Setting: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Year: September, 2001
Main Characters: Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X), Logan Howlett (Wolverine), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey, Marie (Rogue), Bobby (Iceman), Marissa Carrington (Metallica), Eric Lehnsherr (Magneto), Mystique, Hank McCoy (Beast)
Author's Note: What will happen when Wolverine finds love and possibly a family? Well, read and find out!
Almost anything that is in italics is what the character is thinking.
*Logan's Point of View (POV)*
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again—I'm the best at what I do… but what I do best isn't very nice." I stormed out the door of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. When we say "gifted", we mean "mutant". I've never considered being a mutant as a gift. A gift is something you can return. You can't return telepathic abilities, or laser-shooting eyes, or a skeleton made of Adamantium with indestructable claws that extend from your hands.
Professor Xavier was telling Scott, Storm, Jean, and I more about the situation with Magneto, and it wasn't looking good. He was planning to launch an attack on New Orleans, the Louisiana Superdome to be exact. It was the Superbowl and apperently, an abundant amount of mutants were attending and Magneto was going to attempt them to join his Brotherhood. I volunteered to go it alone, undercover. Laser-beam (Scott) and the Professor both gave me the same answer—it's too risky. I protested, naturally. "Nobody else can detect Mystique like I can. If anybody can smell her, it's me." But Professor X made another point, one I didn't like, "But Magneto can also detect you. The metal in your bones is something he can sniff out like a blood hound could sniff out a rabbit. He'd give you away in no time—definetly not time enough for us to bring down Mystique." I opened my mouth to talk, but Xavier cut me off, "No more discussion. It's settled." Storm broke in, "He's right, Logan. It's just too risky. You're a valuble member to the team, and that's why we need to work as one." Cyclops made a wise-ass remark, "What about me? I'm valuble too!" Jean told him to shut up, which is good because she used her words. I probably would've given him a black eye. "This may be one of our last chances to stop Magneto and his Brotherhood. We can't try anything too dangerous."
"Fighting Metal-head isn't dangerous? We deal with danger every single day of our lives! Can you not see that? Danger is inevitable in our lives, whether you like it or not, Xavier!" The Professor looked at me seriously, "Logan, I know how angry you are. I don't have to read your mind to see that. But right now, we need you to do what you do best."
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again—I'm the best at what I do… but what I do best isn't very nice." I stormed out the door. Usually when I'm pissed off, I do one of two things: practice in the Danger Room or take Scott's bike out for a spin. I decided to go for a ride on the motorcycle. It helps me clear my head. With the help of a technopath (ability to control technology with the mind), I rigged my helmet to play music while I was riding. It's got a place for a chip that holds the music. I turned it on and "Highway to Hell" played. (AN: His helmet looks like this: . ) AC-DC is pretty good, so is Guns 'n Roses.
I had driven about 10 miles into New York City. (The school is only about 20 miles from NYC) I was driving along the more abandoned part of town. As I got nearer to an old alley, I noticed something wasn't right. I stopped the motorcycle beside the curb and let it idle. I smelled the air. What I smelled was familiar and I dreaded the fact that I knew what it was: Mystique. I turned off the ignition and walked toward the smell. I was prepared for anything, and if it was Mystique that was there, anything that could happen would. I looked from side to side, making sure that no one else was in sight of me. I've seen the reaction of people when they see my claws. It's not pretty.
I stood in the middle of the entrance to the alley. I should have known better than to expect seeing Mystique in her true form: blue skin, red hair, gold eyes. Instead, there was a man about my height, dressed all in black. He had a woman held against the side of a building by her throat. She was grasping the hand that held her, gasping for air. She looked at me straight in the eye and I put a finger to my lips, telling her to keep quiet. I sneaked up behind Mystique. As soon as I was ready to strike, she struck me in the face with her elbow—or at least tried to. I anticipated her blow and ducked. She dropped the woman to the ground, spun toward me, and she took her true form. She turned around and smiled at me, "It's been a long time, Wolverine." I extended my blades, "Not long enough. You can't stay out of trouble, can you?"
"That's not in my nature. Trouble just comes natural to me. But you can't seem to stay away from me can you? When I'm causing trouble, you're always right there, aren't you?"
"Better to stop you than to leave you alone. Besides, I can never get enough pleasure from fighting you. And beating you." Mystique's gold eyes stared straight into mine, "We'll just see who beats who." I retracted my blades. I really need to work on fighting without them, just a little. With that said, she took two steps toward me and struck. I blocked her blow by grabbing her fist and throwing her to the side. She rolled once and stood up in less than a second. She grabbed a metal pipe that was beside her and she threw it at me like a javalin. She's just gotta make me use my claws. I threw my hands up and extended my claws to block it. The pipe fell to the ground with a clatter. I ran at Mystique with my claws pointed straight at her. She jumped up and kicked me square in the face. I fell and hit the ground. Mystique grabbed another piece of pipe and ran at me. Before she even got the chance to throw a blow, I kicked her in the gut and then the face. I jumped up and kicked her in the face one more time. She fell backwards and hit her head on the side of a building, knocking her unconsious.
I retracted my claws and walked over to the unconsious woman laying on the ground. I kneeled down beside her and felt for her pulse. She was still alive and her heartbeat was strong. I slapped her face gently, which wasn't easy. I'm used to hitting hard with intention to hurt or kill. But either way, I was gentle. "Hey. Hey, wake up." She rolled her head toward me and groaned. She blinked her eyes a couple of times before opening them fully. I smiled at her, "You okay?" I held up two fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up?" She looked at me sort of confused, "Uhh… five?"
"You probably have a concussion. What's your name?"
