Oscar Burke was sitting behind his desk when Abby walked in. His dark
auburn hair pulled away from his face in a stubby ponytail. When he heard
her walk in he looked up and offered a smile, making his moss green eyes
sparkle behind the black wire frame glasses that were perched on his nose.
On a mental note, Abby realized that if you subtracted the glasses and
added a single gold hoop earring to his right ear, he would look amazingly
like a pirate. But that wasn't why she was there.
"Hi Abby, what can I do for you?" She smiled at his greeting. "Hiya Oscar. I was hoping you could help me" He took off the glasses and set them carefully on the desk. "With?" He prompted. "I need books" He grinned, showing his perfect white teeth. "I'm a scientist Abby, not a mind reader, that's Charles's department. I need you to be more specific." "Books on time travel" "You mean science travel Abby, you should find books on that in the library"
"No I don't mean science fiction, I mean practical application. My question is why can't people change the past?" Oscar was silent and still, only his eyes moved about his head as if searching for an answer. "Because one cannot travel into the past" He said slowly and rose from his desk, Abby close at his heels. "But what if someone could?" He didn't miss a beat. "One cannot. The thought of time travel has been reviewed many times in the Science Institute and has been rejected many times. I would know, I was on it"
Abby became confused. "How could be have been on the Science Institute, they disbanded over 40 years ago" Oscar simply nodded and reached for a book on a high shelf. "I know. Here" He said as he held the book out to her. The spin hadn't even been cracked and there was a light cover of musty gray dust covering the burgundy color cover. 'Science and Practical Theories of Time Travel' was stamped across the cover in bold gold print. "Go ahead and keep it," Oscar said as she studied it. "Never really did me any good"
Abby left the room and began to study the book in her hands. Her eyes went amazingly wide when she cracked open the covered and saw that the copyright date was 1921, and Oscar Burke's wallet-sized picture in the upper right corner. He looked just the same. She wanted to go back into the office and ask her questions, but just as she turned she heard the quiet slide of the lock in the door.
Shaking her head she murmured. "Alright, this is a school. This is a school of mutants. You are a mutant" She looked down at the book again and that was long enough to run into Logan. "Sorry" She murmured and tried to get around him. "Don't. You're a feather weight anyway" As if to prove his point, he scooped her up into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.
She kicked at him the best she could, but he was tough as a rock, and since she had kicked her shoes off, she barely hurt him. He suddenly plopped her on her feet and she glared at him. "What is the matter with you? Do you think that you can just pick me up and carry me around like a sack of potatoes? Well let me tell you something Mr.Hill, if you think that then you have another thing coming entirely" He looked very amused until Abby clenched her fist and rammed it into Logan's stomach, gushing the air out of him.
Once he recovered he glared at her momentarily before he bent down and picked up Tony's book that she had dropped. "Time travel Abby?" He asked with that same smirk on his lips again. "It's for Scott, I'm just studying things on it for him" Logan nodded and thumbed through the book. "Yeah. Heard Storm say he was trying to build a time machine" Abby nodded and took the book back when he offered it to her.
"The beauty of it is though," Abby said as she opened the book and found the page that she had folded. "Is that maybe a machine isn't needed at all" Logan nodded but he wasn't really listening to her. "Y'know that's great," He said absently. "Why don't you go take it to Scott, I'm sure he'll be grateful" He seemed different, somehow stiff. "Are you alright Logan?" She asked uncertainly. "Yes" That was a lie and Abby knew it.
She turned the corner but a second later she heard the slice of Logan's claws coming out of his hands like she had in the kitchen. She peeked around the corner and saw something.no, not something.someone blue, lying at Logan's feet with slashes across the chest. She wanted to go to him, but the look on his face was so fierce that a part of Abby also wanted to run the other way.
Her feet won over her curiosity and she fled like a rabbit. Logan heard her retreating footsteps but that wasn't the most important thing on his mind. He picked up Mystique so wasn't dead but very hurt, and locked her in the closet. He retracted the claws and shook his head. He knew that Abby wasn't ready for the Brotherhood, the Mystique and Magneto thing would be too much for her to deal as she was still trying to deal with her own mutation.
He didn't know that he was looking for her until he found himself standing outside her door, hand poised to knock. He thought about going down to the workout room, but he knocked anyway. He waited a minute and she didn't answer but he knew that she was inside, he could smell her, the subtle smell of honey and lemon gave her away.
She was sitting on her bed with the book open in her lap when Logan came to the door. She looked up at the door momentarily then back down at the book. Though she was a doctor and having read almost every medical book she could in college, there were some words that she simply skipped and implied the meaning of those select words were. She couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she was mad at Logan.
She supposed that since for all her life she had been able to explain everything that she was pissed off that she couldn't explain the school or the book or what the hell was happening to her. 'That's not his fault' She scolded herself. She was surprised when the thought of Logan made her giddy. The only other time she had felt like that was with Jamie when she had first gotten to know him. She suddenly jumped up from the bed as if she had been burned and grabbed something for the closet and ran into the bathroom. Once she changed she looked herself over in the mirror, she brushed her cheeks with a petal pink blush and grinned at herself.
She pulled the door open just as Logan was halfway down the hall. His eyes bulged out his head when he saw Abby leaning against the doorway wearing only a sheer honey color teddy and a smile. "What's going on?" He asked and for the first time she saw that Logan was nervous. "Well," She said as she lowered her voice till it was a South African purr. She sauntered towards him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "You said that you wanted me, so now I'm telling you to take me"
He looked down at her and grinned. "Do you know how long I've waited for a woman to say that to me?" He said with a laugh. She placed a teasing kiss on the side of his strong jaw and took his hand in hers and began to lightly pull him towards her room. "Well then let's not waste any time then huh?" She said and pulled him inside after her.
