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Restless Souls
Every girl has a dream. A secret desire she hides in her heart. A wish waiting upon that perfect star. This girl is no different - here is her story.
New Orleans, people go about their business on an evening lit by the moon. Inside a fancy bar, a woman in a red dress with white gloves sips her drink. ‘Get lost on your way to grandma’s house, ma chere?’ A man in a long trench coat smiles at the woman. ‘My, what big eyes you have…’ he adds, taking away the young woman’s drink, she reaches out for it and exclaims ‘What a big mouth you have! Gimme that!’ The man asks to see proof that she is old enough to be drinking. ‘Ah’ll give you proof all right…’ the woman replies, narrowing her eyes. ‘Assaulting an officer of the law?’ the man asks. ‘Lemme go!’ the woman declares as he grabs her by her wrist. ‘You thieves’ all the same… wearing gloves, leaving no fingerprints…’ the officer smiles. ‘Don’t touch me!’ the girl exclaims, when suddenly, a voice calls out ‘Let her go, Detective LeBeau’.
‘Mais oui, Bishop, as you wish. But cette femme is far from innocent…’ Detective LeBeau claims, looking up at the mysterious Bishop, who peers out from under his wide-brimmed hat. ‘That girl has enough troubles without you hassling her, Remy’ Bishop tells Detective LeBeau. ‘and you’re her night in shining armor?’ Detective LeBeau asks, releasing the girl’s arm, before Bishop addresses the girl as Anna and tells her to get home now. Anna looks up at Detective LeBeau, then kisses her gloved hand, and puts her hand, still gloved, to his chest. ‘A love spell?’ Remy asks as he sits down at the bar. ‘Or a death curse’ Bishop tells him. They watch Anna leave, ‘you’re a real prince, you know that, Remy? But you’d best be careful, they say that girl’s a powerful mambo, able to contact the lao, the spirits of the dead’ Bishop reveals. Remy addresses his companion as Lucas and tells him not to start again with that voodoo mumbo-jumbo. ‘I understand and respect it, giving where we do our business… but that don’t mean I have to believe in it’ Remy adds. Lucas tells Remy that he best be believing him when he tells him that girl is one to watch out for. ‘Don’t you worry, Bishop…I’ll be watching that li’l rogue all night’ Remy replies.
Anna strides down the street, a black car scurries nearby. ‘Ha! So easily distracted with a kiss. Let’s see what LeBeau keeps in his pockets’ she declares, opening her hand, she finds several tarot cards - including the death card. ‘What’s a cop need with these?’ Anna wonders, deciding that perhaps there is more to him than meets the eye. She steps into a large brick building, ‘Mama? Irene?’ she calls out as some white birds flutter around her. ‘Better watch out…Mama’s pretty mad at you’ a woman with long gray hair, dressed in white, almost matching her pale complexion, calls out as she steps forward, round glasses over her eyes. ‘Why? She think Ah’m gonna turn into a pumpkin or something? What’d Ah do now?’ Anna asks. ‘Left a customer waiting…’ Irene begins. Anna declares that she didn’t have any appointments, to which Irene explains there was a walk-in, right after closing.
‘After closing? How was Ah supposed ta know some dumb -’ Anna begins, but Irene tells her not to speak so loud. ‘She’s still here’ she reveals. ‘Who? Mama?’ Anna asks. ‘The customer’ Irene replies. ‘There you are!’ a voice calls out. A blue-skinned woman with scarves wrapped around her hair enters, large white coat wrapped around her body, she carries a candle and looks unimpressed. ‘Just where have you been?’ she enquires. She goes over to Anna, ‘How dare you keep customers waiting like this?’ she snarls. ‘But Mama, Ah finished -’ Anna begins, only Mama interrupts her, ‘I told you to return quickly as we’ve been busy lately’ Mama reminds her. ‘But Mama, you never said -’ Anna begins, looking away. Mama grabs Anna by the gloved part of her left arm and drags her along, ‘It doesn’t matter what I say, you never listen. I should really -’ Mama starts to say, until a voice calls out ‘Please spare me your theatrics. She had no way of knowing I would pay you to stay open as long as need be…’
‘…just to meet the girl who can talk to the dead’ a woman with long blonde hair, dressed in white, smiles. She looks at Anna and tells her that she has heard so much about her. ‘Ah’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss…’ Anna replies, as the woman introduces herself as Frost - Emma Frost. Emma takes Anna by her gloved hand, then pauses, ‘Hmmmm….I do hope I’ve not wasted my time this evening’ she pouts. ‘You haven’t, but why don’t we sit down and get started to no more of either of our time gets wasted’ Anna replies, before informing Emma that she needs her to remove her gloves. ‘Ah can’t -’ Anna begins, but Emma points at Mama and tells her that she wishes to be along with her daughter. ‘Leave us’ she instructs her. Mama glares at Emma, before she and Irene depart. Anna and Emma sit opposite each other at a round table, a candle in the center of it, lighting the room. ‘Now then, where were we? Ah, yes, my gloves…’ Emma begins.
‘It ain’t wise to talk to my Mama like that, Miss Frost’ Anna declares. Emma assures Anna that she is a woman that it is not wise to cross paths with, either. Anna ignores that remark and as she removes her own gloves, asks Emma if she has ever spoken with the spirits of the dead before. ‘Yes, the dead and I have come into…occasional contact, I guess you could say’ Emma responds as she removes her gloves. ‘So you’ve done this before. Good. Then you know the drill’ Anna remarks, before asking Emma if there is anyone in particular that she is looking to communicate with this evening. ‘I just want to let them all know that I’m coming for them’ Emma smiles. Both women reach out across the table and hold hands. ‘Whatever, your highness. How put yer hands in mine and close yer eyes’ Anna announces, as she closes her own eyes. There is silence, the candle flickers, then the flame does out. ‘NO!’ Anna shrieks as she opens her eyes.
‘Oh, yes! You’re not going anywhere, dear!’ Emma exclaims. ‘What’re ya -?’ Anna begins, looking at her hand, which Emma has not let go of. ‘Oh, yes! After all these years…time to get out your gown, princess’ Emma smirks as green energy swirls around her, and from beneath the table, the energy rises, mist-like, with skulls on every surge. Emma stands up and throws her coat into the air, while still holding onto Anna’s had, ‘You’re going to the biggest ball this city’s ever seen!’ Emma shouts.
As Lucas Bishop sits at his desk, Remy LeBeau sits on a chair nearby and asks ‘So that girl…that’s her? The one they all keep talking about…the one who can see ghosts?’ Lucas looks up from his paperwork, and asks if he is getting worried all of a sudden. ‘Think she put a spell on you?’ he enquires. But Remy announces that he isn’t worried about that, he is talking about the ability of talking with those beyond the grave. ‘You think she really has the gift?’ he asks. ‘Why? There someone you’re looking to reconnect with? That why you keep those tarot carts in your pocket?’ Bishop enquires. Remy reaches into his coat pocket, ‘No, these…these are for protection. They keep - what?!’ he gasps, discovering that his tarot cards are missing. ‘I knew she was a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Little thief stole my cards right from my pocket!’ he declares.
‘Ha! Serves you right for huffing and puffing back there like that’ Bishop tells his companion. Remy gets to his feet and declares that it is time he goes blow down her door. ‘Where she live?’ he asks. ‘With her sister, above Darkholme’s. But be careful, Remy…their stepmother’s a real witch!’ Bishop calls out as Remy runs from their office. Bishop quotes “Do not run too quickly down the path or you may fall…”, and rubs his head, deciding that he thinks the boy has already fallen.
Smoke rises from Darkholme’s as locals gather around the building. ‘Mon dieu… hello? Anyone still alive in here?’ Remy calls out as he steps into the building. ‘Stay back! Do not interrupt us!’ a voice calls out. Remy continues on through the building, and looks into a room, where Mama stands with Irene. ‘Anything, Irene. Please…can you feel anything?’ Mama asks her. ‘Hatred. Anger. Fear. Desire’ Irene replies. Mama tells her to focus, to use her vision and reach out. ‘Who did this? Who took our Anna?’ she asks. Suddenly, Irene is levitated into the air, ‘NOOOOOOO!’ she screams. ‘Feu D’Enfer’ Irene utters, tears streaming down her face, she falls to the ground. ‘Hellfire? What’s that supposed to mean?’ Remy asks as he stands nearby. Mama tends to Irene and declares ‘That’s who destroyed my home! That’s who’s taken my daughter!’ She holds up one of Anna’s gloves, and angrily shouts ‘That’s who’s going to pay!’
