What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger

VarioxDemon--thanks soooo much for the review. I hope you keep enjoying
Aelfsiden..thanky for the kickass feedback. I hope that this installment is up to standards ; )

A/N: There's some icky (as in gory) imagery in this chapter having to do with Spike and Chandra's time in the lab. Just wanted to let you know.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chandra was thrilled to see that her room was equipped with a full bath. Nothing seemed more inviting that a long, hot soak. Also, a nightgown had thoughtfully been provided for her along as well as a pair of sweats emblazoned with the school crest. Thankful to see that she had everything she could need before the morning, she headed into the bathroom to draw her bath.

After fng tng the large ivory tub with pleasantly hot water and lavender bath oil, she removed the black tank top and cotton pants that had replaced her Initiative uniform of camouflage pants and a white tank top and her hair was quickly put up in a loose twist. A sigh left her lips once she immersed herself in the scented water, her tense muscles instantly relaxed. Her mind was surprisingly quiet, but she expected that she had Professor Xavier’s earlier actions to thank. She took advantage of the silence and lay her head back, closed her eyes, and just luxuriated in the warmth.

For the first time in years, she had some control. And for the first time in her life, she was among friends. Even though she had several more of the X-Men to meet, she was positive of that aspect. Kindred spirits they all were and as Logan had stated, the X-gene had united them.

Logan. He was something else. So soft and yet so hard at the same time. Pain was a part of him, the constant memories of his captivity and the knowledge that he had had a life taken away from him--a life that he couldn’t remember. His thoughts had been so clear to her-- it was as if they were her own. He tried to keep others at bay, but he was like an alpha wolf caring for his pack. If one of his was in need he was there without question and without hesitation. The innocent kisses they’d shared let her know that she was now one of his pack.

Chandra blushed at the thought of being anything of his. Logan was an amazing human being and she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. After all, he was literally a part of her as his DNA had given her all of his mutations--enhanced healing, strength, and senses.

Once the waters started to cool, the young woman decided that sleep was next on her agenda. The king sized bed was wonderfully inviting. After drying herself, she sipped on the silky black nightgown and dove under the covers. She was asleep moments later.

But there was no rest for the wicked........or for scarred little mutant girls........

~*~*~

The vampire known as William the Bloody had known fear very few times in the hundred plus years he’d been one of the undead. This was one of those times.

He was helpless.

He was helpless and Chandra was before him with a ball of flame floating above her palm. She would burn him and then beat him until she was drenched in his blood.

One piece of metal had raped him of his defenses. His friend became his executioner.

Vibrant violet eyes cried crystalline tears when she threw him to the floor. Blue eyes cried red when they declared her the winner. They made her this way, sitting in his pool of blood.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” she whispered when he kept on bleeding. “They made be break you, but I’ll fix you now.”

Wrist raised to lush lips, she tore into her flesh and held it to his lips. He drank the sweet nectar and that life became his, her healing became his. “Keep drinking, Spike. Drink and never stop. That’s the only way I can end. Please, *please* end this for me.”

With a strangled cry, Spike woke up, expecting to see Chandra cuddled next to him in the throes of her own nightmares. Instead, he found himself on the Slayer’s couch with a concerned Xander Harris gazing at him sadly. “Dumb question, but are you okay, Spike?” he asked while Spike sat up and propped his elbows on his knees so he could rest his aching head in his hands.

“No. I’m not okay. They fucked with my head and stole whatever innocence she had left.” How could he be okay with Chandra’s pleas for death still ringing in his ears? Every time they fought one another, it ended the same way--the vampire horribly beaten and the young mutant offering her blood, begging him not to stop drinking until she was dead.

Whoever said that all vampires were completely devoid of a soul was full of shit. Lacking some conscience, sure--Xander wouldn’t debate that. But some of that humanity and compassion that Spike supposedly lost when he was turned still had to be with him if he could be so concerned for Chandra and disturbed by what she had gone through. Putting all hostilities aside, the young man attempted to offer him some comfort. He left his seat across the room and settled himself on the floor in front of the blonde. “You do know that the X-Men are gonna help her through this, right? I mean, hell, Logan himself seems to be devoted to her already. I pity the fool who tries to mess with her now.”

