Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.

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Howling a challenge that rose over the raging winds, Rogue loped along on fours though she was the embodiment of the werewolves of legend. The windigo turned on her from its maddened retreat, the icy flesh cracked and steaming in the wind. It still burned from the panicked attack that had brought the hangar down, the air heavy with ozone and the stench of charred flesh.

It roared and lunged for her, but her wolf was too quick, rolling through the snow and dodging the grappling attack. The large eyes of the windigo had a starved, maddening hunger in them, a hunger for the flesh of the living of which there were three now. Bullets peppered it, cracking its icy flesh more as they lodged deep, sizzling hot and causing it to howl in pain.

Leaping at it and clawing at its exposed back, Rogue held on as it flailed about trying to shake her off. In that moment of distraction Logan ran up and joined the assault, his claws cutting through the ice to the bone and bringing it down to kneel on one shattered knee.

"Find the body! We gotta find who this sucker latched onto for a host!" Rogue snarled as she slashed and dug through the ice.

The Windigo of legend was an evil spirit, and in that myth there was a bit of truth. The abomination they struggled with was a thing that shouldn't be, a twisted reflection of the Natural Order that had slithered from the beyond. It found the dying, the hungry, the cold and lost in the north where the winters were hard and food scarce. It devoured them, thrived off them, used them as an anchor to make them stronger.

It was a mockery of the Natural Order, a dark imitation of Witch and Warlock who welcomed a spirit into them and through it became stronger so they might serve the Great Spirits. It made them dangerous, drew the vile cunning of humanity and twisted it to its use, and it lived through the torment of its first victim suffering a living hell. It ate the flesh of the living and made it their own, growing larger and knowing only hunger it could never sate.

The icy flesh hit the snow and melted as a steaming stain of rot, practically raining as she dug deep searching for the host of the windigo. It reached for her, struggling to find her like an unreachable itch.

"Down here!" Raven shouted, drawing it's attention.

It surged forward and Rogue held on dearly, but it felt as Logan cleanly sliced through the knee. He joined her in the search for the suffering host, and though the flesh looked of ice the insides were flooded with the flesh and bones and very clothes of the victims it had fed on. The telltale sign of camo said it hadn't been subdued easily by the Program. The stink of terror came as she cleaved another chunk from the back of the horrific beast.

"I think I..." Rogue started to cry.

Yet the beast had much fight left in it and bucked and thrashed, throwing her and her love from its back. Tumbling through the snow and feeling the break of bones, her leg bent at an awful angle. Wrenching hard and setting her bone in place, already it started to heal and the burning was a tolerable substitute for real warmth as she climbed to her unsteady feet. The hammer blow of high calibre rounds slamming into the windigo rang loud but had little impact, just a spray of wet gore as it charged.

Bamf.

Rogue watched in horrified awe as a true devil fell on the windigo, the husband Wagner beyond reason as he vented his rage. Wielding two machetes with all his skill as a swordsman he cut and slashed and never stood in one place too long. The clap of air rushing into vacuum rang again and again as he teleported around it, a haze of sinuous smoke swirling around it.

Enraged the beast roared loud enough to shake the very ground, forgetting about the biting insect that sought to bleed it by a thousands cuts and charging for the easy meat it saw in Raven. Racing after it on fours as her wolf, Rogue sought to catch up to it but it was faster.

Bamf.

Raven vanished, saved by her son, and in its anger the windigo punched the very place she had been spraying stone and sending a scattering rain of shattered soil long since frozen for the winter. Standing with her wolf on two, a plan was quickly coming to her how to deal with the beast once and for all.

"Kurt, I need a lift ta its back! Logan, I need ya ta piss this sum bitch off!" Rogue called, having heard the clap of air behind her that announced Kurt returning.

"Gladly." Logan growled, charging at it in a battle of David verse a grotesque Goliath.

The world vanished and she was used to it by now, a world of darkness and smoke and...something...overtaking hers for that span of time between the beating of her heart. Once she came back she was once again at the back of the abomination and clawed deep at that wound that stunk of terror. The tang of blood and the stain of red that washed down the icy flesh told she was close enough.

"Logan, turn this sucker around! Raven, aim for where I am! Kurt..."

Bamf.

He didn't have to be told, once the beast had been turned he waited just long enough so that Raven knew where to shoot. When the world came back the crack of the first round fired was overtaken by the pained howl of their kill. Again and again Raven fired utterly relentless still remembering all too well the look the thing had in its eyes for her, how it had reached for Jubilee full of hunger. It fell as it had before, but this time it wasn't the crack of ice slamming into the frozen earth or the groan of the frozen surface of a lake, it fell in a wet heap of steaming ruin.

It spread out like a stain over the snow, bone and cloth and fur poking out of the giant corpse, spring come at last to show all the hidden kills the long winter claimed under the serene yet sinister snow banks.

"Sonovabitch..." Rogue hissed, letting her wolf rest and falling to her knees.

