AN: Correction from last chapter. They are not at the City Hall, they are actually at Bell Reeve for the charity event and this minor detail was grinding my nerves, so just imagine the Belle Reeve conference room in the hospital is big enough to serve as a banquet/ ball room. I apologize for that little bump in the story. Also this story will be ending soon. I have been trying to work on Vampire Diaries and NCIS stories and I'm getting caught up. Please review and enjoy!

The classical sound of Mozart's Requim was being played beautifully by a twelve person orchestra as crowds of people slowly filed into the large banquet room. The ceilings held several gorgeous gold and crystal chandeliers across the room along as well as several elegant tables with lavished center pieces adorned on top of the black and burgundy clothed table cloths scattered across the south side part of the building. The servers were dressed in black pants and black shirts and they carried silver platters filled with flutes of champagne, crackers and exotic cheese and chocolate. Soon people were drinking, eating and engaged in conversation as the energy of the room slowly began to mount.

As Ororo made her way through the doors of the banquet room, she rested her hand in the crook of Clark's arm. Gliding gracefully across the black marble floor, the white haired woman glanced over her shoulder briefly to ensure that her team was assuming their appropriate positions. Logan was standing a few feet behind her and Clark posing as an intimidating body guard. Kitty and Warren were engaging in a casual conversation with a handsome middle aged married couple and Jubilee and Scott were casually eating finger foods while discreetly patrolling the exits of the room. A few yards away, Remy was hanging out by the bar chatting up a voluptuous blonde while surveying the room.

Satisfied by what she saw, she turned her attention back to being Clark's plus one and plastered a congenial smile on her lips. Ten minutes later, they were drinking champagne and talking when they were approached by a familiar raven haired beauty.

"Clark!" Lana gushed pleasantly surprise, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Clark forced himself to swallow his mouthful of champagne before flashing his former flame a flustered and somewhat unsteady smile. The truth of the matter was Clark hadn't even considered Lana presence at the event as problematic, but now he wished he had been a little more insightful. It had taken Clark going through hell before he had finally been able to express his feelings for Lana, and now that he had moved on and found another love interest, he somehow felt he was now caught in the middle. Lana was smiling innocently and sweetly on one side of him, while Ororo stood on the other side of him, staring at him with unadulterated amusement reflecting in her aquatic blue orbs.

"Yeah, it was a last minute thing," he fumbled feeling his face grow redder by the moment, "Um, Ororo you remember Lana, right?"

The weather witch nodded and smiled at Lana warmly and the two women exchanged a light handshake.

"I regret we didn't become better acquainted the last time we met. I hope to rectify that in the future," Ororo said graciously.

"Likewise," Lana smiled warmly.

Ororo could see that Clark was growing nervous and uncomfortable with each passing moment and she decided to ease some of his discomfort by giving him and Lana a moment alone.

"I think I can use another drink and you two can use some time to catch up," Ororo smiled graciously, "Excuse me."

As Ororo turned on her heels and headed towards the nearest waiter to get another glass of champagne, the windrider suddenly felt a cold chill dance down her spine, and she felt a bad feeling slowly began to settle over her. Stopping in the middle of the room, her eyes slowly lifted from the floor and her chest tightened when she made eye contact with the one person that she was looking forward to taking down hard.

Lex Luther.

The arrogant and well dressed billionaire was surrounded by a circle of powerful, wealthy and notorious business men who were shamelessly praising him and expressing awe and surprise over his quick recovery after his "unfortunate" accident during his expedition trip in the North Pole. She felt chills dance down her spines as Lex stared directly into her eyes and a slow Ssmile creeped across his face. Ororo was rarely frightened or intimidated by anyone, but Lex was different. He was evil and there was a special, secluded place in hell for people like him.

Forcing herself to break her death glare away from the bald sociopath, she looked up to double check to make sure everyone was in position when she noticed Remy wasn't in the same spot where she last seen him. Frowing, she did a quick scan of the room and failed to see a trace of him anywhere. Turning on her heels, she left Clark side and was heading in Scott's direction to inquire the location on the missing cajun when suddenly she came face to face with him.

