So, it turns out Steve is actually Captain America.
"Duh," Ororo says, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows that. It's, like, not even a secret."
Jean feels pretty dumb. The name Steve Rogers had sounded vaguely familiar, but it's common enough that she didn't make the connection.
"Well, it's still technically a secret." Steve says, looking apologetic as he glances back at them from the pilot's seat. "Even though my identity is out there if you know your history, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't like to talk about the fact that the new Captain America is literally the same person as the old one."
The heavy military ship they're inside has none of the comforts of the flying car. It's basically a big square box with stubby wings and a cargo area that looks like it was designed to transport troops as efficiently as possible. Jean is strapped into a seat intended for a much taller adult and the harness keeps digging into her neck no matter how often she tugs it down.
"Is it classified?" Scott asks, tugging on his own safety harness.
"Uh, sort of…" Steve says, looking sheepish as he shrugs. Jean leans her head on the narrow window next to her, pressing her forehead against the cool glass as she strains to see beneath them. They've been circling in the air for several minutes now, waiting for clearance to land on the helicarrier. Jean can see swarms of people in the woods below, lights flashing through the trees as soldiers surround the edges of the scene where they crashed. She wonders what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing with Erik.
Steve was thrown off the hood of the car as they crashed, thudding to the ground next to a small stream. Jean was tossed around as well, and landed in the backseat on top of Scott and Ororo in a groaning heap.
After they untangled themselves, Scott managed to get the door open and stumbled out. Jean started to follow him before realizing Erik had passed out. He was slumped over in the driver's seat like he was out for good. He wouldn't wake up despite Jean shaking him and Ororo yelling "Erik!" right in his ear.
Jean was considering making a dash into the woods when Steve reappeared, stumbling up to them half-soaked from landing in the stream. "Okay," he said, shaking his head as if he had water in his ear. "Time to go, kids."
Steve hustled the three of them away from the flying car as S.H.I.E.L.D. ships started landing all around them, soldiers pouring out and rushing to cover the area. Jean probably should have protested about leaving Erik behind, but it felt like such a relief to have a seemingly-trustworthy adult there taking charge. When Steve motioned for them to follow, Jean grabbed Ororo's hand and ran after him without thinking.
Now that they're in the air circling the helicarrier, she's beginning to doubt the intelligence of this decision. Erik thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. might be involved in the Professor's disappearance. What if the three of them just walked into the arms of his kidnappers?
By the time they finally land Jean's stomach is knotted up with worry, wondering what their reception will be like. Steve must notice because he pats her on the shoulder before picking up his shield and attaching it to the holster on his back. He leads the three of them down the exit ramp and out onto the windy deck of the helicarrier.
There's a chill dampness in the air outside, the close walls of the clouds making it impossible to tell if they're a hundred feet up or a thousand. Jean's hair immediately gets whipped around into her eyes. She does her best to catch hold of it with her hands and tuck it away. She brought hair ties, but they're somewhere back in the luggage at the crash scene. She wonders if they'll be allowed to get their clothes out of their suitcases or if everything will be confiscated.
The Black Widow is waiting next to the landing pad and nods at Steve as they approach. "Glad you finally got them."
"All in one piece, if a little bruised," Steve says.
Jean glances over at Scott and sees that he's narrowing his eyes behind his glasses. "What do you think they'll do with—" Jean starts to ask him, but cuts herself off when Steve glances back at them, her question carried away by the wind.
As they walk across the deck, the helicarrier breaks through the cloud bank and rises up into the clear night sky above. There's a thin sliver of crescent moon in the west toward the horizon. It's beautiful and startling, a reminder that the long runway they're standing on is actually part of a giant flying ship. Ororo pulls away from the group and looks back like she might be considering running to the edge of the landing strip to look down. Jean grabs her hand and pulls her over to walk between her and Scott.
Steve leads them across the runway past rows of more of the boxy transport ships. They go into a large covered hanger full of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel working on aircraft, all of them seemingly too busy to take notice of Captain America and the Black Widow escorting three lost kids.
They walk through the hanger and into the depths of the helicarrier, passing through several corridors and confusing turns before Steve brings them to a stop in front of an elevator door. He presses the call button and the doors open immediately with a metallic chime.
They go inside and Steve punches a number into the keypad and then presses his thumb to a fingerprint reader. It glows red once and chimes as the elevator begins moving, carrying them down into the bowels of the helicarrier.
They ride in silence. Jean finds herself fidgeting with her hair and glances at Steve and the Black Widow out of the corner of her eye. They're both calm, the Widow looking bored even. She's pursing her lips like she's irritated by the elevator's slowness. She sighs a little and glances at Scott. "Sorry for hitting you, kid."
Scott does a double-take and then looks away from her. He shrugs. "Oh, that's okay. Sorry for almost hitting you with my eyebeams."
