Healing
Disclaimer: I own Laurel and Amelia that's about it
Full Summary: A frozen heart is melted and a broken heart is mended. A C.I.A agent with a dark past saves a young mutant and Rogue's life and in return is offered help from Professor Xavier to come to terms with her past. When she spots the attraction between Logan and Rogue, however, she takes matters into her own hands to bring them together and to try and forget about her growing love for a mourning Scott Summers.
Pairings: OC/Scott and Rogue/Logan
Rating: M (later chapters)
A/N: OK first X-Men fic so don't kill me if I get loads of details and stuff wrong I've only seen the films and from what I can remember of the cartoons
The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Before I'm Dead' by Kidney Thieves
Chapter One – Before I'm Dead
Moon hangs round
A blade over my head
Reminds me
What to do before I'm dead
Night consumes light
And all I dread
Reminds me what to do before I'm dead
Sun reclines
Tease my mind
Reminds me what to leave behind
Light eats night
And all I never said
Reminds me what to do before I'm...
To see you
To touch you
To see you
To touch you
Epochs fly, reminds me
What I hide, reminds me
The desert skies
Cracks the spies
Reminds me what I never tried
The ocean wide salted red
Reminds me what to do before I'm...
To see you
To touch you
To feel you
To tell you
The sun reclines...remind me
The desert skies...remind me
The ocean wide salted red
Reminds me what to do before I'm...
To see you
To touch you
To feel you
To tell you
Laurel snapped the lighter shut and took a long drag of her cigarette; removing it from between her lips she blew the smoke out in a plume and ran her other hand through her matted hair with a heavy sigh. She gently sat up and crept out of the bed, scrabbling a hand under the bed for her thong and tugging it on, quickly putting on her bra and sliding into her full-length black dress.
"Time to finish the job."
Her whispered words playing through her mind she retrieved her purse from the nearby chair and crept stealthily over to the door, slipping into her black jewelled pumps. She was halfway through the door when he called out to her and she cursed herself silently. Fuck.
"You're leaving?"
She nodded, her face impassive and her body tensed as he sat up in the bed, the sheets slipping down his naked body to pool at his waist.
"Why?"
There was suspicion as well as confusion in his voice and she watched his eyes and muscles sharpen as he realised there was more to her than meets the eye.
"Your part in my job is over."
His eyes narrowed and he sat up properly, his eyes darting to the drawer besides him before back to her still stood in the doorway. She saw the movement but she didn't flinch, she knew she was quicker than him anyway and her limbs weren't slow with sleep like his were.
"And what part did I play?"
She hesitated, wondering if the truth would give too much away, but why not? He must know already it has something to do with his work or he wouldn't be so suspicious.
"You got me in."
Bitterness flickered into his eyes for a brief moment and guilt flickered quickly into hers before bother were gone and he was glaring at her blank face once more.
"I should have known, I never should have let you get so close."
A half-smile crossed her face even as her hand strayed to the clasp of her bag, deftly unfastening it silently as she spoke.
"For what it's worth it wasn't easy; it took much longer than I first thought to even get near to you never mind close enough to get into this damn fortress."
She gestured with her eyes at the elaborate room suggesting his vast fortune and he gave her a sour yet somewhat smug smile. In the split second he took to dive for the gun in his drawer she had pulled hers out and was perfectly positioned with it pointed directly between his eyes by the time he sat up. He smirked at her and raised his gun, his finger caressing the trigger as he trailed it up from pointing at the floor to her heart.
She pulled the trigger.
Knowing she only had a moment before the guards outside came to check on the noise she darted down the corridor and heaved her shoulder against the door at the end until it gave and she staggered into the room. Racing over to the desk she grabbed the locked case of floppy discs from the shelf above the computer monitor, shoving it into her bag she rifled through the drawers until she found the box of memory sticks she was looking for and she dropped them into her bag as well before sprinting out of the room.
