Chapter 16.

I'm down a one way street

With a one night stand

With a one track mind

Out in no man's land

(the punishment sometimes don't seem to fit the crime)

Yeah there's a hole in my soul

But one thing I've learned

For every love letter written

There's another one burned

(so tell me how it's gonna be this time)

Is it over

Is it over

Is it over

'cause I'm blowin' out the flame

Take a walk outside your mind

Tell me how it feels to be

The one who turns the knife inside of me

Take a look and you will find there's nothing there girl

Yeah I swear, I'm telling you girl yeah 'cause

There's a hole in my soul that's been killing me forever

It's a place where a garden never grows

There's a hole in my soul, yeah I should have known better

'cause your love's like a thorn without a rose

I'm as dry as a seven year drought

I got dust for tears

Yeah I'm all tapped out

(sometimes I feel broken and can't get fixed)

I know there's been all kinds of shoes underneath your bed

Now I sleep with my boots on but you're still in my head

(and something tells me this time I'm down to my last licks)

'cause if it's over

Then it's over

And it's driving me insane

Is it over

Yeah it's over

And I'm blowin' out the flame

Take a walk outside your mind

Tell me how it feels to be

The one who turns the knife inside of me

Take a look and you will find

There's nothing there girl, yeah, I swear

I'm telling you girl yeah 'cause there's a hole in my soul

That's been killing me forever

It's a place where a garden never grows there's a hole in my soul,

Yeah I should have known better

'cause your love's like a thorn
Without a rose

Kitty sighed as she sat at Cerebro's console, scrolling slowly through a backlog of security tapes that had accumulated over the last month.  She hated this job with a passion, but Cyclops had threatened to cut off her computer access if she didn't clean out the files.  She looked to her right—on the console next to her was a six-pack of Coke and a bag of cheese puffs.  Geek food was essential to a boring night like the one ahead. 

Bobby was also in the room, killing zombies on another console while he kept her company.  "Oh fuck!" he exclaimed as the game loaded the next level.  "Skeletons!  I hate skeletons!" 

"Kill the skeleton lord and they'll go away," Kitty told him.  She opened the Danger Room log files and began to fast forward through the tapes.  She stopped when she saw Victor enter the Danger Room and turn on her "Lots O' Ninjas" scenario.  She wondered how he would handle it.  And he was shirtless.  Kitty didn't like Victor, but she was breathing. 

Victor tore through the session and then stopped, speaking to someone in the control room, whom Kitty assumed was Logan.  Sure enough, after a minute Logan came storming on camera, pointing her finger at Creed and saying something angrily.  The two began to spar, Creed with his semi-permanent taunting smile on his face.  Kitty watched, interested to see how the fight would turn out.

She was totally unprepared for the actual outcome.  She blinked, making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks and the fact she was seeing Wolverine and Sabretooth tear each other's clothes off wasn't just a caffeine-induced hallucination. 

"Bobby," she breathed.  "Get over here!"  He leaned over her shoulder.  Kitty heard him take in a sharp breath.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed.  He cocked his head.  "Could a person actually live through that?"

"They both have healing factors, Bobby."

"Damn." 

"Kitty, how are things coming with Cere…" Jean stopped mid-sentence. "Oh my dear Lord."

Bobby and Kitty both turned around. "We didn't mean to find it, honest!" Bobby exclaimed.

Jean couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen. "That isn't natural…" she said.

"Yeah…Damn Creed. And I thought I hated him before," Bobby muttered.

Jean turned on her heel and started out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Kitty asked.

"To inform the professor."

"You can't do that!" Kitty exclaimed.

"This is Logan's business, not yours," Bobby said.

"Logan has compromised this team by…sleeping with the enemy. The professor needs to know."

"She was in that bad Julia Roberts movie?" Bobby asked.

Jean gave him the Look. "The professor needs to know. Logan could become a liability to the team."

"But Logan would never do anything to betray us!" Kitty said.

