Disclaimer: Do not own X-Men, no siree-bob!

A/N:  Sorry this chapter took so long.  Sometimes you just don't feel like writing, hmm?  Here it is now though for your viewing pleasure.  And, as promised, it features a good old fashioned slugfest.

So, a few votes for Marrow and Toad to get the hook up, hmm? Looks like I'll have to consider that.  As to Kitty and Piotr, sorry guys.  For the duration of this fic at least, she will be staying with Lance.

Evo fan: What are you doing, reading my mind?  Some of the things you mentioned will indeed be included in this story in the future.  What those are is still a secret.

Tiamat11: Glad you appreciate how I handle so many characters at once. It's not easy.

Also, I know there is no Brotherhood in this chapter, but I haven't forgotten about them, so don't worry.  That's about it for my ramblings, so enjoy the show!

Scott paced up and down the length of his basement prison.  He had been doing a lot of that lately.  Not like there was much else to do.  His brother Alex spent most of the time sleeping.  Of course, that could've had something to do with their failed escape attempt, which resulted in Alex getting drained by Sauron.  It wasn't bad, Alex was already showing signs of coming around, but it made for a very boring day for Scott with no one to talk to.

          They only saw their captors when they brought down meals, or escorted them to the bathroom twice a day.  Whatever it was that Sinister had them kidnapped for, he was certainly taking his time going about it.

          Scott glanced over at his brother when he heard Alex mutter something in his sleep.  Though it was hard to tell, it sounded something along the lines of 'Polaris.'  Scott had noticed that Alex seemed to have taken a bit of a liking to the green-haired girl, which of course didn't please him at all.  He was still trying to get over Kitty and Lance, and now his brother appeared to be falling in love with the enemy.

          Footsteps caught his attention.  He turned to see Rictor descending the stairs.  Scott longed to blast the arrogant jerk through the wall, but he would rather not have Sauron making a light snack out of him, so he settled for glaring menacingly from behind his glasses.

          "Why so sour, Summers?"  Rictor asked, leaning against the wall.  "Never mind, don't answer that.  Anyway, the boss wants to see you."

          "About time.  I was beginning to think he had forgotten about us down here."

          "Wouldn't that be something?  C'mon now."  Rictor gestured to the door.  Scott climbed the stairs with Rictor trailing behind.  They were met at the top by Marrow and Banshee, who formed a tight circle around Scott as they led him through the halls of the house.

          Scott was eventually deposited in Sinister's darkened room and left alone with the evil genius.  The same single candle was burning, providing the only light.  Scott could see Sinister seated in a high-backed chair, red eyes staring at him from the semi-darkness.

          "Well…?"  Scott said when Sinister didn't speak after a while.  "You ever going to tell me what this is all about or what?"

          Sinister smirked and leaned forward in his chair.  "Forgive me; I just enjoy seeing you squirm a bit."  Sinister leaned back again.  "Now then, the reason I have gone to the trouble of acquiring you and your brother is really quite simple.  You see, I am a geneticist by nature, and I like to fancy myself a rather good one.  The fact of the matter is, both you and your brother hold some very interesting prospects to me, and I would like the opportunity to learn more."

          Scott raised an eyebrow.  "And I suppose I'm just supposed to let you do as you will, hmm?"

          Sinister gave a lazy shrug.  "Not necessarily."  Then he made a gesture with one hand.

          Scott turned around just in time to see a flash of pink, then relentless agony blazed through his head for a few moments, and he blacked out soon after.

          "I think you enjoy you're job a little too much, Elizabeth."  Sinister said, smiling darkly.

          Psylocke grinned and tossed her purple hair over her shoulder, before taking hold of Scott's unconscious form and dragged him from the room.

          Charles Xavier gave a great sigh of exasperation and, in a rare display of anger, hurled Cerebro's helmet across the room.  It didn't get very far, given that it was attached to various cables and such, but it did give off a satisfying *CLANG* as it bounced off one of the transistors.

