Changes Sequel – I. Darkness Part 10
Her eyes watched him. Closely. Noticed every swift move he made and reacted to it. The six razor sharp adamantium claws reflected the soft light of the fire, which radiated an incredible heat. Proud as a Goddess, Phoenix stood on top of a pile of cars; the whole ruins of the city reminding her of the battle on Alcatraz. But that thought wasn't so far-fetched…
In fact it was nearly the same course. She watched him fighting his way towards her, growling in anger due to her heavy attacks, while she kept on sending waves into every direction. Hearing Wolverine's loud roar when another wave tore his skin off, she couldn't help but smile satisfied. For her it was the right punishment for his betrayal and even her counterpart agreed with it. Another attack caused her surroundings to vibrate violently; the sound of her telepathic waves striking against metal reminding her of a fast and loud freight train that went past one. Again he roared furious. Was even sent backwards a few meters, when new skin was torn off and showed the adamantium laced bones underneath it. Narrowing her eyes, Phoenix raised a hand and made it impossible for her adversary to move. She had enough power left, far more than Wolverine and his healing factor combined.
Smiling she watched him struggling to get free, heard him growling while his pitch-black eyes met hers in hate. Keeping him immobile in the air, Phoenix eyes began to change, too; the green being constantly replaced by darkness, her teeth gritted in fury. "You think you can play with me?" she hissed and began to tore on his skeleton; causing him to roar in pain. "Think I wouldn't notice?" With an easy movement of her hand she sent him into another pile of burning cars. Hearing satisfied how he groaned and whimpered when she made him fly backwards towards her again, she smiled viciously when her powers kept him on the ground in an obedient position. Raising her hand again, Dark Phoenix concentrated on the adamantium; her powers beginning to atomize the body of her adversary. She noticed that also her surroundings were completely destroyed by her attack. How building after building, car after car was torn into pieces by her will. Still she didn't care about them. Her target was kneeling in front of her.
Again the sound of metal struggling against a wave of her power echoed through the room; accompanied by Wolverine's loud and painful roars when her powers ripped his skin off without a break. Watching how his healing factor couldn't repair the damage that quickly, Dark Phoenix narrowed her eyes even more and strengthened her attacks until only the silver skeleton was left. Smiling, she remembered that it was the adamantium back then which had saved him. Now she wanted to make sure that this wouldn't happen again. Not after what he'd done to her. Seeing that muscled began to rebuild themselves, she quickly intervened and stopped the process. Raising her arms, a huge firebird shot out of her body and attacked the struggling Wolverine, who desperately fought against the destructive powers. Roaring when the bird swallowed him completely, he couldn't prevent the attack of his adversary.
Feeling what the firebird was doing to him in her mind, Dark Phoenix pushed her powers to levels she'd never reached before; heating up the adamantium skeleton to impossible temperatures. Smiling satisfied, her pitch-black eyes saw how silver drops fell on the ground; slowly gathering to a puddle of melted adamantium. Chuckling, she sent the firebird away, watching how Wolverine roared and whimpered in pain again, when his melting bones made him fall to the ground. Raising her right hand to the left side of her demonic face, Dark Phoenix met the empty sockets were his eyes had been before. "You're nothing against me, Wolverine!" she hissed and with a rapid movement of her hand she atomized the remains of his melting skeleton in one swift blow.
Heavily breathing, Phoenix took over the control again and stared on the spot where Wolverine had been only minutes ago. Feeling her heart hammering in every inch of her shaking body, her hand slowly covered her mouth as she realized what she'd done. Seeing how her surroundings slowly disappeared and left her in a huge blue-grayish room, she quickly turned her head to the speaker when Scott's voice suddenly echoed through the Dangerroom.
"God, Jean…," he gasped and made her quiver even more. "What have you done?!"
It didn't take long and he entered the room; finding her shocked and rather helpless in the middle of it. "You nearly tore the whole basement apart!" Scott said and stopped right in front of her. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Looking into her still shocked eyes, he laid a hand in her shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" Seeing her pulling a face, Scott gasped when she threw herself at him all of a sudden. Seeing how she clung to him in despair and cried bitterly, he immediately figured the problem. He grabbed her shoulders firmly and shook her slightly to get her attention again, while his narrowed eyes were fixed on her closed ones. "What did he do?" he hissed and made her look at him. Looking into her wet eyes, which practically radiated her pain, Scott felt an incredible fury rising within him. "What did Logan do to you, Jean?" he asked her again, but she could only shake her head sobbing. Quickly, his eyes scanned her face and body; relieved to see no bruises, he still wasn't convinced completely. "Did he beat you or became violent? Damn it, Jean, say something!" Startling by his sudden loud voice, Jean backed off a bit. "Did this bastard beat you?" Scott demanded to know once more, recalling the vow he'd made on their wedding day to kill Logan for the slightest indiscretion.
"No…," she sobbed and wrapped her arms around her waist; still shocked about what she'd done minutes ago.
"What happened then? It has to do with him otherwise you wouldn't be a complete mess…" Worriedly, he came closer and laid a hand on her cheek. Stroking it gently, while the heavy sobs still caused her to shake, Scott had to sigh. "What did Logan do to you?"
Wrapping her arms around him, Jean buried her face on his shoulder; weeping aloud whereupon he was even more confused. Still his anger was even more fueled with hate. "What did he do?" he asked once more while pulling her close. Hearing her mumbling something into his shoulder, Scott stepped back a bit to have a look at her. "What?"
"He slept with her…," Jean repeated crying and buried her face in her hands.
"With whom?" Scott asked through clenched teeth and grabbed her chin a bit too roughly.
"With this blonde bitch," the redhead spat and looked away. "He told me that it was Wolverine who fights against him and I gave him another chance, just to catch him in the shower while that slut kneeled in front of him and gave him a blow job."
Turning around, Scott stormed to the exit. "I'll kill him!" he said outraged and felt how she grabbed his arm quickly.
"No!"
"Jean, that asshole treats you like shit for weeks and you just let it happen?" he asked her angrily and made her back off again.
"I don't want to see him," she replied barely audible. "And I don't know what to do either…" Looking away, she shed another tear.
"Throw him out! Tell him to piss of or I'll do it!" he said loudly.
Shaking her head, she walked past him while he followed her. "What are you up to?"
"I need to get out of here," she replied and made her way to the elevators.
"Now?"
"Why not?"
Grabbing her hand, he made her stop. "Jean, it's past 2 a.m. at night. I'm not letting you go out alone!"
Shrugging, she entered the elevator. "Then join me…"
Reaching the upper level, Jean sighed, noticing that she still had to get some thing out of her rooms. "Would you get the car already? I still need my jacket and purse…"
"Want me to get it?" Scott asked her softly, but she shook her head.
"Either he's sleeping or somewhere with her. And I don't want the two of you to start a brawl with the kids around," she replied with a wry smile. "Be right there."
Watching her leaving, Scott shook his head and clenched his fists in his pockets. Turning around, he made his way to the garage; vowing that a meeting between him and Logan would turn out very ugly…
N the meanwhile, Jean had reached the West Wing and opened the door to her rooms quietly. Noticing that all lights were out and not a single noise could be heard, she walked over to the bedroom and sneaked into it quietly. Not able to see a thing, Jean groped her way to the wardrobe and opened it; searching for her jacket and purse. When her hand had finally found both things, she slowly walked back to the door when a hand grabbed her all of a sudden.
"Where are ya goin'?" a dark voice hissed behind her and held her wrist firmly.
Feeling anger coming up again, Jean switched the lamps on mentally and pulled her arms away; ignoring the burning pain it left her with. "Away!" she shot back through gritted teeth.
"Where?" Logan asked once more and narrowed his eyes.
Pulling her black leather jacket on, Jean gave him an arrogant look. "What's it to you?" she gave back in a low voice. Turning around her hand grabbed the doorknob, but he grabbed her once more and whirled her around; pushing her against the door. "Let me go, damn it!" Jean said angrily and tried to push him away.