One corner of the Widow's mouth twitches and nearly becomes a grin. "Only almost."
The elevator chimes again and comes to a halt. The doors slide open to reveal a large windowless room chock-full of machine parts and dismantled computers. It looks like some sort of laboratory with dozens of different workstations set up around the room and a large holographic computer display at the center. The room is surprisingly quiet after the hustle of the flight deck. There doesn't appear to be anyone here despite the scattering of half-finished projects in various corners. It reminds Jean somewhat of Hank's lab in the basement of the mansion, although Hank always keeps his space much neater.
Steve walks toward the center of the room, turning his head like he's looking for someone. "Stark?" he asks. Black Widow motions for the three of them to follow and they all step out of the elevator after him.
"Stark?" Steve says again.
"Busy," an annoyed voice says, calling from somewhere on the left side of the room. Steve turns toward the voice and pushes a heavy cart aside, revealing a man with a goatee sitting on the floor surrounded by pieces of machinery. The parts piled around him are all painted with glossy gold and red paint, but the shine has been rubbed off or chipped away in many places, making them look much the worse for wear. The man is holding a metal plate in his hands and seems to be working on it with a tiny screwdriver. He looks tired and disheveled, like he's been sitting on that floor for a long time.
"Very busy," the man continues. "As you could probably guess from the 'busy' light which is currently on—the whole purpose of which, by the way, is to prevent people from interrupting me when I'm doing delicate work that requires close attention to—" The man looks up and notices Scott, Jean, and Ororo for the first time. "What—are those the kids? Why are they here?"
"Yes, those are the kids," the Widow says. "We wanted to go somewhere quiet to talk while things are being sorted out topside."
The man stands up and frowns at them. "Here? They can't stay here. I haven't finished baby-proofing."
"We're not babies," Ororo says.
"Of course not," the man says, holding out a hand placatingly. "You're at least toddler age."
Ororo frowns at him, but the Widow cuts in before she can respond. "It's just temporary, Stark," she says.
Jean looks back at the man with the goatee and realizes that he looks a whole lot like Tony Stark. Huh, well, they knew Iron Man was around so that makes sense.
"We'll be out of your hair as soon as the operation is completed," Steve says, unstrapping the bottom of his cowl and pulling it over his head, revealing the top of his face and his mussed brown hair. "We should be moving on soon."
Steve sets down his mask and presses a button on the table-sized computer at the center of the room. A holographic image of the helicarrier appears floating in mid-air. There are dozens of tiny ships surrounding it, circling like bees around a hive. Jean steps up to the table and sees that it also has a tiny projection of the forest below them with the stream where they crashed the flying car. There are still a few ships parked on the ground, but most of them seem to have lifted off and returned to the helicarrier.
Steve folds his arms and turns to look at the three of them, his face growing stern. "So, who wants to tell me what's been going on?"
Scott glances over to Jean and she shrugs. It's hard to know where to start. She scratches the back of her head and runs her fingers through her hair, which is still tangled from the wind on the deck of the helicarrier. She shrugs again.
"Professor Xavier was stolen!" Ororo says. She pushes over a stool from one of the workstations and climbs onto the seat so she can see the top of the table. Once she's perched on top she continues, gesturing wildly. "We were at school and we woke up one morning and he was gone."
"Your school being Xavier's?" Steve asks.
"Right," Scott says. "We're all boarders there. The others went looking for him, but they never came back."
Stark comes up and flips his hand through the holographic image. The helicarrier slides away, vanishing off the edge of the table. Stark performs a complicated series of motions as various boxes appear in midair and then vanish with a flick of his fingers. When he's done a holographic reconstruction of the mansion appears on the table. The image rotates slowly, flickering slightly as it shows a 360-degree view of the grounds.
"Cool interface," Scott says.
"It's very intuitive," Stark explains. "Uses a desktop metaphor to represent the file tree and various software programs. Much easier to use than typing in commands by hand."
"Neat," Scott says, reaching out to poke at the hedge in front of the school. His finger passes right through it. "The Professor has a computer in the basement, and sometimes he lets us feed in the punch cards."
"Do you know if it's IBM or UNIVAC?" Stark asks.
Steve clears his throat, interrupting before Scott can answer. "Who are these 'others' you mentioned?" he asks. "Other students?"
Jean bites her lip. "Um, no. The other—our teachers."
Scott nods. "Yeah, our teachers went looking for the Professor. And when they didn't come back we figured we had to do something on our own."
"That's when we went to New York and ran into you," Jean says.
Steve frowns. "And you didn't tell me all this at the time because…?"
"Well, it's more than just a school…" Jean says. "I mean, it's kind of… we weren't supposed to… we're kind of…"
"Gifted?" Stark asks, raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah," Jean says. "We couldn't tell you what was happening without having to tell you all about the school. So we—lied."
