Chapter 14

Playing With the Big Boys

Bayville High

Dean had finished with school and was walking towards his chopper in the parking lot. He had been thinking about yesterday's events. He still couldn't quite grip the fact that there's a part of him that's not human. It explained why he was different but at the same time didn't.

He was a few feet away from his chopper when he suddenly felt a slight tremor.

Dean adjusted his footing so he kept his balance, 'Whoa that was weird'

Then all of a sudden Pietro supersped up in front of him and Toad landed right next to him.

He then heard a big stomp behind him.

Dean looked back to find Fred and Lance standing there. He was surrounded.

They were all wearing different outfits, in their own way mirroring what the X-men do.

"I'm guessing this is what you wear when you supposedly mean business" Dean said finding them amusing.

"That's right, we got a score to settle with you" Lance said with a grin.

'This would be too fun, but the Prof doesn't like the whole idea of me fighting' Dean thought, "Well as much as I would like to beat the crap out of you guys I have better things to do" he said as he walked away.

"Well then we'll clear up your schedule. Fred" Lance said signaling him.

Fred picked up a car and motioned to throw it on top of Dean's Harley.

Dean stopped dead in his tracks, there was no way he was gonna let them wreck Eli's gift. He looked at Lance "You have my full attention" he threw his jacket to the side and entered his fighting stance, "Let's do this"

"I'll take the first crack at him" Toad said as he hopped towards him. He shot his tongue out hoping to surprise him but Dean caught it and started swinging him around.

"Ah!" Toad shouted.

Dean then released Toad sending him flying into a metal pole, "You're definitely the weakest link"

Blob knocked into him with his massive gut sending him flying forward, "Pardon me"

Quicksilver supersped in front of him and elbowed him in the face, "Gotcha"

Dean was knocked down but quickly went to get back up.

Avalanche sent a seismic tremor which made him lose his balance preventing him from regaining his footing.

Toad jumped from car to car to avoid being affected by the tremor. He shot his tongue out, wrapped it around Dean's leg and pulled making him fall back down, "Watch your step on the way up son"

Quicksilver started throwing superfast punches all over his body.

Dean curled up in a ball to protect himself.

Lance created powerful tremor that created a wave through the ground. The wave hit Dean sending him flying forward.

He hit the ground hard but still got back up.

Blob charged forward and started throwing punches.

The obese teen was strong but slow, enough that Dean had no problem dodging his attacks.

Dean threw a punch aimed for Blob's gut but his fat absorbed the hit, "What the?" he repeatedly hit his stomach trying to see if anything would change.

Blob laughed, "Nothing hurts the Blob!" he backhanded Dean while he was distracted knocking him back.

Toad spit sludge at him.

Dean was fast enough to block it with his hand but it stuck to him, "The hell is this shit?" he tried to shake it off but it didn't get off.

Quicksilver sped behind him and kicked him down.

Blob then grabbed his leg and threw him into a car breaking right through the windshield.

Toad hopped on Blob's shoulder, "Now who's the weakest link loser"

"This is waste of our time, he's worthless" Quicksilver said.

"Let's—"Lance paused as he heard something.

Dean crawled out of the car. The shattered glass had cut him up and he had some bruises but nothing too bad.

Dean spit blood out of his mouth, "You call that a beating? You hit like a bunch of girls"

"Alright let's try that again, and this time let's shut him up" Avalanche said not liking his stubbornness.

"My thoughts exactly" Quicksilver said as he sped up into a blur and started literally running circles around Dean.

Dean did his best to try and hit Pietro but he could barely keep up with him. Whenever Dean caught a glimpse of Pietro and went to hit him he appeared behind him and returned with a punch to his back.

"Can't touch this" Quicksilver said as he punched Dean in the face.

Dean swung wildly in response but missed.

"You're too slow" Pietro said as he hit Dean in the midsection. His punches didn't really hurt, they were just annoying.

Quicksilver suddenly stopped and backed away.

Blob leaped into the air, "Cannonball!"

Then Avalanche created a tremor to try and keep Dean from escaping

Blob landed right on top of him crushing him under his weight.

"He must be a pancake" Quicksilver said.

The out of nowhere Blob's body started rising.

"Hey what's going on?" Blob said.

Dean began lifting him up into the air until he stood on his feet while holding Blob over his head, shaking slightly from the weight.

The other 3 Brotherhood members stared in shock.

"I think you dropped this!" Dean threw him at them.

Avalanche and Quicksilver got out of the way but Toad was too shocked to move. He was flattened by the Blob.

Dean ran at Avalanche, knocked him down with a punch to the face and started beating him senseless.

