Scott wasn't anxious. He was concerned, definitely, and assessing the situation from every possible angle, but he wasn't going over the worst possible scenarios over and over. That was called "doom spiraling," and only a civilian could doom spiral, and therefore he could only doom spiral when he was in civilian clothes. Right now he was in uniform, sitting in the Blackbird with the whole team looking to him for leadership. A team which, coincidentally, had exactly three members he fully trusted with his life, one of whom had a habit of disappearing without notice, and two of whom would be graduating in twenty months and disappearing to college.

But Scott wasn't doom spiraling.

Best case scenario: Rogue and Gambit had scuffled. They had then traveled to the freight yard, where Gambit had boarded a train and Rogue had gone off on her own, still mixed with Gambit's powers in a way which confused Wolverine and Wolfsbane's senses. Rogue was currently on her way back to the mansion, safe and sound, and the Professor would call them to turn the Blackbird around and then they'd all go to bed and sleep in tomorrow.

Most likely scenario: Gambit had kidnapped Rogue to use her powers again. Rogue was the swiss army knife of mutants, after all, which every villain and their mother―and her mother―wanted to use. Based on Colossus' information, Gambit hadn't intended to fight anyone this afternoon, so the kidnapping was probably spur-of-the-moment instead of planned. That meant Rogue had a better chance of breaking free than when he'd dragged her to Louisiana, but it was hard to be optimistic without knowing exactly who Gambit was running from.

Worst case scenario: Rogue had fought Gambit, parted ways with him at the freight yard, and then left. All those rumors about her had been true; she didn't feel safe at the mansion anymore, so she'd gone home, packed her bags, and disappeared into the sunset. Therapy hadn't helped her; she hadn't stopped feeling guilty once Mystique returned to life; saving the world hadn't made her want to save it again. She'd been planning to leave ever since pushing that statue off the cliff, and she'd been pretending otherwise to make everyone feel better, and now she was gone and Scott had only Kurt and Kitty left of the original six.

But Scott wasn't doom spiraling.

"Coming up on drop," Logan announced. "One minute."

Scott looked over his shoulder to count his assets. Storm and Beast had other obligations tonight, leaving Scott with Logan, Kurt and Kitty, and the New Mutants. It was better than no one at all, but this was their first real mission since Apocalypse. Scott had no idea who he could and couldn't trust to take things seriously.

Bobby was eager to be an X-Man, but he always struggled to behave responsibly when Berserker and Jubilee were in speaking distance. Jubilee always wanted to have fun, while Berserker had always treated missions about as seriously as he treated his homework: something to be endured or skipped if possible, so he could get back to being a kid. Amara was the most reliable of the five, but her lack of self-confidence meant she only used her powers at half-strength. Rahne was the most predictable of the bunch, always on time and willing to work as long as she could to complain about it, but her powers were limited compared to the others. And like the others, it was too soon to begin guessing whether Rahne intended to go to college or stay on as an X-Man.

Then there was Colossus. Scott wasn't thrilled about having an Acolyte aboard, but if he absolutely had to, Colossus was the best option. The enormous Russian had returned to Magneto's side, yes, but had also fought against Apocalypse, and had been easy to work with from what Scott had heard. The metal giant had greeted them in Bayville with hands raised and everything he knew about this strange situation, which wasn't much, and Scott was inclined to trust him.

And then there was Kitty and Kurt. The ones who had been at Scott's side from the beginning, who knew how to act right, fight smart, and do the good thing in the absence of leadership. They sat in the front two seats, keeping watch over the New Mutants. Logan's announcement had captured Rahne's attention, but Bobby, Jubilee and Berserker were interrogating Amara about her afterschool disappearance.

"So Emily wasn't weirded out by the whole mutant thing?" Jubilee asked. "I mean, she listens to the news, right? She knows you can burn like a thousand degrees?"

"Yeah." Amara had clearly heard Logan's announcement, but she was the kind of girl who would rather die than be rude, so she kept responding. "She knows about the Apocalypse thing. She thinks it's kind of cool."

"Dude, a human who doesn't hate us? In Bayville?" Bobby laughed. "How did her parents react?"

"I didn't talk to them," Amara admitted. "I left before―"

"Get ready to move!" Scott called over his shoulder.

Bobby turned his full attention to the front of the plane. Jubilee and Berserker continued to bother Amara.

"Real quick, did she say she wanted to hang out again―" Berserker tried to press.

"Hey, Ray." Kitty gestured at Berserker. "Eyes up front. We've got a teammate missing."

"Yeah, but it's Rogue," Berserker protested. "She was fine last time―"

"This is no time for games," rumbled Colossus. "She has asked you to stop, please."

Berserker closed his mouth, giving the Acolyte a look between wariness and embarrassment.

