The sound of knocking was what woke her.
Ororo's head snapped up, and she glanced at the door. Wondering who on earth would be visiting her this time of night, she slipped out from underneath the covers of her bed and made her way to the door, opening the door to see who was there.
To her surprise, it was Sarah, bundled up in the covers of her bed and shivering. Her dark green eyes were big and fearful, and Ororo was forcefully reminded how small and fragile she was.
"Sarah... what's wrong, child?" she asked, moving aside to allow the newest student into her room.
"I... I couldn't sleep," she replied, her voice deathly soft. "I had a nightmare... Logan wasn't in his room... I... I'm sorry... I didn't know where else to go and..."
Ororo interrupted her, gently wrapping her arms around Sarah's head and drawing her in close into a warm, much-needed hug. The dark-haired girl clung to her feebly, all her strength gone as she buried herself in Ororo's kind embrace. The white-haired Windrider gently swayed with Sarah, murmuring a soft lullaby her own mother had once used to soothe her own nightmares away.
"I'm sorry..." Sarah murmured, not breaking her death-grip on Ororo. "I'm sorry..."
"Shhhhh... it is alright child... it is alright..." cooed Ororo, gently lulling Sarah into a state of relaxation. Finally, reluctantly, Sarah raised her head to look Ororo in the eye. Her lower lip trembled, and Ororo was again reminded just how young she was. Not just physically, but emotionally.
"Can... can I... can I stay with you, please? I'm scared to be alone, right now..." she asked softly.
"Of course you may, dearie," replied Ororo, equally soft. Smiling, the former African Goddess helped Sarah make herself comfortable on the bed, shifting her own covers to the other side. Sarah wrapped her own covers more tightly around her frame as she lay down, her back to Ororo as she gazed at the balcony. The door was closed, by through the window she could still see the dark night sky and the ivory moon. "Good night, Sarah," said Ororo, as she lay down. Her eyes were open, gazing up at the ceiling, and she decided to stay awake for perhaps an hour or so more, in case Sarah needed her again.
"Thank you," whispered Sarah. "You're very nice..."
And so, now finally feeling safe, Sarah drifted off to sleep. And this time, there were no more nightmares about figures in black or fighting or death or carnage. And most reassuring, no dreams of green hair, eyes, and lipstick. Her breathing relaxed as she drifted off, and Ororo did as well beside her.
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Out in the wilderness, Logan moved along the ground, crouched low, sniffing at the air and the ground. He'd come across the still damaged gas station and immediately set out looking for clues. His nose had led him in the direction Sarah had originally come from, further into the wilderness. She'd been running blind, near as he could tell, leaving a trail anyone with any experience could've followed. Speed, not stealth, had been needed.
She'd been scared. He could detect the iron tang of fear lacing her scent the whole way, right up until she'd been knocked unconscious at the gas station.
There it was. Logan paused, sniffing the air, getting the scent clearly. Then, something else caught his attention, and he growled. A low, menacing growl. Six adamantium claws, three for each fist, slid from his hands as he assumed a defensive position.
"I know you're there, bub... come on out," hissed Logan through clenched teeth.
"I'm surprise it took you so long to notice me, runt... 'cause I've been followin' you for hours," came the reply, as out of the shadows of the woods stepped the great behemoth of death. A man, seven feet tall, with dirty blonde hair that flowed down the sides of his head and his back. His teeth were razor sharp, so were the black claws on his big, powerful hands. He was dressed in a mixture of armor, furs, and a thick brown trench coat. His name was Sabertooth.
"So it was you I smelled," replied Logan, crouching. He made no move to attack yet. He wanted to let the bigger mutant go first. But to his surprise, Sabertooth didn't.
"Wasn't me," he rumbled darkly as he took a step forward. Just one step.
"What're you talkin' about? Your stink is all over this entire..." started Logan. But then he paused, as did Sabertooth. Both of them inhaled the air deeply, and came to the same abrupt realization. Sabertooth's scent was thick in the area. But there was something else. A second, less powerful scent. Slightly older, it was nearly identical to Creed's, but there was a tiny fraction of a distance. It was someone almost identical to Creed, yet it wasn't.
