Scene Eleven

Logan stopped dead in his tracks, just as Nightcrawler teleported to where he thought there would be a space and crashed right into the Wolverine. Kitty and Rogue couldn't help but laugh as Kurt ricochet back off Wolverine and landed in a heap at Ilehana's feet. Vixen rolled her eyes heavily. It had been her father's idea that she spend some time training with the different students at the school, get to know them as individuals not just strange faces in what used to be her home. The students had accepted her without too much of a question, so used to strangers arriving amongst them. Vixen was finding it all a little unnerving.

"What is it?" she stepped over Kurt to stand by Wolverine's side. He sniffed heavily as Ilehana put out a gentle telepathic questing. The presence she felt was wild and very, very angry.

"Sabretooth," Wolverine snarled. "Stay here."

Ilehana knew the order was meant as much for her as for the students, but then she wasn't an X-Man and as such he had no control over her. Logan didn't complain as Ilehana stepped up to follow him. She was all grown up now. Let her see what it was the X-Men were fighting against.

The undergrowth seethed and exploded as Sabretooth appeared. Rather than take on his old enemy Wolverine, Sabretooth craftily sidestepped the charging adamantium-armed mutant. Logan couldn't pull up quick enough, glanced off a tree and spun round to bellow a warning at Vixen. A strange expression had crossed Xavier's daughter's face, peaceful and curious she probed Sabretooth's mind.

#What is your message?# she asked having sensed the large, hairy mutant's purpose via her telepathic questing.

#Magneto sends his best,# Sabretooth growled even through his mind-voice. #Says if you ever want to see your friend Blaze alive again, you'll come to his base alone and within the hour.#

Message delivered, Sabretooth more or less ambled off away from the institute, just as Nightcrawler, Kitty and Rogue had finished their moral deliberations and come running to help. Logan met Vixen's eyes and knew instantly what had just occurred.

"It's a trap," he told her. Ilehana only nodded.

"I know but what else can I do? I swear if I get Blaze out of this I am going to skin her alive! Can't she stay out of trouble for two minutes?" Ilehana's exasperated words didn't cover her worry for her friend.

"Is anybody else here thinkin' they're missin' somethin'?" Rogue asked to Kurt's shrug and Kitty's hand-on-hips posturing. "Who's Blaze, why is she in trouble an' why didn't Sabretooth try an' plaster you both just then? Somebody had him neutered or somethin'?"

"Blaze is a friend of mine. She's been kidnapped by Magneto and Sabretooth came to deliver the ransom demands. Basically he wants me," Ilehana growled as she started back to the mansion. "What do you people know on his hideout? Can I get in easily? How much resistance can I expect to run up against?"

"You're not goin' alone," Wolverine told her. "You want information off of the X-Men, you take one of 'em with you, namely me."

"No Logan," Vixen shot him down. "Magneto won't deal if he sees me with anyone else."

"No problem!" Kurt quipped, teleporting to stand before the two adults. "As the only X-Man to have been inside the lair, I consider it my personal pleasure to get Wolverine in and out without Magneto noticing a thing."

"Not without us you don't," Kitty ran to catch up. "You can't go in alone against Magneto and his men, they're too powerful." Finally something clicked inside Ilehana as she smiled gratefully at her new pack. These kids her father was raising were brave all right.

"Sound like a plan to you, Ilehana?" Logan asked, shooting a sidelong glance at Vixen.

"I guess so. And thank you."

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"Pyro," Magneto called, "any sign of the Vixen?"

"Not yet," The fire-mutant replied over the radio form his vantage point above Magneto's snow-bound lair. "No, wait, I see a big cat. Its white and spotty and it looks a bit naffed off."

"A snow leopard," Magneto filled in, "that's Ms Xavier. Get back here."

Pyro did as he was told, snowboarding with ease down to Magnetos' lair as the metallic structure opened to swallow him up. He completely missed Kurt teleporting the X-Men up behind his vantage point, ready for action.