Well, here it is: my spur-of-the-moment X-Men fanfiction. Just for clarity's sake italicized bits are flashbacks and 'SSSSS' splits flashbacks that are put together. If there are any discrepancies between the movies and references I make to them, please forgive me. I don't own any of the X-Men movies and haven't seen them in a while. Additionally, this story is probably going to be less than ten chapters long, unlike my (lately) usual novel-length tales. And please review! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Anyway, enough about me...onto the story!

A Ring at the Doorbell

The standing woman remained frozen even as Stryker submitted to Kayla's powers of persuasion in dropping his gun and walking away. It wasn't until the cruel man was at least a hundred feet further that the brunette doctor finally raced to the wounded girl, frantically tearing off her lab coat to put a halt to the gushing blood. So much had happened that day…too many people had died. She felt that, if she saved this single victim, she would somehow make up for everything.

Still busy trying to the stop the blood, even though it was clearly too late, the woman barely noticed the presence of Wolverine and Gambit standing over the females. In fact, she didn't even look up until the metal-man denied even knowing the dead girl he had obviously been in love with, at which point, she stared up in shock, not caring about the other retreating mutant…only Wolverine.

After returning her gaze blankly for a moment, he walked away and the doctor went back to trying to salvage the ruined life.

"It's over," a voice in her mind said.

"No," she argued with the British male personage, suddenly looking at her bloodstained hands. So much blood on her hands…and not just Kayla's."

"None of this was your fault," it insisted.

"Who are you?"

"I am Charles Xavier. I have a school for young mutants in New York. I can help you."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know. But, if you ever need help, just reach out with your mind."

When the strange being left her mind, she could only stare numbly at her bloodstained hands. Why did blood always follow her?

Suddenly, she faintly heard feet crunching on the ground in the direction of the collapsed structures. When the woman looked up, there was, standing about fifty feet away, a huge man in maroon pajama pants. There were fresh scars all over his torso, his mouth looked like it had been sewn shut, he had a long dagger sticking out of each hand, and, where his eyes once were, there was a deadly, smoldering laser. The doctor had no weapons and was utterly exhausted…and she was going to kill Logan the next time she saw him for leaving this freak unfinished.

"It wasn't my fault!" the girl screamed, leaving her post beside the dead body to inch backwards as Weapon X slowly hulked towards her, his laser flickering. Luckily, her voice wasn't shaking. When she looked around, though, she realized that there was practically no cover for at least a hundred feet. "I didn't do this to you! Stryker didn't tell you to kill me, did he? Then just leave me alone!"

None of her pleas worked; he only kept coming. Just as the victim was about to resign to her fate, that voice piped up again.

"Use your powers."

"I can't," she growled back lowly.

"There is no one to see you do it. Protect yourself."

"No!" The last time she had used this part of her abilities, she had sworn to never let it emerge again. That time, it had taken at least twenty years to keep it from popping out every time she was angry. She didn't think she would be able to do it again. Something that terrible should remain hidden.

"Doctor?" a young voice behind her said. The mutant turned to find a blindfolded boy about fifteen feet off.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"The Professor was worried about you…and I didn't really give him a choice."

How could Xavier send a child (blind, no less!) to such a dangerous situation?

Suddenly, the boy slipped his blindfold off and released a stunning laser of his own on Weapon X, seriously wounding but not killing it. With the conflict already started and the life of a child in jeopardy, she raised her hand, cringing when it gave off a familiar red glow.

SSSSS

As the doctor finally reached the ground, helping her little savior along the way, she finally saw the face of Charles Xavier, a kind-looking man with a mostly-bald head. As far as she could tell, most, if not all, of the rescued mutants were piled into a large helicopter.

"I see that you could do it, after all," he noted.

"You sent a boy into danger!"

"He was very determined about it…and I was protecting him."

"Is that so?" she snapped.

"Don't be angry with him, Doctor," the young man calmly offered. "I told him I would go myself if he didn't help me."

Though she was still not satisfied, the brunette nodded, being very surprised by Xavier's next words.

"I would like it very much if you came back to my school for a little while. I think you owe it to Scott."

