A/N: Sorry for the long delay, guys... I think this is the most it has taken me to drop a new chapter.

Anyway, there's a lot of action in this one. I hope I've made it up to you.

As always, please review.

Chapter 8.

"Scott, do you see it?"

"Yes. Essex is the man who nearly destroyed our life… Essex is Sinister!"

"Or will become Sinister."

"Look at him, Jean. So weak... so human. It would be so easy… one optic blast would do it. In an instant, Sinister would be wiped from the history books. All the suffering he will cause… eradicated!"

"You can't kill a man for what he might become, Scott! You know that's not the answer."

"I know, Jean… Unfortunately, we're X-Men, and X-Men don't kill."

"Pay attention, you all," Cyclops began the debriefing, pointing to a red X mark on the holographic map. "We'll land the Blackbird on this site; it's deserted, and it's located three miles north of Sinister's facility, which will allow us to avoid air radar. There, we'll split into pairs," he announced and looked at Anna Marie. "Rogue, you'll be responsible for aerial reconnaissance. Make sure to fly upwind so that Sabretooth can't smell you. Take Emma with you to keep the rest of us telepathically updated."

"Scott, darling… Pairing Rogue and I seems like a remarkable waste of resources. I can do so much more than just mind-linking the team," the White Queen complained, almost pouting. Jean rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Emma. Once Gambit and Wolverine have reached the facility, you and Rogue will join them and wait for instructions," Cyclops explained, then turned to said men. "In the meantime, the two of you will be searching for alternative ways to enter the building unnoticed. Do not engage in combat until Jean tells you so."

"What if one of de Marauders find us first, homme?"

"I trust in your ability to avoid them, Remy. Find the way in and regroup with Emma and Rogue. Our chances of succeeding will increase if the four of you attack together," Scott reiterated.

"Both Sinister and Malice are telepaths, Cyke. What's to stop them from uncoverin' your plan once ya' and Red are inside?" Rogue asked.

"I've already thought that through. Jean's mental blocks are strong enough to prevent any telepath from reading her thoughts, Essex included. As for me, the minute we step out of the jet, Jean will implant a suggestion in my head that we're heading in without back up – I won't remember you guys being there. That shall give us the element of surprise against Sinister and his Marauders.

"Now wait a minute, darling… How are you supposed to lead us if you don't remember us?" the White Queen inquired.

"I won't. From that moment on, you'll be following Jean's orders," Scott clarified, exchanging a look with the redhead. She was momentarily surprised by his plan but nodded in agreement in the end.

Wolverine, however, didn't like it one bit. "It's too dangerous, one-eye. Creed can smell ya from miles away. He'll be on Jeannie's throat before either of ya can count to three."

Cyclops' eyes flashed behind his visor. "I'll be waiting for him. That son of a bitch will regret ever attacking my wife."

Jean couldn't help but blush at her husband's unusual display of protectiveness. Still, as flattering as it sounded, she didn't think that Cyclops attacking Sabretooth was the smartest tactic for that mission. "Scott, let me deal with Sabretooth while you focus on Sinister. Your concussive beams are one of the few things that can actually hurt him."

"No, Jean. You and I will attack Essex together… but only after Creed's been dealt with. Permanently," the X-Men's leader declared, his hate for the feral mutant evident in his tone. Jean shivered involuntarily at his coldness; oblivious to her reaction, Cyclops continued. "Meanwhile, the rest of you will take care of the Marauders and find out what Sinister is doing in that facility; gather as many clues as you can. He must want Nathan for a purpose, and I want to know what that is."

"What about us?" Bobby asked, pointing between himself, Warren, and Hank.

"Were you able to contact Cable or the X-Force?" Cyclops questioned back.

"No. They seem to have vanished from Earth. We couldn't even find Deadpool, and you know that dude isn't exactly quiet about his whereabouts," Iceman answered.

Sensing Jean's concern for grown-up Nathan over their reestablished psychic rapport, Scott pushed his own worry aside to focus on the younger and more vulnerable version of their son. "Then you and Archangel will stay here to protect Nate and the School, Bobby. Jean will let you know where to take him in case Sinister defeats us," he told his friends and immediately sent out the location to the redhead through their telepathic bond. He had evaluated every possible scenario and had decided he wouldn't share that particular information with the rest of the team in case Essex used his telepathy to discover where his son was hidden. "Beast will monitor our progress from the Blackbird and will send for help in case we get caught," Scott concluded.

"Copy that, oh Fearless," Hank assented.

