My disturbing conversation was still haunting me, three days later. He didn't come back from the forest till yesterday and didn't say anything else. I sort of wanted to try and get him drunk again, to see if he would say anything more about the mother I never knew; but decided better of it. The other times I've seen him drunk, he usually got more violent and abusive; not the hurt opening up beast I witnessed before.

Besides, I thought sarcastically, we're getting along so well.

Our relationship went from "I despise you and wish you would die" and "Respect me or I'll hit you again" to me only thinking I despise you and wish you would die, but acting like daddy's loyal little girl and him lapping it up like a cat with milk. He had no clue how I still felt about him. Or rather, he showed no sign of knowing. As stupid as I might think he is, I know he can't really believe I would just change my mind about him, just like that. I don't know why he hasn't called on me yet, but he hasn't. He's been playing along with this act, almost as much as I have.

Currently we were in the training area. We were supposed to be a team of two, taking out the team of sixty soldiers. Ten of the soldiers were mutants, like us, added to increase the difficulty. So far we only had eight soldiers remaining to take, one of them a mutant, so I guess they didn't make it hard enough. Creed had taken out most of them (thankfully, he didn't kill any of them), and all of the mutants. I was playing along with their stupid game taking care to take out the soldiers with no permanent injuries), but I purposely avoided the mutants. Though I didn't even know them, I felt as if it would be betraying my people. I wasn't an extremist who believed that mutants and humans were completely different species and one was above the other, I did tend to think that mutants should stick up for each other.

He no longer hurt me, but he still made me do this training. I think he wanted me to help attack the Xavier Institute with the others because he was making me do a lot more training than usual. And as much care as I put into this act, if the time came that I was ordered to attack my first home in years, I would refuse. It would give away my character, but I couldn't attack and hurt the place and those in it.

"Lioness, stay focussed." Creed hissed at me, bringing back my attention to the situation.

We were hiding in some long grass, getting ready to attack. The remaining eight had formed a group and were staying in a tight circle, staying strictly defensive. Creed took a sniff and I followed suit, trying to figure out which one was the mutant. Unlike the other nine, this mutant looked human.

"I think I got him, you go after the humans." Creed whispered to me. By the fourth mutant, Creed had realised that I was avoiding the mutants. He thought I was avoiding the mutants because I didn't think I could take them, not having an idea of the real reason. Either way, we had an unspoken understanding that he'd be the one to go after them.

I nodded, acknowledging that I heard him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him doing a count down.

3,

2,

1!

I leapt out of our hiding spot and leapt kicked one of the soldiers, taking him by surprise. Sabretooth let out a frightening roar as he followed suit and went after the tallest soldier. Thinking that he was taking care of the mutant, I spun away from my victim in time to stop a blow from another soldier. It took longer to disarm this one since he pulled out a knife a little into our duel, but I succeeded. Dropping into a crouch, I kicked and knocked another soldier's legs from under him while dodging another hit from a different soldier.

By the time they were knocked out, I was spurting a bloody lip and a black eye. I had enough of these stupid war games, but the new attack didn't feel the same. I dropped and rolled to avoid his flaming leg.

"What the hel-" The guys leg really was on fire! Along with the rest of him! He was the mutant Sabretooth was supposed to be fighting.

Rolling to safety, I took a crouched position in case I had to dodge another flaming part of this guy's anatomy. I took a quick glance over at Creed. He was still fighting the same tall soldier, but now the soldier had become some kind of rubbery substance that could easily avoid Creed's attacks by stretching and wrapping himself around Creed's arms and legs to stop attacks.

"You know what secret government bases are great at? Lying." I told the mutant calmly. Ignoring my talk, the mutant lept at me with fiery fists.

I swiftly dodged him and continued talking. "Like, they might have told you that you'll be safe from them if you join them or that they can make you human or something. In my case, they told me there were only ten mutants to fight. See? Total liars."

He ran at me in attempt to tackle me but I jumped over him, barely missing the large flames on his shoulders. "But we don't have to do this. We don't have to listen to the liars. We can choose not to hurt each other. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Gibing up on physically attacking me, the soldier took to throwing balls of flames at me. They were much faster and harder to dodge, a few even singeing my jumpsuit. I did a series of flips and swirls to avoid being burned. I didn't talk again until I was "safe" behind a stone wall.

"Okay, so you still want to hurt me." I heard and smelled the soldier come up on the other side of the wall. I quickly made sure Sabretooth was occupied before lowering my voice and whispering to the soldier. "Would you still hurt me if you knew that this base wasn't going to running soon? That you'd be free to walk away?"

That stopped the attack. The soldier paused before saying in an even quieter voice. "That's impossible. I can never just walk away."

I was taking a huge risk here…

"Very soon a group of people like us will be coming to rescue the mutants being kept here. They're going to make sure that these guys are destroyed and won't be able to hurt our kind any more." My voice was barely louder than a breath now. "We'll be free."

"They have my sister, they'll hurt her if I do anything to upset them." The soldier's voice turned from wishful to doubtful and wary. "How am I supposed to trust you? You're the beast's over there daughter. You're one of them."

"I'm just as much as a prisoner as you. And they are going to hurt a lot of people when they attack the Xavier Institute, I can't allow that." I whispered, keeping an eye on Creed. "I guess you really don't have a reason to trust me. I just want you to know that something big is coming and I just want you to be on the right side."

