Chapter 26

(Angela)

When it all finally happened, we all had our own theories on why it happened. Charles, for all that he's a man of science, held firm to the fate theory, that some things were just simply meant to happen. Hank thought it might have been in direct retaliation to Yukon mission. But the one I held the most faith in was Evie, who just said "I told you they were coming".

The day itself was mostly unremarkable. It was early May and everyone was immersed in reviewing for finals. We had our largest graduating class to date and applications for admission were already pouring in. When I wasn't teaching, grading or being a Mom, I was tucked away in a corner of the Professor's office going over the applications and flagging the ones that met all the necessary criteria. Most notable was the fact that, for the first time, non-mutants were applying for admission. This was a cause for concern amongst some of the staff – mostly Logan and Rogue – but the rest of us felt it was an important step. If normal humans were willing to send their children here for an education regardless of who or what their classmates and teachers would be, it told me that the country had finally realized what we'd been saying all along – mutants really are people too.

Of course, I wasn't the end all, be all of admissions. My whole job there was to simply sort out the most likelies from the absolutely nots. When the first of the applications arrived, fully half from non-mutants, I had a meeting with Charles about scholarships. I know he was a very wealthy man, but I felt that it wasn't really fair for him to foot the entire bill for those who had the academic qualifications but couldn't afford the tuition. He tried to argue with me by saying it was his school so it was his responsibility, but I simply pointed out that I had a small fortune of my own and since he was paying me to teach, I had more than enough money to burn. After an hour of not backing down, he finally gave in and anyone who was admitted for the next school year on scholarship would be doing so on my dime. It was the least I could do and in the end, it allowed me to feel like I was still helping the school even if I couldn't be there myself.

So, that was how I was spending that evening, when the world came crashing down. I had several piles of applications in front of me, the "yes", the "no", the "maybe" and "look again when I'm awake". The last pile had been growing much faster than the others for a while and when I bothered to notice, I realized that the sun was almost done setting. I made another pile, "un-filed" and left the office for dinner.

Again, nothing was remarkable about it. I sat with Logan, Kurt and Buzz like usual, Evie was sitting with Wendy and her other friends from school. Kurt was trying to convince Logan to give over the defense classes to Kyro, because they needed another foreign language teacher. Since Logan's fluent in so many, he was the natural choice, but of course he was totally opposed to the idea. What it boiled down to was that Logan didn't want to be confined to a classroom. Like it or not, the Wolverine inside him would think of a classroom as a cage and didn't want anything to do with it. After about an hour of convincing, cajoling and downright begging, Kurt finally managed to talk him into it. The teleporter didn't exactly cheer, but the grin on his face was more than enough to convince me that he really wanted to.

After dinner, we all went out to the patio for the usual after-dinner brandy ritual. It was a wonderfully mild night, the last chill of winter finally chased away, the air holding just a hint of the summer heat yet to come. I was sitting on the low wall that separates the patio from the lawn, leaning back with my eyes closed and listening to the night sounds. I filtered out the nearer noises of laughter and conversation to focus on the nature sounds further out. Crickets we chirping softly and a few night birds were just starting their nightly hunt. Just inside the trees, I could hear a small animal, maybe a raccoon, as it rooted through the underbrush for something to eat. A light breeze sighed through the trees, carrying with it the murmur of distant traffic. I was so caught up in my reverie that I didn't even hear Logan approach. "Hey darlin'. Penny for your thoughts."

I opened my eyes and smirked at him. "Are they worth that much?"

"Smartass." He sat down and took a long pull from the cigar in his hand. "Pretty night."

"Yeah, it really is." I replied as I snuggled into him. "Might have to go for a run later."

"Oh yeah?" He rumbled, then leaned down and kissed me. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

I nodded. "Way too long." We sat there in silence and watched our friends as they chatted animatedly, Sam making a sweeping gesture as he described something to Marie, Charles' eyes crinkling as he laughed at something Kurt said. I sighed in contentment as I watched them, a feeling that I still wasn't completely used to but I was really starting to like. "We're so damn lucky." I murmured.

