Disclaimer: Recognizable characters belong to Marvel, the rest are mine. I'm not making any money off this, anyhow. Thanks go out to Alison, Lyss, Thren, and the rest of the #dominofic crew for help, encouragement and general sympathy. Additional thanks to Alison for betaing this monster. You're far too nice for your own good, dear.
Mercury1/9
"They won't *hurt* her, Jenica. They're just screening. You know the agency is in need of eligible candidates to train--"
"As killers," his wife hissed back. "So they screen our girl. What if they decide she's a probable candidate? They take her away and brainwash her into working for them? Like they did to you? Like they try to do to all of us?"
"You're being irrational." He put a hand on her shoulder. "They don't brainwash anyone."
"They make you believe you're indebted to them," she snapped. "They *own* you, Andrei. Don't let them own Fayina." She cast her eyes downward. "What about the baby?" Her hand moved to her swollen abdomen. "They want to test it too?"
"They will eventually," he murmured. "They've taken care of us, Jenica. We can't say no."
He shook off the memory with a frown. "But you never could listen to reason, could you," he whispered to himself as he stared down at the pages before him. "You always had to run, and look where it got us." He reached out and picked up a small picture frame, enshrining a faded photograph of three smiling faces. His hand shook as he set the frame back on the table and turned his attention again to his letter. "Gone, both of you. And God only knows if the third will forgive."
----
"I don't like the looks of this." Cable ran a hand back through his hair and set the reports back down on the table. "You think the FoH is funding the research?"
"Not necessarily. Charles has been aware of the individuals carrying out the research for some time... though they might have influenced the direction the corporation decided to take with it." Jean leaned back in her chair. "We *do* know that the Friends of Humanity have been taking a more... active position on the issue since the bombings began."
Domino reached over and leafed through the files. "Any new leads on those, other than they're all GenCorp facilities?"
"Nothing. No one credible is claiming responsibility, and GenCorp itself hasn't received any other threats. Just the bombings."
"Mostly shipping facilities," Domino frowned, looking over the list of locations. "No real correlation in the locations. The company doesn't have any idea who might be behind them? A rival group who doesn't want them to get exclusive rights to the procedures they're trying to market?"
"Warren and Betsy went out to speak to them last week," Scott spoke up. "The company head didn't seem to think so. The general working assumption is that it's a pro-mutant organization that's carrying out the attacks."
"If that's the case, why go after only the shipping facilities? Attacking the research centers would put GenCorp back months, even years. This only delays them a few weeks at best."
Domino shook her head. "Lower security? Besides, since when have terrorists necessarily made *sense,* Nate?" She shifted her gaze across the table. "So how can we help?"
"As you can see from the map," Cyclops said, "GenCorp has several installations on the West Coast. Only one has been targeted so far. If X-Force can stake out one or two of the other facilities, we might be able to catch the perpetrators in the act. And if something did come up, you and Nathan could act as our representatives with them." He paused. "As part of a special government task force, of course."
She arched an eyebrow at the lead X-Man. "You're suggesting we lie to them?" She laughed. "And Xavier agreed to this?"
"We need to know who is responsible for these attacks, before they get worse. The FoH has already stirred up another rabid anti-mutant campaign. God only knows what will happen if actual people begin to get caught up in this mess. Supplies are one thing. Lives are quite another."
----
From her vantage point in the woods at the back of Xavier's estate, Domino spotted a lone figure crossing the moon lit lawn, heading in her general direction. She lost sight of him as he vanished in the trees, only to reappear silently below her a few minutes later.
"You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yep." Dom dropped down from the tree branch she'd been perched on. "But not out here."
"Mind tellin' me what this is about first?" Wolverine leaned back against a tree trunk.
Domino sighed, raking a hand back through her hair. "I--look, I just need to talk to someone about this, and right now, Nathan's out of the question. I know you'll keep your mouth shut," she finished with a wry smile.
Logan folded his arms across his chest and studied her for a long moment. "You look like hell, darlin.' You okay?"
"Mostly," she replied. "Look, I'm freezing my ass off here," she said rubbing a hand over her bare arm. "Could we please continue this inside, preferably someplace that serves alcohol?"
He chuckled. "Harry's it is."
