Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins

The smell of blood wafted through the air when Logan's eyes snapped open, shocked into wakefulness on the crisp autumn day of October, the red leaves of the season appearing to bleed onto the ground as the wind pushed them about. It would have appeared picturesque if not for the obvious tang of copper floating about. It was only a memory, the blood, from some distant past with a setting similar to the one outside his door, yet foreign in some unfathomable way.

Content to lay in bed and contemplate the remnants of the dream he had been encased in before he awoke, Logan barely noticed the knocking on the door to his rooms. Momentarily, he thought of ignoring whoever it was and pretending to be asleep, before shaking the idea out of his head and rising from bed, stopping to graciously put some jeans on before going to answer the door. No need for a repeat of the time he answered the door naked and it was Marie asking to take her shopping. Neither could look each other in the eyes for weeks, until the incident became a joke amongst the two of them.

When Logan finally got to the door, the incessant knocking had increased in volume and in frequency, till it had become a nuisance, and he had wrenched it open to reveal Bobby about to hit the door again. The two men looked at each other for a moment, Logan's eye brow raised out of annoyance and Bobby stepping back out of awkwardness, till Logan broke the silence. "Whatda' want?" he said reaching inside the door to retrieve one of his cigars. The professor didn't let him smoke in the house, so he resorted to chewing the butts of the thick cigars, always seeming to be saving the tobacco for when he was outside.

Bobby looked back at the older mutant, seeming to come back to himself from some place away from the dark corridor that Logan chose to inhabitant, "The Professor wanted to see us. He said it was urgent."

Logan stared down at the teen, already dressed for the day at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday, the jeans and t-shirt and plaid combo followed by sneakers, reminding the Canadian eerily of Scott on the weekend. Instead of commenting though and wasting energy on the kid, Logan nodded before disappearing into the room, putting on a shirt by the door along with his shoes and a clean pair of socks and quickly brushed both his teeth before stepping out again to find the boy leaning lazily against the wall, waiting. Logan rolled his eyes at him, taking in his finally fully broadened shoulders, slouched in boredom.' they sure don't make 'em like they use to'. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Bobby pushed up from the wall, following after Logan, trying to walk abreast of the older mutant, only to end up trailing behind him for some reason. Wolverine rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he spied the boy from the corners of his eyes. He really didn't know what Rogue saw in this guy, he really was nothing but a kid. Couldn't even walk with the men, and he wanted to be a leader.

The walk to the Professor's office was a quiet one to saw the least, on account of Logan, who everytime Bobby tried to strike of a conversation to pass the time the older man would simply state 'No.' before the teen could get two words in. Another weak point in the iceman's character, he was too nice and complacent with his life, thought Logan as they neared the door to the Professor's office, how can he even expect to become a real man when he can't even stick up for himself. A backward glance revealed the teen a little further behind him than he was previously, looking dejectedly at the wall with his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched over. Logan sighed and turned back to the door, knocking once before walking in, boy, Rogue was gonna get him for hurting her boyfriend's feelings later.

Upon entering the large, and fairly sparsely decorated room the two mutants found not only the Professor waiting for them but also a few of the other X-Men, Jean and Ororo sitting comfortably on one of the sofas, while Scott leant against the Professor's desk, the Professor himself sitting behind his desk with Hank looking over some kind of report. They all turned when the last two mutants entered the room, the Professor being the first to break the usual silence that permeated these meetings, "Logan, Bobby, so glad you came. Please, take a seat, this may take awhile."

Logan nodded, turning to sit in one of the chairs infront of the desk, while Bobby took the one next to him, his left hand coming up to mess with the button on his right shirt cuff in a nervous habit. The Professor waited till he had everyone in the room's attention before he leaned back in his chair sighing quietly, "A few years ago, I detected a disturbance while using Cerebro. Something quite different from the usual adolescent coming into their powers, this one was much more mature. I've observed it for quite some time, simply observing it. It only happens about once every few months but always goes away in a few hours. Until recently that is, it seems to have moved and has been giving off its signal more frequently now, also it has been moving a lot as of late. I've been watching Cerebro for the past few days now, trying to pinpoints its source and possibly the type of power coming into fruition, but this individual moves rather quickly and has no obvious destination."

"Could it be something like Kurt's teleportation? That would explain the rapid movement from place to place." Ororo asked her white hair catching the wind coming in from the open window, the gentle breeze playing with the powder white strands as she spoke.