"You smell it too, don't you?" asked Logan. Sabertooth nodded. Logan immediately sheathed his claws, then jerked his head back in the direction of his bike. "You, and me, need to have a serious talk."
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It was a quiet bar. Located in the middle of nowhere, it had no regular customers. Just those passin' by and searchin' for a drink to ease the long empty road. Since customers were so few, rarely did the owner have trouble from drunken brawls. Still, when the two big guys, one slightly shorter and dark-haired, the other as big as a mountain and dirty blonde, walked in, the bartender's first instinct was to reach for his shotgun under the bar.
However, as the too did nothing more hostile than take a seat at the bar, he poured them some drinks, took their money, and left them to their conversation. They gave him the distinct impression he wasn't wanted.
The conversation was brief, mostly because neither wanted to linger around the other for very long. The age old feud they had burned in their veins, eager for them to carry it out with death, violence, and retribution. Logan was suppressing his with difficulty, he could only imagine how much harder it must've been for Sabertooth.
Out of necessity, Logan was forced to tell Sabertooth about the Hydra experiments. How a clone of himself, X23, had been created and undergone the Weapon X adamantium bonding experience. Mention of the old program, including the enigmatic ghoul who'd once run it, nearly made Logan leave then and there, but he stayed and listened. And talked. And Creed had listened to his tale of twenty-two weapons, children, being made and bred to kill, and all dying. Then the one who was successful.
"Your clone," said Creed, sipping his beer. Outwardly he appeared calm, but even he was appalled by the evil implied. To kill was acceptable, as far as he was concerned. To fight, to maim, to destroy. But to kill children, to kill their souls long before they were born. Shook him to the wretched thing he had called a soul.
"Yeah... my clone. And Hydra wanted her back," replied Logan, sipping his own beer to keep his hands from shaking.
"And she blew up the whole goddamn installation... all of 'em, worldwide," growled Creed. "Just what we need... another -you- in this world."
Logan had to smile at that, at least.
"And whoever it is who had your scent tried to kill her," replied Logan darkly. Almost accusingly, and Creed's thick eyebrows dropped down as he regarded Logan angrily.
"I dunno anything about who it was," replied Sabertooth, his voice dangerously low. Logan could hear his heartbeat though, and it was steady. He wasn't lying, near as Logan could tell. His lie-detector test wasn't foolproof by any means, but he'd yet to meet someone who he couldn't tell was lying to his face.
"Then what were you doing in the woods all alone at night?" asked Logan, his voice just low. Not menacing, he wanted to make sure the barmaids didn't overhear. Two had taken a hint and wandered off to other tables, as had the bartender himself. One however, a young redhead, kept wandering over their way, stealing glances at Logan. The occasional glare she got from Sabertooth encouraged her to keep her distance, for which Logan was grateful.
"Tracking what I presume is this X23 you referred to... she has an interesting scent, but enough of it was present to make me think maybe it was you. So I was looking into it," replied Sabertooth.
"You saw nothing?" asked Logan.
"Nothing. Just a tossed aside rocket launcher. Military issue, heavy duty stuff. After that I ran into you. I doubt we'll find anything else down there though. No tracks. However it was, was an expert," he added darkly.
"Then we're right back to where we started," replied Logan glumly, finishing off his drink and slamming the empty bottle down onto the table in front of him.
"You may be... I'm not," replied Creed as he tossed down a five and stood, his trench coat whipping around his legs as he made his way to the door without so much as a backward glance at Logan. "Next time I won't be so friendly... runt," he added, as the door slammed shut. Outside, Logan could hear the roar of an engine, as Creed's vehicle started up and he was off on his way.
Logan ordered another beer, figured he'd get drunk, head back in the early hours of the morning, get some sleep at home. Sarah would be safe enough at the mansion. She was a big girl, she could handle herself.
The short redhead brought his beer and a big happy smile on the house.
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As the sun rose on the Xavier Institute on a Sunday morning, rarely was anyone awake to greet it. Most of the students, being the teenagers (and almost teenager, in Jamie's case) slept in on Sunday mornings, sometimes as late as ten, when breakfast was served. Professor Xavier and Hank also tended to sleep in after a long, busy night of research and work. Thus, the only two who usually were awake with the dawn were Ororo and Logan. Logan for some early morning calisthenics in the Danger Room, Ororo to water her plants in the attic.
