Disclaimer: I own Angela, Buzz, Sam, Totem, Chasca, little Ryan Hiller and a few other characters...everyone else belongs to someone else, including Logan, which is very depressing...my characters don't like strangers, so please do not approach them...i won't be responsible for their actions if i'm not the one writing them!

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Chapter 16

(Angela)

Indian summer gave way to real autumn seemingly overnight. The kids loved every minute of it, doing their level best to destroy all the carefully arranged leaf piles as soon as they were gathered and getting ready for Halloween. I got in the spirit by streaking my hair with bright orange. Unbeknownst to me, they were getting ready for something else, too. If I live to be a thousand years old, I will never know how anyone managed to keep a secret from me in a house full of teenagers, much less one with Kitty, Jubilee and Rogue in the mix. But keep a secret they did. And the worst part was that Logan was behind it all.

I admit I wasn't paying that much attention to a lot of the stuff going on around me. The Professor and I were still working very hard to break down the telepathic suggestions that were embedded in the instinct portion of my head. In order to do this, I had to more or less enter a completely feral state where I was working on nothing but instinct and Charles would then "ride" on that wave into the suggestions and break them down. During these sessions, my memories of how they inserted them in the first place came into clearer focus, how they strapped me to a table and tortured me until instinct was all I had left. Needless to say, I was again strapped to a table, Dr. Endicott monitoring my vitals while I called up the animal on purpose. For all that it took a huge toll on me, I knew Charles didn't like it either. He told me once that there was a reason why telepaths don't try to communicate with animals and digging through my feral brain was as close as he ever wanted to get. Of course, he'd have to go through this again with Logan once we had my head in order. He was doing a similar thing with Totem, only he was also using his new emotional attachment to Chasca as a means of breaking down his compulsions. I made a vow that if he managed to get all of our heads in working order (relatively speaking, as far as Logan's concerned) I was giving half of my money to the school.

At any rate, these sessions left me pretty tired and I had to save my energy for classes and Danger Room with the different teams. Logan had taken over the hands-on supervision due to Totem being added to the Delta team with Chasca. He explained to me why he did it, but that didn't mean I had to like it. On the other hand, it seemed to be working so I wasn't going to argue too much. At least I still got to supervise Beta team, so I wasn't wanting for action in that regard.

I'd also finally sat down with Buzz and gone over my Weapon X file with him. I was astonished to learn that Stryker had been tracking me through at least three of my aliases (that's right, Angela Rex is SO not my real name!), but had apparently been unsure if any or all of them were really me. He noted in the file that my fatal slip-up had been withdrawing money from one of my many accounts under the alias I'd been using just previous to Angela Rex. Sure, it hadn't been the safest thing to do, but I'd chosen that bank because it had branches all over the country and I'd had no idea I was under surveillance in the first place. I simply needed the money too badly to be worried about it at the time. I usually didn't leave a town unless something happened to kill me and when I came back, it was always easier to just go away.

The worst part was the file on Emma, who he hadn't bothered to give a code name to; she was just Mutant 176 to him. She was almost fourteen when we were grabbed and she died just after her sixteenth birthday. Her mutation didn't actually manifest until she'd woken up in her cell at Alkali Lake. Turns out she'd had the ability to see through walls and somewhat enhanced senses. The downside was she didn't inherit my healing factor or my nine lives, so they'd tried to artificially insert my X gene into her DNA over the fourteen and a half months she'd survived. Ultimately, that was what killed her.

I was just as shocked as Logan to discover there were still four Weapon X operatives out there, still active. I knew we'd eventually have to hunt them all down and eliminate them, but that was a problem for another day. It was also the smallest of the problems, since it also meant that the program was alive and well and under new management. We'd have to take them out eventually as well, but again it was something to worry about later.

On the lighter side of things, we still had Storm's ongoing mystery to occupy our time. Whenever we brought it up around Logan, he just smiled like he knew something, but only said "I have no proof". We didn't want proof! We were all about speculation as it was! But all we ever got was the cryptic little smile and he'd walk away, humming. It pissed me off, drove Storm to distraction and Rogue threatened to imprint the daylights out of him on more than one occasion. We knew it was only a matter of time before we figured it out. We just wanted it to be sooner rather than later.

