He was searching. Searching to find himself. And he found it. What he found he hadn't liked at all. The second time he took off and now more than ever he was glad he'd killed that bastard Striker. The man thought his brain would never fully heal, but after all this time, it finally had. The reason he was fused with adamantium; the reason he and saber tooth hated him so much; the woman he'd left behind; and his true relationship with the people he'd come to know since arriving at the Mansion.

James Logan and Victor Logan; those were his and Saber Tooth's names. They were brothers and Canadian at that. And God, the endless languages they knew from their time in the war. They'd been turned against each other, thanks in part to Victor's ruthless, power hungry nature. Logan had been married to a beautiful woman named Kayla, who'd also been a slave of Striker's. He'd partnered with a man named Remy Lebeau - also called Gambit - to save her, her sister, and many others from that island that they'd flooded when Jean died. Among those he'd saved was Cyclops. To think he'd known that bitter, uptight man for this long.

Once all his memories had come back to him, he'd tried to get them gone all over again. And in doing so he came across a beautiful woman. He had landed himself in Italy somehow, but the lady beside him at the bar was anything but Italian. Jamaican and Dominican actually. Long, flowing hair, full luscious lips, a body for days, and a smile that brightened his entire life.

What a life they had. She got him to open up; and after the fear of a new relationship washed away, he let her in. Come to find she was a mutant as well; so were her parents. She came from a line of mutant relationships, so majority of her small family were mutants. Her mother had the power of fire and her father had the power of invisibility. Emily Sadero hadn't been given her mother's fire power, but instead her father's invisibility and the power to fly.

The small, intimate wedding was no less beautiful than an extravagant one. The love was just as real. And a couple years later their baby girl was also just as real. A little mutant princess named Kaleyna. She was just as gifted as her parents. Her powers were amazing and sometimes seemed endless. Each year a new one popped up, until she hit six and tragedy struck.

One innocent day in their backyard. What started as a beautiful day became tainted by the hatred of a human. A man who'd been suspicious of their humanity, and had watched them for some time, passed by and witnessed the supernatural acts occurring in their yard. Fueled by prejudice and rage, he attacked. Kaleyna was kept safe, but by the time Logan could get to the man, his wife was too far injured. The man had fled long ago and now husband and child rushed to the aid of a dying Emily.

"Em, no. Don't do this to me. You know I can't live through this a second time."

"Yes you can. Y-you have to….to find it in you, b-because…our baby is gonna need a parent. She needs l-love and c-c-care." She struggled to get out with her last breaths, "Mija, vente."

Kaleyna crawled obediently to her mother's side, tears pouring down her face.

"No baby, I don't want you to cry. I want you to dig deep in yourself, find the warrior woman, and stay strong. For me. Always be strong."

"Si, mama. Te quiero."

"Te quiero, mi amor. And I love you too, James Logan. I always will. Not even death can change that."

And then Emily took her last breath. Logan screamed out in pain, while Kaleyna mourned in silence trying to honor her mother's last wish by not crying. It was the most painful part of both their lives, but they got through it. They got through telling her family, they got through the funeral, and they got through the decision of selling the house and leaving. They gave all memorabilia of Emily to her parents and then left the west coast.

Now three months later Logan was pulling his motorcycle up to a very familiar place. He wasn't at all surprised that the front door to the New York mansion was unlocked. He walked in, his daughter close behind. The place was unusually quiet and empty.

"Daddy, tengo hambre."

He'd been around his daughter and late wife long enough to pick up on the basics of Spanish. His baby girl was hungry. Far be it from him to deprive her of anything she needed. Logan swept Kaleyna off her feet and brought her to the kitchen. As soon as he opened the cupboard, Kaleyna shouted for the cookies. Figures; she was, of course, a child. He pulled some cookies from a package, got out some milk, and decided to make himself a sandwich to be washed down with a beer.

Towards the end of their meal, they could hear voices. Kaleyna became frightened and jumped into her father's lap and hid her face in his chest.

"Shhh. It's okay. These are good people. I used to live here. They'll help us."

