Richardson paled when the alarm rang. He reached for the dampener controls, determined that no one would steal his research. Besides, he had sufficient tissue samples to clone number thirty-six. He had theorized as to the result if the field were irised all the way down; it was time to test the theory. He slowly twisted the dial all the way, then turned to his private elevator which took him directly to his bunker. Once there, he switched on, first, the localized psi dampening field, which should protect him in the event that number thirty-six survived, then the security cameras. He was disgusted by the confusion he saw in his screens. The fools were being overwhelmed by a much smaller force. He pulled out his chair, sat down, and watched.


Wolverine looked around quickly as the alarm rang. There didn't appear to be anyone on this level. Except Sabretooth. He moved quickly, following the blood scent.


Star cried out and caught at the collar around her neck. She collapsed leaving Sabretooth to support her totally. He clawed at the collar, but it was impervious. He turned the collar around, looking for the catch. The girl was completely limp. She wasn't breathing and he couldn't see a pulse in her throat. He tried to pull the collar apart, without success. The door opened behind him and he turned, his fingers still wrapped around the collar. It was Wolverine.

"Creed! Put her down!" Wolverine snarled.

"Don't be stupid, runt! If I wanted to kill her, I'd a done it by now. Get this thing off her." He held Star's body out to Wolverine, indicating the collar. Watching Sabretooth closely, Wolverine stepped forward and carefully slipped one adamantium claw between the collar and Star's throat. He pulled and the metal parted, the collar falling away from the girl.

Star's body, bombarded at once by all the blocked signals of her desperate brain, began to convulse violently. Wolverine held her tightly against his chest. After a long moment her tortured body began to relax.

"Much as I'd like ta rip yer heart out, runt, I'll let ya keep it ta get the frail outta here."

"Why?" Wolverine asked suspiciously, "What is she ta you?"

"Let's just say ya shouldn't count on it makin' a difference next time." He turned for the door, opened it, and was gone.

"Logan?" Star's voice was hardly more than a whisper, "I was afraid you were dead."

"I'm real hard ta kill, darlin'."

"Why did you come after me, after what I did to you?"

"Girl, I wouldn't leave Creed here, much less a friend."

"A friend." She rested her head on his shoulder, her battered body cradled in his arms. He glanced once at the body lying against the wall, then dismissed the dead man from his mind.

He gently put Star in a chair in the control room. Some of her wounds required immediate attention or she would bleed to death before he could get her to the blackbird. He applied pressure bandages to the long cut across her body, swathing her from armpit to hip with gauze strips to maintain the pressure on the wound. He quickly wrapped her wrists, then picked her up. He didn't think she could walk, even if he were willing to let her try.

"C'mon, babe. Let's find the rest o' the team, and blow this joint."

She wasn't sure whether or not he meant that literally. As he turned to the door, he saw a large folder labeled with the number thirty-six. He grabbed it as the moved passed the control console.

He opened the door to the hall, looking carefully in both directions before leaving the lab with Star. He moved quickly for the stairwell, using the same caution as before.


Richardson watched the battle with interest. It looked like he would have a chance to try out some of his personalized defenses. He activated a control panel beneath the myriad security screens. He smiled, for he had recognized his old rival Charles Xavier with the attackers. He believed one of the women to be Jean Grey. His devices should take out the two of them, at least. He reached for the dials.


As Wolverine reached the top of the stairs, he called Jean.

"Jeanne."

"I hear you, Logan."

"I've got Star."

"Where are you?"

"First floor, just inside the stairwell, West end o' the buildin'."

"We're on our...ah!" Jean's cry reached him at the same moment that Star cried out in his arms. The stairwell door opened, revealing a guard armed with a machine gun. The man was firing even as the door opened. Wolverine turned, shielding Star with his body. He fell and both of them, new X-Man as well as old, lay motionless on the stairwell landing.


Star fought the grip of the mechanical suppresser which threatened to snuff out her life. She pushed it back, regaining control of her body. She became aware of her surroundings once more and was horrified to find Wolverine lying next to her, his blood pooling on the floor beneath him.

"No!" she screamed, forcing the boundaries further back. The guard, startled, turned his weapon toward her once more, only to have it disintegrate in his hands.

"No more!" she cried, slowly, painfully, rising to her feet. "No more death! No more killing! No more pain!" Her voice could be heard throughout the complex now. Jean Grey and Charles Xavier began to breath again as Star smashed the equipment which bound them. Richardson stared as the control panel in front of him began to smoke.

"No more, Doctor," he heard her clearly. He could see her on the screen in front of him. He would have sworn that her skin was beginning to glow. Her eyes blazed as she looked directly at the camera. "No more experiments. No more 'unsuitable specimens' destroyed. They were children, Doctor." She hadn't moved, but he couldn't help but feeling that she was closer. "Do you remember number twenty three, Doctor?" She asked him. "He was hatched out the lot just before mine. He was pyrokenetic. Do you remember what happened when his powers manifested? I do. I'm a telepath, Doctor, just as you desired. I couldn't close out his screams, his pain, as he died, burning from within. And the others. Do you remember them? Let me show you!" Suddenly she was inside his mind, forcing him to experience the sad, pain filled, and bitterly short lives of each of his specimens. "Now you use your knowledge to hurt others, to kill my friend, my love," he was only vaguely aware of her voice continuing as madness claimed him. "NO MORE!"