          Xavier massaged his forehead for a few minutes, attempting to dispel the frustration that welled up inside him.  Where ever Scott, Alex, Rogue, and Gambit were being held, Xavier could not locate them, even with Cerebro's help.

          Swiveling his chair around, Xavier left Cerebro behind and made his way down to the infirmary to check on the progress of it's remaining occupants.

          Kurt and Jean had been finally released, though neither had been called back to active duty.  Jean was constantly begging to help in the search for Scott, but Xavier did not want her to exhaust her mental energies in a fruitless search so soon after recovering.

          Kurt had been spending as much time with Amanda as possible, which was more than usual.  Her father had been strangely absent the last few days, having muttered something about a 'business trip' to his wife before departing.

          That left only Magneto, Pyro, and the Blob as residents of the medical bay.  Hank said their brain patterns were very strong, and they should all be recovered any time.  Xavier gazed at the sleeping form of his one-time friend and sighed.

          "Though we have never seen eye to eye, it pains me to see you like this Eric."  Xavier muttered, before turning his chair to leave.

          "You're concern is very touching, Charles."

          Xavier's head whipped around so fast, he cricked his head.  Magneto was staring up at him with his ice blue eyes, blinking slowly as though attempting to focus.

          "Eric, you're awake.  I must admit I was beginning to worry."

          Magneto raised his head slightly, glancing around.  It didn't take him long to realize where he was.  He set his head down again, breathing hard, having drained his limited reserves of energy in the one movement.  "How long have I lay incapacitated, Charles?"

          "Close to two weeks now."

          Magneto looked closely at Xavier, noting the worry lines that creased his old friend's face.  "What is troubling you, Charles?"

          Xavier let out a sigh, reminded of his earlier frustrations.  "Three of my students are missing, as is one of your Acolytes.  They were kidnapped, we believe, by the Marauders."

          Magneto blinked.  "I take that to mean, then, that after I was incapacitated, we lost the battle."

          Xavier smiled, though it held very little humor.  "Quite decisively, as Logan tells me."

          Magneto nodded slowly, his eyes falling closed.  "I need some time to rest.  My strength even now returns to me.  As soon as I am able, I will contribute as best I can to the rescue effort."

          "Do mine ears deceive me?  Are you offering to help me, Magnus?"

          "Don't sound so shocked, Charles.  It's quite obvious the Marauders are a threat to both our dreams.  I believe working together, we will be able to triumph in the end."  Magneto smirked.  "Then we can go back to our feuding."

          Xavier laughed despite himself.  "To think I'd live to see the day I looked forward to that."

          "Can someone tell me why, again, the boss has us memorizing maps of the cities' sewer system?"  Mimic asked, for what must've been the umpteenth time, as he poured over blueprints for the complex system of tunnels that run under Bayville with his fellow Marauders.

          "He hasn't told us why yet, dingus."  Marrow snarled as she studied her own plans.  "All that matters is that Sinister told us to, and when he says to do something, you do it."

          "Yeah, but, is seems so pointless just sitting here all day memorizing sewers when we can be doing more productive things."

          "I can assure you, Calvin, that everything I do has a point."

          Everyone sat up ramrod straight as Sinister strode into the room.  Mimic swallowed hard, sweating slightly at being caught contradicting his employer.

          "Ahh…aha…sir.  I…I didn't mean to suggest that your plans are pointless, I just…just…"

          "Calm yourself Calvin.  I realize that you all may be a little…restless, from such a prolonged span of inactivity.  That ends now.  I have a job for you."

          "What can we do for you, boss?"  Rictor asked.

          "You are to feed the X-Men false information about their captured teammates, lure them to a location I have selected, and make an example of them."

          The Marauders snapped off a salute, then left to carry out the plan.

          Sinister looked down at the sewer maps they had been studying, and a cruel grin spread slowly over his face.

          "I deal with you next."  He whispered.