"Lookin' fo me, cherie?"

Ororo smiled faintly as she glared at Remy who was smiling down at her while holding a glass of red wine in his hands. His hair hung over his eyes nearly hiding his eyes, but Ororo was standing close enough to see his crimson pupils on onyx cornoa's flashing beneath his shoulder length auburn hair. He had a smoldering and smoldering look in his eyes that made the weather witch's mouth instantly grow dry. There was no denying that her former beau was an incredibly attractive man, and tonight he looked nearly perfect as he stood wearing an all black Armani suit with his auburn hair slicked back into a tight ponytail. She felt her heart skip a couple of beats when she caught the slight scent of his favorite French cologne mingled with the light minty scent of aftershave.

Inhaling softly, she was surprised and somewhat amused when he lifted her hand to his mouth and gently pressed his lips against her knuckles.

"Remy never got the chance t' tell you how absolutely beautiful you look tonight," he said huskily as he reluctantly released her hand.

Always the smooth talker and southern charmer...

She smiled appreciatively while blushing beneath his quiet praise. While they weren't as close and as comfortable with each other as they once was, Ororo was grateful and appreciative that things were at a place where she could at least acknowledge his presence and have a conversation with him without wanting to collapse and fall apart internally. Dealing with Remy made her feel several different emotions, and she would be lying if she said she didn't still love him.

"Thank you, Remy," she finally managed to say with a gracious smile, "As always, you look very handsome."

He smiled appreciatively before leaning closer to her to the point where his face was only inches away from her.

"Listen, petite. Remy knows dis isn't de best time or de best place to discuss our issues, but Remy don't want t' take the chance that something might go wrong tonight and he might never get t' say what he wants and needs to say to t' you," he said softly.

Ororo inhaled sharply as she felt his hand rest lightly on her lower back was causing her to shiver slightly. Her pulse was racing and her palms were beginning to grow sweaty as her anxiety began to slowly rise. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to regain control over her senses. Everything from the way Remy innocently touched her, from the way he looked at her was making her disoriented and uneasy.

"Remy," Ororo tried weakly.

"Stormy please. Jus' give Remy a minute to talk. If after a minute y' don't want to have anything t' do wit dis swamp rat, then Remy will fall back and give y' your space and respect whatever decision y' are intent on makin'," he said quietly.

Ororo inhaled sharply before falling silent in compliance.

"First of all, Remy wants to tell y' how sorry he is dat he never told y' what took place between Anna and me. Remy knows dat y' must feel betrayed and hurt, but Remy wants y' to know dat he has never cheated on y'. I may have stayed with her in a hotel room over night, but nothin' happened between us, and y' know dat," he tried, "It's not even physically possible."

Ororo smiled sadly. While it comforted her to know that Remy's and Anna's relationship hadn't been physical, it didn't change the fact that he had lied and broken his promise to her. She knew that in time she would forgive his indiscretions, but now she couldn't. Even if she wanted to. Things have changed. Her feelings for Clark had resurfaced, and as hard as she tried to ignore and deny what she felt, in the end she had no choice but to accept and confront what was in her heart.

"Cheating is not always physical, Remy. The fact that you lied to me is what made me feel hurt and betrayed. I know that we still have a lot to talk about and work through, but I want you to know that I will always love you. Even if that means we have to go back to loving each other as friends," she said gently.

For a split second, Remy was about to throw caution in the wind and make it clear to her just how he truly felt about her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her in a way that showed her that he could never just be her friend. He wanted to promise to spend the rest of his life proving to her just how much he regretted ever hurting her. However, as much as he wanted to show all these displays of his affections and commitment to her, he knew he couldn't for many reasons. Not only was this the wrong time and place for a heart to heart conversation, but he also felt deep down that it would be selfish of him to express such things.

Remy wasn't a blind or clueless man. He knew all too well that Ororo and Clark had deep feelings for one another and knew that in order for her to move on, she needed closure and it was his job to give t to her. It nearly broke his heart to know that he could potentially be losing the woman he loved forever, but he had to do what was best for Stormy. Even if it meant letting her go.

