They searched for weeks before Mindy just couldn't anymore.

"It's done," She murmured, not looking up from the row she was knitting as Pete sat down next her on the train. "She's gone."

His blue eyes slipped to the child. She looked exhausted. Her features were worn and saddened, making her look so much older than a mere twelve years.

"Don't say that."

"It's true." The girl sighed, her shaking fingers going up to rub her cheeks. "No one's even looking for her anymore. Whenever I ask the cops they say something about not having any leads or the resources and how they have more important matters."

A rush of anger flooded Peter's heart at that. "They don't care."

"Sad thing is, I don't think they even tried."

"They don't want to waste their time on a nobody," The man said, lips pressing into a thin line. "We'll just have to get their attention then."

Mindy looked up at him with curiosity. Her dark eyes sparkled with a faint glint of hope as he stood. "Where are you going?"

"The Professor can't help." He told her, remembering how hard the man hard tried and how quickly he had failed. His tone remained sober as he said, "But I think I can."

Standing quickly, the girl rushed to keep up with his long strides as she followed him out of the subway car. "What're you gonna do?"

Her hands latched on his large forearm, and he glanced down at her. With a quick pat on the head, he said, "I'm going to make Hannah someone they won't be able to ignore."

Mindy let go of him with a weary look as he weaved his way through the crowded terminal. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant, and she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know. But she wanted Hannah back.

-Later-

"Where ya goin'?"

Pete didn't send Bobby so much as a glance as he continued to throw things into a duffel bag.

"Pete? Peter?" Iceman blinked. He was used to his roommate being quiet, but never rude. "Colossus?"

"What?" He snapped, looking at him for the first time since he'd entered the room. The imposing man hadn't even bid his friend a hello before grabbing a bag and starting to pack it, "What'd you want?"

Bobby gaped at him, "I just…wanted to know if everything was alright. You've been kind of on edge these days, man."

Peter stared back at him with cold features. "No. I'm not okay."

"Well, if you ever wanted to like, talk about it, or-"

"I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing to talk about." He went back to packing, throwing some dark clothes into the bag as he went on, "This isn't something you can help with Bobby."

Blue eyes looked at him with caution. He'd seen a change in Colossus the past couple weeks. Ever since he had disappeared for those few days. He was a bit more distant, a bit more hostile…even a little quieter. Something was obviously wrong with the man. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

Peter's broad shoulders went taut.

"I thought so. What happened?"

"She's…" Pete hesitated, "She's missing."

"Friend or…" Bobby pried gently.

"I, I don't really know." He turned his face from him, "But I have to find her."

"Let us help. The Professor-"

"Already tried. Can't get a lock on her," Colossus said. With a sigh, he threw the bag over his shoulder, "It's a lot harder to find humans than mutants."

Bobby's jaw dropped. Stunned, he couldn't find his voice. It was almost a full twenty seconds before he managed to stutter out, "H-human? You were with-"

"A human."

"Bu- when- where are you going!"

Peter smirked at his friend as he past by him, "Art store."

"Art store?" Bobby shrieked, jogging to catch up with him as he sauntered down the hall. His girlfriend, Rogue, shot him a confused glance as he desperately tried to talk to the hulking man, "What the hell is that going to solve?"

Colossus stopped just outside the door. He looked down at his friend, panic-stricken and concerned, and smiled genuinely at him for the first time in over a month. "It's going to get their attention." He said, closing the door.

Bobby stared at the door a moment. Filled with an impassioned, confused, and above all, concerned rage he hollered, "What the hell does that mean?"

-That Night-

His backpack was a faded black, but it was more compact than one would expect looking at it. It's various pockets held all the necessary equipment to make Hannah's voice heard.

Or rather her face known.

He must've had more than two dozen cans of spray paint stashed away in there. Varying colours, remembering the way different lights hit her body. Yellow and orange from the street lamp. Stained red from her curtains, touched silver from the glint of his metal skin. The pink of the brand on her back.

He stared at the abandoned grey hound, but was unsure about it. Nobody would see it. Nobody would care…so he kept walking. Passing by with an anonymity that both comforted and confronted him. So he kept walking. His feet led him underground, to an abandoned section of the subway station where he had first laid eyes on her. Making his way down the tunnel, he wasn't afraid of the flashing lights of the various speeding trains or the loud, startling noises. He wasn't even afraid of getting caught.

He was afraid this wouldn't work. That he hadn't tried hard enough. He wasn't sure he'd be able to live with himself if he didn't find her.

With a rough jerk, he pulled the lid off the can and began to shake it. His gloves provided just enough friction to keep it in his hands as they became sweaty. He started with the outline, then worked his way inwards. Her soft features appearing over the windows and steel body of the subway car. Peter tossed the can over his shoulder as it finished, and reached for another one without looking up.

Soon the second ran dry. Then a third.

His light blue eyes took in the sullen look on her face before moving on to another car.

He repeated his actions eleven times, on eight different subway cars.

Amazed, and a little light headed, Colossus crept silently back into the mansion.

"Pete?"

He froze at the voice. He heard Rogue give a cough. "You reek, where've you been?"

"Out."

"Out?" She repeated. "Bobby's been worried sick."

"It's fine."

