The pain was easing off, thankfully. Logan felt it lessen by degrees, until he was able to breath again. Soon he found he could straighten up with very little pain at all. He glanced down and saw a small, circular piece of metal at his feet – the Adamantium that had dripped out of him had hardened as soon as it cooled. There was less than a pound there, for all that pain. "Hmm," he said, regarding it. "Doesn't look like it's working that great after all." Sabretooth said nothing in reply. Logan raised his eyebrows at the other man. "So, you were saying about a team?"

Sabretooth opened his mouth to reply, but whether it was to tell him to go screw himself, or to give up the information he so desperately wanted, Logan would never know. Just then, a stream of guards came pouring into the room. Sergeant Leeson was among them.

"Hey, Leeson, old buddy, how's it going?" Logan was feeling quite jovial now. Pain was just pain; it was over and he was still alive.

The soldier came over to him and regarded the metal at his feet. After a moment, he reached down and picked it up. "Well, it's a start, anyway," he murmured, ignoring Logan's question. Leeson turned to the men behind him. "Take that one," he ordered, indicating Sabretooth, "to the Programming Centre. You, take this to Commander Lyons." He handed one of the guards the shard of Adamantium. "You – tell Dr. White that we're going to need more of the serum. The mutant's healing factors seem to be counteracting its effects – we may need to try a larger dose." With that, he turned on his heel. Sabretooth was neatly trustled up and forced out of the room behind him.

"What, I don't even get a goodbye kiss?" Logan called sarcastically. The last soldier to leave was the one with the Adamantium in his hand. He stopped at the door and walked back to Logan at the smart remark.

The man raised the metal in his hand and brought it crashing down against Logan's nose. It broke with a wet crunch. "Goodbye," the soldier replied, smiling as he walked out the door.

Logan was left there, chained to the wall, with blood running down his chin. "God damn," he said to nobody. The room seemed awfully quiet without Sabretooth around. Logan suppressed a shudder at the though of what might be coming; the memory of silver dripping out of his hands hadn't quite let him go yet. He twisted in his chains, but was still locked up too tight to move. Finally, he surrendered and leaned his head against the wall. Please, Chuck, he thought, tell me the Calvary's coming.

"The Calvary's coming," Charles said suddenly.

Storm looked at him like he'd just grown another head. "Pardon me?" she replied.

Charles shook his head as though trying to clear it. He looked up at her and smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to startle you. I think I just picked up a projection from Logan."

Storm leaned forward, excited. "Really? Is he all right? Can you pinpoint his location?"

Charles shook his head again. "It was just a passing thought," he said, somewhat apologetic. "Logan is incredibly difficult for me to read. But I'm certain it was him, which means that he is alive, at least."

Storm nodded, thinking. "The Calvary's coming," she repeated. "Maybe Scott and the others have found him."

"I don't think so. I can read Scott fairly well, and I think I'd pick up on that. But I should check Cerebro, to see how they're making out." Just then Bobby and Kitty walked into the room.

"Okay, I think we're all set," Bobby announced. He was to take Kitty into Boston, to the church where Kurt had once taken refuge. It was all but abandoned; only one old priest remained in residence and he was quite sympathetic. He had told Kurt that if they ever needed a place of refuge, 'God's doors were always open to them.' Bobby just hoped that Professor Xavier wouldn't track them right away from Cerebro, because he'd be caught out if the Professor did.

Charles looked up at Bobby sharply, and the young man realized that the telepath must have caught a glimpse of what he was planning. He felt a gentle tugging in his mind and knew that Xavier was trying to get more information, so he took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as he could on Ms. Munroe's tits. Professor Xavier's eyes widened slightly and he looked away. Bobby suppressed a little smile.

"Good," Professor Xavier replied at length. "Drive straight there, no detours." Bobby nodded, and the two youths left the room.

"What was all that about?" Storm asked as soon as they were gone.

To her surprise, Charles wouldn't meet her eyes. "Don't ask," he replied. "You don't want to know."

"Bobby, where are we going?" Kitty asked as Bobby turned off the highway onto a secondary road. "This isn't the way to Boston."

