Logan couldn’t help but think about the many things that had changed during the last 20 years, since Rogue had left everything behind. Many of the people she had known had moved on with their own lives, and Logan was finding it hard to believe that so much had happened.

Erick Lehnsherr had not only regained his abilities, but at a strength that scared even Xavier. Everyone had been afraid that with Magneto at full capacity again, he would become an even bigger threat. Instead, Xavier asked him to take over the school and to become mentor to the Xmen while he was traveling through space with his Shi’ar Princess, Lilandra. Logan though he was nuts, and was ready to kill the man at the first sign of danger towards the students, but, for ten long years, Erick had proven just how capable and devoted to Xavier’s dream he really was.

~~~”Logan, Erick will be taking my place, now,” Xavier explained as he and Lilandra filled his suitcases. “He is a good man, and he will take care of everyone. We haven’t seen eye to eye on everything, but…”

“You haven’t seen eye to eye on anything except keeping these kids alive,” Logan spat back. He hadn’t been happy to receive the news after returning from another outlash of mutants against humans. When he had arrived at the home in question, a human man and woman were both dead, claw marks running through torsos. There had been children in the house, three to be exact. They hadn’t belonged to the people living there, and they had been mutants. He could tell by the difference in their scents.

Investigating the house, he found numerous torture devices. It seemed that the couple had gotten off on torturing young mutants who were too naive and afraid to understand what kind of trap they had fallen into.

Logan went to the basement, and felt as if he was going to be sick. The large room was the scene of a massacre. They used the bedrooms upstairs to rape and torture these children, before bringing them to the basement to kill them in the most painful way they could imagine. It looked as if they had been doing this for year.

He went back to the stairs, no pity in his heart for the death of the pedophile couple. He had known their killer, but he silently gave thanks for Sabertooth;s slow execution while setting the house on fire. He would be damned if these children were going to be exploited by bastard parents and the media.

“He will do fine, Logan. Besides, you will be here to keep an eye on things and to make sure the students will be taught peace,” Xavier said softly, smiling at him as if he was nothing but a child. Logan could say no more. Once Charles had his mind set, there was no turning back.~~~

The thing stranger than working with Magneto was working with Pyro. For three years, they skirted around the fact that they had both loved the same woman, and had watched her walk away without so much of a fight. Pyro hadn’t even known that Logan knew what had happened until one day while they were supposed to be training in the Danger Room…

~~~ “You nearly set my fucking hair on fire!” Logan yelled as Pyro threw another fire ball just past him. The younger man wasn’t listening, instead trying to stop the copy of a mutant sneaking up on him. “End program!”

Pyro finally gave him his undivided attention as the program ended and the mutant disappeared. “What is this about?”

What aggravated Logan most was the way he sounded, the way he talked as if he was speaking to a very slow child. He unleashed his claws as he stalked closer to the younger man. “You got a problem with me, Firefly?”

“I’m not the one with the problem, Skunk Man,” Pyro replied, forming two fire balls, one in each hand. There had always been tension between the two since Pyro had awakened back at the mansion. He had a feeling Logan knew. “This is about Rogue, isn’t it?”

“What the fuck else would it be about?” Logan began to circle him.

Pyro let his fireballs diminish to nothing. Of course she had told him. He had probably known since he had been back. “I love her, you know.”

Logan sheathed his claws, seeing the pain in the young man’s eyes. He knew that pain deeply. He had felt it every day since she had walked out on him. “I do, too. Come on, let’s get a drink.”

The ride to the bar had been the longest seven minutes of Logan’s remembered life. He didn’t know what to say. Not too many men had to work so closely with their woman’s ex. Especially not one who was still very much in love with her.

For the first hour, the pair of loved struck men did nothing but drink. Both were handsomely rugged and worn, so it was no surprise to see a couple of women trying to pick them up. Neither of them took the bait though, and soon, the women lost interest.

“You want to talk about it?” Logan asked softly. “Get something off your chest?”

“Fuck, Logan. Why did she have to take the cure? Why did she have to go through all of this?” Pyro had been holding in all of his feelings for so long, he was having trouble expressing them. “Things should have been different. She deserved better than the life she got dealt.”

“I know, kid. As far as mutations go, she got pretty fucked, didn’t she?” Logan chuckled a little. “But it’s what happens. We all go through some pretty fucked up shit in our time. She’s just going through a lot.”

“I shouldn’t have let her go so easily,” Pyro sighed as he tipped another shot glass back, allowing the fire of the tequila to burn his throat lovingly. “I should have fought Bobby for her when she first got there. Hell, I should have fought you for her.”

“Be careful, kid. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” After an hour of back to back tequila shots, Pyro was well on his way to being drunk, and Logan was starting to question his method of getting the man to open up.

“Fuck you. I should have beaten the shit out of him a long time ago. Hell, I should have walked up to you that first day and told you to back off, but no… I had to be the secret. I had to be completely unselfish.” He downed another shot.

“Listen, kid, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You’re drunk. If you would have stepped up to me, I would have knocked you right back on your ass.” Logan gave him a knowing look. “You were a kid. So was she. I know. I also didn’t try anything with her then, did I? Hell, I didn’t even think that something was possible with her. I’ll admit, I never thought about her as if she was my daughter or sister or that bullshit, and I sure as hell noticed the new curves when I got back, but I wasn’t interested. At least, I didn’t think I was.”

“What are you saying, Fucker?” If it wasn’t for the fact that the man was clearly intoxicated beyond coherent thinking, Logan would have skewered him right there.

“I’m saying that you could have had her then. Hell, you should have. If I had known what the Icicle was really like, you probably would have claimed her right after the prick’s funeral, but no one told me anything, and I thought she was happy with him. I almost killed the bastard after she left to take the cure. For a long time, I thought it was for him.” Logan took another shot himself, smashing the glass on the table as he brought it down. Although a few patrons were startled by the loud noise, no one seemed to care that he had just broken one of there glasses. Logan noticed the questioning look on Pyro’s face and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been coming to this place for as long as I have lived at the mansion. They know me. They know I’m bound to do something stupid on each visit. They also know that I clean up after myself and pay for my mistakes, so don’t get no ideas.”

“Marie and I could be married right now. Maybe we could have had a couple of kids who are too fucked in the head to realize how shitty this world is.” Logan watched a small grin spread across the man’s face. He needed to disillusion this kid, and fast, before he got any ideas that could get him killed.

“Naw, that’s not what I was saying. You would have been able to have some fun, but, in the end, she would have been mine. You could have given her a real, normal relationship before I finally woke up.”

“How do you know she would have chosen you?”

“Because it’s fate. One day, she’s going to come home, and I’ll be waiting. We’ll pick up where we left off.”~~~

That conversation had been 12 years ago, and Logan and Pyro had become good friends and partners since then.

Now he sat in his office, going over the stats from the last training session, figuring in everyone’s weaknesses. He couldn’t concentrate, though. Something was wrong; he could feel it in his metal laced bones.

The phone sitting on the corner of his desk began to ring, and he answered it once before it could ring again.

“This is Logan,” he said quickly, giving the call his undivided attention. “Can I help you?”

“Hey, Wolvie,” Husk said brightly from the other end. She had come to the mansion with encouragement from her brother, Cannonball, shortly after her mutation manifested. She could change her entire shape by shedding her skin. Of course, she did have a problem when she changed back into her normal self. When she shed her skin, she would shed her clothes, also, leaving her naked. For a long time, Logan had to chase away some of the boys and a couple of the men of the school whenever she accidentally shed. Because of this, he had seen her naked enough times that it just didn’t faze him, anymore. Of course, when her brother had found out, he had practically insisted on a wedding. Logan barely got out of that one by the skin of his teeth when Husk declared that if Cannonball didn’t stop, she would marry Gambit. “I’ve got someone on the line for you. She wouldn’t give her name, but she says it’s important.”

“Let her through.” He waited for the familiar click of the transfer, knowing who it was even before he heard her voice. No one called him and didn’t give a name. Not on the main line, anyway. “Rogue?”

“How did you know it was me, Shug?” She asked softly, trying to sound casual.

“I just do, Darlin.”

“I need you to come get me, again, Logan. Something very bad has happened.” The casual tone was gone. She was in trouble. “Scott’s gone. He disappeared a week ago, and now something’s going on with my abilities.”

“Where are you?”

She was back in New York, and she was in better condition then the last time he had found her like this. She wasn’t huddled in a corner, talking to herself, and she was fully aware of her surroundings.

She was still the same woman she had been 20 years ago. The same white streaks lay against brown hair. He could have said that she aged well, but he knew better than that. There wasn’t a single wrinkle or scar on her face.

“Hey, baby. I’ve missed you,” Logan said slowly, taking a seat on the couch opposite her. “What’s happened?”

