**Rescue**
The X-van entered the garage and quickly found the guarded entrance. Six heavily armed commandos opened fire on the black armored van. The spray of bullets couldn't penetrate the armor, but no one could get out either.
"I have an idea," Kurt said with a smile as he grabbed Scott and Logan's hands and transported them behind the guards.
*Snikt!* *Snikt!* Claws quickly extended and sheathed themselves between the ribs of the two nearest soldiers in a swift upwards movement. Their hearts and lungs were instantly pierced and they were dead before Logan finished the fatal stroke. Cyclops took out the two nearest him with a single burst of scarlet energy effectively flailing the skin that was exposed and setting their clothes on fire. Kurt, as fast as lightening, had grabbed the nearest soldier's chin and forehead from behind and snapped his neck. The second soldier barely had time to turn before Kurt caught him by the head, spinning into a crouching position and flung him forcefully over his head. The impact of the soldier's body on the cement of the parking garage was loud enough to make Gambit cringe as he held out his hand to assist the ladies from the van.
"Dat had to hurt," he said with a smirk as the only living soldier left in the garage gasped desperately for air.
Storm looked at the blood and broken bodies and gasped. "Oh, goddess!"
Logan flashed Kurt a smile as he came over and squatted next to the dying man. His face was like stone, and all he said was, "Odium."
"Top three …floors," the soldier gasped.
"How many?" Scott asked.
"Twenty…. and the mutants," he gurgled as he coughed blood. Logan looked at Jean who had been assessing the man's condition.
"The force of the impact has shattered his ribs and broken his back," Jean said as he stopped breathing. "He isn't going to be answering any more questions."
"Oh, perfect!" Scott cursed.
"I wonder how many mutants he has up there," Kurt said, more to himself than to the group.
"Gambit wonder what they can do," Remy said as he shuffled his deck.
Logan just retracted his claws and stalked over to the elevator. The rest of the team followed wordlessly. There was nothing to say that wouldn't set him off. It was simply time to act. Storm was the last one on the elevator and she looked back at the carnage they'd caused. She closed her eyes and thought of her friend, Dani. She prayed they would be in time.
*****
After assuring himself that his people were in place, and his headquarters was secure, Odium entered his office. He stared at Danielle like a man possessed. He glanced at Rufus who was calmly smoking and hissed, "Get out!"
Rufus obeyed quickly. He didn't want to see it anyway. He closed the door behind him as he heard the first blow and a quiet yelp of shock from the woman. Bloodthirsty ass hole, Rufus thought. He felt like he was traveling third class on the Titanic. The time had come to distance himself from this quickly sinking ship. Everything Stryker and Gabriel had built was being destroyed by a madman. He headed for the stairs to the roof.
And that is where Mystique found him. She had anticipated this, and waited. The door opened and she leapt from the stairs and drove her heel into his head. Rufus was thrown back against the wall and roughly shook his head.
"Damn, woman," he said with a sneer. "Nice move."
This was unexpected. Rufus had played the buffoon so well, Mystique had bought it. "Rufus, dear, time to pay the piper," she said menacingly.
Rufus casually brought a knee up and pressed his foot against the wall behind him. "She'll be dead before you get there," he taunted. He leaned forward slightly and launched himself at the blue woman with surprising speed. Mystique sidestepped and redirected his force into the steel handrail. Rufus' neck snapped on impact and his limp body rolled down the stairs to the next landing.
"Well," Mystique mused aloud. "That was a little anti-climactic." She quickly morphed into a duplicate of Rufus and returned to the main office. She'd wasted time killing him. She wondered if the poor wimp was still alive.
*****
They waited nervously as they watched the numbers above the elevator door climb. 26-27-28… The enemy would be here any moment, and they were mutants. Not Odium's mutants, but the X-men.
"Sir, have we heard from Team A in the basement?" SSG Sims asked nervously.
"Team A was neutralized," Captain Diaz said. "Just two floors to go; stay sharp." Great. Twenty years of special ops and his mouth was dry and his palms were sweaty. He unconsciously held his breath. The doors were opening.
*****
Scott stuck his head out of the elevator and let his optic blast clear a path. He'd taken out four before a single shot had been fired. Gambit charged three cards and tossed them in the other direction taking out another four. The one's that weren't dead were suddenly gone. The rest of the team exited the elevator and waited for the plan. Scott turned to Logan and chuckled.
