Blix: Aw well, you're still in Christmas spirit I assume (: I hope you like this chapter just as much! A bit of action at last!

Chapter 18

Come Boxing Day morning, and all the mutants continued to reside in their beds. Dancing hours had proceeded well into the early morning, and when those last few stragglers did get into bed, it meant no more movement until midday at least. However, those rare few felt replenished and awoke at satisfactory hours. But even as a few minds were conscious to the world around them, the mansion remained deadly silent. No hubbub of voices or choruses of sleepy footfalls.

But out on the grounds, there was life. The clouded skies shielded the majority of the sunlight from the white earth. But these clouds softly glowed as they stocked up on snow to be released later that day. But then, like an inkblot materialising onto paper, a dot in the clouds grew out of the natural smog. It was lowering down to earth slowly. That silence that hung around the air slowly roused as a drone of engines began. But suddenly, that single black object came free of the clouds, and behind it, many more began to lower, slowly pulling themselves out of the surrounding smog of clouds.

Sleek and black they all were, heavily armoured. Five of these helicopters came down out of the heavens, their rotary blades spinning quietly. True, they made a sound, but it was a low hum, like that of a car driving by, not enough to wake the sleeping dead in the mansion.

One of these helicopters landed slowly upon the roof of the mansion, a flat part above one of the upper floor classrooms. The rotary blades slowed. The other four machines hovered in the air. In the landed helicopter the doors opened, and from within six uniform cladded soldiers jumping out, each bearing weapons and each protected by armour.

The man sat at the controls of that helicopter turned to stare at the single man left behind, "Sir, sending them in there in suicide! They're the simplest force we've brought!" he cried.

"The others will go in when this faction have made their mark.." replied the other man in a smoothly calm tone.

"But sir!"

"Watson, you're here to fly this little toy back and forth, do not question me. Or mark my words I will have you shipped out of this department faster than my snipers can make mincemeat. You understand?

"Yes Sir.."

Silent footsteps came as Siren lightly danced around her room. She was certainly in a good mood as she dragged a brush down through her blonde hair, feet lightly skipping as she bobbed side to side to the song in her head. The words were faintly sung, though not loudly enough to be heard by the sleeping fellow in the next room. She gently spun on her toes as she turned into her en suite, leaning towards the bathtub as the turned the taps and watched as water poured down out of the taps.

She gently held her nightgown about the front of her form as she bent, testing the temperature of the running water with her fingers before she put in the plug. She straightened gently, pulling the silky black nightgown off her shoulders and draping it over a hook on the back of the door. She turned to the mirror above her sink, now staring straight on to her reflection before she smiled at herself and her hands raised to lightly to plump out those curled tresses that spilled out upon her shoulders. She sighed quietly as she stepped back from the mirror, idly admiring her form in the new nightdress she had received yesterday. It was a magnificent shade of deep green, the straps were thin, and hem finished at her knees. It looked very attractive on her figure, for it matched almost identically with her eye colour, making the whole outfit combine into a stunning view.

Siren turned gently to the bathtub, bending over slowly to turn off the running of hot water. But as her moistened fingers slipped away from the metal of the tap she froze. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, before she slowly straightened. Her head tilted gradually, as if to look behind her shoulders but her eyes stared down at the water. But slowly, her lids lifted as her eyes slowly twisted upon the opened door behind her. Her bare feet lightly lifted from the tiles, turning as her body rotated on the spot. She remained deadly still as she listened, face consorted into full concentration, eyes narrowed and lips held open in thought.

But suddenly, her stillness was lost as she swiftly slipped forth out of the bathroom. A hand had grabbed her nightgown and she threw her arms through the designated holes. She didn't bother to tie it around her middle, for there was no time. She was quickly down on her hands and knees, reaching under her bed to grab her trusty pistols. She snatched them out of the hip holster. In the handles of both she punched in clips before clicking them shut. She sprang off the carpet, now running barefooted to her door, which she yanked open before stepping out into the corridor.

The pistols were held vertically in front of her, she faced down the corridor before spinning on her heel and pointing them down the opposite way. It was clear. She slowly lowered her guns, looking around slowly as she relaxed a little. But she heard another noise and with a gasp she began running.

A window smashed as the first of six soldiers jumped through, behind the rest followed, all cautious and snapping their rifles in all directions in case anyone noticed their entry. When all six soldiers had entered the first one led them on, together they ran through the corridors, expertly looking around. They paused on the first junction, group splitting into pairs as each ran down a different corridor, two going back the way they had just came.

