The image Teva had in her head of what the Blackbird looked like wasn't terribly different from the reality, but it was a hell of a lot cooler than her imagination had made it. She'd seen her share of aircraft but nothing that looked like it packed serious heat, huge, black and sleek like some crouching predator. Scott noticed her admiring it as they came into the hangar and he grinned at her.

"It's a modified SR-71 Blackbird, the military doesn't use them anymore now that they're outdated."

"That's considered outdated?"

Scott chuckled. "Not the way we've retrofitted her." He was clearly proud of the aircraft, his hand running along it when they went up the back hatch. "She's got Shi'ar technology that puts her light years, literally, past anything the military's got."

Teva frowned as she followed him, and she could hear Logan still muttering behind her. She thought he was speaking Japanese, something she hadn't known he could do. "Shi'ar? I don't think I've ever heard of them."

"Aliens." A female voice from up ahead spoke. "Like, real aliens, just not the little green men kind."

"Kitty Pryde, when the hell did ya get back?" Logan asked, moving past Teva. Scott had moved aside and she could see a pretty brunette girl not much younger than her sitting at the controls. "Hadn't heard ya were comin' home."

The girl turned and smiled. "I'd wanted it to be a surprise, Logan. I guess it worked." She rose and gave him a big hug which he returned. "Didja miss me?"

"Like a hole in the head," he teased. Teva had seen the change in him when he'd seen the girl, the affection and ease that had come into him, and she knew she hadn't been mistaken in thinking he had that in him. He'd shown her some of that but this was clearly an old friendship. "Hey, c'mere and meet Teva."

Kitty gave her a raised eyebrow as she looked between her and Logan, saw the way Logan was holding a hand out towards her. Teva stepped forward and gave Kitty a little wave.

"Scott mentioned we had a new resident," Kitty said, holding out her hand.

Teva shook it and wondered at the feeling of protectiveness towards Logan she got from the girl. It actually made her take a step away from him, not quite sure what was going on. "Uh, yeah, I've been here a few months now." She heard Logan make an amused noise before he pulled her back towards him, putting his arm around her shoulders, and now both she and Kitty were giving him a weird look for the uncommon display of affection.

"You got the 'Bird prepped for flight, Kitty?" Scott asked, breaking up the awkward moment.

"Aye-aye, Captain. She's ready to go."

Scott and Kitty settled down at the controls and Logan led Teva to one of the jump chairs, showing her how to strap herself in. He took the one next to her and she swiveled to look at him, let herself be distracted momentarily watching him get situated.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked quietly, gesturing towards Kitty. "She does'nae look as if she likes me verrae much and then you go and do something out of character."

He was smirking at her though she could see a tightness around his eyes. "She's a stubborn kid an' if she gets it in her head I'm doin' somethin' stupid, she won't hesitate to call me on it."

Teva chewed on her lower lip a moment. "'Something stupid' meaning what, us? Is there an us?"

Logan frowned at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Figured that was obvious, darlin'. Wouldn't have said the things I did back in the rec room otherwise."

She frowned back at him. Her left hand moved nervously, habitually running chords through her head in a decades-old habit. "I also distinctly remember you telling me a couple months ago that you did'nae want to 'fuck up the balance' between us. I ken we've been getting closer but ..." She scrubbed her hand over her face. "This is completely the wrong place to be having this discussion." She felt her stomach dip and made a displeased sound.

Logan held his hand out to her and she took it. "Hang on, yer gonna feel sick a moment." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back through the nausea as the 'Bird hit cruising speed.

"Jesus Christ, that's awful." She shuddered and let go of him. "Never cared much for flying and I'm glad I've no had that experience before."

"I hate it, too. Even alien tech doesn't quite make it go away." He tapped a finger against her chair. "'Bout what ya said, we can leave it 'til we get back."

She looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "Why do I get the feeling it'll be you hunting me down to finish it instead of the other way around?"

He just bared his teeth at her and left her alone.

Teva swung her chair back to face the front, crossing her arms over her stomach because she was still feeling queasy. Even if they weren't going to talk about it now, she could definitely think about what was going on with Logan and how much it confused her. She still felt awful for establishing the mind link, shaky as it was, because it hadn't been something she'd asked about beforehand. She wanted to blame the whole situation on him because dammit he'd scrambled her brains and her body, managed to drag her heart into it too even after he'd said he was looking to keep things status quo. Some of it had been a little crush on her part, some kind of stupid hero worship she didn't understand, but she'd been fully prepared to just let the whole thing go once he'd made the line in the sand and said 'do not cross this.'

How the bloody hell was she supposed to take it, then, when he kissed her outside the diner, and then again after? She'd expected that they were going to end up on the floor of her bedroom the way they were going at it, she'd been a little afraid of the look he'd been giving her and what it meant, not just a coupling but a taking, a mating. The thought of giving in to that, of becoming his, sent need straight between her legs and she had to shift. She didn't dare look over at Logan because she knew she had his attention, wondering what she was thinking that made her smell like that.

And that was another thing she was a little freaked out by, the knowledge he could read her just as surely as she could read him. She didn't have any deep dark secrets the way he seemed to but that didn't mean she liked being an open book. She could tell him she wasn't interested and her body would give away the lie. She hated that because she wasn't the type for casual despite the life she'd led for the past six years. Sex meant more to her than two people scratching a mutual itch or whatever it was for people who did that sort of thing on a casual basis. Being with Logan would mean a hell of a lot more to her.

