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strange-dreams-are-made-of-these · 1 day

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Take My Whiskey Neat

Summary: Amaris, a mutant with regenerative healing and bone-like claws, grew up within the confines of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She became a teacher, falling in line with the order of the X-Men. She had always felt like a part of her had been missing for time. Though one day the X-Men save a young girl terrified of her powers and a man who could only remember the last twenty years of his life. Things begin to change, for all parties involved.

Tags: Cursing, Canon-typical violence, abandonment issues, use of an original character (this shouldn't count, but here it is), if you think I forgot about something, please tell me and I will add.

Word Count: 26K (my longest chapter ever)

A/N: I wrote this because like 19 people liked one of my posts. This is for you guys. Please let me know if you want in on the tag list. This is not beta read.

divider credit to @k1ssyoursister

Warm rays of sunshine always found the perfect way to slip between the curtains of the bedroom window, slowly creeping from the floor up to the bed and into the eyes of Amaris, causing her to wake up if she hadn't already been awake by the time the sun rose. Today was one of those days where the extra hour or two counted most to her. Her rest went interrupted a few times, tossing and turning between the sheet and blanket of her bed hadn't been unusual for the young woman, but the dreams she had between the interruptions had been very uncommon indeed.

The first memories she could recall had been in the mansion, watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal with other kids, learning how to ride a bike down the long driveway of the mansion, and having her first date even with a classmate who has now moved on somewhere in the Carolina's using his powers to work at a nuclear plant.

But the dreams she had were of a time she couldn't remember.

There were kids running around behind two adults, one man and one woman. The woman had long brown hair and tanned skin. The man had brown hair, a little fluffy, and was lighter than the woman. They ran nearly hand in hand with the children running behind him. Given her view of events, she seemed to be held in the arms of the woman.

"Kayla, get the kids out of here."

"Not without you."

"I wasn't asking."

The man then looked at what Amaris thought was her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Daddy will come back for you, baby girl. I promise."

Amaris would continue to wake up before she could see what would happen next. It was frustrating to her, having been the type to always want answers as quickly as possible. She shook her head as she rose, placing her feet on the floor and rubbing the side of her face. What could the dreams have possibly meant? It was too early in the morning to even bother The Professor with such questions, and with her first class to start in roughly two and a half hours, she decided to ask him later.

The sounds of birds outside filtered through the cracked window, making the young woman smirk. She stood up, walked around her bed, and crossed the room, shutting the door before starting off her day the right way. She made her bed, picked out her outfit for the day, took a shower, brushed her teeth, and put half of her hair up in a claw clip. As she finished getting ready for the day, she took a moment to pause, looking down at her hands. Her thumbs gently ran over her knuckles and the inside of her wrists. Being thankful for the school and Charles Xavier, she was able to learn how to control her powers, but she would still feel as if she could feel the physical pain of the use of her powers constantly. She always had to be careful, not wanting to risk injuring others.

She left her bedroom, having been one of the first few mutants out of their rooms for the day. Her dreams still haunted her, wondering who the man and woman were, why she had been there, and what had happened after the man parted ways with her.

Having been caught up in her thoughts, she nearly bumped into another one of the school's teachers. "Oh, good morning Jean." She spoke, offering a warmish smile.

"Good morning, Amaris." Jean smiled back, observing her friend and colleague's facial reactions. Jean squinted a little as she observed Amaris. "Did you sleep well?"

It was always hard to keep things away from telepaths. They were too smart, literal walking lie detectors. "Not really, but I'm fine. I think." Amaris added, placing one hand on her hip and the other on the back of her head. "I was going to ask The Professor, but I don't want to bug him with mundane things like dreams."

Jean shrugged her shoulders, giving Amaris an encouraging look. "We don't call him The Professor for nothing. Dreams are powerful visions. Mutant dreams are something entirely different altogether."

"I know." the slightly younger woman replied, exhaling a deep breath. "Jean," Amaris started, "Do you think it's possible to see or remember parts of the past you can't remember?"

Jean looked puzzled now, placing a hand on Amaris' shoulder. "I don't see why not. Do you want to talk about it?"

Amaris, appreciating the gesture, delicately removed Jean's hand from her shoulder. "Maybe later? I want to think about what I saw for a little bit." It was better for her to process what happened before she shared it with others. Amaris cleared her throat, changing her smile to a more genuine one. "You have the press conference thing today, right?" Jean nodded in response. "I'll be watching. Break a leg. Remember that Senator Kelly is a wrinkly bag of opinions, not facts."

Jean looked down for a moment, stifling a laugh before regaining her composure and looking back to Amaris. "No doubt he will have a way to twist my words, but at least I'll have The Professor with me to turn to when the inevitable happens."

A hand appeared on the small of Jean's back. A gruff voice spoke up as he appeared to her side, his red Polaroid sunglasses tucked perfectly on his face. "Hopefully this will give our students the right motivation to continue their studies here too."

Amaris looked at Scott, giving a small wave to greet him. "I would love to stay and chit-chat with you two love birds, but I have an English class to teach." With those words, Amaris parted ways with her friends, walking down the hallways of the mansion.

There had been many things going on today, and she knew Jean's meetings and conversations were important for mutants everywhere. Amaris wasn't speaking on mutant rights or actively assisting in aiding the ones who needed help. Only teaching them how the English language worked, and occasionally donning a black leather X-Men suit when they required her assistance. Storm, Jean, and Scott seemed to have their places and roles solidified with Charles staying behind to not only watch over the team but to ensure the safety of the kids, along with the few other teachers of the school, like Amaris.

It wasn't a difficult life to live, having been a resident and student of the School for the Gifted herself. Yet, it's all she has ever known. Living in the X-Mansion, learning to control her powers, finding a way to use them for good, helping her friends and students control their powers, and training with the X-Men on the lower floors. It was exciting to have powers and be a mutant, but it was terrifying to have powers that could harm others if not properly used or trained. She had friends like Ororo, Jean, Scott, and even Charles who understood the things that happened to her but also had experienced those things too.

Amaris opened up the doors to her designated classroom, seeing Charles next to her desk. She could hear his heartbeat from outside the door, not causing her to be scared or jump. He smirked looking at her. "Just who I was wanting to see."

Amaris walked up to the desk, leaning against it as she crossed her arms. "Am I that in demand, Professor?" She asked jokingly, giving the older man a smile.

"Only when your dreams are louder than one's thoughts." He replied, waving his hand in a gesture for her to sit down. Amaris willingly sat down at the student desk in front of him, not sure if this was the right time to have this conversation. "I know you told Jean you didn't want to talk about it, but talking about these dreams can help you more versus not talking about it and it hurt you."

She shook her head as she looked to her teacher and mentor. "Why are you so wise?" She asked him, rhetorically. "I don't know where I was. I can't even tell if it was me. I just remember there being a man and a woman leading a group of kids out of some place, maybe a building or a hangar or something. But, it was like I wasn't running with them. It was like I was in the woman's arms. The man told her to run away, he turned to her, kissed her, then he turned to, who I think, was me. He kissed my forehead and said 'Daddy will come back for you.'. Then I would wake up." She looked at Charles as he examined her, moving his wheelchair toward her at the desk. "I don't know what to think about it. It felt so real."

He reached a hand out, patting her hand that rested on the desk. "My dear, I think you already know the answer to that." Charles had always been a comforting being to his students, no matter how old they became. "My question for you is, what are you going to do with this information?"

Amaris looked at Charles, searching his eyes for anything that should be an answer for her. He was always hard to read, mastering a solid facade. Amaris exhaled another deep breath. "It wasn't much information to do anything with. But why would I just now be remembering something that happened so far in the past?"

Charles removed his hand, resting back in his chair. "I am a telepath, not a dream interpreter. However, I think your subconscious is trying to kick start something in you, beyond just remembering potentially the face of the man. I think you should reflect on this dream of yours and apply it to your life here at the mansion. There could be a lesson to learn from it."

Amaris huffed a little. "I thought I learned everything I could about myself. That's what this school was built for, right?"

Charles chuckled. "There is always time to learn or teach something. Hm, speaking of..." The door opened up and a small group of students entered the room. Charles moved his wheelchair, navigated the classroom, and exited the room. Amaris stood up watching Charles leave, feeling as if she had more questions than answers now. She collected herself, walked to her desk, and grabbed a stack of papers to distribute to her students.

Amaris had stayed in her classroom, grading the tests from the two morning classes she had. She spun the red pen between her fingers, and the sounds of the students talking and playing filled the air as both her classroom door and windows were open. She loved the smell of fresh air, and it had been such a wonderful day weather-wise for the school. Who could pass up on fresh air? Maybe she should have taken a break herself and walked outside. There was plenty of time for that later. First, she needed to grade these papers.

Other duties prevented that. A red light flashed on her watch, looking down to see the x symbol blinking. She put her items away, quickly standing up and making her way to the elevators. She met up with Storm as the two women walked into the elevator. "I hope it's nothing too serious," Amaris admitted out loud, though prepared to do what was needed.

"Agreed," said Storm, "Yet again, we have both said that about the last three alerts." When the elevator doors opened, the women stepped off, heading directly to the meeting room. Scott had been staring at the monitor, Charles and Jean joining him. They both just came back from their meeting with the U.S. Senate, having a difficult time with Senator Kelly. "What's going on, Scott?" Storm asked.

The man looked between the four others who joined them. "We have a hit on Magneto, or at least that's who we think this signal is picking up." He pressed a button on a remote, and the screed zoomed in on an area in the Canadian Rockies. "The quicker we get to him, the less of a risk he has causing trouble."

"Why would he be in the Canadian Rockies?" Jean asked.

Charles hummed a little. "He is looking for something. Magneto would not be sloppy enough to be caught unless he was looking for something or wanted to be caught. We must be careful."

"Storm, why don't you come with me? Jean, fly the jet and stay back in case we need any help. And Amaris-"

"Stay at the Mansion with the Professor, in case something happens, and get everybody to safety. I know the drill." Amaris spoke, holding up a hand with her other arm crossed over her chest.

Scott nodded, looking between everyone, avoiding making eye contact with Amaris as she sulked away from the group, taking a seat in the war room and putting on a com link. Amaris watched as the other three left to suit up as quickly as possible, turning on the monitors to watch the hangar and the inside feed of the jet. She didn't understand, she had been nearly five to six years younger than the others. Just because she was younger didn't mean she wasn't ready to fight. She was twenty-four years old, she could handle herself.

Charles could tell that Amaris was bothered by the constant choice to leave her behind. "He doesn't think you any less competent than the others, or himself." He watched as they left the mansion in the jet, making their way to Alberta.

"It feels like it, but I don't have much room to talk. I want to be a part of the X-Men, not piss off its group leader."

"You are not an aspiring member of the X-Men, you are an X-Man. And Scott isn't the group leader, I am." Charles spoke firmly as he looked over to Amaris. "He doesn't bring you out to the field because you are like a sister to him. He feels the need to protect you, which means dealing with your brooding while he and the others go out on missions."

Amaris stared at Charles as he spoke, a little cooing-like sound coming from her core. She was confused by his statement, mostly the latter part. "He what?"

Charles nodded. "Scott has known you since your childhood. You must have been three when you came to the mansion. He has looked after you like an older sibling would cautiously watch their younger sibling. Every tumble you took, every scratched knee, bothered him and he would worry about you. No matter how many times he watched you heal instantly in front of his eyes." Charles held onto the fond memories of his students and their happier times. "Try talking to him sometime, and encourage him to use you for the team's greatest outcome. Soon we will have a new set of young recruits, and who knows, maybe sub-team B will need its own team captain to keep them in check."

Amaris often wondered where the other's trust in her had been placed, but she never imagined finding out this way. "Maybe he can't trust my... abilities." She tried giving some reason for Scott's hesitation.

"It's not his hesitation to trust you and your gifts, child. He hesitates in his trust in himself, not wanting anything to happen to you. We must all realize we are not just mutants, or teachers, or students. We are all family. We must protect each other, even if it means making questionable choices we can regret later."

Amaris had been quick to equip the med bays, hearing about the two inured mutants that were coming in. One was a teenage girl, practically wrapped head to toe in clothing and fabric. The other was a man, maybe young to mid-thirties, who somehow instantly healed from being injected from his truck yet was knocked out by known mutant Sabertooth. It had been a little while since an adult mutant had been brought in for help by the X-Men, so Amaris was sure to make sure everything Jean could have needed was made available to her. He seemed to be in some type of comatose state while the girl had a superficial cut to her leg. It was easy to heal, and Amaris had been grateful to be of assistance to her while Jean took care of the man.

Amaris had finished stitching up the girl's leg, observing how quiet she had been the whole time. Setting the tools down on a tray next to her, Amaris removed her gloves, discarding them on the tray as well. "I think you have had a rather eventful day." The girl nodded a little, apprehensive about the care she was receiving. "Are you hungry? It's almost lunchtime, but I think I can sneak you a sandwich and a drink before the others see."

"Others?" the girl asked, an indication of a Southern accent that gave Amaris a clue where she was from.

She smiled, stepping away from the table. "Kids. Your age and younger. A couple even a little older." It was always nice to be able to help others, and the woman knew this girl was in desperate need of help. "My name is Amaris. I'm a teacher here at Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted. This is a place where people like us can live freely without the fear of others doing harm to us."

The girl seemed to relax her posture slightly, but not enough to feel comfortable. "How do you know what I am?"

Amaris knew in order to gain her trust, she would have to open herself up to the young girl. She held her arm in front of her, safely away from the girl. With the slow reflex of her tendons, three bony claws exposed themselves. Two protruded between her index and middle knuckles and ring finger and pinky knuckles. The third protruded from the inside of her wrist. The girl looked shocked, her jaw lowering a little bit. Her face changed, paling a little. "They look just like..."

Amaris looked at her, confused. "Like what?"

"Like Logan's."

"Who's Logan?"

It had been a few hours since Rogue and Logan arrived. Rogue was thrown directly into the world of the school, with the help of Amaris. She had always been prepared for new students, having notebooks, pencils, pens, folders, and other items ready for new students. The woman had helped Rogue get her classes registered in the main system, finding open seats in the five main courses the students were required to take: English, History, Science, Math, and Social Studies. This would give the young girl time to meet with her new peers, get a feel for how the school days work, and give her time to figure out which other extra classes she wanted to take.

She kept her emotions at bay and made sure Rogue was settled for the day, having some mixed feelings when it came to the situation that had occurred. Rogue's words rang heavily in Amaris' mind, saying her mutation reminded her of the man she had just met the night before, on the same continent in a different country. It wasn't unusual to see similar mutations in several people, maybe at varying degrees or strengths, but to learn there was another person the X-Men rescued who had the exact same mutations she had was scary.

