The X-Men wandered through the clean and beautiful streets of Eden, marvelling at the wonders around them. At first glance, Eden looked like a pretty regular city, with its skyscrapers, mall, park and tram system. But upon looking closer one could see that it was cleaner and all together happier place. Traffic flowed smoothly along the city streets; children played in safety and people seemed to just get on with their lives.

Wolverine found it hard to believe that this city was made up humans and mutants living together in peace. The idea of it seemed very far out and ludicrous after the constant fighting with the Friends of Humanity. This whole thing was making him feel nervous. There had to be a downside to this city somewhere. The cops on every corner didn¡¦t help and the fact that there was video surveillance everywhere didn¡¦t help either.

They found their way into a small café in the Eden City Mall and as they sat drinking coffee, the X-Men discussed what they had seen.

"I ain¡¦t no mutant or human kids play together like that. It seems kinda weird to tell y¡¦all the truth." said Rogue, regaling the group with her own thoughts about the city.

"Well, it¡¦s seems to that the Professor¡¦s dreams of mutants and humans living together has happened here. Pity about the rest of the world." Cyclops said, sipping a hot mug of coffee.

" ¡¦The Dream Realised,¡¦" Jean said, "I¡¦m not so sure it¡¦s that simple. I mean, if this place is so perfect then why would whoever runs this city want to keep it a secret?"

The other nodded in agreement. It did seem weird to keep such a wonderful place a secret. But then again, with the Friends of Humanity still around they¡¦d probably think it was a colony for mutants to gather enough resistance to rebel against the rest of the world. If Eden was a paradise, surely the rest of the world could learn from its example.

"I think it¡¦s all about control, " Wolverine said, suddenly. The others looked at him wanting an explanation of his opinion. "Look around you. Haven¡¦t you noticed a few things that you wouldn¡¦t find in a regular city? One- there is security cameras everywhere. On the sides of buildings, in alleyways, even in the bathrooms! Two- there is cops on every corner. And three- every time you do something, you get asked for identification¡¦ I mean, what¡¦s going on? It¡¦s as if they have to keep check on everything someone does. It seems like a total invasion of privacy!"

The others were surprised at his outburst, although he did have a good point. It seemed like everyone in Eden had restricted freedom.

"That¡¦s the way it¡¦s always been." An unfamiliar voice said from behind them. Wolverine turned to see who had spoken. He saw a man in his late twenties sitting relaxed at a table behind them. A woman with long blue hair around the same age was seated opposite him. It was clear to them that she was a mutant, but the man, they weren¡¦t so sure. Wolverine frowned at him;

"Is it also customary here to eavesdrop on other people¡¦s conversations?!" he asked, clearly angered by this man¡¦s entrance into the conversation. The man smiled;

"Don¡¦t be angry, I¡¦m just agreeing with you that¡¦s all." The man stood and walked round to the X-Men¡¦s table. The woman followed and they stood before the team. The man reached his hand out to Cyclops.

"I¡¦m Genesis," he said shaking Cyclops¡¦ hand firmly, "and this is Exodus." The woman with the blue hair nodded and remained silent.

"Would you like to join us?" asked Jean, politely. Genesis and Exodus thanked her and sat down. Genesis started up the conversation again.

"I take it you guys are new here in Eden?" he asked, making small talk.

"How¡¦d you guess?" laughed Rogue, running her finger around the rim of her empty cup.

"Suppose I better fill you in on a few things." Said Genesis, sighing. He made it seem like it was going to be a chore, and that he was only going to do it because it was the ¡¦Eden Way.¡¦ Wolverine didn¡¦t like his tone and anyway, they weren¡¦t as if they were going to staying here for long. They had to find Jubilee as soon as possible.

"Look bub! We¡¦re here for one thing only," he said, grabbing Genesis by the collar, "We¡¦re looking for a friend of ours. A woman called Jubilation Lee. You know her?"

Genesis was clearly scared as he stammered out "No! But I know someone who might!" Wolverine let him go and Genesis slammed back down into his seat, clutching his throat and panting.

Within a few minutes of their meeting, the X-Men, Genesis and Exodus were on their way to an unknown destination. With Genesis leading the way through the city streets, they headed towards the western sector of the city. The streets were crammed with people, which made it difficult from them to stay together. Rogue and Storm solved this matter by flying over them to keep in sight of Genesis and Exodus. This was a mutant and human city after all! The crossed the street and headed towards the park that they had seen as they came down to the city in the glass elevator. It was here that Genesis and Exodus stopped. Rogue and Storm landed as the rest of the team caught up.

"Where are we going anyway?" asked Cyclops, eventually, "Why have we stopped here?"

"An¡¦ what¡¦s da hurry? Wouldn¡¦t it ¡¦ave bin easier if we¡¦d caught da bus or something." Added Gambit. Exodus shook her head.

"No bus." She said. It was the first words they had ever heard her speak since they had met. Genesis jumped in to explain.

"OK. Suppose I better tell you before we go on." He cleared his throat and began to explain their situation.

