X24

PART 1

CHAPTER 1
“My name is Veronica House. But everyone calls me ʻRonʼ or ʻRonnieʼ. I am
a mutant. A neko (a neko is part cat part person). From England. From a secrete
world where mutants live. A peaceful world. Everyone gets along with one
another. No crime. No rage or anger at anyone. No humans. Thatʼs right. No
humans live in the world I lived in. We mutants donʼt get along with you Homo
Sapiens. Why? Because some humans hate and fear us even though some of us
try to help you humans. Humans try and kill us every chance they get. Mutant
hatred is worse in England than in any part of the world. Thatʼs why we live in a
world of our own. With no humans around at all. We live normal lives like you.
We have schools, everyday jobs. You name it, we got it. But the only difference is
that we are mutants. Some mutants donʼt understand why humans donʼt like us.
It is because we were all born different. Because we are not what you call
ʻnormalʼ. But we are. We are just mutated people.
“But humans donʼt believe that. the human adults donʼt want us to go to
school with their children. Thatʼs in the United States. In England human adults
donʼt even want us mutants to look at their children. We wouldnʼt, of course, do
anything to them. Teenaged mutants and humans somewhat get along. They
both hate and like us. Itʼs weird, actually. Very strange. Very, very, strange.
Younger mutants and humans donʼt understand. Adult mutants and humans donʼt
bother with one another. Every night three young adult mutants and three young
adult humans sneak out and meet at Hyde Park. Iʼm one of those three young
adult mutants. The other two mutantsʼ names are Alfred and Bruce Walton.
Theyʼre both twins. They are my foster brothers. The humansʼ names are
Jonathan, William, and Charles Dawes. They are triplets. We are all the same
age. How cool is that!? Our parents, of course, donʼt know about our meetings.
And itʼs going to stay that way. Until we get caught. Which will never ever
happen. Never.
“But what if the humans turn on me and the twins? Will that ever happen?
No, that wouldnʼt happen. We are too good of friends. Tonight me, the twins, and
triplets are going to sneak out and, as always, meet in Hyde Park.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron put down her pencil and reread what she wrote. She thought it was
very good. It was for a play that she, the twins, and the triplets made up. They
didnʼt really have a name for it yet (all of what she said is really true about the
human world and mutant world). Ron was the writer and director, the Walton
twins in charge of props, and the Dawes triplets in charge of where the props go.
Ron couldnʼt wait to get started with rehearsing. Her brothers stood in her room.
They were wearing T-shirts. Alfredʼs had a capital A and Bruceʼs had a capital B.
It was the only way her parents and everyone else could tell them apart. Except
for Ron. She could tell them apart without the shirts.
“Mum says--” Alfred started.
“--dinnerʼs ready, Veronica,” Bruce finished.
Ron got up and walked to her brothers. They were a year older than her.
“Alright. Letʼs go.”
They headed downstairs. Ronʼs brothers had teleportation powers. They
both had brown hair, green eyes, they were 6ʼ 3”, and were twenty-one-years-old
and Ron was twenty and 5ʼ 6”. The humans were nineteen. Even though they
werenʼt teenagers they still met every night, although. Ron had a secrete. A
secrete that she would never tell her foster parents or bothers. Ron knew
Wolverine. Better known as Weapon X. She knew him all her life. Knew him
since she was a baby.

Weapon X Program
25 years ago:

Ronʼs mother held her baby close to her. Her baby was going to be one in a
few days. Ron could talk well and loved running. Ronʼs mum looked through the
window at Wolverine. He had come back unconscious and was laying on an
examination table, wires covered his suited chest. His chest was covered with
bullet holes that were healing. Thatʼs what the doctors were doing. Monitoring
how fast his healing factor worked. Logan was coming to and the doctors in there
dragged him over to what looked like an electric chair. But it was no electric chair.
The head piece was used to erase Loganʼs memory of what they would do to him
after his “missions”. But they wouldnʼt erase the memory of Ron. Ron was like a
daughter to Logan and because Ronʼs mother said not to. Heʼd care for her while
Ronʼs mother was working. They strapped him to the chair. They worked quickly.
By the time he realized what was going on, he had no memory of what just
happened. They had him unstrapped as Ronʼs mother went into the lab.
“How are you feeling, Agent Logan?” Ronʼs mother asked, putting her hand
on his shoulder.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “What happened to me, Dr. House?” Logan asked.
“Another concussion.” Dr. House lied. “It happened during your mission.
Could you watch her?”
“Logan!” Ron reached out to him.
He put her on his shoulders and walked out of the lab. Ron was tall for
being almost a year old. He set her down. As soon as he did, Ron took off in a
run. She liked doing that. To Logan. To make him chase her.
“Ronnie, come back!”
He ran after her. She was a quick little thing. She also liked to hide from
him too. She loved it. Thought it was funny. She looked behind a corner. She lost
him. She turned around and Logan was right there.
“How do you find me?” Ron asked.
“Not that hard, Ronnie,” Logan said. He followed her sent.
Logan had always called her “Ronnie”. Dr. House always called her
daughter “Veronica”. Logan only called her “Veronica” when he had to go away or
if something bad was happening or about something serious. Ron always
responded to both. And still does. She loved Logan to death. He loved her like a
daughter. She loved him like a father. Ronʼs father were not with them. Her
mother wasnʼt doing to well. She was getting sick. It was getting late and Logan
took Ron to her room. He set her on her bed. Logan sat on the bed and read her
a bedtime story. Bedtime stories never helped her fall asleep. But when Logan
sang a lullaby, Ron drifted off to sleep. Logan was a good singer. He got up and
headed for the door. He looked back, turned off the light, closed the door behind
him, and headed for his room.
Logan awakened in the middle of the night, a small voice saying his name.
He looked to his right and saw Ron standing right beside his bed looking up at
him. Logan asked, “What is it?”
“Mommy,” she said. “Mommy wonʼt wake up.”
Logan got up and picked the girl up. “Itʼs late, Veronica, sheʼs tired.”
Logan hoped that he was right. He arrived at Dr. Houseʼs room and went
inside. He put Ron down and looked around. He found her on the floor on the
other side of her bed. He knelt beside her. She was still breathing, but was
unconscious. He picked her up and set her on her bed. He took Ron back to her
room. He told her everything was fine and to go back asleep. She did so and
Logan went back to Dr. Houseʼs room and found her still breathing. She had a
certain illness and everyone hoped it would go away, but that may not happen.
Dr. House had long brown hair, green eyes, was skinny, and tall. She was at
least four inches taller than Logan. Logan thought that she was beautiful. So did
the other men. Logan started to leave but stopped. Logan turned on the bedside

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 lamp. She was a tint of yellow. Her liver was failing. He took her to the hospital
wing.
Logan set her on an examination table. Another doctor came up beside
him.
“Her liver is failing,” Logan said. “I also found her on the floor beside her
bed.”
“Iʼll see what I can do,” the doctor said.


Walton residence
London England
Today

Ron and her brothers finished dinner. Mrs. Walton had cooked it. She was a very
good cook. Mr. Walton was a business man. Mr. and Mrs. Walton had found Ron
when she was fifteen wandering the streets of the human world. She was
wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, shorts, hightop Converse, a Boston Redsox
cap on backwards, and a backpack at the time. They knew she was a mutant
because they just knew. Ron has stayed with the Waltons for five years so far.
Only because they wouldnʼt let her leave. They said it was too dangerous for her
to be out on her own. She stayed with them that long because she needed to
keep track of where she had been so she wouldnʼt double back. She went all
over the world looking for Logan.

Ron had a big world map on her wall. She had crossed out where she had been.
She had been to Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, South America, parts of North
America, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It was time for her to leave for
the United States and smell him out. She had a belt buckle that belonged to
Logan. She smelled his scent on it. The aroma on it was still strong. She took the
belt buckle everywhere she went. It was just about the only thing Ron had left of
him. She also had a photograph of Logan and her. It was taken 25 years ago
when she was five. Before her powers. Before Loganʼs claws and skeleton.
Before the time she would never see him again.
Ron planned to leave in a few days, but she didnʼt know how she would.
She could run away in the night or she could tell the Waltons, but they wouldnʼt
want her to leave. But what could they do? Ron wasnʼt a child anymore. She was
grown up. She could do what ever she wanted. But she did live in their house.
Under their rules. She would also have to tell the mutants. Sheʼd tell the twins
instead, but theyʼd want to go with her. Itʼd be fun to have them go. Sheʼd want
company on her journey. Ron went to her brothersʼ room and went inside. They

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 were making a video on their computer. They were recording themselves
spinning around in office chairs. They were having a fun time. They ended the
video and were really dizzy. Once they were no longer dizzy they realized that
their foster sister was standing in the door way.
“I got something to tell you two,” she said, closing the door. “But you canʼt
tell your parents.”
“What is it?” they both asked
“I need your help finding a person. His name is Logan.”
“Who is he?” Alfred asked.
“Heʼs someone that was like a father to me until 15 years ago,” Ron said.
“He disappeared when I was five and Iʼve been looking for him since I was 15.
Thatʼs why Iʼve stayed here. To look for him here in the U.K. But now I must move
on to the United States to look for him. Will you accompany me in my search?”
“Sure we will!” Bruce said.
“When do we leave?” Alfred asked.
“In a few days,” Ron said. “Be sure to pack some clothes. And get all your
life savings from their hiding places. We will need money to get food and for
laundromats.”
“How will we tell Mom and Dad?” Alfred asked.
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “Leave a note I guess. But donʼt tell your parents.”
“We wonʼt,” Alfred said. “But what about those humans that we meet?”
“Weʼll tell them tonight,” Ron said. “Who knows? They might see us off to
the airport.”

Later that night Ron was working on a device while waiting for Mr. and Mrs.
Walton to go to sleep. The device would hide her mutation. Her mutation was a
neko. Her face was cat like. Her eyes were like a catʼs. Her nose the same, teeth
like a catʼs, feet the same. She even had cat ears and tail. Thatʼs why sheʼs
called Neko (she doesnʼt get the name until later). Thatʼs just the side effects.
She was born with a healing factor, too. The healing factor affected her age when
she turned 17, so she still looks that age. Ron was trying to make the device
work. One touch of a button and she would be the same, but her appearance
would be human. She didnʼt know what she really looked like when she was five,
so that she can make the device work. Another touch of the button and she
would return to her normal look. The device was disguised as a watch. It was the
perfect device for mutants to use in England because of the hatred. But she had
lots of trouble making it work just right. Thereʼs was always some sort of glitch
every time she fiddled with it. But the major problem was that the human
disguised wore off pretty quickly. It would only last sixteen minutes instead of all
the time. That would be pretty bad if she was out in the human world and it wore

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 off with a whole bunch of Homo Sapiens around. She didnʼt really like humans.
She hated that they hated mutants. She could take a human on any day, any
place, any time. She wasnʼt afraid of them. Those Homo Sapiens. She did have a
whip that she liked to use. It was one of her weapons. She would use it to defend
the innocent. Even the the humans. Though she hated humans she would still
defend them if the were in trouble. Of course, Ron would were a costume to hide
her identity, so she wouldnʼt endanger the mutant world. The other mutants didnʼt
know about her being a vigilante. That was a very good thing. She would be in
very big trouble. So would her brothers. They helped her with the saving the day
and all. The humans that were saved liked Neko. They would just call her Cat-
lady. And the helpers. Her brothers are also called Jumpers. Itʼs another word for
teleporters. She had been a hero since she was fifteen.
Ron timed to see how long the device would do itʼs course. It only lasted
two minutes this time. It wore off pretty quickly. She didnʼt have anytime to look at
herself in the mirror to she what she looked like without the cat mutations. Mrs.
Walton said that Ron neednʼt a device to hide her true self. That Ron should be
happy with the way she is. But Ron tried to explain that it was going to be used
for when she was in the human world. Mr. Walton took Mrs. Waltonʼs side of the
argument. And the twins took Ronʼs side. It was three against two. Mr. and Mrs.
Walton were out numbered. They gave up and Ron started making her device.
She didnʼt have a name for it. She kept on thinking of names, but none of the
names sounded cool enough. And she didnʼt like them. She would need some
help figuring out a name. And with fixing the device so that it would work when
ever she wanted. But who could she get help from? Who knew things like what
she was making? That she didnʼt know. But she did need to find help from
someone. Her foster brothers and parents didnʼt know a thing about that kind of
technology. Maybe someone in America did. She would have to find that person
while she looked for Logan.
For now Ron would have to use her hiding her-cat-mutations thing. But
that was kind of hard to do now. Because her shoes didnʼt really fit now because
of them being catsʼ feet. Neither did some of her clothes because the mutation
made her a little bit muscular and made her clothes tight. The only place to buy
the kind of clothes that Ron would wear is in the Human world. She had some
money saved up and she would have to go into the Human world tomorrow.
Tonight Ron and the Walton twins will sneak out to meet up with their human
friends, the Dawes triplets.
It was ten oʼclock at night when Alfred and Bruce knocked four times on
Ronʼs bedroom door. She opened it fully dressed, she let them in, and closed the
door. They grabbed each others hands and Alfred teleported them onto a tree in
Hyde Park. They waited twenty minutes and the Dawes triplets arrived at the

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 tree. Bruce teleported them up onto the tree branch. It was a very big pine tree in
the middle of the park. It was the perfect place to meet. The trunk of the tree was
enormous. They had carved a hole into the trunk and made their secrete base.
The pine also had branches so low that anyone passing by would not notice that
anyone was there. But they do sometimes hangout on the branches and just talk.
The triplets had red short hair, green eyes, freckles, and their shirts were the
same as Alfred and Bruceʼs. But Johnʼs had J, Will had W, and Charlie had C. It
was time for Ron to tell the triplets about her and her brothers leaving.
“John, Will, Charlie,” Ron said. “Thereʼs something I need to tell you.
Ron told them what she and the twins were going to do.
“So, you are going to leave?” John asked. “How long will you be gone?”
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “But Iʼm going to start my search in New York and
Iʼm going to use my enhanced senses to find Logan.”
“How?” Will asked.
“With this.” Ron took a silver belt buckle from her bag. “I found it in his
room when he disappeared. Heʼs been in parts of the world as I looked for him.
Iʼd be close to finding him, but then the scent would carry off to some other
place.”
“Why New York City?” Charlie asked.
“Because itʼs my favorite city,” Ron answered. “He might be there or
somewhere near there.”
“Well,” John said, “weʼll see you when you get back. But I got this feeling
me and my brothers were being followed when we left.”
“Now you tell us?!” Alfred and Bruce said.
“Itʼs probably--” Will started.
“No.” Ron sniffed the air. “Thereʼs a scent. Someone else. noʼʼ-- she sniffed
the air again--“two people. Weʼre being followed. There.”
Ron pointed to the front of the park. No one was there. From what the
other five could see. Two people were there. Ron could smell them. Her
heightened senses could smell and hear at very far distances. She growled. She
knew they wouldnʼt be safe here tonight.
“We should go,” Ron said, not taking her eyes from the front of the park.
“Weʼre not safe.”
“Donʼt worry,” Charlie said. “Weʼll be just fine.”
“I have heightened senses,” Ron said. “I can smell what brand deodorant
you were wearing this time last year, so donʼt say weʼre gonna be just fine. We
are in danger. Especially you humans. You will be in a load of trouble. We lot will
be in a load of trouble. We will be in deep, deep trouble. We need to leave now.”
“Donʼt get your panties in a bunch,” John said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron growled at him. “Fine. Have it your way. Get in trouble. Get us
caught.”
“Are you certain, Ron?” Bruce asked.
“Very,” Ron growled. “I said what I needed to say, humans, now Itʼs time for
us to go.”
“I think you are right about those other scents,” Will said. “You guys go. But
hurry. It wouldnʼt be good if someone found you, Ron. Tell us everything that
happens when you guys get back.”
“I will try to write to you,” Ron said. “I think that Logan may be at a place,
but I doubt it. The place I think he may be at is Xavierʼs School for Gifted
Youngsters.”
“Iʼve heard of that place,” Will said. “Itʼs some sort of prep school.”
“Right,” Ron lied. But itʼs not what you think. “I will send letters. There will
be a return address if Iʼm there at the school. See you!”
The mutants and humans left the park and headed in different directions.
Tomorrow would be the day she and the twins would leave for the States. She
lied because she couldnʼt risk telling the humans about Xavierʼs mutant school.
Some of them may go to high school, but they also have to learn to harness their
powers after. She wondered if Logan stumbled into the school at all. She
wondered if he was even there. Is he there? Did he already go there and leave?
What am I gonna do when I get there? Iʼll just sneak into the school at night and
go find him. Itʼll be easier to bring my brothers with me. And we wonʼt be seen
and wonʼt be thought a treat. Iʼve been studying the school and they have a
tough security system, Ron thought.
They returned home and Ron told them to pack everything and that they
were going to leave at three oʼclock in the morning because her brothers wanted
to go sight seeing first. Ron left a note on the fridge for Mr. and Mrs. Walton. Ron
and her brothers would get a few hours sleep. They didnʼt have passports, but
that wouldnʼt stop them from getting to the United States. Her brothers didnʼt
need to see where they were going. they just thought of where they wanted to go
and theyʼd teleport there. Of course they needed to see what the place looked
like first. They had pictures of where they wanted to go. The statue of Liberty,
Empire State building, Times Square, and the Museum of Natural History. Ron
couldnʼt sleep at for the few hours she was supposed to. She had a lot on her
mind. She sat on top the covers, still fully dressed, and looking at the belt buckle
in her hand. She sniffed it making sure she knew his scent well. There wasnʼt
anything special about it. It was just a plain, silver, oval belt buckle. She also
looked at the picture of her and Logan together when she was five. It showed him
holding her on his shoulders. She only remembered Logan and what happened
to him. She doesnʼt remember anything else. She sighed and put the picture in

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 her pocket along with the belt buckle. She didnʼt remember what happened to her
when Logan left. She only remembered a lab, her appearance after that, and
running away at the age of fifteen. But memories started coming back, but they
didnʼt answer her questions. And she was angry. Maybe she could talk to the
head master of the mutant school about it.
When three oʼclock came, Ron was up and so were her brothers. They had
their backpacks stuffed with clothes and had their money in their hands. Ron
quickly counted the money, put it in a pouch, and put the pouch in her pocket.
There was three hundred dollars total. They held hands and. . .
“Wait!” Ron went into her room and came back out. “Forgot my image
thingy.”
“Now are we ready?” Alfred asked.
“Yeah,” Ron said.
“Wait!” Bruce ran back to his and Alfredʼs room and back. “Forgot my
costume.”
“Ready?” Alfred asked
“Yes,” Bruce and Ron said.
They teleported and instead of going where they wanted Alfred accidently
teleported them to a bar in the human world, filled with loads of humans. They
had landed on a table. Right on some tough guysʼ game of cards. The music
stopped and everyone looked in their direction.
“Hey, you three!”
They turned around and a police officer was walking up to them. Actually,
three police officers walked up to them. The three kids jumped off the table and
backed off.
“Uh-oh!” Bruce said.
“Nice going, Walton!” Ron said. “Now they are going to kill us! Especially
me! Now teleport us out of here! Now!”
“I canʼt!” Alfred said. “It wonʼt work!”
“Neither will mine!” Bruce said.
“Bloody perfect,” Ron said.
As they backed off all the people in the bar were getting up and walking
their way with guns in their hands. They were saying stuff like “Kill those mutant
scum!” “Those muties will give us a disease!” “Kill them!”. Ron stopped where
she was and said, “Go my brothers! Hide! Iʼll catch up with you two!”
“Are you crazy?!” Bruce said. “Theyʼll kill you!”
Ronʼs claws popped out with a snikt! “No they wonʼt.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 CHAPTER 2

She growled as a tall, strong human man approached her. Her brothers were
gone. The man had a large beer bottle. Ron had one claw on each hand. He ran
at her swinging the bottle. She retracted her claws, grabbed him, and slammed
him against a wall, her claw in her right hand emerged under the tall manʼs chin.
Ron was only five inches shorter than him. She said, “Donʼt attack me or you will
be dead, you worthless sack of meat!”
He nodded.
Ron released her grip and let the man go.
“That goes for the rest of you lot!” Ronʼs claw retracted and she left the bar.
Ron had turned around after walking two blocks to she if she was being
followed. No one from the bar followed Ron. Theyʼre smart not to follow her or
else theyʼd be dead in a heartbeat. Literally. Ron sniffed the air and followed her
brothersʼ scent down the block. She found them in an alley. She ran over to
them. She said, “What the hell happened back there?”
“I dunno,” Alfred said. “My teleportation powers have gone bonkers! This
has never happened before.”
“Nor with me,” Bruce said.
“With it work now?” Ron asked. “We canʼt stay here after what happened
back in that bar.”
“It might work,” Alfred said.
“Well then try it--” she stopped. She sniffed the air. “The cops from the bar
are following us. We need to leave now!”
“How far are they?” Bruce asked.
“That bar is only two blocks away,” Ron said. “They could be here any
minute.”
“Alright,” Bruce said, “grab my hands. Iʼll get us to New York.”
They did what he said and the teleported just as the police went by. They
made it to New York, but something went wrong. Bruce teleported them right in
the sky and they were falling, screaming, and headed straight for the ground
where cars were flooding the road. Bruce and Alfredʼs teleportation power were
going bonkers again. They were high enough that the cars almost looked like
toys. They were falling beside the Empire State building. Ron yelled to her
brothers, “Grab onto me!”
The did as ordered and Ron released her claws and drove them into the
building, trying to stop them from falling. They were going too fast. She put her
heels against it and they were starting to slow down. People below watch in awe

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 as they went down. She slowed to a stop, still up very high. She stopped right by
a window. She kicked it, glass shattering everywhere. Her brothers climbed in.
Their powers still didnʼt work. She was about to go inside when she felt very light
headed and passed out. Her claws retracted and she fell. Her brothers werenʼt
fast enough. They yelled, “RON!”
She fell the remainder feet and people looked up and gasped at the sight.
All they could do was watch as the girl fell.

