To my awesome reviewers: thank you thank you thank you! I am so pleased with your support. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to Soccer Bitch for reading through this. Also, this chapter has been replaced with an edited version and thanks to my Beta Reader, IcedBlaze!

Darcy held the shiny silver toy in her hands, turning it around and around with her tiny fingers. She loved to study the objects the men around her used. Wade would hold her on his lap as he showed her his Katanas, only letting her touch the handle rather than the sliver blade. Watching him practice with them was her favorite past time. To her, he was dancing to some unheard music. Jimmy had funny claws that came out of his skin. Darcy wasn't too fond of those, but she liked them better that Victor's claws. To be honest, Victor scared her with his frenzied killing. The screams of the people he hurt gave her nightmares and, more often than not, she made her way into Wade's bed to let him console her.

It was Agent Zero's toys that she fiddled with now. His were the hardest toys to touch. There was barely a time when they weren't living on his body and he simply refused to let her close to him. At the moment, he was out visiting the doctor, leaving Darcy a chance to get a closer look at the hypnotic objects in his room.

It was cold; she didn't like that very much. Wade's swords were always warm with use. There wasn't a time that he sheathed them for more than a few hours when he slept. He talked funnily in his sleep. She looked closer at the toy, bringing the hole close to her eye. The door banged open. Gasping, she looked at Zero guiltily. Fury tore at his features. Faster than lightening, he was at her side, snatching his toy away.

"YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT! YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO TOUCH MY GUNS!" He screamed at her loudly. Darcy couldn't understand why he was so mad. All she had wanted was to take little look. Tears bit at her eyes and her lip wobbled . Silently glaring at her, he pointed to the door. With a sob, she got up from the bed, tripped over her skirts and ran out the door.

Down the corridors she ran, passing Wraith and Bolt, both who started after her with concern. All she wanted now was to be with her Wade. He always made her feel better. Like a shot from a cannon, she barreled into his waist, almost knocking him clean off his feet. He stared down at her in concern before lifting her up into his arms. "What's wrong, my little interrogator?"

Sniffling, she glanced up at his warm baby browns. "Z-Zero yelled at me for looking at his toys." Blank incomprehension gave way to dawning understanding as he realized what 'toys' she meant. Walking though a doorway, Wade entered the Sitting Room before seating himself on a couch and arranging Darcy in his lap. "All I wanted was a look." he pulled her close and stroked her hair comfortingly before tilting her head up to him.

"You know how my toys are sharp and you only look at them with me around?" she nodded miserably. "Well, it's the same with Zero's toys. They can hurt you if handled the wrong way. You haven't had the chance to learn about them yet and when Zero found you playing with them, you scared him." Darcy blinked up at her idol.

"But why did he yell at me?" Wade let out a small laugh. Too many different comments flickered through his mind, none that he could repeat in front of his little darling.

"He doesn't handle his fear well, it makes him act like three wise men with thumb tacks up their arse." Darcy giggled at his words, her tears starting to dry.

"Hey, Bub, I don't think you should use that word in front of the little lady," Jimmy said from the doorway, giving the small girl a tender smile.

"But Jimmy," Darcy replied with a serious expression, "I'm not a lady, I'm a hero."

Chapter Two: Mission…

"Hey Bub."

Darcy turned around and smiled at the visitor. Lounging against the doorframe stood her friend, Logan. With a girly squeal, she launched herself into his arms, glad to be wearing jeans and a tank rather than her teaching outfit she had on before. His arms were like bands of hot steal around her.

"Logan," she murmured against his chest. He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. Black bags hung heavily on her pale face. Tired relief at seeing him reflected dully from her usually bright blue eyes.

"Nightmares again?" he asked gruffly, pulling her back into his chest.

His heart pounded steadily underneath her ear as she nodded mournfully. "Hank said he can't prescribe me any more pills, the ones he had me on were the strongest and all that did was make them worse. The professor suggested meditation and accepting the possibility that they are memories."

Logan was silent for a while. "And what do you think?"

"If they're memories, I'm not sure I want them. Last night I dreamed I was a little girl in this military base, playing with guns. Every dream has you and this other guy, Wade, in them. I think the mediation gave me something a little different for my nightly trauma." For the first time in over a week, Darcy could honestly say that she felt safe, that the eyes that watched her disappeared from the shadows. Her own hulking hero was home to chase away her demons.

"Here's what I want you to do, Bub. Go up to my room and have a snooze so I don't have to see those ugly bags that have no place under your eyes. I'll be up after talking to the professor." Nodding against his chest, Darcy wrinkled the slightly stained wife beater he wore.

Pulling away from her, Logan looked seriously into her eyes, his dark brown orbs reassuring and comforting. "We'll fix this. Now, what have you picked up recently?"

"The professor's telepathy, but I can't control it. Sometimes it's as easy as picking a blade of grass, the next moment like pulling water from a stone. I think I have to be in his presence for a while. I also picked up on Bobby's freezing ability." Darcy reported as they turned and walked down the hall towards the rooms. "I think I scared the kids when I touched a keyboard and the table froze." Logan let out a laugh as they came to a stop in front of a door. Opening it, he pushed her inside gently.

"Go and get some beauty sleep, you really need it," he teased. "I'm going to see the professor now."

**

"Professor Wheels," Logan said in greeting as he sat down in one of the luxurious chairs. Charles gave him an dry stare that told Logan that he didn't appreciate his humor. Xavier cleared his throat before speaking.

"Logan. I gather you have some news."

Wordlessly, Logan pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket. The paper was stained red with sprinkles of blood and dirt, creases and wrinkles everywhere over the print. Taking the paper, the professor smoothed it out, taking in the official looking letterhead and information printed on it. Logan waited patiently for the other man to finish his perusal, a humming tension vibrating through his taunt form.

"It's signed by Stryker and it has to do with Darcy. I couldn't understand the medical crap, but it looks really old."

"Where did you find it?" Charles asked curiously, his eyes never leaving the page.

"The night before I left. I remembered more about the base that I escaped from, mainly landmarks around it. I did a search and found an abandoned base. I couldn't get very far into it, there were blast doors in the way, but there were files everywhere. I found the one to do with Darcy and came back, hoping you'd be able to understand it a little more."

"Hmmm. I'll talk to Hank about this new development. However, there is something you should be aware of. As you recall, at Alkali Lake we took Stryker into our custody for questioning." Logan nodded, starting to get impatient. "We brought him back here and, for a time, he was under sedatives to keep him compliant. Somehow, a few days ago, he managed to escape and I have not been able to find him with Cerebro." A snapping sound echoed in the room. The armrests Logan had been resting his hands on splintered in the force of his grip as his anger grew at the other man's words. Charles hurried on with his news. "However, the base you were talking about, with its blast doors, were your claws able to penetrate?"

"No," Logan bit out.

"Fascinating. It's possible that the metal they were made out of was the same as your adamantium shell. It would be a good place for Stryker to hide. I'll gather the team together."

"I want Darcy and me there, it's got to do with our past," Logan said stubbornly.

"Naturally," Charles acquiesced.