Changes Chapter 39

Magneto only smirked as he heard the alarm setting off in the mansion. "Charles…," he said ironically and mocked the attempt his old friend has started to protect the school. He knew that the X-Men were outnumbered, no matter if most windows and doors were shutting down by thick protective doors. With Mystique inside, his Brotherhood, even if not as large as on Alcatraz, had a total number of 30. His group now was far more powerful than during the incident back then. Magneto had taken care of looking for more powerful mutants and he had successfully found them…

He was also aware that even with Phoenix inside, his group was a far greater threat. Especially because he'd make plans: He knew which mutant of his group could deal with which X-Men. And he had especially some surprises for the two strongest mutants inside the mansion. With his mutants he wouldn't have to take care of the Wolverine by himself…

With a satisfied smile, he turned around to his brothers, who only waited for the show to start. "My brothers," he began smiling and raised his hands shortly to get their fullest attention. "Now is the time to show those traitors how we deal with them! Don't take care of the students inside, my friends. Our aim is the X-Men!" He walked up and down the line his group built. "I doubt they will come outside so quickly. They might want us to come in." He smiled knowingly. "Let them believe that this will change their fate today! We know better!" Some members cheered, others only smiled devilishly; especially Pyro, Juggernaut and Sabretooth. Magneto stopped in front of them. His arms rested behind his back. "Khan, you take care of Cyclops and afterwards you'll help Emma, Unus, Shadowking and Bloodscream to deal with Phoenix." Khan, a huge man with white hair and red eyes, who was a master of strategy and perfect in many armed and unarmed fighting styles only nodded. Still, he didn't bother to look at his comrades who were supposed to build a team with him. "Avalanche, Leash, Vertigo," Magneto continued. "Your target is that weather witch." He glanced at Vertigo. "And you also help Deathbird with Angel!" The two women looked at each other briefly and nodded. "Spiral and Equilibrius, the two of you deal with those kids…Shadowcat and Jubilee. They are easy to taken care of!" The leader looked to and fro until he found the mutants he was looking for. "Gladiator, Barbarus and Juggernaut, your aim is the Russian kid Colossus."

"Crap!" Juggernaut cursed and stamped his foot. "I wanted to kick this runts butt!"

"You can deal with Wolverine afterwards!" Magneto sighed. "Vargas, you'll deal with our precious Hank McCoy first. Afterwards with Wolverine." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Thanks to our telepaths, we know that some kids and old team members take part into this battle, too." He smirked. "They are no match for us, my brothers! Wildchild, you take care of Magma, Mesmero of Karma." He met Mesmero's eyes. "You might also have some fun with Phoenix and Wolverine." His eyes darkened for a brief moment by the thought of the new leader of the X-Men. "Well…," again he looked to and fro. "Vanisher, Exodus…your target is Nightcrawler. Piper, Lupo and Lupa, you'll deal with Wolsbane. Nightside with Sunfire." Magneto mentally checked the list he'd made. "And I don't have to tell you, who your adversary is, do I?" he asked Pyro who only smirked in response, while he stood with arms crossed in front of his leader. "And now my special gift to our beloved Wolverine…" Magneto's face immediately became hatred. "Sabretooth, Wendigo, Cyber,…" His eyes kept looking around. "Vargas, Bloodscream and Juggernaut. Take this runt out!" he said through gritted teeth while his fist clenched violently. "I don't even want to see him in one piece afterwards. Do you understand me?" he continued. "I don't care what you do to him, as long as you finish him once and for all!" The six mutants only nodded grinning. "If you find Mystique, let her out. She knows what to do."

"Hey, what about me?"

Magneto turned around and looked into Multiple Man's face. "You can take part in any battle you'll like," he said dryly. "I thought that was obvious…"

The mutant shrugged. "'Kay. Fine with me!"

The master of magnetism could only sigh in frustration and shook his head before he looked at the mansion again. "And now my brothers,…let's go!"

As soon as the alarm was activated, all hell broke lose inside the mansion. The students ran hither and thither around in panic, while Logan ran up the stairs towards his room. Jean was already up and looked at him frightened. He carefully laid his son down before he walked over to the wardrobe. Pulling his and her uniform out of it, he grimly turned around again. "You ready?" Jean nodded nervously and took the uniform out of his hands. Quickly, they dressed before both of them took their children and the bags they'd prepared and walked out on the corridor. Storm and Cyclops were already advising the students into which direction they'd to go, while the voice of the Professor echoed through the mansion; telling them to keep calm. "Come on, kids! This way!" Logan said and pointed down the corridor.

"Beast and Colossus are further down!" Storm said. "As soon as the students are safe, we shut the place down!"

Logan nodded before he looked at his comrades. "If you need help, tell us!" They nodded.

"Be careful!" Jean said before they ran into the other direction. Both lead the students to the emergency exit where Beast and Colossus were already waiting. They hold the hidden door open and counted the students who came past them. "Rogue and Moira are already inside," Beast explained and watched the last students disappearing. "That's the last one."

Logan nodded and held the wooden door open for Jean who slipped through it. He looked at both men grimly. "If something goes wrong…"

Beast nodded. "We'll let you know. Take care of them!" He laid their leader a hand on the shoulder.

"I will!" Logan replied before he closed the door behind him and turned to Jean who had waited for him on the other side. The wet ground splashed under their feet as they ran down the long tunnel; holding their babies tight. As soon as they reached the huge room, Logan began to check his surroundings. "Is everyone here?" he asked aloud. "Check if someone's missing!" He handed Jack to Moira and waited for an answer, while Jean sat down next to Rogue who looked rather exhausted.

"Luke is not here!" a little girl suddenly said and looked up to her teacher.

Logan snorted, turned quickly around and ran down the tunnel again. On midway, he met the small boy who was panting in exhaustion an also fear. "Come on," the grown up said and pulled him up; running back with him to the hiding place. Reaching the room again, Logan put him down and locked up the door from the inside. Mentally he told the Professor that everyone was in safety for this moment. He ran a hand through his face, before he turned towards the frightened children. "Stay calm and sit down. Nothing's gonna happen t'ya!" He watched as they obeyed. Some clung to each other, others sat down crying silently or were shaking all over. Sighing, Logan sat down next to Jean. She'd wrapped her arms around her body. Gently he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Ya alright?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "I'm scared…," she admitted barely audible and he pulled her close.

"Me, too," Logan replied before he glanced at Rogue. "Kid, are ya alright? Even snow has more color than you…"

The young women nodded, while her face was covered with sweat and took a few deep breaths. "I'm fine."

"Lay down," Moira told her and pushed her gently back on the bed she sat on. "Are you in pain?" she asked her worriedly, but Rogue shook her head. "As soon as you feel worse, let me know!" She gave Jean and Logan a worried look, since the girl was nine month pregnant and due soon.

Jean leant against Logan's shoulder and tried to calm her racing heart. Everything just happened too fast. She had been awoken by the alarm, Logan was gone and in the next second she wore her uniform again… Lost in thoughts she took his hand into hers; squeezing it briefly. "Do you think they'll be alright up there?"

"I hope so," he replied while he stared at the door in tension.

Upstairs, in the meanwhile, Cyclops stood in front of the thirteen X-Men and looked to and fro between them. "Okay, the Professor is already linked to Cerebro," he said while he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We shut the whole building down. All emergency exits are secured and can only be opened from within. Is there anything else we forgot?"

Storm thought about it but shook her head. "No, I think that mainly was everything Logan wanted us to do."

"Is every headset working properly?" Scott asked and they nodded. "If anything happens, report to the Professor and the others immediately. Let them know where you are, what you see and especially if you're injured or need help!" He looked down the corridor for a brief moment. "If the situation gets completely out of control, inform Phoenix and Wolverine immediately!" He looked at the younger mutants and the newbies. He could tell that they were frightened. "You can still go downstairs! No one will blame you for it," he told them being completely serious.

"No," Karma said and Magma, Sunfire and Wolfsbane also shook their heads after they'd exchanges glances. "Wolverine told us the risks… He taught us everything we need to know, so either we make it or not. At least we try it!"

Scott had to smirk. "Yeah, it's obvious who your teacher is…" The smile faded quickly. "Is everyone ready?" They nodded with hardened features on their faces. Their tension was obvious. "Okay, then let's go!" Together they walked out of the back door into the garden where they immediately faced the Brotherhood.

As soon as their adversaries made the first step, the air cooled down and heavy rain set in. Just as she reached the outside, Storm rose into the air above all others. Her hair was blowing about in the heavy storm she caused, while her eyes glowed white in anger. Avalanche, a man of average height and dark hair, and Vertigo, a woman with green hair, looked up to her. Their faces mirrored the hate and anger they felt, while their eyes suddenly caught Vanisher, a man who looked more like one of the gentleman from Buffy and who was about to attack Nightcrawler. "Hey!" Vertigo called to get his attention. "Can you get her down?" Vanisher only looked up briefly and smiled devilishly. With a loud noise he disappeared.

Clenching her fists, Storm fired heavy lightning bolts right into the middle of the group Multiple Man had just created of himself. Satisfied she heard his loud cry and saw his duplicates vanishing. Just as she was about to attack Magneto, who she'd spotted at the woods surrounded by Sabretooth and some other weird looking mutants, she screamed. Arms grabbed her roughly from behind, leaving streaks on her throat and hip, while she suddenly hit the ground hard. Coughing heavily, she held her hip and stroked over her burning neck. Opening her eyes a bit, she only saw someone disappearing. Storm shook her head slightly and got up; looking directly into the smirking faces of three mutants. Tensing her muscles she turned her head. Whoever had grabbed her had left her far away from the others.

"All alone X-Man?" the green haired woman asked smirking. "Good that we're here, huh?"

