Author's Note: Yay! Finally, a chapter of chapter-ness! My writer's block is gone! Hopefully it's gone for good, yay! This alternate dimension thing should only last for another chapter or two…Depending on how many scenes that I thought of I actually end up writing. I'm leaning towards ending this soon-ish because Kaliah needs to be in the story. I want glowy goodness!! And yay for pizza and making Megan call! Hahaha, Megan does all the talking and reading and anything that involves using a voice of voiceness. Okay, this author's note is done. Doooooooooooooone! Heehehehehehehe. Yeah it's really done now. Really.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A horn blaring and screeching tires snapped Logan out of his latest bout of blackness, and his hands instinctively tightened on the steering wheel as he turned out of the path of the headlights speeding towards him. He pulled off to the side of the road as the driver of the other car shouted something and tore off. These fucking dimension jumps were going to get him killed. He paused, then, thinking of something. What happened if he died in another dimension? Was it the Logan in this dimension who died, or himself? Would he disappear, or just go back to his own body?
For a moment, he was tempted to try it and see what happened, but then he decided against it. It may have been an easy way out, but Jean had told him there was only one way out. He trusted her. And, besides, killing himself would be a hell of a cowardly way to end it all.
He sat back in the driver's seat of the car, then reached up to turn on the overhead lead. It was night time, and although he had excellent night vision, he wanted the extra light to see where the hell he was this time. He was in a really nice car. In fact, the name on the steering wheel told him it was a Ferrari. His wallet was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, so he picked it up and glanced through it. He saw a driver's license, proclaiming his name to be Logan Blake, along with a bunch of credit cards and a large wad of cash.
Well that was pretty nice. Logan could get used to that. Especially since he was still wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, so he didn't have to put up with the clothes that rich people normally wore. Was he still working with Charles in this dimension, or did he somehow manage to get all this money on his own? A further search of the car produced nothing. The car was almost obsessively clean.
He gave a sigh and started up the car again, pulling out onto the street again. There was an address on his driver's license, he would just go there. Hopefully there would be someone there that he'd recognize. Of course, he'd have to figure out where he was first. He drove slowly, his eyes scanning the side of the road. There were street lamps, but so far he hadn't seen a street sign. Then, he saw a group of young men gathered under one of the street lamps. A flash of white caught his eye and he slowed down even more, taking a closer look. He confirmed that the white he saw was indeed wings sprouting from the back of a young blonde man, and Logan stopped the car.
Another young man came up to the car and, after Logan rolled down the passenger window, leaned inside.
"You looking for someone, hon?" The young man asked.
That set off Logan's suspicions, but he did need to find his friends to get out of here, so he nodded. "Yeah. Kid with the wings over there."
The young man nodded, then leaned away from the car and called, "Yo, Angel! You got a customer!"
Ah, fuck. Looks like Logan had been right. Well, this would be interesting. Hopefully all those movies were right, and Logan would be able to convince Warren to just talk with him as long as he paid him for his time. Although Logan wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to the kid.
"You want Demon, too?" The man asked.
"Demon?" Logan repeated.
"Yeah. Looks like a blue demon. Most people want 'em as a matching set." The man grinned. "You know, the whole angel/demon spiel."
There was only one person that looked like that. Kurt. "Yeah, sure. Him too." Logan said.
"You bet." The man said, then walked off, yelling, "You, too, Demon!"
Logan waited for a moment, then the front door opened and Kurt slid into the passenger seat. Warren got in the back of the car and closed the door behind him, so Logan started driving off.
"Where're we headed, handsome?" Warren asked, leaning forward to put his arms on the edge of Logan and Kurt's seats and angling his upper body between the two seats.
Logan could already tell they weren't the ones he was looking for, but he still wanted to talk to them. Maybe they'd know someone else he needed to find. "A diner." He said. "I want to buy you guys dinner."
Kurt and Warren exchanged glances.
"We're already going to sleep with you, hon, you don't need to wine and dine us." Kurt said with a grin.
Logan winced slightly. Okay, he had to do something about this. "I just want to talk to you. Don't worry, I'll pay you for your time."
Warren sighed. "You're a social worker, aren't you? Or one of those save our soul types? Cause, honey, you're just wasting your time."
"No and no." Logan said. "Look, just let me get you something to eat and I'll explain."
