Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The X-Men were in Mister Sinister's lair, it was getting dark so inside the guardhouse it was dark except for a couple of rays of light that were sneaking in from the light that was left outside, Wolverine was running through the halls, Sinister's thugs had caused the team to split up and now he was trying to get back to the others who were surely fighting the villain, he quickly passed by a large room, his eyes and nose caught something and he stopped a little after the entrance of the room and looked at the door to make sure he saw well.

There was someone in a cell.

The room looked like some kind of warehouse, it had no windows making it look very dark, the cell was at the other end of the room, because of the darkness and because they was curled up on themself, wolverine couldn't see the person inside clearly but because of the size they looked like an adult

when they noticed wolverine had entered they moved further into the darkness but in the movement wolverine saw a glow on their neck

A power inhibitor collar

Sinister had a mutant locked up

Wolverine approached the mutant in the cell slowly “it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you”

The mutant remained silent, but as wolverine got closer he could see them better, they had dirt on their clothes and face, plus their hair was messy and they looked very thin

“you don't have to be afraid, I'm one of the good guys, I'm wolverine what's your name?” Logan tried to speak slowly trying to gain their trust, the other mutant hesitated a little and then spoke

“Morph”

The mutant not only saw him with fear but also with confusion, was this wolverine really one of the good guys? Could he trust him? Wasn't he another one of the sinister guys? Maybe this was a test from sinister...

“Okay morph, I'm going to get you out of there okay?”

Wolverine pulled out his claws and cut the lock on the door, having the cell, the other mutant was scared at first but when the door opened they slowly approached, Logan held out his hand to help them out

“I'll get that thing off your neck” when wolverine brought his claws to his neck morph squeezed his hand and closed their eyes tightly but when they heard the sound of metal hitting the ground they opened their eyes to see the collar shattered and slowly let go of Logan's hand

They brought their hands to their neck slowly, it was an immediate relief to be without that thing, he had been wearing the collar for days and it had surely left a mark on his neck

“Thanks” Morph said smiling at Logan and he could see how their eyes were shining

“Come on” Logan wasn't sure why but he also smiled “I'll get you out of here”

Wolverine left the room with Morph following him closely, suddenly footsteps of many people were heard approaching, Morph hid behind Logan

“Wolverine!” Said Cyclops who appeared in one of the hallways with the team

“It's okay, they are friends” Logan turned to Morph

“Who-?” Cyclops said realizing that there was someone behind Logan

“Sinister had them locked up with one of those damn collars, they's a mutant”

Cyclops looked at Morph for a second before speaking “mutant or not, no one should be in Sinister's hands”

“We'll take care of him but not for long” Jean said

“The place is going to collapse soon we have to go” Cyclops explained

Everyone started running back to the jet to get out of there, Logan took their hand to make sure Morph wouldn't be left behind

Morph's body reacted on automatic mode and kept up with the others although they was tired and their legs were shaking a little, their mind felt dizzy as if they he had static, they hadn't fully assimilated the situation, maybe morph was dreaming, maybe they was going to manage to escape this time… Another thought filtered in

Wolverine was taking his hand

And so was he done before, something so everyday felt very strange to morph, for the first time in a long time someone touched them gently, without being threatening or without hurting them

The floor began to shake taking morph out of their thoughts and before they knew it they was getting on a jet, which began to take off quickly

"Do you think we'll see him again?" Rogue asked

Morph watched through the window as sinister's old lair caught fire and fell on itself, they wanted to make a witty comment, maybe on bad penny always turns up, but they didn't feel like talking, thinking about seeing sinister again gave them a feeling of pain in their chest

Suddenly a redheaded girl whose name Morph didn't know, touched their shoulder gently while smiling at them "come on let's sit down"

The girl guided him to one of the seats and put the seatbelt on, Morph saw that the others also sat down, the girl spoke again "I'm Jean, what's your name?"

"Morph" they said again in a low voice

Wolverine approached and touched their shoulder gently while taking off his mask "don't worry kid you're with the X-Men now"

Wolverine sat in the seat next to them, while Jean sat in the front of the jet, but Morph didn't take their eyes off Wolverine, they thought his hair had a funny shape -wait did he say they were the X-Men? H
They had heard Sinister talk about them many times, he had even told them that he was going to send them to face the team when the time was right, they should have assumed that if a group of costumed guys were fighting with Sinister it was the X-Men but they was still trying to process the situation

They took a deep breath as they he thought about what was happening

Morph was no longer with Sinister, they was no longer captive, they was free, they was finally free and they he didn't have to deal with Sinister ever again... well that was being optimistic, morph thought, at least they wouldn't see him for a while

They heard the others talking about something but his mind couldn't understand the conversation, still trying to process that they he was now free

Now... what was they supposed to do now? Where were they taking them now? If they he remembers correctly Sinister mentioned something about a school when he was talking about the X-Men? Are they going there right now?

“Wolverine..” Morph said in such a low voice that they he was actually surprised when he had heard them

“Is something wrong bub?”

“Were we..?”

“Westchester, New York, we are going to a bald man’s mansion”

“Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters” said the man with the visor turning his head a little to look at them “have more respect for Professor Logan”

Logan? Was that Wolverine’s other name?

Later Morph could see the mansion and the dark sky from the jet windows before landing, the others got off and they he did the same following Wolverine closely

As they walked away from the jet Logan mentioned something about being hungry and having dinner, the other mutant tugged at his suit a little

“Are you going to eat? Can I have some too?” Morph said timidly

“Sure bub” Wolverine answered putting a hand gently on his back to guide him through the mansion

Chapter Text

As Logan guided them, Morph could see the others talking to a man in a wheelchair. They assumed that was the bald teacher they had mentioned before. When they thought that, the man turned to look at them and Morph looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

As they walked with Logan to the kitchen, they noticed that the school was quite large.

When they arrived, Wolverine pointed to the table. “Sit wherever you want, I'll serve you something.”

As Logan did that, the other people arrived to the kitchen, including the teacher. Morph felt a little self-conscious. Before, they had no problem being with new people. They were outgoing, but now...

They saw their hands in their lap as they began to temper

“Here” said Logan's firm voice, placing a plate of food in front of Morph and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Morph looked up to see Wolverine smiling at them. “Thank you” they said in a low voice.

Logan sat down next to them side and noticed how when they started eating his new guest immediately got in a better mood

“Oh this is so delicious!” Logan thought they might start crying

“The bastard didn't feed you?” Logan said letting out a small growl

“Yeah, but.. have you ever eaten hospital food? Kinda like that”

“May I ask what your mutation is?” the professor asked

“I morph” they said to transform into wolverine a few seconds before becoming himself again

“Does something hurt? Do you have any wounds?” the professor spoke again and then pointed to the blue man next to him “Hank is our doctor, he can check you out”

Morph shook their head “I don't mean to offend, I don't like doctors”

“No offense taken my Friend” Hank answered

Friend. Morph thought, when was the last time someone called them friend?

“Maybe you want to take a bath and then rest, we have plenty of free rooms” said the professor before speaking to another of the men in the room “Gambit could you pass some clean clothes to our guest?”

The red-eyed man nodded and as he left the kitchen Morph continued eating what Wolverine had served him, when they finished they looked at Logan for a few seconds and then looked at the table somewhat shyly

“Can I have some more?”

“Sure bub, don’t worry about it” he said getting up from the table and took both plates “I’m going to eat some more too”

After Logan served them more the man with red eyes arrived with the girl with the white lock of hair

“Here are some of Gambit’s old clothes that he doesn’t wear anymore, you can keep them Mon Ami” said the man handing him several items of clothing

Morph looked at Gambit for a few seconds and then looked at Rogue beside him

“Yeah, he always talks in third person” Rogue told him

He looked at the man again and spoke timidly “Thanks.. Gambit right? Like- like in chess?”

“Like in cards, but nice try Mon Ami”

When they finished eating Logan led them to a bathroom, they was wearing the clothes that had been handed to them in their arms

“Take all the time you want, bub” Wolverine said after showing them a bathroom with a tub

Morph nodded “thanks again”

They closed the door and put their ear against it listening to Logan’s footsteps walking away, when they didn’t hear any more footsteps they checked the bathroom quickly, they noticed that the mirror was one of those with a drawer, they moved the small latch on the side to open it and see if there was anything inside that could be useful

toothpaste, hairbrush, first aid kit, great

They took the first aid kit and began to look through things, medicines, bandages…

Scissors

That would help

They took the scissors out of the first aid kit and their hand began to shake, Morph took a breath while with one hand they held the sink firmly while in the other they had the scissors, they had done this several times already

Even though sinister is not here now , they still had that bug in their head and they wasn't going to rest until it wasnt there, their hand was still shaking, maybe they could ask the X-Men for help, they said they had a doctor…

No

They didn't want anyone else to get into their head again, they could do this. They had already lost count of how many times they had done this, all the times they had tried to escape…. When they found out what Sinister was doing to them... that they had a device in their head that controlled them... They took it off

But they didn't get very far before Sinister found them again and put another one of those damn bugs on their head, and every time they took one off Sinister found them again and put another one on them, but this time they wasn't going to let that happen again this was going to be the last time they took that damn bug off

Morph took another deep breath, they had to do this before Wolverine or someone else came back, they had saved them and brought them at home if they found out morph was working for their enemy who knows what they would do to them..

