Magneto, still in the control room where he had been 'defeated', was tempted to lose his temper at the turn of events. Pyro was dead. Silverback, his ace in the hole, was dead. Wolverine was on the loose, about to rejoin the X-Men. And now it seemed that Angel and Nightcrawler had managed to escape, though he had no idea how.

            A lesser mutant would have lashed out, and the room would probably be in shambles after his outburst. But Magneto was one of the greatest strategists since Hitler, and he was wise enough not to have that infamous dictator's outer fury. He kept it inside, in the private shell he had created for himself.

            The plan would have to be altered. That much was obvious now. Wolverine's capture had been essential, and it had been fumbled. Magneto realized it was his fault, really. He should have realized that one such as Logan was much too ornery to let fear control him. It would have worked on any of the other X-Men, he was sure about it. Except Cyclops.

            Cyclops was another X-factor in the plan. He had proven an exceptionally capable leader in the past, better so in combat than Magneto himself. But he would be defeated. Failure was not an option.

            Thinking a few moments more, recalling every step of the plan in his mind. He sighed in acceptance that his precious scheme was being altered and called in on the rest of Menace.

            "Menace, this is Magneto. Repeat, this is Magneto. Do you read me?"

            "Read you loud and clear, Magneto," answered the voice of Sabretooth. "Listen boss, did you really order the little hypnotizin' runt to come here?"

            "Yes. This part is one of the most delicate stages of the plan, Sabretooth, and we cannot fail in the fight against the X-Men. We will need every member we can spare after two deaths."

            Sabretooth audibly grunted in dissatisfaction. "Okay. What were you calling for anyway?"

            Magneto smiled. Sabretooth wasn't as stupid as he had thought. Good. "The plan is being changed. Nightcrawler and Angel are free."

            Sabretooth swore.

            "If my estimate is correct, they will rejoin the rest of the X-Men, with Wolverine, in a matter of seconds. I am going to follow through with my part of the plan; you follow through with yours. If you go down in the battle, radio me. But don't go down."

            "You got it, Magneto. We won't fail this time."

            "Let's hope not… for your sakes."

            Nightcrawler, after being freed of the shackles, had been able to teleport out of the dungeon easily. Apparently, the effect they had on his mutant powers only worked when he was bound with them. He quickly teleported out of the room, and Angel was soon freed as well.

            "Well… where do we go now?" he asked Kurt.

            "Um… I have no idea!"

            Both stared at the other and shrugged. "I suppose," said Kurt, "I could 'port around until I find them."

            Warren frowned. "Yeah, but what'll I do in the meantime? Especially if I'm attacked."

            Kurt shrugged again. "Just a thought."

            They both stood silent for a moment, trying to figure out the fastest way to find their friends.

            Suddenly, Angel heard a banging noise around the corner of the corridor. He made the 'shh' motion with his finger and crept over to the corner. H motioned with three fingers, then two, then one, as though to count down. When his hand ran out of fingers, he leapt from behind the wall and attacked the intruder. He felt a punch to the face before he could identify what it was. He smelled brimstone and felt Nightcrawler land on his back in a puff of smoke.

            Both were thrown off in a tremendous show of strength, and Angel felt a kick to the stomach. "This guy's so fast I can't even see him!" he thought. He aimed a punch at the attacker blindly, but it turned the punch into a beneficial judo flip over its head.

            Nightcrawler rushed forward, but stopped short. "Wolverine!?!" he cried.

            "How ya doin', misfit?" grunted Logan, his lip bloody and costume torn.

            But Angel did not hear any of this and rushed forward blindly, going for a punch to Logan's face. Logan grabbed the fist with his hand and leaned towards Angel. "Howdy."

            Angel fell backwards from a slight push. "Wolverine!?!" he said, repeating Nightcrawler perfectly in total astonishment. Realizing who he had been fighting, he quickly said, "Oh, um, sorry if I hurt you--"

            Wolverine smiled. "I'd say I've got more to be sorry for than you, Wings," watching Angel wipe blood off his lip.

            Angel smiled and pointed. "When this is all over, I want a rematch in the Danger Room, Wolvie."

            Logan smiled. "How bad do you wanna keep that lip, Wings?"

            They all laughed. Kurt asked, "Logan, how did you fare against Silverback?"

            Logan's smile vanished at the memory. "He's dead. I'm not. Long story, misfit. Not now."

            He looked around. "So, where's Cyke and he rest of our buddies?"

            Kurt scratched his head in embarrassment. "We… um… don't really… know!"

            Wolverine gave a big fake sigh. "I'll find 'em, elf, don't worry."

            He gave a quick sniff and pointed down the hall. "They're in that room over there."

            Kurt looked toward Angel. "I told you, dumbkopff!"

            Angel slapped him over the back of his head. "You did not!"

            Wolverine turned around and unsheathed his claws with a quick snikt. "You boys are startin' to get on my nerves. Keep it quiet."

            Both gulped and heald their breaths until Wolverine's claws were sheathed and he had turned.

            Logan opened the unlocked door and narrowly dodged a concussion-level optic blast to the head. "Pax, Scottie! It's me!"

            Cyclops arose from the chair he was sitting in next to Jean. "Logan? It's you! And is that… it is! Warren! Kurt! How on Earth did you escape?"

            Angel walked in. The room was small, with really only a nice wood table which all the other X-Men were sitting around. He took a seat next to Beast. "Not now, Scott. We've got a fight to win. What's the plan?"

            Scott sat back down and waited for the other two to follow suit. "We find the bad guys. We go in hard and fast. I don't think they can take us all at one time, especially without Silverback. You need a rest, guys?" he asked the newcomers.

            Wolverine shook his head. "You know I'm always ready for a fight, boss-man."

            Scott rose up and turned the level of his visor up to near-kill. "This is the fight of our lives, people. Let's go win it."

            Next chapter is the moment you've all been waiting for, everyone! X-Men vs Menace!!!! Keep sending in those reviews!