Trials

Clinical Trial (Trials, 1/8)

Sitting on the side of Scott's bed, Logan unzipped his fly. "Lick it," he said in a low growl, looking straight at Scott, who was kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Scott reached to take hold of his lover's hard cock with his hand, but Logan stopped him. "No," he said. "Keep your hands by your sides." Logan's right hand encircled his erection, as he pulled Scott's head towards him with his left. "Lick it," he said again.

Scott stuck out his tongue tentatively, stroking the cock head in front of him. He licked slowly and thoroughly, savoring the feelings as well as the sounds his lover was making. Stopping after a minute, he looked up at Logan. "Why no hands?"

"I don’t know. I just want to use your mouth," he answered, pulling Scott's head towards him, sliding in and out of that warm, wet mouth. "I want to feel like I'm feeding my cock to you or something," he added, as the man kneeling in front of him licked and sucked eagerly. "You're hungry for it, aren't you?"

Scott nodded a little, unable to speak without letting go, something he didn't want to do even for a minute. He felt Logan's hands on his ears, moving his head forward and back, pulling his lover's cock deeper in with each stroke, filling his mouth with pulsing sensation and the fleeting taste of pre-cum. Scott kept his arms planted firmly by his sides, concentrating now on relaxing the muscles in his throat as Logan pushed all the way in and pulled out almost completely. Moaning a little, he said, "God, I love to watch this. Seeing my dick just disappearing into you and coming back out like that, all wet from your mouth."

Logan stopped talking and just concentrated on watching and feeling, thrusting fast and hard into Scott's mouth now. He was breathing hard, sweating hard, holding Scott's head hard enough that he knew there would be bruises later. He moved faster and faster, fucking his lover's face as the kneeling man eagerly stroked him with his throat, his mouth, his tongue. When Logan came he was in up to the root.

Scott pulled off his clothes and got up on the bed. Logan lay down next to him. "Okay if I use my hands now?" Scott inquired. Not waiting for an answer, he pulled Logan's pants off, massaging his thickly muscled thighs.

"Turn on your side," Logan replied, pushing up against Scott's back when he did. He was hard again and Scott could feel his erection pressed against his cheeks.

"The lube's on the table on your side."

"I don't need it. I don't want to be in your ass right now. Just push your legs together." Scott felt Logan between his thighs, the head of Logan's cock pushing on his balls. He gasped a little as Logan reached around, wrapping his fist around Scott's erection.

Logan whispered in Scott's ear as he worked him with his hand, sliding back and forth between Scott's thighs all the while. "You like it like this?" he asked, then chuckled to himself as he answered his own question. "Yeah, you like it. You need me to do this, don't you? You're all hard and ready from sucking me and now I'm giving it to you, giving you what you need."

Scott nodded, then turned his head to kiss the man behind him. He closed his eyes, exulting in the feeling of Logan all over him, body pressed against his back, legs wrapped around Scott's holding his still, tongue stroking Scott's, hard cock moving between his thighs, that wonderful hand rubbing him with exquisite roughness. He pulled away from Logan's mouth, breathing hard. "More!" he pleaded, urgently, and Logan obliged.

They came at almost the same time. Feeling Logan's cum spurting between his legs seemed to trigger Scott's orgasm. Soon they were lying on their backs side-by-side, spent and relaxed. "I like that," Logan said, after a while, broad grin showing he meant it. "We should do it like that more often."

"Yeah, it's good," Scott sighed, happily. "Intercrural coitus."

"What you say?"

"That's what it's called, what we just did."

"Where do you get this stuff? Interwhatchamacallit, refractory periods. Who the fuck talks like that about sex?"

"I lived with a medical type for ten years, you know."

"Sounds like a great time in bed: you and Jeannie and the medical dictionary. No wonder you ended up with me."

"I think it had a little more to do with how I feel when I have a hard cock in my mouth. Or up my ass. Or in my hand… Or intercrurally," he added, after a pause.

Logan snorted. "That one you made up."

"Well, yes," Scott acknowledged. "But it makes sense - intercrural, intercrurally. It's the adverbial form." Logan rolled his eyes. "Face it, Logan - you're involved with an English teacher."

"At least with an English teacher who's a damn good fuck."

"You say the sweetest things." Scott turned over, put one arm across Logan's chest. "We've done it most every way I can think of tonight. You're having one of those nights when you can't get enough, aren't you?"

"Am I wearing you out?"

"No, I'm indefatigable, remember? And someday you'll even learn how to pronounce it." They smiled at each other. "It's been great. I love it when we can just get lost in sex for hours like that. A few times there I wasn't sure where you leave off and I start, you know? Believe me, I'm not complaining. I just brought it up because I'm wondering if something's worrying you. Sometimes you get kind of sex-focused when you're upset."

"When I'm upset. That's a polite way of saying when I'm falling apart, eh?" Scott started to protest that he didn't mean that, but Logan stopped him. "It's nothing like that, anyway. I'm fine. Just maybe realizing that I'm gonna be doing without for a while. So I might as well make the most of the time we've got now."

"I was thinking the same thing. It will be nice to remember what we did tonight when you're off in the wilderness. Maybe we'll be remembering at the same time."

"Yeah, you'll be remembering with your hand on your dick."

"Probably." Scott grinned. "And you?"

"Not bloody likely. You'll be all alone in your comfy bed and I'll be out freezing my ass off in the woods with six kids."

"Whose idea was this?"

"I'm not complaining." Scott looked at him askance and he laughed. "Okay, I guess I was complaining, but I didn't mean it. I'm glad to be doing this. Hank and I planned this class for a whole year." He paused, remembering. "At first I hated the idea of doing it without him. I really wanted to just drop the whole thing."

"I know. You've always been cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness," he said, smiling, "But still I was surprised you decided to go ahead with the class." The smile vanished. "I guess it would have been hard not to once Anjuli weighed in."

"Yeah, she was so keen on it. I didn't feel I could say no. And now I think she was right to talk me into it. It feels good to teach it, makes me think of all the fun times arguing over what to include and how to do it. Sometimes it almost feels like having him back again."

"Well, teaching the class is one thing. It doesn't mean you have to spend a couple of weeks out in Nowheresville, Saskatchewan, trying to find your way to the outpost without anyone knowing you're there."

"It's the only way to do it. You teach a wilderness survival course and what are you gonna do? Give a multiple choice test? This is the only test that matters." He scowled a minute. "And it's a test they might have to pass in real life all too soon. If civil war breaks out here, we're not gonna be able to evacuate this place in some orderly fashion. It'll be hell getting everyone out and who knows what it'll take to get them to the outpost. A whole bunch of them may end up on their own, having to travel there. And being able to do it undetected is real key - it could make the difference between life and death. The more of them with practice at that, the better."

"I suppose you're right." Scott was silent for a moment, and then added, "Do you think it's a good thing for Oliver? The class, the test…"

"Sure. Why not?"

"I don't know. I'm worried about him. When he came home during the crisis, I really thought it would just be for a few days. And then he didn't go back to college, but I figured, okay, so he misses the rest of the semester. That's okay, I told myself, lots of people were traumatized - he needed time. But I thought he'd go back in the fall. I don't know if I should have pushed him more."

"You wanted him to feel safe, feel like he's got a home, right? Somewhere he can come to when he needs to be with other people, people who know him. People who care."

"Sure I do, that's what I want for all of them. Even more so for kids like Oliver who don't have family outside of the community here. But I want him to finish school, too. He was doing so well at Bard. And maybe the longer he waits the harder it gets to go back. So, on the one hand I thought it was better that he take your course than just sit in a dorm all day watching TV. But maybe the class and this trip are just more of an escape from thinking about his future."

"I hate to say it, Cyclops, but this may be his future. I wasn't kidding about civil war. I think Magneto was right."

"Really? You think we'll have to evacuate?" Logan shrugged. "I don't know what to think. A year ago I would have said you were being unduly alarmist. I probably did say that. I won't say it now. Still, I'm finding it hard to imagine a full-scale war, in spite of what I read in the paper and what I see when I venture out of the school. Maybe I'm in denial, but I've always felt safe here. Sometimes it's the only place I do feel safe."

"Maybe that's how Oliver feels, too."

"I know. Probably why I didn't push him to go back to school."

"You did right not to push him, Scott. This time could be good for him lots of ways, war or no war. He needed to be here. It was too much for him, being away from home when the shit hit the fan. Nobody in that college could know what he was going through." Scott nodded at the wisdom of what Logan was saying. "And it's different for him now, you know. It's not like he's just one of the kids again. Not in my class, for sure. He knows more about this stuff than any of the others. He has since that first time he came to Saskatchewan to help out with the well. I started teaching him then and he's been learning ever since." Logan scowled. "Or maybe I shouldn't talk about that time?"

"Fine by me. Water under a long ago bridge. We've come so far since then."

"Well, anyway, I think it's good for Oliver what he's been doing here since he came back. And he was a big help to me in the wilderness survival class."

"Yeah, I can see that. I don't mean to suggest he's regressing, staying here. It's good he's getting some adult responsibilities. Still, I'd like to see him less scared, more secure, willing to go back out into the world."

"I don't blame any mutant for not wanting to be out in the world right now. 4/16 changed everything."

Scott closed his eyes thinking back to the previous spring. "I didn't think it was going to be like this. I thought it would get better," he added. "Or at least that it couldn't get worse than when we were living in anticipation of the next attack."

"Me, too. And when we pulled in Callahan I thought that was the end of it. Get the ringleader and I figured the anti-mutant fervor would just disappear." He shook his head ruefully. "I'm not usually so naïve."

"It could have gone one way or the other, I think. But I never guessed either that his death would make him a martyr. I figured he was so obviously a nut case. I guess his message was more appealing than we could have predicted, more appealing than we can understand."

"Or there's more nutcases out there than we could have predicted. And some of them in positions of power." Logan's smile was ironically grim. "Where do you think it comes from? After all these years I still don't get why they hate us."

"Maybe we make them feel ordinary. Like there's nothing special about them. They're jealous and they can't face that so it turns into hatred." He stopped to think a little. "And it's mutants like you they hate the most, you know, the ones that can pass. Oh, they'd gladly kill me in a minute, I know it. Still, they'd be glad to know they could find me, glad to be able to know what I am. Even more so for Kurt or Warren. But it's the thought that there are mutants among them that they don't know about that really gets them going."

"It's the ones they can find they go after, though, no matter what they look like. Which is why I'm thinking it's a good thing we're teaching survival courses and a good thing we've got the outpost to hide out in if we need it. I don't know if it's any better in Canada than here; maybe a little. But it's sure as hell gonna be better somewhere they don't know where we are, if there's full-scale war between our kind and the normal humans. This place has gotten in the news too much, particularly since Callahan's terror spree. I felt better when we had a lower profile."

"At least the media never knew we were the ones who found him."

"Yeah, that's some comfort. We're not the focus of those nutcases looking to avenge him. But they do know this school was supposed to be one of Callahan's targets and they know it's full of mutants. I still say it's a good thing we've got an escape hatch."

"Me, too. I'm glad you're teaching that course. And glad you're going along for the final exam."

"It was the only way the Professor would let me do it. But I'm not teaching them while we're out there, not leading them or anything. It's up to the kids to choose a leader and figure out how to get to the outpost as a team. I'll be on the team, but that's it."

"And you'll get them out of there alive if they fail the test."

"They better not. If this is ever real life, there won't be any teacher to call in the reserves and rescue them."

Trial and Error (Trials, 2/8)

"I don't believe it. Not Logan." Joe pointed his fork at Max for emphasis, then looked up. Seeing Ruby with her tray, he waved the fork at her, gesturing for her to join them. As she came over and sat down, he continued talking. "It's just a stupid rumor."