He took a step forward and for a moment Ororo thought he was going to kiss her, but she breathed a sigh of relief when he embraced her briefly. Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip softly, Ororo felt tears burn the corners of her eyes. If someone had told her two years ago that her and Remy wouldn't be together, she would have balked at the prediction. Now, she could only bite back tears as she realized the one thing she never would be possible was now becoming a reality. She was not only losing her lover, her fiancé and her partner in love and crime, she was losing her best friend.

"If he makes y' happy cherie, den Remy won't stand in you way. Jus' know dat if y' don't find what you are looking fo' with him, y' can always come home," he murmured before pulling away, "And we both know that home is where your heart is."

Before Ororo could reply, Clark walked over with a confident and warm smile on his lips.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I was wondering if you cared to dance, Ororo," he inquired huskily.

Ororo returned his smile and for the second time that night, she found herself absolutely blown away with how absolutely gorgeous he was. Everything from the gentleness of his beautiful blue eyes along with the dashing smile on his lips drew her in and made feel the fluttering sensation of a thousand butterflies in her stomach. It was in that moment that she realized that everything that was happening was for the best. She had felt passion and love with Remy, but what she felt with Clark was different. She felt hope, she felt certainty, but most of all, she felt perfect clarity.

"Of course she would, homme," Remy croaked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them,"Stormy is a terrific dancer."

Ororo flashed Remy one last tender smile before she placed her hand inside of Clark and followed him to the dance floor. As he gently guided her into his arms, a sigh of relief escaped her lips as felt his arm wrap securely around her waist as he held her close. He could sense that she was a bit flustered and while he didn't know he could say to make her feel better he knew that by him just being close to her, it provided her a temporary moment of physical comfort. The transition from Remy to Clark would be difficult for her, but Clark was determined to show her that she had chosen the better man.

"You know, I can't help but think that every thing that has happened since the day we met, all the good and bad things, happened so that we could get to this moment," he murmured as they gracefully danced around the dance floor.

His words sent goosebumps all across Ororo's body, and for a moment she had to remind herself to breathe.

"I believe that too," she whispered tenderly as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget about the mission. She allowed herself to forget about her troubles with Remy, and for a moment, she completely surrendered to Clark. There was something about being pressed against him, being wrapped inside of his arms that made her feel completely safe and sound. He calmed her. He made her feel as if she fell apart that he would be there patiently piecing her back together. Clark made her feel beautiful without even breathing a word. He made her happy whenever he flashed across her mind in a fleeting and random thought. Everything he made her feel felt so wonderful that it couldn't possibly wrong, right?

As she opened her conflicted blue eyes slowly, she felt her breathing grow shallow as she suddenly found herself locking eyes with Lex Luther who was standing several yards away from them.

Feeling her body stiffen, Clark pulled back and stared down at her with concern etched across his handsome face.

Clark felt her stiffened and pulled back slightly with concern written all over his face.

She glanced up at him with a brief look of apprehension in her eyes before a ghost of a smile flashed across her full lips.

"I am alright, Clark," she reassured softly, gripping his hand tightly as Lex slowly advanced towards them.

Ororo barely had time to catch her breath and compose herself as Clark and Lex came face to face. Hostility and tension tainted the atmosphere as the two men stared each other down silently. Lex stood stoic appearing the ever so perfect yet cliché picture of an arrogant and powerful billionaire. However, Clark, on the other hand, stood strong and unafraid with strength and a sense of justice reflecting on the surface of his aquatic blue eyes. The weather witch felt her heart race as she watched Clark seethe silently. It was a tale as old as time. Judas betrayed Jesus. Brutus betrayed Ceaser. Lex was just another backstabber in the long line of men who were trusted by those who were superior to them.

"Hello, Clark," Lex greeted with a self satisfied smirk, "I was not prepared to see you tonight. What an unexpected surprise."

