He stared at me, and then replied, "Fine with me. Any woman foolish enough to stay with a mutant freak who abuses her deserves what she gets." I stopped dead. "Excuse me?" I whispered in a hissing tone, my eyes glazing white.
"You heard what I said. That's my view." I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me. "Listen buddy, nobody insults my brother!" My wings snapped up behind me, and he turned pale. "He is NOT a mutant freak, nor an abuser. He is a man who has been deeply hurt by me. I'm doing what I can to fix that. Don't make it any harder than it already is."
I dropped him, snared my whiskey, and walked out, draining the bottle. The woods had a little walking trail back in them, leading to a small lake with an overview. Following it, I found Logan at the overview.
His back was to me, and the sun shone in his face, haloing his taut body in the evening's glory. I watched the light play around the hardened muscles in his arms, and ripple along the swell of his shoulders.
I sighed, and walked up beside him. He took a drag of his cigarette, and blew a misty halo for the sun. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Logan beat me to it. "I just … you know … hoped that, even after all these years, my family might still be alive."
"But they are alive, in a way. They live on in your heart. They loved you dearly; that I can assure you. Now, we are the only family each other have." I said quietly. "Now, let's go home." He turned and stared at me, then slowly nodded. "Yes, let's go home."
We headed back down into the parking lot, arm in arm. I pulled him to my cycle, but stopped short. "Trouble …" I warned him, jerking my head toward the small clan gathered nearby. My nemesis: Aaron. "Why does he keep following me?" I wondered. Logan just grinned, and dangled the keys in front of my eyes. "Don't worry, kid. I'm here."
I snatched them from my brother, stuck my tongue out at him, and raced him across the parking lot. Unsurprisingly, he won. Immediately, Aaron decided to be his doltish self and intervene. "So, didn't take you long to get over breaking Tom's heart, did it?" Logan scowled and would have escalated our "discussion" into a fight, but I elbowed him.
"Shove off, little boy. I outrank you." Aaron grinned, and I felt a chill down my spine. "Ah, but my new friend outranks you."
Something slammed past my head, and I saw Logan fly into a tree, followed closely by … Oh dear Lord, not again, please, not again. I froze, and Aaron's thugs closed in around me. A hand clamped onto my arm, and I was suddenly three years old again, clutched in the hands of a madman about to murder my whole life.
An audible snapping sound came from within me, echoing down from the past, and I returned to full reality. "NO!" I screamed, and flung him away from me.
Wings snapped into existence, and I drained my waterstores, letting the ropes spin out around me, the water heated by my fury to past the boiling point. The goons screamed as boils and burns popped up all over them, and I turned my white eyes on Aaron.
I heard a freakishly high scream of terror out of him, and then watched him break a track record running away. Sabertooth had succeeded in crushing my brother into unconsciousness, and I growled in rage, launching myself at him.
He caught me halfway, and flung me to the ground, intent on salvaging his wounded pride. I tried to twist to my feet, catlike, but the searing sting of broken ribs disabused me of the idea.
He once again wrapped his hands around my neck, lifting me effortlessly. They tightened, and then he swung his head around as a voice spoke. "Hey bub, nobody touches my sister."
His hands were snatched away from me, leaving claw marks oozing blood down onto my shoulders. He crashed against a tree, and Logan dropped to the ground, his strength spent. Sabertooth was still conscious, and tried to attack me yet again. I snarled in response, and laid my ropes across his unprotected face.
He bellowed, and I saw a layer of skin peel away, exposing those black eyes I had feared for nearly fifteen long and painful years. My white versus his black. Some would call it a yin/yang balance. I call it gaining a backbone in the face of evil. He collapsed in pain, and I gathered my brother into my arms, and flew out of there, headed home.
I landed on the front porch, calling the professor as I did so. Kurt appeared and disappeared, taking Logan with him, hopefully to the hospital wing. I gave a quick account of our attack, and then managed only one more sentence before crumpling from burnout on the professor's lap: "Would someone please bring my 'cycle back from the Whiskey Rain tavern?"