I'm in a straitjacket in a small, nondescript room, and it reminds me hauntingly of a prison cell. I struggle, but can't get out of the straitjacket. It's so tight around me, I can't believe some people can actually get out of them in seconds. I hear footsteps outside the iron barred door and the woman who put me in the straitjacket, Kate, is outside the door. She unlocks it with a ring of keys that she keeps on her belt and I can't move a muscle as she brings me towards her and takes the straitjacket off my frozen body. They've taken my other jacket, so I'm frozen in more ways than one.

"How are you doing that?" I gasp as I stop a metre in front of her, my toes just above the ground. "Why won't my powers work?"

She smirks. "A: I'm telekinetic. And B: you've got an inhibitor collar on. While you've got that on, and against me, I wouldn't even bother trying."

As she walks away I'm forced to follow, my feet floating above the ground like I'm some kind of ghost. I'm afraid that unless something brilliant happens, that's going to be me pretty soon.

She takes me to a large room, and I look around quickly. The most perplexing thing is the large machine in the centre of the room. It's covered in wires and looks like a large, silver dome. I look up higher and see that the ceiling can open up, and I'm assuming it extends out or something like that. I notice the man standing next to the machine, and I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. He's wearing a cape that looks like it used to be red, but has faded, and a burgundy helmet. When I see the coin floating around his hand in between his fingers I gasp in shock. The man who controls metal and isn't afraid to hurt people.

Magneto.

"Thank you, Kate," he says. "Put her down." He waves his hand towards what looks like a wooden board with metal cuffs around it. I struggle against Kate's powers, but she just laughs.

"Don't try and struggle. It won't do you any good," she says as I come to rest on the board. It's about a metre off the ground, and angled toward the ground at the top.

The cuffs screech as the metal twists, and they snap shut around my wrists, ankles, waist and neck. I feel Kate let go of me, and I squirm, trying to find a way out, but there's no way out now.

"Now," Magneto says, his voice echoing through the room. "You're from Xavier's, so I've been told."

"Yes," I say, wondering what they're going to do to me.

"And you spent quite a bit of time with Dr. Gardner, didn't you?"

"Yes," I repeat, my voice trembling a little. I wish they'd just get on with it, instead of taunting me like this.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, Darcy," he says. "The first one is, are you going to tell me what I want to know, or do I need to give you some… incentive?" I don't answer, and he sighs. "Mystique, grab the bucket," he says casually. "I could kill you right now," he says, pacing around the room. As if to emphasise his point he tightens the band around my neck, but only for a second. "But I don't want to do that. I just want you to answer my questions. But if you don't want to do that, I'm going to have to force you to." Mystique returns then, holding a towel and a bucket of water. "Will you answer my questions?" he asks one last time.

I ponder my options. I think I know what she's about to do to me, and I know I'll hate it, so I could answer the questions. But on the other hand, it could be about something important that I shouldn't tell him about.

"I'd rather die," I say as confidently as I can manage.

He sighs and shakes his head. "I wish I didn't have to do this," he says. "Do it."

Mystique lays the towel over my face and starts pouring the water over it. I don't really get the point of it until some of the water seeps through and starts filling my mouth. I swallow and try to breathe, but I can't, and the water keeps filling my mouth. I try and shake the towel off, but I can't move my head and know that Kate's nearby. It feels like I'm drowning and I'm running out of air when she stops pouring and pulls the towel off. I gasp for air, but still can't move my head.

"Let me go," I gasp.

"No, not until I get some answers," Magneto says.

"I'm not telling you anything."

He nods to Mystique, who puts the towel back down and starts pouring again. She does it a few times, Magneto giving me the opportunity to talk, but every time I say nothing.

After six or seven bouts of water, each time having less air left, I break down and cry. I feel Kate's hold on my head weaken, and eventually she lets go. I shake my head as much as the metal around my neck will allow, and Magneto raises an eyebrow.

"She's had enough," Kate says loudly. "She'll talk."

"Did I ask for you to let her go?" Magneto asks. "Do it again," he tells Mystique.

"No, no," I cry. "She's right, I'll talk. I'll tell you what you want to know, just please, let me go."

The cuffs screech again as they split open, letting me go. Kate uses her power to pick me up off the bench and puts me in a chair, holding me there. Mystique hands her a syringe with a clear liquid in it and I shudder. More needles, and this time they aren't to help me. Kate turns my head to the side and I feel her inject the liquid into the side of my neck.

