Retro, Canuckle, Cheshire ... deserving of a shoutout as always. Reviews keep the fire burning : )

Wanted to pose a question ... so I've been posting longer chapters for the last couple months. Feel like I get more covered and don't need to cut myself off. Not to mention I actually like reading a longer chapter myself. However ... that means I've been posting less frequently. I mean an 8000 word chapter posted every 10 days could be 4 chapter in two weeks. So lemme know if you prefer I keep to the longer but less frequent or switch back to a shorter but more frequent posts.

Now ... back to the story ...


"What do you mean ... you won't?" Greer didn't even attempt to hide disbelief in her voice.

"I didn't say that we won't. I said that we can't." Scott had his 'leader' tone going strong as he squared up across the holo-table from the clearly on edge tigress. Ororo was one of the few to note that Logan and K were only ones ones on Greer's side of the table, though they'd remained silent thus far.

"That's doesn't change the problem Scott. Colton's in trouble and we need to go. Now." K and Logan shared a look behind the tigress's back. They'd both been somewhat surprised when Greer's reaction to Logan telling her that Cotlon was in trouble had been to go running to the X-Men instead of just heading straight for the jet. Though when Logan thought about it ... it wasn't that surprising. When any of the X-Men had gone missing or been in trouble, this had been what they'd done. But none of the X-Men had ever called for help from Latvaria.

"Cmon ... we can be in and out before anyone even knows." Peter tried reasoning.

"Come Scott ... we can be in and out before anyone even knows." Peter tried reasoning, Kitty nodding vigorously at his side.

"And I told you that we can't. After that fight with the Brotherhood in Mexico SHIELD made it clear that we are to stay domestic ... local if possible. And you know I'd ignore that in most circumstances but ... Greer this is Doom we're talking about."

"I don't care who we're talking about. And you know that if this was Jean we wouldn't even be having this conversation. We'd already be on the jet, geared up, and on our way." Greer's tone had gone slightly cold.

"Yes but this isn't Jean. Or Storm. Or Nightcrawler. Or Logan."

"Leave me outta this, Slim," Logan rumbled, but Scott barely gave him a passing glance before continuing.

"This is Apex we're talking about. He refuses to join the team properly ... and frankly you haven't exactly given me a good answer of what he's even doing in Latvaria. Hell ... the last time I checked he wasn't even supposed to be leaving the campus."

Greer's eyes narrowed almost to slits as her hands balled into fists.

"That's weak and you know it." Greer hissed out.

"I've reached out to SHIELD and they assured me -"

"You told SHIELD!" Greer yelled in clear disbelief, stopping him in his tracks. "Scott for all we know this is SHIELD's fault. Or I dunno ... who says even if it's not, that once they did find Colton, they'd even give him back!"

"Greer, you're being unreasonable. SHIELD wouldn't do that." Jean stood next to Scott, trying to calm her friend down but Greer wouldn't have it and all but snorted in disbelief as she threw her hands up.

"Don't tell me about what you know about SHIELD. You have no idea what SHIELD is capable of. They've wanted Colton since they knew he even existed… What possessed you to-"

"All the more reason for us to keep this as hands off." Scott intoned. "He can take care of himself. Whatever he got himself into - he can probably get out of." Greer seemed to freeze up before she closed her eyes tightly, one hand resting on the back of a chair for balance. This was all so very wrong. Why couldn't he see that?

"You actually - you think ..." Greer's mane whipped back and forth as she shook her head, then her eyes flashed open, " Scott, he needs our help. He's a person like all of us here. He many not seem like it but he's not a machine that can adapt to every situation. His life is at stake here. He could die." and Greer took a haggard breath, ""You … You don't even realize what Colton does for you. For all of you. He risks his life to protect this place. I know it ... You know it. Everybody knows it. You have to." But Scott's face was expressionless. Unyielding.

"I didn't know it ..." Bobby muttered, but shut up when Ororo hit him. In the meantime Greer had stalked around the table and stood in front of Scott, who was looking down at Greer in a manner he had never done. Even his stance showed his hard line - his inability to bend his precious rules.

"So, he can risk it all for us, but the first time he needs our help it's just ... too bad?" Greer's voice died out a little at the end as she looked at directly Scott who's eyes seemed to harden further behind his ruby quartz.

"I'm only going to say this once. I will not risk what little leeway we have right now. SHIELD will handle this. The X-Men are not to be involved in this. We're staying here."

The room seemed to hold it's breath as Greer just stared at Scott ... before letting out a roar and taking a chunk out of the table with her claws. No one said anything as the tigress stalked out and by the time Jean went to stop her, Greer was already gone.

Greer raced to the top of the stairs. She had little time as it is to get prepared and she had wasted what little she had already trying to convince the X Men. To say she was appalled was a vast understatement. She was … disgusted by what Scott had tried to pass off as reason for her. Bastard had no idea what Colton risked nightly to try and keep this place safe.

The things he had to do…

If Logan and K hadn't been there, Greer was certain she'd might have given the slip about X-Force. Just so she could give them an inkling about the type of sacrifices Colton made for them.

She felt … She felt betrayed.

The disturbing part to her was that no once could see how WRONG Scott's logic was. God she wished Betsy had been there ...

Did they actually think that Colton was somehow of less value than any of the other X Men? Just because he wasn't part of the team ... Just because he appeared indifferent to them ... Greer growled. He cared more this place than anyone else she knew.

The tigress gave herself a once over in the mirror. She was in full X-Force armor, only her midriff exposed, and just to play safe, she reached deep into their wardrobe and pulled out the box Colton had always kept there. Perfect. Strapping all the weaponry she could carry, the tigress was about to leap out of the window and head for the Shack when she heard the sharp intake of breath.

