He dropped into the seat beside Storm with a sigh and
began strapping in. He knew he was in no shape to go
on this mission. The lack of food and sleep over the
past week left him feeling shaky and weak; two things
that could easily get him killed. He momentarily
played with the idea of dying in his head. No, he
didn't want to die now anymore than he had in
Antarctica no matter what Rogue said.

Storm rested her hand on his knee and studied his
features. His slip of speaking in the third person in
the locker room before hadn't gone unnoticed. He was
pale and dark circles were forming under his eyes. If
she looked close enough she could see tremors in his
usually impossibly steady hands. "Remy, I am worried
about you, I will be watching you."

Remy smiled at his best friend, " You jus' worry 'bout
takin' care o' y'self out there. Anything happen t' m'
Stormy an' I wouldn' be able to live wit' m'self."

She ignored the nickname and returned his small smile,
" Then we will watch each other." She looked up at his
face and couldn't help noticing how his eyes were
continually drawn to Logan. *He still loves the man
even after all the hurt he caused. Goddess I hope
Logan realizes what he has given up soon* she thought
silently.

*****

Logan was half listening to Rogue's endless chatter
when Remy ran up the ramp. The kid looked like shit as
he passed them on his way to his seat. Logan had seen
that look before; the kid sometimes took days to get
his head back on straight after a bad nightmare. He
found himself wanting to un-strap and go talk to the
young Cajun to find out what had upset him so. The
engines of the big jet fired suddenly and with a grace
something it's size had no right to possess the sleek
black beauty sliced through the afternoon sky. Logan
could feel Remy's eyes on the back of his seat and was
going to turn around again when something Rogue was
saying grabbed his undivided attention.

" Swamp Rat's sure been spendin' a lot of time with Ro
lately. I figure he's set his sights on bedding her
next. The boy's got no pride, don't even try ta hide
the fact. I swear I don't know WHAT I ever saw in him,
he's as slimy as the snake he truly is."

" The kid ain't after Ro. He loves her like a sister.
He has problems and Ro listens to him, ain't like
anybody else does around here." he said, defending the
boy.

" What're ya gettin' all defensive for! He tried ta
use YOU just last week ta play out one of his sick
kinks about men." She wrinkled her nose and shivered.
"Gives me the heebie jeebies just thinkin' about what
he was gonna MAKE you do."

" Well I think yer spendin' too damn much time
thinkin' about me and what I might be doin'. Leave the
kid alone, he's alright."

She sat up straight in her seat and saluted him. " Yes
Sir Mr. Logan Sir! Hells bells I was just looking out
for ya." She slouched down in her seat and crossed her
arms over her big chest. Logan looked over at her and
grimaced. She was doing that pout thing with her face
again. She musta thought it was cute, he found himself
wanting to slap it off of her. He also found himself
thinking about the things the kid probably would have
made him do last week. The only thing was that the kid
would have been on the receiving end of any games they
played. It would have been HIM doing all the
initiating. The kid was positively shy in the bedroom
unless he was mindlessly drunk. In the bedroom, Remy
was timid and if he ever DID make the first move he
would be forever asking if Logan was all right. Logan
had a sick feeling that it had something to do with
the nightmares that ruined the kid's sleep. He never
took the time to ask though and now he found himself
wishing he had.

The big jet's thrusters slowed and shifted as it sat
down in what looked like the ruins of an old parking
lot. Charles appeared in the doorway of the cockpit.
" I am going to try to talk some sense into Magnus
while you take care of the Acolytes. Be careful X-Men,
they think of him as a savior and they will go to any
length to protect him."

" Yeah, we know Chuc. Let us go so we can kick their
tails back to whatever rock they crawled out from
under." Logan grumbled. He'd gone up to Canada after
he dumped the kid, he spent an entire week thinking
and now he was ready for some action. He was gonna use
them as a punching bag because deep down he was mad at
himself. Why the Hell had he gotten mad at the kid? He
didn't even let him answer the damn question before he
started biting his head off. All that time thinking
only made him realize how stupid he'd been. He'd let
Rogue's words put a doubt in his head that was never
there before. He knew Remy wasn't playing him! He
could feel Jeannie in his head for crying out loud!
There was NO WAY the kid could go unnoticed into his
head with a power he couldn't even CONTROL half the
time. The second he'd returned home, there was Rogue
shooting off her damn mouth and he'd been stupid
enough to listen again. It hit him like a
sledgehammer; he'd fucked up royally again! The kid
never did ANYTHING wrong, it was him and Rogue the
whole time! He shut his eyes and shook his head; how
the HELL was he supposed to fix this? He looked back
over his shoulder at the young Cajun. He was standing
close to Ro, unconsciously staying close to his one
true friend. It was she who caught Logan's look and
she returned it with a glare of her own. SHIT! He was
gonna have to make this up to her too somehow. Rogue
elbowed him and he turned to listen to whatever
bullshit Cyke was spouting. He gave a long suffering
sigh and said " Can it One Eye. We know what needs ta
be done so get the Hell out of the way and let us do
it! I got stuff I need to take care of and I can't do
that unless you shut up and move." He gave the team
leader a little grin that forced a chuckle out of the
tired and anxious crew.

