Summary: Book four of my Children of the Gods series. Gambit's Red Team gets their time to shine. Will they pass or fail?

Rated M for language and some minor sexual content.

Disclaimer : I do not own the X-men or any of their associated villains, but all of the Siskans, the members of the Red Team besides Kyle, any of the characters that are involved with the Twilight dimension are mine. Please do not use them without my permission. Thanks. :)

This is an illustrated work and the art is or will be available soon on my website which you can get to by clicking on my profile.

(One)

Deep in the bowels of Romulus' Diamond Compound, Logan was having a strange moment. He had been kidnapped by Romulus, a man who claimed to know him, and had been dumped into a holding cell. He was locked onto a metal chair and stripped naked, a very compromising position. But it seemed that today's weirdness wasn't going to stop there. Two odd persons had just entered his holding cell by means of an air duct close to the floor and he hadn't expected company, at least not of this sort. One was a sparkling white lab rat, the other a tiny punked out Barbie doll, a girl lucky if she was even two feet tall. Logan looked first at the albino rodent and then at the girl who had followed it. The rat meant nothing, other than its white coloring indicating that it was domesticated and not wild, but the girl's Red Team uniform certainly did.

"You're one of Remy's right?" Logan dared to ask. He had already known that at least some of Remy's kids had been dragged here for fun and games so it wasn't that much of a reach.

"Wow, you're kinda fast for an old guy," the girl dared to joke as she dusted cobwebs and dirt from her uniform. It wasn't that the famous Wolverine didn't scare her, but he was locked up at the moment and something of a captive audience. Besides, strange situations let you get away with a lot. She figured she could afford to be a little flip as long as she could somehow get him out of this.

Logan looked her over, trying to work his way through what passed for a kid directory in his mind but he kept coming up blank. You would think she would have stood out in his mind what with her small size and head full of as many pigtails as she could gather, but he was good and truly stumped. To his defense there were a lot of new people living at the X-men's Arizona Complex these days and he was least familiar with the youngest ones as she clearly was. It didn't mean he wasn't happy to see her or at the very least, the screwdriver looking multi-tool that was strapped to her back like a nerd's favorite sword.

"I don't suppose you're as clever with that driver as you are with your mouth, kid," Logan joked tensely. His eyes were on the door now, hoping they weren't being overheard. If he had feral guards who could hear as well as he did all of this could be for nothing. So far all was quiet out there.

"I'll see what I can do," she offered and came closer, walking around the chair and taking a closer look at the locks for the cuffs around his ankles. He could see she was scared and more than a little embarrassed by his condition. He was naked and she was very young - fourteen, fifteen tops. Her small size did buy her some sympathy, he doubted she would ever find a real life partner unless there were other pint sized people running around. All she had was her sense of humor.

She could see him watching her and she couldn't help but joke, "Gee, Mr. Logan, I had no idea you were so...hairy." Her eyes were not focused on the fur covering his chest and legs, but on his very exposed crotch.

Logan just smiled at her. "You've been spending too much time with Grace."

Grace of course was someone that Logan was very familiar with. It was more than just the fact that he had saved Grace's life, her sense of humor was of some renown and something he was quite fond of.

"There's a lock here, I'll see if I can pick it," Tink said, fully aware that it was actually a compliment he had slipped her way. "If I open it do I get a jacket, too?"

Logan grunted a laugh, knowing she was referring to the fact that Grace had managed to snag one of his official jackets and often flaunted it around the Complex like a prize well earned. Even if he did reward his current diminutive savior with its equal, she would never be able to wear it. That was okay, it was the banter that was important here. She was relaxing and he was eager to set her at ease for the real task at hand.

"Kid, you get me out of here you can have my whole damn uniform."

Tink laughed but got to work. She took one look at the lock and then surprised Logan by setting the multi-tool down on its side, allowing its built in LED light to shine at the lock itself. She then reached into her jacket and pulled out a strange set of collapsible lock picks. These were custom made and they way she snapped them together declared they had been specially made for her. No normal sized human could have assembled them so easily, their hands would have been much too large. Logan had no doubt they were a present from Remy. Remy was thoughtful enough to vary the training of his precious charges, trying to cover as much ground as he could, but Logan couldn't have guaranteed that this particular trade would have been covered. It could be used for so many things, not all of them per the rules of the Complex. Gambit was trusting his kids to behave, something Logan might not have done himself. At the moment he was simply grateful she was even willing to try.

"You're in luck," she was quick to reassure, having looked the locks over. "These are regulation padlocks, something I've already practiced on. Shouldn't take me too long."

"Good to know," he replied to that, leaning over so he could try and see what she was doing. It was hard with the way he was strapped in. "As long as we're getting to be so friendly, why don't you tell me your name, kid?"

"They call me Tink. It's short for Tinkerbell, but anyone who calls me that kinda ends up hurt. The rat here is Jones."

" 'Kay, Tink," he answered to that with a short laugh. "How about you tell me how you ended up here with me?"

