A/N: I know, I know, you all hate me for taking so long to update. I don't even have a plausible excuse this time . . . other than the fact that X-men Evolution was taken off the air a couple of weeks ago so I have found no motivation to write. That and the fact that soccer and school have been keeping me really busy, but soccer just ended so hopefully I'll have more time to write. This chapter is also a fair bit longer than most, so I hope that makes up for the delay. I want to apologize for anything I may have screwed up with Trask's story, as I didn't exactly to research ahead of time and I'm mainly an Evo fan (haven't read many comics). I'm not to happy with this chapter, but something had to happen, so here it is.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except for any changes to the plot that you don't recognize. Bob belongs to the joint ideas of me, Melissa, and Gwen.

"Normal speaking"

'telepathically speaking'

'thoughts'

XxX

Jean paced across the hallway, waiting for the Professor to finish speaking with a few of his acquaintances that he believed could aid them in finding Scott. Chills crept up and down her arms excitedly, causing the tiny hairs to stand on end. Briskly, she rubbed her arms with her hands, using her telekinesis to suspend a sheet of notebook paper in the hair so as not to crease it. She kept her mind focused on the vision she'd just had – there was no other word for what she'd experienced. If she hadn't known any better she would have thought she'd been hallucinating, but it had all felt so real, as though Scott had actually been locked inside of her all along.

"Jean?" she jumped at the sound of the Professor's voice, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," she snatched the paper out of the air, stepping into Professor Xavier's office. "Professor, I think I may have a way to find Scott."

"Oh?" The Professor raised his eyebrows as Jean nodded, handing him the sheet of paper. His brow furrowed, "Why don't you have a seat, Jean."

Though she felt all too jumpy to sit still, Jean obliged, perching herself anxiously on the edge of a leather chair. "I drew that, Professor, but I've never seen anything like it before. I was just doodling while I talked on the phone, and when I finished it was there, right amidst the hearts and stars." She folded her hands in her lap, staring at him seriously. "Professor, I would never have been able to drawn something like that unless I'd seen it multiple times before."

The Professor looked at her intently, "Is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

Jean nodded. "After I saw the drawing, I felt . . . frightened, so I closed my eyes, trying to remember where I might have seen it before. When I opened my eyes everything I saw was red. I was sitting in cell and this insignia was on the door. Professor, I felt like I was seeing everything through Scott's eyes; I could feel his heavy breathing, I could hear water dripping, I could feel the cold . . ." She trailed off, shivering.

A suppressing silence filled the room as Professor Xavier surveyed his student. Jean had never ceased to amaze him; even as a young girl she attacked every challenge with a contagious fervor. She had been frightened when she'd first moved to the Institute, frightened and feeling terribly alone, but she'd forced herself to face her fears, knowing with an elderly wisdom that there was nothing she could do but try to make the best of her new life. The Professor had no doubt that she was an extraordinary mutant, possibly even stronger than himself, but beyond that she was an even more extraordinary girl. Though he'd never encountered a story such as hers before, he was sure that if Jean believed she was truly seeing these things, there was a high chance that she was right. "Jean, if you truly are having some sort of . . . psychic connection with Scott, there may be a way to find him through you." He looked inquiringly at her.

She nodded, "I have nothing to hide from you, Professor."

"Alright, Jean, I want you to relax." Professor Xavier placed his fingertips by the sides of her temple, closing his eyes and urging her to do the same.

Memories blew past Jean in a dizzy blur, leaving her mind reeling from the exertion. 'Help me, Jean' the Professor's voice reverberated through her head, 'Help me find the memory I'm looking for.' Jean nodded, guiding the Professor along the intricate patterns of her mind until she found the bond she'd made with Scott.

Once again, Jean felt the chill of the damp cell, and heard the continuous drip of water. She shivered and moaned, rubbing the sudden pain in her left arm. Her head felt light and her stomach ached from lack of proper food. Suddenly a rush of memories overwhelmed her, and she felt as though she were watching a film being rewound. She saw a syringe filled with a bubbling orange liquid, a pretty Asian woman dressed in white, a steel table, a busy lab, a dank hallway, the same musty cell, a leaf-covered ground spinning beneath her, a black van bearing the same insignia she had drawn and a name . . .

