X-Men: Standing Guard Season 2- Dark Secrets

by 66Dragon

After the devastating "Days of Future Past" the X-Men struggle to keep afloat. When Worthington Labs announces a "cure" to mutants, Magneto returns to his old ways. A shocking turn of alliances will shake the X-Men to their core, & a mysterious figure arrives with a mysterious purpose. The second exciting season is here! Rated M for sex, violence, & mature themes.

16. S2E06 Baby Sisters (FULL)

AN: The epic mid-season finale of X-Men: Standing Guard Season 2! This episode was so big, I had to split it into two parts. The events of this episode take place two weeks after Episode 5 and there have been constant missions between the episodes.

-
The bar where the meeting was taking place was as seedy as they come. It was located in a slum alleyway in Camden, New Jersey. The bar itself was small, only about 20 by 60 feet and a low six foot ceiling. The floor and chairs were old and red. The lights were flickering and dirty, purple, orange, yellow flashing across the splintered floor and gashed couches.

There was a small bar serving alcoholic drinks and information. The man behind the counter had one hand behind his back at all times. His hand was wrapped tightly around a .22 Magnum. Camden was a dangerous place and this man knew it. He looked too old to have lived in this city, his hair was gray and he seemed to be nearing fifty.

The entertainment was exotic dancing. These women were very fake. Breast and buttock implants made them look like hookers on steroids. The clothes they danced in (if they even wore clothes) was too small to cover much important. The dancing was sloppy, drunk, only meant to flaunt their assets. They wanted a man so they could get paid. They didn't even bother going in the back. Four men were crowded around one of the strippers in suggestive positions, laughing, bucking. Six or seven others looked on and waved beer bottles around. A TV in the corner was playing a porno, but it was ignored.

There was a table in the far right corner, away from the front door and near the back. It was completely shrouded in darkness. This was Jubal Early's spot*. Jubal was a bounty hunter who specialized in everything. Assassination, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug deals, cop killings, anything you could possibly want, he did. His price wasn't even that high. He just enjoyed his work.

Jubal was black, with stubble on his beard and scalp. His eyes were red and he had a nasty scar going over one. This scar started at the right side of his forehead, curved over his right eye, down, and into his nose, which was missing half its flesh. Part of his mouth was missing and one of his hands was robotic. He looked cold and robotic. He took a sip out of his drink and eyed the female in a blue cloak who entered the front door.

Almost as if she were invisible, she walked through the bar, head towards the ground, towards Jubal. She sat down on the bench, keeping her face concealed. When she spoke, her voice was filtered.

"Jubal Early?" she asked, her voice mechanical and heavy.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I have a job for you." The female replied.

"What kind?" Jubal asked, glancing at his S-Phone.

"Abduction, then abort." The female replied.

Jubal looked up. This was strange.

"How much you willing to pay?"

"$2 Million." The woman replied without hesitation.

Jubal nodded. "Alright, go on."

"Do we have a deal?" the woman asked.

"Yes, go on." Jubal repeated.

"The girl's name is Elizabeth Braddock. She's in England. I need you to abduct her, take her to a designated location in Scotland, and leave her captive there. You are never to mention this job to anyone, or—"

At this, Jubal clutched his head. This woman was a telepath!

"So abduct a girl, drop her in Scotland, and come home for 2 mil?" he asked. "Any more specifics?"

"Do not harm her, only scare her. You are to take care of her."

Jubal nodded.

"Also, do not stay after you have delivered her. Otherwise you may very well end up dead or worse." Again Jubal's head hurt.

"Understood." He said lowly.

The woman nodded and stood up. "The FBI will be here in two minutes. I suggest you leave."

Jubal smiled. The woman moved back through the bar unnoticed. She turned at the door, but Jubal had disappeared into shadows. The woman exited the door and headed down the sidewalk towards a parked car. She climbed in and pulled down her hood revealing piercing blue eyes and curly brown hair. She tossed off the robe and smoothed out her navy and light blue suit.

"How did it go?" her companion, a second female with red hair and orange tips, asked.

"He took the job." Kitty Pryde said. "Do you really trust him not to hurt Betsy?"

"If he does," Rachel Grey tapped her head. "I'll psychically disable him."

"From the Xavier Institute?" Kitty asked, her hands on the steering wheel.

Rachel grinned. "I did that little trick from out here, didn't I? Besides, if I need to, I can use Cerebro."

"Damn." Kitty muttered. Hi-jacking Cerebro was a serious thing, and even having the telepathic power to do so was impressive.

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"Hey, wiring two mill to a bounty hunter is the easiest thing I've ever done to save the world." Kitty smiled. "If only other things had gone like that."

Rachel smiled. "FBI are coming. I think we should skedaddle."

"Skedaddle?" Kitty asked. "Wow, really?"

Rachel laughed and patted Kitty's thigh. "Hit the road, cowgirl."

The two skidded out of the alleyway as SWAT vans rolled up and breached the bar.
-

Lorna laughed and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She tossed some of her green hair over her shoulder and took another bite out of her ham sandwich. The female mutant was wearing a black, insulated body suit amd a lime green sundress with flowers in a darker green stitched into it. She was sitting on a blanket underneath a pavilion on the Xavier Institute lawn with her boyfriend, Bobby Drake aka Iceman.

The "ice-dork" was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a heavy leather jacket. He laughed and gestured to some ketchup that had fallen on Lorna's shirt. She laughed again and wiped it off with a finger, sticking it in her mouth and sucking the condiment off. Bobby laughed again and tossed a roll at her.

The Pavilion the two were underneath was heated providing enough warmth that they weren't freezing, but it was still cold. There was a single, soft, yellow light illuminating the two in the dead of night. Only the stars and the moon were shining on the snow-covered ground. The swimming pool had been emptied and was the only drab reminder of the harshness of winter around.

The meal was mainly leftovers. Rolls with ham and cranberry sauce inside along with some left over deviled eggs (Laura said Rogue liked them, but Rogue was with Magneto now wasn't she?). Their hot cocoa had long since grown cold. They laid on a spare blanket from Bobby's room and ate off of paper plates Lorna had found in the kitchen. It was nothing special, just a date where the two of them could spend time together.

Lorna caught the roll with her mouth and proceeded to eat it without touching it. Bobby laughed at her and Lorna laughed as well, choking on the roll and only making it that much more hilarious for the both of them. When they finally calmed down and Lorna had swallowed a few bites, Bobby stood up and extended a hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

Lorna's eyes widened. "I-uh-don't know how to dance." She admitted. She still got shy when something like this happened, and now she was fiddling with her hair, her eyes looking at the ground.

"That's fine." Bobby smiled. "I'll teach you."

Lorna looked at him, smiled, and took his hand. Bobby led her down the pavilion steps and across the snow-covered yard, leaving their tracks. Bobby took her to the pool and extended his hand, filling it with ice. Lorna raised an eyebrow.

"Dance, not iceskate, icedork." She laughed.

Bobby stepped out onto the ice and pulled her with him. They stood for a moment, trying to find their balance. Bobby held Lorna close, his strong arms wrapped around her, her warm, soft body pressed against his. She smiled and kissed him gently.

Bobby helped her arrange her arms, one in his hand, one on his mid-section. He placed one of his on her back and the other in her hand. He slid his feet to one side and instructed her to do the same. Lorna almost slipped and burst out laughing.

"You're just trying to make me look like a fool, Bobby Drake!" she exclaimed.

"Swear I'm not." Bobby laughed softly. "Come on,"

It took almost fifteen minutes of slipping, fumbling, hands moving, sometimes to places they shouldn't, until finally Lorna and Bobby were sliding as near to gracefully as one can across the ice. The half moon illuminated the ice, the snow, and them. Lorna was quiet, staring into Bobby's icy eyes. Bobby did not make one smart remark to Lorna, simply admiring the curves of her face, how round and red her nose was, how long and soft her hair was. Lorna slipped again and Bobby caught her, pulling her into a deep kiss.
-

"How many times can the Prof. send ya into the city?" Rahne asked, watching from the bed as Roberto slid a shirt over his toned and freshly showered body.

"I don't know, babe, but hopefully it won't be for much longer." He smiled, ruffling his dark hair with one hand, tugging his shirt down with the other.

"I like it ya off doin' these secret miss'ns can't talk about." Rahne giggled, curling her legs up underneath her.

Roberto was not, in fact, doing secret missions. He had found another girlfriend in the city and was using these weekend excursions to go see her. He had told Rahne Professor Xavier was sending him on secret missions so she wouldn't get suspicious. He had added she couldn't talk about it to keep her from learning Xavier knew nothing of his weekend journey.

"What's he got ya doin' this time?" Rahne asked.

Roberto crossed the room towards her. "More recon." He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, kissing his way over to her cyan tank-top strap. Rahne giggled and tilted her head, allowing him access to her neck.

Rahne giggled and kissed him, tugging him onto the bed. "Well lemme give ye somethin' to think about while ye're…reconnin'."
-

A sharp knock came on Charles Xavier's door. He finished jotting a note down on a piece of paper and replied they could enter. Kitty and Piotr entered. Kitty was dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans. Her chestnut hair was pulled behind her in a ponytail. Piotr's medium-length dark hair was messy and scattered over his head. He wore a yellow T-shirt and jeans as well. Having lived in Russia most of his life, winters in America were nothing to him.

"Kitty, Piotr. It's good to see you both. How are you?" Charles gestured for the two to sit down.

"We're fine." Kitty replied. Piotr made a deep noise that sounded like "yes."

"How can I help you?" Charles asked.

"Hall pass, Prof." Kitty replied with a smile. "You know we've been e-mailing back and forth with Illyana, Piotr's sister?"

"Yes." Charles replied.