Ororo slipped quietly out of bed, stretching her limbs. A rustling of cloth caused her to glance back as she saw Sarah glancing up at her quietly. Apart from the slight movement, she looked like she hadn't moved from the night before.
"I'm sorry sweetie, did I wake you?" she asked softly. To her relief, Sarah smiled, shaking her head.
"I'm always an early riser... Miss Munroe," replied Sarah, sliding gracefully out from under her covers and gathering them up in a bundle in her arms. The night seemed to have done her good, she seemed refreshed and ready to take on the day. "I... want to thank you again for what you did last night... I'm sorry if I troubled you."
"Not at all child," replied Ororo, giving Sarah a gently and brief hug. "I must attend to my plants... I'll see you shortly for breakfast, if you would like..."
"Sure... thanks!" replied Sarah, as she made her way out of the room and back to her own, walking down the hallways with the rug beneath her bare feet. It was certainly a change from grass and rock.
The dark-haired girl returned her covers to their proper location on her bed, tucking them and smoothing them out to make everything nice and neat. One positive aspect of her military childhood was an inborn sense of discipline. Tidiness was part of that. Messiness was not something she enjoyed in the least. Thus it was that she neatly folded her pajamas and placed them away as she dressed for the day in her new, crisp clean clothes and made her way down to breakfast.
The sun shone brightly overhead, promising a bright and beautiful day. Not many paid much attention to the gathering storm clouds on the horizon.
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Students. Could you all please meet me in the lounge, I have something important to discuss with all of you.
Sarah paused, fearful for a moment she'd imagined the voice in her head. But a second passed, and her more logical mind told her it was Professor Xavier. Of course, as a telepath, he likely found it easier to contact the students with his mind than some sort of intercom system. Much more efficient.
Thus it was that Sarah joined the other X-Men in the lounge, where seats had rapidly vanished as a number of posteriors filled them. Sarah spotted Ororo standing to one side, and Scott next to her behind the couch. She wanted to join them, but for some reason she felt... uncomfortable with the notion. A free seat opened up at the other end of the couch, next to Ray, and reluctantly she sat down, waiting and watching as Professor Xavier and Jean Grey walked in. Or rather, he wheeled in, she walked.
"I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news," began the Professor once everyone had arrived. "As most of you are aware, Jean Grey has been suffering a number of power surges in recent years as her powers grow and evolve over time. Up until now, with the one exception during the track tryouts, we've been able to successfully contain and control them."
"However," he continued, his expression becoming more grave. "Jean's powers are growing at a much faster rate now, and it is becoming difficult for either of us to control them. Jean Grey and myself will be taking an extended leave of absence from the Institute to visit an old colleague of mine on Muir Island."
"This would be the illustrious Dr. Moira MacTaggert, would it not?" inquired Hank, from his position in the oversized recliner next to the couch. Professor Xavier nodded.
"It is... her research and the facilities of Muir Island will hopefully allow me a chance to help Jean Grey... but we are not yet sure how long we will be gone. A few weeks... perhaps a month at most," added Xavier.
"Professor," said Scott, and all eyes suddenly snapped to him as he made his way forward. "Maybe I should come wi.."
"No Scott... not this time," replied Jean quietly. Her expression was one of remorse, as if she didn't enjoy what she was saying. Sarah caught the subtle scent of fear wafting off of her. And even more strongly from Professor Xavier.
"I am leaving Mr. McCoy in charge of the Institute," said Professor Xavier, casting a somewhat stern glance at the other students present. Particularly the younger students, and Kitty and Kurt. He hadn't forgotten the last time he'd left them to their own devices. He hoped Hank and Ororo would have better luck dealing with them than Scott and Jean had. "Until our return."
No more words were said, as the Professor and Jean turned to pack her things and leave, heading down the hallway to the elevator. From their, down to the hangar to the XM Velocity, to take them to Muir Island. Scott bid one last farewell to his girlfriend, receiving a soft kiss on the cheek in return for his affection, as the redhead boarded the helicopter and piloted it off towards Europe.