“My powers, Logan. They’re out of control. I’m out of control.” Her head was down, and she refused to life it up. “Scott and I were investigating a rumor about a group of mutants who were being held captive and forced to kill people who didn’t follow a certain belief. He was knocked unconscious, and I touched him just enough to take on his mutation. He’s disappeared, and my gift is out of control. All of the abilities I’ve touched never went away, Logan. They were just dormant. It was like Scott’s optic blast opened a door in my head and let them all out.” She lifted her head then and he could feel her eyes connecting with his. “I’m fucking scared, Logan.”

He noticed that she was wearing Scott’s sunglasses and her gloves were back. He couldn’t even see her eyes through the ruby quartz lenses.

“I can control it now, but that can change in a second. I really don’t want to take the chance.” She was looking at her gloves, and he realized what she was saying. It was worse than not having any control at all. It was almost a tease for her. She could still touch, but that could change in a heart beat. It was almost as if nature was tempting her to believe everything was safe.

“Marie, baby,” he whispered as he got up and walked to her, “I am so sorry.” He took her into his arms and felt her entire body tighten. She was nervous about being touched, even by him. She eventually relaxed, but it was still a little awkward to be holding her again, after so many years.

“They took him, Logan,” she sobbed into his chest. “They took him away and left me here to die! Why the hell did they do that? Why him and not me? I mean, I’m more powerful than him, aren’t I? Wouldn’t it have just made more sense?”

“I don’t know, Darlin. I just don’t know.” He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of relationship they had shared for all these years. Were they really just friends, or more than that now? He wanted to ask her, but even he knew that it probably wasn’t the best time.

Just a few days ago, he would have given anything to have her in his arms again, but not if it caused her so much pain. She had already been through too much.

“We’ll get him back, Marie. No matter what, I promise that we will get him back.”

“I got to tell you something else…” her voice drifted off as she pulled away from him. He could smell tears, but they must have been building up behind her glasses. “The same people who took Scott… They have our baby, too. I’ve found our daughter.”

She sat on the roof, completely alone, her thick black hair waving behind her. There was a long white streak that traveled strait down the middle of her hair, giving her the look of a skunk from the back. Of course, no one called her anything like this. At least not to her face.

Her light green eyes traveled over the compound, watching as everyone else mulled around and waiting. They were bringing new mutants to the compound today. There were those who were coming because they wanted to make a difference in this world. There was a war starting that had been avoided for the last twenty years, and these were the people who were going to fight the humans for control.

Then there were the others. Those with abilities stronger than the others. They were usually taken by their will and brought to the compound, in the faith that their minds could be changed. Unfortunately, most were too stubborn and lost their lives. She knew these people intimately. It was her job to take them under her wing and show them how happy life could be without humans. If they didn’t change, it was also her job to eliminate them.

That was why she was sitting on this roof, watching the others wait. It would become plainly obvious who was here by force as they were taken off the bus and left in the compound. Usually, they would say something stupid that would send everyone into a frenzy, ending with the mutant on the ground, bleeding. She would have to swoop in and rescue him, alienating her even more from the others.

It never bothered her that the others never really liked her. It wasn’t as if she needed them, anyway. She had her lover, and she had the people in her head to keep her company. She didn’t need anyone else, including those who said they knew who she really was.

For as long as she could remember, there were mutants who were brought to the compound by force, all claiming that she didn’t belong here, that her parents were looking for her. She would relish in her anger, biding her time until she could take their lives with a touch.

She had been bred for killing. Her skin was a poison that could kill with the lightest touch, and she had bone claws that emerged from the back of her hands. She also had enhanced senses, and a healing factor.

She lost track of the amount of abilities she had stolen through touch, though she found that she enjoyed a few, such as the superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and sturdiness she stole from John Proudstar, a Native American, and the abilities to generate nuclear fire, which she can use to fly, which she obtained from Shiro Yoshida, alias Sunfire.

Even with all the special abilities she had stolen, the things she relished most were the memories that came along with them. She would comb through all the memories she gained, looking for any type of memories of a loving, warm family. Of friends that wouldn't turn their back on her. People who actually cared. She could only wish that she had a family like that.

But, as much as she craved their presence and their love, she hated them, also. They should have been there with her, taking care of her and protecting her from a young age. They should have helped her to control her mutations, and her anger. They should have loved her no matter if she was born with a white streak in her hair and boan cloaw that emerged before she could remember. They should have been her family, not this community of discarded mutants that didn’t even trust her, in the first place. Instead, they had turned their backs on her, leaving her to die.

She was the only one who had been brought here directly from childhood. The others that weren’t picked right up off the street had families and friends that they once loved. They knew what it was like to have been accepted at one point. She had never known that feeling. The only person in the entire facility who truly accepted her for who she was and not what she could do was also one of the most feared and hated mutants to ever be born. He was not accepted, either, but he preferred it that way. He couldn’t understand her need for a family, but he loved her anyway.

As she sat and watched, the gates to the compound opened as a large group was allowed to enter. She watched as one by one, each new arrival greeted old friends and family, old lovers and a new life. It wasn’t until the end that she noticed him.

A tall man with dark brown hair and a dark tan, as if he had been stuck in the sun for a few hours. He wore a ruby red visor, making it impossible for her to see his eyes. He probably hadn’t realized that, due to the mechanics of the collar around his neck, he was basically powerless. Everyone brought here against their will was entrapped into these collars, to protect those who wanted to be here.

The man with the visor was looking around at everyone, and she could smell the fear as he realized where he was. She watched as the others encircled him, probably ready to hurt him however they could before she intervened.

But something unexpected happened at the last minute. She watched as the crowd parted and a giant blond man made his way into the circle. He was her lover, and although he was there willingly, he also wore a collar. Because of his bad temper and thirst for blood, he was forced to wear it for the protection of the others. At least that was what she had been told.

Her interest grew as her lover circled the man. The strangers hand went to the side of his visor quickly, but nothing happened. She watched her lover stand to his full height, laughing as the other man looked around, a worried look etched onto his face. She watched as the bigger man pounced, and she knew that no matter how skilled he was, the stranger was going to die unless she stopped him.

Quickly, she launched herself into the air, flying to the fight as fast as possible. There was no sound as she landed, her lover not even realizing she was there. She watched the two men circle each other before her lover pounced again, this time catching the stranger in his claws. She was on him in that second, tearing her lover away before he could do anything. He growled once before realizing who it was that interfered.
Her lover gave her a look at anger, letting her know just how much he really loathed the man she had just saved. He growled one last time before stalking away.

She looked down at the stranger as the others began to wander away, looking for those they considered family and friends. He was in her care now, and no one, not even her lover, would cross her. They knew the consequences of her anger, and no one wanted to push.

“Come on. I got a nice warm bed and a hot meal for you.” She reached down and helped the man up, noticing that her lover hadn’t hurt him anywhere near as bad as she thought he was. He had a large gash running down the left side of his face. There was blood, but not a lot, and the gash would leave a scar, but wasn’t deep enough to need stitches. There would be a few bruises, but he would be fine in a week.

Hopefully she wouldn’t have to kill him just as he was feeling up to par.

“What the hell do you mean you found her?” Logan asked, standing and moving from her. “Why would you wait until now to tell me? I mean, you could have said something over the phone.”

“This really isn’t something that I thought should be mentioned in a telephone conversation,” she replied quickly. After twenty years, he still had the same short temper and badass demeanor. She felt like punching him. “Listen. There is a lot more going on than you know. A hell of a lot more.”

“What are you talking about?” His temper began to calm as her words registered. Rogue realized that she might have been wrong about his temper. Usually it took a lot more than that to calm him down. “What don’t I know, Marie?”

“You have to remember something, Logan. She’s not a child.” Rogue took a deep breath, not sure how to explain just who their child had become. Logan sat down slowly, waiting for her to continue. “She’s twenty years old, Logan. The life she leads is the only life she knows.”

“Spit it out, Marie.” He was on the verge of losing his temper again.

“She’s a killer, Logan. She murdered mutants that would not follow their beliefs,” Marie whispered softly, her eyes never leaving his. “She was the one who killed Proudstar and Yoshida. That’s why they never returned. They had her kill them because they refused to give up their beliefs. And now Scott’s there.”

“How do you know all of this?” He couldn’t understand where she had gotten her information.

“I have an informant on the inside,” she said even more softly. Her eyes darted away from his, raising his suspicions. He wondered if she was able to lie, yet.

He put his hand on her gloved one, forcing her eyes to meet his again. He didn’t want to push or upset her, but he needed to know who her informant was. He had a feeling it was someone he needed to know about.

“Sabertooth.” She whispered the name of the one person who he would have never thought would ever help them. He could feel his blood run cold as his mouth dried. He was screaming on the inside, but calm on the outside. How was he supposed to react to this? “I don’t know how he does it, but he has a way to contact a few of his old acquaintances. They usually get the message to me. It only started recently, and I was only given the location of the compound the day before we were attacked.”

