Disclaimer: Snore…. I don't own any of the X-men (although I do wish Wolverine or Gambit would show up on my doorstep… Gimme!) Marvel owns them. SIGH! I do however own Dom (SCORE!) and Astral and Nicole/Mindfire.
Please be gentle! This is my first X-men fanfic! Reviews welcome, no flames! I burn easy.
Yea! I got reviews. Does happy dance! Thanks to all who are reading my story! I never thought it would go over so well!
Starbaby-210: Mwaahahahah! I like the twitches. Glad you are keeping up. Piotr is Colossus. Big shiny, metal dude. HOT in the movie!
Wolivieluvr: Glad you are enjoying it. More Juiciness to come, I promise. I think you'll like this chapter because of it's juiciness.
Bima: I dunno…. Guess you'll just have to keep reading… As much as it would be nice for the xmen to save him, I'm pretty sure Dom can save himself… Given his paternity and all.
Four years later…
Logan pulled at the collar of the dark blue button down shirt Rogue had made him wear. The normally cool auditorium was stuffy with the large amount of people packed into every corner. Rogue held his free hand in hers and gave him a smile.
"I'm so excited!" she whispered.
"Me too, darlin'. I wish these damn speeches were over."
Xavier wheeled out onto the stage and smiled at the audience. "Thank you, James, for that brilliant speech. Without further adieu, I'll begin the presentation of diplomas."
Marie's hand tightened on Logan's as the Professor began to call off names. After a moment of watching the students file across the stage, she gave him a huge smile, and pointed towards the stage.
"There she is!"
"Nicole Tru Logan," Xavier called and Logan felt a swell of pride as he watched the young woman cross the stage.
Nicole looked beautiful in her pristine silver robe. She had taken his name as her last name and asked Rogue and him to act as her parents for the ceremony. He had grown close to the young girl. He had taught her to defend herself, drive a car, and fix a flat tire and all in the same week. Logan felt almost like a father to her and he knew Rogue was the closest thing to a mother that Nicole had ever had. He clapped loudly and rose to his feet.
"Logan," Rogue giggled. "Sit down!"
He sat down, but continued to clap for the blushing girl on stage.
"Nicole Logan has graduated full honors. Congratulations Nicole."
Nicole took her degree from Xavier and hugged him. Thank you, Professor. Thank you so much.
It was my pleasure, Nicole. Welcome to the X-Men, Mindfire. The Professor had used the code name she chose for herself.
Nicole walked off the stage and back to her seat. She saw Logan smiling at her with Rogue and she gave them a wave. They were the closest thing she had to parents and they were here for her on her special day. She caught a tug in her mind and she glanced towards the back of the auditorium. She thought he saw someone in the shadows, but there was no one there. Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she gave up and looked back to the front as another speech started.
From the back, the figure watched, smoking a cigarette.
After the ceremony, Nicole went to the rec room for the party the Professor was throwing for all the students and their families. She raced into Logan's arms and he twirled her around.
"You did it, kid. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Logan. Thank you for being here for me today. Both of you." Nicole hugged Rogue.
"Mon diu! Look at ma petite! She's all grown up, no?" Gambit wrapped his arms around Nicole's middle and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Gambit's starting to seriously consider this cradle robbing, chere."
Nicole batted his hands away. "I'm not that much younger than you, Remy."
"You touch her like what you're thinking and I'll cut you open, gumbo," Logan growled.
"Logan!" Rogue chastised. "He's only teasing."
"Yeah, keep that up and I won't have a date for the End of the Year Ball, 'dad'," Nicole teased and poked Logan's stomach.
Logan made a face. "You're actually going to that?"
"Yes, I am. Why?"
"Cause now I'll have to neuter every male in Westchester County and get a tux to chaperone."
"In your wildest dreams," Rogue snorted. "I won't let you. At least not the neutering part. The tux thing we can discuss."
"So the son was a no show, mon ami?" Gambit asked.
Logan grunted in response. "I haven't heard from the kid in six months. To tell you the truth, I'm worried about him. He's too much like me."
"I'm sure he's fine, mon ami. Like you say, he's like you and Gambit thinks that would be enough to survive on. C'mon, chere, Gambit wants a dance."
Rogue watched Gambit drag Nicole away. "You need to be nicer to him, Logan."
"Why?"
"He and Nicole are dating."
"Not exclusively. I just don't want her to get dumped off when he finds a girl he can actually fuck."
"Logan…"
"I know, I know." He let her take his hand and kiss the knuckles. "I suppose you want a dance too?"
