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Ultimate Mariko	By : Polymer Category: X-men Comics > Het - Male/Female Views: 1702 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men comics, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter 26

Kurt Darkholme had been fighting a loosing battle to convince his 'patients' to stay in bed. Make that one of them in particular. Logan was still fast asleep in the four poster bed in Mariko's private quarters as he had been for the past two days. Only the X men thanks to Harada, had free run of the house. Sighing, Kurt glanced at his watch, shaking his head.

Already the sun was again rising on the second morning after the ninja's attack. So far, Kitty's computer hacking had dredged up few leads except for eliminating some possibilities. He would have to thank the Silver Samurai for generously giving her his top security clearance to access Japanese Internet files.

Because of Clan Yashida's high profile status as diplomats, Kenuchio Harada and Shiro Yoshida both could access whatever files in the UN database, and even back door to US security systems.

"Not again," he grumbled, listening to the sounds of movement from within Lady Mariko's bedchamber. Someone had just picked up the phone, and Kurt threw off the blankets from his Japanese futon. All over the Yashida family complex security guards patrolled, and he could hear the shouts from Sunfire bellowing about this and that from the main balcony.

A knock at the rice paper screen indicated one of the ladies in waiting was standing at the hallway that connected their quarters from Mariko's. "Darkhőlme san? Are you ready for some breakfast?" asked Kayori.

"Ja, definitely," he sighed, throwing off his blankets and grabbing his robe. He fumbled to tie it around his waist, and then admired the slender young woman clad in a cream colored kimono decorated with pink plum blossom print. She was probably in her mid twenties, shuffling in on those house shoes they all wore indoors. She set a tray laden with coffee inside, and Kurt wisely let her carry it in and set it down. After all, she had a job to do, and to refuse it was impolite not to mention dishonorable.

"Danke schően," he bowed.

"Bitte schően," she answered in good High German. Kurt grinned, happy that some of Mariko's house staff knew German of all languages. Then it dawned on him that there were some LOGICAL reasons, albeit shady ones from an unholy alliance half a century before�

"Kayori�" said a tired voice standing at the door.

"Milady, I have coffee and breakfast," Kaori bowed deeply at the sight of Mariko standing in the doorway of the sitting room.

"Domo arigato," Mariko nodded.

"Will you want the bathhouse ready today?"

"Ach, I must insist�" Kurt started, and then shut up as she wandered over and looked at her lady in waiting who was kneeling on the floor, her head touching before her knees. The long silk bathrobe loosely covered her body, and her eyes were cast down to her servant.

"No thank you� but perhaps later. I� Darkholme-san insists I rest. Is there any news from my honorable brother?"

"Your honorable brother Lord Harada sends his condolences and his hopes for the recovery of your consort's health� your guests are hard at work with him� and will contact you as soon as they have news�" Kaori said.

"Thank you," she nodded and looked down at her lady in waiting that glanced up. "Tell him I'm� feeling better today and hope to speak with them when Lebeau-san returns�"

"As you wish, milady," she inclined her head, retreating without turning around. The door slid shut and Kurt exhaled.

"You should take it easy, you know," Kurt said quietly.

"I am not the one injured, Kurt," she answered, reaching down to take a cup of coffee. "Gambit's been gone for a whole day� I only hope he has SOME lead� he said he had some friends who could possibly tell him who might have designs on my life�"

"I had thought perhaps you had some leads since your clans� ahem involvement�"

"Thanks to Kenuchio and Shiro, those ties have been severed, and are no longer reliable," Mariko said, offering Nightcrawler a cup of freshly roasted coffee. Her robe slipped open, and he saw her wearing something red and flannel underneath before she readjusted it.

"Yes, but Kitty�"

"Kitty is quite good at what she does. I hope that her skills will shed some light on this mystery. Just HOW that� thing got past the best security Japanese society could provide is beyond me� despite my experience with Weapon X�" she winced. "And it just couldn't be the Hand, because Harada managed a deal to keep them out of this mess. Thanks to a man named Shaw�"

"Shaw?" asked Kurt.

"Shinobi Shaw. I don't like him, and don't care for him, but he DOES have a way of persuading the Hand to stay out. He's Yakusa, but he will SOON be effectively removed from holding whatever he has over us�" she mumbled, rubbing her face.

"You've done your fair share of work, liebchen. I heard you on the phone last night� you MUST rest�"

"Kurt, don't fuss, please," Mariko sighed, getting up and wandering back into the room where her bed stood.