"What is that?" I ask, and I'm sure that's what's making my head spin and go cloudy.

"Just a little something to make sure you don't lie," Magneto says.

"What makes you think I would lie?" I ask.

"The fact that you're talking means I don't have to do that again," he says. "Now, all I need is a few answers, and then we'll be letting you go."

The way he says it makes me think that I'm going to be let go in a bit of an unconventional fashion, and it doesn't fill me with huge amounts of confidence.

"What do you know about decoding the X gene?" he asks.

"Not much, but Laura knows how to do it," I say without thinking. It almost feels like it isn't me talking.

"Has she done it before?" he asks, watching me closely.

"Yes. She decoded mine."

"Is she loyal to the X-Men?" he asks, and he looks more interested at this question.

"Yes."

"Has she been studying a virus of any sort?"

"Yes. Storm found a virus somewhere and had her look at it. I don't know what she found out, but I probably would have heard if she discovered anything major."

"I think that's enough questions. I have what I need. Ladies, you know what to do with her," he says, leaving the room.

Kate raises me from the chair and puts the straitjacket back on. She and Mystique stride out of the room, through a different door than the one Magneto went through, and out to the black van. The doors open and I'm dumped inside, this time while I'm conscious. The back doors shut, and I hear them get in and shut the doors. The engine roars to life and I'm tossed about in the back as they drive, turning corners and stopping suddenly after maybe twenty minutes. The engine stops, but I can still hear a faint rumbling, and the trembling starts again. The back doors open and Kate pulls me out, taking off the straitjacket again. When I'm out of the van, I realise what the rumbling is.

They've parked on a bridge and the rumbling is the river beneath us. Despite Kate holding me still, I'm shaking like a leaf as I realise what they're going to do to me now. Having that encounter with Mystique is only making my fear worse, and I feel Kate starting to move me.

"Why do you have to kill me?" I ask, my voice barely audible over the rushing water.

"Because you'll only go back to the school and tell everybody what happened tonight," Mystique hisses.

"Why can't you just shoot me and do it quickly?" I'm grabbing at straws now, and I know this is only going to prolong my dread.

"Now where's the fun in that?" she asks. I hate rhetorical questions.

"Just throw me in and get it over with," I mutter.

"Oh, don't worry," Kate says, finally speaking. I've noticed that she doesn't say much, and that Mystique does most of the talking, and most of the acting as well. "We're not staying to watch."

She sends me out through the bars of the bridge and dangles me over the river, higher than the top of the bridge and far away from them. She drops me, but catches me just before I reach the water and lifts me back up, taunting me.

"Oops, I almost forgot," she says. I feel the inhibitor collar unclip itself and fly back towards her. "Goodbye, Darcy," she says, and her voice almost sounds sad. "For your sake, I hope it's quick."

I let out a short, sharp scream as she drops me, but make sure I suck in a breath before I go under. The water spins me around, and I can't tell which way's up. When I feel my head break the surface I take a breath, but end up with a mouthful of water instead. I'm panicking when I know I shouldn't, but I can feel my muscles cramping and my hands going numb, and pretty soon I'm not going to be able to move. I go under again and tumble through the water, possibly upside down, and I've almost run out of air.

I see lights in my eyes and can tell I'm slowly sinking, but I don't have enough strength left, or will, to try and push myself back up. I let my mouth fall open and feel the water rush in, and I'm starting to think that this isn't the worst way to go, when I feel a pair of firm hands on my waist. I go rigid in shock, but then feel the person, who I think is behind me, trying to pull me to the surface. I hold my body still so I don't accidentally flail about and touch them, and I can see light above me now. I hold on as long as I can, and I'm starting to think that it won't be enough when I feel one last tug at my waist and my head breaks the surface.

I gasp, the air filling my lungs, and turn around to see who managed to pull me out, and they help me turn.

"Kitty?" I manage to croak.

"Come on, kid," she says, her head whipping around. "We need to get out of here. Just relax." She pulls something from, I'm assuming, her belt, and I recognise it immediately.

"Not one of them, please," I say. "Not after what they did to me."

