Disclaimer: Please revisit the first chapter [Status], thanks.


Chapter Four: Old Friends

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Coppernite stood slowly. The sound of a familiar voice shouting had allowed her to focus and fight off the lingering effects of the sedative. She was still slightly groggy when she made her third run at Cyclops, but this time stopped halfway.

Logan immediately stepped in front of Scott, preventing her from getting to the team leader without going through him first. He couldn't guarantee it, but his gut told him she would stop, or so he hoped. The others stood where they were, Ororo moved as if to join him or pull him back, but he glanced at her and shook his head.

She halted a few feet away and stood there, looking first at Logan, then at Scott, then at the others who were all looking right back at her. Turning on her heal, she walked over to the opposite wall and watched them all from there as she waited for them to do something. Since she had spent the entire time she had been here in the medi-lab, she had no idea where else to go, and she wasn't about to go back into the medi-lab, they weren't her favorite places.

Everyone just stood there momentarily unsure of what to do. One second there was an angry mutant charging at them, and the next she was on the other side of the room staring at them warily. Xavier looked up at Logan expectantly, "knowing there's no love lost between Scott and yourself, why is it you chose to block our guest's path when Jean could have easily created a defensive psionic field?"

"Yeah Red's field would've worked, but it wouldn't stop Copper from trying repeatedly. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got better things to do today instead of hiding behind a bubble." Logan replied gruffly, "figured I'd tell her somethin' she'd get the first time around".

"I see, fair enough," he replied "you are all dismissed. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my study looking over some." Moving out of the room he left them standing all on the one side of the danger room. Moira went over to Coppernite and then left for the medi-lab, followed by Hank. Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Bishop, and Jubilee all left for their respective rooms to take showers and change into regular clothes. This left Jean, Scott, and Logan in an uncomfortable silence.

"Well," Logan said to break the silence, "I better get up there an' take a shower too, before the Cajun uses up all the hot water again."

"Logan wait." Scott said as he was half way out the door.

"What up, One-Eye?" He said, turning back to face the two of them.

"Why did you step in front of me like that? We both know that despite our mutual goals as X-Men, you'd rather I wasn't part of the picture."

"Eh?"

"Look, the Professor was right; she did stop right when you stepped in front of me, and I want to know why. What is it that made her stop for you but not for the rest of us?"

"Like I said, I didn't want to spend the entire day down here, how should I know what's going on in her head and making her stop an' go?" Logan said, turning back to try and leave again.

"Sure, and you want us to believe that? You do know," Jean said suddenly, "that's why you did it."

"Tell me, please." Scott said, but it sounded a bit more like a command.

Logan just walked out the door seemingly ignoring them, but as he left they heard him say "she doesn't know you".

‹◊›

The next morning, Professor X, Storm, and Beast were sitting in the observation room once more. They had decided to try and test her again, but this time it would be her response to Logan. It occurred to them that, for presumably never knowing or seeing each other before (they didn't talk about each other or even try to talk to the other), the two of them both acted strangely around each other as if following an unwritten code. They were enjoying their morning coffee (or Professor Xavier's case, tea) while waiting for Moira to arrive any minute with Coppernite, this way they might be able to talk with her a bit and get to know her more, so far she said very little.

"That was particularly interesting yesterday, the way her skin changed." Hank said.

"Yes," Ororo agreed, "very similar to our friend Colossus."

"I wonder why though, it seemed to take such an effort for her, when Colossus barely has to think about it and he changes; with no effort at all." He responded, rubbing is chin as he thought.

The two of them continued their friendly chatter, moving on to other topics while the Professor read the morning's newspaper. Soon, however, a soft knock on the door announced the arrival of Dr. MacTaggart and Coppernite. Their conversation ended and Xavier put down his paper to smile up at the two of them.

"Good morning." He said kindly. "Please, have a seat."

She just stood there, looking at him silently. It was clear she still didn't trust them and their motives; whatever they might be they always had ulterior motives, but she was willing to listen.

"It's alright, really. Nobody in here is going tae hurt ye." Moira said softly, sitting down in a chair near the professor.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked her, offering her the tray of hot drinks.

"Fine." She replied shortly, declining the offer.

"Well, that's good to hear."