"I asked you where you're goin'!" Logan asked her again and narrowed his eyes menacingly.
Pushing him a bit away with her powers, the redhead gritted her teeth. "You have no right to ask!" she hissed in a low voice which was completely unusual for her, while he glared back. "Go and have fun with that slut! I don't give a damn!" Opening the door, she turned around; ignoring the growl he gave her. Shrieking, she was suddenly turned around and held firmly by him. "You hurt me damn it!"
"I don't give a shit!" Logan growled and pulled her even closer. "I asked you something and you give me an answer now!"
Intimidated by his harsh words, Jean stared at him in shock. "Let go of me…," she said once more trying to keep her voice steady and to loose the firm grip on her left arm.
"Or what?" he asked her challenging.
"It hurts!" his opposite said calmer, but was pulled even closer.
"Where.are.you.goin'?"
Tensing her muscles, Jean breathed in sharply while tears gathered in her eyes. "Out," she finally said scared. "Because I absolutely can't stand seeing you!"
"Out, huh?" Logan snorted and tilted his head a bit. "With the Boyscout?"
Again trying to free her arm, she glared at him despite her racing heart. "Yeah, got a problem with it?"
"No, but you'll have one…," he shot back in a very low voice.
Giving a laugh, the redhead shook her head. "I doubt that! You're the last one who has to tell me what I've to do, Logan! And now let.me.go!"
Growling he slammed her against the door hard; ignoring her surprised gasp. "Watch your words, girl!"
"Logan, if you not let go of me within the next second…," Jean said menacingly while her eyes began to glow slightly.
"Then what?" he asked her challenging in return. "You slap me?" Pushing her roughly away, he let go of her while she rubbed her bruised arm. "Hope ya have fun!" Glaring at him while tears ran down her face, Jean only shook her head and left.
Thick smoke hung in the air and made it hard to breathe if one wasn't used to it. "Joe's Place", a 20 minutes ride from the mansion, wasn't a bar Jean would voluntarily enter, but today she didn't care. For her the depressing mood of the dim illuminated bar was just perfect. It mirrored the state she was in for weeks just right. Looking at the red liquid in the glass she held in her hands for minutes, she already felt how the previous ones heated up her cheeks; made them appear flushed and her feeling dizzy. She didn't even notice that Scott, who still had his second beer, was looking at her the whole time through and waited for her to talk. To let him now what was going on in her head. By now they sat in the corner of the bar for nearly 2 hours and she hadn't said one word; not even answered his question why she had entered the car crying bitterly. But he knew who the reason was and he couldn't wait to meet his nemesis in the mansion later…
"I just don't understand it. I mean… I give him everything. I do everything he wants, everything he ask me to do… And he'd always been gentle," Jean suddenly said and shrugged in despair. "I…I really don't know why he's so different all of a sudden."
Scott looked at her from aside and felt how his heart contracted painfully. It hurt him a lot to see her suffering like this. "If I were you I'd pack the kids and my things and leave," he told her truthfully, already knowing her answer.
"No."
"Jean…ask yourself one thing! Why are you here, huh? You never go to bars, you rarely drink alcohol; especially not in such great amount!" he said and bent forward a bit to have a better look on her, but she still looked at the glass with tear in her eyes. Sighing, he laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it a bit. "You're afraid to go back. You're afraid of him, you can't hide that." Instantly, she pulled and face and began to sob heavily again. Lovingly, he pulled her close and rested his head on hers. "I've always warned you, Jean. I've told you he'd hurt you one day…"
Startling a bit when her head shot up all of a sudden, he stared into her despaired emerald green eyes. "But it's not his fault!"
"Stop making excuses for him! He hurt you, Jean! He's treating you like dirt, as if you're his property. Damn it, I don't even recognize you anymore!" Scott said loudly when the anger overwhelmed him. "Years ago you would have kicked butts if a man had treated you like this…"
"Then tell me what has caused this! There must have been something. Something must have happened to him!" Jean cried and ran a hand through her hair.
Snorting, he shook his head and sipped on his beer briefly. "Is that what you believe?" he asked her in a low voice, which spoke volumes. "Or what you hope?" Next to him, Jean looked at him with her tearstained face and began to lower her gaze. To him it was obvious that's he thought about his words. Taking her left hand into his, Scott made her look at him again. "Jean… I don't say it's Logan's fault. I mean," he began and searched for the right words. "I never believed that the thing with him would last that long without him doing anything stupid… I'm surprised that he stuck to you that long without any escapades of him. But…maybe it's the animal in him that wants something new."
Narrowing her eyes a bit, the redhead looked at her opposite in confusion. Her cheeks became even more flushed when the toxic of the alcohol mixed with her tiredness and she had to swallow once to be able to speak properly. "What do you mean? That he lost interest?! He's not like that…," she replied and sipped on drink while she shook her head in denial.
"You don't know how the animal within him thinks. No one does. He's three kids with you and you know how some male animals are in free nature…"
Giving a laugh, Jean became angry and poked him into the chest. "Oh, so you think it's like…I successfully screwed her three times, time to do it with the next?!" she spat and snorted.
Nodding slowly, Scott put his beer down. "Honestly, yeah. That's what I think…"
Beginning to breathe hard when a fit of fury came up within her, she grabbed his collar and pulled him close; glaring at him with heat in her eyes. "The evening before Logan left, we talked about our children while having dinner. And we decided that we want to have four…"
Shrugging, he grabbed her hands softly and loosened the grip on his leather jacket. "Maybe that's the reason why he still sleeps with you?" he told her bluntly and saw how her eyes became even smaller.
"How dare you?" Jean hissed and tore her hands away from his.
"Think about it, Jean! If you love someone, truly love someone… Then you don't hurt this person or treat her like shit!" Scott gave back a bit louder but still she shook her head. He couldn't understand why she acted like this. Why she refused to accept or see the truth.
"He loves his family…," she said in a whisper and turned the drink in her hand.
Snorting, he sipped on his beer again and shook his head. "Well, it's not me with bruises on my arms…" Looking away, he saw out of the corner of his eyes that she began to shake her head and buried her face in her hands. Sighing, he pulled her close again. "Look into my eyes and tell me honestly…that you're not afraid of him! That you're not afraid to go back home…," he pleaded and met her gaze when she looked up.
"Take these off…," Jean whispered and was about to grab his glasses when he pulled back scared.
"No!" Scott said and felt a fear coming up when he remembered what had happened the last time he'd done so.
"I won't hurt you. Not this time…," she soothed him and pulled them off slowly while her powers pushed his back. Seeing how the red began to disappear, she soon looked into blue eyes and smiled sadly.
"Now tell me…," he demanded and cupped her face gently. "You are afraid of him, right?" Slowly, Jean nodded before she pulled a face once more and started to cry bitterly. Bending forward, she grabbed his leather jacket firmly and clung to him; sobbing on his shoulder when eh pulled her close. "Then let's leave… Let us get the kids and our things and leave, Jean…" Raising her head, he looked into her wet eyes, but she shook her head.
"He'll find me…"
"Not if we go far away," Scott assured her and stroked her cheeks gently.
"I can't do that to the kids… They love him," Jean cried and shed more tears.
"Still?"
"They are confused because of his behavior, but…he means everything to them," she replied and looked away briefly, thinking about how many times her children had asked her why their father behaved so strangely. Every time she had found new excuses, came up with things to soothe them, but right now, she couldn't even make some for herself. "And Logan will do anything to get them back… If he finds me…"
Sighing, Scott shook his head. "Jean, I promise you he won't! And even if… You can blast him. He's nothing compared to you!"
Recalling what she'd done in the Dangerroom she felt chills running down her spine. She was still scared to death about how easily she'd turned into the monster again she'd been on Alcatraz. That she'd really wanted to kill him and had done it easily. "I could never hurt him," she said truthfully and had to admit that she was right. What she had done had shocked her too much that she could ever turn her powers against him again.
