Author's note: Thanks very much for the two reviews!

Silent Doom: Thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to fix that and check and see if I didn't make another mistake on any of the other chapters as well. I could have sworn I spelled it "ma chere" in this chapter but it must have been in another one, lol.

Chica: Thanks very much :)

And onto the next chapter!


Chapter Fourteen

Canada at a local bar-

'Are you 21?' a blonde haired bartender was asking two boys.

They looked young to her, but she had been through this numerous of times.

'Sure we are. Don't ya believe us?' the brown headed kid said.

'Let me see some ID then,' she said.

'Sure, he said as he and his friend flashed her some ID.

'Well . . .' the bartender said, looking at it closely. She looked at the date of birth. 'How old are you then?'

'21, like the sign said,' the boy replied, giving his friend beside him a wink.

'Really? Well then, why were you born in 1977? You'd be 26, right?'

The boy gulped. 'Um . . .'

'Out! Out right now!' she said, dropping her smile and friendly voice.

The boys ran out and down the alleyway.

'Retard! I told you we forgot something!' the second boy said.

'Well, we'll try someone else next time. Wait, what's that?' the first asked.

'What's what?'

'I heard something moving, over there in the alleyway.'

They both walked closer. A dumpster was usually back there. The second boy chose to linger a bit. As they got closer, they heard more movement. Until-

'Holy crap!' the first shouted as a huge fiery bird shot past them.


The Blackbird landed a little after 6:30 p.m. in a dense forest. The darkness hid them along with the forest well.

'So, we camp out here?' Gambit asked, having been awoken by the landing.

'We'll sleep in the Jet. The dam site is roughly fifteen miles from here. We'll look around, make sure no one knows we're here, and then set out early tomorrow morning for the site. Hopefully we'll be able to keep our presence unknown to the scientists and news reporters,' Scott said.

'How early we set out?' Gambit asked.

'Sunrise. Sleep well,' Scott said as he stood up and went to exit.

Charles had already pushed the button for the walking panel to open.

'I think it's best that I stay here. This environment doesn't go well with my wheelchair. Call me if you find anything,' he said as he touched his temple. 'I'll be waiting.'

Everyone then exited outside.

'Okay, pair up. Everyone has flashlights. You can push that top button to dim it and the other to brighten the light. You can all also thank Hank for the new inventions. Those that have watches, we'll meet up here again in thirty minutes,' Scott said. 'If you find anything or if you're in danger, contact the Professor immediately and someone will come find you.'

Storm and Nightcrawler teamed up. Wolverine wanted to go on his on, but Cyclops insisted he'd be in a group; so he picked Rogue and Gambit's. That left Cyclops and Beast. They then set out. Wolverine was still curing under his breath when they edged deeper into the forest.

'Not a word. An' turn off those damn things!' he growled as Rogue and Gambit hurried to turn their lights out. 'If someone is 'round they'd see th' lights before we seem 'em. Dunno why Summers didn' think o' somethin' else.'

Rogue and Gambit said nothing. Wolverine proceeded to start picking a trail through the snow. Gambit shivered slightly as he followed behind Rogue. Sure, his coat was a little shabby, but it was freaking freezing! He didn't complain though; he was far too busy keeping up with the others in the dark. Gambit tripped over a snow hidden limb and cursed to himself.

Wolverine didn't know any of this though, he could see perfectly clear as if it were day. His healing factor had already taken care of the numbness, but he still felt it dully in the back of his mind. He pushed away all that he was feeling and focused on everything else instead. The soft snow on the ground muffled his footsteps, but he could still hear Rogue and Gambit's footsteps faintly. Nothing to do about that. Only thin he was really worried about was the footprints they left behind.


Beast was very glad he had grabbed one of his coats before he had left the Mansion. He could see his and Scott's breath coming out in misty, white puffs. They had taken to the right and were now picking their way over limbs and fallen trees. Scott had his flashlight on, but it was on dim. He lead and Beast followed him. Beast decided that he liked Scott. The guy liked staying in control of things and Beast didn't blame him. He also seemed like a nice guy, once you got to know him, and if you knew not the cross him. The trees around them started growing thinner and Beast focused on the matter at hand.

Soon, they were in a clearing. Scott took a good look around. He could see clear across to the other side because of the clouds that had moved away from the moon. Silver light swam down to the clearing, lighting it up. He studied the ground and looked for footsteps. There were some animal tracks here and there, but nothing else. He couldn't shake off the eerie feeling that he was being watched though. He was starting to not like this . . .


Storm and Nightcrawler hadn't found anything interesting either. They once spotted a doe, but that was about it. Storm could tell Nightcrawler was shivering. He had told her that he had been making a suit for himself, but it hadn't been ready when they left. So, now he had to make due with his normal clothes and jacket. Storm helped as beast as she could in her own way. She made a makeshift wind to counter-act the real wind, making the wind and snowflakes blow away from them. They were already turning back to the others, having not seen anything else, even when Nightcrawler had teleported to the top of a tall tree. They both knew they had to be close to the Jet when they heard a bush behind them shake. They spun around, but saw nothing as Storm shone her flashlight in that direction. Nightcrawler edged closer and finally came up close enough to see that no one was behind the bush but he did find-

'Footsteps,' he whispered so low that Storm barely caught what he said.