Author Note: question & answer time! These are just questions that I'm tired of answering for my betas/ brother and his friend, and that one of my reviewers had. Please note that some of these questions were quite profane at one point.

Q: if Jean Grey died at the end of X2: X-Men United, how is she in this story if it takes place after the movie?
A: this story is an alternate universe fanfiction, so maybe I didn't want Jean to die.

Q: okay, so it's an AU. How come Aiyen made mention of Jean's death, if she never died in the first place?
A: she did die, she just didn't stay dead. Read this chapter, and you should figure that one out.

Q: if Aiyen thought Jean was dead, how come she didn't panic when she saw Jean and Cyclops after leaving that bar because of General Kincaid?
A: BAR is the keyword there, peoples! You see, Aiyen was drunk at the time!

Q: who exactly is General Kincaid?
A: General William Kincaid is an Anti-Mutant activist, whose only issue with mutants is that his family was killed by a mutant. Or in other words, he's just an evil jerk who's just out to destroy the mutant race. Also, Kincaid is the villain of X-Men Legends, and I guess he dies when the X-Men destroy Mastermold. Let that be a lesson to you, kiddies: never sit behind the controls of a giant Sentinel hoping to take out the X-Men just because they're there.

Q: How the hell is Kincaid around if he's dead?
A: Kincaid is around after he died because I revived him, too.

Q (last one, I promise): There are other people with the code name "Shadow" in the X-Men universe? And no, Shadowcat/ Kitty Pryde doesn't count!

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, or the Brotherhood, or anything else of that nature. I own Aiyen and Akiryu Runke, the plot of this story, and my creepy thoughts. Drachenreider is a very nice German book, and it's copyrighted to Carmeila Funke in the States. so that means I don't own that either, but it'll be mantioned quite a bit for a while.


X-MANSION; NARRATIVE

"Damn it, Scott, you don't have to be such a prick! You were in that kids shoes before, not knowing where to go or who to trust." Jean shouted across the room, having retreated to a safe distance when her head started to hurt.

"But I didn't throw my life away and join the Brotherhood, did I?" Cyclops shouted back, the two making sure the whole mansion heard what they were saying.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP? NORMAL MUTANTS SLEEP BEFORE EXAMS, YA KNOW!" Bobby Drake shouted from his room, freezing half the upstairs in his anger. "DAMN, I'D ALMOST RATHER YOU WERE HAVING SEX AND KEEPING EVERYONE UP!"

"BOBBY!" A few older guys shouted from their rooms, some doors slamming loudly while some of the girls giggled.

"EEEEEWWWWWWW!" Some of the younger kids shouted, more doors slamming as most of them tried to go back to sleep.

"Ah agree with Jean, we were all in Aiyen's shoes once. Even more so with me, Rogue and Orcania. If yuh hafta blame some one for Aiyen joinin' the Brotherhood, blame her mama for kickin' her out." Niala said from the doorway, her eyes trained on the ground so she didn't have to look anyone in the eye. "So, if Ah may quote Jean, you don't haft be such a prick."

"Yeah Cyclops, stop being such a prick just because of Aiyen. Focus on the important things, like why we're awake when we have exams tomorrow." Orcania said quietly, standing beside Niala and laughing at Cyclops' expression.

"Good point. Now go to bed, you both have exams tomorrow and you won't be excused if you over sleep!" Niala and Orcania both rolled their eyes and headed back upstairs, Jean taking the opportunity to leave. Cyclops didn't turn back to where Jean was standing until he was sure the two teens were back upstairs, and just complained under his breath as he walked to his room. He was far from finished with this argument, but he wasn't about to follow Jean and finish this in the streets of Westchester. Damn it, tomorrow's going to be a fun day.

JEAN P.O.V.

I walked around with no apparent goal, wondering what had happened in the few months since my death to make the two weeks since I got back so much hell for everyone. Did they want me dead, or had something happened that no one wants to tell me about? Logan had been the only one even remotely glad to see me, and that didn't last very long. The new guy seemed to be the cause of his annoyance; I think he said his name was Gambit. It seemed almost like the mansion had been World War III while I was dead.

It still seems so strange, referring to my three-month disappearance as my death. I don't remember being dead, or even being revived. Just waking up with some weird teenager who seemed to know me better than I did, and had an attitude that rivaled Logan's, standing over me.

FLASHBACK; 2 WEEKS PREVIOUS

"Where am I?" I tried to sit up, but failed miserably at the task. It was just too cold, and my body felt like it was frozen.

