A Force Unleashed

by darkstorm5000

The X-Men Past, Present, and Future band together, as the government-sanctioned Project: Wideawake goes online with it's ultimate weapon-The Sentinels! (Contains both classic couples, and unlikely pairings). Final Chapter Added.

10. The Gathering

A Force Unleashed

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Enterprises.

Chapter 10- The Gathering

For the X-Men, it seemed almost unbelievable that current circumstances could get any worse than they already were. After all, that morning they had seen the Sentinels, large robots designed for the express purpose of tracking, capturing, and eliminating mutants world-wide, take control of Washington D.C. and proceed to announce that they had captured the President of the United States. But, Scott Summers had just informed them minutes earlier that things had indeed taken a further turn for the worse.

Now in the early hours of the afternoon, all of the adults and the senior students at the school were gathering in the War Room, located far below its ground level. They were about to learn the exact details of what one of the X-Men's field commanders had been talking about.

"I'm tellin' ya, if those Sentinels've decided to drop this whole 'take over the world idea' just so they can put on their own reality show, I really will be ready to fight." Jubilee sarcastically remarked, as she and the other older residents slowly filed into the X-Men's underground meeting and strategy chamber.

"Jubilation, I doubt very seriously that we will be that fortunate." Ororo Munroe responded, as she came in right behind Jubilee.

As everyone continued to filter in, they were all met by Professor Charles Xavier. Professor Xavier had come into the War Room not too long after the initial news of the takeover was first broadcast, and was carefully assessing everything that was occurring. As the assemblage continued, Professor Xavier immediately took notice of the most recent arrivals to the school as they entered the War Room.

"Wanda, Pietro, I must say that I was somewhat surprised when I saw your arrival earlier this morning. But I was no less thrilled by your return." Professor Xavier said, as he looked at the brother/sister pair who had come into the War Room along with Hank, Peter, Logan, Kitty, and Kurt.

"And it appears that me and my sister are staying true to form, with trouble seemingly coming along with us." Pietro Maximoff drolly replied.

As everyone continued to chat, Rogue, Remy, Alison and Scott were the last ones to enter. Scott quickly made his way in and took his place at the front area of the War Room, with the huge multi-purpose monitor that was mounted on the wall directly behind him. He began to go over some last minute information that was cued up on the small data screen on the podium in front of him, but abruptly stopped when Alison came up to speak to him.

"From the way you made it sound a few minutes ago, today just keeps going from bad to worse." Alison Blaire said to Scott, as she walked over and stood next to him to converse briefly.

"That's a fairly accurate way of putting it." Scott replied, as he paused to look up from the podium at her, "You know, even though I told everyone I needed them down here, you didn't just have to come. Especially, since you've said you're not interested in joining the active roster. Most of what we're going to cover is mission preparation and other related materials, which I'm sure can be pretty boring to the casual observer."

"It's alright. With that build-up you delivered upstairs, I just had to come down here to watch you in action for myself." Alison told Scott, as she gazed up at him with a rather reserved smile.

"Oh. In that case, I'm glad that I've managed to get you so interested." Scott happily replied.

"With everything that's happened in the last few hours, a girl can't really help but be preoccupied by it." Alison said to him, as she tried to peer into Scott's eyes, but only caught a glimpse of her own reflection in his ruby-quartz shades.

Alison then started to walk around behind him, so that she could go to the other side of the room and take a seat. But on her way, Alison stopped once again and turned back slightly to peer over her left shoulder, making one last comment to Scott.

"You know, I don't see how you could think anything you have to say would be boring. If the pep talk you gave me the other night is any indication, I'm sure that your performance here will really take my breath away." Alison semi-seductively said to him, in a voice that was naturally raspy in its tone. She then turned back and continued descending down the small number of steps in front of the podium, so that she could rejoin the rest of the group as they took their seats.

Meanwhile Scott, a man who seemingly possessed nerves of steel, was for a split-second caught off-guard by the slightly flirtatious tone of Alison's last remark.

Not that he minded of course, as a musing grin appeared on Scott's face while he watched Alison sit down next to Pietro, Wanda and Hank.

At any rate, since everyone had for the most part settled into their seats in front of him, Scott was now ready to begin the briefing.

"So, what's the big mystery you were talkin' about?" Rogue asked Scott, as she started off the meeting by asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"As you know, we've been carefully monitoring events in Washington since this morning." Scott replied to Rogue, and to the rest of the room as well, "After I sent you to go get Ororo, the Professor and myself continued our observation of various video satellite feeds, as well as military communications to stay apprised of the latest news. That's when we picked up a message, which I'm going to play for everyone now. It's from SHIELD, and the fact that they even broadcasted it over an open air channel instead of a more secure transmission signal should give you an indication of just how serious this situation has become."

"This is Lieutenant General Jake Fury, Director General of the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Division, sending out an urgent distress call for assistance. The SHIELD airborne carrier has come under attack by large robotic beings, possibly the same ones reportedly launching another current offensive against Washington D.C. Our regular communication channels have been effectively jammed and if anyone is able to receive this message, please relay the following coordinates and current trajectory of the heli-carrier to SHIELD high command. A counter-offensive is already underway here, but our computer systems have been compromised and with the bulk of our forces currently dispatched to the emergency in Washington, it's unclear on how long we'll be able to..."

The message then abruptly cutoff, and the entire room listened for a few seconds to the sound of dead air on the radio frequency. After a moment of silence to digest what they had just heard, one of the X-Men finally spoke.

"Oh my stars and garters." Henry McCoy was the first to say.

"Why would the Sentinels attack Washington, and then go after this heli-carrier?" Bobby Drake was next to ask.

"Because, they're a buncha hostage-taking, carrier-jacking, purple thugs that think they can do whatever they want." Kitty Pryde very sharply remarked.

"So far, that definitely appears to be the case. The Sentinels have been following a very methodical course of action, and all evidence now suggests that their attack on Washington was an elaborate and well-executed diversion. It seems that capturing the heli-carrier was their main objective all along." Scott responded, "It should have been obvious to us from the outset that the Sentinels were up to something. They only bothered to secure control of the area around the White House, while ignoring other equally important targets in Washington like the U.S. Capitol building and the Pentagon."

"What I do not understand is why this heli-carrier is so important?" Peter Rasputin now inquired.

"The SHIELD heli-carrier is a gigantic and well-fortified flying battle fortress. It possesses some of the latest and most sophisticated weaponry in existence, and in the wrong hands it could be used to launch substantial military attacks worldwide. In the Sentinels case, it could very well be used in strikes specifically targeting mutants. A worst-case scenario suggests that it could conceivably be remodeled into an aerial Sentinel factory, churning out hundreds of Sentinels over populated areas. And with the ultimatum that Mastermold made warning against any military action towards them, SHIELD and other armed forces probably won't make a move to take the heli-carrier back until the President's safety is assured." Scott revealed.

"Then dat means we go find dis t'ing and take it back for them, before de Sentinels get a chance t'start takin' shots at us wit' it." Remy Lebeau suggested, as he sat next to Rogue in the room.

"It's not quite that simple. On top of being heavily-armed, the heli-carrier is also employing some of the most effective radar and shielding devices in use, making it virtually impossible to sneak into." Scott informed them.

"Then how do you propose that we stop it, if we are unable to get onboard?" Kurt Wagner asked, sitting in between Logan and Kitty.

"We are already working on that particular detail. From the coordinates that were relayed in its mayday for help, the heli-carrier apparently is still over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Its reported trajectory is, however, bringing it back towards the east coast of the United States." Professor Xavier answered, "But, we think that we may have struck upon an idea, one which will hopefully provide us with a means of tracking it and bypassing its defensive grid."

"Like, can we rewind a minute for those of us not fluent in army?" Jubilee requested, "If this heli-carrier thingy is so dangerous, why leave it sitting out in the middle of the ocean to begin with? Shouldn't they take it and lock it up somewhere safe?"

"Not if they want to use it for any practical purpose. To better react to potential crisis as they arise, SHIELD's heli-carrier has to remain in a state of full deployment for a majority of the year." Scott replied.

Then, some others in the room who happened to be fairly knowledgeable on this, as well as a variety of other subjects, decided to provide a little background information for Jubilee and her fellow classmates.

"SHIELD was originally formed in the years following World War II, as an international law enforcement division working under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council." Professor Xavier began, "Their primary mission is to root out and prevent criminal activity on a global scale. Most in particular, they are mainly concerned with terrorist operations undertaken by the elusive organization known as HYDRA."

"HYDRA is the world's foremost and exceptionally pervasive terrorist and criminal network, bent on nothing less than global domination." Hank continued, "They have attempted to accomplish this goal both through subterfuge and subversion, as well as by actively endeavoring to topple free and democratic societies. As the decades passed, HYDRA began splintering off into independent and sometimes competing factions located on every continent. Logical deduction would assume that SHIELD needed a means to remain highly mobile to confront HYDRA with a substantial presence of their own, thus necessitating the creation of their heli-carrier."

"Hope the long version cleared everything up for ya, 'Mallrat'." Logan then amusingly ribbed Jubilee.

"Yeah, all the 'Spy vs. Spy' stuff is completely crystal now." Jubilee replied, as she blew a large bubble with her chewing gum, and then let it pop loudly before finishing her response, "Just like a bottle of expensive mineral water, 'Bub'."

At that moment, another person entered the War Room who had been fairly conspicuous with his absence.

"Ororo told me about the meeting, but I wanted to finish running some last minute diagnostics on both Blackbirds before I came down here." Forge said, as he came in from the estate's underground hangar areas to join the group.

"How are things coming along?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"I was up most of the night, and then back up early this morning getting both planes back together. They're ready to go now, and with what's happening in D.C., it looks like I finished just in time too." Forge revealed, "All that's needed is for one of them to be taken out for a test flight."

"Then, you'll get a chance to test them out this afternoon." Scott said, "I've been in touch with Lorna and Alex, and they've expressed an interest in wanting to help. Ororo, will you rendezvous with them in California and with Sean in South Dakota, and bring them all back here?"

"Certainly." Ororo replied, as she sat next to Rogue and Remy.

"I think I'll go with you. It'll give me a chance to watch you put the Blackbird through its paces, and to make sure that everything is functioning correctly." Forge said to Ororo.

"Once they have returned, then what will be our next move?" Peter asked Scott.

"More than likely, we're going to have to divide everyone into two teams, with one team being led by me and the other one led by Ororo. One team will go to Washington to help get the President to safety, so that the military can move to take back the city. Meanwhile, the other team will try to locate the heli-carrier and stop the Sentinels that are on board. The Sentinels were planning against a big military response, so hopefully they won't be expecting a small group to hit them head on." Scott informed everyone, "We'll start putting together a roster detail once this meeting is over, and I'll let everyone know what their assignments are once when we've finished."

With that the meeting soon adjourned, leaving the members of the X-Men with the task of once again sitting and waiting. As they started to file out of the War Room, Wanda, Pietro, and Hank stayed behind to talk with Professor Xavier, Scott, and Ororo about Magneto's recent visit. Meanwhile, two of the other individuals walking out began to discuss how they would pass the next few hours.

"So, what you got planned for de rest of dis afternoon, Cheré?" Remy asked Rogue, as the couple stopped to talk with one another in the hallway outside of the War Room.

"Ah think Ah'm going to go workout in the Danger Room for awhile." Rogue revealed, as everyone continued by to make their way to other various parts of the mansion.

"You want some company in there? You know, someone t'watch dat beautiful backside of yours?" Remy inquired of her.

"Well, all Ah was going to do was go through a pretty standard sparring session with a computer simulator." Rogue replied.