"What's a stupid rumor?" Ruby asked, sliding onto the bench next to Joe.

"That Logan's gay."

"I didn't say he's gay," Max protested. "For all I know he could be bisexual. All I said is that he and Mr. Summers are lovers."

"Yeah, right," Joe's skepticism was evident on his face as much as in his voice. "Cyclops and Wolverine. I'll never believe it. They're hardly the type. Well, Logan isn't, anyway."

"What?" Ruby sounded amused. "You think it's more likely that Mr. Summers is gay? How come?"

"Well, he *is* an English teacher. Always quoting poetry and shit like that. And he's never got a hair out of place. Plus, he's kind of too good-looking, if you know what I mean."

Max snorted. "Any other stereotypes you want to throw in, Joe?"

Ruby shook her head disdainfully. "It's not a rumor, Joe. They're a couple. It's not a secret or anything."

"A couple? So, I'm going to see them walking arm in arm in the halls, like Dr. Grey and Mr. Cherevko?"

"Nah," Ruby answered, pausing to think. "They're different. They're not that kind of couple. Not romantic, like Mr. Cherevko and Dr. Grey. Mr. Summers and Logan - I don't know, they're more like best friends or something."

"Yeah, best friends who fuck each other's brains out."

Joe still looked disbelieving. "If they're a couple, how come they don't share a room? Their bedrooms aren't even on the same *floor*."

"Logan can't sleep with anybody," Ruby jumped in. "That's what I heard."

"I thought you said they're lovers."

"I didn't say they don't have sex. I said they don't sleep together." She leaned forward and spoke more softly. "Too dangerous. Something bad happened a few years ago. It was before your time - before mine, too, but I heard about it from Kitty. There was this girl here then. She tried to wake Logan up in the middle of the night and she got hurt real bad. I think he can't control the claws at night or something."

"What was she doing waking him up in the night?" Joe wanted to know.

"I don't know. Kitty didn't know that part. But he stabbed her with the claws - right through her body. If her mutant powers hadn't saved her, she would have been dead. She was a good friend of his, too. Kitty said he felt terrible, that he would have died rather than hurt her. He can't be with anyone when he's sleeping."

Now it was Max's turn to sound doubtful. "Maybe that's just a story. I don't believe it. It doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't he be able to control the claws at night?"

"I don't know. It's just what I heard." She shrugged. "Hey, maybe he like turns into something at night. Like some sort of beast."

"A werewolverine!" Max said and they all laughed. "Maybe. He always seems sort of half-animal, anyway."

"Why don't you find out?" Joe asked Ruby. "You've got the powers for it. Sneak into Logan's room when he's not there and go invisible. Then just wait until he goes to bed and see what happens."

"And get myself expelled if I get caught?"

"Or get an eyeful of Cyclops and Wolverine going at it, if you don't." Max smirked. Then he turned to Joe. "Hey! You're going to be out in the wilderness with Wolverine on that trip."

"So what? So am I. So are four other kids."

"Yeah, but you've got nothing to worry about, Ruby - you're a girl. But Joe here - cute boy, single, teacher's pet... You better watch out, Joe. He might be getting awfully lonely without Cyclops around."

"Don’t be an asshole, Max."

Oliver sat down across from Joe. "That's not very nice," he said. "Max can't help being an asshole."

"Thanks for defending me, Roberts," Max replied.

"Any time. So what are you being an asshole about this time?"

Max didn't answer. "You're friends with Cyclops and Wolverine both, right?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"So, is it true they're a 'couple'?" Joe held his fingers up in quotation marks in the air at the last word.

"What's with the quotes? They are a couple. They've been together for years. Since before I came here." Oliver's tone didn't allow for argument. He continued, "Is that what Max was being an asshole about?"

"I was just wondering if it's such a good idea for Joe here to be out in the woods with a lonely, horny Wolverine..."

"Oh come on," Ruby interrupted. "Teachers here don't have sex with kids. This is Xavier's Academy, not some Catholic high school." The others laughed long and hard, but stopped abruptly as Scott Summers approached their table.

A few minutes later, Oliver and Scott were seated in Scott's office. Oliver watched as Scott nervously shuffled some papers, making idle conversation, but with something clearly bothering him.

"I'm sorry, Scott," Oliver said. "Don't let it get to you. They're just a bunch of stupid kids."

"What do you mean?" Scott sounded genuinely puzzled.

"You seem upset. I thought you overheard what the kids were saying at lunch." Oliver paused, then grinned nervously. "Okay, so I only open my mouth to switch feet. Sorry. It was just dumb kid stuff. You know - about you and Logan." He shrugged apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I don't worry about that kind of talk. It's full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Believe me, if I hadn't developed a thick skin about that kind of thing, I wouldn't still be here."

"So what's wrong?"

"It's hard to know how to begin..." Scott hesitated. "I got a call from Alan Karnikoff today."

Oliver reacted immediately and angrily. "He had no business calling you! I'm not a kid anymore and you're not in loco parentis. Stay out of this, Scott. I'll go back to college if and when I choose to."

"That's not why he called, Oliver," Scott said gently.

"Oh. I just assumed - well, you know, the dean calling. He'd written to me and I hadn't answered yet and I thought he got impatient..." Oliver's voice trailed off. Neither of them said anything for a minute. "I am going to go back in the fall, I mean it. I'm not going to just sit around here forever. But the dean wanted me to come back earlier, finish up the incompletes from last year. I'm just not ready yet. I was going to tell him that. I just hadn't gotten around to it." After a pause, he added, "I guess I didn't know what to say."

"It's okay. You don't owe me any explanations. I'm glad you're planning on going back in the fall. You can work on the incompletes here, if that feels better. I'd be happy to help, any way I can. I can read your papers, if you like."

"Thanks. Sure. It'll be like old times." They smiled at each other briefly. Scott's smile vanished and Oliver said, "What *did* he call about? I'm gathering it wasn't good."

"No, it's not. Dean Karnikoff called me because he heard from your mother, Oliver. She's trying to get in touch with you."

"How did she know where I was?" Oliver asked in a dull voice.

"The college had to confirm with your parents that you were emancipated, when you applied for financial aid last year."

"I guess I should have listened to you and not applied for aid."

"It wasn't necessary. The Foundation was willing to pay full costs."

"I know. But I figured I've been mooching off the Xavier Foundation for years now. I guess I thought I was proving something by getting a scholarship on my own." Oliver sighed. "And we can keep talking about my scholarship, which I guess I lost now what with dropping out, or my college plans. But it's all just avoiding what neither of us wants to talk about. I do want to know. Why would my mother be trying to reach me? I know if she was calling to say she regretted throwing me away when I was fourteen, you wouldn't have that look on your face."

"I can't imagine she doesn't regret it, Oliver. No one could do something like that with a clear conscience. People can't always undo what they did, even with regrets."

Oliver shrugged. "I don't really care, anyway. It's too long ago. It's like they're strangers to me or something, not really my parents anymore. I miss my brothers and sisters sometimes, but not them." Although Oliver was the one with the x-ray vision, he felt like Scott was looking right through him. He shrugged again. "So what did she want?" he asked, after a while.

"She wanted to let you know that your father died. Yesterday." Oliver didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," he added. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I think so. It's not like I loved him or anything." Neither of them spoke for a minute. "How did he die?"

"A shotgun."

"Somebody shot him?" Oliver sounded incredulous.

"No." Scott hesitated. "It might have been an accident. They can't be sure."

"But you don't think so, right? You think the son of a bitch killed himself."

"How did he take the news?" Charles Xavier asked, concern both in his voice and in telepathic waves sent directly to Scott's brain.

"I really don't know. It's so hard to tell. He claims he feels nothing. He says he doesn't want to go to the funeral, still wants to go on the wilderness trip, that he isn't in mourning at all. He says he hasn't lost anything, that his father has been dead to him for years now." Scott paused, and then added. "And he sounds like he means it, like it's not just bravado. I don't know about Oliver - sometimes I think he's 19 going on 50 or something. He's been through too much for his few years - it's aged him. And then sometimes I think he's still a kid and he says things like this because he can't face how he's hurting."

"Maybe both are going on at once. I don't doubt that he thinks he's lost nothing with his father's death. Both of his parents really have been lost to him for a long time. Plus it's perfectly true that he did a lot of his mourning while his father was still alive. He had to, or he wouldn't have been able to deal with the loss of his family. Still, I think he can't know yet all of how it's affecting him." Charles looked pensive. "It takes time to process tragedy."

"That's true. And I worry that he's still processing last April's. The cruelest month indeed. Mixing memory and desire," he added, sighing. They both mulled over that one for a few minutes. "I think there is a loss for him, even if he doesn't know it yet. It can't mean just nothing to him that his father died." Scott's voice wavered a little at the end.

"Hard topic, son?"

Scott nodded. "Not one of the easiest... But one I know something about, anyway. And I think he is experiencing a loss, or at least that he will be once he lets himself feel it. He's got to grieve. I hope he'll let himself mourn. Okay, so he won't be mourning what was as much as what might have been, but that's no less profound a loss. And it's a much lonelier one." He paused again. "Do you think we should let him go on the trip? I think Logan's really counting on Oliver to be a team leader, almost a second teacher. What if he falls apart?"

"I don't feel like we can tell him not to go. He is an adult now. He needs to make his own decisions. And maybe it would be what he needs at this point, too. I think you're right that his role won't be just like the other students - particularly if Logan goes ahead with that plan of having the group divided into two. I think he's counting on Oliver to be his eyes and ears with the group he's not with. But that could be good for Oliver. Having responsibility can be grounding in times of emotional stress, as you well know."

"Yes, I've been through that a couple of times myself."

"I do think you should talk to him a little more about his father's death. We should at least give him the opportunity to change his mind and go to the funeral. He shouldn't be bound by his first reaction."

"That makes sense. I will talk to him again, although I'm damned if I know what to say to him. I want to help Oliver, to support him. I just don't know how to talk to him."

Charles sighed deeply. "Speak in a voice colored with bitter wrongs mingled with monumental patience."

"Easy for you - and Sandburg - to say." Scott and Charles smiled the intimate smile of two people who recognize each other's quotations. "But I don't know what to tell him."

"Tell him what you told me. Tell him you understand some of what he's going through and you want him to tell you more. And listen to what he's got to say. It's all you can do."

Pre-trial Conferences (Trials 3/8)

The day before the trip found Scott back in Charles's office. Charles was heading to the airport in an hour or so, and he and Scott had been meeting to discuss pending school and foundation business before his departure. Now they were moving on to final pre-trip planning. Scott reached to the control console on the Professor's desk and pressed a few buttons. A concealed screen came down from the ceiling, with a topographical map displayed on it.

"That's the spot where I'm dropping the first group," Scott said, gesturing with a laser pointer to the upper left of the area displayed on the screen. "There's the outpost, right here," showing a spot near the center right, with what appeared to be a lake and a mountain in between. "And here's where the second group will be left," he added, moving the pointer back to the upper left of the screen. "Logan will be with one group and Oliver with the other, so there's an adult - or reasonable facsimile thereof - with each team. It's only about a mile and a half from the first one, but it's not easy terrain to navigate. Their first challenge will be to find each other."

"And then they need to find their way to the outpost. It looks hard."

Scott nodded. "That's the idea. I worked within Logan's stated parameters - less than 50 miles from the outpost and leaving them on dry land. But I didn't do anything to make it easy. The physical challenge will be considerable - look what they have to cross. But it's not just that," he added, gesturing with the pointer. "See here, and here, and here. Those are all towns. They have to get to the outpost without anyone knowing they're there. The most direct routes are the ones they can't take for fear of discovery."

