A/N: First, legal disclaimer [forgot that last chappy, need to put in this one]: I don't own marvel, I don't own the X-men, and I don't own X-men: Evolution.

Second, Shoutouts:

Jaina12: Pete'll be coming soon, gotta give time for the plot to develop, he should be there in a few chapters. We have to get through this opening bit, first, and—as you'll see shortly—Lance too.

Dark Whispers: thanks for the vote of confidence! I'll try my best!

Third: Sorry this took so long, I'm a teacher and I moved from my mid- Michigan home to sunny Hawaii shortly after New Years. So, writing had to take a short hiatus. Oddly, this chapter has been done since around that time, there were just difficulties in getting it beta read.

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The body fell with a sickening thud, blood leaking out from its exposed chest cavity. Sabretooth grinned, his tongue playing over his claws. "I'd say the perimeter is secure." He dragged the corpse behind a stack of crates nearby, removing any trace of the savage's presence.

Colossus shuddered at his companion's bloodlust. "Did you have to do that?" He cocked his head in the direction of where the dead solider lay. "You could have knocked him out; there was no reason to kill them." His revulsion made his Russian accent all the more thicker.

The savage sneered at the Russian mutant, disdain clear in his voice. "It was fun. That's reason enough for me."

"Then, why not do it quickly, Sabretooth? Why make him suffer?" Colossus looked down at the soldier's tattered corpse. The poor man had been gutted, his innards torn from him before his eyes; he had died, then, mouth opened wide in howls of agony made mute by a crushed larynx. Colossus sighed, shame welling inside him. This slaughter had been his doing. Had he simply snapped the man's neck like Lord Magneto had wanted, he would have been spared Sabretooth's ministrations. Instead, the steel-coated mutant had faltered, unwilling to deliver the killing blow, and the soldier had wriggled free. Sabretooth was all too ready to make up for Colossus' weakness.

The savage snarled, staring him in the eyes. "You are too soft to serve Magneto. I don't know why he puts up with you." He launched himself onto a stack of crates, peering at the Russian disdainfully. "I gutted him, because I could. No more, no less. But, it's your fault. You coulda just..."

"Crushed his throat, I know." Colossus grimaced. "Let us finish this."

Sabretooth snarled, flicking the last bit of blood from his talons. "Suits me fine. Remember, we need to get to sub-level three."

"The pulse-device Lord Magneto provided us has disabled their communications array," the Russian mutant slammed his steeled fist to the concrete frame of the nearby wall. It caved easily, creating a large enough hole for the two hulking mutants to walk through side by side into the dark interior of the base. "It also took down their primary power supply. They are running on auxiliary power now."

"Sitting ducks." His partner snarled, licking his fangs in anticipation. "Perfect."

The building, as with the rest of the complex was covered in gray concrete, designed to look as though it were a throw back to the 50s. Indeed, most government officials who were not directly involved in the research occurring here, assumed it was a McCarthy era defense installation that was converted for storage and drills. Inside, the building belied its humble exterior. The walls and ceiling were steel plates interwoven with circuitry, and the mutants' footsteps clanked dully on the mesh plating of the floor.

They stalked the darkened corridors, two hulking harbingers of destruction, in silence; the only sounds came from their massive boots echoing down the steel hallway. The corridor winded to the left, deeper into the interior of the base.

Sabretooth halted, raising a paw to the air signaling for Colossus to do the same. "We've got company." He grinned wickedly, feral eyes gleaming in the glow from a hazard lamp as ten soldiers, covered head to foot in airtight body armor rushed around a corner, guns at the ready. "Let's play!" With an animalistic roar he pounced on the nearest guard. With a cry, the man raised his rifle, unloading a round into the mutant's chest, only to be bowled over as the mutant's much larger body crashed into him. Sabretooth roared again, and dug both claws deep into the man's chest, parting armor like butter, and pulled them free, spattering blood on the soldiers and walls nearby. He snarled at the approaching men, the wound on his chest already healed. "Who's next?"

