Finally another chapter of Xmen ad Witchblade xover.

PLEASE READ NOTES AT END FOR NOTICES

I own nothing but my idea of how to merge these worlds.

Enjoy.

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Logan grunted in annoyance as he stumbled on the loose roof top gravel. He and Nottingham were trailing their prey from the rooftops in order to avoid any prying eyes. They had many enemies and this whole trip was somewhere between a trap and a fact finding mission.

A brief blur of lights and noise caused the huntes to pause and drift into te shadows near the edge of the roof. They watched as their prey were approached and halted by a marked police cruiser. Logan's eyes narrowed and he sensed Nottingham shift closer. The conversation below was as clear to them as if they'd been seated in the car themselves.

"Hey Pez. How's the vacation?" a young male voice called from inside the cruiser.

Sara leaned against the side of the car, looking in. A surge of frustration passed through her when she recognized the second occupant of the car. 'Of course Dante would pair Jake with his #1 goon. They're still trying to sign him up in the Bulls.'

"Not bad Jake. My cousin and his friend are visitting from their upstate boarding school. Marie, Pete, meet my partner, Jake McCarty and his ride along, Officer Orlinsky. How the two of you doing? Any interesting cases?"

"Forget it Pez, you know the rules. No talking cases to vacationing personnel." Jake stated with a grin, discreetly eyeing the teens. Beside him, Orlinksy grunted in agreement. Unlike Jake, he made no attempt to hide his open assessment of the pair.

"What kind of boarding school?" the older detective asked in a false attempt at friendliness.

Marie replied before Sara Could, her voice taking on a less distinctive accent. "It's a school for arts. Piotr is an artist and sculptor, and I'm in the performing arts curriculum."

"Performance Arts? Like acting and singing?" Jaked asked.

Marie smiled and nodded. "We have regular classes together, but everyone has a major and minor. I do piano as a minor, and major in theatre. Piotr is in Art History and sculpture."

"So you want to be on Broadway?" Orlinsky asked, showing he wasn't as stupid as he acted. Then again, as a native of New Yorker, it was seeped in that all singer/actor/dancers wanted to be stars on Broadway.

Before Marie could replay, shw found herself lifted and thrown against a nearby paper stand, the wood shaking under the impact and knocking hte breath from her lungs. Even as she crossed the short distance, she was able to see Sara also launched through the air. Though the assailant's movements were too fast for her to see, she was glad that she'd been thrown.

From the way Sara's head snapped and her body lifted into the air, it was clear that the attacker had landed a powerful upper cut to the older woman's chin. The blow was strong enough that the force carried her clear over the roof of the cruiser to land shoulder and neck first againt the edge of a downward leading stair case. Her momentum folded her at th e hips and shoulder, forcing her into a backward clip down the short staircase to land in a heap in front of a shop's door.

Piotr had seen the two woman's sudden flight but before he could move to protect either, a powerful blow fell across the back of his knees, bringing his massive frame crashing to all fours. Almost aqs soon as his arms took the impact of the fall, he felt another blow to his head, disorienting him and halting any further attempt to move. At least until he the dizzyness cleared.

Ian, seeing Sara flipped down the stairs, moved to assit her but Logan stopped him, ignoring the rage on younger man's face.

"Wait till we see what we're up against, kid." Logan stated. "We have no clue what's down there and how they did this. Sara's a tough broad. Takes more then that to put and keep her down. And Rogue and Petey are already shaking it off. We can't go barging in too soon."

Reluctantly Ian nodded, his eyes never leaving the shadowy recess of the staircase containing his beloved Sara. After a short hesitation, Logan released Ian's shoulder, turning back to the scen ten stories below.

Marie shrugged off the impact and scrambled quickly to her feet. A part of her noted that after all the danger room training, she could have risen more gracefully and shaken off the impact more readily, but another part reminded her that it might be too soon to show her true abilities. With this in mind, she rose slowly and limped over to Piotr, who was shaking his head slowly while blinking rapidly. She ignored the 2 officers as they stepped out of teh car, drawing their sidearms.