The Black Widow has been silent through all of this, watching quietly from the back of the room, but now she steps forward. "That I can understand. But why call on Magneto of all people for help?"
Scott looks at Jean, his face twitching like he agrees with her. "Um," Jean says. "It seemed like a good idea at the time?"
Stark coughs like he's covering up a laugh while the Widow looks unimpressed. Steve shakes his head. "Well, I can't say it was the best idea, but you're not the only ones who made mistakes about how to handle this situation." He glances back at Stark and the Widow. "I'm just glad you three are safe now and we're going to do the best we can to find your missing teachers."
Scott opens his mouth, probably intending to tell them about Factor Three and the NATO airbase in Germany they were on their way to investigate, but Jean shakes her head vigorously at him. Erik had been so vehement about S.H.I.E.L.D. being involved somehow; they can't risk revealing too much before they know if they can really trust the Avengers.
"What about Magneto?" Jean asks. "Where did you take him?"
"Magneto's in custody," Steve says, waving a hand so the display returns to the helicarrier and zooms in on a single jet circling to land on the deck. "He'll be brought on board and held in the brig."
Jean looks around at the metal walls surrounding them. "Um…"
Stark snorts. "This ship has special cells for 'gifted' individuals, including one that should work for your 'friend.' We do know how to handle people with powers—at least when we're prepared for them."
Jean's not sure she likes the sound of that. Does that mean they're prisoners too? Are there cells for the three of them as well?
Steve smooths down his hair and picks up his cowl. "Okay, Natasha and I need to go check in with the Director. Stark, why don't you show them one of your new gadgets?"
"Gadgets?" Stark repeats. "Do you mean one of my sophisticated engineering marvels controlled by the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet?"
"Yeah, show them one of those," Steve says, turning away. The Black Widow—Natasha?—follows, throwing them a wink over her shoulder as she boards the elevator. Stark makes an annoyed noise, but it's mostly covered by the sound of the elevator doors closing.
Stark turns to look at them and they all stare blankly back. The expression on his face is like that of a man who's never seen a paper airplane before and has been left in charge of assembling a jet engine.
Ororo breaks the awkward silence by climbing down from her stool and raising her hand into the air. "Question?" Stark says, pointing at her.
"Are you Iron Man?" she asks.
Stark smiles, looking interested in them for the first time. "Yes," he says, standing up straighter. "Yes, I am."
"Is that your armor?" Jean asks, pointing toward the pile of red and gold machinery on the floor.
Stark's expression sours. "Yes, or it was before your buddy Magnets twisted it up into a pile of useless scrap."
"Sorry," Scott says. "Can we help you fix it?"
"No, absolutely not. And you can't touch anything in this room. Anything." Ororo freezes in place as Stark turns to glare at her. She's standing next to one of the lab tables with her hand extended toward a shiny purple crystal encased in metal tubing and wires, one finger reaching out to touch. She drops her hand and reluctantly retreats to stand next to Jean. There's another awkward pause and Jean shuffles her feet, looking around and wondering what all the half-finished projects are.
Stark leans back against a table and folds his arms. "So, who's your favorite Avenger?" he asks. "It's okay if it's me, you don't have to say Cap just because you met him first."
Jean frowns. The Black Widow used to be her favorite Avenger, but then she clocked Scott over the head and took Ororo hostage. "I'm not really into the Avengers anymore," she says.
"Playing it cool then?" Stark says, looking doubtful. "All right. "
"I like Thor!" Ororo says. "Is Thor here?"
"Ummm… no. He had some family issues to take care of."
Ororo's face drops and she sighs. "This adventure is one disappointment after another."
"Right." Stark turns toward Scott. "What about you, red-eye? Who's your favorite Avenger?"
Scott shrugs. "Captain America, I guess. He fought in World War II."
"Like history, huh? Okay then. Some fun you guys are." Stark sighs. "Can I trust you three to entertain yourselves while I work and not get into any trouble?"
Scott nods at the holographic table. "Can we use the computer?"
"Technically you need a top secret clearance just to press the 'on' button…. but I supposed I have to occupy you somehow." Stark turns and waves his hand, sweeping away the hologram of the helicarrier which is still floating above the table and bringing up an interface full of little rectangular floating boxes. He taps one and the table's surface transforms, becoming a ping-pong table with a net at the center.
"Knock yourselves out," Stark says. A casual wave of his hand causes a virtual ball to ricochet up and down the table before slowing to a bouncing dribble next to where Scott is standing.
Ororo runs up to try hitting the holographic ball herself and is soon fascinated by the virtual physics of the game. After experimenting a bit, Jean figures out how to make a paddle appear in her hand by holding her fist like she's gripping an imaginary handle. She and Scott play several rounds while Ororo watches, running back and forth and trying to snatch the ball out of the air each time it passes over her head.
