A/N - Hey, thanks for saying hi, flaming dragon girl! I really do want this to flow better than it had before, and I'm on a kick, so here's hoping to finsh the revision by Easter for this one! So glad you're enjoying it, and one thing I don't think you'll need to worry about is deviation from their core selves. Thanks again!

Chapter Twenty One: Synapses, Damage, And Isolation

K was sitting in a window seat in Charles' study. She was depressed after hearing the reactions that some of their friends and family had when Logan had been forced to leave. Charles had given her free rein to use his study to get away from the whispers and stares, even if it was due to her perception. She didn't see all of it going out. She didn't see the outcry from the team, but she did hear - after the fact - how upset they'd gotten with Logan and she was torn on where she thought that left her standing.

However, it wasn't most of the team and school she was considering that morning as she stared at the trashed visor that had once belonged to Cyclops. It was damaged beyond repair by the three claw holes directly through the ruby quartz lens and she did not like it one bit. As she was pondering her thoughts, the door creaked open and Scott came to take a seat next to her.

Scott waited a while to see if she'd start speaking first - a good way for him to measure where her head was at, at least. "You alright?" he asked, bumping her shoulder with his.

She looked up at him with a sigh, nodding her head. "You know, he didn't tell me right away that he didn't actually stick you. For a minute there, I thought you were dead, and I honestly was upset with that."

Scott smiled genuinely, but had to tease. "Well, gee, from the way you had told me to curl up and die not too long ago, I'm shocked."

"You do know I never meant that, right?" K grumbled. "Just … I lash out when I'm upset. Thought you'd be used to that kind of a reaction." When Scott raised an eyebrow at that, K let out a breath and leaned her head on his shoulder as he sat next to her. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Me too," Scott agreed. "I know you won't believe it, but we really missed you guys. You ready for the big meeting?"

"With Fury? No. Not really. I don't know what he wants."

"I guess you'll have to figure it out when you get there." Scott got to his feet and took a hold of her hand to pull her up with him. "Come on, Logan's waiting for you." When she slowly went with him, he let out a breath. "It's a shame about that visor. I really liked that pair."

"It was your idea wasn't it?" K asked, frowning at him as she shifted in his spot. When his hand went up to rub the back of his neck, it was like a signed confession.

"I … it was the best way I could think of that would let Magneto think Logan got close enough to have the kind of trouble that would slow him down."

"How'd you get the blood splatter?" K asked, knowing already that was Logan's blood.

"He set it on his leg over his knee and stabbed himself," Scott said, wearing an expression of distaste. "I told him it wasn't necessary-"

"That's what sold it though," K said.

Scott let out an interested sounding 'huh' and K smiled at him and she let him guide the way, meeting Logan on the way to the ready room where the couple would have to take a meeting with Nick Fury. They already knew that at least part of this was going to be regarding their recent brush with Magneto, and part of it they suspected to have something to do with Logan's sudden resignation from the Avengers, but K still felt there was more they'd have to answer for.

Logan pulled out a chair for K, then took a seat directly to her left, and grasping her hand under the table. She didn't expect Scott to join them, taking the seat to her right, but she was glad to see the two of them presenting a united front all the same.

She had expected to get an ass chewing from Fury, or to have to tolerate listening to one directed at her husband. Instead, she was disarmed by the familiar, kind tone that came from the SHIELD director across the table from them. "How are you feeling, K? I understand you lost an entire language for a few weeks? Is that right?"

K glanced toward Logan for just a moment before answering Fury. "I'm fine, honestly."

"I'm gonna go ahead and call bullshit. I can't help but think that's a standard answer from the two of you. McCoy says you're been having physical symptoms. You've been nauseous, dizzy, and have developed a slight aversion to bright light. He also says that may all fade in time. Has anyone done a mental evaluation yet?" he asked.

And until Fury mentioned it, K hadn't considered that there could be a problem. Now? She was admittedly wondering if she'd lost something vital. "I didn't realize you had an interest in psychology and cognitive development," she said.

"In most cases, I don't," Fury admitted. "But when that case happens to be an ex-weapon that's had her head messed with by the worst criminals and monsters that Weapon X can churn out, I take a minute to reconsider my lack of expertise on the subject."

