Shit:he hated feeling wishy washy.He wasn't;in fact,he felt confident that he was simply not the ambivalent type.But there was a small possibility Jean would toss him in a cage until she was sure he wouldn't go berserker on her or the rest of them, and he didn't feel like spending the afternoon in lockdown.Or unconscious.

He had just decided he'd be wasting his time when he heard a voice say,"You do have to pick it up and punch in a number to make it work."

He glanced over his shoulder to see Jean standing at the very edge of the parking lot,downwind from him so she'd have the drop for once."I was testing to see if I had telekinesis,"he said,attempting to make a joke.

She smiled weakly as she glanced down nervously at the cracked macadam,and he asked,"Are the snipers in position?"

She looked up somewhat sharply,her brow creasing in confusion as her loose auburn hair spilled over her shoulders,framing her face as if she had planned it that way."Logan-"

"There's no need to bullshit me.Hell,I don't suppose I could blame you after I acted like such a..."he struggled to find the right word.

"Ass?"She offered.

He shrugged."I was gonna say dick,but same difference."

It was a warm day,the sky clear but a strange washed out color,as if it couldn't muster the strength to be completely blue.He knew his clothes were too heavy for the weather,he was sweating and aware of the heat radiating from the blacktop,but he was still North bound:the closer he got to the border,the cooler it was likely to be.But what was Jean's excuse?She was wearing a dark blue coat over her jeans and t-shirt,far too much for this climate.It made him wonder if she was really headed someplace else too.Or trying to hide an adamantium proof vest.

"I know what happened,Logan.He told me all about it."

He looked at her curiously through the veil of cigar smoke between them."Huh?What are you talking about?"

"That Australian guy who calls himself Maximum Bob.He called me and explained that you were under the influence of a tele-empath and weren't quite yourself."

Logan felt the cigar fall out out of his mouth,but since it was a cheap cigar he didn't care.As soon as the initial shock wore off,he rolled his eyes and violently ground the cigar out on the blacktop."Son of a bitch.That guy is too much."

"Is something wrong?"

He shook his head,smirking to himself."He is one of the most most annoying men I have ever met.Except your boyfriend. Although you may want to tell Scott he's gotta work harder to top this guy."

She scowled at him for that,like he thought she would,but she moderated it with a sympathetic look."Was he lying?"

"No,but...I don't know know how much an influence I was under then.Truth is,Jean,I really want you guys to leave me alone sometimes.Sometimes I want everybody to just leave me the fuck alone."He grimaced in embarrassment,glancing down at the interesting pattern of cracks on the pavement."I'm not sure I can blame it all on Erasmus."He glanced up at her,into her wary hazel eyes."But I'd never hurt you deliberately,Jean.You have to believe that."

"I do,"she replied,but then her eyes narrowed and turned to stone."But if you ever talk to me in that way again,I'll put you through the side of a building.Got it?"

He nodded,giving her a proud smile."Now you're getting it.I wouldn't expect less."

She smiled back,her expression thawing,but she glanced away before it got too warm."Bob indicated that the empath was hoping to break down your psychic walls,so a telepathic conspirator could recover some information about one of your tortures.He said you figured it out and stopped it."

Logan sighed wearily."That's not completely true.I had help."

"Angel?"She guessed.He saw the curiosity in her eyes,in the quirk of her eyebrow.But he simply could not say the word vampire seriously.

"A bit.And Scorpion and Bob,and his weird ass girlfriend Helga."

"Helga?"

"Helga."He assured her,nodding.Who knew anyone outside of Northern Europe was named Helga anymore?Especially green women with grabby tails and a penchant for double entendres and ass kicking.

"So where is Scorpion?"

"He thought he heard of a government experimental outpost near Mexico City,so he went to check it out."

"You didn't go with him?Why?"

He shrugged,suddenly feeling very uncomfortable."I had some unfinished business here."

