The X-men of X-Corporation continue to fight for peace in a world that hates and fears them. While a tiny amount of progress has been made to try making things better, there still proves to be those out there who hate mutants. Those who hate mutants are willing to use them for their own gain.

However, there are also those willing to use mutants because they want mutants to be the superior race upon Earth. There are those mutants who believe that they are worthy of ruling the world and believe that mutants are the key to evolution. Among those is Doctor Nathaniel Essex, who has over his years experimented on mutants to make them something stronger.

Part of Essex's past is a connection to the Summers and Grey family bloodlines, when he'd kidnapped and experimented on two mutants during World War II. These mutants were named Daniel Summers and Jennifer Campbell, who are Scott Summers' and Jean Grey's great-grandparents. This obsession ran deep, to the point where he used Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner as a distraction in order to kidnap Scott and Jean.

Now, as he experiments on Scott and Jean, the two teenagers wait for their team to arrive and save them both. With the X-men is Raven "Mystique" Darkholm, who had worked for Essex as a spy during the Second World War.

Issue 44: Sinister Intent Part 2

Essex Laboratories – One Day Ago

'This better be for a good reason . . . I can't believe Dr. Essex made us go all that way to Germany for this! What the hell is going on?' wondered George Blair – Gorgeous George – as he carried the unconscious Kurt Wagner – Nightcrawler, along using his intense strength to keep his limbs wrapped around the younger mutant. Gorgeous George, Vertigo, Ruckus and Arclight walked through the halls of Dr. Essex's lab, having just gotten back from Frankfurt.

After having attacked the circus tent that the Incredible Nightcrawler had been forced to perform in, the members of Dr. Essex's Marauders made their way back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where their home base was located.

Finally, the Marauders reached their destination – the main laboratory where Essex – Mr. Sinister – was awaiting their arrival. The flamboyant, over-the-top mutant geneticist smiled as his thugs approached him.

"Put him on the table, Gorgeous," he requested.

Gorgeous George obeyed, setting the demonic-looking mutant teen down onto the medical table.

"What is it about him that is so important, Mr. Sinister?" asked Arclight.

"You see, my dear, I have been waiting a long time to come into contact with this one," Sinister replied in a chilling tone of voice that his Marauders were used to hearing at this point.

"Wait, wait, you know who this mutant is in particular?" asked Ruckus in a surprised voice.

"You could say that . . ." Essex touched the velvety skin of the unconscious Nightcrawler, memorizing every detail. Pulling out something that resembled a staple gun, he pressed it against the back of Kurt's neck and shot the mutant up with a drug. "I'm making him more . . . acquiescent. He's just a diversion. What I am really after are two mutants in particular, who could be useful to me."

X-Corporation Tower Hanger – Present Day

Shortly after the arrival of Ororo, Kurt Wagner and Raven Darkholm, the X-men prepared to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dressed in full uniform, Logan, Rogue, Warren, Bobby, Cecilia, Hank, Forge, Raven, and Kurt found that they were boarding the Blackbird yet again. With Rhodey piloting the aircraft, they knew that they did not have too much to worry about. Additionally, Tony and Xavier were tagging along for the ride.

"Based on what I found on this Sinister guy, this man is even more eccentric than I am," Tony said as he sat in the cockpit beside Rhodey and the professor.

"I didn't even think that such a thing was possible," quipped Warren from where he sat beside Rogue.

"But, I can say, that if he is as obsessed with Scott and Jean as you say he is, Mystique, then something tells me he won't give them up without a fight," Rhodey said as he flew the jet out of the hanger towards their desired location.

"Believe me; I've seen how he was back in World War II when he was experimenting on Daniel Summers and Jennifer Campbell; he was convinced that the two of them could create the world's most powerful mutant. What he meant by that, I am not entirely sure. All I know is that I have got a bone to pick with him," Mystique spat out bitterly.

"Well, ya better not be fuckin' around with us, Mystique, because if ya are, I won't hesitate to jam a claw right into yer abdomen," Logan spat in her direction from where he sat in front of Warren and Rogue.

