The world seemed to be in slow motion for just a moment as Erik ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know whether or not he heard correctly but the way Clara looked at him confirmed what he thought. He had a child, a child he never even knew about. He covered his mouth and slowly breathed into it as if that would help him relax. He felt like this was all just a dream and he would wake up suddenly from this cruel dilemma but nothing came.
Somehow, during Erik's coping, Charles suggested that both he, Hank, and Mystique leave to have Clara and Erik be alone. He didn't notice that they left, in fact, he just looked up and only saw Clara for a moment. Even covered in holes, soot, and dirt, she still looked the same to him as she stared at Erik. He could tell that Clara wanted to keep this a secret for as long as she could but fate had a funny way of bringing these two together again and again.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want to" Clara told him, "I was sick and tired of going back and forth with you that when I figured out I was pregnant…"
Clara stopped as tears filled her eyes, "I just figured it was for the best"
"And Hank knew this whole time" Erik said as he felt his voice become rough, knowing he was under the same roof with the man who refused to tell him that he had a daughter.
"I told him not to tell you" Clara responded, picking up on his voice, "He wanted me to tell you, to come back and work for the mansion but I didn't. I wanted to raise this kid on my own and I wasn't going to have my past define me with her"
"So what changed?" Erik asked as he looked up to her, "How did this… Nathan figure out that she was mine as well?"
"I don't know" Clara sighed and shook her head, "But he's a biologist and I don't find it coincidental that he randomly took her after she started to display powers"
"She has gifts already?" Erik said, surprised.
Clara nodded, "From what I can tell, she's overloaded and short circuited electrical systems around the house"
Clara let out an airy laugh as she shook her head, "Nearly drives me mad everytime she does that"
Clara remembered how the first time her daughter did that, she was stunned to find out she was a mutant. Not only a mutant, but a mutant that displayed a power almost similar to her father's. She found it ironic and annoying how she had to make trips to the power circuit box on the daily before Hank invented a newer one to restore the electricity by itself.
Clara blinked back the tears and cleared her throat, "Anyways, we need to find her now before anything bad happens to her"
"What makes you think she's in immediate danger?" Erik asked.
Clara turned back to him as if he asked the stupidest question, "Because, she's a daughter of two mutants and one of them has shown the entire world that he should be feared. Having both of those dwelling within your blood doesn't necessarily make you go unnoticed"
Erik opened his mouth to ask her something else but Clara quickly left the room, making him trail after her. Clara didn't have to go far as she noticed the others were in Hank's school office as Charles was hanging up the phone.
Clara asked, "Who did you call?"
"Moira" Charles answered, "Hank told me his name and profession, I just figured it would be nice to know his background before we confront him"
"What would be nice is if we used Cerebro" Clara told him, "My daughter is out there alone and terrified for her life and you want to make an excuse to catch up with a lost girlfriend?"
"Clara!" Mystique yelled out.
"What?!" Clara turned to her.
"You're being impulsive" Mystique told her, "It's understandable in a case like this but you need to figure out what would be the best move here"
"Our best move is Cerebro" Clara told her friend, "I haven't seen her in over 12 hours and a lot could've happened already"
Hank took a step closer to her, "Her mother is no good to her dead"
"I can heal myself, Hank"
"When you see the injury coming"
Clara let out a frustrated sigh as she ran a hand through her hair and started to pace.
Mystique chose to ignore this as she turned to her brother, "Do you want me to assemble the team?"
Charles shook his head, "Not yet, Clara is right, we have to find out where her daughter is before doing anything. Moira will come to the mansion as soon as she gets files on Mr. Essex"
"Nathan has files in the CIA?" Hank asked.
"Moira says the name sounds familiar which is never a good sign" Charles sighed, "Shall we?"
Clara didn't expect for the underground levels to look almost exactly the same as they once did, it almost felt like deja vu all over again. The last time she was down there, they were trying to look for Erik because he lost his family, unknowing that Apocalypse had gotten to him first. Clara gave a wary glance over in his direction as he continued to walk with the small group, showing no signs of thinking back to that day. In fact, no one in the group did as they all walked into Cerebro, the same model as last time. She just hoped that they would have enough luck to find her daughter and get a move on before it's too late.
"The last place she was at would be Dundee, Illinois so try searching from there outward" Hank suggested.
"Dundee?" Mystique asked, "Your hometown?"
"Yeah" Hank nodded, "Clara payed rent at my home"
From the corner of her eye, Erik stiffened up as he tried his best to not react as the lights dimmed. The familiar flash of light happened as dozens of people flew by the group as Clara bounced on her heels. She watched as it slowed down to the point that you could see everyone as Charles swam through minds upon minds to find her daughter. But the longer that it took, the more worried she became.
"We have a problem?"
Clara went up to the front, "What is it?"
Charles looked around, "I can't locate her"
A gasp hitched into her throat as she grabbed onto her chest. Did that mean her daughter was dead? Instead of finding her daughter, she was going to have to search for a corpse?
"Something is blocking me" Charles continued, "I don't know what it is but I can feel a shield over a base but not know who is inside"
"So what does that mean?" Erik asked.
"It means that if your daughter is within these walls" Charles said, "I won't be able to figure out where it is"
