The following day, as predicted by Professor Xavier, Wolverine was, more or less, up on his feet and feeling good. He was sitting outside on the back porch, smoking one of his cigars, and enjoying the crisp winter air, when a 'BAMF!' and the odor of brimstone wafted through the air. He crinkled his nose and glared at the offender.

"Hallo, Logan," Kurt greeted cheerfully.

"Hi ya, elf," Logan said, less than cheerfully as he took a puff off his smoke.

Kurt sat on the back of the patio chair and let his tail swish back and forth. He zipped the front of his coat and casually asked, "So, Logan, I know in all ze excitement you must have forgotten to buy ze beer you owe me. I'm sure it vas just an oversight."

"Beer?" Logan grunted. "What'd I owe you beer for?"

"Ze bet."

"Bet?"

"On ze football game."

"Game?" Logan blinked and looked at him without recollection of any bet or game.

"Mein Gott, you've got to be joking?" Kurt asked in disbelief.

"'Fraid not, Elf," he replied with a shake of his head. "Must be part o' the memory I've lost."

Kurt stared hard at his friend and barely, just barely caught a hint of humor behind his eyes. "Humph, just az I thought, you have developed selective memory loss. You remember, you just don't vant to pay up."

Logan shrugged. "Believe what ya want, bub."

"Humph," Kurt snorted. He gave a sidelong glance at his friend. "Vell, either vay, it's nice to have you home."

"Thanks."

"But you still owe me zhat beer."

"Uh, huh."

"Selective memory or not."

"Uh, huh."

"Next time it's double or nothing."

"Whatever you say, Elf." Logan brought the cigar to his mouth and hid a smile behind his hand.

"I zaw zhat," Kurt accused.

"What?" Logan dropped the smile and looked at him indignantly.

"You know vhat."

"You two sound like an old married couple," a voice said from behind.

Logan and Kurt turned to the female.

"We do not," they said in unison.

Logan stood up and smiled at the woman. "How ya doin', Red?"

Jean smiled at him and gave him a quick but meaningful hug. "I'm doing fine. How are you feeling?"

"Felt worse," he said. He returned the hug and gave a look to Kurt.

Kurt scratched his chin and then said, "Vell, I have zomethings zhat I need to do. Auf wiedersehen "

He "bamfed" from the area and left his trade mark cloud of brimstone. Logan wrinkled his nose at the stench before he turned his attention back to Jean. "Wanted ta thank ya, Red. Me and Kit, we couldn't've made it without ya. I'm grateful."

She smiled and sat down in the chair opposite of him. "You're very welcome, Logan."

They sat for a bit in a comfortable silence before Jean commented, "Kitku is a wonderful little girl."

"Yep."

"She's very bright."

"Yep."

"She thinks the world of you," Jean stated, giving him a direct hint.

Logan stopped puffing on his cigar and looked at Jean. "What's on yer mind, Red?"

"Well, I just think that, perhaps you should ..."

"Ya been talkin' to Jasmine, ain'tcha?" Logan snapped a bit harsher than he wanted.

"Well, yes, and I agree with her," Jean returned in an equally harsh voice.

"Well, news flash, ladies, ain't none o' yer business." He stood up, walked into the house, and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh, boy," Jean sighed. This was not going to be easy, regardless of what Jasmine thought.

Kitku skated down the long, long hallway that led from the mansion to the hanger. She rolled herself and her skateboard onto the walls and ceiling. She willed her skateboard to gain speed as she made her way toward the hanger. The wind whipped in her face and she materialized her armor to protect her skin from the friction. She pushed herself to accelerate faster than she had ever before. She wanted to keep the speed and keep running as fast and as far as she could to get from herself and wondered what her future would bring if she did not stay here.

As she sped her way down, she wondered if she would end up like those older girls. Would she stand on a corner, get into a stranger's car, come back in a half-hour and give the money over to some guy?

The walls streaked past her as she increased the acceleration.

Perhaps, she would end up dead like her parents.