By the time Logan arrived they had discovered very little about her, but what they did learn about her abilities they found quite interesting. Not only was her entire skeletal system laced with a previously unknown copper isotope, but that she was also able to control the copper in her body allowing her to create a protective shield within her skin in a manner almost identical to Colossus'. After a few demonstrations they continued on. They didn't learn exactly how that worked though, and they weren't about to run any tests on her at the moment. Instead, they would try and keep this as friendly and casual a conversation as possible until Logan came down.

Back in the danger room again, Coppernite waited. She had taken a brief look around and concluded that it was indeed the same room she was in yesterday. Muttering under her breath about dying of boredom, she stood on her guard the entire time, claws extended from their hollow casings. At last, at the sound of the door opening directly across from her, she looked up to see Wolverine standing in front of the door. As he walked towards her she sheathed her claws, stopping directly in front of her they stared at each other for long moment. Then out of nowhere they were gripping the other's forearm, a gesture of mutual respect and camaraderie.

"Coppernite." He said, tipping his head slightly but not breaking eye contact.

"Wolverine." She replied, doing the same. They released their grip and each took a step back.

Back up in the observation room, the four of them were slightly taken aback by what they just saw, and confused. "Would anyone like tae fill me in on what's going on here?" Moira asked peeved. "He's known her all along?"

"It would appear as if they already know each other, wouldn't it." Hank said.

"Well I figured that much." She replied, "But how, where from do ye reckon?"

"If I had to guess, the same way he's known long Sabretooth before he came here and joined the X-Men, but this doesn't seem too violent, thank the Goddess." Ororo thought out loud.

"Nae, nae it don't." Moira acknowledged. "Well then, could they know each other from the Weapon X program? I mean, if they were both in it then surely they would know one another, even though this hasn't been like other Weapon X reunions..." She said, leaving it unfinished.

"What do you think Professor?" Hank asked.

"I think you're all right on this. They must know each other, and it all makes sense when you look at the little things." He started. "Logan's reaction when she woke up, yesterday when she stopped her attack and went to the opposite wall when he stepped between her and Scott, and what's going on in front of us... they definitely know each other, and probably from Weapon X like you said." Xavier finished, "but one thing I don't get," he added, "Logan can barely remember anything from that except as nightmares or when provoked with something extremely similar. Sometimes even then he still can't remember, so why is it he remembers her?" He sat there thinking for a moment before they were distracted by what was going on in the room below them.

"How can you trust 'em? Surely you've seen their labs, you know what that's ended in for us before!?" She asked angrily. The two of them were circling each other as if ready to attack, but both had their claws still sheathed, this was purely vocal.

"They're...." Logan trailed of, unable to think of a word.

"They're what?" she snapped, "They're like the others, like our good friends at Weapon X?!"

"They're different!" He snapped back, clearly getting frustrated at her stupidity; couldn't she see and accept the fact that all they'd done was to help her? Why was she being so damn dense!?!

"Oh right, 'different', but still with an examining table and scalpels just waiting to cut you open and find out what makes you tick!" She scoffed.

"No!" He half shouted, "That's enough."

"Really? I thought you couldn't remember any of that, huh! What then, what makes them different from the others?!"

"They're family, they stay by each other's side when no one else will, sharing a dream they'd each lay down their lives for." He said quietly.

The two of them stopped circling each other immediately, both looking down, away from the other. He had known all these years that the team was like an extended family to some and the only family to others but he never actually spoke the words, acknowledged their true meaning, the meaning they had for him.

"It ain't another Weapon X program." He spoke at last, looking over at her. "I swear"

"How can I trust them?" She asked.

"You trust me, and I trust 'em with my life. Besides, they start to grow on you after o' while." He admitted with a halfhearted grin.

She still didn't look up at him; unsure of what to do she gazed absently into space, trying to decide whether to escape while she could, or stay and risk looking to find meaning.

"I'll stay" she whispered, slowly looking up at last.

"Well, I'd definitely say that they've known each other." Beast said

The three of them just looked at him, still baffled by what they had just now seen. With a smile on his face, Charles Xavier replied, "Yes, they most certainly have."


Okay, now you get to review and tell me what you think of it so far. Off you go!