"You know they know we're coming."

"Yeah, I know they know we're coming."

Sarah sighed. "So if you know they know, surely they know that too."

"I know." Wisdom smiled. "You remember the Lucia op? I was thinking that would go down well this time too"

"You're going to get us killed." He shrugged. "What ever happened to subtle? I taught you 'low profile', and you're good at it. Don't draw attention to yourself, don't get noticed."

"I found that I really like blowing things up," Pete answered. "And I'm quite good at it too."

"You hide behind that glib façade, like a little boy playing at being a grown up," Sarah said. "Does it fool anyone?"

"You'd be surprised," Pete answered. "By the way, did you tick the box for full insurance on the car?" Sarah closed her eyes, wondering how she'd ever gotten hooked up with him. He wasn't the black ops agent, the one who could just appear behind you, the one who'd have snapped your neck like a twig if he had to. It wasn't that he'd gotten soft, in some ways he'd grown harder, almost colder, she could see that things hadn't been easy for him, but at the same time he was also enjoying what he could do. He wasn't as restrained anymore, as if he'd let his sense of humour have a larger reign. Perhaps it was that, or he surrendered to the grief and sadness that lay behind his eyes.

"What did they do to you?" she said, barely a whisper and if he heard he didn't make any reaction.

"Lyon, 10 miles," he said. "Wonder why we add an s to it in translation? Oh well, we're almost there."

"Where did you say the detention area was again?" Sarah asked.

"Below the Archaeological Park of Fourvière, there's a secret passage under the amphitheatre. Apparently Black Air founded some of the archaeological digs, and had a special place built." He looked at her. "There is one small problem though."

"You mean we're not far from the Interpol headquarters?" He nodded. "An international police force, and you're going to start blowing up a landmark?" He nodded again. "I'm not enamoured of this plan." He nodded a third time. "You're going to use Interpol aren't you?" He grinned. "You're hoping Lydia will sort it, as she was one of them and seeing as we're rescuing a former agent they'll look the other way?"

"Welcome to my world," he said. "Buckle up."

"Oh bloody hell…"

"Colonel Fury, a moment of your time." Fury turned to look at the former X-Man known as Banshee. He knew that Sean Cassidy now worked for the Byron Agency, and that whatever had happened to him that had caused him to go from the tutor of the next generation of mutant heroes to a special agency with the Agency had to have been a major shift. He'd heard rumours too, that the Byron Agency and the X-Men had been involved in a bit of a throw down and the Agency had lost. Now Cassidy was here in the SHIELD field office in Paris, where Fury was filling in the paperwork to release Bridge's body.

"Mr Cassidy," the SHIELD Director said. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here on behalf the Byron Agency," he started and Fury's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're going to be getting word from the UN in a little while, but you'll be halting any investigations in to the Agency, effective immediately."

"You can't…" Fury started but Sean hadn't finished talking and he was more than capable of making himself heard.

"Please, Colonel, SHIELD's become rather an embarrassment over the last year or so and whilst you, and certain aspects, have worked hard to route out the cancerous parts of the organisation, there's still lots to be done. Funding, for example, is a very contentious issue."

"Funding's provided by the United Nations," Fury said. "SHIELD's charter…"

"Is being reviewed, along with everyone and everything else," Cassidy replied. "However you're going to learn that the funding has been devolved from the UN and will be provided a consortium of businesses, all of whom are members of the International Chamber of Commerce, a significant proportion of whom are part of the Byron Agency family."

"You can't be serious," Fury said, fighting back the anger. "You bought us?"

"No," said Sean, "SHIELD cannot be bought however it does need to be overseen with a more business like approach. International terrorism is no longer limited to blowing up buildings, there are examples of economic terrorism, technological terrorism, cyber terrorism and the business community feel's it's the duty of the ICC to take a more active role, in partnership with the United Nations, of course."

"And investigating the companies that fund it would be a very serious issue," said Fury.

"Nobody is saying don't look in to us, however probing too deeply could create ripples that would bite in to the funding of SHIELD. Or it's… staffing." Fury was livid, the man was threatening the very existence of SHIELD, the impartiality of SHIELD.

"I'm going to fight this," he said, going toe to toe with Cassidy, each staring the other in the eye. "I'll go straight to Geneva, it's not like we're far, and then if that fails I'll head for New York. You won't do this without I fight, I promise you."

"You'll lose," said the Irishman with every bit of the same collected cool he had entered with, the difference between the two men evident. "Nothing personal, Commander, it's just business after all." He turned to leave and then turned back. "I was sorry to hear about Colonel Bridge. I know how highly people thought of him." Fury clenched his fist in anger, but did nothing.

"This isn't over," he said and Sean smiled.

