Logan jolted awake as the van hit a bump in the road, flopping back down against the seat painfully. He raised a hand to his face with a groan and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely, "we there yet? 'S been forever..." Propping himself up and sliding into the seat nearest the open window, he noticed the sky had gotten considerably darker.
"You two awake up there?"
Ororo, stopped the van, yawning softly, making a poor attempt to stretch the kinks from her back. "We are considerably close," She looked back at him and then over to Serenity.
The bump didn't bother her a bit, having a couple month's worth a jet lag gave her the ability to sleep through it. Her ebony braid fell over her shoulder, her face was turned near the window.
"Do you think maybe we should stop for the night?" she pointed to the inn that was across the road from a joint. She made a point for him to notice the joint, knowing it would be adamant in his decision on whether they had to keep moving or not.
Logan thought about it for a minute. "I guess San Francisco's not going anywhere," he muttered at last, "it'd be nice to sleep in a real bed." He felt rather stiff and sore from holding the same position in the same cramped backseat, even though he had been asleep the whole time. "Could go for a shower too," he yawned, "gonna charm these people into letting us stay a free night?" he joked to Serenity.
Hey eye lashes fluttered and she stirred in her seat, but other than that, she was sleeping quite comfortably.
"Are we going to pay for anything during this trip?" Ororo asked exasperated. "I feel guilty whoring her off on people and robbing them blind, this is something Brotherhood would do," she bit her lower lip.
Serenity turned to face Ororo and Logan, covering her mouth as she yawned. "Who do you want me to whore myself to?" That what some of the people in the mansion called it behind her back. You can't be offended by the truth.
Logan resisted teasing her about this recent statement - 'really? how much?' - and instead grumbled about Ororo's guilty conscience.
"We ain't the Brotherhood, so why does it even matter?" He sighed, digging into the pockets of his jacket, "I'm sure I got some cash on me...somewhere..." He pulled some crumpled bills out of his pocket, "right, thirtysome dollars. Think that'll do?"
"No," Serenity said, hoping out of the car stretching. "Are we sharing a room or do you think we should get seperate ones?" Her lips pouted slightly more and her eyes were still half opened. Her features were still drunk with sleep. She took off her leather jacket and set it on the seat waiting for an answer. She just wanted to shower and go to sleep, but that bar across the street was mighty tempting.
"Dunno," Logan muttered, also throwing a wayward glance at the bar, although when Ororo wasn't looking, so he wouldn't get an earfull, "with this kinda cash, I can't afford a room for myself." He sighed and jammed his hands in his pockets, stretching his legs and walking around a little, "..'Roro, it's up to you. You're kinda the leader of this thing anyways..."
Still a little irritable from sleep Serenity walked towards the lobby of the inn, preparing herself for the razzle and dazzle routine. "While you decide 'Ro, I'm going to get us rooms. I can understand your guilt, but you must understand. I've never had to pay for a thing in life and I'm not going to start now,"
The weather goddess rubbed her temples. "I guess that answered your question, Logan...Perhaps she's right... no one getting hurt.. it's better than warping their minds with telepathy or something," God she missed Jean.
Logan frowned at the 'telepathy' comment, but he knew Ororo was right. Jean had even messed with his mind a little, and he didn't like the feeling of it. Shouldering his bag from the back of the van, he followed after Serenity, taking his time through the dark parking lot and into the brightly-lit lobby. "Damn...I slept in the car, and now I'm gonna sleep here," he muttered to himself - he shouldn't have been tired. But he'd thank Serenity anyways.
Serenity leaned over the counter, laughing breathily. "Are you sure you can do that for me?" The young, juvenile clerk grinned. "Sure, what's three rooms?" She leaned in for a kiss but took the keys and backed away. "Well aren't you sweet," She turned back to the entrance but wound up bumping into flesh covered adamantium, falling flat on her ass.
Logan had a solid enough footing to stand his ground, but he couldn't deny he hadn't been a little startled. After a moment, he grinned a little and extended a hand down to help her up. "No sleepin' on the lobby floor for you," he joked, "I see you got the room keys." He easily pulled Serenity to her feet, "got your stuff from the car, and 'Roro's too. Just show me where I need to put it."
