The X-men are determined to protect a world that hates and fears them. Born with extraordinary abilities, they use their powers for the betterment of mankind and mutantkind alike. Although they do everything with good intentions, there are those who do not appreciate their attempts at peace.

Among those is William Stryker, President Edward Kelly's advisor. Stryker's bitterness fuels him, to the point where he was willing to partner with Alyssa Risman – the sister of Matthew Risman who now sits in prison due to his activities of funding Genosha with Cameron Hodge.

Their partnership led to the founding of the Purifiers, which is based around Stryker's religious fundamentalist attitudes. He believes mutants to be the worst sin on the earth, and seeks to do away with them. He recently sent his Purifiers to hunt down two mutant children named Andy and Lauren, whose parents were killed by them. Their bodies were discovered, hung on wooden crosses in a family park.

Upon Charles Xavier and Lilandra Neramani having a debate about mutants on ABC News, Charles, Scott, Ororo, and Tony's limo got attacked. Now, their fate hangs in the balance, unbeknownst to the X-men.

Issue 68: God Loves, Man Kills Part 2

X-Corporation Tower – Danger Room

"So, did you guys see the Professor and Lilandra's interview earlier?" asked Kitty as she dodged a paintball coming her way.

"Yeah, I did see. Let me tell you something. From what I could see, they were doing horribly," Warren said as he flew overhead.

Everyone nodded in agreement. After having seen Professor Xavier and Lilandra's interview with ABC News, Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Remy, Bobby, Logan, Hank and Warren decided that they were all going to work out. Just seeing Xavier and Lilandra failing miserably at trying to fight with reason frustrated them all.

"Too bad Scott, Jean and Ororo are missing out on this," Bobby said.

"Tell meh about it," said Anna-Marie. "But ya know that this is personal for Jean, because this time, this murdering of two mutants practically happened in her sister's backyard."

"A month of peace and quiet, and dis is what we get," said Remy, charging a card and tossing it at a sentry gun nearby.

"Nobody ever said that endeavoring at making things better for mutants would be uncomplicated," said Hank.

The X-men continued with the Danger Room session. Kitty phased through several bullets. Kurt teleported, dodging lasers. Logan jumped at one of the century guns, claws popped out. This was exactly what they all needed after having seen Xavier and Lilandra on the news. All they were hoping for was that Scott, Jean and Ororo were going to be home in time for dinner. Between Remy wanting to test out his culinary skills and Kurt and Bobby's appetites, there would not be much food to go around for all.

"Zhe only zhing zhat I am curious about is who are zhese Purifiers?" Kurt asked.

"Best we can tell, they are a wannabe religious group that hates mutants," Logan growled, popping his middle claw out.

"But who the heck can fund an organization like that?" asked Bobby.

"My best guess is that Risman bitch. She's been too quiet since the election," Logan said. "And usually, that's never a good sign, especially for someone as driven as she is to make our lives hell."

Everyone fell silent after Logan said what they were all obviously thinking to themselves. They all secretly felt that Alyssa Risman had something to do with the Purifiers. She was determined to get back at them in every way possible. Her and Graydon Creed had almost killed Kitty. The thought of that made Logan's blood boil.

'The kid's only fourteen fucking years old!' Logan thought angrily.

Kitty was an innocent; just a kid who was trying to find her place in the world. Although Logan would never say it out loud, he felt a sense of protectiveness over all the X-men. He thought of Kitty, Anna-Marie and Jean like daughters, and Scott like a son. God help the person that tried to do anything to any of them.

Once the training session was over, all the X-men proceeded to retire to their bedrooms for the rest of the night. Bobby and Kitty were up to their necks with homework assignments for school. However, as Hank made his way into the medical labs so that he and Cecilia could do some research, he walked in to see Cecilia just standing there with the phone against her ear. Tears were making their way down her face.

"Cecilia," he said to her. "Cecilia, what is wrong?"

Cecilia just turned to face him. Her deep brown eyes were wet with tears and her hand was covering her mouth, obviously hiding the fact that her lips were trembling.

