21. WALLS

I felt a surge of excitement run through my veins as I buckled myself into the seat on the Blackbird. I had never flown before.

I looked around the jet. It was around eighty-five feet in length. In the front was, of course, the cockpit, which had two seats for the copilots. It was here that Cyclops and Jean sat and operated the levers and buttons. Behind that were two columns of seats with two seats per row, enough for sixteen passengers. Further back were storage compartments, as well as even more seats for extra people and a cargo hold. The seats in front were streamlined and had buckles that crossed on both sides and fastened in the middle, while the seats in the back were blue rather than gray and had safety rails on either side. They also faced the ramp, whereas the front seats faced the windshield. The only windows, though, were at the cockpit, with two large windows in front of the stations and two smaller windows beside them. Since I was directly behind Cyclops, I could see out the small window on the plane's left side.

I heard a mechanical whirring. Cyclops pressed a button, and I felt the vibrations as the engines ignited. The plane began to rise, and my right leg shook in anticipation. I gazed out the window and saw us moving up from the hangar and out of the basketball court, which had moved aside to make room for us. The rain had stopped, and as we progressed higher I could see Ororo floating on air currents, her arms outstretched, her eyes glowing and her white hair whipping around her dark face.

The jet turned, and the front of the mansion was now within my line of sight. Quite a few students had gathered at the entrance to see us go. I smiled when I saw Artie Maddicks wave goodbye.

Jean shifted gears. Cyclops hit more buttons.

All at once, we were off, speeding through the air at what felt like a million miles a second.

I realized that this would give my three firsts in one day: my first X-Men mission, my first time flying and my first time going farther west than the Mississippi River.

"We're clear," Cyclops announced.

I looked over at the others. Rogue, who was sitting beside me in her black leather bomber jacket, alternated between pulled on her gloves and fiddling with the white streaks in her hair, having deliberately left them out of her ponytail. She glanced at me, attempted a confident smirk and resumed fidgeting.

Across the aisle, Jubilee, in her cheerful yellow trench coat, watched the world outside the windshield, popping her bubblegum impatiently. Beast conversed quietly with Jean, and every few seconds or so he would turn to Jubilee and say something, most likely how long it would be before we arrived at our destination.

Behind them, Shadowcat gripped the arm of her aisle seat, her eyes closed and her head lowered. Her lips were quivering just barely with silent whispers, and I supposed that she must have been praying. Beside her, Colossus held her other hand. His eyes never left her.

I peered around the back of my chair and saw Cognitia behind me. To her right was Wolverine. They didn't speak to one another verbally, but they would occasionally look at each other in the eyes, as though they were communicating without even telepathy. From between their seats, I could see Iceman and Angel behind them. They were quietly talking and laughing to themselves the way guys do, but there was tenseness underneath the surface of their banter.

Directly behind Shadowcat was the Scarlet Witch. Her lips were pursed and her brow was furrowed as she stared blankly into space with her arms crossed. She paused to toss her deep brown waves over her shoulder before continuing her brooding.

Magneto and Mystique had opted to sit in the very back. Now that I thought on it, this was a disappointment. I would have liked to see their reactions to all of this.

I swiveled my chair a bit and stared out the window to watch the country pass by below us.

The amount of time that went by before we reached the Rocky Mountains was unclear, but it seemed like mere minutes to me. The others were all amused by my delight when we flew over the Mississippi and my enchantment when the Rockies came into view.

The Blackbird landed with hardly a sound in a valley. Cyclops shut off the engines while Jean pressed another set of buttons.

"Cloaking shields are on," Jean told us. "Now we wait for nightfall."

We all unbuckled our seats. Rogue headed back to talk with Wolverine and Cognitia. Shadowcat and Colossus moved to chat with Iceman and Angel, and they were soon joined by Jubilee. Beast spoke with Cyclops and Jean. The Scarlet Witch sat unmoving, and I guessed that she wanted to be left alone.

I rose from my chair and slowly made my way back to the spare seats. To the right of the ramp was Mystique. Magneto was to the left. Cautiously, I went over and took a seat so that there was one place between me and Magneto.

To me, the stillness was very awkward, what with Magneto not even acknowledging my presence while Mystique eyed both of us like a hawk. Not to mention that Magneto had only ever addressed me directly all of twice.

