"Do you really think it wise to trust her?" Emma asked Logan as she brushed out her hair that night.

"She doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her. Didn't smell like a liar, didn't move like a thief." He chuckled. "Kinda reminds me of Gambit when he first moved in."

"But what if she's –" Emma started to say.

"It's not Mystique," Logan cut her off. "I'd smell her. Not to mention she's been missing for what? Nearly two decades?"

Emma sighed. "If you're sure, darling."

Logan sighed, coming up behind Emma and wrapping his arms around her waist. "She's just a kid, Em," he said as he kissed her neck.

"Mm. I'll give it a shot." She pulled him into the bed.


Temperance rolled over and looked at her alarm clock for the eighth time. Three oh three in the morning. She sighed, not able to sleep. She rolled onto her back and put her hands behind her head. Chris? You awake?

Yeah. I'm having trouble sleeping.

Me too.

You're doing fine, Temp.

We've been at it for almost two weeks, Christian. I don't think anyone is hardly even trying.

Sure they are. Give it time. Now get some rest, ok?

Okay. Night.

Temperance sighed and rolled over again, and tried to sleep. Finally, with an angry sigh, she threw her feet over the bed, slipping into her silk robe and slippers. She opened her door quietly and walked quietly down the hall, and she slipped into the Danger Room. Flipping the lights on, she opened the panel on the wall and typed in a code. Suddenly, she was in a cave. Gems shone from the walls – simulations of topaz, sapphire, ruby's, emeralds, and especially diamonds. A clear, crystal pool was in the middle, and Temperance sat on the side of it. Sighing, she leaned back.

"Wow. So this place is more than flamethrowers and lasers."

Temperance smiled as Nicolas sat down next to her. "This is my quiet place. I come here when I get lonely or upset, or confused."

Nick whistled low under his breath. "Don't blame you. Look at this place."

Temperance smiled. "Can't sleep?"

"Nah. Every time I try to sleep, Andi wakes me up. She has nightmares something awful."

"About what?" she frowned.

Nick sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "Lots of fire and destruction. She's a telekinetic, and when she dreams, even her thoughts shake so loud I can hear them."

"You're a telepath, too."

"Yeah." He grinned. "With lasers and mindy-movey powers."

She laughed. "

"And you're telepathic and telekinetic, right?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Plus, there's the diamond thing."

Nick put his chin in his hand and looked at her innocently.

She laughed. "Alright!" She phased to diamond, and Nick studied her intently.

"Of all the gems in this room . . ." he shook his head.

Slightly embarrassed, Temperance phased back to normal.

"So . . ." Temperance looked at him. "You went nearly eighteen years without knowing your parents were X-Men."

"Crazy, huh?" He shook his head. "I always knew they were mutants. You can't exactly hide it. Not with a mutation like Dads. And I've always known Rachel was my sister. I just always figured she looked old for her age." He shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Temperance said softly.

Nick shrugged. "It doesn't bother me nearly as much as it bothers Andi. She has a hard enough time, and she's so serious all the time."

"Just give her time," Temperance said.

The two were silent, sitting there in front of the pool. Temperance's hand accidentally brushed Nicks, and she looked down. "Nice scar."

"Huh?" Nick said. "Oh, yeah." He held it up. "Andi zapped me by accident."

Temp smiled. "Want to see a really cool scar?"

"Uh, sure."

Temperance pulled up her shirt and pulled her pants down about an inch. Nick caught a brief glimpse of a lacey undergarment, and he adverted his eyes, focusing on the long, jagged line from her belly button to her waist.

"Holy crap," Nick said. "What happened?"

She opened her mouth to tell him, and suddenly a voice came on in the room.

"Oh, Temperance! Oh, where are you?"

"Stop messing around, Jeeves," Temperance said. She got up and turned her settings off, returning the room to its normal metal state.

"Oh, there you are! I have my oh-so-wonderful creator on the phone for you. I did try to tell him you were sleeping, but you know how he can be . . ."

"Just put him on, Jeeves."

"Fine, then!"

A hologram flickered on, and Tony stood there, looking frazzled. "Temp, glad you're awake! I have something for you."

"At four in the morning?"

"Is it four? Huh. I'm out of the country. Anyway, I'm sending it over in my teleportation device. Tell me if the device works."

"Alright."

Nick stood a few feet behind, and Temperance cleared her throat. "Tony, this is Nicolas Summers. Nick, this is Tony Stark."

"Summers?" Tony looked up. "Scott's boy, right?"

"Yes. Sir."

"Nice to meet you. Temperance being hard on you?"

"Beating the living hell out of us, sir," said Nick, and Temperance shot him a glare.

"Good, good. Here it comes, Temp."

A long tube on the side of the wall lit up, and a package appeared under it.

"Hey, it worked!" Temp said. "Would that work for people?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. Clint got the bright idea to try it and Dr. Strange spent three and a half hours putting his body back together the right way."

Temperance smiled and picked up the package. "Did you need anything else?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. Can we speak in private?"

"Sure. Nick, can you give us a moment?" Nicolas smiled and bid Tony farewell before exciting the Danger Room.

"Listen, I don't want to get you worked up," Tony said. "But Spider-Man and the Sentry went into the Savage Lands yesterday, and we lost contact with them."

Temperance's heart sped up. "Have you told Dad?"

"Not yet. He'll go parading in there like an idiot. I don't think this is much of a threat, but I think it would be worth checking out. Maybe a certain new team of teenage mutant not-turtles could look into it?"

Temperance hesitated as her first chance at a mission, then she nodded. "We'll take it."

Tony nodded. "I want you and your team at Stark Towers tomorrow morning. Oh, and Temp," he smiled and winked. "Open your package." And he logged off.

Taking her package up to her room, she flipped the lights on. She carefully lifted the lid off of the white box and she pulled out some clothes.

The outfit was white. There was a pair of tight pants made from a stretchy material. The belt was a shining platinum, with a white (X) on the middle. The shirt was made of the same material, with long sleeves that ended in a loop around her middle fingers. The shirt started right above her belly button. Platinum knee-high boots that matched the belt lay under the outfit. Finally, a platinum colored choker was found, with a diamond letter in the middle – P.

Temperance smiled. She wasn't just a teenager training for battle anymore.

She was an X-Man.

She was Paragon.