Kurt had mistakenly not teleported back to the front of the cabin, but to the nearest side, and clearly the X-men hadn't seen him yet.

"I can smell him! He's here!" Logan suddenly snarled.

Sabretooth didn't lose any time slamming Creed, and Shine also, against the wall of the cabin, hard enough to make Shine's teeth rattle.

Kurt of course was able to teleport out of his reach.

"Stop this!" He said.

"A mutant!" Sabretooth snarled. "At my house huh? Looking for Creed? For revenge? Well, I'm not done with him yet!"

"No, no you don't understand," Kurt said. "He is my brother.

"I'm not your brother!" Creed said.

Shine elbowed him. "Shut up." She said. Rubbing her throat.

"Brother?" Sabretooth said. "I don't think so, I'm an only child kind of parent."

"No, no," Kurt tried to get in front of him. "Half brother. Same mother."

Pause.

"Mystique had another kid?" Sabretooth said.

"Actually she had two," Rogue's voice cut in, she was hovering over the room holding some firewood. "Now I'mma have to ask you real nice to put them down, you big brute!"

"Or," Sabretooth spat, claws digging into their chests. "I could just kill them if you don't put that tree down, sweetheart."

Rogue hesitated.

"Let us try to talk this out," Kurt said.

"I ain't interested in talking," Sabretooth said. "Now if you're his half brother. ..and you do kind of look like her now that you mention it, you must hate him just as much as me, but, I got to him first, so sorry, you can't share."

"I don't hate him," Kurt said. "I came here to help him."

"Help him?" Sabretooth laughed cruelly. "Don't you know, he hates mutants, our kind. Doesn't take kindly to his own kin...and who is this?" Eyeing Shine. "This little twig also related to Creed, or does he have a girlfriend."

"Actually, I'm married to someone else," Shine said. "And you're hurting me, so if you could just let go..."

"Why would I do that?" Sabretooth said. "Your friend with the stick is just waiting to attack little ol' Sabretooth. And on my own property too."

"I can make it worth it," Shine said. "There's something you probably should know, about Creed."

Sabretooth frowned. "That I don't already know?"

"It might have to do with your own security," Shine said. "And I understand it, that is all you care about, correct?"

"What are you doing?" Rogue asked.

"Trying to act rational, please put the tree down." Shine said. "And Logan, you too"

Logan stopped just as he was going to come out from the left.

Sabretooth looked. Then he yanked Shine and Creed in front of him.

"Careful Logan," he said. "I thought I smelled your foul stench...any closer and they get it."

"Hiding behind a girl and you're no good son? I thought you couldn't get any lower," Logan said.

"Diplomacy fails because of people like this," Shine said, rolling her eyes.

"Please can we all not fight?" Kurt held up his hands. "We can find a different solution."

"Who wants to?" Sabretooth said.

"Help..." Creed whimpered.

"Why are you helping him?" Sabretooth asked. "He hates all of you."

"No, thanks to you," Logan said, "I'm sure."

"He's my own son, and I have taken excellent care of him," Sabretooth said, with a very unsettling grin. "Which is more than you can ever seem to pull of. How many times have you almost died because of the so called Friends of Humanity? You should be thanking me."

"I got no gratitude for a man who'd hurt his own kid, even if it's scum like Creed," Logan growled.

"I'm not his son!" Creed said.

"Shut up," Sabretooth said.

"Shine?" Wally called. "You want me to...?"

"No, it's fine," Shine said. "Sabretooth can't hurt me."

"Just who do you think you're talkin' about, lady?" Sabretooth said. "I can hurt you easy."

"If you hurt me now, you have no leverage," Shine said calmly. "You're outnumbered six to one, and alone, in the middle of nowhere. Logan would be enough anyway, but Logan and the other X-Men won't leave you distinguishable to anyone. So you'd better take real good care of your hostages, if you want to avoid the beating of your life."

Silence.

Storm and Rogue exchanged a look.

Gambit had his cards ready. Logan waited.