"In dat case, how do you feel 'bout testin' your skills out on a livin', breathin' opponent instead?" Remy suggested.

"What, are you sayin' you want to fight me in there?" Rogue asked, as she was somewhat surprised by his proposal.

"Nah. It's like you said, this is just a sparrin' session. That is, unless you scared t'trade hits wit' de man you so deeply in love wit'?" Remy replied, as he managed to rouse her sensibilities a bit.

"Ha! What makes you think Ah'd be scared to knock you down a peg or two?" Rogue coyly replied, "Besides, since we've never actually faced one another, this'll give me a chance to get a better look at you."

"You ain't gotta wait, you can get a good look at me anytime you want." Remy flirtatiously told her.

"Ah meant your fightin' ability." Rogue giggled slightly.

"Okay then, and I even promise to go easy. I don't t'ink I could live wit' myself if I accidentally bruised dat pretty face of yours." Remy sarcastically told her, as he continued egging on the conversation.

"You don't have to worry about taking it easy on me. If anything, you should be more concerned your pretty face, than about mine." Rogue responded in kind, "After Ah go change, Ah'll grab your quarterstaff and my katana blade in the armory, and Ah'll meet you in the Danger Room in about ten minutes."

"Damn, you talk like you ain't gonna be playin' around." Remy jokingly said to her.

"That's because playtime's strictly for the playground. When this girl does play, it's only for keeps." Rogue said with a huge smile, as she came over and stood very close to Remy.

"Don't be late, Sugah." Rogue whispered into his ear, before heading down the corridor to the girl's locker room.

………………………………

More than a dozen minutes later, in what had become the very late hours of the afternoon, Remy strolled into the Danger Room now dressed in a sleeveless gray t-shirt and navy sweatpants. Once inside, he took a look up to the control booth above and saw that Rogue was standing in front of the Danger Room's control panel.

"You ready t'get dis show on de road?" Remy called up to her.

"Yeah, Ah'm comin' down now." Rogue answered him over the speakerphone system, as she keyed the last of her commands into the Danger Room's computer.

In less than two minutes, Rogue had set the training sequence in the control booth and had then made her way down to join Remy. She entered the Danger Room holding a sword in her right hand and a small steel rod in her left. Rogue was wearing a medium-green, body glove-style suit trimmed in white. The reason for her wearing this spandex suit and matching gloves, which almost covered her entire body, was to protect both her and Remy from accidentally making skin-to-skin contact during their training session.

"Initiate program." Rogue called out, as she continued inside. The very room around her and Remy then started to suddenly change in its appearance. Gone was the large and empty metallic training area with a dome-shaped roof, now replaced by a setting that appeared to be that of a large city. And the particular city that Rogue had chosen as a backdrop for their training session wasn't a mere coincidence either.

"Dis looks just like Bourbon St. back home, 'cept I never seen it abandoned like dis during de day or at night." Remy said, as he instantly recognized the artificial surroundings that were being replicated before his very eyes, "You didn't have to go to all of dis trouble just for me?"

"It wasn't any trouble. Forge and Beast have already pre-loaded hundreds of different environments, including a ton of cities from around the world, into the Danger Room's software." Rogue explained, "Ah just figured since you kept goin' on and on about bein' back home, that you must be feelin' a little homesick. Plus, the least Ah can do is give you some familiar pavement to look at, before Ah drag you across it."

"You soundin' mighty confident about manhandlin' poor lil' me." Remy smirked.

"Well, Ah did spend hours on end trainin' on my fighting skills with Logan." Rogue responded.

"And your point, Mon Cheré?" Remy asked her.

"He was good enough to knock you out, if Ah remember correctly." Rogue happily reminded him.

"You got your facts a little mixed up. Wildman may've knocked me down, but not out." Remy challenged her assertion.

"Annndd…the difference is?" Rogue teasingly asked him.

"There a world of difference!" Remy protested, "Gambit ain't ever been knocked out. Not by anyone!"

"You know they say there's a first time for everything." Rogue smiled, as she now tossed the small steel pole that she had been holding in her left hand to Remy. With the touch of a single button, the shaft in Remy's hand immediately extended into a quarterstaff, which measured nearly six feet in length.

"Dis new fightin' staff puts my old one to shame, what wit' all de improvements I've been able to make to it since I got here." Remy told her, as he began to spin his staff around in his right hand, "Now before we begin, why don't we put a wager down on dis little showdown, just t'make t'ings a little more interestin'?"

"Like what?" Rogue curiously inquired, as she pulled her sword out from its protective sheath.

"How about de winner gets a kiss?" Remy responded.

"Considerin' what my kisses are liable to do to you, Ah can't see how you'd think that you'd be winnin' anything." Rogue answered him.

"It just depends on your point-of-view. Me, I'm a glass is half-full kinda guy." Remy told her.

"Uh-oh, look out everybody. Remy Lebeau's about to get all philosophical on us." Rogue amusingly replied.

"There ain't nothin' wrong wit' me havin' a moment every now 'n then." Remy declared, as Rogue then got into a fighting stance with her katana blade in both hands in front of her, "So, you finally ready?"

"Hit me with your best shot." Rogue eagerly replied.

Gambit then stopped twirling the staff in his hand and immediately ran towards her, jumping up and performing a somersault in mid-air. He landed right behind Rogue and quickly swung his staff at her legs in an attempt to, aptly enough, sweep her off of her feet.

Rogue however was able to match Gambit when it came to quick reflexes, as she also jumped up into the air and let his staff pass harmlessly underneath her. Then, she landed on the ground and spun back around with her katana in hand to face Gambit.

"Hee-yah!" Rogue loudly shouted, as she struck at him with her sword.

But not to be outdone, Gambit showed Rogue that he was more than adept enough to react accordingly, and masterfully blocked her sword blow with his metal staff.

"Not bad. Your fightin' form is comin' along beautifully, just like all yo' other forms." Gambit flirtatiously said to Rogue, as they stood in the middle of the simulated street and faced each other with sword and staff crossing together in between them.

"You almost sound impressed." Rogue replied, as she drew her sword away from his staff and took a few steps backwards to reset herself into a new fighting stance.

"I am, but I really wanna see what else you got." Gambit said, as he now made small glancing strikes with his staff towards Rogue on her left and right sides, which she easily blocked.

"Ah think Ah got more than enough to handle you." Rogue confidently told him, as this time she was the one who went on the offensive and now began striking at Gambit with her sword.

She delivered blow after blow, to his left, to his right, and there were even a few swings aimed at his chest and knee level. But, Gambit effortlessly rebuffed her barrage with his solid metal staff, as the weapons that had been reinforced with vanadium steel struck repeatedly and produced loud clanking sounds that rang out in the simulated environment. But, what Rogue hadn't realized was that Gambit had been merely biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to make his next offensive move.

"Well, Cheré, since you so fond of rememberin' me and my less than shinin' moment in Japan, I t'ink it's time I remind you of somethin' else from over there too." Gambit said to Rogue, as he firmly planted his staff on the ground close by her. Then in one fluid motion, he quickly spun around on the pole and forcefully kicked her sword out of her hand.

Weaponless, Rogue was left with the task of proving that she was still capable of defending herself, even if she was unarmed. She managed to do quite well in dodging and blocking Gambit's staff blows, as he pursued her up from the street and onto the sidewalk of the faux Bourbon St. setting. Still, Rogue almost managed to best her opponent without the aid of her blade. She countered his staff attacks with a few standing roundhouse kicks that nearly connected with his face, missing their mark by mere inches. After a few more minutes of avoiding his thrusting advances, Gambit was finally able to land a single severe blow to Rogue's side, which momentarily knocked the wind out of her.

Gambit then swooped around behind Rogue while she was still temporarily unawares, certain now that he had achieved a checkmate in their training bout. Gambit wrapped his arms around Rogue and restrained her in a solid embrace with his staff, as he held the lengthy pole in front of the two of them and pressed it against her upper abdomen with both of his hands.

"Now when we was standin' outside of dat hotel in Tokyo, I recall tellin' you dat I still had a lot t'teach you. And I'd say I just proved my point beyond a shadow of a doubt, non?" Gambit said to Rogue, as he managed to immobilize her with his staff and held her very close in front of him.

"Ah guess that's one way of putting it." Rogue less than enthusiastically told him, as she continued looking forward, unable to turn around because of the firm grasp that Gambit had her in with his staff.

"At any rate, you gotta admit dat de two of us standin' here all intimate-like is pretty cozy?" Gambit warmly asserted, as he whispered his remark into her ear.

"It is nice, but then again…" Rogue paused, as she surprised him by kicking him in the left shin with her foot, which loosened his tight grip around her body.

With Rogue's arms now free, it allowed her to elbow Gambit in his rib cage and then grab hold of his staff. She continued moving in an extremely swift manner, as she used both of her hands to forcefully flip the staff up and overhead. Since Gambit was still maintaining a fairly solid grip on the quarterstaff, both he and his weapon traveled headlong in a semi-circular motion through the air together.

Gambit then emphatically hit the ground with a loud thud, as he landed on the street flat on his back. Rogue wasted no time in jumping up and over to land on top of him, with his staff now firmly in her possession.

"…this is just as comfortable too!" Rogue remarked, as she sat and straddled herself across Gambit's middle torso, now pinning him down with his own fighting staff, "Guess Ah'm not the only one who could stand to be taught a thing or two?"

"So, do you call dis de 'Teacher's position', Cheré?" Remy happily remarked, as he looked up at the girl on top of him with a huge smile, "If dis is my reward for a lesson well learned, then I imagine I should let you beat me up more often."

"It's not like you have to go and pick a fight with me, if all you want is me on top of you." Rogue responded in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, as she looked down at him.

After sitting like that for a while, Remy and Rogue decided to end their session and call it a draw. Rogue then unpinned Remy and proceeded to help him up from the ground, as the holographic scene in the Danger Room disappeared and the room went back to its empty default state.

……………………………...

While Remy and Rogue were wrapping up their training session, Jubilee was making her way back from the kitchen. She had finally gotten the chance to get her soda, the same one that she had originally planned to come for a couple of hours ago. As Jubilee then continued from the kitchen down the hallway and towards the staircase, she passed by the student's recreation room. Almost immediately, she felt a presence following behind her.

"What's up Artie?" Jubilee turned around, as she warmly greeted one of the youngest students at the school, Artie Maddocks, as he stood right behind her.

But instead of replying verbally, Artie made his response using the sign language that he had learned while at Xavier's. Although he could hear perfectly, for some reason that was most likely due to his mutation, Artie had been left mute. To compensate, he had been taught alternative ways that would allow him to communicate with others around him. And for reasons that were all her own, Jubilee had volunteered to help tutor Artie in learning to sign, as well as other school subjects.

In the hallway, he formed various gestures with his hands and Jubilee soon responded to the query that Artie had posed to her.

"Sorry, but I can't help you practice with your signing today. Something's come up, and I need to take care of a few things." Jubilee told him, as she stood dressed in a yellow lightweight sweater that she had made herself, and a pair of black capris.

"But you promised." Artie signed back in response.

"I know, and I promise I'll help you learn a buncha more new words. You know I wouldn't break one of our tutoring sessions, unless it was for something really important." Jubilee tried to explain.

Then Artie paused for a moment, before he signed his next statement to her.

"It's because you're going to go with Miss Munroe and Mr. Summers to fight the robots?" Artie asked her.

"Yep, you pretty much guessed it." Jubilee answered.

"I don't want you to go. You might get hurt." Artie worriedly communicated to her.

"C'mon, I'll be fine." Jubilee told him.

"But, what if you go away and you don't come back? Just like Miss Grey did?" Artie asked with another hand gesture.

