Disclaimer: The X-Men are not mine, they are Marvel's. You probably know by now which OC goes where ;D

Author's note: Aaaaaaand!

Okay, so I've been TRYING to do National Novel Writing Month (NaNo WriteMo)... buuuut I've been having awful writer's block and only have about 6,000 words done. Out of 50,000. That's... like 3%. And the month's halfway over. Eh. (You know how long it took me to get 50k word on D-Factor? Several MONTHS. Sigh... time to recruit my pal.)

Alright. Strap in. You'll like this one.

And the next chapter (or several) will be flashes back to the Haven mutants. You get to catch up with them from over the past month (story-time).

Enjoy. Read. Review.

Shadows and sunlight mingled in a collage on the forest floor. The air was crisp and fresh, the sounds of a far off stream drifted through the air, interrupted only by the rustling of leaves by the breeze. Trees with long, thick, trunks stretched up out of the ground alongside narrow-trunked trees with a wide display of leaves. The faded greens and browns of the forest melted together to create a single landscape.

With sudden rapidness a shadow jumped from a tree to the ground before sprinting in between the shadows of the leaves and climbing up another tree. The form continued on its way, scouting what they could see.

He stopped suddenly as the wind shifted and a new scent blew his way. The shadows covered most of his face and body, but his visible muscles tensed with anticipation.

The beast let out a sound halfway between words and growl. "Now that is a scent I haven't caught in a long while." He breathed deeply and smiled.

He whirled toward the source and pounced toward it.

The games had begun.

Danger Room

"Hans! Heads up!"

Julian whirled around and bent her knees low to duck. A large flexible mechanical arm zoomed overhead and slammed into the wall behind her. She rolled out of her crouch hurriedly, changing her location so the arm could not smash down on her.

For it only being her third DR session she was doing pretty well. Because of her age and experience level, she trained with the younger mutants at the Institute. She was older than most of them, but was a sophomore like all but Jamie.

Bobby was given the option of returning to the main X-Men team or remaining as leader of the New Mutants.

He stayed.

It was a hard choice for him, but it was one he was glad to make. Plus no one really wanted to rise up to take the slot left empty by Leo. Not now at least.

Julian admired his experience and knowledge of his team, but like she found in any boy he made stupid, reckless decisions. And they all received bruises when he did.

"Thanks Bobby!" Julian called as soon as she was clear of the arm.

"Iceman!" He yelled, correcting her. He shook his head, she was awful at using codenames. Sometimes she would get them completely wrong, use one of Logan's nicknames instead (which to Bobby was not allowed, she had not been there long enough), or outright forgot them. Other than that minor defect, which of course Iceman was working on, the girl was proving her worth as a teammate. There was a lot of exploring with her powers she still had to do but she was determined to pick up the slack.

The Danger Room obstacle course was in full swing, mechanical arms, walls, razor blades, lasers, and spikes were popping out all over the place. Iceman surveyed the room quickly. It was a mere survival training exercise, so the objective was to reduce injuries. He knew Beast was at the controls so the amount of pain they would endure was much less than if it was Logan.

Too bad it wasn't Storm, though.

The team had broken up into smaller groups, but Julian had managed to get separated from anyone else and was dodging hazards trying to return to her former group of Berserker, Tabitha, and Multiple. Iceman looked at his group. Magma, Cannonball, and Sunspot seemed to be doing fine on their own.

"Hey, I'm gonna go help the newbie. Stay alive 'til I get back!" Bobby yelled over the battle noise. He didn't wait for a reply as he made an ice slide to get him over to Julian.

A vine whipped by his ear and a laser cannon that jutted out of the wall exploded. He saw the pale girl grimace as she pulled the vine back to her.