Weapon X Program
20 years ago:
Ronʼs mother had died two years ago from liver failure. Ron was now five. Logan
was the only family she had. He had taken care of her, but that may not ever
happen again. She had witness what the program did to Logan. Watched them
infused Adamantium into his skeleton. Saw his newfound claws. Watched him get
two Adamantium bullets to the fore head. Stryker walked away, not knowing what
Ron had seen. Once Stryker was gone, Ron ran over to Logan. The holes in his
forehead were healing and he got up. He said, “Where am I?”
“Logan?” Ron said.
“Who am I?”
“Youʼre name is Logan and you are also known as Wolverine.” Ron had
read the dog tag and it said Wolverine.
He got up, but still looked very confused. But Ron knew what they did to
him and what was wrong with him. Those bullets erased his memory somehow of
who and what he is. He didnʼt die though. He just lost his memory. Lost his
memory of Ron. She looked up at him and two doctors were coming their way.
He ran. She just watched him disappear and she did the same. She ran to where
Logan slept. There was the picture of him and her that was taken earlier that day
on his night stand. There was also a belt buckle that was on the floor. She
suddenly fell to the floor unconscious.

New York
6:00 am
Ron fell right onto a taxi cab. The roof dented inward all the way. She lie there
motionless as people circled around the wrecked cab. Ron groaned as she
climbed out of the wreck as her brothers ran out of the Empire State Building.
The people gasped and backed off at the sight of this mutant making its way from
the cab. They also did that because of her appearance. All the cuts were healing.
She didnʼt break any bones because of her Adamantium skeleton. Her brothers

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 checked if she was alright as a cop car stopped making its rounds. The cop
shouted, “Hey, stop right there!”
“Run!” Ron shouted.
She and her brothers ran down the street followed by the cop car. They
kept on running and the cop car had gotten back up. No way her brothers would
go sight seeing now. They had to find somewhere to hide until that night. That
might not work at all. She might have to get to Bayville sooner than she thought.
First things first. She and her brothers had to ditch the police and fast. They ran
five blocks and two more cop cars came along to help with the chase. This was
getting ridiculous. But they didnʼt stop running. Suddenly, there were three people
up the street. Magneto, Sabretooth, and Toad.
Magneto lifted his hand and threw the cars back with his metal controlling
power. Ron saw what he did and ran back to help those people. There were two
cops in each car. Ron ran to the third car, Alfred to the first, and Bruce to the
second. The cars were a blaze and Ron used her Adamantium claws to slice the
door open. The cops were stuck in their seats. She cut the seat belts off and
pulled them out and ran five feet just as the car exploded, forcing them to the
ground. Alfred and Bruce teleported the other cops to safety. Ron, Alfred, and
Bruce looked at each other. And they saw a camera crew taping. They had taped
the mutants the whole time.
Ron and her brothers took off leaving the camera crew, cops, and that
strange man that had caused the mess.
“I think he was trying to save us from those cops,” Alfred said.
“Well, he didnʼt do a good job about it,” Ron said. “He almost killed those
cops.”
They stopped after running five blocks. Ron looked at her brothers and
asked, “Can you get us to the Xavier Institute?”
“Yeah,” Alfred said.
Ron put her jacket hood up. “Donʼt want any other humans to see me.
Letʼs go.”
They grabbed hands and teleported to the front gate of Xavierʼs school. It
was 6:45 am when they got there. A beautiful Saturday morning. The gate was at
least nine to ten feet tall. Ron jumped it and her brothers teleported. Her brothers
started walking, but she put her hand up. Weapons started to pop up
everywhere. She had expected this. She had studied the mansion and the
weapons that were there. She looked to her brothers, the weapons, and to the
school.
“Alfred, Bruce, teleport as many weapons as you can” Ron said. “Iʼll
destroy as many as I can. On mark, attack. Now!”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 They ran to the school, teleporting and destroying weapons as more
popped up out of the ground. One after one Ron destroyed the weapons. She
didnʼt use her Adamantium claws. She used her other claws. They had tripped
the alarm and the X-Men were standing outside the mansion. Ron, Alfred, and
Bruce stopped fifteen feet from the X-men. The weapons stopped firing. Her
brothers stood beside her. All three still had their hoods up. Ron stepped forward
and said, “We are not a threat. We come in peace.”
“Who are you?” Scott Summers asked.
“We are just your everyday mutants,” Ron answered. “I am just looking for
a mutant I know. I thought he might be here.”
“Who is it you are looking for?” Jean Grey asked.
“His name is. . .or was. . .um. . .” Ron said nervously. “Weapon X. Or
Wolverine. Does anyone know where he is?”
“Heʼs giving the younger students a training session,” Jean said.
“Before we take you to him you tell us who you are,” Scott said.
“My name is Veronica House,” Ron said. “You can call me ʻRonʼ. My real
name is X24. Now take me to Logan.”
Scott nodded and he, Jean, and Storm led Ron and her brothers to the
pool in the backyard. Logan was doing a rescue training session and Kurt,
Nightcrawler, assisted him. The students had to swim and rescue the victims. As
the students finished up the session, Kurt said, “Who is that?”
Logan sniffed the air, turned around and saw his team, two hooded boys,
and a hooded girl that walked up to him. She was 5ʼ6” and Logan was 5ʼ3”.
“Hello, Logan,” Ron said. “Itʼs me. Itʼs Ronnie. Do you remember me?”
“Ronnie?” Logan asked.
Ron nodded and showed him her face.
“My God,” Logan said, “Ronnie.”
“Yeah,” she said, putting her hood back over her face as they hugged.
Jean stepped up and extended her hand to Ron, “Letʼs go see Professor
Xavier.”
Ron just looked at her. She wasnʼt sure if the mutants in the U.S. were like
the ones back home. She didnʼt even think about that until now. All she thought
about was seeing Logan. Her brothers walked up to her. Alfred opened his mouth
but closed it again. He and Bruce were just as unsure as Ron. The three of them
looked to Logan. He looked at Ron. Logan said, “Iʼll go with you, Ronnie. Itʼll be
all right.”
Ron nodded. “Okay, Logan. I need help with the way I look, but. . .”
“I know youʼre scared and not sure,” Logan said, “Ronnie, and that you just
want to get the hell outta here, but Charles Xavier can help you. Trust me, he can
help you.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron nodded.
“Training sessions for the day are delayed,” Logan said to the students.
Jean, Scott, Storm, and Logan took Ron to Xavierʼs office. When they got
to his office door, Ron backed off. Ron wasnʼt a child anymore, but she felt very
scared. Logan went over to her. He said to the team, “Iʼll wait here with Ron.”
Jean stayed with Logan and Ron while Scott and Storm told Xavier that
there was a new mutant outside the room. Ron was a little taller than Jean, but
she was still frightened. Not sure to trust any other mutant than Logan because
they donʼt know what she has gone through as a kid and that they didnʼt know
her.
“What is your name?” Ron asked Jean.
“Jean Grey,” Jean said. “What is it you want to be called?”
“Ron, Ronnie, or Veronica,” Ron said. “It doesnʼt matter.”
“Are you gonna be all right?” Alfred asked.
“Yeah,” Ron answered. “You two go sightseeing.”
They nodded, took their hoods off, and teleported.
“Thatʼs their powers.”
Professor Xavier appeared at the door and said, “Veronica, please come
into my office.
She hesitated at first but went inside his office and sat down in front of his
desk. He wheeled his wheelchair to the other side and faced Ron. She didnʼt
remove her hood. She just looked at him and the X-Men. She was very nervous
and she tried not to show it. But, of course, Xavier knew how she was feeling.
“My name is--”
“Charles Xavier,” Ron said. “I know who you are and what you do, so spare
me the lecture. I just need your help with my mutation.”
“Which is?” Xavier asked.
Ron took her hood off. “This.”
Xavier and the others saw her cat mutation. She had cat eyes, teeth. Ron
looked at Logan, the team, and to Xavier. Xavier was just about to asked her how
she received her mutation but said to the X-Men, “Could you excuse us?”
They started leaving Xavierʼs office. “Not you, Logan, you need to hear
this,” Xavier said. “How did you get this mutation?”
“I donʼt wanna talk about it,” Ron said. “Itʼs too painful to talk about it right
now.”
“When ever you want to talk about it Iʼll be here,” Xavier said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Weapon X Facility
15 years ago

Ron was curled up in a ball in a corner. She was frightened and was shaking.
Ever since Logan had escaped and her mother died, the people there could do
what ever they wanted with her. Experiment on her all they wanted because of
her mutation. Ron had cat like abilities she got from her father. But the doctors
including Colonel William Stryker, who created Weapon X. But now he will create
a newer weapon using Ron. He wanted to make her indestructible like
Wolverine. Only this time their weapon would not get away or so they hoped.
Ronʼs door slammed open, doctors came and took Ron away against her
will. She screamed, not wanting to have nothing to do with them. But she didnʼt
have any choice. They got her to the procedure room and strapped Ron to the
table and put an oxygen tube in her nose and mouth. She knew what they were
doing, so she stopped struggling. Stryker had put dog tags around her neck. Her
name and her mutant name were on them. She was taking deep breathes to
calm down and be ready for the procedure. A lot of the doctors didnʼt want to do
this to a child. It was not right for a child to go through something like this. To go
through the pain. She was lowered into the clear tub of water.
“We are once again going to bond Adamantium to a skeleton. To this new
weaponʼs bones. Weapon 24. Start the drills.”
The doctor did as ordered and the drills lowered into the water at full
speed.
“Begin,” Srtyker ordered.
The doctor flipped the switch and the drills drove into her bones releasing
the liquid Adamantium. She screamed in pain and thrashed, but no one could
hear her. She screamed Loganʼs name over and over. Her heartbeat rising to
200.
“Arenʼt you gonna sedate her with her thrashing like that?” a general
asked.
“Sheʼs like Weapon X,” Stryker answered. “She feels pain but sedating
wouldnʼt work.”
“Will she survive like Weapon X?”
“I donʼt know,” Stryker said. “But she has a healing factor stronger than
Wolverineʼs. Her mutant powers are stronger.”
“Is Wolverine her father?”
“No.”
Her heart beat went to 300. Then to 313. Then it started to slow. More and
more. Then the ECG went flatline. The Adamantium was a total lost. the metal
didnʼt work. Stryker knew she would survive because Wolverine survived the

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Adamantium bonding. Her heart started beating and she was unconscious. She
was dead for only ten seconds.
“What know?” the general asked.
“We will erase her memory and train her,” Stryker said. “Then we will try
this again.”
“Erase the memory of Wolverine?”
“No,” Stryker answered. “He is the only family she has. She has the right to
let him live on in her.”

New York
Xavierʼs office
8:00 am

There was knocking on Xavierʼs door and Ron put her hood back up. Kurt
appeared as his blue and fuzzy self. He looked at Ron then to Xavier.
“Sorry for interrupting, sir, but maybe I can help this new mutant,” he said
in a German accent. “Yʼknow, talk about. . .appearances.”
“Yes, Kurt, that just might work,” Xavier said. “Can you take. . .”
“Ron,” Ron said.
“Ron to a guest room?” Xavier asked.
“Yes, sir,” Kurt said.
“ʻRonʼ. Is that short for Veronica?” Xavier asked.
“Yes,” Ron answered.
“Iʼll be up to check on you later,” Logan said.
Ron nodded and followed Kurt.
Ron looked at Kurt the whole time they went up stairs. He was just like her.
He had an appearance that he was born with. He has blue hair, was blue, three
fingers on each hand, and had a blue devil like tail. She wondered how he
blended in with humans. Probably got help from Xavier. Ronʼs room was on the
second floor. Ron looked around. Big, large bed, chair, bureau with a mirror.
Nothing too fancy. Ron liked it. She took her backpack off and tossed it on the
bed.
She turned to Kurt. “Whatʼs your name, Blue?”
“Kurt,” he said as Ron took her hood off. “Iʼm also called Nightcrawler.”
“I can see why.” Ron smiled. “You look like something that crawls at night.”
“Whatʼs your name?” Kurt asked
“Veronica,” Ron answered. “You can call me Ron.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Itʼs not all bad by the way you look,” Kurt said. “The professor helped out
a lot when I first came here. I was nervous at first, but after a day or so I wasnʼt
nervous anymore. Professor Xavier game me this image inducer. It makes me
look normal.”
Kurt showed her his human look. He looked just the same minus the tail,
blue fur, three fingers, and the way his toes looked. Ron was amazed.
“I made one too,” she said as Kurt changed back to his normal self. “But I
canʼt seem to make it work right. It breaks every time.”
“Maybe the professor can help you make your device work,” Kurt said.
“Yeah, maybe your right, Blue, maybe he can help me.”
“Thatʼs the spirit, Ron!” Kurt said. “Say, do you have a hero name?”
Ron shook her head. “On these dog tags they say my name and another
name.”
“What does the tag say?” Kurt said.
“X24,” Ron said. “What could that mean?”
“I donʼt know,” Kurt said.
“What kind of mutant are you?” Ron asked.
“I was born with this appearance and got my powers at puberty. I can
teleport,” Kurt said. “What about you?”
“I only know that I have catlike abilities, claws, an Adamantium skeleton,
and that I have the appearance of a neko. They are cat people,” Ron said.
“Thatʼs all I can remember.”
“Hey, how about that being your name?” Kurt suggested. “Neko!”
“Yeah! Itʼs perfect!” Ron said.
They slapped high fives. They were going to be good friends.
“Cʼmon, Neko, itʼs breakfast!” Kurt said.
“Letʼs race, but no powers, Blue boy!” Ron.
Ron opened her door and they got into position. Three seconds later they
were off running down the hall. They laughed as they shoved each other. Kurt
teleported away. Ron saw way and tried to stop, but plowed into Logan. He was
on his way to check on Ron. Logan was on top of Ron. She tried to get out from
under him.
“Holy crap!” Ron said under him and finally getting up. “Your heavy! You
almost crushed my skeleton!”
“That would be your own fault,” Logan said. “Why were you running down
the hall? You know better at your age.”
“Oh, come off it, Logan!” Ron said. “I donʼt care! I havenʼt had any fun
since I got here. And besides, I can do what ever the bloody hell I want when I
want and come and go as I please. You canʼt tell me what to do.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Actually, I can,” Logan said. “It donʼt matter. Iʼm older than you are and Iʼm
as close as a father that youʼre gonna get. You do as I order under this roof.”
Ron laughed. “Let me tell ya something. Iʼm not the same little girl
anymore. I can so do what ever. Iʼm my own boss. Iʼll see ya down stairs. Oh,
and I was running because Kurt and I were having a race down to breakfast.”
Logan was starting to get mad with her. But he let it go. He hadnʼt seen the
kid for fifteen years. She wasnʼt the same little girl he knew. He went down stairs.
Ron sat next to Kurt during their breakfast and laughed the whole time. Ron
thought he was a nice kid. Then she thought about herself and Logan all those
years ago. A little bit later Logan appeared and took some students for another
rescue mission. Kurt teleported to where the had to go. They went to the edge of
a cliff behind the school and saw Kurt down there. Scott was there with life
rescue equipment.
“The session is to rescue the unconscious victim,” Scott said.
Everyone waited around as Scott got down to Kurt.
“Ron, bring down the stretcher,” Scott said through his headset.
“Your up, Ronnie,” Logan said after pulling off her headphones.
Ron looked at him, smiled, then just stepped off the cliff, driving her
Adamantium claws into the cliff stopping herself a few feet above Kurt. She
jumped down and waited for the stretcher to come down. It finally came down
and Ron put Kurt into the stretcher and strapped him in. She waved up to Logan
and the stretcher started going up. But Ron wobbled a little holding onto the rope.
“Are you okay?” Kurt asked.
“I donʼt. . .know. . .”
Ron felt extremely weird of a sudden and she started falling back but got
her balance back. The basket starting swinging uncontrollably. The machine
pulling it up wasnʼt working right. Ron undid the straps that held Kurt. Only he
could get them to safety. She only had one strap to go when the basket twisted
and slammed hard into the rock wall. Ronʼs head hit hard enough to throw her
unconscious and she was sent her falling toward the deep ocean below. Scott
shot the rocks out below and Ron fell into the water. Ron was sinking fast
because of her skeleton. Logan jumped and dove down while Kurt teleported
down there too. They looked for her in the water and Kurt saw her and swam to
her. Small bubbles came from her mouth as he grabbed Ronʼs arm and swam to
the surface. He wasnʼt a fast enough swimmer but Logan took Ronʼs other arm
and helped the swim. They reached the surface and Kurt teleported them to the
top of the cliff some feet away from everyone else.
Logan and Kurt were about to set her down when Ron started coughing up
ocean water. They helped her stand up as everyone went over. She was still
feeling uneasy and lost her balance and Kurt caught her. Logan saw Scott tell

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 everyone to get back to the mansion and went over to where the three of them
were. Logan told Kurt to take Ron inside to the hospital wing.
“Cʼmon, Ron, letʼs get you to the hospital wing,” Kurt said.
Ron nodded and they teleported.
“What the hell made the machine act like that?” Scott asked.
“My guess is Magneto,” Logan said, sniffing the air and walked away. “I
gotta check on Ron and speak with Charles.”
A little bit beyond the mansion Magneto and Sabretooth stood on a hill.
“That proof enough?” Magneto asked.
“Yes,” Sabretooth answered.
Kurt and Ron teleported to an empty hospital room and she took off to the
bathroom to throw up. Never before had she felt this way when she teleported
with her brothers. What had changed? Ron came out of the bathroom and
started walking out of the room. Kurt followed her.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Back out to that rescue session,” she answered. “This time itʼs gonna be
more fun.”
“But--oh, I see what your getting at,” Kurt said and he grabbed Ronʼs arm
and they teleported back outside.
“Ron, I. . .” Logan looked around the room. He ran back to the rescue
session.
Ron and Kurt grabbed the basket and pushed it off the cliff. It hung a good
six feet below them. Ron climbed down the rope and Kurt followed. Ron stood
looking out into the horizon. Kurt had joined her. They looked at each other and
held on tight to the ropes and hands and made the basket move back and forth,
but slowly. They laughed and made it move faster. Made it go faster and faster.
Soon they were moving sideways very fast. They were whooping and laughing. It
was probably a stupid thing to do, but they didnʼt really care at the time. Logan
had gotten there and said, “Hey, knock it off!”
They didnʼt notice he was there and the basket slammed into the side of
the cliff sending them off and toward the water. They got into a cannonball
position, held there breath, and hit the water. They sank a few feet and swam
back up to the surface. They grabbed hands and teleported back up the cliff.
They laughed and slapped high fives and had their backs to Logan.
“That was so totally wicked!” Ron said.
“Letʼs do that again!” Kurt said.
“Letʼs not,” Logan said.
Kurt and Ron froze.
“Uh-oh,” Kurt said.
“Busted,” Ron said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 They turned and saw Logan standing there with an ugly look on his face.
“How long have you been standing there?” Kurt asked.
“Long enough,” Logan answered. “You are so grounded. I donʼt care if
youʼre a child or not, Veronica, you are too. Now you come with me.”
Ron and Kurt didnʼt argue. They followed Logan to Xavierʼs office. Logan
only called Ron “Veronica” when he was serious or angry with her. They were in
deep trouble. Ron was in deeper trouble. She came up with the idea. She got
Kurt into trouble. She and Kurt looked at each other. He gave her a hopeful
smile, but she didnʼt smile back. She would be in more trouble with Logan than
the professor. They arrived at Xavierʼs office and he was waiting for them. He
already knew what happened. And he was not happy. They sat down in the
chairs in front of Xavierʼs desk and Logan stood beside him. Ron and Kurt looked
at Xavier. But she couldnʼt work up the courage to look at Logan.
“What you did was irresponsible and dangerous,” Xavier said. “You could
have been hurt.”
Ron spoke before Kurt got to. “We know, Charles, but we were not harmed
at all. It was all my idea to do what we just did. And Kurt would have been able to
teleport us to safety. But he didnʼt. Thatʼs okay. It was unexpected that the
basket--”
“It doesnʼt matter,” Xavier said, cutting her off. “What matters is your safety.
So, you are confined to the Institute everyday after school for two weeks. And
you are prohibited from using your powers and will have two training sessions a
day with Logan.”
“But--” Ron started.
“Yes, sir, we understand,” Kurt said.
“That is your penalty, Kurt,” Xavier said. “Now, Veronica, we will discuss
yours.”
“Iʼll wait for you outside,” Kurt said.
Kurt closed the door behind him. Scott was there.
“Heard what happened,” he said. “Howʼd it go?”
“Two weeks of coming here after school, no powers, and two Logan
sessions.”
“What about Ron?”
“Donʼt know yet,” Kurt said. “Sheʼs in bigger trouble.”
“WHAT?!” Ron yelled. They could hear her through the wall. “That is not
fair!”
Ron stormed out slamming the door hard enough that it made cracks in it.
“What happened?” Kurt asked.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Iʼll tell ya what happened!” Ron said. “Three weeks of nowhere, no
powers, two sessions that are three hours long with Logan, and I have to assist
him with the younger students!”
“Really?”
Ron nodded. “Starting my first session now.”
“Now?!” Kurt said.
Ron nodded. “Maybe Iʼll see you later, Blue.”
Logan came out of Xavierʼs office and Ron scowled at him. She waved
good-bye to Kurt and Scott and followed Logan. Xavier came out of his office and
watched Ron and Logan disappear down the hall.
“Did you have to be so hard on her, Professor X?” Scott asked.
“The only things I gave Veronica were the same as Kurtʼs,” Xavier said.
“No leaving the school, no powers, and two sessions. Logan added three hours
to the sessions, added a week to the penalty, and assisting him.”
“Isnʼt he being a little hard on her?” Kurt asked.
“Maybe,” Xavier said. “He is the only family she has. There is nothing I can
do about it.”
“I thought sheʼd be happy to see Logan,” Kurt said.
“So did I,” Xavier said. “But I think she blames him for leaving her behind
and she is both feeling happy and angry with Logan. Iʼm going to talk with him.”
Xavier wheeled his wheelchair to the Danger Room. He saw that Logan
watched Ron getting her butt whooped by a bunch of robots. He had put it on a
very hard level. She tried different attacks, but the robots wold either block or
dodge them and then attack her harder and harder. Ron was starting to pant.
“Cʼmon, kid, theyʼre only robots,” Logan said through the P.A.
“Then you get down here and fight!” Ron yelled. “Prove your claim that itʼs
easy ʻcause Iʼve had enough getting my ass kicked by tin cans!”
“Arenʼt you going a little far with this?” Xavier asked. “Veronica is still just a
kid.”
“She can take it,” Logan said. “She can take the assisting along with the
three hour sessions.”
Logan looked down at Ronʼs session. She was still not doing good. There
was a Quicksilver robot. It zoomed around her and wouldnʼt sit still for her to
attack. It was starting to make her very angry. There was a Magneto robot, and
Sabretooth robot. The Magneto robot had the same power as the real Magneto.
The Sabretooth robot had the same powers as the real Sabretooth minus the
heightened senses. It had the claws, but they werenʼt retractible. The robot she
had most trouble with was Quicksilver. She had had just about enough of this
one. She let it come to her. With one slash of her cat claws, the robot fell to the
floor in two pieces. She was now a little bit more relieved. Now she could finish of

