Title: The Awakening - Part Three
Disclaimer: Do you think Marvel would let me have some of the characters if I asked reeeeally nicely?
Rating: PG - 13
Summary: Anyone up for a game of tag?
The Awakening - Part Three
"Jean! C'mon! Get a move on!" Scott called from the hallway as he passed by her bedroom door.
"I'll be right there," she replied, tightening her ponytail.
She regarded her image in a full-length mirror, and, satisfied with what she saw, replaced her hairbrush on her vanity. She made her way downstairs where her friends were waiting, all in training gear, listening to Storm as she gave them instructions.
"Ah, Jean, there you are. I was just explaining to everyone what this session was going to entail," Storm said, her snowy hair catching and reflecting the bright sunlight that slanted through the foyer windows. "Basically, this will be a glorified game of tag. Your job is to simply not get caught by myself, Beast, or Wolverine, before reaching the designated location. You may chose to work in teams or alone, whatever suits you," she continued pleasantly, eyes touching on each member of the group as she spoke.
"Where or what is the 'safe point'?" Scott asked.
Storm smiled. "That," she said, "is also part of the game. A green flag has been hidden somewhere within the boundaries of the estate, signifying the finish line. Once you reach it, you will be safe. Should you get tagged by one of the pursuers in the meantime, you are out of the game. If this occurs, return to the starting point. The Professor will be stationed there to monitor the game and provide further instruction should it be required. There is no time limit, so as long as you remain 'free', the game is on. Any questions?"
Jean waited quietly to see if anyone needed clarification, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"Auntie O', where will you, Wolverine, and Beast start? With us?" Evan asked, skateboard resting in his arms like a child.
"We will start from pre-selected points. You may see us, then again, you may not," the mocha-skinned woman replied with a grin.
When no one else spoke, Scott took charge.
"Okay, team, let's get started," he said, leading the way outside.
Jean followed him, already plotting her course of action. She could feel sweat dampening her palms and wiped them down the length of her clinging, black bodysuit, the giddy nervousness that always came with a training session beginning to surge through her blood.
The late afternoon breeze brushed softly against her face, and she breathed in the rich smell of moist, spring earth with pleasure. The ground sank wetly beneath her booted feet, the recent rain having saturated it thoroughly.
We'll be easily tracked, she noted absently, eyes looking to the sun to see where it lay in the sky. It sat just above the western horizon, fat and golden, on the verge of setting.
The Professor's voice echoing in her mind drew her gaze. He was seated in his wheelchair a few feet away, woolen blanket draped across his legs.
Are we ready to begin? he asked silently, sipping from a steaming mug.
Jean nodded along with the others.
Good. Then on my mark...GO! he shouted telepathically.
Jean lifted herself up immediately and pushed herself forwards telekinetically, drawing away from the group. She saw Kitty grab on to Kurt, disappearing instantly in a cloud of smoke. Evan dropped his skateboard and found, to his dismay, that the soil was too sodden to utilize it effectively. Cursing under his breath, he left it where it lay and dashed off, heading around the side of the manor. Turning her head, Jean could see Scott following her, Rogue a step behind him.
A shadow on the ground ahead told her that Storm had taken to the air as well and was right above them. Veering suddenly, Jean avoided her teacher's swooping dive with ease. A shout of surprise from behind announced that one of the others wasn't so lucky.
A copse of trees loomed in the distance and Jean decided to head for them, knowing the marker wouldn't have been left in the open, also realizing that she needed cover if she was going to remain untouched. Once within the leafy shade, she lowered herself to the ground and took a quick look back. The broad expanse of lawn was empty except for the Professor. Scott, Rogue, and Storm were nowhere to be seen.
Scanning the wooded area with her eyes and mind, she couldn't detect any unusual movement or careless thoughts nearby.
Okay Wolverine, it's time to turn this game around, she challenged silently, a wicked smile curving her full lips. Let's see how you do as one of the hunted...
Steeling herself, she began to run, attributing the flapping butterflies in her stomach to the thrill of the chase.
Logan perched on a tree branch high above one of the many paths that meandered through the estate, waiting to pounce on whomever was unlucky enough to pass beneath him. Grinning, he hoped it'd be Kitty or Kurt, knowing he'd scare the bejebus outta them.
You wouldn't mind if a certain redhead crossed yer path either, an inner voice whispered slyly.
An image of taking Jean by surprise, dropping down on her and grabbing her roughly in a full-body tag suddenly flooded his mind, causing a flush to creep up his neck.
