"Who called Sentinels?" asked Phil.

"Probably one of those hood wearers out there," replied Logan angrily.

"What do we do?" asked Heather in a panic.

"Get the girl out of here," ordered Scott, "We'll have to fight them off."

"Just said the magic word," replied Logan. He held up his fists and with a loud Snikt! His claws emerged from his fists glimmering in the light. Scott took off his shades and slipped his visor on. They were ready for battle and they would protect Lila at all costs.

"You get Lila far away from here," Jean ordered, "We'll hold them off as much as possible." Phil took Lila in his arms and walked towards the door as Heather and Harry screamed to her. "She'll be alright," replied Jean, "Get into the basement." Lila called to her parents, reaching out her arms as she cried in fear. Phil stood out in the empty backyard as Lila cried in his arms. He put her on the ground and leaned down to her, "You'll see them again," he replied, "But right now we have to be brave and work together, okay?" She wiped her eyes and nodded slowly. "You trust me?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. He turned to her and bent down on one knee, "Wrap your arms around my neck, okay? We're going to go for a ride." She looked back at the three who were preparing and grabbed onto his back holding tightly. Phil's stomach turned in knots as he knew this girl would be in his protection.

Scott tapped his 'X' signal comm. Unit and talked, "Professor, we need back up, fast," he instructed, "We have two sentinel units approaching quick."

"They're on their way," replied the professor. Back at the mansion, Nightcrawler and Jubilee ran through the launching pad of the airlift. Nightcrawler teleported to the pilot's side as Jubilee began to strap herself into the seat.

"Begin lift-off," he said as he started the roaring engines of the Blackbird.

"I hope they're okay," Jubilee said.

"They can handle themselves," he said. The jet slanted on its launch pad and suddenly blasted off into the night sky like a bolt of lightning.

Phil powered himself up and like a meteor blasted off the ground in a trail of fire and smoke. Lila held on with all her strength as Phil braced her through the air as they flew through the sky. Suddenly, the front door of the house blasted open with a thunderous boom. The crowds hushed and screamed aloud as Cyclops, Jean and wolverine stood at the doorstep, "You want the girl, you have to come through us!" ordered Scott.

"They're mutants!" screamed a woman in the crowd.

"Back off!" screamed Wolverine as they approached. The sentinels finally landed onto the streets with a thunderous boom as they loomed over the crowd of people with their ominous presence.

"Apprehend mutant subjects," the sentinel droned aloud.

"Come and get it, can opener," Wolverine said with a challenge.
"Get them!" a man screamed. Suddenly the crowds gathered and swarmed like locusts onto their position. "Stay back!" Scott screamed angrily as he blasted the ground with his optic blast. The ground split into two knocking the rioters back with a mighty explosion.

Wolverine leapt off the ground into the crowds as with all his anger began throwing people into the air and shoving them aside. He stood among the people as three muscle-bound men surrounded him preparing to ambush him.

"Three against one," he said looking around, "You guys are outnumbered." Suddenly, the men ran as they attacked him head on; he rammed into one guy knocking him to the ground and flung him into a lamp post as the two jumped on his back. He knelt down and screamed aloud throwing them off of his back like rag dolls. They launched off the ground and fell hard slamming onto the pavement. He looked among his attackers with accomplishment and without a single bruise along his body, "Didn't even have to use my claws," he said wiping his hands.

Jean turned to a car and with her powers lifted it off the ground slamming it into the Sentinel's chest. It staggered back as the car broke through his armor causing Cyclops to blast with all his might. He ran, charging head on as the blasts broke through its metallic legs and armor. A loud whirring sound arose from above as the black bird finally landed onto the center of the neighborhood. The remaining crowds stared in shock and amazement as the hull opened up from below. Emerging from it was Jubilee and Nightcrawler as they ran out ready for battle.

"The cavalry's here," Logan said, "Now we can get the fun started." The second sentinel looked up into the sky, "Beginning pursuit on two mutant subjects," it droned.

"Oh, no," muttered Jean. The sentinel looked up and blasted off into the sky in pursuit as Jean followed anxiously.

"Jean!" Jubilee screamed.

"She'll be fine," instructed Scott, "We have to stop that sentinel from doing anymore damage."