Clark could barely contain the level of hatred and disgust that he felt for his former friend. There was nothing about Lex that reminded him of the person he had once known. Lex had once shown promise of being someone who was deserving of redemption and Clark had even saw a glimpse of looked to be a man who had compassion and a conscious. However, over the years, Lex had shown that everything he had ever done to appear to be a good person had a darker ulterior motive behind him, and that ultimately he couldn't be trusted. Clark shook his head slightly with a bitter smile on his lips as he realized just how cruel and twisted fate tended to be. Had he had not been there on the bridge where Lex's car had barreled into him, they may have never met and their paths would have never crossed. Had Clark not saved Lex from a watery grave, the world would contain one last monster.

"Judging from the look of disdain on your face, you would prefer that I would be buried beneath tons of ice with your secret rather than casually attending this black and white tie affair," Lex said casually as he took another sip of his champagne.

"You being locked under a prison for the rest of your life would be an acceptable alternative," Clark growled evenly.

Lex laughed with a condescending look on his face.

"I can't help but think that ever since I found out your little secret, how much power we could have generated as allies. Unfortunatly you are to self righteous to see a clear view of the future which is destined to be conquered by powerful men with revolutionary visions," he said casually.

Ororo rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth, unintentionally drawing Lex's attention.

"How rude of me. I have yet to acknowledge the woman in our presence," Lex smiled coyly as he shifted his gaze towards the weather witch, "It's been quite some time since we have last seen each other, Ororo. I must say, you are even more stunning than I remembered."

The wind rider could practically feel her skin crawl as she was overwhelmed with disgust for the man who was shamelessly showering her with compliments. While Lex came across as charming and suave to those present, Ororo could see through his deceptive mask. She knew Lex for the unpleasant and evil bastard that he truly was. Clentching her hands into tight fists, Ororo gritted her teeth and tried desperately from wiping the smug and taunting smile plastered on his thin lips.

"There is a lot about me that you may have forgotten about me, and it would be my absolute pleasure to slowly remind you just how stunning I can be," she growled through her teeth so that only Lex and Clark could hear her.

Lex smiled amused.

"It would seem we would have a lot of things to discuss and caught up on," he noted calmly, "Would you care to dance so we can have a civil conversation?"

Ororo felt her stomach churn, and for one horrifying moment she thought she would lose her composure and throw up. However, she calmed noticeably when Clark moved his free hand from hers and rested it on the small of her back, drawing her closer to him. A protective and possessive gesture that both surprised and comforted the brooding weather witch. Lex noticed and forced a smile. He had known that Clark and Ororo had a connection in the past, but the look that he saw exchanged between them showed that they were a lot more than just friends. The intensity he saw in the way they stared each other showed that there new intimacy had only began very recently. Lex was a very observant man. He could tell there was anxiety and passion between them and it had been built on a foundation of underlining lust, desire and sexual tension.

"I rather set myself on fire," Ororo replied coldly.

Lex fought back a smile of disdain before shrugging indifferently.

"Oh, I don't think I'm asking you to make too much of a sacrifice here, Ororo. Given the fact that you and Clark seem to hate dealing with innocent casualties and I could expose Clark's secret at any given moment, dancing with me wouldn't be the end of the world."

Ororo felt rage creep up through her and for a moment she allowed the sting of her emotions to consume her. Hate, anger, pain and fear all hit her at once, but she wasn't going to give Lex the satisfaction of seeing her lose control nor was she going to allow her pride be the reason why Lex and Sinister lashed out at innocent people. Swallowing the huge lump that had formed in her throat, the windrider lifted her chin slightly and plastered on the most tolerant smile that she could muster. Stepping away from Clark's side reluctantly, she gradually made her way into Lex's arms where he proceeded to guide her gracefully around the dance floor.

As the classical music attempted to distract her from her unpleasant situation, her gaze drifted across the room and found she found Remy staring at her with a tense expression darkening his handsome face. It was obvious that he was genuinely concerned and uncomfortable wit the situation. While she was appreciative that he was still protective and worried about her, she knew deep down she was more than capable holding her own against the psychopath.

Apparently Lex noticed Remy's less than subtle glaring in their direction, and he smirked.

"Looks like you have quite a few people enamored with you, Ororo. I can't say I blame them. You are quite an extraordinary woman," he complimented with seemingly genuine admiration in his voice.