"Why? After everything he'd done to you… Why don't you fight back?" Scott demanded to know in lack of understanding.
Causing her cheeks to flush even more, Jean looked down when her heart began to hurt. "Because I love him…"
Giving a short laugh, he shook his head. "How can you still love him, Jean?"
Pulling a face again, she shrugged. "I don't know…," the redhead replied despaired while her voice broke. When she sobbed again, it hurt him once more to see her like that. Placing a gently kiss on her forehead, Scott pulled her close and began to stroke over her back soothingly; waiting for her sobs to weaken. When she looked up at him after a while, their eyes met and Jean was once more fascinated of his blue eyes, which she had only seen twice in her life. Getting lost in her green ones, Scott gently stroked her flushed cheeks when his heart began to hammer in his chest. Slowly, he bent down and kissed her tenderly. Closing her eyes, Jean began to kiss him back; enjoying the tender caressing which she was missing so much, while the alcohol dazed her senses and her emotions were like a giant rollercoaster. Breaking the kiss after an eternity, both only looked at each other…
On the next Sunday morning, everyone was already gathered in the kitchen, when Logan came down with Rachel on his arms and Lily and Jack following close by. Helping his children in the stools, they immediately began to eat their breakfast, while the adults were watching their father closely. "Where's Jean?" Hank asked him surprised since he hadn't seen the redhead, who always got up early and was practically a real workaholic, yet.
"Don't care," Logan grunted and had his eyes fixed on his cup while his children looked at him in confusion.
"Is mommy gone?" Lily asked him since she, too, had noticed that everyone was obviously in a very bad mood.
"You heard what I just said, didn't ya?" her father replied harshly and gave her a look which told her not to argue.
"Hey!" Ororo intervened and glared at him angrily. "Just because you are pissed off right now, you have no right to treat the children like that!"
"Mind your own business, Storm!" Logan shot back and both mutants glared at each other hatred, while the others exchanged confused looks; hoping that someone had the answer.
Waiting for the children to finish their breakfast, Ororo lifted TJ up into her arms and gave the twins and Rachel a sign to follow her. "Come on, we go do some fun stuff," she said and it didn't take long for the kids to follow her. Glaring at her teammate once more, she turned around and left, while his look had seized her up for a coffin. Snorting, Logan swallowed the rest of his coffee, before he got up and ignored the looks of the others.
"Boy, what's wrong between the two of you all of a sudden?" Hank asked him worriedly, but only received another glare.
"If you see my wife, tell her she has a nice chat with me as soon as I get my hands on her," this one growled menacingly and left the kitchen.
"Can someone please tell me what's wrong today?" the blue mutant asked the others, but they, too, had no idea.
Sucking on her yellow strew with which she loved to drink her hot chocolate in the morning, Jubilee shrugged. "Don't know, but Wolvie is in a permanent pissed-mode lately."
"Hank, do you think we could borrow a car later?" Bobby asked his fellow teammate and looked at him. "Jubes still need to make some pictures for her college project and we wanted to drive to the park."
"Sure, why not. But since Scott seems to be absent today, too, you better ask Charles before you leave."
"Hey, would you mind if we join you?" Peter asked them and Jubilee shook her head. "I still need to draw a picture for my arts classes and Kitty writes an exam tomorrow and the park is far more relaxing than the crowded garden here."
"No, no problem," Bobby said and jumped off his chair. "I'll go and asked the Professor. Be right back!"
"Hold on a second," Kitty said after Bobby was gone and turned towards Hank. "You said Scott isn't here and Jean is obviously not at home, too?"
"Yeah, that's what I said," her opposite nodded when he suddenly noticed what the young woman meant. "Oh…"
"Then ask again why Logan is pissed off!" Peter replied and got off his chair after kissing his wife.
"Then I'm glad that we are gone, before all hell breaks lose here," Jubilee said and put her dishes into the dishwasher. "Because I don't wanna see Wolvie getting all berserk when they come back home…"
Laying the newspaper away, Hank followed them to the door. "Well, we could need some hands here if that's the case…," he said and looked at Peter pleadingly, who only shrugged.
"Sorry, but I really have to finish that picture for tomorrow."
"Well, then it's the best thing I wait in front of the door and warn them, don't you think?" Hank joked bitterly and made his way to the front door when Bobby returned.
"Okay, we can take a car," that one said and the others followed him to the staircase to get their things.
Sighing, Jean slowly opened her eyes when the sun stroked her face gently. Feeling a body close to hers, while an arm rested on her hip, she closed them smiling just to open them rapidly in the next second again. Sitting up gasping, she looked around in total confusion; realizing that she wasn't at home but in some kind of motel room. Panting, her eyes switched to Scott who laid on his belly, blinked and raised his head sleepily. Looking at him completely shocked, Jean shook her head slowly. "Oh no…," she said despaired and close to start crying while she buried her hands in her hair.
"Hey…," Scott said calmly and got up a bit; unable to understand what had gotten into her all of a sudden. Meeting her eyes, he noticed that she was completely frightened and had to frown.
"He'll kill me…," she whispered and fixed her eyes on the sheet while her hands were trembling.
"What?" he asked her confused and watched how she threw the sheets aside and made her way to the shower panicky. "Jean!" Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down onto the bed again; noticing the first time for real that she was shaking all over. "Calm down!"
"No!" the redhead shrieked and tried to get away from him. "He'll smell you… If he… God, he's going to kill me…"
Using all his strength to hold her still, Scott shook his head. "Hey! Take a breath, okay?" he tried to soothe her, but again, she shook her head in disbelief. "How can you stay so calm, Scott? If Logan find out, he'll kill us for this…," she said aloud crying.
Cupping her face gently, he began to stroke her cheeks. "You don't have to go back, Jean! I can get the kids and we leave…"
"I can't do this!" Jean replied sobbing and struggled to get away from him in despair while her heart and emotions were completely out of control.
"Why not?!" he asked her angrily in lack of understanding that she still wanted to go back.
Running a hand through her face, she began to sob bitterly and buried her face in both hands. "What did I do…"
Not knowing what to do, Scott watched her helplessly. Touching her back softly, he withdrew his hand quickly. "You're shaking," he noticed and made her turn her head quickly.
"Of course I'm shaking!" Jean nearly yelled at him in despair. "Do you have any idea what he'll do if he finds out?"
"Jean, you don't have to go back! Don't you get that? He's not worth it!" he told her bluntly and tried to get a hold of her hand, but she backed off with a cold look in her eyes.
"Are you?" she asked him chilly and received a shocked look from him. Seeing him shaking his head in disbelief, Jean noticed her mistake too late. "I'm sorry, Scott," she said barely audible, but he already got up and pulled his clothes on.
"I don't understand you, Jean… Honestly! I don't get it," Scott said with his back to her. "He treats you like shit and you go back to him… Why? So that he can hurt you even more?! Is that what turns you on?" Angrily, he grabbed his leather jacket from the ground and pulled it on. "Face the truth, Jean! He's only using you as his personal whore, nothing more! There's no love from his side anymore. I bet he even enjoys hurting you because he's the animal I warned you about!" He's about to leave when she broke down crying heartrendingly. Standing at the door, Scott sighed and finally walked over to her again; taking her into his arms, while she clung to him as if she was about to drown. "Tell me what you want to do, Jean…," he begged her and pulled her even closer. "Just tell me…"
After they parked the car, the group walked over to the park until they'd found a spot which Jubilee and Peter found perfect to start their work. While Kitty sat down under a tree and leant against it to read her politics book, Bobby sat down next to her and watched while Jubilee began to take pictures.
"So…," Kitty asked him after a while and made the young man look at her. "What's with you and Jubes, huh?"
"What?" Bobby asked her in return and gave her a shocked look. "Nothing!"