Jubilee and the rest of the X-Men were fully aware of the danger that they were preparing to face. But, Artie's statement reminded her of that horrible day when people, mutant and human alike all around the world, nearly died. It also reminded her that at Alkali Lake one of their own did, bringing home that actualization in a way that Jubilee hadn't been expecting.

"Don't worry Artie, everything'll be alright. I promise." Jubilee said, trying to assuage him.

"Do you promise-promise?" Artie signed, as she still hadn't fully assured him.

"Pinky-swear promise." Jubilee gladly answered, as she linked her smallest finger with Artie's to make her pledge official.

With their pact now exchanged, Artie's worries had been somewhat alleviated for the time being. He then spun back around and headed into the student's recreation room. As Jubilee watched him scurry off, the sound of the doorbell ringing at the front door could be heard throughout the front of the house. Since she was the closest to it, Jubilee went ahead to go greet whoever had come a knocking. At the same time, Artie's return to the rec-room was also met by a greeting, which came from one Megan McCoy.

"Told you, you were gonna miss the best part." Megan told him, as she was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa.

The pair had been watching another one of her favorite cartoon programs on TV, Jimmy Neutron-Boy Genius. Artie however didn't sign anything in response to Megan's comment, and simply went to sit down on the floor next to her so that he could resume watching the show too.

"My Mom told me that your school was for people that are different just like her, my Dad, and my Uncle." Megan said, as she continued talking to Artie, "She said they don't know yet if I'm gonna be special like them. I guess you must be if you're already here, but you don't look all that different to me."

Artie finally decided to respond to her, and turned to face Megan. He proceeded to stick his tongue out at her, which was blue and fork-shaped so that he could accentuate to her exactly what it was that made him different from most everyone else.

"That's not so special, I can stick my tongue out too. See, look." Megan said, as she returned the gesture by sticking her own tongue out at Artie. In addition, Megan also made a funny face to compliment her action, and Artie couldn't help but smile as a result.

Then the two members of the neXt generation turned their attention back to the television, and they went back to watching the animated show before them.

Back down the hallway from where Megan and Artie were, Jubilee had finally made it to the front door and answered it.

"Um, can I help you?" Jubilee asked, as she opened the large oak door. She was immediately taken aback when she saw a mysterious angelic figure standing in front of her.

"Maybe Miss. But that's not really the reason why I came here." He replied.

"Oookaay, then. Why don't you tell me why you are here, because you're like kinda startin' to freak me out? And it's not because of the wings either." Jubilee said, as she visually inspected the beautifully feathered appendages on his back.

"I was actually hoping that you might be able to use my help." Warren Worthington III revealed, as he and Jubilee stood on the front steps of the school, which he had at long last returned to.

…………………………….

Down in his laboratory below, Hank was busy working on a solution to a particular obstacle, which was currently standing in the X-Men's way.

"Have you made any progress?" Wanda asked Hank, as she now came in through the lab's sliding steel door to join her husband.

"I believe that my theory regarding this device, which would conceivably locate the SHIELD heli-carrier and then allow us to bypass its defenses is a sound one, and I've been busy thus far drafting the preliminary schematics for it. When Forge returns with the others, he and I will see if we are able to make my hypothesis a reality." Hank told her, as he continued looking at said diagram on the computer monitor in front of him. But, his train of thought was positively shattered when he briefly glanced up at Wanda, and saw that she had made a considerable change in her wardrobe.

"Well, aren't you a sight for eyes, sore or otherwise. I see that you have located and found your way into the school's wardrobe closet." Hank said in repartee, when he recognized that Wanda had put on one of the X-Men's spare black and gold leather uniforms.

"I was very serious earlier when I said that I intended to help, and this is my small way of relaying that sentiment." Wanda replied, as she went and sat at the edge of Hank's large metallic desk in the lab, "Just as much as I understand why you've always enjoyed gallivanting around in these outfits. Looks to the contrary, they are quite comfortable."

"It took a few years of trial and error, but we finally managed to create team apparel that was indeed pleasurable to wear. And with the recent addition of unstable molecules into the material, which I obtained as part of a mutually beneficial research agreement with my fellow inventive and innovative colleague Reed Richards, they are far more durable as well." Hank told her, "But as much as I'm elated to see you garbed in tight black leather, it's still nowhere near as…revealing as the attire that you at one time used to sport."

"I assume that you are referring to that atrocious bright-red leotard and matching cape that I used to wear, back when I was still following in my father's footsteps? Which is the very same outfit that I was bold enough to accessorize with a headdress that looked as though it had come straight out of a fairytale book, like the ones that I read to Megan every night at bedtime?" Wanda acknowledged, as she crossed one leg over the other while sitting on Hank's desk, and clasped both hands together at her right knee, "Tell me darling, could I have been any more obvious?"

"It certainly managed to get my undivided attention." Hank wittily retorted, as he leaned back in his chair and took his glasses off to look up at his wife, while she further reminisced on the costume that she was now slightly embarrassed to admit ever owning.

"Dear, to garner the attention of an adolescent boy all a member of the opposite sex really need do is breathe in and out on a consistent basis." Wanda amusingly shot back.

"Thinking back to my own teenage experience, I suppose that is an argument that even I would have trouble in building a case against." Hank happily replied.

While Hank and Wanda continued with their light-hearted badinage, Scott and Professor Xavier were passing by in the hallway outside and were still discussing the more serious situation to be dealt with. Having spent the majority of the day scrutinizing endless potential strategies, the two men had decided it was time to take an overdue break from the monotony of the broadcast feeds coming into the War Room.

They were now on their way up to ground level of the school, and in a day that had been seen one unforeseen occurrence after another, Scott and Professor Xavier would soon encounter one more unexpected development. It had come in the form of a winged visitor, who had managed to somehow arrive without being detected by the mansion's security system.

……………………………

In what was now middle of the evening, Warren and Jubilee were currently discussing everything that had been going on since that morning. They were standing in the rear of the living room as James Proudstar and Jones Davidson, now the only students left from the large crowd that had been gathered in there earlier that afternoon, sat on the sofas within.

"So, you're Angel? Guess the code-name was a no-brainer." Jubilee commented to Warren, as they watched continuing TV coverage of the standoff in Washington, "It also looks like it's gonna be my day for recognizin' former students, who seem to be totally poppin' outta the woodworks and gettin' sucked into some sorta school-reunion aura that's building around this place."

"On the subject of former teachers, do you know where the Professor is right now?" Warren asked her, as coming to see his former mentor was one of the main motivations behind his return, "Although, I can probably guess. Knowing him, I'm sure he's downstairs in the War Room as we speak." Warren said.

"You know about the War Room?" Jubilee inquired.

"Former student, remember?" Warren happily reminded Jubilee, as he looked over at her with a great smirk on his face.

"Well, duh! Somebody go and get me some ginseng, why don'tcha?" Jubilee replied, as she was able to poke fun at her own brief memory lapse.

"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Anyways, I bet Scott, Ororo and the Professor are downstairs right now working on some miracle plan, which'll put the world right once again." Warren whimsically remarked.

"Hmmm, I might take you up on that bet. That is, depending on what kind of odds you're giving us on succeeding." Scott now remarked to Warren, as he and Professor Xavier both came into the living room.

"Hello, Warren." Professor Xavier said, as he addressed one of his original protégés.

"Hi, Professor." Warren greeted him, in a tone far more serious now than just mere seconds ago.

"I must say that this is a most pleasant surprise, even in a day that has seen its fair share of very alarming incidents." Professor Xavier told him.

"I came because I think it's time that you and I finally talked about a few things." Warren revealed, as he wasted no time in getting to his point with the Professor.

"Come then. Scott and I were just on our way outside to the garden for a breath of fresh air, but I'm sure that he won't mind it if you accompany me out there in his stead." Professor Xavier said, as Scott nodded in agreement.

While the Professor and Warren left to go and have a few moments alone to converse, Jubilee and Scott were left in the living room together.

"So, how're things going on plans to start our own Sentinel scrap yard?" Jubilee asked Scott, as they stood and picked up the conversation that she and Warren had left off with.

"We've pretty much got a dual-attack plan together. All I'm waiting on is for Ororo to return, so I can get her input and fine-tune any last-minute details." Scott told her.

"When do you think we'll be leaving?" Jubilee asked him.

"Most likely very early in the morning, probably before sunrise. That'll give us enough time to finish our preparations, and also to bring Havok and Polaris up to speed on everything." Scott answered, as he then looked down at the watch on his wrist, "I think I'm going to head down to the dining hall. Any of you guys want to join me?"

"No thanks, I'm not hungry right now." Jones said to him, as he sat in front of the television.

"I ate earlier with the other guys." James also revealed, as he sat on another sofa.

"What about you?" Scott asked Jubilee, as he looked over to her.

"I'll be down a little later. There's a kinda important phone call that I need to go make first." Jubilee replied.

Scott then began his solo journey down the corridor towards the school's dining facility, while Jubilee turned to head up the stairs to her room. She intended to go speak to the one person who had come to mean so much to her, and in just a very short amount of time since meeting him.

…………………………….

"It's been a while since I've had the luxury of enjoying a view like this." Warren said, as he stood next to Professor Xavier in the school's garden area, the two of them watching the spectacular sunset at day's end.

"Then, it sounds like it has been much too long." Professor Xavier replied, commenting on the serene beauty on display before them.

"Seems to be the story of my life lately. It's taken me too long to do a lot things, like coming back here for example." Warren stated, "I just wanted to come and tell you in person how sorry I am by the fact that Worthington Enterprises got wrapped up in helping to build those Sentinels. You have to believe that I didn't have any idea about what was going on."

"I do believe you, and I take you for your word on the matter." Professor Xavier responded, as he looked up at Warren from his wheelchair.

"Thanks, even though I'm sure I've given you every reason to think otherwise." Warren responded.

"Why would you say that?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Look at how I left things here. I thought hell would have to freeze over first, before I'd ever step foot back at this school." Warren commented.

"I don't recall stipulating that as a prerequisite for you to pay us a visit." Professor Xavier cordially stated.

"Considering how heated our last conversation here was, I figured that a new Ice Age would be necessary to cool things off at the very least." Warren figuratively stated.

"Even if that were the case, I believe that one of our current students could certainly accommodate such a process." Professor Xavier cleverly remarked, "But, I've never harbored any kind of resentment towards you for your decision to leave."

"You know before I came here, I spent a few hours just flying around. I kept wondering whether I even had a place here in Westchester anymore." Warren revealed.

"You've always had a place here with us Warren, if you wanted it." Professor Xavier adamantly told him.

"Despite the fact that I told you that I didn't want to fight for your dream anymore?" Warren queried him.

"Warren, I am a teacher, and part of that responsibility entails that I prepare my students to be able to decide for themselves what it is that they want to do with their lives." Professor Xavier told him.

"And what if I told you now that I've decided that I want to help you guys put an end to this nightmare in Washington?" Warren wanted to know.

Professor Xavier didn't reply to Warren at first. Instead, he turned his wheelchair around and began to wheel back inside, before he spoke again.

"I would say that I'm fairly certain that we have a spare uniform that would fit you." Professor Xavier said, as he continued rolling towards the mansion's entranceway that led from the garden.

"By the way, welcome home Angel."

The Professor's words continued to linger in the twilight air for some time, following his departure from the garden. In the meantime, Warren stood out there and fully extended his wings, allowing them to slowly move up and down in the evening breeze. He stayed there for a little while longer and finished watching the sun, as it made its final descent into the western horizon.

At long last, Warren felt as though he really had found his way back home.