Warren and Kurt looked at each other again, then Kurt shrugged. "Well, if you're paying us, who are we to complain?"
Logan reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulling out all of the money inside. He didn't count it, but all of the bills looked like hundreds. It was probably a lot more than he'd ever held in his world. He offered the money to Kurt, who took it with a grin.
"No, we're definitely not complaining." Warren said, eyeing the money. "At least you're a rich social worker."
Logan shook his head and kept driving until he spotted a diner and pulled the car into the parking lot. The three of them headed inside the diner and sat down. Warren and Kurt looked over the menus while Logan debated exactly what he was going to tell them. Finally, after the waiter took their orders and left, Logan decided he should just tell them the truth.
So he explained everything, or at least much of everything as he understood. Then Logan sat back, waiting for their reactions.
Warren looked over at Kurt. "Kurt?"
Kurt reached out and placed his hand over Logan's arm, hovering an inch or two above his skin. After a moment Kurt withdrew his hand and nodded. "Well, he's definitely not from around here."
"What?" Logan asked.
"Kurt's our resident dimension expert." Warren said.
Kurt nodded. "I'm a teleportor. I jump through dimensions, I can tell when someone's from a different dimension." He paused. "I thought we were friends in your world?"
"We are." Logan replied. "But you only teleport there, as far as I know." He sighed and shook his head. "Look, you guys can just finish eating and head back. I already know you're not the ones I need to get out of here, so…" He trailed off as a segment of the news show that was playing on the diner television. Anorra's face was on the screen, looking solemn and sultry. The reporter was saying something about her retirement from the runway, and how she was now going to dedicate her time to training other people to make their dream come true, just like hers had.
"Who's that?" Logan asked, nodding at the television.
Kurt looked over. "Telepsa. She's a model. Or, was, I guess. Really famous. You really must not be from here if you don't know who she is."
"I need to find her." Logan said.
Warren and Kurt did the glancing thing again.
"She has a suite at the Blake." Kurt told him. "I can show you where it is."
"Yeah, me too." Warren said. "I'll go with you."
Logan stared at them for a moment. "You want to go with me? Why?"
Kurt grinned. "Curiosity killed the cat. Besides, you are paying us for the night."
"More than the night." Warren corrected. "And I'm totally game for going to visit the world's hottest model."
Logan considered that, then shrugged. As long as they were with him, they weren't doing…Other stuff. "Fine by me. Let's go."
Kurt raised an eyebrow at him as the waiter came by with their food. "Would it kill you to wait until after dinner? You did pay for it, after all."
Logan stared at them for a moment, then sat back with a growl. As much as he wanted to get going, he wasn't going to deprive them of food. Especially not since it looked like they needed it. He hadn't ordered anything for himself except a beer, so he nursed it while the other two ate. Finally, after much too long for his liking, the other two were finished eating. Logan tossed the waiter one of his credit cards and waited impatiently until the waiter brought back something for him to sign. He did it quickly, then strode out without waiting for Kurt and Warren. They'd either follow him or they wouldn't.
They followed him. By the time he got to his car they had caught up. He slid into the driver's seat as they got in the car, then started it up and took off. Kurt gave him directions, and neither of them commented on Logan's rather reckless driving. He drove slower than he would have liked, mainly because he knew that while he would be able to walk away from a crash, Warren and Kurt wouldn't.
Before long, they were arrived at a huge building, at least eighty stories tall, and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. A tasteful sign on the side of the building proclaimed it to be the Blake Hotel. There was no parking lot, so Logan drove up to the entrance, where a valet rushed to meet him. He reluctantly handed his keys to the young woman, then ducked inside the hotel.
Logan paused for a moment to look around, then strode through the hotel lobby, oblivious to both the glances his clothes were getting and to Kurt and Warren's attempts to stop him. He didn't care about being polite at the moment, he just wanted to find whatever he needed to get home. "I need to speak with Telepsa." He commented matter-of-factly as he stopped in front of the hotel desk, glaring at the young man behind it.
The man's eyes widened. "Yes, Mr. Blake, of course. She's up in her in her suite on the top floor. Shall I call her to inform her of your arrival?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Logan said, moving away from the desk and starting towards the elevator.
