Walk That Tightrope

"I knew it," Remy growled, so angry he forgot to address himself in the third person. "I knew it! I knew the second we agreed to this whole farce they'd send us out like Hounds to hunt down our friends!"

"Gambit I'm not thrilled about this either," Scott let out a breath. "Like it or not we have a job to do." He looked out at the assembled X-Men in the room. Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, Bobby, Sam, Ororo, Logan and Emma were also there with some of the other X-Men. None of them were happy.

"Well if you ask me this job stinks!" Kitty snapped. She glared at Emma. "I suppose this was all your idea wasn't it?"

"Emma had nothing to do with this," Scott said.

"Oh go ahead and let her blame me," Emma spoke up. "She blames me for everything else."

"I just find it interesting that you of all people are for this when we all know you practically did the same things that Jamie did during the war!" Kitty snarled.

"There's no proof of what you think I did during the war," Emma said. "Unlike Multiple…"

"I don't get why they want Multiple and not Willow," Rogue interrupted. "She was part of X-Force too!"

"Because they don't have photographs of her killing anyone," Logan said. "And even if they did she still wouldn't be a top priority."

"This is an attack on us isn't it? Don't pretend it isn't! Gyrich and his goons may be out of power but there are still a lot of people in the government that hate us!" Kitty frowned.

"I'm afraid so. Wavedancer and the other Misfits are talking to Willow now and explaining things," Scott said. "They're going to take her into custody and make her part of the Misfits after she sees a judge."

"I can't believe she gets off the hook while we gotta lock Jamie up!" Rogue snapped. "That little slut gets away with everything!"

"She lost her entire family, her home and almost all her friends in the war," Kurt gave his sister a look. "I wouldn't exactly call that getting away with everything."

"Besides Willow was never an X-Man, Multiple was," Logan grunted. "It's all politics. Plain and simple."

"They can't go after Jean so they have to go after the next best thing," Scott threw up his hands. "Or in Jamie's case the next to the next best thing."

"Jean was possessed! That's not fair!" Kitty said.

"It is fair. Jean was possessed by a cosmic entity! Multiple wasn't," Emma said.

"Jamie was possessed by pain and rage," Kurt said.

"Not good enough in court," Emma shrugged.

"Isn't Warren in custody too?" Bobby asked.

"Yes but again he was brainwashed by Apocalypse," Scott explained. "SHIELD is just making sure that his mind is his again and are trying to undo the damage that was done to him."

"You mean study his enhancements and figure out how they work," Bobby frowned. Scott and Emma blinked. "I don't know why you two look so surprised when I say stuff like that. You know I have been paying attention all these years!"

"I admit you have hit the proverbial nail on the head," Emma shrugged. "However since Warren Worthington the Third is one of the few heirs left to a billion something dollar financial empire I have a feeling that SHIELD will set him free soon if only to make a deal with his company."

"Doesn't Angel have like a dozen cousins and aunts and stuff also fighting over control of his company?" Kitty blinked.

"He did. But since some of them died of old age, texting while driving or killed each other off there's a lot fewer of them," Bobby shrugged. "The whole family situation is more messed up than any of ours."

"More messed up than having a demon father, a terrorist mother and dozens of half siblings some which want to take over the world?" Kurt asked.

"More messed up than marrying your fiance's clone and having a child with her under mental hypnotic suggestion and having to send that child into the future in order to survive?" Scott asked.

"More messed up than my family of psychotics?" Logan asked.

"Well maybe not that messed up but pretty close to it..." Bobby admitted.

"How do you know anything about Warren's family?" Kitty asked Bobby.

"Because I read more than just the comics in the papers," Bobby gave her a look. "And the whole Worthington clan has been in and out of scandal for nearly two years now! One of the Worthingtons was part of AIG and another was in Lehmans! You remember when Wall Street failed and all those companies went bankrupt? When the economy tanked?"

Everyone looked at him. "And you guys call me clueless," Bobby groaned. "Go see the movie Too Big To Fail! That'll explain everything!"

"Iceman is an economics expert," Logan blinked. "When did this happen?"

"I dunno but that's kind of scary," Kitty blinked.