----
"Why'd you and the tin man fly all the way out here, anyway? Cyke coulda given you all that info without you being here in person."
"Nate wanted to see Rachel." She shook her head. "Devoted big brother, I guess. I think he wanted to discuss some telepath stuff with Jean, too." She took a long swallow of her beer. "I'm just along for the ride," she sighed, leaning back in the booth.
"First time you've been out of his sight since you got here," Logan pointed out casually. "There a reason he's been following you around like a puppy? Not 'xactly like him. Not like you to put up with it, either."
She leaned her head on her hand as she nursed her drink. "It's--complicated. He's got his reasons, and I can live with it."
"Hrmp." He signaled to the waitress for another round. "Anything to do with that trip you took to Muir a few months ago?"
She sat up, giving him a hard look. "No one was supposed to know about that."
"No one else does." He shook his head ruefully. "Darlin,' I knew things weren't right when you were here last Christmas. Didn't say anything 'cause I know it's none of my business, but I ain't above checkin' up on you."
"Like I said, it's complicated." She gave him a watery smile. "I'm better now, really."
"I believe you. So, what exactly was it you needed to talk to me about?"
She reached down into the pocket of the coat she'd retrieved before they'd left, pulling out a thick envelope. "This came in the mail a few weeks ago. Haven't shown it to anyone else yet." She paused. "Supposedly, it's from my father." She handed the letter to him and took a swallow of her beer.
"Well, I can see why you wanted the alcohol." Logan unfolded the letter and scanned the contents. "You want me to check into this?" He asked when he'd finished, refolding the sheets and placing them back in the envelope.
She took the letter and tucked it into her coat pocket. "Not yet. I'm not sure what I want to do about it," she sighed. "I'm going to have to talk to Nate eventually."
He nodded. "Alright. You let me know if there's anything I can do to help out."
She smiled wistfully. "Thanks Logan. I appreciate it."
----
"Where did you vanish to?" Nathan murmured as Domino slipped quietly into the room they were sharing. "It's pretty late."
"Went out with Logan for a while." She undressed and climbed in next to him. "Jealous?" She teased.
"Of Logan?" He snorted. "Should I expect dire death threats from him in the morning?"
"I think you're safe." She curled up, resting her head on his shoulder. "How was your evening?"
"Uneventful," he replied. "Talked to Jean for awhile, without getting into specifics. She basically scolded me and told me I needed to learn more discipline," he continued sheepishly. "I suppose she's right. She didn't seem to think it was anything particularly dangerous, though."
"She also didn't know the whole story," Dom sighed. "Well, I guess it's not worth worrying about now." She adjusted the covers over her shoulders. "We heading back tomorrow?"
"Unless you've got something you need to tie up."
"Nope. I suppose we'll have to go brief X-Force on their new assignment once we're back, though. I... really don't like the looks of that whole situation. Something doesn't sit right with me."
"You either, huh? I can't put my finger on it, but you're right. I don't think this is going to end up being a simple pro-mutant activist group. That worries me. Things have been almost quiet lately."
"Calm before the storm," she murmured. "Well, no one ever said our job was easy."
----
"Sam, could I have a word with you?" Cannonball had been waiting in for them when they'd arrived at X-Force's headquarters.
"Sure thing. Anything the matter, sir?"
"No, but I've got a request from Xavier I want to run past you-- and you *are* the team leader, after all." Cable replied with a slight smile.
"I'll get the bags, Nate." Dom called from the doorway of the plane. "We gonna stay here for a few days, or what?"
"Probably a good idea. Depends on what X-Force thinks of this proposal."
"Like they'd pass up a chance for potential mayhem." She ducked back into the vehicle as Sam and Nate headed out of the hangar.
----
"Surveillance?" Tabitha made a face. "Xavier couldn't spare an X-Man or twenty to cover it?"
"Ah think it's a legitimate concern," Sam replied. "An' Cable and Dom seem t' agree with the X-Men's assessment of the situation. We've got a chance t' nip an ugly problem in the bud here, an' I think we should take it."
"I've got to agree with Sam on this one," James broke in. "They haven't injured anyone yet. If we can limit this to just property damage--" He paused. "What do you two think?" He glanced over at his other teammates.
