The Birth of Rage and Wrath Chapter 3, a x-men: the movie fanfic

Author's Note: In answer to Michael's Male Pregnancy Challenge on WRFA, in which Logan had to become a pregnant male. Underlined signifies telepathic conversation. Italics is emphasis.

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It took Rage a week to get back to Montana. She had stopped along the way to find a telekinetic to replace Jean Grey-Summers' power with. She wanted nothing from the woman who had destroyed her life, though in many ways she wished that the X-Men would come after her just so she could annihilate the other woman.

Though the bodies had been removed, if Samuels and the guards had indeed died when the walls collapsed on them, the building itself that the lab was located in appeared to have been suddenly abandoned by all its inhabitants. They had, however, left their equipment and papers. At first it seemed suspicious, but Rage decided it had only been a week, maybe whoever was ultimately in charge simply hadn't gotten around yet to clearing out the other evidence. She was determined not to give them the chance.

Rage moved quickly through the building to the lab she and Logan had been studied in. Ripping out the locks on the filing cabinets, she found the file pertaining to Logan's pregnancy. She opened it briefly, running a tender finger tip over the two sonogram pictures located inside. She flipped through the papers until she found the results from the amniocentesis that had been performed when Logan had reached three months. She didn't understand a lot of the genetic marker comments made by Samuels and Jackson, but the comparisons between her DNA and the babies, as well as Logan's and the baby's, made what she had already known absolutely clear. The child that Jean, Xavier and Logan had each had a hand in killing had been hers and Logan's. If she ever did face down any of the three of them, she had proof now that her decided brand of justice would be justified.

Exiting the building, Rage took a look around from the air, finding a large propane tank on one side of the building. Flying to the opposite side and landing a good distance from it, Rage called forth Scott Summers' power and sent a solar-powered concussive blast through the building and into the tank on the other side. The propane reacted immediately, setting off a massive explosion that rocked the ground as it leveled the lab. She mentally fed the fire , staying to watch until she was sure nothing from what had occurred inside would ever be useful to the breeders.

The lab was surrounded by wilderness that teemed with unseen life, so when the fire had done its job, Rage brought in a freezing rain to fall just on the fire, putting it out quickly and efficiently.

"Your powers have grown," a voice behind her remarked. "If they'd gotten a hold of you when you were like this, they wouldn't have bothered wasting time breeding you, they would have just used you to wipe the rest of us out."

Recognizing his voice, Rage didn't spin and attack Tissue, instead turning slowly and facing him.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Is Sandy nearby ready to capture me again, because I can guarantee you her power would no longer work on me."

Tissue shook his head, staring at the smoldering remains of the building they had both been kept in. "No, we escaped when they moved us. Sandy put all the guards and the driver to sleep, and we were able to get away after we killed them." Rage smiled maliciously, but Tissue, not seeing it, continued. "Jackson was there too, so he's gone. Samuels died in an attack on the lab about a week ago, which I assume is when you escaped."

"Good," Rage answered shortly.

Before Tissue could say anything else, Rage took to the sky and left the area. She didn't want the other mutant to ask about Logan or their child, and she was afraid she might hurt him if she stayed around too long. He did, after all, have a direct hand in her even having had the hope of having a child with the man she had loved.

Others she would not spare. And to start from when she and Logan had first bonded seemed as good a place as any. If Magneto and his followers had never been after her, she would have ridden a short time with Logan, but most likely would have been dropped somewhere by him and finished making her way to Alaska. She certainly never would have had the experiences that forged their initial connection. Nor would she have lived at Xavier's and had the time to grow into the relationship that had gotten her where she was. Magneto, of course, would be nearly impossible to get to. He was being held by a legitimate branch of the government after all.

It was a bit difficult to find Mystique and the rest of the Brotherhood. About a year and a half after the events at the Statue of Liberty, 'Senator Kelly' had been up for reelection but had lost. Political analysts had put the blame on 'his' sudden and unexplained change in stance on the mutant issue. It would have been easier to stalk the woman knowing she was in Washington, DC, but there wasn't anything to be done about it now. Rage was forced to rely on vague memories of Magneto's to track down the different hiding places employed by the Brotherhood. It took her two weeks and three different safe houses before she found the right one.

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Mystique let out a rather undignified shriek of surprise and fear when the front door was forced violently of its hinges. It was struck so hard that it flew across the room and slammed into the far wall with a sharp cracking sound before stopping. She would have immediately yelled at Sabretooth, but he was standing not two feet from her, watching the now open doorway with curious interest.

Mystique turned her own attention in that direction in time to watch a much slighter figure than she would have expected enter the living room. Mystique glanced behind the girl, expecting to see the X-Men, or just the Wolverine at the very least, but the girl was the only one there. Her gaze moved constantly between Mystique and Sabretooth, evidently waiting to see which of them would make the first move against her.

There were two white streaks in the front of her hair and something appeared to be wrong with one of her eyes, but it was definitely the same girl Erik had used in his failed attempt to mutate the world leaders at Liberty Island. But more than just her outward appearance had apparently changed.

"You shoulda known better than to come here without the runt, girly," Sabretooth growled at their uninvited guest.

Sabretooth either didn't notice the small, sadistic grin on the girl's face or he didn't think it was anything to worry about. He ran at her, the girl simply standing her ground. Mystique had always warned him that one day he was going to rush into a situation that even his strength and healing could not get him out of. And when a sickeningly wet crack echoed from Sabretooth's chest running into a tiny fist, Mystique realized that today would be that day. She watched in twisted fascination as Sabretooth staggered back a step or two from the blow, a shocked look on his face. His breath wheezed and gurgled as the ribs that had snapped and punctured his lungs slowly re-knit themselves.

The girl struck first this time, jumping up onto the much larger male. She clamped both bare hands on his uncovered face, and Sabretooth began choking for an altogether different reason this time. When he began to fall toward her, where he would surely crush the smaller mutant beneath his dead weight, she simply flicked her finger at his head, changing the direction of his descent, hovering in the air at about the same height as when she had been on top of him. Sabretooth crashed to the floor, and she settled lightly on her feet near his head, grabbing the shoulder of his shirt to drag him out of the house.

Mystique followed, having a disturbing need to see just what the girl would do to the previously-un-killable Sabretooth. Using power that Mystique easily recognized as Magneto's, the girl called pieces of the metal fence to her, sharpening the sides to razor edges. She then waited until Sabretooth had struggled once more to consciousness, letting him see the blades right before they severed his arms and legs from his torso. She saved the removal of his head for last, silencing anguished, animalistic screams of terror and pain.

With a wave of a small hand, Sabretooth's pieces separated and burst into flames. The fires were so hot that Mystique felt them from more than fifteen feet away, and the other woman watched until all that was left of the feral mutant was ashes and scorched bones.

"Hello, Mystique," she said with a smirk as she turned in the shape shifter's direction. "I don't think he'll heal from that, do you?"

Mystique swallowed hard, "I didn't do anything to you when Erik had you, Ro…"

"My name is Rage now," the woman formerly known as Rogue told Mystique with an impatient tone. "And I have a proposition for you."

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A month later...

Claxons sounded as the perimeter alarm at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was tripped. The X-Men, along with the Junior team, didn't bother putting on their uniforms. Even one second wasted in defending their base was too risky. Informed by the school's computer that the invasion was a frontal attack, the group, including Charles Xavier himself, spilled out onto the front lawn.

The Brotherhood was waiting for them. But that's all they were doing. Waiting. They didn't attack, and Mystique was standing in front of the group, looking slightly bored as the X-Men took up defensive positions and tried to figure out what was going on. Sabretooth was nowhere to be seen but there were a handful of other Brotherhood members present who hadn't been involved in the Statue of Liberty incident but with whom they'd had other run ins, and Mystique seemed to have found herself a new recruit, a cloaked figure that paced at the back of the knot of intruders.

Xavier wheeled forward to address Mystique. "Why are you here? You must know that whatever you have planned will fail when you go up against all of the X-Men at once."

Mystique smiled slyly at the X-Men's leader. "Tell me where they're keeping Magneto or I will unleash my newest weapon."

