The Blackbird, nearing Magneto's HQ

20:46 (8:46 pm)

Day 3



"The radar has picked up something."

Cyclops leaned over to see the screen that Storm pointed at.

"It looks like a structure....could be Magneto's base."

Storm nodded in agreement.

"We are nearing it. Shall we pay him a visit?"

Cyclops turned in his seat to where Jean was sitting.

"Jean, could you try to look for them again?"

Jean looked frightened.

"I...I don't know, Scott....that last time really scared me."

He sighed and glanced at Storm.

"Go ahead 'Ro, land us."

Storm started preparations for landing the huge aircraft while Cyclops spoke to Jean.

"Jean, are you going to be alright?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed.

"It's just...I get a bad feeling about this...he has a lot more power than we suspected if he can create mutations and withhold them."

Cyclops's eyes widened behind his red-tinted visor.

"Withhold mutations?"

Jean bit her lip.

"Scott...I think that's what the block was. I was using powers to try to penetrate an area where no powers work.....I think my powers reflected off the border and hit me....a boomerang effect."

Cyclops leaned back in his seat.

"This is going to be harder than we thought then---we need to make a definite plan."

She nodded.

"Could you find out about the devices or methods used to withhold powers, Jean?"

Jean put her hands to her head and concentrated.

After a few moments time she spoke up.

"Studies run recently in a Northwestern lab are the most successful in inventing a mechanism to withhold mutations. It works by neutralizing the X gene in the DNA by sending out steady radioactive wavelengths, which affect mutated cells, over a limited area. The effects of the waves are temporary, and fade as soon as the mechanism is turned off."

Cyclops frowned.

"But why would Magneto want to withhold mutations?"

Jean smiled grimly.

"Withholding is not the machine's only facet," she said.

"It can also do the opposite..."

Storm raised her eyebrows.

"It can create mutations?"

Jean nodded.

"But what about the power withholding wavelengths?" Cyclops asked.

"He probably has an antidote, in the form of which he can shield particular people from the waves."

Cyclops shook his head to clear it.

"So that's what he's up to....creating new mutations, then preventing them from escape until they are ready to be released."

Storm cleared her throat.

"We have arrived at Magneto's Head Quarters. Shall I cloak the ship?"

Storm's hand hovered over the invisibility button.

Cyclops nodded.

"No use taking any risks...the Blackbird is the only weapon we have."

Storm pressed the button and began to land the ship.

++++++++

Magneto's HQ, The Heart of the Savage Lands

20:59 (8:59 pm)

Day 3



"Owww...."

Rogue moaned as the blackness faded, and her head began to throb.

She slowly began to take in her surroundings, trying to remember what had happened.

Pressing her face against the glass, she tried to make out the blurry figures in the neighboring tubes.

~Logan. Where's Logan.~

She searched the room frantically, but there was no sign of his gruff features anywhere.

Her heart pounded, and she felt nauseous.

She clutched her stomach uneasily. ~What's wrong with me?~

Leaning her forehead against the cool glass, she tried to collect her scattered thoughts.

She swallowed hard to keep down the contents of her stomach.

~I'm scared. That's it.~

She gritted her teeth.

Fear was something she was unused to, being invulnerable, being able to fly, being able to lift trucks off the ground with a single-handed flick of her wrist.

But she felt fear now.

There was no way she could escape from the clutches of the master of magnetism.

He was a madman.

It was almost impossible that the X-men could track them to this unknown continent.

And her only hope was plastered against a wall.

She felt tears seep down her face as she thought of him hanging there.

Then she remembered their argument, and her jaw hardened with resolve.

~He used me,~ she thought stubbornly, forgetting her previous thoughts of forgiveness.

A sound startled her out of her self-pity.

"Well, well, it looks like we have some unexpected guests."

She raised her head and tried to make out the blurry figure standing at the controls a few feet away.

~Magneto,~ she thought, balling up her hands into fists.

He gave a chuckle, then turned to his small team of minions who stood by the door, awaiting his commands.

A remarkable looking woman had joined them.

She had piercing yellow eyes and blazing red hair, with amazing glistening blue skin, almost like a snake's.

She was smirking maliciously.

"Oh yes, I quite remember them. Xavier's little students, aren't they?"

Rogue felt her insides freeze. ~They're here?~

Magneto laughed unpleasantly.

"Yes, Mystique, you are absolutely right. Come to rescue our little friends, I assume. Would you be so kind as to unroll the welcome mat for them? Wouldn't want to seem ungracious."

With a nasty grin, the three exited the room.

Magneto turned back to his controls, watching the whole encounter on a small screen.

After a while, he rose and paced the room, muttering aloud to himself.

Rogue cringed in her tube, trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible.

After what seemed ages, he walked back to the screen, and started pressing controls.

A few moments later, the minions returned, each carrying a unconscious body.

Rogue stifled a scream as she recognized her friends.

+++++++

Magneto's HQ, The Heart of the Savage Lands

21:35 (9:35 pm)

Day 3



Logan growled as he fought unsuccessfully against the web of slime that glued him to the wall.

He had managed to slice parts of it with his Adamantium claws, making them fall to the ground like cobwebs, but he couldn't reach the majority.

He snarled in frustration.

~I'll get that little slime ball for this,~ he thought savagely.

He grinned as he felt a claw slide through a particularly restricting bond, freeing one strong arm with a handful of metal claws to cut the rest of himself loose with.

He fell to his feet with a thud and stood up, brushing the dangling bits of slime off his gold-and-black uniform with pride.

Reaching back, he pulled the masked hood over his face, leaving only the bottom of his nose to his chin bare.

"Show time," He mumbled as he sniffed the air.

Logan nearly doubled over as the stench reached his nose.

Eyes filling with tears, he started tracking the more-than-obvious trail of pungent odor through the open doors and down the massive stone hallway.

***********

Jean put a hand to her throbbing head as she came to.

"Where...where am...I....?"

Then she noticed the surrounding glass.

She concentrated, thinking thoughts of pure energy, but the expected explosion of glass never came.

Then she remembered the situation.

She thumped her fists on the glass.

"Let me out ! LET ME OUT! "

"Jean!"

Jean turned frantically, finally spotted a familiar though blurry face.

"Scott!" She called.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Where's Storm?"

Cyclops pointed to the tube beside him.

"She's right here!"

Jean could faintly make out a fuzzy, tall figure.

"Is she okay?"

Cyclops glanced at her.

"I think so!"

Jean sighed with relief.

"Thank god."

Cyclops could only nod in agreement.

Remembering their mission, he turned to Storm.

" 'Ro! 'RO! Did you see Rogue or Logan anywhere?"

Storm was about to yell back when a series of muffled screams caught her attention.

" 'RO! 'RO! STORM! Ah'm here!"

Storm turned and blinked.

"Rogue! Where are you, child?"

Rogue thumped the glass that held her captive fiercely.

"Ah'm here! HERE! Ah'm right here shugah!"

Storm spotted movement a few tubes down.

Squinting, she made out a woman's figure, with brown hair and white streaks.

"I see you child!" She shouted.



"Are you alright?"

Rogue nodded frantically.



"Ah'm okay!"

Storm scanned around the room, then looked questioningly at Rogue.



"Where's Logan?"

Rogue shook her head.

"Ah dunno! He got left behind!"

Storm was about to reply when Magneto raised his arms for attention.

+++++++