Disclaimer: Not mine, just like they weren't in any of the previous chapters.

Ororo sighed as she saw Jean come into the kitchen.  She'd managed to avoid her friends questions last night, but she knew she couldn't hide forever.

"So?"

"So what, Jean?"

"So what, Jean?" mocked her friend.  "You know exactly what.  Spill."

"I've nothing to say."

"Well, if nothing happened, then you need cheering up, girl.  Come on, it's Saturday.  The kids can take care of themselves for a few hours – lets go shopping."

Storm allowed herself to be dragged out of the mansion.

"Are you sure nothing happened?"

"I never said that."

"Ororo!"

Sabertooth watched as the two women entered the mall.  Knock out the red haired one first, and then the other shouldn't be too much of a problem.  He grinned in anticipation.  The runt always got too involved with his frails.  He shoulda learnt better by now.  Made him too easy to get to.

At the other end of the mall, Violet and Sword were just getting out of their car.  Violet was exited – it wasn't often that they got far away from the farm, or had money to go shopping, but when she'd found out she was pregnant, everyone had chipped in.  (Remy swore up and down that he'd come by his share legitimately, and she chose to believe him, although Sword was more skeptical).

Sword was drawn away the instant they entered the mall – there was a shop just by the entrance, with a variety of sharp-edged weapons on display.  Violet sighed.

"Ten minutes, darling.  I'll be in Mothercare.  Try to remember why we're here?"

"Mmhmm?"

Shaking her head, Violet walked up the stairs, mentally cataloguing what she'd need.  A few clothing items, although Brightling had promised to sew her some clothes.  Sword was going to make the cot, but one of those baby carriers would be good.  Bottles, maybe a pram if they had enough money.  Perhaps the cash would stretch to a few toys?  She'd have to see.

Her mental ramble was interrupted by screams up ahead.

~Sword!~

But she might not have time to wait for her husband – one woman, her red hair askew, lay unconscious, while another, eyes and hair as white as pure snow, battled a snarling figure.

Stopping only to reach out with her healing power to the redhead, and check her injuries weren't life-threatening, she ran towards the couple.

~Sorry for the bumpy ride, baby.~

The feral looking man was choking the young woman.  Violet stepped forward, trying desperately to gain control of his mind.  Damn, she'd seen Darkling demonstrate these techniques a thousand times, hadn't she?

She might as well have held back a flash flood with an origami dam.  The beast-man, noticing her petty tampering, backhanded her in the stomach, sending her flying into a shop window.  Before she blacked out, she saw him leaving, holding the now-unconscious form of the white-haired woman under one arm.

"Violet!"  Sword arrived to the disturbance just in time to see his wife go flying across the room.  He ran after the monster who'd attacked her, but he'd ran out of the mall, a captive in hand.  Sword couldn't keep up, and returned to Violet's side.  A crowd of people surrounded her.

"Please, I'm her husband."

"I've called 911, sir."

He nodded at the woman, and returned to cradling Violet.

~Come on, my love.  Hold on.  Don't leave me.~

The ambulance arrived, the paramedics pushing him aside.  He hovered around, feeling utterly useless.  They let him ride in the ambulance, watching her pale, still, form.

"She's going to be alright." said one of the paramedics.

But he didn't respond, just stared.

Someone was going to pay.

"It's Sword." said Brightling, right before the phone starting ringing.
 "Show off." laughed Rogue, answering it.

"Hi Sword!"

"Uh, Hi Rogue.  Is everybody there?"

Rogue looked around the room.  Indeed the whole of the Way was crowded around the old television, Kurt and Remy arguing over which the best Bond film was.

"Yeah… Is everything alright, Sword?"

"Not really… one minute."

Sword turned to the doctor.  "What's happened now?"

"Were you aware that your wife was pregnant?"

He felt his stomach turn.  God, he was going to throw up.

"The baby.  There's something wrong with the baby?"

The doctor laid one hand on his shoulder, her eyes sorrowful.  "I regret to inform you that your wife has had a miscarriage, Mr Sword.  There was nothing we could do.  She is fine though, and resting easily.  I'm very sorry."

"Sword?" Rogues voice came down the phone.  "You still there, Sugah?"

"Yeah.  Look, you all need to come up to New York.  Violets in the hospital.  I can't really talk about it…" his voice cracked.  "Just get Shadow to take it out of my head, okay?"

He hung up.

"Sword?"

Shadow looked at her with concern.  "What is it?"

"Something happened with Violet and Sword.  He said to just…" she shrugged. "get it out of his head."

There was a pause, and then all three telepaths gasped.

Shadow was the first to speak.

"We're going to New York.  Take only what you need."

Logan had sat out all night, thinking about what Storm had said.  When had life got so complicated?

But even as he thought that, he knew he wouldn't miss his 'simple' life.

He couldn't find Storm anywhere, but the boy was sitting in the kitchen, a multicolored bruise on his forehead.

"Where's 'Ro, Scooter?"

The boy scowled, but answered him anyway.  The redhead must have told him to behave.

"Ororo and Jean have gone to the mall.  They left about an hour ago."

Logan nodded, rifling through the fridge for something decent to eat.  Ah, a beer.  Liquid nutrition.

Suddenly the boy cried out, and ran for the front door.  Logan followed him, beer still in hand.  The redhead was there, a lump on her head, and she was babbling something about the mall and being attacked, and 'Ro…

The beer crashed to the ground.  Logan recognized the scent of the one who'd attacked Red.

Sabertooth.

