Logan awoke to the banging of someone on his door. He got up grumpily and headed out onto the base. After eating, he went to his post at the edge of the fence and waited. The love of his life would meet him there usually, and he would give her medical supplies to help her people, or something extra to prevent her from starving to death. For some reason, though, she wasn't there.

After about an hour, he was really starting to get worried. "Where are ya, 'Ro..." he muttered, looking at his watch. He was suddenly called to the brig, where they kept their prisoners... he shuddered with the thought of having to watch another interrogation. Recently, most of them had been women, being assaulted by over aggressive men... he shook it off and continued on.

After taking the elevator to the lower levels of the base, Logan walked through a dimly lit hall to a dark room with barely enough light to see at all. He stopped when he saw the guards and his captain. One of them was his half-brother, Victor Creed. The prisoner, though, was the one person he did not want in this mess... Ororo Munroe, the woman he had been waiting for.

"Welcome, Logan," Captain Butcher said with a twisted smile. "Sorry we had to meet like this, but we had a little thief sneaking around." He slapped her across the face, and Logan barely managed to hide the rage and the flinch that came along with it. "From the other natives we've talked to, apparently she's their 'goddess.'"

"So?" Logan asked casually. "What do we want from her?"

"We'll be using her for negotiations," Butcher explained. "So that the natives have a chance to relocate. This could be the answer to end all the fighting that's been going on. With their deity here in front of us, I'm sure they'll do just about anything to keep her alive."

"Why do you seek to drive us out of our home?" Ororo asked, earning a slap from Victor, who enjoyed taking part in these interrogations.

"Quiet, Witch," Victor growled in her ear her, the claws coming out to scrape her skin.

"Why not put her in the brig with the other prisoners?" Logan asked, trying to distract them.

"The woman stole something from the medical center," Butcher said, turning to put some gloves on, which told Logan he was preparing for a session. "When we searched her, there was nothing on her, so we need to know who her accomplice was and where they went."

Ororo looked at Logan pleadinglg; her eyes begging him to stop this. Logan was at a loss of what to do. He loved this woman with all his heart, and to see her tortured was not something he was going to allow. He also was with her the night before, and if word got out about them, he was done for. He took only another moment to hesitate before reaching a decision.

"Let me interrogate her," Logan said suddenly. Ororo looked at him, fear coming off of her in waves as she bit her lip.

"You are the best at what you do, Logan," Butcher said, taking off the gloves. "I'll give you an hour, and if she doesn't talk, Victor will have a go..."

Victor shot Ororo a sick twisted smile before following Butcher out of the cell. Logan waited until he was sure they were well away from the room before he approached Ororo. "What happened, darlin'?" he asked, crouching beside her chair. "How did ya get caught?"

"One of the children in my village was seriously ill," Ororo began, her voice hoarse. Logan knew that no one had given her anything to eat or drink. It was part of the interrogation methods to make the prisoners talk. "I remembered where you told me the medical center was. I have experience as a pick pocket, so breaking in was easy. However, I was unprepared for the silent alarms that I must've set off, because as I came out, I could hear the soldiers coming for me and Rogue. I gave Rogue the medicine and gave her cover to run."

"Who's Rogue?" Logan asked.

"A girl my village shelters," Ororo explained. "A while back, very early during this war, a man named Charles Xavier came to the village with a group of young children. He said they were mutants, and that I was one also. He came to us for refuge because the mutants were being hunted down in his country. A bomb took his life a few months ago, and my people have sheltered the children ever since." She started coughing for a minute. Logan wished he had brought some of his own water, so that he could quench her thirst. "By the time I covered Rogue's tracks with the fog, the soldiers had stunned me with one of their darts."

"Did they harm you in any way?"

"They hit me several times, to try and get me to talk," Ororo replied. "The one they called Victor, he pressed his hands to my throat, but no one could make me talk."

"You're lucky they called for me," Logan said, solemnly. "Lately they've been roughing up our lady prisoners." He brushed back some of her shocking white hair from her face.

Ororo looked into his eyes. "Tell me the truth, Logan, did you participate in them?"

