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Hawk was up ans about, about a week later. Her powers were becoming stronger and she was starting to reach her full potential. She started shape-shifting; excelled greatly in three of her elemental powers: earth, water and fire, and had healing abilities similar to her sister's; except Hawk can heal herself, while Crystal can't. Storm was working with her on air, which also involved weather also had telekinesis and telepathy. Her telepathy included understanding animals and communicating with them.

She had also joined the team full time and had her own uniform. It was very similar to Storm's, except that her cape was black and removable. In Danger Room exercises, Storm had paired her up with Colossus temporarily until Rogue felt ready to join the team again. Right now, Hawk and Colossus were trying to not to get hit by sentinels. They were just behind the finishing bunker, waiting for the others to arrive. Since this was a defensive exercise, Hawk put up a force-field to protect her and Colossus, and not let Colossus use up all of his energy. Hawk was about drained of energy when Shadowcat and Iceman arrived.

"What took 'ya guys so long?" she demanded, releasing the bubble.

"Had a hard time getting through," Iceman replied.

"Have you guys seen, Storm, Logan, or his group?" she asked, pushing a missile back. Everyone shook their heads and looked at their watches. Two minutes. They were all suddenly glad that they were all in groups. It looked like Storm was going to win, if Storm ever made it. They all looked up as the winds picked up around them. Storm landed and the entire group raced forward to the bunker. "Simulation complete," the computer said.

As the room cleared, Logan scowled. Hawk hid a smile behind her gloved hand. She loved it when he scowled like that.

XXXXX

Logan was carrying a picnic basket out to one of the fields. Loser team leader had to make everyone lunch and carry it out to the field where the entire team was. He stopped. For some reason, he sensed something wrong. He took a quick whiff of the air, nothing. He looked out toward the field and saw Storm under a tree. Hawk and the others were farther down the hill, probably playing Man Hunt. He shook off the feeling. It was probably paranoia. He sat down next to Storm, who was writing in her notebook, and started unloading the basket. "So what happened with Hawk last week?" he asked. He'd been meaning to talk to Storm about it, but never had the chance until now.

Storm sighed and put her notebook down. "I think the two of you have more in common than you think," she commented before getting to the point. "Hawk's slowly gaining her memory back through her dreams; nightmares mostly, but dreams nonetheless. Last week was the wost of it. She'd dreamed about the orphanage; getting the beatings and all that good stuff. She was afraid that we'd send her back there. It took about an hour for her to fall asleep again."

There was a sudden rustle of leaves above them. The two looked up to see Hawk and Kitty in the tree. "What are you two doing up there?" Logan demanded.

"Ssh!" the girls said. Hawk shape-shifted into a pegasus and Kitty grabbed on, the branch, surprisingly, not snapping under their weight. Logan figured it was either Hawk's telekinesis or Kitty's phasing ability that kept them aloft, or a combination of both. They swooped down and tagged a tree. Bobby, Rogue- who had decided to join them- and Peter followed. Angel, Sam, Sage, Danielle and Remy tried to catch them, but couldn't. "Swap," Hawk said once the other group got there.

Logan turned back to Storm, but, before he could say anything, something was lowered between them. Logan looked up to see what it was, before scowling again. Mistletoe. Storm also looked up when she saw his scowl. Hawk, Angel and Kitty were up there; Hawk was holding the mistletoe. "Oh boy," Logan grumbled.

"C'mon, guys," Hawk called. "You know the tradition."

"It's bad luck if you don't," Angel added.

Storm just rolled her eyes. This was the second time they'd been under the mistletoe. Except, it was Crystal and Hawk who pulled it, and Crystal wasn't there this time. Hawk must've convinced the other children to help. They were all chanting now. Logan was trying to figure out a way to make them stop when Storm just pecked him on the cheek. "That doesn't count!" Angel called.

"Actually, it does," Hawk said disappointedly. "Abby Sciuto did that on an NCIS Christmas episode."

The kids awed disappointedly. Then, there was a sudden low growl, that did not come from Logan. "Oh, great," Logan grumbled, unsheathing his claws.

Storm got up. "Children!" she called. The kids gathered up around her, and Storm counted them to make sure they were all there. She had just barely finished counting when Sabretooth bowled Logan over.

XXXXX

Hawk was the closest person to Storm when Sabretooth came out of nowhere. Everyone turned the direction he came from to see Stryker leading his small group of mutants. Crystal was among them, standing next to Mystique at the end. It all came rushing back, the journey; the fights; Crystal's alleged death. It was all coming in so fast she couldn't comprehend it all. However, there was no time to think about it now. "Kids, pair up!" Storm ordered. "Bobby, with Kitty; Rogue, Colossus; Sage, Mirage; Cannonball, Angel; Logan, Gambit; Hawk, you're with me."

