Wolverine's boots squished noisily as he stomped through the sewers. The professor had learned of Sabretooth returning thanks to Cerebro, and so Wolverine was sent to track him down so he wouldn't end up harming anyone.
As he came to a dead end, he used his scent to guide him. "Got you." He went down a pipe to pursue his enemy, not knowing a soldier wearing goggles was observing him in the distance.
"The informant was right." He said over his com. "This guy's definitely a mutant. It appears he's chasing someone."
"Shadow team, take the lead." Came the voice of their commander as three more soldiers each went down their own separate path in order to locate Wolverine. One was using a special device that emitted a red x-ray light. Shining it on the wall, he could see Wolverine walking down toward him before he made a right.
"Target fixed." The soldier reported as he followed where Wolverine was going. "Eighteen degrees north-northeast. Fisher Street storm drain."
"Affirmative." The commander replied. "Employing stealth pod." The stealth pod soon entered the sewer and flew towards the coordinates it was sent.
Wolverine was still looking for Sabretooth when he smelled another scent. He looked toward the corner, where a soldier was stationed. He was about to confront the man when he decided Sabretooth held priority and turned in the other direction.
"Target knows we're tracking him, but he's intent on pursuing his own quarry." The soldier stated. "Readings indicate that the guy he's chasing is another mutant."
Meanwhile, Sabretooth was trying to navigate the maze that he was in. Slipping into a nearby pipe, he crawled in and pushed the gate on the other side off. Climbing out, he went on his way when Wolverine came up and kicked him in the back.
Sabretooth roared as Wolverine was about to attack him again when he heard the shaking of a sewer grate above them. It came down between the two mutants before wrapping itself around the orange X-man.
Knowing that his mission was done, Sabretooth escaped as two soldiers looked on.
"Did you see that?" One asked. "It just bent around him."
"Might be the work of that other mutant." The other one guessed.
"Let's take him while we can." The commander said over the com as they witnessed Wolverine claw his way out. Before he could make Sabretooth pay, the stealth pod came in between the two, shining its lights on Wolverine.
"Fire." The commander ordered as the pod shot out some kind of green liquid at him, which started to harden, immobilizing him. Sabretooth smirked at the scene before climbing up a ladder to report back to Magneto.
The pod landed on the ground before opening up as the commander stepped out. This was Dr. Bolivar Trask, an imposing man with a mustache to boot. Trask went up to observe his captive as a soldier came up to report.
"Dr. Trask, we lost the other mutant." He said as Trask moved his hand over the green substance. "Some kind of magnetic interference."
"Call off the search." Trask ordered. "Let's just get this one to the facility."
Back at the institute, Xavier was at Cerebro with Jean watching him as he tried to locate Wolverine's psychic signature. "Wolverine's gone." He said as he couldn't feel his presence. "I lost him."
"And Sabretooth?" Jean asked.
Xavier shook his head. "Nothing." He sighed as he thought of what this would lead to. "I don't know what happened, but I intend to find out." He then informed Storm and Beast of the situation, who went down to investigate Wolverine's last known location.
In the sewers, Beast was trying to see if there was any trace of what happened to Wolverine, but his efforts were fruitless. He then went up to Storm. "What did you find?"
"Nothing." Storm replied. "Not a single clue."
"I don't get it." Beast wondered. "A guy like Wolverine isn't about to get taken without something getting diced up."
"You're absolutely right." Storm realized as she looked down at the sewer water. Summoning a whirlpool, all the sewage water was gathered up in it, allowing Beast to spot the sewer grate Wolverine clawed through.
He picked it up and examined it. "These slice marks, very clean, very recent. That's our boy."
"Yes, but notice how unnaturally it's twisted and bent." Storm pointed out. "I've seen this kind of effect before."
"Magneto." Beast said as they went to report back to Xavier. Not knowing that an owl was watching them from a lamppost before flying off. Flapping its wings, it soared through Bayville before reaching the Brotherhood house and entering the destroyed remains of Mystique's room before shapeshifting into the infamous blue mutant.
Downstairs, Pietro and Blob were playing cards while Lance was lounging on the couch as he made the house shake slightly, causing a bit of pizza to fall off the ceiling and onto Blob's head. As the large mutant glanced at Lance, Pietro used his superspeed to peek at Blob's cards.
Toad was just sitting on a beanbag, flipping through channels.
"Seen it. Seen it." He droned in a bored voice. "Hate it. Hate it. Hate it more."
"Well, I see that you're all hard at work building a brighter tomorrow." Mystique said sarcastically as she entered the living room.
