The following morning, Erik and Erica regrouped with everyone in the main room of the underground and Erica smiled as she saw Kris bonding with Clarice.
Johnny was in charge and he began, "Ok team, we're going to get some files on Trask in order to find out what they are doing to our fellow mutants. My team will include Blink, Magneto," gasps erupted around the room because not everyone knew he was there but Johnny continued. "Myself, and Lightning. We'll go in and get back out with hopefully little to no attention. The rest of you are to continue your normal activities while we're gone. Does everyone understand" he asked.
The room filled with nods before he added his last piece, "My team will stay here to go over the plan. Everyone else, get to your stations. Thank you."
The room cleared until all that was left was Clarice, Johnny, Magneto and Erica.
"So, what's our game plan?" Erica asked, speaking up first, excited to be involved in a mission for the first time in years.
"We'll drive until we're about a mile away from the building and then we'll walk the rest of the way," Johnny began, "Once we're close enough, Lightning, you'll create some bad weather. It needs to be subtle enough not to arouse suspicion but enough to obscure their view. Can you do that?"
"In my sleep," Erica replied with a head shake from Erik at her cockiness.
"Once the bad weather starts, Clarice will open a portal that she, Erik and I will go through. Once we're in, Erik and I can clear a path and get what we need then Clarice will portal us back to Erica and we'll leave. How does that sound?"
"Do you have a visual of the inside of the building?" Clarice asked, tension across her body, "You know I can't open a portal unless I know what I'm looking for."
Johnny pulled out some images he'd pulled offline with the help of their tech wizard, Sage, "These should help you." He directed his attention back to the entire group, "If no one has any questions then we can load up in the SUV and take care of business."
"I'm good," Erica replied, looking to Erik for his response.
Erik nodded, "As long as they haven't gotten smart and switched over to plastic, we should be fine. I haven't been in the field for awhile so I don't see why they'd waste any resources preparing for me," he mused.
Clarice gave a simple nod before they made their way to the Jeep and began their drive to Baton Rouge.
"Clarice, how are things going with Kris?" Erica asked during the drive, checking on her friend without looking too overbearing.
Clarice smiled, "I like her a lot. We're going to get along really well. Thanks for bringing her along because I was getting pretty lonely there. I'm surprised she wants into this craziness though when she has not dog in the fight."
"When we had to leave because of what happened with the X-men and the heat from Sentinel Services, we lost a lot of time together so I think she's here because she missed me and she knows the struggle I've faced," Erica explained, shedding some light on what seemed like a bizarre choice from Kris.
"That makes a lot more sense," Clarice agreed as they continued to make small talk until they reached their destination and Erica could easily see why Kris was getting along with her so easily.
"Time to walk," Johnny announced as he pulled over into some tree cover on the side of the road.
The team got out and began walking through the woods to their goal. Erica grabbed Erik's hand while they walked, "Are you hating me for bringing you back into the game yet?" she asked, looking up at his blue eyes.
He shook his head, "Not yet but let us see how this mission goes, shall we? The confidence level is not strong enough to make me comfortable. I never went into any plan without certainty I'd succeed."
"They don't have the team you did," she countered causing him to nod in agreement, "If they did, we wouldn't have had to join. Thank you for doing this because as scared as I am of where our lives will go from this decision, I'm glad you're by my side," she admitted.
"That is where I will always be, my Dear," he replied, squeezing her hand as they walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.
Johnny gave the signal once they were in the correct range to execute their plan and Erica closed her eyes, opening them again to reveal yellow flashes racing through them and suddenly a thunderstorm began. It was just the normal kind they had all the time in Baton Rouge which meant Clarice was ready to open the portal, leaving Erica alone in the woods to keep the rain going.
Erica stood among the trees, rain pouring down on her, as she waited for the others to return. She found her power harder to control and she had to concentrate much more then usual to keep her small storm from growing in magnitude. She felt as though she didn't have full control over her powers but she couldn't determine why.
Finally, the purple portal reappeared before her and Clarice, Erik and Johnny came through. "Can you keep the storm going while we walk?" Johnny asked, hoping for more cover.
Erica nodded as they began their walk back to the car. Magneto noticed the subtle fluctuation in the storm indicating that Lightning wasn't in full control. He couldn't question her until they returned to headquarters but it caused him to worry.
They made it back without any incidents and once they'd gotten in the car, Erica fell asleep and stayed that way until the car was empty other then her and Erik.
He nudged her, "Wake up, Beautiful," he whispered softly.
Erica opened her eyes, taking in the sights around her, "Are we back already?" she asked.
"Yes, you slept the whole way home," he answered before addressing his concerns, "Was everything alright with you today? I noticed you were having trouble controlling your ability and when I pair that with your queasiness and fatigue, it gives me concern," he laid out his worry.
Erica shrugged, "I've noticed the same things but I don't know why, if you think I'm hiding something from you. I just assumed I must be coming down with something," she replied.
"I don't know if that's it but I would very much like you to get checked over by Caitlin," he urged, "Johnny told me that she's the group's doctor while we rode back. Do you think you could do that for me?" he asked with a gentle but sweet smile.
"You know I'd do anything for you," she replied, "We might as well get it over with now."
Erik nodded as he reached for her hand to help her from the truck and guide her inside. Erik led her straight to Caitlin but they found her busy with a young woman seizing.
"She's busy," Erica stated, "Let's just come back later on or maybe tomorrow."
Erik nodded, though he wasn't satisfied, "What's going on?" he asked.
"While you were gone, our location in Alpharetta was attacked and when we went to save them," Sonya began, "We found out Trask put someone on the inside to find our location. We hope what y'all got will give us a lead because need a win."
"Is there anything we can do?" Erica asked gaining her a frown from Erik.
Sonya shook her head, "Nothing until we get a lead."