“How do you know he wasn’t the one who set everything up? How do you know you can trust him?” Logan couldn’t stop it. His temper was heating up fast. She knew what a maniac like Victor Creed was capable of. How could she be dumb enough to believe anything he said?

“I didn’t really have a choice, Logan.” She stood then, moving away from him. She was angry and just as upset at herself as he was. She should have known better, but all she could think about was her daughter. “In the last twenty years… Twenty fucking years, the only lead we have gotten was from Sabertooth. No one knew what the hell we were talking about. There were mutants disappearing all over the fucking country, and no one knew where the hell they went to. People were beginning to think that they were all dead. That they just killed themselves, or that they were murdered and buried in backyards. What the hell was I supposed to do? What the fuck was I supposed to do, Logan? Just not listen? After twenty years, you can’t help but listen to any clues you get. And to have something like this drop into your lap… You can’t help but to trust.”

He gathered her back into her arms again, listening to her cry. What was he supposed to do now? Did he trust her? Was he supposed to really put his faith into the information of a sociopath like Sabertooth?

“Where is this place?” He knew he was probably going to regret this for a long time, but what was he supposed to do? Even with all the abilities she had, he wasn’t about to let her go at this alone. Besides, this was his child, too, wasn’t it?
“New Zealand.”

“What’s you name?” He asked as they stared at each other from across the hand built coffee table. They had said nothing to each other on the walk to her small house at the edge of the compound.

“Eve. I was the first to be raised here, and they wanted everyone to know that.” She took a large drink from the mug sitting in front of her before setting it down and leaning back in the overstuffed, handmade couch. He was sitting on a very uncomfortable chair, and couldn’t help but wonder if this was on purpose. “I was brought here as an infant.”

“Well, Eve, my name is Scott,” he said as he extended his hand. She only looked at him, not moving to accept the offer. He slowly pulled his hand back, looking at her strangely. He had removed his visor just after they had entered the small house, but his right hand constantly went to his face, as if something was missing. She wondered how long he had worn them. “You’re a mutant?”

“Yes, everyone here is,” she replied, tilting her head toward the door and the community outside. “For the last twenty years we have been forming a mutant only facility. A place where mutants can live together in peace with…”

“I know, without the oppression of humans,” he jumped in, cutting her off quickly. “I’ve heard this crap before. Hell, you might have memorized it, but I’ve fought along and against the bastard who wrote the damn speech.”

“This is my belief as it is everyone’s ere. Who are you to judge me?” She asked quickly, her eyes narrowing as her whole presence tensed. “You know nothing about me or anyone here.”

“I know more than you think,” he replied quickly, his own anger building. “You have no idea what it’s like out there. All you know is what they have been feeding you all this time. It’s not perfect, but it is getting better all the time. I promise you it is. There are places where humans and mutants live peacefully. Without violence. All they have is fear and fear can be destroyed. The others here, yes they had a hard time, but so has everyone. I’ve recognized quite a few people here. I’ve saved a few lives and fout against a few.

“The man who tried to kill me. His name is Victor Creed.”

“Don’t talk about him. What the hell could you know about him? He’s been here longer than I have. He’s like me. He knows nothing about the world outside.”

“That’s bullshit. I’ve been fighting him for years. He’s the reason why you’re in here in the first place.” He sat back, realizing just how little she know. “He kidnapped your mother just after she became pregnant with you. They stole you from her.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She didn’t know how much longer she could control herself.

“Victor Creed is a well known sociopath named Sabertooth who would kill for the fun of it. He kidnapped your mother so that these people could take you from her. That was the last anyone heard from him.”

“You’re wrong. My parents abandoned my when it was obvious that I was a mutant. They left me to die.”

“Trust me, they didn’t eave you anywhere. Your mother and I have been looking for you for the past twenty years. We’ve done everything we could to find you. Now, I’m in here, and she is out there, probably still looking.”

“How do you know she’s my mother?” Eve asked slowly, not wanting to believe him. She didn’t trust him, but some of the things he said seemed to fit. She could never understand how some of the others could be afraid of Victor. He had never hurt them, and he swore that he had never met them, but she had always had a feeling that he was lying.

“The white streak in you hair. Rogue has one, also. Although her hair is brown, and she parts her hair at the side, it’s still the same.” He paused for a second, looking pointedly at her gloves. “There aren’t many people with a mutation like hers. I’ve met a few that were close, such as empaths who know how other’s were feeling and telepaths who knew what people were thinking, just by touching someone, skin to skin. There were those who could borrow other’s mutations an knowledge the same way. But there aren’t many who take everything, including someone’s life.”

“She has my mutation?” She asked softly. Eve didn’t know what to thing about any of this. The doctors had all told her that her parents were both normal when her absorption powers began to manifest. They had sworn that there was no one to help her control this. None of the other mutants would even talk to her, much less tell her about parents that didn’t even exist. “Does she have control?”

Scott sighed, running his hand through his hair. How was he supposed to explain this one? “Not at first. It took a long time for her to gain control, but she eventually did.”

“And you?” She whispered, wondering who exactly this man was to her. She didn’t see any similarities, but that didn’t mean anything, really. She might be a carbon copy of her mother.

“What about me?” It took a moment for him to catch on to her question. It finally dawned on him after a few seconds. “You think that I’m your… your fa… father?”

“Well, if not, than who is? I mean, you are the one who has been with her for the last twenty years.”

“”Oh, God, Eve. I’m sorry…” Scott began to stumble over his words, not sure how to explain just what had transpired between her mother and father. “I’m not your father. His name is Logan.”

“Oh… Why wasn’t he the one traveling with her, then?”

“Because he’s a moron.” Scott smiled to himself, remembering the last time he had seen the feral man. “Rogue told him not to follow her, and the dumb ass listened. He’s probably still in New York, waiting for her to come home. It’s a long, and somewhat strange story. They’ll have to be the ones to tell you about it.”

“Is he a mutant, also?” Eve asked. She felt herself being pulled deeper and deeper into Scott’s story, and wanted to know more and more about these two people he claimed were her family.

“He has a healing ability and extra strong senses much like Victor’s. He also has claws and a skeleton made of metal that was grafted into him bones a long time ago. Actually, he and Victor knew each other very well many years ago. They hate each other and are great enemies.”

“Come with me.” Eve said quickly, standing before Scott could understand what was going on. “If you are telling me the truth, there are only two ways of finding out for sure what the hell is going on. Either I find out by touching you, or I find out from Vic.”

“What makes you so sure he’ll be honest?”

“Because I know how to make him talk.”

She stared at the tall mansion, uncertainty setting in. How was she supposed to walk through these doors and ask a group of people she has had absolutely no contact with for twenty years to help her break into a facility of mutants who openly hated them to save a woman who probably didn’t even want to be saved? They were going to laugh in her face and send her on her way.

Logan stood by her side, wanting to just take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright. These people had made a promise to him a long time ago, one she didn’t even know about. He asked her to let him talk with them first, and she reluctantly agreed.

“Do you have a plan?” Logan asked slowly, watching her facial expression for any sign of emotion. She had kept a stone face the entire trip back, not saying a word as he drove home. “Do you have an idea of how you want to do this, yet?”

“Nope,” she whispered slowly. “Just do me a favor? Make sure you get them out of there. No matter the cost. I don’t care if you have to kill everyone inside. Just stay the hell out of my way.”

“What are you going to be doing?” Logan asked skeptically. She was keeping something from him. Something he was sure he should know about. She did have a plan, only it wasn’t for their primary objective.

“I made a promise to someone and I got to keep it.” She wouldn’t look at him as she spoke, keeping her eyes glued to the door. He hadn’t opened it, yet, wanting to try and get a little more information from her.

“Would you mind elaborating on…” Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open, revealing the tall Russian on his way out.

He stopped in his tracks, looking at both of them closely before grabbing Rogue and pulling her into a tight bear hug. “Oh, my old friend. It’s been too many years.”

Rogue couldn’t help but giggle as she quickly hugged him back. For a moment, she was able to let herself forget everything that happening, and lose herself in his embrace. She felt alive for the first time in years, and almost normal. But the feeling couldn’t last forever.

Just as Colossus was setting her back down, Rogue’s glasses slipped off her face, and a beam of red emerged from her eyes. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed, but it was too late. The damage was done. The optic blast she had gained from Scott had hit a tree standing only a few feet from the trio. It had disintegrated into nothing just from the small amount that had escaped.

Logan reached down and picked up the glasses, carefully placing them back on Rogue’s face. Colossus didn’t know what to say. He had felt the heat of the blast on his arm as it hit the tree. If it had been any closer, he would have seriously been hurt. As it was, the black t-shirt he was singed.

“What have you been doing, Rogue?” He asked slowly. “Where is Scott?”