I woke up on October ninth to clear skies and an empty bed. That was my first indication that something was extremely not normal. Logan simply didn't get up before I did, we liked our early morning snuggles and whatever else we could get away with. But this was a Saturday and there was no reason for him to not be in bed with me. I felt a sudden surge of panic and jumped out of bed, pulled on some clothes without paying attention and rushed out of the room. I made my way to the ground floor as silently as possible, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

The mansion was enveloped in an eerie silence, something that's nearly impossible in a place that houses children ranging from eight years to however old Logan really is. I slipped from room to room, checking for other signs of life but I couldn't find anyone. I resorted to pinching myself, but I already knew I wasn't dreaming. And there was no way anyone had come in and taken everyone except me. Logan would have woken me up even if the alarm system hadn't. Once I'd determined there was no one inside, I ventured carefully outdoors.

The lawn was immaculate, the small leaf piles completely undisturbed and the only sounds were those I would expect in the middle of nowhere: wind in the trees, small animals and birds, the water flowing in the reflecting pool. No kids, no teachers, there was literally no one here. I checked from one end of the grounds to the other and saw not one sign of another person. I was beyond worried at that point and moving towards completely freaked at an alarming rate.

I had just decided to go back inside and check the lower levels when I heard the distinctive "bamf" sound and caught a whiff of brimstone. I whipped myself around.

"Kurt! Where the hell is everyone?" I asked, panic coloring my voice.

"Don't vorry, Angela." He replied in that calm way of his. "Everyone is all right." He came over to me and took my hand. "Come vith me, I vill take you to them." I relaxed about an inch and stepped into his arms. He tightened his grip on me and I closed my eyes in preparation for the teleport, a sensation that isn't easy to take. A split second later, we were back on solid ground and I recognized the polished steel walls of the Danger Room. Kurt stepped back a bit, a huge grin on his face. "Now, turn around."

I did, very slowly and I broke out in a grin of my own at the sight. I heard Buzz say "start program" from somewhere in the crowd and the walls morphed into an exact replica of my club back in Detroit, RnR. Standing amidst this sorely missed setting was everyone from the school, Logan at the front with a grin on his face. "Surprise, darlin.' Happy birthday."

A cheer rose from the assembled students and I was suddenly engulfed in a wave of people, everyone wanting to hug me or pat me on the back. I noticed that Logan hung back with the Professor, waiting for me to come to them. After getting a kiss on the cheek from Piotr and a shy hug from little Ryan Hiller, I broke free from the crowd and walked over to them, mock glaring at Logan. I stopped a few feet in front of him and crossed my arms.

"And exactly how long have you been planning this?" I asked as indignantly as possible.

"Oh, about two weeks or so." He replied, coming over and pulling me into his arms. "It wasn't an easy secret to keep."

"It's a minor miracle that it remained kept." Charles injected, bringing his chair next to me and taking my hand. "Logan came to me and asked if I knew when your birthday was. He was most put out that it was so close and he had almost no time to plan. As it stands, I believe he has several more surprises for you."

I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "I should be very cross with you, Charles. Just tell me you didn't put a hundred and five candles on my cake!"

"What and ruin the surprise?" Logan said with a grin. I slapped him playfully on the shoulder and he leaned over and kissed me soundly. "But I'm sure you're starving and we already had all the food down here before Buzz started the program."

"You got that right!" I said and he led me over to a buffet that was heaped with all my favorite breakfast foods, which is pretty much anything except grits. Of course, with Rogue around, grits were there anyway. I heaped my plate and carried it to a table near the dance floor. Logan sat across from me and we ate in silence, occasionally glancing at each other. I could tell by the look in his eye that he was still keeping something from me, but he was fair bursting to let it out. I decided to play it cool and let things unfold as they would.

