Another chapter and thanks to all the new followers/favorites. A special shout out for X23fanfic, cheshire, and moon181597 for the reviews. I'll keep working on getting out chapters and you all keep reading and reviewing. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me ; )

"We're getting her out." Mako looked around the group to see everyone nod in approval.

"Juz get me down there and I'll get us out." Kurt reminded everyone, his usual smirk firmly in place but there was an unusually serious look to the blue transporters eyes. It hadn't been that long ago that Kurt had been the one locked away ... until the X-Men had found him.

It had been almost three days and Kara had yet to appear upstairs. It had actually been Kitty who had realized why when she'd attempted to phase her and Kara through a wall to realize in shock that there was a power dampener in the room. But Kara hadn't seemed surprised at all and had just shrugged Kitty off and told her to go on without her.

Kitty had tried arguing but Kara had retreated to her bed and just sat there. Unsure what else to do Kitty had practically ran upstairs and told Rogue and after none of the teachers would tell the pair when Kara would be back with them like before or why she was downstairs still ... they'd agreed on a jail break.

"It's not a jail break." Warren grumbled for the hundredth time, still unsure why they needed to be doing anything, "and remind me again why we think we know better than the teachers? Besides ... has anyone even asked if Kara wants to be rescued?"

"Shut up Warren." The group said in unison, earning a new stream of grumbles from the blond winged pre-teen and glares from Kitty and Rogue. Mako and Bolin had come up with the plan and ... that giant rumble coming from outside was the signal. Bolin at work would get the on edge school to run outside as the group headed downstairs ... straight into Jean, Bobby, and Ororo.

"Going somewhere?" Ororo's tone alone brought the entire group to a dead-stop and a small squeak from Kitty at the top of the stairs that led to the lower levels.

"We - no - I mean yea. We were just ... heading to the library." Mako tried with a smile as the group quickly nodded their heads.

"Kid ... it's winter break." Bobby smirked, clearly the most laid back on the landing as Rogue tried to recover.

"We know but ... well ya are always tellin' us to read on our own ... right?"

"Try again." Jean was impatient. She had a date with Scott later and had better things to do then mess around with a bunch of little kids.

"OK fine ... we were headed to the Danger Room to -"

"Try again and pretend I don't already know the answer. The pack of you were practically mentally shouting this stupid idea for the last six hours." Jean cut Mako off as she crossed her arms and shot Ororo a clear look to just get this over with.

"Children ... we know that you care about your friend. But Kara's safety is our only concern. Same as you." Ororo explained but that just sparked a chorus of protest from the kids, Bobby doing his best to play mediator, while Jean's attention waned more and more ... until her already arched brow shot straight up.

"It's a distraction." Jean was actually, truly shocked ... she hadn't been surprised by anything school wise for ... well years. But the smirks on the kids' faces was enough.

They hadn't been 'shouting' their plan to help Kara get out of lockdown because they were idiots ... it's because they had wanted her attention.

"What's going on?" Ororo's tone no longer kind, the smirks not quiet as strong now, but Bolin came barreling into the group with a shout.

"Did the distractions work? Did Kurt get her ou - ooooooh hey Professor Storm ... Jean ... Professor Bobby - wow you're all just looking at me now ummm ... what uhhhh - this isn't the library?"

The race down the stairs was a close one until Jean threw out a hand and the entire rescue party went skidding across the hall. After running past a confused looking Scott they got to Kara's room ... but all they found was Kurt.

"Where's Kara?" Ororo demanded as the lights in the room flickered but Kurt quickly held up his hands.

"I - I don't know! I was going to ask you that."

Soon the entire group was running back upstairs, Ororo calling out for Hank to start searching the woods as Jean tried to focus and figure out where the elusive feline had ran off to. But she was in the first place they checked.

"Oh ummm hey?" Rahne waved sheepishly from her position on the floor between Raven and Kara in their room.

"What - Kara what are you doing up here? How are you up here?" Ororo and Bobby asked out of breath as Jean just scowled. The rest of the kids were trying to look through the doorway to see what was happening.