Spike looked at the boy to see such sincerity, it shocked the hell out of him. But he was thankful for it all the same. “Yeah, mate. I know,” he managed to reply with a wry smile. “But it doesn’t take all of this shit away, now does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. Pretty much all we can do now is trash the Initiative and between the X-Men and us, it seems like a pretty sure thing. I mean, c’mon, Blondie--we got a Slayer, a witch, a bunch of superheroes and me, the fabulous Zeppo. Whare cre could you need?”

“I’ll refrain from comment,” he muttered with a real grin. As much as it pained him to say, Xander was making him feel better, at least about Chandra. But there seemed an unspoken agreement not to discuss the chip and what would happen if they managed to remove it. It was better that way for now. “So, where’s Slutty the Vampire Layer?” he aske ord order to change the topic somewhat.

Xander chuckled at the nickname--but Buffy didn’t need to know that. Not if he valued his manly parts. “She’s on patrol, keeping an eye out for the army boys. They’ll be out in full force tonight looking for you. And Giles is paying a visit to Willy. You know, while they’re out, why don’t you give the Institute a call?” he suggested. Just to check on Chandra. I know I’d like to know she’s okay--so would Buff and Giles.”

With a grateful smile, Spike took the card that Xavier had given Xander and headed to the kitchen to do just that. He had to make sure the Super Friends were taking good care of his little girl. After all, it was more than likely that she’d been having her own share of unpleasant dreams. Sadly, she suffered them almost every night. Inwardly, he cursed himself for not letting warning Xavier beforehand. Well, even more reason to give him a ring. It would be unfortunate for she or anyone else to get hurt first night there.

~*~*~

Rogue had taken her time heading to her room after returning to the Institute. The moment she encountered any of her teammates, it would be twenty-questions time. She didn’t even know what she was allowed to tell everyone. It was all so damned personal on Chandra’s behalf. And Logan’s. The origin of his adamantium skeleton was not hers to discuss and she didn’t want to. And then there was the whole demon issue. ‘Hey, guys, I met this incredibly hot vampire while we were in Sunnydale and he was a guinea pig like Chandra.’ There was also the Slayer, her Watcher, and the redheaded witch upstairs in the guest wing.

It was decided. She wasn’t going to touch any of that with a ten-foot pole.

After her solitary dinner of a salami sandwich and potato salad, she cleaned up her mess and mentally braced herself for the barrage of questions from her teammates that was sure to come the moment she set foot in the dorms. However, the ringing of the telephone gave her the opportunity for procrastination. “Xavier Institute,” she politely answered after the first ring.

“Rogue?”

“Spike?” He was the last person she expected to be on the other line. Not that she minded of course. “What’s goin’ on? Are ya okay?” Thanks to a healthy dose of paranoia she’d somehow picked up from Logan, it was the first thing that came to mind.

“No, love,” he was quick to assure her. “I just wanted to make sure that Chandra was doing all right. She has nightmares,” he went on to explain quietly. “I should’ve let you lot know before, but it slipped my mind. Pet, she can become pretty violent--I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

‘Chandra’s more like Logan that we knew,’ Rogue realized. Her first priority was going to be checking on the other mutant and told Spike as much. “She seemed just fine when we landed, but I haven‘t seen her since then. Wanna hold while I go check on her?”

“SuI doI do appreciate this, Rogue.”

“No problem, Spike. She’s like family now. We’re gonna look out for her.” She put the vampire on hold then and made her way to the guest wing. It was safe to assume that Logan had situated she and Willow close to his room so she shouldn’t be that hard to find.

But when she heard the screaming, she found that finding Chandra would be easier than she had figured.

~*~*~

The Professor had finally excused his colleagues from their discussion regarding Chandra and the Initiative. And Spike. Thankfully, Hank and Ororo believed everything Charles had to say about the vampire and his role in Chandra’s escape. Hank was already a believer in the supernatural and the role it had in the modern world while Ororo never dismissed anything as impossible. After all, she had once been worshipped as a goddess.

