WHAT CAME OF OLD BEGINNINGS:

CHAPTER 7

The X-men sat together in the living room in various stages of worry. They had returned from searching every former, and current, location possible they could think of. Unfortunately, they had found nothing.

The X-men have been looking for the only two members of the team that were not present, Nightcrawler and Hurricane. Also known as Kurt and Kimara.

Ororo sat entwined in her husband, Logan's, arms. As Logan held his wife he did his best to speak of hope. Though, her soft crying made it difficult.

"Logan, what are we going to do?" Ororo said sniffling, "I cannot loose another child I just can't."

"Shh. We've done all we can for now. She's stronger 'an both of us put together. And Kurt's with her. He won't let anything happen." Logan managed. Yet, he felt even more hopeless than Ororo. Still, he did his best to give her hope, false as it seemed.

Jean leaned over to Ororo and said, "Logan's right, honey." Jean said lovingly to her best friend, "If anyone going to be all right it's Kimara"

Ororo moved from Logan arms to her best friend Jean's. The two friends embraced each other warmly. Ororo was falling to pieces. Not a trait common for such a strong woman. Ororo rarely had such moments. But it seemed it was just too much for her contain.

Chris was just as solemn. He looked out the living room window and noticed the dark storm clouds that raged in the night. Heavy rain drops fell from the sorrowful clouds. A sorrow that matched their makers.

Luc, who sat next to Chris, did his best to clear the lump that hung in his throat. After which, he said softly and shakily, "Do you think they'll be okay?" He asked his fellow Stooge.

Chris said nothing, he stared at the floor solemnly. He made no indication that he even heard his friend. He was, for once in his life, serious. It was Victoria who, sitting close to the two stooges, spoke confidently, "Aunt Jean is correct. Kimara will be all right and Uncle Kurt will make sure of that. Kimara is the strongest of us all. If anyone will be all right, she will."

Then Chris noticed something. A figure on the Mansion's doorstep.

Suddenly Chris came alive. He darted up and shouted, "Someone's outside! At the front door!"

The entire group shot up and towards the door. Logan got there first and opened the door frantically. A familiar figure stood there. It was the mutant that had taken Kurt and Kimara. Before he could think about leaping for him the figure laughed and vanished. Yet the figure's voice lingered in the air saying, "You may have the young one back, for now. The other we no longer need. Farewell X-Men. Until we meet again. And we will, soon."

The voice laughed wickedly and then fell silent. That was when Logan looked down. Before him he saw two dark figures piled in a heap on the doorstep. He recognized the first and Kurt. But the second was different. It looked to be Kimara, but strange somehow.

At first he thought it was a trick of the light. Then he realized it was his daughter. However, when he quickly picked her up his heart stopped. Kimara was indigo blue with fur sprouting all over. Just like Kurt. Her fingers had fused to make three digits instead of five. She had a pointed tail and her white hair had turned blue. Most pressing was the thing that made Logan die a little inside. His daughter has three gleaming twelve inch metal blades protruding from in between the knuckles on each hand.

Logan pushed it aside for the moment and scooped his daughter into his arms and holding back tears. Everyone rushed over and gathered around. Ororo gasped and inhaled deeply managing to say only, "By the Goddess. Be with us this night and save my daughter." Then she simply cried softly to herself.

Hank pushed past everyone. "Oh my!" he whispered trying to be as discrete as possible. Then he said with much more urgency as he carefully hauled Kurt up and over his shoulder, "We must get them to my lab. Quickly."

Everyone followed closely. Logan said nothing, he remained deathly quiet not wanting to believe he could have let this happen. He held his daughter tightly in his arms never wanting to let her go again.

✖✖✖

In Hank's lab lay two blue furred figures with a blue prehensile tail and yellow eyes on each. One figure belonged to Kurt Wagner. His appearance was normal. The other figure was not her normal self. She has long Indigo hair that fell across her face slightly in loose waves. Her name in Kimara and her father Logan carefully brushed the stray hairs away from her face.

Hank had been running several tests in the other room. Logan hovered over his daughter's blue form longing to gaze into her eyes once more. Ororo stirred slightly and Logan managed to pull his attention from his daughter to his wife. Logan sat down next to his wife at his daughter's bedside. Once again Ororo was entwined in her husband's arms. She had calmed herself slightly and had managed to stop crying.

"It's all right babe. We have her back. She's home. She'll be alight." Logan said tenderly to Ororo.

