Gambit stared at himself in the mirror. What are you thinking? he thought to himself, running a hand through his spiky hair. She's fourteen. You're twenty-seven! As he continued staring at his reflection, he imagined himself with a billy goat's beard. Am I just being an old goat? he wondered, sighing and turning away. But as he picked up a deck of cards off his dresser table and started shuffling them absently, he knew it was more than that - it wasn't that at all. He didn't feel unholy and creepy when he looked at Jubilee. He felt like his heart was a dove flying past the sun on a summer's day when she smiled, and like it was being hit with a hammer whenever she was in danger. He hated seeing her in danger. But how to tell her that? So he treated her like a kid and tried to keep her out of the way of most of the action whenever Mutant-Normal fights broke out or Magneto showed up to cause trouble again.

There was a knock at the door to Gambit's room, and in his surprise he mentally sent the whole deck of cards flying in all directions. Cyclops stood in the doorway and held the door open, somehow giving Gambit a reproachful look with that visor of his. "There's been an attack by Magneto. Storm's hurt, but Jean's taking care of her and says she'll be fine." Cards fluttered to the floor between the two X-Men.

"So, somebody wants to play rough?" Gambit said angrily, habitually putting his thoughts into Vegas-style words. "He made a bad move by hurting Storm. Gambit's not the only one who will be angry about that!"

Cyclops nodded. "Come on. Professor X has called a meeting of the X-Men."

"I wouldn't miss it," Gambit said vehemently, grabbing up three or four decks of cards and stuffing them up his sleeves as he ran out of the room after Cyclops.

Professor X wheeled up to the X-Men's meeting room table in his electronically motored chair. "I don't believe the initial attack was planned," he said to the assembled X-Men. "Storm and Jean were out in the X-Jet trying to find a new mutant that Cerebro indicated might be in danger, and apparently they met up with Magneto and a few of his Brotherhood of Mutants. But Jean tells me that when Storm was injured, she reflexively defended herself quite violently and Mystique may have suffered more serious harm. I have not been able to contact Magneto yet, but I fear that he may wish to seek revenge for Mystique's injuries."

Wolverine stood across the table from Xavier with his arms folded, regarding him with a feral stare of thoughtfulness. "I guess I know how that'd feel," he sympathized grudgingly. "I just hope he doesn't give us more reason to want vengeance!"

Professor X gave Wolverine a concerned look. "Vengeance and revenge are how a lot of wars are started," he pointed out quietly. "Fear starts others, like this one between the mutants and the normal humans. We must tread carefully. I have no wish to inflame our recent and rather flimsy truce with Magneto and his followers."

Cyclops nodded. "Right. So what do we do, prepare for an attack and wait?" There was no hint of irony in his voice as he asked the question.

"Maybe we can do more," Gambit spoke up. "If someone can get to Magneto and get him to tip his hand, we could find out if he is planning a strike against the X-Mansion or not."

"That's a good idea," Jean Grey said as she walked in through the door, still wearing her lab coat. "Cerebro can't tell us much about what Magneto is planning with that helmet of his, but he's always trying to convince our kids to join his cause." She sighed, looking around at all of them. "It'd be risky, though. Suppose we send him one of our youngsters and he really does convince them to join him? He can be very persuasive, especially to the young and inexperienced who haven't seen through all his tricks yet."

Professor X smiled at Jean. "Learning how to handle risk is one of the things we must all do as we grow up," he said confidently. "I trust our students. If we can find a volunteer," he swept the room of X-Men with his eyes to make sure it was clear that it would have to be a strictly volunteer mission, "I'm sure he or she will be more than able to handle Magneto's witty charm."

"Hmm, I don't know," Rogue drawled. "I don't like sending one of those kids into Magneto's grasp unprotected. Is there anything we can do to give 'em an extra edge, Professor?"