"Well, she emailed three days ago and said something was strange. She thought she was being chased. She hasn't replied to any of our emails. We think she might be breaking out and since Russia still uses Sentinels…"

"You think she might be in danger." Charles finished.

"The Sentinels target the X-gene." Piotr said in a low voice. "And anything similar to it. Because I am mutant and Illyana is my sister, the Sentinels may targeting her." The Russian's English was mostly intact, but he was still missing a few words. He spoke slow and with a deep, powerful voice that seemed to be able to topple buildings.

"So, we'd like to go to Russia and check on her."

Charles sighed and folded his hands on the paper he had been writing on. He thought carefully about this. Illyana was Piotr's sister. Piotr was Kitty's boyfriend. Kitty was a long-time student of his and loyal member of the X-Men. However, the Sentinels were a dangerous threat. He wasn't sure sending in just the two of them would be a good idea.

"Alright." He finally agreed. "But only if you check in when you land and every two hours since. If you don't check in, I will ask Director Fury to send search parties after you."

"Yes!" Kitty jumped up happily. "Thank you, Professor! I gotta go pack!"

Kitty darted from the room. Piotr stood up to follow, but Xavier motioned at him.

"I'm sure I don't have to say this, but take care of her, Piotr."

"Da." The brute responded.

"Professor?" Jean's voice came over the intercom. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is here. They say its important."

"I'm on my way, Jean." Charles replied. "Piotr! Hold that door please! Thank you, sir."
-

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinn Jet sat peacefully on the front lawn. Maria Hill and a man with blonde hair and very strange clothes stood next to her. Most of the X-Men were out on the front lawn waiting for Xavier's arrival. Storm followed him out a brisk pace, her cape flowing behind her.

The mysterious man with blonde hair was short, probably no taller than 5'10". He was wearing a dark blue trench coat and a T-shirt with the Union Jack covering it. He wore dark combat pants and black combat boots. He had a black barcode tattooed on the side of his forehead. He stood with his hands in his pockets waiting for Xavier to roll up.

Maria Hill had short, black pixie hair. Her skin, a smooth caramel, seemed to blend gracefully into her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. She had a petite body, but a powerful aura about her. She stood at attention, hands clasped behind her back.

"Professor Xavier." She greeted, shaking his hand.

"Ms. Hill." Charles returned. "It is unusual to see you here. May I ask where Director Fury is?"

"Urgent business with Ukraine." Hill responded. "He sent me in his stead."

Charles nodded and turned to the new figure. "And who might you be, young man?"

"Brian Braddock, sir." The man bowed, then shook Xavier's hand. "Captain Britain of Her Majesty's Special Forces."

Charles nodded. "Why are you here?"

"It's my sister, sir." Braddock replied. "Her name is Elizabeth Braddock. Well, she's only my adopted sister, but she feels like family and matters as much."

"What about her?" Charles asked.

"She's gone missing, sir." Braddock replied. "She has been complaining of voices in her head for some time and I believe she read my mind two nights ago. I fear she may be a mutant."

"Fear?" Amara demanded. "What the hell are you?"

"Amara." Charles held up a stern hand.

"A product of scientific ingenuity." Braddock replied, the same stern, emotionless expression on his face. "And besides, being a mutant in England means working for my team—a virtual suicide squad.**"

Charles nodded. "Could MI-7*** not have recruited her?"

"Not without my knowledge, sir. I believe she has been abducted." Braddock said. "I approached S.H.I.E.L.D. and they recommended you. I would appreciate it if you would take her in as a student and protect her."

Charles nodded. "My team is already spread thin, Captain, and many more are about to leave for Christmas holidays next week. I'm afraid you'll have to stick with S.H.I.E.L.D.—"

"Professor!" Rachel exclaimed. Charles rotated and looked at the red-head.

'Yes?' He asked telepathically.

'Betsy is a critical member of the X-Men. We need to recruit her.' Rachel replied.

'Our team is spread thin.' Xavier pointed out.

'I'll go! Jubilee and Kitty can come, too!'

'Kitty is leaving for Russia with Piotr.' Charles informed her. 'And I would prefer you take a more experienced member than Jubilee.'

'What about Scott?' Rachel asked. 'Professor, it's critical we recruit her.'

Charles sighed and rotated to face Captain Britain. "Captain, I believe I can send out a party after your sister. As I offer every mutant, I will offer her a place at the Institute, but it must be her decision to join us."

Captain Britain nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Charles nodded and smiled, shooting a sideways glance at Rachel Grey.

"Professor, I believe you should meet my team." Braddock said with a smile and a glance at Hill. "X-Men, meet Excalibur."

A woman descended the boarding ramp. She had long, black hair and was wearing red goggles. There was a pencil in her ear. She wore a dirty white tank-top with grease stains and jeans. She had a hoodie tied around her waist.

"This is Sage, our technician expert."

A smaller girl descended the boarding ramp. She had blue skin and yellow eyes. Her long, dark blue, almost violet hair flowed over her shoulders. She had dyed the front patch a yellow that matched her eyes. She wore tight black leather pants with a dark red belt and a yellow tank-top that exposed her midriff. Over this she wore a red vest and red gauntlets. She smiled and waved.

"She looks exactly like Kurt." Amara whispered.

"This is Nocturne. She is our scout. She possesses teleportation, energy blasts, and the ability to inhabit machines, animals, or people."

The X-Men stared as she nervously stood next to Sage.

"And finally," at this, Braddock smiled even wider. "Is an old team mate of yours. She is our resident telepath. Ladies and Gents—"

A blonde in a white body-suit and cloak descended from the ramp. Her icy eyes pierced the X-Men. Her blonde hair didn't moved, seemingly frozen in place. A shock rippled through the X-Men when they saw her.

"Emma Frost." Rachel growled.
-

X-Men: Standing Guard
Season 2 Episode 6
"Baby Sisters"
-

There was stunned silence in the crowd of mutants. Other than Rachel's almost inaudible growl, nothing had been said. Finally Xavier rolled forward. "Emma?"

"Hello, Professor." Emma smiled coldly. She turned and glared at Jean. Rachel took a step forward casually, but sent a look at Emma that told her to back off.

"Where have you been?" Xavier asked. "Where did you go—you disappeared without a trace a few months ago."

If Emma started to breathe a word about the Phoenix, Rachel swore she'd lobotomize her right then and there. Fortunately, Emma simply smiled and remarked she needed a change of scenery.

"Well, still, you could've left a note." Storm said.

"Sorry," she glanced at Jean again. "Something came up."

Rachel's fist tightened in her yellow leather glove. Jean noticed.

'Rachel…?'

Rachel shook her head lightly. This was something she had to take care of alone. She almost smiled. Emma had no idea what she was in for.

"Ms. Frost has asked to re-join your team and after her work for Excalibur, Her Majesty has agreed." Braddock said.

"Well, it's good to have you back, Emma." Storm said, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around the blonde. "We all can't wait to hear your stories."

"Thank you, Captain." Charles said with a smile.

Braddock nodded, then turned sharply and boarded his ship once again. Half of the X-Men watched Emma, the other half looking at Nocturne's retreating figure, and wondering how she looked so similar to Kurt.

"She's his sister." Rachel said loudly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Yeah, Kurt had a sister." Rachel glanced around. "You guys didn't know that?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Oh."

Silence for a moment, then Xavier spoke up. "Come on, Emma, let's go inside. It looks like it's about to snow."

Rachel watched the blonde head inside. Jean hung back with her daughter until the rest were far enough away they were out of earshot.

"Rachel? What is it?" Jean asked. "You don't like Emma."

"No." Rachel agreed.

"What's wrong with her?" Jean asked.

Rachel bit her lip. "It-It's nothing. Future stuff and all. Wouldn't want to disrupt the timeline." The red-head laughed nervously and Jean eyed her strangely.

"All right, but if you want to talk, or need to tell me something, I'm right here." Jean said.

Rachel nodded and hugged her mother.
-

"So the ice queen is back." Kitty muttered, folding a shirt into her knapsack. "Terrific…or whore-ific…"

Rachel laughed. "Haha. That's good."

"Really?" Kitty asked, looking up at the red-head.

Rachel nodded, an amused smile on her face. She was leaning against Kitty's doorway, arms folded over her chest, right leg pressing against the wall at a forty-five degree angle. Kitty heard her laugh, but saw her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to look for that pair of pants Piotr had given her last year to keep her warm.

"Nothing big." Rachel replied.

"Oh come on, it has—" Kitty grunted as she got on her knees to look under her bed. "—has to be something to have you worried Ms. I'm-going-to-save-the-world."

Rachel sighed and walked over, sitting down on Kitty's bed. "Have you noticed I call myself Rachel Grey and not Rachel Summers?"

"Yeah, kind of." Kitty's voice came from under the bed. All Rachel could see of the Jew was her butt wiggling around as she squirmed beneath the bed.

"Do you know why?"

"Grey sounds cooler?"

Rachel smiled lightly. "No, it's because I don't respect my father."

"Huh?" Kitty asked. Everyone respected Scott at the Institute. He was a stand-up good-guy. Why would his own daughter not respect him?

"Because he cheated on mom with Emma Frost."

Kitty tried to stand up, but hit her head on the bed. She growled and phased through it, standing up and rubbing her scalp. "Emma?" she asked.

"Mom had been on a mission in Egypt and gone missing. They had searched for her, but couldn't find her. Cerebro couldn't locate her. She was probably using her Phoenix powers, or the Phoenix itself was…anyway, she was gone about three months. A month after she disappeared, I walked in on my dad and Emma during a "therapy" session."

"Eww." Kitty said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah." Rachel replied. "Worse part, my dad kept thrusting the whole time he was trying to explain."

Kitty looked like she was going to puke.

"And when my mom returned, he kept on seeing Emma. Mom found out, divorced him, blabbity bla."

