Changes Sequel I Darkness

by Dark Phoenix Rising

Chapter 30! After their children were obviously kidnapped by Sabretooth, the XMen try to find out where their enemy is hiding. Soon, they reach a facility and know that their future depends on their success. But things turn out completely wrong...

30. Chapter 30

Author's note: Here it is. The last chapter to Sequel 1. I started writing the Sequel on 9/26/06, so it's 5 months by now that I'm working on it. :o Thanks to all of you who have followed the story so far and have written so nice reviews. You're all my heroes: ) Hope you enjoy this chapter, which is the longest I've ever written so far!!!

Oh, and it's again: Reviewer #250 can wish for something. So, since it's 249 now (at least the last time I checked), the first one of you who writes a review. ; )

Changes Sequel – I. Darkness Part 30

Mourning, they held on to each other as good as they could. They couldn't believe what had happened. That those who they held the dearest had really been stolen away from them. While their friends could only stand at the door or lean against the next wall and watch them, mourning with them for their loss, Jean let out another desperate sob and clung to Logan even more. Nevertheless, he couldn't do much himself to give her any strength. He felt torn within. Part of him wanted to destroy the next thing in rage, no matter what it was, while the other, including the Wolverine, could only kneel on the ground in defeat and cry for his children. He didn't care about being weak and broken right now. Not only because he wasn't aware of his surroundings or the people in the room at all. He didn't even realize that he held Jean as close as possible and that she was crying heartrendingly into his neck. All he thought about were his children and the fear that they were still close by. Not alive but as brutally slaughtered as the younger X-Men in the room around him. Heaving a deep breath, he looked up at the ceiling and furrowed his brows. Now even his imagination was fooling him in a situation that was already sad and difficult enough. But then he narrowed his eyes a bit more, just to let go of his crying wife in the next second, who only looked at him in confusion, at the same time pleadingly to not leave her alone in that situation. The others watched in confusion as he pulled a table close and jumped onto it, his hand reaching up to knock at the ceiling; searching for a spot that sounded different than the others. And he found it… All of a sudden one spot sounded hollow and his hands began to work on it. His heart made a jump when he realized that a shaft was hidden underneath it. Thick enough to make it impossible for his nose to pick up any scents, but now that it was open, he did. Not caring about the plate, he just let it fall, hearing the shattering noise it made when it hit the ground. His hands were trembling when he reached up to grab the edge of the hole in the ceiling to pull himself up a bit; still being watched in confusion by his friends and wife. He heard a whimper and growl close by and he couldn't believe his luck when his nose confirmed what his ears had heard before. "Jack?" Logan called softly, still frightened what he would find and smiled a bit in relief when his eldest daughter looked around a corner in the dark.

"Daddy?" she asked him crying and crawled quickly closer just to throw herself at him sobbing.

Logan let himself fall down a bit until his feet reached the table again and held her close, crying in relief that she was fine. He watched Jean briefly as she covered her mouth with one hand in shock and waited for her to pick her sobbing daughter up. Then he reached again for the shaft and pulled himself up completely. Jean waited for him while she rocked the crying girl back and forth, even if she was as much sobbing as her daughter was. Hopefully her eyes were fixed on the shaft and she let out a shriek in shock when he handed an unconscious Rachel over to Ororo, just to disappear again to find his sons.

Inside the shaft, he crawled further down until he heard another whimper. "Jack?" he asked and cocked an eyebrow at the boy when this one looked around a corner. "Come to me. It's okay, you're safe now."

"They won't go back…," the boy sobbed as a reply and Logan could tell that he was rocking himself back and forth in shock. Still, he didn't understand who they were.

"It's okay. Just come to me, 'kay?" he tried it again and reached out his hand, grabbing his sons arm gently and pulling him towards the exit. When his feet touched the table again, he held out his hands to pull his son down, just to look at him in shock in the next second.

Not knowing what was wrong all of a sudden, since she was too relieved to see three of her four children, Jean tilted her head a bit to have a better look at her sobbing son. Then she, too, let out the same shocked gasp as everyone else and her eyes, so as the ones from the others, switched immediately to Logan, who still stared at his son in shock.

"Make them go back…," the child pleaded and looked at his father with tears in his eyes as this one grabbed his wrists briefly and twisted them; watching still shocked how the three bone claws on each hand retracted. Whimpering when it happened, Jack held his hands crying and leant against his fathers legs. He didn't know what the adult was thinking right now, he also couldn't understand why Logan wasn't moving an inch or pulling him close to soothe him.

"Where's Jamie?" Jean asked and looked at her children first, before she gave Logan a look. "Is he up there, too?" she added, but he shook his head without turning around. Biting her lip, the redhead pulled Lily closer again and leant against her crying.

"We need to bring Rachel to the infirmary," Ororo suddenly said with a worried look at the girl. "She doesn't seem to have any outer injuries, but she isn't reacting at all."

Coming closer Hank took a look at the girl and gave the woman a sign to follow him. "I'll check on her. Come," he said and they disappeared while Logan sank down on his knees and ran a hand through his face, before he stared at his hands in shock.

Running a hand through her daughter's face and holding her son close, Jean looked at them with wet eyes. "What happened?" she asked them softly and sat down on the ground a bit.

"I don't know," Jack sobbed and stared at the ground.

"They've told us to climb up quickly and don't say a word," Lily cried and rubbed her wet eyes. "And then Rhane Wolfsbane wanted to get Ray, but then there was an explosion and Allison Magma screamed."

"She said they were tearing the whole place down," Jack said calmly and sniffed. "I told them Jamie wasn't with us, but Rhane said Leyu Sunpyre was getting him. We should just hide and be silent."

"What happened then?" Jean asked them calmly, being watched closely by the others.

"They brought Ray and closed the door," Lily said and clung to her mother even more. "And then there must have been an animal or something like that."

"Animal?" the redhead asked her and the girl nodded, while Logan only briefly turned his head a bit with a knowing look on his face. Still he didn't dare to look at anyone of them at all.

"There was a growling and roaring. And then we heard them screaming and hid behind the corner." Jean watched how her daughter closed her eyes briefly. "That animal only said he wanted the baby, but Rhane yelled at him he would never get him. And then they screamed again. But then we couldn't hear anything at all…"

"Someone knocked against the door and suddenly Ray began to pant and glow," Jack went on, but didn't saw the shocked look on Jean's face.

"Yeah, she glowed and then there was loud noise underneath us and a roar and then she just dropped to the ground," Lily nodded still sniffing. "And then Jack was suddenly growling and bleeding…"

Nodding, Jean gave her husband, who was still down on his knees and stared at his hands, a brief look. "Scott, Raven, could you take them away, please?" she asked and waited for them to come closer. "I'll be right with you, okay?" she told her children and wiped their tears away. They nodded and held onto the two mutants when they pulled them up. In the meanwhile, Jean gave the others a look. "Would you please leave, too?" she asked them and waited until she was alone with Logan before she came slowly closer. Not knowing what to do or say, she climbed up the table and wrapped her arms around his chest to lean against him crying silently. "What now?" Jean asked him calmly and only saw him shaking his head before he looked away. "Would you please say something?" she demanded of him and watched how his eyes turned towards the junior team on the ground. She noticed the look in his eyes, but still could only guess what he was thinking right now. "This is not your fault, Logan. You trained them and taught them everything you know…"

"I told you to stay here," he only said and jumped off the table, closely watched by her. "I told all of you that something was wrong…"

"It wouldn't have made a difference if we all had stayed…," she gave back and moved around to sit down on the edge of the table. He began to pull away the destroyed remains of the interior that still covered the younger team members. Only able to shake his head, he stroked a hand over their empty widened eyes to close them. "Logan…," Jean began with tears in her eyes, but he didn't turn around.

"Go to Ray," he only said while he was still occupied with getting rid off one of the metal tables that covered half of Sunpyre's body. "And find out where Chuck is…," he added hissing as she got off the table and wrapped her arms around her body.

"He's upstairs in his office and wants us to come up," she told him. Seeing that he didn't react to it, she turned around and walked towards the destroyed door. "I'll check on Ray then…," Jean added calmly and made her way back. While walking, she suddenly bit her lip and began to sob aloud but didn't stop walking towards the second basement complex. It took a while before she'd found it since her vision was too blurred with tears.

"Jean," Moira said and came closer to embrace her. "God, I'm so sorry…," she added and Jean could tell that she'd also cried before.

"How is she?" the redhead demanded to know with a look on her daughter.

"I don't know," Hank replied and shook his head. "I already asked Charles for help, but also he couldn't help a lot. We think that the sudden outburst of power was just too much for her to cope with. But the good news is that I can assure you that her brain or body hasn't taken any damage."

"We only need to wait for her to wake up," Moira added and leant against Hank's shoulder when he put an arm around her.

"What if…what if she has the same dual personality than I do," Jean asked them frightened. "What if she's dangerous?"

Exchanging a look with the woman next to him, Hank shook his head. "I already asked Charles… I don't know what we can do then, Jean. You know how destructive your powers are if they get out of control…" Seeing how the redhead heaved a deep sigh and ran both hands through her tearstained face, he briefly looked at the door. "Logan taught you to control your powers. He can also…," he began when she cut him off.

"Logan is in no condition to do anything at all right now," Jean cried and walked over to the bed to stroke through her daughters hair lovingly. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she whispered and shook her head crying. "We should have been here… I should have protected you…"

"Jean," Moira began and laid a hand on her shoulder. "The attack wasn't your fault…"

"No?" the redhead asked her cynically. "Logan told me to stay and what did I do? I left. I left my children alone."

"Logan left his children alone, too, Jean," Hank intervened and shook his head. "Don't be so hard on yourself…"

Stroking once more through her daughter's face, she turned around and gave Hank a look. "Charles wants to see us in his office," she said and left while he turned to Moira.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll run some tests on her in the meanwhile." Watching him leaving, she turned to the unconscious girl on the bed with a concerned look on her face.

---

The X-Men were gathered in the Professor's office, who sat behind his desk and had just explained them that he'd tried to use Cerebro in hope to be able to stop Sabretooth since the machine strengthened his powers. Everyone sat either on the sofa or chairs while Logan had his arms crossed in front of his chest and stared out of the window. Jean was the complete opposite to him. She sat like a picture of misery on the sofa next to Scott and Ororo and only stared at the carpet with wet eyes. Not saying anything at all, everyone suddenly looked up when the door opened and Moira entered to update them on Rachel. "How is she?" the Professor instantly asked, but the woman shrugged.

"I don't know. The sudden unleash of her powers put her in some kind of come. I'm keeping her brain activities under surveillance, but nothing has changed so far."

"Who's with her?" Jean demanded to know barely audible and looked up a bit.

"No one right now. I only came here to tell you."

"Ya left her alone?!" Logan grunted in disbelief and gave her a look that could kill.

"Logan…," Hank quickly said and raised a hand to beg him to calm down, but the man didn't care about it.

"How can ya leave her alone after what happened?" this one asked harshly instead and turned around fully pissed off.

"Well, you're her father, aren't you?" Scott told him bluntly and ignored the growl he received, also that Logan made a step into his direction. But he didn't reckon with being pulled roughly out of the sofa in the next second.

"One more word and your son had a father, bub!"

"Logan, put him down!" Charles demanded of the enraged mutant and sighed in frustration when Scott crashed against the wall instead of just being lowered to the ground. One look at Logan, who stared out of the window, told him that everyone should be very careful with their chose of words. "I fully understand your rage, but…"

"Understand? What do ya understand?" Logan asked through gritted teeth and glared at him. "That son of a bitch has my son, goddammit, so don't give me that shit that ya understand it! Ya understand nothin'!"

"Logan, please…," Ororo said and gave him a pleading look. "Don't make it worse…"

Moira slowly retreated and pointed at the door. "I'm downstairs again…," she said and left, but before she did her eyes met Hank's briefly.

"I told you it would happen…," Jean, who had buried her face in one hand while her elbow rested on the armrest, said and made everyone except Logan turned to her. "I told you and you said it was only a dream," she added and still stared at the floor.

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked her frowning and exchanged glances with the others, but they, too, could only shrug.

"Jean, I am sorry, but as I said I have never heard about something like that before…," Charles replied with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

"What are you all talking about? What has she told you?" Scott asked him confused.

"He warned me and I let it happen…," Jean suddenly said and buried her face in both hands.

Kneeling down next to her, Hank laid a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get him back, Jean," he assured her, but the woman shook her head.

"No, we won't…," she gave back, still knowing what Cable had told her about what would follow.

"Don't ya even think that!" Logan suddenly said aloud and glared at her warningly.

"Think what? That we failed?" she gave back despaired. "I told you, Logan! I told you it would happen and you said I was crazy and now look what happened! He has our son!"

"And we'll get him back!" he shot back even angrier and his eyes were feral as ever; something she hadn't seen it a very long time, still she shook her head with a sad smile.

"No," she said crying. "You told me. You told me exactly that we'll fail. That this is the first stage of the end…" Shaking her head she sighed. "I knew it would happen and left him alone… I failed…"

Even if she didn't understand one word her friend was saying, Ororo shook her head. "You did not fail, Jean. No one of us knew…"

"I did!" Jean cut her off with a brief look.

"How?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He warned me… He said it would happen and that we'll fail to get him back. That it's the beginning of the end."

"We'll get him back, goddammit, and if it's the last thing I do!" Logan nearly barked at her, being annoyed about her weakness.

"It will be the last thing you do, Logan! He will kill us all and there's nothing we can do about it," Jean gave back and watched hoe he came dangerously close, stopping in front of her with his hands still crossed and a dangerous look in his eyes.

"So you just give up on our son, then?" he asked her through gritted teeth. "Oh good! My wife, the most powerful mutant on this goddamn planet is nothin' more than a fuckin' coward in the end."

"Logan!" Ororo said aloud being shocked about his harsh words.

"Shut up, Storm!" he shot into her direction, but still faced Jean. "Just let me tell ya one thin', girl! You dreamed about the future. About what is going to happen if we fail and guess what? I'll be damned if I let that son of a bitch step into my home and steal my kid without doin' anythin' in my power to get him back," Logan hissed and his eyes blackened slightly. "Ya want to prevent that future from happenin', so pull yourself together, damn it and start behavin' like what ya are or get outta my face!" Not deigning to look at her anymore, he left and slammed the door shut behind him while she stared at the ground in shock.

Scott jumped up. "Who does he think he is?" he asked angrily and gave her a look. "Jean, why do you let him treat you like this?" Watching her, he cocked an eyebrow since she just turned around to leave. "Jean!"

"Because he's right…," came her barely audible reply before she closed the door behind her.

"Ts…because he's right," Scott muttered in anger.

"Logan is right, Scott. I have to admit that his words were a bit too harsh, but Jean was about to give up without even trying to fight," Charles said and leant back in his wheelchair thinking about their next step.

"So what can we do?" Hank asked them. "We don't know where they are or what they're up to."