Giggling, the young woman gave him an amused look. "Uhu, your reaction spoke volumes, Bobby!"
"Really, there's nothing," he assured her again and turned his attention to his two friends once more. "We're friends. That's all…"
"Yeah, and that's why Rogue was about to tore your head off."
Surprised, he looked at her; knowing that it was obviously Jubilee's doing. "She told you didn't she? Rogue has gotten it all wrong. Jubes wasn't feeling well and I hugged her, so what?"
Smirking at him, Kitty shook her head and watched how Peter began to draw a part of the park with the skyline in the background, while Jubilee took pictures from kids that were playing. "You're single, she's single… So where's the problem?"
"Oh, just because everyone is married except us, we have to marry, too?" Bobby asked her and crossed his arms.
"Not everyone. Hank isn't married, Scott neither…," she said grinning, since she knew he was close to lose patience. "And besides, your daughter is just running towards you…"
"Huh?" he asked and turned his head. Immediately, he smiled widely, when he saw his little girl.
"Daddy!" Isa cheered and threw herself at him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bobby asked her smiling and held her close.
"Mommy, Remy and I are going for a walk," the girl explained and turned her head to the woman next to her father. "Hi Kitty!"
"Hi, sweety. So where's your mommy, huh?" Kitty asked her and laid her book aside for a moment to watch how the girl turned her head and pointed towards her approaching family.
"There!" Isa said and looked at her mother.
"Hey," Rogue greeted them, while she gave Bobby a rather cold look. "What are you guys doing here?"
"College stuff," Kitty replied and waved at Remy; noticing the look both men gave each other. "And you? Enjoying the weather?"
"Oui," Remy replied and let go of Rogue to bury his hands in his pockets. "Great day, non?"
"True," Kitty said and nodded before she saw how Jubilee beckoned her to come over. "Sorry, but obviously my help is needed. See you guys. Bye Isa!"
"Bye!" the girl replied still holding onto her father tightly. Looking at each other in silence, everyone felt the uncomfortable silence. Sighing, the girl looked at her mother. "Can I stay with daddy?"
"No, honey," Rogue replied and shook her head.
"Why not?" Bobby demanded to know and gave his ex a rather pissed look. "I can take her home later, so where's the problem?"
"The problem is that she still has to do her homework," the woman gave back and crossed her arms.
Noticing the looks the former couple gave each other, Remy kneeled down and smiled at the girl. "Would you come with Remy, mom petite? We can watch the ducks, non?"
Pouting, the girl gave her father another kiss and followed the man over to the small lake.
Getting up, Bobby waited until both were far enough away. "You could have told her to do her homework right after school."
"She was tired after it, Bobby," Rogue shot back and held his glare.
"Oh, and so she was tired yesterday, too, huh?" he said angrily. "Just to remind you, it was my weekend with my daughter, Rogue."
Sighing, she ran a hand through her face. "We wanted to have a family weekend, sorry!" she apologized, but he snorted.
"Family? She's my kid, Rogue. Not his!" Bobby spat and looked briefly at Remy from afar. "You obviously seem to forget that from time to time."
Narrowing her eyes in anger, Rogue stepped a bit closer. "I do not!"
"Really?" he hissed and crossed his arms, too. "I am her father and she needs me, too. You know perfectly well what it does to her each time she has to leave the mansion."
Giving a short laugh, she shook her head challenging. "So what do you want? That's he lives with you there? I am her mother, Bobby!"
"And I am her father, damn it!"
"Eh, guys?" Kitty intervened carefully since no one had reacted to her previous attempts. "She can hear you, okay?" Nodding to the girl who stood right next to her close to start crying, the former couple immediately felt bad.
Kneeling down, Rogue held out her arms. "Honey, I'm sorry," she said calmly but the girl hid behind Kitty's legs pouting. "Sweetheart… I am really sorry, okay?"
"Why can't I stay with daddy?" Isa asked her and pulled a face while she held on to her friends legs closely.
"Because you can't. You still have work to do for school," her mother replied and stood up again; noticing that Remy stood behind her again.
"I'll do it later," the girl replied with a pleading undertone and began to sob when her parent shook her head again.
"Gosh, Rogue. It's only 10:30," Bobby said and glared at her. "I'll bring her back at 5 p.m., so she has still enough time to do it."
"I said no, Bobby!" Rogue shot back and ignored that by now also Jubilee and Peter had joined them again. "Isa, come, we have to go."
"No!" the girl cried and ran over to her father, who took her into his arms protectively. "I want to stay with daddy."
Sighing, Rogue tried to suppress her anger and looked away, while she bit her lip hard. "You see him next weekend. Now I want you to come back home with us!" Again the girl shook her head and buried her face on her father's shoulder sobbing. "Isa!" her mother said more harshly and made her daughter clung to Bobby even more.
"Rogue," Bobby said once more with a threatening look in his eyes. "If she doesn't want to you can't make her! And I won't let you!"
About to say something, Rogue felt how Remy grabbed her shoulder lightly. "Marie, Remy thinks dat it is no problem if she spends some time with him, non?" he said and gave her a pleading look to just stop it. "He brings her back home later."
Sighing, Rogue ran a hand through her face and nodded finally; still it was obvious just she was just pissed off. "Fine. But don't even dare to bring her back too late. 5 p.m. on time!"
"Don't worry about that!" Bobby shot back and tried to soothe his child, who still clung to him.
Looking at the others, Rogue tried to smile at them. "Bye!" Bending forward, she tried to give her daughter a kiss, but Isa turned her head away. "Behave!" was all Rogue said and took Remy's hand into hers; turning around they walked away.
Hearing the single sobs of her, Bobby kissed Isa on the cheek and made her look at him. "It's okay, honey," he said softly and wiped away her tears. "Don't cry anymore, okay?" Nodding, the girl sniffed once more and ran a hand through her face.
"Hey, Isa," Jubilee said and smiled at her softly. "Want to help me with some pictures?"
"Yeah!" the girl smiled back and Bobby let go of her while Jubilee winked at him.
"Then come on. I'll show you how it works!" Taking the girl's hand into hers, she led her away and over to the spot where she'd taken pictures the last time.
Running a hand through his hair, Bobby sighed in frustration. "I am sick of it!" he cursed and crossed his arms again while he stared at the lake.
"Well, I'd say the two of you should meet and talk," Peter suggested and gave him a look.
"Right, while the two of you bite your heads of, Isa is the one who's suffering," Kitty agreed nodding when her friend turned towards them again.
"I know that," Bobby said and looked at his daughter from afar. "But… Well, it not me who doesn't stick to agreements, right? She's supposed to bring her to the mansion Friday's after school while I bring her back Sunday evening. And what do we have today? Sunday and was she with me the days before? No!"
"As I said…talk," Peter said once more and sat down to go on drawing his picture, while Kitty took her book into her hands again. "You could ask Logan for help."
"He's her Godfather, but I doubt that he's in any mood lately to help me out or that he can talk some sense into Rogue…" Shaking his head once more, Bobby walked over to Jubilee, who was just about to explain Isa how to use the camera properly, whereupon Kitty and her husband exchanged worried glances…
Back at the mansion, Scott led Jean down the corridor towards the kitchen where they stopped at the door to her rooms. "You sure you want to go alone?" he asked her worriedly and she nodded. "Jean, I…"
"It's okay, Scott," she said and squeezed his hand briefly before she opened the door to the staircase.
"If he hurts you, I swear…," he added darkly, but she waved off and closed the door behind her. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and made his way to the basement where Mystique was already working on satellites again.
Upstairs, Jean carefully opened the door to her rooms and took a look inside. The nervousness and fear she felt completely overwhelmed her and she hoped that he wasn't upstairs right now. Not hearing the kids, she assumed that they were outside and closed the door behind her, just to shriek in the next second when she noticed that he had been standing right behind the door.