"You're Logan Blake?" Warren asked, staring at him.
Logan paused, looking at him. "Something wrong with that?"
Kurt shook his head, amused. "You own this place. You own most places, actually. You're the one who funded Telepsa in her search for stardom."
"Than why didn't you recognize me?" Logan asked, moving forward again.
"No one knows what you look like." Kurt replied. "You keep your picture out of the papers."
Logan grunted, pleased that at least his counter part had the sense to want to stay out of the media. They reached the elevator and Logan pushed the button for the eightieth floor. They rode in silence, until the elevator reached its destination and Logan stepped out, the other two men following him. They walked down the hall to a large wooden door, carved with ornate decorations. To the left side of the door was a large glass window. Logan's gaze flicked over it for a moment, then he paused at what he saw. Samantha was sitting on a large red couch, dressed in a black leather halter top, cut off denim shorts, and black knee-high boots. Scott, dressed in a suit and his usual red shades, was sprawled out over the rest of the couch, lying on his back with his head in her lap. He was saying something, which Logan only caught the tail end of.
"…was a Lawrence, and then I just left." Scott commented.
Samantha's eyes lit with amusement and she burst into laughter. Scott grinned widely, a carefree and joyful smile that Logan had never seen him give before. It was kind of creepy. Make that really creepy. Especially since it was directed towards Samantha.
"And they say you guys have no sense of humor." Samantha commented, leaning down to place a tender kiss on Scott's lips.
And now Logan needed a room to go throw up in. Preferably Scott's, so he could damage some of one-eyes' shit in the process. It was either that or go beat the shit out of Cyke. Actually, that second idea was sounding really good right now.
"Logan?" Kurt asked, looking worried. "Are you okay?"
Before Logan could respond, Samantha tensed, her easy and relaxed manner dropping.
"What's wrong, baby?" Scott asked, sitting up.
"There's someone here." Samantha replied, sliding off the couch and dropping into a guarded stance in a single, fluid movement. Her eyes had changed, becoming wild and fierce.
Scott stood up, his body stiffening as he placed one hand in his pocket. "Someone's here, Telepsa!" He called.
"Then answer the door, for Pete's sake." Anorra's voice called from another room.
"Do you know who it is?" Scott asked, his voice now curt and holding none of the warmth it had earlier.
"One of them is Mr. Blake." Samantha replied. "The other two are mutants. A demon and an angel."
Scott considered, the nodded. "All right. If they're with Mr. Blake, then let them in."
Samantha moved over to the door, wariness still seeping from her body. She was putting out such strong "don't fuck with me" vibes that Logan found the animalistic part of himself wanting to meet her challenge. Instead, though, he knocked at the door and waited until it opened.
"Mister Blake." Samantha greeted, looking at him through narrow eyes. Her gaze swept over to Kurt and Warren, and her suspicion deepened.
Warren shrank away, casting his own eyes downward. Kurt, though, met her gaze, holding her wild eyes with his own. They remained that way for a long moment, until Kurt's gold eyes finally darted to another location for a brief moment before coming back to rest on Samantha's. Logan rolled his eyes and shoved past Samantha and into the room. Samantha held the door open only long enough to Kurt and Warren to dart in before closing it shut.
"Logan." Anorra said, finally appearing in the room. She looked beautiful, wearing an Egyptian style dress studded with jewels that probably cost more than the Xavier mansion. "It's nice to see you again." As she passed Samantha, who was prowling nervously and keeping an eye on the group, Anorra commented, "Down girl." The tone might have been playful, save for the fact that Logan caught the warning in Anorra's eyes as she tossed them in Samantha's direction.
Samantha didn't say anything, but she did stalk back towards the couch and jump up on it. She perched on the back of the couch in a very feline manner, inching closer to the side of the couch that Scott was standing next to, his back straight and apparently staring straight ahead. Then she stood still, except for an occasional twitch of her hand or foot, her eyes never leaving the three men.
Anorra looked over Kurt and Warren for a moment, then she smiled. "Is this who you have found for me?"
Logan was still glaring over at Scott, too distracted to reply to her comment. Anorra followed his gaze, and must have interpreted his expression to mean that he wanted to be alone, because she threaded her arm through his and pulled them into another room. There were glass windows in this one, too, so that he could still see the others if he glanced behind him. With Anorra gone, Samantha jumped off the couch and circled Kurt and Warren for a long moment. She must have been satisfied with what she saw, as she offered a fanged smile before returning to Scott's side.