She dusted off her ass reaching to take her bags from him. "I can carry my own things. I got us three rooms. Yours and Logan's are totgether but mine is on the next floor,"
"What?" Ororo took her key, looking at the number. "You and I could share a room so we all can stay together." "It's a single bed ' Ro. Now go get some sleep."
"Not a problem, 'Roro," Logan commented, "maybe she's just tired of being around us. We are pretty damn annoying. Ahh, don't worry about it...she's only a floor up, what the hell could possibly happen?" He stuck his own roomkey in his pocket, "though, I'd be glad to swap rooms if you wanted to be next to 'Roro, Serenity."
She looked back at Logan without a smile on her face. "If you take my room, then who's going to keep an eye on you? My room number is 207B, 'Ro if you want to call me." She really needed some space away from Logan. She wasn't mad him, she was mad at herself, for being so... naive. She needed a shower and strong drink.
"Ow, that's harsh," Logan remarked with a smirk, "you make it sound like someone needs to watch me. G'night, then." He waved at the two women and started off down the hall, tossing and catching his room key in one hand and reshouldering his bag with the other. He'd assumed Serenity's comment to be joking, but who knew with some of these ladies...
She was so groggy. After opening her door and tossing her stuff on the bed, she threw her keys on the nightstand and quickly began to strip. Hopefully the shower would wake her up and give her the energy to walk across the street.
Logan unlocked his own room, and immediately picked up the faded smell of sweat, dirt, and cigarettes. "Cheap motels," he sighed with a shake of his head, dumping his bag on the floor and taking a look around. He felt crunched up and sluggish from the long car ride, but stretching a little bit more made most of the feelings go away. He wondered if the other two were going straight to bed, or if they had other plans, and glanced at the hotel phone, almost expecting it to ring.
After neatly laying her bags on the nearby dresser, Ororo sat on the side of her bed and picked up the phone, dialing Logan's room number. She'd call herself but she was itching for a shower and had only enough patience for one call. She raked her fingers through virgin snow strands listening as her call went through.
Serenity sighed as the hot water opened up her pores. This felt almost as a good as...well... if she had some smokes with her she'd certainly light one up after she'd finish. She scrubbed herself with the cheap hotel soap, head to toe. Her hair could use a dull gloss to it.
Logan, who'd crossed the room to dig through his luggage, jerked his head up at the sound of the phone. Stepping back over to the bed, he flopped down on it on his back and picked up the receiver. "...'lo?"
"How is your room, Logan?" she laughed at herself knowing they must have been somewhat the same. She carefully sorted through her bag for an outfit for tomorrow, and possibly, tonight.
Feeling clean and fresh she dried off, dropping the towel to the floor as she walked to her bed, slipping on some fadded, black skinny jeans and a red, long-sleeved thermal. Slipping on her boots from earlier she grabbed her wallet. Quietly closing her door she made her way to the lobby as quietly as possible. 'Ro was too classy for the joint across the street.
Logan smirked a little bit, "smells funny. I won't go into the details. What 'bout yours? You just goin' to bed for now, or you got plans for anything else?" He figured 'Roro, being the mature one, would take the responsibility of sleeping, and not staying up late and watching TV or raiding the minibar. Glancing at the luminescant clock on the nightstand, Logan wondered exactly how early he had to get up. It never changed his decision on when he went to bed, but he could be in a worse mood if he knew he had to wake up at some ungodly morning hour.
"I guess this is one moment where having heightened senses isn't a good thing at all," she giggled. "Well I haven't really much decided. I think it would be beneficial if I showered and went to bed. But I don't want to doze off, only to have Serenity come and wake me up for a drink," she laughed softly at the thought.
The joint was murky, but atleast it was dark. She took a seat up near the bartender. Taking some time from wipping his glasses, he walked over to her. "What'll it be," Pretending she was coughing she brought up her first and blew some dust at him. "Something strong and expensive," she said gruffily, unaware of the slow approaching guest.
"Well," Logan suggested, "they make those little 'Do Not Disturb' signs for a reason. Unless you want to head out to the bar with me, in which case I'll come next door and bother you right now." He readjusted his jacket and stood from the bed, "looks like you'll be the one drivin' tomorrow."
She giggled softly. "Well if I'm driving tomorrow I'd better stay right here and get some sleep," She packed up her outfit and looked for her nightie. "Besides, I'm craving a long shower. Go ahead and have some fun," she waited for his reply and conslusion.