Morph concentrated and used their powers to make it easier to do so, then they put the scissors on their head, morph gritted their teeth in pain as the cold metal pierced their skin

Drops of blood ran down their face and a few drops fell into the sink

They dropped the scissors into the sink, after they reached the bug and they released a little bringing it closer to the wound, with their hand morph finished taking it out letting out a moan of pain in the process, it didn't matter if they had done this before they never got used to the pain

They took another deep breath and saw their hand stained with blood, in their palm the small insect, Morph squeezed their hand tightly breaking the device, they threw the pieces into the toilet and flushed it, ant then the Mutant used their powers to close the wound on their head

They turned on the hot water in the tub and while it filled up he cleaned the blood that had stained the sink and the scissors, they put everything back in its place then undressed and got into the tub

The water felt so good that for a few seconds they only thought about that But then their hands started to shake, now they seemed to be saving, why didn't morph feel safe?

Before they knew it they was crying inconsolably
Morph tried to breathe deeply to calm themself while running their wet hands through their hair

“Come on morph” they said to themself “the hard part is over, what comes next should be easier”

Morph leaned back lying down in the tub making the water surround them, stayed there for a moment enjoying the water and looking at the ceiling

“At least the X-Men look nice” they said with a sigh

They got up a little, thinking that they should use soap and shampoo, they still felt his head throbbing from having taken the bug of-

Wait - is that a rubber duck over there?!

—

Morph didn't know how long they had been in the tub but they had already cleaned themself and washed their hair, but morph hadn't gotten out yet, they was playing with the rubber duck, they had made him a foam hat and now they was just moving it through the water

“Duck duck duck duck duck duck”

Morph heard a few small knocks on the door

“Everything okay bub?” Logan's voice was heard

“Yes! I'm finishing up, I'll be out in a minute!”

They got out of the tub and dried themself with the towel that was hanging, they saw the clothes that Gambit had given them and put on some pants and a purple hoodie, they was going to open the door when they saw The reflection in the mirror, they was so focused before that they hadn't even paid attention to their reflection, their neck had a somewhat red mark from having been wearing that necklace for several days But it wasn't as bad as he had thought it looked, their face was clean and the hair wet, they looked like a... A person

“Bub?” morph heard Logan knocking again

Morph shook their head and opened the door

Logan glanced at them and smiled “Much better this way, huh?”

Morph nodded

“Come on” Logan said waving his hand before starting to walk “I’ll show you your room”

A room for them… how weird

They walked a little with Logan through the halls “I can give you a tour of the mansion tomorrow”

They came to a part with several doors, morph I guess they were also rooms, Wolverine opened a door showing a single room

“My room is next door” Logan said “Do you need anything else bub?”

Morph entered the room and glanced around while Logan stayed at the door

“Could you… ask how long I can stay here?”

Logan smiled at them “if you don't have a safe place to go you can stay here as long as you want”

Morph's heart felt lighter
“Thank you” they said softly

Logan nodded smiling at them and Morph closed the door and went to bed

Chapter Text

"You are not asking how Sinister captured them or why he did it" Scott told the professor as they talked about the new person in the mansion as they walked toward the rooms.

"It didn't seem like the right time. They'll tell us when they're comfortable," Xavier replied as they walked away. "Rest, Scott."

A little later, in the hallways, Cyclops ran into Logan. It seemed like Logan was going to ignore him and simply walk past him, but Scott stopped him.

"Wolverine, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, I just dropped the kid off in the bathroom" Logan said, looking back the way he'd come from.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about them. You've been... nice to Morph."

It's not that Cyclops thinks Wolverine is a bad person, but everyone knows he gets angry easily and Sometimes he is aggressive And considering Morph was taken by Sinister and looked very scared, maybe it would be better if someone else on the team took care of them.

Logan grimaced angrily. "Do you think I'm not capable of being nice to people, Cyclops?"

"I wouldn't say being empathetic and kind are your strong suits."

"I'll be very nice to them, you'll see" Logan said angrily as he left.

"But don't do it just to prove me wrong!"

—

Despite being in a comfortable bed, Morph couldn't sleep. It was strange. They still felt nervous, anxious, as if at any moment something sinister would appear at the door looking for them. They tossed and turned for a while. Their chest, ribs, and back hurt. At least before, they had a reason to feel insecure. Now, it seemed like there wasn't one. Maybe if they fell asleep, when they woke up, they'd go back to the Sinister Lair

They didn't realize when, but at some point during the night, they fell asleep, probably from exhaustion. After a couple of hours, they woke up with their heart racing. It took them a moment to realize where they were... so it hadn't been a dream.

The pressure in their chest continued, and they gripped the sheets tightly. They was free now. They should be happy, they should be happier and more excited than they'd ever been in their entire life. Why wasn't they happy?

They ran their hands through their hair and took a few deep breaths.

When Logan came out of his room that morning, Morph was sitting on the floor, leaning against the front wall, staring at the floor, fiddling with the zipper on the hoodie that Gambit had passed them.

"What are you doing there?" Logan said as he closed his bedroom door.

"Oh, I was waiting for you. I wanted to know what time we were going to eat, and I don't remember how to get to the kitchen" Morph said, standing up.

"You can get things from the kitchen whenever you want" Logan said. He gestured for her to follow him. "Come on, let's go have breakfast."

Morph remained silent as they walked, and after a moment, they asked, "Could you tell me the date?"

"The date?"

Morph nodded. "I don't know what day it is, I don't know how long I was... is it still 1991?”

“No, it's 1993.” Logan didn't want to sound insensitive, but there was no sweet way to answer that question. The answer itself was the same, and he doubted Morph's feelings would be any different.

“Oh… thanks,” Morph replied. “I figured it had been a while, but I lost count after a while, so…”

They had been with Sinister for three years. Logan didn't need to confirm that. He was silent for a moment as they continued walking.

“Do you want us to call someone? Family or friends?” When Wolverine asked that, Morph stopped, staring into space, silent. They must be thinking.

"No" they said almost in a whisper, shaking their head slowly.

Logan nodded, and neither of them said anything until they reached the kitchen.

"What do you want for breakfast? I was thinking about making some eggs and..." Logan opened the refrigerator to get things out when he heard a noise. He turned around and saw Morph holding a box of colorful cereal.

"Oh, that's Jubilee You haven't met her yet. She was with her parents yesterday. I'm sure she won't mind if you eat her cereal. She's not the one who buys it anyway." Logan took out a carton of milk and passed it to Morph.

The shapeshifter sat down at the table, putting the cereal and milk in a bowl while Logan made his breakfast.

"Are you and the others... I mean the other X-Men, friends?" Morph moved the spoon around in the bowl without eating.

Sinister's attendants seemed to be friendly with each other, though Morph didn't understand why anyone would follow Sinister voluntarily.

"Yeah, kind of" Logan replied, stirring his eggs.

"They seem like good people" they said before bringing the spoon to their mouth. "Oh my god."

"What? What's wrong?" Logan quickly turned to look at Morph.

"This cereal is really good!" Morph said before continuing to eat.

Logan just smiled and went back to finishing his breakfast.

Chapter Text

When Jubilo returned to the mansion after spending the weekend at her parents' house, the first thing she saw was Wolverine with someone new, and she quickly approached them.

"There's someone new on the team!" she said excitedly, invading Morph's personal space, causing them to be surprised.

"Easy, kid." Logan put his arm between them. "Jubilo, this is Morph. They arrived last night."

"The owner of the cereal" Morph said with a small smile, extending their hand toward her.

She happily took their hand. "Nice to meet you, what's your power?"

Morph transformed into her, which excited her even more.

"Wow! That's great!" The girl said.

Morph returned to their old selves and looked at Logan. "I like her."

—
Morph was following Logan everywhere. Wolverine couldn't blame them. The school was big, and the shapeshifter didn't know it. They certainly didn't want to get lost.

"I'm going to train" Logan said, and Morph looked at him as if they didn't know what to do with that information. "You can look if you want."

"Okay" Morph nodded.

As they walked to the danger room, Logan looked at Morph out of the corner of his eye. They hadn't even been here a full day yet. But at certain moments, he thought Morph had a more... cheerful personality, maybe outgoing. But Logan understood perfectly why they acted like someone shy. He'd been there, and he'd like to cheer them up. He thinks Morph has a nice smile (is it weird for him to think that?). But he doesn't have the right personality to cheer someone up, and it wouldn't do any good to pressure them.

When they arrived, Morph went to the control panel, where Hank was. While Logan He pulled out his claws and started fighting the holograms.

"Good morning, my friend, but I hope you're enjoying school" Hank greeted them.

Morph nodded. The mansion was nice, although any place is nice compared to Sinister Ward. Morph also liked that he called them "friend." That was nice.

"Sorry, I don't remember your name."