"I'm not putting it on so I can hurt you," she says as I sink under again. She pulls me up again and grabs my shoulders tightly, looking me dead in the eye. "Darcy, I need to get you out of here, and I can't do it if you don't let me put this on. Trust me, kid, I'm not going to hurt you. Darcy, snap out of it. I'm not like them, you know that; you're just not thinking straight."

She's right, I think as I slip under again. I was never scared of water as a kid, but after what they did to me, I'm absolutely terrified right now. I feel Kitty grab my arm and pull me back up again.

"Get me out of here," I beg her as soon as I can get a breath.

I close my eyes as she snaps the collar shut around my neck, and she wraps her arms around me, holding me tightly.

"You're alright," she says as the water rushes around us. "You're alright now. Just relax and I'll get you out of here."

She wraps one arm around my body, under my arms, and tows me against the flow of the river. It takes a few minutes, but she manages to get me to the bank. She gets out first and reaches back for me, dragging me out of the water. She slowly lifts me up and drags me, on my feet, another few metres up the bank until I collapse, my knees giving out. She lays me down on the ground, on my side, and I start coughing up water. It makes me feel a hell of a lot better, and I lay down on my back, and Kitty lays down next to me, stroking my hair to calm me down.

"You alright, Darcy, you're alright," she murmurs over and over again. "The others will be here soon, and we'll get you back to the mansion. Just relax, you're alright."

I can feel hot tears welling in my eyes, and they flood out, cascading over my cheeks as I sob silently. Tonight's been the second worst night of my life, after the night Gracie died, and I never want to have to go through that again.

"Do you want to sit up?" Kitty asks, sitting up next to me. I nod, and she puts one hand at the small of my back and the other around my shoulders as she pulls me up into a sitting position.

I lean forwards, coughing up a little more water, and Kitty rubs my back gently in a circle. I try to focus on that, and not the cramps that are spreading around my shaking body.

"You're so cold," Kitty says, tucking a strand of hair that's fallen over my eye back behind my ear. "How long were you in there for?"

"I don't really know. A few minutes, maybe?"

She pulls me close and I rest my head on her shoulder as she wraps both arms around me gently and rubs my arm. "You're safe now," she says softly. "Nobody's going to hurt you."

I can feel her turn around and look as I hear a crack from behind us, but my neck's so stiff I can't move it. I can hear footsteps, and a quiet conversation between Kitty and whoever's arrived, but my head's still spinning and I can't hear them properly.

"Darcy," Kitty murmurs in my ear. "The others aren't far from here. Do you think you can walk?"

I try and shake my head, but my neck doesn't want to move. "No," I croak as I feel my throat starting to close over. "My body's all cramped up; I can't move."

"OK, Laura's here, we'll carry you. It's not far."

I wince as they each take one of my hands and pull them over their shoulders, taking most of my weight. They walk slowly, and I can just get my toes on the ground, but I can't put too much weight on it. I hear more noises from the trees on our right, and a huge human shaped shadow appear in front of us.

"Pete," Kitty gasps in relief. "Can you carry her?"

"Yeah," he says, and Kitty lets go of me as he approaches, hesitating for a second until his eyes come to rest on my neck. I hang off Laura until I feel his arm around my body, holding me up around the middle of my back, and lean into him. "Just relax Darcy, I'm going to lift you up. Tell me if I hurt you, OK?"

My whole body's aching, but that's not his fault, it's mine. I ran away, and I don't even know why, and that's what got me into this mess. He bends down and puts his other arm around my knees and gently lifts me up, and it feels like his arms could shield me from anything right now. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my head in his chest, absorbing his warmth, and focus on the rise and fall of his body as he walks. I'm not sure how long he walks for, and I'm not trying to keep track, but eventually we reach the jet and I hear cries when the others see us. I can hear Storm asking questions, maybe directed at me, but I'm too drained right now.

"Don't question her now," I hear Laura say impatiently. "We need to get her back to the mansion, she's freezing."

I feel Pete walking up a slope, and then the lights of the inside of the jet assault my tired eyes. He lays me down on a bench at the side of the jet and I'm surrounded by everyone.

"Give her some space," Laura says. "How are you feeling?" she asks once everyone's left me alone.

"I-I'm s-s-so cold," I stammer.

"Do you need some ventolin?" she asks.

"Yes. I can't breathe," I tell her as she pulls one out of a box under my seat. She attaches a spacer and I take a couple of puffs and she puts it back.

