As the stars came out to play, and the moon assumed its rule over them, the plates of the X-men who had finished dinner began to pile up in the sink. Jean was nervous; she had wanted to talk a bit more with Athena, and didn't want to have to do any dishes that night. She was relieved when Kurt smiled at Storm, and asked if he could help her with the dishes. Storm agreed with a bit of a smile, and they all thanked her for the brilliant meal. Jean, in love herself, recognized the signs of a budding couple. They make such a sweet and cute couple, she thought, smiling at the thought of love bringing a little more happiness into life at the Academy.
Jean walked up the stairs to Athena and Logan's room, the first to finish dinner and wash up from the mildly messy lasagna. When she opened the door, she found an empty room. No window had been opened, and everything had been left as it probably was before dinner, except for the fact that the door to Athena's closet was open, and a black bag was open, its contents in apparent disarray when Jean looked into its dark depths. Jean wondered where Athena had gone, and heard Logan's heavy footsteps approach the room, and wander in. A look of surprise and concern spread over his face when he realized that Athena was gone, except for a large pile of books near the foot of their bed. "You haven't seen Athena, have you?" Logan asked Jean, as she answered with a frown and a nod that said no. "Why don't we go ask the Professor? He can probably tell us where she went." Jean blinked, keeping her cool as she led Logan to the Professor's office.
"No, I haven't seen her," Xavier said, a concerned tone overtaking his voice as he spoke. "Wasn't she just up in her room? She was just answering a call . . . " The three of them in Xavier's office thought worriedly about where in the world Athena could have gone. I hope she's all right, Xavier thought, not wanting the girl he valued as his own daughter to feel any more pain than she already had.
"Professor!" Scott's voice could be heard throughout the Academy, and the three of them went quickly to the living room of the Academy, where Scott was, with a person none of them recognized who was holding a large package, and, according to Scott, had just came out of the fireplace in a green flame. "I'm sorry, Professor Xavier," the person who had just arrived among them said, "for intruding like this. You probably don't recognize me, but I'm the older of Athena's two brothers, Keanu. My father sent me here through a portkey . . . Lestat sent me with this package, and Lupin asks about the location of his daughter. You know where she is, don't you?" Keanu's brow wrinkled in a worried manner, and Professor Xavier, though he had to tell the truth, didn't want to worry the poor boy that loved his adopted sister more than life. "Could I see the package, Keanu? Please, have a seat. I'm afraid you've come at a hectic time, and if you could just stay here for a few minutes more, we could hear you more quickly." At the same time, all the other X-men except for Logan had gone sprinting on a search for Athena. Logan wanted to see what Lestat had sent his girlfriend, and help Xavier deal with Keanu. Athena's brother then handed over the package, and all Xavier had to do was look at Logan before he carefully opened it.
The package contained a beautiful portrait done of Athena, but somehow she looked different. The portrait was encased in a beautiful gold frame, and Athena was dressed in a beautiful black dress that was distinctly Victorian—even Logan noticed it, with his limited knowledge of women's fashion. But something about it was distinctly odd; the dress looked too stately and stuffy in a Victorian manner to be made recently. Logan was almost certain that the dress was not made within the last couple of years. The Professor, knowing all about Athena's background, recognized the portrait instantly—he knew that it was the last portrait done of her while she was a prostitute at Versailles. Lestat had had it done just before they left Versailles, Xavier knew, and always kept it hanged as a token of love to his little vampire. Xavier soon realized what had happened to Athena, and reached out to his psychic link with Jean, who was on the search for Athena.
Jean! Search in the basement! and hurry!
The basement? Why?
I'll explain later. Just do it, please!
Jean never doubted Professor Xavier's judgment, and decided not to doubt his peculiar advice in this situation, either. After all, though all the X-men liked Athena, Xavier was as good as her second father at this point in her life. So, with haste in her voice, Jean called out to everyone who was with her—Storm and Kurt were still doing dishes in the kitchen, since their abilities weren't especially helpful on this occasion. Storm couldn't use her power inside, and Kurt had to be able to see where he was going to teleport. "Listen! Everyone go down to the basement and search the entire place to search for Athena!" Without question, everyone hurried down, but as soon as they reached the entrance, a feisty Bengal tiger swiped its paws at them. Rogue, the first one to react to the tiger, could feel its bloodthirsty rage, and backed away as soon as she looked in its eyes. Running back to Jean, Rogue called out over the angry roars and growls of the tiger, "It's no use. We can't do anything about that tiger. We need someone who understands animals . . . we need Logan." Above all the chaos, Rogue's voice became still, and Jean, sensing the seriousness of the situation at hand, reached out to the Professor through her own connection with him.