"Actually we know what they're up to," the Professor replied and didn't need to look up to see that everyone was staring at him in confusion. "Jean told me precisely what will happen…"

---

After he'd been with his daughter in the infirmary for nearly three hours and had then went upstairs to see if the twins were alright, Logan had went outside in the dark to go looking for Miloh, who the twins had asked for when they'd briefly been awake. He'd searched the whole garden for the wolf, had whistled and used his nose and ears to find the animal somewhere, but he hadn't been successful. Finally, he'd decided to go looking into the wood, not caring that the Professor had told everyone to stay away from it for some time. Following his instincts, he'd finally heard a whimper from afar and had found Miloh wounded in a bush. Being glad that the animal was still alive, Logan had carried him to the infirmary and had watched how Moira and Hank had dressed the wounds and splinted the right front-paw. He knew the animal had probably attacked Sabretooth to protect what he regarded as his pack and he swore that he would add injuring his wolf to his payback list. Upstairs, he'd spread a blanket for Miloh on the ground and had brought him food and water before he'd stepped outside on the balcony to brood and smoke a cigar. It didn't take long and his eyes came to rest on his hands once more. He still couldn't understand that he had his memory back, but couldn't remember that he'd claws before Weapon X had melted his bones with adamantium. It had shocked him to see that his eldest son was in possession of claws, too. Even more that he as the father had reacted completely wrong in the situation. Instead of trying to soothe his son, he'd stared at him as if he was some kind of monster. Or better, he'd reacted like his own mother had to him when his claws had emerged from his hands for the first time…

"Come to bed," he heard Jean suddenly saying next to him and realized that he hadn't even heard her coming at all.

Logan put out his cigar and threw it into the trashcan on the balcony before he pulled her close. "I'm sorry for being so rude before," he apologized and leant into her.

"You were right," she replied and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I gave up before trying anything at all…"

Cupping her face, he looked into her eyes with a determined look. "We'll get him back. I ain't lettin' them go away with it."

"Me neither," Jean said and he nodded.

"Good!" Kissing her, he pulled her close once more before they walked back inside. "We only have to find out where they're hidin'…," Logan said and checked once more on Miloh and the twins before he followed her to the bedroom.

"Did he attack him, too?" she asked with a nod at the wolf and he nodded.

"I think so." Getting rid off his shirt and jeans, he laid down and held an arm up, waiting for her to switch the light off and come closer. "Do you think Ray'll be alright?" Logan asked her after a while and could tell that she was crying silently again.

"I hope so…," Jean sniffed and buried her face in his neck after he'd turned around to pull her closer. "God, if he had gotten his hands on them, too…"

"He hasn't Jean."

Heaving a deep sigh, she closed her eyes. "I hope he'll rod in hell one day for what he'd done to them and the junior team," she hissed and tried to relax in his arms, but both of them couldn't find any sleep at all for the rest of the night…

On the next morning, Jean had gotten up early to check on Rachel, while Logan had fed Miloh first before he went over to the twins' room. Lily was still sleeping, closely cuddled up to her soft toy, but Jack was awake and stared at his hands with a tearstained face. Feeling bad about his reaction and that his son had to go through the same as he'd years ago, Logan walked calmly over to the bed and sat down next to him. "Hey…," he said softly and stroked over his sons hair, making the boy look up briefly. "How're ya doin'?"

"Am I a monster?" the boy asked him bluntly and made his heart skip a beat.

"'f course not. What makes ya even think that?" Logan asked a laid down a bit next to him.

"Because everyone looked at me like that," Jack sniffed and pulled a face. "You, too. And mommy…"

Shaking his head, he pulled his son close and held him while he was sobbing into his chest. Not knowing what he could possibly say to apologize for his rude behavior, Logan kept on stroking over the boy's back soothingly. "I'm sorry," he finally said calmly after a while and felt how Jack clung to him. "It wasn't because of ya, Jack. I just… I didn't know my claws were real, ya know. I couldn't remember having them from the beginning." He closed his eyes for a moment and heaved a deep breath. "I was shocked to see that ya had some, because I believed until then that mine were faked… Do ya understand that?" He saw the boy nodding briefly. "But ya ain't a monster… You're my baby and nothin' can change that…"

"I'm not a baby," Jack sniffed and made his father chuckle.

"I know," he replied softly and kissed the boy's forehead. "Wanna eat something?" Meeting his son's gaze he could tell that the boy was afraid to go downstairs. "Ya can stay in bed for today. I'll get it for ya, okay?"

Nodding, Jack let go of him and watched his father getting up. "But I wanna have pancakes with syrup…and a hot choclate."

Smirking, Logan stopped briefly next to Lily when she rubbed her eyes. "Mornin'," he said softly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Stay here. I'll get somethin' to eat." Nodding, the girl cuddled up to her wolf tiredly and closed her eyes again. "Be right back," Logan said and watched how Miloh tried to make his way to the room. "Nope, you're stayin' there, pal!" he said and sighed since the wolf wasn't listening at all. Shaking his head, he went downstairs to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for his children.

Leaving the infirmary a few hours later again, Jean took her time to lean against the wall from the outside and ran both hands through her face. Nothing had changed so far, there wasn't the tiniest sign that Rachel would wake up anytime soon and they still hadn't got a clue where their enemies had taken Jamie to. She knew the Professor had spent most of the night in Cerebro and had tried to get a hold on them, but he wasn't successful. Her eyes fell on the round silver double door at the end of the corridor with the light blue dot in the middle of it. The last time she'd used the machine was years ago to find Rogue after the girl had been kidnapped by Magneto. Afterwards she had never walked into the round room to test if she could handle it now. As if moving on their own her feet began to carry her towards it. She could handle her powers now, she knew that, but could she also handle them if they were maximized by Cerebro. Thinking about her baby and what would happen if they failed, she kneeled down a bit and let the device scan her eyes. Next to the Professor she was the only one who was capable to open the door if necessary. At least in the past. She didn't know if Charles had made any changes to keep her away from the machine. "Welcome Doctor Grey," Moira's computer voice said and the doors went aside. Getting up, Jean heaved a deep breath and entered the round room, determined to find her son. As the door went shut behind her again she picked the helmet up with shaking hands and kneeled down in front of the panel; quickly activating the machine and closing her eyes firmly. Not being used to Cerebro's powers anymore, she felt a sharp pain rushing first through her brain, then down her spine, causing her heart to start beating in a deadly rhythm while she thought she was torn apart. The room expanded, the icy-blue walls disappeared and the world map appeared, red dots shining everywhere and dipping the room into a fiery red light. She barely managed to open one eye and tried to focus on her son, tried to find him in the many dots somewhere when the room began to shake…

Upstairs, Logan was in the kitchen again holding his Godchild Alex in his arm while Mystique prepared a bottle and Scott gave him jealous looks through the visor. It was when Ororo entered with her daughter, husband and son that the interior began to shake heavily. Cups, Plates and other things falling out of the boards in a rush, the babies began to cry and TJ clung to her father's leg frightened. "What's happening?" Scott asked and got up, trying to reach the window with shaking legs, due to the impact of the earthquake.

Thinking about it, Logan felt a strange feeling emerging from within. He knew the signs of such a strong power. He'd seen it too often in the past years. "Hold him," he told Mystique and handed her her son before he ran out of the kitchen. On his way to the next elevator he met Charles, saw the look on his face. "Who of them is it?" he asked him and stopped briefly on his side.

"It's Jean," the Professor replied. "She's using Cerebro…"

"Fuck!" Logan cursed and started into a deadly run when the others came out of the kitchen. Kurt and Scott followed him downstairs, joined by Hank in the basement and they stopped in front of the door. While Logan searched for a way to get in, the Professor finally arrived, too. "How can we get inside?" he asked him and turned panicky around. "How?"

"You can't just open the door, Logan," Charles said with a grim look on his face, thinking hard about a solution. "Opening the door could kill her and by the amount of power she uses, us, too."

"Elf, you did it before. Take me inside!" Logan said and grabbed Kurt's wrist to shove him closer. "Do it!" Nodding, Kurt took a hold on his opposite's shoulder. "When we're inside, you let go of me and teleport back, got it?" Closing his eyes, Logan heard the familiar bamf and felt how his friend withdrew his hands to teleport back. Just when he opened his eyes to take a look around, he was slammed against the door by the strong impact of the powers that were unleashed in the room. He managed to open one eye, shielding both with his arm while a strong wind kept him immobile against the door. Logan looked at the panel, but saw no one. In confusion, he cocked an eyebrow and looked up, his eyes widening when he found her floating in the air in some kind of lotus-position he'd taught her years ago. Fire surrounded her completely and he noticed that her hair was redder than usual. "Jean!" he yelled as loud as he could, but she didn't react. His eyes quickly scanned the room and took notice of the map that was displayed around him. He knew what she was doing, but he was also aware of the changes within her. "Jean, stop it!" he barked and suddenly heard the Professor's voice in his head, giving him instructions on how to stop the machine. Logan tried three times to shift his weight to the front unsuccessfully, before he managed to lay down on the ground and use his claws to move forward. The walls of the room already made screeching noises due to the impact they had to fight against and he thought that Cerebro would collapse on them any minute. Heaving heavy breaths while sweat ran down his forehead, he finally reached the panel and pulled himself up into a sitting position. As soon as he'd pushed the right button, Jean's black eyes fixed on him in anger and sent him backwards through the opening door, where Scott barely managed to jump aside before Logan would have bumped into him.

At the same time, Jean fought her way back to the surface and collapsed on the ground. Heavily shaking and panting, her hands barely managed to get rid of the helmet and she also didn't notice when Scott laid a hand on her shoulder. "Jean? Are you alright?" he asked her and made her look at him, but one look into her eyes was enough to tell him that she was still too far gone to realize what was happening. Right now she appeared to him as if she was highly drugged. "Jean, look at me…"

"How is Logan?" Charles asked Hank when this one kneeled down next to the man in the ground and noticed the deep dent in the wall.

"Unconscious," Hank replied and laid a finger on Logan's throat. "But his pulse is steady."

"Jean, what were you thinking?" the Professor asked the woman on the ground. "You nearly tore the whole mansion apart since you used too much power…" Only staring at him through dazed eyes, the redhead had to lean against Scott's shoulder for support. "Lift her up. I have to check on her brainwaves to see if she took any damage from it." Nodding Scott lifted her carefully up when Jean raised her head a bit.

"Canada…," she said in a barely audible whisper. "They're in Canada…in the mountains…" With that her head dropped aside and she went limb in Scott's arms, who laid her panicky to the ground again. "Jean?" he asked scared to death and quickly checked on her pulse; being relieved to find one. "She's only unconscious…"

Nodding, Charles moved towards the door. "Bring both of them to the infirmary then."

---

She opened her eyes later, just to close them immediately again when a skull-breaking headache came up. She felt how someone used cotton wool to wipe something off under nose and carefully opened one eye. "I'm sorry…," Jean whispered when she saw Logan standing above her, still wiping blood away from under her nose.

"You're a stupid cow," he only grunted and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"I know…"

"What were ya even thinkin'?" he went on with a sharp edge in his voice. "How can ya be so stupid to use Cerebro without havin' it done in years? If ya wanted to kill yourself, go ahead, a scalpel must be somewhere in that room." He gave her an angry glare and she knew she deserved it. Her powers had gotten completely out of control and she hadn't even tried to stop herself. Then she remembered something…

"Did I hurt you?" she asked guiltily and reached out to touch the obviously just healed wound on the side of his head; the dried blood she could feel in his hair was all she needed to know. "I'm sorry…"

"Ya said it before," Logan gave back and got up. "Now get back to sleep. We leave tomorrow."

Frowning, Jean sat up a bit. "Why?"

"To get our kid back?" he asked her ironically and moved over to another bed, which she couldn't see from where she laid. "Next thin' your freak show was good for besides findin' out where our kid is, was that Ray woke up again."

"She's awake?" she asked him and tried to sit up, but quickly dropped back again and held her head. "How is she?"

"Dunno, she's sleepin'," he replied and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. "And ya do the same now," he added and walked towards the door, still being angry about her carelessness.

"Logan…," Jean said pleadingly and made him stop at the door with his hands in his pockets. "I'm really sorry…"

"Sleep," Logan said once more and left the room.

---

On the next day he gathered the main team in the meeting room around the holographic map, which still fascinated him the most. Right now it displayed the Canadian Rockies which, as he knew, where covered with snow and probably made it impossible for them to land anywhere close to the facility. Studying the map, he already made plans on how to attack, how to divide the team and especially who will be in the team at all. Logan looked up when the door opened and Jean came inside, still looking a bit exhausted from the day before, and stopping next to Ororo and Kurt. Only the adults were gathered around the table, he would be damned to take any of the younger team members with them. "Listen," he began and supported himself with both hands on the table, being aware that the others were also looking at the map and also that Charles was watching them from aside. "They hide in the Canadian Rockies, right here." The hologram changed and zoomed into a spot in the mountains. "It's impossible to reach it with the jet, also to land it anywhere near the mountains at all."

"So we have to travel?" Scott asked him and Logan nodded.

"We land the jet here," he went on and pointed at a spot close to a wood. "It's the closest we can get. We travel the whole way up to here, sleep and should reach the mountains on the next day."

"What's the current weather like up there?" Ororo asked him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Cold and snow everywhere," Logan replied and turned the hologram off just to reload a map from the facility. "After we landed we have to hurry to reach the spot where we can sleep. It will be impossible to go on wanderin' around at night without freezin' to death." He looked at the map in front of him. "We don't know how many guards that son of a bitch has, we also don't know if there are any traps around there. But we will attack them with two teams on each side. Each team will take two headsets pro person in case one gets broken and report anything to the other that seems to be important. Team one is led by me, team two by Cyke."

"How generous," Scott commented and crossed his arms. "Who's in my team?"

"Raven and Hank," Logan replied. "Jean, 'Ro and Kurt are in mine."

"What about Bobby and the others?" Hank asked him, but received a no.

"They're stayin' here. Everyone goes upstairs, take care of the kids, explain the situation to them, pack warm clothes and somethin' to eat in backpacks and don't forget sleepin' bags. We meet again in one hour in the changing stall," Logan said and received a nod, before everyone did as he'd told them.

Upstairs, Logan was busy with packing his backpack when Jean entered the bedroom. "Are we staying at the cabin?" she asked him and began to pack her bag, too.

"Yeah," he replied and closed his. "Did ya already talk to the kids?"

"No, I thought we do it together," she said and looked at him briefly, but only received a nod before he turned around. She quickly grabbed his hand. "Logan, I'm really sorry about yesterday… I know it was careless of me, but I wanted to…"

"I know," he cut her off, but still gave her an angry look. "But did ya even think about what could have happened if ya'd lost control? How can ya use a machine that maximizes your powers not knowin' if ya can handle it?"

"I wanted to find our son!" she shot back with anger in her voice.

"Do ya think I don't?" Logan gave back. "But I ain't startin' a suicide commando to achieve that. Ya could have gotten hurt, ya could have destroyed the whole basement in one blow and just for ya to remind it, but Ray was down there at that moment. I know ya want to find him, Jean. We all do. But carelessness is the last thin' I need on that mission." Holding her gaze until she looked down, he nodded at her back. "Go on packin'. We've only 20 minutes left."

He left her alone to take care of Miloh and bring him new food and water. It didn't take long and Jean stepped out of the room with both backpacks in her hand. He patted the wolf's head once more before they walked over to the twins' room and sat down on the edge of Lily's bed. Beginning to explain the situation and what they were about to do, they began to feel worried that the children would be safe this time.

"When will you be back?" Lily asked them and held onto her mother while her eyes swift to her father.

"In about three days," Logan replied and held his son closer. "Maybe four. Grandpa and the others will watch over you while we're gone."

"I don't want you to leave," the boy said and pulled a face.

