Of God and Man

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the familiar characters, Marvel does and they wouldn't own the except they had the good sense to hire a writer named Stan Lee. I don't make any money from the use of these characters.

A/N: This is starting to come to a climax now. Only two or three chapters to go. Thanks to all my reviewers and especially dizi for her support.

Feedback: Please do. The stories get better when people tell us how we're doing. I will listen to all comments and suggestions.

Chapter 11: The Black Queen

Logan returned from his visit with Ororo a much happier man. The residents and students were relieved. They all knew why he went and now, whenever he got too testy, they would tell him to "Go to New York and get laid". The only ones who could say that to his face were Jubilee and Carolyn. The others would say it as long as they had a clear avenue of escape arranged. It wasn't healthy to tick him off. He started going every other weekend, making sure he was always home for lock down and the entire mansion rejoiced.

Carolyn, with Charles' permission, told Steve the reason for the increased security in the mansion. To her disappointment, he backed off. Logan let her cry on his shoulder, then went and beat the crap out of him.

"She's an omega mutant, Logan," Steve said, wiping blood off his lips. "She's got a ton of people who would love to get their hands on her. I don't want to add to them by bringing in my enemies as well. I'm a public figure. They'd find out about her soon enough if I stayed with her. This way, she'll be safe."

"Ya think she's safe now?" Logan yelled. "She's due for a power up soon. She's gonna be the strongest empath in the world. She ain't safe anywhere."

"Just how strong is she going to be?" Steve demanded.

"She may be able ta control the emotions of the whole world from her bedroom," Logan told him honestly. "She could start Armageddon or bring world peace. It'd be her choice. That's why we guard her so close and that's why I don't want her hurt." He punctuated the last five words by poking Cap in the chest with an adamantium backed finger.

"Ouch," he said rubbing his sore chest. "I won't hurt her Logan, but we have to think about this rationally. Until she powers up, she vulnerable. We both have enemies that would want her and we can't be with her all the time. We can't lock her away, hoping she'll learn to live with it. She'll whither and die if we do that, or worse, come to hate us. It's best that she remains out of the spotlight and away from me for now. I like her Logan. I really do but the only thing I can bring her is more trouble and she has plenty as it is."

Logan just looked at the tall man sitting on the floor. He didn't have a comeback for his argument. He had use the same argument to end relationships himself. Hearing the reasoning he'd used to leave the women he cared for most coming from Cap bothered him. He hadn't realized until now how inane it all sounded. He was ashamed of himself.

"That's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard commin' from yer mouth, Rodgers," he growled.

"You've used the same argument yourself," Cap protested.

"I know that," he yelled. "It was stupid then and it's stupid now. The only way ta keep her safe is ta stay near her."

"I don't have that right."

"No," he agreed, "you were dumb enough ta give it up. I ain't sure she'll take ya back now. She's got a lot of pride."

He slid down the wall to sit beside Cap and sighed.

"I need a smoke," he announced.

"Not in here," was Cap's automatic reply. "Do you think there's a chance she'll take me back?'

"Right now? Not a chance in hell," Logan informed him. "The only way yer gonna get her ta take ya back is ta be sneaky 'bout it."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Yup. How'd ya like ta do some extra duty fer a while?"

He had to enlist the help of the Summers' in his plan. Jean and Scott promised they would cooperate and left to visit her parents. Remy and Rogue decided to take a vacation in Hawaii, so that left Bobby and himself as the only alpha or higher mutants in residence. The higher level betas like Kurt, Kitty and Jubilee promised to be busy or gone when Carolyn next asked for a ride into the city. It worked like a charm.

"Logan?" she asked one morning. "Can you take me into the city? I need to buy some new sheets for my bed."

"What happened ta yer sheets?" he asked.

"The washer ate them. I only had one set."

"I'll loan ya a set."

"You have a king sized bed," she told him "I have a full. Your sheets are too big."

"What are ya doin' still sleepin' in a kids bed?"