"Not now Jean," she growled.

"Greer… What are you- Where did you get all this?!" and Jean was clearly panicking. Her best friend looked like she was about to head out and assassinate someone. She was shocked when Greer simply ignored her and headed to the window and Jean instinctively held her in place. There was a pause.
"Let me go Jean." Greer growled quietly and the red head noted how the tigress's claws were twitching.

"Greer you have to calm down … Scott has his reasons and I'm sure the professor can work something out with SHIELD if things get out of hand."

"He won't have the chance… Trust me, SHIELD's been waiting for an opportunity like this for months."

"How do you know that?"

"I JUST KNOW." and the rumble in Greer's roar was enough to cause Jean to back pedal a little.

"Why are you dong this?" she finally asked softly… and Greer rumbled low in her throat.

"You're all messed up you know that? Colton needs our help. We may never see him again and unlike you people I'm not going to just sit back and abandon someone who needs my help. Not him. Not anybody else. I thought that's what being an X men was all about…" Greer said coldly before feeling Jean's grip on her slacken. Without another word, the tigress gracefully leaped out of the window and was making her way through the grounds.


Greer wasn't even thinking ... even though her mind was running a hundred miles a second.

The tigress was in the Shack, standing in front of her locker, and silent as she ran through the supplies she thought she might need. A million different plans and scenarios ran through her head. But they all focused on one thing: getting Colton back.

Greer was so focused that she only noticed Logan to her left when she'd moved to strap on her thigh holster.

"We leave as soon as you girls are set," Logan rumbled, not looking up up as he went through his own preparations.

Greer looked over her shoulder in time to see K already in a spare X-Men uniform toss Logan a freshly loaded magazine, which he caught and smoothly put in a drop holster on his leg that she simply hadn't noticed. It wasn't like him to bring guns ... unless ...

Greer shook her head hard at the sound of K clicking a magazine into her sidearm. She noted that not everything about K's uniform was standard X-Men ... seeing as most X-Men didn't come strapped with quite that many guns ... and that she'd taken one of simple black training uniforms and outfitted it with a fair amount of armor. Greer thought about saying something but then she saw the look on Logan's face ... she simply went back to getting herself ready.

The three ferals didn't say a word as they stepped out of the Shack and onto the mini-Quinn jet. They didn't have to. Greer had worked with Logan long enough to know how to fall into step beside K as they silently followed his lead. When Logan slipped behind the controls and started pushing buttons and pulling levers, the two women strapped themselves in as the jet powered up.

"I'm coming Colton." Greer whispered to herself, her gaze going to the tracker on her wrist, and the small red dot blinking half a world away.


The flight to Latvaria was tense ... at least for Greer. K and Logan took turns at the controls and aside from a few minutes the two shared in the cockpit, the other spent silent and with their eyes closed in the seat across from her. They could have been sleeping but Greer knew better ... Logan usually got like this before a mission. Silent. Focused. Guess it didn't surprise her that much that K was wired the same. Of course usually Logan did stuff like that alone in the back of the jet so the fact the two kept close to her ... she wasn't sure whether to be appreciative or growl that they thought she needed a babysitter.

Course that thought only flared up in her mind a couple times before it inevitably went back to Colton.

His beacon had him on the outskirts of one of the small villages that dotted the Latvarian countryside. Greer had seen pictures of the place and never understood how a country with giant cities straight out of a sci-fi novel ... could have villages that could have been lifted out of the 1800's.

But right now that didn't matter outside of the benefit that it gave them not having to fight their way through one of Doom's major cities. And as much as she hated to admit it ... Scott was right on one thing: she had no idea what Colton was doing there. None. She'd managed to ask Logan that much before that disaster of a meeting and he had no idea either. He told her he was supposed to be in Germany and back within the week. Latvaria ... what was Colton doing in Latvaria?

"We're here." Logan's voice shook Greer out of her thoughts. Seeing K watching her, Greer resolutely got out of her seat and headed for the door.

"Objective is simple," Logan rumbled low over his shoulder as the two women stood ready behind him, "find Apex. Get him back to the jet. Get him home. Kill anybody in your way."

...

Blood.

It was the first thing that Greer sensed as they approached the set of low buildings. And it was the first thing she saw as they stepped through the blown out door. Well that and now the mess of bodies littered everywhere. G

When they got to the third floor things got slightly more complicated. This level was divided into smaller rooms branching off of multiple hallways. Logan checked his tracker and signaled for the two women to take different paths. Scent was worth shit in a place like this but the tracker told him Apex was close. The three shared a nod and separated.

Logan stalked low and slow ... sure that he'd come across some sign before he found the panther. A handful of not quite dead yet soldiers ... an angry villager - something. But all signs pointed to the contrary. The thickened, half congealed blood in puddles in the hall became more fluid the further down the corridor he got ... he was on the right track.

"Wolverine." Logan didn't pause his search at Greer's whisper in his earpiece, looking into yet another room with what looked like guards tossed through walls.

"What?"

"Company." Logan came out of his crouch, his ears picking up the crunch of gravel and the sharp squeal of breaks. Only one group could be showing up by car.

"Doom." K growled what everyone was thinking.

"Move fast, no tellin' what these guys are packin'." Logan followed his own advice and started moving close to a jog. They needed to find Colton and get out. He had no idea if this was a clean up crew here to scavenge whatever they thought they'd lost or even if Doom knew Colton was the one that had tossed the place. But the last thing they needed was Doom finding out that four Weapon X recruits were standing inside his territory. He wasn't about to -

"Shit! Logan barely got his arm up in time to catch the charging panther by the throat but that didn't stop the claws from tearing into his torso.