As she roamed the halls leaving her classroom, Amaris was hit with a certain smell. Sniffing the air a few times, she picked up on the scent of cigar smoke, gasoline, and a hint of fear. This sent Amaris into a little override state, fearing somebody was making their presence known to unsuspecting students. Amaris carefully tracked the anomaly, leaving the corridor of the hall and heading toward the staircase. She paused when she heard the heartbeat, beating rapidly in his chest. Students passed her by, heading down the stairs to their next class, not knowing there was a powerful mutant who hid from them. And he was afraid. The sounds of his feet shuffling on the hardwood and the rugs were his biggest giveaway, letting her know when she could start her own descent down the stairs.

The sound of a door opening and closing let her know where he had been, and given their current location in the mansion, she knew that this man had stepped into Charles' classroom. As she made her way down the stairs she watched the door open again, children leaving with their bags and supplies, a moment or two later another girl left, this time phasing through the walls. "Miss Pryde, use the door next time. Phasing should be for emergencies only, remember?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, Miss Amaris." She then quickly made her way up to the other students.

She shook her head a few times as she stood outside the door, listening to what was being said. She had been too nearly focused on what was happening behind the door to not notice Scott and Storm walk up behind her. "Well, are we just going to stand out here all day? or are we going to go in there and get some answers?" Scott asked, sounding dry.

Amaris rolled her eyes at him, then opened the door when she heard the Professor come to a stopping point. She walked in first, followed by Storm and then Scott, who stayed behind on the threshold. A rather tall man watched as the others filtered into the room. "Ah, yes. Logan, I'd like for you to meet Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm." Charles spoke, introducing the two. Logan gave a look to Storm, eyeing her up and down as the two stared at each other. Amaris hadn't known Storm to look at somebody that way before as if he had stars dancing above her head. It was strange, to say the least.

Charles continued on. "This is Scott Summers, also called Cyclops."

Scott offered a hand out to Logan to greet him, though was taken aback when the man ignored his hand. This brought a little more tension to the room.

"This is Amaris, one of our younger staff members here." Charles gestured over to Amaris, who took a place between Storm and Charles. She stared at the man, looking between his tufts of hair and his posture. She thought she had seen a man like him before somewhere.

Logan chuckled looking at her. "No special name for you, huh?"

Amaris shook her head. "I'm not really the field hero type."

Logan grunted a little in response. Charles took this time as an opportunity to speak again. "These people saved your life." The sound of heels clicking against the wood and Jean entered the room, running one hand across Scott's shoulders. "I believe you have already met Dr. Jean Grey."

Amaris looked at Logan, examining him as Charles spoke with him. There was a certain likeness to him that she thought she had seen before, but she couldn't place her finger on it. What was it about this man, who looked in his middle thirties, that crawled and gnawed at Amaris' insides, as if she was supposed to know this answer?

"You'll be safe here from Magneto." Charles continued.

Logan looked puzzled as he eyed Charles. "What's a Magneto?"

"A very powerful mutant," Storm answered, observing Logan. "who believes that a war is brewing between mutants and humans."

Logan looked between Storm, Jean, and Charles. He avoided eye contact with Amaris and had his back turned to Scott. Amaris peered over to Scott, unable to read his facial expressions. "I have been following his activities for some time. The man who attacked you is an associate of his called Sabertooth."

Logan looked away from Charles, looking at Storm, or maybe a little past her. "Sabertooth?" he questioned under his breath. His head spun around the room for a moment before speaking again. "Storm," he pointed at her, then eyeing Amaris, smirking. "No special name who sits behind the scenes." Amaris cocked her head at him, releasing the tension in her jaw as he turned to look at Charles again. "What do they call you? Wheels?" A moment of silence fell among the group before it was interrupted by Logan's chuckling. "This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

Logan shook his head, turning around and heading toward the door that Scott stood in the way of. Amaris could hear the little threat Logan made, watching as the man in the grey X-Men hoodie grabbed fist fulls of Scott's jacket, pulling Scott closer to him. She watched as Jean's hand flexed, but Amaris gave her a look, moving her hand over Jean's. The woman settled as they watched the two men interact.

"Logan," came the sturdy voice of Charles, "it's been almost 15? 21 years, hasn't it?" This perked not only the interest of Logan but Amaris as well. It was an interesting year range to think about, with these other elements she had been made aware of recently. "Living day to day, moving from one place to the next, with no memory of who, or what, you are."

Logan turned around quickly, baring his teeth. "Shut up!"

Amaris bared her teeth at the same time, a slight growl emitting from her belly as she was prepared to protect her friends and her family.

"We can help you. Give me a chance. I may be able to help you find some answers."

Logan rested his face after eyeing Charles, then looking at Amaris, then back to Charles. "How do you know?" He asked aloud, though determined on his reaction as he looked in various directions, the others were sure Charles had been displaying his gifts to him. To earn his trust, and for this stand-off to end. Logan's demeanor changed, a small half smile creeping up on his face, his tone changing when he spoke. "What is this place?"

Charles smiled, knowing he had finally found a common ground with the man. "Come with me, I'll show you." Charles made his way to the door, Scott stepping out of his way. Logan was slow, but followed him out, leaving the four current X-Men to process what happened.

Storm looked at Amaris, confused by her actions. "Why did you do that?"

Amaris looked at Storm, furrowing her brows. "I can't help that I growled. It's kinda a part of what I am. Whatever kind of mutation you want to call this."

Scott approached the three women. "We can't let our guard down while he is here. Magneto clearly wants something to do with him. We may not like it, but it's what we do."

"What do you mean we, Scott?" Storm asked, a little chuckle leaving her lips before she left the room.

Jean placed a hand on Amaris' shoulder. "I've never seen that side of you before. Are you sure you're fine?"

Amaris shrugged it off, grabbing her jacket sleeves and adjusting the fabric as she walked away. "I'm fine," Amaris spoke bluntly, leaving the room to find something else to do. Something productive, and keep herself busy and away from the thoughts of others. She needed fresh air, away from her team members and fellow teachers.

Most importantly, away from the stranger who didn't feel like a stranger.

A few hours had passed, and Logan was willing to stick around to find some answers about himself. While Amaris, Scott, and Storm all finished their classes for the day Jean took time to further examine Logan. This included a set of X-rays of his entire body, some blood work, and a genetic sequence test. Once these results were in, the X-Men and the Professor were all called in for a meeting. Amaris took her seat as usual while Jean stood to present her findings. "The metal is an alloy called Adamantium. It's not a naturally occurring metal. This is something somebody created. It's supposedly indestructible." The screen then flipped to a new set of X-rays. "This has been surgically grafted to his skeleton."

Storm spoke up, her voice in shock. "How could he have survived such a procedure?"

Jean turned to her, her arms crossed. "It's his mutation. He has uncharted regenerative abilities. It enables him to heal rapidly." Jean's eyes shifted to Amaris, watching as she stared at the X-rays. Everything about Logan's mutation reminded her of Amaris, aside from the metal quality.

Amaris felt something in her chest. A whole? A rumble? It was hard to tell. The information was uncanny, how much her mutation reflected his. To see a similar mutation was normal. To see something almost a carbon copy of another was downright mysterious.

"This leaves guessing his age nearly impossible. He could potentially be older than you, Professor." Jean looked at Charles, both deep in thought.

"Who did this to him?" Scott asked.

Jean turned to him, shaking her head. "He doesn't know, nor does he remember anything about his life before this happened."

Charles sounded disgusted, yet kept an even level head. "It's not the first time we have seen experimentation on mutants. However, to this degree, it's something I certainly have never seen before." He moved his wheelchair closer to the X-rays as he scanned over them again.

Scott watched between Jean and Charles. "Why do you think Magneto needs him?" He sounded curious.

Charles spun around, looking at his X-Men. "I don't think he is what Magneto truly wants. And this baffles me." As he spoke to them, his eyes fell upon Amaris, who wrung her hands back and forth as her eyes were glazed over. "Until we locate Magneto again, we mustn't let Logan or anybody else leave the school."

Storm, Jean, and Scott all left the room. Amaris remained in her seat, her fingers rubbing over the tender slots between her knuckles. Charles approached her, sensing her concern. "I can sense something is troubling you. You may find this hard to believe... but I think it bothers me as well."

Amaris focused her eyes on Charles, watching him as he spoke. "What is the likelihood of finding the same mutation in two people, to an extent like this?" She gestured toward the genetic sequences and X-rays posted on the walls.

Charles gave her a little nod. "It's very rare. So rare, in fact, it could only come from one possible source." He rested his hand on her forearm. "Blood relations."

Amaris shook her head, looking down as he spoke. She didn't think it could be a possibility. Looking back up, she could feel herself fighting with her emotions. "The man in my dream, that I told you about this morning, I didn't see his face. I could see his posture, the outline of his head and shoulders," she paused for a moment, battling the shake that rumbled in her throat, "The sound of his voice... It all looked and sounded like him."

Charles nodded as he watched her, feeling the discomfort and even possibly the hurt that she had been feeling. "We can't say that for certain. However, I will be more than happy to give you a copy of your genetic testing and we can compare them to his, only if you want, that is." Charles had known Amaris her whole life, finding her presence comforting and a wonderful addition during her schooling years and as a teacher now. She was family to him. "I can always dive into your mind to see this dream you had, see if I can make it any clearer."

It was a lot to process at one time. To start remembering her parents, having a mysterious man be rescued by her fellow team members, and then learning that he had been through a metaphorical seven rings of hell and through their attempt to help him by running these tests learn there is a chance they are related was something she never thought would happen. "I don't even know where to start thinking about this mess. How do you approach somebody who only remembers fifteen or twenty-one years of life and tell them, 'Hey! I think we are related.' That doesn't make a lot of sense."

Charles nodded in agreeance. "The choice is yours, my dear. You can find out the truth and hang onto it for as long as you live, which very well can be for an extremely long time. Or, act on this impulse and share your discoveries. Who knows? He may need you more than you think." Charles hummed again before turning his chair around. "Whatever choice you make, understand you are the author of your own fate. Don't let the past determine your future."

Amaris was left alone in the debriefing room, left to look at the x-rays of the man named Logan, to ponder her choices of self-discovery or self-destruction.

The day passed rather quickly. The Professor convinced Logan to stay for a couple of days, exchanging the gift of protection for the gift of uncovering his past. It was a noble thing to do, even for Charles, but Amaris thought it was a big gamble. If Magneto ever found out that Logan was at the X-Mansion, he could turn his thugs onto the school. The children were at the forefront of Amaris' mind, and their protection meant everything to her.

Setting her freshly washed plate in the drying rack next to the sink, she turned around, bracing her back against the countertop. She rubbed circles into her forehead, trying to alleviate a migraine she thought she had. It was funny to think with an overactive healing regenerative factor that she couldn't combat a single migraine. Or understand how unbelievably painful it was.

There was another person in the kitchen, having shared a dinner with Amaris. "You seem off today, Amaris," Storm spoke, walking her plate over to the sink. Amaris moved out of her way, still leaning against the counter. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Amaris looked at Storm, one of, if not her closest, friends she had at the mansion. "Ororo, I've been here at the mansion since I was three. I feel like I've put my time into learning and mastering my skills. The Professor tells me I am an X-Man, but I don't feel like it. Scott pushes me off to the side. I can get up and close to our enemies and not have to worry much about damage. I bounce right back. Instead, I'm constantly stuck here with Charles watching the mission hundreds or thousands of miles away." She looked at Ororo, her facial expression dropping. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Storm shook her head, placing a hand on Amaris'. "There is nothing wrong with you, or with any of us. Don't you see? He trusts you enough to stay back at the school in case something happens out there. He trusts your judgment, to analyze what may have gone wrong and how to fix it. You are our safety reserve, our watchful eye."

Amaris didn't know how to feel about the situation, nor how to respond to her comments. She felt that she wasn't being valued in the same way somebody with weather control, telekinesis, or optic blasting powers was. She was, at heart, an animal. Animals needed let out off their leashes from time to time, just to stretch their joints.

"Maybe a training day is in order, hmm? How about you and I run some simulations in the danger room tomorrow? It's been a while since we've faced each other." She smiled, trying to get any type of reaction out of Amaris.

She relaxed her shoulders, giving a quick nod before leaning off the counter. "You know, that sounds good."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a man screaming for help. Amaris was the first to leave the kitchen, running faster than Storm. She ran toward the source of the screaming, finding some students outside the door of where Logan was staying. Scott and Jean had arrived before her, and she was quick to work on wrangling the kids. "Go back to your dorms. go on now!" She called, more or less barking as some of the children jumped at her reaction. Storm had followed inside the room as Amaris overheard her tell her it was an accident.

Jean took care of Logan as his body squirmed on the floor and he choked for air. It was apparent he was having a seizure. Once Rogue and the children were gone, Amaris entered the room. "His healing factor is working again, just a little slow." Jean monitored him, checking his vital signs. "I think the seizure is over. We should get him up on the bed."

Scott nodded, grabbing Logan from under his arms. He struggled to lift the man. "What the?"

Amaris furrowed her brows. "Did you miss some sessions at the gym?"

He chuckled looking at her. "Oh, by all means, be my guest." Jean, Ororo, and Scott all stood to the side. Amaris walked over to Logan, taking one of his arms and throwing it over her shoulder. She then wiggled his body around before lifting him up into a fireman carry. She was careful to place his body down on the bed, then fixed his legs and arms so they weren't in uncomfortable positions. Her hand reached for his, setting it over the blanket as an electric current raced through her.

"Daddy will come back for you, baby girl. I promise."

Amaris jumped back a little, holding her hand close to her. Jean took a step toward Amaris, but she was quick to back away toward the door. "I'll make sure everyone goes back to bed." With those words, she left the room, her eyes big as her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

She had questions now, questions that could only be answered with the help and cooperation of Logan. Hopefully, the Professor will be able to help Logan find some missing pieces.

"Okay class, find your seats, quickly please," Amaris called out. She picked up her clipboard, taking a quick attendance. "John?... Bobby?... Kitty?... Julia?... Rogue?..." She looked up when there wasn't a response, seeing the empty seat. It was unusual to see a seat empty, although given it was her second day of classes. Amaris set her clipboard down, sensing something was wrong. "Well, kids, uh... use today's time as a study hall. I don't care if you listen to music, study for other classes, or finish late homework. Don't make too much noise." The woman got up from her seat, rounding her desk. "Everybody will get full marks for today." The kids began speaking to each other under their breaths as Amaris walked by, closing the doors behind her as she rounded the corner.

She knew something was wrong, and could almost sense that there was danger lurking somewhere. Amaris made her way towards the dorm rooms, finding the one Rogue had been assigned to. When she opened the door, she saw the bed had been stripped and her clothes and bag were gone. "Fuck." she muttered under her breath, now sprinting toward Storm's classroom. She made her way around the hallways, avoiding colliding with inanimate objects and living beings.

