Bishop couldn't keep the relieved smile off of his face as he reported back to work. Everyone was over the worst of the sickness, and after listening to over a week of their whining he was looking forward to the regular trials of police work. "Nobody should be that happy coming in to work on a Monday," a very amused sounding woman's voice said from right behind him. He turned around to see Cat standing there, looking her usual exuberant self. "After the past week," Bishop trailed off, shrugged eloquently, and Cat laughed. He looked at the perky blonde thoughtfully. Things had been pretty hectic, and she had taken the revelation that her partner was an X- man pretty well. Maybe too well. They were driving on patrol when Cat asked him, "I noticed your friends just call you Bishop. Do you prefer that, or Lucas?" "I answer to both," Bishop said with a smile, "but I do prefer Bishop." "Is it OK if I call you that?" Cat asked tentatively. Bishop looked over at the petite blonde thoughtfully, "Sure." Cat grinned up at him, "Thanks." Back at the house, Rogue put a hand on Neal's shoulder to stop him from going upstairs to use the computer. "Kitty's working on her physics paper," Rogue grinned, "and I wouldn't risk disturbing her right now." "I'm glad to see she's continuing her education," Elizabeth smiled at her before asking, "is she doing it on-line?" "Yep," she nodded and Rogue sounded quite proud of Kitty when she added, "through a program with MIT." "I'm impressed," Neal admitted. He and Elizabeth went over to use the office computer on the main floor. It was a bit slower, but should be fine for his e-mail. 'Too bad Kitty has a deadline,' Rogue though. Up till now Kitty had always put her work for her classes early, but dealing with everyone being sick had put her a bit behind. "Protecting everyone from the dangers of a crabby Kitty, I see," Raven grinned at her adopted daughter. "How did you know about..?" Rogue started to asked, then she smiled, "Storm, of course." Raven nodded, "Ororo told me about Kitty's irritability level going up while she works on a difficult project." "Or has a deadline," Ororo herself added. She looked at Rogue thoughtfully, "Has Kitty had any luck finding out about the Hand cadre that attacked us?" "Both Kitty and Elizabeth are checking into it," Rogue shrugged eloquently, "but there's not been much progress so far. Kitty does think the woman leading the Hand, Sakura, wasn't a Hand assassin herself." "Is this a theory, or does Kitty have something to back it up?" Raven asked. "Theory, I think," Rogue shrugged again, "Sakura didn't act like your typical assassin, she said." "Then there's the teleporting she described," Ororo noted. "If it wasn't a natural ability, then it implies a great deal or resources behind her," she sighed. "And a medium long list of adversaries whom she might be working for," Raven noted. "There's Apocalypse, Dr. Doom, Mr. Sinister, Stryfe, and a few others," she frowned slightly, trying to remember. "None of whom are pushovers," Rogue sighed. A joyful cry echoed down from the stairs. "Finished," Kitty cried, and they could hear her dancing around the little upstairs office. A few moments later she phased through the roof down to them, throwing her arms around Rogue, "Thanks for keeping distractions down, love." Rogue blushed, "Thanks." Kitty, still holding on to Rogue, said to Ororo, "We did a patrol with Elizabeth last night, and it looks like the Hand have left Australia." "And Lady Deathstryke?" Raven asked. She had heard about Lady Deathstryke helping Kitty and Rogue fight the Hand, and was mildly intrigued. 'Could she be considering changing sides, too?' she wondered. "Still in town," Rogue said, "supposedly on business." "Very interesting," Sage said quietly. The pale woman looked even paler after being out of the sun for a week, but she looked a lot better than she had. Ororo looked at her narrowly, "Are you feeling all right?" "I'm much better, thanks," Sage actually blushed a bit. The poison had caused her to make one or two messes, something Kitty, Rogue and the others had to clean up after. "Heather and I were planning to go into town, would you like us to check Lady Deathstryke out? Discretely, of course," she hastened to add. "Sounds like a plan," Raven looked curiously at Ororo. "Not a bad idea," Ororo agreed. "But stay out of her way, and don't start anything," she cautioned her. "Right," Sage gave a slightly mocking salute. As Sage was walking away Kitty said quietly, "Has anybody noticed that Heather has practically moved in here since Sage got sick?" Rogue grinned, "Yep." "Here's hoping she decides to stay," Raven said softly. "Let's grab some lunch," Kitty grabbed Rogue's arm, noticing that Ororo was giving Raven a 'we have to talk' look. Ororo and Raven walked out on the porch together, looking out at the surf. "What's wrong?" Raven asked quietly. Ororo smiled at her, "Don't get your hopes up with Lady Deathstryke." She sighed softly, "She's an honorable woman, but her motives and motivations are complex." "So were mine," Raven pointed out. Ororo squeezed her hand gently, "But your intentions were good. Deathstryke seems to lack that sort of moral compass." "And yet she fought by the X-men's side once against Stryfe," Raven noted. "True," Ororo agreed, "but out of her own self interest." Sage walked away from the group and down the hallway to her bedroom door. She knocked on it softly, and heard Heather call out, "Come in." Sage opened the door, and froze. 