Hey everyone! I'm back and feeling better! Ok, then let me get the disclaimer done so we can get this story started!
Disclaimer: I don't own Wolverine and the X-men, I only own the character Alenka, other OC's and subplots that aren't X-men lore.
OK, that's done! Let's get this story! To the Batmobile! *zoom*
Stolen Lives
I hate waking up before I'm ready to wake up naturally.
I felt the side of my bed lurch as someone heavy sat down beside me, resting their hand on my shoulder and gently shaking me awake. "Layla, wake up." I groaned in protest as Logan's voice pierced my sleep clogged mind, trying to get me awake.
"Better be a damn good reason for you waking me up, Logan." I slurred sleepily as I cracked one eye open to look up at him, "'cos I'm really tired, and sun ain't up."
Really tired was a friggin' understatement: after having to save Tildie early yesterday morning and getting the flowers from 'The Demon', I had a long talk with Xavier about who the guy could be. Turns out that not even the professor knows that much about him except for a few pieces of information that got me nowhere. After that conversation, I tracked down Frost and Forge to see what was the surveillance tapes, but they came up with nothing. So with a worried disposition I sought out Logan, Bobby and Kitty and trained with them in the Danger Room. Even after the session was over, I still kept training, only pausing for a drink break and something to eat before I was back into it. So let's just I didn't get to sleep till about 1 am, and was bone tired and aching everywhere with this 'Demon' character in my mind, worrying when he'll deliver next, if at all.
"So?" I prodded him, rolling over onto my back and opening both my tired eyes.
"I need you to watch over the others for me today." He started, looking down at me, "Someone called me this morning, saying Kristie could be in trouble." My mind wasn't connecting things properly, but enough to remind me who Kristie was.
"Need my help?" I yawned behind my hand.
"No; I just said I need you to watch the others for me." He replied, placing his hand on my shoulder as I tried sitting up and gently pushed me back down, "Besides, you need the sleep; pushing yourself so far is gonna hurt after it all ends."
"I seem to recall it was you who said I needed to push myself." I grunted before rolling over and closing my eyes, "Fine; I'll watch over everyone today. Need help, hollar me."
"Thanks." he replied, a bit breathlessly. But he didn't move, and the air turned dangerous, "Where the hell did they come from?"
"Wha-hat?" I moaned, desperately needing my sleep.
"These flowers." Before he even finished the words I was sitting up and eyes opened so fast it could've given me whiplash, instead I just looked over to what Logan had pointed out on my bedside table. It was a single small branch of pale lavender Bellflowers, wrapped in uncreased tinfoil. My stomach tightened as I spotted the note that came with them. "Not the same guy, not the same guy." I chanted over and over as I reached for the note and quickly read it, cringing at the message:
Though we may be busy,
and often left dizzy,
I shall think only of you
with my heart, lest it be true.
The Demon.
"Oh great, him again." I groaned them looked up at Logan, who was giving me an unimpressed look. He opened his mouth to demand who sent the flowers, but I pressed my right index finger against his lips. "A; it's too early for you to flay my hide. B; Don't you need to see Kristie?" He had that face that really wanted to argue, but that wasn't until he realized that I did have good points. "Fine." he mumbled against my finger, "Just...don't so anything stupid today." I grunted in sarcastic agreement before pulling my finger away and curling underneath my blankets, ready for sleep. Logan patted my shoulder before getting off my bed, making it lurch again and left my room, closing the door quietly.
#######
"You've been getting flowers from a mystery man?" Jayne asked in an incredulous tone over her end of the conversation. At a more appreciative time after having Logan wake me up, the first thing I did was check surveillance. But would you believe it? The slimy git leaving me flowers wasn't there. He knew our system, at lest well enough to know where the cameras are. After the little success in the security room, I trudged through the mansion trying to find Ororo. My luck, she was in the kitchen with the rest of the team. When she saw me with the Bellflowers, she smirked knowingly. After explaining to everyone what happened, I kindly got her to explain what the flowers meant this time. Imagine my chagrin when she said Bellflowers meant 'thinking of you'?
"Not only that, but he's an original poet." I added, pausing in the conversation to take a bite out of my toast. And don't think Kitty didn't give me lovey-dovey hell for that, either. On the other end of the phone, I heard Jayne gave a lady-like snort (which at times contradict her personality) before chuckling. "Oh, I bet this guy is." she agreed, "So why's it a problem?"
"Because A; I don't know who the guy is, B; he signs off with a slightly fear-inducing name and C; he's good enough to break into my room while I'm sleeping, leave the flowers and be gone. All without waking me up!"
"And seeing as you sleep like a log doesn't help." Scott teased me lightly. I just replied with a glare that very easily said 'a kick to the ass with your name on it is coming', and he knows I deliver my threats. "Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like a big deal." Jayne started talking, diverting my attention from my future punching bag, "If you want, I can come over and help you with bugging your room." I opened my mouth to answer, but immediately caught myself. I never told Jayne I was a mutant, and since her grandpa was killed by one and she has a fear of us...I don't think her coming here would be such a grand idea. "Alenka?" Jayne asked, bringing me back into the present.
"Um...Actually, how about we spend the day out?" I asked her, hedging around the question, "One of the students have a pretty nasty cold." I mentioned for someone to actually start coughing to help make my lie more believable. Thankfully it was Bobby who came to my rescue, and practically hocking up a lung. "Ewww! Man, does that kid sound dead?" Jayne groaned exaggeratedly.
"Tell me about it." I agreed, wincing, "Doesn't help him if that fit just turned him whiter than Emma's shirt." And it was true; Bobby just turned himself white in order to help me. While Hank tended to Bobby, Jayne and I agreed to meet each other down at the local mall, and she demanded I bring the two poems so she could read them. After sliding my cell phone shut, I just realized a problem. "Crap; I forgot Logan's favor." I groaned, kneading my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Which was?" Emma asked.
"He asked that I watch over everyone today." I answered, pausing for a few seconds before making a 'whatever' noise with my lips. "Aw what the hell; he ain't gonna know I played hooky." I commented as I got to my feet and started to leave the room.
"Well said." Hank chuckled, "Besides we have everything under control."
"And if Demon leaves anymore flowers, we'll let you know!" Kitty called after me, making me groan.
I headed back into my room and had a quick shower, changing into a pair of well worn bootleg jeans (I swear they shrink everytime in the wash; I have to suck in my gut slightly just to pull the zip up and button them!), my old hiking boots, a white wife beater and a black button-down shirt which I left open. I brushed my hair back into a ponytail, leaving my fringe down but sweeping it to the right side of my head, holding it back with a black hair clip. I grabbed my phone and wallet, placing them in my back pocket before grabbing my house keys and the two 'love' poems before sliding them into my front pockets. "Ok, I'm gone for the day." I called out as I walked down the stairs and towards the front door, "If anyone needs anything, call me."
"Will do!" I heard several voices call back. I smiled to myself before closing the door and started heading towards my destination.
I was at the designated place Jayne said we should met at, but for some odd reason, she wasn't there. Oh well. I shrugged to myself and easily made myself content by looking around myself, both as a habit and in case someone was stupid enough to attack me. Considering the warrant on my head. :Although...I wonder if they issued a bounty on me as well?: I casually thought to myself. I scanned the area lazily once again before spotting Jayne.