"Maybe another time. I'm afraid that my reason for being here in the first place has not been satisfied.

Wolverine trotted gruffly down the stairs after his workout in the Danger Room, contemplating whether to head into the kitchen for a fridge-raiding session or go on a run, if only to get away from the morbid silence that had infused every fiber of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters ever since the deaths of the Professor, Cyclops, and…Jean. After all of the conflict he had had with Scott over the woman they both loved, they were both gone. Storm was a brilliant leader, but it still wasn't the same.

While he was still deeply involved with his inner debate, the doorbell suddenly rang. Unfortunately, he was the only one even within hearing of the front door as most of the students and teachers were still in classes. Walking as slow as possible, Logan finally reached the entrance and opened the great wooden door, barely being surprised by the rather attractive, twenty-five to thirty-year-old woman standing outside.

Her height was basically average, the top of her head being about even with the man's shoulder; she had full but mostly straight dark brown hair that reached just past her shoulders, icy blue eyes, and generally petite, yet strong, features, which were accompanied by a nicely-shaped figure, a trim, but not incredibly skinny, waist, a somewhat pale complexion, and strong-looking hands…for a girl. Her clothes comprised of loose pants that looked like army surplus and a close-fitting black leather jacket, while a giant brown duffle bag was slung over her shoulders.

After eyeing her up and down, trying to find some logical reason for the intrusion, Wolverine gave in and asked in his usually gruff fashion,

"Can I help you, lady?"

She didn't back down at his hard stare, but instead replied with a clear, unshaking voice, somewhere in the high-middle range and distinctly…either American or Canadian.

"Yes, I don't normally make house calls, but who can turn down such a job opportunity?" The woman distinctly noted his raised eyebrow. "My name is Doctor Bradford and I am your new M.D." He still didn't move. This lady was Jean's replacement? Dr. Bradford's perfectly-arched eyebrow rose to meet his present stance exactly. "All right, guard puppy, either you're going to let me in and 'take me to your leader' or I'll make you wear this bag for three hours straight and see how heavy it feels for you."

Reluctantly, Logan allowed the Doc to enter and started leading her to Storm's office, where the new 'Professor' was probably working on paperwork.

"You can control people?"

A thoughtful, comical grin flashed across the newcomer's face, displaying brilliantly white teeth.

"No, but I can dream. My powers possess a little more…finesse."

"Like what?"

Amusement quickly replaced the previous mood.

"Curious, aren't we…Metal-bones?"

Logan quickly looked back at Bradford, shock finally showing on his face before he at last walked through the office door without knocking. Storm looked up from her desk, clearly annoyed at the unannounced interruption, but the 'storm' quickly subsided at the sight of the doctor; she promptly stood and came around the table to shake the other woman's hand.

"You must be Dr. Bradford," Ororo offered.

"And you must be Storm. Please, call me Renee."

"Very good." With that, both girls seemed to zero in on Wolverine, clearly expecting him to vacate, though he feigned ignorance. "Logan, I am going to give Renee the grand tour…and could you please drop her things off in her new room…put her with Kitty."

Before Logan could protest at being shooed off like some bellboy, Renee actually beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, Storm, but, if it's not too much trouble, I'd prefer bunking near or in the infirmary if there's a place. I like to stay close to my work in case I'm needed."

Ororo seemed to hesitate, but she gave in in the end.

"We actually have an office for you down there; it branches off from the main infirmary…I don't think there's room for an actual bed, but we can get a cot. It won't be much and won't be nearly as comfortable."

Bradford seemed to smile to herself.

"I've slept on worse."

"All right, you and I will go ahead and go there first so that so you can see where you'll be working. There are some…things we need to discuss."

Still annoyed and curious as to why they didn't want him around, the man hesitantly turned to go, only to be stopped by Renee's shockingly hesitant address.

"…Logan?" When he turned around, her eyes were practically burning into his. The following question seemed to be more of a test than an actual curiosity. "Have we met before?"

Though the query initiated a closer study at their new medical doctor and though something did indeed seem vaguely familiar about her, he had absolutely no memories of the girl, though memories were exactly what he had been missing for years.