"She's been up here since last night." Raven explained as if it was obvious. In truth, Kara had came by every night since she'd woken up. Raven had been having nightmares and it was only when she woke to a low rumble to find Kara perched on the end of her bed that they had stopped.

"Is - is that OK?" Rahne asked cautiously. She'd been free to roam the school, following Kara's lead and venturing out mostly early morning or late at night to avoid most of the students. Plenty of whispers still followed the teen wolf who'd disappeared into the woods for months.

But before Ororo or anyone else could answer, Kara was on her feet and stalking straight to the door, the rest of the group now frozen a few feet down the hall just able to peak past Ororo and Bobby. Kara walked right up to Ororo who stood above the still young and far shorter feral.

"Staying here." Kara's soft rumble filled the room as she glared straight at Ororo.

"Of course child. But we want you to be safe. If we can go back downstairs I promise you -"

"Not safe. Trapped."

"Kara ... come on no one said you were trapped." Bobby tried soothing but Kara just growled and kept her gaze locked on Ororo's whose smile had turned to something sadder. Logan had warned them about this ... about how Kara wasn't something to be 'kept safe.'

"The kid ain't some asset to keep in a vault. That's exactly what she was facin' before ... a cage is still a cage no matter how nice you make it. You push this and first chance that kid's gonna run for it and I ain' gonna be the one to drag 'er back."

"Staying here." Kara rumbled again.

Ororo released a slow breath as she looked past Kara to see the look of concern on Raven and Rahne's faces. Glancing down the hall she saw the students practically holding their breath to see what happened. The storm goddess looked back down at the determined feral.

"Of course you'll stay." Ororo could see Kara's shoulders drop slightly as she gave a small nod and without another word turned and walked back to sit on the floor with Raven and Rahne who gave a cautious look back at Ororo who just shook her head with a smile and headed back down stairs, Bobby and Jean in her wake as the rest of the teens rushed the other way to join Kara.

"Ororo." Jean called out as Bobby peeled off to find Colossus with a chuckle.

"Not now Jean." Ororo was looking for Xavier. He'd need to know that Kara was not longer going to be staying in the lower levels for her ... protection.

"Yes now." and Ororo stopped as the vase next to her and the mirror just down the hall trembled with psychic energy. Ororo turned around slowly with a single eyebrow raised.

"What is it child?" Ororo's tone no longer holding the warmth it had just a few moments ago and the look on her face making it clear - as if her tone wasn't enough - that she was not entertained by Jean's show of impatience. Jean's brow unforrowed as her confidence suddenly wavered.

"I just - it's Kara. She ..." Jean started but Ororo shook her head.

"Professor Xavier has already shared with me your thoughts on Kara." Ororo said dismissively.

"He did?" Jean's shoulders dropped a little as Ororo closed the gap between student and teacher with a step.

"Yes and I would strongly suggest you keep those thoughts to yourself. Kara is young. A child ... much like yourself. Like all of the students here. Her past does not decide her future and whatever ... feelings ... you may have about her you'll do well to keep silent." Ororo's tone remained steady though the lights in the hall flickered.

"Then why keep her isolated in the secure wing?" Jean pushed back, her stubbornness reasserting itself.

"That was for her own protection ... though Logan was right. It was clearly a mistake. Kara is not some ... asset to keep locked away. She's exactly where she wants to be."

And with that Ororo turned on her booted heel back down the hall. Jean rubbed her arm for a moment ... reconsidering what she had picked up from the young feral ... and with a shake of her head went the other way.

Later that night Raven and Kara sat alone in their room. Most of the mansion was fast asleep but the empath and feral kept strange hours. Mostly because of Raven's tenuous relationship with sleeping.

The two had been sitting across from each for close to an hour, Raven silently meditating and Kara being ... herself.

"I'm sorry."

Kara's amber eyes flicked up to Raven's purple ones.

"For what? I told you not to come downstairs." Kara's soft rumble filling the room but Raven shook her head.

