ISSUE #123

" Warpath! Wolfsbane! If you hold back, you're going to die here! Do you hear me?!" Logan exclaimed. He fought through the Marauders swarming him as best he could while shouting advice at the others.

" I hear you Wolverine." Scalp hunter spoke. He raised his rifle and blew a hole right into Logan's head.

" Keep them moving!" Bishop yelled. " We have to find the child." Bishop blasted Scalp Hunter back for Logan sending the man flying.

It was chaotic, when one Marauder was taken down, another filled their place in moments.

" Look, one of the X-men's children, all grown up and pretending to be scary." Arclight laughed at Rahne.

" GRRRR!! This is nae a game, arclight." Rahne told the woman. She lunged at Arclight and bit down on her neck, nearly tearing it out with her teeth before Sunfire recovered and blasted the woman.

" You're a fool Sinclair. You don't even know who you fight beside." Sunfire exclaimed.

Bishop turned and blasted the man away from Rahne.

" I'll take out Sunfire, Rahne" Bishop told the woman.

Rahne gasped for air, but just as soon as she was freed, Whirlwind snatched her up and brought her outside.

........

Back at the mansion.

" More flowers? I don't get it. What's the point?" Santo asked as he followed Sooraya and Cessily outside.

" It's something of an end unto itself, Rockslide. The dead should continue to be honored... Their burial sites maintained." Sooraya explained to the boy.

" Where're you going?" Cessily asked Santo.

" Busy work." Santo stated.

" Santo!" Sooraya chided the boy for his callous words.

" Well, that's what it feels like." Santo complained.

" You don't have to come along, Santo." Sooraya told the boy.

" It's not like I got anything better to do!" Santo yelled. " Everyone else is running around, trying to save the future of our race and we're stuck here! We deserve a piece of the ac--ction." Santo was explaining to the two girls. However when the trio got to the cemetery they stood in horror as one of the Predator-X's, a beast the people of the facility who kidnapped Cessily and made X-23 had created from Cessily's flesh, was gnawing on the remains of the deceased mutants. " I take it back." Santo exclaimed.

The predator attacked the group, hungry for their flesh.

" Cess, Sooraya, move!" Santo exclaimed. He shoved the two girls out of the way and the Predator tackled him to the ground and started chewing on him. Though it had little effect.

" Santo!!" Cessily yelled.

" Allah no... It was eating the corpses... What is this monstrosity?" Sooraya asked. Terror filled her being as she stared at the desecrated graves.

" Oh god.... It's one of the predators. From the facility that made X-23. It's changed. It's so much bigger... But I can feel it. It's wearing my skin." Cessily exclaimed. She was terrified of the creature. She believed she had gotten over it, but here and now she was scared.

The creature chased after Cessily and Sooraya, but before it could get either of them, it suddenly stopped.

" Hey! Get back here!" Santo yelled at the creature. " Wait, is it sniffing us?" Santo asked.

The creature sniffed the air multiple times, before turning and running straight for the institute.

" What is that?" Indra asked. He Hope and Nicolas were all passing by one of the windows when they spotted Predator X running straight towards them.

" Look out!!" Nic yelled.

Predator X exploded through the window knocking Hope, Indra, and Nicolas down to the ground.

" Please, no. Please." Indra begged.

The creature growled at the boy and prepared to eat him, but before he could Noriko arrived and blasted the monster beast in his face.

" Indra, everyone... Get out of here! Get to beast. He's down in the infirmary." Noriko exclaimed.

" What are you going to do?" Indra asked the girl.

" Not let you die." Nori replied.

Indra nodded and quickly left with everyone else to go get Beast, while Noriko alone faced down Predator X.

.....

" Colossus broke my neck once. I remember it hurt." Whirlwind told Rahne, he had landed in the bay with the girl and currently had her by the neck. " Be thankful you're asleep." Whirlwind spoke.

Before he could do the same and break Rahne's neck a pair of hands grabbed him by the neck and quickly snapped it.

" You were saying?" Ian asked the man. He reached down and grabbed Rahne out of the water.

" Damn it, red. I swear one of these days you're gonna give me a heart attack." Ian told the girl. He carried Rahne out of the water and placed her gently down on the beach. " I can feel your mind trying to get in, you've got a lot of explaining to do... Professor." Ian turned around and Xavier and Cable were standning behind him. cable had his gun pointed right at him.

" Sorry, for trying to pry, Ian. But I was hoping to keep you out of this. You've done enough as it is." Xavier told the boy. " Did you kill him?" Xavier asked.

" I broke his neck, if he's still alive after that, then God doesn't want him dead." Ian replied.

' Should have made sure he was dead. Sloppy work kid." Cable told Ian.

" Eh, I don't really care if he lives or dies. All that matters right now is that we get that baby to safety. Which brings me to my next question, professor.... What the hell is going on?" Ian asked. " Why are you with him?"

" It's a lot to explain. So I'll just show you." Xavier replied.

He put his hands to his head and showed him everything Cable knew. Everything about the baby, his travels. Everything.

Ian grabbed his head and reeled from the overload of information being dumped on him.

" Okay... That was... Something. But wait there's something that doesn't make sense." Ian stated.

" What is it?" Xavier asked.

" What happened with Bishop? Why'd you shoot forge?" Ian asked Cable.

" I never fought with Bishop. And I found Forge on the ground. You saw it." Cable explained.

" No, you shot forge and then fought with, Bishop... Oh shit." Ian muttered. " I knew something was wrong. Cable wasn't the ones who turned the Sentinels against us. It was Bishop. Bishop is the reason Emma, and the other telepaths were knocked out. Damn things just got a lot more complicated." Ian exclaimed.

" Yes, they have," Xavier stated.

" Alright, look Cable. I don't trust you, but I am trusting you professor. So, I'll trust you to do what's right." Ian told Cable. " You get that baby and get it to safety. I'm going back to help the others. The Marauders are fighting like their lives depend on it. And they do." Ian exclaimed.

He leaped from the sandy shore, leaving Cable and Xavier behind with Rahne.

" All right, Cable. I'm trusting you." Xavier told the man.

" Thank you, professor. Now then. Let's go put an end to this crazy mess." Cable stated.