"Damn it! Col - Apex!" Logan roared as he used momentum to swing Apex into a wall that somehow held up on the impact. The panther seemed to finally focus on the smaller feral and let out an exhausted breath, his breathing heavy as Logan saw his fur matted with blood.

"Damn it kid ... what happened?" But Apex seemed to have used all his energy in his charge at Logan, breathing heavily between words.

"Logan ... I was wrong ..." and then Wolverine quickly shifted from holding Colton up against the wall to supporting him as he started to collapse. Logan was easily strong enough to support the larger feral but the panther's size quickly became problematic.

"K ... Tigra ... on me. Now."

Wolverine didn't have to wait long, Greer practically skidding to her knees to where Logan had put Colton down. K just took a look at the two feline's and turned her attention back to Logan.

"We need to get him outta here. Now." Logan growled. His medical knowledge was limited, seeing as how he didn't need it too often, but he knew enough to know something was definitely wrong.

"We have another problem." K spoke low, and Logan gave her his full attention while Greer kept her focus on Colton, talking to him quietly as she pulled out the few medical supplies she had on her.

"You mean aside from Doom?" Logan grunted. K just nodded and tipped her head to the side a bit. Her eyes flicked to the north wall.

"Listen." Logan bowed his head as Greer's ears swiveled on their own account. Logan's eyes met K's a beat before Greer caught on.

"Is that ..." Greer sounded unsure.

"Blackhawks ... two of 'em." And they were coming from the wrong direction to be Doom. The three ferals shared a look and Greer quickly changed her position

"Lo - Wolverine ... little help ..." K and Logan went to either side of Greer and helped get Colton slung over her back. Logan could have handled it but having the 6"7 panther dragging behind him wasn't particularly prudent at the moment.

"You good?" K stepped back as Greer rolled her shoulders and taking a few cautionary steps nodded her head. But before either of them could take another step, Wolverine held up his hand and all three froze. Outside, the ferals could clearly hear Doom's men shouting at each other and only a few seconds later, the loud buzzing of a mounted 50 caliber machine gun began to spin as it prepared to fire - the sound mixed with military speed rotary blades.

"Move now!" Logan yelled over the noise and the three ran for the exit, bullets tearing through the building as the firefight exploded outside. They got all the way to the exit and braced against the wall, Logan and Greer (with cargo) on one side and K braced across the doorway on the other. Wolverine carefully glanced around the frame and cursed.

"What is it?" Greer grunted. Between the armor and Colton pressing down on her ... she was not comfortable.

"SHIELD." Logan growled as he retracted his claws. K glanced out herself and raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's - I mean that might be good right?" Greer was actually pretty surprised. She'd never expected SHIELD to ever show up ... maybe Scott was right. I mean they were fighting Doom's guys.

"I've never seen that insignia before." K looked over at Logan who even under his cowl they could tell was glowering.

"They ain't here to help. Those boys are from The Raft." K's face quickly matched Logan's ... though she didn't retract her claws.

"What is that?" Greer could tell it wasn't good as Logan swapped out his bullets for sleeping darts.

"SHIELD high security prison. For those that Fury considers too high value to keep in the system. So yea ..." Logan put one in the chamber, "they're not here to help."

"You really wanna switch ammo right now? Why not just leave them with non- fatal wounds?" K sounded impatient as Logan loaded his second gun.

"Switch to sleepers." K shook her head. To Greer it sounded like they were arguing over what to have for dinner that night.

"No. I'm aiming for ball and socket joints. Won't kill 'em if they leave us alone and attend to their wounded."

"Wait ... how much medical do you know?" Logan asked with a mild sense of surprise. But K just shrugged her shoulders and fell to a crouch, mentally trying to count the scents coming from outside but the bullets and motor oil was complicating things.

"Enough."

Wolverine huffed and give one more look at the fight going on outside, turned to Greer.

"Okay. You stay on my six. Don't stop moving. Get him to the jet." Greer just nodded in response and got a tighter grip on Colton and tried to ignore the source of the warmth gently flowing down her back. "I can't believe I'm sayin' this ... but K - you got Slack."

"No problem," she returned with a little smirk as the rotated her last fresh magazines to the forefront.

The run back to the jet was like running through a tunnel to Greer. She kept her eyes on Logan's back and never took them off of it. Sound ... Bullets ... Screams ... Explosions ... She didn't pay attention to any of it. She was only barely aware of what sounded like K's growl and an uptick in screaming to either side of her, but ... Greer's goal was to keep her focus elsewhere.

When she finally did make it to the jet, hidden a few hundred yards to the east of the building in an empty field, she immediately dropped Colton onto the table they used to prep for missions that took up most of the rear of the jet and started the engines.

"Logan!" Greer yelled, suddenly aware of just how loud everything was as bullets started pinging off the outside of the jet. Wolverine climbed half-way onto the jet, offering K cover as he fired on the surrounding forces.

"K ... let's go!" His little fiance glanced over her shoulder as she wrenched her claws from a Latverian special ops soldier. Without a backward glance, she ran right for Logan as he fired past her, some of his bullets whizzing past her ear close enough to slice through her hair before they found their resting place in the men chasing her.

With a final shot, he caught her hand and yanked her into the jet with him. Greer looked up at the bloodied woman as she slipped into the cockpit and Logan slammed the door shut. In a matter of moments, they were already airborne, leaving Latvaria behind.

...

"Wake up Colton ... Please wake up." Greer seemed incapable of standing still, pacing the length of her still boyfriend as the jet rocketed through the air, the click of her claws the only sound outside of the low hum of the engines. Logan had moved to the controls soon after clearing Latvarian airspace and while the tigress paced ... K just stared at the panther with her nose wrinkled up as if she'd smelled something foul. They didn't have any real medical equipment on the jet outside of field supplies but even without advanced senses to tell them, it was obvious that Colton was slipping. K just wanted to know why.