"And they won't have any idea where they are? Not even Logan?"

"No, you're the only one who knows the exact location. Logan didn't want to know. He can be a real purist about this stuff sometimes."

"So, they could very well end up stumbling across some locals, if they're not careful. How can we ensure they don't compromise the secrecy of the outpost if that happens?"

"We've got a cover story and good supporting documentation. They're an Outward Bound group on a two-week camping trip and they got lost. They won't have any identification with them to suggest anything else."

"That's okay, I guess. Still, I hope they don't have to use the story. I don't want anything to call attention to the area around the outpost or to connect mutants with that part of Saskatchewan. Not with the way things are going, lately. Evacuating to the outpost is feeling less and less like some remote contingency plan. Keeping the location secret is vital." Charles paused, running a hand over his bald head. "Do we know that Outward Bound takes mutant participants?" he asked. "Some of those kids can't pass for normal."

"Yeah, not Jamie, anyway. The others can pass, generally, at least for short periods. Yes, Outward Bound takes mutants. I checked into it last spring, when we were thinking of alternatives to offer the kids, when it looked like this wilderness survival class wasn't going to happen. They don't discriminate."

"Good. Maybe we will send some of our students on Outward Bound some day." He looked up at the map again. "How long are we giving them to find each other and get to the outpost?"

"I don't know. Logan's got a signaling device - he'll activate it if he thinks we need to come in and get them. He'll use it if the groups can't find each other or if they can't make it to the outpost. It sets off alarms both here and at the outpost. And it's also got a homing signal - we can locate them if we need to. I'm leaving it to Logan's discretion whether or not to activate, based on what's going on there on site. At first I felt like if they can't find each other in a couple of days, then we should just call the whole thing off. Same thing if they can't find their way to the outpost in two weeks. But he talked me out of that. He doesn't want to have any drop dead points; he wants to play it by ear."

"I can understand that. He'll be the one on the ground there with them. If two weeks or some other arbitrary deadline goes by but he feels they are making progress and able to complete, then he wouldn't want them to have the disappointment of failing when they could have succeeded."

Scott nodded. "That's Logan's argument, too. And it does make sense. I certainly trust his judgment as to when they should give up, even though I'd feel a little more secure if I knew we'd see them by a set date or go in and get them. Plus, as Logan points out, it's a better simulation if they don't have a set time frame. If any of our students are ever stranded in the wilderness, what matters is not that they can find civilization in two weeks, but that they can survive until they do, however long that takes."

Warren Worthington III was having a wonderful day. It was a day made even more joyful by coming, as it did, after a long series of lonely and miserable ones. He was flying all around the Xavier estate, soaring high and then swooping down to treetop level, humming to himself happily. His good mood had started at breakfast, which had been interrupted by a phone call from his girlfriend. Laura, the Xavier Institute's school librarian and the X-Men's language expert as well as Warren's constant companion, was away on a mission on an island in Micronesia and Warren was more than happy to leave his eggs and toast to take the call.

Chuuk had hit the news when the UN's World Mutant Survey found it to be the area in the world with the highest incidence of occurrence of human mutation. Of the 15,000 residents of Chuuk over the age of 15, fully 25% were mutants, more than one hundred times the worldwide average. Charles Xavier had sent a team to investigate and Laura's linguistic skills were essential to the effort. Warren was outwardly supportive but missed Laura terribly. And between the lack of privacy - the four visiting X-Men were sharing two rooms at a local inn - and the primitive phone system in Chuuk, he'd had to do without even phone sex for the past two weeks. The deprivation had been getting to him. His wings drooped, his color was poor, and he looked positively unkempt, in contrast to his usual dapper appearance. His friend Scott had asked Warren what was wrong and confided that the others were starting to worry about him. Warren brushed the concern off, assuring Scott he was fine, but secretly he was a little worried about himself, too.

So, he had been both relieved and elated to hear from Laura that the mission was over and they would be returning to Westchester in a couple of days, after a brief stop in London. Cheered by the welcome news, he had quickly gone outside and was happy to see it was a brisk and clear day after a series of gloomy ones. The sun was shining and the cool November air felt bracing. A perfect day for flying. Lost in the glory of the air for the next hour, Warren finally landed in the small enclosed garden on the northeast end of the estate.

The bubble of good cheer burst when he saw that he was not, as he'd thought, alone in the garden. His first impulse was to flee, but wishing to appear neither rude nor cowardly, Warren attempted to smile at the redheaded student sitting on the bench. "Hello, Jamie. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for you," the boy replied, standing up. He was dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. The jacket had been modified, though, with slits in the back. Through the openings wings poked out. They looked much like Warren's, if smaller. "I'm sorry to bother you," Jamie added.

"No bother at all," Warren lied. "But I really don't think I can help you. I told you pretty much everything I know the other day." Warren looked at his watch, trying to give the impression of someone who needed to be somewhere else very soon. "I don't know if your pattern will follow mine at all. But if it does - well, I was past my sixteenth birthday before I could fly, and you're only fourteen now. So, you may have some time."

"Yes, if I *can* fly at all. You didn't have your wings cut off or burnt off, did you?"

"No, Jamie, nothing like that." Warren's annoyance was disappearing and his tone was gentle. "But yours did grow back. They're okay now, aren't they?"

Jamie shrugged, flexing his wings as he did. "I can't really tell yet, since I can't do anything useful with them. Dr. McCoy thought they'd be okay. I guess I was counting on him being able to fix them if they weren't..." His voice trailed off.

"We all miss him. We all relied on him, in so many different ways."

"I bet you wish he was here now so you could tell me to go talk to him and leave you alone." From some other adolescent that statement would have sounded resentful and sullen, but Jamie's lighthearted tone and twinkling eyes made Warren laugh. "Anyway," he continued, "I'm not looking for more information from you about your wing development. Not now, anyway. I just wanted to show you something." Jamie planted his feet about 18 inches apart and spread his arms wide. His hands were in tight fists and his eyes were closed. Nothing happened for a minute or two, but then the wings on his back began to beat, first slowly, then faster.

"When did you learn to move them like that?" Warren asked in surprise. "I thought you couldn't flap them at all."

Jamie exhaled loudly and opened his eyes. The wings folded slowly onto his back "I couldn't," Jamie said. "I've been practicing since I talked to you last week. Something you said kind of clicked with me. About it being a little like rolling your shoulders but you feel it lower down. I can move them pretty consistently now. But I don't go up at all. I'm worried I won't ever be able to fly."

"I'm sure you will." Warren was feeling excited in spite of himself. "I couldn't flap mine like that until much later than you. And it took weeks of practice before I even got off the ground at all. You're way ahead of me."

"It's because you helped me." Jamie paused. "Would you be willing to work with me? I think if I could learn from you, I could be flying in no time. If I can at all, I mean. And," he added, looking down, "if I can't, I'd rather know sooner than later, you know? So, I was kind of hoping you'd give me lessons. You don't have to give me an answer now. I'm leaving on the wilderness class exam trip tomorrow and won't be back for a while. Can you just think about it while I'm gone? Let me know if we could work together when I get back."

"I don't have to think about it, Jamie. Let me give some thought while you're gone about what kinds of exercises we might do." Warren beamed at the boy in front of him. "I'd be happy to work with you." He was surprised to realize he meant it.

Wendy was at work in the empty underground residences at the outpost, the rooms that had never been used except for occasional visiting X-Men. They stood ready in case the evacuation plan ever had to be enacted. She had just finished changing a washer in one of the sinks in the large communal bathroom. Baby Ezra was cooing in the sling, slung on her back so he wouldn't be in her way or in danger of being splashed. "I hope you're paying close attention," she said to him. "I expect you to do this next time. Sink repair is an important skill and you're never too young to learn it." He gurgled back at her.

Task complete, she stood up and reslung the baby in front of her. She gathered her tools and walked out of the bathroom into the common room. As she entered from the bathroom side, her husband walked into the common room from the opposite door. "So there you are," Arthur said. "What are you doing down here? Where's April? How come you've got the baby?"

"Have you been reading police procedurals again? You're not a detective and I'm not a suspect, so no need for the third degree." He looked apologetic and she smiled, to show she wasn't mad. "Okay, sit down here, Detective Ringsmith and I'll submit to interrogation." They sat side by side on the couch by the wall. "In the order of the questions you asked: One, what I've been doing down here is maintenance, in preparation for the Wilderness Class trip. Since they're going to stay in the underground residences for a few days, I figured I'd check and see if anything needed doing. And it did," she added, gesturing with a wrench. "Two, April went into town with Diana, who's picking up some supplies for the infirmary. And three, I've got the baby because Jean-Paul and Adam were looking at each other in a way that suggested they could use some time alone, so I volunteered to take this sweet bundle off their hands for a couple of hours."

Arthur laughed. "So, they're finding that parenthood interferes with their sex lives? Nice they have you to step in."

"Hey, Jean-Paul has done the same for us plenty of times. I figure I owe him about 3 years of child-free sexual interludes, so I'd better get started." She stroked the baby's fine brown hair. "Besides, it feels good to hold a little one again. Isn't he thoroughly adorable?"

"That he is. Makes me think we should consider having another ourselves." She scowled. "Oh don't look at me like that. I never promised I'd give up. Why shouldn't we have another baby?"

"There are enough children here already, Arthur, to keep us busy. You know how I feel about bringing another baby into the world right now. A baby in a mutant family."

"Wen, it's been years since Vermont. We were both traumatized then. I know we had to put off our plans for more kids, but that doesn't mean giving up altogether. It's different now. We're safe here."

"Only because we're in hiding. The hatred hasn't gone away - it's gotten worse. We're living in an armed camp. We could have 100 more people hiding here any time. I can't see having another baby in a world that hates us."

"So we should be governed by their bigotry? We shouldn't dare to disturb the universe? It's okay for the maniacs in Sacred Honor to keep multiplying? It's okay for Callahan's followers to have kids? William Fucking Marley and his wife just had their seventh, you know, and he didn't even stop the hearings for it. Just praised God that he's fruitful and multiplying and grilled the next mutant. At least, that's what I heard. Why should they have kids and we shouldn't?"

Wendy thought there were a hundred answers to that, a hundred visions and revisions, and none of them sufficient. So she said nothing.

Pretrial Hearings (Trials 4/8)

"Hey, do you have a minute?"

Oliver looked up from his book and saw Joe standing there. "Have a seat," he replied, although he had chosen this out-of-the-way corner of the school library because he was craving some privacy. Sharing a room at Xavier's with three roommates was something he'd never quite adjusted to since his return. He often thought wistfully of his single dorm room at Bard, tiny as it was. At Xavier's Oliver found he often could no quiet find. Still, he'd had a pleasantly private hour and was willing to talk to Joe for a while now. "What's up?" he asked him.

"Well, I've been thinking some more about the trip tomorrow. I think maybe I shouldn't go. I'm not feeling too good - maybe I shouldn't be outside in the cold like that."

"Are you getting sick? Have you been to the infirmary? Dr. Grey can give you a better idea, probably, of whether the trip is a good idea."

"Nah, I'm not bad enough to see a doctor. Just a little under the weather." He didn't meet Oliver's glance.

"What does Logan think you should do? I know he's not the most sympathetic guy about illness - probably because he can't get sick. Still, he'd have a good idea of whether or not you'd endanger the mission, I think."

"I haven't talked to him about it."

"Why not? He's the teacher. He's leading this trip - I'm just helping out." Joe didn't answer. "Are you really not feeling well? Physically? Or is this about what Max told you about Logan and Scott?"

Joe shrugged. "Maybe. I know it's none of my business what they do, but it grosses me out to think about it. It's disgusting."

