The Xavier Institute,
Salem Center, New York.

After returning back to the mansion from Sinister's labyrinth with Monet St. Croix, her sisters Nicole and Claudette, and Helena Weaver, Lorna Dane had retired to her bedroom to see how her two sons, Chad and Matthew, were doing. What she had come upon left her leaning into the open doorway of her bedroom, quietly observing her children's baby-sitter at work.

Underneath the window rested a large crib suitable for both of her sons to sleep in. Standing over them was their baby-sitter, Kurt Wagner, a mutant cursed with glowing yellow pupils, jet black fur and skin, and a demon-like appearance, yet blessed with a heart so gentle and pure that even the infants were at peace in his presence. Lorna had come upon him as he was just finishing up a bedtime story for her two sons.

"So, it was then that the priest returned to the young mother, assuring her that her child would be all right after all," Kurt had concluded, his German accented voice soothing and comforting to the sleeping infants. "Together, they forgave themselves and forgave each other, sought forgiveness from the world, vowing to

"Aw. That's a nice story you have there," Lorna teased as she walked into the makeshift nursery, warranting Kurt's attention. "A little darker than The Little Engine That Could, but... it looks like it did manage to put them asleep."

"Ja, I suppose it is, but it could have been worse," Kurt admitted with a toothy grin. "I could have told them the story of Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs."

"Eating grandmothers and home invasions," Lorna said, pausing for a moment to consider the nature of such folk stories. Finally, she bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Yeah... you're right..."

Kurt chuckled softly, appreciating her indulgence in his levity. Still, she deserved a bit of an explanation and he felt compelled to share his story with her.

"Spending the evening with your children brought back a rather dispiriting memory of a young mother I encountered while in New Jersey," he explained, his glowing yellow pupils resting on the two sleeping boys. "She was so scared and had made such a brash mistake, and I had become so angry and resentful at what I perceived to be her audacity... In the end a grave mistake had been narrowly rectified, and yet I still think of her and the child from time to time..."

The former X-Man and priest's demon-like facial features conveyed a look of distant and morose contemplation. Unbeknownst to him, Lorna felt a welling of sadness overcome her and she closed her eyes, leaning into Kurt's shoulder as they stood beside the crib of her two sons. She whispered, "Thank you for watching them for me tonight."

Without looking away from Lorna's two infant sons, Kurt wrapped an arm around her and smiled contentedly. He looked to the side of her head and nodded, though she was unable to see the act.

"Of course, mein Freund. It was my pleasure."

After a moment, Lorna sat up straight, took a deep breath, and looked to Kurt with a broad, if not forced, smile. "The mission went as well as could be expected," she said. "Ororo's plan was a success and we have Monet and her sisters back."

"Is that so?" Kurt asked, the tone in his voice denoting relief, and Lorna nodded proudly for the part she had played. "Mein Gott, this is great news! I'll have to pay them a visit before I leave."

"You're leaving?" Lorna asked, taken aback.

"Now that Warren is no longer the CEO of X-Corp and that we're no longer receiving the funding to open the Coolridge Institute, I've decided to end my leave of absence from the Vatican," Kurt explained gently. "It's a bit... difficult to say if they'll accept my return with open arms, but we shall see."

"I don't know what to say," Lorna said with a sigh and a frown, thinking back to the recent weeks they had spent together at the Coolridge Institute and the friendship they had started to develop. She reached out and hugged him tightly. Kurt heartily returned the embrace. "Be sure to say good-bye before you go, okay?"

"I will," Kurt promised. The two broke their embrace and he took a few steps back, moving out of range of her and the crib. With a smile, he cocked his head to the side and vowed, "Until then..."

In a bright pink flash, smoke and brimstone were all that were where Kurt once stood as he used his mutant powers to teleport out of the room. His teleportation often made a resounding noise, 'BAMF,' but it was strangely absent in the presence of Chad and Matthew. Kurt had purposely made his exit a quiet one.

Lorna turned back to the crib where her twin sons rested and bit her lip as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, a hand stretching up to cover her face. She closed her eyes tightly once more as she allowed the welling of sadness to return, allowing the emotions to finally overcome her now that Kurt was gone.

Gentle tears and quiet sobbing followed, and when she opened her eyes and looked down unto her sleeping sons she knew that it was going to be her last night with them.

The Lincoln Memorial,
Washington, D.C.

"Do you have everything that you think you can get out of her?" Cyclops asked his wife over their telepathic connection. Only a few feet away from him Val was staring off into space, unmoving, her face trapped in a startled expression.

"I think so," Phoenix replied, a hint of shame and reluctance in her mind's voice.

"Alright. Let's finish off the telepathic scan, give her some new memories to account for the time loss, and send her on her way," Cyclops said as he walked back to the place he was standing before he stopped Val from leaving, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "I'll head back to the Aurora when she's gone."

"Right," Phoenix confirmed. "We'll talk more then."

