As they got the monitors on Wolverine set up, the Professor asked Nanny to describe it all again.

"I pushed the car off the belt, but it made me very dizzy so I sat down and closed my eyes. I didn't figure we were in a hurry, I mean, we only had to look through it; I didn't realize someone was after us. When I opened my eyes Logan was looking around, looking for something. He sniffed the air like he does when he knows danger is around. The next thing I knew he had grabbed my arm and we were running for the car. Then I heard bullets. As we ran I tried to 'stop' the bullets. Just as we got to the car I was able to determine that the bullets weren't metal. I crawled over to the driver's seat as fast as I could and we bolted out of there. As soon as I had time to think I realized that Logan was holding his right arm. He had been hit, obviously, but it wouldn't stop bleeding; it showed no signs of healing. Then, an hour later, his head dropped, unconscious. I put my hand on his forehead and realized that he was burning up. So were his wrist and his arms. I swore I could have smelt his beard burning."

"Professor! He has a temperature of 325° and it's rising!"

"Scott, go get Bobby. Hurry. If it continues to get any hotter, the heat will begin to melt his adamantium skeleton. Nanny, I need you to hold the adamantium skeleton in place. Bobby, you need to keep his temperature down, but you need to take his temperature down slowly. Jean, you will need to retrieve the bullet."

"Jean- Professor," Scott chimed in with a very concerned expression on his face.

"It's ok Scott. I'll be alright long enough to do this. I have to." Jean ensured Scott.

"I don't think I can ..." Nanny objected.

"You can because you must." The Professor replied. He chuckled and mentally noted, '... and because love is a great motivator.'

…

The procedure went well and the Professor began immediately analyzing the plastic bullet they pulled out. Nanny sat with Wolverine, grading sketch books, while they waited for him to recover. She fell asleep, the beeps of the machines singing her to sleep.

"Nanny? Nanny. Wake up."

"Hmmm?"

"The phone is for you. Some jewelry store. They say it's urgent." Nanny quickly took the phone from Jean and hoped the man hadn't mentioned the necklace to Jean.

"Now? I can't."

'I have other customers here who are ready to buy it now. I told them someone else was looking at it, but they're willing to pay in full and in cash. I told them that I would call them at the end of the day and let them know of your decision.'

"Then can't I come in a few hours?"

'I close in a half an hour.'

Nanny cursed under her breath and yawned.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

'Good.'

Nanny hung up the phone and glanced over to Wolverine. She closed her eyes again for a moment and took a deep breath. She made herself get out of the chair and walk upstairs. Jean took her place in watching over Wolverine.

…

Nanny got out of her car quickly and rushed into the mall, to the second floor, and down the hallways.

"Ahh, just in time. Here it is. I was hoping you would come and get it today because I honestly am glad to see it go to you. I don't know what it is, but there's simply something about that other couple." He shook his head sort of starring off into the distance. He finished wrapping the necklace and putting into a nice little box. Nanny wrote him a check and as soon as the transaction was finished she dashed back out to her car. She carefully put the bag on the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt. As she went to turn the key in the ignition, she immediately noticed something wasn't right- something wasn't adding up. She realized that when she got back to her car, the doors were unlocked- though she had specifically remembered locking them. She wasn't given any more time to think before a cold barrel was placed on her left shoulder and a cold, splintering pain shot slowly through her shoulder and arm and spread throughout her body as she quickly lost consciousness.

…

"I think you have a thing for seeing me on this lab table without my shirt," Wolverine joked as he sat up slowly, grinning at Jean. Jean gave a half hearted grin back, as she fighting a growing head ache.

"We didn't expect you to wake up so fast."

"Is Nanny ok?"

"Yep, not a scratch."

"Soooo, what happened?"

"You were shot with this, plastic bullet-device." The Professor wheeled himself in and instructed Jean to go get some rest. "This device is a form of tracking device- or rather, the opposite. Much like Magneto's helmet keeps me from locating him, this device will do the same with anyone who is shot with it. However, it had something else too- a chemical; a chemical that when introduced to adamantium creates a tremendous amount of heat- enough heat to liquefy the adamantium. Ice man kept your temperature down, while Nanny kept the adamantium in place- kept it from flowing all over your insides. Jean then located the bullet and extracted it. After such an event, your body needed more rest than after any other normal fight."

"Do you have any idea who it was that shot at us?"

"No. I've used cerebro trying to locate whoever it was, but my guess is that they have other devices similar to this to make sure they go undetected."

"Have you found anything else on Mr. Summers?"

"No. That seems to be a mystery for the moment."

Wolverine sighed and got up to put his shirt back on. "So, how's Jean doing?"

"I'm afraid that Phoenix seems to be struggling for control more than ever. Scott is very concerned. He's mentioned that she's become increasingly cynical, when she used to be such an optimist." The Professor stopped and shook his head, reading Wolverine's next question in his eyes. "No, I don't believe there's anything that can be done."