Ororo glared at him evenly.

"I do not know what you want me to say, Lex. You are not foolish or arrogant enough to think that I would be swayed, charmed or even moved by anything that rolls off your forked tongue," she said stiffly.

Lex laughed.

"Don't you think you are being a little dramatic, Ororo? I'm not some cold blooded reptile with venom dripping from my fangs. I'm just a man who sees a future filled with promise and prosperity," he said innocently.

Ororo sneered viciously.

"The only promise and prosperity that you have to offer to the world and its future is misery and death," she hissed evenly.

Lex sighed heavily.

"Judging from your by less than subtle hostility towards me, it's apparent that you haven't quite forgiven me for what happened when we had last seen one another," he stated dryly.

Ororo's aquatic blue eyes flashed with anger as she glared at him with unadulterated contempt.

"Consider the fact that the last time I saw you, you experimented on me and turned me against my friends, nearly killing them in the process. You are lucky and very fortunate that I am not bringing down the full force of nature and my wrath against you now," she said with ice in her words.

Lex sighed softly and flashed a smile that seemed somewhat apologetic.

"It was an unfortunate event. I...," he started.

She scoffed rudely and stared at him like he was some despicable creäture she could hardly tolerate.

"I do not care for your excuses or your apology. All I care about is finding your partner in crime," she said stiffly, "Where is Essex?"

Lex smiled mysteriously.

"He's actually taking care of some rather pressing matters, but don't worry Ororo. I have every intentions of keeping you fully occupied," he promised cryptically as he whirled her around before drawing her back into his arms.

Ororo felt chills run down her spine as she began to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something about Lex's calm and relax demeanor didn't quite sit well with her. He was too relaxed and carefree. It was as if he was already two steps ahead of Ororo and her team, and if that was the case it would be bad for everyone involved.

"Whatever you and that sinister psychopath think you have planned, I am only going to warn you once. Stand down," she said coldly, "I will do any and everything necessary to prevent either of you from releasing hell on anymore innocent people."

Lex could see the determination and conviction reflecting in her cold blue eyes, and while he was impressed with her fiestiness and courage, he was not intimidated. Very soon Sinister would have everything to help Lex achieve ultimate superiority and there wouldn't be anyone to stop him. Not Ororo, not her annoying crime fighting friends...not even Clark.

"I admire your resolve, but let me assure you of something, weather witch. This is a fight that you will not win," he said with a dark look in his icy blue eyes that seemed to be piercing through Ororo's soul.

Shrugging off the emotions washing over her, the white haired woman gave him a chilling smile and she moved closer to him and tightened her grip on his shoulder as she bared her teeth at him menacingly.

"You went after and tried to destroy my friend. Picking a fight with me is something that you are going to regret," she promised narrowing her eyes into little slits as she glowered at him balefully.

Feeling her anger beginning to slowly surface, she turned to walk away from him, when he suddenly tightened his grip on her. Leaning in close to her, he paused briefly with his ears nearly pressed against her ear. The fact that he was this close to her made her skin crawl, but she forced herself to keep it together for the sake of the mission.

"You are very beautiful and somewhat intimidating when you are angry," he said with a brief smile before he released her from his arms.

Ororo nearly breathed a sigh of relief. Another second being close to the monster had threatened to revolt against her ability to be calm and rational and send a thousand jolts of electricity flowing through his body where she could only hope that would result in him becoming a pile of smoldering ashes. However, she had been cruelly snapped out of her fantasy as Lex grinned down at her with a disturbing and malicious look in his cold blue eyes.

"It really isn't a big secret that you are disgustingly and blindly in love with Clark. The question of the hour is just how far would you go to keep his little secret?" he whispered harshly, as his hot breath grazed her cheek.

The weather witch gritted her teeth trying to contain her rage. She was desperate and more than ready to put Lex down like rabid and savage beast that he was, but she held back. Gritting her teeth, she could feel electricity dancing at her fingertips sending small little charges up her arm causing the fine light hairs on her skin to stand up. Outside she could hear the faint roll of thunder and she knew that she couldn't strike Lex dead just yet. No matter how badly she wanted to. One well placed lightning bolt would ensure that Clark's secret would be safe and Lex would never be able to exploit or hurt anyone else ever again.

