"Do you ever wish for things you know you shouldn't?" eight-year old Siku McCoy asked.

"All the time," her best friend, Cierra confirmed. "Why, just yesterday I wished for a new bike, and I know Mom can't afford it."

It was a bright, Spring, Saturday afternoon and the two girls were in the back yard of Cierra and her mother's place. Their "place" was actually a former carriage house, the upstairs converted into a nice two bedroom apartment. The landlords, a very nice older couple lived in the adjacent house. Their own children were long grown and on their own, they were more than happy to allow Cierra and her friends to use the backyard. They didn't even seem too upset that Cierra's best friend was a blue, furry child. Oh, they'd wondered at first, but Sikudhani McCoy was sweet, friendly and always polite. And her father was a well-known doctor/scientist. Good manners meant more than what the child looked like and it was obvious she'd been brought up well.

"Nah, that's not what I meant," Siku said. She was hanging upside down from a limb on a giant oak tree. Cierra was straddling the same branch, leaning against the trunk. "Everyone wishes for toys and stuff. I'm talking about people stuff. Stuff you know you can't change in a million years."

"Well, last night I wished I was the queen of the world," Cierra said, her tiny button nose crinkling. "I wished I lived in a palace with a hundred servants who lived to follow my every whim. Three of them looked just like your uncle Remy. And, since I was queen of the world, I decided that chocolate cake and jellybeans were a well balanced meal."

Siku giggled. One of the best things about Cierra Miles was her vivid imagination. The girl could spin the wildest tales. "That's not exactly what I mean."

"Well, I can't imagine anything more impossible than being queen of the world," Cierra said, "But, what do you wish for?"

Siku swung up, grabbing onto the branch and flipping herself so she too, was straddling it, facing Cierra. "Well... don't laugh, but sometimes I wish I looked more... like everyone else."

Cierra didn't laugh, she frowned. "Why? I like you the way you are. I mean, everyone can look normal, how many people can be blue and furry? How many kids at school can climb like you? Run like you? Get good grades like you? Being normal is so pathetic and boring." She looked at Siku, her brows furrowing. "Don't change, Siku. I like you just the way you are!"

"Oh, I don't want to change who I am," Siku reassured her. "I just.. wish I didn't get stared at so much. Everywhere I go, people look at me."

"That's cause you're special," Cierra said. "And they stare at you more when you're with me, cause they know you're best friends with the queen of the world."

Siku giggled again. It was so neat being best friends with Cierra, she always made her laugh. "I'm sure that's part of it," she said, amicably. "But sometimes I get tired of it. I just... well, I wouldn't change who I am, or who my family is for nothing. I'd just like to... be normal looking. Just to see what it was like... to go someplace and not have people gawk at me."

Cierra studied her. "Well, actually, you look kinda normal."

Siku burst into laughter. "That's cause you're used to me. Last time I checked, the world isn't full of blue, furry people!"

"No, I'm serious! Cierra protested. "I mean, with the exception of all that blue... you look normal. Maybe a little thin, but lots of people are thin. My mother says there's no such thing as being too thin."

Your mother has obviously never heard of anorexia nervosa Siku shook her head. She was sure Cierra's mother wasn't trying to be mean.

"I hate to break this to you, Cier, but the blue fur and hair is usually the big give-away that I'm not normal. I can't expect everyone t'just not look at it."

Cierra's nodded. "I know that, but those things can be changed. Haven't you ever heard of hair color?"

"For my whole body?" Siku asked.

Cierra shook her head. "Nah, there's other stuff we can do for the stuff on your body. You wanna go see what we can do?"

Siku's eyes turned to wide saucers. "Are you serious? Right now?"

Cierra nodded. "Sure, why not? My mom has got a ton of stuff we can use." She swung her leg over, slipping off the branch and landing on her feet. "C'mon!"

"What about your mom?" Siku asked, twisting herself so she was standing on the branch. "Won't she wonder what we're doing?"

"Oh, no problem," Cierra assured her. "I'll just tell her we're playin' with makeup. She lets me do that."