          To Hank McCoy's delight, the infirmary at the Xavier Institute was finally empty.  Toad and Pyro had regained consciousness shortly after Magneto.  Toad opted to return to the boarding house with the rest of the Brotherhood.  Pyro stuck around the mansion with Magneto and Colossus while the search for Gambit and the others continued.  Magneto had attempted to call Sabertooth back to him, but had insofar been unsuccessful.

          The hunt for the three captured X-Men and one Acolyte was fairing no better.  The Marauders had done a superb job of covering their tracks so no leads could be found.  With no demands for ransom either, the X-Men were left quite simply in the dark.

          Xavier spent hours at a time connected to Cerebro, pouring every ounce of his considerable mental energies into the device, hoping for even the faintest glimmer that would give him some clue to the location of his missing students.  But they remained hidden from him, and each day his frustration grew closer to the bursting point.  Cerebro's helmet had already needed to be replaced once, for it had become dented from being repeatedly thrown against walls, control panels, or anything else Xavier could reach.  Charles felt that if this kept up any longer, he'd suffer a nervous breakdown.

          Xavier wheeled his chair out from Cerebro's chambers, a disgruntled look on his face from yet another fruitless session.  He was so absorbed in his continued failures, that he at first failed to notice an odd noise building somewhere in the distance.  As the minutes went by, however, he picked up on it and hurried to the mansion's upper levels, intent on discovering the source.  When he reached the main hall, he noticed most of his students milling around, looks of wonder on their faces.  Logan's expression suggested he was extremely uncomfortable.

          "I know that shriek."  He growled.

          For that was indeed what it was.  A high-pitched wailing that grew more incessant as the source came closer.

          And then Banshee appeared in the skies over the mansion, his form clearly visible through the large front doors.  The wailing died down as he slowed to a hover, looking down at those assembled before addressing them.

          "I've come teh invite ye all teh a wee get together.  Come teh the harbor at the stroke o' midnight.  Yer friends' lives hang in the balance."  His message delivered, Banshee turned and took off the way he came, his wailing fading as he receded into the distance.

          As Storm gazed down at the darkened harbor from her perch, she was barely able to suppress a shudder.  The last time she had been to the docks, the Hungan had nearly succeeded in stealing her soul away from her forever.  Being here again brought those unpleasant memories to the fore.  It was a bit like her claustrophobia.

          Still, she had a job to do, and the lives of her friends would not be forfeit because she failed to act. Raising her communicator to her mouth, she whispered, "All clear.  No sign of the Marauders, nor do I see Scott and the others."

          There was a moment of silence before Wolverine's gruff voice answered.  "Alright, then we start moving in.  Keep sharp people, there are a million places for them to hide."

          Storm acknowledged, then clicked off her communicator.  Glancing behind her, she made a hand motion, then began to advance forward, moving through the shadows cast by large crates, calling on every skill she had learned as a child growing up in the streets of Kenya.

          Behind her, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Wolfsbane, Berserker, Jubilee, Magma, Multiple and Pyro crept along behind her, moving as silently as they could manage.  To have any hope of coming out alive, their plan needed to go off without a hitch.  Storm could only hope her group, comprised mostly of rookies, was up to the task.

          A few hundred yards away from Storm's position, Wolverine led his group into the wharf.  With Magneto floating along beside him, and accompanied by Avalanche, Jean, Sunspot, the Beast, Cannonball, Iceman, and Colossus, they were an imposing group, and that was exactly what they counted on.  The plan of action called for Wolverine's group to plow right in, making as much noise as possible to draw the attention of the Marauders, while Storm's group flanked them from behind, hopefully catching them by surprise.

          Logan turned to Avalanche and gave him a nod.  "Alright Earth shaker, let 'em know we're here."

          Lance grinned, then his eyes rolled back and he extended his arms outward.  The ground began to shake violently.  The old wooden planks that made up the docks rattled, some came loose and fell into the water.  Crates and boxes vibrated so hard they shifted across the ground slightly.  Cranes swayed dangerously, threatening to topple over and smash buildings beneath their long arms.

