"ROGUE?" Magnus convulsed on the ground, still crackling with energy even though his mysterious assailant has vanished.

"Charles? What's Magnus talking about?" Gabrielle Haller, the very confused token human, was the only one completely untouched by the power unleashed there moments ago. Still, she was far from immune to the aftereffects, as was proven by her largely unsuccessful attempts to climb out of the crater she and her companion found themselves in...

That companion, a young man named Charles Xavier, fought against the incredible psionic energy-only residue now, but still awesome-surrounding them all. "I'm not sure, Gaby...perhaps he means the-boy?-who just attacked him. I must try to reach him..." Charles crawled up towards the lip of the crater. Erik? Erik, can you hear me?

Rogue...I must find her. Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, leader of the Amazing X-Men, rose from where a tragic loner named Magnus had fallen.

Despite it all, Charles smiled. Her?

Erik stood shakily as Charles pulled himself out of the crater and rose. "Yes, Charles, her. I..." Erik's voice trailed off. "charles?"

"I'm fine, Erik." Xavier's smile vanished as he looked at his friend with concern. "Are you?"

"Yes, Charles," Erik replied, tears streaming down past his smile. "I'm just fine."

Charles rubbed his forehead. "Are you sure? That was a very powerful blast you absorbed..." his voice trailed away as his sight moved past Erik Lehnsherr. "Erik, does your 'Rogue' have a white stripe in her hair?"

In shock, Erik spin around...

...and saw his wife walking towards him, a smile on her lips and their young son in her arms...

Present day

The Thunderbird, the transport of the Amazing X-Factor team formed by Magneto so many years ago, flew towards the mansion of Charles Xavier.

The celebration had already begun.

Pietro watched with mild amusement as Ororo checked the Thunderbird's instruments with her typical intensity. The 'storm goddess' his father had found all those years ago could easily carry the maglev ship with her powers, but she was the pilot and the ship was her responsibility for now. Typical for the leader of the X-Factor Red team.

"Ororo."

"A moment, Peter." She turned a pair of switches and adjusted the core's flow slightly. The ship's power-efficiency indicator rose three points to 109%. Pietro laughed.

"Only you, my love," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

Ororo smiled. "I've been trying to maximize the 'Bird's calibration for weeks."

"I don't know whether it's appropriate, ironic, or ridiculous that you succeed now."

Ororo laughed, a sound Pietro never tired of hearing, and leaned back

"You mean now, when Xavier's greatest enemy has been aquitted and joined the fold?" Ske kissed him before he could answer; her kiss was another thing he never tired of. The kiss went on, and Pietro wondered if Ororo knew how much he stretched time when she did this.

Still, the moment passed. "The party isn't for Shaw, Ororo. It's for us. We've earned it. The autopilot can handle the rest of the trip."

"But-"

Before she could get out another word, Pietro had programmed the autopilot, scooped her up, and brought them down to the hold.

The collected X-Factor teams cheered.

"Our leaders arrive, both fearless and peerless!" Charles, Pietro's younger brother, laughed as he spun Clarice into a dip, pulled her up gently, and released her.

Pietro chuckled. "I'm not going to ask which of us is which, Charles."

"Please, bro!" Charles gestured at his own costume. "The name's Marvel. Captain Marvel."

"Licensed to chill," Blink added. "So chill, Charlie."

Charles clutched at his heart. "Aagh! I am sore wounded!" He smiled wickedly. "Or something like that. I don't think I'll ever figure Thor out."

Pietro shook his head, still smiling, and looked over the collected teams.

Wanda and Paris were in the corner, talking. Paris was smiling; apparently he'd gotten over being left by the singer Dazzler. Pietro watched them with inward satisfaction; they'd make a great couple, given half a chance.

The two Roberts-Iceman and Sunspot-were playing a very odd variant of volleyball in the spacious center of the hold. Kurt and Sydney cheered them on, occasionally commenting on the wisdom of not actually joining in.

Clowns, Pietro thought, turning his attention to the more serious teammates. Sean was talking to Shiro about something; given those two, Pietro would have guessed that the subject was tactics. Danielle was fiddling with the comm system, apparently talking to someone at the mansion. Pietro guessed that that would be Cypher, Xavier's answer to Forge. Which left only Sabertooth.

Who was nowhere to be seen.

"Charles, where's Victor?"

Charles sighed. "I told you, call me-" Cap blinked. "Huh. THAT is a good question." He looked around with curiosity, Clarice searching a bit more frantically.

"Mr. Creed?" Clarice called. "Are you in here, sir?"

Exodus looked up from his 'conversation' with Wanda. "Oh, I teleported him to the mansion. Said he had some unfinished business there."

Pietro blinked while Clarice relaxed. "Unfinished business."