Logan stood and left the kitchen, his child hiding behind his legs but following closely. The crowd in front of him was a sight for sore eyes. They brought a smile to his face. The professor, Scott, Storm, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, , and….

"Jean? You're….alive?"

Last he remembered, she'd drowned on Striker's island. Yet, here she was, standing before him, smile plastered on her face. Instead of responding, she and storm ran over and hugged him tightly.

"Logan, where've you been? We've missed you so much." Jean gushed.

Storm whacked him on the chest, "Don't you dare leave us again."

Logan couldn't help but laugh as the women let him go. The professor wheeled over and greeted him with the usual pleasant smile. He was surprised that Scott actually brought himself close enough to give him a decent hug. Caught up in the reunion, Logan was shocked when he felt a tug on his leg.

"Quienes son estas personas?" Kaleyna asked, shyly.

"Logan, you always did have a way of finding damsels in distress." Professor X said as he wheeled toward Kaleyna. He and everyone else surrounded her before Logan had a chance to speak, "And who might you be, my dear?"

Kaleyna looked questioningly at her father, who gave her the okay, "I'm Kaleyna."

"Hello, Kaleyna. My name is Professor X'avier. I'm a mutant just like you. I can read people's thoughts and put thoughts into their heads. Do you have any special powers you want to tell me about?"

Logan stepped in, "Let's not discuss her powers right now. We'll just say she's a talented little tyke."

"Funny. She kinda looks like you." Scott pointed out, not accusingly.

"The hair texture, hair color, the smile. She doesn't have your eye shape, but those are definitely your eyes." Jean commented.

"She's uh, she's my daughter."

Open jaws, gasps, wide eyes floated all around the room. Logan could feel Jean and the professor poking around in his mind. He didn't protest, or stop them. This way, he wouldn't have to go over all the details of the past seven years and repeat the story to everyone when they asked. Once the adults had discussed it, the kids would spread it around. Speaking of kids…why were they still kids. None of them looked like they'd aged a single day.

"Ummm, is it me, or did everyone develop super healing powers that keep them young?" Logan asked.

"Close. These youth is courtesy of our dear friend Magneto. A little incident a few years back left us with non aging cells. Not quick healing like yours just never aging."

It was Rogue who spoke; or, at least, he thought it was. He hardly recognized the girl before him except for that accent. It seemed thicker than when he'd last heard her. But her physical transformation was much more drastic. Tight dark pants, low cut, sleeveless top, heels fresh off the runway, and ringlets pulled up and away from her face. Gosh, that gorgeous face accented by dark makeup. The beauty queen had been brought out of her, but that edginess was more evident than ever. It was provocative and deceiving, but you could tell she wasn't someone to be messed with.

"Rogue. You look…..different." Logan choked out.

"Our youth have gone through quite a few changes during your absence. Do you remember nightcrawler?" professor asked.

"You mean that freaky blue thing that could pop in and out of places? Yeah."

"Kurt, come in here."

This was the unltimate shock. A boy, looking no older than twenty, stood before him. His skin was nowhere near blue. It was an olive color. And his jet black hair fell down toward his shoulders. Night crawler was a regular boy.

"How….

"Image inhibitor." Hank answered, "It allows him to hide his mutant features. And I guess the looks inspired him to improve his accent. He's gotten a lot better at his English."

"Bobby's powers have enhanced immensely. He truly is Ice Man now, although he's still got a bit of training to go. And Kitty, now called Shadowcat, has learned to do so much with her powers. She's grown up." And that she had. You could still see the ditsy teenager side of her struggling to stay alive, but she had wisdom in her eyes now, and it showed on her outer appearance, "But I think Rogue has gone through the biggest change of all."

"I can see that."

"Not appearance wise. She's obtained some new powers as well. Super strength and flying can now be added to her bunch."

"Nice development. I've gotta remember to arm wrestle you as a test."

"I suggest you don't." Scott warned, "I know your arm can heal, but it'll still hurt like hell if she manages to shatter that adamantium."

"With all these changes, I'm beginning to think there's no place for me here anymore."

