A/N: I don't own any of the X-Men or the Marvel Universe. Not even a bit of Sabertooth's toenail, and you'd think not many people would want to lay claim to that. But, not mine. *sigh*

Also, Robert Frost's totally awesome poetry is not mine either. Otherwise I would be world famous, and probably not writing fanfiction.

Thanks to everyone's who's reviewed. I thrive on feedback. :)

Scott was falling through blackness, pursued by a monster. Everything he tried to grasp onto withered and crumbled beneath his touch. He reached for absolutes, and felt them twisted from his grasp.

I am Scott Summers. I am the leader of the X-Men. I am a good man.

I am Scott Summers. I am the leader of the Dogs of War. I obey my superiors.

The echo voice… it sounded like, him, but he knew it wasn't. Blade was following him closely, changing everything he held dear, altering his identity. If she succeeded, Scott knew he would gladly give Andras and his colleagues everything they wanted, and more.

I fight for what is right. I defend the innocent.

A few lives taken can save many more. Rogue mutants are time bombs waiting to explode. I must protect the innocent and bring all the mutants safely under control.

I am loyal to Professor Xavier. He made me what I am. I believe in his dream.

Professor Xavier used me and then cast me aside. All of the X-Men turned on me, no-one helped me. I deal in reality, not dreams.

Jean…

Jean hates me. She betrayed me. She should pay for that.

Kitty, I have to save Kitty…

I am the reason Kitty is so hurt. If I'd left her in the expert care of the doctors, she would be fine. Instead, I nearly got her killed. She'll hate me as well, but for good reason.

Kitty is so precious. I have to hold on for her.

I will look after her by leading the Dogs of War to the best of my ability.

This was getting him nowhere. Worse, he felt his resolve slipping with every support Blade removed from his mind. A growing compulsion welled within him, telling him to just give himself over to Blade's capable hands, to let her remake him in a stronger image, take away all his doubts and worries. After all, it was inevitable. Why not give in now?

Reason had abandoned him, so Scott abandoned it. He fell back, seeking better ground. Emotion… can she handle that? He called to mind words that spoke to the deepest part of his soul, words that had, ever since he first heard them, defined duty; the need to hold on, and push past personal boundaries to get the job he was tasked with completed.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I will lead the Dogs of War, I want to-

I have promises to keep

The X-Men betrayed me, I owe them no loyalty-

Miles to go before I sleep

I led Kitty to her death-

Miles to go before I sleep

Scott could almost feel the telepath grinding her teeth in rage. A blast of mental hatred smashed into his mind full-force, and everything dissolved into agony once again. But then, something changed… power flooded him, familiar and warm. He smiled. Checkmate.

And, forcing himself through the drugs and the pain, he opened his eyes. He had a brief glimpse of Blade, her face contorted with fury, staring into his eyes; and then the familiar wash of energy sprang forth and smashed into her, and she was gone.

It took him a while to get out of his restraints, but he managed it eventually. Rising on unsteady legs, he made his way to the door. After exiting the room, he took a shaky breath as he considered his options. He needed to find Kitty… which probably meant taking another prisoner. Nothing for it, then.

He had nearly made it to the end of the hall when two people turned the corner and nearly collided with him. Scott nearly blasted them before he realized that one of them was Kitty. "Kitty!"

"Scott!" She looked into his eyes. "It's you. It's – it's really you. She didn't take you away." She touched his cheek, almost as if she were reassuring himself he was really here, then leaned up on tip-toes to kiss him.

Scott felt a shock run through him as their lips met. Kitty tasted light and sweet and pure, overlaid by the metallic taint of blood, and everything else seemed to melt away. There was only the sweet woman in his arms, one person who encompassed his whole world.

They were jolted rudely back into reality as Remy shoved them to the side. A beam of energy shot past their heads as they scrambled back around the corner, and then a brilliant flash of light that hazed their vision for a moment.

"Conduit," Kitty gasped. She was utterly mortified about what she'd just done. Kissing a married man! Or was he married? She couldn't quite remember that clearly. But she did know he was Jean's, and as soon as they were out of here, he was never going to want to look at her again…

Then she realized something else. "Scott! Your – your eyes! You mutation didn't come back?"

Scott smiled at her, and there was a fire in his eyes that she'd never seen before. "Au contraire." Rising smoothly to his feet, he stepped around the corner without any attempt to shield himself.

"Scott!" Kitty darted after him, Remy on her heels, hoping against hope that she'd get to him before Conduit released her laser. But the woman walking towards them was already cupping her hands, light gathering around them, until it lanced forth directly at Cyclops…

And smashed into the scarlet beams that issued from his eyes. Light met pure concussive force and they fought for dominance, splashing off each other, sending out splinters and streamers to smash into the walls, leaving them scorched and broken. Then one of Remy's shuriken flew past and ruptured the woman's headset in a burst of kinetic power, and Scott's beam forged ahead with no opposition. Kitty thought she heard Conduit start to scream before the jet of ruby force picked her up off her feet and hurled her backwards, to smash through the door behind her and far back into the room beyond.

The beam winked out, and Scott turned back to them grimly. He tapped the side of his head. "I don't know how, but I can control it, now. My guess would be that when my mutation restarted itself, it basically hit the reset button… my brain had a chance to repair whatever was damaged before that made it impossible for me to control the energy."

Kitty reached out and took his hand, awe-struck. He'd never have to wear the visor again.