"Déjà vu," he said with a grin.
"Humph," Logan growled and looked to Jean. "Anything?"
Jean closed her eyes, and involuntarily shuddered as her face twisted in pain. She pointed down the hall, "That way, hurry."
Logan was in full on panic mode. He ran down the hall with his claws extended. Right on his heels were Scott, Gambit and Kurt followed by Jean and Storm. He never saw the giant paw until it hit him.
*****
She heard the sickening sound of fists hitting flesh, but not a sound from the woman. Mystique swallowed hard and walked in.
"Rufus, I warned you to get out," Odium rasped. He was standing there in his true form, and his skin was the sickening color of blood. Wolverine's woman was on the floor in a heap and covered with cuts and bruises. Her face was swollen and there was blood dripping from her mouth. The weird collar neutralized her powers. She had been totally helpless. And she wouldn't heal until it came off.
Mystique felt an emotion that was completely foreign to her, -guilt. She'd promised that the woman would be okay. And then the woman had looked right into her eyes and believed her. The woman defended her to Charles and the X-men. Something snapped in Mystique. She was mad, and launched herself at Odium with a fury she hadn't felt in a long time. Her appearance changed from the stuffy Rufus to her own lithe blue form.
Odium was only mildly surprised to see her. He leapt out of the way easily doing two swift back flips. He broke the glass on his weapons display cabinet and pulled out a gleaming Katana sword. He smiled at her and a slight hiss could be heard as a slender forked tongue darted out.
"You ssssshould not have come back," he hissed. He deftly twirled the sword in his hand to demonstrate his skill and then attacked. He slashed at her, but she had managed to dodge the first swipe and land a healthy punch to his kidney as she came around behind him. He spun and swung his blade at neck level, but she managed to duck. She knocked him off his feet, and he rolled away and leapt to his feet, sneering at her.
Mystique smiled back. There was just enough distance between them that she could catch him off guard. She jumped the few feet between her and the woman and knelt beside her, releasing the lock and then crushed the collar. The handcuffs released instantly and Odium roared with rage.
He threw his sword across the room and it impaled Mystique through the chest. She collapsed beside Logan's woman and they were both at Odium's mercy.
"Sorry," Mystique whispered to the broken woman beside her.
"S'okay," the weak answer came.
She's still alive, Mystique thought as the blackness took her.
*****
Logan was thrown across the hall with surprising force and paused before attempting to stand. Scott and Gambit had to quickly duck to avoid the attack of the bear as it turned its hulking frame towards them. Gambit tossed two cards at its feet and the resulting explosion tossed it back a few yards.
Scott heard Jean and Storm screaming and turned to see what was happening. Jean was wrapped in what looked like vines of ivy that were quickly tightening and restricting her movement. Storm was in the same predicament, and Kurt transported to her side to try and pull the vines from her. Scott looked around for the source and spotted her. A petite woman covered in a strange mossy looking outfit was manipulating the plants. They grew at an alarming rate and moved as if they were alive. Scott sent an optic blast at the woman and her vines literally screamed and started to shrink away. Gambit tossed a couple of glowing cards at her and the vines fell lifelessly to the floor.
Logan had waited for the smoke to clear from Gambit's explosion and was surprised to find the bear replaced by a very large tiger. It growled at him angrily and paced in front of him looking for an opening. Logan just growled back and lunged for its throat. The tiger leapt to meet his attack, but Logan's claws were longer and he sunk them into the large cat's neck, nearly severing its head. The beast collapsed on the floor in a heap as blood poured from the wound.
There was a shrill scream from behind Gambit as a green scaly man leapt onto his back and held the Cajun by the throat with his creepy red two inch long claws. It was a stand off. No one could subdue him without hurting Remy. The scaly man smiled.
"Let me pass and I'll release him," he rasped.
Scott looked into his orange cat eyes and said, "Be my guest," as he pointed toward the elevator.
The man eyed them all suspiciously, moving slowly towards the door. Remy could feel his claws getting closer to his throat and caught his breath. Skink shoved Gambit at his companions and dove for the elevator, but Gambit spun around and tossed four cards into the elevator as it closed. The explosion blew the doors off the elevator and sent the car into a thirty story plunge to the basement.
