"Ah. Thus the cavalry arrives" Sphinx smiled down at the security readings, "The whole gang is here, how lovely" She laughed a little, "I wonder who they left in charge…Morphia, would you find that out next time you visit Xaviers please?"

"No problem boss" The scarlet skinned woman murmured before turning back to her sentry over Hank and Logan though her scarlet eyes remained more or less fixed on the Wolverine as he slowly started to come around, "I think he'll be awake in time for the party"

"You do know that Logans metabolic system is faster than any one else's?" Hank asked softly, trying to do calculations through the small dose of morphine he'd been forced to take,

"Your point, Doctor?" Morphia asked slowly, one leg dangling from the rock she was sitting on, the other knee drawn up to her chest. She glanced over at the small underground lake that lay behind them as the water rippled, seemingly of its own accord,

"He won't wake up an addict" He lifted his chin, "it'll have worked its way through his system with no…lingering effects" Morphia narrowed her eyes at him,

"You're lying" She said softly, "Morphine effects everybody"

"Why would I lie? What have I to gain?" He countered honestly, she shrugged, looking slightly bored,

"You're the bad guys and that's what you do" She replied. Hank felt his jaw drop,

"We're the bad guys?" He asked, feeling his IQ drop a few points,

"Duh"

"We're not the ones on the brink of committing mass genocide" He snapped,

"Sometimes bad things need to be done in order for the good things to go on" Morphia said, as if reading it from a book,

"Ah, the battle-cry of tyrants and murderers throughout history…you know Hitler said much the same thing a few years ago" He said, feeling his mind clearing,

"I don't want a history lecture, thanks Doc" She rolled her eyes but Hank could see how uncomfortable she looked, he opened his mouth to say that she might actually learn something from the past when there was a dull boom that drew everyone's attention to the mouth of the cavern. Hank couldn't keep away a grin as there was a soft Bampf and Kurt appeared behind Morphia. She turned to look at him and he grinned,

"Hallo - oof" The pair went flying as Morphia launched herself at him, latching on with teeth and fingers and tail. Another soft Bampf and the pair disappeared,

"They're here" Sphinx said a little tiredly, "can we please try to be a little diplomatic about this please?" A bolt of lightening snapped from the caverns mouth and the X-men appeared, "WAIT!" Sphinx shouted, her voice echoing through the cavern, standing on the boulder that Morphia had previously occupied, "Please!"

"Are you going to surrender?" Ororo asked, eyes still white as she kept a tight grip on her powers – Kurt and Morphia were still Bampfing overhead, bouncing off one wall then another –

"No but I do wish to speak to you, X-men" Sphinx replied calmly, ignoring the aerial combat above their heads,

"We'll give you five minutes" Bobby called out, glaring as the twins pushed passed them roughly, entering into the cavern and taking up stations on the far wall,

"I am grateful" The hood bowed a little in thanks, "X-men…what are you fighting for?" She frowned,

"To stop you from killing loads of innocent people?" Rogue called up,

"Innocent? Innocent people? I am afraid, dear child, that there is no such thing anymore. People, mutant and human alike, are merely ignorant. They know poverty occurs, they know they are damaging their planet and they know that other people suffer. But do they do anything about it? No. They turn their face aside from the beggar on the street, they continue using their cars and they ignore the charity organisations thinking 'it doesn't matter, I'm only one person…what damage can I do?'" The Sphinx wrinkled her nose, "no doubt this lax mentality will continue after the homo sapiens have been put down but with hope, the new mutant order will enforce laws that will put an end to it. Assist thy brother, love thy neighbour-" Behind her Hank was trying to remain as quiet as possible. Over the course of her speech, he'd managed to wriggle one of his hands free from the chains that held him. He knew he'd never be able to get rid of his own chains in time but he could see the catch that would undo Logans. The Wolverine raised his head as a familiar scent became stronger, he opened his eyes to see a blue blur heading towards him, blinking a few times he focused enough that he could see it was a hand. He glanced across at the owner of the hand, Hank grinned and mouthed the words -

"Welcome back" As he fumbled with the chains, wishing he had his glasses with him. Logan grinned, seeing the Sphinx standing before them and the rest of the X-men spread out in the mouth of the cavern. Bobby, Ororo, Rogue – Bampf – Kurt and…

"Isabelle" He let the whisper out before he even thought about it. Hanks hand stilled as he looked across the length of the cave,

"What?" Hanks heart fell as he spotted his lover, "oh no" She wasn't trained, she wasn't even wearing one of the protective X-man suits. He hurried with the chains as quickly as he could,

"And what of the children, Sphinx?" Ororo called forward, sickened by what she had heard,

"Better they die now than be poisoned by society" The Sphinx called back,

"You're insane" Rogue shouted up. The woman in the cloak sighed,

"So you've been brainwashed to such an extent by Xavier that you can't see the folly of your own actions?" She looked around the defiant little group, "so be it" Logan snarled, breaking free of the last of the chains,