The drink was thick and spicy. It burned nicely going down. She thought of Jean and Logan. If Jean was alive, Logan most likely would try to keep her from killing 'Jeanie', but she has it comming, and it's not like it's going to be easy, comparing their powers, but Jean wasn't a trained killer. She was. Her thoughts were interrupted by the large woman sitting beside her. Serenity kept her eyes on her glass. The lady leaned in, breathing all over her. "Hey there, tiny, you alone tonight?"
"You got it," Logan couldn't help smiling a little, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Night, 'Roro." He hung up the phone, then after making sure his room key was secured in a jacket pocket not easily accessible by anyone else, he turned the lights off and left, crossing through the dark cool night to the bar across the street. The loud chatter and drunken laughter felt wonderfully familiar to him, and he surveyed the bar from a spot near the door. Pool table, scratchy TV with some kinda sports game, lots of bottles against the wall. He pulled up a seat at the worn counter and spotted Serenity across the way, being hit on by some older woman. Biting his lip to keep from laughing, he hailed the bartender and received a beer promptly.
Why her? Why tonight? She kept quiet ignoring the woman, sipping her drink. She didn't feel like breaking any bones, she'd save that energy for the enemies to come.
Not taking no for an answer, the woman reached out to touch her flame red hair. Big mistake. Grabbing her wrist, Serenity flipped the young girl from her chair and onto the floor. Before she could continue she felt something explode against her back. The dyke had friends. One of her little friends picked up a chair and broke it against her back. Considering her ribs, it hurt like hell. She stood up and spat some blood on the floor looking at the two. Snatching the broomstick from the bartender, she broke it at the base and then into two. More of the womans friendsstood up and men whistled and clapped cheering for the commotion to go on.
"Damn...do I step in or not?" Logan wondered aloud, taking a sip from his glass of beer. The guy sitting next to him mistakenly thought he was trying to start a conversation, and jumped in with an answer, "it's a dyke battle! What the hell're you thinking?"
"The redhead isn't a dyke," Logan corrected, "well, so far as I know..." In a moment, his conscience kicked him in the back of the head, and he stood, heading over towards the fight. The bartender was already looking furious, besides, and he didn't want to get evicted with the rest.
She was fuming. She eyed the girls. she could feel a few behind her. She licked her lips. within and instant, she lunged forward towards the leader, slamming the round tip of the stick against her windpipe. She gasped, grabbing her throat in a panic. One came from behind, and another from the side. She dropped to the floor and kicked her in the side and pushed off flipping behind the other.
"Hoooweeee! That one's got some fiare in 'er!!" The other men clapped in agreement.
Angry the mob of women pulled out chains, crow bars, and switch blades. She smirked slightly and dropped the two pieces of wood. She took her fighting stance. She wouldn't even wait for them to attack. She jumped kicked into one causing her to take don two broads with her. Two came forward. One was swinging a chain and the other had a blade. "We're going to cut up that pretty face of yours," Serenity sneered. "You bithes don't have the future," she spat, spin kicking the blade out of the woman's hand.
Although Logan wasn't one to pass up a fight so easily, he got a feeling that Serenity wanted to finish this by herself. However, he did elbow his way through most of the spectators to get a ringside seat, just in case he was needed. "Hey, buddy, what the hell d'you think you're doing?" Logan glanced over at the squat bearded man addressing him, "Getting a better view." "Yeah, well you're in my way." "Does it look like I care?" Logan muttered, turning around to the fight. He felt the rush of air behind him from an incoming punch, and smiled in morbid satisfaction as the man's fist connected with his head. He didn't even need to punch back. The man let out a howl of pain and wrung his hand, "Jesus, what the hell you got for brains - bricks?" Logan ignored the comment, all his attention still focused on the fight.