Three huge guards were just leaving the bedroom where he lay as she careened into the rail and swung down the stairs, shots ringing out and bullets embedding themselves into the wall behind her head as she ran. More guards were pouring in through the front door so she took a sharp left, narrowly missing more bullets, and dived out of the window with a loud crash accompanied by the ear-splitting sound of the alarm.
Stretching luxuriously she rolled over and buried her face in the cool pillows on the other side of her bed. Sunlight streamed in from the window besides her and flooded her body beneath the purple silk sheets with light as she rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly. Her body aching from the exertions of the night before she eased herself into a sitting position on the side of the bed and ran a hand through her bedraggled hair. Having only had the energy to strip off and collapse under the sheets when she had finally returned home in the early hours of the morning, her naked body was scratched and dirty and covered in a sticky sheen of dry sweat.
Sighing she wrapped the sheet around herself loosely and crossed the room into her adjoining bathroom, switching on the taps and placing her hand underneath the gushing spray of water. Fixing her gaze on the water beading her hands and streaming over her bare arm she tilted her head slightly to the side and narrowed her eyes until the water beating against her skin was at exactly the right temperature. Giving a sigh of pleasure she stripped off the sheet and slipped into the waterfall of steaming water.
Soon after she left the steamed up room through the door on the opposite side which led into a small ivy green hallway which branched off into her kitchen and front room which were also adjoined. Wandering into her kitchen in a dark red towel she switched on the kettle and glanced through the post she had dumped on the side a few days ago and not bothered to look at. Nothing but bills.
After making her coffee she stood over the sink and stared out of the window at her frost bitten garden as she drank it, her mind wandering aimlessly. The ringing of the telephone startled her into dropping her mug, her lightening reflexes kicking in and snatching it back before it hit the stainless steel of the sink. Shaking her head at the coffee all down her towel she hurriedly made her way into the front room to snatch up the phone.
"Yeah hello."
"Laurel baby, you're in deep shit."
Laurel rolled her eyes as her partner's voice chirped down the phone at her.
"Hey Matt, I wondered how long it would take."
She could almost feel Matt smirk at her as she crossed the hallway back into her bedroom.
"You know what Shipman's like and he went ballistic when the first thing he saw this morning was your report on his desk."
Laurel cradled the phone between her chin and her shoulder as she wriggled into her black lace underwear.
"See the state this government's in; the day I actually get my report in on time I get bollocked for it."
Her voice was muffled as she pulled on a tight white vest top, manoeuvring the phone around it so Matt's reply was half lost; she got the gist of it though.
"Don't be so fucking flip, not only did you kill the guy you were investigating you were seen by the security video and risked bringing the whole operation down around our asses!"
Laurel dropped the phone onto her bed as she pulled on a pair of skin tight leather trousers and buckled up the large ornately carved silver buckle of her belt. When she pressed the receiver against her ear again Matt was still busy tearing a strip off her. When he finally paused for breath she interrupted him before he could begin again.
"Look Matt I did what I had to do and it says so in the report so Shipman is just gonna have to deal with that."
Deciding there was no point arguing Matt simply told her to report in at headquarters later on before moving the conversation onto the usual subjects they talked about such as the gossip.
After she had finally hung up Laurel pulled on her black Doc Martins laced loosely with purple laces she tied her hair back in a messy ponytail at the back of her head and swung her black leather jacket on before deciding that the sooner she got bawled out by her boss the better and she headed out to where her motorbike was parked behind her apartment building.
Pulling her bike up she parked it around the corner from the shop in a shadow next to a broken street light; she wasn't stupid enough to advertise her bike by parking it in the light where anyone could see it. Moving around the shop quickly she grabbed the groceries she needed and paid for them all within the space of about ten minutes since the late hour meant the store was practically deserted.
Tucking her groceries into the in-built pocket under her seat she was just about to climb back onto it when her sharp hearing caught the sound of a kid screaming. Ignoring it she straddled her bike and turned the engine when another bloodcurdling shriek shattered the relative silence of the night and she sighed irritably before moving away from her bike and killing the engine again.