Stark returns to work on his Iron Man suit. They can hear him quietly cursing under his breath as he struggles to strip out and replace the broken mechanics inside of it.
Scott waits until Stark seems properly distracted before attempting to bring up the menu interface on the hologram. It takes a lot of wild swiping and hand waving before they finally figure out that the menu is accessed by tugging it down from the ceiling like an imaginary curtain on a pull cord. Jean and Ororo play tag—keeping up the appearance of innocent goofing off—while Scott presses various buttons and tries to access the ship's file system through trial and error.
Jean keeps an eye on him as she runs laps around the room and races after a giggling Ororo. He seems to have figured out how to pull up a keyboard and is laboriously typing out various words to search. Stark still seems deeply absorbed in his work, but Jean doesn't want to risk whispering anything to Scott and catching his attention. She forms a sentence in her mind, weighing the words and sharpening them into an arrow before drawing back her mental arm and sending it flying toward Scott. Did you find anything?
Scott startles, his hands skittering as he mashes out a series of nonsense words. Geez, warn a guy before you do that will you?
Sorry. But did you find anything?
I'm not sure. I tried searching 'Xavier' first but nothing came up. Then I tried searching 'mutant' and lots of things came up, but everything needs a passcode to read.
Try searching for Magneto, Jean suggests, dodging around a stool as Ororo climbs under a desk to elude her. Maybe you can figure out where they're holding him.
Scott frowns, but tries, typing frustratingly slowly as he hunts and pecks across the keyboard.
There's an H in Lehnsherr, Jean says, slowing down to peak over his shoulder. L-E-H-N-S—
Okay, okay, I got it.
This search pulls up a lot of files, dozens of small grey boxes that are stamped "restricted access." Tapping on one opens a green window asking for a password with no clues to the contents, although Jean supposes it contains files about the Brotherhood. Jean wonders if her powers are strong enough to find a password in someone else's mind. She's not sure how she'd even begin looking for one. Professor Xavier always makes that sort of thing seem so easy.
What's that? Jean thinks, pointing at a box that's lit up brighter than all of the others. There's a clicking sound as she touches it and the box vanishes, replaced with a confusing mess of lines that seems to be some kind of schematic. Scott makes a pinching motion with his fingers and the map expands, revealing itself to be a blueprint of the helicarrier. There are moving white dots in various places on the map and when Scott taps one a little text label appears above it. "Bridge – Dtr. N. Fury."
"What's that? Are we on there?" Ororo asks, ducking under Scott and Jean's arms to see the map. She stands up on her tiptoes and tries poking at one of the dots, but she isn't tall enough to reach.
"Shhhh," Jean hisses.
There's a soft hrmph from the back of the room. "What are you looking at?"
All three of them jump and turn to find Stark standing directly behind them. Scott points down at Ororo. "She has to go to the bathroom."
"No, I don't," Ororo says.
"You always have to go to the bathroom," Jean says.
"Oooo-kay," Stark says, not sounding like he believes them in the least, but like he's willing to let that slide. He waves a hand and there's a soft whirring sound as the map vanishes and the computer powers down. "In the future why don't you try asking me where the bathrooms are first? Or any other questions you might have, like where on the ship we're holding your terrorist babysitter."
"He's not our babysitter," Scott says.
"We're way too old to need a babysitter," Ororo adds.
"I'm not very good at judging kid's ages. Or adults. Come on, why don't we take a little trip up to the bridge and see how things are progressing, hm?"
Stark walks over to the elevator and types something into the keypad. "Coming?" he asks, looking over his shoulder as the door dings and opens.
Jean exchanges a look with Scott and Ororo and shrugs. They pile on board the elevator and watch as Stark uses the fingerprint reader. This ride seems to last a long time, longer than the trip down to the lab, but maybe that's just because it feels more awkward without Steve there.
When the elevator slows to a stop the doors open to reveal a command center filled with tall windows and beeping computer displays. There are dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel in uniform sitting at various stations around the room. Stark looks very out of place among them in his black t-shirt and jeans.
"Shouldn't you be working on your suit?" a voice asks, coming from the front of the room. There's a man standing there on a circular platform with his back to them, his hands crossed behind him as he stares out the windows at the cold grey clouds outside.
"Finished it," Stark says. Jean is pretty sure that the Iron Man suit he was working on is not anywhere near finished, but she figures it won't endear her to him to point that out. "The kids were getting antsy," Stark continues. "Thought I'd take them for a walk."
"To the bridge?" the man asks, turning toward them and revealing that he has an eye patch over his left eye.
Ororo pokes Jean in the side and whispers, "That's Nick Fury!"
"I know that," Jean says. Fury raises an eyebrow and looks down at them, not looking amused.
