'Don't look back.' He told himself. 'You'll only second guess yourself.'

The metallic clicking of the Zippo lighter in his hand soothed himas it always did.

'Helicopters are better than jets. They don't pull a three-sixty out of nowhere.' He reminded himself, glancing out the window of the moving aircraft. Moving away from Alkali Lake as the river flooded over it. 'They did get out, right?' He wondered.

'Stop that. You'll never move on if you keep thinking like that.' He reminded himself rather sternly.

'Bobby, Rogue…Jubes was trapped in there…..They had to have gotten out.' His mind wouldn't stop veering back to his friends. 'The Professors were there. They got out.' He told himself. He made sure he believed it. He had to or else he'd be off focus for the next few days.

The lighter was clicked shut, but it wasn't his doing. He looked up, not surprised to find Magneto looking at him from across the helicopter. Suddenly he felt vulnerable. He knew the man wasn't a telepath, but it felt like he was an open book to the elder. Nothing was said about the matter when they spoke over the four-hour helicopter ride.

'It's strange not having it on me wherever I go.' He looked down at his right wrist. 'And having this instead.' The miniature flame-thrower, lighter that was attached to his wrist felt odd.

'I guess there's no more having to worry about getting my lighter snatched from me anymore.' He thought. 'Having to nearly get into a fight over getting it back. Sometimes Jubes snatching it from behind their back, handing it back to me without hesitation.'

'Those memories are useless, you'll only be held back.' He scolded himself in his head.

He followed Magneto to the front of the room, stepping onto the stage, his eyes scanned the room full of mutants. He sent a glare towards the man about to protest their interruption, which silenced him.

Seeing so many others reminded him of the mansion. A twisted, dirty, run-down version of the mansion, but it reminded him of it none the less.

'They probably don't even miss you, why do you keep thinking about them?'

'It's here. The fight I've been waiting for.' He thought as he followed Magneto, leading many other mutants across the Golden Gate Bridge. 'We all know they'll be there. They always show up.'

'Who'll show up this time? Bobby for sure. I'd love to get a fight out of him. Rogue's already gotten the cure I'm sure. She won't cause me any more trouble than she has.' His eyes looked over the island of Alcatraz, then looked to Magneto. With a nod of the elder's head, he gave the rest of them the clearance to attack. He watched the needles flying, the cure being forced into many of the 'pawns.' More now flying towards them. Eyes widened, bracing for impact of the thousands of needles, arm rising to cover his face when the pieces of bridge hover as a shield. 'Is it worth the risk?'

'Of course it is. Die for the cause if you have to.' There he is. Bobby Drake. He stepped forward, but was stopped as soon as the first step was made. 'Just let me fight him. I've been waiting for so long.'

His eyes scanned the X-Men that had arrived. 'Logan, Storm, Kitty, Bobby, Peter, Beast I'm assuming.'

'No Jubilee.' Something washed over him. Was it relief? Not having to fight his best friend could do that. 'Even if she was there, you'd have to fight her.' He pushed all thoughts away but the task he needed to focus on.

There he was again, icing over a flying car set on fire. Two simple words 'Go ahead.' Were processed. A smirk grew as he made his way towards his old friend. 'Was he still a friend?'

'Does it matter?' A short moment where there was nothing, and then within a second, fire and ice were colliding. Pushing forward and forward. He was winning. "You're in over your head, Bobby. Maybe you should go back to school." Suddenly icy hands grabbed his wrists, covering his source of flame, his face clearly showing his shock.

'Maybe you never should have left.' 'I never should have left….' Then there was cold, and darkness.