August 19, 1992

Angel looked at the students. Most of them were asleep, safely tucked into bunkers. The cabin was large. Angel couldn't believe that it was only used for the occasional camping trip. It had far too many amenities.

Not for the first time she wondered just how rich the professor was. There had to be some sort of limit. He came from old money, something that Angel didn't even pretend to understand. All she knew was that he had a lot of it.

Archangel had been rich too. Angel vaguely remembered hearing, after she had quit the Brotherhood, that he was some sort of high-powered executive now. Maybe he donated occasionally. Hank had money as well. He must, now that he was a senator.

All around her she could hear a few soft murmurs. It was getting quiet, although some of the older students were still awake. Piotr was talking quietly to a young girl with dark hair. Angel vaguely caught the name Kitty.

She finished tucking Luna in before she went up to him. Kitty remained standing next to Piotr and Angel tapped his shoulder. He turned.

"We need to set up some sort of watch post," she said, "Make sure someone's awake to raise the alarm in case anything happens."

"Most of us are not running on much sleep," Piotr said.

"I can take first watch," Angel said, "I'm used to not getting much sleep."

Piotr raised his eyebrows. Next to him Kitty yawned. She nodded to Angel before walking off. Piotr watched her go and Angel wanted to sigh. She could remember being that age. She'd never gone through anything like that. There hadn't been anyone around to go through that with.

After she left the room Piotr turned his eyes towards her.

"You will need someone with you, da?" he asked.

"Sure, why not?" Angel said.

She walked out to the porch and took a seat. Piotr walked behind her, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight. Angel looked into the woods.

"You are worried," Piotr said.

It wasn't a question. Angel laughed.

"Yes," she said, "My best friend is out there fighting for her life. I couldn't go back for her son, Luna's brother. No one has tried to contact us. I am very, very worried."

Piotr sat down next to her.

"The X-men will come through," he said.

Angel laughed.

"Piotr, your faith does you credit," Angel said, "But where I come from it's best not to put all your eggs in one basket. It tends to end up shattered and nasty when you drop it."

Piotr gave her a long look.

"Where exactly did you come from?" he asked.

She laughed again.

"Nowhere good," she said.

Angel leaned back in her chair.

"But I got the courage to leave," she said, "And now...well...the little girl in the house behind me is the only member of my family I managed to save tonight."

She smiled sadly at Piotr.

"Which means that I'm not a complete failure," she said, "And that I'll fight to the death to make sure that she's alright."

Piotr nodded, as though this was satisfactory somehow. Angel leaned back further in the chair and looked out into the night, knowing she was up for a long wait. She could only hope and pray that Lorna and her son were safe.


Sean got out of the car. He'd come down as fast as he could. Having someone use your SHIELD clearance was no small matter. Alex had come with him. His flight had been delayed due to the storms in Florida, a fact which annoyed him greatly, and he'd been grateful to hitch a ride.

He wasn't happy that Terry had insisted on coming though. She was off pain medications. In many ways the wounds that she had sustained to her throat were very light. In other ways they were the most horrific thing that could have ever happened to her.

Terry moved, intending to get out of the car. Sean looked behind him, beseeching her with his eyes to stay. Terry stared silently back at him, her eyes narrowing by the second. He sighed and got out of the car. He wished that she would just understand that he wanted her safe.

Across the way he saw a small group of SHIELD agents standing on the perimeter. He could just make out Coulson and Sean walked up to him. He saw Coulson's eyes scan Alex, but once more he knew better than to ask questions.

"So, do you know what happened?" Sean asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Coulson said.

He gestured to the square behind him.

"It appears that a very advanced plane nearly crashed into the square," Coulson said, "Bystanders said a small group of young adults, aged about twenty, helped set it down."

Sean's heart sank.

"Were they flying it?" he asked.

"They were on the ground," Coulson said.

Behind him Alex swore. Sean felt like he needed some Tylenol. After that he was going to have to talk to Charles about making the X-men a bit more discreet.

"Afterwards one of them pulled out a SHIELD clearance and kept police away from the scene," Coulson said, "We didn't get a chance to ask what happened. Witnesses said that they took off about half an hour ago."

"Are you tracking them?" Sean said.

The question contained a few different layers. Coulson was well-trained enough to pick up on them all, just like his father had been.

"No," Coulson said, "We figured it would be pointless. The one with the clearance, your clearance stayed behind though."

Sean rubbed his temples.

"I'll fill out the paperwork to get my ass handed to me by Fury later," he said, "First I want to interrogate this guy."

"There's no need," Coulson said.

Behind him Terry crossed her arms. Sean frowned.

"Which one?" he asked.

"The first," Coulson said.

"You don't need to cover me," Sean said, "Not for this. This was my own fault-"

"It was Deadpool," Coulson said.