"Already back?" he purred in a very low voice, arms crossed in front of his chest and came slowly closer; causing her to back off constantly. Eyeing him closely, she made sure to keep a distance between them so that she was out of his reach. Still, she began to breathe heavily and jumped when her back hit the window-sill. Before Jean could react, he had placed both hands next to her and pinned her to it. "Enjoyed yourself?" Logan asked her through gritted teeth, while he eyed her like prey.
"Let me go," Jean said barely audible and placed her hands against his chest to keep him away.
Seeing that she began to quiver, he chuckled low and tilted his head a bit. "Had fun with him?"
Tensing her muscles, she tried to push him away again; avoiding his piercing gaze while her heart was in her mouth. "Logan, let me go," she pleaded again while her voice was trembling. "Please…"
Grabbing her neck roughly, he shoved her closer and stared into her eyes hatred. "Or you do what, hm? You behave like a slut, so I treat you like one, girl."
"Who started it?" Jean hissed back and leant her head back a bit to ease the pain on her neck.
"Oh, so it was revenge, huh? How much did you have to drink to make yourself bend to his will?" Logan spat and pushed her roughly away so that Jean nearly landed on the floor.
Turning around, she had her eyes fixed on him; his threatening growl echoing in her ears. "I swear to God, Logan," she said crying and backed off again. "Stay away from me or you'll regret it!"
Chuckling, he smirked at her arrogantly while he leant back against the windows-sill with crossed arms. "I quiver with fear!"
Closing the bathroom door behind her and locking herself in, Jean leant against the door with her head and closed her eyes. Breathing heavily, it didn't take long before she pulled a face and began to cry heavily. Gliding down to the ground, she buried her face in her hands and pulled her legs close while she wept in agony.
"Are you sure, Scott?" Charles asked the man in front of him from behind his desk and looked to and fro between his X-Men and the red haired woman next to him.
"Yes we are. We checked the audio files over and over again and are convinced that a teleporter was in the jet," the man replied and Mystique nodded.
"And we are also convinced that the crash was manipulated," she added and pointed at the timer on both pictures. "Here are 2 minutes missing which are on the audio file. The satellites caught the beginning of the crash and the end, but don't show what happened in between. So we are sure that someone or something manipulated them to make sure that nothing was recorded."
"But obviously they made the mistake and thought the blackbox was too damage to be of any use anymore," Scott said and again Mystique nodded in agreement.
Looking at the pictures, Charles began to think about what he had heard so far. "But who was the third man you found?"
The X-Man shrugged. "We don't know. Maybe it was someone who accidentally happened to be at the place when the jet crashed. Maybe he got hit by something and was knocked out or killed…"
"But who would do it?" Mystique asked and crossed her arms. "Who would be interested in killing them and destroying the jet?"
"And what was a teleporter doing on board!" Scott added darkly. "If Logan wasn't the asshole he is lately, we would have the answers…"
"Scott, you know perfectly well that I don't force someone to open his or her mind to me. If Logan doesn't want to do it, no one can make him and we have to accept it," the Professor said and gave him a serious look. "But you are right that he could give us the answers we need…"
Thinking about it, Scott put his hands to his hips and had his eyes fixed in the pictures. "What if…he gets accidentally knocked out?" Seeing the warning look Charles gave him, he waved off. "Was just an idea!"
Sighing, Charles leant back in his seat and shook his head. "I don't know what to think about it… But we have to wait and see if something might change."
Scott shook his head. "You mean Logan. And he definitely won't change. He practically loves to behave like a complete jerk lately."
Hearing the hate in the voice of his opposite, the Professor figured that there was more behind it. Nevertheless, he wanted to stay out of it. "That was all."
Nodding, the two mutants walked back to the door and closed it behind them. Heaving a deep breath, Scott looked briefly around, before he turned to Mystique. "I wanted to go swimming. Wanna come?"
"Now?" she asked in return and gave the clock on the wall a look. "It's already dark outside."
Smirking, he shrugged and pushed her with her. "Exactly. No kids who jump into the water from every direction, no Peter who throws Kitty in it, no Bobby who freezes the water accidentally… You'll enjoy it! Believe me!" Holding the back door open for her, Mystique finally shrugged and walked to the outside; seeing the illuminated pool from afar. Walking down the path together, he got rid of his jeans and shirt, while she stood rather helpless next to him. "Towels are in that shelve over there. The dirty come into the basket next to it," he explained briefly and jumped into the water. Diving briefly, he made his way to the surface again and looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?" Looking at him briefly, she sat down on the edge so that her feet were in the water, while he swam back to her. Noticing the look she gave him, he shook hr head smiling. "You can come in. I'm not up to something, Raven."
"I'm not a good swimmer," Mystique finally said and looked away; feeling embarrassed the first time in months.
"I'll help you. Come on," Scott said and held out a hand to her. "You won't drown in here. The pool is not so deep over there," he added and nodded to his right side. "You can easily stand there."
Following his look, she finally glided into the cold water and gasped slightly. "You could have warned me," she hissed a bit and allowed him to shove her over to the end of the pool. Feeling her feet touching the ground she let go off him and held onto the edge. Looking around for some time, she had to admit that it was really calm out of the mansion at that time. The only thing she could hear was the sound of the water and of some animals, mostly birds in the nearby wood.
"Can I ask you something?" Scott suddenly said and she switched her eyes to him again.
"What?"
"When you were cured…you shifted back into your human form, right?" he asked and saw how her face became tensed in suspicion.
"Yeah. Why are you asking?" Mystique gave back and crossed her arms to tell him not to think about doing anything stupid now.
"I was just wondering," Scott soothed her. "…if you don't forget about how you looked like before your mutation set in. I mean…you can shape into anyone you like. I think I would just…forget it."
Fixing her eyes on the water, she bit her lip briefly. She hated to remember the humiliation in the truck. Especially how Eric had looked down on her as if she was some kind of worthless thing. "It was weird. Because as long as I can remember I look like this."
"How did you get out of the truck, if I might ask?" he asked her calmly and watched her looking away.
"I had to wait for someone to get me," Mystique replied and shook her head, trying to give a wry smile. "It was fun lying on the ground naked while men looked down on you as if you were some kind of animal…"
Snorting, Scott shook his head in disgust. "Can't believe he did that to you…"
"Eric does a lot if he thinks that you're ugly," she said in a whisper to herself, but he heard it.
"What do you mean? Why ugly?" he asked her frowning and bent forward a bit to have a look at her.
"Well, he said it was a pity that I'm not one of them anymore, because I was beautiful," she said through clenched teeth; feeling how the hate against her former friend came up again. "So, I assume I looked ugly to him in my human form."
"Can I see it?" Scott asked her all of a sudden. "I mean, can you still change into it?"
Cocking an eyebrow at him in slight anger, she gave him a look. "Why do you want me to change?"
"Don't get it wrong!" he tried to soothe her immediately. "I don't want you to change the way you look now. I mean, that's you. I only want to see it for myself…"
Holding his gaze for some time, Mystique finally fixed her eyes to the water again and sighed. All of a sudden her body began to change. Blue was replaced by normal skin, red hair changed into chin-length black hair and yellow eyes were replaced by light blue ones. Watching the whole process with interest, Scott tilted his head a bit and touched her chin to make her look at him, while she avoided his gaze and covered her breasts with her arms. Cursing herself for being so weak and nervous all of a sudden, she finally looked at him and saw how he shook his head; feeling immediately offended.
"You're not ugly," Scott said and she gave him a surprised look. "Far away from it…"
Changing back into her mutant form, she still held his gaze; not knowing what to think about it. Noticing that some lights were switched off in the mansion, Scott took a look at his watch. "Wanna go back? It's already late and getting cold by now." Nodding, she climbed out of the pool and took one of the white towels into her hand to dry her skin, while he did the same and got dressed again. Throwing the towels into the basket, she finally followed him back to the mansion, still not knowing what to think.