Xavier's eyebrows rose. "Whoever your latest recruit is, Mystique, he or she cannot take on all of us."

Mystique chuckled dryly. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Charles."

The cloaked and hooded figure from the back of the group of Brotherhood mutants moved to stand beside Mystique. The blue skinned woman raised one hand to lower the figure's hood. Even before her head lifted, the white bangs and long auburn locks gave away the newest Brotherhood member's identity. Several of the X-Men gasped at the evidence of Rogue's betrayal while Professor Xavier frowned in concern. The young woman's multi-colored left eye, which Scott had told him about when she had left the mansion, was glowing slightly.

"What have you done to her this time, Mystique?" he asked.

"Me?" Mystique laughed, "From what Rage has told me, she is this way because of the man she loved... and the woman who helped him kill their child." Yellow eyes locked on Jean before darting back to Xavier. "Rage has no trouble seeing any of you as enemies since not one of you was on her side."

Bobby took a step forward, perhaps to argue the point. It proved to be a mistake. A wall of fire surrounded him before he could take another step. When he tried to freeze it, it immediately melted the frost he sent its way. Attention shifted to St. John, but it was quickly apparent he had not been responsible for Bobby's predicament. The young man also known as Pyro was trapped in a cage of ice, the hand that typically held his lighter encased in a solid block of frozen water. One by one, but faster than it took for the rest to react, all the X-Men were disabled in a way that their powers could not help them. Xavier and Jean were the last two able to move.

Both stared into Rage's oddly colored eyes, trying to reach her mentally. They came up against a mental shield stronger than either of them had ever encountered.

"She took all of our powers and now she's using them against us," Jean observed. "Rogue, Rage, whoever you think you are right now, this isn't right, nor is it necess…"

Rage waved her hand in Jean's direction, causing no sound to come from the redhead's mouth. Rage's eyes flashed, and she was suddenly right in front of the older woman, her hand threateningly wrapping around Jean's throat but not tightening.

"I wouldn't touch your power with a ten foot pole, and I will decide what is necessary," she bit off.

She smirked at Jean, able to see all the age lines on the other woman's face that couldn't be hidden by make-up that close up. Jean noticed her perusal and began shaking. Rage almost snorted when she realized that Jean was less concerned for her life than she was that someone might see past the youthful veneer she showed the world. But Rage's amusement died quickly. She could never push her anger back for more than a few seconds.

Rage tightened her hold on Jean's neck slightly and growled low, "Give me one good reason not to take revenge for my son's death right here and now."

Jean's eyes widened as she trembled, and Rage let her go, turning to find Xavier wheeling closer to them. He opened his mouth when he saw that her attention had turned to him.

"Don't even try it, Xavier," Rage snapped. "Save your psychobabble for someone who'll listen. Even though I already knew what I would find, I went back to that lab and retrieved all the data from the amniocentesis. The child was mine. Some great savior of innocent mutants you turned out to be."

Xavier flinched, but tried again, "Rage, listen to us, none of this is..."

The Professor trailed off when the sound of the mansion's front door being slammed open was heard.

"What the hell was all the racket about if you were just going to be quiet when you got outside? If one of you had helped me up off the damn couch, I would have been out here a lot fucking faster!"

Rage paled at the first sound of Logan's voice and slowly turned to watch him waddle out of the mansion's front door. Her lips parted and tears poured from her eyes when she saw the evidence that her son was still very much alive inside his father.

Logan continued to grumble as he carefully navigated the front stairs, cautiously watching the ground as he moved awkwardly. He was dressed in low-slung sweatpants, and a t-shirt too large for his shoulders draped over his bulging belly. He had slip-on shoes on; not something one would usually find on the Wolverine, but Rage doubted he'd let anyone help him tie his shoes when he couldn't reach them. Anyone, that is, but her… and she hadn't been there. When Logan had gained the relatively hazard-free surface of the lawn, he finally looked up. His eyes locked immediately with Rage's, and she saw him mouth her name.

'Marie.'

The impenetrable wall she had built around her agony so she wouldn't have to deal with it suddenly didn't exist anymore, and neither did the reason for the greatest pain she had ever known. Rage released a sound somewhere between a sob and a disbelieving laugh. The control collar was still around Logan's neck, the small green indicator light still blinking.

