Jean's POV

The fact that the Professor even thinks that we can negotiate with the MRD is ridiculous. With Scott, Ororo, and Alex in possible danger, we should be getting them out as quickly as possible.

Perhaps if he knew that Ororo is pregnant, he would be less eager to do things peacefully. Unfortunately, I promised her that I would keep it a secret. I know that she can take care of herself. She did so in Cairo as a child, after all. She will do the same for her baby. I just hope she doesn't need to.

When we receive the call from the Professor, nearly two hours after he left for the base, I'm not surprised by his lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm afraid this effort was non-negatable," he announced. "The MRD wants nothing to do with outsiders coming in. It was good fortune that they thought I was simply a peacemaker and not a mutant. Otherwise, I would have been captured myself."

"Can't you just screw with their heads?" Logan asks.

"I wish I could, but something was blocking me. It appears that the MRD is equipped to ward off telepaths somehow. Even my mind could not get through. Jean, continue with the mission. And be prepared. This group is more of a threat than I could have ever expected."

Once we have all the information we need, the remaining X-Men gather around the War Room. "The MRD has set up base in this old prison," I say. The sand table in the middle of the room forms a 3D map of the base. "We'll break-in, and hopefully have a quick break out.

"And we know for sure this is where they still are?" Logan asks. He leans against the wall, arms crossed. I sense anxiety for Ororo coming from him. I cannot blame him. I feel the same way for Scott, but at least we have our rapport.

I nod. "The Professor found them there on Cerebro. It is already armed with some of the highest security in the state. There would be no reason to move them. Now, according to the map, our best bet is to go through this door." The model zooms into one door at the side of the building. "They depend on technology to guard it instead of manpower. As long as we have the system disabled, we will be able to sneak in without drawing attention. Bobby, you will be in charge of freezing the cameras. and short-circuiting the system."

"Ay ay, Captain," Bobby says with a salute. "You can count on me!"

"It will only take a few minutes for them to realize that the system is down, so we will have to work fast," I continue.

The jet ride to the base is painfully silent. There is not much to talk about between the three of us. Logan is motion sick while Bobby is too anxious to be back in the field after so long. He sits in his seat in his ice form, his seatbelt unfastened and what looks like a fidget spinner made of ice in his hand. He absentmindedly spins it, starring out the window.

We went over the plan twice before leaving, but I'm still worried I'll mess up as field commander. Unlike Ororo and Scott, I do not have much experience. I'm just not a born leader like they are. There is a reason I turned it down when the Professor asked me to lead the team if Scott was ever incapable of doing so.

But now I have no choice.

"Yesterday morning, I was filing business expenses," Bobby says, cutting into the silence. "One burning apartment complex later, I'm breaking into a prison. As an accountant, prison is supposed to be the last place I want to end up."

"I think that's the last place most people want to end up," I reason. "But look on the bright side, at least you aren't the one in prison."

"Yet! I'm pretty sure prison breaks are illegal."

Logan snorts. "As if what they're doing with mutants is legal. Watch the bumps, Red!" He groans and holds his stomach as I try to get control of the turbulence.

"Sorry."

Without Ororo's powers to impair the visibility, I had to land the Blackbird further from the base than usual. Even though it is dusk, the lights of the prison illuminate well into the distance. We will have to steer away from the lookout towers. If everyone can block telepaths, as the Professor says, then mine will be of no use in concealing us.

"Be careful," I warn. "We still don't know what these guys are fully capable of."

We rush across the grounds, being sure to not make a noise. When we get to the tall wire fence, we walk along until we are out of range of the bright spotlights. I lift the other two up with my telekinesis, setting them on the other side of the fence before carrying myself over as well. I'm not a fan of this type of flight and find it quite draining, but there does come a time when it is useful.

Before leaving, I had memorized the map well enough to know where to access the door. We arrive without incident and sneak around the corner. over the door was a security camera. "Ice the camera."

Bobby nods and reaches his hand out. He freezes the air around the camera, locking it up deep in the cloudy ice. Once it's safe to step forward, I turn to him again. "You know what to do with the lock."

He nods and kneels down so that he's eye level with the lock on the door. He covers it with his hand and an icy crackle follows. Moments later, he grabs the knob and pulls. It opens.

I hold my breath, but no alarms go off. We're in the clear... for now.

I silently motion for them to follow me. It is alarming how silent the hallway is. Other than the buzzing of the lights overhead, you could hear a pin drop. It makes our footsteps sound even louder.

We sneak around corners, and Bobby freezes any cameras we come across. I hear Logan's footsteps slow to a stop behind me and a whip around. He is reaching for a doorknob. "What are you doing!?" I hiss as he opens the door.