"Yeah, we really are." He took a final drag from his smoke then stubbed it out on the wall. "Never thought I'd get used to somethin' like this, but I gotta admit that I can't remember ever bein' this happy before."

"Me either." We fell back into silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts, when we both caught the sound of someone running, followed by Evie bursting through the patio doors and making a beeline for us.

Logan sprang to his feet, instantly on alert, while I caught our daughter as she skidded to a halt in front of me. "Mommy, they're coming! The bad men are coming!"

Everyone on the patio stopped what they were doing and turned to us. I smoothed her hair away from her forehead and made her look me in the eyes. "When Evie? When will they be here?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just like Charles had taught her. "Not too long, about an hour I think."

Scott wasted no time, falling neatly into leader mode. "You heard her, people. We have an hour, let's move!"

An hour, but it might as well have been a minute. Either way, this night was going to change us all forever, some in ways no one had foreseen, not even my daughter. Logan turned and scooped her up into his arms and I followed as he trotted through the house with her. "C'mon princess, we gotta get your stuff."

"Daddy, I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here with you and Mommy!"

"I know punkin', but it's not safe for you here. We talked 'bout this."

"I lied." She pouted, even as her face screwed up and she choked back a sob. "I crossed my fingers when I promised I would go."

We hit the door to the suite and I immediately went to her room for the little bag we'd kept mostly packed since her visions started. I didn't even have to strain my ears to hear them talking in the other room. "That don't matter Evie, I'm your father an' if I say this is best for you, then it's true. You know I'd never lie to you."

"How long will I have to be gone?" She whispered. I tossed a few of her favorite toys, her copy of "Cinderella" and the specially shielded hat into the bag.

"I dunno, but we hope not too long." I heard a catch in Logan's voice and paused in my packing. "Genevieve, ya know I love you more'n anything in the whole world, right?"

"More'n Mommy?"

"No, that's a different love. I love her cuz I want to. I love you cuz I got no other choice. You are my whole world an' if I don't know that you're safe, it'll make me crazy. Aunt Rogue an' Uncle Atlas promised to take care of ya for me when you were just a baby, just in case somethin' came up where I couldn't be there."

"Why can't you an' Mommy come with me?" I snuck to the door and watched the two most important people in my life. Evie was sitting on the side of our bed with Logan kneeling in front of her, holding her tight. "Why do you hafta stay here?"

"Cuz this is our home an' we hafta protect it. An' you know the bad men are coming for you, so we hafta send you away. I don't like it, I don't want to leave ya, but if we left too, the bad men would come after us. If they see me an' your Mommy here, they'll think you're here too an' by the time they start lookin' for ya, it'll be too late, you'll be too far away for them to find."

I rushed out of her room to the bathroom and stuffed her toothbrush and hairbrush into the bag, then zipped it up and joined them. I set the bag down gently and knelt with them. Logan wrapped an arm around me to include me in the embrace. "Your Daddy's right, sweetheart. It breaks my heart to let you go like this, but if you got hurt it would stay broken. I promise, we will see you again and when we do, the bad men will be gone forever."

She looked at me, tears staining her face and pressed her forehead to mine. "Promise?"

"I'll pinky swear even." I held out my little finger and she hooked it with hers. "We both love you more than anything else in the world. We need you to be safe. And now you need to be brave and do this for us, ok?"

She nodded but didn't say anything. We sat there for another minute, both Logan and I convinced this would be the last time we'd be together, so we wanted to savor the moment, remember the way our girl felt in our arms. Finally, his arms relaxed and he kissed her fiercely on her forehead. "Time to go, punkin'." He scooped her up and we dashed down to the hangar.

The whole trip from patio to suite to hangar had taken less than ten minutes, but it had felt both much longer and far too short at the same time. Marie, Remy, Ororo and Sam were already in the jet finishing the pre-flight routine. We dashed up the ramp and strapped our daughter into a seat, securing her bag in one of the compartments near the back. Logan turned to Rogue, his expression grave. "I know I don't hafta tell ya to take good care o' her." He said.