"Ah'm with Logan over here," Rogue added in Mystique's direction around a bitter glare. She still hadn't forgiven the blue shape-shifter for what she had done to her in terms of forcing her to absorb Carol Danvers.

"Rogue . . ." Mystique started to say.

"Ah've got nothin' to say to ya! Don't even try." Rogue hardened her glare on her face, her jaw clenched hard as Warren leaned a hand on her shoulder.

"Save the blood-thirstiness for later, Anna-Marie," he told her. "Let's just focus on saving Jean and Scott so that we can all go home."

Rogue nodded reluctantly, turning her attention back to the task at hand. However, she found that she was intrigued by Kurt Wagner, who was sitting in the back, still dressed in the ridiculous outfit he'd wear when he would perform in the circus. The sight of it was pitiful and sad for Anna-Marie, because she could understand what it was like to be humiliated like that.

She thought back to when she'd kissed Cody, her first crush, and how everyone pointed and gawked at her as if she were some kind of freak. According to Ororo, Kurt had been forced into it all, and that he'd had no choice. It was either he perform in the circus, or get chased by terrified locals who had been looking to burn him at the stake as if he were a monster. The Southern mutant got up to go and sit beside Kurt, who had his hands in prayer and his haunting yellow eyes closed.

"What are ya doin', sugah?" she asked him softly.

Kurt opened his eyes to look towards the teenage girl before him. "Prayer to St. Anthony," he explained quietly. "So . . . you are part of zhis team for vhat reason?"

"To keep us all safe, from persecution," said Anna-Marie. "Ah – mah powers manifested after Ah'd kissed a boy that Ah had a crush on. Poor pretty boy ended up in a coma for three weeks. That's when Ah first learned whenever Ah touch somebody that Ah can absorb their strength right into meh . . . some power, huh? That's why the boys quit callin'." Kurt could hear the bitterness in Rogue's voice as she said those words.

"Well, Rogue, if it brings you any comfort, I'd realized my powers were going out of control when I'd started getting dandruff," Beast said a small smile in her direction.

"At least that was probably better than what happened with meh." Rogue smiled ruefully. She turned her eyes in the direction of Mystique. "Mystique took meh in . . . it led into meh absorbin' all of Ms. Marvel's powers." Kurt could hear that Rogue's voice was tinged with anger.

"You know, vhen I vas in zhe circus, sure, I vas afraid, but, I vas more scared of being outside zhe circus, because . . . regular people are afraid of me. But, I never hated zhem. I pitied zhem. Do you know vhy? Because most people vill never know anyzhing beyond vhat zhey see vith zheir own two eyes," Kurt explained.

Warren and Rogue both looked in his direction. "Well, I'm one of those people who gave up on pity a long time ago . . ." Warren said.

"Meh too," Rogue said.

"Same here," Bobby chimed in, his memory of his mother and father not accepting him still fresh in his mind.

Kurt just simply reached over, stroking Rogue's hair out of her face. "Somevone so beautiful shouldn't be so angry," he told her.

"Well, in mah experience, sugah, sometimes anger can help ya survive," Rogue said.

"So can faith," Nightcrawler whispered.

"Well said," Professor Xavier said.

Everyone on the jet took in what Kurt had to say. Here was a mutant who was feared by anybody he came into contact with, and had been used for people's own sick idea of amusement and joy. But instead of being angry at the world and putting blame on everybody, he chose to have faith and chose to forgive those who persecuted and trespassed against him. It was something Bobby wanted nothing more than to do, but, he was still just too angry and hurt by his parents, who refused to accept him. He was hurt and insulted that they hadn't called him to check on him after he'd come home from the Savage Land all those months ago. It was something that left the ice-controlling mutant in nothing but disgust.

"It's not that easy to forgive," Bobby said bitterly. "I wish that I can, but I can't. Not after what my parents did to me, and what they continue to do to me. If you don't accept me as I am, if you hate what I am, say it to my face, and don't have one of my friends play messenger for you! I've got no respect for people who act like that!"