An hour passed like this ... Greer pacing, Logan flying and K just ... staring with that look on her face. Her head tilted slightly to the side until finally, the feral slowly got up from her seat and moved to stand next to the fading panther. The movement caught Greer's attention and she finally slowed down.

"What is it?" K didn't answer. Instead, and much to Greer's surprise, K pulled off her gloves and slowly starting moving her hands through Colton's bloodied fur, most of it matted down with blood.

"I already checked ... most of his cuts are healing but ... there weren't that many. Not - not enough for him to be like this." Greer had come to stand across from K at Colton's other shoulder. She'd already cut off Colton's vest and had tried figuring out what was wrong with him but had come up empty. But again K didn't say anything and simply furrowed her brow as she kept searching.

"K ... what are you looking for?" Greer tried again to get the little feral's attention and thought she'd succeeded when K took a step back and finally looked at her.

"We need to wash him off."

"What?" Greer watched for a second as K went towards the front of the jet and started opening cabins.

"Water, now." K clearly wasn't waiting to explain herself and Greer followed her and the two grabbed every bottle of water they could find. K put her water on the table with Colton and started pouring it over and without bothering to ask this time Greer followed suit. With Greer still pouring, K went back to feeling around Colton's fur, seeming to pay attention to his chest and neck until finally K stopped and Greer tried to see what K had found ...

"Is that ... a bald spot?" Greer didn't know what else to call it. K had moved her finger and beneath it had been an almost perfect circle of pinkish skin. K was back to searching and seemed to be counting quietly to herself.

"Help me turn him." K grunted and Greer came around to her side and helped K roll Colton's shoulder so that she could see his back. Taking the last of the water, K brushed the blood off the panther's back and carefully ran her hand across his shoulders and back, her lips moving silently as she did a little quick arithmetic.

"Doesn't add up."

"What are you talking about?" Greer was having some trouble not growling at K but she didn't seem to notice.

"Logan - switch with Greer."

"But why would -"

"Switch with Logan. Now." Greer looked down at K and either the tone, the look on her face, or both, had the tigress heading to the front of the jet and sent K immediately to work. By the time Logan came from the cockpit K was half-way done.

"We need to tie him down." Logan barely hesitated and started opposite K strapping Colton down.

"What're we doin' here, darlin' ..." Logan muttered but K was still all business. Colton's breathing was shallow and she doubted panthers were supposed to look like this. Particularly ones with healing abilites. She needed to do this ... fast.

"Hold his head." Logan moved to head of table and just watched as K hoisted herself onto the table. "Tighter." What his fiance was about to do only hit him when he saw her lining up her fist over one of the little spots. Scowling, he locked his hands beneath Colton's muzzle and braced, his eyes locked on his future wife.

"Greer ..." K making her decision.

"Yea - is everything alright?" Greer called from cockpit, her anxiety clear.

"Whatever happens ..." K looked up at Logan, her first over the first spot, as he gave her a quick nod, "don't turn around kitten."

K worked fast and by the time the roaring started she'd already popped her claw and put the bullet that had been lodged into the panther's lung through the back of the table. Logan had to turn his head from the stench that rose up from the was in there wasn't standard munitions.

K's claws were the practically ideal for the job, and her knowledge of anatomy had her angling her shots to avoid any major arteries and the majority of organs. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell. And from the moment Apex's eyes had flashed open to see K stabbing him ... things had been going downhill.

"Hurry the hell up, sweetheart!" Not that K was looking, but Logan's arms bulged from the strain as Apex roared and struggled to get the stabbing feral off his chest, the bands holding him down starting to tear. But K didn't seem to look like she'd even heard him, muttering to herself under her breath as one hand drifted gently across Colton's chest only to be followed by the other seconds before her claw popped another hole into him and forced the bullet through the other side. Each puncture was accented by an outraged roar of pain from the panther under her.

"What the hell are you guys doing back there!?" Greer almost left the cockpit until K's own roar joined Colton's.

"If you want your God damn boyfriend to live!" K popped another bullet through, "Keep your fuzzy a** in that seat!"

"K ..." Logan grunted, his grip slipping as K growled to herself, working slowly but smoothly, never missing her mark.

"Three more ... Two more ..."

"K!"

With a roar Apex finally tore his right hand free from the restraints and reaching up, tossed Logan over his head, as K went flat to avoid him hurtling past her and turned her head toward the loud thud as he crashed into the rear of the jet.

Before she could turn her head back to Colton, his free arm slashed out and tore five deep claw marks into her side - deep enough for two claws to shear off when they snagged on an adamantium laced rib.

She gasped out in pain before her snarl split the air. In a smooth move, she pinned the offending free hand to the table by popping her left claws through his wrist, earning a snarl from the panther. At the same time, her right foot swung up and she planted it against his carotid artery ... and pressed. He only struggled for perhaps thirty seconds before the lack of blood to his brain knocked him out cold.

"What the hell is going on back there?" Greer practically roared herself, but luckily Logan had gotten back to his feet.

"Keep flyin' damn it!" Logan barked and made it back to his fiance. "You good?" He reached out to check on the fresh slash marks, leaving more exposed skin than uniform, but K shrugged him off.

"I'm working. Two left."


Scott had barricaded himself in one of the smaller ready rooms. Had been in there for a few hours. Between Jean worrying about Greer and projecting it straight into his head and the rest of them nagging him about going after Colton ... he needed a break. Didn't they get it? Couldn't any of them see the larger picture ... Scott let out a frustrated groan and leaned back in his chair. He'd fallen into a bit of a doze when his head snapped up at the distinctive sound of adamantium popping through skin... and promptly slicing through the door.