"Charlie has it planned," Logan said, surprising K. "Wanted her to settle back in first. He's thinks the process of lettin' things grow back into place and heal might've knocked loose some hidden triggers."

Fury nodded his head. "That's all we're concerned about too," he said before he turned his focus back to K, his tone still that same gentle, easy tone at a clear cadence. "Get Xavier to clear you. Once you do, I could use a solid operative for a few missions here and there."

"Not by herself," Logan said. "No solos."

"She'll have a partner," Fury replied, looking at Logan as if the very idea was ludicrous. "I know you can't stand the thought of her on her own with bad guys around."

"Hey, who says I even want to do this?" K asked, looking between the two men as Scott smirked next to her.

"You're in the system now. Your abilities are known, and to top it off, you're proving yourself in areas that you were not trained or programmed to do," Fury said, leaning forward in his seat. "Now, that either means you've had more training than you know, or your programming was more extensive than was written up. In either case, you got too much knowledge to be sittin' home playin' June Cleaver all the damn time. You took on some nasty hitters already, and held your own. No reason to not get some benefits from it."

"June Cleaver?" K pressed, crossing her arms as she sat back in her chair. "That's a cheap shot, old man."

Fury smirked. "By all accounts you got no business callin' me old."

"A gentleman doesn't mention a lady's age," K answered, doing her best attempt at haughty.

"And gentlemen like that haven't been around for nearly fifty years. You're showin' your age just by sayin' things like that," he countered.

"Maybe they needed more June's to teach them not to be insufferable, selfish little pricks," K countered - which had Scott smirking wider.

"Why don't you just spit out what it is you're looking for," Scott suggested. "You know she won't listen if it's not clear anyhow."

"Officially, I have to offer you a position on staff. The few board members that weren't part of the problem did see what you are capable of before the information disappeared or changed. Unofficially, I wouldn't put you on any mission without your husband or someone he trusted to completely to watch your back. I know you think I'm a pain in your ass, but Logan and I actually go way back. You've been good for him – for the most part," Fury said candidly.

"I'll have to get back to you. You know – in case Charles discovers I'm a total psychopath," K replied, though she missed it when Logan frowned deeper at her response. She didn't know it, but he had been counting on a flat refusal from her. "Or … if I suddenly lose all my English again. It's a thing that can happen, I'm pretty sure."

Fury let out a deep breath, and shocking all three of them, he didn't press. "Well that's better than a no," he replied before turning his focus to Logan. "Glad you're on the side of the angels again, Logan. Just knowin' you were out there for those other guys had some of our best operatives more than a little nervous about runnin' into you in a dark alley." With that, Fury rose to his feet and tipped his head their way. "I'll be back when you're finished with your evaluation. Try not to take twenty years to get it done."

"Well it is a lengthy process," Scott said, perfectly straight faced, earning a smile from Logan as Fury fixed Scott with an unamused look and then headed out the door and Scott turned to Logan. "I'll make sure he gets out without any deviations." He was on his feet in an instant and was quick to catch up with Fury, leaving the two ferals alone for a moment with K still rolling the conversation around in her head.

"So, I need a mental evaluation now. Are you worried?" K asked Logan, not sure what to think of it herself.

"Nah. I knew you were nuts when you agreed to marry me," Logan teased, setting off a round of kisses and laughter.

But when it came down to the actual assessment, Charles was perplexed by K's evaluation. Both she and Logan were worried about damage affecting her personality. They knew there was some memory loss, as expected, the extent of which was yet to be determined. He had found a few of the mental blocks that were in place before were damaged or missing entirely. And then there was the matter of many old repressed memories outlining old abuses and traumatic experiences that were seeping into her consciousness at an alarming rate.

When Scott asked her for a re-evaluation of her fighting abilities, he was surprised when her programming didn't simply kick in as it had before for some things. He watched, both fascinated and deeply concerned as K struggled to make a conscious effort to remember what to do.

It wasn't a problem for the hand to hand combat, and it didn't touch the training that Logan had done with her, but many of the things that she just 'did' before took her a few seconds or longer to remember, and while the telepaths breathed a sigh of relief for the moment, Logan took it as a challenge to train her more to his liking.

"So what do we tell Fury?" Scott asked Logan while they watched her fight Sabretooth in the danger room.

