Private First Class Alexander Summers crouched low, surrounded by the thick green plant life of a Vietnamese jungle. The air was humid, dense, and sweat beaded down his face from beneath his camouflaged helmet. He had been on dozens of scouting missions like this one but, in the back of his mind, he knew this was different. He knew soon he could be going home.

"Havok," a voice whispered and Alex glanced back over his left shoulder. His code name did not get used much anymore. Since re-enlisting in the army, he was usually just Private Summers. But in the field, with his squad, formal identification was dropped in favor of their mutant handles.

The voice had come from a soldier hidden a short distance behind, the young man's dark skin helping him blend into the brush. Alex had not heard him approach and it took him a moment to spot the other soldier's location. The man's uncanny ability to sneak up on someone was not unfamiliar and only one of the mutant traits that earned him the code name of Haze.

"Anything?" Haze asked quietly, glancing up with his oddly colored eyes. He was also wearing a helmet, which covered the rows of spikes that grew from his scalp. His enlisted name was Private Johnson Smith, an alias almost as nondescript as Haze could make himself seem to others.

Alex shook his head, made a gesture meaning hold position and stared forward again into the jungle. He heard movement to the right as another member of his squad shifted his feet.

"I wish he'd hurry up already," Ink muttered, gripping his rifle with his tattooed hands, "This isn't going to be any easier when it's dark."

Alex held up a hand in Ink's direction as an order for silence. Ink grumbled something else under his breath before settling back into position. They had been lying low in this patch of undergrowth for nearly thirty minutes, time dragging by as the remaining light of day dwindled. Alex could not blame Ink (formally known as Private Eric Glitter) for his impatience. He felt the same way. But Alex was this squad's leader and they had a mission to complete. Hopefully, their last mission. He did not want to jeopardize that or any of his teammates when success could mean their next trip from camp would be back to the U.S.

Another ten minutes passed before the tree line ahead of them swayed from an impact. Alex tensed, muscles aching from being so long in a crouched position, and held up a hand instinctively. His rifle was slung over his back but he did not reach for it. The weapon had hardly been used since it had been issued to him three years ago. In combat, the only weapon Alex trusted was his own. He could feel the energy building. A tingling sensation that started in his chest and traveled up toward his closed fist. He spotted a dark shape moving quickly down one of the shaking trees and lowered his hand.

The fourth member of their squad descended then leaped to the ground with an audible thud. Alex winced slightly and sighed. Private Mortimer Toynbee, also known as Toad due to his very distinctive mutation, made his way toward them without the stealth Alex would have preferred. He gave a quick whistle to assist the soldier in locating the squad's hiding spot.

Toad ducked under a low hanging branch and took a position next to the others. He wiped condensation from the metallic goggles that were affixed to his face. Alex had no idea how the other mutant could see anything out of those dark lenses. Toad had told Alex he had built them sometime before enlisting in the army but never exactly why. Whatever the reason, Toad had proven to be a good scout and was usually sent ahead to get a feel of the situation before the rest of the squad moved in.

"Report," Alex said, the energy that had built up in his arm fading.

Toad scowled, an expression not at all diminished by the over-sized goggles, and said, "There's more of them than the Sergeant said there would be. Ten men, maybe twelve in all. Yelling at each other for some reason."

Alex nodded and asked, "What about weapons?"

"Nothing major," Toad said, "Only four of them had rifles from what I could see. Could'a had more stashed in one of the huts, I guess. They all seemed pretty angry about something. Looked like they were getting ready to make tracks."

"Make tracks?," Ink repeated sarcastically, "Great. Right in our direction I bet."

"Didn't look like that to me," Toad replied, turning his scowl toward Ink.

"Oh, good, that makes me feel better," Ink shot back, the tattoos on his face shifting slightly.

"Enough. Quiet," Alex said, taking control of the conversation, "How far off are they?"

"Couldn't of been more than half a klick north of here," Toad said.

