Chapter 4: Wolverine

The students had forgotten their lunches and, like a 1950s housewife, Selene went to the school wearing the cute frilly apron and her long chestnut curls tied back in a ponytail at the back of her neck. A reusable shopping bag carried the neglected sack lunches. Her mind was too focused on the task to notice the looks she received as she spotted the group of secret mutants, minus Jean. Oh well, she would see if Scott could deliver hers. Approaching the table, she greeted them.

Rogue looked away, lightly playing with her hair, while Kurt seemed almost embarrassed about the old fashioned situation. Kitty smiled apologetically and told her that since they forgot this morning, they just bought their lunches. The empath chuckled softly and handed one to Kurt with a sly comment. "I know your metabolism. But I would eat the non-perishable food and save the rest for later~" She bid them goodbye and started to walk away, unsure of what to do with the other lunches.

"Man, I'm starving..." Selene looked over to find a small group of boys. One was severely overweight and rubbing his stomach, two looked relatively normal but also seemed like the exact opposite of each other (the brunette had a grunge style while the silver-haired boy was relatively well dressed), and the final boy was small, sort of greenish, and whipped out a tongue to snatch a fly. She smiled with a chuckle and walked over. The boys looked at her with wary curiosity and the biggest boy asked her what she wanted.

Their emotions of distrust made her want to cry but instead she reached into her shopping bag and pulled out the other lunches. "They'll go to waste if I take them home. So would you like to take them?"

The big boy instantly brightened up and accepted the bags, looking inside one with eager eyes. But the other boys just seemed more on guard. "Yo, we saw ya over there with the X-geeks. How do we know this ain't a trap?"

She smiled at him. "Because the sandwiches aren't bologna~" The brunette woman couldn't help but laugh at her own joke. "Sorry, couldn't help it. But seriously, they had already bought their lunches and--"

"Hey!" Scott came over rather aggressively. He looked like he was getting ready for a fight. "What are you doing to Selene?"

"She came over here, Summers. So back off!" The grunge boy with ripped jeans tightened his hands into fists, obviously feeling threatened. The empath tried to calm him down as she told Scott that she did indeed approach them so the food wouldn't go to waste.

He didn't like that, hissing at her that they were the enemy. And now, she was mad. "We will discuss this at home, Scott." He flinched at the the ice in her voice (was she also projecting her anger?). Turning back to the group of boys, she apologized for the X-men leader's rudeness. "Have a good day... oh, and I'll bring you boys lunch tomorrow. Please tell Scott what you would like me to make for you. He'll give me the list...won't you, Scott?" He obviously wanted to argue but his shoulders slumped and he quietly agreed. She was glad that she won this battle but knew that the war would begin after his Danger Room session was over. But for now, she had dinner to prepare and grocery shopping to do.

xx.xx

By the time she got back to the mansion, Selene noticed a man she had yet to see working on a motorcycle that hadn't been there when she left. When she opened the van door, his head turned to look at her and his nostrils flared a couple of times. She smiled at him with a light wave then proceeded to get some of the groceries. It would take another trip or two to get all the bags but she would not ask him for help. They were strangers after all. Taking as many as she could carry while still being able to get the door, she took a step away from the van only to see the man grabbing more of the bags without a word. "...thank you. You must be the elusive Logan. My name is Selene." She headed to open the door for them so they could get the groceries inside as soon as possible.

"Didn't know we got a new recruit. Been through Danger Room training yet?" His voice was as gruff as he looked. It sounded pleasant enough but she preferred Hank's voice, calm and passive and only growly when he was upset or Beast was closer to the surface.

She started putting the frozen items away as she replied, "No. My powers aren't very good for battle. I am here to cook and clean although I am more than prepared to teach a music class if needed. I'm an empath..."

"Doesn't mean you can't train." His gruff voice made it clear that he wasn't buying her reasoning nor was he willing to let her out of what was typically mandatory training. "Surprised Chuck didn't insist on at least testing your powers."

She sighed but said nothing as she considered the best way to respond to him as she continued to put the food away. When he growled at her, she jumped minutely and hissed at him in irritation. "...sorry. Don't growl at me. You are not my alpha, I do not follow you." Something in his dark eyes had her even more on her guard and she knew not to disregard her instincts.

Lucky for her, Hank ambled into the kitchen, fur raised at the tension in the air. He approached the two mutants and stood between them, his back to the small female. She noted his feral instinct to protect her by facing the male. Even his voice was growly. "Logan... what seems to be the problem?"

"...your girl has no training. Has Chuck even tested her powers so we know what she can do?"

Selene rolled her eyes. "No, he hasn't. I asked him not to record anything about me. I'm not here to be part of the team. I also don't need training. I already got put through feral boot-camp so I can protect myself."

"Feral... bootcamp?" Logan looked over at Hank who appeared just as confused as he was. "Well, there's no way Sabertooth would have trained you up. So who helped you?"

His stance was challenging but the empath would not look away. Her grey eyes turned mournful. "My brother... my twin. He was a feral..." She could feel tears come but before she could excuse herself, Beast pulled her close, his growls now an attempt to comfort and soothe her. "...he's been dead for so long... you would think my grief would have long since been gone..." She took in the scent of the blue mutant, nuzzling into his warm arms and tucking her head under his chin.

"Shhh... nothing compares to the loss of family, your twin brother was no doubt your other half..."

It appeared that his comforting didn't help her. Instead, her tears fell and her body shook with silent sobs. This also brought forth Beast's inner beast, a creature that was all instinct and rage. He pulled her closer still and looked around for any threat, any reason that the female would be crying. The beast didn't understand what had been going on previous to his "arrival" but her scent was laden with the salt of tears and pain that he couldn't protect her from. The only threat was that of the other feral in the room but the more human feral looked as confused as he was. Confusion was not a state he liked. In fact, it only aggravated him further. Instinct demanded he calm the female as she typically calmed him. And the only thing he could think of was to remove her from the room to one that would hopefully ease whatever was ailing her. And with that thought, he picked her up, the frail creature still clinging to him, and fled the kitchen and out of the mansion into the surrounding woods with which he was more accustomed. He could protect her, help her with the pain that he could not see. Without anyone else around, perhaps she could calm down enough to explain what was wrong.