Jean put her head in her hands,barely listening as the news reporter droned on about nationwide reaction to the 'terrorist attack' in Maine.She didn't think she had ever felt this ill in her life,except for that time in med school when she got a bad case of food poisoning from that seafood restaurant.At least then the illness had run its course,and she had felt marginally better once she had stopped vomiting her guts out.There was no purging this sickness.

"Fuck yeah!Amen brother!"An older man at the end of the bar shouted to more inflammatory,"kill them all" rhetoric coming from the television.

"Can we go now?"She muttered to Bob,who was sitting on the barstool next to her.

He looked like Logan to her-he felt it was best she see him that way so she didn't accidentally call him the wrong name (was that possible?)-and frankly she found it troublesome and eerie.The last time she was truly alone with Logan he had kissed her,and she didn't exactly stop him immediately,had she?To his credit,he hadn't tried it again,but sometimes she caught him looking at her in a way that gave her goosebumps.Partially out of fear.

But,honestly,mostly not.

Man,what was her problem?It's not like she was some overly hormonal teenager.She was a grown woman,a Doctor for Christ's sake,a teacher,and engaged to be married.She was too old and mature for this shit.And Scott loved her;she had no doubt about that.

But Logan claimed to love her too,and he certainly believed he was being sincere.Yet since when had love ever felt that.... incendiary?

Bob was even smoking a cigar and nursing a beer,just like Logan probably would.But very much unlike Logan,he was singing under his breath,so low that only she could hear him."-I'd rather be with an animal-"

She wondered if that was a comment on the bloodthirsty people on the screen.

"B-Logan?"She prompted.Okay,she almost did slip,but the negativity in this smoky bar was starting to get to her.She could feel the potential for mob violence building in the room like a bad odor.If they knew she was a mutant they would kill her;she had no doubt about that.

He tapped an ash into the ashtray,and said,"What,darlin',don't you like the local color?Reddest necks in Alberta."

How dare he try and make her laugh under these circumstances.Still,she was unable to keep a smile from her face.If he was the all powerful mind reader he seemed to be,he would know what these men (it was mostly men-there were three hard looking women customers and the bartender,but that was it so far) were thinking.She could too,if she opened her mind,but holy shit she had never wanted to read anyone's mind less in her life.She bet an acid bath wouldn't be enough to get her clean after that.

"I'm tired,"she said,only partially lying."I'd like to go back to the hotel."

He nodded,and wedging the cigar firmly in the corner of his mouth,reached into the pocket of his leather jacket for his wallet. "Fine.My beer's warm anyways."

He put his hand on the scratched mahogany bar as the sour faced bartender came past,and said,"Paid in full."The thing was,he had left no money at all.He did pull out a five dollar bill and hand it to her,but said,"The real tip is you need to find another place to work."

There was no sign she had heard him at all,but she did take the money.

As he got up to leave,she hissed,"You can't cheat-"

"If you knew what she was thinking,you'd have no problem with me stiffing her on the check,"he whispered in reply,jerking his head towards the door.

She still didn't think that was a good reason to skip out on a bar tab...but what the hell had she been thinking?Considering the fact that she had never seen Bob use his powers like that before,it had to be bad.Still,did she know for sure that he didn't use them that way all the time?

As soon as they were out the door and back out in the drizzling rain,which felt as cold as ice,he whispered,"Motherlode.There was a guy in the back who was jumping on his cell to report that we were here."

"What?"Out of reflex,she looked back at the bar,but no one was following them...well,at least as far as she could tell.She wondered if Bob was as good as Logan at knowing when they were being stalked.Was anyone else that good?That was paranoia raised to an art form.

The sidewalk of this little skiing and tourist dependent hamlet was bare of both snow and people;the ski season was over,and here at the lower elevations the snow flurries were sleet at best.The buildings that lined either side of the grim grey street looked grimy and sad,and she thought she could see how drinking was probably the only thing to do  around here.

The hotel was at the end of the block,a squat building of a lower class chain,for budget travelers.The rooms were cramped and had fabulous views of the scenic parking lot,but they were clean,and if you worked at it,you could almost pretend you were somewhere else.