Sabretooth's slow mind took a second to realize Shine was right, and he was basically cornered. Then he snarled angrily.

"All of you, back up," Shine said. "We'll have to work this out, or we'll be standing here still next week, and this is really uncomfortable."

"You tellin' us what to do?" Rogue said.

"Rogue, please," Shine said.

"Just do as she says," Creed yelped. Apparently he'd latched on to the only human person here as his hope.

Rogue muttered what sounded suspiciously like a curse word, but she moved back.

"All of you," Shine said firmly, "let's do this nice and easy. Sabretooth here won't hurt us, if you let him escape, right, Tony?"

"Tony?" Logan said.

"Watch your mouth, lady," Sabretooth said. "I'm just going to back up nice and easy. No one make any sudden moves, or she get is."

"Wow, that's so smart. He really has us over a barrel," Wally said sarcastically.

Logan didn't like it, but he backed up.

Sabretooth moved, still dragging his hostages.

The X-men let him.

Kurt glanced at Shine. "But I can--"

Shine shook her head.

Kurt went silent.

"Here's what we can do," Shine went on. "We get far enough away, and then you let us go. And we let you go. The X-men will follow at a distance, and if you hurt us in any way, they'll hunt you down and take you in--or take you out, who knows? But if you don't harm us, you can go your merry way. We just want Creed."

"Pity," Sabretooth said. "Asking me to turn over my own kin."

"Like you care about 'im," Logan said.

"He'd thank you for it more than anything, I dare say," Shine said. "Do we have a deal? Or shall we dance around a bit more?"

"Fine," Sabretooth said. "I ain't in the mood to fight all of you anyway. But you better not come near me."

He started moving into the woods.

Creed whimpered some more. "Don't kill me..."

"Shut up," Sabretooth said. "It looks like our fun is over. Too bad."

At a good distance from the cabin, he stopped. "This is far enough."

He dropped them.

Creed expected him to just kill them anyway.

Shine, on the other hand, looked around. "I'm sure Logan is close, in case you thought you could take advantage of this situation."

"I ain't that dumb," Sabretooth muttered. "Just one question.... How in the h--- did you find me? This place is supposed to be secret."

"Hey, genius," Shine said, "how do you think Creed got here? The Friends of Humanity know where you live."

"I figured," Sabretooth said.

"Then you must also have figured they're just going to pick you off once you stop being useful to them," Shine said. "I thought you ought to realize that. I'd move... The X-men know where you live now anyway. You shouldn't go back to that house."

"This is your idea of a victory?" Sabertooth said. "Who are you anyway? New recruit?"

"Why do you need to know? Need a name to give the hitman?" Shine said.

"I do my own dirty work," Sabretooth said threateningly.

Shine actually smacked him across the face.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Shine was livid.

"Stay away from innocent people," she said. "What you've done to your son alone is enough to kill you over, but we're not like that. We believe in mercy. I wish you did. Leave him alone. Hasn't he been punished enough? And as for me, I don't care. You can find me anytime." She smiled suddenly a little scarily. "I'd welcome the opportunity."

Sabretooth likely would have struck her back, but he knew the X-men would pounce on him the second he did. 

And her look there was kind of unnerving even to someone as angry as himself. For all he knew, she had powers she wasn't letting on.

"I have a feeling we'll meet again," Shine said. "Next time I might have to fight you, but for now you can just go off." She pointed. "Consider yourself lucky. I could have just let Logan total your rear end. We could have escaped anytime, but I figured I'd be nice. I hate to see people brutally beaten, even if they are people who deserve it."

"You think you're so clever," Sabretooth said. "If I ever get a chance to get my claws in you again, lady, you'll be sorry for this. And him too." He glanced at Creed. "Disgrace of a son."

"I find that ironic coming from you." Shine crossed her arms. "Or have you already forgotten that the way you treat him is just how you remember being treated?"

Sabretooth suddenly got a hard look. "What?"