The memory of her scent assailed him, causing him to tilt his head back in longing reverie. Closing his eyes, he recalled how she'd looked several nights back, before they'd parted last; her slight form crowded against his, hands grasping his shirt, all soft skin and silky hair.
Kurt's interruption had been a timely one, stopping him before he let the situation get out of control.
But it is out of control, the slick inner voice taunted in an amused tone. You can't stop thinking 'bout her, can't sleep without dreaming 'bout her, can't wash away that sweet smell 'o hers with all the cold showers in the world...can ya? The voice laughed mockingly.
Her age ain't botherin' ya so much anymore, is it?
Frustrated and angry at the turn his thoughts had taken, Logan resisted the urge to growl, instead turning his attention back to the ground. Still seeing nothing, he leapt lightly to the gravel path, annoyed with the inactivity of his chosen location.
"Huntin's so much better'n waitin'," he said quietly, teeth bared in a feral grin.
Jean paused behind the bole of an old oak tree, panting heavily. Whipping her head around, she gazed back down the dirt path she been sprinting along, looking for any sign of Beast.
He'd sprung from some bushes about a mile back, startling her into panicked flight. She'd instantly immobilized him with her mind and dashed off, running without thinking. When she thought she was far enough away, she'd released him, breathless with the amount of control it had taken to keep him still for so long.
Quiet, indistinguishable traces of his thoughts could be heard from where she crouched, so she decided to wait. After another few minutes, the echoes were gone, and she was alone. Heaving a sigh of relief, she straightened up and tried to brush the muddy streaks of earth from her legs.
"Thanks a lot, Mr. McCoy," she huffed softly, having skidded into the ground during her escape.
Realizing that her cleaning efforts were futile, she turned her attention once again to her surroundings, re-evaluating her position.
She didn't recognize the path. Peering ahead, she saw a swath of grassy meadow that wasn't familiar either. Pondering what to do next, she blew a wisp of hair from her sweat-dampened face.
Retracing her steps would mean running into Beast again, and that certainly wasn't very appealing, leaving her with the only choice of pressing ahead into the unknown, which was equally distressing. The estate was so massive that it stretched on into unexplored acres, and she could find herself wandering in the middle of nowhere very quickly - far from the action, and a certain person.
Using her teke, she picked herself up and slowly moved across the meadow.
The sky had deepened to a twilight mauve since the last time she'd noticed it, the sun having completely set while she'd raced under the shadowed boughs. The sun's parting rays of amber and rose were already fading away, retreating from the darkness that approached with alarming speed.
Jean wondered idly how she'd fare under the cover of night. She also contemplated how she'd be able to locate that damned flag without being able to see it.
Oh well, the marker wasn't what I was really after anyway, she admitted silently, not able to quell the mischievous smile that appeared when she thought of what she was really seeking.
Once again within the cover of a treed area, she released her telekinetic hold, feet immediately sinking into the damp loam. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, she cast out the invisible threads of a mind probe as far as it would reach before starting an easy, distance-eating lope.
It was only minutes later when she heard voices in her head.
...like why does he keep looking at me like that? It's, like, totally unnerving!...
...mein Gott! She is so beautiful...
Only Kitty and Kurt, Jean thought, amused at first, then relaxing at the recognition.
Her head had begun to throb painfully with the constant effort of using her powers, so reluctantly, she let her brain take a break, instantly losing the connection to her young friends. Speeding up, Jean hastened towards where she'd 'felt' Kitty's thought originate from.
Stalking through the now night-blackened foliage like a jungle cat, Logan paused to sniff tentatively at the air, searching for a fresh scent. He'd just come from tracking Evan for a couple of miles, finally managing to flush the kid into Beast's path about a half-hour ago. Since then, his sensitive nose hadn't picked up on anything new.
Then all at once, he caught an irregularity mixed in with all the traditional smells of a typical spring evening. He inhaled deeply, eyes narrowing,his mind quickly categorizing each separate odor, until all had been accounted for except for one.
His teeth gleamed in the scant light as he smiled.
After laying sleepless and tormented because of what that same fragrance had evoked in him over the past few days, how could he not know who it belonged to?
"Gotcha Red," he rumbled with pleasure, tracking her now with silent ease.
A moment after she first detected them, Jean came upon the two younger members of her team as they strolled along a connecting pathway.
