Charles knew something was terribly wrong even as he stepped off the plane and packed his meager luggage into the trunk of the shiny black car he knew was to take him back to the research facility. It was something about the grim set of the driver's face or his hollow eyes that spoke of tragedy. Charles dared not ask and he dared not look for fear of what he might find there. They (she) had to be alright. It would surely kill him if they weren't.

He, Moira, Erik and Levine sat in silence for an hour and a half as they rode through spectacular countryside to their destination. Though the pines were lovely and the sky was as blue as his eyes he saw none of it. One face swam in front of his vision, blocking out all other thought and care as he prayed to whoever would listen that they (she) were fine.

His heart fell to his toes as the car rounded the bend that took them straight into the heart of the facility and he saw the destruction there.

The place was in shambles. The handsome and well-structured front walk had been torn asunder and huge chunks of broken concrete and stone littered the grounds. Downed scraggly trees lay scattered here and there and the windows were mostly shattered, their glass scattered in pieces in every direction. Even the sky seemed to be now overcast and gray as men (far fewer than should have been out and about at a time like this) in black suits with faces as hollow as his driver's rushed back and forth.

Charles jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete halt and took off up what was left of the stone walk, dodging bits of stone and broken boulders. Five young people sat on a miraculously intact stretch of bench with their heads hung low and their eyes telling of their shock. There should have been seven. Where were the other two?

All questions fled his mind as a pretty little blonde in a short skirt and leather jacket leapt up and started toward him. It took him a moment to recognize his sister, but when he did he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent, relief flooding him like warm water.

Even as he held her his eyes frantically sought someone else, looking for that auburn hair…ah, there she was. Ellie was perched on the top of the stone bench with her head cradled by her hands as they lay on her knees. She was bent double and her hair covered her face and if he hadn't known her better he might have assumed she was crying.

Elle, he projected to her gently and she lifted her head to look at him with those emerald eyes that made his heart do a funny little leap.

I'm so sorry, Charles, she whispered, images of her shame and guilt at the previous night's events flooding his mind.

Don't worry about that now, love, he said, holding his hand out to her while gripping Raven still tighter. I'm just glad you're alright. She took his hand and he pulled her in close, clutching his two women to his chest and focusing in on the feel of Ellie's arms twined around his waist and the apple flavor her mind always carried with it.

After he was satisfied that they were truly whole and safe he let them go, not expecting in the least what Ellie did next.

No sooner had he loosened his hold on her than had she stepped away and into the arms of someone else. Erik wrapped her up and bent to press his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder as she did the same.

Charles was all of a sudden aware of a desire to snarl as his blood began to boil at the sight of them. The feeling was an unsettling to him as it was abrupt and he shook his head to clear it but was unable to really focus on anything until they had separated and Ellie had moved a few feet away to put a hand on Hank's shoulder.

I'll show you what happened later. Ellie's mind voice shattered whatever dark and mysterious haze had momentarily possessed him and jolted him back to the present.

Alright, he projected to her while speaking out loud to all of them. "We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately." It really wasn't fair of him to expect them to still be onboard with this mutant military idea after what had just happened, especially with no place for them all to go. Was the program still going to be in operation with the facility and most of its staff gone?

"We're not going home," Sean said, peering up at him through round, dark sunglasses.

"What?" Charles asked.

"He's not going back to prison," the boy said, looking at Alex as he did so.

"He killed Darwin!" Alex exclaimed, and Ellie's head fell forward again. She was trying hard not to cry.

"All the more reason for you to leave," Charles countered. This battle had taken a turn for the deadly and he certainly didn't want children involved, especially not knowing what he did now about Shaw and his associates. "This is over."

"Darwin's dead, Charles," Raven said quietly, her voice betraying her sorrow. "And we can't even bury him."

"We can avenge him." Erik's deep voice had everyone's heads snapping in his direction to stare.

Charles would not have this man's masochistic ideals contaminating the minds of his charges.

"Erik, a word please," he said, brushing past him to stand a ways away and out of earshot of all but Ellie with her sharp animal ears. "They're just kids," he said.

