August 19, 1992

The school was a mess. Both soldiers and students had wrecked the back hall, knocking over furniture and pictures in their flight. The floor was covered in shards of ceramic. Stuffed toys and shoes had been abandoned. Everything had been broken or turned upside down.

There were muddy foot prints smeared on the wooden floorboards and carpets. Jean thought she saw nail marks in the walls, and she knew for a fact that there were bullet holes in there too. It made her burn.

The Institute had always been such a warm, welcoming place. It had been big and grand, but it had also managed to be homey. As a young girl going to a strange place for a strange reason she had been terrified to go into the Institute. However, its welcoming appearance had helped ease her anxiety. She had never felt anything other than safe in her new home.

Now people had come, invaded it, and made a mess of it. She saw some crystal pieces that had been shattered on the floor. They had, if she remembered correctly, belonged to the Professor's mother. They had never really been used for anything, Moira had never been very fussy when it came to table settings. The Professor just kept them to remind him of his childhood.

They had always been kept in a cabinet, far out of the reach of prying students. Too many of them wanted to reach for shiny things, heedless of the consequences that could result. They had been carefully preserved.

Now soldiers had come in and smashed them.

"Marvel?" Scott asked.

She closed her eyes, trying to get her anger under control. She'd always been good at pretending that she felt less than she did. It was how she'd been able to get through most of the early days of her mutations.

Jean reached out, scanning the Institute for any unfamiliar minds. She felt the minds of a few soldiers on the second floor. Only a few of them were awake. There weren't that many overall though, and that worried her. Sinister had a veritable army now, and she didn't know where they had all gone.

There are a few on the second floor, she thought, projecting to everyone, Only three of them are awake. They're playing poker near the door.

We can take care of that, Ororo thought.

Jean made a signal to Scott. They crept down the hallway. After a few minutes they met up with the rest of the team.

"Ground floor's clear," Scott said.

He folded his arms.

"We're going to need to check the basement," he said, "From what I remember, Sinister has always liked lurking in dark corners."

Scott moved forwards. He was about to lead them to the medical bay when Raven stepped forward and pressed a panel in the wall. A control panel came out and she entered the code. Scott watched her and Jean could see the rage growing in his face.

"So you did it," he said.

She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Do you want to argue about it right now, or do you want to go hunting for a mad scientist?" she asked tartly.

Scott gritted his teeth, but he didn't say anything. Alex looked like he was ready to punch her as well. Jean took a deep breath. Mystique been the one to poison Charles, and she was his sister. It just went to show that the Brotherhood really didn't care about anything except themselves.

The door to the lower levels opened. Scott walked up to it, giving his brother a long look. Though the two had never been telepathic, they had always been good at passing messages to each other with looks, messages that Jean had never been able to understand.

The rest of their group came down from the stairs. Logan looked a little scuffed up, but she knew he would heal. The rest of them looked fine. Without another word they began to funnel down to the lower levels.

People had been down there too. The pristine, white floors, had mud staining the surface. A few things were broken in the first med bay, but it looked like all of the major operations had been pushed away from the normal areas.

Jean!

Jean paused and put her hand to her head. Scott turned.

"Marvel?" he asked.

"One moment," Jean said.

She pressed herself up against the wall to steady herself. It would be easier to concentrate when she didn't have to worry about falling over. David's thoughts seemed weak from so far away, but she could hear the panic in them.

I can hear you, she thought.

Jean we need...we need to...

David, what happened? she asked.

Some...something was at the camp, David thought, He wasn't the same one as before. He took my brother, Luna, and Remy.

"What?" she whispered.

It took her a moment for her to realize that she'd spoken aloud. Scott was still looking at her, but so was everyone else. Her eyes met Alex's, and she ached with the knowledge that his little daughter was missing. She put her other hand to her head and they all continued to watch, no doubt curious by the despair on her face.

Is anyone else hurt? she thought.

Clarice and Calvin are both injured, but not seriously. I think Boom-Boom has her arm broken, David thought.

From miles away, Jean could hear determination creep into his thoughts.

Jean, I'm coming after Kurt.

No, you're not, Jean thought, You need to make sure that the children are safe.

The children? David thought, Jean, you don't understand. This thing, it doesn't care about the children. It doesn't care about the students. It cares about Luna and Max because it's Sinister's crony. For some reason it cared about my brother and Remy too. They're gone: it got what it came for!

Please, don't do anything rash, Jean thought.

Rash? I think that I've left rash behind in my thinking right now.

David, please think about this, Jean said, We can save them. We're already here. You're at the camp. You're the only one who can rally the rest of the students and get them to safety.

There was a long pause.

So now this maniac has my whole family and I'm not allowed to do anything? David snapped.

I'm asking for patience, Jean said, We need you to refrain from coming. It's already confused enough with so many people here. David, please.

She could hear the conflict in David's thoughts when he answered.

I'm going to stay in your mind, he thought, and I'll leave when you save my family. I need to see this Jean.