A jacket fell over her and she looked to see Logan standing over her, bending and gathering her up in his arms to keep her warm. The fight was over, the windigo was dead, but it hadn't been the monster they had come to fight, and only now did she see just how dark and despicable a creature the Program would be.

"Lets go home hun..."

"How's things on the cargo plane Kitty?" Logan asked.

"Moira says it's good to go, just need us a pilot, she thinks she can lend a hand hummin' a few bars but that Raven is the real certified lady for the job."

Raven and Kurt walked up looking a bit awkward but finding comfort in talk about Jubilee, his wayward mother asking after his wife's safety. Broken bones, cracked ribs, a pierced lung were the answer she heard whispered. It was a chilling prognosis, but she took comfort in knowing their wolves would see them through.

"Lets get the hell outta here." Logan muttered, offering his hand for Kurt who took it with a weary and sad smile.

They'd won, but it was no clear victory, they had paid a price and it was but one battle. They had seen the enemy, in the mercenaries and in the cages their captives had been kept. They'd seen it in the windigo they kept for their sinister uses, and in the stories Moira had told of her own hunt out in the cold away from Langley. They had seen their enemy, had his scent, and they knew it'd be war.

Bamf.

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The airbase was Canadian and the clearance to land had been arranged by Moira, most of the heavy lifting done by Langley. Don't ask, don't tell was the protocol as the victims of the Program were taken for proper treatment. The presence of some men in wool overcoats and suits was taken as the CIA keeping their secrets, and whether they were sharing was a question that didn't need answering just then. The cargo plane was confiscated and the Blackbird refuelled for their flight home.

"Guess we're doing a bit of a layover." Kitty said as she walked up to Pete.

His answer was a shrug, he didn't have the words for a reply, just a soul weary fatigue in his eyes. She had seen it once before during a kind yet very forced march through the woodlands after the school had been attacked the very first time. She and him had been the ones who had kept everyone together, had struggled to give a sense of security, yet in his eyes then as now he had been tired, exhausted both in body and spirit.

"Want to find a McDonald's and get a few quarter pounders with cheese?" Kitty asked, nudging at that old memory.

"Yes, maybe even more than a few." Pete replied with a laugh and a smile.

The first bit of real food they had after a rendevous with a supply cache out in the woods, hitting up a McDonald's before following the rest of the escape plan. They had kept everyone together and in the best spirits, shouldering the burden of trying to believe what then they feared might be lies, that all their missing friends and the teachers would return safe and sound. All true but for two, and how hard it had been then to find out what had happened to both John and especially Miss Grey.

"Jubilee will want a large milkshake." Pete whispered.

"Just so she can try and say she's eating healthy, getting some dairy in her diet..." Kitty laughed, thinking of times spent at mall food courts.

"And Rogue would want her chicken nuggets." Pete added.

It became a game of just what they liked, all their own peculiarities and preferences. Logan tended to wait outside of most fast food places unless it was flame grilled, and Hank they had learned had a love of onion rings, a treat when he found them. Noticing a truck pulling up, the driver saluted.

"Sir, Mam, Corporal Harris at your service. I've been instructed to be your chaperone on the base, and your driver if need be."

"Driver huh? There a McDonald's anywhere close?" Kitty asked, thinking it was time to stop talking about food.

"Yes Mam."

"Mam, I could get used to this..." Kitty said with a smile, finding her phone and checking for service before sending a text to rally the troops.

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Rogue stared out the window at the snow lit by the headlights, the road a gleaming white under them and the promise of civilization ahead as told by the glow on the horizon. As much as she longed to just curl up on Logan's lap, the driver had kindly asked them to all buckle up or '...his superior would have his ass, Mam...'.

That they were mutants didn't worry him, in fact there were some strewn throughout their ranks or so he had said after only a slight moment of surprise on seeing Kurt in all his glory walking with his wife. Jubilee sat the next seat up, sullen and quiet with haunted eyes. She hadn't said a word since waking, she just clung to Kurt. Tempted as she was, Rogue resisted feeling for her heart, she settled for a few soft and gentle touches to say what she couldn't find the words for.

Hank, Moira and Raven had stayed with the Blackbird, the CIA talking with their superiors over a secured line in privacy while Hank oversaw some service and the refuelling of the jet. Just her, the Wagner's, Kitty and Pete riding along with Corporal Harris on a burger run. She didn't feel like eating, but her wolf within was hungry and every scrap of food found had been given to the people they had rescued.

Men, women and sadly enough even some children. Humans and mutants together in suffering at the hands of the Program, a mixture from around the world with no knowledge of where they even were. Some had been relieved to find out they had been in Canada, the ones that called the nation home. Moira had given her word that they'd all find their way home, all after they had been debriefed so they could 'find the ones that had done that to them'.

"Austrailia..." Rogue murmured, surprising even herself.

