Storm climbed gracefully out of the pool, the water dripping off of her. She shook back her white hair as she wrapped a towel around herself and slipped into a pair of flip-flops.
As she walked past the training area of the gymnasium she was suddenly transfixed by the sight of Beth, her eyes closed, a metallic bo-stick in one hand, a knife in the other.
She seemed to slash and stab at an imaginary enemy, pouncing softly, then retreating, whirling the stick around with elegant, practiced movements, her muscles flexing and moving in a coordinated ripple.
A shiver ran through Storm, and it wasn't because she was cold. It was because, for a single moment, she had seen not a human, not a young girl, but a wild, untamable animal, a sleek, cunning snake.
The most amazing thing, it would seem, was that she didn't make any sound at all. She reached, paced, jumped, but she landed like a cat, the only noise the cutting of the weapons through the air…
For a second, Storm was almost afraid.
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"Warren, I need to talk to ya.'"
Angel turned around to find Wolverine leaning against a tree, smoking a cigar.
"About what?"
"'Bout Beth. She ain't quite right in the head. Smells like a trained killer to me."
"Hum, yeah…" Warren rubbed the bruise on his chin thoughtfully. "And your point is?"
"She's gonna hurt somebody. She doesn't have any control. My guess is someone's gonna piss her off accidentally, she'll beat them to death before she realizes she even did. She hasn't got any memory, but she has ingrained skill… a lot of it."
"There doesn't seem to be much we can do about that," Warren said tightly, his hands curling into fists as he thought about what it meant.
"I'm just making sure you know. We have to be the ones to make certain she doesn't get the chance to hurt anyone. Nobody else is going to. They've all been sucked in by her "good-girl charm." Too busy being entertained to notice what lies under the surface."
"You suggest we follow her around everywhere she goes?"
Logan dropped the cigar and stepped on it with one booted foot.
"All I'm sayin' is to keep a real close eye on her."
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"Chere."
A simple word. A simple voice. A pigeon fluttered off of her shoulder as she sat up from the bench.
Five years had passed. So many things…
When she saw him, things flashed before her eyes, memories, sights, sensations.
…He reached out, and with one final, lightning movement stole the light, pale green scarf from around my neck…
…It whipped away from my face, the light material rustling…
…It was then that I knew that no matter what the distance between us, of time or of space, no matter how vast, how long, in my heart I had pledged my love to him forever…
"Remy." The word was spoken softly, unbelievingly.
She was exactly like he remembered her. The white streaks on reddish hair, the same look on her face. Almost as though nothing had happened, Beth hadn't happened, the casino hadn't happened, nor the brief return to the X-men…
"Remy…" her answer was spoken slowly, sadly.
"Oh, Remy, I am so sorry—"
His reflexes only kicked in just in time for him to catch her as she fainted.
Her eyelids fluttered softly, her face lit by the sunshine…pigeons fluttered around, a cloud seemed to slide over his world. She seemed to be gone. Broken, pale.
Not wasting any more time, he quickly slid her onto his bike, getting on behind her he managed to support her as he drove.
He had lost her once. But not again.