Rehashing the evening was hard on both Xavier and Logan, but it was necessary. At one point, Logan had had to excuse himself from the room when the Professor explained Chandra’s role in the situation and Logan’s own connection to Colonel Stryker. When he had returned, there were sympathetic expressions on his fellow instructor’s faces and ‘Ro had gone as far as to take his hand when he reclaimed his seat next to her.

To say that the weather witch and the Beast were incensed didn’t come close to describing their anger at a father who would manipulate and torture his own daughter. It was agreed by all that they would shut the Initiative down with the aid of the Slayer and her friends. In the mean time, they had to explain the situation with their students and help Chandra through any post-traumatic stress she may encounter. Logan made it clear that he would take responsibility for both she and Willow during their stay at the mansion. Charles knew that helping Chandra was imperative to healing Wolverine’s own wounds regarding the past.

Just before the meeting adjourned, it was decided that Xavier, ‘Ro, and Hank would brief the team in the morning while Logan took their new guests into town to procure whatever they might need during their stay. Quiet good nights were exchanged before they went their separate ways, but they didn’t get too far before tortured cries could be heard.

~*~*~

Chandra was roused from sleep with a swift kick in the ribs and opened her eyes to see a sadistic smile that could only belong to her father. “Wake up, baby girl. I brought your brother to see you.” Despite the pain in her side, the mutant started to stand, but was knocked back down at the sight before her. A deathly pale, emaciated boy restrained in his wheelchair. Once vibrant blue eyes were glazed over and instead of looking at Chandra, they looked through her. It couldn’t have, shouldn’t have been her brother. But it was.

Rage giving her strength and mental clarity, she jumped to her feet and threw her father to the wall via her telekinesis and held him there long enough to snarl “What the fuck did you do to him?” She then let go and he slid as though boneless to the floor. Yuriko, his assistant moved to enter the cell, but the Colonel shook his head and picked himself up.

“I fixed him,” her father said smoothly when he got to his feet. “He no longer infects others with his sick mind.”

“*You’re* the sick one! Jason’s never hurt anyone!”

“You tell that to your mother!” he screamed as he stood and pulled his pistol. She went down in a heap after the bullet hit her knee. Another hit her in the opposite shoulder before she could retaliate mentally. The pain made her weak and her mental powers useless, as was his goal. “You will sit there and bleed just like she did, Chandra,” he hd ind in a low, dangerous tone. “You’re as responsible as he is. You’re both sick. I’d fucking lobotomize you if you weren’t so valuable.”

“Tell me what happened to Momma,” sherledrled, trying to ignore the pain. If she didn’t dig the bullets out soon, her skin would heal over them, but she didn’t dare move.

“I’ll do better than tell you, baby girl. Jason,” he whispered sweetly, “please show your sister what you did.” Breath caught in her throat when her brother turned his gaze on her. It was empty. If the eyes were the windows to the soul, he had none. Her surprise was cut short when the visions flashed in her mind. It was her mother lying in ol ool of her own blood. Her head was a mass of gore. She then saw herself strapped to an operating table. Dr. Walsh was testing her new healing ability. The process consisted of cutting off fingers and toes to observe the regeneration process and mutilating other body parts beyond recognition to witness her flesh knitting itself back together. Then there was the sight of Chandra being a meal for several vampires in order to evaluate how quickly her body could replenish its blood supply.

It was all so real that Chandra could feel it happening, but she couldn’t remember any of it. “What is this?” she asked her father, tears of pain cascading down her cheeks. “I don’t understand.”

“The goddamned mental link you forged with your brother. Everything that happened here, he has stored in his mind!”

“But none of this happened!” she swore.

“Yes. It did. You’re a very busy girl, Chandra. There’s always so much planned for you--no wonder you can’t remember it all. But thanks to you we all have to suffer too. Your mother took a power drill to her right temple to make it stop.”