"Director Fury? Sir?" Scott says, quailing slightly when Fury turns in his direction. "Uh, could we ask you a few questions?"
"That depends on the questions," Fury says, eyeing Scott. He steps down from the raised platform, joining them on the floor of the bridge. "But I suppose you can ask."
Scott shuffles his feet like he's resisting the urge to squirm. "Uh, where are we going?"
"That's all you wanted to ask?" Stark says. "I could have told you that."
Fury ignores Stark and walks across the room to a glowing green screen that looks like a topographical map full of undulating lines. He presses a button beneath it and the display resolves into a political map of Europe and the Atlantic. "We're going here," he says, pointing to a spot on the lower left. "The Canary Islands. Two days ago an American military base in West Germany was attacked. We have reason to believe the assailants made their escape to here."
Jean startles. "A military base? Like Ramstein?"
"Heard of it?" Fury asks, sounding surprised.
"We were going there," Scott says. Jean starts to glare at him, but she can't really be mad since she already let that particular cat out of the bag.
"Well, you were headed in the wrong direction," Fury says.
"No. I mean, eventually," Scott says. "We were going to make a stop first and—what happened at Ramstein?"
"The US military is still investigating," Fury says. "But it looks like—"
Someone clears their throat, interrupting Fury, and they turn to see Steve walking onto the bridge from the elevator. "This isn't the best place to hold this conversation. Or for you three to be."
"Hi, Steve!" Ororo says.
Steve stops in front of her and nods. "Hi. Why don't we take this somewhere more private?"
Steve turns to leave and Stark starts to follow, but Fury clears his throat and says, "Don't you have something important you were very busy with, Stark?"
Stark looks affronted for a moment, but then his expression clears to one of studied indifference. "That's—right," he says, shrugging as he walks backwards away from them. "You two can babysit for a while. I have work to do."
Fury leads them across the bridge to a door, which takes them to a small corner office. There are a few utilitarian-looking chairs and a metal desk inside. The desk is topped with a set of glasses and a decanter full of some kind of dark liquor, but nothing else in the way of personal items. Jean supposes this must be a meeting room where Fury takes visitors who are too important to talk to out on the bridge.
Ororo sits in one of the chairs, looking tiny with her legs dangling over the edge of the seat. Jean and Scott hover uncertainly next to Fury and Steve. There aren't enough chairs for all of them.
"Sit," Fury says, pointing at one of the chairs and glaring in their general direction. Scott and Jean sit. Fury folds his arms and leans against the desk, looking at them as Steve takes the last seat. "Well? You wanted to do the briefing."
Steve clears his throat. "Approximately forty-two hours ago Ramstein air base was attacked by the Brotherhood of Mutants."
"What?" Jean says, even as the pieces start to come together in her mind—Mystique and Azazel, and their mission that was too important to delay for three lost children.
"Their objective was not entirely clear," Fury continues. "But we don't believe it was successful. They attempted to impersonate several base personnel but were detected and intercepted before they could access a restricted area."
"And they were captured?" Scott asks.
Fury gives him an odd look. "No, all of the Brotherhood members escaped, but not without leaving their calling card." He touches a hidden control panel under the desk and a hologram appears on top of it, apparently using the same technology as the table in Stark's lab. He taps a few buttons and an image appears; a photograph showing a rough symbol hastily painted on a wall in sloppy lines that are dripping red—the mutant 'M' surrounded by a circle.
Jean stares at it while trying to make sense of what Fury is saying. If the Brotherhood wasn't captured in the attack… why didn't they come to pick up Erik and the three of them like they planned? Did they go to ground? Or were they delayed somewhere else after the mission failed? Maybe they didn't want to lead S.H.I.E.L.D.'s forces back to where Erik was hiding.
"We've told you what we know," Fury says, turning to look at Scott, one eyebrow arching over his patch. "Now I think it's time you tell us what you know."
Scott glances over at Jean and swallows. Jean shrugs in response. "We don't really know anything. Magneto wouldn't tell us what the Brotherhood was up to."
"But he was taking you three to Ramstein?"
"…yeah," Jean says.
"We thought we could find the—our teachers there," Scott explains. "Or a clue where they were taken. We didn't know the Brotherhood had attacked it."
"Hmmm," Fury says, sounding skeptical.
"We didn't!" Jean says. "We knew they had some kind of a mission, but, Eri—they were keeping it a secret from us."
Fury turns to look at Steve, who nods in response to some silent signal. "Misdirection," Steve says.
"Huh?" Scott says.
"Magneto was trying to lure you somewhere," Fury explains. "Another Brotherhood base in Europe probably. He pretended to help you in order to make you compliant and easier to manage."
Ororo snorts like she finds this ridiculous and tugs on Jean's shirt. "That's not true, he said he'd help us find the Professor!"
Jean nods, but she's getting a sinking feeling down in her stomach. She looks over at Scott, whose jaw is set tightly. He thought it was a bad idea to trust Erik in the first place. He's probably feeling vindicated now.
"But what about Factor Three?" Jean asks.
"Factor Three?" Fury says, looking confused. "What do you know about them?"
Jean glances at Scott who shrugs. "Nothing really, just their name and that they might be the ones who took the Professor."
Fury narrows his eye. "Factor Three is an underground mutant group that appeared in Europe within the last year. But as far as I know they weren't involved in what happened in Ramstein."
"But we thought that—" Jean stops, not sure how to continue. They thought what? They hadn't had any actual evidence to go on. Just the X-Men's suspicions about Factor Three and a cryptic note scrawled in the Professor's handwriting.
"It would make sense if Factor Three was actually a front organization," Fury says, one hand coming up to stroke his chin. "It's rumored to be led by a man who calls himself the 'Mutant Master,' but there are no direct eyewitness accounts of anyone meeting him."
"The Mutant Master?" Scott repeats. He looks at Jean and frowns. "That sounds like Magneto."
It does sound like him. What did Erik say before? If the Brotherhood did something, I would want our name on it. But, then, he would say that if he were secretly using a front organization to obscure the Brotherhood's activities. Still, they don't have any proof.
"You don't know that it's him," Jean says. "You're just assuming that because you think he's a bad guy."
"I don't think he's a bad guy," Fury says, his voice turning into a deep growl. "I know it." He pounds the surface of the desk and the holographic image changes to a series of small black and white photographs. "This is the casualty list from you friends' raid on Ramstein air base."
Jean jumps slightly in her chair, startled by Fury's anger.
"Twelve base personnel were injured in the attack and three were killed," Steve explains, his voice quiet.
"Oh," Jean says.
"The Brotherhood probably abducted your 'Professor' in the first place," Fury says, folding his arms. "Classic tactics—remove the leadership first and then divide the remaining team so it's easier to take them out separately."
That does make a lot of sense. The three of them were ready to fly halfway around the world with Erik on a hunch. But something is still nagging at Jean. After all, she contacted Erik first, not the other way around. But then there was the Professor's note about Ramstein. Did he know about the Brotherhood's attack in advance? Was he trying to stop it? Might that be why he was kidnapped? She starts to open her mouth to ask another question but then closes it, unsure of herself.
Scott looks toward Steve. "You said the Brotherhood was trying to get into a restricted area at the base. What area?"
"Some kind of top secret laboratory for a classified military project," Steve says. "We don't have all the details yet."
Jean clears her throat, getting their attention and trying again to speak. "I want to see Magneto," she says. "I want to talk to him."
Steve looks surprised and shakes his head. "No, Jean, I don't think that's a good—"
Fury holds out a hand, stopping him. "No, let her. I want to see what he has to say."
Steve frowns at him in response but Fury is already pushing back from him desk, moving toward the door. He presses a button next to the doorway and speaks into an intercom there. "Natasha," he says. "Meet me in brig 1-M."
The brig is deep within the bowels of the helicarrier. The elevator ride down to it takes twice as long as the ride to the lab. When they come to a stop they step out into in a dim claustrophobic series of narrow hallways.
The Black Widow is waiting for them outside the elevator and she nods to Fury as he passes before falling in line behind them.
The hallway is so narrow they have to walk single file. It reminds Jean of a submarine movie she saw on TV once. Fury and Steve are leading the way, with Scott following. Jean trails behind him, looking around at the doors as they pass. There are lots of doors down here, most of them with very solid-looking locks. Surely they can't all be prison cells?
Jean is holding Ororo's hand, and she keeps having to tug on it as Ororo drags her feet. Jean turns to tell her to walk faster and notices that Ororo is sweating, her eyes looking a bit wild. "Are you okay?"
Ororo nods, tugging at the collar of her shirt. "I'm fine, it's just hot in here."
It's not hot, but it is confining and dark. Jean looks around, wondering if there's a window or a bigger room anywhere nearby. Natasha is walking behind them and she's forced to stop when they do. "Is something wrong?" she asks.
"She's claustrophobic," Jean says.
"No, I'm not," Ororo says, glaring at Jean. "I'm fine."
Natasha holds out her hand. "Here, I can take you back up to the deck."
"No," Ororo says. "I want to see Magneto too."
"The brig is even smaller and more uncomfortable than this," Natasha says. "You don't want to go there."
Jean tightens her hold on Ororo's hand, looking over her shoulder back towards where Scott, Steve, and Fury went. She probably shouldn't let Ororo go with the Black Widow alone, but she feels torn, not wanting to miss this chance to see Erik.