"I know, but we have to pum'kin. Ya wanna have your lil' brother back, don't ya?" he asked and the boy nodded. "See? So mommy and I have to go and get him back." They helped them to pack a few things together, since Charles had decided it would be the best if all of their children stayed in one room together while their parents were gone. Logan carried Miloh down, while Jean held their children's hands and they met Moira and Charles one of the bedrooms downstairs. It was hard to say goodbye to them, but still they knew it was necessary. Nevertheless, seeing them crying and begging them not to go, made the whole situation even harder.

"We'll inform you if something happens," the Professor assured them. "The others are already downstairs and Moira will get Rachel soon."

"Yes, as it seems she's completely fine again, but she said she can't remember what had happened," Moira nodded. "But I can assure you that her brain and body hasn't taken any damage. Everything's fine."

"Still we have to test how far her powers have already developed," Charles added. "But I will wait with it until you're back." They nodded. "Please be careful!"

"We will," Logan said and both of them walked down the corridor to the next elevator and headed down to the basement. The others were already wearing their uniforms and waited for them to come out of the changing stall again.

"Damn it," Logan heard Jean cursing and pulled the zipper of his leather pants up, before he began to pull his boots on.

"What's wrong?"

"It doesn't fit anymore," she cried and made him cock an eyebrow at the lockers that separated them.

"What doesn't fit?" he asked her in confusion and took the leather jacket out of his locker that was still marked with three long scratches.

"Oh, don't be such a jerk, Logan!" she cursed and came around the corner only wearing her underwear. "The uniform doesn't fit anymore…" She held it up for him to see it.

"You just got a baby, Jean, so don't panic…," he sighed and saw the annoyed look on her face. "What?" he asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"'Ro's fit," she said and glared at her uniform.

"May I remind ya of the fact that 'Ro got her baby in May, you got yours only a few weeks ago?" Logan asked her with a cocked eyebrow.

"And what am I supposed to wear now?" Jean gave back angrily and threw the uniform at him.

"Wait here," he said annoyed and left the room.

"What is taking you guys so long?" Scott asked and watched how his teammate went over to the wall where the uniforms hang behind large plastic lockers. In confusion he turned towards the others since the man was searching through Rogue's and Ororo's lockers. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Logan grunted and went back into the changing stall. "Try those ones here." He handed her the uniforms and watched her dressing herself. But one look of her was enough to tell him that it wouldn't work. "Okay,…be right back!" Muttering several curses he went back to the lockers and grabbed his uniform out of it; ignoring the strange looks of the others. "This one?" he asked her and threw it at her. She gave the leather uniform a skeptical look before she put his pants on first. Looking at her with his arms crossed in front of his chest, he watched sighing how she tried to fit into his too large jacket. "What about Rogue's or 'Ro's one?"

"Doesn't fit," Jean hissed and began to roll up the pants to put on her boots next.

"Wait," Logan said and went over to his locker and got one of his sweatshirts out of it. "Pull this one on first. The uniform's way too large and you're gonna freeze to death."

Obeying she did as she was told and pulled his leather jacket on next. "This is crap…," she cursed and gave him a look that almost seemed as if she would start crying soon. "I can't go like this…"

"You're not going on a model contest, Jean," he cursed and grabbed her arm. "Now come on. We're already late." Pulling her out of the door, he gave the others a warning look. "Don't even dare to ask!" he growled and made his way to the hangar, just to stop dead in his tracks. "You, you, you and you," he said and pointed at each of the X-Men in front of him. "Ain't coming!"

"Why not?" Bobby challenged and gave him a look. "We're also X-Men."

"Do ya wanna discuss it again?" Logan grunted and looked at him warningly. "I said you ain't comin', so you ain't comin'."

"But we wanna help!" Jubilee said and crossed her arms. "You can't make us stay here."

Chuckling evilly, he cocked an eyebrow at her with an indefinable look in his eyes. "Ya sure, kid? Get rid of the uniforms, go upstairs and stay there until we get back." Not looking at them anymore he walked towards the jet, followed by the others.

"Forget it!" Bobby said and beckoned Kitty, Peter and Jubilee to follow him.

"I said somethin'!" Logan barked at him and blocked his way.

"You can need our help," Kitty tried to convince him. "And we want to help."

"Then be of help and stay here!"

"No!" Peter shook his head and crossed his arms. "We're coming with you and help you."

Looking to and fro between them, Logan gave each one of them a glare. "Okay, then listen," he growled. "We have to march through snow and mountains, I don't wanna hear any complaints and I won't stop and wait for any of you if ya can't walk anymore. Got that? If ya decide to come with us, then I want ya to think about the consequences of doin' so. If ya come with us then it'll be on your own head, kids!" Turning around, he made his way through the jet and sat down at the front next to Ororo. Bobby turned to his friends, but they only nodded determined to follow their teammates. So he closed the hatch and every one of them took their seats. The engines roared to life when Ororo waited for the hatch in the basketball field to open. It didn't take long and the jet was high in the sky and heading towards the Canadian Rockies. Turning around in his seat, Logan looked at the younger mutants thoughtfully. He knew it would mean trouble if one of them got into danger. He'd wanted to prevent them from getting hurt or even killed and even if he'd said that they had to take care of themselves, he knew that he would look out for them. "Bobby," he said and the boy looked up. "You and Kitty are in Scott's team together with Mystique and Hank. Peter and Jubes are in mine." His team had Kurt to go through walls and Ororo to attack from afar with lightning, so in his eyes it was only logical to give Scott's team Kitty and Bobby.

"Hey, that's…," Jubilee began, but was silenced by a look of him.

"Jean…," Mystique said calmly and looked at the red head next to her. "Why are you wearing Logan's uniform?"

"Don't ask!" the redhead waved off and looked out of the window again; thinking about what would happen if they arrived their destination.

---

Covering his face when he stepped out of the X-Wing, Logan had his eyes narrowed a bit to make sure there was no danger close by. "Put the stealth thingy over the jet and hurry up. We've to reach the cabin before it gets dark," he demanded. While Ororo, Kurt and Scott began to hide the jet under the giant stealth-cloak Forge gad invented for the Blackbird, the others gathered around Logan and took a closer look at their snow-covered surroundings. All they could see were trees, a river and snow as far as their eyes could see.

Stopping next to his friend after the three mutants were done with the jet and had gotten their backpacks, Hank looked at him from aside. "How far is it from here?"

"Approximately 4 hours…," came the grunted replay and Hank's jaw dropped.

"Is there really no other way to get closer with the jet?"

"Do ya think I'd voluntarily walk through the snow if there was one?" Logan asked him cynically and turned to the others. "Come on, keep moving!" With that he began to lead the way.

"Does he really know where he's heading to?" Scott asked Jean, who still fought with the uniform, calmly, but only received a look from her before she joined Logan's side at the front.

After over three hours of trying not to fall into the knee-high snow, Ororo already had to hold onto Kurt, who had due to his preferred crouched movement, even more problems than she did. "Can't we make a break?" Jubilee cried and clutched stronger to Bobby's arm. "Jeez, please?"

"Nope," Longer grunted while he kept everything he could see, hear or smell under surveillance.

"But I really can't walk anymore…," she complained. "Ororo neither…"

"Not my problem, kid!" he gave back. "I told ya to choose, you did, so live with it!" Stopping briefly, he sniffed and turned to the right; leading them further through the mountains and snow.

"How can you pick such an isolated place to live?" Ororo asked him after a while and barely managed to keep herself from falling again. "What about food…or water? Did you walk every time you needed something?" Only receiving a look, she groaned. "I know you're n some kind of constantly being pissed-mode, but can you answer my question, please?" she asked rather annoyed.

"Use your eyes," Logan grunted and took Jean's backpack first, before he laid an arm around her waist to support her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"That there are probably animal around here to hunt," Scott said heavily breathing and tightened his grip on Mystique's hand to help her. "We're already walking for nearly four hours now, Logan…"

"And?" this one asked while he shifted Jean into a position that allowed him to carry most of her weight.

"Well not every one of us is at thoroughly fit as you," the other man whispered through gritted teeth.

"Then use the gym," Logan growled. By now the things he'd wanted to avoid had occurred. It was icy-cold, dark and his nose told him that packs of wolves were close by. He knew the animals too well. They normally never attacked humans, but exceptions could be made in hard winters. "They're comin' closer…," he said calmly to Jean and the redhead looked up.

"Who?" she asked since she couldn't hear what he could.

"The wolves," he replied and briefly turned his head to look at the others. The full moon illuminated the landscape but he knew they couldn't see as good as he could. "Stick closer together!" he therefore demanded when his head suddenly jerked to the left. Within less than a second he let go of Jean, dropped both backpacks and popped his claws. "Light!" Logan yelled at the redhead, who first didn't know what was wrong. But when she held out her hand to use a small firebird to enlighten their surroundings, she knew. Gasping, the others took notice of the danger they were in and instinctively moves closer together. Around them a large pack of growling and mean looking wolves came closer, some already tried to encircle them.

"Shit!" Peter cursed and turned into his organic form, when Logan turned his head into his direction.

"No!" he barked at him. "Don't attack'em!"

"What?" Scott asked him aloud. "Are you crazy? They want to kill us!"

"It's instinct," Logan shot back. "They want to survive."

"But I don't want to be on their menu," Jubilee cried and hid behind Bobby's back, just to let out a terrified scream next when a huge black wolf stepped forward, baring his sharp fangs.

"No one attacks!" Logan demanded and stepped forward to meet the growling animal. He knew it was the strongest, the alpha. Sniffing, his nose also told him that he knew the pack. Obviously their old leader had either died, was killed or driven out. So he had to show them again who their boss was. Growling in return, Logan went into a deep crouch right in front of the wolf. Both bared their teeth and glared at each other. Holding his claws up, Logan allowed Wolverine to take over a bit and prepared himself for an attack. He ignored Jubilee's scream that she let out as the animal leapt at him, while a second brown one, the alpha female as he knew, attack him from aside.

"No, let him handle it!" Jean quickly said and took hold of Scott's arm when he wanted to reach for his visor.

"But…," he protested when the male wolf suddenly whimpered aloud and the female began to back off. He watched how the black wolf lay on his side and surrendered, exposing his neck in devotion and still whimpering. "What now?" Scott asked with a frown since Logan retracted his claws and proceeded to lead the group further through the snow. "What about the others?" he asked him confused and looked at the pack that still surrounded them.

"Ever heard about hierarchy?" Logan said and just walked past the wolves. "They'll let ya pass, now move!"

With their eyes on the animals, the others followed him slowly. "They're following us!" Kitty shrieked and clung to Peter's arm.

"'f course they do," Logan grunted without turning around.

"And what is that supposed to mean now?" Scott asked rather annoyed since up to know they only got short answers from their leader.

"Use your brain," this one growled and took hold of Jean again.

After a few more minutes they were relieved to hear that he told them to wait. Logan searched his pockets for the key and finally opened the door. He went inside to light a fire before he told them to come inside. Jean closed the door and had to smile since the others were looking curiously around the cabin.

"You can actually live here?" Jubilee asked and gave Logan a skeptical look. "Where can I shower?"

He nodded at the door. "River's outside."

"What?!" the girl shrieked. "He's kidding, right?"

"No," Jean shook her head and began to get some cans out of a kitchen cupboard. "Do you prepare the room upstairs?" she asked Logan, who nodded and climbed up the ladder.

"Jean…," Ororo said while she got rid of her jacket. "…don't tell me you used the river while you stayed up here for two weeks…" With a shocked look she noticed Jean's smile while the redhead heated the soup. "Not really, right?" She turned around hearing a noise and saw how Logan threw something from the upper level.

"Cyke, throw the sleepin' bags up," he demanded and waited for the man to do so.

Later, after they'd eaten something, the younger X-Men had already gone to sleep upstairs. Downstairs, Logan put more logs into the fire and returned to the table where the others sat in front of a large map. "How do we reach the facility?" Hank asked him and watched how his friend took a closer look at the object.

"Best way's the direct one," Logan replied and supported himself with both hands on the table, while he studied the map. "They know that we're comin' anyway."

Scott leant back in his chair and crossed his arms. "What if there are traps? Or guards? You know that our powers won't work if they wear those uniforms."

Giving him a look, Logan went over to the door to lock it before he took a look out of the window. "Then let'em come…"

"But your healing factor won't work, too," Ororo said concerned. "I mean…you can attack them, but they still can injure you seriously."

Turning around, he gave her a devilish, feral smile. "They won't notice, Storm. And even if…it'll be too late for'em… Let's sleep now. I don't care who takes the bed."

Getting up, Hank stretched briefly. "It's your house, so you and Jean take it. Does anyone disagree?" he asked, but the others shook their heads. "Good night!"

"Night," Jean said and watched them climbing up the ladder. Her eyes looked at the map again lost in thoughts. Tomorrow was the day, she knew that. Either they were successful or everything would go to hell. She startled a bit when he wrapped one arm around her all of a sudden and nuzzled her.

"We'll get him back," he assured her and rested his head against her head. Trying to smile, Jean laid her hand on his. "Come on, go to bed. I tidy up." He let go of her and gave her a kiss before he began to put the map, plates and cups away. Jean went slowly over to the bed and undressed herself. She wanted to believe him so much, hopes that they would get their baby back… Thinking about her son immediately drove tears into her eyes. She was scared to death that they'd be too late, that they'd hurt or abused him… Logan found her sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at her hands; turning the two rings on her left hand absently. He didn't have to ask her what she was thinking about. He couldn't think about anything else but his baby. With a brief look to the ground he walked over and sat down behind her; throwing the upper part of his uniform into a corner.

"I'm so scared…," she admitted with a whisper and met his gaze.

Not knowing what to say when she began to cry silently, he pulled her close and closed his eyes. "Me, too…"

Jean leant with her head against his shoulder and played with her shirt absently. "Please tell me that he's alright and that we'll make it… That we'll bring him home again…" She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Can you promise me that? Can you honestly swear that everything will be alright?" she asked with a tearstained face and made him look at her by touching his cheek. "Can you?"

Holding her gaze for a while, Logan shook his head. "No…," he replied honestly. "I can't- But I can promise ya that I'll do anything I can to try to get him back…" He stroked over her wet cheek lovingly. "I'd rather die than giving up on you or the cubs."

Wrapping her arms around him, Jean straddled him before she rested against him again. "I can't lose you…," she sniffed barely audible.

"Ya won't lose me, Jeannie."

"He nearly killed you the last time…"

"He won't this time. I won't let him!" he assured her and kissed her. "Now come on. We need to sleep." She nodded and moved under the sheets, waiting for him to do the same and pull her close. "Try to sleep, Jeannie," Logan whispered and kissed her forehead before he allowed her to cuddle up to him as close as possible. "And stop thinkin' about that darn uniform…"

"I'm fat…," she sniffed and wrapped her arms around him.

Shaking his head about her, he closed his eyes. "First, ya ain't and second, I wouldn't care…"

"You would," Jean mumbled. "You would stare at women like that blonde bitch in the bar…"

Groaning calmly he cupped her face and kissed her hard. "What about chicks and their weight?" he asked her and she gave him a look.

"What about men and their lengths?" she gave back.

"True…," Logan nodded and turned around to cuddle up to her. "Look, would ya mind if I was shorter, bigger and not…well ya know…"

"And not what?" Jean asked him and looked up briefly while she rested against his bare chest. "Not so well endowed?"