"Hank, but they also call me beast."

Morph frowned. "That name doesn't suit you."

"Don't you think so?"

Morph shook their head as they looked at Wolverine through the glass. “You don’t look like a beast to me, you’re more like a blue cat.”

Hank chuckled. “I appreciate your honesty, and I’m glad to know my appearance doesn’t scare you.”

—

Morph had been with the X-Men for three days now, and sometimes they thought they was just having a big dream. Morph spent most of their time following Wolverine. Everyone was very kind to them, although sometimes the guy with the glasses looked at them with a somewhat difficult expression.

Now they was just walking around the house,
Logan told them that this way they was going to learn the places in the school and how to get there. But Morph wasn’t paying attention to where they were going, just walking aimlessly, automatically.

Morph thought they would feel better. Now they could do whatever they wanted, but they still waited for someone to tell them what to do. It was a very abrupt change, perhaps. One day they were locked in a cell, and the next…

Sinister broke them. Before, they was a person, but that changed why Sinister has no use for people, Because people have willpower, they can make decisions and say no.

Maybe they'd be better off dead.

But they didn't want to die. They'd worked so hard to retain a bit of dignity during the time they were with Sinister, a bit of themself and not just something he could use whenever he wanted.

But maybe they'd be better off...

"Hey, mon ami!"

A voice pulled Morph out of their head. They were passing a room, and there was the red-eyed man at a table with cards. Morph had already identified him as "the one speaking in the third person" and "the one with the cards."

"Do you know how to play poker?"

Morph shook their head.

"Would you like to learn?" The man returned the cards.

Not really. But it's not like they had anything else to do. Besides, he was nice. He had given Morph his clothes. They entered the room, and they sat down next to him.

Gambit began to explain the rules of the game and pulled the Joker cards from the deck.

"And what does the Joker do?"

“Oh, that card isn't used in this game, that's why Gambit always blows it up first.”

Logan was looking for Morph. He hadn't seen them in a while, and although he wasn't going to admit it, he was worried that maybe they was lost. He was following their scent. He knew morph wasn't far away when he heard Gambit's voice talking about poker. Nothing unusual there, but then he heard another voice.

“You're going to have to write that down because I'm not going to learn it” Morph said.

Logan couldn't help but smile. Morph sounded relaxed, and it was good that he was talking to someone on the team other than him, logan stood by the wall, listening to the conversation for a bit before leaving the way he came. Later, he would ask Morph what he thought of poker.

—

“We're going to the mall. Do you want to come? You could buy some clothes that aren't used” Jubilee said

Morph was sitting on the couch watching TV, but they didn't pay attention to the program, their gaze seemed somewhat lost. When the girl spoke, morph turned their head to look at her and saw Logan with his jacket on. Wolverine wasn't a big fan of crowded places, but Jubilee had made him promise to go with her.

"I don't have any money" Morph said.

"Okay, technically, neither do I. It's the professor's money that pays."

Morph seemed somewhat doubtful, but looked at Logan before saying yes.

When they arrived at the mall, Jubilee led Morph around. Logan followed them closely. He thought that maybe Morph wouldn't feel comfortable in the stores, and maybe when Jubilee asked they thought the same thing. But now they didn't seem uncomfortable. Logan could even see a small smile.

In one of the stores, they saw Morph holding a jacket in his hands.

"I like this one" they said shyly. Logan had already realized that they probably couldn't ask for things before.

"And Besides, it's not very expensive."

"You can take more things" Logan said softly, and Morph smiled, as if remembering something special

Returning to the mansion in the car, Morph even hummed some of the songs from the radio.

Logan really liked seeing Morph in a good mood. He would do his best to keep it that way; he wanted to make them happy.

Chapter Text

Morph couldn't sleep. They woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep. Morph knew they were breathing very fast, almost hyperventilating. But they couldn't calm their breathing. They tried, but they couldn't calm down, their hands were shaking.

Morph tried to gasp for air, but it sounded more like a sob. Their new room suddenly felt like Sinister's old cell.

Morph got out of bed with shaky movements and went to the bathroom. When they got there, they closed the door and splashed water on their face, hoping it would calm them down, but it didn't work when morph saw them self in the mirror.

They was nothing, just the sinister crumbs left behind by who they once were. Morph should have been happy that they was free now, but they didn't feel that way. At any moment, he'd return and find Morph. They weren't free person; they'd only given them a slight advantage in the race, but morph couldn't win. No one could beat Sinister.

Morph sat on the floor against the door and began to cry. They hoped none of the X-Men could hear them sobbing.

Morph remembered their mother when they were children and she hugged them. Her voice sounded soft and sweet in their head, "It's okay, just let it go, my love."

Morph tried to breathe deeply again, and when they opened their eyes again and saw the shower wall and a small rubber ducky in one of the corners, they crawled a little and leaned against the shower head. The hard bathroom floor managed to calm them down a bit. Morph took the ducky in their hands.

"Hey, buddy, don't you get lonely sometimes?" Their voice sounded a little cracked from crying.

“I don’t know why I didn’t try to kill myself when I was with Sinister. Maybe I thought at some point he’d get bored of me and kill me himself…” Morph’s hands were no longer shaking, and he began to play with the duck. “Maybe I should have tried. Maybe killing myself would have worked better than all the escape attempts… But I’d definitely bring me back to life just so he could kill me himself”

Morph brought the rubber duck closer to their face and spoke to it as he looked at it more closely.

“I don’t want to make you feel sad about this. I don’t want to be a problem for the X-Men… I just don’t know what the point is anymore.”

—

They weren't sure what time it was; there wasn't a clock in this room, but it was already daytime. Morph was just lying in bed when there was a knock on the door.

When they opened it, they found Wolverine on the other side.

"Something wrong?"

"It's kind of late, and none of the others saw you in the kitchen getting breakfast" Logan explained.

"Sorry, I overslept." They weren't really hungry. Why would they go into the kitchen?

"It's okay, You can eat whenever you want, remember?"

Logan glanced around the room and saw the rubber ducky on the dresser next to the bed.

“Why don’t you come grab something to eat now and then join me at the entrance? I want to show you something.”

“Oh, okay.” They figured seeing what Logan wants to show them must be better than staying in bed all day.

After getting dressed and eating something, morph headed toward the school entrance where Logan was waiting for them

“Are you cold?” Logan asked, and Morph looked at him in confusion. “It’s because you’re wearing the jacket.”

“I really like it. I’m going to wear it every day,” they replied, putting their hands in the jacket pockets.

Logan smiled before starting to walk. “It looks good on you.”

“Where are we going?” The shapeshifter asked, following Logan.

“I can’t tell you, it’s a surprise.”

The two began walking through the trees, moving away from the mansion. Besides the school itself, the land around it was also owned by Xavier. But it had never been used for anything, like this It was similar to a park. Logan used to come here when he needed to clear his head or wanted to be alone.

“This place is nice” Morph said, looking around.

Logan watched as the light passing through the trees fell on Morph. They weren't as pale as they had been the night he met them, but morph still had some dark circles under their eyes.

“I thought some fresh air would do you good.” Logan stopped and pointed with his hand toward a nearby pond.

When Morph turned their head to look, they got an excited smile. “Oh, ducks!”

Several ducks of different colors were in the water.

“I thought you might like to come here. That night you arrived, you said “duck” a lot when you were in the shower.”

“Did you hear me?” A small blush appeared on Morph’s cheeks.

“I have good hearing.”

Morph was silent for a moment before speaking again. “Rubber ducks are baby ducks because only babies are yellow. When they grow up, their wings change color.”

Logan looked at them m and smiled. “Wolverines are born with white fur and then they change to brown.”

“Really? I didn’t know that… although to be honest, I don’t know what a wolverine is.”

Logan chuckled. “I’ll show you a picture later. Now, come on, let’s get a little closer.”

“Aren’t you going to scare the ducks?” Morph said, slowly following Logan.

“As long as you don't make too loud noises, no.”

So the two stayed for a while to watch the ducks up close. Judging by the smile Morph had on their face the whole time, Logan thought this was a great idea.

—

The X-Men were having a small party, yet Morph was just standing in the corner watching. Before, they would have just walked over to chat and tell jokes. Being with mutants was a good thing. They could use their powers freely. But it felt weird pretending to be part of the group.

"Do you want a beer?" Logan asked, approaching with two bottles of beer.

"Yeah, why not?" Morph gave a small smile as they accepted the bottle from Logan. God, they can't remember the last time they had one.

"I'm not much of a party person," Logan said, winning Morph's side. "I didn't even go to Jean's wedding."

"Jean? The redhead?"

"Yeah, it was no secret that I liked her. But that was a while ago... and she chose Summers."

"Why? She doesn't like good-looking guys?" Joke Morph

"Are you making fun of Scott or saying I'm good-looking?"

"Both”

"I like you," Logan said, gently bumping Morph's shoulder. "I hope you don't change your mind about staying here."

"I'll think about it" was an honest answer, although Wolverine thought Morph was still joking.