Shrieking Storm fell to the ground again without anyone even touching her. Confused she looked at the woman who called herself Vertigo. Whatever she did, it affected her balance a lot. A shadow jumped at her. Again hands grabbed her roughly. It was Leash, a huge black-haired woman who was at least two heads taller than her. She began to punch her three times hard into the face and abdomen, before she kicked her brutally to the ground. Groaning, Storm held her belly. Tasting the blood in her mouth, her eyes glowed white. Clenching her fist, which were soon covered by lightning, she was just about to hit them as the earth around her shook heavily and distracted her.

"Not gonna happen!" Avalanche told her in a menacing voice. Together with Leash he pounced on her. She yelled several times under their heavy attacks, felt blood covering her face while her body began to hurt badly. Desperately, Storm tried to fight back, tried to attack them, but she couldn't counter their fast attacks. Vertigo stood smiling next to them and watched her comrades dealing with their enemy. The painful screams and groans were only music in her ears. She knew they were only playing with the white haired X-Man. She knew it was her time to keep her off balance every time they let go of her; giving her the impression that she had a chance against them. Laughing, she began to enjoy this game a lot…

Bampf.

Screaming, Vertigo suddenly was high in the sky and fell down to earth with full speed.

Bampf. Bampf.

The next two times hit Leash and Avalanche hard in the back. Turning around, they looked into vanishing black smoke. Before they could realize it, they were grabbed, kicked, punched or thrown to the ground, without seeing their attacker. Storm looked up panting. She knew who was helping her. Taking her chance, she got up to her feet and concentrated. Looking up into the sky, her eyes began to glow white again and she raised her hands up. Her adversaries had noticed it immediately and turned after being attacked once more.

"You damn weather witch!" Avalanche cursed and was about to cause another earth quake, as a huge lightning bolt hit Storm's hands.

"And this is for you!" she hissed menacing before she laid all her fury and hate into her attack. Yelling, she sent both Brotherhood members backwards; not stopping her attack before both weren't moving anymore. Panting, she fell on her knew as the pain and dizziness finally overwhelmed her. Bampf. "Thank you," she whispered, knowing that Kurt was behind her. Feeling hands touching her, she heard the sound again and soon she stood in a small room on the lower level of the mansion. Cautiously, Nightcrawler helped her to sit down on the blue sofa, before he kneeled down in front of her.

"Bitteschön," he replied and she smiled at him. Even inside, they could still hear the raging fight. Looking towards the secured window, his eye became worried when Storm gasped all of a sudden and cupped his face.

"You're hurt…," she noticed and stroked over his cut face.

"It's not so bad," Nightcrawler waved off. "You look worse." Getting up, he disappeared just to reappear with a first aid kit. Watching him treating and cleaning her wounds, Storm couldn't help but stare at his torn uniform.

"Who did this?"

He stopped as she winced when the antiseptic touched her skin. "Two mutants," he replied calmly. "One was like me. Vanisher. The other one also had Psi-powers. Exodus or something like that."

"So we were right that Magneto sends mutants against us who have the same powers as we do," she said more to herself. Seeing that he was done treating her facial wounds, she smiled at him. "Thanks. Now sit down and let me take care of yours."

Obeying to her, Nightcrawler did what she wanted. "Cyclops helped me. But I think he's in trouble. He was attacked by a huge man with a weapon."

"He will call for help if he needs some," she replied softly as her hand automatically touched her right ear. "No! I lost my headset…" Her blue eyes looked at his, but she couldn't find what she was looking for. "You, too…"

"That's why I am worried." Nightcrawler looked towards the window again.

After a while, she stroked over her work once more and put the kit away. "I'm done."

"Thank you," he said politely and got up. "You should rest a bit more. They hit you pretty bad."

"I'm fine." She nodded reassuringly and touched his cheek soothingly, but he shook his head, while taking her hands into his.

"No," he replied. "Wait a few minutes before you go out again."

Seeing his concern and fear for her, Storm finally nodded in agreement. "Be careful!" she said before he disappeared. Still looking at the spot where he'd stood a few seconds ago, she laid her hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. Heaving a deep sigh, she sat down again. Holding her side which hurt a lot, Storm moved into a more comfortable position. She definitely had to get some new headsets in case more of them got lost. Closing her eyes she leaned her aching head back a bit. She only hoped the others were fine…

"I'm sure he'll be!"

Opening her eyes wide, she directly looked into sharp fangs; black eyes staring down on her. Clenching her fist to attack him, Sabretooth grabbed her throat roughly and stopped her. Throwing her brutally to the ground, he pinned her down to it. "You still owe me a scream…"

XXX

Magneto's blue eyes watched the scenery in front of him. Satisfied he saw how his mutants kept the others busy while he waited impatiently. Looking to his right and left his telepaths were still concentrating.

"How long do we still have to shield X?" a white haired woman with icy blue eyes asked him.

"Just be patient, Emma," he replied and crossed his arms. As he was about to add something, Vanisher and Exodus appeared in front of him. "It's done! Mystique is free and X is taken care of…"

"Finally," Emma sighed frustrated and put her hands to her hips. "You didn't say that this would be so much work!"

Magneto gave her an odd look. "What do you think," he asked her bluntly. "That Charles Xavier wouldn't try to stop us from hurting his precious X-Men? Wait until Phoenix appears!"

"She won't be so hard to handle," the woman replied self-assured. "She has no chance against us!"

Magneto cocked an eyebrow at her. Let them believe it, he thought. For him most of them were only pawns. Dispensable in that war. With the students inside he would soon have a larger army. Students who he could form until they were ready to fight for his dream.

"This is crap!" Juggernaut suddenly cursed behind him. "Where is this runt? I want to hurt him!"

"I don't know where Wolverine is," the master of magnetism sighed. As he said dispensable… "Phoenix isn't here too," a ghost like bestiary figure on Magneto's right added in a daemonic voice. "But I can feel her presence."

Surprised Magneto turned towards him. "Where?"

"They are inside the building," Shadow King went on, concentrating on the trace of power he could feel. "Underground."

"Charles," Magneto shook his head with an amused smile. "He really thinks they can protect them."

Emma stopped in front of him, arms crossed with a bored expression on her face. "So? What now?"

His eyes switched towards the red beams which suddenly appeared on the roof of the mansion. He thought about his plan. He wanted them. Especially their offspring…. He didn't even dare to imagine how powerful their kid was when it inherited both its parents' powers. A mutant with two daemonic souls within him…half of the Wolverine, half of the Phoenix. He definitely had plans for that child. With a devilish smile he turned towards his telepaths. "Find them and bring me their child," he ordered them darkly and watched them leaving. "Take Unus with you and be wary of the Wolverine. This runt will try anything to protect her!"

"He's no match for us!" Emma commented his warnings with a wave of her hand.

"Only that you can't touch him with your telepathy you stupid girl!" Magneto added through gritted teeth and narrowed his eyes. He watched them leaving and attacking several mutants on their way. Turning his head he gave Juggernaut a nod. "Until he shows up you can have some fun with this metallic kid over there!" He nodded towards Colossus who was occupied with two other mutants. Grinning Juggernaut ran off, causing the ground to vibrate heavily. Hearing a low growl from behind, the leader of the Brotherhood didn't need to turn around. He knew who it was. "Don't worry my brothers! Your time will come soon…"
XXX

In the basement, Moira was walking up and down, checking her medical equipment for the at least one hundredth time. Growling while his eyes followed her the whole time, Logan sighed. "Make her stop or I'll do!"

"She's nervous and scared," Jean said soothingly.

"Yeah, we all are and she drives the kids crazy!" As he watched her controlling a monitor once more, he stood up with a low growl and grabbed her hand roughly. "Would ya stop it!"

Surprised about his action, she stared at him with widened eyes. Realizing it, she heaved a heavy breath and ran her other hand through her face. "Sorry…"

Giving her a stressed look, he finally returned to his seat again, as suddenly his headset cracked. Like him, Jean also concentrated on the hissing noise and tried to figure out who it was.

"Need help…anyone…," was all they could hear.

"It's the Furball," Logan stated and got up. He waited for the reply of others but there was none.

"Go!" Jean said calmly and looked up at him. "He needs you…"

Worriedly he looked at her and the kids. "What about you?"

Jean shook her head and also got up; standing right before him while the kids watched them frightened. They didn't want him to go. With him close they knew they were safe and protected. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Sure?"

She saw his insecurity, felt the battle he fought within. She knew he didn't want to leave them. "Yeah." Hugging him tightly for a brief moment she closed her eyes. "Please be careful…"

Smirking at her he gave her one of his teasing looks. "Only if you blast everyone to ashes who tries to touch'em!" Returning his smile she nodded and squeezed his hand. "Good! I'll be right back. I'll contact you mentally when I'm in front of the door." He gave her a quick kiss and turned around towards the small escape hatch in the ceiling. "Charley really thought about everything," he thought and jumped. His hands grabbed the edge and he pulled himself up. Jean watched him disappearing through it and took a deep breath. She only hoped that he wouldn't feel how scared she actually was. She was now the only one left to defend the children and knew that she would hesitate in case of an attack. Knowing what she was capable of, she couldn't risk hurting anyone. Turning around as she hurt a sharp hiss, her eyes caught Rogue who was biting her lip. "What's wrong?" Jean asked worriedly and was immediately at her side. Laying a hand on her abdomen she knew it. Yeah, she really had a knack for trouble and difficult situations… "Come one, get up!" Helping her she carried her towards the second medical room, which was separated through a door from the other one.

Moira looked up as she entered it. "What…," she broke off as she saw the liquid on the ground. "Not now! Please don't tell me that this is true…" Walking over to the other two women, she helped Jean to carry Rogue to one of the empty beds. "Girl, why now?", Moira cried. Laying her down, she got the medical equipment while Jean stayed with her.

"Can you get Bobby?", Rogue asked through clenched teeth and started to cry. "Please get him!" she pleaded and grabbed the sheet.

Not knowing what to do, Jean turned her head as Moira reappeared. "I'll be fine here. It'll probably take some time. I'll call you if I need you!"

Nodding the red head took the girl's hand. "I'll contact Logan and tell him, all right?"