Once the food portion of the morning was over and the last dish cleared up and taken back to the kitchen, Logan dragged me to the middle of the dance floor and called for silence. "Now, we all know why we're here, so I'll just get right to it." He started, grinning down at me. "Normally, I believe there would be a birthday spankin' for the birthday girl…"

"Logan, don't you dare!" I hissed, cutting him off.

"Shh, don't interrupt, I'm makin' a speech here!" He whispered back then cleared his throat. "As I was sayin', birthday spankin'." A chorus of whoops and cheers rose from the older students and I glared at them. Once they quieted, Logan continued. "But since we're dealin' with someone who can kick everyone's ass except mine and maybe Sam's, we're gonna skip that for now."

"I can so kick your ass!" I shouted, hands on my hips and everyone laughed. "Care to dance right now, show them you're not such a badass?"

"Funny you should mention that." He said and nodded to Buzz. Music flooded the room and I glared at him again. "Anyway, we'll let you kids have the Danger Room Dance Club to yourselves for a while, the rest of us have a few things we need to do before she gets her presents." Another cheer rose up and we barely made it out of the way before the dance floor was covered with cavorting kids. Logan took my hand and led me out of the Danger Room with the other adults and Rogue, Kitty, Piotr, Jubilee and Bobby close behind. I figured they were the co-conspirators in this and I was once again impressed that the secret was kept, especially with Jubilee involved. We all made our way upstairs and out to the patio.

Once outside, I ran my fingers through my hair and turned on Logan. "I swear, if I can figure out your birthday, there will be hell to pay mister!" I said, trying to be angry but failing miserably. "I was scared to death you know!"

"Oh, come on, you had to know it couldn't be anything bad." Scott said with a smirk. "We all know you'd never sleep through a fight." I glared at him and he just laughed and gave me a huge hug. I was a little startled. He hadn't done more than clasp my shoulder since Logan had his little talk with him months before. I looked over his shoulder to Logan, but he was deep in conversation with Storm, smoking a cigar and not even paying attention to us. After a moment, he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and pulled away. "I wanted to thank you for bringing Sam back here. I can't tell you how much it means that you suggested it to the Professor."

"Well, I didn't, not really." I replied, my cheeks coloring. "I just said you needed someone here that you would actually talk to about stuff. I didn't know Sam from Adam before we went to get him."

"Yeah, I know. But Storm told me it was a bottle of whisky and some of your stories of what's been happening out there that really convinced him. He knows how I feel about unnecessary violence, that I depended on Jean to help me out when it became necessary. I just felt so off balance and when it seemed like Storm was going the way of the sword, well…anyway, all I'm saying is you were right. I do need to let go, say goodbye. I'm not quite ready yet but Sam's been a big help and like I said, thank you for bringing him here."

"Anytime, Scott. Just don't wait around so long the next time you need someone you really trust, ok? I know you were coming to me because you didn't know where else to go, but I'll never tell you anything just to make you feel better."

"Don't I know it!" He laughed and we made our way over to the main group.

I slipped next to Logan, wrapping my arm around his waist and snuggling in. "So, why are we all out here?"

"Mostly because there are some gifts too big to fit in the Danger Room." Charles replied. "And others that should be given away from the prying eyes of curious children."

I raised an eyebrow as Storm brought out a large box wrapped in silver paper and placed it in my hands. I looked around and they all just grinned, so I pulled up a chair and sat down to unwrap it. I opened the card first. It read "To Angela, from the entire team. We couldn't have done so much without you." I set it aside and opened the box. Nestled inside was my very own X-Man uniform.

Until that point, I'd only worn black or olive cargo pants and a tank top when we went on anything resembling an actual mission. I carefully lifted the black leather creation out of the box and gave it a shake. It followed the same basic lines as the others, but the piping on mine was a soft shade of dove gray, along with the encircled X that's more or less the X-Men logo. I could tell that it would be form fitting, yet easy to move in at the same time. A pair of gloves came next and I noticed clever little holes in the fingertips just where my claws would come out. The last bit was a pair of specially designed boots that resembled the tabi boots that ninjas wear, except that these had straps that would slide between my toes, allowing me full use of them along with the claws on my feet. I also noticed that unlike Storm's, Rogue's and Kitty's, these didn't have any heels on them at all, they were perfectly flat and had a gritty texture to the soles.

