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Logan was driving the car, cigar in his mouth, and for the first time in years he was really looking forward to coming back to the mansion. He didn't know exactly why he felt this way – maybe it's because this time he didn't leave the mansion on his own will – Storm practically made him do that, unlike the other times when he was leaving the mansion because he felt suffocating. Or maybe it was Mystique that wasn't though the worst company in the world, still she was not the person he wanted to spend two weeks around.
They did spend this two weeks driving and hiking through the whole Canadian border, searching for Magneto's hideouts, but found nothing. At some points Logan started to doubt Mystique's loyalty and her honest wish to help them. Not that she gave him cause though. It's just that the very idea of Mystique helping them didn't seem normal.
"Missing home already?" she asked suddenly.
It wasn't the first time she was reading his thoughts. He started to doubt Jean didn't give Mystique quite the same powers she had. Or maybe he was just obvious – and as unpleasant as it seemed he'd prefer this option better than admitting Mystique can now read thoughts.
"Define 'already'," Logan huffed. "You think two weeks is not enough to start missing home?"
"You used to leave the mansion for moths."
"How d'you know?" the man looked at her suspiciously. "Who told you?"
"I have my ways of getting information," Mystique smirked.
Logan remained silent.
"Don't want to know those ways?"
"No," Logan replied shortly.
"You're lying."
"I won't discuss that with you," the man said, stifling a smile.
Mystique smirked again and looked outside through the window.
"Less snow already… guess there will be no snow at all in Wetchester," she said.
In the mountains it started to snow last week, just as Jean said.
"That Jean girl…" Mystique started again and Logan winced. He couldn't help glancing at her.
"What?" the woman smirked suspiciously. "You've been thinking about her right now, haven't you?"
Logan didn't answer, concentrating his attention on the driving. Mystique huffed.
"You know I've been holding myself from starting this talk through the whole trip," she continued, "because I figured it won't make you feel good…"
"How nice of you," Logan snorted.
"… so for giving you two weeks of comfortable silence…"
"You weren't that silent," the man interfered again.
"you owe me a conversation on this topic now," Mystique finished with a smirk.
"Female logic," Logan couldn't help snorting.
"So?" Mystique looked at him mischievously.
"What?"
"This girl… who is she?"
"A chemistry, physics and biology teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," the man was looking at the road.
Mystique huffed again. "She's a dead ringer for Jean, isn't she? And the name…"
"Her name is Jameela, and I don't think they're that alike," Logan replied swiftly. He knew she's provoking him but still answered. His silence would only make her ask more.
"Why they are, especially when she's wearing a lab gown…"
"Shut up," the man couldn't help it. he clenched the wheel.
He heard Mystique huffed again but didn't look at her.
"Must be so hard for you looking at her… remembering how you killed the one you loved…" the woman didn't do as he asked and continued.
Logan clenched his teeth.
"And she's strong, isn't she? As a mutant, I mean…she can do a lot of things… dangerous things…"
Logan felt Mystique's gaze on his face.
"… imagine what she can do with those powers… what if she herself becomes dangerous one day, huh? What then? Will you kill her too?"
"Don't be stupid! How can her powers be dangerous? Making a gym smell like pine forest, deadly, sure!" Wolverine huffed.
"Pine forest? Ah, ozone… Logan-Logan," the woman shook her head. "Never think in advance, do you? She now easily turns oxygen into ozone, can't she then turn the oxygen into… say… methane? You know what methane is, do you? Or to make it easier, let's say, carbon dioxide… you know what the consequences would be, now do you?"
"Stop saying 'do you'," Logan frowned irritated.
"Well, I'm not sure about your education level, so…"
"I understood! If what you said happens people won't breathe and die…"
"… not only, people, Logan. Mutants too…."
"… so why would she do that, huh? She's not some villain like your Magneto!"
"He's not mine!" Mystique bared her teeth. "And you ask why would she do that? And why did your Phoenix blow those soldiers on Alcatraz into molecules? Because she couldn't control herself!"
Logan clenched the wheel even stronger. He was glad Mystique shut up.
Is that true? That she can be dangerous? … What if she will, then? Just like Jean was. Will he have to kill her too?
The man pressed his lips together.
"She won't lose control," he said out loudly, hoping it will convince him he's right.
Mystique didn't reply.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
It was about 4 pm when they passed the mansion gates. Logan couldn't help smirking happily when he got out of the car. He did miss this place.
"And where's the warm welcome?" Logan huffed when they entered the mansion. The hall was empty.
"What were you expecting? A red carpet?" Mystique smirked.
"That would've been nice…"
"Logan!"
The man looked up at the stairs and saw Kitty and Rogue running down.
"Hey, girls," he smiled as they both hugged him. "Missed me?"