"So don't think about it." Joe shrugged again and Oliver sighed. "I know - it's not that easy. Look, I felt much the same when I first came here. I was totally shocked when I found out Scott was gay. And I didn't find out for a while - he was not out then like he is now. So, by the time I did find out he was already my advisor and kind of my mentor and confidant, too. He was the one guy here I wanted to be like - Field Leader, teacher, hero. So then I find out he likes dick and I'm shocked and furious and disgusted all at once."

"But you don't feel like that now?"

"No, not at all. I haven't for a long time."

"Doesn't it bother you - the idea of two guys together?"

"Not really. It's nothing to do with me, you know? That was the hard part for me to realize, what took so much time. I freaked out a few ways when I found out about Scott. Partly it was I felt lied to, since he hadn't told me. Partly it felt gross to think about, like you said. But mostly I thought it was about me. I thought maybe he'd try something with me. Even more than that, I thought if he's the guy I want to be like and that's what he is, well what does it say about me? But after a while I realized it's nothing about me at all. He's not interested in kids - boys or girls - not that way. And the things I admired about him, wanted to emulate - well, they were nothing to do with sex. It's just not relevant to my life."

Joe exhaled loudly. "Oh, maybe you're right. I don't want to sound like I think everything's about me. I know Max is full of shit when he talks about Logan coming on to me. It just still gives me the creeps. And what mostly gives me the creeps is that I didn't know all the time I've been here. I just never would have taken them for gay. Logan especially."

"I don't think he is gay, really. Scott is - we've talked about it and he feels it's an important part of who he is, part he couldn't face for a lot of years. He spent a lot of time running from it, hiding from it. He was even engaged to Dr. Grey."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they were together a long time. Coming out was a real process for him. Like I said, he was pretty much still in the closet when I first came here."

Joe thought a bit more about what Oliver had said before. "What do you mean Logan isn't gay? You think he's bi?"

"No, not even that. I don't know. I think he's just Logan. He's different than other people. Categories like gay and straight don't seem to apply to him. He just wants what he wants, who he wants, and doesn't think about that stuff. If he weren't with Scott I do think he'd be with a woman. Or a few women. But I don't think he even speculates about that. He just lives the life he's living. He is with Scott. There's something really strong between them, really potent, and it's not just sex. Ruby was right that they're more like best friends than like a romantic couple. I've known them for years now - when they were together and when they weren't. They're both better people when they're together - stronger, happier, easier to get along with. It can't be a bad thing."

"Do they like kiss each other around you? Hold hands?" Joe shuddered a little at the thought.

"No, they don't go in for public stuff."

"Well, that's a relief, at least. I don't think I could handle seeing two men holding hands."

"I really think you do get used to it. Some of why that seems so disgusting to you is you never *have* seen it. I have gay friends at college, including a couple who kiss and all that. I mean, they're not like making out in front of other people, just doing the same stuff anybody would - kissing hello, holding hands, arms around each other."

"It doesn't gross you out?"

"It did at first. Or maybe it just embarrassed me more. I didn't want to stare at them, I didn't want to be caught looking away. But after a while it doesn't seem any different than a guy and a girl doing that stuff. If it started getting hot and heavy, it would be embarrassing. But a simple kiss? No problem."

"I don't think I'll ever feel like that."

"Maybe not, but you really don't know now. It's like - well, for example, you and me - we both have mutations that don't show, right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, had you ever seen mutants who looked really strange before you came here?"

"Nobody looks strange here. Lots of kids are a little different, but…"

"Guys with green skin like Ned, or wings like Jamie, or shape changers just turning into something else in front of you? Ms. Monroe's eyes, going all white like that? Scott's eyes, even - knowing you can never see them. Don’t tell me they didn't look strange to you at first."

"Well, yeah. I didn't know where to look. It felt like a freak show the first few weeks. But they're just mutants like us. After a while they seem just normal. It's only when we're somewhere like Salem Center and everybody's staring that I remember they can't pass."

"Yeah, well it's the same thing, I think. You just get used to it after a while. You don't realize that some people think it's weird or disgusting, don't even remember that you thought that yourself. Until someone reminds you," he added with a smile. "Stick with the trip, Joe. Stick with Logan and Scott as your teachers. Maybe you'll explain all this to some other kid in a couple of years." Joe looked like he was considering the advice. "And besides," Oliver continued, "We need you to help the rest of us weaklings. Did you see what we're taking on this trip? Without your super strength, we'll collapse under the weight before we ever find the outpost."

"Mac?"

"Hi, Logan. Thanks for calling me back. I was worried I might have missed you."

"Nah, we don't leave until tomorrow."

"Is everything set for the trip?"

"I guess so. I'll know better when we're out there. But I think they're ready. As ready as they'll ever be."

"And you'll be gone how long?"

"Depends. I'm guessing a couple of weeks, but we'll see what it takes… So, what's up?"

"I've been subpoenaed by the Marley Commission."

"What? How can you be subpoenaed by a Senate commission? You're not even an American citizen."

"They served me when I was in Atlanta last week for that bio-terrorism conference. My lawyer says it's a valid summons."

"How'd they find you? What do they know? What are they gonna ask you?"

"I don't have the answers to any of that. I'm trying to find out what I can, but I haven't gotten very far. I've put out feelers with my contacts in Washington, but I don't want to say too much, don't want to tip our hand."

"God that man worries me, Mac. I know he's acting like he just wants to get to the bottom of what happened on 4/16, but he's not fooling me. I remember when he was one of Kelly's followers. I don't think he's changed anything but what he says in public since then… How the fuck did they get your name? That's what I want to know. They shouldn't know anything about you. Nobody outside of Alpha Flight and the X-Men is supposed to know it was you and me capturing Callahan."

"Well, there's Martin Kline and Alan Hoyle and God knows who else in the FBI. And Adam Greenfield."

"I'm not worried about Adam. He knows how to keep his mouth shut. And the FBI won't talk to the Senate. They barely listen to the president. They think they're their own government half the time."

"Not this time. Marley already brought Hoyle in to testify about Callahan's capture - I know that much."

"Shit! I would have sworn he'd refuse to testify. Do you know what he said? He didn't tell them the truth, did he?"

"I have no idea. I wish I did know, but the proceedings are held in secret. I'm trying to avoid testifying if I can."

"How will you do that?"

"The usual. National Security considerations. That sort of thing. But it hasn't impressed them so far. It doesn't help that Hoyle was willing to talk. They're not going to be all that concerned about Canadian national security, and if the head of the FBI doesn't think it's compromising US security to talk to them about the manhunt and capture…"

"Yeah, they don't give a shit about anything outside of this country. Okay, if you have to go, you have to go. It's probably too much of a tip off, anyway, if you try too hard to get out of it. If you can't find out what Hoyle said, just assume they know nothing. That's the only way to go if you don't know what they've heard already. Tell them the same story we've told everyone else: Martin Kline found Callahan and brought him in, with the assistance of the RCMP."

"I can't do that."

"Why the fuck not?"

"I'll be under oath, Logan. If they ask me about the capture, I'll have to tell them the truth."

"Under oath? What are you talking about? You passed a polygraph test with that story. Don’t start getting honest on me now."

"I've gone as far as I can go with that story. I'm not willing to perjure myself. I don't want to talk to Marley about any of this, but if I have to, I will."

"Don't do this to me, Mac. I've got a life here now. Don't get me in the papers. The Professor got subpoenaed, too. He isn't telling them anything about what we did; no reason you have to. Don't you screw this up. Don't make me disappear again."

"Maybe it's nothing to do with Callahan's capture. It's a good sign Charles is testifying too, I think. Maybe they're just interviewing anyone who was on the site of one of the attacks - that would explain Charles and me being served. I bet they have no idea about his connection to Callahan's capture, or about mine. I'll tell them all about the attack on Alpha Flight headquarters. And if they bring up Callahan I'll avoid answering anything I can manage to. I'll try to keep you out of it if I can. I won't say more than I have to."

"That's not good enough. Don't do this, Mac."

"They'll keep it quiet. It's not in the media. All the press are clamoring to know what they've found out about anti-mutant terror organizations, but Marley won't say a thing. That's why we don't know what they're up to."

"What about when the hearings are over? What about when they issue their report? You know I can't go public. I can't let the media know what I am and where I am. Mac, I don't ask you for much. Don't do this."

"I'll do my best."

Opening Statements (Trials 5/8)

"I think we should stop here and make camp. The storm's getting worse. We're going to just get lost if we keep going." Joe's morose and discouraged tone said as much as his words.

"Get lost? How can we be more lost than we are now?" Kitty answered. "The kind of shelter we can make from what we've got with us isn't going to be enough for a blizzard like this. And we're on some sort of a road. There has to be somewhere we can take shelter if we keep on this way."

"I think we should push on, too," Oliver weighed in. "Do you need help carrying that stuff, Joe?" With his X-ray eyes, Oliver was the only one who could see Joe's face through the blizzard, and he interpreted the frown as one of discomfort.

"No, I can carry it all. Might as well use my super-strength for something. I'm just really worried we're going to get overwhelmed by this storm and have to pitch a tent when it's even worse than this. Or that we'll lose track of each other in the blizzard. Or lose track of the road, not even know whether we're on it or not. I can't see a thing."

"Okay, let's stop for a minute here, under this tree and regroup, figure out what we should do." Everyone huddled together and Oliver continued. "Joe's got a point about losing each other. I can see all of you through the storm, but I'm confused, too, about which way we're going. I can look through the snow below us and tell if we get *off* the road, but I don't know that I could find it to get back on. It's too confusing in the middle of the storm with no known landmarks." He looked around at his three classmates. "I agree that we need to find a better spot to shelter, but we also need to travel better, more safely. Any ideas?"

"We can tie ourselves to each other. We've got plenty of rope. It will stop us from losing each other, at least."

"Good thinking, Kitty." Oliver nodded in her direction. "Joe, can you get out some rope and do that?" He turned to Tracy. "Can you help at all with keeping us on the road?"

She nodded, and then realizing no one but Oliver could see her through the swirling snow, answered in words. "It sounds different when we're walking on the road. Not to you guys, I know, but with my hearing I can tell the difference, even with all this snow. So Oliver, between your eyes and my ears we should know if we're stepping off of it, and then we can just stop right away if we do. And retrace." She cocked her head to one side, concentrating on what she could hear in the distance. "There's people less than a mile from here. I can hear their breathing, hear their heartbeats. They're sleeping. Where there are people sleeping, there's shelter. And it's a direction to go in. I won't get turned around like the rest of you, because I can just keep walking towards the sounds of people."

"We can't let anyone know we're here, even if we do find a house." Joe was busy lashing the four students together, but spoke as he tied the knots.

"I know," Tracy replied. "But where there's a house, there might be a garage, a barn, a shed. If we can get inside for even a few hours and leave before the household awakes, we'll be in much better shape. I'll know when they wake and we'll move on." Three heads nodded agreement. They sighed and, with ropes now connecting them, trudged back onto the road, Tracy in the lead.

Tracy's super-acute hearing didn't lie. There was a household full of people less than a mile away. Under ordinary circumstances, the walk would have taken a few minutes. In the middle of a storm, the foursome managed to walk it in just under two hours. Oliver alerted them that there was a large farmhouse just ahead, with a couple of buildings behind it. None of the others could see anything but whirling snow.

"Okay," Oliver added, "We need to be really careful about this. We don't want to be seen."

"Who cares if they see us? My feet are falling off and my eyeballs feel like they're frozen solid. I'm ready to give up and knock on the door." Joe's morose voice and words spoke for them all.