"Alkali Lake, Alaska. Hold still, I'll warm your body up de same way I revived you." I wanted to question her, but I didn't get a chance to. The girl placed her hand on my lower back, a searing heat spreading through my body as soon as she did. My new concern was who this kid was, and why she seemed so familiar. "Dere. Feeling any better, Jean?" I stood up, feeling much better than before.

"Much better, thank you. So... who are you?"

"I've been called many dings, but I answer most to Akiryu."

"Why do I know you?" Akiryu laughed. A kind of cold laugh, despite the heat radiating from her body and the flame glowing behind her gasoline colored eyes. "What's so funny?"

"If you half de telepath I've heard you are, den you involuntarily forged a link wid my mind when I used my powers on you. Stuff like dat happens, you know."

"How do you know me?"

"I've been following you, and de X-Men. Come on, Poisyn can get us back to New York. From dere you on your own, petite." I didn't have any other way home, so I just followed the teenager away from the iced-over facility.

END FLASHBACK; NARRATIVE

"Well, if it isn't that creepy telepath that refuses to stay dead." A sneering voice said from Jean's left, coming from a dark-haired teenager leaning against a tree in City Park. He was about 6 foot tall, and his pale blue eyes glinted dangerously because of the streetlights. Tight black jeans and a black sleeveless shirt covered his muscled body, black ademantium-alloy gloves covering his hands from his knuckles to about 1/4 the way up his forearms. If Jean hadn't met Akiryu 2 weeks before, she could of sworn this boy was the Devil himself. "Something wrong, Jean, you seem tense."

"Who the hell are you, and how do you know my name?" The teen just laughed, his eyes flashing appreciatively over her body.

"How rude of me, schön. My name is Kairyu Runke, but the Brotherhood calls me Deathblade. I think it's just a joke, though. You see they don't think very highly of me, the Brotherhood." He said, walking up to Jean and bowing to kiss her hand. "As for how I know your name, Pyro doesn't know how to shut up about you. I must admit, you're much prettier than he made you sound." Jean laughed nervously and snatched her hand back, earning a glare from Kairyu.

"You're quite the charmer, but I have to go now. But it was nice to meet you, Kairyu." Jean started to walk away, but found her path blocked by the young telepath. He didn't look happy, and this worried Jean. Kairyu's pale sapphire eyes turned a darker shade of blue, matching the late night sky as he struggled to keep Jean's mind under his power.

"Magneto was right, you're about the biggest idiot I've ever met!" Kairyu's eyes flicked over to the shadows he had stood in, drawing his sword as realization struck.

"Why's that, Summers?" Kairyu asked before a plasma bolt slammed into his side, knocking him a few feet away from Jean. He stayed on his feet, and his glare stayed intact.

"Because you stood still. Any idiot could of dodged that, any telekinetic could have easily blocked it." Havok grabbed Kairyu's sword from the ground, narrowing his eyes at the teenager. "Get up and help me find Aiyen, or you'll get a good taste of your sword. (A/ N: i don't know Havok's character, so just kinda deal with it if he's OOC. he sounds like a bit of a smartass in X-Men Legends and X-Men Next Dimension, so he'll probably be quite the smartass in this story.)

"Why should I? Aiyen's a big mutant, she can take care of herself." Kairyu said, ducking under another plasma bolt. "Alright, don't be ajackass about it. I'm going already, just gimme my sword back."

"No, I think I'll keep ahold of this untilJean is safely away from you." Havok started to walk away, making Kairyu mad as hell. But without his sword, or his sister, he couldn't do anything about it except walk away muttering in German.

NOON THE NEXT DAY; AIYEN P.O.V.

I sat up and rubbed my head, feeling like a truck had hit me. Bandages covered my arms from wrist to elbow, and the feeling of gauze against my side meaning someone had bandaged my other wound, too. The room was bright, and the last thing I remembered was Wolverine attacking me.

"Good morning, Aiyen." I recognized the voice, and it made me mad.

"What do YOU want, traitor?" I saw Niala flinch, but she took a step closer to me. Orcania was standing by the door, almost like she was afraid of me. I liked this, since they had been traitors to the Brotherhood.

"Ah just wanted to make sure ya were okay, since Wolverine tried to kill ya afteh he woke up." I shrugged. "Maybeh he should of killed ya, then maybeh that attitude of yours wouldn't be a problem with evrehbody!"

"Niala, you know you don't mean that. You guys were best friends once, so be nice!"

"NO!" We both shouted, earning glares from the two people sitting around: Professor Xavier, and... Jean Grey? What the hell?

"What the hell... " I voiced my thoughts, watching confusion flicker through the small metal room that I was in.