Nicole let Gambit drag her to the dance floor and they danced to a slow song. She let her fingers wonder to the back of his neck as she drifted in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts, chere."
She shook her head to clear it. "Sorry Remy. I was just searching."
"For what?"
"Dom, I guess. I wonder if he ever found what he was looking for."
"Who knows, chere. He was too much like the Wolverine for Gambit to understand. Played one mean game of pool though."
Nicole chuckled and Gambit felt the waves of her mind hit him like ripples in water. He had forgotten how powerful she was.
"Mon dui. I could feel that one."
"What?"
"Your powers, ma petite."
"Oh, sorry Remy."
"You're fine, chere. I just forget how powerful you are. You are such a tiny thing."
She grinned, wickedly. "Need I conjure up the image of me laying you out in the Danger Room last week?"
"No, Gambit is good. How does it feel to be a full member, Mindfire?" He used her codename, teasingly.
"I'm excited, but scared at the same time. I'm nervous about going on missions."
"Relax. You'll do fine. Sorry to cut our dance short, chere, but Gambit has got some poker to play. Piotr swears he could beat Gambit and Gambit has got to prove him wrong."
"Aww, no love for me?" she teased.
"Not when the Wolverine thinks you are his daughter," he chuckled and laid a kiss on her gloved hand. "Later, ma chere."
She watched him walk away and smiled. She glanced back towards Logan and Rogue and saw they were talking in hushed tones with Xavier. She used her mind and tried to read Logan's. He felt her and glared.
"Get over here kid, if you want to listen."
Nicole obeyed and went to them. "What's going on?"
"Don't you sense it?" Xavier asked.
"The strange mutant? Yeah, I just figured it was someone's family. Why?"
"I sense it's something more than that. I-"
They heard the rumble of a motorcycle and Nicole's face lit up. "Dom."
They watched her race for the front door. Logan nudged Rogue.
"You used to act all stupid like that for me too."
She punched his arm and followed Nicole. Nicole threw the doors open and collided with a wide chest. She peered up and gasped.
"Dom?"
Dom peered down at the woman before him with his good eye. He dropped the bag from his arm and smiled.
"Hello, Nicole."
"You remember me?"
"Not really. I was just making a wild guess, but score one for Dom." He grinned. "Of course I remember you."
She stared at him. He had an eye patch over his left eye and his hair was wild from the bike ride. She touched the side of his face with her gloved palm.
"Your eye-"
"It's growing back. You've grown up, Nicole."
"I graduated today-"
"With honors. I saw the ceremony."
"You were there?"
"In the back."
"Welcome back, Dom." Rogue leaned in the doorway.
"Thank mom. Where's my ferocious father?"
Logan came to stand next to Rogue. "What the hell happened to your eye?"
"I was stabbed. Organs take a bit longer to grow back apparently."
"C'mon inside. We're having a party to celebrate graduation," Nicole said, taking his arm and dragging him inside. Xavier wheeled up to them.
"Welcome back, Dominic. How did your search fare?"
"I didn't find much. I came back hoping for help."
"You'll always find it here. For now just enjoy yourself. We can discuss reading your mind later."
Dom nodded and smiled at Nicole. "Boy, you grew up fast, doll."
"You look the same."
He shrugged. "Is there any beer around here?"
"This is a school."
"Oh, yeah." Dom spied Gambit playing poker and nodded his head in that direction. "I'm going to join Cajun for a game. Catch ya later, kid?"
Nicole nodded and watched him walk away. Nicole concentrated and tried to spy into Don't mind. He felt her tug and she felt as if she hit a brick wall.
Stay outta there, kid.
Why? Do you think I'll be scared of what I see?
No. I'm afraid of what you might see.
Nicole backed away from him, mentally and whispered, "What happened to you, Dom?"
Jean walked with Xavier after the party down the quiet halls. "Did you sense the mutant earlier?"
"Yes, I did Jean. I thought it was an unknown, but apparently it was Dom returning home."
"I'm not so sure about that, Professor."
"Neither am I."
"Dom seemed strange. His eye…"
"Yes, perhaps he'll let me read his mind and we'll discover why he seems so different."
"I hope so."
Dom hid in the shadows as Xavier and Jean passed by him. He stared at them, his gaze unwavering. When they had turned a corner and disappeared, he emerged from his hiding spot. He exited the school and went to the garden.
"Astral…" he hissed pushing branches from his way.