Pausing on the pavement next to her bike she cocked her head to the side, her eyes flashing in the darkness as her sharp hearing picked through the sounds surrounding her. Eventually she heard the faint sounds of a struggle coming from the alley to her left and she made her way towards it, pausing at the entrance and staring into the pressing blackness it offered.
"It's always an alley, why can't people just learn not to go down them?"
Scowling she stepped into the alley and made her way down it until she could make out four heavily built men laughing and jeering as they kicked at a girl no older than nine or ten lying in a bloody heap on the dirty floor sobbing.
Anger began to seep into Laurel's mind as she approached the group who had yet to notice her. The closer she got the more anger she was developing until she was about ready to snap anyone's neck who dared to come near her.
"Oi!"
They had finally noticed her and a slow grin began to curve her lips as she paused about a metre away from the group and widened her stance a little, every muscle in her body coiled ready to pounce if they came near her.
"She looks like fun, get her."
Grinning she waited for the two guys closest to her to approach, as one lunged at her she ducked and he sailed over her shoulder and into a rather large puddle behind her. The other one took a more cautious approach and tried grabbing her wrist, a move which she promptly turned on him. Gripping his wrist she twisted it round until she heard it crack before yanking his arm around his back and kicking him face first onto the floor.
The first guy was now back on his feet and coming back towards her, throwing a punch towards her she deflected it easily and shot a lightening jab at his kidneys under his upraised arm. Kicking him as he swung at her again she used a vicious upper cut to slam him to the ground where he was promptly knocked unconscious by the contact his head made with the floor.
The other two guys were now approaching her menacingly and she flexed her hands waiting for them. Yet before they could reach her a vicious wind began to blow which picked one of them up off his feet and flung him into the dumpster to his right. The other kept advancing and was much heavier than the first two, one quick glance over him and she knew she wouldn't be able to lift it in her current exhausted state so she swung a punch at him instead. And it had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. Seeing she had no choice she slammed the heel of her hand up into his nose breaking it and knocking him out.
For the first time she noticed they were no longer alone in the alley, not only was the wind still waging war on that guy but a tall well built man with metal claws was slashing the hell out of the first one to attack her who had stumbled to his feet. Turning Laurel saw a pretty girl with long mahogany hair whipping around her face in the wind and two vivid white stripes framing her face as she battled with the fourth guy.
She didn't see what appeared to be an extra guy advance on her with a deadly looking gun glimmering in the flickering light of a passing car's headlights, but Laurel did. Making a split second decision she launched herself at the girl who gave a surprised gasp before they were tumbling over and over on the ground and a streak of fire licked past Laurel's side sending a gush of blood seeping into her white top.
The girl shoved her off and knelt at her side to check the wound but Laurel was already climbing to her knees and crawling across the damp alley floor to reach the young girl who was now cowering in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chin.
"Are you alright?"
She reached out a hand and she let out a low growling noise in the back of her throat. For the first timeLaurel took a hard look atteh girland noticed what seemed to be thick blond fur growing along the top of her hands anda long tail curled around her ankles which tightened reflexively when she touched her hunched shoulder.
"I won't hurt you; I'm going to help you. See I helped get rid of the men who were trying to hurt you. Come on now, come on out."
Slowly she crept out and darted into Laurel's arms, her tail wrapping around her left leg tightly as she clung to her, her face buried in her shoulder and her hands gripping the sides of her top including the wound she had just received. Giving a grunt of pain she bit her lip and ignored it; she was used to pain.
"Hey, you alright over there?"
Hunching over the girl slightly as though shielding her she turned on her haunches to survey the three people approaching them. The one who had spoken was the guy before who still had metal claws out just in case. The other two were female, the girl who Laurel had saved and who was now limping and another had beautiful dark skin that emphasised the stark whiteness of her hair.
