New chapter up, about two weeks ahead of schedule—which is nothing short of a miracle really.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.

--

The car pulled up to the gates of the Xavier manor slowly, with a gentle purr of its engine. It was a rental car, courtesy of Storm and Hertz, but they had to use caution; there was something serious going on with mutant hating.

Logan couldn't quite pick it up from the numerous mutant bashing talk shows on the car's radio. Neither, for that matter, could he catch it from the single station that had seemed to support the mutants. It was crazy, like he'd just stepped back in time. The only reason he knew he hadn't was because of the other feral mutant who had insisted on driving the vehicle.

"C'mon Jimmy, gimme the password so we can just get inside already." Victor growled with a shove to get his little brother back into the present.

"I'll do it." Logan muttered as he leaned over Victor and reached to type in the access code.

"What the hell?" Victor shouted in the other mutant's ear. "Could've just let me do it." He said in a quieter tone, now that he wasn't being half suffocated with an adamantium-fused skeleton.

Logan gave a quick upward quirk of his lips. "I don't trust ya yet."

Victor looked furious for a moment, but then noticed the lightness in his brother's tone. Instead, he settled for some unintelligible mutterings that were too low even for heightened senses. As he did this, Victor put the car into gear and pulled up the drive quicker than he needed to.

"Hey, slow down, you'll scare the kids." Logan warned.

Victor scoffed and looked at his brother with a long sideways glance. "Since when did you become such a mother hen?"

"Listen, god knows what the hell's been happenin' here. If they see us skiddin' up the drive, they're gonna think we're in trouble. I won't let that happen."

"Yeah whatever." Victor muttered, but he slowed it down anyway. They pulled up at the front of the mansion promptly. Logan didn't even wait for Victor to stop the engine before opening the door and hopping out. Victor wasn't far behind, shoving the keys into his coat pocket before catching up and matching the brisk pace of his brother. By that time, Logan had a key of his own ready and he put it into the keyhole, opening the main door and moving inside. Victor closed it behind him with a casual backhand that made a loud 'thud' that reverberated around the whole room.

It was then that Storm appeared, hurrying down the stairs two steps at a time.

"Logan!" She greeted with evident relief before she even set eyes on him. When her eyes lifted and saw not one but two men in front of her, she stopped. She was very still for a long time.

Both Victor and Logan could see the thought process beyond her irises. "You know Victor, right?" Logan asked uncomfortably.

Slowly, Storm's eyes moved to Logan. It wasn't long however, before she stared at Victor intently once again. She seemed tense, nervous, worried, and just about ready to attack if she needed to. Victor was just about to become quite difficult when Storm blinked and composed herself.

"You're alive." She said.

Victor shrugged. "'Was last time I checked, anyway."

A sign of mild amusement flickered in the muscles of her eyes and lips. She looked to Logan. "I should have known," She said with a shake of her head, "Any brother of you wouldn't be deterred by a measly three hundred foot drop."

Victor scoffed, drawing the attention back to himself. "Ya kiddin' me? That was nothin'. It'd take a lot more than that to put me down."

Logan gave him a long sideways look, which showed exactly what he thought of Victor's healing abilities. There was no way he could brush off that sort of fall, let alone Victor with his sluggish healing process. Victor glared at his brother, daring him to challenge his words. Logan just shrugged.

Storm caught the interaction between the two men but said nothing. She took the distraction as a chance to analyse the former Sabertooth. He didn't look as wild as he had before, didn't look like was going to start killing things either. That was good. And she was sure that Logan wouldn't bring a homicidal minded mutant into the house. After considering the circumstances, her options and the consequences to them, Storm nodded.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you to our home, Mr. Creed."

Victor could have scoffed, snorted or made some stinging, hostile comment. Instead, he nodded. "It's Victor. And thanks."

Storm nodded graciously at being corrected. "Victor, then." She said softly before becoming business-like. "But I'm afraid we don't have time to spare. I really must fill you in." She paused. "Can I make the assumption that we'll have you on our side, Victor?"

Victor's brow creased in slight agitation. Why the hell else would he be here if he wasn't going to be on their side. But still, he held his tongue. "'Course." He said.

"Good. Follow me."

Storm turned and walked briskly to the late Xavier's office. Logan and Victor followed a few steps behind. Logan closed the door behind him as he entered, turning around to see Storm and his brother sitting down by Xavier's old desk.

Storm hadn't changed the Professor's office at all. It was exactly the same as when Logan had been taken there after Sabertooth had attacked him and Marie all that time ago. The only differences were minimal; a small statuette of a horse that one of the kids had given Storm, a neatly stacked pile of papers and a flat screen TV on the wall. The remote to the TV was in her hand.

"Watch this." She told the other two mutants as she held up her arm and pressed the on button. The screen flickered on to show a group of people in a large auditorium-like structure. Men and women sat in designated places, marked by the names of their countries as they talked quietly to the neighbouring delegates. The seating plan was in a semi-circle around the focal point—a podium. There was no one standing behind it however. It took a moment before the two mutants recognised what they were seeing as a world meeting of some sort.

The air was sombre.

Logan frowned, "What—"

Storm interrupted him. "Watch." She said.

Logan returned his gaze to the scene on the monitor. As soon as he did, the room in the television hushed and a man strode up to the podium. He was a middle to older aged man, who had an air of ex-military about him. He wore a suit that was undoubtedly expensive and he carried a manila folder in the crook of his arm. There was a serious look in his eyes as he stood at the dais and glanced at the camera. The sound of him shuffling papers was amplified around the auditorium and consequently, through the TV speakers into Xavier's office. The man let out an unsteady breath and looked up. He didn't appear nervous, but he started his speech with a shake in his voice.

"As most of you know, my name is David Hewitt." He paused. His eyes were downcast, though focused too far away to be reading his notes. He licked his lips. "My wife and child were killed. Many of my friends have been permanently injured. All by mutants. Two months ago, I had to go to a young couple's house in Idaho and tell them that an uncontrollable mutant went wild and tore their daughter to pieces with his mind."

David Hewitt stopped, cleared his throat and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief that he produced from the inside of his jacket.

"You all know why I'm here today. I will not allow innocent people to get hurt because of that species. I appeal to the assembly today that each mutant undergo a complete testing and collaring."

There was a wave of muttering that spread through the crowd at the man's controversial viewpoint. The adjudicator stood up angrily and called for quiet in the room. The room fell silent and the adjudicator motioned to the man to continue. Hewitt thanked him quietly before addressing the gathering.

"It seems harsh. I am aware of this. But I believe it is necessary. We must know what kind of abilities these people have, and how powerful they are. We must know, so we can prevent disasters before they happen. Despite the work of a small body, we have only seen hostility—immense hostility—from the mutant community. This cannot be tolerated. What happens the next time a person with the power to manipulate metal decides to lash out? Or what about the woman in America who stopped her ex-husband's heart from beating last week? This is an old argument. I know it is. But we are having it again and again, because so far, anything we have done has achieved nothing. We tried to ignore the problem, but the mutants demanded our attention. We tried to get rid of them; they fought back harder than ever. Then we tried to work together with them, and they turn around and do this to us.

"I know there are some groups; The X-men, The MPC, The UML, who have in the past worked for peace and symbiosis between Homo sapien and Homo superior. And to those who have, I personally thank you. You are a credit to your species and have acted admirably in my eyes. But even if a snake doesn't bite, it is still a snake. And the few who have decided not to fight are not nearly numerous enough for us to safely say that the mutant population will be kept subdued. I am not a trigger-happy man. These mutants say they want peace. I do too. This is a means of peace, an assurance that we can live side by side. I don't want genocide, I don't want the remains of a species to be brought into labs and tested on. I don't want them to be put into prisons or ghettos or work camps. But I do want safety."

"I don't want to ever again have to tell a parent that their child is dead. I didn't ever want to be that parent, that husband, who was told. These mutants are not all bad. And to the ones that are decent, to the organisations that have fought for us, I beg that you come forward and agree to this. You want to save your species. This is the way to do it. To those that would fight this proposition—this peace offering… you are too dangerous not to be collared."

David Hewitt stopped for a moment, letting his words sink in. He closed his manila folder with half a sigh before continuing. He sounded nothing but saddened when he spoke again.

"Thank you all for taking the time to listen to me today. You know my beliefs, my wishes. But more importantly, you know what must be done. I have offered you the cleanest, cheapest, and fairest solution to this problem, you should all take it and avoid another war in our time."

The room was silent as the man gathered his folder and, instead of walking back to his seat, left the auditorium. The adjudicator stood up and introduced the next person, a woman in a baby pink suit that was walking to take her place at the podium when the screen went black.

Both Victor and Logan looked to Ororo Monroe to see the deep crease that had formed at her brow. "That was Davit Hewitt, one of the leading moderates proposing the suppressing of mutants."

Victor scoffed. "Why waste time showin' us the moderates? It's them crazies that always have the evil schemes."

Storm looked agitated, even though both men knew it wasn't directed at Victor. "Because it's the moderates that people are listening to. People have gone for crazy before and its done nothing but worsen the situation. That man," Storm said, pointing to the blank television screen, "Is a voice of reason in a screaming crowd. A loud voice that's downed out all the others."

"What happened to spark all of this off?" Logan asked, rubbing the side of his face.

Storm shook her head sadly. She looked tired. "A group of young mutants." She told them, "They were just kids really, but you know how kids get in groups. They were in school when a fight broke out between them and another group. One of the mutant kids got hit pretty badly. I think he might have hit his head, triggering off some sort of defence mechanism because he lost control of his powers. He had the ability to split atoms. He said that he had blacked out and when he came to, everyone within a ten foot radius to him was…" Storm gulped, avoiding the word that would best describe the scene, "…everyone was dead."

Storm ran a hand through her hair and distractedly fiddled with the pen on her desk. "The report showed five deaths in total; a teacher, two boys, one of his mutant friends and the young girl that David Hewitt was speaking of on that recording. The media got a hold of it and twisted it. Made it sound as if the boy was looking for trouble, as if he was a terror. People were outraged. Mutant hating groups rejoined and the attacks have started again. Hewitt is right, having mutants collared is possibly the only way to ensure peace."

"What exactly is this collarin' thing?" Victor asked.

"A band that keeps our powers suppressed. It's much like the cure, only it doesn't take away our powers, just stops them from being activated. It's not really a collar, more like a metal armband. But once it's on, it doesn't come off without a special device. If you're to believe the word on the street, they're made from adamantium. It's not really any different to the cure, only an illusion of more freedom. But I can't help but think it's the best we're going to get."

"Ain't no way they're getting that on me." Victor announced.

"The only alternative is war." Storm replied.

The room was quiet for a moment. Logan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms as his brow creased in thought. "What are we goin' to do?"

Storm shook her head. "We're a school full of children, not politicians." She groaned and hid her eyes for a second. "Oh, Logan, I can't ask these kids to give up their abilities. It's against everything we've ever stood for; Charles wanted a world that accepted us for us. He wanted us to combine our powers so that we could work together and thrive. Not this…"

Victor shook his head. "That ain't never gonna happen, sister. Humans don't like to share. Trust me, I've seen it enough times—we both have." He motioned to his brother. "It ain't gonna change."

"Oh yeah, and what do you suggest we do?" Storm demanded as bitterness and anger crept through her voice.

Victor shrugged. "Jimmy, you know my views. Only sure way that I can think of is war."

Storm stopped whatever she was going to say next due to astonishment. "War?" She said incredulously, "War? Are you insane? That's exactly the opposite of what we're trying to achieve. We're not soldiers, we just want peace."

Victor scoffed. "Yer not soldiers, not politicians so what are you? Just a bunch of kids playing dress up? Grow up, would ya?"

Storm snarled—actually snarled. Her eyes bled white in fury and she spit her words through gritted teeth. "Grow up?" She asked, as the sky outside dulled ominously, "Grow up!" She shrieked. "You pathetic little man, what the hell would you know about growing up? The things I'd do for this school, for these children—the things I've already done. The sacrifices I made by coming here, by continuing on after the Professor died. And I'd do it all again for these children. But what about you? What the hell do you have to show for your miserable life? Do you have any idea how much pain you caused us mutants? This whole thing," She waved her arm at the television, "is partly on your head. You did this—so don't you even dare lecture me on growing up!"

Victor jumped up and roared his retort. "Me? I haven't done squat. That was Magneto not me—the old coot would'a done it with or without me. You ain't got no right to—"

Logan jumped into the fray himself with a shake of his head, using his body as a barrier between the two mutants.

"Stop it!" He commanded in his best 'no-nonsense' voice. Storm and Victor did as he commanded. Logan allotted about a second and a half for himself to feel smug before dealing with the other two mutants.

"What yer doin' now ain't helpin' anyone. Not the kids and certainly not us. This situation looks bad, I get that, but now is not the time to be lashin' out and actin' stupid." Logan told both of them, but his eyes lingered on Victor longer than Storm. "Now, are we goin' to start talkin' like grown-ups or do we need to take a break?"

Victor's jaw seemed set in stubbornness. Storm lowered her gaze, looking ashamed. Her eyes bled back to their normal colour and she regained her composure.

"Of course," She said, "Forgive me. I know it's no excuse, but I've been under a lot of stress at the moment. I apologise, Victor, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Victor didn't speak for a long time. Logan glared at him darkly—something that Victor decidedly ignored. Eventually he nodded "Sure, sorry." He muttered reluctantly.

Storm sighed in relief and in fatigue as she lowered herself back down in the chair. "It's been a long couple of months." She said absently, "I still have no idea what to do about this. Charles would know…"

"Yeah well he ain't here." Victor observed correctly, though insensitively. Storm gave him a dark look but Victor continued. "Hear me out, would ya?" He said in agitation.

Storm made a small gesture with her hand for him to continue. Both Victor and Logan had returned to their seats by the time he started to share his views.

"It's like this; people are afraid that mutants are goin' to destroy the world or somethin', yeah?" Victor looked around to gain approval. Both Logan and Storm nodded. "They think that little by little, we're all goin' psycho and attackin' it in small bits. So if we start a war and show them our true powers and then stop it, they'll see that we weren't doin' nothin'. If we get the humans scared of us and then say that we only fought 'cause we were pushed into a corner, not only would we gain a certain amount of sympathy, but it'll also show that we choose peace. At that stage we could get anythin' we wanted from peaceful negotiations. Hell, we could even get a whole continent just for mutants, I'd bet."

Logan knew Victor wasn't just the half-witted animal he tried to portray, and hence, this decision did not surprise him. Actually, it made good sense. He was almost at the point of thinking it could work when Storm shook her head and said it wouldn't.

Victor looked insulted that she had not thought it was a good idea. "And why the hell not?" He demanded.

"In theory, it's a fine idea." Storm confessed. "And if I was a general of an army, then yes, I'd do it. But as I've said before, this is a school and I'm not willing to put that kind of blood on my hands. Charles may no longer be here, but I will still follow his ethos. War isn't the way forward. I'm sorry."

Victor shrugged. "Maybe not." He admitted, "But it's the way its gonna be. Trust me, if I've seen it once, I've seen it a thousand times. Humans can't wait to go to war. I bet they're already itchin' fer it."

A small disapproving crinkle appeared between Storm's brows. "I think you should put more faith in humanity." She suggested.

Victor snorted. "Lady, I've been around too long to put any sort of faith in anythin' to do with humanity. You've got no clue what me an' Jimmy have been through, or how much we've seen. This sort of thing has happened before, why wouldn't it happen again?"

Storm pursed her lips and thought about Victor's words. She looked to the quiet Logan as she thought. "So you found your answers?" She asked, though she had already made the presumption that he had. Logan nodded to confirm her assumptions.

"I'm glad." She said honestly. She took another moment to think. When she had come to a conclusion in her head, she nodded slightly and her gaze fell on the two feral mutants in front of her. "I can't control what happens in the political world—and I think it's to soon to take action without seeing how things pan out. Therefore, we'll have to decide what to do about the students here."

"They're still all here, are they?" Logan asked, genuinely interested to see what kind of situation they would be dealing with.

Storm gave a quick shake of her head. "Not all, no. Some of the student's parents took them home, but the majority of them are, yes."

"What, don't their mummies and daddies care about them?" Victor scoffed as he lounged sluggishly in his chair. This received him another dark look from Storm and forced Logan to express his feelings through a roll of his eyes.

Storm's jaw was visibly tensed. "Some of their parents don't care—you're right. Some of them don't even have parents. But on the other hand, there are also a lot of parents who don't think it would be safe to allow their mutant child to come back to a mutant hating area. This school is home for a lot of these children—it's a refuge, a safe haven. That's why I've decided to include them on this," She stood up, "We'll take a vote and see what's to be done."

Logan nodded slowly as he too, considered their options. "Yeah, though its probably safer fer them here than with any of their families."

Storm nodded and moved from behind the desk and made her way to the door. "I'll gather them up." She said as she disappeared form the room.

Logan shifted uncomfortably as he prepared for what he was about to say. "Here, Victor… Just, ya might want to watch what ya say and how ya react to things. I mean, yer not exactly the most favourite person 'round here."

Victor bristled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He demanded, crossing his arms and rising to his full height.

Logan met his brother's gaze and remained impassive to his aggression. "Look, I'm just sayin', the last time any o' these kids heard from you, you were tryin' to kill half the human population. Not to mention Marie—hell I don't even…" Logan trailed away, imagining all the possible scenarios of Marie and Victor meeting. Considering Victor had terrorised her not so long ago, Logan couldn't imagine that she'd be all that happy to see him.