'She really is a natural blonde,' was the thought that ran through her mind right before she turned around, her cheeks flaming. There was the sound of a soft swish of fabric, and Heather's hand gently rested on Sage's shoulder. "It's all right," Heather sounded quite amused as she continued, "I'm covered now." Sage turned a bit to see her in a terrycloth robe, and sighed in relief and a bit of disappointment. Sage was still blushing fiercely as she said, "Ororo says it's all right if we go into town together." "It's all right if you see me nude, you know," Heather said gently. She smiled slightly, "I certainly saw all you had while I was taking care of you." "What?" Sage squeaked. "Who do you think helped bathe you while you were sick?" Heather asked. Sage's cheeks went even redder, if possible. "Oh, god," she muttered to herself softly, covering her face with her hands. "You really are cute when you blush," Heather chuckled softly, "that must be why I like you to do it so often." Deciding not to answer that Sage asked, "So do you still want to go to town?" "I'd love to," Heather said gently. She smiled wickedly as she tugged at the sash of her robe, "Would you like to help me get dressed?" Sage looked up at her, her cheeks flaming, then she surprised both of them by saying, "Yes." Kitty grinned at Rogue as she made sandwiches for both of them. "So what do you think of Heather staying here?" she asked. "She's good for Sage," Rogue smiled, "almost as good as you are for me." "Flatterer," Kitty leaned forward, kissing her gently. That same day, in an long abandoned town in the Australian outback, Sakura looked around her thoughtfully. The dust blew down what was left of the main street, and for a moment the silver haired woman though she was in some American ghost town. She stepped into a broken down building and activated a concealed lift, dropping several levels below the surface and into an technologically advanced headquarters. The woman in a simple white bodysuit walked down a hall to a much larger open chamber, converted from a treasure vault into their new training center. "This is quite the facility," Sakura nodded. "The town formerly belonged to the bandit group called the Reavers, until the X-Men defeated them. The X-Men themselves used it, until the Reavers expelled them again," Stryfe said. "And what happened to the Reavers?" Sakura asked him curiously. "Slain by the Sentinels," Stryfe said even as the silver armored figure reviewed the video files from the training sessions. Quietly he asked, "Are they improving?" "Somewhat. None of them are happy about the training, but they are beginning to work together quite well," Sakura said. She brought up a file, and two savage figures were shown tearing through simulated enemies. "McCoy and Feral are remarkably effective together," Sakura smiled. Stryfe smiled grimly, "As I expected. What about Plasma and Polaris?" "Plasma's arrogant, but I think I can keep her in line," Sakura reported. "Polaris may well be the glue that holds this organization together," Sakura admitted, "she mediates fights and keeps them focused on the task ahead." "And are they accepting your command?" Stryfe asked with a little smile. A bleak little smile and Sakura said, "They know not to disobey me." Stryfe lead Sakura into the main command center, his long red cape blowing around him. They brought up images from the surface, looking into the rooms each of their agents had taken. Feral's was a rat's nest, cluttered already, McCoy's was pristine, except for the animal's in their cages, Polaris's was mostly bare, and Plasma's was clean, both her and Polaris talking together. "So Alex was your lover, too?" Polaris sighed softly. The green haired woman looked out the glass window as the dust blew by. "Yes," Plasma said softly. She looked down, just a bit uncomfortable as she said, "I didn't know that he was taken at the time." Polaris sighed softly, "Alex could be a fool for a pretty face." Stryfe switched screens, "She had greater self control than I expected." She looked over at Sakura thoughtfully, "And has our... guest arrived yet?" Sakura checked her watch, "He should be arriving at the airport any time now." The figure stepped down from the airplane, clearly working to control his temper has he was jostled by the crowds. He pushed his blonde hair back, and his finger nails glinted metallic in the sunlight. He strode to the arrivals desk, calmly presenting his passport. "Victor Crane," the young woman compared his face to the photo, stamping the passport page calmly. Victor Creed smiled, trying not to let his fangs show, "Nice to meet you." He produced a piece of paper, "Medical notice, for the pins in my hands." The metal detector went off when they ran it over his hands, and the security officer nodded. "Right," the clearly bored man nodded. Victor strode through the airport with a smile on his face. He collected his baggage, 'Now to find the little Kitty-cat. Wonder if I should send a piece of her to Logan when I'm done?' With that pleasant thought bringing a smile to his face, Victor Creed caught a taxi into town.
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