June 12, 1970

It was his fault, just like every horrible thing that had ever befallen his family. Seven years had passed without incident and then he'd spoken at that rally. He should have known to postpone their visit but it was summer, and they always alternated between the school and Muir Island for summer.

The last time he had seen his wife and son they had been going into town. He hadn't given it much thought. Two hours later he had received the phone call that had made his heart stop beating. The Friends of Humanity had long been his bane; the X-men had even secretly dealt with some of the more radical factions. Now one of those factions had his family.

He'd wasted no time in gathering Ororo, Jean, Scott, Doug, and Rahne, the second wave of the X-men, together. Alex was there too, overseeing them. There were codenames for the young teens but he couldn't bring himself to remember them at the moment. Either way they were all in the plane now; only their second mission and their first time in the Blackbird.

Charles reached for the psychic line that connected him to his son. It trembled and wavered, indistinct. David was too scared to tell him anything besides the location they were held at. Although he had powerful potential he was small; only eight. All he had felt from him was his fear for the past hour. Any soothing feelings he'd passed on were swallowed up. He knew nothing of Moira. She was too far away for him to contact her. If they had been hurt …

"Dropping in two minutes. Wolfsbane and Sc-Cyclops, you're the first wave," said Alex, "Storm, lower them down. After the shock value you, Cypher, and Marvel Girl should follow as the rear guard. I'll land with the Professor after that. Get in, get the hostages, and get out as fast as possible. Standard procedure. Got it?"

The teens nodded. The hatch of the Blackbird opened and Ororo, Rahne, and Scott unbuckled their harnesses. Rahne and Scott jumped as Ororo leaned out and let the wind guide them down. She waited a minute before gesturing to Doug and Jean. Together the three of them leapt out of the hatch.

Alex flipped a button and the hatch door closed. He guided the plane over to a landing spot and set it down. Unbuckling he turned over his shoulder and asked;

"Sure you wanna go out there Professor?"

"Imagine if it was Lorna or Scott," said Charles, his voice sharp.

His former student nodded once before lowering the ramp. He grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and pushed him out. Charles expected, upon leaving the plane, to find his students engaged with the militant members of the Friends of Humanity. Instead he found them gathered around the steps to the house that they'd come upon. All of them looked both confused and concerned.

"What is it?" demanded Alex, pushing him through the cluster, "You're supposed to be-"

He stopped abruptly. Charles stared and felt his heart contort. On the steps to the house were two men. Ski masks covered most of their faces but he could see their eyes. They were open and vacant, staring up at the sky with blood seeping from them. Blood also trickled from their ears, combining onto the pavement beneath them. Charles looked to the confused X-men.

"You found them like this?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Nothing else?"

Rahne hesitated.

"I'm…I'm hearing something," she said, rubbing her shifted wolf ear, "It's faint, but it's like a thumping, banging noise from inside the house. And…I think pleading."

All eyes swiveled to the door. Alex cracked his neck and blasted it from his chest plate. Wood splinters filled the air.

"Let's go figure it out."

They moved in, standard formation. It looked like any other house on the inside. To Charles' discomfort three more bodies were found scattered throughout the house; dead like the ones outside. There wasn't any trace of David or Moira and his concern grew by the second.

No one could seem to find the origin of what Rahne's feral senses were picking up. It wasn't until Scott found and opened a trap door that anyone other than her could hear it. Instead of stairs a ramp led downwards, something he was grateful for since it allowed him to follow them. A passage with two more bodies led to a main room closed off by a door. The thumping was louder inside and a muffled but panicked voice could be heard.

"Please, please, it's okay, it's okay. Please stop. Please…"

Charles tried to push himself forward.

"It's Moira," he said, "Open the door!"

Without a second of hesitation Scott touched his goggles and blasted the door open. Inside were three more corpses. Moira was there, barely noticing the rescuers, simply continuing her pleas. In her arms was David, struggling and flailing his limbs in the thrall of a seizure. Completely horrified Charles realized for the first time what the thumping noises were; his small son was trying to bash his head in on the floor.

13 years later.