The resistance was gone, where was Dani? Logan caught her scent as they continued down the hall. Logan quickly picked up the pace when he entered a large open office. Her scent was strong and he knew where she was. Then he smelled her blood, and went completely berserk. The team followed at a healthy distance as he burst through the door to Odium's office. Dani and Mystique were at his feet and he sat on his desk holding a large Katana Sword. Logan saw how badly Dani had been beaten and growled at the creepy looking lizard man.
"My turn," Odium hissed menacingly as he raised the sword over Dani and flashed Wolverine an evil grin. Before he could make the final blow, Kurt appeared in front of him and disappeared just as quickly with Dani and Mystique in tow.
Logan smiled at his friend's quick response. With Dani out of danger he could concentrate on his own revenge. He stepped closer to Odium and extended his claws. *Snikt!* *Snikt!* "You want me, come and get me," Logan said.
Odium reached behind him and picked up a second sword and met Logan head on. There was a piercing sound of metal on metal as claw met sword again and again. Logan was surprised the sword had held up and Odium caught his curious expression.
"Adamantium is the perfect metal for a sword, don't you think?" Odium sneered as he spun and landed another powerful blow that was easily deflected by Logan's claws.
Logan never spoke, he was observing the man's technique for flaws and spotted one. Odium swung again and Logan blocked with one claw while ripping three gashes in the man's stomach with the other. Odium staggered back in surprise, but quickly countered with another brutal bout, this time catching Logan off guard and stabbing him in the thigh. Logan growled but kept fighting.
*****
Scott and Remy waited by the door watching the bloody match. The gashes were being traded one after the other now and both men were a bloody mess.
"Let Gambit stop dis," Remy said to Scott.
"Logan would never forgive either of us if we interfered," Scott said quietly. He knew this was Logan's fight. Scott turned back to Danielle who was waking up.
"Logan?" she said in a whisper.
"Shhh," Jean said calmly as she checked the extent of the damage.
"Logan?" Dani asked more strongly.
"He's busy right now," Scott said as he came to sit beside her. She looked bad. "But I'm here, Dani."
"Where's Mystique?" Dani asked.
"Right beside you. She's worse off than you are," Jean said.
"Help me sit up," she ordered Scott.
"Like hell," Scott said firmly.
Dani looked into his eyes and just said, "Do it!"
Jean put a hand on Scott's shoulder. No, Scott, I know what she's going to do and it will kill her, Jean told him telepathically.
Scott helped her up and supported her. Dani reached a hand over Mystique's wound and healed it. Mystique's breathing and pulse became stronger and Dani collapsed back into Scott's arms unconscious again. Jean glared at her fiancé and he just looked at her with pain in his eyes.
"She never would have forgiven me if I hadn't helped her," he said softly. Jean sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She knew he was right. She just prayed Dani had enough strength and energy to heal.
Gambit broke into his thoughts with an abrupt warning, "Sabertooth!"
Victor creed had been standing there long enough to see the woman heal Mystique. Magneto had sent him here to retrieve her from this disaster and he had protested. The only thing that made him want to come was the idea of getting his claws on the runt again. But he saw them help old Blue and he hated to admit it, but he was touched.
Scott stood quickly, but Jean stopped him from doing anything rash. Scott, he came for Mystique, he doesn't want trouble. Scott eyed the giant wild man suspiciously, but stepped aside for him to pass.
Sabertooth walked around Dani and picked up the still unconscious Mystique and headed for the door. He paused and turned a moment and looked at Dani. "What's her name?" he growled.
"Danielle," Storm said.
He grunted in acknowledgement and walked away.
*****
Logan's healing factor was not keeping up with the damage as quickly as he'd hoped. This Odium character was good with a sword. They were both covered in serious gashes and dripping with blood. Logan came in for an attack as he had done consistently and knew how Odium would counter. When Odium raised his sword for the block, Logan shifted on his feet and drove his claws through Odium's belly and right up into his chest piercing his heart and lungs. He grinned with the deepest satisfaction as he lifted Odium off the floor to drive the blades just a little deeper. But Odium surprised him when he drove his sword through Logan's abdomen from kidney to kidney. They both collapsed to the floor, Odium dead, and Logan close to it. It was over.