Jean's eyes flew open as the Professor broke contact with her, leaving her head spinning. "Professor, those memories, were they . . .?"

"Scott's? Yes, I believe so."

"But how am I able to . . .?"

Professor Xavier sighed, placing his index fingers together as he often did when deep in thought. "Jean, do you remember when your powers began to evolve uncontrollably last spring?"

She nodded, "Scott made a connection with me that day. He saved my life."

"It was quite a powerful connection, if I remember correctly. I don't believe it ever truly closed. Perhaps in certain times when one of your emotions is particularly strong, the other experiences a bit of the same emotion."

Jean sat silently for a moment, this was too much information for her tired brain to process. Finally, she voiced aloud the three words continuously echoing through her mind. "What about Scott?"

"With a few well-placed calls and a search on Cerebro, I believe we will have confirmed his location by tomorrow morning." He smiled kindly at Jean. "Why don't you get some sleep and I'll tell the others to be prepared to leave in six hours."

XxX

Consciousness came and went as Scott lay awkwardly on the damp cell floor, fighting the heavy sleep that lingered over his eyes. More than once he sensed another presence in his mind during the time he spent awake, leaving him to wonder if a telepathic mutant was being kept prisoner in the same fashion. It was during one of these moments that Scott felt the excruciating pain as fresh memories were pulled from his thoughts, forcing him to relive the past forty-eight hours in shame. He wondered if, after seeing the memories of Scott's weakness, the telepath had given up on him.

Reveling in his brief brush with consciousness, Scott let his thoughts wander back to his favorite telepath. Had she given up on him? Had the X-men? Why hadn't they found him yet? True, he hadn't used his powers so Cerebro wouldn't have picked up any mutant activity, but who knew if he was even in Cerebro's range?

"It's worth a shot," he muttered, rolling over to his side and using his hands to prop up his aching body. He knew firing at the door would be useless, even if he managed to blow it off its hinges he'd never be able to muster enough energy to escape. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face a wall that he thought divided his cell from another, and flipped his visor open, allowing the concussive blasts to erupt from his eyes. He willed himself to hang on minute after minute as he felt his energy waning, knowing that if he held on just a little bit longer, Cerebro had all the more chance of finding him.

XxX

SENTINEL

The word flickered across the screen followed by countless images and streams of data. The name had been pulled from deep within Jean's – or rather Scott's – memories, printed on the side of the black truck that had borne the now all-to familiar insignia.

"There! That's it! That's the logo that was on the side of the soldier's trucks!" Allison leaned over Charles Xavier's shoulder, pointing excitedly at an image on Cerebro's wide screen.

The Professor tried – and failed – to hide his smile. Allison reminded him so much of Jean at that age that it was easy to forget they were two different people. "You're certain, now?"

She nodded impatiently, "Positive. That's how they were able to corner me so fast. They jumped out and started yelling to each other, saying not to mess up or Trask would be furious. They kept mentioning that name."

"Trask? Yes, he seems to be in charge of the Sentinel project."

Allison's eyes scrolled the documents as they flashed on the screen, absorbing as much information as she could. "I know his research is some sort of mix of anthropology and genetics, but why would he need someone like me or Scott?"

Because you're mutants. Charles Xavier couldn't bring himself to say those words, the words that would justify every ill act against her for the rest of her life. Instead, he simply turned his head away, deciding to leave her final question unanswered for now.

MUTANT IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED
NAME: SCOTT SUMMERS
AGE: 18
LOCATION: WHITESTONE, NEW YORK

"Allison," Xavier smiled, "Would you mind finding Logan for me? Tell him to alert the X-men; we've found Scott."

XxX

Bolivar Trask was unusually anxious as he berated Dr. Foster. He knew well enough that it would take days, maybe even weeks before a prototype serum would be ready for testing. Yet he was pressuring her to test the initial progress on the mutant.

"Trask, we can't do that," Ami Foster pleaded exasperatedly. "It would be unethical, there could be serious repercussions."

He sneered, "Since when has any of the work done here been considered ethical? If the American people believed our cause was ethical we wouldn't' be working underground. The people are uneducated; we're doing them a favor by alerting them to the dangers that surround them. And as for the repercussions," a cruel smile slowly unfurled on his chiseled face, "We can always find another mutant."

