Disclaimer: All X-Men and related characters are property of Stan Lee and Marvel. I claim nothing over them except avid fascination.

As a slave to the Wolverine, I found myself forced to write this story. It's short and abrasive, but it helped a bit. He's still there though, so don't be surprised at the story's content. It's rated Mature for Language and Innuendo.

Displacement- Jean didn't die at Alkali Lake because another was there to take the burden from her shoulders. But, what happens when the two women find themselves victim to the same entity? LoganOC

Chapter Nine- Horrific News

(Logan)

"Ya know, nobody wanted to believe Chuck when he kept reassuring us that you were just acting out of some screwed up self-defense mechanism or some shit," I sat on the bed while she showered in the bathroom that was just feet from the bed. "Kept saying shit about how you 'weren't secure in your surroundins'. I was of the opinion that you were just a stuck up little bitch with a problem. But, I could sympathize with ya, 'specially after bein' part o'Stryker's ultimate plan for such a long time."

I could hear the water running, and the crude part of my brain pictured the water cascading over her body. "Yeah, well for the most part I found ya'll to be the most annoying group of people I've seen since Yuriko invited me to a tea party with her and a turtle," her laugh echoed out and I couldn't help but smile. "Is that why you're up here, Logan? I mean can you honestly say that you love living there and all of that jazz? I bet it's gettin' hot down there though, spring just around the bend. Ever since absorbing Conner, I find that even though I feed off of the sun, I love the cold climate. Never thought that once I managed to make it out of Canada that I'd come back for more," the shower switched off and I imagined that she was drying herself off.

"They mean well though," I shrugged my shoulders as I thought back to the horrible way that she'd treated them. "I still don't agree with t'way that you handled Marie. It ain't her damned fault that you were a crazed bitch that day, ya know. When she heard that you two were a lot alike, ya should've seen the way that she looked at me with hope in those damn eyes."

I could hear her mumbling in the bathroom about deodorant before she let out a soft grunt. "Ya know, the kid looked a bit too young t'me, Logan. Better watch out 'cause statutory rape's a bitch."

"It ain't like that, damn it," I growled as I laid back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "She's like a damned kid to me, a sister or some shit. I met her at a bar actually, one not far from here. I gave her a lift and saved 'er life a few times. She's a good kid," I couldn't help but smile at the thought of how she'd act the moment I'd walk back into those doors.

"Maybe it's just me, but everybody seemed too fake to be real," she walked out of the bathroom in jeans and a bra with her hair wrapped up in a towel. She didn't even glance at me as she shifted through piles of clothes looking for a shirt, apparently. Her body was quite sleek and limber, rock hard in all of the right places, and I could no more deny the fact that I felt a tug toward her at the moment then I could deny the fact that I hated her. "Ororo seemed pretty nice though. I've got to admit that for some reason she made me want to stay and stick things out. But Jean and that fag man of hers?" she frowned at me just before sliding a white t-shirt over her head. "That made me want to throw up. It was disgusting the way that they looked at each other. And then the moment she wasn't looking, he sized me up," she shook her head in disgust.

Curious, I sat up and stretched my limbs a bit as I raised a brow in her direction. "Tightass Scott Summers sized you up?" I cocked my head a bit to the left and sized her up. It wasn't as if I could blame him, but it just didn't fit his perfect personality. "Well I'll be damned," I laughed as I stood up and shook my head. She brushed past me again as she walked back into the bathroom to pull her hair back into some sort of hair tie contraption. "So you've just been up here going from bar to bar?" it was the question that had been burning in the back of my mind since I'd spotted her the night before.

"Basically," she walked out of the bathroom with a Batman toothbrush in her mouth. She brushed a few times before pulling it out of her mouth and shaking her head. "Part of you was still in my mind, and I just came here. Hitched to the border and hiked to the nearest bar. Got lucky enough to win the first night and put myself up in a lovely motel. Been here quite some time though. Reckon it's time to move on," she continued to brush her teeth with a dazed expression in her eyes. She walked back into the bathroom and rinsed out her mouth, returning with the toothbrush in her hand. "So what are your plans?" she asked hesitantly.

She looked so vulnerable that part of me wanted to throw her on the bed and the rest of me wanted to cover her exposed midriff. Settling for a low growl, I shrugged my shoulders. "Have t'go back soon, I suppose," I knew that running away from the problems back at the mansion would only work for so long. "I guess I could-" the sudden ringing of the small communication device that Chuck had given me before I left chirped from my jacket. I strode over to the chair it was slung over and pulled it out.

"Logan? Logan is that you?" Ororo's voice rippled through the fuzzy connection, the worry in her voice evident. "Oh my Goddess, Logan," I could hear her sniffling but couldn't understand.

I glanced up and Eryana's eyes met mine as her eyebrows knitted together in concern. "'Ro, what is it darling?" I said calmly, my heart racing as I feared the worst.

As I listened to the long and twisted story, I realized I was right. It was the worst.

"So what do we do now?" Eryana asked hesitantly almost an hour after I'd hung up the phone with Ororo. We were sitting across from one another in a run down bar, untouched burgers and fries on the platters in front of us. "If you're going back, I'm going with you," she said in a determined voice.