"Unlike you, I don't entertain in my bed. A full's big enough for me."

"Ya had yer chance. Bed's taken now," he said smugly.

"Come on Logan. All I want to do is go to Macy's and get another set of sheets."

"Why can't Jean and Rogue take ya?"

"Jean and Scott have gone to visit her parents and Remy took Rogue to Hawaii. You and Bobby are the only alphas left."

"Can it wait until one of 'em comes back?"

"I only had the one set. I'll be sleeping on a bare mattress. They didn't even make me do that at the convent. Please Logan. I promise I won't take all day."

"Oh, alright," he said crossly. "Let me call 'Ro and let her know I'll be late."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't realize you and 'Ro had plans."

"I'm takin' her ta dinner at seven," he said.

"We'll be back in plenty of time for you to make your dinner date."

"I wasn't lookin' forward ta dinner, darlin', I was lookin' forward ta the appetizer," he said with a knowing smile.

"Oh," she blushed.

He returned from making his call with Bobby in tow.

"We're gonna stop at the Avenger mansion and pick up Cap first," he informed her.

"No," she put her foot down. "I won't go with him."

"I ain't walkin' around Manhattan, just me and Bobby, with the biggest target in the Western Hemisphere. Cap goes or ya stay home."

She crossed her arms and silently fumed at him. He had her beat and he knew it. She needed the sheets or she was going to spend several uncomfortable nights waiting for another alpha to come home, and she was getting close to another lock down.

"Fine," she spat. "But if he says one word to me, I'll put him on the ground in a blubbering mass of insecurities."

"Ya don't hafta like each other, he just needs ta guard ya. But if he says duck, ya damned well better duck."

"I hate you," she ground out as they got in the car.

"What's with you and Rodgers?" Bobby asked as Logan pulled out of the gate. "I thought you liked him."

"Shut up, Bobby," they both yelled.

She wanted to stay in the car and pout when they reached the Avenger mansion but Logan wasn't having any. He pulled out of the car, almost dislocating her shoulder in the process.

"Logan, go easy on her," Bobby said. "If she can't get along with Captain America, maybe we should ask Iron Man or Thor."

"Yeah, right," Logan grumbled. "Like they know how to keep a low profile."

Steve Rodgers answered the door himself, much to the disapproval of Jarvis, the butler.

"Logan, Bobby," he nodded to the men in greeting. "Ms. Gibson. Welcome to my home."

"Ya ready?" Logan asked.

"Let me get my wallet and shield," he told them. He turned to find Jarvis holding the needed items in his gloved hands.

"That thing's kind of a dead giveaway, Cap," Bobby said doubtfully as Steve tucked his wallet into a back pocket.

"Watch," he told him. He performed a complex movement on the back of the shield and it collapsed into a small disk that he shoved into an inner pocket of his jacket. "No problem."

They were walking through the parking garage near Macy's when Cap dropped a bomb on them.

"I got a call today from our one eyed friend, Logan," he said lightly.

"Oh," Logan said, his senses alert. "What does he want?"

"He knows I went to dinner with your latest student. He's interested."

"Shit," Logan swore loudly. He didn't need S.H.I.E.L.D. to know about her. They would be almost as bad as Sinister. "He'd better not," he ground out, "or I'll take his other fuckin' eye."

"Logan!" Carolyn admonished.

"Sorry Carol," he said. "We've got another problem."

"Who this time?" She was getting tired of this.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.," he told her.

"I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was one of the good guys."

"It depends. If you have a toy they want, they don't hesitate to take it," Bobby explained. "If you're the toy they want, they're going to try for you, today most likely."

"Change positions," Cap ordered. "Logan, you have point, I'll take the rear. Bobby, hand on her at all times. If anything happens, get her out the quickest way possible. Go to the XSE headquarters. They're closest. You're probably going to be exposed as a mutant but no one is to get a hold of her under any circumstances."

They started back on their way to the store.