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 the other two robots. The Magneto robot lifted its arm and Ron was sent flying to
the other side of the big metal room. She slammed into the wall and fell to the
floor. There were certain places in the Danger Room to hide behind. She waited
for him behind a big metal box thing. She released her claws and snuck up
behind him. just as she was going to stab him, Sabretooth came up behind her
and grabbed her, taking her by surprise.
It was a lot taller than her. She struggled then finally broke free of the
robotʼs grip. She released her cat claws, retracted her metal ones, ran, jumped,
and sliced the robotʼs head clean off. Magneto was still there. She ran at it before
it got the chance to act and sliced its head off. She was panting and looked at the
back of her hands. She tried to release the claws but they wouldnʼt come out.
She looked up at the control room. It was time to go up against Logan. She
hoped she wouldnʼt have to use her Adamantium claws because she didnʼt know
what was happening.
Logan came down and walked to her. She hadnʼt looked at him since she
and Kurt got in trouble. She was still mad at him. He was a few feet away from
her. Her cat claws popped out she ran at him and he knocked her down on her
butt. She got back up and attacked again and again. Logan either dodged her
attacks or blocked them and gave them right back to her, but did it harder. Ron
disappeared somewhere. Logan could smell her scent, but it was all over the
place and he couldnʼt get a direct point on where she was. Ron snuck up behind
him, claws retracted, and tapped his back. He turned and She punched him as
hard as she could in the face, forcing him to stumble a little, blood pouring from
his nose. Ron released her claws and sunk them deep into his chest. He
screamed in pain but she didnʼt retract them. Logan stabbed her and she just
smiled.
Ron head butted Logan. That made him back off a few feet. Ron jumped
up and spin kicked him in the head. Logan staggered. This would go on for more
than three hours. Ron lunged at him and pinned him to the ground, her cat claws
to his chin. She could kill him somehow. She said, “I win.”
“Now, let me up,” Logan said
Ron didnʼt move.
“Ronnie, let me up.”
She still didnʼt move.
“Ronnie,” Logan growled.
“Fine.” Ron retracted her claws and let him up. “Are we done yet?”
“No,” Logan said.
Ron growled. “I finished off the robots and I fought you. What more is
there?”
“Jet flying,” Logan answered.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron smiled. “Jet flying, huh? I know all about flying jets.”
“Really?”
Ron nodded. “Yup.”
“You will be doing it with, Kurt,” Logan said.
“Alright!” Ron jumped in the air. “I get to train with Blue!”
“Logan, Veronica, come to my office,” Xavier said over the P.A. “I have
something for you two.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 3

Ron sat in a chair and Logan stood in Xavierʼs office. They both looked at him
and Logan said, “Whatʼs this about, Charles?”
“I have seen Ronʼs powers in the Danger Room,” he said, “and they looked
similar to yours, Logan.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that Ron may have a Adamantium skeleton somehow,” Xavier said
looking at Ron.
“What?” Logan said confused. “How?”
“Heʼs right, Logan,” Ron said. “You know about my powers, but you donʼt
know what happened after you abandoned me because you werenʼt there.”
“What happened after I escaped?”
“It started 20 years ago. . .”
Ron had finished what she said. Xavier and Logan listened. But Logan was
very furious with Stryker. Ron could see the anger in Loganʼs eyes and her ears
drooped. Xavier didnʼt need physic powers to pick up on Loganʼs emotions. Ron
didnʼt have that much to say because some of her lost memories. She had hoped
that Xavier could also help her with some of the memories. She figured Xavier
helped Logan a lot because he remembered Ron. He didnʼt 20 years ago.
“So, ʻtheyʼ put Adamantium on your bones?” Xavier asked.
Ron nodded. “Iʼm the new weapon. Weapon 24 or X24.”
“How could anyone put a child through that?” Logan said. “A child shouldnʼt
go through that kind of pain! And he erased your memory!”
Logan was so angry that Stryker put Ron through that Adamantium
procedure. No child should be put through anything like that. But he had put Ron
through that.
“Not all of it, though,” Ron said. “My memory.”
“How much of it?”
“Well. . .”
“They could have erased it all and implanted fake memories to make you
say and think that,” Logan said.
“I donʼt know what they did,” Ron said, “but I will never forget the pain they
put me through to be their Weapon 24. And from the Adamantium I got these.”
Her claws released with a snikt!
“You have claws?!” Logan said.
“Yes.” Ron retracted them. “They. . .” Ron couldnʼt go on.
“They what?” Logan knelt beside her.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron was in tears. “They. . .they whipped me and starved me when I didnʼt
do what. . .they wanted! They abused the living crap out of me!”
Ron was now on the floor hugging Logan, shaking from crying. Logan held
her tight and just let her cry into his chest.
“Just let it out,” he softly. “I ainʼt going nowhere. Cancel Kurtʼs sessions
with me for the rest of the day will ya, Charles? Thereʼs more important things.”
“Yes, Logan,” Charles said. “It seems like the abuse to Ron was far worse
than what happened to you.”
“Yeah, especially since they did it to a child!” Logan growled. “That just
ainʼt right!”
“Yes, since the child is a mutant,” Xavier said.
“Logan. . .” she sob.
“Shhhh. . .” he said. “Every thingʼs gonna be alright. Ainʼt no one gonna
hurt you no more. Iʼll make sure of that.”
“Letʼs continue this tomorrow,” Xavier said. “Thereʼs been enough
excitement for today.”
Logan nodded and helped Ron to her feet. He walked her to her room and
went inside with her. Ronʼs eyes were red from crying and tears still flowed down
her cheeks. She sat on her bed. Logan sat next to her and put his arm around
her shoulder. Ron laid her head on his chest, still shaking a little from crying.
They hadnʼt seen each other in 20 years. She knew Logan wasnʼt her father. Did
he know who her father was? And how was she related to him? She looked at
Logan.
“Iʼm sorry,” she said, “for everything. For swinging on the basket over the
cliff and for telling you I can do what ever I want. I donʼt know why I said that.”
“I know you are,” Logan said. “And Iʼm sorry for being so hard on ya, kid.
Iʼll cut back the hours of the sessions and make ʻem only two hours long. I know
you were only havinʼ fun, but--”
“I know,” Ron said. “I wonʼt be doing that again for a while. What do you do
here?”
“Iʼm a teacher and member of the X-Men,” Logan said. “And Charles has
been helping me with my lost memories. I can remember as far back as when I
got my Adamantium claws and skeleton.”
“I remember the doctors talking about you back at that Weapon X
program,” Ron said. “They talked about your lifespan. The way they talked about
it sounded as if you are three hundred and some years old. Going back to about
the turn of the eighteenth century.”
“I canʼt tell you if thatʼs true or not,” Logan said.
“I know, Logan,” Ron said. “Itʼs not your fault that you donʼt remember. Itʼs
your fault that you abandoned me when I was five.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Ronnie, it wasnʼt my fault!” Logan said.
“Yes it was!” Ron got up. “If you were there than none of what they did to
me wouldʼve happened! The abuse! The pain! The freaking Adamantium claws!”
She screamed while punching the wall making a deep hole in it. She didnʼt
care. Now she was very angry. Logan walked over to her and put his hands on
her shoulders. She didnʼt look at him at all. Just looked at his hand on her
shoulder. She growled. Logan said, “Iʼm sorry, Ronnie--”
“I donʼt want you here!” Ron knocked his hand off. “I donʼt want to see your
face!”
“Ronnie, just--”
“Get out,” Ron growled.
“Ronnie--”
“Get out,” Ron said, looking at him in the mirror. The bureau was right
bedside her bed. She grabbed the vase that was on it. “Now.”
“Ronnie, just hear me out,” Logan said.
“GET OUT!” she threw the vase at him.
He caught it and put it down. Then he back off. Ron wanted him out in less
then ten seconds. She went over to him, shoved him out, and slammed the door
in his face. She went over to the window. There was a balcony outside the room.
Ron opened the big window and stepped out onto the balcony. The wind blew her
hair behind her. She sat on the bar of the balcony. She lowered her head and
sighed. She was not happy with herself. Ron had just pushed the only person in
the world that understood what she was going through away. Just pushed him
away. Ron didnʼt know what to think right know. She didnʼt know what to do. She
looked up at the sky. It was close to noon. She would go down stairs to the
dinning room and just sit there. She left her room and headed to the stairs. As
she past an opened room, Ron saw Logan in there sitting cross legged on the
floor, his eyes closed, deep in meditation. She bit her lip wondering if she should
go in and talk with him. She turned away.
“You cominʼ in or what, kid?” Logan said.
Ron turned back to him. “Howʼd you know it was me?”
Logan looked at her. “Your scent, kid.”
“Oh, yeah. Iʼm so very sorry, Logan,” Ron said, leaning on the frame of the
doorway. “I donʼt know why Iʼm so angry. I donʼt wanna push you away. Youʼre all
I have left.”
“What about your foster brothers?” Logan stood up.
Ron shook her head. “Theyʼre not family.”
“Youʼre angry ʻcause you donʼt understand whatʼs happened to you,” Logan
said. “Angry ʻcause of pain and loneliness.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Logan, Iʼm a loner,” Ron said. “I didnʼt want to associate with no one
ʻcause I donʼt wanna get close to anyone, but those Walton people took me in.
They didnʼt understand that I didnʼt want to be with them or anyone. I couldnʼt go
nowhere when I was still a child. Iʼm might be a loner, but I want to be with you,
Logan. I know why you call yourself a loner.”
“Why?” Logan asked.
“ ʼCause you donʼt wanna be associated with no one and you afraid to get
close with anyone,” Ron said. “But you are here at this school and part of a
team.”
“That donʼt mean I gotta get associated with the X-Men,” Logan said.
“If not them then me,” Ron said. “Donʼt be a loner with me and I wonʼt to
you, Logan. Like I said before. Youʼre all I got left. And Iʼm all you got. Weʼre like
family, Logan, we should at least start acting like one.”
Ron left and headed down stairs. Logan left his room and went to Xavierʼs
office. He opened the door and Xavier said, “What is it, Logan?”
“I gotta tell you somethinʼ, Charles, but Ron cannot know,” Logan said.
“Least not yet.”
“What?” Xavier asked.
“I never told no one this,” he said. “But Sabretooth is my brother.”
“He is?” Xavier asked. “I didnʼt find that lost memory.”
“I found it,” Logan said, “and heʼs the kidʼs father.”
“Youʼre her...”
“Yeah,” Logan said. “Iʼm her uncle.”
“I didnʼt think Sabretooth ever married,” Xavier said. “Let alone have a
child.”
“He didnʼt marry,” Logan corrected. “But he did abandon Ronʼs mother.”
“I knew you two had some relation,” Xavier said. “You two act the same
and have the same powers.”
“Yeah and sheʼs angry like I was,” he said. “They did the same to her as
they did to me. But she got it worse. A lot worse.”
“Yes,” Xavier said. “They even erased her memories. But why?”
“Because they turned her into a new weapon. X24 she said. Thatʼs why
they put her through that procedure. Because she would survive it. Because they
could do it. Because sheʼs just like me and because she has Sabretoothʼs
mutation. That made her stronger. So, they pushed harder and harder. Trained
her nonstop to be their newest weapon.”
“But why?” Xavier asked.
“That I canʼt answer, Charles, ʼcause I donʼt know,” Logan said. “Maybe we
will find out later.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Could this be the reason why Sabretooth is looking for you?” Xavier asked
as Logan was leaving.
“I dunno. There are a lot of reasons,” Logan said and left Xavierʼs office.
Logan found Ron in the backyard with Kurt. They were laughing away
about something that Kurt had said about Logan. Ron looked over and saw
Logan. She waved. He waved back. She went back to talking with Kurt. Kurt saw
that Ron had her diary on the stand they were sitting by. He grabbed it and
jumped off the chair.
“Hey, give it back, Elf!” Ron chased him.
Kurt flipped through the pages as she tried to snatch it back. She managed
to do so and swapped her real diary with a fake one. She purposely tripped and
dropped the diary. Kurt got it back. He looked at Scott as he came out. Kurt
tossed it to him.
“Whatʼs this?” Scott asked.
“Itʼs Ronʼs diary!” Kurt teleported beside him. “I think she wrote something
about you!”
“Kurt! Scott!” She walked over to them. “Give me back my damn diary or
you both are gonna end up in the freaking pool!”
Logan was leaning on the wall of the mansion, not caring enough to do
something. Kurt had teleported behind her. Scott tossed it to Kurt. They tossed it
back and forth. Ron looked at Kurt. She smiled at him and left. Kurt opened the
diary and ink sprayed in his face. He yelped and fell into the pool, dropping the
book. The note inside said: Nice try. Do better next time, Elf. Ron walked over to
Logan. She smiled at him and hugged him. She looked back at Kurt and saw his
red ink stained face. She laughed as he left. She looked back at Logan. Logan
caught a scent in the air. Sabretoothʼs scent. Ron had picked it up as well, but
didnʼt know who it was.
Logan started running to get his motorcycle, but Ron grabbed his arm.
“Logan, let me come with you! Please?”
“No.”
“But I can help you!” Ron argued.
Logan thought for a moment. “I suppose this is your fight, too.”
“Then letʼs go!”
They ran to the garage and Ron grabbed a helmet. “Iʼm driving.”
“Maybe next time,” Logan said, putting his hemet on.
Logan started it up and zoomed off, leaving a trail of dust in the air.
Sabretooth was outside of town. Ron held on as Logan drove the motorcycle
through traffic. She sniffed the air and caught Sabretoothʼs scent. She looked
behind her and saw another motorcycle. It was Sabretooth.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Logan,” she said. “Weʼve got company.
He looked back and saw Creed ride right up beside him. Ron looked at
him. Really looked at him. She thought he looked familiar. Creed looked at Logan
and Ron gasped. She never saw anyone look like he did. Besides herself. But
just one look and she could tell he was very bad.
“We have business to settle here, runt,” Sabretooth said.
“Ronnie, hold on,” Logan said.
Logan Xavier said in Loganʼs mind. What happened?
Sabretooth is what happened, Logan thought. He knows Iʼm in this
town. just doesn't where I am staying.
He found you, Xavier thought.
Yeah.
Sabretooth zoomed in front of him, wanting Logan to follow him. Logan did
just that. Sabretooth stopped suddenly, causing Logan to almost run right into
him. Instead Logan lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a car. The
impact forced them off the bike. Ron lay there on the road for a moment, dazed.
She took off her helmet and looked at Loganʼs motorcycle. She got up and went
over to it to examine the bike. There were huge dents in it. The paint didnʼt
scratch. The car had gotten worse, though. It was all smashed in its side from the
bike impacting with it. She looked around. She didnʼt see Logan anywhere. Only
Sabretooth. Sabretooth walked over to her. Ron didnʼt move an inch. She
released her cat claws and growled at him. Sabretooth looked at her and
laughed. Her claws werenʼt even an inch long at full length.
“Nice claws, kid,” Sabretooth said. “But their small like that runt.”
“Where is Logan?” Ron asked.
“Somewhere,” Sabretooth said. “Are you his sidekick?”
“No,” Ron said. “Iʼm not. Iʼm just someone who has been looking for him for
a very long time. Heʼs the only thing I got left.”
“Didnʼt know he was taking care of some kid.”
“He ainʼt,” Ron said. “I havenʼt seen him in 20 years.”
“I need to get him alone,” Sabretooth said. “Which means that you are
coming with me.”
“Like picking on kids, Creed?” Logan said. “Big mistake.”
Logan appeared behind Sabretooth. Sabretooth turned and Logan lunged
at him, forcing Sabretooth to land on his back..
“Yeah, why?”
“ ʼCause it really ticks me off!”
They started fighting. Ron tried to help, but was pushed out. She wondered
what Logan meant by this being her battle, too. She needed answers. But this
wasnʼt the time for a Q and A. Logan was in trouble.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “RRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
She turned and saw Sabretooth had Logan in a nelson hold around his
neck. Logan couldnʼt break free.
“Hey!” Ron jumped on Sabretooth, hitting him. “Let ʻim go, furball!”
Sabretooth grabbed Ron by the back of her shirt shirt and threw her over
his head. Ron landed hard on her back. Ron popped her Adamantium claws out
and ran at Sabretooth. She jumped and stabbed her claws into his chest.
Sabretooth fell back onto the road. She looked back at Logan. He got up.
“Look out!” he said.
Ron turned back to Sabretooth and his fist collided with her face, making a
sickening crack. Ron was sent into the air and fell to the road face first. Ron got
up and turned to Sabretooth. She just stood there as Sabretooth attacked Logan.
A few minutes later the X-Men showed up and Sabretooth disappeared from
sight. Ron was feeling uneasy. Logan ran to her as the X-Men saw her.
“Iʼm fine,” she said. “I canʼt break my bones but that punch freaking hurt
like hell.”
“Are you sure?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, but your bike sure ainʼt.” She and Logan looked at the busted bike.
“Donʼt worry, Logan, I can fix it,” she said walking over to it. “Your fighting
Sabretooth didnʼt work out too well.”
“I know,” Logan said. “What do you know about motorcycles?”
“I learned about them when I was trained by those Weapon X people,” Ron
said. “I learned almost everything. Hacking computers, flying jets, and a whole
bunch of stuff. But that is all I remember. The training, the Adamantium claws, the
abuse, and you. I think the X-Men want to talk with you. Iʼll take the motorcycle
back and work on it. I know how to ride.”
Logan nodded.
Ron started it up and zoomed off back to the mansion. Scott came up to
Logan and asked, “What--”
“Sabretooth,” Logan said and left Scott standing there with the team. When
Logan got to the mansion, Xavier was waiting for him at the front door.
“Why did you take Veronica with you?” he asked.
“Because itʼs her battle, too,” Logan said. “Thatʼs why.”
“Are you going to continue the punishment you added?” Xavier said.
“No,” Logan said. “But sheʼs going to do the two weeks of no leavinʼ the
school, no powers, and the sessions.”
“Where is she now?”
“Fixinʼ my motorcycle.”
“Since you are her uncle Iʼm going to tell you first,” Xavier said.
“Tell me what?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I read some of Ronʼs mind and I found that she didnʼt attend any school,
so I feel that Ron should go to high school with the other students.”
“Youʼre gonna give her an image inducer,” Logan said.
“Yes,” Xavier said. “So she can go to school. She needs to go.”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” Logan said.
“And because of her healing factor, Veronica looks like sheʼs only
seventeen,” Xavier said.
“How are you gonna pull it off?” Logan asked. “She would be a junior in
high school, but sheʼs never been to one in her life.”
“I will take care of it,” Xavier said. “Right now I need to speak with
Veronica.”
Xavier wheeled his wheelchair over to Ron. She was under the X-Van with
a box of tools and Kurt was there to hand them. He kept handing her the right
tools.
“Wrench,” Ron said.
“Wrench.” Kurt handed it to her.
Ron had come out from under the van and wiped her hands off on a cloth.
She had spots of grease on her. Kurt had put the tool box back for her. Ron
looked over at Xavier.
“You were working on Loganʼs motorcycle?” he asked
“Yeah, I got the dents out,” Ron said. “I saw something was leaking on the
floor under the van, so I check and found it was leaking oil from somewhere
under there.”
“You know about cars then,” Xavier said.
“Yeah, from the facility,” Ron said, not too happy at the memory.
“They taught you a lot of things.”
“Yeah, but Iʼm glad I did learn all those things,” Ron said as Logan walked
in. “If I didnʼt then I wouldnʼt know the stuff I do know. And that wouldnʼt be much
fun. I know how to hack computer systems, fly jets, and driving vehicles.”
“You can do all that?” Logan said.
“Yeah,” Ron said. “What is it that you want?”
“I know that you are trying to build a image inducer,” Xavier said, “but you
keep failing.”
“I am and it ainʼt not working too good, Charlie,” Ron said. “I canʼt get it to
work right. I keep on failing no matter how hard I try. Itʼs made me angry and sad
that it wonʼt work. Iʼve tried so hard to make it work. I just want to be normal.
Look normal. I donʼt even know what I will look like with this mutation gone.”
“I understand that you want to be normal. I can help you.” Xavier handed
Ron an image inducer that looked like a watch. “With this you will look normal.
Itʼs mostly for school.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “School?” Ron looked at him weirdly. “What school?”
“Bayville High School,” Xavier said. “You need to go to school with the
other students, so you can learn different things.”
“How?” Ron asked. “Iʼve never been to school in my life. My life is being
the weapon that Canadian people made. I learned very advance stuff at a very
young age. But still I havenʼt gone to any school at any age. How are we going to
do this?”
“I will take care of it,” Xavier said. “I will get a list of stuff you will need for
your school as soon as I can get your classes. Which will be before tomorrow.”


