A/N: Here's a longer chapter for you folks who've been readin'. Again, sorry for the delay, but school and all...it's a bum. Please review!!
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X-Men: Black and White
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After a little while, Professor Xavier wheeled himself into the rec room where Jean was curled up on a chair reading a book. He approached her with a smile as she looked up, so as not to make her think something was wrong.
Jean already knew that the reason the Professor came to see her was important, she could sense it easily as he came forward. She marked the place in her book and set it on a side table, glancing at him with a calm smile on her face. "Hey Proffessor."
"Hello Jean." Charles stopped beside Jean's chair and his expression sobered, becoming more serious. "I need to talk to you about Logan."
Jean looked off to the side and bit her lower lip. "About earlier...he-"
Xavier put up a hand to stop her from explaining further and shook his head. "No Jean, it's not really about that."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she met his gaze. "Then what?"
"I was talking with Hank in my office a little while ago about Logan. We all want to help him out Jean, but we think we have about two options to get rid of the men that have been hunting him down all these years." Charles studied Jean's expression to find what she was thinking without listening to her thoughts, but she was unreadable.
"How?" Jean asked plainly.
Xavier looked Jean straight in the eyes, knowing there was no easy way to explain this. "We've decided our best option is to send Logan out so that the Weapon X men will find him. Our team will keep a close eye on him of course."
Jean stood abruptly, slightly startling Xavier with her unexpected actions. "What if they take him before we have a chance to do anything?! What then?" she frowned.
Charles sighed and tried to ease her worries. "Jean, please, calm down. I know you share a strong mental bond with Logan, so that will make it easier to monitor him."
Jean just heaved a heavy sigh and looked off to the side, her eyes reflecting her worry.
"I also came to you to ask if you think he'll be strong enough mentally to deal with the situation."
Jean met the Professor's gaze and stared at him evenly. "I don't know. I mean...he seems more like himself now, but his mental state seems to change unexpetantly. He hasn't had any mental flashes since earlier this morning, I would have sensed them. So that's probably helping." She glanced off to the side again.
"We'll have to know soon Jean, we don't want the Weapon X soldiers coming for him here, we need it to be safe for everyone." Charles regretted causing Jean more worry, but things had to be done. He looked up slowly and curiously. "Where's Logan now?"
Jean raised her head and looked toward the door into the hallway. "He's in the kitchen, getting something to eat."
Charles nodded and started to turn out of the rec room. "Think about what I've said Jean. We want everyone to be safe here." he said quietly, emphasizing on 'everyone'. He needed Jean to know he cared greatly for Logan's safety just as much as the team.
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Logan sat at the kitchen table, staring into a cup of coffee, his elbows propped up on the table and a fist into his cheek to hold up his head.
"Hey."
Logan looked up slowly to find a smiling Jubilee sitting infront of him, leaning over the table and seemingly looking into his coffee cup. "What?" he grumbled absently.
Jubilee just shrugged, her smile switching to a playful grin as she leaned further to look into the coffee cup Logan had been so intently staring into. "So...what's so interesting in there? If there's no t.v. I don't see a point."
Logan snorted, then pushed the cup away. "No point..." he drifted off and started to stare blankly at the wall as if he meant to say 'no point' to something completely different.
Jubilee's eyebrows furrowed and she got up out of her chair to grab herself some cereal. After doing just that, the girl went back to the table, placing the bowl infront of herself. She noticed Logan still staring off at the wall, then heard a low rumble from his direction. Jubilee glanced sideways at him, confused at first, then she realized what it was. She half smiled and pushed her uneaten cereal towards him. "Your stomach's growling." she said loudly to knock him out of his trance.
"What?" Logan asked gruffly, blinking his eyes and turning to look at Jubilee.
"Eat. The. Cereal." she told him, emphasizing each word.
Logan just grumbled something that sounded like, 'ain't hungry', then pushed the bowl back to Jubilee and rested his head down on the table.
Jubilee frowned, then turned in her chair when the kitchen door swung open and Jean walked in.
"Hey Jubilee." she smiled, then looked at Logan curiously who still had his head down on the table.
Jubilee waved at Jean, then gestured towards Logan. "His stomach was grumbling so I offered him my cereal but he wouldn't take it." she told her with a shrug.
Jean frowned, stepping beside Logan and putting a hand down on his shoulder gently. "Logan? Are you okay?"