"No Logan, you don't." She replied and wrapped her arms around him. They stood there like that for a long moment and I couldn't help but smile. I actually owed Marie a great deal for the way my life had turned out. For so long, Logan had wrapped himself in layers of armor, to protect himself from getting hurt again. Marie had carved a chink in that protection, when she stood up to him on a frozen road in the Canadian wastes and refused to be left behind. She was the first person he'd let in after he left me on a similar road on a brilliant autumn day so long ago and thus, she was special to him. When they broke apart, there were tears standing in her eyes too. "You take care o' these assholes an' bring us home, ya hear?" She said, her accent thickening as it usually did when she was emotional. "I expect y'all to call us in a day or two."

"You bet Marie." Logan replied, his voice thick. "Now get outta here, you're runnin' outta time."

I made my way to the front and hugged Sam and Storm fiercely. Nothing needed to be said, they could read in my eyes everything I was thinking. Take care of her, they said. Take care of her and love her and let her know we love her too. Logan took my place and I embraced Marie myself, giving my most precious treasure to her trust. Lastly, I turned to Remy. "Come here, Cajun." I whispered and he wrapped his arms around me. He murmured something softly to me in French and though I didn't understand the words, the meaning was clear. She'll be safe with us, my friend, and we will protect her with our lives. I couldn't ask for anything more.

"We're ready for takeoff." Storm said, her voice hitching. "You two better go."

I nodded and turned back to my daughter, hugging her fiercely. "Be good for your aunts and uncles, Evie. I love you."

Logan took my place and wrapped his arms around her. "If you see anythin' that might help, you let someone know. They have a secret way of talkin' to everyone here, so you make sure you tell someone."

"I will Daddy." She whispered, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Good girl. I love you, always will. An' this ain't goodbye, you got it? It's see you later."

"I know Daddy. I love you."

Every part of me was screaming to stay on that plane, but I knew I couldn't. I let Logan steer me down the aisle to the ramp and I spared a last glance over my shoulder. Marie was already sitting next to her, holding her close. I had done the best I could here and I knew that. Keeping her away from Weapon X was the most important thing and she was in the best hands I could think of other than my own. I didn't even realize that I wasn't in the hangar anymore until I heard the roar of the engines and the rumbling of the overhead door sliding open. I ran as fast as I could up the stairs and out the patio doors, arriving just in time for the jet to turn and shoot off into the night. I finally broke down and fell to my knees weeping, feeling as though I had just lost a big part of myself. In a way, I had. Logan got down on the ground with me and we just held each other for a few minutes, grieving for the absence of the little girl that had brought our lives to a level neither one of us ever thought we would enjoy again.

Eventually, Logan relaxed his arms and grasped me hard by the shoulders. "Angela, pull it together. We got work to do."

"I miss her already," I whispered, dashing the tears from my eyes, "I feel so empty."

"I know darlin', but they're still comin' an' we gotta be ready for 'em." I looked into his eyes, but they were hard. Logan was letting the Wolverine out and the Hellcat responded immediately. "I know it's hard, but you gotta shut it down for now. She's away from us an' it's all their fault, you got that? It's their fault, not yours."

I could feel the ache in my chest receding as the animal came forward. My vision was slowly coming over in that familiar crimson haze and the night was bathed in blood. I clenched my jaw and stood up. "Come on, let's do this."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Less than half an hour later, all hell broke loose and it happened pretty much the way that Evie saw it. Oh, there were small differences, like the part where we did manage to get all the kids out, so there weren't any holed up in the Danger Room. Gamma team had seen to that, led by Warren and Buzz (who we felt had no place remaining in the mansion, being human and all). We'd also gotten Evie out well in advance of the attack, so that was also different. Lastly, we deployed the teams a bit differently, splitting Alpha into three groups instead of two. Cyclops was leading Beast, Totem, Nightcrawler and Phantom as Alpha One, Logan leading Sage, Echo, Medusa and Colossus as Alpha Two and I was leading Alpha Three, which consisted of Iceman, Shadowcat, Jubilee and Sunfire on loan from Delta.