"It'll be fine," Natasha says, looking at Jean. "I'll take her up to the deck for a walk and then find you two when you get done down here."
Jean looks over her shoulder one more time and then nods, letting go of Ororo's hand.
"I'm fine," Ororo says again. She's sweating even more now and has the slightly glazed expression that she often gets before she throws up.
"No, you're not," Natasha says. Ororo pouts, but lets Natasha lead her away. She must really be uncomfortable to give in so easily.
Jean hesitates for a moment in the hallway and watches them walk away, before turning to run and catch up with the others.
She jogs around a corner and comes to a hard stop, nearly bumping into Scott. He's standing in front of one of the many doors that line the corridor, watching as Fury scans his thumbprint and Steve turns the round metal lock.
Inside two guards are sitting at a narrow table, the wall in front of them crowded with three rows of television screens. Each one of the screens seems to be showing a different angle on the same room, a tiny black and white prison cell with a single cot where Erik is sitting with his legs folded underneath him. One of the cameras is showing a close up of his face and he seems to be staring right into the room at them. It's mildly disconcerting.
There's barely enough room for all four of them to cram in behind the guards once the door is shut, and Jean is relieved that Ororo didn't come with them. She wouldn't have been able to stay here for very long.
"Where's Natasha?" Fury says.
"And Ororo?" Scott adds.
"Black Widow took Ororo upstairs," Jean says, daring Scott to get mad at her. He looks slightly surprised but doesn't say anything. For his part, Fury makes an annoyed grunt and turns away toward the guards. "Has he said anything?" Fury asks.
"No, sir," one of the guards says. "He asked for some water at oh-six-hundred, but has otherwise refused to communicate with us or any of the interrogators."
The word interrogator makes Jean shift uncomfortably. She wonders how many people have been down here trying to get Erik to talk. It can't be more than a few hours since they were captured, but Jean's sense of time is confused from being inside the mostly-windowless helicarrier.
"Still want to do this?" Steve asks, touching her shoulder.
"Sure, she does," Fury says, taking over a chair one of the guards vacated for him. He leans back like he's about to watch a very entertaining movie.
Jean looks up at the screen with Erik's staring face. She clears her throat and nods.
"Okay," Steve says, squeezing her shoulder. "If you want to leave at any time just tell me and we'll go."
Steve pushes past one of the guards to reach a door on the opposite wall. The guard has to punch in a code in order to open the door for him. It chimes once and opens with a loud click. Steve beckons to Jean as he steps inside.
There's a sort of anteroom there, like a cloakroom, with hooks on the walls and little cubbies to hold belongings. Steve takes off his belt and boots and then unsnaps the harness he wears over his shoulders for his shield. Jean takes off her own belt and checks that her pockets are empty. She's not sure if her shoes have any metal in them, but she toes them off anyway as well.
There's a stack of little paper booties on a shelf in the corner, but Steve ignores them, walking out of the anteroom in his stocking feet. Jean starts to follow him, but an alarm goes off as she steps through the doorway.
"Your hair clips," Steve says, pointing to his head.
"Oh." Jean quickly removes them and when she walks through a second time the alarm doesn't go off.
Jean follows Steve into a strangely sterile white corridor. It's as narrow as the hallways outside, but there are no doors here, just a long straight white pathway. The walls are vaguely shinny, like they're wet, and when Jean runs her hand over one she finds that it's smooth and cool.
"Plastic?" Jean asks.
Steve nods, looking at her over his shoulder. "This entire side of the deck is nothing but synthetic plastics."
"Was it designed for Magneto?" Jean asks, thinking about how expensive it would be to build a custom cell for a prisoner they might never capture.
Steve shakes his head. "For him or anyone else with a similar set of powers. Director Fury's motto is to always be prepared."
They walk for what seems like a very long time. Jean's feet keep slipping on the smooth linoleum floor. She hopes she doesn't wear a hole in the bottom of her new tights.
Eventually they reach the end of the hallway and come to a stop in front of a round opening that looks like the door to a bank vault. Except Jean has never seen a bank vault made of plastic. Steve spins the elaborate wheeled mechanism and there are several thumping noises, like locks releasing. He pulls on the handle and the door opens outward, revealing Erik seated on the cot inside.
For a moment Jean thinks they're going to walk straight into Erik's cell, but then she realizes that there's a wall of clear glass or plastic dividing the room. Erik is on the opposite side of the glass, his head tilted back as he watches Steve enter. He startles slightly when he sees Jean and stands up.
Now that she's seeing him in color, she can tell that he's still wearing the same shirt he had on last night. The fabric is rumpled and stained red around the collar where he's been bleeding. He raises one arm over his head to rest it on the clear wall, revealing a rip in the seam under his armpit.
"Jean?" She thought his voice would be muffled by the glass, but there are narrow cutouts in it; thin slits that must be there to circulate air, or to let the guards pass food through without going into the cell.
