**Holodeck**
Logan and Dani wandered the halls of the ship for a few minutes before they ran into Commander Troy.
"Hello Logan and Dani," Deanna said. "You looked like you felt a little out of place here, so I thought you'd like a tour."
"You mean you're here to baby-sit," Logan said sarcastically.
Deanna sighed and smiled. "Something like that," she admitted.
Logan gave an annoyed snort, but Dani had an idea. "Do you have a gym or something? You know… somewhere we can work out a little frustration without causing any damage?"
"That's an excellent idea," Logan said. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a couple hours in the danger room at the highest setting!"
Deanna's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she decided not to ask. "I'll show you to the Holodeck," she said. "I'm sure we have a program there that will suit your needs."
Deanna led them to the turbo lift, and in a couple of minutes they were standing in front of a large door. Deanna entered and they followed. The room was completely black, with some sort of yellow grid painted across the walls and floors.
"Computer," Deanna said, and they heard a beeping sound indicating the computer's readiness.
"Gymnasium, circa 2253…" Deanna started to say but was interrupted.
"Hang on, computer," Logan said. "What can this thing do?"
"It creates holographic representations of any location in its program base, and can also create people…"
"Perfect," Logan said. "Computer, give me Central Park."
"Please specify…" the computer said in a tinny female voice.
"New York City, circa 2005, Central Park," Dani said.
"Thanks babe," Logan said quietly.
The room changed, and they were standing on a stone bridge that stretched across a large pond. Logan smiled, but noted how sterile the place seemed.
"There should be people," he said.
The computer complied by adding the appropriate amount of people in the park.
Dani looked at Logan and said, "It was night, and there were four sentinels, and all of us were there."
"Yeah," Logan said with a growl. "That was a bad night. How about you and me take on one?"
Dani nodded, and Logan said, "Computer, give me this setting at midnight, and add one thirty foot robot with various deadly weapons capabilities."
"And make sure the robot is pissed off and trying to kill us," Dani added. "That sounds like a sentinel, doesn't it?" Dani asked Logan.
Logan chuckled. "Oh, yeah," Logan said to Deanna. "You can go now, we're fine."
The location was suddenly a night setting, and a very large robot, that looked surprisingly similar to a sentinel stomped towards them. Deanna's eyes were huge, and she backed up, but didn't leave. Dani and Logan ignored her and went right to work like professionals.
"Let's see what it can do," Logan said. "Split its attention a bit."
"Right, I'll be on the bank over there," Dani said and orbed herself to the bank.
Deanna was shocked at Dani's power, but just found a spot behind a tree to watch.
The robot's attention was immediately drawn to Dani's orb light, and it started shooting lasers at her. Logan seized the opportunity to get closer to it while Dani had it distracted. He popped his claws out as he ran to one of its legs. He quickly discovered its hydraulic lines and slashed them with his claws. The robot immediately fell forward to the ground with a resounding thud.
Logan stood staring at it like he'd just broken his best toy. Dani orbed herself to his side and sighed.
"Sorry, Logan," she said. "I guess there's no substitute for the real thing."
Logan growled with fury. He needed to hit something, and he needed to do it now. Dani could see it in his eyes and knew just the thing.
"Computer, give me an office building, with two dozen heavily armed commandos," Dani said. The computer beeped briefly, and then they found themselves standing in a hallway full of pissed off military men. Logan smiled at his wife.
"Oh, baby, I love you," he said, and then his smile twisted into a snarl as he started tearing army men apart with his claws.
Dani just smiled back and orbed herself out of the way. She noticed Deanna still watching from the safety of an office doorway.
"He needs this," Dani said. "It will help him relax and focus."
"I've never felt rage like that before," Deanna said with a shudder. "He's very terrifying."
"He's the Wolverine," Dani said. "His mutation gives him animal senses, instinct, and a really bad temper. He only lets the rage out now and then," she explained. "For battles and when he is protecting his family."
"Like your grandchildren," Deanna said, beginning to understand. "And all of that violence doesn't frighten you?"
"Counselor, you have to understand what life was like for us," Dani said. "Logan was locked up in a lab and given those claws against his will. They created him to be a living weapon. Violence was all he knew for a very long time."
"And you?" Deanna prompted.
"I was an experiment before I was even born," Dani said bitterly. "I was intended to be a weapon too."
"But you both escaped," Deanna said.
"Logan escaped, I had to be rescued," Dani said with a smile. "I do believe it was love at first sight."
Deanna smiled, and glanced back at the carnage in the hallway. She was surprised to see Logan standing in the middle of a pile of bloody bodies. His claws were dripping with blood and Dani just looked at him with a smile.
"Feel better?" Dani asked.
"I'll feel better when we find the kids," Logan said as he sheathed his claws. "But at least now I don't feel like slicing a hole in every wall."
Deanna noted the change in his demeanor, he was calm, and even gentle as he took his wife's hand. Deanna could feel an overwhelming flood of love coming from the couple, and she was perplexed by the turbulent extremes in their emotions.
"We're ready to go now," Dani said.
"I could use a drink," Logan said.
"Then let me show you Ten Forward," Deanna said. "Computer, door." The door appeared at the end of the hall. She looked at the piles of bloody bodies that blocked their path and paused adding, "End program."