"Yeah, it's amazin' how they say she refuses to stay dead." I saw Jean shrug. "Hello... Earth ta Aiyen!"

"What?"

"She's worse than that brother of hers, isn't she?" This annoyed me. I stayed quiet, hoping they would let me go. No such luck... "I think it would be best if you stayed here a couple days, that way we can be sure your wounds will heal and they don't end up infected."

"Get over yourself, lady. I'm not staying here, and you can't make me."

"Aiyen! Beh nahce ta Jean, she's just tryin' ta help!" I glared at Niala, who instinctively glared back. Orcania finally walked over, droping a bag on the floor and walking away again. Niala started to explain. "Havok brought 'em with him when he was makin' sure your brotheh didn't do anythin' stupid." I laughed. Kairyu was always doing something stupid, and Summers couldn't change that. Turned out it was a change of clothes and my sword.

"I wish to have a word with you anyways, Ms. Runke." Professor Xavier spoke for the first time since I regained consciousness, making me flinch from the sudden formality. I hated formalities, almost as much as I hated the Brotherhood. But I was stuck with the Brotherhood, and my arms and side hurt too much to do anything about the formalities. "What exactly happened to annoy Wolverine enough to attack you, let alone injure you this badly?"

"I was in a tree reading Drachenreider, he walked by and scared me off the limb I was on. I fell, hit my head, and tried to knock him out for scaring me and because Magneto had already pissed me off. Next thing I know, I'm pinned to a tree with claws in my arms by an angry Wolverine. Speaking of which, did anyone find my book?" Jean handed me the book and I glared at her, but I did have manners. "Thank-you for returning my book to me, may I please go now?"

"Not yet, I still have a few questions for you." I rolled my eyes and sat Drachenreider down, pulling my jeans on while Xavier asked his next question. "What were you doing away from Asteroid M?"

"Do you not understand English, old man? I said Magneto pissed me off, and he's the last person I wanna see right now."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'll kill the barmy old coger and be done, that's why."

"What does Magneto want with Jean?"

"Who said he wants Jean?"

"We were able to squeeze some information out of your brother, and he mentioned something about Magneto having plans that I could mess up." Jean said, crossing her arms. I had to do something to get out of this, and I didn't have a way to explain.

"'Brotherhood Elite' does NOT mean Magneto tells us everything he's planning, just like we don't tell him everything. He's got his secrets and we've all got ours, it's simple as that." Oh shit... Shouldn't of said that! "So in other words, I don't know what he wants with Jean. You're a telepath, Xavier, probe his mind next time you see him and find out."

"You and your brother are stronger than I am?" I rolled my eyes at this. Xavier was getting on my nerves, and the throbbing pain in my side wasn't helping.

'Individually... no. On the rare and happy occasion we can get along long enough for our powers to fall into unison... ja.' I started using telepthy, hoping the pain in my ribs would go away. It dimmed, so I stuck with it. 'May I leave now, Professor Xavier?'

"If you wish, you may stay for lunch. If not, then we'll see you the next time the Brotherhood does something stupid." I stood up and hid my sword under my left pants leg, throwing my shirt on and grabbing my book. Niala opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.

'I'm not staying.' I stated simply, following her and Orcania. Once upstairs, I made a beeline for the door without so much as a good-bye. But I was stopped, yet again, by an X-Man. This one I actually knew. "Guten tag, Kurt. Stört etwas sie, vetter?"

"Nein, aber dort ist etwas, das Sie stört. Ich kann ihm glauben, mich erinnere?" His yellow eyes locked with my pale lavender ones, as if searching my soul for the answer. "Do you vish to talk about it, Fräulein Runke?"

"Nein, es gibt nichts, über Kurt zu sprechen." I said before turning away from him, unable to hold my cousins gaze any longer. The park didn't sound like a good idea, so I traced the path to jack's bar in my mind. I fell asleep there half the time anyways, and there was a McDonald's on the way there. Hm, I wonder if Jack's busy by now? I still need to ask him if he knows anything new about the Registration Act, and find out what Kincaid wanted yesterday. Damn, I've already got a busy day!

X-MANSION; NARRITIVE

"I don't know, Professor. You think we can trust her, but that doesn't explain why she's with the Brotherhood." Cyclops said, glaring to his brother when Havok laughed. "What's so funny, Alex? Spit it out, I like a joke as much as the next mutant!"

"Aiyen hates the Brotherhood, she only stays because she and Kairyu don't have anywhere else to go." Havok said. "Well, aside from back to the German military as living Sentinels. But, she'd still be against everyone. It's just a teenage thing, Scott, she'll grow out of it... eventually... I think."