She shrugged deeper into her jacket,not yet willing to commit to putting up her hood,and Bob went back to singing under his breath.A very un-Logan thing to do,yes,but no one else was around right now,and he was keeping it quiet."What would an angel say the devil wants to know?All I need is a good defense,"Bob muttered,and because he was still keeping up his guise,he sounded more like Logan than himself.But it was funny to think Logan could sing if he wanted to;she doubted he'd ever want to. "Because I'm feeling like a criminal.And I need to be redeemed to the one-oh fuck!"He suddenly shouted,stopping dead in his tracks.

She instantly held up her hands,ready to use her powers,but looking around she didn't see anyone."What?What is it?"

"Someone just tried to telepathically scan me."

"Did they get something?"

Bob snorted derisively."No.I think they just killed themselves."

Somehow she didn't think he was kidding.But before she could ask if he was,she heard a strange noise,and looked up to see the first of the large black helicopters as they came swooping in from the mountains.

Oh dear.But she had insisted on coming along,hadn't she?

**

Harris knew the booby trap had been triggered,but also knew the fucker was fine.Wasn't he always?And he had a friend with him (of course),a female friend (of course),probably a mutant too.What the hell was it with that freak?He had all the personality of a psychotic Teamster with PMS,and looked like some mid-stage transformation of the Wolf Man,and yet he constantly pulled all these hot chicks.Was that some kind of freakish mutant power that no one had been able to quantify?It made no sense at all.

And this one wasn't bad at all.But he always did have a thing for redheads.

He got the call from the plant in town,and he looked through his binoculars,down at the town,until he saw them walking down the street,away from the bar.Yep-same old moth eaten Wolverine,with a hottie at his side.Mutant or not,he wouldn't mind a piece of that.

"Trigger the device,"he ordered,focusing on the woman more than Logan.Well,she was nicer to look at than him,although the parka she was wearing made her kind of shapeless.Still,nice legs.

"Device triggered,"Delaney reported,from the back of the 'snow camoflauged' truck.

Harris shifted his gaze through the high powered binoculars to Logan.He didn't even break his stride."No change.Shit."

"Maybe we're not in range,"Delaney suggested.

"Or maybe the piece of shit thing never took,"he replied bitterly.It was always something with Logan,that asshole."Radar,scan him,see if there's been a change."

Radar was the code name of the telepath currently sharing space in the back with Delaney.He sort of looked like Radar from the old M.A.S.H. t.v. series,so the code name was appropriate,but of course he hated it.But no one cared what he thought.

Presumably he did as he was told.Maybe that's why he suddenly screamed bloody murder.

"Holy fuck!"Delaney shouted,and Harris looked back,away from Logan,who seemed to have stopped dead himself.

Radar had collapsed onto the floor of the truck,his body jerking violently as if he was having a seizure,and blood was pouring out of his nose and ears."Radar,what is it?What happened?"Delaney shouted at him,trying to hold his spasming shoulders still.

Harris glanced at Logan and his companion,and noticed Meyers had jumped the gun,bringing his chopper over too soon. Well, fuck:they knew they were here now anyways.

"Oh shit,"Delaney gasped."I think he's dead.What the fuck just happen?"

"Logan's piece of ass,"Harris growled,almost admiringly.Logan occasionally knew how to pick his allies,didn't he?"She's probably a strong telepath.Stronger than Radar,at any rate."He reached blindly for his radio and flicked it on."Cyclops,I want you to hit the Southern end of Anderson Street from behind:start with the March building first.I want to try to take Wolverine and his friend out as collateral damage."

"Understood,"Cyclops replied,his voice over the radio broken with static.

Wolverine wasn't hiding behind a skirt this time,no matter how powerful her mutation.

Let's see her telepathy work when an entire building fell on their heads.

**

London,England

They took seats in the back,at a small table scarred by a thousand past cigarettes and stained by a thousand spills of beer.It was so small that,even though they were sitting across from each other,every time they shifted position their legs would touch under the table.Not so bad really.