"Yeah," Rogue replied and groaned in pain.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry!" Jean assured her since she'd noticed the scared look on the girl's face. "Nothing will happen to you!" With a short squeeze of her hand, she returned to the students again.

XXX

Covering his eyes, Colossus tried to protect himself from the heavy storm Gladiator created by blowing out the air of his lungs. Hearing heavy steps behind him, the young men immediately knew who it was. Quickly he jumped aside and rolled off, just to smile in the next moment when he saw how Juggernaut crashed into his adversary. Red beams automatically shot from Gladiator's eyes; hitting everything in his surroundings but the target. A loud scream, echoed through the air behind him and announced Barbarus. Not turning quickly enough this time, two fists send Colossus to the ground. He really had enough of these two guys who kept on keeping him busy the whole time through. He almost felt the heat of Pyro on his skin, even if this one still fought against Icemen on the other side of the garden. Realizing that he had changed back to his normal form, he saw the blood dropping from his mouth and forehead. Changing quickly into his organic form again, he met the fist of his adversary and almost yelled. Barbarus took this moment to lift his enemy easily into the air and held him immobile above his head. "Hey Juggy," he called over to his companion who was about to lift the unconscious Gladiator from the ground. "Ready for some tackling?" Laughing about his enemy's futile attempts to get free, the strong mutant only grinned. With a devilish grin, Juggernaut ran towards his teammate who waited before he'd gained enough speed. "Bye bye!" Barbarus said laughing and threw Colossus right into Juggernaut's course. Satisfied he watched how his adversary was hit hard by the collision and flew threw the air like a puppet. Through the force and his own weight, Colossus tore a large gap into one wall of the mansion. Getting up, while shaking his head as the world spun around him, the heavy footsteps of Juggernaut came closer. Looking up, the X-Man only saw his enemy's helmet before two other walls were destroyed.

XXX

In the meanwhile, Logan had left the shaft and stood on the upper level of the mansion. Looking at his dusty uniform he only cocked an eyebrow at the leather which had been black before. He should tell Chuck that he really needed to clean up some corners of the mansion… Getting rid of as much dirt as possible he looked around and tried to figure out where Beast was. Sniffing he turned his head towards the lower levels. Not thinking twice, he ran down. His sensitive ears caught the noises from the outside; he also heard some which came from very close by. Following Beast's scent, he suddenly stopped as his nose caught the smell of blood. Looking around, his hazel eyes stopped at a small corridor which led to single rooms that were set up if students wanted to have some time for themselves. Logan narrowed his eyes as two other scents caught his nose. Growling he ran towards it at full speed. He soon stood in front of a shattered door and stopped panting. Clenching his fists his eyes widened as he noticed the destroyed interior of the room. Swallowing his heart kicked into high gear. He knew she was or had been here and he also knew that he had caught the scent of his arch nemesis… Entering the room silently, Logan kept on looking around. The strong scent of blood made him nearly feel sick, especially as he saw a great amount of it on the ground and walls. Stopping, his eyes caught the sight of destroyed shelves and tables. He kneeled down, while his ears concentrated on the slightest noises in his surrounding. Cautiously, he pulled the wood aside and gasped as he saw white and bloody hair underneath is.

Speeding up, he could finally grab underneath her shoulders and pulled her out of the wreckage. Laying her gently down, he took his glove off and touched her throat briefly. "Storm?" Logan asked and pulled the glove on again. Touching her face gently, which was covered with blood, bruises and cuts he had to growl. If he would find this bastard he would finish him once and for all. Hearing the growl, the woman jumped all of a sudden in panic and screamed, as he grabbed her to prevent her from getting hurt. "No!"

"'Ro, it's me!", Logan tried to say soothingly. "It's me! You're safe!" Stopping to fight him, she looked at him with widened eyes and he could tell that her mind had problems to realize the truth. He stroked her cheek gently. "It's me…" Suddenly her eyes changed and she began to sob heavily. He took her into his arms. "It's okay. I'll protect you." Storm clung to him while her sobs became even more desperate. Her body was despite all the bruises and open wounds completely numb. She closed her eyes tightly as the memories returned to her. Feeling her quaking with fear, Logan's hate became even stronger. "What did he do to ya?" he asked her trough gritted teeth and cupped her face, but she only shook her head and cried even heavier. Looking down on her torn uniform it became obvious to him what she must have endured under Sabretooth rage. Hearing the cracking of his headset, he was glad that someone interrupted him. Otherwise he would have destroyed this place a bit more. "Yeah?" he asked and held Storm tight.

"It's me. Did you find Hank?"

He sighed. "No, I found Storm and bring her back. She needs medical attention." Pulling the still quaking woman up, he made his way back, while she buried her face on his neck. Mentally he told Jean the rest of his thoughts; including what he thought Sabretooth had done to her. "Is something wrong?"

"If you see Bobby, bring him back!" he heard Jean say and could feel her tension. Immediately he felt scared. "Why? Is something wrong with Rogue?"

"She's in labour."

"What!" he asked her shocked and stopped abruptly on the spot. This was just perfect. "Can't you girls choose a better situation or time than this, damn it!" He continued to walk down the corridor as fast as he could without hurting Storm too much. "I'll be right there!" Walking up the stairs, he realized that the emergency exit was sealed. He had to go back through the hatch. Growling he made Storm look up in shock since she thought something was wrong. "Sorry," he excused and stopped under the hatch. "Look, that's the only way. The exit is sealed. Can you walk?" She shook her head and he sighed. "Okay, then get on my back and hold on tight." Helping her he waited until she took hold of his chest. "Ready? I have to jump."

"Yeah," Storm replied barely audible and closed her eyes as he jumped up and grabbed the edge. Groaning under both of there weights, he pulled himself up.

XXX

"Run! Come on, quickly!" Shadowcat yelled and pulled a limping Jubilee with her. "Don't look into his eyes, Jubes!"

"I can't anymore," the other girl cried and bit her lip while tears ran down her face.

"We're not giving up! So run!" Dragging her, Shadowcat kept her eyes on the mansion. "We're there soon!"

Shrieking, Jubilee suddenly landed on the ground as her leg failed. Yelling in pain, she heard the loud crack of her bones in it. The other girl, who had also fallen because of her, turned her head heavily breathing. She saw the two mutants approaching. "Come on!" she screamed as she saw how Spiral raised her six arms, one holding an axe, another one a large sword. "Jubes, get up! Get up!" Shadowcat grabbed her roughly, ignoring her friend's painful screams and tried to pull her off the ground. Seeing Equilibrius eyes getting into hypnotic mode again, she shielded hers from him. "Do it, damn it!" Finally managing to move her at least a bit, her friend fell again. She realized that she had no other choice but fight. Panting, she looked for a weapon to help her, but there was none. She remembered Logan teaching them armed combat, but what should she do without any weapon? "Jubes, attack them! Aim for her hand with the sword and keep this other guy busy!"

Sobbing, Jubilee looked up and followed her gaze. "They are too strong! Are you crazy!"

"We can't do much else can we?" Shadowcat shot back. "Now do it or they'll kill us!"

Jubilee saw the two mutants jumping at them accompanied with a shrill scream. Closing her eyes to prevent being hypnotized by Equilibrius, she screamed and shot as much plasma out of her hands as possible. Hitting his eyes, the mutant let out a yell. "Her hands! Aim at her hands quickly!" Shadowcat screamed since Spiral kept on attacking her. Raising up as good as she could, Jubilee fired at the white haired woman, but missed each time.

"She's too quick!" the girl cried in despair and fired at Equilibrius instead as he nearly fell on her. With another attack he ran off stumbling, holding his burned eyes.

"Jubilee!" Shadowcat screamed again and ducked, just to yell in the next second as the sword tore her uniform open on her waist. "Help me!"

"You're finished girl!" Spiral hissed and swung her sword once more.

"No!" Jubilee shrieked and wanted to fire as her enemy suddenly froze.

"Get her away!" Karma said. "I can't control her mind much longer…"

Nodding, Shadowcat walked over to her friend, gritting her teeth in pain. "I'm sorry," Jubilee said and took the hand she offered her. Biting her lips, she tried to keep up with her friend's speed.

"What about you?" Shadowcat asked Karma through her headset.

"Magma will help me, don't worry!" Not able to possess Spiral's mind any longer, she let go of her adversary.

"You gonna pay, bitch!" Spiral hissed and came closer. "I'll kill you for that!"

"No, you won't!" Hot heat burned two arms as Magma suddenly stepped closer. "Wildchild is knocked out. I got some help from Angel."

Karma nodded. "I'll try, but I doubt I have much power left…"

"We'll do!" Nodding at each other, the girls got into position.

XXX

Looking up, Jean suddenly jumped as the hatch moved. Relieved she saw Logan coming through it and watched him holding his arms up. Gasping she covered her mouth with her hand as she saw Storm falling into his arms. Pulling her up, he carried her over to the medical room and laid her gently down. Glancing briefly at Rogue he laid Jean a hand on her shoulder. "Take care of her, I'll get Beast." Only nodding as an answer, she looked down on Storm, who was biting her lip in pain.

"What did he do to you…?" she only gasped and held back her tears.

Logan jumped to the ground on the other side of the hatch once more. Sniffing, he picked up the scent once again and ran down the corridors at full speed, following it. He only hoped that he wasn't too late and his friend was still alive. Stopping in the main hall, he turned his head towards the gym. He could still hear fighting noises out of it, so he was lucky as it seemed. Kicking the door open, Logan extracted his claws and looked briefly at the scenery. It only took him one second to decide what to do next as he saw a huge, muscular man with long black hair jumping at Beast with a samurai katana. Seeing red as his rage took over, Wolverine growled and ran at the man. Hearing the noise behind him, Vargas turned around and barely evaded the razor sharp adamantium claws of his adversary. Taking position in front of Beast, who lay bleeding and badly wounded on the ground, Wolverine tensed his muscles and growled at his enemy menacingly.