Elsewhere, Anna wakes to find herself chained to a table in a large room, with Emma and several others standing over her. ‘What the…? Where am I?’ she asks. ‘Welcome to the Hellfire Club. We hope you survive the experience’ one of the people looming over her declares. A woman leans down at Anna and licks her lips, while Anna asks ‘Who the hell are you people? Let me go!’ Emma announces that everyone in this room has a connection to the supernatural, that they can all see spirits and ghosts, but have never been able to communicate with them. ‘We’ve searched high and low for a medium powerful enough to accomplish the goal we wish to achieve’ she explains. ‘Your goal?’ Anna enquires. ‘Yes, there’s nothing we want more…than to control the dead!’ Emma announces as she leans down and puts her hand to Anna’s face. The other members of the Hellfire Club reach out to touch Anna also, and the energies rise up over them.
At a cemetery: ‘Just who are these Hellfire people?’ Remy asks as he walks alongside Mama. ‘Haven’t been in New Orleans long, have you, officer?’ Mama asks, revealing that the Hellfire Club are old-money aristocrats with an unhealthy interest in the dark arts. ‘And they want yer daughter ‘cause she can talk to the dead?’ Remy asks. ‘So you’ve heard the rumors’ Mama replies. Remy announces that he has been in New Orleans long enough, and several yards away in the cemetery, blue energy rises into the air. ‘At least they’re leaving the lights on for us, eh?’ he points out. Mama scowls at Remy, who shrugs and points out that he is just trying to lighten the mood.
Suddenly, there is a crunching noise, and a hand bursts up from the ground beneath Mama and Remy. ‘Now this ain’t good’ Remy points out. ‘Where’s your sense of humor now?’ Mama asks, as the zombies crawl towards them and surround them. An owl in a tree hoots and takes flight, while Remy kicks one of the zombies as even more reach out to grab him. Mama defends herself with a pair of sickles, slicing through the zombies. She announces that fighting the zombies is futile, that they have to get to the house, to her daughter. ‘Won’t see me arguing that‘ Remy exclaims, to which Mama shouts ‘Go!’ and they both turn and run from the zombies, who scramble after them.
‘Knock-knock!’ Remy declares as he and Mama slam the doors open at the house. ‘Get your hands off my daughter, you witch’ Mama snarls as she sees Emma and the others, with Anna still chained to the table, and the energies of the dead flowing through the room. Emma declares that it is too late for them and for the pathetic pawns who have served their purpose, and who she now controls. The Hellfire Club members appear transformed somewhat, and they lunge for Remy and Mama. One of them smacks Remy in the face, while a woman smacks her fists into Mama. Both Remy and Mama retaliate, striking back. Remy’s opponent grabs him by his face, while Mama looks weirdly and holds her sickles. The Hellfire Club members lumber forward, and Remy and Mama are both thrown into the air.
Remy lands, and looks over to a pair of jean shorts - the ones that Anna was wearing - lying on the floor nearby. ‘What the…?’ he asks himself, noticing his tarot cards in one of the pockets, he tells himself that he gets lucky without even getting in her pants. He holds up the death card, ‘Your thieving may have just saved our lives, li’l rogue’ Remy remarks, as he quotes “Then Death appeared as he had promised…’ and tosses the card towards Emma Frost, who is laughing wickedly, arms outstretched. ‘What?’ she gasps as she sees the card - and then it strikes her in her neck. Wide-eyed, she falls backwards, and the energies of the dead burst out of her and the other Hellfire Club members’ bodies. Remy goes over to Anna, her still body on the table. ‘C’mon, ma chere. Death ain’t taking either of us today’ he tells her. He adds that he knows he is no Prince Charming, before putting his lips to hers. ‘What…?’ Anna asks as she opens her eyes. ‘I knew you’d come!’ she shouts, sitting up and throwing her arms around Remy. ‘Huh?’ Remy asks while Mama looks on.
They leave the Hellfire Club and walk back to the main street, deserted now as the sun rises. ‘That was like something right out of a story-book’ Anna remarks as she walks between Mama and Remy, holding his hand. She quotes “and then the brave knight stormed into the castle at dawn and saved the princess from the evil queen and her minions”. Remy tells Anna that life is not just some big fairy tale, to which Anna replies ‘But who’s to say it can’t be?’


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Love—and Loss!
Jean Grey and Logan kiss passionately on the beach. They close their eyes and enjoy their moment of closeness while the waves crash around their ankles. Jean—wearing only a long, pink sarong—wraps her arms around her shirtless lover’s neck while he runs his fingers through her hair.
Logan was the first to say the words, and it was as though a great door had opened to her heart, to let in light so bright and pure she never dreamed it could exist. Jean couldn’t help smiling; she’d never felt such joy. He didn’t ask for a reply, but she gave him one anyway. He was hers—and she was his—and that was all they needed to know. Life was good. Life…
…was a dream. “Hey—Jean,” Scott Summers calls to her, slowly pulling her out of her fantasy. “Hey?” Jean snaps back to reality and finds herself in the company of Nightcrawler, who is flying the Blackbird, and Scott, who is looking at Jean with concern. She seemed to be a million miles away, he says. She apologizes; her mind must have wandered.
Nightcrawler reports to Cyclops that both Storm and Rogue are in position. Cyclops tells his team to prepare themselves; after all, their target Fabian Cortez took down Magneto. They cannot afford to take him lightly. Cyclops asks Jean to give Professor X a status update and ask if he and Nick Fury have any new information.
Back in Westchester, Professor X receives Jean’s telepathic message. He relays to Nick Fury that the X-Men are approaching Cortez, meaning S.H.I.E.L.D. will soon have its man. Xavier asks Beast if he has any information to relay back to the X-Men, but Hank only has a general fix on their target’s position. While he can get the X-Men close, Jean and Logan will have to do the rest.
Meanwhile, outside the Blackbird, the airborne Storm once again advises her field leader against practicing too much caution. If he would just allow her to fly ahead, she could take Cortez by surprise! Rogue, flying alongside Storm, reminds her teammate that Cortez singlehandedly defeated Magneto; they cannot afford to take any chances.
Inside the Blackbird, Shadowcat sits patiently with her pet dragon Lockheed in her lap. The thrill of this mission excites her, reminding her of her former days with the X-Men. She and Nightcrawler have been away with Excalibur so long that she forgot how much she missed this team.
 Gambit, meanwhile, fiddles with a deck of cards and stares out the window. The X-Men asked for his help, so he obliged—but what happens next?
 Sitting in a nearby seat, Logan pops his claws and ponders the mess into which he got himself. He should be thinking about the mission. However, he can’t keep his mind off of her.
 Nightcrawler, the one flying the plane, says aloud that when this mission ends, he and Shadowcat have some choices they need to make about their future.
Back at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in Salem Center, New York, Fury admits to Xavier how uncomfortable it must be having him looking over his shoulder, but it’s a new reality to which they’ll all need to adjust. However, it has the added benefit of allowing Fury to help Xavier with anything he needs, such as communication. After all, it must be difficult for him to communicate with his team when they’re so far away. The challenge, Xavier says, is finding an individual needle within a very large haystack. He pulls up a file on Fabian Cortez. Fury offers to provide S.H.I.E.L.D.’s telepaths as assistance, if needed. Beast reminds him that the X-Men function better as a team; they do better on their own. “Your team, McCoy, your mission,” Fury says. “Your call.”
Meanwhile, Cyclops continues briefing his team on Fabian Cortez. Honestly, they know very little about him, other than that he defeated Magneto—but that alone makes him deadly. His mutant power causes the powers of other mutants to overload, the sheer force of which sometimes kills them. Nightcrawler compares it to a lightbulb, blazing brighter before it burns out. Cyclops suggests they not find out the hard way. He advises everyone to stay on their toes.
Jean watches her team leader in awe. Scott observes Scott running the team and the mission so naturally and so well. There’s so much about him she respects. She’s loved him for so long—and yet, her eyes always return to Logan.
Suddenly, an explosion rocks one of the Blackbird’s engines, rattling the airborne Rogue. Inside, the X-Men reel. Wolverine asks what hit them, but Cyclops assures them he saw nothing on the radar. Nightcrawler, meanwhile, struggles to keep the plane airborne, but fails, and it begins to descend. In the rush to escape, he grabs hold of Gambit and Cyclops to teleport them to the ground, leaving the rest in Shadowcat’s care. After telling Lockheed to hold her tight, Kitty grabs Logan and Jean, orders them to relax, and phases them through the plane.
They fall through the sky in an intangible state. Logan asks Jean if she caught any reading of the shooter. She assures him she did not. Meanwhile, on the ground, Cyclops affirms this imperceptibility to Kurt and Gambit. The sensors gave no warning of any missile, he says. That doesn’t surprise Kurt, who saw nothing in the sky around them. Speaking of the sky, he looks up for signs of Kitty, Jean and Gambit, but sees none. Gambit, on the other hand, asks what hit them if not a missile. “Good question, Gambit,” Cyclops says. “Save it for later. Right now, we focus on our friends.”