The trip from Washington to New York was a quiet one. Jean's death had silenced them. He could see that Scott was all but broken and something had snapped in Logan too. Ororo had just lost her closest friend, and the younger children had lost a teacher. He himself had lost a student whom he'd seen grow up in his school.

The young mutant who'd introduced himself as Kurt Wagner seemed awash in all the grief. He had known Jean for only a short time, but his muttered prayers showed that he was concerned. Charles found himself wondering about Kurt. His curiosity wasn't how he'd fallen into Stryker's hands originally though. It was the uncanny resemblance he bore to someone else. It was something he'd have to look into.

As they approached the school he wondered what they would find there. The idea that they might have to battle an occupying force at the school was hard to swallow. After everything they had been through that day none of them were in any condition to fight. Charles forced his own feelings down; he would have to be strong for them.

So it was a bit of a surprise that, when they landed, several children were running out of the school to the plane in various states of dress. Several of them were cheering, ushered into a semblance of order by a woman with a tangle of red hair. He peered at her through the window; trying to remember who she was. When it clicked inside his head he raised his eyebrow.

"Feel free to lower the ramp Ororo," he said, "The school's secure."

She looked at him doubtfully. Although he knew the very idea of her childhood sanctuary being invaded had shocked her deeply and made her cautious he didn't have the time to explain. Charles was tempted to just tell her telepathically, but it wasn't his way. He sighed and tapped the glass.

"Do you see that woman?" he asked, "With the red hair?"

Ororo nodded.

"She wouldn't be here if it wasn't safe," he said, "The school's secure."

With a sigh she did as he said. The rescued children ran down the ramp first into the waiting throngs of their peers. Rogue and Bobby followed them, shifting their feet awkwardly. Scott watched them leave dispassionately, swallowing a few times. He hadn't even unbuckled since they landed.

"Scott?" asked Ororo gently.

"Leave 'im be," Logan said gruffly before storming off the plane.

She gave another doubtful look at him. Charles nodded at her; the last thing Scott needed was to go into a cheering crowd. Seeing his assent Ororo moved over and, with Kurt's assistance, helped Charles into a fold-out wheelchair that they'd found onboard the plane. Hank had thought of everything when he'd rebuilt the Blackbird.

Ororo pushed him down the ramp with Kurt by her side, seemingly awkward in his new position. A few children did point at him when he came down, but for the most part he passed without comment. There were too many visible mutants for him to make a large splash by his appearance. He seemed to notice this and smiled tentatively.

"If you could direct me to the woman with the red hair," Charles said, "And Mr. Wagner?"

Kurt blinked at him.

"If you would follow us," he said.

The young mutant nodded as Charles' wheelchair veered in the direction of the woman. She smiled tiredly at thier approach.

"Long time no see," she said.

"I'd say so Mrs. Cassidy," he replied, "And what brings you here?"

Maeve Rourke Cassidy jerked her head up to the school.

"My husband," she said, "I was worried about Terry and…"

Charles noticed the way her eyes hardened. Maeve's anger rolled off her in waves. Charles wondered if her daughter had somehow been hurt.

"…I wasn't taking no for an answer when we heard the school was in danger."

He nodded in understanding. So they had heard. It didn't surprise him. It was what they were for; to defend where the X-men couldn't be. And, although Sean had taken a position at Interpol, he knew where he would be when push came to shove. The same went for his other two former students. He had trained them well; perhaps too well.

"How is young Theresa?" he asked.

"Shot with a tranquilizer in the neck," said Maeve, "She's still a little dazed; sleeping it off. Her father checked on her a few minutes ago."

"That's good. And I would be able to find Sean…?" he asked, his voice trailing off.

"In your office with the rest," Maeve replied, "They're waiting for you."

With a sigh he gestured to Ororo to take him there. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Logan say something to Rogue and turn away. He was making a beeline for Charles, following them into the school. It appeared that no matter how much had happened his day wasn't anywhere near over yet.

The door to the mansion had been left open. Feeling desolate he saw how much destruction had been done to the lobby alone. The staircase had been decimated and a few tables turned over. He wondered how long it would take to fix it all and felt like despairing. The mansion hadn't required this much renovation since it had first been transformed into a school.