The team loaded into Odium's helicopter to rush home for medical attention.
*****
Beast had decided the kids could use a relaxing evening after the day's excitement so he set up a DVD in the lounge. Everyone was enjoying the campy humor of 'The Princess Bride.'
"Stop that rhyming and I mean it!" the irritated character screamed at the Giant.
"Anybody want a peanut?" everyone answered in unison, laughing.
Jesse and Kitty were sitting on the couch in the lounge watching the movie. Rogue and Jubilee were giggling at how close they were sitting. Kitty just leaned a little closer to Jesse and smiled as he put his arm around her shoulder. John elbowed Bobby and pointed at the pair and whispered, "He works fast."
"Shut up," Bobby said quietly. It helps if the girl is interested.
Then they heard the helicopter and the kids started to run to the windows. Rogue was the first one to recognize Cyclops at the controls. "They're back!" Rogue yelled.
Xavier rolled in and interrupted. "The team needs to get downstairs quickly, we have injured. Everyone will retreat to your rooms immediately," he said in a worried tone. "I'll keep you posted, please hurry."
The students looked sick with worry as they quickly filed up the stairs. The professor had never ordered the students out of the way like that before. Someone must be hurt pretty badly. The helicopter landed on the basketball court and Beast met them to help with the wounded.
"Hank, carry Logan," Jean said. He was the only one strong enough to move him easily. Scott had already picked up Dani and the team entered through the gallery. The halls were empty except for Jesse who stood off to the side giving them plenty of room. Xavier had already gone downstairs and sent the elevator back up for them. Jesse got a good look at Logan and Dani who were both covered in blood. So Odium had gotten some revenge after all, he thought.
*****
"Jean, Logan's waking up," Hank said as he crossed the room to check his vitals. His superficial wounds were healed in a couple hours, but the internal injuries from being skewered with a sword had taken more time.
"How long?" he asked hoarsely.
"Six hours," Jean said.
"You were pretty hacked up," Beast commented.
"Dani, where's Dani?" he demanded with a hint of panic.
They didn't answer immediately, and he could tell the news was going to be bad. Jean shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "Logan, Dani…"
Logan growled roughly as he closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. "Just spit it out, Red."
"She's in a coma," Xavier said as he wheeled in.
Logan sat up slowly, "Where?"
"In the next room," Xavier said. "I should warn you, she was hurt …"
"I saw her," Logan said softly.
"No, Logan," Jean said. "It's really bad." There was a strange hitch in her voice that alarmed him.
If Jean was that upset, it was much worse than he thought. He wasn't fully recovered yet, but no one would dare stop him from getting up. He walked to her room and just stood in the doorway. Scott was sitting with her, and she had sensors taped all over. She had so many bandages she looked like a mummy, except for the blood. Scott saw him and got up.
"She's stable, but she isn't healing. Hank has turned up the power under her bed, but…" Scott couldn't tell him.
"Just spit it out!" Logan growled.
"She had been ripped open by Odium's claws," he said quietly. "There were five distinct gash marks across her stomach, and they were very deep. Jean had to help close up the wounds, but they are not improving."
Hank stood by Logan and filled in the rest, "All her ribs were broken, and her arm, and she had a stab wound in her chest."
"Get out," Logan said softly.
Scott and Hank left without another word. Logan sat in the chair by her bed and cried. "Baby, you heal everyone else, you can beat this. Come on, Dani, please don't leave me," he said.
*****
"Cher, Logan is okay, he's out of bed," Remy explained.
"Then where is he? Why won't the professor let the students visit?" she demanded.
"It's the Petit, she's hurt bad," Remy tried to explain. "The Wolverine won't leave her."
"Oh, god," she said. "He must be going crazy."
"I'm okay kid," a familiar voice said from behind her.
Rogue turned around and threw her arms around Logan. "I was so worried," she said as she squeezed. "How's Dani?"
"The wounds are healing more slowly than usual for her, but she's recovering," he said as he returned her hug. "Jean kicked me out for a while so they could change the dressing on her wounds." He wasn't happy about it, but he was too tired to fight her and Xavier and Beast. 'Go eat and get some rest!' Damned do-gooders. He wouldn't be able to rest until he was sure she was fine. From the looks of things, that was going to be a while.