Professor, down in the basement. We need Logan.
Did you find Athena?
I . . . don't know. But there's a Bengal tiger down here that we need to deal with, and Logan's the only one of us that has any understanding of large predators. Please . . . send him.
I will. Just come back, all of you. One thing I know about this situation is that Logan will need lots of quiet and security in this situation.
Xavier looked to Logan intently. "They need you down there. There's a Bengal tiger down there, and they want you to be there, because they're coming back." Logan nodded, and went down at a jog to the basement. While he was going, all of the X-men were returning to the living room to relax and try to figure out what was going on with Athena. Xavier worried for her safety and whether she'd be able to reveal herself to them in the way she wanted. Knowing that she was an adult, however, he carefully waited for the minutes to pass and for a resolution to present itself.
Meanwhile, Kurt and Storm were having a wonderful time in the kitchen, unaware that anything that happened since no alarms had gone off. Kurt was washing the dishes, while Storm was drying them. However, that didn't mean that Storm was dry; Kurt had been spraying her and covering her with soaps suds while they both worked on the large pile of dishes. Storm loved Kurt's playful side, something that was rare between his religious bits and the periods of quiet that were normal for Kurt. It was probably because of his old friend Athena's presence, but Storm was happy to see it anyway.
They were halfway done probably with the dishes when Kurt started to spray her with the water from the sink. Laughing and trying to shield herself with a plate, Storm tried to keep as dry as she possibly could. "I'll vet you, my pretty!" He grabbed for her hand innocently, and Storm laughed in between his squirts of water. Kurt loved making people smile, and enjoying fun moments with them, even though most people wouldn't believe it. He felt that Storm knew him better than anyone in the Academy—he could see it in her sparkling eyes when she let him wet her white hair.
Soon enough, however, they both got back to the sink and drying rack, Kurt washing the plates that remained, and Storm drying them as quickly as she could. Kurt was faster than Storm as he washed the plate, since he was using his tail to hold up the spray from the sink, and held the plates in his hand.
"Kurt, slow down!" Storm said, laughing, though she was half-serious. If he went any faster, she'd be the one who'd have the work to do of drying all the plates that Kurt had washed.
Smiling just a bit, he slowed down, though he kept using his tail to help washing dishes.
Logan went down to the basement, which was quiet since everyone left. But Logan could still hear the tiger's low growl, and feel it pacing up and down the basement. Admittedly, he was a little nervous, but he knew that he had to let go of all of his nerves and just concentrate on what the tiger was doing, and how he could use his claws to capture the beast without killing it.
Having established his calm, Logan tried to make eye contact with the tiger as it paced in the darkness that was visible from where Logan was standing. When he looked into the tiger's golden, shimmering eyes, Logan clenched his teeth, readying himself for combat, if it would become necessary. Walking bravely into the dark basement, the tiger seemed to hesitate for a moment, then drew out its own natural claws and struck out at Logan's arm, leaving a series of five scars along the inside of his elbow.
Having no time to feel pain, Logan drew out his claws of adamantine, and proceeded to stick it in the tiger's back—not all the way in, but enough to leave a trail of blood. The tiger started to bleed, and Logan tried to anticipate its next move. However, the creature had lost a lost of blood before it made another move against Logan. It was walking around as though it was drunk, and seemed to whine with pain. He thought it sounded like human crying, but Logan had no time to listen to the tiger when it decided to charge him. Logan, knowing that making the tiger bleed any more would certainly kill it, decided to pull it into a hold when it charged. As the tiger approached Logan at an alarming pace, he caught the bloody beast around the neck, flipping it onto its back. The Bengal tiger roared in pain, since all of the scars that Logan had made on its back were now being forced to bleed against the floor of the basement. Gaining control over the tiger's movement, Logan started to wrap his arms and hands around the beast's neck, applying a violent pressure around its neck until it collapsed.
Logan was confused—there was no one else in the room, or any sign of Athena. He tried to think of what might have happened to her, or even whether the basement tiger had just been a coincidence or even a distraction for Athena to go somewhere else.
Logan would never forgive himself for what he saw next.
The collapsed tiger on the ground next to him started to shift and change—until he saw the familiar form of Athena's naked body, which he had seen on the day she had arrived. However, her body wasn't in perfect shape like it had been then. Her arms and legs were covered with deep wounds, and the section of Athena's chest that was just above her heart had been opened with a knife and stabbed violently. The most disturbing things he saw, though, were the injuries that he had inflicted upon the young girl. He almost broke down as he saw the scars that were still bleeding, and would become deep scars. Logan was most hurt by the deep bruise around her neck—a result of him strangling her. He moved, kneeling on the ground, to crouch near Athena. For the first time, he noticed her beautiful black and brown hair, and the streaks of red that were on her face, just beneath her eyes.