*****
Captain Picard was sitting in his office, looking through records, searching for any hint of Mutants in Earth's history. The strangers' story seemed too fantastic to be real, which was what made him consider it. With Q involved, anything could happen.
"Captain Picard," Q said as he suddenly appeared sitting on Picard's desk.
"What mischief have you brought to my ship this time?" Picard asked. "Who are these strangers?"
"They are exactly who they said they are, human mutants from earth," Q said nonchalantly. "Run a few tests, if you don't believe me." Q gave him one last smile and disappeared again.
Picard frowned at his computer screen. He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. Their last few missions had been far too quiet, but Q's shenanigans was the last thing he needed. He sighed, stood up and said, "Computer, where are our guests?"
"They are in Ten Forward," the cheerful computer's reply said.
Picard rose from his seat, and exited his office and headed for the turbo lift.
"Deck ten," he said as the door closed. He knew he didn't trust Q, but he wasn't sure what to think of these two visitors.
*****
Logan and Dani entered a room that was obviously a bar, though less seedy than Logan's usual haunts. The far wall was made up of windows, offering a great view of the stars. Deanna led them to a table by a window, and the hostess came to take their order.
"Welcome to Ten Forward. My name is Guinan, what can I get for you?" a cheerful black woman in a funny flat top hat asked them.
"I'll just have a cup of Terellian tea," Deanna said with a smile.
Guinan nodded and then looked at Dani and Logan expectantly. She looked them over a little closer, and noticed their X-men uniforms, and her demeanor suddenly changed. She looked as though she'd seen a ghost.
Dani could see her shocked expression and just asked, "What's wrong? I know we aren't dressed in the current style…"
"You're…X-men," Guinan said in surprise.
"You know who we are?" Logan asked, suddenly very interested.
"You should not be here," Guinan said. "Why are you here? You're all supposed to be…"
"We're supposed to be what?" Dani demanded angrily, but her outburst was interrupted by a sudden appearance by Q.
"Well, that explains it," Guinan said dryly. "Trying to destroy the balance of time again?"
"Not at all," Q said with a hint of boredom. "I came to repair what has already been tampered with."
"These people are not part of this timeline," Guinan insisted.
"Hello," Logan said in annoyance. "Remember us? We're still standing right here."
Before anyone could comment, Captain Picard walked in and approached the table. His expression was unreadable, but Dani got the impression that he was not happy.
"Q, get off my ship," he said firmly, and Q immediately gave him a mischievous smile and disappeared.
There was a momentary pause while they all stared at the space he had occupied until finally Dani broke the silence with a question.
"You know far too much," Dani said to Guinan. "Who the hell are you, and what do you know of the X-men?"
The captain turned to look at the nervous hostess with unmasked surprise. "Let's talk about this in private," Picard said. "You'll follow me, please."
The group followed the captain in silence, but Deanna could hear their guests carrying on some sort of frantic telepathic conversation. She sensed Dani blocking her out, so she was unable to eavesdrop. But Deanna could feel their emotions which were a violent mixture of anger, frustration and fear. She noted that the captain was leading them to sickbay, and she wondered if their guests would be insulted.
Dani and Logan followed the captain into a room that turned out to be a medical facility, and Dani got a knot in her stomach.
"I would like you to submit to an exam," Picard said.
Logan grit his teeth and firmly said, "No damn way!" in a menacing voice. He stepped protectively between Dani and the advancing red-haired doctor. "No one will touch us, either of us!"
"The exam is completely non-invasive," the doctor said. "It's just a sensor scan."
Dani put a hand on Logan's arm and said, "It's all right, Logan, I trust them."
Logan turned to look at her with concern. "But you would never let anyone except Beast…"
"That was a long time ago," Dani said quietly to her protective husband.
Logan gave her a nod and turned back to the doctor. "Do your scan doctor," he said.
Dr. Crusher stepped toward Dani, but he blocked her path, "Do me first," Logan said with a scowl on his face, and the barest hint of a growl in his voice.
Dr. Crusher looked at Deanna and the Captain with wide eyes, but calmed when she saw Deanna give her a reassuring nod. She took readings from Logan, and then Dani.
"I'll analyze these readings," she said to the Captain. "It will be a few minutes." She retreated to her office, leaving them alone in the treatment area to talk.
"Guinan, would you care to explain how you became familiar with our guests?" Picard asked.
"You know that I have traveled some," she said. "I was on earth around the year 2000, and mutants were first emerging. It was an interesting time, and there was a great deal of hatred for them."
"And their uniforms?" Deanna asked.
"They helped to keep the peace for the sake of both sides," Guinan said. "X-men were the good guys."
"Thanks," Logan said sarcastically.
"So why is there no history of them?" Picard asked in confusion.
"They are from a parallel universe," Guinan said nervously.
"Then what the hell are we doing here?" Logan growled, *Snikt!* popping his claws involuntarily.
"Watch the blades," Dani reminded quietly.
*Snikt!* Logan retracted them, and noted the lack of surprise on Guinan's face.
"Have we met?" he asked her.
"You saved my life one night in Central park," she said. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Okay, where is that Q guy," Dani said in utter frustration. "I'm going to kill him."
"I think I could use that drink, now," Logan said. "And a cigar."