"No," Erik insisted. "They were kids. Shaw has his army, we need ours." The man spoke low but with an intensity Charles had come to expect. He glanced away and then down at his shoes, unable to meet that grey graze.

He had to admit, there was merit to the idea. It would take mutants to stop Shaw and four-powerful as they were-did not an army make. Neither did seven really, but it was better than four. Besides, he'd pulled these kids from their homes and one from prison to do this job and it wasn't fair to send them back now. He'd promised Alex that he wouldn't have to go back to prison, and what kind of monster went back on his word? In a split second, Charles had come to a decision that would change all of their lives forever.

He turned back to face the kids, their backs straightening and their figurative ears perking up as they awaited his answer.

"We'll have to train. All of us," he said, their sudden surge of excitement bolstering his own spirit.

Yes! I'm never going back to that hell-hole!

This is gonna be awesome! We'll be our own mutant army!

"Yes?" he asked, already knowing the answer. They nodded and Ellie smiled a dangerous smile at the promise of revenge and a good fight.

Then Hank threw a monkey wrench into the plans. "We can't stay here. Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go."

Charles caught Ellie's and Raven's eyes, the two women lighting up like sparklers on the Fourth of July with hope. He nodded slightly at them and they looked at each other, breaking out into huge ear-to-ear grins.

"Yes we do," Charles said.

"We're going home!" Ellie shouted, leaping into the air and sweeping Raven up for a joyous embrace.

Yes indeed. They were going home.

OxOxO

Standing back on good ole Westchester grass, the forest stretching out before her on all sides and a fresh breeze in her face, Ellie had never before felt more alive. Home, big and otherworldly as it was, stood magnificently before her like an old friend. Every brick, every stone, every window, every scent and every fine piece of art that clung to it like ivy was as familiar to her as the back of her hand, and seeing it again after so many years felt as if she had never left. Her face exploded into a wondrous smile as she lifted it toward the sun, the New York chill on her cheeks only making her that much warmer.

The building itself was powerful, built straight up in solid vertical lines and capped off with one solid roof with a few towers branching up here and there. The whole thing was essentially a solid cube. Very solid with huge picture windows on all three floors. The curtains had been drawn back and the grounds maintained for their arrival. A mass of huge, ancient green trees covered the hills that backed the castle with a few bright bursts of orange and yellow that added color.

"This is yours?" Sean's grating voice intruded on her reverie but she refused to let it detract from the beauty of being home.

"No," Charles said. "It's ours."

Only then did she look at them, clustered together and staring in awe at the castle that for so long had been home to Ellie, Raven and Charles. She could only imagine what it must be like for them now to see it for the first time. Ellie remembered feeling as if she'd woken up in Victorian England and deciding that perhaps finding herself in such a strange family's home wasn't so bad after all.

"Well, Charles," Erik said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't know how you survived. Living in such hardship."

Charles gave him a disparaging look and Raven wound her way to the front of the group to stand close to him. "Well, it was a hardship softened by me," she practically purred at Erik in a flirtatious way that irritated Ellie to no end. Charles kissed the blonde girl's cheek and she said, "Come on. Time for the tour."

"I think I'll go for a run if you don't mind," Ellie said to Charles who nodded his head with a knowing smile.

"Go on, we won't have dinner without you."

"Thanks, love!" She shouted, already leaping over the balcony. When he saw her streaking across the grounds on the other side, she was a cheetah, her form blurred with speed for only a moment before she disappeared.

Erik's gaze lingered on her retreating form until she vanished into the trees. Only then did he turn and follow them into the bowels of the palace Charles called home.

XoXoX

Ellie raced the wind across the open lawn and into the trees. Speeding along at sixty miles per hour she zipped in between the foliage just as she'd done a thousand times before, following the path she'd worn smooth years ago that had stood the test of time. It was fainter now and disappeared altogether in places, but her scent still lingered and she picked it up as faint as it was.