Right up close to me.
"GYAH!" I yelped, stumbling a few steps back and catching a few looks from people around me. But it didn't look like Jayne cared at the moment. "Hi!" She greeted brightly, smiling a cheeky smile that made me want to hit her. "Rotten little such-and-such." I grumbled under my breath as I rubbed my chest, "Don't scare me like that."
"Aye, Aye, miss Grumpy Buns." She nodded, giving me a mock salute. OK, I admit was a little annoyed that Jayne was able to sneak up on me like that; I was starting to see the truth in Logan's words about me needing to be on my guard more often. "So you like?" She suddenly asked me.
"Like what?" I asked back. She gave me an exasperated look before gesturing to herself. It took a second for me to realize that she had cut her red hair short, like pixie-elf short, with a fringe that slanted towards the right side of her face and added blond highlights. She also wore a tan long sleeved shirt, with a black t-shirt over top. On her black shirt was a small box with an 'x' in the middle, and writing beneath it in yellow, saying 'Warning' and beneath that it said 'contains bitterness and resentment.' I found that amusing because most of the time she really was like that. She wore well worn bell bottom jeans, held up by a black and grey checkered belt. To finish the look, she wore red and white canvas sports shoes. All in all, it screamed Jayne Richmond. "Nice haircut." I complimented, "Remy like?"
"Remy schmemy." She shrugged, "My hair, my choice and he don't have a say in it." Yep, that was definitely the Jayne as I remember. "So did ya bring them?" she asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes but pulled the notes from my front pocket and handed them to her. She held one in both hands, eyes flicking from one to the other as they took in the contents. "The Demon?" she finally asked in a skeptical tone, looking up at me, "He calls himself 'The Demon'?" I merely shrugged before taking back the notes and stuffing them into my pocket. "Well, at least he's creative to make his own rhymes." She offered then linked arms with me. "Shall we?" She asked with a smile. I smiled back and nodded.
"We shall." I agreed. We laughed quietly as we walked down the street, arms links and having a grand old time discussing things. Mostly random topics we could think about, while I kept hedging around a few of them, mainly the ones concerning my current love life. But Jayne was persistent.
"So does Logan know about this Demon guy giving you flowers?" She asked slyly, smirking over at me. I groaned slightly and rolled my eyes, looking away from her. "Yeah; he found today's flowers." I answered her.
"Logan was in your room?" She gasped, and I had a fair idea of just what she was thinking.
"No! He woke me up to say he was going out to see a friend of his in Canada." I explained, but that didn't stop the crafty smile on her face. After a few minutes of her ribbing me, we finally made it inside to the mall.
The first shop we went into was the book store: the pair of us had an obsession with paranormal romance or normal romance, action, sci-fi and a few young teenager books. But we both stayed well clear of anything related to Twilight for obvious reasons. "You know, I can't get over the hype about it." Jayne was telling me as we browsed through the Adult romance section, "The whole 'Twi-hards', 'Team Jacob', 'vampire love' do-hock-a-wok. It's just a book about a girl who selfishly wants a vampire lover, when there's a perfectly normal bunch of guys offering themselves for her."
Yeah, both Jayne and I were team Jacob, but we didn't really like the franchise that much as a lot of other girls. "True; I think it's that whole 'if Edward bites me, I'll live forever and look so damn hot too' business." I replied absently, looking at a particular book on the shelf, "Hey, have you read 'Tempt me with Darkness'?"
"Yeah, but I think I prefer the third one: I heard that Ice is such a devil in it." She answered, then looked at me, "You know, it's kinda sad seeing you here."
"Me?" I squeaked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"Well...yeah; you're sharing a mansion with a guy you described as one of these." She tapped the cover of the romance book in her hand; a picture of a half naked man with well defined muscles and corded abs and steel biceps, "But you haven't made a move on him." I frowned at her, to which she shrugged at. "Hey, I'm just passing time when Remy heads out on business. But you, on the other hand, have every available chance to walk up to him, say 'Hi, Logan, wanna hang out somewhere, just us two?' and go out."
"How do you know I haven't already?" I defended myself. She gave me a dead glare, one that said 'are you an idiot?' quite easily.
"You wouldn't shut up about it, for one." She answered, turning back to the bookshelf, "and another, you'd be asking for my help with ideas for what to do and what to wear." I opened my mouth to protest, but I closed it when I realized she did have a point. "So...?" She slowly asked.
"I guess I'm just waiting for the right moment." I replied, sighing heavily, "Things haven't been good between us lately." She looked at me from the corners of her eyes, but this was one thing I was keeping to myself. "It's...complicated." I mumbled. She just shrugged and left it at that.
Honestly, how was I meant to tell her I was a walking bulls-eye for the MRD?
#######
After a few more minutes of browsing, we finally bought a few books each that we liked the look of: Jayne got the latest of the Doomsday Brethren series, while I decided to read something new from Georgina Gentry. Seeing as Jayne had brought along her 'Nightmare Before Christmas' back pack, we placed all our bought items in there to sort out later. "Up for a drink?" She asked in a bored tone as we ambled along the walkway. "Yeah, why not?" I answered in the same tone. We both rounded the corner, Jayne a bit further ahead than me, which led her walking right into something.
Make that someone.
"Goof!" she grunted verbally, stumbling a few steps back. She probably would've fallen if it weren't for the two hands grabbing her upper arms gently to keep her stable. "My apologies, lass." A deep masculine voice apologized, "I dinna ken ye were there." Both Jayne and I froze for a second before looking up, way up into the heartbreakingly handsome features of the man we literally walked into. He was at least 7 foot tall, with short sandy brown hair and piercing blue eyes, shoulders the size of mountains and muscles that made any girl (quite possibly Emma too) melt like honey. His face held a soft smile that reached further than intended to, as he withdrew his hands from Jayne's arms. "Whoa." Jayne exhaled softly, her eyes bulging wide. Hey, I was no better. "Uh, th-thanks." She finally managed to mumble out, and barely kept the blush of her face.
"My pleasure." he said, bowing his head politely.
Oh, please. Do I need to dump a bucket of water on the pair of you? Armageddon groaned, obviously not pleased with our antics.
"You're not from around here, are you?" I asked the giant handsome man, and watched his eyes crinkle as he smiled sheepishly.
"Aye, ye are right, lass." He agreed, "I just came from Scotland a few days ago." I knew it! The accent; I can always can tell by the accent!
"Need a hand getting to know the place?" Jayne offered him, as politely as she used to be before she went lovey dovey for Remy.
"I canna ask that of ye, lasses." He tried protesting.
"Eh, we weren't doing much anyways." I shrugged, "Aside from getting a drink." Our newfound friend didn't sold on the idea, until Jayne and I looped our arms through his. "You're not getting outta this, buddy." Jayne told him, "We have a new friend, and new friends need to know which way is up and which way is out." He just looked at the both of us with an amused yet questioning look.
"There really is nay way for me?" He asked with an amused smile.
