Chapter 3

Title: Shadow's are darker when you can't see them

Author: Revelation
E-Mail: stealthyminx hotmail . com

Rating: NC-15 for now, to be on the safe side, will involve violence and sex later on

Song inspiration: Something corporate:- Ben Franklins Kite

>Telepathic communications.
Thought's

It felt good, to be sitting at his own table once more, as much as Charles Xavier enjoyed the trip to the senate hearing in New York City with the seniors, it was good to be home, nothing felt as right or as safe as these walls. Sitting at the head of the table listening to Ororo and Hand fill himself and Warren in on the events of the geography camp and the following day it seemed they had missed quite an adventure, Xavier also made note that he'd have a word to Jason about his actions, this wasn't the first time the boy had missed behaved causing a scene and he..

"Did the senate hearing hold any unexpected surprises?" Ororo's voice interrupted his thoughts, she was looking at him concerned by his distance as she put down her cup of tea, "Charles?" reaching out and touching his arm, forcing him to join the rest of them in the conversation, to become part of the family, and not some observer that he normally was, she was also concerned about his silence.

"No mention of the bill?" Hank was also clearly worried by his silence. Xavier shook his head.

"No, it wasn't even mentioned." Warren stated, having gone with the Professor as well, he knew there was no need for concern.

"It seems the information we received was incorrect." Hank and Ororo both let out the breath they'd been holding, clearly relieved by the news.

"Or they just didn't want to bring it up with us present." Warren half muttered into his coffee cup before taking a sip. Warren had a point, with a group of fifteen mutants, both rather important figures in the public eye, Warren with his family, Xavier with his support of the president. But even that wouldn't deter the politics for long.

"I fear that Warren may be right and I think that IF it happens again it wont be just a repeat of a few years ago." Xavier signed picking up his tea again and looking around the dinning hall at the student's comings and goings. The last time was when Senator Kelly had suggested a registration bill. They're only had a few mutant at the school at the time, but now Kelly's dream was rumoured to be alive again, and he now had the support of another large player in the political game, a man by the name of Victor Creed.

"It will be alright Charles, sanity will prevail over the madness, they have to see what the consequences will be if they introduce such a foolish bill." Hank stated firmly, using his teacher tone, though somehow it sounded like he was using it to ease his own fear rather then that of anyone at that table. For the far side of the hall there was a crash, a scream and laugher. Warren stood up to go see what had happened. But he got half way and started to come back, taking a seat Xavier shook his head.

"Logan, you really mustn't frighten the younger students, its already hard enough to get them to go to your classes, no need to have them totally beside themselves." Logan smirked, finding it amusing that the kids were scared so easily, he didn't intend to make a few of them cry.. "They need our encouragement Logan, not to be struck dumb with terror at the sight of you." Xavier sounded clearly disgruntled by the students reaction to the Wolverine.

"Look in the real world they wont."

"They are children Logan." Ororo interrupted before an argument on teaching methods started, as if that would be the end of it

"I know Ro, but that don't mean they aint got to learn how to take it." Logan picked up his plate and put a stake on it, everyone else looked a bit queasy as a result. "They got to learn. And a few hard sessions never hurt anyone, it might even straighten a few of 'em out." Logan's answer to any attitude was an extra thirty minutes of work outs.

"Making them hate you isn't going to help disciple problems." Warren stated putting down is cup of coffee harder then expected Logan grunted at him

"Look you got your way, I got mine, and I don't hear the kids complaining."

"But they are, you just don't here it." Ororo murmured, Logan knew the kid's hated him taking gym sessions, he knew they muttered, but he was doing them a favour, they needed to know how to defend themselves outside of their powers,

"IF they aint got the… brass to say it to me they got no right to say it." There was another crash and the yelling out across the room, Warren stood up and went to check it out. Once Warren had returned reporting that Allison Crestmere had managed to melt her fork, all of them followed the professor back to his office to be given there temporary schedules for the week while Scott and Jean were away, Logan wasn't totally unhappy, he just picked up the shop classes, Hank got jeans maths class, Warren and Ororo got Scott's two English classes. After they got handed their syllabuses Hank, Ororo and Warren left, Logan hung back waiting for the others to leave, they didn't need to hear this.

"You will try and make the class enjoyable would you, I hear its one of the more loved classes.." Logna shook his head, there wasn't a lot of input, all he had to do was make sure the kids didn't blow themselves up, though with some that was a possibility.

"Don't worry about it Chuck, won't make them suffer much."

"Anything else I can help you with?" Xavier asked wheeling around to his desk, putting on his glasses

"One of the windows in Jade's bedroom is smashed.." Logan stated staring out the window onto the gardens outside "A bird, cos of Ro's storm.." he didn't know why he lied, well technically it wasn't lying it's what Jade told him, even if all that knew it knew it wasn't true.

"Mmmm, well its warm at the moment so there isn't an immediate need to get it repaired, is the bird, alright?" Xavier wasn't really meaning the bird and Logan knew it.

"Not sure, I'll ask Jade if it came out okay." Xavier nodded and taking it as the end of the conversation Logan went for the door.

"You sure it was Ororo's storm and not another influence?" Xavier asked, Logan looked around at him, "Because maybe then you might not be the best person to be asking if the bird came out unharmed." Logan tried not to take it as a direct hit to the ego "I mean, maybe I should have a word."

"I'll do it Charles, its time her and I had a chat." Logan didn't wait to hear Xavier objections, Jade and himself needed sit down, since it was clear no one else was getting through her, though that Harther boy was making good stab at it, Logan suppressed the urge to go take a stab at both of them next time he saw them, Logan looked at his schedule, it was an urge he'd have to suppress quickly, first up, Shop with the Seniors.. "O goodie.."