Remy was looking at Conduit's fallen body, pain in his eyes. "We need to stop Andras. We cannot let him continue to do this to innocents."

Scott squeezed Kitty's hand and released it before he turned to Remy. "I concur. While I would prefer to leave here and return with more backup, the fact is he'd be long gone by the time we got back." He hesitated, then looked back at her. "Kitty, you don't have to come."

"That's Shadowcat to you, Cyclops," she shot back fiercely. "I'm part of the team; you lead, I follow. I've lived their nightmare for a year. No one else should have to. We need to end this."

"The man's office be on the seventh floor," Remy said grimly, fingering one of his shuriken. "Follow me."

They met several more groups of guards on the way up. The three mutants fighting in unison were a lethal team, and nothing lasted against them for long. Kitty would bounce down the hallways phasing through the walls and into the rooms beyond long enough to catch her breath before resuming her leapfrog advance. It was never certain that she'd get to her targets before the men had neutralized them. Scott's pinpoint accuracy coupled with Remy's exploding projectiles tended to make short work of the opposition.

They entered the office cautiously, ready for anything. Dr. Andras was sitting at his paper-strewn desk, facing towards them. He made no move as they entered, save a small quirk of the lips that might have been a smile. Scott felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was very wrong. His eyes flicked from side to side, assessing the situation, but there were no visible dangers.

"My wayward children," Andras greeted them tiredly. "You have made a mess of things, haven't you?"

Remy flipped a shuriken into the air and caught it again. "We be setting to rights all that you have inflicted on us," he gritted. "In this life, every man has a price to charge and a price to pay. Today, Doctor, your payment is due."

"Oh, it is my fault, really," Andras continued, ignoring the brown-haired mutant. "I should have had more safeguards, should've been more careful. Ekene was right. But my approach has always been more… theoretical. The beauty of the work carried me away. I'm only human… unlike you three."

"It is over," Scott said firmly. "You'll be coming with us, Andras. I think the authorities will be interested in hearing about what you've been up to. Kidnapping, torture, murder… I think you'll be going away for a long time."

Andras sighed. "No… no, I don't think so. My employers wish to keep this operation quiet, for now, until we are ready to unveil our work. The mistakes made here are my responsibility. Did you know in the old days, if a ship was sinking, the Captain would stay on board? He would be in command until the very end. That is my choice."

Suddenly, the door behind them slid to with a clang, and a high-pitched whining sounded for an instant before dropping away. Andras nodded. "This building will explode in five minutes. We put in the time lapse in order to allow significant personnel the time to reach one of the helicopters on the roof. As I have stated, however, I will be remaining. Best to die with honor. There are no exits from this room save for the door, which will not open without the code. The mistake ends here."

"Kitty-" Scott began.

"On it." Taking each of her comrades by the arm, she moved towards the door, slamming her head into the metal. Her head snapped back as she groaned in pain.

"Oh, sorry," Andras laughed. "Did I forget to tell you that there is a version of the MSD installed in the room? Unfortunately not the full scale model we had downstairs; the suppression is not permanent. But it will do. You will not be able to access your powers while in the room."

Scott caught Kitty as she stumbled back, stunned, and eased her to the floor. Remy touched her shoulder, then turned to the door. "You never were as smart as you though, Andras," he shot back over his shoulder as he began examining the walls around the edges of the doorway. "You think you can lock Gambit in a room? This thief, he still remembers his old tricks. The Thieves Guild Initiation was harder than this."

Andras shook his head. "You are wasting your time," he observed as Remy smashed in a portion of the wall and began to fiddle with something inside. "It is impossible to open that door. This is a top, military-level security system; it cannot be broken. I would advise you to die with some dignity, not scratching at the edges of your cage like rats in a trap."

"Scott," Kitty said quietly. "I'm so sorry I got you into this. If I had the choice, I'd stay locked up here forever rather than have you get hurt. I-"

He laid a finger on her lips. "Hush. No apologies. If these are the last minutes we will spend on this earth, we should not waste them with that."

She reached up and took his hand softly. "You are right. There's only one thing I want to say. I love you, Scott. I love you as my mentor, I love you as my friend, I love you as my savior; but most of all…" her voice failed her for a moment, and she took a deep breath before continuing, her heart hammering in her chest. "Most of all, I love you as a woman loves a man."

Scott seemed frozen, staring at her, and Kitty felt her heart sink, anticipating his rejection, however kind. Then his mouth softened into a smile, and his eyes were alight, gazing into hers with more intensity than anyone ever had before. "Katherine, dear heart. There is nowhere I'd rather be than here with you." He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed it to his lips.

There was a click from the door as the lock disengaged. "Done," Remy announced crisply. "We should go." He looked at the couple on the floor, raising one eyebrow. "Unless I'm interrupting something?"

Both rather red in the face, the two got to their feet. Kitty swayed a little, and Scott reached out a hand to support her. Remy turned the doorknob cautiously, then opened the door just a crack and leaned over quickly to peer outside. "All clear." He opened it fully.

"One last thing," Andras said from behind them. They turned back, Scott the most quickly, because there was something wrong about the Doctor's voice… so he was the first to see the pistol Andras had taken from beneath the desk. And there was no time, no time to call on his mutation, because Kitty was the closet, and the weapon was already in line; blasting Andras wouldn't stop him from pulling the trigger; no time to call out, no time to do anything but throw himself into Kitty as hard as he could, twisting as he went, shielding her with his body. Fire lanced across his side and back, and that was the end.