"He's not dead."

Jubilation Lee looked at the X-Men who were standing around her. Cyclops, Phoenix, Monet.

"I know it's hard to understand, but Logan is dead," said Jean looking at her. "I'm so sorry."

"No," said Jubilee. "If he were dead, I'd know it. I'd feel it in here." She thumped her chest with her clenched fist. "It'd be something I'd just know."

"Jubilee," said Cyclops, his voice soft, "there's no trace of him anywhere on Earth. There's nothing on the moon. Jean can't sense him with her powers and Betsy has nothing through their psionic rapport. He was caught in a nuclear explosion and we have an adamanutim bone fused in to rock. We can't fine him, SHIELD can't find him, nobody has heard from him at all. After a day or so, we'd have hoped to have heard something, but there's nothing."

"You don't get it," Jubilee said. "You just don't get it."

"We need more than your word," said Jean. "We have evidence that Wolverine is gone. How can you say you know he's alive?"

"I'd just know," Jubilee said. "I won't believe it, I can't believe it." Jean looked at Scott who shook his head. There would be no getting through to her, they could both tell that. She would never accept that Wolverine was dead, or at least not yet. Given enough time she would come to realise he was gone and he wasn't coming back, but how much time she would need was another matter.

"Anyway, we thought we should tell you," Jean said. "If you need to talk, we're here."

"We?" said Jubilee. "You mean you're staying?"

"Yes," Jean said. "I'm staying. Scott and I are going to try and work through our disagreements and he's never been very good with women, which is what the team is mostly made up of…"

"Hey," said Scott, with mock offence and Jean smiled sweetly. "We'll let you recover properly, Jubilee. Monet will look after you."

"I believe I'm the unofficial doctor," M said. "With the amount of knowledge I have, it's hard not to help out where I can." Scott nodded and he and Jean left. The other original X-Men would be leaving for their own homes soon enough and that would be that until they met up again, and they had to ensure there was a unity between the teams and that they didn't tread on each other's toes. It was a complicated world out there and Jubilee and Monet were alone.

"He's not dead," she said again and Monet nodded.

"I believe you when you say that," she said. "I do not believe that a man like Wolverine would die that easily, nor would he let someone as important to himself as Elektra die, but there is proof that it has happened."

"I can't explain it," Jubilee said. "It's just…"

"There are things that you just know," Monet said and the two young women looked at each other a moment. "Lie back a moment, please." Jubilee did so as Monet quickly checked her to see if there were any effects of the anti-toxins that had been supplied. There were no rashes or anything and Jubilee didn't give any indications of being in pain when she was touched and her skin was it's normal warmth, having varied from hot and cold while her body fought the poison that was inside her.

"Will I live?" asked Jubilee.

"Yes," said Monet. "You will. You can sit up again." Monet smiled and Jubilee couldn't help but smile back.

"You're so different from your sisters," said Jubilee, thinking of the Monet she had known for so long. "You're… nicer." Monet blushed and so did Jubilee. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I meant…"

"I know," said Monet with a giggle. "Nicole was always more precocious, and she had a love of material things that made her feel…"

"Superior?" said Jubilee.

"Something like that," Monet said. "She always believed she had to be the best, the one of us who Father would be most proud of, and she thought that would happen by having pretty things and what she wanted she would try and get."

"Maybe her becoming you was something that did her good," Jubilee said.

"I think so," Monet answered. "It hurt me to see the way she was with you and the others at the Academy."

"I was jealous," said Jubilee. "Everything came so naturally to her, but not to me."

"You had something she didn't understand either," said Monet. "You had a spirit that radiated friendship. You made friends with Paige, Everett, Jono, Angelo, me." Jubilee smiled.

"You're my friends," said Jubilee. "What Emma made you do…"

"It wasn't like that," M said, softly. "But please, let's not talk about that."

Jubilee nodded. "Okay. So what's happened while I was asleep?"