"Now is the winter of our discontent?" Oliver asked ironically. "It's the first day - we can't give up yet. If we have to alert the household, we will. And if we do, remember the cover story. But I don't think we'll need to. What can you hear in the buildings, Tracy?"

She pointed to her right as she answered Oliver. "Is that the house over there? I can't see, but it's full of people, all sleeping. Just a minute. Yeah, I can count seven heartbeats. No, eight, but one's really fast and close to another. Oh, I think it's a pregnant woman and the fetal heartbeat."

Oliver gestured to the left, right in front of her face so she could see where he was pointing through the driving snow. "What about over there? I see a barn and inside it looks like it's just being used as a storage shed for now. No animals or people that I can see. Can you hear any sounds of life?" She shook her head. "Okay, team," he said. "I think we've found shelter for the night."

They approached the barn building, Oliver's sight helping them find the door. It was locked. "I can break it in," Joe offered, "but then they'll know we were here."

"Yeah, let's not do it that way." Oliver peered through the door, examining the lock on the other side. "Kitty," he said. "It looks like it's easy to open from inside."

Kitty beamed, glad to be of use finally. Untying herself from the others, she walked through the door and opened it from the other side. The other three students quickly piled into the barn and closed the door tightly behind them. They all breathed a sigh of relief to be inside.

"Home sweet home," Joe remarked. "No heat, no beds - who would have thought I'd be so happy to be in a cold, dark barn?"

"It's all a matter of perspective, I guess," said Oliver, pulling down a pile of blankets from a shelf and distributing them to the other three students. "Let's settle in. We'd better get some sleep. We can figure out what to do next in the morning."

"What do we do now?" Ruby's voice wavered between fear and annoyance.

"Don't look at me." The rock formation they stood under provided enough shelter that the three of them could see and hear each other pretty well, but the roar of the wind and the wildly swirling snow showed the little team what they'd contend with if they ventured out of the natural enclosure.

"Come on, Logan. How are we going to find anything or anybody in the middle of a blizzard?"

"I'm as lost as you are."

"You're the teacher."

"Not here, I'm not. I'm a member of the team. We covered that before we headed out. Choose a leader and I'll follow orders, but I'm not telling you what to do."

"And I guess we can't choose you as a leader?" Jamie asked. Logan shook his head.

"Come on, Logan," Ruby tried again. "That's not fair."

"Who said this was supposed to be fair?"

"Well, I thought at least the team divisions would be. The other team has all the kids with powers you can actually use in the wilderness. My invisibility is totally useless here. And Jamie... well…"

"Jamie's totally useless anywhere? Is that what you're trying to say?" The light tone in his voice made the questions sound amused, not belligerent. Ruby protested but he interrupted her. "Hey, don't argue with me when I'm agreeing with you," he said. "I don't have *any* powers. Your invisibility might actually come in handy if we get near a town and don't want to be noticed. But these things aren't good for anything," Jamie added, flapping his wings to indicate what he meant. "They're conspicuous and they don't do anything. At least not yet."

"I didn't know you could move them like that." Ruby reached out to touch one.

Jamie shrugged shoulders and wings. "I couldn't until the other day. So, yeah, I take it back. I can do something with them. If it gets too hot and we need a cool breeze, I'll flap them for you." He looked out at the raging storm. "Somehow I hope we find our way out before that's an issue, though." He turned to Logan. "Ruby's right. We need your powers. You should be the leader."

"If you need my powers, use them. But first decide who's giving orders." Looking at his two students he added, "And it's not me."

"Okay Ruby, you're elected. Age before beauty."

"Charles? I was just heading out for the airport but Heather said you wanted me to call before I left."

"Yes. I'm glad I got hold of you, Mac. I don't think you should come here."

"What? Why not? I was figuring we could meet tomorrow, before I head on to Washington and the Marley commission."

"I don't think you should go to Washington. I don't think you should come to this country at all, at least for now. I just got back from Washington, and I had a pretty disturbing experience there. I was planning on staying a few days, but came back right after my appearance before the Commission. I don't think it's a place I should be now. Or you."

"Logan told me you were testifying, too. It didn't go well?"

"The Marley Commission is not at all what it purports to be, Mac. I've had concerns about it since the beginning, just knowing Marley's history, but from what I could glean before I testified I thought he was sincerely trying to investigate what happened on 4/16 and after. I don't think that anymore."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I was very disturbed by the kinds of questions I was asked. At first I couldn't see where they were headed. A lot of questions about my powers, about the school here, about other places in the country with a concentration of mutants. I thought maybe they were asking some of this as background information, just to understand my perspective and areas of expertise, but that's not the case. I read Marley's mind, as well as some of the others. This is not an investigation into anti-mutant terrorism at all, Mac. That's a subterfuge to get people like you and me to be willing to talk to them. It's an investigation into mutants and mutant organizations. And, believe me, they don't wish us well. I don’t think you should leave Canada."

"But I was subpoenaed."

"You were subpoenaed when you were in the States. It's not an international tribunal. If you don't come over the border, what can they do?"

"I told them I'd come."

"They asked you under false pretenses. You're not bound by that. They're part of an anti-mutant conspiracy, I'm telling you. They're connected to Callahan's followers."

"Marley? He's a US senator, not some nut."

"He's not the first nut in the Senate, Mac. Not the first one to take the country down a road of persecution and oppression. I'm terrified by what I found out. I can't tell you strongly enough how dangerous this is. You won't be safe there."

"I'm not even a mutant, Charles."

"You're a 'mutant sympathizer'. That's how they have you classified in their internal documents, the ones we weren't supposed to see."

"You have their internal documents? How'd you manage that?"

"A little mind control goes a long way. Marley's secretary doesn't even remember copying them for me."

"Nothing stops you, does it?"

"Not when my people's lives are at stake. Don't get on that plane, Mac. We need to talk, figure out what to do next, but it can't be here. I'll come to you. There's a lot you don't know, a lot of evidence I need you to see."

"Okay, you've talked me into it. Can you come right away? You can stay with Heather and me. The guest room's free and it's on the first floor."

"I don't want to come to Toronto. I think we should meet somewhere out of the way, somewhere we won't be seen."

"Charles, you're sounding paranoid. How extensive do you think this conspiracy is?"

"I think it's big enough that I don't know when we're being watched and that I don't want to cross the border anywhere they'll be a record. I'll get Scott to fly me in the Blackbird. Can we meet at your cabin? I know he can land near there and not be seen."

"Sure. When can you get there?"

"In a few hours."

"I'll be waiting. I sure hope you're being unduly alarmist, Charles."

"I wish I were, Mac. I wish I were."

Trials and Tribulations (Trials 6/8)

Wendy looked at the clock by the bed and groaned. Deciding that she might as well give up on going back to sleep, she quietly got out of bed, sliding into slippers and pulling her robe off the bedpost to wrap it around her. Arthur rolled over, spreading out his arms and legs so that they mostly covered Wendy’s side of the bed, too. She watched him for a minute, but he didn’t wake up. Wendy walked over to the other side of the room, looking at April curled up in her small bed under the window. She paused to stroke her sleeping daughter’s hair and then walked out of the bedroom. The book on her nightstand floated through the air to her waiting hand and the bedroom door quietly closed itself as she walked downstairs to the living room.

She wasn’t the only outpost resident up in the wee hours. “What are you doing awake?” Jean-Paul asked her from the big rocking chair by the fireplace, his six-month-old son snuggled on his chest.

“Couldn’t sleep, although I don’t have your excuse,” she replied, stopping to touch baby Ezra’s hand, splayed on his father’s shoulder. “May I?” she asked, reaching to pick him up. “Or do you think it would wake him up again?”

“Be my guest. He won’t wake. He didn’t get me up. I just brought him down with me because I thought it would be nice to have someone to cuddle with while I can’t sleep. I’m thinking insomniacs should always have babies.”

Wendy chuckled as she took the baby from Jean-Paul and settled on the couch across from him. “He’s so little,” she said, Ezra’s hand curling around her index finger as she held him close.

“He doesn’t seem little to me. He’s growing so fast.”

“Yeah, he’s doing great. He has grown and developed so much since you brought him home. But he still seems really tiny to me. I can barely remember when April was this size. Now, I can hardly carry her.”

“It’s all your frame of reference, I guess. Joanne never got any bigger than Ezra is now. At 18 months, that’s what it was like holding her.”

“Wow! I can’t imagine how that would feel. I mean, the contrast between parenting then and this time around.”

“Contrast is right. Mostly it feels so good. Remember, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to screw my courage to the sticking place and do this again?

“How could I forget? I spent enough late nights trying to talk you into it, even offering my body to you.”

“That sounds a little unsavory. Good thing nobody’s here to misunderstand.” She laughed. “I did appreciate the offer. We both did. Still, it seemed so… complicated or something. It scared me. Adam and I weren’t sure we’d feel like we were really the parents, if you gave birth. And we worried that you'd feel like it was your baby, not ours.”

“Tricky, isn’t it? I find that whole biological parenting thing so... well, sort of mysterious and hard to understand. It matters a lot to some people, not at all to others. I don't think Arthur cares at all about having a genetic connection to April. I don't think he even thinks about it. Well, he would have killed me if I'd slept with somebody else, whether or not I got pregnant. Still, he would have been just as happy to adopt, and we did consider that. But me getting pregnant seemed easier all around. Plus, it was something I wanted to do."

She paused and kissed the sleeping baby on the top of his head. "Arthur wants to do it again, but I'm too scared."

"Pourquoi?"

"Just everything going on now. A year ago I didn't feel like this, but since 4/16… Our world has changed. I don't think it's going back. I feel scared all the time. And besides, we've got enough children to care for here. And who knows? We may get more, any time."

They both mused on that thought a minute. Wendy continued, "I do think I could have done it for you, if you'd wanted me to. I knew what it meant to me, and what it didn't. Pregnancy, giving birth to April, breastfeeding her – they were hugely profound experiences to me. Grappled her to me with hoops of steel, so to speak. But I do think I could have differentiated between April as my child and being a surrogate for you. After all, I have no doubt that Joanne was your daughter, without the biological connection.”

C’est vrai. But, what about Daniel? He was Adam’s, and then he wasn’t. Biology prevailed there.”

“Well, sort of. If Jocelyn had changed her mind a couple of months later, it wouldn’t have."

"Oui. Like you say, it's tricky."

"I’m just thrilled you both were able to try again, with all the leftover fears from your previous parenting experiences.”

“It wasn’t easy. I know Adam was terrified throughout the adoption process. And, really, I don't think he'll completely relax until we finalize next week, even though it's just a formality. For me… well it’s just so different with Ezra. Do you realize he hasn’t even had a cold yet? He’s been healthy his whole life, short time as that's been so far. When Joanne was healthy, it was like a pause between bouts of illness. A really welcome pause, but it never felt like her normal state. Bien sur, it never was.” He sighed. “Of course Ezra will get sick, but I do hope I can view that as normal, and handle it. Particularly with a doctor on site.”

“Yeah, Diana being here has made a big difference for us all.”

“Oui. And I'm glad she's here for the sake of Logan and his class, too. It's tough being out there in the wilderness, particularly this time of year. Those kids may well need Diana's attention, when they get here."

"Is that what was keeping you up? I know it's got me worried. I don't know if this was such a good idea. Logan was so confident they could handle it, but I'm not sure of his judgment on things like this. He's almost invincible and I think it warps his perceptions of others, you know? Those kids are so young and they've never done anything like this."

"I'm not worried about them. Vraiment. First of all, it's only been two days. Logan was pretty sure it would take a couple of weeks, at least. Besides, if it's a war between Logan and the elements, I'll bet on Logan any time. And we didn't expect to hear from them unless there's an emergency. So, I'm assuming things are okay. I'm not worried about the kids in the wilderness - it's the ones back in soi disant civilization that have me worried. How quickly do you think we could turn this place from community of fifty to refuge for three or four times that many?"