"I dinnae see a reason not to," Theresa replied. "At worst, we spend a few nights watching warehouses. If we've got a chance to catch the ones responsible for bombing those facilities, we ought to at least try."
"I have to agree with the rest of the team... sorry Tab, but this really is the kind of thing we're *here* for, boring as it might be."
"Four t' one in favor, then? Looks like we got ourselves a mission. We'll meet back here at nineteen hundred hours to go over plans. You're dismissed."
"Very diplomatic," Cable commented after the rest of the team had shuffled out of the room.
"Well, Ah figure if we don't decide things as a team, we ain't gonna work well as a team, either. And we gotta pick our battles, so this is the best way of doin' it."
"Well, you've certainly got the air of authority down pat, Sam," Domino teased. "We better watch out Nate, pretty soon they won't want us around at all."
"Retirement might not be so bad," he countered. "Were you going to want us to stick around, Sam?"
"No offence sir, but I think we've got it covered. If something turns up we can always give you a call. It's not like we haven't tackled worse on our own before."
"Fair enough. I've got confidence in all of you. And I know you're a good leader, Sam."
"Ah appreciate that, sir."
----
"Is something the matter?" He glanced over at Dom, slouched in the passenger seat.
"Hrm?" She didn't turn away from the window. "Not really. Why?"
"You've been pretty quiet since we left Westchester, that's all."
"Ah." She paused. "Distracted, I guess. Nothing big." She sat up a bit straighter in her seat. "You think the kids are going to be able to handle this?"
"I don't see why not." He turned off the main road, gravel crunching and popping beneath the tires as he pulled up the driveway. It was days like this really missed the ability to bodyslide. The drive from San Francisco was close to nine hours. Maybe he could convince Dom to convert the garage to a hangar, he thought amusedly. "It shouldn't be that hard, and they've certainly had no problem operating on their own. Oath, I know I trained them to be independent--"
She smirked. "They learned pretty well, too. I'm glad they're adjusting."
"Adjusting," he repeated wryly. "That's one word for it. They couldn't get us out of there soon enough."
"They're like kids who've got the house to themselves for the weekend. Try not to be *too* offended by it." She unbuckled herself and reached into the back to grab her bag.
"I'm not," he replied, grabbing the rest of their luggage and walking towards the house. "It's just a little--"
"Weird?"
"Disconcerting. Too used to being in the middle of everything."
She nodded, unlocking the front door. "Okay, I can understand that. I took some down time when--um." She cleared her throat. "It was a bit strange, yeah. Different. But hell, neither of us is that young anymore. Besides," she continued with a lopsided grin. "It's sort of nice to be able to go an entire week without someone shooting at me."
"That is a plus," he agreed, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll take care of these." He grabbed her bag and disappeared down the hall.
Domino collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs, eyes wandering over the semi-dark room. Four months they'd been here, and it still seemed slightly surreal. She still found herself looking over her shoulder, holding her breath as she waited for the other shoe to drop. It hadn't, not yet. But the letter that sat festering like a malevolent entity in the pocket of her jacket was an ominous sign of things that lay in wait. She sighed inwardly. This wasn't something she could just ignore. There was a promise of answers to questions she'd had for years--even if it didn't pan out, she wasn't sure she could let it go without some sort of investigation. Which meant telling Nathan, of course. Not that he wouldn't understand--
"You enjoying the dark?"
She jerked her head up. "Just sitting," she replied. "God it's quiet. I'd almost forgotten how loud it is around Xavier's." She leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Not that I miss it," she laughed. "Hell, if it was irritating me, it must have been giving you a migraine."
"Keeps me on my toes," he deadpanned. "Jean lectured me plenty on how sloppy I was getting."
Domino smirked. "That's just motherly concern for your well-being. I wonder if she realizes how ridiculous she look when she fusses over you like that."
"She probably doesn't care," he replied, taking a seat across from her. "I think she does it out of guilt, more than anything. She feels bad about having to leave me in the future, and I think she feels bad about things that happened with Rachel. Sort of ironic, when you think about it. I mean, we weren't even *her* kids..."
