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"I am well aware of how out of practice I am, True," Rhianna ground out in frustration, picking herself up off the mats for the twentieth time or so. I haven't sparred since I was sixty-five or seventy, it's probably been more than thirty years!

"Yeah, but DAMN! You used to be almost good as me," True teased. "Now yer like a fuckin'-OUCH!" True's hands went immediately to her now burning backside as she turned to glare at Logan.

"Outside, give me five laps around the mansion."

"Ah, come on Logan," True whined. She loved sparring, running on the other hand, well it was okay but running around a fucking building was just about as boring as you could get.

"Or we can make it ten and a spanking," he stated bluntly, raising his eyebrow, curious to see if she would tempt fate by challenging him.

With an eye roll True headed out, grumbling some rather unsavory comments about Logan's lineage which he chose to ignore.

"Unfortunately, she is correct," Rhianna said, her voice still full of irritation for her own current ability level. The sting from Erik's second spanking was just an unpleasant memory from a couple of days past and Hank had cleared her to begin sparring today. She had been anxious to give it a try, but was sorely disappointed at her current skill level.

"Yep, but like ya said, it's been awhile. Not to mention you're gonna have to get used to your kid's body again. That's why we train."

Rhianna sighed. "I know. It's just annoying. I used to be able to do these things blindfolded, literately."

"It's been all of what, two, maybe three weeks since you were downsized? Give it some time, Blondie. You're still head and shoulders better than any actual ten-year-old out there."

"Well, since you sent my partner away, are you going to impart some of your many years of infinite fighting knowledge, old man?"

Logan grinned and beckoned the girl to come at him.

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Curled comfortably on her bed Rhianna glared at True, not relishing the idea of an argument. It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon and she didn't really want to fight with her cousin.

"True, there's no need for you to get into trouble, too," Rhianna stated in exasperation. "Like I said, I need to get away to collect my thoughts, that and wrap up the loose ends of my former life. You would be bored to tears! It will only be a week or so and I promise I will come back! I came back in time and to a whole new world to find you, I promise I am not going to leave you now."

"If you think you're leaving without me, you're FUCKING insane! You just got your new kid body and you can't do as much mind fucking as you used to without your head exploding. I'm going if only to protect you!" True's blue eyes took on a wicked gleam. "Besides I'm not used to being the good kid. Don't know what I'd do if there's trouble and I'm not in the middle of it!"

"Have to protect your rep as the 'bad twin' eh?" Rhianna chuckled. "Seriously, though, you have to protect ME? You better watch it, True. You are sounding very grown up. I know my powers aren't what they were but they are still way beyond what they were the first time I was ten," Rhianna was more defensive than she should be, and she knew it. She was still struggling a bit with her emotional volatility, which infuriated her to no end. She sighed. It was obvious she wasn't going to convince True not to come and she wasn't willing to give up on her plan to get away for awhile. A small part of her kept whispering that this was the wrong move but the larger part just wanted to get away for a couple of weeks, as irrational as that might be.

"If you are determined to come," she shrugged, "Well it is your ass, literately. I overheard Victor talking to Charles about he and Logan taking a night or two off this coming weekend. They are heading out Friday night and he does not anticipate being back until Saturday afternoon. Of course the moment that Erik and Charles realize that we are gone, they will contact Victor and Logan. We just need to make sure that we have enough of a head start."

"It's been long enough, I think Erik and Charles will have their guard down," True gave a thoughtful nod.

"Agreed. Particularly if we go about business as normal. On Friday, I thought I would ask Charles if Raven and I can go shopping Saturday. You should pester Erik or Alex about spending some time doing something Saturday as well. Also, follow your normal pattern of bugging them for extra TV time Friday night."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill, I'm not some fuckin' novice ya know."

Rhianna ignored her cousin and continued going through the plan. I'll wait until I sense everyone is asleep, including Hank."

True growled, "That could be all night. The dweeb just doesn't know when to call it quits with his science crap sometimes!"

The blond girl smiled. "I have some ideas to ensure that he turns in early."

"Okay, so if we're lucky, we're outta here by midnight," True noted, her mind instantly running the various probabilities. "Worst case Erik notices we're gone at five when he goes for his run. Best case, they allow us our Saturday sleep in and won't notice until around nine." She left out the very worst case, which was that Charles awoke for some reason and noticed they were gone even earlier. "So five to nine hours head start."

"I will contact Lacey to come pick us up just outside the gate. It is about two hours into the city. I will have her drop us off at the Penthouse. I figure we will allow only an hour, to grab anything we want or need there, including your bike. I'll have Lacey set up someplace near the bank. As soon as the bank opens, I can use her to take care of all of the account transfers that we need. I'll make sure that we have cash and access to the accounts. Then we head out of town."