Since they rather quietly walked away from the cannery slash nightmare factory (right under the noses of the soldier boys),Srina had seemed desperately uncomfortable.He thought it maybe it was her leaving her car behind (it was so expertly camouflaged as junked the soldiers didn't seem to notice it.She wasn't concerned about them running the plate,either,as she apparently kept up a running series of false ones,on the off chance someone noticed her car near a crime scene),but he began to realize it was just coming clean that was burrowing under her skin.Something bad had happened back then,and that was the most likely reason why she didn't want to talk about it.

He hoped he hadn't done something to her.

After a stiff drink of courage,she said,"So where do you want me to start?"

He shrugged."The beginning's always good."

She gave him a small kick in the shin under the table."Hey,"he snapped,although it didn't really hurt that much.If she had done it any harder,she might have broken her own toes.

"Don't be a smart ass,"she warned,her violet eyes narrowing to slits.

"I don't know how to be anything else."

The look didn't abate in the slightest."So when are you opening at the Chuckle Hut?"

He returned her look sarcastically."Come on,Sri,just talk. Start wherever the hell you want."

"All right.I was born the son of a sharecropper,"she began,then smirked at him."You're not the only one who can be a smart ass."

He sat back in his rickety wooden chair (this one sounded like it could barely hold his weight as well),and folded his arms across his chest."Sri,"he said warningly.

She rolled her eyes."Yeah,yeah.Would you deprive a girl of a little fun?"

He didn't answer,just raised an eyebrow at her,letting her know his patience was wearing thin.

She sighed heavily,like he was the biggest pain in the ass she had ever encountered.Well,that was possible."Fine.But I don't know everything.There were some gaps I had to fill myself,'cause I never got the whole story."

He nodded."Fair enough."

And then,her voice barely audible over the sounds of the tinny stereo system and the loud voices of the nearly drunk,she told him what had happened when he had been here last time.

**

London,England-1987

It also helped that people generally made way for him.Maybe it was his "move or I'll move you" glare.No one could project an air of palpable malice like Logan,and be obviously willing and able to back it up.

He disappeared around the corner of an alley-never a good idea in this neighborhood-but since Logan was surely the most dangerous person around,he was in no danger.

As she turned the corner,something grabbed her and threw her against the wall,and she yelped in surprise,mainly because she was in invisible mode.

Maybe she shouldn't have surprised to see Logan was up in her face-or at least where her face ought to be,if it was visible."What have I told you about followin' me?"He growled.

She went back to visible,if only so he could see her giving him the evil eye."Hey,I was just out,mindin' my own business.It was coincidence that you were out here too."

He scowled at her,obviously not buying it."You could get hurt.And if you get caught,you could get killed."

"I can take care of myself."

He continued to scowl at her."That ain't the point,Spud."

Okay,he was calling her that to annoy her."Well,my point is I'm bored of being cooped up.Come on,what's wrong with goin' out for a drink?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes,letting go of her arms."If we're seen together in public,it's probably the death of you."

"Really?Are you being followed by someone?Other than me,of course.Are you being watched?"

With great reluctance,he conceded the point."No."

"So then,let's go.There's a place around the corner from here that you embassy workers-"She winked knowingly."-wouldn't be caught in.C'mon."

He shook his head,shrugging his shoulders."Yeah,well,I lost the scent anyways."

"The scent?You were trailing someone by smell?How?"

He turned away,but not before she could see the annoyance flash through his eyes."It's a gift.Let's go,I could use a drink."

He let her lead the way,hanging back ever so slightly,as if keeping an eye out for someone,or simply hanging back to keep an excusable distance between them.She wanted to turn around and slug him,but having felt his muscles herself,she knew she'd probably just hurt herself.If he wanted to be such a completely paranoid bastard,that was fine,but she drew the line at sitting at separate tables.

He suddenly stopped,and hastily whispered under his breath,"Keep walkin'.I'm bein' followed."