Hank looked over the map on the far wall, its surface sparsely decorated with green tacks, concentrated mostly in Canada, "I don't think we have to worry about another teleporter, this person moves too slowly for it to be someone of Kurt's caliber. Though we may want to consider someone with a some speed on them, possibly something similar to Logan's mutation. What do you think Logan?"

"Dunno, could be. Can't really tell from maps and reports. For all we know it could be that something's chasing it."

"My thoughts exactly, Logan. Something has agitated this mutant to the point that they have left their usual location, this has caused a much more violent behavior to manifest itself within this particular individual." said Xavier, reaching down to retrieve a disc from one of his drawers.

Bobby sat up straighter at as the Professor moved around to a hologram projector that had been placed in the room, "Wait, Professor, how do you know the mutant is getting more violent?"

The Professor Xavier smiled at the teen, activating the projector, displaying scans from newspapers. "Each of these articles are from the areas our, mischief maker, has been spotted in. The same thing happens every time, men are found suffering from exhaustion at night when that same morning they were perfectly healthy, happy individuals."

Jean studied the articles for a moment, reading over the details of the multiple cases. "Professor, these symptoms don't match up with the usual indicators of exhaustion, only the overall fatigue could be seen as a commonality."

"Precisely my thoughts, this isn't an ailment that doctors can just diagnose and then ignore. This seems to have side-effects of a most peculiar variety." The Professor said, leaning back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he thought, a seemingly tender smile on his face.

"Care to enlighten us, Professor?" Asked Scott, appearing to observe the Professor through his glasses, grinning softly in response to the Professor's apparent fascination with the mutant in question.

Professor Xavier chuckled, coming out of his musings, "No, I will keep them to myself for now. The infomation is still in need of further analysis and will have no effect on your own investigations, so there is no need to worry you with a rumor."

"So I take it, this mutant is our new assignment?" Asked Ororo, her eyes shifting from the hologram to the marked map on the wall.

"That is correct. I want Logan, Jean, Ororo as well as Bobby to go to the target's last known location, collect data on her. Observe her if you can, look for anything outside the ordinary in the way she interacts with people, then collect her and bring her here."

Scott stood, slightly disturbed by the Professor's suggestion. "Wait Professor, you want Bobby to go? Isn't that a little...inappropriate. No offense Bobby, but you are rather young and inexperienced, maybe once you gained a little more training, but till -"

"Hey, I can do it! I've spent enough time in the Danger Room to know what to look for, and besides X-Men work in pairs, I'll be fine."

"I know you're capable, it just that this is an unknown threat in an unfamiliar environment. It could be dangerous enough even with the experience within the group."

"You just don't think I can do it! You won't even give me the chance!"

"Enough, both of you. I will not tolerate this behavior in my office!"

Both men looked down dejectedly, their shoulders hunched, both so similar in appearance that it seemed as though a younger, taller version of Scott Summers was standing infront of the elder on.

"Sorry, Professor."

"Sorry, Professor."

Professor Xavier sighed, steepling his fingers as he voiced his thoughts on the matter, "Bobby will go, as an observer. Not an active member of the group, he will study the process and be partnered with someone, but he will not take part in the actual capture. He will be present during most of the ordeal but still stay out of harm's way. Does that sound fair, Scott?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And Bobby?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Then we are of one accord. You leave in half an hour. Thank all for your time, you are dismissed."

After the Professor's dismissal, all X-Men quickly left the room to prepare for the upcoming departure, all except Scott who after nodding to Jean, remained in the Professor's office. The door closing behind him.

"Somebody's in trouble." Stated Hank, as the adults walked out of the west wing.

"Scott and the Professor have been butting heads a lot more than usual, but I don't know what about." said Jean as she followed Hank down into the medical bay to collect supplies while Ororo and Logan continued on to their own rooms.

"Its probably just their different approaches to leadership, that's all."

"I hope so..."

The flight to backwater Canada had been a been an expericence to say the least, with Bobby excited over the fact he was actually going on an officical X-Men recon mission, Logan trying not to hurl as the air currents caused the jet to rock, and Jean reading the articles on the strange new form of exhaustion, Ororo just stared straight ahead and steered the jet to their target's last know location, ignoring the other occupants of the jet as they continued to travel. The silence was broken every once in awhile by either Bobby's excited mutterings, or Logan's groaning as another wave of nausea rolled his stomach.

They ended up landing in the dense woods near the town, the Maple trees decorated in bright orange and red, both clinging to the branches and covering the ground, sticking to the jeans and flannel of the group, as they descended from the jet, disguising the sleek machine to look like the surrounding scenery.