Up above, Storm tells Rogue she caught a glimpse of what hit them. She presumes it must have been cloaked and tells Rogue she will deal with it. Rogue asks about the others. “Take care of them,” Storm tells her. “Leave the rest to me.”
Jean, sensing this conversation via telepathy, assures Rogue the rest of them are fine. She encourages her to take care of the shooter. Logan notices Jean’s seeming absentmindedness and checks to see if she is conscious. “What, do you think this is the first time the X-Men have been blown out of the sky?” Jean asks him telepathically. “Didn’t your very first mission start out like this?” Logan confirms that she’s correct—but reminds her that by the time the mission ended, their friend Thunderbird was dead. Jean reminds him that she wasn’t there for there for that mission. This time, they’ll all come home safely. She uses her telekinesis to slow their descent while relaying their status to Scott telepathically.
Back on the ground, Nightcrawler can just barely see his falling teammates as they break through the cloud cover. Cyclops can hear Jean in his head and assures Kurt and Gambit that she, Kitty and Logan are okay. After Gambit asks about Rogue and Storm, Cyclops informs him they went after the shooter; Storm even has a fix on his position. The three of them keep staring at the sky, completely oblivious to the man approaching from behind. “Scott, our sensors detected nothing!” Kurt once again says.
Suddenly, Fabian Cortez lunges at Cyclops and grabs him from behind, causing his optic blasts to fire wildly. “That, freak, is because there was nothing down here to detect,” Cortez says to Nightcrawler. After assuring the three X-Men he intends to kill them, Cortez pivots Cyclops’s head toward Gambit and Nightcrawler and forcibly removes his visor. He wants Cyclops’s optic blast amplified to the absolute maximum. With it now totally unrestrained, he positions Scott’s head upward, directly at Kitty, Jean and Logan.
A fully powered optic blast hits Logan in the torso. The force scatters Jean and Kitty, but Jean Grey pulls them all back together. They can relax, she says; she will block the beam and keep everyone safe. However, she senses immense discomfort from Wolverine and learns that if he didn’t have his adamantium skeleton, that blast would have torn him in half. Thankfully, he tells Jean, his healing factor can handle the damage. Jean continues deflecting the continual optic blast. She tells Logan not to be foolish; not even he could withstand multiple hits of that severity. Never before has she seen Scott unleash such power. In fact, it’s taking all of her strength to keep these optic blasts at bay!
Grabbing hold of Logan, Shadowcat tells Jean to look after herself while they escape to safety. Logan asks what she intends to do, but Kitty silences him; she needs all her concentration to turn them both intangible while she plunges them through the ground.
Rogue, meanwhile, arrives at the surface level and flies full-speed at Cortez. She refuses to take any chances with this creep, who, in hardly any time at all, has neutralized her entire team. Moments before she can land her punch on Cortez, however, he releases Cyclops and turns toward her, hitting her even harder than she suspects even she could with her super-strength. While caught unawares by his staggering power, Rogue sees an advantage in it: she doesn’t have to worry about pulling her own punches. She charges at Cortez and once again prepares to strike.
“Silly girl—so brave, so stupid,” Cortez says as she approaches, “—you should have run while you had the chance.” Quick as lightning, he grabs Rogue by the throat. The energy surrounding them flares up wildly. Cortez finds it magnificent; with all the powers she has absorbed, it’s like she’s a bottomless well of energy! There may even be too much power within her, even for him!
Suddenly, the two of them are encircled by a vortex of electricity. Release the girl—or suffer the consequences, Storm commands as she descends from the sky. Cortez has a better idea: since Rogue needs her life restored, why not borrow Storm’s? After ripping a sleeve off of Rogue’s full-body uniform, thus exposing her bare skin, he hurls her limp body in Storm’s direction and knocks her out of the air.
Back at Xavier’s School, a worried Hank McCoy asks Professor X if he has telepathic contact with the team. Not even with Jean, Professor X admits. Beast vows to find another way. Fury, meanwhile, asks Xavier if he needs his help. Xavier gravely informs him that by the time anyone reaches the scene, the battle will surely have ended. He asks Hank if he’s having any luck getting in contact with them through other means. Hank tells them he caught a massive power surge from Scott right before the link scrambled, much like Magneto’s archival telemetry from Asteroid M. Now, he says, a strange, out-of-control weather pattern has formed on the scene, essentially blocking any effective scans. Hank bets Cortez is responsible for both. Fury gasps; Cortez is hammering their entire team. “He kept this ability secret,” Xavier says with scorn. “From Erik—and from me.” Fury calls in for a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force before the situation worsens. After Xavier asks Beast if there is anything they can do, Beast says he’s working on it—but they’ve been blindsided at every turn.
On the battlefield, Gambit, Nightcrawler and Cyclops—who leans on Nightcrawler’s shoulder for support—happen upon the unconscious bodies of Rogue and Storm. As Gambit leans down to check for signs of life, Kurt tells him to be careful. Remy knows; if he touches Rogue’s bare skin with his, she absorbs his powers and identity. He asks if she can’t turn it off, though. “No,” Scott answers. “It’s her own personal purgatory.”
Gambit stirs Rogue into waking and helps her sit up. “Take things loose, chère,” he says. “You among friends now.” Holding her aching head, Rogue tells him Cortez wouldn’t let her go; he was draining the life out of her. Kurt, meanwhile, tends to Storm, out of whom he gets no response. Rogue tells them she made personal contact with Storm moments earlier and got hold of her reality, which, as Rogue reveals, was even crazier than her own. They need to find the others and warn them about Cortez, Nightcrawler tells Cyclops. Regrettably, Cyclops informs them he’s yelling in his head as hard as he can, but Jean isn’t answering. He assumes their psi-link must have been severed.
Elsewhere, Kitty assures her worried dragon that she is fine, while Logan cradles Jean’s head in his hands and asks if she’s okay. She tells him she’s doing better than he is. He insists he’s just fine, but Jean calls him a liar; beneath the skin, he’s in awful shape. “Logan—you can’t keep taking this kind of punishment,” she says. He assures her he ain’t doing it on purpose. None of them do, Jean says. She reminds him that just month earlier, Charles Xavier could walk. Now, he’s back in his wheelchair, paralyzed—and they don’t even know why. “I want you whole,” she says to Logan.
Kitty Pryde knows enough about propriety to turn her back on this interaction and give the two elder X-Men some privacy. Lockheed doesn’t; his eyes widen at what he sees! Poor Scott, Kitty thinks to herself. If I can see it, can Scott see it too?
Shadowcat hears a loud noise coming from the woods, like a twig snapping. Before she finishes asking herself what it is, Cortez emerges from the shrubbery and punches Wolverine in the back of the neck, propelling him forward and causing him immense pain. Wolverine unsheathes his claws and tells Jean to get clear. While Cortez somehow holds Logan in stasis, Shadowcat springs into action. Is this the jerk who drove Magneto to his death? Looks like he’s trying to do the same to Logan, she says! Not while I’m around to stop you, bub! She reaches for Logan and tries to grab his hand in an attempt to spread her intangible state into his body. At the last moment, Logan frantically shouts for her to stop.
The circuit of the three mutants—Shadowcat, Wolverine and Fabian Cortez—unleashes a blinding feedback of energy. Kitty feels like something is tearing at her. Worse, she can’t break contact. She’s never felt anything so awful! As her hand phases through Logan’s wrist, she begs for him to please make it stop!
Suddenly, a telekinetic burst from Jean Grey severs the connection between the three mutants and thrusts them apart. Infuriated, and with residual traces of energy smoldering over his hands, Cortez glares at Jean and asks if she came to save the girl—or the wolverine. “You’re done hurting my friends,” is Jean’s only response. Cortez childishly tells her to make him while restraining her arms. Better yet, he says, he’ll see if her powers measure up to those of her teammates, Rogue and Cyclops!
A fiery figure resembling a large bird erupts around Jean, propelling Cortez to the ground. Jean gasps; what has she done? As her power flares out, she falls to her knees and collapses. Cortez, meanwhile, picks himself up and asks what the hell that was. He darts into the nearby woods. He’s caused enough damage for now and needs to get away.
A flurry of charged cards bombards the area around Cortez’s feet. He’s not going anywhere, Gambit says. Kurt follows up this attack by teleporting directly in front of Cortez and punching him across the face. Flailing wildly, Cortez says he thought he took care of them both! “You thought wrong,” Kurt says, materializing directly behind Fabian. He swings from a branch and kicks Cortez in the back of the head. Reeling from this blow, Cortez falls to his knees and is still struggling to regain his composure when Gambit knocks him across the head with his staff.