          They got the affect they were hoping for.  Punctuated by Banshee's horrid wailing, the Marauders came pouring out of the shadows, pelting for Wolverine's group.  Jean aimed a mental bolt for Banshee immediately, not wanting to give him a chance to debilitate them with this sonic scream.  Her attack bounced harmlessly off his mind though.  Frowning, she realized Psylocke must have established mental blocks for her teammates, as the Professor did for his X-Men.

          The point became moot, anyhow.  Cannonball launched himself at Banshee, and the Irishman became too involved in his aerial dogfight to worry about attacking the group as a whole.

          Magneto floated upwards, staring out at the creature known as Sauron from the confines of his helmet.  "Come, creature.  Let us pit our skills against each other."

         Sauron's beak curved upwards in a vicious approximation of a smile.  "Why go to the trouble.  Submit to me, and make things so much easier on yourself."

          Magneto smirked.  "Do not waste my time.  Your hypnotic powers are useless against me."

          Sauron's yellow eyes narrowed slightly.  "So it would seem.  Then perhaps we should do this the old fashioned way!"  With a mighty flap of his wings, Sauron propelled himself straight at the Master of Magnetism.  Magneto twisted his upper body, reaching out with his arms and clamping them around Sauron's waist as he flew past.  Holding tightly to the struggling saurian, Magneto grasped a pile of slim, metal pipes within his magnetic control, and used them to bind Sauron, rendering him incapable of flapping his wings.  He deposited the man-beast contemptuously on the ground, where he continued to shriek in protest.

          Psylocke looked about uneasily as Wolverine bore down on her position.  The last thing she wanted to do was get into another brawl with the scrappy Canadian, her last one didn't go off so well.

          Fortunately, she was spared the fight when a voice rang out behind Wolverine.  "Logan, let me handle her!  I've got a few things the set straight with dear Psylocke here."  Jean floated down beside her comrade, fixing Betsy with a steely gaze.

          Psylocke stared back, a smirk crawling up the sides of her lips.  "You want me to send you into another coma, luv?  Very well, who am I to refuse?"

          Wolverine glanced sidelong at Jean.  "You sure about this Red?  After what happened last time…"

          Jean sniffed.  "I've learned a lot since then.  I can take care of myself this time."

          Logan nodded, though a bit reluctantly.  "Alright, but you watch yourself this time."  Turning, he bounded off to find himself a fight to get into.

          Soon, the wharf became the sight of a massive free-for-all.  Banshee and Cannonball continued to dodge and weave in mid-air.  Banshee directed his sonic scream in its' most concentrated form directly at Sam, but the sound waves rolled harmlessly off Cannonball's kinetic envelope.  Banshee was far more maneuverable in the air, however, and deftly avoided Sam's repeated charges.

          Wolverine slugged it out with Bishop.  Unable to use his absorbing powers, Bishop attempted to pick Wolverine off using his futuristic firearm.  A deft swipe from Logan's claws, and Bishop's weapon suddenly became a sawed-off.  Tossing the stub of the gun aside, Bishop latched onto Wolverine with his large hands, heaving him upwards and throwing him with all his might into the side of a crane.  Wolverine bounced off with a grunt, jumped to his feet, and charged to engage the big man once again.

          Polaris used her own magnetic powers to free Sauron from his bonds, and the winged beast took off after Magneto again.  He was stopped when a blast of intense cold froze one of his wings to the side of his body.  Screeching as he fell to ground again, Sauron twisted so that he landed on the frozen appendage, shattering the ice surrounding it.  Iceman glided by on an ice slide, waving.

          "Catch me if you can ugly!"  He shouted, before sliding on.  Sauron took off after the boy, shouting about all the terrible things he'd do to him when he caught him.

          Marrow tossed bone after bone at the Beast, but the agile mutant was always one step ahead of her, bounding this way and that to avoid her deadly projectiles.

          "Will you hold still you blue gorilla?!"  She shouted as she whirled around to fling a bone shard at Hank as he leaped over her head.