"You must be Wolverine," Vargas noticed smirking and laughed. "What do you want with those little claws of yours, eh?"

Looking at the long sword of his adversary, Wolverine realized that he had a far wider range than he had with his claws. Snarling, he glanced briefly at Beast who met his black eyes. "Got this…from your room…," the blue mutant panted and held up a black samurai sword with shaking hands. Retracting his claws, Logan recognized his katana of which he still didn't know why he had bought it. Something about the sword had caught his attention. Something which he couldn't even explain… He'd practiced with it and found out that he somehow knew exactly how to handle it. Taking the sword out of Beast's hands, he pulled it out of the sheath and glanced at the shining metal.

"Oh, you think you can handle it?" Vargas mocked and raised his. Logan only gave him a cold look and took position. "As I can see, you know how to begin," his adversary noticed teasingly and took the same position. "Let's see how long you can survive…"

Beast swallowed hard as he saw Vargas running at Logan with full speed. Gasping, he watched as his friend didn't move first. In the last second, he rolled aside and slashed his enemy's uniform open in one large cut. Laughing, Vargas got rid of the upper part of it and threw it to the ground; tensing his well trained muscles underneath it. "Good," he snapped. "Now, let's begin!"

Holding the sword next to his head, Logan narrowed his eyes and tensed his muscles, too. No matter what this guy planned, he was ready. Watching Vargas running at him again, he waited for him to come close enough. With one good hit he could end this battle early. Tighten the grip around the sword, he hold his breath and watched him jumping off the ground. This time, Logan didn't wait and also jumped to meet him. Swinging his sword and aiming at his enemy's head, he was suddenly kicked to the ground. Growling, Logan immediately got up again. If his adversary wanted to play this game, he could have it. Lowering the sword to the ground, he ran at him.

Beast watched how Logan evaded another attack easily, jumped and spun in mid air with full agility; kicking Vargas against the head, while he attacked him with the sword in the next second. Panting, he was stunned to see his friend fighting. He had never thought that Logan could actually fight like that. Holding his breath, every time the swords crashed against each other, he saw both men spinning around and stopping abruptly. Both gave each other cold and threatening stares as the sword of Vargas touched Logan's neck and vice versa. It was a draw…

"Where did you learn that?" Vargas hissed since he was used to be the best in armed and unarmed combats. He knew everything about it, could handle any weapon and any enemy. Logan only smirked at him, hunkered down and spun quickly, using his right leg to keep him off balance. Jumping at him with his sword raised he was about to finish his enemy, as Vargas rolled aside. Growling, Logan only hit the ground. Hearing his adversary moving, he quickly turned and blocked while he began to twist Varga's arm in one move. Not being fast enough, the Brotherhood fighter yelled aloud, as Logan managed to dislocate and break his arm in a single smooth move. Furiously slashing at him with the other one, he left a large wound on Logan's chest in return. Beast gasped in shock and wanted to help, but saw that his friend was smirking. Vargas's looked at the chest in shock as the wound disappeared; leaving only the gap in the uniform and a small trace of blood. Screaming in rage, he threw himself against the X-Man. Lowering his sword, Logan made a side step and grabbed the other arm. Turning around his own axis quickly, he sent his adversary with a spun to the ground and pinned him to it with the sword. "Beat!" he hissed and knocked him out. Panting in exhaustion, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned towards Beast.

"How…," the blue mutant began but had to cough heavily. Logan kneeled down next to him and took a short look at the wounds. He had to get him back quickly. Suddenly, Hank's eyes widened. "Watch out!"

Grabbing the sword, Logan spun around and stabbed Vargas right through the heart, while the sword of his adversary went through his abdomen. Letting out a painful hiss, he dropped the dead body careless aside and kneeled down holding his deep wound. Speeding up his breathing, he waited for his healing factor to kick in. "Logan…," Beast gasped and only watched as a large amount of blood dripped to the ground. "No…"

"I'll be fine…," the X-Men said and put his sword back into the sheath. Getting up on weak knees, he handed it to Hank and began to pull him up.

"You can't…carry me…," the blue mutant stuttered weakly and tried to stop his friend, but Logan shook his head. "As I said, I'll be fine. And we have no time…" Limping, he began to return to the hiding place, telling Jean mentally to open the door for him.

XXX

"You really should go back to school, you loser!" Pyro sneered and pushed his attacks even more to their limits; covering his arch nemesis in a fireball. Iceman pushed his powers, too, trying to cover himself in an iceshield which could protect him against the heat. He'd completely lost any feeling for time, since his adversary had immediately attacked him as soon as their eyes had met. Changing into his iceform, he cooled his heated body down. He really had to do something and quickly… "What's wrong, pal? No power left?" Pyro laughed, enjoying seeing his flames doing their job. "You're a loser man! Nothing more than that!" Suddenly his eyes widened as his red flames turned blue in the middle; the iced up head of his adversary appearing right in front of him.

"And you're an idiot who'll never learn!" Iceman shot back and froze the arms of his opposite completely, before he knocked him out by hitting his head with his solid one. "Loser!" Looking up he saw Angel who struggled with Deathbird in the air. Raising his hands, he aimed for her wings before shooting his icebeam at her.

"Thanks!" Angel said aloud and landed next to him, while Deathbird crashed to the ground. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

Confused, Iceman stared at his teammate. "Where to!"

"Haven't you heard Mrs. Grey's call?" His opposite asked him surprised.

"No," Iceman shook his head. "My headset burned to ashes during the fight." Trying to stay calm, he suddenly felt his heart racing. "What did she say?"

Angel shrugged. "Only that the next one of us should tell you to come to the hiding place immediately…"

It hit him all of a sudden. He knew instantly what was wrong. "Thanks!" he only said and ran off, while Angel heard Wolfsbane's scream, close by. Seeing her fighting against three mutants, he began to run and took off. Making a sharp turn in mid air, he grabbed her and pulled her up; leaving the cursing members of the Brotherhood behind. "Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly and held her tight, while she changed into her normal form again.

"Yeah, only a few scratches and bruises," she replied and took a deep breath. "Thanks for helping me out!"

Angel smiled down on her. "No problem." Turning in the air once more, he aimed for the right roof of the mansion.

XXX

Closing the door behind them, Jean followed Logan once again into the medical room and watched him laying Hank down on a bed. Heavily breathing and sweating in exhaustion, Logan sat down on a chair and looked up at her; hearing Rogue's groans from the other side of the room. "How is she?"

"Fine so far," Jean replied while taking care of Hank's heavy wounds. "Her girl really wanted to do it quickly."

"Do you need help?" he asked her and got up after his healing factor had finally finished his job. All of a sudden the students screamed and he turned quickly. Extracting his claws, he was about to storm into the other room as Iceman entered panting. "Jesus, kid!" Logan cursed and retracted them again.

"Where's…" Iceman stopped as he heard her and quickly ran over to his girlfriend.

"Do you've heard anything from Charles?" Jean asked all of a sudden and gave him a worried look as he shook his head, while checking on Storm. "I can't reach him either… Not even mentally… Something's wrong!"

Hearing another call, Logan snorted and turned. "Gotta go. I'll check on Chuck after saving Scooterboy." He smirked at her reassuringly before making his way to the hatch again. Jean heard him saying some calming word to the students, before she felt how his presence slowly became more and more distant. She took more bandages into her hands after she was done cleaning Hank's wounds. Worriedly she looked at him, seeing from the corner of her eye that Storm was also staring at him, while crying silently. Suddenly, Beast opened his eyes a bit. "The boy's good…you know…"

Jean smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know."

"Make sure…you keep him," he replied barely audible, before he closed his eyes again.

"I will," she said absently, suddenly feeling a thick lump in her throat as her heart kicked into high gear.

XXX

On the other side, Logan made his way down the corridor as he suddenly stopped and sniffed. Recognizing the scent, he didn't turn his head as he felt a presence right behind him.

"I took care of three of them," a familiar voice said. "They don't know yet."

"Good," he replied and looked to the left. "Do me a favor and check on Chuck in Cerebro."

"I will!" the female voice replied and he heard her running off, before he kept on running down into his direction. He really wanted to see Magneto's face when he found out… Smirking, he climbed up the small stairs to the roof. Reaching it heavily breathing, he began to look for Scott. "Cyke?" He could smell him, but there was no living sign of his teammate left. Suddenly, he heard a scratching noise on the far left edge of the roof. Running towards it quickly, Logan finally found him. Scott desperately tried to hold onto the edge with one arm, but was unable to pull himself up because of an injury on the other.

"Damn…," Logan cursed and kneeled down. "What are ya doin' ya drama queen?" Holding onto a more or less stable window-sill and tried to get a hold of Cyclops' hand.

"Hurry!", the other man cried and panted. "I can't hold myself much longer…"

Logan finally extracted his claws on one hand and buried them deep into the roof to keep himself from falling, before he bent down a bit more. Grabbing his teammate's hand, he pulled him up.

Still panting in exhaustion, Cyclops kneeled on the ground. "Thanks…"

"How did ya manage that?" Logan asked him and cocked an eyebrow, since he couldn't see the body of any other mutant laying around. "Ya wanna top the Furball's entrance? Sorry to disappoint ya, but were even behind 'Ro, bub!"

Cyclops, having no idea what Logan was talking about, got slowly up and held his shoulder. "Some force field knocked me back after I blasted this damn white haired mutant."

Taking notice of the wound, Logan nodded towards the exit. "Ya should go down and let Moira or Jeannie check on it."

"I'm fine!" his opposite waved off and saw his teammate stiffen all of a sudden.

"Get off the roof!" Logan hissed through clenched teeth.

"What!" Cyclops asked him in return, not knowing what had gotten into his leader. He saw how he looked at him strangely.

"Get away from here, damn it!" Logan yelled at him and gritted his teeth, when his opposite finally noticed that his teammate obviously couldn't more anymore.

"Good evening, my friends!"