The X-Men reconvene. Everyone seems okay. Jean assures Kitty she can stop trembling now that everything is safe, but Kitty doesn’t seem to agree. “How’s by you?” she asks Logan. If they’d give him a minute alone with Cortez, he’d feel a lot better, Logan says. This proposition works for Gambit, and even Rogue, who even admits to wanting to join them. Storm asks Cyclops if he shouldn’t perhaps intervene. He sternly tells Logan that isn’t the way they do things. This is his mission, and they play by his rules. He intends to turn their prisoner Cortez over to the proper authorities. Logan tells him he’s making a mistake; making Cortez dead is best for everyone.
Gambit, meanwhile, gives Rogue his trenchcoat to wear to cover her exposed skin. She thanks him. After hearing Logan’s comment, Gambit calls it hardcore, and Rogue agrees. However, something doesn’t sit right with her. Gambit asks if she’s all right or if there is anything she needs. While discretely casting a suspicious glare at Storm, Rogue insists she’s fine. “No, you’re not,” Gambit says with worry.
On the periphery of the discussion, Kitty admits she hasn’t heard Logan act so cold since she first joined the team. Lockheed fusses at her. Kitty tells him to stop.
Continuing his disagreement with Cyclops, Wolverine asks if he ever stopped to think if there is no room in their lives for rules. Rules, he says, only protect the bad guys, while the good guys are the ones who end up getting hurt. A S.H.I.E.L.D. transport ship arrives and puts and end to the conversation.
Sometime later, at the Salem Center, Nick Fury, Professor X and Beast watch as the jet carrying the X-Men finishes its vertical descent. Fury learned from his people it wasn’t a happy trip. Xavier has no further information, as Jean is keeping her thoughts private. “We could try talking,” Beast says.
As the X-Men step out of the plane, Fury remarks that they’ve looked better. Xavier furrows his brow; Scott and Logan are keeping their thoughts private as well. Beast tells Scott he brought his ruby glasses and tells the rest of them to head to the infirmary for a checkup. Storm tells Rogue they should discuss what happened. Rogue, however, seems distant. She tells Storm they can maybe discuss it later, but for now, she feels like a mess because of Cortez and needs time to get her head straight. Kitty observes this interaction with suspicion; Storm’s been circling Rogue ever since she regained consciousness. What’s eating her?
“The whole mission was a mess!” Fury barks. “The world has changed. You have to change with it.” Cyclops reminds him they just saved the world—again. Maybe he’s spent too much time in a suit, behind a desk, to remember what that takes. Fury thinks it’s time for all of them to see the world as it is. The fact is, the world is afraid of mutants. They’re not comfortable putting their faith in a handful of kids who aren’t accountable to anyone, except their professor, who used to be best friends with Magneto. They answer to no one but themselves—and wonder why the world doesn’t trust them? Fury’s sorry to tell Cyclops this, but those days are done. From now on, the X-Men will have to get used to having someone official watching over their shoulders.
“That someone being you, Fury?” the blindfolded Cyclops asks. “You pull the X-Men’s strings, second-guessing everything we do—just because we share a genetic mutation with Magneto?” No, Fury tells him; he’s going to watch over their shoulders because the genetic mutation they happen to share with Magneto makes all of them dangerous! Cyclops claims that no one seems to mind when they save the world from people like Cortez.
That almost scares them even more, Fury claims. People cannot help but wonder what would happen were they to switch sides. “You earn trust by coming out of the shadows.” Shadowcat supposes he means the X-Men cannot do things solo anymore. In response, Colonel Fury tells her times—and the world—have changed. To keep being a part of it, everyone must adapt. Wolverine gets in Fury’s face. He may say that today, but what will he do when his bosses decide that playing babysitter isn’t enough? The Nick Fury Logan remembers wouldn’t be a part of this—and neither will Logan. He marches away from Fury and the X-Men in defiance.
Sometime much later, Cyclops, Jean Grey and Nick Fury meet with Xavier in his office. Fury recalls that Wolverine always did have a temper. Jean insists he’ll get over it. Xavier hopes he does without shedding any blood. Hanging his head, Cyclops just wishes he knew what was bugging Logan so much. If they knew, they could help—but even Jean has been unable to detect whatever it is.
At that moment, Jean, via her psi-link with Logan, tells him that Scott’s worried about him. She is too—but doesn’t like lying for him. Logan assures her Slim will get over it. Jean won’t, though. She tells Logan that if she lost him, she would not know what to do—and she knows he feels the same way. He’s unresponsive. She calls out to him. “Stay outta my head, darlin’,” he tells her. She reminds him she is his backup, but Logan insists that tonight, he flies solo. If he needs her, Jean says she can be there in a heartbeat.
Suddenly, Jean’s eyes widen; she recognizes the scent Logan is following. Logan does too, but to him, the pieces don’t seem to fit. Or maybe they do, he says. He asks Jean to take a look through his eyes and tell him what she sees. “Logan, get out of there—right now!” Jean screams. “I’m on my—LOGAN!?!” As Jean screams his name out loud, her body flares up and emits burst of radiant energy, while Cyclops, Professor X and Nick Fury watch in awe-struck horror.


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Comes the Father! Love—and Loss: Part 2 of 5
In the heart of Manhattan—surrounded by an ever-growing phalanx of high-rises—is Central Park, a glorious open space wherein a person can wander the meadows and hills, the lakes and woodlands, and pretend the towering city beyond simply doesn’t exist. Crowded by day, after dark—especially as the night makes its way toward morning—the park empties of its people, growing so still it’s easy to persuade yourself this is a true wilderness.
On its outskirts, an NYPD patrol car idles. Inside, two officers sit patiently as the radio reports on situations that may require their attention. The officer named Ahmed complains that his kid loves Latin, the bedrock foundation of European languages. Gary, the other officer, cracks a joke, but then recalls the kid in question is only in the sixth grade. Ahmed shrugs; he can’t even understand the math kids learn these days. It makes him feel old.
Suddenly, a blinding white light fills the sky and elicits a frightened gasp from the Ahmed. Gary leans out the window and it in to the station. He asks Ahmed what the heck he thinks it was. Maybe some kind of explosion, Ahmed says. The two cops head into the park, toward the source of the light. Gary asks Ahmed if he saw the trail it left; it looked like the sky was on fire!
Ahmed advises his partner to be careful as they near the source of the explosion. All of a sudden, they catch of whiff of an awful stench, and Ahmed lifts his flashlight and shines it at the source. The two officers gasp as they behold a smoldering metallic skeleton. Two claws protrude from skeleton’s right hand, and a scorched superhero mask remains on what used to be its face. “Allah have mercy!” shouts Ahmed.
Meanwhile, roughly an hour’s drive upstate from the city at Professor Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, all is quiet. The mansion’s sophisticated computers show blank screens. In fact, not a single light remains on anywhere in the entire school. In Professor Xavier’s office, Nick Fury, Cyclops and Jean Grey lie unconscious on the floor, while Professor X slumps over in his chair. Similarly, out near the lake on the school’s property, the fully clothed Rogue and Gambit lie limp and lifeless on the muddy shore.
Storm returns home and opens the front door. She calls out for an answer; can anyone hear her? She begins to doubt it. There are no lights, and she can’t hear even the slightest sound. What has happened here? As she passes by the kitchen, she recalls everything looked just fine in Salem Center. What she finds especially odd is how even the mansion’s backup systems seem affected by this blackout. What could have caused such a catastrophic failure? She decides to check Xavier’s office for answers. The office, however, provides her not with answers, but more questions. She sees Cyclops, Nick Fury, Professor X and Jean Grey lying unconscious. For some reason, Jean’s eyes are wide open.
Upon hearing Storm’s voice, Professor X stirs awake and moans. Storm rushes to his side. Is he all right? What happened here? As Charles struggles to regain his composure, he tells his pupil that he isn’t sure. The last image he saw before he passed out was of Logan dying. Impossible! Storm declares. Xavier prays that’s true. Storm asks him to verify; can he reach out to Logan telepathically? No, Xavier tells her; there was a link to Logan, but not through him. He recounts to Storm how they were in the middle of debriefing from the Cortez mission when Jean suddenly screamed. He’s never felt such unbearable pain, Xavier admits to Storm; he can only imagine how Jean must have felt. She must have held tight to him, protecting him and fighting for his life until the end. “Why didn’t she trust me—why didn’t Logan?!” Xavier asks. Fortunately, if he is correct about the link between Jean and Logan, then Jean may very well know exactly who struck him down. Storm arches an eyebrow at this.
Nick Fury wakes up and rubs his aching head. What hit them? Was it some sort of attack? Xavier tells him he fears as much, but that he considers all of them collateral damage. After Cyclops rises to his feet as well, Storm notices that the only one yet to recover is Jean. Cyclops rushes to her side and checks for signs of life. He feels a pulse, but a very weak one. They need to get her to the infirmary! he shouts. Fury asks what good that will do without lights or power for the medical equipment. He pulls out his cell phone to call for help, but it, too, is dead—and it was designed to survive an electromagnetic pulse! They were hit by something on a different scale altogether, Xavier says. If that’s the case, Fury asks, then how are they still alive?