"Hi Abby, what can I do for you?" She smiled at his greeting. "Hiya Oscar. I was hoping you could help me" He took off the glasses and set them carefully on the desk. "With?" He prompted. "I need books" He grinned, showing his perfect white teeth. "I'm a scientist Abby, not a mind reader, that's Charles's department. I need you to be more specific." "Books on time travel" "You mean science travel Abby, you should find books on that in the library"
"No I don't mean science fiction, I mean practical application. My question is why can't people change the past?" Oscar was silent and still, only his eyes moved about his head as if searching for an answer. "Because one cannot travel into the past" He said slowly and rose from his desk, Abby close at his heels. "But what if someone could?" He didn't miss a beat. "One cannot. The thought of time travel has been reviewed many times in the Science Institute and has been rejected many times. I would know, I was on it"
Abby became confused. "How could be have been on the Science Institute, they disbanded over 40 years ago" Oscar simply nodded and reached for a book on a high shelf. "I know. Here" He said as he held the book out to her. The spin hadn't even been cracked and there was a light cover of musty gray dust covering the burgundy color cover. 'Science and Practical Theories of Time Travel' was stamped across the cover in bold gold print. "Go ahead and keep it," Oscar said as she studied it. "Never really did me any good"
Abby left the room and began to study the book in her hands. Her eyes went amazingly wide when she cracked open the covered and saw that the copyright date was 1921, and Oscar Burke's wallet-sized picture in the upper right corner. He looked just the same. She wanted to go back into the office and ask her questions, but just as she turned she heard the quiet slide of the lock in the door.
Shaking her head she murmured. "Alright, this is a school. This is a school of mutants. You are a mutant" She looked down at the book again and that was long enough to run into Logan. "Sorry" She murmured and tried to get around him. "Don't. You're a feather weight anyway" As if to prove his point, he scooped her up into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.
She kicked at him the best she could, but he was tough as a rock, and since she had kicked her shoes off, she barely hurt him. He suddenly plopped her on her feet and she glared at him. "What is the matter with you? Do you think that you can just pick me up and carry me around like a sack of potatoes? Well let me tell you something Mr.Hill, if you think that then you have another thing coming entirely" He looked very amused until Abby clenched her fist and rammed it into Logan's stomach, gushing the air out of him.
Once he recovered he glared at her momentarily before he bent down and picked up Tony's book that she had dropped. "Time travel Abby?" He asked with that same smirk on his lips again. "It's for Scott, I'm just studying things on it for him" Logan nodded and thumbed through the book. "Yeah. Heard Storm say he was trying to build a time machine" Abby nodded and took the book back when he offered it to her.
"The beauty of it is though," Abby said as she opened the book and found the page that she had folded. "Is that maybe a machine isn't needed at all" Logan nodded but he wasn't really listening to her. "Y'know that's great," He said absently. "Why don't you go take it to Scott, I'm sure he'll be grateful" He seemed different, somehow stiff. "Are you alright Logan?" She asked uncertainly. "Yes" That was a lie and Abby knew it.
She turned the corner but a second later she heard the slice of Logan's claws coming out of his hands like she had in the kitchen. She peeked around the corner and saw something.no, not something.someone blue, lying at Logan's feet with slashes across the chest. She wanted to go to him, but the look on his face was so fierce that a part of Abby also wanted to run the other way.
Her feet won over her curiosity and she fled like a rabbit. Logan heard her retreating footsteps but that wasn't the most important thing on his mind. He picked up Mystique so wasn't dead but very hurt, and locked her in the closet. He retracted the claws and shook his head. He knew that Abby wasn't ready for the Brotherhood, the Mystique and Magneto thing would be too much for her to deal as she was still trying to deal with her own mutation.
He didn't know that he was looking for her until he found himself standing outside her door, hand poised to knock. He thought about going down to the workout room, but he knocked anyway. He waited a minute and she didn't answer but he knew that she was inside, he could smell her, the subtle smell of honey and lemon gave her away.
She was sitting on her bed with the book open in her lap when Logan came to the door. She looked up at the door momentarily then back down at the book. Though she was a doctor and having read almost every medical book she could in college, there were some words that she simply skipped and implied the meaning of those select words were. She couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she was mad at Logan.
She supposed that since for all her life she had been able to explain everything that she was pissed off that she couldn't explain the school or the book or what the hell was happening to her. 'That's not his fault' She scolded herself. She was surprised when the thought of Logan made her giddy. The only other time she had felt like that was with Jamie when she had first gotten to know him. She suddenly jumped up from the bed as if she had been burned and grabbed something for the closet and ran into the bathroom. Once she changed she looked herself over in the mirror, she brushed her cheeks with a petal pink blush and grinned at herself.
She pulled the door open just as Logan was halfway down the hall. His eyes bulged out his head when he saw Abby leaning against the doorway wearing only a sheer honey color teddy and a smile. "What's going on?" He asked and for the first time she saw that Logan was nervous. "Well," She said as she lowered her voice till it was a South African purr. She sauntered towards him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "You said that you wanted me, so now I'm telling you to take me"
He looked down at her and grinned. "Do you know how long I've waited for a woman to say that to me?" He said with a laugh. She placed a teasing kiss on the side of his strong jaw and took his hand in hers and began to lightly pull him towards her room. "Well then let's not waste any time then huh?" She said and pulled him inside after her.