A/N: Warning, more tricks ahead. And Tristian fans might not be happy with this cliff hanger nor will Remy a.k.a. Gambit fans. Be warned and have fun. Feel free to flame me if you're a lil upset.

Chapter 52

Jean hurried down the stairs on the far east side of the house. No need to bump into Tristian just yet. There were no signs of the kids anywhere, John, Rogue, and Bobby seemed to had disappeared, with, considering their unwanted guests, was not a good thing.

She steadily and cautiously walked into the front area and shook her head. Rogue had been here. She could sense the girl's aura as it slowly faded. It was recent. But where she was now, Jean couldn't decipher. There were too many mixes in the air to find the right trail.

She continued on, taking her steps slowly, unsure of what to expect or who. Completely unaware of what was going on just above her until she heard the glass explode and a person land in a crouch only twenty feet away.

Remy hit the ground with an "oomph" as Havoc dropped him down. They had climbed in through the second story window that had been carelessly left open to their aid. He glared up at his flying friend and pushed himself off the ground, dusting off his trench coat and retrieving his cards from his pocket.

Havoc shrugged an apology and looked around the empty room before leaving out the door. Gambit glanced around, seeing nothing worth stealing, all of it was just junk, no jewels and there was no time to search. He followed Havoc out the door and down another hallway, paying little attention to him, cards shuffling from one hand to another. He wasn't even aware they had entered the front entrance until Havoc put a hand out to stop him.

Gambit glanced at him and saw the grin spread across his face as he gestured downstairs. "Look at the pretty red head."

Gambit looked over the banister down below at the red head. Pretty was an understatement. The woman was gorgeous. Even from here he could see her piercing green eyes. She was a Goddess, compared to Frost who before now had been the most beautiful thing he had laid eyes on. That had to be the girl Tristian loved. The man had good taste, he gave him that much at least. He'd give anything to have her.

Havoc cleared his throat and grinned, stepping back away from the banister, closer to the window at the end. His eyes widened as he figured out what Havoc was about to do. His friend's eyes darkened a bit and contracted and smoke began to rise from his fingers. Gambit looked back down over the banister. Red was completely unaware of what was about to happen, that she was about to be blown to bits or burnt to death.

Remy hesitated, unsure of what to do. Havoc would kill her or at least try to. He glanced at his smiling friend as he stared at the unaware red head. If he disobeyed Emma he'd have hell to pay, she'd send him to Emplate. Then again, he was no longer her priority, he belonged to Magneto, she traded him like a card. Either way, he was screwed.

With a growl he gave in and lit a card throwing it in Havoc's direction. Havoc's smile faded and he frowned as the card landed at his feet and went off, sending him flying backwards through the window. Without a second thought, he ran hopping over the banister and landing in a crouch on the ground below.

The red head gaped, a bit startled, her eyes glowing. Remy opened his mouth to explain but she didn't give him a chance. He went flying into the wall, hitting with an "umphh". He shook his head trying to rid himself of the stars that speckled his vision. When it did, he saw Tabitha, leaning down near a column and he knew she was setting a bomb. It just never seemed to end and he never saw himself playing the good guy after all these years. Especially here of all places.

"Look out!" Remy shouted as he got to his feet and ran, ignoring the pain in his ankle, he shoved the red head, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her with him as it collapsed. She hit the ground and rolled out of the debris way. Remy hit the ground, but wasn't fast enough. The last thing he remembered was hearing the red head yell Tristian's name. Then everything went black.

Jean pushed herself up from the ground using her momentum for leverage, ready for a fight but instead saw the intruder was trapped under the fallen concrete, lying prone and unconscious. She moved towards him to help him, but was hit from the side by another explosion, landing away from the trapped guy.

The blonde girl smiled coldly at her, playing with what looked like a marble in her hand but wasn't. Those were what were causing the explosion. Her gift was creating bombs.

"Catch," she grinned and chucked the ball.

Jean stood and ran, disappearing up the stairs before it could go off.

Tristian walked carefully down the hallway, prepared for anything that came out at him. He refused to let Emma get what she wanted, which was him. And by getting him she'd win. By getting the kids she'd win and she new that because one thing Emma wasn't was stupid. She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it all.

She gotten him once, she paid him back for leaving. But the one thing she had failed at was keeping him all to herself. Bonnie ad his heart and by killing her Frost only succeeded in making him love her more and losing him all together. She had a new plan now, a new way to get him back and she was playing her cards as right as she could.

A figure ran from behind the corner and Tristian jumped, creating a ball of energy as he did so, prepared to take out whoever it was.

"Wait!" the voice shouted. "Tristian, it's me."

He frowned and walked closer so he could see Jean's face. She was out of breath and her shirt was torn at the shoulder.

"Jean?" he asked.

"It's me."

"I told you to stay in the room. Why did you leave?"

"Did you really think I'd stay there and let you do this all by yourself?"

