About a week later and before Labor Day, in the back of the large Mitchell property where the fields were open and cleared, Roger Mortimer and Mae Ellis were married and Gil was officially adapted by Roger. Logan could not count the many people in the ceremony itself or those who came. Everyone from the school showed up, people who had a significant other outside the school included, and the many people in Salem Center who loved the two who were now getting married. Although the brother of the bride did not show up (Ellis being tied up in Washington), it was generally a good affair without him anyway and without the additional fuss too. Nothing from the week before even marred it either, although Logan still thought of Vinnie Paul, hanging from the ceiling and then buried without further trouble in the woods of Westchester. Indeed, it was best to forget about him. Most had already, without a though to his whereabouts. Teller even gave out that he left town.
All and all, a good occasion…
Logan's thoughts drifted everywhere, so much so that he did not watch anything, the ring exchange included. He sat in his seat, transfixed upon the twilight skies of the vast lands the Mitchells owned. As the nighttime festivities were just beginning to start and everyone was getting up to congratulate the newly-married couple, Logan finally woke from her reverie. He did not notice that Xavier was sitting next to him. Logan thought that he had Hank with him on the right and Alex and Lorna on the other, seated as they did on the other side of the aisle. It was a nice change to see the Professor though, staying back as he was and appearing amused by the drunken partiers.
"What happened last week?" Xavier asked in a hush.
"A body had to be buried," Logan admitted in the same tone. "It was talking too much."
"I see." Xavier did not sound pleased, although Logan was surprised that Xavier did not use his powers to read through his mind. "How damaging was this…body?"
"Very much so, I'm afraid, Professor. Roger found out that he was selling us out to Ellis. He raped, murdered and tortured many girls and women in the meantime. He would have had us all killed had we not done something."
"And this is also in revenge for Danielle, as she did to Duane Webber?"
Logan could not answer. He only nodded.
"How have we gotten to this?" Xavier then inquired, his voice sounding bitter. "Why have we gotten this far?"
"In war, you have to have peace," Logan pointed out. "Some people need to be sacrificed."
"Danielle did not need to be."
"You can argue that with Jay and Roger on that point. I agree with you. Danielle is just a kid."
"Yet, you encourage it."
"I do the best I can to protect her, even from herself. However, I think she's helping herself these days. I have not seen her in some time."
"I think that's because she's pushing herself to be better. She's had an offer that she could not resist and one that would make her think twice about the path she was on."
Logan saw Xavier's eyes twinkle in a way that he had not seen before. He had to rack his brains as to the cause and finally hit on it. If Jay and Roger had trained Danielle so much and that Xavier was giving her an offer, then she had joined what the students know as the X-Men. While Logan knew of all of the members and had declined to join the group at this point (feeling not a part of the school and nomadic still), he was surprised that the Professor had asked one so young. Then again, he had done the same with Jay and he was much more mature than his younger sister possibly ever will be.
"You think it would help her?" Logan asked Xavier, very anxious that this decision would not tame the younger Mitchell sibling.
"Like Jay?" Xavier appeared in every amused, smiling and resisting a chuckle. "Jay was most certainly like his sister in every way. He paved the way for her, if you want to look at it that way. When he was fourteen and fifteen, he went through a tough time too, especially when we were being assaulted on all sides. He had just found out about their mutual powers the year before. It scared him that there was too much unknown about it, much like now. He went insane with the power that went into his head and it drove him to depression, drinking and temptations. He too ran away from home and was not seen for days, although he survived out in the woods, just as his father taught him to. Roger and Alex found him. Thankfully, he was not used as Death."
Logan calculated the time in his head. Yes, he wasn't really around that time, especially after Apocalypse had kicked up some dirt. Between late 1983 and into 1984, he was roaming around Canada in search of something. At the time, he could not remember what exactly it was he had been looking for. He thought it best that to recall that time was going to be torture, sure that he was mentally not there anyway.
"In the meantime, I believe that it best that Danielle keep her agreement with Teller," Xavier continued, almost sensing Logan's thoughts of the decade before. "She is to be supervised at all times. She is learning herself and being part of a team. She cannot be alone anymore."
"And that's good to hear." Logan peered back at the front. Already, Roger and Mae had cut their cake and were stuffing it in each other's mouths with everyone egging them on.
