A/N:

I'm updating so quickly for two reasons. One: this story will be officially completed in just four more chapters. And two: this is another short-ish chapter. You'll notice, if you read my other stories, that I'm much better at describing fight scenes when the characters can walk on trees, breathe fire, or stab a basilisk with a shiny sword. Basically, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Harry Potter. Everything else sucks .

I don't own Nar- sorry, X-Men ;)

Your motorcycle is in the woods just north of the house. Follow your nose, Charles' voice rang out in my head, disapproval clear in his tone.

I'll explain everything later, Charles. This goes deeper than I thought. I need to see just how far this thing goes. I have some questions for Stryker and I intend to get some answers. Logan was Weapon X, roman numeral ten. I need to see what happened to the first nine, and see how many more mutants have been dragged into this mess.

I wasn't questioning your motives, Korena. I was nearly going to ask you to be careful. The Institute needs you too much for you to do something unnecessarily risky.

I'm always careful, but sometimes careful doesn't quite cut it.

Charles sighed in my mind.

I know, my dear. I know.

I woke up from my sleep with a smile on my face, the professor's voice still echoing in my thoughts. A moment of panic rose in me as I opened my eyes to the unfamiliar room but melted away when I remembered the events of the day before. Stretching my aching muscles, I slid out of bed and into the bathroom, taking a quick shower before getting dressed in Heather's daughter's old clothing.

Looking in the mirror, I smiled, baring my fangs. The jeans covering my legs were a dark navy blue with careful embroidery running down the left leg. My top was a white tank top and a denim jacket, on the dressy side but made of a durable material. I was wearing new running shoes, courtesy of Stryker, and my old dog tags again.

I quickly braided my long brown hair and slipped my new gloves on before striding out of the room and down the stairs. I walked into the kitchen, following my nose to the smell of eggs and waffles. Seeing me come through the doorway, Heather looked up, smiling.

"Good morning, dear," she greeted, humming to herself. "Travis and Logan are in the barn, talking about motorcycles. I was just about to bring them something for breakfast; would you like to join me?"

"I will, thank you. Thank you for letting us stay the night. I really appreciate it," I said truthfully as Heather loaded the food onto a tray for the men. She just smiled at me, still humming as she led the way out of the front door.

I held the barn door open for her, watching Logan shrug into a leather jacket.

"Oh, it fits you beautifully," Heather smiled warmly. "I brought you some-"

She never finished her sentence. I heard the buzz of a bullet streaking through the air and I instinctively ducked for cover as the glass pitcher of orange juice shattered on the plate.

Heather just stared down at the tray, confusion and surprise staining her features before another bullet came soaring in through the already damaged window. Heather went down, already gone. Anger rose up inside me, my vision tinged red at the edges as my eyes tracked the trajectory. There was only one marksmen I knew who could take that type of shot from so far a distance that I couldn't even smell him. Zero.

But there was no time to react. Travis was hit hardly a second later as he turned towards his wife, right in the heart. Logan jumped forward to catch him, but it was already to late. I heard the whir of a helicopter and I clenched my fist, centering my power.

I pushed the ground away from me. My claws extended and I growled, going straight for the doors.

I had barely cleared the barn when the helicopter fired its missiles. It hit the gas line and the entire barn exploded. I felt a twinge of worry before I heard the roar of a motorcycle following me outside. I pushed myself through the air just as the helicopter circled around, heading towards Zero's position. He ran towards the helicopter and made an inhuman leap towards the body of the machine.

But I undershot it. Zero slid into the helicopter and I rocketed right past him, inches away from him. I growled to myself before turning around and resuming my chase, following the helicopter as it shifted midair to target Logan. The machine guns fired and I pushed myself as hard as I could go, my fingers grazing the rail under the body before I tightened my hand around the cold metal, pulling myself onto the steel. I laid there, just trying to catch my breath, as the helicopter turned towards the woods.

As we flew over the trees, bullets flying, I made a spur of the moment decision and let go of the helicopter, letting myself fall into the branches below. If we were getting out of this, I'd need my ride. Logan's motorcycle wouldn't be fast enough if it was forced to carry two adamantium laden mutants. Even from watching it, I could tell it was slowed by Logan's weight.

I stuck my hand out onto a limb as I went shooting towards it, slowing my descent and righting myself so that I could cushion my fall without damaging anything too severely. I landed in a crouch and opened my senses, ready to follow orders.

Two scents were immediately picked up: adrenaline and gunpowder. I dug a little deeper, searching for something out of the ordinary as I drowned out the guns. There, hidden under the most recent smell, was the scent of mountain laurel, my favorite flower that, coincidentally, was not in season at this time of year. Following my nose as per instructed, I soon found myself in a small clearing. My bike stood close to the edge, a freshly cut bough of mountain laurel, no doubt from my greenhouse at the mansion, adorning the handlebars. I chuckled to myself as I threw the laurel to the ground, only now noticing the thick roll of cash that had been hidden just under the flowering plant. I stuffed the money in my pocket, mounting the bike.

I kicked it to life, the bike roaring mutely under me before I released the brake. I shot off into the trees, now following the sounds of gunfire.

I was just turning back onto the main road when I heard a load explosion followed by a resounding crash. I pushed the throttle, turning to see the helicopter, lying broken on the dirt road. I slowed the bike to a stop, watching Logan as he paused, ten feet from the helicopter. I heard a voice, Zero's voice, shout something over the flames.

"It's funny how good, innocent people tend to die around you!"

Without a word, Logan's claws slid out. I looked down as he struck the ground, igniting a trail of gasoline that led straight to the helicopter, and walked away. He had barely taken three steps when the fire reached the machine, and Zero, and ignited the whole thing, pulling itself apart in the explosion.

Picking his bike off the ground, he stared at me with a dark expression.

"Where the hell have you been?" I pulled out the money.

"Getting some funds together. We need to get as far away from here as fast and as soon as possible. Also, I doubt that '64 could carry both of us considering the metal," I defended weakly, gesturing to his bike lying sadly on the ground some yards away from me. Logan only grunted, lifting his motorcycle up.

"We need to pay John a visit," I decided. Logan tightened his grip on the throttle and I cleared my throat. "Las Vegas it is."

A/N:

Yeah, I know Logan's a bit too... quiet. But I think that, considering the circumstances, he would have been a little withdrawn. After all, he's having a pretty bad week. And he isn't very sociable on his best days.

Not much else to say...

Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/and follows! I appreciate them so much :) It's nice to know that people do actually pay attention to what I spend a decent portion of my time on, especially when I could be studying for that chem test tomorrow... Yep... A test the day before Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas. Thank you, Mrs. Mac.

*sigh* Susie ^.^