A form blurred by his face and his hand shot out to catch the beautiful blonde woman. She smiled.
"You always were fast enough to catch me. How did it go?"
Dom shrugged. "Good. I think they know you are skulking around. You might want to make yourself scarce."
She trailed her nails up his chest. "All this coming from my big, bad protector? My bad, bad killer?"
He took her hands and pulled them away. "Don't touch me."
"You know you love it. I know you love it." Her hand brushed over the crotch of his pants. "Remember why you are here."
"I remember."
"Then don't fight me." She pressed herself against him and crushed her mouth against his. Her tongue swirled in his mouth and her fingers dug into his scalp. With a growl, he pushed her back violently.
"Back off, you blurry bitch!" he growled.
"You aren't the one giving orders around here, Fury."
"Don't call me that."
Astral projected herself and grabbed a handful of his hair. She brought him down to his knees and produced an eyedropper. She dropped a small amount of the clear liquid on the back of his neck and it landed with a hiss. Waiting for the serum to take effect she stroked his scalp like she would a dog.
"It worked on your mother just as well."
Letting him go, she stepped back to watch him rise. He looked at her and she saw his good eye had turned silver.
"Good pet. Go back to them and pretend nothing is wrong."
He nodded and headed back to the mansion. She smiled in the darkness.
"Alright kids this is Danger Room: Level Ten. We're not playing around anymore," Logan spoke into the microphone from the observation deck. "Begin simulation."
Nicole braced herself for whatever the computer was going to pit her against. She looked over to Gambit, who was absently twirling a card between his fingers.
"Ready chere?"
"As I'll ever be."
A lone figure stepped from the darkness. There was the distinct sound of metal sliding against metal and the figure stepped into the light.
"Dom?" Nicole relaxed. "What are you doing here?"
His face contorted in rage and he howled. He leapt for her and she dodged his attack. He rolled and prepared to attack again. Gambit cursed and threw a charged card at Dom. The explosion knocked Dom off his feet. When he stood back up, Gambit saw a gaping hole in his head and wires sticking out.
"It's only a robot!" Nicole gasped. She used her powers to throw the robot against the wall, smashing it. "That was not funny, Logan!"
"I didn't mean it to be. There is always the real chance that you'd have to attack a friend. Eyes left, Mindfire." Logan sat back and watched.
A metal arm slammed into her left side and she fell to the floor. Using her mind, she deflected the blows of the arms, until she was able to get to her feet. Gambit threw a blaze of charged cards at the arms attempting to disarm them. One knocked him across the room and Nicole ran to him. She took off her glove and absorbed some of his power.
"Nicole… Be careful," Gambit said, weakly.
She nodded and grabbed the arms that came towards her. They glowed a bright red and exploded before her. She used her powers to levitate and she grabbed anything that came her way. Gambit rose a bit shakily and began to use his staff to destroy anything in his path.
"Level Ten completed. Congrats kids." Logan turned off the computers and Nicole and Remy made their way out of the Danger Room.
"Your touch always brings me to my knees, chere," Gambit teased.
"As I recall you have quite a reputation for being good on your knees." Nicole gave him a sultry look.
"You tease," he accused and tried to pull her into his arms.
"Now remember what happened last time we tried this." She gave him a small push. "You ended up in the med lab for a week."
"I'll put him in there for even longer if he keeps staring at you like that." Logan stood in the doorway. "I've got to meet Marie for lunch. You two keep your hands off each other."
He left and Gambit chuckled. "I don't think the Wolverine trusts us together, chere."
"C'mon, you little swamp rat. I told the Professor I'd come up for another one of my lessons." Nicole hastily pulled back on her gloves.
Gambit took her hand and pulled her back to him. "Listen, chere. You aren't happy with Gambit are you?"
"What do you mean?"
Gambit threaded his fingers in her hair. "You like the Wolverine's son?"
"Dom is my friend, Remy. That's all-"
"No, chere. He means more to you than just a friend. Gambit knows these things."
"Remy…"
"He does. Gambit can tell. You act like the Rogue whenever she looks at the Wolverine. Tell him how you feel."
"Remy. I was a stupid fifteen year old girl when I met him. I'm almost nineteen now and still as stupid."
"Just try. There is no harm in trying. If not, Gambit will be here to pick up the pieces." He grinned.
She glared at him. "All this time you romanced me, knowing about Dom?"
"Oui. Gambit promised Logan that he wouldn't let his little girl be lonely forever. He half suspected me to dump you for the first girl to come alone. Gambit thinks he didn't want you to fall for someone like him." Gambit reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Too bad you already did, la petite femme."