She smiled faintly,giving him an almost affectionate look,that convinced him old One Eye probably wasn't here watching from the roof of the dry cleaner's across the street.She seemed to realize she was close to crossing some line,so she changed the subject."So tell me about this Bob.He warned me not to try and read him over the phone,but claimed he wasn't quite a mutant,just a mercenary for the good guys."

"Bob is..."he began,but then realized he didn't know what to say."Bob is a fucking freak."

That seemed to surprise her."He sounded very charming to me,almost sweet."

"That's his scam.He calls himself the King of bullshitters,and he's right."

She raised an eyebrow at him."You don't like him?"

That was a harder question to answer than he thought it would be."He's just...a lot to take.He generally means well,for all the good that does."

"Is he a mutant?"

After all his fudging with what Angel was,he knew he was probably pushing it to fudge with Bob,so he decided to be honest and let her think he was nuts."No.He's not Human."

Her eyebrows raised above startled,wide eyes."What is he,then?"

"I don't really know."He paused,then admitted,"He smells like power.And he's so strong he makes the Professor seem like a lip reader."

"He's that powerful a psychic?"

"He's not a psychic.He's a...I don't think there's a word for him.But if I knew him a couple of months ago,we never would have had to have gone after Magneto.We could have stayed in the mansion and played video games while Bob made himself a snack and took him out."

She pursed her lips in genuine shock,weighing the odds that he was being hyperbolic before asking,"Would he be interested in joining the team?"

"Bob doesn't need a team.He's a one man army."

"Like you?"She asked,smiling in barely concealed amusement.

He raised an eyebrow at her and scowled,but he knew she didn't mean it in a bitchy way."Me squared.By a few thousand."

"It's a good thing he's not evil."

"I don't think it's as much as fun,"he admitted,but before she could ask what he meant,he decided to change the subject.He'd had more than enough Bob for now."Umm,look,Jean,I have a favor to ask."

Her look was slightly skeptical,but not unfriendly."What?"

He swallowed his doubt and fear,and asked,"Can you tell me where Naomi is?"

*****

"This is impossible,"he told the adjutant who stood cringing by the door.

"I know,sir,"the little man agreed,barely coming out of his snivel.

The team sent to intercept Omen had not only failed in its objective-Omen was nowhere to be found,although Erasmus,her sneaky weasel of a father had been recovered from the site-but almost none of them could even remember why they were sent there in the first place.And the scans of the team were less than enlightening."It must be a new way of erasing memories.That has to be it,"he insisted vehemently.

"But the Doctors say no memory engrams have been removed.As far as they can tell,they were...well,undone."

"How?"

The adjutant shook his head and made several helpless gestures with his hands."They have no idea.There's speculation a new type of mutant is responsible."

"Well of course a new type of mutant is responsible,"he roared angrily,before struggling to get his temper under control.

Those with rudimentary memories had identified Wolverine as being part of the group,with a man who may have been Scorpion;an unknown mutant who fit the general description of the elusive 'Angel';and  a green skinned woman who was yet another unidentified mutant for the books.

But the fourth man...

No one remembered his face.

The best description was he "looked kinda normal",but that was describing his body.He was "tallish",and "sorta muscular",but that was the best anyone could do.He must have had a face,but it seemed to be beyond anyone's memory,even those whose memories were still intact.

But Control figured he had a name,courtesy of Erasmus.

The old mushbrain had no idea how he had ended up there,where his daughter was,or what had happened,but he did remember one thing:a message to them from someone who called themselves 'Maximum Bob' (Erasmus insisted he had never met anyone by that name,but the thought was stuck in his head).This Bob's message was short and arrogant:"Leave the area while you still have the option."

So they had a new mutant on the hard target list:a faceless man who seemed to leave memory engrams spotlessly clean,who went by the name Maximum Bob,and was so up his own ass he thought he could actually threaten the Organization.Of course,if he left a message for Erasmus to give them,was Bob off their radar for good?