"Not - well OK for that kind of ... it was still stupid that they thought keeping you as a prisoner was somehow a good idea," the room glowed for a moment as Raven took a breath, "I mean for what - for what happened before."

Kara's head tilted to the side clearly not understanding.

"You shouldn't have had to do ... all of that. And even if you think you did ... everyone shouldn't have had to see it." Raven was careful to always have a distant facade. Constantly in check. Control. But here in the middle of the night - when it was just the two of them - Raven let Kara in. Kara knew that Raven was terrified at what she had done in the past. Terrified of what she could do if she didn't stay in control.

"It's ok if they see." Kara rumbled looking briefly at her claws as her tail draped onto the floor slowly swayed.

"Do you really mean that?" Raven had heard and felt everything the mansion had been going through the last few days since the attack. When it came to the silent pantheress ... it took most of Raven's control to not blast them out.

"I do."

"How?" Raven's tone of disbelief clear.

"Because now everyone knows." Kara's brow furrowed as a hand drifted to her shoulder.

"Knows what?" Raven pushed. Kara looked out the window by her bed for a moment before she answered.

"That I'm here."

Things around the Mansion slowly got back to normal. Windows, wood, and steel was replaced. Even the non-stop coverage of Kara's ... 'actions' ... suddenly stopped. Bradely - still trying to recover from his role in Kara's evaluation had been trying his best to contain the videos spread - said it'd been basically wiped from the internet too ... which was a mystery no one cared to solve.

Everyone just felt relieved that things were calming down. Like they could finally just take a moment and breathe.

There were some changes of course.

Rahne ended up moving in with Dani Moonstar. The two teens were a bit shy at first. Rahne seemed committed to staying human when she wasnt running in the woods ... afraid of scaring off her new roommate. But it turned out that all that it took to break the ice was Dani coming back from lunch to find a giant wolf napping in place of her roommate. But instead of screaming or freaking out, Rahne was surprised to find just an unsure voice in her head asking if she was Dani's roommate ... right? And this new type of communication just meant that these two became friends. Whatever form Rahne was in.

Kitty went home for the holidays along with a few other students but most of the young mutants at Xavier's had no place else to go and the teachers did their best to make the mansion feel like home. That meant fires in the main living room and library, decorations, and trees scattered throughout the place.

After all of the craziness everyone was ready to move on and enjoy the season ... or almost everyone.

"Hey Salem." Kara let out a brief rumble in greeting as Logan stepped through the window and onto the roof.

Logan's familiar scent had told Kara he was headed her way but the pantheress hadn't bothered moving. Perched on her haunches on the brick rampart that went around the entire roof Kara's tail swaying below her. It wasn't like she was hiding and even if she was ... it wasn't like Wolverine wouldn't find her sooner or later anyway.

"Mind if I join ya?" Logan asked rhetorically as he sat down against a nearby chimney, drink in hand as he sat on some snow and settled in against the cold. The sun had set a few hours ago and their breath was clear in the moonlight ... not that either feral was ever bothered by the dark or the cold. Kara barely shrugged as she kept her eyes on the horizon.

She'd been coming up here since the attack. At first it had only been at night when the mansion was asleep but now it seemed Kara spent all of her time up here. Rogue and Mako had explained to the group it was probably just Kara wanting a bit of space. Kitty and Bolin had of course ignored that and popped by a few times a day to check in on their friend.

But nothing changed ... Kara's hours up there just seemed to get longer and longer.

Logan of course knew better. He took another pull as his eyes floated to the young feral and the horizon line she hadn't taken her gaze off of. He guessed she'd spend all night perched out here. Watching ... Waiting ... Protecting. He understood it ... but it was enough.

"He ain' comin'." Logan's rumble got Kara's tail to slow slightly. "Sabertooth."

Kara's tail came to a complete stop as she slowly turned her head just enough to look at him ... even though her eyes were fixed to the ground.

"You - I ... I don't -" Kara started, almost seeming to struggle to get out the words, as Logan put up a hand.

