CHAPTER ELEVEN

Wolverine was lying in bed at the mansion, stripped to his waist. And he was not happy. "Do I really have to do this?"

Storm gave him a stern look. "This might be a surprise to you, but you're not actually immortal."

"Well, I've never actually died, so who knows?"

Storm went on as if he hadn't spoken. "And swallowing a bomb…"

"I didn't swallow it. I got cut open and had it stuck inside me."

Storm tried again. "Having a bomb go off inside you isn't something you just get to walk away from."

Wolverine sighed and let her carry on performing medical checks on him. "This is revenge for… something, isn't it?"

Storm gave him a light kiss. "It's me making sure that you don't do anything like this again."

Wolverine smiled. "So, how about we test my fitness a bit more?" He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Cypher and Leech stuck their heads round the door. "Did you need any help in there, Professor Monroe?"Cypher asked with a slightly cheeky air.

Storm waved her hand and a sudden gust of wind blew the door closed.

Professor X had been restored to his wheelchair and was in the office flanked by Beast and Cannonball. In front of him stood Neal Shaara. Thunderbird. "I've been hearing nothing but good things about you," the Professor noted. "It seems you were instrumental in stopping Onslaught."

Thunderbird shrugged. "I just happened to have powers that were useful."

"And you used them,"Xavier pointed out. "Choosing to use your powers to help others…that sounds like the decision of an X-Man."

"Or a member of X-Factor,"Beast added.

"Or a New Mutant,"put in Cannonball. The other two looked at him. "Just in case you were thinking of leaving us out."

Thunderbird sighed. "It sounds like you're making me an offer."

"Perhaps more than one,"Xavier mused. "But in any case, the principle is the same. There is a place at the mansion if you want it. There is a place wherever you feel you belong."

"I'm not sure I belong anywhere,"Shaara replied. "Perhaps that's the problem. If I stay here now, I'll just be grabbing onto whatever's on offer without knowing if it's right for me."

Xavier nodded. "Well, I hope you know it's an open offer. If ever you want to come back to us, you'll be most welcome."

Shaara smiled. "I'll remember that."

Havok and Polaris were wandering the corridor of the mansion. "Do you think that really was my father you saw inside Onslaught?"Polaris wondered.

"Who knows?"Havok replied. "Maybe it was like the Professor says. It was just a memory of him. A good one."

"Still, it would have been nice to see even a distorted version of him."

Havok put an arm round her and steered her into the living room, where they found Warren and Jubilee seated. "You're still here then?"Warren asked them.

"We'll be heading off soon,"Havok replied. "The boss has a few things to do."

Colossus and Siryn came in as well. "It feels like we haven't really had a chance to catch up,"Siryn admitted.

"Well, you two saved us from getting ourselves into trouble,"Jubilee pointed out.

"Thanks for that,"Warren agreed.

Colossus shrugged. "Not a problem."

"Not sure what we're going to do now."

"You could try talking to someone,"Siryn suggested.

Bobby and Rogue were in their room with Harmony, seated on the bed. "You know we're not going to let you out of our sight now,"Rogue told her.

"Yep, no more missions,"Bobby agreed. "We're going to spend all day every day just watching everything you do."

Harmony thought about this. "But what if I want to do something secret?"

Bobby laughed. "You really are going to be with the X-Men when you get older, aren't you?"

"Well, if you need someone to keep an eye on her,"Warren commented as he and Jubilee entered, "you're going to get plenty of volunteers."

"Assuming you still trust us,"Jubilee added.

Rogue gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course we do."

"We've all had problems with mind control in the past,"Iceman agreed. "Remember the Shadow King?"

Rogue lifted Harmony off the bed. "In fact, how would you like to help us take Harmony for a walk round the grounds now?"

Warren smiled gratefully. "We'd like that." Harmony offered him her hand and he took it, Rogue taking the other one. With Bobby and Jubilee trailing them, they walked off, all worries forgotten.