………………………………

Over in the school's spacious dining hall, Scott had just entered and saw that there were only a few other individuals inside. Rogue and Remy had arrived mere minutes before him and they instantly drew the attention of Danielle Moonstar, Theresa Cassidy, and Amara Aquilla, prompting the three girls to come over and join the couple at their table. Scott proceeded in and went over to a commercial-sized refrigerator located in the school's dining facility. He removed one of the pre-made dinner platters within, and went over to one of the half dozen microwaves in the cafeteria to heat it up.

The meals for the school had been contracted by an outside catering service, and they were prepared and delivered on a daily basis. Taking into consideration that with the number of people at the school and that it was a rare occurrence for everyone to all eat at the same time, this arrangement seemed to be more sensible than the alternative, which would have been hiring a full-time cook.

At any rate, Scott brought the fine cuisine over from the microwave on a plastic carrying tray to one of the long rectangular tables in the hall and sat down by himself. But Scott's mind was still very much on the mission that he was preparing the X-Men for, and it was evidenced by the fact that he hadn't even bothered to remove the microwave-safe lid from the plate on his tray, spending the next few minutes just staring off into space. Mulling through various strategic calculations in his mind, Scott paid little attention to the meal or to his immediate surroundings. That is, until he was jarred out of his contemplative state when another individual approached the table and spoke to him. Without even looking, he knew right away who it was by her now unmistakable voice.

"Hey there, 'leader-man'. Mind if I join you?" Alison affably asked him, as she came over and stood to his right.

"Of course not." Scott replied, as looked up at Alison. Scott then quickly stood up and pulled another seat out for her, as Alison sat her tray down on the table.

"You looked like you were into some pretty heavy daydreaming there for a minute. Although with those designer shades of yours, it's kind of hard to tell." Alison told Scott, as she revealed her very careful observations of him from the other side of the dining hall.

"I was just mentally going over a few things for our mission tomorrow." Scott told her.

"Oh. If I'm disturbing you I can leave you alone, so that you can think in peace." Alison said, as she started to get up and move over to another table. But, Scott quickly reached out and gently took hold of Alison by her arm.

"It's alright, you're not bothering me. In fact, I'd really enjoy some company for a change." Scott told her.

"Okay." Alison replied, as she sat back down after Scott had unequivocally convinced her that she wasn't bothering him, "Before I came in here, I caught some of the news. They were saying it looked like the Sentinels have found a way to block all communications going into and out of the White House, and that they haven't heard from anyone inside since this morning." Alison divulged, as she took a small bite from the grilled chicken on her plate.

"Yeah, I saw that too. It looks like we'll have our work cut out just trying to get inside to help the President." Scott replied.

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Alison confidently declared.

"They didn't mention anything about the heli-carrier, though." Alison had noticed.

"Probably because the public is panicked enough as it is, and I assume that they don't see a need to add to that fear." Scott surmised.

"That makes sense." Alison replied.

"Say, we've been talking about everything else going on today, but I forgot to ask you about your first day as our brand new teacher?" Scott now inquired of her.

"Well, for the two minutes that I actually got to teach were great." Alison pointed out, "Then, one of the students came in and told us about what was happening in Washington, and class time pretty much came to a screeching halt after that. Then, another one of the students didn't take the news all that well, and I had my first official teacher emergency to deal with. For a little while, I started to wonder if someone was maybe trying to send me an omen, telling me that it was a huge mistake to put me in charge of a room full of kids? But, everything eventually turned out okay and worked itself out."

"And how do you feel about things now, as far as teaching?" Scott continued asking, as he had removed the lid from the plate covering his roast beef entrée.

"It was nerve-racking at first. But, once I got up in front of the class all of that changed, and I really did enjoy being there." Alison answered, "In some ways, it started to feel almost second nature."

"You're talking like you've found your calling." Scott told her.

"I don't know. Maybe you should wait and see how day number two goes first, before you give me your stamp of approval." Alison warmly asserted.

"Then, it sounds like you plan on sticking around with us, at least for a little while?" Scott commented.

"Yeah, I think I will be." Alison said, as a bright smile then came across her face.

"It's good to hear that." Scott replied, as a happy expression came to his face as well.

As Alison and Scott continued their intimate conversation, it was apparent that they very much enjoyed being in one another's presence. It was a fact that was also illustrated when three of the school's younger students who were sitting just a few tables over, started giggling loudly. It caused Scott and Alison to turn around and look over at them.

"Wonder what's so funny?" Alison remarked.

"With teenagers, it could be a million things." Scott responded, as he and Alison looked over at Amara, Dani, and Theresa, and then went back to talking.

One of those million things happened to be the fact that the girls had been spectators to their teachers' exclusive discourse and very much noticed the obvious chemistry between the two, even if their relationship had no where near progressed to that point yet.

……………………………….

Down in the War Room another of the X-Men, whose own relationship had reached that point and went far beyond, was busy expressing his innermost feelings to woman that he loved. Although, the recipient of his heart-felt message wouldn't hear what he had to say, until he sent it to her via his videophone.

"…and that's basically what's been goin' on around here with me. We'll probably be headin' out pretty soon to go take care of things in D.C., and with this heli-carrier takeover. I just didn't want to leave without sending one more message to ya. I also didn't want to leave without sayin' I love you, and lettin' you know a day hasn't gone by I haven't thought about you. Anyways, I'll talk to you again when we're finished with all of this."

Having finished his message, Logan uploaded it through his phone. Once it had been confirmed as being sent, he then closed the phone and held it in his hand. Logan then sat there on the small staircase in front of the War Room's podium for a moment. He lost himself in silent contemplation as he thought about his life, at least the fragmented sections of his past that he had been able to piece together. He also thought about Mariko Yashida, and how much of a difference that she had made in said life. Before meeting Mariko, and the X-Men for that matter, Logan simply lived from day to day and didn't given much thought or concern to settling down and establishing roots anywhere, or with anyone. But, all of that changed on a cold and snowy day, when he had a chance encounter with a teenage girl, in a less than reputable bar in rural Canada.

The younger girl had left her small hometown in Mississippi after recently discovering that she was different, and much like Logan, feeling as though she no longer fit in anywhere. Immediately upon meeting, the two kindred spirits seemed to connect with one another.

The Runaway, and The Drifter.

The Rogue, and The Wolverine.

As fate would have it, Logan and Rogue were both summarily rescued by the X-Men, mutants like themselves who had pledged to use their powers to protect the world from those that would seek to destroy it. They were both brought to a very special school in Westchester County, New York that had been founded by Professor Charles Xavier. His school had become a safe haven for those within, sheltering them from a world not yet ready to accept the fact that mutants now walked among them. It was here that Logan came to care very much about the people that resided there, feeling as though he had finally found a place that he could call home.

But in the War Room, Logan was also thinking about the fact that he and a number of those same individuals, were preparing to step into the crosshairs of a battle to save tomorrow. He knew full well the danger that was at hand, and being extremely cognizant of that, Logan hated that his family was about to run headfirst into harm's way.

As Logan continued with his ruminations, another individual who had also been thinking about some of these very same things came in to join him. He too had considered the danger that his X-Men were about to face, and had noted that it was the exact kind of threat that he had been preparing them, some of them for years now, to fight against.

"Evenin', Chuck." Logan said, as the large steel doors opened and Professor Xavier wheeled inside.

"Hello, Logan." Professor Xavier replied, "I wasn't expecting to see you back down here so soon."

"I came to see what the latest word was. When I got here and the place was all cleared out, I decided to go ahead and make an important phone call. "Logan revealed, "Short-stuff had told me before about the reception bein' pretty solid down here."

"I'm not interrupting you, am I?" Professor Xavier asked Logan.

"Nah, I'm finished." Logan answered, "I was just sittin' here and workin' through some o' my pre-fight jitters."

"I can certainly understand why you would feel uneasy about all of this." Professor Xavier commented, as he wheeled over towards the small set of steps at the front of the War Room where Logan was currently seated.

"Uneasiness ain't really the word I'd use. I suppose realistic'd be a more accurate description of my mindset." Logan clarified, "I know how things can change in a split second when you go to war, which is exactly what we're about to do. I just hope that everyone, especially the zit-brigade upstairs, fully understands that."

"I think all of us are wholly aware of that, myself especially. If I had my way, none of you would be placing yourselves in such peril, particularly those young people upstairs." Professor Xavier responded, "Today's events have reiterated the fact that sometimes we are forced to fight for what we believe in, and that sometimes we are forced to fight just for our survival. I had promised the Senior-students that if this kind of situation were to ever arise that they would be given the opportunity to join in and help, if they so wished. With that said, having seen the horrors of war first-hand it is still not a decision that I have made lightly."

"When'd you find time to go off and fight in a war?" Logan skeptically asked, as he was having a slight bit of trouble picturing the Professor in combat.

"I was drafted into the military right after college, and I served a tour of duty in Southeast Asia." Professor Xavier informed him, "After I finished basic and then officer training school, I arrived near Saigon during the waning days of the Tet Offensive."

"Yeah, then you definitely know what I'm talkin' about." Logan responded, "But, I didn't know you spent time over there?"

"It is a period of my life that I generally try not to dwell on." Professor Xavier expressed.

"Oh, is that where you…you know?" Logan nodded, as he motioned towards the Professor's wheelchair.

"No, that happened some time later, after I had been discharged." Professor Xavier revealed, which felt strange to him since it was a rarity for him to even discuss this part of his past, "On top of being sent into a conflict that had this country divided over its merits, I was thrust into what could only be described as a hellish situation. I was nowhere near ready to witness and experience such brutality, and I was as equally unprepared to have the additional challenge of coping with it all on a telepathic level. I am thankful for the fact that most of my time over there was spent leading my squadron on search and rescue missions, helping to find and bring out soldiers that had been injured and were trapped behind enemy advances in the field. A close friend even gave me the nickname of 'The Good Sheperd' for my efforts, although I have always felt that name was a bit presumptuous."

"Just take a look at what you've done around here to help rescue the lot of us Chuck, and I'd say your old nickname still fits ya perfectly." Logan poignantly remarked, as he sat back and leaned against the steps behind him.

………………………………

Meanwhile in the corridor right outside of the War Room, Jubilee and Warren were on the elevator as it made its way down to the lower levels. This was following another chance meeting between the two in the hallway upstairs, when Warren was making his return from the outdoor garden area. Jubilee had come back downstairs after finishing her phone call to Doug Ramsey and as they stopped to talk once again, Warren revealed that he was on his way down to the lower levels of the school. When he imparted to her the reason for his journey, Jubilee offered to accompany and assist him.

"Thanks again for offering to help modify one of the spare uniforms, so that it can accommodate my wings." Warren said, as the two of them stood together on the elevator that had just reached their sub-level destination.

"No prob. Like, everyone around here comes to yours truly for the major fashion hook-ups. All I have to do is make a couple of tapered slits in the back, and you'll be in business in no time." Jubilee replied, as the elevator door now opened in front of them, "Rogue keeps tellin' me that instead of dreamin' of headin' off to Hollywood, that I should shoot to become the next up and coming fashion designer."

"Rogue?" Warren commented, as he had no idea who or what Jubilee was talking about.

"She's my roommate, and leader of the X-Men's student squad." Jubilee informed him, as they stepped off of the elevator and started down the long metal corridor.

"Oh, okay." Warren responded to her clarification.

"Anyways, I told Rogue that why couldn't I do both? I could even design the clothes for the movies that I'm starring in. Acting, directing, and designing, I'd be a total triple threat."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out." Warren remarked, as he and Jubilee were met by two more individuals in the corridor, both of whom were coming out of the lab.