'Shit.'

"I had the door locked for a reason." Scott said dryly as he stayed seated and Logan stalked into the room.

"Too bad. We gotta talk."

"Take it that means we got Colton back." Scott considered the fact Logan hadn't already leaped over the table and tried gutting him evidence enough.

"No ... we didn't do shit. Or more specifically, you didn't do shit. As usual." Logan pulled his bloodied cowl back and Scott eyed the files he was holding in his off hand.

"You know damn well I made the right call and I haven't got time for ... whatever it is that you got to say about it. If Colton is back then I need to debrief him. I wanna know what he was doing in Latvaria. So why don't you clean up - and knock next time." The first file drops open in front of him.

"Simon Trask - presumed dead. Reavers - Disbanded. Cameron Hodge - confirmed dead." Scott just stared up as Logan shook his head slowly. "And my personal favorite," he dropped the last file in front of him. "Might wanna get a good look at page four on that one. Saw that you wrote 'friendly fire' hit the guys that were about to shoot you and your wife. Last time I checked, 'friendly fire' didn't double tap headshots. The enemies we make don't just quit. You know that. And if you didn't ... you do now."


"See Greer, I told you he'd be fine…" Jean tried to say good naturedly but Greer didn't even look in ehr direction as she took a seat next to the unconscious Colton.

It had been almost dawn when Hank and Peter had been waiting for them when they'd landed the jet on the back lawn, any questions of where they had gotten a quinn jet left for another time, as they had rushed the still unconscious panther to the med bay.

"Oh my stars ..." Hank was running his hands over his patient and was silently amazed at the amount of bullet holes he was seeing ... which came in a close second to the amount of perfectly equal healing puncture wounds ... actually these marks looked oddly familiar ...

"K ..." Hank looked up grimly at the three ferals lined up across from the examination table, "we were attempting to save him ... correct?"

"If we weren't he'd be dead, wouldn't he?"

Hank seemed ready to respond but Logan cut him off.

"He was shot up with these. Couple of 'em -"

"Nine." K grumbled, her arms crossed across her chest.

" - didn't pass through. Don't smell right." Dr. McCoy caught the bullet Logan tossed at him and the doctor took a sniff of his own and his frown deepened.

"Indeed ..." Hank went over to the medical supplies while Greer finally spoke, honestly just realizing what had been going on.

"But you can help him right? I mean he's gonna be fine ... K got the bullets out." Greer's tail was completely still as she wrapped her own arms tighter across her middle. She'd never seen Colton this still ...

"For a feral his size to be affected like this ..." Hank was focused as he started drawing blood, "The bullets ... they were hollow points. Likely filled with some kind of poison that spread through his system on impact. Until we know exactly what they shot him with I ... won't hazard a guess." He looked up and saw the state the tigress was in and softened, "But we'll take care of him Greer. I promise."

That had been close to two hours ago. K had convinced Greer to take a shower in the locker room and had brought her down some sweats. Henry thought he'd identified the poison and had the panther hooked up to an IV with monitors keeping an eye on his organs. Jean had come down red eyed to find her friend tucked into a chair near Colton.

"If you don't mind Hank, I think I'll be spending the night here." and the doctor sighed as Jean leaned in the doorway. Hank was exhausted and still had work in front of him.

"Must you miss Nelson? I find it hard to concentrate when I have people looking over my shoulder all the time when I work."

"You never complain when Logan does it…" Greer pointed out and Beast snorted.

"Frankly I'm afraid I'd lose a limb if I dare implicate he had to leave." Greer just gave a guilty shrug and kept her eyes on her boyfriend and the doctor relented. He knew how ferals could be.

"But I suppose I can make an exception."

"Thanks." Greer muttered distractedly as she wrapped a hand around Colton's clenched fist.

"Greer, Scott -" But a deep rumble tore across the room and Jean was smart enough to cut off her attempt at bailing out her husband, even Hank had looked a little startled, he had thought Colton had suddenly woken up but it was only Greer who proceeded to lower her head onto his uninjured arm. Taking in his scent and hoping he might somehow process hers.

"C'mon Colton ... Wake up. Please wake up…"


It was nearly noon when K and Logan finally made their way downstairs. Food had become a necessity between the healing both of them had been doing from the pick up and ... other early morning activities. It was Saturday so most of the Mansion had gotten a late start and didn't seem to take much notice of the two little ferals late arrival. All in all, things were pretty relaxed in the kitchen ... so Logan picked up pretty quickly that K had started to become tense.

"You alright darlin'?" Logan leaned in and kissed his fiance gently behind the ear. K bit her lip and leaned into him a bit more before she gently kissed him back, seeming to silently answer Logan's question. But as Logan seemed to casually return to his paper, K turned her attention to the kitchen ... and took more notice the people and scents within it.

Whenever Logan or really any of the X-Men had been laid up in the infirmary, the Mansion almost had a kind of routine. The place buzzed with speculation. Students would whisper about what had happened, bugging teachers for details, or swearing that he or she knew the truth with wild imaginative tales of intrigue that was shared among friends. The teachers, usually led by Jean or Kitty, would organize some kind of standing watch and calmly dispel any rumors that seemed to be making headway or that were too close to the truth.

They carefully made sure that whoever was laid up comfortable and that they had someone close by to attend to them, or in the most mild cases, simply to record the details of what had happened for Xavier's official records while the memory was still fresh and undiluted.

Classes were covered without disruption. Whispered conversations among colleagues updated the staff. And above all of it was an atmosphere of tension. Anxiety, fear, anger ... and K had scented all of it.