As she worked, Tink began to explain as best she could the strange events of her day. Early that morning, she had answered a scramble text from Aiden, bidding as many of Remy's crew that could to assemble up on the Complex's tarmac. Once gathered, Remy had flown them all to Logan's cabin in the woods. Logan had supposedly hidden himself on purpose, they had been told, making a game of it to see if anyone on Remy's team could find him. It was to be an impromptu drill of sorts. Once they landed, Remy and the kids began to investigate the woods, hoping to locate him there. That was when everything went wrong.

Out in the woods, someone had used a dart gun to disable the kids. That's when Tink knew this was no ordinary drill. Then had come the sudden fall as Dewy collapsed in the woods from being drugged. Dewy always carried her around in his Away Pack because she was so small. She could hear the sounds of the others going down and knew to keep her silence. At least she hadn't been terribly squished or anything when she went down even though she had to share pack space with Jones, Dewy's rat. Jones had squeaked some when they fell but he calmed when she began to pet him. He was used to being both in the Away Pack and with her. She was familiar and comforting. When she heard footsteps approaching she prayed they would not be discovered and they hadn't been, Daken had simply not had time to check their packs.

When the kids had been loaded into Daken's truck and he began to drive them away to who knows where, she had dared to peek outside the pack. What she saw was chilling – all of her teammates had been loaded up in back in a pile like so much cordwood - but she tried to remember her training.

Later, she could tell they had been moved to the train. If she remained quiet enough no one would know was there. Unfortunately it was clear early that the packs were going into an area that wasn't with her team mates. Still she tried not to panic. She must be quiet, she must be patient, she hadn't been discovered yet. Remy, being very thorough, had actually run drills on this scenario before. She knew to be quiet and just wait for her opportunity. She was Remy's ace in the hole so to speak and on more than one occasion she had used stealth to free her captive team mates. Maybe all that practice would pay off here. Alas, one good peek outside of the pack revealed that she was in a locked train car. Even if she managed to open the door, she would never be able to travel from one car to the next. It was better to wait and see if maybe her captives would reunite her with them once they got to wherever they were going.

That didn't mean the ride was uneventful. At one point there was a scary explosive sound and then everything leaned sideways for a horrifying moment or two, the car coming off the rails on one side and the packs all sliding around and tumbling over from where they had been piled. Tink had never been on a train before, never mind one that was thinking about tipping over. She was too small and frail, there was no way she would ever survive it. Lucky for her, the train righted itself and things calmed back down.

Tink did overhear an interesting conversation on the train while she waited for the next bizarre thing to happen. Right after the train had gone crazy and settled back down, two men walked into the train car where she was, no doubt looking for some privacy where they could whine without being overheard – by the boss at least. Tink was all ears, hoping to learn as much as she could about the people who had taken them. The first one said, "I hope Daken knows what he is doing."

"What do you mean?" his friend wanted to know.

"Daken mixing it up with some of the captives like that puts us all at risk. I don't know why he didn't just have us keep them out during the ride."

"Heh, he probably just wanted to have his fun."

"Yeah, at our expense. The damn train nearly derailed. Not all of us are healers. You think he even gives one lick about us?"

"Romulus is on the train. You can bet he gives a crap what HE thinks. The Master will kick his ass if he goes too far."

"And how long can he keep doing that? Before long we'll be taking orders from that mohawked freak."

"Careful, these walls have ears."

Tink had no idea who the guys were talking about - being inside a backpack without a view did limit one's captivity experience - but she did her best to try and memorize the names for later. Daken. Romulus. Strange sounding dudes but then this day had been anything but typical.

Jones wasn't as patient at waiting as she was. He was sniffing around, looking for ways out of the pack. As a last resort, Tink opened one of Dewy's protein bars. Like most males, he could be placated with food, and she was right. Smelling it made her hungry as well and so they shared the tasty snack, just taking in the ride while they ate. With his belly full, Jones settled down for a while at least, content to just stay in the quiet with her.

Once the train came to a stop, Tink was forced to be quiet once more as the packs were off loaded onto a cart and wheeled away into an unfamiliar building. Tink was worried about the move, she couldn't hear any of her teammates talking and now she was really afraid that she would become so far separated from them that if a rescue did manage to come, she would be overlooked and left behind.

The packs were taken several floors down by means of an elevator and then dumped in a pile into a storage room. This wasn't all good news. Yeah, the packs were not being watched, but she had no idea now where she was in comparison to the others. It wasn't all bad either - if Dewy was anywhere close to his rat, he would be able to see her through Jones' eyes. She knew a secret that Remy didn't – that Jones was getting smarter the more Dewy possessed him. It wasn't that Dewy was going behind Gambit's back with this, it was more that he couldn't quite prove it yet and so was waiting on it. Truthfulness wasn't on Tink's mind at the moment, though - it was somehow getting Jones close enough to Dewy for him to take over. To do that she would have to make her move sooner rather than later, the packs were likely be searched at some point.

