A/N: I am back, and all of my fics will be updated infrequently, which is basically when conditioning hasn't worn me out to the point I'm biting heads off just to stay awake. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to pop a review!

Alex is gentle with me as he lays me out in a motel room. I can walk for sure, but he seems a bit paranoid now that Amara and Shiro have been taken again. I guess he doesn't want me to get up for fear of me getting hurt again. I can't even remember the last time I got hurt. Plus, he's a bit protective like that sometimes. I sit up as he turns his back. "I got your bag, but I left your cell phone on accident. I'm going to get another for now."

"Hey, hey, wait up." I grab the motel provided, crappy, POS landline and dial a number. "Hey, where are you?"

A guy I know for technical things, such as debugging anything and everything, answers. "I'm in New Mexico with my kid. Wouldn't be possible if not for you, sweetheart." I smile, remembering the little girl I picked up from the M.R.D. place when I was caught once. Once. It was only one time. I haven't been caught since then, thank you. Okay, shut up. Maybe I got a little drunk too...

"New Mexico? Awesome, Laurent. I need you to do me a favor, man."

"I owe you a lot," he says in reply. I sigh in relief. "C'mon, girl, you know I'd do anythin' for ya as long as you keep goin' in for my daughta."

I smile, making it pretty obvious on the phone. "Look, I got a friend I just freed from the middle of the ocean. Some group that isn't M.R.D. is rounding up some mutants. I managed to get three out, but the other two are probably back in if they aren't in M.R.D. possession. I gotta call Hack when I'm done talking to you." I wait on him to answer.

"Alright. Tell 'im to meet me in Arizona, and give 'im some money for a disposable phone. I'm sure Hack can take care o' the rest. I'll pay ya back. See ya, Amaya." I hang up and dial Hack's number. It rings for a while before he answers.

"Yo."

"Heyy." I shift, wincing slightly as I do. "Hack, it's me." He laughs, relieved. "I need you to help out my buddy Alex. Make sure his phone can't be traced. I'll give him your number if you like."

"No problem. Hey, Amaya? Great to hear you're alive."

"Thanks, Hack." I hang up, and write down a few digits for Alex. I give him the paper, already knowing Hack is calling Logan and the others. He's awesome like that. As the door closes, I move again, wincing a bit, and close my eyes to go asleep. I have to say that it's the best sleep I've had in a long time.

Gambit's phone begins ringing soon after they find where her bike was lost. He answers. "Hack here. I found her. She's holed up somewhere. Alex left her and she's calling in another favor to get a tracker off him."

"Thank you," Gambit says. "If you don't mind sending Gambit the location, he'll get her in good hands. He has someone here who can help her if need be." His phone beeps a second later. "Thanks, Hack. Gambit'll call you about her later." He hangs up and whistles. "Gambit's got her!" Everyone comes in quickly, and he holds it in front of him in the middle of everyone.

It takes only three hours to find her, and when they do, she's asleep. It takes only one touch from Storm Shadow for her to jump, a yelp leaving her mouth. Night Rain is breathing hard after that, sitting up with a bit of trouble. She's never looked bad to her four mutant friends, but they can't even get the words out of their mouths about how they feel seeing her like this.

I rotate my shoulder, stiff and sore all over the place. I take in the stares of her friends. "Now, you can be mad all you want, but I think you should yell at me the next time I'm unconscious. I'm still exhausted, so don't think it'll be very long before it happens again." Logan seems a bit mad, and Rogue and Kitty are a bit horrified. "Guys, c'mon. I'm tough. I'm going to be fine. We just the official stamp to prove it."

Scarlett asks me to lay down again, which I would normally do willingly. It hurts to breath, forget actually moving around. But I do lie down, giving her free mobility to check over my well being. "Her torso will be fine so long as it isn't infected, as will her shoulder. It'll take me a while to stitch her up, but after that we can leave." I sigh. "You're lucky. It seems almost like you should be dead."

"Probably should be," I say, then look at Gambit. "Hey, Gambit, do you have a phone I can use. I need to check in with Hack before we continue on this big hoo ha. He might have some other places for me to check out." Gambit is a bit unsure, but Logan tosses me a phone anyway. I dial the digits quickly, listening to it ring before his voice is easily heard.

"Hey, Night. Missed you, girl."

"I missed you too." I cough. "Got anymore locations on my buddies?" There's an odd sound in the background. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Take it as a re-rescue mission and a possibility for another mission. Your friends are going to be transported tomorrow to the national airport in Orlando, Florida, and I have a hit in Brazil," he answers. "Your pal, Havok, should be back by tomorrow, so if you need to rest, wait around for him. You've got a bigger team now, so you can afford the time."

"Who's in Brazil?" I ask, ignoring the idea and the pain in my torso.