"Oh, God, Hank!" she said, her voice shaking. "I-I –"

"What is it?" Hank's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Cecilia –"

"It was – it's Scott, Jean, Ororo and the professor!" Cecilia choked out. "They're – They're dead!"

St. Matthew's General Hospital – One Hour Later

"Hnnn," groaned Tony as he started to come around.

The last thing that Tony remembered was that he had been in the back of the limo with the professor, Jean, Scott and Ororo, on their way back home from ABC News. Before any of them knew it, the smell of knockout gas had filled the car, causing them all to pass out. After that, Tony did not know what had happened.

As he opened his eyes to the blinding white light, he could tell that he was in the hospital. He observed his injuries. Aside from a few contusions and cuts that had needed stitches, he was fine. However, as he turned his head, he noticed Pepper sitting beside him, his hand in hers.

"Tony?" she asked him softly.

"Yeah, yeah Pepper, I'm right here," he told her.

"You scared the living shit out of me." Pepper leaned over and kissed him, her hand on his cheek. "Never do that to me again, you hear me?"

"What happened?" asked Tony in a serious voice. "Where's the professor? Where are the kids?"

Pepper closed her eyes before the tears could even make their way into her eyes. "I – Tony the police arrived on the scene. They-They couldn't find them. They're dead."

"No," Tony said in disbelief. "No, I don't believe it."

"It's the truth Tony. The cops couldn't find their-their bodies. There is no sign of Ororo, or Jean, or Scott, or the professor," Pepper said softly.

"No, no there's still a chance that they're –" Tony started to say, feeling his eyes threatening to burn with tears of grief. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. Professor Xavier was the father that he had never had.

Pepper had tears pouring down from her eyes as she shook her head. "Tony –" she started to say.

Tony shook his head, silencing Pepper so he did not have to hear a repetition of what she'd just told him.

'This cannot be happening,' Tony thought. 'No – No it's not real. It cannot be true! I already lost one father. I can't lose another . . . I can't.'

Pepper had tears pouring down from her eyes as she shook her head. "Tony –" she started to say.

"No, Pepper," Tony whispered grimly, closing his eyes again. "No." He clenched his eyes tighter to stop the tears from coming down his face.

If there was one thing Tony would not allow it would be for people to see him weak, even if Pepper was the only one in the room with him. He could feel Pepper's arms wrapping around him slowly, and that was enough for Tony to let down his defenses. Screw his pride. Screw masculinity. He allowed the tears to roll down his face as the silent sobs shook his shoulders, Pepper trying to comfort him as her own tears hit the skin of his neck.

X-Corporation Tower – Bobby's Room

The world had ended. So why was he still breathing? Why was he still here? Why was he still alive? Because for Bobby Drake, there was no possible way that Professor Xavier, Jean Grey, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe were dead.

Bobby could feel his tears pouring down his face as he hoped and prayed for this all to just be a sick joke. He could hardly dare to believe that Professor Xavier, Scott, Jean and Ororo – the leaders he was taught to follow for the past year or two – were gone. Bobby kept his head burrowed deep in his knees, not knowing what to do with himself.

'I can't believe it. I just can't believe it!' he thought as the sobs shook his body. He did not want to believe that Professor Xavier, Ororo, Scott and Jean were just gone like that. If they were gone, Bobby did not know what he would be able to do with himself. Scott was like an older brother to him. Jean was the only one that he trusted to see him vulnerable. She had broken through his defenses and got him out of his shell when he was a frightened, insecure, closeted fourteen-year-old. Professor Xavier was the father that he never had. Now that they were gone, he did not know how to take it, not in the least.

"They-They can't just be gone," he said to himself as he sniffled, shaking his head. Before he knew it, he could see Kitty phasing her way into his bedroom door. She was also crying her eyes out, her face saturated with tears as she moved to sit next to him.

"I can't believe they're gone, too," she said to him.

"Did Jean and Scott ever tell you how they first met me?" Bobby asked her quietly. "I-I was closeted at the time, scared out of my mind because my mutant abilities had just manifested." He closed his tear-soaked eyes. "My-My parents were not speaking to me. I could tell that they were ashamed and embarrassed by me. So, I was holed up in my bedroom back in Boston when Scott and Jean came and got me. They were looking to recruit me for the X-men – before we even were X-men. We didn't have suits, or masks; we were just teenagers training in the Danger Room, testing out our powers. And now – now they're not here."

