"Stop patronizing me!"
The minute child glared at just about every superior and older kid in her presence. Logan could only smirk with pride as he sat in a chair, finishing a cigar. Shortie was dressed in a subtle pin stripped suit, colored black. Her fiery red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and to top it all off, she wore glasses with a square frame. There was even a little black umbrella in her hand. Initial designs for her costume absolutely mortified Logan; with inspiration drawing from within and without the estate, every outfit was either skin tight, skimpy, or both. Obviously his daughter protested him, but he ruled that she must wear something conservative. So, she wore a suit.
She looked like a tiny executive, and it melted the hearts of Jean and Ororo. Charles was perhaps the most excited though he internalized his joy. When she first stepped out for them to see, they so loudly proclaimed their adoration, students overheard them and decided to see what the fuss was all about. Her face was almost as red as her hair at this point. She balled her fists and closed her eyes, her head hanging down.
"Hey, brat, you're getting flustered in the living room, what are you gonna do when fifty men are tryin' to kill ya?" Logan smirked again.
"This is different! Besides, I've been trained enough, I can take you all!"
Again the laughter filled the entire mansion. She had validity to her claims, though. It had been over a year since her proclamation of her wishes to join the X-Men. In that time, Logan had stayed for most of it, but did have to leave her when he had to go. Still nothing quite as drastic as leaving for an entire year. Since her studies were more than satisfied, she was able to devote countless hours to training. Logan had been her primary teacher, giving her the fundamentals of numerous martial arts styles. Obviously she was far from a master in any branch, but she had basic proficiency enough for him to be more relaxed with her fighting (well, as relaxed as he could be). There was even time spent in the danger room, under his heavy supervision. From screaming at every strike to being able to jump off of an enemy's blade and kick them in the jaw before flipping and landing on her feet, he had to admit she made impressive progress.
But her personality hadn't changed a bit.
Logan decided that she suffered enough, so he abruptly walked to her and picked her up, then left the building. He set her down after she utterly demanded it. Her blue eyes outshone the morning sun with matching intensity. The surly man went to his knees so that the two were level.
"You sure you're ready, darlin'? You can wait longer, ain't no shame in that."
"I'm sure, daddy."
"You remember everything Harry told you about the suit?"
With a faint smile, she dreamily and emptily stared at the sky.
"What do you think? Nice?" Logan asked his child.
"It's pretty rainy."
"Get used to it, it's England."
His large hand held her little one as they walked through the puddle laced sidewalks. The overcast skies and long plane ride had killed any enthusiasm she had. Previously she was excited to finally be getting her costume, but the mood was so... glum.
In her lethargic fog she hadn't noticed that they had entered a store. Paying attention to her surroundings, she noticed many rolls of fabric on the walls and half mannequins wearing suit jackets. She turned her head completely and read the backward text on the window. There was no familiarity to the name.
"Logan, wonderful to see you on such a lovely day."
A man, wearing a suite likely from this very store, approached the two. He had a gentle face with a strong jawline, dark brown, reddish hair parted in the side, and thick glasses. Logan smiled and hugged the man, claiming that it had been too long since they had seen one another. After less than a minute of friendly banter, the stranger glanced at the young girl hiding behind her father's leg. Giving his friend a nod, he knelt down to her.
"Hello, Miss, I do believe we have not been previously acquainted. My name is Harry, what is yours?"
"... I'm Shortie."
"Shortie? A lovely name for a lovely lady. I have been quite good friends with your father for quite some time, and had only recently heard about you. You wish to attain a suit so that you can aid your father and his friends in combat, am I correct?"
She nodded, coming fully from behind Logan's leg. He chuckled, glad that she wasn't as shy.
"Well then, if you two would follow me, I think we already have your suit ready."
He rose to his feet. Glancing down to the small girl, he noticed that her hand was outstretched above her head, so he took it within his own. Both adults noticed the demure smile on her face that was born of the contact. With his lead they went into a dressing room
"Now, Shortie, I wish to tell you the significance of the hand. Worthy of both creation and destruction. A hand can welcome brotherhood with a simple and firm shake, or it can incite war if clenched and thrown with force. Now- what are you doing?"
Her shirt was off and her pants were around her ankles, leaving her undies to be her only means of decency. Logan blushed profusely, blubbering to explain his daughter's nudity.
"We are in a dressing room, I'm sorry I assumed." She huffed, begrudgingly getting dressed again.
"Well then, as I was saying, the hand can be either good or evil, depending on its application. But I'm sure you've learned that long ago. Instead, you might be impressed by what my hand can do here."