"I say get outta town first, do the bank transfers later. They'll have Vic and Logan on us as soon as they know we're gone. We'll want to be as far away as possible, as soon as possible. You've got enough cash and shit to cover way more than a week or two."

"Good point," Rhianna agreed, feeling good about their plan. She had to admit it was fun to be plotting with True once again. As for the consequences, well her ten-year-old brain was able to push thoughts of those aside in favor considering what a couple weeks of freedom would feel like.

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Rhianna smiled as she reached to unlock the door to the penthouse. It felt good to be coming back to the place that she'd called home for several years - or at least one of them. She and True did not tend to stay in one of the residences all year. Of course in the last few years, True had been taking off, spending much of her time on her then secret pursuits for the de-aging serum.

"Remember. In and out. Grab anything you want and then we're out of here."

"All I want's my bike and that's down in the garage," True replied.

"I'll need to gather some papers and empty the safe. There might be a few sentimental things I'll take as well. What do you think about heading to the Lakehouse?" Rhianna asked stopping short just as she unlocked the door. What on earth was up with her powers!

True walked right into her cousin. "What the fuck, Rhi!"

With a resigned sigh, Rhianna swung the door open, knowing there was really no alternative. The lights flipped on without either girl so much as touching a switch. There on the couch sat Victor, eyeing them dangerously.

"Shit!" True turned to retreat but ran headlong into Logan, who scooped her up and stepped forward slamming the door behind him. He picked up Rhianna as well and moved to deposit both girls in front of his brother.

"What did I tell you?" the massive mutant growled.

"It isn't what you think, Victor," Rhianna stated, keeping her voice even despite the shiver going up her spine. "Our plan was not to leave the mansion for good. We knew you would find us eventually anyway. I just needed some time away to think, to process everything that has happened. Away from everything and everyone. True was just worried about my being on my own. We planned on coming back, I swear."

"What did I tell you?" he repeated as if she hadn't spoken.

With a defeated sigh, Rhianna whispered, "That True was staying because that's what was best for her and I was staying as well, because I am a child again, and not to test you on this."

"But, Vic," True whined, "We weren't leaving, leaving. Just takin' a break and pickin' up some sh-ah stuff. I needed my bike, ya know."

"There damn well better be a helmet in this place or you an' me are gonna be having a whole other discussion once this one's done," the large mutant stated gruffly.

"Oh, ah, yeah course there's a helmet." True hedged praying to any and all gods that she could find the damn thing. "And what do we gotta discuss? I said we weren't gonna leave. Ya gettin deaf in your old age or something?"

Victor grabbed True by the shoulder and swiftly turned her to the side. Three powerful swats landed on her backside before she was turned back around. "That mouth of yours is going to make this go a whole lot worse. You best keep your yap shut."

True scowled at him while rubbing her backside. "Won't be able to keep it shut if I gotta answer your stupid questions."

Victor reached out to offer another swat but realized he was too angry. "Both of you find a corner. I need to calm down." He growled.

With a huff and parting glare, True stomped over to an empty corner.

Rhianna paused, but after giving the furious man a searching look, she reluctantly began to move at a much more sedate pace, wondering when her cousin would ever learn to control herself. It was like the line between her brain and mouth was severed whenever she found herself in trouble. Stupid girl always made things worse.

After a mere sixty seconds, True angrily kicked the wall. "This is ridiculous! We didn't do nuthin'!" She mumbled.

Victor sighed and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "Get over here, NOW!"

True jumped. She forgot how well Victor could hear. She hesitantly moved to his side and was surprised when the expected swat didn't land. She peeked up at him and noted he still looked pissed.

"You wanna keep jabbering? Well you can just go pick up that phone over there and call Erik. I'm sure he's wondering where you two are."

"Uh uh! No way! I'm not calling him! He'll probably figure out a way to reach through the phone and kill me!" She saw Logan heading her way, unbuckling his belt as he did so. True bolted for the phone but was not quite quick enough to avoid the evil piece of leather. "Damnit Logan!" She yelped and rubber her rear.

"Victor," Rhianna said turning from the corner, "Erik and Charles were asleep when we left. It's past one. Don't you think it would be best to wait until morning?"

Victor snorted. "Who do you think called us? Chuck woke up and realized you were gone. We were already in the city and knowing you as well as we do, we knew you'd come here."

"And we know True Blue would never leave that bike of hers."

"Now call Erik. Or does Jimmy need to give you a little more incentive?"

True frantically shook her head. Her backside was burning something awful and she knew it was only going to get worse. She picked up the phone and dialed as slow as she dared.

"Where the hell are you?" Erik growled into the phone before she could even speak.

