"We miss you around the mansion, you know," Marie said to Logan as the two of them plus Kacie walked through the mall.
"Really? What, did you guys actually have to go out and buy a can opener?" Logan asked.
"Nah, we love you for more than your usefulness as a kitchen gadget," Kacie said with her usual giggle.
"I miss being at the mansion, too," Logan said. "I miss hanging out with you guys all the time. I miss working out in the Danger Room. I miss the three of us having prank wars with Billy and Warren I miss trying to sneak pizza in when it's Rachel's night to cook. Heck, I even miss Rachel!"
"So why don't you come back home, Logan?" Kacie asked.
"I can't right now," Logan said.
"Does being around Ric bother you that much?" Marie asked. "You're around him a lot in school."
"School is different," Logan explained. "Ric isn't always right there, and I can just ignore him, concentrate on my work instead. But it's more than just Ric right now."
"What? Some other guy?" Kacie asked.
"No…well, sort of…not the way you think," Logan replied.
"What is it then?" Kacie and Marie asked in unison.
"Craig Jackson Marshall. He showed up on my doorstep a couple of days ago, and well, apparently he's my half-brother."
"You're what? How did that happen?" Kacie asked.
"Oh, you know my dad," Logan said. "He just couldn't keep his hands off the women before he settled down with Mom."
"So what's Craig like?" asked Marie. "Is he nice?"
"I guess he's okay," Logan said. "I don't much like him, though. He looks sorta like my dad, but he's not nearly as short, hairy, or beat-up."
Marie tried unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle. "Does his hair grow up in little points?"
Logan laughed, too. "No."
"So how old is he? Where does he live? Does he have a job? Is he cute?" Kacie hit Logan with a barrage of questions.
Logan took a deep breath and answered, "He's twenty-five, lives in New York City where he works on Wall Street as a stockbroker, and as for him being cute, I'm his sister, so I can't really judge, but he's not ugly."
"Is he a mutant?" Marie asked.
"Yeah. He has a healing factor," Logan responded.
"Must be a dominant gene," Kacie commented.
"What does Jubilee think of him?" asked Marie.
"She likes him," Logan replied, "though she was a little weirded out by the fact that she's only sixteen years older than her stepson."
"So you have an older brother now," Marie said. "Cool."
"Not cool," Logan said.
"Why not?" Kacie asked.
"Because I was happier without siblings," Logan said.
"At least you didn't have to grow up with him," Marie grumbled. "Big brothers can be such pains."
"Can we meet him?" asked Kacie.
"Yeah. He's coming to the mansion next weekend," Logan said. "My dad wants to show him around. I'll probably be coming back myself then, too."
Kacie and Marie suddenly looked even happier than usual. "You better come back," Kacie said.
"Yeah," Marie added. "Things just haven't been the same without you."
*** *** ***
Addie stared out the window of the car, watching how quickly the trees passed by and wishing she could put the world into slow motion. She had told her parents she was over what had happened with Ric and was ready to go back to the mansion, but the closer she got the less sure of that she was. The crying had stopped, something which Logan was extremely grateful for, but she wasn't sure if being around Ric again wouldn't re-trigger the childish tears.
She saw Craig reflected in the window, and began to dread going to the mansion even more. He'd taken time off his busy life in New York City to come to the mansion and see how the X-Men operated. Addie could tell her father wanted Craig to join the team, at least as an unofficial member, and Addie couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Personally, she didn't think he'd be much of an asset to the team. Well, that and the fact that if Craig was an X-Man, he would be spending a lot of his time under the same roof as her. Addie wasn't ready for quite that much sibling bonding.
As the car pulled up to the mansion, Addie wished she could make herself even smaller, so maybe she could hide under the seats or something. She hated herself for thinking that way. She was an X-Man, the daughter of Wolverine, and the killer of Sabretooth. Why was she reduced to a weak, crying baby desperate for a hiding place just because some guy had broken up with her? She swore to herself right then and there that she wasn't going to cry even one more tear over Ric LeBeau. She'd recover her pride and walk tall, never again showing Ric just how much he'd hurt her.
Addie Logan walked to the mansion calm and poised, and did not let her resolve break—not even when Ric was the one to answer the door.
*** *** ***
Ric felt his throat go dry when he opened the door and saw Wolverine standing in front of him. Wolverine flared up at the sight of Ric, and Ric could tell by the way that the older man was clenching his fists that he was struggling to keep his claws in. Jubilee placed her hand firmly on her husband's shoulder. "Where's Paige?" she asked.
Ric pointed behind him. "She's in the main room," he said.
"Thanks, Ric," Jubilee said with a smile as she led her family into the house.
Wolverine gave Ric one more glare before pushing past him. Addie ignored him completely, something that hurt Ric more than he would've guessed, since he thought he'd gotten used to that at school. Craig gave him a small nod.
Ric shut the door and went the opposite direction.
*** *** ***
Wolverine, Logan, Craig, and Jubilee went into the main room. Paige disengaged from the conversation she was having with a tall, blonde girl that Addie didn't recognize, but figured must be Briana Braddock. Wolverine and Jubilee moved into the other room with Paige to talk, leaving Craig and Logan alone with the blonde.
"Hi, you're Briana, right?" Logan said.
Briana looked up slowly. "Yes. You must be Logan and…" she stopped as she looked over at Craig. "Hello."