Quicksilver ran into Dean in superspeed knocking him back, "You ok?" he asked his teammate.

Avalanche got back up with a bloodied nose and an angry expression, "As long as we kick his ass, I'll be fine"

Blob got off Toad, who was out for the count, and ran at Dean.

Instinctively, Dean jumped backwards and over Blob who crushed the ground Dean was standing on a second ago with his fist.

While he was in the air Dean landed a kick to the back of his head knocking him forward.

Blob turned around unaffected, "Is that all you've got?"

'Oh yeah I forgot, super strength' Dean thought.

'Behind you' Dean heard a voice in his head. He turned around with a punch catching Quicksilver on the jaw knocking him flat on his hack.

Dean quickly grabbed his hair and smashed Quicksilver's face onto the pavement a couple of times.

Avalanche created a seismic tremor that knocked a couple of cars into the air and towards Dean.

Dean moved out of the way and saw Blob charging at him trying to trap him. He slid on the ground underneath Blob tripping him with his legs.

Blob fell down face first.

"C'mon dough boy" Dean teased the obese teen.

Blob got up and his face was red with rage, "Stop making fun of me!" he ran at him again.

Dean crouched and waited until Blob was right on top of him to launch himself up delivering the strongest uppercut he can muster sending Blob into the air.

Dean jumped above Fred and before he could get too high Dean put his hands together and hit him with a double axe-handle sending him back down.

Blob landed on the ground with a Thud. Sadly though he got right back up.

'Oh come on!' Dean thought.

"I'm gonna squash you!" Blob shouted as he charged once again.

Avalanche was about to send another tremor but stopped, "Hey Fred get out of the way"

"He's mine!" Blob shouted not caring.

'I really don't like that I'm forced to do this but I don't see any other way' Dean waited for the right moment and kicked Blob between his legs with all his might.

Fred immediately froze and looked as if he was about to scream but no sound came out of his mouth. He fell down and didn't move an inch.

Dean grabbed his foot, "Jesus your balls are harder than trees"

"Fucking idiot" Avalanche summoned a stronger tremor making a big crack in the concrete and getting bigger as it approached Dean.

Dean leaped ahead, jumping over the tremor, and hit him with a right hook to the jaw.

"Dean!" Someone said behind him.

He looked to see Jean running towards him, she must have felt the tremors.

"Hey are you ok? What happened?" Jean asked her voice full of worry. Dean was pretty roughed up after all.

"Yeah, I'll live. I was on my way to get my chopper and they just ambushed me. Thanks for helping me by the way Pietro would have gotten me if you hadn't warned me" Dean said assuming it was Jean that helped him. He recalled hearing a voice in his head.

Jean looked confused, "What are you talking about? I didn't warn you, I just got here"

'Now that's weird' Dean thought.

Avalanche, Blob, and Quicksilver got up and ran up to them.

"We're not finished with you yet!" Blob said angrily.

That's when the other X-men showed up out of nowhere.

"This looks a little unfair, don't you think Lance" Scott said.

Right. Now it was seven of them versus the three remaining Brotherhood members, Lance didn't like those odds.

"Let's get out of here fellas, we proved our point. Don't mess with the Brotherhood" Avalanche said and they all left together.

Once again Mystique was watching from afar only this time she wasn't watching alone.

"What do you make of him?" Mystique asked.

A figure appeared in the shadows, one of a man in red armor.

"He didn't use any powers. Only his own skills…he must be hiding something. There's no other explanation why Charles would chose this boy. See what you can do to persuade him while I find others to join our cause" The voice spoke.

"I have already tried to turn him but—"Mystique was interrupted.

"Persuade him, you know what to do" The voice left.

"It shall be done" she said.

Back At the Institute

"You what?" Charles asked.

"There was nothing I could do. They ambushed me so I was forced to defend myself" Dean said.

"You don't look worse for wear" Charles said by the looks of him. A few minor bruises and small cuts but that's it.

"I've been known to heal fast" Dean said.

Charles recalls looking at the blood sample he took from Dean. His cells had strong regenerative capabilities, not on Logan's level but perhaps one day, "Regardless of what happened. I must congratulate you on holding your own"

"It was definitely challenging. I would have lost if not for…." Dean stopped at the thought of the random voice that warned him.

"If not for what?" Charles asked.

Dean snapped out of it, "Never mind, it's nothing" he assured him.

Charles had a feeling the boy was hiding something, but he wouldn't push, "I suppose you've earned the right to customize your own uniform"

"Nice! I've got a good sketch in my mind of what it should look like" Dean said.

Dean was roaming the halls looking for something to do when he came across Logan's room.