"Well, hello to you too! OW!" She scowled at Logan and rubbed her rear. "We are at our Penthouse." True winced as Erik read her the riot act and then told her in great detail what he planned to do to her when he got his hands on her.

"Erik please stop threatening her. She will never come home at the rate you are going."

True smiled as she heard the receiver being taken from Erik's hand. "True I know Rhianna is with you. Is she alright?"

"For now."

"Please put Victor or Logan on."

Being the closest, Logan took the phone. "Yeah," he said after a pause. "Yep, that's what they said. Vic plans on dealing with it tonight. Tell Erik I heard him. Sure thing. Call you in the morning." Logan hung up the phone. He walked over to True and spinning her around landed six blazing swats on her rear. "That's from Erik." He directed the girl back to the corner, swatting her every step of the way. That's from Chuck. Think you scared ten years off of their lives tonight."

True sniffed, one hand scrubbing the tears from her face while the other rubbed at her rear. Logan hadn't been messing around. Her bottom was already on fire, and she knew those few swats were nothing compared to what Victor had planned. This little venture of Rhianna's had been a BAD idea. Damn her cousin and her hair brained plan!

Logan walked briskly to Rhianna's corner and when she spun swiftly around so that her back was up against the wall he lifted an eyebrow, a sardonic grin on his face. When she just flattened further against the wall, he shook his head and easily lifted the small blond off her feet and tucked her torso under his left arm while applying the same hefty swats to her backside before placing her back into the corner. "Compliments of Erik and the Prof."

"Now, the two of you will stand in those corners, quietly, while I calm down," Victor said, "Not one more word from either of you."

"Actually, I got one more question," Logan interjected. "Where's your liquor, cabinet Blondie?"

Wiping at her tears, the small telepath gave a sniff. "In the dining room, the taller hutch with the solid doors, but please leave the top shelf stuff alone, Logan." The last bit had her sounding almost like her old adult self.

"Why? Ain't like you're touching it for the next ten years or so."

Rhianna started to reply, but Victor's growl had her swallowing her sharp retort and giving her bottom a quick rub.

Logan found a couple of glasses and grabbed a bottle of Canadian whisky, pouring both his brother and himself a glass. With their healing factors, they could down the entire bottle and not get a bit drunk, but he knew it would take the edge of the elder mutant's frustration. He handed a glass to Victor and reached for the TV remote.

"Might as well see if we can catch a fight."

Exasperated, Rhianna, almost commented, but managed to hold her tongue in check. Victor let the girls stand there for twenty minutes but it was nearly 2 am and he thought True might be ready to fall asleep where she stood, even Rhianna with her odd sleep habits appeared to be fading. He grabbed the remote where Jimmy had set it down and clicked the TV off.

"C'mere, lil bit," he said his voice low and firm, but calm.

True started, actually having begun to doze with her forehead resting against the wall. The sting from Logan's spanking and her sleepiness lulled her own temper and his use of the comforting nick name made her more inclined to do as he'd asked without argument. At this point, bed sounded good, even if it meant sleeping on her tummy.

"Victor," Rhianna said quietly, "This really is my fault, not True's. I decided I needed to go, and-"

"Yep," he interrupted. "It is. Which is why you get to suffer through hearing what you brought on knowing you could've prevented it. Not that True didn't make her own decision. Seriously doubt you twisted her arm, so it's not like she doesn't have this coming."

With that Victor unfastened True's jeans and tugged them down to her knees before pulling the girl across his broad thighs and bringing the cotton panties down to join the denim. Without preamble, Victor raised his huge hand and brought it down with a resounding SMACK! on the small bottom over his lap which brought True fully and completely awake with a loud yelp. The blistering swats continued as did the yelling, which soon turned to sobs. He'd told the them not to leave and warned them they would regret it if they did, so Victor was inclined to make this a lesson that neither girl would soon forget. Although he was cautious with his mutant strength, he put enough into the punishment to equal a paddling from most any other person.

He raised his leg and tipped the tiny form forward, for the final smacks which were all delivered on the crease between the thigh and bottom. Victor laid a calming hand on her back to let her know he was finished and she sobbed out her regret. Carefully drawing True's panties back up, hating her little whimper as they touched her scorched rear, he lifted her up off his lap and let the jeans fall to the ground before settling her in his arms where she readily snuggled into his chest. True cried herself out, and he rocked her gently back and forth, murmuring endearments and letting her know all was forgiven. Before long, she had fallen fast asleep, her brown hair tussled and her tear streaked face looking completely relaxed and angelic. Victor stood and without even turning from the corner, Rhianna pointed in the correct direction.

"First door on the left," she whispered, blinking back her own tears at having brought this on her cousin. Sure True had had many a spanking, and she'd have plenty more no doubt, but this one really was Rhianna's fault and that didn't sit well.

