disclaimer: All recognizable characters are owned by Marvel Comics Group. I expect to receive no monetary benefits from this work of fiction, though I reap much satisfaction. All other characters are MINE, but I can be persuaded to share if asked nicely.

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Test Results
by Dizi

Chapter 3

It wasn't hard to make his way back to that small room in the basement of the hospital. He easily dealt with the lock on the heavy metal door - the thing was so old it was a complete joke - and turned on the light.

Like a couple hours before, she cringed away, more from what she couldn't see than the light which blinded her.

Wasting no time, he threw some clothes at her. "Hurry and get dressed, we gotta move fast!"

Swallowing, she stared at him. He hadn't been clearly visible earlier, and had left before her eyes had fully adjusted, but she recognized him. There was no way she was going with someone Father Carson had brought. Unless Father Carson was right there and telling her to, but only then.

"Marissa!" he gruffly commanded. "Hurry up, girl!"

Now she stared at him for an entirely different reason. Father Carson would not have told him her name. The priest may not even remember what her name was since he had never once used it. How did this stranger know?

Understanding bloomed inside him. Why should she trust or remember him? It had been a long time, almost ten years. "Your parents names were John and Molly Burstein. The last time you saw me you were ten and showed me your room. It had white furniture and a border with kittens close to the ceiling. You said it was because you wanted a real kitten but your mother was allergic and you couldn't. My name is Zarek. Do you remember me now?"

Astonished, Marissa slowly nodded.

"Do you want out of here?"

Again she nodded.

"Then get dressed already!"

It didn't take long to slip on the slacks and long-sleeved shirt, both so big they were falling off her. All the while, she snuck curious glances at his turned back. She did remember him now, remembered her father had trusted him. But he didn't look any older and it confused her. The coat Zarek wore was the same he'd had before and it looked older than he did.

"Ready?" he asked, turning around, his voice again gruff and demanding. But Zarek didn't wait for a response once he saw she was clothed. "We'll have to go through the main part of the hospital to get out the closest exit. There may be a lot of people. Stay with me. If anyone tries to stop us, I'll take care of it. Let's go."

He set a fast pace going down the hall, Marissa had to almost run to keep up. Having to wait during the short elevator ride, she became more and more nervous. She knew there were cameras in the elevator. It was how she'd gotten caught once. What if they took her away from him? Marissa didn't want to go back.

Fully aware of the camera, Zarek again set a fast-pace once the doors opened on the second floor, this time clamping his hand on her covered arm. He hoped by not going to the main floor he would throw off whoever might be watching.

He practically dragged her down another hall to a stairwell. Down they went to a third hall. It opened up to the lobby, and the exit was in sight.

Zarek stopped abruptly, cursing, "Well, shit!"

Blocking their way, arguing, was the X-Men he'd seen on the street and Sister Meredith. Marissa trembled at the sight of her 'keeper'.

"We know you have a girl hidden here somewhere," Bishop was saying calmly. "You can show her to us so we know she's alright, or we can do this the hard way."

To show the nun what 'the hard way' entailed, Jubilee raised one hand and let a few harmless sparks fill the air between them, and Logan growled.

A rubenesque, no-nonsense sort of woman, Sister Meredith didn't blink an eye at their display. "You only prove how full of sin mutants are. Repent your heathen ways, fill your lives with good works, and you may yet be received in Heaven."

Snorting, Zarek let go of Marissa's arm and put his hand on her back, propelling her in the direction they had come. He whispered close to her ear, "We'll go out the emergency room instead. No need to go by that bitch."

"Sister, what do ya think we did yesterday?" Logan snarled. "We saved the whole damn city!"

"And show today, by your words and actions, that you have far to go." Ready to give a righteous sermon on the their sinfulness, Sister Meredith's face suddenly became angry whereas before it had been disdainful. She had seen Marissa. "What are you doing out of your room?! You dreadful girl, does your sin know no bounds?!"

Shoving Jubilee aside, the woman marched across the lobby.

Sighing, Zarek decided he wouldn't make plans from now on. Recently, they just always got ruined. Positive he could handle her, he didn't bother to take Marissa and run. It might just help her to see a confrontation with the bitch.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Sister Meredith demanded, once she was in front of them.

"Who me?" Zarek pretended surprise, one hand sliding into a pocket surreptitiously. "I'm just taking your money-making mutant and getting the hell out of here. Why?"

"She belongs to us! The creature is a ward of the Church!" the nun screeched.

No fools, Logan and Bishop understood the girl in question was the one they had been looking for. Signaling Jubilee, both men stood ready to assist if necessary.

Terrified, Marissa moved to stand submissively slightly behind Zarek, and whimpered when Sister Meredith reached for her, fingers curved into claws.

In an instant, Zarek had a rather ugly gun pointed at the nun's head. The look in his eyes told her he wouldn't hesitate to shoot. "I think that's enough. Back away. Tell your uniforms to do the same." Zarek was talking about two security guards, one behind him and the other coming around the side. "I told you we're leaving. Unless Marissa here, you know, the creature - beautiful creature, that is - wants me to leave you bleeding on the floor."

Marissa's eyes went wide. No one had called her beautiful since her parents died in that car crash years ago. Would he really shoot Sister Meredith? He'd go to Hell!

Giggling softly, Jubilee said in an undertone to Wolverine, "He kinda reminds me of you."

"I ain't never held a gun on a nun, kid," came his reply just as low.

Both his brows raised questioningly, Zarek asked, "Well, Marissa? Should I kill her for what she's done to you?"

