Ok, I'm sorry I haven't kept my promise and made a quick update, I've been beating myself up about it for quite some time. All I have to offer is an explanation: A freakin' horrible writers block and the lack of internet, temporarily. It won't be long until I have regular internet again (plus air conditioning!) and I'll be a lot more regular with my updating…I won't promise, cause atm I'm horrible at keeping them, but I will try my hardest.

I hope you guys like this one, it's the beginning of the action, so no more fillers for a while and in a chapter or two you'll see our dearest Wade again, he just couldn't stay away from you guys…apparently the adoration has gone to his head—go figure. Anyway, I'll let you guys read on, and I'll catch you next time!

Chapter sixteen: Life, the Universe and 42

"Jimmy?" Darcy tugged at the top of the covers, trying to wake the man. "Wake up please, Jimmy," she repeated in a stage whisper. The room was dark, illuminated by a light shinning in from the corridor. It was spartan, only having a bed and a dresser with a lamp on top of it. James wasn't one for trophies, unlike the others of the team. He stirred at her urging, slowly opening his eyes.

"Darc?" James asked groggily, his dark familiar eyes bloodshot and dark rimmed. Abruptly he sat up, the olive covers pooling off his bare torso to his waist. Darcy stared up at him, clutching at her funny bunny, tears swimming in her large eyes. Snagging an arm around her, he brought her up to his lap and let her cuddle into him. "What's wrong?"

"I had another nightmare—I'm afraid to go back to bed," she admitted. "The bad men won't take me away will they?"

"W—who are the bad men?" James asked, yawning.

"The Colonel's other men," Darcy replied, her hand curling around his army tags. "The Colonel brings his other men in when they want to hurt me in the hospital, or want me to hurt people." She looked up at him suddenly, her eyes wide and frightened. "I've been bad…the Colonel told me that if I told you or Wade I'll get into trouble, and I won't be a hero anymore."

"Is this in your dream?"

"Yes—and no," she hedged. "I'm afraid of it happening, that's why I have the nightmares, but if I'm not good, then they really will take me away from you and Wade."

"You know he and I won't let that happen, Darcy," James soothed, running gentle circles down her back with his hand. "We'll take you away before all of that happens."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He watched her as she slept; a silent watchman in the dark. He swore to himself that he would keep away, he swore it. Nevertheless, like the past two nights, there he was, watching her, and he would continuously do so for days after.

A kinetic barrier; that was all it took, Darcy shook her head as she graded papers. Of all the things needed to get Rogue the physical affection she needed was a paper thin manipulation of energy. There was no doubt about it, the girl was giddy for the attention, and Darcy was more than happy for her, but there was still the worry that Rogue would go places she normally wouldn't because of her new ability to touch.

It was just like puberty, the new taste of hormones, the discovery of different feelings and the pleasures of simple touches; the innocent wonder and curiosity leading new teens into a world that had even adults losing themselves in. Rogue had already had the sex talk, Darcy was sure of it, but a small fear of having to do it again set her nerves aflutter. Lord knows she wasn't the best example of smart sex, or hell, even control, her recent actions had proven this beyond all doubt.

But to be honest, it really wasn't anything to do with the sex that had Darcy wincing at the thought of Wade; it was the fact that it was Wade, not some random guy, which had her feeling somewhat nauseous. She couldn't quite get past the memory of him playing with her dolls (admittedly, it was more army games and pretend killing her dolls rather than an actual healthy tea time game), or even him soothing away her nightmares that not even Logan could sooth…

Logan, now there was a problem she happily invested most of her recent thoughts on, Logan had no clue of the memories she held. He was her Jimmy; there was no hesitation with her certainty. But how could she tell him? How could she tell him that he was part of Stryker's original plans, that she originally was one of his first projects?

She was slightly irritated at Rogue getting her out of her sulky mood; it left too much time to think about her situation with Logan. It was hard to picture his reaction, she was skeptical that he would believe her anyway, he denied it vehemently when Stryker suggested at him working with the Colonel before he lost his memories.

A knock sounded at her open door, startling her out of her thoughts. Clearing her through, Darcy sat up and looked at the person. He was one of the people they had brought back, an African-looking cowboy with warm eyes and a ready smile.

"John Wraith," she greeted in surprise, "What can I do for you?" The nervousness of the new ones hadn't completely disappeared and she struggled not to shy away from the man.

"I was hopin' we could talk," he replied, his voice a deep timbre that invited trust and confidence.

"Um, alright," she agreed, unsure of what else to say.

"Zero was a little hurt when you started to avoid him," John started, "Although it's hard to tell with him actin' all cocky and arrogant. He was fond of you, especially toward the end before you n' James left."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say—I only recently remember my time with you," Darcy said hastily, fiddling with a few papers in front of her, "The majority only coming back when Deadpool—Wade—left. I'm still adjusting to the fact that you guys aren't dreams, but actual people."

He stared at her, his eyes piercing and searching. Swallowing convulsively, she lowered her eyes, unable to handle the stare. "Jimmy don't seem to remember either; same accident?"

She shook her head. "No…he…was shot in the head, by Stryker, my loss was due to shock, I blocked it out because it was too hard to remember…it hurt too much to remember," she whispered towards the end. "Logan—Jimmy—he took me away in Nigeria, gave me to a family. But I couldn't handle being away from him and started making trouble. The kind of trouble that somehow caught the attention of the Colonel and he sent Victor to come and get me." John sucked in a breath, but let her continue. "I'm sure you remember the Island?" He nodded and she started her tale once more. "Stryker wanted me more behaved and part of his experiments. I still don't know what he did; only that he got frustrated with me quickly and I was sent to one of the back cages until Jimmy broke us all out. That's when Stryker hurt Jimmy. We left and I blocked out the memories," she finished simply.

"That makes sense, I s'pose," John replied, stroking the light beard on his chin. "I'll let Zero know, but don't go ignorin' us now. You're still our baby doll. N' Wade, well, he'll come around, the boy could never leave you be, comin' home just for you."

"I highly doubt that Wade will come back this time," Darcy said quietly, staring out the window.

"Now why are you goin' around n' sayin' stuff like that? You know the boy loves you," John scolded. "Maybe now he sees you as the woman you are instead of the girl you were," he said cryptically, a twinkle in his eye. "You'll be having dinner with me n' Zero, an' I won't be takin' no for an answer."

###

"Sir, we have the phone tracker ready for you," A soldier snapped sharply in a salute. The older gentleman at the table nodded his head dismissively, his attention focused fully on the papers before him. "Sir, we need the number you want tracked." Files were shuffled irritably as the man searched for the number, thrusting it into the younger man's hands with a huff.

"I need every number and any information you can pull from this cell phone number and I want it yesterday," he replied, his voice menacing and subdued.

"Y—yes sir!" The soldier snapped to attention, saluting before turning and disappearing out of the room and down the hall.