Chapter 12

February 4th, 1999

The mansion

Logan had always been an early riser. He often had trouble sleeping, but after his talk with Jean recently, he found it even harder. Talk about being put in his place. It wasn't like him to misread a situation so completely. When he had been introduced to Scott by the professor the week before, Jean had already been in the room, and when Scott entered, they barely even made any eye-contact with each other. One wouldn't have guessed the two were friends let alone husband and wife that first day. He supposed one could argue they were just being professional in what was essentially their workplace.

He was shocked to the core when he found out that the woman he couldn't get out of his head for the last sixteen years was married to that boy-scout. He just seemed so green for someone like Jean. Then again, he had to admit, his opinion was probably very biased due to the fact he had strong feelings for said redhead. Then he found out from Jean that Scott was suffering from retrograde amnesia. That would at least explain the 'green' part.

He wasn't a man to encroach on other men's territories. But he had thought that Jean wasn't really into her relationship and that she was just sticking around for the sake of loyalty as well as her children. Or perhaps he wanted her so badly he convinced himself of that. Either way, Jean made it clear to him in no uncertain terms that she was off-limits.

And he was forced to admit, even just to himself, that although Scott and Jean didn't act like teenagers in love in front of their friends, as the days wore on, he noticed a strong bond between the two; lingering looks, tender smiles, finishing each other's sentences, his hand upon the small of her back, her hand reaching out for his… He had just been reluctant to accept what he saw for what it was.

Logan made his way to the mansion's vast garage to borrow a car and go for an early morning drive when he heard someone hammering away in there. He looked at his watch and saw it was four thirty in the morning. Who the hell would be up so early?

He peeked inside the garage and found Scott hammering away at something in the corner. For a moment, Logan felt a fiendish glee thinking perhaps Jean had kicked him out of bed for some transgression or another. But then his enhanced sense of smell told him that Scott practically smelled like a mixture of sweat and Jean. More than likely, the two of them had gotten it on within the last few hours. He shoved that unpleasant thought straight out of his head.

Logan couldn't help himself, he took a dig at Scott. "So, what'd you do to piss your wife off and get banished here at this hour?"

Scott looked up, not even a little startled. Logan had to give the kid props for his composure. "You just wish that was the case," Scott mumbled.

Logan couldn't help but grin. Cyke was right. The man before him obviously wasn't taking the bait. "What the heck's that thing you're buildin' anyway?" Logan asked.

"Well, if you must know, it's Rachel's birthday today, and she asked for a horse for her birthday. Now, a real horse is out of the question, so I asked her what her second choice for a birthday gift was, and she asked for a doll house for her Disney Princesses. Only problem is that each doll she owns is about six inches tall and there's no store that would sell such a large doll house without Jean and I shelling out a few grand. So, I'm building her one," Scott said.

Logan hunched closer and examined the half-built miniature. 'Miniature' was a misnomer. It was definitely large, almost as tall as he was. He grudgingly had to give kudos to Scott. The work so far looked very professional and was obviously being built with excellent care and craftsmanship.

"I still don't understand why you're up at this god-forsaken hour in this cold garage though. You couldn't do that later this afternoon?" Logan asked.

"I could… But Rachel's birthday party isn't until next Saturday. I don't want her to wait so long for her present. Besides, today is her actual birthday and I want her to have this now. I want to be able to give this to her this afternoon. Jean and I will be taking her and Nate out for lunch today to celebrate, just the four of us, then I want to surprise her with this when we get home," Scott said, not taking his eyes off his work.

Logan examined the man before him. If he had a woman like Jean warming his bed, he was damn sure he wouldn't be freezing his ass off building a damn doll house at four thirty in the morning. For the first time, he started to get a glimpse of the man that earned such devotion from his wife. A reluctant part of him admitted he could now see what Jean saw in her husband.

It wasn't just the fact that he was hard at work building a toy for his daughter. It was the fact that he cared enough to make sure Rachel would have something to be happy about on her actual birthday. It was the fact that, although a four-year-old would have been just as happy with shoddy craftsmanship, Scott still put in the time to include the tiniest details into his work. He could see why Rachel saw him as her hero. The man obviously put in every ounce of love he had for his child into his gift. He could admire that.

"So Cyke, how you gonna bring that massive thing back to your house? Couldn't you have just built it there to save you the trouble of movin' it afterwards?" Logan asked, genuinely curious.

