Westchester; New York

Sean Cassidy sits in Harry's Hideaway with a bottle of beer in front of him. It has been a long time since he came here, and he feels a bit out of place. Particularly in his black suit complete with trench coat. He hears the sound of the door opening and looks towards the entrance. This is the man he came to see.

Scott Summers stands in the doorway dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with an Xavier Institute bomber jacket on. His black visor is gone, and in its place are red sunglasses, designed to keep his powers in check. Scott instantly takes notice of Sean and walks over to him, sliding into the booth, sitting across from his former teammate.

"Scott," begins Sean.

"Sean," replies Scott.

"I took th' liberty o' orderin' yeh a lager," says Sean, motioning to an unopened bottle. "Hope yeh don't mind."

"Not at all," says Scott. He pops open the bottle and begins to drink. Sean watches him intently.

Silence fills the air.

"I got yuir message," says Sean.

"Obviously," says Scott. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"How are yeh doin', Scott?" asks Sean. "I mean really."

"I'm doing great, Banshee," replies Scott. "I haven't felt this motivated in years."

"Sean," he says. "Banshee is in th' past, friend."

"We can't run from the past," says Scott.

"Yeh didn't call me out here just t' have a friendly chat," says Sean. "What's on yuir mind, Scott?"

"I'm rebuilding the X-Men," says Scott.

"I know where this is goin'," says Sean. "An' th' answer's no."

"Why's that?" asks Scott.

"I've put in me time with all things assorted with the X," replies Sean. "I'm back t' investigatin'. Much happier, too. I like the line o' work I'm in now."

"Who are you working for?" asks Scott.

"Yeh know I can't tell you that," replies Sean.

"I heard about Snow Valley," says Scott.

"Aye," mutters Sean. "Kinda hard not to."

"What about your students?" asks Scott.

"After Paige's funeral, they pretty much went their seperate ways," replies Sean. "Angelo went back to LA and Monet returned to Monaco. Neither of them want anythin' t' do with the X-Men anymore. Everett's returned t' St. Louis, an' I believe he wants t' go off t' college. He's like Angelo and Monet, he's done with the superheroics. Jono disappeared for parts unknown, an' I think Jubilee is back in New York, but I'm not postive."

"What about Penance?"

"She has no hope of a normal life, Scott," replies sean. "I took her back t' the agency with me. She has good treatment, I check in on her every now an' then. She's livin' th' best life she could possibly live."

"I want to find them," says Scott.

"Which ones?' asks Sean.

"Jubilee and Penance," replies Scott.

"I can't help you with Jubilee, but I can't give yeh Penance," says Sean.

"You can and you will."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" asks Sean.

"Open your eyes, Sean," replies Scott. "You know I can do more good for her than some government agency."

"Aye..." says Sean. "I suppose yuir right."

"And one more thing," says Scott. "Emma Frost."

"What about her?"

"Where is she?"

"Imprisoned by the agency," replies Sean.

"I want her with me as well," says Scott.

"No Scott," says Sean. "I can get yeh Penance, but not Frost. Th' witch is responsible for murder."

"I need her expertise, Sean," says Scott. "She's an invaluable resource."

"Her telepathy's gone, yeh know that, right?"

"Her telepathy isn't what I want," says Scott. "It's her teaching abilities I'm interested in."

"No," says Sean. "Not if yeh're gonna have Jubilee and Penance there as well."

"They have to learn to face their demons, Sean," says Scott. "They have to learn to work with people they don't like."

"I don' like this one bit, yeh know," says Sean. "It's bad enough that I'm associatin' with yeh. Officially, th' X-Men are still considered outlaws, boyo."

"Then monitor me," says Scott. "The first slip-up I make, and I'll turn myself over to you. Willingly and without incident."

Sean fidgets in his seat and takes another swig of his beer. He stares directly into Scott's ruby-quartz sunglasses.

"Alright," he says. "I'll see what I can do about gettin' Emma an' Penance."

"Thank you," says Scott. He stands up and pulls out his wallet, then leaves several bills on the table. "The drinks are on me."

"Yeh leavin' so soon?" asks Sean.

"I have things to do, Sean," he replies. "No one ever changed the world by just standing around."