"Well, maybe that's not what matters to her. I mean, family isn't necessarily about blood. You know that. Tyler--" She stopped. "Actually, it's probably much to late to be having this particular conversation," she sighed. The atmosphere of the room had shifted almost imperceptibly, tensing slightly. She ran a hand over her face. "Yeah, way too late for this topic," she murmured, getting to her feet. She could feel Nate watching her as she left the room.
----
"Nate, you awake?" She nudged the considerable lump beside her with her elbow. Nothing. "Nathan. Hey, wake up." He muttered something indecipherable and rolled over, ignoring her. "Asshole. I'm hungry. Get up so we can go get breakfast." He mumbled something else into his pillow and continued to blithely ignore her. "Stupid, obstinate..." She gave him one more jab with her elbow and climbed out of bed.
The shower had been running for a full fifteen minutes before she heard the door open. "Are you almost done in there?" He grumbled, then chuckled as her hand appeared from behind the shower curtain and flipped him off.
"If you weren't such a lazy bastard, you could have washed my hair for me."
"I thought you said you were hungry?" He grinned as she gave him the finger again. "At least you're in a good mood. Y'know, I could just make breakfast. I think there's a box of Bisquick in the cupboard someplace..."
She pulled back the curtain, pushing wet hair out of her face. "I want waffles," she replied, wrapping herself in a towel. "With strawberries."
He arched an eyebrow at her reflection in the mirror. "Well, if that's what you want..."
"Damn right." She finished drying off and wandered back into the bedroom to get dressed. "And hurry up," she called back to him. "Otherwise I'm gonna leave you behind."
----
"Happy now?"
"Yes." She spread whipped cream across a section of her waffle, then popped the piece into her mouth.
Nathan leaned back against the cracked vinyl booth, sipping his coffee. He let his gaze drift around the small diner, almost empty except for a few patrons reading newspapers as they drank their coffee at the counter. Apparently one of Dom's preferred places to frequent, she'd been pleased to see the place was still in business when they'd moved back into the area. He liked it because it was usually quiet, the people kept to themselves, and the coffee was always hot. "You know, if you try to eat that any faster, you're liable to choke."
She arched an eyebrow at him, and only a quick flicker of his TK kept the salt shaker from hitting him in the head. His eyes scanned over the room quickly to see if anyone had witnessed the display, but no one was paying them any attention. "That was immature."
"Well, don't poke fun at my eating habits," she retorted.
"I wasn't--" He shook his head. "You could use a few extra pounds anyway."
She stuck her tongue out at him, then finished off her breakfast. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to talk about a woman's weight?"
"No... must be one of those cultural things I never got the hang of," he deadpanned. "I wasn't trying to nag," he amended.
"I know." She ran a hand back through her hair. "Ready to go?"
"I was just waiting for you." He picked up the check and headed to the register while Dom walked outside to wait, leaning against the wall next to the door.
The sky was overcast with a dreary pre-rain feel to it, and the wind was almost biting. It didn't look as if there'd be an Indian Summer this year. She zipped up her jacket and straightened as Nathan exited the diner. "Looks like it might rain," she commented idly as they walked back to the car.
"It does seem to do that a lot here," he murmured. "How'd I let you talk me into living someplace so... wet?"
"My natural charm and charisma?" She smirked.
"Charming like a snake," he grumbled good naturedly.
"I think I'm insulted. Oh, don't pout--that is *so* not going to work this time, mister. You are so pathetic."
"Oath, I am *not.*"
"Are too." She pulled open the driver side door and climbed in. "Every time I make fun of you, you sulk like a scolded three year old. You're just damned lucky I find the puppy-dog look endearing, or I'd have shot you before now."
"You *have* shot me."
"You got in the way," she replied offhandedly. "Besides, it was barely a graze. Consider yourself fortunate."
"Your sympathy astonishes me."
"Oh, please. If I started feeling sorry for you every time you complained, I'd end up shooting *myself.*"
"Well, we wouldn't want that."
"Exactly. So suck it up, and be glad Oregon doesn't have a monsoon season."
----
"Nate?"
"Yeah?" He walked into the kitchen to see Domino standing by the table, holding two coffee mugs. He set down the papers he'd been going over. "Something up?"
