{{ Welcome back to Dateline. Tonight's top story, the one month anniversary of the day that Smile Bright advertising consultant Mark Rogers took his entire office floor hostage in the name of mutant rights. }}

Hank McCoy gently stroked the blue fur on the chin of his studying face, his yellow pupils focused on the large television set in front of him. The rest of the mansion was quiet, and he was sitting alone in the rec room deep in the first floor of the mansion.

{{ The death of many of Smile Bright's employees was averted, ironically enough by the outlaw group of mutants known as the X-Men. In fact, many proactive acts by the group of mutants has lead many to question the original assumption that they were terrorists. }}

He continued to listen to the news broad cast as images unfolded of the X-Men's military like Blackbird jet hovering over next to the high rise office building, and a stream of red optic energy piercing from an open hatch and through the shattered windows of the office floor.

Even with his high intellect as the Beast, it didn't take much for him to recognize that the energy belonged to Scott Summers, the X-Men's field leader in Cyclops. After all, he was the one piloting the Blackbird at the time of Mark Rogers' death.

{{ Though Rogers wasn't a mutant himself, his wife and child had been shunned from their world after they were ousted by the Mutant Regulation Act that allowed business corporations and schools the right to identify those among them with an active X-Factor gene. }}

The Beast sighed quietly, remembering the day a mutant terrorist attacked the debate over Proposition 66 and ended all chances of the bill to be thrown out. Soon, governments all over the world began to follow.

{{ Was the bill infringing on civil rights, or is possessing mutant abilities truly the equivalent to being armed with a weapon in this day and age? Congress has made no decision yet to repeal Proposition 66 yet, but further debate continues. }}

*CLK*

He had heard enough of the same thing. Though Hank McCoy was a socially ousted mutant activist, he truly hadn't like to burden himself with such programs over and over again. Setting the remote down on the coffee table before him, the Beast then reached for a worn, brown and leather covered book.

The writings of Charles Dickens.

Samuel Guthrie's lower body exploded in quiet bursts of energy due to his mutant abilities, keeping him in hover high above the grassy grounds below. Before him was the window to his newest team mate. A young woman who laid apparently sleeping in her bed, peaceful and still beautiful from her tarnished days as a pop star.

Alison Blaire was the Dazzler even in her sleep. She had returned to the mansion after a brief and failed marriage to the leader of a rebellion in Mojo world, and the two of them quickly made friends. Before now, he was even inclined to say he had a bit of an attraction on her. But it was now that he truly felt it.

He didn't know what it was that blended with the feeling of guilt for spying on her, but it made him feel like taking that chance to just touch her. And then embrace her firmly into his arms and against his body. True he was only human, but it wasn't like him to have this calling for her that devoured him that evening.

Sighing deeply, he hung his head low to himself and shook thought about his attraction towards her. She was a nice girl, and he wasn't just about to impose such a thing on her. Even waking her up would be rude. He didn't consider taking a second glance before he moved to send himself propelling towards the other side of the mansion.

"What are you doing...?" A voice called out to him as he had traveled only a few feet away from the small balcony leading to Alison's room.

Sam stopped in midair and twisted his body around, fearing he had been caught. Alison stood right there at the balcony's edge in her gray Xavier Institute shirt and baggy jogging pants, smiling to him.

"Ali!" He spat out in surprise, hovering there with his blast field's energy blaring under him frantically. "I, uh... it's not what you think. Ah was just -- "

"You were just getting here, Sam," She interjected, shaking her head side to side slowly and holding her smile under her mischievous pair of emerald eyes. "Why don't you come in, babe?"

An odd silence filled the air as Sam tried to keep his jaw from dropping in surprise. He stared at her with questionable eyes for a moment. With her strawberry blonde hair as short as it was now, she looked much different then she had in the X-Men's recent files. Inside he felt a little embarressed that he actually studied up on her.

Once the moment of consideration passed, he slowly propelled himself towards the edge of the balcony to touch down beside her, the heels of his dress shoes gently tapping against the oak wood under his weight. Alison bit down on her bottom lip, smiling.

Deep in the lower levels of the mansion, Jean Grey-Summers, occasionally known as the X-Men's Phoenix, strolled down the metallic hallways, accompanied by the taps of her feet against the solid floor way. It was late, and even through all of what's been happening lately, she had still wondered why her husband and the field leader of the X-Men hadn't been to bed.