Scott Summers exits Harry's, and Sean Cassidy ponders exactly what he has gotten himself into.

The small aboriginee sat on the roof of the Xavier Insitute, his eyes closed in meditation, focused on a plane away from this one, his body undetectable by the technological devices of the X-Men, invisible to all but those who were trained to see, ore those that he allowed to see him. The Path was secure, the evils that threatened it had been removed from the board, but for all his efforts, there was still one thing left to be done.

He knew the storm was coming, a war of shadows. He had known it was coming since the battle, and it had been a question of when, not if. However what he had not expected was what he had found, what he was being shown, what instructions were coming to him.Cyclops was on the right path, as were those who still wore the symbol. Their paths were different, but the diversity that each of them represented would enable them to survive what was coming, and with luck they would win the war of shadows, and restore their friends and family, even one whom the enemy thought was irrevocably belonged to him.

The future of the X-Men would decided, one way or another and then he could finally rest.

High in the air, the X-Man called Cannonball is propelled through the skies by a kinetic energy field. With his goggles, he is able to get a closer view at the man he is following.

"I've got Mellencamp in my sights, Hank," he says into the earpiece he wears.

{{ Try not to lose him, Sam—we're tracking Vindaloo and Gargouille right now. }}

"Don't worry, he's not goin' anywhere," says Cannonball. He shifts direction and begins a downward descent, with his arms out in front of him. The blast field rockets him forward at incredible speeds towards his target. When Sam Guthrie's kinetic field is active, it makes him virtually invulnerable.

He rams into Seamus Mellencamp at fullspeed and graps the former Acolyte around the waist as he does. As he continues flying forward, he pulls back just enough to deliver a kinetic-fueld punch that sends the demonic mutant flying. Cannonball powers down and stands upright before his opponent.

"You Acolytes are pretty dense, y'know that?" says Cannonball. "Woulda thought y' learned your lesson after Magneto fired you."

"We're not doing this for Magnus anymore," says Mellencamp. He lifts his hands up to display his talons. "We follow another."

Mellencamp takes a running leap, prepared to slash Cannonball to pieces with his talons. As he brings his hand down, Cannonball grabs it and pulls Mellencamp to the ground.

"Yer not serious, are you?" asks Sam. "What part of 'indestructable kinetic field' don't ya'll understand?"

Cannonball pins Mellencamp to the ground with his foot, and then he pulls Mellencamp's arm behind his back.

"I've got indestructable skin!" exclaims Mellencamp.

"Yeah yeah," says Cannonball. "Guess that's why Madrox killed ya once."

"They're coming this way!" exclaims Gargouille.

"Think you can fly the both of us out of here?" asks Vindaloo.

"Worth a shot," replies Gargouille.

"Good, let's see if this'll slow 'em down," says Vindaloo. He turns back towards the way they just came from to see the Beast and Dazzler approaching. He extends his hands, and an odd gel begins to ooze from his pores. Upon contact with the air, the gel begins to ignite. He directs this liquid napalm towards their pursuers.

"Get back!" exclaims Beast as he grabs Dazzler and leaps out of the napalm's path.

"Let's get out of here now," says Vindaloo. Gargouille nods and wraps her arms around Vindaloo's waist. She begins flapping the leathery wings protruding from her back and the two former Acolytes slowly rise in the air, and then begin to fly off in the distance. Beast watches them fly off and mutters a curse under his breath.

"We lost them," he says into the earpiece.

{{ I got Mellencamp at least, }} replies Cannonball through the comm-link.

"Good work," says Beast. "At least we have something to show for today."

Department H; Canada

Two men walk side-by-side through the corridors of the government facility known as Department H. One of them, a man with short, black hair and thick glasses is dressed in a suit. The other is dressed in a uniform which is a mix of leather and kevlar.

"It is a little strange to hear from you people after all this time," says the man with the glasses. "After all, Alpha Flight hasn't had any dealings with the X-Men in quite some time."

"I know, and hopefully this will change that," replies the man in leather. "I need men, Mr. Gentry. And I hear you have some reserves."

"That I do, Cyclops," replies Gentry. "But... Jared Corbo?"

