"…and the Cubs beat the Astros last night 3-1, placing them 1½ games ahead in the NL Central with only a handful of games left in the regular season. Now moving to politics…"

Logan turned off the TV. 24 hour news coverage and they were yet to find something worth 24 hours of broadcasting! It was amazing. But he needed something to keep him busy while the kids were at school. He enjoyed being alone more than most people but, though he'd never admit it, he was beginning to feel lonely when the kids weren't running around the mansion. Here it was only 10:30 in the morning and he was already bored out of his mind! He pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and opened it with his claws.

"Ah, Logan. Nice day, isn't it?" came the voice of Xavier as he rolled into the kitchen where Logan was standing.

"Huh, yeah Chuck. It's great out there." He took a drink from his beer. "Any luck finding Storm or Jean yet?" he asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm afraid we may have a serious situation on our hands if they don't return tonight."

"I'm worried about those two, Chuck. It's not like 'em to just stay gone and not tell nobody."

"I know. If they don't come back tonight, I was hoping that you'd be willing to go look for them?"

"No problem, Chuck."

"Thank you, Logan." The poured a cup of coffee and rolled over to sit next to Logan. "Is there anything interesting on TV today?"

"Nah, not really. Just the regular news. They keep saying the same things everyday. Heh, They call it news, but there's never anything new!"

Xavier turned on the TV. The screen warmed up for a second, then CNN appeared. Xavier sipped his coffee, then quickly spit it back into the cup.

"I see you made the coffee this morning, Logan."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, I still can't figure out to how to make a decent pot. I don't know how you can drink that stuff anyway, Chuck. I can't stand it." He took another drink from his beer. "Ah. Now that's a drink."

"Yes, well, until Storm gets back, why don't you let me make the coffee," said Xavier as he poured the contents of his cup down the drain.

"Heh, Whatever you say, Chuck."

The two men turned their attention to the TV where the CNN anchorman was giving the day's political news.

"And rumors are flying on Capitol Hill that Congress has just passed a new bill concerning the Mutant Crisis. We'll have more details on that when they are released. And now, here's our resident chef, Guy Williams, with some tasty ideas for your next tailgate party. Guy?"

"A new bill on mutants? That could either be bad or good depending on who supports it," said Xavier, thinking aloud.

"No telling. I'm betting its not good though. You know how those politicians are. They think we're all a bunch of weapons just waiting to go off."

"And for some mutants, they're right. However, they seem to enjoy lumping us all together. I certainly hope that clearer heads prevailed today in Washington."

They watched the man in the oversized chef's hat as he gave his favorite recipe for bratwurst. Finally, the newsdesk was back on the screen and the anchorman announced that the President was about to address the nation.

"Here we go," said Logan.

"My fellow Americans," came the voice from the TV, "today the Congress reached a solution to the Mutant Crisis facing our great nation. I'm proud to announce the passing of the Anti-Mutant Act."

"That don't sound good," said Logan as he sat down next to Xavier.

"Quiet!" scolded the Professor.

"As we all know, mutants are a threat to our safety and our future. It is the government's consensus that action must be taken on this issue. According to this new bill, all mutants in the United States are to be rounded up and detained in camps around the United States. They will be used as a controlled work force that will help to further our nation's economy. The government is aware of some highly dangerous mutants and groups of mutants that are being taken into custody as we speak. However, we do not know the whereabouts of every mutant. So, we are asking you, the American citizens, to report any mutant living within our borders. There is a hotline number at the bottom of this screen and you can also find it on the government's website. If you know of a mutant living in America, please report it to us. You can do so anonymously and free of charge. Thank you, and God bless America."

Xavier turned the TV off immediately after the President's speech ended.

"Okay," said Logan slowly as he stood up, "that's bad."

"Yes, and what worries me is that we know that the government is aware of us."

Logan stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the Professor. "The kids! They're at school. Surely they wouldn't send troops into a high school, right, Chuck?!"

"I don't know, but I suspect that they would. I'll have them come back to the mansion just in case. At least if we must fight here, we won't hurt anyone else." Xavier closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. "They should be here in a matter of minutes."

Logan began pacing back and forth. "This is really horrible timing, Chuck! What with Jean and Storm already missing. How do we know they haven't been 'detained' already?"

"We must have faith in their skills, Logan."

