Uncanny X-Men (6th series) #3

Graymalkin Prison, where Charles Xavier is held captive in a room where he is completely isolated. He hangs his head, thinking that even with all his training and discipline, when the most powerful brain on Earth has no outlet, nothing to consume itself – he starts having olfactory delusions, too. He smells wildflowers and hillside heather – only for that aroma to turn to rot and decay, like the damp aftermath of a cataclysm. Suddenly, a horrid voice enters his mind: 'Penny for your thoughts, Charles?' the voice asks, causing Xavier to go wide-eyed. 'I could get you out of here, yes, I could. Shall I make a stirrup Charles the Jaguar?' the voice utters. '...Sarah? This isn't possible' Xavier gasps. 'Do not speak to me of what is possible, Charles. Where are they, Charles? Where are the children? Why can't I find them?' Sarah asks. Xavier quickly tells her that whatever she thinks, this is between them – as a haggard fingernail scratches the side of his neck. 'Hush. Do you miss my womb, Charles? Wherever they are, I will find them. And I will turn them from you' Sarah warns Charles, who hangs his head once more.

Meanwhile, 46 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana, in a small town called Haven. It's 4:25 A.M. The sun is starting to rise. Within a sprawling house, Anna Marie LeBeau a.k.a. Rogue sits up in bed. Her husband, Remy a.k.a. Gambit lies next to her. She thinks about the Bayou roads and sounds in the night, and how when her friends, her family, wouldn't answer her calls, this family took her and Remy in. She notes how the quilt smells like someone's mom made it – well, her mom, maybe. And she wouldn't trade this bed for nothing – nor the fella it's loaded with. She looks at her husband, whom she describes as her rambunctious boy – her best ever Gambit. She has places in town, and knows they don't need to be imposing here, but was told that they take any orphans in, and that is all of them right now. She tells her husband to sleep, as she pulls the quilt around herself and walks out of the bedroom. 'We're all mourning. As best we can' Rogue thinks to herself.

Rogue enters a kitchen, where Logan a.k.a. Wolverine is sitting at a table. She greets him, and he calls her Moonbeam. 'Ah was just fixin' ta -' Rogue begins, to which Logan tells her that the pot is on the stove. 'Little early for tequila, ain't it?' Rogue asks, noting what Logan is drinking. 'I'd say it's about four decades late, as it happens' Logan responds, asking Rogue if she wants a swig. 'Ah'm good' Rogue tells him as she pours herself some coffee. 'Yer loss' Logan remarks, to which Rogue takes a seat at the table and claims that her head is still ringing from the beers last night. She asks Logan if he couldn't sleep, to which Logan reports that he was checking on the kids. 'That's right thoughtful, new place and all' Rogue notes. Logan tells her that that was not he meant. 'I think you know that. I was checking on them' he clarifies. 'Okay. And ...?' Rogue's voice trails off.

Logan reports that the tall drink of water who belted him is upstairs, sleeping like he is used to sleeping rough, while the girl with the stopwatch seems okay, although she is a messy little thing. The horse girl is sleeping in the barn with that horse – Logan claims that he didn't have the heart to move her. 'And I don't think I want to say where Manga Kid is at the moment' Logan adds, while that young mutant is sitting on a headstone in a cemetery. Rogue sips her coffee and tells Logan that it is weird how that kid in the hospital, Harvey X, predicted all of this. 'Predicted one of the kids was gonna end mutantkind too, I recall' Logan frowns. Rogue suggests that everything probably seemed like the end to Harvey, who was just a kid undergoing chemo. Rogue tells herself that sometimes a hard truth is coming, but you don't want to see it. She laughs at Logan's reference to “Horse Girl” and suggests to him that he better learn their proper names if he is going to help train them.