I looked up with tears in my eyes. "Charles, I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, my dear." He said with a smile. "You have earned it a hundred times over. I know I offered it to you before and you never really gave me an answer. But I do know that my children have all felt a good deal safer with you around and many of them look up to you as a hero. I thought it was time to make that official."

"But I…Charles, you have to know that if it comes to any kind of combat situation, you know what I'm going to do."

"Yes, I do. I have come to understand, as have the rest of us, that although the methods that you and Logan employ can be extreme, you also know that the road we are on is a darker one than we expected. I trust that you will always make the right decision in regards to dealing with someone permanently and when something a little less will do."

How could I possibly argue with that logic? "All right then. I accept your offer, Charles. It will be an honor to serve as an X-Man, for as long as you want me."

Everyone smiled and Storm came over and hugged me close. We were starting to become pretty good friends and I was glad of it. I hadn't had a close female friend in a very long time and I got along well with her. Everyone else had a turn with the hugging, then Rogue stepped up with the other older kids who'd joined us.

"Angela, you don't know how much it meant to us kids when you went after Logan like you did." She began. "I know some people didn't agree with it, but it was the right thing to do. And you never lie to us or tell us stuff because you think we're better off not knowin'. Anyway, this is from all of us." She stepped aside and Piotr came forward with a large, flat package. I took it carefully and unwrapped it, tears again springing to my eyes. It was a beautifully done painting of me and Logan, an enlargement of the photo I'd been clinging to for so many years. It was so realistic it looked as though I could step into the canvas and return to that waterfall and that last perfect day we'd had together. My eyes settled at the bottom of the painting and I saw that it had been painted by Piotr.

I stood up and pulled his head down to me, kissing him soundly on the lips. "You are the most amazing sneak on the planet!" I said as he blushed. "Thank you so much!"

"Oh, it was nothing." He mumbled. "Rogue told me about your birthday, Logan brought me the photograph. It was the least I could do." I smiled up at him again and returned to my seat.

The next person up surprised me, because it was Totem. I swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect but Logan seemed perfectly at ease. Chasca was with him and it didn't escape my notice that they were holding hands. I smiled inwardly, but kept my expression carefully neutral. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Angela, I know that things have been difficult for us. But Logan-san has been helping me to learn how things should be between people. And the Professor has helped me to see the things that I believed were not true things and together we have removed much of the damage that was done." He pulled what appeared to be a scroll from behind his back and handed it to me. "I will understand if you do not accept this, but it is my wish that you will."

I unrolled it carefully, setting aside the beautiful silk scarf he'd wrapped around it. It was a scroll, about three feet long and eighteen inches wide. Up one side was a classic Japanese ink drawing of a mountain with a lake at the base, surrounded by cherry trees in full bloom. Running down the other side was something written in Japanese that I couldn't read. I turned it to Logan. "Lover, what does this say?" I asked.

He looked it over, then cleared his throat. "Uh, it's a series of haiku. It says 'Dishonored you, I humbly apologize, I have caused you pain. I now make a vow, I dishonor you no more, on pain of my death. On my own honor, I will always protect you, on this vow I swear.' And he's signed it with his real name." We both looked at him and he bowed low before going to his knees in front of me. To say I was stunned is an understatement.

"Angela, I have caused you pain and grief and that dishonors me." He whispered. "I have no right to ask this of you, but I do not wish us to be enemies."

I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kyrohyou, this is a very brave thing for you to do." I said, my voice shaking a little. "And it is honorable. I accept."

He let out a breath and stood, bowing again before taking my hand and kissing it. I squeezed it a little and smiled, then he went back and stood next to Chasca and took her hand. I didn't know everything that he had been doing with the Professor and Logan, but it was obviously working. I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.