"They took it better than you thought they would," Allison said as Jared ended the call to Department H and he nodded.

"They knew it could happen," said Jared. "When Wolverine came to Canada that time, they knew he was in big trouble. The Hudsons briefed us, just in case we had to take him on at some point and Puck said they were thinking he might not survive this one."

"Did he tell them everything?"

"No," said Jared. "Only that he'd been framed for treason. Though if he told them more, they didn't tell us."

"So what happens now?" Allison asked and Jared shook his head.

"Life goes on." They walked silently through the corridors, not saying a word. Their tenure as X-Men had not got off to the brightest of starts, and they were both unsure if this would work out for them.

"Hey," said Cyclops, "you two, we're going to need some help getting things back together around here."

"Back off," Allison snapped. "He's just called Department H about Wolverine." Scott looked at them, as if that had only just occurred to him.

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry, Jared. It mustn't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Radius said. "Just tell us what we need to do and we'll get it done." Scott nodded and gave them some instructions and then went on his way. "Jean coming back's certainly loosened him up."

"Maybe a damn good fucking was all he needed," Magma muttered, forgetting who was next to her and she turned to see Radius standing there with a grin.

"You swear? I mean, you're British, of sorts…"

"Yes, I'm British, and we swear. When we let go we'd make Tarantino blush. It's called control."

"You're cute when you're angry," he said. "I think we should go out on a date, see what happens. You're really hot, and you know it."

"Well," said Magma, and she pushed him against the wall, their bodies almost touching their eyes level. "The thing is this…" She grabbed his crotch and Radius' eyes went wide. "I'm not easy, I'm not in to pushy, cocky pillocks and unless you come up with something better…" Her hand began to generate heat and his eyes went wider still. "You'll find out how hot I can be. Capice?" Radius nodded and she let go. "Now, if you ask me properly, with a little more style, then I might consider it. But first we've a mansion to fix up."

"That really went down like that?" Jubilee asked, wishing she could have seen it.

"Well, Jared tells it one way, and Allison tells it another, so that's my version of it."

"What about the other you?" Jubilee asked. "What happened there?"

"Well…"

"So," Monet said to her sister.

"So," Monet replied, looking at the original Monet. "I'm ready to do this." The Danger Room was probably the safest place to try this, even with the door blown off it's hinges, though Warren had said he would send someone round to see to it.

"Just in case…" Monet started to say and her sister nodded.

"We know. We love you too," she replied and then she was surrounded in a red aura, which expanded to fill the room and then the aura faded and where there had been Monet St Croix there were now two other girls, some years younger than Monet, but not little children.

"Nicole? Claudette?" asked Monet, waiting for her two sisters to do something, anything to let her know that they were okay. Both stood their motionless, barely even breathing and Monet took a step forward.

"It's so quiet," said Nicole. "I can't hear your voice anymore."

"I don't hear you either," Claudette said. "It's quiet. Yet, peaceful as well."

"Yes," her twin replied, as if they were in a dream and Monet looked at them. They had shared a mind for so long, been one person for such a long time and now they were free of each other. It would take some getting used to for the both of them. They were indeed identical, except Claudette seemed to have a fraction more in height than Nicole did, but it was negligible and she hugged the both of them, the siblings reunited once more, apart from their brother.

"How do you feel?" Monet asked.

"Lonely," said Claudette.

"Hungry," said Nicole. "It's as if I haven't eaten in weeks."

"Maybe I got the food we ate at breakfast," said Claudette and they giggled and Monet was jealous because they had a bond with each other that she would never be able to share. Not only were they twins but they knew each other inside and out and that was something Monet would never have. For everything she did know, that would always be something she didn't have.

"Let's go get something to eat," she said and she looked up. Emma was standing there watching it all from the comfort of the control room and she stared down at Monet who stared right back. Emma gave her a sly smile and then disappeared. Monet wasn't sure what she was smiling about, what she had seen or what she knew but she wasn't sure she liked it. She and Emma Frost had unfinished business, but now was not the time.