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “Not Momma. I didn’t mean to, Daddy. I really didn’t. I only came here because you said it would help Jason.” The wretched grin was back. He walked over to his wounded daughter and kneeled next to her. “Ultimately it did, baby girl,” he cooed while stroking her hair. “It did.” He got up and walked away, but not before he fired another shot into her abdomen that threw her against the rear wall of her cell. With a sneer, Yuriko stepped into the cell to hit a button on Jason’s chair.

As if she turned on a light switch, Jason became aware of his surroundings once more. With a sad smile he wheeled himself over to his sister.

~There will be no help for you Chandy.~ He said telepathically. ~You’re an abomination. lik like me. A killer. Just like me.~ With those parting words Jason rolled out of the cell, leaving she and Yuriko posed in a silent face off. She was totally unprepared when the woman known as Deathstrike unsheathed her adamantium spikes and lunged at a crippled Chandra, leaving her nothing more to do than scream when the cold metal pierced her eye.

~*~*~

Logan and Rogue reached her room at the same time. Willow was already there, staring at Chandra helplessly. She kbettbetter than to approach the mutant when sleeping and she’d had to physically keep Logan from charging into the room.

“Red, I suggest you let go,” he growled, his eyes flashing in anger. No longer one for intimidation, she stood tall under his gaze. “Logan, I just wanted to tell you to be careful when you try and wake her. She threw Spike across the room today when hied ied to wake her up.”

“Exactly,” Rogue concurred. “I have Spike on hold right now--he just told me that she can get really violent.”

“If that’s all, get out of my way and close the door behind me,” he ordered before rushing in. Rogue had the door closed before he had three steps in there and luckily didn’t witness the scene. But they did hear the entire thing. Entirely.

~*~*~

Logan hadn’t even made the halfway point between the bed and the door when Chandra tackled him to the floor. Violet eyes turned black in a feral glare while she held his hands above his head in an iron grip, her snarl fierce enough to rival the Wolverine. She simply sat there, straddling his thighs and regarding him as captured prey. Frankly, it was unsettling and made him just a bit nervous. Not to mention extremely arousing.

Amusement flashed in her eyes. She could smell the fear and she could also smell how fucking hard this was making him. The growls, her darkened eyes, her strength--traits he never encountered in another woman. To know that this she was his equal was an incredible turn on. The fact that she had noticed his burgeoning hard on had not helped matters. Slowly, she began to rock over him and the scent of her arousal mingled with his as her body responded to his.

Growling had turned to purring and she bent over to lick a line from his collar bone to just beneath his ear. ‘Mmm........smells like lust and fear and excitement. Tastes like ambrosia, feels like heaven beneath me.’ Chandra’s hungry gaze met his and the raw desire deridering in his eyes sent sparks of pleasure straight to her core. His body unconsciously began to move with hers, each slow grinding of their hips causing them to groan in unison. Never releasing his wrists, she captured his lips in a deep kiss. A small wet tongue sensuously licked his lips, wanting access that was eagerly granted. There were more simultaneous moans as they tasted one another for the first time.

Chandra overwhelmed Logan’s senses with a kiss that tasted of mint and skin that smelled of lavender and that unique scent that was hers alone. Her lips were soft but demanding, her tongue leading his in an erotic dance. She left him breathless. Literally. Logan had to force himself to break the kiss in order to draw a ragged breath.

The oxygen helped make his blood take a U-turn and head back into his brain. This had to stop. It had to stop before Chandra, in her animalistic haze, decided she wanted to fuck, because he would let her ride him ‘til they passed out. And he wanted her to. There was a bond between the two, one that had everything and yet nothing to do with their shared experiences. He couldn't help but want her.

That tongue of hers was almost his undoing when she found *the* spot behind his left ear, the one that never failed to send the blood rushing to his cock. He needed to touch her, to taste her, to be in her. But not when she wouldn’t consciously know that he, Logan, was the one making love to her.

“Baby, ya have to stop,” he managed in a strangled whisper. She looked at him curiously, but didn’t cease her ministrations. “Chandra, darlin,’ please,” he begged. “I wanna be with ya but not like this.”