"I didn't want Rachel to see it. It's a surprise. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do to haul it back to my place," Scott said.

"Well, if you need a hand, let me know," Logan said, surprised he offered, but not really regretting it.

Scott looked up for the first time since Logan walked into the garage. It looked like Logan wasn't the only one who was surprised by the offer. "Umm… thanks," Scott said. He looked a little unsure if Logan truly meant what he said. Not that Logan could blame him.

Logan made his way to a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the opposite corner of the garage and decided that'd be his ride for the morning. He opened the door and was glad to see the keys tucked behind the car visor. Before he got in the vehicle, he turned back around to Scott and said, "And I wanted t' let ya know… I decided Jean just ain't fer me… I figured I'd let her waste her life with you."

Much to Logan's surprise, instead of acting offended or getting angry, Scott took his words for what they truly were; an olive branch. Scott simply smiled at him, nodded almost imperceptibly, and went back to his work. Perhaps Rome could be built in a day after all.

Later that afternoon

Jean made the last corner turn on the road and headed back home. She and Scott had just finished having a late lunch at Red Robin with the children to celebrate Rachel's birthday. She looked at the rear-view mirror to see how Rachel and Nate were doing in the back seat. Rachel was having a one-sided conversation with her brother explaining the various aspects of birthdays to him.

"See, Nate, I gots balloons and cake cuz ah'm fouw today!" Rachel said, shoving her red balloon at Nate's face who proceeded to lick it.

Nate just made a gurgling noise as an answer, but it was enough encouragement for Rachel to continue talking to him. "And they all singed happy birfday to me at the restrant!" Nate just continued to smile, obviously not knowing what his big sister was saying to him, but enjoying her attention nonetheless.

Jean was glad Rachel was keeping her brother busy. Nate wasn't one to enjoy long car rides or being in his car-seat. Jean turned to look at her husband who was beaming in the seat next to her. "You're looking quite chipper for someone who only got about two hours of sleep," Jean said, smiling.

"I can't wait for Rachel to see her surprise. I sure hope Kurt can teleport it into Rachel's room without damaging it," Scott said.

"I can't wait to see it either," Jean said. "I can't believe you woke up at two in the morning to finish it! You know, you could have just gotten it ready for her birthday party next Saturday. It would have given you more time and you'd be less exhausted today."

"I don't mind at all. When I was a kid, I would always look forward to Alex visiting for my birthday because I knew he'd have a surprise for me. I want Rachel to look forward to having that same feeling every birthday," Scott said.

Jean reached out and squeezed Scott's hand. He was the sweetest man she knew. He didn't like anyone else knowing… but she knew. It was around three that morning when, as per her habit, she rolled to Scott's side of the bed, hoping to cuddle with him, but reached out to nothing but cold bed sheets. She was more than a little annoyed and grumpily reached out to him telepathically asking him where in the world he was.

She could tell through their psychic rapport that he was freezing his butt off somewhere. When she found out he was at the mansion working on Rachel's birthday gift, she had half a mind to go over there and drag him back home. But that would have required her to leave the children unattended in the middle of the night. So instead, she sent him mental images to tempt him with what awaited him in his warm bed… But her husband had a one-track mind and once he decided to do something, he was determined to get it done.

Jean knew her husband was exhausted. He was probably sporting eye-bags that made him look like a raccoon behind his glasses. But she could also feel the happiness radiating off him and the excitement he felt with presenting Rachel with her new doll-house. She hoped that, for Scott's sake, Rachel would like it. She was a child after all and was honest to a fault. Her husband was a good enough handy-man, but building a child's doll-house was something different.

They finally arrived at their home and Jean pulled up in their driveway. Scott jumped out of the car pretty much before it even stopped. **Honey, can you get the kids out, I'm gonna check if Rachel's doll house is in her room yet,** Scott said to Jean through their psychic link.

**Sure, I'll make sure to keep Rachel from going upstairs until you give me the go-ahead,** Jean answered as she started freeing Rachel from her booster seat. She then proceeded to take baby Nate out of his car seat.

A few seconds later, Scott said through their link, **Honey, it's here! Just give me a minute to get Rachel's dolls and put them in there. Then bring her up.**

Jean was so charmed by her husband's enthusiasm. **Sure, sweetheart.** With Nate in her arms, Jean went to the trunk of the car to grab the baby bag when a loud whirring sound started from high above her. She squinted up looking at what it could be.

