After the shutdown of the Mutant Registration Act, some peace returned to the Institute. It carried the undertone of the fact that the occupants learned to never mess with Harlan since Jean made it no secret that he was the source of her winning arguments. Those arguments were very convincing and impactful since several newspapers decided to run with them and make headlines that damaged Senator Kelly´s reputation. But it was more a comfort than anything since it proved that Harlan was not only willing to stand by them but also defend them against anybody who might wish them harm. The nineteen-year-old was glad the others took his more vindictive side well. And the fact that he had the chance to meet the infamous Magneto, during that time…that was an interesting meeting.
He idly wondered what made him approach the other man, despite knowing the dangerous reputation the metal-manipulating mutant had, considering some might put him on the same level as Voldemort. Then he remembered the emotions he felt from the mutant and the talk they had, and suddenly he didn´t care anymore. There was no way that man was anything like the Dark Lord. Worst come to worse, they could at least be civil if he met the old mutant again. But he made no promise if he ever met that loose cannon Sabretooth or the other members of the Brotherhood.
So, when, in between his attempts to locate more creatures like Harlan, the Professor caught a glimpse of a mutant getting a head-run with Magneto´s group, the wizard reserved his opinion and kept his distance for now. After all, he knew nothing about the mutant that was attacked, or who was part of the attack. Besides, the wizard was not allowed to go with the team anyway, after Charles learned by accident that Magneto was researching Harlan.
Then the Sitha-gat came down to the infirmary, to refill the batch of potions kept there with some he made in his spare time. Only to come face-to-face with a familiar mutant.
Waking up to find himself in what looked like an odd hospital room… was not the worst situation Logan found himself in. Especially considering the fight and explosion he remembered before he lost consciousness. But he sure as hell hated the needle that was in his arm.
Just when he was considering bolting from this place, his nose caught a distinctively familiar scent. Fresh snow and a wild cat. He remembered that scent and its owner. The dark-haired mutant quickly sat up on the hospital bed, just as the metal doors slid open and a familiar fluffy teen with silver hair walked in. Logan was only mildly surprised to see the ears and tail, let alone the markings visible thanks to the off-shoulder top, but the brown-haired male chalked it up as the teen´s mutation and left it be.
Said teen barely took two steps inside, before he stared at the older man in surprise.
"Logan?" Harlan called out, not expecting to see him there.
"Hey, kitten," the mutant nodded at him. "Can you tell me where the hell I am?"
"You´re in the infirmary under my school, Xavier´s School for the Gifted. But how did you…oh!" suddenly the wizard realized what was going on. "You must be that mutant who got attacked and then rescued by the team. Man, I didn´t expect to see you again like this!"
"Likewise, kiddo," admitted the mutant, slightly at ease, despite himself, at the familiar presence. "So, where is this school of yours? I remember being in Alberta, and the last we saw each other; I dropped you off in New York. And what kind of place is it anyway? This room looks like some fricking lab from some sci-fi movie."
The younger teen snorted hearing that because that had been his first thought when he came to the lower levels of the Institute. "The headmaster of this institute caught wind of an attack on a pair of mutants, while he was performing his routine lookout for young mutants. He then dispatched a team of X-men, his private unit, to bring you guys here. As for this place…" he gestured around them, as he went to put away the potions "…is a mutant sanctuary in New York. Basically, it is a place where young mutants come to learn to use their abilities and get a chance to live a semi-normal life. Don´t worry, you´re relatively safe here."
"Relatively?" the older mutant repeated dryly.
Harlan just shrugged. "No place is 100% safe if there are idiots out to get you outside of it."
His companion snorted in agreement.
"Now, if you´re worried about the girl that was with you, she is upstairs with Professor Xavier, the headmaster," the silver-haired teen told him. "I can take you up if you want." He tilted his head, one ear flicking to the side and then back. "Most of the other students are already in class, so if you want to avoid them, now is the best time for that."
Logan thought that over, before taking him on the offer, and after he got dressed, they headed up.
"So, this is where you were heading all those months ago," mussed the older mutant, as he looked around the old-looking mansion. It was a contrast, compared to the modern lower floors they went through.
"Yeah. My previous school was a bit too old-fashioned, so I figured it would be better to get a high school diploma from this place," admitted Harlan. "It was the least likely place to look down on me because of these additions," he waved his clawed hands to make his point.
"How old-fashioned was your old school?"
"We didn't have computers, no phone connection and the only way we could send out our post was using…postal owls," at the last words, Harla shallowed a small lump in his throat. A small wave of sadness came to him as he remembered his Hedwig. It might have been over a year now since she died, but the wizard still missed her. She was his first friend and companion, after all.
"Kitten?" Logan spoke up, noticing the change in the body language of his companion.
The younger male turned to him, with a somehow sheepish and sad expression. "Sorry, just remembered the post owl I had while going there. She passed away and well…I was very attached to her."
"The beloved pet companion, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I see," the mutant fished around for an appropriate response until he finally asked "Did you ever get another one? I heard it can heal wounds from the loss."
Harlan shook his head. "I could probably never replace Hedvig, nor get another. But maybe once I finish studying at the Institute and go to college I will look for a dog or cat…maybe a snake?" he mused, earning a raised eyebrow from Logan.
"You? A snake?" the mutant snorted at the mere image.
"What? Got a problem with that?"
"Just pictured your kitten-self with a boa or another snake around your shoulder. If somebody saw you like that, their brains would melt," Logan decided.