"Wolverine and Nightcrawler," Scott said. "You'll board the train two miles before its destination. Sweep the cars, and be careful. The Professor said Rogue and Gambit were using their powers onboard, but we don't know if they were fighting each other or a third party. Shadowcat, you and I will each take a team to opposite ends of the freight yard. Anyone looking for Gambit will probably go there. You'll take Magma, Jubilee, and Iceman. Berserker and Wolfsbane, you're with me."

Kitty smiled over her shoulder. "What about him?"

"Colossus with me," Scott said. "If Gambit's pursuers show up, he's got the best chance to figure out what in the world is going on here."

Colossus nodded. "Acknowledged."

Kitty huffed. Kurt snickered.

"Bring us to a hover, Wolverine," Scott ordered. "I'll take the controls."

Within moments, the Blackbird was hovering over the train tracks. Wolverine and Nightcrawler slipped out of their seats, linked arms, and teleported away. Scott took the pilot's seat and pressed his communicator. "Happy landing?"

"Soft and quiet," Logan answered. "I hear the train coming, but don't smell anyone else out here."

"Okay. Call in any changes."

Scott brought the Blackbird back into motion, and soon he could see the distant lights of a freight yard. A half-mile away from it, there was a collection of broken warehouses and overgrown shipping strips from an older, abandoned freight yard. Scott eased the plane down between two dilapidated warehouses with barely five feet of grace around each wing.

"Time to move," he announced.

When Scott turned, it was a familiar scene. Little moments like this were the difference between a 'trainee' and a 'teammate,' with Kitty and Colossus already on their feet while the New Mutants messed with their seatbelts. No matter how much he prepared for it, these moments were a painful reminder that Scott had way fewer teammates now than he'd had six months ago.

"Shadowcat," Scott said, "take your team north, me and mine will head south. The people who actually work the trainyard should have uniforms, reflective vests and all that. If you see anyone without that stuff, call it in. Any strange vehicles, too."

"Got it." Kitty turned. "Bobby, Amara, Jubilee. Ready?"

It took another few seconds for them to actually be ready, and a few seconds after that to unboard the plane and take off northward. Colossus made his way to the ground without needing to be asked; Rahne stood with one foot on the ramp while Berserker finally got out of his seat.

"I need a bit more hustle on the ground," Scott said to Berserker. "We've got a teammate gone with no idea why."

"But it's―" Berserker cut himself off, glancing awkwardly at Colossus. "Yeah. Right."

Once they were off the plane, Scott led them at a quick walk. The night was young, with breezes mixing between warm and chilly as the last traces of summer faded. The insects were loud, the grass was deep, and the terrain was uneven once they left the abandoned warehouses behind. A perfect night for reconnaissance, which Scott forced himself to feel optimistic about.

"Communicators," Scott said.

"Test," Rahne whispered through her earpiece.

"Test," Berserker repeated.

Colossus tilted his head.

"Right, you'll need this." Scott handed over an extra communicator. "The button on top activates it, the earpiece fits on your right. It's been awhile since we've used that one, so make sure it works."

Colossus arranged the earpiece and then rumbled, "Make sure like this?"

The feedback had a bit more static than Scott liked, but that was probably why it was an extra instead of regular. It worked, which was all that mattered.

"Got you loud and clear," Scott said. "I see the edge of the freight yard. Rahne, put your fur on until we get there."

Rahne obeyed, and then there was a red-brown wolf trotting beside them.

"We… travel close?" Colossus asked.

Scott looked over. "What?"

"Four of us, we walk very close." Colossus gestured vaguely at their surroundings. "If Gambit and Rogue are chased by armed hunters, and we four walk so close…"

"... we're at risk," Scott finished. "Dispersion? You're asking about dispersion?"

"Dis-per-sion." Colossus frowned. "That means to walk far apart, yes?"

"Yes. Yes, that's the tactical thing to do." Scott took a breath. "You and the other Acolytes usually spread out?"

"I am not with other Acolytes," Colossus said. "I am with you. If we walk close, I walk close. Is this your usual way of walking, or do you wish me to… do dispersion?"

Scott would have loved to spread the group out, because walking so close together made them all vulnerable to a grenade or other area attack. If Scott had trusted everyone in this group, Rahne would have taken point in wolf form, Colossus would have followed six yards behind, and Scott and Berserker would have flanked another six yards to the left and to the right. A giant metal tank to aid Wolfsbane, then two long-distance shooters to overwatch the tide of battle.

But Scott didn't trust everyone in this group. And he didn't want to say, If I let you separate, then Berserker will want to separate, and Berserker will start messing with wildlife as soon as I'm not looking at him, and he'll complain nonstop if he's the only one not allowed to separate.

So Scott said, "This team is not trained for that. But I'm glad to hear you are."

