Jean Grey lay crumpled on the floor, her hands desperately trying to cover up the wound. Fresh blood flowed freely from her body and a nice puddle accumulated beneath her. Her breathing was staggered as she dealt with the pain of the knife that still invaded her body. Jean knew that she was in no position to take the blade out. If she did, it could mean her life, taken away from her from a loss of blood. The injured woman's thoughts now were directed toward her fiancé: what were Jubilee and Gambit doing to him?

She tried to pull herself onto her feet, but her weakened condition forbade it. Realizing that the two other mutants would surely overpower her in hand-to-hand combat, Jean closed her eyes and let her mutation take over.

Suddenly, Jubilee was floating in mid-air; her feet found no purchase on hard ground any longer.

"Gambit, what the hell's goin' on?" Jubilee flailed her arms about but found no way in which to safely reach the floor. In a flash, the girl in yellow violently flew across the room and into a metal table.

CRASH!

Jean gave the traitor no time to even scream. Fiercely, she made Jubilee sail into the ceiling and then back down to the floor on a sadistic roller coaster ride. Jean could not watch the girl, but her mind was in tune with Jubilee's, and Jean did not relent. The scene went on for what seemed like forever. Jubilee smacked harshly into every wall that Jean could manage. Soon, bruises formed everywhere on the girl, in seen and unseen places. Jean swore she heard the distinct crack of bones breaking several times; she hoped that this was so.

____________

St. John threw himself onto his bed. Sleep used to be a peaceful time for the mutant, but now he lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling, thoughts and impossible questions bombarding his mind. Sleep would not be peaceful for Pyro. In fact, sleep would not come at all.

Reluctantly, John sat up and pulled his feet underneath him, sitting criss-cross. His hands hit his head in a second, and John began to cry.

How had he come to this decision? What was everyone expecting him to do? Salty tears fell from his blood-shot eyes and rolled over his trembling lips. Small sniffles escaped his nose as he wiped away stray tears. Slowly, Pyro slid off of the mattress, drying his wet hands on his jeans.

'What am I gonna do?'

The question burned his skull hotter than fire and demanded his immediate attention. It would not let him rest until it was answered. Until then, Pyro would go through hell; the question would make sure of that.

Then, John pushed away that thought. Of course it would not go away, but linger in his mind until the day that he voiced his decision.

He looked up and into a mirror. There he was. Unkempt, disheveled hair falling lightly over troubled eyes. John studied those eyes; they were wise beyond their years, holding scarce amount of innocence if any at all.

'If any at all,' He thought darkly. 'If any at all...'

Pyro studied his reflection further. The face seemed to mock him. The image twisted and distorted, and yet John was still able to make out the grin on the lips.

Suddenly, glass shattered with scattered spurts of blood. Pyro had slammed his fist into the mirror and now stood stiff, watching the blood drip leisurely from his knuckles. Tiny shards of glass stuck to his hand, glittering in the dim light of his room. Taking his eyes off of his fresh wound, John glanced back at what remained of the mirror. The brown frame had cracked in the middle, and large shards of glass poked out from their still-intact places on the frame.

From the largest piece, Pyro found his reflection again. This time, it was he who smiled at the face that peered back at him.

He knew what he was going to do.

From her place at the bottom of the stairs, Ororo heard vociferous sounds coming from somewhere else in the mansion. Hastily, she followed the noises and they led her to the level where the MedLab was located. Cautiously, she inched her way toward the door and listened for any sound of movement; then she heard it again. Someone was screaming and the walls were shaking furiously. Not hesitating any longer, Storm stepped in front of the MedLab door and watched as it smoothly slid open.

The sight before her was not one she cared to witness.

Cyclops was being held at the throat by Gambit; Scott's air supply, no doubt, was being cut off every second. Jean was curled up on the floor, a generous pool of blood spilling around her. And then the most obscure sight: Jubilee, suspended in mid-air, roughly smacking into everything in the vicinity. Storm found her voice and spoke softly, but audibly:

"What's going on here?" Gambit's head snapped toward her and he gave Cyclops a quick shock and threw him over his shoulder. Storm grimaced as she heard a loud crack as Scott hit the wall. Something was not right here.

Without another glance, Storm turned on her heel and ran back down the corridor. Furiously, she hit the elevator button and watched as Gambit gained on her, a malicious look to his eyes. Her adrenaline invaded her body and suddenly, she was afraid for her life.

It seemed like an eternity when the elevator door finally opened. Storm threw herself inside and pounded her fist on a button on the panel. She could hear Gambit's rough footsteps as he neared the elevator. Storm held her breath as the doors started to close.

'Please close,' She thought desperately. 'Please close.' And to her relief, he did not get there in time. The door closed fast just before Gambit could intercept her.

Storm clutched at her heart that beat wildly inside of her chest. What had gotten into Remy? Before she could think any farther, the door opened to let her out and she wasted no time in finding her way to Professor X.

Before Storm even got there, Xavier sensed her presence. Ororo burst through the door and breathlessly explained all that she saw. Xavier's heart leapt, but he did not express his emotions. He only replied calmly:

"Storm, assemble the rest of the X-Men. I have a strong feeling that this ordeal has more behind it than we think." He watched Storm nod and run back out of the door. When she was gone, Xavier couldn't help but think that this was a battle that they could not win.

Storm ran from room to room and pounded on each door. As soon as her fist connected with one door, she was off to the next. Soon, all of the X-Men poured out into the hallways and curiously asked Storm what was going on.

Not leaving anything out, Storm explained everything, and to her relief, every X-Man followed her to the MedLab.

Everyone crammed into the elevator and Storm took note of who all was there: Wolverine, Shadowcat, Iceman, Nightcrawler, and of course, herself. They were a more-than-sufficient crew to take out Jubilee and Gambit, but Storm couldn't help but think about how much greater they would be with Rogue, Jean, Scott, and Pyro on their side.

But as it was, the people that she was with now were their only hope. Most of the students at the school did not have mutations that were fully developed yet, so they would be little to no help. Ororo didn't want the children to get hurt; God forbid any of them died. But Storm was confident.

At all costs, she would fight. At all costs, they would fight.

When the door opened, the X-Men members poured out of the elevator and marched toward the MedLab. With a soft whoosh the automatic door revealed all of them, Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat, each waiting to make their first move.