Logan sighed. "I've done a lot of horrible things in my time, 'Ro," he said, stroking her cheek. "But I would never touch a woman like they were." Logan hugged her gently- and rather awkwardly since she was bound tightly to the chair.

Logan didn't know how long he had been like this, but then he looked at his watch and realized that they remained like that for about half an hour and he had only fifteen minutes left with her. They would be expecting her to be screaming with pain, and Logan to have marred her skin with his claws. He didn't want to do that to her beautiful skin; but, he knew he had to if he wanted his plan to work. "' Ro, darlin'..." he asked, gently, looking into her eyes so that he could reveal his heart to her. "I need you to do somethin' for me, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, knowing that this was going to pain him, but she trusted his instincts to get them out.

"I need... to scratch... you up a bit..." he said hesitantly, swallowing the lump in his throat. It really hurt him to even say that. "These men expect you to be injured, and they want you to be screaming at the top of your voice. I swear, I won't go deep, and it will give me time to get what I need to get us out of here."

"Us?" Ororo asked.

"I'm bustin' outta here."

"What do you mean, Logan?" Storm asked.

"I mean, I'm leaving this behind and taking you as far as I can from here," Logan promised, SNIKT! his claws came out. He looked at her and hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to do it, but he knew he had to. "If hurts too much, squeeze my arm and I'll stop," he told her, slowly piercing the skin, making sure the gash was shallow so that it wouldn't scar. She flinched and gasped a bit, trying to put on a brave face.

Logan enhanced hearing picked up the sound of the elevator on its way down. "Okay, darlin', time to start screamin'," he said, moving from her arms to her back. He made sure he was extremely careful there, and she started to scream.

The door to the interrogation room opened, and Logan could smell Victor's arousal from the center of the room. "Did she talk?" Butcher asked.

"She didn't disclose any location, but she did tell me who her accomplice was," Logan replied, pretending to glower at Ororo.

"I'll give her ten minutes," Butcher said. "Then Victor will get a shot... use any means necessary on her, Victor."

As they walked out, Victor kissed Ororo, roughly. "See you later, sweets," he said.

It took all of Logan's control to not attack Victor, but he just took a breath, one last look at her, and left. He went back to his cabin, and packed a light travel bag and a First-Aid kit.

It took him exactly ten minutes and he wasn't happy to see Victor in there with his woman. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way," he said, circling Ororo. "Tell me where the accomplice went, and I won't harm you." Logan knew that to be a darn lie; Victor would have his way with her one way or the other.

His answer came though when the lunch boy came down with the food for the prisoner. "I'll take it," he told the boy. He was about eighteen, tall and blonde. He didn't need to be influenced by Victor. "Looks like they prepared steak for her," Logan lied.

"Let me see," Victor growled, walking out to take a look. Logalb knocked him out with a blow to the head. This was one reason why he was grateful for adamantium skeleton. He quickly rushed to Storm and cut her free.

She kissed him with a fiery passion, which he returned, and lost himself in the moment. Then he broke the kiss and carried her out the door. He chose the back door to the brig because a fence was not too far off from there, the only problem was not being seen. "Think ya can conjure some cover for me, darlin'?" Logan asked.

Ororo nodded, her eyes turning completely white, ocluding the iris, and a thick fog. Logan used his senses to navigate to the fence, and cut through it, allowing him to escape; and with good timing too, the sirens went off just as he barely made it out.

After gaining some distance. Logan set Ororo down and began treating her wounds that either he had inflicted or the tormentors. When he was done, he gave her some water so that she wouldn't become even more dehydrated in the heat of the sun And then he picked her up to continue the journey.

As he walked through the desert, Logan cradled her close to his chest. She had become extremely weak, and he wasn't going to take chances with her. The wind in the desert blew with all its fury as sand and dust stung his eyes. He was tempted to wake Ororo up, and ask her to stop it, but she needed to regain her strength. Thankfully, he knew the way to her village. The only question was, would there be enough time to save her?