"Nonsense. You will always have a place to stay and a spot on our team. Once an X-Men always an X-Men."

Ten years later…

"This is so gorgeous. Ahh! I have to have it." Ally squealed as she gazed at the Diamond necklace through the glass case in the jewelry store.

"Geez, Ally, that scream is gonna break all the glass in the store." Kaley told her best friend. Why she'd agreed to follow the jewelry addict into the store was beyond her comprehension.

Kaleyna Logan, now 16 years old and a junior in high school, was supposed to be here at the mall with the other X-Cadets. Her dad was roaming the mall with the rest of his cohorts. She'd only agreed to go so that she could sneak off. God forbid her father find out who she'd been hanging with all these years, she'd be confined to her room for the rest of her eternal life.

All Kaley had ever wanted to do was experience a normal life. So, instead of taking classes at the mansion, she convinced her father to let her take classes at regular school when she was starting high school. It was in her freshman class that she met her best friends Alyssa and Alexa. Those two were like night and day. Ally was a girly girl cheerleader, while Alex was the edgy tough girl. However, both were extremely popular and practically inseparable. They welcomed Kaley upon her arrival to the school. Since her father spoiled her, she definitely had the looks of a cool girl. Once they found out she was a mutant, they accepted her even more.

At first she didn't tell them about where she lived, but when they introduced her to the man that had taken them in, she definitely opted to keep her mouth shut for a while. Ally and Alex had left home and found a man named Magneto. Magneto was the leader of the brotherhood, a group of anti-human mutants who were pretty much sworn enemies with the X-Men. But she wanted to be accepted somewhere other than the mansion so badly, that she hid her identity.

Kaley was introduced to Harlem, Ally's hot, Jock boyfriend who could send electric currents through touch. That's why they called him Shock. And then she met the rest of the important people. Mystique the shape shifter, Toad whose name was self explanatory, and the boss man himself. Magneto actually took quite a liking to her. She didn't reveal all her powers at first. She didn't want to be branded as a freak for all her abilities. Thankfully, she didn't encounter her uncle Victor who they'd called Saber Tooth. Instinct told her that he'd automatically know who she was and blow her cover…..or rip her throat out.

However, the person she did meet changed her whole experience. Pietro Maximoff, Magneto's gorgeous son, sat beside his best friend Harlem. Spiked blonde hair, slick blue eyes, and the body of a God. When Kaley laid eyes on him she knew she couldn't compromise herself. She wanted Pietro and she was gonna have him. And once she became a cheerleader, her wish came true. Cheerleader and football player, perfect match. Everything was all fine until the Christmas of her freshman year. That was when Kaley met her uncle.

As predicted, he could smell his DNA wrapped in her blood the moment he entered the room. He almost attacked thinking Wolverine was present. After a long argument, Kaley finally got them to believe that she wasn't part of the X-Men, and that she wouldn't choose sides. She had grown equally attached to both. Now, she was the princess of the brotherhood. If ever she was in danger, Magneto would send the troops to save her, as would professor X. She was untouchable in a way.

Today, Kaley was enjoying fun time with her favorite people. Ally, Alex, Harlem, and of course Pietro. Mall time was something they shared as frequently as they could. Sometimes it was hard to get away due to Logan's over protectiveness. Ever since Kaley's mother died, he'd give her anything she asked for, but her being out of his sight was always an issue. He worried too much. She could more than handle herself.

Alex was across the room fixated on black diamonds. The darker the better for her. She wasn't goth, or emo, or punk rocker. She was just edgy Alex. Hot in both heels and sneakers. She was dark haired while Ally was blonde, and Kaley fell right in the middle. And right now a pair of arms were wrapping themselves around the middle of her waste.

"See anything you like?" Pietro whispered in Kaley's ear.

"Sweety, you spoil me too much. I don't need anything else."

"Come on, baby. You know I love nothing more than putting that beautiful smile on your face. Pick something."