"You are stubborn," he said with an added smile.

She returned it. "I know. It's why you like me so much. I'm as stubborn as you are."

"Please go back to the room."

"No, I'm going to help you. They're downstairs. I just got away from a couple of them."

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "But stay near me. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will," she promised and took his hand, following right behind him.

They crept closely to the stairs, Jean directly behind him and turned the corner. There was no one there Tristian could see. The front of the house had been damaged though. The window directly in front of him was shattered as if someone had been thrown through it and a column was collapsed downstairs, a body covered by debris lay still down stairs, but it was no one he recognized.

"I don't see anyone," he said.

"I don't feel anyone either. No one but him at least in this area, but…they're still here. Around. I'm not sure where though," Jean said biting at her lower lip nervously.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him. She opened her mouth to say something but never got the chance to say it.

"TRISTIAN!"

He spun his head towards the voice at the other end of the hall and saw Jean. He blinked and turned his head to the other side, seeing Jean again with a frown on her face. Two Jean's on two different ends.

"What's going on?" he asked backing away from the first Jean

The Jean on his left, the one he'd been with the whole time pointed at the other. "She's an imposter, Tristian. It's Mystique, it has to be."

"No," the other said getting closer. "She's the imposter. She's the bad guy Tristian. Please, you have to believe me. I wouldn't lie to you."

He shook his head in bewilderment. "I-I don't…"

"Tristian please!" The one on his left begged. "It's me."

"You bitch," the one on his right hissed.

The one on his left growled and ran at her, tackling her to the ground. Tristian could only watch as both fought. He could tell which was the one he had been with in the hall because of the torn shirtsleeve, but which was the true Jean Grey was a mystery to him. He couldn't make them out. He bent to pick one of the other and get this straightened out, but was pulled back from behind and flung to the floor with force.

He lifted his head to meet metal, he followed it up, staring into Stryfe's face. The man smiled down at him and picked him up effortlessly. "Nice to see you again, Tristian," he back handed him across the face and Tristian hit the wall, tasting blood in his mouth.

Stryfe grabbed him again. "Long time no see." He hit him again, in the stomach this time causing him to double over in pain and gasp for breath.

The metal man straightened him out, holding his dazed body up. "How you doing, buddy?" He head butted him and let his body crumble to the ground.

Tristian coughed, moving his arms under his body. Blood dripped from his mouth and stained the carpet. Stryfe continued to talk behind him but he paid no attention to the words. His anger was beyond words as behind them Jean struggled with an imposter and somewhere Bobby, Rogue, and John were taken for hostage.

Tristian's eyes blackened and his power rushed through him just as Stryfe bent and picked him up again. "So, how are you doing, bro?"

Tristian smiled behind the blood. "I'm doing great," he let the fire out and Stryfe flew back, right through the banister and dropped the thirty fete to the floor below. He walked top the edge and looked down, wiping his mouth across the back of his hand. Stryfe groaned down below, rolling over. He'd be down and wouldn't bother him again, Tristian was sure of it. He spat blood down on the man and turned away towards the staircase.

"You did it," Jean smiled breathless, leaning against the wall. The other Jean lay partially unconscious on the floor. She limped over and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close as she continued speaking. "I knew you could."

He nodded his head and looked over at the other Jean. Her shirt sleeve was ripped. He frowned and moved his head slightly to look at her shirt sleeves, both were intact.

That didn't mean anything though. He didn't know what could have happened when he had left her in the room, what she could have run into. The one he was holding pulled away and smiled but it faltered as she touched his face, the cut on his cheek started to sting and he was sure he had bit his tongue in-between all the punches, the main reason for the blood.

"You're hurt," she said and touched the blood. He jerked away, grabbing her wrist gently.

"I'll be fine."

She nodded thoughtfully. "All right, but I still want to look at that cut."

He directed her towards the stairs. "Let's just see if we can find the trio and deal with these guys."

Jean nodded and went in front of him. Tristian put his foot on the first step but looked back at the other Jean. She was starting to come to, groaning and rolling her head from side to side slowly. Her hand came up and touched her head where a small cut decorated her otherwise flawless skin. That was when he saw it. The silver ring was on her thumb. The one he had given Jean earlier that morning, she was wearing it. The other Jean hadn't had a ring anywhere. He had seen her hands when she touched his face. They were bare. She wasn't Jean. The one on the floor was.

He turned around to hit her, but froze. The ice blue eyes always struck deep inside him, freezing everything just like Frost could. She smiled coldly. "Surprise Tristian."

Before he could speak he felt a mental force shove him physically. Her power. He hit the staircase, his head bouncing off the top of the metal lined stairs and a hot pain seared through his skull, sending black spots to frame his vision as he tumbled head over heels down the staircase. The last thing he heard was Emma laughing before he lost consciousness and gave to the pain.

NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON. R&R IN THE MEAN TIME!!!