 Xavier explains Jean bore the brunt of the impact. He suspects she diverted the shockwave into the mansion’s electronic systems, sacrificing them in order to protect the X-Men. Storm asks how that could even be possible. Cyclops, while lifting Jean’s limp body, reminds Storm that telepathy and telekinesis are merely forms of energy manipulation. One of the first things Jean ever learned was how to tap into power grids.
Scott asks the professor to find Hank and wake him up if he’s still unconscious. “Let’s move, people,” he says to the dumbfounded Storm, Xavier and Nick Fury. “What the devil are you all looking at?!” He fails to notice them paying attention to the doorway directly behind him, through which Gambit now emerges with the unconscious Rogue in his arms. Gambit explains he and Rogue were down by the lake when they were suddenly hit by what felt like a sledgehammer. He just got clipped, though; Rogue took the brunt of the hit.
Before Scott can leave the room with Jean, Professor X asks him to wait a moment while he reaches into Jean’s mind. Hopefully he can get a clear sense of what happened; he’s never before seen her manifest such intense defenses. His efforts fail. Jean seems to have erected a wall around herself even he cannot penetrate. Their questions will have to wait until she recovers. He gives Cyclops the go-ahead to take the two unconscious women to the infirmary, while asking Storm to light the way for them. “What happened, professor? You forget to pay the bill?” Gambit asks with a grin on his face.
Cyclops bursts into the infirmary with Jean in his arms. To his relief, he finds Beast conscious, but barely; he just woke up and has a beaut of a headache. Nightcrawler, also in the infirmary, advises everyone to watch their step; Kitty rigged the room with emergency lights, but nothing else works. They’ve got casualties, Cyclops explains. He and Gambit set Rogue and Jean on the infirmary tables. As Beast prepares to examine the victims, he asks if anyone minds telling him what happened. They don’t know yet, Xavier states—that’s why they need Jean awake. He fears something terrible has happened and needs answers. Nightcrawler suggests that if they’re truly under attack, they should call for help. Beast concurs; although the X-Men are scattered across the globe, he still has a valid Avengers I.D. Gambit, however, presumes Nick Fury is already taking care of it.
Sure enough, in the back of the room, Fury—whose phone just came back online—checks in with S.H.I.E.L.D. He requests an active combat sweep of his current location, including full spectrum surveillance for biological assets and enhanced weaponry. He also requests a sit-rep on Wolverine. At this, the agent on the other line transfers Fury to Agent Gabe Jones. When Gabe gets on the line, he asks for clarification: is Fury calling about Wolverine? Fury repeats his question: where is Wolverine and what’s his status?
On the other end of the line, Gabe crouches over the remains of Wolverine while a trio of forensics experts in hazmat suits examines the scorched skeleton. “Sorry, boss,” Gabe says. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” Fury asks if he’s sure it’s Wolverine.
Biologically, they may never know for sure; whatever fire consumed him destroyed everything. However, because of the adamantium interlaced with his skeletal structure, as well as the claws, the identification appears accurate. Gabe does ask for clarification on one thing, though: didn’t Wolverine have six claws? Fury confirms that, yes, he had three claws on each hand. Gabe informs him that one of the claws is missing. Fury suggests that maybe it isn’t Wolverine. He asks him to check again—and be one hundred percent certain.  As Gabe heads back to his jet, he assures Fury he’s already done that, but says he will follow his lead—just like his father did before him.
Near the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet, an officer named Morelli converses with a hooded civilian. He asks the little girl to quit bothering him. Besides, isn’t it past her bedtime? He advises she do them both a favor and head home. As Gabe approaches, he asks Morelli if he’s talking to himself. Morelli says he was just talking with a civilian who won’t quit pestering him. Gabe asks Morelli if he ever stopped to consider whether the girl might actually know something. He wants to see her and ask her a few questions himself. Where is she? Morelli turns around to point her out, but finds she has vanished. Great, he says; the girl pesters him from the moment she arrived, and now she decides to take a hike!
Meanwhile, back in Xavier’s School, Fury finds he has several questions after he wraps up his phone call. How is it possible to incinerate all of someone’s biological material, even down to the molecular level? What about the missing claw? Maybe it isn’t Wolverine, he says aloud. He acknowledges it’s a thin strand upon which to hang his hopes. Then again, Logan has survived everything thrown at him in the past. Why would this situation be any different?  The real question, though, is who did this to Logan? Fury hopes Ms. Grey can shed some light on the answer. He bets whoever nailed Logan will soon come after Jean. As good as these X-Men are, can even they take on that kind of adversary?
“Someone else is down here!” Fury suddenly shouts. He casts a suspicious glance down the corridor and draws his gun. However, he heard not a sound nor felt the slightest shift in the air. He is totally alone—so what caused him to react?
He heads back into the infirmary and finds Xavier. Can his telepathy sense anything strange on the estate? Charles asks what’s wrong; Fury tells him it’s just a feeling at the moment. However, long ago, he learned to trust feelings like this.
After a quick psi-scan, Xavier reports that the only thoughts he senses are the ten of theirs. His skills are not infallible, he adds. Wolverine, for example, excelled at evading contact. When he mentions Wolverine’s name, Xavier senses a spike in Fury’s thoughts. What has he learned? Fury reports to the group that the news he has is not good. His agents found a body—but nothing remained except adamantium bones and claws. Xavier’s face grows stern. He has known Logan for so long and been through so much that he doesn’t want to believe it. He may have no choice, Fury says.
Suddenly, Fury notices Storm’s absence and asks Xavier where she went. Xavier informs him she went to jumpstart the generators, a move Fury deems gutsy, considering Storm’s claustrophobia.
At that moment, Storm enters an even deeper sub-basement and illuminates the darkness with a concentrated ball of electrical energy in her hand. I hate this, she thinks. The deeper into the complex she goes, the more anxious she feels. Her power binds her to the sky. That is where she feels she belongs. Down here, she feels like the world itself is waiting for a chance to crush her. However, Storm refuses to yield to her fear. She’s better than that. The sooner she restores the grid, the sooner she will be free. Plus, she needs privacy—away from Charles and the others—to think. When Fabian Cortez attacked them in Spain, Rogue absorbed Storm’s powers—and her memories. While she claims she remembers nothing, what if Rogue is not being truthful?
While Storm ponders these questions, someone observes her from a shaded crevice. Storm wonders what Jean learned from Logan before he died. She decides the risk is too great. She’ll have to take care of it. Suddenly, she senses the intruder. “Who’s there?!” she asks. “Kitten?”
“Not even CLOSE!” shouts Sabretooth as he leaps out from the shadows. Storm gasps; how did he get in the complex? “Woman, there’s no place on Earth that can lock me out,” he says as he closes in on his target. “An’ as to why I’m payin’ a visit—it’s to kill you!” He takes a swipe at her, cutting a gash into her arm. His claws may not be adamantium like Logan’s, but, despite being only bone, they cut just as deep. He looks at Storm as she tries to contain the pain. Sabretooth hopes it hurts. He promises there is more to come.
Storm lashes out at him with a surge of electricity. She hates to disappoint him, but she is not that easy! The force of her attack sends Sabretooth flying through a metal door and leaves a trail of smoke from his smoldering flesh. Storm marches into the darkened room and tells her assailant that while he may have stood a chance cornering her in the hallway—tight spaces limit her ability to manifest weather, after all—in this room, things are different. “Do tell,” Sabretooth says. With electrical energy simmering in her hand, Storm informs him she did not throw him through these particular doors by accident.
The lights suddenly come on, illuminating the room’s immense interior. Kitty must have jumpstarted the power, Storm chuckles. Sabretooth takes a look around and realizes Storm forced him into the X-Men’s Danger Room. The sheer size of the room dwarfs him. Storm approaches her assailant, and after welcoming him to the Danger Room, prepares to see how he will fare against the full force of her power.
Before the fight even begins, a ruby-colored optic blast knocks Sabretooth off his feet. Gambit, Rogue and Nightcrawler charge into the room, with Cyclops taking point. As they attack, Cyclops reminds his team that Sabretooth stands among their most dangerous adversaries ever. The only way to beat him is to work as a team, he says. Storm, meanwhile, gets a ferocious look on her face as she lifts her hands. A vortex of icy wind and snow swirls around her. Sabretooth came for her—he cut her and drew her blood—and she intends to pay him back in kind! Lifting her arms, she pummels Sabretooth with gale force winds and shards of ice.
Nightcrawler teleports into the center of the vortex and strikes Sabretooth across the face. They’re a team, he reminds Storm; they do this together. “Good moves, Nightcrawler, an’ a pretty decent hit,” Sabretooth says. “I can see why the boy called you his friend.” Before Sabretooth has a chance to return the blow, Nightcrawler teleports out of his way. He wonders what Sabretooth meant by his comment, though; by ‘boy’, did he mean Logan? He reappears directly behind Sabretooth to strike again, but the villain anticipates his attack and grabs him by the throat the moment he rematerializes. He reminds Nightcrawler that the boy was never his equal, and neither are any of his friends.