" All Right people, let's do this." Cyclops said and
the team finally exited the jet. Logan waited at the
bottom of the ramp and when Remy came down he grabbed
his arm," Be careful out there kid."

Remy's look was a combination of confusion and
excitement, fear and need. " Yeah, you too ol' man."
He looked like he wanted to say more but he never got
the chance before Storm pulled him away.

Logan's lips turned up into a hint of a smile. Old man
was what the kid called him when they were together.
It was kinda like a pet name! Remy loved to tease him
about robbing the cradle. Maybe things weren't as bad
as he thought! Maybe he hadn't fucked up everything
after all! " Look out Mags, I got me a Cajun to
reclaim and apologize to and you're standing in my
way."
With renewed hope of getting Remy back Logan took off
at a full run.

*****

Two hours into the battle and the Acolytes were
defeated. They'd done their damage though. No one was
without a new bump, bruise or scar. Beast was on the
Blackbird tending to Storm and Angel. The flyers had
taken the brunt of a hit when Magneto decided to prove
a point to Charles by manipulating the iron in the
X-Men's blood. Luckily Jean was able to save them both
from a fatal fall. The injuries were relatively minor;
Angel had a sprained shoulder and Storm, a mild
concussion.Remy had been horrified watching his Stormy
fall from the sky unable to do anything to help. The
moment the strength returned to his body he carried
her to the jet and waited a frantic few minutes before
Henri pronounced her sound.

*****

This had to stop now.

Logan was watching his ex-lover from the far side of
the five story building. The entire team was wasted
and the real battle hadn't even started yet. Chuck was
still trying to talk sense into Mags but any fool
could see that it was a waste of time. Remy was barely
staying on his feet. There was a bloody gash across
his shoulder and he was favoring his left leg. Those
injuries probably would have been avoided if the kid
hadn't been so worn down already.

That was his fault.

Logan was determined to end this before his boy was
hurt anymore and then he was going to find a way to
get him back!

*****

Scott wiped his brow and took a quick glance around.
He felt nauseous and dizzy, a side affect of Magneto's
power. He knew the rest of the team had to be feeling
it too. Most of the team was still standing but a few
of them looked about ready to keel over. Gambit looked
like shit. He had his problems with the Cajun but he
was concerned about the young man at the moment.
Watching Storm fall from the sky had really taken the
fight out of the him. He'd recovered and taken her to
Hank but at the moment Scott was wishing that he'd
stayed behind with her.

Bobby was holding his ribs. Warren was out of it. He
himself felt like he'd been battling for days not
hours.

Jean? He followed the link in his mind to his wife.
She was fine but she didn't have much more to give.
Catching Warren and Ro had just about done her in.
There was no way she would be able to stay awake if
Magneto decided to play again.

Rogue was a disappointment in this battle. She stayed
mostly by Charles trying to talk to Magneto instead of
using her brute strength to help battle him. Scott was
going to have to call her on it once they returned
home. He saw several occasions where she could have
helped a teammate but had not.

And Wolverine was... where was Wolverine?

*****

Magneto turned away from his conversation with Charles
to face the ONE X-man who was crazy enough to try to
take him out personally. "
Well,well,well,...Wolverine. I was wondering when you
would show up and try to save the day." The feral man
was in mid-leap when Magneto caught him. With a mere
thought he grabbed the metal that covered the man's
skeleton and gave it a tug.
Wolverine's only reaction was a twitch by his eyes. "I
got your attention now Bucket head. There are six
other X-men down there. You can't win this, go home
now before we have ta hurt ya like we did yer little
soldiers."

Magneto laughed and turned back to his old friend;
"Charles, it would seem I have company up here on the
rooftop." He motioned with his hand and Wolverine was
forced to the edge of the building.

Charles saw Wolverine and screamed up, "Let him go
Erik, you can't win this fight!"

Cyclops saw Wolverine and cursed to himself ,* Damn
fool! He's the one X-man who should be holding back in
this battle. Now we have to save his ass too. *

Remy saw Wolverine and his heart jumped into his
throat. "Logan..." He'd just watched his best friend
fall from the sky because of this man and now he had
Logan. Well Logan might hate him but there was no way
Remy could pretend he didn't still have feelings for
Logan. " I'm comin' Ol' Man, I won't let him hurt you
too."

At that moment Magneto called down to Charles,
" Wolverine made a point before; I think I want you
all ...detained while he and I have a friendly little
chat." The white haired mutant smiled politely and
lifted his hand in the air. With a thought he
manipulated the iron in their blood again, forcing
them all unconscious.