Blank-faced, she stared at him. Life and death had been in her hands before, literally, but never like this.

"Tell him not to shoot!" screamed Sister Meredith, and said to the guards, another one having come running, "Get back! All of you!"

"Make a decision, girl." Zarek told Marissa in his usual gruff tone. "Haven't got all day. I've never killed a nun before, it'll be a new experience for me and I don't get those often."

Mutely, still terrified, Marissa shook her head negatively.

"Nope, that ain't gonna work. You gotta say it out loud." He had realized she hadn't spoken, but knew she could talk.

"N-no," Marissa's voice was a stuttering whisper, having trained herself not to talk in Sister Meredith's presence and not much anywhere else either. "D-don't k-k-kill her."

"Too bad. I was starting to look forward to it." Keeping his gun trained on the nun, Zarek pushed Marissa towards the door with the other hand, indicating she go from behind him. "Now, like I said, we're leaving. Deal with it."

"God will punish you for your wicked ways," Sister Meredith swore as they got further away from her. Father Carson would not be happy about this.

"God had nothing to do with it, lady. If he did, I've already been punished more than you can imagine." He nodded towards Wolverine. "Same as him."

Logan became stiff and his eyes alert. The man couldn't mean what he thought. His pieces of memories from Weapon X hadn't included him.

"We have a car waiting outside," Bishop said softly, loud enough for Zarek and Marissa to hear him but not the security guards. "Let us give you santuary."

"As long as we the hell out of here, I don't care," Zarek swore. "She needs someplace safe."

Nodding, Bishop hurried outside to start the car.

"We're gonna have us a talk." Logan growled low to him and said to Jubilee, "In the meantime, how 'bout a distraction, kid?"

"Sure, Wolvie." Rolling her eyes at him still calling her kid even though she was seventeen, Jubilee lifted both hands and there was a wall of brightly colors sparks filling the lobby.

The guards freaked. Jubilee, Logan, and Zarek along with Marissa - he once again had a hand clamped on her arm - rushed towards the door.

A gun went off.

Horrified, Marissa looked to Zarek but it hadn't been his.

With a cry of pain, Jubilee crumpled, her leg bleeding.

Without missing a step, Wolverine snatched her up into his arms and continued out the door, a snarl on his lips.

Get away vehicle ready, Bishop was behind the wheel of a black SUV. They all piled inside, Zarek last, finally putting away his gun after Marissa followed Logan into the backseat and taking the front passenger side himself. Bishop took off down the road before the doors were closed.

"It hurts," Jubilee moaned.

Stripping off his tshirt, Logan used it to wrap her leg. "It's just a flesh wound, darlin. Blue will fix ya up good as new."

Looking over his should, Zarek suddenly shouted, "No!"

But he was too late. Marissa had reached past Logan and touched Jubilee's bare arm.

The teen cried out, not in pain but surprise as it didn't hurt because she wasn't as bad off as Bishop been.

Marissa slumped into the seat.

"Goddammit!" Zarek let out a string of curses while Logan looked around for the danger. "Forget the kid! She's fine now! Check Marissa's pulse, dammit! Shit, she looks like she could be dead!"

Indeed, Marissa was so pale as to be lifeless and her body had somehow become thinner, her cheeks now gaunt.

Following his orders, Logan pressed his fingers to her neck. "She's alive but her pulse is weak."

Relieved, Zarek sat back, breathing deeply. "That would be just great to save her only to have her die a few minutes later. Hell."

"What's wrong with her?" Bishop looked at Marissa through the rearview mirror, driving faster. Aparently they still needed to hurry home to Hank.

"It's a fine thing to save people, right? Bring them back from the brink of death?" Zarek gave Bishop a significant look. "But she pays the price. Healing uses her up, the fuel coming from her body itself. Damn scientists fixed it so she feels a need to heal anyone she sees that's hurt at all. I thought she'd overcome that, but this shows she hasn't. The bastards."

"She'll keep doing it even if she's going to die!" Jubilee exclaimed. Her leg had hurt but she hadn't been worried once Logan told her it was a flesh wound. Hank would have taken care of it easy.

"Her father was the only survivor of that experiment and he was like a recovering alcoholic. Always wanting to heal someone, like an alcoholic always want a drink." Zarek's voice was bitter. "John overcame what they did to him only because he had Molly, and years later Marissa. His love for them made him strong enough. The others weren't so lucky. They died, all fifteen of them."

"What do we do for her?" Bishop asked.

"If she wakes up by the time we arrive, fill her full of food and keep it coming. Shove it down her throat. If not, put her on an IV, heavy on the glucose." Zarek ran his fingers through his long hair. "Hell, maybe both. She'll process it quick, building up her strength at an accelerated rate. But the big thing is, once she's recovered, don't let her touch you. Not even for a scratch or she'll never be at a hundred percent. More important, Marissa has to learn NOT to use her powers. It won't be easy. I wanted her to learn in some remote place where no one was around, but it could be better in a place full of people. A harder lesson, but a more realistic one."

"Huh. She'll get that at the mansion." Logan grumbled. Dragging his eyes from Marissa's still form, he said to Zarek, "And we'll be havin' a long talk 'bout what ya said in there.'

"Fine. After Marissa's out of danger. All danger."

to be continued.

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note: Well, got all or most of the characters in play and as far as the story came to me. I have ideas for further events but haven't figured out what exactly happens next. It seems that the other three stories in progress have been calling to me more than this one. But I really like it and will get it done. Sooner or later. Hope you like it so far!

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi