jenscott: Yeah I didn't want them to just patch things up like that, actually Kurt and Rachel are interested in each other in the comics. And she's older and a bit different now then she was in Excalibur. Besides things change over time and the best relationships can come from friendships.

Silver Warrior: I'll be sure to place a few Kurt/TJ father and daughter moments. Yeah he was the Hobgoblin in that show.

Sean Malloy-1: I'll have to research the Sophia part to see if she's got any family but I'm not sure about that and there's NO way Jean or Emma would do that, they hate each other.

spyder616: Yep things are working out at the moment but of course that won't mean things get less complicated, check out who makes her appearance in this chapter.

ldypebsaby: Yeah it was time to end that and the bid bads are coming.

Danrilor: Yeah in case you didn't notice I like to make all my chapters different. Oh yeah the lost years, I forgot about that. Don't you just hate lose ends that will most likely never be done. Like when Ben found that skeleton in a Spider-Man suit that he buried, what ever happened with that?

Lady Suneidesis: Maybe a little Kitty romance later, as well as more of Kitty.

Snapping Turk: Thanks for that, I never found out how that ended. So let's just say this is AU, hell it is slightly AU in a way. Oh and links don't show up in reviews so I didn't get that link.

Aaron: Yeah there will be some Kurt/Rachel and Ben/Dani later on. It is sad for Paige but I don't see Warren and her working out anyway. I didn't want to have Warren/Betsy just jump right back into a relationship, that wouldn't be realistic.

The Uncanny R-Man: Yeah I went the Dani/Ben route I mean when was the last time she had a boyfriend at all? I think May would remind Rahne of Moira don't you? Yeah I didn't want it to a simple breakup and X23 is next but not how you might think. Also Ben living just outside of mutant town.

lvmj: I do research for all my fics I feel it's important to get to know your subject matter.

Texaswookie: I'm not sure I want to use the Danger Room in this fic.

Qwerty: No he's got no roommate.

Thanks to: GothikStrawberry, El Varon, Agm2

THE NEW TEACHER

CHAPTER 42: LITTLE LOST CUB

A young girl of fifteen with long dark hair wearing a black leather mini-skirt, black tank top with a see through mesh and leg stockings and boasts ran in the rain. She was running with no real purpose she was just trying to get away, away from the men and women that did things to her, away from the long dark limos, away from the man that said she was one of his girls. When she came to this city she had nowhere to go and had nothing.

That man had taken her in and gave her clothing a place to stay and everything. Then one day she had been told she had to 'earn' her keep. She was shown the other women he 'looked' after and soon they showed her how they 'earned' their living. She didn't want to do that anymore, she felt it was just wrong and although she had done much worse things in her past, things she wanted to forget and tried to forget her past. It was full of pain, suffering…And blood…So much blood and death.

She knew that the man would have his 'people' looking for her, she had heard how no one left his 'care' and she didn't want to live the rest of her life that way. She ran down an alley and came to a dead end brick wall, the place was filled with garbage and horrid smells that assaulted her nose but despite that and the rain she heard and smelt a few others coming towards her.

She turned and placed some of her long wet hair out of her eyes as she stared at them as they came walking towards her, "Damn there's the runaway."

"Yeah the boss said to bring her back alive but that's all," Another said with a dark laugh, "She need to learn a lesson about running out on de man honey, so we got to teach you just how dangerous these streets are cutie." She watched as that man put on a pair of brass knuckles and the others were grinning at her and she knew what they had in mind. What they didn't know was that she wasn't as helpless as she looked and they would soon find that out the hard way.

Peter was doing his usual thing, as Spider-Man again not too far away but wasn't too happy. 'Why the hell did I go out tonight? I hate going out in the rain, man if I catch a cold or something MJ will never let me hear the end of it.'

"Get her!" Was a sound that echoed off not to far away and he heard that enough times to know trouble, he quickly made his way over two rooftops and saw a group of guys circling some kid. Peter had seen some nasty things in his life but it always amazed him just how low some people were in this city.

The girl watched them move on her, she was ready to attack and to take them all out, but then the most unexpected thing happened, she got help. "Boy all you strong men taking on a little girl, you really are a new kind of low you know that?" Came a voice from the shadows.