"We're ready. I've been checking and rechecking the underground residences, making sure everything's in good repair, that we have sufficient supplies, that we can keep everyone and everything hidden. Oh, I sure hope we don't need to use them. Do you think we will?"

"I don't know. I'm worried it's coming. For a while there I really thought we were making progress, at least in North America. Both Canada and the U.S. took in Belarussian mutant refugees; the original Mutant Registration Act didn't pass in the U.S.; Callahan was apprehended and he would have been prosecuted if he hadn't killed himself. I thought we were moving towards greater acceptance and understanding, towards integration of known mutants into the larger society. But now… it seems like the tide has turned against us. Look at what's happening in government and in the U.N.; this new bill in the States is much worse than the original one. There will be nowhere for mutants to hide if it passes. And look at the rise of 'patriot' groups. When Adam wrote about Sacred Honor two years ago they were the lunatic fringe - now they're almost mainstream. People act like they're a legitimate political movement, not a bunch of murderous bigots. I'm scared, Wendy. I can't sleep for thinking about it."

"Oh God, Jean-Paul, I hope you're wrong. Sometimes it's all I can think about, but other times I just totally forget about it. It's so easy to feel just totally insulated from it here, you know? I'm living in my own little world half the time, I think."

He patted her leg. "I know. It's a lovely world, lots better than the one out there."

"Well, if we have to take in refugees, we're ready. And we've done a good job of keeping what's going on here a secret. I really think nobody in the whole area knows there's any more than three couples and three kids here. They think we're a strange household, I'm sure - one lesbian couple, one gay couple and plain old heterosexual Arthur and me. But I don't think anyone in town has an inkling we're mutants. Although I've had a couple of close calls with April since she came into her powers. I'm thinking we'd better keep her home until she's a little more in control."

"Not a bad idea. And I think you're right that our cover story held. I hope we can just continue as we have been. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing. Anyway, I’m very glad we decided to venture into parenting here with all of you. I can't help worrying about the outside world but here at the outpost it feels so secure. Lots of help, lots of support, someone to hang out with in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.”

Wendy smiled. “It’s like old times, but better. I’ve got you back, but Adam and Ezra, too.”

“I love how close you and Adam have become." He smiled back at her. "Parenting with Adam feels like a whole new experience for me, too. There are times – like when we disagree on what to do about something with the baby – when I miss being a single parent. There was something so simple about being the one who makes all the decisions. Still, mostly I just love the feeling that we’re in this together. It’s a whole new dimension to the relationship, not just being a couple, but a family. And, for me, it's a whole new experience having someone else to rely on, someone who’s just as involved as I am. I felt so alone as Joanne’s father.”

“I’ll bet. I could never be a single parent.” They sat companionably silent for a while. Wendy noticed the pamphlet in her friend’s hand. “What are you reading?”

He held it up for her to see the title: So You’re Thinking of Converting to Judaism. “Are you?” Wendy asked, voice full of surprise.

“Get real. You know me well enough to know I had more than my fill of organized religion as a child.”

“Well, more than your fill of the Catholic Church anyway. Judaism’s different, no?”

“Oui. It’s not just a religion, it’s an ‘evolving civilization’.” He tapped the pamphlet. “That’s what it says in here, anyway.” He stopped to think. “I guess that makes sense. Adam’s not religious, particularly, but being a Jew is very important to him. And raising Ezra Jewish was absolutely essential. He wouldn't have considered having a child otherwise.”

“How do you feel about that? Is that one of the things you disagree on?”

“Not at all. I want to support him in that. Although it does mean leaving here at some point. We can’t have him growing up thinking being a Jew is just something that he and Adam are and no one else.”

“Good point. So, if you're not thinking of converting, why are you reading that pamphlet?”

“I promised Miriam I'd read it, at least."

He made a sour face and Wendy laughed. “Mother-in-law troubles?”

“Not really. She’s been great, really welcoming. Both of me and Jeanne-Marie. We really never had any family but each other, so I’ve really appreciated that we’ve been taken into the Greenfield/Schuster fold." The sour look came back. “But Miriam sure doesn’t like this intermarriage stuff. Still, it's nice that she’s looking to the solution being me converting and not Adam dumping me.”

“Is conversion totally out of the question? Even if you sort of de-emphasize the religious stuff?”

“That's what Miriam says, that the religious part doesn't matter - she just wants me to be part of the tribe. But, yeah it's out of the question to me. If for no other reason than, in my case, it would involve surgery that just isn’t going to happen.”

“Oh! I never thought of that.”

“Believe me, I have.” She laughed. Jean-Paul waved the pamphlet. “But I am finding this interesting, just the same. Look at this." He opened the pamphlet and showed her a list of questions in bold type. "These are questions prospective converts sometimes get asked, as part of the conversion ceremony. Here’s the one that has me thinking – ‘Do you cast your lot with the Jewish people?’ Such a potent question.”

“So, do you?”

“No, I don’t feel that kind of connection. I suppose that's what Miriam's looking for, wanting me to feel, but I'm not feeling it. And I really don't think I will. What I feel is very strong and very real, but it's also very specific. I cast my lot with Adam, with Ezra. They’re my family and because they’re mine, so is Miriam. So is Adam’s extended family. But I don't go beyond that. Still, there are those who do cast their lot with a partner’s people; it happens all the time.”

“Sure. Look at Sasha. Even if things get better in Belarus, he won’t go back. He’s an American now, and that’s largely because of Jean.”

"True. He came here to escape, but he's put down roots now. It's not always like that, though." He gestured to the baby. "Do you know who he's named for?"

"Adam's grandfather, right?"

"Yes, Miriam's father. He was a survivor of Bergen-Belsen."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Miriam's mother was his second wife. He had three children with his first wife. She and the kids - they all died in the camp."

"That's awful."

"Oui. But there's more to the story. His first wife - she wasn't Jewish. She wasn’t a convert, but she cast her lot with him, with their children. So she cast her lot with the Jewish people, anyway. At what a place and time to do that! She married a Jew, in Germany, in the 1930s. What a risk she took. And it ended in death. I can't get that story out of my head."

"It's horrible."

"It's not just horrible, it's timeless. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. It's what Adam's doing now. He chose to be with me, to come here, to live in a mutant community, to have a child together. He's cast his lot with us. He's not a mutant, but what happens to him if there is war, if we are found out? If they round us up he'd be in mortal danger, n'est-ce pas?"

"Oh, Jean-Paul, it's not going to come to that."

"Don't you think there were plenty of German Jews who thought that? If we didn't believe it could come to that, we wouldn't be keeping the outpost the secret it is. If we didn't know it could happen to us, we wouldn't be prepared to house an extra hundred people here. If war starts, no mutant will be safe. And neither will anyone who chose to share our fate."

A New Trial (Trials 7/8)

The students in the storage barn woke up early the next morning. Carefully replacing the blankets they had used and putting everything to rights in the barn, they quietly exited, Kitty last, after locking the door from the inside. On the road again before their unknowing hosts had awakened, they were pleased to find the storm had ended in the night. Using both the skills they had learned in the wilderness survival class and their mutant powers, they went off in search of the other group. Walking along the unshoveled road was slow going. When they left the road for the forest their progress became truly plodding.

The foursome seemed unconcerned with speed. Refreshed from their sheltered sleep, they were well protected from the elements by their winter clothing and from fear of failure by their youth and natural exuberance. In daylight and without a storm, they saw their surroundings well for the first time. The air felt cool and crisp and the sun shining on the snow was dazzling. The group caught a glimpse of an elk in the distance.

"It looks magical or something," Tracy sighed, pointing at the trees surrounding them. "Who would have thought it would be so beautiful out here?"

"It's wonderful country, the prairies." Oliver spoke like one who knew.

"You've been here before?"

"Not right here," he replied, grinning, "or I'd be a lot more sure of which way we should go. But I've spent a lot of time at the outpost and the area around there. That's where Logan first started teaching me about living in the wilderness. Years ago."

"What were you doing at the outpost?" Joe, having arrived at Xavier's after Oliver had left for college, had only met Oliver in Logan's class.

"I went there when they were first building it - to help them find the right spot to dig the well. That was right after I came into my powers - the first time I got to do anything useful with my eyes. And I've gone back on school vacations to work there a few times. It feels sort of like a second home to me by now. I think there's something really special about this part of the country. Logan says it's stark, but it has its own beauty. I know what he means."

"How long are we going to stay at the outpost, once we get there?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Oliver replied. "I guess it depends how long it takes us to get there. I'd like to stay a few days, anyway, catch up with the guys there."

"What's the outpost like?" Kitty asked. "I've never been there. And nobody at Xavier's says much of anything about it. Any time I ask one of the teachers anything about it I get a one-word answer and a quick change of subject. Why all the mystery?"

"It's supposed to be a secret, right?" Tracy turned to Oliver for confirmation.

"Yeah, pretty much. To the outside world, anyway. It's not a secret from us. Maybe the teachers back home are just kind of in the habit of not saying much. No one outside of Alpha Flight and the X-Men knows where it is or even *that* it is. The location is pretty remote, so that helps. And there are just a few people who are officially there. The neighbors have no idea there's a whole community in that house. They think it's just three couples and their kids."

"Sort of like a mini-commune?" Joe asked.

"Something like that," Oliver replied. "They've gone to a lot of trouble to keep it a secret. Most of the outpost guys never go anywhere they can be seen. They don't go into the town nearby, or to any of the other houses out there. And there aren't any close neighbors, anyway. If someone happened to come to the outpost and see someone who doesn't officially live there, they'd say they're just visiting, but pretty much nobody ever drops by."

"I wouldn't live there if they paid me," Tracy weighed in. "I couldn't stand being cooped up like that. Never getting to go anywhere."

"I wouldn't mind," Joe countered. "I *hate* going to Salem Center. I feel like everybody is staring at us and whispering. It's like we're wearing big red Ms all over our clothes or something. I'd rather be somewhere where nobody knew where we are and what we are."

"Besides," Kitty added, "They do go places, just not places near the outpost, where people might ask questions. They go on trips, I know. Last year there was a trip for the outpost kids to Montreal. They were there for a week - Alpha Flight has a house there. Dr. Grey and Mr. Cherevko went along as chaperones. And a few of the kids from the outpost were at Xavier's for summer term two years ago. Do you remember Natasha Sudak? She's one of the Saskatchewan kids. Anyway, I think it's a good thing they keep it secret. I like knowing there's somewhere we could go and not be found, if we had to."

They all considered that. Tracy asked Oliver, "Other than the secrecy, is it pretty much like Xavier's?"

"No, it's a lot smaller. There's only about fifty people there, adults and kids. And it's not a school, not like ours is. It is more like a commune or something. They don't have formal classes - sort of tutoring and independent study, I guess. Wendy - she's one of the ones who runs it - says it's sort of like homeschooling."

"Sounds like fun. No classes, no tests either, right?" Tracy sounded hopeful.

"No tests, but they seem to write a lot of papers and stuff," Kitty answered. "That's what Natasha said. And the kids work a whole lot - cleaning, maintenance, lots of stuff. It's not like our school."

"What do you mean? We work a lot. We have chores." Tracey looked at Joe and added, "And most of us even do them."

"Yeah, but we have maintenance staff and cooks and cleaners. They don't have any staff at all. The people who live there do all the work, adults and kids. They run a kind of a farm, too. They take care of livestock, do canning and stuff like that."