Her uniform was designed to work with her mutation. He skin had to be exposed to allows plants to grow from her skin (so far she was restricted to a variety of vies and the ever purposeless flowers). The uniform was sleeveless in a way, the black cloth wrapped up and around her collar bone but left her shoulders bare. She didn't sport the classic 'X' shoulder pads the other New Mutants did, but she wore the same style gloves and boots as them, as well as the clunky belt, only hers were a very light shade of green. Her braided hair snapped around as she spun to dodge another mechanical arm.

Bobby got in closer and froze the arm solid. Julian glanced up at him before extending her arms out. In response the four vines she normally had extending from her back for combat whipped through the air and struck the mechanical arm. The frozen mechanics buckled and shattered under the force.

Iceman glided down next to her, meaning to compliment her, but a series of laser blasts stopped him. He shot a beam of ice at the cannon and it stopped.

"What's the deal with you and codenames?" Julian asked as the two joined in their obstacle aerobatics together.

"We're supposed to use 'em in battle!"

Julian swerved her body to the side as a spike sprung up from the floor. "What? People can't know our names?"

"It's just best if we didn't yell out our identities all the time." He responded while at the same time making an ice bat and slamming it into a razor blade that spun out of the wall. His explanation didn't make a ton of sense after he said it. The papers had plastered their identities all over the place. He shrugged off his stupidity. Julian could take his word or not.

"You just called me Hans! Isn't that even worse than me saying 'Bobby'!? It's my last name!" She shouted as they both ducked under a spike.

"Well that's cuz Professor X hasn't given you a codename yet."

"Psh. What codename would I have?"

"I dunno. How 'bout Solo?" Iceman suggested as the pair vaulted over a wall.

"Solo?"

"Yeah, like 'Han Solo'. Your codename doesn't always have to do with your powers."

"My name is Hans not Han." She snorted.

"Hey, it's just a suggestion!"

Julian froze and glared suspiciously at him.

"Whaa?"

She shook her head, meaning to ignore his comment, when she suddenly grimaced. She let out a surprised cry and fell forward. Iceman sprung forward to catch her as she fell. A seared and smoking section of her uniform was peeling away to reveal raw skin.

"End session." Beast's voice came over the intercom.

The students groaned as the obstacles retracted into the walls and floor.

"Alright, who got hit?" Berserker asked roughly as the team drifted toward the center.

"Julian." Bobby stated, still holding her up. The wound on her back didn't look quite as bad as it first did. Her eyes twitched rebelliously under her eyelids. They snapped open suddenly, her pupils dilating in surprise, a stark contrast to the pale blue in her irises. Seeing she was conscious Bobby helped her stand on her own.

"Well, good news!" Beast called out cheerfully as he entered the Danger Room. "You blew your last survival record out of the water!"

"Yeah, because Logan monitored the last one." Ray grumbled.

The students all shot him a look. They didn't want their success to be considered a fluke.

Plus they hadn't heard from the feral man in nearly a week, nor seen him in almost a month.

A man stood overlooking a valley from the edge of a high drop-off. Trees grew high around him, their bare canopy still managing to block out most of the pale midday sun, frozen pine needles on the coniferous trees around him rustled like tiny wind chimes in the cold breeze. Frost was still gathered on the fallen leaves below, and where it had melted it left the leaves a mushy mess. The drop-off was of light tan soil with rocks sewn in. The man's feet were firmly planted just inches from the edge, as if he was not afraid of falling.

The valley in front extended out for about a half a mile, before sloping back up into the hilly region beyond. Trees flanked the edges, but the valley itself was full of tall grass, now yellow and brown in hibernation for the winter.

The man breathed in the cool air, his blue-black hair fluttering in the breeze. He shrugged his broad shoulders and opened and closed his fists. He had no coat on, just a plain gray T-shirt and jeans, black leather gloves on his hands with armored slits for his signature claws. A navy blue helmet with a curved visor sat on the ground next to him.

Logan sighed, hunching his shoulders as the wind cut through him again.