Dr. Foster stood, horrorstruck as the man curtly let her know that she had one hour to prepare the serum before the mutant would be brought in.

"Oh, and one last thing," Trask paused, his hand around the door. "I suggest you ensure the serum will produce some results, for Ari's sake."

As the door slammed shut behind Trask, Ami Foster sank to her knees, a muffled escaping from within her. She'd never wanted to hurt anyone, and no matter what Trask said to demean him, she knew this boy was a human, a person with a life, a life that deserved to be lived. She could still see him lying there, limp from the anesthesia with a childlike innocence that defied the rigid authority of his uniform. Somewhere out there he had a family that loved him, a mother and father who wanted no more than for their baby to be returned to them, siblings who missed the brother who'd taught them how to kick a soccer ball, to hit a baseball. He had a girl that he stared at from across the room, trying to find the right words to explain his feelings for her. And he had a girl who loved him in the same way. (A/N: Yes, I know most of that isn't true, but this is from Foster's imagination.)

But she too had a family, one that leaned on her for support. She had a little girl whose life could be in jeopardy if Ami did so much as to defy Trask. Ami Foster did not want to take somebody's baby from them, but even more than that she feared having her baby taken from her. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she slowly rose to her feet, turning her attention to her lab station. "I am so sorry," she whispered, beginning to measure levels of chemicals. "But I have a little girl whose life depends on what I do with yours."

XxX

"Plugging in coordinates," Storm murmured to herself as she prepared the Blackbird for take-off. Behind her the older X-men strapped themselves into their seats, each too excited at the prospect of finding their friend to talk. Storm and Wolverine were leading the mission, Hank and the newer recruits following in the van for back-up.

Wolverine gave Storm a rare smile as she smoothly lifted the jet into the air. "You ready for this?"

She sighed, pausing a moment to take in the faces of the X-men, stopping at Jean's worried eyes. "I only hope we're not too late."

XxX

A sharp kick in the side roused Scott from his semi-conscious state. Brutus was back, this time accompanied by a young man no more than a year or two older than Scott. His square jaw jutted outward and his sandy colored hair hung awkwardly beneath his earlobes. The boy smirked at Scott, kneeling down beside him. "This is the powerful mutant? And here I was expecting someone a bit more formidable."

"Bob," Brutus grunted, "Yer not s'posed to taunt 'im, just get the measurements or Trask will be on yer case."

The boy – Bob – rolled his eyes, muttering something about not being afraid of Trask. "I don't have enough equipment here. We'll have to take him to Foster's lab."

Brutus frowned, "But Trask said-"

"I know what Trask said, but if we give the mutant an overdose of the serum and kill him, or too little of a dose and it doesn't work, Trask will be furious. If we measure him properly the serum has more of a chance of working."

The older man seemed to contemplate this, his thick eyebrows knit together. "This is a good job I got 'ere," he said finally.

Bob smacked his forehead, clearly annoyed at having to deal with someone of such little intelligence. "Look, Trask will never know, okay? And if he somehow finds out I'll take the blame. Your job is safe, but if we keep debating this the serum will never be ready and Trask will have both our jobs!"

Scott felt his head spin as Brutus finally agreed, lugging him to his feet. It soon became evident that Scott was too weak to walk, so the two men settled fro dragging his limp body throughout the halls. Scott couldn't have cared less, however, he was still processing the conversation he'd just heard. He knew that Dr. Foster held his life in her hands, that she was the one responsible for creating and administering this serum. Yet nothing the two men had said alluded to the effects of the serum, except to say that an overdose could easily kill him. A sharp jerk from the guards caused his head to loll and thoughts to cease. One minute at a time, Scott. That's how you'll survive, one minute at a time.

XxX

"The control room should be on the left, probably heavily guarded."

"I s'pose that's where ah come in?"

Storm smiled at Rogue, "Precisely, you'll take out the guards and enable Shadowcat to gain control of the lab's central control system."

"We'll be givin' you orders through your earpiece, half-pint, in case we need you to pull anything drastic."

Storm and Wolverine were briefing the X-men as they drew nearer to the base, trying to ensure that the procedure would run as smoothly as possible.

"Nightcrawler and Spyke, you'll be in the west wing checking the cells."

"Gotcha Auntie-O, I mean, Storm."