Morph looked at their beer before taking another sip. Staying here was an option. But then what? Would they become an X-Men? When they found out morph was not only a prisoner of Sinister but also did horrible things, they'd kick them out of the school. But what else could he do?

"Come on, let's go with the others," Logan said gently.

Morph looked at him as they nodded and started to follow.

At least now they didn't feel so alone.

Chapter Text

Sinister had them by their wrist as he dragged them down the hallway. When he reached the room, he opened the cell and threw Morph inside, then closed the door. The shapeshifter hit the hard floor.

"You'll stay there until you learn not to disobey me" Sinister said. "Do you understand?"

Morph remained silent as they slowly sat up.

Sinister slammed his fist against the wall and yelled "I said, do you understand?!"

Morph shuddered slightly as they nodded, "I do, I understand."

"I have big plans. I can't let you ruin them by being useless" was the last thing the villain said before leaving the room.

And it was the last thing morph heard from him before the X-Men dragged them out of that place. When Morph woke up with that memory, they began to tremble, their heart racing, and they broke out in a cold sweat.

They sat up in bed. Morph could see through the window that it was barely dawn. They tried to breathe deeply, remembering all the times they'd had to do this over the past few years, all the panic and anxiety attacks that no one cared about them having. Morph remembered how Sinister looked at them indifferently as he told them to stop crying.

Suddenly, the room felt too small. The mutant got out of bed and opened the window

—

It was almost noon, and Logan hadn't seen Morph anywhere. The others hadn't seen them either, so he decided to go look for them. He first went to the room.

"Morph?" Logan said, knocking on the door. "Are you there? Can I come in?"

Logan opened the door and found the room empty with the window open. Upon entering, he could smell Morph's scent; he was already familiar with it.

He approached the window. Logan had the feeling that Morph might have left through there. Although the rooms were on the Second floor, jumping from this height could be dangerous for someone without training. Maybe if Morph used their powers... but why would they do that instead of occupying the front door?

Logan jumped from the window easily to the ground. He could smell the morph on the spot. So they did jumped out the window, Logan wasted no time following the trail.

After a while, the morph's scent was getting stronger, so they were close. When Logan suddenly saw a figure among the trees.

"Morph?" When he got closer, a couple of meters away, he saw them better, but they didn't look like the morph he knew.

Their appearance was different; they were pale as paper and had no hair or pupils. But they were clearly morphs. Logan knew it from the smell and the fact that they were wearing their pajamas. It didn't seem strange to him since he knew many mutants who looked different. He had even met a shapeshifter who was blue. What seemed strange to him was that the morph was simply standing, clearly tense and barefoot.

"Morph, what are you doing here?" Logan spoke softly, imagining something was wrong. "Do you want to see the pond with the ducks? Are you looking for that?"

“I was thinking…” Morph’s voice cracked, “Maybe I should just stand in the street and wait for someone to run me over.”

Logan was shocked by that and stopped walking in their direction.

“But that would be a little selfish of me to the person driving, wouldn’t it?” Morph looked at Logan, their eyes glazed over.

“Morph…”

“I want to die…” they said, closing their eyes and clenching their fists tightly. “I’m trying. I’m really trying to be okay, but I keep thinking I want to die.”

“Morph, why don’t you just come with me and…”

“No! I don’t want to go back. None of you have any idea what I’m going through!” Morph yelled. “I’m not even a good person. Sinister forced me to do things. He used me as one of his tools. You’re heroes! You don’t know what it feels like to be a villain!”

"I do" Logan said, his voice still calm. "I know what it's like to be used, to not be able to control your own mind. If there's anyone on the team who understands, it's me."

Logan pulled the claws out of one of his hands. "I wasn't born with this, it's not part of my mutant power... someone did this to me."

Through the adamantium, Wolverine saw his reflection before looking back at Morph.

"I know how it feels... the anger, the confusion, the sadness, thinking you're alone... But the professor helped me, and I can help you if you let me." Logan approached them slowly and extended his hand.

"But if you really don't want to go back, that's okay. You can make your own decisions. You're a free person, Morph."

Tears began to fall down Morph's cheeks as they slowly approached Logan. Morph let out a sob. "I don't want to be alone.."

When he reached Logan's side, Morph leaned on him as their legs shook and they fell. to the ground, Logan grabbed Morph going down to the grass with them.

Morph hid their face in Logan's neck and Logan hugged them tightly. "Shh, it's okay, I got you, I got you."

They stayed like that for a long time, Logan holding Morph in his arms while the other mutant cried. Nothing else could be heard around them but the sobs and Logan’s soft words. The day was sunny, but there were many clouds and cold air.

Slowly, Morph stopped crying and pulled away a little, seeing how Logan's red shirt now had a wet stain from their tears.

"I'm sorry I stained your shirt."

"It's okay, I like the yellow one better anyway." Logan's hand was still on Logan's back, moving slowly up and down. Morph found it quite comforting. They couldn't remember the last time someone was that kind to them.

Logan didn't move away from Morph as he spoke, seeing that they was calmer now. "I know it's hard to trust someone after going through things like this, and I know that It's hard to ask for help. God, I don't usually do either of those things. But think about telling us the problem so we can help you”

"There are so many things wrong... I'm too broken to be fixed" Morph's voice sounded listless, as if they'd already resigned themself to that is the truth. "Maybe I should ask the professor to erase my memory."

"No," Logan took Morph's hand and squeezed it. "You don't want that."

"Maybe we can start small" Logan said, and Morph turned to look at him, unsure.

"I have trouble sleeping at night.”

"Okay, we can work on that. We can talk to Hank and he can give you something to rest."

"Yeah... I think we can talk to Doctor Cat."

"Doctor Cat?"

"I don't think the name beast suits him"

Logan let out a small chuckle. "Let's go back to the mansion. I'll get you slippers and something to eat, and then we'll talk to Hank." He stood up and stretched out his arm to help Morph up.

Morph took his hand, Standing up and then looking down at their pajamas. "Shouldn't I change clothes first?"

"You deserve to spend a whole day in pajamas" Logan said as they started walking back to the mansion.

Chapter Text

When Logan and Morph arrived at school, they met Scott at the front door.

"Wolverine?" he asked, looking confused at Morph, who now looked different.

"Morph isn't having a good day." Logan put his arm around Morph's shoulders, hugging them. "Can you get them some slippers?"

Scott looked at Morph one last time before nodding and leaving.

Wolverine led Morph to the living room couch and had them sit down. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

After a moment, Logan returned with a sandwich and a glass of juice for Morph, who still looked a little sad.

"After you ate something, you'd feel better." Logan handed him the food and placed a hand on their shoulder. Wolverine was very reluctant to touch, even with people he trusted. But to Morph seemed to put them at ease.

"I don't want to be a bother to anyone," they said, looking at the food.

"Nothing like that," Logan replied. "You're not a bother to anyone. X-Men love helping people so much, that's literally all they do."

Morph glanced at Logan before taking a bite of their sandwich. Suddenly, Cyclops arrived with the things in his hand.

"I already brought the slippers," Scott said. “I brought you socks too.”

“Thanks,” Morph said timidly.

“Is Hank in the lab?” Logan asked.

“I think so.” As Morph ate, Scott looked at Logan with a doubtful expression and nodded slightly toward Morph.

Wolverine knew he wanted to ask, “What's going on?” He made a face that he hoped Cyclops would read as, “I'll explain later.”

Cyclops seemed to understand, because he put his hand on Morph's shoulder and smiled. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” he said before leaving.

—

Hank looked quite surprised. Morph wasn't sure if it was because of what they were asking for or because Morph looked different.

"I don't think I have any sleeping pills, but I may have something else that might help," he said. He then searched one of the drawers and pulled out a small box, passing it to Morph. "Put it under your tongue until it melts. It'll help you relax."

"Thanks," Morph said, accepting the box.

"If you need anything else, don't hesitate to talk to me, my friend," Hank said.

Morph thought it must look like shit for two people to say that to him, even though they didn't know what had happened a little while ago.

When he left the lab, Logan walked Morph to his room. The shapeshifter opened the door to enter.

"I can stay" Logan said, "if you want, if it makes you feel safer."

Morph looked at him, a little Doubtful by what they was going to ask.

"Can I have another hug?" Morph said, and Logan didn't hesitate.

"Listen, some days are going to be bad days like this one. Some are even going to be terrible days. But now you're not alone, and that makes them a little less bad." Logan held them tightly before letting them go.

"Thank" Morph whispered, "for giving me a chance and not giving up on me."

"Thank to you" Logan said back in a confident voice, "for not giving up on yourself."

Morph gave him a small smile. "If I need anything, I'll talk to you, is that okay?"

"More than fine," Logan smile back, and Morph entered the room, leaving the door ajar.

Upon entering, they came across a small mirror on one of the cabinets. Morph normally ignored it. But now, they saw their face in the mirror.

"Oh."

Morph didn't remember what their other form looked like. It was kind of the others not to comment on the change in their appearance. Morph took the mirror in both hands and brought it closer to their face. They suddenly felt... lighter.

—
At night in the mansion, everyone was in the kitchen except for the shapeshifter. Logan was leaning against the counter. He already knew what they were going to ask him.