Kitty shook her head, still rubbing the sore spot. "So what does present-day Jean think of all this?" Kitty paused. "Well, past-day in your tense."

"I didn't tell her." Rachel replied. "With any luck, I'll completely prevent it from happening, but I'll still never have respect for my dad."

Kitty sighed and bit the inside of her lip. "I'm sorry, Rache."

"Like I said, no biggy. Not compared to our other jobs." Rachel turned and looked out the window.

"But it's important to you." Kitty said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Rachel smiled and leaned her head against Kitty's shoulder. They sat like that for a minute. Then Rachel reminded Kitty that she had a plane to catch and Kitty got up and continued packing.

"So what about Psylocke?" Kitty asked. "Are you sure what's his face left her alone?"

"Yep." Rachel replied. "He's rather bland. I didn't expect that from him. Bishop always said—"

"Bishop? Kate Bishop?" Kitty asked.

"No, Bishop—a—a mutant in the future. Uses other mutant's energy to create his own. X-Man. Friend of Xavier's."

"Ah." Kitty nodded, zipping her knapsack shut. "Well here's to catching our prey." Kitty headed for the door when Rachel spoke up.

"Kitty! Wait a sec!"

Kitty turned. Rachel walked over to her and placed her hands on either side of Kitty's head. Kitty yelped in pain and backed away. Rachel's eyes glowed. The yellow Phoenix tattoo over her left eye glowed brightly, indicating a large use of her powers. Kitty yelped again and Rachel's eyes returned to their normal state.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"It's a private telepathic line." Rachel responded. "It's just between the two of us, no one else. No one else is even going to know it exists if we were strapped to Cerebro and every telepath in the world was trying to find it."

"Nice?" Kitty asked. Now she had two headaches.

"Sorry it hurt, I didn't finish researching that before I left. It also helps with my dimensional abilities because I can put the link in a separate dimension."

Kitty nodded and said again: "Nice."

Rachel smiled. "You seem a little upset."

"I'm just new to the way we're going about doing things. Black ops." Kitty replied. "I'm not big on abductions and staging crimes…"

Rachel walked over and leaned her head against Kitty's, their noses brushing. The red-head closed her eyes and breathed deeply, smelling the makeup Kitty was wearing.

'Trust me, Kitty. I have everything under control. I'm not going to endanger any more lives than I have to.'

Kitty's blue eyes looked up at Rachel, their heads still touching. 'Should we have to endanger anyone?'

Rachel laughed telepathically. It was short and soft, but joyful and seemed to lift some of the weight from her shoulders. 'I love you and your morals. You always managed to keep this team on track.' Rachel paused. 'And me.'

Kitty smiled and hugged Rachel. "Good hunting."

"Good hunting." Rachel returned.
-

Rachel was wearing her uniform: red body-suit with yellow armor plates, yellow gloves, yellow combat boots, and a red trench-coat that looked like a bird's wings. She'd had her hair trimmed recently, the red spikes hanging an inch beneath her neck. The orange highlights were fewer, but larger and more vibrant.

Jubilee was wearing her uniform: black body-suit with pink highlights and a yellow trench-coat. She had added pink sunglasses to the mix, pushed up into her spiky black hair, as well as pink earmuffs. She seemed very happy, blowing a bubble with her gum.

Laura stuck next to the Californian. She had her long, straight brown hair hanging behind her. Her normal black suit had been exchanged for a white one with the same orange highlights and back. Her gloves were a brown-orange, her boots were black, her belt yellow with the X-Men insignia perfectly on her middle, and stripes on the side of her torso had been insulated more for the winter months. Jubilee had suggested white fur, but Laura had declined.

Scott was accompanying purely for "parental babysitting" as Jubilee put it. He was wearing a brown sweater and khakis. He had packed extra jackets.

The four waved good-bye, then boarded the X-Jet. The ramp closed behind them and they slowly lifted off. Kitty and Piotr were borrowing a S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellier Jet. Kitty watched Rachel's craft take off before joining Piotr in the cockpit.

"Have you ever heard of the mile-high club?" Kitty asked with a grin.
-

"Blue, blue, blue, where everyso is the blue?" Sinister ran his hands through his thin, black hair and scanned the array of trays desperately for a blue vial. His eyes searched both directions at once. He picked up a tray and seemingly danced around the room, only to smash it on the other side.

"No, not, nope, yes not." He muttered, tracing the scar of what was once his cheek with his finger. "Hmmm"

Sinister picked up a blue vial and smiled. He held it in his hand and ran it over his cheek like a child would a teddy bear. He twirled back over to his workstation and eased into his chair, extracting carefully a single drop of the blue liquid from the vial and moving it to a second vial with a red-green liquid inside. The solution hissed and Sinister hummed a happy tune and he placed it in the microwave and turned the counter to three minutes. He twirled back to his seat and turned to watch it.

The television had been on in the back of the room, its blue light flickering over his pale features, and lack of features, the entire time. Now a news report caught his eye. Angel and the X-Men had stopped another attack by the Morlocks, who were on the rise, and the camera got a good glimpse of his masked face. Sinister growled and tossed a glass container at the screen. Suddenly a smile lit on his face.

"Wings, wings, fly, flight, wings, soar, Icarus…hmmm…no, no, no….Yes!" Although his language hadn't said it, Mr. Sinister had just hatched an excellent plan to try once more to steal DNA from the X-Men. This time it would be more brutal, however.
-

"Re-activating the Sentinel Program, after that fiasco earlier this year? Sir, you could possibly be looking at impeachment!" An aide exclaimed.

"Oh please," President Robert Kelly responded. "Everyone hates mutants."

Warren Worthington III coughed from the back of the room, but otherwise remained silent.

"While a majority of the polled do show disfavor towards mutants, they're not ready to kill them!"

"Not important." Kelly replied. "Magneto is going to strike at humanity again, or do I have to remind you of what happened back in March?"

"No, sir." The aide responded coldly, each word its own sentence.

"Mr. Worthington," Kelly said, glancing at Warren's father. "How is the Cure coming?"

"Mostly destroyed in the explosion, sir." Worthington replied. "I took the research notes home with me and made backups, but without Dr. Essex's brilliance, I'm not sure we can replicate it."

"Find a way, Mr. Worthington, if you want to keep the family business afloat. I want that Cure ready for Sentinel Production as soon as possible." Kelly didn't even look at Worthington as he fluttered through a stack of papers.

Worthington glanced at Warren who turned and looked the other way, scratching his back right there in-between his wings. Ah, much better…

"Yes, sir." Worthington replied downcast.

Warren narrowed his eyes.
-

The Blackbird landed gently on the small airfield in the Scottish Highlands. The engines fired blue fire into the black asphalt, scorching it, before shutting off. The boarding ramp lowered with a hiss and Jubilee ran out, doing cartwheels. She stopped and ran back inside, grabbing her jacket.

"Damn!" she exclaimed. "It's cold!"

Laura laughed and grabbed her own jacket, pulling it on. Because the Highlands were covered in snow this time of year, Laura had changed her outfit. It was now mostly white with an orange back and stripes. Her boots were snow-white and her gloves were a brown-orange that reminded Jubilee of pumpkins in autumn. Laura's hair was pulled back behind her ears and tucked into the hood of her parka.

Jubilee had stuffed her black suit with several layers of clothing and had grabbed a yellow trench-coat that was much more insulated from the X-Jet.

"It is not cold!" Laura quoted. "I do not need a jacket!"

"Ain't, and don't." Jubilee corrected. "But I forgot this was freaking Scotland! I have much more respect for Rahne now."

Laura laughed again, as did Rachel. Scott smiled.

"Alright, plan of attack?" Jubilee asked, turning to face Scott.

"Split up into two teams." Rachel interrupted. "I'll go with Scott, you two go together, try and find the girl first."

"I wish to go with Rachel." Laura said before anyone else could talk. Jubilee stared at her.

Rachel smiled at her. "I think it's better you go with Jubilee. I can't imagine Scott getting along too well with Jubilee. Besides, you two are friends!"

"But—" Laura started, but Jubilee placed a hand on her shoulder. "Chill, girl, what's the deal?"

Scott smiled at Rachel. "Good idea. Sure you can keep up with your old man?"

"Absolutely." Rachel grinned. She pulled her hood up over her head. "Let's go!"

"What? Walk?" Jubilee demanded.

Scott had disappeared aboard the Blackbird for a moment, and returned with two miniature snowmobiles. "If you want…"

"Gimme!" Jubilee exclaimed, practically snatching it out of Scott's hand. She cranked the engine and sighed.

"Heating." She grinned.

Laura climbed aboard Jubilee's and wrapped her arms around the Asian's waist, relishing in the warmth of the blown air and body contact. Scott cranked his as well.

"Hey! What about Rach?" Jubes asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I fly, remember?" Rachel asked with a grin. She levitated off the ground. "We'll take North, you take South. Radio if you get anything."

Jubilee nodded and pressed the accelerator, almost backing into the Blackbird. Laura reached around front and flipped a switch. "Perhaps I should drive?"

"Hell no. I want my heating." Jubilee responded. Laura smiled and nodded. "Try now, slowly."

Jubilee slammed down on the gas pedal and sprayed snow as she took off. If she didn't know her so well, Jubilee could have sworn Laura squealed.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.

"You startled me. I requested you drive slow." Laura responded.

"Gotta live life to the fullest, Talon." Jubilee grinned. "No slow-poking."

Laura smirked and pressed her cheek against Jubilee's jacket. She could feel the warmth of the older girl radiating through the fabric. They drove in silence for a few seconds, then Jubilee spoke up. "What was that back there?"

"Pardon?" Laura asked.

"You know what I mean! Why'd you want to go with Rachel instead of me? You like red-heads?"

