Disclaimer: I own only the plot, and Julianna . . . and any characters that you do not recognize, but in this chapter I only own the plot.

A/N: Omigosh! I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long. As you can probably guess, I finished the school project several months ago. . . .Well you see I then hit a severe case of writers' block in which my muse wanted to work on everything but this and I started attending public school this year... Anyhow, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4– Escape?

Kurt blinked against the sun that was lancing through the window, directly into his eyes. He sat up slowly and looked around. "Where am–oh, right." He groaned as the occurrences of the past few days were recalled. Looking around he saw Cyclops who was seated with his back against the wall.

"So, you're finally awake."

"Ja, any idea as to how we get out of here?"

"Maybe, it probably won't work, but it's worth a shot."

"What's your idea?"

"One thing first. This plan involves taking a risk. A risk that might kill you . . . "

Nightcrawler shrugged casually, "If we don't get out of here we'll die anyway."

"In that case what we need to do is–" Scott was cut off as the door opened.

Blob entered and walked toward the X-men. Without a word he hauled the teleporter to his feet. The German gritted his teeth in pain, it felt like his arm was being yanked out of its socket.

Mystique smiled as Blob entered the room with Nightcrawler in tow. "So, Kurt, son, are you ready to tell me the powers of your students?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"It's nice to know if Xavier has anyone who might be of use to me."

Kurt rotated his shoulders after Fred released him. "I told you already. I don't allow powers in my classroom."

"Surely you know a couple of them. After all, they aren't always in your classroom."

"None that come to mind." Wagner's voice was a monotone, but tense as though he was trying to keep from responding sharply.

"I'm sure we can find some way to jog your memory . . . "

The teleporter's eyes widened and he stepped back, away from Mystique, right into Blob. The brotherhood member grabbed him hard, creating the sensation of being ground to dust.

Raven's eyes glinted as the other members of her brotherhood entered. Pyro tossed a fireball from one hand to the other. Sabertooth grinned, showing his fangs, and Unus hit his palm with a metal bar.

Nightcrawler struggled uselessly and then decided to risk a teleport. It was not a gamble that paid off. He arched his back in pain as the inhibitor sent a jolt of electricity through him.

John manipulated the fire into a coiled snake and looked at Mystique. "What d' y' need from 'im, Sheila?"

"You know what I need, Allerdyce. Have fun boys." She smiled over her shoulder and left.

Blob tossed Nightcrawler to one side. The German barely had time to get to his feet before Sabertooth leaped at him. Kurt used Creed's shoulders as a springboard to propel himself up onto a rafter. He perched on the beam, his left ankle bleeding where Victor's claws had nicked him, and tried to figure out his next move.

Pyro didn't give him that much time. A jet of flame came shooting toward the perch. Nightcrawler had no choice but to jump and hope that he landed on his feet. When he hit the ground, his ankle gave out beneath him and he crashed to the floor.

Before the teleporter could regain his footing Unus and Blob hauled him up by his arms. Allerdyce stood before him, "We've all th' time in th' world. This could go on for hours unless y' tell us what we need t' know."

"What makes you so certain that I have this information?" Kurt growled.

Pyro looked at Fred and nodded. Nightcrawler felt his left arm pop from its socket. St. John carefully put it back in place and posed the question again. The X-man didn't answer, this time receiving a blow to the jaw.

Mystique entered before the process could be repeated. "That's enough, boys. Let's try a more persuasive method." She stepped aside, "Nightcrawler, let me introduce you to our telepathic member."

As the telepath entered the German's jaw dropped, "You!"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Cyclops looked up as Kurt was thrown into the room. He went over to help his friend to his feet. Unknowingly, he grabbed Nightcrawler's left arm. The teleporter hissed in pain and pulled his arm away.

"What happened?" Scott asked with concern.

"They dislocated my shoulder, relocated it, sliced my ankle, tried to flame broil me, and then I spent who knows how long trying to block a rather strong telepath." Kurt gritted as he got to his feet and made his way across the room. He leaned against the wall before looking at his teammate. "So, what was your plan for getting out of here?"

"Well . . . If I can get that collar off of you can you 'port to the mansion?"

"What?! I– er–I–it– That's forty miles!"

"I asked if you can," Scott reminded.

"I might. But you know I've never accomplished a teleport of more than three miles!"

"Have you ever tried a longer teleport?"

The German shrugged, "Once or twice. When I was younger."

"And less experienced," Cyke supplied.

"But I was stronger, I had greater stamina."

Summers persisted, "And less control."

Kurt blinked at his friend in disbelief. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Dead ser–er sorry, poor choice of words. I'm very serious. Like you said earlier, 'If we don't get out of here we'll die anyway'."

The blue elf gnawed the tip of his spaded tail in nervous consideration. "I-I suppose, if I had an exact picture in my mind of where I was going, I could possibly pull it off."

"Alright then. Let's have a look at that collar." Scott moved so that he was behind his teammate. "Nice of Mystique to use a keyhole lock on this . . . "

"How so?"

"Well, it's not actually possible to fully inhibit my power. The collar just keeps it from doing too much damage. So, I open my visor just a little and . . . Aha! Your collar's open!" The collar came away in Scott's hand.

The two X-men spent the next three to five minutes getting an exact image of the rec. room imprinted into Nightcrawler's mind. Kurt looked at Cyclops. "If I make it, I'll be back to get you out as well. I made a promise to your daughter and I intend to keep it." Scott nodded and the German disappeared.

Every one of Nightcrawler's senses were thrown into instant confusion. There were loud explosions and complete silence at the same time. Absolute darkness fought with brilliant light for control of his vision. He felt as though he was being burned alive one moment and wandering the Arctic the next. Was he falling or flying? He began to feel nauseous. Never, as long as he could remember, had he experienced vertigo or anything resembling it. Now he experienced it all. Worst though were the feelings of being ripped to shreds and the inability to breathe.

As suddenly as it began the torment ceased and Kurt found himself in the rec. room. He had just time enough to register that Logan and Ororo were there before his legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the ground.

MeadowLark4491: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. My writer's block has hit again, I know where I want to go...just not how to get there... My apologies for the brevity of this chapter. Please review.