*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

The only sound that filled the room was that of the heart monitor connected to Scott Summers. Once known as Cyclops, he was the leader of X-Men Alpha. Now, after a battle with an old enemy of Wolverine's called Payne,* he was left in a coma.

(* Back in M2K's X-Men Alpha #3 -- Dino)

At a desk not far from the bed lay one of Scott's closest friends--Hank McCoy, the Beast. The door slid open, and a tall, black woman entered, wearing a robe. She placed a hand on Hank's shoulder, gently shaking him.

"Mmmm?" he asked, looking up.

"It's late, Henry," the woman replied.

"I know, Ororo..." Hank replied, stretching his arms out and yawning. He looked at Ororo Munroe, his teammate known as Storm.

"This whole thing must be seriously affecting you," Storm stated. "First the team breaks up.* Then Scott's coma. And now, Jean is missing, a captive of Apocalypse."**

(* M2K's The Uncanny X-Men #5 -- Dino)
(** M2K's Apocalypse: Ageless Fury #11-12 -- Dino again)

"I have to stay here..." Hank stated. "I can't just leave him like this."

"Come on," Storm said. "There will be plenty of time to perform more tests on him in the morning."

Hank looked at his friend before standing up.

"I suppose you're right..."

The plane skidded to a stop inside the hangar. Sam Guthrie stood near it, a smile on his face. The people inside the jet were friends of his, and former teammates before he became the leader of X-Men Alpha.

The hatch opened, and Rahne Sinclair was the first to step out.

"Sam!" she exclaimed.

Sam simply smiled.

"Hey Rahne," he stated.

Theresa Rourke, Dani Moonstar, and Warlock were next, with the two latest additions to X-Force following--Weapon-X and Siphon.

"It's good to be back," Dani said, looking around the hangar. "How are the rest of the X-Men doing, Sam?"

"Not really much of an X-Men anymore," Sam replied as they walked out of the hangar. "Some psycho calling himself Payne started trouble with Logan. We came t' help out, an' the guy put Scott in a coma. And after that mess with Apocalypse, Jean went missin', as you guys already know. So now, it's just me, Storm, Beast, an' Wolverine."

"Ye still didn't find anything concernin' Jean I take it," Terry noted. Sam nodded.

"Ah was hopin' you guys would have more luck tryin' t' track down X-Man."

"Nope," Warlock said. "Trail went cold..."

"Don't ever think I've seen you this serious, 'Lock."

"Yeah, I know," Warlock continued. "It scares me, too, Rahne."

Two Days Later.

"WOLFSBANE! WOLVERINE! COVER THE GROUND DEFENSES! SIRYN! STORM! AH WANT YOU TWO IN THE AIR! SIPHON AN' MOONSTAR, YOU TWO HANG TOWARDS THE BACK! WEAPON-X, STICK CLOSE T' ME!!"

The eight mutants began Cannonball's attack plan, striking at the Sentinels from all different directions. They utilized every skill they had learned, and contributed as a team. Wolverine and Wolfsbane combined their savagery and stealth to strike from below. Storm and Siryn unleashed a two-pronged air assault, the likes of which was able to take down the robots, while Cannonball and Weapon-X combined their forcefields to try and create a bigger attack. Siphon and Moonstar handled back-up, striking at any Sentinels that got through the initial defense. The goal of the session was to protect the box which was behind them. If the Sentinels got it, game over. If they stopped the Sentinels first, they won.

Above the Danger Room in the control booth, Warlock sat plugged in to the system, while Beast looked over the read-outs.

"Keep 'em coming, 'Lock," Beast stated.

"Consider it done," Warlock replied. "But don't y' think we should be down there with them?"

"Right now, we're trying to evaluate them as a whole. Someone needs to run these adapting simulations, and while I'm concentrating on evaluating the teamwork, I can't control the simulation. That task is left up to you."

"All right, then I'm executing maneuver 14-B."

"Here I thought yours was a peaceful existence," Hank stated with a grin across his face. Warlock simply winked.

Hank turned his attention back to the readouts. Then, something unusual happened.

"Hmmm..." he muttered. "There's an odd energy signature coming from the Danger Room..."

"Maybe it's Em," Warlock noted. "We don't really know much about her powers. Or maybe it's that Weapon-X guy. We know NOTHING about him."

"No..." Beast stated. "I've performed bio-scans on them, and it doesn't match up... Whatever it is, it's growing larger..."

"Umm... Beast... I think I know what it is..."

Beast looked over Warlock's shoulder. In the center of the Danger Room, a glowing blue oval appeared. Two women and one man emerged from it. One had long, blonde hair and a blue and yellow costume. She also held a large sword in her hands. The other young woman had long, brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She was dressed in a blue and white SHIELD uniform. The man wore a red and yellow costume, and his skin was composed of metal.

"Cancel the simulation!" Beast ordered. "NOW!!"

"One step ahead o' ya..." Warlock muttered as the Sentinels began to vanish.

On the floor, X-Force and the X-Men prepared to strike.

"Don't make any sudden moves, Illyana..." Sam warned. "We may've been friends once, but that don't mean Ah'm gonna let you do whatever y' please..."

The young woman known as Magik looked at Sam, then at her Soul Sword. She dropped the weapon on the ground.

"I'm not here to fight, Sam," she stated. "Katya and Piotr need help--fast."