"Yes, it is." Then he walked away, leaving Fury to find a telephone. He couldn't let this stand. There had to be something he could do to stop this and bring the Byron Agency down. They were rotten, he could feel it, but he needed proof and he hoped that Wisdom managed to find something.

"Everything's a lie, and we're all gonna die, before we say goodbye, let's attack," Wisdom was quietly singing to himself. So far he had clocked seven agents all dressed as tourists, but they were watching and waiting. For a moment, Wisdom paused, wishing he had his team with him, but he'd played this game without them for long enough. The entrance to the lower catacombs was through the main office but getting there was going to be like running a gauntlet. However, it was game time. He pressed the button on the remote and not far from the main entrance was a major explosion, as their hire car exploded. Sarah should have kept the area clear so nobody got hurt, but he wanted chaos. Was it the Avatars, was it Al-Qaeda, was it something else? People were running, scattering as smoke billowed in the sky and he made his way to the office.

"Hi," he said to the man on duty and the agent looked shocked, but it was only for a moment as Wisdom smashed him with an uppercut that sent him to the floor. He shook his head and opened the door, going in to the office, heading for a small locker at the back. There was a false back to it and he kicked it in to reveal the passageway to the lower levels, then he paused. This was too easy. There were no alarms, no sounds. "Damn," he said, as he waited for Sarah to catch up.

"What's wrong?"

"They're not distracted enough," he said. "Don't suppose you fancy taking your clothes off and wandering around down there?" She just looked at him. "Thought not. It's up to you then."

She nodded, remembering the photograph he had shown her of his two friends. It was down to her to use her skills and powers to find them and get them out, which left Wisdom to…

"What will you be doing?" He smiled.

"Making a noise. They want to catch me, I think I'll let them." Sarah sighed as he nonchalantly wandered off.

"It's him," said Cassidy as he surveyed the panic and destruction. "Peter bloody Wisdom." There were security agents appearing from all over and they weren't all his, and the problem with Interpol was they weren't going to do as he told them, and then he saw him, standing in the middle of the arena, smoking a cigarette. "Cocky little bastard," Sean said, and he spoke in to his communicator. "Get him, and find the girl." He watched as his people headed out to get Wisdom but Wisdom was waiting for them and it turned in to a fist fight. There were too many people about to start using weapons and powers but Seam started to think that he might be able to use Interpol to clear the place. He just needed to contact the French Interior Minister and sort it. In the meantime, Wisdom was using the crowd to his advantage, taking out agents one at a time. He wasn't a classically trained fighter like Wolverine, or Shadowcat but there was a finesse to his brawling skills. He hit people and they stayed down, but where was Sarah Bane? She had to be going after Wisdom's friends, but why would they trust her? How would they know her?

He'd see to her personally and he headed off to the entrance to the offices. Let Wisdom play his little games, he'd have them both in the end.

Sarah Bane crept slowly through the catacombs, stretching her powers to their fullest extents. She had discovered long ago that she had heightened senses, impeccable hearing allowing her to her a vague whisper from the other side of a sports field, a sense of smell on a par with that of any animal, a touch that allowed her to grip almost any surface and detect imperfections on it, sight like a hawk in even the brightest or darkest environments and a sense of taste that she could find even the merest hint of flavour on something. However it wasn't just that, she had a exceptional memory for things as well as an ability to see with the mind's eye. It wasn't a radar sense like Daredevil's, it was more a finely honed sense of perception. Illusions had no effect on her and she could see the spiritual plane of reality itself. She didn't just know if people were lying, she knew if the world itself was lying.

Her advanced sensory perceptions had made her one of the best agents of Black Air. She had trained herself to be silent in her movements, silent to herself so that only one with talents like her own would be able to find her, if even then. They would be able to hear her heart beating or detect her scent in the air, but there were a handful of people who could do that. There were many guards down here, but she had been able to hear their heartbeats and detect their scents and they had never even known she was there before she was upon them and disabled them. Sarah wasn't a killer, she wasn't an assassin like Pete or any of those like him - she was an agent, she got in, she got out. It was why she had trained them, it was how she was an exceptional thief. The Interpol offices knew the name of Union Flag well enough, because she liked to leave a calling card. She had hoped to be Union Jack, but the media had always seen him as a hero and so they had gone with the other meaning.

Her touch allowed her to exert just the right amount of pressure on the agents who were down there to stop them dead, without killing them or allowing them to make a sound. She was that good.

She had no idea where she was going, other than following her nose as it were. There were two scents that lingered down here, stale body odour, not with the clinical sterility of the guards, or the mustiness of the dank corridors and she made her way down there, wondering what her partner and protégé was doing up top. Then she found what she was after, the holding area and inside were two figures, rags barely covering their modesty and they were not as clean as they would normally have been. She could hear them breathing and she knew they were alive but she also knew this place had to have cameras and such and they would have company soon enough.

