Neb: After a cruise getaway that didn't end as well as it began the X Men find themselves back at the Manor. None of them sure how they would go about their lives in this world where Humans are against them. Vibrant's only suggestion to give is to just smile and let it go. I do not own X-Men Evolution.

Ricky laid back in his room talking into his Video Camera. He was recording what happened on their vacation with Amara, the island, the cruise ship. It was all a lot to take in for just a couple days. He stepped out of his room and closed his door before stretching. Today was going to be interesting, right now he was dealing with being in a new environment, strangely enough, one where he was accepted. It seemed too surreal for some reason. He sighed and then headed out for training, he grabbed his x man standard outfit, his fencing foil, and his rubber knife. As Ricky headed down the hallway he spotted Wolverine.

"Hey kid," Wolverine snarled. "Training starts in three hours, bring what you need. We are going outside to train."

"Not in the danger room?"

"There's no off switch in real life bub," Wolverine corrected.

"Then I can take my weapons," Ricky smiled.

"Yea sure," Wolverine replied. "Do whatever you want, just know to expect the unexpected." Ricky nodded and then grinned at him, yet he just glared at Ricky, scowled and then headed downstairs.

"Same old Wolverine," Ricky chuckled before heading downstairs after him. He passed by Jessica who looked at him and waved before heading off with Amara and Bobby. He then sighed before heading off after them.

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The training was brutal as X Men students were getting trapped left and right by the X Men Mansion defense mechanisms. Ricky, however, was blasting turrets away with fireballs and phasing anything that comes at him through him. All with a big grin on his face. Of course, even if he wasn't smiling, no one was going to notice, not with his smiling mask. He saw Bobby Icing his way by him and waved before dodging a beanbag that came his way. "Have you seen my sister?"

"She's catching up on homework right now," Bobby shouted before Wolverine stopped the session.

"Did I win," Bobby asked.

"You can ask yourself that again after you going through the course again," Wolverine growled. "All of ya!" He looked pretty angry this time. Ricky wondered what's got him riled up. That was when out of nowhere helicopters started coming. Ricky wondered if it was the humans turning on them again, but Wolverine didn't jump into action like he normally does. "Take over for me, would you Hank," he said to Beast.

You got it," Beast replied.

Everyone started cheering, then he turned around. "But I'll be watching." The cheering then died down. Jessica flew over to Ricky and he turned to his sister.

"Big brother, you're needed back at the mansion." Ricky looked at her and then nodded.

"I'd hate to skip out," Ricky smirked and Beast shook his head.

"Your loss," Beast responded. "We're going to have fun."

"Oh, can I join then," Jessica asked.

"You go ahead," Ricky smiled. "Beast is a mentor I'd prefer you having." Ricky then headed off to the Mansion as the others started playing around.

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Ricky headed over to Storm who had a file laid out on the table. "I believe this was addressed to you," Storm smiled as she handed Ricky the envelope. Ricky opened it up and read a letter that was attached to it and then looked at a picture.

"Father Chimera," Ricky mumbled and Storm looked at him confused. "My second father. The guy who made me a personal lock pick."

"I'm sorry Ricky," Storm spoke up. "I should have checked the address first."

"There was no way you could know," Ricky waved it away. "He was showing me a picture of his wife and sons in an attempt to get me back on his team. He's starting to sound desperate, maybe he's in trouble."

"Then we should help him," Storm spoke up. "I'll get the X Jet ready."

"Forget it," Ricky grinned. "He can find his own way out of whatever situation he's in." Storm looked at him in disbelief. "Sorry Storm, but he's not worth it." Ricky tossed the whole envelope in the fireplace and headed off.

"Ricky," Storm called out and he turned around and smiled.

"Was there something else?"

"Why to shut yourself away from family," Storm asked and Ricky thought for a moment.

"Cause they shut themselves off from me," Ricky explained. "They only come back out of convenience."

"That's not true," Storm replied. "You don't have to hide behind your smile. I know you feel more than that."

"Is this where I burst out crying," Ricky chuckled and she scowled. "Sorry Storm, I didn't mean that. I'm grateful to have you guys all as friends. My little sister and I, we are friends again, but... I don't have a family, I don't have luck with that anyway." Storm followed after him as he walked away this time.

"We are your family Ricky," she explained before trying to hug him, but he pushed her away and punched the wall causing his arm to vibrate again.

