Lenny stood and stared out the floor to ceiling windows in his corner office, a slight grin lifting the corners of his lips. Soon everything out there would be his to control. Okay, well not soon, but eventually. He'd taken care of a small obstacle. Craig De Loray was of no consequence to his life any longer.

The smile grew. It was certainly not a mirthful grin, it was darker, more malevolent. The smile faltered for a second before reasserting itself. Craig had believed they were friends. Still did despite everything that happened. It was sad, really, that Craig had bought into his act. He shook his head. Everything he'd done was to reach this point, to enact his plans and take over. Mutants should be on top.

"We're superior," he muttered. The next phase of evolution for mankind. People couldn't see it, they reacted with fear and violence. And stupidity, like his parents. If that's what they wanted, he'd react in kind. In the end, mutants would be on top and he would lead them to that victory.

Brittany breezed into the room. Hair 80's big and teased, skirt denim with leggings and leg warmers, the shirt she wore had vibrant paint splashes across it. "Lenny, you need to turn on the news, like right now. 'K?"

He turned and frowned as he took in her outfit. "What are you wearing?"

She twirled on the tips of the toes of her bright white Keds sneakers and gave him a sunny smile. "Do you like it? I figured since you were going retro we all should! Isn't it boss?"

His lip curled. "Yes, well, whatever." He picked up the TV remote and pushed the power button as Brittany lifted her butt up to sit on the corner of his desk. He wondered why she insisted on perching on the corner of his desk. Probably thought she looked all cute sitting up there like that. He sighed and turned away. While one is in the middle of plans to take over the world, one didn't have time for dating.

"News!" she told him in a perky voice.

Right as if he needed a reminder of what she told him two minutes ago. He supposed she wasn't so much reminding him as she was reminding herself. Idiot. He flipped channels until he found a news station. His good humor was immediately restored when he saw the story they were reporting on. He listened to the reporter as the man imparted the details to the audience of viewers out in TV land.

"Currently is it unknown what is causing mutants in multiple cities across the U.S. to lose their powers, but government scientists are looking into the matter as we speak."

With a cackle, he shut off the television and tossed aside the remote. "Yes! It's working! Now we need to get the word out to the mutants that I will be more than willing to help them get their powers back if they swear loyalty to me."

Brittany was twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "Um, how do we do that?"

"Leave it to me. At least those X-Men brats won't be bothering us any longer."

"Right, 'cause we gassed them. You are so ... so strong and you really are a great leader, Lenny!" she gushed.

While he enjoyed her praise, he didn't have time for romantic entanglements. He needed to concentrate on world domination. It was usually at this stage in the plans where all good supervillains went wrong, either they spent too much time concentrating on their damn goody-two-shoes counterpart or they fell for some chick who ruined it all. Not him, he was keeping it simple. He'd already gotten rid of Craig, he was moving on from that disaster. He wasn't going to go gloat and monologue, or something lame that would end up ruining his plans. And he certainly wasn't going to fall for some girl and let her scramble his brains. He sent Brittney a disgusted look. Well, unless of course Ziva changed her mind and joined his army. Now there was a woman who could make his hair stand on end, and he wasn't talking about her powers, either. He gave his head a shake and refocused. Nope, no girls! Full steam ahead!

This was a time for seriousness. Concentration. Yeah, he was on it. Totally!

***

"Nothing. Not one single spark! I hate this! I hate Lenny!" Ziva punched at her pillow before flopping down on her bed.

Craig grinned. "Not so sure I agree. Not being on guard all the time has some benefits. I've gotten some really great nights of sleep since my powers went poof."

Ziva tossed her pillow at him. "Shut up, American Pie!"

"Will you guys stop it? We are all frustrated, so leave it alone. How do you think I feel? I have to read things now!" Skylar said with a distinct pout in her tone.

"Skylar, do those two have to be in here? I keep thinking they're going to go for my throat any minute." Ziva eyed Stevie's cats warily where they snuggled with Skylar on her bed.

Skylar hugged both cats and smiled. "Yes, they do, because they are so sweet! Aren't you? Yes, you are!"

Ziva and Craig both made faces when Skylar started speaking to the cats using that annoying baby talk voice parents use with little kids. The one they think is so cute but is simply annoying instead. Skylar had been spending a lot of time with the cats since Stevie had introduced them. She was now very friendly with them.

They all turned toward the door when the curtain climbers came in, Mellissa's theme song blaring loudly, leading the way. "Hello old folks, what's doing?"

"We aren't old, Mellissa," Ziva said with an eye roll.

She shrugged and sat down smack in the middle of the floor beside Craig. "All right people, what's the new plan?"

"Plan? Who in the hell said we were planning anything?" Ziva snapped at her.

"So, we're just going to sit by and let Lenny win this war?" A'Cadia asked from where she leaned against the doorjamb. No one had seen her trailing behind the curtain climbers. Mellissa's theme song had blotted out everything else.

"War? So now it's a war?" Ziva asked her.

"Might as well go there, it's what he's going to make it and you damn well know it." A'Cadia stepped into the room, crossed it, and dropped to the floor, leaning her back against the side of Skylar's bed.

Stevie looked up from petting Mack where the cat lounged on the end of Skylar's bed. "She has a point. He's gonna come here and try to wipe out the school at some point. The X-Men are a threat to him. Logan mostly. He'll wanna gas the team as soon as he can."

They all turned and looked at A'Cadia when she started laughing. "He can gas Logan all he wants, won't do him much good."

Mellissa scowled at her. "What does that mean? You were declawed, pussycat."