"Oh, Remy. Why did you go along with Logan?"
Remy shrugged. "Might have been his threat to filet Gambit if he didn't. Plus you're cute and you kiss like an angel."
Nicole laughed and took his hand. "C'mon you."
Rogue sat on a bench as she watched Logan teach a self defense class. She laughed as a student tried to topple him and the kid landed hard on the mat. Nicole came and sat next to Rogue.
"Hey, Nicole. I haven't seen you since yesterday. Where have you been?" Rogue asked.
"In my room… Contemplating. Remy and I broke up."
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry." Rogue took her hand and squeezed.
"I'm okay. Remy told me it was Logan's idea for us to date. Apparently he didn't want me dating someone like him."
Rogue's expression darkened. "I should have known that Logan would do something like that."
"What? Was he afraid his son would romance you?" Dom interrupted their talk. "Hey, mom."
"You're another one I haven't seen much of. Where have you been hiding?"
"Out and about." Dom watched his father. "He's very ruthless with those kids isn't he?"
"He needs to be so that they will learn." Nicole turned to gaze at him. "You never told me what happened to your eye."
"I got stabbed in a bar in Mexico."
"By a jealous husband?"
"No. A crazy whore." Dom watched his father teach. "So I hear you took my father's name as your last."
"It only seemed right. He and Rogue have been like parents to me."
Dom nodded. "I hear you. Hasn't he married you yet, mom?"
Rogue chuckled. "Logan isn't the proposing type."
"Yeah, if the idea of marriage ever came into his head, he'd just whisk you off to a judge and onto Canada," Nicole teased.
"I can see that. What about you Dom? Has any barfly won your heart?"
Dom chuckled. "Hardly. Handsome as I am, not many are willing to screw a guy with an eye patch."
"Aww, I think it makes you look rugged." Nicole nudged him. "Very sexy."
"What would you know about sexy, kid? You're like… fifteen."
"I'm almost nineteen," Nicole hissed.
"Like I said. Still a kid."
Nicole was suddenly angry and she pulled off her gloved and held out her hand. "I'll show you a kid!"
"Nicole!" Logan barked. "Put the glove back on! You don't need any more of him in your head."
Nicole snarled and stalked back into the house. Dom turned and followed her.
"Leave me alone!" she ordered as he followed her.
"Nicole, listen to me."
"Back off!"
"Nicole!" He grabbed her cloth covered arm and her eyes blazed.
"Let me go, Dom."
With a growl he pressed her against the wall and kissed her, hard. Unconsciously she opened her mouth and even as she felt herself draining him she gripped his hair in her hands. She pushed him back and he stumbled.
"Damn," he muttered.
She touched her lips and stared at him. Strangely, she had only gotten memories of a desert laboratory and Stryker's face.
"What are you doing, Dom?"
"Trying not to hurt you," he whispered.
Remy came around the corner and raised an eyebrow. "Any problems, chere?"
"No," Dom growled and went back outside.
Nicole looked over at the grinning Remy, who crossed his arms over his chest. "Must you look at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"The 'I told you so' look."
"Sorry, but I did, chere."
"Don't remind me."
Rogue curled up to Logan in bed that night. She absently tapped her fingers across his chest.
"That tickles, darlin'," he grunted and grabbed her hand. He brought it to his lips and kiss. "What's wrong, Marie?"
"I'm just worried about Nicole. Remy broke up with her today."
"What?" Logan growled. "That little double crosser-"
Rogue glared at him. "You did make him go out with her! Logan!"
"What? He liked her anyway and I… I just didn't want her falling for… somebody else."
"Like Dom?" Rogue sat up, wrapping the sheet around her nude body.
"Yeah… I just … I know what he's like. He's just like me… and I put you through so much pain and I didn't want it to happen again," Logan confessed.
"Logan, she cares for Dom. He was the first mutant she ever absorbed and he saved her life. Come what may, let it happen," Rogue put her hand on his face. "Besides, if he does hurt her you can slice him and he eventually heal."
"True, darlin'. Do you trust him?"
Rogue shrugged, and twirled a platinum lock in her fingers. "I dunno. He's distant. Even more so than you."
"He's changed over these years. I feel like something is wrong."
"Talk to him."
Logan grunted and pulled Marie back into his arms. "Maybe, but all I want to do right now is love you."
"Ooh, is that mushiness coming from the Wolverine?" Rogue teased.