"Marissa Carrington. Who are you?" (AN: Marissa looks like this: . )
"My name's Logan. I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay?" She nodded her head and tried to sit up, but that didn't work. I took off my jacket and folded it up into a make-shift pillow. I placed it under her head and let her lay down for a few minutes until the dizziness passed. I picked her up and carried her bridal-style out of the alley. I turned to where I parked the motorcycle. I yelled, "God damn it!", when I saw that it was gone. Mystique must've gained consiousness and took off with it. But I didn't hear a motor. "Something tells me that Magneto's not far away."
"Who?" I really should quite talking… "Nevermind. I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to worry about getting back. It's a 30-mile trip. It'd take us at least 3 days to get back walking."
"If you'll put me down, I'll give you my cell phone and you can call somebody." I set her down and she pulled her phone out of her pocket. I took it and dialed Storm's number. I got her voicemail automatically. She must have a class right now. I dialed the Professor's office number, as much as I hated to. He answered after two rings, "Logan, I'm glad you called. I was beginning to worry. Are you alright?"
"We're fine. We need someone to pick us up."
"Who's 'us'? Where are you at? What's going on? Logan…"
"I'm in front of an alley in New York City. I ran into Mystique and I get the feeling Magneto's not far behind her. Scott's motorcycle's gone. I don't know what happened to it."
"Fine, but who's the 'us', Logan?"
"Marissa Carrington. Mystique attacked her. I'm lucky I got here when I did, or she'd be dead right now." I head Xavier sigh on the other end of the line, "Okay. I'll send Scott and Storm with the X-Jet. They'll be there shortly."
"Great." I hung up the phone and handed it to Marissa. "We'll be home in no time. We'll have a ride here in five mintues—ten max." We sat down on the sidewalk and before you know it, Marissa falls asleep. I lay her down and rest her head in my lap. While waiting for the jet, I start thinking of the things I've gotta do tomorrow. I forgot that tomorrow was September 11th. I've gotta go to the World Trade Center and pick up some international mutants coming to Xavier's School. Some from India, China, Russia, and one from Iraq. I think there's even one from Afghanistan.
Five minutes later, the X-Jet landed in the middle of the street. Scott, Storm, and Jean walked down the ramp out of the Jet. Scott was the first to walk out, and he looked really pissed. "Logan! What the hell happened to my bike? How the hell do you lose a Harley?" I laid Marissa's head on my jacket and stood up.
"Hey! Chill, or I'll have Bobby do it for you!"
"Chill? I paid four-thousand dollars for that bike!" He got in my face, "And you lost it!" He brought his finger to the side of his visor, "I outta blast you clean out of New York," he growled at me. One of my claws slid out of my fist and I pressed the point on his gut, "The difference between you and me, beamer-brain, is I can survive a blast, but there's a slim chance you can survive a stab." Jean took control of our minds, "Stop! Shake hands," Scott and I shook hands, "Scott, apologize."
"I'm sorry. I know you didn't lose the bike. It was stolen."
"Logan, accept his apology."
"It's okay. I'm sorry I threatened to stab you." Jean released her control on us. If there's one thing I hate the most, it's having my mind and body controlled. It's the only time I ever feel weak and I hate it.
I picked Marissa up and carried her bridal-style onto the Jet. I put Marissa in a seat and strapped her in. I sat in the seat across the aisle from her. Jean sat beside Marissa. Storm and Scott sat in the pilots' seats. We started taking off and I grabbed the arms of my seat and gripped them until my knuckles were white. I hate flying, especially the take-off, the landing, turbulance, and flying in storms. Scott yelled at me, "You gonna survive, fly-boy?"
"SHUT UP! You're really pushin' it!" Jean told Scott to shut up, again. I shut my eyes really tight until I could tell we were on smooth air. I released my grip and opened my eyes slowly.
We landed in the Jet's hanger (like at an airport). I picked Marissa up and carried her to the school's medical room. It's pretty much like a private hospital and doctor's office. Jean and Hank McCoy are the doctors, since they know about mutant bodies. I laid her down on the table. Hank walked in the door, "Logan! It's been a while, hasn't it?" I shook his hand, "Sure has, furball." Hank laughed. I don't know what it is, but we sure get along pretty good. "Who's this young lady?"
"Marissa Carrington. Mystique attacked her in an alley in NYC."
"Do you know if she's a mutant?"
"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell us that." He shrugged and grabbed a small flashlight. He pryed open on of her eyes and shined it. Her other eye blinked open. Hank turned off the flashlight, smiled and said, "Hello." I think Hank was hoping for a pleasant response, but instead, he got a blood-curdling scream. She started to jump up off the table, but I grabbed her and held her down, but she still struggled. "Scott, hold her legs!" He grabbed her just above her knees. I started talking to her, "Hey, calm down. Shh. You're fine. Relax." Jean came over and helped me hold her. "Sweetie, calm down," Jean looked at me, "Logan, on that table, there's a syringe. Grab it." I grabbed the needle and handed it to Jean. She stuck the needle into Marissa's arm. Almost immediately, she quite struggling. We let her go slowly, but I still held her hand. Marissa started to talk, "What was that?" I looked up and noticed Hank had left, "That was Doctor Hank McCoy. He's a mutant, like us. He also goes by 'Beast'."
"I see why. Where am I?"
"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It's a school for mutants."
"Then I'm one of you. You might wanna let go of my hand." I let go of her and she turned to metal. "I also go by 'Metallica'." She turned back into her normal form.
"I guess that's why Mystique attacked you."
"Mystique?"
"Another mutant, but she's not with us. She's on Magneto's side."
"Magneto?"
"I guess there's a lot of explaning to do…"