"You're OK?"
Laurel glared at the white haired woman before nodding and getting to her feet, swaying slightly from the blood loss and glancing down at the girl now sleeping on her shoulder. The woman caught sight of her wound and moved forward to steady her but Laurel gave her a harsh glare which quickly had her backing away.
"We're not here to hurt you, let us help you."
Eyeing them all carefully Laurel decided she had lost too much blood to fight anymore and she was now definitely too exhausted to ride home and try to sort the wound herself. She could always ring headquarters and get a doctor out to her but she was feeling rather resentful towards the place after the amount of times she had been bollocked for last night's debacle that morning.
"Fine, but one wrong move and I'm gone."
Laurel forced herself to stay awake on the journey back so she had a good idea of the distance from her home and any escape routes if possible. Of course this was made more difficult by the fact that their return journey was made in a huge 4x4 with tinted windows so dark she could barely see out of them even with her keen eyesight.
"Home sweet home."
Laurel glanced at the girl she had saved earlier who was hanging out of the window waving at the group of people waiting for them on the steps of the front porch. A smiling bald man in a wheelchair approached them as they made their way up the stairs and Laurel's instincts took over as she quickly appraised the group and her surroundings, assessing any threats and checking out the escape routes.
"Welcome, I am Professor Xavier." His gaze fixed on hers and she had the uncomfortable feeling he knew what she was doing. "But now is not the time for introductions."
Spinning around he led the way back into the Manor and Laurel reluctantly followed, her eyes still marking everything down in her head. As the group paused outside a wooden panel in the wall she swayed and threw out a hand to brace herself against the wall.
"Here, let me."
As the white haired woman reached out to take the girl from Laurel she woke abruptly and began thrashing around wildly trying to get away from the woman's outstretched hands and almost strangling Laurel in the process.
"I won't be far away; I'll come and see you as soon as I've sorted myself out."
After whimpering for a while and making her promise that she would see her as soon as she could throughout the entire elevator ride she relented and allowed the woman to carry her for Laurel as she stumbled out of the lift and shook her fuzzy head to try to clear it. Her white shirt was now almost entirely soaked in blood, the straps being the only part not yet reached and her trousers shining with the liquid as Laurel took several deep breaths to clear her head.
Taking another step forward she suddenly reeled and fell over backwards, right into someone's arms who hurriedly carried her through into the Hospital where the boy had already had his numerous cuts and bruises mostly tended to and was staring around at all the strange people with huge worried eyes. Lying Laurel down on a pristine white stretcher, which was already beginning to dye red, he stepped back to allow his friends to help her.
A fast healer Laurel was awake early the next morning with the pain on her side already easing to just an uncomfortable burning ache as she slid off the bed and pulled on her freshly laundered clothes, her top was still a dark crimson in colour as she pulled it on but she didn't give it a second thought. Leaving the room quietly she crept along the corridor, her bare feet making no noise on the polished floorboards as she approached the lift they had used the night before.
As the doors slid silently open she caught sight of a tall dark haired man with a pair of what appeared to be red sunglasses on. Stepping into the lift he smiled at her and she found herself grinning slightly back at him.
"You're feeling better?"
She nodded and reached up to tie her hair back in a knot to keep it out of her face. Catching sight of her smiling reflection in the metal button panel besides him she shook her head and wiped her face clear of all emotions again.
"Is the girl OK?"
He nodded and she turned back to stare at the blank door of the lift as it steadily made its way up to the ground floor. It was early enough in the morning for no one to be around so the lift wasn't stopped until they reached the ground floor. The doors slid open and Laurel took a step forwards into the deserted corridor.
"By the way, the name's Scott."
Turning Laurel gave him a quick once over and smirked, leaning against the doors of the lift to keep them from closing.
"Laurel."
Stepping back the doors silently slid shut in front of her hiding Scott's smiling face as she made her way along the corridor to try and find the little girl from the night before.
