Chapter 7 (Logan)
I'm not surprised when Nori wakes up in the middle of the night. She's always had nightmares-well, as long as I've known her, anyway. She might not have had them before William Stryker entered her life. I hear her gasp and jerk awake. I expect her to turn to me or Remy for comfort, but instead she gets out of bed and heads for the door. I follow behind her.
"Darlin', you all right?"
She turns and looks at me with glowing red eyes. "This doesn't concern you, Logan." Her voice is deeper than usual, and very intense.
What the hell? I follow her down the hall. She stops in front of Scott's room. I put a hand on her shoulder and say, "Nori, what are you doin'? It's the middle of the night. You can talk to Summers in the morning."
She jerks away from my hand and shoves me hard, sending me a few feet back. Her eyes are still red, and she repeats, "This doesn't concern you."
Well, maybe it doesn't, but I'm sure as hell not leaving. She tries to open Scott's door. When she finds it locked, she hisses and the door disintegrates. I'm sure she's never done anything like that before.
She stands before Scott and says, "Scott! Scott, come find me. Scott, you promised me you'd never leave me." Her whole body is glowing red now and she's floating a few inches off the ground. Scott stares at her through the goggles he wears for sleeping.
"Jean?" he whispers.
"Yes. Come find me, Scott, there isn't much time."
"Jean, where are you? I love you so much, Jean, I-" he reaches out to try to touch Nori-Jean, and pulls his hand away as if he's been burned.
"She is not me. Find me, Scott. Find me."
"I will, Jean, I will," Scott says desperately. "Where are you?"
"I am everywhere." Abruptly, Nori stops glowing and drops back to the floor. She blinks. Scott starts sobbing, and Nori says, "Oh, Scott, what's wrong? What happened? Where-am I in your room?"
Scott and I both stare at her. "Nori?" I ask hesitantly.
"Yes?"
"You, ah-you don't remember how you got here?"
"No. Was-did I sleepwalk? I've never done that before, I don't think."
"I don't think you've done this before, either," I say.
"What's wrong?" she asks, sounding a little panicked. "Scott, what's wrong?"
"I think-I think we should talk to the Professor," Scott says.
"That's an idea," I say. "Nori-wait here with Scott. I'm going to get LeBeau. And your pills."
"Okay," she says in a small voice.
I give her a quick hug and say, "Good girl." I'm not sure what I mean by that. Am I telling her she is a good girl or telling her to be one? I step back out through where the door used to be and take a deep breath in the hallway. Was Jean really-back? Was she a ghost? What was that? I'm sure it wasn't Nori's idea of a joke. She ain't mean-spirited like that, and I'm pretty damn sure she doesn't normally have some of the powers she was just using. I hurry down the hall to our room and shake Remy awake.
He gives a sleepy stretch. His hair falls over his face and it's unbelievably sexy. No, focus, Logan. "Remy, get up. Something-Nori's doing something strange."
"Quoi? Where is she? What are you talking about?"
"She's down the hall, with Scott. She-she woke up and she was glowing, and she completely destroyed Scott's door. And she started talking to him-like she was Jean Grey. Telling him to find her. Then-then she was back to normal and she didn't remember doing it at all."
"Dieu," Remy breathes.
"Yeah. So. We're gonna go talk to Chuck. But I thought you should be there."
He nods and gets up, shaking off all traces of sleepiness. "Let's go, then."
I grab Nori's Ativan off the bedside table. Belatedly we remember that she hadn't taken it last night. "Think this would've happened if she'd taken it?" Remy asks.
"Who knows? I think-think it probably would have happened eventually. I-I don't know what happened, but... damn." I have an uneasy feeling deep in my gut. I don't like this at all. Jean's been dead three years now. Scott was finally starting to move on. I had moved on. Nobody was happy she was dead, but we were used to it. And now what? Were we going to have to give up Nori in exchange for Jean? I don't like that idea. Easy, don't get ahead of yourself. Jean-or whoever-had said, She is not me.
"Damn," Remy says, seeing the remains of Scott's doorframe. We enter the room. The lights are on. Scott is sitting on the bed with his arms wrapped around himself. Nori is standing in the middle of the room, looking lost. Remy puts an arm around her and she leans against him.
"Well," I say. "Let's go see what Xavier has to say about this."