They approached the freight yard fence, where enormous floodlights cast the entire five-acre facility in hot, white light. Scott kept them at the edge of the shadows some yards away from the fence, where they could see without being seen, and picked a high slope of dirt to post their lookout.

"Did you bring your binos, Berserker?" Scott asked.

Berserker hesitated. "Uhh…"

Scott sighed. "I have extra." He pulled out a set of binoculars, then, after a moment's thought, handed them to Colossus. "You're taller, big guy. Give the place a look-over."

Colossus nodded, took the binoculars, and surveyed the freight yard.

"Cyclops to Shadowcat," Scott said into his communicator. "You guys posted?"

"Er, not yet," Kitty answered. "There's a… well, we're not sure what it is. But there's a big thing sitting a few yards outside the northern fence. It could be a vehicle? Or a big stack of logs, we're still reconning."

Scott tensed. "Cyclops to Wolverine."

"Here," Logan answered immediately.

"How far away is your train?"

"A mile out, maybe half. It's slowed down, so might be a few minutes before it gets to you."

"How many cars have you cleared?"

"Most of them. There's a few cars at the front we haven't looked at, but I don't think we'll find anything. Rogue and Gambit were here, alright, along with whoever was chasing them. I smell gunfire, but no bodies or blood, and the scents are all cold. Whatever went down, it happened more than an hour ago."

Scott gritted his teeth. "No sign of who was fighting who?"

"None."

"Any identity for who was chasing them?"

"No idea. Just that they're rich enough to buy the good gun oil, so I'd guess some kind of professional."

Scott hesitated. "A hit team, maybe?"

"It's possible," Wolverine agreed. "But without knowing what Gambit's been up to, I can't guess why he'd have a hit out."

"Hey, Colossus," Scott said. "Do you know anyone who would want to kill Gambit?"

Without lowering the binoculars, Colossus answered, "There are likely many people who want to kill Gambit."

"Yeah, but like today. Anyone who would send assassins to Bayville right now to hunt him down."

"I…" Colossus hesitated. "I do not know."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "That was a long pause."

Colossus shook his head. "I do not know."

"Are we walking into a trap?"

"I do not know," Colossus repeated. "I cannot speak of Magneto's plans. Gambit is… Magneto's man to cause trouble. To find things, remove things, replace things. Magneto sent him two weeks ago to take a thing which belongs to someone else. This 'someone else' might now attempt to take back this thing, but I do not know what, or who. It is not my place in the Acolytes to know these things."

There was a strain in Colossus' voice that hadn't been there before. Scott was a leader, and part of being a leader was the ability to read people. The furrow in the Russian's brow, the twitch of a neck muscle, the way his fists curled at his sides―there was tension there so deep that it looked almost like pain.

"Magneto has four guys," Scott said. "Who are you to him?"

"Muscle," Colossus answered. "Only that. I follow orders. Pyro is for causing chaos. Sabertooth is for heavy combat. Gambit is for everything else."

"You sound like a smart guy," Scott observed. "Why wouldn't Magneto want you to know what's going on?"

"Because he and I do not trust one another. There is no more I can say."

Scott tilted his head. "Why are you with Magneto?"

"Because I cannot do otherwise." Colossus turned away. "And you do not have the power to change this, so I will speak no more of it."

The middle of a night operation wasn't the place to ask questions, at least not the questions rising in Scott like a tide. Was Colossus being coerced into Magneto's service? Forced? How? He seemed so level-headed, and was smart enough to ask if they should spread into a formation rather than walk close together. Out of all Magneto's henchmen, Acolyte or Brotherhood, Colossus was by far the most agreeable. Of all the henchmen, Colossus seemed to deserve Magneto the least.

"Right." Scott tapped his communicator. "Cyclops to Wolverine."

"Wolverine here."

"I hear the train coming. Are all the cars cleared?"

"Yeah, except the conductor's compartment. There's only one person there, though, and she's got the company uniform. Couldn't smell any weapon oil. Pretty sure she doesn't know anything that went down on this train."

"Okay, get back on the ground. We haven't had hostile contact, but there's an unidentified mass along the northern―"

"Shadowcat to Cyclops."

Scott tapped his communicator again. "I hear you. Tell me."

"That thing we saw―it's a vehicle. Two people just got out, they're moving toward the train yard. I can't see… wait, yes, one of them has a rifle. Too dark to see anything else yet."

"Do not engage," Cyclops said. "Repeat, do not engage. Assume there are others in the vehicle, and stay hidden. When you can see them, give as much description as you can." He turned to his own team. "Colossus?"

"Movement," Colossus answered. "I see armed men that come through the main entrance."

"Alright, give me the binos. Wolfsbane, Berserker, I want you to follow Colossus' lead while I scope the yard. Colossus, make sure nothing sneaks up on us."