"Really?" Only once did Siku ever "play" with makeup, when she was four, and it was Aunt Jean's makeup. Aunty Jean had not been happy. "She lets you?"

"Sure, she gave me a whole bunch of makeup she bought and didn't like and a huge jar of cold cream." Using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Cierra looked up at her. "So, you wanna do this or not?"

"Okay." Crouching on the branch, Siku sprang forward, summersaulting in the air before landing gracefully on the ground.

"Show off!"

They ran into the carriage house and up the stairs together. Paula Miles, Cierra's mother was in the kitchen section of the main room, newspapers spread all over the floor, stripping the paint off a dresser someone had painted a hideous lime green. She was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, her long brunette hair held off her face with a bandana. "Hi girls," she called out as they came rushing in the apartment.

"Good afternoon, Paula," Siku said politely. It had taken her almost a year to feel comfortable calling another adult by their first name without adding an aunt or uncle to the title, but Paula insisted.

"Hi Mom!" Cierra said, cheerfully. "That stuff you're using, stinks."

"Yes, but wait till I'm done," Paula said, as she applied some of the paint stripper. "This dresser is solid oak!" She looked at Sikudhani. "I found this at a garage sale two weeks ago and it only cost me fifteen dollars."

"Very nice," Siku agreed. The whole carriage house was filled with beautiful, mismatched pieces of furniture Paula had found at junk shops and garage sales and restored. Siku didn't know if it was the furniture Paula loved more, or the restoring. She did know that she liked the way the apartment looked, like a combination antique and junk shop. It had a weird yet cozy look to it, which she hadn't seen at the mansion often.

"Mom, we have too much furniture in this place," Cierra said, rolling her eyes, but smiling too. "We're not going to be able to move in here soon."

"Yeah? You'll thank me when you're old enough to get your own place," Paula predicted. "By then, I'll be able to give you enough furniture to set up."

"Yeah? I'll have t'move out on my eighteenth birthday, cause there won't be any room for me!" Cierra joked, grinning broadly. "Hey, were gonna go play with makeup, okay?"

Paula looked out the window. "Nice bright day like this and you girls are gonna lock yourselves in the bathroom. Well, whatever." She shrugged. "Just be careful. We don't want to send Siku home looking like a clown."

Cierra looked at Siku and winked. "Don't worry. If we get too messy, we'll take a shower." Grabbing Siku's hand she started pulling her out of the living room towards the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

"It was nice to see you, Paula," Siku called out. "I think that's going to be a very pretty dresser when you're finished."

"Thanks, Siku. You've got good taste."

Siku sat on the lid of the toilet, watching while Cierra rummaged around in the cabinet under the sink. The cabinet didn't look very big, she was amazed at the number of boxes and bottles Cierra was pulling out. "Why does your mother have so many hair dyes and stuff?" she asked. "I think her hair looks fine."

Cierra looked up and grinned. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Cross-my-heart-hope-to-die." Siku swore solemnly.

"Well, my mother went.. premature grey. It's really not bad, just a couple streaks actually. But she went through this phase where she thought she was getting old and ugly and died her hair a different color, like, every week. This stuff..." she swept her hand, indicating all the bottles and boxes. "...is from that phase. I'm just glad she calmed down and stopped. Now all she does is touch up the grey areas."

Siku nodded, leaning over and picking up one of the boxes.

"Autumn Sunset? This is a hair color?"

Cierra giggled. "Funny, isn't it? It's like they can't use the names of any colors." She poked her head in to the cabinet again. "Ah hah! Thank god my mother stocks up on things." She tossed one, then two, then three bottles out from the cabinet on to the floor.

"Nair?" Siku asked, scooping up the bottle.

"Yup." Cierra backed out of the cabinet and twisted herself around so she was looking at Siku. "That stuff will get rid of your fur."

Siku opened the bottle and sniffed. "Whoa!" Her head jerked back, tears coming to her eyes. "This stuff smells nasty!"

