~6 Years Earlier~
Victor reluctantly groped at the Mansion's communication system, holding Keka tightly.
"Who's there?" A bubbly girls voice chirped.
"Help." Victor barked-a name would bring an bloodthirsty Wolverine straight to the door.
"What?"
"We need help." He growled.
There was a creak as the door opened a few moments later; Jubilee peered out.
"Ooooooh No; whatever you're selling, we don't want it!" She began to pull the door shut.
Victor pushed his boot into the door. "Jubilation, I need to talk to Beast."
Jubilee eyed the giant man and the bloody, whimpering girl in his arms-she barely moved, her breathing raspy.
"Wolvie!" Jubilee wailed into the school, keeping her eyes on him.
Logan was at the door in moments, his eyes switching from Victor to the girl in his arms and back again.
"What've you done?" He asked, stepping forward in an attempt to take her.
Victor stepped back, snarling protectively. "This is *my* child." He growled.
Surprise passed over Logan's eyes. He pushed a suddenly stoic Jubilee back to let Victor step in, leading him to Hank.
~
Victor paced the hallway, his claws clenched and his coat flying with each turn. Wolverine watched him in seeming amazement; big bad cat, flustered by a child-a child that no one knew about. Everyone thought Grayden had been it; the only passing of the Creed genes.
"Where is she?" Victor asked, looking towards the door that Keka had been carried through a few hours before by the fur-covered doctor.
"Calm down-Hank knows what he's doing." Logan reassured him. "She's in capable hands."
Victor paced all the same.
"What happened?" Logan asked carefully.
"I don't know."
"Where di-"
Victor cut him off with a warning snarl, continuing his pace.
Logan forged on. "What's her n-"
Victor glared at him, letting out a strong roar. Logan sat back, shutting his mouth.
Hank exited the lab, adjusting his glasses.
"Victor? What are you doing here?"
"Sabes brought the lil lady on the table in fer ya." Logan pointed to Keka's prone form, regaining his former luster.
"Watch it, runt" Victor grumbled halfheartedly.
"Where did you find her? What happened to her?" Hank was almost too eager to ask, escorting Victor into the lab.
"I don't know. I found her in an alley nearby. I'm pretty sure that she'd been in a laboratory for weeks."
Hank nodded-he hadn't expected even that much information.
"We don't know how much aware you are of your connection with this girl, Victor, but-"
"I tracked her down when she was seven, by scent."
"You know then. There's a lot of your look in her." Hank smiled. "Does she-"
"She ran when she found out." Victor hadn't looked away from her. "What can you tell me?"
"A lot of what you already know, most likely." Hank stepped around to the otherside of the table. "She's Feral, so her animal senses are nearly identical to yours, and a slightly different regenerative factor. Instead of a faster natural healing process, she can vary it's speeds, making it as fast as yours or Logan's, or slower then a normal humans."
"I knew that. The difference comes from her mother."
"Who does carry the maternal instincts with this one?"
"Her name was Lauren. She was an unknown, a healer. Because she could heal others, her own process was slower." Victor said solemnly. "And about what *they* did to her?"
"Well, whatever they'd planned, they never finished. She's still got extensive amounts of memory of you and her friends and former home-at least, that's what I gathered from her fleeting conscious bouts before I had to put her under." Hank pulled her X-rays. "But some of the worst-most painful, I mean, is done. They've overlaid her bones with Adamantium, same as our friend Logan over here." Hank rose one fuzzy hand in Logan direction, where he'd lost his sense of humour. He extended his claws for a moment, looking at them.
"They put Claws in my Daughter?" Victor looked furious.
"No. Logan's claws were bone-covered in Adamantium."
Logan bowed his head, commiserating with Keka. "So she was part of..."
"No." Hank shook his head confidently, his blue hair fluttering. "Even though we don't have significant amounts of information on your and Victor's..erm...experience, I can assure you that She isn't part of it. This was another matter altogether-only, we're not sure what."
Victor trailed the flat of his fingers gently over her cheek.
"She'll live?"
"Most assuredly." Hank smiled at her. "May I ask her name?"
"Keka." Victor said warmly. "Keka Creed."
~Present Day~
"You're Keka Creed?" Wolverine stepped toward her.
"How do you know my name?" She matched his step, moving away from him.
"I didn't recognize you. And you don't remember me. You wouldn't believe some of the things I know about you." Wolverine grunted, almost reminiscently.
"What are you saying?" Keka's face hardened and her ears flattened in Anger.
"Whoa, cool yer jets, Kid." He chomped on a cigar, searching for a light. "Unclench yer claws down there-I can see that yer old man passed ya some of his smarter traits."
Keka took another step back, dropping her defense stance as Wolverine found a lighter and set his cigar aflame, puffing contently.
"He taught me well. " She said evenly. "How do you know my father? Who are you?" Keka stood conflicted.
"We're not exactly what you'd call 'old *friends*', but we've been aquatinted, more then once. Name's Logan."
"You're Logan?"
"Oooh, he talks about me. I feel so special." Logan deadpanned.
"He never....I didn't...."
"Out with it Kid, I'm thinkin' you got a crush the way you stumble."
"Hardly." She wrinkled her nose at him. "My father said you were weak...you didn't seem that way when you were set to Kill me."
"I may be weak compared to yer dad...." Logan looked up at her. "Sorry kid."
"My father isn't so vicious." She said, her face beginning to soften. Keka looked sad suddenly, like a hurt innocent.
"Listen, Kid, I'm sorry." Logan pitched his cigar on the ground, stomping it out as he stepped toward her, laying a wary hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.
"Don't be, It's my own fault for going off on a trip like that-I don't have time for it."
"What's yer rush, lil lady?" Logan asked.
Keka Looked into the woods. "Finding my Daughter."