Oh, how she'd missed this place! She'd carved this path every day for years as doe and panther and wolf and rabbit and any other creature she could think of at the time. She'd even done it in snake form a few times. Snakes weren't a form she particularly enjoyed, what with the lack of legs and all, but she thought it might be interesting to try a few times anyway.

She ran as fast as she could for as far as the cheetah's short burst of stamina could carry her. Then, without hardly thinking about it, she melted into wolf form and all fatigue fled. The ease with which she had changed caught her off guard. She couldn't even remember a time when it had been that easy. It must be her reaction to finally being home after so long. The moment she'd stepped off the truck she'd felt her body begin to relax. The beast recognized her territory, and Ellie supposed that in her content she'd decided to behave. Well, she certainly wasn't complaining!

The silver wolf trotted leisurely through the forest, surveying her domain with vivid green eyes that were the only clue to her true nature. Her powerful canine nose picked up everything there was to be scented within a mile radius. A mouse had crossed her path about an hour earlier and a rabbit was coming this way now. Ellie's stomach growled but she ignored it. She'd wait until she got back to the house. Cooked food beat raw and bleeding any day.

She loped along as a wolf for a little while longer, calmly studying the way the sunlight filtered through the layers of forest to dance off of the ground. A bit farther along she came to the place where her path crossed perpendicular to a little stream she'd named The Babbler. It was as good a stopping place as any, so she bent her muzzle to lap up a bit of water and then sat down to rest for a moment. She wrapped her bushy tail around her paws and lifted her face into the breeze, simply enjoying the sensation of cool wind through her fur. After she'd caught her breath she got back up and began a slow, peaceful trek home.

The sun had set by the time she trotted through the huge oak double doors held open by Fran, one of the maids that had been with their little family for decades and had seen more than she probably cared to admit.

"Welcome home, Ms. Ellaina," she said warmly and laughed as Ellie reared up to lick her cheek.

Hi Fran! I've missed you! she called before proceeding to follow the scent of her favorite dish to the dining hall. Macaroni and cheese! Yum!

Seven people sat around one end of an opulent dining room table long enough to seat twenty. The golden candelabras were still standing elegantly at regular intervals along the glossy mahogany table and silver chairs with plum velvet cushions stood regally in their usual places. The massive paintings along the walls of various whimsical scenes added color and life to an otherwise dark room and the large window that made up one wall gave them an excellent view of the grounds.

"Ah, there you are!" Charles called to her from his customary seat at the head of the table. "We were beginning to worry." His bright smile was the icing on her already too-good-to-be-true cake.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said after melting seamlessly back into human form and taking her seat on his right where she was sandwiched firmly between him and Erik. Lovely.

The table was laden with more delicious food than Rhode Island could eat in a year, the macaroni situated directly in front of her fine china place setting. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to God for bringing her home after so long.

Without hesitating she reached out and loaded her plate with a little bit of everything in her reach, poured herself a glass of wine and dug in. After about a minute or so she became aware that no one else was eating yet.

She looked around and saw that they were all staring at her. "What?" she asked around a mouthful of macaroni.

Charles and Raven glanced at each other. "Nothing," he said with an amused smile, his crystal eyes dancing merrily. He gestured to the rest of them and suddenly the room was filled with the sounds of clinking silverware and pleasant conversation.

The next hour passed smoothly and rather quietly when compared with the chaos of the last few weeks. Ellie managed to carry on civilized conversation with everyone but Sean and Moira at least once. Sean bugged the living daylights out of her with his incessant gingerness and ridiculous jokes that made no sense and Moira bugged the living daylights out of her with her constant (and incredibly lacking in skill) flirtation with Charles and her overall stupidity. For some reason the woman just grated on her nerves.

Be that as it may, she left the table fuller and yet somehow lighter than she had been in a long time.

"Everyone, a moment please," Charles called to them as they began to stand, and they turned their attention toward him once more. He stood at the head of the table looking very businesslike with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes boring into the souls of all who dared meet his gaze. "We begin training promptly at nine tomorrow morning. Get a good night's sleep and meet in the common room no later than nine o'clock. Ellie, Erik and I will be in charge of lessons. Ellie will be teaching a bit of self-defense sans abilities while I will be handling the strengthening of your mutations. Erik will be shifting back and forth between the two of us, helping where he is needed. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask one of us. Sleep well and wake prepared."

