Standard Disclaimer: All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily Marvel, though quite namely not me. Don't own a thing aside from my OCs.


Somewhere in North Dakota

Caitlin walked through the aftermath of the battle, her hands in the pockets of her ill-fitting bulky jumpsuit that had been loaned to her, though she was barefoot still. There were many immobile forms laying about on stretchers, but many more were up and roaming about now.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent in medical transports with the personnel to help with the injured mutants. Vision and Wanda had already blocked the Pied Piper's power through their combined efforts, breaking his influence over those he had enslaved and allowing them their free will back once more.

I'm amazed, really. Not a single fatality on either side.

/It went much better than anyone expected, I think./

Yeah, it did, Chris. Why do I feel so… I dunno, antsy then?

/Cat, this was a difficult fight. Even if you suppressed thoughts of the consequences of what you were doing, you were fighting your friends. And yes, they could have been seriously injured or killed. But it was a chance that had to be taken./

I suppose so. Maybe that's it, I'm feeling… what, guilty for putting them at risk?

*Or maybe for letting them be taken in the first place?*

Well, there wasn't all that much I could have done… Oh.

/I think Eric's right on that account. You should go talk to Rogue./

Yeah. Yeah I should.

She changed direction to head for where the X-Men were ensconced. The brunette girl glanced over towards where Stark and a gang of technicians oversaw the dismantling of the device that Piper had built. He gave a wave towards her as she passed, and she returned it with a half smile and a small wave of her own.

/At least you managed to patch that up./

Well it helps that he's not, I dunno… mocking me as much?

/I don't know that he really did it before, actually. At least not with the intent to mock./

No, you're right. I think I've been monumentally overreacting to the man. He's just so… so…

*Frustrating? Obnoxious? Childish?*

Well, yeah. Keep going, though, any other good adjectives come to mind?

*Endearing? Loyal?*

...Dammit. Well played, Eric, well played.

A little further on she came across Kitty who was bringing War Machine's suit back up out of the ground. Rhodes stood by, looking highly irritated and with his arms crossed.

"Rhodey, you're not giving Shadowcat a hard time now, are you?"

"No, of course not, why shouldn't I be ecstatic to have my suit half-buried…"

"Rhodey…" Caitlin warned.

"No, I'm not, we're goot Cat."

Kitty glanced back at her and shot her a wink which reassured her somewhat.

/You know Kitty, she can hold her own./

True enough.

She finally came upon the far side of the clearing where one of the medical transports had settled down. At the edge of the group of milling mutants she came across a few familiar faces.

"Cat!" Blink exclaimed wanly. She rushed in to give her a tight hug. "I am so, so sorry for everything…"

"Don't you start," Caitlin admonished. She glanced up to regard the others clustered there, Surge, Peter, Bobby, and Johnny. "Don't any of you feel bad, okay? None of you had a choice. If anything, I should apologize for playing a part in all this, putting you at risk…"

"And now you're being foolish," Blink smiled as she leaned back. "We are so grateful to you, all of you, for rescuing us. Seriously, being under his control…"

"Yeah," Caitlin replied softly. "Becca told me some of it. Um, have you seen Rogue?"

Bobby took a step forward and smiled apologetically. "She's over on the other side of this med ship. Becca's talking to her about, um, I think why you had to rescue her and not Rogue."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Okay, well, lemme go talk to her too." She started to walk past but laid a hand on Bobby's arm, knowing the strength of his feelings for his girlfriend. "Bobby, I am sorry… that I had to leave her…"

"I know, Cat," he smiled. "I don't hold you responsible any, and if I know Rogue, neither will she."

She nodded and walked around the edge of the ship, leaving her friends behind. Caitlin quickly came upon Rogue and her sister, sitting side by side on a supply crate. When she saw her, Rogue immediately got up and hurried over to enfold her in a hug.

"Ah don't blame you none, hon," she murmured. "Ah understand why you had to do what you did, alright?"

"Well," Caitlin murmured back. "I'm sorry anyways."

Rogue laughed lightly and then sat back down next to Rebecca. "It's all good, Cat, so long as the children got away. They were my responsibility."

Rebecca's eyes widened at what she saw behind Caitlin and she quickly rose to her feet, her arms folded nervously in front of her. The brunette girl turned to see Wolverine striding up.

"Hey, Logan, how are you feeling?" Caitlin asked warmly.

"Better, kid, 'specially without jerk-ass in my head anymore," he grumbled. He stepped up and pulled her into a quick hug. "Ya done real good, both of ya. Some impressive fightin' skills."

Caitlin laughed as she stepped back. "Yeah, well, my side says otherwise. Still aches a little, even after transforming."

"Did I remember that right, my claws went through your hide as a panther?"

"Yeah… I suppose it shouldn't surprise me any, I mean, I'm pretty sure armor-piercing bullets can, so why not your claws, right?"

"Yeah, true," the stocky man muttered. He sighed and looked over at Rebecca, who was hanging back anxiously. "So, I hear you managed to get some of my DNA, huh, kid?"

"Um, yes, sir, Mr Logan," the redhead replied hesitantly.

"None of that, still just Logan, an' I ain't gonna bite ya none. C'mere."

Rebecca shuffled over to stand next to her sister, staring at the man with her wide pale green eyes.

"Y'know there's another one like you, right? Name of Laura?"