Hawk nodded and went to get into position next to Storm. Two people joined them. Emma Frost- the white queen- and Professor X. "Are you okay?" Storm asked Hawk.

"Fine," Hawk replied, her voice trembling slightly. Storm found her hand, and squeezed it reassuringly.

XXXXX

"What do you want Stryker?" Professor X demanded.

"Charles," Stryker said mockingly, "I'm disappointed. I would've that you'd've figured it out by now."

Out of the corner of her eye, Storm saw Gambit blow Sabretooth off of Wolverine. Gambit helped him up and went behind the lines. Hawk was standing slightly behind her, tense, but ready to fight. Suddenly her head exploded with pain. "Storm!" Hawk cried out.

XXXXX

"Storm!" Hawk cried as Storm sank to her knees. She was grabbing her head as Hawk rushed over. Hawk knew she couldn't heal Storm, there was obviously nothing to heal; but she could at least take away some of her pain. When she tried to touch Storm's skin, though, a lightning bolt shot out, knocking her back. Hawk closed her eyes and entered Storm's mind.

When she opened them again, she was in a thick fog with trees and bushes surrounding her. She saw a small clearing up ahead, and headed that direction. "Remember me, Ororo?" someone asked, menacingly, up ahead.

"No," Storm said nervously. "Who are you?"

Hawk peered over a bush for a closer look. There was a shadowy figure up ahead, standing right in front of Storm. He grabbed her wrist, and she cried out in surprise. Hawk tensed. That shadowy figure looked very familiar. "You were only a small child when we first met," he said as Storm yanked her arm away. "I'm Amahl Farouk." Hawk thinned the mist ever so slightly, to get a better look at his face. Then gasped. It was the same person who tried to take control of Crystal. "I'm the Shadow King."

Hawk couldn't take it anymore. "Hey! Shadow King!" she called out. The Shadow King looked her direction. Hawk knew that her unstabled anger could be used as a weapon against someone sometimes; she just had to know when to use it. This was definitely the right time to use it. She just had to be careful, use the wrong power, she could easily damage Storm's mind and more than likely body. "Pick on someone your own size!"

Hawk shot out a lightning bolt from her hands. Her aim was excellent, catching him on the shoulder, and distracting him long enough to grab Storm and create a barrier around them. "I remember you," Shadow King said menacingly, after he recovered. "Your sister was so close to becoming mine, but you had to ruin it."

"You don't think that Crystal not being able to control her TK would be a little obvious? I knew instantly that somethin' was up."

"And you had to stick your nose where it didn't belong. Perhaps I wouldn't have been standing in the middle of the road, if you had just left well enough alone."

"You," Hawk breathed. "You were standing in the middle of the road? You caused that accident!"

"No," Farouk replied smoothly. "You did."

"You killed my parents."

"Such hot-headed children these days," Farouk chided. "Don't know the difference between faults."

His words stung her at the core of her being. She was about to fling another lightning bolt at him, when Storm caught her wrist. "Hawk, don't. You're just playing his game."

Hawk knew she was right and relaxed a little. Tears were starting to sting her eyes, but she held them at bay. The Force-field she created started to tremble. "Hawk, go," Storm pleaded. "Go."

Hawk shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving you."

"Hawk, go, I'll be fine."

"Don't lie to me, we both no that's not true."

"Hawk please, I don't want to see you get hurt."

A psi bolt came down and struck the shield. It immediately vaporized the shield and another one came down, striking dead-center between the two. Hawk was knocked back into reality. She gasped as she opened her eyes. Logan was kneeling next to Storm, and, strangely, so was she. Logan turned to her as she gasped. "What's wrong?" he asked, with just a hint of concern in his voice.

"It's someone call Amahl Farouk," Hawk replied, a mixture of fear and bitterness in her voice. The Professor gasped as she said his name, she continued. "He calls himself, the 'Shadow King'. Right now he was trying to take over Storm. Ironically, this is the same person who tried to take over my sister. He's the one who caused the accident." When Hawk finished her ranting, they turned to him. "You know this guy?"

The Professor nodded. "I had a psychic battle with him once. I thought I had destroyed him, but it appears I was wrong."

"That's an understatement," both Logan and Hawk said simultaneously. The Professor ignored them and closed his eyes. Hawk knew what he was trying to do and caught his attention before he could take it a step further.

