Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for my own personal character.

Author's Note: I like reviews. They make me happy. ^_^ As an aside, I'm doing something much different from my other Rebecca X-Men story, that is I am actually explaining why she is the way she is. I did some research on brain functions and the like, but forgive me if it's not all correct. (If there are any brain experts out there, feel free to give me some ideas on how to make it better.) Thanks again.

I watched Hank work for a long time, both of us silent. The thing he had said about Rebecca's healing working faster than mine bugged me. It wasn't an ego thing, like most people might think of me, especially that Cyclops—if he was still here, of course; it was times like this I missed him being around. I'd never admit it to anyone, especially Ororo, but Scott knew what to do with the new arrivals, much more than I could have handled them. He would also know what to say to Rebecca. Even though she and I were more similar than I'd want to admit out loud, his snide remarks would be more than helpful to get me to stop worrying so much about her.

Finally, I couldn't take the drawn-out silence.

"What're you up to, Hank?"

He was doing a bunch of things at once, and I couldn't keep track of anything. I'd never paid science much attention, but now I wish I at least knew half of the stuff he was doing.

"I'm starting the DNA extraction process," Hank said evenly. He had his back turned to me, and his shoulders hid the process from me.

I grunted. "Then what?"

"Then we wait."

He was quiet for another couple of moments, then he turned to retrieve her x-rays. He looked back at me as he turned on the projector that would allow us to see them.

"Hit the lights, please, Logan," he told me.

Seeing as I was closest to the switch, I didn't object. As soon as the lights were off, my eyes immediately adjusted. I knew Hank's did the same. He placed an x-ray of her entire body upon the projector. I had seen my x-rays once before, when I first joined the X-Men. Jean had taken them, run a lot of the same tests on me that Hank had on Rebecca. Her x-rays looked just like mine, only in miniature form, and the outline of her skin was slightly curvier than I imagined mine looked.

Hank nodded. "Everything is in order, except she has the adamantium running throughout her skeletal structure," he said, his fingers tracing her bones. "I'm still not quite sure what allows her the claws." He looked to me. "Perhaps you have some insight on your claws, Logan?"

I shook my head. "Wish I did, Hank, but I don't," I told him. "I figured Stryker put them into me."

"Yes, but the adamantium was only laced through your skeleton, Logan," Hank said. "I can't imagine a way to have the adamantium stay on its on in the hands here" – He pointed to her hands, staring at them intently. — "without there being something to keep it there in the first place." He shook his head. "Perhaps Rebecca will be able to enlighten us on this matter."

I nodded. "It might help me, too."

"It would," Hank said as he took off the body shot and placed her head upon the projector. He nodded. "Exactly the same."

He sounded so shocked, but calm all at once. He couldn't doubt that Stryker wouldn't do the same thing twice. Hell, he'd done it three times. It made me wonder how he treated the Asian-looking woman I'd killed, the one he'd had controlled with that crap he tested on Rebecca. I clenched my fists.

Hank noticed my sudden change of emotions. "Is this upsetting you, Logan?" he asked quickly. "If it is, you might not want to stay."

"I'm fine," I said quietly.

Hank gave me a look out of the corner of his eye before he took the x-ray of Rebecca's head from the projector. He nodded towards the light switch, and I obliged, trying not to follow down that train of thought.

Hank went over to the computer that was hooked up to the machine that had scanned her brain, I think he called it a PET scan, whatever the hell that stood for. He took a seat, and I stood behind him, staring intently at the screen.

He brought up an image of her brain. Different sections of it were lit up in different colors ranging from yellow to red to green to blue. None of it meant anything to me.

"This is what Rebecca's brain looks like when I told her to relax," Hank said, tapping the screen to indicate the picture in front of me. "Everything is normal so far."

He pressed a button, and another image came up. He tapped the screen on a certain portion of her brain that was bright red in color. "This is when I told her to think back on her memories of Stryker. I'm sorry I had to do it, but I had to know everything was in working order, and this is one of the ways to tell. Fear comes from a tiny portion of the brain called the amygdale, which is what is lit up so brightly here. You can see that her frontal lobe is also in action." He pointed to the front of her brain that was also bright red. "This shows me that everything is normal."

I could tell Hank hadn't wanted to make Rebecca remember, not just from his words, but how he was acting. She wasn't just some science project to him anymore; she had a face and a personality. Hank may have been a scientist, but if I'd known any better, he was becoming a sucker for a pretty face. The thought made me smirk, and I immediately tried to hide it.

Hank flipped to the next slide. This one was a blown-up version of the original picture, though it looked slightly different.

"This one, I asked her to focus on one of her powers as well as she could, without moving," Hank said. He had gotten very quiet, and I knew this was important. He pointed to the screen. "This is the part of her brain called the hypothalamus. It helps to controls the pituitary glands, which control hormones. The hypothalamus also controls something called circadian cycles, which will be important in a moment."

"Do you think you know what's wrong with her?" I asked, my brows furrowing.

