AN: Sorry for the delay. I got a new laptop and it took a while to adjust. The good news is that my whole keyboard works now! Do you know how hard it is to write an X-Men fanfiction when your X key doesn't work? Anyway, enjoy this extra-long chapter :)

Rachel's POV

For a few moments, I thought that maybe this mission would be successful. But all my confidence in my newfound teammates quickly leaves when Roberto turns on the radio. The four began to sing some old pop song at the top of their lungs.

"Last Friday night!

Yeah, we danced on tabletops!

And we took too many shots!

Think we kissed, but I forgot!"

"Guys!" I shout over the music. "I'm trying to focus on driving here!"

Nick shrugs. "Go on. We're not stopping you."

I groan and peel my sweaty hand from the string wheel. I turn down the music, Ignoring the unison of "awws!" coming from the rest of the passengers.

"Look, I like music as much as the next person, but this is not the time to be singing about irresponsible drinking, okay? We are about to enter a life-or-death situation, and I don't think taking too many shots is mentally preparing us for what lies ahead."

"Well, you might be used to this sort of thing, but we aren't," Santo says. "We're just destressing."

"You destress after the mission is a success," I correct. Deep down, I know I am expecting too much from these guys. Unlike me, they're just kids who didn't have their worlds rocked at ten years old. They didn't train and fight alongside the Shi'ar for two years. Part of me envies them for it.

Would I be singing right along with them if the Shi'ar hadn't drilled a sense of seriousness into me when it came to battles? Would I be joining my female classmates to watch the boys sweat after a basketball game?

Wait, no. I'm getting ahead of myself. That last one is definitely not a possibility. Boys are gross even when they aren't sweaty!

"If we do not sing, maybe we could meditate instead," Danielle said. "The Professor always starts my sessions with five minutes of meditating. It clears minds and helps get us on track."

"Sure," I say, hitting the break harshly when the car glides into a 55 MPH zone going 80 MPH. "Just be quiet about it."

I have too much going on in my head to ever be able to clear it, so I focus on the road while the rest of them get quiet. I'm pretty sure Danielle is the only one actually meditating. Nick keeps peeling his eyes open, and the other two aren't even trying to pretend. But out of respect to Danielle (Or anxiety), they remain quiet.

We are near to our destination when the van jolts. The breaks lock. I have no control of the vehicle anymore! We are speeding down the road, the speedometer climbing higher and higher.

"Rachel! What are you doing!?" Roberto shrieks.

"It's not me! I can't control it!"

The road is curving, but the van keeps going straight. I grip the wheel and try to turn it, but it's locked in place! Closer and closer, we get to the guardrail. There is a steep hill on the other side. Holy Shit! We're gonna die!

We crash through the guardrail! Screams fill my ears as we dive down the steep drop. My body is straining against my seatbelt. I try to gain control of it with my telekinesis, but another force is fighting against me for the van.

Just as we are about to hit the ground, my life flashing through my eyes, The car turns, tires down, and we land softly on the grass. I look around.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask.

"I think I pissed myself," Santo admitted. "What the hell happened?"

"How are we alive? Without even a cut?" Roberto added.

My eyes widen when I first sense the person responsible for the fear fest we just experienced. It was not another person with telekinesis I was fighting against. It was the Master of Magnetism himself!

Sure enough, when I look out the window, Magneto is crossing the field towards the car. My door. Swings open, and he grins at me, helmet tucked under his arm. "Why if it isn't Xavier's students. Does the good Professor know you are breaking curfew?"

"What do you want, Magneto? We aren't interested in joining the Brotherhood." I exit the van and cross my arms in front of my chest. Like Professor X, I knew Magneto has a reputation for recruiting young mutants like us. Except instead of teaching them how to better the world, he encourages destruction. He wants mutants to conquer the world. Because of this, the X-Men and Brotherhood have clashed many times. At least in my original time.

From what I've learned, the only one who has had a run-in with Magneto here is Alex, who sided with the man before realizing his true intentions.

The old mutant held his hands up as if trying to defuse the situation. "There is no need to be so defensive, child. If you know of me and my cause, you know I do not want to hurt you. In fact, I am here to help you."

"Why would we need your help?"

"Because you are going to break the X-Men from the MRD's prison, and I have the resources you need to defeat those meddling homo sapiens. Besides, their buildings and defenses are all metal. You need someone like me."

He seems like he genuinely wants to help us, and no stray thought to contradict that is coming through. With his helmet off, I would be able to sense any misintentions. "What's the catch?" I challenge.