About an hour later, the dust storm ended, and Logan was stumbling through the dunes. He tripped, dropping Ororo, and he rolled down to the bottom. He spat the sand out of his mouth and stumbled over to Ororo. She hadn't moved at all, and her breathing seemed shallow. Her skin was hot to the touch... Logan wasn't sure if it was the sun, or a combination of sun and fever. "Stay with me, darlin'," Logan said, pouring some water over her, to cool down her body. Logan could do without water for a long time, his healing factor would take care of it, but Ororo couldn't.

It was about another hour before Logan ran into trouble. Poisonous darts hit him in the shoulder, and he stumbled a bit, nearly dropping Ororo. A girl with a white streak in her brunette hair came out as he pulled the dart from his shoulder. "What's the big idea?" he growled. "Can't you see I have someone who needs help?"

"Oh mah gosh!" the girl exclaimed. "Storm!" She turned and called to someone else. "Remy! Bobby! Colossus! Pixie!"

With a puff of pink smoke, the others appeared. "What's..." Megan began, but stopped when she saw Ororo. "Storm!" The others crowded around Logan, and Pixie said the magic words. "Sihal! Novarum! Chinoth!" With a puff of smoke, they disappeared again, and appeared in a tent, where a young girl with slightly curly brown hair laid.

Someone took Ororo from his hands, and laid her down on an empty bed. He was hurried out of the room, with the other children and forced to wait for the official diagnosis. "Who's the other girl?" Logan asked the kids who were all huddled around him.

"Shadowcat- her real name's Katherine- or Kitty- Pryde," the white-streaked brunette said. "She got injured and it got severely infected. Storm and ah went to get some antibiotics for her, but Storm was captured."

"Storm?" Logan asked.

"That's what we call her, because of her gift," Rogue replied.

Logan nodded. It suited 'Ro perfectly. Remy, a cajun and Rogue's boyfriend, came toward them with a look of relief on his face. "What's goin' on, Remy?"

"She's extremely dehydrated, and dey t'ink her wounds may have a couple of infections, but dey think she will make a full recovery."

Logan breathed a sigh of relief, and walked into the room, where his beloved peacefully rested. They had hooked up an IV to her, but that was the only thing that was new. There was an empty chair next to the bed, and he sat down in it, watching his love; taking her hand, and lightly kissing it. He would wait until the end of the world for her to wake.

A

"Who do ya think that is?" Rogue whispered to the others.

"Judging by the way he acts," Jubilation Lee- Jubilee- replied, "I'm betting that's the man Storm would sneak off to meet."

"You think that's her lover?" Alison Blair- Dazzler- asked. "That's so sweet!"

"Oh, it's her lover alright," Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock- Psylocke- said. "His mind his filled with nothing but love and concern for her."

Logan sat beside Storm for two days straight; he hardly slept, and barely ate anything. The only thing he really did was keep himself hydrated. "You gotta wake up, 'Ro," he whispered to her. "These kids need ya... I need you." He brought her hand to his cheek, just so that he could feel her touch against him. "C'mon, Storm... ya can't give up like this. You're a fighter, a warrior, just like me. These people look up to you. Don't leave them now..." He kissed the palm of her hand, tears threatening to come out.

Storm stirred, her head moving to one side, and her hand cupping his cheek. "I guess you've never heard that real men cry," she whispered hoarsely, from lack of use of her vocal cords.

Logan couldn't help but smile at the comment as a tear escaped down his face. "What are you talkin' about?" he said. "I'm a real man."

Ororo laughed, and tried to sit up. Logan had to assist her, before she was comfortable. "Where's Kitty?" she asked, looking around.

"She was deemed well yesterday," Logan said. "Rogue got the medicine to her."

"Good," she replied, sighing.

"Got a question fer ya," Logan said.

"What is it?"

"Do they know about... us?"

Storm shook her head. "They suspect that I have been seeing someone lately, but they don't know who it is... unless Psylocke has sneaked into your mind."

"I hope she hasn't," Logan said, shuddering. "I don't want them to know that I've been with the enemy."

"You're not like those others," Storm said, reaching out again to cup his cheek. "You're strong and filled with a sense of honor... unlike most of those other soldiers that kill for the thrill of it; rape other women, because they can't control themselves; and torture other people, because they find it amusing and it gives them answers that they need."