Xavier put a reassuring hand on Logan's shoulder. "Life is but a journey of self-discovery," he said just as he heard his name being called by the younger students. "Some of us find a way slower than the others."
Soon, Xavier was distracted. Moving away from Logan left the older mutant alone and very much in an awkward situation, he felt. Indeed, Logan waited a few more minutes, hoping to get in line to finally congratulate the new couple and leave, and was soon rewarded with two amorous pairs coming his way – Scott and Jean and Matthew and Ororo. Groaning inwardly, Logan waited patiently as the four gathered around him, talking animatedly and all asking if Logan was joining them in line. Scott even seemed jovial and was even enjoying himself immensely, although Logan thought it temporary. He figured the newly-dubbed Cyclops would be back to his perfectly normal beaming personality soon after this event.
Logan soon noticed that Jean seemed out of sorts, almost like she knew some undertone was underneath the happiness. She glanced back at Logan every so often as the other three picked up where she lacked in feeling. Soon though, after receiving a noncommittal answer from Logan, especially about staying for the late-night partying and dancing, all except Jean left. She told Scott that she would join them in a few minutes, looking at Logan as she said it. Scott shrugged his shoulders, glancing at Logan too. He walked beside the older mutant, perhaps making it as natural as possible, and passed a quick comment.
"Don't touch my girl," Scott whispered rashly, smiling at Jean at the same time he went. He agreed to save her a place in line and left the two in peace.
Jean only grinned thinly. "Finally alone," she remarked.
"I wouldn't say so," Logan replied. "What do you want?"
"I thought it would be nice to warn you, Logan, but I see that words have no weight on you."
"Depends on what they are. How did you get so cryptic?"
"In my line of work, sometimes a good bedside manner is the best way to go about it. You? You need it as subtle as a brick being thrown at your head."
Logan snorted. "What's happening?"
Jean moved in closer, which made Logan a little uncomfortable, and leaned forward to speak softly. "I have not seen destruction in a dream since ten years ago. Last night had been one of the worst since then."
"We have some pretty powerful telepaths in the school other than you," Logan pointed out. "You sure you didn't pick up on something they're thinking or dreaming?"
"Very funny." Jean seemed serious. "Logan, this isn't a joke. This is real. It involves Ellis."
"What about him?" Immediately, the older mutant turned stiff and unfeeling.
"I could not see how it was achieved, but I saw the pathway filled with bodies and broken stone graves," Jean explained, still in a hush. "Ellis made himself a dictator of this country on the lives of this country's people, human and mutant…and there was no way to stop him for years."
"You mean, efforts are made and they're somehow successful?"
"In the end. It will take strength and endurance to push him down. I don't even know how far we've come now and if it'll be enough to stop him now."
"Why are you telling me now and on such a time and place too?"
"Because you'll listen to me, Logan. The Professor, Alex and Hank aren't taking this seriously and I was hoping you would."
"Dismissed as another silly dream, I take it?"
"Of course. However, I am trying to wear down the Professor's resistance. Scott is working on his brother. Once they are satisfied, they would work on Hank seeing it too."
"Holy hell, imagine that. Scott is doing something right."
"Logan! Scott does enough. You just don't see it."
"He couldn't handle being a double agent and feeding false info. He also almost got killed."
"And if it wasn't for you, he would have been drowned. That's the past though. He is part of the future, I would hope."
There was wistfulness in Jean's voice. Logan realized with a start that she truly loved Scott and wished that the two had a future together without the influence of people like Ellis. She was trusting him with something so important, especially in light of saving Scott's life some time ago, that she was willing to admit to a possible ultramodern situation that might not be peaceful. That alone added another piece to the puzzle, Logan saw, and that was another mystery that didn't need to evolve around the Mitchell siblings and Ellis. He would save this for later and keep it as a vow, to make this not just about a family on the verge of collapse all on the whim on a government official.
"You got anything else you want to tell me?" Logan inquired with curiosity.
"Not now," Jean admitted, getting up to a standing position. "Scott is waiting for me. Save a dance for me?"
"If I stay long enough," Logan promised, stretching his legs and standing up too. He cut into the line towards the Mortimer couple and said the usual things, sitting back in his seat as the music started up on a higher volume.
I took my love, I took it down.
Climbed a mountain and I turned around.
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills,
'Til the landslide brought me down.
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
And can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changing,
'Cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder,
Even children get older.
