(Five)

Julien sat as he was, still rubbing his wrists and meeting the steady gaze of his father. He wasn't going to answer the man's last question but it wasn't because he couldn't remember. He could recall all too well the first time he had ever seen Kiden use her power defensively. Lucas had been the least of his concerns after that.

In fact, on that memorable day, Lucas hadn't been with them at all. Kiden had sent him off on an errand and so Julien was elated, he would have Kiden all to himself. That was always a real treat, but that wasn't what made the memory so unforgettable. Julien and Kiden had gone to a nearby strip mall that had dumpsters in the back. They began to rummage around in them with all the glee of children at Christmas, you never knew what you could find. Kiden claimed she had found good clothing and even unopened whole containers of food in there. At the very least it was something to do just to pass the time.

Kiden had Julien keep watch while she jumped up on the edge of one open container and went inside. A certain amount of dexterity was required for this, something Julien no longer had with his damaged hand. He wasn't complaining, she would toss him bags to rummage through just to spread the fun around.

They had been at it for about ten minutes or so when Julien spotted a small group of boys heading towards them.

"Kiden," he said. "We've got company."

Kiden looked up from what she was doing. She reacted quickly and climbed back out of the garbage container, taking a defensive position in front of Julien as the newcomers approached. "What do you want?" she asked, putting on her bravest face.

"This is our dumpster," the leader challenged. The group consisted of about four boys, all just as dirty and ragged as Julien and Kiden were themselves. One of them seemed a little extra furry around the edges and another had strange yellow eyes. These kids were mutants as well, one of the gangs Kiden was always trying to avoid.

Julien tried not to stare at them. The only other mutant Julien had met was Kiden - Lucas didn't count, he was her ghost and so was a part of her. Kiden wasn't a beta, she could pass for normal in a crowd, but not these guys. Now he was getting an eyeful of others that were supposedly his kind. They didn't seem too friendly.

"Fine then. We'll go," Kiden said to them easily enough, not wanting an argument. She had survived this long without having to fight, she was hoping to keep that trend going.

The leader just smiled and stepped into her path. "Oh, you'll go all right. But not until you've paid the toll."

"What toll is that?" she asked warily, looking around. Lucas was nowhere in sight. He was her usual source of protection, but for now, they were on their own.

"You have to suck my dick," the leader answered, grabbing his crotch suggestively.

"I don't think so, pal!" she argued, backing right up. She had a hand out behind her in warning, keeping Julien back and away, defending him. With his hand a hopeless wreck, he was more than useless to them. It was all on her now. She addressed the threatening young man in front of her, "I'm warning you now, back off or you'll be sorry!"

"Ooh, I am so afraid!" he mocked, pretending fear. The others just laughed, rubbing their hands and spoiling for a fight.

Kiden looked back at Julien just once, and said, "When Aslan comes, you run, okay?"

He had no idea what she was talking about, though he had to admit the name was somewhat familiar, like he had heard it in a story somewhere. He didn't have to wait long for it. Just as Lucas always had a habit of appearing suddenly from thin air, so came yet another ghost, only this one wasn't close to human.

The gang of young boys stepped back in shock and surprise when where there was once empty space a huge, life sized, fully maned and very male lion inexplicably misted into existence. It was pissed off and not even close to fooling around. It challenged them with a toothy roar, filling the air with noise, and charged at them, claws out and ready.

The boys scattered at once like a flock of startled birds and fled in terror, some of them losing their footing as they scrambled for the safety of the nearby chain link fencing of the next lot. Aslan landed on one unfortunate who had been a bit too slow and began mauling him, the claw marks and screams of pain all too real. The lion Aslan from the famous children's stories by C. S. Lewis may have been a nice and agreeable fellow, but this one wasn't even close to living up to his namesake.

"Aslan, no!" Kiden shouted in dismay, trying to distract this monster she had conjured up from her own mind.

The lion looked back at her in irritation and hissed disobediently, showing long, now bloodied fangs. The child below him no longer moved.

Kiden backed away in fear. "We have to run, Julien! The trouble with Aslan is that I don't control him so well!"

Julien didn't argue. When she took off he was right behind her and not holding back. Aslan didn't follow his creator, he returned instead to his prey and began shaking the lad like he was nothing more than meat filled rags. Julien couldn't bear to look at what came next, he just kept running.

They made it back to their warehouse lair in short order and Kiden curled up into her bed in the corner, sobbing. Julien tried to comfort her as best he could, but when Lucas finally arrived moments later, he was all she wanted. She ran into his waiting arms. "I had to call Aslan! I couldn't stop him and I think he killed someone!"