Within a few minutes Victor had returned and reseated himself on the sofa. "Okay, Kitten, your turn. Come on over."

Rhianna looked quizzically at the old mutant, surprised both by the pet name and by how worn he appeared. With his healing factor this was abnormal but she didn't really have to lower her shields to know that it was emotionally draining for him to punish the little girl that he cared about so dearly. Over the years, she had seen how the bond had developed between True and Victor, and though he would never shirk what he saw as his responsibility, he in no way enjoyed it either.

"I really am sorry that I pulled True into this," she admitted, an errant tear running down her cheek. "I had thought to leave her behind, but she was so adamant. I should have just left her a note, reassuring her that I was coming back."

"No, you shouldn't have left."

Blinking back her tears, she replied, "Victor, you don't understand-"

He took hold of her chin and bent down to look into her green eyes, "If you needed time, you should have asked. Jimmy or I would have brought you. We were already planning a trip to help you move your things and take care of leasing this place. I know you've got stuff that probably needs taking care of, but like it or not, Kitten, you are a kid now and you don't just do things on your own. YOU ASK! We clear on that point?"

Rhianna wanted to argue that the circumstances were more than extenuating, but knew it would not end well. She gave a curt nod, frustration clearly visible.

Victor reached around and gave her a mighty pop on the rear. "I asked you a question. You know the answer I expect."

Of course she did. She'd witnessed this same routine between Victor and True enough times. When she had met Victor the first time, she had been in her late teens. The next time she had been a married woman, albeit still young. However, for most of their long acquaintance she had been an adult and had thus interacted with him as such. Rhianna knew he was now making the distinction that the relationship had changed. She received another smack while she considered all of this, and with a yelp finally offered the response he was seeking.

"Yes sir."

With a nod of satisfaction, Victor unfastened the tapered black trousers that the girl had dawned for their covert mission. As with True they were pulled down to her knees before she went over his lap and the silk panties soon followed. Rhianna had very little time to consider the awkwardness of being in this position with someone she had known for more than eighty years because when the first swat fell on her unprotected backside, all of her attention was focused on the immense pain she was now experiencing.

Just as he'd done with her cousin, Victor delivered a thorough spanking, intending to make it perfectly clear to Rhianna that she was not to go off without an adult. The girl didn't even have full control of her powers, and as her sparring had shown, she was not nearly as capable of defending herself as she once had been. She really did not seem to understand the danger she was putting herself in with this notion that she could take care of herself. As his massive hand smacked down covering almost all of the quickly reddening bottom, he felt sure she would consider her actions more carefully from now on. He would see to that.

Though she didn't tend to move around or holler as much as True did during a punishment, she had started to unconsciously avoid the painful ministrations of his very hard hand. Victor grasped her more firmly around the waist, smelling the tears that fell more silently than her cousin's had. Continuing down her thighs brought a few gasps from more stoic girl, and soon quiet sobs were apparent. Looking down, every inch of her backside and thighs were bright red, but he tilted her forward anyway, addressing her sit spots as he had with True. Breakfast would be no fun for either girl tomorrow.

When he finished, he ran his hand gently over her back, rubbing soft circles until she had calmed a little, and then he brought her clothing back up. The tapered legs of her trousers wouldn't fit over her shoes, besides he knew she would be less comfortable in a state of undress than True. She stood shakily and moved to step away but the large mutant shook his head. "Oh no you don't, Kitten. That isn't how this works."

He lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest so that her sore bottom didn't connect with anything that might cause further pain.

"Victor, it's okay," she whispered with a hitched breath, trying to deny her need for comfort. "I don't need -"

"Yes, you do," he replied quietly placing a kiss on her blond curls. "And so do I."

Rhianna was somewhat startled by that confession and let her shields down so that she could sense the man's emotions. Realizing that he had spoken truthfully, she laid her head against his broad chest, both giving and receiving comfort. It was difficult, her own emotions were whirling and now she was aware of Victor's as well. She knew he hated doing what he had done. Causing such pain to 'mere cubs' was difficult for him. Additionally, she picked up his concern for both her and True's safety and well being. Their stepping out of his range of protection had brought out a protective instinct in him that had his inner beast roaring in anger at their careless actions. With the impeccable control he had managed to attain after so many decades of life, it was easy to forget his feral side. Fairly ironic that she currently cuddled safely in the arms of an individual that could tear a man limb from limb and completely eviscerate him in less time than a heavyweight boxer could down a lightweight. She was well aware of how very dangerous Victor actually was, but she had to admit she had never felt anything but safe around the man. "I'm sorry," she finally said.

"I know, Kitten, and I know this is hard for you, too. You need to let us help."

"I'll try."