"Yeah, I know that," Shine said, "and about the rest of it. You've been put through a lot of hell, haven't you?" She frowned. "I'm sorry for that. Not that I think you want my sympathy, but that I think...it's horrible. But you've spent your entire life trying to make others suffer as much as yourself, and it hasn't gotten you anywhere, just anger and betrayal, and you envy anyone somehow able to rise above it, because you never have."

Sabretooth made a fist.

"Someone as tough as you is actually the weakest of us all," Shine said, "so I'm sorry. That's why I'm letting you go. But next time, I doubt it'll be so easy, so, hey, stop attacking the X-men if you want to keep your freedom. Now get out of here." She tilted her head. "Or do you want to give them an excuse?"

She would have been a dead woman if it hadn't been for the X-men being close enough for him to smell them.

Sabretooth made a very awful growling sound at her to express his hatred, before turning to run for it.

Shine let out a long sigh.

Creed looked up, taking his head out from between his hands. "Is he...gone?"

"For now." Shine helped Creed stand. "He's all anger, but he's not brave. Are you all right?"

"Yes...thank you," Creed said. "Are...you human?"

"Only too human, Creed," Shine said. "And while I question your humanity at times, I know you're not a mutant, so..."

"He's gone." Logan popped out of the trees. "I almost wanted 'im to try somethin'...but, oh well.... Now what?"

Creed hid behind Shine real heroically.

The other X-Men and Wally and Kurt appeared out of the trees.

"You're very brave," Kurt said. "I could have gotten you avay from him, and you chose to do this.... Why?"

"To avoid a blood bath," Shine said. "Why else? Let him lick his wounds for a bit. He's bound to run into us again another time."

"I wanted to get 'im this time," Logan said. "What did ya say to 'im? He looked like he was going to kill ya."

"Just a few things," Shine said vaguely. "I'm probably on his list now."

"Already?" Wally said. "Wow, high-five, honey, that was fast."

Shine pretended to high five him.

"I'm...a little lost," Rogue said.

"You tellin' me. Why'd we let him go?" Gambit was totally confused.

"I didn't vant to fight him," Kurt said. "But...now vat?"

Creed was eyeing them all warily.

"Stay away from me!" he said. "You d--- muties!"

"After all that!" Rogue made a fist. "You blamed, ungrateful rat!"

"Please don't attack him while I'm right in front of him!" Shine held up her hands. "Can you cut the guy some slack for once? Can you imagine what he's been through?"

"Cut Creed some slack? Sure I'll cut 'im some slack, and I'll use these to do it," Logan spat, flexing his claws.

"You agreed to come here on the condition that we were going to rescue him, Logan," Shine shot back. "Storm, please."

"She's right. We gave our word," Storm agreed. "We cannot go back on it now. Logan, leave him alone. All of you."

They all frowned.

"Ve vill take him somevere safer," Kurt said. "After that, I suppose he vill have nothing to do vith us."

"Wh...why are you even here?" Creed said. "This is a set-up, isn't it? I hate you!"

"Dude." Wally grabbed his arm. "Not a mutant either, by the way, but you have got to stop screaming at people when they are defending you. It's either him or letting the X-men have you."

Creed shut up.

* * *

It was one awkward walk/flight back to the river. Creed didn't trust any of them, but he was also afraid to provoke them.

He just stuck close to Shine and Wally.

Kurt was the only one who didn't find this really grating to put up with.

Any one of the X-men would have liked to punch Creed squarely in the jaw, or worse, had they had the chance. All they could think of was how often he'd tried to harm them, down to the last, and maybe they didn't kill--but helping him?! It was the height of insult to injury and to just stand there and take it...

It was causing some of them frustration that Kurt didn't seem to feel that way. They attributed Shine and Wally's lack of concern to them being humans, but Kurt was always just...an oddball.

Once on the boat, Shine asked Creed if he had a home.

"No," he said.

"Don't even think about it," Logan said to Shine.

"I'm not that naive," Shine said. "I wouldn't do that to you anyway, Logan. Do you think I am unaware of how you feel? Just because I want to be above it doesn't mean I don't understand. Do you think I like this?"