"I have a theory," Hank said. "But I will know more once I am able to see her DNA." He was staring at the picture before him of her brain as if it entranced him. "For now, I need to talk this out, to see if it makes sense. I'm glad you stayed, Logan, this could be very important."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. Good thing Hank was a well-versed scientist.

"Her hypothalamus lit up when I asked her to activate one of her powers. Her pituitary gland lit up as well. This is interesting, mainly because our mutation, the x-gene, is known to set on at puberty. The hypothalamus controls the pituitary gland, telling it when to release hormones. The pituitary gland controls the onset of puberty."

"What're ya thinking, Hank?" I asked, trying not to let my brain get ahead of what he was saying.

"I think that something happened with her x-gene," Hank said. "I'm not sure what yet, but I will be able to confirm soon. I think her x-gene is broken, in a sense. I believe, because of her regenerative capabilities, it is causing her hypothalamus to believe that she is in a constant state of going through puberty. Because of this, her pituitary gland is being forced to release more hormones into her body, feeding the x-gene and causing her to gain more powers than usual."

He looked at me. "It's a stretch, but do you think it makes sense?"

I stared back at him. "What about that cycle thing?"

"It only helps stack the evidence in my theory's favor," Hank said. "The circadian cycles control sleeping and eating patterns. It also has an effect on hormones, brain wave activities, and cell regeneration. This might explain Rebecca's lack of sleeping habits, which is also being aided by her trauma. I'm sure once I've studied her eating patterns, I might find more evidence there, as well. I imagine that she eats more than someone of her size because of her hyper-active thyroid. The x-gene may also contribute to her having gained her regenerative abilities."

I felt my eyes widen. Hank saw this and nodded, turning back to the screen.

"It fits," I said quietly.

"Yes… yes it does."

He didn't sound too happy.

"Has there been anyone like her before, Hank?" I asked.

"Not to my knowledge," he said. "But I will be doing some research over the next week or so on it. I may have to call in a few favors." He looked to me again. "Make sure not to mention this to her. Insure that it is not in your thoughts the next time you see her. I do not wish to worry her when I'm not even sure any harm will come to her because of this."

I paused. "Do you think it might?"

"There is… always a possibility of harm where the brain functions are concerned," he told me. "I will know even more by tomorrow evening, once I've gotten a chance to look at her DNA. Would you like to discuss this further then?"

I found myself nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I would." I blinked, meeting his eyes. "You gonna tell Ro?"

"Of course," Hank said. "I have to. She must hear this as well, so I may have her input on the situation as well."

He stood, beginning to turn off the computer and shut down all of the equipment. He left some of it alone, and that was where I figured the DNA extraction was taking place.

"For tonight, there is not much else we can do," he said. "We will wait, and then we will think, and we will find out what is happening to Rebecca."

He sounded very determined, almost like he was taking this personal.

"It sounds like you care for her a lot already," I commented. I was trying to say it quietly, but I think it came out too gruff.

Hank gave me a strange look. "No more than you care for keeping Marie safe," he told me. "I fear for Rebecca at this point, Logan. She is my patient now, in a way, and I don't imagine doctors enjoying giving their patients death sentences."

"You don't think it's that extreme, do you?"

"Let us hope not," Hank said. "But be sure to keep in mind, Logan, that although Rebecca may be charming and someone who was well-regarded in her importance by Professor Xavier, that I do not let my emotions get in the way of my work."

He gave me a lasting look, and then motioned to the exit. I was the first to look away, something I would never usually do. Hank's look, though, was serious. I decided I didn't want a fight tonight.

Hank and I said good night to one another, and as I was walking back to my room, I wondered about his last statement. He had said he wouldn't let his emotions get in the way. Exactly what emotions was he referring to? His "high regard," as he put it, for her because of Chuck's knowledge of her? That didn't seem to fit right, and it didn't make any sort of sense. He had said she was charming.

What had they talked about when I left them in the library? I didn't imagine Hank to be the kind of guy that would be anything but business. Maybe he wanted to protect Rebecca. He had mentioned my want to protect Marie and compared it to how he felt about Rebecca. I cared for Marie by protecting her in the beginning. Now she was not in danger. She'd taken the cure, but kept living here because she had nowhere else to go. She wanted to stay here and teach, she'd told Ororo, who'd had no problem with that. I'd like to think that Hank would just want to protect Rebecca. She'd had a hard life up until now, and maybe he thought showing her kindness and offering her a sense of protection would make her feel more at ease.

I put together what I knew of Rebecca, and I didn't think she was the kind of person who'd want someone else protecting her. She'd hoped her parents would protect her, but they threw her away the first chance they got. She wouldn't trust anyone who claimed they'd protect her.

Then what else could Hank be getting at?

My original thought came back to me: Hank was getting attached.

I'd have to talk to Ororo about this tomorrow night after we'd all talked about Rebecca's condition. I hoped she would just tell me that I was crazy, but I'm no idiot when it comes to picking up on body language and people's emotions.

I decided this was too much for me to think about, and I had sleep on my immediate agenda.