Before he can finish that thought, Rogue arrives and grabs Sabretooth by the hand, preventing his punch. The last time they tussled, Sabretooth used her as his punching bag! Now, it’s Rogue’s turn. She socks him across the jaw with a super-powered punch. He retaliates with alarming speed and smacks her to the ground. While stepping on her head, he informs her that as good as she thinks she is, she’s nowhere near his league.
A maelstrom of charged playing cards distracts Sabretooth and signals the arrival of Gambit. He reminds the brute to show some manners when he talks to a lady. Sabretooth hurls Rogue’s battered body into Gambit and informs him he doesn’t talk to children. Finally Cyclops strikes again, blasting Sabretooth in the back of the head. He should know better than to attack the X-Men on their home turf, Cyclops tells him.
With Sabretooth stunned, Cyclops orders Kurt to teleport him to the brig right away to end the fight. Before Kurt and act, however, Storm whips Sabretooth into the air in a jet-stream. This fight started with her, so she intends to finish it. Suspended in the air by Storm’s winds, Sabretooth tells her she cannot hold him there for long. Storm disagrees; she could hold him there forever should she wish. She begins channeling an electrical surge through his body.
At this moment, Shadowcat materializes through the ceiling of the Danger Room and witnesses Storm preparing to deliver the coup de grâce to Sabretooth. It’s obvious to her Storm has murder in her heart. She has no time to act before Storm fries her trapped victim with an overwhelming pulse of electricity. Sabretooth screams, goes limp and plummets to the Danger Room floor. My god! Kitty gasps. Did she just kill him?
Sabretooth hits the ground not far from the shocked X-Men. Cyclops tells Storm she nearly burned his head off! As she descends, Storm claims she had no choice. However, Sabretooth—who apparently survived the attack—lifts his head off the ground, and despite his struggle to speak, tells Storm she should have killed him when she had the chance. “If you insist,” Storm says, glaring at him. Cyclops tells them to shut up; he’s heard enough from both of them. Via his psi-link with Professor X, he asks first for Beast’s medical assistance, and second for a S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical unit to take Sabretooth into custody.
The rest of the X-Men keep their attention on Sabretooth. Nightcrawler’s eyes widen with pity, Rogue’s jaw drops and Gambit winces as they get a glimpse of Sabretooth’s face. He turns toward them, putting the burns on his face and the cavities where his eyes used to reside in full display. “You think just ‘cause Storm took my eyes, the fight’s over?” he asks them. “X-Men, it’s only just begun!”


[Assistant]
New Dawn, New Day! (4th story)
4th story:The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York…For the X-Men, it is the best and worst of times. Yet again, they’ve prevailed over a threat to the entire world from their oldest, most formidable foe. But while they emerged safely from the conflict, their foe, Magneto, did not. The X-Men watched as Asteroid M fell from space, to be consumed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Now, they’ve gathered to bid him farewell. Some cheer their victory—but Charles Xavier mourns a deep and primal loss.
In his office, Professor X observes a holographic projection of his late friend and mortal enemy, Erik Lehnsherr. Charles doubts they will ever see him again. “No offense, Charles,” says Xavier’s guest Nick Fury, “—but my response to that is, thank God.”  Xavier scowls; Fury did not know Magneto like he did. Fury believes he knew the man well enough. He also knows that Xavier gave him the chance to be something better—and look what happened. Erik Lehnsherr may be dead, Fury says, but the consequences of his actions will be felt by Charles Xavier and his students. Xavier reminds Fury the X-Men were the ones who stopped Magneto. Unfortunately, no one will be crediting the X-Men for that, Fury says. He asks Xavier to consider the implications: what will happen next time? What if the X-Men change sides for real? The fact is that, thanks to Magneto, the world is scared of mutants. The X-Men’s days of independence, Fury says, are over; they’re too great of a threat. The powers that be will not let them continue unsupervised any longer.
Xavier asks Fury if that is why he came: to strip away the X-Men’s freedom. This is the day Erik always warned him about, Xavier says. Was Magneto right all along? Have all of the efforts of the X-Men—all of their sacrifices—been for nothing?
Outside the mansion, Warren Worthington III soars over the rest of the casually dressed members of the X-Men and its offshoot teams. It’s hard to believe that this all began, not so many years ago, with just five students. Five heroes. Five X-Men. Since then, both Charles Xavier’s school and the clandestine team with it have grown—and changed—considerably. Mutants have come here from across this world that all have sworn to protect, and embrace their teacher’s dream of a future where they can feel themselves a welcome part of human society. With Magneto’s death, a primal chapter in the team’s life is closed. Their greatest adversary is no more. Some of them wonder if this means they can start to live more normal lives, to face their future not as super heroes but as children.
Kurt Wagner, whose most human soul is framed by a body that appears to be anything but, chats with Tabitha Smith and Theresa Rourke Cassidy. Nearby, Rogue chats with Wolverine and Gambit. Rogue, real-name Anna Marie Raven, started her career as one of the team’s deadliest enemies before choosing to follow a brighter path. Remy Picard, a.k.a. Gambit, the school’s newest arrival, has lately been feeling less and less sure he wants to stay. Nearby, Kitty Pryde, the X-Men’s youngest member ever, pets the small dragon around her neck while chatting with Bobby Drake and Peter Rasputin. Also in this conversation is Jean Grey. The formidable telepath who bears the title of Xavier’s first pupil, Jean is present in the conversation, but her mind is engaged elsewhere
Unfortunately for Jean, when she’s upset, the psychic walls that shield her from surrounding thoughts become distressingly porous. She picks up stray thoughts from Remy Picard, who feels he no longer knows the Storm he met in Cairo, Illinios and wants to go home. She hears someone else watching Remy and noticing how edgy he feels around Storm. She hears Nick Fury asking Charles to consider all the dangerous powers mutants wield. She hears someone expressing envy over Warren’s wings—and someone else asking why he feels the need to hide his true appearance behind an image-inducer when he is among friends. She even hears someone lamenting how sad it is that it took Magneto’s death to bring them all back together. Finally, she hears Logan. Jean? I love you, Red, he thinks. His voice tempts her, but she resists.
Jean suddenly snaps back to reality and sees the smiling face of Scott Summers. He asks if she is okay; in an emotional crowd like this, he knows it can get rough for her. After he asks if he can do anything to help, Jean throws her arms around his neck and says he can hold her. Cyclops pulls her in for a hug. He promises to help her deal with whatever is bother her together. If only things were that simple, Jean thinks.
Nearby, out of the corner of his eye, Logan watches Jean throw herself into Scott’s arms. “You keep looking at Jean that way, old man,” Kitty says, “…you could find yourself in real trouble.” Grumbling, Logan asks whom she is calling an old man. Kitty folds her arms; it’s a statement of fact. Continue, he tells her. “You go back a long way,” she reminds him. Logan doesn’t see her point. “You haven’t aged.” He has a healing factor, Logan explains. As far as his body cares, age is just another wound to heal. Kitty asks if he plans on living forever. Possibly, Logan says. Finally, Kitty asks him what it wrong. He tries to convince her nothing is wrong, but she persists. Whatever is eating at him must be far more serious than his feelings for Jean, she says. Lockheed flies off her shoulder and circles the two curiously. Logan turns, looks Kitty right in the eyes, and tells her when he needs her, she will know. “I better,” Kitty says. “I don’t want to lose you.” Logan assures her that will never happen; he even gives his word.
Storm, meanwhile, approaches Nightcrawler and rubs his shoulders. It is good to see him again, she says. He and Kitty have been away with Excalibur for far too long. Kurt supposes it might be time for them to return. As Storm takes off in the sky, Logan tells Kurt to be careful about wishing for things like that; they might not always turn out the way he hopes.
South America…Just above the Tropic of Capricorn, the mountains of Peru give way to the west-central highlands that frame the inland nations of Paraguay and Miaralos. This is wild country, photographed from space but never charted, so rugged that there’s not even the slightest evidence of human presence—or so it’s always been believed. Resting in one of the forest’s scenic rivers is the disembodied head of the Master Mold, surrounded by several dormant Sentinel units. Suddenly, the Master Mold whirrs to life, its systems active.
Some time later…Wolverine enters a darkened hotel room. He has been following this trail since long before that last, fateful confrontation with Magneto. It stared with an instinct that refused to be ignored: something about his teammate—his friend—didn’t seem quite right. The trail has led him here, to a west side penthouse overlooking Central Park. He knows there’s a risk, but he assumes whatever comes—no matter how badly he’s hurt—his healing factor will bring him through. Just like always.