"'Course it does!" Cierra snickered. "It's got to take hair off, doesn't it? But don't worry, my mom uses it. It's smelly, but it's safe."

Siku frowned, wondering if this was all such a smart idea. It was one thing to imagine herself looking "normal" it was another to see how much work it was going to be. "My dad probably won't like this," she reminded Cierra.

"Probably not," the red-head agreed. "But, when he sees how happy it makes you, how you'll be able to go anywhere without feeling freaky, he'll understand."

"You think so?"

"Positive. He just wants you to be happy, Sik."

"Good point." Sikudhani nodded. "Let's do it, then."

"Okay, what color hair do you want?"

"Well, let's try the Autumn Sunset," Siku suggested. "I always thought Aunt Jean an' Aunt Rogue had pretty hair."

"Cool! Then we'll look like sisters!"

Siku had no idea how to go about doing this, but Cierra seemed to be an expert. She put herself into her best friends hands.

"The first thing we have to do is strip the color out of your hair," Cierra said. "Blue is too dark... the red won't take unless we get rid of some of the blue." She picked up one of the boxes and started reading.

Half an hour later, Siku was standing in the tub naked, her head wrapped in an old towel. "Cierra, is this hair color stripping stuff suppose to itch?" she asked.

"I don't know," Cierra admitted. "But that doesn't surprise me. It's taking the color out of your hair, I'd imagine it would itch a bit."

"It's not suppose to strip the color from my scalp!"

"Yeah, but it's gotta soak down into the roots," Cierra reminded her. "Now we ought to put on the Nair. That takes some time t'work. When that's done, you can just shower and wash all of it off. Then we'll dye your hair!" She handed Siku a bottle of the hair remover.

"There are areas of my body I don't think I should put this stuff on," Siku said, frowning.

"You could be right," Cierra agreed. "So, don't do those areas. Yeah, they'll still be furry, but your clothes will cover them, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Let me help. It's going to be tough to do your back."

"Thanks."

Cierra stepped into the tub with another bottle and the two girls set to work, coating Siku with hair remover.

As they were finishing, Siku closed her eyes, trying to keep the fumes from them. "Cierra, is this stuff suppose to sting?"

"It might," Cierra offered. "It's got a lot of fur to work with."

"Oh," Siku bit her lower lip, "It really stings, Cier."

"Can you take it?" Cierra asked, looking concerned. "This stuff has got to be on for awhile to work. I'd imagine with your fur, it's got to be on at least half an hour to really work."

Siku frowned. It really did sting, but Cierra was probably right. I want this to work, she thought. I can take the pain. I'm tough "Sure, it's not that bad." she lied.

"Cool. My mother's got some stuff we can put on after the shower that will soothe your skin," Cierra offered.

"Let's hope it works.

Ten minutes later, the stinging sensation was creeping into the burning zone. "Ow," Siku murmured.

"Are you okay?" Cierra asked.

"I dunno," Siku admitted. "It's going from stinging to burning."

"That might not be good. Maybe we should wash it off now?"

"No," Siku said. Strange, it wasn't so difficult keeping her eyes shut now. It was like they wanted to stay shut. "We've... gone... this... far... I... don't... want... to... look... patchy."

"Are you sure?" Cierra asked, anxiously. "You sound kinda funny."

"I... I... am... okay." Siku reached out blindly and grabbed the bar of the shower door to hold herself up.

"I don't know, Siku, we've got twenty more minutes."

"I... can... do... it."

"All right," Cierra said. "This Nair stuff is starting to look funny. It's suppose to be whitish and it's actually pinkish."

The burning was real bad now. Siku felt like a million bees were stinging her. She tried to open her eyes, but the best she could manage were tiny slits. The pain was to the point where she could barely think. "Juss... nother... couple.. minutes."

"Siku, this pinkish stuff in the Nair is blood!" Cierra shrieked. "We've got to get it off you, now! Keep your eyes shut! Keep em shut tight! She turned and fumbled with the faucets.