But this time? Little was different today over any other day. There was no tension. She tried to brush it off at first, seeing as it was the weekend, and logically, no classes to be covered could easily mean that they could do all their arrangements a bit more calmly. But not a word was spoken about the panther laid up downstairs ... not a hint of anxiety in the air if he'd wake up. Nothing. And it was the lack of concern for one of their own that had her slowly making some connections that made her uneasy.

K gripped her coffee a later tighter as she slipped deeper into her thoughts. She wasn't worried about Colton ... quite the opposite. Logan had told her about the mission he'd sent the fuzzy stalker on whose intention was to keep this place safe. It went south. It happens. And she'd done all she could to help him - though she was sure the big alley cat would be an ungrateful b*** for it if and when he woke up.

So Colton didn't get along with everyone. Was that it? She shook her head lightly and went to staring at the dark liquid in her cup. It couldn't be that simple. Logan didn't get along with everyone - hell, his sniping with Scott was downright entertaining. Did that mean they wouldn't risk picking him up? No. No, she was sure they would. Right? The fact that there was a tiny measure of doubt there had her wondering about her own lot in this place. She sure as hell didn't get along with everyone. On any given day, at least one of the adult residents was pissed off at her about something or another.

K glanced over to see Rogue, Remy and Bobby talking quietly about their plans for the afternoon a few tables over. Would any of them have come to get her when she'd been grabbed by Weapon X if Logan hadn't been along for the ride? Would they have cared if she wasn't with their Wolverine? Despite all the crazy s*** that had gone on since she'd been here K was still new. No one hesitated to remind her of it when they were angry, or felt she just didn't get it.

And that didn't even take into consideration the long list of former lovers, flings, and one night stands that had sprung up in conversation that had been with Logan. Is that how close she was to being stuck in a cage? It was a case of random chance that they'd even taken him with - though the amount of force used to subdue him easily made it seem to the X-Men that he was the target. They didn't know the truth until later.

If someone would have given the command to leave without him, would the mansion's residents have just let it lay - just another unfortunate notch in his bedpost?

She didn't notice that he'd been watching her.

"Haven't touched your coffee," Logan observed quietly. She turned her head toward him for a second and fiddled with the mug in her hands before she pushed it away.

"It's cold," she muttered, realizing that she'd started to tread into 'no secrets' territory. He took a deep breath as he glanced around the room, the arm he'd had around her tightened the tiniest bit as she chewed on the inside of her cheek and kept her eyes downcast.

"Let's go back upstairs. I've had enough of bein' around people, and you -"

"I know," K said quietly. "No secrets. But this isn't really a secret -"

"It's got you over thinkin'. That doesn't usually turn out too good for me." he gave her a hard look and she nodded. She knew he was right. "Upstairs. Now."


It was a bit of mystery among the students where Greer had been the last few days. Jubilee had led gymnastics and Professor Braddock had been there for her usual tutoring hours. But there was no sight of the tigress. Chloe and Zoe had tried asking K when she'd finally come to her door about it but she had just given the two a strange look and muttered something about them 'asking Summers about it' before closing the door in their faces.

In truth, Greer was in the infirmary. Jean had been surprised to say the least that Greer literally hadn't left Colton's side since they had gotten back. She had been there for almost three days, either just sitting there or dozing on the bed pushed next to the recovering panther. Poor girl needed a break and Jean was determined to make sure her friend didn't just waste away in there. Hank had assured her that Greer was eating but Jean wasn't about to settle for that.

"You headed off to find Greer?" and Jean turned in surprise to find K of all people talking to her. Both her and Logan had basically frozen out the entire school since they'd gotten back ... when they were outside of their room at all. Jean had stopped by the kitchen to pick up some breakfast and had pulled Greer's favorite things together ... some fruit, yogurt and a smoothie. Just what she thought Greer needed to build herself back up.

"Well you're looking fashionable for a change," Jean said pleasantly still a little miffed about their argument days earlier. "And yes, yes I am." K nodded her head a bit then leaned in very close to her, nearly whispering in her ear.

"Might want to eighty six that plan and just give her some space. She's a little antsier than usual seeing as she feels like she has to protect her mate. It'd be smarter to just keep out of her way." K said quietly so only she could hear it and Jean's eyebrow twitched at the message and K's boldness as the little feral gave her a meaningful look and straightened up.

"I can see who I want to see when I want see them without your input K. And secondly, Colton is not her ... mate. He's her boyfriend." Jean said coldly. How K always knew what to say to piss her off might have been a secondary mutation.

"Tell yourself whatever you need to make it through the day." K said as she sat down again with her paper as Jean stood there, suddenly a tad uncertain. Though now that she thought about it ... having K here might be a good thing. If repairing things with the little feral smoothed things over with Greer ... maybe it would be better to try and take care of that first.

"K ..." and the little brunette in question raised an eyebrow as Jean took the seat across from her, "can we talk for a second. About Greer?"

"We can talk about pretty much whatever you want as long as you're willing to listen too. I might just know a little more than you in a few areas." K replied dryly. Jean bit her tongue as she closed her eyes and nodded the slightest. Just make it though this ... she just had to not raise her voice.

"Right. I get that. But you're still new here ... you weren't there when she first got here. And I'm telling you, what you're doing isn't what she wants. Greer just wants to fit in ... she doesn't want how she looks to define her." K rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she studied the redhead. Jean was sure she was scenting the air before she continued. She took a breath and held it as she crossed her arms delicately on the table in front of her.

"You know what Red ... you're absolutely right. I wasn't around when she first got here. And it's a god-damned shame too. Maybe if I was, I could have prevented the mental screw job she got from what you guys tried to do for her."

"Excuse me?" Jean raising eyebrow, leaning back a bit now.

