Prologue
"Hey there, Sparkplug." said the short man in the cowboy hat. "Long time no see."
He stood at the foot of a grave, staring up at the white headstone. There were twenty nine nearly identical headstones in the private family cemetery. They all had on feature in common, besides their size and color. Above the name engraved in the white stone there was a circle with the letter X bisecting it, signifying which family they belonged to. The particular headstone that the short man stood in front of was marked "Jubilee". Like the other headstones, this one was engraved with the nickname of it's owner. The body of Jubilation Lee had been buried where her family had wished, but "Jubilee" had come home to the Xavier Institute.
No bodies would be found in the Xavier's cemetery. Nothing was buried at all. Only a headstone errected to lost family, and whatever memories visitors brought with them.
"I've missed ya, kiddo. It ain't the same around here without ya." the short man said, his voice hoarse, barely carrying on the cold wind that blew around him. "Everything's...different. Changed."
He shuffled his feet in the mounting snow, his hands jammed in his pockets. He spoke around the half burned cigar clenched between his teeth.
"So many of us gone. At first it was us old dogs. Then some o' the younger ones." he sighed roughly. "I never thought I'd be our here talkin' to you, though."
The short man caught a scent on the wind, and smiled to himself. His voice caught in his throat for a moment and the pain threatened to overwhelm him. He heard the crunch of heavy boots behind him, and the lighter whispering of an uneven scampering gait alongside them. The two men who owned the footsteps came to a stop on either side of the short man. They both were taller than he was, but one of them much more so. At a lithe 5'9" and a massive 7'5", they both made the short man's stocky 5'3" very obvious.
"Lookit that, Sparkplug. All the big dogs are comin' home ta see ya off." the short man said.
"Hello, my bright light. It is good to see you again." said the thin man, his German accent thick."Are you vatching over our resident Hairball?"
The short man snorted and glanced at the German. The man's bright yellow eyes shone brightly in the overcast light. His dark blue fur was showing more today, what with the snowflakes sticking to it. He smiled a fanged smile at the short man.
"Look who's talkin', Elf." he growled, though a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
The Elf placed a three fingered hand on the Hairball's shoulder.
"It's good to see you, as vell, Logan." the Elf said, giving his friend's shoulder a squeeze.
The taller man placed a massive hand on the Hairball's other shoulder, and squeezed lightly as well.
"Good ta see ya too, Elf." said the Hairball. "You too, Tin Man."
The massive Russian just smiled grimly and nodded. Logan, the Hairball, the X-Man known as Wolverine, turned back to the grave. He stood there in silence for a long moment before he found his voice.
"We miss ya, kiddo." he said, a single tear rolling down his cheek until it froze there. "I know I sure as hell do."
The furry Elf silently mouthed the words to the Lord's prayer, and then made the sign of the cross.
"Come, mein freund." he said, clapping Logan on the shoulder. "Let us go see if Scott has thrown out all ze beer in ze school since you've been out here. We may vell be able to kill a few brain cells before he convinces everyone of ze wickedness of alcohol."
With that, they turned and walked slowly towards the school that had become their home.