Ron had thought about what Xavier said while she and Kurt trained in the Danger
Room with Logan. Ron had also thought that Logan was such an ass during the
training. Actually, he was like that all the time. And Ron was starting to act the
same. Not that she learned it. Just that her personality was the same as Logan
and Sabretooth. She knew she was related to Logan somehow, but she didnʼt
know how. She and Kurt were the same. Both wanted to be normal. Even though
Kurt has an image inducer, he is his mutant self at the mansion. Ron didnʼt know
whether she would use the inducer for only outside the Xavierʼs school or using it
all the time.
Ron and Kurt had to go through an obstacle course that was quite
challenging. They had to dodge all kinds of stuff. Spikes, mechanical arms, flying
spinning discs with razor sharp points, and guns firing lasers. They made it
though in one piece, but they had to do it again while being timed and having to
rescue a mahican. Also, they had to fight the enemy and Scott and Jean were the
enemy. They only had four minutes to rescue the “victim”. Once one of them got
the “victim” they had to stay with them. When Logan told them that, Ron and Kurt
just stared at him.
“Are you insane?!” Ron said. “Thereʼs no why weʼre gonna finish in time!”
“Actually, Neko, we can.”
“How?” She looked at Kurt.
He whispered something in her ear. Her ears perked up.
“Gotcha,” Ron said.
The training began. Kurt teleported them to the end of the obstacle course.
Kurt had planned this out very well. Scott fired red beams from his eyes and Ron
blocked it with her Adamantium claws and threw the beams right back at Scott.
He wasnʼt quick enough and got thrown into the wall hard. Jean used her
telekinesis power and threw things at Ron. Ron sliced all the objects Jean had
thrown at her. Ron picked up a object no average human could pick up and
chucked it at Jean. Jean wasnʼt quick enough and got smacked by the object.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 She didnʼt get up. Ron didnʼt know where she got her strength from at all. She
found Kurt at the starting line yelling at her to get over there. It was a long way
over and She started running. She only had twenty seconds on the clock. She
ran on all fours as the timer clicked from twenty to ten seconds. She was almost
there and she jumped in the air and landed on the start line as the timer hit zero.
Ron and Kurt jumped up and screamed with joy. Logan smiled. None of the other
students ever passed this session. Ron and Kurt were the first.
Ronʼs brothers had returned and found a group of mutants huddled around
Ron and Kurt. They had also wanted to go home and see their parents. They
wanted to know if Ron would go with them or not. They already knew the answer
and didnʼt bother asking. They walked up to Ron. Kurt noticed them first.
“Do you two have a limit of how far you can teleport?” Kurt asked.
“Because my limit is two miles.”
“No, kid, we donʼt,” Alfred. asked.
“And all we have to do is think of a place we want to go,” Bruce said. “But
sometimes we forget the name of the place and we have to look at a picture.”
“That is so cool,” Kurt said.
“Weʼre gonna head on home to see our folks,” Bruce said. “But weʼll come
back and visit.”
“This is where you belong, Ron. This is where you need to be,” Alfred said.
“We donʼt need to be here. You came to find Logan and you found him. And
besides, Mum and Dad are worried sick about us, Iʼm sure.”
“You two go on home,” Ron said. “Iʼll write to you guys.”
They hugged, said their goodbyes, and Bruce and Alfred teleported back
home. She was going to miss them very much. And Alfred was right. This is
where she belonged.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 4

It was sunset and Ron headed to her room. She was tired and didnʼt eat any
dinner. Ron crawled into bed and went to sleep. But she didnʼt have sweet
dreams.

Weapon X Facility
10 Years ago

Ron was strapped to a chair. She just had her memories erased some
more. She was unstrapped and fell to the floor. She didnʼt get up.
“Get up,” the doctor said.
Ron didnʼt.
“Get up, I said,” the doctor ordered.
Ron slowly got to her feet. She was a tough teenage girl, but she was
feeling weak and crappy. She was wearing a tank top and leggings that went
down right above her knees She looked at the doctor. He had a staff in his hands
that sends off high volts of electricity when it touches a mutant. It has no effect on
humans. She scowled at him. She started walking to The Adamantium procedure
room. The last time they tried was when she was ten. Now she was fifteen and
stronger than before. Her mutation evolved more a year ago. Neko. They had
changed her mutant name once her mutation evolved more. She had cat eyes,
teeth, and claws that came out of her nails. Theyʼre like Sabretooth, but a tiny bit
smaller. She was also sort of muscular. She inherited the features from
Sabretooth. Strength, reflexes, too. She had inherited the heightened senses and
healing factor from Logan. Also the bone claws. She thought she was all mutant.
The powers that she inherited from Logan and Sabretooth were each doubled in
strength. Ron couldnʼt fight because of the staff. If she disobeyed in any way, the
doctors or who ever she was with would electrocute her. Almost enough to knock
her out.
Ron was forced onto the table. They strapped her in, and put the oxygen
tube on her mouth and nose. She struggled as the table was lowered into the
water. The drills came down. She would have to go through the pain again. As
the drills sunk in and filled her bones with Adamantium, She screamed in pain. It
was more worse than before. The pain far, far, worse.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Xavier Institute
2:00 am

Ron screamed at the top of her lungs. Her heart was beating very fast. The
covers and pillows everywhere. She was panting. Sweat poured down her face.
The X-Men burst in. Scott turned the light on and Logan ran over to Ron. She
was staring into space. Students gathered outside her room. She looked at
Logan. He knew what happened. Ron had a nightmare of her past. But it was
about the Adamantium bonding procedure that scared her. Logan had
nightmares like that. He knew what she was going through.
“Are you alright?” Logan asked.
Ron shook her head.
Xavier appeared at the door. “The rest of you can go to bed. Except Jean
and Scott.”
They went over to Ron.
“What happened in your nightmare?” Xavier asked.
“I donʼt really remember,” Ron said.
“Relax and concentrate,” Xavier said.
Xavier saw the dream. The memory. Saw everything that had happened in
that procedure room. He took his hand off Ronʼs head and opened his eyes.
“What did you see?” Scott asked.
“The procedure that gave Veronica the skeleton and claws,” Xavier said. “It
was far worse than before.”
“How?”
“I donʼt know,” Xavier said. “But we should all get back to bed.”
Everyone did as they were told. Logan stayed in Ronʼs room. He asked,
“They did it a second time?”
“ten years ago,” Ron said, calming down. “It was worse than before. I donʼt
know how, but it was. The pain felt ten times worse. But the bonding was
complete. It didnʼt work the first time. So they waited ten years.”
“Why?”
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “I donʼt remember. All I remember is the pain, you,
the training, and the abuse. Thatʼs it.”
“Charles can help some more in the morning,” Logan said.
Ron nodded.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron awakened. It was seven oʼclock am. She got out of bed, got dressed, and
headed for Xavierʼs office to see if he could help her.
“I donʼt if I should tell her Iʼm her uncle and that Sabretooth is her father,”
Logan said to Xavier. “Sheʼs got too much goinʼ on right know with her memories
and all.”
“Yes,” Xavier said. “Perhaps it would be best to wait.”
“Fer how long?”
“That is up to, Logan.”
He nodded and Ron went into Xavierʼs office.
“Charles,” Ron said, “could you help me with my past? About who I was
and stuff? Because I only remember Logan, the training, the abuse, and the
Adamantium, but there are a lot of things I donʼt remember.”
“I can help you, Veronica, but not right now,” Charles said.
“I understand,” Ron said. “Someone I knew always called me Veronica. I
donʼt remember who. But that person was someone important.”
Ron left and headed to the kitchen thinking about that person.
“I just hope that we can help her like you have with me,” Logan said.
“Hopefully, they donʼt come looking for her. She did get them off her back ten
years ago, but something tells me that sheʼs being targeted right know. They
want their weapon back. Theyʼre gonna do everything to get her back to that
facility.”
“Yes,” Xavier said. “And we are going to do everything we can so that
doesnʼt happen.”
“Really appreciate it, Charles,” Logan said. “If they got her back then they
would erase all her memories and theyʼd make sure that she couldnʼt escape
again. As if it werenʼt bad enough already.”
Ron got to the kitchen and no one was there. She wondered where they all
were. She got some cereal and ate it. She then went back to her room. She was
feeling more like a loner right now. She almost always been a loner. She closed
the door and there was this blistering pain in her head. She held her head and let
out a growl-like-yell. Her head was pounding. Not because of a headache. She
lashed out, tearing everything down in her room, slicing holes in the door. The
pain was unbearable. She fell down to her knees. There was knocking at the
door. The pain suddenly went away.
It was Kurt knocking at the door. He stared at the sliced holes in the door.
Ron opened the door.
“Uh, Logan wants us in the Danger Room,” Kurt said, looking into Ronʼs
room. “What happened?”
“Redecorating,” Ron said. “Letʼs go.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron and Kurt got down there and there was nobody there. Then the room
turned into a forest. Ron could hear something out there.
“Did you hear that?” Ron asked Kurt.
“Hear what?” He looked around.
“Something or someone is out there,” Ron said. “Stay alert. We donʼt know
what weʼre up against. A smart fighter never makes the first move when he
doesnʼt know what heʼs fighting.”
“I think I know.” Kurt looked ahead.
“How--” She stopped. She caught a scent in the air. She turned her head.
They saw Logan ahead of them. Ron extended her cat claws and ran at
Logan. She swung her claws at him. He blocked her attacks. She sucked at
fighting when it came to fighting Logan. She was a cat like mutant. All the abilities
of a cat and still she sucked at fighting Logan. Kurt tried his best too, but couldnʼt
take Logan down. Ron was starting to get very angry. She told Kurt to teleport
them to a tree that was far away from Logan. He did so and asked, “What are we
going to do?”
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “I suck at fighting. I learned it all during all those
years ago. I donʼt know why Iʼm sucking at fighting. Teleport us outta here and to
Xavierʼs office.”
“But what about Logan?” Kurt asked. “He wonʼt be very happy.”
“Thereʼs more important things than training right now,” Ron said. “Like, my
past. I need to figure out why I canʼt remember how to fight. And donʼt worry,
Kurt, Iʼm taking all the blame. You wonʼt get into trouble. Iʼll make sure of it.”
Kurt nodded and teleported them to Xavierʼs office. Before they went in
Kurt asked, “Have you used that image inducer that the Professor gave you?”
“No,” Ron said. “How do you know about that?”
“Oh, I kind of spied to see if you got one yet,” Kurt asked.
“You could have just asked,” Ron said.
“I know.”
They knocked and entered to see Xavier setting books on his desk. Ron
said, “Prof., I need your help. I canʼt remember something about my past thatʼs
really important!”
“Shouldnʼt you be in Loganʼs training session?” Xavier asked, mainly
looking at Kurt.
“Charles please!” Ron said. “I had Kurt teleport me here! It was all my
freaking idea to come here to get your help!”
Xavier looked at Ron. Now she was angry with herself for raging out like
that.
“Sorry, Charles,” Ron apologized. “I get that way when. . .”
“Itʼs alright,” Xavier said. “Now Kurt can you--”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “RON!” Logan burst through the door. “What the hell are you doing?!
Youʼre suppose to be in the Danger Room!”
“Screw off, Logan! I can do what ever the bloody hell I want! I ainʼt your
freaking student or your daughter! And I sure as hell am not leaving with out
some answers!”
“What answers?” Logan asked.
“I wanted help to remember my past,” Ron said. “I suck at fighting so bad. I
just wanted to get that memory back and hopefully remember how to fight.”
Ron had calmed down but now felt sad and embarrassed that she lashed
out like that in front of Xavier and Kurt. Her faced got red and she left,
shouldering past Logan. Logan apologized to Xavier about how he acted. Xavier
nodded and Logan let Kurt go. Logan went to find Ron. Ron didnʼt really need
Xavierʼs help with her memories. She only thought she did. The truth was that
she was starting to get her memories back. The more recent ones like her
teenage years. She guessed she wanted Xavierʼs help so that she could
remember her earlier life. But something inside her wouldnʼt let her do so. She
had to figure out what to do. Kurt bamfed into Ronʼs room and found her sitting
on her bed, deep in thought.
“Ron, is there something wrong?” Kurt walked over to her and sat on her
bed. She loved hearing his German accent. “Iʼve never really seen you act like
you did earlier.”
“You could say that, Blue,” Ron said, looking at him. “Iʼm just so pissed off
and confused about my past because I canʼt remember a freaking thing before I
turned into a teenager. I can only remember what I did as a teenager. It makes
me so damn mad that I canʼt remember! I canʼt remember when I got my powers!
I canʼt remember what the hell happened to me! I canʼt remember if I had any
fucking parents!”
And with that she chucked the battery powered stereo that she was
holding at the wall at the far end of the room. It barley missed Loganʼs head as it
crashed against the wall, falling to the floor, the music going dead as smoke and
sparks came from it. Logan looked from the stereo in pieces to Ron who said
quietly, “Oops.”
“You threw that in anger,” Logan said. “You canʼt remember anything. You
also donʼt like to follow orders. I can understand that. I donʼt like to follow orders
either. But you canʼt just pop outta training sessions and classes when you feel
like it. Also try to keep your anger to a minimum when youʼre here and at school.
I understand what your going through with pain and anger and confusion. Hell,
Iʼm probably the only one who understands.”
“How long have you been standing there?” Ron asked as Logan walked up
to her.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Soon as Elf there teleported here,” Logan said.
“Didnʼt notice you came in,” Ron said.
“Look, kid, donʼt worry about it,” Logan said. “Thingsʼll go better tomorrow.”
Ron nodded and Logan left. She grabbed her image inducer and put it on
her wrist. She looked at the button that would change her appearance. She
looked at Kurt and he said, “I stay to see what you look like.”
She nodded and pressed the button.
“Well?”
“Amazing!”
Ron ran, almost falling off her bed to get to the mirror. She looked in it and
gasp and stared. She looked normal. Almost normal. She still had Loganʼs
blueish hair with a mix of dirty blonde, but it was as long as Sabretoothʼs and was
straight like his (weird, eh?). She had one ice blue eye and one red eye (it can
happen. Even to humans). The blue was Loganʼs and the red was Sabretoothʼs.
She looked more like Sabretooth than Logan (but there is one thing that she
does have of her mother, but you have to wait to find out later on). She acted like
Logan but more like her father and her tallness was average. Ron was surprised
by the way she looked. She screamed. The X-Men ran to her room. They found
Ron jumping up and down with joy. With the image inducerʼs help, Ron didnʼt
have the catlike nose, ears, or even the tail. She was so happy she didnʼt look
like a cat. Too much like a cat. she still had some of the features because of her
father, but not too much.
“WHOOOOHOOOO!” Ron yelled. “NO TAIL NO EARS! NO NOTHING!”
“Well, someone really likes the image inducer I gave her,” Xavier said.
“Hell, yeah!” Ron said. “I donʼt like it, I love it! Itʼs one best things thatʼs
ever happened to me.”
“Nice seeing you without a tail, kid,” Logan said.
“Thank you,” Ron turned to him.
The rest of the X-Men gasped. Logan stared at her, taking a step back.
They all looked from Ron to Logan and back. They couldnʼt believe how much
she looked like him. She even had his hair mixed in with that dark blonde hair.
But what really caught their attention was her two different color eyes. Her right
eye blue and the other red. No one noticed the color of her eyes. How she looked
surprised Logan. He didnʼt realize how much resemblance there was between
him and his brother in Ron. She looks so much like him, Logan thought, But she
does have me in there, too. Ron was also surprised how much she looked like
Logan. She looked at herself in the mirror again. Looked at her blue-blonde hair,
different color eyes, and the way her face looked. She thought she looked like
that man she and Logan encountered. So did the rest of the X-Men. She did look
a lot like Sabretooth with her catlike mutation, but she wondered why.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Xavier told the others to leave and they did as ordered. Logan, of course,
stayed anyway. Ron said, “God, I never knew I looked this much like you.”
“I never really noticed your two different color eyes,” Logan said, crossing
his arms. “But that was before you got your image inducer there.”
“Yeah,” Ron said. “I think we are related somehow, but I donʼt know how.”
“Me neither,” Logan lied. Wasnʼt ready to tell Ron that she was her uncle.


Ron woke up in a sweat. Same dream, Ron thought. She looked at her
clock. It was 6:00 am. She laid back down still tired. Kurt bamfed into Ronʼs
room. They didnʼt have to get to school for a while, but Kurt wanted to make sure
that Ron would go to school on time.
“Cʼmon, Ron, get up!” Kurt said to Ron.
“Itʼs only 6:00 am!” Ron pulled the covers over her head, not wanting to get
up.
“Early bird gets the worm!” He pulled the covers off of her. “That means
getting breakfast before itʼs all gone! Cʼmon before all the good fruitʼs gone!”
“Alright,” Ron growled.
“Iʼll be waiting outside then I can ʻport us to the kitchen.”
It only took Ron five minutes to get dressed. She put on a Rolling Stones
T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and Converse shoes with the British flag on them, and
she turned her image inducer on. She went to where Kurt was waiting for her and
they teleported outside the kitchen. She shushed Kurt to be quiet. Logan was in
there reading a newspaper and sipping coffee with his back turned to the
doorway. Ron snuck up behind him like a cat staking its prey. She was right
behind him, took a deep breath, was about to scream into his ear while his guard
was down. . .
“Donʼt even think about it, Ronnie,” Logan said.
Ron let out the big breath that turned into a sigh. Kurt came in as Ron sat
across from Logan and Kurt took a seat beside Ron. Ron shrugged at Kurt, not
happy that her plan didnʼt work.
“Howʼd you know it was me?” Ron asked.
“I know your sent when I smell it and I heard you outside the kitchen,”
Logan said. “What were you tryinʼ to do?”
“Nothinʼ.” Ron went over to the fridge and grabbed some fruit for herself
and Kurt . “Just trying to scare the crap outta you, thatʼs all.”
“Ronnie, you gotta keep your temper at a minimum today.” Logan looked at
her. “Just donʼt pay any attention to anyone that says stuff.”
“But what if they piss me off?” Ron asked. “I do get pissed off easily.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I know,” Logan said remembering what happened in Xavierʼs office. “Just
ignore them. You got the same classes as Kurt, so heʼll make sure you donʼt.”
“What?!” Kurt nearly dropped his orange. “Why me?”
“ ʼCause you got the same classes as Ronnie does,” Logan said, “and
ʻcause your really the only friend she has right now.”
“Youʼre right,” Kurt said as he turned his image inducer on.
Ron, Kurt, and Logan talked for the remanning time they had left. Logan
mostly only listened. They kitchen filled with all the students and it got very loud.
Ron and Kurt left and headed for the garage. She had asked Logan if she could
take his motorcycle. She didnʼt wait for an answer and left for the garage. Ron
grabbed a helmet and said, “Wanna ride to school, Kurt?”
“Sure.” He grabbed a helmet. “Wonʼt Logan get mad at you?”
“Nah,” Ron said. “Heʼll be a little bit mad, but heʼll get over it.”
Soon they were off. Ron went fast. Really fast. She zoomed past cars. She
was coming up to Scottʼs car and slowed down some but was still going fast. She
went by him saying, “Hi, Scott! Bye, Scott!”
Soon they arrived at the school. Ron parked the bike right in front of the
entrance. Ron killed the engine as Kurt got off. Ron got off and took her helmet
off as people stare at this girl. This girl that looks a little bit like a cat and the way
her eyes and hair looked. Ron saw them and said, “What the bloody hell are you
lot lookinʼ at? Get moving or Iʼll make you move!”
“Howʼs that?” a football player asked. “Whatʼs a girl like you gonna do?
Scratch me?”
He and his friends laughed and went inside.
Ronʼs knuckles turned white as she clenched them. She started toward
that boy when Kurt grabbed her arm.
“Remember what Logan said.” Kurt and her walked up the stairs to the
school. “Donʼt loose your cool.”
“Yeah, Iʼll try,” Ron said as they went to their first class. “It wonʼt be easy.”
“Before they entered the class Kurt asked, “I know you look seventeen like
me by your healing factor, but how old are you really?”
“25,” Ron said.
They entered the classroom.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 5

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly for Ron. Except for at lunch. There was
an itty bitty little problem. Ron had been keeping her cool pretty well that day so
far. Kurt had kept telling her to do so. She felt he was really her only friend.
Besides Logan that is. She was a loner, but wasnʼt really when she lived with the
Waltons. She hated humans. Really hated them. She had learned to like only
three back in England because they were the only ones in London that liked
mutants. But here was sort of different and sort of wasnʼt. It didnʼt matter how
different America and England were. Ron didnʼt want to associate with any of the
humans nor mutants. Except for Logan, Kurt, and Xavier. At lunch Kurt and Ron
sat at a table in the middle of the lunch room. Scott had joined them. Ron just
picked at the food, wondering if it would crawl off her tray.
“Howʼs your day so far?” Scott asked.
“Alright,” Ron said. “Been hard.”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “But weʼll all be here if you need us.”
“That might start today, Summers.” Ron looked over to her right.
That same football player and his football player friends from earlier
walked past their table with a boy that looked a little like a toad and took him
outside. Ron sensed that toad like kid was in trouble. She could smell fear from
him. Ron scowled at the football player. You didnʼt need to see Scottʼs eyes to
see that he didnʼt like the kid either. Ron got up from the table and followed the
football players. Kurt followed her and so did Scott. They knew she was going to
do something. She didnʼt care if the kid was human or not. She didnʼt like kids
getting picked on. In fact it really ticks her off. She followed the football players to
the side of the school. She peeked from a tree and saw those morons pushing
the boy around. The poor kid was helpless. Ron growled. She was about to get
over there, but a strong arm grabbed her arm. It was Scott.
“I donʼt like kids being picked on.” She glared at the football players .
“Itʼs probably not a good idea,” Scott warned.
“Do you think you can talk to them without loosing your cool?” Kurt asked.
“Doubt it.” Ron walked over to the football players. “What are you guys
doinʼ to that kid?”
“Whatʼs it matter to you, skunk-head?” asked the boy who seemed to be
the leader.
“I donʼt like people picking on people.” Ron was in front of the football
player. He was only an inch taller but was two times her size. “Let the boy go and
there wonʼt be any trouble.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “What are you gonna do about it, freak?”
Ronʼs face turned to blistering rage. She hated people calling her freak
more than anything. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, frea--AAAAAHHHHHH!”
The football playerʼs nose bleeding bad from the punch. Ron punched him
again, giving him a black and blue eye. Scott and Kurt ran up and grabbed Ronʼs
arms before she did anymore damage. The toad like kid was gone. Ron
struggled to break free as the football player yelled, “The principal will hear of
this!”
Scott and Kurt let Ron go once the football players were gone. She was
still extremely mad. Kurt and Scott werenʼt at all impressed.
“Now youʼve done it, Ron,” Kurt said. “You are so dead.”
“The Prof. will not be impressed at all,” Scott said.
“Neither will Logan,” Ron sighed. “Iʼm sorry. I just let my anger get the
better of me. I like some things, but bullying ainʼt one of them. I am so dead meat
once Logan hears this. Heʼs gonna be so mad--no--beyond mad.”
“Weʼre here for you if you need us,” Kurt said.
“Thanks,” Ron said. “But I donʼt think itʼs going to help, Blue. Even though
he did start it first, I was the one who punch him. He started by calling me names.
I should have just ignored him, but I donʼt like kids being bullied on. That kid was
helpless.”
“Miss House.” The principal was right behind Ron. “Could you come to my
office?”
Ron nodded and followed.
“Good luck,” Kurt said. “She is so dead.”