"You saw the tape, Katherine," Jean said sternly. "She already has."

Kitty sighed, glancing back at the scene playing on the monitor.

"Logan, could you step into my office?"  Logan looked up from her book. 

"Sure, Charles."  He looked at her with a frown.

"Professor, Logan."  Logan followed him down the hall to his study, surprised to see Scott and Jean already in the room.  She sighed.

"What'd I do now?" 

"As if you didn't know," said Jean.  Xavier held up a hand.

"Jean, please let me handle this."  He regarded Logan with cold eyes.  "Wolverine, it has come to my attention that you have been…ah…intimate with Sabretooth during his tenure at the mansion."

Logan felt her heart drop to the floor.  How had he found out? 

"Obviously," said Xavier.  "This is the most serious breach of protocol imaginable, something that cannot be countenanced."  Jean frowned at her prissily.

"We're very disappointed in you, Logan.  You had every chance to be a part of the X-Men, but you've become a liability, just as I always thought."  Logan turned on Jean with a growl.

"You better shut the fuck up, red, while you still got a mouth to do it with."  Jean smiled, as if she'd been proven right in the face of great adversity. 

"I'm afraid," Xavier interjected, "that this behavior is something that I cannot tolerate in a member of the X-Men."  He wheeled in front of Logan.  "If you do not cease this relationship with Victor immediately, you will be asked to leave."  Logan looked past him to Scott.

"You know this isn't right, Scott…" she started.  He frowned at her.

"I'm sorry, Logan, but the professor's right.  Your association with Creed has compromised the X-Men family."  Logan looked at him as if he'd slapped her in the face.

"Oh, that's right, that's what we are," she snarled.  "One big happy fuckin' family.  Wouldn't want to do anything to tarnish that perfect image, would we?" 

"Logan, there is no call for this," said Xavier.  "Simply stop seeing Sabretooth and we will forget that this…indiscretion ever happened."  Logan's mouth set.  She didn't speak.  Xavier raised an eyebrow.  "Logan?"

"Fuck you, Xavier," Logan snapped.  "You told me when I joined the X-Men that I could live my life, my way.  I guess you just meant as long as "my way" didn't keep me from being a good little flunky, right?" 

"Wolverine, stop it!" Scott ordered.  Logan turned to him.

"And you, Summers—you're no better than him.  You don't even have the guts to speak up for your 'friend', your 'teammate'.  You're nothing but a spineless little worm."

"Logan, be quiet and do as I tell you!" Xavier thundered.  Logan advanced on him, with a steely, predatory gaze.  She popped her claws directly in front of his face.  Both Jean and Scott started for her, but Logan simply retracted the outer two, leaving her middle claw gleaming in the soft light of the study.

"That's what I think of this family, Chuck," she said with a smile. 

"Chère?"

Logan stopped her packing. "Yeah, Rem?"

"Why'd ya do it, Logan?"

Logan turned around, the betrayal in Remy's eyes cutting her to the quick. "I'm sorry, Remy…I didn't think about how this would affect you."

"Apparently not," Remy grumbled. "Why you not jus' tell de professor you won't see Creed no more, huh Logan? Remy don' want you t'leave."

"It's not just Victor, Rem. I can't stay here if Chuck's gonna try to control my life. I've lived that way before, and I can't anymore. My feelings for Victor notwithstanding, I need to leave. There's no place for me here."

"What are your feelings for Creed?"

Logan blinked. "I'm not…I'm not sure."

"Is it jus' sex?"

Logan knew she needed to be honest with Remy and herself. "No."

"Dis hurt me, Logan—hurt me deep. But you still my amie. You need Remy, you know where t'find him."

"Thanks, Remy. That means a lot."

"An' if Creed hurts you, I'll beat de ever livin' shit outta him."

Logan smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."

Remy approached her, wrapping her in a bear hug. "I'm gonna miss you, chère."

"Yeah," Logan said softly. "I'm gonna miss you, too."