Disclaimer: It all belongs to Marvel.

Lucretia sipped her coffee with a great amount of disinterest. It had no flavor, no smell, she couldn't even feel the heat of the mug on her skin. Every part of her was focused on the image that kept replaying in her mind over and over again. She snapped out of her daze as a hand passed in front of her face.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

She drew her attention to two sets of green eyes, vaguely remembering that after her moment of panic, the twins had drug her into the rec room and shoved a cup of coffee into her hands.

"Everything alright?"

She stared at the Summers twins for a few more minutes and then nodded weakly.

"You're sure?" Rachel insisted.

She nodded again.

"You said you knew those mutants," Chris offered. "From where?"

Lucretia's body shook involuntarily as she set down her coffee mug, "I don' know. I jus' know dat I knew dem."

"Could they be people that you have an empathic link with?"

She shook her head, "Non, I would know. 'Sides, only people I have dat kinda link wit' are family."

"Not even some of your high school or college friends?"

"Dey weren' close enough t' be considered family."

"What do you mean, close enough?"

"I mean, dat dere are certain people dat I know so well dat dey're like family t' me, dat's all."

"Like Logan?"

She nodded, "An' Kurt, an' Ororo, an' all de Guild members."

The twins nodded in understanding, "So who do you think the mutants in your mind might have been?"

"Mutant's I'm gonna meet or ancestors or sumt'in'. I'm not really sure. All I know is dat each an every one of dem were dead and I had sumt'in' t' do wit' it."

Chris nodded, "I think we need to schedule another session."

Lucretia looked at him in absolute terror, "Absolutely not! Dat place is awful fo' anyone t' see. I don' like it an' I'm not bringin' you two back in dere! Jus' imagine what yo' pere would say if he found out what you were doin'? He'd rip you both a new one and den come hunt me down for lettin' y'! Deal's off!"

"I very much doubt you're afraid of our father," Rachel said wryly. "Just this afternoon, you were ready to kill him."

Lucretia shook her head again, "Dat was different, he nearly killed me. I was angry. I was bein' rash. I don' kill mutants, no matter how much dey deserve it."

Both Rachel and Christopher raised their eyebrows in surprise. "But you're an assassin!" Chris argued.

Lucretia shrugged, "Don' mean I can' choose my targets, now does it? Now you two go run along an' act like you was doin' sumt'in' else today, an' I'll explain t' m' family what happened."

"Yes, what exactly did happen?" asked a highly annoyed voice from behind them.

Lucretia turned to see her mother looking at her very sternly, arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

"De twins jus' tryin' t' help me out, mamman, dat's all."

"Do their parents know?"

"Mother knows," Rachel stated, "she encouraged it, said it would be good practice."

"Well, Ah don't appreciate y'all practicin' on mah daughter without tellin' either me or Remy first. Ah got a nasty jolt about five minutes ago and Ah spent the next foah tryin' to figure out which o' my children was in trouble. You tell me next time, hear?"

Both Rachel and Chris nodded and then escaped the room as fast as possible. Rogue watched them leave and then moved closer to her daughter, sitting on the love seat opposite her. "What happened?" she asked calmly.

Lucretia shrugged at her mother.

Rogue sighed, "Figures. Ah'm sure you'll tell yoah Pappa though, won't you?"

Lucretia stared at her, a hint of guilt behind her eyes. "I…" she started and then bolted to her feet, "AUNT DONNIE!" she screamed with joy. She dropped the cup on the table and sprinted to the front door, running into Nicky on the way. The two looked at each other for a fraction of a second, elation on both their faces and then continued their sprint to the front gates of Xavier Mansion.

Belladonna Beudreaux shook her hair out as she stepped out of her 2003 BMW convertible. It wasn't really hers, it belonged to the New York Guilds, but that didn't bother her. What bothered her was that someone had tried to kill her two favorite little guild members. She seethed in anger, but her thoughts were interrupted by two heavy bodies barreling into her.

Bon Soir, mes petit fils."

Lucretia scowled at Bella, "I wish y' wouldn' call us dat anymore, Donnie."

"I will keep callin' you dat until you stop callin' me Donnie! De name's Belladonna!"

Lucretia gave her an evil grin, "Then I guess yo' just gonna have t' keep callin' us yo' little ones, non?"

It was Bell's turn to scowl, but it soon faded and was replaced by an enchanting laugh, "I guess I will."

The three walked halfway up the drive where they were greeted by Rogue and Gambit, both of them smiling.

"Belle," Gambit beamed, giving her a quick hug, "what brings you up here?"

"I heard about what happened an' got on de first flight outta New Orleans."

Gambit nodded, "As you can see, dey're bot' fine."

She nodded back, "Yes, but dat don' excuse de fact dat sumt'in' happened, non?"

"No it doesn't. Rogue, go an' tell de ot'ers dat Belle will be stayin' here dis evenin' an' not to worry."

"Oh no, Remy,' dat's not necessary, I already made arrangements wit' de New York Guild."

"Absurd! You're family, non? You stay in de mansion tonight. You can stay in de boat house if you feel more comfortable."

Belle nodded at his suggestion and continued towards the house.

"Dis calls fo' sumt'in' special. Belle, how would you like to hear Nicky and 'Cretia play tonight?"

Belladonna's face lit up, "I haven' heard dem in ages, dat would be wonderful!"

Bella's was not the only one excited. "You really mean it Pappa," Lucretia asked, "We can play?"