"Let me think." I spoke up, both Jayne and I pouting as we looked thoughtfully before we both answered at the same time: "Nope."
"All right then." He chuckled, and allowed us to lead him around, "The name's Kenzie. Kenzie McGregory."
"I'm Jayne Richmond. This is my best friend Alenka Jones." Jayne introduced us both. Kenzie looked down at me with a surprised expression in his eyes, before it smouldered into something...I think it might be recognition. Oh God, please tell me he isn't a bounty hunter out to kill me! But none of the actions he displayed after hearing my name betrayed he was one, so I took a chance and decided I was safe...for now.
"So that's pretty much how we ended up meeting on the first day; some blockhead dropped a banana peel, I stepped on it and would've gone flying, if it hadn't been for another freshman catching me before I fell and said 'Well that's one way to start a day; how we find one that doesn't involve you tripping on a banana peel?'" Jayne finished up her story, making Kenzie laugh loudly. I hid a smile behind my straw as I sipped my chocolate milk shake, watching my best friend get along with a practical stranger. But still, something about this guy reminds me of someone. I don't know why, but I get the feeling I've met him before, I just can't remember where and when.
"Are ye really that outgoing, lass?" Kenzie asked, directing his attention towards me.
"Pretty much." I nodded, "Though to be honest, both Jayne and I are pretty outgoing when it's just us two. You're seeing us in a very low temp." Kenzie's eyes closed into upturned crescents as he chuckled, the sound coming deep from within his chest. "So have you got your heart set on anything, Kenzie?" I asked him as we left the little milk bar and went back into the world, "Bookstore, grocery shop-"
"Strip club?" Jayne offered innocently. When the both of us looked at her she just started giggling madly, clasping both hands together and bringing them to her chin. "You had sugar, didn't you?" I demanded, planting my fists on my hips.
"Maybe." She said in a slow teasing voice before going off on a giggle spree again. I sighed heavily, slapping my hand to my head. Kenzie, thank God, just seemed to take it in his stride. "Might as well." He shrugged. I shot my head up to meet his gaze, and saw a cheeky glint in his eyes, "In case I ever need to drag you out of there." He finished, directing that sentence towards my hyper best friend.
"Possibly." She shrugged in agreement then pausing, "Hey-what?" I burst out laughing, Kenzie doing much the same thing while Jayne just looked at him in confusion. That was the first time I ever witnessed someone get the better of her when she was on a sugar high. Jayne finally realized what had happened and promptly crossed her arms over her chest, pouting dramatically. "Ah, I'm just teasing ye, lass." Kenzie chuckled, gently patting her head, "I mean nothing by it. I can tell ye are not the sort to be seen there." I gently bit my bottom lip, hoping he couldn't tell that with me.
Jayne only had a few seconds to get over the joke before a siren lit the air, followed by three MRD trucks veering around different corners, each heading our way. "Hey, what's going on?" Jayne asked, everyone's attention on the trucks. All my humor melted away as I balanced on the balls of my feet, getting ready to fight my way out of trouble. Of course that would mean revealing to Kenzie and Jayne I was a mutant. Well, Kenzie I wasn't worried about since I didn't know him that well, but Jayne was what got my gut tying itself into knots. I never told her I was a mutant, and since her grandpa was killed by one a year ago, she's pretty much terrified of them.
Well...if she ends up hating me after today, then I wouldn't blame her. I just hope that one day she could forgive me.
The three trucks screeched to sudden halts as Hunters poured out from the backs and started surrounding us. "What the fruit?" Jayne hissed then yelped when I pulled her swiftly behind me and out of their sight. Kenzie didn't say a word, if anything he just stood by my side, shielding Jayne as well. Once the Hunters stopped moving, their weapons trained on us, someone broke through their ranks and stepped forward. I recognized him instantly as Haskett; the guys who missed the chance to capture Logan and I because of Fury. :Boy, what I'd give for Fury to show up right now?: I asked myself sarcastically, my eyes narrowing as he stood a few paces away from us, smirking in a smug fashion.
"Alenka, what the fuck is going on?" Jayne hissed from behind me, her voice betraying a small amount of fear.
"Quiet." I glanced over at Kenzie, who told her to politely shut up, as he glared Haskett down. :How does he know the MRD?: I asked myself before returning my attention back to the problem at hand. "Well, well, well." the human spoke smugly, "Looks like today's our lucky day: two mutants with warrants on their heads, both together."
"What?" Jayne and I both asked unison but for different reasons, really big different reasons.
"You've got a warrant on your head?" Jayne exclaimed loudly at me.
"You're a mutant too?" I asked Kenzie in a slightly softer tone, turning my gaze from The MRD to the giant beside me.
"Aye." he nodded, "one the MRD are keen to get rid of." I switched my gaze back to them, seeing a majority of them preparing their weapons for fire. Even with a human beside us, they're still going to shoot? "Alenka Jones and Kenzie McGregory; you are hereby under arrest." Haskett informed us both, and to anyone listening, "You are to come with us, quietly."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jayne called out, wriggling her way from behind me and stood two steps in front of me with a confused look on her face.
"Arrested? What for?" She demanded.
"Not now, Jayne." I told her softly.
"Hey, it's my right to know if my best friend did something stupid without my help!" Her voice declared loudly, "wherever you go, I'm coming too." An invisibly bolt of lightning smacked me between the eyes as I saw the seriousness in hers. Jayne didn't care I was a mutant? But she was terrified of us! Why is she defending that which she fears so greatly?
"No, you're staying here." Haskett cut into the conversation, drawing Jayne and Kenzie's attention to him, "You shouldn't trouble yourself with these lowlifes." I saw Jayne's fists clench tightly as her anger slowly rose.
"These 'lowlifes' are my friends." she hissed in a deadly tone, "And I don't care if the president himself tries to move me; but no one is taking them away from me!" With that, she snubbed her nose at Haskett and wrapped her arms around my own left arm and refused to be moved. I had a sneaking suspicion, so I tapped into her mind. 'I don't care if she is a mutant; she's the only family I got now.' I heard a soft yet determined voice speak out, 'I won't lose her like I did Grandpa.' My hear shot towards Haskett as he looked at us with fury. "Bravely spoken, lass." Kenzie murmured softly to her, his eyes not leaving his spot on trouble, "But I dinna think it will make a difference."
"Actually, you're wrong there." I told him softly, 'Armageddon, get ready.'
Got the perfect spot in mind. He growled in agreement.
"This is getting ridiculous." Haskett growled before raising his voice, "Fine, arrest them all." 'Now!'
"You want us, Hunter?" I shouted at him, "Then come and find us!" I grabbed Kenzie's forearm, and with Jayne attached on my arm, I teleported the three of us out of there and let Armageddon drop us off wherever he had picked. I just hope it was somewhere safe.
(Jayne's POV)
As soon as my feet hit solid ground, I immediately fell to my knees and braced my hands on the ground while my stomach contents had an interesting conversation with the ground. From somewhere beside me, I could hear a deeper conversation, so I was glad I wasn't the only one who was sick. "Sorry about that." Alenka apologized as she rested her hand on my shoulder, "I keep forgetting that first time teleporters always get sick." I finished my conversation with a final cough, wiping my mouth against the back of my hand as I turned my head towards her and leveled a glare. "I declared I will never leave my friends, and you make me puke." I panted then gave a sarcastic laugh, "Nice!"