'It's like it's calling out to me' Dean thought.

He felt tempted to investigate, he just couldn't help doing what he wasn't supposed to do.

'One little peak wouldn't hurt' Dean thought going to turn the knob.

Logan opened the door and was surprised to see the teen.

"Logan! Hey I just came to ask when my next session is going to be" Dean said quickly.

Logan smiled knowing he was lying, "What a coincidence, it's right now"

In the Danger room Dean was in the standard X-man uniform again, which he really hates. A few more days and he'll have his own unique uniform.

Logan wanted to review what Dean knew about fighting and apparently he said he had something special in mind for today.

Jean, Scott, Kitty, Evan and Kurt were in the observation room watching.

"I finally remembered" Logan said with his arms crossed.

"You're going to have to be more specific" Dean said looking uncomfortable.

Logan sighed, "You're a skilled fighter, and you've had some kind of training. My best guess would be that you're dad definitely had something to do with that. But I finally remember where I've seen you before"

Dean knew this was coming, unfortunately for them he wasn't going to tell them about his past willingly. Although Dean has no idea where Logan might have seen him in the past.

"Ever since I was a little kid I had an obsession with martial arts. You're right my dad did help a lot. He was my first teacher. I learned a handful of styles over the years and got really good, even won a couple of competitions. I was a prodigy" Dean said.

"And what else?" Logan asked knowing there must be more.

"That's all you need to know" Dean said staring him down.

Logan could tell the boy had some issues in his past and Logan of all people was not going to try and pry the information from him.

"Whatever you're comfortable with sharing…..King of the cage" Logan whispered.

Dean froze. That's not right, how the hell could he know? Was he there during his fight with Brick?

"You can't tell anyone" Dean said, the last thing he wanted was everyone finding out he killed a man, "Look I didn't mean to—"

"Let's talk later" Logan said.

"What are they saying?" Scott said, they were talking too low for him to hear them.

"So what now?" Dean asked.

"Well…now you fight me" Logan said with a grin.

Dean was intrigued. If he indeed knows about his dealings in Alberta then is Logan testing him? To see whether Dean is in control of himself?

"Holy shit man, this going to be sick" Evan said enthusiastically.

"My money is on Logan, he's got way more experience" Scott said.

"Maybe, but the new guy is still on a winning streak" Kurt said.

"Let's just see what happens" Jean said.

Logan was in his usual orange and black uniform. He really needs to change the style, it's getting a little old. But it definitely beats the old yellow and blue suit he got from Alpha flight.

Dean has no idea what ulterior motives Logan might have but the teen is going to give it his all. He entered his stance, "Ready when you are old man"

Logan smiled at the joke, 'Time for a little attitude adjustment' "I won't use my claws so we can keep this strictly about technique. Now let's see what you got kid" He signaled to come forward.

Dean dashed forward at top speed and swept for Logan's legs.

Logan jumped over the sweep and kicked Dean in the face.

Dean was knocked back and back flipped to gain some breathing room. He rubbed the bruised spot where he was hit, 'That felt like getting hit with a crowbar'

Dean closed the distance between them and was once again on the offensive. He threw punches left and right trying to breach Logan's defenses but the Wolverine was too fast. He then sent a kick to Logan's midsection.

Logan caught the kick, pulled him closer, and clocked him in the face.

Dean was knocked on his back and slid a couple of feet from the force of the blow.

The boy was on his feet again within moments.

This time Dean tried throwing fast punches rather than powerful ones. He moved as fast as he could to keep Logan on his toes and off balance.

Logan dodged everything with ease.

Dean was at a disadvantage. He never really fought smaller opponents before, but this comparison was crazy. Dean was probably 6,0 while Logan was 5,3. Such a small target was hard to hit.

Dean saw an opportunity and tackled Logan.

But before Logan hit the ground he shifted his weight and put Dean on the bottom.

Logan was about to strike but before he could Dean grabbed his wrist and shifted his weight putting him on top reversing the situation.

Dean was fast enough to get a few hits in before Logan again tried to move the boy but only worked half-way.

The two of them locked hands trying to out wrestle the other. They got on their feet and tried to push back the other to see who had the strength advantage.

Logan started to win the battle of brute strength and pushed him back a little. Then Logan reversed and pulled the boy towards himself and kicked Dean upwards.

Dean collided into the metal ceiling of the Danger room and crashed back down.

Logan pressed his advantage and started pummeling him.

Before he got too badly damaged Dean kicked Logan in his gut as hard as he could sending him flying into the wall and knocking the wind out of him.

Dean finally got some breathing room and some time to think.