"So is that them?" Anorra asked, drawing his attention away from the window. "You did say you were going to find the perfect people to be the first ones I mentor." She glanced through the window to scrutinize Kurt and Warren before turning back to him with a smile. "And you're right, they are perfect. Exotic, just like me." She reached up with on hand to flip her long silver and purple hair over her shoulder. "But, of course, not better than me. Certainly not better looking. And male! Perfect. Now there's no chance of them upstaging me. They'll be in a completely different circuit."
Logan just stared at her, entirely unsure of what to make of this. Seeing all of his friends like this, so different from how he knew them, was unsettling. Even for those he didn't know very well, like Anorra. He knew her well enough to know that this wasn't her. Besides, there was something about Anorra that was bugging him, rubbing him the wrong way. Something that didn't seem quite right.
Then it hit him. This was what Jean was talking about when she said he'd know who it was that could get him out of here. It was Anorra that was the key. At least here, anyway. Now what was he supposed to do? Was that it? Could he go home now? Or did he have to do something more, something Jean had never gotten the chance to tell him?
"Logan?" Anorra asked, looking at him curiously. "Are you okay? You're not going into one of your black-outs, are you? Oh, dear. We better take care of everything quickly, then, before you forget it all."
She turned on her heel and marched out into the other room. All eyes turned towards her, and she smiled.
"Welcome to the team, boys." She told Kurt and Warren. "I've talked it over with Logan and he believes, just as I do, that you two would be perfect as my first trainees. I'm so thrilled to be able to share this experience with you!" She beamed at the two of them, who exchanged wide-eyed glances. "I'll go grab the paperwork so we can get started."
Just as Logan caught up with her, she left again, disappearing into whatever room she had originally come from.
Scott smiled and slipped an arm around Samantha's waist. "Looks like we have two more people to protect now, baby."
Samantha grinned at him, then stood up on tip-toe to plant a kiss on his lips. "We're more than up to the task."
Kurt looked at the two of them, then came up to Logan. "What the hell?"
"I have no idea." Logan replied. "I went in there and she started spouting off about how I was supposed to bring people for her to train or something. I think she wants to make you models."
Kurt raised an eyebrow while Warren, who had come over as well, widened his eyes in shock.
"Us?" Warren asked. "Models?"
Logan shrugged. He rather liked the idea, actually. At least this meant Kurt and Warren wouldn't be doing….what they were doing before. Right now, he was too busy trying figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with Anorra. How she was supposed to help him get back home. He started towards the door he had gone into, but before he could reach it she emerged again.
"Got it." Anorra commented, holding up a small stack of papers and a pen. "Now all we have to do is sign it."
She moved over to the table and set the papers down, then offered Logan the pen. He considered for a moment, then took it. The sooner he signed these things, the sooner he could find out what Anorra knew. And then he could get away from a world where Scott had his arm around Samantha's waist and she had her hand tucked into the back of his pants.
Anorra turned on Warren and Kurt, then, who glanced at each other. Finally, Kurt shrugged.
"Hell, why not?" Kurt asked, scanning the papers before signing them.
Warren took the pen after him, signing as well. Anorra snatched them up and beamed. "Okay. Now…"
Logan didn't hear the rest of what she was saying, because the world began to do its now familiar fading. He just hoped that finding the key was enough, and that when he woke up it would be in his own world.
When Logan woke up, he could hear the faint beeping of a heart monitor amongst the murmuring of excited voices. Chairs scraped and the sound of footsteps followed by a door opening and closing hit his ears as he struggled to open his eyes. When he did, his vision was fuzzy, but he could see enough to recognize the medical area of the Xavier Institute. He was home, then. He never thought he'd be so happy to be in here.
He heard someone calling his name, and then Rogue's face appeared over his. He tried to smile at her, but it probably only came out as a grimace. Logan waited until his vision cleared, then he asked, "How long have I been out?"
"Four days." Rogue replied, relief obvious in her voice. "The Professor and Dr. McCoy said you'd be fine, but we were still worried. Do you remember what happened?"