"Storage," he answers, throwing me a bundle of cloth. I recognize it as the guard's uniforms. I quickly pull it over my clothes, feeling filthy wearing the uniform of the enemy. But I suppose if Jean Valjean could do it to save the man his daughter loved, I can do it to rescue Scott and Ororo.

It eases my nerves a little to wear the disguises. But of course, Bobby and my faces were just on the news this morning. More than a glance from a passing guard and we'll be caught.

Just as I think that it came to pass. Unfamiliar footsteps echo through the hall, and my breath catches in my throat.

"Hey, this isn't a patrolled hallway," a man says. "What are you three doing?"

Logan steps up to him, partially blocking Bobby and me with his body. "Just coming back from break, Bub. What about you? I thought they said we can't go for a smoke while workin'?"

The man pales. "No. No, of course not. We never saw each other, alright?"

With that, he walked away, hurried, like a dog with his tail between his legs. Bobby snorts.

"How'd you do that?"

Logan nonchalantly shrugs. "I smelled cigarettes on him and there was a no-smoking sign outside. Here, Red." He hands me a plastic ID card he swiped from the man. "Might come in handy."

I knew Logan had some experience in this field, but I didn't realize he was this good. Maybe he should be leading the team instead of me.

And the card does come in handy. Because down the next hallway is an elevator with a sign saying it leads to the cellblocks. That's right where we need to be.

I swipe the card in the slot. The elevator opens. I stab the button with my finger and the doors close in front of us.

"What? No elevator music?" Bobby complains.

The moment the doors open to the next floor, I'm mentally struck by the agony of several mutants. My stomach churns, but I take a discrete breath and step out.

"What sort of sickos are we dealing with?" Bobby breaths beside me. His fists are clenched at his sides, his knuckles frosted. The cell bars have been replaced with glowing blue lasers, requiring so much power that the lights flicker in the entire Block.

Inside, mutants of every age are batter and bruised. There are even children younger than Rachel. What could they have possibly done to be thrown here!?

I scan the area, nauseous by everyone's pain and fear. I push through, finding Ororo's in the sea of thoughts. Her panic is one of the worst in the room, and I quickly realize why.

Claustrophobia and cells do not get along.

"Storm is this way," I whisper. "Logan, I hate to ask, but can you take care of those guards?"

A smirk spreads across Logan's lips and his eyes narrow in a trio of guards walking down the corridor towards us. "Gladly," he says.

"Can I see your identification?" One asks.

SHNIK! Logan makes sure those are their last words.

"We have to hurry," I order before rushing down the corridor, sensing Ororo close.

I swipe the card in the slot by the cell fast. The lasers raise up, giving me a chance to get in. Inside are two women, Ororo, and one with mousy brown hair with white strikes in the front. She rises to her feet, but Ororo stays on the floor, huddled in the corner with sweat drenching her face. I notice that all the mutants have metal collars around their necks. One red light blinks in the center.

"How long has she been in here?" I ask, kneeling next to my friend.

"Too long," the other woman answers with a southern accent. "She was more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs when your coworkers threw her in here and it's just got worse. Not that you care."

I shake my head. "I don't work here. I'm a mutant."

"Jean?" Ororo whispers, recognizing my voice. Her eyes are shut tight, but tears still manage to fall out of them. "I'm going to make a snowstorm to get us all out of here."

"Good luck with that, Hon. They've shut off our powers, remember?"

I turn my head to her. "They what?"

"It's these dang collars. They block us from using them somehow."

"We'll deal with that later," Logan snaps. "Find the other two and let's get the hell out of here! I'll get 'Ro."

"Sooooo, Are we just gonna leave the rest of them here?" Bobby asks, uncomfortable under the pleading looks we're getting from the other cells. There are at least two dozen other mutants, including the children. I have been so focused on getting the members of the X-Men back that I never considered that there would be more who need us.

I don't know how we're supposed to get them out, let alone get them to safety. There isn't enough room on the jet!

"No need to worry about them. Especially when you'll be joining them." A new voice suddenly says. My eyes widen when I turn around to see a group of guards, and then we are bombarded by a shower of darts. I let my guard down for one minute. They took that opportunity to sneak upon us.

A prick of the metal stings my skin and my mind swarms.

Realization hits harder than the dart. We failed.

To Be Continued...

A/N: I hope you all are enjoying this story so far! Even though I love the Shi'ar, I've had a lot of fun writing a fic without aliens. It's a nice change of pace. Speaking of the Shi'ar, would you be interested in me writing some of what Rachel went through before meeting this timeline Jean Grey and Cyclops? I have a very old fic of it that needs some serious rewrites but I always intended on publishing it. There is a poll in my profile to let me know your opinion!