"Professor, wait," Hawk said. "You aren't going to get past Storm's barriers. More than likely she's in a battle with him already." As if to prove her point there was a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder. "You're gonna have to either go with me or let me go in alone."

"I'm going in with you."

"Alright, but first, I need to call Isis over." Isis rushed over at the sound of her name. Hawk knelt down and gently stroked the soft white head. "I need you to do me a big favor, okay girl?"

You got it, Isis said telepathically. What's wrong with Storm, though?

That fat guy with the glasses. I need you, Midnight, and Sky to concentrate on attacking him.

Isis growled and nodded. Despite the situation, Hawk laughed. "Good girl."

Hawk then got up and went to the Professor. She touched his arm then placed her other hand on Storm's shoulder and closed her eyes.

XXXXX

Storm was getting a terrible headache. She fought with all of her power to keep control, but this 'Shadow King' character wouldn't relent. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on, but she knew that she had to- and would- keep fighting.

XXXXX

Hawk opened her eyes to mist and fog again. The Professor was right next to her. They got up and went to the nearest clearing, where there was the sound of fighting. Hawk saw Storm, desperately trying to keep Farouk away from her; but he laughed at her efforts. "What's he trying to do to her?" Hawk whispered.

"Break her," Professor X replied, "and he's dangerously close. He's taunting her with her worst memories."

Hawk slowly and gently probed Farouk's thoughts. He was so caught up in torturing Storm that he didn't notice. She gasped when she saw what he was after. She looked at the Professor, silently begging and pleading that she had misinterpreted. The Professor shook his head. "You read right. He's after her powers."

"If he has control of her powers, he could cause mass destruction," Hawk said. "But that doesn't make any sense. Crystal has the same exact powers I have, including weather control. Why does he need Storm?"

"Storm has more mastery over it."

"If he and Magneto are working together," Hawk said thoughtfully, "then..." she let her voice trail off and looked at him. He nodded. "OMG! If he has control of Storm, he could use her powers to create mass destruction to everyone, collect the surviving mutants, and convince them to join him. He's trying to create an all new brotherhood under his control. He doesn't need to control Crystal, because he knows that she'd rather die than let him touch me."

Again, he nodded. A scream from the clearing cut off all further conversation. They broke out into the clearing, and saw Storm lying in a fetal position. Son of a gun must've gone backwards, Hawk thought angrily. Farouk moved in for the final blow.

XXXXX

Isis got in position just as touched Storm's shoulder. Sky was on a branch just above her, and Midnight Storm was next to her, ears flat against her skull. Isis knew just how she felt; she couldn't wait to swipe the smirk off of Stryker's face. Thunder boomed up ahead, and Isis knew that it was now or never.

XXXXX

Logan was holding Storm close to his chest; as if trying to comfort her and let her know that her was there. Her face was twisted in agony, and he could feel the electricity pulsing through her body. Thunder boomed over head. Logan knew that he should let go of her, but he didn't want to, in case she woke up.

He looked up to see Cannonball and Angel handling Toad; Colossus and Rogue deal with Sabretooth, then move on to help Sage and Mirage. Shadowcat and Iceman dealt with Pyro, then went to help Cannonball and Angel with Toad; they dealt with their adversary with ease, then went to help the others with Magneto. While all of this was happening, he saw Isis burst out of the thicket over yonder. She went straight in for Stryker's legs. There was a cry of pain as she made skin contact with her razor sharp teeth.

XXXXX

Hawk was about to push Farouk away from Storm, when he let out a cry of pain. Hawk knew automatically that Isis had made her move. She just hoped it would keep him distracted long enough for her to help Storm, and get that giddy iron-witted drone our of Storm's head.

Hawk rushed forward and placed her hand on Storm's neck and forehead. Storm was extremely weak, almost broken. Hawk couldn't put help but think about Princess Leia's torture, and how she had almost broke also.

Storm shifted under Hawk's hand, and opened her eyes slowly. "Hawk?" she asked weakly.

Hawk shushed her gently. "Save your strength. You're gonna need it later."

"Cute, Ashley," a malicious voice said. "Real cute. Tell me, did you honestly that I'd fall for the animal thing?"

"No," Hawk said in a half-taunt, half-sarcastic voice. "But it got you in enough pain to distract you."

"Ha!" he laughed. "Do you honestly think that you can kick me out? I'm the Shadow King! I survived the death of my own body."

Hawk was surprised by that revelation, but kept it to herself. This was gonna get ugly. "Wow, really interesting... not. If you actually had any brains, you'd know that world domination never works. Even the Emperor was defeated."