Logan flipped them over and kissed her hard and Marie stopped teasing him… Verbally at least.
Nicole held the long, shimmering white dress against herself as she stood before the mirror in the room she shared with Kitty. It was a strapless, one she normally could not wear, but she wanted to. Thanks to the Professor she could.
"So who are you going to go with to the ball?" Kitty asked. "Since you talked Remy into taking Jubilee?"
Nicole shrugged. "I figured I'd go stag."
"Why don't you get Dom to take you?"
Nicole rolled her eyes as he hung her dress back up. "Why is everyone obsessed with the idea of me and him?"
"You two are too cute together. Kinda like Rogue and Logan."
"Dom isn't a dating type of guy," She shimmied out of her jeans and looked around for her PJ bottoms.
"No, but he is a 'do-able' type of guy," Kitty giggled.
"Not for me, remember? Even if he could get it in me, he'd be in a coma for a year."
Kitty laughed, "Talk about an orgasm to die for!"
Nicole blushed. "Kitty!"
"I'm just teasing." Her gazed drifted to the open balcony window. "Wouldn't it be romantic if Dom climbed through you our window to sweep you away in his arms?"
"While reciting poetry, right? That's a fat chance."
"Oh, Nicole you have eyes like an endless river and your touch…" Kitty dramatized.
"Kills me?" Nicole giggled and both girls erupted in laughter until they heard a noise at their window. Both looked at each other frightened and Nicole peeled off her gloves. She advanced towards the window and balcony with Kitty right behind her.
A figure pulled themselves over the railing and landed with a thud on their balcony. The figure parted the curtains and growled.
"Damn, wrong window."
"Dom?" Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared us to death! What are you doing?"
"Snuck out to go drinking. Sorry, I thought this was my room."
"One more up," Kitty offered.
"Thanks, Kit-Kat," he looked at Nicole's bare legs. "Nice set of legs you got there, doll."
Nicole blushed, realizing she had been standing there in just a sweater. She grabbed her PJ bottoms and pulled them on. "You should probably go."
He nodded and headed for her door. He stopped by her mirror and fingered the dress. "What's this for?"
"End of the Year Ball," Kitty broke in. "Since her and Gambit broke up, she doesn't have a date. Wanna take her?"
"Kitty!" Nicole hissed at her friend's grinning face.
"Sure."
"What?" Nicole and Kitty asked in unison.
"Sure." He smiled. "That is if you want to go with me?"
Nicole nodded, numbly. "Uh, sure…"
"Meet you here tomorrow… at six?"
She nodded.
He left their room and it was silent until Kitty let out a scream.
"OH MY GOD! He's going to take you!" Kitty jumped up and down on her bed, hysterically. "This is great, no scratch that, fantastic!"
Nicole stared at the door. Dom had agreed to take her to the dance. The Wolverine reincarnate was taking her to a dance.
"I need to go and talk to him," she opened the door and ran down the hall and up the stairs. He got to his door and found him waiting.
"You make a lot of noise, doll. What do you want?"
"You don't have to take me."
"Do you not want me to?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No, not that. I mean if you don't want to go."
"I want to go. I want to take you."
"Oh… Sorry…"
"Wanna come in for a bit, kid?"
She smiled. "Haven't you noticed I'm not a kid?"
He let his gaze travel down her body. "Yeah, you are definitely not a kid."
He opened his door and she followed him inside. She sat on his bed and watched him peel off the white t-shirt he wore.
"How's the eye?" she asked and watched as he took of the eye patch. His eye had grown back and was only slightly bloodshot.
"It's good."
"Looks good." She mentally smacked herself for that one.
"I think I can stop wearing the patch now. I like it though. Chicks dig it." He tossed it on the floor and grabbed a toothpick from his nightstand and began to chew it.
"What's with the toothpicks?" she asked.
"Trying to quit smoking."
"Oh," she watched him roll the toothpick around with his tongue.
"What?" he asked, noticing her staring.
"I just can't help, but wish that I was that toothpick," she drawled and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry! I absorbed Remy a while back and he pops out like that every one in a while."
Dom smirked. "I kinda wish you were the toothpick, doll."
She blushed. "Dom…"
"I'm just teasing." He sank down onto the mattress and began to unlace his boots. "How've you been?"
She shrugged. "Good. I've been trying to manage my powers. I can actually make sense of the memories I absorb now."
"Can ya."
"I could try to, you know, read your mind again, if you wanted. You did promise that you'd let me probe your mind all I wanted."