Logan shook his head, pleased to see that the movement didn't cause any pain. "No."
Rogue nodded. "They said you probably wouldn't. Some of the Brotherhood members attacked us."
Briefly, Logan remembered the events that had happened right before Jean had appeared to explain what was going on. "Is everyone okay?"
Rogue smiled. "We're all fine. I got hurt pretty bad, though. Dr. McCoy said he wasn't sure if I was gonna make it, so you…you gave me your powers." She bit her lower lip. "I guess you must have forgot what happened last time you did that."
"I didn't forgot, Rogue, I just thought it was worth it." Logan said. He didn't remember what she was talking about, but he knew that had been his reasoning. It was how he felt right now.
Her smile came back, and she reached out with a gloved hand to brush a few strands of his hair out of his eyes. "You would think that." She told him affectionately. "Guess it's a good thing we keep you around, then."
Logan chuckled and was about to respond when Rachel and Piotr burst into the room.
"See, I told you he was awake." Rachel said, then turned to Logan and Rogue. "Dr. McCoy's on his way down to look you over."
Logan rolled his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm fine."
"Sure." Rogue commented. "Unconscious for four days, but you're perfectly fine."
"Rogue is right, comrade." Piotr said. "You should allow Dr. McCoy to look you over. If for no other reason than to put all of our fears to rest."
"What he said, except with more slang and less proper grammar." Rachel agreed.
Logan growled and stood up. "He better hurry his ass up, then." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Logan was a little hurt that Cassandra wasn't there when he woke up. Part of him wanted to ask about her, but he managed to make that part shut up.
The door opened, then, but instead of Hank, Samantha and Anorra walked into the room.
"Logan." Samantha said, smiling at him.
"Good to see you awake and standing." Anorra told him before grinning over at Rachel and Piotr. "See, hon, I told you he'd be fine."
Logan blinked, wondering how Piotr and Anorra had moved from shy smiles to calling each other hon before he remembered he had been unconscious for four days. Still, though, a part of him was suspicious….And those suspicions were confirmed when, instead of Piotr, Anorra moved over to Rachel, slipped her arms over the other girl's shoulders, and gave her a loving kiss. Piotr went to Samantha, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up. Samantha giggled, then kissed him on the lips as he set her down again.
Oh, fuck. Logan still wasn't home.
"Guess everyone's really happy to see you're okay." Rogue said to him. "Either that or they're just taking advantage of the situation to be mushy." Her tone was light and amused, but Logan could still hear the relief in her voice.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. What the hell had he done wrong? He had found the key, what more was he supposed to do? I could use some help here, Jeannie. He thought, but wasn't surprised when he didn't get a response.
Hank had come in by then, but Logan was too distracted to give more than a half-hearted glare as the blue-furred mutant looked him over and pronounced him a healthy. A cheer went up through the room, and Rogue grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the room and upstairs into the mansion. Logan followed her, both because he wanted to be out of the medical area and because he really had no fucking clue what to do now.
There was a group of people gathered by the stairs. Logan didn't recognize all of them, but he did see all of his friends there. Plus one. To his utter surprise, Pyro was there, a look of concern on his face. His arm was around Bobby's shoulders, and Bobby's arm was locked onto his waist. Logan stopped cold, just staring at the two of them. They hadn't noticed him yet, and Pyro tilted his head to place a reassuring kiss on Bobby's shoulder.
Logan opened his mouth to say something, then couldn't find any words and closed it again.
"Logan!" Zephyr called, and he turned to see her releasing Gambit's hand and come barreling towards him.
She threw her arms around him in a huge hug, and before long everyone else was gathered around him was well. Before he could attempt to kill someone, though, Rogue was pushing everyone away, telling them to give him his space. Everyone backed off, but still insisted on celebrating by either hugging or kissing the person closest to them. Logan happened to look over in time to see Pyro frenching Bobby, and that sight was almost enough to make him black out again.
"Logan? Honey, are you okay?" Rogue asked, peering at him with concerned green eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I…honey?" Logan repeated.
"We need to lie down for a bit, I think." Rogue said. "Come on, sugar, let's head up to our room."
Logan stared blankly at her. "Our room?" And about then was when the world went dark. This time, he wasn't entirely sure if it was the dimension hopping or just his reaction to this really, really fucked up world.