"What do you think she wanted?" asked Jubilee, as she put on her proper clothes.

"I don't know," said Monet. "She went out not long after, saying she needed to sort some business out, but I think she was lying. I can't prove it though, her mind is very hard to read, which is interesting. Her diamond form gives her a protection from telepathy and I need more practice with mind before I master the subtleties of telepathic surveillance."

"So you can't read minds that well?"

"Depends whose mind it is. Some are easier to read than others," Monet said and gave Jubilee a wink, who threw a pillow at her and the two of them laughed. Then Monet threw the pillow back and the two of them engaged in a pillow fight for a few moments before Jubilee raised her hands in surrender.

"I'm tired," she said, panting slightly. "Guess I'm still not quite myself."

"I'm sorry," said Monet.

"Don't be," Jubilation said. "It's funny, I've never had a girl friend before. I mean I've had friends, but they always seemed to be boys, and I've never really had a close friend as such."

"You reached out to me when you didn't have to," Monet said. "I'll always be grateful. You taught me not to be afraid, to trust."

"You knew already, I just reminded you," said Jubilee and she put her hand on top of Monet's. Monet smiled and the two of them sat their holding hands, then she broke it off and looked at the young Asian woman.

"I can see Stick," she said. "I know Gateway from before…"

"Are you…" Jubilee's voice trailed off. "Chaste?"

"I walk the Path," she said. "I am not Chaste, but I know of them."

"It's like our fates are linked," said Jubilee. "I guess there's something out there."

"Yes," Monet said. "I know how you feel… inside. About Paige. I can help you, if you let me."

"How?"

"I can help you control your anger, let it work for you. I know things about the darkness that comes from inside. I'm part demon, so it's in me. That's why I didn't talk about it earlier. It's not something… I like to face."

"I've seen darkness," said Jubilee. "Let me tell you about Logan…"

"Hello, Mortimer."

Toad looked up to see a man standing there. He had a lilt to his voice he couldn't place and he could swear he recognised him from somewhere, but he still couldn't remember a great deal. He'd spent time trying o figure who Emma was and had no luck.

"You don't remember be, do you?" he said. "We used to work together. You said your nickname was Toad, because the kids in school made fun of you for being familiar with the teachers."

"That's why I'm called Toad?" he said.

"Yes. You're really called Mortimer. Mortimer Toynbee. You come from York, in England, and came here a long time ago when your parents moved when your father Arnold got a job with a pharmaceuticals company. He and your mother Veronica moved to New Hampshire, and you eventually joined us."

"It sounds familiar," Toad said, "but there's something that's not quite right… I don't remember."

"You joined a team of people who had a goal, a ideal for ensuring that we controlled things, and were not halted by the laws of lesser men and women. You have powers, powers that have grown since your injuries."

"Injuries?"

"Yes," the man said. "You were hurt on your last mission and it has taken us a long time to find you."

"But who are you?" Toad said. "I recognise you, but I don't know you."

"My name is Sean, but you used to call me the Irishman. You worked for me, at the Byron Agency."

"Byron Agency?"

"Maybe this will help," Sean said and there was an ear piercing noise and the glass shattered in the immediate area and the noise died. "Do you remember now?"

"Something's coming back," Toad admitted. "There was something familiar about that."

"Good," said Sean. "Now the agents outside will take you back to headquarters and we'll see what we can do to sort you out." Toad nodded and he and Sean went outside where there were several men, all armed and there were two helicopters waiting. Toad took a step back, not really expecting this but Sean was there.

"They're your friends, lad," he said. "We're all your friends. We'll help you remember."

"Thank you, Sean," he said.

"Not at all, Mortimer," Sean Cassidy said, looking around the place, thinking that as soon as Toad was airborne and out of range they would burn this place to the ground. "Not at all."