"I remember. Do you really want to see inside my head?"
"I just want to help you."
"I don't think there is any help for me," he said as he rose and crossed the room.
"I didn't think so either, but the Professor has helped me. Everyday, he says I get closer and closer to touching."
"But you aren't me, doll. Sometimes it feels like there is this animal inside of me that is straining the get out and hurt something. I have too much of my father in me… and yet not enough of him to control it. I'm too animal."
"You are human, Dominic and don't you forget that." Nicole put her gloved hand to his face. "If I've learned one thing from Xavier it is that we are all human, no matter what our mutation is."
"You have so much faith. Will you have that faith when this world crumbles?"
She shrugged. "I hope to."
"Even when there are people like Stryker?" he whispered.
Nicole nodded. "People like him are the ones I pity the most."
Dom stared at her and she shrugged.
"Kurt and I talked a lot after I first got here. He has amazing views."
"I see. Why don't you got to bed and let this animal get some sleep."
She nodded and asked, "Do you still have your nightmares?"
"Yeah."
"I do too."
Logan sought out his son the next day. Striding into the garage, he found Scott and Dom working on Dom's bike. They both looked up from what they were doing when Logan arrived. He chewed on the end of his cigar.
"Yes?" Dom asked.
"I hear you're taking Nicole to that dance."
"So?" Dom began ratcheting something on his bike's engine.
Logan growled at his son's attitude. "You hurt her and I'll gut you, son or not."
Dom raised an eyebrow. "Showing favoritism, dad?"
"No. I just know how you are, because you're just like me."
Scott gave a snort, and tried to cover it with a sneeze, unsuccessfully.
"What are you laughing about, One Eye?" Logan snarled.
Scott shook his head. "Nothing, Logan. I'll just leave you two to, uh, father and son time."
He rose and left the garage and immediately started to laugh. Dom smirked and peered over the seat towards his father.
"Wanna hand me that spark plug?"
Logan grunted and handed Dom the requested part. Dom messed with it and stared his father down.
"Why did you really come down here?"
"What happened to you, kid?" Logan asked. "You seem different."
Dom shrugged. "People change."
Logan snorted. "Cut the shit. What happened?"
Dom glared at Logan. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I didn't find anything so I resorted to fucking whores in Mexico that in one way or another resembled Nicole. Why? Because I think I might be in love with her. Oh, yeah and one stabbed me in the eye."
"You love Nicole?"
Dom shrugged. "Maybe. So what if I do. Would she want a man who can't even remember his own last name?"
"Let Chuck read your mind again. He might-"
"No," Dom barked. "No more mind games. I don't want to know what I was. I'm more concerned with what I am becoming. Now if you'll fuck off. I've got a bike to fix."
"I'm just worried about you, kid."
"Well worry about someone else! I took care of myself before I met you and I can do it now! I never asked for a dad."
"I never asked for a son."
Dom smirked. "Obviously you got some enjoyment out of my creation."
Logan released his claws. "If you want to duke this out, then let's go for it."
Dom rose and released his own claws. "I've been looking for a sacrifice."
Logan retracted his claws, lunged at Dom, and tools went clattering to the floor. They rolled on the pavement until Logan ended up on top and was punching Dom's face. Dom howled in outrage and kicked his father off of him and into the wall of tools. Dom sliced at him and cut two lines across Logan's abdomen. Logan watched the cuts heal and let out his own claws. He slashed three lines across his son's face and Dom turned to stare at his dad. Logan gasped.
Dom's lip hung halfway severed and his nostril was cut open. The cuts slowly stitched themselves back together and Dom tackled him. They were on the ground, slicing and hitting whatever they could when they were suddenly blasted with a red optic ray. Scott stood at the door with Rogue. Logan and Dom went to attack each other and were stopped by Jean.
"Logan! Dom! What has gotten into you?" Rogue asked.
Dom spit out a mouth full of blood and started to laugh. "For an old man, you fight pretty good."
"For a green kid, you fight pretty good, too."
Rogue's gaze shot daggers at them. "You are both lucky you heal fast, because there is no way I would let you escort Nicole and I to that dance cut apart and bruised."
"What happened?" Scott asked.
Dom chuckled. "I got smart with him and he felt the need to punish me. Since I'm a little big to take his belt to, he decided to kick my ass. I think I was winning."
"In your dreams, kid. One more slice and I'd had you crying."
"Of all the people in the world, you would be the last to make me cry, Logan."