"Could be worse." She shrugged, leaving the rest of the statement out. Not that I needed her to finish it off: there were so many ways the situation could've been worse, and none of them were ones that I want to happen. "At least warn us next time." Kenzie's thick voice coughed as he wiped his mouth on the back of his fist, "That is nay some way to travel in a hurry."
"Like you had a better way?" Alenka asked sarcastically before looking down at me, "Can you get up?"
"I can try." I grimaced, slowly getting to my feet. Once I was upright my world spun for a few seconds, but everything sorted itself out afterwards till I was left with only a sore head. "Well, the good news is we're not around the Hunters territory anymore." Alenka said brightly as she helped Kenzie to his feet, "Bad news is...I have no idea where we are." My head shot up to take in our surroundings.
We were definitely not in the city anymore.
"What the?" I asked slowly, turning my whole body around to get a full view of my surroundings. Tall trees, barren earth with a scarce few patches of grass, mountains. "Where the hell are we?" I asked blandly. Alenka only sighed heavily, shaking her head. Then her gaze turned serious as she looked at me, eyeing me like I was going to flip out on her sometime soon or some thing. "What?" I asked her.
"You're in the presence of two mutants." she pointed out to me flatly.
"Yeah. And?"
"You're not bothered?" It took a minute to realize her point; mutants terrified the living snot out of me, ever since my grandpa was killed by one. I grimaced slightly as my left hand covered my right elbow, rubbing it nervously as I shuffled on my feet. Alenka only gave me a plain look, making it hard to know if she was going to be really pissed at me or really happy. "Um...I kinda...already know you're a mutant." I admitted it a quiet tone, diverting my eyes to the ground. The clearing we were in was quiet. Eerily quiet. I didn't look up in case she was fuming, because an angry Alenka is a scary-beyond-hell Alenka, and that was something I've witnessed but never want to experience.
I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as another crept under my chin and forced my chin upwards. My eyes lifted until there were looking at Alenka's happy sky blue eyes. "Jay, now matter how much you may irritate, I will never get angry at you." She promised me, in a truly sincere voice.
"Really?" I asked her, perking up immediately. She rolled her eyes before slinging her arm around my shoulders and pulled me against her side. "Don't even think about starting, missy." She warned playfully. I just smiled before looping my arm around her waist and hugged her. The moment was interrupted by a deep throaty cough, coming from Kenzie. "A-a-a-and the giant ruins the mood." I state in a bland voice before chuckling, "ah well; sappy moments aren't me." Alenka made a soft agreeing noise in her throat as she turned towards Kenzie.
"So what now?" She asked him, "I realize I was meant to have a plan for afterwards, but I'm drawing a blank." My shoulders sagged slightly, but I didn't say anything about the annoyance of that; she was acting on the fly, so I can't hold it against her.
"For starters, we can find out where we are." Kenzie prompted, pointing to a mountain nearby, "That will be our destination." I groaned softly through closed lips.
"Do we have to walk all the way there?" I asked, knowing I was using a whiny voice, but I couldn't help it. Physical activities weren't my specialty. Alenka just laughed at me before patting my shoulder. "Just be glad you're not in my job." She told me before she started walking.
"Why do ye say that?" Kenzie asked her as we jogged (well, I did. Kenzie just walked) to catch up with her.
"Heard of a group of mutants called the X-men?" She asked openly. When we both mumbled in agreement (Yes, even I've heard of them! Sheesh!), she carried on talking. "I'm part of that group." she explained, "and my leader, is one pushy ass of a bastard." I looked up at the tree branches over head and thought about what she just said, and something she said ages ago. "Let me guess, Logan's a mutant and he's the boss?" I asked her, but it was the type that didn't require an answer because I already knew it.
"Pretty much, yeah." she nodded then glanced over her shoulder to look at me, "By the way, how did you know I was a mutant? I never told you, or showed you my powers."
"True, but you definitely showed them to Aaron Joyce. Remember, the senior star forward who was peeking in the girl change room when it was occupied?" I replied, reminding her of that time when we were both sophomore. It was had been a really tense week; the rumor went around that someone was peeking in on the girls change rooms, and no body seemed to know who it was. I just found out by chance.
I was walking to the outside girls change room, to grab something I had left by accident, when I saw a guy in the school football uniform peeking through one of the top windows, giggling to himself. Before I realized who that jerk was, Alenka stormed onto the scene, grabs him by the back of his shirt and yanks him away. He was about to protest when Alenka just grabbed him by the front of his uniform with one hand, slammed him against the brick wall and used her other hand to brandish a fist of fire in his face. I couldn't really hear what she was saying, but the message sunk deep in that jerks mind, and he marched himself to the principals office and told her what he was doing. Alenka didn't mention anything about it happening, so neither did I; figuring she wanted her mutant secret private, so I respected her wishes. But at least I knew I had a friend who wasn't afraid to bring out the big guns when trouble was brewing. "Jayne? Jayne!" My head shook a little as someone calling my name finally broke through my trip down memory lane and brought me back to the present. "Huh, wha?" I asked.
"I was saying that wasn't my only power." Alenka repeated herself, a cocky little smile on her lips.
"It ain't? Aside from teleporting?"
"Nope; I have a whole wide spectrum of powers." She explained, "Most mutants only have one or two."
"An example being?" I prodded her. Alenka was about to give me such a thing when a loud boom from overhead caught out attentions. Something similar to a sonic boom, or maybe-
"Holy smokes!" I cried as two objects rose up from the ground and into the air, and all those movie nights paid off because I recognize those as missiles. "Ye ken, I think we dinna want to be lingering here." Kenzie spoke up, catching our attentions.
"Right." Alenka nodded, giving us the silent gesture to move on. Kenzie returned the gesture and took the lead, like he was our guard or something. We barely got a metre further when another sound broke through the sky, one that made Alenka freeze mid step. "Alenka?" Kenzie called back, stopping when he realized that we had been left behind. "I know those engines." She murmured softly, turning her head towards the sky. "You know those engines?" I repeated skeptically. She didn't say anything as she scanned the sky for whatever created the noise.
I shrugged at Kenzie and did the same. I didn't see anything, only heard the sound of more missiles flying around the place. Two of them sounding awfully close to us. "Shit. Run!" Alenka suddenly shouted, grabbing my hand and dragging me behind her. I struggled to keep up with her sudden pace, but I figured there was a good reason why my feet weren't touching the ground.
We kept running for the edge of the forest, when the ground shook violently and the air exploded with noise, knocking us all to our feet with shouts of surprise. I winced when my hand skidded along the ground but the skin wasn't broken, so I was safe. "What the hell was that?" I exclaimed, scrambling to my feet. "If I had to guess, someone made an entrance." Alenka answered, grunting as she pushed herself to her feet, "Anyone broken anything?"
"Nay." Kenzie replied, getting to his feet and standing at the edge of the cliff we found ourselves at, "But I donna understand. What's..." he trailed off from his sentence. I looked to Alenka who simply shrugged. The roar of engines filled the sky as a massive black jet circled around the giant plume of smoke, lowering to the ground. "What the...?" I asked, struck dumb by the sight. Alenka only groaned.
"Great. I'm in trouble now." She spoke under her breath.
"Why's that?" I asked, turning my head towards her. She didn't look very happy about the jet being here, and I was starting to worry if it was another bad guy she neglected to mention to me this morning. "That jet's called the Blackbird; the official transport of the X-men." She explained, rubbing her hand against the back of her neck.
"I thought you said you were on their team?" I half exclaimed.
"I am, but I'm not in Logan's good books remember?" She threw back, "If he sees me here, then the MRD are gonna be the lest of my troubles." We watched the scene below us unfold; two people stepped out from the jet and started heading towards the entrance hole one of their missiles created. Coming out of the smoke was a tall guy, in a strange yellow and off yellow uniform, wearing a dark brown sleeveless trench coat. When he was clear of any smoke obscuring his image, I spotted Kenzie getting a dark look in his eyes, his fists clenching tightly in anger. Must know him from another lifetime. Beside me, however, Alenka swore softly. "Sabertooth." She growled darkly.
"Sabertooth?" I asked her, really starting to hate the left out vibe I was in.
"Apparently he's an old team mate of Logan's. Now they're enemies." She explained to me, her eyes never leaving the scene, "if he's here, then Kristie must've gotten caught up in whatever Weapon X is."
"I would nay put it past him." Kenzie growled. :Oh-kay, what's Kenzie deal?: I asked myself. One of the people from the jet veered away as the other two launched at each other, starting to get into a wrestling match. "That lass looks like she could need some help." Kenzie commented before turning to us, "The pair of ye get on that jet; I will go after the lass and help her."
"Sounds like a-" Alenka started to say when a loud bang of a gunshot zipped over our heads, making us hit the deck lickety split. I raised my head, frantically searching for whatever or whoever was doing that, when a familiar figure stepped out from behind the trees, gun in his hand. "Michael?" I asked questioningly, confused as to what he was doing here. Alenka's head shot up, and she paled when she saw her dad.
"Hello, Alenka." He said in a calm, cold voice. My attention went from him to her, back and forth trying to make sense of it all. "I see you brought company with you." He stated, glancing at me and Kenzie for the briefest of seconds before looking back at her, "I didn't know you liked having an audience around when you died."
:Did he-did he just say 'died'?: I asked myself, feeling a tightening sensation in my gut as my throat started going dry.
"What are you talking about?" I asked him, aware that Alenka was slowly getting to her feet. No one answered my question, Alenka and Michael just stood facing each other, staring at the other as if daring someone to move. "Kenzie." Alenka finally said as she slowly began to side step away from us, "Take Jayne and get her out of here."
The seriousness of everything finally hit me, hard, as I realized what Alenka was going to do. "Alenka, don't." I begged quietly.
"I'll be fine." She replied simply before launching herself into a hand stand before pushing herself into the air, flipping over her dad and landing, immediately sparking a new fight. I felt a large arm wrap around my waist before heaving me off my feet and against a solid wall of muscle as Kenzie ran towards the edge and jumped. I shouted in fright, waiting for us to go splat on the ground, but Kenzie only made the ground buckle as he landed. "Let's go!" He exclaimed, taking my hand into one of his big giant hands and led me inside the entrance to whatever lay beyond.
Inside were metal walls and corridors, leading every which way. Kenzie silently led me down a few of them, always seeming to know where he was going. We rounded a corner only to immediately pull back when a group of black-uniformed people jogged past, each carrying guns, as another two of them pushed a giant metal crate, followed by a man in a lab coat with a bit of a port belly and red hair. Once he was past we edged around the corner. The procession had rounded the corner, but we noticed another parade happening right before us: one of the soldier do-hickey guys had his gun train on a woman in a white two piece skin tight suit, with flaming short red hair and...blue skin.
"Don't move." he ordered the woman. But he didn't see Kenzie sneaking up behind him until his forehead made contact with the wall beside him, effectively knocking him out cold. The woman turned around, revealing to me her golden yellow eyes and the small skull pendant on her hairline. "I leave ye for a few years, and ye get into trouble." Kenzie commented to her, an obvious smile on his face, "Why is it that I have to save ye, lass?" The woman was obviously shocked to see him, but soon a smile broke over her face as well. "Draco." She nodded.
"Raven." he responded the same way before looking over his shoulder at me, gesturing for me to come forward, "If I ventured a guess, that would be young James out the front fighting Sabertooth."
"Weapon X plans to turn a friend of his into their latest project." The woman, Raven, nodded in agreement, eyeing me. At least I think she was eyeing me; her eyes didn't have any pupils so I couldn't be really positive. Kenzie must've known she was for he started speaking to her in low tones in a language I didn't understand. I looked from them to the end of the hallway, my nerves getting flighty and making seem paranoid. Where was Alenka? Did she finish fighting her dad yet? Kenzie and Raven finished their conversation, the latter running off somewhere. "Come on, lass." Kenzie said, gently grabbing my upper arm and leading me the opposite way.
"Where are we going?" I asked, gulping back my fear as we rounded even more corners, following whatever pattern was in Kenzie's mind.
"We are going to find the lass they intend on turning into a weapon." He explained, "Then we free her." It was like Fate had a cruel sense of humor today; there was a loud klaxon sound from within the place as a female voice announce that in five minutes everything would be ka-blooey.
"Oh, nice!" I said sarcastically, giving up the urge to even start thinking about protesting, "It's not like we had a hard enough time as it is, but hey I'm not complaining!" Kenzie looked at my over his shoulder, and I could very well see the cheeky smile on his face. "Don't get me started on you, Gaelic boy." I warned him. He only chuckled deeply before turning around the corner...and immediately ducking in order to avoid getting hit by the flying person. The speakers crackled to life, announcing there was 2 minutes before everything went wrong. Keeping close to Kenzie, I followed him around the corner to see that blue skinned lady from before, plus a guy in a yellow and navy blue uniform, fighting against another bad guy, only this one was wearing yellow armor. The girl we were after was out cold in a large metal container against the wall.
Kenzie wasted no time flinging himself at the bad guy, dragging him away from the other man and laying a few good punches into him, knocking him out cold. At the same time, the girl in the container woke up, so I went over to her side and helped her out. "Ok, someone mind telling me what now?" I asked, slightly hysterical as the speakers started counting down from 5. I didn't want to die; especially if it meant leaving Alenka alone to fight her father. Oh god, I hope she was ok!
"Everyone, gather close!" the girl instructed as her hands started glowing a pink-ish hue. The other didn't argue they just did as they were told. Kenzie pulled me into his arms as he crouched down low, using his body as my shield. The ground around us quickly rose up and encased us in a rock like tomb.
And the little tomb-like room rocked as muffled explosions roared, sending debris any which way as everything was destroyed. I pressed my hands against my mouth to stifle my sobs, but a little sniffle got out. Kenzie only tightened his embrace around me comfortingly. It didn't take long, but soon the explosions were over and everything settled down. The girl lowered the rock that had protected us, allowing us to breath open air again. As the survivors glanced around, Kenzie chuckled softly before turning to the blue skinned woman. "Just like old times, eh?" he asked her. She just sighed heavily and shook her head in a sad gesture.
"What did we ever do to deserve your dry humor?" she asked back. Kenzie just laughed at her before letting me get to my feet.
"Is everyone alright?" the man in the yellow and navy uniform asked us, the girl leaning on his arm.
"P-peachy." I stuttered, rubbing my hands up and down my upper arms as I surveyed the damage.
Nothing was left in one whole piece. In a way, it made me glad that I was human: I never had to see this side of battles, just the end result. "Well, if anyone nay minds, I suggest we head home." Kenzie suggested as we slowly picked our way through the debris to get out, "I'm sure the young lass wants to be with her father." I glanced at him for a second before returning to the ground at my feet...then paused. I heard a small grunt behind me but I didn't pay attention. "What did you just say, Kenzie?" I asked him, my voice soft.
"Uh...the lass wants to be with her father?" He asked, sounding confused.
Father...Alenka!
"No." I whispered before I started running out of the debris, knocking a few pieces aside and earning bruises but I didn't care. Once I was out of the major blast area I started frantically turning on the spot, running my hands through my hair when the majority of the landscape was trashed. Please, please, please. I cupped my hands around my mouth and took a deep breath in. "ALENKA!" I screamed to the wind, praying to God she could hear me, "Alenka! Where are you?" I heard Kenzie swear from behind me, and started calling for Alenka as well.
Fear and sorrow started choking me up as scenarios ran through my mind about what could've happened to her, but I refused to believe she could be in either of them. "Alenka?" I screamed again, feeling my voice starting to go hoarse. There was no answer. My saddened sobs escaped from my mouth as it started to sink in. The worst case scenario was playing out in my mind, and it was starting to look confirmed. She was gone.
"She's gone." I choked out, "she's gone. Just like my family."
"No." I turned my head to look at the man in the yellow and navy uniform. He looked at me with a calming look, his voice sounding confident. "Alenka may be an idiot a rare few times, but she'd know if this place went up. She's probably out of earshot, but I know she's not dead." My mind went numb as my heart started loosening up as logic seeped in. He was right. Alenka did say she had a wide range of powers, and she had that really weird gift of knowing when danger was going to strike.
:He's right.: I told myself firmly, :Alenka's still alive. She knows I need her to be alive.: But that didn't ease all of my worry.
"If that's so, she will most likely come around, looking for us." Kenzie nodded before looking down at me, "I'll stay behind and keep an eye out. You go back with the lad."
"And if I find Alenka before you?" I croaked out, wiping the backs of my hands against my fist.
We exchanged phone numbers with each other before I got onto the jet with the girl, the unconscious man she called her dad and the other man. While he and that strange girl were outside talking, I sat down in a chair near the girl and pulled my knees to my chest. "Some day, huh?" I looked over at the girl quietly before smiling softly.
"Yeah. Some day." I nodded, turning in my chair to face her, "I'm Jayne Richmond."
"Kristie Nord." she introduced myself, then gestured with her head to the side of the jet, "The guy out there in the yellow uniform, his name's Logan."
"Logan?" I repeated, my interest perking up. That was the guy Alenka had a crush on? Well, I'll give her this much; he was good eye candy. Not to mention her number one firm believer. Wait till I tell her!
#######
"Holy enchilada and creamy soda." I breathed out once I stepped out of the jet hangar. The trip home was a peaceful one, thankfully. Kristie stayed by her dad's side while I sat up front with Logan and talking about Alenka. He told me stories of how and where they met each other, what her first mission was and what it was like having her around, given her personality from time to time. All in all, he said nothing but positive things, with only one negative thing: that being she should've told him that she was in trouble with her dad. The conversation ended when the jet landed in the ground behind a really fancy mansion.
"Pretty much." Logan agreed as he carefully carried Kristie's unconscious father from the jet.
"Need a hand?" I offered.
"I got it." he replied, not menacingly mind you. But more like...gentlemanly, if that was possible. The hangar doors opened and two people stepped out, both of them men. One was huge, at a crouched 6-foot-plus. What got my attention was his skin and hair: it was blue, and he wore a lab coat, like he was a doctor. The other guy was smaller, at 5' 9'', with adorable chestnut brown hair. He wore a yellow and navy blue uniform, and had a pair of goggles perched on his forehead. "Logan, is everything all right?" the blue skinned man asked, walking over and helping him carry the unconscious Mr. Nord. "Kinda." Logan replied simply before gesturing to me, "Forge, look after the girl over there. Kristie, follow us." And with that, Logan, Kristie, her dad and the blue skinned guy left the hangar, leaving me with...Forge?
"Forge?" I asked curiously, catching his attention, "you're name is Forge?"
"Yeah! Uh, well n-not really, that's just my code name, but nobody calls me that 'cos I prefer Forge." He rambled, a light blush spreading over his cheeks. Poor guy; he must not interact with a lot of girls all that often. "It's a cool code name." I complimented him, "I'm Jayne Richmond; Alenka's best friend." His eyes lit up a little as he smiled. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Forge just got a crush on me.
"Really? That's-that's cool." he spoke, "being her best friend. I mean, uh, sure we're all her friend but"
"Forge!" I politely exclaimed over his voice, "Relax. I'm not gonna bite, so just chill, man."
"Right. Sorry." he apologized, taking in a breath before looking at me, "Uh...would you like something to eat, Jayne?" As a cue, my stomach growled loudly and echoed throughout the room.
"Please do." I whined, clutching at my stomach, "I'm so-ho-ho hungry." He chuckled behind his hand before he led me out of the hangar and down a hall way before getting to an elevator. "Going up." He joked as we got in and he pressed a button on the side. I gave him a smile which made him blush a little harder. I don't why, but Forge was a lot more easier for me to get along with than Remy. With Remy, all I ever do is blush like crazy whenever he gives me a compliment, or kisses me, and I act all shy. With Forge, I'm acting like my normal self, and it felt good.
The elevator came to a stop and we got out, and once again I was left stunned. "You like?" my guide asked. I looked at him with my biggest grin.
"Dude, who's the decorator?" I asked back, "I so wanna house like this! Complete with the bottom levels!" After bequeathing me another grin, Forge lead me further along till we reached the kitchen, where three teens, a little girl and an adult were eating. The adult in the room was a woman, with pure white hair and dark tanned skin, wearing a blue long flowing skirt and a white short sleeved shirt, and she had the most amazing par of blue eyes. The little girl was wearing plaid pants and a singlet top with a sunflower picture on the front, with light brown hair tied back in a ponytail.
The three teens were two girls and one boy: the boy wearing a red t-shirt and brown khaki three-quarters pants. The girl sitting opposite him had bushy brown hair, wearing a denim jacket, jeans and a pink singlet shirt. The last girl had orange-brown hair with a white streak in her fringe, wearing long sleeves and jeans and gloves. "Hey guys." Forge announced, catching all their attention, "This is Jayne; she's a friend of Alenka's."