"Wait…I just thought of something," Rogue said. "You said they were going to take Willow into custody. Are they gonna make her testify against Jamie?"

"She's not," Pietro walked in. "We just took her now. Part of the deal we made with the feds was that if she pled guilty and gave up information on some of X-Force's other dealings she not only goes to the Misfit's custody but she doesn't have to testify against Multiple."

"Wait that doesn't make sense," Ororo said.

"It does when you consider there are a few people who backed the Sentinel project still out there and the government wants them shut down pronto," Pietro said. "Like Gyrich and his buddies. Willow has a lot of information on them. Apparently Bishop and his friends found out a lot of double dealings, including secret Sentinel factories all over the world. She knows where the proof is and can get it."

"The only thing the government hates more than us is the Sentinel program," Remy realized. "Makes sense."

"The Sentinel Project not only wrecked mutant's lives but the lives of humans all over the world," Pietro said. "Not to mention the credibility of the United States government. The United Nations is holding the US accountable for making those things and everything getting out of control. There's already a resolution calling for the banning of those tin cans. Even Doctor Doom is behind that one since they blew up his castle and half of his kingdom."

"I guess that's one good thing about this whole war," Rogue sighed. "From now on even the most rabid anti mutant nutcases are gonna think twice before letting those dang machines loose."

"SHIELD isn't exactly getting off easy either," Pietro added. "A lot of Senators and Congressmen are questioning Fury about SHIELD's role in the Sentinel disaster. Or lack of it. A lot of important government officials from other countries are also calling the super spy agency on the carpet for the mess they made. The only reason Fury won't be out of a job is because he's got too much blackmail and the government needs SHIELD to do some more of their dirty work."

"That's not all of it is there?" Kitty narrowed her eyes.

"No," Pietro admitted. "The real reason they didn't ask for Willow's testimony is that they don't need hers to put Jamie away. In addition to the video tape…They've got witnesses."

"Witnesses?" Kitty asked.

"Apparently one of the guards during the attack chickened out and hid inside a locker," Pietro said. "He saw Multiple kill a few of his buddies. And…There are a couple of mutants that were also there. They got caught by the army before M Day. They ratted out Jamie to save their own hides."

"Goddess…" Ororo let out a breath.

"The trial if you can call it that won't be televised," Pietro said distastefully. "It's going to be quick and quiet. Just some military general in a room to sign the paperwork. The last thing this country needs now is some more anti-mutant hysteria gripping the country. We almost came to the brink of disaster the last time it happened. They're just going to have a quick military trial, lock Multiple up and give the press the basics. Just enough to prove to the masses that not only humans are going to be punished for what happened."

"So you're saying they're gonna shove Jamie into some kind of Guantanamo prison for mutants and there's not a thing we can do about it?" Kitty was furious.

"I don't like this either! The kid's getting a raw deal. I admit it," Pietro said. "But what do you want Pryde? Make a big stink and whip up more anti-mutant hostility? Our species barely survived the last round of the mutant war. Quite frankly I'm not really anxious to see how much more we can take."

"Something tells me Fury isn't gonna let Jamie rot in prison," Logan grunted. "Probably already working some kind of deal to put him under SHIELD supervision. I know how this goes. They'll keep him locked up just long enough to calm him down so when SHIELD has work for him, he'll be more receptive and less likely to protest."

"It feels like we're selling Jamie into slavery in order to save our skins!" Kurt bristled. "There has to be another way!"

"Don't you think we've tried that?" Pietro said. "Hell Althea is still making calls to the Jugglers trying to reduce Jamie's sentence and to help him but we know that won't do much good! But the Misfits have been ordered to stay off the case. They want you X-Men to bring him in."

"Nobody's blaming the Misfits for this, Quicksilver," Logan said.

"For once," Pietro grumbled.

"Like it or not this is an X-Man problem and we need to solve it ourselves," Scott said. "Tell Wavedancer we appreciate anything she can do but we understand."

"So we're actually going to do this? No discussion or…" Kitty bristled.

"There's nothing to discuss, Kitty! It's an order and we have no choice but to follow it or else risk this entire peace we've worked so hard to obtain get blown up to kingdom come!" Scott said.