They charged furiously like an army, preparing to take on the sentinel at full force. Jean zoomed through the skies as she followed the Sentinel which began to out-fly her without hesitation. Phil now held Lila in his arms as they sped through the skies anxiously. Suddenly from behind the sentinel began blasting furiously at them. Phil dodged the fires and nearly smashed into a tree as he looked back in shock at the sentinel approaching.

"Oh, no," muttered Phil.

"I'm scared," screamed Lila.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "We'll be fine. I promise." The robot blasted rapidly and skillfully nearly missing Firestarter's body as he maneuvered through the sky. Jean ripped the tree off the ground with her mind and hurled it at the robot smashing it into its back. The sentinel staggered in mid-air, its rocket boosters hesitating, and smoke emanating from the boosters. Temporarily stunned by the hit it instantly arose in the air again and began its attack once more.

Firestarter turned quickly and faced off against the Sentinel with angry determined grimace. Suddenly a large tidal wave of fire emerged from his body and burst through mid-air smashing into the Sentinel's armor like a blanket. The Sentinel shielded its body as the fire melted the metal exposing some of its gears and wired form within its skeleton. The Sentinel continued to stagger towards his position as he groaned aloud in frustration and continued to fly away from his pursuer. "Go down," he muttered. His body was exhausted from the long flight as his powers and energy began to slowly drain. He began to sweat heavily, his arms tiring slowly as Lila held on with fright. He wiped his forehead and continued to fly off. He had to save her and keep her from harm or she would end up being dissected. Jean flew like a rocket at the sentinel and lifted a large truck from the ground with her mind. The rusty heap screeched loudly off the ground and flew in mid-air, launching into the Sentinel's body.

It slammed into its legs, tearing off a large portion of his rockets. The Sentinel suddenly began to stagger in mid-air as it could no longer rely on the rockets. Suddenly, it turned to Jean and blasted her off-guard knocking her into the trees and with one final end, shot at Firestarter. He looked back as the blast approached him like lightning; tired and exhausted, he was unable to react to it and it hit him in the back. He let out a loud scream and dived into the ground holding Lila in his arms. Like a rock he slammed his body into the ground, still holding Lila in his arms with all his protection to keep her from getting hurt. He rolled along the ground unconscious and lay along the grass, his back smoking heavily from the shot. Lila opened her eyes and sat up as she saw him lying on the ground near consciousness. She hunched over him and with all her desperation began to tug him back and forth hoping for him to wake up.

"Wake up," she pleaded, "Wake up, please." She began to cry and looked around in the dark desolate wooded area that surrounded them. Tired, drained, and hurt, Firestarter lay on the ground unconscious and unable to get up. "Please, get up," she pleaded as tears rolled down her face, "please." He looked up at her and groaned as he attempted to sit up with all his remaining strength. He pushed himself up as she stood up pulling his hand desperately. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of a million feet scattering along the grass in the trees. He looked back as lights of many fires lit in the darkness.

"What is that?" he thought to himself.

"There, the two mutants are out in the fields!" a voice screamed. He gasped aloud realizing they were trapped as an onslaught of KKK members began to crowd their way through the darkness.

Wolverine stood among the face of the Sentinel slashing mercilessly and screaming an angry rage as his claws tore through the heavy gears and wires of the sentinel. Jubilee blasted its legs with her powers blowing its foot clear off as Cyclops blasted it in the chest. The sentinel's foundation let out a thunderous creek as it began to stagger backwards from the insurmountable force it had dealt with as the X-men attacked head on with relentless force. Nightcrawler grabbed onto Wolverine's back and the two instantly teleported as Cyclops charged head on. With one last blast, he shot the Sentinel in the chest punching a hole through its center with his optic blast. Finally, the Sentinel staggered back and collapsed onto the ground with an explosion and fall so mighty, the ground shook like an earthquake. There stood a humongous blanket of smoke as the X-men stood over the ruins of the metallic beast, now defunct and beaten.