"Yes sir."

"With, say, Mystique."

Exodus' eyes widened and Clarice paled. "He wouldn't," Paris said, his jaw going slack.

"Roberto, you're our pilot-"

"On it, Quicksilver!" Sunspot leaped over the net and his opponent, running for the cockpit.

"I will add to our speed as well," Ororo said, flying toward the cockpit after Sunspot.

"Exodus-" Pietro began.

"Gone!" Paris replied, fading in a whirlwind of psionic energy.

Pietro sighed.

"Quicksilver-" Blink began.

"No, Blink."

"But-"

"NO," Quicksilver said abruptly. "Clarice," he added gently, "if we're lucky, Victor just needed to talk. And if not, I know he wouldn't want you within a mile of them."

Blink swallowed. Her wide, pupilless eyes stared at Pietro with powerful intensity. "He wouldn't just let her kill him...would he?"

Pietro put his hand on her slender arm. "Victor's a survivor, Clarice. He'll be fine."

Doesn't answer her question, though, does it, Pietro? he thought to himself. You picked a fine time to go noble on us, Victor!

Paris materialized inside the mansion's 'teleporter landing pad,' the designated entry site for X-Factor's 'dimensionally challenged.' Paris smiled as he thought of when Guido referred to the team teleporters like that. The smile vanished; there was work to do. He began a telepathic sweep of the mansion.

Paris? a familiar voice asked.

Exodus sighed. Hello, Professor. He continued his scan, a bit more discreetly this time. I sent Victor here to deal with some personal business.

Oh dear. Exodus felt the Professor's consternation. I will find him. You should join the others.

But-

Please don't argue, Exodus, Xavier Sent. I give you my word, I will prevent any mayhem. The link broke abruptly.

Exodus shrugged and began walking up the stairs. Behind him, Cannonball and M-two of Miss Frost's students-raced past, laughing out something about a race.

When he reached the rec room, he found the room all but deserted. Logan had his head cocked in the way that meant telepathic communication; no doubt Xavier was enlisting his old partner in keeping Sabertooth and Mystique from each other's throats. Rogue and Gambit were kissing in the corner; big surprise. They were incorrigible. Not for the first time, Paris wondered about Rogue's resemblance to Raven, Erik's wife, but let it pass. He walked outside, unnoticed.

Out at the baseball diamond, the rest of the X-Men were in the middle of a game, apparently seniors against students. Shaw watched with amusement, if confusion, from one side. Xavier's stepbrother, Marko-the Juggernaut-made a formidable umpire.

The Blue team filled the infield, with Scott pitching, Hank catching, and Peter, Jean, Kitty, and Dominic around the bases. The last member of the Blue team, Laynia, was in the outfield with Gold members Warren and Lorna.

"Today, Cyclops," Dominic muttered.

"Since when are you in a hurry, Avalanche?" Scott replied with his familiar cocky grin. "Lighten up, Dom, it's a game! You know, a game?"

"Yes, a game," Laynia muttered from the outfield. "Someday I must ask Piotr what the point of it is."

"Great, now Darkstar's lost her concentration," Avalanche growled. "If those children beat us, we'll never live it down."

Paris just smiled. Jubilee was on first, and the empathic Manuel was stepping up to the plate. Exodus would never have guess that simple empathy could be so useful at the plate, but Scott seemed to exude a constant confidence that should have blocked the empath's efforts.

Should have.

Scott watched in dismay as Manuel sent his 2 & 2 fastball into the ozone.

"Hmmph. Why should anyone listen to me?" Avalanche shrugged, but Paris felt a wave of satisfaction wash over the Greek mutant-Manuel had been doing some intensive physical training with him.

"Hey, Blastmaster!" Jubilee called out to the mound. "Where you guys taking us for dinner?"

"That only makes it a tie ballgame, Jubilation," Scott replied, his eyes suddenly focusing on the rapidly returning baseball. "We've still got three innings to teach you students why we're the senior class-"

There was the distinctive sound of glass breaking, and Logan and Victor came tumbling out of a second story window.

"Well handled, Professor," Paris muttered, and headed for the fight.

"This ain't yer business, runt!" Victor roared, slashing at Logan's stomach.

"Gettin' sloppy, 'Tooth," Logan replied with a vicious grin. "Useta be that slice would've taken some guts out, an' all you got was some hair."

"If I wanted ya dead, runt," Victor snarled, "you'd be breathin' dirt by now."

"'Breathin' dirt?'" Logan chuckled. "What, you been listenin' to little Charlie now?"

"'Little Charlie' could wipe the floor with yer whole damn team." Victor's anger began to fade. "He's watchin' out for Clarice, Shaw's with the angels, and Sinister's dead. I only got one piece of unfinished business left, an' that's with Raven. Mystique. You know what I mean."