"I know that," Bobby replied. He stopped the car and pulled over. "Look, Kitty, if you really want me to drive you to Boston, I'll drive you to Boston. But Rogue is out there and she needs our help - and Jubilee too. These are our friends, Kitty. We need to help them."

Kitty regarded him carefully. "Professor Xavier said to go straight to Boston," she replied. "And right now, you're not a wanted criminal. I am. What if we get stopped by the police?"

"I'll be really careful. I'll do the speed limit the whole way," Bobby promised. "Kitty, please. We aren't little kids anymore. I have to go find Rogue."

Kitty tapped her fingers against the arm rest indecisively. "What makes you think you can even find them?" she asked.

Bobby grinned. "You know how Logan's been showing us a few tricks of the trade?" he asked. She nodded and he continued. "Well, one day I caught him sneaking into Professor Xavier's files. He never told me what he was doing, but I told him I'd tell the Professor unless he taught me how to pick locks like he could."

"Logan taught you that?" Kitty was scandalized.

"Yeah, well, don't get him in trouble, okay? Anyway, I snuck into Professor Xavier's office while you were packing, and I found this." He handed her a map of New York, with a red circle drawn around a patch of empty space about two hours North of where they currently were.

"That could be anything," she pointed out.

Bobby sighed. "I know. But I have a gut feeling about this, okay? Kitty, we're powerful people – we can help them. Whaddya say?"

Kitty sighed again. She knew that she should say no and make Bobby drive her to Boston like he was supposed to. She knew she should also contact the professor and let him know what Bobby was planning. At the same time, though, she felt guilty as sin because she'd been able to escape at the mall and none of the others had. Plus she was worried sick about her friends. Ah, to hell with it, she thought. "All right," she said out loud, "let's go."

Bobby let out a war whoop. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed. He put the pedal to the metal, and they were off.

The tunnel was narrow but fairly well lit. With the exception of a few twists and turns, it went pretty much straight East, cutting a swath through the countryside. Scott kept one hand on his visor, fully expecting a hoard of guards to cut them off at every corner, but no one appeared. "It doesn't feel right," he said for the third time. "They had state of the art cameras all around that warehouse. They must be watching this tunnel."

Kurt smiled sympathetically. Scott took his duties as team leader very seriously and he'd yet to see the younger man take risks willingly, especially when other people's lives were at stake. However, there was a point at which his caution crossed a line into worrying. "You are probably right, my friend, but it does not make sense for them to try to attack us in the tunnel. The quarters are too close, and if they are watching us, they know what we are able to do."

"No, they'll be waiting for us on the other side instead," Hank agreed grimly.

"So what do we do?" Rogue spoke up from behind the three men, where she and Jubilee had been following.

Scott shrugged. "Classic attack formation, I guess," he replied. "Jubilee, get up here in the front with Hank and myself. Kurt, your job is to grab people strategically and teleport them back to Rogue. The rest of us will go on the offensive. Once we're in, we'll split into teams and try to locate Logan. Kurt and Rogue, Jubilee and Hank, and myself. Questions?" No one had any. "Good, let's stay sharp."

They arranged themselves as Scott had ordered and crept forward. A different kind of light was beginning to fill the hallway; looking up, they could see that the tunnel ended in a set of double-planed glass doors, behind which were a half a dozen soldiers, guns cocked and ready.

"Ready?" Scott murmured. The others nodded. "Go!" With a single blast, he demolished the doors. In a flash, Kurt had teleported to the soldiers' sides, grabbing the two closest to the X-Men and teleporting them back to Rogue. Jubilee set off some impressive sparks, forcing the others backwards, and Hank followed closely behind her, bashing heads and throwing bodies with all his bestial strength.

For a while, the soldiers kept coming, and they kept taking them out according to their strategy. After a while, there were no more soldiers. "See, that's just not right," Scott said again, shaking his head. "That just seems too easy."

"Maybe we're just that good," Jubilee replied, emboldened by her success.

"Or maybe we're being set up," Kurt replied, looking around slowly.

Beside him, Hank tested the air. "There are a lot of people here," he observed. "We should proceed with caution."

"I agree. Stay out of sight as much as possible. Do not engage with the enemy unless you're forced to. The minute you find Logan, signal the rest of us your radios and stay put until we get to you. Let's move." They split into their teams and slipped away.