Logan was the last one up. "Ok darlin', my turn." He said with a grin as he took my other packages and set them aside. "We have to go somewhere else for mine."

"Oh really?" I said with a smirk. "And we're bringing everyone with us?"

"Angela!" Storm cried, laughing. "Not in front of the children!"

"Oh please!" Kitty said, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows those two are slaves to their hormones!"

Logan and I both glared at her as everyone laughed. After we settled, Logan pulled out a scarf and tied it around my eyes. "Now before you say anythin' pervy about this, it's because I couldn't wrap my gift up. So you'll just have to trust me."

"Always." I said and took his arm. We walked slowly back into the mansion and although I've walked the entire place a thousand times over, I was hopelessly lost within the first three minutes. I've never been without my extra-sharp eyesight so being blindfolded was very disorienting. After countless twists, turns and doorways, we finally came to a stop. By the echo, I figured we were in the garage, but why was a mystery to me. We waited a few moments for everyone to get situated, then Logan came up behind me and whispered in my ear. "I love you, darlin'." He whisked the blindfold away and I blinked a couple times then squealed with delight.

Sitting there before me, gleaming like the sun, was my beloved bright orange GTO. I ran all around it, touching every surface before throwing myself on the hood and kissing it. I did notice it had a slightly new paint job, as someone had taken the liberty of airbrushing an encircled X on the hood in black with silver shading. I turned to Charles with a smirk. "How did you know I would say yes?" I asked, shaking a finger at him.

"Why does everyone around here forget that I'm psychic?" He said to no one in particular.

I just laughed and ran over to Logan, leaping on him with my arms and legs wrapped around him and kissing him. "You are the best boyfriend ever!" I said with a huge smile. "I love you!"

"Nothin's too good for my woman." He said, stroking my back. "I know how much you missed it, so me and One-Eye went and picked it up the other day."

"Oh really?" I said, sliding to the floor. I turned to Scott who was pointedly looking away from me. "Listen up, Boy Scout. You keep your grubby mitts off my baby, you hear me? No tweaking, no little surprises, no gadgets. I restored this thing myself and it's even street legal if you don't look too closely. You can never borrow it and in fact I don't even want you to polish it. Understood?"

"You restored it yourself?" He asked, his mouth gaping. "You didn't tell me you knew about cars!"

"You didn't ask." I replied with a smirk. "And I don't know about cars in the plural sense. I know about THIS car. And what I know about it most of all is that it's MINE."

Scott looked from the car, to me, to Logan, back to the car and back to Logan. "You are the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet, did you know that?"

"Yeah, I am." He replied with a grin. I took his hand and we all went back inside the mansion. Storm, Scott, Charles and Sam all made their way back down to the lower level, while Totem, Chasca and Kurt excused themselves to the kitchen. Logan and I went back out to retrieve my gifts and took them back to our room. I set them gently on top of the dresser and turned to find Logan standing right behind me. He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me close, kissing me softly. My arms snaked around his neck and he picked me up, carried me to the bed and gently laid me down. He pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes. "Happy birthday, darlin'. Now you get the other half of your present." I smiled and pulled him back down to me and we celebrated.

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We emerged a few hours later and made our way back down to "Club Danger Room" for the rest of the party. Some of the younger kids had made me little birthday cards and little gifts, which I gushed over with complete sincerity. I hadn't actually celebrated my birthday in years, mostly because I didn't really have anyone to celebrate with. This all day party more than made up for it.

The tables were now laden with snacks of all kinds, ranging from healthy veggies and dip (Storm's influence, I'm sure) to downright decadent (a variety of truffles ranging from strawberry puree' to dark chocolate). The music currently playing was a mix of eighties pop and current dance favorites, which made me cringe a little. This would have never happened in the real RnR, mostly because I can't stand most current music. I hoped that I'd be able to play whatever I wanted after the younger kids were taken out of the equation.

Logan still seemed restless, which I didn't understand. He'd done a fantastic job of giving me a perfect birthday, but he acted like something was amiss. It finally got my nerves enough to ask him about it.