"It's okay," Lucas soothed as he rocked her there. His voice was warm and loving as he spoke to her with real understanding. "It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do to stay safe. It's always that way with Aslan. No one will blame you for it, least of all me."

Julien watched them, defeated by their obvious love and undying affection. He had been frightened by what he had just seen Kiden do, but now all he was was jealous of how Lucas was comforting her when he had been unable. Julien hadn't fully realized until that moment just how deep his obsession was until he was put face to face with the reality that it just wasn't going to happen. Problem was, he had been dreaming about her for so long now, he couldn't imagine himself being anywhere without her. Kiden should be in his arms, he was the one who had been there when it happened after all. But no, here was Lucas and he was in the way.

Sitting in the Med Lab and looking back on all this now, Julien knew that the best thing that had ever happened to him was meeting Frost with his seemingly endless supply of restraining collars. Kiden was dangerous in her own way, yes, but it was Lucas that he really thought needed to stay gone. Julien would do his best to see to it that that happened. He couldn't imagine life without Kiden under his control.

Julien looked now into the waiting eyes of his would be dad and simply said, "She can make monsters."

Remy blinked at him and smiled slightly, seeing the blatant exaggeration in the boy's shine. Julien was lying, misstating the truth for his own ends. This boy had wiles. It seemed he took after his dad in more ways than just his eyes.

"What kind of monsters, fils?"

Julien didn't get a chance to answer. There was a slam of a door and an instant flood of noise. The others had arrived.

Julien jerked in his seat at the sound of their coming, he couldn't help it. He had heard the crowd calling for his blood earlier and now the only thing separating them from him was a simple cloth privacy curtain.

Remy raised a finger, silently ordering Julien to be still as he poked his head outside the curtain. " 'Enry, sil vous plait."

Beast had just walked in and was busy organizing the kids but he heard something in Remy's voice that gave him pause. He came over quickly. "Yes?"

"You got a minute? Got sumptin' to show you."

"All right."

Remy backed up and allowed the doctor to enter, being careful to close the curtain behind them. Henry blinked in confusion, all he could see was the girl lying so still on the table further away. It wasn't until Remy moved to the front table and clicked off Julien's cloaking device that the problem became more clear.

Henry looked into the red and black eyes of the young man before him and figured out rather quickly the nature of Remy's concern. He saw the boy's mangled left hand and knew what it meant. This was Little Julie One Hand, the one the other kids had been clamoring for. No wonder Remy had kept him hidden. "This is the boy you went to Twilight for?" he asked, not using Julien's name out loud in fear of being overheard.

"I knew a Tanner would dere, oui, just not a LeBeau, comprenez?"

"Understood," Henry agreed, being a quick study. "Logan knows about this?"

"Oui. Not happy, but 'e knows. Dis is Julien."

"Hello, Julien," Henry greeted holding out his hand. "My name is Dr. McCoy and I am a friend of your father."

Julien bristled at the word "father" he just couldn't help it. Remy was a stranger to him, someone he couldn't quite trust. Still, he nodded at the doctor in greeting, keeping his silence.

Henry could see the boy was afraid in his new surroundings and wasn't all that happy to be there so he simply moved on to his next question. "And the girl?"

Remy answered, "She a friend of Julien's. Dere's sumptin' wrong wit 'er, she won't wake up."

Beast looked at Julien. "And how long has she been like this?"

Julien swallowed heavily, not sure if he should answer. He wasn't sure what was scarier, the truth or this strange, big blue doctor. He hadn't seen many people as mutated as Beast and he was a bit scared. He took some comfort in the fact that Remy was at ease here, this man might not be dangerous. Finally he mumbled softly, "A few months."

It had actually been two years or so, but Julien wasn't going to give that away. He knew they would be upset as it was and they were.

"A few months?" Remy repeated sharply. Again he saw the exaggeration in his son's shine. These half truths were getting out of hand. He couldn't trust anything Julien was telling him. There were traps being laid all over the place. "An' you guys done nuthin' about it?"

"Frost didn't have much in the way of doctors," Julien replied just as tersely. This too was an inaccuracy. Frost had been plenty capable of finding doctors to attend to those things he had cared about – like making sure each and every kid that passed through his hands had been properly sterilized. But when it came to the beatings and illnesses that came part and parcel to having kids in captivity, that was something else.

"I'll have a look at her," Henry offered just to break the tension and moved to the girl. He had other patients waiting that had come along in the Lucky Dragon, but they were all the walking wounded. None of them seemed as out of sorts as this poor young girl.