His low, rumbling voice immediately brought her back to herself; all purring ceased and her eyes faded back to violet. A stricken look crossed her face when she noticed their position. She immediately released Logan‘s wrists and made to take off like a scared rabbit. His reflexes were far too quick for that. He reversed their positions, so that he lay in the cradle of her thighs, his elbows keeping this weight off of her. “You‘re not goin‘ anywhere, darlin.’ Ya didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Logan, I just about raped you. How can you be so calm?” she demanded, tears of shame burning in her eyes. “Baby, I hear the last time ya had a nightmare, ya knocked Spike across Buffy’s living room. I had it easy. Besides,” he dryly added, “ya can’t exactly rape the willing.” Chandra’s eyes grew huge as his words registered. Willing? He wanted her? Huh? And a “huh?” was all she could articulate. Logan smiled at that. Apparently she had no idea how appealing she was to him. “Yeah. I was damned close to letting you have your wicked way with me, Chandra. And believe me, if had really wanted to, I’m I could’ve gotten free.”

Those words that were supposed to bring her a measure of comfort only reminded her of the nightmare. Fuck, everything always went back to what her father did to her. “Don’t be so sure, Logan,” she whispered as her tears broke. “Daddy made me pretty fucking sturdy.”

Not for the first time did the mutant want to rend Colonel Stryker limb from limb. He gathered Chandra in his arms and settled on the bed with her. “Your nightmare was about him, eh? Ya know, I get them too. I’m gonna do my damndest to help you through this, Chandra,” he swore. “And havin’ ya here helps me too. For the first time, there’s someone who can understand me, darlin’ and if there’s any person in this world who can identify with ya it’s me. So maul me, hit me, kick my ass, cry on my shoulder. I’m here and I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

~*~*~

Xavier must have kept everyone else away, because Rogue and Willow were the only ones who cto cto check on Chandra besides Logan. And they were both nearly in tears. They hadn’t meant to, but they’d heard Chandra and Logan’s entire exchange, from the sound of her pouncing on him, to the moans, to her tears, and his promise to her. It was beyond touching to hear the Wolverine speak so tenderly to her. The two just hadn’t been able to tear themselves away--of course it was all out of concern for Chandra they convinced themselves. So they had taken seats on the floor in the hallway, silently bonding over their mutual concern.

~Rogue, Willow, I believe that Chandra is in good hands with Logan. There’s no need to continue your guard duty.~

Sheepishly, the two young women grinned at each other and acknowledged the Professor’s message that in so many words told them to go away and mind their own beeswax. “I guess I should be headin’ to the Inquisition,” the Southern mutant sighed. “I’ll come with,” Willow offered. “There’s really no way I can sleep now--besides, I almost feel like I’m intruding by being next door. And this way we can get a head start on teaching the X-Men about the Hellmouth.”

“Yeah,” Rogue agreed. “Who better to explain than a witch who’s lived there all her life, huh?”

ctlyctly.” The redhead smiled broadly and followed Rogue to the dorms. Just as she’d expected, there were a plethora of individuals camped out in her room waiting for her. Kitty, of course was there as it was her room too, and she was joined by Scott, Jean, Kurt, Evan, Tabitha, Sam, Jubilee, Amara, Ray, and Bobby. They were scattered all over the room in the beds, the two chairs, on their desks, and on the floor.

All conversation ceased the moment the mutant and the witch entered the room. It was going to be difficult to make this non-awkward, but they did their best. Rogue found an empty spot on the floor in front of Kitty’s bed and patted the space next to her signaling Willow to do the same. “Guys, before ya ask, I wanna tell you that Chandra’s okay--she’s the mutant who escaped from the testing facility,” she clarified when she received blank stares from her peers. “And this is Willow Rosenberg. She’ll be staying with us for a while. And Willow, meet the X-Men.” Friendly introductions were made and the redhead couldn’t get over how adorable Kurt was. The blush could almost be seen through his blue fur when she asked if she could pet him. “Not that you’re a pet or anything, I don’t mean to insult you, but it looks so soft and cozy and you’re all staring at me so that must mean I’m babbling.”

The students couldn’t help but chuckle at the blushing witch, marking the breaking of the ice. “Zhat is all right, Willow,” the fuzzy young man told her after bamfing across the room to her. “Pet away.”