"Warren, it's great to see you! How long have you been back?" Hank asked, as he went over and shook Warren's hand, before embracing one of his oldest friends.

"I got back about an hour ago." Warren answered, as he then turned his attention to the other person with Hank, "It's nice to see you Wanda. You're looking lovely as ever."

"Thank you, and it's wonderful to see again after so long. It seems like today is the day for long-needed reunions." Wanda said, as she went and gave Warren a hug as well, before turning back to Hank, "I'll let you two catch up, I need to go check on Megan."

"Oh, yeah. When I went to go see what Artie was up to a few minutes ago, I ran into your brother." Jubilee told Wanda, "He said the three of them were headin' to the kitchen."

"Thank you, Jubilee. Pietro must have been reading my mind, since it will be Megan's bed time soon." Wanda replied, as it was fairly late in the evening now.

"Tell Meg that I'll be up in time to say good night." Hank said, as he put his arm around Wanda and lightly kissed her on the cheek.

As Wanda continued on to the elevator, she left Warren, Jubilee and Hank in the hallway to resume their conversation.

"These lower levels have undergone a total makeover from the way they used to look when we were students." Warren observed to Hank, as they stood not too far from the elevator, "With all the improvements being made around here, I guess that's why you decided to come back and try to take over the Professor's job?"

"That was merely on an interim basis, as a favor to the Professor." Hank replied, before making his own convivial remark to Warren, "So, is Jubilee here giving you the nickel tour?"

"After Remy got through with me last night, every little bit'll help." Jubilee said in response.

"Actually, Jubilee was nice enough to come help me fix up an extra uniform to wear." Warren told Hank.

"I take it then that you will be joining us on our foray to thwart the dubious machinations of our cybernetic foes?" Hank inquired of Warren.

"If you mean am I going to go help you guys stop the Sentinels, then yes." Warren replied.

"If we don't get this uniform together, then you won't be going to stop anyone. Unless you plan on doing it in your expensive boxers?" Jubilee reminded Warren as they, plus Hank, continued on to the utility area where the spare uniforms were kept.

………………………………

Nearly an hour had passed, and in that time Scott had returned from his unexpected dinner date with what was slowly becoming a most intriguing individual to him. He was now back down in the War Room with Professor Xavier, as they worked towards finalizing roster assignments for the X-Men's mission. While they were talking, Scott's handheld communicator that he and all of the other X-Men carried, suddenly flashed to life.

"Cyclops here." Scott said, as he held the phone-shaped communicator up to his ear.

"Cyclops, this is Storm. I'm contacting you to let you know that the Blackbird has just entered airspace over New York, and that our ETA should be in about five minutes. We'll be docking in Hangar B." Ororo informed him over the radio channel.

"The Professor and I will come down to meet you." Scott told her.

"Oh and Scott, could you bring Theresa Cassidy and James Proudstar with you? I have a very special surprise for each of them." Ororo enigmatically requested, as she then signed off.

"What that was all about?" Scott queried the Professor, speculating on Ororo's rather vague remark.

"I imagine that we will be finding out in about five minutes." Professor Xavier replied, as Scott took his com-device and scrolled through the various names in it.

"Bobby?" Scott said, as he now patched into Bobby Drake's com-device.

"This is Bobby. What's going on?" Bobby answered.

"Are you still in the dining hall?" Scott asked, as Bobby had been entering the dining facility just as he and Alison were leaving.

"Yeah." Bobby confirmed.

"Is Theresa Cassidy in there with you?" Scott continued inquiring.

"Uh-huh, she and a few of the other girls are in here." Bobby replied.

"Would you bring her and James Proudstar down to Hangar B? James should still be in the living room with Jones Davidson." Scott requested.

"Sure, but why?" Bobby asked.

"The three of you come out to Hangar B, and we'll all find out in about five minutes." Scott replied straight-forwardly, as he then disconnected the call. Scott and Professor Xavier then left the War Room together and proceeded down the corridor towards the underground hangar section of the school.

After a moderately lengthy journey, Scott and the Professor made it to their destination of Hangar B. Their arrival coincided with that of the Blackbird coming into the hangar through its cliff-side entrance, and the occupants were currently disembarking from the craft.

"So Charles, I see that ye brought the welcome wagon along with ye." Sean Cassidy, who was code-named Banshee lightly remarked, as he came down the just lowered ramp of the Blackbird dressed in a simple medium-brown leather jacket and khaki trousers.

"That is a rather insightful observation. Welcome back." Professor Xavier replied, as the small passenger cart that had shuttled him and Scott down the long tunnel to the larger auxiliary hangar came to a stop.

Then, two more individuals came down the ramp behind Sean, who also announced their presence.

"I hope you're just as happy to see us too. With classes temporarily suspended, we had nothing but spare time on our hands." Lorna Dane warmly greeted the Professor, as she came down the ramp dressed in a light purple short-sleeved blouse and white crop pants. Her presence was as unmistakable by her demeanor, as it was by the natural light-green hair that marked one of her very unique physical attributes.

"I would say 'Slim' over there is also ecstatic to see us. But, since he usually sticks to a one facial expression limit, it's hard to tell whether he has his happy face on or not." Alex Summers teasingly said to his older brother Scott, as the rugged-looking blonde in his early 20's was the next to descend from the plane, wearing a rust-colored t-shirt and a pair of stonewashed jeans.

"Nothing gives me more pride or satisfaction than the sight of my students, even those that have long since graduated." Professor Xavier responded, as he was alluding to the fact that Warren had just come back a few hours ago following an extremely prolonged absence. But, Professor Xavier's words would end up having additional significance, as one more former student now exited the Blackbird behind Alex.

"Then, does that mean you've got room for one more, Chief?" John Proudstar, a very tall, very muscular, and physically imposing man said to Professor Xavier, as he now came down the ramp. The handsome Native American was dressed in a deep blue Southwestern-style button up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up on it, and a pair of black denim jeans. The appellation that John used in referring to the Professor was one that he reserved only for men that had truly earned his deepest respect.

"My sentiments most certainly extend to you as well." Professor Xavier replied to John.

Now, standing before Professor Xavier were three more of his former students-

Alex Summers, also known as Havok, who was gifted with the ability to release very destructive cosmic energy rays from his body.

Lorna Dane, who had been code-named Polaris and whose ability to generate and manipulate electromagnetic fields was surpassed only by one other person on the entire planet.

And there was John Proudstar, who had been given his tribal name of Thunderbird before coming to Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. He possessed increased agility, heightened natural senses, and superior strength levels that quite possibly surpassed that of the armored X-Man code-named Colossus at this stage.

Together, these three individuals had made up the school's second class of students. By the time that they had graduated Polaris, Thunderbird, and Havok had proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that they were just as proficient in the use of their mutant abilities, as the class that had preceded them.

"What I want to know is why it took you guys so long to contact me? I had to get word from Alex about your plans to take this fight straight to the Sentinels." John remarked.

"I figured John would want in on some spur of the moment action. So, I asked Ororo to make a quick detour with the big flying taxi and stop in Arizona." Alex added.

"That particular oversight would be my fault. I know how important your efforts to help the people of your reservation are, and it just didn't occur to me to interrupt you from your work at Camp Verde." Professor Xavier said to John.

"My work back home does mean a lot to me, but I am an X-Man and I would say that this current situation takes priority." John stated, as he and the rest of the group now heard other voices approaching in the underground hangar.

"So, this is what the rest of the hangar looks like?" James Proudstar commented, as he and Theresa Cassidy arrived on another shuttle cart being driven by Bobby Drake.

"I'd say it pretty much looks like the other one, don't ye think? Maybe just a little bigger is all." Theresa said in response to James' observation.

As they neared the group, Theresa immediately spotted her father standing in the crowd of people gathered in Hangar B.

"And how have ye been while I was gone, lassie?" Sean greeted his daughter.

"Dad, ye're back!" Theresa exclaimed, as she jumped off of the cart before it had come to a complete stop and ran over to hug him, "Missin' ye is how I've been."

At almost that same moment, James looked over and saw the reason that he had been brought down to the hangar with Theresa.

"We had heard rumors about Terry's dad coming back, but no one told me you that were coming too." James said, as he got off of the passenger cart and walked over towards John. He was somewhat stunned, but very much thrilled by his brother's return.

"I asked Ororo not to say anything on the way here. I wanted to surprise you, little brother." John said, as he now went to hug his younger brother within his powerful grasp. James was a fairly large young man at a generous six feet, four inches tall, especially when considering his age of fourteen. But, standing next to his brother John, who towered at six feet, eleven inches tall and weighed in at over three hundred and fifty pounds, it made James appear almost diminutive.

As everyone continued talking, Ororo and Forge were the last to emerge from within the Blackbird, both of them were wearing black leather uniforms.

"Nice surprise." Scott said to Ororo as she came down, referring to the fact that she had kept him in the dark about John's return as well.

"I thought that you and the Professor would enjoy it almost as much as James did." Ororo replied.

"Well, with the addition of Thunderbird and Angel, it gives us more flexibility and adds much needed experience to our teams." Scott said, as he mentally started to reshuffle the potential roster assignments.

"Warren is here?" Ororo asked, as she had been unaware of his return and was slightly shocked by Scott's revelation.

"He arrived a little over an hour ago. Surprise." Scott told her, as a smile came to his face from revealing a secret of his own to Ororo, "The Professor and I have been working on the roster assignments while you were gone. I need you to come with me so that you can look them over, and give us your opinion on what changes that you think should be made. Then, the three of us can go ahead and finalize where we go from there."

"Let's go then." Ororo agreed, as she and Scott started towards one of the shuttle carts.

"I'm going to come with you." Forge said to Ororo and Scott, "I want to see how much progress Hank has made on the homing device, and how much work that we have left to do."

"Alex, I'll get together with you, Lorna and John a little later and brief all of you on the specific details of what's going on." Scott said, as he, Ororo, and Forge boarded the shuttle cart that Professor Xavier was already on.

"I suppose I'll be comin' with ye, so I can tell ye exactly what I was able to find out in South Dakota." Sean said, as he and Theresa also boarded the cart.

"What information were you able to gather from the Trask farm?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Well Charley, I can tell ye that I had meself a fairly interestin' conversation with Bolivar's son Larry, who's livin' out there now." Sean revealed, as the first shuttle cart now departed.

"So guys, any ideas on how to keep ourselves occupied, without resorting back to doing homework again?" Alex said to the rest of the group, now left in the hangar.

"How about a couple of runs through the Danger Room, so we can try and shake some of the rust off before we head out?" John proposed, as the group moved towards the second shuttle cart.

"You know, it's been too long since we've even been in there. But, I guess there're some things you never forget?" Alex said to him.

"Well, I'm curious to see all of these improvements that Scott kept bragging about when he came to visit us." Lorna commented.

"I can show you guys all of the new stuff in there. I'll even run some combat-sims with you in there, if you want Miss Dane." Bobby offered.

"That's really sweet of you. And you can just call me Lorna." Lorna said, as she expressed her appreciation to Bobby.

"It's no problem. Besides, I have some extra energy to burn and it's not like I have much of anything else to do right now." Bobby replied, as he, Alex, Lorna, John, and James boarded the second shuttle cart, and then left the hangar to head back to the main part of the underground section of the school.

While the second cart made its way back, the first group had already parked and departed from their small transport vehicle in Hangar A. They now walked back down the main underground corridor with Ororo, Scott, Professor Xavier, and Sean heading for the War Room and Forge going to Hank's lab. Theresa was heading for the elevator to go back upstairs following her brief reunion with her father, but she only did so after he had promised to come talk with his daughter some more after he had finished his briefing with the others.