It was a massive attack helicopter descending almost directly above her. Her heart stopped, and she instinctively knew it meant trouble. The last time an attack helicopter came over the mansion grounds was sixteen years ago when Stryker's team captured Hank, Raven, Peter and Moira and took them to that military facility for interrogation. She, Scott and Kurt had covertly followed them and eventually freed them… with the inadvertent help of Logan.

She screamed at her husband telepathically, **Scott!** She knew she didn't have to say more as her husband would feel her fear through their rapport. That, and she knew he also heard the loud whirring sounds of the chopper descending right next to their house.

She quickly dropped the bag she had in one hand and lifted Rachel. Scott quickly ran outside back to Jean and took Nate out of her arms. **Professor, I think we're under attack. There's an unknown helicopter coming down on us.**

**I see it from the mansion Jean. I'm trying to contact Storm, Quicksilver and Beast. Kurt, Raven and Logan don't seem to be on the grounds at the moment. I'm on my way as well,** the professor answered.

"Who are they?!" Scott yelled over the noise of the chopper.

"I don't know!" Jean yelled back. "Let's get the children in the house!"

"Mommy, I'm scared," Rachel said, instinctively gripping Jean's neck tighter.

"It's going to be okay, baby," Jean tried soothing her daughter, but she knew Rachel could sense her fear. Jean and Scott started running towards their house when a huge man jumped right out of the chopper landing about twelve feet in front of them, blocking their path to the house.

He was so massive that when he landed, Scott and Jean staggered back and Jean almost dropped Rachel and had to rely on her telekinesis to steady them all. The huge man before them stood about the same height as Scott. But that's where the similarities ended. The man was more than twice his size. His torso and especially arms were abnormally huge. He sported a massive, bald head. He wore a brown vest and brown pants to match.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Scott asked, quickly handing Nate over to Jean and instinctively pushing her and the children behind him.

"That ain't important… We need that little girl," the man before them said, nodding at Rachel.

"Over my dead body," Scott said.

"That can be arranged," another man said, coming out of the chopper that just landed about thirty feet away. He was entirely purple with abnormally long arms. Behind him followed another huge man, almost as huge as the one standing between Scott and Jean and their front door. But this one resembled a bear more than a man. He had dark skin with thick hair coming out of his body that resembled quills.

Another man, this one looking the most human so far, with long, white hair appeared from behind the bear-like one. He wore a purple-like trench coat. He circled around Scott and Jean, then turned to them and said, "Sorry for the intrusion, but we have orders to take the little girl, so if you would kindly hand her over, things don't have to get… nasty."

"You're delusional if you think we're going to hand you our daughter," Jean answered.

"See… I told you we'd have to get our hands dirty," a woman with green hair said, taking her place beside the man with white hair. Jean realized that in just a matter of seconds, she and Scott were completely surrounded by these unknown intruders. They obviously looked like mutants, but she and Scott knew nothing about them or what possible abilities they had.

Lastly, another man came up behind them. He had a disfigured face with long black hair and was wearing a blue trench coat. He had a wooden stick in his hand and was the shortest of the group with the exception of the woman with the green hair. "We have no time to mess around, Ruckus!" he said to the white-haired man. "Just grab the girl!"

And with that, the big, bald mutant charged at Scott. He let out a well-timed optic blast that sent his attacker hurtling against their house destroying their patio. The tar-like purple mutant elongated his arms even more and tried grabbing at Rachel, but Jean telekinetically put Rachel out of the way, and the purple man was blasted back by Scott's optic beams.

The bear-like man fired his quills like projectiles directly at Jean, but she was quick enough and put a psionic shield around herself and the kids. Jean's heart broke for her children, especially Rachel whose fear was palpable. Rachel was clutching her leg and Jean felt her uncontrollable shaking.

She and Scott were surrounded, and they couldn't truly fight with all their might for fear their children would get caught in the cross-fire. Jean tried getting into their enemies' heads telepathically but something or someone was shielding them from any psionic attacks. She felt an ominous telepathic presence somewhere she couldn't see. She was sure their attackers were being helped by this unknown telepath.

The man in the blue trench coat waved his wooden stick and caused the trees surrounding them to come to life and begin attacking. He summoned forth roots from the ground wrapping themselves around Scott and Jean's legs. Scott blasted the ones on his legs and Jean fought the ones off hers telekinetically.