"Pete, are you ikay? What happened?" she asked, remembering to alter her voice. She winced as she felt her shoulder slipped back in place. It dislocated during the impact against the paper stand.

"Ok, I wouldn't worry about muscle boy, little girl. I'd worry about yourself first." came a voice from behind her.

Marie turned slowly, still trying to sell her injuries while praising her Logan acquired healing.

The person before them was not someone she'd ever seen, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. He reminded him about someone or a couple of someones she knew. His facial structure and white hair teased her memory with the likeness to people she'd met, but she couldn't place the feeling to any specific person or people.

"Who are you?" she asked, leaning to one side and clutching her ribs as though in pain.

"Me? I guess you could say I'm one of the new, improved models. When the weakling left, our master activated us. Only he made us more powerful then the old model?"

"So you're what, some type of clone?"

The man laughed, running his hand through his military grade crew cut. "Not quite. Nottingham is a clone. We are so much more. We are amalgamations! The combination of 2 or more genetic sources in order to create a more powerful servant for our master." He stopped talking as the distinctive sound of a cocking firearm very close to his head.

Jake held the gun tightly, his finger on the trigger and the safety off. He was currently fighting through urges, the main being to check on Pezzini. "I don't care who or what you are, but you just assaulted a police officer and two minors. You're in big shit, pal. I suffest you place you hands behing your head and drop to your knees and shut up. My trigger is a little sensative and sometimes goes off with only the slightest pressure."

"Ah, Det. McCarty, I see you're finally awake." the man stated in a nonchalant tone, as though no bothered in the slightest by the gung mere inches from his head.

"I said shut up!" Jake stated, closing the gap and pushing the barrel against the base of the pale man's skull. "Orlinsky, check on Pezzini and call for EMT's."

"What if I dont' 'shut up', Det? How can you shoot me with an empty pistol?" he again asked.

"I don't know what you're doing here or what you're on, but I loaded this gun myself." he pressed the barrel further against hte man's head.

"Really? Than where do these come from?" the pale man lifted his hand palm up, showing a gun magazine and a single shell. He turned his hand and let them fall to the ground. As every eye followed them, he moved.

Too fast for anyone to react but no where near his top speeds, he spun and knoced aside the gun, punched Jake 3 times in his sturnum and once in a powerful cross that sent him reeling, gasping for breath. A few steps away he collapsed againt the side of the cruiser. The pale man continued to move at the same rate, flicked a lighter, causing a burst of flame to go flying towards the other detective.

Orlinsky flinched back and dove to the side, his body burrying itself into a pile of grabage. It wasn't quite quick enough, as he was singed by the fireball that slamed into the wall of the building behind him, and begun melting the brick facade. He glanced quickly at teh wall and gulped, seing how close he'd come to being a pile of ash.

The attacker turned to face Marie and Piotr, who had been able to rise to their feet as he focused on the officers.

"That takes care of the potential threats. Now it's time to play with the kiddies." his smile widdened into a grin.

Marie huffed and moved forward, having already removed her gloves. "I don't know how you got St. John's power, but we 'kiddies' won't be as entertaining as you think." she stated in a growling tone, her fingers clenching and unclenching in unconcious mimickery of Logan as he fought for control and to restraing releasing the claws. Behind her, Piotr stood to his full 6'8" height, throwing off the oversized jacket he'd been wearing to reveal his powerful form. HIs muscles rippled as ne tensed and brought his arms to a ready position. Even though he held back his transformation, he looked remarkably different then the person that had been trailing after Marie and Sara.