As she approached Storm's classroom, she could hear her speaking with Logan. She slowed down, settling herself as she stood near the cracked door, using it to shield herself from Logan and Storm.

The woman had used her powers to create a small rain cloud, moving it around the room to water the plants that were growing. Storm always had a way of finding the better side of life. She constantly reminded the kids about how precious and perfect they were, even just for existing.

Logan had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he watched Storm manipulate the cloud to her will before making it disappear. He let out a slow whistle before chuckling. "I guess every day for you is a sunny day."

Storm smiled warmly, turning to look at Logan. "I try to keep to the weather report. Besides, I don't want to get too tuckered out before I could even enjoy nice weather."

Logan hummed a little, his hand now moving a pen on her desk. "Maybe if you had the right company, you could still enjoy it, without being too bent out of shape."

Storm looked up at the man, her hands resting to her sides. She studied his face, trying to find some sort of semblance of a trick in his eyes. Those perfect hazel eyes of his were something any girl could melt for. She parted her lips, ready to speak, but Amaris decided now was the best time to make her presence known.

The door swung open as she entered the room, looking between the two. "Rogue's gone," she sounded defeated.

Storm looked from Logan. to Amaris, then back to Logan. "We have to tell the others. Come on."

Storm walked past Amaris, Logan following behind her. Both Logan and Amaris locked eyes with each other, looking puzzled in the brief moment they were connected. He had a pleading look in his eyes, like a part of him was begging to be noticed. Noticed by her. Amaris let out a shakey breath as Logan passed by, their eye contact breaking just in time.

The three adults headed toward the elevator, hopping on and going down to the meeting room. Scott and Charles had already been there. Logan led the two women to the room, the circular doors parting to let them through. "Where is she?" He asked as the three entered the room.

Scott turned around, watching as they entered. Amaris could see at first the wrinkle that pressed in his forehead as he saw Logan, though he quickly softened it once he saw the others. "Who?" he quizzed.

Amaris was about to speak but had been cut off. "Rogue," Charles spoke firmly, almost in a whisper. His face and eyes shifted as he thought, possibly trying to connect with her. "She's gone." The older man moved his wheelchair, leaving the room to enter the hallway.

The other adults followed him as he turned down the hallway, stopping before another circular door. He moved a little bit forward before a light appeared. It swept over his eye, a robotic woman's voice confirming his identity before opening the door.

As the door opened up, Charles moved into the sphere-shaped room, Logan following behind him. As the two spoke, Storm grabbed Amaris' arm, taking a few steps back before whispering to her. "Look, about what you saw in my classroom-"

Amaris shook her head. "I don't know what you are talking about." She had yet to tell Storm or the others about her situation, or what information she possibly had about Logan. It wasn't her place to speak on such a topic if it couldn't be proven yet. It also wasn't her place to tell her friend who she should trust or speak to. That was a negative thing to do, even worse than repressing one's own thoughts and feelings.

Storm looked at her, then she nodded slowly. "Okay." She gave her friend a gentle squeeze on her arm before stepping back with the others.

Amaris stayed where she had been left, though she was shortly joined by Scott. "I know you hate the question."

"Yet you still ask." She stated coldly, avoiding making eye contact with him. "Do I have something written on my forehead?"

Scott huffed a little, keeping their conversation between them. "Ever since Tin Man showed up, you have become distant. You have actively avoided me over the last day and a half. Is there something I've done to upset you?"

"Is my name Jean?" It was a snarky comment, sure, but snarky comments deserved snarky replies. Amaris peeled her eyes away from Jean and Storm, looking at Scott now. "I'm tired of you treating me like I'm a student, still. I'm not a child. I'm not made of glass. I don't go on missions with the other X-Men, I don't step inside the Black Bird, even to dust it. Hell, Scott, I don't even get to touch the wheels. You bring a mutant with unknown potential into the school and demand we protect him with our very lives. Something you wouldn't trust me to do for you out there in the open world."

He clenched his jaw as she spoke, seeing how she was hiding herself with carefully chosen words. Still, what she said spoke a lot about her character. "Him? Rogue is the one with unknown potential. I brought her here for her safety and protection. Storm was the one that brought Logan here."

Amaris stared at him, her eyes shifting between his. She thought about what she said, clearly remembering the only pronoun she used was in reference to Logan. "You know what I meant." Her retort sounded much darker than she intended.

Logan came back to the group before the door closed. This caused both Scott and Amaris to divert their attention back to the group. It was always a little nerve-racking to have to wait to hear about what Charles found, certainly now more than ever when they were trying to find Rogue. Amaris absent-mindedly rubbed her knuckles, staring at the door as Charles used Cerebro. Logan looked at her, narrowing an eyebrow. "What's with her?" He asked Storm, pointing to Amaris.

Storm looked at the younger woman and then back to Logan. "Her mutation causes her to have constant pain in her hands. When she gets nervous, she rubs her knuckles. It helps-"

"Alevite the pain?" Logan asked, finishing her question.

"Yes," Amaris responded, looking at the two of them. "I can answer your questions. I'm more than just the water boy for the team."

Scott, Jean, and Storm all looked shocked by her comment. Logan however nodded a little, pressing his lips together as he pointed his finger at her again. "I like you, you're funny."

Amaris looked up at him, grinning. "It's a phase, it will pass." She then looked back to the door as it opened up. Perfect timing in her opinion, yet the world worked on its own time.

Charles looked between the five adults as he told them his findings. "She's at the Westchester train station."

Logan was the first to speak up. "Where is it?"

"A few miles west of here" Charles replied, barely getting the words out before Logan turned around. He moved behind Storm, pressing a hand to the lower back of her back. It was a simple gesture, dismissing himself as he attempted to leave the group. However, Amaris could see the tiniest flush on her face as it happened. She didn't know if she felt happy for Storm, or to feel disgusted that her latest crush was potentially Amaris' biological father.

"Logan," called Charles. "You can't leave the mansion. It's the perfect opportunity Magneto needs." His words felt more like a plea rather than a command.

Logan turned on his heel, watching Charles. "I'm the reason she took off." There was a change in his tone. He hadn't sounded gruff as he normally did. He was justifying why Rouge left, and why he needed to leave the mansion. To find her. It was noble of him.

"We had a deal," Charles replied, ending any room for arguments.

Storm interjected the two men. "She's alright, she is just upset. Any teenage girl would do the same." Her looks shifted between Charles and Logan, wondering what was going to be the next set of words spoken.

Thankfully, it was Charles, who already had a plan. "Storm, Cyclops, find her. See if you can talk to her."

Amaris rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down. A smile appeared on her face as she whispered. "As per the usual." Before anybody else could speak on the matter, she left. Ororo and Scott followed behind her, though not too closely. Jean walked near Charles, wondering what their next plan was. Logan wasn't sticking around for answers, leaving the two mind readers alone.

Scott and Storm went to their rooms to grab some jackets. Amaris stood in the main hallway after leaving the elevator. She couldn't continue to live her life like this, working on a team that protected mutants and humankind only to be left behind at the school to sit on the sidelines.

She heard the elevator door open behind her, turning to face the taller man wearing multiple layers of jackets. He seemed lost, pondering which way he was going. Amaris perked up, finding a way to play this into her hands. "Looking to make a jailbreak?" His eyes flickered to hers, arching an eyebrow. "You're secret is safe with me. I want to, after all."

"Is that so?" He asked.

Amaris nodded. "I'm just saying, if I wanted to get out of here, I might want to head to the end of this hallway, make two lefts, and enter the garage. Then I might want to look at the wall next to the door, where all of the keys are conveniently hung."

Logan stared at her, turning his head to the side as he listened to this information. "What do you get out of it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing of material value. Maybe just the hope that I can go out there too one day, you know."

He nodded, watching her. "Hey kid," he placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her from her daydream, "don't let the others push you around. You want to get out there, then throw yourself out there. You'll end up stuck in a place like this if you don't get out. After all, they can't keep animals in cages forever."

Amaris was a little shocked if she was being honest. She had avoided all contact with Logan after lifting him into the bed the previous night. She avoided one-on-one conversation with him. She even avoided him when others were present. To hear him speak like this gave her hope that maybe he was a good guy who would stay around.

Yet again, what would he stick around a place like here for? Her?

Certainly not her.

Logan turned to head down the hallway, calling back out to her. "Your secret is safe with me."

Amaris watched as he left, chuckling a little. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had to throw herself out there in order to be taken seriously. She was a caged animal, and she was ready to let loose.

Amaris followed suit behind Logan, against every fiber of her being. Defying a direct order from Charles went against the code of an X-Men. Charles had been family to her, a father figure if she had to pick one. She wasn't acting out to defy him or to slap him in the face. She was going to prove to Charles, Scott, and the rest of the team that she was much more than just an English teacher with bone claws.

Amaris entered the garage, grabbing a set of keys to one of the cars they had, watching as Logan mounted Scott's motorcycle. The two stared at each other, Amaris nodding her head to Logan before he smirked at her. He soon took off, the rumble of the motorcycle filling the garage as he left. She quickly found the car she was going to take, Jean's 2000 Dodge Viper, hopping into the driver's seat and following suit behind Logan.

A few minutes later, Scott and Storm entered the garage, walking towards Storm's car. The heel of her boots echoed on the ground as she approached her vehicle, though the absence of Scott's made her turn around. "What?"

Scott pointed to an open space in the middle of the garage. "Where's my motorcycle?"

The two looked around for a brief moment, then Storm spotted another open space. She hummed in thought, tilting her head slightly. "I would say on the same road as Jean's car."

Scott looked at the open spaces, then he made eye contact with Stom, approaching the passenger door. "Come on, something bad is going to happen with those two out there."

Storm opened the doors, turning the engine over as they pulled out of the garage. "If you ask me, it's been long overdue for Amaris to join us. She's been ready."

Scott shook his head, looking ahead. "We need to focus on finding Rogue first. Then we will deal with this mess."

Amaris parked beside Logan just as he got off the motorcycle. She stuffed the keys of the car into her pocket as she stepped up on the sidewalk. Logan looked at her as they walked toward the main gate. "Listen, lady, I don't need a babysitter."

Amaris chuckled a little. "You must be joking if you think I'm babysitting."

"Then what are you here for?"

The two walked through the front doors of the train station, filled with people walking around and talking rather loudly. "Like you said, an animal can't stay in its cage forever."

Logan gruffed, looking away from the younger woman before looking up at the train announcements and seeing which trains were going where. He pointed at one of them. "I have an idea where she is going. Just stay here and keep Patchy and Sunshine off my tail." He walked off, without saying another word.

"Logan! Logan!" She called out, though he refused to answer her. She knew she could stealthily hunt him down, as he had a rather distinct smell about him. However, he was right. Scott would show up furious about Logan taking his motorcycle. Storm would show up trying to find Rogue as quickly as possible. Then there was the matter of Amaris going against orders to do what she deemed fair and include herself in this little rescue mission. Knowing she didn't have many other options, the woman found a space near the entrance, ready to catch Scott and Ororo as soon as they entered the station.

It may have only been about ten minutes since Amaris and Logan had arrived at the station. She had no idea if Logan had still be there, or if he even found Rogue. The approaching footfalls indicated that she had at least been found. "What the hell were you thinking?" Scott asked, looking down at Amaris.

"The Professor told you to stay at the mansion." Storm calmly spoke, looking at her friend.

Amaris leaned off the wall, shaking her head. "He didn't tell me to stay behind. He told you two to go to the train station. He didn't tell me anything." She then looked to Scott, hiding her true intentions from him. Thank goodness they couldn't read her mind. "I heard your motorcycle taking off. I know you wouldn't have taken it since this is a rescue mission, so I followed behind it. I'm looking out for my teammates."

"You should have told one of us." Scott sneered.

"The longer you focus on this, the more time Rogue has to escape. We can worry about your one-sided lecture later. Let's find the girl, find Logan, and get out of here," commanded Amaris.

Ororo nodded. "She's right Scott. Magneto is looking for the perfect time to strike. This is it. We need to work as a team to find those two."

Scott turned away from Amaris, junior to him by six years. "Fine. But as soon as we get back to the mansion, I will be talking to Xavier about this."

Storm led the trio to the main hall of the station. "Scott, look around. I'll talk with the ticket agent. Amaris, be on the lookout for anything unusual."

Without much acknowledgment, the three separated. Storm walked up to the line at the ticketing booth, Scott took a position in the queue, looking around for the young teenager. Amaris found her way to the center of the room. Something had been off by this encounter, it didn't seem right. She smelled the air, finding a putrid smell. Standing in a train station that thousands of people traveled through daily wasn't an ideal space to locate the source of the smell. There was a little murky smell like something had been sitting in water for a long period of time.

Storm spoke with a ticketing agent, describing Rogue. "She is about seventeen. Uh, my height. She has brown hair and she-" She saw the agent's eyes begin to widen, hearing a man grunt behind her before turning to the sound of snarling.

A gloved hand grabbed her up the neck, lifting her up and pinning her against the glass divider at the station. Another growl was heard before a whispered command was made. "Scream for me." Sabertooth then pushed Storm back against the glass cracking it.

Some people began to scream at the sight. "Scott!" Amaris called, beginning to rush over to Storm. He turned to look at the situation, though things turned into a dangerous situation. His visor was ripped from him quickly, too quick in fact. His eyes were open, causing him to use his optic blast power to blow a hole in the ceiling of the building, exposing it to the night sky. People were terrified now, running and avoiding rubble. Amaris spotted a little girl crying, no more than two. She watched as a piece of rubble began to fall. She quickly raced over, capturing the girl in her arms as she tucked and rolled, avoiding the rubble. Once up, she spotted an employee of the station. "Here," she ordered, handing the girl over to the employee. "Get out of here, quickly."

Amaris rushed over to Scott, making sure he was safe as he pinched his eyes closed. "Do you have a backup pair on you?" She asked loudly over the sounds of people screaming.

"No, I traded them out," he replied, now placing his arm over his face. "Where's Storm?"

Amaris looked up, seeing Storm still pinned to the glass. She watched as her eyes slowly clouded over. Within mere seconds, a thundercloud appeared and a thunderous bolt of lightning struck the mutant who held Storm. His body was sent flying across the station, through a brick wall. The glass partition shattered around Storm as she was let go and fell to the ground.

Amaris watched as a second mutant jumped down from the ceiling, and then bounced through the new hole in the wall. "I'll get them!" Amaris exclaimed.

Scoot was quick to grab her arm, squeezing her elbow. "No, it's too dangerous to face them on your own. Don't give people more room to talk about mutants."

Storm rushed over to the two other X-Men, both women careful to help Scott. "Magneto is here, somewhere. I hope Logan has found Rogue."