“It’s a long story, Pete. I need your help with something, and then Rogue will tell us everything.” Logan spoke before she could, looking pointedly at her. Rogue knew that he wanted everything on the table, but there were a few secretes she wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

Sabertooth had told her everything. He had kept it to himself for so long, that even he could not believe how easy it came spilling from his lips. Eve was upset, but she had been trained well. She would not allow this to hurt her, but, no matter what happened, everything was over between them.

“Now what do we do?” Scott asked as the lovers stared at each other, wondering what was going through their minds.

“Well, we really have no idea when she’s going to be here,” Eve replied slowly. She was watching Sabertooth slowly, wishing that she could understand his motives a little better. “I guess that I will have to tell the other’s you are on our side. That you understand what we are trying to build here. They will be skeptical, but you will probably just be forced to wear the collar a little while longer. I really couldn’t say. No one has changed their minds before.”

“No…” Sabertooth whispered hoarsely. “No. The scientist would never believe you. Not with him, anyway.”

“And why the hell not?” Scott couldn’t help but feel a little defensive about the whole thing. He knew he could put on a good show if needed. He thought they would have a chance.

“Because you are one of them,” Sabertooth growled. “Fuck, you dumb ass, you were an X-man. Hell, not just an X-man, but their leader. They will never believe you could turn your back on the rest of them. You’re a test to make sure she still has it. If Rogue and the runt don’t get here soon, she will have to kill you to keep her self alive.”

“She’ll be here before that. She knows where I am and Rogue won’t waste any time. She’s been searching too long.” Scott sat back in the couch, an air of smugness settling around him. He was positive that she would come after him before she did anything else. She was probably on her way already.

Eve quirked an eyebrow at him, and, for a second, Scott saw her father in her face. Although she resembled her mother, it was plainly obvious who she took after. She shook her head, sighing. These two were bound to kill each other if given the chance. She figured she had better get them on a subject that would occupy them.

“Tell me about my parents. What are they like?” It was something she had always wondered about, ever since she was little. And now she had two sources of information, and both seemed to have known one or the other for years.

“You sure about this?” Scott asked slowly. “I mean, there are things that you might not want…”

“I want to know everything.” She couldn’t help but growl at him. He had no idea what she was going through. “Start with my mother, Scott. Just how well do you know each other, anyway?”

“Not as well as you are insinuating,” Scott replied, furrowing his eyebrows at her. “Your mother and I are very good friends, but we’re never been involved romantically. She… She’d never betray your father that way. She’s a very strong woman. Always has been for as long as I’ve known her, anyway. She’s very intelligent and strong willed. Not really someone you want to piss off.”

“Her mutation?” Eve asked slowly.

“Like I said earlier, it’s her skin, like yours. She’s developed control over it, but that took some time and patients. It wasn’t until the cure wore off did she figure out how to do it.”

“My mother took the cure? She was a traitor?” Eve couldn’t help it. This was starting to get to be too much, and her emotions were starting to get the better of her. “Why would she do that?”

“She was never a traitor,” Scott whispered, grabbing the woman’s gloved hand and trying to help her calm her self. “I’ve asked her the same question, and she always told me the truth. She did it because she wanted to be able to touch something, anything, without killing it. She said that on the rare occasions when someone would accidentally brush against her, she would get their thoughts and opinions about her. When she found out that her boyfriend thought of her as nothing but a leach, she figured that she needed to find a way to touch, again.

“So when The Cure was announced, she decided that was her only option. If anything, she was betrayed by the fact that there were only three people who really weren’t afraid to touch her. Your father was one of them.”

“And were you afraid to touch her?”

“Honestly, at first I was. She terrified me. Not so much for my well being, but because of the other students. She was in a position where the slightest touch would kill one of them, and I didn’t think that she really wanted another personality in her head.

“She retains personalities?” Eve asked softly. Her abilities didn’t work that way. She was able to take lives and mutations, even memories, but there was no one else living inside of her head.

“She takes everything. And it stays with her. She’s had your father in her head for over twenty years now, and, trust me, there are certain times when I think she’s going to gut me.”

“You love her, don’t you?” Eve asked slowly, looking at him.

Scott sighed softly, looking away from her. “Is it that obvious?”

“Taking into consideration the situation your in, and the company you’re keeping,” she squeezed his hand as she spoke, “you can’t help but to smile as you talk about her.”

“She’s my best friend,” Scott said, chuckling lightly He squeezed her hand back, looking into her eyes again. “Just don’t tell your father.”

She was in Logan’s room, looking around as he went to gather those he thought would be willing to help. He had hoped that they wouldn’t run into Magneto on the way upstairs, warning her that he was now in charge, knowing how she felt about the man after he had tried to take her life all those years ago.

Rogue knew he had made the right choice. She had other things to do.

“I almost didn’t believe the children when they said that Logan had brought a woman with white streaks home, stashing her away in his room. I didn’t even think it could have been you, not after you left with the other renegade all those years ago.” Rogue knew that voice well. It was the same voice that had whispered to her about the evils of man kind late at night when Logan’s nightmares weren’t haunting her dreams.
“Funny, I didn’t think you were even alive. I could have sworn that someone killed you years ago.” Rogue turned, looking at the man who had tortured her mind for years through her ruby quartz lenses. “I guess I was wrong, too.”

“I would have thought you would have wanted that honor all too yourself,” Erik said softly, smiling sadistically at her.

“I was a little heartbroken, but I guess that this is better.” She walked closer to him, presenting her hand friendly enough. “Unfortunately for you, there are a few things I have to take care of before I can handle this.”

He accepted her offer, slightly squeezing his hand, letting her know that he was still as strong as he was all those years ago, when he first tried to take her life. He was surprised when she squeezed back, just enough to shoot pain up his arm, but not enough to break anything.

He used the abilities that had returned to him twenty years ago to lift the desk, ready to hit her with it. He was surprised when it didn’t move. “Don’t even try it, Ass. I’ve gotten a lot stronger than you these last few years. Every ability I ever absorbed has come back, and I am stronger than you now.”

She pulled him closer, and, for a moment, he thought she was going to kill him right there. He couldn’t see her eyes behind the glasses, but he knew her eyes were filled with poison.

“I am coming back for you, Erik,” she whispered into his ear. He felt a shudder go through his body as her warm breath caressed his cheek. “And when I have my child back and these animals are destroyed, I am going to kill you. And I will kill you. Slowly. I owe you that much.” She tapped the side of his head gently with her free hand. “You’re in my head, so if you run, I will find you.”

Logan found them like this, and, if he hadn’t known them so well, he would have thought they were in a lovers embrace. Rogue smiled at him, quickly letting the older man go while pretending nothing had happened. When Erik turned around, Logan couldn’t help but notice how pale he was.

“Well, I will leave you two alone now. I just wanted to say hello to you, Rogue, and to clear everything up.” He tried to feign a smile, but there was no emotion behind it.

“Did I make myself clear to you, Erik?” Rogue asked as he was walking out the door.

“Perfectly, my dear. Perfectly.” He smiled at the former lovers before hurriedly making his way as far from them as possible.

“What the hell was that about?” Logan asked curiously as he shut the door before more company showed up. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. Just made another promise.” Rogue smiled up at him as she sat on his bed.

“Don’t ask. It is none of your business, and you know Ol’ Metal Head; he won’t tell you, anyway. Even if he does, it’s between me and him, so don’t even think about sticking your nose into this.”

“Alright. If you need me, just let me know.” He knew better than to push the subject. He would know soon enough, and, besides, if it scared the hell out of Magneto, it probably wasn’t that bad.

“Colossus is getting everyone together. They are going to meet us here in about an hour.”

“Here?” She asked softly, giving him a quizzical look. “Why here? Why not the briefing room?”

“Because this isn’t an X-Men thing. They’re just a group of mutants who want to help out their friends. No uniforms or special weapons. We’re not taking the Blackbird, either. Moira will be here with the private jet she keeps on Muir Island in case of emergencies. It’s not as descript as the Blackbird, but it does have some of the same features.”
She nodded slightly, a little doubtful. “Who’s going to help us? Obviously not your new team members.”

“No. I don’t want them involved in this,” he sighed as he sat on the bed next to her. “They are still young and naive. The world’s not the same place it was when we first came here. It’s not quite so hostile toward the team anymore. Humans and mutants alike have realized that we are fighting for both of them. If I take the X-Men in there, it’s going to turn into a big battle and set us back twenty years. Humans will fear us again, and mutants… Well, mutants will go back to believing we’re nothing but a group of traitors. We need to do this delicately. This one is going to take a little time. No one gets killed. No one, Rogue.”

“No… they’re not just going to let us waltz in, Logan. Their will be some deaths. At least one. Just remember to stay out of my way. Like I told you before, I got a promise to keep. I owe him one.”

