Chapter Seven
Logan did not have to like her. Yeah, she was magnetic. Yeah, she was a hardass like him. Yeah, she was stunningly beautiful in a natural way. But he did not have to give a damn. He could focus on Jean's death, the woman who he had never had, who did not want him back. Logan growled.
Nell heard. She glanced at him, her blue eyes half hidden by her lashes, before she fell in behind Storm. He followed, willing himself not to check out her figure again. He could do this by looking down at the unconscious Marie in his arms and recalling that she might not be hurt at all if he had not been checking out Mystique's other skills, the real reason he did not want to heal his girl. She would never forgive that betrayal – hell, he would never – but he could not let her down.
He did not have to be a part of this debriefing. He strode right past Scooter without acknowledging him and carried Marie to her room. He was beginning to reconsider the healing idea when Xavier called him. He shook his head.
Now, Logan.
He growled again but relented and found himself in Xavier's office. Storm had her leg propped up on an ottoman and it was swelling spectacularly. That was his fault too, Logan reckoned.
"How is Rogue?" The Professor inquired.
"She'll be fine. Just a bump on the head."
Xavier eyed him but Logan did not feel any mental snooping. A glance at Nell confirmed she was watching him as well. He could not read her eyes.
"I'm worried that Erik will retaliate his loss," Xavier said. "He has not handled losing a target well in the past."
"Losses," Nell corrected.
"I'm sorry. What do you mean?"
"The firecracker. I took him out." She looked at Logan. "Did you finish Mystique?"
He shook his head.
Xavier sat up straighter. "You did your best. You had friends to take care of." He paused, his countenance dark, and Logan knew he was thinking about Pyro, but he went on. "Now, Surge, how do you know Mystique?"
Nell laughed, harsh and short. "She stole my boyfriend. She and Erik were on the outs for a while, so she entertained herself with mine."
Xavier frowned. "This was a few years ago."
Nell smiled. "A few."
"You've met Erik then?"
"Briefly. Charming that one. I have no idea why you guys don't like him. He's only been plotting world domination since he was wet behind the ears."
Logan grinned. Humor. Attitude. But he did not have to like her. Scooter was smirking; he could use a laugh.
"Do you share my worry?"
Nell shrugged. "He may go after a bigger fish. I don't know what he wanted me for. I don't know why he didn't come himself instead of sending his lackeys. Either he's busy or he knew I'd never agree – in which case, he meant to distract you from what he's really up to. Neither is good."
Scott stepped forward. He had shaved and he was wearing his uniform. Where exactly had he and Charles been today? He addressed Surge. "How much power can you generate?"
Nell met Scott's eyes. The lights in the room dimmed almost to nothing. Logan felt his hair rising again as he watched her eyes begin to glow. She was not smiling. She was establishing dominance. He had to grin at her attitude.
"Depends on how much is around," she answered finally. The lights recovered. She gave herself a shake and he swore he saw a blue streak dance down her arm. "I like electricity."
Scott turned to Xavier. His voice was steady and his back straight. For the first time in weeks, he was more than a shadow of his former self. Logan wondered, just for a moment, if Xavier had been messing around in Scooter's head, or if the boy had finally quit licking his wounds and decided to be a man again.
"Do you think there's a possibility Magneto wants to use her like he used Rogue?" Scott asked the Professor.
"I don't know. I don't know what he's planning. John was not aware of the larger plan when I read him through Cerebro and now he's…gone."
Xavier did not seem to be coping well with the death of one of his former students. Nell showed no signs of regret. Logan had none. The kid had been a loose cannon and had meant to murder Marie. They were all better off to stop thinking of him as a child. Pyro chose his fate when he defected.
"I need some time to consider our position. We should have a day at least. Kurt, if you would help Storm to the infirmary. And you, Scott, if you'll show Surge to her quarters. And Logan –"
"I'll check on Rogue," he declared. No argument.
Nell noticed the tension on Xavier's face. Her amusement was evident without a smile. She followed Scott out and Logan went next.
Scott strolled down the main hall. "You going to heal her?" he called to Logan as they all moved in the same direction.
"She's got enough of me in her head."
"I figured that out weeks ago," said Scooter with a chuckle.
"She isn't hurt bad." He passed them on the stairs.
"How long has she been unconscious?"
"Anybody else and I couldn't help them." Logan took off down the upstairs hall.
"Anybody else wouldn't be Rogue," Scott said matter-of-factly.
Nell was looking amused again, but she kept her mouth shut and when she met his eyes, he saw uncertainty. She was worried. About Rogue?
"Here. You can stay here."
Logan stopped at the end of the hall where Marie's room was. She was still out when he opened the door and debated, but he could not do it. He glanced up the hall, expecting to see that One Eye was still watching him, but the corridor was empty. He turned and went into his own room, shed his uniform as quickly as he could, and collapsed on his bed.
Nell followed Scott into the bedroom and glanced around. The bed was a full-size, covered in navy blue dressings which matched the draperies and the upholstery on an armchair that sat by a small desk at the window. The desk and the dresser matched the stain of the wooden paneling that covered the walls and the floor. This school was appearing more and more strange at every turn.
Scott skirted around her to switch on the lamp in the corner. Nell went to the window and parted the drapes. Night had fallen completely, but when she turned off the lights and went to bed, the starlight would shine in. Scott glanced at the window and crossed back to the door, looking around. He popped his head out into the hall.
