"So?" Logan, despite his best efforts not to, made himself

look over at the woman who was currently laying on her sleeping bag,

head resting on hand, watching his every movement. He'd never had

anyone so absorbed with him before, and while the thought was eery,

it was also flattering as well.

"So, what?" Stepping over her, he realized he was mentally

cursing, yet again, how small this place really was. Enemies or not,

he had to give the X-Men credit for putting up with each other as

long as they had, without going mad. He wasn't a people person as it

was, out in public where the nearest person might even be a good ten

feet or so away. That being said, his confidence in his plan was

slowly dwindling from admiration to a "Why the Hell did I want to do

this to begin with?" kind of attitude.

"You never answered my question." With an only slightly

irritated grunt, Logan reached around her, grabbing hold of his small

sack, purposely prolonging his answer. He knew precisely the question

she was curious about, which in and of itself was amusing. Still, her

constant questioning was slowly grating on whatever nerves he had

left. He couldn't blame her entirely, of course, considering she

hadn't seen the outside world in at least a year. Much had changed

since then. Still...he wasn't some walking, talking newspaper, ready

to spill his guts

"You're gonna have to elaborate, kid." As she threw her hands

into the air, letting out an only slightly over dramatic sigh, he

caught himself grinning. It was just for a moment, mind you, and the

moment he realized it he was quick enough to cough it away. Wondering

where it had come from, he quickly labeled it as a result of the

solitary confinement he was sharing with them in the little attic

room.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Scoffing slightly, he moved to

answer, before she wrinkled her nose in an afterthought. "And don't

call me kid."

"I call everyone kid. What makes you so special?" When she

fell silent, lower lip slightly protruding, he stuffed the jeans he'd

previously exchanged for sweats back into his bag before turning back

to her. "Don't you think the term "girlfriend" is a little juvenile

for a man my age?" Cocking an eyebrow in question, he let himself

sink onto the sleeping bag, which rested on a floor so uncomfortable

he knew he'd have a stiff back from this for weeks. Thankfully, Marie

answered him before his mind could wander once again to admiration

for the people who'd done this for a year.

"Don't you think the title "kid" is a little juvenile for a

woman of twenty three?"

"Hm..." And, just for her benefit, he rubbed his chin a

little and actually seemed to ponder the thought before very bluntly

blurting out a "no," before laying back on the sleeping bag. One

pillow not being enough, he folded his arms behind his head so he

could keep an eye on Marie. She was attractive, there was no denying

that. Logan knew himself well enough to realize that he had never

once denied himself the pleasure of an attractive woman's company.

Still, he'd never actually sat down and had a conversation with any,

as he was with Marie. It was certainly a change from the lifestyle he

knew.

When Marie fell silent, asking no further questions, Logan

grew a little apprehensive and realized maybe it was for the better.

If she was thinking of questions for him, at least she was thinking

out loud. When she studied him, as she was currently doing, he

couldn't possibly know what was going through her head, and that made

him uncomfortable. "No."

"No, what?"

"No, I haven't got a gir-A lover."

"Really? Wow...I mean...I just thought...I expected..."

Before she could continue attempting to form suitable commentary,

Logan quickly sat himself up to set her straight.

"That doesn't mean I'm some monk. I've had plenty of women."

When he saw that he had her full attention, and that she believed

every word, he allowed himself to sink back into a more relaxing

position. "Just didn't feel like keeping them around long." The

others present, Bobby especially, coughed some, no doubt in

disagreement with his lifestyle. Insignificant action as it were, it

brought back a flood of emotions that had been dormant during the

previous hours. He remembered, so it seemed, for the first time in

hours that these people weren't human. That they were mutants and

that they needed to be taken care of before they took their feelings

of supremacy a step further. Sure, he was no saint, but that was no

reason to get all high and mighty.

"Why not?" Turning his attention back to Marie, he partially

tuned into the conversation he shared with her, all the while

silently planning a sort of revenge, to put the others in their place.

"Too much work." The instant Marie gasped and launched into a

speech on relationships and loved, he turned his attention off

completely, focusing instead on the other mutants present. Revenge

was sweetest when it attacked what seemed to be the one thing

everyone held dear. Looking around the room, he could tell instantly,

from Bobby playing cards with Gambit, to Hank and Ororo curled up

together, that the one thing everyone there relied on was

camaraderie. Despite what fate hurled at them, they remained positive

and hopeful because they had each other.

He remembered Marie telling him, earlier, how the entire

group never seemed to have any problems with one another. They hadn't

actually had a real fight beyond who was the better football team, or

other trivial matters. What Logan needed to do, then, to exact his

payback right, was to focus on that. Throw a little tension into the

pot and see just how well balanced and efficient the five of them

lived together.

"Logan? Logan!" The harsh whisper made him tune back into

reality for a moment. Glancing at Marie, he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I asked you a question."

"Should I be surprised?" Though she tried hard to scowl at

him, he caught quickly the faint grin that passed over her lips. When

she did that, an idea began forming in the back of his mind. "What?"

"Tell me something you know."

"Like what?" She looked attractive while she thought, resting

her chin in her hand, cocking her head to one side. A lock of white

curls fell over her shoulders and cupped her cheek delicately. Times

like these, he forgot they were on separate sides and let his eyes

feast on the sight.

"Hm..." Her thinking allowed him a moment's peace to try and

come up with the point of the small spark of thought that had ignited

moments earlier. "Tell me something real. That no one else knows

about you." For this answer, she found it necessary to move toward

him, leaving only about an inch of space between the two of them.

Logan caught sight of Drake's face just then, and a mix of anger and

concern flitted over his features. When he caught the others turn

their heads abruptly away when he glanced at them, he realized what

his mind had been trying to tell him.

Marie. His key to hurting them the most was Marie. She seemed

the baby of the group in many regards. The one the others thought it

best to protect. She stated she wasn't a kid, while in fact the

others must obviously think of her as such. Her disgust in the phrase

only proved that. And so, all he had to do was get her to act like

the woman she was, do something he knew the others would strongly

disapprove of, then sit back and watch the sparks fly. And he knew

exactly how to do it.

"I know you want me."