"I've reviewed the files on Radius," says Cyclops. "His powers are useful, and he's not currently being used here at Department H."

"He's on reserve status," says Gentry. "I don't like the idea of turning him over. Especially to a known fugitive group such as the X-Men."

"He'll still remain on reserve status with Department H," says Cyclops. "And this way, you can keep an eye on the X-Men's supposed fugitive activities."

"Hmm..." says Gentry. "In that case, I suppose it all depends on what Radius says. But if you slip up somewhere, I will send my team in after you."

"Understood," says Cyclops.

Gentry leads Cyclops to a pair of double doors and opens one. Cyclops walks through, and Gentry follows. Inside is a waiting room of sorts, and a man dressed in a blue uniform with a red jacket over it stands with his back to them.

"Jared Corbo, I presume," says Cyclops.

"That's me," says Radius as he turns around with a smirk on his face. "Cyclops, right?"

"Right."

"What's up?"

"Mr. Summers has an offer for you," says Gentry. "With the X-Men."

"You want me to join the X-Men?" asks Radius. "Why?"

"I'm on the lookout for new blood," replies Cyclops. "People who can hold their own in a fight. And from what I understand, that's you."

"You understand right," says Radius. "What's your stance on this, G?"

"It's your decision," says Gentry.

"I dunno man, I've got it pretty good up here at the Department," says Radius.

"Flex," says Cyclops.

"...what?" asks Radius. "What did you just say?"

"Your brother, Flex," replies Cyclops. "He's missing, right?"

"How'd you know about that?" asks Radius. He turns to Gentry. "How'd he know about that?"

"I have my ways," replies Cyclops. "I can help you find him."

"If you can help me find my brother, then I'm yours, man," says Radius.

Location Undisclosed

Green eyelids slowly rise, revealing yellow eyes. The man they belong to tries to sit up from his hospital bed.

"Wh...?"

"Don't try to move yet."

The voice comes from a man standing by the side of his bed dressed in a lab coat and medical scrubs. There's another man dressed in the same clothes standing next to him.

"Where am I?" asks the green-skinned man.

"Do you remember the attack?" asks the doctor.

"Attack?" asks the man. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you know who you are?" asks the doctor.

"Of course I do," replies the man. "I'm.... I..."

"Amnesia," says the second doctor as he makes a mark with a pen on his clipboard. "Not surprising."

"What's going on here?" asks the man.

"There was an attack and you were the only survivor," replies one of the doctors. "Your body was badly damaged. We've been spending the past few months trying to repair your body through the use of reconstructive surgery as well as some new breakthroughs in the field of genetics. But there doesn't seem to be any reason why you would have amnesia."

"Where am I?" asks the man.

"A hospital," replies the second doctor. "You're under our care right now."

The man rubs his face, and then notices something... odd. He looks down at his hand, and finds that it's slightly webbed and that his skin is green.

"What is this?" he asks.

"You're a mutant," replies the doctor. "That, combined with the gene therapy—"

"Who am I?" asks the man.

"Unfortunately, we can't exactly disclose that information right—"

"WHO AM I?!" he exclaims. "What the hell have you people done to me?!"

"We saved your life."

The man leaps from the bed, and the IVs are yanked from his arms. He wraps a hand around the throat of one of the doctors.

"Who are you people and what have you done to me?" he asks.

"All we've done is save your life," says the other doctor. "Please, if you would just calm down..."

"My name!" he exclaims. "I'm sure it's on that little chart you have there, give it to me!"

"I... I..."

"Now!" he exclaims. As he opens his mouth, his tongue extends out and snatches the clipboard, then the tongue retracts. He grabs the clipboard with his hand before it can hit his face. He looks down at the board and reads the name.

"Toad..." he says. "That's all? That's my name?"

"That's the only name you were given to us under," replies the doctor.

Toad gets off the doctor and darts past the second one, out the door. He notices a security guard standing at the reception desk, talking with someone. Toad quickly ducks into another room, and sees a young child lying in the hospital bed. A man sits in the chair beside the child's bed, also asleep. When Toad sees a coat hanging on a hook, he quickly grabs it and pulls it over his hospital gown. He walks to the window, but finds it can't be opened. He jumps through the window and goes flying.