"Yeah, they're not self-sufficient, but close as they can be. They do a lot of stuff for themselves," Oliver added. "And the older kids take care of the younger ones a lot. They've got families there, so it's a whole range of ages - babies up to adults. And they always seem to be building, adding to the residences and the workrooms. There's a lot going on there. I find it's fun being there, but it is hard work. See for yourself, Tracy. If you do like it, you could always spend some more time there. I know you can spend a year at the outpost and still get your diploma from Xavier's - other kids have done that. See what you think of it.

"Of course, our first task is to find Logan and Ruby and Jamie. But I think we're on their trail."

The threesome had been walking all day and had stopped to eat and rest. Logan breathed deeply, reveling in the clean, cold air. The bright sun reflected on the frozen lake in front of them. They spread a tarp and sat down. Nobody said anything for a while, the only sounds those of a bird of prey in the distance.

"What's the outpost like?" Ruby turned to Logan.

"I don't know how to describe it. Sort of a cross between Woodstock and Leave It To Beaver or something." Jamie and Ruby looked baffled. "Before your time. Everything I know is before your time." He thought about it a little more. "It's a nice place, I guess, just not my kind of thing. Too fucking wholesome or something."

"Xavier's is wholesome, too, don't you think?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Jamie concurred. "There's so many rules about what you can and can't do and everybody's so polite all the time. Well, almost everybody," he added, looking at Logan with a wry grin.

"Yeah, you're right. It is wholesome in Westchester - not exactly what I've been used to. The X-Men stuff is fine and I like teaching you kids," he acknowledged. "Well, most of the time," he added, returning Jamie's grin. "But it's more togetherness than I'd have if I was doing the choosing. Still, I got reasons to be there, so I make the most of it." He returned to the topic of the Saskatchewan outpost. "It's different at the outpost, though. It's communal living, lots more touchy feely than Xavier's. Everybody acts like they're all one big family. And they all seem to get into every decision that gets made - it's a wonder they get anything done. But they're good people - hard workers and good builders. But way too much togetherness for my tastes - much more than Westchester. You're always with somebody. Gives me the creeps to be there for more than a couple of days now. Not like it was when I was there."

"What was the community like when you lived there?" Jamie flexed his wings as he asked.

"It wasn't a community at all then. Storm and I found the place - it was just an old farmhouse and a couple of other buildings. And then there was a few of us there for a year or so, renovating the house and building what else was needed. Wendy and Arthur - they used to have a home renovation business in Vermont, so they knew what they were doing. I couldn't have done it without them. And there was Jean-Paul. Good worker, too. And a good fighter - I've been on combat missions with him. He goes by Northstar - do you know him?" Jamie shook his head. "Well, you'll meet him at the outpost. He's with Alpha Flight, or he was back then."

"Not anymore?" Jamie asked. "He's at the outpost full time?"

"Yeah. He's sort of retired now, I guess. Too bad. Like I said, good fighter. I bet they miss him in Alpha Flight. He's a guy you'd want on your side. Ferocious. Quick - super speed's one of his powers, but not just that. He's quick thinking, quick responding. And he flies, too, but not like you."

"I don't fly at all."

"You will. Anyway, he doesn't have wings is what I meant. He looks normal, which was what I needed when we were building the place. There was just the four of us - well, five counting April - she's Arthur and Wendy's kid. And we didn't want anybody to know we're mutants so it was good to have just people who can pass."

"But it's not like that now, is it?" Ruby asked. "I met a few of the outpost kids last year, and they couldn't all pass for normal."

"No, you're right. They got all kinds of mutants now. But none of the locals know that. Most of the guys who live there don't go to town. They act like there's just nine people in the house - three couples, three kids. And the ones who go out - they all got mutations that don't show. Well, actually two of them aren't even mutants."

"What are they doing there?"

He shrugged. "Came along for the ride, I guess. They're both with mutants. There's Susan - she and Diana are together. Diana's the doctor at the outpost. She's got x-ray vision, like Oliver, although she calls it by some ridiculous name. And Adam's the other normal - he's Northstar's lover. It's just them and Arthur and Wendy who go to town or show themselves anywhere around there. The rest keep their heads down. It's how we need it to be if we have to evacuate there. Don't want anyone to know where to look for us." Logan stood up and gestured to Ruby and Jamie to do the same. "And speaking of looking for us, Oliver and them are getting pretty close now. Over on the other side of the lake."

"Can you hear them? See them?" Ruby looked around.

"Not yet, they're too far. But the wind's blowing just right and I can smell them. They're right back there, about a mile back, headed our way."

"So let's find them." She turned towards where Logan had gestured, but he stopped her.

"Nah, not yet. They're doing a good job, but let's not make it too easy for them. Come this way. We'll surprise them when they get closer."

"Tracy, can you hear them yet?"

"Yeah, I heard Logan's voice. And Ruby's for a minute there. They're less than a mile away." She stopped and cocked her head to one side, her face in the expression the kids all thought of as her Listening Look. "Yeah, three human heartbeats, in that direction, the other side of the lake," she added, pointing.

"Okay, team," Oliver turned towards where Tracy had pointed. "They went that-a-way." He started to head off in that direction but Tracy put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Wait," she said. "Nobody move for a minute." Oliver, Joe, and Kitty all stood stock still. The Listening Look intensified, but there was a look of fear commingled with it. Nobody said anything, just watched her.

Finally, Joe broke the silence. "What's wrong, Trace? What do you hear?"

"More heartbeats. More people. Over there," pointing slightly to the left of where she'd identified as the direction to go to find Logan and the others. "But headed that way," pointing again to where she'd identified the location of the other team.

"That can't be good," Kitty said, after a minute.

"What do you think it means?" Joe asked, turning to Oliver.

"I think it means we're not the only ones tracking them."

Trial by Combat (Trials 8/8)

Logan and his two teammates had moved away from the lake. Under cover in a small grove of trees, they crouched.

Logan cocked his head to the side and his nostrils flared. Ruby and Jamie knew better than to interrupt, and waited for him to tell them what he smelled and heard. "This ain't good," he said, finally.

"What's going on? Where are they?"

He pointed to the right across the lake. "They're over there, headed our way. That's fine." Then to the left, "But there's somebody else coming, from that way. I don't like this." He paused and thought. "Ruby, I need you to investigate," he said, dropping all pretense that she was the small group's leader. "Go invisible and just follow along the shore of the lake that way. I think they've stopped. They're only about half a mile away. Go quickly, find out what you can and come back. Whatever you find, don't let them know you're there."

Ruby gulped, nodded, and disappeared. She faded away as she walked, becoming translucent at first. A few feet from them, they could still see the outline of her body, with only her spiked blond hair visibly opaque. Looking through her they could see the lake. And then they could only see the lake, although Logan's super-sensitive hearing could detect her footsteps for a while. He and Jamie waited in silence for her return.

"What can you hear, Trace?"

"There's three of them. They're closer to Logan and those guys than we are." Her Listening Look took over her face. "Oh no," she said.

"What?" Oliver asked. Then they all heard the sound of a shot in the distance.

"That," she replied. "I heard one of them cocking a rifle just before the shot."

"Maybe they're hunters," Kitty said.

"I wish I knew what - or who - they're hunting," Oliver replied.

Logan showed no impatience as they waited for Ruby. Beneath his face so impassive it may well have been that hell's tides continually ran, but if so, he wasn't giving in to emotions. Jamie, on the other hand, was totally on edge. He paced back and forth, flapping his wings and muttering to himself as he gazed at the point where Ruby had disappeared, trying to see her outline. The sun was starting to set and the light was playing tricks on him. Several times he thought he saw Ruby, partly invisible, heading towards them. As it was, he didn't realize she was there until she materialized just a few feet from them, running towards them.

"Who are they?" he asked, not waiting for her to catch her breath.

"They're after us. I don't know how, but they know we're here. They're talking about 'killing a few muties'. There are three of them - two with rifles. They've all got knives. They know just where we are. They've got some sort of tracking thing."

"The signaling device!" Logan exclaimed, pulling it out of his pocket. The three of them looked aghast, seeing the red "on" light pulsing brightly in the twilight.

"How did that happen?" Jamie asked.

Logan shook his head. "I don't know. They must have something to turn it on remotely."

"Let's get it as far away from us as we can!" Ruby said. "Logan, throw it onto the lake. Or into the trees. You can throw it farther than Jamie or me."

"Nah, they'll realize we did that if it suddenly gets tossed. Right now, we have an advantage - we know they're coming and they don't know we know. We gotta use that. Plus, there's alarms going off at the outpost and in Westchester. They'll be coming for us - we need them to find us."

"So, what do we do, just wait for them to attack?" Jamie's voice sounded borderline hysterical.

"Mostly. We'll be ready for them. But we've got to warn the others. I can handle three of them but not with Oliver and the rest showing up unexpectedly, not knowing what they're stepping into. We've got to stop them, tell them what's happening, tell them not to come until it's over. They're right over there," he said pointing across the lake. "Jamie, you've got to go."

The redheaded boy stood up and started walking. Logan stopped him. "No, not like that. I need you to reach them quickly and warn them what we're dealing with. You've got to fly."

"I can't fly."

"Yes, you can. You've been moving them more and more all the time. You can do it."

"I can't. I would if I could. I can't do anything with them."

"Yes you can. You can do it because I need you to. Right now." His voice was low, but commanding. He stood next to Jamie and stretched out his arm at Jamie's eye level, pointing to a group of trees across the lake. "That's where they are. It's less than half a mile as the crow - or the mutant - flies. Go!"

Jamie still looked skeptical but he planted his feet a bit apart and stood steady. His wings started beating, slowly then faster. As the speed increased, so did the power, the large white feathered wings flapping loudly in the still quiet by the lake. When he started to rise, he looked shocked, looking down at his feet to make sure they really weren't on solid ground.

The expression of surprise turned to one of joy and then of grim determination, all within seconds. Then the winged figure rose high enough in the air that Ruby realized she wouldn't have known it was Jamie and not a bird if she hadn't seen him go up. He headed off across the lake.

Logan and Ruby didn't have much time to think about Jamie flying. The sounds of men approaching were loud enough that Ruby could hear them now. "Go invisible and stay behind me," Logan told her, softly. He quickly hid the signaling device behind a rock and then stepped back from the lakeside, hidden in a clump of bushes, waiting to take the approaching attackers unawares. Ruby heard the SNIKT of the claws extending.

They arrived a few minutes later. Three large men - two with rifles over their shoulders, the third holding a machine that looked like a radio with a long antenna. "This way!" the one with the machine yelled and the others followed him towards the rock where Logan had put the homing device. They were walking in single file, the last one several paces behind.

Logan jumped the rearmost one from behind. His claws plunged through the man's back and came out the other side. His other hand over the man's mouth ensured that he made no sounds while he died, maintaining the element of surprise while he tackled the others. Or it would have, except that the rifle the dying man was holding went off as he dropped it.

The two ahead spun around. "It's the muties!" the other armed one yelled. "They got Jake," he added. The one with the machine made a move to grab the rifle that had dropped. Logan stooped to get it before his adversary could, but that gave the other attacker a chance to aim and fire. Quick as Logan was, he wasn't out of the line of fire in time. The first shot got him in the shoulder, the second in the leg. The sound of the bullet against his adamantium skeleton was deafening. The wounds in his flesh were huge. He went down.

"Is he alone?" the one who shot him asked, looking around as he approached where Logan had stood, his rifle trained on Logan's body the whole time. The other man moved towards the dropped rifle and saw it start to rise and move on its own.