"I'd like to know, child," Magneto said with his calm regality, ending the quiet. "What is it that draws you to Charles' dream?"

I was hesitant in giving an answer. "The idea of peace. Like there is a way to reach equality. A future like that looks like paradise, especially for me. I'm tired of race wars." I turned my eyes to my knees.

After a moment, Magneto spoke again. "I've seen that you have also been scarred by pain and intolerance," he noted. "We are alike in that respect."

"What do you mean?" This time I looked up to see his face. His blue eyes stunned me. They had so many stories in them, about history and life, but there was also heartbreaking sorrow and tragedy.

He replied with understated earnest. "Years ago, when I was a boy, monstrous human beings stole my liberty, my dignity and my identity, and replaced them with captivity, humiliation and a serial number." I cocked my head a bit quizzically and squinted my eyes a little to indicate my confusion. In response, he removed his left glove and pulled back his sleeve to reveal his forearm. I couldn't quite make it out, but the prison number inked into his skin was evident.

Some overwhelming feeling pushed me into a reverent hush. I had never known, never even suspected…

He must have detected this, for he asked, "Do you always suppress your emotions so?"

"No," I said truthfully. "Only when they're very…potent."

"Do you hide them because you think they'll make you weak?" He was studying me, I could tell.

"No," I said again.

"Why, then?"

"Because I'm afraid," I admitted. "I'm afraid that my feelings will make me hurt someone. That I'll lose myself to anger."

The corners of his mouth turned up bemusedly. "Anger can strengthen you, you know."

Once again, I looked him directly in the eyes, and I told him the lesson I'd learned over the course of the last few months. "Faith can strengthen you, too."

Mystique rose abruptly to her feet and walked into the front portion of the aircraft.

My conversation with Magneto wasn't going anywhere now, so I got up, too, and went back to my seat near the front of the jet. After I sat down, Shadowcat approached me.

"Hey," she said. "Do you have a hair band I can use?"

I had two on my wrist, just in case something like this came about, so I gave her one of them. I could use the other as a spare. I held up the hair band for the girl. "Here you go, Kitty."

"Thanks." She pulled her hair into a ponytail and returned to her seat.

I leaned back. It would be a while before the sky became dark, so I closed my eyes and waited.

It didn't feel like a long time before someone gently touched my shoulder. "Hey, Elyon," Cognitia whispered. "Look outside!"

"Hmm?" I shook my head in order to clear it, opened my eyes and looked out the windshield. The sun was already lowering beyond the horizon. I must have dozed off.

"You're a quiet sleeper," Cognitia commented. "You don't move or make a single sound."

"Sorry," I mumbled as a blush came to my face. "I didn't sleep well last night." Actually, I hadn't slept at all.

"It's okay," Cognitia assured me. "I know. It's good that you got some shut-eye. You need all your strength and energy." She was occupying Rogue's seat, as I noticed now that I was fully awake. "We'll be heading out in a few minutes or so," she continued. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I said. Just a few more minutes.

She scrutinized me for a moment. "Do you need something to hold your hair back so that it doesn't get in your face?"

"I'm fine; I've got a spare hair band." I removed my other hair band from my wrist and tied my hair into a low ponytail. We sat quietly for a minute or two.

I heard the soft thudding of shoes, and I turned to see Cyclops walk up the aisle to stand in front of all of us.

"Listen," he said. We became quiet. "I made my share of mistakes on this last rescue mission. I take full responsibility for them. But none of us can afford to make any mistakes here, period. One slip-up, one wrong move, and it's over. Now, I trust you all. I believe that you can do this. The Friends of Humanity won't know what hit them. Let's go and make things right."

We all stood. I stretched my legs. Then Jean lowered the ramp, and we went down into the valley.

I stared up at the rock facing that everyone else was looking at. I felt intimidated. It looked like a sheer drop. "Okay. What now?" I kept my voice at a whisper.

"They probably haven't had time to repair the door," Jean mused. "They might have agents guarding the entrance."

"Sting." I turned when Cyclops said my codename. "Go up there, see what they've got. Then give Jean the heads-up, and she and Cognitia will follow you." He gestured to the cliff.