One pair span around the next corner, both of them coming to a halt as they saw a figure stood quite a way down the corridor in front of them. Slowly, they filed into a straight lined, each soldier holding their weapon ready.

"Bonjour.." came a sultry whisper.

The rifles snapped upon the figure.

"Oh, would you look at that.. two enemies!" Siren's face spread into a smirk as she held the handles of her pistols, they were currently pointing to the floor. She stood with her legs slightly apart, bare feet poised on the wood. Her nightgown billowed slowly around her as it sat open, meaning it revealed much of her nightdress, and lack of. Slowly, she raised her pistols, her thumbs rising and clicking one of the hammers, "A gun .." she clicked the second hammer of the pistol, ".. for each of you." She raised them vertical. As expected, the soldier's shot with their rifles, aiming right for the woman's face. But she dipped low to the floor, processing a simple forward roll under the fired bullets before rising up in a crouch and shooting a single bullet from each pistol. The two bullets raced forward through the air, silently driving forwards before striking through the forehead of each soldier, and with muted screams their bloodied forms slumped forward, rifles falling out of their hands and clattering to the floor.

"Au revoir.." whispered Siren softly, straightening from the crouch elegantly and lowering her pistols down.

She spun delicately on her heels, throwing her legs forward as she ran down the corridor in search of the other soldiers. She had heard a window smash; she had heard them jump in. But upon turning one of the corners she made a faint scream of surprise as a hand grabbed her by the neck. She was dragged forward and pinned up to the wall. In the soft darkness she saw a pair of eyes glinting at her fiercely before they relaxed. The strangling hold released her gently and she slumped back on the wall with a gasp for air.

"Sorry, Siren," murmured a low voice.

"Wolverine!"

But Logan didn't bother with any unnecessary conversation, his statement was clear; "There are humans in the mansion."

"I know.." whispered Siren as she straightened, still holding her pistols, "I got two of them," she raised the weapons in indication.

"Then that's all of them," he sat softly, turning and walking down the corridor. Through the darkness Siren saw him step over a pile of silent bodies, faint sunlight making their stab wounds glisten slowly. Four bodies lay there.

"There may be more.." said Siren.

Logan stopped in his walk, head lifting as he stared vertically up, "The roof.." he whispered, "There's more on the roof."

"Wake the X-Men!" cried Siren as she ran beside him, "We'll go up there!"

"Do you think we have time to send memos?!" growled Logan as he grabbed her wrist, "Come on!"

The pair sprinted through the softly lit corridor, the early sunlight only just bringing the darkness from its blind state to a murky fog of shadow. Together their run was silent, both barefooted since both were still in their nightwear. Logan pressed on ahead, for he was the fastest of the two. He spun upon a narrow staircase that disappeared up through the ceiling; together they ran up it, only stopping as they came to a metal door that led out onto the roof.

"Wait here.." murmured Logan in a whisper as he gently let go on her wrist. She nodded gently in response, crouching down to the floor as he did. He leant further and softly pushed open the door, peering out onto the snow covered roof. He saw the parked helicopter. Slowly his eyes raised and he saw the others in the sky. His eyes widened and he shut the door speedily.

"What is it?" cried Siren softly at his sudden reaction.

Logan turned his head slowly to her, "There's a lot more…" he sniffed slowly at the air, "Charles is awake.. " he closed his eyes tightly, attempt to shout out a warning message for the telepathic mutant. Suddenly a voice responded in his mind.

"I'll wake the X-Men now, I'll send them up to the roof."

Logan sighed softly as he looked to Siren, "The others are coming."

"D'accord.." whispered Siren softly as she lowered down on her front, pushing open the door slowly, "Shit.." she said under her breath.

Suddenly Logan leant forth to look out of the crack, "What?"

"Six more are coming in. I'm getting them." She stretched out her pistols through the crack of the opened door, nestling them there as she watched the soldiers jump out of the second landed helicopter one by one. Suddenly, she let off shots, six bangs echoing through the silent air as six bullets roared forward in pairs.

She heard the groans and gasps as the soldiers fell on the spot, each one with a bleeding bullet wound to their foreheads. Logan smirked softly as he watched, "Damn, you're good.." he breathed as he glanced down at the woman.

"I know," replied Siren, eyes shifting slowly as she smiled up to him.