"Hey," Craig said with a grin. "I'm Craig Marshall."
Briana walked over to him and shook his hand, letting her fingers linger a little longer than was necessary. "Briana Braddock," she said with her perfectly manicured British accent.
Craig smiled at her, and Briana blushed and turned away slightly. Logan suppressed her gag-reflex. From what Logan had heard from her friends, Briana was just about the most annoying person ever to live, and her new "brother" was falling all over her.
"Yeah, well, I'm going to find people. You kids play nice," Logan said, leaving the room.
Craig smiled more and Briana blushed harder. Briana quickly composed herself, then took Craig's hand again, leading him over to the couch. They sat down and began to talk.
*** *** ***
"Anybody miss me?" Logan asked as she walked into the recroom.
"Logan!" Marie yelled, running up to her to give her a hug.
Kacie looked up from the pool table. "Good to have you back," she said. "It's been all boring without you."
Logan went over to Kacie and gave her a quick hug, too. "So who's winning?" she asked, surveying the pool game.
"She's been kicking my ass all day," Billy said.
"As usual," Kacie added.
"I'm awful at this game," Billy said.
"He's awful at this game," Kacie confirmed.
Logan went over and sat down on the couch and watched her friends. She looked over and noticed a Ping-Pong game going on with Rachel and Warren versus Twister and Rebecca. The ball stared to go past Rachel, but suddenly stopped and sped back over to Rebecca and Twister. Twister frowned, and a gust of wind blew the ball back past Warren. All four of them broke into a sudden fit of giggles.
Logan leaned back on the couch and smiled. It felt good to be home.
*** *** ***
Marie ducked down to avoid a flying Ping-Pong ball and went over to Logan. "Where's your brother?" Marie asked.
Logan rolled her eyes. "Craig's busy flirting with Briana."
"Ew! How desperate is he?!" Marie exclaimed.
"I don't know," Logan said. "I don't really know her, so I can't…"
"Trust me," Marie said, cutting Logan off, "this woman's psycho."
"Psycho? Isn't that a little harsh?" Logan asked.
"Talk to her for five minutes and you will become a believer."
Logan laughed. "If she's that bad, I'll just take your word on it."
"She so prissy even Rachel can't stand her!" Marie said.
Logan's eyes grew wide. "Wow. That's bad."
"Yeah. And she's decided to stay longer than she originally planned, too," Marie said with a groan.
"I hope that doesn't make Craig want to stick around," Logan muttered.
"Why not?" Marie asked.
"I don't know. I just don't want him here," Logan said with a shrug.
"Well, I can relate to not wanting your older brother around," Marie said, "but you should at least try to get to know him. Maybe he's not as bad as you think."
Logan crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want to get to know him," she said.
Marie lightly smacked Logan's arm. "Stubborn."
Logan grinned. "With my parents, how could I not be?"
*** *** ***
After dinner, Jubilee and Wolverine were getting ready to drive back home. "You sure you're going to be okay here, Sweetie?" Jubilee asked Addie.
"Of course!" Addie replied. "I'm not going to let some guy keep me away from the mansion. I'm an X-Man. This is where I belong."
"If ya need us again, just call, okay, Pun'kin?" Wolverine said.
"You got it, Dad," Addie said. "But don't worry. I'll have my big brother here to take care of me."
"Behave."
"Yes, Daddy." Addie hugged Wolverine.
"Does he really bother you that much, Kiddo?"
"Nah," Addie said. "He's okay, I guess. And I think the others are glad that he distracts Briana."
Logan ruffled his daughter's hair, and she immediately reached up to smooth it down. "Be nice to your brother, Adanya."
"Don't worry, Daddy. I will be."
*** *** ***
Briana smiled as Craig looked over at her. He thought she must be the world's most beautiful woman. She walked over, sat down on the couch beside him, and put her hand on his leg. "I'm going to go into New York City and do some shopping," she told him. "Would you be willing to show me around, since you live there after all?"
Craig had never been one to pass up the opportunity to spend time with a woman as ravishing as Briana. "I'd love to," he said.
Briana smiled at him, batting her eyelashes slightly. "Thank you. You're the only person here who's nice to me," she said.
Craig frowned. "Why aren't the others nice to you?" he asked.
"I guess they don't like me." Briana looked up at Craig with seductive shyness. "You like me, don't you?"
Craig swallowed hard. "Of course I do."
Briana smiled. "Good. I'll be ready to leave around two o'clock. Meet me back here then." She got up from the couch, kissed Craig on the cheek, then went upstairs.
Craig watched her every move.
*** *** ***
He was the one they called the Dark Angel. He'd earned that name. He flew in, avenging the wrongs of the Dark One, but his behavior was anything by angelic. His hair was dark, his eyes were cold, and his features were handsome but stern. His wings were not made of conventional feathers, but of an energy that glowed like a flame.
The Dark Angel did not care that he had become numb, that all who saw him believed that he must have no soul. He no longer cared for anything or anyone. He did not do what he did because it was right or just, or because he wanted to be a saving force in the universe. It was his life's quest to stop the Dark One, and it had been as long as he could remember. It was his destiny.
He was working towards fulfilling that destiny even then, flying through space faster than any ship in the Shi'ar Empress's armada. The Dark One would be to Earth in only a few days, and that didn't give the Dark Angel much time. He would warn the heroes he'd been told could help him.
He would find the X-Men.
*** *** ***
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