But suddenly, the hard truth hits Rogue, as she sees a bag at Logan's feet and realizes that he is leaving. Logan remains silent, as Rogue exclaims 'You're leaving these...these kids. And you know I need you'. 'Moonbeam... it's because I know you don't that I'm okay with going' Logan responds as he stands up, explaining that he has to go, as something is wrong with him. 'I know you've felt it' he adds. Rogue looks distressed as Logan tells her that he feels wild inside, that he can't have people he cares about around him right now. 'Tell Jubes...tell her something' Logan asks as he gets up to leave, noting that Jubilee will take this hard. 'Logan. Do what ya gotta. But then you come home. You hear me? You come home' Rogue declares, to which Logan glances back at her and frowns. 'Watch them kids darling. For everyone's sake' Logan adds, before heading out the door and informing Rogue that he left a present for her outside. Rogue sits back down at the kitchen table where she sits quietly and thinks for a bit.

Soon, a triangle hanging on the front porch is struck, courtesy of Marcus St. Johns, who is standing on the porch with his wife, Alice and their daughter, Chelsea. Rogue steps out onto the porch, blanket still wrapped around her. A shirtless Gambit yawns as he appears behind Rogue, along with Jubilee, while the four youngsters – Deathdream, Jitter, Ransom and Calico with her horse, Ember, gather on the porch stairs. Marcus informs his guests that there are house rules – everyone has chores, everyone cooks, and everyone cleans. 'Are we clear?' he asks. He introduces his wife and daughter and tells his guests to treat them with respect and they will get respect in return. 'Treat them poorly – we''re gonna have words'. He then reports that breakfast is in fifteen minutes, and suggests everyone goes and wash their hands. Rogue looks at the girl, Chelsea, and finds something odd about her, before Marcus turns to Rogue and tells her not to be putting any letters on his girl's clothes, before he asks her to put some britches on.

Meanwhile, in Westchester, New York, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, now called Graymalkin Prison. High walls now surround the sprawling grounds. Inside, Dr. Corina Ellis, the Warden of the facility, exclaims 'No, I don't know how shes done it, but she was in his cell. You tell me'. Captain Exra stands before Dr. Ellis and informs her that he doesn't have an explanation, and suggests that the cameras malfunctioned. 'You're telling me that we have the most sophisticated A.I. security ever conceived. And that... that swamp hag walked into a cell? And no one on staff noticed?' Suddenly, the wrinkled, broken-looking man called Phillip Scurvy utters 'It's the children, Corina'. 'Doctor Ellis' Corina scalds Phillip, before asking him to clarify what he is saying. 'Shes going to murder the children' Phillip announces.

Back in Louisiana, Rogue realizes that Marcus wasn't wrong, as she and the others spent most of the day pulling stumps from a sallow field, although this caused the kids to become somewhat cranky. Gambit asks Rogue if she is sure about this, to which Rogue reminds him that the kids won't say how they got here, but they need to know what they can do. 'Wwwwhat freshhh hell isss thissss?' Sofia Yong a.k.a. Jitter asks as she sees the field contains several makeshift structures and obstacles. 'I touched a cow's teats' Hotoru a.k.a. Deathdream remarks. 'Quit saying that, ghost boy!' Valentin Correa a.k.a. Ransom snaps, while Deathdream tells him that they were squishy, like a blood bag. Rogue, wearing her classic green and yellow costume, smiles and welcomes the kids to the Danger Room. 'Each of you is gonna tell us a little bit about yourself. Then... we start your training' Rogue explains.

Suddenly, Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler teleports into the scene. Rogue introduces him and explains to the kids that Nightcrawler has come to help them out. Nightcrawler greets the kids and asks them to call him “Kurt”. Becca Simon-Pinette a.k.a. Calico stands with her horse, Ember, and goes wide-eyed. 'It's a goblin. Like mother said!' she utters.

Rogue decides that it is time to see how bad the kids want this, and informs them that tonight's mission is simple as brown sugar pie – they need to get this belt, from the Elf. She hands the X-belt to Nightcrawler, who quickly teleports up onto one of the higher structures in the field. Rogue listens as the kids talk for a bit, although she decides that none of their stories are exactly rainbow taffy. She tries not to show it – but it hits hard. She wonders why the world is so hard on kids.