          "If I wanted to become the world's furriest pin cushion, I certainly would hold still.  As it is…" Grabbing onto a protruding 2x4, Hank spun around it several times, gathering momentum, before launching himself at Marrow, planting both of his oversized feet directly into her chest, knocking her backwards through three crates.  "I'd rather save myself the discomfort; I take enough bumps and bruises dealing with the New Mutants."

          "So, I take it you want to play another round of who shakes the hardest?"  Avalanche asked as he faced down Rictor, fists clenched.

          Rictor shook his head.  "Naw, did that already.  New game, it's called 'I splatter you across the next ten miles'."  Rictor clapped his hands, directing a blast of seismic energy towards the stack of crates Avalanche was perched on.  Lance leapt away as the boxes dissolved into toothpicks below him.  As he landed, Lance directed a burst of his power into the ground directly below him, resulting in the ground rearing up in a circle around him.  The earthen waves rolled forward and crashed down, sending chunks of mortar raining on Rictor.  Rictor directed more seismic waves at the deadly projectiles, reducing most to dust.  A softball size rock slipped through his defenses, smacking him directly between the eyes.

          Rictor blinked, disoriented and fell over backwards, blood beginning to trickle down his nose from the wound.  Avalanche smirked at his handiwork and began to move in for the kill.  Rictor, however, was not knocked completely senseless by the blow.  Glancing behind him, he saw the base of a crane not four feet away.  Scrambling over, he placed his hand against the cool metal and began to pump seismic power into it.  The apparatus began to sway violently, then it tipped over and began to descend towards Avalanche.

          Lance looked up at it, eyes widening slightly.  His brain began to work furiously, trying to find a way out of this one.  Kitty was a part of Storm's team, and wasn't around to save his hide this time.

          With no better plan of action making itself apparent to him, Lance did what came naturally.  Throwing his hands into the air, he closed his eyes, summoned up every ounce of strength he could, and poured his power upwards to meet the descending crane, and hoped for the best.

          Colossus had never quite found himself in a situation like this before.  Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs caused by the glancing blow to his metallic skull, he focused his eyes on his opponent once more.  Mimic had copied his own ability to change his flesh into organic metal with exact precision, right down to eyeballs that could resist a .45 caliber bullet.  The two were now engaged in a heavyweight slugfest, metallic fists exchanging punishing blows, with neither gaining the upper hand.

          Mimic charged in, right fist swinging.  Colossus feinted to one side, locking Mimic's wrist in a tight grip, before backhanding him with his free hand.  Mimic's head snapped backwards with a grunt, but he was aware of himself enough to slam his boot into Piotr's shin.  Piotr's leg buckled underneath him, and he lost his balance, likewise losing his grip on Mimic's hand.  Taking advantage, Mimic grabbed Colossus' head in both hands, then slammed his knee into Piotr's jaw.

          Piotr's head rang, literally, with the force of the blow.  His vision swam for a moment, Mimic falling out of focus, but the Acolyte was still cognizant of his surroundings.  A steel I-beam, rusted from age and exposure to the salty air, lay just outside his reach.

          Feigning a look of pain greater than what he actually felt, Colossus rolled to his side, clutching his head and making a show about how much the blow hurt.  Mimic's ego appeared to be pleased by this, as he did nothing but stand by with a stupid grin on his face as he watched his opponent writhe.

          A grin that was quickly wiped off when five-hundred pounds of metal connected with the side of his head, actually snapping over his copied metallic skin.  Even through his armor, Mimic felt the blow rattle his skull.  Stars danced in front of his eyes, and then fresh pain exploded anew as Colossus slammed a double-fisted blow into his chin.  Mimic reeled backwards, trying to muster a defense, but Colossus was relentless.  A shot to the sternum, a blow to the kidneys, a devastating kick that drove the air right out of him, Mimic doubled over, coughing.  With a final, earth-shattering hit, Mimic was driven face-first into the ground, his skin returning to normal as consciousness left him.