Kaley rolled her eyes and scanned through the case in front of her. She was looking for something pretty, but not too extreme. She knew that she could ask for every piece of jewelry in the store and Pietro would give it to her, but that wasn't what she wanted. He did way too much for her. So she chose a simple, silver band with a small 1 karat diamond.

"Really? Kaley, you're worth so much more than that."

"Awwwww." Alex and Ally cooed as they walked by.

"Shut up." Pietro shot back.

"It's what I want. It's cute."

"I know you're doing it on purpose but fine. What my baby wants my baby gets."

Five minutes later, the ring was on her finger; specifically the middle one on the right hand. She loved Pietro, though they hadn't really said it out loud, but she wasn't ready to hear about that kind of commitment. She knew he had deep feelings for her, but they had kind of a superficial relationship. In two years they hadn't spoken at all about feelings or anything of the sort. They were just together. Sometimes, Kaley just wished he would make it clear that this was real. Maybe then she'd feel better about a commitment. For all Kaley knew, Pietro was probably messing around on her. He got defensive every time she asked.

"What's good with some food?" Harlem asked. There had to be some unspoken bond between Italians and food.

"Let's hit up the food court before I have to go back to prison."

"I still don't understand why you have to go back at all. When are you finally gonna leave and come over to the dark side." Ally said half teasingly, her arm looped through Harlem's. Now those two were openly in love and everyone knew it.

"You know I'd never leave my father, even though I love you guys."

"All of us?" Pietro asked, questioningly.

"Can we not get into that argument today? Don't you think we've had enough of those this week?"

"Whatever."

Tension now filling the air, Kaley chose to sit between Ally and Alex instead of by Pietro. They'd been fighting a lot lately. If it wasn't about her leaving the X-Men it was about their relationship, or her and other guys, or him and other girls. She was beginning to think she'd made a mistake all those years ago. She absentmindedly pulled off the ring before picking up a fry.

"So now you're gonna take the ring off. You might as well give it back for all that."

"Fine."

Kaley threw the ring across the table and pushed her way from between the girls. As she was walking away, some guy grabbed her by the waist and crushed her against his body.

"Don't worry, Pete. I'll be glad to take her off your hands." Joe, captain of their rival football team, said snarkily.

True to his reputation, Pietro was up in a flash, barely able to control his powers as he got in Joe's face, "If you know what's good for you you'll let my girl go now."

"From what I hear, you two might as well be over. And it's about time she had a real man under that belt, if you catch my drift."

That right there set Pietro over the edge. Before Joe could think, he was sprawled on the floor thanks to the lightening fast connection between Pietro's fist and his face. His best friend was on the verge of joining in, but Harlem had abandoned Ally to block his path. And you'd think the fight between Kaley and Pietro had never existed. He was hugging her close and possessively as Joe picked himself up from the floor. He was never the type to give up when he knew he couldn't win. He'd have to be embarrassed a little more before he got the point, and Pietro was happy to oblige. But, just as he grabbed Joe's collar, a voice yelled out to him.

"Pietro, Stop!"

"Uggghhh! His timing sucks sometimes." Pietro groaned, "You got lucky this time." Then he threw Joe on the floor and walked away. He and the others were heading the entrance of the food court to meet John, the fire wielding Pyromaniac.

"What were you thinking? If your father would've walked by instead of me who knows what this could've turned into."

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"You mean besides ending up in a fight with the X-Losers. Speaking of which, Kaley, there goes your father and the rest of the sheep."

"What?" Kaley turned around and ducked just in time for her father and the others to look in her direction. Apparently the commotion had drawn them to the food court. Now, he seemed to be searching for her, "I gotta go. See you guys tonight."

Kaley dashed through the crowd, using her power of invisibility, until she came out near her father and far away from the brotherhood.

"Hey, daddy." She greeted, a little out of breath.

"Kaley, are you okay? We heard that Pietro was here fighting and I thought -

"Daddy, I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. See? It wasn't me he was fighting with it was some high school boy."

"Alright, well it's time to go. I see you didn't do much shopping today. That's unusual." Logan raised a brow at his daughter.

"Just looking around today. Nothing really caught my eye."