"Oh, it's nothin' darlin'." He said, scanning the room. "Just somethin' else I was expectin' isn't here yet."

"Oh really? And what might that be?" I asked, all innocence.

"You ain't gettin' it outta me that easily. It'll ruin the surprise."

"Come on! You've already done so much already, what could possibly make this any better?"

He looked over my shoulder and his expression brightened. "Um, I'm thinkin' that might do it." He said and pointed to the door. I turned around and screamed. Making his way across the room with a huge grin on his face was Ricky.

I ran over to him threw myself into his arms. He hugged me back, laughing. "Hey bosslady! Long time no see!"

"Ricky! What are you doing here?" I asked, looking him over. Running my bars seemed to be agreeing with him.

"Couldn't miss this could I? Especially with that guy of yours threatening me with vivisection if I didn't come."

"He didn't!" I said, turning to scowl at Logan across the room. He just grinned and I rolled my eyes. "He's so impossible sometimes."

"Can't be all bad. He managed to catch you. We all thought that was impossible."

"Well, we have some history."

"And I plan on hearing the whole story before I leave. I'm here til Wednesday."

"Who's watching the bars while you're gone? You're taking good care of them, right?"

He laughed. "Yes, I'm taking great care of them. Carl's watching RnR and I hired a girl to manage The Dive for me." I narrowed my eyes and he held up his hands to ward me off. "Relax! She moved back to Detroit from Chicago, she'd been managing a dance club out there for the past five years. I figure if she can handle The Dive for a while, I'll make her assistant manager at RnR in a few months."

I calmed down and hugged him again. "Don't get too comfy. I want to come back someday."

He looked down at his shoes and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah well, about that."

"What?" A cold lump formed in my stomach. "Ricky, what happened?"

"Look, before I say anything else I want you to know that I fought for you tooth and nail, ok?" I nodded and he took a deep breath. "Well, after you…left…they tried to seize all of your holdings. Since you'd already been declared dead, they had to honor your will that left me everything, even though you'd been seen alive by a lot of people. So, they tried to revoke the liquor licenses, but they couldn't since everything was in my name now. I had a rough spot for a little while, all that stupid 'mutie lover' crap, but I hired some extra security and it died down. Anyway, I don't think it'll be safe for you to come back til after everyone's dead."

"Great." I said, resigned. Story of my life. "Oh well, I guess it's for the best. Maybe I'll just open a club around here somewhere."

"Looks like you have a way better gig than that. Logan told me a little of what you all do. I think it's great, actually. My ex-boss is a superhero, how cool is that?"

"I'm no hero, much less a super one."

"Sure. If it makes you feel better to believe that, you go right ahead. But I knew you were a mutant way before you hired me and I never cared. Hell, I feel a lot better knowing you're out here, keeping the world safe. I know you, you're stubborn and tough and you won't take any shit from anyone. The bad guys should just give up now while they have a chance."

I smiled a little. "You always did know how to cheer me up." I hugged him again. "It's good to see you, though. Go enjoy yourself, I'll be right back."

He made his way through the kids to Logan and I smiled. I now had all my favorite guys in one building, even if one was only there temporarily. I'd missed Ricky more than I'd ever let on to anyone and email just wasn't the same. I gave a contented sigh and left the Danger Room.

I made my way down to the locker room to look at my new uniform hanging up in the row next to the others. I still didn't feel much like a superhero. I probably never would. I knew where I came from, the things I'd done, things I'd never even told Logan about, though I'm sure that Charles knew. How could he not, when we'd spent the last few weeks breaking down the telepathic compulsions Stryker'd given me? Of course, our last few sessions had proven pointless, since the Professor said he couldn't find anything else in there to take out. I was confident enough to know that if he couldn't find something, it simply wasn't there. So I was essentially "cured" of that bit of trouble, which made me very happy indeed. So why wasn't I happy now?