Henry felt her pulse and checked her quickly for injuries. He could see she was half starved and limp, lifeless, but had no other obvious wounds. Whatever original injury that might have caused this, she may have already healed from it after so much time. Her eyes were partway open and he flashed his light into them, smiling just a bit when her pupils reacted to the light. She had flinched just a little from the sudden brightness and moved away, she was not fully catatonic. He wondered if her semi conscious state was medically induced or self inflicted. From what he had heard of the camps, she would have had every reason to want to "check out" in any way she could have just to survive.

Of course, it could also be the restraining collar. Henry had seen situations more than once where a collar such as this was to blame for causing a mutant to hide inside their own mind. Certain mutations kept the host human alive and to have them blunted or taken away was akin to smothering them. Some mutants whose powers had them in constant contact with the rhythms of the planet or its weather did poorly when that powerful link was cut off. This might be true of her as well.

"May I ask why she was restrained by this collar?" he dared to ask.

"Kid 'ere say she make monsters," Remy replied when Julien kept quiet.

Henry met his eyes, hearing the uncertainty in Remy's voice. Beast was smart enough to know that the thief was perceptive on many levels that he himself was not. If Remy had his doubts about what Julien had said, then he should as well.

Henry flashed the light in Kiden's eyes again. "Kiden, can you hear me?"

She blinked once, but that was all.

He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. "Kiden, my name is Henry McCoy, a member of the X-men. You've been rescued. Frost is in jail and you are now free. I need to know, is this collar around your neck a problem for you? Is it safe to remove?"

Her eyes shifted towards his voice and he realized now that even though her eyes were not fully open, she was really looking at him now. A soft, choked wheeze came from her throat, so quiet he only heard it because he had his head so close to hers. He wasn't sure what it meant, other than it was a plea for help. But was it for or against the collar being removed?

"Don't do it!" Julien warned him then, unable to keep the panic from his voice. "She'll kill us all!"

Again Henry looked to the thief for confirmation and saw by the ironic smile on Gambit's face that he knew the boy was lying. This had gone on long enough that the thief had gotten his own confirmation. Things were not what they seemed.

"Mebbe you just exaggeratin' a bit dere, fils," Remy offered, trying to help Julien out. To see if he might recant what was now a blatant lie. "It ain't really dat bad, now, is it?"

Julien glared at him, his mouth a hard white line. What could he possibly say? This man would never understand what Kiden meant to him. "Just don't do it. You'll be sorry."

Henry wasn't buying any of it. He returned to Kiden's ear. "Do you wish me to remove it? Yes or no? No one here will harm you."

She breathed two words, a little stronger now, but still so soft he barely heard them. "Yes, please..."

Beast stood up and gestured to the thief. "Remy, if you please."

"Bien sur," Gambit replied and returned to his coat, finding his tools. A lifetime member of the Thieves Guild, he was never without a set of lock picks. He moved to the exam table where she lay and took a good hard look at her shine. It had been a dull, flat grey before, something he had seen in deeply depressed and even suicidal people in the past. But now it was sparkling now with colors he liked to see - hope and longing, of an expectation of something. There were no telltale streaks of red or black, warning signs of impending violence, fear, or rage. He was not afraid to do this no matter what Julien suggested might happen.

Even though Remy wasn't sure she could even hear him he gently brushed some hair from her eyes and said softly, "Don' worry, eh? Gambit don' bite."

He unrolled his small bundle of tools and went to work. In spite of all the classes he had taught, he was still the best lock picker in the place, and the one most trusted to do this. No matter who it was or where, if one of these collars had to be taken off, he was the one they always called. No one was trusted more to do this without setting off any of the booby traps that might have been installed. He could see that although the collar itself wasn't of the best quality as far as restraint went, the lock was fine enough. This would take a steady hand.

Julien sat on the adjacent table, his head down. He was nervous himself, sorry he hadn't been convincing enough to stop this from happening. Of course the unspoken thought was: what would happen when the collar came off? Would Lucas return? If he did, what would Lucas' reaction be to seeing him again after all this time? It was sure to be awful.

Remy paused in his task, sensing the drop in Julien's spirits. The excuse he had given for this not to be done had been a lie, but how he felt about it wasn't. Julien was afraid, but the flavor of it wasn't a fear of destruction, of this girl freaking out and harming someone. Instead, it was a deep sense of impending loss. If he did this thing, Julien was afraid he would lose his girl. Why was that?