Gambit nodded, "It's been a while and I t'ink dat de Professor needs to see what you two are capable of."

Once again, the two Lebeau children were given to elation and immense joy and they bolted straight up the stairs and to their rooms. Gambit smiled slightly. It was good to see his children happy on occasion. It came so rarely.

Cyclops had grudgingly agreed to allow Belladonna to stay at the mansion as long as she was in the boat house and far away from the students. He really did not feel comfortable having anymore of Gambit's kind in the house. They were truly untrustworthy, but if the Professor said it was all right, then Cyclops supposed it was okay. He would still keep a close eye on all of them when he could.

He stood in the doorway of the recroom, observing it's appearance. The furniture had been rearranged to allow for a small music recital. It had surprised Scott to learn that the Lebeau children had been musically trained, but then again, why not? They were trained in so many harsh disciplines that perhaps music was the only way to still them. From what he had over heard from their parents, the two young mutants had not performed together in some time due to school and other circumstances of which he was not sure. Everyone began to take their seats so Scott took his by his wife and fidgeted uncomfortably.

Jean peered at her husband, "Scott, relax, it's just a music recital. Rogue says the children are really good and it's generally very enjoyable. Besides, what could possibly happen?"

Scott continued to be uneasy. He could think of lots of things, but tried his best to keep them to his self. His children giggled quietly. He was quite aware that they were picking up his thoughts and was slightly disturbed that they found his fears amusing. They had spent too much time with Gambit's children, he was sure. He stopped in the middle of his next thought as the two entered the room.

Lucretia wore a long black evening gown while Nicky wore a simple black button up shirt with matching slacks. They both bowed and then pulled their violins to their shoulders. They spent a few minutes tuning and then, at Lucretia's cue, the music began.

The first was a speedy waltz followed by a slower violin concerto. As the music progressed, the room relaxed, including Cyclops. As if trying to wake them up from their comfort, the siblings burst into a driving Zydeco piece from New Orleans. They kept the tempo up for the next couple of pieces and then brought it back down to a peaceful requiem. Cyclops glanced at his watch, an hour had passed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rogue tense in her chair. Something was about to happen, but what? As if in answer to his unspoken question, Lucretia winked at her brother, taking a deep breath. She plunged into what appeared to be a slow piece at first but gradually picked up speed. Nicky was backing away from her, but it was barely enough to notice. Rogue clenched the arms of her chair. Cyclops could tell now that it was a Russian gypsy piece and glanced quickly at Storm. There was a sweet smile on her face. He could tell she was remembering Piotr Rasputin, once known as the mutant Colossus. He had been a good man, but that thought was interrupted. Cyclops turned his attention back to Nicky and Lucretia long enough to notice that Nicky, unable to keep up with his sister's tempo, had stopped playing and was now inching away at a frightening speed. He looked at Lucretia. Her eyes were closed and she was moving to the music as she played, swaying slightly. Suddenly, the music stopped and her violin clattered to the ground. Her eyes were wide open and glowing a dangerous red. Her back was rigid and her arms were outstretched at her sides, as if they were held there. A black mist began to swirl around her. Finally, the mist enveloped her completely, and she could no longer be seen.

Cyclops glanced at the room around him. Most of them seemed unable to move after witnessing what just happened while a few others, very few, stared intently at the black orb in the center of the room. These few were Gambit, Rogue, Logan, and Belladonna. Kurt moved towards the orb, but Logan caught his arm and shook his head.

"She could be hurt!"

He shook his head again, "Trust me elf, ya don't wanna go near it."

"This has happened before?" Storm inquired, finally broken out of her shock.

Rogue and Gambit nodded, still staring at where their daughter had been.

"What is it?"

No one spoke for several moments. "It's part of her mutation," Rogue began, "she can make black holes and worm holes an' things like that, but she can't control it. They come and go as they please, usually when she's distracted like this. There's really nothin' we can do until it dissolves."

"And how long could that be?" Kurt spoke again. "She could be seriously hurt!"

"Oh, she'll be alright," Logan comforted him, "but she'd be a whole lot worse for wear if we tried t' help her. Once touch on that thing, and everything gets scrambled. We have to wait til her body realizes that it can't stay in there and shuts it off. We don't wanna to surprise her, it could be more damaging than you think."

As if answering everyone's questions, the orb began to slowly fade and Lucretia dropped to the ground onto her hands and knees. Her skin was very pale and covered in many cuts and bruises. Blood was dripping from her eyes and nose, making a bright red pool on the floor below her. Kurt moved to help her up, but Logan caught him again and nodded to Rogue. She nodded back and knelt next to her daughter. Immediately, Lucretia shot up, grabbing her mother and pinned her to the wall. After several seconds, her senses came back to her and she let go, stumbling backwards. She fought for several more moments for balance and finally straightened up. She slowly took in her surrounds and stopped, letting out a loud gasp.

"NICKY!!"

He was on the floor, gasping for air and flailing his arms. Lucretia bolted to his side, picked him and proceeded towards the med bay. The rest of the X-men barely had time to keep up.

There's the next one. Please read and review. You may have noticed that I don't give out my thanks at the beginning of the chapters anymore. Well, that's because I haven't received my reviews for the past two chapters. So if you have any questions comments or concerns, try sending them to me again or e-mailing me. I'll be happy to answer. But keep sending reviews. Who knows, they may have fixed the glitch by now.