"What happened to Morph?" Cyclops asked.

"I don't know if I can tell you" Logan said. "I wouldn't want someone to say things about me without me knowing."

"Can you at least tell us why they look different?" The X-Men leader spoke again.

“I don’t know, I didn't ask them” Logan replied. “But what I do know is that they need our help, so we need to be there for them.”

“We have to give Morph space” the professor said. “I know you’re curious. But we shouldn’t pressure them. They’ll talk when they’re ready, and Wolverine is right. He can’t tell us anything without Morph’s permission; it would break their trust.”

“Gambit agreed ” Remy said, shuffling the cards. “Interrogating isn’t a good way to gain someone’s trust.”

The team members were leaving the kitchen. Before Wolverine could leave, someone called out to him.

“Logan” Cyclops stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I was wrong. You can be nice.”

“I don’t blame you for thinking otherwise, Scott,” Logan said. “The important thing now is that we help Morph move forward, just like the team helped me.”

—

“You don’t have to come with me, Logan.” Morph says as they walk through the trees.

This time they aren't wearing pajamas and are wearing shoes. They think it's nice that Logan offered to take them to the duck pond. But a part of Morph thinks he's just doing it to make sure they don't try anything stupid. Although, given what happened a couple of days ago, Morph can't blame him. They don't know whether to feel bad because the X-Men think they need babysitters now, or flattered that they care about them even though they haven't known them for that long.

"You've only been here once. You don't know the way. Besides, I want to show you something," Logan said, leading the way.

When the two reached the front of the pond, Morph stared at Logan, waiting for what he was going to show them. He smiled at them

"I named some ducks" Logan said.

"Ducks have names?! Why didn't you tell me that the first time we came here?"

“Because they didn't have names when I showed them to you, and not all of them have names. See those two? The ones sleeping together?” Logan pointed to two ducks in a corner of the pond, one white and one brown. “Well, the white one is called Morph and the other is Wolverine, and they're always together, just like you and I. From now on.”

“That's very nice, Logan, thanks.” Morph looked at him, smiling. “Do you think they're just friends or a couple?”

“Oh, I hadn't thought of that…”

“I mean, if they're always together…”

“I haven't seen them lay eggs.”

“I think they're both males. I doubt they lay eggs.”

“How do you know they're males?”

“Because of their tails and beaks.”

“Why do you like ducks?” Logan asked.

“Ducks are cute and weird.” Morph had a big smile on their face. Logan thought it was a real, charming smile. It suited them. The new appearance suited them too. It was a little weird, but seeing Morph happy made Logan happy.

“Yeah, I guess they have their charm.”

Chapter Text

It's been almost two weeks since Morph had that "bad day" and things have been getting better little by little. First, Hank's pills are working, they've been able to sleep better. Some days they still have nightmares or wake up in the middle of the night, but when they do, morph doesn't feel that pressure on their chest. There are even days when Morph has been able to sleep through the night! The spots under their eyes aren't as noticeable anymore.

Wolverine hasn't stopped being friendly. They always eat together, sitting next to each other. Morph isn't sure if Logan does because he thinks Morph wouldn't eat on their own, but they appreciated the company.

The others were already friendly to Morph before, but since that day they've tried to get closer to them. They play cards with Gambit. Morph's improving but still can't beat him. Hank has passed them some books to read. They've been helping Storm and Rogue with the garden, and Jean in the kitchen. She jokes that she likes having Morph in the kitchen more than Gambit.

And now they are walking to Charles's office. Morph liked the professor. He treated the others like his children even though he wasn't the father of any, and everyone spoke well of him. No one was afraid of him... maybe morph liked him because he was the opposite of sinister.

They was about to knock on the door when a voice came from the other side: "Come in, Morph."

The shapeshifter opened the door to see Charles at his desk writing on a piece of paper. “I can come back later if you’re busy,” they said, standing in the doorway.

“I’m just finishing up a letter to an old friend. Don’t worry, please come in, Morph.” Charles put the letter in an envelope and set it aside.

Morph walked in, closing the door. They’d never been in this room before. There were shelves of books, some objects, and several photos of the professor with the team.

“I appreciate you wanting to talk to me, Morph.” Xavier gestured with his hand for Morph to sit in the chair across from him, which they did.

Morph was silent for a moment. They were a little nervous. Morph wondered if the professor was reading their mind right now. On one hand, that would be easier than talking about different topics. But Morph didn’t feel comfortable with someone in their head.

“Any specific topic you’d like to talk to me about, Morph?” The professor asked, seeing that Morph didn't want to start the conversation.

"Have you all known Sinister for a long time?"

“Just a little less than you.”

Morph thought what would be okay to tell the professor about their history with Sinister.

“I knew about you, the team, he mentioned you, but I never got around to reading the files on you... I used to…. run his errands.”

“It must have been very difficult for you. Our encounters with Sinister have shown us that his name does him justice.”

“He was a miserable son of a bitch” Morph blurted out, and Charles grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, it’s okay. It’s not good to hold in your anger.”

“I don’t understand why I was... why I’m so stressed,” Morph said. “Before, when I was with him, I thought that when I was free, I’d be so happy. But no... I don’t feel that way.”

“Before, it wasn’t safe for you. You had to be on your toes all the time. You didn’t have time to be sad.” Charles placed his hand on Morph’s. “Now you can.”

Morph gave a small smile. “It’s weird, knowing It's okay to be sad makes me feel happy."

After talking a little more with the professor, they left the office and saw Logan leaning against one of the walls.

"How did it go with Chuck?" Logan asked, noticing morph'd left the room and approaching them, Morph placed their hand on their neck.

"Fine, I guess" they replied uncertainly. The two walked down the hallway in silence for a moment. Morph seemed thoughtful.

Logan thought maybe they needed a distraction. "Do you want to play basketball?”

Morph turned to look at him and thought about it for a second, smiling. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

“I'll put on something more comfortable to play,” Logan said, walking. “I'll see you down on the court.”

Morph walked over to the basketball court and waited for Wolverine for a while. They heard footsteps and Logan calling them. But when Morph turned to look at him, they couldn't help but start laughing. Wolverine was only wearing jean shorts and sneakers.

“What are you wearing?” The shapeshifter said, unable to stop laughing.

“I told you, I put on something more comfortable to play.”

“And you play more comfortably almost naked?”

“And you're going to stay like that?” Logan tossed the ball to Morph.

They caught it. "I don't need much time to change." Suddenly, Morph's clothes began to change and they turned into a full basketball uniform.

"That's a good trick."

"Thanks," Morph blushed. It was nice to receive compliments after so long. The shapeshifter began to bounce the ball on the ground. "I don't remember the rules of basketball very well."

Logan took the ball from them and began to move with it. "The only one who knows the rules is Summers."

Wolverine was about to throw the ball into the hoop when Morph took the ball from him, carried it to the other end, and threw it into the hoop.

"Not bad," Logan said as he passed by them to catch the falling ball.

"I hope you're not making it easy for me."

"I wasn't planning on doing that." Logan went with the ball, quickly passing by Morph toward the other hoop.

They played for a while, and it was fun for both of them. the X-Men had been so busy with Sinister recently that Logan hadn't had a friendly game for a while, not to mention Morph.

Suddenly, when Logan was trying to take the ball from Morph, the two tripped and fell to the ground. Thanks to Logan's quick reflexes, he was able to put his hand on the back of Morph's head so their nape didn't hit the cement floor directly. For Morph, everything happened in a second. They were playing and suddenly they were on the ground with Logan on top of them, their faces very close.

They stayed like that for a moment in silence, close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked.

“Yeah..”

It must have been Morph’s imagination, but for a moment they thought Logan looked at their lips, then looked up.

“You look stupid with that thing on your head” Logan joked.

“You look stupid in those shorts” Morph joked back.

Logan stood up and extended his hand to Morph to help them up.

“Do you want to play a tiebreaker?” Logan asked.

“What are you talking about? I’m beating you.” Morph smiled, went to get the ball, and started bouncing it.

“You have an advantage because you’re taller and lighter.”

“Everyone’s taller than you.”

While the two continued the game, the professor was looking out his office window at the situation and couldn’t help but smile.

Chapter Text

Since their mother died, their home hadn't been the same. Their father insisted they had to grow up, and Kevin refused. It seemed like Kevin's father cared less and less about what was left of his family.

Kevin had already packed their suitcase a few days ago, but they were gaining courage about the thing they were going to do. It pained Kevin to think they were going to disappoint their mother. But she wasn't here anymore... and their father… well, they couldn't even leave without having a fight with him.

Mr. Sydney shouted while Kevin remained calm. They opened the door to leave. But they stopped when they heard what their father said.

"Listen to me, Kevin! If you walk out that door, you can't come back! You'll be dead to me!"

Kevin stood still for a second before turning their head slightly to their father.

"So now you don't have a wife or a son"

And with that, they crossed the door and closed it behind them. Kevin began walking quickly with their suitcase to the bus stop. There they sat down, and they wondered... if Kevin Sydney had just died, they were going to need a new name.