I sat down on a bench and continued my scrutiny of the uniform. It was a beautiful piece of work, from the toeless tabi all the way to the decorative piping around the collar. But it also came with a huge responsibility, not just to the Professor or the students or even the other X-Men. No, this was a responsibility to do what's right for people everywhere, not just mutants. I know Charles trusted me to not kill indiscriminately, but would anyone else in the world know the difference? Or would they just see another "dangerous mutant" and try to put me away? Even worse, would they try to capture me to experiment on again, or try to turn me back into that perfect killer?

I was still turning these thoughts over in my head when I heard someone enter the locker room behind me. I looked in the glass front of the locker and saw Totem standing there.

"Am I disturbing you?" He asked, not moving from the doorway.

"No, you're not. I'm just thinking." I gestured for him to come closer and he crossed over and took the seat next to me. I didn't say anything right away, too wrapped up in staring at my uniform. After a few minutes, he shifted a little and cleared his throat. I looked over and he was staring at me with a curious expression on his face. "Something on your mind?"

"I saw you leave your party and when you didn't come back I wanted to find you." He said. "There was something I wanted to know."

"Hm, what's that?"

"You and Logan come from the same place I do, yes?" I nodded. "Have you ever wondered why he did the things he did to us in there?"

"He wanted perfect weapons, so he made us. He was insane."

"I know that part. But did you know there were many others like us that he didn't change? After you left, he found so many others, people who could heal like we do or were like animals."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, I didn't know that. But Buzz is still working on those hard drives, decoding them."

"You won't find them in there. Some of those people could not be changed, could not be made to kill. So he killed them and since they were like us, it took a very long time." He swallowed and turned away. "Did we make it through because we always wanted to kill?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking me."

"I do not remember killing anyone before I was taken to Alkali Lake. I had only been taken on a few missions before he started training me to hunt for you, but I had to kill people for him and it didn't bother me to do it. So was I always like this or did he make me like this?"

"Kyrohyou, I don't know. We haven't found all of your files yet, so I don't know what's in them. I can't tell you what Logan was like before because we just don't know." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "I can tell you that Alkali Lake wasn't the first time I'd killed people. It was just the first time I did it because I wanted to." I turned to look at him and he was staring at me. "I've been around a long time, a hundred and five years today. There's been times I did what I had to do to survive. So yeah, my 'fight or flight' response has always been more fight and less flight, but I never took a life unless it was necessary. Stryker just made me like it."

"Do you think I will ever be a hero like you and Logan?"

I gave a bitter laugh. "Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not a hero and I'm sure Logan doesn't feel like one either."

"Anyone who can break away from evil like William Stryker and still have enough of their honor left to fight for what is right is hero. You and Logan are the most honorable people I have ever known. I can only hope to one day be worthy of standing by your sides. You do not think of yourself as a hero, that is what makes you one. You do not TRY to be a hero, you just are." He stood up and bowed to me before leaving me alone again in the locker room. It was the first time we'd been alone together since the day he kissed me and I realized that I still had very strong feelings for him, just not the same ones as before. I had tremendous respect for him, for having the courage to overcome what had been done to him and the strength to ask for help in doing so. But I also felt an odd kinship for him. In a way, he was a brother, simply because he'd come from the same place that I had. If I thought about it hard enough, Logan should have been in the same category, but a slight case of being in love with him made the thought a little too icky to dwell on for too long. Like it or not, the three of us were family in a really twisted way.

I considered my uniform again, this time with new eyes. Logan told me the children thought of us as heroes and their reasons why. Ricky called me a hero. And now I had Totem calling me a hero. I shook my head and stood up. Maybe it didn't matter if I felt like a hero or not. Maybe the important part was that other people believed I was and that was what mattered. Maybe I'll never know.

I made my way out of the locker room and ran into Logan in the hall. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek against his chest, just listening to his heartbeat and he kissed the top of my head. "You all right there darlin'?"

"Yeah, just needed to decompress for a bit." I looked up and smiled. "Do you ever get used to this whole 'hero' bit?"

"Nope, not even close. I ain't no hero, but if it makes them feel better who am I to argue? Besides, I look great in the uniform."