"Who the hell-" The man that spoke out quickly found webbing on his mouth and another shot at his legs as he was suddenly dragged off his feet into a wall and hung there.

"Crap it's Spider-Man!" One of the larger goons said seeing the costume hero fall from the sky kicking on man in the chest back flipping in the air only to snag two more with his webs in mid air and when he landed he pulled and the two men in the webs found themselves lifted off the ground and hit each other and stuck at the webbing merged from the impact.

The girl didn't waste anytime as she kicked on man in the solar plexus and knocked the wind out of him, while he was doubled over she nailed him in the temple with an elbow and spun and with a high kick hit the face of the man running at her from behind. He spun around from her blow only to have Spider-Man's fist slam into his face knocking the man out.

She heard another come at her and felt the sting of her arm being cut from a knife that he wielded, she snarled and growled at him as took his wrist and twisted it, she ignored his scream of pain and kicked him in the groin and then slammed a fist into his nose breaking it.

Spider-Man turned just in time to see one last of the thugs grab a discarded piece of metal and went to attack the girl, "Kid watch out!" He shouted out to her only to watch as two metal claws of all things came out of both hands, with on set she sliced and kicked him against the wall. He roared out and went to impale the other set into him. "Stop! Don't do it!"

She stopped the blades just an inch from the man's face his face had drained of all color and he was sure he was close to pissing his pants too. She glared into the man's eyes and he saw in them a wild animal ready to kill him. For her she had a flashback to a older time, of a man that had trained her and for some reason she had lose control. When she came too he was dead and there was blood all over, especially on her hands. That was a time she wished she had stopped and she was brought out of this memory from a light touch on her shoulder to see the one called Spider-Man by one of the men.

"You don't have to do this, you don't have to kill," He said in a gentle tone, it reminded her of a woman with long dark hair that she once knew and yet couldn't remember. That dark time of her childhood she had been told to kill and here was someone that for the first time was telling her she didn't have to. She looked at this strange man and retracted her claws letting the man fall to the ground.

She looked up at him and walked off down the alley not sure of where to go in the rain, "Wait, hold on."

She stopped not looking back, "What?"

"Those claws and your arm," Peter had noticed how her arm was healed now as the rain has washed enough of the blood away for him to see the wound was closed and was healing. "I know someone like you…You know of someone named Logan?"

She looked at her hands, 'Someone like me?' She thought and she had an image flash in her mind of a man a face she didn't know. She didn't know the name but she knew he was important for some reason.

"Do…Do you have a place to go?" He asked her softly walking next to her. He new that she had to be connected to Wolverine in some way, how many people in the world had metal claws and healing factors, fought like a wild animal and roared too? She had to have a link to him and given that the X-Men now accepted him as both Peter and Spider-Man he figured that he owned them. "Look maybe I can help."

She looked at him not sure what to make of him. The last man said he wanted to help but didn't. This man however…There was just something about him, they way he spoke and his actions had already shown that he could be trusted. No one had ever helped her like that, and meant it, he fought with her he showed real concern for her. "Why?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "Well for one thing you look like you need help and that's what I do, I help people. Plus I don't like to see young girls out in the rain. Do you have at least a place to go? A home?"

"No."

'Damn.' Was the only thing he could think of, he knew that he needed to look out for the girl but it was late and the it wasn't like he could take her all the way there to Xavier's not in this weather and at this late at night so there was only one other option. He knew that the others knew who he was but he wondered if he could trust her. But then again she might have the same damn nose as Logan's too.

"Look…I know where you can dry off and rest and I can take you to those that will help you, that is…If you let me."

She looked at him confused, mainly because he was giving her a choice a real choice. She just wanted to walk but she was tired and hungry and cold and wet. She didn't have anywhere else to turn or anyone else for that matter she was alone and she didn't know what to do. She had always done what others had told her, so when the man had told her to do the things that those people said she did it. Just like how she was a child she did what they told her to do.

But he was giving her a choice and she didn't know what to do. There were two options, to trust him or not. She didn't know which so she just said the first thing that popped out of her mouth. "Okay."