Logan's fighting style was unlike anything Dean had ever seen. There seemed to be no reoccurring pattern, or at least none that Dean could notice, but his attacks were precise. Each punch and kick had its purpose, to cripple his opponent.

No wonder he was supposed to be second best. Which begs the question of who's first, Dean makes a mental note to ask Logan when this is over.

Dean entered his stance again, only this time it appeared more defensive.

Logan got to his feet, closed the gap between them, and continued to attack.

Dean seemed to be getting worn out and the chances of him making a comeback at this point are slim to none. The boy could barely block Logan's attacks anymore, he was simply too fast and any damage Dean dealt to him was instantly healed anyways.

But even If he doesn't win, Dean can still do anything and everything in his power to make it as hard as possible for Logan to beat him.

Logan threw another punch to Dean's face except this time the boy did something a little unorthodox in hopes of catching Logan by surprise.

Dean moved forward, missing Logan's fist by mere centimeters, and delivered a heavy punch to Logan's stomach doubling him over.

Dean followed up with a mean hook to Logan's face, grabbed his right arm, and pulled as hard as he could dislocating his shoulder.

"Aahh!" Logan yelled out in pain.

Then Dean wrapped his arm around Logan's neck and put him in a sleeper hold.

'This is my last chance. If I can hold on long enough he'll go to sleep' Dean thought.

Logan started elbowing Dean repeatedly in his ribcage as hard as he could with his left arm, 'There's no way he's making it!'

Dean was unable to defend himself, all he could do was pray that his body was durable enough to last.

All of a sudden Logan heard a loud crack but still the boy wouldn't release him so he continued.

'C'mon just ignore the pain' Dean thought.

Logan's vision was starting to blur, which meant any second now he'd be falling asleep. He then heard another crack but still the boy wouldn't release him.

'Just a little more' Dean thought struggling to hold on.

I got lots of broken bones at Alberta, they weren't anything new. Although 3 in the same place was more than I could handle at the time

And the third crack was where the boy could take no more.

Dean released Logan and fell clutching his ribcage as he cried out in pain.

Logan moved away panting heavily and popped his shoulder back into place.

Dean slowly stood up, slightly shaking at the pain of three broken ribs.

Logan must say he is impressed, Dean took a hell of a beating and yet continued.

"C'mon kid why don't you just give up" Logan said not seeing the point in continuing.

Dean inched towards him, "I'm not done yet" he said with determination in his eyes. He switched to a southpaw position to protect his left ribs.

In that moment Logan had a newfound respect for the boy. He might be a cocky little bastard but at least it's not just false bravado.

"As your instructor I'm declaring this session over" Logan said walking over to him.

Dean looked slightly angry, he didn't like unfinished battles.

Logan went to help him walk but Dean pushed him away, "I can walk fine on my own" he walked slowly.

They entered the observation room full of dumbstruck teens. They never expected the fight to go like that.

Jean was the first to react "Oh my god are you ok?" she asked running over to Dean.

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just a scratch" Dean replied underplaying what just happened.

"Red why don't you get the Professor to meet me in the infirmary" Logan said.

"Yeah sure Logan" Jean said as she sent a telepathic message to Charles.

"You put up a good fight man" Evan said.

"Ya, good job" Kurt gave him a thumbs up.

Scott looked pleased with the end result. At least Logan avenged him.

Charles wrapped Dean's midsection as he scolded Logan, "What were you thinking?"

"The kid's tough, I needed to see exactly how much" Logan said.

"That's no excuse for hurting the boy" Charles said not sounding happy.

"Professor, if I may, I'm use to this" Dean said calmly.

Charles stared at the boy dumbstruck.

"I mean a couple of broken ribs is nothing. I've had broken bones dozens of times in the past, it's no biggie" Dean made such things sound trivial.

"And may I ask how did this come to be?" Charles asked.

Dean seemed reluctant to answer at first but found a proper way to answer without having to explain, "I'm a fighter Prof, things like this can't be avoided"

"I'm just concerned for your health Dean" Charles said.

"Don't worry Professor I heal really fast. This'll be good as new in less than a day" Dean said.

"Wait what? I didn't know you healed that fast" Logan said.

"I guess that solves our problem" Charles said feeling relieved, "But I am still against the aggression both of you showed today"

"I wouldn't have it any other way Professor" Dean said as Charles finished wrapping his ribcage.

"I gotta agree with the kid on this one Chuck, we won't make any progress if we don't. But If it makes you feel any better we'll take it easy next time, ok?" Logan asked.

"Yes I would very much like that. Now I will see you both tomorrow" Charles said as he left the infirmary.