Beta team was being led by Cannonball, who had Wind Dancer, Wolfsbane, Rictor, Magma and Polaris, while Delta was in the capable hands of Specter with Siryn, Sway, Thunderbird and Dazzler completing that team. The attack came from the back, since that was the only place large enough for them to land choppers and to safely deploy the Sentinel we knew was coming. Since that was the main site of their attack, Alpha One and Two were focusing all their attention there. Alpha Three took on the flanking position, while Beta and Delta were still in the same positions as Evie's vision.

The last major difference was the attack itself. Since we were not being taken by surprise, something they didn't know, we launched an offensive as soon as the first chopper hove into view. Cyclops started firing from the ground as Dazzler – on the roof with Delta – used the pulsing sound of the helicopter blades to generate bursts of light to blind the pilots, but they still managed to maneuver close enough to the ground for the foot troops to rappel out of the choppers and begin the assault. Over the com, Beta team reported that foot soldiers were simply climbing over the walls before they moved in to engage. I was waiting in the woods with my team for the choppers to finish unloading their living cargo so we could come in from behind and get them surrounded.

The battle was fierce, with bullets and grenades flying towards us even as we engaged them at close range. Rather than try to toss the explosives back towards the enemy, we were kicking or tossing them into the woods, while those who could were disabling them using their powers. Still, some of them got through to the mansion proper, where yet another surprise waited for them. Professor X was locked safely inside Cerebro, but he wasn't using the machine itself. Instead, he simply waited for soldiers to enter the house where they would inexplicably fall asleep, forget what they were doing or otherwise find themselves unable to fight. He was the secret weapon that Evie's vision hadn't included at all and it worked like a charm – until it didn't anymore.

We all heard his mental cry, followed by about a dozen soldiers suddenly finding themselves sitting quietly in the lounge as though waiting for something. They quickly shook themselves into action, waking the dozen or so that had been knocked out by his telepathic suggestion. The only thing that could have caused that was if a stronger telepath had knocked out the Professor. Cyclops barked an order over the com for Alpha Two to go inside to secure the mansion. My team responded without needing the order to take up the position vacated by Two and the battle continued. We were outnumbered, but they were outclassed and the moment they realized that, they started to fall back into the woods. I cursed softly when Cyclops ordered us all back into the mansion to regroup.

"Ok, they've gone into the forest, which means that Sentinel is probably on the way," he said and everyone but Logan, Kyro and me nodded. When he noticed that, Scott scowled. "What?"

"They're regrouping too, calling in the Sentinel, but this is the part where they start shelling the house." I said.

"There's no reason, what they want isn't here and the ones who made it inside have been taken care of…again." He looked around at the still forms of the unconscious and dead soldiers that littered the area. "She's not here, so why would they bother?"

"Because they don't know that. They think she's here, so they're gonna do what they have to do to get in. Trust me, they'll be using heavy ordnance on us any second now."

I looked around at the teams and was happy to see that we were mostly ok. Iceman had a small cut on his forehead and Echo had taken a gunshot through one of her wings that Hank had already bandaged. One of Jubilee's eyes was swelling shut, which would turn into a beautiful shiner by the next day and Phantom had lost a tooth when he was a bit slow dodging a fist that had been aimed at Kurt, who had simply teleported away. Since Phantom had been invisible at the time, the man was stunned when his fist connected with something (Phantom's face), but only long enough for Nightcrawler to reappear behind him and knock him out with little effort. There were various other scrapes and bruises, but so far we were all alive. "Cyclops, you have to have Nightcrawler get the Professor out of here and we'll handle the rest."

"Agreed." He said and the blue man teleported away without fuss. He looked over the teams and frowned. "Ok, I want Beta and Delta to go back to their positions until I say otherwise. Hellcat, Iceman, Sunfire, I want you with Alpha Two. Shadowcat and Jubilee with Alpha One."

"Where we goin'?" Logan asked, his leather suit sporting several bullet holes.

"I want your team to stay near the mansion, deploy whoever you want inside, the rest outside. Alpha One, we're going back out as soon as they start firing. Go!"