Victor reluctantly groped at the Mansion's communication system, holding Keka tightly.
"Who's there?" A bubbly girls voice chirped.
"Help." Victor barked-a name would bring an bloodthirsty Wolverine straight to the door.
"What?"
"We need help." He growled.
There was a creak as the door opened a few moments later; Jubilee peered out.
"Ooooooh No; whatever you're selling, we don't want it!" She began to pull the door shut.
Victor pushed his boot into the door. "Jubilation, I need to talk to Beast."
Jubilee eyed the giant man and the bloody, whimpering girl in his arms-she barely moved, her breathing raspy.
"Wolvie!" Jubilee wailed into the school, keeping her eyes on him.
Logan was at the door in moments, his eyes switching from Victor to the girl in his arms and back again.
"What've you done?" He asked, stepping forward in an attempt to take her.
Victor stepped back, snarling protectively. "This is *my* child." He growled.
Surprise passed over Logan's eyes. He pushed a suddenly stoic Jubilee back to let Victor step in, leading him to Hank.
~
Victor paced the hallway, his claws clenched and his coat flying with each turn. Wolverine watched him in seeming amazement; big bad cat, flustered by a child-a child that no one knew about. Everyone thought Grayden had been it; the only passing of the Creed genes.
"Where is she?" Victor asked, looking towards the door that Keka had been carried through a few hours before by the fur-covered doctor.
"Calm down-Hank knows what he's doing." Logan reassured him. "She's in capable hands."
Victor paced all the same.
"What happened?" Logan asked carefully.
"I don't know."
"Where di-"
Victor cut him off with a warning snarl, continuing his pace.
Logan forged on. "What's her n-"
Victor glared at him, letting out a strong roar. Logan sat back, shutting his mouth.
Hank exited the lab, adjusting his glasses.
"Victor? What are you doing here?"
"Sabes brought the lil lady on the table in fer ya." Logan pointed to Keka's prone form, regaining his former luster.
"Watch it, runt" Victor grumbled halfheartedly.
"Where did you find her? What happened to her?" Hank was almost too eager to ask, escorting Victor into the lab.
"I don't know. I found her in an alley nearby. I'm pretty sure that she'd been in a laboratory for weeks."
Hank nodded-he hadn't expected even that much information.
"We don't know how much aware you are of your connection with this girl, Victor, but-"
"I tracked her down when she was seven, by scent."
"You know then. There's a lot of your look in her." Hank smiled. "Does she-"
"She ran when she found out." Victor hadn't looked away from her. "What can you tell me?"
"A lot of what you already know, most likely." Hank stepped around to the otherside of the table. "She's Feral, so her animal senses are nearly identical to yours, and a slightly different regenerative factor. Instead of a faster natural healing process, she can vary it's speeds, making it as fast as yours or Logan's, or slower then a normal humans."
"I knew that. The difference comes from her mother."
"Who does carry the maternal instincts with this one?"
"Her name was Lauren. She was an unknown, a healer. Because she could heal others, her own process was slower." Victor said solemnly. "And about what *they* did to her?"
"Well, whatever they'd planned, they never finished. She's still got extensive amounts of memory of you and her friends and former home-at least, that's what I gathered from her fleeting conscious bouts before I had to put her under." Hank pulled her X-rays. "But some of the worst-most painful, I mean, is done. They've overlaid her bones with Adamantium, same as our friend Logan over here." Hank rose one fuzzy hand in Logan direction, where he'd lost his sense of humour. He extended his claws for a moment, looking at them.
"They put Claws in my Daughter?" Victor looked furious.
"No. Logan's claws were bone-covered in Adamantium."
Logan bowed his head, commiserating with Keka. "So she was part of..."
"No." Hank shook his head confidently, his blue hair fluttering. "Even though we don't have significant amounts of information on your and Victor's..erm...experience, I can assure you that She isn't part of it. This was another matter altogether-only, we're not sure what."
Victor trailed the flat of his fingers gently over her cheek.
"She'll live?"
"Most assuredly." Hank smiled at her. "May I ask her name?"
"Keka." Victor said warmly. "Keka Creed."
~Present Day~
"You're Keka Creed?" Wolverine stepped toward her.
"How do you know my name?" She matched his step, moving away from him.
"I didn't recognize you. And you don't remember me. You wouldn't believe some of the things I know about you." Wolverine grunted, almost reminiscently.
"What are you saying?" Keka's face hardened and her ears flattened in Anger.
"Whoa, cool yer jets, Kid." He chomped on a cigar, searching for a light. "Unclench yer claws down there-I can see that yer old man passed ya some of his smarter traits."
Keka took another step back, dropping her defense stance as Wolverine found a lighter and set his cigar aflame, puffing contently.
"He taught me well. " She said evenly. "How do you know my father? Who are you?" Keka stood conflicted.
"We're not exactly what you'd call 'old *friends*', but we've been aquatinted, more then once. Name's Logan."
"You're Logan?"
"Oooh, he talks about me. I feel so special." Logan deadpanned.
"He never....I didn't...."
"Out with it Kid, I'm thinkin' you got a crush the way you stumble."
"Hardly." She wrinkled her nose at him. "My father said you were weak...you didn't seem that way when you were set to Kill me."
"I may be weak compared to yer dad...." Logan looked up at her. "Sorry kid."
"My father isn't so vicious." She said, her face beginning to soften. Keka looked sad suddenly, like a hurt innocent.
"Listen, Kid, I'm sorry." Logan pitched his cigar on the ground, stomping it out as he stepped toward her, laying a wary hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.
"Don't be, It's my own fault for going off on a trip like that-I don't have time for it."
"What's yer rush, lil lady?" Logan asked.
Keka Looked into the woods. "Finding my Daughter."