Morph

It took them a while to choose it. But they thought it was perfect; short, easy to pronounce, and it describes them well.

For almost two months, Morph lived in a small apartment that was more like a room with everything. But it worked for them and was what they could afford for now. Morph had money saved up. But it wasn't going to last long, and he took on some odd jobs.

Morph had been working cleaning a bar for about a week when they met them, the Nasty Boys. They caught morph attention from the moment they entered the bar. From a young age, the people told them that they couldn't show their powers in public. Morph never met anyone like them, so seeing other mutants on the street or in public always caught their attention.

The Nasty Boys stayed in the bar for a while, seemingly unconcerned that the others were watching and Judging. When they walked out the door, Morph saw that their boss wasn't watching and followed them. Luckily (or unluckily), the group hadn't gone far. They were leaning against the bar wall, and one of the men was taking a pack of cigarettes out of his coat. It seemed the others were about to take one out when Morph interrupted.

"You're mutants..."

"You have a problem with that?" asked a man with pink hair.

"No, no... I'm a mutant too," Morph explained. "It's just that I've never seen others use their abilities so freely."

"Really?" The woman asked. "What can you do?"

"I can shapeshift." To prove it, Morph transformed into the bar owner, then into one of the boys, and then back again.

"Could you, for example, if you transformed into another mutant, copy their powers?" The woman spoke again.

“I don't know, I've never tried it. If it's physical abilities, maybe.”

One of them put his arm around Morph's shoulders. “You know, we didn't feel comfortable being mutants before either, but our boss, he's a genius. He helped us with our powers. He gave us a purpose. Thanks to him, we're not ashamed of who we are.”

“He sounds like a great guy.”

“We could tell him about you, you know, so you can join the group,” said another of the men.

“Wait a minute!” Morph ran into the bar and a moment later came out with a piece of paper.

"It's the phone number for where I'm staying," they said, passing them the paper, "so you can contact me."

The mutants smiled at them before leaving, and Morph felt hopeful. Maybe they could finally find a place where they belonged.
When the Nasty Boys returned to the Sinister Ward, they found him looking at some things on the computer with his back to them.

"I hope you haven't been wasting your time out there."

"We met another master mutant. We thought maybe I could be of use to your cause."

Sinister turned his head slightly, looking at them over his shoulder. "Continue."

"Is a shapeshifter. They seemed pretty keen on using their powers."

Sinister thought for a moment. "Bring them here, and I'll decide if they're of use to me."

So the Nasty Boys called Morph and brought them to the Sinister Ward. Morph was looking around the place in amazement. Others thought he looked like a kid on Christmas Day.

“You must be the shapeshifter,” Said sinister looking at Morph.

“And you must be the big boss. Why are you dressed like that? Are you a superhero or something?”

“I would describe myself more as a scientist, but I guess I try to be a hero, to make the world a better place. What's your name?”

"Morph"

"That's not your birth name"

"No, that person died"

"That makes us more alike than you might think. My name is Mr. Sinister"

"That's a weird name for a superhero"

"I'm not like other superheroes"

So Morph stayed. At first, everything was fine. Sinister ran a few medical tests on them and told morph that they had a lot of potential. Morph started training with the Nasty Boys, learning how to fight and how to use their powers.

But when Morph started going on missions for Sinister, things started to go wrong. It didn't feel right to Morph. So far, they'd only stolen things, documents, and technology. Sinister was pretty vague about it and wouldn't explain what they were for, only saying it was to make the world a better place.

Once, Morph entered Sinister's lab and he was looking at images on the computer of who Morph would later learn were the X-Men.

“Friends of yours?” Morph asked casually.

“They’re my next big target,” he said, still staring at the monitor.

“They don’t look like bad people.”

“They’ll help me create a perfect world.”

“What do you mean?” the shapeshifter asked, confused.

“Hey, Morph!” called one of the Nasty Boys. The group was waiting for them by the door. “Come on! It’s our night off!”

Morph walked toward them, briefly glancing at Sinister.

A few days later, the final straw happened. Sinister was explaining the next mission to Morph, this time alone, when he said he wanted them to get rid of someone.

“What do you mean?” Morph frowned.

“I think I’m being pretty clear,” Sinister said. “I don’t care how you do it, just make sure you do it.”

“No,” said Morph.

“What?”

"I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to kill anyone."

"I'm not asking you whether you want to morph or not. I'm giving you an order."

"I don't want to do this anymore, Sinister! I'm out of here.”

“You think you can just walk away if you want? I made you what you are now! You belong to me!” Sinister grabbed Morph by the wrist and dragged them down the hallway. Morph tried to break free. But they couldn't; Sinister was stronger than he looked.

Sinister threw Morph into a cell, causing them to crash into the wall, and closed the door. “I'll think of something you can be useful to me with.”

Morph stayed there for a couple of hours, feeling confused and betrayed. Suddenly, footsteps were heard. Morph looked up to see the Nasty Boys walk by.

“Guys! I'm so glad to see you. Get me out of here fast!” Morph said, pulling up to their feet and holding onto the bars.

“Why would we do that? We'd get in trouble too," the woman said.

"But we're friends..."

"We were just being friends, but you disobeyed the teacher," one of the men said.

"No! Wait! Sinister isn't what he seems..." Morph spoke, but the others continued on their way, ignoring Morph's pleas.

Several hours must have passed where Morph was alone, because they woke up with a noise, realizing they had fallen asleep. Sinister returned and roughly dragged them out of the cell to his lab. Morph screamed and begged, but Sinister's face remained serious, not looking at them. He placed Morph on a stretcher with shackles on y wrists and ankles.

Morph tried to get away but couldn't. "No! Stop!"

Next to Morph was a table with medical instruments, and there was something else. Something that looked like a bug.

"Don't worry, it'll just be a moment," he said, holding a scalpel.

And after a moment of pain, everything went black for Morph.

Chapter Text

Logan was in his room reading a book on his bed when there was a knock on the door. He could smell Morph on the other side. When the shapeshifter entered, they looked sad.

"It's... it's one of those bad days" Morph said, standing in the doorway.

"Come here" Logan said, putting his book aside and holding out his arms. Morph closed the door and climbed onto Logan's bed to hug him.

They stood in silence for a moment, Morph's head on Logan's chest while his hands slowly stroked their back. This was becoming a habit, the hugs, the small touches... if anyone told Logan he was going soft, he'd pull out his claws. But the truth was, he enjoyed this. He'd started doing it because it made Morph feel better. But there were times when he imagined himself wrapping his arms around Morph's waist and putting his chin on their shoulder.

"What do you do when you're having a bad day?" Morph asked.

“I'll have a few beers, go to the pool hall, break things.”

“Only you?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, so you told me I can be vulnerable because you and the team will support me, but when you have a bad day, you isolate yourself?” Morph broke away from the hug to look at Logan, and he let out a small groan at the distance.

“I don't isolate myself, it's just that…” Logan looked away. “Sometimes I get violent, so I prefer to vent that anger on my own, and when I calm down a bit, I go with the team.”

“We should do what you do” Morph said, standing up.

“What?”

“Have a few beers, go to the pool hall, and break some stuff.” Morph made fist gestures as if he were punching something. “I also have a lot of anger to get out of my system.”

Logan thought for a moment. “Okay, but don't tell Slim.”

—

Logan's car was parked outside the bar. Morph shifted back to their human form before opening the car door, but Logan stopped them from leaving.

"Don't even think about doing that if you don't want to. If Someone says anything to you about being a mutant, They will have to deal with me”

"Thanks. But I think it's better this way. I don't want to get in trouble."

The bar's sign was worn, and when the two entered, Morph could tell things hadn't been updated in a while.

"Is this your bar? I like it. It's quite elegant," the shapeshifter joked.

They ordered two beers at the bar and chatted for a while, discussing how Logan had found out about the bar. Then, when they saw the pool table was empty, they went to play.

"Are you good at pool?" Logan asked as he handed the stick to Morph.

“I’ve never played before, though I understand what I’m supposed to do.” Morph leaned across the table and moved the stick, causing the balls to move, but none of them went into the holes.

“You have to do it harder,” Logan said, getting pretty close and grabbing Morph’s arm and helping them move the stick. This time the balls moved all over the place, and several fell into the holes.

“Thanks.” Morph’s cheeks flushed, and they thought it was a little silly of them to do that because Logan was standing nearby when they were hugging a little while ago, and they didn’t feel embarrassed. “I guess you’ve played this a million times before.”

Logan walked away, grabbed another stick, and leaned across the table. “Sort of, but it doesn’t matter much in pool, the balls do whatever they want.”

They played for a while before going for another beer. As the sun set, more people entered the bar. Some seemed to know Logan and gave him a quick nod.

“I didn't know you had so many friends,” Morph said.

“I only have, like, three friends. The rest are acquaintances.”

“Only three? Wow, so I guess I beat you. Everyone on the team is my friend. That's more than three,” Morph joked.

A while later, Logan had gone for more drinks, leaving Morph alone in a corner, when a voice stopped them.