It was nearly a month after the warehouse attack. He had gained no ground on finding Leo, or any of the Dysons for that matter. After Beast's brief lead on Tyler he had gotten some hope, but it returned to being as dismal as ever when that led nowhere. The quick adventure with Quinn dashed his hopes further.

It just seemed like people kept getting lost.

He was a failure; he couldn't keep track of Leo's scent after he first set out. He would have to return to the Institute to revive the scent. Even then, it had been almost a month. The trail was most likely cold.

He didn't like it, but he was giving up. It was time to lend his time back to the other students at the Institute. They still needed him, Leo or no. He could not simply abandon them because part of the team was gone. They would need him more than ever, especially with the Brotherhood beginning to stir again.

Logan bent down to pick up his helmet when he froze. The breeze had shifted and a scent had floated his way.

Snarling he whirled around and extended his claws. A second later he was tackled by a massive form and they both went hurtling down into space off the ledge.

"Ow!"

"Miss Hans, hold still. I can't wrap your injury if you keep moving!" Beast warned sternly.

Julian sat on the edge of one of the beds in the infirmary, turned away from the door and Beast. She held her jet black hair in her hands and away from her back. As soon as Beast had seen her wound he insisted he take a look at it.

Not for the first time she wished she had a rapid healing factor.

The girl muttered something under her breath and Beast chuckled. He finished dressing her wound and held his hands up.

"There. All done. Much easier when you didn't squirm as much." He teased.

Julian shrugged on a black T-shirt over her jeans and turned to Beast. She gave the furry man a smile and a nod. Beast shook his head and chuckled as she left. With much luck she would be a regular in the infirmary.

As Julian exited she caught a glance of Bobby turning the corner.

"Hey! Bobby! Wait up!" She called.

He poked his head back around the corner and waited for her. "'Sup?"

"Not much." She replied, rounding the corner herself. With Bobby were Jamie, Tabitha, and Amara. The four were still decked out in their combat gear. "Going to change?"

"Yeah, then thought we could have a little game of mutant ball. You game?"

Julian nodded.

Tabitha laughed. "Well look who's fittin' in nicely. Already has the battle scars to prove it."

The group continued down the halls toward the dormitories. First was the boy's wing. As they were walking Jamie stopped suddenly and looked at a door on the right.

Bobby looked back and stopped as well. They all knew whose door it was.

"Come on…" The older teen urged half-heartedly.

Tabitha and Amara glanced at each other and then walked up behind the younger boy. Amara placed a careful hand on his shoulder.

"Has anyone… you know… been in there since?"

Tabitha turned to Julian who made the comment. She shook her head. "No one's really had the courage."

The newest mutant stepped up and put a hand on the doorknob.

"Well… someone has to…"

She opened the door.

The two figures hit the ground hard. During their fall Logan managed to wiggle his way on top of the other so they would receive more of the blunt force when they crashed.

Immediately when they landed Wolverine untangled himself from the other and took several steps back. He narrowed his eyes and waited for the other to get up.

"Well Logan, I guess this is where I say hello." The other laughed. Sabretooth stood slowly, making a show for his competitor. He bared his sharp teeth in an animalistic grin. "Ain't ya gonna say hello back?" He barked.

"Sabretooth…" Wolverine snarled. "Rck, what do you want?" He shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, ready to spring.

"Thought we might have a go, for old time's sake." The man replied.

"Didn't think yer master Magneto would be so fond of that." Logan retorted.

Sabretooth shrugged, raising one had up to eye level. "I think this will prove a most… excellent… exception…" His tone was eager, he was prodding the X-Man into a fight. He shook the fist he raised slightly.

Logan followed the man's gaze and saw what he held in his hand. It was a necklace.

A shark tooth necklace.

The teeth were bound by a length of leather cord; their ivory color reflected the pale sun. But the white was stained by a dark red. Splashes here and there on the necklace ruined its clean look. It was undoubtedly blood, and fresh too by the looks of it.

And there was only one person Logan knew wore something like that.