But, the entire group came to a halt, when they were suddenly met by Warren and Pietro in the long hallway. The two men had just come out of a door that led to the utility area, which the X-Men's uniform room, armory, and other miscellaneous items were located.

"Warren, me boyo. It's been much too long." Sean said, as he came up and shook hands with Warren, "I would ask ye what brings ye here, but I suppose that goes without sayin' now doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. Right now, I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things here." Warren replied.

"You're certainly off to a good start." Ororo remarked, as she went over to touch Warren on the arm, referring to the black and gold leather uniforms that both he and Pietro were now decked out in, "I wasn't expecting to see you when I returned."

"I just had to come back and see what you guys let pass for uniforms these days." Warren quipped, as he held both of his arms out in front of him and examined the sleeves, "Not bad. Hank wasn't kidding about how comfortable and stylish they are, although my personal tailor might not completely agree."

"In spite of your tailor's opinion, it is good to have you back in one." Ororo warmly stated.

"And it feels pretty good to be back in black." Warren emphatically told her.

"Speaking of Hank, I'd better go check in with him." Forge said, as he now moved past the group to check the progress of the cloaking/detection device that they were building.

"I'll go with you, so that I can see what my brother-in-law is up to. I'm curious to learn more about this contraption that you and McCoy have concocted." Pietro said, as he followed behind Forge to the lab.

"We'd better get going too." Scott said to those remaining nearby in the hallway.

"I'll finish talking to you guys a little later." Warren said, as also he went to join Forge and Pietro, while Professor Xavier, Scott, Ororo and Sean went to the War Room and Theresa ventured on to the elevator.

………………………….

As more time passed and the hour approached ten o'clock at the school, it found Rogue now coming back down to its lower levels after being requested on her personal com-device by Scott. Within a matter of minutes, Rogue was entering the strategic planning room to find out why.

"Has something else happened?" Rogue questioned Ororo and Scott, as she entered the War Room wearing a black tank top underneath a very sheer white, long-sleeved blouse and white spandex tights.

The only other person currently in the room at that moment besides her, Scott, and Ororo was Bobby, who was sitting in a chair close by dressed in his black and ice blue trimmed uniform.

"We called you two to give you the roster assignments for tomorrow, and so that you can pass them along to your squad mates and anyone else that you come across." Scott revealed, as he handed Rogue a small stack of sheets of paper that listed which team each X-Man had been assigned to.

"Tell them that we should be moving out around sunrise. That should give Henry and Forge enough time to finish working on their tracking device." Ororo also told them.

But right then, Scott and Ororo's attention was immediately drawn back to the large monitor in the War Room as a very interesting graphic was displayed in front of them. Scott cued up that particular broadcast feed and turned up the volume, so that all four of them could hear what the reporter was saying.

"This is Trish Tilby from the GNN anchor desk live in New York, as we bring you the latest on our continuing coverage of the siege in Washington D.C. as it enters its twelfth hour. Little has changed in regards to the situation on the ground, with the Sentinels still maintaining control over a concentrated section of the city surrounding the White House. The U.S. capital city is now in an official state of emergency and many of the residents that live in the immediate vicinity of the disturbance zone have either been evacuated, or have left of their own accord.

With military forces unwilling at this point to take hostile action against the Sentinels, attempts have been made to contact the famed super-hero group known as The Fantastic Four for assistance. The group has had a history of providing critical help in the past, such as dealing with the threat posed by the self-proclaimed ruler of the seas, Namor of Atlantis. They have also been essential in stopping the strange creatures that continue to sporadically rampage through parts of New York City, creations of the mysterious villain known only as The Mole-Man. But at a time when they are most needed, the Fantastic Four are nowhere to be found. There have been unsubstantiated eyewitness accounts of the group being sighted half a world away, in the small Eastern European nation of Latveria, although one could only hazard a guess as to why they would choose to go there at a time such as this…"

"Do you think the Sentinels have anything to do with their sudden disappearance?" Ororo asked Scott in regards to this ultimate instance of coincidences.

"At this point, we really can't rule it out." Scott replied, as a video montage of footage showing the Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, and the Thing in action played across the large video monitor.

While Scott and Ororo continued talking about this new development, Bobby and Rogue left to go outside.

"I was just about to go down to the Danger Room for a training session with some of the other reserve X-Men, when Scott and Ororo buzzed me. You're more than welcome to join us?" Bobby offered to Rogue, as they stood together out in the corridor.

"Thanks, but I had a pretty grueling workout with Remy in there earlier this afternoon. But you can go ahead, and I'll take these upstairs so I can hand them out to everyone." Rogue replied.

"Oh, um…right." Bobby simply responded, before he turned to head down towards the Danger Room. He carried with him a few copies of the roster sheets, so that he could give them out to the X-Men that were waiting for him.

"Bobby…" Rogue unexpectedly called out, which caused him to immediately turn back around towards her.

"What's up?" Bobby inquired.

"You know, sometime we can run a session in there together like we used to. Just the two of us." Rogue proposed.

"Sure." Bobby warmly replied, as he then turned back and continued on to the Danger Room.

Before Rogue went to the elevator that would take her back upstairs, she first went and made a quick stop in the armory close by.

In less than a minute, Bobby entered the Danger Room where Havok, Polaris, Thunderbird were waiting, and where Quicksilver had now also joined them. Bobby had been sent over to the lab a short time before to find out from Hank and Forge how much progress had made with the device that they were designing. When asked why he was in uniform, Bobby revealed to them that he was on his way to the Danger Room to run a few simulations with the X-Men that had just gotten back, and now Pietro's curiosity about the training room had been piqued.

In the Danger Room, Bobby saw that John, Lorna, and Alex had also went and put on basic black and gold team uniforms that were similar to the one that Pietro was already wearing.

"Are you guys ready?" Bobby asked, as he continued towards the center of the underground training facility and handed each of them the list that he had just received.

"Considering that a few of us in here graduated from this school, we'd better be ready." Alex responded.

Bobby then verbally initiated the Danger Room session, and the room started to change around them. A dense fog rolled in around them and then they heard a loud booming voice give them a command

"Halt Mutants!"

"I take it that we're skipping the appetizer, and jumping straight to the main course?" Polaris commented, as all five individuals in the Danger Room then quickly leapt into action against the Sentinel simulation program.

"Your gift for the obvious is utterly amazing." Quicksilver somewhat snidely remarked to Polaris, as he used his super-speed to easily dodge one of the Sentinel's energy blasts.

"I think it's more like we have a gift for wrecking things. How're you doing over there, Johnny?" Havok queried Thunderbird, as he used his cosmic energy blasts to obliterate the top half of one of the Sentinels.

"Fine. It feels just like old times, 'Lex." Thunderbird answered, as he jumped up and grabbed another one of the Sentinels by its arm. He ripped its appendage off and proceeded to hit the robotic construct with it, instantly knocking the Sentinel to the ground with a thundering shot.

"Yeah, way to beat that thing like it stole something from you, Proudstar." Polaris commented, as she used a magnetic energy blast to disrupt the circuitry of another Sentinel close to her.

……………………………..

Jubilee had left the lower levels of the school more than an hour ago and returned to her room upstairs, all after she had helped Warren with his uniform alterations. Now, she was laying on her bed with pen in hand and a notebook underneath her, all in order to do something that she felt that she just had to.

To say a goodbye, of sorts.

A little earlier Jubilee had gotten her team assignment from Rogue, which solidified the fact that she and the rest of the X-Men were really about to attempt what some would say was the impossible. Jubilee didn't know if it was because of what Artie had said earlier about Alkali Lake or if it was her mind just coming to grips with the logical facts, but now the danger that they were facing felt all too real to her. The only thing that Jubilee wanted to do now was to tell her boyfriend about all of it and more.

Even though she had spoken to Doug earlier on the phone, making small talk about what was going on in Washington, Jubilee didn't fully reveal what she and the other residents at Xavier's were planning on doing. So, she felt that Doug should at least know the truth, even if it wouldn't be in the manner that she had preferred he find out.

Dear Doug,

If you're reading this letter, then that means something didn't quite go the way we planned it and I didn't make it back alive. If that's the case, I hope I at least took a bunch of those purple bucket heads with me. Anyways, the reason I'm writing this letter is so that you'll know the real deal from yours truly.

Do you remember that one day when you came to see me, you know, after all that stuff that happened at Madison Square Garden? We sat together outside and I told you about how this was a school for mutants, and that we learned how to control our powers here.

Well, there's a little more to it than just that.

It has to do with the reason why I felt the need to try n take on the Blob all by myself that night, and it's the reason why you're reading this letter now. See, we learn how to control our powers here, but we're also taught how to use them to protect innocent people from other bad mutants, or from just plain bad people in general. The deal is, I'm part of the X-Men and that's kinda like what we do. I know I should've told you before, but I just didn't know how. I kept waiting for just the right time to bring it up, but I guess now that you're reading this, that means that there won't ever be a right time.

Still, that's only part of the reason I'm writing this. There's other stuff that I never got to tell you. It's stuff that I want you to know about me, about Jubilation Lee. I guess I spend so much time crackin' jokes that sometimes people think that's all there is to me. Don't get me wrong, I like to have a good time, but there's another side to me too. I'm not a shrink or anything, but I guess being the comedian is how I deal with all of the craptastically bad stuff that's happened in my life.

I told you before about my parents getting killed in that accident and about me getting sent to live in a string of foster homes after that. I used to really hate being there so much. I mean, it's not like the people there really cared about me anyways, so I'd usually end up running away first chance I got. On top of that, I missed my parents like crazy, especially that first year after they died. So like the only way I could deal was to become the class clown, you know, so I wouldn't have to let other people close to all of that stuff underneath that wasn't as funny.

Cool thing was that later on I found my way here to Professor Xavier's school, and I found a place where the people were pretty decent. Well more than just decent, it felt like they really did want to help me. Which brings me to why I became an X-Man.

Remember I told you that those army guys showed up here last year because they heard a rumor that mutants went to school here. Well it was more than a rumor that made them come here. See, they came here because a guy named Col. Stryker had a real mad-on for mutants everywhere, and he wanted to totally kill all of us dangerous mutants. He kidnapped me and some of the other students and took us to this secret army base where he was building a machine to really try to do just that. He even took some of the little kids like Artie with him. I mean c'mon, Artie's not even a danger to anyone. Then he stuck us all in this dungeon cell where we were all wet and freezing and everything. Later on, the teachers from the school and a few other adults rescued us and brought us back home. After things had settled down, me and a few of the other older students got together and we were talking about how everything had gone down. We talked about how pissed we were about it all, and about how we wanted to learn to use our powers to prevent the next Col. Stryker from making a repeat performance. So voila, Wow, I didn't know I even knew that word, we started training to be X-Men.

Anyways, what I really wanted you to know was that you were like the first guy that I've even felt comfortable telling some of this stuff to. I mean some of this I haven't even talked to Rogue or Ororo about. You also made me feel like it was okay to let my guard down and be myself, not just the joker. That's one of the things that I thought was so great about you. You accepted me for who I was, even being a mutant and all of the baggage with that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I Love You Doug, and I don't want any of this to make you think I felt any other way about you. I know you're probably going to be mad about me keeping all of these secrets from you, but please don't be mad, cause I really, really hated hiding stuff from you. All I'm hoping is that one day you find it in yourself to forgive me, and that when you remember me that hopefully you won't be as mad anymore. I also just want you think about all of the happy times that we had together, because I know that's what I'll always cherish about us.

Love,

Jubilee

As Jubilee sealed her letter inside of an envelope marked 'For Doug- Just in case' and sat it on the nightstand next to her bed, she struggled to fight back tears brought on by the thought of the written message in front of her possibly being the final thing he would hear from her.