And I'm getting older too…
"Will you dance with me?"
Logan shook his head. "Huh?"
Danielle stood in front of him, Jay on her right side and Hank on the other side (Logan noticed with glee how uncomfortable they were in their monkey suits). "I asked if you could dance with me, Logan," Danielle stated plainly, not seeming eager about it.
This time, Logan groaned out loud. "Don't you think twice is enough for my lifetime?"
Danielle smiled, but it was quick and seemed clumsy, even for her. "No. And you don't have to."
"Sounds like a change from when you were a kid. I accept."
"You going to watch her for a while?" Hank seemed worried.
"Sure," Logan replied, feeling generous, even to the fuzzball. "Not for long though. I'm heading back out soon. Security waits for no man."
"Lucky for me, no work tonight," Jay muttered, releasing his sister and whispering something in her ear, something Logan actually did not catch. While she laughed, Logan took her arm as the two left and led her to the other dancers.
Well, I've been afraid of changing,
'Cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder,
Even children get older and
I'm getting older too…
Oh, I'm getting older too…
Oh, take my love, take it down.
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around.
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills,
Well the landslide will bring you down, down…
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills,
Well, the landslide will bring you down.
Oh, oh, the landslide will bring you down…
Logan really started looking at Danielle then, almost like it was the first time. She was fifteen and some months old now, appearing in her early twenties and in every way beautiful and delicate. She had been one of the maids of honor for Mae and wore a light blue dress with thin straps and white fabric roses at the waist. Her hair was done up, naturally curled at the ends of her already wavy and frizzy red hair. She wore no makeup, although she had some sweat line the hairline of her forehead. She even sported satin flats, slipper-like and silver, and she almost floated in them as they held hands. It seemed like magic too, the way the two started with the other couples and almost blended in.
Logan felt an electric shock in his hands that jolted him awake from his dreamy state and saw Danielle grin, leading him instead of the other way around, which was a little difficult at first, but he soon found his footing. So, she was still mischievous and charming. However, there was also something in Danielle's hazel eyes that made Logan think twice too. She wasn't a child anymore and had done too much to turn back now, although Xavier holding her back and helping her learn from the experiences was a start to her maturity. She was in every way dreaming about the future, just like Jean was, and was picturing it another way that expectantly did not see Ellis in it.
It was something Logan could not encourage either, not even in himself, and it was enough to want to slap himself. "Prove it to me," he said to her suddenly, challenging her. This he trusted would deter her fantasies.
"Prove what?" Danielle was coquettish.
"You know what I mean."
"Do I?" This time, Danielle was innocent and it seemed genuine too. "Do I need to read your mind to see what you're talking about?"
"You're smarter than you really show everyone, Danielle. Don't make me force the answer out of you."
"I would claim to be not guilty on this round. Am I seeing you tomorrow night though? Teller has me on."
"If I can get out of a meeting, I will."
"Jean and Storm will be there."
Logan knew this. Xavier organized the three as a musical trio recently and was trying to get Teller to advertise them. It would be easier for more eye candy at the bar than for one youngster on the stage. On the other hand, being turned onto another subject and so quickly was something he did not expect out of the fifteen-year-old. Smart as a whip, he realized, and one he would have to watch more carefully. No, it wasn't just protecting her from the outside forces out of her control and for herself. She had learned more than death out there and was more than ready for his dare, something he could not fall for. He just could not take the bait and go into her pity parties ever again.
The song ended. Logan and Danielle lingered a little longer in each other's arms before releasing the other from the light grip, their eyes meeting briefly before releasing each other. Jay was soon beside his sister, taking her by the shoulder tightly, to lead her the other way. Before she could say farewell to Logan, Danielle blew him a kiss, waving as the two Mitchell siblings got lost in the crowds. It was childish and sweet, but nothing that Logan could take to heart. It was still a puerile crush as far as he could see and it was very harmless.
There was the obvious feeling behind it too and that was worrying Logan. He could not afford to allow himself the easy temptation of falling for a woman, even one as young as Danielle, and the years without having company was taking a steady toll on him, if he had to be honest with himself. As far as everyone was concerned, age excluded, Danielle was an adult in every way and ready for something more than what she has now. The clash was going to be vicious though and something that would hurt him too.
No. And that was final.
Lyrics are from Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide".