"Always do," Rogue smiled back. "How was your trip?"
"Useless…. Storm didn't tell you? We've been in contact…"
"I know, but she meant maybe it was fun?" Kitty chimed in.
"Yeah, hilarious…"
"Logan! You're back!" it was Storm.
"Yes, we are back, in case you didn't notice," Mystique huffed.
No one responded.
"As I see you're all glad to see me," she continued. "But unfortunately I have to leave you. I'll be in my room if you need me, which of course you will."
With that she headed towards the stairs.
"Did she take offence?" Kitty frowned as the woman left.
Logan snorted.
"Come on, Kat, we need to go back to class," Rogue sighed.
"Crap… but yeah, we do. Boys won't handle those ten years kids for long," Kitty nodded without any enthusiasm. "See you, Logan! It's nice that you're back."
"Are those small kids really that bad?" Logan frowned disbelievingly. "They're not in my classes…"
Ororo chuckled. "I asked them to behave that way. Our interns should learn it hard way."
Logan laughed, throwing his head back. "Who would have thought?"
"So the trip was useless then?" Storm looked at him, changing the topic.
"Looks like it…"
"I should have known…" Ororo shook her head. "He's too careful… but I was hoping…" she trailed of and sighed. "Plus…. That's the only idea I had. Knowing that Magneto's out there and having no idea what he will do next… or when… that's just too much for me."
"Hey, cheer up, we'll figure something else out," Logan patted her cheek. "And you're not alone, we're all here for you."
Storm smiled, "thank you."
"Okay, I'll go upstairs too, desperately need shower!" Logan smirked.
"See you later, then. Have some rest," the woman smiled.
Logan headed upstairs but stopped and bit his lip, considering. then he turned around and headed trough the passage to the elevator.
"Hey, kid, looks like you didn't turn them into chemistry braniacs, kept your promise well!" he said loudly when he entered the lab. "Kid?"
The laboratory was empty. Logan looked around and after a minute left the room.
The first one he saw when he came back into the hall was Pete.
"Hey, kid! Long time no see," Wolverine smirked.
The guy didn't respond. He seemed absorbed in his thoughts and it didn't look like these thoughts were pleasant.
"Pete?"
"Oh, Logan," he snapped back to reality. "Hi… came back already?"
"Uh-huh… have you seen Jean? I thought she's in the lab…"
"Jean?" Pete pressed his lips together. "oh, she's not here."
"You mean?" Logan didn't like that sarcastic tone.
"She's with Warren. Hanging out somewhere," the guy snapped and left without saying more.
"Oh…" Wolverine was taken aback. "o-kay then… later…"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Couple of hours later Logan left his room. Shower and the whole atmosphere of the mansion made him feel better but now he was starving.
On his way he sensed a familiar smell and clenched his teeth. When he entered the kitchen he saw Jean looking for something in the fridge. His steps made her turn her head.
"Logan?" she smiled widely, let go of the fridge door and rushed to him. but stopped abruptly couple of feet before him and blushed slightly. "You're back…" her smile became a bit awkward.
The man didn't respond.
"Storm told me it was all useless… I mean the trip," Jean crossed her arms, stepping back from him.
"Yes, we found nothing."
"We'll find some other way to find him, don't worry," Jean smiled comfortingly.
"I don't."
Jean's smile faded. "Everything okay?"
"Had a good time with Warren today?" Logan tilted his head.
"With Warren? Oh… found my love," the girl chuckled.
"What?" Wolverine frowned.
"What?" Jean frowned too.
"Found love? With Warren?"
"With Warren?" the girl raised both eyebrows. "I meant…"
"You know, kid, that's not very good of you," Logan interrupted. "First you flirt with one guy and then go out with another…"
"flirt?" Jean frowned but the man wouldn't hear her out.
"Have you seen Pete today? The kid's broken and you say you 'found love' with Warren!"
"Logan, I…"
"You think just because we can't defeat Magneto without your help, unfortunately, you can treat us like trash?" Wolverine asked angrily.
"Logan, shut up and let me speak!" Jean snapped.
The man raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I wasn't on a date with Warren! He just offered to show me his Dad's chemistry facility and I agreed…"
"Well I bet that wasn't all that the boy planned," Logan huffed.
"that's what I planned!" the girl snapped again, this time even angrier. "And even if it wasn't so, what's your deal?"
"My deal is that Pete didn't deserve that!"
"Yeah, and you care about him so much you blame me without even hearing me out first!" she crossed her arms. "Nice daddy attitude."
Logan looked away.
"Anything else you want to tell me?" Jean asked. "How 'bout 'I'm sorry, kid'?"
"Yeah, sure," the man snorted. "I've nothing to apologize for."