"All the more reason to consider them, don´t you think?" the Sitha-gat looked at him with a playful grin.
"Maybe. But aren´t cats and snakes supposed to hate each other?"
"Not if one of them can speak snake~!"
"Right," Logan chuckled.
Why not?
The silver-haired teen was an interesting one. And full of surprises too. Usually, he was not much for small talk or talking in general, but he could stomach it around the kid. He was surprisingly easy to talk to and didn´t seem to hold that annoying judgemental mentality of others. There was also the whole animal vibe he had, not unlike Logan´s own feral one, despite his well-kept, almost prim and proper appearance. But cats were naturally animals with good self-hygiene, so there was that. Maybe it was the eyes? Because just looking into them he could tell that the kid was someone who, no matter how much others tried to beat him down, would take it and come back swinging.
The rest of the way up to the Professor´s study was spent in a comfortable silence. When they entered, the Professor apparently finished speaking with the girl who came in with Logan. From what the two men heard, before coming in, the wheelchaired man gave the girl an open invitation to join the Institute as a student. Harlan wasn´t surprised, considering what a brief glance at the girl, with his glasses lowered, showed him. She was clearly one of the kids who desperately needed some stability and safety after their powers awakened.
"Ah, Harlan. Just the person I needed," Charles turned at him with a small smile, before he turned back to the teen girl. "Miss Bright, this is Harlan Peverell, one of the students of the Institute. Harlan, this is mis Anna Marie Bright, one of those who were saved by the team, during their last mission."
"Hello there," the male with cat features waved at her.
"Um, hi," she replied unsurely.
"And I see you brought our second guest," commented the telepath, looking at Wolverine.
"Yeah, while I was making a supply run for the medical bay," admitted Harlan. "Though it was more of a reunion than anything else."
Charles raised an eyebrow at that.
Instead of the teen, it was Logan who answered. "Ran into the kid when he came to the US. Gave him a lift to NY and that´s about it."
"Don´t forget how I paid for your beer!" the Sitha-gat chuckled.
"Yeah, for every pervert I chased away from your fluffy ass."
"I still don´t believe that many dared to come after me, despite being in that dinner with you."
"Their libido won over common sense."
Harlan tilted his head to the side. "Clearly…I knew the human need for sex was more important than food but for it to overcome self-preservation…Guess you learn something new every day."
That startled a peal of laughter from Anna Marie and earned an amused chuckle from Logan.
"I see," the professor hid his laughter behind a cough. "Anyway, I need to have a talk with Wolverine here, so why don´t you go and show Miss Bright to one of the free rooms on the Mansion?"
"Fine by me," the green-eyes magic user agreed before he looked at the auburn-haired girl. "Shall we?"
"Okay."
"See you later, Professor, Logan," Harlan waved at them and after Anna Marie said her goodbyes, they left the study.
"So, what should I call you?" inquired the nineteen-year-old, once the doors closed behind them.
The girl looked startled. "Sorry?"
"I asked if you have anything you would prefer me to call you. I noticed your reaction when Professor X introduced you by your full name. I won´t pry for the reason behind that, but I just would like to know if there is anything you would like to be called…or what are your proffered pronouns?" Harlan asked her before he introduced himself "You can call me Harlan, and despite my feminine clothes, my pronouns are he/him."
"…Rouge, she/her," replied the girl more relaxed than before.
"Good. Now, Rouge, time to show you your new room," decided the older teen and they started walking through the building, towards the wing with the unoccupied bedrooms.
"So, how old are you?" asked Rouge, as they walked.
"Nineteen. And you?" inquired the Sitha-gat.
"Seventeen…are you doing an extra year here in preparation for college?"
"No. But in my school, we didn´t earn a degree good enough to be accepted to mundane college. And this was a place that wouldn´t look down on me because of my extra appendages," admitted Harlan, pointing at his ears and tail. "I mean, I can hide them, if I want to, but it feels more natural with them out… Sorry, I forgot to ask if you were allergic to cats…"
"No, I´m not. And yeah, I can tell why you like to have them out. They´re cute," the mutant girl said, looking at them. "Can you do a full transformation to…whatever cat breed you are?"
"Huh, now that´s an interesting idea," mused the Sitha-gat. "Maybe I will try later. Until now I only focused on the most obvious abilities we noticed. As for what cat I am…the leading theory of my schoolmates is that I´m similar to a snow leopard. Some say I´m a house cat, but my ears don´t match that. But maybe I could figure it out if I try the transformation. Thanks for the idea, Rouge."
"You´re welcome," she smiled at him. "You´ve an interesting accent. Where are you from?"
"I´m from England, but I studied in Scotland, before coming to the US," Harlan explained. "And you?"
"Mississippi."
"A bit far from Alberta…I take it, your family didn´t take your mutation well."
At the mention of her mutation, Rouge looked away. "I…you can say that. It…when it awakened, it put my boyfriend in a coma, when I kissed him."
"I´m sorry."
"Don't be. You've nothing with this," muttered Rouge. "It´s my curse to bear."
"Hey, now, don´t be like that!" Harlan reprimanded her gently, as he stopped walking to gently put his hand on her shoulder, making her stop too. "Listen, you´re not the first mutant to have problems with controlling their powers. Especially, if they´re as new as yours. That´s why there is this institute – to learn your way around it. I´m sure the professor and the others will be able to help."