"Fine go ahead and do it," Kitty stormed out. "Just don't expect me to help you sell him down the river."

"Gambit with her," Remy announced. "Gambit ain't no Hound." Rogue shrugged and she followed Remy out of the tent as well.

"Guys…" Scott called out.

"Let them go. We don't need their help," Emma told him. "If they want to sulk like children that's their business."

"Anybody else have a problem with this?" Scott asked. "As if I didn't know the answer."

"Jamie was like a member of my family," Ororo said bitterly. "I remember when he first came to the Institute as a child."

"He's not a child anymore, Storm," Emma said. "I wouldn't worry. It's like Logan said, he's too valuable for SHIELD to let him rot away. I'm not thrilled about bringing him in either but considering the alternative…"

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked.

"What do you think she means? If we don't bring him in, they'll send some other guys to do it," Logan grunted. "Guys who won't care if he's brought in dead or alive."

Ororo shook her head. "Then there really is no choice is there?"

"No, there isn't," Scott said. "Emma and I will bring him in but we could use some help."

"Let me talk to Jamie," Ororo said. "At least…At least I can try to make this easier for him."

"I'll do it. But I don't have to like it," Logan growled.

"Multiple needs all the friends he can get," Kurt agreed. "And like it or not, it is our duty."

"So you agree with this?" Sam asked.

"No, but Scott is right. There is more than this going on," Kurt said. "It feels like that the government is testing us. And if we fail…I don't want any more war. I don't want to give Jamie up but the alternative…Maybe we can think of something to help him after we bring him in?"

"Okay I don't think we'll need any more for this," Scott let out a breath. "It is Multiple after all."

"I wouldn't underestimate him, Cyclops," Sam told him. "Have you taken a good look at Jamie lately? He grew like a weed when we last saw him and he ain't stopped growing."

"How old is he now? Fifteen?" Scott tried to remember.

"I remember he was eleven when he first came to the Institute years ago and that was…" Bobby thought. "It's been over seven years since then. That would make him eighteen now."

"Old enough to be tried like an adult," Sam groaned. "This just gets better and better. Maybe I should come with you guys?"

"No Sam, we need you here to work on the patrols around Bayville and to coordinate things with Rocker's new police department he's putting up," Scott shook his head. "Since we're short a few people we need all the help we can get. Tabby's not coming back to work for a while. For obvious reasons…"

"Sorry…" Sam winced.

"Don't be," Emma said. "Tabitha's baby will most likely be the first mutant born after M-Day. At this time we could use all the mutants we can get. Anyway since Evan declined our invitation…"

"Wait, are you telling me Evan's not back with the X-Men yet?" Kurt interrupted.

"No, we asked him but…" Scott sighed.

"My nephew is determined to carve his own path," Ororo explained. "In addition to looking after his young son he's getting involved in some kind of deal with some other mutants he knew before the war. Apparently he wants to start some kind of entertainment studio putting out mutant friendly programs and sports competitions."

"Seriously?" Bobby asked.

"Actually it's not such a bad idea," Logan spoke up. "I met his partner, that O'Sullivan guy. He was very certain that this would work. I think he's some kind of precog. Besides, people love sports and TV. Anything Spyke puts out can't be worse than half the garbage already on the air."

"You're for this?" Bobby asked. "You? Mister 'Let's Take No Prisoners Bub' is willing to let Spyke try the television route?"

"Yeah. Because Quicksilver was right. Mutants were nearly exterminated along with the entire planet less than a few weeks ago and we need to stop that from ever happening again. Even if we gotta try a harebrained idea like that one," Logan snorted.

"It still stinks we have to go after our own kind," Bobby said. "I mean if it was someone like Mystique I wouldn't mind but…Oh sorry Kurt."

"Don't be," Kurt shook his head. "I've given up any hope of my loving mother reforming. It was bad enough what she did with the GRSO but willingly joining with Apocalypse not once but twice…No matter how hard I wish or try she is not going to change. But Jamie is another story. We have to try and help him. Even if we do have to bring him in."

