"X-Men . . . welcome to our new home," Angel said happily as he ushered the team in. "It's still not finished, but it's pretty close. Everything works, there's just some finishing touches to be done, and then it needs to be fully furnished . . . but Worthing Enterprises spared no expense making this place for me. We've got ourselves a headquarters."

"Sweet," Iceman said as he looked around.

"It's not the school," Beast said, "but it will more than do. Thank you, Warren."

The X-Men were a team of a mutants brought together by the deceased Professor Charles Francis Xavier to be a force of good.

Clark Kent is Superman. He's super strong, super fast, invulnerable, he can fly, shoot beams out of his eyes, breathe ice cold air and plenty other things that truly allow him to live up to his codename. He's the team's leader, Charles' first student.

Jean Grey is a telepath and telekinetic of un-recognized potential. She spent most of her life training with Charles, slowly developing control over her amazing powers.

Bobby Drake is Iceman. He can control the temperature around him and turn things to ice. He also can turn his body to ice, and travels around on ice slides.

Hank McCoy is the Beast. His hands and feet are exceptionally large, and he's extremely agile. His enhanced strength is surpassed only by his phenomenal intellect.

Warren Worthington III is the Angel. He has large, white, feathery wings growing out of his back which make it obvious that he's a mutant, yet give him the ability to fly. His eyesight is also as keen as a hawk's.

Morph's true name is unknown. He's a shapeshifter, able to look like whoever and whatever he wants.

The mysterious man named Logan is also called Wolverine. He's got enhanced senses and an unbeatable healing factor to go along with his Adamantium laced, unbreakable bones. He also has a set of three, retractable Adamantium claws on each hand.

"Well, Hank, you're right that it's not the school," Warren continued, "but the layout is pretty darn close. Let me go over it with you guys. The second floor is the living quarters. As before, the right side is the men's dormitory, women's is on the left. We've got study rooms on each side. In the middle there's the automated laundry service, the computer link-up, and a master bedroom . . . which was originally Professor Xavier's room. The first floor has the parlor room, the dining room, the kitchen, the patio, the day room, a library, a main office area, a living room, a gallery, a den, and the main entrance. The basement has the laundry room, a ready room, a book storage room, furniture storage, a wine cellar, a workshop, the water heater, and the computer system main memory and power back-up for the mansion."

"Wow," Morph said. "That's a lotta stuff."

"Well, I changed my plans for the place slightly when I decided the X-Men would be living here," Warren smiled. "But wait, there's more. Like the school, we've got two sub-basements for our extra-curricular tights-activities. The first sub-basement has two more dormitories, an electronics lab, a physics lab, locker rooms with showers, a sauna and whirlpool, a gym, a pool, a chemical/bio-chemical/bio-electronic lab, a med lab, a heavy transport tunnel and a high-speed personnel transport tunnel to the hanger bay. The second sub-basement has a world communication monitor, a mission planning room, a courtesy area, a mission files room, training coordination, a war room, a room that, hopefully, will one day house Cerebro again, a ready room, a debriefing room, and a brand new, state-of-the-art Danger Room."

"Holy crap," Bobby said.

"Warren, how--?" Jean asked.

"My family's incredibly wealthy, Jean, you know that," Warren replied. "All rooms are ductlessly electronically heated and cooled. Security is computer controlled and effected by redundant sensors and robotic agents. We've got an almost fully-operational defense grid, too. Elevators, staircases, and high-speed transportation tubes. The hanger bay is underground and will soon have a modified SR-71 Blackbird stealth jet for our use. There's also an outdoor pool, plenty of grass, hills and trees, a boathouse, docks, a small beachhouse, tennis courts, basketball courts and open space for us to enjoy."

"Seems a bit much," Clark frowned at the over-spending of Warren.

"Hey, if we're gonna be heroes, might as well take every advantage we can get, right?" Warren asked. "When this place is finished, the Avengers League will be jealous!"

"I do like the idea of having so many labs open to me," Hank grinned.

"Consider it a Christmas present," Warren smiled.

"Christmas?" Bobby asked. "Wow . . . it is Christmas eve tonight, isn't it?"

Hank nodded. "We've gotten so wrapped up in our recent actions, that we've completely forgotten about the holidays!"

"Well, I didn't," Warren said. "Come on . . . there's a tree in the living room."

The group turned to follow Warren inside. Logan, however, turned the opposite direction, heading outside.

Jean noticed and turn to go to him, but Clark took her arm. "Let him go, Jean."

"But Clark, why?"

"I don't think he's leaving us just yet," Clark said. "But it's clear that this mansion is not something that he's anywhere near accustomed to. Just give him some time to take it all in."

"I suppose . . . " Jean said. She gazed back on more time, then turned and walked with Clark to see the tree.

Logan stood in front of the door, lighting a cigar and slowly taking a drag from it.

Well, Logan . . . whattaya think? Belong to a team again? Maybe not. I've always been a loner . . . I work better when I don't have to worry about anyone else. But then again . . . these guys have a decent goal. Fightin' so that mutants and humans can live together in peace. It's a dream . . . prolly an impossible one to realize . . . but it's a noble goal. And with all the money Wings' got, and all that tech this mansion has . . . I might stand a good chance of learning more about Weapon X and what the hell happened to me.