Logan scowled.

"But we got to do something. Can't just dump him on a street," Wally said.

"Better dan he deserve," Gambit said, still very angry about this whole situation.

"I guess we'll just have to drop him off with the police," Shine said. "I doubt much will come of it, but we have no other options."

Creed didn't even object. Probably sounded good in comparison to what he'd expect at the hands of mutants.

But he didn't really believe they were going to do that until they actually did drag him to a town nearby and the local police station.

Once the police heard he'd been part of blowing up the dam, they were willing to book him.

"I bet he'll just get a fine," Logan griped. "We had him..."

"We don't take revenge anyway," Storm said. "And, from the looks of him, I'd say Sabretooth did far worse than we could have as it was."

"I'd almost agree with ya, knowing Sabretooth, but he has no reason to," Logan said. "It's his own fault his kid is such a scoundrel. Like father, like son."

"I believe that Creed has you to thank for exposing his origins to the FOH," Shine remarked.

Logan scowled. "So? It worked, didn't it?"

"Perhaps he never should have hidden that truth from them," Shine said, "but if you wonder why he hates you, I think you have your answer."

"Ya blame me, Likstar?" Logan growled. "He wants all us mutants exterminated."

Shine was silent.

"But I guess you wouldn't understand that." Logan never knew when to quit when he was angry.

"Brother," Kurt tried.

"You think it's easy to overlook Creed's crimes because he thinks he's helpin' humanity, is that it?" Logan pressed. "Your people!"

"Stop it!" Wally said.

"No, I think I'm right, aren't I?" Logan said.

"We turned him in. What more do you want?" Wally said. "What else would you have done?"

"I feel ve didn't help him that much," Kurt said. "He vill not thank us for it. Vat do you vant of them, Brother Logan?"

"I--" Logan sputtered. "I just think they took it easy on him. I saw how you were trying to make him feel better, Likstar. Ya think he's the victim here."

"Logan," Rogue tried now, "maybe now is not the time--"

"You saw it too," Logan said.

"And I don't get it," Rogue said, "but maybe they just think it's part of their faith. We can't do anything about that."

"I don't have to like it," Logan said.

Shine finally turned to face him.

"Oh, here we go," Wally muttered.

Shine actually looked to be on the verge of tears though.

Logan was a little surprised.

"What do you want from me, huh?" Shine asked in a flat tone. "You want me to change my DNA? Do you want me to say he's a horrible person? That he's unforgivable? Or that you have more reason to hate him? You know what, Logan? You win! I admit it, you have every reason to hate Creed. And his father. Are you happy now?"

Silence.

"I thought so," Shine said. 

She glanced at Wally, then at them. "Well, I could say more, but I'm sure I'd regret it later. And I can't expect to understand--I'm only human, I guess. That stupid X-gene is so important, I guess. Here I thought it wasn't. Can't seem to hear the end of it from the X-men though. I guess...well, maybe in a way I know why, but it still stings. I'm sorry, Kurt," she said, glancing at him. "We all have our moments of thinking we just don't have enough grace for another injustice. Consider this mine. I'll get over it. I need a moment." She walked away from them, down the street.

"Well, that was sensitive," Wally said, not very happily.

"Logan!" Storm said.

"What?" he growled.

"What did you mean by speaking to her that way? Even if we have our difficulties, accusing humans of all being incapable of sympathy is not our way."

"She was pissin' me off," Logan said.

"And that makes it okay?" Wally said. "Man...I thought you were so cool, but I guess you're still angry at us, huh? Just because we're not mutants? Is that really a reason? I thought you guys were the ones who didn't feel that way, the heroes, the ones who try to be fair. Are you just gonna see us as that no matter what?"

"Maybe it's you who see us a certain way no matter what?" Gambit said. "We different. Ain't nothing gonna change dat."

"I guess we're different," Wally said, "because I never once thought to myself that you guys having different X-chromosomes or whatever, had anything to do with how your brains work--or your souls or whatever it is. But I guess I was wrong when I thought you made the same assumptions about us."