Remy was driving carelessly, but even still, it took them two hours to get to the hospital.  Sword had met them at the entrance, carrying Violet in his arms.  She was awake, barely, and he was ignoring the lady doctor, trying to convince him not to take her away.

"She needs rest, Mr Sword, and plenty of it.  We'd prefer to keep her for observation."

"She'll get rest, Doc.  What she needs is family."

They stopped over at a 'safe house' that Shadow knew of, and laid Violet out on one of the beds.  Sword described her attacker as best he could.

Remy frowned.  "Shadow?"

"Yes?"

"Remy t'ink he know dis man.  Y' can put what Sword saw into Remy's head?"

Shadow nodded, and a second later, Remy looked up, his red-on-black eyes bright in the darkness of the room.

"Dis fellow by the name of Sabertooth t' one y' after.  Works for some crazy by t' name of Magneto."

"Do you think Magneto was behind the attack on the girls at the mall."

Remy shrugged.  "Could be.  In Nawlin's de Brotherhood was recruiting.  Back then, Sabertooth don' shit wit'out permission."

Darkling and Brightling were concentrating.

"We can get a trail," said Darkling. "But it stops dead.  Like a shield or something."

Shadow joined them.  "Indeed.  We cannot track within that area."

Darkling laughed.  "But we don't need to – the shield radius is a perfect circle."
 "You really think they'd be that stupid?" asked Brightling.

"Quite possibly.  They'll be right in the centre, thinking the shield protects them from discovery."

Sword stood up.  "What are we waiting for?  Let's go!"

"We don't know how many there may be" cautioned Shadow.

"I don't care if there are a thousand."

Storm had woken up once on the way back, but Sabertooth had knocked her over the head again.  Much to the disgust of Wanda, who was checking her over.

"You do understand the meaning of 'in one piece', Sabertooth?  Because that's what my father asked for."
Sabertooth shrugged.  "She's alive."

"Lucky for you – but there are better ways."  Wanda took out a syringe of sedative, gently injecting the contents into Storms arm.

"Doesn't look like fun to me."

"Just stick her in the cell, Victor.  You can have your fun later."

The Way looked up at the Brotherhood headquarters.

"Yep." said Darkling.  "That stupid."

Shadow frowned.  "Kurt, would it be possible for you to take some of us in there with you?"

"If you get me up to the wall, then Ja, I can probably take all of you.  Can't promise I'll be up to the return journey, though."

Indeed, Kurt collapsed once they were through the wall.  Rogue turned to him, checking he was okay, but they were immediately attacked.

Remy and Sword took on the giant form of what Rogue assumed was Sabertooth, while the telepaths battled against the others.  The man who must have been Magneto floated at a balcony at the far end of the room, hailing the members of the Way with twisted pieces of metal.

A plan began to form in Rogues mind.

"Kurt." she said, shaking him.

"Huh?"  His yellow eyes blinked open, focusing on her.  She took off her gloves.

"Kurt, I need to borrow your power for a bit."

He nodded, and clasped her hand.  She focused on taking power, and only power.  They'd tried this only once before – she'd accidentally 'bamfed' into the kitchen, causing no end of trouble.

But now anger for her friend rose in her mind, and it was no trouble at all.

Later on, she would remember the events in a haze.  Kurt's power flowing through her veins, she teleported just above Magneto, grabbing onto his bare skin with both hands, and holding on.

They'd stumbled together, and fell to the floor below, and she'd held on.

Gambit was hit by a blast from the woman who fought against them, and returned fire, while Sword concentrated on Sabertooth.

And she held on.

Darkling and Brightling sent out waves of fear which caused most of the Brotherhood to flee.

And she held on.

The woman finally turned and ran, and Gambit turned back to Sabertooth, only to be thrown against a wall.

And she held on.

The telepaths tried desperately to hold back Sabertooth, as Swords energy field began to flicker and die.

And she held on.

Sabertooth advanced on Sword.

And she let go, having taken all that she could, sending the metal flying through the room with her new power, catching the monster off guard.

And Sword focused all of his energy into one last fiery blade, and destroyed him.

A hand clutched at her leg.

"Give it back."

She stared at the white haired man whose power she had just stolen, tears running down his face.

"Give it back."

"No."

"Why?"

The mind-voice of Shadow rumbled through the room, and she knew he heard it as well as she did.

"Because it is not enough just to destroy the weapon, Magneto.  The hand that wields it must also be punished."

It was Brightling who felt the presence of the other mind, still within the building.

Rogues new power tore aside the bars, and Remy gathered the white-haired woman in his arms.

They headed back to the safe-house, where Violet was just waking up.

"It's alright." said Sword  "It's over."

Violet turned her attention to their new guest, still unconscious on another bed.

She leaned out, stretching one hand over her head.

"Violet, are you sure you're well enough to do that?"

Violet looked up, glowing with a purple aura.  "I'm sure."

The girl coughed, and woke up.  Suddenly she sat up, startled.

"You are among friends" said Shadow.  "Do not fear."

"Where am I?"

"In a safe-house in New York.  What is your name?"

The white-haired woman looked confused.

"I… I don't remember."

A/N:  Well?  And for the record, Jean was only knocked out temporarily and came to before the ambulance got there.  She refused to go to hospital so she could go straight back to the mansion and tell the others that 'Ro had been kidnapped.  And yes, the power transfer between Rogue and Magneto will be permanent.  Why?  Because I want it to be.

Review, or the evil pixies will get you in your sleep.