Charles took to heart what Oz had said and with a nod of his head, the matter was settled. "X-Men, suit up. Take up time will be in ten minutes, with or without you."

The teens jolted for the changing room, all in a rush to get their uniform on, none of them wanting to miss a scuffle with vampires. Logan and Ororo followed after them, automatically assuming the supervising roles as usual. Hank walked over to the viewing glass, observing the New Mutants at play. He debated whether to go back down to the lab or to stay up in the booth and run a training session so the day wouldn't be chalked up as a total waste.

Meanwhile in the vampire nest…

Dawn wiggled her wrists, feeling the rope strain around her skin and the foul odor of death reached her nostrils. Steeling herself against the sour taste in her mouth when she breathed in, Dawn strained her ears to pick up on the sounds around her. A couple of voices were whispering a ways off and a shuffle of clothes brushed against her followed by a groan of pain.

"Scott? Are you okay?" Another groan replied before she could understand what was being said by her nephew.

"Dawn? Urg. Where are we? What happened?" She could feel Scott move around some more and his tone become slightly frantic. "Can you see where we are? My glasses, do I have my glasses on?"

Dawn didn't know what the big deal about his shades was, but now wasn't exactly an ideal time to inquire. "We're probably in an abandoned building, it's fresh nest from the smell of it."

"Nest? Nest of what?"

She gulped, telling her nephew about vampires and such wasn't exactly on the agenda when she planned this visit. But she also didn't pencil in getting kidnapped either. "Vampire nest, actually. We were grabbed by a couple of fledglings. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah, sorta. I must have gotten knocked out after that burst of dust covered me."

Dawn had to give the young man credit, he was taking being tied up in a vampire nest better than most. She smirked, although she knew he couldn't see it, and muttered, "Welcome to a day in the life of Dawn Summers."

Scott didn't seem to hear her as he focused on his hands, "the rope, it's loosening. I should be able to slip out. Yes!" He rubbed his wrists as the rope fell into a pile between them. He brought his hands to his face, pulling the blindfold off and feeling the space in front of his eyes. He nearly shouted from relief. The metallic frames say against his nose and the lenses seemed to be perfectly intact.

The store room materialized before him when he opened his eyes, sighing as red flooded his vision. Wooden crates surrounded the two and Scott tilted his head, the white lettering of "Wolf-man Law Offices in conjunction with Hart Corporation" appeared pink through his glasses caused him to pause.

"Scott?"

Immediately the young man remembered his aunt was still restrained and reached to her. "Sorry something caught my eye," Scott grunted as he pulled at the rope until it gave way. Dawn murmured thanks as she soothed the reddened skin around her wrists. She glanced around once she jerked off the blind fold and spotted the crates that had caught Scott's attention just moments ago.

"You have got to be kidding me," Dawn hoped this was some kind of sick joke, but deep down, she knew it wasn't.

"What is it," Scott inquired, unaware of Dawn's past dealings with the demonically based business.

She ignored his question as she rose to her feet and offered him a hand up as well. "We need to split, pronto." Dawn didn't offer any explanation as she frisked herself quickly, pulling out a couple of her stakes. This kind of thing happened too often to Dawn and the other Scoobies. She handed one to Scott who just looked at it oddly.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Dawn tried not to huff with impatience, it was a difficult thing for her to do but she managed to pull it off.

"Wooden stake, vampire heart. Connect the dots and get a harmless pile of dust." She spoke slow and made a stabbing motion to prove her point. "Now let's go before they come and check on us." Dawn crossed over to the nearest door and eased it open slowly, peeking into the next room. Drusilla sat on a canopy bed, brushing the hair of one of her dolls while the other vampires channel surfed near by, arguing about what to watch.

"When's Daddy coming back?" Dru asked her Annabelle doll. The porcelain face stared at the vampiress, big blue eyes unblinking. The fledglings glanced her way before sending looks to each other and returning their attention back to the tube.

"Oh shit," Dawn muttered as she slid the door shut as quietly as she could. She pressed her forehead against the cool steel and sighed. Couldn't she have a normal week, just once?

"Try that other door Scott, there's trouble on the other side of this one." She waited for him to acknowledge but heard nothing of the sort. She turned around with a frown on her face, had he heard her or what? Dawn gasped at what she saw. Angelus grasped Scott be the neck, holding him a few inches from the ground so his feet dangled helplessly in the air. He grabbed at the vampire's hand that clamped itself around his windpipe but did nothing to deter the soulless fiend's grip in the slightest.

"Don't hurt him Angelus!" Dawn cried out. The vampire laughed at her before shifting into his biting face.

"Why not? I've finally got the Key, this guy is just expendable. Couldn't killed him when we grabbed you, but Dru wanted someone new to play with while Daddy worked with the lawyers."

"Put him down now, or I'll…"

"You'll what? Stab me in the heart? Come on Dawnie, be a bit more creative than that. We both know Buff got the looks in the family, so you have to have gotten the brains. And when I'm finished with you, that'll be the only thing recognizable." Effortlessly Angelus tossed Scott across the room and the teen crashed against the opposite wall. Dawn watched as her nephew lay still amongst the dust and debris. When she moved towards the fallen mutant, Angelus swept over and grabbed her around the wrist. Her cross bracelet burned into his hand and he growled in pain, releasing his hold on he.

Dawn raced over to Scott, brushing the dust off his face after removing his glasses. His eyelids seemed to glow red briefly but Dawn was more concerned with the sticky substance coming from the back of head. She lifted his head into her lap, pressing against the wound to stop the bleeding. He winced from her touch and Dawn cheered inwardly, however, her relief was short lived as Angelus stalked towards the two with a sinister look on his face.

"Scott, now would be an excellent time to wake up," Dawn urged the teen. His eyelids fluttered as he mumbled something. His aunt shook his shoulders, pleading silently for a miracle. Angelus loomed over them finally, smirking a victorious grin.

Scott opened his eyes just then, unaware his glasses had been removed, and a blast of optic rays shot out from his pupils, hitting Angelus dead on. Dawn watched in mute awe as a crater of fire grew out from the vampire's chest, devouring him within a few seconds and leaving behind nothing more than a pile of dust.

Later Scott's power would be explained to the baffled woman and Angelus' demise would make sense. But for now it was all Dawn could do not to freak out as her nephew fumbled around for his glasses. She put them in his wandering hands without a word and stood, shaking the dirt from her clothes before heading to the door Angelus had come through.

The night sky was open and without stars as the bustle of the docks went into over drive. Foremen shouted out commands over the noisy forklifts and crew men moved crates and their contents around the loading area, waiting for their respective ships to arrive.

"Do you know where we are?" Dawn questioned Scott as he stepped up beside her, hand pressed against the back of his head. Peering around, he nodded, "Will's Docks."