I nodded. "Sure thing." I looked at the facing again. My stomach lurched. It really was a long way up. I wasn't certain if I could levitate myself that high. However, I could give myself a telekinetic boost. I made myself invisible and took a deep breath. Then I sprinted to the facing and pushed myself upward, literally running along the wall.

All of a sudden, I was aware that there was no more rock beneath my combat boots, so I propelled myself forward and landed gently at the top. The three agents standing in front of the large doorway in the side of the mountain didn't notice a thing.

Jean?

'How many?'

Three.

'Cognitia and I will be right up. When we get there, remove the helmet of the one on the far right. Okay?'

Okay.

Just a few seconds later, Jean and Cognitia were hovering in the air beside me. Before the agents could perceive them, I did what Jean had told me and telekinetically unclasped my agent's helmet and lifted it over his head. At the same time, the other two agents lost their helmets. Immediately after they realized this, they fell to the ground, unconscious.

We turned around to see the rest of the team making their way up to us, save for Cyclops and Mystique, whom Jean was lifting with her telekinesis. Wolverine was climbing the rock wall with the aid of his claws. Rogue flew up with Jubilee in her arms, setting her down when they landed in front of us. Magneto manipulated electromagnetic fields so that he floated to where we stood, and Colossus had entered his metal form in order to join him. Beast was able to climb the wall thanks to his notable agility. Shadowcat had phased into intangibility and now appeared to walk on air to the top. Angel propelled himself up with his wings. The Scarlet Witch made herself able to fly through a hex. Iceman created a frozen bridge and slid up to us.

Once we were all together, I grouped myself with Rogue, Wolverine, Angel and Mystique. "No goin' back now," Wolverine muttered.

"There was no going back when they decided to mess with us," I replied. It was only the truth.

Cyclops moved to stand in front of us, flanked by Beast and Jean. We waited in spine-tingling silence. Eagerness roiled within me like a tsunami wave, making my heart hammer against my ribcage. After what felt like an eternity, Cyclops gave the command.

"Now!" he shouted.

We darted forward with timing to rival Annie Oakley at a trap-shooting match. Rogue took a few steps and sprang into the air, flying near to us. I didn't have time to look around once we were inside, and frankly, I didn't really care. A quick glance around revealed that the others had all separated into their groups, too.

"This way!" Wolverine rounded a corner, the same bend we went around in the simulation. Rogue, Angel, Mystique and I followed closely behind him. I sprinted to run beside him.

"Are you getting anything?" I asked.

"No," he answered. "The most I smell is rubbing alcohol and disinfectant—hold on!" He stopped in his tracks. "Get behind this wall, now!" He pushed me into a shadowy enclave. Rogue landed on the floor, and she, Mystique and Angel huddled with us in the dark.

I could hear the shuffling of feet. Curious, I peered out. There was an agent meandering down the hall. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. The mere sight of him ignited an angry fire within me, and I found myself wanting to punch him in the face. I inched forward.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Wait," Rogue whispered.

But as he opened a door—a weapons closet, from what I saw—I couldn't hold myself back. I crept into the hall and removed his helmet with my mind, casting it into the closet. He grabbed his head in surprise. Before he turned around, I robbed him of his sight.

"What the—? I can't see!" he cried in distress.

"Well, you're a smart one," I said. My voice sounded strange to my ears: low, smooth and menacing. Were my mind clear, this would have troubled me. I became visible again and pushed him to the wall, restraining him. "Since you're so intelligent, I bet you can tell me something. Where is Kurt Wagner?"

"I—I don't know." His tone was frantic. I noticed that his nametag read, "Schultz." This could be useful, as I might need something to call him later.

My voice dropped to a volume that was almost a murmur. "Do you have any idea what I can do? I am a very dangerous mutant. Lethal, even." Schultz whimpered. I went on, "For instance, I could make you think that you were suffocating, and thus give up on breathing, if I would." I was sort of bluffing here, as I had never tried this, but he seemed to believe it. "Do you know how painful suffocation can be? Do you want to make it so that I would do it?" He shook his head frenziedly. "Then I suggest you quit lying to me, Schultz." Now I was practically growling. "I'll ask you again. Where is he?"