He looked up slowly with a groan. "Unh, yeah."
Jean tilted Logan's head back slightly with her hand on his forehead. "Hm, you don't look okay. You gotta eat *something*, please?"
He let out a heavy sigh, then looked across the table at Jubilee who carried the same concerned expression as Jean. Without saying anything, Logan just grabbed the cereal bowl and started to slowly shove spoonfuls of Cheerios into his mouth.
Jubilee half smiled and got up from her seat, starting towards the door. "I'm goin' to see if Hank wants to play chess or something. He's s'posed to teach me." she waved back at Logan and Jean, then left.
Jean grabbed a chair and pulled it beside Logan, propping her elbow against the table. "I need to talk to you about something."
Logan dropped the spoon back into the bowl with a soft 'clank' and raised an eyebrow at Jean. "What?"
She bit her lower lip, looking down at her feet for a moment before meeting Logan's gaze. "Professor Xavier and Hank have somewhat of a plan to get rid of the men chasing you..." Jean studied his expression, noticing his jaw clenching uneasily."
Logan let out a long raspy sigh. "What do they expect me ta do?" he questioned.
Jean brought her hand back to rest on his broad shoulder, tilting her head sideways with a sympathetic smile. "They need you to be found..."
Logan stood abruptly, causing his chair to fall backwards and hit the floor. He looked to Jean, his eyes wide with shock, fear, anger, and confusion. "Jeannie I...I dunno if I can..." he clasped his hands over the sides of his head, and kneeled as flashes of being tortured shot through his mind.
Jean cringed as the flow of emotions and images appeared as Logan saw them. She felt her heart speeding up and was almost on her knees herself from the power that the images held. She took in a shaky breath once they stopped, then crouched beside Logan with a hand on his back, gently rubbing in circles. "Logan...it's alright, you don't have to-"
"No..." he cut her off, regaining his voice, as shaky as it was. Logan grunted, standing up and dropping his hands to his sides with clenched fists. "I gotta do this..." he shook his head. "Can't keep puttin' you in danger on my account. Can't put the others in danger either..."
Jean wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "It'll be okay...we can do this...It'll be okay." she mumbled softly, trying to convince herself as well as him.
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X-Men: Black and White
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After a little while, Professor Xavier wheeled himself into the rec room where Jean was curled up on a chair reading a book. He approached her with a smile as she looked up, so as not to make her think something was wrong.
Jean already knew that the reason the Professor came to see her was important, she could sense it easily as he came forward. She marked the place in her book and set it on a side table, glancing at him with a calm smile on her face. "Hey Proffessor."
"Hello Jean." Charles stopped beside Jean's chair and his expression sobered, becoming more serious. "I need to talk to you about Logan."
Jean looked off to the side and bit her lower lip. "About earlier...he-"
Xavier put up a hand to stop her from explaining further and shook his head. "No Jean, it's not really about that."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she met his gaze. "Then what?"
"I was talking with Hank in my office a little while ago about Logan. We all want to help him out Jean, but we think we have about two options to get rid of the men that have been hunting him down all these years." Charles studied Jean's expression to find what she was thinking without listening to her thoughts, but she was unreadable.
"How?" Jean asked plainly.
Xavier looked Jean straight in the eyes, knowing there was no easy way to explain this. "We've decided our best option is to send Logan out so that the Weapon X men will find him. Our team will keep a close eye on him of course."
Jean stood abruptly, slightly startling Xavier with her unexpected actions. "What if they take him before we have a chance to do anything?! What then?" she frowned.
Charles sighed and tried to ease her worries. "Jean, please, calm down. I know you share a strong mental bond with Logan, so that will make it easier to monitor him."
Jean just heaved a heavy sigh and looked off to the side, her eyes reflecting her worry.
"I also came to you to ask if you think he'll be strong enough mentally to deal with the situation."
Jean met the Professor's gaze and stared at him evenly. "I don't know. I mean...he seems more like himself now, but his mental state seems to change unexpetantly. He hasn't had any mental flashes since earlier this morning, I would have sensed them. So that's probably helping." She glanced off to the side again.
"We'll have to know soon Jean, we don't want the Weapon X soldiers coming for him here, we need it to be safe for everyone." Charles regretted causing Jean more worry, but things had to be done. He looked up slowly and curiously. "Where's Logan now?"