The four of us head downstairs. We're a motley bunch. Scott's in flannel pajama pants and a long-sleeve Columbia T-shirt, topped off with red goggles. Remy actually sleeps in black silk pajamas, when he bothers to wear them at all. I'm in flannel pajama bottoms and no shirt, despite the cold. Nori's wearing pale blue flannel pajamas printed with cartoon penguins. It's hard to reconcile her with the floating, flaming woman she'd been a few minutes ago.
Xavier'd clearly been expecting us. He telepathically invites us in and we find him sitting up in his chair, wearing a blue dressing gown. "Please, have a seat," he says. I've never been in his room before. It's a suite and we're in the living area. Nori, Remy, and I all sit on a fancy white sofa. Scott sits on a wooden chair.
Xavier listens with interest as Scott and I tell what we saw. Nori covers her mouth with her hand.
"I did that?" she whispers. Xavier asks to examine her memories. She nods and kneels in front of his chair. He gently touches her face while the rest of us look on anxiously. After several moments he pulls away. Both of them have tears in their eyes. Nori's fairly calm, though. Nothing like she'd been the last few times she'd tried to access a missing memory.
"Well?" Scott asks, his voice ragged. "Was-is it-Jean?"
Xavier sighs. "Yes—and no."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say. My voice is low, and it sounds like a growl.
"Jean was—perhaps is—an extraordinarily powerful telepath. Magnitudes stronger than myself."
"What?" Scott asks.
Xavier continues. I can smell how nervous he is. "She couldn't control her power. It was too much for her. It was dangerous, for her and for others. So—I put up strong shields in her mind and walled off much of her power. The—I had always intended to work with her one day to realize her full potential, when she was ready… but then, she died."
"She—she never said anything about that," Scott says, sounding betrayed.
"She did not know, at least not consciously."
"That don't sound right," I say. It sounds like something Stryker would have done, though I leave that unsaid. I'm sure Xavier still heard it.
Xavier's lips thin. "I had a terrible decision to make, Logan. It was the best I could have done."
"Maybe when she was a kid, but she was what, thirty?"
"Logan, you do not understand what you are talking about." I take a deep breath and clench my hands. Nori gently puts a hand over one of my fists.
Scott sighs and says, "Okay, so—okay, so, Jean had strong telepathy. Are you—is she some kind of telepathic spirit?"
"All I can do is theorize," Xavier says.
"But what's your theory?" Scott asks.
"Perhaps—in her time of greatest need, Jean's powers freed themselves in order to save those she loved, at Alkali Lake. She would have likely been overwhelmed by the new power coursing through her. She might not have consciously understood how she could have used them to save herself. But—perhaps—her consciousness survived the water that killed her body. Perhaps—it was simply waiting for an opportunity to—reconstruct itself. And I think—that is what Sinister and Nori provided for her."
Nori takes her hand off of mine and bites down on her own knuckle in distress. "What did I do?" she asks softly, pulling her hand back down to her lap. I take it and squeeze it.
"I think that Sinister helped you find Jean's—spirit, let's call it—and used you as a way to… communicate with her, and to help her… make herself corporeal."
"But if she's as powerful as you say, she wouldn't have needed me," Nori says.
"Perhaps she wouldn't," Xavier says. "But I believe she would have been extremely disoriented. She likely was not aware of her own potential, until an—outside force acted."
"How would Sinister even know?" Scott asks.
"He's real powerful," Remy says. "And he's… he's into this kinda thing. Immortality and all."
I listen to Nori's breathing. It's a little too deep and even—I know she's concentrating on it hard.
"She said… she asked me to find her. She said there wasn't much time," Scott says. "Not much time until what?"
"I wonder—" Remy says, then trails off. "Well—Sinister's always wanted to kill Apocalypse. But he's not strong enough himself. Maybe—he wants Jean to do it."
"Who's Apocalypse?" I ask.
"I ain't exactly sure," Remy says. "But Sinister hates him."
"He told me that Apocalypse made him immortal," Nori offers.
"He tell you how? Or why?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "I asked and he told me 'it was best if I knew nothing of Apocalypse.'"
I snort.
Scott says, "Okay. So. What's our plan? How can we find her?"
Xavier says, "I'll look with Cerebro."
"I'll help," Nori says. We all look at her sharply. The only time Nori helped Xavier with Cerebro, she was drugged by Stryker. She's been skittish about Cerebro ever since. She raises her eyebrows. "Well," she says, "On your own, you've never found her before. Maybe—maybe you're not strong enough. Maybe I could help."
"Well—yes, that's possible," Xavier says. I don't think he likes admitting that.
