Mio stepped into the apartment, it wasn't much, but it had two bed rooms, one had a walk in closet and a door that lead to the small porch, and one had it's own bathroom. It had a small kitchen that doubled as a laundry room, a living room that also had a door to the porch, and a small dinning area with a dark wood table big enough for four people. Six if you really tried to squeeze them in.

Lovette immediately called dibs on the bedroom with the porch and walk in closet, leaving Mio with the master bedroom. Logan stayed for an hour or so, long enough to get them a map and point out corner stores, banks, parks, Lovette's daycare, and Mio's high school.

Mio didn't like going to school, but Logan said it was either that, or she got a job. She tried to play off mentoring Conner as a job, since she was getting paid for it, but all Logan said was, "Nice try, but no cigar." He then pointedly blew smoke from the cigar he had been chewing on into her face.

She took that opportunity to kick him out. She loved Logan, he was her family, but she couldn't stand his cigars, his beer, or his job.

Those were some of the reasons she had taken the Bat's offer so quickly, leaving the Xavier Institute in a heartbeat. Another reason was to away from Logan's shadow. Logan had always been protective of her, more so than he was Rogue, Kitty, or even Jubilee. Some might criticize and say it was because she was actually related to Logan, but Mio knew the truth.

It was because she was the only one he hadn't messed up with!

Not a lot of people knew that Logan had two other children, Laura Howlett (X-23) also known as his clone. Mio had met Laura once, and she had learned three things from her.

1) Never mess up and call her X-23. Never.

2) When you spar with her, watch her hands, and her feet.

3) Don't tell her a secret you've kept form Logan, she'll tell him.

That third one was one hard lesson, and Mio had felt very betrayed when Logan confronted her. Laura was the only girl she was related to that was still alive, and Mio had wanted to make a bit more of a bond with her than Logan because of that. So she had told Laura about a little ability that she had kept secret from nearly everyone she knew.

Laura had been concerned that she hadn't told Logan, even after Mio explained that she just wanted one thing in her life Logan didn't know about. Laura hadn't understood, and fearing Mio might be plotting against him (In their messed up joke of a family it wasn't that uncommon) she told Logan.

Logan had been really mad at Mio for lying to him, and it had taken months for Mio to gain his trust back. That was the way punishments worked with Logan, he didn't ground you, or spank you, or even take away your allowance. He dropped his respect, trust, or faith in you. To Mio, that was way worse than being grounded.

Mio didn't consider herself to be a person who sought after acceptance, but it hurt her to know that Logan, the only man she had ever gotten close to, lost his trust in her.

The other child Logan had was kept even more under wraps than Laura and Mio put together, and most of the people who know about him don't realize he's affiliated with Logan, let alone his son.

Mio shivered, remembering her very few meetings with that man, no, that monster. That's what he was, nothing but a monster.

Lovette shook Mio out of her thoughts, "Mio, I'm hungry, what's for dinner?"

Mio sighed, standing up from the couch slowly, "Since we just got here and I haven't had time to buy anything, I guess we're having take out."

Lovette smiled, she loved Japanese food, and with the map and a few phone calls, she was able to order quickly. Mio didn't get to talk in Japanese very often, so she tended to talk in Japanese when she ordered food, believe it or not, the people actually give you better service if it's a Japanese restaurant. Everyone's a little bit racist, not to the point of hate crimes, but still, everyone is a little bit.

AT MOUNT JUSTICE:

Artemis stared at Robin as they all sat down in the living room, "You're saying she's the daughter of the Wolverine?"

"Yep." Robin said, "She's the only person I like losing to."

"OK two questions." Wally piped up.

"Good Lord, here we go again." Artemis sighed.

"One, since when does Wolverine have a daughter? Two, how did you meet her? A surprise third, why do you actually like losing to her?" Wally asked.

"OK." Robin said, using his wrist computer and pulling up a file, "She's fifteen years old, gonna be sixteen fairly soon, so he's had a daughter for fifteen years, but he's really only known about her for about… three I think."

"Why?" Megan spoke up, looking worried.

Robin looked up at her, "I don't know. Maybe it was a one night thing, maybe there was a freak accident, maybe she's really a clone."

Conner perked up at that, "A clone?"

"Why not?" Robin asked, "He's already got one clone, he might have another."

"Wait so… Mio has a sister?" Wally asked.

"Other than the carrot top toddler, yes." Robin said, "But I'm not telling you guys more about that, it's personal, and Mio's my friend."

They all looked like they wanted to ask more, but didn't. "Ok moving on, I met her on a recon mission with Batman and Wolverine. Wolverine brought along a thirteen year old terror who wasn't affected by Batman's worst glare, that sure caught my attention. We got paired together for a few small assignments after that, mostly I think cause Wolverine was trying to get her a social life."

Robin stopped, and they all looked at him, begging him to continue. "She didn't like to talk much, but eventually I got her talking. Those claws of hers, made by an indestructible metal called adamantium." Robin looked up at Superboy, "That's how she actually cut you."