Tink dug through the pack, found the multi-tool and her lock picks that had been stored inside. Her uniform was custom made and had special hoops and straps that helped her to sling the multi-tool behind her like a sword, freeing up her hands. She then unzipped the top zipper and Jones followed her out obediently just as she hoped. The one thing she was never so good at these days was being able to tell for sure when Dewy was in control of the rat or if Jones was acting on his own. He was well trained and used to being where she was. She did keep checking back at him, looking for some sign of greater intelligence, but so far Jones seemed to be just Jones.

This sort of solo adventuring was still new to her. Tink had figured that since she pretty much exclusively traveled with Dewy that he would always be there to help her. They got along so well that Gambit most often teamed them up with each other. When Gambit saw things that worked he wasn't one to mess with them. But at the moment she was on her own and having to figure out things on the fly by herself. It was sink or swim and she didn't enjoy the thought of drowning much.

She would have loved to be the one who saved the day today though it wasn't likely. It would have been so perfect to see the look on Dewy's face as she came in and rescued him. It was no great secret that she was crushing on him badly but she, like everyone else, knew that it could never work out, their size difference was too great. Still it would have been awesome to be the hero. Dewy had saved her ass so many times with schoolwork, now it was her time to help him in return.

Tink made sure she was alone in the storage room and then went for the nearest vent, knowing it was the best way to move around without being seen. The multi-tool was shaped like a screwdriver, but came with inter- changable heads, depending on the task. She had learned to use them all. They practiced this in the drills, not that she had thought this was going to be a talent she would ever use. Of course there was always the risk of getting lost in the vents. It wasn't like she had a map to go by and there was probably a lot of twists and turns. Still she went for it. The longer she stayed with the Away Packs, the greater the chance of either being discovered or left behind. Even in the drills reclaiming lost backpacks had never been a mission priority.

As she traveled in the vent she could hear terrible sounds, like someone screaming in horrible agony but she couldn't be sure who it was or if she was even hearing it right. Sound always traveled funny in these kinds of vents and ducts, her training had taught her that. It was still enough to frighten her into moving as quickly as she could.

It was just chance that she ended up with Logan. If she had taken a right turn she would have found the team, instead she went left and found Logan. Tink didn't regard this as unlucky. Everyone knew what a badass Mr. Logan was and she felt much safer now. At the very least there was no way she was going to be left behind now.

She was not unfamiliar with the lock picks and after just a moment or two, there was a satisfactory click as the lock on Logan's ankle came undone. She then went to the other ankle and having done this once before, unlocked that foot even faster. Logan was grateful for it, he stretched out his legs, getting the blood flowing. Next she shimmed up the back of his chair. Any fears Logan had about her agility were put to rest quickly, she was like a monkey up there, dexterous and quick as she made short work of the locks there as well.

Once he was finally free, he shook himself to wake his poor stiff limbs. He was all business though and he crept quietly towards his door, ready for anything. There was no window, but he crouched down and took a quick sniff. His nose told him that there was only one guy keeping watch out there. It was too easy but he would take it. He went back to Tink. "Stay back," he whispered to her. "I'm going to try and take the guard."

Wolverine returned to the door and smashed a hand against it, making an odd sound. The guard made a soft cry and just as Logan had hoped, he could hear the guy next begin to open the electronic lock. His guard must not have been very clever, he entered the room much too quickly (gotta always check those corners, tsk tsk!) and Logan caught him in mid-stride, spinning him around and snapping his neck just like that. Like he had done it his whole life. Like someone had to pay for what had been done to Kyle and this poor slob had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now wasn't the time to be picky about how guards were disposed of, Logan certainly didn't expect the same level of consideration going forward. Kyle's horrible screaming had seen to that.

Wolverine dropped the man down to the floor and his hands moved fast, undressing the guy and robbing him of his clothes. While he had been lucky enough to get a guard dumber than a sack of rocks, God in all of his humor had seen fit to make the guy near six and half feet tall and more than a little overweight. His clothes were huge. He did have a belt and Logan made use of it but he still looked more than a little ridiculous. He was forced to cuff the pants legs, cursing softly all the while. He could only hope the pants didn't fall down if he had to fight, hardy har har.

One look at the man's shoes made them out of the question. Long pants were one thing, clown shoes quite another. He would just have to go barefoot for now. It was just as well, he was probably quieter that way anyhow.

Logan was still trying to adjust the guy's oversized belt when he saw a quick flash of a blinking yellow light. It acted like some kind of emergency lighting but the blinking seemed too much like a signal of some kind for his liking. He hoped it wasn't an alarm announcing them. He didn't think he had made that much nosie but one could never tell what kind of security systems were in a place as complicated as this.

His door opened into a short hallway with another single door on the end leading out. Seemed easy enough. The moment he opened the door to his cell, Logan he could hear men moving in the main hallway outside of this one but it seemed like they are moving away from them, not towards them. Something odd.

Well there was nothing for it but to go forward and hope for the best. He looked down at Tink. "How fast can you run?"

"Pretty fast, but Dewy usually carries me."