Alex nodded again and glanced back toward Haze, who had been watching the conversation between his teammates with a smirk. Haze got along well with the rest of the squad. He was a surprisingly easy going guy for a mutant. But he was always amused watching Alex try to wrangle in the bickering between Ink and Toad.

"Looks like you're up," Alex said to Haze, "Toad will lead you first toward the Charlies. Me and Ink will cover you from the back. When you've engaged, give the signal and the rest of us will move in."

"Affirmative," Haze replied still grinning slightly and stepped toward Toad.

Before the squad began to move, Alex spoke one last time.

"Remember... this is a scouting mission," he said firmly, "We go in, get the full intel and get out. No direct combat, if we can avoid it."

The other three soldiers gave him quick nods but Alex knew it was a reminder that had to be given. He could see something in their faces which needed to be reigned in with commands for caution. Alex was not like the rest of his squad in some ways. He was a mutant like them, no doubt about that. Alex could generate immense amounts of destructive energy at will. Powers he had learned to control during his years at Charles Xavier's ill-fated School for the Gifted.

But Alex could hide his mutation if he chose to. He had only become a part of this squad when the Staff Sergeant had approached him after discovering the details of his past prison record. Before then, no one in his military command had known about his mutant abilities. The other men in his squad were not so lucky. Their mutations manifested physically, making them instant pariahs to the rest of humanity, including their brothers-in-arms. Alex found it caused them to have something more to prove and an eagerness to use their mutant abilities that he himself had never experienced.

Toad and Haze moved out, creating some distance between them and their teammates. Alex and Ink followed as swiftly as they could while trying not to disturb the jungle too much and give their position away.

After a short time, Alex and Ink could hear raised voices coming from beyond the trees. Alex cursed silently, thinking they had been discovered after all, when the voices suddenly fell silent and he could hear sound of metallic objects clattering to the ground.

A few still moments passed before a quick whistle signaled the all clear.

Alex pushed forward out of the trees and glanced around the scene. A small hut was centered in the clearing, its roof partially collapsed under the weight of a fallen branch. A dozen Vietnamese men lay on the ground throughout the small camp, wide eyed but unconscious. The scleras of their eyes were no longer white but now covered with a brown film.

Haze and Toad were checking over the men, removing weapons and making sure none of them were still alert. Alex noted that Toad's count had been correct, only four of the men had been armed, at least with rifles. Several had knives, two had sickles and others had homemade blunt weapons that could have caused damage in a close fight.

Alex frowned in thought and watched as Ink moved to inspect the battered hut. Something did not seem right. The Sergeant had passed down the orders to locate and inspect this camp. The war was ending and the commanders did not want to risk any last minute unexpected attacks on the main barracks as troops were heading out. But this did not look like any Charlie camp Alex had seen before. The fallen men did not look like soldiers or enemy combatants. Alex picked up one of the recovered rifles. It was old, looked like it was ready to fall apart.

As he circled the camp, Alex heard a snuffling noise and walked toward the far edge of the trees. A ragged work horse hitched to a cart was sitting on the ground, looking almost as dazed as the men Haze had stunned. It was mostly conscious, breathing heavily as it tried to rise to its feet. Alex glanced in the cart and found only boxes of rice and produce.

Alex stepped back and again looked around. This situation felt more wrong by the minute. These men seemed like farmers, not soldiers. Could command's intel on this area have been so wrong? Alex walked quickly back toward Toad and Haze.

"Find anything?" he asked. The two other soldiers shook their heads.

"Nothing," Haze said, frowning, "Nothing in writing anyway. What exactly did they expect us to find?"

Before Alex could reply, Ink swore loudly from within the hut. He backed out of the broken door slowly and turned wide eyes on his teammates.

"Shit," he repeated, "Shit, shit, shit. I think it's some kind of bomb."

"Bomb?!" Haze repeated as Alex moved quickly toward Ink. He glanced inside the hut and spotted what Ink had uncovered.

Alex felt his whole body grow cold. Blinking lights gave brief illumination to the pile of explosives sitting again the back wall. The bomb looked sophisticated, certainly more advanced than anything he had encountered from enemy combatants during his time in Vietnam. Crowning the device was a white, almost egg shaped machine with five horizontal red lights.