"What the?" he said, but instinctively grabbed the butt of the rifle as it hovered in the air. As he did he felt another hand on the weapon, a hand he couldn't see. He managed to wrest the rifle from Ruby and gauging her position from where her hand was, grabbed her round the shoulders. "There's another one here. He's invisible… no she's invisible," he added, his hands moving down from her shoulders. "A girl mutie. Well well well, what do you think of that?"

Distracted by Ruby's capture, the man standing over Logan didn't notice the wounds in Logan's shoulder and leg begin to heal, or see Logan start to rise. But his companion did. "He's getting up!" he yelled. "Shoot him again." He did, this time in both legs, causing Logan to sink to the ground again.

"Should I finish him off?" the man standing over Logan asked.

"Yeah, might as well. He's a slippery one, and we'll have one of them alive to bring in, anyway." His companion raised the rifle to fire once more, this time at Logan's face. Logan had a fleeting memory of all the times he'd wanted to die. In the second before the shot hit he appreciated the irony of the sudden profound realization of just how much he wanted to live.

He waited for the shot, but it never came. Instead the rifle glowed red briefly and half of it disappeared. His partner released Ruby to aim the other weapon and that too vanished in a blast of bright red light.

Both attackers looked astonished at this turn of events. Their surprise lasted long enough for Logan to rise a bit on his still-wounded legs and grab the nearer one by the ankles, knocking him over and then pummeling him until he stopped fighting, stopped moving altogether. The last standing member of the trio ran towards him to aid his fallen comrade, but Ruby, still invisible, tripped him on the way. And then Scott was in the fray, too, using his fists this time, not his eyes. The third attacker was still and silent, too, within moments.

Several things happened right then, all at once. Ruby materialized; Logan, his wounds beginning to heal, started to stand up; and the other team arrived, running to the spot of the recent battle, led by Jamie in the air.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott looked around and they all nodded. The students all appeared shaken, but no one seemed hurt. All eyes turned to Logan and they watched as the wounds in his knees and shoulders started to close up, the ripped and bloody clothing a reminder of the gaping wounds that had been there a scant few minutes ago.

"Are they dead?" Ruby asked, looking around. Scott knelt by the men who'd attacked them, examining their bodies.

"Just the one," he said. "These two are out for a while."

"Are we going to call the police?" Kitty asked.

Scott shook his head, grim smile on his face. "That wouldn't be a help. Believe me."

"Where did they come from? How did they know we were here?"

"I don't know," Scott said. "But they used this to track you," nudging the machine with the antenna with his foot.

"What do we do now?" Oliver asked.

"Get out of here as soon as we can. You'll be ready to move in a few minutes, right?" Scott asked Logan, who nodded.

"Okay team," he turned to the kids, who recognized his Field Leader voice and snapped to attention. "Gather up everything that belongs to us, anything that shows we were here. We're heading out." They scrambled to follow his orders. "We aren't getting back to the outpost tonight," he added. "It's too far and I want to make sure we're not being followed before we head there. The secrecy of the outpost is paramount - we can't compromise that." He smiled reassuringly, as he continued. "But we should be safe and warm tomorrow. Just one more night, guys." He turned to Joe. "Smash this," he said, gesturing at the machine with the antenna. "And the signaling device, too. We don't know if there's another transmitter out there." Joe did as he was told, packing the broken pieces away in one of the haversacks.

"Good thinking," Scott told him. "We don't want to leave that stuff here to be found. We're going to have to put some speed on - get some miles between us and here before we make camp for the night. Remember everything you learned in class - don't leave a trail. Logan, you lead. Take Jamie at the front with you in case you need an aerial view. Tracy, you and I will take up the rear. I need your ears - if you hear anyone but us in the vicinity, tell me right away.

Logan spoke for the first time since the end of the battle. "Thanks for saving my ass, Cyclops," he said to Scott, gruffly.

Scott shrugged. "It was my turn," he said. "You do me next time." He turned to take his place at the rear of the line of students, as Logan walked up front to lead the way.

Joe poked Oliver in the ribs. "You *sure* they're lovers?" he whispered. "They don't act like it."

Oliver shrugged. "It's just how they are." The group of X-Men walked off, quickly but silently, away from the lake and the three still men lying by it.

Three hours later, Scott told the group to stop and make camp, after verifying with Tracy and Logan that there were no predators - human or otherwise - in the immediate vicinity. Although the night was clear, it was moonless and Scott's poor night vision made him unable to do much to help. Logan took over, directing the kids in setting up the tents, making a fire, and settling in.

"It's going to be a short night, I'm afraid," Scott told the class. "We need to sleep in shifts, with two guards at all times. Oliver, you work out who sleeps when."

The students thought they wouldn't sleep at all, after the excitement and fear of just a few hours ago, but fatigue took over and all but the designated guards were soon sound asleep.

Joe woke up with a start when Oliver came to switch places with him. "All quiet?" he asked.

"Yeah, it seems no one's after us," he answered.

"That's a relief." Joe took his position at the south end of the camp and settled in to wait out his shift. But before he could relax, he heard sounds - human sounds - in the woods off to his right. He followed the noises, quietly as he could, to investigate.

They were a little ways into the woods. There were two of them. Joe wondered if he should be there, if he should have gone alone or ought to have asked one of the teachers to join him, to find out what was going on. Then he saw who they were and knew that would have been impossible.

Logan was standing, back against a tree, eyes closed. Scott was kneeling in front of him, his head bobbing back and forth, making sounds like a hum of pleasure and satisfaction. "That's good," Logan said breathlessly, hands in Scott's hair. "It's what I want; you're what I want. Keep going. That's right." He arched his back more, pushing rhythmically into Scott's face.

Joe left quietly, thinking that his last doubts had been erased, and returned to his post. Sitting there on guard, he mulled over what he'd seen and how he'd felt. He'd been embarrassed to witness a scene not meant for his eyes. He's been struck by seeing his teachers in a state of closeness and vulnerability they wouldn't want exposed to the eyes of others. He'd felt like an intruder, even if an accidental one, an eavesdropper. But it hadn't occurred to him to feel disgusted. Even in retrospect, his impression was of having witnessed something supremely intimate and personal, not gross. He wondered why.

The group arrived at the outpost in the middle of the next afternoon. They were immediately ushered into the infirmary, where Diana gave them all a clean bill of health. Then they were shown their quarters downstairs, told to settle in but then meet in the living room in half an hour.

From the moment the group had arrived, Logan knew something was different. All the outpost residents looked and smelled anxious - too anxious to just be leftover worry about the group that had been attacked. And there were too many people there - he kept noticing kids in the halls that should have been at Xavier's in Westchester. He didn't say anything, though, waiting for Scott to tell him what was going on.

Logan was the last to arrive at the meeting in the living room. All of his students were already there, as were Scott, Wendy and Arthur. He was surprised to see Professor X wheel into the room and take his place at the head of the meeting table. "What are you doing here?" Logan asked.

The professor looked surprised. "You didn't tell them?" he asked Scott.

Cyclops shook his head. "I thought it was best to wait. We had enough to contend with out there."

"Indeed." Charles Xavier looked around at the room. "I've been briefed on all you encountered out there and I'm proud of each and every one of you. I'm not your teacher, but it certainly seems to me like you all passed with high marks. We don't know who the men are who attacked you and we may never know, but you did what you needed to do. You survived, and you maintained the secrecy of the outpost. That secrecy is vital to us all." The students' eyes were all fixed on their headmaster's solemn expression. "Logan asked what I'm doing here. I came here directly from Ontario, where I was meeting with the leaders of Alpha Flight, when it became clear I couldn't go back home. I'm here for a while; I don't know how long. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm afraid we all are here for some time." He took a deep breath and then said in a voice of quiet sorrow. "It's come. What we'd hoped would never happen. This is war."

The End

Literature Guide for Trials

In my stories, as in the X-Men movie, Scott Summers is a mutant superhero who also teaches high school. The movie doesn't specify what he teaches, but I've made him an English teacher. Xavier's Academy is a small school with a large variety of classes to choose from. Consequently each of the teachers takes on several different classes. Scott is seen in my stories teaching courses ranging from Shakespeare to Creative Writing to a poetry survey course, when he's not off on a mission. As Scott tells Logan in Canadian Nights, it's kind of a strange job. "Sometimes I teach English, sometimes I save the human race," he explains.

With Scott a major figure in most of my fiction, the stories tend to contain a lot of literary quotes, most of them guided by Scott's tastes in literature (which, strangely, mirror my own). It has been my practice to publish a literature guide providing references for the quotes in each series, along with URLs, where available, for those wishing to read the works quoted. This guide contains spoilers for the series and should be read after Trials.

Poems

T.S. Eliot. Two of Eliot's poem's are quoted in this series.
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is one of Scott's favorites, and shows up in almost all of my series, although in this case it's Wendy and Arthur who quote from it.
"The Wasteland", considered by some to be Eliot's masterpiece and by many to be completely impenetrable, begins with the line "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire." Scott quotes that bit to Charles, talking about the tragedies of the previous April. These poems are widely available online. Read Prufrock at http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/193.html and The Wasteland at http://eliotswasteland.tripod.com.

Carl Sandburg. Chicago.
This is probably Sandburg's best known poem. Scott, who is very fond of Sandburg's war poems, has quoted them to and about Logan throughout my stories, but this is the first time he quotes from Chicago, teasing Logan that he is, like the city, "cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness". It's a wonderful poem, with imagery often quoted. You can find it at http://www.bartleby.com/165/1.html.

Carl Sandburg. Lawyer.
Charles's advice to Scott to speak "in a voice slightly colored with bitter wrongs mingled with monumental patience" comes from this poem, which fits in with the trial theme of the series. It is brief and can be found at http://www.bartleby.com/134/54.html.

William Shakespeare. Sonnet 27.
The Shakespearean sonnets figure largely in some of my stories. Scott teaches Shakespeare and is fond of several of the sonnets, in particular those addressed to the Fair Youth. This particular poem was one that Scott quoted in Night and Day, with reference to missing Logan. At that point they had broken up and Scott thought of this poem, reflecting that he could "no quiet find" and wondered if Logan was finding quiet. In Trials, Oliver uses the same phrase but more literally, thinking about how hard it is to find peace and quiet at Xavier's Academy. The poem, a beautiful exploration of the longing felt when one's lover is far away, is widely available. You can read it at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/27.html, among other places.

Walt Whitman. You Felons on Trial in Courts.
Whitman is one of Scott's favorite poets and shows up a lot in my stories. This poem is from his most famous collection: Leaves of Grass. I took from it the description of Logan as having an impassive face under which "hell's tides continually run" in the last story of the series. See http://www.bartleby.com/142/105.html to read the poem.

Plays

William Shakespeare. Macbeth.
Jean-Paul quotes Macbeth when he says that he had to "screw his courage to the sticking place" to venture into parenthood again. It's quite a different context than that of the play, where Macbeth uses the phrase to steel himself to kill Duncan. In the last act, Macbeth desolate to hear his wife has died, expresses the opinion that life is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Scott quotes the "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" part to express his disdain of the kids gossiping. Macbeth is widely believed to be an unlucky play. Superstitious actors often won't even say the play's title except when necessary, referring to it instead as "the Scottish play." Read it if you dare at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbethscenes.html.

William Shakespeare. Hamlet.
Wendy is quoting from Polonius's advice to his son, Laertes, when she says that the experience of childbirth and breastfeeding "grappled [April to her] with hoops of steel." Probably Shakespeare's best known play, Hamlet has something for everyone: love, death, intrigue, theatricality, ghosts. Read it at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamletscenes.html.

William Shakespeare. Richard III.
This play opens with the title character saying "Now is the winter of our discontent." Oliver quotes that line ironically when his team is expressing a desire to get inside, even if it means blowing their cover. Read the play at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiiiscenes.html.