The extremely eventful breakfast at Xavier Mansion was now over, and a flood of mutants, both children and teachers, streamed out of the impromtu cafiteria, to begin their respective schedule for the day.
Loagan and Lorraine were also exiting the dining hall, despite the coffee stains on his shirt, Logan was excuding his customary swagger and picking his teeth.
Lorraine was staring curiously at the mutant population around her, her brown eyes huge with amazment. They stared back at her with equal curiosity.
While most of the crowd veered off into classrooms, Logan led his daughter into a room adjacent to the dining hall. He then threw himself on one of the couches lining the room placed his feet on a coffee table, and much to Lorraines's disgust, lit up another cigar.
Lorraine seated herself by a aquariame that encaspulated exotic looking fish. "Dad, what are we waiting for ?" she asked, after staring at the fish for a few minutes.
"We are waiting for Storm and the Professor, they want to talk to you."
"Me, what did I do?" Lorraine asked.
"You didn't do anything, they just want to get to know you better and try to make you feel comfortable here because some seroius shit goes down in this place, sweetie."
Loraine nodded her head in understanding.
"So are you comfortable here?" Lorraine questioned suddenly.
His desiscion to inhale more toxic brown smoke conveniently stopped Logan from answering his daughter's question.
Lorraine knew that Logan had elected not to answer and she turned back to the fish, " Dad," Lorraine called as she gazed at the multi-colored interlocked scales on the amphibain's back. "What kind of fish are these?"
"I dont have a clue" Logan called back. "Some pretty fish boy, Aqua-man something or the other, gave those to the Professor"
Lorranie laughed. "Pretty fish boy" she said teasingly, Logan smirked back.
Logan laid back on the couch, breathing in his cigar and staring at the polished ceiling, he was drifting off on a mulitude of thoughts, all concerning why in the hell would someone decide to have a ceiling polished, when a sudden thought made him call out to his daughter again.
"Lorraine" he said.
"Yes, Dad," responded Lorraine warily.
" There is one thing about the Proffesor you need to know" Logan said.
One of Lorraine's dark eyebrows rose, "What do I need to know" she asked.
"Don't lie to the Professor, sweetie, he will know if you are lying, or making anything up" said Logan.
"And how will he know,?" said Lorraine.
"He can read minds, Lorraine, and he usally goes through every new kid's mind, just to see if they are safe and not some sort of spy or hit-man".
"Wow, sounds like he is your securtiy system." Lorraine grinned.
"That's right" interrupted a voice from the doorway. "We don't do things by conventional means around here, as you will soon find out, dear."
The speaker in the doorway was Jean Grey. Logan looked at her appreciatively, Jean happpened to be wearing the formfitting leather catsuit emblazoned with an X, that was the battle garb for all X-Men. Jean noticed his wandering gaze and sighed, immedatly regretting her choice of clothing.
Logan remembered all the times he had seen her wearing that suit, all the times he had seen her fight in it. When he had first seen her, the flash of her red hair drew him to her like a moth to flame. And even though the red-eyed cretin was in the way, he admired her at every opportunity possible.
She was strong, tall, unbreakable, gorgeous, Logan's feelings for her were not just driven by the physical, although he would admit that was certainly part of it...
"Logan, I must ask that you stop thinking of Jean in such a manner" said another voice, Logan and Lorriane looked up to see Storm wheeling the Professor in through the doorway.
Lorraine's eyes darted towards Jean's figure, and then traveled back to her father, " Dad!" she hissed in sudden embarrassment. She would have preferred the Professor's telepathy to manifest itself in a different way, rather than having it reveal her father's attraction towards the woman in front of him.
Chares paused, to send a displeased glance Logan's way, but the infuratiang Canadian simply shrugged it off.
"So, my dear, " he began, wheeling himself over to Lorraines's chair, with Jean right behind him, "Would you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"No, I wouldn't mind," Lorraine replied, offering him a small smile.
"I know on the trip over here we never talked, so I want to give you a few introductions" began Charles.
"I think you already know Storm and myself, but this is Dr. Jean Grey" said Charles, indicating Jean.