He had no idea who that was but the comment still made sense with her being on a team. "I would but if I have to fight, darlin', you don't want to get caught in the middle of it."

That was true. Everyone knew about Wolverine's famous claws. "I'll keep up."

Logan nodded and slowly opened the door, taking it nice and easy as he went down the hall towards the door.

(break)

Julien Tanner, son of a rather notorious Thief, finally came awake slowly. He was feeling floaty and dreamy, far too comfortable to want to get up. He was warm and snuggly, something strange since the last he could remember he had been out in the snow. Even as odd as that might have been, he could almost swear he was currently lying down in someone's lap, someone secure and safe. But the only one who had ever held him like that was his mother so that couldn't be right.

Even though he wasn't entirely certain of where he might be, he wasn't afraid. It was the opposite really, he was feeling safe and at peace. It wasn't so much that anyone was telling him so, he just knew it as a certainty. It was a wordless comfort this knowing, and then he realized that this source of comfort was in part coming from a warm hand that gently grasped his own, a light pressure on his chest told him that another hand lay there as if checking his breathing. Why anyone would need to know that was beyond him, he was clearly fine, but then he recalled that Kimble often did just that, touching him here and there just to make sure he was okay. It made sense that the one inquiring of him now would be the Siskan, these feelings of comfort often came to him from the pilot. Empathy, Julien had been told it was, and he had grown used to the affection. It made him feel safe and cared for, at least as much as a pathetic sinner like himself could ever be loved.

"M' fine.." Julien breathed, still too relaxed to open his eyes. He just wanted Kimble to know he was okay.

"Good to know," came the reply, but not from whom the boy had expected.

Julien's eyes popped open and the first thing he saw was not the familiar face of Remy's precious Siskan but of the man himself, the one who claimed to be his father. It was he who had been holding him so gently and with kindness, the one who was worrying about him so.

Gambit's face had been a bit pale and tight with worry but it now brightened warmly when he saw Julien was in fact awake and well. Julien was hit with a familiar rush of conflicted feelings. The sensation of comforting love was still there but the more awake Julien became the less he trusted it. Julien had been raised by two other would be fathers - one harsh and cruel, the other claiming ultimate wisdom. Both had warped Julien's thinking enough that he could never fully embrace the man who was looking down on him now with what seemed to be genuine concern. This one had left him behind and was now trying to say that the ones who had actually been there for him were wrong in everything they had taught him, both good and bad. Now Julien could never be sure who to believe.

Julien slid his hand from Remy's with a small frown of distaste. "I think I dreamed someone was screaming," he said, unsure of what else to say. This was just too uncomfortable. He slithered out from Remy's lap, trying to make it look natural but didn't quite pull it off. It was just too obvious he couldn't have gotten away fast enough.

Remy continued to smile at his son but some of the warmth left his eyes. He was upset that once again his son had pulled away but he was trying hard not to show it. "Don' you worry none about dat. It's just good dat you finally awake."

"Then what exactly should he be worrying about?" Julien heard someone next to him question sharply in annoyance. It was Hercules, gruff as ever. It didn't hide the fear in the boy's voice.

Julien saw Gambit shoot Hercules a harsh look. It was enough to let the boy know that in spite of what Remy was trying to say, things were far from fine. Julien, still a bit intoxicated from the knockout gas and sedatives, rolled drunkenly onto his hands and knees and looked around him. He didn't recognize the room he was in now. The last thing he remembered was being out in the woods and now he was inside a building. That disconcerting manner of travel might have distressed someone else but this wasn't his first trip down this particular lane. When Jason Frost had first captured him for use in his slave camps Julien had been drugged and transported more than once in the same way as he had been moved today. Later, after that first capture, Frost had also abruptly moved Julien to at least two different pocket worlds before he had grown to trust the boy enough to transport him while he was awake. So coming to up in a strange place wasn't new, but it certainly was annoying.

Judging by the current unease in his squad mates, Julien had an idea he had missed a few things while he was out. Julien was a quick lad in spite of being chemically impaired. He understood that he was in some sort of prison, locked away with the male members of his squad beside him, the girls across the way. Next to them in a separate holding cell were the two Siskans. Julien guessed something was wrong with Kimble because the pilot was lying down and Aiden was holding on to him.

Julien knew this was bad, but then, like before when Frost had taken him, he had survived. Being captured didn't have to mean you were absolutely going to die, it just meant you had to be smart about things. The squad appeared to be intact at least and Gambit, their supposedly fearless leader, was also here. Gambit was former Gold Team, right? The way the Gold Team members got treated back home, one could surmise they could get out of anything.

It was true that Julien had joined the squad under duress and he had for the most part taken all those endless days of stupid drills as some sort of pathetic joke. He had never expected that he was learning skills he might actually need to use. He certainly had never expected to find himself in this sort of situation again.