"We're getting rigor mortis." Toad complained. "There's nothing going on."
"On the contrary, it appears our friend Magneto is up to something quite significant." Mystique informed them. "He's made a bold move. He's abducted Wolverine."
The four boys gasped. Wolverine was abducted? All of them knew how dangerous the mutant could be in battle, so it was crazy to think that he had been kidnapped.
"Wolverine?" Lance repeated incredulously. "That's crazy. Why would he want to do that?"
"Why, indeed." Mystique agreed before she turned on Pietro. "Pietro, he's your father. Perhaps you can enlighten us."
"Hey, don't ask me." Pietro refuted defensively. "I don't know where he is or what he's doing."
The leader of the Brotherhood glanced out the window, pondering what Magneto's plan was. "He actually snatched one of the X-Men." She said out loud. "Why? There's a larger strategy at work here; I can feel it. Now I'm forced to make my move."
The four boys were feeling nervous and were wondering what was going to happen next.
Back at the institute, Xavier was informed by Beast and Storm of Magento's involvement in Wolverine's disappearance.
"What would Magneto want with Wolverine?" Jean pondered.
"I do not know." Xavier said as he thought of what Magneto was planning next. "But without assistance, Wolverine will be helpless against Magneto's power over magnetism."
Jean realized what the professor was referring to. "Do you think we're ready, professor, to take down Magneto?"
Xavier gave Jean an unreadable look. "I feel there is only one way to find out."
In the living room, Rogue was trying to get Wanda into video games. The two had gotten very close after the incident at the mall, with Rogue showing Wanda her favorite movies and songs.
Wanda was currently in the middle of playing Doomed, as she was shooting down some monsters. "Wow, this is pretty fun." She said as she continued through the level.
"Yeah, Doomed is pretty good." Rogue agreed. "I'm the best at it. Once I teach you, you'll be able to kick Danny's ass just as I do."
"I heard that." Danny said as he came downstairs.
Rogue smirked. "I know, and I'll say it again, sugar, I can beat you at Doomed anytime."
As Wanda was about to finish the level, Danny could hear something trying to get into his head. Knowing it was the professor, he allowed it in.
'X-Men, report to the Danger Room.'
Danny rolled his eyes before looking at Rogue, who also heard the message.
"Aw, drat." She complained. "I guess I'll show you later." She said to Wanda before heading down to the Danger Room with Danny, where they met up with the others.
"Yo, professor, what's up?" Kurt greeted.
"Wolverine has disappeared, and I believe that Magneto has something to do with it." Xavier told them.
"He kidnapped Logan?" Scott said in shock. "Why would he do that?"
"I have no idea, but I fear it may be part of a bigger plan." He looked over his students, seeing how much they had changed since they joined the X-Men. "I've trained you all not only to control your powers but to protect yourselves from danger. And now I believe Magneto to be up to something that might endanger us all. So, I think it's time to see if you are ready to face him."
"Face Magneto?" The X-Men looked at each other as they thought about the idea of being able to stand against Magneto. Danny was the only one who wasn't worried at all, since he actually made Magneto beg for mercy once.
"Hold up, do you think we're ready?" Evan asked.
"You have all grown since you have come under my tutelage." Xavier replied. "And some of you have bested him before." He looked at Danny. "My hope is that we can do it once more." He gestured to the computer console. "Thus, I have designed this special Danger Room session to test if you all can beat him."
"We're on it, professor!" Scott said with determination, ready to prove that they were ready.
"Hey, what about us?" They all turned to see Bobby and the rest of the New Mutants behind him. "We want to fight Magneto too."
"Bobby, you and the other new recruits are too inexperienced." Xavier told him gently. "I simply can't risk using you."
Wanda stepped to the front. "I want to go."
"Wanda, no!" Danny refused. "We all know that you're probably gonna end up killing Magneto."
"And how is that a bad thing?" The vengeful girl retorted.
"Because after everything you've been through, the last thing you need is blood on your hands." Danny replied.
"I don't care!" Wanda shouted as the room slowly devolved into chaos due to her powers. "He has to pay!"
"Wanda, stop!" Danny cried. "You're powers!"
Wanda saw what was going on and immediately stopped. "I'm sorry."
"We need you to stay here." Danny told her.
"But I can help." Wanda protested.
"Wanda, you've only been here for a few weeks." The hybrid pointed out. "No matter how powerful you are, you have to work your way up before joining the X-Men like the rest of the new recruits." His voice then softened. "I'm sorry, but we need all of us to have clear heads for rescuing Wolverine."
As Wanda stared into his eyes, she found out that his green ones had the same effect as his blue eyes on her. She just couldn't say no to him.