Laura stared at her incredulously, then realized she was making a joke. "No, I wished to discuss her actions earlier in private."

"Laura, there's nothing wrong with Rachel." Jubilee responded. "I understand why you're paranoid, and in some cases it's good, but this isn't one of those cases."

Laura pressed her cheek harder into Jubilee's back and felt the rhythm and hum of the snow-mobile.
-

Even before the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellier Jet landed, Kitty and Piotr could see something was wrong in Piotr's home village. Kitty crawled off of him and pulled her pants back on, tugging on a jacket as Piotr ran out to help people.

Houses were on fire and the snowy streets had been torn to shreds. It looked like giant cats or dogs had run through the town. Kitty noticed a building about to collapse and shouted at Piotr. He ran over and his silvery arms extended, holding up debris as families ran out. After making sure everyone was out, he let go, the debris collapsing.

Kitty walked over and made sure the family was okay. An old lady was being laid out in the snow.

"First Aid Kit!" Kitty exclaimed, kneeling next to the old woman. She tried to remember some of the Russian Piotr had taught her. "Ty v poryadke?"

"Da." The old woman replied. Piotr returned with the First Aid Kit and handed it to Kitty who started to bandage a severe burn on the older woman's right arm.

"Ask her what happened." Kitty said, dabbing disinfectant on the wound. Piotr asked, the daughter of the older woman answered.

"She said demons attacked the village looking for a girl." Piotr said, worried. Kitty was thinking the same thing he was. This girl was Illyana.

"What did the demons look like?"

Another exchange.

"She says they looked like giant wolves made of pure darkness. They were taller on all fours than the oldest among them and had blood red eyes."

The woman said something and Kitty caught one word: "shadows"

"Who was the girl?"

Piotr asked. He didn't need to translate the answer.

"Illyana Rasputin."

"Where is she now?"(Translated from Russian)

"We have exiled her. She was endangering the entire village." The old lady said.

"Witch!" Piotr exclaimed. "That is my baby sister and you left her out there in the cold to be hunted?"

"Better than us being hunted!"

Piotr slammed his fist into the ground and ice cracked. Everyone stared at him.

"Calm down, Piotr." Kitty chastised. "We'll find her. We're X-Men."
-

"Damnit!" Rogue cursed. The wires beneath the old computer systems sparked and Rogue had to dart back to avoid catching on fire. "Damnit!" she repeated, and searched around for a fire extinguisher. One was hanging by the door. Rogue grabbed it and extinguished the fire. She looked at her work and set the can down, mumbling something about how worthless the computer was.

"Hot, as always, Rogue." Magneto said.

Rogue jumped out of her skin. She whirled to face the leader of the Brotherhood. He was standing in full costume, a white mug of steaming cocoa in each hand. He smiled and extended one to Rogue who shook her head. The Belle was wearing a green tank-top with white outlines and tight pants of the same color-scheme. She had a white scarf wrapped around her neck and black gloves on her hands as usual.

"Yeah, n'thanks, Erik. I'm already hot an' bothered." Rogue said, squatting down next to the tool-box and pulling out a pair of plyers.

"I can see that." Erik said with a smile. Rogue glanced at him, then lay back on the ground and slid under the computer terminal again.

"Whatcha want?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Erik wasn't sure if it was because of him or the computer, or a mix of both.

"I was coming to see how you were doing." Erik replied, having no better excuse for being in an area of the old building Rogue had declared off limits.

"Well I'm doin' shitty. Thanks." Rogue replied. She growled something at the computer and Erik heard a sharp 'clunk!' and a moment later, an old hard-drive slid out onto the ground.

"If ya gonna stand there and annoy me, at least get me the spare hard-drive out uh the—"

Rogue saw the hard-drive levitate next to her.

"Ah. Thanks." She noted.

Rogue worked in silence for a moment. She sighed and started welding two wires together with some power she had borrowed from Gambit. "What'd'ya want, Erik?"

"It's almost Christmas, Rogue."

"Uh-huh." Rogue said, biting her tongue as she tried to negotiate the wires into a tight spot. "I noticed. I didn't buy ya anything because, well, I think you can fig're that one out."

"Well I was thinking maybe, if you had some spare time, you and I could…get together. You know, have dinner, maybe some wine. I have a bottle I've been keeping secret—"

Rogue slid out from under the computer and folded her arms over her chest. "Are you asking me, an almost-thirty year old woman, out to a date with you, an 80-nearing-90-year old man?"

"You didn't seem to object to it a few years ago." Erik responded.

"I had things t' do then." Rogue replied. It was true, too. She had slept with Erik for the sole purpose of getting away from the Institute. It was that or cause the death of a student, and Rogue did not like Plan B. She slid back under the computer. "'sides, I'm seein' Remy now. He's bigger."

Magneto gagged on his cocoa.

Rogue smirked beneath the computer. "On feelin's I mean."

"Mmm. Mmhm." Erik nodded.

Rogue sighed. "Let's be honest, Erik, that relationship wasn' good for eider of us."

"Eider?" Erik asked.

Rogue sighed. "Damn Cajun…I like my accent just fine."

Something sparked and Rogue slid out from underneath, quickly standing up. Nothing happened.

"False alarm." She said. She bent down and grabbed a circuit connector, sliding back under the console.

"Rogue—" Erik started.

"Remy." Rogue replied sharply. She was done playing with Erik.

"Oh, you mean the man who can't even control his powers?"

"What?" Rogue asked, pausing.

"Oh yes. There was more than the one incident on the track. He's been blowing up stuff right and left."

Rogue slid out from underneath the computer console and sat up, looking at Erik.

"Be careful. Wouldn't want him blowing you up when the two of you wake up in the morning." Erik said, taking a sip from his cocoa. "That is, assuming you could share a bed."

Rogue stared at Erik in shock. She growled and threw a wrench at the back of his head.

"You son of a bitch!" she shouted.

Erik caught the wrench and tossed it back, hitting Rogue in the stomach. Rogue grunted and glared, tears of pain in her eyes. The tears were not from physical pain, however. How could he have insulted her like that?
-

Laura sniffed the air. All she smelled was the woods and decaying foliage, which was strangely delicious smelling, the snow from the ground, and the gasoline from the snow-mobile, but no humans. Not for miles around.

"Nothing?" Jubilee sighed.

Laura shook her head and Jubilee turned around, grabbing her hair and kicking the snow. "I'm freezing my ass off out here and this kidnapper couldn't be more generous and just not shower or something?"

Laura was about to remind Jubilee it did not matter whether or not someone showered for her to smell them, but decided to be quiet. Instead, she radioed Scott and Rachel.

"We have found nothing. What about you two?"

"We've found some indications a snow-mobile went through here a few days ago, and the local townsfolk said there's a cabin in the mountains. We're heading there to look for it." Rachel replied.

"Town?" Jubilee asked. "Do they have hot chocolate and can we come?"

"Sorry, Jubes." Rachel replied. "We might be wrong, keep looking on your end."

"Wish S.H.I.E.L.D. would just scan the area." Jubilee muttered. "I'm sure they have some huge mutant scanner…and Cerebro is worthless…"Scotland", wow, so specific."

"She's cold, isn't she?" Rachel asked.

"Yes." Laura replied, watching the Asian storm around in the snow, the wind blowing her yellow trench-coat.

Laura could hear the smirk in Rachel's voice. "Open the trunk of your snowmobile. Over and out!"

Laura returned her comm to her shoulder and walked over to the snowmobile, opening the trunk. There was a canteen and metal lunchbox like the ones on Rogue's TV shows…no. Laura couldn't think about Rogue right now. She was a traitor.

Laura paused. "What?"

"Huh?" Jubilee asked.

"What?" Laura asked Jubilee.

"What?" Jubilee asked Laura.

The two stared at each other for a minute, then Laura showed off the canteen and Jubilee jogged over, rubbing her fingers.

"What is it?"

Laura twisted the cap off and steam rolled out.

"Yes!" Jubilee exclaimed, taking the canteen and drinking a long draught out of it. "Mmmmm." She licked her lips. "Hot chocolate. See! I told you Rachel was fine! What's in the lunch-box?"

Jubilee popped the metal can open as Laura took a sip of the brown liquid carefully. It was surprisingly good, and it warmed her insides. She took another sip.

"Candy-Canes!" Jubilee exclaimed, three sticking out of her mouth, two in each hand. She tossed two to Laura who very hesitantly unwrapped once and licked it.

"This tastes like tooth-paste." Laura said.

"Don't confuse my taste-buds. Suck on it." Jubilee responded, munching on the end of her candy-canes. She took another sip of the hot chocolate and put it back in the trunk. The two girls stood there for a minute, sucking on their candy-canes. Finally Jubilee got back on the snow-mobile and cranked it. Laura slung her leg over the seat and wrapped her arms around Jubilee's waist again. She had chewed hers up and was now licking her lips which were strangely sticky.

"So," Jubilee asked, kicking the snow-mobile into motion. "What are you planning for Christmas?"

Laura paused, thinking. "Since Rogue is gone, now, I thought I should spend it with Julian. He said his family will be out of town with his sister at one of her rehearsals."

"Have you talked about it with him?" Jubilee asked.

"No, I did not believe I needed to." Laura replied.

She couldn't be quite sure because of all the noise the snow-mobile was making, but she thought Jubilee snorted.

"Was I wrong?"

"Spending Christmas with someone is pretty big, Laura. I mean you two haven't even had sex yet!"

Laura said something Jubilee didn't hear.

"What?"

"I plan to correct that when I get back!" Laura shouted over the snow-mobile.

Jubilee raised her eyebrows and started laughing. She didn't know why, but it was funny to her.

Laura let her laugh. "What about you?"