Cyclops felt the tension in his head loose up, indicating that the telepathic connection between his wife and him had dispersed. It was then he noticed Val's awareness return and she continued walking away from him, as she done before.

"That's... really something that I can't comment on," Val said, her tone as uneasy and anxious as it was before. "I'm sorry, Scott. I have to go."

"Thanks for nothing, Val," Cyclops called out to her sarcastically. As she walked down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and continued away from the renown tourist site, he added under his breath, "And everything..."

The Xavier Institute,
Salem Center, New York.

Ororo Munroe, the self-proclaimed weather goddess and co-leader of the X-Men code-named Storm, stepped into the medical wing of the Xavier Institute's underground complex. Following behind her was Ambassador of Algeria Cartier St. Croix, who was still taking in the advanced and sophisticated nature of the X-Men's base of operations. Upon entering the medical wing, Ororo stopped short several feet from a collection of beds and Cartier was forced to do the same, suddenly taken aback from the sight before him. The sight of his three daughters.

Ororo turned to Cartier as the medical wing's doors slid shut behind them and took a deep breath. Cartier glanced at her, but his eyes ultimately returned to his three daughters laying in separate medical beds, their demeanors quiet and sedated. Guilt welled deep within him and he couldn't help but a clench a fist in self-loathing over what he had allowed to happen to them, over his foolish mistakes.

"They're still a little groggy from the drugs that Sinister used to put them in stasis, but you can speak with them," she explained in a low voice.

"Thank you, Ms. Munroe," Cartier replied, reaching a hand out to her. She took it and gave him a light squeeze.

"Please, ambassador. Call me Ororo," she insisted and then motioned towards his three daughters. "I'll be right here if you need anything."

Cartier took deep breath and then made a step forward, but then suddenly turned to Ororo and put a hand to his mouth.

"I..." he began, but then he closed his eyes and hesitated. Grief overcame him. "Oh Dieu, pardonnez-moi... What do I even say to them?"

"You're their father," Ororo said compassionately. "I'm sure whatever you say to them... as long as it's from the heart... they will understand."

He turned back towards his daughters and paused, taking another breath. After a moment he gathered the courage needed to approach his daughters, who were suddenly aware of his presence as he came upon them.

"Monet," Cartier called out to his eldest daughter, the nearest to him, and she looked to him as he knelt down beside her bed.

"Père..." she whispered, moving a hand out to him. He moved his hands to hers quickly and scooped it up, pulling it to his face. She looked so tired and so weak, and he knew that it was his fault. How would they ever forgive him?

"S'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît..." he uttered over and over as he began to sob profusely, breaking down. "Forgive me, Monet... vous devez..."

Ororo crossed an arm over her chest and drew another to her face, staring downward as the St. Croix family was finally reunited.

Recent events had given her a lot to think about, even bringing to her memories of her own family of sorts back in Africa, and she had wondered if she had any right to judge Cartier for the mistakes he made involving two of his three daughters. He had been trying to do his best by them, he truly had been, but he was simply misguided.

She, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel as if she had been neglecting her responsibilities somewhere. Whether it was her tribe in Africa, to the mutant community world wide, or simply to the X-Men, Ororo had a lot to think about that evening. She had told Scott that she intended on leaving the X-Men once all of their friends had been rescued and that danger had been averted, but now she wasn't so sure.

When Cyclops had returned to the Aurora jet, few words were spoken between him, Phoenix, and Beast. He had only said that it was time to leave and to assemble the team back at the mansion before he headed for the cockpit with Beast and began procedures to leave D.C. airspace. It was difficult enough getting in and out with Val's help, but it wasn't long before they were outside of the city and flying high-above the countryside on their way back to New York.

It was then a finger tapped Cyclops on the shoulder.

"Scott, we need to talk," Phoenix said in a low voice. Cyclops nodded to her and turned back to the controls. He adjusted the instruments on the panel before him and then looked to his copilot, who had overheard the request.

"Back in a moment," he said to Beast, who nodded and took the controls. Cyclops  unbuckled his harness and set his headset to the side before he stood from the pilot's seat and followed his wife to the back of the jet. "Something the matter, Jean?" he asked once they reached the back.

Phoenix hung her head low and rubbed her forehead, sighing. When she looked back up to her husband her eyes were narrowed and her face was twisted into a scowl.

"You didn't even bother to ask about Val when you came back," she began, her voice betraying her contempt. "Aren't you the least bit concerned?"

"I thought you said we got a lot of information from your telepathic scan?" Cyclops asked, brow furrowed as he put his hands on his hips. "Don't get me wrong. I care about what you found, but the details can wait until we've got the whole team toge --"

"That's not what I mean," Phoenix interjected rather abrasively. The intensity of her stare was beginning to seem like she saw straight through her husband's visor and was looking directly into his eyes. "I told you that the government surgically implanted psi-blocking devices into her brain and reinforced them with telepathic defenses, and you knew of the risks of a such an in-depth scan of her mind, but you told me that the information would be worth the risk to her well-being and to do it! Then you don't bother to ask how she is or if she'll be alright?"