"But…but what if I can only hurt others?" she couldn´t help but ask. "I…I don´t want to hurt anybody…"
"Then we will find something that will help you control it. Dr. McCoy, one of the teachers and the head of the medical here, has a degree in genetics. And if regular science fails, there is magic," Harlan looked at her with a small smile.
"Magic?" she asked dubiously.
Her companion just smiled, before he waved his hand and said "Expecto Patronum!"
A silver stag materialized next to the Sitha-gat, making Rouge gasp. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the magical creation. "What is this?"
"Patronus. A handy charm when one needs to send a message or protection," replied the older teen "It´s fuelled by happy memories and usually takes a form that matches its owner or the memory that fuels it."
"So…magic is real?" the auburn-haired girl asked in awe, just to be sure.
"Yup. We magic users just hid ourselves, after the Witch Hunts started," explained the wizard. "And as a retribution for those times, we also hid away magical creatures, like…"
"Dragons and unicorns?" guessed Rogue hopefully.
"Amond others," Harlan nodded. "For the record, the magic users consider mutants a sub-branch who only has powers in a specific field. We understand the plight most mutants go through since we hid from the mundane people for the same reasons, so we consider mutants equal to us and generally accept them. Of course, there are mutants with natural magical powers, but that´s generally the gist of things. The Institute is recognized as a valid school for magic users too, so there is that… Oh, and before there is any misunderstanding, I´m not a mutant. Just a magic user with a creature inheritance that chose to study here," he finished, ending the spell and the stag dissolved.
"Wow, that´s…amazing…" the girl wasn´t sure how to express herself. It was unbelievable, but at the same time utterly amazing. She felt how hope started blooming in her chest, thinking that maybe there was a solution to her problem.
"Think about it, and I will try to answer any of your questions later," offered Harlan.
"I might take you on that offer," Rouge said, with a smile.
They continued their journey through the Mansion until they found a spare room that promptly became Rouge´s, and they parted ways. Rouge to explore her new room and Harlan to get to his next class, which happened to be literature with Dr. McCoy.
He supposed that having a strange biorhythm when it came to the sleeping schedule was good for certain things. It helped him finish his homework, and read any book that caught his fancy. If he ventured outside his room, he used his time exploring the Mansion at his own pace, it was a good way to have some peace, as long as he didn´t bother anybody. Usually, he hit the library or the kitchen for a late-night snack. The latter sometimes had another student joining him and it would turn into a private snack-making contest. Sometimes with a teacher joining them too. It was fun. On some other occasions, he went to take a walk around the bedrooms. He never looked inside, just walked past the room doors.
Tonight, he did some private research on magical creatures, and just as he went to the kitchen for a snack and drink before sleeping, his ear caught a noise from the room close to his. Which happened to belong to Logan now, since the Professor convinced him to stay, while they investigated the reasons behind the attacks. Rouge had hers on the other side of the corridor since she decided to stay and become a student.
Harlan stopped in front of his room, carefully listening. Sounded like the brunet mutant was having a nightmare. A pretty bad one at that. He knocked on the door and called out Logan´s name, but even with the advanced hearing that didn't seem to work. So, he went in and just as he was about to shake the older male awake, the mutant´s instincts acted up. Which promptly put the wizard´s instincts on high alert. Logan´s claws came out and tried to impale him, but the feline male managed to catch his wrists and pull them away from himself.
"Logan! It´s okay! It´s me, Harlan!" he tried, but the other didn´t seem to hear him.
The mutant leaned forward, snarling, probably to try and bite him, but once he caught the other´s scent, he froze. His body seemed to be still ready to attack, mind locked in the nightmare, but he seemed to be able to register Harlan now. Noticing, the silver-haired teen decided to go with what his instincts were telling him to placate the agitated male. So, he leaned forward, until his face almost met the other´s shoulder, then a purring noise came from his throat and chest. It took a bit, but the older male´s body eventually relaxed. His breathing calmed down, and his eyes became much clearer.
"Kitten?"
"Back with me?" inquired the Sitha-gat, leaning back to look at him.
"I think so…what happened?" Logan asked, noticing that his claws were out and that the other held his wrists away from himself. "Did I try to attack you?"
"Yeah, but you were having a nightmare, so your reaction was to be expected," he admitted, releasing his wrists. "I just am lucky that I´m strong enough to stop you. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit… but I felt worse," Logan replied as his claws retreated. "Was I that loud that you came from your room to wake me up?"
"No, I was going for a night snack and heard you, while I was passing by your room."
The mutant grunted, running his hand through his hair.
They stayed in silence for a moment, before Harlan asked "Do you want to hit the gym to work out some adrenaline from your body, or would you like to join me in raiding the kitchen?"
Logan contemplated it before he said: "The gym, then maybe the kitchen, if there is any booze."
"None, as far as I know, but I can share my hidden stash if you want," offered the teen.
"Thanks."
"You´re welcome," Harlan smiled at him before he turned to the door.
There was nothing more to say as they went down to the gym. But instead of going to the exercise machines, Harlan led them to an area that had a lot of mats placed around it. Logan immediately recognized it for what it was.
"A sparring area?"
"Yeah. I figured you would prefer a spar and nothing keeps a head clean than having to focus on not having your head caved in by your opponent," explained Harlan, taking off his shoes, and then he went to do some stretches. He even let his feline features out, for good measure. "Besides I need some distraction myself."
"Fine by me." Logan took off his own shoes and walked over to the area.