The next thing she knew she was flying through the air over the streets hanging onto him for dear life, but strangely there was a thrill to it all.

-Parker Apartment-

MJ was watching the news just having gone off the phone with Danielle Moonstone from Xavier's. Apparently after some talking she had asked about Ben and a few things and MJ could tell the woman must have had an interest for him. She was glad to see that actually she knew that Dani hadn't had that much luck with relationships and from what she knew Ben was the same. Maybe she'd ask Peter opinion on it since if anyone would know how Ben's mind would thing it was him.

She heard the window opened and smiled knowing who it was, she went to the bedroom to see if he would need a towel. She hated it when he went out in the rain she always worried he would get sick, "Hey Tiger so I hope that…" She stopped seeing the young girl in wet clothing shivering a bit and from the looks of it she had seen better days, she looked to Peter who went to her and quickly explained it all.

She looked at the young girl who hardly looked like she had claws and could take on armed men but she saw the slash in her sleeve of her shirt where the knife had hit. She got them towels to dry off with and went to look for something for the girl.

Peter looked at the young girl drying her long dark hair. "You have a name?" She didn't respond at first so he sighed and pulled off his mask and showed her his face, "My name is Peter Parker, the red head is my wife Mary Jane but you can call her MJ."

She took a moment before speaking, "You can call me X23," Peter looked at her confused, "It's…the only thing I've ever been called." She said a bit shyly.

"Well you can stay here tonight so don't worry." Peter found a top and pulled off the top of his suit and went to put on the other one, he'd change the rest of the way in the bathroom or something. But when she saw him take off his shirt she remembered how this all works out, she had hoped it would be different but it wasn't. She figured this must be how things work so she stripped off her own top as his back was turned and went to unfasten her belt.

When Peter turned around he was shocked at what she was doing, "Jeez here!" He passed her a towel, "Kid cover yourself up will ya."

She took it and covered her chest confused at his reaction, "You don't want me?"

"Want you?" MJ asked coming into the room with some clothing, "My god what did they do to you?" Although by then both of them had a pretty much good idea on what she had been doing, given the way she was dressed and it sickened both of their stomachs to think of someone as young as her forced to do that.

"I…All people ever wanted from me was…"

MJ touched the girl's shoulder gently, "You don't have to do that anymore, no one here will force you into that anymore." MJ felt tears on her eyes thinking about what this poor girl must have been through. She gently drew the young girl into a hug. X23 got a flashback to the woman with long raven hair again doing the same and a sense of peace and a warmth inside her that showed up out of nowhere. She was rigid at first unsure about the contact like this then she slowly hugged the red head back and felt that same warm feeling inside of her.

"Peter why don't you change and I'll get her ready?" MJ asked him.

"Sure thing," He was all too glad to change in the bathroom they had, he was still slightly weirded out from what she tried to do but also couldn't feel sorry for the girl that she felt that she had to do that. He wondered what kind of life she had been having to cause such behavior and decided against thinking on it, he really didn't want to know.

He came out and he had to smirk seeing the girl in one of MJ's T-shirts that was a bit large for her.

"I figured she would need a few new things tomorrow but this should do for tonight I hope." His wife said who was brushing the young girl's hair and the expression on her face was kind of priceless, the girl looked slightly uncomfortable and yet wasn't sure if she liked it or not. "I swear when was the last time you brushed this?" X23 just shrugged, it was a strange sensation yet…Not unpleasant.

"I'll go and cook you up something to eat I bet your hungry," Peter said and she only nodded.

In the kitchen he was making a simple meal for her since it was late and he was going through what to say to the others, sure it was Friday night and he didn't have to go to work tomorrow at Xavier's but he would have to call them and bring her in, just to see for themselves and maybe find out what her connection to Logan had to be because they were just too similar. He looked to see the girl only known as X23 walk in with his wife looking a better now and he set the food on the table, "Well dig in."

The young girl looked at the food for a second before digging in looking like she hadn't eaten in a long time. Mary Jane moved over to Peter and spoke in a soft voice, "I think you did the right thing in bringing her Peter. Living on the streets and forced to…To…God I can't even bring myself to say it."

