Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from, the X-Men characters. Thanks also to my good friend Corrinth for the use of the character Ilehana Xavier.

A/N: All reviews most definitely welcome!

Scene Fourteen

Vixen did not completely remove the grill from the air vent, instead letting it swing on one screw within easy reach of the inside. The remaining screw she tightened enough so that when the grill was pulled round it would catch and stay in place, not too visibly tampered with. The spare screws she hid in the young man's office draw.

Going back to the briefcase, she pulled out a small pack with elastic straps. Then hastily she stripped off her clothes before stepping into the elastic straps of the pack and pulling it up around her belly. She'd only lose her clothes if she Changed with them on, and clonking about in animal form in the air ducts whilst trying to wriggle out of human clothes was a sure way to give away her presence. Her earpiece she took out and tagged onto one of the two straps. She put her clothes in the briefcase and hid it under the desk. Finally ready, she climbed into the vent, whispering into her radio as she pulled the grate closed behind her.

"I am in the vent, about to Change now."

"Good luck Ilehana." Scott's voice came back clearly over the muttered good lucks of the rest of the team.

Half an hour later, a slender female mountain lion with black ear tips began crawling quietly through the building's air ducts. Fortunately the office staff had for the most part left the building for lunch, no body heard the quiet scratching of claws on smoothed metal. Ilehana the mountain lion knew exactly where she was going. In seemingly no time, she was beginning the slow Change back into human form, easing muscles into old positions and limbs into well-known shapes. She was grateful of her ability to morph into animal form, the ducts were now just a little too small for comfort. In the back of her mind, Ilehana could hear a small child crying, trapped in a small metal box whilst all around her the world came tumbling down. No! Now was not the time to be getting claustrophobic!

**Keep calm Ilehana. You are nearly out. **

**Thanks Dad. **

Slender fingers slid the tiny screwdriver through the gaps in the industrial grating. Carefully she loosened the screws on the outside of the frame, letting the screws fall to the floor and trusting her father's small telekinetic ability to prevent them from rolling near the cameras. Her heart pounded relentlessly and sweat dripped from her brow as she left the duct headfirst. Slowly, gently a naked Ilehana dropped to the cold floor. She wriggled out of the elasticated pack and reached inside it. She had never been so glad to see the X-Men uniform in all her life, and she hoped beyond hope that the cameras in the room really did have a blind spot where she was stood.

Once dressed she placed the other contents of the small bag, two suction cups for climbing up her escape route, on the top of the air conditioning unit. Checking the room she was relieved to see the cameras were indeed fixed-focus door watchers. The computer mainframe was a large whirring box besides her with no monitor or keyboard but Vixen didn't need one. A palmtop computer attached easily to a small port, and Vixen was in. On each side of the room, clicks could be heard as she locked both sets of reinforced doors...

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Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!

Jacobi smiled, turning off the alarm with the press of a button.

"They are in." He announced to his corrupt inner council. Crush smiled, the unusual action contorting his muscular face into an even uglier mask.

"Soon we get to fight?" He asked gruffly.

"Of course, my dear Crush." Jacobi smiled warmly, including all his council in the action. Pierre was the only one to even attempt to smile back. Electra glanced hastily sideways at Mystique. So his little Electra took her cues from the shape-shifter now? Or was she just jealous that Mystique was stood so close to Gambit?

"Are you sure this is wise?" Sal's South African accent betrayed his nervousness. This was why Jacobi preferred to surround himself with mutants; they were generally much less spineless than ordinary humans.

"Of course it is wise. We do not need a pathetic group of vigilante mutants hassling us whilst we try to take over the world." The criticism was heavy in Jacobi's voice; how dare Sal question his wisdom? "We can beat them, here and now. We are prepared, and on our own turf. They don't know that we know that they are here, and they certainly don't know that we have doubled our troops in the last twenty-four hours. Don't worry, my dear Sal, this is child's play, right Remy?"

Gambit smiled thinly, still torn up inside. He'd seen Jacobi's preparations, and he'd studied everything they had on the X-Men. Jacobi certainly had a good chance of wiping Xavier's men out this afternoon, but with Blaze bound to be there Gambit still wasn't sure if he could watch her lose...

At Gambit's side, Mystique stood thinking coldly. She already had his agreement that after today, with the X-Men gone and Blaze with them he would go with her and meet with her boss. Jacobi could keep his money, Magneto would soon have a mutation accelerator all of his own and three new mutant test subjects just dying to help him become more powerful...

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Outside on the busy street Blaze and Rogue were too nervous to worry about the strange looks they were getting for wearing their uniforms in public. Any second now and Ilehana would freeze the frame on the external security cameras and it would be show time. Suddenly, both girls' earpieces buzzed into life.

"You're up Blaze, Rogue. Get moving!" Ilehana sounded almost ruffled. The two X-Men did as they were told, sprinting for the alleyway and relying on the Professor to ensure their unusual appearance was quickly forgotten.

"Good luck girls." Came from Scott, whilst Bobby chipped in with a frantic "Take care!"

It was a hundred metre sprint to the vent, a third of the way down the length of the building. Slick concrete below the grill offered no purchase with which to climb up the opening. Rogue had no idea how on earth Blaze intended to get the grate open. Nervously the young Southern belle looked around as if expecting a handful of police to come running down the alley any second...

"Rogue," Blaze spoke as frantically as Bobby had. "Boost me up there!" She already had a small screwdriver in hand. Rogue did as she was told, allowing Blaze to jump vertically out of her cupped hands.

Amazingly, Blaze somehow made the jump and was clinging one-handily to a small purchase just above the grill. Her heart pounded as she deftly let three screws drop to the floor. Her head throbbed increasingly every second. Finally she performed the same trick as Vixen, screwing the last screw in tighter than it had been so the grill would hold closed with just one pin.

"Rogue, the rope!"

Rogue threw the length of tough polymer fibre up to Blaze in the air duct. In a flash Blaze was heaving the other girl up the wall and with a clatter that was louder than either of them would have liked, they were in.