"You don't have to say anythin' Salem. Just know that bastard ain' comin' here. Not after what I did to 'im." This time Kara whipped around so fast on her perch that the snow that had settled on her flew off in a flurry, earning a brief chuckle from Logan.

"H - how?" but noow that she was looking at him properly Kara noticed that Logan seemed a bit ... raw. Tired. The way he always did after a serious amount of healing. Most people assumed that just because they could heal that ferals like Logan ... or Kara ... didn't suffer any real damage. But that wasn't the case though it took something special for Logan to be moving the way he was now.

"Birthday present." Logan's smirk quickly shifting to a frown as he forgot the glass and took a pull from the bottle he pulled from someplace. Looking back at the amber eyes locked firmly on him, Logan shook his head. "Salem, for once just forget the how. And I don' care what history you had with 'im. The hole I dropped him down? Gonna take him a while to crawl his way back out."

Kara looked back over her shoulder, her eyes clearly searching the horizon.

"Head in for the night Salem. I'll keep watch for ya. Pretty sure your friends are lookin' for ya." Kara slowly looked back to Logan and giving her shoulder an absentminded rub Kara dropped down from her patch and padded towards the window until she was even with Logan.

"Safe?" Kara's soft rumble not hiding the uncertainty that most everyone thought wasn't there. But Logan could read the young feral now. And he reminded the rest of the X-Men just how damn young this kid was.

"Safe." Logan rumbled right back and almost too quick to register Kara leaned into Logan, bumping her forehead to his for just a moment, before shooting straight inside.

Logan sat there for a few seconds and let out a chuckle before pulling out a cigar and enjoying the quiet night.

"What is that?" It was still early when Raven got back from the library - the cloudy winter morning filtering in through the shades - to find Kara carefully considering something on her bed which had quickly disappeared between Raven opening the door and actually stepping into their room.

"Nothing." Kara rumbled as she sat crossed legged on her bed, suddenly very interested in her growing book collection.

"Mmhmm." Raven smirked, heading over to her desk before opening a drawer and after a moments hesitation tossed a small wrapped package at her roommate who easily caught it. Kara looked at it cautiously, earning another roll of the eyes from Raven.

"It's a present. You're supposed to open it." Raven encouraged, smirking as the typically quiet feline looked from the present ... to her ... and back to the present as that tail picked up pace.

"But ... Rogue and Bolin said presents are for Christmas morning." Kara replied uncertain. The whole mansion had been making a big deal about the holiday. Kara had known about Christmas ("And Hannukah!" Kitty had added) but she hadn't been prepared for how ... excited everyone was getting. Even the teachers seemed happier.

"Yea well I didn't get anything for anyone else so why wait?" Raven shrugged and picked a spot on the floor to levitate and begin meditating. Though Raven's eyes never quiet closed as she saw Kara clearly weighing out her options before quickly ripping off the purple wrapping and catching the small ... thing that fell out of it.

Kara picked it off of her bed carefully, holding it in her hand as she examined Raven's present. It was a thin, woven black leather bracelet ... the color so dark it practically disappeared into Kara's fur. The only part that stood out was a small golden rune. Kara's head tilted as she looked at the rune, turning it as if that would help her understand it's meaning.

"It's the Azarathean symbol for protect." Raven explained, her usually even tone tinged with nerves as she watched Kara slip the leather bracelet onto her wrist as she used a claw to gently trace the design.

"Protection?" Kara's soft rumble filling the room.

"It's not magical if that's what you're asking but ... yes that's what it means. Mostly. The language is a bit funny ... that symbol could mean protect ... protection or even" Raven's answer getting Kara's ears to pop straight up.

"Protector." Kara finished, Raven smiling in relief as Kara's amber eyes focused intently on the symbol now bound to her wrist before finally shifted to her purple ones and for once Raven was able to read her roommate perfectly.

"Raven I never -"Kara stopped talking, her ears swiveling towards the window before the rest of her. Raven's powers gave her a empathic shake as something ... unfamiliar radiated off of her roommate who seemed frozen, half turned towards the window.