Jubilee was silent for a moment. Laura wished she was a telepath sometimes.

"I dunno." Jubilee replied. "I guess I'll stay at the Institute, see if Santa Clause leaves presents."

"You realize Santa Clause isn't—"

"Shut up! Lalalalala! Not listening!" Jubilee stuck her fingers in her ear and the snowmobile swerved. Laura grabbed the controls and steadied them. Jubilee took control back.

"Sorry."

"Apologies."

Both girls said it at the same time and laughed quietly.

"Continue." Laura said.

"Probably just going to spend holidays at the Institute, do a bit of retail therapy, maybe hit some clubs, dunno. Gonna be boring…"

Laura pressed her face into Jubilee's back, not for warmth, but as a sign of compassion. "I am sorry."

Jubilee smiled sadly. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"I can spend Christmas with you if you wish. If is truly a big step to spend the holidays with someone, then I will spend them with you."

"You totally phrased that wrong." Jubilee laughed. "And thank you, Laura."

The clone snuggled closer.
-

Rahne sat on the bed, tapping the little white stick in her hand. Her foot was tapping nervously as well, very fast. The Scot let out a growl and dropped the stick on the bed, morphing into wolf form and patrolling the floors of Roberto's room. She lay down, tucking her head between her paws and whimpering.

Something moved in the hallway and Rahne's ears perked up. Roberto entered the room and Rahne morphed into human form.

"Rahne?" he asked, closing the door behind him. "What're you doing here?"

Rahne opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come forth. She bit her lip and walked over to the bed, picking up the stick again. She stared at it, tapping it in her hand before handing it to Roberto. He stared at her and took it. His eyes widened.

"Rahne—you—you're pregnant?" he asked.

Rahne nodded, tears in her eyes.

"But-but-" Roberto was speechless, and not in a good way.

Rahne smiled. "I don't know what to do, but I love it! I can' wait to be a mommy!"

Roberto's expression wiped the happy one off of Rahne's face.

"Robbie?" she asked.

Roberto took a deep breath. "So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Huh?" Rahne asked, taking the stick back dumbfoundedly.

"Are you going to keep the baby or not?" Roberto asked. "But remember a baby is a lot of work, and it wouldn't fit in well here at the Institute, and if it's a mutant, it's in for a life just like ours and—"

"You don't want me to keep the baby?" Rahne asked, tears in her eyes again.

"That isn't what I said—" Roberto said.

"But it's what ye meant." Rahne frowned. "I can't give the babeh up! Don' you wan' a babeh?"

Roberto looked her in the eyes and without a moment's hesitation said "no."

Rahne was dumbfounded.

"Here's the deal, Rahne." He said. "It's me or the baby."
-

Kitty skidded to a stop, snow flying from her speeder, and pushed the goggles out of her eyes, pinching her eyebrows. Piotr slid up next to her, displacing much more snow. Some rabbit dug his way out and darted off. Kitty sighed.

"I don't see her, Piotr." She said.

"We can not give up on her!" Piotr exclaimed, his strong voice desperate.

"We're not!" Kitty said. "We're not! I'm just suggesting we get the shuttle and do a thermal imaging scan, try and see if we can't find her that way."

"Too many animals." Piotr said simply.

Kitty glanced around, seeing nothing, but took his word for it.

"Piotr, I'm sorry about Illyana."

"Not your fault." Piotr said, glancing around.

"No, but I'm still sorry."

Piotr smiled at her. "You are very sweet, my kitty cat."

Kitty laughed. She loved it when Piotr called her that. It gave her a sense that everything was fine. Even if they were in a Sentinel-infested, mutant-hating country looking for Piotr's sister who was out here in the freezing tundra with a pack of "demons" chasing her.

"Hey, what's that?" Piotr asked. He pointed towards the horizon. It took Kitty a minute to see it, but there was a large group of black specks darting across the white landscape, heading towards an abandoned town.

"Let's go find out!" Kitty exclaimed, pushing the goggles over her eyes and speeding off, Piotr right next to her.
-

Rachel hovered softly above the snow, glancing around, the tattoo over her eye glowing slightly. Her father screeched up behind her a moment later. He was breathing heavily, the icy air burning his lungs. Rachel landed softly in the snow.

"How much further do you think this girl could be, Rachel?" Scott asked, pushing his red goggles up onto his face and pulling the white mask down. His breath created a huge cloud every time he spoke.

"I don't know." Rachel replied, scanning the horizon. She knew exactly how much further Betsy was, she was dragging her dad through this to make him suffer.

"Rachel, I don't have to be a telepath to know when you're keeping something." Scott said, leaning against the handle-bars of his speeder.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Come on, Rachel." Scott said. "You call your mother "mom", but you refer to me as "Scott". What's up with that? Second, I can tell you know more about this Braddock girl than you're letting on."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm your father."

Rachel huffed silently and turned to scan the horizon again. "I'm getting a spike northwest of here. Let's go."

Before Scott could protest, Rachel zoomed off in the direction of a forest. Scott sighed and kicked his speeder bike back into motion, speeding after his daughter.
-

"Wow, thanks, dad!" Warren exclaimed, throwing his coat onto his father's desk and knocking papers to the ground. "I think I'm going to buy you a Dad of the Year coffee cup."

Worthington leaned heavily against the doorway. "I don't like this anymore than you do, son."

"Oh, like hell!" Warren exclaimed. "You're going to let Kelly just march his damned Sentinels through every city and "cure" us? You know exactly what's going to happen the first time a mutant stands up against him, like Magneto, or Rogue, or anyone else. He's going to order the Sentinels to kill every mutant in America!"

Warren marched up to his father and jabbed his finger into the old man's chest. "Then you will be responsible for the murder of your son and everyone like him!"

"Warren! I don't have a choice!"

"You always have a choice." Warren growled, pulling off his shirt to reveal his red and white X-Men uniform beneath, flexing his wings. "You are just too cowardly to make the right one."

With that, Warren flew off into the setting sun.
-

Lorna laughed and wriggled her hips, making Bobby squirm. She leaned down and kissed him, pressing her body to his. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and the two lay there for a moment, her hands resting on his short, blonde hair, his on the soft fabric of her pajama top on her lower back. After a moment, Lorna pulled away and pulled his shirt off. She gasped softly upon seeing the ice crater. She reached down and gently traced it with her finger.

"It's gotten bigger." She whispered.

"I always wondered what it would be like to have a girl tell me that." Bobby said, attempting poorly to make a joke.

Lorna smiled. "Bobby, this is getting serious. It's the size of a saucer!"

Bobby grunted and looked down at the growing portion of his chest which was ice. "I know…" he muttered. "Lorna, you promised not to talk about it…"

"That's what got us together in the first place." Lorna replied. "And it's hurting you. I can see it. I can't just sit here while whatever is happening to you happens."

Bobby placed his hands on her hips and stared at her.

"You're very beautiful…" he whispered.

"Don't change the topic." Lorna whispered in return with a smile.

The two lay there for a moment when Lorna suddenly had an idea. "What about getting Jean to look at it?"

"No." Bobby said, sitting up, pushing his head back against the backboard of the bed.

"Bobby—"

"Lorna, you said you wouldn't—"

"Bobby! I can't just let this happen!" Lorna exclaimed, struggling to keep her tears back. "You mean a lot to me and I can't stand to have you mope around and sneak into the med bay when you think I'm asleep—yes I know—when a simple conversation with Jean could fix this?"

"But what if it can't?" Bobby asked. "What if I'm stuck like this, and one day I really will be an Ice-Man? If we tell Jean—"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could tell everyone!"

Lorna bit her lip. She could definitely see why Bobby didn't want everyone to know.

"She can keep a secret."

"Lorna—"

"Bobby."

The two stared at each other and Bobby finally sighed. "Alright. I'll talk to Jean tomorrow."

Lorna made a happy giggle and pressed her lips to his again. Bobby's eyes widened and he placed his hands on her butt, gripping and grinning hard.
-

The girl ran down the streets of the village. The inhabitants had seen her coming from a mile away and had hidden indoors. The people of Russia were very superstitious, especially in these parts, and they wanted nothing to do with sorcery or mutants. It was one of the ways the president had been able to pass the Sentinel bill with the support of the public.

She was dressed in a red poncho-like top with a hood attached to that. Her clothes beneath were black and ripped. She wore skinny jeans and pieces of fur over them that had been previously used to keep her legs warmed, but after her pursuit, had been ripped off by her pursuers. Over her pants she had a torn, yellow skirt.

She tripped and fell face first into the snow. She yelped and covered her head and closed her eyes as one of the large, black wolves following her leapt.

Nothing happened.

Illyana Rasputin slowly opened her eyes to see her older brother Piotr standing over her, wrestling with a wolf before picking it up and throwing it into a wall. It fell to the ground, unmoving. The rest of the wolves, about seven left, had cleared room when a brunette girl, Kitty Pryde, Illyana assumed, screeched up on her speeder.

"Piotr!" Illyana exclaimed, leaping up and hugging her older brother. Piotr returned the hug.

"Um, guys, sorry to interrupt-" Kitty said.

Piotr looked up and shook his sister off. He grabbed some snow from the ground and started making a giant snowball. The wolves were growling, inching closer.

"What? Are we going to get into a snowball fight with them?" Kitty demanded.

"This is the distraction. Do you have the tranquilizer gun from the ship?" Piotr asked.

Kitty reached into the cargo compartment on her speeder and pulled it out.

"Shoot as many as you can!" With this last exclamation, Piotr threw the snowball and the wolves bolted. Kitty aimed and slowed down time, moving through it fluidly, shooting each wolf with a tranquilizer dart. They whimpered and fell to the ground.

"Surprisingly easy." Kitty said. "I'm not complaining though…"

Illyana leapt at Kitty, kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Kitty was stupefied. Piotr laughed.