When the Sitha-gat finished stretching, he stood opposite Logan and got into a stance. The mutant did the same and at an unspoken signal, they charged at each other. They exchanged kicks and hits, ducked and rolled out of the way, and overall tried to take the other out. Logan had to admit the teen was pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, for a greenhorn. It was clear the younger male was less experienced than him, from how often the mutant managed to throw him down or flip him over. But it was compensated with quick reflexes and eagerness to learn that was apparent from their fight. Plus, there was the factor of the silver-haired male´s natural strength. Logan actually felt every single one of his punches, even with his advanced healing and Harlan pulling back enough not to break his bones, and it served as a motivation to go harder at the kid. And Harlan had to admit that the older mutant was a very good sparring partner. While clearly more experienced than the wizard, the other seemed to have a natural knack for adjusting his fighting style for his opponent and reacting accordingly. Either that, or he had been trained in a lot of fighting styles…almost like a soldier.
The realization made him pause for a moment, which allowed Logan to flip him over and pin him down.
"Less daydreaming…kitten," said the mutant, panting, as he got up and offered the wizard a hand.
Harlan took it and let himself be pulled up onto his feet. "Sorry, just something…came to my mind… You up for another spar?"
"Nah, this was enough. I feel better."
"Thank goodness," muttered the teen, and the clear relief in his voice made Logan laugh. After a quick shower, they both left the training area and went to the kitchen.
"Fancy anything to eat?" asked Harlan, looking through the pantry. "I can whip together anything, as long as we don't make too much noise."
Logan shrugged. "Depends on what alcohol you have."
"I have an enchanted hip flask full of whiskey."
"Then anything with cheese."
"Bread pizza?"
"Fine by me."
"Good."
"Need any help?"
The silver-haired male shook his head. "Nah, I got this. You just sit back and leave it to me."
Logan smirked. "Is this what she said?"
"Good try, but I´m gay, so no," said Harlan with a snort. "By the way, never say that in front of Scott. His girlfriend is Jean and she is one of the strongest telepaths around, so…just... no." He quickly finished preparing the bread, putting tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on each slice, before putting them all in the oven. Then he pulled out some glasses, along with his hidden hip flask, and poured himself and Logan some whiskey.
The mutant nodded at him, as he lifted his glass and drank some. "Good taste."
"Thanks."
"I heard from the others that you´re not a mutant," spoke up Logan, after a moment of silence. "And that you have magic."
Harlan raised an eyebrow. "Surprised?"
"The magic? Not really. I knew it existed, but I never wanted to learn more. At best it´s like a mutation and that´s the end," admitted the mutant. "Though I draw short when it comes to what the hell is your species. I never heard of a Sitha-gat, before."
"Yeah, we´re not exactly common…To be honest, at the moment it seems like I´m the only one of my species currently," Harlan confessed, taking a big gulp from his glass. "And there were not many documents which mention us. I think I could count them on one hand. But I´m optimistic about more popping out, as time goes by. Call it a hunch, or whatever you want, but I believe more will come, after me. The Professor already promised to be on the lookout for them, so I´ll wait."
Especially, since Luna confirmed something like that might occur in the later years, he mentally added. And he trusted his friend and her ability to know things before they happened. Especially, since it saved his ass more than once.
"Good luck then," mused the brunet.
Harlan hummed. "May I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Were you a soldier before?"
His companion paused and gave him a look. "Why are you asking?"
"The way you fight. You´ve several fighting styles mastered. Plus, the fact that you´re fluent in several languages. And don´t deny it, we had a few conversations in German, French and Russian, before," Harlan reminded him before he explained his logic "You don´t look like a scholar, so I don´t see a reason for you to learn any of them…unless you travelled a lot for work. And which work needs combat training and moves around a lot? You being in the army is the only thing that makes sense."
The older male didn´t say anything, looking to the side, deep in thought.
The magic user let him, patiently waiting.
"…I have no idea, kitten," the mutant confessed finally. "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn´t a soldier. I can´t tell."
"Why not?"
"Two decades ago, I lost all my memories. I don´t even know if Logan is my real name or not. I just woke up in some facility, in pain, and then bolted out of there. Since then, I´ve been just drifting."
"I see…guess we have something in common then."
The mutant raised an eyebrow at him in question.
"Harlan Peverell is not my birth name. I changed it before coming to the US. I wanted a clean break after the terrorist attacks in Britain nearly ruined my life."
"Ah," was all Logan said, no trace of pity in his tone or expression, just silent understanding.
Harlan preferred that, compared to anything else.
Silence descended upon them, as they drank some more before Harlan went to pull out their midnight meal from the oven. The bread pizza was quickly finished. He carefully put the pieces on the plates he prepared, before he called over his shoulder "You can join us if you want, Rouge! I made some for you too!"
There was a pause before the girl sheepishly poked her head in. "Sounds like a delicious plan."
"Eavesdropping, really?" the older male asked dryly, looking at her.
"I woke up to use the toilet and heard you guys downstairs. I got a bit curious," she admitted, as she walked closer.
"At least you´re honest about it," mused Logan, before taking his plate and whiskey glass and sitting down behind the kitchen table.
"Can I deal you some, or would you like something else to drink?" asked Harlan, as he handed Rouge her plate with the food.
She looked at him. "I´m seventeen, Lan. Won´t the teachers say anything?"