"Put the search for this Bob on hold for now,"he told the adjutant,rubbing his pounding temples.He was working for the betterment of mankind,so why did these goddamn mutant problems never go away?No matter what they did,it seemed to get worse.

The young man,whose soft,pale face could have been molded straight from Play-Doh,looked startled."Sir?"

"He'll come to us.Obviously he's such an arrogant prick he thinks he can take us.Let him come.We'll be ready for him."

The aide's face twisted as if he smelled something bad,and Control glared up from his desk at the little pip squeak. "What?Spit it out."

Hesitantly,the doughy boy asked,"If he can completely revert memories or whatever...how would we ever know he attacked?"

Control just stared at him,not sure what to say.

That was honestly a very good question,and he couldn't even begin to answer it.

***

He idled his bike at the end of the long gravel driveway,and mulled over whether he could do this or not when the wind shifted,a cool breeze hit his face,bringing with it the scent of apple trees and water,and something else,something familiar... her.

He killed the engine,and rather than walk up to he house he walked around the side of the house towards the back,the directionfrom which the wind had come.

He found her out back in a small apple tree grove,practicing-of all things-archery:a large padded target,as big and round as a garbage can lid,sat upright on what looked like a tripod about sixty feet away from her,in the shade of the grove.Two slim, metal shafted arrows were sticking out of the target already-one about twelve degrees west of center,the other almost dead center,off by only about a half an inch or so.

He watched as she nocked up another arrow in a black bow half as long as her,the line of her back rigid but graceful as she held the bow pulled back for a few silent seconds,then let it go,the arrow thunking into the target two inches southwest of the arrow in the bull's eye.

He let out a low whistle,and she turned sharply towards him,mildly startled."You're good,"he told her.

It took her a moment to recognize him,he saw the hesitancy in her blue eyes,but finally she seemed to remember him,and her posture relaxed slightly as she glanced at the target."I was once on an archery team,believe it or not,as a kid.I had lots of Robin Hood fantasies."

"Let me guess:you were never Maid Marian."

"Hell no-I was Robin.He was my bitch."She replied,smiling,and he chuckled.Thinking about it,it probably explained why she was such a crack shot when firing off electricity:she'd already had some practice.

She was wearing a red camisole under an open chambray shirt that matched the washed out blue of her faded jeans, short,bright red hair messy and starting to show its darker roots,but she looked unbelievably lovely,so much so that he felt something like a twinge in his stomach that momentarily made it hard for him to breathe.God,why was he doing this?She barely even recognized him.

She seemed to glance around over his shoulder,and then asked,"Is Angel with you?"

"No,I was just...in the area,I thought I'd see how you were doing."

She seemed a bit disappointed."Oh."

A momentary surge of jealousy-oh,she had a thing for Angel now,did she?-was quickly squashed when he realized Angel had spent a lot more time with her after...after Lethe than he had.He had avoided her,and she must have picked up on that. Angel stood by like a good and supportive friend,while he did a disappearing act.

Ah,fuck.He never thought of himself as a coward,but he had been;he realized that now.And it filled him with so much shame he could have beat the crap out of himself.But he swallowed it back as best he could,and asked,"How are you doing?"

She shrugged,resting her bow against the nearest tree."It's weird thinking I lost ten years of my life,but I'm okay.I'm catching up on things.There's a lot of stuff my parents can't tell me,though-apparently,I was gone a lot."

"You were off playing Robin Hood,"he said,before he could stop himself.

Naomi gave him a genuinely curious look for the first time."Did you know me then?"

He wanted to tell her that he did,give her some hope of filling in those blanks,but having been lied to about the blanks in his own mind,he couldn't do that to her."No.But you told me about it sometimes."

She studied his face with a scrutiny he found uncomfortable,and the wind picking up and blowing her scent back in his direction just made things worse.But finally,she said,"Tell me about it."