Jonas remained outwardly impassive as he watched the pair. He had noted that the dark haired youth was powerfully buil, and hunched over, but he had not expected this kind of a difference. The boy was massive and looked like he was a walking ad for bodybuilders everywhere. Next to him, the girl looked like a child. There was something about her though that made him think that she was the more dangerous of the two. A hint of a darkness in her gaze or posture that screamed danger. The animalistic growling and hand flexing were also factors. It suggested that she was looking forward to ripping into him with her bared hands,

He had noted as he followed them that hte girl had been wearing gloves all day. While there was a bit of a chill in the air, it was nothing that would make someone want to bundle up. Yet she had removed them in order to confront him. This told him that something was going on about the bared hands. He had also noted that through out the day, and from his sister's report about her stalking activities, there was a noticable lack of contact between the girl and the others. Both Pezzini and the boy had done all they could to subtletly avoid physical contact with the girl.

"So the kiddies want to play? Fine, Let's play." he stated, then sped into a blur towards them.

The world around him slowed to a crawl, then a stop. He really enjoyed these speeds, knowing that only a few could come close to seeing more then a blur, nevermind catching or fighting him. The only real draw back was that in order to control fire, he couldn't move any faster then the fastest of the Olympic level athletes.

He could see the girl and the boy and to his surprise, he could make out noticeable movement from teh pair. He'd never before seen any movement from others when he hit this speed, not even David. This was such a surprise that he slowed, and before he knew it, he ran into a huge fist. His own momentum caused his lower body to continue forward while the rest stopped on contact.

The resutl was a flip centered on the contact of face and fist. He completed 2 and a half full rotations to land on his back more then 10 feet away. The landing took his breath, and rattled his bones. Blood ran down his face from his shattered nose and jaw. He coughed up blood and teeth for a few seconds.

He lay on the ground for a moment, before rolling over and struggling to his feet. Already his injuries were healing. He knew from training that bones and skin healed quickly but teeth and cartaledge were slower to reform. He noticed that neither had moved to take advantage of his condition and he smirked internally. He knew they would be weak. They should never had let him rise to his feet. He shifted to again attack, when something caused him to look over his shoulder. What he saw froze him in place.

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Logan growled and his claws shot out with a snitk! as he watched the clone take out the detectives. He nearly leapt from the roof but Ian again restrained him. He tried to control himself but when the man started towards Marie and Piotr, he shoved Ian aside, and leapt from the roof, arms spread and claws extended.

He was barely over the ledge when he Noticed Piotr's fist had connected, and only a few feet lower when the attacker slammed into the ground. He was just about 10 feet from the ground when the clone looked over his shoulder and had already begun to move. Luckily, he only had time to turn his head and raise his leg before Logan slammed into him claws first. Logan, aided by his 350lbs metal frame, drove his claws into and threw the man's back and out his ribcage. They sliced through his lungs as easily as his ribs.

The jump combined with his weight, drove the clone to the ground. Logan rode him to the ground, his claws digging into the pavement and the underlaying dirt.

Logan withdrew his claws and stabbed them back in several times at different angles, making sure to pierce the heart and sever the spine. He could see that the man's face was already healing from Piotr's punch and realised that the clone had been given enhanced healing as well as speed and fire control. The wounds he inflicted would not kill the clone but would take him out of action for several days, and if he got medical attention soon enough to replace the energy he'd burn healing, there would be no permanent effects. Hopefully by the time he could move enough to be a hassle, the situation would be resolved completely.

He finally stood, giving the body a last kick before turning to see if Marie was all right. He was immediately confronted by Ian, his katana drawn and loosely held towards Logan. The mutant was puzzled for a moment, until he noticed three long gashes across the man's chest, and the blood slowly running from the closing wounds. He sheathed his claws and held his hands awkwardly at his sides.

"Sorry about that." he stated gruffly. "Didn't even realize I cut ya. Was too worried about that psycho hurting Marie."

Ian's stiff frame relzed slightly in understanding. He would have done the same if Lady Sara were so threatened. Inf act he had tried to do the same, but Logan had been able to hold him, whereas he could not restrain the older man. The memory of Sara's attack flashed in his mind and he didn't notice as Logan finally engulfed Marie in a hug and nodded to the large teen.