"Foolish child! You have no idea of what I can do! I could make your sister kill you in an instant if I wanted to. You're nothing compared to her."

"You know what you are? You're nothin' but an execrable fustillarian Flibbertigibbet."

Professor X and Storm gave her a funny look. "What?" she asked. "I had a drama class. I actually got graded using Shakespearean insults against my classmates. Best grade that anyone could get."

The insult that Hawk gave the Shadow King, didn't sit well with him. He shot down another psi bolt, but she sensed it coming and dodged out of the way. She recalled a lightning technique from Star Wars that shielded the wielder and struck the target simultaneously. She didn't know if it would work, but she had to try. She held up her arm into a fist, and automatically, a shield formed around her and struck the Shadow King dead in the chest.

XXXXX

Stryker let out a cry of pain. Isis hadn't touched him then, but she took advantage of it and went in again. Logan was silently cheering her on. He looked down to see her face no longer in agony. Stryker let out another cry of pain.

XXXXX

Hawk released lightning again and again on Farouk. It was obviously effective, so she took advantage of it. It wasn't long before he dissipated into thin air.

XXXXX

Logan didn't notice Storm wake up; he was still watching Isis, Sky, Midnight, and Stryker. He looked down when he felt a soft hand on her cheek. Storm was looking back at him, a smile of joy on her face. He returned it and was very tempted to kiss her. Hawk's moaning ruined the moment. Instead, he just helped her to her feet.

XXXXX

Hawk moaned as she came back to reality. She'd used too much energy in that fight. Isis and the rest of her group were perplexed at Stryker's disappearance. Hawk shrugged and called them back. The second hooded figure was starting to remove his, and Mystique went into the fray with Magneto. Colossus and Wolverine obviously couldn't help with that situation because they were both magnetic. Rogue was already having a tough time reaching Magneto, and Mystique made it impossible. She was now the main target.

The other mutant had just finished removing his hood, to reveal an ugly square face. He was about seven feet tall with blue eyes, and looked like he had cylinders for arms and legs. Suddenly, trees started shooting at the younger group. Hawk searched the grounds and quickly found her sister in the underbrush not too far from where she was standing. She soon realized it was a waste of time, because she quickly found out it wasn't her sister that was doing this. "Okay," she said turning the adults behind her. "Major, major, telekinetic up ahead."

"Which one?" Professor X asked.

"How 'bout the big ugly one?" She received a stern look from both the Professor and Storm; Logan was the only one who was partially and grinning and trying not to laugh. Hawk knew what he was thinking, for once he wasn't getting reprimanded for smart comments.

A loud thud from Cannonball told everyone that he ran into something. They all turned to see that he ran into the other mutant, causing a huge whole in the center of his chest. A hole that healed almost instantly. "Shit," she heard Logan say. She turned and gave him a reprimanding glare. "What?"

"Talking mushrooms," she replied. Logan had that what-the-heck-is-she-talking-about look on his face. She chuckled. "It's a thing me and my sister have whenever we hear someone say that."

Suddenly, her phone came out of her pocket and start ringing and beeping off the hook. "Great," Hawk grumbled. "Technopath."

"A what?" Logan asked.

"A technopath," Hawk repeated turning back to face him. "Someone who can control technology with their mind. Haven't you ever seen 'Sky High'?"

Logan shook his head, and she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "You guys have got to catch up on movies." She turned back to the mutant. "Show-off! What's that supposed-"

The phone exploded, knocking her back. Luckily for her it was a very small one. She got up and called to him again. "You owe me a new phone!"

"Maybe, instead of taunting him," Logan said, "you could actually do somethin'."

"I doubt it would have any effect on him," Hawk retorted, but she tried it anyway. As the lightning bolt came down, a force-field popped out of nowhere. "Great, he has the same exact powers as me. That helps alot." Suddenly the mutant disappeared and re-appeared a few meters ahead of them. "And he has teleportation. That really helps my case."

Hawk knew she was getting on Logan's nerves, but she couldn't help it. Taunting an opponent, she knew, could be just as effective as a punch. Her sarcasm helped her with her frustration, and also helped fall under taunting category. "Just ignore her," she heard Storm murmur. "It's just how she deals with things like this."

"She doesn't like surprises?" Logan asked.

"Oh, no, she likes surprises alright. She just hates these kinds of surprises." Then she turned to Hawk. "Try shape-shifting into him."