Hank then appeared from the other room and Kimara's parents, the only other people in the room, bounded up from their seats. They looked expectantly at the equally blue mutant. Hank looked up from the paper containing the test results and said to the anxious parents, "As far as I can tell, a adamantium skeleton not unlike your own," Hank motioned his head toward Logan and continued, "was teleported into Kimara using Kurt's Mutant power."

Ororo asked the obvious question, "Who would do such a thing? And Why?"

Hank took a deep breath and answered, "As to 'who' I suggest we ask them. They should be awake in a matter of moments. As for 'why' I can only speculate, perhaps to..."

Hank was cut off by another voice. The voice of Kimara answering the question her mother asked. Both she and Kurt were now awake and Kimara said, "I think he wants to use me... as a weapon."

At the sound of her voice her parents rushed to her side. Logan brought both of his hands up to either side of his daughters face. "You okay?" He asked frantically.

"I'm fine. Ahh!." She shouted in pain. The metal blades shout out from Kimara's hands. Logan lost his breath for a moment. He quickly recovered as his fatherhood instincts took affect. Kimara was in pain and panicked.

Logan said as calmly as he could manage, "Mara! Look at me. Look at me, Cub." Mara brought her eyes up to meet her father's. Her face ridden with pain, Kimara did her best to calm herself down. Logan brought his hands to either side of Kimara's face again and said, "Listen, it's like a muscle." then Logan placed his hands on Kimara's left arm saying slowly, "Straighten your arm and relax your forearm."

Kimara did as she was told. The metal blades retreated inside her arm. Logan brought his daughter in for a tight hug as if he was holding on for dear life.

Kimara shot the blades out again, this time intentionally, and winced a little at the pain. She then quickly pulled them back inside her arm. At the sight of those blades protruding from his daughters hand Logan felt his heart twist and his stomach churn. He tried his best not to let it show for Kimara's sake. They all exchanged hugs when a thought struck Kimara. She desperately called out, "Kurt!" She looked around worriedly.

Then from behind her a voice came, "I am here Liebchen."

Kimara leaped of the medical table and bounded over to her uncle encircling him with her arms and embracing him whole-heartedly. At this moment Kimara had finally taken the time to look at herself. Her arms, her whole body in fact, was currently covered in indigo blue fur. She looked carefully up and down herself gazing at her arms and all six fused fingers. She has three on each hand. Then she noticed her tail and her hair. She brought her hands up to her ears and felt the pointed tips.

Kurt brought his hand up to the side of his nieces face and said with a heavy heart, "I'm sorry. I ..." Kimara brought her own hand up to meet his and nuzzled her face into his hand. "I'm okay." Kimara jumped up onto the table were Kurt sat and sat down next to him.

Both the blue mutants hung their legs over the edge of the medical table. Their devil like blue tails are entwined with each others and Kurt wrapped Kimra in his arms. It was in this moment that Logan realized just how much Kurt loved Kimara. Logan knew Kurt had wanted children of his own. Kimara was like his own and it was clear that they loved each other. Logan was grateful for his family.

Then Hank cleared his throat and said, "Kimara the reason you resemble Kurt is that your healing factor is ineffective until the process you were both put under wears off. "Oh..." Kimara said, she sounded almost disappointed.

It was thirty minutes or so after that when the fur on Kimara started to retreat back into her body. The blue hue of her skin faded and her finger and toes spread apart. the tail also retreated inward. Kimara's eyes returned to their blue grey color. Kimara was now her normal self again. She looked at Kurt and her eyes watered slightly. Kurt brought her close to him and said gently, "Now, I know it's not Sunday. Why not you and I retreat to the living room and read a few passages? If that's all right with your parents?"

Kimara looked expectantly at her father.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea." Ororo said, "Just as long as you come back to see me before you go to bed. I wish to speak with you a little later."

Kimara said a quick alright and looked to her father. Logan nodded and Kimara hugged him and Ororo on her way to the living room. Logan wanted to hold Kimara tight and never let her go again, but he thought it was a good idea for Kimara to hear some words of encouragement. He would just have to let her be for an hour or so. Kurt and Kimara headed off to the living room and the others went off to their rooms.

Ororo watched her one and only child head down the hall. She watched her until she disappeared into the living room. Ororo stared at the hallway for several minutes after that until Logan wrapped his arms around her. He whispered to his wife, "She's okay. And she's acting like nothing ever happened even though she's scared. You know she's doing that for us."

Logan paused for a moment whispered into Ororo's ear, "I love you."

Ororo gazed at the man she had grow to love so much over these years. She whispered back, "And I you. That child we created. As she grows so does my love for you both."

Logan actually smiled and said, "Come on, let's get to bed." the couple headed down the hallway towards their bedroom with their hearts a little lighter and their love ever greater.