A'Cadia moved in a flash, stopping with the tip of her adamantium claws a hairsbreadth from Mellissa's nose. "Wanna bet?"

"You had your powers this entire time and you didn't tell us?" Ziva yelled, jumping up off the bed, fists clenched at her sides fighting the urge to fling electricity at A'Cadia. Electricity she no longer had.

"No, not exactly."

"Not exactly?" Craig asked her.

A'Cadia sat back against the bed. "The compound 13 worked, I lost my powers when we were gassed. It lasted for almost an hour. Probably has something to do with how quickly I heal. The point is, if it didn't take me out then it probably won't take Logan out, either."

They all looked at each other before looking back at A'Cadia. Craig grinned at her. "So then are you going to be the one who recruits Logan over to our side?"

"Beg your pardon, isn't he already on our side?" she asked him.

Angela, who had been dancing around the room the entire time, spoke up. "No, I think he means are you going to go ask him to come with us when we go after Lenny again. We could use him with us."

A'Cadia looked between them. Her eyes flicking around the room like those of a trapped animal. She licked her lips. "I don't think that's a good idea. You know how his temper is, I mean come on, he might not listen to me."

Skylar sat up; clutching Mack to her chest, the large cat overflowing her arms. "But he's your father, A'Cadia. He'll listen to you! I know he will!"

A'Cadia still looked uncertain about the idea of having a one on one conversation with the Wolverine.

***

A'Cadia walked down the hallway and slipped into Logan's little media room that occupied a small study on the first floor with a little bit of uncertainty, something she wasn't used to feeling.

"Um, Logan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He cranked his neck around to look at her, a bottle of beer, arrested part of the way to his mouth. "Uhh, sure, sure, come on in."

The only consolation she had about this entire thing was that he suddenly looked as uncertain as she felt. He probably thought she was going to launch into a conversation about her being his kid.

She scooted further into the room and took a spot on a chair adjacent to the couch. "Okay, well, please don't say anything until I finish explaining."

One eyebrow cocked upward, and he took a swig of beer. She cleared her throat nervously and waited, he said nothing, but finally gave her a tiny nod of agreement.

"Good, good, okay then. Now, you know ... um ... well, we're running a little short on powers in our group 'cause of Lenny, but the thing is, we still want to be the ones to take him down. We feel responsible for the guy." She stopped, her brow furrowed, wondering when exactly she'd started including herself in the group. Somehow, somewhere along the way, she had. Maybe because she'd been a part of his army before, she felt some responsibility for stopping him. "I know you guys think it's your job, but well, we want to do it." Slowly she rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms over her thighs, staring at the floor to avoid Logan's penetrating gaze. To avoid her father's penetrating gaze, she corrected herself. "So, the point is we wanted to be there to take him down. To put a stop to whatever he has planned."

Silence filled the room. Stretching out to fill every corner. It hung heavy in the air until she could no longer stand it. When she looked up, her gaze clashed with his. His eyes were calm, she didn't see any anger. Okay, so far so good. Maybe. There wasn't anything to give away how he was feeling.

"May I ask what your point is?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, well we wanted to ask if you would back us up if we went after Lenny again."

That brow of his arched again. "And what makes you think I won't run off and let Storm know what you've just asked of me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know that, I can only hope you won't do it. I also know how I would react and as it has been pointed out on more than a few occasions, we tend to think a lot alike."

He chuckled, leaned forward, and set the bottle of beer on the table in front of the couch, before settling his forearms on his thighs, and looking at her once more. "It's dangerous for you to go up against Lenny and his army again. Doesn't matter if the kid is a screw-up or not, he has the Compound 13. Look what happened last time you underestimated him, you all lost your powers."

"Ahh, see but that is where he underestimated things." She held up a fisted hand and almost grinned at the sight of his shocked expression when the claws came out. "I was out of commission for about an hour, tops, before everything came right on back."

"And you think it will work the same for me, is that it?"

"Possibly, maybe less time since you are the original and I'm only ... uh ... your offspring. Might be factors involved in that. Who knows. All I know is that we have an advantage Lenny doesn't. He can knock out the others, but not us."

She could almost see the gears working inside his head as he sat back once more. Her nerves were ramping up the longer he stayed silent. Why didn't he answer? If he ran off to Storm and tattled on them it would suck, major.

"Fine, I'll go with, but you listen to me, little girl, and listen good, got me?" He waited for her nod before he continued. "You let me lead, not you, not Ziva. I'm in charge, is that understood?"

Her butt shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Not so sure Ziva will agree with that, you know how she is."

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I'm sure she'll back off if I tell her to." He sat back and returned his gaze to the TV. "And get your butt to the lab, let the guys take a look at your blood. There could be something there we can use against the Compound 13."

"Yes, sir," she told him with a grin. A'Cadia bet Ziva would back down if the order came straight from the Wolverine. She'd love to see Sparky set back a pace or two, would be nice. "Right, I'll let the others know you're going to come with. Not sure when we're going after him. We'll let you know."

"You do that. And A'Cadia." He paused and looked at her with those penetrating eyes. "So, you know ... I'm proud of you." His eyes went straight back to the TV as soon as the words left his mouth. Still, she felt the emotion behind them and it made her chest swell a bit. At least he wasn't flat out denying that she was his daughter. It seemed as if he had accepted it.

Pride. That was the emotion she felt. She left the room quickly, so he wouldn't see the tears that suddenly filled her eyes at his words. God, she felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Acting all girlie and emotional. Wouldn't Skylar just love that? Swiping a hand across her eyes to rid them of the moisture there, she took a deep breath and headed back to the others slowly. She needed a moment to get her emotions back under control.