"I hate this," she mumbled. "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this." Logan could smell and feel her growing fear. He stopped and turned toward her.

"Ya gotta get a grip Carol," He said shaking her slightly. "We're gonna protect ya but ya make it harder when ya broadcast like this."

She took several shaky breaths and pulled her emotions back. Locking them inside, she assumed the hard mask that Logan despised. She even pulled in the pheromones making the scent disappear. All he could smell from her was the light floral musk she preferred. He found the absence of pheromones from her disquieting. He suppressed the shiver threatening to run down his spine.

They found their way to the linen department and she quickly located the sheets she was looking for. Bobby convinced her to buy four sets so she wouldn't have to go through this again.

Cap and Wolverine stood together watching the other shoppers while she paid for her sheets, Bobby holding her arm like a besotted boyfriend.

"Did she do that?" Cap asked. "The fear?"

"Yeah," Logan told him. "She still looses control sometimes."

"I was about ready to run," Cap told him in a hiss. "She's a whole lot more powerful than I anticipated. What did she do to stop it?"

"She pulled her emotions inta herself and locked 'em down. She'll need a Danger Room workout ta get back ta normal."

"How can she live like this? She can't get angry or sad without affecting everyone around her."

"It's the life of an omega mutant. I don't envy her."

"But you're omega level."

"Only 'cause of Weapon X. I'm so screwed up, they don't really know how ta class me. The adamantium makes me omega. Without it, I'm not sure I'd even be beta. With her psionic powers, she's much stronger than me."

"Has she taken you down?"

"Repeatedly," he confirmed. "She can take out everyone in the mansion, and has in training." He purposely omitted any mention of Rogue's resistance to Carolyn's powers. Cap didn't need to know that.

The attack came as they returned to the car. Logan could smell them as the elevator rose to their floor and warned them. As soon as they stepped off the elevator, thirty S.H.I.E.LD. agents jumped out of hiding and surrounded them. And almost immediately dropped to the ground, along with Logan, Cap and Bobby. Carolyn slowly turned and faced the last person she wanted to see.

"You must be Selene," she said in a light tone. "What have you done to them?" She could feel the evil flowing from the Black Queen.

"They're trapped in their worst fears," she said, her face full of surprise. "You aren't affected by my powers."

"No, I'm not," Carolyn told her, her confidence growing. "I only fear God. He protects me. Your master has no power over me, and never will."

"They told me you were a nun but I didn't believe them."

"They are right, I was a nun and I still hold my vows sacred. If I won't break my vows for my friends, I most certainly won't break them for you."

"I will have you in the end," Selene purred. "Fate demands it. We can rule the world, you and I. Your ability to manipulate emotions and my ability to uncover the worst fear of everyone alive would make us gods. We could link and create the chaos my master demands. It would be glorious."

"Your master was an angel who was cast out of Heaven by my Master. Who do you think is stronger?" she walked slowly around the black clad demon. "The difference between us, Selene, is that you deal in emotions already present. I can give you the emotion most appropriate for the situation." She built a strong thread of an emotion she had forgotten about and sent it into the witches mind. She began slow and built on it. She wanted her to know what was happening. "Or not." Her voice was hard and dead.

Selene began to feel her emotions change. She was shaking. "What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Giving you something to fear," Carolyn said coldly. She continued to build her power as the demon collapsed to the garage floor, whimpering. "Your master can never control me. My God is God. He loathes your kind." She held her power level in the middle of her range. She had no desire to kill this thing. She was once a mutant much like herself but using dark magic and deals with Satan, she had been transformed.

Selene slowly stilled and the others began to stir. Carolyn sent a thin thread of emotions to the waking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to keep them out a while longer.

"Selene," Bobby gasped as he rolled to his back.

"Don't worry about her," Carolyn told him as she helped him to his feet. "She's down for the count. Let's get out of here. Keeping thirty agents and that demon down is giving me a headache."