Logan walked into Xavierʼs office. Xavier turned to him and said, “Itʼs Veronica.”
“Whatʼd she do?” Logan crossed his arms. “How much trouble is she in?”
“We wonʼt know until we get to the school,” Xavier said, “but she did beat
up a boy. Mystique wants to talk with us. Mainly me.”
Logan nodded and they left for the school. Once there and inside they saw
Ron and the football player sitting on a bench outside the principal office. Ron
glared at the football player. Logan could tell that the boy was somewhat afraid of
Ron. Blood stains covered his upper lip and had one big black eye. Ron saw
Xavier and Logan approach her and she gulped. Iʼm so gonna get it, she thought.
She looked up at them. Neither of them happy. Scott and Kurt saw Xavier and
Logan and ran up to them as the football player went inside Mystique's office.
“It wasnʼt her fault, Professor!” Scott said.
“Yeah, the football player started it first!” Kurt said.
“I told you it wouldnʼt help,” Ron said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 The football player left and Xavier went inside. It wouldnʼt help if Logan
went inside. Logan looked at his niece and sighed.
“Kid, whyʼd you have to do that?”
“Why?” Ron stood up. “Iʼll tell you why. First, he was beating on a kid that
was completely helpless and I donʼt like seeing kids being bullied. Second, he
called me a freak and I gave it back to him with a broken nose and a black eye.”
“I know itʼs hard, but you gotta--”
“Keep my temper under control,” Ron interrupted. “I know, I know, but
when people call me a freak, that really ticks me off. Face it, I shouldnʼt go to
school ʻcause Iʼll just get angry at everything and seriously hurt someone really
badly.”
“You can, Ron. You just gotta keep your cool,” Logan said.
“Easy for you to say,” Ron said. “Youʼve been doing it longer than I have.”
Xavier came out and pulled up beside Logan. Ron just looked at him.
“You will get a detention,” Xavier said. “But not from the principal. You will
also leave with us to the Institute. We will discuss this when we get back.”
“Looks like you donʼt have a ride home, Blue,” Ron said.
“Thatʼs okay,” he said. “I know a way.”
Ron nodded and followed Xavier and Logan outside. The car was in front
of Loganʼs bike. She watched them get in the car as she got onto the bike.
Logan, of course, was driving. She put the helmet on and started the engine. She
rode right behind Logan and Xavier. She was in big trouble because she lost her
cool. And to make it worse, she broke a kidʼs nose and gave him a black eye.
She took her anger out on him. Ron smelled a scent in the air. Her eyes widened
and she heard another motorcycle behind her. She looked in the left hand mirror
and saw Sabretoothʼs bike in it. But then it vanished. She blink and shook her
head. She was just seeing things. But how could she when she smelled
Sabretoothʼs scent?
They arrived at the Institute and Ron parked the motorcycle in the garage.
She took off her helmet, hung it up, and followed Xavier and Logan into the
mansion. Once inside his office, Xavier turned to Ron.
“Veronica, Logan and I are disappointed in you,” Xavier said.
“I know,” Ron said. “Iʼm sorry. Itʼs just that. . .itʼs hard for me right now
because of all the humans pissing me off.”
“Like getting angry with that boy?”
“He deserved what he got for pushing that kid around,” Ron said. “Thatʼs a
reason why I gave him a black eye. He called me freak, so I punched him in the
nose. I donʼt like seeing people bullying other people. I just lost my cool is all. It
wonʼt happen again.”
“Letʼs hope not,” Xavier said. “Logan, is there anything you want to add?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Just donʼt do it again,” Logan said.
He wasnʼt too happy with the situation. He wanted her to control her anger,
but that was a little hard for Logan to do himself. Still, Ron had to learn. She
reminded Logan of himself every time he looked at her. He could see himself in
her and could also see Sabretooth in there too. But not her mother. He didnʼt see
Ronʼs mother in there at all. Itʼs sad that she donʼt have her mother in her at all,
Logan thought, Maybe she does. Some where. Xavier saw Logan in deep
thought.
What are you thinking? Xavier asked telepathically.
If Ron is truly a mutant, Logan said. I canʼt remember if her mother
was human or not. She died when the kid was three.
I suppose it could be possible, Xavier said. It could explain her
appearance of being part cat. She did get a few things from you and her
father.
Yeah, but mostly from Sabretooth, Logan said. I just canʼt remember.
Weʼll figure it out, Xavier said.
Logan nodded and Ron looked at him then looked to the floor. Her anger
got the best of her when people called her a freak. Now she was wondering if
they were right.
“Is everything okay?” Xavier asked.
“No,” Ron said. “That boy is right. I am a freak.”
“You ainʼt a freak, kid,” Logan said. “You are just a person that was born
different.”
“I was born different, but Iʼm still a freak!” Ron said. “Why did I have to be
born a neko!? Why part person part animal!?”
“Because you just were,” Xavier said. “Thereʼs nothing wrong with being a
mutant. Itʼs who we are.”
Ron was about to argue, but closed her mouth. The Professor was right.
Ron was still unsure, but let it go. There were other things to worry about.
“Am I in trouble still?” Ron asked Xavier.
“You are not really a student here,” Xavier said, “so itʼs up to Logan.”
Ron looked at Logan.
“Just go to your room, Ronnie,” Logan said.
She did as ordered and left.
“I donʼt know what to do, Charles,” Logan said. “I donʼt really blame her for
what she did. But she did loose control of her anger.”
“She acts just like you, Logan,” Xavier said. “Iʼm not sure if there is
anything I can do.”
“I just want to help her with her past, but I think itʼs gonna hurt me more
than her when she finds out about Sabretooth,” Logan said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron walked into her room and jumped over the balcony. She landed on her
feet and ran out the front gate. She just wanted to be away from the Institute for a
while. She didnʼt care that she was breaking the rules. Ron founded a clearing in
a forest near the school. She just stood there smelling the air. There were five
different scents that had been there for a long time. She recognized Loganʼs
scent, but she picked up on one of those other scents that was really strong.
“Hello, Veronica.”
She whipped her head around and found that catlike man along with
another man that floated in the air, wearing a red and purple costume. And a
helmet covered his head. There was also another mutant. Her hair was red, her
skin was blue, and she had yellow eyes.
“You are right, Mystique,” the helmet guy said. “She is the spitting image of
Sabretooth and she has Logan in her, too. What do you think, Sabretooth?”
Sabretooth nodded.
“Who are you?” Ron asked.
“I am Magneto,” the helmet guy said. “I can control metal. This woman is
called Mystique. She is a shape shifter. This man is called Sabretooth. You can
see why.”
“Yeah, I can,” Ron said. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” Magneto said.
“Then why are you here?” Ron extended her Adamantium claws.
Sabretooth growled at the sight of the claws.
“So, you have claws,” Magneto said. “Does the rest of your skeleton have
that wonderful metal?”
“Yes,” Ron said.
“You are the new weapon,” Magneto said. “X24.”
“Howʼd you know?”
“I have connections,” Magneto said, referring to Sabretooth. “I am very
sorry for what they did to you, my dear. The pain. The loneliness. The abuse. I
can help you with your powers and memories.”
“But what about Charles and Logan?” Ron asked. “Theyʼre helping me.”
“But I can actually take you to the place, so that you can regain your earlier
memories.”
“But Charles. . .”
“Charles is weak,” Magneto said. “He is holding you back on your
memories. Let me help you.”
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “Iʼm not sure if Logan would approve. But Iʼm not
a child anymore. I make my own rules. Iʼm my own boss.”
“Exactly,” Magneto said. “I am not forcing you into this. You think about it.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron thought for a long thirty minutes. Then she nodded, but then shook
her head. “Could you give a couple days to really think?”
“Of course,” Magneto said. “You have until Wednesday then give me your
answer that night.”
Ron nodded and left the clearing. Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth
stood there for a few moments.
“She will join us,” Sabretooth said. “I look familiar to her. She knows me
and I know her because she is my daughter. But she doesnʼt know it.”
Ron got to the gate and swore. She couldnʼt get back in. If she jumped the
wall she would probably trigger the alarm and she didnʼt want Logan and the
Professor to know that she snuck out. School has just gotten out and Kurt
bamfed right beside her.
“Iʼm glad you teleported right to this spot,” Ron said. “Iʼve been trying to
figure out how to get over there without being detected.”
“You snuck out didnʼt you?” Kurt said.
“Yeah, I needed to get away for a few minutes,” Ron said. “Could you
teleport me to my room?”
“Sure!”
Ron grabbed his hand and was ʻported to her room. Kurt waved goodbye
and Ron walked into her room. She collapsed on her bed thinking about what
Magneto said. She wasnʼt planning on telling Logan or Xavier. Ron thought she
would go with Magneto. He could help her. She was getting nowhere at all since
she got to the school. She had only been there since Saturday. Magneto said he
could take her to the place where it happened. She didnʼt remember a thing
about the place. Ron heard her door opened and looked to see who it was.
Logan was standing in the doorway. Ron just looked at him and remembered
what she did earlier. She had made up her mind and decided to join Magneto.
She wondered how to contact him. Then she realized that Mystique had the
same scent as the school principal. She got an idea. Logan came into Ronʼs
room.
“Hi, Logan,” Ron said, not mentioning that she had met Sabretooth,
Magneto, and Mystique. “What do you want?”
“I just came to check on you,” Logan said. “Again.”
Ron gulped. “Again?”
“Yeah. Why werenʼt you here earlier?” Logan said.
“I needed to get some air. Get away from this place for a little while.”
“Whereʼd you go?”
“The forest,” Ron said, skipping the meeting Magneto part. “Peaceful,
quiet.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Down at the dinner table, Ron overheard the students talking about these
group of kids called The Brotherhood. She also heard them say that Mystique
lived there. Her new plan was all coming together. Once dinner was over,
everyone went to bed. Ron was glad that she didnʼt share a room with anyone
because they would notice if she was there or not. She walked to her room and
locked the door. She ran over to her dresser, put a bunch of clothes in her
backpack, slung the straps on her shoulders, opened the balcony window, and
leaped from it, landing on all fours. Her room was facing the ocean and she
moved quietly along the school. The lights were all off except for one and she
sprinted across the yard and jumped over the gate. She sniffed the air and it lead
her to the Brotherhoodʼs house somewhere in the town.
Ron knocked--no--she banged on the door and someone finally opened
the door.
“Who are you?” asked a tall boy with brown shoulder length hair. “And
what do you want?”
Before she could answer a voice said, “Whoʼs at the door?”
The voice belonged to that toad like boy who walked--no hopped--to the
door.
“Itʼs you!” he said. “Youʼre that girl that broke that guyʼs nose.”
“Yeah,” Ron said, smiling at the thought. “I donʼt like kids picking on other
kids.”
“Youʼre that girl,” The brown haired boy said. “My nameʼs Lance Alvers.
Also known as Avalanche.”
“You can call me Toad,” said the toad like boy.
“My nameʼs Veronica,” Ron said. “Call me Ron or Neko. Is Mystique here?”
“Sheʼll be back in awhile,” Lance said. “Cʼmon in and wait for her.”
Ron nodded and followed Lance. She didnʼt see what was so bad with
these guys. “Lance, huh? Cute name for a cute boy.”
Lance blushed.
“Who is this girl?” A boy with silver white hair asked.
“Pietro, Ron. Ron, Pietro,” Lance said.
Ron and Pietro shook hands.
“My nameʼs also Quicksilver,” Pietro said.
“Iʼm Blob,” A big fat guy said.
“What are your powers?” Ron asked them all.
Lance made the entire house shake. Toad just jumped around and spit this
sticky slime stuff at a wall. Pietro ran around the room at sonic speed. Blob lifted
heavy things a normal person could never pick up.
“Cool,” Ron said. “Mine are obvious. I have catlike abilities, including cat
claws, healing factor, heightened senses, Adamantium skeleton, and claws.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “So youʼre like Wolverine and Sabretooth?” Lance asked.
“Yes,” Ron answered. “Iʼm X24 from a facility in Canada. The newest
weapon.”
“I heard my father, Magneto, talk about that place,” Pietro said. “He said it
was some testing facility.”
“Veronica,” Mystique said, stepping into the room. “Itʼs good to see you. I
see youʼve already made up your mind.”
“Yes,” Ron said, “I have. I need Magnetoʼs help not Xavierʼs. He hasnʼt
done a thing for me.”
“Well, letʼs go see Magneto.”
Ron and Mystique arrived at the same forest where Ron had been before.
Mystique had called Magneto and met him there. Ron saw the man called
Sabretooth look at her. Really look at her to see if she was really what he thought
she was. Magneto was impressed that Ron had made her decision in less then
two days.
“So you want my help?” Magneto said, not surprised by her answer. “What
is your name?”
“Ron,” Ron said.
“What is your real name?”
“Neko,” Ron answered.
Magneto nodded. He extended his hand and she took.

It was late and Logan wanted to check on his niece before turning in.
“Ronnie.” He knocked on the door.
No answer.
“Ronnie!” This time banging on the door.
No answer.
He tried the door. Locked. He kicked the door in. She was nowhere in
sight. All there was was an empty dresser drawer and the windows wide open
with the curtains blowing in the wind. He ran over to the balcony.
“Ronnie.”
Logan walked to Xavierʼs office and entered.
“Sheʼs gone,” Logan said. “Just gone. Everything. Gone. I didnʼt even get
to tell her. . .”
“Itʼs alright, Logan,” Xavier said. “Weʼll find her.”
“No,” Logan said. “Iʼll do it. Alone. Just locate her for me, please, Charles.
Sheʼs all I have left.”
It sounded as if Logan was close to crying. She meant that much to him.
Xavier nodded. They went to Cerebro and Xavier put the helmet on. Soon the

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 entire room was covered in red dots. The red ones were mutants and they were
all over the place. It was as if the were as many mutants as there were humans.
Xavier located Ron. She was only a few towns away. Xavier removed the helmet
and turned Cerebro off. He said, “Sheʼs a few towns from here. I canʼt get a
straight location on her. Veronica is blocking me.”
“Iʼll find her no matter the cost,” Logan said. “I need to bring her back. She
said that we are like family and that we should start acting like one. And thatʼs
gonna start now.”
Ron was walking around outside a cabin some where in the woods about a
few towns from Bayville. Magneto needed to settle “unfinished business”.
Sabretooth was to take Ron to Alkali Lake where she was turned into what she is
now. X24. Sabretooth watch his daughter. Just like him. Her appearance even
shocked him a little. Dark blonde hair with blueish black streaks, one eye blue,
the other red. She acted just like him and his brother. Not much of her mother in
there at all. He was just happy to have his daughter back. But Logan would come
looking for her. Sabretooth didnʼt tell Ron that he is her father and that the
worthless little runt is her uncle. He wasnʼt ready. He heard something in the
woods and sniffed the air.
“Veronica, get down!” he shouted.
Ron didnʼt have time to react and five things hit her neck. She felt the back
of her neck and pulled out what was in it. Needles. She fell to the ground as men
came out of the shadows of the forest.
“No!” Sabretooth attacked the men.
He slashed at the men, killing most of them with a single slash. But there
were too many of them for him to finish off. But that didnʼt stop him from trying.
He lunged at one man, clawing at him, and then killed him. He was taken by
surprised and another man knocked him out with knock out gas. Ron was still
conscious and everything was blurry. A man stepped in front of her and knelt
down beside her. She knew who it was immediately. Stryker. Colonel William
Stryker.
“Hello, Veronica,” Stryker said. “Or should I say X24?”
Ron saw people pick her up and then everything went black. Before she
black out she thought, Oh, shit! Strykerʼs men picked her up by her arms and
brought her over to Stryker. He looked at her and smiled.
“Put it in the helicopter,” Stryker said. “We have found it and captured it. It
will not get away again. We havenʼt finished our experiment on it yet.”
Ron was tossed into the back of the chopper and she was cuffed to a seat.
She was in and out of consciousness during the ride. She had been captured. By
Stryker. Stryker. She hated the name. Hated the man with the name. She never
forgot a name. Maybe a face, but not a name. She hated him since she was five

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 years old. Really hated him when he and his team did the Adamantium
procedure. She didnʼt remember running away. Only fragments would come back
in nightmares. Stryker looked down at the weapon he created. He finally had her
back. Now he could do more experiments that would be more harmful and
painful.

Logan had made his way to the cabin. As he approached it, Logan saw his
brother get up from the ground. Logan ran at him and punch him in the face.
“Where is she?!”
Sabretooth glared at Logan. “I donʼt know, but Stryker took her away.”
Logan growled. “He took her?!”
Sabretooth nodded.
“Why was she here with you?!” Logan held him by his shirt front.
“Magneto left and so did Mystique,” Sabretooth said. “He wanted her to
join us. So did I. I had Magneto help me find her. Ten years ago I found out what
Stryker did to her and wanted to find her and take her home.”
“I havenʼt had her with me at all!” Logan said. “I havenʼt thought of the kid
for twenty freaking years until a while ago!”
“I figured that out when Ron told me,” Sabretooth said. “Iʼm still pissed at
you. Always will be.”
“ ʼCourse you will,” Logan let go of his brother. “But weʼve got to team up
save Ron. Iʼm sorry about Helen.”
“Donʼt apologize,” Sabretooth said. “She was just a human that I fell in love
with.”
“Yeah, and had a kid with her,” Logan said.
Sabretooth didnʼt say anything more. They looked at each other. They both
knew it. Ron was part human and part feral. Born part human and part feral. But
she didnʼt know it. It was the only thing she had left of her mother. The human
part. Ron hated humans and her mother was one. Sabretooth had loved his
daughter dearly. Search for her and finally found her. And then she was taken
away. Logan had also loved his niece, but he hadnʼt seen her for 20 years or
even knew he had one until Xavier helped him regain his memories. He had only
seen her for a few days. Sabretooth had only seen her for a few hours. He was
just as angry with Stryker as Logan was.
“We will need help,” Logan admitted. “Magnetoʼs and Xavierʼs.”
Sabretooth nodded.
“Where is the girl?”
Logan and Sabretooth turned and saw Magneto behind them.
“Stryker took my daughter away,” Sabretooth said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Of course they took Ron!” Logan said. “They donʼt stop hunting until they
capture the mutant. She was perfectly fine until you showed up! She had
protection at Xavierʼs school and you were out numbered here at this cabin!”
“Itʼs my fault,” Magneto said. “I told her I would help her. Take her to
sanctuary and now she has been sent to her death.”