"Kara ... Kara what is it?" Raven didn't know what had caused the sudden shift in her roommate but the pantheress ears slowly fell as her tail went still.

"No." Kara breathed out and suddenly she was out the door, Raven barely able to fly fast enough to keep up as the dark feral ran on all fours straight to the roof at speed and somehow stopping suddenly, perched on the edge, every muscle tensed. Breathing quickly, her ears seemed to be trying to take in every sound as her eyes shifted across the horizon.

It couldn't be. Not here. Not now. Logan had promised ... she'd been so careful. But the video ... it - it had gone everywhere. She knew this would happen. She'd hoped ... But it was always going to happen ... what other option was there?

"Kara what the hell is going on?" Raven tried again but Kara either wasn't listening or couldn't hear her. The pantehress' eyes finally fell to the ground below as the reality settled on her shoulders.

"Kara," Raven floated so that she was now between Kara and the woods, "what is happening?"

Kara looked up at her - her friend - and Raven once again sensed that Kara wanted to tell her something - needed to tell her something - but all that happened was Kara seeming to almost choke on her words so that all that managed to get out was a growl until finally Kara just shook her head, defeat clear on her face.

"Kara ... Kara what is it? Can - can I get someone? What do you need?" Raven was mentally calling out for Xavier ... really anyone ... to come help. She'd never seen Kara like this before. But Kara just shook her head, her eyes back on the ground as another growl of frustration ripped out of the feral.

"Needed ... time." Kara rumbled out slowly and giving a final look at her roommate, Raven was didn't get another word out as Kara once again bolted inside.

"What the hell is going on?" Raven mumbled, shooting a look over her shoulder, and considering her options flew off to try after her roommate.

"Professor we have a situation." Forge caught Xavier as he was wheeling rather quickly down the hall, his tone serious enough to get Xavier to nod for him to follow.

"I'm aware of the situation Forge. I'm headed to find Kara now." Xavier explained, having picked up Raven's call for help, but Forge shook his head.

"Kara? No Professor I - we have visitors."

Charles came to a stop and looked up at Forge clearly confused.

"What visitors? At the gates?" Xavier's tone concerned as he had sat in on Forge's rather extensive briefing on the school's updated security and alarm systems. After the attack and Forge's return he had made it his mission to never leave the school so exposed again. Any approach towards the property or the front gates would have alerted the senior staff.

"Not at the gates professor ... they're on the front lawn."

Professor X, Wolvernine, Storm, Magma, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Colossus stood with the the school at their back ... perhaps the most protective force in the hemisphere.

Across from them was ... something new.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier. Who are you and what is it that you want? And I must warn you to resist any urge to lie." Xavier spoke calmly from the middle of the line, Dr. McCoy and Ororo on either side of him.

From across the lawn a man came forward, dressed in dark robes and combat boots in a way that reminded Logan of a cross between a monk and military commander. The shaved head, strong jaw, intense green eyes and the fact he just seemed to exude calm and authority ... it wasn't hard to tell he was in charge. Logan had marked him from the moment he'd came outside.

"My name is Zaheer. I represent the Red Lotus. And we're here to retrieve one of our own." The group behind 'Zaheer' was a mix of mutants the X-Men had never seen before ... an odd collection if Scott had ever seen one. But the looks on their faces didn't show any intimidation ... just confidence.

"There's no one here against their will." Ororo replied but Zaheer kept his eyes on Xavier's who's brow furrowed as he quickly realized that the entire group was shielded.

"Kara ain' leavin' with you baldy." Logan's growl was matched by movement and a yell from the other side, but Zaheer held up his hand and the group at his back fell quiet.

"Why don't we leave that up to her?" Zaheer's calm tone warming slightly as his eyes shifted and the assembled X-Men turned and took an almost united breath as Kara appeared from around the Mansion and without a word ... without a backwards glance her eyes fixed firmly on the ground in front of her ... took her place alongside the Red Lotus.