"Hi." I waved slightly, feeling a little nervous. Hey, I was in a room with what could be mutants and I'm terrified of them! Well...not to an extent, but I'd still feel better if Alenka was here with me! "Hi there." the boy waved back, a friendly smile on his face. The other two girls nodded while the older woman smiled softly, but her gaze looked across to Forge. But the little girl was the only one brave enough to think about her mind. "Hi, I'm Tildie." she smiled broadly (God, she has the most cutest smile ever!), "Are you a mutant like us?"
"Tildie!" The girl in the denim jacket hissed softly at her, making me pause. Mutants...I'm in a room full of mutants. "Uh, d-don't mind her!" the boy quickly said to me, obviously trying to cover up that little slip up, "She's just a little kid, you know! Wild imagination and all!" I raised my eyebrow at them questioningly as they all tried to make me believe they weren't mutants. And they were doing a pretty bad job of it.
"Knock it off, guys." I jumped a foot into the air with a loud scream before leaping onto something and holding onto it for dear life. The others in the room didn't react as loud as I did; they only jumped in surprise. "She already knows we're mutants." It took me a second or two to realize it was Alenka's voice coming from beyond the kitchen doorway, allowing me a relieved sigh. "Geez almighty and stripy, Alenka." I breathed out as I detached myself from whatever I had a hold of and walked to the doorway, "Don't do that! You scared the living-WHOA!" the reason for my big exclamation of shock/surprise and everything else?
Let me put it this way: all those battles in the movies between the good guy and their evil relative? They don't really capture the whole 'end result of good guy winning over evil family member' result. By a lot.
My best friend looked tired beyond the grave, and had that 'I will kill anyone who even thinks of something stupid' look, with a face marred with a few scratches and dirt smudges. There was a thin red line from just above her left eyebrow, trailing diagonally over her nose and ending at the right side of her mouth, and the right side of her jaw has a nasty purple-ish hue. Her black button down shirt and white wife beater were covered in brown dirt, and blood. The sleeve of her left arm was torn off revealing a thick white bandage tied securely around it, and her left wrist was wrapped up in another bandage. Through the material of her shirt, I could see that her right shoulder looked a little swollen. Alenka was breathing normally, but I could hear a little tension in it, so I took a guess and said her ribs had been rapped up too.
"Uh..."I murmured lowly, trying to sum up a really good response to this. Alenka's evil 'say something stupid and I will kill you look' didn't leave, so I just settled for something witty. I'll deal with everything later. "I guess Michael looks a heckuva lot worse than you do." I smiled brightly and chuckled nervously, "right?"
"Pretty much." Alenka answered after a few minutes of silence. Wow, she must've been pretty banged up in the head if she had to think before answering! "I'd hug ya, but I don't think you need one right now." I pointed out.
"I'm hugging you in my mind, relieved beyond words that you're not hurt." She told me, not needing to take a few minutes to think of an answer.
"And I'm hugging you back." I smiled, "and squealing like a mad happy little piggy because of the cute guy in the kitchen with the brown hair." Alenka raised an eyebrow at me before walking in with me trailing her and spotted all her friends. Then she glanced at me from the corner of her eyes. "You already have a boyfriend, and yet you're perving on Forge?" She asked flatly. Said person spluttered while I pouted thoughtfully. "Um...yes." I answered her, then snapped my fingers, "I better call Kenzie and let him know you're here."
"He already knows." She told me, "met him up there when I came back to find you. He's powers healed me up slightly."
"Came back?" I asked, but when Alenka threw me a 'don't ever want to talk about it, period' look, I decided to drop the topic. Alenka introduced me to he friends, before deciding to go out for a walk. "Are you sure you should?" Bobby asked her, "I mean, maybe Hank should have a look at you."
"Trust me, Bobby." I told him as Alenka started to turn away from us, "when she needs a walk, she needs a walk." Unless we wanted to witness one of her biggest outbursts in history. Those things tended to be very messy. "You got your mobile on you?" I asked her.
"No." Oh boy, she was this close to going all out on the next sorry persons hide.
"Okey dokey then." I smiled at her back, "be a good girl and don't do something fun without me!" she answered with a small snort as she walked towards the front door. Once I was sure she was out of earshot I let out a small sigh. "Oh this is gonna hurt in the morning." I said through the sigh, turning back to the others, "I really hope someone doesn't get into an argument with her."
"Why not?" Forge asked me.
"It ain't gonna be pretty." I answered simply. And oh, how right was I? No sooner had I said that last sentence when I heard a loud voice echoing from the entrance way. "Logan, I am not in the mood to deal with you right now, so drop it!" she told him, but something said otherwise.
"Look, Layla, all I'm saying is you need to be careful." he spoke in a calm voice, but I gave a big wince when Alenka rounded on him.
"Careful? What the hell makes you think I wasn't being careful, Logan?" She demanded in the biggest pissed off voice I had ever heard her use. I motioned for Tildie to cover her ears, which she gladly did before Rogue placed her hands on top of hers. "Layla, you probably were, ok? But your friend was almost-" Uh-oh, wrong choice of words!
"Don't use Jayne against me, Logan! I knew damn well she could've been killed today! But it wasn't like I had the opportunity to go from one battle to another and teleport her back to safety, return and finish the fight I was in! I don't have the strength to make all my fights end so quickly like you do! Hell, you probably don't even realize just what I was fighting against! Or how hard it was to fight not only him, but all the mental abuse that he threw out." my best friend snarled loudly, and quite frankly a little frighteningly.
"I would if you would just tell me." Logan threw back, not rising to her anger with anger, but with calm and...it almost sounded desperate, "If you get into trouble I need to know."
"Why, so you can get involved and fight my battles for me?" She snapped, "I didn't ask for anyone's help, especially not yours. In any case, you were too busy helping your old girlfriend to notice I was getting shot at." :Ouch.: I winced, biting my bottom lip but not saying anything out loud. No one in the whole kitchen did either. "She isn't my girlfriend, she never was." Logan protested, "Layla, just calm down and talk to me."
"Oh, please! I tell you what happened today, the only thing you're going to talk about is how sloppy I handled things! And you know what, I don't give a crap!" She exclaimed, her footsteps carrying to the door, "Now just leave me alone!" With that the front door slammed loudly, rocking the room a little bit.
:Poor Logan.: I thought to myself, wrapping my arms around myself, :I don't think he's ever seen this side of her, let alone knows how to deal with it. But how do I tell him she didn't really mean it?:
The answer was decided for me when my cell phone started ringing. I pulled it from my pocket and pressed the answer button and asked hello. I listened to whoever it was for a few seconds before agreeing, walking out of the kitchen and up to Logan's side. He was rock still, with a face that couldn't comprehend what just happened...not that I blame him. I gently placed my hand on his arm, catching his attention. "Alenka's mom wants to explain something to you." I spoke softly, offering my phone to him. He wordlessly took it. I patted his shoulder before walking back to the kitchen, leaving him with some privacy.
(Logan's POV)
"Hello?"
"It's Alexandria. Don't hold it against my daughter, Logan." the calming voice on the other end of the conversation said, speaking in low tones, "She's just ragged from fighting her father today. It's not easy on her, going up against someone like him."
