A dark figure sat in a nearly vacant bar, a collection of eighteen empty shot glasses and about thirty empty bear bottles strewn around him. Despite the obvious amount of alcohol he must have drank, he looked to be sober. He threw back another shot, not really caring his tab was rising by the nanosecond. All he really cared about was figuring out where he daughter's backbone had come from.

"Stop making excuses, you bastard!"

Little punk, thinking she could talk to him like that. Part of him was proud that he somehow managed to turn the little cowering ball of tears and running away into someone with that kind of spunk. A tiny part buried deep down by years of being manipulated by Romulus was proud of Mio for being able to go that distance. She had his blood running through her veins, and that made her able to do it, but her own constitution and will made her want to do it.

Daken had never had a fatherly feeling towards Mio. Not that he could think of. Well, maybe he did, but he couldn't be sure. He wasn't sure what it felt like to be a father. He never went through the traditional pace of being there when she was born, staying up all night to get her to go to sleep, or helping her with homework.

He hadn't even met her until she was four years old. By then she was already showing traits of him. Ear shape, eye color, hair color, even the way her hair grew was just like his. Apart from his being a natural mohawk that is. The direction it grew, nearly straight up, was just like his.

Daken watched form a few feet away as Wild Child made his presence known to the girl. "Well, looks like the tiny ninja's tale ends here."

She stood straighter, immediately dropping the fake battle stance she had during her playing. "Who are you?"

That's when he saw her face for the first time. The minute he saw the similarities, the genetics screaming at him, every instinct in him shouted at the same time. PROTECT YOUR CUB!

Maybe he didn't love her, but every parental instinct was there towards her. The only one allowed to hurt her was him, which was why he had destroyed her first relationship.

The men Daken hired to attack Mio in front of her boyfriend, Jake, as they left the movies. He used his pheromones to cover his scent as he watched from several buildings over.

The moment Mio sensed the attack, she moved to defend Jake. At first she simply used her bare hands to try and stun the men so she could flee with Jake. But once they broke out their swords and throwing knives, she had no choice.

She popped her claws, and attacked the men in a fury that made his instincts nudge him at his core. She was his cub, part of his pack, and she was an admirable fighter.

As the men lay dying at her feet, she turned to look at Jake, as he stood there, eyes wide, heart racing and fear dripping out of every pore. He was pathetic, and he was ashamed Mio had ever chosen a boy like him.

Jake took a step back, "You're… you're a mutant!?"

Mio swallowed twice before responding, "Yes… but I'm not some crazy terrorist Jake, I-"

He didn't let her finish, he shoved her away, "Stay away from me, freak!"

"But-"

"You're lucky I don't set the cops on you, you monster!" And with that he ran away.

For a moment, Daken considered killing the boy, because he could smell the hurt and pain on his cub's scent clearly. Someone had hurt his cub, and he should make sure it never happened again.

Daken threw back another shot. He didn't regret breaking up that relationship, even though Mio never found out who it was.

An eight year old Mio beamed up at him as she showed him how her mother taught her to fight with her new sword. She idolized him in every way. To her, he was God.

The hell happened? He had her, under his thumb! It made him wish he never agreed to have her memory swiped. At the time, it was all he could do. But now he wished there had been another way. A way to keep his perfect soldier.

He had one, several chances, to be able to manipulate her back into his weapon. But she had grown to strong by the next time he found her. She knew how pheromones worked, and any attempt he would have made towards manipulating her, would have been met with a full on brawl from her part.

So he had tried to go about it the old fashioned way, and tried to fake his way into being her father figure. He had trained her on the Dark Avengers, and for a time she had started to see him like that.

But then Lester just had to ruin it, be to loud, and Mio went crazy.

He had taken it when she screamed at him for him never being there, not saying a word. And he had come to a decision right then and there.

His instincts had been screaming at him to comfort her, to protect his pack. But he had a different solution. If he couldn't turn her into his perfect soldier again… then he would unleash her upon the world as a plague.

He hurt her every chance he got, even snuck into her ridiculous school, and gutted her in front of her peers. He had smelled the fear coming off of them, but also the grudging sense of satisfaction. They hated Mio… they liked seeing her get what they thought was coming to her. He had nearly snapped then and there, and lash out at the children.

How dare they think of themselves as his cub's superiors? She was better than all of them. They weren't fit to breath the same air as her. She was stronger than them all, faster, smarter. And if they thought for one second that they were superior to her in any way, they were sorely mistaken.

Daken finally stood up, tossed his credit card carelessly down on the table, mumbling the code to the bartender, and left the bar.

WITH MIO:

I grinned at the photo, "Huh, a girl? That's irony in it's best form."

Connor smiled at the photo, "Fifty bucks says that she'll be blonde."

My grin got even bigger, "You're on. I say she's gonna have black hair, just like her favorite sister! Japanese genetics are not recessive."

The doctor nodded, wiping the goop off of Donna's belly, "She looks good. We'll have the tests done to see if she has down syndrome, or if she might be autistic."

Donna nodded, "Thank you."

Connor couldn't stop staring at the picture. "Hey, Mio?"

"Hmm?"

"You ever think about having kids?"

…

Donna stared at the two of us as I felt my eyes get wider and wider.

"… We haven't even had sex yet Connor…" I managed to mumble.

Connor grinned sheepishly, "I know… it was just an offhanded thought really. I guess I've been watching that sixteen and pregnant show to much."

"You watch that garbage!?" I hissed.

"No, Megan turns it on." Connor explained. "And there's only one TV, so I just go along with it."

"Well I'm not getting pregnant at sixteen Connor!"

"What about seventeen?"

"If you get me pregnant before I turn twenty-one, Logan will remove your manhood, and I'll let him!" I threatened.

Connor stopped talking.

LATER THAT NIGHT:

Connor walked in the door, holding three separate bags of beef jerky, "They didn't have Pepper Jack, so I got Teriyaki, Nacho, and Sizzling Sweet."

Donna groaned, "I guess they'll have to do."

This is one of the reasons I never wanted to get pregnant. Weird cravings.

Donna dug into her teeth aching meal, and I turned the channel to a UFC fight. James Hammortree? He looked pretty tough.

Connor settled down next to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me to sit in his lap and lay back against his chest. I felt his lips on my neck, kissing my gently as his thumbs traced little circles on my hips. "I love you."

I smiled at his statement, over the past few weeks it had gotten easier and easier to fall into these little moments. When Donna didn't need help, my instincts weren't shouting Kill everyone!, and most of all, Connor was in his puppy mode.

I let out a happy little sigh, running my fingers over his jean covered thigh. "I love you too."

Connor's little kisses trailed from my neck to my ear, where he gave it a soft little nibble than made me let out a groan. "Do you like that, baby?"

The doorbell rang before I could answer. I got up, despite Connor's protests, and opened the door a crack. I instantly wished I hadn't. Shit.

He glared at me, "Did you think I wouldn't come?"

"I kind of wish you hadn't so soon." I managed to mumble.

I looked back over my shoulder at Connor and Donna. Connor slowly stood up, recognizing the voice. He moved in front of Donna, silently asking me whether or not he should fly her out the window to avoid this man's wrath.

I shook my head, "I'm just gonna talk to him."

I opened the door wider, just enough for me to step outside, and shut it quietly behind me. "I can't let you."

He crossed his arms at me, "I'd like to see you stop me."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Look…. Logan, this isn't something that's up to me. It's Donna's baby, and she didn't feel right about asking you for help."

Logan sighed, "Mio, I trusted you. When you said it wasn't anything for me to worry myself with, I believed you. You have no idea how disappointed I am in you."

"Don't pull that shit with me Logan!" I snapped, "Donna came to me instead of you because that's what she wanted. I wanted to tell you more than anything Logan but…"

"But what?" He growled.

"… I don't wanna get beat up by a pregnant lady!" I hissed. "Donna is FBI, and she is insanely scary when she wants to be!"

He busted out laughing. "I… that's the best excuse I've ever heard! Haha!"

He turned to walk away, "Look, just keep me updated okay? And if it's okay with Donna, I'd like to be there when it's due time."

"I'll talk to her about it."