"Whatever ya wanna call it, darlin'…"

"No I wouldn't. It doesn't change who you are," she mumbled into his chest.

"See? And now stop naggin' about being fat," Logan scolded her and gave her another kiss. "Told ya before that I love ya soul and not the way you look. Which is a very hot and nice addition of course…"

"Jerk…," she yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep. "Night…"

"Night," Logan whispered and kissed her forehead once more before he pulled her closer. He didn't notice that Scott had heard and seen everything and stared down on them through his visor…

---

They got up early on the next morning. While Ororo prepared something to eat they'd taken with them before heading of to Canada, Hank and Scott studied the map again. "Guys, can you wake them? Breakfast is ready," the weather goddess said and Kurt and Mystique helped her to set the table.

"I'M not going to wake him," Scott waved off and put the map back into his backpack. "I don't want to get stabbed."

Rolling his eyes, Hank went over to the bed and looked at them curiously. "I can need some help in finding out who of them begins where…" Hearing Jubilee's and Kitty's giggles from above while they handed the sleeping bags from the upper level to Peter and Bobby downstairs, he reached out and touched Jean's shoulder. "Jean?" he asked softly and shook her a bit. "Come on, wake up." Watching how she made a face and cuddled closer up to Logan, he sighed. "'Ro, didn't you say she's easier to wake up than Logan?"

"Actually, yes," the woman replied and came over. "Just shake her. But not too much or Logan will attack you…," she said and added an "I think" quickly.

"I'll attack ya if ya don't shut up," Logan suddenly mumbled sleepily and ran a hand through his face. "How late is it?"

"Nearly 9," Hank replied and received a cocked eyebrow. "We let you sleep because we thought the two of you need it. We'll depend on your powers if it gets ugly, don't forget that." Smiling, he got up to take a seat at the table, leaving Logan to sit up sleepily and glaring at the two girls upstairs. "I heard that, Jubes!" he growled and received a giggle.

"Did you, Wolvie?" she asked innocently and winked at him, but he only snorted.

Turning around he leant over Jean a bit and kissed her neck. "Jeannie?" he asked softly and pulled the stands out of her face. "Get up, darlin'…"

"Hm?" she made and opened one eye a bit. "Already time?"

"Yeah, come on get up," he said and got up, cracking his neck before he walked over to the window to take a look at the weather. He thanked every higher being that the sky was crystal blue and there was no sign that it would start snowing soon. He briefly turned his to look at Jean when she came closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Looks good…"

"No snow then?"

He shook his head. "Don't think so… But it can change any second, so we better hurry." Nodding she went over to the others to have breakfast while he grabbed the leather jacket from his uniform and pulled it on.

"I'm just wondering," Mystique said and gave him a look, since even she had to wear a uniform to keep herself from freezing. "Isn't that too cold? I mean…only the jacket?"

"Nope," Logan grunted and began to eat. Afterwards he locked the door from the outside and looked up at the mountains, the others waiting for him to lead the way.

"Ehm, Wolvie?" Jubilee said and pocked into his side. He followed her hand when she pointed at something behind him. "They're looking mean…"

"They won't do anything," he said and switched his gaze from the wolves to the mountains again. "Okay, come on. Don't worry about'em. They'll follow but not attack."

"I hope you're right," Kitty mumbled and took Peter's hand, ready to follow their team leader further through the Canadian mountains. But she and the others hadn't reckoned with such an exhaustive ascend. They marched through rocks, snow and ice for hours but there wasn't any facility or even a thing similar to it close by. They stopped when Logan suddenly paused to take a look around. He, too, was frowning and studied the map again.

"Don't tell me ya got lost," Jubilee cried panting and leant against the rock face.

"What's wrong?" Jean asked him and stopped next to him.

"I can smell'em, but…," he shook his head and put the map away again before he walked over to the abyss. Looking down, he couldn't see anything but darkness, looking up he only saw the rock face. "They're close by. But there's no way…" Jean let her eyes travel around, too and she noticed that he was right. She trusted his instincts completely. He'd never been wrong in leading them through buildings, woods, landscapes… He always knew where he was going and what was around him and if he said their enemies were close by, she knew they were. "There must be a hidden entrance or somethin'," she heard him saying and he began to search the rock face.

"Maybe the entrance is on some upper level?" Scott suggested and looked up, the dark sky making it harder for him to see. "Storm, can you fly up there?"

She shook her head. "It's too high. Kurt can't teleport either because it's too dark for him."

"Damn it," the man cursed and turned towards Kitty. "Can you go through it?"

"I can try," the girl shrugged and was about to disappear when Logan raised his voice.

"Wait!" Everyone turned their heads to him and watched how he walked towards one of the wolves that had followed them the whole time through. The animal had tried to get his attention the whole time through and led him farther down the path. "Over here!" Logan called and they followed him, reaching the entrance to a well-hidden cave. He gave them a sign to stop and be quiet. Closing his eyes, he concentrated hard on his surroundings, tried to pick up any danger. "No one's here… But still, be careful!" he warned them and looked at the wolves. "And you guys stay here!" Carefully he walked further down the cave, but it was useless for the others to follow him. "Jean…"

"Hold on," she said and soon a firebird ascended from one of her palms. It was enough to illuminate the way through the dark cave and he led them through it; following his nose that already told him where the exit was. And he knew what they would find there. The only thing that worried him was that there were no guards so far. Either he'd been wrong about Sinister expecting them to come, or there was a surprise waiting for them on the other site. They walked for some time and finally felt cold air brushing their facing again, when Logan gave them a sign to stop and wait for him. They watched how he moved towards the exit and went into a crouch first, but beckoned them to come over next. On the outside, their eyes grew wide when they saw the facility for the first time. Two huge towers towered above a building that had at least three upper levels and probably many levels under ground. Even if it was dark on the outside, they could tell that the facility was painted in a very dark gray, a black fence encircling it, once safeguarding the facility with heavy current. On the ground in front of the facility stood large green and red tanks, not in any visible order. One look and sniff was enough to tell Logan that there were guards on the outside. "That's strange…," he mumbled and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Scott whispered and looked at him briefly.

"Why are mutants carrying firearms…?" Logan asked and let his eyes travel around. "There are ten on left, 8 on the right, 2 in the middle."

"How do we proceed?" Hank asked him calmly and went into a deep crouch, too. "Can you see if they wear the uniforms?"

"They don't," Logan replied and watched how two guards talked with each other.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bobby asked confused and was about to get up, when his leader stopped him.

"You can't just run down and attack them," Logan lectured him. "First, we're outnumbered, second, attack one of them another one sees you and they know we're here. Got that?"

"What do you suggest then?" Ororo asked him and narrowed her eyes to see anything at all. The six spotlights of which four illuminated the corners and two the middle, weren't enough for her to see anything at all. "There're four towers," she suddenly said and pointed at the corners of the fence. "They've searchlights…"

"Yeah, I know," Logan grunted while his mind was working on a plan.

"But if we can't just attack them, what can we do?" Scott asked and desperately searched for a solution. "You're the secret service or what ever guy, Logan. So tell us…" He watched how Logan got his headset out of one pocket and activated it.

"Get yours," he told the others and waited for them to do so. "Wait here."

"What are you up to?" Jean asked him with a frown and grabbed his hand quickly. "There are too many of them…"

He shook his head. "Not for me," Logan growled and gave her a look. "Wait for me to give ya a sign."

"Logan…," she said quickly, but he'd already jumped down the raising they stood on. She watched how he quickly approached the first tank and ducked behind it.

"He never listens, huh?" Mystique asked and had her eyes fixed on her comrade.

Waiting behind it, he sniffed the air once and waited, concentrated on the footsteps he could hear easily. Logan pressed himself against the tank and slowly extracted his claws on his right hand. The first guard was coming closer, two more approached from the sides. He had noticed immediately that they had fixed routes. He had five seconds to kill the guard on his left before the one on his right would reach him. Three more seconds to get rid of the third one. He had to be quick and hide the bodies before he could go on with the five guards further down…

"He won't make it," Jubilee cried and watched how three guards approached him constantly. Instinctively, she grabbed Bobby's arm in a firm grip. "He won't make it…"

Tensed, Jean watched how the guard on Logan's only had two more steps to take before he would reach him. At the same time she took notice of the two others. She had no idea how he wanted to do it… Then she saw it, the guard passed him, Logan grabbed him quickly and stabbed him from behind, before he went over to the next, then to the third.

"Won't make it, huh?" Scott commented the actions underneath them and shook his head. "He could have just knocked them out. Less blood…"

"And then what?" Mystique asked him. "So that they can attack us on our way out? He knows what he's doing." She fixed her eyes on Logan again who'd already taken out twelve guards and was now approaching the others. He avoided the searchlights as if he was doing it everyday and climbed up on one tank to have a better overview. "Logan," she said through her headset when he attacked three other guards. "There're two more coming out of the facility…" Her heart was in her mouth since the two guards obviously became suspicious and were encircling him.

"How many guards?" Hank asked and tried to get a closer look, but it was impossible to see anything from where he kneeled.

"Four more…," Mystique said and still had one hand on her headset. "Logan they've nearly reached you."

In the field, Logan let one guard fall to the ground and looked from one side to the other. He heard them talking with each other over their headsets and knew they'd become suspicious. One was on his right, one on his left and third one of the old group was in the middle. He kneeled down briefly and watched their feet he could see under the tanks. All three of them were approximately equally close by, it would be impossible for him to eliminate one after the next. His eyes quickly scanned his surrounding. He had nothing to hide. Then his eyes fell on the two bodies on the ground. He'd no time left to hide them, the blood in the snow would alarm the other three anyway. But he saw something else…

"What is he doing?" Ororo asked and grabbed Kurt's arm in a firm grip. "He has to get away from there…"

"He can't get away from there without alarming at least two of them," Mystique hissed and watched how her comrade climbed onto one tank, went into a deep crouch and had his claws outstretched; ready to attack. "But I don't know what he's up to… He can't kill two without risking that the third informs others about us being here…" Jean watched with widened eyes and very tensed how he suddenly jumped off the tank…

He knew he had only approximately one second to reacts between his two attacks. Logan's eyes watched attentively how the three guards came around the corner. He waited until the middle was right underneath him before he silently jumped off the tank, claws first. Right after he's killed the guard, he heard the one on his right and left gasping and already reaching for the headset to call for help. Still in the air, he retracted his claws and grabbed the two firearms, which he'd stolen from two guards. One in each hand, pointing at the heads of the guards, he fired and watched how the two men dropped dead to the ground. They had no silencer and the impact of it echoed through the mountains. Cursing, since he had no other choice, he grabbed one of his enemy's headsets and told his comrades to come down quickly.

"That was a close call," Mystique said to him when the enemy's headset cracked.

"What's wrong? We heard shooting?" a voice demanded to know and Logan beckoned them to be quiet.

"Nothing, just a damn wolf," he replied and hoped that it would satisfy them. "Everything's normal."

"Good," came the reply.

"You alright?" Jean asked him and he nodded.

"There's a hatch over there," Logan said and led them to it, past the bodies on the ground. "We go in there, check the surroundings and split." Waiting for a nod, he opened the hatch together with Peter and they went inside. "No enemies close by," he told them and waited for them to calm down. They landed in an underground sewer that led to two sides. "It's an old military complex," Logan said and looked around.

"How do you want to know?" Scott asked him.

"I can smell it," came the reply.

"How can you small that it was a military compound?"

Logan held up the firearms. "First, those are only used by the military, second, 'cause I can still smell tanks and powder. Mystique, do ya know how to handle a weapon?"

"Sure," she nodded and took one firearm from him, checking how many bullets were left.

"Use it if your powers don't work and ya need to defend yourselves," he instructed her and she nodded. "Once more, report anything unusual you see to the other team and call for help if ya need some. "Bobby, Kitty, Hank, Mystique, Cyke team two, rest team one. Now head off!" They nodded and took the left way, while Logan and his team took the right. He put the second firearm into his leather pant on his back and led them further down. He never liked firearms, but he'd learned very early in his life that they could become handy if necessary. He only hoped that they would find more, since he only had few bullets left. They soon reached a ladder that led downstairs. Logan went down first and gave the others a sign before they came down next. "I'm sure he's in some lower level…"

"Do you smell anyone?" Storm asked and looked down the dark corridor.

"No, that place is somehow deserted…," Logan grunted. "We need to find a staircase or somethin'. No elevator."

"There," Nightcrawler said and pointed at a door further down the corridor.

"Let's go…," he said and took the lead.

---

"It's strange," Mystique said and looked back down the corridor. "I don't have his senses, but I can tell that we're practically alone…"

"Keep your eyes open," Scott replied and looked around a corner. All they saw so far were deserted dim corridors, lots of locked doors, cameras that obviously weren't working… Something was wrong here, he knew that, but he couldn't tell what bothered him more: no enemies or the feeling to be alone, but in fact knowing that this wasn't true…

"Here's a map," Kitty said and pointed at a wall opposite her. "There's a staircase that leads down to the basement complex."

"Then let's head that way," Hank suggested. "The sooner we find Jamie, the earlier we're back home…"

"Cyke," Logan's voice suddenly rang in Cyclops's ear. "Have ya seen anyone so far?"

"No, you?"

"Nope," came the grunted reply. "We're down in the basement. Keep your eye open…" He heard a cracking noise and sighed.

"Okay, the others are already downstairs. Let's hurry up," Cyclops said and opened the door to the staircase. "Let's move."

---

Somewhere else, Logan was studying the map in front of him. "There's a second door that leads down to the basement. I think Cyke has taken that way…" He pointed at a spot and traveled down with his finger. "We take the second door and go down. In that way we encircle our enemies." He turned around and gave Jean a confused look. "Red, I told ya no daydreamin'!"

"I'm just thinking about something you told me," she replied with her back to them. "Something you said was necessary…"

"And what?" he asked and cocked an eyebrow.

"This," she hissed and turned around, causing the other to back off shrieking.

He looked at her closely and met her demonic black eyes that sparkled with a strange lust and joy to kill. "This, huh?" Logan asked her and tilted his head a bit. "Necessary to do what? To destroy that whole place at once? Think that will help?"

Narrowing her eyes while her hair glowed strangely fiery red in the dark, Dark Phoenix stepped closer, watching him with a menacingly dangerous look in her eyes. "Step aside!" she demanded of him, remembering what Cable had told her.

"Nope!" Logan shook his head. "I'll stay and make sure ya ain't doin' stupid stuff!"

Hissing she stopped only inches from his face and stared at him full of hate, enjoying at the same time the fear of the others. "I won't talk with a tamed animal," she tried to provoke him with an arrogant smile. "So step aside!"

"Forget it, darlin'," Logan growled and extracted one pair of claws. "Let Jean take control again or I'll let ya remember what those feel inside of you…" Hearing her low growl, he narrowed his eyes. "We need to find our son. Ya can freak out after we found him and burn that whole place to ashes, I don't care. But until then ya do as you're told and now step aside!" he growled back and held his fist to her heart." Ororo watched both of them glaring at each other with widened eyes and clung to Kurt frightened.