*****

As the affects of Magneto's power wore off again, Remy
pushed himself to his knees with a groan. He sat back
on his heels and rubbed his temples. The world was
spinning and if there had been anything in his stomach
to lose he would have lost it. His blood ran cold when
he heard a pain filled howl from the rooftop. "
Logan!" he whispered urgently. With new found purpose
he found his feet and sprinted to the fire escape in
the alley to his left. He hopped up on a dumpster and
silently started to climb to the older man's aid. He
noticed as he climbed that most of the team was still
out. " I'll check them AFTER I help Logan" he
whispered again. Magneto could destroy his ex-lover
with a thought and Remy wasted no time getting to his
destination. He stood on the edge of the rooftop and
witnessed the terrible scene. Logan was on his knees
at Magneto's feet. There was dried blood on his chin
from biting back the screams that he knew Magneto
wanted to hear.

Logan's eyes shifted slightly and Magneto turned. With
a fist in the air he froze the young Cajun where he
stood. " You... I thought I'd taken care of you in the
Arctic. I know now of course that you were just a pawn
in Sinister's sick game but you still haven't paid
fully for your part in that crime."

Logan's eyes locked for a moment with Remy's as he
stood frozen on the edge of the roof but in that
moment in time any lingering doubt he had about the
boy vanished. He tried frantically to think of a way
to get the mad man's attention off his young lover. He
gathered his breath and growled, " leave the kid out
of this, you got me ta play with." He couldn't stop
the scream of pain as Magneto gave the metal another
quick tug.

Remy's breath caught. He tried to move to the older
man but Magneto had total control. " Logan?"

"'M okay kiddo..." he tried to reassure the young man.
" Come on Mags, you ain't gonna get away this time."

Charles tried one more time, " Erik, let them go!"

Magneto finally looked back over the edge of the
building at his former friend. " Very well Charles if
you insist. I grow tired of this little game and I
already have all the information I needed from this
place. Pleasant dreams Charles, until we meet
again..."

He released his captives and at the same time threw
all his power at the Professor and Rogue and escaped
in a protective bubble of energy.

The second Magneto let his arms drop Logan knew with
dawning horror that Remy was too close to the edge.
The old Canadian looked up at the young Cajun one last
time and saw in his eyes that he knew it was too late
for Logan to reach him and pull him back. Remy's eyes
fluttered shut as he began falling five stories to
almost certain death.

Logan called out with the last of his remaining
strength, " Jeannie, catch him!" before he fell in a
heap to the rooftop.

*****

Jean was just coming around from the last attack when
she heard Logan's anguished cry. Her head whipped to
the side and one hand shot out towards her falling
teammate while the other hand flew to her temple. She
managed to turn him a little and slow his descent but
she was still too out of it to completely stop the
fall. There was a sickening thud as the young man hit
the ground.

*****

Scott watched in horror as the whole thing seemed to
play out in slow motion in front of his eyes. "SHIT!
NOBODY TOUCH HIM!" he screamed as the rest of the team
rushed into the alley. " Jean! We need Hank NOW!"
Almost as a second thought he sent to her mind * Check
on Charles!*

Charles was already coming too when Jean reached him
and they hurried into the alley behind the others. He
knew a moment of total failure when he got his first
look at the broken young man. It was obvious that he
was in serious trouble. His body was lying at an odd
angle and a small puddle of blood was forming under
his head.

" Where the HELL is Hank!" Scott screamed again. He
heard a noise behind him and turned to see Wolverine
stumbling toward the circle of teammates that
surrounded Remy. He savagely pushed his way through
them and fell to his knees beside the misshapen form
of his lover. His hands hovered over the crumpled body
a second before he carefully felt for a pulse then
started barking orders. " Go to the Blackbird! We need
the backboard and restraints! And blankets! Tell Hank
to move his ass! He's gonna need oxygen and an IV to
prevent shock! Hurry!"

Minutes felt like hours as he watched the Cajun's
blood slowly drain from his body. He kept his finger
on the kids pulse in case he needed to start CPR.

Finally Hank pushed through the group and fell to his
knees between Logan and Scott. " How far did he fall?"

" The roof" Scott whispered. He couldn't believe the
young man was still alive. Without thinking he reached
out and grabbed Jean's hand. She looked at him through
tear filled eyes and squeezed it.

" I need room to work." Henry was all business now;
there was a life at stake. He very carefully felt the
young man's body for broken and misaligned bones and
cringed at the number he felt. " Logan, I want you to
go to his head. I need you to make sure it stays in
line with his shoulders and spine. Don't let go until
I say so!" Logan nodded and moved to his lover's head;
he held him still while Hank carefully attached a
stiff collar around his neck. " We need to get him
immobilized."

They were more a team than Scott could remember as
they each did their part to get Remy ready for
transport. Finally Hank stood. "All right, Jean saved
him now it's my turn to make sure he stays that way.
Scott, I need to get home in a hurry and I need the
smoothest ride you can give me."

Scott stood and nodded his head, " You got it."

TBC