"So do I," they heard behind them, "and you're right. Back off, Logan." Mystique walked out of the front door, a large pistol aimed at Victor's head. Victor sighed, Logan stiffened, and Paris felt his blood run cold.

"Don't do this, darlin', you know it-" Logan began.

"Back off, Weapon X," Mystique said, shooting a murderous glare at him.

Paris scanned desperately behind him. The X-Men teams had gathered around behind them, watching nervously. Any one of them could disarm Raven in a half-dozen ways, but she might fire at the slightest hint of trouble.

"I came here to settle accounts, Raven. Do what you gotta do." Victor closed his eyes and waited.

Raven walked up to him, and Paris knew that Victor could sense every part of here, eyes closed or not. "What I have to do, you mangy excuse for an alley cat? You took hours with me, remember?" Victor didn't flinch; he'd done a lot of things before Magneto had recruited him, and had gone through this before.

The difference being Mystique might actually kill him.

"So take yer time. We can find someplace a little less crowded if ya want."

"I don't think so." The gun wavered in Raven 's hand, and Paris finally caught a flicker of emotion:

Amusement.

Raven laughed, tossed the gun aside, and kissed a VERY surprised Victor.

"You gave me Kurt, and saved his life back on Mastermind's island. We're even, Sabertooth."

She smiled. "But don't expect another kiss, even if you DO stop trying to throw your life away."

Victor's jaw dropped, and a great many sighs of relief were heard in between laughs.

Logan was laughing the hardest. "Mariko or no Mariko, I ain't ever gonna understand women if I live a thousand years. Hey Paris, you're a telepath, do you understand women?"

Paris jumped as if bitten. "Um, not really," he said with a shrug. "It's like trying to read alphabet soup."

Scott laughed. "Ah, delicious AND nutricious!"

Jean poked him in the ribs. "Summers, you are incorrigible!"

"I try."

The Thunderbird's hull glinted on the horizon as Professor Xavier passed Raven as he came out, looking over the damage.

"Well. THAT was well handled." Professor smiled ruefully. "At least there aren't any stains on the carpet."

"Professor, the carpet is occupying three different sections of the lawn," Lorna pointed out.

Xavier nodded. "True. Still, I doubt Magnus would have been at all pleased if the stains had been from Victor's skull."

"Professor-" Victor began.

"Several of your peers would like to say something to you, but feel the time is inappropriate. That leaves the job to me. You do NOT have the right to throw your life away, Creed. You are a member of X-Factor. More than once one team or another would have been killed without your presence. If you still have guilt to work out, work it out against those who still haven't learned. Is that clear?"

Victor sighed. "Yes sir."

"Good." Charles smiled. "Well? What are all of you doing standing here? It's still the top of the seventh, and Emma and I have a wager on the side to be determined."

A few chuckles and mutters later, and the collected residents of Xavier's School for Gifted Students were back to the diamond. The Thunderbird's engines were audible now, and the players were waiting for their visitors before resuming play.

"Victor-" Paris began.

"Look, I'm SORRY, all right? You were the only teleporter who wouldn't've guessed what I was up to." Victor stared defiantly at Paris.

Paris carefully did not smile. "Victor, you are a good man. Maybe you weren't, once, but you changed. You've made up for what you've done."

"I ain't never gonna make up for what I've done. Ask the cajun if ya don't believe me."

"The 'cajun' worked for Sinister, remember?" Paris did smile, now. "Come on. If I let you get killed now, Clarice'll teleport me to the sun and the moon-at the same time."

Victor finally returned the smile. "She turned out all right, didn't she?"

"Sure did," Paris said as the 'Bird landed. He watched as Erik and Raven disembarked, though they had not been aboard when the Thunderbird had taken off. An old in-joke between Erik and Charles, apparently. "Come on, Victor! We've won!"

"You sure about that?" Victor muttered as they walked toward the reunion.

"Look at them," Rex said. "So cheerful. So careless. So revolting."

"Do not underestimate them, Rex," a voice boomed from the shadows. "Remember what they did to Sinister. He refused to take his enemies seriously, an unforgivable weakness."

"True, milord," Rex said, "but surely they cannot withstand you."

"Of course not," the shadows replied, "but even I must be prepared to face them. I had hoped that they would become tempered by their wars with others of their ilk, but now they display their weakness for the world to see. A pity."

"Should...should I summon the others, lord?"

"Yes. All of them. Sinister as well." The shadows...moved.

"Let the Ascension begin, and may only the strong survive...the Apocalypse!"

En Sabah Nur stepped from the shadows, and Rex kneeled. The Dark Riders followed...

"May the strong survive," they echoed.