"Good. X-Men, get ready to leave in five," Cyclops ordered.

The chosen team started to prepare for battle. Before Archangel could exit the War Room, Scott called him.

"Warren, a word, please."

The blonde stopped and turned to regard his friend. "You don't need to say it, Scottie. I'll defend Christopher with my own life if I have to. So will Bobby."

"I know, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to watch him aside from you, Iceman, and Beast. I'd leave Hank behind if I could, but I need someone in the jet to act as a last resource backup. Plus, he's the only one with medical expertise."

"Let's hope McCoy isn't needed, then," Archangel stated. "Don't worry, buddy. Jean's already informed us of where to take Nathan in case things get messy. We'll keep him safe until both of you return."

"Thank you," Cyclops said to his friend, "for everything."

"You're welcome," Warren replied and crossed his arms over his chest. "I must say, though… it's a risky plan, Scott. You and Jean functioning as bait, and all the while you not remembering anything you've planned… you'll have to trust each other implicitly for it to work. You think you're ready for it?"

Scott didn't even blink. "I know we are."

"Good," Archangel said, offering his right hand to his friend. "Good luck, and make sure you all come back in one piece."

Cyclops shook his hand. "I will."

Three hours later, Cyclops was landing the Blackbird in stealth mode in the middle of New Mexico's desert. Beast stayed inside to monitor his teammates' progress. Following their leader's orders, Rogue picked Emma by the armpits and took off, while Wolverine and Gambit quickly proceeded on foot. After making sure the others were out of Scott's sight, Jean altered his memories of the battle plan; then she involved both of them in a telekinetic bubble to avoid letting out their scent and began to float towards the facility.

Soon, she felt Rogue's call in her mind. 'Emma and I have reached the building, Red. It's big enough to house an entire army of Marauders.'

'Damn!' Jean cursed to herself. 'How many can you spot?'

'That's the funny part, dear – only Harpoon seems to be guarding the perimeter. It's unsettling quiet out here, both aurally and telepathically,' the White Queen responded, clearly uncomfortable.

'What about access?'

'There's an electrified fence surrounding the whole perimeter – not an issue when ya' got tk; then there's the reinforced steel gates that give access to the complex, one in the front, one in the back,' Rogue informed the redhead. 'Emma's telepathically blockin' our presence, sugah. Ya' sure ya' don't want us to take this scumbag down now?'

'No,' Jean replied quickly. 'The instant you strike Harpoon, the others will be alerted to our presence. Stick to Cyclops' plan and wait for Logan and Remy.'

'All right,' Rogue said.

'I hope you know what you're doing, Grey,' Emma added and severed the link with the other telepath to try to reach Wolverine and Gambit instead.

Unaware of the telepathic exchange between his teammates and wife, Cyclops looked at the redhead. "Jean, honey, will you please tell me why we're going after Sinister alone? It's unnerving to be telekinetically dragged across the desert without remembering the first thing about this plan," Cyclops grumbled.

The woman felt sorry for her control-freak husband. "I can't, Scott, otherwise I'd be going against your own orders. But trust me, hon, it's a solid plan. You came up with it, after all."

He sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just… be careful. Sabretooth may be waiting for us."

"We'll deal with Creed when the time comes. I'm more concerned about Sinister," the telepath argued. "Knowing how obsessed he is with the Summers' genealogy, we can expect anything from him. I'm afraid he won't rest until he puts his hands on Nate."

"That's exactly why we need to stop him now and for good. The fact that he knew about young Nathan's presence in this timeline is worrisome enough. I wonder how he's learned about it…"

Jean had a hunch, but she chose not to verbalize it at that moment. It didn't matter how Essex had discovered about their son; what mattered now was to defeat him and assure that Nate remained safe.

Just then the redhead received another telepathic call from Emma informing that Wolverine had discovered a way in through the roof, and that the four of them were waiting for her command to sneak into the building. Jean told her to hide and wait; she and Cyclops were about to reach the facility.

"What now?" he asked after his wife had levitated them over the fence and had landed them safely on the ground.

"Now we let Sinister know we're here," Jean explained.

That was the clue Scott needed. With one powerful concussive beam, he teared the front gate apart. Harpoon rapidly ran in their direction, a spear charged with bioenergy already leaving his hand, but Cyclops fired again, twice, hitting first the weapon, then its owner. The mercenary groaned in pain as he fell unconscious.

In the meantime, Jean made sure that Malice wouldn't bother them; weakened by the redhead's attack on the previous day, the dematerialized villain didn't even notice when the stronger telepath invaded her mind and encaged her conscience in a psychic prison.