The errant knight approached the opening slowly, reluctant to see his beloved Lady injured. He was always hesitant to acknowledge that she was still prone to human frailties. Even prior to her first Wielding of the blade, she'd seemed to be beyond the normal kin. And after her survival of the Perriculum, she'd become a Goddess among mortals and he worshipped her even more. His yearning for her grew, yet he knew that his darkness would never be able to approach her light.

He froze at the first step, looking down into in surprise. There was no sign of Sara. Aside frfom the shifting od dust and debris disturbed by her sudden involvment in location, there was no sign of where she had gone. The door down there was boarded and he could see the dust and cobwebs showing it hadn't been opened in a long time.

He spun and frantically began to scan the area for her. But all he noticed was Orlinsky tring to hide under the pile of garbage bags, and Jake McCartey groggily trying to get to his feet.

He paused, took control of teh panic, and extended his senses along their bond. He almost collapsed in reliefe as he felt her through the connection. There was a great deal of pain coming through, and he fell to his knees as it surprised him. Along with the pain, there was worry and fear, thoug he knew she would never admit the later and the former would never be for him. There was also a tinge of amusement. This particular sensation grew stronger as he focussed the connection to attempt to locate his Lady.

He could tell that she was close. The connection was very strong at the moment. The only way he could tell that she wasn't next to him was that he could not see her. All his senses said she was there. That meant that she was either below him (which she couldn't be since the door hadn't been disturbed and that was the only place underground for some distance) or she was above him. He raised his head and stared in awe as he saw his beloved Lady.

He could barely contain his joy as he saw that she was alive though injured. Before he even noticed, he'd leapt up to land on the handrail of the fire escape. He stared at her for a moment, and the tenderness in her eyes was his undoing.

He stepped down from the rail to the grating, and was only dimly aware of as he closed the gap and pulled her into an embrace. He devoured her lips, not caring if she killed him as for once he wanted her to FEEL him. He paused in surprise as instead of death, she matched the passion of his kiss. Her probing tongue slid into his mouth and he felt like he would die from the pleasure she was giving him. His own slid out to duel her's as their passion grew into a raging fire.

Only their combined need for air caused them to break apart. Neither went far, pulling back just enough to gather breath, without interfering in each others breathing. Their eyes were locked together, matching pools of liquid heat. Neither spoke, unwilling to break their moment. Ian's hand came to cup her bruised cheek and she barely winced for it was already healing and looked to be at least a week old. And his touch seemed to cause it to heal for it was soon just a slightly off tinge of color.

"I am so glad you are safe, my Lady. If you had been seriously injured or killed, I would not have been able to live with my failure. I would have followed you to the next life." his voice was low, pitched for her ears only.

Sara smirked, then leaned in and gave him another soul wrenching kiss as her mind berated her for taking so long to acknowledge her need for tihs man. "I just started to accept having you in my life, Ian. I'm not letting either of us get off that easily."

She cocked an eyebrow and glanced down the lenght of their bodies. "While I'm sure I can help us fix that situation, this isn't the time or place."

Ian frowned for a moment as he followed her gaze, then blushed as he realized what she was implying. He tried to create a reply, but was too inexperienced in this or any other form of playful banter to match the boldness of her statement.

Sara grinned as she sensed her victory. "I just made one of the most dangerous men in the world blush like a schoolboy. And with a fairly tame statement at that. I can't wait to see how you react to more . . . advanced language and situations."

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Logan hugged Marie to his sid, nuzzling her hair as her head rested on his shoulder. Piotr was standing just behind them, watching the slowly twitching form of their attacker. He was a little amazed at the brutality of Logan's attack. As a young man in Russia, he had heard and been witness to some terrible events and acts so vile, he even now had nightmares. But he'd never witnessed the sheer personal brutality the likes of Logan's attack.

