It seemed almost as if it were the first time she had seen Muir Island. Intellectually, Rahne knew that nothing had changed in the place which had become her home over the last few months, but as she watched the tiny island appear in the helicopter's window she felt that she was finally seeing it properly, as though she'd had a pair of cataracts removed and was suddenly seeing colour again. "It's beautiful," she breathed.

"It's a great bloody lump of barren rock in the middle of a freezing ocean which barely gets twenty sunshine hours in an entire year," Betsy replied, snorting at the idea. "Give me the big smoke any day. But nice to know you appreciate it, luv."

……

"So how did it go?" Teresa asked as she bounded up the stairs from the basement levels to greet them. "Did you…? Oh sorry, that's not… I mean, if you didn't, it's alright, and…."

Rahne decided it was probably best not to wait for the Irish girl to stop talking. "I did," she answered. "We got rid of the blocks - I've got my powers back."

"That's awesome! I knew you could do it!" With a squeal, Teresa engulfed her in a hug. Somewhat startled at her foster-sister's excitement, Rahne looked helplessly toward Betsy.

"I really didna do anything…"

"Oh, don't look at me, luv," the telepath replied, "I just gave you a little nudge in the right direction. But anyway Tiger, what's with the enthusiasm today? You finally hooked up with a crazy little mutant boy, or did you just get through one of those useless lumps of paper you call textbooks?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Actually, I'm taking a break from studying today," she replied, pointedly ignoring Betsy's expression of mock surprise. "But we just heard from Butler – the defence case is finished, and they're going to start summing up tomorrow. Apparently the rest of the evidence went really well."

"So does that mean Jono will be found innocent?" Rahne asked. She wondered how the strange and bitter boy was doing – somewhere in the midst of her obsession with recovering the powers he had slipped from her mind, but now she remembered, and worried about him.

"We don't know yet, honey," said Moira, who had appeared from one of the corridors. "It could still go either way, but Joseph thinks there's reason to hope that he managed to convince the jury that simply being a mutant doesn't make you dangerous." She smiled warmly at Rahne, and slipped one arm around her in a stiff and slightly awkward hug. "It's good to see you looking happy again dear," she whispered. "Whatever Betsy did, I'm glad it worked."

"So am I," Rahne admitted. "Thank you."

"For what, dear?"

"For everything you've done for me. You've all been so understanding, and helpful… I dinna think I can ever repay you."

"Nonsense," replied Moira, in the same firm and businesslike tone with which she had talked down the Reverend. "I don't want to hear any more talk of payment, dear – you never have to worry about that." She paused briefly, and when she continued, her voice was softer. "I know it's just a formality on a piece of paper, but I do consider you to be my daughter. I don't want to take your parents place, but…" a speck of anxiety and embarrassment bloomed in her scent.

"Nay…," Rahne started, unsure of quite what she meant. "It's okay, I… thank you." She hugged her foster mother fiercely.

"Ummm… Moira?" a male voice called. Rahne looked up to see Neal Sharra standing at the top of the stairs, shuffling anxiously. "Sean wanted me to find you. He says it's someone from the… Institute?… on the line. They've got a bit of a situation on their hands apparently."

Moira had barely disappeared down the stairs to the conference room before Teresa rounded on Neal, pelting him with questions. "Well? Who was it? What did they want?"

"I don't know," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't recognise the guy on the video screen… he looked a bit feral though."

The girls looked at each other, and nodded. "Wolverine."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go down there and find out what's happening!" said Teresa, tugging Rahne's arm.

Rahne hesitated. "But… wouldn't they have said if they wanted us ta come too?"

"And you'd just let them get away with that? Come on…"

Just as the four of them reached the conference room door, it was thrown open. Sean stalked out, with a grim expression and a scent to match. "Auch, there y' are Betsy – I was just comin' looking fer y'. I need y' t' get a message t' Brian – we're going t' need him and Meggan here, as soon as they can make it."

"What's happening Da?" asked Teresa, as the telepath closed her eyes and prepared to search for her brother.

"Nothing fer y' t' fret about yet, cagaran. We'll tell y' when we ken more about it."

"Oh for godsake, Da, I'm fifteen! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Naw? Well y're certainly acting like one." Teresa narrowed her eyes at her father, who looked back impassively. Rahne could smell her foster sister's irritation growing, just about ready to snap. She wondered whether she dared to intervene, but at that moment, the door swung open again and Moira leant out.