“Kevin?”

In front of them stood a man, a familiar face. He hadn't changed much since the last time they saw him. He had more gray hair and was frowning. But that was normal for him.

Their father.

"I think you're mistaken, sir." Morph looked away and wondered if the corner of the bar where they were standing was dark enough for them to change their appearance without the man in front of them noticing.

"Don't play dumb. Do you think I can't recognize my own son? Where the hell have you been?"

"You told me if I left, I wouldn't be able to come back.”

“I didn't mean it, I didn't think you..." That wasn't an apologetic tone, it was a scolding tone. It reminded them of when Sinister told them that they'd done something wrong.

"And all the other times you yelled at me, you didn't mean it either?" Morph said, annoyed. They felt their hands start to shake.

Without Morph noticing, Logan appeared and took the lead between them. "Hey! Is he bothering you?"

"I'm his father."

"That's not what I asked" Logan growled.

"Kevin, tell him."

"I don't know who Kevin is" Morph replied. "I think you're confusing me with a dead person."

Morph walked briskly to the bar's exit, and Logan followed closely behind them after giving the man one of his menacing looks. Morph stopped a few steps from Wolverine's car.

"Are you okay?" Logan placed his hand on Morph's shoulder.

"Yes, I am. Thanks for defending me." Morph's lips began to tremble, and their eyes watered. "No one... I don't think anyone has ever defended me before."

Logan pulled Morph towards him and gave them a tight hug. It wasn't something he thought about; he just did it, and Morph immediately returned the hug, trying to hide their face in Wolverine's neck.

"I'm starting to think you actually like hugs," Morph joked, chuckling, but their voice sounded broken.

"Just yours." Logan stood there for a few more seconds, surrounding Morph before separating. "Do you still want to break things? We can go back to school."

Morph ran their hands over their face, wiping away a few tears. "I think now more than ever I need to break things."

The two got in the car, and Logan drove a bit. Morph watched through the window as the orange colors of the sky faded and it turned into night. They ended up in a place filled with rubble and a couple of old houses.

"They're demolishing, so it's okay if we break things," Logan said as the two got out of the car.

At first, Morph seemed shy, as if they didn't know the "right way" to break things. But after seeing Wolverine break some things with his claws, they loosened up. They started throwing things at other things and to the ground, and the small screams became louder and more heartbreaking.

Breathing somewhat accelerated, morph raised their face, looking at the sky with a couple of stars. Logan noticed tears in their eyes. Morph remained silent for a moment.

Logan hesitated for a moment before putting his hand on their back. Morph shake a little "are you okay?”

“I want to break more things” Morph's voice sounded a little tired. They turned to look at Logan. "Can I?"

"Of course you can, Bub."

After a while of breaking, kicking, and throwing things, Morph decided it was enough and they should go back to school.

They started walking toward Logan's car.

"Sorry, This, the things I did didn't work for you." Say Logan

"No, no, I had fun today only... we should do these things when we're in a good mood."

"And what do we do when we're having a bad day?"

“Hugs work pretty well,” Morph looked away, but Logan noticed how red their cheeks were. He told himself it must be from the cold night air.

“Don’t tell the others, but you’re my favorite on the team,” Wolverine said, leaning a little closer to the shapeshifter.

Morph smiled at him. “You’ll break Jubilee’s heart.”

Chapter Text

Morph runs in the mornings with Ororo, it just running around the mansion. But it was something Morph liked to do. They didn't used to run. But now they really enjoyed it. Hank had told them that exercise released dopamine, but Morph didn't quite understand what he was saying.

After their morning jog, Morph entered the kitchen. Wolverine was sitting in one of the chairs. Morph was wearing a tight-fitting shirt, which made sense if they were going for a run, especially with summer approaching. But Logan stared longer than usual.

"You've gained weight," Logan said, and Morph turned to look at him.

"I hope that's not your way of flirting with girls," Morph joked.

"No, I mean... when you arrived, you were very thin. The fact that you gained weight is a good thing."

"Me being here is a good thing," the shapeshifter smiled.

"Yes, it is."
-
Morph was curled up on the floor of a cell. Apparently, this was going to be their new room. They had found the part of the floor that was smoother and didn't have as many indentations. Morph heard footsteps and looked up. One of the Nasty Boys was carrying a mattress.

"We're not going to use this one anymore," he said, opening the cell and putting the mattress inside before closing it. "But don't get your hopes up that we're going to give you more things."

Morph looked at the mattress. It didn't look that old, but they would have liked a blanket too. The shapeshifter stood up and looked directly at the Nasty Boy. They knew no one would hurt them without getting a sinister permit first.

"Thanks, sinister’s dog number three," Morph said, and the man frowned. "Sorry, wasn't that your name?"

"If you keep being a loudmouth, the Master will get rid of you."

"I don't see how that would be a problem."

The nasty boy gave them one last look before leaving. Morph lay down on the mattress. It was a bit hard, but definitely better than the floor.

—

"Come on! You're being too slow, old man!" Morph said, tugging at Logan's hand.

"I don't know why the rush, Bub. The ducks aren't going anywhere," Logan said as they left the mansion. Morph was carrying a bag, which had him confused.

Jean and Scott were watching them from a second-floor window.

"They make a cute couple, don't they?" Jean smiled.

"What? Morph and Wolverine? Yeah, I guess they've even become good friends. I like seeing Logan in a good mood, surprisingly."

Jean was still smiling. Scott knew it meant something, but he didn't know what.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing, psychic stuff."

Logan and Morph were walking toward the duck pond.

"Are you going to tell me why you're carrying peas?" Wolverine said, without taking his eyes off the bag Morph was carrying.

"I can't fool that nose of yours, huh Wolverine?" Morph smiled, taking a bag of peas out of the bag to show it to him. “It's for the ducks. I heard bread is bad for them and they like this.”

Logan started laughing. “Are you going to give the ducks a whole bag?”

“That way I can make sure everyone can eat.”

“And how are you going to tell Chuck that a whole bag of peas disappeared?”

"I'll tell him you ate it," Morph continued smiling. They put the package back in the bag.

Wolverine sighed and put his hands on his waist. "The worst part of your plan is that it might actually work."

—

Morph was sitting on the floor in the corner of one of the Sinister Lair Room. He'd told them to wait there until he needed it again. The room had a few things in it. Morph assumed he left it here instead of the cell because it was closer to his lab.

The door opened, and the girl from Nasty Boys appeared with a tray of food. She seemed a little annoyed to be there. She placed the tray on the table and glanced at Morph.

Morph immediately stood up, and as soon as they were in front of the food began to eat. It wasn't the best food, but it was better than not eating at all.

The girl turned around and seemed to leave. But Morph's voice stopped her.

"Could you—could you tell me the date?"

"Why do you want to know?" She turned her head slightly, looking over her shoulder at Morph.

"I don't know how long I've been here. I've lost count."

The girl was silent for a moment before answering, "Don't bother me with stupid questions."

And then she left the room, leaving Morph alone.

—
Everyone had gathered in the war room. Logan had brought Morph with him and had them sit in one of the chairs. The shapeshifter was confused. Normally, the team only met here to do X-Men things, discuss a mission, or plan something. Morph realized they were the only one sitting.

Jean used her powers and placed a box in front of Morph. "We have something for you."

Morph opened the box and found a folded suit in it, a yellow and blue one.

"I don’t- I don't understand. What is this?"

"A uniform," Cyclops said. "Your uniform."

"Welcome to the team Morph. You're officially an X-Men now," the professor said.

Tears welled up in Morph's eyes.

"Oh, sugar, why are you crying?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, it's just that there's a lot of dust in here. You should clean the room more often." Morph ran their hands over their face, wiping away tears.

"What are you waiting for, Mon Ami? Go try it on," Gambit said, smiling.

Morph grabbed the suit and ran to the door, excited. "I'll be right back!"

After a moment, the door opened, and Morph appeared in the suit, wearing a huge smile. Everyone approached them.

"Take it easy for now, okay?" Scott said, tapping their shoulder. "Just simple missions."

The others congratulated them, letting them know they were happy to finally be officially part of the team.

"The suit suits you, Bub." Wolverine playfully punched them with his arm.

"Thanks, I feel good in it." Morph couldn't stop smiling.

Logan loved that smile. He—

Oh

He was in love with Morph.

Chapter Text

Logan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. It seemed obvious to him now that he'd been in love with Morph for a while. But he didn't know what to do. It was obvious Morph liked him. But that didn't mean they were in love with him.

Morph was funny, sweet. But life hadn't treated them well. They deserved someone who knew how to help them, someone who wasn't violent or dealing with demons from their past.

Morph deserved someone better than Wolverine.

—

Morph was running through the mansion's hallways. The professor had sent a message: an emergency in the war room. Before, he would have expected Wolverine to come for them. But they were X-Men now, which meant they had to respond to emergency calls, too.

"I'm here! What's the emergency?" Morph said as the door opened, ready to attack.

But what they found on the other side wasn't injured people or some villain.

The team was inside with the professor. There was food on the tables, and a banner with balloons hung on the wall.