"Okay so Wolverine, Emma, Nightcrawler and Storm come with me," Scott ordered. "Everyone else go back to your patrols and assignments."

"This is going to be fun," Kurt grumbled as they left. "Not!"

It didn't take them long to find Jamie. He was directing dozens of his clones while they were literally building a building of some kind. Some were putting up beams. Others were cutting wood or nailing wood. Others were working on the cement floor and blocks. Even more were digging, measuring and using forklifts and cranes to put in huge metal beams. Scott was amazed at how fast and efficient Jamie was.

"He's like a one man construction team," Logan remarked.

"What's he building anyway?" Kurt asked. "I thought we weren't going to put up any houses until the streets were finished?"

"We're not," Emma realized what it was. "It's the new hospital. I recognize the layout from one of the blueprints.

"Oh yeah. I thought it was too big to be a house," Kurt blinked. "I don't suppose we could postpone this until after he builds the building? You know? Say its community service or something?"

"I wish we could," Scott sighed. "It's a shame. An army of dupes could bring this town back in no time."

"It's a bigger shame we have to turn in our own friend," Ororo spoke with a tone of anger in her voice.

"Let's get this over with," Scott sighed. He waved to Jamie. He noticed how much bigger Jamie had gotten. He was as tall as Scott now and more muscular. His brown hair was slightly longer and he no longer looked like that scrawny twelve year old that played pranks in the mansion.

He realized that Jamie had grown up fast during the war. Too fast. Too much too soon. He had gotten harder and stronger. And the X-Men failed to protect him from all that. Just as they were going to fail him again.

It was all Scott could do to not get sick right on the spot.

"Hey there," Jamie walked over with two of his dupes holding blueprints. "Good news, the hospital is just starting to get built."

"Starting? You already got the foundation in and several support beams," Logan was impressed as he saw several dupes put some metal beams in the building.

"It's a good start for the first day," Jamie smiled with pride.

"You did all this in a day?" Ororo was impressed.

"Well technically only six hours," Jamie scratched his head. "So what's up?"

Scott and Ororo looked at each other. "Jamie…We have a situation," Ororo broke the silence.

"What kind of situation?" Jamie asked.

"Jamie you know the X-Men will do anything to help you right?" Ororo asked.

"Where's this going?" Jamie asked.

"Stop beating around the bush Storm," Logan sighed. "Let's just say it straight. Kid, you know how some folks in the government are still antsy about X-Force and what you guys did right?"

"So what?" Jamie gave him a look.

"There's a warrant out for your arrest," Scott let out a breath.

"I thought all mutants were given amnesty for what they did during the war?" Jamie asked.

"Most mutants were given amnesty," Scott said. "There were…exceptions written into the contract."

"And let me guess, Willow and I were the exceptions?" Jamie folded his arms. "Am I right?"

"More you than Willow," Scott said. "They let the Misfits take her but…I'm sorry Jamie. We have to take you into custody of SHIELD."

"Oh I see what's going on," Jamie growled. "I'm not stupid. You're throwing me to the wolves to save your own skins!"

"For crying out loud Multiple! They have photographs and video of you killing people!" Logan shouted.

"And how many people did you kill Wolverine?" Jamie snarled. "Seriously, you're giving me a lecture on morality?"

"This isn't about morality…" Emma said. "Ironically."

"If it wasn't for X-Force there would have been thousands of mutant internment camps out there instead of a handful of mutants locked away by the Mardies!" Jamie shouted. "Every time the government tried to make one, we burned it to the ground! We destroyed hundreds of Sentinel factories and factories that made machine parts for the Sentinels! You know as well as I that if it wasn't for our terrorist actions, things would have been ten times worse! Hell we lost nearly all our members on M-Day because of the Sentinels that the humans unleashed!"

Jamie glared at Scott. "My team fought and died so that the mutant race wouldn't go extinct. They died so the world wouldn't be destroyed. And now you and SHIELD wants the few of us that are left under lock and key because they're embarrassed that we did what they didn't have the guts to do!"

"What's going on here?" A few mutants had been working nearby and were gathering.