Superboy looked at the scratch on his shoulder, now bandaged up thanks to Red Tornado. He glared down at the floor, it was an embarrassment, a pathetically short girl had taken him down with ease. In front of Superman! His thoughts drifted to her, she had actually mouthed of to Superman, and wasn't even scared. Conner shrugged to himself, guess she was like Artemis, but even Artemis didn't mouth off to certain people. Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, and several other people, Artemis check her mouth around. Not this girl.

She seemed to have no morals at all. When she had her claws at his throat, he had seen a look in her eye that had made him want to scream, to scream and cry and just get away from her!

Conner had never seen that look before, but he could only associate it with the look of a deadly wolf, behind bars. A look that said it can't get to you now, but if it could, it would be picking pieces of you out of his teeth in a matter of minutes. A look that made Conner wonder if the girl was even human.

"And thirdly I like losing to her because it is awesome to really watch her fight." Robin finished.

"Wait, you mean… she was holding back?" Kaldur asked.

"Yeah." Robin said, "I've seen what she can do, what she can really do. If she hadn't of held back, Conner would have been dead with the second punch she swung, maybe even the first."

Conner's fists tightened, she had gone easy on him! If she was going to walk in and beat him black and blue in front of Superman, in front of his team, the least she could have done was honor him with a real fight! She had been toying with him! He was nothing more than a toy that had intrigued her. Despite his rage, Conner had to wonder, 'what's going to happen to me when she eventually get's bored?'

AT A NEARBY RESTAURANT:

Me and Lovette walked a few blocks to get to the restaurant and pick up our order, Pork Lo Mien for me with is noodles cooked in pork sauce with pieces of pork in it with some vegetables, and Lovette come herself hayashi rice, which is thick beef stew on top of rice.

Lovette insisted on carrying the small bag of rice cakes home herself, since I was carrying a plastic bag filled with our food. The rice cakes same as an extra, and Lovette loved to eat hers with duck sauce. I preferred mine with soy sauce, I didn't really like sweet things, and duck sauce was sweet.

So, we ate our first meal at the apartment, and after dinner it was time for Lovette's Japanese lesson. Ever since me and her have been together I've been better at speaking Japanese than English, and it was stressful at the beginning when I could only ask a few questions in English and say one thing.

Excuse me, have you seen this person?

Where's the bathroom?

Where can I find food?

I don't know where I am, do you know where I can stay the night?

Stop!

And the one I used most often: Stay still, and die with honor, weakling.

I shook my head, I didn't like thinking about what I used to do before I met Logan, it gave me nightmares sometimes. Lovette looked up at me, "Mio wa, watashi wa watashi no ressun no tame no junbi ga dekite iru." Mio, I am ready for my lesson.

I nodded, "Say: Some one, please help me!" That was the first thing I had taught her to say.

"Darekaga, watashi o tasuketekudasai!" She said.

I nodded, and we went over what she had already learned for awhile. "OK, here's your new sentence: Battoman wa, no kauru ga magatteimasu."

She repeated it, and then asked me, "What doe sit mean?"

"Batman, your cowl is crooked." I translated.

"Was his cowl crooked?" She asked.

"Nope, you can say that just to annoy him from time to time." I said.

"Give me one for Superman!" She asked.

I shrugged, "Fine, Sūpāman, mite! Sore wa, kuriputonaitoda!"

She repeated it quickly, "What does that mean?"

"Superman, look! It's Kryptonite!" I said.

"Cool." She said, smiling. After that, Lovette wanted a story, one with a princess in it.

Mio had grown up in Japan, hearing Japanese folk tales with the occasional Chinese one mixed in. She knew nothing about Cinderella, or Snow White until she met Lovette. Frankly, it disgusted her. Mulan was pretty much the only Disney movie or book she could stomach, because the girl could actually stand up for herself. In Mio's opinion, Disney was sexist.

So, Mio told Lovette stories she had heard growing up whenever she wanted to hear one. She had told her three on the car ride over here, and she was sick of telling them. One look into Lovette's big green eyes made her change her mind immediately.

"OK." Mio began, "How about the one about the two bowls floating in the ocean?"

"Boring." Lovette said.

"The two frogs climbing the mountain?"

"You told me that one in the car." Lovette pouted, "And none of those stories have princesses." Curse Logan for not packing Mulan for her to watch!

Mio sighed, "OK, how about a story my Mom used to tell me? About a dragon, a warrior, and a princess?"

"Oh! What's a dragon?" She asked.

"A huge lizard, bigger than these trees, who can breath fire, and control the weather. Dragons live to be hundreds of years old, so they are the wisest creatures alive. They are one of the many animals who can contact the spirit world." I told her.

"Ok, what color are they?"

"... uh... well, there's no set color, one might be blue, another might be black, but the one in this story is red." I said.

"OH... why can't it be pink?" She asked, pouting.

"Because dragons aren't pink." I growled.

