Thanks again for the review. Thanks also to anyone who's been inspired to check out the two previous fics to this one, the reviews and views have been shooting up. Hope this continues to entertain.

CHAPTER TEN

Wolverine jabbed again and again at the call button before shooting an angry look at Beast, who was sat at the X-Jet's controls, staring straight ahead under the pretence of concentrating on flying. "Where are they when we need them?"

"We'll be back at the mansion shortly,"Beast pointed out. "There's nothing they can do before then."

"I just…I need them to know." If Wolverine were honest with himself, it was Storm that he really needed to talk to, to try and explain how much he'd messed up. He noticed a red light come on on his panel. "Incoming call?"

"They obviously heard you,"Beast observed.

Wolverine shook his head. "This isn't coming from the mansion." He held the earphone to the side of his head. "Hello?"

"Logan?"came Storm's voice in response.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?"

"We're in the other X-Jet. We had a run-in with some mutants but we're all all right. What about you?"

"Met Sinister. Pretty big bruiser. We lost Bobby and Rogue."

"Lost as in..?"Storm prompted, concerned.

"As in they were taken."

Sinister and Cable stood in front of a two way mirror, watching Bobby and Rogue in their cell. "Keep an eye on them,"Sinister instructed. "Let them have time to begin to worry. Then bring them to me. It is time for them to understand what is happening here."

"And then they won't fight us?"Cable asked.

Sinister gave a hollow laugh. "I have heard of the X-Men. They have difficulty accepting the truth of things. I imagine they will continue to oppose me whatever happens. But it doesn't matter. Soon, the world they would try and maintain will be gone and they will be forced to accept the new world."

"You said they'd make useful hostages against the X-Men. That's just a bluff, you wouldn't hurt them? They're among the chosen."

"Of course, Cable, of course,"Sinister replied airily. "Just make sure you do as I ask."

Kitty was leading Warren and Jubilee through the back streets. Several times now she had taken a wrong turn and doubled back on herself and Jubilee was beginning to get irritated. "Do you actually know where you're going?"she demanded.

"I only went there once before,"Kitty admitted. "And Gambit was there to lead us that time." She stopped, looking at an alleyway. "Wait a minute." She hurried down the alley, the others close behind her, and stopped in front of a door. "This is it."

"Are you sure?"Warren asked.

"One way to find out." Kitty rapped on the door.

There was a long enough pause that Kitty was beginning to feel she'd made a mistake and no-one was going to answer. But then the door was pulled back slightly and a woman peered through the gap. "Yes?"

Kitty breathed a sigh of relief as she realised she recognised the face. "Rita, it's me. Kitty, er, Katherine. Katherine Pryde."

"Yes." Rita didn't seem too impressed by the declaration.

"Can we come in?"

Rita seemed to consider the question for a long time, as if wondering if she could refuse, before opening the door wider and ushering them inside.

"We're looking for Remy,"Kitty explained. "Is he here?"

Rita looked at her cautiously. "Why do you want to know?"

"We're his friends,"Warren answered.

Rita shrugged. "Seems to me that's up to him."

"He disappeared,"Kitty explained. "When we were in trouble."

"That doesn't sound like the Remy LeBeau I know. But then, he doesn't act much like the Remy LeBeau I know." Rita gestured through the door. "See for yourself."

Kitty led Warren and Jubilee through into the soup kitchen. She'd been there the previous year, when Rita had taken her, Gambit and Colossus in after their first battle with Apocalypse. She remembered how Gambit had seemed completely at home there, laughing and joking with the other men who frequented the place.

When she saw him this time, he didn't look at home. In fact, he looked like the sort of person who wouldn't be at home anywhere. He simply shuffled between the tables, dishing out soup to people without a word and with the minimum of interaction.

Kitty was about to call out to him but Jubilee got in first. "Remy, it's us!"she called.

Gambit turned and looked at them without interest. Then he shuffled off in the direction of the kitchen.

Kitty sighed. "I guess this isn't going to be easy."

The two X-Jets had arrived back in the hangar at more or less the same time. The respective crews were marching down the tunnel that connected the hangar to the mansion. Wolverine was in the lead, with Professor X, Storm, Beast, Colossus and Siryn trailing behind him. "We need to get out there again as soon as we can,"he was saying. "Rogue and Bobby need us."

"We don't know where they are,"Colossus pointed out.

Wolverine gestured offhandedly in Professor X's direction. "Egghead there can use Cerebro to find them."

"I can do that,"Professor X agreed. "But there's something you need to know first."

"Later,"Wolverine snapped.

"Logan, listen,"Storm advised him.

Wolverine stopped at the soft but firm entreaty and turned, facing them. "Okay. Listening."

"We found out what Sinister's Marauders took from the lab,"Xavier explained. "Several canisters of programmable viral strains."

Wolverine looked confused. "Viral?"

"Like germs and stuff,"Siryn offered helpfully, getting a scowl in response.

"Programmable?"Beast repeated.

Wolverine glanced at him. "That means something to you?"

"There has been a lot of work done in specifically targetted viruses. Ones that only affect certain sections of the population. They can be programmed to infect anyone with certain genetic characteristics or just certain individuals. And the reverse is also true. They can be programmed to infect everyone except certain individuals or genetic groups."

Wolverine struggled to take this in. "A disease that's fussy about who it makes ill?"

"Given what we know about Sinister's ideologies and fondness of genetics,"Storm mused,"it sounds exactly the sort of thing he'd use. Wipe out anyone he disapproves of just like that."

"We could be looking at a global pandemic,"Xavier said quietly,"the likes of which the world has never seen."

At that moment, another group had arrived back at their base. Havok, Multiple Man, Strong Guy and Wolfsbane walked down a corridor towards an office. "He's not going to be happy about this,"Multiple Man remarked.

"We did everything he told us to do,"Havok argued.

"And more beside."

"He can't blame us for that, surely."

"You never know, Alex,"Wolfsbane commented,"he can be pretty unforgiving."

Havok shook his head. "We'll just tell him exactly what happened." He rapped on the door of the office and they filed in.

The man behind the desk surveyed them all: Henry Peter Guyrich. "Well?"

"We got what we needed from the lab,"Strong Guy noted.

"Good. So why the long faces?"

"We had a run-in with the X-Men,"Havok explained.

Guyrich scowled. "Them again. Why do they always interfere? What happened?"

"There was a fight, we left, they left."

"Not good enough. I've put too much effort into this to let them get in the way. Next time they impede you, make sure they don't do it again."