He put his nose to the wind, chuffing the air softly. The scents of the two patrolling guards mingled with the other traces of the night.

This was the place.

Security was pathetic. Too few guards and standardized rotating cameras left him huge windows of opportunity. And anyone else who wanted into this facility. The thought quickened his steps. He silently took out the guards, leaving no one to detect his entry. With so many of these centers appearing they just didn't have the man power to guard them properly. Lucky for him. Stealing a key-card off one of the men he unlocked the door and was in.

The place was a labyrinth. The hall's many twists and turns a better defense then the men stationed outside. If not for his nose he'd be lost. He inhaled deeply; it smelled of sickness here, and death. But beneath the grime and disease he smelled his objective. Creeping along quietly, he came across only one guard whom he disposed of quickly. It was almost insulting that they would bring him here. One of the world's most powerful mutants, locked up in a minimum security detention centre. Maybe he had been injured worse than they had feared. Maybe he was in no condition to attempt escape and that's why they weren't concerned with security. Or maybe they weren't aware of the treasure they held inside these walls. Turning a final corner the trail ended in front of a large metal door. He tried the handle.

Locked.

"Half Pint" he growled into his mouth piece.

"Like, hold on a second." the bubbly teen's voice sounded in his ear. "Almost... there, it's open. You're welcome"

He mumbled something inaudible and turned the handle. In the room, hooked up to a life monitor and respirator lay his objective.

He approached the man slowly noting the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and the raspy sound that emitted from him as he did.

"Chuck, what have they done to you?" Logan whispered.

Shaking off all emotion he set his mind to business. Now was not the time to lose his game face.

"Half Pint, you manage to get those alarms off?"

"Duh"

He nodded to himself and quickly set about unhooking the Professor from the machines. He attached a portable oxygen mask to the limp man's face and quickly scooped him up. Time to make his exit. No one had noticed the downed guards and his retreat was quick and painless. Once outside he began a steady run, racing off until he reached the van hidden amongst the brush in the woods. Jumping inside he set Charles down.

"Popsicle, Let's move"

Bobby gave a mock salute and gunned the engine. Kitty began hooking the Professor to a complex life support system that took up most of the van.

"All right, let's get him back to Beast. This place is gonna be crawling with Mardy's pretty soon"

The van sped off into the night, keeping to the back roads as they slowly made the trek back to the mansion.

(*)

On the surface it looked like nothing more than a pile of rubble. Since the mansion had been hit, and the Professor and Jean had gone missing, no repairs had been made topside. It was safer for the few remaining X-men if the MRD didn't know they were here. Despite the humble appearance above ground, below ground was a fully functioning base of operations. It was here that they brought the Professor's limp body. Beast and Forge had prepared a special bed to hold Charles while they tried to rouse him from his sleep.

While Beast fussed about setting dials to regulate Charles heart rate and breathing, Logan flipped on the TV. A crackling image of Senator Kelly filled the screen. The Senator was righteously preaching the dangers of mutants and singing the praises of his special task force against this terrible threat. The MRD.

As everyone had feared the mutant virus had been passed onto human carriers, and the number of infected was steadily on the rise. Symptoms in mutants started out flu like, and then progressed to loss of powers before finally sending them into a coma like state and eventually shutting down their internal organs. In humans the virus struck much faster going from flu like to near death within days. People were terrified, and they blamed mutants thanks to reports like this. International travel had been banned, and the hunt was on to locate and imprison the remaining mutant population.

He growled low in his throat. His knuckles tightened around the remote with a distinct cracking noise.

"Fuckin' Mardy's" he muttered

"My friend. Though I share your sentiment, anger will not aid us here." Beast's calm voice came from the desk where he was seated, studying one of his many charts.

"I know that, just don't like this. Mutants on the run, the team split up. Dammit Hank, Chuck's in a coma! All that man ever wanted was peace and they tried to kill him anyway." It had never been proven but it was widely believed that the hit on the mansion was the MRD's first major assignment. Since that day the government had turned full force against the mutant population. Those who were caught without the virus were shipped to Genosha, an all mutant island that was surrounded by machines that muted the powers of all who resided there. Those who were infected and caught were sent to mutant detention centers like the one they had rescued Charles from. It was a bad time to be a mutant, and half his team was still missing. Nightcrawler had gone to investigate Genosha. Iceman, Shadowcat, Foge and Beast held down the base under his leadership. Jean had been missing since the mansion's attack and Cyclops was a man lost without her. He had searched desperately but hadn't been able to come up with a single clue. He spent most days holed up in his room. Not eating, not sleeping, just staring desperately at Jean's picture and waiting. Warren Jr. had been secreted away by his father. Warren Sr. still believed that with enough money he could save his only son. With an obvious mutation like Archangel's it was only a matter of time before he was found. Emma had set up a small base in Boston with her cuckoos. They searched the astral plane for mutants in need of rescue. The numbers were getting too high to count. Storm had been captured during one of their quests for information on the Professor's whereabouts. It wasn't certain what had happened to her but she hadn't shown up in Genosha. It was believed she was infected. That left the two southerners. Gambit had taken Rogue and disappeared somewhere along the Mississippi. Overnight the world had become a war zone with mutants on one side and humans on the other. The way things were shaping up it didn't look like the mutants would be winning.

"Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. A line from the infinitely wise Buddha. We cannot change what has happened, nor can we know what is to come. We must focus on the here and now, for in the end that is all we have"

"You're right." Logan eyed the doctor critically "You should get some rest. You're not looking so good Hank"

Nodding, Beast rose slowly from his seat, the weeks of endless research on the virus taking their toll as he headed for his room and a much needed rest. He wondered how long they could carry on under the MRD's noses. How long before the virus affected them all? How long until the end of mutant kind?