Hawk nodded and concentrated. While she managed to shift her body to look like his, she was having a hard time trying to match his brainwaves. One thing that was cool about her shape-shifting ability, unlike Mystique, who could only make her body look like the one she was copying; Hawk could make herself look like the person she was copying and receive the exact powers they had. This was due to the fact that she could match her brainwaves with theirs. She finally managed it, but it took all of her energy to keep it that way with all the raw power this particular mutant had.

Hawk, wait! Crystal called out. Hawk collapsed, returning to her normal form, and grabbed her head for a moment. All that concentrating was already giving her a headache. Crystal's telepathic call had sealed it.

"Crystal," Hawk growled, saying as much aloud as in thought. "If you ever do that again, I will kill you."

Sorry, Crystal replied, rushing up to her sister. But you were about to attack my friend. Crystal arrived and helped Hawk up.

"Friend? Did you just call that unpolished marble-hearted fragment your friend?"

"He's trying to help us," Crystal said, holding up her hand to keep Hawk quiet. "Granted, the hard way, but still."

"Help us? What'd'ya mean he's trying to help us? He's trying to kill us in case you haven't noticed."

"Hey!" Crystal said defensively. "I wanted to do this the easy, they wanted to do this the hard way. What can I say? I was out-voted."

"You're insane!"

Crystal's eyes suddenly went cold. "You want insane? You're insane. I can't believe you haven't figured this out."

Hawk stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Us. I'm talking about us. We're not twins."

"What do you mean 'we're not twins'? Of course we're twins! How else do you explain the fact that we look exactly alike?"

"No, you're a clone. You're my clone. Why else would you receive your powers later than me?"

Hawk looked down at her hands. "No," she whispered; a whisper that turned into a cry. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! That can't be true."

"It is true," a voice whispered inside her head; a whisper that Crystal voiced. "You're nothing but a shadow to her," the voice continued inside her head. "And you always will be. The envy little sister that wants nothing more than to show her older sister up."

"No!" Hawk cried, shunting the voice from her mind and putting up her mental barriers to keep any outer influences from reaching her mind. "This isn't me."

"Girls," Storm said getting between the two. "Listen, we can deal with family affairs later." She looked at Hawk, who had a haunted look in her eyes. "Hawk, snap out of it," she ordered gently before turning to the provocateur. When Crystal had spoken to Hawk with those hurtful words, she had an unusually dark look on her face and in her eyes. Now it was the clear determined hazel fire. Hawk just took a few steps back away, just behind Storm.

"Hey," Crystal said, holding her hands up. "I'm on your side." Suddenly a male figure with dark hair, eyes, and slightly dark skin appeared not too far from them. Hawk took a few steps forward to get a better look. He was very attractive. Despite that though, Hawk gasped. Crystal just smiled. "Hey, there's one of my other friends."

Hawk looked at her as if she had just said that she could teleport. "Evil twin sister say what?"

"He's one of my friends."

"Crystal, that's the same person I just kicked out of Storm's mind."

"So?"

Hawk didn't know whether to Gibbs head-slap her, or just knock the living daylights out of her altogether. She was obviously under the influence of something. "Crystal, he was trying to take control of her. Just like he was trying to take control of you in the car."

"What?" Crystal asked, as if Hawk was joking. "He wasn't even there."

"Crystal, I was in your mind."

"That explains it."

"What?"

"Why you closed your eyes just before the accident."

"Crystal, trust me on this. He was there. I saw him."

Crystal gave her a stunned look. "You're kiddin'."

"Nope," Hawk said in the tone she used when she was about to get her way. "He was the one who was trying to control you. He's the one who caused the car accident. He was the one who was standing in the middle of the road when it happened."

"Rat," Farouk said darkly.

Crystal turned to Hawk. "Oh, no he didn't..."

"Oh, yes, he did," Hawk replied in the same tone.

"So you were there," Crystal said turning back to Farouk. "I can't believe I fell for this."

"Oh," Hawk said, holding up her hand. "Before we get in to this, could you tell us who your big ugly friend is."

"Apocalypse?"

"Thank you."

"Anyway," Crystal said. "As I said before, I can't believe I fell for this. You said that you were trying to help us, but you really just wanted me and my sister. What were you going to do us?"

"Control us," Hawk answered. "Probably by blackmail, coercion, or extortion. Take your pick. That's probably how he got a hold of Stryker. His mind-controlling scheme back-fired, and someone thought that it would be the perfect tool to use against us. That's why he disappeared; it was a mental illusion. Probably wanted to use us to get the X-men. Am I getting warm?"

The look on his face told him she was. "You're sailing in dangerous waters, girl."

It was Hawk's turn to be sassy, as she turned to Crystal. "Oh, no, he did not just call me girl?"