I stayed very still but ready. I half expected the mutant soldier to come around the wall and fry me. He couldn't trust me any more than I could him. For all I know he made up that story about his sister to distract me or to get me to tell him more about what the X-men were planning so that he may tell his bosses for a bonus.

And then the soldier's blond head stuck around the wall, it was only now that I realized what an extraordinary colour of green his eyes were. He put his hands behind his head and knelt before me.

"I don't want to hurt you, kid. You're bout the same age as my kid sister and Lord knows that I don't want any more kids so young to suffer." He looked up at me, a hopeful look on his determined face. "Knock me out and arrange me so it looks like there was a struggle. You'll have me by your side if and when these friends of yours come. I'm Bryan by the way. "

"Cathleen. Thank you." I felt a huge relief. I used a bit of the psychic power I've been saving for days to put him to sleep, to save him the pain of being physically knocked out and the pain of coming to afterwards.

He fell face down. I arranged him so that it looked like I snuck up behind him to knock him out. Satisfied with my work, I left him and went after Creed and the man he was fighting. With the two of us mutants against one, we finally neutralized our opponent.

"Take that you bastard!" Creed roared gleefully, giving the unconscious man a hearty kick. Turing to me he said, "God, that took long enough. Yah pull a couple of good moves today Lioness, yah've earned supper."

He slung a large sweaty arm over my shoulder and led me out of the arena. Medics were now scurrying onto the battle field and carrying to the men. I watched two men go over to the soldier Bryan and put him on a stretcher.

I must have paused for a moment because Creed said to me, "Hey kid, yah got a crush or something on one of these jarheads? Because then I'll have to rip the guy's throat out." He chuckled darkly.

"Uh, no way." I quickly turned my head back in front of me and started walking faster towards the exit. "The guy was just a worthy fighter. So what was with that last guy?"

With the subject changed, Creed talked all about how he beat the "bastards" today. I let my mind wander, occasionally nodding my head so Creed wouldn't know that I wasn't paying attention.

Where were the X-men? By now Mystique and Lance should have reached them by now. Did they not believe them? Did the two rogues even go? I thought I had used enough power to make them go but now I was second guessing myself.

Or maybe the X-men weren't the heroes I thought they were, I thought down heartedly.

No, I can't think like that, I told myself sternly. I have to keep on believing that they'll come and free us. That we'll be able to prevent the attack on the school.

I glanced out the window and at the X-jet free sky, a feeling of a light going out in my chest.

Three days previous

"Okay, everyone onto the jet." I whispered to my friends. It had taken us roughly half an hour to pack and get that Lance guy, but finally we were gathered around the X-Jet, ready to go.

Everyone was about to pile into the jet when a small soft voice came out from behind a work table covered with tools. "Can I come to?"

A small green girl, hardly six, stepped out into the open. She was wearing a nightgown with ribbons all over it and delicate slippers. In one hand she held a large stuffed carrot and in the other a little red backpack. Though her face was sweet and innocent, there was a defiant look of determination on her small green face.

I looked at her in surprise for what must have been a minute. Who was this- oh right. She was one of the kids that was traveling with Shadow. I think her name is Leah. By the White Wolf, she's tiny.

She stepped up to me, boldly but gracefully. Though she barely came above my knee (though to be honest, I am large than most people), she stared up at me with no fear.

"I know you guys are gonna help Shadow." Her high sweet voice told me. "And I wanna help too."

"How the he- I mea," Realising how young Leah was, Gambit changed his choice of words. "How did a petite petite like you found out?"

"My plants told me." She told the Cajun confidently. "You guyes was talking in the orchard, and the trees thought I'd wanna know. So can I come, please? I promise I'll be good, plus my plants can help you."

"She talks to plants." Remy said, dumbfounded. "These enfants just keep getting weirder and weirder."

"I'm not weird." Leah told the Cajun. I had sat down on the wheel of the jet and the little girl crawled up onto my knee.

"Shadow likes you, and she trusts you, so I guess I'm supposed to too. Even if you are a giant." Her pretty green eyes stared up into mine. "Please let me help?"

Her eyes were almost hypnotising, I almost said yes. I wanted to give this sweet child everything when she smiled and looked at me like that. But I knew I couldn't.

I took Leah off my knee and place her down on the wheel in my place. I got down on my knees and looked straight into her eyes, a technique my own parents used with me when I was small.

"Leah, I'm sorry but you can't come." I told her gently. Her lip quivered, but she didn't say anything and let me continue. "Its too dangerous for you."

"I don't mind, I can be brave." She told me earnestly. A few of my friends had to cover their mouths to hide their smiles.

"I don't doubt that one bit." I replied. "But this isn't a matter of braveness. I'd bet you'd be a lot braver than most of us on this trip, but that doesn't change the fact that you're only five."

"Six." She told me sternly.

"Right, six." I smiled. "You need to be an adult to come. And I think you know that Shadow would kill us if we put you in danger."

She nodded grudgingly.

"But Leah, we do have a job for you." The little green girl suddenly perked up at my words. "You have to keep a secret. You can't tell any of the teachers that you saw us, okay? At least not until tomorrow. Can you do that for me? For Shadow?"

She gave an exasperated sigh, one too much like Shadow's that I had to hide my grin. "Okay, I guess."

She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck in a hug before adding. "Please bring her home soon."

She then hopped off the wheel and toddled off, leaving us to begin the mission.

"You'd better be able to give that little girl what she wants, Pete." Bobby said to me as we walked up the ramp and into the jet.

"I really hope I can." I sighed, trying not to think of the horrible option of failing this mission.