Colossus charged into the fray, bullets bouncing off his armored frame. He grabbed a soldier and launched him into the air, to connect with the wall, a moment later, with a sickening thud. His limp body slid to the ground, the head at an unnatural angle with his body. The Russian surveyed the soldiers amassing around him. "I do not wish to hurt them. They are only doing their duty. But, Lord Magneto has commanded me to do so." Torn, he slammed another soldier into the wall, rendering the man unconscious. "He has commanded, and so shall I obey, as a soldier should. Otherwise..."

Searing pain ripped through his form, tearing him from his thoughts. His body was on fire, but that was impossible. He was made of steel. Steel didn't burn.

"Thermate, you mutie bastard." A soldier sneered. "It burns at close to 5000 degrees, it'll destroy anything organic on contact, and will even fuse steel together. Perfect for you, you stupid fuck!"

He looked at the soldiers around him, hate clear in their eyes, and a coldness filled him. They wanted to kill him, like the farmers at the collective had wanted to kill him. They were doing testing here, to try to control mutants or kill them. It was true. Everything Lord Magneto had told them was true. These people—no, these soldiers—were going to hurt innocent mutants. He couldn't allow that. No matter how much he despised violence, he would not let another mutant suffer at their hands!

With a roar, he charged at the nearest soldier in a berserker rage. Steeled fist clamped around human neck and contracted, crushing bone and flesh to jelly. He grabbed the corpse's legs, and, using it as a club, smacked it into another soldier. He threw the ruined body to the side and turned to the next man, bullets ricocheting off his body. He lost himself in the battle, letting the haze of battle fury sweep over him. The soldiers' terrified faces distorted into a mass of blurred bodies. They were nothing, wheat for the reaping, and, he would cut them down. In some distant part of his mind that remained untouched by the fury of his attack, he wondered why the wheat was singing.

Finally, the battle came to an end, and the berserker wave emptied from him like a river after the dam had been raised. Colossus surveyed the carnage around him. Blood coated the walls, and the floors were slick with the stuff. Bodies were strewn about the corridor in heaps and a few were embedded in the walls. Body parts, heads and arms, mostly, were scattered about the place. He raised his brain and blood covered fists to eyelevel, surprised to see he was still in armored form.

Sabretooth stalked around the carnage around them, thrusting his claws into each body. "Pretty good, there, Ruskie." He grinned and ran his tongue over his talons. "When you let yourself go, you got a nasty streak in ya. You almost scared even me."

Colossus shuddered at the display, and wiped his hands on a soldier's uniform. "Let us do this, Sabretooth. Let us end it."

Kitty leaned back in her chair, nervously nibbling her lip despite the stoic expression she wore. She had already put on her costume, now all that was left was for her to head out to the jet. Mr. Logan was already aboard, prepping the Blackbird for flight. Scott was off saying goodbye to Jean.

This was their first open mission, the first time they would fight publicly. Granted, that public was going to be a few terrified soldiers, but it didn't matter. A few, a mob, a nation, whomever they fought before, this would be their first mission to take credit for, in front of spectators who knew what was happening. A lot rode on the outcome. They needed to win, to beat back Magneto's lackeys, quickly and show the soldiers that they were capable of dealing with a mutant threat. However, they needed to also demonstrate that they were the good guys. The soldiers would be scared, hurt, and angry; they would want to blame someone, anyone, even their rescuers, for their suffering and humiliation.

A soft knock at her door roused her from her musings. "Katherine, may I come in?"

"Sure thing, Professor." She sighed as she opened the door and returned to her chair.

Xavier wheeled himself into the room, looking appraisingly at the girl sitting before him. Was it the right decision? Choosing one so young for such an important task? Did she fully understand the gravity of situation before her? She was young, impetuous. This mission was too delicate to risk to bravado or inexperience. It is best if Katherine acts as a supportive role, getting prisoners to safety, and remaining out of the larger battle. Yes, best ensure she understands her role.