"Jean! Like, where did you come from?" Kitty squeaked fearfully upon seeing the taller girl emerge from the gloom.
"No idea. Just followed this trail trying to dodge Mr. McCoy," Jean replied, a little out of breath.
"He's not, like, after you, is he?" Kitty asked quickly, hand on Kurt's arm in case they had need of a quick retreat.
"No, I left him behind," she said reassuringly. "Have you guys encountered anyone else?" Jean queried, hoping they had word of Logan's whereabouts.
"We managed to elude Storm earlier on, but just barely!" Kurt said excitedly.
"Yah, it was, like, totally intense!" Kitty gushed, hand still clutching Kurt's arm.
"Evan was tagged by Beast, and Rogue by Storm - or so Scott tells us. We bumped into him just a little while ago, still hunting for the finish line," Kurt continued, completely immersed in the shadows, the slight phosphoresce of his eyes the only indication he was really there.
"Umm...what about Wolverine?" Jean asked, trying to appear casual, though her thoughts were racing.
Where could he possibly be hiding? She fumed inwardly, hands curling into fists of irritation.
"We haven't, like, come across him yet - thankfully! He'd probably, like, leap out of some bushes all crazy and frothing at the mouth, giving me a heart attack! If he's the watchdog guarding the flag, I totally don't want to find it," Kitty said with conviction.
Kurt patted her hand soothingly. "Not to worry, Katzchen, I would 'port us away before - ah-ah-AHHHHHH!" Kurt screamed suddenly, stumbling back against Kitty and then disappearing in a BAMF! of smoke, taking the other girl with him.
Unexpectedly alone and more than startled at Kurt's outburst, Jean spun around and into a defensive crouch, staring blindly into the dark. Her heart beat erratically as she used her mind to erect a small barrier around her body, the pain in her head returning as she exerted her will.
She knew it was just a game, one that she had no interest in winning, but she also didn't want to get caught, especially if it wasn't Wolverine doing the catching.
She heard a flicking noise, saw a spark flare and die, before a flame sputtered to life from the end of a match a few feet away from her. As if entranced, she watched as the light reflected off the face of the man who held it, languidly scorching the end of a cigarette dangling from between his lips.
"Logan." Her lips formed the word without sound.
The meager light revealed that he'd decided against donning his uniform - dressed simply in black denim and a black t-shirt, allowing him to become a shadow within the shadows.
Taking a long haul of his newly lit cigarette, he leaned back easily against the trunk of a tree opposite her position, not making any move towards her. He extinguished the still burning match with a breath.
"Isn't this the part where you run?" he asked, face no longer visible. Jean detected a hint of amusement in his tone.
"Isn't this where you try to tag me?" she retorted, glad that the darkness hid her trembling as she issued her challenge. She had difficulty admitting that her quaking stemmed from fear; fear that she had misjudged him, misinterpreted his actions from previous days, misread the entire situation.
Fear of rejection.
She heard him chuckle, a low, rich sound, one that she'd heard too seldom.
"Try, Red? You know me better than that. I never hafta 'try'..." he answered, tossing his half-finished cigarette on the ground before him, its smoldering tip leaving an orange trail as it dropped. She heard, rather than saw, his booted foot mashing it into the soft earth.
The blood quickened in her veins as she watched his form detach itself from the all-encompassing murk to stride towards her.
She straightened up shakily while retaining the shield, her knees suddenly having turned to jelly.
He came within inches of her, as close as the mind-generated barrier would permit him. He placed one muscled arm above her, resting a palm against the rough bark of the tree she'd backed up into. She could see his face now, see how the night had changed his eyes to pools of ebony and cast shadows across the rugged plains of his face, giving him a cruelly beautiful look. Jean's gaze lowered from his, down to his lips, his thickly corded neck, to the wide expanse of chest hidden beneath the cotton of his shirt. Her hand itched to touch him, to slide under the fabric and feel warm flesh against warm flesh...
The sharp 'SNIKT' of blades extending from his other hand snapped her attention back from its wandering admiration of his form. She watched as he raised his razor-like claws into her line of vision, and then, almost caressingly, let them stroke down the edge of her shield, his own eyes following the movement.
She found his adamantium touch, even on such a superficial level, undeniably erotic, opening floodgates of liquid heat into her lower region. A throbbing pressure between her legs became so apparent, so overwhelming, that she had to suppress the urge to squirm uncomfortably.