"I know what you mean, Bobby," Kitty said softly. "I was scared out of my mind about my mutation when Kurt and Jean found me in the New Salem Mall in Chicago. I was thrown in the middle of a full-out fight started by the FOH. They both ended up getting me outta there before anything worse could happen to me." She attempted to wipe her face free of tears, but it was no use. The tears continued to pour down her cheeks.

"What do we do?" asked Bobby.

"I-I honestly do not know," Kitty said. "Nothing could have prepared us for anything like this."

"And the kicker is, we were trained to prepare for situations like this," Bobby whispered. "But when it happens you do not know what to think, what to do; what to say. Nothing could ever prepare you mentally for something like this."

Kitty nodded in agreement. The two youngest X-men stayed silent at that, not knowing how to take in the news that Scott, Jean, Ororo and the professor were dead.

Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – Throne Room

"Kim Shooter here reporting from 32nd Street in Manhattan, New York. Just short of an hour ago, the police have been called to this very location after the supposed car crash that killed Professor Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe. Tony Stark and Harold Hogan, his bodyguard, are currently in a hospital for medical treatment as we speak. The car has appeared to have crashed into a nearby tree not too far from here. However, no bodies or remains have been found."

Erik "Magneto" Lehnsherr sat there in the seldom silence of his throne room, surprisingly feeling moisture in his eyes. Tears were one of the things he hadn't allowed himself to feel. For years, he'd believed in locking away his emotions to cut himself off from humanity. He could not afford to allow himself to feel human emotions. Human emotions made one weak. But despite feeling grief over the news that Charles Xavier, his oldest friend, was supposedly dead, Magneto also felt that deep down, there was something very wrong with this situation.

Charles had been nothing but loyal to him from the beginning when they had met for the first time at Oxford. But it was a petty disagreement that had driven them apart. Charles had always believed in fighting for peace, while Erik believed that humans and mutants would never be able to live together peacefully. The two of them would never agree to disagree. Both had different goals for what they felt the world should be like. But that did not mean Erik had ever stopped caring about his oldest friend. He knew that if Charles were ever in trouble, Erik wouldn't hesitate to be there if his friend needed help.

'There is no possible way that Tony Stark's bodyguard could have lost control of the vehicle that easily,' thought Magneto was he went over to observe the files he had on William Stryker.

As he read Stryker's file, Magneto's tears for the supposed death of his oldest friend stopped. Based off what he had read on Stryker over the years, Erik knew what the man was capable of. His eyes glinted over the information that William Stryker had left the US military to pursue becoming a pastor after events that had occurred with his wife and his son. Those were the exact events that had caused Stryker to hate mutants so much. Magneto could not help but wonder what President Edward Kelly would think if he found out about his advisor's extra-curricular activities involving Alyssa Risman, sister of Matthew Risman who had worked with the Friends of Humanity.

'Oh, President Kelly, when you learn the truth about your advisor, you will in for one rather rude awakening,' thought Magneto as he continued to stand there, reading the files on William Stryker.

32nd Street

'I don't buy it,' thought Logan Howlett as he made his way through 32nd Street in Manhattan with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. 'There's somethin' wrong here. I can smell it.'

"Logan, I do not know why you want to investigate this," Clint said.

"He cannot just accept that Xavier, Jean, Ororo and Scott are dead, not when Tony is in the hospital," Natasha explained. "Quite frankly, neither can I. And I am not quite sure if I even buy that they are dead. Something had to have happened to completely throw them off guard. Whoever caused this to happen was well-organized, and knew exactly what to do."

"Natasha, are you even sure?" Clint asked.

"I was trained for this, Clint. I've seen enough crime scenes in my years – some of which I have caused before you and Nick Fury found me and took me under your wing," Natasha explained as she and Clint followed Logan to the scene of the crime. Upon arriving, they could see the splatters of blood, the broken glass, and the crushed limo which had collided with the tree.