Ink looked afraid and swallowed hard before he spoke again, "I think... I think I triggered...some kind of countdown. Two red lights started coming on when I walked inside. The rest lit up when you got over here, Havok."

"Jesus," Alex said, turning quickly back toward Haze and pointing to the fallen men, "Wake them up."

"Are you nuts?" Haze asked in surprise, "What about..."

"I said, WAKE THEM UP!" Alex shouted, "And MOVE BACK! We've gotta get out of range."

Haze's eye colors swam as he shifted his powers from the fallen men. The men began to rise, shaking their heads and getting unsteadily to their feet. One of the older farmers spotted the soldiers and his eyes became wide. He started shouting pointing between Alex's squad and the hut, and waving for the other men to run. None of them seemed intent on attacking the squad as they fled.

A high-pitched whine began to emanate from the hut as the soldiers ran into the trees. Seconds later, an explosion blew them all off their feet.

Dazed, Alex found himself face down in the moist earth of the jungle. He was not sure how long he lay there, his ears ringing from the blast. He sat up and made it to his knees before he looked around. Haze was coughing to his right, covering his mouth with his arm and holding his helmet with his free hand. A moment later, he spotted Ink struggling to his feet, bracing himself against a tree. Ink was trying to say something to him but Alex's hearing had not recovered enough to understand. Alex moved his head from side to side and realized he did not see their fourth teammate.

"Where's Toad?" he asked the others, his voice sounding muffled to his own ears. Ink spoke again but the words were still intelligible. Haze just shook his head, still looking stunned.

"Toynbee! Report!" Alex shouted, not caring if anyone else in the jungle hear him. A crashing sound made Alex turn and he spotted Toad jumping down between two large trees.

"Here, sir!" Toad responded, taking one final jump in Alex's direction. Toad's quick movements made Alex's head spin but he was able to get to his feet. Alex glanced up the trees, wondering how high Toad had gone when retreating from the blast zone.

"The rest of 'ems run off," Toad said, crouching, "Sorry, sir, I didn't see if any of them still had weapons."

Alex nodded and glanced back toward the destruction, "Well... I don't think that matters now. I don't think they'll be coming back here anyway. What's the damage? Anybody hurt?"

Each man checked in. Luckily it seemed like they mostly just had cuts and bruises though Alex did note that Haze was gripping his side and grimacing. He would need to have the medic check him out for possible broken ribs once they got back to the barracks.

"Why would they have a bomb like that in their own camp?" Haze asked as the squad regrouped, "It didn't look like a combat set up."

"No," Alex agreed, "It didn't."

"Well, pretty sure they weren't expecting someone to show up and set it off," Toad said, jerking his head toward Ink.

Ink glared at Toad, "Hey, fuck you, man. How was I supposed to know... And anyway where the hell did they get something like that from? Didn't look like any explosive I've seen before."

"Yeah, me either," Alex said and ran his hand back through his hair. He could not think about the bomb's origins with his head still ringing and it was nearly full dark.

"Let's move off a ways and find a place to hole up for the night," he said, inspecting his ruck sack for damage before hoisting it to his back.

"Hey, Havok," Toad said as the squad began to move out, "I think I might have found a piece of it. The explosive, I mean. It was rammed in that tree I climbed."

Alex frowned as Toad held out a piece of black metal. He took it and rubbed a thumb across the embossed surface. Three raised letters remained. Alex thought they were "TRA" but the light was failing and he could not be sure. He handed the metal back to Toad.

"Could be important," Alex said with a nod, "Hang on to it and we can show it to the Sergeant when we get back."

"Yes, sir," Toad said, sounding pleased, and stowed the metal object in his own ruck sack.

As the squad moved out, Alex again began to think of home. Where would home be for him now? Back at Xavier's school? Back to Hawaii, where he grew up? Back to some state-side military base? He realized sadly that he did know. And what about that others? People may have thought they were freaks but, at least here, they had a duty, a purpose. When that was over... where would any of them call home?