Cyclops' 'X' pendant began to blink and tapped it as he heard the distress call of Jean. "Cyclops, Firestarter's down, he needs your help," she ordered anxiously. "Let's move!" he ordered with a loud command. They all swooped to the Blackbird quickly as, far away Jean regained her powers once more and zipped through the sky. She knew the two were in trouble and she wouldn't let them get hurt. On the ground, Firestarter stood in front of Lila, crouched down from exhaustion, he waited, out of options and without an exit. Lila clenched onto his back with wide eyes of horror as the torches could be seen in the moonlight.

"I'm scared," she cried out as she cried.

"Get down;" he warned her, "They won't touch you." Suddenly, with a scene more haunting than he had ever seen in his life, he could now see a crowd of people dressed in white robes and hoods, peering into their souls as they emerged from the darkness.

"How did they know we were here?" he thought to himself. One man dressed in a red robe stood forward among the crowd of hateful souls and pointed ominously. "You won't leave here you mutant freaks," he said aloud.

"You got two options," he replied aloud, "Get out of here or fight me."

"When we're done with you, you will be hanging along the cross of god and burn in hell," he commanded.

"Don't you dare use his name, you bastard!" he screamed, "We're humans just like everyone else."

"You're not human," he replied with a thunderous voice, "You are monsters from the depths of hell!"

"So are you!" he screamed. The sky roared with thunder that shook the ground; they all looked up as the large blackbird jet hovered above them all casting an ominous shadow.

They all gasped in horror as the X-men swooped down from the bottom of the plane, diving onto the ground. They all turned to the masked men ready to defend Firestarter to the death.

"You all will burn in hell!" the leader commanded.

"You'll go before us, bub," replied wolverine as he stuck out his claws.

"We don't want any trouble," Cyclops said keeping his finger on his visor, "We just want to leave."

"Burn them!" a voice called out in the darkness. Suddenly, the crowds began to scream and chant in unison as they waved their torches angrily. "Bring it on!" screamed Logan. Lila clenched onto Firestarter's arm in fear as she stood up against a tree in fright.

"I-I wanna go home," she said in a meek voice. A low hush arose in the trees and fields as the wind howled through the night sky, the deafening silence echoing as the two groups faced off.

A loud booming sound arose from the silence, cutting through the quiet sharply. Firestarter let out a loud yelp of pain as blood squirted from his shoulder; the team turned in shock as a gunshot went off in the darkness. He gasped and shivered staring in wide-eyed shock as he looked at his open hand, a puddle of blood forming. "Phil!" Jubilee screamed aloud. They ran to him as he fell, but soon stopped like statues for as he crouched down in pain, Lila could no longer be seen. The entire group looked on in horror as Lila's lifeless body lay on the grass. Phil turned in horror and saw as Lila lay on the ground, a single shot wound visible through her chest. He couldn't speak nor could any of the team move as the shot echoed through the night. "No," he muttered in a low shaky voice, "No." Jean ran to him and crouched over Lila's body, feeling for a pulse. It was no use. The bullet had hit her in the heart and killed her instantly.

Cyclops gasped in utter horror as Jean began to cry over her body in sadness. The mission was all in vain, a child had died for something as horrible as hatred. Firestarter stood still, his eyes wide and white as pearls, his pupils as small a pin heads. He was breathless and at a loss for words as an innocent soul had been taken. "God no," he muttered. Cyclops and ran to Lila and held her up in his arms lifting her gently. "Are you happy now?" he screamed in a rage, "Is this what you wanted?"

"Who was… it?" muttered Firestarter in a shaky voice. All of a sudden, his eyes burst into a haunting glow of orange and ember. He could no longer suppress his rage; everything he had fought for, everything he believed was gone. His faith in humanity had disappeared, for he had witnessed every inch of pure hatred within the human soul in that single death.

The torches that continued to burn suddenly began to wave within the wind when in an amazing feat the fire lifted off the branches of the torches and began to be consumed into Firestarter's body. Logan and the rest watched as the fire seeped into firestarter's every pore. He stood crouched down in the grass when with all his power, he'd consumed the fire. "Who was it?" he asked in a scream that echoed in the night. The fire exploded from his body in a mighty roar as the power surged through his every being. Logan and the team were knocked off their feet as the intense heat surged from his body. He stood up and began to walk along the grass as it seared under his feet. The crowds looked on in horror only gasping in fright as he approached them. "Who killed her?" He threw a large fireball at the trees as it imploded within the immense heat. The rubble collapsed atop the crowd as they screamed in fright.