As she reached the large circular doorway, crisscrossed with a bold "X," the automated censors picked up on her presence and the sound of depressurizing air echoed throughout the lonely and hollow halls in the lower levels. Her emerald green eyes immediately drifted onto her husband.

Scott Summers looked up from the metallic briefing table through his casual ruby quartz lensed glasses, taking in the opaque facial features that have become so common as of late in his wife. Their marriage wasn't going as rocky as of late as it was more of the two growing distant from each other.

They'd come to offer gentle and yearning, yet distant and questioning stares towards each other, instead of the loving and flirtatious smiles that they couldn't help but feel embarrassed and proud of at the same time when their marriage first started.

Many didn't think it was possible, but the strain in the past two years was taking it's toll on the both of them, even despite the love they shared.

"You weren't in bed," Jean finally stated from the doorway of the briefing room, before she seemed to wonder in purposely from around the edge of the table.

Scott's mouth curled to the side of his face, and she noted the shift in his brow that meant he was thoughtful in that brief moment. Exhaling through his nose, he leaned back into the table and looked away from his wife as he continued to finish up the Cerebro mission logs.

"Just catching up on some old 'paper work,' so to speak..." He offered after another moment of silence filled the two. To his surprise, Jean was behind him, touching his shoulders and leaning down into him from behind.

It felt like the first time she had ever touched him, and he couldn't help but feel a little shy and uneasy even in his adulthood. Not because it was felt like her first, subtle expression of affection, but because they had been so distant in the past months he wasn't sure how to respond anymore to her love.

"Come back to the boat house, Scott," She whispered quietly into his ear, and he soon felt her hand touching his cheek. He wanted to embrace her gentle and surprising movements of affection, but there was something holding him back.

"Jean..." Cyclops turned his head away from the console, holding a hand up onto hers as she slowly stroked her fingers onto him. His eyes peered up to her from his seat, and was hoping for at least a smile in response to ease his feelings.

But his wife didn't offer one. She simply stared back down to him with that same, expected opaque gesture. Her hand seemed to shift fluidly under his, and soon she locked her thumb over hers and she raised it to her mouth, kissing the back of his hand.

"I'll be there in a little bit," He nonchalantly stated. Jean didn't bother to nod in response, she just rose her gentle hand from under his and turned away, walking back around the table. Scott watched her stride away from him, and after all these years he still appreciated her figure.

Then it hit him, with a taste of fury building in him with every slow breath he inhaled and exhaled. She was pregnant with Apocalypse's child, and had no intent to abort the unnatural growing spawn of a monster. The impregnation probably wasn't at all sexual, but just the simple thought that filled his mind of that monster... touching... his wife...

He rose the opposite hand from the one which she kissed to his chin and looked at the blank, holographic expression of a computer screen in front of him. After a moment, he dropped it and typed a few commands to bring up a new Cerebro program.

There was no intention of returning to bed with her in his heart that night.

Outside of the mansion, Ororo Munroe quietly hovered over the school's rooftops in her pink night gown, smooth gusts of winds converging on her from under. She was sitting on a make shift cloud, created for the security of feeling something under her weight. It was a mental thing, really.

Though she had long gotten used to the manipulation of mother earth, which she used to soothe away her tensions and meditate each evening, there was still the mental need for security and comfort she needed.

Her hour of nightly meditation was up, and the first thing she saw as her smooth shaded eyelids opened was a figure out in the distance. It was a shadowy, slender and cloaked form embedded within the orchards of trees and forestry surrounding the mansion.

Icy blue eyes that seemed unnatural for a colored woman, but exotically suited her Goddess nature, widened then narrowed in focus at the frozen form. Whoever they were, they weren't making a move onto the mansion but rather holding their position. Ororo Munroe took the small pin from her night gown's strap, clicking down onto it with her index finger and thumb as she rose it a few inches before her mouth.

"Are you there, Hank?" She said as she rose from the dissipating cloud on a gust of winds that came from high enough to her back to keep her gown from flying up inappropriately. Nature soon carried her on her way towards the orchards.

{{ Simply appreciating the finer pieces of Charles Dickens for the umpteenth time, Storm. Anything you need? }} Beast's usual cheerful, yet sophisticated tone came over the small communicator.

"Inform the rest of the team that there's an intruder to the south of the mansion in the orchards. I'm on my way to investigate."

{{ Cerebro hasn't alerted anyone. Are you certain? }}

"We'll soon find out," The white haired weather goddess replied. "Storm out." She added, clicking down onto the small communicator and taking it into her palm as the winds took her over the orchards.

