Disclaimer:  No own characters.  Durh.

            A/N:  Howdy!  Chapter 4, woo!  Sorry its late, a combination of "Blackout 2003" and a night at the movies pushed back my schedule a bit.  I know its short, but hey, our heroes need time to recover right?  Right.  On with the show!

"Have you guys seen the Professor lately?"  Bobby Drake asked from his current position, sitting upside-down in his favorite chair in the mansions rec room.

          Samuel Gunthrie looked up at Bobby from the book he was reading, one hand brushing his blond bangs away from his eyes.  "Why d'ya ask?"

          Bobby righted himself in the chair.  "I just saw him with Dr. McCoy a little while ago; he seemed really worried about something.

          "You think it might have something to do with that mission Logan and the others went on a little while ago?"  Roberto DaCosta asked.  He was currently seated in front of the TV, badly beating Jubilee at the video game they were playing.

          "I think that might be it."  Bobby nodded his head enthusiastically at the breakthrough.  "We haven't heard anything from them in a long while."

          "Bobby's right."  Sam said, his voice tinged with a "good ol' Southern boy" accent, not dissimilar to Rogue's.  "They left, what, four hours ago?"

          Further discussion ended when the new recruits heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up to the mansion.  In the next few moments, Shadowcat phased through the door, in too much of a rush to bother opening it.  The students were rather surprised to see Avalanche following her.

          "Where's the Professor?!"  Shadowcat asked, wasting no time on greetings.  She seemed about two seconds away from launching into hysterics.

          Bobby blinked, and pointed to the left.  "Uh, in the kitchen with Dr. McCoy, last I saw."

          Kitty didn't even bother with a 'thank you', and merely rushed off to the kitchen, Lance in tow.

          Xavier and Hank were on their fourth cup of tea when the two teenagers burst into the door.

          "Professor!  Professor!  Quickly, you gotta, I mean, you must…"  Kitty had finally begun to run short of breath, and she bent over, gasping for air.

          "Kitty.  Kitty!  Katharine, please!  Calm down, child, and tell me what happened.  Where are the others?"

          Off to one side, Lance raised a quizzical eyebrow.  Katharine?  He thought to himself.  It had never occurred to him that 'Kitty' wasn't her real name.

          Finally, Kitty composed herself enough to form complete sentences.  "We…we were fighting the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes.  And then, this group of mutants showed up.  They called themselves the…the…"

          "Marauders."  Lance supplied helpfully.

          "Yeah, the Marauders."  Kitty continued.  "They challenged us, and we all teamed up to fight them and…and…oh, Professor it was horrible!  They wiped the floor with us, every last one of us!  Logan and Storm and Scott and Jean and everybody!  Even Magneto!"  Kitty could contain herself no more, and finally broke down in tears, sobbing on the kitchen floor.

          To his credit, Lance looked like he was about to step forward and wrap his arms around her, but he stopped, unsure how to act in front of Xavier and the Beast.

          Xavier snapped into action with little hesitation.  Turning to Lance, he fixed the earth mover with a steely gaze.

          "Lance, I know we've had our differences, but right now I must ask for your full cooperation.  Do you understand?"  Lance nodded his head immediately.  "Good.  I will need you to show us exactly where this battle took place.  Hank, please go to the hanger and prepare the Velocity for take off."

          The Beast nodded once, then turned and bounded from the room.  Xavier looked back to Lance.  "Please take Kitty to her room, and then come down to the hanger, you remember where it is, correct?"

          Lance nodded, then reached down to lightly grasp Kitty's arm.  Still in a slight state of shock, she didn't even acknowledge him as she allowed herself to be led out of the room in a daze.

          Xavier watched them go, then turned his wheelchair and rolled from the kitchen.  On his way to the mansion's sub-levels, a sudden thought struck him, and he paused, closing his eyes to concentrate, sending out a telepathic message.

          Iceman, Cannonball, Sunspot.  Suit up and report to the hanger immediately.

          Avalanche slowly picked his way through the mansion's numerous corridors, drawing on the limited knowledge he had gained about its' layout from his brief stay.  Kitty wasn't any help, as she continued to merely stumble along in a daze.  She was apparently suffering some type of shellshock, having just experienced her first major combat defeat, one that could have permanent ramifications.

          Lance was more than a tad shaken up himself, but he did his best to keep it from showing.  Eventually, he managed to find the room he was reasonably sure Kitty shared with Rogue and guided her in, flipping on the light.

          Kitty crossed the room to her bed and curled up in the corner, clutching her pillow to her chest.  Lance made to leave, then stopped himself as he looked back at her.  Remembering that no one else was here, and there was no reason for him to keep up the tough guy act.  He walked over to stand by the side of her bed, then knelt down, grasping her shoulders and shaking her lightly.

          "Kitty.  Hey, Kitty.  C'mon Kitty-Kat, talk to me."

          Kitty started.  Lance hadn't used that name for her in months.  Hearing it now jolted her out of her funk.  "Lance?"  She asked, as if seeing him for the first time all day.  "What…what's gonna happen?"