Julien closed his eyes in a long blink, trying to stay calm. He was reviving more and more and with that was coming more and more pain. He generally suffered from chronic joint pains he did his best to hide, but worst of all was his poor mangled hand. The long hard march through the snow hadn't helped much either. Jason Frost had taught him that pain was part of life and should be welcomed. It was a gift from God and the more you suffered, the greater the Almighty had favored you.

Knowing that didn't make it any easier to endure. Hank had Julien on a regular dose of Motrin for some comfort and well, judging by how drastically things had changed while he was out, Julien could easily guess he had missed his next scheduled dose by a wide margin of time. The problem was that his meds were in his Away Pack which didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. He was just going to have to suck it up and get over it.

It was more than just his poor abused body making him uncomfortable. Julien could feel the restraining collar weighing heavily around his neck. It wasn't large or thick, and probably wasn't as heavy as it actually felt. No else could hear it, or so he was told, but it hummed to him now as always. The vibration seemed to go through his whole body, making him want to just scream at times, but he knew it had to be left on. The collar was a reminder of his weakness, of his frailty, a constant reminder of what he was capable of. He had killed with his power once before and he couldn't afford another loss of control, not ever.

Well, Julien wasn't about to let the others see his weakness. He rose up on his knees hoping to get all the way upright, but a wave of dizziness kept him there. He couldn't help himself but gag a little.

Remy patted his back gently. "You okay, fils?"

Julien jerked away, not wanting it and snarled, "I said I was fine!"

"Nice to see you're your usual charming self, Judas," Trigger teased without humor. This wasn't the first time he had seen Julien react to his father like that. Trigger could understand that Julien didn't want to be coddled, but Trigger had much too much regard for Remy to agree with the disrespect. "Can't be feeling that bad, eh?"

Remy scowled, still holding up his hands from when Julien had flinched away from him. He was upset, but it was unclear what hurt worse - the fact that Julien had rejected him again or Trigger using the codename he disliked so much.

Julien couldn't have cared less about either. He was more interested in getting out of this mess. "I don't suppose anyone came up with a plan while I was out?"

"Workin' on it as we speak," Gambit answered in a whisper, gesturing towards the cameras in the corners. He didn't want them speaking loudly enough to be overheard.

At that moment a door slammed open nearby with a loud bang. A guard walked in pushing a cart that smelled wonderful. Food and coffee, the two best smells in the world. At least Romulus was generous enough to bring them snacks.

The guard that was bringing them these refreshments was young and inexperienced, Remy's quick eye could see. He didn't check his surroundings effectively and carried no weapon. Hopefully this was something they could use. The kid's obvious feral attributes kept Gambit from dismissing him entirely – he had the prerequisite clawed hands and fangs, but did he also have enhanced hearing and smell? It could make taking him by surprise that much more difficult, assuming they could come up with a distraction quickly enough, that was.

Good thing Grace was on the ball. As distressed as she had been earlier because of Kyle, all of that had been placed aside as she went right to work. Without any prompting, she sidled up to the barrier like it wasn't even there, her jacket now open, giving full view of her ample breasts. "Hey handsome, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. That coffee smells the best."

The guard looked at her dubiously, but his eyes never left her chest. He was feral like the others here and well versed in body language. Whatever this girl was, she certainly wasn't scared of him. Her hips were tilted towards him suggestively, her eyes bright as they roamed freely over him like he was better to eat than the food on the cart. He was a little nervous as he replied, "All I've got for you is lunch, sorry."

"That's too bad."

Clearly thrown off balance, but doing his best not to fall for her wiles, the guard reached for the sliding food tray for her cell. The tray was built into the wall so that food could be delivered without having to deactivate the energy barrier. There was no escape that way, Grace could see, so she hoped for something better.

She was quick to reply, "Well, you might not have something for me, but I've got something for you. How about a nice hard suck?"

He snorted rough laughter. "I'm not that stupid, girl."

She just grinned and purred these words at him, making sure he could see that her tongue was pierced, "I swallow..."

Remy heard a sharp startled snort of surprise from behind him, Trigger maybe, but the guard didn't notice. He had frozen in place, shocked by what Grace had just let slip. It had gotten his attention enough that he was actually considering it. His shine was shot through with crimson, aroused by the possibility of her promise. Grace had played her part perfectly, Remy himself couldn't be sure if she wasn't teasing or not.

Not willing to let the opportunity slide, Remy tried to see if he could influence the guy even through the energy fields. If it had been anyone else but Grace he wouldn't have dared, but he knew she could handle this guy easy. He used his empathy, giving the guy a nudge as he used it to whisper, Wouldn't that feel so nice? You know you want it. Go for it, it's not like anyone has to know...

Amazingly enough, Remy thought it might be working. The guy actually reached into his pocket, sliding out a red keycard. He raised it to the scanner but a noise outside made him hesitate. He turned that way, waiting to see if someone was coming in after all.