"If… if Pete's the main problem, then I assure you I'll talk to him and…" Jean started now less angrily.
"What? Flirt with him?"
"I'm not flirting with him!"
"Kid, don't offend anyone here, understood?" Logan looked at her meaningfully.
"Was there a precedent?" the girl raised an eyebrow.
"And there better don't be one. See you later."
Though he was still hungry he didn't want to stay here. He didn't feel too sorry for starting this conversation – Warren wasn't the right one for Jean anyways, she should know that – but at the same time this conversation spoiled that expected moment of coming back.
"Logan, where're you going?" Ororo was walking towards him.
"Need to vent."
"You came back couple of hours ago," the woman looked surprised. "'Sides, you have a defense class now…"
"I can take a day off, can't I?"
"And the class?"
"Our interns will do just fine on their own," Logan passed by the woman.
"Will you come back?" she asked almost desperately.
"of course I will," the man stopped and looked at Storm. "Later, I promise."
"Have a nice… vent," Ororo smiled slightly.
Logan huffed and headed towards the exit.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Next morning he was the first one to have a breakfast. After making the biggest sandwich he could possibly make he sat onto one of the stools when Pete entered the kitchen.
"Morning, kid," Logan greeted him.
"Uh-huh," the guy opened the fridge and looked in.
"You okay?" Logan was surprised by his brief answer and rude tone but then remembered what happened yesterday. "She shouldn't have done that…"
"You let her do that," Pete interfered.
"What?" the man frowned.
"It was really nice of you to bail on us without even telling us!" Pete shut the fridge door and turned to Logan. The man raised his eyebrows in surprise – his left eye was black.
"What are you saying? And what's under your eye?"
"that's the defense class we had yesterday. It was unbelievable!"
"You didn't manage to do proper settings in the Danger Room on your own?"
"We weren't alone. Mystique was kind enough to fill in for you," Pete opened a cupboard with one swift move.
"Mystique?"
"Uh-huh. That woman is insane."
"You were battling her?"
The guy nodded shortly.
"And she managed to hurt steel?" Logan raised an eyebrow. "Not bad."
"She wouldn't let us use our powers," Pete snapped.
"What d'you mean?"
"Right what I said. She said we need to learn to defend ourselves even if we lose our powers. So she was practically beating us without any reaction from our side."
"Morning guys," Kitty's voice came from the entrance and a second later she came in.
"You hurt?" Logan noticed four thin scratches on her left cheek.
"Nah, s'okay… I simply fazed through her, didn't intend to stand that for long," the girl waved her hand. "How's she?" she looked at Pete.
"More or less fine. Asleep now," he asked shortly.
"Who are you talking about?" Wolverine raised an eyebrow.
"Jean," Kitty sighed.
"What's with her?" the man tensed. "Did Mystique beat her too?"
"Looked like for her it was something personal with Jean," Kitty huffed.
"And you didn't stop her?" Logan looked at Pete with anger.
"I couldn't! she used Danger Room to isolate us from each other."
Logan rushed out of the kitchen and ran towards Jean's room. When he came in he saw her in her bed, lying on the right side and covered with a blanket until her neck. The man came up to her and bent down to examine her face closer.
There was a small piece of plaster right under her lip. That was the only damage he could detect. He raised an eyebrow sarcastically. The kids definitely over dramatized.
In that moment Jean rolled over in her sleep, threw away a corner of the blanket, now her right cheek and arms were visible. Logan's eyes narrowed.
There were two pieces of plaster on her right temple and a small part of the wound still showed. Her whole cheekbone was dark-blue. Logan knew those kinds of injuries well – that's how one will look after he was thrown against a wall. The man examined her arms – the bruises were there too, they were in forms of palms – like someone grabbed the girl by arms with too much power. And he even knew who that might be. Wolverine bared his teeth.
His eyes spotted three cuts and his grin faded. The scratches looked not more than couple of days old though it's been already two weeks.
The man rushed through the passage and shut the door of Mystique's door open.
"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.
"Wolverine? What a nice surprise but I'm naked," Mystique smirked.
"You always are. What did you do yesterday?"
"Filled in for you in a defense class. You can thank me by the way."
"For beating the kids?" Logan snapped.
The woman's smile faded. "I was trying to explain that without powers mutants can sometimes be helpless."
"You could have explained it using words!"
"Visual example works better. Especially on that Jean girl… Jesus, she might be smart but definitely not tough."
Logan bared his teeth.
"If you ever hurt Jean or any other kid, I swear, I'll kill you," he said clearly, looking straight into her eyes.
"And you will have to deal with Magneto without me," the woman looked back.
"I'd rather do that."
SOOOO? Reviews please! The next chapter is almost done so the faster you review, the faster you'll get it=)