Turning around, Cyclops immediately had his hand on his visor as he saw a large shadow appearing behind them. "Damn…"

Logan breathed heavily and grimaced in pain, while he kept his eyes on his opposite; cursing within that the boy didn't listen to him. "Damn it, Cyke," he yelled once more and narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Don't care about me! Just go!"

"I'm not leaving you here alone, Logan!" Cyclops protested and kept his eyes on Magneto who watched the scenery amused.

"Stop getting all soft on me, bub. Piss off and help the others!"

"You should listen to him, you know…," Magneto said smiling widely. He knew this was going to be fun to watch. Even if this scene was a bit different than he had expected it to be.

Cyclops looked to and fro the two men, not knowing what to do. He never left a teammate in a dangerous situation behind…and he would definitely not start with it today.

"You won't be of any use if ya get hurt," Logan tried once more to talk some sense into him. "Piss off, damn it! That's an order!"

Panting, the other X-Man still wasn't sure what to do. He knew Logan was right, knew he was the leader and that he had to obey. Finally, Cyclops nodded and ran towards the door.

"It won't safe him anyway," Magneto commented the action of the X-Man and made Logan turn to him, before he raised him into the air. He couldn't believe that this mutant was supposed to be the most dangerous mutant…

Logan gritted his teeth in fury. "Shut up, ya bastard!"

Laughing slightly, the master of magnetism smirked devilishly. "I doubt I'll be the one who shuts up soon… I've made plans especially for you, my friend!"

Cyclops stopped abruptly when he heard Logan's yell. His eyes widened in shock as he saw how Magneto threw his comrade high into the air and into the wood. Feeling his strong beating heart in his chest, he knew he had to get help. And that quickly…"

XXX

Back in the hiding place, Jean and Moira sat on the bed in the main room tiredly. This day couldn't get worse, as they thought. They had expected much work as the two doctors within this mansion, but not that much. Especially because they couldn't stop their emotions while treading their friends… One major mistake of them since every doctor should be able to deal with it. Turning their heads, they smiled at Iceman and Rogue who looked down on their little daughter, which was finally born. Heaving a deep breath, Jean turned her attention to her twins, which, and she thanked God for it, were still sleeping. Up to now, they hadn't cried a lot and if then only because of hunger or their want to have a new diaper. Still, she felt worried. Not only because of the others. She had a gut feeling that something was about to happen. She only felt this strong fear when her inner alarm set off and the last time it did, she'd been in a coma for four weeks…

"What's wrong?" Moira asked her calmly, watching some students sleeping on the ground.

Jean waved off. "Nothing. I'm just worried…" She smiled at her slightly, hoping to convince her as suddenly, a loud explosion echoed on the opposite site of the door. Jumping up and hearing the students scream in fear, the women stared at the door in shock.

"What was that?" Moira asked frightened and started at the red heat.

"I don't know…," Jean replied while her emotions were running wild. She heard another loud noise as all of a sudden the door was destroyed. Backing off, she looked at three Brotherhood mutants who were smiling at them. "Get into the other room!" she yelled without taking her eyes of their guests.

"Not gonna happen!" Shadow King replied and made everyone freeze on the spot, while Unus created a strong force field around himself and his two comrades.

Jean began to pant in fear. She knew she had to fight. She was the only one left who could do a lot of damage, but still she backed off; not feeling ready to do it. She could hear Phoenix voice within her, yelling at her to take them out, but she, the human part of her, couldn't…

"So… That's the almighty Phoenix, huh?" Emma Frost asked and smirked while stepping forward. "Let's see how powerful you really are!"

Screaming, Jean dropped to the ground and held her head agony. She could feel both, Shadow King's and Emma's presence within her head, felt them playing with her thoughts and emotions. She heard the students scream from very far away, too far away already…

Moira watched the scenery with widened eyes. Quivering in fear she backed off, while Iceman stepped at her side, ready to fight and protect the others. Still, he too was scared to death. He knew what would happen if the adult mutant would lose it… Gasping in surprise he dropped to the ground as the room began to shake violently. With widen eyes he looked at Rogue who held their crying baby tight.

"No!" Jean yelled and closed her eyes tightly while she groaned in pain. "Stay out of my head!" Seeing the dark pictures within her, the nightmares the two telepath made her endure, she felt her counterpart rising; laughing at her incompetence and weakness. Again she cried in pain and felt her barriers being torn apart one after the next. She was completely overwhelmed by her emotions, fears and thoughts; tried desperately to recall what Logan had taught her, tried to hold onto him but every attempt seemed to be useless. Emma smiled devilishly and pushed her powers even more. She had to admit that she was disappointed. Hearing about the Phoenix was her reason to join the Brotherhood. She wanted someone who was an equal to her, wanted to use her powers to its limits. But know she only stared at this woman who cried in pain and didn't even try to fight. Shadow King went through the whole mind of his adversary. Catching pictures and memories everywhere, he had fun to mess with this head. Every good memory and happy moment was changed into a bad one; every unhappy memory was only made worse. He smirked when he had finally found the anchor of his enemy, the only one she could hold onto. Laughing he picked her memory from the battle on Alcatraz, but instead letting her see how Logan killed her, he changed it into making her endure how she destroyed him too. "No!" Jean screamed and tightened the grip on her head while she cried heavily. She saw her return, saw how her friends turned away from her; heard them talking about her in the rudest ways, saw Logan telling her how much he hated her… She couldn't endure this anymore, especially not with Dark Phoenix laughing at her in joy about her misery.

Moira shrieked as she suddenly saw how the red hair of the woman in front of her changed color and length. "No…"

Enjoying it even more, Emma heard Jean beginning to breathe heavily while her body shook violently. "I thought she's so powerful…," she only commented it feeling bored. This was too easy… Nevertheless, if she could make use of her powers, she thought, she could also have a bit more fun. Raising both hands, she got hold of the dark side within this mutant and smiled as she felt it responding to her. Maybe, she would still get her fight… Watching, she made the fiery red head rose to her knees. Hearing Jean's heavy pants, she saw surprised how the tearful green eyes of her opposite suddenly turned pitch black. Shadow King noticed it too. He could feel the darkness rising within this woman and enjoyed it even the more as her face left all human features behind when her face became veined.

"Jean!" Moira cried aloud since she also noticed the changes. She could feel how the woman in front of her began to radiate a strong aura of pure destruction and rage. She had to do something. Helplessly, she looked at Iceman and Rogue who watched the scenery with scared expression on their faces. "Fight her! Please!" she added before she began to look around. Seeing the emergency headset, Logan had left for them. Moira jumped forward and grabbed it quickly. "Logan? Lease, if you can hear me come down quickly! Jean is…"

With one blow, Shadow King took her out before she could finish her sentence. Rogue swallowed hard and began to quiver in fear. It just couldn't be. She just had her daughter… From the corner of her eye, she saw how Storm and Hank had dropped to their knees at the other door; also watching the whole scenery in shock.

Jean gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly in pain. Still not completely lost, she began to fight against the darkness which was about to swallow her. Dark Phoenix began to rage within her, scream at her to give up and let her take over, but she couldn't let this happen. Desperately trying to hold onto the last good memory she had, she soon saw this one also turned into a nightmare by Shadow King.

"Will you be fine here without me?" Emma asked the beast next to her who still smiled devilishly and visibly was enjoying the whole thing.

"Of course! She's no match to me," he replied in his daemonic voice.

With one last look on the woman, Emma turned around while she heard her teammate laugh in a dark low voice. She had enough of those kid's games. She needed a real adversary who was a match to her…

"Nice thoughts, aren't they?" Shadow King asked aloud and covered her even more in his dark aura. Jean shook her head and a silent scream left her mouth in agony. "You'll be my new toy!" he added hissing. "It's so much fun to mess with your head!"

The room began to shake even more violently as suddenly the lamps began to explode and objects began to float upwards. Panting, Rogue watched how Jean spread her arms wide, her body upright while she was still on her knees. Immediately, the girl knew that the woman had lost the fight as the wall was destroyed in one blow. Not thinking twice, Iceman pulled her and his kid tight.

"Good girl! Give in to my precious darkness!" Shadow King enjoyed watching the whole scenery. He didn't care about the screaming and crying kids or that others were watching. But he loved to see this red head losing it and enjoyed having power over others. A voice within Jean began to scream aloud; still her skin was veined and dark. Laughing, her adversary kept on attacking her, wanted to push her even further just to see what might happened then, while Unus shielded them by his force field. Next to them water began to float upwards, too, while one after the next object just vanished. Frowning, the other X-Men watched as Dark Phoenix's body suddenly began to shake heavily again. Heavily breathing, she opened her eyes all of a sudden; a strong fiery corona covering them. Slowly, she got up and gritted her teeth in fury. Surprised the others heard Shadow King and Unus yelling in pain, still the beast fought back and strengthened his attacks even more. He wouldn't give up on her…never… If he couldn't break her, he still had some other toys to play. Laughing aloud, his powers now aimed for the children and the other X-Men who watched in shock as beams like lightning shot at them. Their shock was immediately replaced by surprise, when an invisible force shielded them.

Blinking, Moira slowly shook her head and looked up, just to see directly into a huge firebird which began to rise right over Dark Phoenix who spread her arms. Shrieking the bird attacked the enemies, while its master created a force field of her own. Smirking back at Unus who had cocked an eyebrow at her in surprise, she easily blocked every attack they came up with. Hearing Shadow King and Unus screaming again in pain, their bodies suddenly began to burn heavily while their skin was boiling.

"No! You're not gonna beat me!" Shadow King screamed in anger and his yellow eyes began to glow, just to see that his opposites did the same. Using all his power he began to attack the firebird with his telepathy, knowing that if he could possess it, he would win. But soon he realized that the giant bird was way stronger and broke through his force field easily. Shrieking, the bird swallowed them, while its master crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her head a bit. The X-Men gasped in astonishment at her sudden beauty and pride. Stopping time for a brief moment, Phoenix spread her arms abruptly and made Shadow King's and Unus' bodies explode with a loud noise. Immediately, the force field shattered to pieces and things dropped to the ground, while Jean fell on her knees heavily breathing. Still fighting against the upcoming power of Dark Phoenix, who made use of her momentary weakness, she began to shake all over and wrapped her arms around herself. Panting, she closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth.