          "I'm going to take Professor Xavier and Doctor McCoy over to where we fought."

          Kitty's blue eyes widened, and she sat up straighter, her hands shooting out to grip Lance's arms.  "No!  You can't!  What if the Marauders are still there?  You might get hurt, or ki…kil…"  Kitty couldn't bring herself to finish the thought.

          In a sudden moment of clarity, Lance realized what a jerk he had been up until now.  What use did he have for hanging with a group of mutants whose greatest goal in life was to foster hostilities between mutants and normal humans?  Was that supposed to make him proud?  Was that supposed to make him happy?

          "Fuck that."  He muttered.  What really made him happy was sitting right in front of him.  Things were going to change in the future.  But first…

          "Listen, we'll pull out at the first sign of trouble, okay?  We won't be long, I promise.  Just sit tight, we'll be back with the others before you know it."

          Kitty sniffed, tears threatening to brim over her eyes.  "You…you promise?"

          "Promise."  Lance said.  Then, with a smile, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.  With a final wink, he stood and left the room.

          After a few wrong turns, and some mental guiding from Xavier, Avalanche finally arrived in the hanger.  The Professor and the Beast were already aboard the Velocity, along with the three New Mutants whose presence Xavier had requested.

          As Lance stepped aboard and strapped himself in, and Hank lifted the craft into the air, Xavier glanced at Lance.  He already knew Kitty's condition, but for the sake of the other non-mind readers he asked anyway.  "How is Shadowcat?"

          "She'll be fine, I guess, as long as we all come back alive.  Professor, there's something I wanted to ask you…"

          Xavier nodded, but held up a hand to forestall further conversation.  "I understand, Lance.  We will discuss it in full when we have returned, but for the moment, I need you to give Dr. McCoy precise directions to the military outpost."

          Xavier was chilled to his heart at the scene that greeted him when the Velocity touched down at their destination.  Signs of a terrible fight were everywhere, and the bodies of various members of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Acolytes were scattered across the blasted earth.  Sabertooth and Wolverine were moving around, keeping a weary eye on each other as they tried to rouse their comrades.

          Rogue and Quicksilver were already up and about, having received the lightest beating from the power-copying Mimic.  They were helping Boom-Boom and Toad to their feet, both still fairly groggy.

          Cyclops was barely awake, but still managed to drag himself over to Jean's side, who still had not recovered from her psychic battle with Psylocke.

          Gambit dragged himself to his feet, an ugly bruise was spread across his temple, reaching part of his forehead.

          The Scarlet Witch was the next one to revive.  With her frazzled hair, her appearance would almost be considered comical, were the situation not so grave.

          Colossus was lying on his back, his eyes open.  He was aware of his surroundings, but hadn't yet shaken off Psylocke's debilitating attack enough to get up.

          Nightcrawler, the Blob, Pyro, and Magneto, all the victims of Sauron's parasitic powers, had not yet regained consciousness.

          The Velocity circled the battlefield once until it received the all clear from Wolverine, then settled down on an empty stretch, kicking up a large amount of sand and dirt until its' rotors died down, and its' passengers disembarked.

          Both Iceman and Sunspot were in their powered up states, weary of their surroundings.  They both kept glancing over their shoulders, as if expecting an attack at any moment.  Cannonball was just as edgy, ready to start blasting around at the first sign of trouble.

          Lance's fists were clenched as he stepped out of the craft.  When he walked slight, almost imperceptible tremors shook the ground.  The Beast came shuffling off second, long, hairy arms dragging slightly behind him.  Xavier rolled off last, shocked into silence.  He looked up when he sensed Logan approaching him.

          "Logan, what happened…how did this…?"

          Wolverine shook his head dejectedly.  "It was bad Chuck.  We never really stood a chance.  We had the advantage nearly twenty to eight, and they systematically ripped right through every last one of us, except fer Avalanche and the half-pint, o' course."

          "Who were these mutants?"  Xavier asked, dumbfounded.  Surely the X-Men had been trained better than this.  And the Brotherhood and Acolytes too?

          "I can give ya a full rundown when we're back at the mansion.  Right now, though, we got wounded that need taken care of."

          "Oh…oh, yes of course!  Forgive me Logan I seem to have forgotten myself for a moment.  Yes, please see to it that the wounded are loaded into the Velocity and the Blackbird.  I'm sure Quicksilver and Rogue will be able to help you."  Xavier didn't bother mentioning Sabertooth; he highly doubted Wolverine's eternal rival would be of any help.

          But Sabertooth ended up surprising Xavier.  The results of the battle, or perhaps something else Xavier hadn't thought off, seemed to have put a damper on the normally volatile mutant.  Either way, he was of great help loading his fallen comrades onto the waiting air craft.

          With Hank once again at the helm of the Velocity, and Wolverine piloting the Blackbird, the two air vehicles, both ahead of their time, streaked across the sky, heading once more to the safety of home.