She walked over and pressed one of the cups into his hand. "Are you busy?"
"I was just going over some information regarding those bombings..." He replied, looking slightly baffled. "I've got resources the X-Men aren't exactly privy to--"
"Can it wait for a bit? I--um. There's something I need to talk to you about, and I think if I don't do it now, I'm gonna lose my nerve."
----
"It's authentic?" He asked, noticing the way she kept avoiding his gaze.
"It's hard to say," she replied slowly, staring down at her cup. "I never met the man, to be honest. But he knows things, Nate..." She frowned. "If it's not, someone went to a hell of a lot of trouble just to pull a sick prank."
"Interesting timing."
"Or just bad," she replied wryly. "Things always do have a tendency to pop up just when I think I've finally put them behind me."
"What do you want to do about this?" She hadn't shown him the letter, not that he was surprised. He knew first hand how painful trying to deal with one's past--especially pasts as convoluted as theirs were--could be.
She sighed, resting her head on her hand. "I'm not sure. There's a lot of stuff implied in his letter--" She bit her lip. "I'm not sure if I really want to know the answers, y'know? I've just gotten free of my own private little hell here, Nathan. What if this is more than I can deal with? I could burn the thing here and now, and just be done with it."
He nodded slowly. "Your choice. It might give you a chance for closure on this if you decide to pursue it."
"Maybe," she replied as she started straightening up the kitchen, just for something to do. "Is it really even that much of an issue?"
"Enough of one that I know it bothers you," he replied. "Does he want to meet you?"
"He didn't say that, exactly." Dishes clattered in the sink. "More like--I think he was trying to persuade me. He filled in a few details I haven't been able to come up with myself--" He watched her shoulders tense, then relax again. "I've lived with this for a long time. It'd be so easy just to leave it be. Maybe I'm just... afraid of what I might find out." She turned, drying her hands.
"I need time for this all just to... settle. I think I'm gonna take the bike out for a bit." He nodded, giving in almost too easily, she noticed with a slight twinge of disappointment. "Dunno when I'll be back..."
Nathan ran a hand back through his hair, quickly erasing the frown from his expression and holding in a sigh. "Okay." His eyes flicked up to her own. "You're sure..."
"I just need a little distance. I'll be fine."
He nodded again. "Alright."
----
The cold air was raising goose bumps on her skin as Domino sat on the concrete patio behind the house. With a mild twinge of self-loathing, she took a draw on her cigarette, watching the smoke drift off in the evening sky as she exhaled. Behind her, she heard the scrape of the sliding door opening and quickly scrubbed the cigarette out on the pavement.
"It's cold out here," Nathan commented, "Come inside?"
"Not yet," she replied as he sat down next to her. "I just need..." She trailed off, shrugging. "You don't need to stay out here."
"I'll leave if you want."
"No," she said slowly, "you can stay."
Cable leaned back against the siding of the house, watching Domino's profile as she stared off into the woods that bordered the yard. "You haven't smoked in years," he ventured finally.
"Bad habit," she replied without turning to face him. "When I was a kid--" she stopped short, continuing after a pause. "Smokes and booze was about all we had. Guess I just fall back on it when I'm feeling unbalanced."
"Make a decision yet?"
"I--this isn't an easy thing to do. But I suppose you know that."
A short bark of laughter escaped him before he could check it. "Let's not go there."
"Well, I suppose I couldn't make a worse first impression than I did with *your* parents," she said wryly. He could hear a trace of mirth in her voice. "Second or third for that matter. I have this nasty habit of bringing you home in pieces."
"Haven't gotten rid of me yet."
"Don't plan on it, either. I've kind of gotten used to having you around."
"I'm glad." They fell into silence, broken only by the sound of wind through the trees.
Domino spoke finally, looking over at him for the first time since his arrival. "When--" her voice was tentative. "When you said 'forever...' did you--mean it?"
He reached over, sliding his hand loosely into her own. "Yes."
"You said the same to Aliya."
"The man I was then will always love her," he said after a long moment. "But that's--I'm not the same person I was then. I meant what I said, Dom. I wouldn't lie to you about that."
"Good," she said hoarsely, fingers tightening around his own. "Because I don't think I want to be alone."