"Mr. Hallworth?" The PA system clicked on in my English class.

"Yes?" Mr. Hallworth replied.

"Will you please send Anna Howlett to the office?"

"She'll be right there." He looked at me, and I nodded. I took my things with me, not sure if I would need to come back. When I get called to the office, it's never a good thing.

Logan was pacing in the main hall as I walked up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, instantly worried.

"We need to talk. I checked you out; you need to come to the mansion for a little bit."

"Is this about me staying with Wade?" I asked.

"No, but I'm not happy about that either." He sighed. "We need to have a talk, and we need to be home to have it."

"Fair enough. I'll get my car and follow you home."

"Good." He kissed my head and walked out to his bike.

I ran around to the back of the school, to the student parking lot. I threw my book-bag in the back and started up the Jag. I saw Logan pulling out; I followed. I hadn't been to the mansion in days, I loved the scenery of the roads as we drove around curves and straights to the main gate. I parked in front, and got out to see Logan already waiting for me. Dang, he was fast. He sighed heavily.

"Do you remember when we first met?" He asked, as we walked into the foyer.

"Of course. How could I ever forget?" I laughed, trying to break his tension. He knew he could tell me anything, why was he so terrified?

"You were just a little girl, about 12."

"My mother had died when I was 11, and I spent all my time on the street until I met you."

"I was walking by when I smelled Magneto. I went to check it out, and he's attacking a little girl." He sat down in a wingback chair. I stayed silent, letting him finish. "I broke in, and tried to kill him. I won't lie, there's no point. I was hoping to kill him. He had back-up. Sabretooth tried to get me from behind; you stopped him. Somehow you were able to drive him in a corner and chop off his arm with that little blade you carried with you. Magneto was about to kill me, you touched him, and absorbed him. He almost died, but not quite. That's why he needed Rebirth the first time. You sucked so much out of him, he was going to die." He grabbed my gloved hand and held it in his. "You saved my life, or, at least, you thought you did. I couldn't just walk away from you and leave you there to suffer on the street. I had no idea how to raise a kid, but I had to try for you."

"What's wrong, Dad? You're shaking."

"I couldn't walk away then…and I couldn't walk away this time."

"What are you talking about?"

"I went for a ride a couple days ago; the day you left for Deadpool's. I was tracking Sabretooth, trying to figure out how he knew about the attack. I wanted answers. What I found was….completely different." He took a deep breath. "He was choking a little girl, no more than ten. He kept yelling 'Give me the answers! I must know!' The child was dying. I didn't even think. I just reacted."

"You saved her." I made it a statement; I beamed at him. "What's her name?"

"Dena. She…has no family. She was on the streets, just like you were. I couldn't leave her."

"Where is she?"

"In a spare room."

"Can I…go talk to her?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"Dad," I gave him a big hug and smiled at him, "you did the right thing. Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me for saving her?"

"Not just her, dad; both of us." I smiled and went to the spare room.

She was sitting on the bed, staring out the window. She was a small thing. She was wearing shorts and a ratty shirt; you could see how thin she was. She looked like she hadn't eaten well in weeks. She looked at me as I walked in, her long platinum blond hair flapping over her right eye. She pushed it back to show glowing blue eyes and a round face that showed no emotion. She'd be a hell of a poker player.

"Hi. I'm Annie. I'm Logan's daughter." I stuck out a gloved hand, and she shook it hesitantly.

"Why are you wearing gloves?" She asked quietly. Her voice was soft and fragile.

"So I don't hurt anyone. I'm a mutant; my power is to absorb people's energy, but if I'm not careful, I could hurt people." I explained with a smile.

"I'm a mutant, too. Do I need to wear gloves?"

"What's your ability?"

"I can be anybody I want." She picked up a magazine off the desk and showed me a picture of Jennifer Anniston. She closed her eyes, and her body slowly changed to fit Jennifer's profile. I smiled in awe.

"You're a shape-shifter. That's so cool!" I beamed at her. She quickly shifted back and blushed.

"My mother said that most people would hate me for it."

"Some people will, I won't lie, but not here. Everyone in this house is a mutant, just like you. We all love each other and take care of each other. We're a family."

"I don't have a family.'

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind. My mother…she died…in a car accident. She told me to run. She didn't want the police to get me. She said they would hurt me if thy found out what I really look like."

"What you really look like?" I asked. Then it hit me. I remembered Mystique. She was a shape-shifter, and her true form was a blue-skinned, yellow-eyed psycho. "Can you show me what you look like?"

"I…"

"You don't have to. I understand." I put my hand on top of hers. "Have you met Kurt?"

"No. I've only seen Logan and the man in the wheel chair.'

"The man in the wheel chair is Professor Charles Xavier."

"Does he experiment on us? My mother warned me about them." She looked horrified.

"No!" I quickly responded. "He keeps those people away from us. He keeps us safe."

"Logan kept me safe."

"Logan's a good man."

"Why do you call your father by his name?"

"Well, he wasn't always my father. My mother died when I was young, just like yours. He found me and took me in and adopted me. I've been here ever since. He took me off the streets and loved me and gave me a home and a family."

"I don't know him, but, for some reason, I trust him."