"I see."
"Logan, my point is she doens't mean what she said. Especially about not needing anyone's help. She only says that to protect people she cares about." I took stock of what she was saying...before letting out a heavy breath, moving into the front room to talk in some privacy. "She...I just wish she told me she was in trouble." What I heard in response wasn't exactly the answer I was hoping for, especially from her mother.
"You want Alenka to tell you if someone wants to kill her? That's like getting a mute to talk! She won't do it."
"Why not?" I snorted, sitting down in one of the club chairs, leaning my elbow on my knee and rubbing my brow, "she scared she's gonna lose one of us?"
"No. She's afraid she'll lose herself if she sees one of you go down." Alexandria explained. When I didn't say anything she sighed, sounding a lot like Alenka. "Because of her powers, Alenka has this firm-yet ridiculous- belief that everyone fears her, including her family. And in truth we do." My head rose from its perch to stare at the table, everything inside of me going her own family was scared of her? How was that even possible; they knew her better than any of us here did, and know that she would never harm her family.
"Not only is Alenka the only class 6 mutant in the world, but the amount of responsibilities she's set upon herself to make sure she doesn't break out of control would be enough to frighten even a hardened marine soldier." Her mother continued to explain to me, and logic cleared my mind and made me start thinking straight. In truth, I never realized that Layla had rules for herself to follow in case she would ever break out of control. But what about Armageddon; he was meant to prevent that from ever happening. Even if he did fail, surely there was some way she could keep herself in check till he was able to tapped down her powers.
"Logan, listen to me, because this is very important." Alenka's mother spoke to me, breaking through my train of thought, "The one person who did manage to get close to her is only there because they know the true Alenka, that she doesn't need all those silly self imposed rules, because they'll be her safety net and catch her if she does fall." And who would that be I wonder? I doubt it was some guy like me, especially after the way I've been treating her lately.
When she walked out the door before, angry and upset, it hurt not being able to have to courage to go after her, turn her around and kiss her full on the lips, and just admitting I loved her. I doubt she'd ever return those feelings either. It wasn't till Alexandria spoke did my attention return to her, "She just needs one thing to make her realize it's safe to fall sometimes, Logan."
"And what's that?" I asked, not really feeling particular on finding out what. Though her answer knocked the sense out of me for a few minutes:
"You." When I didn't answer (how the hell could I?) she explained further, "Don't think I didn't notice, Logan; I see everything. I saw all those times you've looked at her in longing, realizing that she was just perfect, despite some of her flaws. And to be honest, I couldn't see my daughter with a more genuine man."
"Genuine, me?" I scoffed, finally getting my tongue together.
"Ask Jayne the same question, and she'll tell you that every boy Alenka has dated wouldn't rise to defend her if some moron groped her like you did. They'd only find the one who did it and ask what it felt like." Her mother told me, "And you're the only man in her life-Tobias, Diego, Nick and her grandfather excluding- to go out of his way to make sure she's ok. True, you could learn how to deal with your fear better than giving the poor girl a lecture, but it's one of the flaws that endears you to her." And with that, all things became clear as day, and made me realize a few things that I didn't want to acknowledge earlier.
(Alenka's POV)
Silence reigned as I trudged my way through the light down pour of rain. Diego, in his dog form, walked beside me slowly, respecting my need for silence. I had to be the worst person on the face of the earth for saying what I did to Logan. I should've have kept my tongue behind my teeth, but I was just so frustrated with myself and the world in general that I lashed out. :No point making excuses for myself.: I told myself glumly, :what's happened has happened, and I can't take it back.: Despite being a class 6 mutant, I didn't have the power of time travel, which could've made things a lot more easier.
'You shouldn't blame yourself too harshly, sis.' Diego said out of the silence, brushing his head against the side of my leg, 'You've been tired and running around a lot. Besides, no one knew that this was gonna happen, not even mom.'
"Doesn't make up for me being a bitch." I murmured to him, keeping my head down low. Diego lapsed back into silence, and it stayed like that for five more minutes till he stopped walking and whined at me. I looked back at him then followed his line of sight to the end of the street. There, a few feet away and leaning against the side of his motorcycle, was Logan. A whole flood of emotions raged within me, from anger to sadness, giving me a huge case of mental whiplash. In the end I just slowly walked over, head down in defeat.
"Hey." I murmured lowly, stopping in front of him, and looking at my feet.
"Hey." He returned, and silence came between us again. :Just tell you're sorry. It's not that hard to do, you moron.: I scolded myself, but the words never came out whenever I opened my mouth.
"Need a lift?" Logan offered me. I risked a glance up, and didn't see any anger like I was sort of expecting. I nodded slowly, so he nodded once at me. "Hop on." he said, setting himself in the saddle. Diego pushed his head against the back of my legs, making me walk forward. When I was close enough, Logan put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his lap.
Heat ran into my cheeks as I sat sideways on his lap, pressed up against his body. I tilted my head up to look at him. He just looked down at me with a soft gaze. "Don't beat yourself up, Layla." He told me, looking forward as he keyed the ignition and revved the engine, "I'm not holding what you said against you, and never will."
'See? Told ya he'd forgive you!' Diego barked happily. I didn't say a word to him or Logan. Instead I just looked down at my lap and stayed quiet as the motorcycle tore away, taking us back home. Diego easily ran beside us, keeping up with Logan's speed. After a while, I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his shoulder, curling up as much as I could against him. Logan didn't seemed to mind, or notice. He turned down the road that would bring us back to the mansion, when Diego raced before us and stopped. Logan quickly pulled to a stop, avoiding my brother. "Diego, what are you-" I started when I heard him growling. It wasn't playful, it was too low and threatening. Something was wrong, badly wrong. I was about to voice my worries when a loud explosion caught me off guard, all three of us flying in different directions.
I would've had a nasty gravel rash when I hit the ground, but I felt a warm solid body catch me before I was hurt, but the force was enough to knock my head painfully against the person's body, coupled with the sudden explosion of pain in my tender ribs. The last thing I remember was seeing a light blue swirling pattern in the air, but then darkness closed in on me.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Hoo dang! Talk about action off the charts! Now then...hey, where'd the button go? Ah, there it is! *pushes big red button*
~CHAOS Q&A!~
The people who've been kind enough to leave reviews have all asked pretty much the same question: who is The Demon. To elaborate, Tiryn has asked this:
Q: Is the Demon an actual mutant and could he hurt anyone that is on the X-men's side?
A: In a non-Marvel cannon way, The Demon is an actual mutant: it's a derogative nickname given to the person by their offspring. As you can imagine, the offspring doesn't like their parent at all or one bit.
But could the 'Demon' hurt anybody on the X-men side? Well, that depends if anybody is stupid (or suicidal enough) enough to turn against Alenka, but other than that, no.
If anything, The Demon himself is on the same side. Maakes you think, doens't it?
Well, that's it! All the questions have been mostly answered (can't tell the whole truth 'cos that would be spoiling the surprise) and your In The Heart of Chaos addiction has been quelled till next week.
So until then, my friends and avid readers, I say Sieh Sie alle nächstes Mal!