Behind her, Mystique realized she had just lost her most powerful weapon. "Brotherhood..."

"No," Rage swirled to face the blue-skinned mutant. "You know I can destroy all of you. Leave here. Don't come back unless you know me and mine are gone."

"We had a deal," Mystique snarled. "I paid you two million for your services. You were going to help me free Magneto."

"So I could kill him," Rage told her bluntly. "And when you do eventually see Magneto again, tell him to consider the money penance for almost killing me."

Mystique glared, but, well aware of just what Rage could do if provoked, she motioned for the Brotherhood to follow her, and the group left the school's grounds. Seeing one of their strongest enemies simply give up must have made the X-Men even more afraid of her, because despite the fact that Rage had dropped the powers she had used against them, they all stood ready to act at the slightest provocation.

But Rage didn't care.

She turned around to stare at Logan again. He had moved a few feet closer to her, one hand splayed over his pregnant belly. Rage moved cautiously the rest of the distance between them. Logan reached out and snagged her ungloved hand and pressed it to the left side of his abdominal swell.

"He missed you," Logan growled softly as their child kicked his mother's palm. "Talk to him."

Rage dropped easily to her knees and pressed a kiss above the spot her hand still rested against, skimming Logan's hand with her lips as she did so.

"Hey little man," she cooed softly, the baby's foot fluttering several times against the light pressure of her fingers.

It was a stronger, larger presence than it had been the last time she had felt it. She had missed so much, and Rage made a decision then not to miss anything more.

She could still feel the X-Men's uneasy stares on her, so she lowered her voice to a whisper to ask Logan, "How?"

"You still fly?" he grunted as he sent a glare at the X-Men.

Knowing Logan didn't want to talk where the others would hear, she stood and wrapped her arms around as much of him as she could.

Rage leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Better," before teleporting the three of them to his room.

She let go of him in case he needed his space until things could be cleared up between them, but Logan snagged her arm and pulled her close. He dipped his head to take her mouth in a hungry kiss. Empathy was one of the many skills she had picked up while they had been apart, and tears of happiness slid down her face when she felt the strength of his love for her. It was just as powerful as hers for him.

The other strongest emotion she could feel in him was anger, something she was well acquainted with, but it wasn't directed at her. Rage had no idea what had happened… the day they were 'rescued' or during the time he had spent without her… but she knew Logan would tell her the important details.

Logan pulled his mouth away from hers slowly, leaving lingering kisses on her lips, cheeks and eyes. He gently caressed the tears from her cheeks with his broad thumbs, tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

He traced her left eyebrow slowly, asking gently, "Does it bother you?"

Knowing he was referring to the oddly colored iris beneath the eyebrow, Rage shook her head. "No. I don't see any different with it either, it was just my body's way of compensating for all the powers I've taken in."

"Good," he grunted lightly. Logan pulled her close again and buried his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply. He released his breath in a long, slow sigh, murmuring, "I missed you."

She pulled slightly away again and led him to sit on the bed. It couldn't be easy having his balance thrown off by all that weight low and in the front. Rage knew his adamantium encased skeleton had to be giving him trouble too with how long he'd had to go without his healing factor and other natural mutations.

When Logan was settled and she had sat down facing him, Rage asked simply, "Tell me?"

Logan sighed and began, "I've never been able to get the whole story out of Dr. Summers," Rage lifted an eyebrow at the fact that Logan didn't use Jean's first name anymore… in fact he had snarled her name, "but from what Scott," Rage blinked in surprise at the non-hostility behind that name, "was able to tell me, I assume she somehow made you think I was on board with…"

He trailed off, both hands protectively curled around their unborn child, and Rage realized he couldn't even say the words. She nodded to show him she understood what he was trying to imply, and to let him know he assumed correctly.