…………………………………

Elsewhere in the mansion, Rogue and Remy where sitting in the student's recreation-room together. Rogue was busily assembling more of her explosive-tipped arrows for her crossbow, along with gathering a few other special items for their big day. All the while, Remy was sitting next to Rogue on the sofa in front of the TV and watching the latest news. As he sat beside her, Remy used various tools to carefully shape and fashion small metal knives for himself out of pieces of scrap metal, which he could then kinetically charge and easily throw at a target. It was one of a multitude of skills that had been taught to Remy by his family, all of them members of the infamous Thieves Guild of New Orleans.

Back upstairs and in spite of the day's excitement, many of the students had gone to bed. Although, most wouldn't be able to get much sleep knowing what was going on. A prime example was Kitty, who had gone to her bedroom to lay down. Being an active member of the X-Men, she at the very least wanted to try to relax before their mission, and she even hoped to grab back a few hours of sleep that her restless nights of late had stolen from her. But, Kitty couldn't stop thinking about her anxiety regarding the Sentinels, and it left her lying in her bed wide-awake. So, Kitty eventually got up and decided to seek out the one person whose mere presence helped to soothe her internal angst. She went down the hallway to his room, and quietly phased through his bedroom door.

Some time had passed before Peter Rasputin woke up in his full-sized bed, slowly looking over to his right to see that he had a most unexpected guest fast asleep next to him. But, he knew and fully understood that their current circumstance had most likely caused Kitty to venture down and join him this night. So, Peter simply put his massive arm around her smaller frame to hold her tight, and then went back to sleep as well.

As the hour now passed midnight, Bobby Drake and John Proudstar continued their workout in the school's Danger Room with John's younger brother James watching them from the control booth above. Meanwhile Alex Summers, Lorna Dane, and Pietro Maximoff had decided to take a break from their training session. The trio had taken the elevator upstairs, where they were just now stepping off into the hallway on the first floor. As they did, they continued a conversation that had originally begun a number of feet below them.

"If that was the acclaimed Danger Room that I've heard McCoy brag so much about, I have to tell you that I was less than impressed by it." Pietro said to Lorna and Alex, in a voice that displayed his distinctly central European accent.

"The Danger Room was built to help us hone our powers and abilities. I don't think the Professor took entertainment value into account when he was designing it." Alex replied, as they journeyed down the hallway together.

"Considering that I already have complete mastery of my abilities, then it was essentially a waste of my time. My presence in there ended up being more for your benefit than anything." Pietro declared.

"Even after all of these years, you're still arrogant as ever, Pietro." Lorna remarked, as she looked over at him.

"No, I'm just honest. While the rest of you have to practice learning how to control and use your powers, I'm the fastest man on the planet forced to live in a world that simply cannot keep up with me." Pietro told her.

"In that case, it sounds like you need to learn to slow down every once in awhile roadrunner. Else, that world may end up passing you by." Lorna semi-sarcastically commented to him.

"Great, now you're going to start inundating me with your sage wisdom, which my sister already has a habit of doing." Pietro said about Wanda.

"Then, maybe you should start actually paying attention to what your sister has to say." Lorna replied, as the three of them decided to pass through the main living room on their way to the kitchen.

"What's the latest news?" Alex asked Jaime Madrox and Rahne Sinclair, as the two students were sitting on the sofa and watching the continuing coverage on television.

"Nothing's changed. Those 'bots are still in charge of the city." Jaime replied.

"Och, they're so frightening t'look at! Even from such a distance, and on TV t'boot." Rahne added.

"You children probably shouldn't be up this late watching this anyways." Pietro said to Rahne and Jaime.

"Children? C'mon, we're not three years old or something. Besides, this is all that's on TV right now." Jaime replied to Pietro, in a fairly annoyed tone.

"Ye shouldn't speak t'adults like that, 'tis disrespectful Jaime Madrox." Rahne said, as she looked next to her and scolded her classmate.

"Okay 'Rahney', don't go and bust a blood vessel because of me." Jaime said back to her.

Alex, Lorna and Pietro continued to stand in the living room to watch the news coverage with Jaime and Rahne, in what had seemingly become a ritual this day at the school. Then, one more person entered the living room and factored himself into what had become a very interesting assemblage of personalities.

"Hey Forge, what's the latest?" Alex asked him, as Forge came in from the kitchen after he had taken a quick break from his efforts with Hank down below.

"I think that we've made significant progress, especially when you consider the limited amount of time in which we've had to work." Forge replied, as he then turned to face the person standing right next to Alex, "Lorna, we'll need you to come down a little later when Hank and I have finished, so that we can gauge how effective our device is."

"Sure, just call me when you're ready." Lorna consentingly told him, as she, Alex, and Pietro then went on into the kitchen, while Forge headed for the elevator back down below.

………………………………..

Midnight had come and gone, bringing forth the early morning hours for those that were still awake inside of the mansion. Following their briefing with Alex, Lorna, and John in which they had relayed much of the same information that had been given at the previous team meeting, Ororo, Scott, and Professor Xavier then set to the task of coming up with a plan to help liberate both Washington D.C. and SHIELD's heli-carrier from the Sentinel's control. They took into account every conceivable and foreseeable possibility, and the three of them managed to finalize a precise stratagem to defeat the Sentinels simultaneously on two separate fronts.

Now that they were done, the only thing left was for them to for Forge and Hank to put the final touches on their invention, and then to head off with their teams into battle. So, Ororo Munroe and Scott Summers took the opportunity that they had been given to enjoy this brief moment of respite.

"I think I got your coffee just the way you like it." Scott said, as he came into the War Room now dressed in his black uniform and wearing his battlefield ruby-quartz visor. With him, he brought in two mugs, one in each hand.

"At this point, I'm not especially particular about it." Ororo replied, as she got up to get one of the cups from Scott and thanked him for it.

"As long as it keeps you awake, I guess that's all that counts." Scott said, as he and Ororo each took a seat at a large planning table in the room.

"I think the butterflies in my stomach are already taking care of that little detail." Ororo told Scott.

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one that still gets them before a mission." Scott revealed.

"If you consider the fact that we've faced the likes of Magneto, Juggernaut, Mesmero, Vanisher, along with a string of other enemies, you'd think that we would be more than used to this by now. We've certainly been doing it long enough." Ororo pointed out.

"Yeah, but we both know this one is going to be different. Those other confrontations were pretty much fought behind the scenes, us saving the world with most of the world completely unaware of it. This time, we're going to make a very public statement for mutants everywhere, by challenging the Sentinels and their relentless crusade to exterminate all of us." Scott said, as the significance of their mission certainly wasn't lost on him.

"I suppose you could say that the X-Men have come a long way since those early days." Ororo commented, as she and Scott continued sipping on their hot beverages.

"We certainly have." Scott said, as he reached into a small pocket on his uniform and slowly pulled a picture out of it.

"What is that?" Ororo curiously asked Scott.

"It's a picture, of me and Jean. It's from that time when the two of us went down to the Caribbean together. It was taken right after you and her both earned your Doctorate degrees from Empire State University." Scott revealed, as he handed the photo over to Ororo, "You know, it's been the strangest thing. Ever since I took that vacation a couple of months ago, and went back down to Caribbean by myself it's like I have this strange, new connection to Jean, even though she's been gone for nearly a year. I'm not really sure that I can find the words to explain it, but I guess all of this must sound pretty bizarre to you?"

"Not particularly, considering that Jean was there with you after all." Ororo told him, which caused Scott to be taken aback as he looked at Ororo with an extremely puzzled expression. Ororo then stood up and walked over towards Scott, before she spoke again.

"She will continue to be with us, in here." Ororo said, as she lightly put her hand on Scott's chest, and then placed her hand across her own heart.

Ororo then went and sat back down in her chair, with the two of them sitting there in silence for a moment. Eventually, two more individuals came into the War Room, and inserted themselves into what had turned into a very tranquil and relaxed atmosphere for the time being.

"So, is this what you guys spend so much time in here doing? Watching TV and drinking some of the school's finest blend." Warren said, as he entered the War Room and added to its fairly light mood with his comment.

"If our lives were only that simple." Scott said, as he looked up from his seat to reply to Warren and flashed a rare smile.

"I came to inform you that we've finally finished with the locator. Forge is in the hangar running a preliminary trial with it now." Hank informed Ororo and Scott, as he took his glasses off and held them down by his side in his right hand.

"Then, that means we can start getting ready. We should be moving out within the next hour." Scott responded, as he looked at the clock on his hand-held communicator to see that the time was now a quarter past five.

"It also means that the time has come to keep the promise that I made back on Muir Island." Ororo said, as she stood up from her chair.

"And what would that be, my beautiful compatriot?" Hank inquisitively asked Ororo.

"That the Sentinels would come to rue the day when they chose to target us. The hunter will now learn that they have indeed become the prey." Ororo resolutely answered, as she stood with both arms folded over in front of her.

…………………………………..

Next chapter: The X-Men strike back!

……………………………………………………………………

Bonus Story- Alternative School Part 4-Return of the King

…………………………………..

One could say that being gifted with the telepathy, the power to sense the very thoughts of those around you is a most advantageous ability to have. It is with just as much certainty that Emma Grace Frost, the Headmistress of the Massachusetts Preparatory Academy located in Snow Valley, Massachusetts, would whole-heartedly agree with that sentiment. Being able to read the minds of others had proved itself to be an invaluable asset to her both in the business world, as well as with more personal matters. Having that added extrasensory perception meant that, as a general rule, it was next to impossible to surprise or sneak up on her. But, leave it to a man who felt that he was in no way bound to such arbitrary precepts, to make himself the exception.

"I should have known that it was you that I'd find down here." Emma said, as she came and stood at the door to her study.

Emma's study was located down the hallway from her bedroom, and both rooms were located on the second floor of her personal residence on the school's campus. Emma appeared at the entry in the early hours of the morning, dressed in a white satin robe trimmed in pink. The hem of it came down to just above her knee and on it was also a small crest emblem on the upper left lapel of the robe, the trademark symbol of the Hellfire Club.

"Hello, my dear." Erik Lensherr greeted her, seated from behind the large desk in her study.

"I was positive that I sensed another presence near by, and when a low-level telepathic scan drew a blank, I knew that the list of possible callers would be fairly limited." Emma said, as she now walked into the room "I see that you are still familiar with the secret tunnel passages that run below the campus, in spite of your lengthy absence from here."

"It is no small task to navigate the virtual labyrinth that you've managed to create below this institution. Luckily, I have an impeccable sense of direction." Erik told her.

"You know, it's starting to become a bad habit of finding you here in my residence in the middle of the night unannounced." Emma stated.

"That wasn't my intention, but I thought it ill-mannered to wake a beautiful woman from a slumber equally as beautiful." Erik told her, as he stood up from the chair behind the desk dressed in a maroon dress shirt and black trousers, and started to go over to her.

"Oh, by all means sit back and relax. I'm sure that you're exhausted from your journey here." Emma said, as Erik went ahead and sat back down in the chair.

Meanwhile, Emma went to sit on the front edge of the desk, picking up the remote to her large screen television from the table's oak surface. Upon turning the TV on, it immediately displayed the news coverage of the Sentinels' takeover of the United States' capital city.

"I assume that the recent developments in Washington are behind your abrupt return." Emma said to him

"I intend to stop this madness, before it has a chance to spiral any further out of control." Erik told her.

"Then, may I presume that you've already formulated a plan to deal with this?" Emma asked, as she sat on the desk and turned her upper torso back to face him.