Scott fired at the man controlling the trees around them but missed. But a split second later, a bolt of lightning finished the job for Scott. Jean looked up and with a breath of relief saw her friend hovering above them striking the once inanimate trees and roots with her lightning strikes.

"Storm!" Jean yelled.

"We're here, my friends," Ororo answered.

Jean saw the white-haired man, the bear-like creature and the big bald one get knocked to the ground in less than a split second. Then she realized it was Peter who brought them down one by one with his incredible speed. He looked a tad disoriented, once he slowed down enough for Jean to recognize him. Obviously, he still suffered from his concussion.

**I'm afraid I'm of no help to you at the moment my X-Men… Someone or something is preventing me from reaching into the minds of these mutants,** the professor said, appearing with Hank.

**I know, Professor, I already tried," Jean answered.

"They want Rachel, Professor!" Scott said, running up to his family and friends. "We don't know why."

Before Professor Xavier could answer, the white-haired man who Jean believed was called Ruckus, turned to them, opened his mouth wide and attacked them seemingly using sound waves as a sonic attack. Jean didn't have time to shield everyone psionically, but at least was able to shield the children. The sonic attack was so powerful it threw Scott, Storm, Hank, Professor Xavier and Peter thirty feet in the air.

Jean ran up to Ruckus and telekinetically threw him back. But in her distraction, the purple creature who seemed to be able to manipulate the shape of his tar-like body grabbed Rachel from behind. Jean screamed, "Rachel, no!"

Storm, having picked herself up off the ground fired lightning at Rachel's captor, but his body morphed and avoided the attack. Scott ran towards the purple creature and physically tried to grab his daughter back, but the mutant with his semi-solid state formed a third arm and threw Scott against a tree. Upon landing on the ground, Scott took off his visor and tried shooting at the purple mutant, but held back for fear of harming Rachel. Jean realized that Scott's amnesia took away the knowledge from him that Rachel was immune to his powers. The creature easily morphed the size of his body and avoided the optic blast.

Peter tried running towards Rachel but before he could even get off his first step, he was hit by a sonic blast and thrown back, hitting his head hard on the ground. Jean got hold of Rachel telekinetically but before she could pull her back, she was hit with a wave of psionic energy that immediately distorted her perception and sense of balance. It was like she was being hit with vertigo. It forced her to let Rachel go from her telekinetic grip and Jean stumbled forward.

The rest of the X-Men were also under the attack of the woman with the green hair whose powers seemed to be manipulating psionic waves to cause a form of vertigo to overcome her victims. Jean shakily brought herself back up on her feet and saw that Rachel was being dragged back to the helicopter, the attacking mutants forming a human shield around her. "Rachel!" Jean screamed in agony, still too disoriented from the effects of the vertigo to use her powers.

But out of nowhere, Kurt teleported right to where Rachel was, hugged her and teleported her right out from under her would-be-kidnappers' noses. In another second, Kurt came back and teleported Nate right out of there too. Jean couldn't tell where they went but her relief made her limbs go weak. "Nooooo!" The purple man yelled when he realized he lost Rachel.

"We can't leave here empty-handed. Grab the child's mother!" The one called Ruckus ordered. Scott ran shakily to Jean and tried carrying her to safety, but he was just as disoriented from the first wave of attack from the woman who gave them all vertigo.

Storm tried creating a wall of strong winds to surround Scott and Jean while the attackers tried getting at Jean, but Storm too was hurt and couldn't control her powers very well. Peter was knocked unconscious and couldn't help. Neither could Hank do much more. Jean hoped that wherever Kurt was he would stay away and protect her children.

The woman in green used her powers to once again knock all the X-Men out using her powers of vertigo. They didn't stand a chance. Jean felt Scott drop her. Everything was a hazy, nauseating blur. The last thing she felt were rough hands picking her up off the ground and dragging her to the helicopter.

To be continued…

For those of you who were fans of the 90's X-Men animated cartoon on Fox, then you'd recognize the mutant villains in this chapter as the Nasty Boys (plus Vertigo), Mr. Sinister's very own henchmen (and henchwoman). The bald guy was Slab, the guy controlling the trees was Ramrod, the bear-like one was Hairbag, Ruckus of course has the Banshee-like powers and the woman with the green hair was Vertigo.