Harlan shrugged. "Logan won´t say anything, I won´t say anything, and you won´t say anything. As long as they don´t find out, I doubt it. Besides, if nothing else, you can pin the blame on me and I´ll say that the drinking age limit in Britain is lower than in the US. Besides, I´ve been drinking since I was fifteen, since the pub close to my old school never asked questions, as long as we had the cash to pay, so…"
"In that case deal me some. Along with water, just in case."
"Coming right up."
Once the two of them joined Logan, Rouge spoke up again: "So, what brought this up? Late-night hunger?"
"Nightmare," replied Logan simply.
"Irregular sleeping schedule and late-night research," admitted the Sitha-gat.
"I see," muttered Rouge, taking a small sip from the whiskey. "Huh, this is not as bad as I thought."
"I hope not, since this is from a barrel that my father stashed away before I was born. I only put it in the bottle before I came to America," pointed out Harlan.
"So, nearly 20 years old? Does whiskey age as wine?"
Logan was the one to answer. "Only when in the barrel. Once bottled it´s not aging like that. It´s not wine." Then he looked at Harlan. "Got any more of this stuff?"
"There are a few older barrels stashed in the bank, so probably yes. But if you want some, wait until the Professor lifts the prohibition of us going anywhere, then I´ll arrange some deliveries. But we would probably have to hide it," mused Harlan, taking a bite from his food. "Or bribe the professor with the good stuff and ask him to stash the rest somewhere."
The mutant nodded in acknowledgement, refocusing on his food and drink.
"So, what were you researching, Lan?"
"I was looking for magical creatures with abilities similar to your mutation. Figured something about the old legends might help or give an idea about controlling your abilities. So far, I only found one creature that matches you."
The girl looked intrigued. "Really? Which one?"
"The Cubi. The collective name for Succubus and Incubus," the older teen answered.
"Aren´t those like…well…sex demons?" questioned Rouge, a bit unsure.
"Nope. A common mistake, thinking of them as demons. But they are…pretty similar to fairies actually, except they don´t reside in pocket dimensions accessible through certain places around the world. And they don´t have the same weaknesses as fairies. The Cubi is a category of otherworldly creatures that feed on the natural energies given by the human body. From what I found there are several ways they go on about it and several ways it affects the people they feed on. But they were the best match with you." explained the wizard. "From what I found out they have two ways of feeding: First there is a direct one-on-one feeding through physical contact. That one is usually connected with activities that make humans use up a lot of energy, like sex. The second is a passive form, where the Cubi feed from large crowds all at once by passively absorbing small amounts of live energy from them. In the second case, I imagine they go to places like nightclubs, movie theatres and such. Anyway, the two ways had me thinking if you could pull off the second alternative. But that would require testing and some experiments to understand the full extent of your abilities."
At the words testing and experimenting, the auburn-haired girl shallowed and looked unsure. She tentatively asked, "How do you want to test it?"
"By having you touch me with your bare hands," the feline male replied simply as if it was obvious.
"What?! B-but I don´t want to hurt you!" said Rouge, not liking the idea of hurting her friend.
"And you won´t," said Harlan softly, yet firmly, making her look at him. "I trust you. Besides, my body naturally produces a lot of energy that I usually never burn through during training. I should be fine."
"I…guess," muttered his friend, a bit unsure.
"Trust the kitten, kiddo. He is way tougher than he looks," Logan said, speaking up, as he finished his portion of the bread pizza. "I should know since I had to work to beat him in a spar just tonight."
The Sitha-gat rolled his eyes good naturally, before focusing back on Rouge. "Just think about it. That´s all I ask…" Suddenly he cut himself off. He straightened up in his seat and listened. Besides him, Logan did the same.
"What´s it?" asked Rouge.
"We´ve company," replied Logan, just as a sound of loud banging was heard through the Mansion.
The three of them immediately got up from the table and hurried towards the source of the noise. It turned out to be the main entrance. They got there, just in time to see Ororo, a.k.a. Storm, open the big doors to reveal Senator Kelly, filthy and completely worn out. The moment the man saw the storm-controlling mutant, he demanded to see Dr. Grey, before collapsing in the doorway.
"What the fuck…?" muttered Logan, aptly summarizing the thoughts of their trio.
Rouge looked doubtfully at the outstretched hand held to her, and she couldn´t help but ask "Are you sure about this, Lan?"
They just finished their classes and were about to head to the library to do their homework, when Harlan suggested doing a small experiment with her mutation.
"Yeah, just brush your fingers against mine and then pull away," said the older teen, patiently. "And don´t worry, I´ll be alright."
"You don´t know that…"
"Rouge, we´ve been over this. Just trust me, please," he requested gently.
The auburn-haired girl hesitated, grey eyes scanning him for a moment, before she asked "You´ll not let me go too far, right?"
"I promise." And he meant every word of it.
"I…okay," she murmured, slowly pulling off one of her gloves. Then she reached out and as gently as she could, she rested her hand on Harlan´s.
The reaction happened in an instant. The veins on the Sitha-gat´s hand bulged out lightly before strange colours filled Rouge´s vision. Startled, she pulled away her hand, but the colours stayed. They clung to her friends and the varying shades lazily moved around. She noticed as people passed them, that they, too, were covered…wait a moment.
"Rouge? Are you okay?" Harlan asked quickly, confused as he watched her look around.
"I…think I copied your ability?" she half stated half asked, as if she had trouble believing it herself.
"What?"
"I think I copied your…aura sight," she said, looking at him oddly. "I mean, why else would you be covered in shades of blue and a few other colours too?"