"No.. problem..." Siku mumbled. Suddenly, both girls were hit with a blast of icy water. "Yikes!" She jerked backwards, slipping and falling down, hitting Cierra causing the both of them to land in a muddled heap in the tub.

"Ack!" Cierra shrieked, scrambling around, trying to get to her feet. "Sik, are you okay?"

"No!" Siku shouted. On top of the pain, she was disorientated. The water beating on her skin wasn't helping either. Each drop felt like a knife, digging into her flesh.

"We gotta get all this stuff off of you!" Cierra finally managed to stand up, and pulled Siku up with her. She twisted, pushing Siku in front of her, so the full force of the shower would hit her.

"OWWW!" Siku cried out.

"Oh, God," Cierra whispered, as the hair remover washed off her friend and she was able to see the damage. "Oh, Siku, I've got to go get my mom. Wait here, okay? Wait. Don't move."

"Okay," Siku said. Now, on top of the burning and stinging, she was shivering. "C-C-Cierra th-th-this m-might have b-b-been..." she stopped, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Might have been what?" Cierra asked, opening the shower door and stepping out.

"A b-b-b-bad i-i-i-i-idea."

"No, kidding." Cierra was on the verge of tears. "Please don't die, Siku. Hang on, I'm gonna go get Mom. She'll make this okay, just don't die!" She turned and ran from the room, her wet clothes splattering water in her wake.

Die? Siku thought, as she blindly sunk to the floor of the tub. That would suck, big time. In the distant background she heard Cierra shrieking for her mother to come quick.

Less then a minute later, mother and daughter burst into the bathroom. "Good god in Heaven!" Paula shouted, when she saw Siku lying in the tub. "What did you girls do?"

"Save her Mom, Save her!" Cierra shrieked. "She's going to die an' it's all my fault!"

"Stop yelling!" Paula said, her own voice rather loud. "I can't think with you screaming." She knelt down beside the tub. "Siku, can you hear me?"

"Hear fine... see no," Siku said, spitting out water. "Ms.M.. I mean, Paula... I hurt."

"Yeah, I can just bet," Paula's voice was grim. The shower had washed most of the chemicals off Siku's body and the results was close to nauseating. "I'd say you're having a bad reaction to whatever you and Cierra decided to spread all over you. First thing we've got to do is get all this stuff off you." She reached up and pulled the soggy towel off Siku's head.

"Good lord, your hair!" she exclaimed. She looked over at Cierra. "You'd better call her house immediately. Get her father over here. He's a doctor, maybe he can do something."

"Gotcha." Cierra ran from the room.

"Nooooo not my Dad!" Siku cried.

"Shh, easy honey," Paula soothed her. "You're going to be all right."

Logan frowned as he picked up the ringing phone. How come it seems I'm the only one who ever answers this damned thing? "'Lo."

What followed was a stream of high pitched babbling. "Oh-God-Siku's-dying-and-it's-all-my-fault-come-quick!"

"Say-what?" Logan shook his head. "Cierra Miles, that you?"

"Yes!" Came the ear shattering response. "We need her father here, now!"

"Cierra, what's going on?" Logan asked.

"We tried to make her look normal, and instead we made her all bloody! My mom told me t'call her dad."

She didn't tell her to call 911, which means this probably isn't as bad as she's making it out to be, Logan thought, trying to make sense of this rather odd conversation. "Darlin, Hank's gone t'the bookstore for awhile."

"Nonono!" Cierra wailed. "He's got to come over here, now!"

"Hang on, kid. I'll come."

"Okay, please, come.. now!"

"Before I do, what exactly did you two girls do?" Logan asked.

"We tried to take off her fur an' the Nair took off her skin!"

"I'm on my way," Logan said. "I'll have someone get Hank, and get him here. If it's as bad as you're saying, we'll want to bring her home."

"Oh, shut up and just come!"

Less than fifteen minutes later, Logan was there. The door into the carriage house/apartment was open, so he just walked inside. "Hey!"