"The truth. Her programming was damaged. If he really wants her, and that's what he wanted her for, then she needs to relearn some things if she's going to work for SHIELD. Some of that garbage is better left behind her though, far as I'm concerned," Logan replied.

After a moment, Scott nodded in agreement. "What about the guns? How do you want to test that?"

"I don't have much here," Logan sighed as he watched her move. She looked like she was having no trouble keeping up with Creed and that had Logan leaning closer to the glass. "Well have to work something out with Stark. Hold on." He flicked on the intercom. "Quit playin' with him, sweetheart. I want your best."

Both Logan and Scott looked a little shocked when she took her eyes off Creed to look up to the booth and nod. The program was set to work like him, and the second she'd taken her eyes off him, the Creed in the room started to growl, tensed to spring and the instant she looked back at him, he'd launched himself at her. But, it seemed that K still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She ducked his assault and popped up behind him, remembering this time to slice his spine before she gave Scott some fresh nightmare fuel as she jumped on Creed's back and began to smash his face into the ground until Scott ended the simulation.

Mental evaluation aside, K was moving a little bit different, more like she did when she was on autopilot – smooth, flowing, and with a grace that made shredding and disembowelment look almost feminine. As if there had been no lull in the conversation, Logan reached over and added Daken to the room for K to fight with and let slip an approving sort of sound when she dove into him immediately.

"I'll talk to Stark," Logan said at last, concluding his thought. "He's gotta have some way to test, or the access to take her somewhere. We need to test her sniper abilities, close combat firefights, and I'd like to see her on an infiltration scenario."

"As she is now, she's fit for our team if she wants to join," Scott told him, though that had Logan tightening his mouth into a thin line. "She's gotten her kill percentage down significantly." Scott paused as he thought it over. "I'm guessing maybe it's because she isn't flipping over to the programming. She's thinking about what she does, even if it's fast – there's thought there, not just mindless slicing and stabbing."

"Yeah. We'll talk about it," Logan said under his breath as he leaned over the controls next to Scott. Without any warning, he tossed in Jean, Scott, and himself to help her in her fight with Daken – then threw in Cyber, Deathstrike, and Deadpool just to see how she'd handle it.

"This should be interesting," Scott said dryly, though he was frowning. "Better that it's you and not me pushing the buttons."

Of course, the program Logan had used was one that didn't just target her, but those illusions that were on her side too. K didn't realize that part though until Jean was slashed by Deathstrike. K's head whipped around to watch and she hesitated for a second, assessing the situation. In that moment of hesitation, Cyber gutted her holographic husband and Deadpool flat killed Cyclops with a single shot to the head. Logan saw a flicker of something in her stance just before all hell broke loose.

Daken didn't last her long, even when Cyber turned his attention toward her. When the two focused on her, survival instincts kicked in and she tripped into a berserk rage. Only, there was no growling or screaming as Scott was used to seeing from Logan, just silent focused fury.

When the holographic Jean sat up at the wrong time, both men were prepared to see K remove her head, but at the last possible second, K pushed her to the floor with her boot before before lunging with her claws where Jean's head had been to stick Daken.

Logan and Scott shared a quick glance at each other as K started to work in the rage, pleased when she didn't hesitate to attack Deadpool, who had previously helped them.

"She can distinguish who's on her side when she loses it," Scott said, whisper quiet, something that both men knew Logan had to concentrate very hard to do.

"Keep it to yourself, Slim," Logan said replied, quiet enough that Scott had to tear his gaze from the ongoing fight to watch Logan. "I wanna be sure of what she wants to do. I don't want any pressure on her to join anyone."

A week later, K found herself travelling with Logan to a private, secret military style training facility where they were to meet up with Tony Stark and his best friend, James Rhodes. The place they were using was old, no longer used by the military for modern training regimens, but Tony had refitted it with some newer scenarios. The last thing that Tony wanted was to bring a pair of high-value ferals onto an operational military base. They could have gotten away with bringing Logan in – he had Avengers status, regardless of whether he thought he'd quit or not, but K? Restricted at the least, and sure to raise suspicions.

Tony was waiting to greet them, smiling at them both and making a point to give K a hug. "Are you still the sweet sexy girl that likes large caliber weaponry, or did Magneto screw you up?"