          For all the fighting going on, Sunspot found himself without a sparing partner.  Wolverine's group outnumbered the Marauders by one, leaving everyone paired off in battle except for Roberto.  This, the more logical side of his mind reflected, was probably a good thing.  As it was night time, he only had stored solar energy to run off of, and that was finite.  Any exposure to prolonged battle, and he was sure he'd run dry.

          His eye's fell on Wolverine's battle with Bishop.  The large man with the strange M tattoo was putting up an exceptional fight against Logan, using whatever he could get his hands on as a weapon to keep Wolverine out of arm's reach, while simultaneously battering him.

          Roberto finally saw an opportunity to make himself useful.  Drawing on his limited reserves of solar energy, Sunspot powered up and flew directly at the battle.  Drawing back a fist, he let loose with a blast of intense solar energy aimed directly at Bishop.

          Bishop saw this coming and smirked triumphantly.  Tossing away the metal pipe he had currently been fending Logan off with, he turned to the incoming blast and took it head-on, absorbing it all into his body.

          Sunspot blinked.  "Uhh…uh…"

          Wolverine was furious.  "What in the blazes do you think yer doin'?!"  He yelled, flushing under his mask.  "Of all the moronic…!"

          His angry tirade was cut off when a blast of redirected solar energy caught him full on in the chest, lifting him off the ground, sending him flying fifty-feet backwards to land in the water with a splash.

          "Goddess!"

          Storm gasped from her hiding spot as she watched Wolverine get dumped in the drink by Bishop, who had turned his attention back to Sunspot, and the two were now engaged in a battle that involved them hurling solar bolts back and forth at each other.

          A few feet away, Lance lay unconscious under a pile of twisted metal that had once been a crane.  His plan had worked to a point; the application of his powers had slowed the crane's descent enough that it wouldn't crush his skull under its weight, but the impact had been enough to knock him out.  Nightcrawler and Berserker had been forced to physically restrain Shadowcat from rushing out of hiding when it happened, and she was now steadily ignoring both of them.

          Beside her, Storm felt a patch of darkness shift slightly.  She knew it was actually Kurt, whose indigo fur made it very easy for him to blend in with the shadows.  He leaned in and whispered to her.

          "I think maybe it's time to spring our trap, ja?"

          Storm nodded slowly and turned to face the rest of her team.  "Yes.  Now, we must proceed carefully, we don't want to tip our hand…St. John, no!"

          Unfortunately for them, Pyro wasn't made for sneaking around.  His already limited patience at an end, he had sprung from his hiding spot, laughing in that maniacal way of his, and was now charging down the Marauders, flame's spewing from his repaired flamethrowers.

          "About time we lit this shindig up, eh mates?!"  He shouted gleefully, directing jets of flames at Polaris.  The green-haired girl shrieked and grabbed a slab of metal in her telekinetic grip, raising it in front of her like a shield.  With a mental jerk, Pyro directed the flames up and over the barrier, twisting them into a hellish version of a cobra, rearing to strike.  Polaris sent the sheet metal tumbling end over end at Pyro.  The distraction succeeded in breaking his concentration, and the flame serpent dissolved.  Leaping out of the way, Pyro rolled for cover behind a crate.  Peeking over, he shot more flames in Polaris' direction, twisting them into a circle, where they surrounded her, rising into an impenetrable wall.

          By now, Storm's group of mutants had joined the fray.  Rahne shifted into her four-legged wolf form and pounced, snarling, on a very surprised Marrow, who was still attempting to skewer the Beast on her bone shards.

          Kurt teleported from where he crouched, hidden, directly in front of Rictor.  He was so surprised at the fuzzy elf's appearance that he didn't even think to try using his powers against him.  His moment of indecision served Kurt well.  With an agile back flip, Nightcrawler slammed both his feet into Rictor's jaw.

          Rictor stumbled backwards, dazed from the blow, and bumped right into Jamie.  Immediately, there were six more Jamie's.  All seven of them piled on top of Rictor, clutching his arms and legs, making it quite difficult to move.