"I'm glad you see it that way, 'Ro," he said to her, reaching out to stroke her hair. After a moment, he kissed her hand and got up. "Get some more rest, you need your strength. Want me to get ya somethin' from the cafeteria?"

"Yes," Storm replied.

Logan headed toward the cafeteria, or whatever it was called, and got his food. When he sat down to eat, he was joined by Jubilee, Kitty, Rogue, and Psylocke. "So," Rogue began, "how long have ya known Storm?"

"You're just now askin' me that, Rogue?" Logan grumbled.

"Well, we wanted to respect your privacy when you were visiting her," Jubilee said. "Now that you're out, you're all ours."

"You could spill, or I could look into your mind and find out everything we need," Psylocke added.

Logan growled. "I've known her for about five years now. We've been engaged for three."

"Engaged!" All of them exclaimed.

"Yup," he said, standing up. "Now if ya don't mind, I need to take 'Ro her food."

A

After Storm ate, she was released from the medic area and back to her own little hut. She was told to take it easy for a couple of days... well, they certainly were going to do that. "Is this what you Americans call taking it easy?" Storm asked as her lover kissed her neck once again.

"When we're bored, yeah," Logan replied, hugging her body to his, enjoying the feel of her close to him once again. "And I'm Canadian, darlin'," he added, with a kiss hungry with passion to her lips.

"What's the difference?" she asked.

"Free Health Care," he replied, kissing her nose, then her eyes, forehead, chin, both cheeks, and then her lips once again. "more nature... cold most of the time... more mountains... less conflict..."

Storm smiled, moaning as Logan trailed kisses down her neck once again. "Sounds inviting," she said, kissing him back. After a few moments, they broke apart, and laid back on the sheets; Logan enveloping her in his embrace. "How did this happen?" she asked him, looking over her shoulder to gaze into his eyes.

"I don't know 'Ro," he said simply, stroking her arm. "One minute I'm on patrol, the next... my heart was stolen."

Storm smiled, kissing him lightly again, then letting her tiredness take over as she fell asleep.

A

Back at the base camp...

"The traitor must be found," Captain Butcher told his team. "Victor Creed, you will lead the raid. When you find the traitor, take him... and the woman. There's only one reason why he would take her away from here and not any of the other prisoners."

For the next two days, all was peaceful. Logan spent time with the children that Storm took care of, and taught them the survival skills that they would need, while also bonding with Kitty, Jubilee, and Rogue. Those three seemed inseparable, and they liked Logan, a whole lot, giving him the nick name Wolverine, because of his metal claws that came out of his knuckles.

At the end of the second night, Logan settled into bed next to his beloved. "When do you think we should get married for real," Storm asked as Logan wrapped his arms around her.

"When the war's over," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead. "Until then, technically we're still engaged."

"I wish we were married for real," she whispered, kissing him. "All this sneaking around with our relationship makes me uncomfortable... especially when the children know that something's going on."

"I know, darlin'," Logan replied, stroking her shoulders, feeling the muscles relax. "Just hang in there." They feel asleep like that, and remained that way the entire night. The morning, however, was not very pleasant.

A

Sabretooth looked out from his hiding spot just a few hundred meters from the village. He could smell the traitor and the witch that they were after. All the men had to do was create a diversion for him to get into the right hut, knock the traitor out and take the witch hostage. He'd follow them. "Go," he growled. The first wave was sent out to the nearest hut, and they launched year had in it to drive out the residents. Sabretooth followed the scent to the hut where his quarry was, getting ready for some serious action.

A

Logan's enhanced hearing picked up the first sounds of screams; at first, he thought it was just kids pulling pranks on each other. However, the screams got louder and louder as more joined and he knew this was no joke. They were under attack. "'Ro," he whispered, shaking her shoulder a little bit. "Wake up!"

Storm moaned as she looked at him bleary eyed. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"We're under attack," he replied, getting his jeans on and grabbing his gun. It was then that a tear gas cannister was tossed into the room. Storm started coughing immediately as the gas quickly filled the room. "Storm!" He called, fighting the effects of the gas. "Storm. Use your powers to disperse thflags around you!"

