"What's your plan? Where are you headed?"
Seated in the truck's cabin, George questioned Gabriela and the plump driver, Iza.
In the films, Gabriela had taken the mutant children to the North Dakota border—but not just because of some comic book fantasy about a mutant sanctuary.
She wasn't a child. She wouldn't blindly trust fiction.
Besides, Rickto, the eldest among the kids, had later communicated via radio with an unknown faction.
Given George's mutant status and his aid in their escape, Gabriela had begun to trust him. She didn't hold back.
"We need to reach the North Dakota border by 5 PM next Friday, then cross into Canada."
"Why Canada? And why that specific time?"
George feigned confusion.
Gabriela explained:
"We researched this. Before mutants vanished, Canada was the most mutant-friendly nation. So before the escape, we reached out to their government.
They agreed to take the children—but discreetly.
They'll disrupt satellite surveillance at the border and extract us on the other side. But only if we arrive on time."
"Ah, the Canadian government."
George nodded. Having watched the X-Men films, he knew the broad strokes—but not these details.
Canada's historical tolerance for mutants was news to him.
Yet his brow furrowed. He didn't trust governments—entities bound by politics, prone to shifting stances.
What if Canada's current leadership wasn't as welcoming? What if these children became lab rats again?
He wouldn't gamble on such uncertainty.
He voiced his concerns to Gabriela.
Her surprise was evident. For a mutant who'd never left the facility, George's foresight was startling.
But her reply was resigned:
"We know the risks. But we've got no better options."
Working in that hellish lab, they'd seen humanity's worst. They feared Canada might be another cage.
But staying meant certain death. Canada offered a sliver of hope.
"Life's cruel that way," George sighed.
His past life had been one of powerlessness too—just less dire.
Still, he had no better solution. He was a stranger in this world.
But he'd never surrender his fate to Canada. He'd escort the kids to the border, then vanish.
Helping them escape was kindness enough. He wouldn't shackle himself to Canadian oversight.
The border was his limit.
Somewhere along the way, he'd forgotten the selfish rationale he'd used at the corridor fork.
"We're in Juárez. We'll stock up, then head straight for New Mexico—north to North Dakota.
If all goes well, two days max!"
After hours on the road, their truck entered the infamous Mexican border city. George peered out.
Juárez. Northeast Mexico. South of the Rio Grande, facing El Paso.
Dubbed one of Earth's most violent cities. At its peak, 15,000 murders in six years.
The heart of Mexico's drug cartels. America's narcotics pipeline.
"Breaking news: Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, was abducted today in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. His whereabouts remain unknown—"
As Gabriela and Iza shopped, George froze at the supermarket's blaring TV.
"The birth of Iron Man."
A jolt of realization. Then—a grin.
"Maybe there's another way."
Mentally replaying every Marvel film he'd seen, he hatched a new plan.
Governments were fickle. Tony Stark? Less so.
Arrogant? Yes. Philandering? Sure. But principled.
As one of America's top capitalists, even the U.S. government couldn't bend him. He'd refused to surrender the Iron Man tech.
Just as Professor X had run his mutant school unchallenged—backed by wealth and influence.
With Stark's protection, these kids could live normally. Study. Thrive.
And George? He'd gain a safe haven to master magic.
Would aligning with Stark drag him into future crises?
Probably. But survival now trumped hypothetical dangers. Power was the ultimate shield.
Besides, this wasn't the sanitized MCU. With mutants in the mix, global annihilation was plausible.
Hiding wouldn't save him if Earth fell.
Better to steer fate than rely on heroes.
"First step: rescue Tony Stark. Make him owe me."
George stroked his chin.
Earning Stark's genuine gratitude required saving his life.
But how?
He lacked the strength—or even Stark's coordinates. Just a vague memory: a desert cave.