Logan paced back and forth as the X-Men sat around the safe house. While Hank was going over his studies, Moira sat beside Charles in the far corner of the large room while the teens sat in the center of the room on the floor and played cards.

"Can you stop pacing?" Scott asked, annoyed. "You're starting to make me anxious."

"They should be back by now," Logan growled, getting angrier every second.

"Well… we're not the ones who left them there, did we?" Kitty threw in his face.

"Katherine," Ororo scolded.

"Sorry," the girl said. "But it's true, you know? We wanted to stay and help out. But no…we're just kids, we're not ready for the adult stuff yet," she mocked in repugnance. "It's not fair!"

"She's right ya know," Forge commented.

Ororo turned and looked at him. "I still don't know you well so keep your mouth shut, yes?"

Shrugging, Forge went back to watching Hank as Charles moved closer to the threesome. "Logan?"

Though all the Professor did was question him indirectly by simply saying his name, Logan stopped pacing, and tensed up, nodding. Charles closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"What?" Ororo asked.

"We need to go back," Charles said softly.

"Back?" Scott repeated jumping off the table he was currently sitting at. "After you forced us to leave, you want us to go back?"

"Why?" Ororo questioned, looking from Charles and to Logan.

"Because," Logan grunted, "something ain't right."


"Something's not right," Jean said delicately.

Emma glanced at Jean with wide eyes. "Days of putting up with your dreadful secret and learning of your world and now you think something's not right?" she hissed.

Jean held up her hand to silence Emma as she looked around. "They left."

"What?" Emma shrieked, poking her head out from the room and looked around the corner.

Jean grabbed Emma's shirt and pulled her back in. "What are you doing?" she demanded crossly.

"I wanted to see if you were right," the blonde replied defensively.

"And if I wasn't?"

"Well…then like I said," Emma answered, standing up straight. "I would've haunted you forever."

Rolling her eyes, Jean peered around the corner until she deemed it safe and, with her back to the wall, strolled down the hallway. Watching Jean, Emma matched her movement and did the same until they reached the foyer. Once they ran out of wall, Jean walked in the center of the lit room, with Emma behind her. The two women stared at the destroyed mansion as they looked outside through the giant hole in the wall where the soldiers forced their way in.

"Guess we didn't need that magic trick after all," Emma muttered.

Before Jean could respond, she heard a distant noise, and on instinct, threw Emma to the ground as she ducked as well, covering her head as the bullets whizzed by, nearly missing the duo by mere inches. Just as Emma was about to rejoinder, she saw Jean's eyes glow as she threw a fireball in the direction that the bullets had came from.

"Come on!" Jean shouted, offering her hand to Emma.

Taking the hand, both women ran back down the hallway as more soldiers reentered the house and saw them. As they opened fire, Jean ran into the next open room with Emma catching up behind her. Running through the doors, hallways and offices of the mansion, Jean and Emma eventually hit a dead end. When Emma saw this, she began to panic.

"Oh shit…" Emma cried. "We're gonna die…we're gonna die."

"Will you shut up?" Jean hissed, looking for an escape.

"Why?" Emma questioned, pointing at the door. "In about ten seconds, a whole squad of trigger happy men will burst threw that door and kill us!"

"If you ever thought with your head and not your boobs, you would help figure a way out of this mess!" Jean yelled.

"Why me?" Emma shot back. "You're the one that made me stay here when I wanted to leave with the others!"

"Oh you're so selfish," Jean said with aversion. "All you ever do is think about yourself. At least in my world when you died, you died with honor, dignity and respect!" Not noticing that Emma had relaxed slightly and her face fell, Jean continued. "You, of all people, had my respect. You put us in front of yourself and sacrificed yourself to at least give us the chance to save those that lived."

"I…I did?" Emma asked quietly.

Noticing her mood change, Jean nodded slowly, offering a small, pained, smile. "You did," Jean whispered. "And you were a hero."

Shedding tears, Emma smiled. "I was?"

"And you weren't just a hero," Jean added. "You were my friend."

From the water in Emma's eyes, her blue eyes sparkled, and for a few seconds Jean would swear that she looked innocent; like an angel…like a child.

But then the door flew open and nearly a dozen men aimed their weapons at the women and screamed, "Freeze!"

Behind the men, walked in another, carrying a powerful presence with him. It was none other than…

"Victor Creed," Jean said with loath.

"Why, Doctor Grey," he grinned. "I am so pleased that you know me. A little miffed, but pleased nonetheless."

"You know him?" Emma whispered at Jean.

"Unfortunately," Jean muttered.

"So, uh, where's the rest of the band?" Creed asked.

"On vacation," Jean answered.

"Really?" Jean nodded. "Ya sure you don't want to think about that answer again?" Creed questioned. "Maybe…oh, I don't know…answer it correctly?"

"I think I'll stick with my answer, Regis," Jean replied sarcastically. "Creed's a dumbass and won't get shit from me…final answer."

Emma could see Creed's face getting redder and all it took was a simple nod and everything had changed. Emma watched in horror, seconds too late to stop it, as Creed nodded and a soldier slung his weapon behind him and pulled out a sharp and long blade knife. Emma attempted to stop him, jump on him, to do anything to stop him. But she was too late. Even as she moved, the soldiers held her back and within seconds, Jean fell unconscious to the floor, bleeding from a knife wound in her stomach. Even if she were still alive, Emma knew she needed to act fast to save her.

But as the gun was pressed against her forehead, and she stared frighteningly into Victor Creeds amused eyes, she saw that saving Jean was going to become impossible.

She couldn't even save herself.