"A Mister Scott Summers and a Mister Kurt Wagner."

"Thanks, Hack. I'll get back to you."

"Great to have you back. Tell you ninjas who you are. I think they're getting suspicious." He hangs up, and I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. I feel the bed shift, and Kitty lays down next to me, her head resting on my shoulder as Rogue holds my hand in her gloved one. I smile, trying not to focus on the pain as I remember what it's like to have a family.

"Gambit, Logan, start going to Orlando. Shiro and Amara are going to be there. Gambit, make sure no body gets close to Logan. Logan, get them out of there before the MRD shows their ugly faces. Got it?" They nod, leaving out the door. "Storm Shadow, I want you to be on the lookout for Alex Summers. News, internet, anything you can get your hands on. Hack can't be preoccupied with that too or we might not get everyone." He obeys. "You two, check for our emergency broadcast in case someone pops up."

Kitty and Rogue groan before getting up. Scarlett taps my shoulder for me to sit up so she can get my shoulder. "You know what you're doing," Scarlett notes.

I shrug, biting my lip at the pain. "I was the leader once, back when we were in middle school and in high school. I couldn't control them as well as Scott, so he got the privilege. That's what he likes to say anyway. Truth is, I didn't want to stay after the incident, so I tried to get kicked out."

"Did you?"

"Hell no. I left when the kid joined the team."

"What's his name?"

I'm silent for a long while. "His name is Eric Gitter, though he prefers Ink. Last I checked, he isn't interested in talking to or about me, not that it bothers me." I wait for her a moment, wanting to hear her judgement. "I never thought I'd be a dangerous mutant. As a kid, I was so calm, even under pressure. Jean hated me, so she would play pranks and such. Never once did I get mad at her. Imagine knowing that, and all it takes is a kid just coming into his powers to make you explode."

"Not everyone can be perfect."

"You're afraid," I say, having heard the quiver in her voice. "You're afraid of me now."

She doesn't answer for a long time, almost as long as I. "I think I'm afraid of you because you're afraid of yourself. I think it's what drives nearly everyone forward when they see a new mutant-"

"You act as if it's an illness. Yes, they made a cure, but it doesn't work like that. They're changing our DNA, the structure of our being. There are no new mutants. We're born like this. It just takes us some time to realize it, just as it takes times for puberty to fuck up your sheets."

She laugh. "That is the weirdest analogy I've ever heard of, but I find myself agreeing. Being a mutant is like puberty." I smile then, funding my own joke hilarious after knowing what I said. "So, we have Rogue, otherwise known as Anna Marie, Shadowcat, Kitty, Gambit, Remy, Wolverine, Logan, and then you. What's your real name?"

I take a moment, looking at Storm Shadow. "I would tell you, but you can't keep a secret like this. I'll tell the truth, eventually." I settle again, listening to the side breathing of the redhead as she patches me up again. "Look, I'm going to sleep. I'm utterly exhausted, and I'll heal faster so I can get back out there. Don't wake me up, and tell the other too."

"Aren't you going to save your friends?" Scarlett asks, a bit confused.

"The Prof wanted me as leader for a very important reason," I reply. "I know when to fight. I know when to gather our strength and wait it out. It isn't like I'll be fine for a super long time. Just long enough that I can recover from power usage and this. Tell Logan to listen to Gambit on the Brazil mission."

Scarlett nods. "Anything else?" I'm thankful for her doing this. I know plenty of people who would rather stab a knife in their back than actually help them, or actually relay this message for me.

I sigh, using my uninjured hand to run my face. "Tell the girls not to be at it too long and to get a holographic projector from a buddy of mine. Tell Alex not to worry, and that if I wake up and he's beside me, I will kill him. Our name him run until he wishes he was dead." I think for a moment. "Tell Logan to listen Gambit. Tell Gambit not to wake me up. And tell Logan to listen to Gambit."

"Three times?" Scarlett asks to confirm.

"He won't listen if you don't," I reply, looking at Storm Shadow. "Ask Snake if he remembers a little girl he grew up with too, if you don't mind. Tell him I knew her. Tell him... She died young, but she died valiantly." Then sleep washes over me one again, a tidal wave dragging me under.

Storm Shadow glances over at her last words. He blinks, processing her words over and over again. Scarlett keeps her gaze locked on to him. "Amaya..." He mumbles. "Amaya died?"

"Who was she?" Scarlett asks.

"Amaya was a mutant," he answers. "I do not remember what her mutation was, just that I found it extraordinary. She would make shows for Snake Eyes and I, only allowing us to see it when we were alone. She disappeared one day, and neither Snake Eyes out myself got the courage to ask where she went."

Then he turns back to his phone, keeping up with this boy named Alex Summers.