"Happy birthday!" They all said.

Morph looked surprised for a few seconds before they understood what was happening and then started to smile. "You didn't have to throw a party for me."

"Logan insisted," Scott said.

"It was the professor's idea, I just agreed." Logan looked away, embarrassed.

Morph transformed into him. "Hey, look, I'm Wolverine and I'm super tough. I obviously don't like birthday parties or cake."

Morph back to themselves, and Logan gave them a light punch on the shoulder before giving them a hug. "Oh, shut up and come here."

When they separated, the others went to greet and congratulate Morph. The shapeshifter was happy. This had been a nice gesture on their part. Morph didn't even remember it was their birthday... probably because they hadn't celebrated it in the last two years.

"A toast to Morph," the professor said, raising his glass.

"Charles, wait," Jean said. "The computer got a new report about mutants."

A reporter appeared on the screen. "I'm in front of Zydex Industries, the target of a terrorist attack a few hours ago. The details are blurry, but mutant activity is suspected. The military was sent to search the area."

"The military?" Morph asked.

Beast began to explain what Zydex does and that they're creating a new compound, a strong yet flexible material.

"Do you suspect anyone, Professor?" Jean said, approaching him.

"If this is the next generation of weapons, it could be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. We must investigate."

Wolverine approached Morph again and put his arm around their shoulders. "Morph and I will go, what do you say, kid? Ready for your first mission?"

"Of course!" Morph replied excitedly.

"Will you take it easy?" the professor asked.

"Sure, and we'll get a piece of cake.”
—
Wolverine and Morph were on the jet heading to the labs. Logan sent a camera to check the place. They landed the jet, and while the camera images appeared on the screen, the two mutants looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, their eyes meeting for a few seconds longer than usual.

"Let's do this" Logan said, then exited the jet.

Morph transformed into a soldier and made the guard leave the door, then transformed back into themselves.

"You have a bub touch, I see," Logan said, climbing down a tree.

"I would have asked the guard to open this," Morph said, touching the padlock on the door.

"No problem." Wolverine pulled out his claws and smashed the lock in one motion.

"You have a good touch too," Morph said, laughing.

As they entered, they saw the helicopter's lights in the sky and ran to hide.

"This must be typical for you," Morph said as they ran. It really wasn't that different from things they did before. But they didn't want to think about the missions they had to do for Sinister.

The two of them were hidden behind a wall.

"Just for the record, I always knew you could be an X-Men," Logan said, smiling.

"You're not going to get all smushy with me on the mission, are you?"

"I'm not going to get smushy" Logan opened the wall with his claws and the two entered.

They separated to clean up the place and Scott suddenly spoke to him through the transmitter. "Do it quickly, Wolverine. The cameras show that security is increasing."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Don't rush me, pretty boy," Logan replied, but then he recognized that metallic smell. The sentinels had been here. Something made a noise and turned around with his claws out.

"Hey, easy. Big guy, it's just me." Morph approached.

"The sentinels were here." Logan put away his claws. "We should be careful. Maybe they're still close. We have to go."

The team had already explained to Morph who the sentinels were. They had seen a couple of recordings. "But we haven't finished the mission."

"This was an easy mission. If we had known there were sentinels, I wouldn't have let you come."

"Oh, it's not just that Scott wouldn't have let me come. You wouldn't have let me come either." Morph frowned.

“It’s very dangerous.”

“But I’m part of the team.” Morph was starting to get frustrated.

“I don’t want—no one on the team would want you to get hurt,” Logan said.

Morph sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

As they were getting back to the morph jet, he almost tripped, noticing a giant footprint on the ground. “Wow, they really are big, huh?”

—
The professor and Morph were walking outside the mansion. It was night and the air was a little chilly.

“Don't blame Wolverine for his concern for you, Morph. Traumas are hard to overcome. Being on a difficult mission could set back the work you've done.”

“I'm fine! I'm ready. We'll never know for sure if everyone holds my hand every time things get tough,” Morph said. “I have to try.”

“I understand. But don't take it as if I'm against you if i chose not to take you against the Sentinels for your first mission.
Self-confidence is a delicate thing. I want you to be strong.”

“I know you're right, Professor. It's just hard to admit it.”

“Professor,” Hank's voice came over the communicator. “The computer is picking up several intruders.”

The professor used his powers. “I can't sense anyone's mind.”

“There!” Morph shouted. Three giant robots appeared from behind the trees.

The sentries arrived and surrounded them. Xavier tried to pull a gun from his wheelchair, but one of the sentries shot him, causing him to fall out of the chair. The gun flew and landed near Morph.

One of the robots grabbed the professor. Morph raised the gun and aimed.

"Back off!" Their hands were shaking.

Morph didn't see when Logan and Hank get out the mansion. But they started fighting with the sentries. They moved, but Morph stayed still. Morph didn't know what was happening to them because they wasn't reacting. Hank and Logan were able to stop two sentries, while the other took the professor away. Logan was left on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Hank asked, helping him up.

“Who cared? They took Xavier,” Wolverine growled, then turned around and realized they weren’t alone. “Morph.”

Morph was sitting on the floor, hugging their knees, their eyes filling with tears. “I could… I couldn’t do it. I froze, Logan.”

—
The team was in the war room, Morph's hands still shaking.

"I had them there, I could have stopped them," Morph lamented. "I'm not ready to be part of the team. I don't know why I thought I could be an X-Men."

"No one's accusing anyone of anything," Logan said softly.

"You don't have to!" Morph turned around, raising their voice. "I know what happened! I had them! I'm useless."

"Morph..."

"Enough!" Scott said. "I don't care who did what an hour ago. Now we have to find Xavier."

Hank started doing things with the head of one of the Sentinels they had defeated, and the computer, appeared a condemnation directed at the Sentinels' creators.

"Let's get them," Scott said.

"All of us?" Morph asked with a little hope in their voice.

“We need someone to stay here in case the professor tries to contact us. Also, remember, you should only be on simple missions.”

Morph sighed and looked at the ground. “I guess I can't blame them for not trusting me.”

“Don't worry, Pal. You'll get your chance.” Logan placed his hand on Morph's shoulder before everyone left through the door, leaving Morph alone.

Morph watched through the window as the team left on the black bird. Their mind flashed back to all the times Sinister told them that they were useless, and their hands began to shake again. “I'm not useless.”

After wandering around the war room for a while, Morph couldn't stay idle. They started typing on the computer. “Beast was very kind to you, but I won't be the same.”

The computer revealed a series of numbers.

“They're looking for the professor in the wrong place,” Morph realized. “I have to tell Scott… no, I have to do this alone."

Morph took the jet and flew as fast as they could toward the coordinates. The team must have realized they were in the wrong direction because upon arriving, they saw the black bird. They left the jet next to it. Noises and gunshots could be heard inside a cave. The team seemed to be having trouble defeating the sentries. When Morph entered, they saw that one of them had Wolverine trapped. Morph couldn't allow them to harm him.

"Stupid mutant, we were made to destroy you! You'll never stop us!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Morph shot, freeing Wolverine.

"Morph, come out here," Logan said.

"We're not afraid of you," Morph said, and began using their powers to fight the sentinels.

The only thing going through Morph's mind was that their friends were in danger, the people who gave them a chance and made them feel welcome. There was no time to cower; they had to have courage.

They transformed into several mutants, dodging the sentinels' shots, helping the other X-Men, and bypassing some of the robots.

In a moment, Morph was on the ground. Master Mold was approaching them quickly. They gripped the gun firmly and fired at the ceiling. One of the rocks fell and destroyed the sentinel. But it caused the cave to begin to collapse.

"Everyone out now!" Scott shouted.

Morph pulled the professor out, and Storm grabbed them both, flying out of the cave.

Once outside, everyone huddled next to the black bird to catch a breath.

"Nice shot, Morph," Scott said.

"Thanks. I think I needed this to see what I'm worthy of. Not to prove anything to you, but to myself."

Logan put his arm around Morph's shoulders. "Let's go home, Bub."

Morph could clearly hear the professor's voice behind them as they boarded the plane. "You've proven you're ready. From now on, you'll always be an X-Men.”

—
The Nasty Boys entered the place walking slowly with their heads down, like children who had misbehaved and were about to be scolded.

Sinister stood firm and straight, the black cape falling elegantly to his feet; the Nasty Boys couldn't see his face.

"We still haven't found anything about Morph," one of them said.

Sinister seemed to tense up, and the others expected him to yell at them as usual. Since they relocated a couple of months ago, they've been searching for Morph.

"They couldn't have gotten far if their body wasn't under the rubble," Sinister whispered. If Morph had died in that fight with the X-Men, he wouldn't have cared. They would just fix them up. But they didn't find them, and Sinister felt like he had lost twice: once against the X-Men and once against Morph. He hated losing.

Sinister let out a still-tense sigh, his hands clenched into fists. He turned to face the others. "This is just a waste of time, It took us a long time to recover from the X-Men's attack. We can't waste any more time looking for Morph."

"What are we going to do now?" the woman asked.

"Get revenge on the X-Men, of course.”