"It's not that," Rogue said. "We know it ain't that you're human.... It's...well, there's just a lot of things you haven't experienced, you said yourself, that we have all the time."

"I think I've experienced most of what you have," Wally said. "Heck, where I come from, I'm basically what you guys are. Some people think I'm a freak too!" He was getting worked up, and Wally did not get worked up--they already knew that after a week.

"Brother..." Kurt said sympathetically.

"No, it's cool." Wally tried to calm down. "I get along with them, you know. I have it pretty easy. I'm not an alien or anything, just a little weird. And you know, I have  a great relationship with the public because we built it up over time, so I have no real complaints. There's always some muckraker who picks a fight, but I'm kind of over that part, so it doesn't bother me. The only thing that bugs me is when people act like it was just that easy to get there. I think it takes work.... You know, I thought the X-men of all people would know what it was like to work for that, so you wouldn't assume I had it easy, but I guess I forgot that it just looks different from the outside."

"Wally--" Storm began.

"No, it's cool," Wally said. "I think maybe we were just unrealistic, you know? We forgot that people have to get to know you and stuff, so...I'll be okay with it and all, but I better catch up to Shine. She takes this stuff a little hard sometimes."

He hurried away.

"I feel terrible," Rogue said.

She glared at Logan and Gambit and shoved them. "Nice work, you two."

"You said it too!" Logan growled.

"I didn't mean to," Gambit said. "I jus' say one thing and now it's my fault?"

"We all could have handled that better," Storm said. "I believe we let our personal feelings toward Creed get in the way. These new guests of ours may be different than us, but it was clear to me their intentions were only to help. We had no place to judge them like that. We should apologize."

"Brother," Kurt pleaded with Logan, "I'm sure you did not mean vat you said. You vere just upset. But it's not their fault.... Think, they are not even from our time. Perhaps they have no such feeling about Mutants because they do not have mutants at all. It's not fair to say they are as prejudiced as others."

"You buy all that?" Logan said.

"Ja," Kurt said. "I believe them. Don't you...? They came to help you."

"I didn't ask them to!" Logan lost his cool.

"But you did," Kurt said.

"I didn't, and I didn't want it!" Logan said. "Not like this. It was one thing to listen to you, but this isn't what I wanted! I don't like it."

The others were all staring at him, realizing he was finally letting it slip. He'd forgotten his caution.

"I don't know that ve alvays get things exactly the vay ve vant them," Kurt said. "The price of my acceptance being destroying my home vas not vat I vanted, but it vas, in a vay, an answered prayer. And vat you vanted being answered in this vay, maybe in the long run, is for the best. Maybe ve don't know vat is best. If you don't even give it a chance, how vill you know?"

Logan was silent.

"You know, Kurt is right," Rogue said, "so is Storm. I haven't been sure about them, but they have feelings, just like us. You could see they were hurt. And they didn't do nothin' wrong. Maybe they're a little more forgivin' than us, but we can't think they'd feel as angry when they ain't been mistreated by these people. But we got nothin' against people bein' kind or helpin' others in general. I think we should give them a break."

Gambit was silent.

"Fine," Logan sniffed. "Ya want to welcome them back? Whatever, but don't expect me to like it."

"I expect you to do your part," Storm said severely. "You know as well as we do that you were too harsh on them, and they are here for you, and I take it you know that from what you said. You chose not to tell us why or how you called upon them, but clearly you did. This is not how you treat people who came to help you, Logan."

"You don't know about it, Storm," Logan said.

"I know enough to know it was wrong," Storm said. "And if you won't make it right, who is going to be able to? Is your anger worth it?"

Logan went silent again.

"Let us leave him alone," Kurt said. "He knows vat is right. We must leave it to him. For now, we should find them and get home. Before we draw too much of a crowd vith our...vell, appearance."

It was true that people were already starting to look at him and run for it.

"Yeah, could be a real light show here before long," Rogue admitted. "Let's get while the gettin' is good."

* * *

"Shine." Wally caught up to her halfway through downtown.