While lurking around the room, Logan—noticeably missing the central adamantium claw on his right arm—hears the telepathic voice of Jean Grey in his head. He tells her to stay out of his mind. She’s his backup, Jean reminds him. Logan tells her tonight, he flies solo. She can be there in a heartbeat if he needs her, she says, adding that he definitely knows the scent he’s tracking. Maybe, Logan tells her, but the pieces don’t seem to fit—or maybe they do. He asks Jean to look through his eyes and tell him what she sees.
Logan, get out of there—right now! Jean suddenly screams. I’m on my—
It’s too late. Wolverine is hit by a bolt of electricity of frightening power. It sends him soaring out the window of the high-rise apartment. A hooded figure approaches the hole in the glass and looks downward, its eyes glowing menacingly. He should have left well enough alone, the hooded person says. However, he just had to play the hero—one last time.
Down below, the charred corpse of Wolverine lies in the street, its adamantium skeleton still smoking from the shock, and its skull locked in a final expression of shock.


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The Cruelest Cut: Love—and Loss: Part 3 of 5
Prologue…
Three silhouetted figures observe the events in New York as they transpire on their monitors. One man asks for a status update; another informs him they’re still gathering information on the event in Central Park. A third figure asks what they know so far. The figure in front of the screen informs them their agent engaged the mutant knows as Wolverine at the 5th Avenue residence earlier that evening. Apparently, Wolverine’s fabled luck has run out. He asks for their agent’s status. Pointing to the physiological readouts of a female, the other figure reports the agent is okay, despite her heightened anxiety levels. Should they extract her? No, another figure says; they will shut down the safe house and leave the X-Men to deal with their overzealous spy.
The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The Danger Room…
The X-Men face Sabretooth, one of their oldest, deadliest adversaries. This time, it’s Sabretooth who has suffered the worst of their confrontation. As smoke pours out of his charred eye sockets, Sabretooth announces he’s now blind! He holds his claws in front of his face, but cannot see even those.
Horrified at the actions of his colleague, Nightcrawler asks Storm why she did this. She offers a weak apology; Sabretooth was in their home and was ready to attack. After reminding her she almost killed him, Cyclops tells Storm they can discuss it later. For now, he intends to get Sabretooth the proper medical attention.
Gambit asks his teammates what they think Sabretooth meant by his remarks about Logan. As far as Gambit knows, Sabretooth had no love for the man; wasn’t he always trying to kill him? “Every year, Gambit—on Logan’s birthday,” Rogue confirms. “But we never knew why.” Sabretooth takes the opportunity to enlighten them. He claims his annual attacks were his way of making sure Wolverine remembered his place in the world—one step behind Sabretooth.
Scoffing, Storm claims Sabretooth’s babbling must stem from shock and advises no one take him seriously. Cyclops disagrees. Sabretooth came for a reason; perhaps the answers he provides will help them find Logan. However, Sabretooth suddenly falls unconscious, much to everyone’s surprise. Gambit checks his pulse. He still lives, but his signs of life are weak. Cyclops orders Nightcrawler to grab a medikit so they can stabilize Sabretooth before they take him to the infirmary. Incredulously, Storm asks her leader if he means the infirmary—or the brig.
As she phases up through the floor behind Storm, Shadowcat wonders what is wrong with Storm. She’s never seen her act this way. Meanwhile, the conversation continues. They’re going to ensure Sabretooth survives, if only so they can interrogate him later, Cyclops tells Storm. She reminds him that Sabretooth is dangerous. Cyclops reminds her they have handled Sabretooth in the past and admits he doesn’t understand Storm’s current attitude. Perhaps she tires of fighting the same adversary over and over again, Storm says.
While watching this argument proceed, Kitty strokes her right arm, which just won’t seem to stop hurting.
Cyclops counters Storm’s most recent point by saying they need information. Storm asks from whom—a creature who would just as soon slaughter them for fun? Whether she likes it or not, Sabretooth is their only lead, Cyclops tells her. Storm asks how they can follow leads when they’re dead. Besides, she asks Scott to consider whom Sabretooth will strike next; will he be able to shoulder the burden when Sabretooth claims his next victim? Deflecting this question, Cyclops tells Ororo he refuses to be part of a firing squad.
Nightcrawler teleports back into the Danger Room with a medikit in his hand. He asks for an update on Sabretooth’s condition, at which point Gambit informs him that, oddly enough, Sabretooth’s pulse has almost returned to normal. Rogue reminds him that, like Logan, Sabretooth is a fast healer.
The infirmary…
Dr. Hank McCoy observes the unconscious Jean Grey with unease. He doesn’t like the readings. Although her vitals are normal, her EEG is off the charts. Basically, her body may be at rest, but her mind is fully active. He adds that the readings look unsettlingly familiar. Professor X understands the implication, but assures Hank that he’s monitoring Jean telepathically and senses no alien presence. “From your mouth to God’s ear,” Beast says.
Xavier recounts that Jean called out Wolverine’s name before she fell. If they were psi-linked, whatever happened to her must have started with him. Beast concurs. Xavier concludes Jean must have acted as a firewall, absorbing the brunt of the impact, while the rest of them received a mere taste. Even so, the strike was sufficient to knock them all unconscious, leading Xavier to wonder what happened to Logan at the source. Hank asks if Xavier intends to try to get through to Jean, to which Xavier admits he sees no other choice. He must try.
Initiating the psi-link, Xavier informs Hank he wants to maintain an open psionic link between the three of them so Hank can monitor his progress. It will not be easy: Jean sealed off all normal points of access to protect herself. Xavier must find another way. He adds that he hasn’t reached out to Jean like this since her childhood, when her nascent telepathy overwhelmed her mind. As the professor moves into Jean’s psyche, Beast advises him to be careful.
“I must. This could be dangerous to us all,” Xavier says telepathically. As soon as he enters Jean’s mindscape, he sees Jean making out with a shirtless Logan and emits a gasp. Hank asks what he sees, but Xavier informs him he is not sure; it could be either fantasy or reality. Regardless, he informs Hank that he’ll allow Jean to keep these thoughts private.
“You’re the professor,” Hank says. Xavier wishes it were that simple. He senses an awareness around both Jean and Logan—a deeper, more primal intimacy than he ever sensed around Jean and Scott. The conflicted nature of her emotions breaks Xavier’s heart; how could she have kept these thoughts hidden? Why didn’t she trust Xavier?
Finally, Professor X begins to sense the Cortez mission. He sees the Blackbird as its right wing explodes. Still, his thoughts linger on Jean’s connection with Logan. He had no idea she was psi-linked with him like that. Hank asks if he means psi-linked as in how Jean was linked with Scott. Much deeper, Xavier informs him, still astounded she kept it a secret. He watches as Jean’s memory of the events of the Cortez mission unfold. He sees Shadowcat phasing both Jean and Wolverine out of the doomed airplane and listens as they converse on the ground. However, the arrival of Cortez cuts short their conversation. That’s when they got the readings of power levels in the region that rivaled those of the Phoenix, Hank adds. “Exactly,” Xavier confirms. These events culminate in Wolverine’s departure from the team. Profess X had rarely seen him so angry. That was the last time any of them would see him…
What Xavier sees next catches him completely by surprise. Somehow, he sees Logan’s memories, independent of Jean. He deduces Jean must have been communicating with Logan while she was sitting in Xavier’s office. Essentially, their thoughts merged as one. Hank asks the professor how he didn’t sense this at the time. Xavier has no idea. There must be depths and dimensions to Jean’s abilities he never suspected.
The astral form of Charles Xavier follows this memory of Wolverine as he picks a lock to an apartment. What is he hoping to find? Xavier has seen Logan on the hunt before—but never with such intensity. He thought Jean and Logan trusted him as much as they did each other; why didn’t they trust him with this too?
As Xavier follows the memory of Logan into the apartment, Beast informs him his pulse is racing and recommends he take a break. Charles insists he is fine; he needs to continue, while the images remain fresh. Xavier notices something peculiar about the scene and asks Hank if he had a chance to examine Logan before he left. Regrettably, Dr. McCoy informs Xavier that Logan stormed off before he had the chance. Why? Xavier tells him that, according to these images, Logan was short one claw. Hank cannot believe it: Logan was missing one of his claws? Although admittedly not his area of expertise, Xavier doubts people just lose adamantium claws.
The surveillance continues. Xavier asks the memory of Wolverine what he hopes to find in the apartment. He begins picking up Logan’s old thoughts. “Huh… everything looks normal,” Xavier hears Logan thinking. “But I’d bet a month’s worth of Lockheed cleanup duties that this place is loaded with active sensors.” In addition to hearing Logan’s thoughts, Xavier now detects some of Jean’s as well. He hears her tell Logan that Cyclops is worried about him, as is she. She adds she doesn’t like lying for him. Wolverine tells her Cyclops will get over it. Jean claims she won’t, though. She tells Logan she doesn’t know what she would do if she lost him. She knows he feels the same way.