"Nope," he merely stated, walking out.

The instant the revolving door allowed the girls into the white halls within the depths of the mansion, Renee let out a heaving sigh, the sparkling humor having disappeared and been replaced by a more serious, solemn stance. Storm couldn't help but laugh at the kindred spirit.

"Logan can be a bit trying."

"How often is he like that?" the brunette groaned idly, stretching under the weight of her bag.

"More often than anyone I have ever met. I hope he hasn't scared you away."

As they walked toward the infirmary, the sorrow in the doctor's eyes seemed to deepen.

"I tend to get scared into things rather than out of them. Being a doctor here is the first thing in years where I haven't been pushed into doing it by forces I can't control."

"Speaking of previous endeavors, how is the Professor?"

Renee quickly peeked around to make sure no one was listening, even though they had just closed the door behind them to the medical center. The other woman dropped her bag and sat down at the metal desk in the tiny office before replying.

"He's still getting used to the transfer of his consciousness into the new body. It's a new experience even for him."

"You can't say that you were forced into that."

Dr. Bradford shook her head sadly.

"I'm still not sure if it was right for the Professor to hop into the body of his 'brainless' twin brother. I only came at his request from my clinic in Colorado to assist his recovery…I still don't know why. Dr. MacTaggert and I didn't exactly click with our medical opinions concerning the whole affair. If it was anyone other than him…"

Her words drifted off then and Storm couldn't help but be extremely curious as to what this girl's connection exactly was with Charles. She hadn't even heard of 'Dr. Renee Bradford' until a month previously when Moira MacTaggert, a geneticist with incredible knowledge concerning mutants, had called with the shocking news of Professor Xavier's animated state and referenced Dr. Bradford for their new M.D. Ever since then, she had worked tirelessly to keep the knowledge of Xavier's continued existence within a marvelously tight circle. Not even Wolverine knew about it, hence her determination to get away from him.

Finally, Ororo decided to break the not uncomfortable silence that had settled, looking around at the metal and glass box of an office. Being a woman herself, she knew that Renee would have a heyday filling the empty shelves and drawers scattered around.

"Well, I suppose I should leave you to get settled in. I'll have the bed and the files of everyone here sent down and I, or one of the others, can give you an actual tour. The kitchen is open any time for scrounging. When you're ready to discuss how we're going to break the wonderful news of my future demotion, I'll more than likely be in my office either teaching a class or doing paperwork." Renee nodded militaristically, moving to stand until Storm turned back from her retreat. "Oh, one more thing…why did you accept the position here? From what I gathered, you were pretty well-set-up in Colorado."

She was shocked when the answer had no hesitation.

"I was tired of being an outcast. A hundred and fifty years is a long time to not feel at home."

Once Storm had finally left, Renee walked over to where she had ditched her bag, unzipped it, and dug through until she found her beloved picture of the man she had loved more than anything. Fondly holding the framed artifact against her chest, she walked back out into the quiet infirmary; her infirmary. Everything was shiny, clean, practical, and efficient-looking: just how she liked to work.

Her thoughts then wandered to Logan, the muscular, tough, suspicious man who had allowed her into the mansion. She knew him and knew his plight; though, he didn't remember any of it, she had been there when he had lost his memory and when his girlfriend had died. While she knew little of Logan's history before Weapon X and hadn't been given the file of either him or his brother Victor during her time with Stryker (she hadn't even known their last names), she still hoped to help him find the answers about his past…after she found her own. She had remembered how protective and handsome he was…especially handsome.

Caressing the picture in her arms, the woman whispered absentmindedly,

"I hope you don't mind my looking at other men, Lewis. You've been gone for decades, so it's not like I'm being unfaithful or anything. I haven't even really found any other men that appealing…except for Wolverine, that is. He's not even really my type. I usually prefer the boy scout, soldier-like…like you. He is similar to you with how defensive he is, though. Still, while I find him attractive, there's something that overwhelmingly keeps me back."

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Most of the story is written-out already and just needs to be perfected and have blanks filled in, so, hopefully, I'll be able to update this fanfic soon.