"She is very energetic." He explained.

"I can see." Kitty replied. "Hello, Illyana. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You as well!" Illayna exclaimed.

Piotr's sister was taller than Kitty, most people were, but Illyana was almost as tall as Jean, who was about five and a half feet tall. She had long, blonde hair, which Kitty didn't understand since Piotr had jet-black hair, and she had creamy, light brown eyes that seemed to spark with a magnificent light within her soul. She looked very pretty from what Kitty could see. It was obvious the girl had been running for some time with little in which to rest.

"What happened to you, sister?" Piotr asked. "You never replied to our e-mail."

"After I send last e-mail, monsters start after me." Illyana's English was not as good as Piotr's, but getting better. She had been looking to immigrate to the United States in a few months time.

"You've been running for two weeks?" Kitty asked.

"No." Illyana replied. "At first they only come at night. Then they come in day. Before I hid in barn, then in town. Then I was kicked out."

She seemed like a little girl explaining her barbie doll adventures that day, not a sixteen year old who had been running from monsters for two weeks. Piotr's face hardened when he heard of the villagers' actions again.

"I run for four days now. I try to find help, no one will…will…"

"Pomoch'?" Kitty asked, using the Russian word.

Illyana nodded frantically. "I am glad you two came! You saved my life!" She kissed Kitty on the cheek again. Then she turned and hugged her brother once more.

"Why are these things after you, Illyana?" Kitty asked.

"I do not know. At first I thought they creations by President to kill mutants. They alive, though."

"They're not Sentinels?" Kitty asked. "Well why else…"

Something on Kitty's waist beeped as she neared one of the unconscious wolves.

"Kitty?" Piotr asked. Illyana, too, seemed interested in the beeping box.

"I-I-This has never happened before!"

"What is it?" Piotr demanded.

"It's a box to measure magical auras. You know, supernatural stuff. Dimensional rifts…these guys are registering off the charts!"

"So they are demons?" Illyana asked, looking at Piotr.

"Whatever they are, they called for backup." Kitty said, pointing in the distance where a dozen specks were rushing towards them. "Time to go!"
-

Rachel landed softly next to a small, stone hut near the edge of the woods. Her red and yellow clothes made her clash with the snow, but she was completely silent. About thirty yards behind her, Scott Summers snowmobile was blowing up snow and creating lots of noise.

"Shh!" Rachel chastised, moving carefully, her boots make soft sounds in the snow. Scott nodded and got off of his motorcycle, moving slightly louder to the side of the house and peering in a window.

"I don't see anyone." He said.

The glass shattered and he stumbled backwards, falling on his back. A girl in black leapt down from the roof and landed on his stomach, planting her feet into his flesh. Scott made an "umph!" sound and his glasses fell off. At first he panicked, shutting his eyes and reaching for his glasses. Then he remembered he no longer had his mutant powers.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed.

The red-head darted to his side as the black-haired girl fled to his still-running speeder bike.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed again.

The snowmobile spewed snow and ice, and the girl screamed away.

"I've got her!" Rachel exclaimed, flying off after the girl.

"Yeah! I'm fine! Thanks for asking…" Scott muttered.
-

"Hey, Jean!" Lorna beamed.

"What are you two up to?" Jean asked, typing in one last calibration on the security lock before closing the panel and turning to look at the green-haired mutant and the cryokinetic.

"Could we talk?" Lorna asked. "In the Infirmary?"

Jean looked slightly taken back, but agreed. It was an unwritten rule not to read someone's mind in the Institute unless you had suspicion to believe lives were at stake.

"So what is it?" she asked, closing the glass doors behind the three.

There was slight hesitation as the two younger mutants glanced back and forth before Bobby finally spoke up. "There's something I've been hiding."

Jean stood there, arms folded over her chest, waiting. Bobby glanced at Lorna, who encouraged him to go further with a nod of her head, and pulled the shirt over his head.

Jean gasped when she saw the ice on his chest. Bobby just stood there and let the telepath scan him over.

"When did it start?" Jean asked softly.

"About two months after Days of Future Past." Bobby said. "I remember getting shot there and patching it up with ice, but that was an alternate past. Right?"

"That's tricky stuff, Bobby. Only Iron Man and Doctor Strange have really dealt with other dimensions. As far as I know though, and I don't know much I'm afraid, this shouldn't be happening."

Bobby looked down at his feet, disappointed. Lorna glanced at him before speaking up.

"Bobby and I have been looking into it for some time, but we're not sure what to do. Could you help?"

Jean bit her lip. "I can run some tests, but this is more Beast's area of expertise. I'll have to forward everything to him."

"No." Bobby said.

"Bobby!" Lorna exclaimed.

"No! You said only Jean would have to know! I'm not having everyone on Earth finding out I can't control my powers…or whatever this is!" Bobby said firmly.

"Bobby, stop acting like an idiot!" Lorna exclaimed. "McCoy can keep a secret, right Jean?"

Jean nodded.

"You have to trust people to help you. Not everyone needs to be treated with an air of distrust."

Bobby hesitated, bit his lip, thought for a moment, then finally sighed. "Alright, just McCoy and he better keep it a secret."

Jean nodded.
-

Storm walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to look for a drink and some chocolate she had stored in here. Odds were someone had already eaten it, but there was a chance it was—

"Aha!"

Storm pulled out the chocolate and grabbed a soda. She was just about to leave when she heard a whimpering. She paused and listened. It sounded animal-like. She glanced around and picked up the table-cloth, looking underneath.

Rahne was curled up in wolf form, her head underneath her paws. Storm made a clicking noise and Rahne's ears perked up. She removed her paws and looked at Storm.

"Rahne." Storm said softly. "Come on out."

Rahne shook her head and buried it under her paws again. Whenever she was in wolf form, she acted much more animal like than normal. Storm sighed and held out some of the chocolate. Rahne sniffed, but remained where she was. When Storm tossed her some, however, the wolf ate it at an alarming speed.

"What's wrong, Rahne?" Storm asked.

Rahne whimpered. It took about five more pieces of chocolate before the Scot finally morphed to human form and Storm could see just how long she had been crying. Her eyes were so bloodshot, it looked like they were red instead of white. Her face was filthy from tears and dirt. Storm asked what was wrong again and Rahne burst open like a dam.
-

Rachel made it alongside the speeder easily and flew parallel to the girl. "Betsy" looked to be of Asian descent, with long, flowing black hair and dark eyes. She was wearing heavy winter clothes. Rachel could tell she had been crying.

'Go away!' Betsy shouted telepathically.

'I'm here to help you.' Rachel replied with a smile. Betsy's eyes widened and she pushed the speeder to go faster.

Rachel's Phoenix tattoo glowed brightly and the speeder slowed to a stop. Despite pushing the throttle as far forward as it would go, the speeder refused to budge. Betsy sighed and stopped trying as Rachel settled down in the snow next to her and smiled.

"What do you want?" Betsy asked, her British accent demanding, and also fearful.

"I'm a friend."

"Never seen you before in my life." Betsy replied.

"Well, not yet. It's a long, complicated story. I'm here to help you though."

"Why should I trust you?" Betsy demanded. "You just stopped this thing in its tracks and you spoke to me telepathically."

"You spoke to me telepathically." Rachel pointed out. Betsy humphed and folded her arms over her chest. Rachel smiled. "I know about your powers. I'm from a place where mutants, people like us, can stay in relative safety. It's called the Xavier Institute."

"I know about it." Betsy said. "My brother talks about it whenever he's home."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Have you heard of Jean Grey?" she asked. She already knew from scanning her mind that the Brit knew of Jean.

"Yes." Betsy said.

"I'm her daughter."

Betsy stared at her as if trying to scan her mind. Rachel made it easy, laying out the thoughts she needed to confirm the red-head's story.

"Alright, what do you want?" Betsy asked.

"I'd like to offer you a spot on my team, and a chance to save the world."

"Team?" Betsy asked.

"Well," Rachel smirked. "It's really more-"
-

Illyana, Kitty, and Piotr ducked between two buildings, gasping for air.

"I can no keep running!" Illyana gasped. "I have run too long!"

"Just a little longer!" Kitty gasped. She tapped a pad on her wrist and it lit up.

"What was that?" Illyana asked.

"I called in our aircraft. I'm sure these things can't fly. If they can…well..." Kitty grinned. "We have big guns."

Three of the dark creatures slid to the end of the alleyway and growled, baring fangs as large as daggers.

"Katya!" Illyana exclaimed.

"Go!" Piotr shouted, grabbing two handfuls of the walls on either side and throwing them at the wolves. They leapt to the side, then at him. Kitty glanced at him for a moment, then darted off, dragging Illyana with her.

"We can not leave my brother!" Illyana exclaimed.

"We're not!" Kitty replied. "He can handle himself!"

Two wolves charged at them, but Kitty phased, and the wolves flew right through them.

"Illyana! What are your powers?"

"Powers?" Illyana asked as Kitty took up a defensive position. "I have none!"

"Great." Kitty cursed. She glanced at her wrist and saw the chopper was at least thirty seconds out. She looked up and saw Piotr running at them in full metal mode. Five wolves were after him, two more limping behind the pack.

Kitty grabbed the tranquilizer gun from her waist and fired. She had been forced to leave the speeder where they had parked it because of the distance the wolves were making. She had a limited number of shots.

Something buzzed on the horizon and Illyana turned to see a large plane flying towards them at high speeds.

"Incoming!" Piotr shouted.

One of the wolves leapt over his head and grabbed Illyana, sinking its teeth into her.

"Yana!" Kitty shouted. She leapt at the wolf and phased her arm into it's heart. The wolf whimpered and fell dead. Piotr turned around and snapped two wolves necks.