He sighed, blowing the smoke out from his lungs.

"Logan?" Bobby came out from the mansion to see him.

"What is it, kid?" Logan asked.

"Kid?" Bobby asked. "I'm twenty."

"Compared to me, you're still wet behind the ears," Logan replied.

"I just came to ask you if you were leaving."

"Oh."

"I don't think you should leave," Bobby said. "You're a good fighter . . . and a good guy. You did save my life, after all. The X-Men could use someone like you. You've got experience that most of us couldn't even dream of . . . or at least you seem like it. And we'll be able to help you get to the bottom of this Weapon X thing. It's a long road to Xavier's dream . . . and we need all the help we can get."

"I'll say," Logan said. "I'm not too good working with a team."

"You'll learn."

"I suppose."

"You mean . . . ?"

"Yeah, I'll join. Someone here's gotta be around to keep you kids from getting yourselves killed . . . "

"Sweet," Bobby grinned. "You won't regret this."

"The past few months have been difficult," Jean replied. "With Xavier dying, and the school being destroyed."

"The school . . . I hope those kids are all okay. We haven't heard from them since it happened."

"Well, we haven't exactly been the easiest people to get hold of, have we?"

Clark chuckled. "I guess not." He paused for a moment. "Jean, there's something I need to tell you. Can you meet me at the shed in the back in five minutes? And please, no mind reading?"

"Sure," Jean said. "Anything."

"Clark?"

Clark turned around and saw Jean peering in. "Hi," he said. "Come on in."

"What's up?"

"Remember this?" he asked.

"Yes, it's the thing that brought you here."

"It also has a lot of the history of Krypton stored inside. Whenever I get near it, it seems to transmit something else to my brain. Would you like to hear of Kryptonian holiday traditions?"

"Sure."

Clark thought for a moment. "Not here. Say, have you seen the tree at Rockefeller Center?"

"Not recently."

"Let's go," Clark said, grabbing Jean's waist, flying up into the night sky.

"Warren, this is absolutely, positively amazing," Hank grinned. "The toys in these rooms will keep me busy for months!"

"Hopefully everything we've got in here will make it easier for you to reassemble Cerebro," Angel said.

"Hopefully indeed."

"This is gonna be great," Warren grinned. "You, me, Bobby, Jean, Clark . . . together again. Just like old times, only better!"

"You're forgetting Morph and Logan."

"Morph's a little out there . . . and I'm not sure about Wolverine. He kinda gives me the creeps."

"Give 'em a chance, wings," Hank said. "I'm sure they'll both more than prove their worth to you."

Morph finished his slow trek up the staircase to the second floor. His neck extended to various lengths as he peered into room after room. Finally, he came across a slightly larger, corner room with a view.

He put down his stuff on the bed and grinned. "This'll do for me. Dibs have been called."

Clark and Jean looked up at the tree.

"It's amazing," Jean said.

"Yes."

"So, did they really have Christmas on your homeworld?"

"Not really," Clark replied, as they started walking to the ice rink. "But I suspect that nearly every civilization has some sort of holiday similar to Christmas. Everyone needs a time to relax. Instead they had another holiday."

"What was it called?"

"I don't know exactly," Clark said. "The matrix is slightly damaged, so not all of the information is still there. It was able to give me glimpses of a family together. Gifts were exchanged."

"Sounds like Christmas."

"But this was so much different. Krypton was a world based on technology. Human interaction rarely existed. But once a year, everyone was together."

"But were there any special traditions?"

"The Kryptonian version of Santa Claus. On the night before this holiday, children would go to bed early. Parents would put special helmets on them, and some artificial intelligence would plant information in their head. It was usually something pleasant, like a story, or some knowledge."

"Sounds . . . interesting . . . " Jean had no idea what to make of this. "So, are you planning on telling the others that you're not a mutant anytime soon?"

"Not really. I don't see why I should."

"I don't see why you shouldn't. More than likely, they'll end up finding out in a battle, and could cost us."

"Don't be so dramatic," Clark said, kissing her forehead. "Wanna go skating?" he asked as they came upon the rink.

Jean thought for a moment. "Sure," she answered. "It might be fun."

"Here they are!" Hank exclaimed as the happy couple walked in the door. "Where've ya been?" he asked.

"We went to see the tree at Rockefeller Center," Clark replied.

"How nice," Morph said. "Now, we can get on with our annual tradition."

"What's that?" Clark asked.

"How in the world could you forget?" Jean wondered. "Warren even supplied us with an entire cabinet of movies, including all of our Christmas favorites."

"Like the one we watched every Christmas Eve, while we were at the school?" Hank suggested, trying to remind Clark.

"You mean It's a Wonderful Life?"

"That's it!" Morph replied. "Let's go!"

The X-Men wandered into the living room. Jean and Clark hung behind.

"Mistletoe up there," Clark said.

"I noticed," Jean replied.

"Merry Christmas," Clark whispered as he leaned over.

"Merry Christmas."