Part III

I pause talkin' as I notice Adimu's bright eyes are on me. China blue cat eyes. I just open my arms t' her an' she bounds over with th' boneless grace that seems t' come so naturally t' her. That's my girl. Shock o' hair that's more cream white than her mama's milk white, but it looks good on her. Her an' Kamau both got a nice golden brown tone o' skin. Wonder what th' kitten she's carryin' now will look like?

Settlin' Adimu into my lap, then lookin' over th' others. 'Bout half o' 'em are already asleep, other half are lookin' drowsy. Figure a bit more story will get th' rest o' 'em t' sleep, so I continue on.

First year passed fer us all like a blur. We were so busy defendin' an' findin' strays an' tryin' t' keep everyone fed that th' time flew. Cyclops was in leader-mode mosta th' time - more like a robot with legs than a man though. Blackbird was still flyin' an' he made use o' it t' rescue any allies we had that were still livin'.

It was odd really. Some o' th' folks that made it, you woulda expected. Like me, Runt an' the Thing? We're all harder t' kill than cockroaches - woulda been stranger if we hadn't made it. Others though? Well, only two o' the Fantastic Four made it t' year's end - Thing an' Richards.

Other hero groups? Hawkeye's one o' th' few o' that Avengers bunch that I know made it. Heard rumors that others might have survived, but hell, some folks are still seein' Elvis. Who's Elvis? I'll explain that one later - right now, I'd be gettin' real far off track. Anyway, Richards gave it a rough guess that th' world population was only around ten percent o' what it had been. Good a guess as any, I suppose. Not like anybody was gonna run around an' do a head count.

Frost came back t' life after over six months in a coma -- which also brought a spark o' life back into Summers. By th' end o' th' first year, we had around a hundred or so survivors an' it was becomin' painfully obvious that th' mansion couldn't keep supportin' everyone. Especially as nature was startin' t' nudge things along. We had a long talk an' in th' end, we divided into roughly two camps. Summers, Frost and Grimm were th' main leaders o' th' group that was t' stay with th' mansion along with other folks that preferred t' stay in a more urban settin' - Spider-Man, Punisher (yeh, he made it too - ain't that a hoot?) an' Elektra among 'em. One good thing 'bout that mix? We knew that even with us leavin', th' others had protectors an' providers.

As fer me? Well, me an' th Runt headed toward th' wilds that straddle what used t' be the US/Canadian border. Our group had Ororo, McCoy, Rahne and Drake among others. It was decided pretty quick among ourselves t' split into two camps - which almost immediately got labeled as my pride an' Logan's pack. Hell, good a tags as any, I suppose. Pride was fittin' in more ways than one, 'cause by then I had my lioness. Ororo. Lemme tell ya, they used t' say politics make strange bedfellows, but that ain'tgot squat on th' changes a buncha nuclear warheads can make. Beast became th' resident egghead o' the Pack, Richards fit real nice into th' Pride.... another fit that shocked th' hell outta me. I can't understand most o' what Richards says, but he's proved himself time an' again t' be mighty handy an' he more than pulls his own weight. Can't ask more'n that from anyone. Hell, man even set up a lil' brewery. Makes a damn fine lager.

Why didn't me an' yer Uncle Logan stick in th' same group? Well, me an' my kid brother get along pretty well these days, but we get along a whole lot better when we got us a little space between us. Just natural, kitten. Packs and prides got one thing in common. There's really only comfortable rule fer one alpha male.

An' I suppose some folks mighta expected th' leadership positions t' have gone t' the genius pair, but me an' Runt were more practical. We knew how t' build. How t' hunt. How t' survive. An' more than that - how t' thrive in th' wilderness. An' lemme tell you somethin', once Mother Nature caught her breath after th' big booms? She went nuts. 'Course, I gotta admit my own little mate had a hand in urgin' things along here an' there along with a few other nature based folks like Shaman. I know what you older ones are wonderin'. Why ain't everythin' a radioactive wasteland?

Much as I dislike 'em on general principles, I gotta admit th' bell, book an' candle set really came through in this emergency - in some cases, at a huge cost t' themselves... or so I heard. Not sure 'xactly what they altered all that radioactive junk into, but all I know is that when th' rains came after, it was like a high-powered fertilizer had been added t' the soil. Next spring, berries an' flowers were so abundant that bird an' other small animals hit a population boom as well. Which was a damn good thing. Lotta folks that survived most o' th' first year died over th' winter months. Some from illness or old injuries catchin' up t' 'em. Others from exposure. Mostly though, it'd been starvation. Not somethin' th' folks hangin' with me an' Logan had t' worry with, o' course. We kept our folks well fed an' warm.

I hear an' smell him comin' 'fore I see him. Cigar smoke. He must be pleased at his new litter.

Give yer voice a rest, Vic. Ain't any point continuin' th' oral history. My pups an' yer cubs have gone t' sleep now. 'Sides, they're still too little t' understand half o' what yer sayin' anyways.

Yeh, I know they are. Makes as good a bedtime story as any though, don't it? Toss another chunk o' wood on th' fire, Jimmy. Nice night out - we might as well as sleep wiht th' youngsters under th' stars.

What about th' ladies?

What about 'em? I think they both made it pretty plain that while me an' you are good at makin' youngsters, we're 'bout as useful as a snake in a piano factory when it comes t' newborns. 'Sides, they need us, we can hear 'em from here. Even with takin' time t' gather th' kids, wouldn't take two minutes t' reach 'em, so settle down. Body'd think this was yer first.

Yeh, yeh.... just... I caught a scent earlier. Nuthin' definate, but...

His growl gets my attention. Jimmy's not really th' paranoid sort, so I take him bein' that uneasy real seriously.

'Ro's ready t' deliver 'bout any day herself. I don't want t' get too far from th' den until after th' kitten comes, but if I'll ask her in th' mornin'. If she don't think th' kitten will come for another day or two, me an' you will do a perimeter sweep. We need t' take down a good sized buck t' refill our meat stores any way, so might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Me takin' his concerns seriously calms Jimmy down an' he takes care o' th' fire as I ease Adimu down next t' me without wakin' her. I can tell there's somethin' else on his mind, so I just watch him an' wait. He finally looks back t' me.

We've got a pretty sizable area claimed between us. Think Summers an' his pack'll ever take up th' invitation t' join us?

Mebbe. They gotta all be gettin' tired o' livin' with th' constant attacks. Wears a body down even if they're used t' it. There's a reason their group's th' only one without any new blood - an' you know Summers an' Frost've been tryin'. Mebbe one o' us needs t' go make th' invitation in person. With a youngster. Kid'll point out th' real advantage o' joinin' us more'n anything we could say.

Yer brain might not work all that often, but when it does, you can occassionally come up with a good thought.

Aw, shuttup an' get some sleep, lil' brother. An' try not t' outsnore yer pups.