"Bobby, please," Ororo whispered from where she sat on the jet.

"We get it, Bobby, you're irate . . . but, for the longest time I've known you, you're a person who wants to be authentic about whom you are and you hate being dishonest to people. And right now, I'm looking at a person who is still hurt," said Hank.

Cecilia nodded in agreement.

"Guys, can we please set this all aside?" asked Forge. "Because right now, I am not looking forward to going off to someplace in a swamp to fight some guy named Sinister."

"Forge, shut up," Logan said as Rhodey continued to pilot the plane.

"Well, guys, you might as well get ready. We're passing over Georgia. Forge, did you fix this plane to go faster?" Tony asked.

"Yes, and I added some new digs to it. And when we get closer to where we're headed, you might want to test out the stealth mode I'd added," Forge said.

Tony had an expression on his face that looked as though he wanted to kiss Forge in that instant. "Forge you never cease to impress me."

"You know Tony, you might want to consider removing these masks," said Warren. "It's the worst kept secret about what our identities are at this point."

"Very true," Tony said from where he sat in the cockpit.

Over on Mystique's side, the blue shape-shifter remained quiet, not saying a word. She knew that nobody on the jet wanted her there at that moment. She couldn't blame them. She had screwed them over and she'd manipulated Rogue into absorbing Carol Danvers. She was a woman who had made mistake after mistake over and over, and she just couldn't seem to do anything that was right. Her eyes kept drifting over to Nightcrawler, who was sitting beside her adoptive "daughter."

'Kurt,' she thought to herself. 'You're one of the many things that I have screwed up on in life. I-I don't know when I am going to tell him the truth about . . . no, not today. I cannot.'

Essex Laboratories

For nearly an hour now, Dr. Nathaniel Essex continued to take more and more genetic samples from Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Both teens could feel their bodies growing weaker and weaker from the sedatives being fed to them through oxygen spectacles. Jean's skin was growing paler as the pain grew worse for her body and her mind.

"Scott," she whimpered. "Scott . . . whatever happens . . ."

"Jean . . . no, don't say what I know you're going to say . . . it's . . . it's going to be okay," Scott told her, trying to reassure her. "We're going to get out of this. I promise!"

Suddenly, that was the moment one of Sinister's thugs, Gorgeous George, came into the room, an anxious expression permeated on his face.

"Dr. Essex!" he said anxiously.

The mutant geneticist turned to face his Marauder. "What is it, Gorgeous?" he asked.

"We've got X-men coming. They are clearly using a stealth device! And that's not all! Tony Stark and James Rhodes are with them too!" Gorgeous George said.

"Keep them busy! We're nearly done here!" Sinister said, shooing the putty-like mutate off and out of the room. He turned his attention to Scott and Jean, who were weakly struggling against their restraints.

"Our friends . . . they'll . . . they'll come for us!" groaned Scott. "Looks as though they're here to kick your ass."

Sinister just chuckled darkly at the two of them, clearly amused at how hopeful Scott and Jean were at the thought of their friends coming for the two of them.

"Don't hope for things too soon, Mr. Summers," Sinister said softly.

Outside Essex Laboratories

The Blackbird landed down on the murky ground of Baton Rouge, and the X-men piled out of the aircraft with Tony and Professor Xavier saying behind. Rhodey holstered a pistol on his hip, determined to join in the fight. However, that was when Mr. Sinister's Marauders piled out of the building: Gorgeous George, Arclight, Vertigo, Ruckus, Hairbag, Blockbuster and Changeling piled out of the lab, all determined for a fight.

"Shit, looks like we've got company!" Iceman cried out, putting his organic ice form around his whole body to protect himself.

"Yes, you do. How about I give you all a warm welcome? It's all my pleasure!" Ruckus opened his mouth and let out a shout, the overwhelming sound waves knocking the X-men off their feet. Cecilia put up a shield around herself to protect her body from any damage.

"Shit!" groaned Wolverine, popping his claws out as he ran in towards Hairbag. "Didn't you all get the memo? You don't kick a man when he's done, hairball!"