Amaris looked at Storm, the same look in her eyes. "I hope so too." She looked at Storm, standing up as she pulled away from Scott. "They have to be on a train. I'm going to find them."

Scott shook his head. "which train? How will you know?"

"I'm going to assume it will be stopped on the tracks. If I hear people screaming, I know I have found the right one."

Meanwhile, on the train, Logan found Rogue. "Hey kid," he greeted her. Logan didn't really care much for others, though he found himself weaseled into the lives of others if they were kind to him. Rogue had found a little soft spot in his old, dark heart. He sat down next to her, seeing how her expression had changed. She seemed to try to pull herself away from him, as much as the seat would have allowed her. Her eyes darted away from him as she began to breathe a little heavily.

Logan spoke again. "I'm sorry about last night." He looked at her as he spoke, somehow speaking more calmly to her than before.

She was a little shocked, eventually meeting his gaze. "Me too." she cooed out, feeling embarrassed about the situation.

Logan smiled a little, nodding his head slightly. At least she is responding to me now.

"You running again?"

Rogue shifted her gaze from Logan to the empty seat in front of her. "I heard The Professor was mad at me." Rouge's southern accent was strong toward the end of her sentence, a sign Logan learned quickly as a way to tell she was emotional.

"Who told you that?" He quizzed.

Rogue looked back at Logan, sheepishly replying to him. "A boy at school." The look Logan made when she told him was something that made her instantly question her choice. "You think I should go back."

Logan looked away for a moment. His whole life, the parts he did remember, he had always been on the run. Either heading to or away from places, finding new lines of work to make money, or living in his trailer on his truck. He always was on the run. "No... I think you should trust your instincts." Advice he couldn't take himself.

Rogue didn't know how to take the advice given to her, in turn taking the time to tell Logan something from her past that haunted her. "The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks." She paused, thinking about the bittersweet moment. "I can still feel him in my head." Logan furrowed his brows, wondering where she was leading the conversation. "And, it's the same with you." The teenager began to cry, feeling the warm salt deposits run down her face.

The man looked over at her. A part of him still hesitated to reach out for her, remembering a little too well about the events of the previous night. He may have been a fool, but he still had a heart. He carefully wrapped an arm around her, pressing his hand to the hood of her jacket, pulling her in for an embrace. He knew how much she needed it, to need that level of comfort. Rouge felt instantly warm inside, feeling just a fraction of what it felt like to be hugged again.

"There's not many people that'll understand what you are going through," Logan stated, looking down at her. "But I think this guy, Xavier, he's one of them. He seems to genuinely want to help you, and that's a rare thing... for people like us."

Rogue sat up a little, looking at Logan. She had stopped crying at that point, looking at his face to see if he was just pulling her leg. The train started moving, sending the passengers a little forward in their seats. This broke the hug between Logan and Rogue. He looked back at Rogue, smirking. "So what do you say? Give these geeks another shot?" He saw a flicker in her eyes, the quick grin that spread across her face. "Come on," he whispered. "I'll take care of you."

"You promise?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, I promise."

It seemed the two had a plan. On the next stop, they would turn around and head back to the school. The sudden stop of the train threw them all off. Logan braced himself on the seat in front of him as the lights began to flicker. He was quick to stand up, looking at the back of the train car. Metalic sounds rumbled through the car. Slowly it was dismantled, and layers of the exterior were pulled apart. His eyes widened at the sight as a man appeared in the train car, floating toward him with a long billowing cape behind him. Logan turned to look at Rogue, signaling for her to remain hidden behind the seat.

As the man approached Logan, he unsheathed his claws, stirring the people near him as the pristine six claws appeared. The older man appeared a little jovial as he spoke. "You must be Wolverine." Logan made two steps towards him before finding himself frozen. The man used his hand as a conduit, freezing Logan in his place. "That remarkable metal doesn't happen to run through your body, does it?"

Logan couldn't move. His fear was apparent in his eyes, though he stared the man down before him. If looks could kill, the aggressor would be on his deathbed.

With a flex of his hand, magneto willed Logan's arms out to his sides, flexing his wingspan. He then began to bend Logan's claws at unnatural angles, pulling growls from deep into Logan's chest. With another gesture, Magneto raised Logan into the air, causing panic within Rogue. "Stop!" Her pleas fell on Magneto's deaf ears. "Stop it, please!"

Logan did his best to fight through the other man controlling his body, able to muster out one question. "What the hell do you want with me?"

"You?" Magneto chuckled, finding his question quite humorous. "My dear boy, whoever said I wanted you?"

Sudden panic set in when Logan forced himself to look at Rogue. Of course, he had wanted her. Why would anybody want Logan? Whether it be for good or nefarious purposes.

Magneto pointed at Logan, sending him flying back to the other end of the train car, knocking the man out. Rogue made a run towards Logan, though quickly subdued by Magneto. The man smirked, using his powers to pick her up and leave the train car.

Amaris had heard the sounds of metallic rumbling, following it as quickly as possible. People began running toward her, pulling loved ones as quickly as possible. She found the destroyed train car, hopping into it as quickly as possible. She bore her bone-shaped claws, though her efforts were in vain. Everybody had been gone. Everybody except for Logan.

When she heard his groaning, she retracted her bone claws, running up to the man. She bent down, moving some of his hair out of his face so she could look at him. He grabbed her hands, quickly pulling her up and pinning her against the wall. In a fit of rage, he believed her to be an enemy.

She growled back at him, causing him to blink away his confusion. In the midst of their little tussle, he had unsheathed his metal claws again, and she unsheathed her bone claws. He looked down at her hands, one pointed at him, the other resting at her side. His eyes were still clouded, though a vision came to him.

A woman sat in a bed, covered in blankets. She had a swaddle in her arms. He walked up to her, sitting by her side. "We still need to name her, Logan."

He chuckled, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed, and scooting it over to be as close to her as possible. "You remember the story about the moon and the wolverine?" He asked her as the woman shifted to look at him. She gave a slight nod, a few beads of sweat on her forehead. He looked out the window, seeing the reflection of the full moon shining down on them. "There is a full moon out tonight, you are my moon. It only makes sense."

The dark-haired woman giggled, "What makes sense?" she asked him.

Logan reached over, gently taking hold of the newborn girl. He was nervous as hell as he saw just how little she was in his hands. "To call her a child of the moon." He looked down at the baby, gently brushing his pinky finger over her cheek. "You are my pretty little girl, Amaris."

Logan retracted his claws, causing the girl to do the same. "What the hell?" He let go of her, taking a few steps back as the two animalistic mutants stared each other down. Amaris slid down the wall, using it as her backing as she stood to face him, wondering what his next move was going to be.

You are my pretty little girl, Amaris.

Amaris.

He was lost in thought, seeing his eyes glazed over. "Logan," Amaris called out, attempting to pull him out of his state. "Logan, where is Rogue?"

He turned around, looking at the destroyed train car, items scattered about ranging from coats to bags. He looked back at Amaris, his eyes softening briefly. "Magneto," He huffed, making eye contact with her again, those light brown eyes of hers. "He took her. He didn't want me, he wanted her."

Her jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening. "I think I know where he's heading to. Come on." Amaris took a couple of steps forward, though Logan remained still. He blocked the only viable path on the destroyed train car. He looked down at her, inhaling the deep scent of her being. She smelled familiar to him, but he couldn't tell. Amaris stared up at him, being almost a whole foot shorter than he. He examined her, his eyes trailing over her features. He needed answers, but they also needed to find Rogue.

He turned around, watching his footing as he left the train car. Amaris felt an unsettling tightness in her chest. She had a pull in her heart, not caused by natural forces. She was feeling a yearning, for a part of her to be seen. Maybe this man was truly her father. How his presence, in only the twenty-four hours or so they have known each other, felt somewhat comforting.

No, she thought. We need to find Rogue.

Storm and Cyclops cleared out of the train station when Jean met up with them. She had given Scott another set of glasses. He was thankful to her, pressing a brief kiss to her cheek as the three adults left the ruined train station. "Over here, The Professor is in the car."

Storm spoke up. "Logan and Amaris are here somewhere, looking for Rogue."

"Amaris? Amaris is here?" The red-haired woman asked looking between the two.

Scott nodded in defeat. "She defied a direct order from Charles. She isn't ready for field work."

"Are you kidding? She saved that child from being crushed. She was quick to help you when your visor was stolen, and she jumped into action to help people and find the others." Storm countered as they made their way to an SUV.

Jean chuckled a little. "Sounds very heroic to me."

Scott didn't like their answers. He opened the door for the women to get in, but Jean ignored it and got into the driver's seat. Storm entered the car with Scott following in behind her. "I'm sorry sir." He addressed Charles.

Charles looked up in the mirror to look back at Scott. "This isn't your fault, young Cyclops. There were more nefarious pawns present in the game."

The X-Men and their leader watched as three people left through the main entrance of the train station. Police officers readied their weapons, aiming at the mutants who caused the havoc this evening. Magneto stood in the middle with Sabertooth to his right and Toad to his left. Toad held something over his shoulder, what could only be a person. Too heavy to be Logan, Charles was sure of it.

The police started to shout commands at the three. They were commanded to place their hands in the air. Erik observed the scene, complying with their demands. Though, in his typical fashion, he used his powers, levitating two police cars in the air. He flipped them over, then dropped them onto two more of the cars. He grinned as he witnessed their reactions, the majority of them scared and frightened. "As you should be," commenting to himself proudly.

The three mutants watched as the police officers began advancing on them, pointing their guns at them. "That's not very nice." Magneto had pulled their weapons from their hands, now pointing them at all of the officers, readying them for use. "You Homosapians and your guns," he tsked.

Sabertooth's hand reached over to circle around Erik's neck, causing him to pull his attention away. "That's enough, Erik" came the vocalizations of Sabertooth.

Toad, who held Rogue's body over one shoulder and proudly wearing Cyclops' visor on his head, turned to face Magneto. "Let them go."

Magneto turned his head to look at Toad as he pleaded. He was smarter than that, instantly knowing they were now in the presence of his once closest friend. "Why not come out where I can see you, Charles?" He called out to the crowd, wondering where he had been hiding.

Jean, Scott, and Ororo watched Charles as he spoke to Erik through Sabertooth. "What do you want her for?"

Magneto quipped back, "Can't you read my mind?" He gestured to his helmet, something Charles knew prevented him from peeking into Erik's mind. "What now? Save the girl?" Erik had always been two steps ahead. "You'll have to kill me, Charles. And what would that accomplish?" Charles listened to Magneto and focused on his concentration when connecting to Sabertooth and Toad. "You know if they pass that law, they will have you placed in chains with a number burned into your skin."

Charles spoke to him, trying to be a voice of reason. "It won't be that way."

Erik gruffed. "Do you want to find out? You must kill me." Charles remained silent, pondering Erik's logic. "No? Then let me go."

Charles took a different approach, focusing his connection deeper into Toad's mind. The mutant began to walk away from Erik and Sabertooth, a blank stare on his face.

Erik didn't like this one bit. He was always a man of action. He used his power to fire off one of the weapons, however stopping the bullet as it made contact to a man's forehead. His cries, along with the crowds, could be heard as the bullet slowly spun around causing a burn in his skin. "You're pressing your luck, old friend," Magneto called out to Charles.

Charles turned to look at Jean, sitting in the driver's seat. They listened are the many guns loaded themselves, causing a stir in the crowd. "He's powerful, but not powerful enough to stop all of the bullets." Jean pleaded with Xavier, understanding what she was saying would counteract their rescue mission.

Charles knew this wasn't the way he wanted this to go. he wanted to save Rogue and bring her back to the mansion, but to spill innocent human blood for the price of one mutant wasn't the best outcome. He slowly closed his eyes, releasing the hold he had over Sabertooth and Toad.

The two henchmen blinked slowly, coming back to their relatives. Sabertooth let go of Magneto's neck while Toad rejoined his boss.

A helicopter could be heard overhead. It didn't have any identifying signals on it, nor did it have police lights on it. "Professor," Storm spoke, watching as the three men walked to the helicopter as it landed in front of Magneto. "What do we do now?"

Charles inhaled a deep breath, watching the men load onto the helicopter before taking off. "We must find out what Erik has planned, quickly. With Rogue's powers, there is no way of telling what he has planned."

Amaris and Logan had watched as the helicopter left, guns falling to the ground as their ammo fell out. Amaris spotted the SUV, seeing Charles and the others inside. Charles looked at the young woman, sensing the shamefulness she bore inside. "Meet us back at the mansion, we must regroup," Charles spoke to her inside her mind.

She shook her head. "Come on, Logan. We need to head back."

He looked down at her, still shaking broken glass out of his hair. "And join those losers while Rogue gets taken away?"

She looked up at him, feeling a tear inside her. "Those losers are all I have. So, yes. We go back, figure out what he is doing, why he needs her, and then save her."

He saw that flash image again in his eyes, almost hearing a baby cooing in his mind as their eyes locked together. He breathed heavily, recovering from their run from their destroyed train car. "Who are you?" He asked brashly, not able to shake it from his mind.

She couldn't tell what he meant, or if he had been in a proper state to drive. His senses seemed intact, and she knew from their previous meeting he was nearly indestructible, able to heal from every wound imaginable. "I'm nobody." It was the only response she could think of at the time. Before he could react, she left him, making her way through the crowd of people to get to Jean's car.

I'm nobody, I've always been nobody.

Amaris beat Logan back to the mansion, carefully backing the Viper back into the garage. As she got out of the car, she was met by Scott, his arms crossed over his chest. Amaris huffed a little, not knowing how much more she could take. "I'd rather have this conversation with Charles. It's nothing against you. I didn't listen to him. It wasn't your orders."

After closing the car door, Scott watched her, dropping his hands to his sides. "You can't go galavanting around when you feel like it."

Amaris laughed a little, shaking her head at him as he spoke. "Again, it's been an amazing time, Scott, but I need to speak to Charles."

"After this." Scott closed the distance between the two, wrapping his arms around Amaris. She was shocked by the gesture, pausing for a moment or two. "Thank you."

Amaris wrapped her arms around Scott, closing her eyes for a moment, if anything to feel the moment. "Why?"

Scott patted her shoulder once, pulling out of the hug. "You saved the lives of many people tonight. You don't get enough recognition around here for your efforts as is. You did something dangerous tonight, something that would get us benched from the team. But you sprang into action without dictation. Things could have gone worse without you there."

Amaris looked up at him as he spoke. It didn't seem like something he would normally say. "When you showed up at the station, you looked like you were ready to rip my head off clean."

Scott chuckled, holding his stomach. "What big brother wouldn't do the same? I have to watch after my little sister." The two looked at each other, laughing after a moment of silence. He then wrapped one arm around her shoulder as they walked toward the door. "I can't protect you forever, certainly not against Charles."