Cierra was pacing in the living room. "Oh, thank god you've arrived!" she exclaimed. Her face was puffy from crying. "They're up in the bathroom."

"Gotcha."

They ran up the stairs and burst into the bathroom. Siku was out of the tub by now, sitting on the lid of the john. Paula was kneeling down beside her, gently trying to pat her dry with a towel.

"Holy shit what happened t'ya kid?" Logan asked, staring at her. Her normally royal blue hair was now a streaked mess of light blue and green. And that was the least shocking thing about her. The rest of her looked like she'd taken a belt sander to herself. Blue patches of fur mingled with raw, red, patches blistered skin. The smell of chemicals and inflamed skin was almost too much for Wolverine's sensitive nose.

Siku looked up, her eyes swollen to the point where she could barely peek out from tiny slits. "W-we tried to make me look more normal," she gasped.

"Yeah? Well it didn't work," Logan stated.

"Duuuhhh," Siku snapped.

Her sarcasm was a good sign. Logan forced himself to inhale deeply. Behind the chemicals and the blood Siku's scent was all right. She was in a world of hurt, but she wasn't in danger of dying. "Good god, little Darlin, you should know better."

"It's all my fault," Cierra sobbed.

"I doubt it," Logan disagreed, trying to move closer to Siku. "Might have been your idea, but Siku was a willing participant, I'm sure."

Paula shifted, to give him room by the toilet. "I am so sorry, I had no idea," she began.

"'Course you didn't," Logan interrupted. "Little girls can be very sneaky when they put their minds to something."

He looked at Siku. "You know you've got sensitive skin under that fur, didn't you think?"

"No," Siku said, her lower lip trembling.

"Well, don't worry, little darlin'," he assured her. "Jean's gettin' Hank right now. We'll take you home and see what he can do fer ya."

"He's going to kill me!" Siku wailed.

"No, he's not," Logan disagreed. "He's going to be... disappointed."

"That's worse!"

"I-I have some lotion that is suppose to take the sting away from raw skin," Paula offered timidly. "It's suppose to be very hypo-allergenic." "Can't hurt her any more that she already is," Logan concluded. "Let's try it on a small area. If it helps, we'll put it on her arms and legs. Might make the ride home easier."

The lotion did help take some of the sting out of her skin. Logan and Paula began applying it gently to poor Siku's raw skin.

"Anything I can do?" Cierra asked.

"I think you've done quite enough," Paula snapped.

"Actually, do you have a bathrobe?" Logan asked.

"Of course," Cierra said, eagerly.

"Why don't you go get it?" He looked at Paula. "I don't want to put her clothes on her now, but she needs somethin' t'cover herself with on the ride home. I'll make sure Cierra gets it back,"

"Keep it!" Paula insisted. "I just feel so.. responsible. Please, tell Dr. McCoy I'm so sorry and if there is anything I can do... please have him call me."

"Hank's a papa bear when it comes to his daughter," Logan said. "But I'm sure, once he know's Siku's okay, he'll realize it isn't your fault."

Cierra returned holding a green terry-cloth bathrobe. Logan took it, wrapping it around Siku gently. "C'mon darlin' we'd better get home."

"C-could you call me, later?" Paula asked. "J-just to let me know she's all right?"

Logan nodded. "But do me a favor, okay? Call the mansion and tell em' t'tell Hank we're on our way and it's going to be all right."

"I'll do that." He looked at Siku. "Do you want me t'carry you?"

"No!" Siku shook her head. "Cause then you'd have to touch me."

Logan took the trip home slower than he'd driven there. Even though he knew Hank was probably half frantic, waiting for them to return, he also knew Siku didn't want to be bumped around either.

He gave the kid credit, she must be in a world of hurt, huddled up on the front seat next to him, but she didn't cry. "So, Darlin, how did all this start?"

"I- I was talkin' t'Cierra and I told her I sometimes wished I looked normal." Siku mumbled. "She said we could do stuff."

"Good grief, I thought you'd accepted who you are." Logan shook his head.