So what, were they a couple now? Were they dating? They hung out on a pretty regular basis, watching TV either upstairs with some of the kids or downstairs with some of the other adults, she'd played poker with him and some of his friends. They'd spent time alone, too, just not intentionally, enough for her to realize she'd fallen flat on her face for him. And now he was showing interest in more. Her stomach did a flip-flop that was made more unpleasant by the nausea from flying so she closed her eyes and ran songs through her head, chords and music and words to try and keep her mind occupied.

It was Logan's hand on her shoulder that brought her back. "We're gonna take a look around, you can stay here if ya want."

Teva stared up at him a moment, debating, before she unhooked the straps holding her in and stood a little shakily. She could tell from the look on his face that he didn't really want her to come, felt from him that he was worried about her getting hurt. "I'll be fine, Logan. I'll just stick with you."

"That's how I'd prefer it." He started walking, holding something in his hand over his shoulder. "Put this on, it's a communicator."

She took the small silver device, turning it over in her hands a moment to get how it worked before she slipped the small hook over her ear and got it situated. It was surprisingly secure and now she could hear Scott talking, discussing how best to tackle the place. Kitty piped up, mentioning she had a full schematic of the place along with heat signatures showing that the building was barely occupied.

"What's going on?" Teva asked, following Logan off the jet into inky black night. The moon was a waning crescent and her eyes slowly adjusted but she still stumbled on things she couldn't see.

Logan caught her before she faceplanted, kept her close to him as he said, "This is one of the places Chuck wanted us to check out. We're gonna take a look around, see what there is to see, and then we're gonna leave." He squeezed her arm. "Keep on my heels, I can see better 'n you can, you'll be able to figure out where to step."

She nodded and he let her go. She followed him closely, literally stepping where he did to avoid the numerous tree roots that stuck up almost invisibly in the dark. She trusted his keen vision to get her through and it did, a clearing finally appearing and revealing a small building. "That's it?" she said, more to herself than anything else.

"Most of it's underground," Logan said quietly. "They always are, makes it less conspicuous." There was a growling undertone to his voice as he drew her down into a crouch beside him, pressing a finger against her lips to keep her quiet.

Two guards appeared out of the darkness, stepping into the pool of light just outside the building. She couldn't hear them though Logan seemed to be able to. She was paying too much attention to their movements and Scott talking in her ear, still discussing something with Kitty.

Blinding pain hit her and physically knocked her back as a voice slammed past her shields, frightened and panicky. ~Please help!~ said the voice, that of a young girl. ~Please don't leave us here.~

Logan appeared over her and she realized she was flat on her back staring up at him and the sky. He tapped a finger against his temple and it took her a moment to understand was telling her to speak telepathically rather than out loud, and then it took a few more moments for her to shake off the pain.

~There's a little girl in there, Logan. She's a telepath, she must have sensed me.~ Teva sat up with help from him. ~She said "Please don't leave us here" so I'm assuming there are others.~

~Fuckin' hell. Can you patch Scott and Kitty in?~

It was something she'd never done, something she'd never even thought about doing. Xavier had only worked with her on establishing one-on-one links. She tried to think of it like a conference call and reached out, seeking the minds of their companions. She felt their confusion, Scott catching on first, used to telepathic communication as he was, and he let Kitty know to let Teva in. Without their consent she'd never have gotten in.

~What's going on?~ Scott asked.

~Teva had a little girl contact her from inside. Sounds like there's more than one of 'em. How many bodies ya readin', Kitty?~ Logan asked.

~Twenty, mostly scattered. There are three very close together, all in one room, that must be the kids~ Kitty replied.

Teva felt a little ill between the link and the thought of little kids being trapped inside. ~We have to get them out. They ken that help is here, we cannae leave them.~ She eased back up into a sitting position.

Logan gripped her arm and squeezed. ~Ya ain't trained, Teva, not like we are.~

~And if ye go in there without me do ye think the kids will go with ye? She contacted me for a reason, Logan, she's expecting me to come for her.~

Kitty surprised Teva by sticking up for her. ~She's got a point, Logan. And after all, you remember when I first joined and stowed away on a mission? Wasn't I the one who saved all of you?~

Logan was growling, both in her head and out of it. ~Fine. How ya wanna handle this, Cyclops?~

It was the first time Teva had heard Scott's codename and she snickered to herself. ~Check your comm, Kitty transfered the schematic to you.~

Logan slipped a small device not unlike a cellphone out of his pocket, opened it and held it so Teva could see it, too. He scrolled through a couple screens showing four floors underground and various blinking lights that Teva assumed were the occupants of the facility, and indeed she could see the three huddled together on the second level.

~Wolverine, you take point going in. I'll take the rear, we'll keep the girls between us. No offense, Teva.~

~None taken. The most I can do at this point is give some of them a bad headache.~

~Any distraction is good. You and Logan can pick off the two outside while Shadowcat and I come around to join you. Everyone good?~

~What about once we get inside?~ Teva asked.

~Just keep close, use your powers if you need to, get your hands on a weapon if you can. Your job will be to help us with the kids.~