She nodded, placing the keys back on their hooks. "I know, but it's my actions, and I need to face the consequences."

"Good luck," He commented as they entered the mansion. He let go of Amaris, watching as the younger woman walked before him.

She entered the main hallway of the mansion, seeing Jean and Charles standing in the center of the grand room. Here goes nothing, she thought to herself. She stopped in front of both Charles and Jean. She faced Jean first, "I'm sorry I took your car. I filled it up with gas before returning it where I found it."

Jean smirked, knowing there was no harm done in the action, though she certainly couldn't let Charles audibly know that. "I accept your apology."

Charles looked up at Amaris. "My girl, what you did went against the code of the X-Men. You left, alone, took another member's car, chased danger on your own again, and you could have easily been killed." He paused, gauging her reaction. Her face appeared soft with each remark he made. He leaned back in his wheelchair, breaking the silence. "You also nobly went on a mission to rescue Rogue, set your safety to the side to save the lives of children and adults, assisted Cyclops and Storm as they were attacked by Magneto's henchmen, and chased down Logan and Rogue to save them. All without direct orders from your team captain."

Amaris smiled a little at the end, though was quick to relax her face again. "I am sorry, Professor. I understand if you wish to remove me from the team. I will not go against your orders again."

Charles laughed, then smiled at Amaris. "Remove you from the team? Why would I want to do that?"

Amaris looked at him puzzled. Soon one of the older students stepped forward from a dark corner. "Amaris, I am moving you up to the A teams roster. You will also remain as my next team captain for the B team. Mr. Peter Rasputin will train with you in the next couple of years, once he finishes his schooling, to be your second in command."

Amaris looked from Charles to the student, then back to Charles. Acting quickly, she knelt down, wrapping her arms around Charles. "Thank you, Professor!"

Charles returned her embrace, smiling as she stood back up. "You demonstrated all of the qualities I search for when assembling my X-Men. Continue to set an example for our students. You very well may be teaching our next set of X-Men."

Amaris nodded, regaining her composure. "Yes sir."

Charles nodded. "Very well. Mr. Rasputin, please return to the dormitories. We have official X-Men business to conduct." Amaris and Peter made eye contact with each other, giving a simple bow of their heads before he left the group. Charles spoke up again. "For this to go right, we will need Logan's help. Rogue trusts him deeply. If we are to find Rogue and bring her back, Logan will be our key."

Amaris looked at Charles. "You're wrong Professor," she commented. "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when."

Charles chuckled. "Spoken like a true student."

The front door of the Mansion opened up. Logan came marching through, his leather coat in his hand as he shut the door, making his way in. Charles turned his chair to face him, noticing how his face looked. He could tell the taller man was angry. "You said Magneto wanted me. You lied."

"At the time, we were under the impression Magneto wanted you. After all, it was your truck that was destroyed, and you were tracked to Laughlin City." Charles replied.

Logan looked from Charles to Jean, then over to Amaris. He pointed a finger at her, speaking again. "Why did I hear your name in my head? Back at the train car?"

Amaris was puzzled as he spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Nah, don't play that shit with me, lady. What did you do to my mind?"

Charles waved a hand. "She didn't do anything to your mind, I can assure you that." He then looked at Amaris, giving her a knowing look. She nodded, knowing they couldn't put this off much longer. "I promised I would find you some answers to your past. I believe I may have already found something, without having to dive into your mind."

Logan looked at Charles, narrowing his eyes. "Why should I trust you, again?"

Ororo approached the three of them. "Because I've seen it too." She looked at Logan, her eyes turning soft. "We all have. It's your genetic testing."

"Let's go down to the lab. I have everything of yours pulled up." Jean added.

"Logan, there is something we need to show you," Charles stated, then turned his chair to head toward the elevators.

Amaris watched as Charles, Jean, and Logan began walking toward the elevator. Storm approached her. "Ororo?"

The woman smiled, "You think that I didn't add the two together?" She asked her friend, laughing a little. "Amaris, with abilities like that, and eyes like yours, it's hard to deny it."

Amaris' eyes grew a little wet, trying to suppress her emotions as Storm spoke. "How long?" she managed to whisper.

Storm reached out to move some hair that had fallen in Amaris' face. "Since the meeting yesterday. Scott, Jean, Charles, and I all spoke about it while you stared at those X-rays."

Amaris looked down briefly, feeling one single tear run down her face. "All my memories are here, within the mansion. I can't deny this is my family here."

Storm nodded, supporting who she would consider her best friend. "We still are, we still will be... But, Amaris," Storm held Amaris' face in her hands, wiping away a single tear. "He needs his family too."

The two women wrapped their arms around each other as Amaris felt the pull in her chest again. Her words were shaky as she spoke. "What if he wants nothing to do with me?"

Storm rubbed small circles on Amaris' back, soothing her. "That's impossible. He wants his memories back. He wants his life back. You are a part of that." After making sure she was fine to go, Storm let go of her. "Now let's get down there, and see just how much of a genetic match you two are."

Amaris wiped her face, then wiped her tears off on her pants. There was no time like the present. "The quicker we get this out of the way, the quicker we get to saving Rogue."

"That's the spirit!"

The two women made their way down to the lower floors, walking side by side as they met with Charles, Jean, Logan, and Scott in the debriefing room. Logan eyed Amaris as she walked in, noticing how she kept her distance from him, and mostly everyone else in the room. Jean spoke up. "Here are the x-ray slices of Logan's forearms." One side of the screen had his X-rays displayed, showing the metal skeleton and claws he had. She then displayed another slide. "These ones are Amaris'. As we can see, they both have two sets of claws, three, in each arm."

Logan looked at the X-rays, then back to Amaris. Jean then presented another slide. "This is Logan's genetic sequence." She then presented another slide next to it. "This one is Amaris'." They looked very similar to each other. "this is what they look like, laid over top of each other. Logan's is in blue, Amaris' is in yellow." the next slide showed their DNA laid over the top of each other's. "Everything in green is shared DNA."

Logan and Amaris both looked at the sequences as they moved over each other. Scott, Storm, and Charles remained quiet. "I have run your blood samples three times," Jean continued. "Logan... Amaris is your daughter."

Amaris could feel her eyes begin to water again. She slowly looked over to the six-foot two-inch tall man, somebody who towered over her. He looked at her, his brows furrowing. "No, no. That's impossible. I would have remembered if I had a kid. You're too old to look like my kid. I-I would remember."

Charles spoke up this time. "Didn't you remember, Logan? In the train car?" Logan looked at Charles, then back to Amaris. "I can look into both of your minds and see if I can unlock a portion of what has been forgotten."

Logan had been hesitant. "If this is a trick-"

Amaris shook her head. "It's no trick. Charles is a man of many talents, but tricking another to believe something like this," she gestured toward the x-rays and genetics on the slides, "he couldn't do. Not because of his abilities, but his morals."

Logan looked at the man in the wheelchair, letting his mind relax. He gave a brief nod to the older man. "Amaris, come here, please," Charles asked.

Storm patted her shoulder, causing Amaris to pick up her feet and move. Each step felt like she had been tied to cinder blocks. She met up with the two men as the others stood back. Charles placed two fingers on each of their temples, delving into their minds.

Flash images of their shared past flooded their brains. For Logan, he saw a pregnant woman holding her belly, then turning to her holding a baby. The baby lay down on his chest while he sat on a couch in a house. He watched as the baby aged up, taking her first steps, speaking her first words, and playing with toys at his feet.

For Amaris, she could now clearly see his face. Logan's fave hadn't changed much from what he looked like now. He was speaking to her, as a baby, holding her, even dancing at one point with her on his hip and a woman embracing the both of them.

Logan, Amaris, and Kayla.

The three mutants were pulled out from their deep dive. Logan appeared shocked, his eyes widening at the discovery. His jaw dropped a little as he studied the girl in front of him. She looked like the woman he saw, had the same tanned skin and dark hair as her, yet her eyes...

they were his eyes.

The room was silent, uncomfortably silent, as the two mutants stared at each other. Amaris saw Logan's face in her memories finally, being able to see him in that scene again.

"Daddy will come back for you, baby girl. I promise."

Logan shook his head, walking away from everyone. The others looked concerned, watching as he silently walked away from the group. Charles went after him, and Amaris was left feeling the aftershocks once again. This time, the tear felt as if she was pierced. Storm wrapped her arms around her friend before Amaris began to cry, sinking down to the floor as the unbearable weight of abandonment filled her again. She knew she wasn't ready for this conversation, and she trusted Charles with her secret. Ororo smoothed down Amaris' hair as she cried into Storm's shoulder. Jean placed a hand on Amaris' shoulder, and Scott supported Jean, standing by her side.

Charles blocked the elevator as Logan approached it. "Truth has its funny way of hurting."

Logan looked as if he was seething. "You must be sick if you think convincing me that the girl in there is my..." Logan couldn't quite get the images out of his head, or the words out of his mouth. "She can't be."

"Why can't she?" He asked him as the elevator doors opened up.

Logan remained silent for a moment, looking down at the man. "There is a girl out there with the world's most repulsed magnet. She needs our help." Logan made his way around Chares, getting into the elevator. "I'm doing this either with or without your help. Jedi mind tricks to the side. I'm going to find Rogue if it's the last thing I do."

He pressed the button of the elevator, closing the door. Charles groaned a little before Storm met up with him. "Is it true, Professor?" she asked him.

Charles nodded. "It is. Though, this was not how I thought things would go."

She nodded, looking at her mentor. "He will go after her again. We need his help to find her. If he goes alone, we won't have a fighting chance against Magneto."

Charles nodded. "Come with me. You and Logan seem to get along on the same level. Maybe you can help me ease his mind and get him to think logically."

She nodded, ready to find Rogue, though feeling sorry for Amaris and the events that played out.

Charles and Storm both stood in Logan's room. He ran water over his face, tracking it in his hair as he got himself ready to leave the mansion to search for Rogue. He wiped his face with a towel before turning to face the pair. Logan was still torn up about the events down in their briefing room, knowing they had lost precious time in recovering the teenager. "You said he wanted me," Logan repeated to Charles, grabbing his jean jacket and putting it on.

Charles looked at Logan, Storm standing behind him with her arms crossed. "I made a terrible mistake. Everybody makes them."

Logan chuckled as he adjusted the collar on his jacket and shirt. "Yeah, you have a funny way of making the wrong mistake at the wrong time, bub."

Logan grabbed his leather coat, walking past both Storm and Charles, giving her a look up and down as he approached the door of the bedroom. "How are you going to find her?" Storm asked him cautiously.

He paused in the doorway, putting on his leather jacket. "The traditional way: Look" he replied, then leaving the room.

Storm was quick to follow him, knowing the Professor would need time to get down to the main level of the mansion. The two mutants walked down the stairs. She called out to him, "Logan, you can't do this on your own."

Logan continued to walk away from her, approaching the front door. His tone became more gruff and jagged. "Who's going to help me, hmm? The X-Men? Give me a break. All you have managed to do is destroy a train station and zap a man with fangs and fur."

"Then help us. Fight Magneto with us." She offered, knowing it was the only solution they had.

She continued her approach, though Logan stopped in his tracks, turning around and closing the small gap between the two. "Fight with you? Be an X-Man? Fight with the one-eyed freak? You, the storm chaser? Who the hell do you think you are?" He asked her, having been through enough with the mansion's occupants in the last forty-eight hours. "We are mutants. The whole world out there has it out for people like us. They hate and fear mutants. You are just wasting your time, and for what? To protect them?" He shook his head, beginning to turn his body away from her. "I got better things to do than that."

He took a few steps away from her, before turning back. She looked stoic, something that was hardly seen in people. She had been taking the full front of his ranting, taking in each word he spoke. "You know, Magneto's right. There is a war coming... you sure you're on the right side, doll?"

Storm exhaled a deep breath, looking into those hazel-colored eyes again. "At least I've picked a side." Her voice remained easy, level as the face she projected.

Logan huffed, heading back for the door. Once it opened up, he was met with the site of a pale, sickly man, and Amaris.

She seemed out of breath, sweaty herself. She looked up at Logan, then painfully over to Storm. "It's Senator Kelly. He needs help." The man began to collapse, both Amaris and the senator falling into the arms of Logan. Storm raced over to help them.

"Let's get him down to the lab. Amaris, get Jean." Storm commanded.

Logan let go of Amaris, the two looking at each other again. He then followed Storm's order, helping her get the man down to the lab.

Amaris shut the main door of the mansion, then quickly off to find Jean. Amaris had found the doctor in the kitchen with Scott. "Jean, we need you in the lab. Senator Kelly is here."

Scott jumped up. "What's that scumbag doing here?"

Jean stood up too, looking at Amaris. "Something bad has happened to him. He smelled like radiation. Like, a lot of radiation."

Jean brushed past Amaris, going directly to the lab. Scott looked at Amaris, examining her face. She was drenched in sweat, her cheeks looking a little puffy. "What happened to you?"

She looked up at him, finally recovering her breath. "I went running. I saw a figure entering the driveway, and I bolted after them. I found Senator Kelly, and I knew he needed help."

Scott nodded, looking down at her. "Go take a shower super quick. I'll go down to the lab and see what's going on."

She nodded, no longer in the mood to fight with anybody. She left to go to her room, ready to be changed out of the clothes she had been in and into something a little cleaner.

The X-Men had been called into a meeting in Charles' office. Scott, Jean, Logan, and Amaris had been there. "The machine emits radiation," Charles began to explain, "that triggers mutation in ordinary humans."

Jean spoke up. "The mutation is unnatural. Kelly's body is rejecting it. All of his cells are breaking down."

Logan paced the room, listening and observing each of the people in the room. Scott and Jean sat next to each other on a couch. Charles faced them, as one would do in meetings. Logan paced behind the couch, while Amaris stood next to a bookshelf, opposite of the others. She didn't take up much room, crossing her arms over her chest, keeping her frame tight, as if needing to plan a quick escape.

"What effect does radiation have on mutants? Should we be worried?" Scott asked both Jean and Charles.

"There appears to be none," Charles explained. "Though I do fear it can seriously harm any normal person exposed to it."

Amaris watched out of the corner of her eye as Logan stopped pacing, looking at Charles as he explained what he found in Senator Kelly's mind. "What does Magneto want with Rogue, then?"

Charles sounded defeated as he replied. "I don't know."

Logan huffed, moving off the wall and heading to walk out of the office.

"Wait a second," came the voice of Amaris, taking a few steps forward to meet with the group. "You said this machine draws its powers from Magneto, right?" Charles, Jean, and Scott looked at her as she spoke. "And this weakened him."

Logan paused as if he had already been connecting the dots. Charles nodded, "Yes" he pondered, thinking over the events he saw. "It nearly killed him."