"I gotta hand it to ya, you pack a hell of a punch" Dean complimented him.

"That's probably because every single bone in my body is covered in adamantium" Logan said in an unhappy tone.

Dean's eyes widened, "Whoa, is that part of your mutation or something?"

He could see that he hit a sore spot judging by Logan's angry face. He decided not to ask more about the touchy subject, and leave that for another day.

"Don't ask. And as far as the fight, you're good. But you have a lot to learn" Logan said telling the ugly truth of it.

"Well maybe you could teach me" Dean suggested.

Logan thought about it. One day the boy might grow to be a powerful ally, it seemed logical to sharpen his skills, "I guess since you're already ahead of the others I can give you private lessons from time to time. Let's say once a week"

Dean shook his head, "No, 3 times and you have a deal"

"3? I'm not going to take away from my own time just for you kid" Logan said.

"Look at it this way. The better I get, the more I'll challenge you" Dean had an interesting point.

Logan hadn't thought about that, "Fine, just don't go crying home to your mommy when I whip you every time" he smirked.

"Old man. I want you to beat me. I want you to beat the crap out of me every single time so that way when I'm good enough I'll wipe that smirk right off your face" Dean said with determination.

A little later Dean was outside with Logan, far away from any prying ears or mind readers. They were outside of the Institute's gates leaning on the wall. Logan had a six-pack of beer with him.

"What do you know?" Dean asked.

"That night you had the fight with Brick, that's all I've seen" Logan said gulping his can of beer.

"So you were there…you saw what I did?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I was standing right in front of the cage when you did" Logan said.

"...I'm guessing you have to tell everyone now" Dean assumed looking sad.

Logan shook his head, "No"

Dean was shocked, "What? Why?"

"You're entitled to have your own private past. Look at me and Rogue, were not exactly comfortable with sharing are we?" Logan asked as he downed his beer.

"No but..." Dean felt confused, "You saw me, I lost control"

"Yes, you did" Logan confirmed, "The creep pushed you too far and you lost control. But from what I've seen since you got here you've got better control"

"Better, not complete control. If I lose it again…who knows what else I'll do" Dean said.

"Hey, you want better control? Then I'll help you. But stop beating yourself up, that won't help" he looked into the boy's eyes, "I can tell you regret what you did"

Dean shook his head, "I'm not sure I do, which is why I don't want to remember. I want to forget it ever happened" he stared at the ground.

"You wanna forget?" Logan asked.

"God yes, that's all I want. I want those memories to fade like they never happened. I try to stay positive all the time you know, be my usual confident self that would enjoy life but whenever I'm alone they just come back" Dean said.

Logan chuckled, "That's ironic"

Dean looked at him, "How?"

"Seeing as how I know a little about you it's only fair I share something. The reason my skeleton is covered in adamantium is because…I was experimented on" Logan said reluctantly.

"Wow…what did they do to you?" Dean asked.

"Beyond the metal coating I don't know. They erased my memory, everything before that is…basically gone" Logan said.

Dean was speechless.

"You say you want to forget those memories, I don't think you should. Your past choices help you define who you are. I've lost most of my life so it's hard to tell who the fuck I really am. Hell even if I could only remember the bad parts I'd still settle for that" Logan said opening another can of beer.

"That's deep" Dean admitted, "For a while there I thought I was at the bottom of god's shit list, but you're worse than me"

Logan handed him a can of beer.

Dean raised an eyebrow, "You don't care that I'm underage?"

"Kid, you've been through enough shit to traumatize you. I don't give a shit about how old you are" Logan said.

Dean took it without hesitation. He opened the can and downed it in one gulp, "You know I knew this girl that went through something similar to you. But her memories were replaced all together"

"Damn, I feel sorry for that broad" Logan said chugging his beer, "What happened to her?"

Dean shrugged, "Not sure, I recommended her to work for SHIELD. If anyone could get her through her issues I figured maybe they could"

Logan winced, "I get the feeling you might have made her worse. Was she a looker?"

Dean whistled, "Oh was she. A dark haired bombshell that was older and tougher than me"

"Did you at least seal the deal?" Logan asked with a smile.

"Like I said, she was older than me" Dean said.

Logan laughed, "Aw you were fooled by the age barrier"

Dean threw his empty can at him, "Shut up old man"

"Let me tell you something kid, age don't mean nothin. If you act like an adult they'll treat you like one, and that goes for any situation in life" Logan said.

Dean nodded, "Good to know"

Author's note: Well it was bound to happen, but if anyone could kick Dean's ass it should be Wolverine. But it seems like the two of them have more in common than one might think. Till next time!