'The game is afoot, my friends!' Nightcrawler calls out from atop the structure. Jitter presses down on her timer, attached to her wrist: 'Advanced parkour' she exclaims as she propels herself forward and up the structure, leaping and flipping, she reaches the top – and almost grabs the belt, but Nightcrawler teleports away. 'Dammit!' Jitter exclaims. She sits down and reveals that she was having trouble in school. She remembers being in a classroom, where the teacher told the students that there is no talking and no going to the bathroom, and that they had three hours to finish the exam. Sofia put her hand up, and called out to the teacher, who asked her what was wrong. 'I'm done!' Sofia announced. There were four girls who used to beat her up every day, accused her of being a cheater and trying to make them all look bad. Sofia tried to tell them that she didn't cheat, but they began to kick her, called her a “stuttering freak” and suggested that they put her head in the toilet. Sofia had learned that she can do anything for one minute – so she made them beg and made them bleed – but because she forced one of the girls to kick the leader of the group, this girl cannot walk anymore. 'I'm sorry' Sofia utters. 

Ransom appears behind Nightcrawler and puts an arm around him in an attempt to restrain him. 'Ha. Give me the belt, furry!' Ransom exclaims. 'I know you mean that to be insulting...but I actually like the furry community, you see? Their parties are magnificent!' Nightcrawler declares as he teleports out of Ransom's grasp with ease. Ransom reveals that he is from Argentina, and that when he was born the nurses screamed – because they couldn't detect a heartbeat. And then, the x-rays showed that he didn't have a heart at all. His parents were wealthy – wealthy and vain – and his imperfection shamed them. When he was kidnapped, they refused to pay the ransom, and the kidnappers shot him four times. The bullets went through him and made him strong. Ransom explains that hr ran away from home when he was thirteen, as it was better to belong to nothing than to belong where you aren't wanted.

As Nightcrawler teleports about, Jitter makes another attempt to run after him, while Calico rides Ember up the structure. Gambit watches and realizes that the kids are strong – they don't even know how strong they are. Jubilee watches them, too, and points out that they are wild, and don't work together, that they don't think, they just attack. 'The whole dang world was their Danger Room' Rogue reminds Jubilee, while recalling that exact feeling herself.

At that moment, Calico whispers 'Barnstormer!' to her horse, and Ember suddenly glows with wings as they burst up through the structure Nightcrawler was standing on, taking him by surprise and knocking him backwards. Calico introduces herself as Becca Constance Simon-Pinette – of the Loundoun County Simon-Pinettes, and admits that she doesn't really know how to talk to people. She remembers her mother wrapping her in her love, every day – to protect her from the world – no films, no TV, no music – said they would only hurt her in the end. She remembers sitting alone at the end of a very long dining table. But she had her books, a lovely library, and her best friend, Ember – all of the horses, really. Becca remembers smelling smoke one night. She didn't shout, though – she had been taught not to shout. So she just went to the stables in her bare feet. She isn't sure why she didn't shout. She remembers her mother could be strict – and that she left her locked in a cupboard for four days, once – because she said she loved her so much. As the fire engulfed the estate, Becca left, with Ember. 'Do you know what would be nice? Some lemonade. Would one of the help make me a glass of lemonade, please? Freshly squeezed' she smiles.

Kurt grins as he teleports away, and tells the kids that it seems none of them can hold him. 'I held a cow's teats this morning' Deathdream utters as he appears on a platform behind Kurt. 'They were squishy' Deathdream claims as he takes on a frightening appearance, causing Kurt to utte 'GOTT IN HIMMEL!' and go wide-eyed as he finds himself surrounded by darkness. 'Do you really want to see Heaven, Kurt Wagner? Let me show you' Deathdream offers, as Kurt drops the belt. Deathdream reveals that he is from Kyoto, and that his mother told him the story of his arrival – told him months after she died. Hotoru explains that he was stillborn at birth – the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck – a child's bluing noose. But he was revived, only to die three more times that first night. Eventually, Hotoru could revive himself. But when he was dead, he dreamed of being alive, and when he was alive, he only thought of death – and he was never alone. Spirits were with him. So now, he does whatever he wants – and his favorite drink is arsenic and lemon. 'And I know you are afraid. I know you are afraid' he utters.