The winds slowly died down, causing her to descend before where she estimated she saw the intruder from the distance. Her sandaled feet touched against the moist and deeply shaded grass, smothering underneath her wait.

No one was there, but she couldn't have just been seeing things. Even at such a late hour. Storm narrowed her eyes intently, sneering a fit of confidence and authority.

"Show yourself," Her voice demanded as she stared into the darkness of the large gathering of trees. There was a moment of silence, before she heard the sound of leaves crackling as the cloaked figure revealed herself.

Before Storm could open her mouth to speak, a powerful blow was delivered from behind to the back of her head and neck. She gasped, dropping down to her hands and knees before she could even register what was going on.

Breathing hard out of the sudden shock, she tilted her head to the side with her remaining strength, she saw the foot of her attacker come down upon her face hard. Then everything went black.

"You know, telepathically spying on the enemy doesn't necessarily involve revealin' yourself to them, Beatrice," Storm's attacker said. He was a tall, black male in his late 20s wearing a black dress suit and pair of leather gloves. "Why'd you have to get so far out of the forest's cover, anyway?"

"Just shut it, Williams," The cloaked woman said with a superior tone and rolled her eyes, then walked further out of the forest. "You took her down, right?"

"Yeah, but what if she told the rest of -- AGH!"

Williams threw his head back in pain and recoiled, dropping down to his knees and falling backwards uncomfortably. Beatrice leapt back in horror, having been spooked by the display of her comrade. She watched from under her hood as he fell, then looked up to see a slender redheaded woman standing there poised to attack again.

"What kind of coward can't even face the woman he's about to strike down?" Phoenix barked in disgust, her hand clenched from concentrating the invisible and telekinetic force that uppercutted Williams to the ground.

Phoenix stood above the fallen African American man, staring past his form to the cloaked woman who was now focusing intently on the X-Woman. Beatrice was speechless, but held her ground firmly.

As the redheaded headmistress of Xavier's Institute looked past the hood the intruding woman wore, she could suddenly see quite clearly into her well chiseled purple colored orbs. They were cold and deafening, yet held a longing to them that shook Jean Grey greatly.

And it was more then enough to distract her. The large and growingly frustrated man from before had risen and struck Phoenix across the jaw relentlessly. Jean tried to use her telekinesis last moment to weaken the blow, but she wasn't in time. When his fist struck, all time froze in place and she could feel her mind race with thoughts.

He just moved on like nothing.

Had a child with another woman.

A child that she wasn't there to have.

And he loved her.

Touched her.

Embraced her.

The X-Woman screamed, not just from the physical pain of the attacking blow, but to force out all the bombarding emotions that enveloped something deeper inside. Her body tumbled over onto it's side and she gasped.

"I know she felt that one," Williams, sometimes called Envy for his apparent mutant abilities, boasted proudly as his hand went to his bruising chin. "The bitch."

Jean wasn't sure what just happened, but she knew tit would take her a moment to fully collect her bearings.

"Calvary at twelve o'clock," Beatrice, the seductive cloaked woman by Lust, announced. Her companion turned his head to see for himself, but it was too late. There was a flash of blue that blazed into him and carried him backwards into the orchards.

"A gentleman, especially one dressed as classy as yourself, should know better then to strike women," Hank McCoy said as he slammed the man's back into the ground, but the momentum of the attack added with the struggling from under him carried both the Beast and the man known as Envy deeper into the forestry.

Finally, the Beast had managed to roll his feet up under him and into the black man's chest, easily planting them into his solar plexus and pinning him down. He then slammed both of his palms into the man's forehead, slamming his head down firmly into the ground. "I believe that's check mate."

But the good doctor was jumping the gun. Williams managed to wiggle his hands up through the Beast's limbs and dig his fingers deep into Hank McCoy's fury and blue simian facial features, and the good doctor flexed his head back in pain.

They all don't have to live like him.

Demented by a beastly and terrifying appearance.

Teeth and fur and claws like an animal.

They even don't have to deal with as much hair in the sink as he does.

They all would have the chance to be normal if they wanted to... and he wouldn't.

In the Beast's moment of initial shock and building rage, the source of his confusion from under him drew one fist back as the other gripped the X-Man's skull, then delivered a powerful punch straight between his eyes. Hank McCoy tumbled backwards off of his opponent, and was left dumbfounded as the feelings he had just encountered sunk in.