Xavier admits to Hank that he has never seen Wolverine behave so nervously, and with such precaution. Hank asks if he can tell yet whom Wolverine hoped to find. No, Xavier says—but asks his colleague to hold on a moment. He watches as Wolverine continues his conversation with Jean. The trail Logan follows leads him to a closet. Jean comments on the scent Logan is following, but Logan doesn’t think it makes sense. He opens the closet doors. Xavier can’t believe what he sees.
“What’ve they done to you?” Logan whispers to the person hiding inside the closet. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.” He asks Jean to look through his eyes and see what he sees. However, Jean begins shouting for Logan to leave immediately. Suddenly, Logan’s eyes widen; so do Xavier’s. Jean shouts Logan’s name one last time, just as his assailant—who appears to be none other than Storm—fries him with electricity.
Xavier, still fully linked to Logan by way of Jean, screams as he suffers the psionic backlash of this attack. It knocks him out of his seat and across the room. Beast gasps as this psionic force overtakes his mentor.
Having heard the screams, Nick Fury rushes into the infirmary and finds Professor X lying unconscious on the floor. What happened? Beast says he doesn’t know; Charles was mind-probing Jean when he screamed and passed out. “Whatever he did, McCoy,” Fury says as he looks across the room, “—I think he got her attention.”
Beast and Fury watch as Jean jerks forward and snaps back into consciousness. She screams just one word: STORM!
The Danger Room…
The X-Men watch as Sabretooth, now wearing a makeshift blindfold, slowly comes to his senses. That man can take some serious voltage, Gambit observes. Cyclops asserts that his healing power must be nearly as powerful as Logan’s. Nightcrawler points out that his eyes have yet to heal, however. He remains blind. “Good,” Storm says.
Now that he’s coherent, Cyclops asks Sabretooth why he came to Xavier’s at all. “Just stopped by for a friendly visit, ja?” Nightcrawler asks. Sabretooth tells him to can the sarcasm; he’s not Logan, and they’re not friends.
Still, the X-Men demand to know why he came. “My son’s dead. I want his killer,” Sabretooth says. The X-Men let out a collective gasp; Logan’s dead? Storm tries to put a stop to this line of questioning, but Cyclops tells her to shelve it for now. He tells Sabretooth that he should keep talking now that he has his attention. “Ask the weather-witch. She was there,” Sabretooth says. “She did it.”
Storm calls these accusations absurd. Sabretooth, however, insists he can smell Logan’s fried flesh all over her body. She asks why they should believe him. He’s a less than reliable source, and he’s been their enemy since the very beginning! Why should they treat the current situation any differently? She turns to Cyclops and states that every word out of Sabretooth’s mouth is a lie and a threat. If he will not silence him, she will! Cyclops advises Storm to calm down, while Nightcrawler tells her she’s only making things worse. Storm refuses to submit. She is done with Sabretooth’s lies and threats! Since he seemingly believes himself impossible to kill, she offers to put that to the test! Nightcrawler, his face filled with worry, grabs Storm by the shoulders and asks what’s going on with her. He’s never seen her like this!
Suddenly, Cyclops receives an incoming telepathic message from Professor X. He doesn’t have time to explain, but he informs Scott things are not what they seem! He orders him to detain both Sabretooth and Storm, and to let neither of them out of his sight! Scott asks why, but Xavier promises to explain later. For now, he must do as he’s told!
Snapping back to reality, Cyclops once again orders Storm to calm down and says they must bring Sabretooth to the brig. “And give him time to fully recover?” Storm asks. “Scott, are you mad?” Sabretooth turns his head toward Storm and bares his teeth. He can handle whatever she can dish. He knows what it takes to survive on his own. He doubts that she can, however. What would she do without her precious team? They trust her, which is probably why none of them have asked why she was the only one missing from the mansion during Logan’s murder.
“He’s right!” Rogue exclaims. Gambit agrees, but reminds Rogue it doesn’t prove anything. Even so, it raises a few questions, Kitty says. Nightcrawler, meanwhile, asks his teammates if they hear something.
Back in the infirmary, Jean rises from the table and shouts “I’m coming for you, murderer!” Projecting herself into the Danger Room, she appears as an enormous, menacing, crimson-hued manifestation and reaches out for Storm. “You killed Logan! You burned the flesh from his bones, you stole away his future, you brought the life of the man I love to an end,” Jean shouts. As Logan fell, Storm merely laughed. Well, Jean doesn’t hear her laughing now! In fact, now, she wants to hear Storm scream!
The suddenly spike in her powers quickly saps Jean’s remaining energy. Unable to hold the astral projection for long, she grows faint and, back in the infirmary, collapses into Beast’s arms.
Meanwhile, back in the Danger Room, the X-Men encircle Storm, their thoughts filled with questions. Cyclops wonders what the heck just happened; Jean called Logan the man she loves! He advises himself to worry about that later, however, and in the interim, focus on the two pressing threats in the room. He orders his team to stand down. Either they don’t hear him or they don’t listen, because Rogue continues closing in on Storm from one side while Gambit approaches from another. Rogue knew something was wrong with Storm! She sensed it after she absorbed her memories during the Cortez mission, but couldn’t decipher what it meant through all the chaos in her mind. Gambit, clutching his quarterstaff, tells Storm he doesn’t know who she is, but that she’s in some hot water.
Storm grows exasperated. “Gambit—my friends—you do not believe,” she begins to say. Suddenly, Cyclops unleashes his optic blast at her. They are not her friends! Storm vaults over the optic blast and takes to the air. If they want her, they’ll have to take her, she says.
Gambit hurls a dozen charged playing cards at Storm as she rises. Amidst the flurry of explosive projectiles, Rogue charges at Storm, telling her the challenge she presented is just fine! Telling her to dream on, Storm whisks Rogue away in a jet-stream. Down below, Nightcrawler worries Storm may destroy the Danger Room, while Cyclops orders Shadowcat to guard Sabretooth. Sabretooth insists he can take care of himself. Cyclops doesn’t doubt this, but refuses to let him out of the team’s sight, even for a second.
Up above, Storm’s fury channels itself into the wrath of her weather patterns. They are all fools to challenge her, she declares! Their utopian naivety will always make them vulnerable. Besides, they know nothing about the forces they’re challenging. Their ignorance will cost them everything!
Rogue penetrates Storm’s cyclone and decks her in the face. They can take care of themselves, Rogue insists. Storm, however, counters Rogue’s attack by grabbing her and enveloping her in a deep chill. She easily seared Sabretooth’s eyes from his face with lightning. Shall they see how well Rogue handles ice? With Rogue subdued, Storm casts her off and sends her falling toward the ground. She advises her to mind the fall—the cold has made her bones more brittle than they once were.
Thankfully, Nightcrawler teleports beneath Rogue and catches her before she hits the ground. Storm takes the opportunity to soar out of the room and into the corridor. Cyclops fires at her with his optic blasts, but misses. The doors to the Danger Room slam shut as soon as Storm leaves. Enraged, Cyclops tells Kurt he needs to follow her! Kurt regrettably informs him that Storm activated a field-dampener; he’s stuck in the Danger Room just like the rest of them. “Leave it to me,” Kitty says as she pushes her way forward. Cyclops commands her to stop; following Storm is too dangerous. As Shadowcat phases through the door, however, she tells Cyclops he can relax; she’s only going to fix the locks. She isn’t looking for a fight.
Emerging from the other side, Kitty tells herself to keep repeating that mantra until she believes it: she is not looking for a fight. She keeps repeating it until she comes upon the control panel to the door, which Storm totally fried. As a backup plan, she decides she can just phase every member of the team through the door, one by one.
Suddenly, she sees a figure standing in the distance. “Storm!” Kitty shouts. Storm orders her to yield. Incredulous, Kitty asks how Storm could do this to them. They’re her family! Storm claims she has no family, but Kitty challenges this. What about Professor X? What about Wolverine?
Storm scoffs at the mention of Logan’s name. He was the only one of them smart enough to suspect her, she says! And yet, his hesitation upon seeing someone he considered a friend cost him his life. Now, that same hesitation will cost Kitty hers! She thrusts forward, sending hurricane-force winds down the corridor toward Kitty.
“You’re not Ororo,” Kitty says as she pushes forward, phasing through the debris Storm sends her way. Storm insists she is—and that Kitty is no match for her. “Wanna bet?” Kitty asks.
Shadowcat’s right arm twitches and makes a familiar noise: SNIKT! Kitty then lashes out at Storm, dragging her arm across her former friend’s face. “Nobody messes with my family,” Kitty says. From her right arm protrudes a single, blood-soaked adamantium claw. Storm, meanwhile, clutches her bleeding face and eye in shock. What has Kitty done?!