"Miss Frost, I always have a plan in mind." Erik replied, as he beamed a huge smile at her, "My question to you is are any of the recruits ready for the task at hand?"

"You already know about Pyro and Avalanche's abilities. Boomer, Empath, and Roulette are also elite amongst their peers, in regards to mastery over their powers. Another young lady codenamed Frenzy has just been promoted to senior status, and I believe that she is more than capable of aiding you. But, the rest of the students are too inexperienced at this point to be effective in a combat situation." Emma said, as she delivered her assessment to Erik.

"Then, would you please telepathically summon the Brotherhood for me?" Erik requested of her.

"I will. But first, I think that you deserve a proper welcome home, one most befitting a man of your stature." Emma smirked, as she decided to toy with Erik by suggestively propositioning him. She proceeded to lean slightly across the desk towards him, all done in a very risqué manner.

"Emma, my dear. I fear that your idea of a 'proper welcome home' would most likely kill this old man." Erik bandied with her, as he looked directly into Emma's biting blue eyes and politely declined her…generous offer.

"Very well, perhaps another time." Emma acquiesced, as she then set herself to the task of intensely concentrating so that she could mentally contact each member of the school's secret strike force, many of whom were fast asleep. Once she had sent her psionic message, Emma and Erik went back to their conversation.

"You should know that Charles Xavier came to visit us here while you were gone." Emma now revealed to him.

"So, Charles has been snooping around? He has figured out things faster than I had anticipated, but I suppose that really shouldn't be a surprise." Erik responded.

"I'm not entirely sure that he knows what we are doing here." Emma said.

"Trust me, he knows. My old friend's powers of deduction are nothing short of amazing, even if his foresight has always been severely lacking." Erik stated, as he sunk back into the large chair that he was seated in, his mind now stirring with the implications of this newly discovered development.

…………………………………..

Meanwhile, in the school's underground training facility, dubbed with the oddly familiar designation of the 'Combat Room', John Allerdyce and Tabitha Smith had been in there working out together. Even though it was still early in the morning, John had been unable to get much sleep after watching coverage of the Sentinels for most of the day. So, he decided to go work some of the aggressions out in there that he was feeling about the entire situation. After torching and bombing the flying computer-programmed battle drones in there, John and Tab now found themselves sitting on the floor of the Combat Room. They were leaning up against one of the walls in there, taking a short breather before they started another training sequence.

"You know, it's too early for you to be enjoying this so much. I wish I could get all happy about working out in here before the sun even wakes up." Tabitha commented, as she sat next to John on the metallic-tiled floor, both of them wearing their magenta and purple leather school uniforms.

"It's not like I forced you to come down here with me." John told her, responding to her observation of how much he seemed to revel in being in there.

"Yeah, and it's not like I was gonna fall back asleep any time soon, especially after you woke me up by getting up to come down here." Tab replied.

"I was having trouble sleeping, and I thought that a workout might help." John told her, "Plus, I like being able to come down here and cut loose with my powers, without having to worry about accidentally burning something up."

From his seated position on the Combat Room's floor, John took his lighter and flicked the flame on, using it to create a small butterfly that began to flutter around in the air above him and Tabitha. In a matter of seconds, he intensified the flame in size and strength and morphed it into the shape of a small firebird, which swooped at an accelerated speed around the entire Combat Room.

Then, Pyro's fire creature slowed down and started growing dramatically and exponentially in proportion and took on a new form that resembled that of a small dragon, similar to the ones described in fairytales about knights risking life and limb to save beautiful maidens. He even had the acumen to make his pyro-kinetic dragon breathe fire, almost appearing life-like as it discharged a mini inferno in the center of the Combat Room. Finally, John's creation rapidly dissipated into thin air, as he extinguished it out of existence with a mere thought.

"That was wicked hawt!" Tab remarked, as she whole-heartedly complimented John's display of his abilities, "But then again, you've always been the super-star when it comes to your powers. Me, all I used to think my powers were good for was pullin' jokes on everyone, and I used to love scaring the crap out of people with my homegrown firecrackers. I never thought about using them for anything more than that, until Miss Frost came and showed me that there was a lot more to my time-bombs than I ever dreamed of. And that there was a lot more to me too. For the first time, I felt like I really mattered and that I wasn't just some outcast freak because I'm a mutant."

"So, I guess that means you're ready to run another drill?" John asked, as he looked over at Tab and inquired about her interest in initiating another training sequence.

"Oh, alright." Tab slowly replied, leaning over to briefly kiss John on the side of his face before they both stood up. But, Tabitha and John stopped in their tracks when they abruptly received a telepathic message from their headmistress.

"The rest of your training session will have to be postponed until a later time." Emma told John and Tab, as she mind-flashed the couple and created an astral projection of herself in front of them.

"What's the matter?" Tabitha inquired.

"Magneto has requested an audience with his Brotherhood. Come immediately to my residence on campus." Emma revealed to them.

"Okay, we'll be there in a minute." John replied, as the astral image just as quickly faded away. He and Tabitha then left the Combat Room and went down the hallway to the locker room area, so they could change out of their magenta leather outfits and back into their regular casual clothes.

………………………………

Within a matter of minutes, the entire Brotherhood had made it to Emma's private residence, entering through a secret passage that led from the underground tunnel network.

"Well Mags, long-time no-see." Fred Dukes, one of the few adults in the group known simply as the Blob was the first to say to Erik, as he and the rest of the Brotherhood came into the study through a hidden passage entrance in the wall.

"You didn't call, didn't write. We all started to think that maybe you just forgot about us?" Tabitha added, as she walked in behind him.

"Never. There was a personal affair that I needed to tend to." Erik said, in reference to his recent trip out to the West coast. Then he turned his attention to one of his most-prized adherents, "Pyro, I trust that you and your fellow classmates have been training hard, and have been heeding Miss Frost's masterful instruction?"

"You know it." John replied, as he spoke to the man that he felt as though he would follow anywhere.

"I'm glad to hear it, because today each of you will get the opportunity to demonstrate just how much you have learned in regards to your respective abilities." Erik said to the group.

"That mean we're gonna go take care of business, and deal with the Sentinels?" John asked Erik, as he looked over at the television screen along with Joanna Cargill and Manuel De la Rocha, which showed Washington still under siege in the pre-dawn darkness.

"The answer to your question would be yes." Erik replied to John.

"Alright, we finally get to go to D.C. and kick some major ass!" Lance Alvers approvingly and loudly stated.

Lance had gone fairly unnoticed in the room by the others up to that point since he had been unusually quiet, and was standing a little ways off from the rest of the group in the study. Even so, he had come in dressed only in a plain white, tank-style undershirt and a pair of ordinary jeans, Lance had still managed to garner the attention of one Jennifer Stavros, code-named Roulette. She had been sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room, listening to the conversation that was going on between Magneto and the others. But all the while, Jen had tossed subtle glances in Lance's direction, as she visually inspected his defined physique that displayed itself through his muscle shirt.

"We will be going to…kick some ass, as Mr. Alvers has so eloquently put it. But, not in Washington." Erik said to the group.

"Why not? That's where all of the Sentinels are." Jennifer pointed out, as she now stood up from her chair.

"And Mystique is in Washington. Should we not try to go get her?" Manuel added.

"Mystique is more than capable of handling herself. I imagine that at this moment she is very safely sequestered with her fellow Congressmen and women of this country. But, my greatest concern is not with the fate of that city. To coin a popular adage, we have bigger fish to fry." Erik answered, as he sat back down in the large chair behind the desk.

"Erik, you are correct in your assumption. The greatest danger to us comes from the West, and the time of reckoning will take place when the Mighty Bird from the East converges with the Giant Master there." Irene Adler, also known as Destiny said, as she had taken a seat in one corner of the study to let her precognitive abilities reveal the myriad of immediate potential futures to her.

"That made absolutely no sense at all." Joanna remarked about Irene's premonition.

"It may end up being more helpful than you know, Miss…Cargill is it?" Erik now said to her.

"Yeah, but everyone calls me Joanna or just Frenzy." Joanna told him, slightly awed by the fact that THE Magneto fully knew who she was.

"Do you have a notion as to where this greater threat lies?" Emma now asked of Erik.

"I think that I have a fairly good idea." Erik told her.

"Then what're we waitin' for? Let's go break somethin', somewhere." Fred now said from the sofa in front of the television, on which he had taken up most of the room all by himself. Finally, one more person came into the study through the secret passage and announced his presence to the group now gathered in there.

"I see you that you haven't learned how to be any more patient since the last time I saw you, Blob old chum." Mortimer Toynbee, more aptly known as Toad said to Fred, as he stood by the secret passageway entrance dressed in a dark brown overcoat and pants.

"Finally, you guys brought another adult for me to play with." Fred happily responded, upon seeing another long-time member of the Brotherhood.

"That's because Magneto knows I like to play games, especially when we get to be the ones making the rules. The helicopter is prepped and ready to go, whenever you are." Mortimer now told Erik, as he had been out in the secret underground hangar where the Brotherhood's transport craft was kept.

"Then we will be departing shortly, as soon as everyone has changed into their battle attire." Erik said, as the members of the Brotherhood then started to file back out of the room by Mortimer. Their destination was the secret storage area underneath the Brotherhood House, where their uniform equipment was kept.

Left in the study were Erik, Emma, and Irene. The three of them continued their discussion, all in the hopes of possibly uncovering a better understanding of what the fates had in store for them this day…

…………………………………

A/N: Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter-

TheDreamerLady- Having seen my share of huge school projects and reports, I definitely sympathize with you. Glad you liked all of the stuff from the last chapter like Kitty and Piotr's moment and Jubilee mouthing off like there's no tomorrow. I see that you enjoyed the 'I told you so' about Alison's first day of teaching. Hopefully she won't have another day anywhere near as disastrous as that, but sometimes you just never know…

randommarvelfan- Glad you liked the Kiotr, and I hope you enjoyed Wanda and Hank's scene in this chapter too.

ishandahalf- Glad you liked the McCoy family interaction, and the Spongebob thing just seemed so right for that moment. Hope you enjoy the next chapter, because the action level with the Sentinels is about to go up a few notches.

Episodic- Glad you like what's going on and sorry about the cliffhanger, but as you can see with the last chapter and this one, it would've been too much for one chapter. Besides, it's a sneaky way of making you come back for more…

Jean1- Glad you liked Wanda and Hank as a couple. And yeah, considering that she was attracted to Vision and Simon, Hank seems like her type as well. The main reason I wrote them this way was because I thought it'd be interesting to see Wanda and Hank in a parental role, which Wanda in particular has wanted for so long.

As for the Bobby and Rogue leadership issue, I agree with everything you said. And who knows, maybe you're theory on how good of a leader Bobby is will get put to the test, when he's placed in a position where he has no choice but to step up and lead the student-squad…

El Varon- Glad you liked the Beast/Scarlet Witch pairing. And if you think last chapter was eventful, I hope you enjoy what's coming up next.

The Fire Dancer- I really appreciate the compliment, and I'm glad that you like what you've read so far. I'm also glad that you like the inclusion of the Massachusetts Academy, and I think it's a nice twist that gives a chance to explore those characters beyond being just 'the bad guys' that the X-Men are always fighting.

I'm also glad you that liked Wanda's inclusion, she's one of my favorites too.

Lucas'sgirl- Glad you liked Pietro and Wanda's inclusion, and I hope you like the addition of the other characters that have shown up as well.

Independent Fire- Glad you liked the inclusion of Remy's favorite nickname for Ororo, along with Megan and her family, and the Kitty/Piotr heart to heart. Hope you enjoy what's up next.

And special thanks to Kungfookelly for the review of Land of The Silver Sun that I received, it's much appreciated.