Cautiously, Moira got up from the ground, checking if anyone was hurt briefly, she came closer. "Jean?" she asked carefully, still afraid that it might not be her friend on front of her.

Raising a hand, the red head told her to stop. She concentrated hard on locking her counter part into her cage again; used every trick Logan had taught her while her heart beat slowly began to slow down. Steadying her breath, she moved her head to look at her crying babies. Moira and the others immediately backed off when they saw how Jean's eyes constantly switched from pitch black to fiery red ones. Jean swallowed and concentrated even harder before she stopped blinking. Still shocked, the others saw how her opposite's skin, eyes and hair slowly returned back to normal.

"Are you alright?" Moira asked her when Jean got up from the ground.

Looking at her strangely and not being able to think straight after all those pictures and things which Shadow King had implanted into her mind, Jean heaved a deep sigh. "Yeah… I'll be in a second." Slowly, she sat down on a bed and wrapped her arms around her body again. Mentally, she tried to soothe the babies who were still crying aloud, before she closed her eyes once more.

Moira turned to the students in the meanwhile, who still clung to each other. "It's okay, children," she said calmly despite her inner turmoil. "It's over. Nothing's gonna happen to you anymore!" Unsure and frightened the students slowly let go from each other as suddenly heavy footsteps could be heard from the tunnel…

XXX

Logan slowly regained consciousness and sat up with a skull breaking headache in the middle of the wood. Feeling dizzy and disoriented, he got up staggering a bit. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and concentrated his senses to find out where exactly in the wood he was. He neither knew how long he was unconscious, nor had he been able to keep his headset during Magneto's attack. Sniffing, he was suddenly alerted. Logan's eyes shot open in an instant and he looked around quickly. His eyes glowed in the shades of the night and he was again thankful that he could even see in the dark. He kept on searching for Sabretooth, whose scent he'd caught immediately. If he found this bastard he would make him pay for hurting Storm, that was for sure. Suddenly, he heard wood cracking close by. Extracting his claws, he got ready for an attack of his arch nemesis as he suddenly frowned in confusion. His nose had just picked up four other scents. Swallowing, his heart rate didn't kick into high gear because of his discovery or situation. One scent of the fours new ones somehow, and he couldn't tell why, triggered a strong fear within him, which told him to run immediately. Panting, he heard more wood cracking and suddenly noticed Sabretooth shining wild eyes, which were reflected by the moonlight, in front of him. It didn't take long and Logan also saw the four other mutants appearing from different sides. He moved in a circle panting, as his eyes caught the sight of a huge muscled mutant, whose skin, except the face, was covered in a shiny silver metal. Logan instantly knew that it was adamantium. The sight of this mutant alone unusually scared the X-Men to death and made him back off. Still, he couldn't tell why he felt like this. He heard Sabretooth growling threatening when Logan's eyes met two others wild ones, which really screamed for bloodlust. He looked at the huge white beastlike mutant, whose fangs were wet of salvia. Logan knew this one was out for blood, his blood… Realizing what Magneto meant with plans he'd made for him, he became aware that he had no other choice but run, as the beast's eyes suddenly glowed and it drew itself up to its full height.

"Wen-di-go!" it suddenly roared aloud and Logan could bet that this could still be heard at the mansion.

"Yeah, nice to meet ya to!" Logan hissed and turned around running away as fast as he could without thinking twice about it. Hearing the loud growls of the other mutants behind him as his chasers began to follow him, his mind kept on working on a strategy.

Logan ran through the thicket heavily breathing and kept on pushing every plant or branched out of his way without slowing his speed down. Stopping abruptly, he looked around quickly, trying to figure out where he actually was. He had no idea how far Magneto had threw him into the wood, nor if Sabretooth or someone else had carried him deeper into it while he was knocked out. Hearing a growl close by, Logan looked up and jumped on the tree; using his claws to climb up. When he reached a branch high above the ground, he hid himself between the leaves and tried to keep his breath as flat as possible; still his heart hammered against his chest and the strong fear raged within him. Looking down, he could see Wendigo who was sniffing and obviously tried to pick up his scent.

"Wen-di-go!" the white beast roared once more and Logan had to close his eyes when his ears began to vibrate violently. Holding his breath, he hoped that the mutant or whatever this thing was couldn't track him as it suddenly looked up, right into his eyes. "Damn!"

Roaring, Wendigo jumped at the tree and came after him, while Logan looked for an escape and scanned the area quickly. All of a sudden the beast appeared right in front of him growling. Slashing at him, Wendigo grabbed his adversary and threw him to the ground. Crashing hard onto it, Logan feels dizzy first, but shook his head and extracted his claws quickly again. Barely managing to evade Wendigos's first attack, he slashed once more at the beast; growling at him threatening, while Wendigo bared his fangs. Making sidesteps and not breaking eye contact, the X-Man tensed his muscles when the white beast jumped at him with his sharp claws. Logan reacted instantly. Burying his claws deep within its body, he heard Wendigo roaring once, before the beast countered and sent him backwards. Hitting a tree hard, Logan looked up and cocked an eyebrow. "Great…," he cursed as he saw how Wendigo's wounds began to heal rapidly. Jumping to his feet, he ran at the beast screaming and threw himself at it. Claws met claws merciless, but Wendigo was stronger and threw his adversary several times to the ground. The X-Men suffered more injuries from the beast's attacks than he could actually cause on his own. Panting, Logan tried to get up quickly and yelled all of a sudden, as sharp claws went deep into body while fangs bit into his side. Clenching his teeth in pain, he screamed once more as he was lifted up. Blood dripped from the wounds, causing Wedingo's white fur to redden as he howled. Growling, he threw Logan once more to the ground and buried him underneath himself. The beast wanted to finish this fight and bare his fangs to kill his adversary. Logan on the contrary began to see red as his beast took over. Letting out a primal scream, he furiously began to bury his claws into Wendigo's abdomen and sliced the beast open, spilling its blood on the ground and uniform. The beast immediately let go off him and backed off to heal his wound. Wolverine's black eyes shined wild as he caught the sight of the beating heart within its chest. In blind rage he roars loud and threw himself at the beast once more. Evading its attacks, he buried his claws into the heart of his enemy, while Wendigo grabbed him and bit into Wolverine's neck and tore his vitals open with his own sharp claws. Screaming in pain, Wolverine tried to get rid off the white beast, feeling his blood leaving his body too fast. Managing to free himself, he accidentally tore the heart out of the chest as he pulled his arms away; attempting to slash the beast once more. Satisfied he saw how Wendigo dropped dead to the ground.

Falling to his own knees, Logan gained control again. Looking down, while pressing his hands on his heavy wound, he watched his blood flowing down the torn uniform. He rolled on his back and began to pant waiting for his healing factor to speed up. Suddenly, Logan caught Sabretooth's scent close by and looked up, just to see how his arch nemesis was already pouncing on him…

XXX

Hearing the footsteps approaching, Iceman got ready to attack this time. "It's okay," Jean said and looked at him. "It's only Scott!"

It didn't take long and the former leader of the X-Men appeared. Stopping abruptly when he saw the mess which had been the hiding place before, he stared at the others. "What happened here?" he asked shocked and couldn't take his eyes from the wreckage. He totally forgot why he had actually come down.

Moira walked over to him after helping Storm and Beast to their beds again. "We were attacked."

"Are you okay?" Cyclops asked quickly. "Is someone hurt?" Looking around worriedly, he took notice of every student until he noticed Jean's look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…," she replied calmly and saw him kneeling down in front of her. He was clearly scared.

"What happened?"

She sighed, still shaking slightly. "The mutants attacked us…two telepaths."

He frowned. "Where are they now?" he asked confused since he neither had met someone, nor could he see anyone being tied up.

Ashamed she looked down on her hands. "I killed two of them…," she admitted in a whisper. Being shocked first, Cyclops finally embraced her tightly. "You had no other choice, Jean."

"I know," she nodded before she looked at him closely. "You're hurt…"

He waved off. "Nothing to worry about."

Moira turned around to him, holding some bandages and antiseptic in her hands for his wounds. "Have you seen Logan?"

"Yeah, he saved me up there. But Magneto threw him into the woods. I actually came here for help…" Looking at his wounded comrades he knew that he should have tried to find someone else. Suddenly, he noticed the look Jean gave him. Her fear and concern was clearly mirrored on her face.

"I called him for help," Moira explained while treating his shoulder. "But he didn't respond."

"Maybe his headset's broken," Cyclops replied not being able to broke eye contact with Jean. He knew she was replaying the scene in his head. She wanted to know what happened. "Or he's unconscious." Suddenly, Jean stared into emptiness for a brief moment before she jumped up. "What's wrong? Where are ya going?" He asked her and held her back.

"Something's wrong!" She told him with widened eyes.

"He's fine Jean! You know he can handle himself…"

She pushed him slightly away and shook her head. "No! You don't understand!" she told him. "He's not responding to me, too… I can't reach him mentally." Making her way to the door again, Cyclops jumped up not caring that Moira still wasn't finished treating him.

"Wait! I'm coming with you!"

Jean turned around and shook her head. "You have to protect the children!"

Thinking it through for a moment, he finally nodded. "Watch your back!" he told her worriedly. "And let us know if you need help!"

Nodding, she began to run down the tunnel as fast as she could; letting her fear lead her.

Looking at the other, while he ignored Moira's curses as she finally managed to close the bandage on his shoulder, he noticed Hank on one bed. Glancing at the half destroyed wall, he walked over to him. "How is he?"