"You make fun of me?" shouted Hairbag. "Nobody makes fun of Hairbag!" The large, muscular, dark-skinned mutant tackled the Wolverine down to the ground in a fit of rage.

Blockbuster grabbed hold of a tree that was nearby and was about to whack Beast with it. "I guess I will have to smash you!" he shouted. However, that was when Rogue grabbed hold of it.

"You don't mind if Ah play through, sugah?" she asked, using the tree to smack the overly-large, strong mutant away. However, Blockbuster knocked into Hairbag.

"Two of ya! The odds keep gettin' better and better!" Wolverine said with a grin, popping his claws out. But that was the moment Hairbag breathed on him, right in his face. The Wolverine gagged. "Oh shit! My eyes I can't see! I'm chokin'!"

"Then you won't know what hit you!" shouted Blockbuster, getting ready to smash a hand over the Wolverine. That was the moment Nightcrawler teleported onto Blockbuster's back, grabbing on tightly. "Get off of me you little pest!"

Mystique and Forge were in the process of facing off against Kevin Sydney – Changeling, who kept shape-shifting into various people – Senator Kelly, Jean, Scott, Angel . . . everyone they could have possibly known in their lifetime. Angel flew overhead, determined to face off against Gorgeous George. That was when Vertigo hit him with her powers, knocking him to the ground and right into Gorgeous George, whose body adapted to grab hold of the winged mutant.

"OH SHIT!" Angel shouted. "STORM!"

"Got your back, Warren!" Storm used her powers to manipulate the winds to form two F-3 tornadoes, just enough to make Gorgeous George's body remove itself from Angel.

"ANGEL! NIGHTCRAWLER! GO, FREE CYKE AND JEANNIE! WE'VE GOT THIS!" Wolverine hollered.

"Ah'm comin' with!" Rogue said.

"Me too! Sinister and I have got a score to settle!" seethed Mystique.

"Alright, c'mon!" Angel yelled. They went straight into the facility, nearly dodging Arclight's attack on them. Once inside the laboratory, Nightcrawler teleported in front of them all, causing Angel to nearly jump. "Kurt!" he yelped out.

"Sorry!" the agile teleporter apologized as they made their way down the halls. Turning the corner, they could see Scott and Jean stuck in a medical room of sorts, restrained to medical tables and attached to various machines in the room.

"SCOTT, JEAN!" Angel yelled, him and Rogue running into the room.

"Aren't we glad to see you?" groaned Jean as Rogue used her super strength to free the redhead from the medical table.

"Likewise, sugah," Rogue said. However, that was when Essex stepped into the room just as Nightcrawler and Angel worked on freeing Scott from the restraints. Scott fell against Angel, his knees weak.

"You're okay, man. I've got you," Angel whispered to Scott reassuringly.

"Ahh, Mystique . . . I never thought I'd ever see you again," Sinister said in the same calculated, soft voice.

"Shut up, Sinister!" spat Mystique.

That was when Dr. Essex noticed Nightcrawler and Rogue. "Oh, I see you brought company with you. Kurt Wagner, you haven't changed much I see from when I saw you last."

"Vhat are you talking about?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Oh, Mystique, you didn't tell them?" Sinister asked.

"Essex, shut up!" spat Mystique in anger.

"What is he talkin' about?" Rogue asked; anger evident in her voice as she allowed Jean to be supported against her.

"I see Raven here failed to tell you both the truth . . . Kurt Wagner, say hello to your adoptive sister," Sinister said with a dark smile.

Rogue and Nightcrawler turned to face each other with wide eyes. "Vhat?" the teleporter asked. He turned to face Mystique. "Mystique?" he asked.

Mystique had a look of guilt crossing over her features, not seeming to know what to say to Rogue and Nightcrawler who were standing there before her, waiting for answers.