"It's necessary," Dark Phoenix hissed and grabbed his wrist in a firm grip. "It has to be done…"

"After we got him back," Logan growled and pushed her roughly against the wall. "No let Jean take over again…"

"You'll pay if we fail," she hissed and her eyes began to glow. "I'll kill you if we fail…"

"Have fun trying it," Logan hissed back, not knowing that she'd figured a way out to kill him months ago in the Dangerroom. He watched how his opposite's eyes returned to an emerald green and retracted his claws again, just to slam both hands against the wall next to Jean's head. "I said don't be careless, didn't I?" he asked her angrily and glared at her. "What were ya thinkin'?"

"About what you told me. That we have to use our negatives to be successful," she shot back and was grabbed roughly by her shoulder by him.

"Usin' them mean loosin' control about our actions, remember?" Logan asked her through gritted teeth. "And I won't let ya lose control before we've our son back, Red. Mark my words!" Letting go of her, he walked further down to the door that would led them to the basement. "And now move!" Glaring at him she followed him.

"Jean, your dress…," Storm suddenly said and pointed at her clothes that were the same she'd worn on Alcatraz all of a sudden. "How…?"

"Don't care," the redhead hissed angrily and went through the door.

---

"I can't reach them," Mystique said and heard Cyclops cursing. "Something must be jamming our connection or we're too deep underground by now that the headsets aren't working…"

"Actually Forge said they would work even hundreds of meters underground," Beast said and shook his head while he followed Cyclops down the dark corridor. "Something tells me that we're being watched…"

"Then you're not the only one," Shadowcat said and Iceman nodded.

"There," Scott suddenly said and pointed at a large double door at the end of the corridor. "Looks like a lab…" They went over and he carefully pushed against the door, just to look up in surprise since it easily opened. "Be carefully. That's too easy…"

Nodding, they followed him inside and looked down. A ladder led them down to a huge complex. Large green tanks that were as tall as Scott were arranged in 10 horizontal and 8 vertical rows underneath them. 5 tanks to their left, 5 to their right, a total amount of 80 tanks that stretched through the whole dark room. Cyclops carefully climbed down the ladder and noticed that it was possible to walk through the single rows. "What is this?" he asked and gave Beast a questioning look.

The mutant touched one of the tanks and looked inside. "I don't believe this…," he gasped and gave the others a shocked look when they gathered around him to look at the strange looking thing in the green liquid, too.

"What is this?" Iceman asked him and walked around the tank to look at the swimming object from a different angle.

"An embryo," Beast said and all heads turned to him. "An artificial produced embryo… The tank serves as a womb, the red tube as the umbilical cord… What kind of psychopath is that guy?" Shaking his head he quickly walked over to a tank further down.

"They're all looking the same," Mystique noticed when she'd reached a tank with babies that were at least a few months if not over a year old. "Clones?"

"But if, clones of what?" Shadowcat asked and remembered what she'd learned from the Professor and Jean about cloning and genetics.

"Look at that one here," Cyclops suddenly called and beckoned them to come over to another tank. "That one's at least 8 or even 10 years old…" He looked at the male child in the tank that seemed to be sleeping, noticed the nearly black hair. "What is this place?" he asked again and shook his head. "Those aren't only lab rats… They serve a purpose."

"Yes, they do," a voice suddenly echoed through the room and caused them to turn their backs to each other in order to protect each other.

"Who's there?" Cyclops asked aloud and had his hand ready on his visor, but there was no one to be seen except the soft green reflection of the tanks against the nearly black walls and ground.

"Please, my friends…," the male voice laughed. "There is no need to make use of your gifts. They won't work anyway."

"Why don't you come out so that we can test it?" Mystique asked angrily and was ready to transform into any other mutant necessary.

"If I heard correctly…," the male voice said and they figured that it came over speakers on the walls, "…you wanted to know what the purpose of those tanks is. Well, since I am generous, I will show you." They heard screeching noises and gasped when the two only exits were suddenly blocked by a steel door.

"Damn it!" Cyclops cursed and looked around. "Okay, try to stay calm, keep your eyes open. Mystique, the firearm! Be ready!"

Just as he's finished the sentence, loud amused laughter filled the room. "Firearms? You really think that will help you against my weapon?" the man asked. "Well, you can try it of course… Have fun and good bye, my friends!"

They heard a cracking noise when the speakers were turned off. "Stay together," Cyclops whispered and switched his head from one side to the next. The only noises they could hear were the constant humming of the tanks electricity and their heavy breathing. Suddenly there was a hollow sound further down the corridor, as if someone had jumped from a higher level down on the metallic ground.

Kitty looked down through the metallic granting underneath their feet that served to keep the room from flooding if one of the tanks got broken. She was scared to death that something was underneath them and would suddenly rise to kill them. She turned her head quickly to her right when she saw a shadow moving. "There!" she said with a shaking voice and pointed into that direction.

"Our powers are really not working," Mystique suddenly gasped. "I can't change…"

"Damn it…," Cyclops cursed and saw the shadow moving again. He heard a low growl echoing through the whole room that made it impossible for him to locate their adversary.

"Why can't Logan be here now…," Shadowcat panted and backed off until she touched Iceman. Suddenly she screamed when a hand grabbed her collar from above and she was lifted off the ground. "Help me!"

Quickly Iceman and Cyclops grabbed her struggling legs while Mystique fired at whatever was above them on the tank. Snarling, Beast jumped at another tank just to leap at their adversary from aside. An angry roar filled the room when Kitty crashed crying onto the ground and clung to Bobby shaking. Their eyes were fixed on the spot above them while they heard fighting noises from all sides. "Beast?" Cyclops asked and looked around in hope to see his friend somewhere as this one hit the floor right next to him with a whimper. "Jesus…," the man gasped and kneeled down next to him.

"That thing's an animal…," Beast gasped through gritted teeth and held a large wound on his waist. "It has claws…"

"Sabretooth?" Mystique asked him, but he shook his head.

"That one was smaller… But so strong…" He pulled a face when a sharp pain rushed through his body. "He's broken my leg…"

"Damn it…," Cyclops cursed when Mystique screamed this time and was suddenly pulled up on a tank. "No!" he yelled and tried to get a hold onto her feet, but it was too late. "Let her go!"

Kicking and hitting everything in her reach, Mystique tried to get free when she felt how her adversary jumped onto a higher level and pressed her, face first, onto the ground. Struggling to get her hands free, she let out a scream in pain when the other one held her wrists in a painful firm grip and dislocated both arms easily. She never been someone who could be scared easily, the last time she'd felt that fear after she'd turned into a homo sapiens and was left naked in the truck with ten men staring down on her. A growl on her throat made her ear rang and her heart was instinctively in her mouth. She couldn't tell what the animal was up to, but she felt too obviously that it was a male. The hard pressure against her back made that clear. Beginning to quiver she looked down, seeing the others still standing next to the tank and looking for her. Mystique tried to turn her head, just to let out a painful scream in the next second when sharp fangs bit hard into her neck, deep enough to draw blood.

"Raven!" Cyclops yelled from the lower level and desperately tried to find her somewhere. He couldn't hide the fear in his voice. The scream she'd let out only seconds ago had sent shivers down his spine. Even if they'd never really discussed what they had with each other, he knew that he was terribly scared for her, realized what she meant to him by now.

"Help me!" he heard her terrified scream from somewhere above them and looked up. "Please!"

"Damn!" Iceman cursed and searched for something that could help them to reach the upper level as he heard another painful scream from above them.

Climbing up one of the tanks in despair, Cyclops jumped from one to the next in hope to find a ladder, but the one they'd used was out of reach all of a sudden. He heard her whimpering above him and felt a rage emerging within him he never thought he was capable off. His hand reached up to his visor and he took it off, cursing that he really was incapable of using any power at all. Blinking he couldn't stop his eyes from getting wet when he heard her crying. "I'll kill you…," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Do you hear me? I kill you!" he shouted when Mystique first let out another whimper, just to scream in the next second. "No!" Cyclops yelled when he suddenly saw her hitting the ground after whatever their enemy was had thrown her from the upper level. In an instant he was at her side and kneeled down next to her; gasping when he noticed that she was covered with deep wound and blood. She desperately tried to get fresh air, which had been forced out of her in a rush when she'd hit the ground, into her lungs and cried at the same time, holding her lower abdomen. "What did he do?" Cyclops asked her and made her look at him, but one look was enough to tell him. "I'll kill him…," he hissed in anger when she grabbed his hand and forced him back down.

"He'll kill you…," she whimpered and clung to him quivering. "He'll kill us…"

Beast switched his gaze from them to the point Mystique had suddenly fallen from. He wanted to know who their enemy was. And let out a gasp when he saw a devil like figure right above him on a tank. "He's here…," he whispered and made the others look around to him. "There…" He pointed at the figure above him and swallowed hard when he heard another low growl. As fast as the devil had been there, he was gone again.

"What is that thing?" Iceman asked and held Kitty close to protect her. "It can't be that we're beating by a single mutant or what ever that thing is…"

"It's an animal," Mystique hissed and let out a painful groan when her broken rips poked into her lungs. "He runs on instincts and nothing else…"

"Which instincts?" Kitty asked and looked around. "Killing us?"

"Shelter, food and mating…," the woman hissed and clung to Cyclops even more. "Make sure he doesn't get his hands on her," she added into Bobby's direction.

"Hold on…does that mean we're his…food?" the younger man asked shocked and pulled Kitty closer when an angry roar echoed through the room.

"No, you're just his new toys," the male voice spoke through the speakers all of a sudden. "And I am really disappointed, my friends. I had expected a bit more from the famous X-Men…"

"What is this shit? Cyclops barked and looked up. "You want to kill us then just do it!"

"I never said I wanted to kill you, my friend," the voice laughed. "I only wanted to test my new weapon. Marvelous creature, isn't it? The first one of a long process which goal was very hard to achieve and had cost me most of my lifetime…"

"What is that thing?" Kitty asked aloud while her eyes scanned the area frightened and thought she was seeing the devil everywhere.

"Oh, you will be surprised, my dear," the voice said. "If you don't mind, I would like you to hold your hands up and surrender when my men pick you up. We don't want them to shoot you, right?" For a brief moment nothing followed when suddenly a whimper could be heard right above them on a tank. They shielded their eyes as the light was suddenly turned on and heard how guards entered the room with weapons in their hands. "Oh my God!" Kitty suddenly shrieked and stared at the devil above them, one hand covered her mouth in shock. The others followed her gaze with the same odd expression on their faces while the guards surrounded them, pointing their weapons at their heads.

"That's impossible…," Beast murmured and switched from the unruly black hair to the black, feral eyes of a predator while he noticed Mystique's and his own blood on his opposite's bare chest.

"You asshole!" Cyclops roared and was about to leap at the devil when one guard hit him with a gun on the back of his head.

"No!" Mystique shrieked and watched in horror how he hit the ground unconscious and with a trace of blood dripping from the side of his head to the floor. She, too, fixed her eyes on the man above her again and shook her head. "Why?" she asked in a whisper and received a growl as an answer. She shrieked when he wanted to leap at her again, but was silenced by another electroshock that was produced by the collar he wore.

"That isn't Logan…," Kitty shook her head. "That animal is never Logan…"

"Wolverine," Bobby corrected her and let out a painful hiss as a guard forced him to the ground. "And we trusted you…," he hissed and was also knocked out.

"Take them to the prison and bring my precious weapon to the cells," the male voiced said and watched through the cameras how the guards did as they were told. "Oh, no wait… take him to the prison, too. With them… And don't bother to put him in chains. I want to see how he kills them…" With that the speaker went silent and the guards followed their orders…

---

He slowly opened his eyes when he regained consciousness and let out a groan in the next second. He didn't know which truck had hit him, but he was more than aware of the fact that he couldn't remember what had happened before or why it was so hard to move. He blinked once, then twice and felt how his legs began to tingle first, then to itch painfully. Ignoring the skull-breaking headache and the pounding of his heart he could feel in his head, he finally opened his eyes completely, just to realize that he was staring at a wall.

"Is he awake?" a female voice asked frightened and he figured out that it was Jubilee.

"Logan?" Ororo asked and he tried to turn around, but it only worked a bit. A rattling sound told him that his legs and hands were chained. "Logan?" she asked again and he managed to move half around so that he saw at least the cage they were in. His blurred vision lowly became better and he was able to take a closer look at his surroundings. The room was oval and dark, only a dim light illuminated it and it was very cold and windy. One look to the right told him that they weren't in the basement anymore. From what he could hear they were now probably in one of the two towers. His head jerked back to the cage when Scott slammed his hand against the bars angrily to get his fullest attention.

"Be happy that I'm locked in here, Logan," the man hissed through gritted teeth full of hatred. "I swear not even Jean will stop me when I get my hands on you!"

Pulling on his chains when the feeling in his hands slowly returned, Logan cocked an eyebrow at him. "Right…my fault that those bastards caught us, huh?" he asked cynically and pulled once more.

"Don't give me that I can't remember-shit!" Cyclops barked at him.

"Scott…," Jean tried to soothe him, but he slapped her hand away when she wanted to touch his shoulder.

"No, Jean! I won't calm down, not this time!"

"What the fuck are ya talkin' about, bub?" Logan asked while he pulled stronger on the chains until he heard a cracking noise in the wall.

Giving a short derisive laugh, Scott slammed his fists once more against the bars. "You're gonna pay! I swear to God, you're gonna pay!" Turning around he went back to Mystique, who laid motionless on the ground with both arms wrapped around her belly. With a sad look he kneeled down next to her and reached out, but she startled. "It's me… It's only me…," he tried to soothe her and met her gaze. "Does it hurt?" he asked softly and received a nod from her. "I swear he's going to pay!"

"Pay for what?" Logan asked him and received a glare from the whole second team.

"Stop that sh…," Cyclops began aloud when a loud growl could be heard on his right.

"What's that?" Jubilee shrieked and clung to Bobby, while also Kitty held onto Peter. Hearing how the growl became louder, they moved closer together and trie to see where the noise came from.

"Can you see something?" Ororo asked Kurt, but he shook his head.

"No… I would take a closer look, but without my powers…" He shrugged helplessly.

"There!" Beast suddenly said and pointed into the direction where he'd seen a shadow moving. Suddenly something landed heavily on the cage and caused it to vibrate.

"Watch out!" Jubilee screamed and ducked quickly as a hand shot through the bars to grab her. Every one of them quickly went into a deep crouch, with their eyes fixed on whatever was above them. "What is that thing?" the girl asked scared and stared at the shadow above them. Suddenly the speaker gave a cracking noise and an amused laughter could be heard.

"Don't be afraid, my dear. He's only hungry…," a male voice said and let out a laugh again.

"H…hungry…?" the girl asked and held onto Bobby.

Logan had his gaze fixed on the shadow, too, but was unable to see what stood on top of the cage. He sniffed once and had to frown. "What the…?" he managed to say when the shadow suddenly leapt at him roaring.

"Logan!" Jean shrieked and watched terrified how the shadow attacked him brutally.

"He doesn't deserve it better, Jean!" Scott hissed angrily and watched how Logan was thrown against the wall. "Hope he kills him…"

"What has gotten into you?" she asked him aloud and an incredible fury emerged from within her. Still it hadn't any affects on her powers. "How can you even think that?"

"Who do you think has done this to raven and Hank?" he shot back when Logan suddenly yelped aloud. He heard how the chains were torn out of the wall and saw how their leader crashed into the cage in the next second. "What does it feel like, Logan?" he asked him with a satisfied smile. "Being helpless?"

Jean reached out through the bars and touched her husband's shoulder worriedly. "Are you alright?" Her hand twitched when she withdrew it quickly due to the furious look in his eyes.

