"This is Tom Brokaw for NBC Nightly News. Tragedy has struck Australia today. Only a few hours ago the group calling themselves the Mutant Liberation Front attacked a charity benefit being hosted by world-champion surfer, Davis Cameron. 12 people were killed in this attack and it seems Mr. Cameron was kidnapped by another group of mutants, the same ones who fought the terrorist Magneto. We'll let you know more as information on this story develops. And in other…"

Davis turned off the T.V. in disgust. He was young, rich and called one of the 50 sexiest men alive. Now all that was gone because a group of fanatics thought he was a sell-out to the mutant race. Being a mutant wasn't the part about himself Davis focused on the most, but now it seems he will have to for a good while.

"I understand what you're feeling right now. The words celebrity and mutant just don't seem to mix in the world," Dazzler said as she sat down beside Davis on the large satin couch. At first she felt a slight envy of Davis, but now she felt only the greatest of sympathy.

"How did you do it Allison? How did you adjust? How do you live the life you lead now?" Davis asked almost hysterical.

"Day by day and little by little. It isn't easy, but the X-Men are the only place for people like us. So what do you say? Will you join us?" Dazzler asked taking Davis's hand into hers utterly surprised at the wise words that had just come out of her mouth. There was a long stare filled with silence until finally an answer came.

"Consider me a member. Anything to get away from my swimsuit shoot next week," Davis joked. Dazzler reached over and hugged him. From the background a man grins. Xavier knew Davis would join, but he didn't have time to inform the rest of the team because he had an important meeting with the President to get to.

"Well since you're part of the team I'm going to have to give you the lowdown. For one you're going to have to hide your identity in two ways. The first is that you will from now on refer to yourself as Slipstream except when you are on the grounds of this campus. The second is that your suit is designed to cover the lower part of your face and you'll have to start wearing contacts that make your eyes completely ocean blue. I figured you'd like that color."

"When it rains it pours," Davis sighed as he took a pocket of the blue contacts form Dazzler's offering hand. Life was just about to get exciting.

Chad (an old military compound)

"This mission was a failure beyond belief," Abyss complained angrily. Moonstar's eyes zoomed in on Abyss causing his complaining to turn into absolute silence. Psylocke couldn't contain her laughter at this display.

"What are you laughing at? If it wasn't for you I could have taken out that ho Storm!" the young and beautiful Callisto yelled. Fatale cut their potential argument short. Of course a pointed spike on someone's throat could stop him or her from doing anything.

"Get off her!" Cannonball demanded as he blasted Fatale into a nearby wall. He would do anything to defend the love of his life, Callisto. Of course Scarlet With would do anything for her best friend, Fatale so Sam quickly found himself in the air. He couldn't even use his powers.

"Stop this right now! Bickering won't make up for your mistakes!" Baron Zemo scolded as he walked down the stairs above the MLF's Red Lotus and Jubilee to his back. All argument and conflicts in that moment ceased. No one spoke and all barely breathed at the presence of the powerful mutant, Baron Zemo.

"My mutants we must unite! Xavier can only be conquered through teamwork!"

"Yes my teammates our leader is right. Teamwork is our only way to defeat the traitorous X-Men," Red Lotus concurred. Abyss stared at the brown nosing mutant with disgust.

"Then why didn't teamwork work for the Brotherhood?!" Scarlet Witch asked angered at Red Lotus for his sucking up. Ever since her twin sister, Patricia, died Red Lotus had been slowly slipping.

"The Brotherhood had traitors in there midst and the group though down will rise again. Both Mystique and myself worked for a higher power. While Mystique is gone I will continue the charge for my master…Exodus!"

The mere mention of that name was enough to make the blood of everyone in that room chill to ice. The madman Baron Zemo worked for had some ultimate plan in mind for all of mutant kind that didn't exactly involve everyone getting along nice and playing SNK vs. Capcom.

"Okay boss so what's the plan?" Fatale asked interested in any type of combat the Baron had in mind.

"Well we need to draw out the X-Men again like last time, but instead of going after turncoat mutants we're going to hit D.C. That should get their attention and I'll be fighting with you all this time."