"Is everything okay, Kaley? You can tell me."

"I'm fine. I promise. Let's get home. I gotta get ready to go out anyways."

Jaws dropped when Kaley came downstairs in midnight blue leather. Arms, stomach, and cleavage were exposed. A belly button piercing and cobra tattoo could be seen. Dark lip gloss covered her lips and the fingerless blue leather gloves gave her some edge. Hair twisted up into a bun to preserve some sort of innocence.

"I'm leaving daddy."

Kaley was off to the normal teen hangout spot. An all ages club called Sprinkle. It was raging every night, and she was supposed to make an appearance with Ally and Alex tonight. Of course Pietro and Harlem would be there, but she wasn't really thinking about her so called boyfriend. If things didn't change between them soon, she'd be on the hunt for a new date to the junior prom.

"I'm leaving daddy."

"Logan, you're really letting her go out like that?"

Kaley hadn't liked Jean since she was about eight. Besides the fact that she was always trying to tell her what to do, Jean seemed to have some infatuation with her father. It was like she was trying to replace her mother, even though she had a geeky boyfriend of her own. Scott was cooler than Jean at times, but still a total stick in the mud. And right now, one half of the couple was really annoying her.

"Jean, I'm a big girl. if he didn't want me to go anywhere in this outfit then he wouldn't have let me keep it."

"Kaley, calm down. Jean's just being concerned is all. It's fine. You go out and have a good time. I want you back no later than one. And keep your phone on just in case."

"Daddy, you worry too much." Kaley walked across the room to hug her father goodbye before heading to the front door, "I love you."

"I love you too, princess."

Once outside, Kaley hurried outside the gates of the property and a little down the street. She slid into the back seat of Ally's black beamer.

"What's up sexy mama?" Ally greeted.

"Nothin' much, hotness. Hey babes." She said while leaning forward and giving Alex a kiss on the cheek, "Now turn the music back up and let's get rollin'! whoo!"

Kaley, Ally, and Alex were like VIP at Sprinkle. They were there all the time, attracted a lot of other guests, and tipped well for service. They were also the life of the party sometimes. Kaley and Ally usually dominated attention on the dance floor, Alex occasionally joining in. it was like that now, the girls dancing up a storm. Kaley, who loved the thrill of a good dance, had no problems accepting an offer from a cute guy. He was a little older, but she'd seen him around before.

A few songs later Kaley felt someone tapping her shoulder. She turned to find Alex, "Hey, you better cool it. Pietro doesn't look too happy." She warned while pointing to the bar where Pietro stood with Ally and Harlem.

"Ask me if I care what he's feeling right now." Kaley said before getting back to dancing, "You look awfully familiar. Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"We've seen each other around on more than one occasion. I know what kind of company you keep, and I know what they're capable of." He whispered the last part in her ear. Kaley looked surprised and a little scared. Last time a human had found her out, someone close to her died, "Don't worry. I won't rat you out."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes you do."

Suddenly there was a shaking in the ground. It sort of felt like a mini earthquake; but the crowd was so hyped they barely even noticed. Kaley's eyes went even wider.

"Was that you?"

"My name's Luke Alvers, but you can call me Avalanche. Those are my specialties…well, that and earthquakes."

"I'm Kaley."

"I like that name. And I like your look."

"Eat your heart out. I have a boyfriend."

"Yet, you've been dancing with me for the past hour."

"Maybe I like the way you move."

"Hmmmm…cute."

The song ended and Kaley decided that it was time to go pay her brat of a boyfriend some attention, "I should go check in with my friends. See you around."

"I sure hope so."

A smile stayed plastered to her face as Kaley made her way through the crowd and found the people she'd actually come here with.

"Well, it's about time you dragged yourself away from that boy." Ally said.

"Sorry, but unlike you, I came here to dance." She took in a few deep breaths, having been worn out from dancing, and then stood in front of Pietro, "Hey. Still in a fuss about this morning, or have you gotten over yourself?"

"Don't worry. That's not what I'm thinking about right now. I'm trying to remember who you came here to meet: me? Or the guy you've been with all night?"