"It's only because I know what emotional trauma you've suffered. The near death of a loved one is�"

"You don't have to remind me, it's all TOO clear," she trailed off. Kurt and she exchanged glances of mutual loathing for Weapon X. This had transformed them both into weapons of war.

"For Logan's sake, why not rest� when Gambit comes back I'll let you know, all right?" Kurt suggested, opening the door to her bedroom. "I'm sure Logan will enjoy having you be the first thing he sees when he DOES wake up�"

"Thank you," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I appreciate it� I never expected X men Red to do what it has done�"

"We're your friends, and teammates. X men don't abandon their own," Kurt nodded quietly. "Now� I think I'm going to check that dressing, and perhaps you could assist me�"

***

Remy LeBeau wandered down the long hallways of the castle complex, in the company of two garbed security. Slightly behind him, Kitty Pryde came out of the side door, and stood.

"Cherie, I got some new leads," Gambit said. "What can you make of dis?"

She caught the disk he pitched towards her, and nodded. "You on your way to visit Logan?"

"Oui. What I got to say best be said in person, Cherie. Don't tink dat da lady Mariko would want it any other way. But come by de room an' we pay dem a visit when you dig up the good stuff."

"Later," she nodded, retreating into the study. Remy blew her a kiss and resumed his trip deeper into the complex. His long coat swished about his legs, sheathed in a peculiar armor made of a polymer Michelle had invented. For the sake of her 'reputation' he referred to her formally, but she was still that same belle who'd caught his eye all those months ago.

Gambit wasn't stupid. He knew who she was reasonably soon after their training. Only he had held his peace because he loved secrets, and knew that it was best that she remain anonymous. Just why was part of that Thieves Guild honor. After all she never questioned HIM, and he had hoped that in the event that she fell for his charms, he might convince her that he'd prove a valuable ally.

Unfortunately, the Canadian had beaten him to the punch. Gambit did not figure she was into the rough and tumble sort of guy. Yet considering what Weapon X did to shred her brain.

That feral gleam in her dark eyes still haunted him. It had taken all his considerable skills to keep her from gutting him, without trying to hurt her in the process. The angrier she grew the more her face and body transformed before his eyes into an eerie familiarity. What was it that he had read about the feral research?

Creed's blood transfusions had given her his healing factor, but that wasn't all. Somehow a secondary mutation was at work, for lately whenever Mariko/Michelle grew angry or frightened, the animalistic side shifted outwards. In most ways she still resembled a human being, except her heightened senses were always on alert. But this new transformation involved the formation of slight claws on her fingertips made of that unique biopolymer, and a layer of hard shiny exoskin of the same substance. Her eyes glowed faint amber, while her teeth became feline and her hair streaked with light brown. Almost like a were transformation which would recede with the adrenaline. Hanks's research had noted that if it weren't for the adamantium present in Creed and Logan's bodies, their own mutations would run along the same lines.

Because Michelle a.k.a. Mariko had such control over her body to generate the biopolymer, it prevented the feral side from dominating when she was calm. However when she left that control behind, the healing factor spontaneously mutated to allow for the sabretooth side to emerge. All these things he'd read in a file he'd dredged up from his friends, and from Hank McCoy's secret notes. It tied in some way into the files he had come across from his friends regarding the mystery ninja. All these facts Gambit peered in the file he carried, and then stopped in front of the door.

Remy knocked lightly not trying to disturb Logan, merely get Michelle's attention. She sent the lady in waiting to see who it was.

"Lebeau san?" the lady asked, opening the door.

Remy nodded. "Needed to speak to de Lady for a moment if you don' mind," Remy said, giving her a charming smile.

"Of course," she giggled lightly. Her silk kimono wasn't as elaborate as what Lady Mariko wore but it was still pretty.

"This way," she inclined her head. "She was expecting you..."

Remy gave her a playful wink. "Thanks Cherie." He followed her into the room, running a hand through his hair. He probably looked more disheveled than usual but at this point he didn't care. He'd been out using what sources he could to try and get information ever since the attack.

Mariko had smelled him of course ages ago, but she knew he was trying to help. Still wearing Logan's flannel shirt and boxers she paced back and forth near the bed while Kurt Darkholme tried to get her to sit down.

"Schatzi please!" he urged.

"Kurt, please stop fussing!" she shot back in German.