"Ellie's gonna be doin what now?" she exclaimed, inhaling a bit of her wine in shock. She'd never taught anything before in her life, let alone self-defense! Had the man finally gone crazy?

"Teaching them how to defend themselves without using their mutations," Charles said slowly, raising a brow at her as if it were actually she that had lost her mind.

"Uhh…"

"Alright then, good night and we'll see you all in the morning!" Charles called in a clear dismissal and the kids filed out of the room leaving Ellie standing, thunderstruck, with Charles, Moira and Erik.

"Charles, are you sure you want me teaching these kids anything?" Ellie gripped his shoulder and whispered desperately into his ear. She couldn't do it! What would she teach? How would she teach?

Yes, I am and yes, you can, his mind voice echoed around inside her head as he pressed his confidence upon her.

Ok, Charles. I'll try.

You'll do spectacular.

Oh, she wished she could believe it.

OxOxO

"Well, no," she said to Erik as they arrived at the door to her suit. His was just down the hallway so he'd offered to walk her there. "I actually listen to all kinds of music, Celtic just happens to be my favorite."

"I never would have pegged you for the Celtic type," he commented.

"Well, I wouldn't have pegged you for the piano playing type." She'd found out a lot of interesting things about Erik on the roughly thirty minute walk that should have taken them fifteen. He was a musician and an avid reader with a taste for classics who had even dabbled in drawing for a while. Ellie thought she'd recognized a creative spark in him.

The two came to a halt just outside her door and hesitated. She didn't want to get ready for bed just yet.

"You are quite the interesting man, Mr. Lensherr," she said, leaning back against the wall. Her heartbeat picked up pace as he leaned in close, bracing his hands on either side of her.

A dark shadow flickered behind his gunmetal gray eyes, but before she could be sure she'd really seen it, it was gone. "You don't know the half of it," he said, his voice more like a low growl that sent a tremor up her spine.

Then he kissed her, his lips solid and firm but somehow soft at the same time. One hand came up to cup the back of her head and draw her in closer, deeper as he pressed his body against hers. Her hands moved of their own accord, sliding up under his turtleneck to ghost across the skin of his abdomen, every muscle clearly defined and rock solid. Delicious.

His tongue swiped the inside of her mouth briefly and it felt so good it made her teeth hurt.

Somehow, she managed to regain control of herself long enough to remember how important tomorrow would be. She broke away and removed her hand from the inside of his shirt. "We have a big day tomorrow. We'd better not get carried away now," she panted.

He smiled a devilish half smile that made her heart flip in her chest and nodded, kissing her once more lightly on the lips before taking off down the hallway to his own room. She was still leaning against the wall, cheeks flushed when Charles came upon her a few minutes later.

"Elle, are you alright?" he asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. It must have been the aftermath of her moment with Erik, but she'd never had to fight so hard to keep herself from lurching forward and claiming him then and there.

Through gritted teeth she replied, "Stellar," and vanished into her own room, turning on the small television in an effort to distract her from her man troubles and calm down. It didn't help. In fact, what she saw and heard on the television only made her feel worse.

President Kennedy has signed a formal proclamation setting up a blockade of all missiles bound for Cuba. The Soviet Union reacted by terming it, "a step along the road to unleashing a thermo-nuclear war". The wailing of sirens could be heard in the background as images of mushroom clouds and children practicing duck and cover drills in school flashed across the black and white screen.

Ellie's heart plummeted. She had more important things to worry about than men. If they didn't stop Shaw soon, if they failed, the world as they knew it would be no more.

Whoo! Back at Westchester, finally! We're on the home stretch people! I plan on spending a few chapters on their training at the castle and here in the next few will be the moment you've all been waiting for! That's right, romance! I can't wait!

As always, I thrive on your reviews!

Love you all!