He drank in the further damage as they went down the hall. He found fingernail scrapings on the wall. At one point he imagined that blood had stained the carpet. At least it had been cleaned up. If Sean's daughter had been among the children hurt then he couldn't imagine that the soldiers had been treated gently.

Charles pressed the button to his office, allowing the door to open. Lorna, Alex, and Sean were sitting at the chairs in front of the desk, talking in low voices. They stopped abruptly when the Professor came in, pushing their chairs back. He saw Alex frown when Logan and Kurt walked in behind him. Kurt shrank away and Logan's eyes narrowed in turn.

"Logan, Mr. Wagner," said Charles, "I'd like you to meet some of my first students. They act as an adjunct to the X-men. It's a team called the X-Force for situations such as this. I believe they already know Ororo."

They nodded and Ororo took a respectful place towards the end of his desk. She dipped her head in acknowledgement to the men and women who had been her former teachers at one point or another, while Logan only grunted. He heard Kurt murmur something unintelligible in German before moving to a corner of the room. Charles noted that he practically blended in with the shadows there.

"This is Mr. Wagner, our guest," Charles said, "And Logan who will be joining us."

Logan looked at him in surprise and then suspicion.

"I didn't read your mind," he said, "You came back. That says enough."

He redirected his attention to his former students.

"I'm glad you came, and from what I see liberated the school," Charles said.

"The soldiers are tied up in the basement," Lorna said helpfully.

Charles smiled to himself.

"Again, I'm happy for your aid," he said, "Although I am puzzled as to how you know."

Sean put his hands in his pockets. He was never the first one to start a debriefing. And, no matter how old they were, that was what the conversation was. Next to him Lorna was staring at Logan, her face scrunched in concentration. Logan didn't like it but she didn't stop. Her husband seemed oblivious to her discomfort. Alex gave a cold glance towards Logan and Kurt before saying;

"Legion told us."

Briefly he closed his eyes. Of course. The psychic link that they had built over the years would have let him know something was wrong the minute he was captured.

"He wanted to come," said Sean, "But we know you told him he should stay in Washington with Beast. Volatile situation and all. Wasn't easy to convince him, let me tell you."

The codenames were strange, but it was obvious that they didn't trust Kurt or Logan yet. Better to err on the side of caution in their minds.

"Yes, he always was stubborn," Charles said.

Even as the words left his lips a universal smirk passed between the three of them. All of them knew that his son got that from both of his parents.

"He um, he said that Scott appeared in your thoughts moments before you were taken," Alex said, forming his words carefully, "Is he okay?"

It was the question he'd been dreading.

"Physically, yes."

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

He took a deep breath. The words he was about to say were harder to say than to know.

"Jean Grey is dead," he said.

Alex sat down again, looking shell shocked. Almost immediately Lorna put a hand on his shoulder. Sean just looked down at the ground.

"I...I should go see him," Alex said.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you bub," Logan said.

Looking up Alex seemed to remember Logan was still there. His gaze hardened again.

"You know, Scott told me there was some guy hanging around at the school with an attitude problem and claws," Alex said, "So far I've seen one of the two."

Logan let his claws come out of his hands.

"How's two for two?" he snapped.

Alex snorted. Lorna simply cocked her head.

"So that's what that was," she murmured to herself.

Charles saw that it was the presence of the strange metal that had been bothering her. It didn't matter much though. He raised a hand to ward off the fight that was brewing.

"Logan, now is not the time," he said, "Although I agree with what you say. Alex, Scott needs to be left alone at the moment."

The claws slid back and Logan looked away at the mention of Scott's name. There was a great deal of guilt that Logan held over Scott and Jean in general. It was guilt that had formed from pursuing the woman who'd been with Scott, the woman who was now dead, whose body they couldn't even retrieve. He didn't have to be a telepath to tell that.

"You may speak to him later Alex," Charles said, "I thank you for your prompt reaction time and for protecting my students. I would ask that you stay for a few days longer; we have a trying time ahead of us."

"Don't mention it," said Sean, hearing the dismissal in the subtext and getting up, "I need to go find Maeve. And I can't leave Terry alone for too long."

He shot a look at Lorna and jerked his head towards the door. Lorna gently guided her husband up and out of the room. She paused in the doorframe.