The guard had no sooner taken his eyes off of the girls than something most unexpected happened. There was an odd splashing sound and the guard whipped back around, but it was too late. The slide tray was mysteriously full of water, water that was moving. He tried to shove the tray closed in a panic, he had no idea what it was and didn't want to know, but as his hands came in contact with the tray, liquid arms came up out of the tray and grabbed at him. He screamed, he couldn't help it and jerked back taking the arms with him. It was more weirdness than he could handle.

Remy wasn't sure at first what he was seeing himself but then couldn't help but smile. He had gone to great lengths to try and teach these kids to be innovative when it came to problem solving, letting them know that most often there was more than one way to get things done. They had to be clever, they had to be quick. Grace had done her best to take the initiative, but well, this day Tilda, his little water girl, got the First Place prize.

The guard slipped and fell taking down a half formed Tilda with him. It was common knowledge on the team that Tilda could live in water and make some water shapes, but they hadn't known she could convert her whole body over, or at least enough that she could actually dive through the sliding food tray like she had. If the girls had previously discussed this most creative plan over there in their cell, Remy had certainly missed it. Tilda was howling as she flailed. It sounded like rage and was quite frightening, but Remy knew better. The kid was in just as much terror as the poor guard she was throwing down to the floor.

It hadn't been planned, just something Tilda had tried impulsively the second she saw the opportunity. She had been thinking of ways she might be of help. She could have, in theory, changed and gone through the toilet bowl, but the ick factor aside, she couldn't be sure where she would end up coming out. It might have ended up being a waste of time.

Lucky for Tilda the guy she was currently wrestling with, a man nearly twice her size and weight, was too freaked out by what she had just done to properly put up an adequate defense. She wasn't making it easy for him to grab her, she had left her clothes behind during the change and was now keeping herself half formed, a substance too squishy for him to handle. Fighting him wasn't her goal of course, she pretty much just stumbled over him and slithered awkwardly away, snatching his key card and with it in her hand, brushed it against the scan box for Remy's cell and hit the green button.

Remy and the boys were already at the barrier when it crackled out, setting them free. Hercules, happy to finally have someone to take out his frustrations on, tackled the rising guard, smashing a colossal green fist into his face and shattering his jaw quite nicely. Remy had tried to teach his kids to restrain their violence but in this case, he wasn't being picky. Hercules could have his fun.

Remy was right behind Hercules. He saw Tilda stumble to her knees and gave her an assist, trying to cover her nudity as best he could. Once she was down and no longer falling, he took the keycard from her and tossed it to Trigger. Trigger caught it without question and used it to let the rest of the girls out, his eyes all on Izzie with real concern. Gambit's earlier thoughts about his interest in her were right on the money. He liked her well enough and had been displeased by the way the guard had been looking her and the other girls over. The girls were fine, happy to be let out of the cell.

"You're just too cool, Grace," Trigger praised as he watched her saunter out, chilly as a breeze. He couldn't help but tease, "Do you really swallow?"

"Only the baddest girls do," she just answered suggestively and helped Tilda to her feet. She had collected Tilda's clothing and was doing a much better job of getting Tilda covered than Remy had.

Trigger chuckled, amused. He used the keycard on the Siskans' cell next and went inside to help Aiden get poor Kimble on his feet. Kimble's hands were still black and gooey looking. Neither he nor Zander were going to be much use if they had to fight their way out of this. At least Zander could walk and wouldn't have to be carried. He and Aiden still had the shock collars on but there wasn't much they could do about it now.

Remy was quick to look his Siskans over, Kimble most of all with him being so injured. The Thief wasn't happy with how bad Kimble's hands were, seeing them up close revealed just how serious the injury was. Remy knew this was painful, months ago he had seen Aiden through a similar misfortune. Without thinking, Remy came forward to take the Siskan into his arms, his most prized possession, his face tight with worry. "Desole, yo' hands!" he couldn't help but gasp.

" 'M fine," the Punisher growled, not wanting it. He stopped Remy with a gesture of refusal and continued in Siskan, "I don't need no coddlin' like yer little baby Lover. Let's just git outta here."

Gambit checked himself, realizing his mistake. Kimble would have received him without question even with his aversion to public affection because he was that injured, but Zander was altogether different. It was like talking to a whole other person. Remy stepped back, trying not to show how much that hurt and returned his attention to the rest of the team.

Tilda was exhausted just from making the change to water and back again. Normally she shifted only when she was in water itself, not just empty air like now. She was impossibly thirsty and she sagged against Grace, too weak to stand on her own. She didn't look right, her body was terribly thin now and all sags and wrinkles like an old woman who had somehow stolen Tilda's body. She was also breathing heavily, like she couldn't catch her breath.

Remy was right there, his face tight with worry. "You okay, petite?"

"I need to drink. Water, anything. I've lost too much liquid."

"Don' you fret, we'll give you de firs' drink we see."

Izzie was doing her best to help, she assisted Grace in getting Tilda back into the clothes she had left behind in the holding cell. They were wet now from her shift but still better than being naked. She was sloppy, weak.