"Alright." She relented. "You win." She said bitterly.
"Thank you." Danny then headed off to join the X-Men in the Danger Room as Wanda stormed off angrily.
As the X-Men were heading into the Danger Room, they didn't notice a mechanical bug on the wall watching their every move.
Vlad smirked as he observed his enemies preparing to go into battle. Next to him was the Fright Knight, who was also watching them from the monitor.
"It appears the X-Men are going to be facing Magneto." Fright Knight stated.
"Yes, but Magneto's not the one they should be worried about." Vlad pulled out a book and flipped it to a specific page. "For I have found something even deadlier than that mutant."
Fright Knight glanced at the page, which showed a picture of a bird made out of fire. He gasped as he recognized the entity. "The legendary Phoenix?" He recalled seeing the entity himself a long time ago, and even to this day, he could remember the pain that creature brought upon him.
Vlad nodded. "Looking through Xavier's files, I've come across one of his students, Jean Grey." He pulled up Xavier's file entry on her. "In this, he found out that the girl drew strange drawings when she first arrived there." Vlad clicked on a folder that showed the pictures of the drawings, which were identical to those of the Phoenix. "When asked about them, she replied that she had seen them in her dreams."
Fright Knight knew this could only mean one thing. "The girl is the host?"
"It would appear so." Vlad replied as he thought of how strange it was that some unremarkable telepath would be holding such a powerful being.
The Fright Knight was feeling tense; he knew the power that the Phoenix wielded. Pariah Dark once tried to take it, only for the tyrant to be defeated. "If something like that was unleashed, it could cause great devastation." He informed, trying to make Vlad see sense. But the elder hybrid was too arrogant to recognize the danger involved.
"Which is exactly why I've brought someone to help me bring it out." Vlad then turned around as an elderly woman wearing a cloak entered the room. "Ah, dear Agatha, how was your ride?" He greeted.
Agatha smiled as she recalled the fancy limousine that brought her here. "Quite nice, but then again, you always were one for showing off your wealth, cousin." Her face then became serious. "You do realize that this is quite dangerous, Vlad?"
"I agree." Fright Knight said in support. "This could be worse than when you released my old master."
"Possibly." Vlad admitted. "But this may be the thing that assures me victory over Daniel and his little girlfriend."
"Very well, but do not blame me if this blows up in your face." Agatha warned, knowing she couldn't talk him out of this.
The X-Men were currently battling a mockup of Magneto in the Danger Room. The fake mutant villain had command of several drones that were firing orange paint. If any of the X-Men were hit, then they were out. Though it was challenging, by working together, the seven of them had been able to survive the barrage of attacks thrown their way.
Cyclops managed to shoot down one of the drones with his optic blast, while Danny and Rogue destroyed the others with their ecto-blasts. The X-Men were in a cavern, taking cover as Nightcrawler teleported back after scouting out the situation.
"He's thirty-six meters away." The blue mutant reported.
"Alright, Danny, Rogue, I need you two to grab the others, turn invisible, and move behind Magneto. I'll draw his fire, then you all attack him from behind."
"Got it." Danny and Rogue did what they were told as Cyclops got the mutant's attention. The simulated Magneto summoned several metal orbs and threw them at his opponent, who managed to destroy them with his laser eyes.
Magneto did not notice the other X-Men appear behind him as Danny and Rogue fired their ghost rays at him, destroying the android.
The X-Men all cheered at their victory as the room returned to normal.
"Excellent work, all of you." The professor's voice praised over the intercom. "You have all exceeded my expectations. I believe we will be able to stop Magneto and rescue Wolverine."
A van with the word security on it was driving through Bayville as it turned toward a warehouse. The garage door opened as the van came in. Two men opened the backdoors and carried out the bound and unconscious Wolverine. As he was put on the ground, the X-man woke up and attempted to attack one of them with his claws, but the man moved out of the way as the claws impaled the van.
Still, this didn't deter him, as he then used his feet to kick the other man. Even with shackles on his arms and legs, Wolverine was still a force to be reckoned with. That was until Trask came out of the van and pushed a button on a remote, causing his cuffs to electrocute him.
"Into the elevator." Trask ordered his men, who obeyed without question. The captive X-man was placed in the elevator with Trask and his underlings as they went down another floor.
Wolverine looked around, wondering who it was that captured him. It couldn't be Magneto due to these schmucks being ordinary humans. It seemed more like some kind of underground government agency. "This isn't Magneto. Looks more like S.H.I.E.L.D."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has nothing to do with this." Trask revealed. "I severed my connection with that shortsighted government organization agency long ago. But I was there long enough to learn about mutant scum like you."