"Our great and noble leaders the X-Men want to arrest me for helping mutants during the war!" Jamie snapped.

"Wait! It's not what you think…" Kurt began. But the small crowd was already beginning to get angry.

"Didn't I tell you the X-Men weren't to be trusted?" A mutant male with red skin shouted. "I knew they'd sell us out sooner or later!"

"They're gonna lock up their own kind so they can run free!" A female mutant shouted.

"It's not like that!" Scott said loudly. "Multiple here was photographed killing several government scientists…"

"All the more power to him!" The red skinned mutant shouted. The crowd agreed.

"He also murdered a fellow mutant," Emma spoke up to the crowd. "A defenseless mutant boy named Ben Yates."

"That sounds like a load of bull!" A gray skinned teen shouted.

"No…" Jamie set his face. "It's true. I killed the kid. And I'd do it again."

"Wait you killed one of our own?" A rock like mutant was stunned. That quieted the crowd.

"Wait that's not what…" An orange skinned female spoke up. Jamie silenced her with a look.

"Just all of you get out of here. This is my fight," Jamie growled. "Got it?"

Go back to what you were doing. This is not your concern, Emma sent out a subliminal message. The mutant mob dispersed and went off.

Jamie gave her a look. "Nice trick…"

"I didn't see you asking for their help," Emma pointed out.

"I only said that because I didn't want anyone in the crossfire," Jamie multiplied himself to fifty dupes on the spot. "Besides, I can make my own mob to protect me!"

"Jamie don't do this," Scott set his jaw. "Don't force us to take you out!"

"I'd like to see you try," Jamie growled. "I'm not going quietly."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Logan sighed. "For the record Multiple. I don't blame you. Another time I'd stand beside you…Just saying. Don't take this personal."

"Sounds personal to me!" Jamie shouted with his dupes as one.

"Here we go..." Scott groaned. "I should have known this wasn't going to be easy!"

"Emma…Which one's the real Jamie?" Kurt whispered to Emma.

"I…Can't tell…Too many minds thinking the same thing…" Emma concentrated.

"Yeah! To kick your asses!" Jamie shouted. More dupes appeared and attacked the X-Men as one.

"Multiple…No!" Kurt tried to teleport around the dupes but to his surprise he was easily grabbed from behind by a dupe. Then several more dupes piled onto him. He teleported away only to get clobbered in the back by a dupe that had a bat.

Suddenly almost all the dupes had a bat. "Okay that's weird…" Scott prepared his optic blasts to destroy some of the bats.

"I can dupe any object I'm holding now," Jamie explained. "As long as I'm holding onto it."

"This is not going well…" Emma changed to diamond form as she fought off dupes with Ororo at her back.

"No it is not," Scott said. Every dupe he blasted with his optic blasts two more seemed to appear.

"Don't worry. I've got this!" Logan shouted. He shot out his claws with a SNIKT and charged through the dupes, cutting them down like they were nothing. To which they returned to. Until he got to the center of the mob.

"You forgot my nose kid," Logan knocked Jamie down and crouched over him, claws out, not that close to his throat. "I can pick you out of a crowd even if you all do smell alike."

"Actually…I was counting on it," Jamie smirked. Before Logan could react two of the dupes sprayed him from both sides with a small spray bottle.

"AGGGGHHH!" Logan coughed.

The real Jamie slid out and sprayed Logan with his own bottle. "Scent erasing spray. Never leave home without it." He then grabbed Logan and flipped him with some kind of martial arts move.

"Okay where the hell did you learn a move like that?" Logan growled as he got back up and faced Jamie and his dupes.

"I lived with X-Force for over a year, Wolverine," Jamie smirked. "Between Bishop, Domino, Warpath and endless Kung Fu movie marathons I learned a lot of different fighting techniques. But this particular one Layla taught me!"

Before Logan could react Jamie and several dupes quickly poked Logan in several places. He immediately stiffened up. "Can't…Move…" Logan gasped as his arms hung at his sides.

"Even your healing factor isn't gonna recover that fast from a pressure point technique," Jamie smirked as he folded his arms. "It confuses your nervous system and keeps you out of the action long enough for me to end this fight and get away."