Ron awakened in a cell and her wrists were cuffed to the wall. She looked
around and there was another mutant in the cell. The mutant was a girl. She was
also cuffed to the wall. She was unconscious. Her skin was a teal, her hair white,
and she was wearing a tank top and jeans. She had been here for a long time by
the looks of her clothes. They wear stained and ripped. She has been here for a
long time, Ron thought. Ron struggled with the cuffs. She extended her
Adamantium claws and looked at them. She sighed and retracted them. The girl
was coming to and looked to her left where Ron was. She said, “Whatʼs your
name?”
“Ron,” Ron said. “Or Neko. You?”
“Jasmine,” the girl said. “Or Shifter Jumper. Arenʼt you. . .?”
“X24.” Stryker appeared at the cell door. “Welcome back.”
“Where am I?” Ron asked.
“Where you were born,” Stryker said. “Where you were trained and
became X24. Donʼt you remember?”
“Yes,” Ron said. “Since I was a teenager. Itʼs the only thing I remember.”
“That may change,” Stryker said.
“How?” Ron said.
“Bring X24 down,” Stryker ordered his men, “and Iʼll show you what this
weapon can do after X24ʼs memory is erased forever.”
They nodded and took her chains off. She fell to the floor and stood up.
She glared at Stryker. She looked at the men and released her claws from her
wrists. She attacked the men, slashing them one by one. All four of them were
dead, laying in their own pools of blood. Ron ran at Stryker. But an arm grabbed
her from behind and planted her face in the floor. It was the first soldier she had
killed. Or thought she killed. She had slashed him across the chest and the
wounds were healing. Her eyes widened. The soldier had a healing factor. She
couldnʼt kill him. Seconds later the rest of the team got up as well. They all had
healing factors.
Stryker led his men to a chamber where Ronʼs memory would be erased.
Stryker wouldnʼt put a bullet to her brain. He only did that to kill Logan. Ron was
dragged to a chair and was strapped to it. A mutant emerged from the shadows

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 of the room. He was a lanky man, his head completely bald, and he looked very
old.
“What is it you want me to do?” the manʼs voice sounded like it came from
a grave. “How much do you want erased?”
“All of her mind,” Stryker said. “Except for her training and Logan. And put
a mental block on it, so that no telepath can get into it and get her memories
back. She must be who she was born to be. Weapon 24. X24.”
“All but those two?”
“Yes,” Stryker said. “She has the right. Logan is all she has. And the
training, too. But erase all memories of her life but those two.”
The telepath nodded.
He walked over to Ron and she begged him not to. She didnʼt want her
memory erased. She wanted to remember everything that has happened to her.
She wanted to remember her foster family, the school, Kurt, and Xavier and
Logan. Especially Logan. The telepath put his hands on her head and said, “Iʼm
so sorry, Veronica.”
She didnʼt do anything but close her eyes and wait for it. She screamed
and struggled in the chair as her memories faded away from her mind.
Everything that had happened since she was born. The memory of the abuse,
England, her foster family, human friends, Xavierʼs school, Kurt, Xavier, and
everything. Everything but Logan and her training. Seconds later the telepath
was done. Ron opened her eyes and looked around the room confused of where
she was. She then laid her eyes on Stryker.
“Where am I?” she asked. “Who are you?”
“My name is Colonel William Stryker,” Stryker said. “You had a very bad
concussion during your last mission.”
“Mission?”
“Yes.” Stryker gestured the telepath to implant the fake memory. He said
while the telepath implanted the fake memory of rescuing a fellow team member,
“Donʼt you remember?”
“Yes,” Ron said once the telepath was done. “I do. Is the member okay?”
“Yes.” Stryker unstrapped her from the chair. “Now you have to go back to
your, uh, room. My men will escort you there.”
She nodded and followed the men back to her cell. When she got there,
Ron noticed a girl with teal skin and white hair sitting on the floor. The men
locked the door and left. Ron sat on the floor next to Jasmine.
“Whatʼs your name?” Ron asked the girl.
“Jasmine.” She already knew what happened to Ron. “Or Shifter Jumper.
You?”
“Ron,” Ron said. “Or Neko.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 6

Logan, Sabretooth, Magneto, and Mystique were on their way to Canada. Logan
had gone back to the mansion and gotten a helicopter. He wasnʼt happy about
teaming up with these freaking morons. But he didnʼt have any choice. It was just
like with saving those students, Scott, and Xavier. The X-Men needed help from
the enemy to get in. He didnʼt really mind Magneto and Mystique, but he did
indeed mind his brother, Sabretooth. He hated the guyʼs guts. Sabretooth the
same. They were getting at each other the entire time, ticking off each other more
and more. They both wanted to tear each other to shreds, but that would wait
after they rescued Ron. Logan wondered what they were doing to her.
Sabretooth and Logan kept their distance in the chopper. Logan was piloting it
while Sabretooth was in the back.
Logan saw some familiar land and flashbacks of his past came back to his
head. He sighed and continued looking out the window. He saw a clearing ahead
and landed the chopper on the ground. The facility was a mile away. They all
stepped out into the cold. It was still dark out, but the moon was out. Logan and
Sabretooth picked up on Ronʼs scent. She was out here somewhere. Stryker was
probably making Ron have a training session. He probably erased her mind, too.
Sabretooth and Logan looked at each other. Sabretooth growled at his brother
and started walking to his right.
“I ainʼt going that way and get caught by Stryker,” Sabretooth said. “Her
scent is to the left, but thatʼs where Stryker is, waiting for her. Ronʼs scent is
stronger to the right. She left Stryker and went this way, so thatʼs where weʼre
going.” He continued walking right.
Logan didnʼt say a word and followed Sabretooth. They caught up with Ron
but kept a little distance between them. Plan A was to have Mystique shape shift
as Stryker and convince her to go with them. Logan figured that it wouldnʼt work.
Mystique could change shape but not change scents. Logan knew that Ron
would know the difference and refuse to go with them. Thatʼs why he told them
that he should convince Ron to come back. Sabretooth agreed and went with
Loganʼs plan instead. Logan saw Ron stop and sniff the air. Her cat claws
released from her fingers, thinking that she was being followed by Strykerʼs men.
She continued to walk. They continued following Ron for only a few minutes
when she turned around and saw them.
Ron didnʼt speak. She just stared at them. Logan walked up to his niece.
Ron just stared at him. They stood a foot away from each other. Ron asked,
“What are you doing here, Logan?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I came to take you home,” Logan said.
“Home?”
“Yes, Ronnie, home,” Logan said. “Bring you home to Charles, so that he
can help you.”
“Charles?” Ron had a confused look on her face. “Whoʼs Charles? What
do I need help with? Have I been doing something wrong with my training? Iʼm
sorry, Logan, I donʼt know what youʼre talking about.”
“Wait!” Logan grabbed her arm. “Please come with me, Ronnie!”
She pushed his arm off her arm and ran back to the facility. Stryker erased
her entire memory of everything that had happened to her. Everything. But Logan
didnʼt understand why he was still part of Ronʼs memories. Logan walked toward
the facility. Sabretooth did the same. Magneto started to say, “Wolverine,
Sabretooth. . .”
They paid no attention to Magneto and continued to follow Ron. Magneto
and Mystique joined Logan and Sabretooth. They crouched behind a bush and
saw Stryker. Ron approached him. They were too far away for Mystique and
Magneto to hear what they were saying, but Logan and his brother could hear
what was going on. Ron was only two inches shorter than Stryker.
“Why are you back?” Stryker demanded. “You are suppose to be out there
training. Get back out there.”
Ron just looked at him. “No.”
“Get back out there. Now.”
“No,” Ron said. “Why donʼt you shove this little training session right up
your--AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Ron fell to the ground. Stryker had stun gun in his hand that would only
effect mutants and the guns set off very high volts of electricity. This one was
specially designed for Ron. The electricity would kill any other mutant in a heart
beat. Stryker still had his finger on the trigger. He turned it up more and more
until it wouldnʼt go any further. Ron screamed in pain. The pain was unbearable.
It felt just like the Adamantium procedure.
“Stop!” Ron begged. “Please stop!”
Stryker did. He walked over to her. “Will you do as ordered?”
“No.” As much as it hurt she still wouldnʼt.
He turned and left. “Bring her in.”
Two of Strykerʼs men grabbed Ronʼs arms and dragged her inside. Logan
and the others came out of hiding. Logan and his brother were now very angry
with Stryker. They both wanted to charge in there and rescue the poor girl before
Stryker did something really bad. But they knew that they needed a plan and to
get in without detecting any of the hundreds of guards in there. Magneto had a
plan of his own, but didnʼt mention it to Logan. Logan walked back to the

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 helicopter without saying one word. Sabretooth followed his brother and the other
two did the same. Logan sat in the copilot seat and just thought. Sabretooth also
took a seat but away from Logan and stared at him while Magneto and Mystique
stood.
“We need to get into that damned facility and save Veronica!” Sabretooth
said.
“How the hell could it still be possibly running?” Logan said. “That place
was destroyed years ago.”
“Apparently not,” Magneto said.
“What the hell they going to do with her?!” Sabretooth asked clearly angry.
“Theyʼre gonna make her be what she was made to be,” Logan said.
“X24.”

X24 was dragged to her cell and they threw her in. Literally threw X24 in. She
was cuffed up against the wall and Stryker walked up to her with some sort of
remote in his hand. She then realized that the cuffs were not completely made
out of metal. They had tons and tons of wires wrapped on the inside of the cuffs.
That meant Stryker was going to torture her by electrocuting her. She wasnʼt
afraid. She would heal up. But she wondered how much power was in those
cuffs.
“Now, Iʼm giving you only two times to give me the right answer,” Stryker
said. “If you donʼt then Iʼll force it out of you. Will you do what your ordered?”
“No” was X24ʼs answer. That was what Stryker didnʼt want to hear.
“Wrong answer.”
He pushed the button on the remote and electricity ripped through her. An
endless series of jolts rammed her body making her scream in pain. The
electricity was so bad that burns appeared on her skin. Bad burns. They were
healing over but slowly after Stryker stopped electrocution. He looked at X24 who
glared at him. She was so sore from being electicutated. It hurt like hell, but that
didnʼt change her mind.
“Now will you do as ordered?!” Stryker demanded.
“Screw you,” X24 said. “Iʼm not gonna do a damned thing for you.”
Stryker didnʼt bother to electrocute her again. Instead he told his men to
stay there and he returned a few minutes later with the telepath.
“I want you to make X24 do as I say and make her be what she was born
to be. A weapon. X24.”
“You want her to be the weapon she was meant to be?” the telepath asked.
“Yes,” Stryker said, “so that she will not be difficult and will listen to me.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Iʼm not sure if thatʼs possible,” the telepath said. “Itʼs the way she is of not
listening. Itʼs the way her personality is. Iʼm not sure if I an change it or make her
listen to you.”
“Can you just do it?!” Stryker was starting to loose his cool.
“I said it may not be possible,” the telepath said. “If I try it may give her
brain damage and then none of your plans will work.”
“But how can I make her listen to me?!” Stryker said.
“I donʼt know,” the telepath said. “I donʼt know.”
“Then just unlock the memories of her being the damn weapon!”
The telepath nodded his head and walked to X24. He did as ordered and
unlocked the more of what she was made to be. He accidently unlocked another
memory that was buried. He finished unlocking the memories and hoped it
wouldnʼt give her brain damage. Stryker didnʼt seem to care either way. He
ordered his men to let her down along with the other girl, Jasmine. They could
just stay there on the floor while Stryker locked the cell door and left. Jasmine
looked at Ron. Ron looked at her hands. Then her Adamantium claws snapped
out from the back of her hands. She just looked at them. Then new claws came
out of the bottom of her wrists. Two new claws. She was amazed to find new
claws that just popped out of the bottom of her wrists.
Then she thought of Logan. Anger suddenly filled inside her as she
remembered Logan abandoning her when she was five. Now she wanted to
make him pay for what he did to her. Ron growled and Jasmine was frightened
and called for help. Stryker and his men came at once and found Ron looking at
them once the door was opened. There was a death look in her different color
eyes. She growled, “Whereʼs Logan?”
“Logan?” Stryker said.
“Yes, Logan,” Ron said. “He must pay for what he did to me. He
abandoned me. He must pay.”
“I do not know where Logan is,” Stryker said.
“I need to kill him,” Ron said. “But Iʼll start with you, Stryker. You made me
suffer and put me through all that pain.”
She started toward him. He ran off and his men stayed where they were.
Ron went through them in ten seconds and took off after Stryker, using her
smelling to find him. Stryker ran into a lab where the telepath was.
“Thereʼs something wrong with that weapon,” Stryker said. “She said that
she wanted to kill me before Weapon X! What is going on?!”
“I accidently unlocked the memory of Weapon X abandoning X24 and what
you and your team did to her,” the telepath said, “and now she wants to kill you
and Weapon X.”
“Is there any way of stopping her?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “No,” the telepath said. “Iʼm trying to make her stop but itʼs not working.
She is blocking me. I cannot stop her.”
There were scraping noises at the door. Stryker and the telepath turned to
the door. Seconds later Ronʼs claws broke through the door. She stepped in.
“Where is Logan, Stryker?” Ron demanded. “Tell me where he is and Iʼll
spare you today.”
“I do not know,” Stryker said.
She then remembered that Logan was outside the facility. “Donʼt follow me
or all your men will die.”
Stryker nodded and X24 left.
“You are just going to let her leave?” the telepath asked.
“We can track her with the dog tag I put on her, so we can get her another
day,” Stryker said. He was as white as a sheet from being scared.
Ron ran out a door with Strykerʼs men after her but then they retreated and
Ron continued her escape. She had run right into Magneto and Mystique. Logan
and Sabretooth sniffed the air. They followed Ron, Mystique, and Magnetoʼs
scents to where the helicopter was. Once there the chopper was gone. Magneto
had stolen their ride. Logan knew not to trust him and Mystique. He and his
brother looked at each other.
“Iʼm gonna head back to New York and get that telepath I know to find her,”
Logan said. “Where are you going?”
“Iʼm sticking up here,” Sabretooth said. “There ainʼt no way in hell that Iʼm
gonna let my daughter be with you and your little X-Men.”
“Thatʼs for Ron to decide, Creed, not you,” Logan said.
“Weʼll see.” Sabretooth walked away.
Logan stood there and thought, Charles, I really need you right now.
Logan, did you find Veronica? Xavier said telepathically.
Yeah, and sheʼs gone, Logan said. Magneto and Mystique took her
along with the chopper. Sabretooth went his own way to find her. Her
memory is blank. Gone. History.
Stay where you are, Logan, Xavier said. Weʼll come and get you.
Logan stood there in the dark. The moon lit up everything around him.
Flash backs of his past came back to his mind. Flash backs of him running away
from the facility. Soon the Blackbird landed in front of him. The door opened and
he walked inside and sat down in a seat as it took off. He sat away from
everyone else. The entire team was there. Storm took control of the jet and
Xavier wheeled over to Logan. They had their backs turned to the team and
telepathically talked. Kurt looked at them and wondered where Ron was. So did
the rest of the team. Scott put a hand on Kurtʼs shouldered and gave a hopeful
smile. Kurt returned the smile. Xavier and Logan finished their talk.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Where is Ron?” Kurt asked.
“Magneto,” Logan said.
“She joined him?”
“It seems that way,” Xavier said. “But Iʼm not sure. Thereʼs a mental block
in her mind. The wall is strong. Very strong. I cannot get into it at all. It seems that
Ron had made the first layer so that she can block telepaths. The second layer
was made so that no telepath can bring her memories back.”
“Is that possible?” Kurt asked.
“For some telepaths, yes. But I may be able to get her memories back like
I did with Logan or not at all,” Xavier said. “For now, Magneto just wants Veronica
to join him. Itʼs hard to say if she will or not. Hopefully Veronica decides not to,
but with her memories gone she may do decide to.”
“Sheʼs just like me and my brother,” Logan said. “She may not be able to
control herself. But there has to be something else Magneto wants with her. But
what?”
“I donʼt know, Logan,” Xavier said, “but we are going to find out. All of us.”
“So, Ron doesnʼt remember me?” Kurt asked. He had developed a crush
on Ron since she came to the mansion.
“It depends on how much of her memory was erased,” Xavier answered.
“Donʼt count on it, Elf,” Logan said. “They erased all of her memories. She
donʼt even know who Charles is. When I told her that I was gonna bring her
home and have Charles help her, she didnʼt even know a Charles. She asked if
she was doinʼ something wrong with her “training”. If she didnʼt know Charles
then she donʼt know you. She means a lot to you doesnʼt she, Elf?”
Kurt nodded.
“She means a lot to me, too,” Logan said.
“Are you two related?”
“Yeah,” Logan said. “Iʼm her, uh, uncle.”
“Huh,” Kurt said. “I thought she was related to you. You two look the same.
Whoʼs her father?”
“Sabretooth,” Logan said.
“WHAT?!” Kurt was shocked. “Sabretooth is her father?! You and
Sabretooth are brothers?!”
“Yeah,” Logan said not at all surprised about Kurtʼs reaction. “Yeah, we
are.”
“Wow.” Kurt was still shocked. “No wonder sheʼs the way she is and the
way she looks. Dark blonde hair with black streaks, one eye being ice blue and
the other red, her being tall, her powers, the way she looks like you and
Sabretooth. Man, thatʼs cool and scary.”
“Tell me about it,” Logan muttered.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “What about her mother?”
“She died of cancer when the kid was three,” Logan said. “She was human
and worked for those Weapon X people.”
“Thereʼs one reason why she wonʼt open up to any one but me, you, and
the Professor.”
“Sheʼs just like me,” Logan said, “and what I didnʼt want happen to her did
happen. Her memories are gone and now sheʼs gone to join Magneto.”
“I donʼt believe so, Logan,” Xavier said, looking at his school.
“Howʼs that?”
“Sheʼs right there on the roof of the mansion.”
Logan unbuckled from his seat and ran to the pilot seats and looked out
the window. She was indeed there on the roof. But she seemed different to
Logan. Something about her wasnʼt right. The next thing anyone knew was that
Ron had jumped from the roof and went right through the jet windshield and
plowed into Logan with her on top of him. She got up and snapped out her
Adamantium claws. She growled at him, “Youʼre mine.”
She attacked him. Logan didnʼt want to get anyone hurt, so he opened the
bottom hatch and leaped out with Ron after him. Storm had landed the jet in front
of the school as Logan and Ron fought. He didnʼt understand why Ron was
attacking him. The X-Men were about to join the battle when Xavier stopped
them and said as it started to pour, “This is Loganʼs battle.”
“I hate you!” Ron slashed her claws at Logan, slicing his chest.
“What?! Why?” Logan was blocking her attacks with his own claws.
“Donʼt you remember?” Ron said. “You abandoned me when I needed you
the most! Abandoned me when I was five! Everything I am is because of you!”
“Ronnie, I didnʼt--”
“Yes, you did!” Ron clawed at his chest.
“Ronnie it wasnʼt my fault--!”
“Yes, it was!” Ron was in tears and retracted her claws and fell to her
knees. “If you didnʼt abandon me then I wouldnʼt be like this! You couldʼve stop
them!”
Ron cried and Logan walked over to her, retracted his claws, and knelt
beside her. Ron allowed him to take her in his arms and she buried her head in
Loganʼs chest and continued crying. They sat there on the ground as the rain
poured down on them. Storm had put the jet away in the hanger as Xavier
wheeled over to Logan and Ron. Logan looked at Xavier.
“Itʼs time for me to tell her that Iʼm her uncle and that Sabretooth is her
father,” Logan thought to Xavier.
“I agree,” Xavier said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Logan was about to get up when he saw that Ron had past out on him. He
picked her up. The sky was getting lighter but it was still gray and pouring.
“Itʼs going to have to wait,” Xavier said as the whole team went inside.
“Yeah,” Logan said. “She needs the sleep. This kidʼs been through hell
back at that facility. They tortured her, erased her memories, and probably other
things, too.”
Logan carried Ron in bridal style as he and Xavier went inside. Xavier
followed Logan to the infirmary that was beneath the mansion. Logan had laid his
niece on a bed and Doctor Henry “Hank” McCoy a.k.a. Beast was done there.
Hank was blue, furry, one hell of a scientist, and was also the X-Menʼs doctor.
Hank walked over to Logan and Xavier. He looked at the girl laying on the table
asleep.
“This is your niece?” Hank asked.
“Yeah,” Logan answered.
“Her mutation fascinating,” Hank said, observing Ronʼs appearance of a
neko. “What are her powers?”
“Same as mine and Sabretoothʼs,” Logan again answered. “She also has
Adamantium claws and her skeleton. And she has claws like Sabretooth. Sheʼs
the new “weapon” that Stryker and his team made. X24.”
“She has an image inducer as well?”
“Yes,” Xavier answered.
“May I. . .?” Hank pointed to Ronʼs image inducer.
Logan nodded.
Hank pushed a button on Ronʼs image inducer and her body changed from
looking mutant to looking normal like a human being.
“Fascinating,” Hank said and tuned off the image inducer. “She looks just
like you and that Sabretooth. Her hair is blonde with black streaks in it. Was that
from any mutation or anything else?”
“She was born with her hair that way,” Logan said. “She looks like
Sabretooth because heʼs her father.”
“Really?” Hank took a light from his pockets and check her eyes.
“Fascinating! Her eyes are two different colors! Blue like yours, Logan, and the
other is red! There is so much resemblance! Itʼs so fascinating! What about her
mother?”
“Died when the kid was three,” Logan said, “and she was human.”
“Where was Sabretooth?” Hank asked.
“Killing off the rest of Team X,” Logan answered.
“Whatʼs your nieceʼs name?”
“Veronica. She tried killing me a few minutes ago.”
“Why?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I donʼt know,” Logan said. “She said that she blamed me for what
happened to her and she hates me for ʻabandoningʼ her fifteen years ago.”
“Did you abandon Veronica?” Hank asked.
“No, I donʼt think so,” Logan said.
“Letʼs leave and let her rest,” Xavier said.
“Iʼm gonna stay down here,” Logan said.
Xavier nodded and Hank left with him.
Logan grabbed a chair and set it next to Ronʼs bed. He wondered why she
attacked him. Did he really abandon her when she was a young child? Logan
had no answer to that question. Only Xavier could help him remember. Logan
looked at his niece. He then noticed the dog tag around Ronʼs neck. He read it.
One side said: X24. The other side had numbers and her name. He needed
some sleep but tried to shake it off, so he could stay awake. Minutes later Logan
fell asleep in the chair and after three hours, Ron awakened and saw Logan
sleeping in the chair.
“Sleeping on the job, eh?” she said. “Good. The easiest way to kill you.”
Ron jumped off the bed, snapped out her Adamantium claws, and drove
them in Loganʼs chest. Logan screamed in pain and they fell to the floor. Logan
kicked her off and got into a fighting position. Ron came running at him with her
claws out and slashed them at him. Logan easily blocked the attacks with his
own claws. Ron screamed, “You will pay for what you did to me!”
Ron grabbed his head and smashed it as hard as she could against the
wall. There was a loud crack and Logan fell to the floor. He was still conscious
but everything was blurry. Ron knelt beside him and touched his cheek with her
hand. But then something in her changed. Itʼs as if the killer side of Ron was
turned off and the normal side was turned back on. She couldnʼt believe what
she had done and took off running. Logan tried to get up but fell back down and
everything went black.