Logan would have continued looking at Athena, but he realized that the shallow sound of her breathing had gone. Her body had gone cold, and she was like stone. He knew, at that moment, that he had to get help for her, otherwise she would die, and never breathe again. Logan lifted Athena off the ground, taking off the black shirt she had given him to wear. Slipping it onto Athena's thin frame, he was relieved to see that her privacy was now preserved. Standing with her in his arms, he started to run for the living room, knowing that Athena would have to stay in the medical bay again. But Logan hoped that this time, he'd get to sit next to her bed and see her beautiful black eyes, and her clear voice that was witty and intelligent.
He wasn't sure if even Jean could make that possible.
"Jean!" Logan yelled, knowing that her medical expertise would make her the only one who could help Athena. He sprinted, but somehow found the time to kiss Athena's lips chastely, and whisper, "I'm sorry." Logan's mind was at war as he did this; a part of him knew that Athena was merely a child, but another part of him wanted her sleeping next to him, and to kiss her as she slept, knowing that she would always stay beside him.
The rest of the X-men were alarmed to see a shirtless Logan, and Athena wearing only his shirt while in his arms, as Logan ran into the living room. "Jean!" Logan said, his voice breathless, and Jean worried about her friend as she saw the young Athena's legs covered with deep scars. Jean looked at the Professor, who was visibly weakened, worried, and saddened at Athena's injuries. She knew that she was the only one who could help her—she was one of the only three X-men who knew that Athena was a vampire. So, when the other X-men started to run after Jean, she yelled at them to keep Xavier company in his time of need. Keanu, however, knew all about his dear adopted sister, and followed quickly behind Jean.
Running to the medical bay almost as quickly as Logan had run to the living room, Jean quickly got an IV of blood for the Queen of the Vampires. Jean knew that Athena had a pulse and thus a heartbeat, so she knew that treating her in this case would be like treating a normal person under the same circumstances—except Jean knew to give Athena some blood through the mouth in order to truly revive the girl. Jean began the long process of pumping Athena's body full of blood, and sealing up the injuries that were still bleeding— and she was bleeding heavily.
As Jean worked with the machines, pumping Athena full of blood, she was glad to see that Athena was a quick healer, almost like Logan. Jean's work of sealing up injuries was cut in half by Athena's healing ability. Keanu was only able to watch his sister gain blood, only to lose some of it through her wounds. Tears poured down his face at the sight of his immortal sister, and he couldn't help but start to help Jean bandage the wounds on his sister's body. The wound that was causing the most trouble was the one just above her heart—Keanu was the one who finally succeeded in stopping the blood flow, using about thirty layers of gauze and bandages.
When all the wounds were bandaged, Jean set the machine to pump Athena full of blood, and knew that all they could do was wait for the blood to awaken Athena's system. However, Jean knew that she had to give some blood to Athena through the mouth to complete the circuit through her system. Looking at Keanu, who knew this as well, the brother offered his arm to Jean. Carefully cutting it with a surgical knife, a thick stream of blood escaped from the young werewolf's skin.
"Open up, Athena. Here comes the choo-choo train . . . " Keanu said as he approached his sister's bedside, trying to remain cheerful as he gave her the blood through her mouth, while crying. Instinctively, her body urged her mouth to latch on to her brother's offering of blood. She yanked his arm, and would not let go for some minutes.
Jean looked at the screens that were monitoring Athena's progress, and she was relieved to see that the girl's heart had started beating again, slowly, but surely. After ten minutes, when Keanu felt the drain on himself and yanked his arm away from his sister's mouth, Jean could scarcely hear Athena's breath.
"Do you hear that?" Keanu said, smiling at Jean, visibly thankful that Jean had saved his sister's life. "Yeah." Jean said, smiling in relief as she wiped off a bit of sweat with her right hand. This incident reminded Jean why she did what she did—she wanted to save lives, and loved doing it, though it was extremely hectic at times. Jean walked over to Athena's bedside, looking at the peaceful smile on Athena's face, and relieved that the dark bruise around Athena's neck had subsided on its own, thanks to Athena's quick healing.
"She'll be okay. All she has to do is rest." Jean looked at Keanu, sighing. "So you're her brother, huh?" Jean smiled, and Keanu nodded. "Come to the living room— do you want to stay for when Athena wakes up?"