"Layla taught you this?" Logan was stunned as he tried to move but couldn't.

"What can I say?" Jamie shrugged. "She knew stuff."

Then Jamie and three of his dupes kicked Logan hard in several places at the same time, knocking him out. "Wolverine!" Ororo shouted. Her eyes glowed and her body crackled with energy as she took to the skies, intending to take Jamie out with lightning.

Unfortunately for her she was shot from behind with a laser blast. "AGGHH!"

"What?" Scott turned around. A Dupe of Jamie's with a laser rifle had managed to shoot her in the back. He unleashed his optic blast and destroyed it but it was too late. Jamie then tackled him with three dupes. Then the three dupes turned back into Jamie.

"Jamie stop this before it's too late!" Scott yelled as he started to fight with Jamie.

"Cyclops, I just took down your heavy hitters including Wolverine without a sweat," Jamie said as he fought Scott. "That was your problem. You and the others always underestimated me!"

Jamie managed to get in a few punches. "You never thought I was good enough! Or strong enough! Or smart enough to be one of you!" He snarled. "You and the others always ignored me or sent me to the sidelines! Never letting me prove myself!"

"You were too young Jamie!" Scott got a few punches in. "We were trying to protect you!"

"Well you did a lousy job of it!" Jamie snarled as he hit back. "And I wasn't that much younger than the rest of you! Only by a couple of years! But you all thought you were better than me because you were bigger! Especially those so called New Mutants! Half the time they wouldn't let me in on things! Seriously, how can you guys complain about me controlling my powers and my powers getting in the way when you idiots could barely control your own?"

Jamie did a duck and a kick, knocking Scott back. "I learned very early that I had to take whatever training I could get and teach myself whatever I could! That's the beauty of having clones of yourself. You can learn several things at once. While I was doing Danger Room workouts, I had a couple of Dupes doing some real training!"

"What do you mean?" Scott asked. He dodged another kick.

"Didn't you ever wonder how I got so good at fighting you guys even though I did a lot less training than you?" Jamie asked as he went on the attack. "I used to send a few Dupes into different towns. Take up classes under an assumed name. I learned so much when my Dupes had their little walkabouts…Things you can't even begin to understand!"

"Well I can't understand how you could turn so quickly into a terrorist!" Scott snapped as he punched Jamie.

"Said the pot to the kettle!" Jamie snarled.

"I'm not saying the X-Men didn't make mistakes or cause our share of damage, but we never went out to deliberately kill people!" Scott shouted. "The X-Men are about preserving the peace between humans and mutants! Not killing them off!"

"You keep saying that but you didn't exactly work that hard to try and stop us," Jamie told him. "In fact up until the near end of the war you and Wolverine gave us a lot of those missions! Remember?"

"Yes and I also remember how you tried to use Toad and his other self for your own purposes," Scott fought back.

"That was Bishop's plan. Which he never told us all of it," Jamie countered. "That was wrong. I admit it. But our team did a lot of good Scott. We saved a lot of mutant's lives and destroyed Sentinel bases and those mutant concentration camps before they got put into business! You can't deny that."

"I'm not. But you did kill a lot of people," Scott said.

"We just did what you didn't have the guts to do," Jamie glared at him. He then prepared to punch Scott in the face to knock him out.

He stiffened up. "Get out of my head Frost…"

It took me a while but I finally….Emma began. She had changed back to her human form. Suddenly she was grabbed and overpowered by several more dupes.

"You know I never really liked you…" One of Jamie's Dupes snarled as he grabbed her by the throat, choking her. "How about we give SHIELD a different mutant scapegoat?"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Coming through!" Rogue yelled as she flew through several dupes and started beating them up with her super strength.

"Damn it Multiple! You not helping your case!" Remy faced off with the army of Jamie dupes. "Don't do this man! Frost is one of us now!"

"Yeah she may be a bitch but she's our bitch!" Rogue snarled as she fought her way towards Emma. "X-Men don't turn on their own!"

"I used to be one of you! And you had no problems abandoning me!" Jamie snarled making his dupes fight harder and creating more of them.