'Uh-oh' Kitty thought. It was bad when anyone Piotr's size got angry. Couple that with the fact he was a mutant who had nearly indestructible skin and immense strength and you got a very bad situation.

"Yana!" Kitty exclaimed again, softer this time. She caught the blonde before she could fall to the snow and cradled her in her arms as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Chopper settled in the snow.

"Hold 'em off, Piotr!" Kitty shouted, grabbing Illyana's arms and dragging her onboard. Kitty ran to the cockpit, her brown hair bobbing, and pulled back on the thruster stick, lifting the craft into the air. The turbines on the ship blew up the snow in a cloud of white ice. Piotr slammed his fist into another wolf's snout. Kitty set the craft to hover and hauled herself into the back, climbing the ladder to the gun emplacement. She aimed carefully and blasted two of the wolves.

"Piotr!" she shouted into her comm. "Get on the ship!"

Piotr kicked another wolf. On the horizon, Kitty could see more and more coming from all directions.

"Piotr! Now!"

The Russian ripped a wolf in half and threw each half into another wolf. Kitty glanced at the wolves getting dangerously close.

"Piotr! Think about Illyana!"

Piotr froze, then looked up at the S.H.I.E.L.D. chopper. He slammed one more wolf into the ground and leapt. He grabbed the boarding ramp and hauled himself on board.

Kitty slid down the ladder and leapt over the back of the pilot's seat, gripping the steering wheel even as the seatbelt fastened itself around her. She pressed a button, closing the boarding ramp, and pushed the throttle as far forward as it would go.

The mutants blasted into the cold grey sky.
-

Both the X-Jet and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellier Jet landed softly on the snow-covered front lawn of the Xavier Institute. While Rachel, Scott, Laura, Jubilee, and a new arrival descended the boarding ramp of the Blackbird, Piotr practically jogged towards the front door with a blonde girl in his arms, Kitty following after the jet had turned off.

Before Piotr got a chance to knock on the door, it opened, and Roberto stormed out. Piotr didn't ask questions, instead rushing past the Professor, Storm, and grabbing Jean to accompany him to the medical bay with a firm hand.

Everyone watched as Roberto tossed his bag into his car and cranked it.

"What's up?" Jubilee asked.

Roberto didn't reply. He merely scowled and stomped the gas, making tracks towards the gates.

The mutants turned to those on the front steps: Charles Xavier, Storm, Emma Frost, and Lorna and Bobby, hand in each others, smiles on their faces.

"Did we miss something?"

"Indeed. Roberto has engaged in behavior not tolerated here at the Institute and has been banned from the grounds. I will explain more inside. Meanwhile, who did Piotr take into the Infirmary?" Charles replied.

"Illyana!" Kitty exclaimed, having totally forgotten about the blonde. She rushed past. Rachel glanced at her and asked on their private telepathic channel if she wanted her to come. Kitty shook her head and disappeared inside the Institute.

"So I see you found Ms. Braddock." Charles said, smiling at the dark haired girl. Now that she wasn't running for her life, one could see she was startlingly beautiful, almost as much so as Jean. Her dark hair seemed almost blue, her eyes dark with sparks of purple in them. She had a flat body, tucked inside loose clothes with a coat draped over her shoulders. "Ms. Braddock, my name is Charles Xavier. Allow me to welcome you to the Xavier Institute."

Betsy smiled and shook his hand.

"Come inside, you must be hungry and tired…"

Emma and Storm brought Betsy inside. Charles turned and smiled broadly. "I have very good news, my X-Men."

"What?" Scott asked.

"Using the sample of your blood you submitted, Scott, Hank McCoy believes he can take the Cure out of it and manipulate it to merely tone down mutant powers, granting control and relief to those who sorely need it."

Lorna clenched Bobby's hand tighter.

"This could be the path to returning your powers to you, granting control to people like Rogue, and perhaps even bringing more allies to our side."

"That's fantastic!" Scott exclaimed. Rachel looked pleased, but inside, she wasn't. This was just another weapon she needed to destroy.

"Come inside, we have much to discuss." Charles said.

Everyone went inside except Jubilee and Laura, the latter of whom grabbed the Asian's hand and held her back.

"Laura. I'm tired and hungry. This had better be good." Jubilee fussed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I need your help." Laura said.

"On what?" Jubilee asked.

"On something you know very well." Laura replied. "The Art of Seduction."

Jubilee grinned and wrapped an arm around the clone's shoulders. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
-

Julian was sitting on his bed, scanning social media, when his phone buzzed. He set the computer to the side and picked up his phone. It was Laura.

'Hello.'

Julian smiled and texted a hello back. A moment later, his phone buzzed again.

'How are you today?'

'Fine, how are you?'

'I am good.'

This was normally where the two got stuck. They could solve it by going out or something was bugging one of them. Julian sat there trying to think of something to say when the phone buzzed again.

'What are you wearing?'

This caught him off-guard. Was Laura trying to have phone-sex with him or just asking? He decided to take the safe route.

'Jeans & sweater, WBU?'

It seemed like an hour before Laura replied back: 'Button-up and jeans.'

Ah well, Julian thought. It was probably too much to ask for anyway.

'I am not wearing a bra.'

Julian perked up. What?

'What r u up to?" He asked, adding a winky face to the end.

'I am continuing our previous line of conversation.'

Whatever this was supposed to be, it was getting warped.

'Where r u?' Julian asked carefully.

'In your living room.' Laura replied.

Julian sat up. No way! He practically fell off of his bed and opened his bedroom door, glancing into the living room.

Sure enough, Laura was sitting on the old, plush green couch. She was indeed wearing a black, button-up shirt and dark jeans. She smiled at him and stood up, walking over to him, past him, into his room. Julian swallowed hard, then remembered she could have heard that, and nervously pushed the door closed.

Laura was indeed bra-less. She had undone the first few buttons on her shirt, revealing an extensive amount of cleavage Julian had not seen before. Her dark hair was straight behind her head, her smile white, perfect teeth, and her eyes had an excitement in them Julian had not seen before.

"Hello." She said, breathlessly.

"You really aren't wearing a bra." Other parts of Julian's body seemed to control his mouth right now, and he was cursing them. Stupid!

"No." Laura agreed, seemingly unphased by the comment.

"You look beautiful." Julian managed to squeeze out. What the hell? "I mean, not because you're not wearing a bra, which is wonderful—that is, I'm not saying what I'm saying because you aren't wearing a bra, which I'm not, it's just—"

Laura laughed. Unlike most of her laughs, this one was joyful and warm. It seemed to resonate pure happiness and joy into the room, filling it with happy things. She leaned in and kissed him, pressing her lips to his. Julian set his hands on her hips, struggling not to reach down and grab her butt. Laura arched her body into his and Julian's self control slipped a little. He grabbed her butt tightly through her jeans. Laura grinned and slid her tongue along his lips.

"Whoah." Julian said, breaking away and looking at Laura. "I thought you said you wanted to wait."

"I did." Laura replied, placing her hands on his chest. "But I am done waiting."

Julian arched an eyebrow. Laura laughed again and pushed him down onto his bed, crawling on top of him and kissing him again. Her soft, silk hair fell over onto his and he ran his fingers through it. Laura sat up after a moment on his groin and twisted her hips sharply, drawing a groan from him.

"You said your family was gone for the holidays?" she asked, unbuttoning another button on her shirt.

"Yes." Julian breathed, wanting nothing but to see more of Laura's skin.

Laura undid another button. Julian could see the bottom curve of her breasts now and she laughed as his body reacted for him. She grinned and raked her hands up under his shirt, warm palms against warm skin. Julian's breath hitched and Laura kissed him, hands running over his chest. She pulled his shirt completely off and pressed her mouth to his chest, tongue dragging over his skin. She licked one of his nipples and erected a shudder from him. Laura grinned. She unbuttoned his jeans, then slowly slid the zipper down. She tugged them off and onto the floor. Her shirt finally was removed as well and Julian stood up, moving towards her, but Laura pushed him down onto the bed again, the two laughing.

Julian surprised Laura and flipped positions until he was on top. She grinned as he kissed her, then trailed his mouth down to her chin, down to her neck. He kissed in one spot for a moment, then moved to another. It took a few seconds for Laura to see what he was doing…or rather...trying not to do.

"Do not worry about leaving a mark." She said, referring to hickies. "I can not get them."

Julian seemed fine with this, latching on to the bob in her throat and suckling on it. Laura gasped and let out a soft moan, her head fell back like it had been severed and her eyes closed in pleasure. Julian sucked there for a moment before moving to Laura's soft breasts. He kissed over the skin and erected something in Laura that went straight down to the middle of her legs. She had never had anyone touch her there and it felt incredible. Julian found one of her nipples and sucked on it. Laura moaned and writhed on the bed, letting her ecstasy control her body.

Julian massaged her breasts for several minutes before kissing further south. He found her belly-button and slid his tongue inside of it, kissing it. Laura shivered and looked at him, his dark hair messy and askew as he kissed his way down her body. She felt the button on her jeans come undone, and much like she had done with him, her jeans soon joined his on the floor.

Julian's hands and mouth were now preoccupied with her thighs. He kissed and stroke them, erecting more feelings in her. She did not realize it, but the memories from HYDRA did not come to her. She did not remember all those times in the Maze. All she could think of now was Julian's fingers sliding up and grabbing her black panties before dragging them down to her ankles, then onto the floor.

She was completely naked in front of him and he took a moment to capture the image of her body in his mind. She smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. His hands were on her thighs again and then—oh!

"Ah!" she gasped, falling back onto the bed. Julian grinned and watched her move gently as his hand ran against her newly exposed skin softly. Laura gasped and moaned. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and held on to him. Julian grinned.

