Disclaimer: I do NOT own x-men, this is just for fun. Only own my OC.

A/N: It's been a while since I've written anything but after reading a lot of fanfiction I decided to try again. I have noticed that in many X-men stories inc. the films they keep forgetting to update the time line. This is set in the time line as it should have been.

X-men Origins compliant, AU version of X1.

R&R. Thanks. Lucyfer.

Prologue

The sun was shining as I looked at the gates in front of me. This is what my life had come to, pretending to be starting my senior year in high school. Hell I didn't even know who the president was any more. Ten years isolated from the world seems like forever, especially when they're spent in pain. I don't think anyone realizes how much the world changes between decades, not really anyway.

Xavier's school for gifted youngsters was on the other side of the gates and with it my chance to catch up on everything I've missed, not to mention this is supposed to be the only safe haven for mutants. Its been a long journey from British Columbia to New York state, and my chance for refuge.

The gates opened for me and hefting my bag on my shoulder, I began the trek up the winding driveway.

Chapter 1

"Welcome to the school Cate, I am Professor Charles Xavier, we spoke on the phone. I hope your journey wasn't too unpleasant." Charles greeted me when I entered his office.

"Thank you, Professor. It wasn't too bad, thanks to the train tickets you provided."

"Good I'm glad. I'm sure you're wondering about the teachers here and what our mutations are, as we are about you." He told me with a smile. "I am telepathic, Jean Grey has limited telepathic and telekinetic capabilities, Scott Summers possesses optic laser blasts and Ororo Munroe can control the weather."

I started at this, after all you cannot lie to a telepath.

"You are quite right on that account, and though there are those of us with less than stellar pasts we do like to encourage honesty. We do not judge here."

I contemplated this for a moment, wondering how to begin, and how much to tell. I have never shared my full story with anyone before, and I honestly didn't know if I could trust anyone with it.

I took a deep breath and began, trust after all takes a leap of faith.

"Do you know of a Colonel William Stryker?"

"Yes." He looked at me with concern.

"Then you know what he does to our kind. I will tell you my story is not a happy one, in fact it is quite the opposite and the last ten years have been the worst.

"I was born in 1898, in England. When I was 13 my parents decided that they wanted to start over, here in America and bought us passage over on the Titanic. I lost everything on that ship the night she went down including my parents. You never forget terror like that. Terror for your own life and the terror of those around you, it was tangible, you could feel it in the air, chilling you more than the freezing water ever could. That was when my healing factor manifested, kept me alive when I should have died with everyone else.

"I was brought up a devout christian so when I was saved I believed it was for a reason. The first time I saw the statue of Liberty, it gave me hope.

"A Doctor and his wife took me in, they couldn't have children, and I saw that as my calling. I asked him to teach me, train me as a nurse so that my life was spent saving others. It was fulfilling and when I was 18 I met the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We married, had a daughter and life was good, until when I was 27 I learned what having a healing factor really meant. I realized I hadn't aged a day in 2 years, that I was frozen at 25. It broke my heart, I had to leave before it got suspicious that I no longer aged, had to leave my love and my daughter.

"I spent a few years at a hospital in Philadelphia, then a few in D.C., Richmond, Norfolk, never staying too long in one place. But then WW2 started and they came recruiting nurses to help those wounded in battle and I signed right up. I realize now of course that I shouldn't have gone but yet I knew it was the right thing to do." The professor stayed silent through my story, obviously knowing how much I needed to get it out without interruptions.

"In 1942, Nazi's attacked the hospital I was working at, they killed the wounded and took the rest of us captive. I tried to fight but they overpowered me, however I forgot that in doing so I would reveal my secret. They noticed I hadn't got a mark on me, they managed to knock me out and the next thing I know I was in a cell somewhere. I won't go into detail of what they did to me there but within a week my feral side had manifested. 3 years they tortured me, and when I finally got free I hunted them and repaid the favor. I admit the anger took over for awhile but the animal side wanted blood. I found out shortly after that, that I had officially been declared dead. I had nothing to return to." Xavier took my hand at this, a small measure of comfort and understanding as I recollected myself.

"I traveled for a while after that, through Europe and Asia, and found myself settling in China. I met a martial arts master there that had noticed some of my feral abilities and took me in, trained me, taught me how to control the animal instincts. I will always be thankful of my first sensei. I stayed there about 10 years before moving on. The Chinese were rather accepting of my unusual abilities and I learned how to live again. I found another sensei for the next 3 years and another for the 3 after that. I liked China but it was time to move on again. I went to japan for the next 10 years. I studied katanas all I could, the swords had always fascinated me. It was a whole new fighting style and I reveled in it. All I wanted was to survive and to ensure what the Nazi's did to me never happened again, but I had stayed too long. My abilities had not gone unnoticed.

