Now out of the eyes and ears of the German locals and police, Nick Fury and his team of ten men, led Logan and the others just outside the city where they could 'speak freely'.
"I don't know why," Moira said as they entered one of Fury's safe houses, "but I've got a bad feeling about this."
Emma glared at Moira. "I've had a bad feeling the moment we stepped onto the jet."
"Really?" Jean mused. "And I thought it was just the raw fish you ate earlier."
Emma turned her gaze to the red head, practically radiating her antagonism, as she glared at her. "It's a little hard to believe that you killed Apocalypse all on your lonesome."
Jean shrugged. "Who said I did that?"
"You don't have to say it, darling," Emma smirked. "You walk as if you did."
Jean stopped suddenly and whirled on Emma, her demeanor and attitude immediately shifted, as she backed Emma up into a corner. "I've had just about enough from two worlds of your filthy, bitchy ass, always looking over me and always having to have the last word!"
"Jean," Charles attempted to soothe. "I think…"
"Lemme tell you something," Emma seethed, showing Jean that she was not scared. "I don't give a shit which world you crawled out of. You've always ruined my plans, always stood over my shoulder and you stole the life that I earned!"
"Emma…" Charles attempted once more.
Jean scoffed. "You think because you're a billionaire that you deserve a life where people love and respect you? You don't deserve a fucking thing Emma. You have to gain it. You have to earn it."
"Ladies…" Moira tried.
"Earn it?" Emma shot back at her. "Tell me then, Jean…did you earn it on Alcatraz? Did you earn it when you killed millions of lives all with the blink of an eye?"
Jean's expression harden as she leaned in closer and more intimidating. "You are the last person I would have to explain myself to," she hissed.
"Explain yourself or blame someone else?" Emma retorted. "All you do is blame Phoenix and your alter ego for your fuck ups. And everyone buys into it! Does Phoenix do that too, Jean? Mess with their minds so you can go on living the good lifestyle?"
"Why you…"
Logan cocked an eyebrow, folding his arm across his chest, as he leaned against the wall and watched Jean grab Emma by the shoulders and Emma lash out and throw Jean off of her. Nick stood next to Logan and watched the scene play out as he too folded his arms.
"Are they always like this?" he asked Logan.
Logan shrugged. "On a normal day…usually." Logan glanced at Nick as his eyebrows rose up. "This ain't nothin' neither, bub," he told his opposite. "You should see it when they use their powers against each other."
Before Nick could comment, Logan approached the two women, who were now throwing mild punches and trading insults. "Knock it off," he grunted, pushing the two away from each other.
Emma's anger, icy blue, eyes turned to Logan. "Tell your slut to back off!"
"Slut?" Jean nearly screamed, making Logan wince from the high pitch tone. "You're one to talk!"
"Enough!" Logan shouted more forceful, earning the attention, and glares, of both women. Moira backed up slightly, behind Charles's wheelchair, as she looked at the two women, who had turned their irate glances onto Logan. "You two need to cut that shit out and work together!" Logan told both women. "Jean," he said, turning to her. "I know for a fact that you can handle Emma without ripping her to the bone. Ya done it before, do it now. And Emma," he turned to blonde. "You need to listen to Jeannie because she knows more than ya. Believe it or not, you two worked together great and you both need to back off and look at the big picture. Apocalypse ain't gonna show us no mercy and he ain't nothin' to kid around on. He's got our friends and we need to pull ourselves together and get a grip!"
Emma glanced at Jean quickly and then averted her eyes to her jacket, which she forcefully smoothed out.
"Logan," Moira said with complete astonishment. "Giving advice to Jean and Emma." Charles grinned. "Exactly what reality did they come from?" she joked.
"Imsorry," Emma muttered quickly.
Jean, at first, narrowed her eyes, and a low growl from Logan made her roll her eyes. "Accepted," she muttered as she pushed her way past Logan and to Nick. "Now let's get going and finish this."
"After you darlin'."
"We've been following Apocalypse and his movements for quite sometime," Nick informed them.
"You have?" Jean questioned, glancing at the others.
Nick looked at each of them and nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Then how come we knew nothing about that?" Jean questioned again.
Nick flashed her a smile; one that Jean was eager to slap right off his face. "We're a secret organization for a reason," he said in his most charming voice. "The fact that you don't know of us means that we're doing our jobs correctly."
"Logan knows," the red head said flatly.
Logan cleared his throat and Nick looked from Jean to Logan and back. "How do you know that?"
"I told her," Logan said simply. Nick raised his eyebrows and Logan began to get impatient. "Look, it's not important that she knows…what's important is us getting our friends back and stopping Apocalypse."
"I see," Nick said, taking a seat at the large table. "Well…from what we know…he's building an army."
Jean was about to say 'We know', but Logan beat her to it. "We know that, Fury," he said, as he heard Jean's small sigh. "The question is…how far along is it?"
Nick grabbed the vanilla envelope from the edge of the table and opened it, pulling out photos and sliding them across the table to Logan and Jean, who picked them up and examined them. "We already have the backing of the American government," Nick informed them. "Right now, we're working out relations with the German authorities."
"You can't use the government's help," Jean said as she looked closely at the pictures.
Nick found himself nearly laughing; he would have had he not noticed the tone in the red heads voice or the expression on her face. "You're kidding." One look from Jean gave him the answer. "The American government has all the resources that we need to take out this threat!" he argued. "Without them, we'd be sitting ducks!"
"Apocalypse will use those resources and turn them against us," Jean threw back at him, tossing the picture aside and glancing at Fury. "Besides…they're not totally innocent."