Her eyes rested on gambit and she sighed with relief.

Remy caught sight of Mariko at last and smiled. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes..." he said teasingly before turning serious. "Everythin' ok? How's Logan?"

"He's recovering," said Kurt. "Which is a relief..."

"I'm... okay," Mariko mumbled. "Still can't figure out how that... that creature got IN past the BEST security Japanese yen could buy!"

"Shimata... I should have DONE something... who WAS it?"

Remy sighed. "Dat's the thing Cherie...I don' think we're dealin' with de Hand or de Yakuza. It ain't dat simple no more. We dealin' with somethin' that was MADE for dis sort of thing."

"Something with adamatium claws... could it be Deathstrike?" asked Mariko. "But there were only 2 claws..."

"And she spoke with no accent... English... if it was Deathstrike she would have..."

Remy let out a laugh. "Dis ain't Deathstrike. She was way too small to be Deathstrike first. An' did you see how she moved? That wasn't no cyborg."

"Very true, my friend," Kurt said, pulling out a chair for Mariko. "Please sit down... relax..."

"I'm not the one injured," Mariko growled. For a moment her eyes got a glazed feral look, and her teeth seemed to show slightly.

"Easy Cherie. You been around Logan too long," Remy joked. "You should sit...I got a few things to talk about. Might be a little bit."

"All right then," she sighed. "I'm sorry...."

She sat down in the chair Kurt got for her. "Did you speak to Kitty then, Remy?" she asked, using his first name.

"She said she had helped you dig something up... if it isn't Deathstrike, who was it? She wasn't silver fox... and yet..."

Mariko sat down. She let Remy glance at her, and wasn't too nervous about showing herself in nothing but Logan's shirt and boxers, but she took the robe that Kurt offered for the sake of 'protocol'.

"Did you speak to Kitty... did you and she find something out?" she asked him.

Remy nodded. "We think that dis assassin, dis girl is workin' for weapon x...or whatever's left of it." He held up the tag. "DIS pretty much confirms it."

"Holy..." Kurt got out. "Where did you find that?"

"I didn't see that..." Mariko muttered. "Let me smell it..."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Now surely...."

Remy tossed it back to her. "If I told you where I found dis out, bad things would happen to some friends of mine," he said cryptically.

"Don't tell me," she said, looking darkly at Kurt.

"I just need to know... something came across my mind," she said as she examined it. She inhaled deeply of the 'non scent' and then got a whiff of something that made her startle.

Faint, and yet still present. Almost identical to...

"Remy... surely..." Kurt trailed off.

"Shut up," Mariko mumbled. "I'm getting something..."

Remy looked at her in surprise. "A scent? Of what?"

"It smells like... Logan..." she trailed off.

"Wie bitte?" Kurt mumbled.

"If this is weapon X I'm not surprised..." she trailed off.

Remy's look turned startled for a split second before he covered it up. It looked as if he'd had an epiphany. "Dat's strange..." he muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"But what is Weapon X doing working with the Hand... she wore a hand ninja outfit," trailed off Mariko.

She held out a piece of cloth she'd torn from the intruder's garment from before.

"Costume...to throw us off." Remy thought for a moment, gathering what he was trying to say. "I fought hand to hand wit her for a minute or so and de fightin style was almost like...well...Logan's. Just de way she moved...and her eyes."

"Yes" trailed off Mariko as Kurt blinked.

"So we have a girl dressed as a Hand Ninja, but not a ninja," he said.

"The Hand was working for Clan Yashida at one time... it wouldn't make sense for them to try to assassinate me, they'd kidnap me... but if it was weapon X..."

"They already have my uncle..."

"Not a ninja...non. Weapon x? Oui. Dat's who I think it is. It makes sense. But it also presents disturbing things."

"But didn't Weapon X get disbanded by Fury?" asked Kurt.

"No," said Mariko. "They continued under Kestrel, Silver Fox and Maverick... and relocated..."

"After Wraith was... killed... they found a way to get out of Shield's control... and become another black book project nobody could touch..." she shivered thinking about the events before her escape.

Remy nodded. "Dat's what I got. But rumor has it dere was another scientist who salvaged de original sight. Now dis is just rumor but I hear she was doing some kinda stuff wit genetics, researchin' a certain friend of our's genetics. Why would she wanna do that? Rumor also has it dat Madame Silverfox took a special interest." He paused. "I don' know how true dis all is so don' go quoting me or nothin'... "

"It sounds... plausible...' Mariko murmured, her Swiss cheese memory failing her. Dammit, she was under the SAME problem Logan faced. And it was getting worse. She could remember her times with him, and her childhood, but even that was fading. Only the bits and pieces that surfaced seemed real.