Once Tilda was more or less put back together, Remy snapped his fingers and the kids fell right into formation. They all knew they had precious little time to do what needed to be done. As it was they were lucky that whatever sounds they had made had so far gone unnoticed. They were still alone without having alerted anyone of their escape – for now. They needed to recover their missing team mates and find a way out of this maze, preferably without losing anyone else along the way.

In normal drilling back home, Remy would often let Hercules take the lead but this time he took point. They all knew this was the real deal and there were no complaints.

The room with the holding cells was longer than it was wide, the cells giving way to a short hallway with the exit door at the end, very much like the area Logan had found himself in. Near the exit door, there was a desk recessed on the right side. The desk was lined with computer monitors that showed both the cells and the outside view of the exit door. Remy was pleased to see that so far the guards outside hadn't been alerted just yet that anything was amiss. The walls had probably been soundproofed. Prisoners sometimes had the tendency to scream and we couldn't have that, could we?

Opposite the desk and on the left side of the hallway were some rows of shelves containing office supplies and some food stores. Remy was grateful to see a shelf with stacked cases of wrapped plastic water bottles. One of them was already open and he quickly grabbed a couple and tossed them backwards to Tilda who drank them down gratefully. She didn't stop there, Remy handed more back and she poured one of the bottles right over herself, amazing the others around her as her body soaked it right up as if she was a human sponge. It was worth the mess, she looked a lot more normal now and less like an old person.

Remy kept passing bottles behind him and soon all the kids were drinking, the knockout gas had made them all dehydrated and Gambit let them do it, knowing they would be sharper now. The distraction was worth it. It gave Remy time to notice two familiar looking silver keys hanging up on the wall – keys for the shock collars the Siskans wore, how convenient. He handed them back as well and Aiden made quick work of the devices, throwing them away in disgust.

Now that they were more or less back to being normal, Remy took two more steps towards the door, getting this going. He paused suddenly when he heard booted feet coming towards them at a fast run from the other side, another guard most likely. It was unlikely that their little escape attempt would go unnoticed for long but he had been hoping for more time.

Remy cocked his head in bewilderment when the running ended not with the door bursting open, but with some kind of fight right outside instead. He looked at the monitors and was next stunned by the sight of one lone guy taking on the two guards outside with hand to hand skills that would challenge any of the Thieves Remy had known. Gambit might have been grateful for what looked like some kind of save except for the fact that he had no clue who the guy was. It certainly wasn't anyone from his crew. The guy was a feral, all dark fur with a big black bushy tail to rival Hercules' own. Was this help or more trouble? Just in case he reached into his coat and found his bo staff. They hadn't been searched and he knew it was there. It was out in his hand and snapped to full length in seconds. He was done with surprises for today.

(break)

Logan and Tink carefully snuck out of Logan's holding room and moved silently down the hall towards the door on the end. Tink was being extra cautious. It was harder for her to follow like this on the ground, she had to make sure that she not only kept pace with her much larger companion but did so without getting stepped on. It wasn't much fun being so small that you were easily overlooked in a scramble.

Logan's prison cell hadn't been the only door on this short hallway, they were coming up to a second door on the right. Logan had intended to just pass it by on his way out but once in front of it he was forced to pause. He could now smell John was in there.

Tink wasn't happy with the delay. She kept glancing around them, her voice tight and worried as she complained, "I don't mean to be a pain, Mr. Logan, but we really need to keep moving. We have to find the others."

"I know that, kiddo. There's a guy in here that just might be able to help us do that."

Logan took the key card he had stolen from the guard and swiped it through the electronic keypad lock at the door, hoping for the best. He was rewarded with a beep and a loud click as the door lock disengaged. It seemed that so far luck was on their side.

Logan opened the door slowly, claws out on one hand, not being sure of what was on the other side. He knew John was in here but he couldn't be sure if he was guarded or not. There might even be booby traps of some kind.

The door opened into a single room, a holding area just as Logan's had been. There were no guards inside or even a torture chair, however, but there was a good sized pile of blankets balled up in a heap in the middle of the room. Logan could just make out one very pale arm sticking out, thrown a bit askew. It was accompanied by some soft snores. A closer look revealed what Logan already knew - John was buried there fast asleep and very comfortable.

John looked quite a bit different than when Logan had seen him last. As John had predicted on the train, Romulus had seen his beard shaved off and his head buzzed down to his scalp. He was still mostly undressed, revealing that more than his head had been shorn. The majority of his thick white body hair had been removed as well, making him look a lot more human than he had been on the train. If he were to go out in the snow now, he would surely freeze. All of this really changed how he looked. If not for the familiar scent, Logan might have thought he was looking at someone else.

"John?" Logan asked gently, not wanting to startle the sleeping man.

John's head snapped up at the unfamiliar voice, though his eyes, heavy with sleep, didn't fully open. With his head raised and his long hair now departed, he had an almost comical appearance - his long pointed ears were sticking out even more than before.

"Who're you?" John mumbled, not fully awake.

"It's Logan. We met on the train."

John squinted at him, waking up just a bit more. "Oh, yes. Yer outs now. Gonna go run free? Them trees ain't so far."