“You’re going to kill Sabertooth?” He whispered. Up until that point, both their voices had been low, monotone. She could feel the expression in his words as he rose, walking to the chair on the other side of the room. She hadn’t realized how much he had changed over the years. He wasn’t the same man she had known. The blood lust that had lived inside of him for so long was gone.

They had changed roles. She was the animal, and he was a domestic now. She found it a little aggravating. When he spoke again, his voice was louder, although not high enough to be heard by anyone passing by. “How the hell do you plan on doing that? He has a healing factor as strong as mine. No matter how much you beat up on him, he won’t die. There is nothing you can do to kill him.”

“I can touch him. Take his life that way. You know that. I’ll kill him with my bare hands, literally.” She kept eye contact with him, but her hands began to fidget with the gloves she wore. “That’s why I need you and the others to stay out of my way. Anything could happen, and I don’t need anyone else getting hurt.”

“You’ll have that monster in your head for the rest of your life. With the extra healing factor, that’s going to be a very long time, you know. You can’t die from anything.” He put his head into his hands as he sat down on the chair. He felt his frustration building up inside of his body, and part of him wanted to his something. “What the hell happened to you out there, Marie?”

“Marie’s dead. She couldn’t survive out there without Wolverine there to help her. Scott tried to keep her alive, but he didn’t really know how. He didn’t understand tha she needed to know that the animal wasn’t just inside her head to keep her alive. She died because she was too pure and good to live on the streets. She lasted a year. Now, what the hell happened to you?” Rogue asked, standing up angrily. “What the hell happened to Wolverine, Logan? Did this place kill him, Logan? Did Magneto do the one thing that Xavier never could? Did he train you to be his good little dog?”

Before she knew it, Rogue found herself against the wall behind the bed, one metal laced hand against her throat, three claws impaling the wood by the left side of her head. “No one has trained me, Darlin. No one. Wolverine gave up the moment you walked out on him with the fucking boy scout. Now I’m back. You woke him, you get to calm him down, Darlin.” Without thinking, Rogue used the super strength she had gained all those years ago to push herself away from the wall to find her self devouring Logan’s mouth, his hand still around her neck. As her tongue gently caressed his, Logan slowly removed his hand from her neck, instead moving it to the back of her head, where it tangled in her hair. He sheathed the claws in his other hand before moving it to her backside, grabbing her tightly as they lost themselves in the kiss.

Hungrily, they fell to the bed, Logan rolling them so that he found himself on top. He tore away from her, not believing how intense their attraction was, even after twenty years of being apart. Before he had a chance to say anything, she lifted her head and captured his mouth with hers, again, while rubbing her groin against his. He lost himself in her.

“What about my father?” Eve asked slowly as she sat back even further into the hand made couch. “What can you tell me about him?”

“Not much…” Scott’s voice trailed off as he shifted her eyes away from her. How was he supposed to tell her that he hated her father? That he had never taken the time to get to know the other man even before he had tried to come between him and Jean. “We weren’t very close. He… ah... when your mother was still just a student and they were no more than friends… he would hit on my fiancé… repeatedly.”

“Nothing ever happened between them when we were together, though.” Scott cleared his throat as his gaze shifted to Victor, daring him to make any kind of remark. He didn’t really want to go into his own death and resurrection, much less that of the Phoenix. It was probably too much for her. She would find out in her own time. “It wasn’t until a few years later, just before your mother took the cure that it almost escalated into something more.”

“What do you mean by almost? Who was this Jean?” Eve asked, eyeing both men carefully.

“She was a very powerful telepath and telekinetic. It was thought that she had died about a year before your mother took the cure, when, in actuality, she was able to tap into power that her teacher had blocked off years ago to keep her safe. Unfortunately, once she was able to tap into that power, there was no going back. She lost her mind and… and she became… well, she became something else. She left the team and started following Magneto instead. She turned on him, in the end, too, and nearly killed everyone on Alcatraz during the riots.”

“I heard about that when I was a child. But I was told her name was Phoenix, not Jean.” Eve whispered. She felt like a small child again, being told stories before bed.

“She was known as Phoenix at that time, but she will always be Jean to me…” Scott whispered, hiding the tears that were beginning to form by rubbing to bridge of his nose. Contrary to popular belief at the mansion before he left, he did morn Jean, it just didn’t plague him any longer and he was able to live again with out the constant sharpness of pain her memory once held. “She almost killed everyone that night… She was out of control and it was only because of the love one man held for her that she was stopped.”

“You killed her?” Eve asked slowly, looking at the man in awe. If it came down to it, she wasn’t sure if she could kill someone she loved so much.

“No… Not me… I wasn’t there when the final fight ensued. Jean had already gotten me out of the way by then.” He sighed, raising his eyes to hers. “Your father killed her when no one else could.”

“But… Then he never really loved my mother?” She asked slowly.

“Believe me, Logan loves Marie. Just, back then, she was still a child with a crush, and he… well, he was a stupid Neanderthal. He loves her more than he ever loved Jean. I think, even then, Marie was the only person who could have come between them if she tried, but she was involved in her own personal love triangle at the time.” Scott turned instead concentrating on the wall behind Victor. “Your parents got together after your mother’s abilities came back, and only after she learned to touch again. You were conceived the night your mother was kidnapped.”

“But who was he before?” She asked slowly. “Who was he before he fell in love with my mother… Before they met? You talk as if they’ve known each other their entire lives.”

“Your mother… well, she never really talked about what her life was like before she became a mutant,” Scott said as he rubbed his own hands absently. “She never talked about life on the street. I’m not even sure how long she was on her own before she came to us. She won’t go back further than when she and your father met.”

“And him?”

“He doesn’t remember where he came from. He’s never spoken about it with me, but he can’t remember anything past thirty something years ago. He’s not even sure of his real name.” Scott sighed, wishing that he had something to drink. Something strong.

“He was in the Weapon X program,” Victor said quietly. Scott was shocked by the man’s statement. He didn’t even know the two knew each other on a personal basis. “We were stationed together during the World War two, and again, in Vietnam. The Government knew about us, and used us for as long as they could. When the Weapon X program started, we were sent to ‘recruit’ others like ourselves. Anyone with a heal ability. We brought them back, even if they didn’t want to.

“About two years after we began doing this, I was sent to pick up two new recruits. A woman and a small child. A girl of about fifteen. The woman, Silver Fox, was a member of the Blackfoot Indian tribe. The girl was her daughter, Dark Wolf,” Victor continued with a tightness in his voice that Scott wanted to ignore. This man wasn’t supposed to have any feeling. “Silver Fox had a healing factor, although not a very strong one. She probably would have been overlooked if not for the child. Dark Wolf was just entering womanhood when I took them, and her healing factor was already manifesting beyond belief. If they would have been able to use her, the scientists would have wet their panties.”

“What happened?” Eve asked slowly. “Why weren’t they able to use her?”

“Silver Fox and Dark Wolf attacked me at the same time, and I killed them both. I didn’t know until afterward, when I returned to the facilities, just how badly I had screwed up. You see; the thing about mutants like me and Logan is that it’s not easy for us to breed, and so when we find someone who can have our children, we protect them with everything we got. When I returned, Logan was already in the process of receiving his metal skeleton at another facility. Shortly afterward, Magneto came and talked me into leaving the program in the dead of night. Next I heard, the facility was destroyed and Logan was gone. I didn’t see him again until the day I was sent to kidnap your mother in Alaska, where they met.”

“You killed his family?” Eve asked slowly. She wasn’t sure why he had told her these things. It was probably the guilt of knowing what he had done, but that didn’t change the fact that he really was the only one who knew what had happened. Still, if what everyone was saying was true, and she had no doubt that it was, than that would make Dark Wolf her half sister. Without a word, Eve stood and walked out of the hut as Victor lowered his head in self disgust, and Scott watching both in awe and disbelief.

They were slowly dressing, both trying to avoid each other’s eyes. Neither had expected what had just happened between them, and weren’t sure what to say.

“What the hell was that?” Rogue whispered more to herself than to him as she gracefully pulled her jeans up over her hips. She hadn’t meant for him to overhear her, but, of course with his heightened senses, she should have known he wouldn’t miss it.

“I don’t know, Darlin. A lot of pent up emotions, I would assume. You started it, remember? Why don’t you tell me?” He asked as he pulled a fresh shirt from one of the dresser drawers. He pulled the gray shit on over his head, quickly covering his body. He watched her as she buttoned her jeans, still shirtless, but she had at least put on a bra. His healing abilities had kept her young over the years, she still didn’t look older than 27. Her body was toned and well maintained, although she was also still soft and full in all the right places. Logan tore his eyes away, not wanting to further the confusion surrounding them. “Remember, you kissed me?”

“You let me,” she said slowly, smiling at him devilishly. “You enjoyed it, just admit it.”