"Jean…" Logan said softly.
As Nick looked at them in confusion, Jean threw up her hands. "Fine…but wrap it up, Logan," she said before she spun on her heel and walked out of the office.
As Logan sighed, shaking his head, Nick looked up at him, his expression still one of puzzlement. "What did she mean?" he asked. "How can the government be responsible for any of this?"
Jean smiled as she heard Logan walking past her as she held her eyes shut. "No peekin'," Logan said as he grinned, watching Jean keep her eyes closed as she smirked.
"What are you doing, Logan?" she asked slowly. "I smell…pot roast," she giggled.
Logan frowned as he lit the candle directly across from her. He had to talk Charles and Hank, as well as half the school, into letting him and Jean have a quiet and romantic dinner together downstairs with no interruption. He had to pay Jubilee to obey the request.
---
"I just don't understand why I can't freely come down here if I'm hungry," Jubilee had said.
Logan closed his eyes and breathed deeply, careful about his temper. "Because kid, I'm doing something special."
"So…if I have a craving you're telling me that I have to go insane because I simply cannot walk down the flight of stairs and twenty feet later be satisfying that craving?"
Logan's eyes widened as he looked at the young teenager. "What?" he cried. "Look…" he grunted as he pulled out his wallet. "I'll give ya ten bucks if ya shut up and stay outta my way tonight."
"Is that how much I'm worth to you?"
Logan growled. "Twenty."
Jubilee shook her head. "I'm not just some simple girl that can be bought off with paper."
"Fifty and I won't gut ya," Logan offered.
"Deal," she said, taking the bill and humming happily up the stairs. As Logan sighed in relief, Jubilee leaned over the stair railing. "Oh, and Logan…do you think you two could keep it down tonight? I have a test tomorrow and the walls are pretty thin."
"Jubes…" he growled angrily.
Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Just saying…"
-----
"Don't spoil it," Logan said softly as he stepped away.
Jean listened carefully, still keeping her eyes closed, as she heard Logan walking past her again and back into the kitchen. Carefully, and slowly, opening one eye, Jean leaned the chair back to watch Logan work in the kitchen. Her eyes widened as her grin grew wider.
"Oh my god," she gasped. "You wear an apron?"
Logan's face fell as he looked over at Jean who was leaning her chair back and peeking over the corner, smiling at him, on the verge of laughing hysterically. Grunting, he ripped the apron off and threw it in the trash can. "You never saw that," he growled, pointing at her as he brought a bowl of salad to the table.
Jean set the chair back down and followed Logan with her eyes. "Oh my…Wolverine…wearing an apron…" Jean covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed, much to Logan's dislike.
He rolled his eyes and angrily mixed the salad as he kept his eye on Jean, who was fighting to stop laughing. "I'm sorry," she finally managed. "It's just…you cook, you wear an apron. It's a whole new you."
"It ain't," he grunted. "Just…a different side."
Jean looked at the dinner and frowned slightly. "Logan, when did you learn to cook?"
Logan shrugged. "Dunno," he muttered.
Jean cocked another smirk. "Don't tell me you watch Rachel Ray?"
"Good God woman!" Logan cried before a low growl came from his throat. "I'm just trying to make ya feel more relaxed…"
Jean smiled at him. "You are. Thank you."
Logan nodded, shoving the food in his mouth. "Yer welcome." Logan watched as Jean tasted the food and was thrilled when she nodded her approval. As a few minutes went by, Logan began to feel uncomfortable with the silence. "So…" he began awkwardly. "How does Cyke feel 'bout this little dinner here?"
Jean paused and Logan sensed her sudden trepidation and uncertainty. "He doesn't know." Logan nodded and went back to staring at the food as Jean spoke up again, sensing Logan's hurt feelings. "It's not that I didn't want to," she attempted to explain. "It's just…with him in Egypt and the divorce…"
"I understand," he said sensitively.
"It's just too much," Jean refined. "And…I still don't know what we are to each other."
"I understand, Jeannie," Logan said, as he looked at her. "I told you I'd wait for ya, and I mean it."
Jean smiled warmly at Logan as she leaned in closely to him, stroking his cheek, and gazing into his hazel eyes. "You really mean that?"
"You know I do," he said softly as he brought his mouth close to hers to their lips were touching.
Then the doorbell rang.
"Someone gonna get that?" Jubilee called from upstairs.
Logan growled as he moved away and heard Jean giggle in amusement. "Every time," he muttered angrily as he went to the door.
With the doorbell ringing again, Logan swung the door open and glared at the man standing on the doorstep. "What?"
"Logan," the man stated. When he got no reaction, he cleared his throat. "My name is Nick Fury and there's something…"
"You interrupted my dinner to sell me shit?" Logan growled.
The man cocked an eyebrow. "What? No…I have to discuss something with you…"
"Who's this?" Jean asked, coming into view, and giving the man a once over.
"Dunno, don't care," Logan growled again.
"Please!" the man begged. "I need to talk to the X-Men."
Jean frowned getting a weird vibe from the man. "Why?" she questioned.
"One word…Apocalypse."
"That was when you told us everything," Logan finished. "You told us about the governments experiments with mutants, about the sentential project, about the little side trip your division took that awoke Apocalypse…"
"It was all the government?" Nick asked, shocked.
Logan nodded. "Most of it; at least the major events. The government never admitted to it, of course. Just like they didn't admit to the cure or virus…"
Nick frowned. "What about the cure?"
"It's what caused the virus," Logan grunted.
"You gotta be shitting me," Nick muttered.
" Believe me, I wish I was, bub," Logan sighed. "I wish I was."