Logan turned to face the group. "He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power the machine." He looked at Amaris, the first time they had looked at each other since they had their previous meeting, then at Charles. The three of them had a knowing look, having found that final puzzle piece.

Meanwhile, down in the lab, Storm had been observing Senator Kelly. He called out in the darkness of the room, "Is somebody there?"

Storm's heels clicked against the ground as she approached him, hesitant at first. "Yes, I am here." As she approached the exam table, he reached out for her, his hand grabbing hers.

"Please, don't leave me," he pleaded. "I don't want to die alone."

Storm nodded, looking down at him nervously. She was bothered by his skin, though she didn't show it on her face. His skin felt wet, and every vein in his body could be seen. They were a bright blue color, exposed through his nearly transparent skin tone. His breath was labored, breathing what Storm believed were going to be his final breaths. She then looked confused, hearing the sounds of running water. That was when she noticed pools of water forming at his shoulders.

Kelly spoke up, his voice coarse. "Do you hate normal people?" Maybe out of desperation, he needed to know how his life measured to the ones he wanted to bring down.

Storm had no reason to lie to a dying man. "Sometimes." She spoke, a light accent could be heard.

"Why?" he asked sheepishly.

Storm struggled for a minute to find the right words, as the sounds of moving water increased in volume. "I suppose I'm afraid of them. What they can do to me."

Kelly grinned a little in shock, his voice shaky as he spoke. "Well... I think you've got one less person to be afraid of." He struggled to get out. He then smiled up at her, only briefly. The water increased as Kelly's face, arms, and legs began to disappear in a pool of water. It took nearly a minute before the man in front of Storm until into a huge pool of water.

Storm was quick to leave the lab, running and making her way to Charles' office. When she walked in, she sounded a little out of breath, her hand and shoes were still wet. "Senator Kelly is dead."

Charles's face glazed over briefly as the others looked at Storm. He had to get his mind right, thinking about their next step. "Cyclops and Amaris, go prepare the jet. Storm, Jean, suit up. Jean, also get Logan a uniform."

Logan looked at Charles as Scoot stood up. "Professor, are you sure this is a good idea? He will only endanger the mission."

Logan chuckled a little, "Yeah, I wasn't the one who gave the train station a new sunroof, pal."

Scott stared Logan down. "No, you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest."

Amaris spoke up. "Is this what we are doing? Petty jabs at each other? There is a teenager out there that we obviously all care about and need to save. There is a machine out there capable of activating dormant mutations in humans, that will kill them."

"That's enough, out of all of you." Charles calmed the room, looking at the two men in the room. "I'm going to find Rogue. Everybody does as they are told. Scott, Logan, settle this."

Charles left the room, Amaris quick to follow behind him. She was ready to do her part, and most importantly, stay out of Scott and Logan's way. "You must keep a level head when you go out there. Any moment of deviation from your mission means life or death. Keep your guard up." Charles coached Amaris as they entered the elevator. "I know you will have their backs when you are out in the field. However, you can not focus on where everybody is at the same time. Stay guarded, and help the others."

Amaris nodded, looking over at them after they exited the elevator. "Yes, Professor."

Amaris walked over to the locker room area, quickly finding her uniform and changing into it. She was glad she took that shower, knowing sweat and leather suits didn't mix well. Xavier entered Cerebro, intending to find Rogue. She didn't take long, changing into the black leather suit, hers having a rusted orange line. She adjusted her gloves, making sure her claws would come out without damaging her or the suit.

She walked out to the main hallway when she heard the door open. "I'll go start getting the-" She looked up, seeing Charles down on the floor, passed out. She pressed a panic button to warn the others as she rushed to his aid. She checked his pulse and then his breathing, making sure he was still alive. Once she established that, she carefully picked up the man, took him to the lab, and set him down on a clean exam table.

Thankfully Jean and Storm had been the first to meet up with her. "What happened?" Jean asked, the two women starting to hook him up to a chest monitor and a brain wave monitor.

Amaris shook her head. "I don't know. He went into Cerebro, he was maybe in there for five minutes. The doors opened up and I found him on the ground. I called for you guys and then I got him set up on the table."

Storm looked at Amaris, offering a light smile despite the situation, "You did the right thing."

Amaris stood back as Storm and Jean worked on Charles. Scoot and Logan both arrived too. The men looked at the older gentleman, hearing the constant sound of the monitors beeping, indicating he was alive.

After what seemed like half an hour, Logan approached Scoot, never meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry," He muttered, then left the lab.

Scott was fighting the emotions that could easily be felt in the room. Jean was focusing more on what the cause was, while Storm remained in the moment watching Charles and holding his hand. Amaris had left the room, taking some time to herself in the courtyard outside of the main door.

Logan had been there too, having just stumbled upon her. He ran a hand through the back of his hair before taking a seat next to her. She looked over at him before resting her forearms on her knees, looking down. She held a cigarette between her index and middle finger, tapping the ashes away.

"I thought you didn't smoke." Logan looked up, seeing the full moon they were currently under. He had always marveled at the moon, feeling almost bonded to it. "She was right. You did everything right."

Amaris raised an eyebrow, sitting up and looking over at the man to her side. The man she had found out that evening was her biological dad. "If I did everything right, then why did he go down?"

Logan signed a little, dropping one hand to his lap as he smoked a cigar. "Jean is trying to find out the reason. She thinks it has to do with Cerebro." He looked over at her, seeing how concerned she had been about the man they all came to love and care about. Hell, even Logan himself found something warm about Charles Xavier. "It's not your fault, kid."

Amaris looked up at the moon. She chuckled a little, thinking about some wonderful memories. "Before my powers became known, I used to sneak outside and stand in the moonlight. Charles would come and find me, asking why I was outside." She looked down, wiping a hand over her face before looking over to Logan. "I always told him I was made from the moon. The moon and I were one."

Logan looked at her, taking a long puff of his cigar, and holding the smoke in before exhaling it. He didn't know what he should do. Acknowledge her story, remain silent and move on, find a way to tell her that he couldn't get the images out of his brain of what Charles had shown him, from his past.

From their past…

Amaris looked away, looking down at her hands. "I want to kill Magneto and every pathetic worm that does his dirty work." Her jaw clenched as she flexed her fingers, working out an imaginary knot in the palm of her hands. "But it's not the way Charles would want. I would be no better than Magneto."

Logan snickered. "Or those pathetic worms that work for him." He smirked when it brought a chuckle out of Amaris. "Look, he wouldn't have put you on the team if he didn't think you were like Magneto. It's obvious that you know what you are doing."

Amaris leaned her head back, taking a drag from her cigarette, letting the smoke billow out of her mouth. "Most of my students still don't know what my power is. Yet, I always tell them they should never be ashamed or afraid to use their powers."

Logan nodded, looking over at her. "So why do you hide them?"

A grin etched her lips as she responded. "I'm afraid of losing them. Just because I can heal from scratches and burns easily doesn't mean I can regrow by bone claws." She felt it was a valid reason to give.

Though in Logan's eyes, it wasn't a proper answer. "Fear works against you. Humans fear mutants. Mutants fear humans. To be afraid of yourself, that doesn't make sense." He took the last puff of his cigar, tossing the extinguished butt into the bush behind him after making sure it was out. "What does make sense is using your gifts to save people's lives and prove to Xavier again and again about your worth and value."

Amaris looked up at Logan as he spoke, her brows furrowing. It had been their first real conversation, and it had been meaningful, to the both of them.

Storm raced up to find the duo together on the bench. "Sorry to interrupt, but Jean fixed Cerebro. She knows where Magneto is and what he plans on doing. We need to leave, now." She then looked at Amaris' hand, placing a hand on her hip. "Amaris, those things will give you cancer."

Amaris stood up, using the palm of her hand to extinguish the cigarette, gritting through the momentary pain. "I can't get cancer, remember?" She flipped her palm over, showing the burn healed within a matter of seconds. She then discarded the cigarette in the same bush Logan used, knowing she would have to clean it up later.

Logan cackled a little, finding the younger woman's sense of humor welcoming. Storm had approached him with a uniform, handing it over to him. He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at it. "You can't be serious. You want me to wear that?"

Storm corrected him, "Charles wants you to wear this."

Once Logan took hold of the suit, the women left him, re-entering the mansion. He looked down at his, his calloused hands running over the leather. He had fought the entire time he had been in the mansion, with the others, with himself. Now he had a chance to do what he said he was going to do. Find Rogue, bring her back to the mansion, and make sure she is looked after.

Now the stakes were different, no matter how much he wanted them to be different.

Scott and Jean were the only two not in their uniforms yet. Amaris, Storm, and Logan were in theirs as they circled around an interactive table. Scott led the meeting, in Charles' place.

"Magneto is at Liberty Island. Now, we presume his objective is to mutate the world leaders at the U.N summit on Ellis Island." As Scott spoke, the material on the table moved around, projecting the buildings of the Statue of Liberty and the buildings on Ellis Island.

Storm watched the table, then looked at the others. "He doesn't know that his machine kills." She shifted her weight as she continued on. "Just judging from what the Professor saw, if Magneto gave Rogue enough power-"

The table changed scenes again, displaying a shift in the city. "He could wipe out everyone in New York City," Jean concurred.

Logan looked from the table to Scott, observing everybody in between. "We should land the jet here," Scott said, pointing to the backside of Liberty Island.

Amaris looked at the structures in place. "We can fly in under the George Washington Bridge, follow the bank next to Manhattan. It would make for a better access point and flight pattern instead of flying over it and then landing the jet." Scott looked up at Amaris, his jaw dropped slightly as he was surprised. "What? I've studied the flight patterns of the Black Bird. It's a solid plan."

Logan looked at the model, thinking they had forgotten about something. "What about harbor patrol? Radar?"

Scott shifted his focus to Logan, smirking. "If they have any technology that can detect us, then they deserve to catch us."

Jean nodded. "I'm going to check the Professor one more time. We need to leave in the next ten minutes."

"I'll get the jet ready. Who knows what we will meet with once we get there." Amaris backed away from the table, thinking about the many things they could run into.

"Make sure we have enough medical supplies on board. We can't afford to lose anyone today." Storm commented, looking over at Amaris and giving her an approving nod.

"That includes the Professor," Logan added, looking between Jean and Scott.

All of the X-Men left, heading to different areas to begin preparing for their mission. Scoot, Storm, and Jean had all been on missions together before. It was the first time Amaris was going on one. Logan had only known the five other adults for less than two days and he was already trusted with fighting alongside them under their group's name. It was either their mistake or his saving grace.

Only time will tell.

Once everybody had been ready, they boarded the jet. Scott and Storm sat in the pilot and co-pilot chairs. Jean sat behind Scoot, Logan sat behind Storm, and Amaris sat behind Jean. Logan fiddled with the zipper of his suit, adjusting the neckpiece and fixing the dog tags he wore under his suit.

The jet began to whirl with sounds as the navigation systems, flight systems, and airlock systems activated. Logan could still be heard adjusting his suit. "You actually go out in these things?" He asked, not really expecting any type of response.

Scott looked back at him, a hint of sarcasm lingering in his tone. "What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?"

Amaris chuckled, adding, "He looks like the white suit jacket type of guy to me." This earned a glance from Logan, watching her as she had her fun. He shook his head, turning forward again before looking at his hands. A metallic snikt could be heard as he used his claws, making sure he would be able to use them. Amaris' smile faded as she saw the claws, remembering how they came to be. No mutant should have to go through that, no matter if he remembered it or not.

Once all of the systems were online, Scott pressed a few buttons. The roof over the jet opened up, moving the basketball court through a sliding panel. Once everything was clear for them, they lifted the jet up, leaving the underground hangar and hovering over the school. The basketball court closed again before they took off, heading toward Liberty Island.

It didn't take that long for them to navigate to New York City, flying well above the helicopters that circled around the harbor. The Mansion was only located an hour and a half north of New York City, but the jet was fast, making the trip around twenty minutes. Just enough time for everybody's ears to pop.

The bridge came into view as Scott began to descend toward the water. They flew under the bridge, turning on their cloaking device to disguise the jet. "Storm, can you give us some cover, please?"

The white-haired woman's eyes clouded over as fog began to fill in the harbor area. It was easy for them to navigate the fog as Cyclops pressed a button, changing their view to outline Liberty Island and all of the objects in front of them. Scott navigated to the back of the island, as he had planned in the meeting. He began to turn the engines off on the jet as they lowered closer to the ground. For a brief moment, the jet fell, clashing against the water. Everybody in the jet stirred at the sudden jolt, pulling a quick apology from Scott.

Logan stared at Scoot as the jet was then completely powered down. "You call that a landing?"

Amaris was the first to get out of her seat. She opened the jet door, exiting as Jean, Logan, Storm, and Scott followed her. The X-Men were careful, traversing Liberty Island as they jumped over barriers and examined the area. The two men made their way to the front of the group, figuring out their next steps. Scoot looked up at the Statue of Liberty, pondering for a moment.

He then looked at Logan. "The torch. It's the highest point on the island."

"Makes perfect sense," Amaris commented. "Magneto wants to watch as he destroys the world leaders. That is his vantage point."

Jean nodded as she looked up. "Rogue's there. I can feel her."

"What are we waiting for?" Logan asked, quickly leading the group up to the doors of the museum. He let the others go in front of him, knowing the place would have metal detectors. Scott, Jean, Amaris, and Storm all crossed through the arch with ease. There had been a monitor on the security desk, and a news report about the U.N meeting was playing, filling the empty museum with sound. As Logan passed, an alarm began to ring. He used his claws, slashing the machine and disarming it and the alarm. Sparks and light filled the air next to the man as the electricity was cut. The others looked back at Logan, though Scott snickered. Logan retracted two of his claws, using the middle claw to flip Scott off. This earned a laugh from the leader of the group before Logan joined them.

The group began to walk through the museum, though Amaris was quick to pick up on a feeling. She smelled the air, unable to place where this other presence was. "I don't think we are alone."

Logan stopped, smelling the air as well. "There's someone here." He agreed, his eyes darting around. He sniffed again as his body shifted.

"Where?" Scott asked, ready to defend his group.

Logan was quick to respond. "I don't know. Keep your eye open," he half jabbed at Scott before walking away slowly, hunting the presence he and Amaris detected.

"Logan," Scott replied firmly back, earning a wave of Logan's hand. "Damn it." he cursed under his breath, watching him leave the group.

He turned around to look at the others. Amaris looked as if she had been picking up on something in the opposite direction of where Logan was headed. Then something else caught her senses. They all watched Logan appear in front of them again. Amaris had this uneasy feeling about the man's presence, taking a few steps forward. "Anything?" Scott asked as Logan walked toward him.