"I did hear that, yes."

"Might be helpful if you were to look her up, if she ever gets back to the States. She's somewhere in Europe right now with Remy. But, yeah…" He glanced off to the side somewhat uncomfortably. "Look, I dunno if you thought of it at all, but me an' Laura… well, we're kinda family now, more 'r less. You can be part of it too if ya like."

Caitlin slipped her arm around her sister and gave her an encouraging hug. Rebecca slid her arm around her as well and returned her smile.

"I... appreciate the offer… Logan. But I have all the family I need right here." Her smile widened as she saw the tears glisten in Caitlin's eyes. "And she completes me."

Logan smiled at the pair. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. Wanted to make the offer anyway."

"Dammit," Caitlin sniffled. "Now you're gonna make me cry, dork."

"I am not the dork."

"Oh, what, you're saying I am?"

Logan chuckled as he walked off, leaving the pair of girls, their arms still around each other, as they bickered good-naturedly.

"That is precisely what I am saying."

"Uh-huh. And of the two of us, who's the Twilight fangirl, hmm?"

"...That does not make me a dork."

"Such a dork!" Caitlin giggled in a sing-song voice.

"I take my earlier praise back. You are highly irritating."

"Can't take it back, we're sisters, no getting rid of me now..."

Epilogue

Vision didn't spend much time in his room, really. It was sparsely furnished and decorated, not much to really convey the fact that it was habited. Wanda had been trying to help him with that, and now a single painting graced a wall of the room. It showed the back of a young woman in a yellow sundress, her blonde hair loose and blowing in the wind, as she sat on a grassy hill and watched the clouds in the sky.

He couldn't say exactly why the picture moved him so much. But it did, and it called to him in a way. He often spent the evenings just staring at it and letting his processors defrag from the day.

This evening he was startled by a hesitant knock on his door. Curious, he walked over to open it.

Caitlin and Rebecca were standing there, the latter with her usual imperturbability while the former seemed slightly nervous.

"Hi, Vision," the brunette began quietly. "Are we interrupting you?"

"Not at all Caitlin, Rebecca. Please, come in."

The sisters entered and looked around curiously. Rebecca walked over to the painting and stood in the same position that he had been. "This is a beautiful painting," she murmured.

"Wow," Caitlin murmured in almost the exact same tone of wonder. "Yeah, it is." She stepped over to stand next to her sister. Both of them had the same pose, feet together and arms wrapped around their middle as they gazed at the wall.

Vision remained still and observed the pair. It was curious, really, how similar they could be to himself sometimes. Perhaps that was why the painting called to them as well. He wished he could understand why it did so.

But he had plenty of time to discern the nature of it.

After a full five minutes, Vision took a single step forward. "Was there something you wished to discuss?" he asked softly.

Caitlin jumped with a start, almost guiltily, while Rebecca simply turned and regarded him with her pale green eyes, identical to her sister's.

"Um, yeah, sorry…" the brunette said. She shuffled her feet slightly. "So, we were wondering something, and if this isn't a good idea, just please tell us, we won't be offended or anything, or if you're offended tell us that too, 'cause we don't want to do that either…"

Rebecca sighed softly, a slight smile forming on her lips as she glanced at her sister. "We would like to know how your mind link works. Specifically, if you would be able to share a memory between two people while serving as a conduit."

Vision tilted his head thoughtfully. "That is an interesting notion. I have not tried it before, but theoretically yes, it should work. Would you like to try this?"

"If you could please," Caitlin nodded politely. "Um, it's my memory, and I wanted to share it with Becca, obviously."

"Obviously," Vision smiled . "Why don't we sit on the floor in a circle. Physical contact will be necessary."

As they settled down, Vision entertained a brief surge of curiosity. "How did you come to think of this?"

"Oh, well, we were talking about some stuff," Caitlin admitted. "And then I just kinda speculated on how nice it would be to actually share what I remembered…"

"And then I thought of you," Rebecca finished. "We were not sure if this would be possible."

"I believe it is. Let us try." Vision held his hands out, and the sisters each clasped one with their own hands while taking hold of each other. He closed his eyes and focused. "If you would please, try to think of something simple."

Caitlin grinned and nodded her head. Vision could see the image fleetingly as it moved across, until Rebecca let out a startled laugh. "That is myself and Sam," she exclaimed quietly. "Is that how we look together?"

"Yep," Caitlin snickered. "I keep tellin' you, you're both adorable."

"Well, that was quite successful," Vision commented. "Now then, how about we try for the memory you were hoping to share."

"Great, thanks Vision," the brunette said. She exhaled and closed her eyes.

"Okay then, Becca," she whispered. "This was our sister Andrea…"


A/N: So, there we go! Hope you enjoyed the ride. I've got a little more planned for Cat & Becca, at least one more story lined up, but I might wait some before working on it. Oh, and I'm thinking about doing a very lemony bit of femslash that I will likely just stick up on AO3 so as to not offend the censors here. Details will be posted on my author's page. Also, sometime in the next month or so, I think I shall enact my silly plan of doing an Unchained Christmas special. Because why the hell not.

Extended gratitude for the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews. You're all awesome, don't let anyone else tell you differently: Trench gun, theradvlad, and chaosrin, you guys keep me writing! Seriously, it's folk like you that inspire me to share the craziness that floats about inside my cranium. Till next time!

Stay shiny!