The teams scrambled and Logan turned to the rest of us. "All right, you heard the man. Echo, Sunfire and Iceman, get outside. You're in charge of 'em Popsicle."

"Roger Wolverine." Bobby replied and the three of them left.

Logan turned to the rest of us and smirked. "Hellcat, take Medusa and Colossus and cover the lower levels. I'm takin' Sage upstairs with me."

"Not gonna pull rank?" Sage commented, glancing at me.

Logan glared at her. "No, I ain't. She can take o' herself. Now go!" We scattered to our positions, though I did look over my shoulder just as Logan did the same. He gave me a small nod and a wink before dashing up the stairs. We'd barely gotten into position near the stairs (the elevator had been disabled long before they showed up) when the mansion was rocked to the foundations by the impact of something large and explosive. For the second time that night, all hell broke loose.

As the first volley died down, I heard the heavy sound of boots approaching the house. I sent Medusa downstairs to cover the really secret stuff and had Colossus cover the opposite end of the first floor from me. Iceman's team did what they could to keep them out, but about half a dozen still managed to slip past them and into the mansion proper. Half of them went straight up the stairs, while the remaining three spread out to cover the first floor. Perfect.

I slipped out all my claws even as I faded into the deep shadows formed by the alcove near the stairs to the lower levels. I crouched low, hoping that the soldier wouldn't have the sense to sweep lower than his own waist level with his light or have infrared gear on. I lucked out on the latter, but this guy had apparently been briefed on the possible mutants he may discover and their abilities and the first thing he did was point his gun with attached flashlight towards the floor. I was already on the move by the time the light hit the spot where I'd been waiting and I hit him hard and high with all of my weight. He was a pretty big guy, at least a foot taller than me and outweighing me by about ninety pounds. However, he hadn't been prepared for two hundred pounds of snarling woman to come flying at his face and I managed to topple him over. His rifle was useless with me right on top of him like that, so he fumbled out a sidearm and brought it up. He wasn't quite fast enough and I slashed his forearm open from elbow to wrist, severing tendons and shredding muscles and blood vessels alike. He shrieked in horror as blood sprayed from the wound and I turned my head in time to be missed by most of it. I grabbed him by the throat and pulled his face close to mine. "Who-what are you?" He stammered.

"The last fucking thing you'll ever see." I replied and tore his throat out. I heard shouting at the other end of the hall and had just turned to assist Colossus when I saw two figures flying gracelessly down the hall to land in a heap in near the lounge. I stalked over to them, but neither one was moving. I kicked one in the ribs, then my head shot up as I heard another person approaching. I relaxed when I saw it was Colossus. "Nice work kiddo." I said with a smirk.

"I learned from the best." He replied with a grin. A split second later, we heard Logan shout "incoming!" and the sounds of his claws connecting with flesh, followed shortly by the forms of three soldiers plummeting from the third floor balcony. They landed with a wet thud and didn't move.

Sarah came up beside me and we contemplated the bodies for a moment, then shrugged. I looked up and chuckled. "Nice work."

"I am the best, you know." Logan replied with a chuckle of his own.

"Second best, I came first."

"Well they always have to make a rough draft before…"

"Finish that statement and we'll have more than words later." I warned playfully.

"Bring it, darlin'." I heard his claws retract with a snikt and the sound of his feet on the stairs. "We're comin' back down." I waited at the base of the stairs for them, arms crossed, smirk firmly in place. He stopped on the last step so he towered over me by more than two feet. "Somethin' on your mind?"

"All kinds of things," I replied, being more than a little cheeky, "but I think I'll start with…" I never got to finish the statement as a grenade crashed through the patio doors and exploded before it hit the floor. Everyone dove for cover as soon when they heard the glass shatter, but it was a fragmenting grenade and shrapnel flew through the air, breaking more glass and priceless antiques, and I heard Sarah's agonized scream. Logan was up in a flash and running to her even as two more grenades followed the first, also detonating before they hit the floor and I knew he'd gone to her to cover her with his own mostly indestructible body before she could take more damage. Colossus had wisely grabbed Sage and gone metal as the first one was sailing towards us, so I knew they were both all right. I felt a burning sensation as a bit of shrapnel tore through my scalp and blood poured enthusiastically from the wound. I reached up to check it, but it didn't feel too bad. When the smoke finally cleared, I quickly looked around and went immediately to Logan's side.