"What the hell?" a voice cried from the helicopters, "Goddamn it! That's all my footmen gone!"

Logan chuckled softly at himself to the words, "Somebody's rather pissed."

Behind them the running of footsteps caused both Siren and Logan to turn and watch the X-Men run up the steps. Scott was in the lead, he had quickly got dressed, or more so dragged a t-shirt over his ruffled hair. Pyjama bottoms remained somewhat low on his hips, but he pulled them up as he stared at Logan, "What's happening?" he said, trying to sound composed but he murmured drowsily for he hadn't had a lot of sleep, and last nights drinking was most certainly not helping.

"You know that group of trained specialists we were talkin' about?" murmured Logan softly. Scott looked too lethargic to even be able to recall such a thing, so Logan continued anyway, "Well, they've returned. Take a look at AMI."

"AMI?" asked Storm over Scott's shoulder, she too looked sleepy, but she didn't drink alcohol, so her eyes brightly watched Logan with a clear ability.

"A.M.I" Logan spoke the letters instead, "American Mutant Investigation."

"What?" gasped Siren softly, "How do you know?"

Logan looked sombrely upon her, "This morning's paper."

"And they're out there now?" questioned Scott, "They've come for us?"

Logan slowly pushed open the door to a slight crack, "No doubt about it. Siren and I took care of their twelve soldiers.. and they've got others.."

Scott lowered himself gently between Logan and Siren as he peered out of the door, "Are we going out there?"

With a slow sigh Logan twisted his eyes back to Scott, "No, we're gonna sit here and hope for the best. Of course we're going out there, eyeball."

"Shut it," hissed Scott simply before looking back out of the small gap in the door, "There is no other way to the roof, this is our only entry. Listen to me.." he pulled away from the door to look to everyone. His exhaled gently before he lowly spoke, "I want the fastest movers out first, you can surround them quicker. Logan, Aurora, that's you, concentrate on the grounded helicopters. Next, the long distance attackers, Adrienne, Storm and myself, we'll take care of those flying. Michael and Gambit, take up the rear and don't let anyone get into the mansion."

"Ya know.." said Remy softly, "It sounds almost foolproof," he murmured his words with a solemn sigh.

"Betcha it ain't.." muttered Logan softly with a frown creasing his brow. He turned to look out of the gap, "Say when, Cyclops."

Scott watched out of the door, "They're distracted," he whispered as he watched two officials try to help the grounded soldiers, "Logan, Aurora, go!"

The two mutants leap forth. The metal door was burst through and it sprang back against the wall loudly. They both split up, Logan going left, Aurora going right. The officials looked up in shock at their ambush. They dashed through the snow, their bare feet making silent footfalls as they raced to trap in the helicopters and the humans. They both came to a halt in their designated spots.

"Sorry to cut the party short, guys," said Logan softly, his fists outstretched as his claws erupted in a hiss, "But Christmas.. was yesterday."

At the opposite side of the two helicopters Aurora smirked gently, "I'm sure it was a wild get-together.." she stretched up elegantly before her billowing nightdress faded away and black fur sprouted from her soft skin. Her stretching arms lowered slowly as four clawed paws met the snow of the flat roof. Her soft human voice now that of a snarling pant of breath from a panther.

"Oh my God.." one of the officials murmured, his eyes widening as he watched the black haired woman transform, "Ericson! Get down here now!"

The officials turned in a bid to run into the helicopters, trying to drag the soldiers in also. They were made for ordering others around, not fighting mutants!

"Stop right there, honey," called a voice through the snow-less winds. Siren walked across the snow towards the helicopters. The two officials raised their heads slowly to see the scantily clad beauty pointing a pistol at both of them. They gasped, trying to raise the soldiers into the helicopter quickly.

"Don't waste your time, they're already dead," she said softly, coming to a halt. Now three mutants surrounded them. But then, from behind Siren, Scott and Storm ran in opposite directions. Siren turned her head slowly as she looked to Scott, "Go for it, hun."

A blast red laser erupted out of Scott's visor as it bore down into the two helicopters. At the impact the machines tumbled backwards off the roof, the pilots within letting out terrified screams as the helicopters dropped off the roof and spun down to crash to the earth in an ear shattering boom.

"Erickson!" cried one of the officials, glaring to the helicopters in the sky. One now swooped down towards the roof, soldiers within jumping out.