Star threw her arms wide. The guard, too frightened to run, put his arm over his eyes as her body grew blindingly bright. Then the entire building disintegrated around them all, every piece of equipment, every floor board and ceiling tile exploded into dust at the same instant. Only the people remained. She harmed no one, not even Richardson. Everyone, technicians, guards, cooks, X-Men, fell into the area that had been the second sub level of the large complex. All landed safely, cushioned by Star as she hung suspended in space above them, glowing so brightly that no one could look upon her, rivaling even the desert sun.

"No more," they heard her say. Abruptly, the glow was gone, leaving only a tiny woman falling through space. Rogue leaped upwards, catching her and gently bringing her to earth.


"What the devil happened?" Wolverine asked suddenly, his healing factor allowing his rapid return to consciousness. Gambit offered him a hand up as he said,

"Good question, mon amie."

"Where's Star?" Gambit gestured and Wolverine turned to see Beast, Xavier, and Jean gathered around Rogue, who still held Star. He hurried to join them.

"There's not a lot I can do for her here. We need to get her back to the blackbird."

"Can do, sugah. Grab hold." As Rogue lifted skyward Beast clasped her ankle and the three of them rose out of the hole they'd found themselves in, and disappeared in the direction of the blackbird. Watching them leave, Wolverine ground his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, a gust of wind lifted him from his feet.

Come, Wolverine," Storm said softy. "We will join them." The remaining X-Men exchanged glances.

"Gambit, give me a hand blasting a ramp up out of here," Cyclops said. "Can do, mon capitain," Gambit answered. The two men turned to a suitably unoccupied area of the pit which had once been sub level two of the laboratory complex, and began construction of the ramp. Xavier, Jean, and Jubilee under protest, began checking the 'survivors' for injuries. While several guards had been hurt during the melee with the X- Men, no one had been injured during the destruction of the building.

"Hey, Jean," Jubilee called, "I need your help here."

"What is it Jubilee?"

There's somebody down in this hole." Jean approached the small opening in the ground.

"This looks like its been chisled out of bedrock," she said as she peered into the dark hole.

"You are certain that someone is down there?"

"Yeah, he stuck his head out of a tunnel to the side over there. Ducked back inside soon's he saw me." Jean nodded, then reached for the man with her mind. He fought her telekinetic grip, clawing at the edge of the stone as she brought him up and out.

Professor?" Jubilee said as Xavier approached, his expression grim.

"You know this guy?"

"He is Curtis Richardson."

"This's the guy that's caused all the trouble? I'm sorry I said anything. We shoulda left him in that hole."

"He is uninjured, Professor," Jean said, ignoring Jubilee. "But his mind is gone. He is completely mad."

"Leave him with the others, Jean. Ask them to care for him. Jubilee, would you be so kind as to ask Gambit to close this hole before someone falls in?"

"Yeah, right," Jubilee stomped off toward the nearly completed ramp.

"Jean, we are finished here. We should join the others at the blackbird." "All right, Professor." She lead Richardson to a clump of his technicians and requested that they care for him. There was a final explosion as Gambit closed the "emergency bunker" which had failed to protect Richardson. The remaining X-Men left the dust filled hole and walked toward the blackbird.


"Star, darlin' can you hear me?" Wolverine asked anxiously, holding her hand while Beast treated her injuries, his own nearly healed.

"Logan?" She answered faintly.

"Yeah, girl." She turned toward him and opened her eyes. He was startled to find that they were blue, with no hint of the silver which had so dominated her face.

"I feel strange."

"Don't try to talk, Star," Beast interrupted. "Your ribs are broken, again, and I still need to assess your condition.

"Hank," Wolverine said.

"Hmm?"

"Take a look at her eyes." Star obediently turned to face Beast.

"How very odd. Can you see?" She nodded slightly. "Well, we'll look into that when we have you stabilized. Wolverine, keep talking to her. I don't want her to sleep now."

"You heard the man, girl. You gotta listen to me for a while." He continued to hold her hand as he spoke.

"Why aren't you dead?"

"Don't talk, darlin'. I told ya, I heal real fast. That's my mutation." She looked pointedly at his hand. He extended one claw. "These things? Naw, that ain't a mutation. That was done to me by some old pals o' mine. Star, don't drift away from me, now," he said suddenly as her eyes closed. She opened her eyes, focusing on him with difficulty.

"She's badly dehydrated," Beast said to Storm. "Set up a saline drip, please." Rogue handed Storm the equipment she needed to start the IV.


Star was finding it more and more difficult to understand what was being said around her. When Storm took her arm to start the IV, she turned her head to watch.

"Star, darlin'," Wolverine said, trying to regain her attention. She didn't respond, so he gently turned her head back toward him. Her eyes didn't focus. He leaned forward and spoke to her again.