"Necessary, huh?" Logan asked her with a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. She suddenly stared with a shocked gasp over his shoulder. "What?" he asked and looked at the others, who had the same odd expression on their faces. With a cocked eyebrow he slowly turned his head just to look at himself. "What the…?" he began as he was already grabbed roughly again. His opposite threw him against the cage face first. About to turn around, he suddenly yelped and looked down, gritting his teeth. Seeing how three claws looked out of his chest, he met Jean's scared gaze again. "Ya said necessary, right?" he growled and his eyes blackened instantly in rage.

Terrified Jean watched how he swirled around, causing blood to splatter the dirty floor and leapt at his adversary. "You can't use your claws… Your wounds won't heal," she told him and hoped that the human part in him understood the danger he was in. Roaring at each other, both mutants moved in circles and glared at their opposite while they bared their teeth. Not waiting for the other to start the first attack, Wolverine leapt at him and slammed him against the wall face first, before he jumped above the cage and searched for any weapon he could find; noticing too late that his enemy had already started to jump.

Staring at the brutal fight above them and watching how both mutants crashed onto the ground Ororo watched in horror how the Wolverine with claws buried the second one underneath him and was about to strike, while the other quickly grabbed his opposite's wrists and used all of his strength to push the arms away. "Is…Is that a shape shifter?" Ororo asked and startled when the Wolverine with claws slammed into the boards in the opposite wall.

"I don't know…," Jean said and kneeled down. She closed her eyes and tried to recall what Logan had taught her about gathering once energy. Maybe she was able to summon at least a bit of her power to help him.

"It's not," Mystique suddenly said and had her eyes fixed on both fighting Wolverines.

"How do you want to know?" Ororo asked and covered her mouth when she had to watch how the claw-Wolverine pushed the other one against the bars and managed to force him onto his knees before he buried his claws into his opposite's chest. This one again swirled around and kicked with an angry roar his adversary's feet away before he grabbed the chains quickly and had them with a quick movement around the claw-Wolverine's throat. "Jeez, I can't look at that…," she gasped and turned her eyes away.

"Look at the other one," Mystique said and sat up a bit with Scott's help. "A shape shifter is able to create a perfect copy. But the Wolverine in the chains looks different."

"He looks like a perfect copy to me…," Hank replied and his jaw tensed when he breathed in the air through gritted teeth. Seeing those two berserker fighting with each other was definitely something he didn't want to see. While the claw-Wolverine tried to get rid of the chains around his throat that made it impossible for him to breathe, the other pulled onto the chains with as much power as he could and simply waited for his adversary to drop either dead or unconscious to the ground.

"He's not," the blue woman said. "He's much shorter and looks way younger… He also isn't as muscular as our Logan, which means he can only win the fight if he's quicker, since Logan can't heal…"

Hearing a roar, they watched how their Wolverine used all his strength to pull at the chains once, causing the second Wolverine to drop to the ground. Panting, he slowly went over, his eyes fixed on his adversary and waiting for the slightest movement. He knew he was still alive, but he also knew that it wouldn't last long. Grabbing his enemy's hands, he laid one fist against the head, the other right at the chest and growled when his eyes turned back to normal. "Just one word, bub," Logan hissed through gritted teeth when Wolverine underneath him looked at him with dazed eyes. "Experience!" With that he twisted both hands and watched how the claws bore into the skull and through the heart. He waited for a moment, before he threw the body to the ground and kneeled down; holding his own still bleeding chest.

"Are you alright?" he heard Ororo asking and gave her a brief nod, even if it wasn't true. He had to find a way to activate his mutation again or he would suffer from internal bleeding. His eyes fell on the dog tags his enemy wore and he cocked an eyebrow at them, before he took them into his hands. They didn't look like normal dog tags. Thinking, he looked around the room and came to a halt at the camera. Something in this building deactivated their mutation, but still their enemies could use their power, so there was anything they wore that caused it. Recalling his attack on the guards, he remembered that they hadn't worn dog tags but the same coats. Tearing the dog tags from his opposite's neck he held them in a firm grip and opened his leather uniform a bit to look at his wounds.

"What are you doing?" Ororo asked him with a frown, before she gave Jean a look, who still tried to gather some power. But the only think the redhead could achieve was that the bars moved a bit, still not enough to free them. Panting, Jean blinked and shook her head.

"It's not working," she said and watched how Logan still stared at his chest. "What is he doing?"

"Wasting time," Scott hissed and moved closer to the bars. "Would you mind getting us out of here?" Seeing how Logan turned his head towards him, he watched how he grabbed Wolverine's head and twisted it quickly until a loud crack could be heard. "Jeez…," Scott hissed and shook his head. "Was that necessary? He was already dead…"

"Not for long," Logan growled and threw the dog tags away. "He would have woken up. And he will survive that, too…"

"You cracked his neck… No one can survive that," Scott shot back and watched how Logan searched for a way to break through the bars.

"I can, bub," was all his opposite had to say before he looked at his hands. "Step away from the bars…," he demanded and saw how Jean shook her head. "There's no other way, so step a…," he began as suddenly someone clapped his hands. Narrowing his eyes, Logan looked at the other first, but realized that they were as confused as he was.

"Good work," a, him well known voice, said and he slowly stepped back from the cage to have a better look at the upper level. "I've been waitin' fer ya…"

"Oh really?" Logan spat and watched how his arch nemesis stepped into the light. "What a surprise…"

Laughing, Sabretooth approached the cage and stared at Ororo with a feral grin, causing her to back off. "Hello gorgeous… I'll just finish him off and then we continue what we've started, 'kay?"

"Let'em go," Logan growled and clenched his fists while he never took his eyes from his enemy.

"Hm…no," Sabretooth replied and bared his teeth. "So, little Jamey came to get his brat back, huh?"

"Where's he" Logan asked through gritted teeth and followed his opposite's movement like a predator did with his prey. Only that he knew he was the prey this time. Both mutants began to move around the cage in a circle, facing each other with looks that could kill.

"Dunno… Can't smell him, eh?" the taller mutant smiled evilly. "Such a cutie…"

"I swear to God if ya have hurt him…," the other one roared and gritted his teeth; both being watched by the others in the cage.

Chuckling, Sabretooth looked at him provocatively. "Then what? Runs little Jamey back to daddy'n cried his eyes out?" he mocked with a laugh and fueled Logan's anger even more.

"Why is he calling Logan Jamey?" Scott asked Jean in a whisper, but she waved off, concentrating on an object she had spotted on the upper level.

"Guess what I've loved t'see, runt…," Sabretooth growled and kept on moving in a circle around the cage, glaring at his nemesis full of hatred. "If your dear daddy had found out the truth about his beloved bastard son…"

Frowning, Jean gave him a cold look. "The only bastard I see here is you!" she spat and made him laugh.

"How cute… Your precious lil' bitch come to rescue…" With a devilish grin he stopped right in front of her. "Let me tell ya somethin' about your dear Jamey, slut," he said and heard a growl from the other side of the cage. Grinning, his eyes looked through it to meet Logan's angry ones. "Dear Jamey's nothin' more than his rich mommy itching to be screwed by a real man…"

Ignoring the fit of rage that emerged within him, Logan gave him a smirk. "Real man? Ya call this drunkard loser a man?" he asked provocatively and smirked even wider when it gave him the wanted results.

"Watch your words…," Sabretooth growled and bared his sharp fangs.

Chuckling, Logan nodded and crossed his arms. "What? Hit a nerve?" he asked innocently. "You're as fucked up ad your old man, bub."

"Says the bastard, eh?"

"Well, at least my father didn't beat the shit outta me every time he realized what a fucked up loser he was. Oh, wait, just lemme think…that was every day, wasn't it? Poor little boy…," he mocked and quickly jumped out of the way and onto the other side as Sabretooth leapt at him roaring.

Baring his teeth, the taller mutant extracted four pairs of claws on each hand. "Your father, eh?" he growled and slashed his claws against the top of the cage, sending sparks into the air. "Your father who obviously didn't know how t'scre a botch properly… What did it feel like eh?" he asked back and showed his fangs again. "Seein' how dear daddy got his head blown off?" Hearing the women gasping within the cage before they turned their heads to Logan, he chuckled low, but became furious when the only reaction of his arch nemesis was a simple shrug.

"Probably the same as getting' half of your face torn off while psycho-daddy got stabbed…," Logan replied and tried to stay as calm as possible.

"Too bad ya couldn't see how that whore ya called a mother blew her head off next, 'cause she couldn't deal with her bastard son bein' a…oh wait, what did she call ya? Monster?" Chuckling, when Logan bared his teeth, he gave the redhead a look; ignoring that she gave him a look that would have killed him instantly if she had her powers. "So…what's it like, huh? Bein' screwed by my lil' bro, hm?" A low laugh emerged from deep within his throat as Jean's face went completely pale. "Wanna try if the older one's better, bitch?" he asked and he licked his lips chuckling. "What do ya think, Jamey? Bro's share, right? And I bet that little bitch could take a good scr…," he grunted as a completely furious Wolverine extracted his claws and leapt over the cage at him. Roaring, Sabretooth felt how claws went right through his chest as he hit the ground. Not reckoning with the smaller mutant being so quick in his rage, he wasn't able to evade the first attacks and crashed into the boards at the opposite wall, bleeding. Laughing, he got up. "Do ya think ya have a chance, Jamey?" he growled and pointed at his coat that maximized his powers. "It'll be fun t'gut ya and watch ya bleedin' ta death before I take care of your lil' whore." Roaring again, Wolverine bared his teeth and was about to leap at him, when he heard Jean's voice.

"Logan, the keys!" she shouted and pointed at the upper level, hoping that her voice would stop him, which worked. With black eyes he followed her finger and his mind figured out that his female wanted something that was up there. Not thinking about it, he jumped on top of the cage and tensed his muscles to be able to reach the upper level with a jump. Just as he'd grabbed the edge on the upper level, Sabretooth leapt at him roaring and both crashed back onto the cage, which could withstand the weight of both mutants.

"Duck!" Scott yelled and threw himself on top of Mystique, when the cage was reduced in it's height by the furious berserker. Roaring, Wolverine kicked the taller mutant away and jumped up again, this time able to pull himself up.

"On your right!" Jean called and watched in relief that he understood what she wanted. "Throw them to me!" Seeing how he jumped down again, she caught the keys thankfully, just to shriek in the next time. "Watch out!" Not fast enough, Wolverine only saw Sabretooth leaping at him. The impact of both mutants crashing against the bars caused the cage to move closer to the windows.

Roaring, Sabretooth turned Wolverine around and buried his fangs into this one's neck as deep as he could, hoping to bite through it completely when he moved closer to the window. "Always wanted t'know if ya'd survived a fall from Lady Liberty," he growled and threw his nemesis against the window.

"No!" Jean screamed and watched how Wolverine managed in the last second to bury his claws into the wall. Nevertheless, she noticed that Sabretooth was about to leap at him again. "Grab his coat!" she yelled and took hold of it. Helping her, Ororo, Kitty and Kurt pulled on it and tried to hold the taller mutant back to give Wolverine enough time to pull himself back up, but the coat slipped from Sabretooth's arms and both mutants fell down the tower. Staring at the window in shock, Jean heard a loud hollow sound when both obviously hit the ground. "No…," she gasped and began to pant.

"Jean, open the cage!" Scott said and cursed when the redhead didn't react instantly. "Storm, the cage!"

Nodding, Ororo took the keys and began to work on the lock. Relieved she let out a deep breath and kicked the door open. "Come on, hurry!" she demanded and went over to the window to take a look down. Her eyes grew wide when she realized how high above the ground they actually were.

"He can survive this!" Cyclops said and handed Jean the coat. "Wear it. We depend on your power now, Jean." Seeing that she still looked at the window in shock, he shook her. "Jean! We need to find Jamie and get out of here, do you understand that?"

"Yeah…," the redhead replied in a whisper.

"Then wear the coat and fly us up there," he demanded and supported Mystique. "Colossus, can you carry Beast?"

"Yes," Peter nodded. If Bobby helps me."

"No problem," this one said and both pulled Hank up from the ground, supporting him in a way that allowed him to walk even with a broken leg.

"Jean, move us up!" Cyclops demanded and watched how the redhead concentrated on her powers. "Where can they've taken the baby?" he asked , but the others only shrugged.

"There were too rooms two floors underneath us," Jubilee said. "I saw them briefly. On both doors stood Authorized personal only and I'm sure I heard a baby…"

"Then we head that way. Jean, you ready?"

"Yeah," she said and opened her eyes which began to glow in an angry red. "Within less than a second they were on the upper level and the thick door that held them captive in the room was atomized. She remembered what Cable had told her again and turned to the others. "Don't be afraid," she said calmly, but still the others gasped as her eyes blackened in rage.

"Jean…," Ororo said and stared at her friend, whose face became less and less human. "Please no… You heard what Logan has told you…"

"I don't care," Phoenix hissed and they heard guards screaming from afar. "Now move!" Leading the way every lamp or computer around them exploded due to the power she radiated. The X-Men watched in horror how doors atomized or shot out of their hinges. They couldn't hide their fear of herm, knowing what she was capable of if her power became too much for her to handle. From afar they heard guards approaching, saw how the front row kneeled down while the second stood and pointed their weapons at them. "You humans and your guns," Dark Phoenix hissed and forced the others to follow her.

"Jean…," Cyclops said and stared at the guns in front of them.

"Shoot!" one of the guards barked and soon the loud firing of guns echoed through the corridors, mixed by the terrified screams of Kitty and Jubilee. The longer the shooting could be heard, the more they were surprised that not a single bullet reached them.

"Done?" Phoenix asked the guards in her demonic voices and smiled. "My turn!" she hissed and the guards disappeared with a scream. She blew an elevator door out of the wall and let the cabin crash down to the ground. Binding the others with her powers, she forced them to jump with her into the shaft, stopping their fall two floors underneath them. There, the door atomized, too and they landed on the ground again.

"Please don't do that again," Jubilee cried and held her stomach, just to shriek when Dark Phoenix faced her.

"Where was the door?" she demanded to know with shining black eyes.

"T…there," the girl stuttered and pointed down the hall, being relieved that the woman switched her head towards it.

"He's not here," Dark Phoenix hissed after a while. "He's in the basement…"

"In one of those tanks?" Beast asked and thought about it. "Sinister has enough clones of Logan, why would he put Jamie into a tank, too?"

"He's not in a tank," Phoenix growled and her head suddenly shot towards the right. Her eyes narrowed when she approached a door and picked up something familiar. Gritting her teeth, she caused the wall to collapse in one blow and had her eyes fixed on a small girl with nearly black hair and hazel eyes. Coming closer, she looked at the child curiously. "You're coming with us," Dark Phoenix hissed and forced the child to come closer, ignoring the growl the child gave her.

"Jean…,please, try to calm down at least a bit," Cyclops begged her but was silenced by one of her looks.

She moved back towards the elevator shaft and looked down. "Please not again," Jubilee said when she was already forced into it again. Screaming she held onto Bobby and had her eyes closed during the fall. Above them they could hear how the tower began to collapse and one after the next floor crashed on the ones underneath them.

The faster the fall was the softer they landed. The dark and wet corridor was illuminated within seconds by a firebird that emerged from Phoenix's body and they followed her silently, and with exchanging looks from time to time. Suddenly the redhead stopped at a wall. "The tanks…," she hissed and blew a hole into it. Again they were in the room with the 80 tanks, the light still dipping it into a shimmering green pool.