"Acknowledged." Colossus handed over the binoculars. "You, Wolfsbane, in dog-shape will lay in that trench for lookout. Listen, and… do whatever is called listening-with-your-nose, and make noise if we are approached. Ber-ser-ker, be in that grass there, on your stomach, and be silent and still. I will sit on hill, and I will be false-target for any who wish to attack."

Scott lay prone atop the hill, while Colossus sat next to him.

"You're okay to be shot?" Scott asked. "How thick is your metal form?"

"Thick enough for fifteen-number bullets."

"Fifteen-number?"

"For five-zero, the size of bullets, I do not know the word."

"Five zero… fifty caliber? You can take a fifty-caliber round?"

"Fifty caliber, yes. I have taken many of these."

Scott lowered the binoculars. "Guess I don't have to worry about you, then."

"Do not be concerned," Colossus assured him. "I will endure all things."

Scott believed him. When the binoculars went back up, it was the first time in ages that Scott didn't worry about what his team was doing.

A scene was already building at the freight yard's main gate, where three black vehicles were trying to get in. Two yard workers manned the entrance, and after a moment, three men in black uniforms got out of the first car with rifles hanging from their shoulders. The yard workers retreated, but not fast enough; a fourth man got out of a car and began to shout as he advanced. He had no rifle or weapons, and his face was uncovered. Brown hair with gray streaks at the temples… had Scott seen him before?

"Wait," Scott breathed. "Wait, wait, wait. Cyclops to Shadowcat, come in. Now."

"Shadowcat. I hear you. Something's happening at the main gate."

"You got binoculars on it?"

"One sec. Jubilee, hand those over."

"Look at the gate," Scott said. "Look at the man shouting, do you see him?"

"I see him, let me focus… wait. Holy crap, is that―?"

"Yeah." Scott adjusted his binoculars to maximum focus, which confirmed the dread in his chest. "That's Bolivar Trask."

"The sentinel guy?" Kitty gasped. "They didn't put him back in prison?"

"SHIELD never told us. I just assumed―" Scott gritted his teeth, anger boiling in his gut. "Nevermind. We'll speculate later. You're closer, Shadowcat; do you see any insignias on those vehicles?"

"I… I can't tell, there's something on the side doors, but it's almost the same color as the car. I can't read it."

"What about the license plates?"

"Yeah, I can grab those."

In the freight yard, Trask signaled his men. The riflemen spread out, heading toward the rails. The air thundered with wheels on iron, and a distant, singular headlight signalled the incoming train.

"Cyclops to Wolverine, are you on the ground?"

"We're on the ground, watching the train roll in."

"Take Nightcrawler and get back to the Blackbird, east of your location. Engage all onboard sensors for incoming threats."

"Sure thing. You heard him, elf." The signal crackled with teleportation, then, "We see it, we're en route. What threats are we looking for?"

"Sentinels," Scott answered. "We've got Trask in this trainyard."

"Trask?" Logan snarled. "But Fury… nevermind. We'll turn on radar, impulse, everything we got."

"Thanks." Scott lowered the binoculars long enough to ask Rahne, "Wolfsbane, you smell anything close to us?"

The wolf shook her head.

The train made its final approach, steady and so frustratingly slow. More riflemen poured out of the black cars, shoving aside any yard workers who tried to get in their way. There were a dozen in total, which made Scott's gut twist. If he'd had Rogue and Jean in addition to everyone else, he would have felt confident getting a closer look, but Kitty was the only one he trusted in a half-mile radius. And he wasn't willing to face Trask with only Kitty to rely on.

The train crawled to a halt, and the riflemen were on it before the wheels stopped moving. They threw open boxcars, combing the train from one end to the other. Someone grabbed the conductor and threw her out, searching the front compartment.

"They must be looking for Gambit," Scott said aloud. "Colossus, you really have no idea where he was going? What he was doing?"

"I know nothing of this," Colossus answered, and he sounded almost as worried as Scott. "Only that two weeks have passed since he left to steal, which is his usual time to take."

One of the riflemen returned to Trask and said something. Trask shouted, face turning red, and pointed back at the train. The one rifleman called out to the others, and three men began to move along the tracks, heading out of the freight yard into the night.

"They're going to search the area," Scott breathed. "Cyclops to Shadowcat, you got those license plates?"

"Yeah. But there's―there's people coming out of the freight yard, I think they're coming to search―"

"Get out of there." Scott put away his binoculars. "Move fast, move quiet, do not let them see you. Wolverine, how's the sky looking?"

"Nothing on radar."

"Alright, begin prepping for take-off. Don't start the engines until everyone is on board. If Trask has men out there, they'll hear it." Scott put away the binoculars and turned to his team. "Get moving. We're pulling out."