Leah grins, plunging her hands into the next pot of dirt. She is preparing for one of her classes, where her students are crossbreeding two different colors of marigolds in order to illustrate Mendel's principles. An experiment that might have taken several weeks normally is a day's project for her class – with some assistance.
Two weeks after her visit to Westchester, she said goodbye to Minnesota and moved halfway across the country into an exclusive private mansion…for people like her.
The bitter taste in her mouth after the university had forced her out – falsifying results, my ass - has been purged quickly. She has been plunged into the mansion's rambunctious family atmosphere, teaching classes in biology and horticulture, and taking over the greenhouses.
And in her spare time…
"How do you feel about having two different jobs?"
She is learning how to be an X-Man.
She even has a new name: Demeter, Greek goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
She is in the best shape of her life, thanks to daily training sessions and a rigorous diet.
Hank has trained her in how to fly a jet.
Her powers of growth are under her complete control, and more developed than ever. She is going on missions – admittedly, usually as the one flying the jet and guarding it, but still.
She smiles contentedly as the leaves of the marigold began to sprout from the pot.
That had been four months ago.
She is coming into the kitchen with a large tomato pot in her arms, determined to try her idea – if she soaks the soil with balsamic and then accelerates the plant growth, shouldn't she get natural balsamic-infused tomatoes? - and nearly collides with him.
His hands shoot out to steady her, catching the plant at the same time. "Whoa! Slow down there."
"Sorry!" She laughs. "I was off somewhere else." She shifts the pot to one arm and sticks out a hand. "I'm Leah Hamilton, the new professor. I don't think I've seen you before."
He slowly takes the offered hand. "I'm Logan."
That had also been four months ago.
"This is very interesting." Hank reviews the data tables he has compiled, Leah leaning over his shoulder in fascination. Logan is buttoning up his shirt, looking bored.
"Leah, you actually can heal faster than Logan can, but you have to exercise much more conscious control. It's an intriguing trade off."
"Maybe it's a limits thing," Leah offers. "Logan's body naturally sets some sort of threshold for how quickly he can heal, no matter what. Conscious control allows me to override that limit, but that's why I get the effects like the extreme hunger."
"Hmmm." Hank chews his lip.
"You guys done with me?" Logan has finished dressing. Hank waves a hand.
"Yes, thank you Logan, I think we have enough."
As he turns to leave, Leah is reaching for a clipboard on one of the other desks. Her attention is caught as he strides through the door – and the thought comes out of nowhere.
Whoa. Nice ass.
That had been three months ago.