"I would like to speak with you about the mission, and the role you shall play in it."

"It's like some giant game of Pickle," she signed again.

"Pardon?" He cocked an eyebrow, confused at her meaning.

"Our mission." The lithe girl reached into her pocket and popped a piece of bubblegum into her mouth.

"I don't follow."

"We're screwed, no matter what we do."

"How so?" Curious, Xavier leaned forward, searching her face for a hint of her meaning. "The task seems simple enough: demonstrate that you are there in a supportive capacity, and with the full auspices of the United States government by defeating Sabretooth and Colossus and rescuing the people stationed at the base. And, in that regard, I must discuss with you your position on the team..." Kitty continued on seemingly unaware of the Professor's intention for coming.

"Well, it's like this: If we lose, it's bad, Magneto wins, and humanity suffers. Although we, like, don't know what he's up to yet." She shook her head, refusing to let herself be distracted by the errant thought of what, exactly, Magneto wanted. "But, if we win, it's just as bad."

"Interesting." He wondered where the girl was going with this. Were these pre-combat jitters, or something more? Half-expecting to hear her make an offhand comment about her manicure getting ruined, or messing up her hair, Xavier waited for her to continue.

"We need to show the soldiers that we're the good guys. But, if we win too easily, we could spook them, and that wouldn't be good. They could, like, decide that we're no better than Magneto's boys, or, at least, just as dangerous, simply because we did it so easily. But, if we take too long, they're going to decide that we're useless, and just want to get in on the action." She paused, catching her breath."

"It's a razor's edge." Xavier tented his fingers before his chin, intrigued by the girl's insight.

"Yup. Do too well, and we scare them; do too badly, and we're not taken seriously. A pickle."

"We need to walk that edge."

"Also, how do we explain to these people that the Professor just happened to notice that a small military base in upstate Maine was attacked, when, by the time we're finished, the US strike team will have only just got there."

"The government contacted me, though. They could not respond to the attack on their own without causing great loss to both life and property."

Kitty shook her head. "But, the soldiers in that base probably don't know that. Or, if they do, it won't matter. Why was a man who formed a 'mutant gang' called when their own forces were ready and willing to fight? They're going to see it first as a mutant conspiracy." She sighed, and looked out the front window. "More importantly, though, after we win, we need to tell them that we want to help keep the world safe, but, like, on our terms. And, that we didn't help them because we thought, we, like, had to, like it was expected of us or something."

Xavier stared at her with his mouth wide open. He knew she was perceptive, but this was unexpected. He doubted that any save the more experienced members of the team had analyzed the situation as deeply. Scott, he was sure, had not; the boy was still convinced that this was a 'go in and save the day' mission, and that the results would justify and validate their presence. He would have realized that the soldiers needed to know that the Xmen were there to help, not hinder. But, that it was because the Xmen chose to help, Scott would have missed that entirely. Not that it was really his fault, it just wasn't what he was built for. Scott was a leader, the front man, the guy everyone looked up to and followed. And for that, Scott was an excellent choice. He had a natural cunning and grasp of tactics that, sometimes, left even Wolverine dumbfounded. Scott was brave, and daring, and full of conviction. But, those were qualities that soldiers admired, they were qualities that served you well on the battlefield and little elsewhere. The situation Kitty had just described was politics, plain and simple. And, politics had little place on the battlefield, and even less in the thinking of a field commander.

After what seemed an eternity, Xavier clamped his jaw shut and smiled.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Nothing, simply to ask you to take care on this mission." He smiled, this time knowingly, "And, to not do anything too impetuous. I have high expectations of you, and know you will be fine."

Kitty blushed, burying her face in her arms. "You think so? I mean, I'm, like scared beyond belief, and this is, like, so important."

"Yes, I believe so. Now, best hurry along." He turned and wheeled back out into the hallway, chuckling silently as Kitty muttered something about the trip being murder for her manicure.