Forcing a smile, she felt a strange calmness settle over her as she stared him straight in the eyes.

"You and I both know that I would do any and everything in my power to keep Clark safe. I would go as far as I have to, and I am not leaving here tonight until I stop you once and for all," she promised.

To her surprise, Lex smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You are absolutly right, Ororo. Tonight one of us will not be walking away from this," he promised darkly, "Tonight all of this ends. One way...or another."

8888888888888

Remy stood back stoically as he watched Ororo spin around on the dance floor wearing a very pained and distrustful expression on her beautiful face. It had been bad enough watching her in the arms of Clark Kent, but seeing her in the arms of the sociopathic billionaire Lex Luther made the cajun's blood slowly began to boil like gumbo. Knowing the cruel and horrific things that Lex had done to Ororo made Remy want to rip the weather witch out of the arms of the monster's arms before tearing him limb from limb, but he reluctantly restrained himself from carrying out his violent urges.

Despite the fact that he was notoriously impulsive, short tempered and hot headed, Remy was a man who prided himself on the ability to maintain self control in extremely intense and dangerous situations. The years he had spent as the son of a powerful and ruthless thief taught him that he couldn't allow himself the luxury of his emotions. No matter how tempting or uncomfortable situation was, he had learned that, in order to be successful in completing an objective or mission, was to stay calm under pressure. Even though it deeply bothered him that the man who had once experimented on his Stormy was now breathing all over her, he knew that as long as he kept a visual on the weather witch and stayed in a close proximity to her, that she was safe. If Lex even so much as flinched the wrong way, Remy would not hesitate to take him down.

"So I run into you again, handsome."

Remy was interrupted from his silent musings of his less than subtle contempt for Lex by the sound of a woman's warm and friendly voice. He looked up to see a familiar looking brunette standing behind him with a dazzling smile. As he returned her smile, he tried to recall where he had seen her before, he was frustrated when his mind drew a complete blank. Usually Remy was flawless when it came to remembering the names of beautiful women, but lately he had been distracted. The only name and beautiful woman who had been occupying his every waking thought had been Ororo.

The woman quickly noticed his confusion and sensed his discomfort and her smile widened in amusement.

"Lois Lane...we ran into each other at Lex's place a few nights ago," she reminded with a secret smile, "We both were... undercover."

Suddenly he remembered and he felt an amused smile stretched across his lips. Lois Lane. He had met her when he and Logan had joined forces with Chloë and broke into Lex's Luthor estate. Meeting Chloë's cousin for the first time had been interesting to say the least. She had come across as this adventurous, feisty and beautiful woman. For someone who didn't possess a genetic mutation or any extraordinary powers, he was impressed at how courageous she was to brazenly put herself in a dangerous situation to bring down a man who constantly evaded justice.

He took her hand and kissed it with a devious gleam in his eyes.

"Of course, bella," he murmered, his voice as smooth as silk, "How could I have forgotten?"

Lois smiled blushing.

"Charmed," she managed to say before withdrawing her hand from his grip.

After a few moments went by, void of conversation, Lois cleared her throat and turned to him with a curious look in her hazel green eyes.

"Chloë must have some pretty impressive connections if she managed to get you and that hunky Canuk friend of yours into this event at the last minute," Lois said impressed.

Remy shifted his weight from one foot to the other trying not to appear distracted as he tried to keep an eye on Ororo.

"Chloë has proven she can be quite de resourceful girl when she wants to be," he said forcing a smile.

"So, this may sound forward, but besides you being here with Logan and Chloe, are you here with a date?" she asked boldly.

Her question caught Remy so off guard that almost instantly his handsome face darkened noticeably as he blushed deeply.

"Oui," he lied quickly, "Yes."