Logan just grunted as he continued to pace across the room. Suddenly, he whirled around in mid-step and ran to the windows, sniffing the air deeply.

"What's wrong?" asked the professor.

Wolverine grunted. "We got company. They'll be here any minute now."

The Professor rolled over to the window and watched the horizon. Soon, he heard the unmistakable roar of approaching helicopters.

*****

"Target acquired, sir!" yelled the pilot over the noise of the Blackhawk helicopter.

"Good. Get me down in that courtyard in front of the house!" replied General Clark. He then pulled out his radio and yelled orders to the other helicopters flying in formation with his. "That's right. Prisoners only. Do not kill unless they fight back. If they're that stupid, then send them to Hell!"

*****

Xavier watched the military helicopters land on his lawn as soldiers poured out and ran towards the mansion.

"We really should be moving towards the Blackbird," came the gruff voice of Logan as he emerged from the hallway with his Wolverine suit on.

"Yes, you're right. Let's go."

Xavier turned his wheelchair towards the door and began moving from the room with Logan right behind him. The window behind them shattered as a fully armed soldier swung through it on a rope.

"Freeze! Both of you, on the ground!" yelled the soldier.

Wolverine whirled around and grunted. "You hit the ground, bub." He charged the soldier with a primal yell and extended his claws through his chest.

He retracted his claws and turned back to Xavier. "It just got more interestin'. Let's go!" growled Wolverine as he fan towards the door.

Xavier followed Wolverine down the hallway as fast as he could. Every corner they turned brought them face to face with soldiers armed to the teeth. Each time, they were ordered to surrender, then Wolverine would kill the soldiers and they would run again.

"We're almost to the basement. They don't know its down there so we should be safe once we get underground!" yelled Xavier to Wolverine over the roar of the mansion being torn apart by the army.

Wolverine grunted his recognition and they reached the false wall that slid open to reveal the true secrets of the mansion. Just before Xavier opened the door though, a voice shouted orders from behind them.

"Freeze! You're surrounded! Put your hands on your heads! We're not here to kill you unless you fight us!"

They turned around to find 7 soldiers with rifles pointed straight at them. Wolverine stepped in front of Xavier slowly, his hands remaining defiantly in front of his chest, claws out.

"Then you'll have to kill me, bub!"

Wolverine charged towards the group. Six automatic rifles began firing at once. The seventh soldier, the one who had shouted orders, was already down in a pool of blood. A splatter of blood flew from Wolverine's left shoulder as he turned around, cutting the barrel off the rifle that had just shot him. He dug his claws into the soldier's stomach and twisted his hand around, shredding and spilling the man's intestines. With his back turned to the rest of the group, Wolverine was an easy target to shoot at. The soldiers fired bullet after bullet into his back but to their horror, they didn't seem to be affecting him. Wolverine spun on his heels to face the 5 men behind him.

"You picked a fight with the wrong guy!"

He retracted his right claws as he punched one of the men, instantly breaking his jaw. Blood trailed from the corner of the man's mouth as he dropped to the ground unconscious. The other soldiers started to help their comrade, but stopped when they saw Wolverine's back. The bullet holes were gone and the blood had stopped flowing. All 4 of the men reeled back in horror as they realized that they truly had 'picked a fight with the wrong guy.' Then one of the men grunted and fell to the ground clutching his side. Wolverine's leg had just broken three of his ribs. Wolverine, still hunched over the man on the ground, glared up at the 3 remaining terrified soldiers. They all raised their guns slowly, but Wolverine slashed the rifles to pieces with one quick movement. The men looked at each other, then attempted to jump on Wolverine and take him down together. Wolverine stood up to his full height, lifting the three full-grown men into the air. He reached around his back and pulled them off one by one and threw them to the ground. Wolverine smiled to himself and dove towards the soldiers. He attacked so viciously that Xavier couldn't see what was happening. What he could see was the blood running from the spot where they lay.

"Wolverine! That's enough."

Wolverine turned and grunted at Xavier, but stood up slowly and turned towards the wheel-chair ridden professor after giving one final kick to the chest to one of the men. The man let out one last groan as the final blow landed, breaking his rib.

Xavier turned and opened the door to the sub-basement that no one but the X-Men knew about. He and Wolverine entered and the wall quickly slid shut behind them, leaving only the seven bloody bodies on the ground to prove they were ever there at all.