"Professor Oyama... he worked with a geneticist," she blurted out. "Dr. Cornelius� But they were killed... there's no way..."

"If dat be what you talkin' bout, den share," Remy asked quietly.

"Can I come in?" asked Kitty Pryde, slipping right through the molecules of the far wall.

"Ach! Katschen, don't DO that!" Kurt complained.

"What did you find, Cherie?" asked Gambit.

"I've been listening a little bit, and I think I have gotten into some of the old Weapon X files�"

"Good work," Mariko said. "Tell us what you've got, Kitty."

"Well, from what I drew out, Lady Deathstrike had been slated to undergo a cybernetic modification, far less crude than Logan's bone lacing. Then there was Kwannon, who had been pumped full of drugs to augment her latent psy talents to a high level, and been implanted with bionic eyes, and other sensory enhancements."

"That holds true with what I remember," Mariko said quietly, her eyes gaining a faraway look tinged with doubt. Gambit blinked.

"Oui, dat would tie in wit' da rumors. What else?" Gambit asked.

"Well," Kitty said, flickering through the printouts she passed around. "This gets MORE interesting. It has to do with some genetic research� Michelle, I think you'll be interested in THIS�"

"It's� about me," she trailed off. "Damn�"

"What�" asked Kurt.

"Listen to this�" Michelle muttered. "Subject Mariko Yashida's mutation at Creed's hands was his own personal project at first glance, but was in reality part of the Weapon X agenda. Implanting mutants with the feral factor to see if they could enhance their fighting ability. After all, that was what Dr. Cornelius wanted to achieve when the adamantium bonding proved to be expensive. Subject Mariko had been the first for such a process, and Shiro Yoshida was next�"

"So dey were makin' projects with da DNA� like you said, Belle," Remy nodded grimly. "And den dat proves dat possibly dey were also playin' wit da Canucklehead's genes�"

"Dammit� that's awful," Kitty trailed off.

"Dat would explain much, non?" Remy glanced at Michelle. "Right Belle?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Michelle quietly. "I already knew that Creed modified me with his genetics� but this�"

"I didn't want to bring this up, but you um� you kinda went nutso when Logan was bamfed away," said Kitty reluctantly.

"I know I went berserk, but I can't recall after I saw Logan� attacked," Mariko shivered, hugging herself. "Kenuchio said I was ill� and you mentioned I had attacked some people, but did something ELSE happen?"

"You� almost skewered Gambit, Belle� we try to stop you from hurtin' yourself and all da others," Gambit confessed. "Remy got de scars to prove�"

"I didn't see this," Kurt interrupted.

"Kenuchio didn't spill till he and I talked later," said Kitty. "He was terrified of you� from what Shiro had told him�"

"What did Shiro say?" asked Mariko grimly.

"Shiro saw you during your fight with that assassin� you were� like a wild animal�" Kitty trailed off.

"Dat look in your eyes, Belle, you were out for blood," said Remy.

"Luckily Pete was able to hold you back," Kitty said quietly, biting her lip.

"What� did I hurt him�" she trailed off, blinking up at them all.

"No� he's fine. He had the best chance of holding you back, and so did I. Your brother was terrified at first, but he was REALLY worried. IT was him that talked you down�"

"I remember my brother's voice," Mariko nodded. "But he spoke nothing of this� he's ashamed of me�"

"No he isn't," Kitty said quickly. "He loves you, and he's just worried sick. He had no idea of the things they had done to you at Weapon X� and neither did Hank till�"

"Hank had dis file on you. But he didn't share wit anyone but Professor X�" said Remy, passing a disk to her. She saw him toss it onto the nearby table.

"I am� turning into an animal�" Mariko whispered, closing her eyes. "I had no CONTROL over what happened� all I saw was Logan bleeding� and then everything went red� and I remember smells and sounds like a dream, and then heard my brother's voice snapping me out of it� why can't I remember?"

"Logan has the same thing happen to him� when he�" Kitty trailed off.

"What does THIS have to do with our assassin? Apart from the fact that she was the cause of this� lapse in my memory?" Mariko asked.