Bobby practically leapt off the ramp in exaltation, the long ride was finally over and the mission could get underway! The whole experience was so fresh and new, he couldn't wait to tell the others about what happened on this trip, they would be so jealous, it was all gonna be perfect!

While Bobby was gallivanting around the landing site, the adults began their usual routines once they exited the jet. Ororo stretched and took in her surrounding, noting the possible escape routes if they became necessay, Jean began looking up infomation on the location they had landed in, the population and the town's most notable places, Logan leaned against a tree and tried to settle his stomach without puking his guts out.

"Okay, this town is called Upsala, its a fairly small town next to the highway so it allows for people to just come and go. So, it fits the target's pattern going to towns close to an exit."

Logan looked up from the ground, where the leaves looked like pools of blood, "So, you're basically saying we're in the right place."

Jean frowned slightly, unappreciative of Logan's simplication of what she just said, "What I'm saying is that it's possible that she could be here. This place just fits her pattern, but that doesn't mean she's... HEY! Just where do you think you're going!"

While she was talking Logan began walking in what seemed to be a random direction, till Jean noticed he was no longer listening. Turning to face her Logan, grunted "Town's that way. No use looking here, when this is mutant obviously a maneater."

The majority of the group stood behind a little, watching Logan weave his way through the trees toward the town. "I think he has a point, Jean. We won't know for sure if the mutant's down there unless we go and search her out." Said Ororo, smiling softly at her friend before motioning the rest of the party to move forward behind Logan.

...

"How do we even know it's a girl we're after anyway? Do they give off a different signal from guys, or something?" Asked Bobby as team collected themselves on the perimeter of the town, observing the occupants for any strange behavior.

The rest of the group looked at the teen, something akin to boredom on their faces as they considered the boy's question. "The Professor said it was a girl. And besides, boys wouldn't be able to get close enough to the victims to be able to perform an attack that this ability seems to require." Said Jean, her eyes shining arrogantly, from under her bangs.

Bobby frowned, unconvinced, "What is her power then anyway, just causes exhaustion, or something."

"Pretty much, it seems to be similar to Marie's power actually. Maybe they'll get along and be friends, wouldn't that be interesting?" Chuckled Ororo, picturing what the two girls would look like together, doing girl things like shopping.

Logan cringed as the same image filtered into his head, picturing himself driving the car to and from the mall, holding bags, and asked opinions on dresses, that really didn't look any different from the ones they just had on. "Maybe the kid's right and it won't be a girl."

"Think what you like but we really need to get going on this investigation. I don't want to be here longer than necessary." Said Jean, her eyes following seemingly lumberjacks strolling down the hard-packed dirt roads.

...

The usual methods of getting information seemed useless in this tight-lipped town. The inhabitants unwelcoming at best and down-right rude at worst, causing the X-Men to finally rent a room and stay overnight in a bed and breakfast, run by a sweet faced older lady named Mrs. Strommer.

"That was the most difficult Q&A, I've ever experienced! I can't believe these people, it's like they've been raised...raised..."

"In the wilderness?" Supplied Logan, looking out the window, as the women came into the boys room to discuss any information they may have collected that afternoon. Jean by far having the worst time of it with her hard clinical language.

"Yeah!...The wilderness...?"

Ororo sighed, looking tired as she sat in one of the chintz printed chair next to Logan, "How did you guys do?"

"Not much better. These people, wouldn't want to cause trouble, when some of their own looked to have suffered from sticking thier noses where they don't belong." Said Logan, opening the window to let the noise of the small town into the room, along with the chill October breeze.

"What do you mean?" Asked Jean, her eyes narrowed in suspicion at Logan.

"It looks like the mutant we're after is here, or was atleast till yesterday. Two teen boys were found in an alley near the lumber mill here. Both had what old Chuck described the others having, but looks like they got it a lot worse."

Bobby shuddered as he listened to Logan retell what they had learned that afternoon, to think that another mutant, who wasn't Magneto or one of the Brotherhood, would actually want to cause another person harm was still beyond him.

"How was it worse than the others, Logan?" Questioned Ororo, her dark eyes observing the Canadian's face as it hardened.

"They died a few hours later."

The news sent a jolt through the two women. Something must have changed from the last town the mutant was in, to cause such a seemly rapid shift from basically nonthreatening or slightly harmful to deadly. Maybe the mutant was losing control of her powers, maybe she was testing how far she could go. She could even be losing her mind, the X-Men didn't know. But their response was uniform and sound.

They would capture the mutant, before it could hurt anyone else.