*****

"What do you mean the mansion's empty?!" yelled the general to his young assistant. "They had absolutely no warning! How could it possibly be empty?"

"I don't know sir, but so far none of the men have found anyone inside," came the reply from the soldier, terrified of the lecture he was about to receive from the general.

"Sir!" came a voice from the direction of the mansion. "Sir, we've got men down, we need medics and some help carrying them out!"

The general looked down to the soldiers gathered around him and grunted softly. "They're on the grounds somewhere. Find them!"

*****

The Blackbird's engines roared loudly as they warmed up and prepared to take flight. Logan helped Xavier onto the jet and soon they were in the air leaving the mansion behind them.

"Well that was interestin'," said Logan, his Wolverine cowl now hanging from the back of his neck.

"Yes. I never expected the government to go quite this far. I had hoped we had proven that we were a peaceful group." Charles Xavier sighed. "I suppose they still need more proof."

"Face it, Charles. They're never gonna accept that we're the good guys. Whether the people like us or not, the government will always see the X-Men as a threat and they ain't never gonna leave us alone."

"I disagree, Logan. But it seems that they won't trust us anytime soon. Especially not after some of their men have been killed."

Logan grunted softly. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that Chuck. I just got into it, y'know what I mean?"

"It's alright Logan. I understand. Wait a moment! What are….oh no!"

"What's wrong Chuck?" asked Logan. He looked down towards the ground and saw what was wrong. There was a Sentinel standing just outside the gates of the mansion.

"You're kiddin' me! They can't be using those things!" said Logan in shock.

The professor stared in silence for a moment. "It seems that our government has approved some most unorthodox methods to hunt us down with."

"The kids have faced those things once before, but they couldn't beat it. Magneto finally took it down," said Logan. Then he remembered. "Wait a second! Chuck, the kids!"

Xavier looked to Logan in shock. He had summoned Scott, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, and Evan to the mansion, but he forgot to tell them not to come after the army attacked.

Logan had hoped that Xavier had thought to warn the X-Men, but could tell by the professor's face that he had not. "They're headed straight into the lion's den and they have no idea."

"They'll be okay. They've been trained well. There's nothing to worry about," said Xavier, though his voice betrayed his demeanor and told Logan that the professor was unconvinced even by his own words.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine," echoed Logan as the Blackbird flew on through the sky.

*****

Logan listened to the engines slowly quieting down after the flight. It had been two days since the army had attacked the mansion and still there was no word from any of the kids. He and the professor had just taken a flight around the area hoping to find some sign of the X-Men, but found nothing. That was becoming rather common.

"Face it, Chuck. They must have been captured. That's the only explanation. If they were free, they'd have found us by now."

"Assuming they know where we are," pointed out Xavier.

"You've always told Cyclops that if there was ever any trouble, he should come here. They know where to go, Charles, and they're not here." Logan hated it when he made sense in a situation like this.

Xavier sighed. "I'm not willing to accept that quite yet, Logan. I'm going to try scanning for Scott's brain waves one more time."

Logan snorted. The professor had tried that a dozen times a day and so far hadn't found anything. Logan sniffed the air. "They're not here, Charles."

The professor opened his eyes quickly and looked at Logan. "I've got them! They're about 2 miles south of here! I told Scott that we were on our way!"

Logan looked at the professor in awe. "Alright then Chuck, let's go!"

The two men boarded the Blackbird as fast as they could and raced to the spot where the X-men awaited them.

*****

Kurt heard the roar of the engines first. "Zey're coming! I can hear zem!"

Scott, Rogue, and Kitty all jumped to their feet and stared at the sky expectantly. The moment that Scott made contact with the professor had been the happiest thing any of them could ever remember. Being lost in the woods for 2 days had zapped all of their energy and they were beginning to think they might not make it home.

"There they are! I can see them!" yelled Kitty.

The others followed her line of sight and saw the Blackbird coming to pick them up. It lowered into the field they were standing in and the staircase lowered to the ground. They ran up the steps as fast as they could and shouted with glee when they were inside of the familiar aircraft.

A door opened and the professor and Logan entered the room they were standing in.

"Professor!" shouted all the kids at once.