"He's just that kinda guy. He's so easy to trust. The only bad thing is has a bit of a temper."

"Does he hit you?"

"No!" I laughed. "He would never hurt anyone he loves. He just growls a lot and yells at everyone else."

"You're very nice."

"Thanks. I try." I chuckled and looked at her. "Would you like some different clothes? I think have some stuff I had when I was a kid that might fit you."

"These clothes are dirty…." She said thoughtfully.

"Right. Follow me." I smiled and led her into my room.

She plopped down on my bed as I dug in my bottom drawer. I found some jeans and a couple shirts that I tossed on the bed beside her. She beamed and held the clothes up to see if they would fit. She tried them on, and they were a bit big. I had a bigger bone structure than she had when I was a kid. I logged on to my computer and checked my bank account.

"How would you like to go shopping?"

"Shopping?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Great, we're gonna have a girly girl in the house; she'd get a long great with Kitty.

"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "I'll tell Logan where we're going, and we'll go to the mall."

"Are we taking the bike?" She looked a little scared. Oh, no. I was so not having a girl in the house who was afraid of bikes. I was gonna have to break her of that fear, but not today.

"No, it's hard to carry bags on the bike. We'll take my car."

"You have your own car?" She looked incredulous.

"Well, technically, it's a friend's. She's letting me use it until I get a new truck. Mine broke down."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I laughed.

The mall was not busy at all. It was only like 10:00, so there weren't any teenaged mall rats hanging around. It was the perfect time for a little bonding/shopping time.

"Do you have any favorite stores, Dena?" I asked.

"I never told you my name."

"Logan told me." I laughed; I had forgotten to get her name from her. I guess it was a little weird.

"I never really went shopping anywhere but Walmart."

"I see. Well, do you have a favorite style? Brand? Color?"

"I like black."

"Wonderful! Black goes with everything, so you won't have a problem matching things up." I thought about all the stores….I had a hunch. "Have you ever seen the movie Gypsy 83?"

"Yes! I love that movie!" She exclaimed. I was surprised that a kid that young had seen such a cult-classic movie.

"Ok, then I know where our first stop will be."

I felt a little silly bringing a ten year old into Hot Topic, I gotta say, but I saw her face light up when we went in, and I was excited. She ran straight to the shoes, picking up a pair of three inch heels and smiling. I laughed and steered her towards the t-shirts. She wanted a Cobra Starship shirt, so I made her get one of their CD's as well. I wasn't going to let her be a poser! She didn't like any of the jeans they had, she said they were too tight, but she fell in love with Tripp pants. All they had were far too big for her, so I told her we'd look online for some smaller ones. She was like a kid in a candy store! It was so cute. When we left we had six bags full of shirts, hair bows, make up (which I didn't like, but whatever), and a couple pairs of shoes. Thank God I had a membership card!

Next we went into JC Penny's to find some pants that fit her. Several of the types that looked nice on her had pink flowers or patterns on it that she despised. We were able to find a couple that were unadorned, however. One pair, she instantly fell I love with. They were black jeans with slashes down the legs that exposed pink tights underneath. Only covered by the black would she accept the pink. I threw in a couple pairs of socks, then we headed to the bathroom for her to put on her new clothes.

We made quite the pair, sitting in the food court, munching on subways sammiches. I had on my favorite camo shorts and a snug Harley shirt with bright Osiris skating shoes; she had on a black spaghetti strap tank top and faded blue jeans with a pair of Iron Fist creepers on her dainty feet. We were the poster kids for rejects everywhere, and we got the odd looks we deserved. This kid was just as much of an attention-shocker as I was! I liked her, a lot.

"So, you're in about 4th grade, right?" I asked, trying not to drip sauce from my meatball marinara run down my chin.

"I was homeschooled until my mother died." She answered, her mouth full of turkey and pepperjack cheese.

"We'll have to make you take a placement test. You need to be in school."

"I don't like people." She squirmed a little in her seat.

"Maybe the professor wouldn't mind homeschooling you, but it'd be hard. Going to public school would be easier."

"I don't mind hard. I like learning."

"That's good, but school also teaches social skills that you need. It's invaluable."

"I really don't want to."

"Ok, well, that's not really up to me, but we can talk to the prof about it." I smiled and took another bite. I hadn't smiled so much in a long time. This kid was great!

"Are we safe in the mansion?"

"Of course." I looked at her, confused. "Why wouldn't you be?'

"He'll try to find me."

"You mean Sabretooth."

"Yes. He hurts me when I disobey."

"He will not hurt you again. I promise." I looked her hard in the eyes. I made a silent vow to protect her. She was so…innocent. I couldn't let that be tarnished. I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her and tell her everything would be alright from now on. I was once where she was….no. I was never hurt by a man like she was. I was alone. She was constantly threatened. I wanted to keep her safe.

"We should probably get back to the mansion."

"Can I…can I sleep in your room tonight?"

"I…" I thought about Wade. I couldn't go back tonight, I needed to watch over her; protect her. "Of course." I smiled and took up her trash and threw it away. She reached for my hand, and I took it. We walked back to the car, smiling and laughing. I pushed her Cobra Starship CD into the player in the car. Good Girls Go Bad was an awesome song to drive home by.