Logan knew what to expect this time and was better able to brace himself for the pain, but it was still a shock to see the Adamantium begin to leak out of him, dripping down to form a pool by his feet. He felt like he was burning up from the inside and he was pretty sure that his mutant healing powers were having trouble keeping up this time. They'd given him a bigger dose of whatever nasty chemical was heating his bones to the point that the metal melted, and the process seemed to be working faster, which meant he'd lose more metal before his healing powers kicked in than he did before.

Still, he didn't think he would lose enough to make much of a difference to his overall functioning, even with the larger dose. If they intended to get all the metal out of his body, he figured it was going to take a few more treatments than he'd received so far. What he didn't understand is why they didn't just kill him, cut him open, and boil the Adamantium off his bones then. Obviously they wanted him alive for something.

His mind drifted off, pondering the vague comments Sabretooth had made regarding Logan's past. It had of course occurred to him that there might be more mutants out there that Stryker had manipulated, but he'd continue to hold on to the idea that he was somehow special – the ultimate weapon. Sabretooth, however, had mentioned something about a team. The idea whispered inside his head the way that almost-memories often did. There was something lying just out of reach in his subconscious - something that had once been significant and meaningful in his life.

Logan sighed. There was no point in trying to chase the thought down; it would only disappear. He brought his attention back to his hands, and was pleased to see that he'd healed up once more. A chunk of metal about the size of his fist was hardening on the ground beside him. Idly, Logan wondered at what point the loss was going to affect him. He checked in with his body, scanning himself from head to toe. He felt the same, though he had no way to check and see if his claws were okay except to release them, and the way in which his hands were tied meant that to do so would be to stab himself in the thighs. He considered it – was it worth the knowledge?

Immediately after thinking that, Logan cursed himself. He'd been so distracted by Sabretooth's presence that he hadn't even been thinking about escape. With his hands tied at his sides, he wasn't in danger of stabbing any important organs if he released his claws. Sure, stabbing himself in the meaty muscle of his thighs would hurt, but it would also heal – and he would be free.

Snarling against the expected pain, Logan let his claws come out.

"Uh, Bobby, don't you think you should slow down a little?" Kitty asked, her eyes glued to the speedometer. Bobby was putting the speed limit to shame, racing down the road in the little black car like he was on a race track instead of the highway.

He didn't take his eyes off the road. "Nope," he replied, pushing a little bit more speed out of the engine.

"It's just that we're going... really, really fast."

"Yep."

"Bobby..." Kitty sounded like she was somewhere between crying and throwing up.

"Look, Kitty, it's like this. They have Rogue. Out of all the people in the whole world, mutant or otherwise, that those bastards could have got their hands on, they took Rogue. I can't sit around and do nothing and I can't spend two hours driving when she's in trouble now. I have to get there, okay? Just, please, sit back and shut - um, be quiet." Bobby's face was dark and hard.

Kitty sat back and closed her mouth, shocked. She'd never heard Bobby talk like that, and especially not to her. They'd been fairly good friends before Rogue had come along, and even now they remained pretty close, although Bobby spent most of his time with the other girl. She took a good look at him and saw the worry underneath the machismo. Bobby was terrified of losing his girl, she realized. "Okay," she said quietly. She reached over and patted Bobby's shoulder. "Go on, then."

Wordlessly, Bobby pushed the gas pedal down as far as it would go, and the car leapt forward even faster than before.

Hank crept up the dark hall, his superior eyes piercing the dim light before him. He could smell people all around him, their scents tinged with fear, but there was almost no trace of the metallic stench of guns. Prisoners, then, not soldiers. Hank suppressed the growl that was building in his throat.

Up ahead, he could see a faint light shining from around a corner. Cautiously, he worked his way up to it, sniffing the air as he slid around the bend, trying to stay in the shadow. Florescent lights lit up a small station before him, a lonely desk surrounded by security monitors. One very bored looking soldier sat slumped with his elbows on the desk, resting his head on his hands.