Sabretooth was still looking for his daughter. He was trying to track her by her
scent. He sniffed the air. The scent was still strong. For about three hours he
followed Ronʼs scent to New York. Sheʼs stronger than I thought, Sabretooth
thought. He continued following the scent and ended up back in Bayville. On a
rooftop Sabretooth scanned the area with a pair of binoculars. He immediately
found his daughter running down the street, shoving people, so she could get by.
And did they move. Ron didnʼt activate the image inducer, so she was running
around as a neko. People were shouting at her but she didnʼt care. Sabretooth
jumped off the roof and followed Ron to an alley. Ron stopped and hid in the

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 alley. She sat down and hugged her knees. She still couldnʼt believe that she hurt
Logan. Hurt the one person that meant everything to her.
“What have I done?” Ron said. “What is wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you, Veronica,” said a voice.
Ron looked up at a man with dark blonde hair. “Who are you? How do you
know my name?”
“My name is Victor Creed,” Sabretooth said. “Also known as Sabretooth.”
Ron got up and looked at him. “Sabretooth?”
“Yes,” Sabretooth said. “Do you know who your father is?”
“I have a father?” Ron asked.
“Yes,” Sabretooth said. “Iʼm your father.”
“You are?” Ron said.
Sabretooth nodded. “Come with me and all your answers will be
answered.”
“Okay.” Ron walked away with him.
Sabretooth looked at his daughter as they left the town and went to a cabin
that was far away from the first one Sabretooth took Ron. There was no one
there during the fall season. Sabretooth kicked the door in and let his daughter
go in first. Ron stood in the middle of the small living room. It was a really old
cabin. Sabretooth closed the door and Ron said, “Is this right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know damn well what I mean,” Ron said. “Is breaking and entering
into this cabin right?”
“Why should I care?” Sabretooth walked over to Ron.
He was 6ʼ 9” and she was only 5ʼ 6”.
“Because it ainʼt right,” Ron said.
“I donʼt care if itʼs right or not,” Sabretooth looked down at her. “Your uncle
and I were looking for you earlier today.”
“My uncle?”
“Logan is your uncle.”
“Logan,” Ron growled. Anger was building inside her. “I will kill that
worthless runt for abandoning me!”
Sabretooth got an idea. “Veronica, I know how you can kill him.”
“How?”
“Join the Brotherhood of Mutants and youʼll be able to get your revenge,”
Sabretooth said. “I will not hold you back. You will not be controlled anymore.”
“I was being controlled?” Ron asked.
“Yes,” Sabretooth lied. “You were. You were being controlled by your uncle.
He held you back. I can help you. The Brotherhood of Mutants can help you. Will
you join the Brotherhood, Veronica?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron thought for a few minutes and nodded her head. “Yes, I will, Father.
Magneto and Mystique came into the cabin.
“Her memories are gone except for that runt brother of mine and him
abandoning Veronica,” Sabretooth said. “She agreed to join us.”
“Good,” Magneto said. “We shall leave her like that.”
“But what if that Xavier tries to get into her head?” Sabretooth asked.
“That shouldnʼt be a problem,” Magneto said. “Mystique had stolen files on
Veronica from the Weapon X facility. It said in the file that Stryker erased all her
memories and there are only two that havenʼt been. Stryker had a telepath regain
the memory of Veronicaʼs training and such. But he accidently unlocked the
memory of Logan abandoning her. Or so Veronica thought. She became angry
but had forgotten about it over the years. Also there is a mental block in her mind.
The telepath that erased her memories made a wall so that no telepath can enter
her mind.”
“Even a telepath as powerful as Xavier canʼt get into her head?”
Sabretooth asked.
“Letʼs hope not,” Magneto said. “I donʼt want Veronica to be held back by
Xavier. And she shouldnʼt hide herself.”
Magneto walked over to Ron and saw the image inducer on her right wrist.
“Do you know what this is?”
“No,” Ron answered. “Do I have to keep it?”
“Not if you donʼt want to,” Magneto said.
Ron took off the image inducer.
“What special gifts do you have, my dear?”
“I donʼt know,” Ron said. “But I do have these claws.”
“Thatʼs alright,” Magneto said.
“What is your name?” Ron asked Magneto.
“Eric Lensherr,” Magneto said. “Also known as Magneto.”
“Magneto?” Ron said. “Interesting name. My name is Ver--
“I know what your name is,” Magneto said. “Tell me your real name so I will
remember it, Veronica.”
“Neko,” Ron said, looking at her dog tags. “My name is Neko or X24.”
“Neko,” Magneto said. “Thatʼs a wonderful name, Neko.”
Ron nodded thanks.
Sabretooth had taken his daughter into the other room to talk. To catch up.
At least try to. He hadnʼt seen her since she was two days old. She was indeed
the spitting image of Sabretooth. He hadnʼt seen her because he was killing off
the rest of Team X. His wife, Helen, was a human and she became frightened of
him and she left him, taking his daughter while he was gone. When Sabretooth
returned home Helen was gone. He did love her, but he loved his daughter more

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 than anything in the world. So, instead of being sad and upset, Sabretooth
became angry. He wanted his daughter back. So he swore to get Ron back as
soon as the team was dead. And he kept that promise and had Ron back. Back
at the mansion Logan had wakened up. He stood up and went to Xavierʼs office.
“Ron is gone.” Logan sat in a chair, his head still somewhat hurting. “She
knocked me out and just left. I donʼt know where she went. Iʼm so worried that
someone is gonna hurt her. Sheʼs been hurt enough already. I need to find her
and bring her back. To bring her home to a family. A family that can help her.
Charles, please find her.”
“Iʼve been trying,” Xavier said. “But--”
“Thatʼs not good enough!” Logan got up, knocking his chair over. “I want
her found now! I donʼt care how you do it! Just find her!”
“Logan,” Xavier said, wheeling over to him, “I know you are upset, but you
have to understand that these things take time. She may not want to be found. I
may have to use Cerebro to find Veronica. Itʼs not doing any good arguing.”
Logan nodded his head. He understood.
“Iʼm going out,” Logan said and left Xavier.
He grabbed his jacket from his room and went to the garage. He put his
helmet on and drove down the drive way and down the road on his Harley. Logan
thought about Ron as he drove. Why would she join Magneto in the first place?
Was it because of Sabretooth? Probably was. But did Magneto have something
else planned? Something to do with--
He caught a scent in the air and drove his Harley to where it was coming
from. He stopped a mile from where the scent was coming from and hid his bike
in the bushes. He sniffed the air and followed the scent through the trees. He
came up to a cabin and saw that there was a light on in there. He could hear
voices in there. He knew that it wasnʼt any campers in that cabin and it was too
late in the year for campers to stay up here in the woods. He quickly ran to a
open window and peeked inside. He saw what he expected. Magneto, Mystique,
Sabretooth, Ron. He was too late. Far too late. His niece, almost the only family
he had left, joined her father and Magneto. She was now part of the Brotherhood.
Logan turned away from the window still crouched on the ground. He put his
head in his hands. Now what am I gonna do? he thought. He lifted his head
thinking he heard something. The next thing he knew Logan was grabbed by the
back of his jacket and thrown to the floor of the cabin. He got up, claws out, and
looked at all four of them. He tried to step to Ron but he couldnʼt move. Magneto
had control of him. Magneto stepped to him and so did the other three.
“When will you ever learn?” Magneto asked Logan.
“Looks like you get to do what you want to him, Veronica,” Sabretooth said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Yes, Father,” Ron said, grabbing a large metal pipe. “But I donʼt want to kill
him just yet. I want to make him suffer first.”
Magneto let his grip go and let Ron to smash the pipe against Loganʼs
head. Logan fell to the ground on his hands and knees. Ron brought the pipe
down hard on his head again and Logan fell unconscious before hitting the cabin
floor.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 7

Ron wanted so badly to thrash Logan right there, but Magneto stopped her.
“Wait until we are at a more secure place, Neko,” Magneto said.
“Fine,” Ron growled as she twisted the pipe in her hands. Literally twisting
it in odd shapes. “Letʼs go.”
Magneto nodded and Sabretooth slung his brother over his shoulder and
they left for the helicopter that was a mile away. Ron was behind her father and
she looked at Logan then to the ground at back. She wanted to him to pay for
what he did to her. But she was starting to have second thoughts. Sabretooth
noticed.
“He abandoned you and you know it,” Sabretooth said, hoping to make her
more angry at Logan. He enjoyed it. Now there was no way the Ron would go
back. “Face it, he abandoned you because he didnʼt want you anymore.”
“Youʼre right.” Ron looked from Sabretooth to the unconscious Logan over
Sabretoothʼs shoulder. “He didnʼt want me and still doesnʼt.”
A few minutes later they arrived at the helicopter. It was big. Mystique
started it up and the others got on. Sabretooth dropped Logan on the floor.
Literally dropped him and chained him to the floor in a small room in the back
and went to sit down. Ron joined the others for the somewhat long flight to
Magnetoʼs lair. Logan woke up. He tried to get up but something forced from
getting up. His neck and wrists were chained to the floor. He snapped his claws
out and sliced the chains off and stood up from the floor. The back of his head
was throbbing from the blow he took on his head.
“Where the hell am I?” he asked.
He heard foot steps and clawed at the back of the wall. He managed to
make a whole and saw that he was thousands of feet in the air.
“The hell?” he said.
The door opened and he turned to see Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth,
and Ron. He didnʼt understand what was going and he wasnʼt sure if he wanted
to know. Ron wasnʼt thinking lunged at Logan, making the both of them fall out of
the helicopter through the hole that Logan made.
“Veronica!” Sabretooth yelled. “Dammit, kid!”
“She should be fine,” Magneto said. “Sheʼs gonna get what she wants and
what better place than the wilderness?”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I suppose,” Sabretooth said. “She is on our side.”
Ron and Logan were falling. The pine trees look miniature and they
crashed into trees breaking the branches. They hit the snow hard, rolling fast and
violently, and slide off the side of a huge drop off. They hit the water hard below
and climbed out. The entire area was clear of snow, none any where. Ron
crawled out of the water as fast as she could gasping for air, groaning in pain,
and laid on her back. Everything hurt really bad from falling from the helicopter.
Even though she could heal and not break bones everything still hurt like hell.
Logan was feeling the exactly the same. He was on his hands and knees holding
his side then collapsed on the ground. They looked at each other and waited a
few minutes before trying to get up. Ron rolled onto her stomach and tried to get
up on all fours. She succeeded and tried to stand up. She gritted her teeth in pain
as she did. She held her side and tried to stay standing.
“Heal up already.”
She looked at Logan. She and him said it at the same time. He had made
his way to a tree. He stood under it and leaned his back against the tree. He
didnʼt look so good, but he would heal up. She was the same. They both had
Adamantium bones so they couldnʼt break any thing. That was good. Ron walked
over to Logan.
“Why the hell did you trow us gotta the damn plane?” Logan asked.
“It was a helicopter, not a damn plane,” Ron corrected.
“Whatever,” Logan growled. “Whyʼd you do it?”
“Um. . .” Ron didnʼt think when she lunged at him and she didnʼt intend for
them to go out the helicopter then she said to cover it up, “because I wanted to
kill you.”
“By throwing yourself out of a helicopter while doing it to me?” Logan
asked. “You could kill yourself in the process.”
“I canʼt die,” Ron said. “I could kill you if I tried hard enough, but for now I
want to make you suffer.”
“Why?” Logan asked.
“Because you left me when I needed you the most,” Ron said. “You left me
there with Stryker and he did what ever the hell he wanted to me. And now you
will suffer the consequences.”
“Ronnie, please listen!”
“Shut up!” Ron yelled and slammed his head against the tree. The impact
made a splintered dent in the tree and Logan fell to the ground. He still wasnʼt
completely healed. He tried getting up but was kicked in the face sending him
backwards and everything went black. Ron looked down at her uncle, lifted him,
put him on her shoulder and walked to Magnetoʼs lair that was a five hours away
by foot. After an two hours Ron had enough of carrying him. he weighed 300

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 pounds with the Adamantium on his bones. Ron did have strength like her father.
She dropped him off her shoulder and sat down on a rock and took a three
minute break. Even though she has a healing factor, Ron still needed to stop and
rest a few minutes. Logan was still out like a light. Heʼd probably be awake when
she got to Magnetoʼs lair. She got herself up and continued the journey of
carrying her uncle while getting to Magnetoʼs lair. It was far in the woods. No
civilization any where in the woods. Not even hikers came this far into the
wilderness.
After three more hours of walking, Ron finally made it to Magnetoʼs lair. It
took her forever to get there because of her injuries. She walked in and saw a
whole bunch of other mutants along with Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth.
Those three walked up to her.
“So, did your journey go fine?” Magneto asked her.
“Besides carrying my uncle around it was all right,” Ron said.
“You and your father can put him in the special room,” Magneto said.
Ron nodded and she and her father were off to the special room.
Sabretooth opened the door and Ron set Logan down against the wall. She
cuffed his wrists to the cuffs that were connected to the wall. She moved strands
of hair from his face and left. Sabretooth was about to leave when Logan was
coming to. Sabretooth grinned. He would come back later. Logan woke up and
found himself in a metal room. His eyes fell on the cuffs that had him pinned to
the wall. He snapped out his claws a was about to break free when there was a
voice.
“Donʼt even try it,” Ron said closing the metal door. “Your claws wonʼt work.
This entire room is made so that your claws wonʼt work, so donʼt try and claw
yourself free.”
“What do you plan on doing?” Logan asked.
“Beating the crap out of you,” Ron said. “Then maybe leave you to die.”
“Ronnie, listen to me,” Logan said. “Even if I did abandon you I wouldnʼt
mean to. I remember running away from the facility. Escaping the facility.”
“I donʼt believe you,” Ron said. “You let them do this to me!”
Ronʼs claws snapped out with a snikt!
“Ronnie, please you donʼt have to do this! We can fix it,” Logan said as
Ron walked to him.
“No one can help me!” Ron yelled and fell to her knees.
“I can help you, Ronnie,” Logan said. “Let me help you. Iʼve been through
what you have. Iʼve been through what they did to you. I can help you get
through it just like I did. You donʼt belong here, Ronnie. You are not a bad kid.
You arenʼt like these people. You belong with me and the people that want to help

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 you. You once told me that we are like a family and we should start acting like
one. We can start now.”
Ron suddenly felt weird. “Logan, whatʼs wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you,” Logan said. “Your memory is not working
right.”
Ron pulled a syringe from her pocket and injected the liquid into Loganʼs
arm.
“What the hell is that?” Logan asked.
“Something to slow your healing factor a little. If you got an injury itʼll take
at least two hours for it to heal.”
Ron got up and headed for the door. She saw Sabretooth and walked past
him, leaving him with Logan.
“I just wanted to tell him that he canʼt escape this room and his healing
factor is slowed down a bit.” Ron started walking away. “Heʼs all yours.”
“Hello, Jimmy,” Sabretooth closed the door, walked over to him, and
cracked his knuckles. “Iʼve been waiting a long time for this.”
Ron was in the planning room with the other two. Loganʼs screams of pain
echoed trough out the lair. Ron shuddered every time she heard his screams.
Sabretooth was torturing Logan. Beating him and more. Ron wasnʼt going to do
anything to him until later. An hour went by and she finally healed up. That fall
from the helicopter made her hurt herself bad and it took her six hours to finally
heal. Then this mutant that was at least seventeen maybe older walked into the
planning room. He sat down in a chair and started playing with a ball of fire. He
then looked at Ron.
“Nameʼs Pyro,” Pyro said, holding out his hand. “I can manipulate fire, but I
canʼt create it.”
“My name is Neko,” Ron said. “I have the same powers as Wolverine and
Sabretooth.”
“Even the claws and skeleton?” Pyro asked.
“Yes,” Ron said. “If you excuse me I need to go see Wolverine.”
She went to where Logan was imprisoned and saw Sabretooth walk out of
the room, his hands bloody. Ron walked even quicker to the room.
“HOLY SHIT!” She gasped.
The sight was horrible. Logan was beaten up very badly. His head was
down and there were gashes all over him followed by huge bruises. His clothes
were torn up. Blood covered his shirt and there was a puddle in front of him on
the ground. Whatʼd he do to him? Ron thought. She quickly walked ran out of the
room and returned a few minutes later with a cup of water. She knelt beside him
and lifted his chin. She gasped. His face got it worse. He was barley conscious.
“Ronnie?” His voice was weak and horsed.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Shhhh. . .” Ronnie brought the water to his lips. “Drink.”
Logan gulped down most of the water. “Thanks.”
Tears were forming in her eyes as she got up. “WHAT THE HELL IS THE
WRONG WITH ME?! WHAT THE HELL AM I FUCKING DOING?! WHY THE
FUCK AM I DOING THIS?!”
Ron fell to her knees and looked around as if she didnʼt know where she
was. Logan looked at her. Something was blocking the old Ron from resurfacing
and he knew it. Ron got back up and walked over to Logan. Magneto and his
team walked in.
“What did you do to him?” Magneto looked at Sabretooth.
Sabretooth shrugged.
“We are heading out,” Magneto said.
Ron nodded.
She waited a good half an hour to make sure they were gone. She turned
to Logan.
“Iʼm so sorry,” Ron was starting to cry. “I donʼt know whatʼs going on
anymore.”
“Itʼs okay,” Logan said. His wounds were healing, but slowly. “I can help
you. Iʼll take you somewhere where you can get help.”
Ron nodded and walked over to Logan and uncuffed him with the key that
was in her pocket. Logan rubbed his wrists and Ron hugged him.
“Easy!” Logan said. His sides still hurt like hell when she hugged him.
“Sorry!”
Ron helped him up and wrapped his arm around her neck and her other
arm around his waist and helped Logan limp out of the lair. It would take forever
to get out of there and Ron wanted to take a faster way.
“I know a short cut,” Ron said. “Itʼs sorta short, but itʼs a hell of a lot faster.”
They walked into the trees down an unknown path that Magneto didnʼt
know about. They walked for three hours before making camp in a cave. Ron
knew that people have traveled this path and every time someone camped here
they always put a bundle of wood in there for who ever needed it. Ron would do
the same when she and Logan would continue on.
“Iʼm fine,” Logan said, “you can let me go now.”
Ron did and Logan limped to the other side of the small cave and sat
down. He wondered if Xavier could help Ron or if she would stay the way she is
permanently, having what seemed like a split personality between wanting to kill
him, being a little of her old self, and the weapon, the animal that Stryker wanted.
Would they find Ron again one day? Probably would. Ron had started a fire right
in front of Logan to help warm him up considering it was cold and loads of snow