"By the way," she said, "When Alex said Legion told everyone on Muir Island, he meant everyone."

She gave him a pointed look and the door clicked shut.

"What's that mean?" asked Logan.

"Nothing," Charles said, rubbing his temples, "Just that I have a few calls to make. I would ask that you and Ororo also leave the room. I need to have a few words with Mr. Wagner. Alone."

Logan grunted and shoved the door open. Ororo looked at Charles curiously but followed. He waited for it to shut before turning to Kurt. From the corner he heard him cough.

"If zis is about ze President I-" Kurt started.

"It is not," Charles said, "I was nearly a recipient of Stryker's mind-control serum myself."

He sighed and gestured to a seat. Kurt sat in it, moving his tail before he did so.

"I'm more interested in what you intend to do once you're pardoned," he said.

Kurt stared at him, uncomprehending.

"I didn't forget to put files about how Stryker engineered the assassination attempt in the dossier I handed the President," said Charles, "I'm not remiss. Your plans Mr. Wagner."

Still looking confused Kurt started to swish his tail behind him.

"I do not know if I vill go back to ze circus," he said after a time, "I do not even know vhere zey are."

"You are always welcome to stay here if you wish," said Charles.

Looking worried Kurt swished his tail a little harder.

"I do not know about zat," he confessed, "I am a man of peace. Vhat…vhat I saw vith Ms. Grey…I do not know if I can pursue zat life vith the X-men, although I am grateful for all zat you haf done."

Charles understood. He often wondered what he himself had come to; actively allowing his students to battle terrorists.

"There is no rush to decide," he said, "But before you go, if you do go, there is something that I would like to find out. Namely your parentage."

Kurt's tail stopped swishing.

"I…the Vagners?" he asked.

"Were those your birth parents?" asked Charles.

He shook his head.

"I do not know who my real parents are. Zhoze,…zhoze vere my adopted parents."

That sounded about right. Charles tapped his fingers on his desk.

"I suspected so," Charles said, "Do you know how the Wagners came across you in the first place?"

Familiar golden eyes blinked at him. The eyes weren't the only familiar parts. Even the color of his skin hadn't convinced him; mutations did repeat. There was something about the structure of his face and jawline. His nose in particular reminded him of Raven. He had learned his lesson with Lorna about ignoring similarities.

"Zey told me zat zey found me abandoned in a vell," Kurt said softly.

Kurt's words reverberated throughout him, shaking him to his core. Deep within the his heart the image of his little sister as she had been faded a little more. She had become the type of woman who would abandon her son in a well? His chest contorted in pain and he had to swallow to hide it.

"I see," he said, "Kurt, I don't want you to mislead you but I have a suspicion who your mother might be. With your permission I would like to do a DNA test to prove it. But I warn you; you may not like what you hear."

Beneath the chair Kurt's tail started swishing again. Charles wondered if the mutant would even want to hear about the people who'd abandoned him in a well.

"I vould…I vould like to know zat…" he said tentatively, "I vill stay for zat."

A ripple of relief passed through him.

"Thank you Mr. Wagner," said Charles, wondering if the mutant in front of him could indeed be his nephew, "The guest rooms are up the stairs and to the right. You may have any of the unoccupied ones."

Kurt nodded and disappeared from the room in a flash of smoke. Charles pushed away from his desk. There was so much to do with and for his students, both current and former. However, all of those things could wait. There were more people he needed to contact as soon as possible. Pushing a button that opened the door he wheeled himself towards the elevator that would lead to his room.

A/N: It's great to be back! Just a few notes about this chapter. The scene at the beginning is based on something that happened to David in the comics. Rest assured, what exactly happened will be thoroughly explained later. As for the mention of Sean's daughter, she was actually in X-Men United. When the soldiers are invading the mansion one of the kids bolts up in her bed and screams. She wakes everyone in the mansion up and continues to scream until a tranquilizer dart hits her in her neck. I looked it up; that's Theresa Rourke Cassidy, daughter of Sean and Maeve Cassidy, Deadpool's girlfriend, and later in life known as the X-Force leader Siryn. I love cameos!