"I do!" Siku protested. "It's just nobody else does."

"Nobody?"

"Well, you and the family does... and Cierra and my friends do, but Uncle Logan... I just get so tired of being stared at."

Logan sighed. The kid had done a really stupid thing, but he could understand why she did it.

"I don't believe this!" Hank sputtered. "I absolutely don't believe this. I must seriously reconsider my position on Sikudhani's friendship with Cierra."

Logan's gaze drifted up to the ceiling. At least Hank had held it together while treating Siku. Oh, he'd been upset, the tension pouring from him in waves, but he hadn't yelled, he hadn't freaked out. He'd gone into doctor mode, checked her out, bandaged the worst of the raw areas of skin, and put her to bed. Now that the doctoring part was over, and Siku was out of earshot, he felt he could rant and rave. "Chill, Hank. If this is the worst thing these two ever do, you should be thankin' yer maker."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Hank thundered.

"She could be shoplifting, stealing cars, or int' self mutilation. What if she decided to get her tongue pierced?"

"Sikudhani's smarter than that," Hank snapped. "Which is why I'm shocked she could do this! She knows better. I swear, Cierra Miles must have put her up to this."

"Cierra Miles did nothin' but try to make her best friend's wishes come true," Logan snapped back.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"Christ on a stick, Hank... Cierra an' Siku been buddies for two years. Do you think Cierra would just wake up one mornin' and decide to mutilate her best friend?" Logan stared at him. "They were tryin' t'make Siku look 'normal.'"

"And who's brilliant idea is that?" Hank asked. "What? Now that Cierra's getting older, she's not sure she wants to 'hang' with someone who's 'different?'"

"No." Logan's arms crossed over his chest. "It was Sikudhani who wanted t'look normal."

"She knows-"

"Hank," Logan interrupted, walking over so he stood right in front of the man. "Shut your damned mouth and listen t'me, okay? The kid is gonna be fine. In a world of hurt for awhile, but otherwise fine. So calm down. It ain't Cierra Miles fault any more'n it's Siku's fault. Siku had a wish an' Cierra wanted t' help her make it come true."

"But I thought Siku was comfortable with who she is!" Hank protested.

"As she put it, she is, but the world ain't." Logan snapped. "Think about it for a moment, Hank. Every time she goes out in public, people stare at her. She can't even go t' the movies, or hang at the mall with her friends without people gaping. An' it's the polite ones who gape. The more obnoxious people do morn' stare. Hank, you've been there, you know that."

"Yes, I do know that," Hank agreed, his own arms crossed over his chest. "I never said it was going to be easy for Siku, but I can't hide her from the world, either."

"Yeah, you can't give her what you give yourself," Logan snapped.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"When you wanna go out an' not be noticed, you wear an image inducer. Don't see you lending Siku one o' them."

Hank opened his mouth to protest, then stopped. "You're right." His shoulders slumped and he sighed. "I-I've just been so worried about giving her the wrong impression. She-she's so vulnerable. I thought if I let her use an inducer when she was too young, she'd get the wrong idea, that there was something wrong with her, that she should be ashamed of who she is."

"I think she knows better, Hank." Logan shook his head. "If she had her way, she'd change the world t'accept her. But she can't. If she's smart enough t'realize that, then maybe she's smart enough t'know a few other tricks."

"Maybe..." Hank frowned. "Logan, whoever said being a parent is easy, lied through their teeth."

Logan grinned. "No they didn't. Bein' a parent is easy. It's bein a good parent that's the stickler."

"So, what do I do?"

Logan shook his head. "Go upstairs an' tell your daughter you understand." When Hank started to protest, Logan raised his hand to cut him off. "No, I'm not sayin' you should offer your approval. She and Cierra did a stupid thing... but the motivations behind it weren't so bad. Tell her you understand why she did it, though. You don't have t'punish her."

"Oh, one look at her and I knew she'd been punished enough," Hank said, weakly. "It's going to be weeks, maybe months before she's completely healed."

"Exactly. So what she needs now is your understanding. And your love."