Keanu looked back at his sister—he loved her more than life itself, and suddenly remembered all the times he had had with her in school, and how much more like a friend she was than a sister. "No, I don't think I'll stay. If she sees me when she wakes up, she'll think something's wrong at home. I just wanted to make sure she was okay, since my dad felt something strange about her life presence." Keanu swallowed, and nodded as her followed Jean to the living room. Quickly thanking everyone for their concern about his sister and their acceptance of him, he disappeared strangely into the fireplace, and was gone in a green flame.
Logan looked intently at Jean. "Is it okay . . . if I go in and see her?" Jean nodded, and moved to sit next to Scott. As Logan went to the medical bay, Xavier noted a change in him—it was apparent even in the way he walked. His step was softer, and his expression was a worried and caring one as he thought about her. Xavier smiled slightly as he realized that Logan was beginning to fall for Athena. He was happy—out of all the men at the Academy, he knew that Logan was right for his little Athena, and would make her happy and satisfy the love she was now missing, for Xavier now realized that Lestat had left his Athena.
The dishes were done in the kitchen, but Kurt and Storm were still having fun with the water and soap suds. Kurt was holding the spray from the sink in his hands and tail, and chasing Storm around the room. Storm, meanwhile, was using her powers on a smaller scale as she made small showers of soap suds hover above Kurt's head. "Wery funny," Kurt said, and as he laughed while chasing Storm, he tripped into her and they fell onto the floor, Storm feeling the pressure of Kurt's weight.
Storm would have told Kurt to get off, but he was now staring at her hair and eyes. He swallowed, and said in a low voice, "You're so beautiful." The words were simply touched by his accent, and not distorted in any way. Storm smiled at Kurt, saying with a voice at the same volume, "You're so charming." Storm meant it, in the same way Kurt did. She had always loved spending time with him because he made her feel. . special. Like there was no woman quite in the world like her—and not because of her power. Because of her personality.
Kurt had always been in awe of Storm's beauty since he had seen her. He saw her as a gift from God, a woman that was meant to have a place in his life. But he wanted to give her something as well. He still remembered one of the first times she had spoken to him; she had told him that hate and using their powers against their enemies were how they all survived. Kurt had wanted, and still wanted, to give her the power of faith. To have the faith to believe that things would turn out all right.
Kurt knew that he would give her that power, as he touched his lips gently to hers, testing the waters.
Storm knew the water well, and pulled into Kurt's touch.
"Athena?" Logan's voice called out to her in the medical bay. He was relieved to hear her breath, and see on the screen that her heart was beating again. But he was still saddened to see that she was unconscious. Sitting next to her bed, he tried to see what he could do to make her feel better. He jumped up as he saw that she was shivering slightly, despite the shirt that Logan had given her off his own back. Logan grabbed a sheet out of a cabinet. It wasn't a medical blanket, but a real bed sheet that Jean kept down here for people who were cold. Logan lovingly spread it out over Athena's body, making sure it covered her and kept her warm.
Seeing her, and knowing that he'd caused some of those scars, he knew that he had to just try to court her, know her a little better, and win her heart. Logan had the distinct impression that Lestat had left her, though he knew that was just wishful thinking. But all the emotion that had been bottled inside, all that tension—he couldn't help but tell Athena how he felt. He owed it to her, and to himself. "Athena?" he whispered gently, and his eyes brightened as she began to move and turn and her eyes opened—bright, black, and beautiful.
Logan's voice became pained and he tried to draw pure sorrow out from himself as he spoke, and she listened, a gently and sympathetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry, Athena, that I attacked you down there. I . . . didn't know that that tiger was you. I thought you could only change into a wolf, so I—"
Athena lifted her hand to put it on Logan's lips, shushing him. He wished she could have kept them there, just so he could have kissed her fingertips and made her feel better. But she started to speak, and Logan paid attention to her, as if another wonder of the world was being revealed to him, and him only.
"L-Logan. There's something I have to tell you. I can't keep it a secret from you . . . from everyone anymore. Please, listen. Just . . . stay here while I tell you." Athena knew that this was the moment to open her heart, especially since her heart had literally been open a while ago.
Her lips and voice were steady, as she started to tell her life's story, starting with that fact that her mother, the great Cleopatra of Egypt, had the world's first C-section just so she could have her beautiful baby girl in her arms.
The night turned into dawn as Athena spoke, and Logan, unlike the other X-men, stayed awake with this woman, hearing her amazing story.
As Athena finished, a lark sang outside, and Logan was afraid to move.
