Life at the mansion was very touchy with the restrictions. No one disobeyed, for fear of Magneto. Nothing happened for a while, and no new dreams came to Diane. The professor finally decreed it safe for the X-men, the trained fighters, to leave the mansion. Diane thought this was a strange strategy, since, according to her dream, the evil mutants were after the X-men themselves.

There were still no reports of any criminal behavior from either mutant. The professor was finally forced to lift the restrictions from the pressure of the students, who seemed to think that the threat had passed. Only Diane knew otherwise.

Magneto sat at his old desk, contemplating his losses. He had lost Toad to that powerful black woman, and Sabretooth to Logan. Mystique, he couldn't use to help him, since she was still masquerading as Senator Kelly.

His helper and releaser walked into the cave-like room from behind him. Enigma was dark in every way. He had dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes, and a dark, dark mind. He preferred to talk directly to Magneto's mind.

I have followers. I have brought them in your time of need. Then we get the X-men. They are essential to my plan.

Carefully, four women came up behind him. This is Firetamer. She controls heat. Firetamer was a beautiful woman with wild red hair and red-glowing eyes. Wave, who works with water. Wave was another gorgeous woman with glowing eyes, though hers were blue. Her skin seemed to shine with an inner light, almost bluish that was constantly shifting color and pattern, and her hair was a thick tangle of naturally blue strands. Iris, who makes portals. A third woman with straight blond hair and a well filled out figure. And Labyrinth, my own hand trained telepath. They will help you catch the X-men. Labyrinth was a short woman with bright purple eyes and thick black curls. She and Iris were the most normal of the four of them. Magneto nodded, his eye on his four new helpers. He couldn't help notice that Enigma had chosen all women. He sighed at the simple-mindedness of some people.

Alex was mad. No one seemed to be doing anything to find Magneto or his new helper. He'd taken the privilege to leave the mansion, and run with it. He wandered the streets of New York, asking around for people who may have known something. Nothing was much help, but there seemed to be an agreement that two mutants that people knew and hated had disappeared. One of them had red hair, and one of them had blue hair. He'd pieced this much together, and had the suspicion that Magneto had offered them a safe place from the mutant torments, in change for their help with his plan.

"But -what- is Magneto going to use them to do?" He asked out loud. A low, female voice answered him, like water moving over stones.

"You're about to find out." He whirled around in time to see a flash of blue, before he blacked from a blow in the head.

Diane was literally panicking when Alex never came back. She'd known he'd said he'd be back. She'd told him to be careful. But now it was too late. The X-men were going to go get him, and taking Professor X with them, to help with the powerful telepath. Alex had been blocked by a powerful mind block from the professor, which must have meant that they didn't want them to know where they were.

She watched them go silently. Worry must have been plain on her face, because Bruce gently slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Jean was keyed up. She had a nasty feeling about this mission. The professor said that there was an attempt to bock Alex from his mind. He had said it was very strong, and that he had nearly not been able to find him with Cerebro. There didn't seem to be anything else in the way to Alex. The professor had looked all around the city for other mutants with attempted mind blocks, and found none. The path to Scott's brother seemed clear. But Jean had the nasty feeling that there was more to it than that. She had the sneaking suspicion that there were other mutants guarding Alex, and despite what the professor said, they were going to have a hell of a time trying to get him out.

They zoomed low over the water to where the faint, hardly discernable power signal from Alex was coming. They anchored near the island in a cloak of fog and telekinetic disguise, and slipped into the water. There was a tunnel under the island base. As they neared it, a huge wall of water rose up out of no where. A woman, wearing nothing but a tiny bikini walked out daintily on the surface of the water. Her skin was bluish, like light through water, it always shifted. Wet, dripping strands of blue hair slithered down her back. She threw a ball of water at Storm, who blew it away with a breath of wind. The woman hand sprung across the water into the middle of them, sweeps of her feet smashing Aurora and Scott. Jean held out a hand, freezing the water woman.

A huge wave of water his her back, loosening the telekinetic's hold on the water caller, knocking Jean over, under the water. Scott shot a blast at the woman, who dodged by flipping.

"Jean!" Yelled Aurora. "Can you get Scott and Logan out of the water?" Jean nodded, lifting the three of them out of the water, dripping. Storm's eyes went milky as she called on a storm. A huge white lightening bolt hit the water. White lightning flickered over the form of the waterperson, and she fell into the water and disappeared. They got into the tunnel all right.

By now, they were expecting a wall of different mutants. They had made the Professor stay in the boat until they radioed ahead to say that they could go through. So it wasn't really that much of a surprise when they were met by a redhead with glowing red eyes. Fire danced around her hands and trickled gently out of the corners of her mouth. Aurora acted without thinking, water poured all over everything, the fire went out. Logan smashed her face with one of his 'iron' fists. She fell. Logan seemed to be of the opinion that they should kill her, because she'd be trouble later, but the rest of them wouldn't do it.

Next they ran into a shapely woman with blond hair. She proved difficult, she kept dancing away from Wolverine and his claws, making little portals and jumping through them. Scott adjusted his glasses for stun and knocked her down.

There was a girl with purple eyes and black curls at the end of the tunnel. Jean hoped to god that this was the last one. She froze them all with a calm smile when they got near her. She was another telekinetic, and one much stronger then Jean was. Jean reached for the Professor, and felt his presence join them. The power lifted under the joined influence of student and teacher, and Scott zapped her as well.

They walked through, into the room. It was huge, metal, and round, sort of like the Cerebro room. They heard the Blackbird head for the cove wall so the Professor could join them. Once he'd come, they searched the room. Two doors. The weak power signal was from one of them. Wolverine, impatient, slashed it off its hinges.

Alex was there, in a metal chair that obviously neutralized his power. He obviously couldn't talk either, probably from the mental block on him. His eyes widened when he saw them. Wolverine slashed his bonds and the professor freed him from the no-speak restriction on his mind. Wolverine's eye's darted around the room.

"Big mistake, Cyke." He said. "Deja Vou. I can't move."

"You idiots." Alex snapped. "You're-"

His warning was almost too late, but not quite. He dived, his power spreading from his hands in a wave, melting metal and anything else in his way. The metal simply reformed, but he'd gone.

"Damn." Wolverine growled. "I -knew- it."

"Be optimistic. Alex got away. I can still protect him until he takes the blackbird back." The professor said. The solid metal of the wall split open.

"Not -again-." Growled Wolverine.