As they stood together in silence, Lois noticed he seemed somewhat distracted and when she followed his gaze, her green eyes widened in surprise. He was staring, somewhat sadly, in the direction of Lex Luther who was dancing with a stunning and exotic woman in the center of the dance floor. Lex was rich, powerful and notorious and the exotic Nubian woman she was regal, elegant and beautiful. Lois could tell by the way the cajun was staring at the woman who he was completely and utterly in love with her.

"So I take it that your somebody is that Top Model candidate who is dancing with Lex," she noted wryly.

Remy smirked as he stared at her amused and slightly exasperated.

"Y' sure do ask a lot of questions," he noted wryly.

She shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm a reporter. It's kind of my profession to be inquisitive," she explained.

Remy stared down into her pretty hazel green eyes and for the first time all night, a genuine smile touched his lips. He knew that it would be a long time before he would be able to move past his relationship with Ororo, but if he was to be honest with himself Remy could easily admit that he could see himself dating a woman like Lois. She was outspoken, funny, beautiful and feisty. There was something fun and spontaneous about her. Something familiar. Something that reminded him of Anna. The thought of his ex caused a large lump to form in his throat which he managed to swallow somewhat painfully. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of the root of all his problems while being seduced by Lois and her beauty, so with great effort, he cleared his throat and rested his gaze elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Lois was quietly gathering up the nerve to ask Rmey to dance when she was interrupted when a man wearing strange looking shades rushed up to them.

"We have a problem," he said with anxiety in his voice.

Before Remy could get an explanation from Scott, he was interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion going off around him causing the ground to tremor violently. As glasses, light fixtures and debris from the cieling crashed down inside of the ballroom, people started screaming and running as they ran to safety. Caught off balance in the chaos, Lois had fallen to the floor and had taken a nasty blow to the head. As she struggled to get to her feet, Remy raced to her side to help her while trying to see through the flurry of chaos around him. The lights that had fallen from the ceiling had fallen to the ground causing darkness to fall over the room.

As Remy struggled to get Lois and a few other confused an injured party guest to safety, a few feet away from him, Clark was scanning the room frantically trying to get a visual on Ororo. His fear grew as used his sensitive hearing to pick her voice out of the loud chaos, and failed to detect anything. Suddenly he felt anger seep into his overwhelming and unadulterated fear that was coursing through him like a raging fire. How could he have let her out of his sight? He had sworn that he would do everything he could to protect her and now he couldn't even locate her.

While he was angry, scared and frustrated, Clark knew he didn't have any time to waste on confronting his emotions. Ororo was in danger and he wasn't going to waste anytime in finding her and keeping his promise to her. He turned to head towards the exit near the front of the room when he felt someone grab his hand tightly.

Startled he looked down to find Lana staring up at him; her face was pale and filled with terror.

"Clark, what's happening? What's going on?" she cried frightened as she clinged to his hand and arm desperately.

He shook his head, looking around apprehensively.

"I don't know. Sounded like maybe the boiler room could have exploded," he said hastily, "I am going to go see if I can help if anyone that has been hurt."

Lana held on to his hand stubbornly as she stared up at him with an anxious look in her eyes.

"Shouldn't you wait untill the fire fighters and EMT get here?" she stressed worried.

Before he could answer, Remy raced over to him with a frantic look on his face.

"Have you seen Stormy?" he asked desperately.

Clark could see the genuine and naked fear in the other man's eyes and felt his heart tightened in his chest as he realized that Remy truly loved her. They both did and while they both could never have her, they both would always have an interest and a part in making sure that Ororo was always safe and protected. Even if that meant putting aside their differences and working together in order to save her.

"I haven't seen her, but I will find her, Remy. I promise. I need you and Lois to take Lana and help evacuate everyone out of this place before it collapses," he said as calmly as he could.

While Remy felt like it was his responsibility to go after Ororo and make sure she was safe, he knew that now was the not the proper time to argue about who should be the one to be Stormy's savior. Right now, the only two things that were important was making sure that they found Ororo, and making sure everyone got out of the building safely.

"Oui, Clark. Remy is on it," the cajun relented before leading Lana and Lois in the opposite direction to help with the injured and those trying to escape from all the chaos.