"What?" Victor asked, still agitated.

Logan shook his head. "Nothin', don't worry 'bout it. C'mon, I don't wanna keep Storm waitin'."

Victor's mood diminished as a grin split across his face, "Whipped much?" He questioned, snorting.

Logan wasn't even insulted. "I'll tell ya, you get hit with one or two of Storm's lightning forks and see how brave you are after it." Logan walked past Victor and followed Storm's exit.

Victor couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. "Geez, if only Stryker knew all he had to do to tame you was dump you in a school full o' kids and a fine lookin' broad." He muttered to himself as he walked through the door, closing it with a bang.

--

By the time Logan and Victor got into the sitting room where all the kids had gathered, they were already last to arrive. They were met with the sound of quiet, uneasy conversations between small groups that were too afraid to be truly enjoying the frivolous things they were talking about. Logan stepped through first, going over to the wall so he could lean against it. Storm was seated in front of everyone and all the students were facing more or less in her direction. Ororo saw that the two feral mutants had arrived and nodded slightly. She stood up and was about to speak when one of the students, a boy about thirteen, shouted out in sudden fear as his gaze fell on Victor. Like dominos falling, each head turned in the direction of Logan and Victor. Hank McCoy and Warren Worthington had, amazingly, only noticed their presence with the rest of the school. It was a scene where absolute chaos looked likely to erupt any second. Luckily for Victor though, Storm's calm, cool voice controlled everything.

"Which brings us to our new guest." She said in a voice that was slightly offhand and just casual enough for everyone to know she was not worried. Yet it was not so easygoing as to let anyone think for a moment that any type of projectile would be permitted. Some of the students had already stood up and looked ready to explode into a flurry of impressive 'Logan learned' defence moves. But Storm made them hesitate and think twice. Logan saw Marie standing alongside Bobby, he was glad to see her, but her eyes were firmly on Victor. Throwing a quick glance to his brother, Logan caught the 'cool as cucumber' air that Victor was emitting into the room.

Hank cleared his throat politely. "What, may I ask, is going on?" His gaze went from Storm to Victor and then to Logan.

Victor looked at the blue feral mutant with disinterest. As far as he was concerned, the so called 'McCoy' was nothing more that a blue rug. He didn't look all that threatening. As for the spoilt looking kid with wings beside him?

They sure as hell don't make X-men like they used to…

He thought about saying it, but remembered Logan's words and decided against it. He'd have plenty of chances to screw up somehow later; it was probably for the best he didn't fall at the first fence. But damn were they making it hard on him.

Logan looked to Storm, expecting her to do the talking. Instead, he met her commanding gaze that clearly gave him his orders.

Logan sighed. "This is Victor Creed." He said, "He's gonna be stayin' with us fer a while."

There was a moment where the room was silent, expecting Logan to say more—like explain why the new arrival was here. Of course they knew who he was, Victor Creed had turned into something of a bogeyman among the younger kids and occasionally one of them would have nightmares about them. Hank McCoy couldn't remember the amount of times he had assured the children that Sabertooth was dead and that they should all get back to sleep. Great, now he had just lost all credibility.

"Like hell he is!" Marie shouted from her spot beside Bobby Drake. She looked as if she was ready to pummel Victor. Logan was tense, afraid that she actually would—not that she'd be any threat to Victor but rather a threat to herself. Marie's powers were gone; it would be like a kitten trying to kill an elephant. Victor would squish her, even if he was on his best behaviour today.

"Yeah, he is." Logan told her calmly.

Marie looked horrified. "Logan, he tried ta kill me! He's with Magneto. Ya can't be serious."

"Well I am, so get used to it darlin' 'caus he's got as much right to be here as anyone else."

Marie's eyes widened with disbelief that Logan would use such a hostile tone towards her.

"He's a terrorist!" Bobby Drake snarled, coming to the aid of his girlfriend, grabbing her hand protectively. Many other voices rose in agreement as the younger kids shuffled further away.

Logan growled. "Now look here," He said. "Victor ain't a terrorist. And even if he was, didn't the professor always say that everyone deserved a second chance?"

Victor snorted at the cheesiness and received a dark glare from Logan. He just shrugged as if to say, 'what did you think was going to happen'? Truth was, Logan hadn't thought that far ahead. Looking back, it would have been a good idea.