She turned and fixed him with a corrosive stare."Yeah,right.Look,you wanna chicken out?Chicken out!Don't make up some bullshit story-"

He had turned,and his hands clenched into fists at his sides,nine inch long metal claws suddenly punching through the flesh of his knuckles."Get out of here,"he snarled,almost sounding inhuman.It also sounded like he was sniffing the air like a dog.

Okay,he said he had claws,but he never said anything about them being metal,or being so fucking huge.

What was going on?Was the guy he was after suddenly stalking him?Who would be stupid enough to come after a guy with a body as hard as rock and knives in his hands?

She got her answer when Logan suddenly looked to his right,and the brick wall on that side seemed to explode all over him.

Srina instantly went invisible,at least until she could figure out what was going on,and she saw Logan go down hard,with something on top of him,stabbing him with what looked like its own metal claws even as the bricks continued to fall on top of both of them.The...thing looked like a human,kind of,just as broad shouldered as a barn with hair that wasn't so much hair as living tendrils that seemed to moving in a thousand different directions,as if trying to flee his bulbous,milk white scalp.

She looked around for something she could use as a weapon as she heard Logan grunt with pain as the thing seemed to be trying to rip open his stomach,but Logan shoved his own claws deep in the thing's chest,making it scream in a way that was part buzz saw and part grizzly bear.He ripped his claws in different directions and white blood that looked like glossy paint splattered everywhere,and at the same time Logan got his knees up and kicked away his attacker,sending him flying through the hole he had left in the building that had once housed a grotty billiards parlor.

She had found what looked like an old plumbing pipe behind a dumpster,but she didn't seem to need a weapon anymore. Still, she stayed invisible,mainly out of self-preservation.

Logan got to his knees,an arm wrapped around the mess that was his stomach.He was bleeding quite badly,and his stomach was a complete ruin:it looked like shredded beef,and his shirt was in complete tatters,barely hanging on.She heard a weird rumbling noise,and it took her a second to realize Logan was growling like an angry dog.His blue-green eyes were glazed with pain,yet they were full of a rage that looked frighteningly inhuman:ballistic did not cover it,nor did nuclear.Even homicidal seemed tame.

He hurt him.She got the idea people who hurt Logan rarely lived to do it again.

Maybe it was the reflected light from the street,but as he rose shakily to his feet,it looked like his stomach was moving...roiling. Muscle tissue seemed to grow back together,moving like bloody snakes as they joined and formed a solid latticework for the skin, which seemed to be spreading across him like fire on gasoline.She thought she was going to be sick.

Somehow,the thing dove through the wall,screeching like a hawk,but Logan,grunting in pain,lashed out a claw,and even as the huge white blur hit Logan solidly and drove him deep into the parallel wall (hard enough to leave a Logan shaped dent in the brick facade) she saw something fly off the mutant Casper and land on the pavement not a meter from her.

It was the top of Whitey's scalp,the snake like tubules he had in place of hair now writhing like they were in pain.It almost looked like they were trying to crawl along the pavement,back towards its owner.

Okay,now she knew she was going to be sick.She tried to swallow back her rising gorge and looked away,as she wasn't sure vomit could ever be invisible.What the fuck kind of mutant was Whitey?

Where were Ghostbusters when you needed them?

He was still hammering away on Logan too,scalped or not.And she saw why:his head seemed to be...healing over,just like Logan's stomach,and even new tubules were sprouting before the leathery flesh had completely healed shut.It was more sickening than what had happened to Logan-but it was the exact same process,wasn't it?

The thing seemed to be slashing wildly at Logan's soft tissue,tearing away flesh and spattering blood,but Logan was slashing back as good as he got,with a lot more deadly precision.The thing should have been dead ten times over-but then again,so should have Logan.

Logan punched his claws straight through Whitey's face-the tips burst through the back of  his pasty head in a spray of glue like blood,and even so,Whitey just howled as if it hurt and was not a mortal injury,and picking Logan up with the claws he had once again buried in his abdomen,he threw Logan down the alley like he was nothing but a sack of garbage.