"Times up bub" He reached out, taking hold of a handful of the dark hood, only to feel a slender hand on his wrist before he was thrown over her shoulder and slammed into the floor,

"Not yet" She enunciated sharply, unsheathing claws three inches long as Wolverine rose shakily to his feet, slashing Hanks chains as he did so,

"Much obliged" Hank murmured, dropping down and ignoring the tingling pain in his arms and legs as the blood rushed back. He darted forward, heading towards the main body of the X-men, but was brought short by an all too familiar tentacle around his ankle. He turned to see Leviathan rise slowly out of the small lake, a mass of pinkish tentacles with a human shaped body at the centre,

"Hello Beast" The thing bubbled and hissed, "I remember the taste of your blood"

"Run everyone! I won't have you hurt!" The Sphinx cried out as she was slammed into a nearby wall,

"No chance, pack leader, we're not leaving you here!" One of the twins cried out, already battling with Rogue and Ororo. Isabelle paused, no idea what to do and taken aback by the loyalty of the other side. She'd been shoved roughly out of the way, staggering almost into the little lake at the side – what do I do?

"Don't let the red one kiss you!" Wolverine snarled as the Sphinx slashed his face open in retaliation, attempting to run before she was tackled,

"Um, I wasn't going to – whoa!" Isabelle ducked as a red and blue ball of smoke and fury passed over her head, the smell of brimstone thick in the air,

"Lassen Sie mich gehen!" She could pick out Kurts snarling face as he bampfed irregularly, tiredly, but the bright scarlet woman wrapped around him was not letting him go, despite his struggles, "Ich hasse es wenn sie nicht gehen lassen!" Isabelle straightened out in time to see Hank fling Leviathan from him with a roar, the creature taking chunks of blue fur and flesh with him as he sailed into the opposite wall with a sickening splat. Hank snarled as the twins – Scanner and Sonar – ran towards him,

"Two against one is hardly fair" Isabelle heard herself say it as she started to run towards them, her mind a blank as to what she planned to do. She grunted, all the air expelled from her lungs, as someone tackled her around the waist, sending her crashing to the ground,

"Terribly sorry" She looked up in time to see Avalanche raise a fist, "one hates to strike a lady but when needs must" Isabelle's head cracked back against the floor, her vision blurring as pain exploded under her right eye, blood poured from the fresh, jagged cut – the rocks in his hand stupid she thought muzzily. The mutant above her drew his fist back again this time Isabelle reached up and wrapped both hands around it, forcing the lights under her skin into his. Avalanche's eyes rolled back and he slid off her, going stiff as convulsions overtook him. Isabelle stood up, brushing herself off and growling as her right eye was slowly forced shut from the swelling,

"Right then" She ran towards Hank who was raging once again in the grip of the Leviathan, ink black and dark red blood intermingled as he fought off the millions of tentacles that encased him. She watched, clambering over the debris of the cave, as he bit off three of the tentacles in one easy movement whilst snapping three others from the roots with his bare hands. Leviathan…laughed as other tentacles sprouted instantly, wiggling back around the doctor and squeezing. Hank choked, teeth stained black with foul tasting blood as the air was slowly crushed from him, he felt one of his ribs give under the enormous pressure and roared – think McCoy, think!

"Die" Leviathan chuckled, squeezing a little harder. There was something oddly satisfying about the shift and sickly crack of bones beneath his grip,

"No!" Isabelle leapt, all but climbing on the strong tentacles to get to the central…mass. Leviathan turned to see the woman clad in jeans and t-shirt jump on him, arms wrapped around his head and she glowed. Hank gasped, falling to his knees as Leviathan suddenly went limp. He looked up in time to see Isabelle get hit in the stomach with one of the powerful tentacles, sending her limp form flying across the room, Avalanche – now partially recovered – sending a hail of stone to cover her over. Hank snarled and dragged himself to his feet, sliding on the slippery Leviathan beneath him before crawling over the rocks. Kurt had taken care of Morphia, landing a solid kick beneath her chin and snapping her head back, catching her before she hit the floor with a few well timed bampf's. To Hanks left Ororo and Bobby were finishing off the twins slowly but unstoppably and somewhere behind him he could hear Logan battling the Sphinx, the two of them raging and snarling back and forth. Hank crawled forward, growling all the while at the sharp sting of his slow healing factor getting to work on his broken ribs. He sat heavily at the foot of the pile of stones, having to remind himself to be gentle as he started to dig her out, she might be able to feel the rough slide of the stones. His heart pounded in his ears as fear slowly started to creep up his spine as he dug down…and down…and down. Please, oh please…he was starting to get frantic when the whole thing shifted and she sat up with a gasp, coughing and choking on the dust. He reached out and lifted her gently, grunting at the pull/push/pain in his chest, watching as she kicked her legs free and collapsed beside him, both of them panting and hurting. She reached out to him first, gently trailing a hand over him, checking he was alright. He turned his head and their eyes met, "Alright?" She rasped, clearing her throat with a frown, "are you alright?"