"She always has my love," Hank said.

"Yeah? Well it never hurts t'be reminded of it," Logan said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a phone call t'make. I promised Paula Miles I'd let her know if Siku was okay. An' I'm sure Cierra's hanging by the phone waitin' t'hear too."

"Siku?"

Siku looked out of the puffy slits that were her eyes for the time being and tried to smile. "Daddy," she whispered.

"Hi, Sunshine, how are you feeling?" Hank asked.

"O-okay," Siku said softly. She winced as she sat up in the bed.

"Are you sure?" Hank asked. "I'd imagine you're feeling very... sore right now."

"Well.. yeah," Siku admitted, sighing. "But that stuff you put on me, helps."

Hank nodded, pulling a chair up to her bedside and sitting down in it. "I'm glad."

Father and daughter stared at each other for a full minute, neither knowing quite what to say. It was Siku who finally broke the silence. "A-are you.. disappointed with me?" she asked.

"No," Hank shook his head. "I admit, I was at first, but Logan helped me see your point. Probably better than you would have." He smiled weakly. "Sunshine, I wish I could make the world a safer, nicer, place for you."

"Aw, Daddy, I know you do the best you can," Siku said. "But even you've got limits."

Hank suppressed a chuckle. "Well put, Sunshine."

She shrugged, then winced as her shoulder slid along the sheets. "Daddy, you're not mad at Cierra are you?" she asked, a slight waiver coming to her voice. "I mean, I'm the one who said I wanted t'look different. She just wanted to help me."

"Well... before I can answer that question, I have to know... what did Cierra think about you wanting to look normal. What was her very first reaction?"

Sikudhani thought carefully. "She didn't want me to change. She said she liked me just the way I was."

Hank smiled. "Then I'm not upset with Cierra. A bit... disappointed that she'd use you as a make-over Guinea pig without consulting an adult as to the possible consequences, but ch- young people do tend to get overly excited about things."

"D-dad, I'm not ashamed of myself," Siku whispered. "Please don't think it was that... it's just that..."

"You wanted to fit in, just for a little while," Hank finished for her. "You wanted to be able to go to a movie, or even to the park and not be gawked at."

"That's it, exactly." Siku nodded.

"Mmm..." Hank rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it's time..."

"Time for what?" Siku's head tipped to one side, studying her father through squinted eyes.

"Time to let you use an image inducer once in awhile," Hank said. "I don't want you to become dependent on it, or to turn it in to a crutch, but on rare occasions, I don't think it would hurt."

"Really?" If she'd been able to, Siku's eyes would have widened considerably. "I-I promise I won't use it all the time."

"I'm sure you won't." Hank smiled. "Because I'm not going to let you."

Siku giggled. "Oh, Daddy, don't you trust me?"

Hank's brows rose. "You come home looking like you were tied to the bumper of a car and driven up and down the railroad tracks for a few hours, and you expect me to always trust you?"

"Good point."

"Don't get me wrong, Sunshine. I do trust you, mostly. But you're still young. You've got at least ten years before you'll be out on your own. And until then, that's part of my job... to be here for you. To give you enough freedom to grow, and enough restrictions so you don't have to grow up too fast.

Siku frowned, digesting what he'd said. "Y-you're right," she finally admitted. "I-I guess I'll always need you."

"And I'll always try to be here for you," Hank leaned over and gently kissed the top of her head, his lips barely brushing along her blue and green hair. "But, right now, I think you should try to get some sleep."

"Now that you say that, I am kinda tired," Siku admitted. "Daddy?"

"What?"

"I love you. And I'm sorry I did something stupid."

Beast smiled tenderly. "To quote your Uncle Logan, 'if this is the worst thing you do, I should be thanking my maker.'"

With time, Sikudhani recovered. When her scalp was healed, Jean helped her dye her hair back to blue. Eventually, all her blue hair grew back on her body too, except for a small round patch about the size of a nickel above her right knee. She nicknamed the circle of skin, her "stupidity patch."

The End