Logan was lifting a broken chandelier off a unconscious young woman while several men helped pull her to safety, when he spotted Clark hauling ass past him. Making sure the woman was clear, Logan dropped the heavy piece of decoration and quickly fell in step next to the anxious farm boy.

"Where's Ro?" Logan yelled over the chaos that was surrounding them.

Clark shook his head.

"We are looking for her now," he responded worried, "No one has seen her."

Logan felt the blood drain from his face as he glanced around the chaotic ballroom frantically searching for the white hair weather witch. He felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach as he realized that she was nowhere to be found. Almost immediately, he realized something in their plan had gone horribly wrong. While they had been prepared for the obvious plans of attack from Lex and Sinister, they never thought that the demented duo would try to bring down the very place they were attempting to break into, unless they already had somehow gotten what they wanted, and this charity event had been the blue prints for a very deliberate and well thought out ambush.

"Ro," Logan yelled as he pushed past the screaming and panicked guest desperately searching for his friend.

Scott was hot on Logan's heels as he began to yell into his communicator.

"Warren, report your position.," he barked loudly as pushed his way through the crowd of frantic people racing towards the exits of the building.

Logan, Remy, Clark, and Scott were tensed and filled with apprehensive as they waited for Warren to report in. After what seemed like forever, Warren's soft voice came through on the other end of the receiver.

"I'm near the south exit of the building in the far end of the corridor," he said frantically, "Lex had grabbed Ororo and Jubilee and I was going after them when Sinister came out of nowhere and ambushed us."

Logan heard the pain in Warren's labored breathing and his concern deepened.

"I'm headed that way now. Are you guys alright?" he demanded anxiously as he raced out of the ballroom followed closely by Scott and Clark.

There was a slight pause.

"I'm fine, Wolverine, but Essex attacked Jubes, and she is in pretty bad shape," he reported breathing heavilly.

Logan's heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach as he took off running towards Warren's location. Moments later when he arrived on the scene, he inhaled sharply when he spotted Jubilee sitting on the ground holding the sides of her head with blood pouring out of her nose. Warren was knelt over the injured young woman protectively, but he practically went unnoticed him as the feral man barreled his way in between them, anxious to check on her.

"Jubes? Are you alright?" he demanded with concern and fear etched across his ruggedly handsome face, "Talk to me."

She slowly opened her eyes and her pretty petite face flashed with pain as a low groan escaped her lips.

"Lex and Sinister got Storm, guys. I attacked them in an attempt to slow them down, but Essex psy attacked me, and then it was lights out," she informed softly before staring up at Logan sadly, "I'm so sorry, Wolvie. I couldn't stop them."

Logan could see Jubilee's guilt and self loathing in her dark eyes and he reached down touched her shoulder lightly.

"Don't beat yer self up over it, kid. Ro would want you focused on getting better. Leave finding her and those stinkin' bastards up to me, got it?" he growled tenderly while gently brushing some of her short choppy locks off of her bruised forehead.

Jubilee forced a smile despite being in tears and pain.

"Got it," she manage to say.

He squeezed her hand and gave her one last smile before stepping away from her reluctantly.

"Warren, get Jubes out of here and find medical treatment for her. Whatever you do, don't leave her side for a single second," Logan directed firmly.

The winged man nodded obediently, before effortlessly lifting the barely conscious Asian girl off the ground and running as fast as he could towards the nearest exit. Once Logan was sure that the two had made it out safely, he turned his attention towards Clark and Scott who remained at his side.

Judging from their expressions, they both were worried, angry and tensed for a fight, and so was Logan. If Lex's fate hadn't been sealed before the mission, he definitely sealed it by taking Ororo captive. Logan could barely contain the rage and the anger coursing through him. If so much as a single hair on her head was out of place, or if there was any mark on her flawless skin from any sort of physical assault, Logan was going to rip Lex's black heart right out of his chest.

"Whatever your assignment was before all hell broke loose, forget it. Since Storm is missing in action, I'm assuming command and you will follow my lead so we can get her back safe and sound. When it comes to Lex and Sinister," Logan paused briefly before narrowing his eyes and extracting his claws, "we ain't takin' any prisoners."