Haddy ran out the doors glancing behind her to make sure none of Lance's goonies were following her. Mutants at her high school? How was that even possible? Her thoughts were cut off as she ran into something, or more accurately, someone.
A well-built man who reminded her of the muscle builders and wrestling champs she saw on television towered over her. He had dark hair, black- bordering on blue, with thick side burns. His lips were curved in a frown and his eyebrows drew down together over a hawk-like nose in an expression that mixed between superiority and annoyance. He froze for a moment, cocking his head to one side, then grunted. He flexed his hands, much like what Lance had done, and metal blades shot out above his fingers.
"Listen, kid. You're coming with me. Now, we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way."
Haddy had always thought of what she would do in a situation such as this. Say something clever, perhaps; kick her assailant ninja style, or some such. When suddenly faced with it, though, she stood stock still where she was, swallowed down a growing amount of panic, and quietly said five words.
"I'll take the easy way."
The reply triggered another grunt and the man wrapped a hand around her wrist and led her to a motorcycle.
"Get on," said Logan. She didn't know how she knew the man's name. She just did. He did seem familiar now that she thought about it. Maybe she'd passed him on the way to school. There were tons of motorcyclists going down her street all the time.
She obediently climbed onto the back of the bike. Once Logan seemed satisfied she wasn't going to disappear in the time it took him to get on, he slid onto the bike as well. He kicked up the kickstand and gunned the bike down the road.
Haddy had never been on a motorcycle before, which must have been quite obvious to Logan. Had the situation been different, she might have found the experience exhilarating; as it stood, however, she simply found it nerve-wracking. She clung tightly to Logan, and sucked in her breath at every easily maneuvered corner Logan took. Halfway through, she closed her eyes and did not open them again until they pulled in a long driveway and parked.
"Let go."
"What?" she asked, in a high voice she barely recognized as her own.
"Let go of me."
"Oh, right." Her cheeks flushed pink and she let go of where she'd been gripping his black tee shirt on the way down.
Logan got off the bike and started walking, the earlier apprehensiveness about her running off was gone, perhaps because he realized that she had absolutely no clue where she was. At the end of the driveway stood a huge manor with golden brown roofing and paint that reminded her of the foam on lattes. Going down from it was a flight of stairs, which Logan was already at the top of. Haddy followed after as quickly as she could, taking the steps two at a time to catch up with the man.
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, but the question received no response. She tried another one. "Where am I?"
Again there was no response, so she elected to remain silent. Logan opened the front doors of the manor and signaled for her to go in. She did so, but hesitantly. He cam in after her and the door closed shut behind him. Looked like she wasn't going anywhere.
A long time was spent in the waiting room that lay outside Principal Kelly's office. During that time, not much was really said or done. They just sat with the Brotherhood in the waiting room until lunch period was over, at which point they were all sent to their classes.
Lance pushed past the group of X-Men in the hall. "This isn't over, freaks. Not by a long shot," he hissed.
Kurt shrugged then turned to Scott and Jean with a silly grin. "I think he's starting to like us, no?"
Jean laughed, and even Scott managed to pull his lips into what was quite nearly a smile. Then, Kurt bounded off to social studies, and Jean and Scott went to their history class.
"Jean, did Logan...?"
She pressed two fingers on each hand to her temples. "He's got her. They're back at the institute." Her hands returned to her sides. "She probably won't remember a thing by the time we get home. I'm not necessarily sure whether or not that's a good thing, though." Jean frowned.
"Why would it be bad?" asked Scott, raising his eyebrows above his red shades.
"Well, suppose she runs into Lance and his gang again. The Brotherhood is itching for a fight now. What if she gets herself into trouble?"
"Then we'll help her out of it. Trust me, Jean. She'll be fine."
Jean stuck her hands through her belt loops, looking unconvinced.
Scott sighed. "Listen, I'm sure the Professor will think of something. We have one more class after this. Let's just get through the school day before we start worrying about this, okay?"
She smirked. "Now you're the one telling me not to worry? I must be rubbing off on you, Scott."
He shrugged and held the door open for her. "I suppose so."
"How nice of you two to finally show up. I do hope we haven't inconvenienced you," said the teacher, a man by the name of Mister Ribaldi.
"Sorry, sir," they chimed in unison as they took their seats.
Scott looked back to see Fred Dukes sneering at them and he turned around clenching his fists tightly on the table in front of him. This was going to be a long day.
"So," Haddy said slowly. "What are we doing here?"
"We're waiting," said Logan, a slight edge to his voice.
"Waiting for what?"
Logan's fists clenched at his sides, as if he was holding himself back from hitting her. She strongly considered taking a couple of steps back, but decided that might not be her best course of action. "Why do you ask so many questions?" he growled.
"Why do you answer so few?" she shot back, then bit her lip. That was a stupid thing to say. However, she was surprised to see that it seemed to have calmed Logan down. He still wasn't talking, but at least he hadn't slashed her in half with those claws of his. There was always that.
She heard a soft hum of a machine whirring, and a wheelchair glided into the room. Its owner was a bald man in a suit. He had interesting eyebrows, but that was his only hint of facial hair. He pressed his hands together so that his fingertips met in an arc. She could literally feel the man scrutinizing and examining her.
After what felt like forever, the man finally spoke. "I heard you ran into some trouble at your school today."
Haddy nodded. If you counted being trapped up against a row of lockers during a minor earthquake while being attacked by mutants and then getting kidnapped by a man who had claws that sprouted out of his hands, then yes, she supposed she had had some trouble at school that day.
"What do you remember of it?" asked the man.
She shrugged.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That," he said, "Is not an answer."
"Some guys tried to beat me up in the hall is all," she said, shrugging again as if it were no big deal. There was something about this man that made her a bit nervous.
"Hm..." he trailed off and closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, her migraine intensified. It was as if someone had just prodded her brain with a stick. She brought her hands to her head instinctively.
"Ow!" she cried.
Wheelchair-man's eyes shot open. "I'm sorry," he said, his eyebrows drawing together. "I did not think you would feel that."
She looked at him in confusion then it dawned on her. "You mean that," she said, pointing at her head, "Was you?"
"I am afraid so." He drummed his fingers together. "I think you will be staying longer than I planned. Logan, would you please find Miss Micheals a room?"
"How did you know my last name?" asked Haddy. "I haven't even told you my first name."
"I know your name because I was in your head." This was stated, not unkindly, but as though that fact should have been obvious to her. "You are Hadrianne Micheals, you moved here just a couple months ago from upstate New York. You are thirteen and already a freshman at Bayville High School, an achievement which I believe you deserve congratulations for. You live at-"
"Stop it!" she yelled, surprising herself. She lowered her voice. "Just stop it. I want to go home."
The man sighed. "Logan, take her to a room."
"Sure thing, Charles."
Haddy backed up until she reached the large, wooden front doors. She felt for the handle. Locked.