"The truth is whatever happened Dr. Summers used her power to put in your head; until today I hadn't seen you since we were still in the breeders' hands," Logan continued. "I would never hurt you or our son that way, never. But I can understand you being forced to believe I would under the circumstances. After you left medical, she ran a few more tests on my condition before trying to remove the collar. I woke up before she could." He shared a feral grin with Rage, telling her, "I pushed her away from me so suddenly and forcefully that I gave her a concussion. When I actually fully realized what she'd been trying to do… well, if I'd been able to pop my claws, Scott would be a widower."

"If she says anything to me, he still may be," Rage told him.

Logan shrugged one shoulder, "I'd feel bad for Scott, but I wouldn't blame you one little bit, darlin'. Anyway, when I was told you had left, I wanted to go after you, but Scott pointed out that a pregnant man would be a little too unusual to be seen in public, and Xavier couldn't ever find you. If you hadn't come back, I was going to start looking for you once the baby was old enough to travel safely."

"Scott?" Rage echoed when Logan paused, unable to hold back her curiosity in that particular shift any longer.

"He never agreed with what his wife and Xavier tried to do, even stood up for me when they said to fall in line or leave," Logan told her. "He found another doctor to come help me until the baby's born since I don't let Dr. Summers within ten feet of our son."

"I'm glad," she responded softly. "I'm glad you had a friend while I wasn't here with you."

Logan hesitated a moment before patting a spot on the bed right beside him. Rage smiled and accepted the invitation, curling against his side with a happy sigh.

"We're still… us, right?" Logan asked quietly.

"Forever," she responded lightly, knowing she would have asked if he hadn't. "If it's what you want."

"Never wanted anything else, darlin'." Logan reached inside his shirt to pull the ball chain that held his dog tag over his head, reverently placing it over hers. "I think this needs to be back where it belongs."

He lifted her hair out from under the chain and tucked the tag inside her shirt, wrapping an arm around her when he was done.

A knock on the bedroom door interrupted them before he could kiss her, and he growled.

Rage called out, "Come in," saying simply, "Scott," when Logan gave her a surprised look. He wasn't able to use his sense of smell the way he could have before, but she had enough senses now to more than make up for it.

Sure enough, Scott stepped just inside the doorway, his ruby shades in place of the visor he'd been wearing out on the lawn. He smiled at seeing them sitting on the bed together, one of Logan's arms around Rage and Rage's hand resting lightly on Logan's stomach. The little family was back together, even after all the tragedies and deceptions they'd had to face and the time they'd spent apart.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

Rage smiled at him, "Yes, Scott, thank you."

"If either of you need anything, let me know. Logan has a comm device that only contacts me and Hank."

"Thank you," Rage said genuinely, and Scott nodded before leaving the room, closing the door once more behind him. When Scott was gone, she asked Logan, "Who's Hank?"

"Doc McCoy," Logan answered. "You'll like him. He's not really an obstetrician, but he's some kind of super genius that can learn anything."

"So when our son is delivered and can travel, you won't have any problem with our leaving here?" she asked.

"Not a bit. If it was possible, I'd leave now, but we gotta stay til the little man's born."

Rage nodded and settled more firmly against the pillows behind them. "So, you want to know what I've been up to while we were apart?"

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"You almost ready?" Logan asked impatiently.

Marie shot him a look and finished using the breast pump without answering him. Hank had come up with a hormonal supplement to allow Marie to produce milk for the baby, the only drawback being that she had to start using it before the baby was born so they knew it would work properly. It did, but she had to keep pumping the milk she produced until the baby was there to drink it so she wouldn't dry up.

She put the instrument next to the bathroom sink after rinsing it out, intending to wash it later. Marie put the bottle of breast milk in the small refrigerator. Today was delivery day, and if their son didn't take to breastfeeding, which there was a slight chance of even with a regular pregnancy, having breast milk in a bottle would be better than formula. She really hoped he took to it, though, because pumping hurt, and Hank had assured her that nursing was a natural, comfortable thing once one was used to it. The man, who was actually bright blue, furry and nearly as strong physically as she was, was a veritable font of knowledge, and he'd taken to learning everything about pregnancy and newborns as if he was the one having a child.