They charged the two grown men. Kitty and Rogue immediately hugged the professor. Scott and Kurt hung back nervously.

"Uh, good to see you, Logan," said Scott as they shook hands.

"Yeah, good to see you kids made it alright."

Kurt stepped toward Logan with his arms spread wide. "Volverine! I zought I'd never zee you again!"

Logan stepped back quickly and extended one hand. "Don't even think about it, Elf."

Kurt smiled and shook Logan's hand heartily.

"We're delighted to see you kids again!" said the professor laughing as Kitty and Rogue finally let go of him. "But where is Evan? Wasn't he with you?"

The four teenage mutants looked at each other and then down to the floor.

"What?! How did that happen?" asked the professor after reading their minds and learning Evan's fate.

"Huh? How did what happen?" asked Logan.

"We got caught in a fight with a Sentinel," explained Scott slowly. "He got hit pretty bad. We tried to help him but he didn't make it."

Though they had tried to forget it, the subject of Evan's death was one that the teenagers had talked about many times. No matter how hard they tried though, they couldn't make any sense of it.

"What?!" growled Logan in disbelief.

"I see," said the professor. "Well, that is unfortunate. But tell me, where is the body?"

"We had to leave it behind. There was no way of carrying it with us," said Scott.

"Well then, we'll have to go back immediately. Logan, let's go. We're returning to the mansion."

"Right," said Logan somberly.

*****

They landed the Blackbird about 2 miles from the mansion and only about half a mile from the clearing where the fight with the Sentinel took place.

"For obvious reasons, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here," said the professor. "Logan, you go on with the kids and find Evan. I'll wait for you to return."

"I'll stay with you," said Kitty's voice softly. "I, like, totally don't wanna go back there, y'know?"

"I understand, Kitty. Would any of the rest of you like to stay here? I understand that returning to that clearing and the body of your friend is quite disturbing," said the professor.

"I'm not looking forward to this, but I'll be fine, professor," said Scott honestly.

"Ja, me too," said Kurt.

"Ah'll be okay," said Rogue.

"Alright then. You four go and take care of the body then. Kitty and I will wait here."

"And do what with it, Chuck?" asked Logan. "It's been decomposin' for two days now. You expect us to bring it back here or somethin'?"

"No. I'm afraid you'll have to burn it. A gruesome task, I know, but I'm afraid it's the only option. There's not enough time to dig a grave and transporting the body here would only complicate matters."

"Wha'? In that case, ah think ah'd rather stay here with you an' Kitty, professor," said Rogue, clearly shaken up by the task at hand.

"Very well, Rogue. Anyone else?"

Kurt and Scott looked at each other for a second, then shook their heads.

"Well then you better get on your way," said the professor.

"Right. Let's go boys," said Logan.

The three men began marching through the woods with a small can of gasoline toward the site where Evan's body lay.

"Are you zure this iz the right way?" asked Kurt.

Logan sniffed the air. "Ugh, yeah, this is definitely it."

They walked in silence for 6 minutes before coming to the clearing. The smell was horrible. The body had certainly not been found by soldiers. They moved towards the edge of the clearing and uncovered the body from the brush that had been used to cover it 2 days earlier. The flesh had begun to decompose slightly, but it was still unmistakably Evan.

"Okay, lets do this," said Logan after a long silence.

They cleared an area in the middle of the clearing and laid Evan's body in it. Logan picked up the gasoline and poured it over the body.

Logan said the first farewell. "Here's to you, porcupine. You nearly gave me a nervous breakdown once in a while, but you were one of the best kids we had."

Kurt looked at Logan and waited for him to finish. "He was alvays villing to go into any fight, no matter vat. I'll miss you, Evan."

Scott looked down at Evan's face. He fought back a tear as he realized the true importance of what this would all mean. "You didn't deserve to die, Evan. Especially not like that. Not in that fight. You fought better than any of the rest of us that day. We couldn't have beat that thing if not for everything you did. We owe you our lives and we will never forget you. Goodbye Evan."

With that, Scott lit a match and dropped it to the ground. Flames spread around the body in a matter of seconds. They watched as Evan drifted into the air and spread out over the grounds of the Xavier Institute.

When the body had been completely burnt to ash, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing the ashes all over the grounds of the mansion. They left the clearing and silently returned to the Blackbird.