The X-Men found their departure to be much easier than they had anticipated. They met some opposition along the way, the toughest of which they experienced as they tried to exit the Depot. Oddly enough, the soldiers they came against acted surprised to see intruders from inside, yet they were very alert, as if expecting an assault from outside. Regardless, the X-Men had little trouble breaking out of the building and continuing on their way.

As they traversed the city streets, the mutants noticed they were now the only ones in sight. A few more hours ago the streets were filled with civilians and Combine alike, but presently they were no where to be found. So the two walked on in silence, which was broken only on occasion by the sound of distant gunshots. Wolverine and Colossus would shoot each other curious looks every now and then as they heard the battle from far away, but neither could come up with an explanation.

Finally, after turning down the familiar street to the train station and walking for what seemed like forever, the X-Men reached the station. Upon investigation, Wolverine and Colossus soon realized that the station appeared to be abandoned. There were no inbound or outbound trains to be seen, and the place was completely devoid of any life.

"Wonderful," Colossus said as he sat down the chest he was carrying, "No trains in sight. It will take us at least a day or more to reach Markell and Beast on foot. That is a very long walk through very dangerous territory for two wanted men." Colossus could see that in the heat of the afternoon, his friend was dripping with sweat. He surveyed his own skin, which was currently a shiny, indestructible metal, and realized that his resistance to the heat had kept him from noticing his companion's fatigue.

"I'm fine," Wolverine answered Colossus' unasked question, "We better get moving. Sooner we get that teleporter running and back to the Mansion the better."

Colossus nodded and bent down to pick up the chest when he noticed something floating not too far away. Wolverine followed his gaze and then cursed under his breath.

"Scanners," Wolverine grumbled and turned to beckon to Colossus, "Come on, Pete, we-" the mutant stopped in mid-sentence as he heard a series of clicking noises directly behind them. The pair turned just in time to be temporarily blinded by the flash of a scanner that was hovering just above where they stood.

"Ach!" Colossus yelled and swung the rectangular box at the scanner, smacking it away like a baseball. The floating object soared into the distance before smashing to pieces against an iron support beam.

"Nice shot, kid," Wolverine grinned, "but I'm guessing they now know where we are. Let's beat it!"

Colossus and Wolverine jumped down onto the railroad tracks and started off in the direction of Markell's hide-out. Behind them they heard the faint sounds of alarms kicking on and knew that their solitude would not last much longer. With that, they began running at full speed, Wolverine moving quickly but lightly like a gazelle, and Colossus thundering alongside him like a charging elephant, leaving large footprints in the firm ground. They sprinted for quite a while before Wolverine stopped and turned to look behind them.

"Looks like we've got company." Wolverine said as Colossus stopped just a few feet ahead of him.

Not five-hundred yards away were two enormous armored vehicles heading straight for them traveling at least eighty miles an hour. The vehicles looked to be standard Combine Armored Personnel Carriers, but modified to travel on railroad tracks. As the APCs drew nearer, the mutants noticed gun turrets mounted atop each vehicle, the barrels of which swiveled to aim directly at them. The X-Men stood there motionless, not sure of what to do next. The Combine didn't give them much time to contemplate, however, as the APC on the left-most track began hurling bullets at them, followed by the APC on the right.

"Pete!" Wolverine yelled as he attempted to race towards to the big mutant for cover. He was only five feet away when a swarm of bullets bit into his flesh, knocking him on his face. Wolverine grimaced and reached out a hand for Colossus, who quickly grabbed him by the wrist and swung his body around so he was shielded by the metal mutant's body.

Both vehicles were now firing their turrets at the mutants, the brunt of which was taken by Colossus while Wolverine's accelerated healing factor closed his wounds and refuled his energy. While they were still under fire, Colossus stormed towards the nearest APC, heading for its right flank. Upon reaching his prey, the big mutant reached down and grabbed the bottom edge of the large vehicle, and with the effortlessness of a child tossing a balloon up in the air, he lifted it off the tracks and sent it sailing far and high, until it hit a building several hundred yards away, demolishing the wall and several floors of the multi-story structure.

This suddenly made the driver of the second vehicle much wiser, and instead of trying to destroy Colossus he decided to flee. The wheels on the APC began rolling forward, but the vehicle remained in its place as Colossus leapt forward and grabbed hold of its rear bumper. The wheels ground against the rails, making an unpleasant screeching noise. Colossus was about to send this one skyward as well when Wolverine, fully recovered from his injuries, jumped on the roof and brandished his claws.

The turret on the roof turned to blast the mutant at pointblank range, but not before Wolverine amputated it with a quick sweep of his claws. As Colossus continued to hold the vehicle in place, Wolverine cut open the manhole on the roof as if he were opening a giant can of soup, slicing around the hatch in a swift circular motion. Wolverine then kicked the lid off and bent over the hole, just as a pistol shot was heard from within and a cloud of blood puffed out from the mutant's shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Wolverine dove through the opening head-frist.

From where he stood, Colossus could hear cries of pain escape from the manhole and the PAC as well as the "thud!" of bodies being slammed against the inside of the armored hull. Within seconds the sounds stopped and Wolverine climbed out of the manhole, dragging two dead Combine soldiers up with him. He let them drop over the side of the vehicle and then turned to smile at Colossus, who had released his grip on the APC as soon as Wolverine had taken out its driver. Colossus raised his eyebrows in question.

"Hey, Pete," Wolverine yelled, "I found us a ride home."