"Y¡¦see¡¦me and Exodus, we¡¦re practically outlaws here in Eden. Buses, cars and trams go through security checkpoints. This is so Eden can keep track of where everyone¡¦s going. The law wants us so we have to avoid these checkpoints at all costs. We use a bus and that¡¦s it! We¡¦re caught! They¡¦d take you guys in too since you¡¦re new to the city. The truth is, we¡¦re members of an underground organisation that is dedicated to freeing the people of the city of Eden. Eden is not the paradise that many people believe it to be. You see that building over there, towering over this park?" he said. He pointed to the large building the X-Men had seen upon entering Eden.

"What about it?" asked Wolverine.

"The building controls everything in this city. It mainly consists of offices where the departments of the various networks, which run different parts of the city, originate. It¡¦s also the main headquarters for the Eden City Police Department. But below that is where the Faculty is situated." Explained Genesis.

"What¡¦s the Faculty?" asked Jean, concerned. She believed what he was saying was true. She could feel with her empathic that something was very wrong here.

"The Faculty is a super-computer which runs the entire city. It controls power, water and even the cloaking device that keeps the city hidden. It controls everything and everybody in this city. You pay your bills, the Faculty knows about it. You go out to a nightclub, the Faculty knows about. Hell, if you take a leak, the Faculty knows about it! It¡¦s like you said before Wolverine. It¡¦s all about control. No one in this city is free." His last words were said with such passion and fear that Wolverine began to feel sorry for the guy. Things must be bad.

"So what does your group plan to do about it?" asked Storm.

"We plan to re-programme the Faculty so that it will accept and abide by the freely made decisions of the people of Eden. That¡¦s the reason it was created when the city was built four years ago. Things have never been the same since Reb Tanaka became the Systems Operator." Genesis said, bitterly.

"Systems Operator?" Asked Beast, putting a question to the young man this time. But it was Exodus who answered it.

"The Faculty is maintained by the Systems Operator- a person selected to programme and de-bug the Faculty. This person has to be trustworthy and not wish to use the Faculty to his or her own ends. Reb Tanaka does not fit into any of these categories."

"So dis guy, Reb, he¡¦s like da Mayor of Eden?" asked Gambit, trying to understand all of this information that was being thrown at them. Exodus nodded;

"That¡¦s right."

"So how do you plan to get into the Faculty network and overthrow this Reb Tanaka?" asked Beast, "From what you¡¦ve told us, it sounds like suicide."

"Not with Eve. She¡¦s our last hope." Said Genesis. He smiled when he said the name ¡¦Eve.¡¦ It was as if a great weight was lifted from his shoulders by just saying her name.

"Who¡¦s Eve?" asked Jean, curious. Exodus turned and pointed at the large TV screen that was attached to a wall in the park. It looked similar to the large screens they had seen earlier on the sides of the buildings, except now it was playing a series of images with a sound of beautiful music over it. The X-Men approached the screen to take a further look.

"That¡¦s Eve." Said Genesis, pointing at the image on the screen.

The young woman on screen was portrayed in a series of poses- walking down a street in the city, running through the woods, sitting alone in a café. She was beautiful to look at. Her skin was creamy white and flawless. Her figure was slim and decorated with various outfits as the scenes changed. Her black hair was long and silky looking, and her blue eyes shone like stars. But her face was covered. All the time, her face remained hidden, apart from those sparkling eyes that were filled with hope. There was something familiar about her but the team couldn¡¦t put a finger on it. Even Wolverine felt that he knew her in some way, but in what way he couldn¡¦t tell.

Within a couple of minutes, the imagery ended and faded to black. Genesis and Exodus approached the astonished X-Men. Putting his hand on Wolverine¡¦s shoulder, Genesis said, "Let¡¦s go."

They led them towards the exit of the park. The crossed another road and walked down a street called North Street. It was after dusk now, and the lampposts had begun to light up the darkened city streets. The streets were practically abandoned as Genesis, Exodus and the X-Men approached what looked like a bar.

"Here we are." Said Exodus, smiling cheerfully. Cyclops raised an eyebrow.

"You brought us to a night club." He said, cynically.

"Not just any night club. This is Point Zero! This is our base of operations. We want you to meet our leader- he¡¦ll tell you where you¡¦re friend is. He knows practically knows everyone in the city." Exodus said, excitedly.

Point Zero. That name sounded familiar. Wolverine thought back to the message¡¦

"Go to Point Zero¡¦"

So that¡¦s what she meant, though Wolverine. This also means that she¡¦s around here somewhere. Wolverine could hardly contain his relief. They were going to find Jubilee at long last.

They entered Point Zero to find that it was completely packed with people.

"Wow! You couldn¡¦t swing a dead cat in here without hittin¡¦ somebody!" exclaimed Rogue. Genesis shouted to them over the noise.

"You guys stay put! We¡¦re going to find our leader! Kick back, relax and we¡¦ll be back in ten minutes¡¦"

Great! Thought Wolverine. We kick back and relax while rebel boy goes to get his daddy! He looked around to see if Jubilee was anywhere to be seen. As he was looking, loud music started. Something was happening at the bar. The music sounded familiar- it was the introduction that song Jubilee used to sing¡¦

Wolverine started pushing through the crowd. It had to be her; it just had to be.

TO BE CONTNUED¡¦