"Then that's our first order of business," Storm stated. She looked up to see Beast and Warlock running towards them. "Warlock, take Peter and Kitty to the infirmary. Henry, go see what you can do for them. The rest of us will go to the war room and sort this all out."

"X-Man came to us," Illyana stated. "He freed myself and the rest of the Pale Riders. But Katya and Piotr needed help, so Jean told me to teleport them here."

"Waitasec, did you just say Jean?" Logan asked. "Where the hell is she?!"

"In Apocalypse's citadel, I imagine," Illyana continued. "She also sent me with a message. She said she has some things to take care of, and that she has to do it on her own, so don't bother trying to search for her."

"So now what do we do?" Siphon asked.

One Week Later.

"Are you all right?" Colossus asked.

"Yeah..." Kitty replied. "I'll be fine..."

"I'm glad..." he stated.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

"So... what're you gonna do now?" she asked.

"I'm going back to the Exiles," he replied. "I made a promise to Exodus, and I plan to honor it."

"Oh..."

"What about you?"

"I think I might hang around here for a bit," she stated. "Just to take some time off from SHIELD."

"I've already spoken to my sister... I'll be leaving soon..."

"So..."

"So..."

"Maybe we'll run into each other sometime in the future?" Kitty asked.

"I hope so," Colossus replied. He stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Don't go..."

"What?"

"Don't go, Peter," Kitty stated, standing to face him, moving closer. "Stay here with me. I'll leave SHIELD, you leave the Exiles."

"And what, Katya?" Peter asked. "Move into an apartment? Try and have a normal life?"

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Kitty asked.

"For us, yes..." Peter replied. "My time as one of Magneto's Acolytes made me learn something. And that is that I do have a responsibility. As an Exile, I can fulfill that responsibility, just as you can as a SHIELD operative."

"But Exodus of all people!!" Kitty exclaimed. "For the love of God, Peter, he's one of the X-Men's deadliest enemies!! He tried to kill Quicksilver, Crystal, Jean, Rogue, and even little Luna!! And you're following him--this madman?!"

"Things have changed, Katya," Peter replied. "I had hoped that you, of all people, would be willing to grant a second chance. It seems I was wrong about you."

Illyana stepped inside the room, avoiding eye contact with Kitty.

"Are you ready?" she asked Peter, avoiding his eyes as well.

"Yes," he replied, looking back at Kitty as the portal opened. "There's nothing left for me here."

He stepped inside the portal and it shrunk down to nothing, taking him with it. As it did, he watched Kitty Pryde staring at him, tears beginning to stream down his face. He felt his own eyes begin to water as well.

Once he was gone, Illyana finally looked up to face her friend.

"Kitty... I--"

"Oh God!" Kitty stated, throwing her arms around Illyana. Magik patted her on the back.

"It's okay, Kitty... Everything's going to be... okay..."

"I think that's about it, then," Siryn stated. "It does nae seem like X-Force has much of a purpose anymore. Weapon-X ran off earlier this week, an' Dani followed him.* Plus, many of our former teammates have joined up with Magneto. Because of this, Rahne, Em, 'Lock, and meself have decided t' disband X-Force."

(* M2K's Weapon-X #1-2 -- Dino)

"What?" Sam asked, a bit confused. "What're ya'll gonna do then?"

"I plan on stayin' here f'r a bit," Terry replied. "Though I may head up t' Boston t' see me father."

"I'm gonna be hanging around," Warlock said. "Can't get rid of me."

"I've got some relatives I need to visit," Siphon noted. "But other than that, it looks like I'm going to stay here, too."

"What about you, Rahne?" Storm asked.

"T' be honest, I probably won't be stayin'," Rahne replied. "I wanna pay a visit t' Muir Island. An' I hear Jamie an' Guido are spendin' some time t'gether, so maybe I'll drop them a line as well."

"Ah guess... that's it, then..."

Terry nodded.

"That's it..."

"Many of the children of the atom are destined for greatness."

"What do you want from me?"

"In order to survive, one must leave a legacy. And to do that I needed you."

"You now harbor the devil's child."

"The devil's child."

"The devil's child."

"The devil's child."

"JEAN!!"

Scott Summers looked around the infirmary and found nothing. He placed his hands on his head.

"Jean... no... it can't be true..."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, it had to happen. The new X-Force only lasted eight issues, but I speak for Jay and myself when I say that we had a blast doing it. There are some questions left unanswered, so lemme get to those right now.

FIrst off is the time factor. Chronologically, this takes place after Apocalypse: Ageless Fury, which takes place after X-Force #7. I know it's a bit confusing, but there were problems with the plots, so that's why it appeared later than it should have.

For more on Colossus, check out Exiles, a new series written by Ryan Hawk.

For Weapon-X and Moonstar, check out the Weapon-X limited series, written by yours truly.

For the future of the X-Men, make sure you keep on reading X-Men Alpha by Gwyna.

For more on Wolfsbane, read an upcoming issue of X-Men Unlimited by Kari Retzlaff.

And finally, for more on Cyclops and Phoenix, make sure you read the upcoming Team-X, plotted by Jay and scripted by myself.

Also, Jay and I have finished our collaboration on X-Force: Fallen Angels. However, that book won't be canceled. Magneto and his merry band of mutants will still be around, and the title will now be written by Iron Man scribe and EiC-Extroadinaire Russ Anderson.