"Firestarter, no!" Cyclops screamed standing up.

"They did it!" he screamed aloud, "You all saw them!" Without thought or hesitation he began shooting fireball after fireball rapidly into the trees of the forest as everything began exploding like a war zone. The crowd attempted to run away but he cornered them as a trail of fire surrounded them. "Now you'll burn before we do!" He screamed, his eyes glowing brightly, the merciless fire consuming his body, "You're all going to suffer!"

"We have to stop him!" Jubilee said.

"There's no getting through to him!" Logan replied, "He's going to kill them!"

"We have to try or he'll end up killing them all!" replied Nightcrawler.

They all charged at him furiously, Cyclops and Jubilee blasting at him; yet the blasts were futile as his force field blocked the blasts. His mind was lost now, as he witnessed his team mates attacking him. Wolverine leapt off the ground and slashed through his force field rapidly. He finally broke through and landed atop Firestarter who was blasting at the crowd tauntingly. He grasped him by the back, clenching his arms around his body, pinning him down with all his might. "Don't do it, kid!" Logan screamed. Firestarter struggled angrily, "You… saw them!" he screamed, "They have to die!" His body began to glow as he began to heat up into intense temperatures. Logan screamed in pain as his flesh began to burn. "Too… hot…!" he muttered in agony, "Can't let you go!"

"He's burning!" screamed Jubilee.

"We have to get at him from the front," ordered Cyclops.

"Ay, Ay, chief," replied Nightcrawler. He grabbed onto Jubilee and Scott and teleported, bamf - ing in front of Firestarter who continued to attempt to break free from Logan's hold.

They teleported in front of the two; Cyclops kept his hand at his visor and hesitated to blast, "Do it," Jubilee said, "he's killing him."

"I—I'll hurt him," muttered Cyclops.

"Hit him!" screamed Nightcrawler. He blasted, breaking through Firestarter's shield easily and shot through the heat. It collided hard into his chest as the two flew into the air from the force and collided into the trees. They stared on as smoke emerged from the pieces of broken wood in the distance. They looked back as the crowd of hood-wearing KKK members watched amazed and petrified. "Move and I'll kill you myself," Cyclops warned in a grim tone. They ran over to the trees and looked down onto Firestarter who lay unconscious on the ground, his body smoldering from the attack. Wolverine lay beside him, his flesh nearly charred from the struggle.

He sat among the ledge of the watchtower, thinking back to that night; that night that would forever live on in his mind, the night that he could never forget. He looked back as the professor hovered towards him.

"How are you?" he asked.

"As good as anyone can be," he replied.

"It wasn't your fault," he assured him putting his hand among his shoulder; "It was theirs."

"She was my responsibility," he argued, "I promised her. I promised that she'd be okay and I failed. In the process I nearly killed my friends."

"Logan is okay," he said, "he hasn't held any grudges."

"I guess I'm being thrown out, eh?" he asked.

"No," he replied, "It was simply a tragedy no one could have prevented."

"I could have!" he argued, "She didn't have any superpowers, she couldn't have hurt anyone, she wasn't threatening anyone. Why are we like that? We're so hateful and violent of different people and different things."

"I wish I had the answer," replied the professor, "but there may never be one."

"We hate anything different and never take the time to understand one another," he said as tears rolled down his face, "it's disgusting."

"It took a tragic event to make you realize this," he said, "Now you can learn from it."

"I've been here since I was fifteen and I'm not so sure I want this anymore," he replied.

"What are you saying?" asked the professor.

"I can't fight for something I don't believe in," he declared, "This is all for nothing."

"There are one hundred kids in this school who would say otherwise," he argued, "one hundred kids who depend on you for guidance."

"Well, I can't give it anymore," he argued, "How can I teach them to protect and fight when I don't believe in it?"

"We all have lost our faith in the cause at one time," he said, "but by teaching them you'll prevent another life from being taken at the hands of hatred and let a new generation learn to love."

"All that little girl knew was love," he said, "Now I have to help spread her word, for the good of our kind."