"I don't have a family! I can't have a family!" Ricky stopped for a second and realized what he did. "I'm sorry," he choked before retreating upstairs.

"Ricky," Storm yelled after him, but he slipped inside his room feeling more than just his usual blank smile. He put his mask on to cover up the image of his saddened face as he settled himself by the door. He looked at his shaking hand and grunted once more.

"I'm better off alone," he mumbled to himself. "I'm happy having friends, but..., not a family. Not again."

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Later in the night, Jessica walked down the hallway heading for the kitchen. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before hearing a creaking sound. "Big brother," she responded. She headed towards the sound quietly. "Bobby is that you," she whispered before turning around the corner with her energy field up. She saw no one was there and sighed in relief before turning around to see someone in a mask put some sort of device between her antlers. The device shocked her and knocked her out.

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Ricky laid in his bed unable to sleep. He felt bad for what he said to Storm. Sure, no one was perfect, but compared to other people he knew, she was trying. Ricky got up and headed out of his room towards the planting room, maybe Storm was there and he could apologize. That was when he felt a strange presence. He headed down the hallway towards it and saw his sister passed out on the floor with a strange device on her head. He grunted as he turned around only to see a young girl charge at him. He felt a device of some sort hit his forehead as he fell back and got zapped. Ricky screamed as he felt his whole body vibrate.

"You lied to me," the girl growled. Ricky recognized her face, she was someone he knew to be very dangerous.

"X 23?" The device may have gone off, but he was keeping it in stasis preventing it from doing its job. Ricky grabbed the device on his forehead and closed his eyes before yanking it off. He grumbled before the device started beeping, then he put it in stasis once more before throwing it out the window. The device then exploded knocking him back from the impact. "What the hell," Ricky grunted. "Why was X-23 here, and why did she try to kill him?" He ran over to the garden room only to see Wolverine, Scott, Rogue, and Berserker headed into the room. He followed after them before having a claw held to his throat.

"It's me," Vibrant yelled. Wolverine lowered his arm and they headed into the room.

"We're on edge," Scott explained.

"Clearly," Vibrant responded before putting his mask back on. He pulled out his rubber knife as they looked inside the room being Sun Spot and Storm knocked out cold with those devices on their heads. "My sister has one of those on her, don't mess with them, they are rigged to explode."

"We know," Scott responded.

"This is impossible," Berserker pointed out as he spoke to Wolverine. "The Professor, Storm, Bobby? Not even you could take us all out." Wolverine grunted at him before they headed to the next room spotting multiple knocked out on the ground behind a couch as his other selves vanished. That was when slashing could be heard and Wolverine fell through the ground and was replaced with X-23.

"X 23," Ricky yelled. "Knock it off!" She kicked him in the stomach sending him flying back. Scott and Berserk tried blasting her with their powers, but she was too quick and had better reflexes. Rogue tried to sneak up on her but had her shirt torn before being tossed into Scott and Berserker. The two of them were knocked out and then X-23 put her device on Rogue knocking her out. "Stop this!"

"You knew! You knew Wolverine, the man responsible for being this was here!" She slashed at Ricky who blocked her attack with his now vibrating rubber knife. "What's worse is you lied to me about having such a terrible life where you were all alone! You have a sister!" She kicked him again causing him to a role before he held her in stasis. She pressed a device on her belt that started ringing causing Ricky to lose focus letting her go.

"I didn't lie," he yelled. "I'm older, my life was terrible when I was a kid! It gets better, it can get better for you!" She punched him in the stomach causing him to collapse as the wind was knocked out of him. She was about to slice him but sniffed the air instead.

"Games over," Wolverine yelled. "What are you up to?" She flipped over and attacked Wolverine. She kicked him in the chest causing him to fall back and left the room. Ricky saw Wolverine growl at him before heading after her. Ricky then looked to his friends and sighed before heading after Wolverine and X 23. He could hear Wolverine shout.

"Come on, talk to me!" Then he heard Wolverine get hit by something so he moved faster to see Wolverine locked in battle with her. He tried putting her in stasis again, but she turned the high pitched sound device causing Vibrant to lose focus and fall to the ground again. This time she left the weapon on though keeping Ricky from entering the battle. When did she figure out this weakness, since when did sound shut off his powers?