"Oh come on. Are you really gonna start this now? You weren't here and I wanted to dance. I don't see what's so wrong with that."

"The problem is I look real bad when my so-called girlfriend is shaking her ass all over some other guy. What do you think people are gonna say at school?"

"Wow. Did you hear anything that just came out of your mouth? So-called girlfriend? What will people think? I knew it wasn't me you ever cared about, it was your idiot friends!"

"Um, I'm one of those idiots."

"Harlem, I really don't think now is the time." Ally told her jokester boyfriend.

"We need to talk. In private." Pietro didn't give Kaley the chance to protest, but merely grabbed her arm and dragged her outside.

Alex leaned over to Ally, "We're sure he cares enough to not hurt her, right?"

"That's the only reason I'm still standing here." Ally said dangerously, "But if she's not back in ten minutes we go rip his throat out."

"Agreed."

Outside, Pietro had practically thrown Kaley up against the wall and was so close that she couldn't move.

"What is your problem?"

"Me? What the hell is up with you? Do you even wanna be with me?"

"How many times are we gonna have this conversation? If anything I'm the one who should be asking you that."

"I treat you like a queen."

"No, you treat me like a trophy. All I am is an accessory to you. The only reason you want this relationship is for looks, and appearances, and expectations. I could be mute and you wouldn't even notice as long as everyone said we looked good together."

"If that's really what you think -

"No, that's really what I know."

"Oh. My apologies. If that's what you know, then we really shouldn't be together should we?"

"I figured that would be the first thing out of your mouth the minute you got the opportunity. Now you can go chase after all those other girls you're always with."

"It's always about other girls with you. I get no trust. What about all the guys you're always flirting with right in my face. God only knows what goes on at that mansion and who you're sleepin' with over there."

It took all Kaley had in her to control the slap she sent across Pietro's face. Regardless, the pain still pissed him off enough for him to roughly grab her and slam her against the brick wall. She let out a little squeak. Suddenly, the ground and the walls start violently shaking. So much so, that Pietro protectively hugged Kaley to his chest until it stopped. As soon as it stopped, Kaley pushed him away, knowing exactly where the shake had come from.

"Don't grab her like that again." Came a voice from the shadows. Pietro turned around and came face to face with Luke, Kaley's dance partner.

"And who the hell are you to tell me when I can and can't touch my girlfriend."

"As of two minutes ago, I am no longer your girlfriend."

Pietro snapped his head back towards Kaley, staring wide eyed in shock. He'd never actually thought she would leave the ally without him, "So that's how you want it? Fine. We'll see how long it is before you drop this reject and come crawling back. Have fun with her while her attention is still on you. She's a flaky one."

And in a flash, Kaley and Luke were alone in the dark ally. Wherever Pietro had run off to, at least it was away from here. He needed time to cool off.

"Are you okay?" Luke said, walking right up to Kaley's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me."

"Lucky for him. I would've -

"Luke, I really would rather not talk about Pietro right not. Can we just go inside before my friends start to worry."

"We've already started." Alex said, alerting Kaley and Luke to her presence.

"You guys didn't have to come out here. I'm fine."

"Uh huh." Ally responded disbelievingly, "So then where's Pietro."

"He, um…he took off. We broke up, he and Luke almost got into a fight, and then he ran off."

"And you didn't think it would be any type of decent for you to go check on him after hurting him so badly?" Harlem questioned in the serious tone that he almost never used. If Harlem was being level headed about something then it was really serious.

"Look, he initiated the break up. Luke only used his powers to protect me and Pietro got defensive. He was yelling at me and I told him off. I'm not gonna waste my time caring about someone who doesn't care about me."

"Kaley if that's really what you believe about Pete, then you're an idiot. And I'm sorry to say it because I love you like a sister, but you're being stupid. I can't sit here and listen to this. I'm gonna go find Pete."

"If you don't find him at the mansion then check the Mausoleum. He's not too mad so that's usually where he would go." Kaley called over her shoulder just as Harlem took off.