She felt the womans wrist shatter against her ankle. That's what she got for not fighting fair. She grabbed her wrist and screamed in bloody agony running through the barrage of men. Her partner kept her stance. The blade she'd kicked out of her friends hand had flown into the wooden bar. She went for it. Within and instant, she couldn't breathe, someone gave her a taste of her own medicine. She yanked out the blade and grabbed her throat. coughing. While her guard was done another came up behind her and brought a thick chain over her head, pulling it taunt against her neck. She gritted her teeth and took the blade , shoving it in the woman's thigh. Letting out a shrill cry she immediately dropped her chain and fell flat on her ass. She yanked the blade from the woman. Rubbing her throat she looked at the five woman left over. "I haven't killed in a long time," she said, her voice was cracked and stern. "But believe me when I say this, if you want this fight to continue, I sincerely hope the five of you have coffins your families can bury you in," There was long silence. The woman looked at their fallen friends and back at Serenity. Wisely they walked away. Serenity walked back to the bar and gulped down the rest of her drink. She stepped over her victims and walked outside, heading to the motel.
"Awww, hell ! Well it was good while it lasted," Everybody went back to their own lives. This would be a night many would remember.
"Damn," Logan muttered, watching the fight draw to a close. He wasn't suprised to see that nobody cared - roadhouses like this tended to be notorious places for fights. The bartender was occupied with cleaning up the mess, but Logan had other priorities - slamming some singles on the bar near his drink, he headed out after Serenity.
"What the hell was that about?" he asked, more curious than anything./color/size/quote
When she heard Logan , she stopped holding her ribs and stood upright. "What was what about?" she said gently, any louder and her voice would scratch and crack. After a long day of kicking ass and getting hers handed to her, she'd be better off in her room, licking her wounds.
Logan rolled his eyes a little bit, "You aren't stupid. The barfight. You're pretty damn lucky that nobody's making you pay for broken chairs or suing you for beating up their friends." Of course, that had never happened to him, but once people saw the claws, they were more than glad to make him leave and never see him again.
"They're lucky I didn't kill them, and you're one to be giving me a lecture about bar fights, bub," the last word oozed with menace. "If you saw the whole thing, then I'm sure you know how it got started, and--" Bloody hell. She'd forgotten about 'Ro. She couldn't let Ororo find out about this. Damn it.
Logan bared his teeth in reflexive anger at her jibe, "Of course I saw the whole thing." Couldn't she have reacted better, though? He wasn't about to let anyone else get killed, after what they were searching for in the first place. And hey, he'd been in a lot of barfights, but he'd recovered from everything thrown at him this far - even shotgun blasts. If one of the girls had a gun, he was certain Serenity'd be unconscious by now.
"You know what? Forget it. I'm going back - don't bother me. And don't expect me to try'nd save your ass when you do something stupid." He turned around and made his way back through the doors of the bar.
She stopped dead in her tracks. What did he say to her? She marched back up to him and grabbed his shoulder. She had to take a deep breath. This was his twisted way of showing concern. She wouldn't make a remark on how she didn't remember him jumping in to snatch the girls off of her, but then again she appriciated him more for that. She grabbed her side, looking at him. "I'm sorry, Logan," she sighed softly. She'd been having a crappy couple of months and a chair busted against her back was no picnic. "Let me buy you a drink since you paid for mine," She patted him on the back.
When he'd felt the hand on his shoulder, Logan had fully expected some kind of slap to the face. As a result, he'd been a little bit taken aback with Serenity's apology, but tried not to show it much. After a moment of silent thought, he nodded, "...alright. If anyone gives you any trouble this time around, I'll take the fall." He could easily tell she was injured, but liquor sometimes solved that, as it did with other problems.
"Yea," she said barely able to smile. She ran her fingers through her hair, contemplating whether or not to braid her locks. She straightened her top. How ironic was it that she chose to wear red? Well at least if she was stabbed blood wouldn't visibly stain it. As much as she was angry at Logan she decided to put it behind her. She didn't want Ororo to feel caught in between and they didn't need any hostility clouding up their emotions. They had to be ready for anything.
Logan felt a little bit better when their reentry into the bar attracted no attention whatsoever, although the bartender still looked sufficiently pissed off. He took a space at an empty stool near the counter and waited for Serenity to join him. "Maybe you should put some ice on that," he said, jerking his head at her side, "wouldn't hurt so much." For him, everything had gone back to casual disinterest - he had no indication that Serenity was still mad at him.
"I'll be fine," she said thinking of what she wanted to drink. "Do you know what you want?" It was hard to pissed at him when he was being nice. From what she'd known, seeing his nice side was a rarity, but then again, she was sure Jean would beg to differ. She smirked subconsciously. After taking a seat she rubbed her temples. That fight didn't relieve as much stress as she thought it would.