Green eyes blinked at her and his head tilted to the side. "Huh. Guess your mutation doesn´t just cover energy drain, but power drain…or power copying too, I guess."
Neither of them was sure if this was a good or a bad thing.
"But why this ability?"
"Maybe, because it´s the only one that is constantly active? I mean, even when you´re in your human form?"
"I supposed, that might be it," the wizard mussed, absently massaging the hand she touched.
Rouge quickly noticed it and she worriedly asked "Did I hurt you?"
"Nah. My hand just feels like I got stung by a nettle," replied Harlan quickly. "But I´m sure it will pass. I´m not tired at all and I can move it, see?" to prove his point, he raised his hand and flexed his fingers.
"If you say so," she accepted his reply.
"Now, time for the next experiment," said Harlan, glancing at the nearest clock. "Let´s see, how long will the ability exchange last. Then we inform the teachers."
His friend relaxed hearing that, since she figured that this would be harmless enough, compared to the previous experiment. "Sounds good…provided you explain what the colours mean."
"I can do better and lend you my old training colour wheel for this ability. It´s magical and if you tap any of the colours, the lens moves and reveals the word associated with the colour and shade."
"Sounds great," grinned Rouge.
"It should be in my room, so I´ll bring it to you later. We can talk more, while on the way to the library," suggested the wizard and she agreed.
As they went through the corridors, they couldn´t help but stare at the number of students around there, gossiping. The whole school was active today, everybody talking about the incident of the previous night. Rouge even caught a glimpse of Bobby Drake talking with his friend and blushed as she saw him in greens and blues. Privately, she thought the look suited him. But as time passed, what started up as an interesting ability was slowly turning into a tiring one.
"How do you deal with all those colours? I don´t have this ability for more than twenty minutes, and it´s starting to give me a small headache," commented Rouge as she and Harlan arrived at the library.
"I do a lot of mental exercises with Professor X, which help me process the information I get better. You would be surprised how much difference meditation and help from someone who knows what they´re doing can make. Besides, why do you think I always wear my glasses?" the feminine male tapped the silver frames. "They´re enchanted to dim my ability unless the aura is stronger than what they can suppress."
She looked at him, curious. "What do you mean?"
"For example, when Professor Xavier uses the machine, Cerebro, to enhance his mutation, I can feel his presence and see his aura overlapping a large area," he explained to her. "Funnily enough, because of this, most of the time, I can actually tell if a telepath is using his ability in any way." He wanted to say more, but his mood soured, when he heard the conversation of the passing by students.
"I bet Magneto and his Brotherhood did it!" said one student.
Another joined in. "Yeah, who else is crazy enough to attack a senator like that?"
"Honestly, one would think that he wouldn´t do anything stupid like this," the third shook his head.
"What do you expect from a mad dog?"
Harlan found his expression turning blank as he disappeared into the library, a worried Rouge following right behind him. The magic user walked to the history section, looking for his books in complete silence, and that didn´t help the mutant girl´s nerves.
"Harlan?" she asked quietly. "Are you okay?"
The magic user paused with a hand stretched out with fingers brushing over a book about World War II. The irony, he thought, before a sigh left his mouth. Then he turned around to look at his friend. "Yeah, just…conflicting feelings on the matter."
"About Senator Kelly?" guessed his friend.
The Sitha-gat shook his head. "About Magneto."
"Oh. Why?" she asked, confused.
"I…had met him," Harlan confessed, leaning back against the bookshelves. "When I went with Jean and the Professor to the hearing about the MRA."
"The one, where you helped to stop the bill?"
"Head about it?" he asked wryly, earning a sheepish smile from her. "Yeah, it was that hearing. During that time, I…I felt a lot of emotional pain from an outside source. After the hearing ended, I went to look for the source of the pain and tracked down Magneto. Some of the historical facts, I used to support the argument, made him remember a lot of painful memories from his past. It didn´t help that the Act itself was really similar to the laws against Jews from before World War II, which is a sore subject for him. He is a Holocaust survivor," he explained at her questioning gaze. "Probably where his distrust towards humans comes from, come to think of it… Anyway, like I said, this hearing, the act and my arguments…they brought up bad memories. So, I approached him and apologized for that. Even offered him a drink as an apology gesture."
Rogue smiled hearing that because that sounded just like the Harlan she knew. Always caring about others, and doing things that helped them feel better.
Her friend went on "And then we talked…I can´t say he is a good person, I only met him once. But from what I know about him and what I learned; he is not the devil. He is clearly scarred from his past, and he is far from good, but I don´t see a completely evil person when I look at him. So, hearing the others talk about him like that, makes me feel conflicted. I don´t want to make a judgement without knowing all of the facts." He sighed, pulling off his glasses to rub his face.
The girl thought about it before she nodded. "I can understand. I don´t know much about him and about what he is like, but I see where are you going with this. And I think you have the right to wait with your judgement," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"Thanks, Rouge," the silver-haired boy smiled at her.
"You´re welcome. Now, how about we stop thinking about this and instead, continue with doing the homework we need for the History assignment?" she offered, nodding her head back to the books around them.
"Sounds like a plan," said Harlan.