"I know somebody here. I just can't see them." Logan avoided all eye contact with the group, something that threw Amaris off. It wasn't like him. Except it couldn't have been Logan. He didn't smell the same. Amaris bore her bone claws at the same time the sound of the metal ones was unsheathed. Suddenly another Logan appeared, grabbing his doppelganger and tossing them into a room next to the group of people.

The two Logan began to fight, tossing each other against the floor and walls. Scott brought a finger up to his visor, readying himself for a shot. As the others approached them, both Logan had their claws extended out, waving their arms in front of them.

"Wait!" They exclaimed in unison.

One of the two Logans had sliced at a weight on a wall, closing the metal door before the other lunged at him. The sounds of two men fighting with each other echoed from the other side of the wall. A distorted woman's shriek could be heard on the other side of the door. "It's Mystique," Amaris spoke.

"Back up, back up!" He told the women, standing guard in front of them.

Amaris turned around. "Where are you?" She called out, smelling his dirty musk again. She knew she could smell someone else in their presence.

A man came flying through the air. Amaris ducked as he aimed for her. Though unluckily for the others, Scoot took the brunt of the attack, having been kicked into a display. Toad then kicked both women to the side as he faced Amaris. The mutant used his long, green tongue to shut a door to prevent Scott from interfering with his plans. Amaris had her claws out again as she stared down the man. "Do you need recommendations for a dentist?" She quipped, ready to battle with him.

The man tilted his head at her, a sinister grin spread across his face. He then spit at her, a sticky, yet hard, substance covered her eyes. She groaned, trying to claw away at it with her fingers, leaving her to stumble around blindly. He then looked at Jean, spitting the same substance at her. This time, it covered her mouth and nose, preventing Jean from breathing.

He used his tongue again to attack Storm, picking her up by an ankle and tossing her to the second floor. He felt pleased with himself, only momentarily though as Amaris turned to face him. She had still been blinded, though she began to rely on her other senses to give her direction. The man of few words began to dance, almost literally to her, using his footsteps to trick her. Amaris swung one of her hands toward where she thought he had been, instead, wrecking another display case.

Storm peered over the guard rail, looking down at Toad. The man laughed, beginning his next chase with his next victim. He ran down the hallway, then relying on his abilities, he jumped up to the second floor with ease, causing Storm to find a way to give herself some space between the two of them. Everything remained silent for a moment, outside of Jean's attempts to get the acid off her face, Amaris' struggles with breaking glass, and the sounds of Logan fighting with Mystique.

Toad flipped in the air, kicking Storm back into a display of the island, knocking the stand and figures off its display and onto the floor. Storm grunted as she was kicked backward, rolling off the table as quickly as possible. As she stood up, she had been kicked again, harder this time as she flew through the air. Her back collided with a concrete wall before sliding down an empty elevator shaft. Toad walked to the open doors of the elevator, looking down and smirking at her crumbled body.

He kicked the bar he had placed at the doors, catching it and turning away so the doors would close. He spun the stick around in the air, then bowed to his electric performance.

Below on the second floor, a controlled blast was heard. Scott escaped the room he was stuck in, quick to find Jean struggling to breathe. She had laid down on the ground, supporting her back against a wall. "Don't move." Scott looked down at her, lowering his blast level before zapping the acid off of her face.

Jean took in some rapid deep breaths, polling oxygen back in her lungs. Amaris could be heard in the next exhibit over, battling with her sense of direction. He kept scratching her face, fingers and claws in use. There had been dried blood on her face from how deep she had scratched herself. Jean and Scott found her, keeping her distance. "Amaris, stop. Let us help you." Jean spoke, looking at the younger woman.

Amaris snarled at first, glancing over to the sound of her voice. "How do I know it's you?"

Jean spoke in Amaris' mind. "Even Mystique couldn't use my telepathy powers."

Both Scott and Jean watched as Amaris relaxed, putting her natural weapons away. Scott blasted the acid off of her face. Amaris took a step back as she absorbed the blast, wiping away the pieces of acid that fell from her face. She watched the both of them, nodding. "Where's Storm?"

An elevator could be heard dinging, announcing its presence. Rumbling thunder could be heard as the doors opened up. Toad turned around to see the woman floating in the air, her eyes were glazed over and her hands were spread to her sides.

Toad began to approach her. "What will it take for you people to die?!" He lined himself up with Storm, though his plans were foiled as gale-like winds kicked up behind her, sending the rest of the displays flying out the window and deck behind him. Toad tried battling the wind, though his efforts were in vain as a display collided with him, sending him outside.

Storm walked out of the museum onto the desk, graceful as she continued to bend her powers to her will. Toad used his tongue to anchor himself on a metal railing as she continued to weather-based assaults. "Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning?" She asked him, raising her head up towards the sky. The ends of her hair appeared electrified as little lightning bolts bounced off of them. A dark cloud hovered above the torch, and a thunderous clap of thunder followed. Storm looked back at Toad, smirking. "The same thing that happens to everything else."

A bolt of lightning shot down, connecting to the metal railing. It fried Toad and his tongue, sending the remains of the man backward as he let go, the wind throwing him into the cold waters of the harbor. Storm smirked, releasing her hold on the wind and lightning before turning around and reentering the museum.

In another section of the museum, Logan stood in a room, observing his surroundings. He knew that Mystique couldn't have gone far. "Logan, is that you?" Storm asked as she joined him in the room.

"Shh." He commanded, keeping his guard up. He remained facing away from her as he used his skill set to try and figure out where his current enemy was. "The other one ain't far away."

Storm slowly approached him. "Come on, we need to join the others." She called to him, placing one hand on his upper bicep.

Logan sniffed the air again.

Target identified.

"I know. There's only one problem." He turned around almost instantly, using his claws and piercing Sorm through her abdomen. She groaned, her eyes widening as she stared at Logan's face. "You're not one of the others."

Logan let go of her, watching as her eyes began to shift from white to yellow. Her hands produced metallic claws as she crumbled to the floor. Her skin changed from Storms darkened skin tone to an unnatural blue state. White hair turned red, and a strange pattern etched itself into her skin. Logan watched as the woman fell in front of him, wounded by his claws, pressing his eyebrows together as he watched her. He wanted to make sure she was dead. After she remained still for a while, Logan left to head back for the others.

Scoot, Jean, and Amaris were all together, picking up where they had left off on their hunt for Magneto and Rogue. The door that had closed earlier opened up, and Logan appeared. Scott placed a finger over the button on his visor, ready to use it.

Logan waved his hands up looking at the three of them. "Woah, woah. It's me." He tilted his head to the side.

Jean stayed back behind Scott. Amaris pulled her hands into fists as Scott observed him. "Prove it."

Logan shrugged his shoulder, keeping his hands up. "You're a dick."

Amaris was the first to relax as Scott took a moment to analyze the answer. He then nodded, lowering his hand. "Okay." Logan felt relieved, relaxing his hands before looking over at Amaris. He could hear the pounding in her chest, having wondered what happened to them while he was busy playing with a mutant-like Barbie doll.

Storm interrupted the conversation, speaking to them over the second-floor landing. "Hey, you need to come see this." She spoke, nodding up for them to follow her. Scott and Jean were the first to head toward the nearest staircase. Amaris and Logan looked at each other, a pastime of theirs as of late. They both nodded to each other, silently communicating they were fine, before following the footsteps of the others.

Minutes later, the team ended up in the stairwell of the torch. Scott led the team up, ready in case they were met with trouble. Behind him was Jean, then Storm, Logan, and Amaris. The five of them stopped as they looked up to the top of the torch.

Logan's voice cut through their silence. "Everybody get out of here."

"Why?" Storm asked.

"I can't move." His body slowly turned, then was forcefully pulled up to the ceiling of the room they were in. He grunted as he tried to move.

A piece of metal began to move, pulling Storm to the opposite wall. Scott tried to blast the metal, by was foiled when he was pulled to another part of the wall with Jean following him.

Amaris was the only one standing in the middle of the room. She looked at the others, knowing her powers weren't going to be of much use to help them escape.

Magneto appeared, floating in through an opening. "My brothers, my sisters. We meet again." He looked up to Logan, smirking darkly. "Let's point those claws away. For safety reasons of course." Magneto raised his hand, using his power to manipulate the metal around Logan and inside of him. His arms were raised, crossing over his chest with his knuckles pointed to his chest, a metal bar covering his arms so he couldn't move. Magneto then looked at the young woman in the center of the room. "My, I didn't think Charles let precious little students out of his sight."

Amaris stared at him, afraid to move herself. "I'm not as young as you think I am, old man."

Magneto chuckled. "My, what a temperament you have. Somebody ought to teach you a lesson about back-talking your elders."

A roar could be heard as Sabertooth jumped down, landing behind Erik. He stared at Amaris as the others helplessly looked on.

Magneto turned his attention to Scott. "If I were you, I'd close my eyes." Sabertooth crossed the room and picked the visor off of Scott's face.

Scott shut his eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath. "Storm, I think now's a good time for a lightning show."

"We can't Scott," Amaris spoke. "We are in a copper room. One little hint of a spark will end up frying all of us."

Magneto nodded, looking down at her. "Pretty and smart. I guess you can have the best of both worlds."

Logan sneered. "Stay the hell away from her."

Magneto looked at Logan, seeing a vein expand in his forehead. "It seems I've struck a nerve with this one." He turned to face Sabertooth, then hinting to the girl.

Amaris was no match for the much taller mutant. He grabbed her in a headlock, making sure she wouldn't move. Amaris was lifted into the air, holding onto the furball's arms as he held her closely.

Jean spoke up, watching Magneto out of the corner of her eye. "Senator Kelly found us."

Magneto looked at her, taking a step toward her. "He survived his fall, hmm? And the swim to shore? What a lucky man. He has much more power than what I could have ever imagined."

"He's dead." Jean bluntly stated.

Storm added, "It's true. I watched him die." Magneto shifted his gaze from Jean, now approaching Storm as she looked at Magneto. "The same will happen to all of those people down there, and in the city."

"Are you sure about that?" he questioned her. He walked away to stand next to Sabertooth, holding Amaris as she struggled to breathe under Sabertooth's hold on her. "Why can't you all and Charles see what I am trying to do? Huh? Why are we allowing humans to control our fate? Mutant lives can not be held in the hands of human leaders."

Logan stared at Magneto as he spoke, catching himself eyeing Amaris. His Amaris. His little girl.

"Help! Please, somebody, help me!" Came the long-awaited voice of Rogue, pleading for her life, sobbing through her cries for help.

Logan looked back down at Magneto. "You're so full of shit," He started, venom slipping into his words. "You want to be the righteous one to save us all, it should be you in that thing. Not a teenager who hasn't lived her life yet."

Rogue's cries continued to fill the room as fireworks began to fill in the background. Magneto looked away from Logan, then at Sabertooth. "Any sign of resistance from any of them, kill the girl." He then left, floating out of the room.

Logan’s heart began to beat rapidly, hearing the screams of Rogue and choking sounds Amaris made under Sabertooth’s hold. It was all too much, and knowing he had a plan to get out of his situation, he prepared himself for the pain. Logan yelled, tightening his tendons and releasing his claws into his chest. The six metal claws penetrated his lungs, killing him. Because his metal skeleton was so heavy, his frame bent the copper, causing him to fall to the ground.

“Logan!” Jean called out watching as he fell.

The grip on Amaris' neck became tighter. Her hands clawed at his arm as he suspended her in the air. Scoot was defenseless, breathing heavily as he listened to the cries of Rogue and the choking sounds of Amaris. Jean wasn't powerful enough to get into Sabertooth's mind to release his hold on her. Storm Wouldn't have been able to use her powers without causing them all damage.

"What do you get out of this, Fido?" Amaris asked between gasps of air, trying to avoid eye contact with all parties.

Sabertooth looked down, smiling a predatory-like grin. "You think you're so funny. How funny do you think it will be when your friends watch you die."

"She did nothing wrong to deserve this," Storm called out.

Sabertooth walked up to Storm, making sure the woman saw the fear in young Amaris’ life. "You still owe me a scream, pet." Sabertooth took a step back, looking into Storm's eyes. In a kick motion, he snapped the neck of Amaris, dropping her lifeless body to the ground. Storm screamed, wiggling against her restraints as she watched Amaris fall.

Sabertooth turned his attention back to Logan, walking to stand over his corpse. Though Sabertooth could tell something was wrong. He bent down to pick the other man up. Logan was quick to stand up, sinking one set of his claws into Sabertooth’s chest. He caught the sight of Amaris on the ground, her head bent at an awkward angle. He tried to listen for her heartbeat.

Except it didn’t beat.

Logan’s face pulled together, yelling as as Sabertooth pushed Logan out of the room onto the crown of the statue. He rolled backward, catching himself before he fell, looking down at the ground hundreds of feet below him.

Sabertooth grabbed one of Logan’s feet, pulling him back. Logan kicked at Sabertooth, disorienting the man. He recovered quickly, throwing Logan across the head fo the statue. Logan recovered, unsheathing his claws again. “You killed my girl. I’m coming for your god damn head.”

Sabertooth roared again before the two exchanged blows, almost dancing around one pivotal spot on the the top of the statue’s head. Their grunts and roars filled the room below them where Storm, Scott, and Jean were still pinned to the wall.

Logan watched Sabertooth as he reache for his dog tags, stabbing the man through his hand. “This is mine.” He snarled.

Sabertooth took a hold of Logan by the neck, tightly holding him in the air. “I’ll kill you, if it’s the last thing I do.” Sabertooth then shifted his hold on Logan, tossing the man up into the air, throwing him over the side.

Logan used his metal claws, catching onto one of the spikes of the crown, using his weight to circle around the copper statue, flipping around and landing on his feet. Logan yelled, jumping and propelling him toward Sabertooth, sinking his claws into his chest again. Sabertooth flipped Logan off of him, making Logan slide down the side of the statue. He sunk his claws into the statue, ending up anchoring himself on the opposite side of the wall that Scott and Jean had been pinned to.

Sabertooth landed in the room again, looking down at the girl in front of him. She should have moved by now if she were to come back. “Pathetic.” he mocked.

Logan dropped into the room, eyeing Sabertooth. “I ain’t finished with you yet.” He looked at Scott, Jean, and Storm, making sure they were safe and perfectly situated. “Scott, I think you dropped something, pal.”

“Open your eyes when I tell you, Scott.” She whispered to him.

“No,” he protested.

Logan held up the visor, “Jean, now.”

Jean used her powers to move the visor at an angle so Scoot could use it. “Scott, open your eyes, now.”

Scott reluctantly opened his eyes, using his blast to attack Sabertooth, sending the mutant out of the room. He fell from the head of the Statue, crashing into a boat below.

Logan quickly released everybody for their metal restraints before turning his attention back to Amaris. His lower lip quivered as he knelt down beside her. He was acting before he could even think, moving her body by flipping her over, holding her upper body against his lap. He pushed the hair out of her face as her head moved at another awkward angle. “Come on, baby girl,” he whispered, looking down at her face. “You’re my kid. You have to wake up.”