Logan tried to catch himself,but was too badly hurt,and ended up hitting the ground face first.But she knew from the groan of frustration and pain that he was still conscious,and it seemed impossible that both these guys were moving,nonetheless still alive.

The mutant quickly went after Logan,and he was talking-growling-under his breath."First they send a crap psionic after me,and then they send you,old man.And you're supposed to be the best of what they've got?Sad.No wonder they needed me."

He didn't seem to 'smell' her like Logan;he walked right by her,and she wondered why she hadn't tripped him or something. Was it her,or did he smell a bit like eau de sewer?

Logan growled as he got up,still grabbing his bleeding,slashed open gut (although it was quickly healing over again)."Famous last words,bub."

"For you,yes,"Whitey agreed,and as Logan rose to his feet,Whitey lunged for him.

But in spite of being handicapped by an open wound,Logan moved quickly and spun around,claws flashing through the air.

She would have sworn there was no contact on Logan's part before Whitey tackled him and threw him down,but she heard something clatter against the wall before hitting the ground,and Whitey shrieked in horror,even as he tried to shove Logan's head through the pavement."Motherfucker!You're dead!"

Srina saw what looked like long,thin ivory nails a few feet away,and realized they must have been Whitey's claws.Logan had cut them off.

Logan slashed blindly,slicing through Whitey's ugly face,but that didn't keep Whitey from digging the stumps of his claws into Logan's throat,ripping free a chunk of flesh in a sudden gout of blood."How much blood can you lose before it's critical,Wolvie? Huh?Do you know,you stupid piece of shit?"

Remaining invisible,she walked up to Whitey,straddling Logan as he continued tearing open his throat (when it tried to heal,he just tore it open anew),and took a tennis stance.Her poor lower middle class parents had once paid for tennis lessons, misguidedly thinking it would be a way out for her,but frankly she sucked at it,and she hated tennis.They liked it,not her.The only thing she was ever good at was the forehand smash-she could send a ball into orbit.Apparently,you weren't supposed to do that in tennis,though (her instructor advised her to take up cricket,golf or volleyball).She wondered if she still had the same old magic.
In her mind,she shouted 'Fore!' and smashed Whitey in the back of the head with the pipe.

It seemed to bounce off his skull with a sound like a muffled gong,but he fell off of Logan,obviously stunned."What the fuck..?!" Whitey exclaimed,grabbing the back of his head.

She took a second swing,smacking him straight in his face.He fell onto his back,his beak like nose spurting milky blood.She realized his face was wrong in a way that was almost unidentifiable;the skin was as smooth as silk,his mouth almost lipless,and his eyes seemed sunken,his eyes irises white while the traditional white of his eyes was a sort of an egg yolk yellow.That was what his face looked like-an egg sketched ineffectually with an eerie outline of a face.

"Sri,I told you to get out of here,"Logan growled raspily,holding onto his throat.Blood was still oozing through his fingers,and he was still trying to struggle to his feet,even though he was starting to look paler than she had ever seen him.The Eggman had ripped open his carotid artery.How the hell was he even alert?It looked like he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

The Eggman must have figured out where she was,because he looked at her with his yellow-white eyes,and lunged towards her with his stubby claws.Logan kicked out,nailing Eggy in the sternum,and Sri wound up and smashed him in the side of the head again.

Eggman went flying sideways and hit the pavement hard,rolling to a stop as soon as he slammed up against the dumpster.He was still conscious (fuck-what did it take to put this son of a bitch down?),but blood was dripping from his face (from his head tubules?) as he snarled at them."So,you have an invisible friend,huh?You actually think that's enough to save your sorry ass?"Eggy stood and
grabbed the one ton dumpster like it weighed nothing,and shoved it straight towards them.As big and heavy as a water buffalo as it was,it was moving as fast as a car,and it seemed like a blur as she was suddenly shoved violently aside,hard enough to hit the wall and see stars.