Hank smiled. 'Lucky me,' he thought, crouching low as he approached. The soldier glanced up as he heard Hank's approaching footsteps, but before he had the time to react, Hank had lifted him up and out of his chair and punched him hard enough to knock the guard unconscious. "Well, that was easy," he remarked, dusting off his hands. The chair creaked under his great weight as he sat down to examine the monitors. "So what do we have here?"

Scott's head shot up at the loud clanging noise. Instinctively he pushed Jubilee behind him, his hand flying to his visor.

"What?" the girl exclaimed, indignant at being shoved aside.

"Shush," he hissed back, scanning the hallway. He could perceive no immediate threat, but something in the periphery of his vision caught his attention. He whirled around, prepared to send a blast of light toward the attacker, only to be caught completely off guard by a child, no more than 14 years old, who upon seeing him fell back against the wall and began sobbing.

"Please, I'll be good, I'll go back to my room, don't hurt me!" she wailed. Scott stared, shocked.

It was Jubilee that moved into action, pushing past her teacher to kneel beside the younger girl. "It's okay," she whispered. "We're friends. Were you – were you a prisoner here?" The girl nodded.

"They wanted to know what made me work," she replied. "they did all these tests on me..." she shuddered and collapsed against Jubilee, sobbing.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it. We'll get you out of here, come on." She helped the girl stand, looking up at Scott for direction.

"All the cells are open," he said. All around them, former prisoners were tentatively stepping out, looking at the two X-Men with fear and distrust. "It's all right," he said, raising his voice to address the crowd. "We're here to help, please follow us." Grabbing Jubilee's arm, he whispered, "take them back to the tunnel. I'm going to go find Hank and the others, get them to help us with all these people."

Jubilee nodded, assuming her best tour guide stance. "If you'll all just follow me, please..."

Logan panted against the pain for a moment before struggling to his feet from where he'd collapsed against the wall. His next task was to cut through the bars of his prison cell, but when he approached them, he was shocked to find the door swung open all on its own. "Very odd," he muttered to himself, stepping cautiously into the hall. Then again, he'd never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever the reason, he'd just been granted freedom, and he intended to use it.

He stalked up the hallway, sniffing as he went. All around him, other mutants were stepping out of their cells, testing their freedom. He paid them no attention; he had one person in mind, and he was damned if he was going to leave without tracking the bastard down and getting some answers.

As he turned a corner, he smelled something familiar – but it wasn't Sabretooth. Instead it was –

"Hank!" he exclaimed. The man turned around, breaking into a wide grin.

"Logan, thank heavens you're all right!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course. I stopped by this station to see what our fellow here was up to, and lo and behold, I discovered a way to open up all the cell doors." He smiled, pleased with himself. Logan didn't smile back. "Uh... is everything all right?"

"You opened all the cells?" Logan repeated. Hank nodded uncertainly, suddenly feeling as though he'd done something terribly wrong.

"What is it, Logan?" he asked at length.

"Sabretooth."

"He's here? Oh. Oh, dear."

Logan nodded. "I have to find him." He was about to say something else when Scott came running up to the two of them.

"We have to get these people out of here," he shouted, panting, "Logan!" he added as an afterthought, upon seeing the other man. "Thank god you're alive!"

"Scott. Sabretooth's on the loose. I have to go find him." Logan wasted no time.

Scott didn't either. "Right. Hank, help me get these people back to the tunnel. Logan, as soon as we've got these folks secured, we'll come back to help." The other man nodded and disappeared into the darkness. Scott turned back to Hank. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute!" Kitty grabbed Bobby's arm to get his attention, and he slammed on the brakes, nearly sending them into the ditch.

"What?" he stared at her. Kitty was pointing wildly to a side road that wound away over a nearby hill.

"It's a back entrance," she said, indicating the map. "Look. Here's where Rogue and Jubilee were pinpointed when Professor Xavier used Cerebro. Here's this side road. See how it winds up behind the main road? It looks shorter too. We can't just drive up the driveway and expect everything to be okay."

Bobby considered it. "You're right," he replied at length. Throwing the car into gear, he turned and sped up the hill.

Logan stalked through the halls, oblivious to the now gradually decreasing chaos around him. His mind was focused on one thing only – picking up Sabretooth's scent, and beating the answers he needed out of the other man.

