Bobby moaned slightly at the banging that aroused him the next

morning. Generally, Arnold Frank knocked lightly, needing to be as

quiet as possible to keep from attracting unwanted attention.

Pulling himself first into a sitting position, Bobby rubbed

his face, trying to coax his mind from the lazy blanket of sleep

induced weariness that momentarily overtook him. Peering momentarily

down the opening to the food storage, he saw Hank, already wide away,

whistling quietly and scribbling away as usual in his notebook.

Still, despite the usual air of cheerfulness, something was different

about him.

Tugging on a comfortable shirt and warm pair of pants (though

warmth was not nearly as necessary as comfort) he moved quickly down

the ladder and sat beside his blue, hairy friend. "What's made you so

happy, Hankster?" Reaching in the direction of his long time comrade

and teammate, Bobby snatched the remaining Twinkie from the otherwise

empty bowl, flashed a triumphant smile at all who were watching, and

began to work on removing the wrapper.

"Well, I was going to tell you...but now that you've taken

the remaining chocolatey, sugary treat, I'm afraid I've not the

strength to do so." Flashing Bobby an equally triumphant smile, he

ducked his head again, with the intention to remain silent and keep

any and all secrets that might be floating about in his head to

himself.

Bobby Drake, having lacked anything remotely resembling a

gossip session, while thoroughly having been filled with Twinkies for

weeks, quickly made a show of sighing and mumbling to himself before

ultimately sacrificing the treat to his friend. "My thanks, Iceman. I

seem to have consummated the ingestion of my entire supply."

"No problem." Taking instead a few pieces of fruit, Bobby

instead entertained himself by pretending he was talented in the area

of juggling. After being hit several times in the head by stray

apples, (not to mention hitting several other passerbys as well) he

reluctantly gave up this act and instead drew his knees to his chest

before inquiring as to what made Hank so happy that particular

morning.

"Why, Mr.Drake I assure you I'm equally as happy every day."

Frankly, Bobby would have actually believed that, were it not for the

sideways glance at Ororo, followed by the brief quirking of both

pairs of lips and a knowing glance that made Bobby altogether very

unhappy at being kept in the dark. And so, as leader of the X-Men, he

did the mature thing.

He whined. "Come ON Hank! You used to tell me everything!"

When his furry friend continued scribbling, Bobby folded his arms

across his chest and slumped slightly against the wall, trying to

think of a way to trick him into telling. Of course, when one was a

genius, tricking them was a slightly difficult task. "I'm the leader

of the X-Men here...can't I...y'know...demand that you tell me or

something?" He must have looked ridiculous, though he was trying for

commanding and intimidating, as Ororo and Hank both burst into

laughter at the sight of him.

Blushing sheepishly, he ducked his head and gave up his quest

for the secret. Luckily, his friends had only been out to get a rise

out of him. "My apologies, Robert. I intended only to get you to

loosen up slightly. You've been far too serious these past few days."

"Yeah..." Just thinking about Marie being with Logan was

enough to make his stomach lurch. Still, after many an argument, he'd

given up on the issue, and decided to let Marie ride this out. It was

just a phase, of course, and once the war ended, or the appeal was

lost, she would return to her old self. "So...?"

"So..." Bobby watched as Hank lifted his head to gaze at

Ororo a moment. She gave a brief nod of her head and returned his

large smile, before taking his hand.

"Robert...Hank and I have...decided to get married." A moment

later, when realization hit, Hank had to forcibly lift Bobby's jaw

off the ground. He knew the two cared for each other deeply, but he

would never have guessed...

"Married...? Hank...'Ro...that's...that's great! I don't know

what to say..." He was stunned. Ororo and Hank simply smiled back at

him and hugged him and shook his hand. "This is really, really

great..."

"We fully intend to wait til the war is over...let life begin

to fall back into routine before attempting such a feat. Still, I-"

Dr.Henry McCoy was interrupted mid-speech as Marie, eyes wild with

fear, burst into the room.

Everyone stood to their feet, Bobby rushing over quickly to

help her when she appeared to lose the ability to stand on her own.

While she caught her breath and fought oncoming tears, Bobby looked

around for any imminent threat before looking at his other, equally

puzzled, friends. "Marie...what's the problem? What's happened?"

Turning her head to look at him face to face, she managed to

appear brave and controlled enough to spit out the news. "It's Logan.

He's gone."

Silence reigned for several moments, while the news and the

effects of this new sunk in. They were in grave danger, now that one

of them had been inside, knew how to maneuver around this place, and

was gone. Bobby cursed himself repeatedly forever thinking it was

possible to trust a man like that. He knew from the start that he was

wrong in doing so, and felt the crushing effects of guilt, because he

knew what may follow suite. "It gets worse..."

Bobby pulled Marie into a tight hug, while Gambit shook his

head and took his aggressions out on the nearest available object. It

shattered in a burst of red light, leaving nothing but the charred

remains of a pot in its wake.

Below, glass windows began to shake and soon shatter, and

while the five friends huddled together and attempted to plan any way

of survival, loud, heavy footsteps noisily ascended the staircase,

while angry shouts and orders were spat in every direction.

Soon after, with no where to go, the remaining X-Men each

said a silent prayer before turning, wide-eyed, to watch the door.

Hank kept a hand on Ororo's shoulder, whilst Gambit pulled Marie

behind himself and Bobby. Bobby stood, head hanging, stewing in

the realization that their downfall was his fault. He had failed, as

a leader and as a friend, to do the one thing Scott Summers had asked

of him. Not only had he brought them to this...he had let down

Xavier, the other X-Men that had died before them, and the cause that

they had all promised to defend til the bitter end. Clenching his

hands into fists, he realized that he was never going to amount to

anything but a failure. Now his friends, those standing beside him,

would see it as clearly as he had every day of his life.

The door burst open a moment later and a flood of American

soldiers in all shapes and sizes flooded into the attic rooms, aiming

every weapon known to man at them. "X-Men," a loud voice boomed,

laced with bitter hatred and smug triumph. "You are under arrest.

It's over."