Deathdream's form wraps around Kurt, strangling him, as he tells Nightcrawler that it isn't so easy for him to disappear when he can't breathe. 'Isn't that right, “Fuzzy Elf”? False pirate? False priest?' Kurt struggles to break free from the strange mutant, while Gambit calls out 'Hey, get off him!' and Rogue flies over: 'You heard the man, little devil. Hands off my brother, y'hear?' she snaps as she punches Deathdream in the face, knocking him to the ground. 'I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean...I'm poison. I can't help it!' Hotoru utters as he looks over at the others. Jubilee helps Kurt up, and Kurt coughs, before telling Hotoru that it is all right. 'I'm sure you all have good hearts' he adds. 'I don't' Ransom remarks. 'Mine has worms in it' Hotoru utters, hanging his head. 'Um. Does this mean we win?' Calico asks as she steps forward, holding the belt up.

Meanwhile, Logan is in a truck that comes to a stop on a road leading into Kisatchie National Forest. 'Hey, brother. When you say forest, I bring you to the forest' the truck driver remarks, before adding that people don't know half the state is forest in Louisiana – fourteen million acres of it. 'It's just that... there ain't no services here at night this time o' year. And there's critters. It's kinda dangerous' the driver comments. Logan climbs out of the truck and tells the driver that he is much obliged, and that he will be fine. 'I believe you will, friend. Sorry your bike got burned up' the driver responds. '$%#& happens' Logan mutters as he walks down the side of the road and enters the dense forest, where he takes a  moment to look out over the expanse before him.

Logan continues on, stopping by a clear river, he suddenly turns his head back and asks 'Why didn't I smell you?' a horrid voice resonates behind him and responds 'Because I didn't want you to'. Logan narrows his eyes, and asks 'Why didn't I hear you?' A pair of eyes can be seen piercing through the darkened forest and utters 'Sarah Gaunt makes sounds only when she wants to, little one. And not every hunter leaves a footprint'. Wolverine pops his claws and points out that most bleed though, when called upon. 'Come on' he calls out. 'Yes...when called upon!' the ghastly, haggard-looking woman Sarah Gaunt, known as the Hag, exclaims as she leaps from the forest, her bony fingers reaching out for Wolverine, whose adamantium claws clash against the Hag's own long claws. 'Oh dear. Did you never think... that someone from my realm... would make an answer to your claws, Logan?' the Hag asks as she knocks Wolverine backwards.

'My nails. Forged from the melted blades of murderers, they are' the Hag reveals as Wolverine raises his own claws to hold the Hag at bay. 'Somber steel, it is called. Can you hear the screams of the victims? I do' the Hag utters, before she shoves her claws through Wolverine's stomach. 'What a jolly choir they make!' the Hag exclaims, before asking Logan where the children are, and why she can't see them. ''Is this it, little one? Haven't you a battle cry – a brave slogan of some kind?' the Hag asks as her claws pierce all the way through Logan's body – but suddenly, Logan recovers, and pulls away from the Hag, punching her in the face, he tells her that he has got a real humdinger of a slogan. 'Say it then, “Moonbeam”!' the Hag grins as she licks Wolverine's blood off of her claws. 'Say it!' she repeats again. 'Not. Dead. Yet' Wolverine calls out as he leaps towards the Hag, claws at the ready – only for the Hag to grab Wolverine by his neck. 'Yes, well. It's not exactly “Avengers Assemble,” is it?' the Hag asks as she moves her other claws closer to a wide-eyed Logan's face.

Back in Louisiana, Rogue's thoughts pick up Wolverine's. 'Logan? Sugah? What...what's happening? It hurts' Rogue utters. 'I'm in the dark, Moonbeam. And it ain't gonna get any lighter where I'm going' Logan responds, before warning Rogue that she has to get away from the kids. Rogue clutches her head, and Gambit and Rogue look over, concerned. 'Mon chère. What's happening?' Gambit asks. 'What is it, Rogue? What do you see?' Jubilee calls out. 'It's Wolverine. It's Logan. He's in the dark. He's dying. He's dying' Rogue responds as she collapses into Gambit's arms.