"Star, c'mon girl." She looked at him for a moment, then her eyes drifted away again.

"Hank, I'm losin' her here. How's she doin'?"

"Not so good. Try again to get her attention. We need her help."

"Star," he said sharply, taking her chin gingerly with his free hand. "C'mon, darlin'." He shook her gently and she looked at him once more.

"Stay with me, darlin'. I can't lose you now." His voice was ragged. "Logan," she whispered. "I love you." Her eyes closed.

"Star. Star! Hank!" Beast quickly checked her heart rate and respiration.

"Damn. Storm, check that chart Wolverine had. See if it says anything about stimulants. I need something I can use." Storm quickly flipped to the appropriate page in the chart.

"Henry, the information is here. Try this one." She snatched a vial out of the cabinet and tossed it to Beast. He injected the chemical into the IV line. Her over-taxed system responded sluggishly, her heart rate picked up only slightly.

"Talk to her, Logan. Encourage her." Beast prepared a second injection and when her heart rate leveled off, still much too low, he administered it.

"Star, baby listen to me. Stay with me, darlin', please!" Wolverine pleaded with the unconscious girl, trying desperately to reach her.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Beast intoned as Star's heart rate dropped once more. "Got to get her blood volume up," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. He grasped the bag containing the saline and squeezed it, forcing the fluid more quickly into Star's vein. It wasn't enough. Her heart beat sluggishly once more, then stopped. Wolverine looked up at Beast who, returning his gaze with compassion, shook his head. Wolverine turned back to Star, his face stricken.

"Logan,..." Beast began.

"No. I won't let her go. I can't!" He caught her limp body up in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "Star! Star! Don't leave me!" he cried. "Jean, help me! I can't reach her!"

Still a hundred yards from the blackbird, Jean gasped from the force of his cry across the psychic bond they shared.

"Jean, what is it?" Cyclops asked.

"Star!" Jean replied, closing her eyes and mentally leaping the remaining distance to the dying girl and her stricken friend. She linked her mind with his and together they plunged into the darkness surrounding Star.


They found her, sitting in the sunshine. She was surrounded by trees and the sound of singing birds. She was smiling.

"Star," Wolverine said, moving toward her. Jean stayed back. Wolverine took Star's hands and drew her to her feet. "Darlin', you gotta come back with me." She shook her head.

"Logan, its so beautiful here."

"You'll die, girl."

"This is death, my ... friend. Life holds too much pain."

"There is pleasure and beauty in life as well." She shook her head again, tears visible on her cheeks.

"No, Logan."

Jean was finding it difficult to keep them here as Star sank deeper into the final night.

"Logan, we must go back." He glanced at her, then turned back to Star.

"I'm stayin', Jeanne."

"Logan, no!" both women cried together.

"I won't leave you, Star. I need you." He pulled her into his arms. "I love you."

"Logan, I can't hold on!" Jean held her hand out to him, but he refused to take it. Star stared up at him.

"I love you, girl," he said again. Star turned and caught Jean's hand. The three of them were catapulted up and out.


Jean cried out and slumped against Cyclops, exhausted by the effort required to reach Star.

"Jean!"

"I'm all right, Scott." She accepted his support for a moment, then turned to Xavier. "Professor, Star and...and Logan?"

"I don't know, Jean." The X-Men quickly approached the blackbird.


"Henry, we have a heart beat again." Storm told him. She handed him another vial from the cabinet and he injected Star with yet another stimulant. Her heart beat sluggishly at first, then with more strength. Her body remained motionless in Wolverine's arms. He held her tightly until he felt Rogue's hand on his shoulder.

"Ya gotta put her down, sugah. Hank cain't take care of her here." Wolverine carefully lowered her, reluctant to release her.

"She's not out of the woods yet, Wolverine, but we'll do everything we can."

"She'll make it. I can feel her fightin'." He smoothed the hair around her face.

Jean, Cyclops, and the others entered the blackbird.

"Logan?" Jean asked quietly.

"Jean. She came back with me."

"No, Logan. She came back for you."

"I know, Jeanne. Thank you." Cyclops put his arms around his love as Wolverine turned back to Star.


Back at the mansion, Star was barely recognizable beneath the bandages Beast had used to protect her numerous injuries. Wolverine was constantly by her side. When Beast felt she was strong enough, Jean and Xavier tested her psychic abilities. Wolverine protested, but Star reassured him. He subsided, but glowered at them throughout the tests.

"Star, your abilities...." the Professor began.

"I know, Professor. I burned them out at the lab." She smiled across the med lab at Wolverine. "Why can I see now?" She asked.

"I believe the neural pathways which allow for sight and hearing had been, shall we say, preempted by the forced development of your telepathy," Beast told her. "Once the ... obstruction ... was removed, normal senses returned."

"But I'm still a mutant."

"Very much so, dear."

"Professor, what will my children be?"

"Well," he began, casting a sidelong glance at Wolverine. "I'd say they have a better than even chance of being ... of below average height."

They laughed and she held her hand out to Wolverine who quickly took it in his own, his love for the tiny woman undisguised.

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