XXXXX

Logan scowled at Hawk's sassiness. It was bad enough when she used taunts against the enemy; sassiness and sarcasm just made it worse. Emma and Storm were secretly giggling about it. "Yes, Logan," Emma said. They're doing it on purpose."

Logan rolled his eyes. Telepaths, he thought. Emma scowled.

"For someone who knows the answers to everything," Farouk said. "You ask alot of questions."

Hawk turned to Crystal. "Does he know who he's messin' with?"

"Obviously not," Crystal replied. That also annoyed Logan; how the two girls would quarrel one moment, then act like best friends the next. He figured it was time to end this.

"Alright," he said, unsheathing his claws. "Enough chit-chat. If you're gonna fight, then let's fight."

"Hold it, Logan," Hawk said, eyes flicking Storm's direction worriedly, before returning to Logan. "You don't wanna-"

Storm's cry of pain cut her off. "-do that." She finished slowly.

"Conflict, conflict, conflict," Farouk said. "There's much conflict in you Wolverine. You don't want to betray the woman you once loved by loving another; yet, she loves you, and you want to return it."

"Logan!" Hawk called to him. "Don't listen to him! He's lying! He's twisting the truth! It's all lies, Logan!" Storm's cries grew louder. Emma went into her diamond form, blocking all telepathic connections or call she might receive from Farouk. Logan was thinking about what Farouk said, and stuck between whether to kill Storm and put her out of her misery, or just killing Farouk outright. "Logan?" Hawk asked. When he didn't respond, she grabbed his wrist, being careful of his claws, and out a mental barrier around his mind; blocking out any influence that Farouk might have on him. That cleared his mind quite a bit, and he realized that he did and was in love with Storm. And that he would protect her at all costs. He was off to a bad start though. Storm was on her knees again. After reassuring Hawk that he was as clear minded as a hunter, she let go off him and he raced off to Storm. Logan hated seeing her so miserable. Apparently, so did Hawk.

XXXXX

After releasing Logan, Hawk turned to Crystal. "There's a way we can defeat him," she said quickly, looking towards Logan, who had his arm around Storm's hunched body. Thunder boomed overhead as dark clouds started to form in response to her pain.

"How?" Crystal asked.

"Lightning Shield."

"Oh, come on! Star Wars?"

Hawk shrugged. "They have good lightning techniques. Can't help it."

"Do you know if it'll work?"

"I just used it to defeat him in Storm's mind; but I don't know if it'll work out here. It should."

"How's it work?"

"Lightning strikes a target, and a shield forms around the wielder. Not the most effective lightning technique, but it works on him."

"They both held up their hands into fists, and a shield formed around them. The twins brushed each others arms, and the lightning came out twice the intensity t should have been, and struck the Shadow King. The Shadow King cried out repeatedly as the twins struck him repeatedly. Finally, he disappeared.

XXXXX

Storm's pain once again went away. When she felt like she could move again, Storm looked up to see Logan next to her. He brought her in close, and she gratefully complied, leaning up against his strong shoulder.

XXXXX

Hawk groaned as she released the shield. Too much energy again. She looked to her right to see the Brotherhood, except Magneto, blink in surprise. Then seeing that they were outnumbered, ran off. Mystique went up to Magneto and slapped him. "That's for leaving me on the trailer," Hawk heard her say. "But I'll go with you anyway. I don't want to deal with these mutants." Hawk giggled as they walked off. The she turned to face Storm's direction. Emma was back to her normal self and Storm was leaning up against Logan. Obviously he still needed to tell her.

Then she turned to Crystal. "So what are we gonna do with Apopcalypse?"

Crystal bursted out laughing. "Did you just call him, Apopcalypse?" She laughed some more. "Girl, you've been saying Apopka way too much."

"Well, we did go to APK."

"So? It's Apocalypse; not Apopka-High-clypse."

"Apocalypse, Apopcalypse; same difference."

"Whatever." Crystal turned to face Apocalypse, and delivered a lightning bolt to his chest.

"Crystal, don't!" Hawk cried. "I've already tried."

"No you haven't, look." Hawk turned to see Apocalypse down with a huge hole burned into her chest. The hole and burn healed almost instantly.

"See? Crystal, he's invincible."

"So is the Crystal Hawk."

Hawk stood there, stunned, for a moment. "Are you sure it's going to work?"

"It has to. It's our only hope."

Hawk nodded as a tree started to fall on them. They both dodged then initiated the Crystal Hawk.