"Malice's taken care of," she informed her husband as they entered the building.

"Good. We know that Riptide's injured. That leaves Sabretooth, Arclight, and Vertigo to be dealt with."

"You're forgetting us, Mr. Summers," a sinister voice echoed in the large hall. Emerging from a shadowed corner, Dr. Nathaniel Essex made himself known to his visitors.

"Sinister!" Jean exclaimed, shocked. She hadn't sensed his psyche nearby.

"Surprised, dear? Clearly, you're not the only telepath who can mask your presence," a similar voice said from behind Scott and Jean. They spun around and saw a second Essex.

"A-Another one?" Cyclops stammered, astounded. "What sort of sick joke is this, Sinister?"

"Oh, well… As you are both well-acquainted, Mr. and Mrs. Summers, I am a cloning enthusiast – not to mention, a master at it. You didn't really think I wouldn't clone myself, did you?" a third Sinister spoke, and the couple realized they were surrounded by six identical Essexes. "But that doesn't mean I'm not launching for my master-piece – little Nathan Christopher Summers, of course. Funny how life is, Scottie, my boy… After everything we went through in the orphanage, you still named your only child after me. I feel… honored."

"You'll never get my son, demon! I'll kill you before that," Cyclops threatened.

Another Mr. Sinister shrugged nonchalantly. "You kill me, and a brand-new copy will replace the deceased one; my supply is almost infinite, Scott… one could even think that I'm immortal," he paused and smiled cruelly at the two X-Men. "The question is: are you?"

With that, that copy of Essex stroke the couple. Cyclops jumped to his left while Jean leaped right, both missing his telekinetic blast for a few inches. Scott used the full force of his eye beams against two other clones while Jean involved herself and her husband in a protective force field.

'X-Men, forget the Marauders! Sinister's cloned himself! Attack him as soon as you see him,' she sent to her teammates telepathically.

'Oh, that's splendid!' she heard Emma replying through the mind-link and chose to tune it down to avoid becoming distracted by the battle about to take place on the upper levels.

Unaware that his team was coming to help them, Cyclops tried to elaborate a strategy that would give Jean and him the upper hand. He knew his concussive beams were one of the few weapons that could kill Sinister; but if what the geneticist had said about having countless clones of himself was true, killing a few of him wouldn't be enough.

'Jean, find where Essex's lab is. We need to destroy every single one of his stem-cell cultures,' he sent across their rapport.

'Okay,' the redhead responded. However, the mutant geneticist had intercepted that thought from Scott, and before Jean could enter his mind, she was telepathically attacked by three of him at once.

"Ahh!" she yelled in pain and fell on her knees, clutching her head.

"Jean!" Cyclops shouted and tried to run to his wife but was hit in the chest by one of Sinister's blasts. He dropped to the ground.

"Tut-tut," another Essex approached Scott, shaking his head in disapproval. He kneeled beside the man and telepathically assaulted his mind. "Oh my, Mr. Summers. You really thought that you and your wife alone could defeat me and my Marauders? I have to say, I expected more of two experienced X-Men like yourselves," he said, then regarded the man with an ominous smile. "Well, it's your loss, I guess… Now let's see where you've been keeping that rugrat."

Ignoring the pain to his chest and head, Cyclops turned his face to Sinister and opened his eyes wide. The villain didn't have time to scream as he was blasted to the other side of the hall. Some thick green liquid poured from his abdomen as his dead body slid from the wall and collapsed on the floor.

"Leave my wife and child alone!" Scott screamed, standing up to sequentially fire at two of the three Essexes who had been attacking Jean.

Now free of most of her assaulters, the redhead was finally able to resist Sinister's psychic strikes. Using her telekinesis, she cut the oxygen flow from his lungs to his brain and watched half-disgusted how the villain suffocated in a matter of seconds.

In the meantime, Cyclops had taken care of the remaining foes. He helped her up. "You okay?"

"Yes," the woman replied, massaging her temples.

"I should've killed Essex when we were taken to the past, Jean… It would've saved us a lot of grief."

"Don't say that, hon. Nathan wouldn't exist if it weren't for Sinister."

Cyclops sighed in frustration. "You're right… as much as it pains me to admit it."

Jean rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Let's not think about it now, okay? We should focus on the mission," she said. "I could see the cloning lab in Essex's mind, Scott… it's underground. I think there's a hidden lift somewhere in the next room."

"Let's go, then."