Marie looked over at Logan, catching him scowling. For just a moment, anger sparked. In the last several weeks since they had been reunited, she had learned to separate her anger from her everyday personality a bit. Enough that she wasn't Rage when she was with Logan, just his Marie. To almost everyone else in the mansion, however, she was still the stranger that had shown up on their lawn with the Brotherhood. She had a soft spot for Scott because of all he had done for Logan and for the way he treated them since her return, and she was coming to consider Hank a good friend, but she had no qualms about avoiding everyone else completely.

Evidently noticing her distraction, Logan began loudly tapping his foot.

"You know we have an hour before Hank is expecting us, right?" she asked.

Logan grunted. He was sitting in a wheelchair he had been forced to use for moving more than just around the room for the last couple weeks so he didn't strain anything. He was anxious for their son to be out of him and in their arms. Marie was too, of course.

"Alright," she sighed dramatically. "Hank's usually ready ahead of time for everything anyway. Let's go."

Marie rolled Logan down the hallway to the elevator that took them down to Hank's area of the medical facilities. With Hank's help, she easily lifted him onto an operating table without jostling him. Because of what would happen after the baby was delivered and the fact that Logan wanted to be awake for the actual birth, Hank used a local anesthetic for Logan's abdomen. Marie took her place beside Logan, holding his hand in both of hers. The caesarean operation was quick and efficient, and Hank pulled Logan and Marie's son out into the world less than half an hour later. The smiling doctor laid the baby on Logan's chest after clearing his airways.

The tiny boy had let out a healthy wail when Hank had allowed him to breath, but he was quiet now, and Marie shared a teary smile with Logan before cutting the umbilical cord where Hank indicated she should do so. Hank moved away with the baby to clean him and take measurements. Marie leaned down and shared a long, lingering kiss with Logan.

"I love you so much, sugar," she murmured.

Marie disengaged the control collar from around his neck. Logan breathed heavily for a few minutes, each puff of air hissing between clenched teeth as his long dormant healing factor repaired the unusual damage to his body. When it was done, he brushed the dead tissue from his body and moved with Marie to watch Hank performing doctor rituals with their son.

As soon as Hank pronounced them able to do so, the little family moved back to their room, not having to remain in medical since all evidence of a birth was gone except for the baby himself. Logan took a quick shower to remove the last of the cells from his skin and joined Marie on the bed. She was silently watching their son sleep, a pillow on either side of his tiny body even though he was still too young to roll on his own, and Logan couldn't help smiling contently at the image as he sat beside her. A few minutes later, the baby's small eyes blinked open and a cry that was surprisingly big for someone so little erupted from his mouth.

"I guess it's time to try feeding him," Marie remarked nervously.

"Pick him up and scoot forward for a second," Logan instructed.

She followed his instructions carefully, and Logan shifted so that he was sitting behind her. Marie automatically moved backwards to sit against his chest, his legs stretched out on either side of her. Their son was nestled in her arms, already rooting for his mother's breast, making small mewling noises like a kitten. Logan gently placed a pillow under Marie's arm before surrounding his mate and their son with his arms. Marie opened her shirt, and their son latched on and began nursing almost immediately.

"Little man's a natural," Logan commented.

He knew Marie had been worried. He'd had his own moments of doubt about how well he was cut out for this. But now, sitting here, holding his family as Marie fed their son, he somehow knew that they would be able to do this parenting thing just fine as long as they did it together. And he knew it was the way they would do everything from here on out. He couldn't have been any happier than he was in that moment.

Marie twisted her head to look at him, kissing his jaw a bit awkwardly before snuggling back into him.

"I think we need to find a name for our son," she said with a soft smile, her eyes shining with love and happiness.

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Epilogue: Just Shy Of Seventeen Years Later

Mom's at it again. Reminding me of the fact that Old Man, the Inuit who lives about twenty miles from us, will come running if I throw the special log in the fireplace that turns the smoke red. Like the old coot would last two milliseconds with someone who could take me out. Telling me to eat right, stay out of Dad's cigars and make sure Lobo stays off the couch, shit… uh, stuff like that. And she just went through the whole spiel last night. You'd think this was the first time she and Dad ever left me alone while they went on a mission.