"You know what, Mrs. Summers? You may be a telepath, but you can't read body language for s***. Quit trying to screw around in everyone's heads and start paying attention to what they're saying physically." Jean pulled herself rod straight with a glare on her face and her eyes narrowed.

"Always physical with you isn't it? It's not about the fur, K!" But instead of getting loud, K got more concentrated - the corner of her lip drew up as her brows came together and she tipped her head a hair. It was clear she knew she was being misunderstood.

"No shit Sherlock. I didn't say a damn thing about the fur. I said body language - or are you too hung up on the fur to get past it? Watch how she holds herself while you're worshiping how wonderful you are. Watch her and you'll SEE what she isn't saying to you." She pushed herself back from the table and abandoned her coffee with a shake of her head. "God damned know it all telepaths. No freakin' observational skills ..." K mumbled as she stalked off toward Logan's office. Jean was left staring after her wondering what the hell she meant by that.

...

Jean had recollected herself and headed down to the infirmary, ignoring best she could what K had said. Yea Greer wanted the two of them to be friends but ... come on ... Colton Greer's mate? Ridiculous ... she'd probably had slapped K had she been there. Lucky for K, Jean wouldn't mention it to her best friend.

"Greer?" the red head knocked on the door before peeping in.

"Greer, I brought you some - oh!" Jean made a hard stop and tried to keep her composure when Greer suddenly hissed at her, taking a protective stance against the bed.

"Jesus, it's just me OK? I just wanted to bring you some food!" Jean protested and she watched a little in confusion as Greer's brow seemed to furrow a moment before she shook her head, as if in a daze, before her eyes widened.

"Sorry," Jean noted that Greer sounded exhausted and the tigress proceeded to exit the room momentarily to talk to her friend." I don't know what came over me." Jean was about to retort but thinking what K said earlier, quickly decided against it.

"It's fine. You're just tired. I've brought you some food…" Greer eagerly accepted the tray Jean was holding, though she seemed to hesitate when she saw what Jean had brought, but looking back up at her friend, Greer slid to the ground and dug in. Jean joined her on the ground against the opposite wall and waited until Greer had finished before strategically pointing out.

"Scott feels horrible you know," and she quickly added in. "Everybody does. Maybe if you came upstairs and -" but Greer didn't seem to want to hear it.

"Thanks for the food," Greer got back to her feet and handed Jean the tray, the red head noticing most of it wasn't touched, "I'll talk to you later OK?" and before Jean could get a word in, Greer's stripped tail had already disappeared through the door.

Jean just stood there for a little while before settling on it.

"I need to talk to K."


He was awake.

He could move left ... right arm. Hands. Feet. Legs. Tail.

No collar.

Scent ... infirmary ... no ... too many chemicals ... some type of lab too ...

Body hurt ... Trauma and mass healing ... Damn he was sore ...

"Hey ..." the scent of cinnamon and hint of citrus overwhelmed him and Apex relaxed slightly and slowly opened his.

"Greer." The two felines just stared into each other at first ... but Apex noted how Greer's eyes had dark circles underneath them and how her ears drooped slightly ... her fur ruffled and dull. Sleep deprivation and likely dehydration. Apex drew himself up to get a better look at her but let out a low growl when multiple sharp stings traveled through his body. Greer was immediately up and laid a hand on his shoulder to ease Apex back down onto the bed.

"Hey, take it easy…. You're still healing up." Apex finally laid back down when Greer leaned towards him, touching foreheads as she slid onto the hospitable bed barely large enough for the panther alone, ending up tucked tightly into his side, a low, relieved purr in her throat.

"Are you alright?" Greer internally rolled her eyes as she could feel Colton trying to check up on her.

"Only you could wake up in the infirmary and act like I was the one knocked out for almost four days." Apex blinked at that one but now that he was up, Greer was ready to share her mind, "You're never going on one of these missions ever again. I don't care who sends you. Never again." and Apex smirked before giving her his affectionate rumble.

...

Hank had come upstairs in a bit of a huff at having returned from his lab to find that his patient had decided to checkout without his permission. Apex had finally let him check him over simply to get the doctor to shut up and get out.

"He means thank you. For everything." Greer had smiled apologetically as she'd walked Dr. McCoy to the door, thinking it best to not test her boyfriend's patience. Turned out he was a bit cranky when he woke up without eating for the better part of three days.

"Yes ... I'm sure he does. Not the first feral I've had the pleasure of experiencing with poor bedside manners," Hank said loud enough to earn a growl from Colton, "just make sure you keep him hydrated and I'd suggest him feeding every three hours. And you could do with some sustenance yourself my dear." Hank finished with a firm look before heading out.

Greer had taken the doctor's advice and come back with as many grilled steaks and chicken as she felt safe carrying, and the two felines spent the rest of that day simply resting in each others arms, taking turns nuzzling the other, and eating when the mood hit them. But as night fell, Greer was starting to feel anxious. There was something important she wanted to do and if routine was any indication ... she needed to make sure it was set up before morning.

"What is it?" Greer was laid out next to Colton and had been slowly drawing designs across the middle of his chest for the better part of twenty minutes. He knew when she was working her way towards asking him something. Greer took a breath to compose herself and turned her head so that she was looking at him.

"Colton I ... want you to stop with your personal vendetta against K." Greer held her hand up when she saw Colton start to say something, "Look, I know you're concerned about me. About Logan about the entire mansion but… don't you feel like you're overthinking this just a little?"

"Greer, I know -"

"No you don't know." Greer picked herself up, "Since you left I - me and K have been talking. A lot ... actually. She's the first person I've ever met that - I dunno, doesn't want to help me she just wants me to ... well I actually don't really know what K wants - but I know that I like her. And I trust her." Greer squared herself up as Colton pushed himself up so that Greer was back to looking up at him.