"Whiskey on ice, if they got it," Logan said, folding his arms across the counter. Listening absently to the clicks from the game of pool being played across the room, he realized that Serenity would probably keep the fight to herself. He'd go bragging, but that was him, and no doubt Ororo would disapprove anyways.
"Alright,"she sighed, putting on her game face. she blew softly looking at the bartender. It didn'ttake him long to come hither. "I'm sorry about earlier," her lips pouted slightly. "You know girls, we all just want ot have fun," she smirked. "Well you didn't do that much damage, what can I get you?" he grinned. "My friend here would likea whiskey on ice, please, and I'd like your best import," His smile fadded looking at Logan. She gave him a stronger dosage. "Please," he winked at her. "Okay, and it's on the house," When he walked away she smiled at Logan. "You should learn to do that some day. I'm sure you've spent millions on liquor."
"You mean flirt shamelessly with the barkeep?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow, "No way. I'll shell out cash anyday, but like hell I'm batting eyelashes at some other guy." He got the feeling he'd just be asking for a fight that way, and, as bars could be a good place to meet girls, he wasn't going to let anyone get the wrong impression.
"You stick to the acting," he nodded, "But it just isn't my thing."
Despite her aching ribs, Serenity couldn't help herself but to slap her knees in laughter. The simple thought of picturing someone like Logan do what she does was completely hilarious. She sucked in a few breaths. "Stop it, before you make it worse," she busted back into laughter. Slowly she calmed down, dabbing the sides of her eyes. She hadn't a good laugh like that in a while. She licked her lips and bit the lower one in tought. Were her powers really all that demeaning? Aw well, free is free. It's not like she's ever had to sleep her victims to get what she wanted.
Logan couldn't help but smile a little bit as well - the silence had been kind of unnerving, or at least lonely. He almost felt motivated to keep messing around, although apparantly, it hurt Serenity to laugh.
"Nah, you just stick to getting the free drinks," he said with a small shrug, "you and 'Roro. I can beat up anybody who jumps in to question the morals behind that."
She laid her hand on her bicep squeezing gently as she bursted into another onslaught of laughter. "Could you picture our 'Ro batting her eyes lashes for anything? I'd like to see the day that happens, but who knows maybe I'm contageous," The barkeep laid their drinks down in front of them. She picked a cube of ice and started sucking on it. she was feeling better already. She'd prefer her ribs to ache from laughter, not fists.
"Maybe tell her it's what you want for your birthday, or something, to see her hit on some random stranger," Logan chuckled, picturing the idea himself, "and then tell her it's your birthday, of course." He took a long sip of his whiskey and smiled a little bit to himself. This was better than before - several times before, in fact, mostly because nobody accompanied him to bars, and those that did tended to be prude.
"I feel bad laughing at 'Ro like this, that woman is sweet as pie. I wish there were more people like that in the world." she sipped her drink, grinning. Ororo was wonderful. She stretched, rolling her neck. "I just may do that," Maybe this night wasn't so bad after all.
"Eh, if she knew you were getting cheered up at her expense, she probably'd condone it," Logan said with a small smirk, "That's the kind of person she is." Ororo had done a great job of holding the school together, always making sure the kids felt welcome there.
"She'd probably be a little suprised," he returned to her last comment, "But she'd do it."
"I couldn't ask her to do that though, It'd feel like i wastaking away her innocence. But then again 'Ro's hot enough to get free drinks without the whole acts, y'know ?" She could only imagine what 'Ro was going through. But she didn't really want to.
"I s'pose so," Logan murmured, "Probably all the creepy bastards who hang out at bars buy her drinks to try to get her phone number or something. Makes me wonder what would happen if they knew she was a mutant." He thought about this for a moment, "Probably nothing. Guys are like that. At least she's back at the hotel sleeping. She wouldn't want to be a part of this."
"Yea, I'd kill anyone who put their hands on her. She's been through enough already," 'Ro was so strong in Serenity's eyes. 'Ro was at her prime and still had no lover or significant other, while people around her were hooking up left and right. she'd always hoped that 'Ro and Prof would work things out. They so deserved each other. He was dedicated to his cause, and she was dedicated to him. Too bad things never go the way they're supposed to. Serenity sipped her drink. "I've had confrontations with men in bars. They tend to stop holding back once they know you're 'mutie'." Some would threaten to tell if she didn't preform favors. Others would try to beat the stuffing out of her. Even so she'd still get in trouble for being the one who finished the fights.