"Well, can this one be pink? Please?" she begged.

"No."

"Why not?" She whined.

"Because that isn't how the story goes, now shut up, listen to the story, and fall asleep." I growled. She shut up.

"In a far away land, there was a young boy, named Mio, who owned next to nothing, except his sword, and his love for his country. He wanted to go to war as a soldier, but he was to young. So he stayed in his home, and watched helplessly as the real soldiers failed to protect his beloved country, and a powerful emperor took over the land." I said.

"Mio is your name too." Lovette pointed out, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Mio glanced at the clock, it was 9:07, and Lovette was normally in bed by 8:30.

"Yes." I answered calmly, "My Mother named me Mio because she wanted me to be as strong as him." I cleared my throat and continued with the story, "After years of watching all the suffering the emperor put his country through, Mio had had enough. He was now a full grown man, and he felt it was hid duty to save his country from any more suffering."

Lovette yawned again, and laid down on the couch, resting her head on Mio's thigh. "What's suffering?"

"Pain." I answered, "Like being hungry, or having a paper cut." That was the only way she knew how to explain it to the small girl.

"So he took his sword, and carried it up to the highest mountain in Japan, and then knelt outside of a cave that the ancient dragon of Yamatai lived in. The dragon came out, and asked him why he came to his domain uninvited. Mio begged for forgiveness, and told the dragon all the suffering going on in his land. He then unsheathed his sword, and held it out to the dragon, and begged the dragon to teach him the secrets of the sword." Mio said, and then scooped up the tired little toddler, taking her into her room and laying her down on her small twin bed.

Lovette yawned, and curled up, pulling up the covers to her chin. Mio took the small blue teddy bear from Lovette's back pack, and placed it beside the girl, who immediately wrapped her arms around it.

"After learning all he could from the dragon, Mio went back to his country, and then took out the entire army of the evil emperor by himself, and then killed the emperor. Years later, when Mio had become the emperor of the country he still loved, the dragon came to the palace, and demanded the heart of the princess as payment for teaching Mio to fight. Mio could not refuse, he had to be honorable, and pay his dept. So he grabbed his sword, and cut out his own heart, and gave it to the dragon, saying 'Here, the princes is in my heart' and then he died."

She was silent for awhile, then asked, "Did he come back to life?"

"No." I said "He died, that's the end of the story."

"That's not a very nice story, I don't think I like it very much." She said.

"I don't care if you like it or not, that's how the story goes." I grumbled.

"What happened the his country?" She asked.

"... I... I don't know." I said, hesitantly, "I guess they got a new emperor, and they just... kept on existing."

Lovette closed her eyes, "But weren't they sad?"

"Yes, but that's life, bad things happen, and you have to move on." I said, shrugging.

"What about the princes?""I supposed she grew up and got married."

"What about the dragon?"

"Probably took his heart and brought it back to his mountain and ate it or something." I said. She opened her eyes, looking pail, so I sighed, and said, "Just go to sleep Lovette."

Lovette soon fell asleep, and I walked back out into the living room, remembering when my mother used to tell me that story.

"But why didn't he just kill the dragon?" I asked mommy as she stood up from my bedside.

"Because, that would not have been honorable." She said, blowing out the candle on my nightstand.

"But he would have lived." I pointed out.

"People were different back then." Mommy said, smiling at me.

"If that happened to me, should I have cut out my heart?" I asked in a whisper.

"Of course not baby." Mommy said, kissing my forehead, "If that ever happens to you, you better fight with all you have, and never give up."

I smiled, and then pulled the blankets closer to me. "Yes Mommy."

I shook my head, I had taken all of it for granted back then, didn't know what I had until it was taken from me. All I had ever had, all I had ever known was my mother. I had grown up in a small village in Japan, and everyone there had hated me for two reasons, I had no father, and I was only three fourths Japanese. School had been a nightmare for me, every kid there wanted to tease me, bully me, or physically abuse me.

I had gotten into fights all the time, some they started, some I did.

Before I had gotten my healing factor, I had come home with bruises, cuts, and scabs. Mother had always bandaged them carefully, and as soon as she was done, she would kiss my forehead, and wipe away my tears, "Mio, you're brave, beautiful, and strong, so dry those eyes, and hold your head up high. Don't you ever let anyone defy the fighter inside you. Don't listen when they call you bad things, love yourself and who you are always. If anyone stands against you, give them hell."

Most parents would frown a the idea of cursing around their child, but my mother was different. She had never said anything bad, the only time she ever cursed really was when she told me that. She said that every time I got hurt, or I felt like the world was against me, that I couldn't keep fighting.

I sighed, laying down on my bed. I used to cry when I thought of my mother, but now I didn't. I had cried over he so many time when I was younger, I suppose I was used to her being dead by now. I sighed, rolling over and pulling the blankets over my head. If my mother saw me now, saw what I had become, she would cry her eyes out, wondering how the child she gave so much love to had turned into this.