"Hank! Isabelle!" Bobby skidded to a halt beside them, almost sliding into the wall, "you guys ok?"

"As ever Bobby you have a marvellous talent for stating the under obvious" Hank sighed, wincing a little as he sat up, scooping Isabelle easily into his arms, "what's happening?" He asked as he stood, telling his heart to calm down as Isabelle's arms snaked up around his neck – now is not the time,

"Well Sphinxter has vanished into thin air and Logans-"

"AURGH!"

"Walking up and down and swearing" Bobby smiled ruefully, "Ororo and Kurt are busy loading the bad guys into the holding pen in the Blackbird" He sniffed and wrinkled his nose, "personally I think we should leave Leviathan here, don't want that fish smell stinking up the place"

"Where's Rogue?"

"In the Blackbird, getting the engines fired up" Bobby's grin turned a little wobbly, "she's so cool" He added dreamily,

"The jet or Rogue?" Hank asked dryly, heading towards the stairway,

"Ha ha, Furball" Bobby blushed, "no really, stop, my sides have split" He grumbled, glancing away and frowning as he glanced back, "Isabelle? Are you alright?" She smiled at him from the warm, blue cocoon of Hanks arms, "you look, er, a bit pale" He said, wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to also tell her that she was also covered in dust, dirt and blood,

"I'm fine" She grinned, snuggling deeper, hearing Hanks heartbeat speed up a little beside her ear, "I'm more than fine" She purred,

"You smell ill" Hank replied, frowning in worry and looking down at her as the jets steps opened for them,

"You really know how to make a girl feel special" She grumbled into his chest, voice muffled by his fur. He laughed a little, setting her down though his arm was still around her waist. The others started filing in,

"Can you take your own weight?" He asked,

"No" She gasped as she tried, pain flaring beneath her ribs, his arm tightened a little, holding her up,

"I don't like this" Hank frowned, looking down at her, "something's wrong. Come on" He half carried her to the small medical bay at the back of the Blackbird, usually used for emergencies,

"Can I come?" Bobby called back,

"If you promise to be helpful and keep out of the way" Hank half smiled down at Isabelle, winking,

"Hey!" Bobby griped, tagging along,

"Bobby? Can I ask you something?" Isabelle bit back a cry of pain as she was lifted carefully onto the specially made bed. Bobby loomed over her as a strap was tightened over her waist, just in case the Blackbird had to make any sudden moves that might jolt her,

"Sure, shoot" He replied, shooting a grumpy look at the Doctor as he ran a diagnostic scanner over the woman,

"Do you ever get brain freeze?" Everyone paused, turning to look at her, "you know? When you eat too much ice cream too quickly?" She murmured by way of explanation, hands fisting in the sheet that covered her,

"Good question" Hank murmured beside her, smiling a little as he fiddled with a machine that she didn't recognise, "is this one of your things-to-say-when-your-nervous questions?" Isabelle blushed, closing her eyes,

"Might be – oh damn" She swore as the jolt of the Blackbird taking off jarred her, eyes filling with tears from the pain, "I was j-just wondering" She hissed between clenched teeth. Logan rolled his eyes, moving his cigar to the other side of his mouth as he flicked switches on the Blackbirds control panel,

"She ain't ready for this flight"

"She's as comfortable as we can make her" Ororo countered gently, "Hank will make sure she's alright" She looked across at him sternly, "there's no other way to get her back"

"What the hell were they doing out here anyway?" Logan turned to look over his shoulder at them,

"We came to find you" Bobby snapped back as he strapped himself in, having been told to go,

"Smart move Bub" Logan replied turning away and looking disgusted,

"It's nice when someone has faith in other people" Isabelle muttered lightly, feeling sick and…weird. It felt as if she was floating away, she could hear herself speaking but couldn't do anything to stop it, "does my hair look alright? I spent hours fixing it before we-" Hank tool hold of her hand and squeezed it gently, wanting more than ever to take her in his arms,

"You're going to be just fine, Isabelle" He smiled at her. Reaching across to stroked her hair gently, "you're beautiful"

"Oh please" Logan murmured up front, "ow!" He caught the rosary that Kurt had thrown at him as it bounced off his head. Laughter dispelled some of the tension,

"One big multi-talented family" Bobby giggled, taking Rogues hand in his own, "family also implies food fights and pillow bashing"

"Hank…" Isabelle breathed, looking up at the man she loved. He looked down at her, still grinning from Bobbys last comment, it faded rapidly into concern as she reached for him blindly,

"Isabelle?" He asked, placing a finger against her pulse, it fluttered too rapidly against his skin,

"Hank" She frowned, finding it suddenly very hard to breath, the world going black on the edges of her vision, "something's wrong…" Hank watched as her eyes started to roll back, a thin stream of blood running from the corner of her mouth. Panic gripped his heart and made him bellow,

"Bobby! I need your help! She's bleeding internally, why didn't the diagnostics machine pick it up? Stay awake for me, Isabelle! Stay awake!"