XXXXX

The adults covered their eyes as a bright light flashed in front of them. Emma got up and concentrated on forming a telepathic connection with the girls. The huge hawk appeared to be concentrating on Apocalypse.

XXXXX

Lightning wings, Hawk thought.

How do you know we even have that? Crystal demanded through their thoughts.

IDK. Suddenly, bolts came out of their wings and struck all around Apocalypse.

Guess we do have it, Crystal thought to herself. Hawk couldn't keep her smugness to herself.

Told'ya.

Crystal was about to make a smart remark when Apocalypse changed hos appearance to look like them. Oh, come on! Hawk cried. That's not fair!

Cool it, Hawk. Let's see if he can survive this... Dragon Fire! The Hawk quickly shape-shifted into a dragon- too quick to register- and shot out a fireball before shifting back into a hawk. It looked like the Hawk shot out the fireball. It hit their adversary head on, but didn't have any effect on him. He's immortal!

Duh! You just now realized that-shield! Hawk cried, cutting herself off to shield themselves from the fireball that smashed into their force-field. Crystal knew there was but one option left. No, Hawk said reading her thoughts.

Hawk, there's no choice.

Crystal, if you do that you could kill us!

Only one of us. The weaker one of us.

Crystal, don't!

I have to.

Crystal-aah!

A lightning bolt came out from the center of the hawk; surrounding as the hawk split. The twins separated and, once again, landed with painful sickening thumps.

XXXXX

Storm watched as the hawk split to reveal the twins again and watch them fall. Storm looked at Emma who looked as grim as Storm felt. "Crystal did it on purpose. I lost connection when the lightning bolt hit."

XXXXX

Hawk was conscious when she saw Apocalypse climb into a ship way out of her league of comprehension. He had that all along? Hawk thought. Why didn't just use that sooner?

She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her neck and shoulders. "Crystal, if you ever do that again, I swear-" she stopped when she saw her sister lying on the ground, not moving. "Crystal? Crystal!" She scrambled over to her. "Crystal, talk to me, please!"

Crystal moaned. It was then that Hawk noticed the burns on her neck and shoulders, and on other parts of her body. She also saw the broken bones that her sister had. "Hawk?"

Hawk hushed her. "Don't try to talk. We've got to get her back to the mansion."

"Hawk, it's too late."

"No, it's not! I can heal you!"

"Hawk, I'm too weak. There's nothing you can do."

"Yes, there is!" Hawk cried out, tears coming to her eyes.

"Hawk, there's something I have to tell you," Crystal said, changing the subject. Partially to distract Hawk from the inevitable, but mostly to tell her something she should have known about a long time ago. "When I said that you were the clone, I lied. I'm the clone. I was testing you. Mom and Dad made me swear not to tell you." She paused to take a breath. "Also, you were always the older one. Our parents didn't like the fact that the younger child got her powers before the older one. They were afraid about the effects it would have on you."

"Crystal, come on! Save your strength."

"Hawk...it's too...late." With that she closed her eyes for eternity.

XXXXX

Rain clouds started to form. The wind was blowing their direction. Everyone looked at Storm. "It's not me." She paused a moment. "It's Hawk."

"The wind's leading us to where she is," Emma put in before grimly adding, "Something's happened to Crystal."

It didn't take long for them to find the small patch of forest that the twins were in front of. Hawk was leaning over Crystal's dead body. "I'll take care of this," Storm said.

"Are you sure?" Logan asked.

Storm nodded. "Let's just say that I've been in a similar situation." That was when the rain's came down.

XXXXX

Hawk wasn't paying any attention, and didn't notice when Storm came up behind her. "Hawk," she said gently. Hawk looked up to see Storm, who was partly soaked. "The rain."

"Sorry," she sniffed. She closed her eyes and automatically, the rain stopped. A warm gust of wind blew towards Storm that dried her hair almost instantly. She opened her eyes again a moment later. Storm knelt down next to her.

XXXXX

"Let's just leave the weather manipulating to me for right now, okay?" Storm said jokingly, hoping to lift Hawk's spirits. It didn't work. She just nodded sedately.

"She said that she was the clone," Hawk said softly a moment later. "And that I was the older sister." She finally looked up at Storm. "I don't get it. How could she be my clone? I thought that only in Star Wars or even a scientific-fiction novel or movie." Tears started flowing down her cheeks, and Storm gave her a small embrace, which Hawk happily gave in to.

"You know," Storm said. "Crystal told us about that. About her being a clone." Hawk shot up, and Storm could see the feeling of betrayal returning to her eyes; the way it had when she first found out about her powers. Storm decided to tell her the truth, Crystal was gone now, and Hawk already knew the truth. "I was told not to tell you, but you have no idea how much I wanted to. The Professor said that it was Crystal's call and that we shouldn't interfere."

