7 = The Calm (Kind Of) Before the Storm...

Nina was currently in the driver's seat. Logan was the passenger and Wade was once again knocked out in the back, snoring away and muttering about Thor in his sleep.

She suddenly became aware of Logan staring at her, his facial expression and eyes suddenly not so hard.

"Everything okay?" she ventured.

"You're a good driver."

"Um, thanks..." she replied to the seemingly random observation. "I've had many decades of practice."

"It's just, every time I see you behind the wheel, it reminds me of the first time."

"Oh? First time what?"

"Yeah, we were trying out a new automobile in the early 1900s and you just about killed us both." Now he was smiling at the memory. "She did, I mean. Never really improved much, and let me do all the driving."

This struck her. "You knew each other all the way back then?"

"Yeah. You and your Logan didn't?"

"No, we met at the turn of the century, the twenty-first century that is." She suddenly felt a surge of slight jealousy towards this other self of hers, getting to spend, by the sounds of it, at least a whole century with her Logan before she herself had even met hers. At least.

There was a silence as she absorbed this, and he seemed to be finished with the storytelling.

A red and black face cut into their conversation, literally, as Wade, now awake, and for once surprisingly quiet (neither had noticed his awakening), slid his head between their seats. "Glad to see we're bonding. Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No!"

A pause, then, "Now..."

Both she and Logan groaned in almost perfect unison.

Wade snorted with laughter. "This feels like you're the mommy and daddy and I'm your beautiful son. Family road trip!"

"That's a real fucked-up image," Nina said. "The Wade-as-our-son part, not the us part," she clarified as Logan still gazed her way.

Wade tried to cut through the sudden tension, and not with his katanas. "Are we there yet?"

"Shut the fuck up," snapped Logan.

They left the desert and the cornfield behind and eventually headed into a densely wooded area.

"So tell me about you and Shorty." Nina - now in the backseat herself getting some rest with Logan driving and Wade the passenger - stirred at their conversation. Nothing. "Only, that was some kiss. And it wasn't just a kiss, that was a 'suck the life and soul out of you' kinda thing."

"Leave it," was all Logan said.

She sat up, grabbing their attention.

"Oh well good morning Sleeping Beauty! Update: we're still not there yet." Wade, seemingly unable to accept a little silence cause that was too much to ask, just kept on talking, jumping from one subject to the next. "Okay, I'm just gonna ask: your suit-"

"Stop talking about the suit."

"Did you make it yourself? Been there."

"Quit, now."

"The X-Men make you wear it? Those son's of fucking bitches."

"Hey," she snapped from the back. "Current X-Man here."

"No, X-Woman. But let me tell you they are not your friends. Friends don't let friends leave the house looking like they fight crime for the Los Angeles Rams. You know, first thing I did when I flamed out, I took mine off."

"Drop it."

"It's not that ugly-"

"Shut the fuck up about the suit."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, watch your frown line, angel baby. I'm just trying to bond a little."

"Then talk about something else - or better yet, don't talk at all."

She was inclined to agree.

"Fine!" There was a brief moment of blissful silence. "Pew!" Then Wade started imitating Spider-Man, hand gesture and all. "Pew! Pew!"

"Stop it."

"Pew!" He got one more in before changing the subject yet again. "So if they can fix your world, what's the first thing you're going to do once you get out of here?"

SCREECH! Logan slammed on the breaks.

"Ugh, Logan!" Nina cried, swinging forward into the front seats and nearly getting whiplash. "What the hell?!"

But he was focused solely on Wade. "What did you just say?"

"What's the first thing you're going to do-"

"No, before that."

"If they can fix your world-"

Logan wasted no time in driving his claws into Wade's thigh, pinning him to the seat and cutting him off.

"You lied to me, you don't have a fucking clue if they can fix things, do you?!"

"Ow, fuck! Fuck! I didn't lie!"

"You lied!"

"No, I didn't lie! I made an educated wish!" This shut Logan up enough to give Wade a moment to reach into his belt pouch and withdraw the polaroid they had taken at his birthday party before it was ruined by the TVA. "You see this? It may only be ten people but my entire world is in this one photo! And if we don't stop those TVA assholes, I'm going to lose everything I ever loved. I'm no hero, but you are! I know how to fuck people up for money but you, you know how to save them! Whether you like it or not, I need you. I need you with me on this."

Logan just blinked back at him. "Did you just say you made an 'educated' fucking 'wish'?"

"Excuse me, they call me the 'Merc with the Mouth', they don't call me 'Truthful Timmy, the Blowjob Queen of Saskatoon'."

Logan withdrew his claws from Wade's leg and raised his fist. "One more word, please, give me one."

A long silence stretched, broken only when Wade uttered something in a goofy British accent. Logan drew back his fist, making Wade yelp and jump but didn't proceed any further.

He scoffed. "You know what, you're a fucking joke. I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved jabbering little prick in my entire life and that says a lot cause I've been alive for more than two hundred fucking years! I mean you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. No wonder the Avengers wouldn't take you, or the X-Men, and they'll take fucking anyone. I'll tell you, that bald chick was right about one thing: you will never save the world. You couldn't even save a relationship with a god-damn stripper! And MOTHER FUCKER I wish I could say you'd die alone but it's one of GOD'S BEST JOKES THAT YOU CAN'T DIE, EXCEPT THAT'S ON ALL OF US!" The whole car rattled and shook when he pounded his fist into the ceiling in fury.

A long silence followed his outburst.

Nina leaned forward and snatched the car keys. "You two obviously have a shit-load of stuff to sort out and I don't need to be here for that."

"Where are you going?" Wade cried.

"I don't know, but away from here!" She locked the car as soon as she was outside and with that she stormed away in a huff, jumping momentarily when there was the sound of smashing glass and grunts behind her. "Ugh, God..."

She wandered until the sounds faded away and she was truly alone in the quiet. It felt nice to have a quiet moment to herself, for she had barely had a moment to think and/or recover since awakening in the TVA. Her head - and heart - were spinning madly.

She was trapped in the TVA's garbage dump with her best friend - who she was pissed at - and a variant of her dead love - who she didn't know how to feel about - and their universe was hours away from annihilation. Yeah, things were a little fucked up. Just a little.

A sudden voice in the otherwise quiet made her jump.

"Mami?"

Duh duh duh! But of course we all know who it is ;) Shoutout to The Greatest Showman on the radio, and shoutout to the car scene which is one of the best in the movie - I do love me some Poolverine! As a Canadian, I am very proud of these Canadians ;)

That little snort of laughter Logan does when he says 'Oh are you' gets me every time - it's so cute!

Also, not sure if I mentioned but I have started Logan and Nina's story going back to X-Men 2000

Next up - the others!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)