suit department. Apart from Sean who had wing attachments, and Alex who had a metallic disk on his chest. Those two and Liesel were the only ones with varied suits. They stood out somewhat from the others.

"Ready?" Moira stood to one side twirling keys in her hands. Clearly she had managed to get some sort of transport for them to get to the airbase. With varied mumbled words and nods they all seemed to be as ready as they were ever going to be. Which seemed enough for her as she turned and walked towards the exit.

----

Edited: 13/June/2019

Reedited: 19/August/2021