Summary: The next leg of the journey begins.

“You sure about dis?”

Logan looked from his new ‘old’ Harley Davidson he had bought in place of his previous one. That one was a complete washout….and any way it was not his, but Cycke’s. Let the little fucker get a new one.

“Yeah Gumbo,” he sighed as he stood up, knocked off the stand and pushed he bike up into the back of his trailer. Locking its harnesses, he jumped off the back and with an audible slam, shut the door. “I need ta get outta here....”

“Yeah yeah, Remy heard it all,” the smooth Cajun, leaned against the side of the trailer, fishing out a ‘homemade’ cigarette from his side pocket. “Y’ told ‘im everyting last night.”

Logan chuckled at the mention of the previous night. In celebration of their victory and for a bit of downtime, the X-Men had headed to their favorite hangout bar, Harry’s. What made the small seemingly ‘nondescript’ bar even more attractive was its mutant friendly atmosphere. It was one of the few places; even the visibly mutant members like Kurt and Henry could go and be themselves….without the need for an image inducer.

Unable to hold their drinks, Kurt, Scott and Jean, all got hammered pretty soon, and headed on to do a dance jig on the top of the main service counter itself. Jean even gave an impromptu strip show, and although Ororo’s timely but ‘teary-giggly’ intervention, stopped her from going au’ naturale, she did come down to her bra and panties….much to the joy of every single hot bloodied male in the entire establishment, and a few of the female too.

---

“You’ll be missed.” Xavier’s voice accompanied the near silent whir of this motorized wheelchair.

“Hn,” Logan didn’t seem too inclined to answer. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing left for him here….just like any place else for that matter. All that he had was his truck, his bike and a handful of memories to try and track down some semblance of his past.

Noting the blank look on the stocky Canadian’s face, as well as they searching look in his eyes, Xavier let his telepathic net spread out to check on where the subject of his search was. The greenhouse.

“Hurry up Wolvie,” Jubilee’s voice cut in from the driver’s side window. Her pink colored glasses set high on her forehead, she looked just about ready to leave…much to her dismay that was not going to happen. Heather had left a couple of days ago with her husband Mac, both returning to their home in Ottawa. They had presented all of the X-Men and especially Jubilee with an open invitation to visit them any time. If that wasn’t enough for the young Asian girl, now this dumbass was running away too. If he wanted to go, let him. She wouldn’t cry….at least not until he was gone.

“What’s the hurry kid?” Logan responded in an uncharacteristic show of leisure. Truth was, he himself couldn’t wait to get away from the mansion, its underground secrets and the memories…and people that he had come to associate it with. “Wanna get rid of me?”

“Yup, can’t stand ya,” Jubilee returned with a perfect mimic of his voice. “That’s why ya are runnin’ away an’ leavin’ me here.”

“Jubes…” Logan could smell the salt of the tears that the girl was trying so hard to keep down. Not one week ago, she almost lost the loser and now he was going away again.

“Okay, okay,” Jubilee wiped her eyes, opened the door and jumped out. “No need to get emotional. I’ve put your water, all the junk food I could get my hands on and even a couple of cases of pop…..”

“What? No Beer?” Logan feigned hurt.

“Yeah, like you are allowing me to even touch that….or anyone else here for that matter.”

----

“Are you sure you are recovered? Hank asked. He had run a whole gamut of tests on the hardy Wolverine and still wouldn’t believe what they told him. Within three days, not only had the superhealer recovered completely, any scars or other proof of there ever being any injury had vanished, gobbled up his ‘uncharted healing abilities’….and there in lay Henry’s problem. He was first and foremost a scientist, and just like any other peer of his, he wanted to study and chart the uncharted.

“Yup.”

“Any fatigue? Pain? Anything?” Hank pushed forth.

“Leave the poor man alone Henry.”

----

All four men and the girl turned around at the sultry voice sounding from the far side of the garage and almost as if by magic, all of their lips turned up in a smile. Charles’ for his daughter, Remy for sister, Henry for teammate and friend, Jubilee for Logan and Logan for his life.

“Ah, the guest of honor,” Hank beat the usually glib Remy to the punk, snickering in a very unscientific manner at the frown on the Cajun's face.

“Dat was supposed to Remy’s line mon ami.”

“Knock it off you two,” Scott admonished them, getting a pinch from Jean. “What?”

“You knock it off,” the redhead shot back as she, Scott, Kitty and Kurt joined Ororo and the others at the truck.

---

“Ready darlin’?” Logan flashed his lopsided grin at his ex-thief, ex-tribal goddess, all his, Nubian beauty. Dressed in a pair of blue denim jeans and a white cotton shirt, its ends tied at her waist, her hip length hair braided into a thick French-braid, she still looked million times better…hotter than any woman he had ever known. ‘Will ever know Bub,’ an inner voice piped up. ‘Will ever know.’

“Why? Having second thoughts?” Ororo returned with a twinkle in her eye. She knew he would not leave without her. Even it meant that he would have to forfeit his stolen past, he would not give up on her now. His words and actions had said, emphasized and proven it over and over again in the last one week. Even now, the look in his eyes was one of pure hunger…hunger for her. She wouldn’t be surprised that a few miles down the line, he pulled over and drew her to him….just as he wouldn’t be surprised if she told him to do the same and climbed over onto him.

That being said, this journey of discovery was important, for both of them, both to find Logan’s past and for them to rediscover each other. Eight years was a long time, and even though her feelings for him had never changed, except for growing deeper, both of them had changed as people. They needed their time and space...with each other…..and just each other.

“Never,” Logan replied with complete conviction.

“Then, lets go.”

----

Even as the couple pulled out of the mansion gates, hundreds of miles away, in a secret location, a large, broad shouldered, pale faced man was dispensing with the last of his failed mercenaries.

“I might have failed this time,” Sinister spoke to the empty walls. “But this was just the first battle, the war isn’t over yet. Isn’t that right…”

He turned to large glass cylinder, inside which the body of a roughly five-year-old child floated, a breathing mask attached to its face….a red-haired, blue skinned, yellow-eyed child.

“…Mystique.”


FIN