Logan looked at her with a curiously quirked eyebrow, and then he remembered their conversation. Leaning in for a kiss, he breathed in her scent that still had the battle on her even after their shower off at the barracks before they left. Foresight had them bringing spare clothes, even spare uniforms not knowing just what the hell they were in for. Her neck felt too naked, too light, and she wondered if it was the same for him. Their promises had been left home for them to come back to.

"...too many spiders." Jubilee whispered, the first she had said since waking.

"Snakes too." Logan said, sharing a smirk with his little Red.

"Sharks." Rogue added.

"Koalas." Kitty joined in.

"What's wrong with Koalas?" Jubilee asked at the absurd addition to the list of dangerous things.

Listening as Kitty told of her suspicions of the cuddly looking marsupial, Rogue caught Kurt looking to her from the reflection in the glass with a smile. Even Pete was adding to the topic of conversation, drawn from the dark thoughts that plagued him. Returning the smile and looking off to Kitty, they shared a wink at how slyly she had used her rivalry with Jubilee to try and get her into some conversation.

"What about platypus?" Rogue asked, turning the conversation back to ideas of dangerous creatures.

"They're cute." Jubilee huffed, burying her face against Kurt's shoulder as he held her.

"I've heard the males are venomous, Mam." Harris added with a glance to the rear view.

"Dammit Australia!" Jubilee angrily growled with everyone joining in for a laugh.

Killing time debating other warm weather locals to travel to for their Honeymoon, the twinkling lights of a large town appeared through the snow with an amber haze of light brightening the night sky. The promise of a hot meal and some normalcy after everything they had done, endured and overcome was a relief. They'd have all the night to dwell on dark thoughts, no sense in doing so hungry.

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"For what it's worth they took the bait."

Eyeing her junior agent, Moira had been fishing long enough to know they were likely going to come back with a clean hook. The Program was as slick as it came, but she took her satisfaction where she could, like the bottle of scotch one of the officers from the base had been so gracious to gift her. The Canadians had troops on the move to see if they couldn't land a catch.

The Program was a business when one got down to the brass tacks, and any assets seized came with a price tag and a bottom line that would cause ripples up the chain. Getting the Wolverine involved had been a card she had been keeping close to her chest ever since she found out about him, one thing she had kept secret from all her superiors. Only after Munich had she dared get him in the mix, and only because the danger had found him and the school she held dear to her heart.

"Death by a thousand paper cuts, give the bureaucrats something to bitch about." Moira hissed, offering the bottle and finding herself glad when Raven took it.

She still remembered the young girl she had been, idealistic, ambitious, full of piss and vinegar and a crush on two men. That girl had chosen the bad boy over sweet Hank, chosen Erik over the man who had been like a brother to her. Accepting the bottle bag and having a belt, Moira thought of Charles Xavier once more and their reunion that had come rather sudden. He expected a slap, she punched him and shocked all the gathered at the seminar he came to speak at.

"She's young." Raven said in a thoughtful tone, accepting the bottle back.

"Katherine?" Moira asked, playing dumb.

"Yes, actually she is. And Rogue, Jubilee..."

"Kids, they grow up fast."

Returning the smirk in kind, Moira remembered the kids she had entrusted the safety of the world to. Not all had made it, and not all had come back. Looking at the lady across from her, it looked as though one had taken the long way back after all.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for this." Raven said, hushed and quiet and looking at the bottle in her hands.

"Ya make a fine spook." Moria teased, playing dumb once more and fighting a smirk as she saw a smile on the pretty blonde.

"I knew it would be hard, seeing him again. But them, together..."

"Everything you hoped for?"

Raven nodded at that truth, it was all she had ever wanted for her cast off son. A family, a home, and someone to love him. The mission had been hard for a different reason, working closely with these people who could well be her family, and she wondered if she was worthy of something so precious.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for that life..." Raven whispered.

"Quit running girl, you've been running for too long, from that house and that life and what's it left ya with? Mistakes? Regrets? It wasn't just Erik that Charles was trying to convince for all those years."

Enemies and friends all at once, that had been Erik and Charles, never able to agree on how the future should unfold or how to get there. Each had their legacy, and looking at them Raven saw the one she liked better. The one that had her son find love, a family, and a home.

"Did you love him?" Raven asked as she brushed at her damp eyes.

"Hank? Nah, he was good for a roll in the sheets though." Moira said with a hearty laugh, reaching out for the bottle.

"Charles."

The answer was in her clear brown eyes not dulled by age, eyes used to looking ahead three steps and two to the left to keep one up on her adversaries in the field and academia alike. Moira felt a wistful longing for the man who had left her with the memory of that kiss before he'd sent her off to get her life back at the CIA.

"Yes, yes I did. But we both had our lives to live, lives that had to be separate. So take it from me, don't go blowing your chance now that you have it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least that will be one less regret to carry around."

And though they had no glasses for a toast, they shared the last of the bottle together and drank to that sentiment and bit of wisdom, better late than never.

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