          Geroff me you little monkeys!"  He shouted, attempting to dislodge them with violent seismic quakes.  Unfortunately, every time he jostled on of the Jamie's into another, two more popped up.  Within moments, he was buried under a mountain of Multiple's.

          Sauron flapped mightily, screeching in protest as his prey, Iceman, continued to evade him, constantly slipping out of his grasp with the ease of his namesake.  More than once, Sauron had attempted to subdue him with his hypnotic powers, but Bobby's youthful exuberance provided an excellent countermeasure.  Calming down was just not something the Master of Pranks did.

          "What's the matter ugly?  Not wearing you out am I?"  Iceman called as he slid by Sauron on his slide, going the opposite direction, forcing the reptilian beast to change direction again.

          "I shall enjoy feasting on you abundance of energy, child!"  Sauron screeched as he whirled in mid-air, changing his trajectory to pursue Iceman again.

          "Aahh, idle threats.  Gotta catch me first!"  Bobby stuck his icy tongue out at Sauron before going into a dive, then twisting in a corkscrew fashion to further throw off his pursuer, and climbing again.

          Sauron made to turn again and continue his pursuit, when a sudden jolt of electricity shot through his nervous system, momentarily robbing him of his mobility.  Tumbling downwards, he passed by a triumphant looking Berserker, before crashing headlong into a pile of wooden planks.

          Jean and Psylocke stood rooted to the spot, eyes closed, sweat running down their foreheads as they concentrated on the mental tug-of-war they were engaged in.  The battle raged around them, as Shadowcat came to Sunspot's aid against Bishop, and Magma helped Cannonball battle Banshee.

          Finally, both women broke away from their mental stalemate, breathing hard.

          "Well, I see you have managed to improve greatly since the last time I whipped you."  Psylocke said, brushing away sweat-soaked bangs from her pretty face, revealing once again the red tattoo in the shape of a J over her left eye.  "That's okay though, I'd much rather do this in a more personal fashion."  Psylocke leaped straight at Jean, foot extended forward in a kick.  Jean floated up out of the way, allowing Psylocke to pass under her.  Betsy hit a crate, rebounded, and directed her trajectory upwards, catching Jean unprepared in the back.  Jean tumbled forward with a cry, but managed to snag Psylocke in her mental grasp, sending the Japanese girl with the British accent slamming gracelessly into the hard wood of the docks.

          "Since I couldn't drag the answer out of your mind, I'll ask you up front, where's Scott?"

          Psylocke pushed herself to her feet, tossing her hair over one shoulder with a contemptuous flick of her head.

          "He's not here.  Nor are any of your other friends.  We laid out a trap for you, and you, being your predictable selves, stumbled right in.  Now, I think it's time you met our ace in the hole!"

          Jean caught a bright, reddish-pink glow out of the corner of her eye.  She twisted her head in time to see four small objects streaking in before they slammed into the ground at her feet.  Exploding on Impact, Jean was sent hurtling backwards, straight into Nightcrawler.

          All activity stopped.  The Marauders all smirked knowingly.  The X-Men stared in shocked horror at the spot where the blast had originated from.

          Standing there, silhouetted against the moonlight, trenchcoat flapping in the gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean, and wearing a morose expression on his face, was Gambit.

          Reaching into his coat, he pulled out three more playing cards, which began to glow ominously in his hands.

          "Sorry, mon ami's," He said in a quiet voice.  "But Gambit, he don' have no say in da matter."  Then, with a flick of his wrist, he hurled the cards at his friends.

Ah yes, nothing like a good brawl to get the blood pumping, hmm?  So, Gambit has been forced into combat against the people he's supposed to be allies with.  He must really care for Rogue to do that, hmm?  Wonder what else Sinister will make him do.  You don't think it would have anything to do with those maps the Marauders were studying, do you?  No…he wouldn't…

Well, that's what you'll have to find out in later chapters.  Until then, reviews are great.  Cobra awayyyyy!