Cyclops cleared his throat, trying his best to remain the rational voice between the two, to seem sympathetic of concerns he didn't quite understand.

"Jean, you're probably the most talented telepath in the world," he said and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you did a great job and that she'll be fine."

"She won't be! And even if she is that's not the point!" Phoenix suddenly screamed and she pointed an accusing finger at her husband, jabbing it at him. "The point is that you don't even seem to care anymore! You don't care if you hurt her or anyone else, just as long as you get the job done! What's happened to you?"

"Alright, you want the truth? You want to know what's happened?" Cyclops asked rhetorically, mockingly, as he closed the space between him and his whisper. In a harsh, he remarked through grit teeth, "The truth is that I still care about people. Good people. I really do. But not about the likes of Val Cooper!

"She's betrayed us plenty of times, from Project: Wideawake to arresting Xavier after the Onslaught affair to going back to work for the CSA, and she's only willing to help us if it benefits her or gets her what she wants," he continued, shaking his head and making a disgusted look on his face. "Then what? Then she's gone, without so much as throwing us a bone, just like today. Why not rummage through her mind and get what we want from her once and a while? Even if you have to knock over a few things in there to do it? You won't see me losing any sleep if your scan killed some brain cells or leaves her with a bad migraines for a week or so."

Phoenix turned away from Cyclops after his tirade, a single tear welling up in her eye as she bit her lip. The hostility and blatant disregard in her husband's voice had struck a chord with her, paining her to face what she had been thinking for the last a couple of weeks, possibly even the last couple of years.

"I thought you were over all of this," she said quietly. "I thought it was just frustration and anger, like some kind phase after Xavier died and Bishop left with half of the team... that the serotonin boosts that I was giving your brain helped..." Phoenix trailed off for a moment, letting her words sink in before she turned back to Cyclops and tears were streaming down her bright red face. "I know that you had Gambit kill the Grey King and that you tried to hide it from me until after he did it!"

"You would have tried to stop me if you knew!" Cyclops shot back. "It was the right thing to do and you know it!"

"But that's never been our place to decide! It's never been what we did!" Phoenix continued to yell. "Dear God, Scott! The way you've been trampling over Xavier's dream and legacy and teachings, he's probably rolling over in his grave!"

Cyclops suddenly felt a surge of anger in the pit of his stomach, but before he could unleash it in some way the jet was rocked violently by some kind of explosion. The turbulence sent Phoenix and Cyclops stumbling about into each other and in the bulkheads and various panels surrounding the back of the jet, until they steadied themselves and a voice came over the PA system.

{{ Um, lady and gentleman? This is your faux-captain speaking, }} Beast formally announced with his usual deadpan humor. {{ We're under attack from an unknown assailant with superior firepower. Brace for imminent demise immediately! }}

"Crap!" Cyclops cursed before he took off into a sprint towards the cockpit of the Aurora, Phoenix following suit. When they entered, the lights had dimmed to a dark red and alarms were frantically buzzing. "Hank, take evasive maneuvers!"

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Beast remarked as Cyclops moved into the pilot's seat and strapped himself in. "Whoever they are they're coming back around and are locking in on us. I can't break away at this speed, but I can't slow down without making us an easier target for them, either!"

"They've blown out our left engine," Cyclops reported as he looked over the various sensors and system monitors. He then looked to the blips on his radar screen and suddenly shot his head upwards to the jet's windshield, watching as a large flying - bulky and shrouded in darkness, but incredibly fast and agile - come around to face the Aurora head on. The enemy wasn't far off, but it was still too dark outside to make heads or tails of just what it was, and in moments another alarm began to frantically sound. The three X-Men knew that they were in trouble.

"They're opening fire again," Beast said and as if on cue a missile on the wing of the enemy shot towards the windshield of the Aurora at breakneck speeds. He pulled on the control stick, but found it locked in place. "We can't break away! The controls aren't responding!"

"Jean, you've gotta disarm it!" Cyclops shouted as the missile spiraled towards the jet, and after a moment he realized it wasn't stopping. Beast and him frantically turned to face her, only to find she looked frozen in uncharacteristic fear. "Jean?!"

"I... Scott, I can't!" Phoenix yelled in a frantic panic, trying desperately to use her telekinetic powers to dismantle the oncoming missile. It as if her powers were refusing to do her bidding. "I'm trying to, but I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't?!" Cyclops demanded and the three looked back to the approaching missile in horror. "Oh, fu-- !"

Before Cyclops could finish cursing, the missile struck the front of the Aurora jet and exploded, engulfing the jet in a ball of flames.

NEXT ISSUE: What the hell just happened?! To the X-Men and to Robert Kelly? And how was Val Cooper able to evade White House security and what did Jean find in her mind? There's only one way to find out and that's sticking around for next issue!

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