My Protector
Logan sauntered into Professor X's office, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Bobby woke him up at 8am, telling him the professor needed to see him ASAP. Logan entered the office to see Professor Xavier, Storm, and Nightcrawler staring blankly at him. Logan stopped in his tracks. "Did I miss something?"
"Actually, you missed the meeting," Professor Xavier said matter-of-factly. Logan glanced at his watch. 9:15am. Storm shook her head. Professor Xavier looked kindly at Storm and Nightcrawler. "Thank you, you may leave now." They got up and walked out together.
"Where's Wonder boy?" Logan asked.
Professor Xavier sighed. "Scott went to pick up some new students." The professor closed his eyes, sensing something. "And they've just arrived. Come, let's go meet him." The professor pushed the controller on his wheelchair so that his chair moved forward and out of the room, Logan following closely beside.
"You made him do carpool? Man, I would have loved to be there when you told him," Logan said with a grin.
Professor Xavier's chair stopped moving, making Logan stumble forward. "Logan, I need to ask you a favor, and it would be a great help if you agree to assist."
"What is it?" Logan asked apprehensively.
"One of the new students concerns me," Professor X replied. "She arrived on our doorstep early this morning by herself. We don't know how she found us. She is very withdrawn and won't say more than two words to anyone. I would like you to spend some time with her."
"If she won't talk to anyone else, what makes you think she'll talk to me?" Logan asked.
"She has similar powers to yours," the professor answered. "When asked about her powers, she simply stated that she could make her scars disappear. I assume she has the same healing powers you do. She also has similar metal claws, except they come out of her fingernails."
Logan thought a moment. "Do you think she's one of Striker's experiments?"
Professor Xavier shook his head. "No, I think this is different."
Logan huffed loudly. "I don't know, Professor. I'm not cut out to baby-sit."
Professor Xavier smiled. "Just come and meet with her, Logan. That's all I ask."
Chapter 2
Chatter filled the living room of the school. Around twenty kids sat around talking about the exhilarating plane ride, or the magnificent size of the school, or the strange complexions many of the children had. Logan and Professor Xavier appeared at the end of the hall. Logan smirked at Scott, who was calmly trying to pick up the pieces of a vase that a student had just accidentally broken.
"How is everything going?" The professor asked Scott.
"Fine, professor," Scott replied. "Everything went smoothly." The professor caught Logan's attention and nudged his head towards a girl sitting in the left corner, not talking to anyone. Logan couldn't make out what she looked like because a lamp was in front of her.
"How is she doing?" The professor asked Scott.
Scott sighed. "Hasn't said a word," he replied.
The professor nodded. "Scott, please round up the children and take them to the dormitories. I'll have Storm meet you there and take the girls. Logan, why don't you go introduce yourself to this young woman?" Before Logan could protest, the professor had already rolled away.
Scott crossed his arms in front of his chest. "He wants YOU to talk to her?"
Logan stared him down. "Guess so. Maybe he thinks my charms will get her to come around." Scott didn't crack a smile. "Logan, just make sure you're gentle. She may have experienced some trauma."
"Yes, Dr. Freud," Logan teased, walking away from him. Scott followed and loudly announced to the children to follow him. When the girl went to get up, Logan came over and motioned for her to wait.
"Uh, you don't have to go to that. It's only for new kids, and you've been here since…well, this morning," Logan replied. The girl looked nervous. "Um, the professor said you could stay. You know the professor? Bald white guy in a wheelchair?" The girl gave a slight nod.
"I'm…uh…I'm a teacher here, my name's Logan." He put his hand out, but she didn't take it and avoided his gaze. Logan withdrew his hand, grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it up so he was sitting across from her. She fidgeted, looking scared. Upon a closer glance, Logan saw she was not a girl, but a young woman. Although her eyes and mannerisms made her look like a scared little child, he guessed she was around twenty-two years old. She was overweight, had long, straight black hair, and the most beautiful sparkling green eyes Logan had ever seen. Her shoes were caked with dry mud and she wore very ragged, old, tattered clothing. She had three distinct black freckles on each side of her cheeks and dark, bushy eyebrows. Glancing down at her hands, Wolverine saw she wore black gloves like Rogue did; however, the fingertip holes were cut out. Shooting out of the holes were thick, long, metal-like claws, each at least 3 inches thick. It reminded him of the claws the Asian woman he had fought in Striker's laboratory had.
Realizing he was staring at her, the girl rubbed her hands together and looked away.
Logan straightened up, glancing away from her. "So, how do you like it here so far? I know it's kind of a strange place. I nearly pissed myself the first time I came here!" Logan grinned. The girl didn't budge. Logan's smile faded. "Yeah…so what's your name?" The girl didn't answer him. "Well, I don't know what to call you, so just give me any name. Doesn't have to be your real name. Just something I can call you."
