Ok, now I'm back. Thanks 4 all of your reviews, keep em coming so I can keep the story going.

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Sarah winced slightly as the block moved forwards slowly. It was pressing against her claws slowly, and her claws were pressing back on her hand. But the bars kept her hands straight, so the pain increased little by little. It was still tolerable, though it hurt.

Sarah closed her eyes and imagined her claws sliding in and out, appearing when she needed them, disappearing when she didn't. The pain was growing as the block came forward, Sarah could almost feel the metal strips in her hands straining against her claws.

Outside the room Logan paced around. Kurt was muttering things under his breath and Storm was talking with the professor.

^^^^^

"Why would they want Sarah's claws to stay out? They didn't make Logan's that way." Storm looked at the door. The professor thought for a moment.

"There were four tests." He said slowly. "Two mutants who could heal quickly volunteered, so did one normal human being. The normal human was the first test, he died right after the procedure. Logan volunteered next, but he ran after they finished.

"The scientists were trying to create a perfect soldier. One that was always equipped with weapons and was nearly indestructible. They were eager to try again, so they created the mutant Logan fought in the last mission. But they wanted one more, though they couldn't find any volunteers. Then they found Sarah, and kidnapped her when she refused to become a volunteer.

"They decided all she would be was a killer, so they tried to make sure her claws would never vanish. They also replaced her canines with the metal teeth she has now." The professor finished. Logan, Storm, and Kurt stared at him.

"Vy did they want her to be like that?" Kurt asked. The professor looked at him.

"She was supposed to be controlled for the rest of her life," he replied. "the only reason she was there was to be an assassin. She remembers it all because they never bothered to remove her memory, but she has made herself forget a lot of it, purely her choice."

"That's horrible," Storm said. She shuddered and looked back at the door.

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The pain was excruciating. Sarah could feel the metal strips bending, but still they wouldn't let her claws through. She gritted her teeth and looked again at the block. 'Come on,' she ordered her claws mentally, 'break through. Come on!'

Scott was worried about Sarah. She was obviously in great pain, but she wasn't making a sound. He was unsure of what to do.

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(Sarah)

Holy shit it hurt. I felt like I was ripping my own hand off. My claws had gotten about an inch shorter, but the metal in my hands still hadn't broken. All that was racing through my mind was a picture on me living the rest of my life with my claws forever exposed and how much it hurt to get rid of that.

The press wasn't working. It hurt, that's it. The metal was stronger then everyone thought. But it was bending, so maybe I could break it.

But then a whole new realm, of pain and realization opened to me. The metal was breaking, and it was a pain that is impossible to begin to describe. The clasps that were holding my hands were twisting, unable to stand the pressure. Then they broke and fell, but I held my hands as steady as I could.

Then more pictures started to form in my mind. Memories. All of the memories I had from the lab where they gave me claws. Memories of how I was created, after I got my claws and teeth, what I was doing and how I got away. I didn't want them, the memories. I had forgotten them, made myself forget them. But now they were back, and they all were based on my steel claws.

I was going to make the damn things disappear if it killed me. Not thinking I lifted both feet, screamed, and launched myself into the block. The machine stopped and I heard some loud cracks. Then everything went black.

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Scott stopped the machine and ran over to Sarah. He looked at her arms in horror, the claws were gone, but he could see them. Four twisted pieces of metal stuck out of Sarah's arms near her elbow, and though the skin was trying to heal around them, blood was still pouring out.

The professor and the other X Men rushed in as Scott dragged Sarah from the press.

"Logan, get the metal out of her arms," the professor ordered. He nodded and bent down next to Sarah, grabbing two pieces of metal.

"Sorry kid," he muttered, and ripped them out. He grabbed two more pieces of the twisted metal and pulled them out, dropping them on the floor. Storm looked away, trying not to throw up. A minuet later there were eight pieces of metal lying on the floor. Kurt vanished, then appeared a minuet later with a wet rag, which Logan put on Sarah's hot forehead.

The professor looked at the machine, then at Sarah, who had started to stir. Storm came over, and Scott backed away. After a moment Sarah looked up and saw Logan and Storm's anxious faces. Then she sat up and looked around. She spotted her hands. There was still blood on them, but the wounds had already healed.

Then she started to cry.

"What's wrong?" Storm asked. But Sarah smiled and held up two normal looking hands.

"It worked." Sarah whispered.

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