"Storm and Jean will take the lab and I'll take the machine room." Wolverine directed his gaze on an indignant Storm. "I don't' bruise nearly as easy as you two and there isn't the slightest chance that I'll get claustrophobic."

Storm stared levelly at Wolverine, only breaking her gaze to begin the X-jet's descent.

XxX

"What happened to him?" Dr. Ami Foster exclaimed in alarm as Brutus and Bob lifted Scott onto the steal table.

"Beats me," Bob shrugge3d, "He was like that when we found him, along with quite a large hole in the wall."

Foster shook her head, "Get on with the measurements then. Weight, blood pressure, temperature, heart rate; I want them all, anything that might affect the effects of the serum."

XxX

"C'mon," Shadowcat whispered to Rogue, "The control room should be down this way."

The two girls ran down the hall, feet padding silently on the linoleum floor. "Wait," Rogue pulled Shadowcat back against he wall just as two armed guards strolled through the adjacent hall, clearly not taking their position seriously as they joked with each other. Once they'd passed, the girls took to running once more, though they kept their eyes and ears alert for any possible danger.

"There it is," Shadowcat whispered, slowing to a halt as she pressed her back against a wall. Three guards armed with machine guns lounged outside a metallic door. "I'm going to phase through and, like, see if there's any way to get in without confronting them." Before Rogue could protest phased out and back, a smile tugging at her lips. "The guard in this room is asleep, we can phase through here and then into the control room." She grasped Rogue's hand tightly, "You ready to kick some serious butt?"

"If it'll help get our fearless leader back? Ya know ah am." The two girls fell back through the wall, careful not to make a sound lest they wake the sleeping guard.

"This way," Shadowcat mouthed, waving Rogue over to a wall. "Ready?" They slipped through several feet of solid wall, appearing seconds later in the middle of a crowded control room. Four heads turned, training their guns on the spot where the two girls lay in the middle of the floor, and eight eyes stared, clearly bewildered. "Um, hi?" Kitty smiled raising one hand in greeting, setting the soldiers into action. "Rogue, now!"

Rogue ripped one glove off her hand, smiling evilly as two of the soldiers advanced on her. Dropping to the ground, she brought her foot about in a swift arc, knocking them both to their feet. "Oh, y'all are making this too easy," she rolled her eyes at the dazed soldiers, brushing both their faces with her hand. "Two down, two to go."

Wolverine's intense training seemed to have paid off as Shadowcat was doing a fair job taking on her two attackers on her own. She phased through one and took a swift roundhouse kick to the other. "Rogue!" she yelled, "A little help!" She elbowed the first attacker in the stomach, turning only to find herself face to face with the second. Letting out a small shriek, Shadowcat squirmed as the man fastened his viselike hands around her biceps. Within seconds his grasp relaxed as he and Shadowcat fell to the floor. "Ow," she whined, rubbing her arms, "Like, you couldn't have done that sooner?"

Rogue rolled her eyes, "Didn't know I had to do everything here."

"You don't," Shadowcat crossed to the expansive keyboard. "I'm the one who does all the complicated stuff." She pulled the mini-microphone closer to her lips, "Storm, we're in."

XxX

Dr. Foster was carefully filling a syringe when the fluorescent lights began to flicker sporadically before going out entirely. She inhaled sharply, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. When the back-up generator didn't kick the lights back on, she shivered, noticing for the first time an occasional glow of red where she assumed the mutant's head was. It blinked once, then twice, followed by a low moan. Feeling slightly panicked at the idea of being alone in a dark room with the mutant, she curled her fingers around the thick syringe, holding it in front of her as she would a knife.

A scream pierced the air, followed by multiple shouts; shouts which seemed to rouse the mutant on the table. He sat up slowly; she could just see the dim outline of his rigid frame in the darkness, the red light now a constant glow around his glasses. Foster's breath came in short, rapid gasps now as she inched her way around the room, her back flat against the wall. If I could just reach the door . . . The thought lingered in her mind as she tried desperately not to make a sound. Before she could reach the door, however, the mutant had swung his legs off the table, and in an attempt to stand had collapsed in the doorway. Foster let out a small shriek as his arm brushed her foot, and she jumped backwards in surprise. Easy now, Ami, just administer the serum and you'll be safe . . . he won't be able to hurt you. For she was certain he would hurt her, after all, she'd helped to make his life miserable in the past two days, anyone would take this as a given chance to retaliate. Steeling herself against any conflicting issues that played in her mind, Ami Foster used her fingers to feel down his arm, searching for the thick vein on the inside of his elbow. Trembling, she pressed the tip of the needle to his arm, and inserted it deep into his vein before beginning to inject the fluid.