Holding the pillow tight to her head, Jean stared at the opposite wall in the darkness of the room. Even if she tried it, she couldn't find any sleep. Too much of a mess were her emotions and she desperately still tried to find a reason why everything she has was going to hell. Hearing him moving behind her, her heart kicked into high gear when she raised her voice bit. "Do you still love me at all?" she asked him barely audible and heard him turning around a bit. After weeks of just living next to each other without talking to each other at all, she was sick of it.
"Sure," Logan replied and still looked at the opposite wall.
"Then why are you doing this?" Jean asked him despaired and ran a hand through her face, while she felt tears coming up again, as they always did when she thought about her marriage.
"What?" he gave back and she could tell that he was already pissed off again.
"All of this! Your strange behavior, the way you talk to others, how you treat the kids and me…," she listed and rolled onto her back. "Why? I don't understand this. And then the things with Emma. I mean, what are you missing all of a sudden? Everything was fine before you took of to that mission and I refuse to believe that nothing has happened to you." Swallowing to suppress a sob, she began to cry silently. "Don't you realize that everything we have is going to hell?" Stressed, he turned around and looked at her oddly from aside. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him, before he turned around completely to pin her down to the mattress by holding her hands firmly over her head. "You hurt me!" Jean said and tried to free her wrists again, when he suddenly kissed her hard.
"I want it a bit rougher today," Logan growled in a low voice, which made her shiver.
"But I don't want it at all, Logan. Not after everything you've done," she gave back and stared into darkness, knowing that he could probably see her. Gasping when he bit her neck with a growl, she felt his face stopping right next to hers.
"Don't care!" was everything he said before he kissed her roughly once more.
On the next morning, Jean entered the kitchen and met Ororo who was already having breakfast; way earlier that she usually used to eat. "Hey," the weather witch greeted her and watched how the redhead sat down on a stool slowly. Narrowing her eyes, Ororo had to frown; sensing that something was wrong. "Are you in pain or something?" she asked her worriedly, but Jean shook her head while she held her abdomen firmly. Keeping her blue eyes on her friend, Ororo finally got up and walked around the counter. "Why are you wearing a shirt with long sleeves?" she asked her suspiciously. "It's already damn hot outside. Are you sick?"
"No…," Jean replied without looking at her. "I'm fine…"
Grabbing her hand quickly, Ororo pulled up the sleeve on this arm; making the redhead gasp in pain, while she could only stare at her in shock. "What did he do to you?" the white-haired woman asked completely shocked and saw how Jean bit her lip.
"It wasn't…"
"Jean, stop it!" Storm said harshly and saw her friend wincing. "He's either losing it completely or Wolverine took over and we're dealing with that animal now. Look what he's done to you!" she went on and felt her eyes getting wet. "You're in deep pain, do you think I'm stupid and wouldn't notice it?!"
Shaking her head in denial while she was crying silently, Jean still shivered in shock. "Wolverine wouldn't hurt me…"
"The real Logan wouldn't hurt you!" Ororo shot back angrily and pulled up the shirt on her friend's waist. "Look at you, Jean!" she gasped crying and couldn't believe what she saw. "Did he force you to do it?" she asked her calmly and pulled a strand out of her face; meeting the despaired eyes of her opposite, whereupon Jean suddenly began to sob heavily. Instantly, Ororo embraced her tightly and had to cry, too. "It's not your Logan, do you hear me?" she said sobbing and stroked carefully over her friend's back. "We have to lock Wolverine up until we finally figured out what really happened to him. He's a major threat now if he already attacks you physically…"
"I know," Jean said crying and looked at her helplessly. "I'm so scared of him, 'Ro…"
Looking at her in sympathy, Ororo gave her a glass with water. "How much does it hurt? Do you want to take something to ease the pain?"
"I already did… But it still hurts like hell…" Running a hand through her face, she sipped on the water.
"You should let Hank look…," Ororo began, but was immediately cut of by the redhead.
"No!"
"Jean…maybe you have severe injuries. Hank won't tell anyone, I promise!" the weather with tried again, but Jean shook once more her head.
"No…"
Sighing, Storm though about other possibilities. "Okay, then…we go to someone in the city. Someone who doesn't know you. All right?" she asked her. "But you really need to see a doctor, Jean…"
Holding her bruised arm, the redhead thought about it briefly and finally nodded; knowing that she was right. "Fine."
"Okay, then come on!" Ororo said and helped her off the chair before she led her down the hallway, when Jean suddenly stopped.
"I still have to get my purse," she said calmly and her opposite nodded.
"Okay." Walking over to the door, she waited for Jean to follow her, but this one told her to wait.
"Get the car in the meanwhile. I'll be right back."
Feeling fear coming up within her, Ororo grabbed her hand carefully. "But Jean…"
"He's probably in the woods. He wasn't there when I woke up, so don't worry," Jean tried to soothe her. "I'll be fine."
Watching her heading up the stairs, Ororo still felt a thick lump in throat. "I hope so…," she said more to herself and headed down the corridor to the garage.
Upstairs, Jean stood at the window next to the wardrobe and packed her wallet into a small purse. "Where are ya doin'?"
Jerking around, she immediately felt how her heart began to race in her chest horribly and how she had trouble breathing. "Nothing," she replied as calm as possible and fixed her eyes on the glaring Logan, who came slowly closer. Backing off without even noticing it, her back hit the wall behind her and she began to shake when he placed both hands at the wall on each side of her face; making it impossible for her to move. "Logan, please…"
"Where are ya goin'?" he demanded to know in a very low growl and made her swallow.
"Ororo and I only want to go some shopping," Jean replied barely audible and felt like frozen on the spot.
"You sure?!" Logan asked menacingly and caused her to cry in fear.
"Please,…you're scaring me…," she begged and pushed herself even further against the wall. "Please, let me go…"
Only shrugging, he turned around while Jean took her chance and quickly grabbed her jacket. Just as she was about to head for the door, he grabbed her wrist firmly and made her startle. "I hope for you that this was the truth," he growled darkly. "Or do I have to show ya your place again, girl?"
Shaking her head, she swallowed hard. "It was…," Jean replied barely audible and nodded to the door. "Ororo's waiting…" As soon as he let her go, she felt his eyes on her back when she left. As soon as she reached the lower level she began to run towards the garage.
Hours later, when they arrived back home, Ororo handed her a white letter, which made Jean look at her in shock. "Try it as a trick," she told her friend and waited for the redhead to take the paper into her hands. "If that doesn't help to bring him back, Jean… You should really think about throwing him out. It was already hard enough to convince the doctor that you've been attacked on the streets at night…"
"'Ro, if I tell him to sign this…," Jean began and shook her head.
"I'll be there to help you. I wait on the outside and intervene if necessary, but you really need to show him that he can't treat you like shit, Jean. Look what he had done to you know and then think about what Wolverine is really capable of," Ororo said inflexibly and watched how Jean suddenly stopped at the kitchen door. "What? Is he in there?" she asked her in a whisper and the redhead nodded. "Then do it!"
Looking at the paper once more, Jean heaved a deep sigh and finally nodded. After taking the offered pen from Storm, she entered the kitchen with both things in her hand and tried to push back her fear; allowing her counterpart to come to the surface a bit, too. Stopping next to Logan, who gave her a piercing look, she laid the paper in front of him on the counter; making him chuckle. "So now you want a divorce. What is it tomorrow, darlin'?" he asked her arrogantly.
"Stop it!" she said and suddenly felt a deep anger rising within her; knowing that her negative was probably responsible or it. "I'm sick of it, Logan. I don't know what has gotten into you, but I can't take it anymore." Handing over the pen, she met his glaring eyes. "Sign it!"
Getting up, Logan bent over the counter and held her gaze. "Forget it!"
"Logan!"
"I ain't signing this crap just because of you being sick of us, girl!" he shot back angrily and Ororo, who leant against the wall on the outside, was about to intervene when she heard Jean sigh in frustration.