"How is she?" I asked even as I tried to visually assess her condition.

"She's hit in the leg pretty bad. We gotta get her downstairs." He tapped his earpiece and spoke quickly. "Alpha Two to Alpha One, Medusa is down, repeat Medusa is down. Send med support asap."

"Copy Alpha Two, help is on the way." Beast replied and the com was silent again.

I waved Colossus over to us. "You have to get her down there immediately, no waiting." I ordered. He nodded once and gathered her up, his skin still metallic and dashed for the stairs. A second later, Hank appeared through the shattered doors. "They're just ahead of you, go!" I shouted and he left without a word.

Logan looked at Sage and me and sighed. "Sage, get down to security central an' seal yourself in. Do not open that door for anyone 'cept me or Cyclops, understood?"

"No." She said simply and he quirked his eyebrow at her. "What good can I do down there?"

"You can stay alive, that's what you'll do. I don't have time to worry about coverin' ya."

"I can fight, you two saw to that. This is my home too, I have a right to help protect it!"

"An' you have a responsibility to follow orders, girl. Now go!"

She scowled but took off anyway. Now it was just the two of us. He opened his mouth to say something to me, but we both caught the unmistakable sound of an incoming rocket. "Down!" He barked even as he grabbed me and threw himself on top of me behind the dubious cover of one of the pillars that lined this part of the hall. A gaping hole surrounded by debris that had fallen from the room above had appeared and four soldiers rushed in through the gap. We sprang to our feet and engaged them immediately, showing no mercy to these men who were here on a useless mission. We got a bit separated during the melee and as I finished off the last one I was engaged with, I once again heard the sound of an incoming missile.

"Logan, look out!" I screamed as I dove for cover behind the huge pile of rubble from the first rocket. Logan dove in after me and the missile impacted the wall near where I'd been standing. I reached up to tap my earpiece for a situation report, only to discover that I'd lost it. It was all right though, because Logan still had his and had done the same. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I don't know!" He shouted back over the din of bullets and missiles that had suddenly taken over the near quiet of a few moments before.

"Where's the rest of the teams?" I asked, suddenly gripped by déjà vu.

"Beta's still out front, keepin' 'em busy with strike an' runs, Polaris is keepin' most o' the heavy ordnance out of it. Delta's on the roof keepin' the choppers busy. Alpha One is still out back an' the rest of Alpha Two's tryin' to outflank 'em again."

Bullets flew all around us, tracers making bright red lines in the dark that stung my eyes. My mind made a sudden connection at the same time as Logan's. "Holy shit, this is where it always started." I said and he nodded, knowing I was talking about Evie's dream. I shifted to my knees to get up. "The Director! He's upstairs, right now! And you, you have to get Colossus outside and stop that fucking Sentinel!"

"I thought you didn't want to leave me?" He said, his mouth quirking.

I smiled and stroked his cheek. "I don't, but you have to go anyway." I smiled softly and took my hand away from his face. "I love you." I whispered, hoping this foreknowledge would save me in the end.

His expression softened a bit. "I know. I love you too, tiger." He grabbed me and kissed me hard enough to bruise my lips. "Now go! Get outta here an' find that bastard! No matter where you go, I'll find you. No matter what happens! I promise."

I nodded and swallowed around a lump in my throat as he reached out to stroke my cheek. Then he was on his feet, barking into the com for Colossus to get his ass outside as I took off up the stairs. I didn't know how much lead time I had on the guy, but I knew the Director was upstairs looking for someone who simply wasn't there. I hit the second floor hallway and dashed for my suite, praying that I was at least a few seconds ahead of the assault team. As I skidded around the corner, I realized I was still too late.

A man in army fatigues came stalking out of the door as I came to a halt, my claws springing out in preparation for a fight. I snarled involuntarily and he brought his weapon around, a light shining almost painfully in my face. "Where is she?" He demanded.