“I’ve never denied that, Darlin. Just wondered why you left me cold all those years ago, and where or not you’re planning on coming back to me when this is all over.” Logan forced himself to meet her eyes for once, having to struggle to keep from looking at her body again. She needed to know just how important this conversation was.

“I left, because I had to, sugar,” she sighed, plopping herself back on the bed ungracefully. “I still had everyone in my head, and all the stress was starting to get to me. I couldn’t find myself, anymore, and I was starting to confuse everyone else’s memories with my own. I needed to get away from here, to clear my head and remember who I was. And, in all honesty, you were treating me like I was glass. You weren’t letting me get strong again, but trying to tuck me away so that I wouldn’t get hurt again. Being too protective is almost as bad as not being protective at all, Logan.”

“I’m sorry, Rogue. I just… I kind of lost it after you were taken. I did it because I love you.” He sat on the bed next to her, gently pulling her into his embrace. “Come home, Marie. I’ve missed you. It will be different this time. I promise.”

“Logan… I… I don’t know… I mean, everything is so different now,” she whispered softly, allowing him to hold her again. “I don’t know if I really belong here, anymore. I’m not the same woman I was when I left here.”

“You’re right… And I think the people here need that. There aren’t too many of us here who really understand what it means to survive on their own anymore. Even Jubilee has gone soft over the years. It’s a different world from the one that was happening when we first came here, and you really are the only one of us who can understand what these kids have seen and gone through.” He nuzzled her hair for a second, remembering what it was like to touch her. “If that’s not good enough, then just come home for me. I miss you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” She practically purred as she nuzzled him back. Just as they were beginning to grow comfortable again, they heard a knock on the bedroom door. Both sighed as they let go of each other and quickly threw on the clothes that were still needed to cover themselves up.

“Well, that went well…” Scott said sarcastically, sitting back slowly. He knew he should be slightly afraid of the bigger man in the room with him, but, after everything that just came out, he was vaguely sure Victor wasn’t a threat anymore. At least not right now.

Victor only growled at him before following Eve. He needed to speak with her, try to get him to understand his side. There was so much that she didn’t know about, so much that he had hidden for years.

He found her in her own house, sitting on her room, watching as she usually did. He couldn’t read any emotion on her face and wondered how much more she would be able to take before she lost it. He wondered what she was thinking as he slowly climbed up the side of the house, joining her in vigil. “Hey kid. What’s going on?”

“Go away, Victor.” She didn’t move, not even to look at him. He could hear the anger in her voice and knew that she was close to breaking. “Just go.”

“We need to talk, Eve. There are some things I need to explain before you turn your back on me.”

“What more could you have to explain? You let me believe my parents were dead when the entire time, it was you who took me from them. You’ve kept a lot from me over the years. You were my only friend, and then my lover, but now I know that everything we had was in vain. Go away, Victor. You’re not welcome in my home any longer. I hope that my father kills you when they come for me.”

“I’ve always loved you, Eve. I’m sorry.” He got up and jumped down from the room, landing with the gracefulness of a cat.

When he was too far away to hear her, Eve let a single tear roll down her cheek as she whispered, “So am I.”

Rogue watched as a handful of people slowly filed into the room, searching for somewhere to sit. She knew every single one of them from the years she had spent here, most of them a friend at one point or another.

Colossus was the first to enter, a smile playing on his lips. He still looked quite young and fit, but his hair was graying at the temples, and she couldn’t help but notice the crow’s feet and deep laugh lines. She hadn’t noticed how old he seemed to have gotten over the last twenty years when she had ran into him earlier.

After Colossus, Gambit strolled in, still looking as if he was no more than thirty, although Rogue knew that he was actually forty years old. He swagger was still cocky as ever, and, as his eyes connected with hers, Gambit winked at her with a light flirtation. Rogue couldn’t help but wonder if he still spoke in a third person.

Cloud entered next, and Rogue was taken aback by her beauty. She had really grown into herself as the years past. Her black hair reached low, just past her lower back, and was thick and shinned with health. Her wings were stronger from years of training, and her movements came with an ease that was impossibly more graceful than when in her youth. Her eyes shined with a wisdom that could only have come from age, although her healing factor made her appear to be no more than eighteen years old.

Rogue was mildly surprised to see Oscar following Cloud, noticing the love that shone from his eyes as he watched the woman in front of him. Just like the others, he had aged well, and Rogue couldn’t help but wonder if the two best friends were something more now.

She was so caught up in her observation of Cloud and Oscar; she didn’t notice the last person who walked into the room until he was standing in front of her.

“Hello, Rogue.” She looked into his eyes, startled by what she saw there. She never thought she would ever see those eyes again, and, suddenly, all the memories she hadn’t thought of in years of her time here and her time locked away in a cage in Northern Oregon came flooding back to her.

“John,” she whimpered as she threw her arms around him. He encircled his arms around her waist, and, with everyone watching, the two held each other tightly, both overwhelmed by the sight of one another.

“It’s good to see you,” he whispered, pulling himself away from her embrace before he found himself skewered by Logan’s claws. “You look good.”

“You too,” she whispered back, unconsciously raising her hand to the scar on just under his left ear. It was where he had been shot. Who ever had done it had wanted him to bleed out. She lowered her hand slowly, knowing that Logan was probably having some inner conflict watching the two. She understood what he must be going through. As much as she loved Logan, John had been her first, and she would always hold a separate place in her heart for him, just as Logan did for Jean. “Did you ever remember what happened?”

“Mostly, but not everything. I doubt that I will remember it all. Those people in there, they were sick, right?” John asked slowly, finding a chair waiting for him next to the window. The others kept quiet, waiting for some kind of cue from the Logan or Rogue. They all knew that Rogue and John had been through too much together, and that they needed the few words before they could start planning. “I mean, they were… twisted.”

“Yeah. They took my baby, John,” Rogue whispered as she sat on the bed next to Logan. She didn’t say anything as Logan slid his arm around her protectively, letting everyone in the room know where they stood in their relationship. Rogue leaned into his body, not caring about the possessiveness. Hell, she was feeling a little possessive, too. “They left me to die. If Logan and Cloud hadn’t come along…”

“We’d both be dead,” John whispered slowly, his eyes locking with hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t want to remember.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t forget,” she replied. She paused for a moment, looking at the familiar faces she had missed for all these years. “But we can play catch up later. Right now, we need a plan to get my daughter and Scott out of there.”

The plan was simple. Get in, get out, and stay the hell out of Rogue’s way. None of the other’s knew just exactly what Rogue was going to have to do, and she refused to tell them. According to her, it was none of their business. No one but Logan knew that Sabertooth was there, nor that he was her informant. He knew that it would be futile to tell them, and so he kept his mouth shut on the subject.

“We’re landing in about ten minutes. Remember, they are mutants, but they aren’t expecting us as far as we know. Still, we go in swinging. We don’t want them to think that this is an Xmen mission. We don’t need that kind of image. We are trying to come off unorganized and sloppy, people.” Logan looked each one of them in the eye, look for any kind of protest. “Rogue and I will go in first, then. We will be able to bounce back from anything and everything they throw at us. I want Colossus and Cloud, next. They will be our back up support. Pyro and Gambit after that, cleaning up what ever got left behind. Oscar will wait with in the plain. We’ll be landing right smack in the middle of this place, giving him the use of all of our abilities, plus those inside. Pyro and Gambit, I want you both to take extra precaution. Neither of you can with stand a mortal wound like the rest of us. And remember, Rogue has a special agenda she needs to deal with, so stay out of her way. And good luck. With any hope, we will all make it out alive.”

As Logan took his place in the Co-pilots seat, his eyes connected with Rogue’s, and he couldn’t help but see hope and longing in them. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her that there was always a chance that their daughter wouldn’t want to come back with them. Rogue seemed to be hell bent on bringing her back, anyway, kicking and screaming.
After about ten minutes, the plain lurched slightly as they made a quick landing in the middle of the compound. As soon as all six were off the plain, Oscar made a giant ring of fire around it, tapping into Pyro’s abilities. After that, all he could do was sit back and wait.

Rogue was the first off the plain, and she was first to hit the mob that came charging. Without thinking, she unleashed three bone claws from each hand and started swinging. She hadn’t told Logan about them before hand, and he was almost over come by the mob when he saw them. He quickly regained his footing and began fighting, knowing that he would have to question her about them later.

Rogue moved quickly with the grace and speed she needed to make her way threw the swarm of mutants. None of them were as strong as she and the other’s, but she knew that they would kill her if given the chance. As it was, she was able to make it through the mob with out breaking a sweat. As soon as she was through, she saw a young woman sitting on the edge of a roof, watching her with eyes she had dreamed about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eve jumped from her perch on the roof top, ready to confront this woman. She had watched her kill those she was supposed to protect, yet she never thought to interfere. This woman was a stranger to her, and yet there was something oddly familiar in her large brown eyes. She knew they shared the same body size and almost the same looks, including the white streak in both of their hair, but this couldn’t be the same woman Scott and Sabertooth had told her about. She looked no more than twenty herself. Didn’t Scott say it was her father with the healing factor? Maybe this was a sister Scott neglected to mention. He had only been here for little more than a day. Maybe he hadn’t told her everything, yet.