Jean steps closer and notices movement in the corner of her eye. There's a camera on the ceiling with a motion detector and another on the opposite wall. They both twist as Jean walks up to stand in front of Erik.
Erik smiles, smirking slightly. "Come to gloat over the prisoner?" he asks, glancing toward Steve and then back at her.
Jean doesn't know what to say in response and when she opens her mouth his name comes out in a broken squeak. "Erik." She realizes her mistake at once and feels her face heating up with embarrassment.
His face softens and he leans forward so his forehead is resting against the glass. "It's okay," he says, his voice losing its sardonic edge. "They already have my name."
Jean nods but she's still too choked up to speak. She came here to demand answers from him but now she just feels uncertain and scared. Was Erik really trying to help them? Or was he luring them back to some lair so the Brotherhood could brainwash them? She doesn't think he was, but then she doesn't really know him. But she also doesn't have anyone else to depend on right now.
Jean leans forward, pressing her face to the cold surface of the glass and pretending it's Erik's shoulder. The cutouts are nearly wide enough to fit a hand through, and Erik reaches out, his fingers just barely glazing her cheek. It's not hard to call up tears, especially with Erik so close, his face distorted by a ripple in the glass. "Everything is going to be fine," Erik says. Jean nods, although she doesn't believe him. "Are Scott and Ororo okay?"
Jean nods again, but can't bring herself to speak. She can see the dark welt over Erik's ear where the rubber bullet hit him. There's a rough scab there, dried blood staining the skin. "Does your head hurt?" she asks, her voice sounding strangled and weak.
Erik huff softly and reaches up to touch the spot tentatively with one finger. "Yes," he says. "This is why I usually wear a helmet."
Jean laughs, surprising herself. "Sorry they locked you up," she says, remembering that it was sort of her fault they were captured.
Erik shrugs and looks behind him at his tiny cell with its single cot and the toilet in the corner. "It's all right. At this point, I've probably spent more years in prison than you've been alive."
Jean frowns and sniffs, taking a deep breath. Erik still has one hand halfway through the opening in the glass and he strokes her cheek awkwardly while she tries to collect herself. She takes long deep breaths, willing herself to calm down.
Erik looks over her shoulder while he waits for her to collect herself, staring at Steve standing in the corner. Steve's mask is off; leaving his face bare, and Erik's eyes rove over it, studying his features. "You're really the same man aren't you?"
"Hm?" Steve looks flustered, his hand rising up to touch his chin. "Oh, yes. I am."
"Did the super-soldier serum keep you from aging?" Erik asks, tilting his head.
"Uh, it does. But there were other—circumstances. Classified ones."
Erik nods like he expected as much, still studying Steve face. "I met you once, as a child. Well, not met. Saw."
Steve laughs, looking away like he's embarrassed. "Let me guess, USO show?"
"No." There's a pause, but Erik doesn't seem interested in explaining himself. He just keeps staring at Steve, who's starting to look uncomfortable.
Jean sniffs again and stands up straight, figuring she might as well interrupt them and come to Steve's rescue. She squares her shoulders. "It's been nine days now," she says, looking at Erik.
"We'll find them," Erik says.
"Will we?" she asks. She licks her lips, pausing a moment before continuing. "Do you… do you know where they are?"
Erik tilts his head. "No? That's why I came with you. To go looking."
"To Ramstein," Jean says.
Erik nods, looking at her carefully. "That's right."
"Where the Brotherhood was," Jean says. "The base that Mystique went to infiltrate."
Erik's eyes grow cold, his expression closing off. "They know about that then?"
Steve clears his throat. "Yes, I'm afraid the raid was interrupted before they could complete it."
Erik's eyes track over to Steve's face. "But not captured?"
"No," Steve says, and Erik smiles. It's a slow, confident smile—the smile of a self-satisfied revolutionary. Or a murderer.
"People died," Jean says. "They killed people."
Erik glances down at her. "Soldiers," he says. "It's a war, Jean, and that base was part of it."
Jean shakes her head. "You lied to us."
He sighs. "I told you there were things it was safer for you not to know."
"Like where you took the Professor and the X-Men?" she says. "Where are they? Are you holding them somewhere? Are they dead?" Her eyes fill with tears, obscuring her vision as Erik takes a deep breath.
"I wasn't involved in their kidnapping and I've never lied to you," he says, looking at Steve rather than at her. "Whatever they've told you, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers have their own agenda. Use your head, Jean. They're trying to turn us against one another."
Jean shakes her head and turns away. "I want to go now," she says. Steve nods and steps out of the room, holding the door open for Jean as she follows.
Jean doesn't look behind her, but she can feel the back of her neck prickling like Erik is watching during the entire walk down the long, white corridor.