"Oh, great." Wolverine sighed. "A fanatic. Okay, bub. What did mutants ever do to you?"
"You are a threat, a menace." Trask insulted. "You poison our gene pool and upset the natural balance of power."
"We're not all the same." Wolverine argued. "Some of us fight the good fight."
"Yes, but we get caught in the crossfire." Trask retorted. "Someone must ensure the survival of our species before it's too late. That's why I'm leveling the playing field."
"Yeah?" Wolverine challenged. "Well, what do you think you're gonna do?"
"Skepticism." Trask smirked. "Good. We'll see how long that lasts after you assisted me in a little experiment."
Wolverine knew that whatever experiment this was, it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Found anything?" Storm asked as she entered the room that housed Cerebro.
"Yes." Xavier answered as he pointed to the monitor. "Look at this. Cerebro has picked up on Wolverine's healing powers." He took the helmet off. "Gather the X-Men."
The X-Men had arrived in the hanger as Storm came up to Xavier. "Everything's ready, Charles, but I must confess I feel unsure. Magneto must know that we'll be coming in. This could be a trap."
"I feel the same way, Storm, but it's our only chance of getting Wolverine back." Xavier said before he got on the Blackbird with everyone else.
As they were preparing for takeoff, something sinister was happening in the computer room.
A figure phased through the door and floated over to the console. Their red eyes shone in glee at what they were doing. Using the knowledge they gained from the institute, the figure started typing, initiating a particular protocol.
The screen said Defcon 4 was activated. The assailant let out a dark chuckle, but their work wasn't done yet. They impaled a finger into the console as their ecto-energy became infused into the computer and then the weapons system.
Now that everything was in order, they phased through the door, leaving no trace that anyone had been in the room.
The Blackbird took off with the X-Men, leaving Beast and the New Mutants alone in the mansion with no idea that they were in danger.
"Alert." The computer stated. "System has been compromised. Initiating Defcon 4 defense mode."
The institute went on lockdown as all the windows were covered.
Beast, Bobby, and Sam all came down to see what happened after hearing the noise.
"What's going on?" Bobby asked.
Beast saw the covered windows. "Defcon 4. I got to get to the control room." He went to shut it down, while Bobby and Sam went downstairs to go get the others. On their way, they passed Amara, who gave them a questioning look, with Sam only shrugging.
Amara looked at the front door and saw what was happening. Not wanting to be trapped in the institute, she started running and reached the door and tried to pry it open, but it was locked. Sam, who came back to check on Amara, saw what was going on and turned into a cannonball in an attempt to knock it down. Just in time for Amara to get out as the hatch closed with Sam knocking into it.
Outside the institute gates, Amara arrived in Lance's Jeep and saw several turrets pop out of the ground as they aimed at Amara, who was banging on the metal covering.
"Amara!" Tabitha shouted as the girl turned around and leaped out of the way as she avoided the blasts shot at her. She jumped over the stairs and avoided the school's defenses as Tabitha threw a ball of energy at the gates, destroying them and allowing her entry. She drove in and stopped near Amara as she hopped in. "Let's get out of here!" Tabitha threw another ball of energy at the turret underneath the fountain as they high-tailed it out of there.
Wanda was on a nearby cliff, admiring the view and the trees that surrounded it. It wasn't much, but compared to the chaos back at the mansion, it was peaceful and tranquil. It was a place that she discovered while exploring Bayville with Danny. She liked it, and so it became her go-to place when she wanted to clear her head, something that she needed after learning of the news that her father had returned.
She wanted to find him; she really did, but she had no way of locating the mutant, so she was forced to stay behind as the X-Men went to deal with him.
Her musings were interrupted as Tabitha and Amara arrived.
"Wanda, we've been looking all over for you." Amara jumped out and went over to her.
"The mansion's gone nuts." Tabitha said. "It's locked up tight, and there's weapons firing everywhere."
"What? Why?" Wanda asked.
"I don't know, but the others are trapped there with no way of getting out. You got to help." Amara begged as Wanda narrowed her eyes.
"Take me there." She commanded as the three girls got into the Jeep as it headed back to the institute.
"I don't know what happened." Tabitha explained as she drove the vehicle. "I came to talk to Professor X about Mystique."
"What about Mystique?" Wanda demanded, feeling a grudge against that particular mutant for trying to turn her against Danny and the X-Men.
"She's running the show again." Tabitha revealed. "She's the reason the brainless boys attacked you guys at the mall."
Wanda shook her head. She already knew that.