Jean raised her head and looked toward the door into the hallway. "He's in the kitchen, getting something to eat."
Charles nodded and started to turn out of the rec room. "Think about what I've said Jean. We want everyone to be safe here." he said quietly, emphasizing on 'everyone'. He needed Jean to know he cared greatly for Logan's safety just as much as the team.
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Logan sat at the kitchen table, staring into a cup of coffee, his elbows propped up on the table and a fist into his cheek to hold up his head.
"Hey."
Logan looked up slowly to find a smiling Jubilee sitting infront of him, leaning over the table and seemingly looking into his coffee cup. "What?" he grumbled absently.
Jubilee just shrugged, her smile switching to a playful grin as she leaned further to look into the coffee cup Logan had been so intently staring into. "So...what's so interesting in there? If there's no t.v. I don't see a point."
Logan snorted, then pushed the cup away. "No point..." he drifted off and started to stare blankly at the wall as if he meant to say 'no point' to something completely different.
Jubilee's eyebrows furrowed and she got up out of her chair to grab herself some cereal. After doing just that, the girl went back to the table, placing the bowl infront of herself. She noticed Logan still staring off at the wall, then heard a low rumble from his direction. Jubilee glanced sideways at him, confused at first, then she realized what it was. She half smiled and pushed her uneaten cereal towards him. "Your stomach's growling." she said loudly to knock him out of his trance.
"What?" Logan asked gruffly, blinking his eyes and turning to look at Jubilee.
"Eat. The. Cereal." she told him, emphasizing each word.
Logan just grumbled something that sounded like, 'ain't hungry', then pushed the bowl back to Jubilee and rested his head down on the table.
Jubilee frowned, then turned in her chair when the kitchen door swung open and Jean walked in.
"Hey Jubilee." she smiled, then looked at Logan curiously who still had his head down on the table.
Jubilee waved at Jean, then gestured towards Logan. "His stomach was grumbling so I offered him my cereal but he wouldn't take it." she told her with a shrug.
Jean frowned, stepping beside Logan and putting a hand down on his shoulder gently. "Logan? Are you okay?"
He looked up slowly with a groan. "Unh, yeah."
Jean tilted Logan's head back slightly with her hand on his forehead. "Hm, you don't look okay. You gotta eat *something*, please?"
He let out a heavy sigh, then looked across the table at Jubilee who carried the same concerned expression as Jean. Without saying anything, Logan just grabbed the cereal bowl and started to slowly shove spoonfuls of Cheerios into his mouth.
Jubilee half smiled and got up from her seat, starting towards the door. "I'm goin' to see if Hank wants to play chess or something. He's s'posed to teach me." she waved back at Logan and Jean, then left.
Jean grabbed a chair and pulled it beside Logan, propping her elbow against the table. "I need to talk to you about something."
Logan dropped the spoon back into the bowl with a soft 'clank' and raised an eyebrow at Jean. "What?"
She bit her lower lip, looking down at her feet for a moment before meeting Logan's gaze. "Professor Xavier and Hank have somewhat of a plan to get rid of the men chasing you..." Jean studied his expression, noticing his jaw clenching uneasily."
Logan let out a long raspy sigh. "What do they expect me ta do?" he questioned.
Jean brought her hand back to rest on his broad shoulder, tilting her head sideways with a sympathetic smile. "They need you to be found..."
Logan stood abruptly, causing his chair to fall backwards and hit the floor. He looked to Jean, his eyes wide with shock, fear, anger, and confusion. "Jeannie I...I dunno if I can..." he clasped his hands over the sides of his head, and kneeled as flashes of being tortured shot through his mind.
Jean cringed as the flow of emotions and images appeared as Logan saw them. She felt her heart speeding up and was almost on her knees herself from the power that the images held. She took in a shaky breath once they stopped, then crouched beside Logan with a hand on his back, gently rubbing in circles. "Logan...it's alright, you don't have to-"
"No..." he cut her off, regaining his voice, as shaky as it was. Logan grunted, standing up and dropping his hands to his sides with clenched fists. "I gotta do this..." he shook his head. "Can't keep puttin' you in danger on my account. Can't put the others in danger either..."
Jean wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "It'll be okay...we can do this...It'll be okay." she mumbled softly, trying to convince herself as well as him.
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