"We don't need this, now, do we?" he murmured, indicating the barrier with another lazy stroke of his claws. "Unless you've decided to run while ya' still can..."
Her face came under his scrutiny again and she told herself to breathe, unprepared for, yet elated at his words.
Despite the nearness of her looming victory, a perverse feeling of naughty playfulness still remained, urging her to not capitulate so easily. Returning his look, she smiled teasingly, and pushed the shield outward, forcing him back a step.
"Not so fast," she began, dropping the teke-induced obstruction completely. "Since I haven't been caught yet, I see no reason to surrender willingly." And without another word, she darted down the trail, leaving Logan staring after her.
His initial reaction to her words was one of bewilderment, until he replayed what she'd said in his mind and detected her suggestive undertones.
His answering smile was decidedly wolfish. "So, she wants to play, does she?"
All doubts and misgivings were cast aside or forgotten, his blood having turned to fire at the prospect of hunting her down anew.
Except when I catch up to her this time, there'll be no mercy, he vowed silently, the forest floor flying beneath his feet.
Jean felt the muscles in her legs beginning to burn, protesting the harsh pace she'd set.
"No pain, no gain," she managed to gasp out, hair waving behind her slender figure like a scarlet banner. She paid no heed to the discomfort, knowing it would all be over in another minute.
Everything I've put up with today will have been worth it if Logan is end result, she reminded herself.
She braced for his assault, knowing that even at top speed she was nowhere near his equal, and waited to feel his weight come crashing against her.
Squinting, she could see a moonlight drenched meadow ahead, inciting her to increase her current velocity.
The perfect place for me to end this little competition, she thought, heart fluttering from more than the exertion.
She stumbled onto the lightly dewed grass and paused, legs trembling and lungs heaving. She couldn't move another step if her life depended on it.
"Jean!" a voice called.
Dizzily, she looked up, absently wondering how Logan could have gotten ahead of her.
Only the person waving to her from a few yards distant wasn't Logan. It was Scott, standing beside a flapping piece of cloth, its colour indistinct from so far away.
No! It can't be! She thought wildly, staring at her teammate's frantic gestures with a sense of despair.
Hearing a triumphant growl behind her, she spun sharply, just in time to take Logan's running charge full in the chest.
Tensing involuntarily, she waited for the painful impact she knew was to come when her body met the ground, only it never did. Opening her eyes, she half expected to find herself planted in the wet sod, nose-first. Instead, she was looking up into Logan's eyes, and could feel his arms wrapped protectively around her smaller frame, his body half covering hers where it lay.
She realized at once that he hadn't noticed Scott, as naked, uninterrupted longing was evident in his expression. His arms had tightened marginally around her, fingers of one hand tracing a gentle path down her back, eliciting a tremulous sigh from her. At the sound, his eyes focused on her slightly parted lips. His face started to lower to hers when Scott chose to announce his presence once again.
"Hey! That was a pretty rough tag, Wolverine! Is Jean hurt?" he called out, concerned.
With sinking disappointment, Jean waited for Logan to leap back from her at hearing the younger man's voice, and was more than surprised when he didn't. Granted, his head whipped up from hers hastily, but upon spying Scott's shadowy form a good distance away, he remained sprawled against her.
"No worries, Cyke. Just knocked the wind outta her," Logan replied before turning back to face her. Desire, now mingled with frustration, coloured his features.
Jean felt his arm move unhurriedly from beneath her, letting the tips of his fingers brush tenderly up the length of her neck as he did so, his thumb teasing the underside of her jaw. He made his way to his feet, the sudden absence of his weight atop her leaving Jean feeling bereft. She accepted the hand Logan presented to help her up, not able to meet his eyes.
Without further words, he left her where she stood to go to Scott who waited beneath the fluttering flag.
Jean wrapped her arms around her body, trying to retain what remained of Logan's warmth. She heard him congratulate Scott on his achievement, then announce that he was heading back to the mansion for a late dinner. Scott warned him to leave some food for the rest of them with a good-natured laugh, before turning to his friend.
"Jean! How could you let anything stop you from attaining success, especially after all the effort you must have put into getting as far as you did? Your goal was right in front of you, yours for the taking, and you just let it go," he groused, agitated at her failure. "I know it was just a game, but still..."
As she watched Wolverine disappear into the night, Jean could only nod her head in agreement.
"Scott," she said with a sigh, "you have no idea how right you are. It was right in front of me...all mine..."
But the game isn't over yet, she swore vehemently. Not by a long shot...