"Everything all right?" Henry asked, seeing the thief hesitate. If Gambit chose to abort, he wouldn't fight this. A collar could be taken off at any time. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Remy nodded and continued, making his choice. He knew so little about Julien that he had opted to free the girl from her prison, for better or for worse. No one deserved to be so lifeless, to be in such pain. He was optimistic enough to hope that whatever conflict separated these two, it could be overcome, given enough time.

There was a soft click and the collar around Kiden's neck unlocked and fell away. Remy stepped back in shocked surprise as another person suddenly appeared out of nowhere, almost shoving him out of the way. This young kid, dark skinned and dressed in street rags, misted into solidity right before his eyes. Lucas wrapped himself around Kiden, lifting her up and off the table and taking her away into a corner. He was crying her name in a hysterical rush and putting himself in between them and her, a purely defensive motion.

Remy charged the unlocked collar and the picks in his hands without thinking, every nerve in his body screaming, Intruder! It was only Kiden's positive reaction that kept him from acting any further.

Kiden wasn't resisting her rough visitor. She allowed herself to be manhandled and protected, was even laughing with happiness, her vibrations all exaltation and joy. She was fully awake now and ecstatic. "Lucas!" she cried and buried herself in his arms. They both fell silent, simply losing themselves in a tearful embrace.

Remy watched all this in bewilderment, it took no thought at all for him to reach out with his Kundatesh empathy and read this newcomer. No shine, no vibrations. He looked a little unfinished around the edges, too. Whatever this kid was, real and alive wasn't one of them. Gambit realized then that it was no coincidence that Lucas had arrived the moment the collar had been disabled. He was an extension of her power.

Henry had also stepped back in surprise, and like Remy, the only thing staying his hand as well was the fact that Lucas was eagerly greeted by Kiden. There was no doubt these were two long lost friends, even more than that when Lucas pulled Kiden's head back and planted the deepest loving kiss on her lips.

Henry's attention was caught by Remy's nod. The thief mouthed the words, Not alive.

Beast cocked his head at that, his curiosity peaked now. He had seen many different and fascinating mutations over the years as student after student came through his office. While this was the first he had seen like this, it didn't take much for him to diagnose it. "Telekinetic projection," he answered softly, not wanting to disturb the two. This meant more than that, anyone with the teke that strong was an omega and would be highly prized. No wonder Frost had wanted her. What was a little perplexing though was the obvious intimacy between this girl and her ghost. There would be a few tales to be heard about that one.

"Well okay, den," Gambit laughed in wry amusement. Live long enough and you'll see it all, wasn't that what Logan was always grumbling? He turned towards where Julien had been sitting, "You next, fils."

Remy's voice trailed off when he realized that the boy was gone. Sometime during Lucas and Kiden's less than silent reunion, Julien had slipped away. Alarmed now, Remy looked behind the curtain and towards the hallway door that was only just now coming closed. Julien was gone, but he would be easy enough for this clever empath to track. He had left behind a trail of jealous misery as clear as any scent powerful enough for Logan to follow. Something had upset Julien greatly and it didn't take a brilliant thief much to know what it had been.

Henry followed right on Remy's heels as the boy took flight. Henry hadn't been debriefed on Julien's disposition but he was experienced to know the boy couldn't be allowed to run free. Just the fact that Remy had left the lad cloaked until the doctor had been called for was reason enough to guess the boy was wanted, never mind the fact that the Gold Team had been told to take Little Julie One Hand into custody.

Henry passed through the lab door just in time to see that Gambit was chasing the boy down the hallway moving as fast as he could. The thief was fleet of foot as most of the X-men were, but Henry was faster in spite of his larger size. He had once been a top football player in high school and that talent had never left him. He passed Remy by in just a few strides and caught up with Julien quickly. He grabbed the back of his hooded sweat shirt, snatching at the boy with enough strength to yank the lad right off his feet.

It would prove to be a mistake.

Julien squeaked in surprise as he left the ground, but was ready when Henry turned him around. The doctor had no sooner said, "Easy, boy! No one will hurt you here -" when his mouth was flooded with the sickly sweet taste of Honey.

Beast released the boy with a startled gasp. He'd had no time to ponder how this strange substance had suddenly appeared there, the change in him was too fast and too quick for anything more than a cry of pure panic.