"Logan…," the redhead said again warningly and caused him to growl at her.
"What? Are you threatening me?" he asked her in a menacingly low voice, but this time she didn't back off. Instead she crossed her arms and gave him the same look thanks to her negative's fury.
"Well, there is no other way of talking with you lately, is it?" Jumping over the counter, he grabbed her roughly and pushed her against the counter. "Let go of me or I'll…," she began, noticing that Storm had entered the room due to the hollow sound she'd heard.
"Logan, let her go!" Ororo warned him and clenched her fist. Nevertheless, she couldn't attack him without hurting her, too.
"You'll what?" Logan growled at the redhead and held her steady. "Bite me? Slap me? I wanna see ya trying it, girl!"
Hiding her fear, she began to breathe heavily when her counterpart struggled for dominancy. "Sign it!"
"No!"
"Damn it, Logan!" Jean cursed and narrowed her eyes; noticing that Storm was about to come closer, when he suddenly grabbed her harder.
"Stay out of my head. Or I'll…," he hissed when she slapped him. Only seeing a shadow moving, Ororo couldn't react so fast when he hit Jean back and sent her crashing to the ground. Holding her cheek crying and the redhead looked at him in shock. "Try this once more, girl and you'll get to know me, you hear that?" Logan growled at her while Ororo, too, was staring at him in shock. "You're my wife so you'll do as I say. And if I say I ain't signing this shit, you'll accept this, got that?" Turning around, he shoved Storm out of his way roughly, before he stopped at the door once more. "You're so pitiful, you know that by the way? Can't believe I married such an excuse for a woman like you." Turning around, he left the room, leaving Jean staring at the door on shock, while Ororo was frozen on the spot. She had expected a lot, but not what she'd just seen. Hearing how Jean leant against the counter heavily breathing, she turned around and kneeled down next to her.
"God, Jean I'm so sorry," she whispered and stroked over her opposites hair. "But I never expected him to do that…" Feeling how the woman was quivering, Ororo pulled her close and Jean began to cry bitterly. "We'll get the others and look him up. And I swear I force Charles to read his mind…," she sobbed, too and rocked her back and forth. "Come on, let's hurry before he does something else." Helping her friend up, both women began to walk through the mansion on their way to the Professor's office. Stopping at the rec-roomm they see that Hank, Scott and Peter are in it and were watching TV. "Good to see you," Ororo said urgently and immediately made them frown. "We need your help!"
"What's wrong?" Scott asked her since he noticed how messed up Jean obviously was.
"You need to help us locking up Wolverine!"
Jumping off his chair, Hank gave her a shocked look. "What?" With few steps the three men had surrounded the table and sofas and were standing right in front of their female teammates.
"Ask questions later! Now hurry!" Ororo demanded and noticed the strange looks the men gave each other.
Shaking his head while he crossed his arms, Scott held her back. "What do you mean? What did he do again?"
"He's dangerous…," Jean said barely audible and avoided their gazes.
"Did he hurt you?" Scott asked her immediately since he could tell that something was terribly wrong with her. It always was when she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
Touching his shoulder, Ororo shook her head. "Scott, just leave it for now. We have to talk to Charles and find Wolverine afterwards."
Reaching X's office door, they heard someone entering through the main entrance. Turning around, they saw that it was Wolverine, who immediately glared at them in suspicion because of their looks. Stepping forward, Ororo swallowed hard, but hid her fear. "Logan, listen…," she began calmly and kept a distance between him and her. "You're not yourself. So come with us and we help you!"
Smirking mockingly, he had to chuckle and watched amused how the men began to surround him. "So, someone talked, eh?" he grunted and glared at Jean who backed off instantly.
"It's for your own good…," she said calmly and watched how he narrowed his eyes.
"And you think that I'll just follow ya?" he asked them arrogantly. "How stupid are ya?"
"Logan, just do it. We don't want to hurt you," Hank tried it and stopped right behind him, noticing the cocked eyebrow he received from his teammate.
"Hurt me?" he mocked and gave Scott a warning glare when this one was about to touch his shoulder. "Touch me and you'll never touch anything again!"
"Just listen to us, will you?" his opposite gave back, but withdrew his hand quickly.
"Logan, please…" Jean begged him, while she stood behind Ororo and shook her head in despair. "We only want to help you."
Snorting, he crossed his arms and watched her closely. "Hiding behind her won't help ya!"
Peter, who knew that this would end in a fight, quickly changed into his organic form and stepped before the women, while Hank began to snarl. "Logan, come with us or we'll force you to do it!"
"I wanna see ya trying, Furball!" Logan growled back and tensed his muscles. Just as they were about to grab him, the alarm set off and Xavier's voice echoed through the halls.
"All X-Men to my office immediately. This is an emergency!"
Confused they looked at each other, while Logan used his chance. "You heard him!" Walking past them he opened the door to Charles' office, while he met Jean's eyes briefly; smirking at her when she backed off when he walked past her.
Joining the woman again, Scott nodded towards the door; meaning his teammate with it. "What now?"
"Later!" Ororo waved off and they followed Logan into the office, where the Professor was surprised to see them so quickly. Still, he had noticed a strong wave of hostility before, but wanted to ask them about it later.
"What's wrong?" Hank asked him and stopped in front of the desk.
"It's Cerebro. The alarm comes from there," Charles replied with a serious look on his face. "I think we have an intruder. I already tried to pick up his brain waves, but I am shielded, so you must find him, quickly!"
"Is he still in the basement?" Ororo asked alarmed and gave the others a worried look, since to her it was absolutely impossible that someone who didn't belong to the school could enter the basement.
The Professor concentrated briefly and sighed. "He's moving so fast. He's trying to escape…"
"We'll find him. Come on!" Scott said and walked towards the door, where he stopped Logan. "And you'll behave!" Earning a growl from him, they still followed Logan through the corridors. "Do you smell him?" Scott demanded to know after they were close to the staircase.
"No," Logan grunted stressed and kept on walking down the corridor with his hands in his pockets.
"Jean?" Scott asked and noticed that she already concentrated hard.
"He just left the basement… I think he heads for the roof."
Nodding, Ororo began to walk faster. "Okay, then let's go!"
Running down the corridor together towards the huge staircase, Jean suddenly gasped. "He's close by…," she said and looked around in confusion. She could feel the presence but wasn't able to see anyone.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Bobby asked and joined them, not knowing what was really going on, but guessing that it was of importance.
"Emergency. Come with us!" Scott only said and shoved him with them.
Reaching the stairs, they heard an explosion and stopped. "That came from the basement," Ororo said and exchanged glances with the others. Hearing how the elevator opened on the upper level, they stopped right at the staircase and looked up; feeling how the air around them cooled down suddenly.
"'Ro?" hank asked her, but she shook her head.
"It's not me!" Looking at Bobby, he also shrugged.
"I feel a strange aura…," Jean said like in trance and frowned. "He's coming towards us…"
Ororo suddenly shrieked aloud when she saw a shadow, who was quickly jumping towards the balcony above them; obviously really in its way to the roof. "There!" she shouted and everyone looked up, seeing how something was thrown at them.
"Watch out!" Scott yelled and they jumped aside. Still, too, late since the explosion hit their backs hard and threw them to the ground.
Growling, Wolverine extracted his claws and with few steps he quickly jumped up at the balcony; directly into the escape route of the intruder. "Gottcha!" Looking at the intruder, who still kept running towards him, dressed in a long, tight fitting black leather coat, with gloves and a pair of boots in the same material, while his shoulders were covered and protected by a silver armor that looked like as if it had been laid three times on top of the other and protected the shoulder, part of the upper arm and collarbone, Wolverine growled and prepared his attack. His opposite had no face. The whole head was covered by a black cloak that reached even down the back of his adversary; only two shining eyes were meeting his. About to strike, he saw too late that the intruder drew a large Arabian sword and swung it; sending Wolverine yelling off the balcony and crashing onto the ground were he remained motionless.