"Rahne – there's someone who wants to speak with you for a moment."

Flashing an apologetic smile at the still fuming Teresa, Rahne stepped into the conference room. Up on the large screen she could see a rather pale looking Roberto.

"Hey wolfie," he said, in a tone that sounded slightly off, although she couldn't place what was wrong. She'd grown so used to reading people through their scents that it was disconcerting to have to rely simply on sight and sound.

"Hey yourself," she replied, managing a smile. It was returned, but barely. "What's going on, Berto?"

"Remember how I told you about the powerful mutant when we came to Muir Island – the one that broke free, that the Professor was trying to locate?"

It sounded vaguely familiar, though much of the past few months was a blur to Rahne. "I think so…"

"Well, he's taken the Professor. And Miss Munroe. And now we're going after him."

"You're…?" she stared at him, open-mouthed. This sounded big. Too big.

"Yeah. We're going after him – the X-Men, the New Recruits, even one of Magneto's old lackeys. We're going to try to put a stop to him. But… I just wanted to see you before I go… just in case. I wanted to say…"

If it were possible, Rahne was even more astonished by that. Roberto DaCosta was actually admitting that something might go wrong – that he wasn't infallible. Ordinarily she would have taken the golden opportunity to tease him mercilessly, but instead, she found it chilling. "Now come on Sunshine," she tried to joke. "They're not going to get the best of you? You're Sunspot…"

"Well, yeah, I know…" He managed a small smile. "But just in case, I…"

"I know, Berto," she replied. "But I'm going to see ye again, ye hear, because I want to see you, and Wolfsbane always gets what she wants…"

He laughed briefly at that. "Shit, I'd better go – Wolverine wants to talk to Mr Cassidy again. I'll see you soon, Wolfie…" She smiled, adding to herself under her breath, 'you'd better'.

"So, what's the story, Logan?" Sean asked, once the others (including a rather smug looking Teresa) had filed back into the room. "Do y' want us t' suit up and help y' out?"

"No," the grizzled Canadian replied. "I reckon it's best to keep you out of it, for now at least. We should have enough, and it's best to have someone waiting outside the fight. But if something goes wrong… it's up to you."

Sean frowned at the thought. "I hear y'. We'll be waiting," The other man nodded gruffly. "Oh, by the way Wolverine," Sean continued as the X-Man turned away from the screen, "good luck." There was a grunt, a short nod, and the screen clicked off.

"So, now what do we do?" Neal asked. "Just wait?"

"Auch. Wait, and watch."

……

Brian and Meggan arrived shortly after. And all that night they watched the images play across the screen, documenting the X-Men's struggle. Watched, as one by one, their friends fell before the power of their former comrades and enemies. Watched, as the Sentinel fleets were sent out, only to be ripped apart and turned against their former masters. Watched, as finally the strange power grids were snapped off, and everything seemed to return to normal. All the while, none of the members of Excalibur said a single word. And then it was over.

"Well," said Betsy, breaking the silence. "That was exciting, wasn't it?"

"You could call it that," Moira answered, her tone grim. "But I'd prefer to get my excitement in a less world-threatening way, if at all possible."

The telepath grinned. "You know Moisy, you're dead right. I can think of much better ways of getting all excited." She stretched ostentatiously, throwing her shoulders back and her chest forward. "And working it off…," she added, with a deliberately seductive glance at Neal.

"Oh, get a room," said Brian, rolling his eyes.

"That's the plan, brother dearest… that's the plan."

The rest of Excalibur remained staring at the screens, still unable to full comprehend the images that they had just seen. Finally, Brian spoke. "Well, I guess we won, anyway."

"Yes, the X-Men seem to have come out on top in this battle," Moira replied, twin notes of weariness in her voice and her scent. "But I fear in the end, tonight's events don't bode well for mutants anywhere in the world who are trying to show that they are no threat to the rest of humanity. Especially Jonothan Starsmore. If only this had just happened two days later…"

"Why?" asked Rahne, puzzled. What effect would this have on Jono?

It was Sean that stepped in to explain. "Two days later, the summing up would be done, and the jury would ha' retired t' consider their verdict – they'd ha' been cut-off from news from the outside world. As it is, they'll all ha' seen what we've just seen – mutants fighting each other in massive battles across the world – do y' think that's goin' t' convince them that our friend in the dock isn't a danger t' society?"

NB: and that was all referencing the two Ascension episodes, as you hopefully guessed.