The redhead shook hands with Lorraine, "It is nice to meet you," said Jean pleasantly.
Jean's sharp grey eyes swept over Lorraine, and the redhead took an inaudible gasp. The nose, the skin the cheekbones and eyes, Logan's face was reflected back in Lorraine's.
Jean had heard the whispers and rumors that had floated down from the breakfast table, and she had been briefed by Storm and Charles, but nothing could have prepared her for seeing the girl whose living presence hinted at a life she never knew Logan had.
The strongest emotion Lorraine produced in Jean at that moment was confusion, Jean thought she had known everyone so well, and Lorraine's appearance had peeled away the tinest bit of the certainty.
Any futher formalities were intrupted as furry, humanoid, blue figure, strode through the doors.
"Proffesor, are you in here?" queried the Beast. "Yes Hank, I am." Charles turned around.
Hank McCoy stopped behind the Professor's wheelchair. "New kid?" he inquired.
"Yes, this one is Logan's daughter." Storm answered.
Much to his credit, Hank took the revalation without blinking an eye, and then turned to face Lorraine, "Hello," he greeted tentatively, extending his hand with a resigned air. He was waiting for her to run away screaming from his appearance as most of the new children did.
"Lorraine, this is Dr. Hank McCoy" Charles introduced, the telepath was watching Lorraine intently, gauging her reaction to one of the more extreme physical mutations, the school, safe haven and splendid as it was, could not be run if anyone was afriad or repusled by anyone else.
Lorraine looked at Hank, her quick brown eyes darting over every blue skin cell and tuft of indigo fur, before she extended her hand and let it be clasped in Hank's titanic azure one.
"Hello, Dr. McCoy. It is an honor to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Teddy?" she said.
Hank laughed a deep and rumbling laugh, "She is a keeper, Professor" he chuckled.
Unoticed by anyone else in the room, a soft smile graced Logan's lips, to know that his daughter was being accepted by his friends (yes, they were his friends, he grudgingly admitted). This released an unatural feeling of belonging in him and just for once, he didn't fight it.
Logan's eyes narrowed to slits when he felt a scrutinizing gaze upon him. He looked up to see that both Charles and Jean had him in their metephorical crosshairs.
Logan knew that they were trying to make sence of the odd emotions emenating from him. In turn, he growled in annoyance. Damn telepathy.
A sharp wail of an alarm jerked Logan out of his thoughts. Storm came towards him, one of her hands pressing her communicator to her ear. She then reached out and grabbed Logan's arm, pulling him out of his recliner, as everyone else stared.
"Logan, there was an accident in the simulation training," she announced drastically, forcefully propelling him towards and out the door. " Rouge is trapped under the control panel. No one can touch her or reach her except for you."
Logan threw his cigar down on the carpet and ran out of the room. Lorraine immediately went and extinguished it with the toe of her boot and then raced down the hall after her father, with Jean and Hank following her.
Father and daughter were obstructed by three hallways, two flights of stairs, and two left turns before they both reached the simulation room. The double doors were hanging ajar, smoke pouring from them, and a weak coughing could be heard coming from inside.
Logan and Lorraine rushed through the warped doors, and found Rouge nearly asphyxiating on the floor, a large portion of the main simulation control hub suspended over her by a weak tangle of wires.
Without hesitation, and before Logan could make a move to stop her, Lorraine darted forward, grabbed Rouge's exposed arms, and dragged her out from underneath the precariously balanced panel, moments before it smashed to the ground.
Rouge stared at Lorraine in shock, Lorraine, who was still holding the girl's arms in a firm grip, looked back at her, uncomprehending Rouge's fear. Rouge stared at Lorraine's hands, feeling the touch of her moderately roughened skin, and realized that her mutation was not poisoning Lorraine.
When that realization finally came to Rouge, she threw her arms around Lorraine and hugged her, and would not let her go. As she clung to Lorraine, Rouge was reassuring herself that Lorraine was real, and not another day-dreamed fantasy, that there really was someone who she could touch.
Hank bounded in at that moment, "What is happening?" he inquired breathlessly.