I gripped the beer bottle tightly as I stared at the scarred wood of the table we were sitting at. "I just don't get it, kid. I knew Jeannie was havin' some problems, but it just doesn't seem possible," I choked back a sigh as I shook my head. "She tried to kill Chuck, damn it. He's in a fucking coma and damn Scott's barely hangin' on. 'Ro said it's a wonder any of the mansion survived the attack from fuckin' Mags and his gang," I still couldn't believe the news from Ororo.

Just the night before, possibly while I was fighting Eryana, Magneto and his Brotherhood had attacked the Mansion. He had a lot of newer mutants with him, and the X-Men just weren't able to compete. They had the children to worry about, after all. Apparently Jean had been on the brink of a psychiatric breakdown for some time, and last night the shit really hit the fan. While Magneto worked on getting her over to his side, Scott and Chuck had tried to get her to see the light of day. Needless to say, somehow Mags now had Jean and we were downed a few members.

"Logan, Ororo said something about Jean's split personality?" she tried to guide me out of the guilt trip that I was having. "What did she say?"

"Chuck's been workin' with Jean since Alkali Lake, ya know? Apparently when she strained herself some part of her mind snapped or some shit. All I know is that Jean's been struggling with something inside of her that they refer to as Phoenix," her eyes widened in horror as she dropped her fork on the table. "I know, gay ass name, right? But apparently whatever it is keeps fuckin' Jeannie up, making her do things she wouldn't normally do. Chuck's called it a parasite before, but I don't know. He even called in this furball doctor friend of his, Hank McCoy, but he couldn't figure out what was goin' on either."

Her hands shook slightly as she leaned back in her chair. "Logan, you do realize, of course, that part of this Phoenix thing is in me, don't you?" I could vaguely recall her asking Jean about her gay codename and I frowned. "When she was holding back the wall of water, this orange glow appeared around her hand and in her eyes. Then she just couldn't hold on any longer and I drained her, using the power I'd stolen to hold the water back," her heart rate increased as she gripped the side of the small table.

"So this thing's caused Jean to lose her fuckin' mind and start tryin' t'kill people, does that mean it's gonna make you do that too?" I furrowed my brows as my claws itched to rip something open. "I still don't understand what the fuck 'Ro's talkin' 'bout. Kept sayin' something about the cure and Magneto's ultimate plan."

Her face paled as her gray eyes met mine steadily. "I've always felt like there was something inside of me struggling to break free, Logan. I've always felt like a caged animal, and the feeling only intensified when I found myself at the mercy of Colonel William Stryker. I don't know what this Phoenix bullshit is doing to Jean, but I sure as hell know that it's tried many times to fuck up my life, but I won't let it," she clenched her fists angrily. As always, she was wearing fingerless gloves, this time they were black, and the forefinger and ring finger were not fingerless. "Logan, Conner's psyche is still strong in my mind, but it's because I literally killed him, absorbing his whole life force. But Jean's? It's like she's cackling in my mind right fucking now. She knows what the fuck's goin' on but she won't tell me. It's like a big fucking game of tug-of-war or some shit. It's driving me crazy, but at the same time I think it gives me an edge over poor Jean."

"And why do you say that?" I slugged back the rest of the beer and munched on a fry. "I have to go back for 'Ro and the kids. She thinks that this whole shit with Mags is gonna go down soon, and it ain't gonna be pretty."

Smirking, she drank the rest of her beer in one gulp, her eyes flashing a bright orange as she stared deep into my eyes. "Jeannie may not have been able to fight whatever happened to her, but ya gotta remember that I'm trained to be the perfect weapon, Logan," she flexed her fingers and cracked her knuckles. "I've dealt with people scurrying through my mind for almost a fucking decade. I think I can handle this a lot better than she can," she stood up, pulling the jacket she'd stolen from me over her shoulders. "Besides, if anything, I'll just drain her ass and we can drag her back to the mansion for an autopsy, right?"

Standing up as well, I pulled my jacket on and threw some money on the table. I lit a cigar and took a long drag from it. Since sunrise I'd learned more about her than I ever thought possible. The damned girl had depth, and I found myself wanting to know more about her. She could hold her own, that much I knew. She could get herself killed if she goes one on one with Mags and Jean, I thought to myself before shaking the thoughts away. "If what 'Ro says is true, we may not have a choice. We need t'get back to the mansion before it's too late," she followed closely behind me as we walked out of the bar and toward the bike that I'd conveniently borrowed from Scott when I'd left. "Oh, and you're riding bitch," I laughed under my breath as I straddled the bike and she slid on behind me.

Her chest pressed against my bike as we pulled out of the gravel parking lot and headed down the long road that would lead us back to where I needed to be. "At least you block some of the wind," she yelled in my ear, the wind ripping by us at alarming speeds. Her arms were wrapped tightly around my torso, and I found a smile forming on my lips. It could turn out to be a long trip. "What are your thoughts about sexual acts completed while driving?" she shouted in my ear, causing me to swerve wildly to the right and nearly off the road.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I flipped the switch that Scot had added to the customized bike with a smirk. "I'm open to anything, darlin," I laughed as she gripped my torso tighter.

It would be a long trip back.

A/N: Yes, this storyline completely ignores what happened in X3. I made my own sort of version of the movie. Trust me. Mine's better. Well, I think it's better. This story is just fun. I like it. Be sure to review.