          Professor Xavier rubbed his head with a sigh.  He could feel the headache coming on.  Across the room from where he sat, the Beast bustled about the med-lab, seeing to his various patients who lay sprawled on the numerous beds.  Even those who were awake were ordered to lie still until Dr. McCoy had given them a clean bill of health.

          Only Wolverine stood with the Professor now.  Hank hadn't even bothered with him, knowing he'd survived much worse.  Sabertooth also bit to bypass the medical testing, and he was currently occupying a corner of the room, looking gloomy and surly.

          "Alright, Logan, about these Marauders?"

          "Right, OK.  First, there was this guy named Rictor.  He seemed like he was the leader.  His powers were a lot like Avalanches'.  Then there was this chick with green hair.  Polaris, I think her name was.  Anyway, she had magnetic powers, though they weren't nearly as strong as Magneto's."

          "That should prove an interesting development in the future."  Xavier muttered.  "Please go on, Logan."

          "Well, then there was this guy called Mimic.  He's pretty self-explanatory, he can copy powers."

          "Like Rogue?"

          "Er, something like that.  Only he don't have to touch you to make it work.  Then there was Banshee, another self-explanatory one.  He's got a set of lungs that flamin' hurt.  Let's see…right, then there was Bishop, big ol' guy.  Seemed that whenever someone hit him with energy based powers, he'd just absorb them and shoot 'em right back."

          "That'll create problems for a good number of our team."

          "Yeah.  Then there was this girl, Marrow.  She had the same powers as Spyke, bones and everything."

          Xavier raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't interrupt.  Logan continued.

          "Then there was this chick with purple hair.  Psylocke she called herself.  She's a telepath an' telekinetic.  She's got this nasty little number she does with her right hand.  Forms a kinda blade out of psychic energy an' jams it right into yer head.  I had the distinct pleasure o' bein' on the receiving end o' that twice."

          "I see, I see.  This is getting more distressing by the moment, I'm beginning to see why you were all so easily beaten.  Is that it, then?"

          Wolverine shook his head with a sardonic smirk.  "Naw.  If that was the case, I think we coulda won.  But you ain't heard the worst of it.  I haven't told ya about the one that got to them."  He waved his hand, gesturing to a set of four beds, which held Magneto, Pyro, the Blob, and Nightcrawler.

          "Yes, I've been wondering about those four.  Just what could have done that to them?  Magneto especially."

          "Well, that was the handiwork of the one called Sauron.  Ugliest sonofabitch I ever seen.  Looks like someone spliced a pterodactyl with a human.  Anyway, it ain't bad enough he's got these hypnotic powers that stop you in your tracks.  No, then he goes and drains you of all yer energy.  Creed over there is the only one to wake up so far, and that's only on account o' his healing powers."

          By the time Logan had finished recounting the events of the battle, Xavier had a very bad headache indeed.  Deciding he had heard enough for the time being, he wheeled his chair across the room to where the Beast was bent over Nightcrawler's bed, holding one eyelid open and shining a penlight into his eye, with no response.

          "How are your patients, Hank?"

          The Beast sighed and straightened up, clicking off his penlight.  "Rogue and Pietro are the best off of them all at the moment.  They'll be up and about in no time.  Tabitha and Wanda shouldn't be too far behind.  Neither should be our friend the Toad.

          "The charming Mr. LeBeau has gotten himself a nasty concussion, but that does not seem to have hampered his attempts at sweet-talking Rogue."  Hank smiled slightly, revealing his fangs.

          "Ororo is going to have a few bruises, but I expect her to make a full recovery.  Scott, Jean, and the Acolyte who calls himself Colossus were all on the receiving end of some harsh psychic attacks.  Cyclops and Colossus are recovering slowly but surely, but alas, I have seen no signs of Jean regaining consciousness any time soon.

          "And as for these four…"  Hank gestured to the fallen mutants who had been the victims of the parasitic Sauron.  "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do except wait for their bodies to replenish to the energy lost to them."

          Xavier sighed as Hank finished his report.  He was definitely going to be making friends with the Advil tonight.  "It seems that, for the moment, we are at a severe disadvantage.  I can only hope our enemies have the courtesy to wait until we are at full strength before deciding to strike again."

          "Since when has that ever happened?"  Hank asked, though he wasn't expecting an answer.

Yeehaw, another chapter done.  I know that was a short one, but like I mentioned, this was just basically a post-humongous battle chapter.  Lot's more will be happening next time, as the identity of the Marauders' leader will be revealed! (for those that haven't guessed, that is.)  Also, I need all of your help on something.  Pairings.  Yes, I need your opinions on some pairings.  I already know the obvious ones, like Rogue and Remy, Kurt and Amanda, Scott and Jean, Lance and Kitty, and the like.  But what about some of the Brotherhood, or the Acolytes?  Don't forget the Marauders!  Bad guys need some lovin' too!  Let me know what you think in your reviews.  Peace!  Cobra awayyyyy!!!