Eve walked to her with a casual grace the woman seemed to share. They both stopped at the same time, watching each other from a distance of only two yards, sizing each other up. Before she spoke, Eve saw another person break through the crowd. A man in his late thirties from the looks of him, yet he had a presence that seemed older. Both women looked toward him as his eyes looked from one to the other, taking in their similarities. The only thing familiar about this man were his eyes, the same eyes she had seen staring back at in every mirror she had ever seen.

Those in the mob turned and stopped abruptly, forcing Pyro and the other’s to stop also. They all watched together as Daughter and parents stared each other down, all holding their breath to see what happened next.

Eve knew the other’s were watching, yet strangely, she seemed to not care. The people standing in from of her now, for the man moved to stand by the woman’s side, were all that were important to her now. She could not deny who they were any longer. Her parent’s. The people she had been wishing for since she was a little girl were in front of her at last. Eve couldn’t take it any longer. She crumpled to the ground and began to cry as Logan and Rogue ran to her, the family reunited at last.

Scott and Sabertooth pushed through the mob as quickly as they could just in time to see Rogue and Logan reach their daughter. Neither knew what to say as the other Xmen met them. It was obvious when Rogue caught their scent, for her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed. Scott made a point of moving away from Sabertooth, knowing she would not think twice about killing anyone who got in her way of murdering the man who had kidnapped her.

Logan’s gaze followed her as Rogue slowly stood and made her way to the man who had taken everything from her. He knew what she had planned and he only hoped the other’s had figured it out also.

She walked to him slowly, taking in his scent as she allowed the bone claws unsheathe themselves from her hands. She wanted blood for what he did, even though she knew that without him, she would have never gotten her family back. She stopped right in front of him, close enough so that she could see the fear in his eyes. He knew what she was now. He knew that the girl he had kidnapped all those years ago was dead, and that this woman before him would not think twice about taking anyone’s life, especially his.

“You took my family from me, everything that I ever loved,” she whispered angrily only so that he would hear. “I should kill you for that. Everything that I am screams it. But I wont. Not now, anyway. I want you to suffer the way I did. To know what exactly is coming for you, one day when you least expect it. To have to wait for it like a frightened child the way I did all those months I was trapped in the cage. “ She thrust her claws into him then, knowing that the wounds would heal quickly, but also knowing that he would feel every second of it. “I will kill you one day, Victor, and you will never know when. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. Or maybe I will wait until the bones of my grandchildren have turned to dust. We have all of eternity. Once a year, on the day my daughter was taken from me, I will come back to you and remind you of this.”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Rogue kissed him then, taking a little of his life and memories as she did. When she sheathed her claws again, he fell to the floor. No one came to his aid.

The flight home was unusually quiet. No one wanted to mention the scene they had all witnessed. No one knew what to say. As happy as they were that they had all come out unscathed, no one was sure what to make of what had happened between Sabertooth and Rogue.

The good news was that Scott was fine, a little malnourished but alright. It seemed that the mutants that had ambushed them had taken their time in taking him to the compound, making him wait for a week before dumping him.

Also, Eve had opted to return to the mansion with her parents, not really having anything at the compound to stay for and wanting to get to know the parents she had been taken from. She sat between her parents in the back of the plane, her eyes wandering from one person to the next. She wondered what could possibly be waiting for her; not liking that there was no way for her to guess. She had become used to knowing what was to happen next, never realizing just how big the outside world was.

Eve watched her parents closely. Rogue was fast asleep, her eyes moving rapidly as she dreamed. Her breathing was slow and steady, and Eve knew she was perfectly alright. Her gaze traveled to her left side, where her father sat with his eyes closed, also. Yet, he wasn’t dreaming, nor was he even asleep. His breathing was strong and ridged, and she could feel more that sense his discomfort. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was the cause of everything.

Logan held her in his arms for the first time in almost twenty years. She was just as warm as he remembered, and just as soft. He would have been more comfortable if it wasn’t for the fact that his mind was racing, trying to wrap its self around the events that had transpired. His daughter was finally home and safe in the room next to his where she belonged. After an extensive medical exam, Hank had declared her perfectly healthy and fit. Emma Frost would be there in the morning to check her over psychologically. Logan wasn’t sure why. She seemed perfectly sane to him, and doing much better than most people her age would be under the circumstances.

He wasn’t so sure about the woman lying in his arms, though. She was harder; crueler. She was also more calculating and bold. The Rogue from twenty years ago would have never kissed Sabertooth the way she had. She never would have considered threatening Magneto. And then, to top it off, be able to sleep soundly. She was more like him now than she ever had been before, and, he was afraid to admit, the darker part of him liked it.

The streets had made her harder than the people in her head would ever have been able to. It was one of those things you could only gain from personal experience.

His mind wandered more, trying to decipher who would have ordered their child taken in the first place. He knew it wasn’t Sabertooth. The man just wasn’t smart enough for that. But he may have known who had ordered it. And that little bit of information might have been one of the things Rogue had stolen from him when she kissed him.

She sat in the library, staring out of the window, wishing she could concentrate on the book in her hands. She had learned to read and write at the compound, the elders teaching her due to orders from the scientist that had taken her from her parents. She found herself wondering about them now, and how she never questioned who they were and why she had never seen them. They were supposed to be mutants like her, yet not so powerful. They were supposed to be trying to develop a method to improve her weak points, yet she couldn’t remember ever being tested for anything. Maybe they had changed their minds last minute? Maybe they decided she just had too many weaknesses to be worth much, and, instead, decided to keep her in the compound for extra protection. At least now she understood why there were never any articles or books on modern times. In the last twenty years, things had improved greatly for mutants. They lived openly, and were accepted without fear by most, although there would probably always be that handful who hated them. Still, they weren’t persecuted any longer just for walking down the street. Even those who hid in the sewers because of physical mutations were now living above ground happily. There wasn’t even a whisper about the registration act any longer. The world had accepted mutants, and most mutants had forgiven them.

There would always be some prejudice, though. There always were in the human race. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was just natural for them to hate. If it was even more basic than people realized.

Emma Frost had declared that she showed signs of social anxiety, which could have come from either of her parents on any given day, but, other wise, perfectly normal and rational.

She then went ahead and explained the rules and structure of the institute, catching her up on what she had missed.

“Ahem.” She heard someone clear his through behind her and turned to find Scott standing in the door way, waiting for her to notice him. She smiled softly, invitingly. It had only been a week since she arrived at the mansion, and, yet, everyone made her feel as if she had been there her entire life. Her parent’s were doting, although a little overprotective. They gave her space, even though it was obviously hard for them. They had lost a lot of years, and Eve wasn’t sure she could ever think of them as her parents. She would at least be their friend.

Scott walked over and sat on the couch next to her, smiling shyly. She couldn’t help but smile back, wandering why he had avoided her the entire week. She noticed that he know wore the visor over his eyes. They must have taken off the collar soon after his arrival, and so he was forced to wear the visor until his replacement glasses came in. Eve remembered that her mother now wore those. She couldn’t help but miss the dark brown of his eyes, though.

“Now I’m good enough for you?” Eve asked, teasing him slightly. “Where have you been?”

“Around, getting reacquainted with those who are still here, and meeting some of the new team members. You gotta remember, I haven’t been back here in twenty years, either. Hell, I was beginning to think that I would never come home.”

“How does it feel?”

“Like I never left,” he sighed as he set his feet on the table. “Different students, some familiar faces, but most are gone, yet the dream is still the same, and they still fight and train just as hard as they did when I was here. I remember sitting in this same couch, trying to concentrate, and letting my mind wander, just like you’re doing now.”
“I was not!”

“Let me guess… something from the fantasy section? Something scary? Something by Edgar Allen Poe?” She looked at the title, then threw the book at him. He was right. It was probably even the same book he had read when it was still new. Of course, this copy was beginning to fall apart. “Thought so.”

“So what do you want?” She asked slowly, getting up and stretching.

“Actually, I want to offer you a place here. I know that everyone already expects that you will stay here, but I thought you might like an actual offer. Make your own decisions. I wasn’t sure if your parents were treating you like an infant or not.” She could feel his gaze, even through his visor. He was serious. Even now, he wouldn’t lose himself. “Just think about it. If you want, there are things around here that you can help with. I have Oscar taking a bunch of kids out to the park this afternoon. Maybe you should join them. I don’t want to send too many people, but it’s still not safe enough out there for my taste, and Oscar isn’t the most powerful mutant. He could really use your help.”