And yet, he could not find fault with Logan's reaction. Piotr knew not what he would do if anyone harmed or threatened his own beloved Katerina. And he had done some measure of similar violence himelse to those that had attempted vile acts against his sister.

It had become a cliche in America, but he had on one occassion torn the arms off a former KGB agent who had attempted to rape his sister. Even at a young age, her beauty marked her as a target for those who were filled with greed.

This man, this clone and mutant had tried to harm Rogue- Marie. A person he regarded as a 2nd sister. He would gladly have beaten the man to death himself, but the near emotionless way Logan dispatched of the attacker scared him more then if Logan had been raging and frothing at the mouth. It was something he would never have thought Logan capable of, with his exciteble nature and lack of control. Tearing the man in pieces while growling, roaring and laughing with bloodlust, yes. But almost surgically and calmly doign enough damage to disable the threat without killing it, never.

"We need to go." he sated as he watched the officers slowly regaining their sense. He did not wish to explainwhat had happened to the quivering body.

"You're right Pete." Sara stated, pulling away slightly from Ian's embrace. "We can't be here when Jake and Orlinsky wake up. We have no way to explain this without revealing who all of you are and all of our secrets."

Ian frowned. "I could always take the responsibility, my Lady. I ould say I was following you and your charges, and when you were attacked, I came to your defense. With the rate this man heals, no forensics could dispute that me katana and other weapons caused the injuries."

"Good of you to offer Ian, but I don't want you anywhere near the police right now. I am sure your former employer has his stooges looking for you. There's a good chance this guy was sent to try and flush us out of hiding. Iron's worst nightmare is you and I working together, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's told Dante about that little achilles heel of yours. No, right now we should hit my place. You start recording everything Iron's ever ordered you to do and some of the highlights of your childhoow with him. Then at the right time, we contact some of the big guys at the Justice Department and offer them the head of the biggest crime lord since Prince John decided it would be a good idea to take the throne and let his brother be killed because he was too cheap to pay the low ransom and too cowardly to attempt a rescue."

FLASH.

Robin frowned as she watched her beloved fade back into the shadows of the castle. She had asked him once again to return to Sherwood with her, but he had again refused, saying he was better placed as a spy against Prince John. She hated that he was forced to pretend to follow that skunk of a man, but was again enthralled by her lover's devotion to the people. His role was difficult for him to play, for in truth, he was nothing like the person he was forced to play as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

She chuckled as she looked down at the pulsing weapon attached to her wrist. "Well my friend, what will history make of us? Likely it will transform me to a man, separate my love into his real being, but female, and make the tyrant he plays into the reality of Nottingham." A red pulse, what she had come to realise was the blade's version of laughter trickled over the jewel and she nodded. "Aye, that is a likely future of our tale, is it not?"

END FLASH.

Shaking her head from the flash, Sara lead Ian over to join the others. They quickly left the area by the sidewalks while Ian and Logan hit the roof tops. No one noticed that immediately after Ian's long long tailed coat vanished over the roof's edge, a figure melted out of the shadows, watching them leave with a frown on it's face.

"I must advise the master and David that the Wielder's allies are more dangerous then he believes." the slim figure removed a device from a pouch and pressed one of the buttons. Seconds later, a large SUV pulled up, and a pair of muscled thugs exitted, looking around eagerly. "Grab him." she ordered before entering the passenger seat. "No need to be gentle. He will heal. Now hurry! The master awaits." The men shrugged, lifted the quivering bleeding mass and through it in the cargo compartment of the vehicle before taking their own seats as it sped off.

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sorry that it's taking me so long to update stories now, but job is in the way. I don't have any time at work to really write and even when I do, I have to do it by hand instead of typing. Can only use internal drives at work, no jumpdrives/cds/floppies/memory sticks or outside electronic devices. cant even bring cellphon into work place, have to leave in locker.

am currently typing up the next chaps for RAvsHP (some good action), a new neko's mate story, the next State of Ours, and a new story, for the Firefly/Serenity series that's of course another xover.