The soldiers who remained in the mansion found out quickly what they had walked into.
This was not the raid they had planned or the organized extraction of mutant subjects from a school. Instead, something unexpected arrived from the east wing and moved through their formation with unhurried certainty. Ethan addressed each threat methodically, as he always did when protecting others. The term 'incapacitation' did not fully describe his actions, and he did not dwell on whether it should have.
These were Stryker's people. They came armed to a school. They took children.
And they took Raven.
Ilyana moved through the mansion with him, opening stepping disc portals for frightened students hiding in corners, closets, and under beds. The portals transported students to the mansion's secure sub-level, regardless of their willingness, as time did not allow for hesitation.
She kept pace without comment.
She had seen worse in Limbo and, with the practical perspective of someone who had governed a demonic dimension, recognized this response as proportionate.
"East wing is clear," she called from a corridor junction, her blue eyes moving fast over the intersecting hallways.
"Check the other wings," Ethan told her, already moving toward the sound of boots on the upper floor.
She opened a disc and stepped through.
---
The remaining X-Men gathered in a secure interior room on the ground floor, chosen for its lack of windows and heavy door. Logan stood by the door, alert and ready. Jean monitored the mansion's condition with her psychic awareness, while Rogue remained focused and attentive near Logan.
Scott had a slow-bleeding cut on his jaw. Bobby appeared pale but steady. Storm showed the composed resolve of someone managing the aftermath of recent significant actions.
Ethan looked at all of them in the fraction of a second it took to confirm they were intact. Then he looked at Rogue.
She met his gaze, her expression clearly indicating she was about to deliver unwelcome news.
"Where is Raven?" he asked.
Rogue held his gaze. "They took her," she said. "Three soldiers got to her before Logan could — she was in the east wing, away from the main group." She paused, and the pause had weight. "They had suppression collars. The mutant-inhibitor kind."
Jean crossed the room to him. "We tried to follow the signal, but they moved fast. Helicopters — multiple. They were gone before we could—"
"How long ago?" Ethan said.
Jean checked the Phoenix's temporal awareness. "Seven minutes. Maybe eight."
He went still.
This was not resignation, but the focus of someone who had already decided on a course of action and was preparing to act.
He extended his hearing beyond the room, through the mansion, and into the surrounding area. Using skills honed over months, he filtered out irrelevant sounds, focusing on the one heartbeat he recognized above all others.
There it was.
He identified helicopters moving west-northwest, flying low without navigation lights. Among them, he detected Raven's steady but slightly elevated heartbeat, confirming she was intact and alert.
The distance was already significant. Seventeen miles, approximately, and increasing.
He informed them of his findings and said he would return. He did not explain his plan, as doing so would have taken time and prompted unnecessary discussion.
He left before anyone could frame a response.
---
As he moved from the mansion to the helicopters, Ethan quickly assessed his readiness, as he always did before taking decisive action.
He was not calm.
He had remained calm during the mansion's clearance, relying on experience to channel his emotions into precise action.
That control was harder to maintain now, with Raven's heartbeat ahead and the image of a suppression collar on someone he loved reminding him of what he stood to lose.
The helicopters were ahead.
He moved.
---
The first helicopter's crew heard nothing.
The rotors. The dark. The instrumentation was doing its routine work, the pilot was running the preplanned route at low altitude, and the soldiers in the back compartment were in the organized silence of a unit moving to the next phase of an operation they believed was already complete.
Then something came through the hull.
Not around it. Through it — the fuselage giving way in a line that moved faster than the eye could track, the metal parting rather than resisting, and before the fact of the breach had fully registered in any mind present in the aircraft, the aircraft's load had changed.
The compartment was one passenger lighter.
Ethan descended through the darkness with Raven in his arms, his biokinetic aura shielding them from all risks of the extraction. He ensured a controlled descent, prioritizing her safety over urgency.
He set her down at the treeline and checked her thoroughly before speaking. He removed the suppression collar with precise force, ensuring her safety.
She looked at him.
"I'm alright," she said, with the firmness of someone who understood he needed to hear it stated directly and was providing that. "Ethan. I'm alright."
He regarded her for a moment, recognizing her steady demeanor as she chose to process the experience later.
"Good," he said, which was not an adequate word for what he meant and was the only one available.
The helicopter crashed in the distant field, its impact audible but not overwhelming. The resulting fire was visible over the treeline, casting an unnatural orange glow.