"Wait here," Cyclops told the others and beckoned them to back off, while Phoenix looked at the tanks curiously. "I hope Logan's still alive or she'll break all hell lose…"

"She's in control of her powers," Storm whispered. "But I don't know what she'll do if Jamie or Logan are dead…"

"Better ask what she'll do with the building," Beast panted and held onto Colossus and Iceman. "Don't you hear the noises from upstairs? Only one second in which she doesn't concentrate on the upper floors and the facility will bury us underneath it…" Suddenly a loud explosion forced them to shield their eyes. Even if an energy shield protected them against the exploding wall and tanks, it still sent a shiver down her spine to see how the clones were atomized by her within a second.

Glaring at them, Dark Phoenix walked past them and led them further down the corridor; following her instincts that led her directly to her son. The girl that followed them still growled at the X-Men and glared at them with strange looking eyes. On the one hand they seemed to be familiar, on the other just odd. Trying to reach out to her son and husband, the redhead stopped in front of another wall and touched it with her gloved hand. Being watched by the others, who couldn't tell what she was up to, she suddenly smiled warmly. The smile was the weirdest contrast to her demonic features they'd ever seen. Instead of just atomizing the wall, she caused it to crumble slowly until a hole that was large enough for her came to existence. Walking through it, she turned the guards in it to dust and made every machine and lamp explode. In the middle of the room stood another tank which wasn't filled with water, but was protected by a strange looking light. Staring at it for some time, Dark Phoenix reached out to her son through their mental bond and met his green eyes.

"What if the light kills him?" Kitty asked the others and watched how the redhead broke the glass of the tank and took her son out of it. Her eyes widened when she realized that it wasn't the tank that had glowed. "Okay…forget my question…," she waved off and looked at Phoenix when she came closer again.

"Carry him," the woman demanded of Storm and handed the baby over to her. "Wrap your coat around him…" Nodding, the weather goddess did as she was told. "We need to get out of here and find Wolverine…"

Fixing her eyes on the ceiling, Dark Phoenix hissed and destroyed the wall. She felt the power floating around her, but also deep within her when she forced the collapsing floor above them to stop, while she reached out to find her mate on the outside at the same time than she sent her teammates up into the air. Even if they were still under her protection, the X-Men startled when the earth exploded and they came out at the field were Logan had killed the guards. Sending the other to the entrance of the cave, Dark Phoenix looked around and tried to find her partner somewhere. Calling him with her mind, she suddenly turned when an angry roar could be heard next to her. Leaping at her in a new coat, Sabretooth bared his fangs and raised his claws to strike at her. Jean's eyes turned back to normal in an instant when her powers were suppressed again, but still she came up with enough to stop him in mid air. "Where's Logan?" she hissed and bared her teeth in exhaustion as he came slowly closer and fought his way through her blockade.

"Last time I saw my lil' bro was somewhere down there," Sabretooth grinned. "…tryin' to keep his vitals in."

"Asshole," Jean cursed and heard a low chuckle from her opposite while she still fought against him coming closer. Beginning to sweat she began to back off to keep the safe distance between them, when he suddenly leapt at her with a loud roar. Stopping him again only inches from her face, she stared into his amused black eyes. She saw how he raised one hand, the four sharp adamantium claws shining in the air. Concentrating harder, Jean let out a shriek when she pulled all her strength together to send the mutant backwards into the collapsing building. At the same time she managed to do so, his powers met hers and both flew into opposite directions.

Watching how Jean hit the rock face heard and Sabretooth flew into the fire of the exploding facility, Scott started into a run when he saw the great amount of blood that suddenly reddened the snow. "Jean!" he shouted in shock and heard how the others followed him to the redhead in the snow. "No…" Pressing his hands on the deep cuts that went horizontal over her complete belly, he started at her frightened. Panting heavily, Jean writhed in pain and tried to stop her wound from bleeding, too. Not knowing what to do to help her, while he could only stare at his hands that were covered with blood by now, he heard Kitty gasping all of a sudden. Feeling how Jean's fast beating hard pulsated the red liquid in greater amounts out of the wound by now, he jerked his head to the side and watched how Logan stumbled his way towards them; looking worse than before , while his uniform seemed to be put into a shredder. Calling his name, Scott watched how his teammate dropped to his knees between them and stared at his wife in shock; knowing that she would bleed to death if they couldn't find a solution quickly.

"The test ya did on me," Logan asked Hank panting and had trouble to keep his eyes open. "Is it enough?"

"No…," Hank shook his head, ignoring for the moment that the others had no idea what he was talking about.

"And blood? It's in my blood, too, ain't it?" Logan asked and hoped for a nod.

"Yes, but you'll need a great amount of it…" Watching how their team leader looked at the redhead, who was desperately clinging to his arms due to her heavy pains, he realized what he was about to do.

"Don't move…," Logan demanded and extracted his claws on the right hand.

Looking at him in confusion, while she thought her body was torn apart, Jean watched in horror how he sliced through his left arm and cut the artery open. "No!" she shrieked and wanted to sit up but dropped with a painful groan into the snow again.

"I said don't move," Logan hissed and tried his best to keep the blood flowing out of the wounds. Right now he didn't care about the others or that they were trying to stop him, all he cared about was saving her and making sure that she would survive.

"Logan, stop, please!" Jean begged crying since she noticed that he was still in more than a major healing and needed the power for himself. "You're overloading your system…"

"Just lay still…," he said once more while his eyes were fixed on the ground. Twisting his claws a bit, he let out a brief hiss and heard his heartbeat roaring in his ears.

"Damn it, stop him!" the redhead begged and looked at Scott pleadingly, who only stared at Logan in return.

"Logan, that's too much!" Hank tried to intervene, but knew that he wouldn't be able to stop his friend.

"Just wait!" that one demanded and shook his head briefly when his senses became weaker and he was close to drift off.

"Logan…," Hank tried again, this time with Ororo's help.

"Wait!" came the grunted reply since he saw that what he did slowly took the wanted effect. When his blood and heartbeat began to roar in his ears, he brushed over her belly briefly and saw that the wound was almost healed. Looking at her when her hand touched his arms, he noticed how scared she was.

"Please stop…," Jean said crying and he retracted his claws, just to press his hand on his wound. Sitting up and hearing him panting heavily next to her, the redhead quickly pulled her coat over her shoulders to lay it around his. Her eyes noticed that his wound was bleeding heavily and it didn't help at all that he pressed his hand on it firmly. Reaching out she pressed hers on it, too and met his dazed gaze.

"You alright?" Logan asked her barely audible and she nodded.

"You overloaded it…," she said with a scared undertone, but he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter…"

"Logan…," Jean said and gave him a look, noticing that even if the coat pushed his powers, old wounds began to reopen.

"We have our cub, you're fine…that's all what counts…," he panted and close his eyes briefly.

"Can you get up?" she asked and helped him after he nodded. Supporting him with her powers, they slowly began to walk towards the cave entrance, led by Scott who carried Mystique again. Wrapping the baby into her cloak as good as she could, Ororo held Jamie as close as possible, while Kurt watched over the little girl that followed them. Being close to the exit, Jean noticed how Logan suddenly slowed down and had to frown. "Logan?" she asked calmly when he closed his eyes firmly and collapsed to the ground with a groan. "No, Logan!" Jean gasped and kneeled down next to him, quickly searching for his pulse.

"Is he still alive?" Scott asked her and let out a sigh when she nodded. "If you help Mystique, Kurt and I can carry him," he offered and went over to the shaking redhead. "He'll be alright… You said it yourself that he overloaded his system…" Nodding, Jean watched how he and Kurt pulled Logan up and laid an arm around Mystique to support her.

"But Logan is the only one who can lead us back…," Ororo said and pulled Jamie closer when the air cooled down.

"We'll make it somehow… Now move! We've to get away from here," Scott replied and cursed under Logan's weight. "Tell him when he wake up that he's way too heavy…"

Walking through the cane towards the exit, they were soon joined by the wolves again that followed him down the mountain. "It was down the rock face first and then to the left," Scott said and led the way until they reached a steep and icy inclination. "Damn…and now?"

Jean looked at the landscape, trying to remember the way they had taken until she noticed the animals. "That way…," she said and took the lead through the knee-high snow and wood.

"How do you want to know?" Kitty asked her and helped Jubilee.

"Juts trust me," the redhead said and they followed her in silence, not knowing that she hoped the animals would show them the right way.

After an eternity in the dark, Kitty suddenly saw a weak light in the distance. "There!" she said aloud and pointed at it, hearing the relieved gasps of the others.

"Wouldn't it be better to walk further down to the jet?" Scott asked Jean and pulled Logan up a bit more, but she shook her head.

"No. First, it's too cold and dark, second, we have to children, three wounded team members and I also don't know the way back," she replied and searched through Logan's pockets. "You, 'Ro, Kurt and I will stay awake and guard the house while the others sleep." Searching through one pocket, she felt Logan moving a bit under her touch and put her hand to his forehead. "Sleep!" she demanded and watched how his head dropped aside again.

"Hurry, he's getting too heave," Scott panted and had trouble by know not to drop to the ground.

Jean opened the door quickly and went to the stove to light a fire. "Lay him on the bed. Hank and Mystique, too," she demanded and used her powers to fill the room with the warmth a bit faster. Afterwards, after Ororo had locked the door, she searched in hers and Logan's backpacks for the two first aid kits, a small blanket and clothes for Jamie. "Here," she said to Ororo and handed her the clothes. "Dress him and wrap him into the blanket. There is a bottle and food for him in Logan's backpack, too."

"Okay," the weather goddess nodded and told Kurt, after he'd dropped Logan on the bed, to prepare a bottle while she dressed the boy.

Scott looked at Jean when she handed him one of the first aid kits. "I'll take care of Logan and Hank," she said and he nodded.

Splintering Hank's broken leg carefully, she began to dress his wounds as Hank touched her shoulder. "What about that girl?" he asked and nodded to the mean looking child in a corner of the room that growled at Kitty and Jubilee when they wanted to give her food and something to drink.

"She's trying to bite us!" Jubilee cried and quickly jumped aside.

Looking up, Jean met the girl's gaze briefly. Only for a second her eyes glowed as the girl already dropped to the ground. "Tie her to the stove. She'll sleep," she said and noticed Jubilee's widened eyes only briefly.

"You're scary!" the younger woman said and helped Kitty to tie the girl.

"Does the leg hurt?" Jean asked Hank, but he shook his head.

"No, only when I move… I can take care of the rest, Jean. You need to stop Logan's bleeding," he said and waited for her nod, before he went on dressing his wounds on his waist and arm.

Kneeling down next to Logan, Jean opened the coat and what remained of the leather jacket carefully to have a better look at his wounds. She noticed that the smaller ones slowly bean to heal and decided that after she was done dressing them, she would tuck him into the coat to push his powers again. Touching his throat, she searched for his pulse and was relieved to find a weak one. "I doubt he'll wake up so soon…," she mumbled and met Scott's gaze.

"He has to. It's already risky to stay here, because I doubt that Sabretooth is dead."

"I know…"

He pulled Mystique carefully up and brought her downstairs to the sleeping bags that had already been prepared by Colossus and Bobby, who were already sleeping. Just as he was about to tuck her in, she grabbed his wrist quickly and made him look up while she sat up a bit. "He didn't rape me…," she whispered and saw how all color went out of his face.

"Really?" Scott asked in disbelief and saw her nodding.

"He wanted to, but then he sniffed and let out a snort, before he threw me over the banister," she explained and pulled a face briefly when her leg hurt again.

"God…," he said and ran a hand through his face and her in relief. He bent forward to embrace her carefully and kissed her neck. "I was so scared for you…," he admitted and buried his face in her neck with a relieved smile. Smiling, she leant into his touch and closed her eyes. "Does it hurt?" Scott asked worriedly and looked at her again.

"I'm used to worse…"

"Yeah, but still…," he began but Mystique shook her head and laid down again. "Try to sleep. I'm downstairs." He kissed her softly and touched her cheek. "Night…"

"Night, she replied and closed her eyes, unaware that he was watching her.

"I love you…," Scott suddenly said and her eyes shot open in shock. Only smiling at her, he kissed her again before e got up. "Night."

Mystique watched him leaving, still being shocked about his words, since he'd never used them before. Downstairs, Jean sent Hank upstairs by using her powers and dropped him carefully on one sleeping bag where Kurt helped him into it. Soon afterwards also Kitty and Jubilee were asleep, while Jean tucked Logan into the sheets and kissed him softly, before she walked over to Ororo. "Is he alright?" the woman asked and nodded at the baby in her arms.

He redhead took her son and checked on him with her powers, before she pulled him close and finally allowed herself to cry in relief.

Seeing it, Ororo began to rub Jean's back soothingly. "We made it…"

"We're not home, yet, 'Ro!" Scott said and looked out of the windows into the night.

"I know. But I don't intend to let them catch us again, Scott," she gave back. "And besides…they're dead."

"You don't really believe that, right?" he asked and sat down opposite her at the table. "Sabretooth is definitely still alive and I'd bet that Sinister guy wasn't even in the facility."

"Did you destroy all tanks?" Kurt asked Jean after she'd finally calmed down and cradled her baby lovingly.

"Yes…," she replied and kissed her baby before she walked over to the bed and laid him down next to Logan. "Sleep next to daddy, will you?" she whispered and stroked over the dark hair gently. "I'm so glad to have you back, sweety…," she smiled happily and tucked him into the sheets, too, before she kissed him again. "Night…"

"How's Logan?" Kurt asked her since he was worried about his friend.

"Feverish," Jean told him after she touched Logan's forehead. "So he's in a major healing now."

"Do you think he'll wake up in the morning?" Scott asked her when she sat down again.

"I don't know… But I don't understand one thing," she said thinking. "How did Sinister manage to clone him? Weapon X unsuccessfully tried it 22 times and he produced all those clones… And why?"

"Think about it?" Scott said and crossed his arms. "If you could have an army, who would you like to have as a soldier? Some mutants or identical copies of the most dangerous mutant of the planet?"

"What was this thing Logan fought against anyway? Why was he smaller and younger?" Ororo asked and looked to and fro between them.

"Sinister said he spent most of his lifetime with it. So this clone we saw maybe was only around… When Logan came to us, the Professor said he'd lost his memory 15 years ago…," Scott suggested, but Jean shook her head.

"That clone was older tan 15, Scott. Logan told me after he regained his memory that he was small and started to grow not before he was thirty. From the way the clone looked I would say he was something between 20 and 25 maybe… We have to tell the Professor and see what he thinks about it." Nodding, the others lowered their gazes.

"What about that child?" Ororo suddenly asked and nodded at the sleeping girl.

"We'll deal with her tomorrow, too," Jean said and noticed Scott's look. "What's wrong?"

"Look at her more closely…," he said and tilted his head a bit. "Couldn't she be a clone, too? I mean look at the hair and she had this feral look in her eyes. And she growls and bites!"

"No…," Ororo shook her head. "If she is than Logan will be on her throat."

Smirking, Scott couldn't hide his grin. "Come on" Who can say that he has an opposite-sexed clone of himself? Logan as a girl…could be funny!"