"What if he tries to kill us?" One of the younger kids asked.

"Or eat us?" Another cried, setting off another wave of fear and panic.

Logan smacked his hand to his forehead. "Shut it!" He roared ferociously, shocking everyone into stunned silence. "He's not gonna kill you and he sure as hell won't eat any of you." Logan turned to his brother. "Tell 'em."

Victor sighed, "He's right. Kids taste disgusting."

"Shut up." Logan ordered as he turned back to the children whose eyes were as wide as plates. "He's jokin'." He explained quickly, before they got any more ideas.

"How d'you know he's not just playin' ya fer a fool, Logan?" Marie demanded, the anger still prevalent in her voice.

"Bloody hell, Marie, don't ya even have the smallest bit of faith in me?" He asked, exasperated. Marie's eyes were hard. She stood her ground. Such stubbornness usually made him proud—now it was damn annoying.

"Ya wanna know how I know?" Logan asked, looking around the room and meeting the eager gazes. "'Cause he's my brother."

There was utter stillness in the room. No one moved for a long time. Victor was the first to really spoil the mood by pushing himself off of the wall he had been leaning on and saying, "Well, that was fun."

Before Logan could retort with frustrated response, Storm once again took over.

"Now that we've got that settled," She said, making everyone to grudgingly turn away from the brothers and look at her, "We really must get the to real matter at hand."

There was a sudden rush of quiet murmurs through the room that was characteristic of any school children.

"I've called you all together because as you know, there is more unrest than ever before. And as such, we must decide on a course of action. I don't know how long this peacetime will last, but we need to take advantage of it and be prepared. I'm going to let you all decide what is the best option. Would you rather we shut the school down and send you home? Or would you rather stay? I know there are some of you who do not have homes to go to and if we do close the school, we will of course, provide safe accommodation for you."

Victor glanced around the room dispassionately as Storm continued speaking.

"We're not going to make you make up your minds just yet; you'll have the rest of the evening to decide. Write down your decision and we'll gather all of them. Alright?"

There were nods and murmurs, but no one spoke.

"Alright then," Storm went on, "We won't take any more of your time. Please consider this carefully."

Storm moved from her place and walked back down the room towards Victor and Logan. "Logan, you can get Victor settled in, can't you?" She asked. "I've got some things to take care of."

Logan nodded. "O' course."

Storm smiled and moved away briskly, going off to do whatever she needed to. By the time Logan looked back, Hank McCoy was halfway over to them. Warren Worthington held back, gazing suspiciously at Victor.

"Good afternoon," Hank McCoy said as he extended out his furry blue hand, "I'm Dr. McCoy, but Hank is fine."

Victor looked down at the hand dispassionately. He huffed. "Victor." He said shortly, looking just slightly agitated.

Logan moved quickly. "Doc, can this wait till later? We've been travellin' all day."

Hank looked slightly flustered at the sudden change in situation but nodded. "Ah, of course yes, how rude of me—it never even crossed my mind."

"No prob Doc, I'll see ya later." Logan said as he pushed Victor out of the room. He glanced back to see that most of the student body had already dispersed. Only Marie and Bobby Drake stayed still. Marie was glaring darkly at him and Victor. Her hands were by her side and clenched. She looked almost sinister and it caused Logan to shudder and quickly turn around. He never thought he'd say this but, thank god for the cure. At least now he could sleep soundly without having to worry about Victor getting his powers and life drained.

"C'mon." Logan muttered gruffly, "Let's go before this gets messy."

Victor was ushered out of the room, all the while protesting grouchily. "What the hell?" He grumbled.

Logan shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Here, I'll show you the room."

They walked back into the corridor and halfway up the stairs when they heard Storm's voice calling to them. They turned and faced the quickly approaching Storm. She looked tense.

"What is it?" Logan asked.

Storm held up a piece of paper. It was a letter that looked very official. "This was delivered by a messenger just a moment ago…" She trailed off for a second as she turned it to face her. "It's a request for a dialogue."

"Dialogue?" Logan asked with a frown. "From who?"

Storm looked up with an unidentifiable emotion. It was something between confusion, amazement and fear. "It's from David Hewitt."

--

Well that's it for another while anyway.

By the way, the abbreviations earlier in the chapter MPC and UML stand for Mutant Peace Corp and United Mutant's League. As far as I know, they aren't real groups in the X-verse so I claiming them as my own.

Anyway hope you enjoyed it.

Cheers.