Peter has spent the last few hours excitedly imagining the first mission he'll be assigned in a year. He wanted it so badly that when Charles and Hank gave him the slightest opportunity, he was already grabbing it without even knowing what it was.

They said, recruitment. They had a lot of data about a young mutant in England, a potentially dangerous one with several reports of aggression; something that would definitely be intense, but he was already used to intense things, he could handle it, right?

Not exactly, things weren't as easy as they seemed and Charles felt the need to warn him about what this all meant. “I know this is your first mission, kid, and it might make you excited, but remember,” he began to say, taking on a serious tone in his voice. “A mutant on alert can be more volatile than a missile, you need to put yourself in their shoes, be willing to listen and understand. We want to offer a safer option, not force them into something.”

Peter thought about those words the whole time, mentally rehearsing what he should do. He wanted to be like Charles, of course he did, who wouldn't? But honestly, he wasn't — he didn't know how to put together some inspiring speech and he was sure he wouldn't be able to convince anyone just using that, he needed something that was really his, he just didn't know what.

He only managed to slow his thoughts when he heard Hank's voice. “This is the place,” a stingy dive bar in a dark park of Liverpool, so lovely, it almost looked like a scene from a horror movie. “We're a little overdressed for this.”

Indeed, Hank was right. Neither he nor Charles looked like the type of people who would frequent that place, and not just because of their clothes — although that was a turn off — they wouldn't be able to simply camouflage themselves there until they reached their goal of being able to talk to the mutant. On the other hand, Peter wasn't that different from the other young people there.

“I can go.” At first, Charles didn't know if he should agree given the fact that it was Peter's first mission, it didn't seem right for him to do it alone and unsupervised around a dangerous mutant. However, Hank reminded them that if they didn't act now, they might lose the only goal they had.

Charles relented, even though he was a little concerned about the young man's safety; perhaps giving him a vote of confidence was what he needed. “Fine. But, don't forget what we talked about before.” He reminded him. “Find the mutant, bring them to talk to us and think before you act, we trust you.”

That boost of confidence was what Peter needed to walk into that dimly lit dive bar with the certainty that he could do it. It was a rather grimy place, almost a little too unhealthy for his taste, but he managed to act as if he was used to it — not that anyone was paying attention to him, there was a band getting ready to perform on a small stage further back and while other people focused on that, he focused on finding you.

Hank had shown him some of your physical features, clearly you weren't the only person in that bar who would have those specific features, but there was something apparent about you that was unmistakable and he found you using it. You were sitting with a red drink in your hand, looking around with a not-so-friendly expression, leather jacket around your shoulders and an undeniable intimidating presence.

Peter had to swallow hard. Cautiously, he sat down next to you and ordered the weakest drink while placing the speedster's goggles he used to wore on the counter, close to where you could see.

“Nice goggles,” was the first thing you said when you noticed it. “You're a mutant, aren't you? A speedster, who sent you here?”

He didn't think the silly idea would work so quickly, but it was good that it did, he just hoped you wouldn't get mad at him anytime soon. “Oh, hi to you too.” He said ironically before remembering who he was dealing with. “Have you ever heard of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters? It's a cool place in New York for people like us, not exactly near here.”