"It was a mistake Jamie. And not just Xavier's. It's my fault too. I'm sorry," Scott said as the dupes held him prisoner. "But you can't punish Emma for what I did! Let her go and we'll talk! This isn't you! Jamie you'd never do this! You weren't trained to do this!"

"I was raised by maniacs who used to use lasers and flamethrowers in training exercises and fighting major battles since I was twelve," Jamie snapped. "How did you expect me to turn out?"

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Before he completely turned around he got punched hard in the face. "I expected you to know what happens when you cross the line," Kitty growled.

"Get her!" Jamie snarled at his dupes but as they attacked Kitty simply phased through them. Then she disintegrated them with simple punches and kicks. "What?"

"You're not the only one who had a few unexpected crash courses in fighting," Kitty glared at the original Jamie. Her eyes were red and glowing showing that she was using the essence of Ogun in her soul. She kicked Jamie hard and jabbed at him with her fingers in his chest. "Or knows a few things about pressure points!"

"AKKK!" Jamie gasped as his arms fell to his sides. Then Kitty kicked him hard and he was knocked out.

As he was knocked unconscious, all the dupes disappeared immediately. "And that takes care of that," Remy brushed his hands.

"Please! Me and Shadowcat did most of the work," Rogue grunted.

"Ugh. Anybody get the number of that freight train that hit me?" Kurt opened his eyes.

"Come on little brother," Rogue helped him up.

"Rogue? What are you doing here?" Kurt asked.

"Nobody beats up any of my brothers except me," Rogue gave him a look.

"Wakey Wakey Wolverine," Remy took out some smelling salts from his pocket. "This an old Thieves' Guild hangover slash wakeup scent."

"AKGGGHHKK!" Logan choked and woke up. He pinched his nose. "Damn that smells worse than Toad in a garbage dump!"

"It does the trick, no?" Remy smirked.

"I told you they couldn't do this without us," Kitty let out a breath.

"Good work Shadowcat," Emma rubbed her throat and got up.

"I didn't do it for you," Kitty glared at her. "I just couldn't let Jamie make another stupid mistake."

"At least you three put aside your personal opinions and did the right thing," Emma said.

"There's nothing right about this and you know it," Rogue told her.

"Well at least we didn't trash the new hospital," Scott sighed as he looked around. "Multiple made sure we were fighting away from it."

"Didn't want all his hard work to go to waste," Emma let a breath go. The sound of a small transport aircraft caught her attention. "Well that was fast."

Two SHIELD agents came out of a SHIELD transport jet. It was small, black and looked like a cross between a cargo plane and a jet. "That didn't take long," The first SHIELD agent remarked as he carried an inhibitor collar and some cuffs.

"I almost didn't think you'd get the freak," A second SHIELD agent grunted. "Good thing I didn't bet against you. Tyler you owe me five bucks."

That really made Scott mad. But he knew how to keep it in. "I was unaware that Fury had lifted the restrictions on gambling within SHIELD and its members. Or is it still against the rules to bet on missions?"

"Uh…Uh…?" The SHIELD Agents looked nervous.

"Perhaps this is something I need to bring up with your superiors?" Scott took a step closer to them, glaring at them all the way.

"Uh no, no that won't be necessary," Tyler gulped.

"It might be," Scott glared at him.

"You know we should just…go," The second SHIELD agent gulped as they took custody of Jamie. "Uh…Good work, X-Men." They couldn't get into the transport fast enough.

"Good ol' SHIELD. Protectors of the Earth," Remy said sarcastically as the transport took off.

"More like Protectors of Their Own Behinds," Rogue spat.

"They just watched…" Kitty gritted her teeth. "Just stood back and watched us take Jamie down…bet on it like it was some kind of damned sport!"

"Is this how it's gonna be Cyclops?" Remy snarled. "Some peace we won!"

"You think I wanted this?" Scott yelled at them.

"Nobody's blaming you Scott. It's just…We lost Magma. We lost Madelyn. We lost Forge, Static and so many others. And now we just shunned away Multiple for doing what we trained him to do. What did we fight for if we can't even save our friends?" Kurt asked.

Scott didn't have an answer.