The transmission had been short, but they had gotten through. Jean sighed in heartfelt relief, begging to God that someone would hear her plea and come to help them. They wouldn't last more than a couple of hours now. Some of the children had gotten away through underground tunnels, before the huge robots had caved them in. Now they were dong their best to dig down to them, and hold off the assault long enough for the others.

Jean had no misconceptions about what was happening. She was going to die here. She'd been so close to death at Alkali Lake, barely saved by Nightcrawler before the water closed over her head. But there would be no fuzzy elf to save her now. He had already fallen in the first assault, taking one of the mammoth robots with him. His sacrifice had saved the children who'd escaped.

Some of the children had refused to go. Piotr had only looked at her as she begged him to run. 'You need me to stay' was all he'd said, before he'd plunged headlong into the fray. She wasn't even sure if he was still alive. Between the two Sentinels left and the ever increasing army around her, she knew that the odds weren't good.

Wolverine was on the ground, slicing any soldier that got too close. The carnage was unbearable, but Jean forced herself to watch. To cry as she levitated a car over a platoon and let it go. There were others here she didn't' recognize. Poor generous soles who had answered her call and come in self sacrificing.

A leggy Blonde in a bright pink shirt was screaming wildly as she chunked ball after ball of energy at a Sentinel, blowing off it's right leg. Theresa Rourke's father screaming a high pitched sonic scream, toppling it over on it's side. Theresa had been one of the children to die first.

Jean heard her doom right before it hit her and she turned in what felt like slow motion. A huge hand closed over her slender frame.

Suddenly she was slammed to the ground and she heard the squeal of bending metal. She covered her head as she was showered with sparks. A calloused hand grabbed her arm, yanking it nearly out of it's socket.

"Run, you git"

If Jean had had the luxury of time to think, she might have been shocked and surprised at the owner of the hand, but she didn't'. All she had time for was gratitude, and to run.

Toad leapt in the air, twisting his body as he shot up, and slammed his super strong legs into the robot's head. His knees shook with the impact, but he landed on his feet, right beside the hand he'd amputated. The head was dented in, but still in working order. Toad on the other hand, wasn't sure how many more of those he could perform.

He didn't' know what the hell that thing was made of, but it was strong. Just as he readied himself for another go, Wolverine appeared beside him, splattered in blood but obviously unharmed.

"Need a hand?"

Toad wasn't used to help. He preferred to work alone. He almost said so too, but then glanced at the Sentinel he was about to attack.

"Yeah"

Between the two of them, they brought down the last sentinel landing it atop at least two platoons of troops. There was still carnage everywhere, but at last they heard Jean in their minds. 'Cyclops and his team broke through, we can make it out through the tunnel system and cave it back in behind us"

The Mutants all ran for the tunnels at once. Wolverine swearing and doing his best to cover their backs. Toad hung back, ready to make a run the way he came in. His hands shook as he realized the way was closed off by about a hundred troops.

His iridescent eyes frantically looked for escape routes, to no avail. His hesitation was costing him precious seconds and he knew it. Where could he hide? He'd done what he came here to do. Stop the army from slaughtering the children, and now it was time to go. He was not a Hero to run triumphantly away with the rest of the saved. But he wasn't about to become a martyr either.

He felt the bullet strike him before he saw the shooter.

"Damnitt"

His tongue slammed around the neck of his attacker, twisting it a direction it wasn't' supposed to go, while his hand clamped to his side. Now he was screwed. There was no way he could fight them all with a bullet in his side. There was no way he could run fast enough to get away. He felt the familiar iciness of unconscious try to spread through his mind, but he fought back. Now was not a good time to pass out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Wolverine grabbed the nearly unconscious Toad by the collar and hauled him after the others.

"I thought you were smarter than that Frog-Boy"