Remy says, "Are—are we sure we want to find her?"
"Of course!" Scott snaps. "I love her. She's one of us. One of the team."
"Desole, Scott, I mean—this—well, I saw her leave with Mesmero. Could be a trap."
"All the more reason we need to get her back, then," Scott says.
"Oui, of course. But—it's a different t'ing, non? We need to know what to prepare for. If she's as powerful as the Professor says, and she's—not in her right mind—well, what are we gonna do?"
"If she's really that powerful, how would Mesmero even be able to affect her?" Scott asks.
Xavier says, "Well, he was able to manipulate both Nori and Remy—no easy feat, given their abilities. And especially if Jean were confused—well—it wouldn't be impossible."
"Well. Let's go look for her," Nori says. She says it as brightly and casually as if she had said, "Let's go make pancakes."
"Are you sure you wish to look for her now?" Xavier asks. "Perhaps when you are—rested."
She looks at him steadily. "Uh, the last time I went to sleep, I was apparently inhabited by some kind of fire-spirit. Do… do you really think I'm going to get a lot of rest tonight?"
Xavier smiles. "I suppose not."
So we leave Xavier's room and head down to Cerebro. Nori follows Xavier, and Remy follows her automatically. Scott and I glance at each other and wordlessly decide to wait in the hallway. It's one of the few times I wish I had some kind of official claim to Remy and Nori. I should be in there with them, but… I stay out with Scott. It would be too humiliating to have Xavier ask me to leave. The shiny metal door slides shut and I glance at Scott.
"They'll find Jeannie," I say. Scott gives a terse nod. We wait in an uncomfortable silence for maybe half an hour.
"They've been in there for a long time," I say.
"Yeah," Scott says.
Finally, the door slides open. Scott and I peer in anxiously. Nori's awake, but barely. She leans heavily on Remy, and they carefully make their way back over the bridge. Xavier wheels himself out behind them.
"All right there, Nori?" I ask.
She nods, but her eyes don't focus on me. Remy scoops her up in his arms. She gives a little sigh but doesn't protest, so I know she's close to passing out. Magnifying other peoples' powers exhausts her, and I'm sure her anxiety about Cerebro didn't help none.
Scott's looking desperately at Xavier. Xavier sighs. "I think—perhaps—I found her. It's—it's very hazy."
"Well, where is she?"
"California. Do you remember—the lab? That was working on a so-called cure for mutants?"
"The one that Pyro burned down?" I ask.
Nori closes her eyes and turns her face against Remy's chest.
"Yes," Xavier says.
"Well, let's go," Scott says.
"Scott, have patience. You can't go without your team, and your team is—not ready. You are not ready."
"Dammit, Charles, that's—Jean is out there, with those—those psychos, and you want me to wait until everyone's had their full eight hours of sleep?"
"He has a point," I say.
Scott growls and storms off. I glance at Remy and Nori and then follow Scott. He's still not my favorite person on the planet, but I respect him, and I don't want him to do something stupid.
"Back the fuck off, Logan," he says.
"Look, Summers, I know how you feel."
"Oh, do you?" His voice is venomous.
"When it was Nori with Magneto—don't you think I wanted to go chase after her? But I didn't. I waited until—until we could go as a team."
"What is it with you and women who don't belong to you?"
"Nori belongs to herself," I say. Impulsively, I decide to be up front with Scott. "But—I love her. And she loves me. It's—complicated. And that ain't the point. If you run out looking for Jeannie now, maybe you'll find her. But you honestly think you can take on Magneto, Sinister, and Mesmero single-handed?"
"The longer we wait—the more time—the more time she has—with them."
"I know, bub. I know." I sigh. "Look. You wanna go now, I'll follow you. But you think about what it'll do to Xavier if you get killed tonight." I leave it unsaid that I think Magneto might be able to kill me if he really wanted to. I'm not sure, and I'm not especially anxious to find out. But I would go.
He glares at me. "What do you care about Xavier?"
"Doesn't matter, Summers. I know you care about him."
He stares at me for another moment before crossing his arms and giving me a nod. "Fine. Whatever. We'll go later today."
"I'll be right there with you, Cyclops. Get some sleep, if you can."
He stares at me silently. I turn and head upstairs. Nori's out, and somehow Remy is too. They're lying curled up together with Nori on the inside. She has her knees drawn up to her chest and her hands over her face, a protective posture. I lie down on my back, not touching her, but close. I breathe in their mingled scents and drift off to an uneasy sleep.