"You sure?" the weather goddess smiled. "It's you he's not fond of, you know…"

"Well, except that of course," he shrugged. Looking past Jean he nodded towards the bed. "He's turning around…"

Moving around a bit, Jean watched how Logan laid on his belly and pulled the pillow closer. "He's sleeping now. That means he should wake up in the morning," she told them and together they waited for a new day to arrive.

---

Opening his eyes slowly, Logan directly looked into his son's face, who was awake and looked back at him with his green eyes. Smiling, he reached out to touch him. "Hey, pum'kin…," he whispered when he heard how someone came quickly closer.

"You're awake?" Jean said surprised and smiled at him happily before she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"More or less…," Logan grunted and gave her a smirk before she kissed him.

"How're you feeling?" the redhead asked and stroked over his cheek, but he only shrugged.

"Usual stuff… As if a truck had hit me…" Smiling she watched how he slowly sat up and ran a hand through his messy hair. About to give him a sermon for not listening to her on the day before, she felt how his muscles suddenly tensed. "Why do I smell a girl that smell like me?" he asked her and gave her a look.

"She smells like you?" Jean asked surprised and turned her head to look at the girl in the corner, who had her eyes fixed on Logan and sniffed the air growling.

Getting up quickly, Logan extracted his claws instinctively and growled back. "You took one of those things with ya?" he asked his wife in disbelief but she shook her head.

"I didn't know she was a clone… We found her in one of the labs and I couldn't just leave her there."

"Why not?" he shot back and the others stared at him.

"Logan she's a…," Ororo began, but went silent by the look he gave her.

"She ain't just a girl and she ain't a part of me, Storm!" Logan growled and heard a familiar sound. "Look at her!" he demanded and the others backed off when they saw two adamantium blades on the girls hand and one on each foot. "Just a girl, eh? She ain't comin' with us," he said finally and began to pull on the bandages when Jean quickly grabbed his hand.

"Let me do that," she demanded and hoped to soothe him down a bit again.

After they'd packed their things and tidied up the cabin, Logan grabbed the growling girl roughly and waited for Jean to lock the door. "Go straight through the wood and wait there for me," he told her when her eyes fell on the girl.

"What do you want to do?" she asked him and noticed the coldness in his eyes.

"That what I hope ya did with the others," he replied and nodded at the wood. "Go!"

"Logan she's a…"

"Go!" he could her off harshly and waited for her to obey, before he moved with the girl behind the cabin and extracted his claws. Meeting her feral eyes, his look became even harder. Looking at the child and knowing that she was a copy of him that was created as the others to kill, he became even more furious with the man behind it. Ignoring her attempt to fight back, he pulled her up with one hand and pressed her against the wall. "Sorry, kid… But ya ain't supposed t'live," he said calmly and raised his free hand to stab her while he held her scared gaze…

---

Waiting at the end of the wood as he'd told her, Jean pulled Jamie closer and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Knowing what he would do with the child made her heart contract painfully, even if she knew that the child was only the product of a sick experiment. For her it was still a child… "I can't believe he can do that," Scott hissed and kicked against a tree while he had his arms crossed. "She's still a child for god's sake…"

"She's a weapon," Mystique corrected him. "I bet Sinister changed something in the genes to make all of the clones running on instincts only. And you've seen how dangerous Logan would be if that was the case with him…"

"Yeah, I know…," he nodded. "But I could never do something like that…" Turning his head, he let his arms sink. "There he is…"

Jean watched Logan coming closer with a grim look on his face. "Logan…," she began but he shook his head.

"We have to keep moving," he said and opened his leather jacket, which he'd brought with him along with a sweatshirt. Pulling Jamie close, he closed the leather jacket and supported his son's head. "That way," he said and led the way while he concentrated on his surroundings again. When they reached the hidden X-Wing after a long march, he handed Jamie over to Jean again, advising her to tuck him into one of the blankets, before he waited for the team to take their seats. He heard how Ororo started the engines and turned on the heater a bit, waiting only for him to sit down.

"Logan?" she asked, but he looked at the wolves that had followed him through the snow. "We're ready…"

"Kid, I told ya to hurry up if ya wanna come with us," he suddenly called and crossed his arms impatiently, while the other looked at him frowning.

"Kid?" Kitty asked and her eyes widened when the little girl entered the jet panting. "She's still alive?"

"We thought you killed her, Wolvie," Jubilee said and pressed herself into the seat; being afraid that the girl would bite her again.

Logan closed the hatch and handed the girl a blanket before he walked towards the front. "Sit down there and don't even dare to move," he demanded and waited for the girl to do so, before he sat down next to Ororo.

"Why didn't you kill her?" she asked him with a frown and looked at the mean looking girl.

"'Cause she's a child, 'Ro," he grunted and lifted the jet into the air. "And it's not her fault..."

---

Back at home, they were relieved to see that nothing had happened. After telling Charles everything that they had went through, he told them that he'd already made necessary calls and would call in a meeting as soon as he got an answer. The only problem they had was the feral girl, who had immediately attacked Jack and Lily as soon as they had laid eyes on each other. Intervening in the fight, Logan managed to intimidate the girl so much that she remained whimpering in a corner for the rest of the day, before Scott locked her into one of the secured cells downstairs until they figured out a plan how to deal with her. Not knowing why Logan had suddenly left the room, one look at the twins was enough to tell Jean. Her eyes widened when she saw how Lily stared at her hands in shock. After soothing the girl as good as she could, the redhead went to look for her husband, just to find him sitting in the dark in the garden and staring at his hands. Swallowing hard, Jean came slowly closer and lowered her gaze when she noticed the anger and hate in his eyes. "Logan…"

"Soothin' words won't do. So spare your breaths!" he growled and looked away, but she kneeled down next to him, trying to meet his gaze.

"It's not your fault, honey," Jean said and heard him giving a laugh.

"Oh really? So those ain't real and I can just take them off, huh?!" he asked her sarcastically and shook his head when he thought about his children. "It's my goddamn fault, Red. It was me who passed on…" He held up his hands in disgust. "…this…" Not saying anything at all, Jean looked at him sadly and he still avoided her gaze. "They were right. I'm just an animal…"

"You're not!" she said and shook her head, making him finally turn his head with a glare at her.

"No? Look at me, Jean. And look at the twins," he hissed in anger. "If I had known before that those damn claws were a natural mutation, I'd have never wanted the kids…"

Shocked about his words, Jean dropped into the grass next to him. "Don't say that!" she gasped and shook her head. "You love our children…"

"And that's exactly why," he nodded. "I don't want them to be like me. And now look at them…"

With tears in her eyes, Jean shook her head and held his cold gaze. "I'm glad they are like you," she said and touched his cheek, when he pushed her angrily away and got up, just to stop at the pond.

"You're out of your mind!" Logan hissed and crossed his arms hearing how she came closer again and invaded his space.

Touching his shoulder, she used her powers to turn him around. "No, I'm not!" She took his hands into hers, ignoring that he wanted to pull them away, and stroked over his knuckles. "Those are a part of you, but they are not who you are, Logan," Jean said and looked up at him with wet eyes before she laid a hand onto his chest. "This is who you are…," she added barely audible and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"Stop bein' so slushy," he growled and looked away again.

"I mean it. You might have been an animal in the past, but look at you now! Try to remember what you were like when you first came here and how much you've changed since then…," Jean pleaded and bit her lip crying. "You were so full of mistrust and hate against anyone. I saw it when I read your mind for the first time. But I've also sensed your strong sense of honor and gentleness underneath it…" Just standing there he avoided her gaze and stared at the water in the pond. "I see the man who has grown in front of me. Not the animal. And if I'm proud of anything in my life," she added and touch his cheek. "…then it's having you as my husband and our children." Jean watched how Logan slowly retracted his claws again and swallowed hard. Making a step, she wrapped her arms around him and leant against his chest. "And I know that whoever will marry our children one day will think the same about them," she added and looked up, meeting his gaze directly. "The twins are so much like you…," she whispered and was pulled into a strong embrace by him, while he hid his face on her neck.

"I love ya…"

Smiling, she cupped his face and kissed him. "So, you gonna stop making that face now after ruining my make up again?"

Shrugging, he looked away since he still wasn't in a better mood. "Nope…"

"Stop blaming yourself, Logan," Jean begged and bit her lip. "I know it was a shock, but…"

"I don't even wanna know how painful it is for them…," he thought and allowed her to hear it. He was aware of her frown when he held out one hand to extract his claws. "The surface is smooth due to the adamantium and it still hurt like hell when they come out. The twins' claws are pure bones, not smooth…," he explained aloud and looked at her. "So ya can imagine what it must feel like for them…"

Thinking about it, Jean nodded in understanding. "Are you coming back inside with me? It's already late…"

Logan shook his head and sat down on the edge of the pond. "No…"

"Okay," Jean replied calmly and kissed him. "But don't stay here all night, okay?" Touching his cheek, she went back inside to bring the children to bed, while he looked at his hands again.

---

Standing in the middle of the kitchen, Jean had to frown since everything around her was quiet. Suddenly, she knew what was wrong… "Hey, Red!" a familiar voice said behind her and caused her heart to beat triple rhythms when she slowly turned around. A smile appearing on her lips when she saw him.

"We made it then?" she asked and received a nod.

"Yeah," he said and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Came to say thanks…"

Looking at Logan in front of her, she couldn't hide her relief to see that he didn't look like Cable anymore. "So we will beat him?" Jean asked hopefully, but he shook his head.

"I can't tell ya what will happen, only so much that ya will know what to do when time comes," he replied and made her frown with her answer.

"So some things are still wrong?" she asked him slightly scared when he suddenly smiled as happily as she'd only seen him smiling after their children had been born.

"Nope. In fact life couldn't be better…," Logan smirked and rubbed his nose briefly.

"When is your life?" Jean demanded to know and came a bit closer, looking at him curiously in hope to see any changes. But the only thing that she noticed was that he still looked the same as her Logan.

"The twins just turned 18. They picked kinda weird code names, though, but well… They've to live with'em."

"18… Here they're 7…," the redhead mumbled. "So we will fight Apocalypse…"

"Nope!" he cut her off. "You will face him soon. I only had to wait until this nice little thingy was invented." He patted a small object in his belt. Forge will kill me for stealin' it, but well…screw him…"

Smiling briefly, Jean stopped in front of him. "But we will win then?" she asked when he smirked at her again.

"You'll see! I can't tell ya without riskin' that ya do somethin' wrong and it changes again," Logan replied and touched her cheek. "I only came to say thanks, darlin'!" he added and began to glow.

"Wait!" Jean said quickly and grabbed his arms for a brief moment. "What do you meant with life couldn't be better?" she asked and furrowed her brows a bit.

Thinking about it briefly, he sighed. "Well, I breake some rules by tellin' ya, but…"

"So? What happened?"

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Someone's not really curious, eh?" Logan teased her and smirked even wider when she sighed in frustration.

"Logan, please!" Jean begged him. "Why are you so happy?"

"Right…," he nodded. "Ya just told me before I left that you're surprisingly expectin' twins again, darlin'…," he told her with the happiest smile he could since he still remembered too well how Apocalypse had tortured and used him. "Don't tell anyone, 'cause it is against the rules, 'kay?"

"But… I'm too old in 10 years for…," she began with a frown, when he shook his head.

"As I said… You'll see!" he replied and the object on his belt began to beep warningly. "Gotta go! Thanks again, darlin'! See ya when ya wake up!" With that he disappeared and Jean closed her eyes.

Opening them again in a rush, she felt how Logan was closely cuddled up to her from behind and nuzzled her. "Dreamed again?" he asked sleepily and heaved a deep breath.

"Yeah…," Jean replied and had to let the news sink in first while she felt how he cuddled up closer. She suddenly asked herself when he'd finally come back inside again…

"Everythin' alright?" he asked and opened his eyes a bit.

Smiling Jean took one of his hands into her and nodded. "Yeah, everything will be alright…," she replied and thought about what she now knew.

Nuzzling her again, he placed a kiss in her shoulder. "So fucked up me ain't fucked up anymore?"

"You were actually very happy, honey."

"Was I?" Logan asked and moved over a bit to have a better look at her face. "'n why?"

Smiling, she turned around to face him. "You'll see in 11 years…"

"11 years, huh?" he asked and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me I'm still married to ya then?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jean asked and slapped his chest.

"Nothin'…," Logan smirked and closed his eyes again. "You'll see in 11 years, darlin'." Rolling her over, he cuddled up to her again and used her chest as his new pillow. Shaking her head, Jean began to stroke through his hair absently while her eyes fell onto the cradle next to their bed. Smiling, she closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep…

---

When it rang at the front door on a morning a few days later, Lily and Jack ran down the staircase and opened it, since no one else was near by. Holding the doorknob in his hands, Jack stared at their visitor, being slightly scared by the long grayish coat and the black hat the man wore. "Hello my children, " the man said in a deep voice and caused Lily to hide behind her brother. She didn't like the way the tall man looked to and fro between her and Jack. Especially not the frown which suddenly appeared on his face before a strange, somehow knowing smile appeared in his lips.

"Who are you?" Jack asked and narrowed his eyes.

"A friend. I'd like to speak to Charles," the man replied.

Giving him a suspicious look, Jack and Lily heard someone approaching and turned their heads towards the stairs. Somehow relieved to see Ororo coming down. "You know you're not allowed to open the door all alone. Your father…," the woman began when she froze on the spot. "Kids, step away from the door and come here!" she demanded in an alarmed undertone and stared at their visitor.

"Why?" Lily asked confused.

"Just do it!" Ororo said a bit harsher and watched how Jack grabbed his sister's hand to walk to his aunt. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at the man as soon as the twins stood behind her.

"Long time not seen, my dear," the man smiled and heard how a thunderstorm approached, turning the sunny and warm day into a grayish hell al of a sudden.

"Save your breath," Ororo said through gritted teeth while her eyes began to glow white.

"Why all this hospitality? I only want to talk to Charles," the man said with a smile. "He wanted me to come…"

"I don't believe you!" the woman said and felt how the twins grabbed her legs frightened, since they didn't understand what was wrong all of a sudden. "If you're not gone within five seconds, I…"

"Ororo, it's okay. He said the truth!" the Professor said all of a sudden and came closer.

"What?!" the woman asked him angrily and in disbelief. "How can you invite him after everything he's done?"

"Ororo, please," Charles tried to soothe her while he was watched by the man at the door in amusement. "I explain everything later. Eric, please come inside!"

Doing so, Magneto closed the door behind him and followed Charles to his office. While he walked past the still furious Ororo, his eyes were fixed on the two children with a knowing smile on his lips. Even if it had been six years since his attack, he hadn't forgotten what he'd found out on that day. Smiling at them, he turned his head to the front and disappeared into the office…

Wow, three days of typing now and the result: 77 pages in Word. LOL I never expected this chapter to become so long. But I wanted to finish it until today, since Descena wrote that she would have no internet for six months and wanted to now how this first sequel ends. So, I hope this chapter reaches you before you leave!!! Thanks for all the nice reviews and I really have to thank you that you read the first Sequel to the end. I already have some scenes written for the second sequel and hope you will like that one too. The scene with the children being kidnapped (at least the idea of it), Logan and Jean in the garden and the one with Magneto at the end were two ones I'd written before I started with the sequel, so you can see: It was planned. But I came up with the whole rest in the past days. I hope there are no logical errors in it. LOL Hope you liked it and that you will review again! See ya soon I hope!!!