"Logan brought him. He was pretty badly injured. By a sword or something," Moira explained with a worried look. "I still couldn't manage to stop the bleeding completely…"

Bending over his teammate, Hank suddenly opened his eyes. "Hey! How're doing?"

The blue mutant coughed heavily and grimaced in pain. "Thanks to Logan…still alive…"

"What happened?"

"Such a crazy samurai wannabe attacked me…," he explained while his eyes closed slowly again. "You should have seen Logan…. He's the real samurai here…" Scott patted his shoulder gently, not knowing what the samurai stuff was about, before his eyes caught Storm. Immediately he gasped as he saw her. "What happened to her!" he asked Moira in shock and looked over all the cuts and bruises.

The woman sighed. "Logan said Sabretooth attacked her. He was very brutal to her," she explained calmly, being glad that Storm finally slept. "She also has some internal injuries…"

"Internal injuries?" he asked in return since he had noticed the strange undertone of her. Meeting her eyes it hit him. "I hope he kills him before I have to do it…," he hissed and clenched his fists in anger. Seeing Jubilee next he nodded towards the girl who was accompanied by Kitty. "What about them?"

"Jubilees leg is broken. Kitty has a cut on her waist, but it isn't that bad." Shaking her head she looked at him. "This is worse than I have ever imagined it, Scott. We don't even know how the others are. No one has heard anything from Peter. And now Logan…"

He nodded his head and returned to the other room with her. "I know." Suddenly a baby began to cry heavily and he turned around.

"What does she want?" Rogue asked panicky and looked at Moira helplessly.

Smiling Moira walked over to the bags of Logan and Jean. "Probably something to eat. The twins could also be fed by now." She reached over a prepared bottle Isabella, before she handed Iceman another one, who stared at her in confusion. "Come on. Take Jack into your arms and give him something to eat."

"I… don't know how," the young man replied and looked down on the boy who looked back at him. He knew what Logan would do to him if his son only had the tiniest scratch.

"I'll show you," the woman said and laid the boy into his arms, before taking his hand and waiting for the boy to start sucking on the bottle. "See? That was all." She bent down and took Lily into her arms, noticing Scott's odd look he gave Rogue from the side. "What? Have you never seen a mother feeding her child?"

"When did this happen!" he asked her shocked and still stared at the young woman who looked down on her daughter lovingly.

"Shortly after we arrived here," Moira answered. "You should have seen her outburst when I wanted her to touch her daughter. She hadn't even realized that the child was already laying on her abdomen without anything happening to her."

"I said I was sorry!" Rogue replied blushing. "But I was scared to touch her…"

"I know, girl," the woman said reassuringly. "But it's your daughter. She's part of you and your mutation. So I was convinced that you could touch her."

Scott let out a hiss and shoo his head in disbelief. "You girl really have a knack for the right time and place," he noticed and smiled at Rogue. "Congrats!" She only shrugged playfully before her attention was on her daughter again.

Scott looked up in confusion, as Colossus suddenly appeared in front of him, just to gasp in the next moment when he noticed whose body laid in his arms. "Oh my God!" With two steps he was at his side and looked down on the Professor. "What happened to him?"

"Scott, hold her!" Moira demanded and handed over the girl to the perplex man. "Just keep on feeding her. Follow me!" Leading the way, she pointed towards a bed and Peter laid the Professor's body down.

"I found him in Cerebro. Someone knocked him out," he explained and looked at the woman in front of him.

Moira took a small torch into her hands and controlled Charles' eyes with it. "It's probably only a head injury. Was the door to Cerebro open?"

"Yes."

"They could have killed him," she cursed and looked for any other wounds. "Finally we know why we haven't heard anything from him…"

Suddenly Scott's look changed and he turned to Peter with a suspicious look on his face. "What were you doing down there? The last time I saw you Juggernaut ran at you on full speed."

Peter shrugged. "Logan told me to go and look for the Professor." He turned and wanted to leave again.

"Wait!" Scott said harshly and made Moira, Bobby and Rogue look up in surprise. "How come you're bleeding? The Professor hasn't got any open wounds on him and as far as I know…you can't bleed!" he said menacingly, sensing that something was wrong. "Who are you!" Turning around, he saw Peter's eyes turning yellow before his body became blue. "You!" Scott hissed and was about to attack, as he took notice of the girl in his hands. "What is this, huh?" he asked her angrily instead. Mystique narrowed her eyes, preparing herself to evade in case of an attack.

"Scott, wait!" Surprised he turned his head and stared into the tired eyes of the Professor. "She's not the enemy!"

"What!" the man asked in return. "Sorry, no offence, but this is Mystique over there. Magneto's precious lapdog." The woman gritted her teeth.

Charles shook his head. "She's working for us. She helped us fighting against Eric's mutants. So don't attack her!"

XXX

Cursing, Logan got up and ran, knowing that he had no chance with his vitals torn open and his healing factor still trying to fix it. Running around the trees and preparing himself to jump over a fallen one as Sabretooth suddenly cut off his escape route. Crashing against a tree, he groaned in pain. Shaking his head as the world began to spin around him while his arch nemesis grabbed his collar roughly and growled at him threatening. Enjoying to see that blood was still flowing out of the wounds on the neck and abdomen, he raised his paw and tore Logan's face open; leaving four large gaps on the face. Growling, Logan's eyes immediately blacken again as his world turned red. Slashing at his adversary in rage, he stumbled because of the blood loss. Grinning, Sabretooth made use of it and jumped at him quickly, slashing at him in return. Yelling, his opposite winded underneath the weight of his enemy when this one pinned Wolverine to the ground. Still he wasn't quick enough to evade the claws this time as they sliced through his upper body. Roaring, he grabbed the X-Men and all hell broke lose. Both mutants fought merciless with each other, leaving their marks on the body of the opposite. They were slashing, biting, punching and kicking, while their roars and growls echoed through the wood. Not suffering heavy wounds as much as Wolverine did, Sabretooth kept the upper hand and threw his enemy against the next tree, which broke in the middle. Panting, Wolverine fought against the upcoming blackness. He wanted his revenge and slicing his arch nemesis into pieces. After a low growl, he uttered a loud primal scream, which contained all his fury and rage, before he threw himself against Sabretooth once more. Blinded by his rage he completely ignored the wounds and put all his strength together when he slashed at his nemesis. Grinning, the giant mutant grabbed Wolverine's arm and dislocated it with a quick movement before he kicked him to the ground. Getting even angrier, this one tore the skin in the face of his adversary open, not feeling his own pain anymore. Stumbling, Sabretooth held his wound for a moment, not seeing that Wolverine jumped at him. Still he managed to evade and kicked him once more to the ground, hitting his enemy's head hard on the backside. Feeling the blackness coming up, the X-Men blinked and turned just to see Sabretooth claws coming closer when this one pounced on him with a loud roar and open mouth. Growling, Wolverine took notice of the bared fangs which aimed at his throat and popped his claw on the injured arm just in time when Sabretooth's fangs were about to hit him. Satisfied, he felt his claws going easily through his nemesis' jaw, before this one dropped to the ground heavily shaking in some kind of epileptic fit. Getting up, Logan's hazel eyes looked down on his arch nemesis. "That one was for 'Ro!" he hissed and leant against the next tree to allow his healing factor to catch up. He definitely needed a break soon. He couldn't go on like this without risking to be killed. But he was sure of one thing: Sabretooth healing ability had hell to do with repairing the brain damage he had just caused to him. Spitting blood to the ground, while sweat ran down his face Logan took notice of his wounds. He looked even worse than he thought. He was sure he wouldn't survive another attack without taking deadly damage. Stumbling, he began to walk towards the lights of the mansion, which he could see from where he was standing. Just as he kept himself from falling as his knees got weak, he heard another growl from behind. Turning his head as quickly as possible, he saw Bloodscream and Cyber who already had started to pounce on him…

XXX

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Cyclops heaved a frustrated sigh. She was too long gone,…far too long. Looking around he met the eyes of the Professor who noticed his concern. "Jean is fine. She just has found Peter and is on her way back."

"Is he alright?" he asked in return and lowered his arms.

Charles expression became worried as he mentally tried to contact his student. "I doubt it. Jean has to carry him telekinetically…"

"Damn," Scott cursed and clenched his fist. "What about Angel and the others? Can you reach them, too?"

"They are fine. I am more concerned about Logan…," the Professor said with a great trace of fear in his voice.

"What about him?" Mystique asked, ignoring the looks the others gave her.

Charles shook his head. "It's impossible to read his mind, but..," he concentrated hard on his X-Man. "He's…afraid…"

"Afraid?" Cyclops asked and had to smirk. "Sure it is Logan? He doesn't even seem to know that word." Frowning, the blue mutant turned around. "Hey, you're not going anywhere!" Scott immediately hissed, but she gave him a threatening look.

"Eric wants to kill him you pathetic little boy!" she hissed in a menacing voice. "He made it once, have ya already forgotten about that?"

"He obviously doesn't have the cure, does he?" Scott shot back.

"No," she shook her head sarcastically. "But he has mutants who can kill him!"

Smirking he stepped closer. "Since when are you so concerned for him, huh? I thought he showed you the cold shoulder at Alkali Lake."

Narrowing her eyes she was about to punch him as the Professor intervened. "Stop it! Go and find him immediately!" he told them seriously. "I feel his fear growing…"

Not thinking twice, Mystique turned around, not caring if Cyclops followed her or not. Cursing, this one hurried to keep up with her…

XXX

Barely evading the attack, Logan kicked his adversary's head while hitting Bloodscream with his claw. Snorting, Cyber got up quickly and punched him hard, hearing the satisfied groan as his enemy hit the ground. Using his injured arms, Logan jumped up quickly, ignoring the sharp pain in it. He had to get away from here as fast as he could. While running, which was more limping and stumbling, he still tried to figure out why he felt so scared of this Cyber… Something about him told him to keep on running, to not letting this guy touch him. But he had no clue why he felt like that. Pulling his strength together while his healing factor demanded him to quit, he ran towards the mansion with Cyber and Bloodscream close by.

