Author's note: Thank you to kmj1989, partygirl98, and anonymouscsifan for the reviews! Anonymous, Charles is pretty scrupulous with his telepathy, and he's also a little naive. He didn't snoop around on Spyke yet. Yet. And as for Vivien being good and coming to Hank's side... They're not mutually exclusive things. Just stick with me, guys!

I hope you guys noticed that I put up a cover photo! It's as close as I can find to a representation of Vivien. A few key differences, though. Her hair is longer, and there's no black in it. Also: her eyes are more hazel than green, her eyebrows are lighter and her lips are just a *little* bigger than the picture. Plus the obvious fangs and ears thing. But otherwise, that's Vivien!

Impasse

I half-expect (and sincerely hope for) Vivien to show up on our doorstep the next day, but that doesn't happen. I begin to despair by the time an entire week passes.

It doesn't even cross my mind that my hypothesis about Vivien's involvement in Spyke's escape may be false. I know that she helped him. That's not in doubt.

So where is she?

Did Erik find out that she helped Spyke? The idea that he did something to punish Vivien for her perfidy haunts both my dreams and my waking thoughts.

But as the days pass, another fear begins to prey on me. I begin to wonder if my conclusion is wrong, and that she won't be coming to the X-Men after all. But surely she wouldn't choose to stay with the Brotherhood now that she knows what they're capable of- right? I thought that she would come here, but...

What if Vivien has decided to go off on her own, like Raven did?

Meaning another woman I cared for disappeared without a trace, without even bothering to say goodbye to me.

In despair I call Lucy up and ask if she wants to go out again on Saturday.

October 25, 1974

There's an emergency on Friday night, one that requires the entire team.

"A police task force has most of the Brotherhood pinned down in an abandoned building," Charles explains as we suit up. "It's a stalemate right now, but if Erik gets there-"

The stalemate will turn into a one-sided massacre.

No one needs to tell us to hurry up, that's for certain.

We infiltrate the building while Charles starts clearing out the police, though I think most of us X-Men would actually prefer to hand over the Brotherhood members to the authorities. That's simply not an option right now, though, because as soon as Erik arrives the police will all just be potential victims.

"Flush them out," Alex orders. "Get them to retreat."

All of us fan out, searching, searching-

That scent.

I almost don't believe it when I come across it. I've convinced myself by this point that Vivien is gone, having chosen to go her own way rather than stay with the Brotherhood and swallow Erik Lehnsherr's lies.

But the scent filling my nose right now says otherwise.

Suddenly I'm angry, angry with Vivien for being here with the Brotherhood after finding out the truth about them. Having her vanish without a goodbye would even be preferable to this. It's a betrayal of everything I thought she was.

I'm an animal on the hunt now, and a vixen is my prey.

Mastermind tries to attack me as I follow Vixen's scent, but I punch him in the face before his illusion of the building up in flames is even set. I have no time for mind games right now.

The smell of blood is now mixed in with Vixen's flowery sunshine scent- my guess is she probably got hit by a stray bullet at some point.

A vicious part of me is almost glad for it (she won't be able run from me now, will she?) but another part- the larger part- wants to find Vivien so I can help treat her wounds and is terrified over how badly she's hurt.

Vixen. Vivien. I don't even know what to call her right now.

I find her hiding in a janitor's closet, trying to tie off a makeshift bandage on a wound to her calf.

Vixen has a knife at the ready when I fling open the door, but she lowers it immediately when she sees it's me.

"Hi, Hank," she says weakly, like she's embarrassed over her current circumstances.

All of my anger towards Vivien vanishes the moment I set eyes on her face. I'm just too relieved to see her to stay mad.

So I sigh, shut the door behind me, and pull the pocket-sized first aid kit off my belt.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" I ask as I kneel and start to treat her leg. Her silky smooth, shapely leg.

"What's it look like?" she teases, gesturing to her wound. "Trying to patch myself up."

I meet her gaze squarely. "That's not what I meant, Vivien," I tell her.

She frowns in confusion, but I can see the wariness flicker behind her eyes.

"I know you helped Spyke escape," I say stiffly. "I thought you'd-"

Now she looks angry. "Did he tell you that?"

"No," I reply, finishing up her bandage with quick, practiced movements. "He didn't have to. I knew he couldn't get out on his own, and you're the only Brotherhood member with a conscience."

Vivien sighs and goes about carefully pulling her jumpsuit leg down and replacing her boot, avoiding my eyes. "Thanks," she says, gesturing to her wound.

But I won't be distracted.

"Why didn't you want me to know, Vivien?" I ask painfully.

"I didn't want to give you hope that I had changed my mind," she murmurs.

I'm stunned. The only thing I can think to say is, "what?"

"Be honest, Hank," Vivien says, giving me a sad smile as she finally looks at me. "The moment you realized I helped Spyke get out, you were hoping that I would show up in Westchester."

I nod. She's exactly right, of course.

"When you didn't I thought you'd left the Brotherhood and gone off on your own," I admit. "Or that Erik had caught you."

She scoffs. "Caught me? I've got more skills than that. Give me some credit."

A pause.

"So... why are you here with them then?" I ask slowly. "Why didn't you leave the Brotherhood? You saw how low Erik will stoop to get what he wants. You can't possibly still think-"

"Yes, you were right about him. Are you happy? You were right," Vivien snaps. "But let me ask you something, Hank. Would you rather fight a Brotherhood with me or without me in it?"

I stare at her blankly. What's she getting at?

She sighs. "If I'm with them I can stop stuff like what almost happened to Spyke," she explains, "and maybe show these guys there's a better way."

I shake my head. "You're wasting your time, Vivien. They-"

"I thought you said people can change?" Vivien retorts. "Isn't that what you're hoping for so badly with me?"

I cringe as she throws my own words back at me.

"You want me to leave the Brotherhood so badly, Hank," she observes quietly. "And I understand that that's part of who you are, what you believe. But why can't you just accept that this is what I am? Am I really that bad?"

We're silent.

I know she's waiting for an answer, but I don't really have one. I can't even look her in the eye.

Vivien nods shortly and tries to regain her feet. I quickly stand and help her, leaving my hands at her waist to keep her steady. She places a hand on my cheek, and I automatically lean into the touch.

"This is hopeless," Vivien says sadly. "I'm not going to leave the Brotherhood, and you're not going to stop wanting me to. This- whatever the hell this is, between us- is just hurting us both. I think it'd be better if- if we just stayed away from each other, ok?"

"Vivien-"

"I'm sorry," she murmurs. "But please don't speak to me again."

She stands awkwardly on one tiptoe and plants a chaste kiss on my lips, one that still manages to feel like an electric shock, before backing away and limping out the door.

I'm still trying to process what just happened when a huge explosion rocks the building.