I laughed and started stalking forward. "You're too late, asshole. She's been gone nearly an hour. Once the jet went sub-orbital," I shrugged and smirked at him, "it could be anywhere by now."

"Stupid bitch! You're gonna pay for that!" His finger tightened on the trigger and instead of diving for the floor, I sprang straight up, twisting in the air just enough to come down right in front of him. I slashed his face with my left as I did the same to his groin with my right. He screamed in agony and went down, clutching himself. Loreena Bobbit had it right; some guys just don't deserve to have a dick.

My body tensed suddenly and I hit the floor in a roll as the bullet that had always taken me out in Evie's dream whistled past me close enough that I could feel the heat of it on my cheek. I came up and slashed the throat of the man holding the gun. He went down hard on his face, drowning in his own blood and I kicked the body over, hoping it was the man I wanted. It wasn't. A heartbeat later, pain tore through my body like fire and I looked down to see the hilt of an impossibly long knife buried in right side. My eyes traveled slowly upwards and behind me, taking in the hand, the arm, the shoulder and finally the face of the person holding it. My eyes widened in recognition and he jerked the blade out of me. "Too…late." I whispered as I felt myself slipping away.

"So I see, Hellcat." The Director replied with a sneer. "But if you tell me where she is now, I'll spare your life."

"Can't…kill me…for long." I said, clutching my side and falling to one knee. "Didja…forget…that part?"

"You can't live if your heart is missing. And I will cut that thing out of you if you don't give me what I want."

"Can't…give you…what I don't…have."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

I shrugged, then winced at the pain that lanced from the stab wound. "Makes you…feel…better to…believe that…go right ahead."

He frowned at me, then turned to someone behind him. "Take it from her." He snapped. Four soldiers that were positioned back there parted and a very pretty young girl with soft brown eyes and long red hair appeared, looking completely at home amongst all the carnage. She appeared to be about twelve years old, clad in the same type of military garb as the rest of the people here. She stood in front of me for a moment before raising her hands and placing them on either side of my head.

I've never felt anything like it, not even back in the Bad Old Days. The telepaths then were a slippery lot, but this little girl made them look just as headblind as I was. It felt like she had me in her grasp for hours, raping my memory for any sign of where my daughter was. And that's the only thing that comes close to the way it felt; rape. After all these years of Charles' comforting mental presence, I wasn't prepared for the creature before me. She ripped through my memories like they were paper, violating even the most intimate of my recollections. When she let go, I fell to the floor, gasping. "She knows what I am." The little girl stated.

"What?" The Director said, clearly unnerved. "How?"

"Her daughter, she's a precog. They knew we were coming, knew who I was. But she told the truth before. She doesn't know where the girl is. She made sure no one told her where they were taking her."

The Director swore under his breath and I laughed. "We…changed it…asshole." I said, grinning in spite of my impending doom. "You'll never…find her."

"And you'll pay for that, bitch!" He shoved Phoenix aside and knelt down next to me, his knife poised above my heart. "Understand that it does pain me to have to do this. You were one of the greatest weapons I've ever forged. All you ever had to do was come home."

"I am home," I whispered. He sneered at me and thrust the knife forward, but he had misjudged the placement by just a hair and hit one of my adamantium-covered ribs. Before he could rectify his mistake, his radio crackled to life. "Strike team to Director, the Sentinel is down, repeat the Sentinel is down. Fall back immediately!" He cursed again and looked at me, his eyes like black chips of ice in my failing vision. He brought the knife down mercilessly, missing my heart by less than a millimeter and gave it a vicious twist before pulling it out. "Next time, Hellcat, I will finish you. Unless you change your mind and come home where you belong." He stood up and strode down the hallway.

I couldn't breathe, his second stab wound deflating my lung even before he twisted it. I struggled to roll over, but found I didn't have the strength. I didn't realize I wasn't alone until I felt Phoenix touch my face. "I know what you're thinking, that you can save me. I don't need saved." She smiled at me, but it was cold, with no feeling behind it. "Goodbye." She turned her back and walked away.