"Kurt . . . Anna-Marie . . . I –" Raven Darkholm started to tell them. "Kurt . . . years ago, when I was still working under Sinister's thumb . . . I was in a relationship with a man named Azazel who is a species of mutant called Neyaphem – mutants who pass as demonic because of their appearances. That man is your father, but he left me. After-After I gave birth to you, I didn't know that Mr. Sinister had begun to experiment on you, which caused your mutation to come earlier than expected. After I found out about the experiments three months later, I'd ran away, but I ended up accidentally dropping you into a river below . . . I saw that the Wagners had already found you and took you in as their own. I-I knew that you would have something ten times better with them than what I could ever give you . . . I never deserved to have you as my son."

The guilt in Mystique's voice was evident; she sounded as though she were choked up as she said those words. For Scott, Jean and Angel, hearing this was as much as a shock to them as it was for Rogue and Nightcrawler.

"Vhy?" whispered Nightcrawler.

Mystique looked down at the ground. "I'd screwed up so many times that I felt I could never redeem myself for what I did . . . I just felt that giving you up, it would be for the best. Rogue, I honestly thought I could have a second chance with you. I guess I'd screwed up on that too."

Rogue and Nightcrawler stood there, taking the revelation in. For Rogue to learn that she had a little brother by adoption whom she'd never met was hard for her to digest. However, instead of feeling anger towards the woman who had failed to be his mother, Nightcrawler felt sadness in his chest. He could sense the guilt that Mystique was feeling.

"Mystique," he whispered.

"Forget it," Raven Darkholm said sadly. "Do not worry about me, Kurt. Worry more about your friends." She gestured to Scott and Jean, who were still weakened considerably from the sedatives that they had been forced to breathe in.

"Very well said, Raven," Sinister said with a callous smile.

Scott however in that moment had heard enough. Hearing all of this was overwhelming to him as it was. After having been captured and practically used as a lab rat, he wanted nothing more to do with this.

"Sinister . . . shut up!" he groaned. He placed his hand on his visor and used the lowest setting, firing an optic blast at the mutant geneticist. However, what happened in that moment was surprising. There was a large gaping wound in Sinister's side, a silvery fluid gushing out.

"My body – this is impossible!" Sinister groaned.

"So, you like playing God with mutants' lives! Well . . . just . . . keep away from me and my friends!" Scott grunted again, firing another optic blast beam at Sinister, this time in the chest only causing more damage, allowing them all time to escape. Rogue and Angel got Scott and Jean out of the lab as fast as they could, Nightcrawler and Mystique following close behind on their tails. Once they were outside, they saw that everyone else had taken down the rest of the Marauders. Scott and Jean collapsed against the side of the building, groaning in pain as Wolverine came over to them with Tony and Cecilia.

"Scooter, Jeannie," Wolverine whispered roughly, leaning over to give Scott a hand up as Tony got Jean on to her feet.

"You guys okay?" Cecilia asked in worry.

"Oh God . . . I'll need to soak in a bath of aspirin when we get back home!" whimpered Jean.

"I'll second that, kiddo; a cold beer would be great right now too, darlin'," Wolverine told her. That was the moment he noticed Mystique was missing from the group. "Where the fuck is Mystique?"

"Don't know," Nightcrawler whispered.

"I hope to God this is the last we see of Sinister and his thugs," quipped Iceman.

"Agreed," Forge said, nodding along.

"Come on, everyone, let's get home," Beast said, leading the way back to the jet. As soon as Scott and Jean made their way into their seats, they both collapsed down, their heads rolling from side to side.

'Scott,' Jean said telepathically to him.

'Yeah, Jean?' Both Scott and Jean were on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. But, they knew that they had to say what had to be said.

'I-I love you . . .'

'I love you, too.'

As the plane took off into the air, everyone noticed that Jean had her head resting on Scott's chest as she kissed his cheek weakly before they both fell asleep from fatigue.

"Well, it's about time," Wolverine said with a small smile.

"I'll say." Tony grinned back at Scott and Jean as the two teenagers slept, Scott's arm wrapped over Jean's shoulders. Angel went over and threw a thermal blanket around the pair, leaving them to their peace.

Up next: The Wide Awake Project