Remy was there by his side but it was much too late. From a very young age, Remy had been a big fan of horror movies. Nothing was more entertaining than an adrenaline laced rush of blood and gore, of monsters reaping havoc and mayhem. He had seen 28 Days Later with equal enthusiasm, always ready for a well made zombie picture. In that film, armed with a large popcorn and a caffeine laden soda, he had watched in fascinated glee as a man went rabid in less than five seconds after a single drop of contaminated blood fell into his eye. Watching what happened to Henry next was sort of like that. It was that fast, the transformation. The only thing missing was the glee and the fascination.

Remy watched in pure horror as the man he had once known as Henry McCoy was there one moment and gone the next. Henry's legs buckled and he fell awkwardly onto his back without an ounce of grace. Before he even hit the floor, his clothes split apart as his muscles exploded in size like a big blue Hulk, only this one was covered in hair so long it could no longer be called fur. His face changed rapidly, being less troll like and more like Kiden's Aslan. His fangs, while usually large for a human, grew even longer in size, matching the lion's snout that burst from his skull to house them.

" 'Enry!" Remy shouted in alarm, skidding to his knees at Henry's side. Julien was forgotten, the thief's concern was only for his long time friend and ally.

It was a one sided affection at the moment, however. Remy was forced to duck as the monster suddenly swung at him with one huge arm, the claws there now impossibly long and deadly. He cursed in ragged French as he leaned backwards with spine cracking elegance over his feet to avoid it, his head almost touching the floor between his boots. Even so he felt the sharp edges of those talons scrape the tip of his nose, drawing blood. His mutation had given him greater flexibility than most humans and plenty of stretching exercises had kept him fit, but that had been too close for comfort.

He rolled and scrambled to his feet, feeling a surge of pain rip through his right leg as he did it, an old injury coming back to complain. A year or so ago Henry had been forced to use pins and brackets to repair a savage break there. It had mostly healed but after this long day, his poor body had had enough. He was barely off and running when he heard more than felt a small glass vial crush and break under his boots. Julien had obviously kept the small vial of Honey hidden somewhere on his body for just such an emergency and since Remy had so thoughtfully untied his hands like an idiot, the boy had used it to free himself.

Remy had no time to think on that too long just now, however. He was in serious trouble. Fearing for his life, Remy bolted down the hallway, not even caring about what direction he was heading. Julien was nowhere in sight, gone through one of the many doors that lay ahead no doubt. It was just as well. A big blue monster was behind Remy now, all claws and hot breath, hungry for prey, and at the moment the thief was the only offering on that particular plate. Remy hardly had time to grab the pull switch alarm on the wall as he passed it when he was struck hard from behind, knocking him off his feet. Remy screamed as he was tumbled and mauled on the way down, the only thing keeping him alive was the body armor he had so thoughtfully integrated into his uniform just for fun occasions like this.

Some of those claws found purchase and Remy howled again, this time in real pain. Up close, the beast's vibrations were powerful and choking him with their madness, rendering him useless except for his noises of agony and fear. It did nothing to make this savage monster recognize friend from prey, it only fueled its desire to rip and tear. That huge lion's mouth was open, pouring out hot breath and a relentless desire for blood, even as Remy felt its teeth graze his throat. Remy was sure he was a gonner now, this had happened way too fast for any sort of rescue.

Lucky for him he was wrong. The monster on top of him grunted in surprise and was suddenly gone, taking all that heat and rage away. The force of it rolled Remy onto his side like a rag doll and he lay there tangled in his own limbs, still in shock and unable to do more than simply lay there and feebly gasp for air. The position gave him a decent view, though, of what was going on just a few feet away.

Jean, Cyclop's telekinetic wife, was there on the scene, using her powerful talent to deny the monster that had once been a man any leverage by lifting him off of his feet. He dangled ridiculously in the air, bellowing out his fury in big deep lungfuls, deafening in his rage and frustration. She had him well contained and was soon joined by Scott. He checked his wife, saw she was fine, and was there at Remy's side, touching his shoulder. "You okay? What happened?"

"Julien..." Remy wheezed, his mind all blurry and fuzzy. His side was one big stinging agony where he had been clawed through the chinks in his body armor. "De boy splash 'Oney in 'Enry's face. Make 'im change. Don' know where 'e run off to..."

"Stay here. I'll send for someone to find him," Scott ordered and left, going right to work.

Remy lay as he was. The order to remain was a joke, he could hardly move and it hurt to breathe. He wondered now if maybe he had broken some ribs on top of everything else that had gone wrong today. Still, even now as he lay there, doing all he could to simply breathe, the only thing on his mind was his son. Where had he gone and why, oh why had he done this terrible thing?

To be continued in Tangled Up in Blue.