I had to get out of the hallway, even if it took my last bit of strength. Thinking of everyone who had been hurt tonight, my lover, my absent daughter and my dead one, I rolled over and pulled myself along with my right arm, leaving a wide smear of blood on the floor as I went. I barely managed to get to the corner when I heard footsteps running towards me. I collapsed onto my face, too tired to care if it was friend or foe. A second later, I knew it was a friend. "Oh my stars and garters," Hank said and gently rolled me over. "Angela, what happened?"

"No time." I gasped, my voice sounding incredibly faint to my own ears. "Get me…to Logan."

"I'll get you downstairs and he can come to you." He gathered me up as gently as he could, paying no mind to my blood that stained his blue fur, turning it an absurd shade of purple. He took off at a smooth trot, but every step he took still sent shocks of pain through my body. We finally got to the infirmary and he laid me gently on an examination table. I mustered up enough strength to look around and see who else was there with me. Medusa was asleep, an I.V. stuck into her arm, but I knew about her. Iceman was sitting on a table, his leg splinted and cursing a blue streak. Jubilee was also laying on a table, a lump the size of a baby's fist on her forehead but otherwise ok. Kyro and Chasca sat side-by-side on a table, her left wing bound to her body while Kyro soothed her. And one table held a body covered with a sheet. Hank came back and started dressing the wound in my chest, busying himself trying to save me because he didn't know what else to do. I was dying and I knew that; I'm sure he did too. But he's a doctor and he would still try to save me and spare me the trouble of coming back again.

I pushed his hands away from me and gestured to the shrouded figure. "Who?" I asked.

Hank's mouth thinned as he continued to bandage me. "Peter…Phantom. Sentinel got him."

"Anyone…else?" Hank shook his head and I breathed a sigh of relief. It could have been so much worse, but even the loss of one was too many for me. "How's…the others?"

"No one made it unhurt, except Kitty and Logan. Colossus got caught with his steel pants down, took a minor gunshot to his left arm. Mostly cuts and bruises for the rest, a couple other gunshots but nothing life-threatening." He finally gave up his battle with my chest wound and contented himself to holding a mass of gauze sponges over the gaping hole. "We've asked Elixir to come back to help Sarah and Jubilee."

I nodded slightly, the motion making my head swim and I knew it wouldn't be much longer. I heard the infirmary doors open and the familiar footfalls of my lover followed by the comforting whirring of the Professor's wheelchair. Logan pushed Hank aside and placed his hand over the makeshift dressing, while grasping my hand with the other. "Hey tiger. What'd I tell you 'bout keepin' your head down all those years ago?"

"Not shot…stabbed." I said and smiled weakly. My hands felt like blocks of ice in Logan's warm ones and my smile wavered. "She…was here. Phoenix."

"We know. She's the one who took out the Professor earlier. Coulda killed him, but they wanted to get to Evie."

I hissed in pain again and he gripped my hand tighter. "Logan…we have…to go back…you know that…right?"

He clenched his jaw and nodded. "Yeah, I do." A tear slipped from the corner of his eye, but it wasn't a tear for me. It was for the thing we had to do, the thing we'd previously discarded.

I managed another small smile for him. "It's…what we…are Logan. P-prodigal…children…" His face swam out of focus before me and I died.

AN: DUN DUN DUH NUH NUH!! (That's supposed to be dramatic music)...:) There's a teensy little part of me that almost wants to post the epilogue now too...but the bigger, really eeeevvvviiilllll part of me is gonna make you wait...:) And you can call go ahead and ask whatever you want in your reviews or whatever, but i'm not gonna tell you ANYTHING BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (That's supposed to be my evil laugh)...:) At any rate, special thanks to the usual suspects, especially Levanna, TnTornado and theNightEnchantress...it's you guys that keep me going!

Now, if you DO want the epilogue sooner rather than later, i suggest that one of you who have been reading and not reviewing take the plunge now...i assure you, i'll post that epilogue as soon as i get the review...otherwise, you'll have to wait FOUR DAYS...can you handle it:)