"Jus' something you should know, Belle� we worried since you our friend�" Remy patted her hand. "But anyway, about dis other project� seems de experiments wit Logan's DNA also were unexpected. But dey didn't inject his blood into anyone else. No, dey did something ELSE�"

"What is worse then that?" asked Mariko bitterly.

"Dey be tryin' t' make another Logan� dat's what," Remy muttered softly.

"WHAT?" everyone chorused.

***

Wolverine mumbled in his sleep. Pain existed everywhere each time he'd come close to surfacing. It seemed far wiser to surrender to the urge to sleep once he smelled Mariko's scent nearby. She was alive and that was what mattered most to him. However his enhanced hearing buzzed with the conversations next door, which could no longer be ignored.

Michelle smelled upset, judging from the chemicals released in her tears she was holding back. Gumbo had dug up disturbing revelations. Interesting that he proved to be useful for a change, Logan mumbled to himself. Also, he was working with Kitty? Wonders never ceased.

Yet Mariko was getting more and more upset with each passing minute. Pushing against the bed, Logan hauled himself to a sitting position. Covers slid off his chest and he blinked in the morning light. Sniffing, he inhaled the scent of hot coffee, and swung both feet on the floor. Bones creaked and popped in their sockets with the healed tendons clicking into place. Still a sharp pain ached inside with deep breaths. He was over the worst, but the pain was still going to keep up for a while yet.

Stiff muscles glided over adamantium bones, propelling him forwards across the floor. He reached the threshold, and glanced around to see Michelle sitting there; hugging herself in that red flannel shirt he remembered her putting on two days ago.

Michelle slowly rose from the chair, and glanced at them. "I'm sorry, I need a breath of fresh air� this is�"

Logan reached out his arms, seeing her standing in the door as she walked inside. "Darlin'� what's goin' on� what did I miss?"

"Logan�" she gasped, pouncing on him. "Thank Kami you're awake�"

"Shh, easy there sweetheart, I'm here� it's gonna be okay, I promise�" Logan soothed her, rocking Mariko against his body as she clung to him tightly. Plunging his nose into her hair, he inhaled her scent like a drowning man. Being near her was the best sort of medicine, even if she was scared and upset.

"Wolverine! You're awake!" Kitty exclaimed.

"What took you so long, mon ami? We been worried SICK� it not nice to scare Gambit and da belle like dat!" Remy laughed, walking in.

"Logan, get back into bed this instant! You're in NO shape to be up!" Kurt scolded.

"Back off, Misfit� I'm fine�" Logan growled, stroking Mariko's long hair with his rough hands. He pulled her hips to his with his other, glaring at them all from where he stood.

"It's not OUR fault that you�" started Gambit, but shut up at the murderous glare in Logan's eyes.

"Do you want to make her more upset? Get back in bed this instant or I'll call Colossus to�" Kurt fumed.

"Humor him, willya?" Kitty asked, resting her hands on her hips.

"Son of a bitch I just�" he sighed. "C'mon M'ko, let's get into bed while they're ASKING us to� I don't get an order like THAT everyday�"

"Oh brother," Mariko groaned as Logan lifted her up and carried her the short distance to the bed. "Put me down Logan� you just�"

"Relax darlin' an' let a man have his pride� I'm FINE�" he said as he set her down in the bed again, and then slid in next to her. He tugged her over and wrapped his arms around her body possessively so she had no choice but to lay her head on his chest.

"I�" she trailed off, turning away.

"C'mon Darlin� its okay�"

"I�" she started, and then miserably clung to him.

"What did ya say to her?" Logan asked angrily as he glanced at everyone. "Other than me bein' laid up for two days?"

"Gambit found some info on who it might be�" said Kitty. "And Michelle� she�"

"I� went berserk," she trailed off, and looked up at Logan. "Just like�"

"Tell me more� tell me EVERYTHING," Logan said angrily. "Don't leave ANYTHING out."

"I wasn't the only one having research done on them� Sabretooth's DNA wasn't the only genetic project they were playing with. They WERE playing with YOUR DNA as well," Mariko said, staring past him.

Logan's eyes widened momentarily as the possibilities whirled through his brain. Fragmentary memories coalesced into images and sounds gleaned from hated times in the lab. He could have sworn he overheard them boasting about how he had become redundant, back in that adamantium cage. The very cage in which he'd been imprisoned when Michelle had pulled slugs out of him and covered his nudity with her own lab smock. "Holy shit," he shook his head.