I think about telling her I'm not a baby, that I know all this, but that's sure to result in misty eyes and another telling of the miracle of my birth. That and the fact that I will always be their baby. Which, of course, has not been a very well received truth since I was around eight. But I humor Mom and Dad, and yes, the big bad Wolverine can also get pretty mushy when it comes to talking about the child he carried to term. Of course, he doesn't talk about the actual pregnancy that often; not a manly enough subject I suppose. But I am the only child they'll ever have, which is a shame because they've been great parents. Especially when my non-physical mutation finally manifested last year and I had to go to Xavier's to get training for my telekinesis.

For a long time before that, we thought the two bone claws in my left hand and the three in my right, along with my super senses and enhanced strength and reflexes, would be my only abilities.

Not that they're anything to sneeze at, mind you.

Even though neither one of my parents wanted to spend any amount of time there, for reasons they explained to me as gently as possible so I wouldn't hear it from someone else, they moved in to Xavier's for four months while I learned to control my own mind. Mom almost got into a fistfight with Mrs. Summers when the gray-streaked redhead looked at me oddly, but Dad stopped it. He and I are the only ones who can get through to Mom when the rage that she named herself after takes over. But it serves her well when she needs to go kick bad guy ass… uh, booty.

There's been another sighting of Apocalypse, and the X-Men need Mom and Dad to help in the fight… the understatement of the century if you ask me. It's unusual for Mom and Dad to take a job that doesn't pay, and for the X-Men on top of it, but Apocalypse is well-known for endangering the whole planet and not just select mutants or humans like some of the X-Men's other enemies, so they'll go, donning the mantles of Wolverine and Rogue for a short time. Names they've rarely used since I was born.

At home they're Mom and Dad, or Marie and Logan to Old Man and the few other people they consider friends. When they go on their mercenary assignments, they're Rage and Berzerker, the best at what they do. I've been training since I was twelve, and when they think I'm ready, we'll fight as a team of three. Rage, Berzerker and Wrath.

Hey, I had to stay with the family theme, right?

"Lucas, are you listening to me?"

Uh, oh. "Of course, Mom."

Mom fixes me with that look. Dad and I both squirm when she looks at us like that. Like she can look right through us, or into us, on a whim. And of course, with how many powers she has collected over the years, she very easily could. But she doesn't. She doesn't use her abilities on us. Unless you count flying one of us when she either needs to or just feels like it, or when she used to use her TK to push me on the old tire swing out back while she and Dad sat together on the porch. That was years ago, of course.

"Why don't I believe you?" she asks with a sly smile.

"Cuz you know I'm full of shit…"

Oops. You see why I try not to even think that way? The minute I open my mouth, words spill out without my permission.

She smacks the back of my head lightly with her open palm. She has to reach up to do it since I'm only an inch shy of matching Dad's height.

"Lucas Logan James! What have I told you?"

"No swearing until I'm eighteen," I reply dutifully. "Sorry, Mom."

With the way Dad talks, she knows it's pointless to ask that I never swear, but she's tried to keep me as civilized as possible until I'm legal. She considers my apology for a moment before smiling that smile that makes me feel like no one has ever been loved more. Dad and I are the only recipients of that smile.

Speak of the devil.

"All packed up," Dad tells Mom.

She nods in acknowledgment and gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek as we exchange 'I love you's. She leaves our small but comfortable house to let her two boys say goodbye in private. There aren't many we allow to see us when we're being mushy.

"If you need us for anything at all…" he trails off.

"I'll call you and the rest of the world can go to hell," I finish, knowing he won't say anything about my choice of vocabulary. It's Mom's rule, not his.

Dad wraps his arms around me and we share a bear hug that would kill a grizzly as he murmurs, "Love you, boy."

"Love you, too, Dad."

He walks out fairly quickly after that, and I follow as far as the open doorway. I wave when they do, the family motto, 'best there is at what we do,' ringing in my head. As I watch them drive away, heading for the pick up spot fifty miles away that they chose for the X-Jet… none of the X-Men know exactly where we live and we wanna keep it that way… I almost feel sorry for Apocalypse.

The End

For anyone interested, see my profile for a link to a pic I drew for this fic.