Logan let out a thirsty roar as he suddenly dived forth towards the exited soldiers. Above the din of spinning blades, laser blasting and animalistic roaring, an excited voice cheered above the chorus, "It's Showtime!" It was Siren as she ran ahead, blasts of bullets exploding from her pistols, striking one of the officials who fell backwards with a screamed cry of agony. The exited soldiers were being ripped to pieces, quite literally. Each member fell with one fell swoop of the adamantium claws. Those who ran to avoid the wrath of the Wolverine were taken care of either by a blast of red laser, or by the snarling bite of Aurora.

The soldiers who were being attacked tried desperately to shoot down the mutants, but some of their bullets went unused as they collapsed in slowly increasing pools of sickening blood.

The remaining official ran into the helicopter, "Erickson!" he yelled to the pilot, "I was hoping we wouldn't need them today.." suddenly his voice lowered and an excited glint took place in his eyes, ".. But it's time to unveil our new force.. get Carter to bring them down."

"Yes sir," replied the woman, her hand gently positioning her microphone nearer to her mouth as it hung from the helmet, "Carter. Commander Harvey says bring Batch 1 down."

Remy laughed softly as he jumped sideways to avoiding the stream of bullets from a falling soldier, "Oh, dis is child play!" He gently flicked a card over to one staggering human, the impact incinerating him in screams as he stumbled backwards off the roof of the mansion. "Aha, more!" he cried somewhat too cheerfully as the helicopter lowered slowly beside the other, but it didn't land. This helicopter was bigger than the others. The door opened slowly and two figures jumped out, the drop was quite away, perhaps fourteen feet, but these two figures landed in identical crouches, side by side, rising slowly at the same time. The helicopter that delivered these two people rose back into the sky, backing away from the scene. As the helicopter moved, the shadow over these two disappeared and they could be clearly seen.

"Hold fire!" cried Scott. And his X-Men stopped their attacks slowly, straightening from their fighting stances. These two people were almost identical, only one was male, and the other female. Both had brown hair, sleek to their heads and done extremely neatly. The man's hair was brushed back; the woman's brought together precisely to rest in a slim ponytail down her back. An odd thing about these two was that they didn't wear fighting gear, nor held any weapons. In fact, they both wore suits. A black shaded suit more suitable to an office attire. White shirts were worn beneath, buttoned up immaculately with straight neat black ties protruding from their collars clasped with a silver tiepin. As expected, their shoes were black, both polished; only the woman's shoes were heeled boots. Another odd thing was that their eyes couldn't be seen, for they both wore black glasses, rimless, but the lenses were so thoroughly black that even when the light shone upon them you would get no glimpse of their eyes.

The X-Men didn't know what to make of this; that was why Scott told his team to hold any more attacks. This was too surreal.

The suit cladded man turned slowly on his feet, before walking towards Logan. His steps were done at a natural pace; there was no stumble in his moves, and no shuffle. It was so clear and precise, every movement was, right from the way his shoulders shifted and his arms swung. Logan watched the man warily as he walked up to him; Logan turned his head slowly to glance to Scott, wanting some sort of instruction. But Scott gave none; he was still staring at suit cladded man, just as Logan was.

This man then stopped a foot from Logan, one arm moving back as if to strike a punch. But Logan let out a fierce growl, stepping back slightly before throwing his fist forth to slice across the strangers chest. Three slashes marked across the man's chest, clothes ripped and blood appearing. The man looked down slowly through his black glasses, observing the damage in one glance with little interest. His head raised again, face completely unaffected by what should be intolerable agony. Logan's fierce expression relaxed slowly, staring across at the hidden eyes. The man hadn't flinched at his attack. Before Logan could do anything, the right palm of the man's hand jutted out at a terrorisingly fast speed and smacked Logan straight on in the chest, palm flat.

Where such an attack would normally barely make the Wolverine stagger, he was catapulted back in a blur of motion, travelling far and then smashing back into the tiled slates of the roof where the flat roof ended and diagonal roofing began. The tiles scattered like bullets, tumbling away as Logan lay back in the debris with a groan.

And the man? He just straightened his suit and tie before turning his head slowly to glance towards the right where beside him arrived his female companion, movements fluid and precise just as his were. Their gazes moved off each other silently as both stared across to Siren.

If you can tell I got The Matrix boxset for Christmas, stick your hand up now, lol. But just to let you know, I originally planned for this pair, they just weren't going to look like they did. The Matrix gave me some great fighting ideas too. Cool film.