"North, Del Ruiz," she said as she stepped in front of the cells, looking in and they looked at her. "I'm here to get you out." She looked at the cells, examining the locks. The guards around here had no keys, and she started feeling the bars for weak spots.

"Who are you?" said Maverick, his voice ragged.

"I'm Sarah Bane, I'm here with Pete."

"Other than the accent, how do we know you're legit?" Lydia asked.

"Because right now he's upstairs blowing up an French landmark." She looked at her. "He also says you have a crescent shaped birthmark on your inner right thigh, just below the crotch."

"I'll kill him," muttered Lydia, going red.

"So will I," said Sarah, thinking these bars were extremely well made. "I could do with his hot knives right about now." She pulled her lock picks from her belt. "Everyone be quiet a sec." She went to work, feeling the tremors in the picks as she worked the lock, waiting for the almost imperceptible clicks that would tell her she was on the right track. "Oh, I see," she muttered as she felt the tumblers move and the door to Lydia's cell opened. Sarah pulled out her gun and fired, shooting the chains that held her. "Sorry about that, but we're running out of time." Lydia nodded.

"Behind you," she said and Sarah nodded, kicking back, striking one of the guards that had come down in the gut, but she knew was about to be out-numbered. Lydia was barely standing, her muscles weak from lack of use but she hauled herself to her feet and started swinging her chains, felling agents and giving Sarah chance to work on the lock to Maverick's cell. She was obviously taxing whatever solar energy remained in her body and the lock was soon opened. "I hope you've another miracle," Lydia said.

"Well I wouldn't call him a miracle, but Mr Wisdom does come in handy from time to time," Sarah said as she pointed her gun at Maverick's chains and fired. He dropped to his knees, and she went to help him up. "Are you okAAAAAAAARGH!" she grabbed hold of her head, covering her ears as a sonic scream echoed around. Lydia went to help her.

"Terry?" asked David, wondering if the rest of X-Force were here as well.

"No," said Sarah, obviously in a great deal of pain. "X-Force was disbanded when Pete quit SHIELD."

"Theresa doesn't even know you're here," said a voice and they looked to see Banshee standing there. "And if she did, she'd not be able to help you out."

"You're behind this?" said Maverick, in astonishment. "But you're an X-Man."

"The X-Men died the day Xavier did," Sean said. "Cyclops has never had the drive or instinct the Professor did. The original five would have to work together as a proper team to be anything close to the Professor, and they've not done that in a long time."

"You're insane," said Lydia, coming towards him but he released a sonic scream that slammed her back in to the wall.

"No, I just know sacrifices need to be made, and we'll take the knowledge both of you have soon enough. You're not ready yet."

"Knowledge?" said Maverick. "You'll get nothing from us," he spat at him.

"You're already out of fight," said Sean. "There's no heroes coming to the rescue and Wisdom alone won't be able to stop me."

"I'd like to find out for myself," said Wisdom, as he fired two hot knives, searing Cassidy's legs and dropping him. "If you don't mind." Sean gave out a cry as he looked at Wisdom and Wisdom could feel his whole body shaking as the sonic energy struck him, beating on him. Sean wasn't trying to stop him, he was trying to incapacitate him. Pete could barely see, Sarah was being crippled by the sonic pitch and Lydia and North weren't in any shape to help. Pete couldn't focus properly to fire his hot knives and take Cassidy out once and for all but then he had a thought. "LYD!"

He fired his hot knives as wide as he could, knowing he had no chance and he watched as the sonic scream dissipated them, but the solar radiation they produced was being cast in to the air and he kept them coming and coming and coming, hot knives against sonic scream and then he was exhausted. Sean stopped his cry as well.

"It'll be fun getting what you know," he said looking at Pete, who grinned.

"I was thinking that too." Sean turned and looked as Lydia had soaked up all the solar energy, and had refuelled her own powers. She knew she'd never get to Banshee in time before he stopped her but then that wasn't the plan and she slammed her fists in to Maverick's chest and he then absorbed the impact and rechannelled it as a bio-kinetic blast that bathed Banshee and sent him sprawling. "I love it when a plan comes together," he said as the three of them regarded each other properly for the first time in months. They didn't need to say any words. "Let's get you two the hell out of here," he said.

"What do we tell Terry?" said Lydia as she looked at Banshee.

"I don't know," Pete admitted. "Let's go find the emergency services," he said.

"How will they know where we are?" asked Maverick.

"I kind of set off an explosion, and it turns out we're quite near the Interpol office," he said. "You still have friends there, right, Lyd?"

"Not after this," she muttered and he chuckled.

"It's good to be back together again, isn't it?"