It was difficult for her, he could tell, but she finally managed to get it done, thouaffects effects still lingered. He hurried over to her, pressing her against his chest to prevent the from affecting her further, and they hid under the window sill.

When it was cleared up, thanks to Storm's powers, Logan pointed the gun forward, and urged Storm to get up and stay behind him.

A

A young girl a little older than she was took a swipe at Kitty Prude, who phased just in time to avoid getting seriously injured. Colossus came in behind the girl, and knocked her out with a punch to the back of the skull. Rogue came in and took the girl to the cave where the other children were hiding.

A

A growl came from the hallway, and Logan readied his gun to shoot. As soon as a foot stepped out into view, Logan shot it.

the injured soldier yelped back, Logan ventured out into the hall, and dispensed of the soldier. When he turned back to his room, though, he saw Storm being held hostage. He shot the soldier in the head; Storm ran towards him, and was about to follow him out the door when she was caught by a clawed hand... a hand she knew all too well.

The sound of gunfire caused to look up sharply, but she couldn't make a sound as her attacker had his hand around her throat. She shocked him, and then performed a roundhouse kick, but it did her little good.

A

Logan fired shots at all the soldiers; most just to injure, others were fatal. Until he ran out of ammo, and the platoon surrounded him. he heard a scream, and he turned to see Storm being dragged out of the hut by Victor Creed. "One wrong move, runt," he said. "And she dies."

Logan looked down in defeat. He surrendered to them willingly. He wasn't going to let them hurt 'Ro. The soldier closest to knocked him out with the butt of his weapon.

Logan awoke with his hands tied behind her back. Two guards stood in front of him, blocking the view of the rest of the room. He could smell the fear coming off of them in waves; Wolverine's bezerker rages were well known amongst the soldiers. Another scent reached his nostrils; it was faint thanks to the two machos standing in front of him, but Logan would recognize the other scent anywhere. "Alright, fellas, where is she?"

The guards looked at each other nervously. The door to the interrogation room opened and the captain walked in. "Don't worry, Logan, she's fine... for noe."

"You leave her out of this, Butcher," Logan snarled. "She has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary, Logan, she has everything to do with this." The two guards stepped aside to let Butcher into the group. Logan caught a brief glimpse of another body on the other side of the room. "Now, why you take only one prisoner and leave the rest behind?" He stopped and whispered into Logan's ear. "YOu're in love with her." He started to circle Logan again. "You know the penalty for desertion, soldier; however, since we can't kill you, we'll just make you wish you were dead."

Victor entered the room then, walking toward the body at the other end of the room. "I'ts nothing personal, Jimmy," he said sweetly. "I'm just following orders.

Logan felt rage boiling in his veins as he fought against his restraints, trying to get to Storm before Victor could touch her. He release his claws, only to realize that he couldn't cut through the chains. "Don't struggle, Logan," Butcher said, smiling as Victor reached Logan's lover. "You're only gonna make it worse."

A

Rogue, Kitty, and Psylocke were standing around their prisoner as she woke up. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in enemy territory," Rogue said. "Specifically, you're our prisoner. Now, here's how this is gonna work. You tell us what the heck you're doin' here, why you attacked the camp, and maybe we'll let you go. You don't tell us, and we'll have our psychic ninja here probe your mind until we find the answers."

The girl glared at the others for a moment. "I'm X-23. We're here for the oil this tribe is living right on top of. We don't attack unless we're attacked first normally; but, we had a traitor desert us. He took a prisoner with him. A tall woman with pure white hair."

"That's Storm," Kitty said.

"Who's this traitor you're talkin' about?" Jubilee asked, walking in on their interrogation. "What did he look like?"

"A little taller than the woman, black hair that's split. His trade mark is adamantium claws."

Rogue, Jubilee, and Kitty turned around in a circle. "That's Wolverine," Jubilee whispered.

"No way, he wouldn't hurt Storm," Rogue said, shaking her head. "You all saw how they acted 'round each other. Ya can't fake that kinda love."

"Wait, she said that Logan was a traitor... do you think she meant that he left the army?" Kitty asked.