Scott Summers, the X-Men's field leader in Cyclops, had made his way on scene just soon behind his teammate Beast in time to see his wife be struck down.

"Jean, are you --?" He started, but was cut off though as Jean's body tensed up and she almost felt like striking her husband to keep him from tending to her.

"Don't, Scott. Don't touch me," She barked harshly, anger and pain fueling the building fire in her emerald eyes. Jean Grey's husband soon felt a similar fire building in the very nerves of his body, and clenched his fist tightly to hold it down. Experiencing his wife's mood swings constantly built up all his emotions as well.

A rustle nearby soon caught their attention, and immediately Scott's head shot up to investigate. The leader's wife didn't bother as she had all ready knew what to expect. It was the cloaked form of Lust standing before them. Before Cyclops could react, she flung out her hands towards him and drove him high into the air.

Scott Summers felt the rush of flight momentarily, before he froze high in the air and was weightless. Soon he gasped, as he felt a choking sensation around his neck, and he drug his hands up to instinctively remove whatever it was but found nothing.

The invisible force held him suspended and gagging over the grassy estate grounds. He couldn't even muster up the voice to call for his wife, but even so the thought hadn't dared crossed his mind. He couldn't do anything but focus on the cloaked woman, his eyes glaring underneath his ruby quartz visor and taking in her appearance for the first time since arriving on scene. Scott could see her eyes.

"Put him down. Now."

It was then his wife in Phoenix took the time to act. She thrusted her forehead towards the woman whose partner Williams had called Beatrice, but paused as she found her telekinetic assault and powers weren't affecting the woman at all.

Then Jean heard it. The sickening gurgle, the sound of her husband choking to death under Lust's assault. It didn't at all terrify her, but sickened her in it's annoying and disgusting sound. Later she would question why she had felt that way. A driving force deep inside her knew she had to save him.

Phoenix flung her hand towards Scott's direction, and his visor was carried clear off his face. Cyclops' optic blast scorched through the air and blazed with extreme prejudice towards the cloaked intruder wishing to take his life.

The blast showered over Lust's front and sent her flying back suddenly through a number of trees that snapped like twigs against the force. The wood crunched down violently as she passed and slumped down against the ground, a smoke screen of dust and sizzling burnt wood rising up in her passing.

Scott closed his eyes finally and grunted as her power over him yielded and let gravity pull him down onto the grass. His wife watched as he began heaving and coughing wildly, while at the same time he frantically searched for his visor.

Jean used her telekinetic powers to send it into his begging grasps, and he quickly put it back in place over his visage. Another sharp cough exploded out of his lungs as he rose to his feet, and looked towards where the intruder was sent soaring. Lust was gone from the scene of the collapsed trees and singed greenery.

It was at that moment Hank McCoy, the distant and yellow pupiled Beast, wandered from out of another area of the orchards with the direction of his teammates in mind. Williams -- Envy, the other intruder, was gone as well. Cyclops and Phoenix knew it by the way he shook his head to them.

"Get Ororo back to the mansion," The leader ordered with a sigh, and Hank nodded as he moved to see to the woman known as Storm. Scott tilted his head up and looked around the area thoroughly, then back to his team mates. "Where's Dazzler and Cannonball? I called them over the com system when Storm's alert came in."

Jean Grey looked to her husband for a moment, before turning away and closing her eyes. Cannonball and Dazzler's thoughts stuck out like a sore thumb once she expanded her mind out within the grounds of the Xavier Institute. Not to mention her honed telepathic abilities could pick up any mind on the vast and empty estate easily.

"They're still in the mansion...." She said with a breath before turning to her husband.

"Doing what?" Scott looked back to her, a fold in his brow expressing the mix of curiousity and annoyance towards his team mates. His wife didn't offer a response, only stared at him.

The young, blonde headed X-Man closed his eyes tightly and exhaled a hot breath of air past his lips as the former pop star turned X-Man under him broke their kiss and brushed her soft cheek against his and then dug her mouth into the edge of his jaw and neck.

He tilted his head back, taking in the sensations drilling throughout his body. Alison Blaire then lifted her head back onto the pillow and clung her hands into his bare back. She grinned and breathed inward with a hissing sound against her wet mouth.

"Mmm.... I want you, Sam," She whispered to him with a playful moan. He lifted his head over hers, then met her lips with his, embracing in a hard kiss.

NEXT ISSUE: Be here as "SEVEN SINS" continues! Who is this group of mysterious men and women, and what do they want with the X-Men?