*****
"Jesse, with all the excitement, we haven't had the chance to talk about your powers," Xavier said.
Jesse shifted slightly, feeling put on the spot. He glanced around Xavier's office at Beast and Scott and visibly cringed. "What's to talk about?" he asked.
"First of all, thank you for your assistance," Xavier said with a smile.
Jesse blushed.
"Secondly, how long have you known Odium?" Xavier asked. He had a theory and wanted to test it.
"Dr. Orson Williams, that was his name, worked with my mother for years on the archive," Jesse said. "I practically grew up in the museum."
"What are you thinking, Charles?" Hank asked.
"His powers had been suppressed. They were released when he came here," Xavier said.
"You think Odium did it?" Jesse asked. "Why?"
"Who knows," Scott said. "We know he had the technology to do it, he suppressed Dani's powers."
"Bastard," Jesse said quietly. Not for himself, but for her.
"Now," Xavier said in an 'I'm-changing-the-subject-now' voice. "Hank tells me you are curious about your mother's family."
Jesse blushed again, and squirmed. "Uh, it's not that important. If you're done with the powers thing, I was going to meet Kitty…"
"Don't be embarrassed, Jesse. We're your friends," Scott said.
"Really," Jesse said firmly. "I think I should be going now."
"The name is in there," Xavier said authoritatively. "Your mind doesn't forget, Jesse, you're a genius after all."
"I have tried…" Jesse sighed with his eyes closed.
"The memory is painful, and you suppressed the name along with the memory," Xavier said.
"No," Jesse said sadly. "The memory comes back, often."
"Would you like me to…?" Xavier offered.
"Please."
Xavier wheeled up to the couch and prepared to read his mind again. "Relax," Xavier said. He looked into Jesse's memory for the moment his mother had showed him their family history. She had been so proud of her ancestors, especially the matriarch.
"Why do you call her the head of our family?" Jesse had asked.
"She was the first mother of a mutant in our family tree," Andromeda had said. "She was also the bravest. You see, she raised her daughter alone to protect her from an evil man. I wish I was that brave."
"So what was her name?" Jesse asked.
"Anastasia Mason," Andromeda said. "And her Daughter's name was Danielle."
"I like that name," Jesse said sleepily as his mother kissed his cheek and tucked him in. It was the last time he saw his mother alive.
Xavier looked up in utter shock. Jesse stared at him with his newly restored memory of that night and just said, "My god."
"Indeed," Xavier said. "Hank, your suspicion was correct."
"I gotta go," Jesse said abruptly and practically ran out of the office.
"You'd think he'd be happy to find out his ancestors were…" Scott said bewildered.
"He also just remembered how his mother died," Xavier said. "It was not what he expected."
"Are you going to tell Logan about Jesse?" Hank asked.
"It's not our place to share information like that," Xavier said firmly. "It's Jesse's family, and his secret to tell or keep, understood?"
Hank and Scott nodded in agreement.
*****
Three days. Three horrible gut-wrenching days of waiting. Dani's body was healing, but the coma was worrying him. Dani should be awake by now. Logan was headed up to see the professor. Maybe he could do something telepathic to see if she was alright. Maybe he could help bring her back. He was about to knock on the door when he heard "I gotta go," just before Jesse ran past him. Logan stepped back out of sight and listened to what had upset the kid.
"Are you going to tell Logan about Jesse?" Hank asked.
"It's not our place to share information like that," Xavier said firmly. "It's Jesse's family, and his secret to tell or keep, understood?"
Logan quickly put the puzzle together. Jesse was his grandkid, a few centuries down the line. He smirked. Well, that explained a lot! The scent, the instant trust in the future, the charm with the ladies…
"Logan," the professor called.
Can't hide from a telepath, "Be right there." Damned school for the gifted…no privacy anywhere.
*****
Logan was heading back to Dani's room when he saw Jesse sit down beside her. He decided to wait and let the kid have his visit in peace. She was going to be his grandmother, eventually.
"Hi," Jesse said to Danielle. He sat on the chair that Logan had spent so much time in the past few days. No one was around, so he thought he'd visit.