"In cell seventy-five," Schultz blurted. "Near the back of the complex. Graydon oversaw the whole thing."

How strange. Schultz was the only Friend I'd met who didn't call him "the boss." I figured that Creed must have trusted him. "What do you mean?"

"He told me to make sure Wagner stayed alive," Schultz confessed.

"Why?"

"I can't say it," he blubbered. "I swear to God, he said he'd kill me if I told anyone."

"Sting." I recognized the soft voice as Angel's. "That's enough."

"Thanks, Schultz," I said to the agent. "I'll spare you for this." I sucker-punched him in the gut, bringing him down to my height, before locking my arms around his neck in a chokehold. He soon fell to the floor, passed out cold. Angel helped me to put him inside the closet, and I closed the door.

When I turned around, before me was Schultz. I was startled at first, but then the eyes flashed yellow for a brief second. Understanding must have shown on my face, for Mystique smirked.

"Sting, go invisible," she ordered. "Rogue and Angel, act drowsy. Wolverine…just act like yourself." We followed her directions, and I instantly knew what her plan was. She would, as Schultz, pretend she had captured Wolverine, Rogue and Angel, while I snuck along beside them. It was brilliant.

I read the numbers on the cells as we passed them. We were getting closer and closer to seventy-five.

It wasn't long before we encountered a tall, brunette man in a black suit. He walked with an arrogant swagger and air, and I decided that I didn't like him, whoever he was. "Ted," he greeted.

"Graydon," Mystique responded. I wondered how she knew that, even though it did explain why the man scared me. "I caught these three sneaking in. They tried to kill me, but I got them first."

"Well done, Ted," Creed commended. Already he made me feel ill.

"Thanks." Mystique was a most impressive actor. "Say, how's Wagner looking?"

Creed snorted. "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"

Brother?

"I guess you're right," Mystique chuckled. "He's filth compared to you." Even though I knew it was pretend, I hated hearing it. "I'll see you later, Graydon."

"Later, Ted." Creed walked on down the hall.

I moved quickly to Mystique's side when we were on our way. "What was he talking about?"

Her tone nearly soundless, she said, "Kurt wasn't my firstborn."

Oh God. No way. They just couldn't be half-brothers! Kurt was so completely wonderful. Creed was a psychologically disturbed monster. How on Earth was this possible?

"Boozhoo!"

We wheeled when the man spoke, and I lost concentration on my invisibility. The agent was simply an Indian man in his forties, and he carried no weapons. He looked harmless enough, so I answered, "Si-yo."

"Ah!" A bright white smile adorned his brown face. "A friend from the South!"

"Depends," I said matter-of-factly. "Are you going to turn us in?"

"Are you the X-Men?" What an odd question! Just the same, I nodded. "Then of course not!"

Wolverine crossed his arms in front of his chest. "How can we trust you?"

"I'm a friend of Kurt's." The man's expression was full of honesty. "My name is Jim Clearwater," he added. "I can take you to Kurt, if you'll let me. He's been waiting for you this entire time. Just follow me!" He began to jog down the hallway. I exchanged glances with my comrades, and we started after him. Once again, I made myself invisible, if only to be safe.

Somehow, we managed not to run into anybody else. I was willing to bet that we had it a lot easier than the other X-Men.

At last, we reached a metal door with a label on it: "75." This was it. One problem, though—how were we supposed to get inside? I looked to the kindly agent, Jim, but he only shook his head. "They took my key this morning," he explained. "Said I wasn't fit to keep it."

"I'll handle it," Rogue announced. She approached the door and rapped on it. "Anyone in there?"

"Yeah," an unfamiliar male voice called. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mystique morph back to her natural state.

Rogue adjusted her stance, forming her right hand into a fist and cocking back her arm. "You better look out!"

The door gave where her fist made contact with it, and it ripped from the hinges with a screeching sound. It hit the back wall of the cell with a near-deafening crash. One look inside the cell made me think that I was sick of walls.

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter; I know that I enjoyed writing it. One of my favorite things to do was that little bit between Sting and Magneto, personally.

I'm still typing Chapters 22 and 23, and I'll probably have them posted later tonight. Cross your fingers!

Please review!