"That's right Logan. I had a little… chat… with a friend of ours." Sabretooth taunted, the smirk on his face sending a chill up Logan's spine. He opened his mouth to say more, but did not get the chance.

Logan let out a roar and sprang at his longtime opponent, claws outstretched. Both sets hit home, tearing holes in the leather chest plate Sabretooth wore, and sinking into his chest. The Adamantium-skeleton man put his full force into the attack and ended up sitting on top of the chest of the other man.

The force and surprise of the attack was enough to cause Sabretooth to be dazed. The hand he held the necklace in slapped against the ground and he lost his grip on it.

Logan leaned in close to the other man, withdrawing his right hand's claws. Blood dripped off the silver metal and onto the frosted ground below. He stuck the claws in the ground to clean them and then retracted them into his hand. With a fast movement he gripped Sabretooth's jaw in his hand.

"If you know what's good for ya, you'll stay there." He growled. He got no response. It didn't matter to him though, he scooped up the necklace out of the Acolyte's hand and stood. There was a squelching noise as his second set of claws left Sabretooth's chest.

Logan held the necklace close to his face and took a sniff. It was Leo's. And the blood was his as well.

He looked down at the dazed mutant, watching the dark red stain seep up from his chest (if only it was that easy to kill that man). If Sabretooth had… a 'chat' with Leo…

There was a good chance the teenager was hardly breathing.

Wolverine turned his attention to the area, taking another deep breath. Suddenly he had a firm grasp on Leo's scent. He stuffed the necklace in his pocket, and took off at a run.

He drew his cellphone out of his pocket as he scaled the drop-off with his claws.

"Chuck," He grunted as he hauled himself up over the top. "Get the Blackbird to my coordinates. I've got a lead on Leo."

The mutants ducked their heads inside as Julian strode into the Dysons' former room.

The two beds were still in the same arrangement: both against opposite walls, Leo's on the right with the nightstand at the head of the bed, and Benj's on the left with the nightstand at the foot. Their alarm clocks still had the lights on signaling that the alarms were still activated for the morning. Over the past few weeks the Institute students had been ignoring the beeps.

Julian flipped on the switch as she entered and the room was illuminated. It still looked as if the brothers were going to return at any moment. She glanced back at the others and flicked her head forward, gesturing for them to come in. They followed cautiously, like there were bombs planted in the floor as well.

The clothes hamper by the closet was full of the boys' clothing, a pair of jeans simply draped over top. Leo's classic red shirt and khaki shorts lay in a wad to the side of his bed.

Jamie ventured farther in, walking up to the desk against the far wall. He tilted his head in curiosity as he saw a wooden box set on top. He opened in slowly, peering inside. His eyebrows creased and he reached inside. Withdrawing his hand he took with him a shark tooth necklace that was painted royal blue.

"Guys… look at this." He said softly, throwing the lid back all the way and stepping slightly to the side. Inside the box was at least ten different shark tooth necklaces painted a variety of colors, and some plain. "Where did he get so many?"

Tabitha couldn't resist a small laugh. "Leo certainly knew how to accessorize."

Bobby nodded. His eyes were drawn to something else on the desk. He shuffled past the others and lifted some papers off the desk, revealing a sketch book. He flipped through it quickly at first and then went back to examine, walking over to Benj's bed and sitting down on the edge.

"Check this out."

The others gathered around him, looking over his shoulders at the sketches in his hand. As he flipped through it again they looked at the drawings. There was a sketch of all of the X-Men, as well as several Haven members, and a few mutants from the school meetings. In the later pages there were sketches of the new mutants where Leo had added details to their uniforms that individualized them.

Iceman's had light blue gloves, belt, and boots, with his black uniform having the same color blue zig-zag across the chest. Magma's gloves, belt, and boots were a fiery dark orange, and flame patterns were etched on her arms and legs. Multiple's black uniform was replaced with one that had a dark green sheen, with black gloves, boots, and a green belt, a lighter green chest on his chest encircled by a similarly colored circle. Tabitha's uniform was not changed much, but a few 'X's were added along her gloves' knuckles (Tabitha made a comment that Leo was "…just enjoying drawing" her figure).