Scott looked down at the two mutants, Jean and Storm both closing in on his sides as he wrapped an arm around them. They had all become family, they couldn’t afford to loose family.

Amaris’ eyelid twitched, a strong heartbeat returning to her chest. She exhaled a deep breath, groaned as she felt a pop between her shoulder blades. She opened her eyes to see Logan peering down at her, worry and concern washed from his face. “Hey, hey that’s it.” He whispered to her, holding her while she woke up.

“Logan?” she asked him, bringing a hand up to her face, rubbing her temple.

He shook his head. “I’m your dad, kid. You should address me as such.”

Amaris had a pink color wash over her face as Logan pulled her in for an embrace, both of them grabbing onto each other as if they were saying goodbye.

A loud shrieking could be heard as Rogue yelled. Jean, Scott and Storm looked up to see her standing in the middle of a device the whirled around her.

Logan and Amaris both stood up, looking at Rogue. Their bonding time would have to be set to the side. “We have to get her out of there.” Logan stated the obvious. “Cyclops, do you think you can hit it?”

Scott studied the machine briefly. “Those rings are moving too fast. I’ll end up hitting her.”

Scott turned to face Storm. “Can you fly me up there?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. I could easily throw you over or under it.”

“Then let me go,” Logan stated. Scott looked over at him, worried. “If I don’t make it, you can at least still blast the damn thing.”

Storm had been standing next to Amaris, making sure she was fine. Jean looked at Scott, nodding to the plan. “Okay, let’s do it. Jean, use your power to steady him.”

The women all agreed, making sure to give Logan his space before they manipulated him. Storm’s eyes began to cloud over as she guided Amaris against the wall. “Everyone, hand onto something.” A force of wind filled the room, encapsulating Logan in it. Jean outstretched her hand, using her powers to steady him. Logan was pulled up into the air, spinning around slightly as he struggled with the sensation of flying.

Logan found his way to the top of the machine, still feeling Jean focusing him until he was balanced and Storm releasing her hold of the wind around him. A bright white light overcame the machine as Rogue began to scream again, feeling herself starting to drain.

Scoot, Storm, Jean, and Amaris watched Logan as he stood on top of the machine, standing on pins and needles to see what would happen next.

Logan timed the rings, jumping down inside the machine without getting hurt. He pulled his claws out again, attempting to slash at the machine. He had been stopped, however, by Magneto who used his powers against Logan. Logan kept his eyes trained on Magneto, seeing out of the corner of his eye how Rogue’s hair began to change to white, groaning as the machine continued to roar to life.

Scott brought a hand up to his visor, watching as the white field of radiation began to grow. “I’m taking the shot.” He announced, aiming for Erik. He blasted the older man in the back, throwing Magneto to his back. It released his hold on Logan, who focused his energy into stopping the machine. As bits and pieces of it fell apart, Jean and Amaris could be heard catching their breaths.

Helicopters and boats could be heard beginning to rush to the island. “We have to get them down from there and head back to the mansion,” Amaris commented.

Scott turned to look at her. “How do you plan we do that?”

She looked at the summit of the torch, thinking. “Get the jet up here, we will pick them up from there, then get out of here.”

“Come along. We need to hurry before the authorities get too close.” Storm wrapped an arm around Amaris, heading out of the head of the statue and flying down to the jet.

Up on the torch, Logan looked at Rogue. She had that same look about her face that Amaris had mere minutes before. He cut her restraints away, catching her in his arms. She wasn’t responding anymore, breathing shallowly. Logan looked at her hair, touching the white that now grew at the front of her face. He pulled a gloved hand to his mouth, removing it and dropping it to the ground. “Come on.” he whispered, daring to touch her again after what happened the previous night.

He finally touched her face, closing his eyes as he tried to give her some of his power. He was ready to feel it drain from his body again, if only to make her wake up. After a few seconds, he didn’t feel anything. He opened his eyes to look at her, seeing no change in her face or appearance. He left his hand on her face, starting to feel the effects of the battle, how worn down her was, now to lose the teenager he promised to keep safe.

He began to weep, the side of his face brushing up against hers. He moved his hand to cup the back of her head, bringing her face closer to him with his cheek pressed to her forehead. He failed her. He had to accept he failed her.

His eyes widened, feeling hsi skin pull near his eyes. He felt a sharp pull within his body, a dull ache taking a hold of him as he felt the air in his lungs leave. The skin on his face began to rip apart, and blood began to pull out of the spaces in his suit where he had previously been injured.

Rogue woke up frightened, pushing Logan off of her. Soon the jet arrived at the torch, the hanger door opening up. Jean and Amaris walked out. “Rogue!” Jean called, extending a gloved hand toward her.

Amaris rushed out to find Logan on the floor, gasping and bleeding. Rogue grabbed Jean’s arm, entering the jet. Amaris picked up her father, getting back into the jet and setting him down on the medical gurney. Jean and Amaris both began to work on Logan. “It was an accident.” Rogue said, repeating the same statement from the night before.

Amaris looked over at her. “No, he saved your life.”

Once back at the mansion Amaris and Jean rushed Logan into the infirmary. Storm stayed with Rogue, doing an assessment on her. Scott’s first thought was checking on Charles. He was surprised to see the man waking up.

“Welcome back.” Scott muttered, looking at Charles.

The olderman chuckled, looking at him. “I knew you would lead the team well.” He pulled his face together, gathering something went wrong. “How did we do?”

Scott approached the man, stuffing one hand in his pocket. “Rogue was rescued, though not without some complications.”

“Complications,” Charles asked.

Scott nodded. “She used up nearly all of Logan’s life force to come back to us. Though this was his call.” He moved out of Charles way to show on the other side of the glass wall Logan laying on an exam table connected to oxygen, a heart monitor, bandaged up, with Amaris at his side, holding his hand between hers. “Amaris nearly died as well. I thought she wouldn’t recover.”

Charles hummed, observing the Howlett’s. “They are designed from the same structure. They both will bounce back, on their own timing of course.”

Nearly a week had passed since the X-Men rescued Rogue. Both Rogue and Amaris had checked in on Logan, Though Amaris stayed with him nearly the entire time. Other members of the team, and Charles, had to convince her to go get proper sleep in her bed, to shower, just to stretch her legs. Scott, being the big brother he claimed to be for Amaris, would often bring her something to eat, or cover her up in a blanket if she happened to fall asleep. Her reasoning behind staying with Logan so much was she didn’t want him to wake up alone.

Jean had convinced her to take a shower and eat a meal at a proper table. Amaris had been reluctant, but complied to her requests. Jean monitored Logan, doing another set of vitals on him. She examined his face, seeing his wounds had closed up. She then lifted the dressing off his chest, her fingers tracing over where his other wounds would have been.

Logan stirred when she touched his ribs, gently grabbing her hand. “Stop, that tickles.” His voice was rough as he woke up from his deep sleep.

Jean smiled looking down at him, thankful to hear his voice. “How are you feeling?” She asked him.

Logan chuckled a little. “Like a million dollars.”

She continued to smile at him, taking note of his reactions. He seemed fine, physically and cognitively. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Logan flexed his fingers, thinking about that night. “Scott blasted Magneto… I cut Rogue out of her restraints… and.” His eyes widened, then pushed himself up as he pulled at the wires connected to his body. “Where’s Amaris?”

Jean placed a hand back on his chest, forcing him back down. “I sent her to take a shower. She’s been here by your side day-in and day-out.” She watched the relief wash over his face. “She’s been talking to you, telling you stories about her childhood here, asking you questions about your favorite music and your favorite place you’ve been to.”

Logan hummed, nodding slowly. “I could remember hearing her.”

“Rogue has been down here to check on you too.” Jean added, removing the electrodes from his chest. “She wasn’t kidding when she says she can absorb personality traits along with peoples powers and energy.”

“Sorry about that.”

Jean smiled, tossing the stickers into a trash can under the table. “I think she’s taken a little liking to you.”

Logan coughed a little, still stirring out of his coma. “You can tell her my heart belongs to somebody else.” Logan had taken quite a liking to Storm. She challenged him in ways that nobody else did, and she had a lovely personality to back it up. “How’s the Professor?” he asked, nervously.

She nodded. “He is well.”

Logan was relieved. Everybody was safe, well, and accounted for. He did what she said he was going to do, and maybe a little more.

A pair of boots could be heard entering the lab. “Logan,” Amaris whispered, seeing Logan awake. She dropped a paper plate that had a sandwich on it, her damp hair resting behind her as she crossed the room, standing on the other side of the exam table.

Logan sat up again, using one arm to support himself, wrapping the other around her smaller frame. Amaris wrapped both of her arms around his neck, stifling the sob that built up in her chest. “What did I tell you before?” Logan asked in her ear.

Amaris giggled, feeling the tears she had sealed away behind to fall. “Hi dad.”

“Hi, baby girl.”

Jean left the room, leaving the father and daughter to have their moment together, this time without anybody to interrupt it.

Logan pulled away from Amaris, helping her to wipe her face. “Metallica. One, The Unforgiven, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

She looked at him puzzled. “What?”

He smiled looking at her, finally seeing the bits of him that built her. “My favorite band and my top three songs from them.”

He smiled looking at her, brushing the wet hair out of her face. “You could hear me?” She asked him.

He nodded. “The whole time.” He chuckled a little as he observed her face. “So, about that jailbreak?”

Amaris gave Logan some clothes to wear so he could leave the infirmary. He went up to his room, taking a shower and getting dressed in the same clothes he showed up to the mansion in the week before. She made him something to eat, knowing he had to be exhausted still from all of his downtime.

Amaris brought the food to his room, where she had been met by Charles. “I suggest you get your strength up. I still have my end of the deal to uphold.” He watched as Amaris entered the room, having made Logan a couple of cheeseburgers. “I think the both of you would benefit from a little trip. Learn more about each other, learn about your past.”

Amaris handed the plate over to Logan, both of them looking at Charles. “Come down to the debriefing room after your lunch. I will give you all the information I have to offer you Logan.”

Charles left Logan’s bedroom, rejoining the rest of the mansion’s occupants in their daily lives.

An hour or so later, both Logan and Amaris showed up at the debriefing room, seeing the interactive table again. “I found this abandoned military base in the Canadian Rockies, at Alkali Lake. It’s close to where we found you, Logan.” The two men looked at each other as Charles presented the information. “Not much is left, but it’s possible to find some answers.”

Logan nodded as he studied the scene. “Thank you.”

“Amaris, the choice is yours. No matter what you choose, you will always have your spot as an X-Man.” Both Charles and Logan looked at her. Amaris looked at the man she grew up with respecting and learning from as a father, then to the man who was her father. It was a hard choice to make, but in the world that they lived in, everybody had to leave their nests and learn how to fly.

Amaris nodded, “I’m going with you.”

“Are you going to say goodbye to them?” He asked both of the mutants. Logan and Amaris looked at each other, giving a slight nod. “There is a jeep in the garage. You will find the title work inside the glove box in your name, Amaris. You should take it. Alberta is a long ways away from here.”

Logan extended a hand out to Charles. Charles shook Logan’s hand. “Thank you, for finding more than what I thought you could have found.” Once they let each other’s hands go, Logan looked at Amaris. “I’m ready whenever you are, kid.”

She nodded. “Let me go pack up a bag. Get us some things we might need.” Logan nodded, walking away. Amaris walked over to Charles, smiling at the man. “You have given me every tool i could possibly need in this world. I can never pay you enough for that.”

Charles laughed, taking a hold of her hand between both of his. “My dear child, share those tools with Logan. Learn from each other. Once you both find the answers you are looking for… come back here. I wish to hear all about it.”

Amaris nodded. “I will.” she whispered before leaning down and hugging Charles again “This isn’t goodbye, Professor. I’ll just see you around.” She let go of the man, standing up and walking away from him. She moved about the hallway, catching sight of her suit hung perfectly in it’s glass container. She passed by the lab, having spent more time in it this week than any other portion of her life.

Making her way to the elevator, she hopped onto it, heading to the secondary floor of the mansion. She headed for her room, grabbing a duffle bag that bore the symbol of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The same symbol was used for the X-Men’s gear. At least she would have a piece of them with her when they left.

She changed her clothes, keeping her boots and jeans, though opting for a t-shirt and a jacket. In the bag to packed two blankets, a couple of flashlights, an extra jacket, and some under garments. She knew they would end up picking things up along the way between Westchester county and Alberta. The most important thing to have would be the clothes on their pack, a couple of provisions, and some cash for gas.

Amaris took another look at her room, knowing that this chapter of her life was completed, and she was moving onto the next.

She made her way down the stairs to see Logan and Rogue talking with each other. The teenager gave a wave to Amaris before returning to the main room where other students could be heard.

Storm approached Logan, Amaris noticed this and kept her distance, giving the two some time to talk.

“You gave us quite a scare for a while, there.” Storm told Logan, fixing the collar on his leather jacket.

Logan chuckled as he watched her. “Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

Storm smirked, looking down briefly as she spoke. “Should I be under the impression you aren’t coming back?” She looked up at him, a soft look painted in her eyes.

Logan brought a hand up to his neck, pulling his dog tags out. He removed the necklace, taking her hand and placing the dog tags in hers, then closing her hand. “I’ll come back for these one day, doll.” Storm looked down at their hands, giving Logan the right moment to reach down and press a chaste kiss to her cheek. He pulled back, letting go of her hands. “I promise.”

Amaris smiled watching the interaction between her long time best friend, and her newly found father. She walked around to meet them, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. Storm and Amaris looked at each other, remaining silent before embracing each other again. “Don’t worry, Storm. I’ll make sure we stay out of trouble. We don’t need to rely on the X-Men to save us on our road trip.”

Storm laughed, letting go of Amaris. “Go, find yourselves. Then return to us.”

Amaris nodded, watching Storm as she left. The young woman looked up at Logan, a glint in her eyes. “Are you ready to go, old man?”

Logan arched a brow looking at her. “Now I’m the old man?”

“You’re my old man, are you not?”

Logan opened up the front door of the mansion, shaking his head before they started walking to the garage. Amaris found the jeep Charles told her about, checking the registration was in the console, along with passports for the both of them. Jean and Scott must have gotten these ready for them to make crossing the borders easier.

Amaris placed her bag on the floor of the backseat, watching Logan as he eyed the motorcycle that belonged to Scott. “Do you want me to haul your bag?”

Logan approached the jeep, setting the bag down. “I think I do.” He then made his way over to the key rack, grabbing the keys to the motorcycle.

Logan mounted the bike, revving the engine before taking off. Amaris followed her father in the jeep, wondering what next adventure lay in store for the Howlett’s.

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