"Greer, that isn't -" but again Greer cut him off, her tail's swaying equal to her working herself up.

"And guess what ... during all that time she had tons of chances to attack any of us - me. Alone. And she runs a class, she's with Logan's … Has she done anything to prove she's out to get us?"

"Greer ..."

"And I know - I know that you think she's dangerous. And I know you think she's Weapon X but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give her a chance. I am giving her a chance." Greer almost growled as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"K isn't Weapon X."

"I know she isn't - wait what?" Greer's arms went slack at her sides as Apex rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he let out a heavy sigh.

"I was wrong." Greer could just stare at him.

"You were wrong."

"Yes ... at least about K being controlled by Weapon X. The mission Logan sent me on ... they had their own intel on Weapon X. Nothing useful except that they planned on coming for K. Seems more and more people are becoming aware of the 'woman' running with the Wolverine. They had files on K ... Weapon X files on plans to recapture her and ... some form of new control. I tracked the intel as far as Latvaria but ..."

Despite the worried look on Greer's face, a slow smile was spreading.

"So wait ... you were on a mission ... for Logan." Greer's tail was beginning to sway again.

"Yes." Apex rumbled a little. He knew where this was going ...

"And then you found out that Weapon X was after K ... so she couldn't be working for them ..."

"Yes."

"And then you went all the way to Latvaria ... To protect K!" Apex seemed to wince at the tigress's obvious disbelief.

"No ... I went to Latvaria to hunt down a lead on Weapon X." But Greer's smile was seemingly stuck to her face.

"Uh hu ... sure." Though the smile faded a little at the growl that reverbrated around the room.

"OK - OK ... sheesh," Greer scooted closer and wrapped herself around Colton who seemed to relax a little as her tail found his, "so does this at least mean that you're gonna give her a chance?" Greer could hear the rumble and moved quickly, "I'm not saying I need you to hug her or anything! Just ... stop this one man war against her. Pretty sure after well - you know attacking her it's the least you could do." Greer glanced up to see Colton working his jaw before finally answering.

"Fine ... But for you. Not her." Greer let out a sigh of relief and kissed him on the muzzle. Small victories after all. Now time for another one.

"And Colton ... just one more thing ..."


The next morning, Greer was waiting patiently for Logan to appear. Colton was at her side, albeit in a slightly more tactical position. She looked at the clock and shook her head. A solid half hour late from what she remembered of Logan's usual morning appearance. She was really counting on this being one of their early mornings as opposed to their notoriously late ones. But when he did finally show he had the most handsome little crooked half smile she'd ever seen on him as he made his way to the coffee pot, a slightly ruffled, but equally smirking, looking K in tow. The two of them poured a mug and they headed toward Greer, but that's when K broke away, slipping outside to the little table on the patio.

"She OK?" Greer asked – watching as K slipped outside.

"Fine – she don't like to intrude. And I'm pretty sure it ain't you Tigger." Logan looked up at Colton as Greer scrunched her nose and picked up her mug as she stood.

"Well, I want to talk to her too," Greer insisted. Logan watched as Colton seemed to give Greer an almost plaintive look but she just got up and she simply looked over her shoulder at him as she headed toward the door "Come on ..." Colton grudgingly followed, keeping his distance, but staying close enough to watch K as she innocently greeted Greer with a small, tight smile as Logan slipped in next to her.

"K ... this is Colton," Greer said warmly if not a bit awkwardly. K wrinkled her brow for a moment as she briefly looked over at the silent panther and nodded minutely.

"I gathered," K said hesitatingly. "Pretty sure we cover introductions already. What with the snarling and bloodletting ..." Greer's tail curled underneath her but she pressed on.

"Yea well – that's not exactly impression I wanted us make. And a lot's happened since then." K nodded in concession.

"Alright. Fair enough," K said quietly, clearly doubting where all this was headed.

"And there's something that Colton wants to tell you."

Apex's ears fell flat and a look at Greer earned him a not so subtle nudge and seemingly resigning himself, Apex slowly looked turned to face K.

"You're not Weapon X."

"Oh, thank God. I was worried for a second there. So good of you to clear that up for me," K snarked as Logan put his arm across her shoulders.

"And ..." Greer whispered, forcing Logan to fight the urge to smirk. K didn't fight it.

"I'm sorry for attacking you."

K looked him up and down, seeming to gauge what to make of his little display. Logan had already told her what Colton had been doing in Latvaria. Or at least what he thought she needed to know at the time.

"Don't be sorry for attacking me. Be sorry that you were wrong. Or be sorry for not believing Logan. And ... everyone else." Greer nodded her head and again nudged the panther.

"And what else ..."

Apex shifted in his seat and seemed intent on looking at K's direction without having to look directly at her.

"Thanks."

"Thanks for ..." Greer rolled her hand helpfully.

"Stabbing bullets out of me." Greer facepalmed as Logan nudged K and gave her a raised eyebrow. She bit off a growl as she put on a clearly fake smile and turned to Colton with her teeth clenched.

"My pleasure."

Greer might have been desperate enough that she overlooked the clear hollowness of the display that had just went on but the smile on her face was one of pure relief, one Logan seemed to share at least somewhat. Apex and K shared a final glare before K turned her attention toward Greer and slowly let her shoulders relax into Logan's warmth.

As the two women chatted, Colton watched K carefully, getting a little chill as he watched her take a moment and just close her eyes, inhaling deeply over the coffee mug before taking a swig. He wondered if Weapon X had caught that little habit of hers and exploited it. From the way K was acting, probably not, but still … until she could account for where she'd been, and what she'd done, he would remain cautious.