They looked at a few of the other New Mutant's altered uniforms, and a slightly altered Nightcrawler look, until Bobby got bored and Amara picked up the sketch book.

"Wow, he really put a lot of time into these." Amara whispered in awe. The detail put into their forms and features were stunningly like real life.

Jamie was hugging his knees on the bed and leaning against the wall. He nodded in agreement, now gazing over Amara's shoulder at the pictures. He was still quite shaken.

Bobby opened his mouth to make an additional comment, but the lights flickered violently without warning. He looked at Tabitha, who glanced at Amara. They knew what that meant.

Cerebro at full power.

He was getting close.

With a slash the man cut through underbrush and small branches that got in his way. Charging forward he broke through the road block.

Logan was panting by this time. He had not slowed since he picked up the scent. He had no idea how long it was taking him, but he knew the sun was not in the same place it was as when he started.

He paused long enough to catch the scent again, turning to his left and taking off once more.

Xavier would tell him to pace himself, to wait for help. There was little he could do on his own if he reached the mutant first, but Logan could not run the chance of getting there too late. The jet would be there soon enough, he knew the professor was tracking him through his cell phone, so he did not have to worry about losing them.

He crashed through more barren foliage. He found himself in a clearing with dead grass underfoot. A tree to his right had been uprooted, several branches of other trees were snapped off, and the ground was trampled. Across from him was a grouping of boulders, the forest had led up right beside a steep, rocky hill.

Laid across one of the dark stones was a person he had almost never thought he would see again.

His red hair was in disarray, a long bloody cut led down from his hairline to his chin. A brown leather chest plate lay in shreds across his chest, a long-sleeved black shirt underneath, and a pair of brown pants below. His eyes twitched restlessly under his eyelids.

"Leo!" Logan shouted. The teen did not look good, but at least he could hear him breathing.

As the man started to run across the clearing shapes emerged from the forest. He froze in his tracks and looked around him. The shapes were emerging around the boulder pile, standing like silent guards to the fallen mutant.

A certain figure in a tan mask knelt beside Leo for a moment and then looked up accusingly at Logan. She stood shakily, but regained her composure.

"Well… if it isn't Wolverine…" She mused, her bright green eyes shining out from under her mask.

"Clay Dune…" The gruff man gasped.

Clay Dune looked around her to her squad assembling. Two new additions stood among them, Spades dressed in a dark red and orange vest and black pants, and a tall figure in pilot goggles, a black cap, and black leather jacket. Turquoise eyes looked out from behind the goggles, but very little other than his build would hint it was the missing Turbulence.

Spades hopped to the top of the boulder that Leo lay on and knelt at his head. His demonic face twisted horribly and he sucked in a quick breath. To his right Turbulence merely glanced down at his brother coolly. Cloak walked up behind Clay and every muscle in his body tensed under his brown cloak. Kitsune was scrambling over one of the boulders and his eyes narrowed to slits when he saw the scene in front of him. Ash and Wyvern slunk out of the shadows of the trees on the left, the girl's pupils shifting into slits as they did so. Fenris bounded over the rocks and stopped in front of Clay with some sliding of her paws. Knife climbed out of the branches of a tree and rested comfortably on the trunk. Portal and Whisper both stood halfway in the shadows of the trees behind and to the right, their eyes fixed on Logan. Parselmouth hissed slightly as he came to stand alongside the rest of the team. A grim smile reached Clay's eyes.

"Team… I think it's time we caught up with the X-Men."

She unsheathed her sword.

A rustling behind Logan let him know his own team was there.

The light of battle gleamed in Clay's eyes, she raised her sword. Her team tensed, drawing weapons or leaning forward for the charge.

"Go!"

"X-Men! Go!"