Shine stopped in front of a shop and sighed.

Wally took her by the arm and let her lean on him. "You okay?"

"I'll be okay...later," Shine said.

"He hurt your feelings?" Wally guessed.

"Yeah," Shine said. "But I expected it.... Logan is always like that when he's angry...and I caught the hints of it from them too. I'm sorry I went off like that."

"Hey, you know, I think they are responsible for their actions," Wally said. "They're not kids, Shine. If they haven't learned to be nicer by now, maybe going off on them was okay."

"You're not gonna tell me I shouldn't talk to the X-men like that?" Shine said.

"I might tell you that, if I didn't do the exact same thing as soon as you left," Wally said sheepishly.

Shine looked up. "Really?"

"Let's just say when you meet your comic book movie heroes in real life, it's not so good," Wally said.

"They say never meet your heroes," Shine said. "But...I always thought if I met my heroes and they were human, like me, I might be upset at first...but also...if they're not perfect and still heroes, maybe I'm not so screwed up either."

"But maybe heroes just never live up to what we think," Wally said. "The X-men of the comics always do the right thing, usually, and they're usually fair too."

"I always thought they were actually more realistically flawed than the others," Shine said. "But...same as with any world...the version you get in the stories is the best/worst version. The villains aren't usually as stone cold, and the heroes aren't usually as pure. They're mixed. We know that by now.  I guess going to two places we didn't know anyone in spoiled us. No bloom off the rose if there's no rose."

"I can't believe the X-men don't like me," Wally said. "I mean...the X-men...the outcasts. It's like some record of rock bottom."

"To be fair, not all of them are outcasts," Shine said. "They can blend in and choose not to. They think differently than Kurt and Hank, who have no choice, and you notice they are not nearly as harsh.... When you've got no choice, you accept others are the way they are easier, I think."

"So who's cheering who up here?" Wally said.

"I thought we just kind of both did it," Shine said. "You know, go halves.... But I think...well, I'm glad Kurt is at least not on our case."

"I hope they don't jump on him once we're gone," Wally said, "since it was sort of his idea.... Not that I'm blaming him, just...funny, we were the ones they snapped at."

"They accept Kurt's oddities as his way of coping," Shine said. "Ours are just oddities. That's the difference."

"So...how do we fix that?"

"We can't."

"Great," Wally said.

"I'm sure...given enough time.... I mean, we have to believe that they are the people we know them as, at heart," Shine said, looking up at him more encouragingly. "Right? So they'll eventually see us the way we see them. Or we go out trying. Maybe that's the challenge in this world--that we have to remember that people won't always act like their best selves, but those selves are still there."

"That's deep," Wally said.

"But I won't lie, it lowkey makes me feel better that you blew up at them too," Shine said. "Misery loves company."

"I knew you'd want company. That's why," Wally said.

"Gee, thanks," Shine said. "Simping, that's what I wanted. Sounds like Adam and Eve."

"Well, there's a reason for that," Wally said. "But hey, for real, they kind of deserved that. Logan's been really a jerk for ignoring us for a whole week. He knows we're legit. I think they can let it go if we got a little mad...I hope.... Either that, or I'm gonna die because of my favorite characters."

"We--" Shine began, but they were interrupted by Kurt poofing into their airspace.

"Oh, goot, I found you," he said. "People are beginning to panic. Ve have to go."

"Oh...oh, right, how stupid of me," Shine said. "Sorry."

"No, you have no reason to be. Of all people, you have excuse to forget," Kurt said. "Are you all right?"

"Getting there," Shine said. "Wally and I were trying to cheer each other up. Want to join our pity party?"

"A...vat?" Kurt sad.

"We're just feeling sorry for ourselves," Wally said. "You know, like you do."

"Oh...well, not really," Kurt said politely.

They both laughed.

"Attaboy, Kurt," Shine said. "Make us feel childish."

"I didn't mean--"

"No, it's okay. You're right," Wally said. "We got to be better than that. Let's go face those mean, old X-men while we still have some dignity left."