"Tell me about it," Logan nodded, his face sliding back into the typical angry look it often held. It helped, in those cases, to be somewhat of a trained assassin. And the claws never hurt either. Well...they didn't hurt him.
"She's strong enough to take care of herself," he said, shrugging a little, "She used to steal cars, know that? Tougher'n she looks." Whatever the case, he didn't feel concerned at the moment. Nobody was being attacked anymore, and he'd lowered his guard when the fight had stopped.
"I know," she smiled to herself. She hardly believed it herself but 'Ro was the one who'd taught her how to hot wire a vehicle. "Goddess, Serenity. Don't tell anyone I taught you." "Alright, alright! I won't, but thanx."She sipped at her drink some more. She could see his features harden, from the corner of her eye. Softly placing her hand on his thigh, she squeezed, gently. "Logan ?" Something had to have been on his mind.
At the gesture, Logan looked over abruptly, his features unreadable. "It's nothing," he muttered, helping himself to his drink once more. At the very least, it gave him a moment not to have to answer.
Serenity was never one to pry. All this gloom was...well, gloomy. She'd change the subject. "I talked to Chen Chi Pe," She didn't expect Logan to remember who that was. But he was the reason why she'd had to travel to asia for the fast few months. She ran her hands through her ebony locks. The more liquor she drank, the better her ribs felt.
"Hmm?" Logan murmured, a little distractedly. It took him a moment to put two and two together.
"You went over there? Why?" Unlike Serenity, Logan pried, often not noticing when he'd dug too far into someone else's personal business. The bartender automatically brought Logan another drink when he'd finished and he'd not noticed that either.
"He sent for me. He said his daughter had finished her training and was coming for me. It was only a matter of time." Chen Chi Pe was the reason why Serenity didn't have to depend on her powers to win a fight. He'd saw something in her no one else did and made it nearly indestructable. He gave her the gift of a well known sword, Flying Snow. Lou Ma has assumed that was his daughter the sword would be hers, but it didn't go down like that. Anyone with Flying Snow is open to battles at any place and any time. That sword will rightfully be Serenity's until she passes it on or her opponent kills her and takes the weapon as prize. Lou Ma was coming to claim her prize.
Logan nodded, "Well, you'd best keep your eyes open. I will too." All this talk about inevitable conflict and death had put him in a less than perfect mood. He stood from the bar, and downed the rest of his drink, "I gotta go. I guess I should sleep or something..." He started digging in his pockets for the cash to pay.
She grabbed his arms and stood. Her knees were a bit wobbly. "Wait. I'll go with you. I don't need any un wanted escorts trying to take advantage of my buzzed state." For some reason she didn't see Lou Ma as a threat. Chen Chi Pe had given her that monument because he believed in her. Lou Ma would end up like the others. She downed the rest of her drink and kept him from pulling out some cash. "I thought I was paying."
Logan tried to steady her as best he could, "Don't go falling down on me, now...probably wouldn't look too great if I had to carry you back." He'd forgotten she'd promised to pay - a drink and some company, right? It was alright with him, but he still dug in his pockets just in case she didn't meet the tab. Already the alcohol's effects on Logan were dispersing - his healing factor took care of that.
She pulled a few bills from her clevage and left a nice tip next to the empty glasses. She laughed. "My problem isn't worrying about you carrying me back, it's how I'm going to keep you from telling about me falling on my ass." She pushed her chair in and started for the door.
Logan tried not to stare at her chest when she pulled the money out and failed completely. "No way you can keep me," he bragged a little bit, following her to the door, "Maybe if you bribed me somehow, I ain't below that. But I think it'd be funny to spread the word around."
"Bribe, huh?" She looked back at him, smirking. "Bribe's my middle name, what did you have in mind?" She stood with her hand on her hip waiting for him to catch up once she made her way out of the parking lot.
Logan paused. He didn't think she'd actually take him seriously. "Uh...well..." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck, trying to think. He couldn't ask anything too exorbitant - Ororo would kill him in the morning.
"I'm thinkin'," he muttered, glaring away at the ground.