Faster and faster she flew down the corridor. The walls were a blur to her.

Dead, that is how she would end up. She would end up dead.

She increased the velocity of her skateboard, she could feel her legs quiver with strain to control her skateboard. A flash of white stepped out in front of her, she veered left into something blue that leapt out of her way as she forced her board onto the ceiling. She glanced to her right; something was flying next to her. It was blue with steel wings and was trying to cut her off. Kitku started to force herself to slow down as she created her bat.

"Sir!" she screamed mentally, hopeful that the Professor would hear her and hoped that this is how telepathy was supposed to work. "Help!"

As the blue thing with steel wings swooped above her and moved to intercept her, she swung her bat, catching the thing hard in the chest. An audible forced release of air was heard as the flyer crashed to the side. Kitku allowed herself the moment to see what she had hit. It was a blond man, blue skin, metal wings and very handsome.

"Bummer," she sighed. "Why are all the good looking ones bad guys?"

She swerved to miss the blue, furry creature that swung down from a pipe in an attempt to snatch her. She did a small hop was skating backwards. She materialized a baseball, threw it, and pegged her target in the back of the head.

"Yes!" She did another small hop and continued forward. She felt a hard wind pick up from her right. She spared a glance and saw a dark skinned woman with white hair flying beside her. Kitku poured on the speed, hoping to out distance the woman. Kitku's hunch paid off the woman was not as fast as the blue skinned man and had fallen behind Kitku.

Kitku was about to pat herself on the back when a sudden gust of wind lifted her and her board. She saw her feet come toward her face and then felt the ground slam hard against her back. Her breath shot out from her lungs and Kitku struggled to gasp a breath.

"Ouch," she wheezed. She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach. The three goons were approaching. Kit, shakily, stood up and was prepared to face them down. "Well, here we go."

She materialized her bat and took a defensive stance.

The woman raised up in front of her, the blue furry man bounced from wall to wall before he finally settled to her right, and the blue skinned, good-looking man hovered above and to her left.

The woman tilted her head for a moment and then nodded. "Understood, Professor."

Kitku eyed her suspiciously.

"Conspicuously, we were all under the notion that the other was the interloper," the blue furred man said. "I am compelled to declare that this was a most exhilarating and you were a practically estimable adversary."

Kitku stared in disbelief, not understanding half of what the were-creature had said. "What?"

"I was merely commending you ..."

"He said you put up a heck of a fight," the blue skinned man interjected.

"I thought I conveyed that?" the were-creature said as he rubbed his chin in confusion.

"Sort of," the blue skinned man replied. "You must be Kitku?"

"And?" she said, still wary of them.

He landed but not too close to her. "Professor has been in contact with us. Apparently, we're all on the same team. I'm Archangel and he's Beast.

"Greetings and salutations."

"Uh, yeah, hi," Kitku greeted.

"I am compelled to say, that you pitch at quite the velocity to stun even the most solid of heads, mine included."

Kitku tilted her head, unsure of what he was saying, and shrugged, "Whatever."

"Do not worry, child," the dark skinned woman assured her as she landed. "Most of us do not always understand what Beast is saying. I am called Storm."

Kitku turned slightly and looked at the woman. She was beautiful and her eyes were kind. Kitku was sure she had never met anyone as beautiful as Storm.

"You're pretty," she blurted and then blushed with embarrassment. "Smooth, Kit, real smooth."

"Thank you," she easily with a smile.

"I mean, hi," Kitku covered.

"Good afternoon," Storm greeted again, with the same smile.

"Come on, before the boss comes looking for us," Archangel broke in, saving Kitku from further embarrassment. "It was a pleasure, Kitku."

"Yeah," she said, quietly.

"Until we meet again, parting is such sweet sorrow," Beast chimed in as he bound off after Archangel.

Storm smiled again at Kitku. "Be well, child."

She flew off after her teammates, leaving Kitku alone in the hanger. Kit, finally, lowered her bat from her defensive position and sighed.

"Well, that was ... different."