"That's it! No disrespect sir, but their has to be some other part to this plan. One mutant won't factor out this battle in our favor," Psylocke exclaimed. Baron smiled at her and pulled off his mask revealing his true self.

"This identity of Baron Zemo has been a false one this whole time. Apocalypse wanted it that way because he didn't Logan coming onto me and informing the X-Men. All the powers I've exhibited thus far are also false. They all come from this suit," the fake Baron revealed. All the MLF was dumbfounded by this new revelation.

"Then who are you?" Jubilee barely managed to stammer out. She was startled at how good looking her leader was. His strong cheeks and long red hair turned her on in a way she never thought she could be.

"My name is Fabian Cortez and my power is to enhance or decrease the powers of other mutants. This battle will go in our favor!"

New York

Dazzler walked into the kitchen hoping no one was there to see her chomp down on her mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Unfortunately Thunderbird had already dipped in his head into the refrigerator and was eating some left over fried chicken from two days ago.

"Do you ever stop eating? I think you would eat in the Danger Room if you could," Dazzler teased as she pulled her ice cream out from the refrigerator. Despite her no longer having stardom she still constantly tried to give off an image around her friends in the X-Men. She didn't know why she even did it, but she was just so use to pretending.

"Well there's something else I wouldn't mind eating."

"Uggh! You pervert!" Dazzler screeched as she stomped out of the kitchen. John smiled as if he had achieved success.

"You know want this!" John rebuked to no one.

Dazzler ran into Psyche on the way back up to her room. Jean's face was beaded with sweat and her face was full of tension. Her eye's looked the same way they did when she heard about one of her old high school friends dying in Afghanistan a few days ago.

"Jean what's wrong?" Dazzler asked urgently. She was deeply concerned for her friend.

"Get the X-Men! The MLF are attacking D.C. and they've already destroyed the White House."

"But wasn't the Professor…" Dazzler didn't even finish her sentence now knowing why Jean looked so utterly broken. Prof. X was in the White House and it had just been blown off the face of the Earth.

Washington D.C.

Above the sky over the destruction wrought by the Mutant Liberation Front the Blackbird hovered carrying the city's only saviors the X-Men. Each one had their doubts and fears about this mission, but they were all prepared to do one very important thing. That was to avenge the death of Charles Francis Xavier, their leader and friend.

Storm held her arms folded across her chest and was slid slightly down in her chair as she mumbled, "I still think we should have bought Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Slipstream with us."

Thunderbird and Dazzler agreed with her without a second thought, but Wolverine was in the position of power now and his opinion was final. That was something M and Cyclops weren't taking too well to.

"Look Ororo! The first two are terrorists and if the army comes in we might end up under friendly fire because of those two and Slipstream is totally untested in battle situations."

"Davis may not have battle experience, but we didn't the first thing we went up against Magneto either. You don't have real experience until you are in actual battle. And besides that Davis has been using his powers for a pretty good bit so it's not like he's a total novice in their use. Teleportation isn't exactly something we have in great abundance and frankly the MLF has more raw power than we've got and our experience will only take us so far."

"I agree with you somewhat Allison, but there's no point in arguing with something that can't be undone. Anyway we need someone to guard the Mansion. I have a feeling that the place is going to be a target. But right now we need to focus on…"

"Finding the Professor! I'm sensing a faint telepathic signal for help from him. He's trapped in the rubble! We've got to help him!" Psyche exclaimed wildly. A large clamor began to form on the Blackbird when two SNIKTS! were heard from the front of the plane.

"Look I'm excited the Professor's alive too, but we've got to handle the MLF as quickly as possible. This time we don't have the advantage of knowing what they can with their mutant powers while they didn't have a clue about us. They have knowledge now and knowledge can be a deadly tool. An extremely deadly tool."

Jean's face tensed up and she yelled in her loudest voice, "So are we supposed to leave the Professor to die then?!"

Everyone stared at Psyche in complete shock including Logan. He finally spoke after taking some time to absorb in what had just happened, "Look the Professor is going to be found. You and Beast dig through the debris when we get down there and quickly because we're going to need you in the fight ahead. We've got an hour to hit the MLF fast and hard before the Air Force shows up and starts shooting at whatever moves!"