"If you think that feels good—" he whispered into her ear, removing his hand and sliding down between her legs.

Laura's head snapped back and she let out a loud, ragged moan as Julian buried his head between her legs. She moaned and groaned, writhing on the bed. She grabbed his hair with both hands, holding on tightly with one, gripping tighter when he hit the right spot, and running her fingers through it with the other, the pace quickening with his tongue.

Julian grinned and moved his hand back where his mouth was, working both at the same time. Laura moaned, shivered, gasped, then whimpered. She started whimpering on his bed, her grip in his hair as tight as ever. She thrust her hips into his face, desperately wanting more. Julian gave it to her.

Suddenly Laura arched on the bed, her body quivering slightly, her eyes wide. Then she collapsed, letting out a long breath. Julian's head remained down between her legs for a moment more, then he looked at her, grinning.

"You like?" he asked.

Laura was sweating, and couldn't find her voice. She nodded and lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

"That was—spectacular." She finally managed to get out. "I have never experienced anything like that before."

Julian raised an eyebrow. Laura was a virgin? Things kept getting better. Next, she'd tell him he was the first guy she had been with!

"I believe." Laura said after another moment of catching her breath. "I owe you something."

Julian wondered if she was referring to what he thought she was, then she flipped on the bed, lying on her stomach so her face was level with his crotch, and slid his boxers down. Yes, she was.

Julian gasped and nearly fell over on top of her. Holy Hell…
-

Another portal opened into the white room and Rachel tugged Jubilee in. The Asian stumbled away and looked at the group of mutants inside the room. Alongside Jubilee, Kitty and the newest addition to the X-Men, Betsy, were standing there. There was also a green-robed figure in the corner, leaning against the wall with a familiar smirk on her familiarly red lips. The room they were standing in was actually a pocket dimension Rachel had created.

"So I'm not the only one crazy-hair here abducted." Jubilee muttered. "What's she want?"

"Just listen, Jubes." Kitty smirked.

Jubilee opened her mouth to say something, but decided to shut it and stood, hands and a legs ready to move while Rachel moved in front of them. A giant "X" engraved itself in flames on the wall behind her. It looked like a slab of steel that had appeared.

"Welcome to X-Force." Rachel greeted.

"X-Force?" Jubilee asked.

"It's a secret team I'm putting together to combat evils the X-Men are not ready to handle, or can't because of their public image." Rachel said. She smiled. "Think of Black-Ops X-Men."

"Ah." Jubilee whispered. "So why exactly choose us, who's green robes over there, and what are we going to be doing…other than the obvious saving the world?"

"I chose all of you because you are…darker among the X-Men and more trustworthy than the others. You are willing to keep secrets and do things the others aren't."

"Like kill." Betsy said.

Jubilee whirled. "Kill?"

"In time," Rachel replied. "Certain things have not happened yet, but it will shape us."

"If you wanted a killer, you should've recruited Laura." Jubilee said. "She's totally into this stuff…secrets, black-ops…"

Rachel smirked.

"You thought of her." Jubilee said.

"'Course she did." The green-robed girl replied.

Jubilee scrunched her face. She recognized that voice…

"I will indeed recruit X-23, but only when she returns."

"Returns?"

Rachel bit her lip. "You won't like this, but something is going to happen to Laura. At first you will hate me for letting it happen, but afterwards you will see it was necessary."

"What are you talking about?" Jubilee demanded. "What's going to happen to Laura?"

"I'll explain in a minute. But for your second question. Rogue?"

Jubilee turned to see the green robes dissipate and the Belle stand before them, smirking, hands on her hips, her body positioned provocatively.

"What the hell?" Jubilee exclaimed. "She betrayed us!"

"Naw." Rogue replied. "I'm undercoveh."

"Undercover? Yeah right." Jubilee snorted. She turned to Kitty. "She isn't really undercover, is she?"

"Yes." Kitty replied. "Xavier and Fury sent her undercover to keep an eye on Magneto. They had to keep it a secret from us though, so it would look real when we encountered her."

"No offense, but y'all are terrible actors." Rogue said.

Jubilee made a humph noise and folded her arms over her chest. "So here we are: a phaser, a sparkle generator, a power vacuum, two telepaths, and a human weapon coming soon. What're we doing here?"

Jean took a deep breath and glanced at Kitty. The brunette nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. Jubilee raised an eyebrow.

'Stop being perverted.' Rachel hissed.

Jubilee lowered the eyebrow.

"Do you remember who we thought bombed Worthington Labs?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, Ms. Marvel said something about a bird before Rogue put her in the hospital."

"Accident!" Rogue replied.

"The Phoenix." Rachel interrupted before the fight could get any further. "It's a cosmic entity that lives in a host and dies with it's host. It's bent on galactic domination. Now it's here on Earth and I know who it's host is."

"Well let's go smash it! Wipe that bird and it's host off the face of the Earth!" Jubilee said, punching her palm.

"It's my mother."

Silence.

"Oh." Jubilee whispered. "Sorry."

Rachel nodded. "My mother doesn't know it, in fact, only us five do…and Emma Frost."

"Frost?" Rogue asked. "How does she know?"

"When she disappeared last year, that was my mom." Rachel replied. "The Phoenix wiped all memories of the identity of the host from people's minds around the world. When that happened, it set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to my mom accidentally unleashing the Phoenix in Egypt and destroying the Earth."

"How did you escape if she destroyed the Earth?" Jubilee asked after a quiet moment.

"My mom, when she realized, told me to get as many X-Men to the under-water bunker as possible. When she went nuclear, we were trapped down there. I studied for years and picked the members of this team carefully before going back in time to create X-Force and save both my mom and the world."

It was silent in the white room.

"So we're going to stop your mom without killing her or destroying the world?" Jubilee asked. "How are we going to do that?"

Rachel looked at Kitty again before sighing and then saying the most bizarre thing like it was the most obvious.

"Well I absorb the Phoenix."

"What?" Rogue demanded. Clearly the two had not talked about this when Rogue had received her invite.

"I will know the Phoenix is in me, I know how to control it, I've worked on my telepathy and telekinesis for years and am more than powerful enough to keep it in check." Rachel said.

"Why not just put it in a jar and send it inta the sun?" Rogue asked.

"Because it's not that simple." Kitty said. "The Phoenix, once it starts growing, needs a host or it'll just go nuclear and move on to another world."

Rogue scrunched her eyebrows, trying to figure out how that worked.

"So let me get this straight." Betsy said, at last speaking up. "After your mum destroyed the world, you went back in time to take the thing that made her do that and put it in you. To do this, you needed to create some hosh-posh team of black-ops mutants who are willing to kill and keep devastating secrets."

Rachel went over it in her mind. "Yeah. Pretty much."

Betsy grinned. "You can count me in, love."

"Ah, sure." Jubilee said. "If my girl X is gonna be in, I guess I'm in."

"Good, Rogue and Kitty are already in. Now we just have to wait for Laura."

"Speaking of which, what's going to happen to her?"
-

"How is she?" Piotr asked the moment Jean exited the Infirmary.

The red-head paused and took a deep breath. Kitty and Piotr had been waiting outside the infirmary for almost two hours while Jean examined the female Rasputin. She had kicked them out after Piotr's constant worry began to irritate her. Kitty and Piotr were holding hands. They both obviously cared for Illyana and both were worried about her.

"I don't know." Jean said. She held up a hand to silence Piotr. "I'm no expert on magic. I know science. Whatever those creatures were, they weren't from here, and they have magical properties. I've called in a professional to look her over. He should be here tomorrow. Until then, I can only keep her body stable."

Piotr hesitated, absorbing the information before asking "Is she alright?"

Jean bit her lip. "I don't know, Piotr. I'm sorry. I've put her into a medically induced coma to keep her body as it is now. We'll know more when the Doctor gets here tomorrow."

"Doctor?" Kitty asked.

"Doctor Strange." Jean said. "Sorcerer Supreme and resident master of the magical arts. He'll look over Illyana."

Jean saw the worry on both of the mutants' faces and sighed. "He's the best in the Universe, you two. She'll be fine. I feel it."
-

Laura's phone buzzed. At first she didn't hear it. It buzzed three times, then ceased, leaving her in complete silence except for the soft sound of breathing. It buzzed three more times, then ceased once again. The third time it buzzed, Laura blinked, remaining absolutely quiet. Who was texting her at 3:09 a.m.? (Laura had an inner clock so well wound she could tell exactly what time it was even upon waking up.)

Laura looked at Julian, head facing away from her, hand on his chest, fast asleep. Laura stretched her arms and pulled on a tank-top, she left two at Julian's house, and panties before yawning and sitting on the edge of the bed. She picked up her phone. It was probably Jubilee, though she had no idea why the Californian was up this early in the morning—

'Three Unread Text Messages' the phone read. Laura went to unlock it and a fourth one appeared on the screen.

"Out of the shadows, into the Light. Hail HYDRA."

Laura straightened. Something had come over her. That message was a code-phrase that had activated a previously hidden sleeper program inside of her mind. Laura stood up and put on her clothes from earlier, buttoning her shirt up completely, pulling her jeans tight, tying her shoe-laces perfectly. She extended a claw quietly and sliced the phone's memory card in half. She turned, her claws out, towards Julian and pressed them gently to his neck—

-then stopped. Her cold claws lay against his neck, and he barely moved. It seemed as if Laura was having an inner struggle on whether or not to kill Julian. Finally, she sheathed her claws and walked towards the window. It was snowing. Laura opened the window quickly, slid out, and closed it behind her. She darted across the yard headed North towards her destination.

X-Men: Standing Guard Will Return Shortly
-

*Jubal Early from Firefly. R.I.P.

**Suicide Squad, another DC team. Super-cool. Check it out.

***A defunct part of S.I.S.