"What, did you remember something?" Mariko asked, stroking his chest.

"Somethin'� about a secret project that Colonel Wraith knew about, but kept secret from Fury. Some 'last ditch' effort if they couldn't bring me to heel�" Logan grunted, straining with the effort to remember. "But dammit� I lost it�"

"Dis project, could it be dat Weapon X injected your DNA into some subjects like da Lady here?" Remy suggested, fingering his goatee. "Merde�"

"That's right," Mariko mumbled, pressing her eyes shut. "It's a possibility. I'm certain I wasn't the ONLY subject, but I thought Logan� you escaped before I did, and then when they brought you back� Shiro broke me out before I could learn more� but there was some talk of�"

"Easy Darlin'�" Logan urged, seeing her struggle to force memories out of her own fragmented mind. "Don't force yerself�"

"What's wrong, Michelle?" Kitty asked. "You can't remember� can you?"

"Only bits and pieces. It gets so hard to remember those days in Weapon X� and even my own�" she started, and then opened her eyes. "It matters not. What does matter is here and now, and what you two can find out about this assassin who bypassed Clan Yashida defenses�"

"Maybe someone INSIDE Yashida� didn't you say that Shingen was kidnapped could he have�"

"No� I mean it IS possible if they had a telepath extracting the information� but it would require great effort and skill, as my uncle Shingen has a strong will�" said Mariko. "Unfortunately I don't know nearly half of what my brother and cousin knows about this complexes defense� but what I remember, and am learning, there are MANY traps to bypass in this place in addition to the security� it's an old fortress that has existed in my family for nearly eight hundred years�"

"Like the shrine?" asked Logan quietly. "In the basement� I saw those doors and smelled traps that had more dust on 'em than my oldest pair a' bvds�"

"That IS old," mumbled Kurt Darkholme.

"I didn't quite GET that," Logan said as he threw a pillow at Kurt.

"It's one of the safer places in the main castle. The other things she would have to get through are a series of passages and barriers. Only one with enhanced senses equal to yours, or Sabretooth could instinctively sense them, or at least have the agility to get by them�" said Mariko quietly. "Damn�"

"That's why the guards are like everywhere," Kitty mumbled. "I feel like Big Brother's watching me. I mean we're X men for crying out loud we don't need�"

"Yes you do," Mariko answered. "Part of what I've come to accept is that I'm under a very large magnifying glass� its no coincidence that you wear those house robes. It's a matter of the guards NOT confusing you for intruders� sewn inside the silk are RFIDs which verify your identities."

"And da ladies in waiting an' butlers dey be da best trained martial artists outside of da Hand, non?" Gambit added.

"You mean�" Kitty turned around and blinked. "THEM?"

"One can't be too careful," said Mariko quietly.

"Holy shit," mumbled Kitty.

"So, what are we gonna do now, darlin?" asked Logan.

"You are asking me as leader of X men Red, or as someone else?" Mariko asked.

"Both," Logan said. "I mean you ARE still our team leader."

"Cooperate with my brother and my cousin. They've had to accept that X men Red are part of this investigation, rather reluctantly. Keep tracing whatever leads you can, Gambit, and Ariel," she mumbled. "And Nightcrawler and Colossus can act as additional security. You will both benefit well to train with my brother in updating your fighting skills. WE have a dojo in which you can practice�"

"If you think that will help," said Nightcrawler. "But you need REST�"

"I will make certain he doesn't leave this bed� this room till he is 100 percent," Mariko said. "And he can recuperate faster without everyone standing here breathing down his neck�"

"What she said� but I need to talk to that brother of yers�" mumbled Logan. "Cause I just had some really NASTY possibilities surface in my head. Whatever that THING was it moved JUST like me, and if they have a bat's chance in flamin' hell, it might do 'em good to go a few rounds with yours truly to get ready�"

"Only when you are ready," she said.

"Do we dare wear our X uniforms," asked Kitty.

"Good point. I can take measures to make certain that you have alternative costumes for your time here� so they don't suspect the X men�" she said. "And they WON'T be ninja suits, I promise�"

"Thank god," Kitty shivered.

"Somehow I don't think they're gonna let ya just waltz anywhere you want, darlin," Logan mumbled. "They just stopped an assassination attempt� remember�"

"Which is why everywhere I go, you'll be at my side," said Mariko quietly. "And if I'm going down to check on our guests, you'll have to come�"

***
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Ultimate Mariko