"She took precautions," Ricky grunted. She then cut up a pillar and threw a chunk of it at Wolverine, then tried to drop a bookcase on him. The older mutant was still adjile and thanks to his healing factor, he could take all the damage she threw at him. She even kicked a piano at him. Ricky tried to phase it through Wolverine, but his powers just weren't working. Wolverine was able to cut the Piano before it hit him, but X 23 kicked him in the chest. She was then jumping all over the room, Ricky was surprised at how strong she was. He's seen her in action before, but this was crazy. Ricky ran over to Wolverine, but got tackled out of the way by him as a chandelier almost dropped on the both of them. She doesn't care anymore, last time they met she was trying to stop Ricky from bleeding out. This time however, she didn't care if he got hurt.

"I know what happened to you," Wolverine yelled. "No one should have to go through that. Especially a child."

"I am not a child," she yelled. She swung two punches at him, luckily he caught her wrists so her blades didn't touch him.

"You are," Wolverine growled. "Even though they tried taking that away from you." She made a blade come out of her foot and kicked Wolverine out of the mansion, she then followed after him. Ricky wasn't sure if he wanted to continue his pursuit, but he owed it to her. She saved him from Lady Vampress when they first met, she saved him from the Dashing Rogues the second time. It was his turn to save her. Ricky ran out of the mansion to see X 23's blades caught in between Wolverines. His shirt was torn, probably from her foot blade. "No, I'm a victim just like you," Wolverine explained. Ricky ran over and he waved for him to stay back. "I'm the one person on the planet who understands you." She tried attacking him again, but her technique wasn't as strong. Wolverine was able to catch her arm and she started to cry. "And maybe the closest thing you have to family." That word again, family. Ricky hated it, a binding contract to whoever shares blood with you or paperwork legally owning you. Why do people toss it around like it's something more.

"No," she cried. The third time Ricky saw her cry. The first was when they spent a night in the cave and she had a nightmare or something and the secont was when he was bleeding to death. "I can't have a family. I can't!"

"Yout feelings," he responded. "You fight them anymore, and win." She then hugged Wolverine as she cried, that was until choppers could be heard in the distance. "Go," Wolverine commanded. "I'll take care of them. Get out of here, now." She then ran off, Ricky almost ran after her, but was grabbed by Wolverine. "You knew about her this whole time and you didn't say anything!"

"I-I wasn't sure what to say," Ricky explained. That was before Fury stepped out of the chopper and walked to them.

"Logan," Nick Fury yelled.

"Forget about her," Wolverine yelled. "She's been through enough."

"I want her and Vibrant," Fury yelled back at him. "Ricky White is connected to her, we pulled up a file revealing he was in both Hydra bases with her. He could be a spy! I can't just let this go!"

"Yea you can," Wolverine growled. "And you will!" Logan then turned around and walked towards the mansion, but Ricky had run off before that. He needed to catch up with X-23 and explain.

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It was dark in the woods when he sensed her with his powers. He could hear her crying in the distance. "Laura," he spoke up. She turned her head and growled before swinging at him. He held still and waited for her strike, but it never came to him.

"They were hunting you also," Laura spoke up.

"They had no idea I freed you from that Hydra base," Ricky explained. "I've been around you and Hydra too many times for them to right it off as a coincidence."

"Are you Hydra," she asked.

"Never," Ricky smiled. "Those guys are evil bastards who deserve to be destroyed. She looked at him and nodded. He sat at the tree right by her and smirked.

"Stop smiling," she grunted. "I know you don't care about me. I read a file on you in a shield base, I know you have a sister and two brothers."

"The guy you ripped through to save me," Ricky began. "He worked with my brothers and Jessica and I haven't been close for a while. She's there, but I don't feel the same connection like when we were kids. I was running around playing with her and then my powers went off and I hurt her. I- I don't deserve to have a family."

"I thought the same thing too," she spoke up before getting up. She walked over to Ricky and then grabbed his shoulder. "Wolverine isn't my enemy, he's the closest thing I have to family and.. I think he is for you to." He looked at her confused, but she walked off towards the shadows. "Don't ever find me again Ricky. If Hydra and Shield are hunting us, they'd want you to lead them to me or the other way around." She then ran off and Ricky just sat there. She was right after all. They'd never catch a break from being chased if they were together. Between the two of them, they have too many enemies.

"Funny," Ricky smiled. "I thought the closest thing I had to family was you."