She takes a towel and rubs down my exposed skin, and the friction warms me up a little. I sit up and she does up the straps of the harness around my body, and Kitty comes over with a blanket and wraps it around me.

"Can I sit with her?" she asks Laura.

"Sure," she says, handing her a blanket. "And don't neglect yourself. You must be freezing, too."

"A little," she says, shrugging and pulling the blanket over herself.

Laura wraps another blanket around me. "And you, little missy, need two." She ruffles my hair and goes to sit up in the front of the jet. Kitty and I lean against each other, and she wraps an arm around me, giving me a squeeze.

"Feeling better?" she asks, looking at me concernedly.

"Yeah, a little," I say, shrugging as much as I can. "What about you?"

"I wasn't in there as long, and these suits are like wetsuits. You're the one we're all worried about."

"Thanks for getting me out of there," I say, turning my head to look at her.

"Do you want to tell me why I had to get you out of there?"

"Not now," I say. "I will, but just not now."

"OK," she says. "Just try and fall asleep, you need it."

I think I fall asleep, but I'm not sure. I open my eyes when I hear footsteps approaching, and I'm still on the jet, and I can see Rogue walking this way. I lift my head to look at her properly, and I can feel Kitty stirring next to me.

"Can you give us a minute?" Rogue asks Kitty, who nods sleepily.

"You can stay with her if you want. We're nearly there, and I'm feeling better," she says, heading up to the front of the jet, but still with her blanket.

Rogue sits next to me and looks me over. "Nice bling," she says with a smirk, fingering the collar around my neck.

"Thanks," I mutter sourly. "You know, it's not your fault I ran."

"Well it sure as hell ain't yours," she says. "Listen, I think I might have figured out what to do about your training. I know it isn't the best time, but I just wanted you to know that I figured it out. But I haven't figured out why you were running." She says it almost like she doesn't want to be here, or at least being so close to me.

"To be honest, I don't know either," I say. "My mind's kind of all over the place right now."

"I'd be surprised if it wasn't. Don't worry about it. You're safe now, and we're nearly there. Have you warmed up?"

"Almost," I say. "It still feels like I'm cold inside, though."

"We'll get you down to the infirmary and Laura's going to take care of you," she reassures me.

We sit in silence until I feel a jolt, but Rogue doesn't seem to notice.

"We're back," she points out, almost unnecessarily.

"Darcy," Laura calls, coming back to me. "We need to get you down to the infirmary to check you out, and Kitty too. Do you think you can walk now?"

"I'm not sure," I say as she unbuckles my harness. "I'll try."

"Don't worry, I'll give you a hand," Kitty says, taking my blankets. She puts an arm around my body and takes some of my weight as I limp slowly off the jet. I can just walk, and it takes a little while for us to get to the infirmary, but we make it.

Laura takes me when we get inside, and she helps me up onto the table in the middle of the room and dons a pair of latex gloves and takes off the inhibitor collar, laying it on a trolley that I didn't notice before. She's silent as she examines me, shining a little torch in my eyes and putting a thermometer under my tongue. She wraps a blood pressure monitor around my arm and turns it on, and looks at me warmly as it squeezes around my arm.

"Did they hurt you?" she asks, frowning ever so slightly.

"No, they just scared me and dropped me in the river," I say quietly. I hope she isn't in my head now, seeing that they did hurt me.

A short beep sounds and she takes away the blood pressure monitor and pulls out a stethoscope.

"Just your breathing this time," she says. "I don't want you getting pneumonia or anything." She lifts the hem of my shirt and first places the stethoscope on my back, instructing my breathing, and then from the front. It's still cold on my skin, and I can feel myself chilling again as it touches me. I shiver, and she notices. "You need to get warm," she says, helping me off the table. She takes a stack of clothes out of one of the cupboards and hands them to me, pulling a screen in front of one of the beds.

"I need to check on Kitty," she says. "Get changed and hop into bed, and I'll wake you up for classes."

"Thanks," I murmur a little sheepishly as she leaves me. I pull on the track pants and long sleeved shirt and boost myself up onto the bed. They're a little higher than the beds in our rooms, but I can see the point of it. I pull the blanket over myself and slide my eyes shut, trying to tune out Laura and Kitty's hushed voices. My head spins as my body goes still, and I can't feel anything as I let go.