"I want to believe we can trust her, Scott. Every time she ended up in a confrontation with you, she's tried to walk away without bloodshed. I believe that even her confrontation with the Anti-Mutant Troops would have ended peacefully, if she's seen a way around killing them."

"She's not the kind to jump into a fight. If she's thinking straight she'll avoid conflict long enough to come up with a plan, preferably one that doesn't involve bloodshed. On the otherhand, Kairyu's a moron. He'll jump head first into a fight if there's a pretty girl around, then nearly get himself killed if Aiyen isn't around to save his stupid ass. Even then he's not exactly safe, Aiyen kicks his ass for being stupid." Havok said, wondering exactly why he was still here. "Hell, the little brat was drunk when she tried to walk away from you. Probably still thinking better than most drunks, but still drunk."

"That explains her confusion when she saw me, I'm supposed to be dead."

"Speaking of which, Jean. Have you heard from that girl since you came back?"

"No, but - "

"Gambit has, Professeur! And he dought you might wanna know dat Wolverine jes' a little "annoyed" wid de whole sitiation." Gambit poked his head through the door, hitting the dirt when Wolverine swung at him. "Uh... Gambit give you a way to get ahold of Akiryu in a sec, as soon as Wolverine done trying to kill him." The Cajun charged Wolverine's arm and ran for it, hiding behind Niala and Orcania. "Assist moi, svp?"

"Wolverine! SIT BOY!" Orcania said, Wolverine calming down and walking away. "Heh... I guess InuYasha does help in real life. You owe me five bucks Rogue, it DOES work!"

"Gambit gotta r'member dat one, and de Professeur needs Akiryu's phone number." Gambit walked away, leaving the two sitting there. They shrugged at each other and looked over at Wolverine, who was sitting quitely in a corner. Rogue came downstairs with an angry look on her face, looking around the room.

"Gambit went thataway, Rogue." One of the new kids said, her bright green eyes following Rogue as she walked away. "Something tells me I shouldn't of said that... should I?"

"Rogue's always mad at Gambit, it's best to tell her where he is than to let them argue at night. If that ends up happening, Gambit ends up sleeping in the Med Lab and nobody gets to sleep until about 4 am. Except for Cyke, he can sleep through anything."

"I HEARD THAT!" Cyclops shouted from Professor Xavier's office, glaring at the door when Havok left.

"See ya ladies, and you two made a good choice leaving the Brotherhood when you did." He said before he left, starting his search (yet again) for Aiyen.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Mystic Kaiba: yes... creepy, there's a reason for it though. and you know it, so see ya!

Boone & Ni: no Boone... you can't have her. Ni, these's nothing I can do about Boone. He's your friend... you do something about him.

Venny: From the beginning:

1) question answered, they have to work together and then just LOSE it!
2) if you've ever seen X2: X-Men United, then you know Jean Grey died at the end of the movie. Shadows of the HellsFire, another story I'm working on and the fic that Jean's flashback came from, takes place from the mall scene in the movie to about a month before this begins. Akiryu Cooper, the creepy teenager, revived Jean because she has a purpose. back to X2, Mystique disguised herself as Jean Grey when she saw Wolverine kiss her because he has this huge crush on Jean through out the movies. Some stuff happns in Wolverine's tent, he finds the scar from the first movie when he slashed her side open, and kicked Mystique out. Hopefully that helped, and I really didn't mean to confuse anybody.
3) the research I did didn't reveal any other X-Men/ Brotherhood members/ mutants in general with the code name "Shadow". Her original code name was "Shinatoa", but that became a whole other character entirely. The story behind Aiyen's code name is a funny one, come to think of it. My dog was being loud, and I seem to have a habbit of typing what I say if I can't keep my eyes on the screen. I shouted at my dog, and ended up using his name (Shadow) as Aiyen's code name. The same holds true with her brother in the other version, my other dog was being a dumbass and I ended up shouting at Kentoa and typing "Kenta".
4) Kairyu is the comic relief/ pervert of the Brotherhood, the same holding true with Jack and the story in general. If you want more info on Jack, his profile is on my homepage under the name "Inazuma" If not, then -shrug- just review and wait semi-patiently for the next update. Or Shadows of the HellsFire... whichever one gets to the website first.
SEE YA!


Author Note: This may or may not get continued here, since I have a website I upload my stories to that I don't have to give a rating or anything for them: shinatoa. tripod. com/ x (underscore) fics remember to remove the spaces and stuff.