"Probably," Psylocke said, joining their circle. "I've probed his mind a couple of times. He's never had any malicious thoughts, but he does hold stuff deep in his mind that I can't even reach."

"Either way, we've got to rescue them," Rogue said, looking at X-23. "Where's your facility at?"

A

Logan had been forced to watch and listen to Storm's screams and cries for help. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get free of his restraints. "Let's leave him alone with his... mate now," Butcher finally said. Victor held Storm by the neck to show Logan that he would kill her if Logan didn't behave himself as they released his restraints. As soon as they were all out, Victor dropped her on the ground. She grunted with pain as she landed.

Logan hurried over to her, cradling her in his arms. She was extremely weak; sweat clung to her body, scratches and bite marks covered her skin from head to toe. "I'm sorry, 'Ro," he whispered, stroking her hair back from her face. The tears came slowly out of his eyes. He held her close, almost in a protective manner. "I'm gonna get us out of here..."

X-23, Dazzler, Angel, Pixie, Iceman, Rogue, Colossus, Jubilee, Gambit, and Shadowcat all headed toward the facility. X-23 had told them that she had been trained to be a merciless assassin; but, lately she's been feeling that something just wasn't right about her duties and had considered deserting the army... Until Logan beat her to it. "The interrogation room is on the bottom level," X explained. "If your telepath can handle the guards, getting in should be pretty easy. It's the getting out that use have to worry about; especially if Sabretooth is down there with them." She shuddered.

"Who's that?" Shadowcat asked.

"Logan's half-brother," X replied. "He likes to torture women, and spend a lot of alone time with them. The supervising officers order it sometimes to get what they want from the female prisoners. Although, I have a feeling that this is a little different."

"You mean..." Dazzler trailed off, not wanting to speak her fears.

X nodded; all the girls boiled with rage inside.

"Psylocke, initiate drop-dead-sequence knockout," Jubilee said.

A

Logan didn't know how long he was in the corner when Storm started moving in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment she didn't know who was holding her. "Sshh, darlin'," Logan said soothingly. "It's only me."

"Logan?" She whispered hoarsely.

When he nodded, she relaxed, allowing him to press her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and began to weep softly. His touch was soothing to her. She knew he had done all he could to try to save her, but he just wasn't able to this time. She didn't blame him at all, it wasn't his fault that they were captured. She kissed him lightly on the lips, which he returned. When he tried to deepen it, though, they had to break apart fast before Storm lost control of her emotions.

"I'm sorry, darlin'," he said.

"It's alright," she said. "It's not your fault. You did what you could."

Suddenly, ten new bodies showed up out of nowhere... as if they were ghosts. "I am never doing that again!" One of the girls that Logan knew well said. It was X-23- No, Laura Kinney.

"Storm!" Rogue cried when she saw her mentor and friend in Logan's arms all ravaged. "What happened?"

"Sabretooth happened," Logan growled.

"We need to get you outta here," Pixie said, walking up to them and placing a hand on Logan's shoulder. Suddenly, the door to the interrogation room opened, and Victor walked in. "Sihal! Novarum! Chinoth!" Pixie cried, and with a puff of pink smoke, they were gone. However, to their dismay, the alarms went off as soon as they reappeared.

Logan released his claws, until Rogue stopped him. "Oh, no ya don't, sugah," Rogue said. "You're stayin' here and lettin' us do the fightin'. You've done enough." She turned to Storm. "Mind of ah barrow you're powers?"

"Go ahead," Storm said, holding out her arm as Rogue removed her glove. Storm gasped for a second, but was still conscious when Rogue was done. Rogue's eyes turned pure white as she brought in the fog. Then the fireworks went off... literally. Jubilee's powers were blinding and stunning guards left and right. Dazzler used the sounds of those fireworks and the natural sounds around her to create her lightshow, blinding enemies nearby. It allowed Logan and Storm to get to the fence, but he didn't go through it. Storm used the winds to get them over the fence, at the cost of losing precious energy that she already had little of.

"You need ta save your strength," Logan told her.

Fifteen minutes later, the entire group was reunited and was about to teleport back, when Sabretooth jumped out of a tree and knocked out Pixie.