Sarah watched from the window as the XM Velocity flew up and out of its hangar, beneath the tennis court. Watching as the Professor and Jean left for an unknown amount of time. Sarah did not know Jean very well, though she heard mixed stories from the other students. Scott, Jubilee and Kitty liked her (Scott more than most) and Rogue, Tabitha and Ray really didn't care much for her. So she didn't know what to make of her. But the Professor had taken her in, and given her a home. She was going to miss him. In the family structures of normal families, she equated him as the grandfather of the Institute. Logan was the stern but well-meaning father, Ororo the kind-nature mother, and Hank the lovable uncle.
Sarah slipped down from her perch by the window, making her way back into the Institute. She bumped into Ray and Sam, who were busy 'recruiting' for a no-powers ultimate Frisbee game out in the yard.
"Come on Sarah, we're short a member... Jamie is too busy working on a project," said Sam.
"You... you're not mad at me?" asked Sarah curiously. Self-consciously, she rubbed her knuckles. "After what happened last night?"
"Oh come on we all make mistakes at one time or another," replied the corn-haired southerner.
"Yeah, 'specially Sam here... once tried to catch his books and ended up slammin' headfirst into a wall," added Ray, giving Sam a playful shove.
"You're one to talk!" replied Sam, shoving him back as Sarah watched, puzzled. "I'm not the one who shorted out Amara's hairdryer midway to school!"
"That was an accident!" shouted Ray.
Sarah, still confused, followed after the two boys. Their behavior didn't make a great deal of sense. They'd been insulting one another, yet now they seemed almost... friendly. Shrugging off the still confusing behavior, she accepted at least that her apology was well received, and Rogue had been right. No one was mad at her.
Sarah joined the others outside for a friendly game of no-powers ultimate Frisbee. Which quickly degenerate into a wild free for all of mutant Frisbee.
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Author's Notes:
No perverted thoughts, any of you! Little kids when scared sleep with their parents. That's all that scene was meant to show. Victor and Logan, in a bar, sharin' drinks. Never happen, you say? Happen between X-Men and X2, according to the movie comics. The two have a lot in common even if they're both at each other's throats all the time. And still the mystery remains of who their opponent is. Also, sub-plots will start forming about other scenes from the Ascension future visions. Also, I just felt like getting rid of Jean. Me no likey Jean. Next time: Sarah at Bayville High.
I rather like X23. She's like Wolverine but faster, more agile, deadlier, with an even more f***ed up past. She took down every single X-Man and Woman, something all four of the Brotherhood failed to do on more than one occasion (except Wanda). Plus, I confess, the guy in me just loves that she's going to grow up into a hot babe.
Dragonblond: Its staying just a crush, for now at least. She'll have her chance with the other characters soon enough, believe you me. But seriously, do you think Bobby could handle X23? I doubt it. Ray... mmmm... maybe.
Kinomi: Well thank you very much for beta-reading. Much obliged, as always, and more to come.
The Rogue Witch: I'll try but there is the age difference to take into account. It is four whole years, which is a lot when you're still in your teens. Glad you liked the Rec Room scene and dinner, poor Kitty.
Steven P.P: Well thank you for saying so. I do indeed have a great plot coming up (or at least I think so) I just hope I can get there without losing my audience.
DoWriter12: Well thank you, I try.
Lyranfan: I'm hoping to answer that, as well as tell another twisted evil Hydra story. If a fifth season comes, however, likely my story will all be for naught. I'm making her transition easy for the first few chapters, things'll get rough soon enough, believe me. But she wants to fit in, they want to help her. Especially those like Rogue, Scott, and Logan, who know best what she's gone through. And Kurt, coming up.
Comet-hime: Only as fast as I can, sweetie. Promise. Glad you liked everything, I put in the Tabby and Amara goodness just for you. And love your new fan art, by the way.
Ultimate R-Man: Actually, you're halfway there. And if you're review is any indication, you've already figured out my nefarious plot. Congratulations. Hope you enjoy what comes though, even if it disproves your theory.
Jennifer Stills: Glad you like. I agree, her transition will be slow, but some things are hard to forget.