"You'll never guess what I found out today," he said with a smile. "You and I are related." Jesse brushed a curl from her forehead and sighed. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I thought you'd like to know you're going to have a great family. My mom was so proud of her family tree! You're right there at the top of the list, you know. You'll be a great mom someday, I know it." Jesse suddenly felt silly talking to her. "Just hurry up and get well, okay? Everyone misses you, especially Logan."
Jesse stood up to leave but turned back to look at her. "Well, now I know where mom got her good looks from," he said quietly to himself.
Logan opened the door and pretended he didn't hear any of that. "Oh, hi Jesse," he said with a smile. Logan wished he hadn't promised Chuck he wouldn't talk to Jesse about the whole family thing unless Jesse chose to tell him. He didn't think Jesse would tell him, and he wanted to talk about it.
"Hi, Logan. I just wanted to check on her," Jesse said nervously. "I was just leaving."
"Its okay kid, you don't have to go because I got here," Logan said. "I'm going crazy with this waiting, kid. Why don't you keep me company for a while?"
"All right," Jesse said as he pulled over another chair and sat down.
"Good," Logan said and sat by Dani.
There was a long pause. Logan sat looking at Danielle like a little boy who lost his puppy. He was missing her, and he was worried. Her healing factor wasn't as strong as his, but it should have had her up and around by now. Jesse couldn't take the depressing silence.
"What's she like?" Jesse asked.
"Dani?" Logan said. "She's like the sweetest angel you'd ever imagine meeting, all soft hearted and gentle." Logan seemed lost in a memory and Jesse waited for him to continue. "She has a gift for reading people. She's a ball of fire sometimes, but I like that. She and I just …knew we were meant to be together."
Jesse smiled. The great Wolverine, a man to stand aside from, neatly wrapped around that little lady's finger. It was rather romantic, actually.
"So, what'd Chuck want with you earlier?" Logan asked. Come on kid, tell me.
"He told me my powers had been suppressed," Jesse said angrily. "That creep Orson…er, Odium did it."
Logan hadn't heard that.
"I just wish I could bring him back so I could kill him myself," Jesse said in a fit of rage.
"It's over, kid. You got your powers now," Logan said. He knew it was hard to grow up that way, but he shouldn't get that angry over it.
"You don't get it," Jesse said. "I always thought it was my father who killed her."
Oh, damn, Logan thought, here it comes…
"Odium did it," Jesse said quietly. "I worked for my mother's killer for years and didn't know it. I should have known! I can't believe I was such a coward to suppress such a memory," he said bitterly.
"It's not your fault," Logan said.
"No, it isn't," Jean said as she came in holding a large bouquet of flowers. "Odium was a chameleon, Jesse, he disguised himself through manipulating light waves, and manipulating minds. He forcibly blocked the memory," she said.
Jesse sat quietly and contemplated that.
Logan eyed the bouquet. "Chuck didn't have to get her flowers," he said.
"He didn't," Jean said. "They were delivered."
Logan got up and grabbed for the card. The writing was rough, almost like a young child's. It was addressed to Danielle. He opened it and the card simply read "Thanks."
"Who?" Logan asked.
"I hate to say it, it sounds crazy, but I think it was Sabertooth," Jean said.
"Um, Red, you better explain that one," Logan said as he sat back down.
Jesse laughed as he left the room. He'd already heard this story. He was going to go find Kitty.
*****
Jean and Jesse had been gone for a good hour when Dani finally opened her eyes. Logan held his breath waiting to see how she was. "Logan?"
"Right here, Dani," he said as he leaned closer to her. "Oh, baby, I thought I was going to lose you."
"Never," she said as she smiled at him.
Logan bent down and kissed her softly. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," she said and kissed him again. Logan was getting lost in the kiss. Dani wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Logan buried his fingers in her hair as three days of worry poured out in relief and passion through his lips.
"A-HEM," Scott said.
Logan slowly broke the kiss and looked back at the door where Scott and Jean stood. Jean was smiling, and Scooter stood with his arms crossed.
"Damn, Scooter, it was just a kiss," Logan said innocently.
"Not from where I was standing," Scott said.
"Patients waking up from a coma usually get a check-up before their boyfriends are allowed to climb into their hospital bed," Jean said humorously.
Dani blushed and Logan grinned. "Hurry up and check her, Red," he said.
"How do you feel?" Jean asked.
"I'm hungry," Dani said.
Scott laughed as he headed out the door. "She's fine."