Gasping in shock, Jean immediately ran towards him, while Scott pointed his visor at the enemy as this one jumped off the balcony; his long cloak fluttering in the air while he held the sword high above his head, ready to strike. Firing his beam at the intruder, Scott cursed as this one was blocked by an invisible force field. "Damn it!"
Snarling, Beast jumped at the intruder, feeling an uncomfortable coldness spreading in the room. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the green flowers which stood all around the room where dying quickly. Seeing how Iceman's beam shot past him and was blocked, too, he raised his paws to hit his enemy, but was quickly kicked to the ground. Landing on it, the intruder immediately jumped again, evading Colossus, who threw himself at him, just to send him into the opposite wall. Curing also Ororo noticed that her attacks were blocked. "It can't be…," she said more to herself and turned to Jean for help. "Jean? Can you do something?"
"No! My powers are blocked, too," the red head replied and startled a bit, when Wolverine suddenly growled and attacked the intruder again.
The X-Men gathered at the opposite wall, watching both men fighting hard with each other. Still they had to frown. In test battles, no one of them had ever managed to beat Wolverine in fighting. For them he was the best in what he did due to his great knowledge of fighting styles. Nevertheless, the intruder somehow managed to evade easily all attacks the growling mutant came up with and hit Wolverine hard with the sword again; sending blood to the ground and walls. Panting, this one narrowed his eyes, while a hand was pressed on his bleeding abdomen and another explosion could be heard; still he leapt at his adversary again.
"We've got to do something! Who know how many bombs were placed!" Hank yelled to drown out the sound of the still roaring alarm.
"We have to distract him somehow," Scott suggested and watched how Wolverine crashed to the ground with a whimper, just to roll aside when the sword hit the ground. "We surround him and start attacks one after the other." Nodding, the men quickly took position and surrounded their enemy, who moved his giant sword in a circle and sent a wave into all directions. Crashing against the walls, the X-Men gasped when they saw that the place was half destroyed by this single, but mighty attack.
Jean reacted by building a glowing corona around herself and attacked the intruder with her Phoenix force. Her eyes widened when she noticed that her adversary, who still fought against Wolverine, wasn't even touched by it. Watching both men attacking each other with deadly strikes, she noticed that Wolverine was losing. While his clothes were soaked in blood, his adversary hadn't even a scratch. In the meanwhile, Scott and the others slowly got to their, as Logan suddenly yelled in pain and a great amount of blood splashed to the ground. "No!" Jean shrieked in shock and dropped to her knees to the ground. She heard the others gasped in shock when their enemy quickly jumped at the badly wounded Wolverine, who tried to stop the blood flowing out of his wounds, once more with his sword raised above his head. Quickly she raised her hand and wanted to block the attack but her powers didn't work. Seeing how Wolverine still had his hands on his still bleeding wounds, she couldn't help but cry out. "Logan, watch out!" Raising his head panting, he only saw a shadow that radiated a terrible coldness when the sword cut right through the back of his head. "No!" Jean cried and rand towards his body that laid lifelessly on the ground. Touching him with shaking hands, she shook her head. "No…" Realizing that he was dead, she let out a scream in agony, before she looked up hatred into two shining eyes. "You killed him…," she hissed furiously and slowly stood up.
"Oh no…," Ororo gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in shock, seeing how her friend's eyes began to blacken.
"Jean, no!" Scott yelled and wanted to step forward, when Beast and Colossus already leapt at her. Without even turning around, she sent them backwards against the wall with a mighty wave of her own.
Standing right in front of the intruder, Dark Phoenix had her eyes fixed on this one hatred while her breath was only heavy pants. "You're gonna pay!" she hissed in her demonic voice that sent shivers down her teammate's spines. The enemy attacked her with his sword quickly, but she evaded with a jump and attacked him with her powerful attacks.
Watching it closely, Ororo didn't even notice that the others had joined her again. "What can we do?" Cyclops asked her. "She'll tear the whole place apart in her rage."
"Is he really dead? Maybe his healing factor kicks in and…," she said and still had her eyes fixed on Wolverine; watching how blood kept on flowing out of his body and was already gathering into a large puddle.
"He's dead, 'Ro," Beast said sadly and laid a hand on her shoulder. "That bastard cut half of his head off. Even Logan can't survive that…" Shocked, she still stared at the body, while the others had their eyes fixed on the battle; not knowing what to do.
"How do we stop him?" Colossus asked Cyclops, who could only shrug.
"I don't know. We should rather think about how to stop her…," this one replied.
Hearing a mechanic sound behind them, they turned around just to see the Professor approaching, who had felt Jean's agony and pain. That one only saw Logan's body before his eyes switched to Dark Phoenix and the intruder fighting. But suddenly his eyes grew wide. "Oh my God…"
"Our attacks are useless. Even Jean can't do any harm," Cyclops told him and had to frown because his opposite's strange look.
"Professor?" Iceman asked him; sensing that the man knew more.
The others heard Dark Phoenix's firebird shrieking aloud and quickly covered their ears while their faces were a mask of pain. The shriek always ran through ones entire body and made it impossible to move for a short moment. "We have to stop her before she drowns completely in her fury…," Cyclops said and turned his head to look at her.
"It's the cloak. It shields telepathy and gives him the power he needs," Charles suddenly said and made the others look at him in surprise.
"How do you know?" Beast asked him, but the Professor waved off.
"I'll explain later. We have to hurry before he kills Jean or we lose her completely to her negative."
Thinking about it, Cyclops quickly looked around to calculate their chances. "Okay, we attack him from different sides. Beast you jump off the balcony and try to grab the cloak."
Nodding, Beast jumped off. "Okay."
"Ready?" the X-Man asked the others, who also nodded, and took position. They saw how the firebird began to bite air furiously since the enemy couldn't be reached by her powers. "Now!" Cyclops bellowed and they began to attack the intruder to distract him, while this one wielded his sword to counter their attacks. Beast jumped off the balcony as his friends were sent backwards by another mighty wave of the intruders, while Dark Phoenix blocked the attack and waited ready to counter on her own. Seeing how Beast grabbed the cloak from behind, she began another attack by gathering a new firebird above her head; her pitch-black eyes never leaving her adversary while she stood in the blood over Wolverine's body.
"Beast pull!" Cyclops yelled and watched his comrade doing so, as a force fought back against the attempt.
"Help me!" Beast barked and had trouble to hold onto the black fabric. Immediately Colossus changed his form again and grabbed the cloak from the other side; pulling at it with all his might, while their enemy fought against them. With his hand on his visor, Cyclops took the chance of distraction and fired a beam at his adversary. Turning, this one concentrated briefly on the X-Man to block the attack, while Beast and Colossus finally managed to loosen the cloak. Shrieking, Dark Phoenix was ready to strike again and watched impatiently how the cloak fell to the ground. She wanted to see the face of this bastard, wanted to make sure that this one looked her into her pitch-black eyes when she finished him. About to send the firebird off when the last inch of the black cloak fell down, she suddenly turned back to normal, while her heart began to hammer against her chest. Standing frozen on the spot she began to pant while also the others stared at the intruder in complete shock…
Yeah that was my cliffie for you guys. ; ) Thanks for all the nice reviews to the last chapter. I spent the whole day typing this. Never expected that one to be so long. LOL All scenes were pre-written before I actually began writing this Sequel. The fighting scene at the end was even the very first one I wrote for the Sequel, so you guys see: It's all planned. ; ) I only added the talk between Charles-Scott-Mystique, the scene in the park and the swimming pool scene. Originally Ororo wasn't in the kitchen while Jean confronted Logan in it, but I needed her to be there at the end since they went looking for help to catch the Wolverine. Well, I am curious to know what you guys think. I'll let you know the truth behind the black dress, because some of you might have already guessed what is going on and know that I changed the appearance of the intruder. ; ) So, see ya and please review!!!