As they approached the crime scene, they could see the yellow tape surrounding the crashed limo. The police were guarding the area, not allowing anyone to tamper with the evidence.

"Excuse me, but nobody is allowed past this point," the cop said.

"Outta my way, bub." Logan popped his middle claw out, clenching his jaw hard and exposing his bared teeth.

Natasha put her arm up in front of Logan to block him. "Excuse me, Officer, but we're here on behalf of the X-men and SHIELD. We just want to look around," she said politely, keeping her cool.

The cop nodded and proceeded to let Logan, Clint and Natasha past the yellow emergency tape.

As Natasha, Logan and Clint approached the vehicle, the first thing that they noticed to be off was a small canister that was inside the back of the car. Logan knelt and picked it up, taking a long sniff.

"Knock-out gas," he whispered darkly. He allowed his heightened senses to guide him as he further examined the car with Natasha's assistance.

Natasha took a further assessment of the vehicle. Just judging from the fact that Logan had found knock-out gas inside the car, that was the first red flag. And the fact that there were no dead bodies was another huge suspicion. Natasha's green eyes took stock of the whole area. Clint examined it closely as well, his expression hardening as Logan sniffed the air, attempting to retrace what had happened.

'There's somethin' here that don't smell right,' Logan thought. 'The knock-out gas, the fact that no bodies were found . . . wait, somethin' else. Someone else was here. This isn't a murder. This was a set-up, a kidnapping. Scottie, Jeannie, Ro and the prof were not killed. They were taken.'

"Guys, are ya thinking what I am thinking?" Logan asked.

"Yes," said Natasha. "I've seen enough crime scenes in my days. I've caused plenty before I'd joined SHIELD. This is a fake murder scene. They were not killed in a car accident. They were taken."

"And I can smell it. Someone else was here; maybe about four people. This was too organized . . . too sophisticated for it to have been a regular car accident," Logan explained.

"Agreed," said Clint softly. "We better gather up this evidence and round up the troops. We need to find out what's going on here and who took them."

Logan nodded as Natasha proceeded to take photographic evidence of the scene before them. The fact that they had realized that the whole car accident was a set-up was a huge step. All they had to do now was gather up the Avengers and the other X-men so that they could start investigating further. However, as Logan turned around to head back towards X-Corporation, he could see Jean's older sister Sarah standing there looking completely devastated by the sighting she was looking at.

'Shit. I'm gonna have to tell Jeannie's sister this she ain't gonna take the news well,' Logan thought as he made his way over to Sarah, who had tears rolling down her face.

"Logan, what the hell?" she asked.

"Sarah, look, I know what yer thinkin'. But I'm going to tell ya this right now. Jean wasn't killed. She's not dead. She was taken. This whole crime scene is a fake, a set-up. Whoever did it is trying to send a message," Logan told her.

"What kind of message?" Sarah growled out; her jaw clenched.

"I do not know yet, but we're about to find out," Logan told her.

"That's not good enough," Sarah said, her voice hysterical as the tears rolled down her face.

"I know fer you it ain't. But I can promise ya we'll get yer sister back," Logan assured her.

Sarah let out a sigh. "It's just . . . I cannot take any more of this bullshit. This is so fucked up. First, at least ten mutant children are murdered in the past month. Now someone's screwing with my sister!"

It was obvious to Logan that Sarah was seeing red. And he couldn't blame her. She was somebody's mother and older than Jean by nearly ten years. Of course, Sarah was going into mama bear mode.

"Look, kid, what I would suggest is ya go back home and let the X-men and the Avengers handle this," Logan suggested to her.

"Oh no way," Sarah growled. "If you're going off to look for Jean, I'm going with you. I may not be a mutant, but I do not give a flying crap. I'm going to help whether you want my help or not!"

Logan could sense Sarah's stubbornness. It was obvious she was not going to take no for an answer. She wanted to be part of finding out whatever had happened to Jean.

"Alright, fine," he said. "But yer following our lead."

"Deal," Sarah said.

Up next: God Loves, Man Kills Part 3