"1974 was when I first met Stryker, he approached me about joining a military team of mutants called 'Team X'. I was cautious, asked what he wanted us to do - what the team was meant for but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. There was something about him that set me on edge, so I told him to go to hell and left him where he stood. Part of me wonders if I might have done our kind a favor if I'd have killed him then. Anyway I couldn't leave it like that, so I came back to the U.S. I followed and watched from a distance as they kidnapped young mutants, I tried to help when I could but I was only one against a whole team. 1981 was when I thought things would change. Someone did what I had wanted to - went in, rescued the captives and destroyed the place. Stryker was arrested on suspicion of murder and I thought that would be the end of it.

"9 years I traveled, searched for news of my family and found I had outlived them all. My daughter had gotten married, had 2 sons but unfortunately died giving birth to the second. Both of my grandsons had signed up with the military and had died in Vietnam. I cried for days when I found out. I had survived my own grandchildren." The professor offered me a cup of tea then, realizing that the worst was to come, allowing me a pause in my story to somehow find the words.

"It wasn't long before I heard the rumors that Stryker was back and up to his old tricks. I couldn't stand the thought of it so I went looking for him. Trouble was I found him." I had tears in my eyes for the first time in years, as if somehow telling it to someone made it real. "He captured me, took 2 black ops units to do it but he managed it. 10 years of pain, torture, experiments and he had this mind control drug that worked even on me. His son Jason, God! what Stryker did him was horrifying, he's the source of it. Stryker did to me what he did to Deadpool only he learned from his mistakes. He increased my healing ability to the point I heal so fast you'd be surprised I was hurt in the first place, he bonded a metal compound called adamantium to my skeleton and then gave me 'a few upgrades' as he called it. Wade's skills with swords, teleportation and super strength all on top of my heightened senses and catlike reflexes." I knew I had to pause here, I could not tell him of the last gift, could not tell anyone what Stryker gave me unknowingly. It is my burden, my curse, but yet maybe being here could help me change things.

"He tried to turn me into the perfect weapon. He told me about Logan - weapon X - and his brother Victor, how he wanted them back, that we would make an unstoppable team. His endgame is mutant genocide, it always was.

"I managed to escape about a month or so ago, I had been traveling a couple of weeks when I bumped into a mutant couple, they're the ones who told me that this was a safe haven for mutants and I thought since Stryker was looking for a 25 year old woman, I could pretend to be an 18 year old high school student. Besides it has been a long time since I went to school and I have 10 years to catch up on."

Xavier smiled at me, "Thank you for trusting me Cate, I promise you will not regret it. We can grant you sanctuary as we do all mutants who pass through these doors. It is up to you whether you want to pass as a student or if there is anything you want to teach but you don't need to decide now, no matter what you choose we can make sure you are all caught up with anything you missed. Why don't I get someone to show you to your room, I'm sure you're exhausted by now. Do not worry you will get your own room in the adult wing, I'm presuming since all you have been through nightmares are a problem. We can talk more when you're rested."

"Thank you professor, I only tend to need no more than 5 hours sleep a night due to the increased healing factor. Is there a gym or anything I can use in my spare time?"

"We have one better than that, we call it the danger-room. We will show it to you tomorrow when we take you on a full tour. Until then we have put a computer in your room with internet connection. Feel free to start catching up on the news you have missed."

"Goodnight professor."

The room was quite fancy compared to what I'm used to. Wooden paneled and double bed, en-suite bathroom, balcony. It was much more than I could've asked for. I decided to unpack the few belongings I have, mainly military issued clothing and my adamantium katanas. The matching set of daggers were always in special holsters in my boots. I really am glad I don't have to share a room here. Nightmares always had me waking up screaming or growling, depending on what the nightmare's about.

I took a look into the en-suite, thankfully they had thought to include several fluffy white towels, and a few basic toiletries. I decided to sleep first and then a shower would be a welcome start to my first morning here.

The last thought on my mind before falling asleep was, 'God this bed is so comfy!'

Some important dates I thought might help:

The Titanic sank in April 1912, WW2 was from 1939 - 1945, Vietnamese war 1955 - 1975. I'm guessing Stryker made his offer in either '74/'75 making it about '81 when Wolverine destroyed the Island Complex. The first film was released in 2000 so that's when this is set.

Thanks