She swam back up toward consciousness, her head aching, her side burning. She opened her eyes, then closed them again with a gasp of pain.

"Welcome back, darlin," Wolverine said quietly. She heard a chair scrape across the floor, then heard the rustle of the curtains being closed. "Better?"

She cautiously opened her eyes again and sighed at the semi darkness. "Much," she whispered, knowing he would hear, even though he was across the room. "Feel like I been drinkin again, mon ami. Head hurts."

"Level Five stunner'll do that to ya, sweetheart." He moved back to sit by her bed. "What happened down there? How did they get in?"

"I don' know. Was wonderin' that myself." She struggled to sit up, but subsided when the pain in her head grew more intense. She placed both hands gingerly on her temples and began to rub. "How long will I have to stay here, hehn? Y' know I hate dis place. Want t' go t' my own bed." Even to herself she sounded petulant. "Sorry, mon ami."

"Hank wants to keep an eye on you til the headache goes away, so you'd better get used to it. You were lucky he didn't catch you full on with the beam. It did enough damage as it is."

"Quite right, my diminutive friend." Beast peered cautiously around the door, then moved further into the room. "Arcadia, how do you feel?"

She groaned. "Feel like I got run over by a truck, Hank, how y' t'ink I feel?" she snapped. It didn't help her temper to see them exchange an amused glance. "You two make too much noise, go 'way," she said as she twisted, trying to roll onto her side. The burn on her side pulled and she gasped.

Wolverine helped her to sit up while Hank proffered two small tablets. "These will help, little one," he said gently. He poured out a small amount of water and handed her the glass. "A mild analgesic, coupled with a pain suppressant. It should block the pain receptors enough to give you some relief."

She eyed the pills with disgust, but with both men watching her she could hardly refuse. She swallowed them quickly, grimacing at the too sweet taste on her tongue. "Y' jus enjoyin dis too much, bot' o' you," she grumbled. "Can I go now?" She swung her legs over the side of the bed and was about to rise when she heard another voice.

"Not quite yet, Cadie. I'd like to talk to you first."

She grimaced. Scott on his high horse she didn't know if she could stand in her present condition. "Yes, Boss?" she said in her sweetest, most innocent voice. She watched him stiffen.

"Do you know who those men were? Or how they got inside? This is important, Cadie." His anger pulsed across the room at her, but she knew that this time it wasn't directed toward her.

"Non, I don' know," she said slowly. "All I know is I came out o' de Danger room, talked to Remy fo' a couple minutes, den dey jumped me. End o' report." She paused, considering. "Prob'ly Friends O' Humanity goons, non?"

He gazed at her, obviously startled by her observation. "That's exactly who they were. How did you know?"

Wolverine's hand on her shoulder stopped her before she could spit out a not so nice answer. "Think about it, Cyke," he said reasonably. "You've been running her through FOH simulations for weeks. You gave her one this morning for cryin out loud. You think she wouldn't recognize 'em when she finally ran into 'em?" He made a small disgusted noise. "What else did you find out? Who sent em?"

Scott's face turned grim. "We didn't find out anything, I'm afraid. We left Bishop guarding them, and when we came back, they were all dead. ALL of them. Bishop says he heard nothing."

Cadie stiffened slightly, but Wolverine was the only one who noticed. *Non. T'ink I know what's happenin' here, don' like it one bit.* "Hank," she said slowly. "I know y' gon' t' do an autopsy. Non?" At his nod, she continued, slowly, knowing what she said might lose her their trust. "Den check dem for nightshade."

All three men turned to stare at her. "That's quite a surprise, Cadie. Why would you think that one in particular?" Scott asked quietly. Wolverine was watching her carefully, not giving anything away; he'd scented her fear. Hank, uncharacteristically, remained silent, awaiting more information.

She sighed wearily. "Dey came after me, non? An when dey fail, dey die." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she put her face in her hands, shivering violently. "Typical Assassin's trick. No prisoners, no information. Dead men tell no tales. Dey dead, dey can' say who sent em. Know who did, though." Her voice dropped even further. Even Wolverine had to strain to hear the name.

"Belladonna Beudreaux."