They scrambled to the car and dumped the bag in the trunk. Logan stopped and looked around the garage as the others got in the car. All thirty agents were sound asleep, some of them snoring. The Black Queen was curled up in a ball of misery, barely breathing. What the hell had Carolyn done to her, and how was she controlling thirty-one minds without passing out?

"Get in Logan," she ordered. "I want to go home."

"What did ya do ta the Black Queen?" he asked when they turned on to the freeway.

"I gave her the feeling that she's failed her master spectacularly," she told him, her arm draped over her eyes. "She may recover but I'm not sure. I was very angry. The agents are just asleep from boredom. I'm still holding all of them. I figure I'd better wait until we get home to release them."

It took them a little over an hour to get back to the mansion. Carolyn was never so glad to see the imposing edifice in her life. The sunlight was like ice picks being driven into her eyes sending shards of pain into her aching head. Her stomach was rebelling after all she had put herself through. She started walking to the mansion, her head buzzing, and realized, she wasn't going to make it. She dropped to her knees and vomited. She vaguely heard people yelling all around her but she couldn't understand what they were saying. It was just muffled gobbledygook. She wished they'd all just shut up. Her head was killing her. She felt someone pull her hair back as she emptied her stomach. She heard the muffled voice of Jean telling her to 'Let them go'. Let who go? She thought.

"Let them go," Jean yelled. "She's not hearing me Logan."

"Can ya tell her in her mind?" he asked. For the first time in a long time, he was afraid. Carolyn had begun to vomit bright red blood.

"She has her battle shields up. I can't get through them. Come on Carolyn, cut the threads."

Cap held her hair back and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Let them go Carolyn. Cut the threads."

"Steve?" she gasped.

"Cut the threads," he whispered. "You're home."

"Oh," she said in a vague voice. "Okay." She reached into her mind and cut the threads that held her to the thirty-one minds. Immediately, the headache blossomed. She screamed in agony and passed out. Cap caught her before she landed in her own blood and vomit. He rose with her in his arms, looking at Hank.

"Take her to the med lab," Hank told him. "She's hemorrhaging. I need to operate immediately."

They ran as fast as they could, to the med lab. Logan stopped long enough to make a phone call.

"Fury," a gruff voice said.

"Call yer team at Macy's garage ya bastard."

"Logan? What are you angry about?"

"Leave her alone, Fury."

"This is about the empath. She has to be contained," he reasoned.

"She's not an animal that needs ta be caged. She's a beautiful woman who just found herself. Leave her alone. I'll kill her myself before I let you have her."

"Oh ho," Fury crowed. "You're gettin' some of her."

"Look at what she did in the garage as a warnin' and leave her the fuck alone." He slammed the phone down, smashing it into small pieces. It didn't make him feel any better.

Nick Fury looked at his phone with a frown. It should have worked. The team had tazers to take out Wolverine and Captain America and a flame thrower to take out Ice Man. What went wrong? He hit the intercom.

"Get me the commander of Omega squad on the horn," he ordered. It took a little over a minute.

"Status," he barked.

"The mutant got away,sir," the lieutenant reported.

"What the fuck went wrong?"

"I'm not sure, Colonel. We just woke up."

"What?" he yelled.

"She put us to sleep," the solder admitted. "There was something before that though. I think there was another mutant here." Fury could hear yelling in the background. "Sir, we have the Black Queen."

Fury's mouth dropped open in surprise, his cigar falling onto his desk. "Selene?" he demanded.

"Yes sir. She's in some sort of coma but it's definitely her."

"Collar her, solder, and get her up here. I want her contained yesterday." He slammed the phone down.

Well, he didn't get the empath he wanted but he did get the Black Queen. He thought about what happened. This kid shut down thirty solders who had been specially trained to resist psychic attacks and took out the Black Queen. Even Jean Summers hadn't been able to take Selene out.

Maybe he was going to have to leave her to Xavier.

A/N: One by one, the threats drop away. There's only one more person who can defeat Carolyn, and it's not who you think.