He firmly placed his hand upon the long mirror, and without warning, the floor began receding, leaving the walls behind. Shortie clung to Harry's leg, feigning fear. It took less than a minute to reach their destination. Again with the Englishman's lead, the two reached a room full of gadgets and shoes. A golden lighter caught her eye, so her fingers worked their way around it and nearly into her pocket, but the rushed motions from Harry prevented that from happening.
"Appealing, I know, but extremely dangerous," He placed it back, "these aren't working well yet; there are too many bugs. For all we know, you're lucky it didn't explode in your hand. I do promise that when they are working well, perhaps you will find it as a birthday present. Anyway, your suit."
It was neatly hung on the wall. Harry handed the suit to Logan, who was impressed by the simple design. Harry explained that it was bulletproof and would protect her in crossfire. While talking, he also pulled out an umbrella, which he stressed her to be careful with. He opened it, and went on his knees, pulling Shortie next to him, as he showed her what each feature did. Needless to say she was impressed and excited.
After she had been told all she needed to know, they ascended the elevator and were again in the store. The men talked for a few minutes, catching up on things. Logan had informed him of the events that transpired with certain bastards making life harder. He paused briefly to send his daughter to another part of the store before continuing, telling his friend of leaning his paternity to the child, and the situations with Laura and Dakken. Harry had heavy of heart news to share as well, for his protege had recently died, over a year ago, due to his sloppiness on a mission. The man, dubbed Lancelot, died protecting him and his comrades. The saddest part of the story was that he left behind a wife and a young son, about Shortie's age. The men decided to speak of lighter topics before ending the conversation.
When they waved goodbye, Shortie's eyes secreted water against her own wishes. Humbled, Harry again went down to her level, gently grasping her chin between his forefinger and thumb. His other hand delicately wiped away her tears.
"Listen now, love, you needn't cry over this. We're simply saying goodbye... for now. This definitely will not be the last time we are in each others company, I can at least assure you that. I am very grateful to have met your acquaintance today, Shortie. Your father has every right to be proud of you."
He even kissed the top of her head. Logan was glad that his friend was so accommodating to his daughter's odd nature. The young girl had ceased her tears, and finally looked Harry in the eye
"Before we go, could you and I become friends... by going to lunch together?"
"..." Logan could not even muster the words.
"I suppose it would be rude of me to deny such a request. Alright, then, let us all go to lunch together. There's a McDonald's down the street."
"Hey, brat! You listening?"
"Oh, sorry. Yeah, bulletproof suit, umbrella that's the lovechild of Bond and Bauer."
"What were you thinking of?"
Eating fries and a milkshake while sitting upon Harry's lap as her father somewhat stared with jealousy was not the best answer, so she wrote it off as nothing and demanded that they leave already.
Wasting no more time, they went to the garage. His beloved motorcycle waited for him, sitting beautifully. They both got on, and after he was certain her grasp around her waist was secure, he started the motor. Ororo happened to be walking by, and immediately she was next to the duo, who blankly stared at her. The woman had her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.
"You think that's safe for her, Logan?"
"I'm with her, she's fine. Don't get jealous cause she's on here, darlin'."
And they were off.
The two were finally in the city. He hadn't any idea where she would start, but he decided that she was more than eager to go anywhere when she hopped off of his stationary bike and ran through the streets. She dodged the oncoming traffic from the opposite lane, but narrowly, and it nearly gave him a heart attack. The memories in Times Square were never normal for Logan.
"MEET ME HERE AT FIVE, DADDY! I'LL SEE YOU, LOVE YOU!"
"YOU TOO!"
He shook his head as he left, fearing for her safety but trusting her strength. Meanwhile, she walked around a bit, noticing that not much was happening. She walked past a large window in which she caught her reflection. In her suit with her glasses and umbrella, she could not help but admire her own image. Thankfully she wasn't so fully enamored with it that she could see the oncoming debris headed toward the glass. As everybody else did, she dove for the ground and narrowly missed getting hit.
The Green Goblin was blasting buildings on his board, letting all sorts of debris flying all about. Venom was also running around, striking down many of the innocent. Juggernaut caused most of the collateral damage on the ground, ramming through with an agenda unknown to any. Other bastards flew and ran about, somehow all with the plan to terrorize the city on the exact same day at the exact same time; many were arguing with one another, fighting for the rights to dog on everybody at the moment. Many buildings were aflame with helicopters hovering around them. It was a clusterfuck of critical mass.
"Well... Maybe I'll help that old lady cross the street," She turned on her heel, literally leaving the scene behind her, "Yeah, small steps. I'm not being a coward, I'm being responsible." She told herself.