Understood, Jean thought, You're going to have to keep the connection up.

No problem.

Jean detached herself from the wall. She could see the rest of them staring at her.

"Something attacked the camp," she said, "Gambit, Kurt, and Luna were taken."

Mystique's eyes widened. Alex shoved past her and moved to the front of the group.

"I'm going to kill him," he snarled, "And this time, I'm going to damn well make sure he stays dead."

The lights went off.

"Pity. I'd hate to have to harm you Alexander."

Jean pressed herself up against the wall again, looking to orientate herself.

"Did you really think that you could just come down here, try to take me out like I'm some common criminal? You've all forgotten who I am."

There was a noise at the other end of the hallway. Jean took a small flashlight out of her utility belt. She saw a flash of metal before something tackled Logan, sending him into the wall.

In the dim light Ororo ran forward, kicking it in the stomach. It turned, two metal wings unfolding behind it.

"Warren?" Ororo murmured.

Jean gasped. Although his skin was blue and his wings were metal, it was unmistakably Warren. Jean saw him stare at Ororo before the blue diamond on his forehead lit up. Warren began to yell, but the sound was abruptly silenced.

He lunged at Ororo, punching her into the wall. Jean heard her cry out and she put out her hand, trying to hold him back. Ororo was still on the ground, out cold. Magneto stepped forward. Warren's metal wings began to tremble. Together the two of them began pulling him away from where he was.

Other soldiers flooded the hall. Logan launched himself at them, and Alex and Scott's powers encased the hall in a strange red light.

"You've all done me a disservice, insulted me. But then again, I was in jail for so long. Maybe it's time to remind you of who I really am. Or maybe I should tell you something you might not have known. I can't decide."

From the other end of the hall Jean heard heavily armored footsteps. A figure appeared there in green plated armor. The figure jerked its head and Warren was set free. He slashed his wings out, the sharp pieces of metal cutting those nearest to him.

Warren reached out and grabbed Toad by the throat. Casually, he snapped his neck. Jean thought she heard Magneto say something, but she couldn't hear. There were too many lights, too much noise.

Emma Frost turned into diamond and punched Warren in the face. The armored figure reached Jean. Jean tried to push it away from her, but the armor made the figure too heavy for her to move. She ducked its first blow, but the second sent her to the ground.

"Jean!"

Scott turned on his eyebeams. The figure put an arm in front of its face, blocking the beam of energy. As it did, Alex tackled them, forcing them to the ground. It kicked him off and pushed him into the wall.

His hands glowed with red light. Concentrating the power in his hands he sent out another wave. The figure put up their arms to block it, but it sent them back several steps. Alex took advantage of the distraction to get in close.

He kicked it in the stomach and the figure stumbled. Alex reached for the helmet and tore it off. A wave of green hair poured out. Magneto turned from where he was fighting, and Alex's lips moved wordlessly.

"Lorna?" Alex whispered.

Lorna kicked out, sending him to the floor. She picked Alex up by his throat, lifting him into the air. Her skin was a pale green, highlighted by the deep green crystal set into her forehead. Her mouth was open slightly and she stared at Alex as though trying to remember who he was.

The crystal glowed. She tossed Alex into the wall. Scott moved closer, but Lorna kicked him into the chest and slammed him into the ground.

"Not too hard. We wouldn't want to damage him."

Lorna moved back. Jean struggled to get to her feet. She saw the back door close and looked forward. Something else fell into place at the front of the passage. Her eyes met Logan's: he'd noticed it too.

A pale gas began to fill the room. Jean choked and fell to her feet. The room blurred before her eyes. The soldiers were falling too, but Lorna and Warren stood still and unaffected, staring at them with their dead eyes.

The lights turned back on. Behind the glass Jean could see Sinister.

"Don't worry," he said, "It's just to knock you out. As I said, we wouldn't want to damage you."

Alex struggled to get to his feet, his eyes livid.

"What...did you do...to my wife?" he hissed.

"Just gave her a few adjustments," Sinister said, "Believe me, she wasn't my first choice, but she impressed him."

"Who?" Alex shouted.

Another figure stepped up to the glass. Between the dim light and the gas Jean could barely make him out.

"You all always puzzled me with your willingness to take the easy explanation," Sinister said, "A scientist trying to take over the world? A little out of character, don't you think? I experiment, I improve, but I'm no ruler."

He stepped to the side.

"Which is why I believe introductions should be made," Sinister said, "Teleportation technology brings him here from your little campout. Beautiful really."

The man stepped up to the glass, smirking. He was over six feet, a giant. His skin was gray, covered in blue tattoos. His eyes were glassy, but full of a vicious intelligence. The man's lips, which seemed to run the entire length of his jaw, were blue.

"You've all fought well," the man said, "But you are all in the way of the glorious age I plan to usher in."

The man smiled as black spots clouded Jean's vision.

"The age of Apocalypse," he said.