Arcadia stopped in her tracks and lifted her nose. *Dat scent! It's familiar, but I can't place it. No, more den one, whole bunch t'gether. Merde!*

She let out a yowl that was more feline than human. The other Marauders turned to see her pouncing on Cyclops. "Take em out!" Scalphunter shouted as he charged his weapon. He took aim at Wolverine, but a kinetic blast shattered his weapon before he could fire. He reached for his knife.

The other Marauders had joined the fray, and the X-Men were hard pressed to hold them back. Then one voice rang out above the others, rage making his bellow impossible to ignore. "Sinister!"

Sinister merely stared at Wolverine. Indeed, it appeared he was attempting not to laugh.

"Bub, you just made a big mistake," Wolverine growled as he advanced. The other Marauders were being quickly dealt with. Only Cadie and Sabretooth remained standing, and the others were converging on them, hitting them hard, keeping them occupied. "That girl is a friend. And nobody messes with my friends."

Sinister touched a stud on his arm and disappeared just as something heavy hit Wolverine hard in the back. He went down hard, trying to dislodge the screeching, spitting, cursing woman. She merely dug her claws in deeper---

*Claws? Cadie doesn't _have_ claws!*

----and held on. "Y' trespass here, y' 'tack us. Why? What we do t' you, hehn?" she spat angrily as she held tight to his back. "Who are you?"

"Y' want t' act like a cat, Gambit treat y' like a cat, non?" the Cajun said angrily as he grabbed the scruff of her neck. "Now let him go like a good kitty, d'accord?" He shook her til she released Wolverine. Then she twisted in his grip, trying to get a clear swipe at his face. He merely held her at arm's length, and she couldn't reach him. "Wolverine, y' okay, mon ami? What happened, hehn? Why de petite wit' dem an not us?"

"Good question, Gumbo. Save it til we're on board. Maybe Hank can figure it out." He turned and faced her, taking care to stay out of reach of her fingers. "Cyke's signaling all clear. Let's blow this joint."

"Cut the crap, Hank. Just tell me what's wrong with her."

Beast flinched inwardly at Wolverine's tone. "The simple fact of the matter, Wolverine, is that I don't know. Something has infiltrated her DNA structure and changed it. One might call it a further mutation, were it not for the fact the substance is foreign to her physiology."

"Can you change it back?" The desperation in the man's voice cut him more deeply than his claws could ever have done.

"I'm sorry. I simply don't know." Beast placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, which was promptly shrugged off. "But I refuse to give up. However, I think there is more information you should have."

He took the silence as a suggestion to continue. "Her memory structure has also changed. She has had a complete memory graft performed on her. Some of her original memories remain, but she is unable to access them. She truly believes Sinister is the one who took her off the streets and taught her. And most importantly, she no longer thinks of herself as Arcadia, or Cadie."

Wolverine merely sat, watching her, hating the necessity of the restraints that bound her. He knew if she woke she would go berserk, and that he didn't want to have to contend with. He gave no indication he even heard Hank's words.

"She calls herself Cougar."