It shouldn't have been so hard, after all it was only one simple shop lesson, all the kids had to do was work on their projects, in fact most of them weren't even on the practical and were still perfecting their designs for pencil dicks review, the fact that they were all old enough to know better didn't seem to matter Logan had believed he could leave them alone for the ten minutes it would take for him to get a drink. But no, in that small amount of time, it looked like world war three had broken out in the garage, paper, tools, parts were all over the floor and the kids were in an up roar, it seemed that the students Sean and the French kid Luke Chambers had decided to have a race as to who could deconstruct or reconstruct a transmission box the fastest, at the state of the parts Logan couldn't tell which one, and the students were arguing about something as well, Logan cracked it, by the time he was finished dressing them down all involved looked like scared rabbits stuck in the headlights of a semi trailer. But then something made Logan stop briefly, Jade walked right into the space between him and the others bent over picking up a rag and some cable cutters before turning back and going back to the far back corner, this through Logan, Jade was normally right in with the havoc causing, he hadn't even noticed she wasn't in the group with the others, after all Kat and that Hather boy were. After Logan finally finished and the students went back to working in complete silence, other than the radio which Logan had changed to some station only he liked, he watched Jade, she didn't leave her corner, nor did anyone go over to her, even Kat asked him for help rather then go over to Jade, it wasn't until the class ended, Jade cleared up and finally communicated with Kat that the rest of the group engaged with her, as much as the others did with Jade, and from the reaction of everyone else this wasn't an irregular occurrence, it seemed almost natural for Jade to just disappear once they came into the garage and only on her invitation were you allowed to resume contact. Logan knew she was a loner but this was even odd by his standards.

There wasn't much noise coming from anywhere in the mansion late Wednesday evening, it was after lights out youngest students and all on level three were confined to their dorms after eleven on a school night, the rest of the mansion was relativity quiet, as Jade roamed the halls quietly, she could hear Ororo and the professor in the library having tea, she could smell the jasmine Ms Munro liked so much, Logan was out, Warren had gone into the city for work, and Hank was in the labs, she seemed to be the only one moving, to everyone else standing here it would feel like they were alone, but with Jade's heighten senses she could hear Ororo's laugher from the library, sighing she took a look left at the stairs and headed outside not ready to settle in for the night. It was good to feel cool wind lift her hair, she inhaled deeply, there was no human scent on this wind, she walked further out knowing she wasn't meant to be outside, not wanting to wonder off to far into the night, leaving the mansion valuable, though she'd like to see anyone try and break in here, Jade sat at the edge of the fountain that hummed quietly she was tempted to put her feet into the water, but it wasn't quite that warm enough for that to be a good idea, Jade looked up to the second floor, the common room window was open, she could hear Jarred, Luke, Kat and Sean all up there, playing pool, video games, relaxing to music, she turned away, they could talk to each other, laugh, enjoy the company that the others offered, Jade couldn't bring herself to be part of that yet, not when she knew the animal inside her wasn't leashed, there was a voice in her head, an old memory, telling her that she'd never be able to hold it in, that it was against nature, her nature..

The Australian looked into the water, in the weak light she could just make out her reflection, in the light she couldn't see the details, those small things she could believe made her look human, in this light all she saw was the wings, the ears, those constant reminders that she wasn't human anymore, in the water she could see two green orbs glowing, she looked away, closing her eyes trying to suppress the sobs. The voice bounced around in her head, with flashes of images she tried to suppress, things she didn't want to remember, voices in her head, the battle that was waging inside her, the demons trying to get out, memories demanding recognition, she tried to push it all back into their box, but Jade couldn't shut out the voices, "you're a beautiful monster Nightingale, embrace it..." she was loosing the battle, she would fight it, Jade splashed the water hard snarling, she wouldn't have it, she would not remember she wouldn't not let the animal out.

Xavier stopped talking mid sentence and looked out the window at the grounds. Ororo followed his gaze

"What is it Charles?" Her tone was calm but she couldn't hide the concern

"Its Jade, she's, oh god, how could I not have known that voice…" Charles looked at Ororo who was looking back at him confused, Charles looked back out the window again "She's not on the estate anymore.."

Jade was in the air, out running, out flying the voices, the memories, she flew as hard as she could, up, away, harder, faster, she wouldn't let them catch her, her muscles ached, she didn't care, her lungs were crying out for air, she didn't care, all that mattered was out running the animal, the voices, those memories, suddenly she pulled her wings in and dropped, plummeting towards the ground, tears stung her eyes, the trees were coming up beneath her, it was to easy, to wonderful idea to just let them catch her, metres before the tree line Jade expanded her wings back out, though not soon enough to avoid a few branches, they cut, they stung, it made it real, though the fresh pain was brief as she kept flying, the wounds healed, there was no relief for her in pain anymore, and someone it made the hole inside her bleed even more. She kept flying, over the lights, it had hours, though time stopped for her, she turned off before she came over Manhattan, she was on auto pilot until she landed in some dark alleyway, she knew this place, it had been where… She was so tried, falling to her knees Jade cried her heart out, it all came out in tears, she couldn't breath anymore, it all hurt, and she didn't know why, she wouldn't let herself remember why, that's when she saw the figure in the early morning light, silhouetted, she knew him, she caught his scent, he'd let her, as he drew closer, she recoiled, but she was to tired, a rough hand came out and stroked her check, wiping the tears.

"Its okay Jade." The voice was rough as the hands, it came out more as a purr.

"Help me, I don't want to remember." The hands pulled her close to him, she felt safe.

"I'm here; it's going to be okay." There was a sharp pain in her neck, then nothing.. it all went black.