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 was every where. Logan didnʼt notice that he was shivering until the fire started.
Ron walked over to him and sat right beside him.
“How long is this damn liquid stuff suppose to last?” Logan said, putting his
head back against the cave wall.
“Only two hour--” Ron stopped she was looking at the syringe she took
from her pocket. “Oh, crap. Sabretooth switched the needles on me! This is sorta
not good.”
“Whatʼs wrong?”
“The stuff that was in this needle slows the healing factor and it wonʼt really
heal anything completely for two days,” Ron said. “No wonder he beat you so
hard. I honestly thought that he was going to rough you up a bit until the
screaming started.”
Logan had heard her, but wasnʼt looking at her. He was sweating when he
should have been freezing to death. For some reason he was feeling sick. He
wasnʼt getting better or worse. He was stuck in the middle until this thing ended.
Ron took bandages from her other pocket. She hoped she wasnʼt too late with
covering the wounds. Ron told Logan to remove his shirt and jacket. He did and
his entire chest was covered with dirt and blood. The dirt was from Sabretooth
kicking him after clawing him. Ron went outside into the woods and came back
minutes later with a handmade bowl made out of bark. In her other hand was a
piece of a log filled with snow. Ron had taken the cup that had Loganʼs water in it
and put it in her jacket pocket before they left. She removed it from her pocket
and put it next to the bowl and log filled with snow. She put the snow away so
that it wouldnʼt melt. Ron had a stick that she found and carved it using her claw
on her index finger. She carved the bigger and flatter end in to a holder that was
similar to a cup holder.
Ron scooped the cup full of snow, put it in the cup holder, let the snow melt
in the cup over the fire, waited a few minutes until it was boiling, and poured the
hot water into the bowl. She repeated this four times and was ready to clean the
dirt and blood from the wounds on Loganʼs chest. Ron tore long sleeves off her
long sleeve shirt and dunk one of the pieces into the steaming hot water and
ringed it a little.
“Iʼm gonna clean around the wounds first,” Ron said.
Logan watched how careful Ron was. She did exactly what she said. She
didnʼt clean off all the dirt and blood yet, but she did around the gashes so that
the dirt wouldnʼt get into the wounds and make them worse by getting infected.
Ron used up two of the pieces and was ready to clean out the gashes. She dunk
the piece of sleeve in the still hot water and ringed it.
“This is gonna hurt a little,” Ron said.
“I can take it,” Logan said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Of course you can,” Ron said, and started dabbing the first gash.
Ron was right. It did hurt. It made Logan wince every time the hot cloth
touched the wound. In minutes Ron was done and with the first one. She looked
more closely and saw that the gashes were four long deep lines right on his six
pack abs. They matched Sabretoothʼs claws.
“Whereʼd you learn to clean wounds?” Logan asked.
“I dunno,” Ron said. “I just know how.”
Logan nodded as Ron continued on. An hour later Ron was completely
done with his chest and wrapped the bandages around his abs. She had some
cloth left over and refilled the bowl with hot water. She dipped the cloth in the
water.
“Come here,” Ron said. “Lower your head some so I can clean the blood
and off and cover the wounds.”
“I can--”
“No.” Ron cut him off. “You might make it worse, so I will do it.”
“Fine.” Logan lowered his head.
Night had fallen as Ron wiped the dirt and blood off Loganʼs face. There
were claw marks on either side of his face. She had square shape bandages and
put them on the cuts that the claws left. Ron cleaned the blood off from his arms.
There were also gashes on both of Loganʼs arms.
“God, whatʼd he do to you?” Ron said as she cleaned off the blood and
wrapped his arms.
She was finally finished with cleaning wounds and dumped the remaining
water outside. She came back in and saw Logan was trying to get up.
“No you donʼt.” Ron pushed him back down. “You ainʼt going any where.
You are staying right here.”
Ron got up and melted more snow and used it to try and get the blood out
of the shirt. She got most of it out and set it on the rock that was right next to the
fire to dry. She then sat back down next to Logan. He was starting to feel better,
his healing factor slowly returning.
“Youʼd be perfect for the survival training sessions I do in my classes,”
Logan said.
“You think so?” Ron asked.
“Yeah, with what you know you could help me teach,” Logan said.
“Sabretooth said that he was my dad, so Iʼm calling him dad, but Iʼm not
sure if he is and he said that you are my uncle,” Ron said. “Is that true?”
“Yeah, it is,” Logan said. “Itʼll be a lot easier to understand when I and the
telepath I know helps you with your lost memories.”
“I remember getting my memories wiped,” Ron said, “but nothing else.”
“Youʼll remember when we help you,” Logan said.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron nodded her head, carefully laid it on Loganʼs shoulder.
“Wonʼt Sabretooth and Magneto find us?” Logan asked.
Ron shook her head. “No, theyʼre gone for a week. We donʼt have far to go
until we get to where we climbed out of the water. There is a Jeep in the woods
right next to the water, so weʼll take it and go to where that telepath is. Thereʼs
also a road that leads outta there to a small town, so weʼll go through there, go
down a few roads and weʼll arrive in New York right where that cabin is.”
“Wonʼt Magneto, your father, and Mystique be there?”
“No, they got another place where theyʼre staying,” Ron said. “Magneto
said that some telepath wonʼt think of looking there.”
Logan nodded. “Weʼll have to go to where I hid my bike. Itʼs a mile from
that cabin then Iʼll give you the directions to the telepathʼs school.”
After a while they both drifted off to sleep.

Logan woke up to see the morning sun sink into the cave and that Ron was
making another fire. He yawned and got up with little trouble. Ron looked at
Logan and smiled.
“Morning, Uncle Logan.” Ron was putting fresh caught carved fish over the
fire on a stick. “Thereʼs a small pond a one mile down that has fish in it, but it ainʼt
good to drink,” Ron said and drove the stick into the ground and from the weight
of the fish it hung right over the fire. She had melted snow, cooled the cup in the
snow, and handed Logan the cold water. “Drink. Youʼll feel better.”
Logan did and set the cup down.
“I need to change the bandages.” Ron had some in her jacket pocket and
got them out. “Then we can leave for that lake that we landed in, but first you
should eat something.”
“What about you?” Logan asked.
“Iʼm not feeling hungry at all,” Ron took the fish and stuck it on another
stick. “You eat something. With your healing factor down a little, you need to keep
your strength up. You may be the mighty Wolverine, but you still need it more
than I do.”
Logan nodded and took the cooked fish and ate it. It was damn good fish.
Logan was impressed that Ron could do that. He would have to talk with her
about teaching his class with him once they got to Xavierʼs school. She would
need a lot of help with her memories. It would take a long time to get all those
memories back. Xavier said that there were blocks in her mind to prevent
telepaths from getting into her mind. Hopefully Xavier would be powerful enough
to break those walls and get through. Logan would help all he could. Logan set
the stick down, stood up to stretch, and moved around.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Ron had gotten the water ready and tore the rest of her jacket for cleaning
cloths. Logan sat back down and Ron re-cleaned the wounds and re-bandaged
them. Now they were ready to leave. It was nice and somewhat warm out. Logan
put on his torn shirt and jacket and put the fire out. Earlier when Logan was still
sleeping, Ron had gone out and got fire wood for the next hikers. She and Logan
went down the path. Logan soon noticed that this was a mountain trail. Ron was
right about the trail being rarely used. There were scents on the trail but they
were so faint and barley there. Three hours went by and they were nearing the
lake that they crawled out of the other day. They saw how the snow faded away
and the scent of the crisp metallic smell faded away into fresh pine tree scents.
They were now at the lake and sat down under the tree that was right next to the
lake. Ron sat there only a few seconds and headed for the edge of the woods
that was fifteen feet away.
Ron pulled branches off from the Jeep that was in the small clearing about
ten feet into the forest. She cleaned it off and went back for Logan. He got up
and walked with her to the Jeep. It was a red 2008 rubicon Jeep Wrangler. Ron
zipped the canvas cover off. She got into it Wangler. Logan got in and buckled
up. Ron buckled her self in, put her center claw into the ignition, started it up, and
just as she was about to put it into drive Logan asked, “Whereʼs the road?”
“Straight ahead.” Ron put it in drive and started down the rough road. “we
have this Jeep, so that we can get supplies from the town and because the road
is too rough for any other car.”
“This ainʼt your car?” Logan held onto the grab handle as the Wrangler
shuddered down the rough and bumpy road.
“Nope,” Ron said. “This is Pyroʼs car. Or was.”
As they went down the road, they hit major bumps that hurt when they
landed back down on the seats. Ron wasnʼt even going that fast. She was only
going 15 miles per hour. It got worse as they went down the road, but after an
hour of bumps, the road got from rough to not rough. They had made it to
civilization in one piece. Logan had let go of the grab handle. Ron was right
about it being a small town. There were buildings here and there, a few
restaurants, a school house, and a little bit more. A few minutes later they were
out of the town. Ron immediately gunned it speeding down the road going over
the speed limit. She was going forty miles over the limit. The wind whipped her
hair back. She went down the road at ninety-five miles per hour. Logan knew that
Ron could work on cars, but didnʼt know that she could actually drive.
“Whereʼd you learn to drive?” Logan yelled over the wind.
“No idea!” Ron yelled back, trying to remember where she learned to drive.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Half an hour later they were nearing the cabin and Ron slowed down to
five mph, taking a turn, and parked the Wrangler ten feet from the main road.
She and Logan got out.
“Youʼre not going to put that canvas on are ya?” Logan asked as he led the
way to his bike.
“Nope,” Ron said.
They got to where Logan hid his bike in the bushes and Logan wheeled it
out. There werenʼt any cars on the main road which was strange, but Ron and
Logan didnʼt pay any attention to it. Logan swung his leg over the bike and
started it up. Ron get on and wrapped her arms around Loganʼs waist. He took
off down the road. An hour later they arrived at the school. All the students were
in their classes, so Ron and Logan were able to get to Xavierʼs office with no
disturbance. They knocked on Xavierʼs office door and entered. Jean was in
there with Xavier and she rushed over to Logan as Ron closed the door.
“My God!” Jean said, checking him. “Come with me to the infirmary.”
Jean dragged Logan to the infirmary below the school and Ron and Xavier
followed. Once down there, Jean told Logan to sit on the bed and went over to
Hank and brought him over to Logan. Hank saw all the bruises and bandages.
“Oh, my stars and garters! Logan what happened to you?!” Hank checked
Loganʼs vital signs.
“Iʼm fine, furball,” Logan said.
“Itʼs my fault,” Ron said. “Itʼs all my fault. I gave him a injection of
a. . .liquid.”
“What kind of liquid?” Hank asked.
“Itʼs the ʻcureʼ, but not entirely the ʻcureʼ,” Ron said. “I made it, so that it
only slows his healing factor some, but Sabretooth switch the needles on me and
now Loganʼs healing factor wonʼt work right until sometime tomorrow.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Thatʼs a good question,” Ron said. “I did it because Logan here
abandoned me when I was five. Or so I think. I donʼt remember. But you donʼt
want to know what happened. It makes me shudder every time I think about it,
but it also makes me feel guilty.”
“Ronnie, donʼt be,” Logan said. “You didnʼt know what you were doing
because of your memories.”
“Logan, who did this to you after Ron injected the liquid in you?” Xavier
asked.
“Ronnieʼs father. She was gonna beat me after he was finished,” Logan
said. “But after she saw me, she decided not to. I donʼt know whatʼs going on. I
think itʼs all because of her memories being gone and not really knowing whatʼs
going on and not knowing what to do.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “Veronica, could you tell me what you were doing with Magneto?”
“My father said that if I joined him and Magneto then all my questions
would be answered,” Ron said.
“How long is that stuff of yours suppose to last?” Hank asked.
“Uncle Logan should be all healed by tomorrow,” Ron said. “His bandages
should be changed, too.”
“I think itʼs best if you have the room right next to Loganʼs,” Xavier said.
Ron nodded. “Because of the way I am?”
“So, I can help you, kid,” Logan said, getting up from the bed.
“You should stay here, Logan,” Hank said.
“Iʼll be fine,” Logan said. “Iʼm almost healed. Iʼm going to take Ron to her
room.”
“Wait.” Ron walked over to Hank. “Whatʼs your name, blue?”
“Hank McCoy,” Hank said.
“Do you have any bandages anywhere?” Ron asked. “I need to change
Uncle Loganʼs bandages. Uncle Logan, get back on the bed. Your bandages
need to be changed.”
“Canʼt it wait until later after I show you your room and the school?” Logan
asked.
“No, Uncle Logan.” Ron got the bandages. “Bandages need to be changed
at least four times a day. I couldnʼt do it earlier because there wasnʼt enough
bandages and I used up my jacket, so get your ass on that bed,” Ron ordered.
Logan did as ordered and sat on the bed while got Ron alcohol and
properly cleaned the wounds. They were healing and werenʼt as bad as before.
They would be healed by tomorrow. It didnʼt take long to re-bandage Loganʼs
arms, chest, and abs. Hank was impressed of how careful Ron was. He
wondered where she learned medical stuff like that. Ron finished up and put the
equipment away. Logan got off from the bed and stretch a bit. Logan was just
about to take Ron to her room when Kurt accidently ʻported right in front of her.
Ron jumped back, growled, and her claws snapped out.
“Itʼs okay,” Logan told her.
“Sorry about that,” Kurt said. “I wasnʼt paying attention to where I was
teleporting.”
“Itʼs fine.” Ronʼs claws retracted, but she watched him carefully. “Next time
pay attention to where youʼre goinʼ.”
“I will.” Kurt extended his hand. “My name is Kurt Wagner. Can I call you
Ronnie?”
“No,” Ron shook his hand, “only Logan ca--wait. How do you know my
name?” Ron said, snapping out her cat claws and metal claws.
“Easy, Ronnie, calm down,” Logan said. “Heʼs a friend. Trust me.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 “I donʼt care! How does he know my name?!”
“Before yer memories got wiped Kurt and you were friends,” Logan
explained. “He was pretty much the only friend your had, but you can still be
friends if you let ʻim be your friend.”
Ron nodded. “Weʼre friends, huh, blue?”
“Yeah,” Kurt answered.
Ron looked him up and down then waited for Logan outside the infirmary.
“Sheʼll come around, Kurt,” Scott said.
“Hopefully,” Logan said. “I want you to probe her mind as soon as possible,
Charles.”
“Bring her to my office later tonight,” Xavier said.
Logan nodded.
As the two talked for a few minutes, Ron was outside the infirmary leaning
against the wall. She was staring at the floor. Then this ringing filled her ears. It
got louder and louder. It wouldnʼt stop. She held her head in pain. It stopped once
Logan was outside the infirmary.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, Iʼm fine,” Ron said as they walked to Ronʼs new room.
A few minutes later they arrived at Ronʼs room. She opened the door and
stepped in. It was just like all the other bedrooms in the mansion. Plain and
white. She walked over to her dresser and opened it. All her clothes were moved
to the room earlier. She took out a fresh pair of clothes.
“The bathroom is right over there.” Logan pointed to the right wall. “Our
rooms are connected by the bathroom. Iʼll wait for you in my room until youʼre
done then weʼll go downstairs.”
Ron nodded and Logan left. She walked into the bathroom, locked the
door to Loganʼs room, peeled her old clothes off, and took a long hot shower. The
water felt so nice against her skin. She liked it hot. She found a bottle of Loganʼs
shampoo and used it to clean her greasy hair. About twenty minutes later Ron
got out and wrapped a towel around her. She shook her head like a dog and put
her clothes on. She wiped the fogged up mirror with a washcloth and looked at
her reflection. The image changed to Sabretooth and back. She shook her head
and walked away from the mirror. The bathroom was big. She unlocked Loganʼs
bathroom door and knocked. She entered and Logan walked over to her. She
hugged him, driving her face into his shoulder.
“Am I turning into Dad?” Ron asked him.
“I donʼt have the answer, Ronnie,” Logan said. “I donʼt know.”
Ron nodded.
Later that evening, Ron had eaten her dinner next to Logan. Kurt sat
beside Ron and was careful about asking questions and didnʼt ask that many.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 She talked with him, but she mostly listened to him. After that Logan took Ron to
Xavierʼs office. Just as he was about to open the door Xavier told them
telepathically to come in.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Chapter 8

Ron sat in front of Xavierʼs desk. She already knew that he wanted to help her
with her memories like he did with Logan. She wondered how much of it was
gone. Xavier answered her question.
“Iʼm sorry, Veronica,” Xavier said, “your memories are gone. They are all
jumbled up inside your mind.”
“Is it as bad as Loganʼs was or is it worse?” Ron asked.
“Iʼm not sure,” Xavier said.
“When can we start?” Ron asked. “Can we start now?”
“If you want,” Xavier answered. “It may be hard to get through the first wall.
The first wall is to block telepaths of any class, but I will try and be gentle when
getting rid of the wall.”
“Will it be painful?”
“Perhaps,” Xavier said.
Logan was starting to leave but Ron grabbed his arm. He sat back down,
knowing that she wanted him to stay.
“Just try and relax.”
Xavier pulled his wheelchair to Ron and sat in front of her. He put his
hands on either side of her head and started to try and get past the wall. But
Xavier didnʼt even get started and was repelled from her mind. The withdrawal
ended to quickly. Ron yelped in pain and fell to the floor from her chair. Xavier
was rubbing his temples and Logan help Ron get back in her chair.
She groaned. “What happened?”
“The wall blocked me,” Xavier said. “I tried to get past it, but it forced me
out. Weʼll try again at a later date if you donʼt mind.”
“No, I donʼt mind,” Ron said.
“Cʼmon, Ronnie,” Logan said. “Night, Charles.”
“Good night, Logan, Ron,” Xavier said.
Logan took Ron to her room. She wasnʼt feeling good after her mind
repelled Xavier out of her head. Logan noticed it. Not really notice it. He smelled
it and she looked a little pale. He lead her to her bed, but she pushed away from
him, ran into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. Retching sounds came
from the bathroom, the toilet being flushed, and Ron opened the door. The room
was spinning and Ron fell back against the wall holding her head.
“You okay?” Logan walked over to her.
“Will be once the room stops spinning,” Ron said as Logan carried her to
her bed.

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 He set her down and Ron buried herself under the covers. He left for his
own room after turning off Ronʼs room light.

There was a scream. Ron sat straight up panting hard and in a cold sweat.
Logan burst into the room and ran over to Ron, claws out.
“Ronnie, you okay?” Logan asked, retracting his claws.
Ron looked at Logan. “Nightmare.”
“About those Weapon X people?”
“Yeah,” Ron answered. “The Adamantium.”
She was shuddering at the thought. She put her head in her hands and
started crying. Logan sat beside her on her bed. He let her cling to him and cry
on his shoulder. The nightmare scared the hell of and scared her so much that it
made her cry. She remembered the pain. The horrible pain. She didnʼt want to go
through anything like that again. Logan looked at the nightstand clock. 2:00 am.
They sat there for a good hour and Logan was tired. Ron was only shaking a little
now, but she was dozing off. Logan was too. He put his niece in the bed and
made his way to his room and onto the bed. Soon they both fell asleep.
The alarm clock on the nightstand started going off. Ron growled at it from
under the covers. It must have belonged to the previous owner who stayed in
here, Ron thought. She started pounding on it trying to make it stop. It wouldnʼt
stop. She got angry and threw it at the wall. That shut the damn thing up, Ron
thought. Forever. She tried to get back asleep but then another beeping sound
started going off. She growled. It was coming from Loganʼs room. She gave up
and went downstairs to the kitchen. Nobody was down there yet. She looked at
the clock on the kitchen wall.
“What the hell?” She blink a few times. “Who the hell gets up at five in the
morning?!”
“The last kid that owned that room did for early sessions with me.” Logan
walked over to the coffee maker.
“I think that itʼs too early.” Ron walked over to the island, sat down, and laid
her head on her arms. “I ainʼt a morning person. I hate getting up early in the
morning. Why do you still get up this early if that owner is gone?”
“Habit,” Logan answered. “I also do some martial arts in the morning
sometimes.”
Ron looked at her uncle. “Martial arts?”
He nodded.
“Huh,” Ron said. “Iʼm so tired from, like, three hours ago from the
nightmare.”

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 Logan sat next to Ron at the island with coffee in hand. Ron went over to
the fridge and found a Coca-Cola. It was in a glass bottle. It was a good 8 oz.
bottle. She smiled. She loved them in a glass bottle more than in a plastic bottle.
She popped the top off with her first metal claw and sipped it. Good olʼ Coca-
Cola. She was now feeling awake, drank the rest of it, and put it in the
returnables. She went in the fridge for another soda when she found something
else. It was a Red Bull. She heard of this stuff. It was an energy drink. She
shrugged and opened it. She sipped it. It was good. She went back over to the
island and sat on it, drinking the Red Bull.
“That stuffʼs full of caffeine,” Logan said finishing his coffee.
“And?”
“Itʼll make you hyper,” Logan said. “More hyper after that soda you had.”
“How bad can it be?” Ron finished the Red Bull.
Half an hour later Ron was bouncing off the walls. Literally She was
completely hyper. But the worst part was that she couldnʼt keep her mouth shut.
She talked on and on and on and on about different things nonstop. She was
worse than Jubilee and Deadpool put together. Thatʼs what Logan thought. Never
again will he let her have Red Bull again. She continued on the entire morning
until Logan had enough.
“. . .and I donʼt think itʼs very fun to be at the Weapon X facility. I donʼt
remember much at all except for being a weapon which isnʼt fun at all and it
sucks,” she said, really fast from being hyper. “I donʼt even know why they made
me a weapon and I donʼt wanna know why, but I wonder if Father has been in it.
Father has said a lot about him, but he never mentioned that he ever been in the
program, so--”
“Kid, shut the fuck up!” Logan was losing it. She had been following him all
day talking nonstop. It was her fault. She drank a fucking energy drink that was
loaded with caffeine, Logan thought. He couldnʼt take it anymore. “Youʼre too
damn hyper!” he yelled.
“Well excuse me for wanting to talk, Mr. Pissed-off-a-lot-with-a-temper,”
Ron said, still extremely hyper.
“Youʼve talked and talked a lot already,” Logan said. “Cʼmon, we need to go
to Charlesʼ office.”
They walked to Xavierʼs office. Logan walked and Ron did back flips all the
way there. She knocked on the door and jumped into the chair slightly startling
the Professor.
“HI!” she yelled
“Good afternoon,” Xavier turned to her. “You seem a little hyper today,” he
observed how she wasnʼt sitting still in her seat. He knew that she found the Red
Bull in the fridge. He hoped that she wouldnʼt find the rest of it. If it made her this

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET

 hyper then it would be a disaster if she drank the rest of the six pack. “Are you
ready?”
“YES!”
“Are you sure about this?” Logan asked Xavier. “Will it be safe if sheʼs
hyper?”
“Iʼm sure,” Xavier said. “It might actually help if sheʼs hyper and make it
easier to break the wall.”
Logan nodded. “Ronnie, do you want me to come along?”
Ron nodded her head.
“Try and relax, Veronica.” Xavier put his hands on his temples.
She looked at her uncle, grabbed, and held his hand as if to say if itʼs
going to be bad. He looked back at his niece, smiled, and kissed her forehead.
“Everything is going to be fine,” he said.
She smiled back.

END OF PART 1
WORKING ON PART 2

Letha Tracey Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:42:20 AM ET