'Obviously, someone thinks its time to bring the team back together.' That's what Sabretooth had said. The team. Logan wracked his brains trying to figure out what that meant, but he came up empty every time. He was certain now, though, that he knew Sabretooth from his past, and that the hatred he felt for the overgrown cat was personal. He didn't know if he'd been on this team or not, but Sabretooth did. Sabretooth knew all kinds of things that he hadn't shared yet, and Logan needed to know.

He paused, sniffing the air. He thought he'd caught a whiff... yes, there it was. The other man's scent was unmistakable. Logan growled, low in his throat, and plunged forward.

"Look, there!" Bobby pointed across the field at an old warehouse. "That must be it, look at those cameras."

Kitty nodded. "How can we get in there?" she asked. "It looks pretty impenetrable."

Bobby looked at her. "You've got to be kidding me," he replied. Kitty just looked at him, confused. "Kitty," he said slowly, as though she were a child, "tell me, wouldn't it be convenient if we knew someone who could walk through walls?"

Kitty's mouth fell open for a moment, then she grinned shamefacedly. "Right," she replied, blushing. "Let's go then."

"Wolverine," an answering growl came back to him from the shadows. "I was looking for you."

"I want answers, Bub," Logan replied. "You got 'em. Tell me about this team."

Sabretooth chuckled. "Why should I?" he replied. "What's in it for me?"

"Your life," Logan replied. His claws came out with a sharp sound.

"You haven't killed me yet," Sabretooth was circling him now, like a cat stalking its prey. Logan stood still, letting the other man move around him, tracking his movements with a keen eye.

"Tell me about the team."

"We were fantastic." Sabretooth was teasing him, and Logan knew it, but every little bit of information could help him, could give him a clue about his past.

"You mean I was fantastic," Logan replied as Sabretooth feinted, laughing. Logan didn't take the bait.

"We were fantastic. We made quite a team, you and I. Don't you remember?"

"Very funny." Logan reached up and blocked Sabretooth's next blow with ease. "You know," he said, cocking his head to look at the taller man. "I may not remember much, but I have this strong sense that I was the better fighter."

"You weren't the fighter, period," the big cat replied. They were trading blows now. "You were reconnaissance. I did the fighting. Wraith was transport, and Silver Fox was infiltration."

"Silver Fox." Logan paused mid-punch at the name. It was like a cool breeze washing over him, a memory of such peace and joy that it caught him completely off guard. Forgetting that Sabretooth would never tell him, forgetting that he needed to play it cool or he'd get no information at all, he asked, "Who was she?"

The other man laughed uproariously. "Wouldn't you like to know, though?" he taunted.

Logan growled fiercely, suddenly understanding, from somewhere deep in his gut, someplace without consciousness, that the reason for his fury with Sabretooth was intimately connected to the love he felt upon hearing Silver Fox's name. With a strength he didn't realize he had, he pushed the other man against the wall, his claws laid out across Sabretooth's neck. "Who is she?" he ground out between his teeth.

Sabretooth sobered up, feeling the blade cutting into his skin. "I'll tell you," he promised. "I'll tell you everything." Logan let up the pressure ever so slightly.

"Tell me about Silver Fox," he reiterated.

Sabretooth opened his mouth, but before he could speak, two bodies materialized into the room, crashing into the men and knocking them apart.

"Logan!" cried one of the bodies, who stood up from the heap and turned out to be Kitty.

Logan sat up, a bit dazed from hitting his head. "Kitty?" he asked, a sinking sensation in his gut. Before he'd had a chance to say anything further, let alone find his feet, Sabretooth found his, and brought the other body up with him. Bobby hung limply in the big man's grip.

"Fantastic," Sabretooth purred. "Look what I've caught." He shook Bobby a little, making the young man wince.

Bobby's eyes met Logan's. "S-sorry," he whispered. "Rogue..." he trailed off as Sabretooth shook him again, a little harder.

Logan shook his head, ignoring Bobby's platitudes. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "Let him go, Sabretooth," he growled.

The other man laughed. "I don't think so, runt," he replied. "I think I'll kill him." Sabretooth's hands closed around Bobby's neck, squeezing the air out of him. Bobby turned purple, hands clawing uselessly at Sabretooth's grip, gasping for breath.