Panting heavily, he fought his way through their attacks every time they caught up with him. He only had to get inside and get help. That was all he wanted. From the corner of his eye, he saw the younger X-Men fighting with four mutants. As far as he could noticed they were doing fine. He was definitely no help for them in his condition. When he finally reached the door, he suddenly felt a heavy bump in his back and crashed right through it; hitting his head hard on the ground. Gritting his teeth in pain, Logan shook his head when blackness set in and his ears began to roar. Looking up, he noticed that he lay in the middle of the hall of the mansion. Using his healthy arm to get up, his legs suddenly failed and he fell to the ground again. Panting, he heaved two heavy breaths before trying it again; he definitely wouldn't allow his body to quit now. Shaking he stumbled a bit, as Bloodscream suddenly threw him down again, holding on to his skin tightly. Growling, Logan turned and tried to get rid off him, as suddenly Cyber pounced on him and pinned him immobile to the ground. "You're not going anywhere, pal!" Groaning, the X-Men felt an unbearable pain rushing through his body, while Bloodscream only laughed. With widened eyes, Logan saw how blood ran down his adversary's hands and realized that it was his own. Watching it really floating out of his body in a great amount, his heart kicked into high gear as his wounds began to reopen. He knew his healing factor concentrated on the blood loss, but it was useless if his wounds started to bleed heavily again. This guy would suck him dry… Tensing his muscles, he tried to get rid off the heavy mutant on top off him. Cyber could only laugh. "Told ya our plan would work," he said towards Bloodscream. "Let us wait and do the others the dirty work first. As if I were so stupid to get myself killed by this runt here." Growling, Logan stepped aside and Wolverine took over. Struggling and wriggling like a worm, his instinct of survival took over and he began to tense his muscles. "Come on, this is useless," Cyber shook his head in amusement. "But you're still the fighter I know. I must admit it!" Mentally, Wolverine began to cry for help as his attempts lead to nothing. He cursed his counterpart for being so careless and soft.

"It's your gift from Magneto," Bloodscream hissed at him, while he kept on drawing the blood and vitality from the X-Man.

"He can keep it!" Wolverine growled and his eyes blackened even more under the torture of his adversaries. Shaking his head his pants became heavier as his senses began to drift off. His healing factor was overloaded and would stop working soon to keep him alive. He had to risk it in order to regain a bit power.

"It's over soon, anyway. So stop that growling!" Bloodscream shot back and tightened his grip on him as he felt the muscles underneath his hands tensing again. This one was the first enemy who hold out to him so long. He admired such strong fighters like him. Still, even if he'd lost to that man in the past, he wouldn't lose today. This time he would take revenge. Looking at the floor and shredded uniform of his enemy, he smiled about the red liquid which covered the ground by now.

Opening his eyes rapidly, Wolverine went completely berserk and roared underneath his torturers. Surprising them with this strong outburst and the concentrated amount of power, he suddenly came up with, Bloodscream and Cyber loosen their grip only for the glimpse of a second. Meeting the black and furious eyes of the beast in front of him, Bloodscream began to change into his animal appearance, as Wolverine pounced on him quickly. Yelling, he only saw six claws rushing down on him, as the blood escaped his own throat and send him to the ground. In the next second, sparks were sent into the air, when the claws slashed against the adamantium abdomen of Cyber. "Fool!" this one only said and extracted his own small claws; a red and green liquid dripping of each hand.

Screaming, his teammate tried to keep the blood flowing from his open throat as Wolverine suddenly jumped at him and slashed him in blind rage. Overwhelmed by his survival instincts, he began to push himself to run towards the next door, which would let him to the elevators. Nevertheless, he stumbled as his legs failed. Ignoring the spinning world around him, Wolverine got up quickly again; only wanting to escape. Still, his body called its quit and he stumbled once more. His heart was pounding heavily against his chest in exhaustion; his healing factor couldn't repair the damage his body had endured during the fights. He needed a break. Regaining control again, Logan finally reached the elevator and pushed the button with trembling hands, just to turn his head quickly in the next second, while he held onto the door to prevent himself from falling. Growling, Cyber appeared and raised his hands to show him the claws. Grinning, he began to run at Logan in full speed, who had trouble to keep his balance. Narrowing his eyes, he knew he had no other choice and popped his claws, moving to meet his adversary. Both of them uttered a loud scream and jumped at each other claws first. Feeling another sharp pain in his chest and abdomen, Logan yells loudly, while his claws meet their target: Cyber's unprotected face. Falling to the ground, he landed on top of his adversary's dead body and retracted his claws, while rolling off him.

Suddenly feeling an unbearable heat within him, Logan gritted his teeth as his body began to shake violently. Groaning in pain, he barely managed to roll onto his abdomen as his pants became suddenly heavier. Turning his head, he could still see the red and green liquid which dropped from Cyber's claws through his blurred sight. He knew immediately that something was wrong. The heat slowly took over all parts of his body, dazed his senses, made the world around him spin even more as his body muscles began to feel numb. Slowly moving his arms, he tried to get to his feed, but failed. His mind wanted to shut down. Panting even heavier, he raised his head a bit, barely seeing the elevator door through his blurred vision. From his position on the ground, Logan felt his heart beating against it. Closing his eyes tightly, he suddenly retched as breathing became steadily harder. He wished Magneto would drop dead right now in this second. Hot liquid ran over his body and dropped to the ground as his healing factor, completely overloaded by now, stopped, not knowing which damage to heal first. Coughing, Logan looked up as he heard the elevator door open. While shaking even heavier, he saw a shadow approaching. Narrowing his eyes, while his senses drifted off, he couldn't make out who it was. If it was an enemy he was finished…

Stopping and wrinkling his brows, the person looked down the hallway. "Logan!" Scott suddenly gasped as he recognized his teammate and ran down towards him quickly. Looking at the mess in front of him, he briefly noticed the dead body next to his comrade, before his eyes widened. "What happened to you?" he asked shocked and kneeled down, seeing that the torn uniform was completely soaked with blood. "Who did this!" Grabbing Logan's healthy arm, he tried to help him up and groaned immediately under the dead weight of the body. His look became even more worried and his eyes suddenly noticed the liquid at Cyber's claws. It couldn't be that one single mutant had injured him so badly, he thought and began to feel Logan's pulse which was racing horribly. "Come on, I have to get you up!" Cyclops said and tried it once more but couldn't make it. Then he recognized that the panting sounded more and more like death rattle. "Do you have trouble breathing?" he asked him, knowing that this was a stupid question, but he had to keep him conscious. Managing to lift at least the upper body up, Cyclops saw that Logan pulled a face and was shaking all over, while his wounds were bleeding. Suddenly, his breath became flatter and he dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"No!" Cyclops yelled and grabbed his fall as good as he could. Checking his vitals once more he pulled all his strength together and lifted him up to his shoulder. Stumbling under the dead weight, he made his way to the elevator as fast as he could. Inside he had to watch how more of Logan's wounds began to reopen and how the ground was soon covered in blood. He realized that he had to hurry otherwise his comrade would suffer from a far too great loss of blood. His eyes had seen the pool of the red liquid not far away from where he'd found him. Walking over to the wooden door, he kicked it open and entered the tunnel; biting his lips in exhaustion. Still he could still hear the flat breathing. As he nearly reached the hiding place, he fell to his knees. Panting, he looked up. "Moira!" Cyclops yelled as loud as he could and laid Logan to the ground, while he opened the rests of his uniform to make it easier for hi comrade to breathe. "Damn it! I need help here!" He bent down to Logan and listened carefully, as he heard footsteps.

"What's wrong?" she asked and suddenly sped up. "Oh God…" Kneeling down beside him, Scott looked at her frightened.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," he explained in panic and watched her checking the pulse. "He couldn't move or breathe regularly and was shaking all over."

She bent her head down and lowered her mouth to his. Breathing out she quickly turned her head and listened. "Get him up quickly! I can't get any air into his lungs." Turning around, she quickly ran back, while Scott lifted Logan up again and followed her. Inside, he could only hear her yelling at the others to make room and saw Beast and the others looking at him in shock.

"Oh no…," Hank gasped as he saw his friend hanging like dead over the shoulder of their former leader.

Carefully, Scott laid Logan down on an empty bed, before he stepped aside and watched Moira pulling a respirator towards them. "Get aside!" she said roughly and took and started working on the X-Man in front of her. Turning around, Scott met Hank's eyes once more. It was easy for him to tell what the blue mutant was thinking. Clenching his fists, he looked down. "Damn it," Moira suddenly cursed and bent Logan's head back even more while trying to get the tube into the trachea. "I can't get it into him!"

Hearing Rogue beginning to sob heavily, Scott turned around and walked over to her, while Bobby laid an arm around her. Seeing that he wasn't needed there, he turned instead towards Storm, who had sat up and watched the whole scenery with widened eyes. Pulling her close, she clung to him and couldn't take her eyes away from her friend who didn't move a bit.

Hank was also watching Moira, who had finally managed to hook Logan up to the pulmonary stimulation machine, which immediately began to pump air into his lungs. Quickly she connected him to the other machines and turned one after the next on. Suddenly she froze.

"What?" Hank asked her immediately and sat up a bit, ignoring his own pain for that moment. "Moira what is it!"

Also Scott, Rogue and the others were staring at her in tension, when she gave them an indefinable look. Her hand touched one of the monitors slightly and turned it towards them. With widened eyes they couldn't help but stare at the flat heart line it displayed…

So, that was chapter 39. It took me a bit longer, because I had again trouble to write it. Jean's fight and Logan's were the first scenes I had written. I made some changes today and I am glad that I finally finished this chapter. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting again. ; )

I already wrote one scene of Chapter 40 and began to write the Epilogue.

Some of you guys said you would like to see a sequel. I already have an idea for it and planned one (and also write some scenes), so if enough of you want one, let me know and you'll get it. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! See ya and tanks for the reviews!