"Lose something?" she asked.
"Where's your stuff?"
Nell huffed. "By now, probably spread out in itty bitty pieces across highway 19. That little firestarter was not the brightest crayon in Magneto's box. When he blasted my jeep, he bulls-eyed the gas tank." She laughed. "Knocked his car off the road too."
Scott stared, the ghost of a smile slipping across his face at the last part. He was standing near the door now, his hands behind his back like some soldier at ease. He looked her up and down. "So the clothes on your back…"
"Are all that I have left."
Nell looked over herself. The flannel shirt was not the worst, but her white tank top, actually a man's undershirt, was holey in several spaces, decorated with little black circles. Her jeans were the worst. Until now, she had not realized there was a patch missing from one leg, just below her right hip, that was roughly six inches square; the flannel shirt covered it most of the time. Her boots were fine. She did not remember buying flame-retardant boots, but the steel-toe had come in handy while cutting firewood.
Scott was still looking at her. She might have called him on it if it were not for the troubled look on his face. He was not checking her out as much as her wardrobe, unlike the one with the claws. "I may have some things you can wear, if they'll fit you, until you can get more…"
Now it was the distressingly stoic expression on his face that kept her from making a quip about his cross-dressing tendencies. Nell poked her finger through a hole in her flannel shirt and wiggled it at him, smiling ruefully. "If you don't mind," she said.
"Follow me."
He led her further down the hall, past the rooms of Logan and Rogue who she could smell, and around the corner, to the last room. He did not hesitate when he opened the door but he waited a few seconds before he followed her in. Here the drapes were completely closed as well. The room was almost pitch black until he turned on a small bedside lamp and began shuffling through one of two matching dressers.
Nell studied the window. Beneath the heavy maroon drapes, she could discern the edge of a lighter paisley print of curtain sticking out here and there. "Is it your eyes? Does the light bother your eyes?"
Scott paused for a moment but did not look up. "No."
This one was a strange one. Yeah, the Wolverine was odd, but as much as he did not say with words he said with gesture and expression, making it painfully obvious how he felt and what he thought at any given moment. It was an honesty she appreciated. This one was not all that different; his emotions and thoughts were revealed in the absence of gesture, in what felt like a wake of silence that traveled around him. Scott held up a nightgown and the gold on his finger flashed. Nell sighed. She was beginning to discern the outline of a very large hole in this world, a void in the shape of a woman.
Scott turned and showed her the nightgown. She nodded that it would fit and watched him toss it onto the bed. He went back to the drawer but with less vigor. Nell walked over to the bed and looked down at the plain black nightgown, thin straps, soft cotton. She smiled.
"She never wore it, did she?"
Scott stopped. He turned slowly, and she could not tell with the visor where he was looking but she doubted it was at her. "Only a few times. It's fairly new. I think one of the girls gave it to her as a wedding present."
The last words died as they came out. Nell dug her hands into her jeans pockets, only to find one pocket was bottomless and her fingers came out at her thigh. She sighed again. "You don't have to do this. I'm sure I can borrow something from Storm or Rogue for a day or two. I don't want—"
"It's all right," he interrupted quietly. "She's never going to wear them again."
His chest sank on the last sentence, sank like a hillside caving in. The words were choked with the effort of holding back tears. She did not suppose he wanted to cry in front of a stranger, but the way he took a deep breath and tried to stand a little straighter suggested he was tired of crying.
"Jean?" Nell asked. Then she saw the picture on the nightstand. It was lying on its back but she could see the photograph, the white of the wedding dress and the red hair of the woman in it. Her smile was incredible.
Scott only nodded.
Nell glanced at the nightgown again. She could not imagine appearing in front of all these people in the morning in that woman's clothes, like a walking reminder of who they were all still mourning. She had been in mourning too many times herself. "The nightgown is enough, really. I can wash these clothes. I'll take care of it." She reached out and patted his shoulder as if this might reinforce her point.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Really, it's not important."
"For earlier. I didn't mean to step on your toes."
Nell shrugged. "I didn't mean to come off like a bitch. It's just been a long day."
"It's been a long year."
"But we're still here."
He was definitely looking at her now. "Do we get points for that?"
She met his hard gaze. "Yeah, I think it counts for something."
"It shouldn't have happened, that's all."
"History of the world, pal."
Scott studied her, the corners of his mouth finally tweaking in what was barely a smile. What was he thinking? The smile subsided. He picked up the nightgown and handed it to her. "You killed Pyro."
"I'm beginning to think he was a friend of you people."
"Not anymore. Friends don't leave each other to die." The words seemed to hit him as he said them. His posture betrayed he was lost in thought where Nell could not read his eyes.
She left him staring forward, presumably at nothing, and wandered back up the hall to the room where she would be sleeping until she figured out what the hell she was going to do about this new development. She had to like these people. They were honest, good people. She had not had so much human contact at once in four or five years, hiding out like a pathetic hermit in her little cabin, nursing her wretched little broken heart. She was better than that. The time for hiding out, for healing, was done; it was time to come back into the world of the living. It was ironic, in a way, she thought, because some of these people seemed to be just emerging back into that world themselves, and if Magneto was after her, she was not going to be in a position that would endanger any of them.
All right...What are you thinking so far? Do you want to keep reading? Do you want to tell me why?