Even as she sank to the ground,struggling to stay unseen,she saw the dumpster run straight into Logan (who had somehow managed to get to his feet in time to shove her away),and Eggy slammed it to the side,wedging Logan between the dumpster and the wall of the old billiards hall."Nice try,old man,"Eggy snarled,as she saw a dark liquid ooze from beneath the dumpster.
With a lurch of her stomach,she realized it was blood:Logan must have been crushed flat as a pancake.Okay,now she was going to barf."But thanks to you,I think my claws will grow back just fine."

And then Eggy ran off,disappearing into the night,laughing like the complete fucking nut he must have been.

She went back to visible and finally set the pipe down beside her,staring at the dumpster like it might come to life and ram her at any second."Logan?"She asked,and felt instantly idiotic.She had just watched him get smooshed like a bug beneath a shoe.Did she actually think he could answer?

And that's when the dumpster moved.

The wheels squeaked as it was moved away from the wall incrementally,and she jumped to her feet,startled beyond words. Could the Eggman turn invisible too?

She was about to bolt when she heard an unintelligible noise from behind the dumpster,and she had spent enough time in bed with Logan to know what his inarticulate grunts sounded like.No fucking way."Logan?"She repeated,carefully creeping to the far side of the dumpster,giving it a wide berth in case it moved more suddenly.

It moved more,making her jump,and Logan crawled out from behind it,pausing to spit out a mouthful of blood and what looked to be several teeth."Fuck,"he said,sounding like he had a head cold as his obviously broken nose reconstructed itself as she watched."I hate losin' teeth.They hurt so fucking much when they grow back."

"They grow back?"She asked,then moved to help him as he struggled to his feet.She grabbed an arm and tried to help hoist him up,but he was so heavy she almost fell over.But between her and the brick wall,he managed to get to his feet.

He looked hideous.The lower half of his face and his chest was drenched in blood,and his jeans looked almost black with it.His stomach and throat wounds had all but healed over now,save for some lingering scars on the skin (fading every second,like they were slowly submerging beneath his flesh),but his eyes were very glassy,almost rolling inside his head,like he was going to collapse any second now.Considering he could barely stand,she would bet on that.

"I can't take you to a hospital,can I?"She asked,guessing his mutant ability was so extreme (not to mention his metal claws) it would be instantly noticed in the emergency room.

He shook his head,and nearly made himself fall over.She grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders,but all that accomplished was she almost fell down with him.Man,he was so much heavier than he looked." 'll be okay.Give me a sec."

"Fuck you!I've never seen so much carnage outside a horror movie in my entire life!Who the fuck was that wanker anyways?" Now that she had found her outrage,a thousand questions popped into her head."And why did he call you old man?And what did he mean "thanks to you,my claws will grow back"?"

Logan shook his head again,but more carefully,so he didn't throw himself off balance."Which way did he go?All I can smell at the moment is my own blood."

Okay,now she knew he was as barmy as that white faced motherfucker."Are you saying you're going after him?In the shape you're in?!'

"I have to."

"Why?"

He gave her a sidelong glance,his eyes looking a little more brighter and focused." 'Cause he pissed me off."

She rolled her eyes at this macho bullshit,and tried to ignore the growing weakness in her legs.Adrenaline overload;only now was it really hitting her.That Kabuki skinned motherfucker was a real psychotic;he could have killed them both."We can call the bloody coppers,say we were attacked by some deranged mutant.You know they'll-"

"They'll be killed,"he interrupted impatiently.He seemed to be becoming his crabby old self by the second."Not that I honestly give a fuck,but this is not Amateur Night.I have to hunt this cocksucker down and finish the job."

"So that's the thing you've been after?What the fuck is it?"

"A mutant called Chimera.He used to be-"he hesitated,as if he didn't know what to say,or had said too much.

"Like you?"She asked,filling in the most obvious answer."He used to work for the 'embassy',is that it?Is that why he called you 'old man','cause you'd been there longer?"

He looked away before he nodded."Yeah,somethin' like that.Look,go home-I'm okay.I have work to do."

"Oh,fuck you twice!"She snapped angrily.

"Not right now,"he replied flippantly,freeing his arm from her shoulders."Maybe later."