It was then that the door behind her gave a loud groan and was torn from its hinges, revealing a dilapidated laboratory outside. A young woman dressed in a slimming black and green one-piece floated in the air, red hair streaming behind her. When she caught sight of the mutant however, she fell to the floor, rushing to his side. "Scott," she whispered, stroking his silken brown hair, "Answer me Scott, please."

Ami Foster sat quaking against the wall, watching in a stunned horror as a regal African woman with snow-white hair followed the redhead. She knelt beside the young girl, "Jean, we need to get him out of here now. Wolverine is getting the others out."

Jean lifted tear-filled eyes from the boy's face, glaring defiantly at Dr. Foster. "What did you do to him?"

"I-I," Foster cleared her throat, unable to maintain eye contact with the girl. "It's just an inhibitory serum; it should stop his mutation for a few hours. I'm sorry," she added, feeling that it needed to be said. "I was just doing my job, I . . . I didn't want to hurt him."

"Jean," the African woman was lifting the girl to her feet now, "We have to leave now, for Scott's sake."

Jean nodded, appearing to concentrate on the boy's – Scott's - form. To Foster's surprise his body began to levitate in the air, following the two women out of the laboratory and into the darkness. Still in shock from what she'd seen, Foster relaxed against the wall, tears forming in her eyes. She hadn't expected it to come to this, hadn't expected she'd be required to put a life in jeopardy when she signed for this job. But what can I do?

XxX

The rest of the X-men were already waiting in the Blackbird by the time Storm and Jean arrived, their faces a mixture of awe and horror at the site of their disheveled leader. Without a word, Jean lightly set Scott down in the empty seat beside hers, allowing his head to roll onto her shoulder. His body tensed for a moment as her hair brushed his face, and his lips parted in silent movement as he tried to put sound to his words. "Shh," Jean soothed, brushing his hair from his forehead. "I'm here, Scott, you're safe now."

A smile curled across Scott's cracked lips as his body relaxed, and in that moment he fell asleep on his best friend's shoulder.

XxX

A/N: Yeah, so, as I've said I'm not to0 pleased with this chapter. It seems really weak to me. But Scott's safe now! Exams are coming up in two weeks, so the next chapter will hopefully be up after that . . . and then comes summer, where you will hopefully get a new update each time I have computer access . . . as long as the story continues that long. I'm not entirely sure where it's going to go after the next few chapters. Maybe it's almost done. Anyway, please review!

LavenderGaia: I agree, I can only imagine the many reasons why Jean was crazy enough to ever go out with Duncan, and as for Scott and Taryn . . . yeah, I can only assume that was just his way of coping with not being with Jean. I hope the rescue mission wasn't too disappointing, I'm better at writing fluff than action.
Sweetmidnight: I'm glad you like it. It's the first time I've ever tried something other than your basic romance.
Diaz F: I probably would have too. I think Jean might respect Scott's privacy a bit more though. ;)
GothikStrawberry: I can understand empathizing with Taryn, I'd certainly hate to be in her situation. But I've always hated how she seemed to know she was stealing Scott from Jean. (Her conversation with her friends in "Shadow Dance")
Demonestress: I like writing Jamie's character, he's fun. I usually model him after my little brother.
Wen1: I know they weren't really looking for him, I'm sorry, it's not their fault, it's my own incompetence.
Williz: I'm glad you like it.
s-summers1986: Thanks for your review, it's flattering to know someone actually likes my story that much. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!
TelepathicAngel: I hate making them be mean to poor Scott, but I have to in order to keep the suspense. He's safe now though!
Amber Moons: Yup, that was an achievement, especially seeing as how it's taken me almost 2 months to get this one up. Sorry about that.
Strayphoenix: Don't know if you got my review, but the song is "Roll to Me" by Del Amitri.
Helen: I don't care when the reviews come as long as they do. :D Sorry for being so late with this update.
Jacx: Hey, a new reviewer! Glad you like it so far!

Please Review!

DOJ