"Wait." Jean closed her eyes to better scan the building. "There are more of Sinister's clones descending the stairs. They'll be here in a matter of seconds."

"What about Sabretooth?"

The redhead hesitated to answer. She could sense her teammates fighting the Marauders -a lot of Marauders- on the upper floors, and Creed waiting for them somewhere underground. She knew Scott wouldn't want her fighting the feral alone, but Cyclops was the only one who could effectively defeat Essex, and they were running out of time. Therefore, she lied.

"I can't sense Sabretooth anywhere."

"Good," Scott thought for a moment. "I may not remember it, but I know in my heart I wouldn't risk our lives -your life, Jean- by attacking Sinister without back up. Besides, I can hear explosions that sound a lot like Gambit's charged cards detonating somewhere above us. I am right?"

The woman smiled – Cyclops was their leader for a good reason. "You are."

"I thought so. Can you sense anyone underground? More Sinisters, perhaps?"

"No," Jean lied again. She knew Creed was there.

"Good. Then find the lift and get to the lab. I'll hold down the fort for you."

"I'm telepathically telling the others to come down and help you, Scott. Emma's on her way."

"Thanks," the man replied. He pulled Jean to him and kissed her lips briefly. "Take care, Red. I'll join you as soon as I'm done here. I love you."

"And I love you, Slim," she replied. "Be safe."

Scott stood in front of the staircase, ready for battle. "You too."

As soon as the telepath had run into the next room, several Essexes emerged from the stairs. Cyclops fired at them, one after the other, praying that his teammates -his wife in special- remained safe.

In the meantime, Jean had taken the lift and was now reaching the underground level. As hard as it was to mind-scan Sabretooth, her telepathy had been able to detect his feral psyche's pattern nearby. She knew he would be on her before she'd even left the elevator.

So, when the steel doors opened, Jean launched a powerful telekinetic blast in every direction and heard a loud grunt as Creed's heavy body impacted against a large medicine cabinet, knocking antibiotic bottles and surgical equipment all over him.

Slowly, Sabretooth stood up. He cracked his neck and eyed the X-Man menacingly, the small cuts on his skin already healing. "Ya'll pay for this, frail."

With a terrifying growl, he leaped at the woman and was stopped mid-air by her telekinetic grip. "We've been through this before, Victor," Jean said without a trace of fear in her voice. "You're a fire-cracker, I'm an atom bomb. You're no match for me."

He was hurled against a row of dozens of tall glass cylinders containing a yellowish liquid. Jean realized those were the tanks where Essex's cloning procedures took place. Good. She needed to destroy them anyway.

The redhead had broken Creed's femurs before throwing him this time, which meant she had an extra sixty seconds to search for intel on why Sinister wanted Nathan. As she walked to the lab's main computer, she let her telekinesis run free, blowing every piece of glass, plastic, and organic material on her way, including the cell cultures resting in the refrigerators. She sat before the computer, never once losing sight of Sabretooth.

"Do you happen to know his password?" she asked Creed.

"Fuck you!"

"No, I don't think that's correct," Jean responded. "Essex's a little more erudite than that, you know? Let's try another."

She typed "SUMMERS" on the keyboard, successfully login in. "Told you," she said, grinning proudly.

"Wait 'til I wipe that smile off yer face, bitch," the feral threatened, struggling to stand up.

"I need to concentrate now, Victor. Do me a favor and shut up."

Using her telekinesis, the woman broke both his shinbones and jaw. Sabretooth uttered a painful growl and dropped to the floor again, purposely broadcasting to the telepath everything he would do to her once he recovered.

Jean ignored his filthy thoughts and concentrated on the screen again. "Let's see what you've planned this time, you maniac," she mumbled to herself, looking through Essex's folders.

Soon, she found a file under the name 'Summers, Nathan'. She clicked on it and several other files appeared. In the far corner of the room, Sabretooth had already begun to heal. Realizing she wouldn't have time to read all the content, Jean plugged in a pen drive and started to download the archives.

As she waited, she used the time to contact her husband, all the while keeping an eye on Creed. 'Scott, how are things up there?'

'Only one Sinister left. You?'

'Almost do- aaahhhh!'

Jean never saw the blow coming. Out of nowhere, someone backhanded the back of her head with incredible strength, prompting her to lose her breath and fall several feet away. Her telepathic link to Scott was instantly severed.

The redhead's green eyes widened as she realized who her assailant was. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her body up, whispering menacingly in her ear.

"Who's the fuckin' atom bomb now, frail?"