"The MRD has members of my team. They are very precious to me, and I would like them back. Besides that, the only catch is that my plan requires a mutant of your abilities to properly execute.

"What's your plan?"

Magneto chuckles. "The MRD is not going to stop its efforts of punishing mutants. They will only get worse until we are all wiped out. That is why we need a telepath to infiltrate the leader's minds and persuade them to behave. Of course, Charles is not willing to do such a thing. But don't you want to keep your parents safe, Rachel? It would be a shame if you lost these as well."

I stiffen. How the hell does he know about that?

"This doesn't seem like such a bad deal," Santo says, having rolled down the backseat window. "It's a win-win scenario. We get the X-Men back, and the MRD is no more."

I turn to Magneto, my eyes narrowed. "What even makes you think I have the power to convince them not to be dickheads? I'm just a kid!"

"But you are not just a kid. From what my sources have told me, you are quite a remarkable mutant, Rachel. Just like your mother, but you can do something even the great Jean Grey couldn't. You have control of the Phoenix force. That is something I know not even my dear friend Charles could master."

"Have you seen the news?" I demand. He is trying to sweet-talk me into joining him and his crusade against the human race. I won't be swayed this easily.

"Of course. Your scene at that shopping mall is what alerted me of your power in the first place. You and I have both been victimized by the hatred from humans. Do you really want to see the thing that destroyed your dimension happens here when you have the power to stop it?"

I gulp, shaken because he has a point. I am here because of people like the MRD. I watched the X-Men: my aunts, uncles, and most importantly, my parents die at the hands of hatred. No one stopped the humans when we still had a chance. No one cared about preventing trauma for young mutants like me.

But I won't stand by. I can't. How will I live with myself if I have the opportunity to save the world much pain and don't take it?

"Alright, fine," I finally agree. "But you put one toe out of line, Magneto, and I am sending you where I sent Emperor Vulcan of the Shi'ar. And trust me, you don't want to know where that is."

Magneto just chuckles. "Come along then, children. I refuse to show up to the prison in a minivan. If we want humans to respect us, we have to respect ourselves, after all."

"Hey! My mom has a minivan," Nick argues.

"Precisely."

"They've hired one hundred guards just for this base alone," Magneto informs us as we arrive at the prison via helicopter. We are lined up outside the fence, just beyond a line of trees that block us from view. "Fifty for each shift. Quantity is more important than quality, I suppose."

"So we're going up against fifty armed guards!?" Nick exclaimed. "Holy shit, I should have executed a will before I came! If any of you make it out, please let my family know that everything in my savings account goes to the dog."

"No one is dying," I roll my eyes. "At least any of us."

"Exactly why a group of you will be sneaking onto the premises and shutting down the power to the building. A mass majority of their equipment depends on that power source. Without it, they are pitiful. Once the electricity is off, you will go inside and start breaking the mutants out. Beware, they are wearing collars that oppress mutant powers. If, not they will be sedated. There are controls to deactivate the collars inside. Find that as well. Once all of the mutants are freed, the guards will have no chance of defeating us."

"I'll be better out here," Roberto volunteers. "More room to burn these bastards to a crisp."

"Me too," Santo adds. "I'll stay."

"Rachel, take Danielle and Nick with you inside," Magneto says. "I assume you want to be the first to get to your parents, after all."

As much as I dislike him planning our attack, I know that I do not have the time to be fighting for control. Mom and Dad don't have the time. The sooner we get them out, the better. Besides, he has a point. If I'm the one who finds them, I have a chance to explain that I teamed up with Magneto for this little mission. Maybe they won't freak out.

So the trio of us depart from the rest and hide in some bushes. As soon as the chaos starts, we will be able to sneak past without detection. The generators are in front of us, yards away. This job is way too easy.

"Watch for ticks," Nick says, crouching in the grass.

"I don't think ticks are our worst enemy right now," I say.

"Well, you aren't covered in fur. You have no idea how humiliating it is to need flea and tick baths."

I roll my eyes. Nick has a point, I suppose. "You're right."

Suddenly the sound of straining metal fills the air. The barbed-wire fence was flying into the air, letting the three cross onto the property. Moments later, guards were rushing out, guns at the ready. Of course, they were metal. They never saw it coming.

The guns fly out of their hands and spin mid-air. Then they are held to their foreheads.

I look away as simultaneously, fifteen gunshots ring in the air.

"Time to go," I whisper to my team. I lead them past the chaos and to the generators. I yank the cover off of one with telekinesis, revealing the wires inside. With one steady tug, they spark, and all fly out. We repeat the processes. The lights all go out, leaving us in pitch darkness.