With that, they got to work and started looking through the materials they could find. The assignment was supposed to be about any war in history that had an important impact on their life. Soon they found all the books they could on war conflicts and brought them to the nearest free table. They started looking through the pages, exchanging funny comments about anything they came across, and making notes on what to use in their respective assignments. Harlan chose to do a work on the French Revolution. While not exactly a war, it was an important conflict in history. Rouge chose WWII, and just as she was looking at some of the illustrations from the time. A photo of a group of soldiers to be precise. Looking at it, she couldn´t help but pinch herself, to make sure she wasn´t dreaming.
"Lan?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I seeing things or this guy looks a lot like Logan?" she asked, showing him the page with the picture.
"What?" the silver-haired teen looked at the picture. He blinked, took off his glasses, and then blinked again, before meeting his friend's equally surprised/confused stare.
"Lan, how old is Logan?"
"No idea. And he has amnesia."
"Right…"
"But he is a well-known mutant, so maybe, we should ask the others about how long has been around. Maybe they would know."
"Good idea. Should we ask the teachers or the other students?" asked Rouge, as they got up.
"Teachers. The students would just turn this into gossip and conspiracy theories," decided Harlan, picking up the book with the picture. With a flick of his free hand, the rest of the books and their notes floated up. The books returned to the shelves, while the notes went to their respective bags.
They left the library and split up, looking for their teachers. And unknown to them, a shadow noticed this and went after Rouge.
Logan was mulling over what he heard from Charles and the others when he ran into Harlan looking around for his teachers.
"Need something, kitten?" asked the mutant, falling in step with the teen.
The silver-haired teen glanced at him. "Yeah. I need to find at least one of the other adults, or at least the Professor, because there is something that me and Rouge need to ask them about."
"And what´s that?"
"Well," the younger male thought over it before he decided to be honest. "While doing a history assignment, Rouge found a photo from the Second World War, about a group of soldiers." He raised the book and shoved the page with the picture in question to the older mutant.
Logan took a look and stared.
"What the fuck?"
From the photograph, a face that looked disturbingly like his own stared back. It was black and white, but his expression, facial features and even the side-burns of his were there. Only the guy was wearing a period-accurate soldier´s uniform and was surrounded by other soldiers. Logan glanced at the date of the picture taken – February 20th 1942. That was… he didn't know how to feel about this. He didn´t remember this, but then again, he didn´t remember anything from before two decades, so there was that. And he never really noticed himself… ageing… like the people around him.
But the implication that he might been around for so long…
"…why do you want to go to the others with this?" he asked, just to avoid thinking about the implications for now.
"We want to know, how long you, or at least your reputation, have been around," admitted Harlan, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought it might help track your lost past. Maybe I could ask the magical community if they don´t know anything. With how long-lived certain creatures are, they might have known you. But I must confirm with other mutants first."
Logan could see the logic in that. With a sigh, he nodded towards the way from which he came from. "Jean and a few of the others are down in the medical, with the Senator. And Chuck joined them after he did some search with the Cerebro."
Hearing that, the wizard frowned. "What, but it´s not his usual ´mutant look-out´ time… did he learn something from Senator Kelly´s mind?"
"He found out that Magneto apparently built a machine that can turn anybody from the ordinary Joe into a mutant. The bastard tried it on the Senator and forcefully converted him," replied the mutant.
"What?!" Harlan gasped, horrified. That sounded like a receipt for a clear disaster! With the way the situation for the mutant community was now, this might turn the scales against them.
"Relax. The use of the machine is apparently pretty taxing on Magneto. It works only because of his mutation, but using it might even kill him. So, there is no way he could use it on any ordinary human, anytime soon. Chuck is using that advantage to locate the members of the Brotherhood and learn the whereabouts of that machine," explained the older mutant, trying to calm his companion down.
The wizard let out a relieved sigh hearing that. "Thank the gods for small mercies…That came out weird."
Logan snorted in agreement. "Yeah, unless he finds a way to bypass the side effects, he is screwed." Then he looked around. "By the way, where is Rouge?" The shy girl usually trailed him or Harlan like a shadow, so not seeing her around was a bit unusual.
…and what has become of his life as a lone wolf, if he actually got used to the company of the two teens? That was something he needed to think about later.
"We decided to split up to find the teachers after we found your picture…" explained the magic user, only to trail off as something nagged him from the back of his mind. Like there was a link that he was failing to make a connection to. But what was it? Something Logan just told him? That seemed to be partially correct, particularly with the machine and the comment about Magneto needing a solution for his problem. But a part was still missing from the whole picture. Was it something with Rouge? That seemed partially correct too. But what exactly? Was it something they talked about? Or something they did today? He tried to remember, what they did today. They had classes and training and then they did their little experiment, before going to the library. At the memory of the experiment, the shifting green eyes widened and the mind quickly came to a conclusion. "Oh, fuck! We´ve to get Rouge! And the teachers!"
That got Logan´s attention. "Kitten?"
Harlan looked at him. "At that time, you were not the target of that attack! It was Rouge!"
"What?" the mutant felt a sharp stab of fear in his gut.
"Today, before we went to the library, I asked her to try using her mutation on me. After some convincing, she briefly touched me and then pulled away, when her vision was assaulted by colours. She didn´t just pull energy from me, she copied my aura sight, Logan!" he hurriedly explained, hoping the other would make the same connection as him.
Evidently, he did, if the string of curses, in several languages nonetheless, that left the older male´s mouth was anything to go by. When he finished, the brunet quickly told Harlan to get the teachers, while he went to track Rouge down. They parted ways, both hoping that their friend was alright.
