Disclaimer: The X-men are property of Twentieth Century Fox and the Marvel Entertainment Group. I am using their characters for my own un-profitable enjoyment. Anything that you do not recognise is my own.

Authors Note: Well this is the start of a new story. It is the first part in a trilogy that will follow the plot line of the three films, with my own personal input. I hope you like it.

Happy reading.

Prologue: Deadly Still

The night was dark and the sky a deep pitch. The stars were obscured from all who gazed upon them and the moon was new and did not grace the sky with her presence. It was if a great cloak had been hung upon the heavens veiling all from view. Large clouds swum across the sky, billowing and fighting for dominance against one another. They brought with them a dampness that hung in the air, and the musty smell of thunder. The cool air was clammy and stifling, with the faint smell of salt, the wind that blew the clouds did not touch the earth and the air was still. Deadly still. The only sound was the gentle lapping of the water, as it came into contact with the docking points.

The Dockyard had been abandoned years before and now it reeked of the invading seaweed and mould. Wooden crates were stacked at the side of alleyways teetering precariously on top of one another. Their holdings long rotted and forgotten about. The ground was littered with old fishing nets and buoys, in the dark shadows cats slunk with their backs raised. The old streetlamps had fallen into disrepair and the light they gave out spluttered and spat in protest.

It was in this desolate place that the near silence was broken by the sound of heavy footfalls. A man was running though these dank alleyways, his feet slapping on the uneven ground. Occasionally he passed close to the water and the stone ground changed to wood and he would slip on the green slime before gaining his balance. As soon as he was upright again he would sprint off, constantly looking over his shoulder.

He ignored the cats that hissed and spat at him as he disturbed their hiding places, and he shied away from the rats that habited the crates. Their long whiskers and naked tails sent him shivering, and he almost smiled as he heard one losing a battle with a cat. A mangy dog in the distance slunk away from him, back into the shadows yet all of this came second in his thoughts.

As he ran he mumbled to himself and his hands flashed in complex patterns, after each pattern was finished a set of chains appeared. He shook his head and threw them aside before starting again. A trail of chains and cuffs lagged behind him, none coming up to his expectations. He turned a corner and threw another chain behind him and slowed his frantic running for a second. He started up again as soon as his ears picked up the sounds of his pursuer.

Two hours he had been running, two hours he had been chased through cobbled roads and winding alleyways and now he was at the dockyards and still he was being followed. His hands grew more and more frantic, yet the faster his hands moved the slower his legs did. His chest was heaving and he did not think he could run any longer. He ran back out into the open again and stumbled as his foot caught on a broken fishing net. He fell to the floor and landed inches from the water's edge, as he tried to pick himself up again his ears picked up nothing, he could not hear another set of footfalls. Thanking what ever lord was above him he heaved himself to his knees and leant forward taking in huge shuddering breaths. Oxygen filled his lungs and his muscles burned where they had been forced to work without it.

A force slammed into his side sending him tumbling to the ground again. He opened his eyes and looked at his pursuer, the darkness shielded its features but he saw the gleaming white teeth of a predatory smile and gulped. He tried to fight off the weight that was on his stomach, yet his muscles were too tired, another chain appeared in his hands and was thrown aside by the person on top of him.

"You have ripped my freedom from me. Now I shall take yours." The person on top of him said before rolling him into the water.

Once under he tried to swim away, yet a weight landed on his back pushing him under. Twisting round so he could see the surface, he struggled desperately to reach it before the small amount of oxygen in his lungs gave out. He made one last futile attempt to shake his attacker off before he felt himself drifting downwards. The light faded from his eyes and bubbles rose from his slack jaw. Death beckoned him.