Her face softened as her dark brown eyes swept over him with worry. He looked tired, his gloves were stained with a variety of colours, some barely distinctive from the blackness of the leather. "Where've you been?"

Not saying anything, he shook his head. Passing her, he went back to his room for a shower. Peter heard her sigh, but knew that if everything went according to plan, she'd understand in the morning.

-The Next Afternoon-

"Police have little leads on the manner, but do admit that the young woman portrayed is on their missing persons list." The newswoman said, staring into the camera and holding a microphone in one hand. With her other, she gestured to a subway car; where Hannah's face was clearly depicted. "This mystery woman, is known as Hannah Quinn, and if you have any information about her whereabouts, please call this number."

A telephone number lit up at the bottom of the screen, and Bobby turned to look at Peter, who was staring intently at the screen.

"Operators are standing by to take your call." The woman said, "And to where ever the mysterious woman is, we at Station Six would just like her to know, our thoughts and prayers are with you, Ms. Quinn." She nodded, apparently done, "Kent."

"Interesting stuff, Karen, really-"

The television clicked off. Bobby's hands clutched the remote, and he turned back to Pete. "Vandalism?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but Pete, there are better-"

"Don't tell me there are better ways, Bobby." The man said sternly, "They didn't work. This did."

"Yeah but-"

"But nothing." He said sternly, his smirk pressing into a thin line. "This needs to work."

"Why?"

Peter's blue eyes dropped to the ground as he sighed, "Because I need it to."

Bobby didn't say anything. Just nodded. "Okay," He told him, after a long silence. "Okay, what can I do to help?"

"Don't tell anyone. Where I go, what I'm doing." Colossus asked, "Just…"

"You want me to lie?"

"No. Just don't tell them." He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. "Cover for me."

Bobby nodded again, "I can do that."

With a grateful smile, Peter straightened, "Thank you."

"Hey, um, have you met the new kid?"

"New kid?"

"Yeah, come on, I'll introduce you." He nodded towards the doorway, "I guess you missed all the commotion last night."

"Commotion?" His friend repeated, following him down the hall.

Bobby nodded, "Yeah, this blind kid showed up and the woman with him started having a seizure. They're still in the hospital wing."

Peter rose a brow. "Really?"

"Yeah, I guess the F.o.H got her, put a chip in her head," Bobby told him, not noticing the man's change as his body stretched over and became metallic. "Makes her like, allergic to mutants." He looked up at him, quirking a brow, "What's wrong?"

"The Friends of Humanity?"

"Yeah, this girl's got some weird ties too. I guess she's like, a friend of the Brotherhood or something because this guy's with her. Multiple Man. Remember him?"

Peter nodded, not really paying attention as he thought of Hannah. How he heard her bones crack and shift after they made love. How she fell in the shower. How he thought she was dead when she hit the floor in the kitchen.

"Seizure, huh?"

"Yeah, a bad one. The poor kid thought she was dead, started screaming –broke three windows- and Multiple Man had to pull him off her. I guess she's like his mom or something." Bobby said, pushing the elevator button as Colossus winded down into his more human flesh and blood.

The stench of the hospital wing always bothered him, the sickeningly sterile smell of bleach hanging around him like a beckon of death.

Which is exactly what the woman on the bed looked reminded him of. Her features were worn, but pretty, her hair a striking bright green. Her closed eyes had dark, familiar circles around them. So similar to Hannah's it scared him for a moment. But the shake in her hands assured him she was alive, as did the rise and fall of her chest, along with the steady beeps of her heart monitor.

The boy at her side couldn't of been more than ten. Peter looked at him sympathetically, noting how hard the child was grasping her gloved hand.

"How is she?" He asked, apparently startling the boy.

He jerked, away from the voice, and let out a high pitched, but fairly quiet, click of his tongue. The sounds bounced off the walls, all around them, before he grasped where the accented voice was coming from. He looked the imposing man right in the eye as he spoke. "She's fine." His tone was bitter but sure, and neither of the X-Men missed the hand that slid over the boy's shoulder comfortingly.

James Madrox was no man to be trifled with for sure, and it was almost eerie to see the concern on his handsome face. "She'll be fine." He corrected. "Once we get her the hell outta here, of course."

Tony shook his head, tears welling in his eyes but not falling, "I never should've made her come in."

"I would've come anyway." The woman said, not opening her eyes, but smirking just as tad. It shifted into a wince as Tony let out a happy shriek. "Don't even start that again."

"Sorry."

Her eyes drifted over to the two men she didn't know. Her eyes were still a bit dazed, but Pete couldn't stop himself from asking, "Do you know Hannah Quinn?"

"What?" She blinked, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders as he climbed into her lap, "No, I- I don't think so."

Peter's heart sunk. "Oh."

Silently, the large man left the room, no longer wanting to know about the woman with ties to the F.o.H. He just wanted to get some sleep and forget this whole thing ever happened.

But her face, his Hannah's face, wouldn't leave his thoughts and that night he found himself standing in front of another subway car. Determined to make her known.

Even if he had to spray paint every subway car in New York to do it.

A/N: Sorry this took so long. The next one(the final one) won't I promise. Also, inspired by the song, Every Subway Car by The Barenaked Ladies. This is where i got the idea for the fic.