“Alright. I’ll go get dressed. Tell him to have the kids by the foyer at twelve. We’ll get some dinner with them while we’re out, so don’t expect us back too late. I want to try out that restaurant that Colossus was telling me about. McDonalds?”

“What did you learn from him, Rogue?” Logan asked softly, his voice stern and demanding. If she had been anyone else, there would have also been a growl, but he knew nothing from him could intimidate her. Not even when he was like this. “I know that’s why you kissed him. To find out who hired him, so what did you find?”

“You want to know? Tell Pyro to come here, then. You both should hear this. They had him taken, too. He deserves his vengeance, also.” She replied icily. She had wanted this for herself, but that was too selfish, even for her. Logan was on the phone quickly, and, with in seconds, Pyro, who was in his own room on the other side of Eve’s was knocking on their door. He took one look at the two and sat on the bed, knowing that this had to be important.

Logan looked at Rogue pointedly, knowing that she understood how he felt about her former lover being in their room and on their bed, even if it had been years ago.

Rogue sighed before she began, taking a seat on the dresser as Logan sat next to Pyro on the bed “For starters, I want you to understand that Sabertooth has felt nothing but remorse for what he did to us all those years ago. They held him captive there, basically, using the same type of collar they used on Scott and us to subdue our abilities. That doesn’t mean that I am going to let him get away with what happened. I just wont kill him.

“But we all know that Sabertooth had nothing to do with it beyond the kidnappings. Magneto hired him. He wanted not just mutant children, but powerful mutant children who would one day grow up to be mutant men and women, who would fight for him. He gave Sabertooth one of his infamous speeches, but all he was interested in was the money. There was a catch, though. I would be part of the payment, and Sabertooth would hand over the first born. But I was already pregnant, and Sabertooth felt that I was used. Magneto still wanted his children. Especially if he produced a child with our daughter. Eve was to become his lover, which, in time, she did. And Magneto waited patiently for her to become pregnant, not taking into consideration how hard it is for a mutant with a healing factor to reproduce. His wait was in vain.

“They had planned for you, Pyro, to father my next child, but Logan ruined that little idea when he and Cloud found my location and rescued me. Magneto told them to take the child only, but to leave no survivors. We were fortunate that those doctors and nurses liked to know that their victims suffered. If they hadn’t been so sloppy, we would be dead, and who knows what would have happened to Eve. Pyro, I know you want to kill this man as much as I do, and we will. He knows by now that we know what happened, and he is smart enough not to come back here. We’ll get him, eventually. Right now, we need to get Eve settled and find out what she wants out of this. I can use Sabertooth to find Magneto without any problem, and all those who believed in him followed when he left. Don’t look at me like that, Logan,” she scowled at her lover in return, trying to come up with a plan as she went. Logan had backed her into a corner and she was doing what she could. “Pyro, what I need from you is to change the security software. Make sure it is changed once a month, and that, although everyone will receive their own pass code, only the people in this room and Scott know how to completely turn off the silent, also. I want to make sure the alarm also comes to our private cell phones so that if we are away, we will still know what is happening. Who knows what that bastard is planning now.”

“I’ll need some help. Kitty was always best with the computer systems.” He looked away from her, not really knowing if Kitty and Bobby were both sore spots or not.

“Fine, have her help you set it up. We’ve had our differences in the past, but I want to make sure that she knows she is still welcome here. I got over all of that a long time ago.” She waited for Pyro to leave before she sat down comfortably next to Logan. She sighed as she let all the tension in her body go, wandering if she made the right move. She knew what she was doing was right, but Logan was now in charge of the mansion, and she could not help but feel like a usurper.

She felt his hand before she realized he had moved. It rested gently on her own. He took her into his arms and held her then. It was not a sexual act that came to pass, though the sexual tension in the air was thick, but more of a love and comfort. She laid against his chest, feeling the safety of his body pressed against hers. He squeezed her and she lifted her face to gaze into his eyes. She saw love and warmth, and something that seemed to be relief, although she wasn’t sure why.

“I love you, Marie, always have.” He whispered as he brought his mouth to hers. When he released her, he looked into her eyes again. “At least I know that there is really no chance that I have any other children running around out there.”

She pulled away from him then, and turned her back, not wanting him to see the tears that sprang to her eyes. He turned her around, confusion written all over his face.

“Logan, there is something that I have to tell you…” She told him of all she knew about Victor Creed, and the family he had lost that he could not remember. She held him as he cried, and even cried with him as his pain became to much for her to bare. They fell into a sad sleep, their bodies naked and intertwined after making love for the sake of comfort, and after the last tears were finally shed for a mother and daughter one never knew and the other may never remember.

Two months later

Eve sat in the middle of the group of children, watching them play. Oscar sat next to her, close enough that she could feel his warmth. Although he was 18 years older than her, she couldn’t help but notice her attraction to the quiet man. Scott had told her that just after the rescue mission, his girlfriend of five years had ended things between them, saying that it was time for things to end before they destroyed the friendship they had shared for many years. He had understood and had walked away with dignity, knowing that she was right. They had loved each other, but it hadn’t been the same kind of love as it had been when they had first become intimate.

For the last two months, Eve had found herself joining Oscar and the younger children on their excursions to the park about two times a week. It would have been every day, but she found the rest of her time taken up with training for the team and learning who her parents were. When ever she wasn’t available, Colossus would take her place, making him the target of the group of seven children who wanted to build the first, human juggle gym. He loved it and would have gone even when she was there, but understood that this was the time she needed to learn to become her own person, not what those who had kidnapped her wanted. She was learning what it was to be human. So far, she found that she liked McDonald’s french fries.

She couldn’t help but steal glances at Oscar every so often, admiring how well he was with the children, wondering how he felt about her, and trying to picture him with their own children…

She had to shake her head slightly, trying to figure out where that idea came from. Did girls her age normally begin to wander about children? Would she even be able to have one of his children? As far as she knew, Victor had never been able to impregnate anyone, and with all the women Logan had in his long life time, he was only able to find two women who could have his children. Her mother was now a healer, but she wasn’t born that way.
She wondered if it was just as hard for women? Maybe it was harder.

It didn’t matter, anyway. He probably didn’t look at her like that at all, but more like the daughter of a close friend. She didn’t understand why the prospect that he would actually care for her could be so damn scary. She had never been afraid of anything before, and it wasn’t like she had never had a lover. Hell, she had spent most nights in the bed of one of the most dangerous men alive since she was a little more than fifteen. But this was different, somehow. This wasn’t just because she longed for someone and he was the only one who would take her. She liked the kindness he showed to everyone, even knowing that they could hate him for just being who he was.

“Hey Eve,” Oscar said, quickly grabbing her attention. She must have been allowing her mind to wander too far. He had startled her and she now realized it was getting dark. She smiled at the man in front of her, showing that she was paying attention. He smiled back, standing quickly and reaching a hand out to her. “Why don’t we get the kids back and you and I will go catch a movie or something?”

She felt her heart flutter and wondered if maybe he really did feel something for her.

Three Months Later…

It had taken them four long months after making sure Eve was going to be fine before they began the search for Magneto. The two pairs of lovers had searched the world for him, not understanding why he hadn’t shown himself. They found him in Northern Oregon, in the facility Logan and Cloud had discovered Rogue and Pyro. He had made it into a safe haven for himself and had staffed it well. Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on that staff abandoning him now in his time of need.

They had all come to this place together, Logan and Rogue, Cloud and Pyro. It had been the day Cloud announced that the young couple were expecting when it suddenly came to Rogue that Magneto wasn’t young by any means and that he was arrogant enough to believe that being surrounded by a place built specifically for births would help him feel younger. There was only one birthing place still standing, the rest being destroyed by either Logan and Cloud during their search all those years ago, or by Rogue and Scott through out the past twenty years.

And now they stood over the body of a withered old man, barely clinging on to his last breath. They were too late now, killing him would do noting but release him from the pain he felt, and there was no greater torture than the one he faced now.

Without a word, they turned from him and walked away, leaving him to die painful and alone.

Three Years Later

Logan and Rogue watched as their daughter gave vows to a husband they both admired and respected. Oscar and Eve where very much in love and hoping for children. Logan and Rogue had been blessed with twin boys, each taking after their father. Although they were only toddlers, both were very much aware of what was happening and sat silently, watching their sister.

Rogue couldn’t help but remember everything that had happened as she watched the scene before her. It had been over twenty years worth of hell, but things were finally getting better for her family. Things were now very quiet and calm, even with the occasional disturbance from the FOH. The only time she ever allowed her anger to take over now was once a year, when she took a week to search for Sabertooth. It happened at the same time of year, and she always left on the anniversary of the day he had kidnapped her. Logan knew about this, but he never asked her about it when she came home, always waiting for her with understanding and acceptance.