Raven watched the scene, then turned to him. She did not ask about the soldiers, choosing not to discuss it that night.
"The students," she said instead.
"Next," he told her, and went up.
---
There were three more aircraft.
He handled each aircraft similarly, adapting to its configuration and passenger count: entering through the hull, extending his aura to those he rescued, and removing them, leaving the rest to their fate.
The students, disoriented and frightened, emerged from each helicopter into the cold February air. Ethan brought each group safely to the treeline with practiced precision.
He gathered nine students of varying ages at the forest's edge, noting their fear and, in two cases, unusual quiet that warranted attention. He checked each one and found them shaken but unharmed.
The helicopters burned in a line against the February night, their orange glow reflecting off the clouds and visible for miles.
Before bringing down the last aircraft, he took the radio handset from its communications rack. The frequency was live, connecting Stryker's field assets to the operation's command.
He keyed it.
He spoke calmly, uninterested in displaying anger.
"Stryker," he said, in the even tone he used for things he had already decided. "Or whoever is on this frequency that Stryker will eventually hear this through — I want to be clear about what happens next. You came to a school. You took the children. You took someone I love." He paused, not for effect, but because the next part deserved its own space. "Start counting whatever time you believe you have left. I'm going to find the address you operate from, the way I found the facility in the Canadian mountains. And when I arrive, the outcome will be the same." He looked at the burning helicopters in the field. "This was your warning."
He dropped the handset.
The last helicopter joined the others.
---
The X-Men reached the treeline quickly and in coordinated fashion, their teamwork evident from experience. Logan arrived first, followed by Jean, her Phoenix aura visible, and Rogue, moving effortlessly with her enhanced strength.
Scott, Bobby, Storm, and others who had been inside during the raid joined them outside as the situation shifted.
They found the following:
Nine students stood in the February grass near the treeline, most still visibly shaken. Two held onto each other, their fear subsiding but not gone.
Raven stood with Ethan, composed and present, her demeanor steady despite recent events.
Logan observed the burning helicopters in the distance, their orange glow final against the February sky.
He did not ask what had happened to the soldiers.
Jean assessed Ethan with her psychic awareness and found him focused on those present, standing by his decisions.
Rogue approached him directly, evaluating his well-being rather than the situation.
"You held it together," she said.
"Barely," which was the honest answer.
She paused, indicating she had more to say but would wait. She then greeted Raven warmly, glad for her presence.
Raven's grip on Ethan's hand tightened slightly.
Storm moved among the students with gentle authority, calmly checking on each by name and offering reassurance.
Scott approached Ethan, glancing at the burning helicopters and then at him. Their shared look acknowledged their history and recognized that Ethan had done what was necessary.
He said nothing, but his nod conveyed genuine respect.
Logan joined Ethan, signaling he recognized the significance of the moment.
"You found them fast," he said.
"I know her heartbeat,"
Logan looked at him. "That's—" he paused, then continued, "That's something."
"Yes," Ethan said. "It is."
Bobby counted the students, cross-referencing from memory to ensure everyone was present. Once confirmed, he nodded to Xavier, who had arrived to support the students.
Xavier surveyed the group with the care of someone responsible for each name on the roster, checking the students first, then the X-Men, and finally Raven.
Then, at the burning aircrafts in the distance.
He looked at Ethan last.
"Thank you," Xavier said.
His gratitude was for everything that had been done.
Ethan looked at the sky, noting the fading fires, and considered Stryker receiving the message he had sent.
"We need to find the address," he said to the general group. "Whatever operational base he's running this from. He has more assets than one raid."
"Tomorrow," Raven said beside him. Her voice was even and composed, and held everything she was doing with the night's events in a container that would open when she decided to open it. "Tonight, we make sure the students are safe. Tomorrow we find the address."
He looked at her.
"If you say so," he agreed.
Ilyana stepped out at the treeline and efficiently surveyed the group, checking the number and condition of the students before turning to Ethan and Raven.
"All accounted for?" she asked.
"They are," Bobby confirmed.
She closed the disc and walked toward the group, ready for the next task.
She glanced at the burning aircraft, then at Ethan.
"Proportionate," she said.
"I believe so yes,"
She accepted his response and moved past him to assist the students, ready to begin the necessary work.
The February night encompassed the field, the burning light, and those gathered—everyone present and unharmed—as the radio message reached Stryker, who overestimated his remaining time.