“Neat,” she grinned while stroking the fur on his arm. “You’re furry *and* you can teleport.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, Willow, are you a mutant?” Jean queried. The witch shook her head, never taking a her hand of Kurt. She was totally entranced and he was enjoying the positive attention. “Nope. Just an ordinary, run of the mill hacker girl from California.”

“You certainly have no qualms about mutants then,” the telepath stated, almost in awe.

“Nope,” she replied simply. “The only difference between us is that you all have the X-gene and I don’t. No biggie. I can float a mean pencil, though.” ’Heh. That’s a great way to segway into the Hellmouth and Initiative lecture. I’m smooth.’

“Excuse me? You can float pencils? Are you telekinetic?” Scott asked.

“And again I say nope. I’m a witch.”

“Oh hell, and I’ve had a vampire on hold for the last half-hour. Spike’s gonna kill me!” Rogue exclaimed, remembering the long forgotten phone in her hand. Ignoring the eleven faces displaying utter shock she ran into the hallway and took the line off hold. “Spike, are you still there?”

“Actually, this is Xander. Is this Rogue?”

“Yeah. Um, what happened to Spike?”

“After the first fifteen minutes I got sick of his pacand and told him I’d take the phone so he could smoke. How's Chandra doing?”

“Logan’s with her right now. Like the second I put Spike on hold she woke up with a nightmare. But she’s okay.”

“Shit. Did she end up sending Logan flying this time?”

“Er, no,” she answered quickly. There was no way she was gonna tell him about the moaning and tackling and stuff. “Didn’t happen this time around.”

“That’s good. Hey, I hear Spike swearing under his breath--I think he just came in. Hold on.”

“Sure thing.” She heard the phone switch hands with a good deal of cursing.

“Rogue, what the fuck was that? Is she all right?” the vampire demanded.

“I’m *so* sorry ‘bout that, Spike. She was just waking up from a nightmare when I went to check on her and I kinda forgot about ya... Logan’s taking care of her so there’s no need to worry.”

“Bloody hell. You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I know Logan and he ain’t gonna leave her side until he’s satisfied she’s okay.” She could hear the sigh of relief on the other end and she couldn’t help but smile at his concern, even though she might have been the teensiest bit jealous.

“Thank you, love, for helping take care of her. I’d be there, but instead I’m stuck in bleeding Sunnyhell trying to find the pillocks responsible. I do have one more favor to ask, though.”

“What do ya need?

“Chandra may be pissed at me for telling you, but I honestly don‘t give a shit--these dreams come to her every night. I don‘t know how Logan will feel about this, but it would be the best if someone stayed with her. He‘s the best candidate for obvious reasons.”

Rogue smirked to herself. She highly doubted that Logan would have an issue with that. In fact, he’d most probably prefer it. If he didn’t watch it, this woman was gonna ruin his status an aloof badass. God forbid he show his sensitive side more than once in a blue moon. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Good. I suppose I’ll be letting you go now if all is well. The Slayer won’t be too thrilled when she gets her phone bill,” he stated with a smirk.

“Just have her let me know how much it is. I know the Professor’ll pay for the calls. The man has more money than God.”

“I‘ll do that. But I should be going. Buffy and Giles just walking in and I need to see what they’ve found. And Xander’s yelling from across the room to tell Willow to call him tomorrow.”

“Sure thing Spike. Try and have a good night, okay?”

“You too, pet. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon. ‘Bye, love.”

“Bye, Spike.”

When Rogue hung up, she had silly grin on her face and Willow was the first one to notice when she returned to her seat next to the witch. “You’ve so got a thing for Spike!” she aimeaimed. “It’s the accent, isn’t it?”

“Honey, it’s the whole package,” she sighed. “And Spike said that Xander wants you to call him tomorrow.”

“Please forgive me for interrupting your girl talk, but what the hell are you talking about?! Scott practically shouted before the two young woman could prattle on any more. If there was anything he hated, it was being left out of the loop. And it was imperative for him to be in this particular loop. But as much as he wanted to know what was going on, he sure as hell wasn‘t prepared for that was.