"Hey suga! You had me real worried!" Rogue came beaming into the room and wrapped her arms around Wolverine and gave him a bear hug. He grimaced slightly and pulled his sleeve up to check out his wound. There was a scar- and he had very very very few of those.

"It might be sore for a few days. Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure." The Professor noted.

Wolverine smirked and followed Rogue upstairs.

"Hey sis kabobs, good to see you're doing better. I was hoping to beat you at some basketball again and then you went and tried to get yourself out of it by getting shot." Cyclops winked and Wolverine who simply gave him that "oh ya!" bad ass look.

"So where's Nanny?" Wolverine asked a little surprised that she hadn't been there to "greet" him as he woke up, or around afterwards.

"She had to run to the store for something," Storm said.

"Well, more precisely- you know the present I told you about- the one us girls are getting for Jean? Well, she was waiting for you to wake up when the man called and said if she didn't come down and get it immediately that he was going to sell it to someone else. No one expected you to wake up so early, but, honestly, I'm surprised she's not back yet. She said the store closed at 5. It's almost 6." Rogue explained.

"Mmm. She probably ran to the grocery store for some ice cream or something."

Wolverine walked slowly out the back door, his muscles still sore, though rapidly healing. Cyclops laughed at how groggily he was walking and how carefully he took each step. Wolverine sat down and watched the guys play a game. He shouted insults at Cyclops' team and encouragements for what would normally have been his team. After an hour of relaxing, just as they were called in for dinner, Wolverine's bruises were just about gone and he now had more energy than he had had in years.

"Mmm mmm Jean! When'd you become such a great cook?"

"I had to do something to keep my mind off of the Phoenix. Cooking does that pretty well. And I've loved to cook since my mom taught me when I was seven. So you all like it?"

"It's delicious," Kurt complemented Jean.

"I've never had it before, or cooked it before. I was flipping through the recipe book and found it."

"Has the Professor said anything about the Phoenix yet?"

"No." She sighed and played with her mashed potatoes a bit. "He's really worried about it, which has me really worried about it. He says that he doesn't understand why now, or what the Phoenix is trying to do, other than take over. That much is evident. But there doesn't seem to be a specific motive. She comes and goes at times that have no correlation. Only clues are my dreams, but they aren't making any sense and every dream is so different from the next."

"When was the last time you had a head ache?"

"Right after your surgery. I hadn't been feeling very well before the surgery and so it was taking me a lot of concentration during it. After that, I felt incredibly dizzy and I was so weak. The Phoenix could have completely taken over right then, but she didn't and the head ache stopped. After a quick nap, everything like it was gone."

"We've moved the wedding date up a bit." Cyclops announced, reaching over and placing his hand on Jean's. "We just don't want anything to happen that could prevent the wedding from happening."

The group sat in almost complete silence, finishing their meals. Rogue wandered in and hung up the phone and sighed heavily and went to sit in the Tv room.

"Rogue?" Storm asked, getting up from the table, following her.

"I've been calling Nanny's cell. She's not answering. But, she could have left the cell in the car while she went somewhere, or she could have it turned to vibrate and it's in her purse so she wouldn't realize that we were calling. It's got me really worried though."

"Does the Professor know?"

"Yes. He's locating her right now with Cerebro."

"Or trying to," the Professor interrupted as he wheeled himself into the room. "I don't understand what it is, but every time she's been missing for a few hours, I can't seem to find her."

"Does she …"

"No, Nanny has no mutation form that can keep Cerebro from locating her. I'm afraid whoever shot Wolverine earlier today has found her."

……

Nanny moaned as she lifted herself up from lying down on some hard surface. She rubbed her left shoulder which ached, only to find some small mechanism attached to her shoulder. She yawned and looked around. She found herself in a small, fairly dark room. The walls were cement and there was a heavy metal door with a one-way window in it. She was sitting on a black marble bench, meant to serve as a table, bench, and bed. As she stood up, a light in the room flickered on, a motion censored light. Nanny squinted in the sudden, bright light.

"Where am I?" She walked over to the door and realized that she couldn't see out. She banged on the door as hard as she could and the thing on her shoulder began to sting. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to pry it off with her powers- only to find that she couldn't use her powers; something was blocking them. She continued to bang at the door and scratch at the device on her shoulder.

"WHERE AM I! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THEY'RE GOING TO THINK I RAN AWAY, THAT I JOINED SOME BIKERS GANG!" She screamed at the door. She kicked it, and breathing heavily she paced back and forth. She examined her new outfit and kicked the door again. After tiring herself out, she sat down on the bench again and sobbed … "They're gonna think I ran away and joined a motorcycle gang."

Nanny was wearing black combat boots that laced up to her knees. She had loose, black cargo pants tucked into her boots and a large black, useless belt fastened around her waste. She wore fingerless, magenta, leather gloves, and a very loose, short, sleeveless, magenta shirt with a tight black leather vest, laced up, and low cut, over the shirt. And what she couldn't see for lack of a mirror were the magenta highlights in her hair.