The auburn-haired girl was looking for the teachers when she heard the familiar voice of her crush from behind her. She smiled and turned around, only to pause, at the aura that differed from what she saw earlier on him in the hallway. Immediately, she went on the defensive.
"You´re not Bobby," she said to the impostor. "Who are you?"
The not-Bobby blinked before a look of interest and amusement appeared on his face. "Well, that´s a surprise. Normally I don´t get noticed this quickly." His eyes shifted to yellow ones and he smirked. "Guess we´ll have to do this the hard way, then."
Rouge didn´t like the "boy´s" expression, so she turned to run, but her opponent was faster. She felt a pain in the back of her head and soon, everything went dark.
Hank frowned as he looked at the sample under the microscope, muttering under his breath as he adjusted the scope to see better.
"Well?" asked Scott from the sides.
"It appears that the senator´s body is rejecting the awakened mutant genes," said the geneticist finally. "His cells are highly unstable now and appear to fight against whatever changes caused by the machine Magneto used. And from what I´m able to deduce, the resulting outcome will be grim."
Charles frowned upon hearing that. "Senator Kelly will not survive it."
"Most likely not. By my estimate, he has less than a day left."
Grim silence followed Hank´s statement. While none of them had a positive opinion of the Senator before, they all could agree on the fact that he didn´t deserve to die. Much less in the way that sounded as painful as the one described by the doctor.
Finally, it was Scott who spoke up. "So, what will we do now? We need to find and destroy the machine before Magneto does this to somebody else," he said, and his girlfriend, Jean, nodded in agreement.
"We´ve some time. Considering the side effects on Magneto himself, there is little possibility he would use it unless he finds a way to negate them," pointed out the professor, but he still looked troubled.
"Any luck with the Cerebro?" inquired Jean.
"None. Either they found a way to block me, or Magneto is being cautious about the machine and didn´t talk about it to anybody else in the Brotherhood…but what is troubling is that I couldn´t find Mystique."
"So, Magneto likely sent her somewhere," murmured Beast with a frown.
"Maybe to kidnap a scientist to help them?" guessed Jean. "A geneticist or a technician…"
"Maybe…"
Suddenly the professor looked up at the frantic thoughts that he was hearing, as their owner hurried to the lab. He barely managed to catch a coherent thought, before Harlan burst inside, looking torn between horrified and worried, the fur on his tail bristled and his hands clenched so hard the nails cut the teen´s palms.
"Professor!"
"Harlan, what´s wrong?" the telepath asked, quickly.
"It´s Rouge, sir! She was the original target of the attack!" the Sitha-gat exclaimed, getting their undivided attention. He quickly proceeded to describe to them what he and Rouge found out during their little experiment earlier today, about an unexpected side-ability of her mutation. Then he told them about what he heard from Logan and the conclusion he drew from the possible connection between the two findings. He also explained how he realized that the Brotherhood of Mutants was probably aware of the ability and originally targeted Rouge. Logan was just an unfortunate side-along. The others listened to him and when he finished talking, there was a tense silence in the room.
At first, the teen was afraid that the situation from his old school would repeat itself and the adults in the room would dismiss him and his worries. He wanted to pretend that it wasn´t a possibility, but unfortunate past experiences were hard to forget. Even when he was right and when he knew the teacher could be trustworthy, he was let down. However, as he observed his teachers and headmaster, their expressions were not dismissing or condemning, because of his age. Instead, they looked worried and understanding at the same time.
"That makes sense. A scapegoat would allow Magneto to work through the negative effects of the machine," murmured Beast. But from his tone, it was clear that he was not pleased by the mere idea.
"This…is bad. We´ve to get Rouge and then decide on how to guard her," Scott decided, looking at the others.
Harlan was minutely taken aback by the fact they weren´t dismissing him. But he quickly crushed the thought, reminding himself that he was not in Britain anymore. Here the adults actually could be reliant in a crisis.
"Harlan, this is important," Charles spoke to him, drawing his attention. "Do you have any idea where is Rouge at the moment?"
"I-I don´t, we split up after we left the library," admitted Harlan. "But when Logan and I realized what was going on, he went looking for her and I went to get you."
The professor nodded before he pressed his fingers to his temple. Closing his eyes, he used his powers to track down the two mutants. He quickly found Logan, but Rouge was too faint for him to pinpoint her exact location. That meant she was unconscious. But he found someone unexpected. Mystique. And combined with the fact that Logan was quickly approaching the edge of the school periphery, it meant one thing.
"Mystique infiltrated our school and kidnapped Rouge," the telepath spoke out loud, making Harlan tense, while the others looked serious. "Logan is pursuing her, but backup is needed. They´re heading east. Jean, Scott, go after them. I´ll go back to the Cerebro and be on the lookout for any other Brotherhood member that might come."
The mutants all nodded and as the tree departed, the wizard couldn´t help the feeling of unease that went through him. If only he could do something to help…
"It will be alright, Harlan," Hank spoke up, making the magic user look at him. His inner nerves and fear must have shown on the younger male´s face because the doctor raised his hand and put it on his shoulder. "I know you worry for your friend, but have faith in the others."
"I hope you´re right, Dr. McCoy," whispered Harlan, looking away. "I just…"
"You worry for your friend, which is understandable. Rouge is lucky to have you. You and Logan."
The wizard sighed, shaking his head. "Considering how much trouble I usually attract, I wouldn´t call this lucky. I just hope my luck doesn´t rub on her, much."