"How about you tag along with us?"

John blinked, considering it, but his voice was so terribly sad as he replied, "He'll just catch me and brings me back. He always does."

It broke Logan's heart to hear it, so he was quick to offer, "What if I told you I know a place where you can run all you want and he'll never catch you?"

"I'd say you was full of shit. I gone all the places and he always gits me, one way or the other. He's too smarts fer me."

"Well, it's true. I know just the place." This wasn't a lie. He really did know of just such a place and the thought of John there running free made Logan happier than he had felt in a long time. Long lost brother or not, this man had done nothing to him and didn't deserve to be locked up like this.

John frowned doubtfully but couldn't hide that he was interested. That didn't mean he fully trusted. "What's in it fer you?"

"I need you to help us get out of here. It's not like I've been here before but you have. We need an exit." He wanted more than that, he wanted Romulus' head on a plate if he could manage it, but for now he would happy with Remy and his kids outside.

"Roms don't know yer out?"

"Nope."

John just smiled at that. "A game then?"

"Something like that."

John rose to his hands and feet, shaking the remaining blankets from his body. He wasn't naked, he was still in the same style briefs he had been in on the train. Minus the fur, he looked half fed, weak. As the blankets fell, Logan also caught a whiff of flea powder. They had given him the full lost pet treatment it seemed. Adding to the insult of being handled much like a dog prone to stray, he was also chained to the wall with an ankle cuff just like the ones that had been used to keep Logan in his chair.

Logan looked at Tink who was still on his shoulder. "You still got them picks of yours?"

"Sure do."

Tink made her way over, giving the lock a peek. John watched her, his eyes curious but also a bit predatory. Being so small, Tink seemed more like something that should be chased and eaten than simply human.

Wolverine noticed and tried to distract John with questions as Tink worked John free. "Do you know a way out? Do you know where Romulus is?"

It worked, John was looking back at Logan now as he answered, "Changes with each place. He don't like to be too far from us prisoners, though."

Logan thought that was good to know, that meant maybe he and ole Romulus might get a chance to resume their conversation, preferably in a way that Romulus wouldn't like all that much. To that end, Logan pressed for more. "Do you know anything about him that can possibly help us?"

"Only that he's real old and really mean."

"That we've already figured out. How old do you think Romulus is?"

John shrugged. "A couple thousand, maybe more. His hair gots some white but not from Bree. He's truly old in every sense of the word. He says he's the Father of all of us and he just might be. He tells stories from way back, 'bout places even I never seen and I been all over. Supposedly he stood at the foot of the Cross and even went on a Crusade or two. He fought in many battles, was a prized warrior and claimed he was even Knighted once."

Logan snorted, not believing. It wasn't the advanced age, it was the way the stories seemed more to glorify the man than anything else. So typical of the overly narcissistic.

John kept speaking, "He don't ever stay in one place long, neither. He's always movin', always schemin'. Power and money and bossin' folks around. He carries the worries of a man now and we were never meant for this. He built an empire and now all he does is fret over it, 'specially now that he's under some kind of attack."

"Attack? What does that mean?" Logan question, more than a little interested. Any enemy of Romulus was a potential ally.

"Not sure who it is, but they keep comin', shuttin' down all of Rom's bases and stealin' all of his stuff, 'specially them trains he likes so well."

"Don't suppose they could be comin' right now?" It would be too much to hope for.

"Don't knows, don't much care. They kin haves it. Havin' no empire never meant nuthin' to me. Who wants all that stuff weighin' ya down nohow? I'd rather just have a full belly and nice long run in the woods, especially in spring when it all smells so nice and green."

So would Logan. He could certainly relate.

Their conversation was interrupted by the loud snap of John's ankle cuff snapping open. Logan was quick to smile at his diminutive companion. "Remy taught you good, kid."

Tink was beaming under the praise but was quick to clarify, "Actually it was Kimble that worked with me the most."

Wolverine grunted in surprise at that, he rarely thought of Kimble as actually having any real value. But time for that later. They needed to get moving.

Logan stood and offered his hand. "Now or never, John. What do you say? Seems to me you got nothing to lose."

John plopped one white hand into his. "Cain't say you don't gots a point."

The decision made, they made for the door, falling into a wordless single line formation as if they had drilled together for days. Some things just don't change, some training never forgotten. Tink followed third, Dewy's rat behind her. Logan was in front but glancing back, making sure she was coming along and kept marveling at how smart the rat was. The wee beast stayed right at her heels with no prompting. He had to guess that the rodent was well trained from being handled so much, but this was extraordinary. Was this all from Remy's training, or something else? Watching Tink work with Jones and also thinking about how bizarrely things had gone today, Logan couldn't help but guess that maybe there was a God after all. But then again, there was that pesky sense of humor of His to worry about. Who knew what else was going to happen to him before he left this place?

That odd question was about to be answered. They had taken no more than two steps down the outside hall before Logan halted them, popping out the claws on one hand. Logan had heard someone coming.