Willow and Rogue exchanged wry smiles and the redhead began to tell the X-Men a tale about Slayers, witches, demons, the Hellmouth, and a hot vampire named Spike. Needless to say, it took a while and during the course of her story she’d shown them the scar Harmony left when she bit her a few months ago, floated a pencil across the room, and lit all of the candles on Kitty’s dresser with a few Latin phrases. Despite the evidence, some X-Men believed the witch while others, namely Scott and Jean, found the idea preposterous.

Rogue just ignored the two team leaders' objections and went on to give her teammates the Cliffs Notes version of the evening’s events. “Here’s the super-edited scoop: Chandra and Spike escaped from an army installation called the Initiative that’s doing biomedical experiments on mutants *and* demons,” she stressed, looking in Scott and Jean‘s direction. “Besides being a witch, Willow’s a pretty good hacker and is gonna help us get into the Initiative’s computers. This facility is a big operation and we’re gonna have to shut it down. I’m not telling ya what they did to Chandra or what her mutation is--ain’t none of our business until she and the Professor decide it is. And that’s all I have to say.”

Groans could be heard about the room, but Rogue was true to her word. She said everything she had to say. And just as she’d told herself earlier, she didn’t tell her teammates about demons and other things that wentp inp in the night. Willow had done that all for her.

It was nearly one in the morning by the time Kitty and Rogue kicked the bewildered X-Men out of their room. Her roommate was actually really excited about the whole thing. Of course the Initiativd Chd Chandra’s father disgusted her, but the rest she couldn’t get enough of. Before they got to sleep, Willow had told them about the Judge, the Mayor’s Ascension, and the Master. “And I like thought the Brotherhood and the Acolytes were bad,” Kitty shuddered. “They’re like little fuzzy puppies compared to all that.”

The mention of the X-Men’s rivals spurred on questions from Willow and by the time they were answered, the redhead had passed out on Kitty’s bed and the young mutant didn’t have the heart to kick her out. She made do with a sleeping bag on the floor and wished Rogue goodnight before turning the lights off.

They were in for a really long day when they woke up.

~*~*~

At one a.m., Remy LeBeau, otherwise known as Gambit, entered the warehouse he and the other Acolytes called home to find his de facto employer waiting for him. The mutant that the world knew as Magneto stood tall amongst his other henchmen in their surveillance area, casting a withering glance at the Cajun. He was no doubt irritated at Gambit for not returning to the warehouse as soon as he was paged. Actually, he had been paged five times, but it had been in the middle of what ended up being a very lucrative poker game.

“It’s about time,” spat Magneto.

“My apologies, monsieur,” he replied and casually leaned against the wall, never stopping his incessant card shuffling. “De Gambit was not aware of a meeting. Please--carry on.”

Pyro and Colossus smirked behind Magneto’s back while he fumed at the Cajun’s attitude. At any other time, he would’ve reamed the Acolyte, but not now. Instead, the villain inwardly blessed the contacts that he had in California. The Blackbird had been spotted at LAX a few hours ago and upon takeoff had two more passengers than it had had upon landing.

And one of them was the daughter of an old friend. Little Chandra Stryker.

After paying a hefty sum, he’d been forwarded surveillance footage from the airport. Chandra was unmistakable with her hair and eyes. Hell knows he‘d seen it enough when he still worked with Charles. He’d honestly felt for the girl and her brother. Colonel William Stryker was a sadistic bastard when it came to his children--his little abominations as he’d called them once. The moment Magneto saw the number tattooed on Chandra’s neck, he knew exactly what had happened. Daddy’s little girl had been turned into Daddy’s little guinea pig.

He’d known for years that Stryker was responsible for Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. But it was so amusing to see the Wolverine pining over his lost past, he decided to keep it to himself. Sabertooth was also familiar with the Colonel, but his part in Weapon X had been slight compared to his nemesis. That’s because when the prize subject escaped, it had been after he destroyed half the lab. The project had been abandoned after that and Stryker lay low for decades--until now. Magneto was positive that if Chandra had been through her father’s experiments, she was now a force to be reckoned with. All of Stryker’s creations were. It would be tricky persuading her to join his cause.