The girl looked briefly at him and then looked back away. She opened her mouth to say something. "Shadow," she said softly.
"Shadow?" he asked. She nodded.
"Okay, cool, Shadow it is. Nice to meet you." He looked around, feeling awkward himself. She wouldn't look at him, and started rubbing her fingertips on her pants.
"They itch you?" Logan asked, pointing to her fingers. She stopped moving them suddenly. " I know how irritating they can get, see?" He put his hands to the side and drew his claws out. Shadow jumped in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you," Logan exclaimed, but she had already calmed down and eyed the claws in interest.
"You can retract them?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah, yeah I can," he said, excited she had talked. He retracted his claws.
"Wish I could do that," she replied sadly, looking down at her hands.
"Well, this is a good school. The people here are real nice, they can teach you how to use your powers and your…uh…claws."
Shadow immediately seemed to retreat inside her body again. "I…I don't want to learn how to use them. I don't like them. I just came here to stay for a day, but I'm leaving soon," she said speedily. Wolverine went to say something, but she quickly added, "Can I go to my room now, please?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered. Shadow jumped up and walked quickly out of the room.
Logan shook his head, frustrated. "Man, I'm not cut out for this," he said to himself. "They gotta find someone else."
Chapter 3
Logan lay in his bed, having trouble sleeping. He had told the professor he wasn't cut out for working with Shadow, and the professor reluctantly agreed. He assigned Storm to the 'case' and let Logan off the hook. Shadow did end up staying but didn't talk to anyone else. Two days later, he was still lying in bed awake, thinking of her. She looked so scared. Her body was one of an adult, but her eyes were those of a five year old. What had made her so frightened? Logan's thoughts were interrupted at the sight of Scott running frantically past his room in his pajamas. Logan sat up.
"Scott? What's going on?" Logan shouted.
Scott ran back and ducked his head in. "It's that shy girl. She's hurt. They need me in medical," he said, running away. Wolverine jumped up and quickly followed.
"Stop! Leave me alone!" Shadow screamed, blinking back tears, lying on a cold, steel medical table. Storm was next to her.
"Honey, it's O.K., I'm going to help you," Storm said, trying to remain calm.
"No, I'm fine! Please, leave me alone!" Shadow insisted. Scott ran into the medical unit with Logan.
"What's going on?" Logan yelled.
" Help me strap her down," Storm ordered, pulling Shadow's arms down. Scott ran over.
"Let me go!" Shadow cried.
"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you," Scott said, rubbing her head softly.
"Why are you restraining her?" Logan asked Storm.
"Look!" Storm said, pointing to her fingers. Blood poured from her fingertips. Two of her claws were completely cut off, while the others were halfway cut and hanging off, bleeding profusely. The freckles on her cheeks were also bleeding.
"Jesus," Logan muttered in shock.
"She tried to cut off her claws and her whiskers," Storm said, going to find some towels. Logan looked at her cheeks and indeed, whiskers were going out of her black freckles.
Scott gently, but firmly strapped Shadow down and held her head down so she wouldn't hit it on the table. Logan looked at Shadow, who was crying.
"Shadow, why would you do this?" Logan asked her.
"I just want them to go away!" she screamed.
"Listen to me darling; these claws are a part of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of…" Scott said soothingly.
"No! I don't want them! I hate them!" Shadow cried. "Please, let me go!" Logan stood there frozen, not knowing what to do or say. He looked down to find the blood that covered Shadow's fingers was fading away. Magically, the claws were re-generating themselves and growing back.
"They're healing themselves," Logan whispered.
"What?" Shadow screamed, looking down at her fingers. "No, not again! Why can't I make them go away? Why?" Storm came over with a needle.
"What's that?" Logan asked apprehensively.
"It's a sedative, it will calm her down," she said over Shadow's muffled cries. She pulled up Shadow' sleeve and injected her in the arm. Slowly, Shadow quieted and fell asleep. Scott gradually released his grasp from her, stroking her hair tenderly. The small puncture wound on her arm from the injection faded away within a matter of seconds.
Chapter 4
"What is wrong with her?" Logan asked the professor in his office the next morning.
"I don't know, Logan." The professor answered.
"Can't you look into her mind? Find out why she wants to cut off her claws?" Logan asked loudly.
"Yes, Logan, I can. But that wouldn't be right. I would be invading her privacy," Professor Xavier answered simply.
"Screw that. Did you see what she did to herself?" Logan yelled.
"That is why she needs to stay here. She needs to feel comfortable enough to talk to us about what she needs. Without trust, she will never open up."
Logan looked down, his hands on his hips. "I'll talk to her," he said quietly.
"What?" the professor asked.
"I said I'd talk to her!" Logan exclaimed. "If there's anyone here who knows how it feels to hate having claws, it's me!" He stormed out, not seeing the content grin on Professor Xavier's face.
