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Today we're talking to Zoey in Cerebro. I based the issues Charles has seeing her off the submarine problems in First Class. I also tried to throw in some clues for what's going on with Zoey, but we won't find out for sure until Hank does. I wonder if anyone will pick up on it yet...?

Inside Cerebro

"Welcome, Professor," the cool female computer voice greeted Charles.

The only audible sound was the quiet whirl of his wheelchair and the soft hiss of the doors sliding shut behind us as we entered Cerebro, leaving the others in the hallway.

"We'll find her, Beast," Charles assured me quietly, slipping on the headset. "Just give me a moment."

I waited with baited breath as thousands of tiny red glowing lights appeared on a map that took up the entire opposite wall. The lights represented the world's mutants, and with Cerebro Charles was connected to all of them at once. It was something that I, as a non-telepath, could barely fathom.

Please, let him find her.

Small red figures darted around in the huge empty space before us as he flitted from one mutant's mind to another. It was a little jarring, seeing a whirlwind of stranger's faces rushing by.

I was both desperate to find Zoey and terrified of what I would see when we did. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as it was. If they'd hurt her-

The flurry of random mutants suddenly halted and disappeared, leaving just one.

Zoey.

Alive, and apparently unharmed. My knees almost gave out right then and there, my muscles going limp in relief as I drank her in.

Her image was flickering and indistinct, something I'd never seen in Cerebro before. It was almost like Charles was having a hard time seeing her.

Despite the fuzziness of Zoey's figure, I could tell she was standing, leaning against a wall with her palm pressed against it. There were flames shooting out of her hand.

After a second I realized what Zoey was doing: trying to melt a hole in the wall. My heart swelled with pride over the fact that she was not just sitting there passively waiting for rescue. She was trying to escape on her own.

My princess may be in distress, but she is not helpless.

But then, as if to prove me wrong, Zoey slumped to the floor like she was exhausted and curled into a ball. It was all I could do not to reflexively, futilely step forward to catch her incorporeal form.

How much had she used her powers in the past few hours? I remembered that day in the Danger Room, how tired Zoey became after using her abilities for too long. Would the exertion of today hurt the baby?

A fission of panic passed over me at the thought, making it a struggle to stay calm.

"Zoey," Charles murmured aloud, obviously for my benefit.

Her head snapped up. "Professor?" Zoey's voice rang out in the cavernous expanse of Cerebro. "Can you see me?"

"Yes, barely."

"Thank God," she whispered, sitting up and hunching over- from relief, I think. "Is Hank with you? I sent him to speak to Nick to buy me some time to make this hole in the wall. I set the other room on fire so they stuck me in a steel room and I didn't think you could see past it. The walls are over two feet thick and I think there's some glass or something, too."

I almost smiled in spite of myself, even under the circumstances. I just had to admire Zoey's ingenuity.

The fact that Charles was having a difficult time seeing her at the moment- even with the hole she'd made- told me that if I'd come to the Institute immediately after finding the FOH's hostage note we wouldn't have been able to locate Zoey with Cerebro. There would've been no trace of her, anywhere. She'd purposely sent me after Grey to give herself time to make her prison visible.

And if I managed to maim him in the process, I'm sure she wouldn't have considered it as much of a loss.

Zoey, knowing what a terrible liar I was, had even purposely told me to not give in to the Friends of Humanity's orders on the phone (despite how obvious a point that was) so I had an honest, believable reply when her captor demanded to know what she said in French. That way the true message- to go after Grey- was still kept secret.

My stars and garters, I love that woman.

"Yes, Hank's right here," Charles assured her. "He can hear you."

"Hank, I'm so sorry," Zoey said, speaking up to her prison's ceiling. "I opened the door for Nick, he said he wanted to talk, but then all those other guys showed up and I couldn't fight them off when they chloroformed me because I was afraid of hurting the baby-"

She seemed to shiver at the thought.

"Tell her it's fine," I croaked- my throat was too tight with emotion to speak properly. "I know she tried. The only thing that matters is that she and the baby are ok."

"Hank says it's fine, as long as you and the-" Charles paused. "The baby?"

"Surprise," Zoey told him in a dry tone of voice. I could see a small smile on her face as she pulled her knees to her chest and crossed her arms. "We're pregnant."

"Oh dear," Charles muttered. "Alright. Zoey, save your strength and don't bother opening the wall up anymore. I know where you are now, and we'll be there soon. You'll be alright until we get there, yes?"

"Should be," she calmly agreed, rubbing her arms absently. "I don't think they're going to bother me again- I mean, they know they've got me trapped in here, and I set the guard's shoes on fire last time he tried to come in. And they turn- I mean, I don't see them trying for round five."

That's my girl, I thought proudly.

The pride I felt was twinged with pain over the fact that Zoey had been forced to resort to such measures in the first place.

"Sit tight," Charles entreated. "We're coming."

"Ok. Hank, I love you. Don't you dare get yourself hurt when you're storming the castle, you got it?"

I had to take a deep, calming breath to ease the tension in my stomach.

Zoey seemed to be handling this situation much better than I was. I couldn't even tell if she was truly unfazed at being held captive or not, because I knew she wasn't above hiding her fear to keep me focused on the task at hand without panicking over her well-being. Zoey was much stronger than I was.

"Just worry about yourself, and our baby," I told her, with much more confidence than I felt. "I love you, Zoey. I'll see you soon, sweetheart."

Charles relayed my message to her and then broke the connection. I hated seeing Zoey's image disappearing into thin air, though I knew it couldn't be helped.

"So, I think congratulations are in order then? Or at least they will be, when we get your wife back?" Charles asked after he took off Cerebro's headpiece.

His tone was light, optimistic, as he turned his wheelchair and gave me an avuncular smile.

"You're going to be a father, Hank."

"We were going to tell everyone tonight," I muttered mournfully. "Together. Not- not this way."

"At least you'll have an interesting story to tell your child when it gets older. It's going to be alright. Now come," Charles ordered gently, starting for the door. "Let's get going."

The others were tensely waiting for us out in the hallway.

"Well?" Alex asked.

"The Friends of Humanity are holding her in an old warehouse building about an hour's drive north from here," Charles replied. He glanced over at his wife. "Moira-"

She silenced him with a kiss. "Be safe, and hurry back."

"You know I will, love."

I turned away from their affectionate goodbyes. I couldn't stand to see it in that moment.

The envy I felt hearkened to the jealousy I used to experience seeing happy couples together, back when I believed I was a creature no one could ever love. I had hoped to never feel that way again, after finding Zoey...

We left Moira standing there and made our way to the Blackbird hangar, which happened to be underneath the school's basketball court.

Ugh. I hate basketball, I thought vaguely, like I did every time I went in there.

None of us spoke as we moved through the subterranean halls under the school, a journey that took at least three minutes.

Three minutes.

So really, Charles had plenty of time to warn the rest of us. He just didn't, I think, because he was worried about how the rest of us X-Men would react to our- guests.

There were two people standing underneath the Blackbird, both in poses that suggested impatience. One was wearing a tacky helmet and a cape, of all things. And the other was completely nude.

Erik Lehnsherr, and Raven Darkholme.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"