"I know, I know." He looked over at the girl and sighed, "I'm going to call the others and see if they can help tomorrow. I'm sure if anyone can help her they can."

"I hope so Peter," She looked over at seeing that she had just finished, "My you must have been starving."

X23 just shrugged. It had been very good in fact she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten so well. These people seemed to be treating her very nice but she could help but wonder if there was another reason why they were doing this, she wasn't used to people doing things nice for her for no reason or just being nice period. "So…where do I sleep?" She asked them a bit unsure, she was tired and wanted to sleep, normally after she had fulfilled her 'duties' as that man had said sometimes she would sleep on the bed but they didn't want her for that now.

"Well you can have the couch, I'll get you an extra pillow and blanket okay?" Peter asked her as he went to find them.

"Second drawer from the left Tiger." MJ called out to him knowing he wouldn't know where it was.

"Thanks." They heard his voice say and later came back in with the items. She found the couch and handed her the items as she got a bit comfortable and clenched her jaw trying to hide the yawn. Peter saw it and grinned, "Well goodnight uh…you know you need a real name other then X23."

She thought about it and shrugged, "I've only been called that."

"Well you need a name," MJ said to her, "We can't keep calling you kid, X23 or hey you all the time."

She just shrugged, she never thought about having a name really, "Just call me X or something then." She was tired and wanted to sleep and laid down on the couch and pulled on the planet.

Peter and MJ just gave each other a look and turned out the lights and went to their bed room, "I hope they can help that poor girl. I mean she doesn't even have a name."

"I know," He said to his wife as they got into bed, "At least she'll be off the streets."

It was later in the night when they were woken up by screaming and they both rushed into the other room and Peter flicked on the lights seeing X23 in a cold sweat looking around frantically. "Hey you alright?" Peter said to her worried about her. She turned to face him and when she then remembered where she was and what had happened.

She had been in the middle of a nightmare, well it was actually a memory of her past but still a nightmare anyway. When she hope up in the dark she had been scared and now she felt relief on seeing Peter and his wife. He slowly made his way to her and sat down and carefully wrapping her up in his arm. "Hey it's okay," he said gently to her.

Mary Jane sat down on the other side, "You want to talk about it?" She just shook her head, she just wanted to forget it all, all the pain and suffering all the nightmares…All the killing and suffering. She just wanted to forget. She had tears in her eyes and felt both of the adult hug her gently.

It had been so long since anyone had shown her the slightly kindness and despite herself she fell into their embrace and all the emotions she had bottled up all the pain just came pouring out and she couldn't stop herself. After a bit she got control over herself wiping her eyes, MJ looked at Peter wondering just like he was what kind of hell this girl had been living.

"Are you okay now?" Peter asked her gently stroking her hair. She nodded weakly a bit, "Okay well we should get back to sleep." Peter made to get up but found the girl holding on to him tighter.

"Please…Don't leave me, I…I don't want to be left alone again." She said her voice cracking. He looked to his wife for help.

MJ bit her lip thinking on this, "Honey if you want you can sleep in our bed with us, you won't have to be alone." She weakly nodded her head still holding on to Peter, he sighed and brought her to the bedroom with his wife feeling a little awkward about all of this. He gently placed her on the bed and he and MJ got in and pulled the sheets up and she snuggled up against Peter.

As she was laying between the two warm bodies X23 felt safe for the first time in her life and after some time she finally went to sleep. Peter saw an amused look on his wife's face. "What?" He whispered to her.

"This just looks kind of adorable, I mean she looks to cute like this." She whispered back stroking the girl's hair.

"It's just a bit weird, I mean it's like having a four year old girl sleeping with her parent caused she got a nightmare."

"I know…That's what I was talking about. She's really hurting Peter, and she's so alone." MJ said feeling so much sorrow in her heart about the girl.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure she gets the help she needs." Peter told her and slept for the night.

NEXT UP CHAPTER 43: ONE HELL OF A HANDFUL

Sorry about the wait I'll try and not let that happen again but I was concentrating on finishing off another fic since it only had three chapters left.