Once they arrived at the gates, Wanda got out and started walking calmly, believing her powers were more than a match for whatever security the mansion had.
One turret aimed at her, and Wanda noticed it as she fired a hex bolt at it, but the turret returned fire with a blast of ecto-energy, which destroyed the hex bolt on contact.
"What the?" Wanda repeated the same action only to get the same exact result as more turrets opened fire on her as she used her powers to freeze the blasts in mid-air before throwing them back as the machines were all destroyed.
"Nice once!" Tabitha congratulated as she and Amara joined Wanda's side.
"Come on!" Amara said. "We got to get the others out."
"It's weird." Wanda commented. "The energy it was using was the same kind I felt from Danny when he uses his powers. But how?"
"Beats me?" Amara shrugged. "But we got to get the others out."
Wanda nodded. They can figure that tidbit out later; right now, the New Mutants needed their help. "Follow me."
The elevator opened up, leading to a dark room.
"Step forward, Wolverine." Trask commanded as Wolverine did just that. He made it to the center of the room before a light was shined on him.
"What's your game, Trask?" Wolverine interrogated.
"Call it research." Trask said. "I've created a prototype designed to defend mankind against the mutant threat." The shackles on Wolverine opened, letting him move his arms freely now as the lights turned off.
"My guardian of the human race, the sentinel." Trask proclaimed as Wolverine unsheathed his claws and backed up, not knowing that something was behind him. Something very big.
Wolverine had to move out of the way as a massive metal foot tried to crush him. Looking up, he was confronted with a giant red robot with yellow eyes that held no emotion. This cold, unfeeling killing machine was a mutant's worst nightmare.
A Sentinel.
The Sentinel locked onto Wolverine as it shot a blue blast of energy at the mutant, but Wolverine managed to get out of the way, only for him to move out of the way of another blast as Trask watched on proudly as the murderous machine started to follow the captive mutant. Thinking quickly, Wolverine rolled under a tower, only for the Sentinel to pull it off.
He tried running away again as the Sentinel opened fire, with one blast knocking him to the floor. Wolverine saw the thing getting closer and, spotting a crane nearby, came up with a plan. He cut off a piece of the crane, making it fall on the Sentinel, before slicing the cable and grabbing it as it propelled him over to the machine. He then started stabbing it in its sides before the automaton grabbed him and threw him into a pile of boxes.
The mutant killer opened its chest, revealing several weapons, prompting Wolverine to climb up a tower to escape as the Sentinel fired missiles at him. They all missed, but the constant shaking of the tower caused him to lose his grip as he fell back down.
Back at the institute, Wanda used her powers to melt through the metal hatches, granting the girls a way into the mansion as the inside defenses activated and opened fire on the trio as the girls avoided the blasts as they tried to find the others.
Down in the computer room, Beast was typing like mad, trying to turn off the program.
"Come on, come on." He urged before the screen changed. Showing the override screen.
"Yes!" He cheered, thinking it was over, only for the computer to speak.
"Initiating Defcon 4 override. Switching to demolition mode."
"What? No!" Beast panicked as he started typing again.
"The institute will self-destruct in ten minutes." The computer said as a countdown appeared. In ten minutes, the institute would be destroyed along with its occupants.
In the center of Bayville, there were a bunch of abandoned warehouses. There was no sign of anyone there. That was until five large metal orbs descended from the sky and landed in the area. They opened as four mutants stepped out.
One of them was Sabretooth, who growled like the animal he was.
The next mutant that popped out was a very handsome man with a brown bowl cut. He was dressed in a dark jumpsuit with fingerless gloves. He carried a bo staff as he flipped through his playing cards. His most distinguishing features were his eyes. They had red irises with black sclera. This was Gambit. He had the power to charge an object's kinetic force, making it blow up.
As Gambit was going through his cards, he saw the third orb open up as a whirling of flames came out and formed a growling face.
These flames were coming from the third mutant. Decked out in an orange jumpsuit with an orange visor on his headset was Pyro. He had the mutant power to control fire. Emphasis on control, as although he could manipulate it, he couldn't create it, which is why he had flamethrowers attached to his wrists.
The fourth mutant then came out. He was a young man who had the face of someone who really wished they didn't want to be here. He clenched his fist as his entire body turned into metal. This was Colossus.
These four were Magneto's acolytes, and as they looked at each other, the fifth and final orb opened as Magneto stepped out.
Back with Wolverine, the poor mutant had fallen unconscious after his fall as the Sentinel picked him up. Its sensors scanned the mutant and detected that there were still life in him.
Its eyes then glowed as it prepared to terminate him.