The mutant terrorist pointed to a blown up photo on the monitor depicting Chandra and an unidentified redhead walking toward the jet . “I want the girl with pink hair. Her name is Chandra Stryker, daughter of military scientist Colonel William Stryker. While I do not know what her mutation is, I have every reason to believe that she has been ‘augmented,’ if you will. I don’t care how it is done, but she *will* be brought to me.

“Gambit,” he sniped, glaring at the young Cajun, “You will keep constant watch over the Institute. If she leaves, you will follow. I to to be constantly updated as to her whereabouts.”

‘Great. De Gambit is a glorified babysitter.’ As much as he didn’t care for the assignment, he needed to keep himself in Magneto’s somewhat good graces if he didn’t want to be dropped right into the middle of the Guild war in New Orleans. It wasn’t so bad anyway--he had a roof over his head, food to eat, constant amusement courtesy of Pyro, and didn’t have to hide his mutation. It was with slight hesitation, but he did accept the assignment.

“Oui, monsieur. Gambit watch over de fille.”

“Good. The rest of you have your assignments. Get to work.”

Gambit paid no attention as his teammates scattered. Instead, he studied the picture of his target. Chandra Stryker was a beautiful woman, but the redhead beside her was breathtaking. So petite, almost fairylike. There was a rare glowing innocence to her. Her face was that of an angel--a true beauty..........if only he could see what color her eyes were. Ah, but that would come soon enough--if he was to tail Chandra, he was more than likely to come across his petite ange rouge............his little red angel.

~*~*~

When Scott entered the kitchen later that morning, he was met with the Professor sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming mug of coffee. He poured one for himself and joined his mentor.

“Good morning, Scott,” Xavier greeting him. “Is it safe to assume that Rogue and Willow have filled you in somewhat on the situation?”

“Yes, Professor,” he replied hesitantly, “but I have to admit that some of it is hard to swallow. I mean, Willow’s a witch and her best friend kills demons in her spare time?”

“I wish I could explain it so that you could believe, Scott, but I am afraid it is not that easy. I just ask that you keep an open mind. After all, look at us--you live with two telepaths, two furry blue gentlemen, a girl who can walk through walls, and many more people whose powers need to be seen to be believed. It is the same way with the Slayer.”

“But you do believe in all of this, Professor?”

“Indeed I do. As a matter of fact, one of my former classmates at Oxford is Buffy’s watcher, her mentor. He has also worked with Willow and her magick. I’ve known about this for a very long time, son.”

“Then why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“As cliche as it sounds, it never came up. Bayville isn’t exactly a hotbed of demonic activity,” he replied. “But I would never purposely keep this information away from you and your fellow X-Men. Had the subject arisen, I would have told you everything I could. That brings us to one of the reasons Willow is here. There are mutants that appear to be demons and vice versa. She will teach you how to discern between the two. Part of the our team will be needed in Sunnydale with the Slayer and her team to Investigate the Initiative and I refuse to send them off without the proper knowledge. This is not going to be easy, Scott,” Charles intoned gravely. “There will be much preparation and some of it may seem cesscessary, but we will be entering a whole new world.

“I do not know if you were told, but Chandra’s father is one of the scientists involved in the Initiative’s experiments. He is also the same individual responsible for Logan’s adamantium skeleton.” The young man couldn’t hide his shock. For so long Logan had been searching for the keys to his past. And after all these years, Chandra happened to be one of them. “Rogue wouldn’t divulge any of the details to Chandra’s imprisonment. May I ask what was done to her?”

With a nod, the Professor went on to explain how Logan’s DNA was used to mutate Chandra’s and the failure to implant her with adamantium. He also told Scott about his previous relationship with the Strykers. The two were still in deep discussion when the other students began to slowly drift into the kitchen. Once it came to the point when all of the mansion’s inhabitants were gathered in the large kitchen save for Logan, Chandra, Rogue, Willow, and Kitty, an informal briefing was held over a breakfast of ‘Pancakes a la Beast.’

~*~*~

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