There was a long pause. Sean could see Terry stiffen, her whole body tensing.

"The guy with your clearance," Coulson said, "I think that Director Fury would understand."

Sean nodded, his throat dry. Alex glowered behind him, but Sean was more worried about his daughter. She continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes fixed on some unknowable point. He swallowed.

"Okay," he said, "But I still need to...talk to him."

What he really wanted to do was start punching him and never stop. He'd had his doubts about him from the beginning, his brash, insane ways. He'd worried about his daughter getting mixed up in that. Deadpool was more than just psychotic: he'd been a mercenary, and a particularly ruthless one. He did the dirtiest jobs as long as the money was halfway good.

He'd ended up owing SHIELD a few favors though, so he'd been around them far too much. Terry had always argued that there was good in him, good that not everyone could see. Sean had forced himself to step back, to try and accept his daughter's judgment. What had it gotten them? Terry had ended up hurt worse than she'd been hurt since she was a child. She hadn't cried about it, hadn't written any notes about him. Sean knew that she was in pain though. It was written across her face.

Sean began moving through the crowds. To his surprise and discomfort he noticed that Terry was following him. At least Alex had decided to sit this one out.

"Terry," Sean said, "it might be a good idea for you to stay with Alex."

Terry shook her head. Sean rubbed the back of his face.

"Listen," he said, "just...give me a few minutes to interrogate him, okay? I can do that alone."

His daughter looked at him, her arms still folded across her chest. He hoped that she would agree. Sean knew that he'd have to force himself from fighting Deadpool. He couldn't be that person, especially not in front of Terry. She wasn't a child anymore, but he never wanted to let her down.

There was a job to be done though, and he wanted to get it out of the way. After that he didn't object to Terry writing down whatever it was she needed to say to Deadpool. It might even be a good idea for her to think about it for a while.

Terry looked away and nodded. Sean smiled in relief.

"I'll only be a few minutes," he said.

Terry nodded again. Sean turned away from her and began walking further into the square. Deadpool was leaning against a wall, glaring at the ground. His eyes flicked up before looking back down at the ground.

"It's bout time you showed up Cassidy," he said, "I'm bored outta my skull."

"We're not here for your amusement," Sean said, "Now tell me why the hell you used my clearance. You should've known that would get my attention."

He put his hands in his pockets to keep them from turning into fists.

"You must've known I'd have to fight the urge to find a way to kill you," he said.

Deadpool stayed quiet for a few minutes. Sean had never seen him stay quiet for so long. Sean gritted his teeth impatiently.

"Just tell me why you did it," he said, "because I'm five minutes from leaving."

"I tracked down the people who hurt Terry here," Deadpool said, "Almost got em, but there were too many foot soldiers. Some of your buddies showed up after that."

Sean cocked his head. He slowed down Deadpool's words and thought about them for a minute.

"First, I think you could've waited before doing that," Sean said.

Deadpool's mask bunched around his mouth. Sean could tell that he was getting annoyed. He didn't see why. It was about time that someone stated the obvious.

"Secondly," Sean said, "what do you mean, my buddies?"

"The guy with the goggles, the redhead, and the weird-ass women with white hair," Deadpool snapped, "Then there's the blue elf guy, the blonde, and the dude with psychic powers."

Sean rested his chin on his hands. It was easy enough to identify Scott, Jean, and Ororo from what Deadpool had said. It was obvious that the X-men had been there. However, some of his other words were more disturbing. He had no idea who the blonde was, but he knew that Sharon, David, and Kurt had been there.

It didn't bode well.

"Tell me everything you know," Sean said.

He listened through Deadpool's disjointed narrative with growing trepidation. He needed to tell Alex, needed to tell everyone and anyone that they could. He still had Calvin and Clarice's numbers. He wasn't sure if Jaime and John would come, but he knew that he could count on the Rankins.

"Okay," Sean said.

He turned around and heard footsteps behind him.

"What are you doing?" Sean asked.

"What's it look like? I'm goin wit ya," Deadpool said.

"No, you're not," Sean said.

"You need all the people you can get," Deadpool snapped.

"Yes, but we also need people who will stay!" Sean said.

Deadpool's eyes narrowed. Sean shook his head.

"Don't give me that look," he said, "We both know it's true."

Deadpool sneered.

"And here I was thinkin you'd be practical," he said.

Sean glared at him, his fingernails digging into his palms.

"Fine, you can come," he said, "But you will listen to us."

Deadpool shrugged. Sean pushed his way out of the square, furious. It was only the sight of Terry, standing at the edge of the square, that stopped him. He heard Deadpool stop short as Terry's eyes stared grimly ahead.

Next to him Deadpool stepped forward until he was only a foot away from Terry. Sean watched intently.

"Terry-" Deadpool began.

Terry turned on her heel and walked away, her footfalls loud on the pavement.