Once my eyes adjust, I lead them to the door. I'm cautious about meeting guards inside, but I know most of them are out front trying to defeat Magneto, Santo, and Roberto. Besides, the MRD is now at a disadvantage even if they are inside.

The hallways are dark. Even with my eyes adjusted to it, I can hardly navigate through them. It's also very silent, which means that every step we take echos through the hallways.

"We have to take the stairs," I whisper as we pass the out-of-service elevator. I open the doors to the stairwell and lead the way up to the Block. My eyes widen.

"Holy shit, that is a lot of mutants," Nick whispered as we look around at all the cells, which to my horror, have these sort of laser-beam bars. Sure, I'd expect those from the Shi'ar, but not on earth. And why haven't they shut down with the rest of the electricity? They must be on a different power source.

"I want to separate to cover more ground, but it will be smarter to stay as a group," I say. "We just have to figure out how to open these cells."

Nick examines one close by. A mutant is asleep inside. "It looks like we need some sort of card to open it. Like a room key at a hotel."

"Where do we get one of those?" Danielle asks.

The answer to that question walks right up behind us.

"Hey! You aren't supposed to be here!" a guard shouts. He tries to call for backup, but it's too late. I'm already pinning him against the wall with my telekinesis. I grab the key card from his breast pocket. "I'm sorry, Sir. I'm sure you are a great guy, but I need to save my parents."

And with that, I send him flying down the stairwell, dropping his body several floors to the bottom. A sickening crunch follows.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Nick says.

I don't waste time responding and instead soar down the rows of cells, unlocking them all. Most of the mutants are already pretty beat up, So I fear that they won't be much help in the fight outside. Danielle and Nick explain the situation to them all, giving them the option to fight anyway.

I sigh in relief when I sense Dad close.

He is just waking up from sleep as I get to the door of the cell. A bubble of panic bursts when I realize he does not have on his glasses. Then I notice he's wearing one of those collars Magneto mentioned. Right. He doesn't have any powers until we disable the collars. But then what? Does he just uncontrollably blast everything?

He looks up, and for once in my life, I see disproval in his eyes. You'd think he'd be more grateful to the person getting him out of this hell hole. But no. Instead, he hisses at me. "Rachel! What are you doing here!? You're going to get yourself killed!"

I roll my eyes. He says it as if this is the most dangerous thing I've ever done. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Dad. I have the Phoenix on my side, remember? Now come on, we don't have much time. I don't know if my team and Magneto can hold off the rest of the MRD for long without me."

I slide the card in the lock slot and open the cell. Then I pull him up and out into the hallway. I loosen my grip when I realize his hands are all burned.

"Wait," Dad stumbles in his steps and stops. "Did you say Magneto?"

"Yeah. We're teaming up to stop the MRD permanently," I explain, unlocking the next cell. There's a little girl inside. Yeah, I'm definitely not making her fight. We need people who stand a chance.

Aunt Ororo is having a panic attack when we get to her. I open the cell and help her out of it, then I use my telepathy to calm her a little. We need her to fight, and she won't be doing very well if I didn't help her.

Next, Uncle Alex is chilling in a cell with some other mutant. "Guess the party is over, " he says. "We were about to start singing Kum Ba Yah, but I guess that will have to wait."

"Caliban was not going to sing," the other mutant murmurs.

"I sense Mom!" I shout the moment I feel her presence. It's fuzzy like she is just waking up from the unconscious state she was in when I found her the first time. But I run down the hallway following it. It's stronger and stronger until I skid to a stop in front of her cell.

"Mom!" I waste no time opening the cell. She's sitting on the floor, head against the wall. She's barely conscious, with an IV stuck in the crook of her arm. There is a monitor on the wall, seemingly there to pump sedative in her veins. It must have stopped when we killed the power, which is why she is waking up now. The strange thing is that she isn't wearing a collar as the rest have been.

Dad is right behind me. He kneels, stroking her hair and encouraging her to wake up.

I continue to open the cells. I gather the ones who can fight, then I rush down the stairs again to find the button to deactivate the collars. I enter a room full of CCTV screens and a whole panel of buttons and switches. This room still has power, but the screens are full of static. I read all the labels, searching for the one that seemed to control the collars.

I warn all the mutants upstairs ahead of time with my telepathy. Mostly so Dad won't blast anything or anyone. "Beware, you're going to get your powers back in 5...4...3...2...1..."

I swipe the key card and flick the switch. The collars are deactivated. I hope the MRD is ready to face the wrath of the mutant race.

To Be Continued...