"You never went into a lot of detail,really.Just that you and I had a lot in common:traveled a lot,kind of avoided people."

"Because we're mutants."

"And because we had some assholes after us.The ones who..."he trailed off,not able to say it because it felt like a lie.

"Did this to me?"She said,filling in the blanks.

"Yeah,"he agreed,then shook his head.Shit,he couldn't lie to her,no matter how much easier it made things."But what happened-it was supposed to happen to me."

Her dark eyebrows raised slightly,but she kept her face otherwise neutral."What?"

"The person who...did that,she was going for me,not you.You got in the way."

"On accident?"

"On purpose.You saved my life,I guess you could say.Well,ten of its fifteen years."At her dubious look,he added,"My memory only goes back fifteen years.They got to me before,a long time ago."

She nodded in understanding,and seemed to think about it for a long moment,where only the noise of the wind through the trees filled in the awkward space of silence.Finally,she said,"I was playing Robin Hood,huh?"

"Something like that,yeah."

Naomi approached him slowly,her bare feet making a soft noise in the grass,and the look she gave him was genuinely appraising."Were we more than friends,Logan?"

It was almost painful to look at her;in the direct light of the sun,she looked like she must have looked as a teenager,the emotions just beneath the surface of her expression.And the most painful thing of all was no recollection:not a hint,not a glimmer.It was just a sort of mildly horrified curiosity.He hoped it was over the fact that she had no memories of it and not simply due to him,but he wasn't about to ask and remove all doubt.

The sun made him squint,but he didn't know how to blame it for the lump in his throat.God,he needed a beer."You were the best friend I've ever had,Naomi,"he told her,and it didn't feel like a lie.

The worst part was,Logan knew now that 'were' was the operative word:memories made up so much of who you were,time and experience,he doubted the Naomi he had known would ever show up again.Of course,much of her was still in this Naomi,and she might come very close to being the one he had known,but she could not be the same one,not ever again.Her memories would not return in time:she would become a new Naomi,make new memories,and move on from that gap in her life and her mind.

Logan wondered if he ever would.

To his surprise,Naomi hugged him,and although it seemed awkward for a moment,he welcomed the feeling of her against him one more time,the familiar and missed sensation of low level electricity humming along his skin,tickling like the feet of insects crawling on his flesh.He held her tight,careful not to crush her,as she said,into his neck,"I'm sorry,Logan."

"You have nothing to be sorry for,"he said,giving her a kiss on the top of her head.He closed his eyes and just breathed in the scent of her,knowing that it would probably be the last time.

"I'm sorry I don't remember you,"she said,and it was like a punch to the gut.But it wasn't anything he didn't know:it was just the confirming of it that seemed brutal.

"It's okay,"he said,as soon as he was sure he could talk without choking on his own words."I remember you."

He reluctantly let her go,and she continued to give him a questioning look,as if she hadn't understood what he said,but he couldn't really explain it.In fact,he was reasonably sure he had to get out of here before he made an even bigger ass out of himself."Be well,"he told her,giving her a final kiss on the cheek."Be happy,Naomi.You deserve it."He turned and walked away before he could change his mind,and it felt like his heart was being slowly cut out of his chest.Sadly,he had had much much worse.

"Hey,Logan,"she said tentatively.He glanced back at her,and she attempted a brave smile."Drop by whenever you're in the area,okay?It's always nice to see a friendly face."

He nodded."It is.And I will."But he knew that might be a lie.

Once back at his bike,he had to sit for a moment and catch his breath,and he didn't know why:it felt like he'd just taken a lightning bolt in the chest.In a way,he suppose he had.

It had been good to see her,though.She was safe and well,and maybe that thought would help him sleep at night.

Well,it couldn't hurt.

Logan kick started the bike,and drove off down the black ribbon of highway,headed towards the Canadian border,back to a past that wouldn't rest so easily.

A past that probably wasn't worth remembering,but he would go on,as he had no other choice.

None of them really did.

THE END