"Oh you are the most incorrigible!" I laughed and we rejoined the party.

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Around nine o'clock, Storm shooed all but the Beta and Delta team members and a few of the other older students to bed. Just before midnight they brought out the rest of my gifts, one of which didn't go over too well with Logan.

Jubilee came forward with a shit eating grin on her face and handed me a gift bag. "I made a promise to His Surliness over there in exchange for no more extra laps. But he didn't say I couldn't do this." She winked and I dug through several layers of tissue paper to find a black t-shirt buried at the bottom. When I shook it out, I started laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. I turned it around so everyone could see it. She'd had a picture of Logan from the shoulders up airbrushed to the front, wearing his ubiquitous white tank top and one hand raised with the claws out. Underneath was the word "Wolvelicious!" in white and silver graffiti style letters. Everyone laughed except Logan, who scowled at Jubilee.

"Lee, you are in for a world of hurt come Monday mornin'." He growled.

"Hey, you can't do that!" She protested. "Besides, I had this done two days before our bargain, so it's not like I could just take it back!"

"You can't argue that logic, lover." I said. "Besides, I love it. I'll wear it under my uniform."

"I'll get you both for this, mark my words." He said and we all laughed again.

Storm gifted me with some herbal bath products that were all natural and smelled of sandalwood. From Kurt I received a six-pack of a German microbrew I'd never heard of before, which seemed to cheer up Logan a little when I promised to share (one bottle counts as sharing, right?). Scott gave me some extra soft chamois cloths, "To keep that baby of yours looking sharp", he said. I secretly thought he hoped to butter me up enough to be allowed to touch her someday. Not a chance, but at least he was trying. Ricky brought me four cases of Waterloo Dark. I gave him a huge kiss for that; he sure knew the way to my heart!

Last, but not least, were my gifts from Sam. The first box I opened had a dozen small compartments and inside each one was one of the jade Buddhas I'd left behind in Detroit. I clapped my hands with joy and gave him a huge hug. I had just set the box aside when he produced another one. "This is the real gift, my friend. I hope you like it."

The box was really heavy and I had to have Logan set it on the table for me. I opened it carefully and my eyes widened at what I saw inside. I gestured to Sam to help me and he obliged, lifting the gift from the box and setting it on the table. It was a statue of Logan, about eighteen inches high carved out of marble. He was in uniform, claws out, one hand behind him and the other in front as though sweeping at an opponent. Everything about it was perfect, from the furrowed brow to the set of his shoulders and it gave the impression of being in motion. The best touch was the claws themselves, which were actually sharp and made of silvered glass. I was rendered speechless for the umpteenth time.

Sam just smiled. "I take it that means you like it?" He asked.

"Like it? Sam, it's perfect!" I hugged him again. "But, how? I mean, I know Logan would have never agreed to pose for something like this."

"Damn straight." Logan mumbled as he inspected the statue and we laughed.

"You are correct, he didn't pose for it. At least, he didn't know he did." I looked at him in confusion. "He and I did a Danger Room scenario not too long ago. At one point, he was standing in that exact pose, just after attacking someone." He smirked and tapped the side of his head. "Sometimes it's so good to have an eidetic memory."

Finally, it was time to call it a night. We said goodnight to everyone and Buzz ended the program in the Danger Room, morphing it back to its usual polished steel. Logan helped me carry my gifts back to our room and I collapsed across the bed once everything was put away. He stretched out next to me and stroked the back of my neck with his thumb. I all but purred and turned to him.

"Mm, I love you, did you know that?" I asked.

"I have a pretty good idea." He murmured. "Good birthday?"

"The best ever. Most women my age wouldn't have made it through half the day."

"Yeah well you're younger than me, so I guess it all works out in the end." I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes, not intending to fall asleep but I felt myself drifting off anyway. My last thought before sinking completely was of total contentment, something I'd not felt in a very long time. And it felt so very good.

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AN: Ok, not very exciting...but i promise, there's all kinds of wackiness about to ensue! Review this chapter, then read on!