New York

"Can't believe we got left behind bro!" Rogue complained as she sat down hard in a couch showing her anger and disappointment.

"They have their reasons I'm sure. Though I have to admit I wanted to go badly. A chance to begin our redemption."

Rogue stared at Nightcrawler with her eyes red and near tears. Nightcrawler's yellow eyes shined with such bravery that it was no wonder he betrayed his own mother to do what was right.

"Is there really redemption for us Kurt?"

Washington D.C.

Cannonball whizzed through the air leaving a screeching sound behind him. He rammed straight into Thunderbird. You could hear the bones crack as the young man was lifted into the air by the living rocket. John could barely feel any air travel through his lungs as he was lifted into the air.

"This is why I'm part of the X-Men! To fight pieces of crap like you!" Thunderbird bellowed as he slammed his fists together with all his might into Sam's head. Cannonball not believing he could ever receive such a blow let go of John out of shock. Disoriented he then flew into the rubble of the White House.

As John was in freefall he couldn't help but think about one thing. He would never get the chance to do Ororo? Just as he was about to hit the ground John was lifted by a strong gale wind and was gently rested by this same wind.

"You should be so lucky that I was around to save you. I mean it really was URK!" Storm cried out as she fell to the floor a dagger protruding from her throat. Over her dead body was the assassin known as Fatale.

"Ro! NOO!!" John bellowed as he rammed himself into Fatale. He managed to knock the wind out of her and he broke a few ribs, but she simply teleported away before he could do anymore damage.

Logan all the while could only watch the death of Storm out of the corner of his eye. He was too busy being locked in combat with the deadly Callisto. Every move he made she countered and every trick he pulled she dodged. They were incredibly even in skill. Except in one aspect and that was that he cared about his teammates and Callisto used the split second he looked at an agonizing John to stab Wolverine in the heart with her pointed staff.

"ARRGH!" Wolverine cried out as he fell to the ground unconscious. As Callisto moved over Wolverine's unmoving body to finish the kill she felt two large feet on her shoulders and she didn't even have time to look up before her neck was snapped.

Beast jumped up and left Callisto's limp body drop to the concrete road below. Just as he was about to leap into battle to help Cyclops against Moonstar he felt a bunch of leathery tentacles wrap around his body. In an instant he was hanging in the air the life being drained from him.

"No one escapes Abyss you Planet of the Apes reject!"

Hank struggled with all his might to break free, but to no avail. With every push or tug he gave he only got weaker. He saw M flying towards him with every ounce of will she had in her. He figured he'd use his last breath on her.

"Monet…I love you!!" Beast cried out as Abyss squeezed and every bone in his body cracked. Nils laughed hilariously as he dropped Beast to the ground.

"What a sappy ending to a sappy guy!" Abyss cackled. He pulled all his tendrils back into himself and he became whole once more. He then saw opportunity in Cyclops who was having a hard time with Moonstar when he was abruptly lifted into the air. He couldn't move and the only thing he could see moving towards him was the X-women M.

The collision was enough to easily kill him.

"Thanks Jean," M mumbled as she descended from the air holding Abyss's dead body.

Cyclops ran over to the two women his arm wounded badly. He urgently told them, "It's time to retreat. Dazzler holding off the remainder of the MLF by using her powers in ways I've never before seen from her, but I can tell she's exhausted. Jean use your telepathy to make it seem like a bunch of army planes are coming so we can get the hell out of here!"

Mansion (Two days later)

"So what do we do now Logan?" Cyclops asked his face hung low. Logan put his hand on the young man's shoulder and laughed.

"I don't know Scott. I thought I would know, but the government has totally cut us off and we're on their hit list. We have to go underground. My friend and very powerful mutant Alastaire might take us in. We just have to find some way to get to Europe."

"This isn't right Logan. Just when things start to seem to be going right we lose the Professor, Beast and Storm. The world really likes to shit on mutant kind."

"Yeah it does, but we just gotta throw the world the bird."