"Funny," Hawk muttered. "Crystal said something similar about our parents." She leaned back into Storm's arms. She said something a moment later. "Sparkle."

Storm looked up to see some sort of sparkle particle land on Hawk's arm.

XXXXX

Hawk watched the particles fall as she sat up, then looked up to see a normal sized snow white hawk overhead, with the sparkles falling from the wings. She looked to Crystal's body, which was starting to sparkle itself. Suddenly the particles exploded and a wind swirled around Hawk, forcing the particles to land on her. Hawk closed her eyes and the white hawk became a million sparkle particles, joining the mini-vortex. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. With a small flash.

XXXXX

Storm covered her eyes as the flash cam out of nowhere. When it was over Storm opened her eyes to see Hawk shaking her head. She didn't ask what had happened because she the knew the answer was that Hawk had no idea. "Hawk," she said softly. Hawk turned to look at her. "Let's go home."

"What about Crystal?"

Storm felt the familiar shift in the atmosphere that told her a teleporter was coming. "I think someone's already taken care of that."

Hawk gasped as the teleporter appeared behind her. She turned to face him as Storm continued. "I don't believe you've met Kurt Wagner, the Nightcrawler."

"No," Hawk said, still trying to get over her startlement. "But, I'd appreciate it if he never did that again."

Storm chuckled softly. "Nightcrawler will take Crystal back to the mansion."

Hawk nodded and an instant later, Crystal and Nightcrawler were both gone. Hawk then joined Storm as she walked back to where the others were. Surprisingly, Angel was the first one to go to Hawk. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Hawk nodded. "Fine Angel, thanks." Angel, on impulse, gave her a hug, followed by each of the younger mutants of the team. Storm walked to where Logan was. After the entire group started off toward the mansion, Hawk stopped and regarded Storm and Logan, who were in the back. "Hey, Logan, don't you have somethin' to tell Storm?" Logan looked at her confused. "Oh, come on! Why else do you think we've been puttin' you under the mistletoe?"

Emma urged her forward, before taking her spot in talking to Logan. "She does have a point 'ya know," Emma said conspicuously. "I did catch a whiff of your thoughts before I powered up, Logan."

Logan had that scowl on his face that said, telepaths. Emma rolled her eyes. "I don't see why this is so difficult for you, Logan."

With that she went off to go catch up with the others. Storm turned to look at him curiously. "What are they talking about?"

Logan blushed a little, and Storm knew that Hawk was gonna get it when they got back. They walked into the backyard and took a walk through the gardens. "Back there," Logan began, "when the Shadow King attacked you the second time, he tried to twist some feelings I had; feelings for you." That caught Storm's attention. "Hawk told me that he was twistin' the truth, and to prove it, she put a mind barrier on me; which made me confront my feelings for you. The feelings I've had since Alcatraz."

Storm didn't know what to say, at first. So she said what came from the heart. "It was similar for me. I knew I was losing the fight against him, and I wanted to give up so bad. Do you know what kept me fighting?" Logan shook his head, and she smiled. "You did. You and the fact that I knew you wouldn't get along with the Professor or the kids without me."

Logan looked at her, and she smiled, just to show that she was only half-kidding. They found a swing, and sat on it for a bit. "Do you think it could work between us?" Logan suddenly asked.

Storm looked up at him. "There's only one way to find out. I think it could, but that's just me."

Logan then reached out- with the same surprisingly gentle fingers she remembered from Alcatraz- and pushed some of her hair back before stroking her cheek. He gazed into her warm welcoming brown eyes, and she into his. Their lips just barely managed to brush each others before the rain started to come down. Logan looked at her questioningly. She smiled and shook her head. "That wasn't me this time."

"Hawk?"

"No," Storm said, briefly looking up before turning back to face him. "It's Mother Nature this time."

"At least the kids are inside," Logan grumbled.

"All the more reason why we should savor the moment." This time, they managed to do a real kiss before being interrupted.

"Uh, guys," a voice called from the balcony above them.

"That's Hawk," Storm said as Logan broke off the kiss. Logan looked up with that glare that told everyone that received it that it had better be good.

"I hate to spoil the moment, but it's raining, and you guys'll catch a cold if you don't get in here... like, now." As she turned away, the couple heard her mutter, "Should've brought the mistletoe."

Logan growled, and Storm tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "On the bright side, at least we didn't get mistletoed." Logan had to smile and brought her up for another kiss.





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