"I don't know … show me whatcha got and I'll tell you if it counts as large caliber or not," K shot back, which only got a delighted sort of laugh from him as he slipped his arm across her shoulders, leading her away from Logan and a confused looking Rhodey as he told her all about the line of goodies he had in store for her. K glanced over her shoulder at her husband, who was starting to look grumpy as the billionaire got cozy with her, even if he knew it was all harmless.

The testing that Tony and Rhodey had set up went well, and K made her way through all the exercises with minimal pausing. It looked as though she was starting to heal even some of the lesser damage to her memory now.

"Got any exploding targets?" she asked to Tony's delight and Rhodey's utter disapproval.

"No, we don't do that," Rhodey said, his arms crossed as he watched her. "We're not going to do that will draw down the attention of the US Military. That's why I'm here. To prevent that kind of indiscretion." He frowned a little deeper and without dropping her gaze continued. "Logan's right, you are a troublemaker."

"Come on, Rhodey, tell her how she did," Tony said, grinning almost obscenely.

Rhodey rolled his eyes as he turned back toward K. "Looks like you pass. Anytime you want to go to the range, you call me, and try not to get yourself picked up by the bad guys again, got it?"

K nodded, then she sat up from the prone position she was in where they'd ended the sniper evaluation. "It's not exactly like I was trying to get picked up to start with." She pushed her hair behind her ear.

Before Rhodey could argue, Logan thanked them for their time, with K echoing his sentiment as the two of them headed back toward the Jeep. Logan had his arm around her, his hand shoved into the back pocket of her jeans as they walked, which always got a smile out of her.

It wasn't until they were on the road and almost back to Westchester that Logan realized that he didn't think to tell Stark to keep it to himself, and by the time they got to the driveway, he knew that Fury would know exactly where K stood with a firearm at least.

But Charles hadn't given his blessings for K to go out with a team yet as he was still wondering if some latent subliminal message had been cracked open by her injury. So much was shifting in how she trained. It was still concerning enough that Hank had been working with Forge to alter some Shi'ar scanners so they would be able to assess her or Logan more precisely should either ever come in again with an injury to their brain. By the time they'd had their day at the range, it was ready, after weeks of tinkering. But it was one thing that Charles had asked from her as part of her sessions.

"Are you sure this isn't going to laser my head off?" K asked, looking skeptical as Hank held her hand and helped her to lay back on the exam table.

"Yes. Quite sure. Forge's calculations are rather precise. Now please, don't move. We're going to try to see how badly you were injured, and if you've healed fully," Hank replied.

"Don't you need a baseline to assess 'how much is healed'?" K asked, earning a weary sigh from Hank.

"Technically, yes if we're being precise, but the fact is that we can make an educated guess comparing your scans to that of an un-injured brain," Hank said wearily.

"That's still assuming that I wasn't damaged befo-ore," K sang out sang she stared at the device in front of her face as the good doctor retreated from the room.

"K."

'Henry."

"Hold. Still. Please."

"Okay, fine."

When the device fired up, K's heart began to race, but she kept a lid on it.

A short moment or two later, it wound back down as Hank re-entered the room, offering her his hand to sit up. He smiled kindly and pulled her along to watch the results as they processed on screen, and though she had no context for what she was seeing, it was a lot easier to decipher when Hank let out a little 'oh my stars'. She frowned his way then turned to the screen where Hank began to point out several strange looking faint lines across the picture, but it meant little to her until Hank explained it.

"You've sustained damage to every single portion of your brain. How it knitted itself back together, even with your incredible healing and regenerative abilities is quite astounding. I'm afraid this will take extensive testing to see where you stand. I'm sorry to say," Hank said in a downhearted tone.

K shifted uncomfortably in her seat, frowning deeper at the images as she thought back to all sorts of trouble with doctors. "I don't suppose … would it be too much to know ahead of time … will you be doing the testing?" K asked nervously.

Hank sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he covered her forearm with his fuzzy hand. "Of course, my dear – who else?"

In a flash, she'd turned and wrapped him up in a tight bear hug. "As long as it's you, I'll be fine with it," K told him. It was enough to take Hank off guard. Hugs from K weren't out of the norm, but hugs in the lab were rare. Especially when he realized quite suddenly that she wasn't panicking in his lab at all.